You know Louisville does the internet well, ahem, but now it's official like.
The Center for Digital Government announced the
2008 Best of the Web and Digital Government Achievement Awardees and guess who is on the list? Yep, the city of
Louisville official website. We tied for third place in the city portal category.
Well done city of Louisville web workers. From one web nerd to another I salute you.
While it's lovely whenever the paper of record has something good to say or point out about Louisville I'm somewhat perplexed by a cocktail recipe the
New York Times published today.
It's for something called a
The Louisville Sling and it includes tamarind concentrate, lemon juice and club soda among other ingredients and not a hint of bourbon or any other spirit. Perplexing.
Why yes, I am a crazy dog person. Why do you ask? Is it because I'm beyond pleased that a bioengineer at the
University of Louisville studied the inadequacies in dog wheelchairs? Or is it because I'm just all warm and fuzzy that she not only
developed a better dog wheelchair but is also putting the instructions for building it on the internet for free because this is "not about making money. It's about improving the quality of life for injured dogs and their owners." Warm and fuzzy people, I feel warm and fuzzy and full of love for the University of Louisville and the innovation it inspires.
When a family dog's hind legs are paralyzed from injuries, nerve
problems or disease, its owners face a tough decision. They can take on
the demanding job of caring for a pet which no longer can walk, or they
can have the animal euthanized.
University of Louisville bioengineer Gina Bertocci was deeply
troubled by the problem, so this past year, she and mechanical
engineering graduate student Eddie Fowler designed and developed an
adjustable wheelchair for paraplegic dogs that anyone can build with
items commonly found at a hardware store.
She's not pursuing a patent on their invention. Instead, she plans
to post free instructions on the Internet for people who want to build
the wheelchair themselves.
"This isn't about making money," said Bertocci, an endowed chair of
biomechanics at Speed School of Engineering with a joint appointment in
pediatrics. "It's about improving the quality of life for injured dogs
and their owners."
You're such a rockstar Gina Bertocci.
Bertocci will be presenting a paper on how she and her students developed the wheelchair this weekend at the Fifth International Symposium on Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy in Veterinary Medicine.
I'm not confirming that I ever said anything mean about the British but if I did I take it back.
Apparently the British love bourbon country and we love them back.
Whether you fancy it straight up, on the rocks, with water, in a
whiskey sour, a Manhattan, an Old Fashioned or in the traditional drink
of the Kentucky Derby - the Mint Julep - Kentucky bourbon is the drink
of gentlemen (and women).
A new bourbon trail tasting coach tour from Louisville has just
been launched, covering seven historic distilleries nestled in the
rolling Kentucky hills over two days.
This is a far cry from the hey day of whiskey distilling in the
19th-century Kentucky corn belt, when it is estimated there were at
least 2,000 distillers operating.
Born out the glut of corn production in the frontier settlements
and the British blockade during the war of independence, nearly every
farm had a whiskey distillery.
This December 5th Kentucky marks the 75th anniversary of the end of
Prohibition, with events planned to examine how this period of history
impacted production of the finest "American spirit".
I think everyone should be making plans to be here on December 5 so we can celebrate the anniversary of the end of Prohibition in a major way.
Starting with the 2008-2009 academic the
University of Louisville College of Business will be educating tomorrow's brilliant business minds on the economic philosophies of Ayn Rand. Yes,
that Ayn Rand (and no spell check I do not want to change "Ayn" to "Any" but thanks for the suggestion).
The
University of Louisville's College of Business has received a $1 million dollar grant to create a course and other activities based on the economic philosophy of the late
Ayn Rand.
The grant comes from the
BB&T Corporation,
whose CEO, John Allison, calls Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged" "the best
defense of capitalism ever written." Since 2005, the banking company
has granted millions of dollars to more than 25 schools to teach
students about Rand's philosophy of objectivism.
Story via WFPL
Hey don't look at me that way. I didn't say it,
Reason Magazine did. Well sort of. Reason Magazine looked at 35 US cities to find "the best and worst cities for exercising personal freedom. Louisville came in strong at #4. Chicago? #35.
We've got bourbon. We've got beer. But did you know we've got what is probably the only
micro-brewer of soy sauce in the United States. No, I didn't think you knew that.
"The sauce is inherently unique," says Jamie.
"Besides the fact that I'm an American guy brewing soy sauce in
Kentucky, it is made with whole non-GMO soybeans, custom roasted wheat
and limestone filtered Kentucky spring water. We're the only
micro-brewer of soy sauce in the country that I'm aware of, and the
only soy sauce brewery in the world that ferments in bourbon barrels."
Bourbon Barrel Foods are making some very interesting products and recycling old bourbon barrels to boot.Remember to add visiting their retail shop to your list of things to do when you come visit Louisville soon.
The folks from Jim Beam think so. A few key pieces of evidence that back
their hypothesis:
"With the rising costs of gas and food, destinations like Las Vegas and
Miami aren't always practical," said Bernie Lubbers, Louisville native and
Knob Creek Whiskey Professor. "Louisville offers an affordable guys-only
getaway that blends heritage, entertainment, sports and spirits to have the
guys talking for years to come."
Among the highlights on a Louisville man-cation:
-- Muhammad Ali Center -- Find greatness within as you watch legendary Ali
fights On-Demand and revel in the aura of a living Olympic champion
-- The Louisville Slugger Museum -- Experience history in-the-making as
you stroll through the factory where world-famous Louisville Slugger
bats are created
-- Jim Beam Distillery -- Discover what The Stuff Inside means to you on
the self-guided tour of the distillery process. Sample the rich,
distinctive tastes of Jim Beam Black(R) Bourbon and Knob Creek(R)
Bourbon in the historic T. Jeremiah Beam home, and walk the distillery
grounds to experience the 213 year Jim Beam history
