Next Food Network Star DISASTER - Nikki Goes Home???

Oh ... my ... God.

Tonight was the most disappointing episode of the Next Food Network Star I have ever seen. Nikki Dinki - food blogger and YouTube online chef - was eliminated for the most baffling of reasons. Alton said she lacks "food authority." And Rodney is a food expert??? Nikki didn't know what a pilaf was, and Rodney's food was undercooked and tasteless. Rodney calls himself "the Pie Guy," and he undercooked his pie crust. That's enough to be eliminated on Chopped. Yet, Nikki goes home. That was ridiculous.

Alton Brown, you were foolish on this one. Giada De Laurentiis, where was your voice? And, Robert Irvine, I am incredibly disappointed in you. Robert, your show Restaurant Impossible has always been about improving food and style and presentation. I've written about how your show impresses with its intent to emphasize quality. And your choice to keep Rodney "More-Flour-on-Me-Than-the-Pie" is a disturbing departure from everything your show claims to emphasize. If Rodney Henry cooked and acted on your show the way he performs on Next Food Network Star, you would chastise and even mock him, and then you would teach him techniques and proper kitchen behavior.

Nikki can become more of a food authority - but Rodney will never have class or maturity.  And he doesn't know food. Rodney is no food authority. He will never be anything more than a buffoon. Keeping Rodney "Pie Style" Henry around simply means the Food Network is looking for a clown. They are appealing to the lowest common demoninator. And that's just sad, especially for a network that has brought the world's attention to some of the finest culinary artists in the world. Rodney Henry on the same network as Bobby Flay or Tyler Florence or Giada or Alton or Mario or Geoffery Zakarian or Morimoto is a culinary abomination. Clearly, Nikki Dinki has star power and great potential, and she will go on to have her own successful show and brand - Meat on the Side. 

Going in to this week, I was convinced the finalists would be Nikki and Stacy or Nikki and Demaris. Never did I believe Nikki would go out for something as minor as her supposed shortcomings this week.  In fact, her concept - Meat on the Side - is the only fresh and unique idea that the Food Network could immediately produce and broadcast.  Alton Brown even said specifically that - her show is ready to produce.  I am seriously considering not watching next week's episode of the Next Food Network Star. For the next two weeks, I may watch the last few minutes to see who goes on. And I will never watch a show with Rodney Henry on it.

Poor, misguided, foolish, and inexplicable choice on the Next Food Network Star tonight. I seriously question the integrity of the judges on this one. Are Alton Brown and Robert Irvine secretly food slobs? Are their kitchens actually as messy and inconsistent as Rodney? Was there some personal issue with Nikki that we don't understand?

The decision to eliminate Nikki Dinki and keep Rodney Henry is truly tasteless and indefensible.

Free Nikki Dinki.

And click here for my thoughts on the final three and their pilots.

Later Start Times Improves High School Students' Performance

I don't know if the "Rent is too damn high," but I know that high school starts too darn early. As I've noted before, if we really want to implement effective school reform, we should first Start Later to Ensure Educational Progress. The research continues to support and validate concerns that staring school before 8:00 has a negative impact on student attendance, achievement, and even graduation. Alas, it is really all about money and bus/activity schedules. Those are the worse reasons for making policy decisions. So, here in Colorado, I can imagine we will continue to start school at ... gasp! ... 7:10 in the morning.

No Regrets

"I can't have any regrets."

That's what I always tell my students when they are curious about the most common of questions - "What do you regret?" We all look at our lives in hindsight, and of course we think about "what ifs" and "I wish I had" and, more importantly, "I wish I hadn't ..." That is, I guess, natural. However, regrets are not only a waste of time, but also a dismissal of the possible long term benefit or value that comes from a short term mistake or loss.

I truly love my life and where I've ended up.  And I have to conclude that everything that has happened in my life led me to this point. For example, I had planned to join the Marines out of high school. I thought I'd do four years and then go to college. Alas, poor eyesight and bad knee ligaments and asthma disqualified me from service. A huge disappointment at the time. Yet, I went to college where I met my beautiful wife - the love of my life - and had two wonderful children - the joys of my life. And none of that would have happened had I gone in the Marines.  Now, certainly, I would have been on a different path and may have been just as happy in that one had I joined the Marines. But, the reality is, I am thrilled with the results of my choices and the events that have happened. So, I can't really regret anything that has led me to where I want to be.

These thoughts remind me of a great line from the song Beautiful World by Colin Hay.

And still this emptiness persists 
Perhaps this is as good as it gets 
When you’ve given up the drink and those nasty cigarettes
Now I leave the party early at least with no regrets 
I watch the sun as it comes up I watch it as it sets 
Yeah this is as good as it gets. 

The idea of living my life with no regrets is very appealing and satisfying. And the idea of "leaving the party early" with no regrets resonates with a lot of people. Going back to middle school, I can recall worrying about "missing something" if I wasn't at the right party or there at the right time or with the right people ... etc.  All those "right" designations are such a bunch of myths. Leaving the party or deciding what to do that is "right for me" is one of the most important states of mind to have. We must always be willing to learn from setbacks and disappointments. And I do belief in the value of self reflection and the examined life.

But life? .... no regrets.

Summer Vacation is Not Evil

The battle over the necessity - and potential downsides - of summer vacation will never end, just as the myth of the "agrarian model" as the reason for summer vacation never seems to go away. I'm still surprised by the large number of educated people who believe that America's history of summer vacation was based on schools letting kids out to work on the farm.  That's simply not true. However, a different argument opposing summer vacation has reared its head in recent years as pundits and education reformers target low student achievement and achievement gaps. The argument against summer vacation is based on theories of the summer slide. Basically, students exhibit "learning loss" during their time off in the summer, as their skills weaken and their knowledge lessens due to the stagnation of not being in the classroom. The subsequent problem is that teachers spend a considerable amount of class time at the beginning of the year reviewing the previous years lessons and re-sharpening academic skills. This "slide" is greatest at our lowest socioeconomic levels and among our student populations with the most significant achievement gaps. And that disparity fuels criticism that summer vacation perpetuates and even worsens in equality. At least that's the claim of Slate's economics writer Matthew Yglesias who says Summer Vacation is Evil.

Well ... that's a bit much.

Certainly, the issue of the summer slide is real and prevalent among some student populations. And, there is no doubt that it can be "a disaster for poor children" because they do not have access to the summer enrichment opportunities such as camps and organized sports/activities enjoyed by their more affluent peers. And many of the summer activities enjoyed by kids are a huge financial drain on families that could save this money - for college? - if kids were just in school year-round. However, it is a bit narrow to gauge the value of summer vacation simply based on the "amount of schooling" lost - for those measurements are only one factor in a person's overall well-being. It's simply problematic to only look at data that can be measured on standardized assessments the way too many studies do. We should not only value and measure a child's development based on what happens in a classroom and measured according to classroom/academic scales. And, summer vacation is not evil and not a time of loss for many children. In fact, there is great value in experiences such as camps and organized sports and summer employment and independent studies and extracurricular activities and family vacation time and, simply, un-organized and free-spirited play.  Rather than simply bashing summer vacation and criticizing it "something nice for teachers," it's probably a better idea to look for ways to engage all populations in "summer learning." It doesn't have to be school. Or it doesn't have to be year-round classroom time for all students. Let's consider the ways to address the summer slide inequality by simply expanding summer enrichment opportunities for all kids.

Summer vacation is not based on agrarian schedules. Summer vacation is not a bad idea. And, sorry Matt Yglesias, summer vacation is not evil.

Live to 150 Years Old? Healthy? Really?

"I want to live forever. Live fast and die young. Youth is wasted on the young. I hope I die before I get old."

Humanity has a complicated relationship with aging - and with overall health later in life. Vacationing in Summit County, Colorado, I am always impressed with the retirees - or just people in their sixties and beyond - hiking and biking the trails I'm on. Knowing too many older people who simply accept poorer health, less activity, and decreased quality of life as "part of growing old," I am curious about the ways people manage to age gracefully, even energetically.  Though I am not Ponce de Leon in search of the Fountain of Youth, I do believe there is a key to living younger longer.  That question is the basis of an engaging discussion - and article on the DailyBeast/Newsweek site - "Just how long can humans live, and live well?"

It's no surprise that Americans are on an anti-aging kick, especially as active Baby Boomers face their own mortality. Recently, there has been a buzz about a billboard message that reads The First Person to Live to 150 is Alive Today.  We've all heard about the miracle properties of resveratrol and red wine. There are similar "magic pill" ideas about ginseng and goji berries.  I've long believed that we seriously shorten our life spans and that the average American life span of roughly 80 years is on the short end. And, I also believe in a few myths surrounding longevity. Much of this goes back to my time living Taiwan when I studied tai chi with an 87-year-old shao lin kung fu master who was as spry as I was in my twenties. In fact, when a man in his eighties can nearly put you in the hospital with a punch, you have to think there is something many of us are doing wrong. And about this time, I also ran across a couple of books about taoism and the idea of more natural living.

One of the best was Deng Ming Dao's Chronicles of Tao, which tells the story of taoist master Kwan Saihung who studied the tao and martial arts under the Grandmaster of Hua Shan. The Grandmaster was allegedly 172-years old when the book was written. And that wouldn't even make him the world's oldest person - at least in Chinese lore.  Another great book was Daniel Reid's The Tao of Health, Sex, and Longevity. Reid recounts many exceptional stories of long, healthy lives, the most famous of which is the story of Li Ching Yuen who was reported to have lived to the ripe old age of 256. His story and long life was even reported by British newspapers in the early part of the twentieth century. However, a prejudice against the record keeping of early Chinese societies prevents the Western world from accepting such an amazing claim.

At the very least, I think we can all live healthier, longer, and much could be gleaned from better living. Certainly, there are many people who believe that our current lifespan could be extended in productive and healthy ways. For example, Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen - who gained fame on Oprah with their real age concept - have offered several books about living well and living longer, most notably in their book You: The Owner's Manual. And, Mikhail Tombak challenged notions of longevity and life span many years ago in his book Can We Live 150 Years? If nothing else, we could take the simple advice of Dr. Oz who recommends if you do nothing else for your health, you should walk thirty minutes a day and stop drinking soda.

Who is Nate Silver & Why is He Leaving the NY Times for ESPN

Prepare for a new line of sleek, stylish calculators coming out. Data crunching and statistical analysis just got cool.

For a certain group of political and data junkies, Twitter and the blogosphere was buzzing this week with news that statistician, blogger, and presidential polls savant Nate Silver was leaving the New York Times for a new, lucrative contract with ESPN. Wait a minute ... what? A presidential polls statistician inked a deal with ESPN? What gives? Who is Nate Silver?

Nate Silver - a statistician, sabermetrician, sephelogist, social critic, and blogger - gained national prominence for election predictions in 2008 after he accurately called the election results in 49 of 50 states. He also correctly predicted all thirty five Senate races. By collating and extrapolating on hundreds of polls - and using a system he developed to predict baseball performance - Silver out performed nearly every poll, pundit, and news source working the election. At that time he was writing on a blog called FiveThirtyEight.com that he founded after becoming frustrated listening to poll watchers randomly predict results with very little data behind their decisions. Following that successful run, Nate Silver signed a deal to move his blog to the New York Times - a move which proved extremely lucrative for the paper in the 2012 race with as many as one in five NYTimes.com visitors coming to the sight exclusively for Silver's predictions. At the same time, Silver had published an inspired and insightful tome on predictions and data analysis called The Signal and the Noise. Sales for the book went up 400% the day after the election.

Like any successful person who challenges the conventional wisdom, Silver has been the source of a couple well publicized feuds with people like MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and, more notably, Politico.com  Many saw Politico's criticism of Nate Silver as sour grapes for a website that was basically schooled by Silver on predicting presidential politics. Of course, none of the criticism of Silver by any who disagree with him has done anything to diminish the rise of the young mathematician. In this day and age, with a population obsessed with data and information, and companies forever seeking an edge with their knowledge and manipulation of Big Data, Nate Silver is a verifiable data rock star. Silver has made data and statistics cool, and that will only continue with his new deal to move FiveThirtyEight to ESPN.

So, how does a mathematician end up with a contract at ESPN? Important to remember is that his earliest data work - and success - was in developing his sports performance system. Anyone who has read, seen, or heard of Michael Lewis' insightful explanation of Moneyball and the use of sabermetrics in sports knows that sports and numbers are intimately engaged. The marriage of sports and stats grew exponentially with the rise of fantasy sports - and we all know someone who is obsessed with how his fantasy football/basketball/baseball team is doing. And from Silver's perspective, there is so much more he can do than just predict elections or sports performance. The plans for his new site at ESPN is for the system to expand into weather and entertainment - even predicting Oscar winners based on polling data. Certainly, he may be biting off more than he can chew with something as arbitrary as Academy Awards, but Silver has definitely got the clout at this point to try.

For all the young data geeks out there, Nate Silver has a great lesson on the politics of math and developing a brand.

Can You Retire at 30?

When I was about twenty-six and living abroad, making good money and saving a lot, my father introduced me to the idea of investing and saving for retirement. He had retired with a lump sum that he invested, and was learning a lot more about financial advising. So, he got me started with an IRA and investment account - some stocks and mutual funds. With his information about saving ten percent and the magic of compound interest, I started of with those dreams of a millionaire's retirement. In fact, a part of me started to believe I could retire with millions by the age of fifty ... Or younger.

As I approach my mid-forties, I accept I won't be sitting around with millions in my fifties. However, I still wonder about those stories of people retiring in their thirties. Because it is possible, and you don't have to live you're twenties in poverty to do so. That's the story of The Mustache Money Man, who retired in Longmont, Colorado at the age of 32, with a cool $800K in the bank. By saving money on the little stuff, investing wisely, and planning for retirement, MMM did actually retire that early. Most people who research investing and retirement plans know the advice from The Automatic Millionaire author David Bach who warns about the latte factor. And MMM certainly follows that advice. He carefully selected where he could afford to live well for less, and he made prudent decisions about car payments and mortgages and daily luxuries.

Certainly, MMM has learned to live simply in exchange for his early retirement. And not everyone could make such choices or live in such a way. However, it is interesting to learn MMM's story and keep an eye on his advice. Living the dream the way MMM does is absolutely doable - it's simply a matter of some research and choices.

Lovely Loses Again on Next Food Network Star

OK, can we just declare Nikki Dinki the winner of season 8 of the Food Network's Next Food Network Star. Clearly, she is the only finalist in a very weak field of contestants who even has a chance of hosting a watchable show on the Food Network. Nikki won again this week, taking the first challenge and then putting together a team - with good choices of Demaris and Stacy - to win the food promo competition.

Lovely returned from the Food Star Redemption competition - in a baffling decision by Robert Irvine. What the Restaurant Impossible host saw in Lovely defies all sense that he is a true culinary artist. Lovely never made anything that my wife can't whip up in the kitchen on any given Tuesday. And the dishes she created to beat Viet, Chris, and Chad were utterly forgettable. Seriously, she made a crumble with potato chips. That was weak. But she was allowed back in ... and promptly shown the door when she validated her early exit by being almost a non-entity in the team promo with Russell and Rodney. In the promo she had next to nothing to say - and that was only slightly worse than the other two. In fact, it would have been preferable for Rodney to say nothing at all.

Rodney and Russell are almost certain to be the next two to go home. Hopefully, Rodney goes first. The "Pie Guy" is simply crass and unsophisticated. There is simply nothing he can bring to the Food Network that it needs, and I am weary of his low-class, wacky guy exterior. Rodney would never entertain me as a Food Network Star. Russell can cook, no doubt. But he's not close to polished enough for the Food Network. And that comment about culinary sins in the promo? Ridiculous. The problem with people like Russell and Rodney is that they think they can be like a Guy Fieri or Alton Brown - edgy and cool. But they can't ... because Guy and Alton know food and they know it well. Guy would never have ignored a story about 500-year-old yeast or the use of potato flour in doughnuts. Guy and Alton would have spun some great commentary out of that because they know food. Rodney and Russell don't.

This is clearly the weakest and least entertaining field of Food Network Star contestants I've seen. Even among the finalists now, only Nikki is slightly interesting.

Let's just get it over with.

Sugar, Sugar, Meat, & Fat - America's Breakfast

"You've got sugar, sugar, meat, and fat."

Those words from vegan chef Alex Jamison to her boyfriend Morgan Spurlock in the game-changing documentary film Super-size Me still resonate with me all these years later. In the scene Alex is somewhat mocking Morgan while clarifying the "food groups" represented in his McDonalds breakfast of hot cakes and sausage - there may have been some scrambled eggs on the plate as well. That simple explanation of standard American breakfast fare recently came back to me while on vacation.

Enjoying a fabulous summer in Summit County, Colorado at the very nice Keystone Resort and Spa, I walked past a group of people eating breakfast at an outdoor cafe - nothing but "white foods."  Pancakes and waffles and biscuits & gravy and white toast and hash browns and ... nothing of any significant nutritional value. Granted, a few people were eating eggs - which is a good protein, though I doubt this is an organic free range egg with good omega fats. And, there was one bowl of oatmeal - certainly a "white"-looking food, which could have been easily amped up in nutrition and flavor with some fresh berries and nuts and cinnamon.

We've all been guilty of the doughnuts-for-breakfast moment, and there is certainly something positive to be said about pancakes and waffles and hash browns. That is without doubt. And maybe what I was seeing is simply splurging for vacation. But American has a problem with its mindless fixation on "white" starchy foods that are seriously lacking in nutrition and sustenance. It's been years since I've started a day without some fruit and nuts, and I switched to whole grains years ago. Eggs are a staple, as are hummus and nut butters - the sort of foods that provide fuel the body needs. And they also lack the empty, starchy, sugars that are the key to America's busting waistlines.

Enough with the white foods for breakfast.

40th Anniversary of Bruce Lee & Enter the Dragon

You could say America's love affair with the martial arts began in July of 1973.

That was the year Bruce Lee's standard-setting martial arts film Enter the Dragon premiered to rave reviews and fascinated American audiences. Bryan Enk of Yahoo Movies offers an engaging look back at the film with history, insight, and commentary from Bruce Lee's wife Linda Lee Cadwell. I was only three years old when Bruce Lee entered the American movie lexicon as a true movie star, so like many Bruce Lee fans, I came to the story later through a variety of Bruce Lee bio-pics and reading Lee's groundbreaking martial arts book - about a style of kung fu he created and refined - The Tao of Jeet Kune Do. It takes a pretty significant and deep mind-body connection to create a martial art - a skill set that generally developed over centuries.

For martial arts fans, it's certainly worth looking back at the legacy of arguably martial arts' greatest icon. Certainly, reading Lee's book is a great place to start. And, of course, Hollywood did produce what it considers to be the definitive biography - Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story. However, there are may other great sources of information, and for the true fan, it's worth checking out a wide variety of films about the star. The story of Bruce Lee  is full of myth and legend. I can even remember believing as a kid that Bruce Lee would return on the tenth or twentieth anniversary of his death because he had not died, but retreated from society to deal with supernatural issues we could only marvel at.

While I'm certain now that Bruce is no longer with us - and not coming back - it's always worth looking back on one of the greatest cultural icons of the twentieth century.

Stand Your Ground Laws & Disproportional Response

The verdict that freed George Zimmerman after he killed Travon Martin has generated some intense debate about gun rights and the freedom to react with deadly force to a perceived threat. My gut reaction to the verdict was unease, particularly because I don't agree with someone taking out a gun during a fist fight. The crux of this issue is the existence of Stand Your Ground Laws.  These laws originated out of "castle laws," which allow a person to use lethal force in response to a home intruder perceived to be a threat. However, it's my understanding that gun rights advocates actively pursued extending the right to use a gun in situations outside the home. And that seems risky at best, and quite dangerous at least. Certainly, there is research to indicate these laws increase violence, rather than mitigate it. People are, simply, more inclined to quickly resort to gun violence. In fact, areas that have these laws will have 30-40 more gun deaths for adult males than areas that don't. Clearly, the death of Travon Martin did not have to happen. And from my point of view, the altercation and death resulted from the stupid and irresponsible decisions of George Zimmerman. He simply shouldn't have followed Travon, he shouldn't have left his car, he shouldn't have carried a gun, and he shouldn't have taken it out and fired when a situation he created turned against him.

In a correlated issue in southeast Denver, a drunken - and unarmed - man was shot and killed by a resident who feared the would-be intruder was a threat to his home. The question, of course, is whether this man had to die.

SAT vs. ACT: What’s the Difference?

Standardized testing is a way for colleges to compare students across the country on the same scale. High schools vary by curriculum, grading scales, and methodology, so GPA is not as level a playing field as a third party assessment. By issuing the same test to all students, no matter the district, state, or region, colleges can better select students for admission

The SAT – created and run by the non-profit College Board – is a standardized test that scores high school students on mathematic and critical reading skills. Within the last several years, a writing portion has been added. Students have 25 minutes to formulate an essay on a prompt provided in the section. The essay is scored on a scale of 1 to 6 and is graded by two readers. Before this addition, the test was all multiple choice, aside from a math problems calculated within the test packet. However, because essay writing is a significant component of college, this written portion gives colleges a bit more insight into a student’s ability and possible performance if admitted.

The ACT is run by ACT, Inc. and is a competitor to the SAT. Historically, the ACT is not taken by as many students or as broadly nationwide as the SAT, but in recent years this has changed. It seems more and more students are taking the ACT and the SAT or just the ACT alone. The ACT has four distinct areas – English, mathematics, reading and science – and an optional writing section, recently added like the SAT’s. The ACT questions are considered by many to be slightly easier than the SAT but need to be completed in a shorter amount of time. Thus, it all evens out.

Colleges accept scores from both tests. In many cases, which test to take is determined by where a student live and/or wants to attend college. The SAT is popular on the East and West coasts while the ACT dominates the central portion of the country. Both require several hours of your Saturday morning. Depending on the colleges you’re looking to apply to, it might be best to consult the admissions department to see if there is a preference or to at least obtain the school’s score ranges. 

For more information and guidance, please visit  barronstestprep.com.

** This is a sponsored guest post.