Archive for the ‘oddities’ Category

The Data is the Data is the Data

Posted: February 17, 2010 by datechguy in oddities
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It’s true for global warming and it’s true for Veggies from Walmart:

On to the details: Kummer buys two batches of nearly identical groceries at Wal-Mart and Whole Foods. He has them prepared in a restaurant kitchen and invites taste testers to make a blind side-by-side comparison. The Whole Food grocery set cost $50 more, $20 of which is spent on top of the line chicken breasts (Wal-Mart didn’t really offer equivalently high-end meat.)

The taste testers preferred the Wal-Mart veggies overwhelmingly, with complaints about the meat and dairy. “The tasters were surprised,” he writes, “when the results were unblinded at the end of the meal and they learned that in a number of instances they had adamantly preferred Walmart produce. And they weren’t entirely happy.”

As I’ve said before you have to go where the data takes you, like it or not.

Via Glenn who knows all and reads all.

Fedoras and Cannoli in Virginia

Posted: February 17, 2010 by datechguy in oddities, personal
Tags: ,

I’ve have arrived at Casa di Smitty which is a rather beautiful home that is very TARDIS like in the sense that it is much bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside.

I have unpacked and hope to get to the hotel to register tonight so I can get right into blogging when I get there tomorrow.

As you can see even more important that my safe arrival has been the safe arrival of the Cannoli and the Fedora’s Stacy has already claimed one and Smitty seems to have found a second that is a perfect fit which unfortunately only leaves me with one to loan out during the conference (there are only so many Fedoras you can fit in a suitcase.)

I’m totally ignorant of today’s events and will try to catch up and get some blogging done before I hit the sack tonight. A lot to see and do so I’m going to get cracking.

Update: Now I know what Smitty is doing downstairs. So much for the surprise tomorrow.

Forgetting the fact for a moment that I’m glad he didn’t do it…

Posted: February 16, 2010 by datechguy in oddities, opinion/news, war
Tags: , , , ,

…isn’t this kind of a weird story:

Iranian regime President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out at President Barack Obama for not closing down Gitmo as he had promised.

You know once there was a day when murderous despots had to make up promises broken by American presidents. It’s pretty odd when a guy like Ahmadinejad can say something like this and be accurate.

Of course, I approve of breaking this promise but it should never have been made. That is actually a bit of Lincoln in him to quote:

As to sustaining it, my promise is out, as before stated. But, as bad promises are better broken than kept, I shall treat this as a bad promise, and break it, whenever I shall be convinced that keeping it is adverse to the public interest.

In the words of the 10th doctor, the world is very strange.

It’s time for fun with statistics featuring Jill Stanek…

Posted: February 15, 2010 by datechguy in oddities, opinion/news
Tags: ,

…who puts up an interesting chart while noting some ahem, interesting valentines being offered by planned parenthood.

Nice Valentines. Just the type of thing that goes with the whole “10 year olds are sexual beings” meme. Would Nujood approve?

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