The great news, however, comes from the polling of voters who are 100% certain to vote: It’s a dead heat at 49%-49%.

The full report from the campaign is available in the PDF below. Please feel free to share it and spread the great news.

Source: Good News, Wisconsin! Latest Polls Show Barrett & Walker Essentially Tied

From an email Tom Barrett sent out yesterday:

Friend –

CNN is reporting that the Koch Brothers have dropped 70 staffers in our state “to celebrate” what Walker has “accomplished and show that Wisconsin is ready for more.”

Ready for more? Walker’s ideological civil war has already devastated public education, stripped workers of their rights, repealed Equal Pay enforcement, raised taxes on working families and led the nation in job loss.

While Wisconsin workers and families continue to struggle, Walker and his allies are “celebrating” their “divide and conquer” strategy that has succeeded in ripping our state apart.

As you probably already know if you’re a regular reader of Chai Life, I’m no fan of the Koch Brothers. They’ve got our Governor in their back pocket and Wisconsin deserves better. I should note, however, that I haven’t been able to find any credible news source that is actually reporting the drop-off of 70 Koch employees. That doesn’t mean it isn’t true, it just appears to be something that the mainstream media is ignoring.

For those of you here in Wisconsin wondering what you can do to put an end to their corporate influence over our politics, the answer is simple: Vote for Tom Barrett on June 5th. If you aren’t sure where you should be voting, it couldn’t be easier to look it up. If you have any questions, concerns, or need help getting to your polling place, contact your local field office and they’ll be happy to help you. Whatever you need to do, just please vote.

Unless you plan on voting for Scott Walker. In that case, I hear Fox News will be airing an all-day televised tea party rally featuring Ted Nugent that you won’t want to miss.

Source: Koch Cronies Invade Wisconsin

Source: Scout Walker vs. Scott Walker

• Alien Blue (Free, but there’s a $1.99 Pro Upgrade)
  This is, hands down, the absolute best Reddit client there is on any platform, mobile or otherwise. I honestly can’t tell you whether this would be better described as a news app or a social media app, because it is a fantastic tool for both and is often where I find out about news before I see it anywhere else. The pro upgrade adds a handful of features that, frankly, I don’t use often, but the developer deserves your $1.99 anyways.
• Flipboard
  Another crossover between social media and news, Flipboard uses an intuitive “flippable” interface to easily flip through the latest news along with (optionally) recently shared news from your Facebook or Twitter feeds. Regardless of whether or not you use the built-in social media features, Flipboard makes quickly checking the latest news as simple as it can possibly be.
• Twitter
  Twitter isn’t for everyone, but if you’re a fan and want to access it from your phone, there isn’t a better option than the official app, in my humble opinion. It’s feature rich and coordinates nicely with the website. If anything, I find myself longing for features of the iPhone app when using it on the web (easily quoting tweets comes to mind).

Reference
Probably the best part of always carrying a tiny computer in my pocket is the access it offers me to the vast reserves of the information superhighway [Insert comment about that clichéd 90's terminology here]. At least a few times a day, I’m curious about something and am instantly able to whip out my phone and immediately find an answer. These are the best tools to help do that.

• IMDb
  The Internet Movie Database is probably among my favorite websites in the history of the Internet. You can look up just about anything about any actor, movie, or TV show in the history of movies and television. Their iOS app is no exception. It’s fast, easy to use, and just as in-depth as the website.
• RedLaser
  Scan a barcode on just about any product and you’ll get online pricing, local pricing (if available), reviews, and information about it. I can’t even tell you the number of times I’ve used this to save myself money. I don’t even buy anything at Best Buy anymore, as RedLaser just allows me to window shop, remember what I looked at, then buy it online for significantly less. As if that isn’t awesome enough, it also reads QR Codes.
• RoadNinja
  I came across this app quite recently and was pleasantly surprised with how awesome it is. At it’s most basic, it tells you what’s near you. Food, gas, lodging, attractions, camping, and pharmacy. When you’re on the highway, however, it kicks it up a notch and allows you to do those same searches, but based on upcoming exits, interchanges, etc. I’ve only needed to use it a few times, but this is a must-have for anyone who travels a lot or is planning on taking a road trip.

Audio & Video Sure you’ve got an iPod and YouTube built in, but 3rd party A/V apps really make the iPhone shine.

• Pandora
  If you don’t know what Pandora is, you’re really missing out. Listen to music you love and discover similar music and similar musicians. For free. I know it sounds too good to be true, but Pandora really is as great as it sounds and is always a great source when you’re looking for a great playlist.
• Public Radio Player
  If, like me, you spend a lot of time listening to public radio, this is a must have. It gives you access to a live strem of just about any NPR affiliate station as well as on-demand access to the latest program of just about every show they air. You can take NPR with you wherever you go.
• Netflix
  If you don’t have Netflix Instant, then feel free to completely ignore this suggestion. If you do, however, then this is a must-have. Put simply, it allows you to watch anything available from Netflix instant streaming on your phone via a user-friendly interface. Do I really need to say more?

Utilities The iPhone has a ton of great utilities that take it far beyond what it’s developers ever thought it would be capable of doing. Here are just a few that I find myself using regularly.

• Dropbox
  Dropbox embodies what’s missing in iCloud. So much so, in fact, that Apple tried to buy Dropbox but was turned down. This handy little app gives you access to your files and effortlessly syncs them between your computer(s) and the cloud. It’s great to find something on my phone, save it to the Dropbox app, then have it on my computer as soon I next use it.
• iHandy Level
  It’s exactly what you’d think it is: A level. The iPhone’s built-in technology makes it a surprising accurate level, so this comes in handy when, like myself, you find yourself in need of a level but without actually having one. Just the other day I used it to put up a new key hook in my house.
• Ruler
  It’s a ruler. You can switch between Inches and Centimeters. If you need to measure small things, this is your app. Do I really need to explain more?

That’s all folks. Are there other apps that belong on this list? You bet there are. Feel free to share in the comments if you have any suggestions.

Source: Must-Have Free iPhone Apps in 2012

Source: Happy Star Wars Day 2012!

SloPig Milwaukee was amazing. Six of the top chefs in Milwaukee were each given a whole heritage breed hog which had been sustainably raised right here in fabulous Wisconsin. As I understand it, each chef was tasked with making a handful of small plates however they wanted, as long as it included the pig. As if that wasn’t enough to make for a great evening, added to the mix were 8 local bartenders tasked with making their best punch. The combination was fun, tasty, and quite memorable.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should probably note that we were supposed to vote for our favorite bartender as well as our favorite chef. I did not vote. I just couldn’t decide on a “best” selection. I was able to narrow the punch to two options and, as such, will tip my hat to the fine folks over at Burnheart’s for their liquid jerk spice punch as well as whoever made the tangerine punch. I’d love to give credit for that one where it’s due, but I was honestly already too inebriated by that point to remember.

The food itself was an even more difficult decision. I ate as much as I physically could, but I can honestly say that I didn’t get to try everything. Despite my drunken state, I at least had the sense to snap some photos of most of what I had, with a few of my favorites pictured on the right (click it for a larger version). Just to make you jealous (or disgusted, depending on your dietary practices), here’s a break down of what you’re seeing in that picture. In the upper left, is a perfectly portioned spoon of what I believe was truffle gelato with bits of bacon. If that sounds good to you, believe me, it’s even better than it sounds. If that doesn’t sound good to you, well, frankly I’m surprised you’ve already read this far in. Right next to that is one of the true stars of the evening, a whipped lard filled donut dipped in maple-infused lard glaze. I’ll admit that I ate two of those; The two years that it took off my life were completely worth it. In the lower left of the picture was an assortment of different treats, all from the same chef, with an added bonus of that tangerine punch I mentioned earlier. I couldn’t tell you what most of that is, but it was all delicious. Last, but certainly not least, the bottom right frame shows the desert bar. Ice cream, peanut butter, marshmallows, carmel, whipped cream, and some sort of chocolate crispy thing, all made with bacon. Except, of course, for that burbon-soaked maraschino cherry on the side.

Suffice it to say, I would gladly do this again if given the opportunity and would urge anyone reading this who is around for the next SloPig event to do the same. That said, I’m not sure that my liver and colon can handle much more than maybe an annual event.

Source: SloPig: My Evening of Trayf

Source: Never Forget.

Ingredients

• ~3 lb. Beef or Pork Roast
• 20 oz Bottle of non-diet cola or other dark soda (I prefer Cherry Dr. Pepper)
• ~16 oz Bottle of Barbecue Sauce
• Buns or Soft Rolls
• Optional: Some sides to go with it. I recommend potato salad, cole slaw, or even just a bag of chips.

Directions
Remember when I said this was deceptively simple? I wasn’t kidding.
Here’s what you need to do:

1. Put the roast in the slow cooker and pour the entire bottle of soda over it.
2. Set it on low and cook it for 6-8 hours.
3. Enjoy how awesome your home is going to smell for the rest of the day.
4. After at least 6 hours (once the meat can be easily pulled apart), take it out of the slow cooker, put it on a big cutting board, and shred it apart using two large forks.
5. Pour the juices left in the slow cooker through a metal strainer in to a bowl. Discard what’s left in the strainer, save what’s in the bowl.
6. Put the meat back in to the slow cooker, then pour in the entire bottle of bbq sauce and mix it together.
7. Add some (not all) of the leftover juices to thin it out to your liking.
8. Cook for at least another half our or so on low until it is heated through.
9. Enjoy!

Source: Recipe: Slow Cooked BBQ Pulled Beef (or Pork)

Fond of bow ties & hats. Handbag is bigger on the inside. Talks to variety of creatures. Evidence Mary Poppins is a Time Lord

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) April 7, 2012

I’ve got no words for this, so here’s my exact reaction to reading his tweet:

Source: Neil deGrasse Tyson on Mary Poppins

Source: Cinemagraph: Sleeping