The Limit of What I Don't Know

So . . . I think I'm going to stop blogging.  I don't know, the romance has gone out of it for me - it's become more like work than I had hoped.  I started this blog about a year-and-a-half ago for a variety of reasons: to vent my opinions, to organize some of my research thoughts, to test out new ideas, and to take over the web.  Some of these have come to pass, others haven't.  If you are a regular reader (the chosen few), you know that my output has become more sporadic over the last little while (and in the summer, my output was nearly non-existent).  The thing is, I didn't miss it.  I used to look forward to writing my musings, and now my thought processes are more along the lines of "oh yeah, I have to do that today too."

Maybe I'll miss it again.  I hope I will.  And I have lots of ideas for topics, some of which are half-written and saved as drafts that I never got around to finishing.  So I may return.  But for now, I don't think I want to do this anymore.  Yes, I've been busier than usual and that may be contributing to it.  And yes, the lack of response is disheartening, no doubt about that.  But I felt that I went into this with my eyes wide open, that I would probably not draw very many readers and at the time I was okay with that.

To use an image from the book The Age of Persuasion, I feel like I'm in a baseball stadium, shouting at the top of my lungs while everyone else is shouting too.  A few people might pick up some of what I'm trying to say, but most don't care.  That's fine; I don't have to be heard by everyone. 

I hope that what I've written over the past while has entertained/enlightened/thought-provoked/enraged/amused/interested/time-wasted successfully.  This may not be my last posting, but it will almost certainly be my last posting for some time.  Thanks for paying attention and for your comments, and hopefully I'll get the urge to rant at you again.

Later!
Eric

Bloggin' The News

So . . . it's been a while since I've done a news-rundown blog entry.  Contrary to what you might think, I don't use this as a topic for my blog when I've got nothing else to write about.  It happens when a bunch of news stories all catch my attention on the same day for being, well, a bit silly.  And when I only have one or two snarky comments to make about each story, there really isn't much need to devote a whole post to it.  Here's today's collection.

Don’t Call Me Fatty

So . . . apparently I’m obese, at least according to some reliable sources (I’m talking to you, Wii Fit).  While I would be the first   to admit that I could stand to lose a few pounds, I really don’t think of myself as obese.  And I should know – probably look at myself in the mirror far more than anyone else looks at me.  This was over the summer, and as my tuxedo-rental guru predicted, I have lost a little weight since then.  But being fair, I don’t think the label applies.  So is the problem with me or the way we categorize body fat?

Centipedes, Yams, and Artistic Merit

So . . . last week in my blog post I made a passing reference to a film that is due to come out.  Even the title might upset the squeamish, and I don't want to turn off any of my three loyal blog readers (yes, I'm kidding, there are at least five), so if you're interested in reading about the movie click here.  This got me thinking about the movie and why someone would endeavour to create it.  Some (including British censors) would say that it shouldn't even be allowed to exist, as it has no societal merit (it likely won't be a big moneymaker, and its artistic value is dubious).  I'm more of the belief that, hey, if someone wants to make a movie about . . . . this, let them.

Don't Call Me, I Won't Call You

So . . . I don't know what's going on, whether I am on some list of very generous/gullible/surveyable people or if I have just been unlucky, but I have been receiving record numbers of telemarketing calls.  I mean multiple times a day.  Charities, businesses, polling companies, my family, you name it, the calls just keep pouring in.  And I want it to stop (well, except for my family - you can still call once in a while, but please stay within the limits I've assigned you!).  It's annoying, it's unnecessary, and it's driving me up the wall.  I've tried being rude to them and that hasn't stopped the incessant ringing.  Why won't they leave me alone?

A Reason Is Not an Excuse

So . . . there has been a bit of a meaningless storm over some comments that Tony Bennett made on the Howard Stern show last week.    Personally I don't think he said anything too controversial, if you actually think about the content of his words.  I'm not "blame America" type, nor am I a conspiracy theorist when it comes to 9/11 - mass murder was committed that day and those responsible should pay (some have).  But I do think this illustrates a good example of how polarizing an issue can remove some of the opportunity to learn.

Statistical Intuition

So . . . the movie Moneyball opens today in theatres everyone, and I am rather excited to see it.  I read the book some time ago and it really struck a chord with me (you'll understand why later in the post), I like baseball movies (more than I like baseball these days) and I think it could be this year's Social Network.  Yesterday I read a column about the movie and its core message of the use of statistical information to improve decisions.  This column was co-written by Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets basketball team and one of the more stats-friendly executives in the NBA. I think that this column really hits the nail on the head and I'd like to elaborate on it here.

Climate Change? Yeah, So What?

So . . . regular readers of this blog already know that I'm not a card-carrying member of the anthropogenic global warming booster club (supporting the idea, not boosting my emissions - though I did have chili for lunch!  Hey-ho!).  I think that there is a lot of missing information and that while it is possible that the phenomenon is documentable (maybe, not sure), the future effects are far from known.  Today I'm going to write about what I believe to be the central problem with the whole global warming discussion: its one-sided nature.  Sure, the blowhards of Fox News can blather all they want, but in the public discourse there is really only one perspective that is allowed to be represented.

Memory Present, Mind Absent

So . . . one of the more memorable books I read over the summer is "Moonwalking With Einstein," by Joshua Foer.  The book chronicles his travels through the world of competitive memory, from a reporter covering the National Memory Championships to his competition, the following year, in that same event.  And his accomplishment is quite impressive - I know that I balk at attempting it, and I believe I have a pretty good memory to begin with (one message from the book is that if you know the technique, anyone can do it; I'm not saying I disbelieve that, but the amount of work involved seems daunting).  But in the end, is his memory any better?  Depends on how you define memory.

May the Force Kick George Lucas's Butt

So . . . today marks the release of the first Star Wars Blu-Ray sets, and like any good film nerd, I have already picked up my copy.  Now, before you groan and complain, allow me to make a few contradictory points.  I do rationalize my purchase in this post, but also bellyache about the same changes to the movies that you hate too.  I don't think there are many people, especially of my generation, that are fans of what Lucas has done to change the original movies.  But isn't that his prerogative?  Which gets to a bigger question: who owns art?  The artist, or the audience?

The Greatest Blog Post About the Greatest Movie Ever Sold

So . . . today is the first day of my marketing communications and advertising class.  In preparation for this (or maybe in honour of this?) I watched a movie on the topic over the weekend.  It was a documentary by Morgan Spurlock (of Super Size Me fame), the conceit of which was that it would be the first documentary about advertising and product placement to be fully financed by advertising and product placement.  Hence the title: Pom Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.  And it was good enough that I will be showing it to my class later this semester.

Sensational Science

So . . . as a consumer researcher, I tend to notice items in the news that relate to behaviour and psychology.  The newspapers seem to love to print articles about scientific research results, and even I have had the pleasure of getting my name in the paper (I won't be so crass as to post a link; simply Google "Eric Dolansky Deal or No Deal" or "Eric Dolansky magical thinking" to find the numerous articles about me and my fabulous work.  Eh, I should have just posted links, so here they are.  Yes, I am that shallow).  But lately I have found more and more problems with this.  Sure, it's great to expose the public to research, but a lot of the time the newspapers just, well, miss the point.  Here are a couple of examples.

The Metaphysics of Student Life, Part 2

So . . . today I'm continuing with my annual Thornton Melon memorial "Back to School" blog week.  By the way, I'm pretty sure that this is the only movie ever to have all of the following people appear: Adrienne Barbeau, Robert Downey Jr., Danny Elfman, Kevin's older brother Wayne from the Wonder Years, Sam Kinison, the bad guy from Karate Kid, and Kurt Vonnegut(!).  Anyway, back to what I was discussing: the start of the new school year.  Yesterday I asked the question "why are we here" with the "we" being students.  I'm going to address the same question today but with a different emphasis; instead of "why are we here," I'm asking "why are we here."  Besides, apparently, to split hairs.

The Metaphysics of Student Life, Part One

So . . . today is the first day of classes at my university.  Though I'm not back in the classroom until next week, I thought I would finish the week with a couple of posts about university, teaching, and higher learning (not the movie - there's not much to say beyond the fact that Busta Rhymes was da bomb).  Today I'm going to discuss that fundamental question of student existence - where's the bar with cheap beer and hot townies?  No, not that one, this one: why am I here?

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

So . . . I'm back!  After two months of near-silence, my irrepressable urge to expound on all available topics has returned.  Hope you've missed me (hell, I hope you even noticed I wasn't blogging!).  Last year I took a break in the summer because of the birth of my daughter (babies keep you busy).  This summer I didn't have as good an excuse other than the catch-all "I'm busy."  And given that I have a previous blog post on how being "busy" really doesn't mean quite that, but rather that you've reprioritized other things, I guess I don't have a good excuse.  But now I'm back, I've got a long list of topics to discuss, and I'm happy to be sharing my brain dumps with you.

My Imminent (and Hopefully Eminent) Return

So . . . what a summer!  In my line of work I'm supposed to be a little less snowed-under in the summer.  Don't know what happened.  I do know that I'm finishing the summer with four projects almost completed.  The cost, of course, is that I have barely posted since the weather got nice.  Well, that's all about to change . . . I expect.

My return is impending.  New posts should be going up right after labour day.  I have lots of new ideas and topics, having missed out on some of the summer's biggest news stories (what credit downgrade?).  I will be back to fulminating on our foibles and flowing freely about falsehoods and fallacies.  Sorry for the long delay but you should soon be back to an overload of my ramblings.

Besides, without this outlet, I fear my head will explode.  Assuming it doesn't, look for me in a couple of weeks!

Don't Worry, You're Not Rid of Me Yet

So . . . turns out I'm on a bit of an impromptu hiatus this month.  I've been quite busy with my non-blogging life, and haven't been giving y'all the attention I usually do.  Fear not - my pithy comments and wise proclamations will soon return to these virtual pages.  I have plenty of splendid ideas for posts that I am currently hoarding, and will mete them out to you soon enough.  Maybe once August rolls around.  In the meantime, what are you doing inside reading off a screen?  Get out and enjoy the summer!

Full of Fun Facts For the Fourth

So . . . last year I did a special Canada Day edition of the blog, in which I gave interesting and lesser-known facts about each of Canada's twenty-odd Prime Ministers.  I thought, seeing as how a significant portion of my readership (at least five people) are from south of the border, that this year I would do the same for the US Presidents.  Problem is that there are twice as many, so I will only be giving a factoid or two about each.  Enjoy!

Feelin' Fruity

So . . . the sun is shining (for now), the humidity is up, and everyone's complaining that it's too hot - must be summer!  Without a doubt, summer is my favourite time of year (yeah, I know, real unique on that).  Even though I hate mowing the lawn, I don't hate it as much as shovelling snow.  Spring is just a warm-up for the real deal, and fall is okay if you like to surround yourself reminders of our own mortality.  Nope, summer kicks the butt of all of those other seasons, if only for one reason - fresh produce.

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.