Gladwell on Generalization

TROUBLEMAKERS: What pit bulls can teach us about profiling.

Then which are the pit bulls that get into trouble? “The ones that the legislation is geared toward have aggressive tendencies that are either bred in by the breeder, trained in by the trainer, or reinforced in by the owner,� Herkstroeter says. A mean pit bull is a dog that has been turned mean, by selective breeding, by being cross-bred with a bigger, human-aggressive breed like German shepherds or Rottweilers, or by being conditioned in such a way that it begins to express hostility to human beings. A pit bull is dangerous to people, then, not to the extent that it expresses its essential pit bullness but to the extent that it deviates from it. A pit-bull ban is a generalization about a generalization about a trait that is not, in fact, general. That’s a category problem.

Fantastic article.

Also puts a point on why I've had issues with some of the recent topics of conversation at the Corcorans'.

What Would Jesus Mix?

Matt: what would you put on a mix tape for Jesus?Matt: first song Matt: 'South of Heaven" Jake: Jesus Built My Hot Rod Matt: "Spirit in the Sky" Jake: followed by Satan Is My Motor Matt: "I saw your mommy and your mommy's dead" Jake: last song: Sheep Go to Heaven (Goats Go to Hell) Matt: nice touch Matt: I think Super Trouper and Run to the Hills need to be on there somewhwere Jake: how about a little Faith No More: Surprise! You're Dead Matt: thats good Matt: I think Death Metal is too obvious Jake: yeah Matt: but Slayer has a song called 'Jesus Saves' Matt: I think jesus would like some Dead Kennedys Jake: remember the Cardigans? they do a cover of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath Matt: oh yeah, thats good Matt: I'm thinking 'God id Dead' by Crass. Or anything by the punk band the Crucifucks Jake: we would have vastly different mix tapes for Jesus

Theo's Back

Well, that little tantrum didn't last long.

"Ironically, Theo's departure has brought us closer together in many respects, and, thanks to these conversations, we now enjoy the bonds of a shared vision for the organization's future that did not exist on Oct. 31. With this vision in place, Theo will return to the Red Sox in a full-time baseball operations capacity, details of which will be announced next week."

Isn't that sweet?

Huh? The Avs are good?

I'm still getting used to the "new NHL", so I've been in observation mode thus far -- Keeping my trap shut in the interest of seeing what happens. That said, up until recently, my dear Colorado Avalanche have been nothing more than mediocre. The new head coach, Joel Quenneville went all psycho on the goaltending corps and nearly ruined all three candidates' confidence and ability to play. Superstars like Rob Blake and Joe Sakic had been severe disappointments. Blake still doesn't make the hits he's supposed to and his cannon of a slap shot from the point hasn't really been a factor as of yet. As for Sakic, he is consistently the shots-on-goal leader in each game, so you know he's working out there, but to watch him earlier in the season, you'd think he was skating through molasses. The loss of Steve Konowalchuk was a punch to the gut. Milan Hejduk was in such a dark doldrum I was worried he'd never come out. The only bright spots in the first half of the season were really Alex Tanguay, rookie Marek Svatos, and a couple/few over-performing grinders like Ian Laperrier.

Now, though, the Avs have won eight straight games and things are looking more correct on the scoresheet:

Milan Hejduk scored a pair of power-play goals 34 seconds apart to lift the Avs to their eighth straight win, a 5-3 victory over Toronto on Tuesday night that pushed them into a tie for the Northwest Division lead.

Rookie Marek Svatos scored his 27th goal of the season, best in the Western Conference, to help Colorado match its longest winning streak since Oct. 10-28, 2000.

And now, thanks to that win over Toronto, the Avs share the number one spot in the Northwest Division! Granted, they share that lead with two other teams (the NW Div is tighter than my Spiderman Underoos these days).

Matisyahu's New Joint

The new disc from Hasidic reggae sensation Matisyahu, YOUTH, is available for pre-order now.

Matisyahu's new studio album, YOUTH, hits stores March 7th, Pre-Order it HERE and receive the YOUTH DUB album FREE!

(Note that they now have a USPS Priority shipping option, Da Kine, not just FedEx. Or you can order it from Amazon and skip the free disc...)

You might also want to set your TiVos:

Monday, January 16th, Matisyahu will be the musical guest on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Kilt Controversy

Board: Principal wrong to ban student's kilt

The controversy sparked an international debate about personal freedom and cultural dress. Thousands of people from around the world signed an Internet petition seeking an apology.

In a written statement, school superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson said school officials had no right to bar the student from wearing a kilt to any school function.

Quote of the article: "Scots are very touchy about their kilts."

If anything, you can bet a high school senior who is interested in wearing a kilt to a dance probably isn't going to cause much ruckus. Unless, of course he's going "regimental" underneath. ;)

Oh crap, I need another home loan!

The one thing holding me back from dropping far too much money on an HDTV set (and perhaps an update to my stereo/home theater) has been my TiVo. I'm just plain sold on the thing and as long as my TiVo doesn't do HDTV, neither do I. Well, that's going to change perhaps as soon as this year.

Key bits:

  • Dual tuner -- Record two programs at once!
  • CableCARD compatible (2.0 or 1.0 -- if you have 2.0 you only need one card for the dual tuner action)
  • Up to "300 hours" storage (I assume that's non-HDTV content)
  • An SATA port for adding a hot little external drive with no warantee-voiding hacking needed.

Damn, that sounds like everything I've wanted.

I guess I'm doomed to continue to be the guy with the iPod, the TiVo and the stupid car with manual locks.

Sideways

Finally got around to seeing Sideways last night. Overall, I'd give it a B+ -- It certainly wasn't the best movie EVAR the hype made it seem, but it was definitely was enjoyable. At first all the wine talk made me desperate for a bottle (and I do think the film would move up to A-/A territory if I had been drinking along), but eventually the characters go through so much wine in a single night that it actually turned me off the idea of a glass of red.

And for those of you who might think Sideways just looks like a story about two miserable schmucks, the end does have some redemption in it.

I'd recommend Sideways as kind of a double date flick -- get some friends together, crack a bottle of Pinot Noir (or two), and watch the film early so you can keep the conversation and good times rolling afterward.