We got so caught up in this whole bracketology business that we had to try it out for ourselves! Follow our tournament online on our Facebook page to see who wins each matchup, fill out this bracket yourself and send it in (or a picture of you with it) for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to the Concord business of your choice. Send pictures to news@theconcordinsider.com, or send…

There is plenty of high-tech gadgetry that goes into modern police work, but there's still room at the Concord Police Department for countless relics dating back as far as the 1800s.Including one that's ticketed for a national display.The department has compiled something of a police museum over the past handful of years, sifting through boxes already on hand and collecting various…

During the years I have been traipsing through the woods, I have always been on the lookout for shelf fungi. When I find the right kind, I will write or draw on its white undersurface. A prime example is a small shelf fungus I used as a 50th wedding anniversary card for my wife, as shown in the photo.There are about 500 different kinds of shelf fungi that grow throughout the United States,…

When we saw Abraham Cushing's finger cuffs at the Concord police station, we got curious. Who was this inventive policeman? With the help of the police department and the Concord Public Library, we found some biographical information.Cushing was born on Feb. 21, 1884, in Concord. He's listed in the Concord City Directory as a blacksmith in 1917. In 1919, he's listed as an engineer. At some point in 1919,…

Greens for breakfast. Greens for lunch. Greens for dinner. Try it. Does that sound like a lot? Too much?Consider, for a moment, our cultural willingness to pop supplements by the handful in our quest for proper nutrition. Now, back up for a moment and consider your diet. Are you demonstrating that same commitment in deciding what to put in your mouth? Just as important, is it time to…

The Snob took a cruise down Loudon Road recently, looking for a restaurant at which we had never eaten. When we saw the Windmill Family Restaurant, bells went off in our head."We've never eaten here," we thought. "Don't tilt at windmills" somehow came to mind, a remnant of our scholarly days (when we were 9 years old reading Cervantes). "Don't go…