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MARIETTA, GA—Widely regarded as one of the online world’s brightest personalities, sources confirmed Friday that famed 28-year-old social media rock star Ryan Wasserman, better known as @RWthinks by his legions of passionate fans, makes roughly $28,000 per year.

Wasserman, who for the last three years has worked as an administrative assistant at KPL Insurance Group, has reportedly amassed over 250,000 rabid followers since first taking Twitter by storm in 2009 and has since blown up into one of the most prominent and popular voices in the social media sphere.

“I try to add something new to the conversation with every post,” said Wasserman, who sources claim totally kills it with his tweets day in, day out and receives absolutely no benefits from his employer. “My followers expect the best, and I take that as a responsibility to always give them something to really think about.”

“I’m constantly pushing the boundaries with my tweets,” added the man who makes approximately $1,600 per month after taxes and has not made a student loan payment in over two years. “I started a Tumblr a few months ago too, because sometimes 140 characters just doesn’t cut it for what I need to say.”

According to sources, Wasserman receives over 300 retweets and 400 favorites on each of the roughly 30 tweets he posts daily. The universally proclaimed “Twitter luminary” also reportedly attracts hundreds of new followers every week and has a $1,000 monthly credit limit on his VISA card.

“I post about all sorts of things—news, politics, music, movies, and just plain old everyday stuff,” said the big-time social media hotshot who rides the bus to and from work every day. “I’m happy that what I write resonates so deeply with people, but I try not to get too wrapped up in all the Twitter mentions and ‘Follow Friday’ shout-outs. I’m always thinking about my next post.”

Wasserman’s every move is said to be fawned over by his rapidly growing base of supporters, all of whom voraciously read anything the social media sensation posts in his downtime between collating photocopies, filing payroll forms, and brewing coffee for his boss.

“I check RWthinks’ feed every day because that guy is basically the king of the Internet,” 31-year-old Twitter user Daniel Parker said of the man who has $900 in his checking account. “I remember when he favorited my reply to one of his tweets, and I was just so excited. I can’t believe he even read it, with all the replies he gets.”

“I started following him on Instagram too, and the guy just lights it up nonstop wherever he goes,” Parker continued. “I don’t know how he does it. He’s just all over the place.”

Sources confirmed that Wasserman, who is paid $13 per hour and is not eligible for overtime, appears regularly on the FavStar daily leaderboard and is frequently featured in “Must Follow” lists from the Huffington Post, CNN, and TIME. Influential Twitter users such as musician Questlove, actress Olivia Wilde, Mashable founder Pete Cashmore, and NBA star Blake Griffin also follow Wasserman’s tweets, which the high-profile social media icon reportedly writes on the iPhone his parents bought him and still keep on their family plan.

Moreover, experts say the swift ascent of the 28-year-old entry-level employee into the upper echelons of internet superstardom is showing no signs of slowing down.

“There’s no two ways about it: Ryan Wasserman owns social media right now,” said Gawker social media analyst Haley Iacona, noting that the internet phenom, who pays $650 per month to share a two-bedroom apartment with a 23-year-old he met through Craigslist, has built a far-reaching and fervid global audience. “He’s an absolute Twitter machine. He just has his finger on the pulse like nobody else out there right now. One retweet from him and you’re guaranteed to get at least a few hundred more followers.”

At press time, sources confirmed Wasserman was sitting on his full-sized futon purchased from a used furniture store, watching the retweets pour in as his latest Twitter post went viral.

Introducing the unofficial eGullet.org Culinary Institute (eGCI) Evernote Notebook!

As a culinary professional, Drew Vogel (www.drewvogel.com) was very interested in working through the articles and discussions in eGullet’s Culinary Institute (http://forums.egullet.org/forum/108-the-egullet-culinary-institute-egci/), and was interested in using Evernote for offline access to that material.

And so, the unofficial eGCI Evernote Notebook was born!

This notebook features all of the world-class articles (90 articles!) and discussions from the eGullet.ORG series, a Table of Contents, and instructions for use all in one convenient Evernote Notebook.

https://www.evernote.com/pub/vogelap/egci

Check it out!

(I do not own the information contained in the notebook. All credit goes to eGCI.)

I found this article in the New York Times very interesting. Rather than tolerate diners snapping pictures of their food — even ‘subtly’ — and disturbing other guests, some restaurants are strongly discouraging food photos (even without flash) in the dining room (David Bouley invites the photobugs back to the kitchen to snap the shots) while others flat-out instruct “No pictures” (like Momofuku Ko).

Personally, I find it flattering if someone wants to take a picture of the food I served them in a restaurant. However, I also feel that the table is the worst place to take the picture, because it’s inconsiderate of the other patrons as well as the other guests at your own table. If someone wants a picture of the restaurant’s food, there are several options as I see it:

• Be “that guy” and snap away in the dining room without consideration of the ambiance or other diners
• Schedule a photo session with the restaurant during non-service hours. They’ll probably say no, but just think if they didn’t!
• Ask if you can go into the kitchen during your meal to shoot your pictures instead of bothering other diners
• Enjoy the food and the memories it creates without shooting pictures at all. After all, no one cares, really.

Then, there’s this: http://picsofaznstakingpicsoffood.tumblr.com

Below, a professional picture of one of my dishes (click the picture for a larger view). This photograph was made in the kitchen next to my kitchen, during service, and not one single diner was irritated. That makes it even more beautiful, doesn’t it?

http://krankr.com/clip/videos.php/photo/58517/Gordon_Ramsey-How_To_Treat_A_Lady_NSFW/

I only wish that it would.

Do you know someone who is “a brand”? Are you, yourself, “a brand”?

http://www.theonion.com/articles/i-am-a-brand-pathetic-man-says,30545/

Congratulations to Chef and all my colleagues at Jean-Robert’s Table for topping the 2012 Zagat List in Cincinnati!

Our yard is the most treed in the neighborhood, dropping loads of brightly colored leaves that carpet our lawn, and blow all over the street. Two neighbor boys came one Saturday morning offering to clean up the yard. 15 giant lawn bags full of leaves later, they were exhausted and had completed only the front lawn! We haven’t seen the boys since. The dogs enjoy romping around in the leaves, and Buster (wiener dog) charges bravely/foolishly through drifts of leaves that are taller than he is.

I like coming home to a warm house. Even if the day, which started crisp, has turned warm enough to doff the jacket, I still enjoy the waft of warmth when I arrive home.

This cool weather causes the animals — all 10 of them — to crave warmth and become cuddly. Our newest kitten, Eunice, has recently discovered the pleasure and warmth of going “under” — that is, climbing under the covers in bed, and snuggling securely in the crook of an arm, or the bend of a knee. She has not — yet — learned that the Sparkle Ball toy (which she adores) must be abandoned before climbing into bed. Or perhapswe haven’t learned to put them away at night, as Eunice woke us up at 3:30a by playing with the toy. In bed. Between our heads.

Fall foods are among my favorites. Roasting and braising are practically mandated cooking methods during autumn — that can be easily interpreted as proof that nature endorses foods prepared that way. (My culinary students will testify to my instruction for roasting root vegetables — “Roast diced root vegetables until you think they’re done (turning frequently for even color). When you think they’re done, leave them in 5 minutes more. Repeat.”) Soups of the season become more hearty, and stews — not invited to summer events — make their appearance. I have not yet had “enough” pumpkin/butternut this year, so look forward enthusiastically to using those ingredients. Long cooking times (roasting & braising, etc.) perfume the kitchen with great smells.

Among the seasonal Cincinnati traditions that we enjoy and anticipate, I am excited about the annual Over The Rhine Christmas show at the Taft Theater. After hosting their after-party for several years, I needed to take last year off, but am back at the helm this year and looking forward to it very much. I’ve invited an out-of-town friend to join me for those events, which will provide his introduction to the band.

Soon comes the winter and I am not excited about that at all. But for now, autumn suits me just fine.