Someone created a Court Street Shuffle map on Google.

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I couldn't be more proud of my fellow OU brothers and sisters for showing uncommonly high empathy for one of our own in his/her time of need.

An anonymous student had scrawled on a wall what appears to be a desperate plea for help. Instead of taunts, the student's message was met with notes of encouragement and support.

Just when you think the human race is no longer worth redeeming, someone comes along offering a kind act, reassuring us that compassion is still alive and well in our society.

It appears an enterprising OU alum has created the "Completely Unauthorized Ohio University Coloring Book." The book apparently consists of 40 pages of OU-related landmarks anyone familiar with OU would easily recognize.

I have to admit, I'm kicking myself for not having thought of this first. Thousands of OU fans will no doubt place orders, and at $9.95 a pop, that's a nice little enterprise.

Barring any legal entanglements with angry OU executives, the books start shipping today.

The original owner of the Burrito Buggy, Paul Wildeck, sold the 26-year-old legend to Bethany Rutter earlier this year. Re-opening the business last April, Rutter aims to carry on the tradition and has expanded the Buggy's menu, which includes burritos, tacos, churros, nachos and jalapeno poppers.

Other newer street food options include the Mediterranean Ali Baba's; pizza at A-Town Pies and Fries; and Indian cuisine served at Zaanti.

An excellent buggy write-up called, "Athens Street Food 101" can be found at the CMH Gourmand blog.

It appears that the future of the venerable "Burrito Buggy" in Athens may be in jeopardy.

Last month, The Athens News broke the story that Burrito Buggy owner and founder Paul Wildeck is trying to sell the Buggy business as he moves on to a career as a financial planner.

While Wildeck hopes to pass the torch to someone interested in keeping the 25-year-old Athens tradition alive, it's clear the business dynamic along Court Street has changed over the years. I suspect this decision has a lot to do with a variety of other factors, including the recent economic downturn; the increase in available restaurant choices; and the current OU student traffic flow at Court St. and Union.

I remember the reported excitement and fervor when Chipotle came into town, but I don't see how those $6 to $8 burritos could compete with those of the Burrito Buggy. Maybe OU students and/or their parents have deeper pockets than I had in my time, but I doubt it.

In my years at OU, everyone I knew scrounged, scrapped and counted pennies, if for no other reason than to assure a can of tuna or block of Ramen was always on hand or that they could chip in for a case of cheap beer. I suspect that aspect of college life hasn't changed much.

I could be wrong. Maybe the profile of the typical OU college student has changed more than I think. Today's tuition rates are vastly higher than they were 20 years ago, even adjusted for inflation. Financial aid seems increasingly harder to come by.

Perhaps, then, it can be surmised that OU students these days are a more affluent lot than in the past, able to afford more expensive food, avoiding buggy-based vendors in favor of giant, pricier chains like Chipotle.

Ohio University seems to be enticing more affluent student prospects by offering better amenities and building upgrades. All dorms these days now come equipped with Internet access and computers; the school recently built a luxurious, environmentally controlled dorm on the South Green with personal fridges; and they completed the impressive, new Baker Center to house radio stations, conference rooms, restaurants and coffee houses.

In any event, we wish Burrito Buggy owner Paul Wildeck all the best in his new career pursuits. Good luck to him, thanks for the memories and good luck to the Burrito Buggy.

Some of my favorite culinary memories from my days at Ohio University are the moments I enjoyed a creamy, cheesy broccoli soup at Nelson Dining Hall, South Green.

Many of my friends have also raved about this soup and it comes up in conversation even to this day, more than 15 years later.

So it was with great surprise, excitement and salivation that I received an email from a woman who claimed to have been given the soup recipe by OU management. The document looked legit. The recipe itself seems so simple given the layered, complex flavors of the soup I remember. So without further ado, I give you the "secret" of its greatness:

Ohio University's Cream of Broccoli Soup

DIRECTIONS:

WASH HANDS. USE ONLY CLEAN, SANITIZED POTS, PANS, UTENSILS AND COOKING EQUIPMENT.

MELT MARGARINE IN STEAM JACKETED KETTLE. ADD ONIONS AND SAUTE UNTIL TENDER. DO NOT BROWN. STIR IN FLOUR, SALT AND PEPPER. COOK AND STIR UNTIL A SMOOTH PASTE IS FORMED. DO NOT BROWN. DISSOLVE CHICKEN BASE IN HOT WATER. REMOVE MILK FROM 40F OR BELOW COOLER. CHECK TEMPERATURE OF MILK AND RECORD. IT SHOULD BE 40F OR BELOW. GRADUALLY ADD CHICKEN STOCK AND MILK TO COOKED ROUX, STIRRING CONSTANTLY. COOK AND STIR OVER LOW HEAT UNTIL MIXTURE THICKENS, IS SMOOTH AND FLOUR TASTE HAS DISAPPEARED. DO NOT BOIL. BLANCH BROCCOLI. DO NOT OVER COOK. STIR IN CHEESE AND COOKED, DRAINED BROCCOLI, HEAT TO 165F. DO NOT BOIL. CHECK TEMPERATURE AND RECORD, SOUP MAY THICKEN UPON STANDING. THIN BY ADDING A LITTLE WARM MILK.

20 - 6 OZ LADLES PER 1 GALLON.

COOL LEFTOVERS RAPIDLY IN SHALLOW PANS IN 40F OR BELOW COOLER.

SERVING UTENSIL: 6 OZ LADLE

For 13 years, the Athens Morning Fax distributed savings coupons to businesses and their customers. Popular sponsoring restaurants included Taco John's, Burrito Buggy, The Oak Room, Casa Nueva, Souvlaki's and yes, even Rax Roast Beef.

January 16th marked the final issue for the service. As a "thank you" to all loyal readers, Athens Morning Fax is offering gasoline and grocery rebate cards, available from their website.

A recent Columbus Dispatch article says city planners intend to offer a "beer garden" during the Halloween block party. The fenced-in area will allow drinking-age revelers to imbibe freely on the street while listening to area bands.

"Beer Garden," they say. A "Mosh Pit" is more likely.

Tags: Ohio University halloween court street beer Athens

A panel discussion on music file-sharing will take place October 30th and OU grad-turned-RIAA-voicebox Jonathan Lamy will be there.

On the heels of a successful verdict against Jammie Thomas, a single mother of two who makes $36,000 a year and is ordered to pay the RIAA $220,000, Lamy and other pro-RIAA speakers will no doubt spend their time vigorously scolding and threatening student guests.

"Our objective here is not to be in court, it is to try and communicate a message that there is a consequence to when you steal music and you break the law," Lamy said shortly after the verdict.

But according to an article at News.com, Ms. Thomas did not steal music: the jury found her guilty only of making 24 songs available for download online. That figures out to be more than $9,100 per song.

It should come as no surprise that this prominent spokesperson for the RIAA would find his alma mater listed among the first wave of pre-settlement litgation notices. In April, the RIAA sent out 50 letters to 80 OU students (those who shared the same dorm room received complimentary duplicates). The letter demanded the student pay $3,000 or risk further monetary losses in a copyright infringement trial.

"Every letter that gets forwarded on makes the RIAA's extortion effort a little easier," an attorney was quoted as saying in The Post. Extortion, as defined by Wikipedia, is "when a person either obtains money, property or services from another through coercion or intimidation." While a jury has yet to call RIAA's pre-litigation letters "extortion," there are a number of cases that have attempted to do so, often comparing their efforts to the likes of Al Capone.

The reality seems to be that the RIAA is fighting a losing battle against technology that makes the days of buying music CD's obsolete. Why pay for one good song and eight lousy ones for $18 when you can pick the track you like on iTunes for less than a buck?

Tags: Ohio University RIAA file sharing Jonathan Lamy Jammie Thomas mp3 itunes extortion p2p napster kazaa

An Ohio University researcher has apparently come up with a very inexpensive way to generate hydrogen.

Gerardine Botte is already awaiting patent protection for her discovery and has approved a license with American Hydrogen Corporation. This could help spur the release of the long-awaited hydrogen fuel-cell technology to motorists everywhere.

Tags: Ohio University hydrogen fuel cell hydrogen fuel cell clean energy green athens police hybrid Gerardine Botte American Hydrogen