A Miscellany of Links

Some interesting information I have seen recently on blogs or web sites:

America's Hometown tells us what to look for when deciding on the validity of polls.

Joe Hoeffel has continued his fight to increase the minimum wage.

Just Between Strangers brings up the sticky and intriguing concept of personal geography. When I was a kid and asked someone if they "grew up around here," they would say yes if they were anywhere within a 30 mile or so radius. Where I live now if I ask that question they will say no if they were outside a 5 miles radius. For another example, ask people what part of the country Pennsylvania is in (Mid-Atlantic, East Coast, Midwest) and see what they say. Or, what constitutes the South, the Midwest, and what should we do with those Dakotas anyway?

Anderson Cooper was a child model until someone propositioned him and he quit. In the same essay, how many words into a phone conversation with your mother are you before she becomes irritating? (My mother reads this blog so let me say that she, for one, is never irritating on the phone.)