memory's outbox

"The most difficult adjustment I had to make was to let go of the idea of “the struggle.” Whether..."

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:01:00 -0500

“The most difficult adjustment I had to make was to let go of the idea of “the struggle.” Whether they realize it or not, many New Yorkers are hooked on NYC because they have become conditioned to think that simple things should be a struggle (getting an apartment, getting a job, getting a cab, etc.)”

- From ilivehere:SF. My new favorite blog.

"Since 1982, 2,958 elections have been held for individual Senate and Assembly seats [in New York]..."

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:00:00 -0500

“Since 1982, 2,958 elections have been held for individual Senate and Assembly seats [in New York] and only 39 times has an incumbent seeking re-election lost.”

- From an article in the NYTimes.

Recently, I have started to notice pseudo stats. Numbers that seem to imply something profound, but are missing the data that matters. Take the quote above. On first read, the numbers above seem to indicate that ~ 99% of all incumbents win (or at least, that is how I read it). But, that’s not what it says. It says in one percent of elections, an incumbent lost.

Here’s what it doesn’t say: Of all the elections since 1982, how many of those elections involved an incumbent seeking re-election?

Without changing the numbers above, both of the following statements could be true:

A. Incumbents win 99% of the time.

B. Incumbents lose 100% of the time.

If all 2,958 elections involved an incumbent seeking re-election, and the incumbent lost in 39 of those elections, then A is true.

If only 39 of the 2,958 elections involved an incumbent seeking re-election, and all 39 lost, then B is true.

Don’t get me wrong, I am sure the win percentage for incumbents is shockingly high, but the stat above doesn’t get us there. And it scares me that if I had been reading a bit quicker, I’d be trotting out “99% of all incumbents win” at dinner parties when the conversation veered toward the horror show that is Albany.

I love K-Os, but I hear the opening DJ for this show is the cats...

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:03:47 -0500

I love K-Os, but I hear the opening DJ for this show is the cats meow!

"Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do..."

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:10:56 -0500

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that, because the world needs people who have come alive.”

- Howard Thurman

"MISCHIEF, WILSON MILLS ROAD: Police spotted a man changing the letters on the sign at the Marathon..."

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:51:37 -0500

“MISCHIEF, WILSON MILLS ROAD: Police spotted a man changing the letters on the sign at the Marathon gas station, 6295 Wilson Mills Road at 11:25 p.m. Saturday. The man was told to put the letters back the way they were.”

- From the police blotter of a local paper outside of Cleveland. This is how we do.

I first heard Johnny Cash’s version of Hurt on a mix that...

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:14:00 -0500

I first heard Johnny Cash’s version of Hurt on a mix that Luke made for me. I was driving down Falls Road in Baltimore and just about stopped the car.

This isn’t a memory… I was born 6 months later, but...

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:39:00 -0500

This isn’t a memory… I was born 6 months later, but I want this shirt.

Supposedly, 25,134fans drank 60,000 beers. Pandemonium ensued.

It all started when a drunk Indians fan attempted to steal Texas outfielder Jeff Burroughs’ cap. From an entry in Wikipedia:

“Confronting the fan, Burroughs tripped, and Texas manager Billy Martin, thinking that Burroughs had been attacked, charged onto the field, his players right behind, some wielding bats. A large number of intoxicated fans – some armed with knives, chains, and portions of stadium seats that they had torn apart – surged onto the field, and others hurled bottles from the stands… Realizing that the Rangers’ lives might be in danger, Ken Aspromonte, the Indians’ manager, ordered his players to grab bats and help the Rangers.”

My favorite part is that all of the bases were stolen during the riot (and were never returned).

Reverse side.

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:09:15 -0500

Reverse side.

I used to rock this lunch box.

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:08:34 -0500

I used to rock this lunch box.

Soundwave holds a special place in my consciousness. Am I making...

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:51:00 -0500

Soundwave holds a special place in my consciousness.

Am I making it up or did he actually have an actual transforming tape that fit into the cassette deck?

** Google Search **

Hmmm… according to Wikipedia, there were several micro-cassettes Buzzsaw, Laserbeak, Ravage, Rumble, Frenzy, and Ratbat.

(via dens)

Kai Haaskivi, Chris Vaccaro, Desmond Armstrong, Brian Bliss,...

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:05:19 -0500

Kai Haaskivi, Chris Vaccaro, Desmond Armstrong, Brian Bliss, Bernie James, P.J. Johns, Ali Kazemaini, Victor Nogueira, Joey Raduka, the Schmetzer brothers, John Stollmeyer, Carl Valentine…

Another legend of my youth and, unlike the Lancer, I spent...

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:28:00 -0500

Another legend of my youth and, unlike the Lancer, I spent untold hours at the Record Exchange recycling my music collection, bringing in CDs I no longer wanted and receiving credit which I could use to buy albums I coveted. We still call it the “Record Exchange” though it has gone through many name changes and is now the CD and Game Exchange.

Photo circa 1985 courtesy of The Cleveland Memory Project.

The Lancer was a legend (certainly in my mind, and by the looks...

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:00:00 -0500

The Lancer was a legend (certainly in my mind, and by the looks of all the cars parked akimbo on Saturday nights, in real life as well). About half way between downtown Cleveland and my home on the east side, it was one of the only remarkable things on my travels down the Carnegie corridor.

For me, Carnegie was a way to get home from downtown or the airport. It was a liminal place. The Lancer, was a waypost, a mark that I was half way home.

A visit to the Lancer has been on my list of Cleveland holiday visit to-dos forever, sitting just north or south of a stop by the The House of Swing (Where Jazz is King!) another legend from my youth, and a place I only saw from car windows.

I never got to go to the Lancer. I’m gonna go to the House of Swing next time I am home.

ps. Check out the large version of this photo, taken by Cleveland SGS. Stunning.

Reminiscing about iconic images and characters from my childhood...

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:25:51 -0500

Reminiscing about iconic images and characters from my childhood that I had forgotten about.

The buzzard from 100.7 WMMS

The question he is answering is, “What do you want to do...

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:30:00 -0500

The question he is answering is, “What do you want to do before you die?”

The answers are then streamed on a screen just outside this photo to the left.

It’s an ad for The Buried Life on MTv. I passed this somewhere in the mid-forties on 5th avenue on my way to lunch.

"I haven’t put on weight. Your eyes are fat."

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:47:46 -0500

“I haven’t put on weight. Your eyes are fat.”

- From the sleep talkin’ man. I don’t buy that he uttered any of his brilliant quips while asleep, but even awake, he has more quotable lines than most script writers.

"Flight attendants will tell you to turn it off on take off and landing. You can’t explain that it’s..."

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:05:00 -0500

“Flight attendants will tell you to turn it off on take off and landing. You can’t explain that it’s epaper and uses no current. You just can’t. It’s like explaining heaven to bears.”

- # 7 from 10 reasons to buy a Kindle 2… and 10 reasons not to

Just the highlights

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:12:00 -0500

Interesting article about the Air Force getting innundated with raw footage from Predator and Reaper drones in the field and how they are struggling to synthesize the data. Interestingly, they’ve been camping out in ESPN trucks during football games to learn how ESPN tags and retrieves highlight film.

"There is tremendous power in putting your ass where your heart wants to be."

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:04:34 -0500

“There is tremendous power in putting your ass where your heart wants to be.”

- Steven Pressfield

Twitter trending topics on the TV in my elevator at work.

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:57:28 -0500

Twitter trending topics on the TV in my elevator at work.