Friday, A Day for All Things Pointless but Fascinating

Some say the military's biggest enemy is Powerpoint. I think the chart above makes a good case for that theory to be true.

Tough man contest meets marathon in the Tough Mudder, a race developed by a British-born, Harvard-educated obviously fun-loving dude. Contestants have to make it through barbed wire fences, wade muddy bogs, and jump through a ring of fire.

If Harry Reid loses to the chicken-care lady, then we really are a country of morons. The chicken-care lady has to beat a guy named Tarkanian. I was very disappointed to hear it was not Jerry Tarkanian. I guess there will be no "Amoeba Defense" to scuttle financial reform.


This website aimed at raising money for Stephen Baldwin is apparently real. I would really like for someone to show me that it isn't.



Hand-drawn maps = Awesome.

The Kansas City Royals continue to amaze. They lead the league in batting average, they are 7th in slugging percentage, and they are 9th in OPS. Somehow, they have parlayed that into 19th in runs scored. Incredible.

Queen City Family Man just texted me using the phrase "Pinnacle of Assininity." That goes into regular rotation.

A Lesson in the Importance of Education

Rusty sent me a video this morning that words can barely describe.




Now, I'm not sure whether you can say for certain whether these guys are serious or not. If they are, it is absolute proof that they could use a middle school science class. If they aren't, it says even worse things about their legion of fans who take it seriously.

"F*ckin magnets... How do they work?"

Scariest Movies

Just came across a Boston Globe list of the 50 scariest movies of all time. I don't really like scary movies, so I can't offer a lot of criticism.

I will say that, while I like Evil Dead 2, if it is the 8th scaries movie of all time I should feel like a real sissy for not wanting to see some of the movies beneath it on the list.

Also, Kurt Russell is awesome.

Prognostication

If you look across the web at mock drafts you can find out that in tonight's NFL draft the Chiefs are going to take Russel Okung or Eric Barry or Rolando McClain or Brian Bulaga or maybe the'll trade the pick.

In other words, looking at online mock drafts is not a really good way to spend your time.

Chickens for Check Ups

This is simply remarkable.



Sure it's funny, but she could actually be in the Senate next year. That's not so funny.

Well, When You Put it That Way...

From a Gallup poll on attitudes toward financial reform.

When Wall Street is not mentioned, net public support (percentage in favor minus percentage opposed) for banking reform legislation is +3 points, but when it is mentioned, net support is +14. [...]

On both questions, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to support banking reform. Seven in 10 Democrats favor the proposed new federal regulatory powers, regardless of the wording. By contrast, Republicans show greater support for reform when “Wall Street” is invoked than when it is not (35% vs. 22%).

Why exactly do Republicans find "Wall Street" so much more worth reforming than "large banks and major financial institutions?" Why don't Democrats have the same reaction? What do Republicans think the difference is between the two? Why do horses wear shoes? Are there horse socks?

Vote on Quotes

As promised, a poll based on two of my favorite quotes from the NYT Tea Party article.

The Quotes:

“I just feel he’s getting away from what America is,” said Kathy Mayhugh, 67, a retired medical transcriber in Jacksonville. “He’s a socialist. And to tell you the truth, I think he’s a Muslim and trying to head us in that direction, I don’t care what he says. He’s been in office over a year and can’t find a church to go to. That doesn’t say much for him.”

“That’s a conundrum, isn’t it?” asked Jodine White, 62, of Rocklin, Calif. “I don’t know what to say. Maybe I don’t want smaller government. I guess I want smaller government and my Social Security.” She added, “I didn’t look at it from the perspective of losing things I need. I think I’ve changed my mind.”

poll by twiigs.com

Connection Issues

Perhaps the link between education, income, and intelligence has been broken. That is what an article in the NYT about the Tea Party would seem to suggest. The main subject of the article is a poll that shows that Tea Party members are more educated and more wealthy than the general public.

The author then goes on to speak to many of these Tea Party members, and the resulting quotes would seem to suggest that intelligence is highly overrated in one's ability to be educated or one's ability to be wealthy (or, admittedly, that comparing a group to the general public isn't much of a comparison).

The two best quotes will be featured in a poll in the next post.

Not Forgetting Where You Came From

Good for Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling:

I chose to remain a domiciled taxpayer for a couple of reasons. The main one was that I wanted my children to grow up where I grew up, to have proper roots in a culture as old and magnificent as Britain’s.

....A second reason, however, was that I am indebted to the British welfare state; the very one that Mr Cameron would like to replace with charity handouts. When my life hit rock bottom, that safety net, threadbare though it had become under John Major’s Government, was there to break the fall. I cannot help feeling, therefore, that it would have been contemptible to scarper for the West Indies at the first sniff of a seven-figure royalty cheque. This, if you like, is my notion of patriotism.

Via Kevin Drum.

Cilantro

In an article in the NYTimes about people who don't like Cilantro:

“When your brain detects a potential threat, it narrows your attention,” Dr. Gottfried told me in a telephone conversation. “You don’t need to know that a dangerous food has a hint of asparagus and sorrel to it. You just get it away from your mouth.”

I used to dislike cilantro, but I have grown accustomed to it. I think I associate with Latin American food and Vietnamese food, both of which I love. I never knew that spring rolls were all I needed to eliminate a perceived threat.

That's the Culprit

The Royals are batting well with fifth best team average of .290. They aren't yet last in the league in home runs (Jose Guillen is even off to a good start with four homers). The OPS numbers are good at .787.

They have committed 5 errors, which puts them in the middle of the pack defensively (though I can't imagine there is a team that has had more ill-timed errors). The starting pitchers are also middle of the pack with a 4.29 ERA.

So why are Royals fans already despondent about the team's season once again? Could be the bullpen and their 7.96 ERA. This group has blown leads in four of the Royals five losses. And they have mostly done it in explosive fashion not seen here since the days of Todd "Gas Can" Wellemeyer.

But I fully expect the bullpen to get it together. They'll improve some and have some good stretches. The problem will be that when they do, the bats will go quiet, or the starters will suck, or the team will boot the ball all over the field. After all, it takes a true team effort to be as bad as the Royals are every year.

A Poem About Knowledge

You think you know,
But you don't know.
You don't know even
Half of what you think you know.
But you stand there like you do know
Talking about what you don't know
As if we should know that you know
About these things that you
Clearly do not know.
I find it very irritating.
But what do I know?

The 2010 Nonsense Festival

Question:

If Vegas set an over/under on the number of bald-faced lies at this event what would it be?

Whatever it is, I'll take the over.

Chart of the Day - Personal Political Timeline

From this very long but very interesting post on the trouble with the Democratic big tent. These numbers would suggest I am headed into my prime Republican years. I am unconvinced.

Your Average Family of Ebadipdip

If you find numbers, Amazonian tribes, human cognition, first-graders or dots interesting, read this excerpt from Alex Bellos' "Alex's Adventures in Numberland."

It is Pica's belief that understanding quantities in terms of estimating ratios is a universal human intuition, due to the fact that ratios are much more important for survival in the wild. Historically, faced with a group of adversaries, we needed to know instantly whether there were more of them than us. When we saw two trees, we needed to know instantly which had more fruit hanging from it. In neither case was it necessary to enumerate every enemy or every fruit individually. The crucial thing was to be able to make quick estimates of the relevant amounts and compare them; in other words to make approximations and judge their ratios.

I had no idea that children were born counting logarithmically rather than linearly. I am now informed.

Opening Day Post

Well, the Royals are getting ready to open the season in about 2 minutes. I normally like to get all excited this time of year, only to be let down in a month. But this year, we have an opening day lineup featuring a guy who hit 11 home runs last year batting clean-up.

Prediction: 67-95.

Which I suppose is still optimistic considering what has happened the last few years.

Here's to hoping they surprise me... in a good way.

For the Star Wars Fans

I suppose this has a pretty decent shot at being funny... if you're a Star Wars nerd.

In a statement, Mr. Green said: “The ‘Star Wars’ universe is so dense and rich; it’s crazy to think that there aren’t normal, mundane everyday problems in a world so well-defined. And it’s even crazier to think of what those problems might be, since it’s all set in a galaxy far, far away. What do these characters do when they’re not overthrowing Empires?”

I happen to be a Star Wars nerd, so I'm looking forward to it.