and toy imports:
Friday, May 12, 2006
Remapping the world
Here are maps of the world redrawn according to various statistics: the number of airline passengers, the percent of the population under 18, anticipated population in 2300 . . . sounds boring but it's unexpectedly fascinating. Don't forget to follow the link to many more. I was particularly struck by toy exports:
and toy imports:
and toy imports:
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Aurora grabs the lead!
Chris exits. Catherine survives at least another week. Aurora moves into first place.
Aurora 11
Luke 12
Laura 12
Tom 16
Cassie 16
Caleb 18
Alas, A aura's position is not as strong as L aura's position. L aura is guaranteed at least a tie, which would throw the outcome into the labyrinthian tie-breaker system. Should Elliott go home next week, and Taylor wins, it's a three-way tie between L aura, A aura, and Luke. If Elliott goes home next week and Catherine wins, it's a two-way tie between the two auras. Mom, Caleb and I are out of it, and stand to be the biggest losers.
Chris was shocked. Nice guy. He'll have an interesting career.
Aurora also moved up to 290th position on the Jersey Performance Index list. What a cow!
Aurora 11
Luke 12
Laura 12
Tom 16
Cassie 16
Caleb 18
Alas, A aura's position is not as strong as L aura's position. L aura is guaranteed at least a tie, which would throw the outcome into the labyrinthian tie-breaker system. Should Elliott go home next week, and Taylor wins, it's a three-way tie between L aura, A aura, and Luke. If Elliott goes home next week and Catherine wins, it's a two-way tie between the two auras. Mom, Caleb and I are out of it, and stand to be the biggest losers.
Chris was shocked. Nice guy. He'll have an interesting career.
Aurora also moved up to 290th position on the Jersey Performance Index list. What a cow!
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
American Idol Reaction
Elliott came up BIG tonight. I thought the first one was excellent, and then he sang the second one and was really incredible. Makes the voting for this week MUCH more interesting.
Taylor's first song I don't think was anything special at all. Didn't show us anything from him that we haven't seen before, didn't show much range or vocal ability, and the performance was just decent. He lost notes during some of his more difficult dance steps and things like that. The second song was great. The arrangement was weak at the end but his performance was flawless.
Chris did nothing at all tonight. Two performances with nothing new or exciting, no intensity or anything. Again, makes the voting very interesting. But I have to say, I highly doubt he would be voted off based on one bad night. He'd have to do something Pickleresque to pull that off.
Katherine's first song was absolutely incredible, maybe the best of the night. Elliott's were really good but that first one may have been better. The second song had a horrible arrangement, it was much too overtop for that kind of song. Nonetheless, 3/4 of the way through the song I couldn't help falling in lover with her. After the weak ending, I could help it again.
I think Katherine is the favorite to get voted off. If not her, then Chris. Then Elliott and then of course Taylor. Really, I have no clue at all. I think Chris deserves to go though, his act is getting really tiresome.
Taylor's first song I don't think was anything special at all. Didn't show us anything from him that we haven't seen before, didn't show much range or vocal ability, and the performance was just decent. He lost notes during some of his more difficult dance steps and things like that. The second song was great. The arrangement was weak at the end but his performance was flawless.
Chris did nothing at all tonight. Two performances with nothing new or exciting, no intensity or anything. Again, makes the voting very interesting. But I have to say, I highly doubt he would be voted off based on one bad night. He'd have to do something Pickleresque to pull that off.
Katherine's first song was absolutely incredible, maybe the best of the night. Elliott's were really good but that first one may have been better. The second song had a horrible arrangement, it was much too overtop for that kind of song. Nonetheless, 3/4 of the way through the song I couldn't help falling in lover with her. After the weak ending, I could help it again.
I think Katherine is the favorite to get voted off. If not her, then Chris. Then Elliott and then of course Taylor. Really, I have no clue at all. I think Chris deserves to go though, his act is getting really tiresome.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
The Murphies (and a Schloen and a Roe and a Bencze) go to a Ball Game
Before the game:
A controversial call:
Scouts at work:
Who are those guys?
Don't they look nice?
This one's better!
A controversial call:
Scouts at work:
Who are those guys?
Don't they look nice?
This one's better!
Thursday, May 04, 2006
AI Table
Okay here's a table with probabilities of winning the AI pool and the best case scenarios for each person who entered. This way everyone will know who to cheer for. At the top I put each person's name plus how far behind Laura they will be after Taylor leaves. It does not matter when Taylor leaves. The impact will be the same no matter what because no one had him in the top 4. I also put each person's ranks for the 4 remaining contestants EXCEPT for Taylor. I apologize if there are any mistakes.
Laura (0) 3. Chris 1/24 to tie and lose to Luke | Aurora (2) 4. Chris 3. Elliott Best Scenario is to win 32$ if this happens: | Luke (3) 3. Elliott Best Scenario is to win 26$ if this happens: | Dad (3) 7. Elliott 4. Katherine no chance to tie or win Best Scenario is to only lose 2$ if this happens: 4. Elliott or Katherine 2. Chris or Taylor 1. Chris or Taylor | Mom (5) 6. Elliott no chance to tie or win Best Scenario is to only lose 4$ if this happens: 3. Taylor or Katherine 2. Chris or Katherine or Taylor 1. Chris or Katherine or Taylor | Caleb (7) 5. Elliott 1. Chris no chance to tie or win Best Scenario is to only lose 2$ if this happens: 4. Elliott 3. Katherine 2. Taylor 1. Chris |
This will probably come out kind of funky but hopefully it will make sense. I used the Html and it was kind of tricky.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Forget Paris
The two auras are tied for the lead. But the L aura is in the driver's seat as she will gain two points on the A aura when Taylor departs, which may not be until the very end. How do you plan to spend your winnings, Laura?
Laura 11
Auraura 11
Luke 12
Tom 14
Cassie 14
Caleb 15
Laura 11
Auraura 11
Luke 12
Tom 14
Cassie 14
Caleb 15
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
American Idol Reaction
My bet is that Elliott goes home. Two really bad song choices. The first one was just a bad song and the second one just doesn't show off any vocal talent.
Paris just doesn't do much for me anymore. Prince sucks and there's something about the tone of Paris's voice that i'm really starting to dislike. Especially in a ballad. Actually I first noticed it very early in the competition when she did some ballad, but I didn't notice it again until recently just because she stopped doing ballads. The only slower song of her's I've liked a lot this year was the jazzy one that she did.
Chris was pretty great and I think he may be the favorite to win the competition. The second song would've been perfect for him if it was a whole step lower.
Katherine was mediocre in the first song, but the second one was great. She was having genuine fun.
And then if you want to talk about having fun, nobody beats Taylor. I started cracking up when I realized he was doing Play That Funky Music White Boy. Man he's great. He doesn't get nearly as much credit as he deserves for his singing ability. Something in the Way She Moves was awesome too. I don't know why they don't do more Beatles songs. There should be a Beatles week. If you want to find a song that will get a great reaction from people, will make you sound good and is a perfect singer's song, you should do a Beatle's song.
Nothing, of course, is for certain but I'm kind of thinking that Elliott will go home, and then it will come down to Chris and Taylor. Katherine is too inconsistent. I'm sure lots of people love Paris, but my feeling is that the individual personality and character of Chris and Taylor gets more people wanting to call and vote for them than Paris. But don't quote me on any of this stuff.
Paris just doesn't do much for me anymore. Prince sucks and there's something about the tone of Paris's voice that i'm really starting to dislike. Especially in a ballad. Actually I first noticed it very early in the competition when she did some ballad, but I didn't notice it again until recently just because she stopped doing ballads. The only slower song of her's I've liked a lot this year was the jazzy one that she did.
Chris was pretty great and I think he may be the favorite to win the competition. The second song would've been perfect for him if it was a whole step lower.
Katherine was mediocre in the first song, but the second one was great. She was having genuine fun.
And then if you want to talk about having fun, nobody beats Taylor. I started cracking up when I realized he was doing Play That Funky Music White Boy. Man he's great. He doesn't get nearly as much credit as he deserves for his singing ability. Something in the Way She Moves was awesome too. I don't know why they don't do more Beatles songs. There should be a Beatles week. If you want to find a song that will get a great reaction from people, will make you sound good and is a perfect singer's song, you should do a Beatle's song.
Nothing, of course, is for certain but I'm kind of thinking that Elliott will go home, and then it will come down to Chris and Taylor. Katherine is too inconsistent. I'm sure lots of people love Paris, but my feeling is that the individual personality and character of Chris and Taylor gets more people wanting to call and vote for them than Paris. But don't quote me on any of this stuff.
Red Sox Rumor Mill
Apparently, the RS were so thrilled with the results of their reacquisition of Mirabelli yesterday they have dealt Wily Mo to the Orioles and have reacquired Kevin Millar. He is expected to be in Boston in time to suit up for tonight's game. Millar will play first and Youkilis will move to CF for now. The Boston police are expected to arrive in Baltimore around 2:30 to give Millar an escort right to the park.
They are working on a deal with the Dodgers to reacquire Bill Mueller on Wednesday, for either Alex Cora or Alex Gonzales plus a pitching prospect. Mueller will play third, and Lowell will get moved to short, adding some offense to that position.
Theo Epstein said, "I'm just trying to correct some mistakes that were made in my absence."
They are working on a deal with the Dodgers to reacquire Bill Mueller on Wednesday, for either Alex Cora or Alex Gonzales plus a pitching prospect. Mueller will play third, and Lowell will get moved to short, adding some offense to that position.
Theo Epstein said, "I'm just trying to correct some mistakes that were made in my absence."
Monday, May 01, 2006
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