Soydevon

soydevon: I can't get enough of the MLB Network

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:42:25 -0700

soydevon: I can't get enough of the MLB Network

soydevon: Opportunities for revenge, are just opportunities for forgiveness -- in disguise.

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:54:12 -0700

soydevon: Opportunities for revenge, are just opportunities for forgiveness -- in disguise.

soydevon: @JPosnanski Brows beat the Bills yesterday, 2 field goals to 1, no longer winless

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:21:26 -0700

soydevon: @JPosnanski Brows beat the Bills yesterday, 2 field goals to 1, no longer winless

soydevon: There's too many "ideal" in theory, and not enough "ideal" in reality.

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:06:22 -0700

soydevon: There's too many "ideal" in theory, and not enough "ideal" in reality.

soydevon: @JPosnanski "I don't want to pitch for New York in the playoffs -- I want to pitch for Kansas City in the playoffs," - Zack Greinke

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:21:34 -0700

soydevon: @JPosnanski "I don't want to pitch for New York in the playoffs -- I want to pitch for Kansas City in the playoffs," - Zack Greinke

soydevon: This world is built to teach people to be rebellious.

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:18:55 -0700

soydevon: This world is built to teach people to be rebellious.

soydevon: The one thing I don't like about having a job, is that it gets in the way of all the other stuff I have to get done.

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:59:58 -0700

soydevon: The one thing I don't like about having a job, is that it gets in the way of all the other stuff I have to get done.

soydevon: @splashwildly aahhh if I wasn't workin' on the 12th, I'd come on down. Sounds like fun!

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:16:39 -0700

soydevon: @splashwildly aahhh if I wasn't workin' on the 12th, I'd come on down. Sounds like fun!

soydevon: It'll be nice after Friday, when I can go back to evening shifts. I really don't like daily day shifts

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:29:31 -0700

soydevon: It'll be nice after Friday, when I can go back to evening shifts. I really don't like daily day shifts

soydevon: Up at 6a, just to go to work for an hour, and leave. Ideal way to start a Friday LOL

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:13:59 -0700

soydevon: Up at 6a, just to go to work for an hour, and leave. Ideal way to start a Friday LOL

soydevon: I'm sick and tired of the lack of faith I see in those who really should have more faith than that. What is your problem?!

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 04:04:50 -0700

soydevon: I'm sick and tired of the lack of faith I see in those who really should have more faith than that. What is your problem?!

soydevon: Back'd up lots of stuff last night from my laptop onto DVD, finally. Took 7 1/2 hours. About another 4 hours of that left,

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:14:02 -0700

soydevon: Back'd up lots of stuff last night from my laptop onto DVD, finally. Took 7 1/2 hours. About another 4 hours of that left,

soydevon: @byoung210 Awesome! I get sick of Paula. She lies to the contestants so much... or she just has no clue what she's looking at. Aggrevating

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:53:49 -0700

soydevon: @byoung210 Awesome! I get sick of Paula. She lies to the contestants so much... or she just has no clue what she's looking at. Aggrevating

soydevon: Circuit Overseer's in town this week. This rawwks!

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:56:52 -0700

soydevon: Circuit Overseer's in town this week. This rawwks!

soydevon: Mark #Buerhle, YOU rawwwk! You need to buy a lifetime supply of steak dinners for Dewayne Wise tho. ;-)

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:56:26 -0700

soydevon: Mark #Buerhle, YOU rawwwk! You need to buy a lifetime supply of steak dinners for Dewayne Wise tho. ;-)

soydevon: The existence of reality, fascinates me

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:06:17 -0700

soydevon: The existence of reality, fascinates me

soydevon: I'm no fool, no sirrie! I'm gonna live to be just like me.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:49:07 -0700

soydevon: I'm no fool, no sirrie! I'm gonna live to be just like me.

soydevon: I'm just not a big fan of the #cliché.

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:27:55 -0700

soydevon: I'm just not a big fan of the #cliché.

soydevon: Twitter forces me to turn on #JavaScript so I can follow another user? I thought this was 2009, but I guess it ain't yet.

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:02:12 -0700

soydevon: Twitter forces me to turn on #JavaScript so I can follow another user? I thought this was 2009, but I guess it ain't yet.

soydevon: Yeah I'm cheesy...but I'm extra sharp

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:52:10 -0700

soydevon: Yeah I'm cheesy...but I'm extra sharp

Ian Kennedy comes out with a vasospasm on 4/27/09

soydevon — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:52:47 -0700

	Ian Kennedy comes out with a vasospasm on 4/27/09 Video of this game can be found at http://youtube.com/view_play_list?p=DE9AF6423EB4BC09	From: soydevon Views: 481 1 ratings
	Time: 01:23	More in Sports

Denard Span steals 2nd

soydevon — Fri, 16 May 2008 20:41:18 -0700

	Denard Span steals 2nd Columbus Clippers @ Rochester Red Wings, friday May 16, 2008. Red Wings centerfielder Denard Span steals a base in the 8th inning on the first pitch. A few minutes later, he came around to score and bring the Red Wings within 1 run. He's currently batting .364 with a .462 OBP, and has scored 22 runs in 23 games. So I expect the Twins to recall him soon. International League.	From: soydevon Views: 2045 3 ratings
	Time: 00:14	More in Sports

Letchworth State Park

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 19:50:38 -0700

Cast: D

Hotmail passwords leaked online

(author unknown) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:41:50 -0700

Add Punch to Your Percussion with SONAR 8’s TS-64 Transient Shaper

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:34:55 -0700

One of SONAR 8’s handy new features is the TS-64 Transient Shaper. Although the idea of the transient shaper isn’t new, it’s not a common processor to be bundled with a host DAW.

A transient shaper is a dynamics processor for sculpting the transient dynamics of any percussive-based source material. The TS-64 works best, for example, with drum loops and percussion, electric and acoustic guitars, and piano. While included in SONAR, the TS-64 is not exclusive to the DAW and can be used in any program that accepts VST plug-ins.

Sound On Sound’s Craig Anderton used the tool in SONY Sound Forge and Steinberg’s Wavelab without a hitch! Take a look at his thought on the TS-64 Transient Shaper, it’s controls, and how they can affect the sound of your mix.

The negative health effects of perceived discrimination

The Quantum Lobe Chronicles — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:43:23 -0700

Anyone Would Have Thrown up His Hands

pinto@baseballmusings.com (David Pinto) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:30:54 -0700

Brew Crew Ball has the PITCH f/x on the Victorino ejection.

Correction: I’m sorry, that’s the last pitch of the Brewers game.

Vitamin D deficiency is widespead and on the increase

BJS — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:30:22 -0700

German boy hit by meteorite

(author unknown) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:19:59 -0700

Body movements can influence problem solving, researchers report

BJS — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:30:44 -0700

22-year study finds adults aren't active enough

BJS — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:30:46 -0700

Increased food intake alone explains the increase in body weight in the United States

BJS — Fri, 08 May 2009 03:30:26 -0700

Teach your children well: Focused, happier kids grow up to be healthier adults, study finds

BJS — Wed, 06 May 2009 11:30:22 -0700

Babies brainier than many imagine

BJS — Wed, 06 May 2009 12:30:11 -0700

Why Do People Watch Scary Movies, Stay in Ice Hotels or Eat Bacon-Flavoured Ice-Cream?

Jeremy Dean — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 03:30:03 -0700

We live in a society of total consumption: not just the physical consumption of things but also the conceptual consumption of ideas. We're always on the lookout for tasty new morsels of information and unusual experiences to add to our ever-expanding mental collections.

Mere things like your wattle and daub hut, several oxen and a shiny necklace are no longer impressive; now you need to have followed the Inca trail, formed an opinion on G. K. Chesterton's Christian apologetics and be familiar with the Higgs boson's role in a grand unified theory.

Negative conceptual consumption

The idea that people are voracious consumers of concepts is far from new, but it is only just starting to filter into the psychological literature. In an article published in the new Annual Review of Psychology, Dan Ariely and Michael I. Norton point out that conceptual consumption is especially useful for explaining why people choose certain types of apparently negative experiences (Ariely & Norton, 2009; PDF).

Take horror movies for example. Over the years all sorts of explanations have been offered for why people voluntarily expose themselves to scary movies: that there is a certain type of pleasure mixed in with the fear (Andrade & Cohen, 2007); that they are relieved when it's over; that they enjoy the 'rush' while knowing there is no threat. But as any horror nut will tell you, there's more to it than that.

Horror movies may be a minority taste but there are all sorts of other common situations in which people choose experiences they know are going to be unpleasant. In a study carried out by Keinan and Kivetz (2008) participants were offered the choice of a free trip to either a Marriott Hotel in Florida or an ice hotel in Quebec. Strangely (for me anyway!) the majority preferred the ice hotel despite thinking the Marriot would be more pleasurable.

People will also happily make strange choices about food. In another study by Keinan and Kivetz (2008) participants were offered a choice between 'normal' flavours of ice-cream and a tasty bowl of bacon ice-cream. By now you'll be unsurprised to learn that many preferred bacon flavour despite knowing it would be less pleasurable.

The experiential CV

All three of these examples are partly explained by people's desire for conceptual consumption. When people choose the ice hotel, the scary movie and the bacon ice-cream, they are choosing more than just the experience itself. They know the movie will frighten them, the icy bed will be uncomfortable and the bacon ice-cream will be weird, but there is a clear payoff in conceptual consumption. It's not just bragging rights, they also like the very idea of each of these things and they want to 'possess' the experience.

It's also about self-image. People want to see themselves, and be seen by others, as interesting people who choose a variety of different experiences for themselves. It's what Keinan and Kivetz refer to as ticking the boxes on our experiential CVs. Collecting experiences is really very similar to collecting bottle-tops, postcards or Furbies, but much cooler -- perhaps because the balance of consumption is weighted away from the physical and more towards the conceptual.

Positive conceptual consumption

The fact that conceptual consumption can be used to understand why people choose apparently negative experiences is it's strength. Why people might choose positive experiences is less of a mystery, but the idea can still expose some interesting quirks:

Feature creep: people frequently choose products with many features which they never use. This may be primarily so they can then show off their purchase to others. Just the idea of having a better camera than other people is enough to snuff out boring thoughts about usability. Of course manufacturers are well aware of this, hence electronics are packed with endless features most of us never use.
Charity: giving to charity seems to confer positive benefits on the giver. Giving our own money to others does actually seem to make us happier than spending it on ourselves (Dunn, Aknin & Norton, 2008). Here it's possible that the idea of charity makes us happier than having the money or equivalent goods.
Second Life: people in virtual worlds happily convert their real-world money into virtual money to buy clothes for their avatars (the object representing themeselves) or to decorate their virtual homes. When viewed through the lens of conceptual consumption this makes perfect sense.

Looking around, conceptual consumption is everywhere. Things like books, TV programmes, blogs, newspapers and magazines -- all of which give us new ideas and new ways of seeing the world -- are just the tip of the iceberg. Even what we might think of as primarily physical consumption isn't really that physical after all. Advertisers understand this only too well: what they are trying to sell aren't just products but ideas, often in the form of 'lifestyles'.

As Ariely and Norton point out even something as simple as eating a cookie is fraught with conceptual questions. What about the diet we just started? Is the cookie organic? What will our co-workers think if they see us eating it? The questions go on and on.

Our minds love consuming concepts almost as much as our bodies crave food. Like our appetite for food, though, our appetite for ideas is only satisfied for a short period before we become hungry again, so hopefully this nugget of conceptual consumption will keep you going until the next click...

[Image credits: Big Fat Rat & Ultrahi]

Experimental Flu Trends for Mexico

A Googler — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:00:00 -0700

(Cross-posted on the Google.org Blog)

In November 2008, we launched Google Flu Trends after finding a close relationship between how many people search for flu-related topics and how many people actually have flu symptoms. Google Flu Trends may be able to detect influenza outbreaks earlier than other systems because it estimates flu activity in near real time.

In response to recent inquiries from public health officials, we've been attempting to use Google search activity in Mexico to help track human swine flu levels. Experimental Flu Trends for Mexico is, as you might have guessed, very experimental. But the system has detected increases in flu-related searches in Mexico City (Distrito Federal) and a few other Mexican states in recent days, beginning early in the week of April 19-25.

In the United States, we were able to validate our estimates using data from a surveillance system managed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We have not verified our data for Mexico in the same manner, but we've seen that Google users in Mexico (and around the world) also search for many flu-related topics when they have flu-like symptoms. Given the tremendous recent attention to swine flu, our model tries to filter out search queries that are more likely associated with topical searches rather than searches by those who may be experiencing symptoms.

While we would prefer to validate this data and improve its accuracy, we decided to release an early version today so that it might help public health officials and concerned individuals get an up-to-date picture of the ongoing swine flu outbreak. As with our existing Flu Trends system, estimates are provided across many of Mexico's states and updated every day. Our current estimates of flu activity in the U.S. are still generally low as would be expected given the relatively low confirmed swine flu case count. However, we'll be keeping an eye on the data to look for any spike in activity.

We're keenly aware of the trust our users place in us and our responsibility to protect their privacy. Experimental Flu Trends for Mexico -- like Google Flu Trends -- cannot be used to identify individual users. The patterns we observe are only meaningful across large populations of Google searchers. We hope that this experimental release provides useful information.

For updates on swine flu and information on how to stay healthy during a disease outbreak, visit the CDC's swine flu site.

Posted by Jeremy Ginsberg and Matt Mohebbi, Software Engineers

Enough with this "a triple shy of the cycle" nonsense

Flax — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 07:49:00 -0700

Last night, Carlos Zambrano "nearly" became the first pitcher to hit for the cycle, smacking a single, double and home run against the Diamondbacks. After the home run, his last hit, the AZ announcers noted that he was "a triple shy of the cycle." I am so sick of announcers saying that someone was a triple shy of the cycle. I guess it's okay during the game when he could still get it (although I think it should have been clear that Z was not coming up again), but referencing it in game stories is functionally nonsense. Let me lay some numbers on you really quick:

So, since the start of the 2000 season there have been, very roughly, around 400,000 games played by major league players. In those games:

A player has hit for the cycle - at least one each of a single, double, triple and home run in the same game - 41 times. Pretty rare occurrence. Amazingly, there have already been three (Orlando Hudson for the Dodgers, Ian Kinsler for Texas, and Jason Kubel for the Twins, who capped his with a grand slam) in the 2009 season.

70 times a player has recorded a double, triple and home run but failed to get a single, making this nearly as rare an occurrence as actually hitting for the cycle. It has yet to happen in 2009.

217 times a player has hit a single, triple and homer but failed to get the double for the cycle. It's three times more likely than missing just the single and more than five times as likely as completing the cycle, but it's still pretty rare. It also hasn't happened yet in 2009.

504 times a player has fallen a homer shy of the cycle, including four times in 2009.

So, how many times has a player "fallen a triple shy of the cycle"?

2,540.

Two thousand, five hundred and forty! Just since the year 2000! Including, by the way, 37 times already in 2009, including twice by Mark DeRosa alone. To give you some impression of how many times that is, there have been just 1,178 ten-strikeout games by pitchers since the start of the 2000 season, including 15 so far in 2009. Not that ten strikeouts is an easy thing to do, but if you're watching a game, it's more than twice as likely that one of the hitters will fall "a triple shy of the cycle" than that one of the starters will strike out ten guys. (Zambrano had only three Ks last night.)

So, with that in mind, is there any chance we can stop making a deal out of a guy going "a triple shy of the cycle"? The triple is the hard part. Getting the rest? Turns out it's not so hard. It happens hundreds of times per year. Enough.

People with higher IQs make wiser economic choices, U of Minnesota study finds

BJS — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:31:04 -0700

Study suggests left-side bias in visual expertise

BJS — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:30:26 -0700

Mental health problems more common in kids who feel racial discrimination

BJS — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:30:08 -0700

Good relationship with parents may prevent teen drinking problems

BJS — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:30:20 -0700

Even modest exercise can reduce negative effects of belly fat

BJS — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:30:34 -0700

How late is too late to break bad habits?

BJS — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:30:27 -0700

Driving to FLCC

Double O' Devon — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:19:58 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

Another direction, from top of 90 Sands St

Double O' Devon — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:25:27 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

You can see the Empire State Building in the distance.

From the top of 90 Sands, in Brooklyn

Double O' Devon — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:24:52 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

This is a color corrected and cropped version of a shot from the same place as this photo.

Hope

Double O' Devon — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:08:28 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

A Thousand Words

Double O' Devon — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:06:31 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

Reflection in a Tombstone

Double O' Devon — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:05:52 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

The Sky

Double O' Devon — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:40:37 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

Living Fire

Double O' Devon — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:06:22 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

Chipped Paint Self Portrait

Double O' Devon — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:35:52 -0800

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

I had a copy of this up here before, but it was ugly coloring, and I couldn't stand it. So I altered the colors to something I liked. I just love the texture of this

Blasting Self Portrait

Double O' Devon — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:33:01 -0800

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

Revolving Self Protrait

Double O' Devon — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 09:06:32 -0800

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

Kansas City Royals

Double O' Devon — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:05:56 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

Mine?

Double O' Devon — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:08:26 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

The Baseball Glove Horse

Double O' Devon — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:16:10 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

This is at Frontier Field in Rochester

Been to the City, and I'll Be Black

Double O' Devon — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:55:12 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

Caution

Double O' Devon — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:54:29 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

I'm stumped wondering how one could unload without opening the hatch first.

Walmart Peaches

Double O' Devon — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:06:29 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

The Daily Record

Double O' Devon — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:46:30 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

The Bike

Double O' Devon — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:37:13 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

Rusting

Double O' Devon — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:55:49 -0700

Double O' Devon posted a photo:

A& P Notes

Devon — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Location: FLCC in Canandaigua
Date: Oct 5, 2009
Number of Photos in Album: 10

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1982 Topps Baseball Cards

Devon — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

These are scans of Topps brand baseball cards from 1982 (the first year I collected cards). I'm currently, and slowly, recollecting the entire set digitally.

Date: Sep 5, 2009
Number of Photos in Album: 26

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Me

Devon — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Date: Feb 21, 2009
Number of Photos in Album: 21

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Random

Devon — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Location: Canandaigua, NY
Date: Oct 28, 2008
Number of Photos in Album: 20

View Album