Settling the Tab

Peruano

2010-07-19T17:34:00.006-04:00

Hi There,

I just got back from a 1.5 week long trip to Peru and have got to say, wow! The country is historically chock full of interesting historical sites, is considered to arguably be the culinary capital of South America (though, as a vegetarian this point may have been lost on me), and is filled with incredible natural vistas. I won't go into too much detail on my trip, but wanted to point out an interesting observation:

Peruvians Run:
Some people run for exercise. Horses run for money. Chris Kantos runs for fun (and for St. Patrick). But Peruvians run for another reason altogether: regular transportation. It is apparently totally normal for Cusquenos to run from place to place as a mode of transport. Suits, dresses, whatever. People just run to their next location--and none of them seemed particularly late for anything. It's just what they do. Why walk when you can get their a bit quicker with a nice jog I suppose? The only other time I can think of someone doing this was that kid that lived on the 3rd floor of Hill Hall Freshman year.

Journaling

2010-07-06T23:26:00.003-04:00

I've always thought it would be fun to do journaling. There's only one problem: that's a broad category. What would I do? Write fiction? Write down ideas? My mother and sister practice journaling by writing down good bands names they think of, like Untainted Bubbles (admittedly, they're not all that good). The also write down ideas for inventions, like the Life-Sized Chocolate Man, a must have for any ~~single~~ woman.

I've decided to start simple. I rather superficially write down my days' activities on our house calendar. It's not terribly philosophic or deep, but I find it useful surprisingly frequently. Last Friday, Steve and I were trying to figure out when the last day we had seen each other was. We couldn't. I looked it up on the calendar, and--voila!--there is was.

Here's a little breakdown of my month of June:

17 days at work at Lime Brokerage
1 day working from home/the iPhone line
1 day in Connecticut
4 days in Rochester/Syracuse
2 days in Vermont
146 miles of biking

With the calendar in mind, I thought of other stats I could easily gather:

Number of items "read" on Google Reader: 4,489
Number of items shared on Google Reader: 75
Number of personal e-mails sent: 29
Number of work e-mails sent: 183

I think journaling in any form is a valuable activity, because one can forget to remember what they do in the blur of life. It'll be nice to have these calendars to look back on some day. Hopefully it'll provide some modicum of reassurance that my twenties weren't entirely wasted!

We have to go back...

2010-07-06T15:22:00.004-04:00

It's been a year!
A lot of people decide to come back to the game after a year away (multiple times if your last name is Jordan). Why not us? Y'all have smart phones now, you could blog on the run?

What's that? Tweeting has replaced blogging you say? Nonsense. 140 characters is not nearly enough for our wordiness.

Pedestrian Volume Modeling for Traffic Safety and Exposure Analysis: Case of Boston, Massachusetts - Publications Index

2010-06-11T13:41:00.000-04:00

Pedestrian Volume Modeling for Traffic Safety and Exposure Analysis: Case of Boston, Massachusetts - Publications Index

Two Thumbs Up

2009-05-11T10:14:00.003-04:00

What does the phrase "a thumbs up" mean? I did some haphazard Googling, and always found it written "a thumbs up," rather than "a thumb's up." However, it seems like giving a thumbs-up means only one thumb is up, so it should be a thumb-up. My theory is it should actually be a thumb's up, using up like a noun as he "The basketball player has mad ups."

You can never be too nice.

2009-04-16T13:50:00.008-04:00

I saw this earlier today. Since one of my favorite words is "niiiiiiiiiice," I figured I'd do the same thing.

# 'i's	Word	# Hits
1	nice	602 mil
2	niice	693000
3	niiice	684000
4	niiiice	497000
5	niiiiice	175000
6	niiiiiice	107000
7	niiiiiiice	65600
8	niiiiiiiice	47300
9	niiiiiiiiice	38000
10	niiiiiiiiiice	29700
11	niiiiiiiiiiice	24100
12	niiiiiiiiiiiice	19500
13	niiiiiiiiiiiiice	16400
14	niiiiiiiiiiiiiice	15400
15	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	11800
16	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	9150
17	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	11000
18	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	7180
19	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	6190
20	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	5240
21	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	5260
22	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	4130
23	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	3820
24	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	3150
25	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	2920
26	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	2640
27	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	2250
28	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	2470
29	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	1840
30	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	1620
31	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	1450
32	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	1400
33	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	1280
34	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	1160
35	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	1200
36	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	829
37	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	713
38	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	1030
39	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	664
40	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	512
41	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	543
42	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	463
43	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	291
44	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	283
45	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	421
46	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	307
47	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	240
48	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	157
49	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	713
50	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	101
51	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	750
52	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	95
53	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	114
54	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	560
55	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	579
56	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	121
57	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	290
58	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	463
59	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	302
60	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	796
61	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	326
62	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	176
63	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	264
64	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	133
65	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	296
66	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	241
67	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	181
68	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	180
69	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	206
70	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	160
71	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	177
72	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	216
73	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	165
74	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	194
75	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	212
76	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	130
77	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	82
78	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	85
79	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	60
80	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	107
81	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	96
82	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	287
83	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	59
84	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	141
85	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	53
86	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	41
87	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	127
88	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	53
89	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	54
90	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	53
91	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	47
92	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	47
93	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	40
94	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	62
95	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	37
96	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	28
97	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	30
98	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	0
99	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	0
100	niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice	0

2009-04-09T15:20:00.000-04:00

The other day at work, I was hungry and decided to go downstairs and get a quick snack. I grabbed a fistful of change from my desk drawer, hoping to finally make use of it. When I reached the register, my snack ended up being $1.67. I reached into my pocket and to my amazement, I had, in fact, randomly picked up exactly 67 cents. No more, no less. How awesome is that?

Google Reader

2009-04-06T15:35:00.005-04:00

From your 96 subscriptions, over the last 30 days you read 5,558 items, starred 17 items, shared 179 items, and emailed 0 items.

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Last blog post

2009-04-03T02:01:00.002-04:00

This will be my last blog post. I'm as fit to blog as I am to tweet.

ATM Woes

2009-03-31T11:49:00.001-04:00

I left my ATM card in the ATM machine. Twice in two months...not a good track record.

Music Every Day

2009-03-27T14:16:00.003-04:00

Why isn't there a woman on our blog?

2009-03-26T02:15:00.000-04:00

Lately, there've been a few articles crossing my RSS about the differences between men and women--specifically differences in how we think. This is nothing new to either or the world. We've had this conversation, and it can become pretty heated.

Freakonomics cited an article today posing the question "Why didn't a woman write Freakonomics?" Or for that matter, why are women so underrepresented in current serious non-fiction books? Another blogger citing this blog asked why there are hardly any big-name female artists.

Over at the Frontal Cortex, Jonah Lehrer published an article today discussing differences between men and women, particularly with regards to rationality of thought and political decisions. He cites one study that compares the differences in investment strategy between single women, married men, and single women, and rates their rationality in that order. The study concluded:

What they found, in a nutshell, is that men not only trade more often than women but do so from a false faith in their own financial judgment.

It showed (perhaps rather dubiously), that people tended to invest more rationally if there's more female presence in their life (a single man being the least rational, and an actual woman being the most rational).

In a conversation about differences in decision making between men and women, she told me that she believes that men are more emotional and women are more "linear-logical." After some thought, I decided that I could buy into these classifications, but perhaps with some clarification. I believe that men tend to be more instinct oriented--or inclined to make gut decisions, where as women take a more rational route. I am not saying is that men are more emotionally intuitive or empathetic.

One place where I find this particular distinction evident is in playing games with women. Playing poker with men tends to get pretty heated. The great skill of a male poker player is to never go on tilt and to remain rational. Poker is, in the long run, a numbers game, and one's gut response is of negligible consideration. When I've played with women, they go directly to an analytical approach, and instead of running into the game, usually sit back and get a real feel for it. They build a somewhat mathematical model and shun knee-jerk reactions.

Another phenomenon that I've become increasingly aware of is men's love of arguing. Men love to fight--whether about philosophy, politics, sports, or tactics and strategy (I use these terms loosely, as in strategy for fixing the economy or strategy for writing a computer program). Men have long-lasting friendships where there are chronic arguments. These arguments, however, are usually predicated on two different intuitive views of a situation--men will fight about things forever, but in most cases about issues in which they have overblown confidence in their judgment.

I think this same intuitive decision making to which men are predisposed enables them to succeed strongly in academia. One must have a great deal of confidence in his position to write a book or in his perspective to create an art exhibit. This confidence can't result from a rational analysis--it must come from the gut, and must be disproportionally large compared to his actual acumen.

My new perspective on RSS

2009-03-23T11:23:00.000-04:00

I deleted Reddit and Boing Boing from my RSS. The only other feed I've removed recently is Andrew Sullivan. I prefer feeds that post once or twice daily, and not these 30+ articles/day aggregators. I like it better when I'm constantly delivered high quality, thought out posts, instead of vapid crap of the internet.

Today, I'm still subscribed to fmylife. FML

If she asked, I'd say yes.

2009-03-23T02:26:00.001-04:00

I'd marry this pianist in an instant (2:05 is about when the third movement begins).

She certainly beats my previous favorite for this piece:

Obituaries

2009-03-16T10:58:00.000-04:00

settlingthetab.blogspot.com, aged 4 months, 3 days, died on Monday, March 9 at approximately 12:30 AM. The cause of death was boredom. SettlingTheTab struggled much of its life, coping with bad humor and pledges to stop drinking. SettlingTheTab is succeeded by its contributers Chris Kantos, Harsha Dronamraju, Pete Lynch, Nate Haduch, and Robby Ramdin.

My first post

2009-03-09T03:29:00.000-04:00

I couldn't decide on a topic for my first post on Settling the Tab, so I went through my recent emails to see what interesting nuggets could be found. Also, I should note that what follows is an example of something that I consider to be "interesting." However, you should proceed only if prepared to be bored by poker minutia...

We're six handed, so my 88 is pretty good against 1 player. It's normally the kind of hand you call the BB with and see a flop, hoping for a set or a particularly favorable texture--typically, a larger pocket pair will have raised. 1010, for instance, has as lot of pre-flop equity, but if you're going against, say, 2 players and don't raise, 1010 is looking for a 2-outer most of the time (probability that there's a card >10 on the flop = 69.5%. So you certainly raise with 1010. 88 is a similar hand but, while dominated by 1010, it plays a called raise much the same way as does 1010 (it's just slightly weaker, becasue 88 is losing to 99 and 1010). The hands that are calling a rasise 6-handed are likely a pocket pair up to 1010 or JJ. JJ or QQ-AA are raising (as, if you're Sean, is AQ [and by extension AK]). AJ is probably calling. Pocket pairs maybe down to 66 or 55 are probably calling (or maybe even raising if the opponent is trying to get tricky).

We both obviously know that you have to use a mixed strategy--if every time you have a mid-pair you limp, your opponents have a really easy time of putting you on a hand and when you do win, you win less. So let's assume, for the sake of argument, that raising with 88 is okay some of the time.

So when you raise with 88, your callers are probably something like 55-JJ, AJ, AQ, and AK. Your raisers are probably something like JJ-AA, AK, AQ, and I'll add in AJ because hey--if Sean thinks AQ is that good, he probably doesn't think a whole lot less of AJ. Maybe (let's say 25% of the time) some other pair (to simplify, let's split the difference between the pairs bigger than 88 and the pairs lower than 88--meaning that for 25% of raises, you have a 50% chance of having the better pocket pair.

So we have:
6 ways to make JJ
6 ways to make QQ
6 ways to make KK
6 ways to make AA
8 ways to make AJ
8 ways to make AQ
8 ways to make AK
...these account for (we're assuming) 75% of hands that have raised.
So we'll assume that there are 12 ways to make a split pot

The only face card that came up on the flop was Q, so suddenly, there are only 3 ways to make QQ with hole cards.

We need to update our preflop-raise breakdown...

6 ways to make JJ (I'm losing to this)
3 ways to make QQ (losing)
6 ways to make KK (losing)
6 ways to make AA (losing)
8 ways to make AJ (winning)
6 ways to make AQ (losing)
8 ways to make AK (winning)

These hands can be made in 43 ways.
We're still using 25% for the probability that the opponent has some other pair, so we'll say that there are 14 ways to make his other hands
I didn't set up my eights on the flop. However, we don't know whether the opponent did (but we do know that the Q has come up, and that case is already covered above. So we need to think about the possibility of a random pair not mentioned above setting up on one of the first two cards of the flop--this comes out to about 8% of the time.

Right now we're dealing with a total of 57 hands:
6/57 opponent has JJ (I'm losing, with about a 8% chance of winning)
3/57 opponent has QQ (drawing dead)
6/57 opponent has KK (losing with 8% chance of winning)
6/57 opponent has AA (losing with 8% chance of winning)
8/57 opponent has AJ (winning with 24% chance of losing)
6/57 opponent has AQ (losing with 8% chance of winning)
8/57 opponent has AK (winning with 24% chance of losing)
14/57 opponent has an unknown pair below JJ
So my odds of winning are determined as follows:

(6/57)(0.08)
(6/57)(0.08)
(6/57)(0.08)
(8/57)(0.76)
(6/57)(0.08)
(8/57)(0.76)
(14/57)(0.5)

= (24/57)(0.08) + (16/57)(0.76) + (7/57)

= 0.034 + 0.213 + 0.123 = 0.370

So once that flop comes out, I've got a 37% chance of winning the hand.

If my preflop raise is just called, my calculations can include more low pocket pairs, which means that I'm probably (currently) ahead.
When I'm raised, I call, and the Q is out there, I'm probably going to win 35-40% of the time.
So there are a couple of things here:

1) Knowing now that I'm winning 35-40% of the time, does hindsight tell me that I should have I bet on the flop or just check and give up when Sean bets?
2) Did I make a mistake by calling the raise to 2x my bet (my initial bet was somewhere between 3.5 and 4.5 BB)

I'm inclined to think that, once at the flop with one scary overcard that isn't an ace, I should bet.
I'm also inclined to think that I shouldn't call the re-raise (even though it ended up being the case that Sean was just holding AQ) in the first place.

A quick poll on Bobby Jindal's popularity...

2009-02-24T22:46:00.000-05:00

Location Location Location!

2009-02-13T16:59:00.000-05:00

With the malaise about the economy being written, spoken, and in general pervading every sensory outlet we have as humans recently, I find myself being a bit more conscious about prices of the things I usually used to look past.

Take lunch for example. There is a Sebastians in the lobby of my office building. The restaurant offers your standard business breakfast and lunch fare: coffees pastries, sandwiches, pre-packaged salads, etc. Generally, it is the "go-to" spot for all of Cambridge Associates. It's good food, it has good variety, and for god sakes its in the same building! Especially in the cold months, you can't find a better bet than Sebs.

The other day, I was craving a chocolate chip cookie, so without thinking I quickly got on the elevator and walked over to Sebastians. After purchasing it, I quickly realized that this cookie was about $5! Pretty steep I thought. Just out of curiosity, I walked across the street (literally) to Viga, an Italian eatery, to see what their cookie prices were. It was cheaper (for the same brand I think too!). I didn't try this, but I'd venture to say that as you walked away from the cluster of office buildings on Summer St, lunches would get cheaper and cheaper. Sebastians, by virtue of being in such a prime location to the tenants of 100 Summer St, could charge all they wanted. They know that people are willing to pay the premium so they don't have to bundle up. The axiom proves itself once again: Location Location Location!

This also got me thinking about the idea of owning land in general. Real Estate is the optimal investment. It provides income and growth, and can thus help you in a bull or bear market. And if its a house or a condo, it can even provide shelter. The only thing it's missing is food. Real Estate also fits the Famous Warren Buffett's maxim of "Investing in things you understand." There's nothing easier to understand than a house.

In the Sebs example, I'm sure the sunk costs are high to get your hands on a good location. But in the long run, its a worthy investment. If all your other investments are tanking (as they are for many people now), you can ideally bank on your tenant's rent to provide some relief. When the economy is good and people are buying, the value of your real estate investment benefits as well.

Robby circulated an article earlier today that talked about pending inflation as a result of the government bail-out package. Holding onto something like Real Estate can really assist in maintaining wealth if cash and other investments are hemorrhaging value.

Now practically speaking, buying land or a first home or condo is years away for people our age. But, seeing as we're always looking for an investment strategy, I thought I'd put my (future) money on some bricks and mortar.

pwbner

2009-01-30T11:26:00.001-05:00

smartass

2009-01-30T09:36:00.000-05:00

Free-IQTest.net - IQ Test

Show your friends how smart you are. Copy the code below to place an official badge on your blog, profile or forums!

2009-01-29T13:54:00.001-05:00

Free-IQTest.net - Free IQ Test

pwnd

What do we have in common?

2009-01-12T10:28:00.001-05:00

We don't rest.

This Atheist is Having a Crisis of Faith

2009-01-02T05:07:00.000-05:00

A question I have is what are the assumptions we make when creating our view of the world? Every philosophy has a set of preconditions (in logic these would be axioms). This is where issues like cogito ergo sum arise--what exactly are the assumptions we are making? A precondition of Christianity is a belief in God. A precondition of atheists is credence to science. If all that exists is our own consciousness and there is no world, how could evolution and all of science be correct--they would just be constructs of our mind. Atheists make the claim that what they observe is real. Christians simply claim to observe one thing atheists don't--the existence of god. What's the difference between the philosophies?

Deists claim that they feel the presence of a god. They also claim that they can feel it with a certain degree of consistence. If they pray, they feel god's presence. If they live holy lives, they feel god smiling on them. If they have a crisis of faith, they are losing the quality that lets them observe God. If you were to assume there is a god, it clearly follows that he could choose to be observable by certain people for certain reasons. Furthermore, it is clear that it could be possible for people who can communicate with God to teach others how to communicate with Him as well (such as their children or the subjects of their missionary endeavors).

Atheists claim that science is valid because it is the result of what we observe. However not all of this observation happens naturally. If you are trying to teach someone how circuits work, you have to teach them how to use something like an ohmmeter, ammeter, or voltmeter. If they closed their minds to you and refused to learn how to use such a device, how could they ever observe current, amperage, or resistance. It seems like a shaky line between giving yourself the tools to observe science and the faith to observe a god.

The two objections to this that I see are:

Is science or observation actually a precondition of atheism? Or does atheism have no precondition? I think many atheists might initially say there is no precondition, but I'd say that's in direct conflict with how they live their lives. Most atheists think they have a purpose (mostly evolutionarily, but maybe even just to increase their happiness or the quality of their lives), so there seems to be a precondition of some sort.

The other is that, with science, you can show people the results of your theories (they don't have to observe current, resistance, and voltage in order to observe a computer working), but they could simply argue the computer's functionality is due to God. The counter-argument to that is the clear reproducibility of scientific theories whereas talking to God doesn't yield as consistent results. However it's easy to argue that God created the reproducibility of science, and that talking to God is like talking to a person--you can say the same thing to them 10 days in a row, but their response will absolutely differ each day.

It's because of issues like this that I am growing increasingly reluctant to call religious people wrong.

Dead Indian Ringer

2008-12-29T23:07:00.001-05:00

Watching Slumdog Millionaire tonight, Jill and I discovered Chris's long lost Indian sibling. This picture does not do it justice, but it is the only one I could find with a modicum of searching. Here he looks serious and fierce, very un-Kantosian, but when he smiles he could be Chris. His name is Madhur Mittal, and it is uncanny...

(No conclusive evidence on the single dimple....)

Break on Through

2008-12-28T21:02:00.000-05:00

So, in honor of my first post – breaking into the ranks of realposter – I'm posting one of my favorite pictures from my travels in France in April, '07.

The jagged hole in the wall was very much unplanned by the 14th century builders of Avignon. There are no signs of a gate ever being mounted, no ruined guard shack, and no connecting street or alleyway. In fact, old maps of the city show that the hole opens onto what used to be grazing lands and drilling yards (so I recall, whatever its better this way...). In any case walking through it, I felt like Link sneaking around in dungeons looking for maps, keys, and rings which would unlock the secrets of Zelda's realm.

Random Encounters

2008-12-23T01:43:00.001-05:00

1:23:43 AM screenedoutcoho: Do you know the Recycling Song?
1:23:45 AM Robby Ramdin (Autoreply): lovin life
1:24:06 AM Robby Ramdin: the one that goes recycle reduce reuse?
1:24:15 AM screenedoutcoho: who's this
1:24:23 AM Robby Ramdin: i was gonna ask the same question
1:24:26 AM Robby Ramdin: robby
1:25:05 AM screenedoutcoho: robby...?
1:25:24 AM Robby Ramdin: from rochester
1:25:26 AM Robby Ramdin: went to tufts
1:25:30 AM Robby Ramdin: who are you?
1:25:41 AM screenedoutcoho: you IMed me
1:26:11 AM Robby Ramdin: when?
1:26:19 AM screenedoutcoho: ....just now
1:26:26 AM Robby Ramdin:

1:23:43 AM screenedoutcoho: Do you know the Recycling Song?
1:23:45 AM Robby Ramdin (Autoreply): lovin life
1:24:06 AM Robby Ramdin: the one that goes recycle reduce reuse?
1:24:15 AM screenedoutcoho: who's this
1:24:23 AM Robby Ramdin: i was gonna ask the same question
1:24:26 AM Robby Ramdin: robby
1:25:05 AM screenedoutcoho: robby...?
1:25:24 AM Robby Ramdin: from rochester
1:25:26 AM Robby Ramdin: went to tufts
1:25:30 AM Robby Ramdin: who are you?
1:25:41 AM screenedoutcoho: you IMed me
1:26:11 AM Robby Ramdin: when?

1:26:35 AM Robby Ramdin: weird
1:26:59 AM screenedoutcoho:

screenedoutcoho
Fruit flies are yummy. Don't you agree?
stephbaltimore
who's this
screenedoutcoho
i was gonna ask the same question
screenedoutcoho
robby
stephbaltimore
robby...?
screenedoutcoho
from rochester
screenedoutcoho
went to tufts
screenedoutcoho
who are you?
stephbaltimore
you IMed me
screenedoutcoho
when?
stephbaltimore
....just now

1:27:22 AM Robby Ramdin: woah
1:27:30 AM Robby Ramdin: i am not stephbaltimore
1:27:36 AM Robby Ramdin: i am mfounder
1:28:03 AM screenedoutcoho: this keeps happening to me. ugh?
1:29:14 AM Robby Ramdin: i wonder why
1:29:23 AM Robby Ramdin: thats weird
1:29:33 AM Robby Ramdin: its like old phones when lines used to be crossed
1:29:51 AM screenedoutcoho: i'm googling it right now. apparently its some aim bot
1:30:41 AM Robby Ramdin: stephbaltimore is?
1:31:00 AM screenedoutcoho: no that's my name, screenedoutcoho is
1:31:05 AM Robby Ramdin: ohh
1:31:45 AM screenedoutcoho: i'm not sure how it happens, you're the first person that wasn't a complete jerk about the situation? i thought someone was playing a prank on me
1:31:50 AM screenedoutcoho: now i know its jsut some bot
1:31:58 AM Robby Ramdin: yeah
1:32:09 AM Robby Ramdin: cool idea by whoever set it up
1:32:17 AM Robby Ramdin: cute social experiment of sorts
1:32:29 AM screenedoutcoho: perhaps
1:32:33 AM screenedoutcoho: was making me paranoid
1:33:19 AM Robby Ramdin: woah the internet is so creepy
1:33:32 AM Robby Ramdin: its like we have this random conversation
1:34:04 AM Robby Ramdin: i google stephbaltimore
1:34:47 AM Robby Ramdin: and there are like infinity hits
1:35:07 AM Robby Ramdin: although i guess thats common enough of a name...
1:35:26 AM screenedoutcoho: that's my 'name'
1:35:35 AM screenedoutcoho: if you type "$optout" you can stop it from happening
1:35:40 AM Robby Ramdin: right
1:35:44 AM Robby Ramdin: ahh cool
1:35:46 AM Robby Ramdin: $optout
1:35:47 AM screenedoutcoho: OPERATOR: Are you sure you want to opt-out? If you do, you will *never* be contacted again on the account "mfounder". There is *no way* to opt back in and undo this. If you are sure, type "$optout 242F". Remember, this is permanent and irreversible!
1:36:34 AM Robby Ramdin: opting out
1:36:52 AM Robby Ramdin: nice to...meet you
1:37:16 AM Robby Ramdin: $optout 242F
1:37:16 AM screenedoutcoho: OPERATOR: You have opted out. The accout "mfounder" will *never* be contacted again. Good bye!

2008-12-22T16:07:00.001-05:00

Perhaps a facelift is what we need to stimulate posting?

To be perfectly honest, Blogger.com doesn't have much in terms of layout templates to choose from, but I feel like there are 3rd party designers that work exclusively on making blog templates...thoughts?

The object of my affection

2008-12-18T17:07:00.000-05:00

I've decided that my culinary upbringing has warped my taste buds and palette and has rendered me a pariah in the right-of-center professional world I spend most of my time in nowadays.

You see, barring a few school lunches and pizza birthday parties, I spent the first seventeen years of my life eating Indian food. The combination of being a vegetarian and being raised in a household where spaghetti and lo mein were deemed identical twins had really limited the development of my palette. My grandma boasts that my first solid food was hot pepper chutney; I cringe at the thought of a little baby being offered something that high on the Scoville Meter. Indian food, while delicious, isn't exactly the best example of subleties in cooking. The flavors hit you instantaneously. The spices are strong (dare I say pungent?) , the creamy curries and cheeses are indulgent, and if you've ever had gulab jamun or any other indian sweet, you'll soon realize that we don't skimp on the sugar either. No high fructose corn syrup here.

Once college came along, I was introduced to a whole new world of flavors. I tasted my first serving of mashed potatoes, stuffing and other traditional fare. The weird thing about it was that despite being able to taste the nuances in tastes and flavors in all of these foods, I couldn't get myself to appreciate it. My id was pushing me towards dousing everything in tabasco sauce or crushed red peppers. It was uncontrollable. I wouldn't stop until those beautiful tears of hot-sauce induced joy were running down my cheeks, my mouth burning. My favorite beer was a Corona with Lime, not as much for the beer than for the delectable citric acidy goodness of the lime. Instead of walking in on me having sex or worse, my freshman roommate once opened the door to find me taking shots of buffalo sauce. Now that's when I knew I had hit rock bottom.

Since then I've worked to regulate my urges for spicy food. I only ask Boloco for extra hot sauce on the side every other order. I try to participate with co-workers when we order dinner, choosing a baked potato (despite secretly longing for the extra spicy burrito at Cactus Club). I've come to the realization that spicy food, like anything, is an addiction. It's part genetic, part environment, and part will power. And you know what? I'm fine with that. And to that end, I WILL go to Brick Lane in NYC and I WILL eat their super hot curry and I want all of you to be there!!

Oh silly conservatives..

2008-12-14T21:35:00.000-05:00

Jon Stewart and Mike Huckabee on Gay Marriage

Barfights for the idk

2008-12-14T04:51:00.001-05:00

So the night started with Pete's gracious invitation to me to be his plus one at Harmonix' holiday party. To spice things up, they were giving out chokers and wristbands with little flashing LEDs on them. Being the champ I am, I took as many as I could get my hands on, and wore them on my neck, wrist, and waist. They also had little decorative sticks that are best described as incense sticks with tinsel-like adornments. Naturally I grabbed as many of these as I could find and wedged them into my fly, creating an out of control pubic hair look.

After we left the Harmonix party, we made our way to Phoenix Landing in Central Square where we met up with Chris, Jake, and Dave. My massively blinking self was quite a hit with the ladies, causing all sorts of trouble. I began wooing them (successfully) in the following form:

Some girl walks up and makes some comment on the flashing things.
I say some ridiculous things about where I got them or why I'm wearing them.
Robby: Hey do you mind if I ask you a personal question?
Girl: Ummm....ok...
Robby: When was the last time you trimmed your pubes?
Girl looks a little taken aback and there is either a short pause or some attempt by the girl to say the right thing.
Robby, pointing at tinsel-ridden groin area: Cause this is 3 months baby

In general a charming little routine...

So after some time, I do the same thing: I ask a girl if she mind if I ask her a personal question, I ask about her pubes. This girl decided that was not OK, freaked out, and hit my glass, breaking it on the floor and spilling my Jagerbomb. She storms off.

A couple minutes later, some guy, who turns out to be her boyfriend, enters the bar and punches Pete in the face, then Jake, then Chris, before he is restrained by the bouncers. The bouncers ask us to leave, and we comply willingly.

The only part of this story I find disturbing is how the girlfriend failed to describe or the boyfriend failed to find the short brown guy in the loud shirt, lit up like a Christmas tree, wearing a red feather boa.

Top Ten Reasons We Haven't Been Blogging

2008-12-08T15:22:00.001-05:00

10. We work too much.

9. It turns out that Chris is illiterate and we don't want to embarrass him.

8. Nate actually got caught blogging at work, got castrated and fired, and told everyone that's what will happen to them too.

7. Robby asked Steve to join, at which point rampant homophobia overshadowed our lust for writing.

6. Robby's angry, impulsive posts have intimidated people.

5. Harsha hasn't enabled Pete or Alex with posting privileges.

4. Chris is the only one with anything funny to say.

3. ?????

2. We get in too many bar fights.

1. "1 Comments"

fail

2008-12-02T15:06:00.001-05:00

I would put this in a comment box, but there are no posts to comment on.

Sorry, I'm busy compiling

2008-11-20T13:52:00.000-05:00

You can only use this excuse so often, but luckily google has made it easier to e-mail and gchat without guilt by using the terminal theme. Probably not actually, but I think the theme thing is pretty awesome, but that's google for you I guess, always having to be the most awesomest... Sorry about the lack of substance for you, but the fact that I got to link one of my favorite xkcd's makes it worth it I guess.

I love Heidi Swanson

2008-11-16T22:44:00.000-05:00

In honor of high quality photographs and cameras, Thanksgiving, pretty women, love of cooking, and the fact that 80% of this blog is or was at some point a vegetarian, i provide you with my favorite website at the moment:

www.101cookbooks.com

Long Live Quinoa

Rampant Immaturity and the Enabling Thereof

2008-11-14T17:28:00.001-05:00

Looking for a way to piss someone off? Say "Fail" when they've made a mistake or otherwise achieved an undesirable outcome. This little word, although increasingly frequently being used facetiously, carries with it a lifetime of baggage. Throughout the twentieth century and now proceeding to the twenty first, is overarching and rampant de-maturation of society, observable in how we react to failure and unfortunate situations. The ability to put one's self in Fail's way and to cope with the results is a pinnacle of maturity.

A recent Psychology Today article put forth an examination of the "social experiment" of the notion of adolescence. This article references the creation of a new demographic in the twentieth century. These teenagers, who would have enjoyed adult independence and responsibilities just 150 years ago are now confined to a school system until they are passed their peak. The chief impetus for legislation stunting the growth of young adults was to reduce child labor and increase education. While these laws effectively met their goals, they also stunt the emotional growth of our youth. Nearly doubling the incubation period of children has served to instill a fear of failure and reactive societal enabling attempting to prevent failure.

Among individuals, enabling failure has taken the form of our social security system, programs similar to MIT's pass/fail system, and the time honored tradition of keeping people's retirement investments from tanking. I'm in favor of both social security (retirement, unemployed, welfare, and disability benefits) and MIT's pass/fail system. It is a social responsibility to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves. It is also mutually beneficial, as caring for them reduces homelessness and crime everywhere. However, one must acknowledge that they are enabling failure by providing a safety net for these people.

Lately, we have been seeing far more insidious activity occurring when it comes to the prospect of failure. When the banks started slipping into worse and worse financial straits, the government acted first with inaction (denial) and then with its bailout (enabling). This bailout seems rational--the banks provide such central and fundamental services to the economy that if they were to fold, the economic fallout would be extreme. Liquidity would dry up, 401ks would be devalued, and the stock market might have crawled to a halt. Now that the electorate has been desensitized to the concept of multi-billion dollar bailouts, however, the proposition of bailing out the Detroit auto companies seems somehow legitimate. It is not. This bailout would be a reward for those who have failed. The profound losses shown by Ford, GM, and Chrysler are not entirely dependent on the recession. These are companies that have been showing declines in profit for years, that have been devastatingly mismanaged and have clearly erroneously misjudged their consumer base. Any bailout of Detroit would be enabling their failure. It would set a dangerous precedent for other large corporations.

Failure is harsh. When large companies fail, real people are faced with unemployment and everybody feels the pain. When individuals fail, they have to come to terms with their own shortcomings and inadequacies. Failure is necessary though. The best way to learn is to try and fail. The best way to make money is to risk failure. The best way to grow up is to learn how to deal with failure and to fail constantly, but succeed the majority of the time.

Universal Healthcare

2008-11-14T17:18:00.001-05:00

Lately, there's been a lot of buzz about Obama instituting universal health care within a year or two (even the first 100 days). Whenever this topic comes up, an endless list of comparisons between American and European/Canadian health care ensues. One of the counterarguments I find most annoying is the assertion that universal health care is bad because of wait times. Apparently the average wait time for an MRI in the U.S. is 2 days and in Canada is greater than 100. There are three scenarios I can come up with:
1. Under a system of universal health care people go in all willynilly for MRIs because they're fun. These crazy patients just sign themselves up for MRIs; they don't have to be referred by a doctor.
2. Doctors in universal health care systems don't know how to perform tests other than MRIs that doctors in America know how to do, so instead of simpler in-office tests, they send all of their patients into the 100 day line for an MRI.
3. In America everyone who needs an MRI doesn't get one because they can't afford it or are too lazy to get an appointment. This scenario implies that the richest country in the world doesn't see it as a moral issue that everyone is given the health care they need, or they do see it as a moral issue, but don't really give two shits.

really, would it be that hard?

2008-11-13T15:37:00.000-05:00

if($post.num_comments == 1)
< a href="comments_page.html"> $post.num_comments comment </a>
else
< a href="comments_page.html"> $post.num_comments comments </a>

or some crap like that.

get it while it's hot

2008-11-11T22:02:00.000-05:00

The internet strikes again.

And this time, it took me an entire day to figure out what a DRGBL was. If you can get it before this giveaway, I salute you.

So how long before an internet meme becomes just another internet annoyance? I'll keep you posted, this one might be a 24 hour flu. Either way, I've subscribed to the RSS.

Excuse my vegetarian ranting, but seriously...

2008-11-11T09:49:00.001-05:00

I didn't really put much thought into this post, but it's articles like this that really get to me.

So much is wrong with the American food industry, and the worst part is that we know it too. There has been so much press recently, including great articles and books (notably "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan.) However nothing seems to change. As cited in this article, "in the case of beef, 150 out of 162 samples came from animals that ate nothing but corn." Doesn't anybody else find it disturbing that animals that have been raised to eat grass are now fed corn, fueled by cheap oil, simply because it is so cheap? This article notes how this corn fed "meat" is being served in our nations fast food restaurants, but the real scary part is that at purportedly "fancy" steakhouses, they tout the fact that their steaks are all "corn-fed", um, excuse me? The fact that it is served in fast food restaurants is obviously a larger issue to the general public, but the reality that it is praised in a place where your meal costs more than a flight to Europe, that to me is just ignorance. Another scary fact is that while so many people are struggling with starvation, the corn that is produced to make corn syrup and to feed livestock is inedible to humans such as ourselves, what sense does that make! Not only is it inedible, but animals require 12x the amount of sustenance as humans do to survive . 80% of the corn and 90% of the soybeans in America are eaten by animals. To me it seems that we could be much more efficient in the way we are farming, and for what reasons.

My only hope is that people will become more informed, and that eventually a change will take place, a change that I seriously believe in.

I'm happy to see that the president elect has in fact taken some initiative to respond to this epidemic. In a recent interview, Barack Obama said the following;

“I was just reading an article in the New York Times by Michael
Pollan about food and the fact that our entire agricultural system is
built on cheap oil. As a consequence, our agriculture sector actually is
contributing more greenhouse gases than our transportation sector. And
in the mean time, it’s creating monocultures that are vulnerable to
national security threats, are now vulnerable to sky-high food prices
or crashes in food prices, huge swings in commodity prices, and are
partly responsible for the explosion in our healthcare costs because
they’re contributing to type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease,
obesity, all the things that are driving our huge explosion in
healthcare costs. That’s just one sector of the economy. You think
about the same thing is true on transportation. The same thing is true
on how we construct our buildings. The same is true across the board.
For us to say we are just going to completely revamp how we use energy
in a way that deals with climate change, deals with national security
and drives our economy, that’s going to be my number one priority when
I get into office, assuming, obviously, that we have done enough to
just stabilize the immediate economic situation.”

Thank you Mr. Obama. It definitely is the kind of attitude we need if we are to someday, hopefully soon, make a change that our nations population, especially it's children, are in dire need of.

Gender Blogging

2008-11-10T14:35:00.001-05:00

Our blog appears to be gender neutral (with a slight preference for male)

As an experiment in gender, I've decided to write you a blog post about blog duties based on the fifteen words most frequently used by blogboys and bloggirls.

Remembering to update your blog can be as hard as remembering your Mom on Mommy's day. We should get Google to promote a "National Blog Day," where every Blogger user gets reminded to update their blog's programming. Gosh, sometimes I think we should outsource our blogging duties to India, even though it might benefit our economic situation to husband our blogs locally. Also, tip your server when you settle the tab.

It's time we cried of our duties to the democracy of the blogosphere instead of idly gaming away the day. Members of all digital nations get to have their own data, from Microsoft users to Linux users. Don't be freaked out by this opportunity, be tickled pink!

We all understand, it be hard to maintain a boyfriend, a hubby, and a blog, no matter how adorable they are. No matter how many 'GBs' your 'software' is, you can't give everyone your kisses. Not to be graphic, but sometimes you've just got to take off your shopping skirt and bare your cute, yummy blog ass to the world.

Why Barack Obama? Why George Bush?

2008-11-10T12:11:00.001-05:00

It is no secret that the presidential elections in the US are not based solely on the issues. There is the common saying that the most electable candidate is the one with whom you can see yourself going out for a beer. Richard Nixon lost the campaign in 1960 during his first debate with Kennedy, because he was old and sweaty. Is this reason a legitimate basis for a vote? What exactly is it that makes you want to get a beer with one candidate over another?

My proposed answer is a reading of integrity. I don't want to get a beer and have a conversation with someone who just blabbers about what he thinks I want to hear. I'd rather talk to someone who is honest and upfront about their opinions, doesn't seek validation, and conducts the conversation with transparency. Throughout the whole campaign, Obama didn't lie about his past; he didn't obfuscate his policies; and he didn't tell people what he thought they wanted to hear. The McCain campaign floundered from topic to topic, trying to figure out what people wanted to hear. They tried to tell people that they wouldn't be safe under Obama. They tried to attack Obama's experience. They tried to make the campaign all about low taxes. The Obama campaign presented a clear, simple message: if you want change, vote for Obama. The McCain campaign realized the efficacy of that message, and tried to cram the ticket's "maverickness" down people's throats, saying "ooooh we're change candidates too!!" People don't like being told what they want to hear; they like being told the truth.

McCain's style of campaigning is certainly not new. John Kerry fell victim to it in 2004. He was constantly accused of being a "flip-flopper." As much as I detested those accusations and acknowledge that the issues were more complicated than "flip-flopping" gives them credit for, Kerry was guilty of pandering to the crowd. He compromised his morals to fit his perceived impression of what the electorate was looking for. Going back historically, you can examine which campaigns contained the most authenticity; these are usually the candidates who won.

Obama's style of authenticity and truthfulness was astounding. He did what most candidates are afraid to do, because having every decision you've made in your life examined is utterly terrifying. Obama understands that integrity is not just about telling the truth when asked. It's always telling "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." He didn't need someone to interview everyone who knew him finally to find out that he had done cocaine or marijuana. His character was virtually un-attackable, because there were no dirty little secrets to uncover.

People know instinctively when they're being lied to, misled, or having details omitted or obfuscated. If you want someone's trust, transparency is a must. If you want someone's vote, trust is a must.

Problem Number One

2008-11-07T17:45:00.000-05:00

I'm unsure now how to handle going for a drink with a girl. It sort of doesn't work does it? Which does one sacrafice in this situation?

After thinking long and hard about this, my decision would be to not look awkward and to have a drink. I mean, I am an adult, participating in an abstinence of alcohol to improve my current situation in a way right? However, it seems that if the decision to abstain got in the way of another area of life (of more importance) than the more important area should take precedence.

I would hope that this decision is one that would be shared among my fellow bloggers.

Abstinence Only

2008-11-06T19:05:00.000-05:00

Chris and I have begun No-Bev-Ember (it looks better with caps)...you heard it here first. At first I was planning to refrain from a public announcement, as failure would then mean public disgrace. With the cat out of the bag, there is now more pressure which will hopefully equate to more success. In case you are lagging behind the topic, the wonderfully titled Nobevember is a joint effort by Chris and myself to avoid alcoholic beverages for an entire month (with the exception of one day of our choosing). This endeavor shall serve many purposes: saving money, decreasing our tolerances, saving calories, and proving that "we can stop whenever we want."

At the time of writing, we have been at it for about 42 hours. I remember my last drink quite fondly. It was a shallow glass of champagne at about 11:30 on the evening of November 4th. We raised our glasses and threw back a gulp in celebration of Obama's victory. That is a fitting time to take a hiatus. I don't know what I'll miss more...Pinot Noirs? or maybe Brown Ale? In any case, reducing alcohol consumption is the most sure-fire way to reduce cigarette smoking.

Nobevember will also be an interesting foray into my roots. I didn't have a full drink of alcohol until the June after my senior year of high school. I opted for healthy living housing at Tufts and didn't drink heavily until the end of my first year (with the exception of a few night during Orientation week, but those are stories for a different day). Now I consume alcohol almost every day, to the point of drunkeness around three times a week. While I do not believe, for the most part, that I behave like an alcoholic, I do meet the consumption requisites. I am not converting to a lifestyle of teetotalism, just experimenting with living a dry life.

It's beginning to feel a... bit too early?

2008-11-06T15:43:00.000-05:00

I've heard Christmas music twice today, once while getting breakfast, and the other at Sebastian's when I went to get my salad at lunch.

Is this going to be the trend, that until December 26th I will hear Christmas music at every meal? I will by no means be playing Christmas music while cooking at home until at least Thanksgiving (well fine, maybe Charlie Brown's Christmas once or twice, but it will only be because the genius made me.) Perhaps this is a sign that I should in fact be cooking more at home, but then again, I doubt it.

When is the appropriate time to start playing Christmas music in a public place? I always figured the benchmark was Thanksgiving, but after today's events transpired, I'm beginning to think I might be wrong.

(I'm definitely not hating on Christmas music. In fact I'm all about it.)

Harsha gets things done

2008-11-06T15:04:00.000-05:00

Nice job Harsh, it's way more important to start doing what we're going to do. If we regularly contribute, we'll see a theme and we'll give it a name. If it goes the way of every blog I've ever started, we won't get past five posts, and it won't be a problem. Cheers to win-wins.

I'm foreseeing "coffee drinking" and "desk sitting" as major trends in blogging, if not content. The eternal struggle of T-Rex is way up there for me too. I feel his pain, he might even feel mine.

And then there was a blog

2008-11-06T13:48:00.000-05:00

So, I thought it would be nice to get a beta version of the blog started just because there are so many interesting things coming up! Robby and Chris begin their "No-Bev-ember," and need a venue that will host their inevitably touching cessation piece. Pete meets people on a daily basis at Toad. Nate's gearing up for a big Christmas. Alex, well Alex needs a "candidate on the road" blog just because he travels so much.

As for me, I've always been looking for a place to place my observations on people watching, fun things I walk by, girls, work, the high life, and the like.

Some of us have had experience with group blogs before (may fofoohfohever rest in piece) and know how much fun it can be when everyone's involved. So let's get blogging!