I'll freely admit the schedule around here on the NXT Desk has been a little off for a few weeks. But it looks like we're getting back to normal, and there's no better normal than the weekly Scanner.
On tap today: Nerd Merit Badges, Bacon Camp, Segway races and unicorns.

Thank you Internets. Thank you.

What you may or may not have missed over the weekend. Grab a snack and sit down for the Monday Fix.

What a sweet, sweet bounty Internets. A little bacon, some German gymnastics, exploding Volvos and gifts for journalists.

The Scanner is a gift that keeps on giving.

Hello, NXT readers. Justin is relaxing on a private island without Internet access (at least that's what he told me), so I'll be your host today. My name is Mary Phillips-Sandy. I recently returned to Portland after a few years in New York City; these days I live, write and drink too much coffee in the East End. I'm also the proprietor of a website called Ruined Music.

Luke Livingstone is a busy man thanks to his circle of blogs including Blog About Beer, which you can guess the focus, and Real World Really, a place for common sense advice for new college grads. But today he's got beer on the mind...again.

Sure Coors Light and P.B.R. cost 50 cents a can, and as a college student those prices couldn't be beat. But now that you're a little older, your palate is a little more mature, right?…right? Well, what better way to satisfy your new-found thirst for life's finer-things, your need for a new hobby -- you can only beat Guitar Hero so many times... -- and your ever-tightening budget than learning to brew your own beer!

Rob Landry asks why you wouldn't want to start up a web business here in Portland?

To begin a story about Web design in Portland, Maine, I'll start in the Atlanta airport.

That was where, while I was waiting to board the connecting flight that was to take me to the 2007 SXSW Interactive conference, that I found myself standing next to Andy Clarke. He isn't exactly a household name, but in the world of Web, Clarke - an expert on CSS and a member of the Web Standards Project - is a rock star (he even actually looks like a rock star, a cross between someone from the British Invasion and Austin Powers. You have to admit - he's got style).

Peter Eiermann and Sally Struever from Port City Studios get things started off this week by looking at how young business owners can retake Portland.

The next generation of small businesses can be found in some of the City's smallest storefronts. Take a walk around Portland, keep your eyes peeled, and you might stumble on a few of Portland's youngest and most creative entrepreneurs and artists busily building their future here in Maine.