Month: October 2005

Go outside and play, dammit!Leave a comment

Dang You, Eddie Martinez!

therandomtexan

My system for placing in weekend races continues to pay off.  My lovely wife and I ran in the annual St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Youth Ministries 5K this morning. My wife placed first in her age group (beating everyone in 3 age groups younger, too), while I took a second in my age group. However, I relearned an important lesson. During the race, another fellow and I ran pretty much neck and neck; first he led, then I did, then finally he did. Sure enough, he was in my age group, and he beat me by a measly 16 … Continue reading Dang You, Eddie Martinez!

Go outside and play, dammit!Leave a comment

You’re still inconsiderate bastards…

therandomtexan

I just read about WalMart’s experimental energy-conserving store in McKinney, Texas, so I checked out their webpage.  Something was missing, so I checked out the store site with Google Maps–no trees in the parking lot.  My comments to the WalMart folks: I just read about WalMart Going Green at Instapundit.com, and followed a link furnished by one of your employees to your web page about the experimental store in McKinney, Texas.  The store is nice for energy savings and getting past the building codes, but the storefront photo shows WalMart’s continuing environmental tin ear when it comes to your customers.  … Continue reading You’re still inconsiderate bastards…

Statistics at UTSA2 Comments

There’s fair, and then there’s fair…

therandomtexan

We had a surprising discussion last week in one of my probability classes. Zach remarked that he had tried in vain to convince a friend that the Texas Lottery was not fair, since there is a "house advantage." The friend was unconvinced, arguing that the lottery must be fair, since everyone has the same chance of winning. Spotting a teachable moment*, I steered the discussion to the different concepts of fair. Friend of the wizard thinks it’s "all men are treated equal," while modern probabilists think it’s "the expected payout is the price of the bet." Some folks are still … Continue reading There’s fair, and then there’s fair…

the game of lifeLeave a comment

Nothing’s ever good enough…

therandomtexan

Van der Leuen has recovered from his trek to Seattle sufficently to post.  Not quite a rant, but close.  I give nothing away with this quote Indeed, it is a source of continuing disappointment in every American’s life that whenever one feels a strange hand groping around one’s buttocks, it is never an attractive stranger, but merely some large or small politician searching for one’s wallet. Read the whole thing. Continue reading Nothing’s ever good enough…

the game of lifeLeave a comment

Another artificial shortage…

therandomtexan

The National Hurricane Center is running out of names for 2005 hurricanes; we may be forced to make do with Greek letters (Oh, the horror!  Hurricane Psi!)  Of course, they don’t use names beginning with Q, U, X, Y, or Z, because who ever heard of names like Quentin, Ulysses, Xerxes, Yolanda, or Zachary?  (Quinn, Ursala, Xena, Yves, Zoe?)  Crimenitley, they recycle the names every 6 years anyway; I’d think in six years they could come up with a slate of quxzy (kwuks-zee) names.  Tip from the Drudge Report. Update (13 October):  Get your names at Name Voyager. Continue reading Another artificial shortage…

teachingLeave a comment

“There are no stupid questions.”

therandomtexan

How often have you heard teachers spout that line to their students, in an effort to get  them to participate?  I think this is one of the boilerplate items we’re implicitly taught to use in the obligatory First Day of Class Lecture. Well, it’s crap.  Any mathematician knows that a single counterexample blows an assertion right out the water, so here’s mine. A student misses one or more lectures (with any one of the standard excuses), and then asks me "I missed class–did I miss anything important?" Once upon a time, this had the power to upset me.  Now I’m … Continue reading “There are no stupid questions.”

News and politicsLeave a comment

That’s it. I’m turning his picture to the wall.

therandomtexan

This is taxpayer money down the toilet–I can get the same energy-saving advice at my garage or hardware store.  When President Bush was channeling this guy in the War on Militant Islam, I was with him.  But now he’s channeling this guy because we have a temporary gasoline shortage.  Where’s my old Whip Inflation Now button?  Update (4 October):  Donald Sensing gets to the heart of the problem: no defining principles. Continue reading That’s it. I’m turning his picture to the wall.

the game of lifeLeave a comment

Vegetarian? Not this boy.

therandomtexan

I was struck by a quote this morning If slaughterhouses had glass walls the whole world would be vegetarian. – Linda McCartney and I just had to respond: Lovely sentiment. But Mrs McCartney didn’t grow up with the butcher’s boy, who spent every Saturday wandering freely around the packing house, from meat lockers to cutting room to the killing floor. It was a place full of strong men and tough dames, and–when you’re 9 years old–who wouldn’t want to be just like them? Especially when Dad was handing out jerky or franks, hot from the smoke house! Cross-posted at think … Continue reading Vegetarian? Not this boy.