Well Johnson only got second place today, but he's still well on his way to winning the championship. A strange note on this race, the winner gets a grandfather clock. Johnson has won so often at this track that he has one in every room, so maybe today's loss was actually a calculated attempt to avoid receiving another clock without endangering his lead by losing to a driver that has no chance of winning the championship.
Johnson - 62%
Gordon - 16%
Stewart - 13%
Martin - 9%
Everyone else - 0%
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Johnson Still Leading
Well, Johnson won the Charlotte race. Most of the Chase did pretty terribly, wiping out what little chance many of them had of winning the Championship. Kahne fought valiantly for a third place finish, but is still totally out of contention.
Johnson - 41%
Stewart - 19%
Gordon - 18%
Martin - 14%
Busch - 5%
Montoya - 3%
Everyone else - 0%
Johnson - 41%
Stewart - 19%
Gordon - 18%
Martin - 14%
Busch - 5%
Montoya - 3%
Everyone else - 0%
Friday, October 16, 2009
Another heat source
BBC
I'm pretty sure that I posted on here about a town in Sweden that used its crematory as a source of heat in the winter, but the "Search Blog" feature is crap. Well, now it's been revealed that there's a heating plant in central Sweden that uses rabbits.
I'm pretty sure that I posted on here about a town in Sweden that used its crematory as a source of heat in the winter, but the "Search Blog" feature is crap. Well, now it's been revealed that there's a heating plant in central Sweden that uses rabbits.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
LHC being thwarted by the future
NY Times
Fun article on the theory that maybe the Higgs boson doesn't want to be found and is causing events in the future that will keep the LHC from working correctly.
Fun article on the theory that maybe the Higgs boson doesn't want to be found and is causing events in the future that will keep the LHC from working correctly.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
One-Hit Wonders
I got curious a few days ago about who were the greatest one-hit wonders. To determine this, I used Billboards Hot 100 Year-End chart. This insured that the songs were truly big hits when they came out. However, it did lead to a few oddities. Such as, using this standard makes the Dave Matthews Band a one-hit wonder despite being one of the best-selling acts. It's just that they tend to concentrate on album sells and don't push singles, so they don't really have individual hit songs. Also, Billboard Hot 100 only applies to success in the US. So someone like James Blunt, who is very successful in Europe, is merely a one-hit wonder in the US.
Top One-Hit Wonder that has a chance of making another hit (maybe)
Daniel Powter - Bad Day - 2006
Number one song of 2006, which explains why I heard it so much despite hating the song. Mr. Powter is the first solo Canadian male singer to top the Hot 100 since 1995, which I'm sure is important to someone. He is still recording music, and has released five more singles since "Bad Day". No hits yet, but I'm sure he's hoping for one just so he can be removed from this list and be replaced by James Blunt.
Top One-Hit Wonder more famous for something else
Los Del Rio - Macarena - 1996
So what exactly is more famous about the Macarena other than the song itself? If you didn't say "the dance", you're obviously less than 13 years old. Without the dance, "Macarena" is just a really odd song with two old men singing incomprehensibly in Spanish (if you know Spanish and can comprehend them, feel free to correct me). Actually, Los Del Rio presents a bit a problem as they actually had two hits, "Macarena" and "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)".
Top One-Hit Wonder destroyed by their own success
The Knack - My Sharona - 1979
I was actually kind of surprised to learn that the Knack never produced another hit. They came out at a good time, everyone was tired of disco, but the music that would define the '80's hadn't come into its own yet. So the Knack's retro-sound propelled them to number one. Unfortunately for them, because they were the only interesting thing on radio, they got way overplayed. Eventually, everyone came to hate them and all subsequent singles and albums did horribly.
Top One-Hit Wonder whose mere existence mocks an entire generation
The Archies - Sugar Sugar - 1969
When you think of 1969, what do you think of? Probably not kid-friendly bubblegum pop, but that was exactly what the number one song of 1969 was. The band was made up of freaking cartoon characters! All the anti-war, hippie music made famous in 1969 at one point bowed before the might of "Sugar Sugar".
Top One-Hit Wonder produced by a movie
Lulu - To Sir with Love - 1967
This song was the theme of the film "To Sir with Love". I've never heard of either. Lulu actually enjoyed some success in the UK, even appearing on Eurovision, but it was only her connection to the movie that got her music played in the US. It's actually kind of an strange song, with an odd rhythm and an almost non-existent chorus, which might explain why no one plays it today.
Top One-Hit Wonder with impeccable timing
SSgt Barry Sadler - The Ballad Of The Green Berets - 1966
The Vietnam War is now mostly associated with songs like "War", "Fortunate Son", and "Blowing in the Wind". Luckily for SSgt Sadler, he was able to get this song out and on the airwaves before public mood turned heavily against the Vietnam War.
Top One-Hit Wonder who didn't want to be famous
Terry Jacks - Seasons in the Sun - 1974
After eking out a living as a musician, Terry Jacks band, the Poppy Family, scored a number one hit in Canada. Jacks soon found that he didn't really enjoy being famous or performing concerts, so the band broke up. He then recorded a solo album. It included "Seasons in the Sun" which became one of the biggest hits by a Canadian musician ever. Cursed with the awesome power of every song he sang becoming a hit, he left the music industry.
Top One-Hit Wonder that is the epitome of everything a one-hit wonder should be
Tag Team - Whoomp! There it is - 1993
Go to Youtube, there is no official video. Go to Wikipedia, all it says about Tag Team is that they existed. I have found more information on obscure one-hit wonders from the '60's. Tag Team basically released this one song that did monstrously well, and then were completely forgotten by history.
Top One-Hit Wonder ever
Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back - 1992
Sir Mix-A-Lot might disagree with being called a one-hit wonder, he did have two albums go platinum, but "Baby Got Back" was his only song to make it to the Hot 100 Year-End Chart, and is the song he will forever be remembered for. While many rappers have tried similar songs, they either took themselves too seriously or tried too hard to be funny. Sir Mix-A-Lot was able to strike a perfect balance and created a song so memorable that it could never be topped. The fact that he faded so quickly into obscurity is probably best for everyone.
Top One-Hit Wonder that has a chance of making another hit (maybe)
Daniel Powter - Bad Day - 2006
Number one song of 2006, which explains why I heard it so much despite hating the song. Mr. Powter is the first solo Canadian male singer to top the Hot 100 since 1995, which I'm sure is important to someone. He is still recording music, and has released five more singles since "Bad Day". No hits yet, but I'm sure he's hoping for one just so he can be removed from this list and be replaced by James Blunt.
Top One-Hit Wonder more famous for something else
Los Del Rio - Macarena - 1996
So what exactly is more famous about the Macarena other than the song itself? If you didn't say "the dance", you're obviously less than 13 years old. Without the dance, "Macarena" is just a really odd song with two old men singing incomprehensibly in Spanish (if you know Spanish and can comprehend them, feel free to correct me). Actually, Los Del Rio presents a bit a problem as they actually had two hits, "Macarena" and "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)".
Top One-Hit Wonder destroyed by their own success
The Knack - My Sharona - 1979
I was actually kind of surprised to learn that the Knack never produced another hit. They came out at a good time, everyone was tired of disco, but the music that would define the '80's hadn't come into its own yet. So the Knack's retro-sound propelled them to number one. Unfortunately for them, because they were the only interesting thing on radio, they got way overplayed. Eventually, everyone came to hate them and all subsequent singles and albums did horribly.
Top One-Hit Wonder whose mere existence mocks an entire generation
The Archies - Sugar Sugar - 1969
When you think of 1969, what do you think of? Probably not kid-friendly bubblegum pop, but that was exactly what the number one song of 1969 was. The band was made up of freaking cartoon characters! All the anti-war, hippie music made famous in 1969 at one point bowed before the might of "Sugar Sugar".
Top One-Hit Wonder produced by a movie
Lulu - To Sir with Love - 1967
This song was the theme of the film "To Sir with Love". I've never heard of either. Lulu actually enjoyed some success in the UK, even appearing on Eurovision, but it was only her connection to the movie that got her music played in the US. It's actually kind of an strange song, with an odd rhythm and an almost non-existent chorus, which might explain why no one plays it today.
Top One-Hit Wonder with impeccable timing
SSgt Barry Sadler - The Ballad Of The Green Berets - 1966
The Vietnam War is now mostly associated with songs like "War", "Fortunate Son", and "Blowing in the Wind". Luckily for SSgt Sadler, he was able to get this song out and on the airwaves before public mood turned heavily against the Vietnam War.
Top One-Hit Wonder who didn't want to be famous
Terry Jacks - Seasons in the Sun - 1974
After eking out a living as a musician, Terry Jacks band, the Poppy Family, scored a number one hit in Canada. Jacks soon found that he didn't really enjoy being famous or performing concerts, so the band broke up. He then recorded a solo album. It included "Seasons in the Sun" which became one of the biggest hits by a Canadian musician ever. Cursed with the awesome power of every song he sang becoming a hit, he left the music industry.
Top One-Hit Wonder that is the epitome of everything a one-hit wonder should be
Tag Team - Whoomp! There it is - 1993
Go to Youtube, there is no official video. Go to Wikipedia, all it says about Tag Team is that they existed. I have found more information on obscure one-hit wonders from the '60's. Tag Team basically released this one song that did monstrously well, and then were completely forgotten by history.
Top One-Hit Wonder ever
Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back - 1992
Sir Mix-A-Lot might disagree with being called a one-hit wonder, he did have two albums go platinum, but "Baby Got Back" was his only song to make it to the Hot 100 Year-End Chart, and is the song he will forever be remembered for. While many rappers have tried similar songs, they either took themselves too seriously or tried too hard to be funny. Sir Mix-A-Lot was able to strike a perfect balance and created a song so memorable that it could never be topped. The fact that he faded so quickly into obscurity is probably best for everyone.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Guess who's the new favorite
That's right, Jimmie Johnson won the race today, paving the way for his fourth consecutive cup win. Here are the updated predictions on who will win the chase:
Johnson - 21%
Stewart - 18%
Martin - 15%
Gordon - 13%
Montoya - 11%
Busch - 8%
Hamlin - 4%
Edwards - 3%
Biffle - 3%
Newman - 2%
Kahne - 0%
Vickers - 0%
Johnson - 21%
Stewart - 18%
Martin - 15%
Gordon - 13%
Montoya - 11%
Busch - 8%
Hamlin - 4%
Edwards - 3%
Biffle - 3%
Newman - 2%
Kahne - 0%
Vickers - 0%
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Back to a lower US Dollar
While I was in Korea, I kept track of the declining US Dollar for a few months, as it seemed inevitable that it would keep falling for some time. However, I gave up as the trend reversed itself and people started buying up US Dollars due to the recession.
While it's hard to say if the recession is over or not, two details point towards it coming to end. First, miles driven on US highways have started to increase, second, since February nearly all major currencies have gone up in value against the US Dollar. That's right, the sinking US Dollar is a sign of recovery. Unlike in 2007 when the declining US Dollar was always in the news, this decline has largely gone unheralded. However, as the US Dollar inches closer to parity with the Canadian Dollar, we will probably start hearing things.
Anyway, I set up a few new benchmarks with predictions as to when they'll be reached (monthly average).
7 Swedish Krona > $1 US, Oct. 2009
30 Russian Rouble > $1 US, Oct. 2009
1 Canadian Dollar > $1 US, Dec. 2009
1 Australian Dollar > $1 US, Dec. 2009
1 Swiss Franc > $1 US, Dec. 2009
1100 Korean Won > $1 US, Dec. 2009
1 NZ Dollar > $1 US, Mar. 2010
1.50 Brazilian Real > $1 US, Mar. 2010
0.60 Euro > $1 US, Apr. 2010
90 Yen > $1 US, Jul. 2010
While it's hard to say if the recession is over or not, two details point towards it coming to end. First, miles driven on US highways have started to increase, second, since February nearly all major currencies have gone up in value against the US Dollar. That's right, the sinking US Dollar is a sign of recovery. Unlike in 2007 when the declining US Dollar was always in the news, this decline has largely gone unheralded. However, as the US Dollar inches closer to parity with the Canadian Dollar, we will probably start hearing things.
Anyway, I set up a few new benchmarks with predictions as to when they'll be reached (monthly average).
7 Swedish Krona > $1 US, Oct. 2009
30 Russian Rouble > $1 US, Oct. 2009
1 Canadian Dollar > $1 US, Dec. 2009
1 Australian Dollar > $1 US, Dec. 2009
1 Swiss Franc > $1 US, Dec. 2009
1100 Korean Won > $1 US, Dec. 2009
1 NZ Dollar > $1 US, Mar. 2010
1.50 Brazilian Real > $1 US, Mar. 2010
0.60 Euro > $1 US, Apr. 2010
90 Yen > $1 US, Jul. 2010
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Place your bets on the Chase
I've been playing around with numbers and wanted to see if there was a way to predict the likelihood of each NASCAR drivers' chances of winning the championship. I came up with a formula using the average numbers of points each driver received at all previous races this season. The one thing it leaves out is their predicted results at the final seven races. I mention this because, while I currently have Stewart as the favorite, the next race is at Fontana, and Johnson has an amazing record there. So I kind of expect that after that race, Johnson with be the favorite.
Chances of winning:
Stewart - 15%
Johnson - 14%
Martin - 12%
Gordon - 11%
Montoya - 9%
Hamlin - 9%
Busch - 8%
Biffle - 6%
Edwards - 5%
Newman - 5%
Kahne - 4%
Vickers - 2%
Chances of winning:
Stewart - 15%
Johnson - 14%
Martin - 12%
Gordon - 11%
Montoya - 9%
Hamlin - 9%
Busch - 8%
Biffle - 6%
Edwards - 5%
Newman - 5%
Kahne - 4%
Vickers - 2%
Astrology is BS (Statistically proven)
OKTrends
The dating site OKCupid has been posting a lot of statistical information on users, looking at match percentages and reply rates. They have a lot of information about race and religion and also what kind of message gets the most replies. However, my favorite statistic they found deals with Astrological signs.
The dating site OKCupid has been posting a lot of statistical information on users, looking at match percentages and reply rates. They have a lot of information about race and religion and also what kind of message gets the most replies. However, my favorite statistic they found deals with Astrological signs.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Dominate Parties
When looking over the results of the recent election, I became curious about how the individual Länder voted. When I colored each Länder as the color of the party that won a plurality there, this is the map I got:
It shows a Germany dominated by the CDU, with Die Linke challenging them in the east and SPD reduced to a small holding in Bremen (Bremen is non-contiguous, which is why there are two red dots). This map reminds of basically every map from a Swedish election. Let's look at the 2006 results as an example:
Sweden is dominated by the Social Democrats and the Moderates are left with only a foothold in Stockholm. However, the Social Democrats actually lost this election. How is that possible? The Social Democrats are the largest party in Sweden by a mile, however, their opposition isn't just the Moderates, but rather The Alliance, a collection of four smaller parties. While individually, none of these parties can compete against the Social Democrats, together, these four parties were able to get more votes than the Social Democrats. So if we look the election as a battle between coalitions and not parties, we get this:
Well, it still looks like the Social Democrats dominate, but the areas won by the Alliance include the four largest cities in Sweden.
So what does this have to do with the Germany map? Like the Social Democrats, the CDU is now by far the largest party, so on a party versus party basis, they're hard to beat. That said, they only received 34% of the vote, so while they won pluralities in most Länder, the majority didn't vote for them. It is also one of the worst results that CDU has ever received, it's just that the SPD did so much more worse. Another problem is that the map also seems to overemphasis Die Linke. Despite winning plurality in two Länder, Die Linke is only the fourth largest party overall. So if SPD managed to win Bremen, what happened to the third largest party, FDP? This is more a matter of concentration of votes. There is no real FDP stronghold, they basically receive the same result everywhere, meaning they're never the smallest party, but they're also never the largest. Die Linke voters however are heavily concentrated in East Germany, so while their overall vote is kind of low, in select locations, their share of the vote is quite high.
So instead of looking at the results based on how the parties did, let's look at how the CDU/FDP Coalition did against the left-wing parties.
This map seems to better represent the actual result, which is that the vote was very close, with the CDU/FDP Coalition only winning with a plurality. In fact, the CDU/FDP Coalition only received a majority in just three Länder, winning the rest with just a plurality. So this was not exactly a crushing defeat for the German left. If the SPD ever decided to give up its objections to Die Linke, it could very well retake the German government.
It shows a Germany dominated by the CDU, with Die Linke challenging them in the east and SPD reduced to a small holding in Bremen (Bremen is non-contiguous, which is why there are two red dots). This map reminds of basically every map from a Swedish election. Let's look at the 2006 results as an example:
Sweden is dominated by the Social Democrats and the Moderates are left with only a foothold in Stockholm. However, the Social Democrats actually lost this election. How is that possible? The Social Democrats are the largest party in Sweden by a mile, however, their opposition isn't just the Moderates, but rather The Alliance, a collection of four smaller parties. While individually, none of these parties can compete against the Social Democrats, together, these four parties were able to get more votes than the Social Democrats. So if we look the election as a battle between coalitions and not parties, we get this:
Well, it still looks like the Social Democrats dominate, but the areas won by the Alliance include the four largest cities in Sweden.
So what does this have to do with the Germany map? Like the Social Democrats, the CDU is now by far the largest party, so on a party versus party basis, they're hard to beat. That said, they only received 34% of the vote, so while they won pluralities in most Länder, the majority didn't vote for them. It is also one of the worst results that CDU has ever received, it's just that the SPD did so much more worse. Another problem is that the map also seems to overemphasis Die Linke. Despite winning plurality in two Länder, Die Linke is only the fourth largest party overall. So if SPD managed to win Bremen, what happened to the third largest party, FDP? This is more a matter of concentration of votes. There is no real FDP stronghold, they basically receive the same result everywhere, meaning they're never the smallest party, but they're also never the largest. Die Linke voters however are heavily concentrated in East Germany, so while their overall vote is kind of low, in select locations, their share of the vote is quite high.
So instead of looking at the results based on how the parties did, let's look at how the CDU/FDP Coalition did against the left-wing parties.
This map seems to better represent the actual result, which is that the vote was very close, with the CDU/FDP Coalition only winning with a plurality. In fact, the CDU/FDP Coalition only received a majority in just three Länder, winning the rest with just a plurality. So this was not exactly a crushing defeat for the German left. If the SPD ever decided to give up its objections to Die Linke, it could very well retake the German government.
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