What Not To Wear

So . . . today I'm thinking about choice.  Why?  Because not enough choice is seen as a problem, and so is too much choice.  For the former, think of debates about school uniforms.  For the latter, visit your grocery store's cheese aisle (or aisles - I find that most groceries have both a "fancy cheese" and a "commoner cheese" section), or just watch this.  But as difficult as managing food shopping can be with its plethora of choices, we would be very upset if our selection was limited.

Everybody's Right (but Everybody's Wrong)

So . . . one of my favorite articles I have ever read was from an edition of Esquire from a few years back (still floating around on the ether here).  What I like about the article is that it expresses the notion that two opinions can be on opposite sides of an issue and both be right.  It rejects the idea that being in opposition means being wrong (or right, depending on where you're sitting).  This is a tremendously important idea, even if Chuck Klosterman, who wrote the piece, uses a rather flippant tone throughout.  So it's not "you're either with us or against us," but rather "we have the same goals but different ways of getting there."

We Are All Hooligans and Anarchists

So . . . I know I'm a little late to the Vancouver-riot party (or pile-on?), but I thought I'd weigh in on what happened, who was blamed, and how the media and politicians got it wrong.  There has been lots of digital ink spilled about the causes of the riots and who to blame, but in my usual way, I'll choose the unpopular target: us.

What I've Been Reading: More Money Than Brains

So . . . it so happens that I've been reading a couple of books that may be of interest to my small but loyal readership.  One of them, More Money Than Brains by Laura Penny, is the subject of today's post, and the other may wait another week or two as I haven't finished reading it yet.  I'm not really in the practice of doing book reviews, so the critical component of the critique will be brief and I'll discuss the aspects of the book that relate to my usual topics.

Internet Regulation: A Can-Con Game

So . . . the supremely-evilly-named Konrad von Finckenstein, the head of the Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), has weighed in on the notion of regulating Netflix, AppleTV, and Google TV.  These services are called "over the top," and not because of their wacky content but rather because they don't fall neatly into the purview of the commission.  Armed with his movie-villain name, Von Finckenstein has decided it is a good idea to begin a discussion of regulating internet content in Canada.  Sure it works so well in totalitarian states, but it also to makes sure our home-grown film industry continues to work.

The Anti-Clutch

So . . . the NBA finals are over, the Superfriends/Heatles/Irrationally-Exuberant-Premature-Celebrating-Miami-Heat have been vanquished by the long-suffering Mavericks, and all is right with the world.  And even though I know it probably interests me far more than it interests you, I can't help myself - here's an NBA finals post.  Not only is about basketball, but I plan to work in one of my usual themes: clutchiness.  Because if Dirk Nowitzki is the new god of clutch (despite a sub-par performance in the deciding game), the NBA now has a devil to his angel, the new Anticlutch, LeBron James.

Irradiate Those NIMBYs

So . . . in the town where I live there is a tempest in a teacup raging.  It seems that the evil cell phone companies want to erect a wireless tower in a generally residential area, and the inhabitants of that area are up in arms about it.  Sure, they want wireless service, but not in their backyard.  But this post is not about NIMBYism in general or the hypocrisy involved (wanting the benefit without bearing the cost) but instead about ignorance, and its positive and negative effects.

Weiner in the Cloud

So . . . there's been a lot of weiner talk this week.  I was torn about what aspect of the Weiner story I should focus on: I could go with the "why can't male politicians keep it in their pants" angle, or I could go with the "what the hell is wrong with people that they think they can tweet their weiner and not suffer repercussions" angle.  I opted for the latter, and it wasn't just because of the phrase "tweet their weiner," which sounds like a cool party trick but is actually causing a lot of problems. 

Explanation Infill

So . . . four games into the NBA finals and so far I have been able to resist writing a post about them.  Well, until now.  This one isn't about being clutch (or not), or the role of randomness in outcomes (Canucks' two wins, anyone?), but instead is about explanation infill.  Which is a term I'm pretty sure I just made up, even if I didn't make up the concept itself (I just Googled "explanation infill" and only got five hits, each with some sort of diacritical mark between the two words, so I'll claim that I coined the term).   Let's infill some explanations, shall we?

This Post Will Be Ready Soon, I Swear, and It'll Be Great!

So . . . sometimes I feel like I live in a fog of perpetual disappointment.   Okay, that came out a little more depressing than I meant it.  What I mean to say is that we are frequently disappointed because things are not done up to our standard, on time, under budget, and so on.  And a big part of the problem is not that we have expectations that are too high, but rather that our expecations are inflated by others.  That's right, it's not your fault, it's theirs.  Because they don't follow the common advice to underpromise and overdeliver.

Happy Birthday: P.U.

So . . . once again that reminder of my mortality has come around.  That's right, today is my birthday, and I get to celebrate the accomplishment of remaining alive for another year with cake, presents (I got a Kindle!) and festivities.  Of course, no celebration would be complete without something to sully it, the way the bitter has to go with the sweet and the Oates has to come with the Hall (I figure my birthday is as good a time as any to date myself).  And the dark mark on my birthday is, as it always is, the Happy Birthday song.

Telling Tells and Other Tales

So . . . as usual, I'm in the midst of sending out some of my research for review.  Regardless of acceptance or rejection (hah! any academic knows that's the only difference that counts), reviews range from useful, usually from journals, to the useless ones that I sometimes get from conferences.  Though I'm happy that you liked my paper, putting simply "Interesting, well-executed work" doesn't give me much to go on.  But reviews are just the context for what I'm writing about today, which is a bias in our perspective and attention.