Sean's Ramblings

Amy - I'm definitely going to have fun with th...

2012-05-21T23:35:23.201-04:00

Amy - I'm definitely going to have fun with the Voyager website. For example, did you know that Sean is the #1 name in Ireland and the #238 name in Norway?

Laurie - Not even the top 1000? Is it because there are different spellings on Laurie?

I spent way too much time on this web site when I ...

2012-05-21T16:50:31.756-04:00

I spent way too much time on this web site when I was pregnant. It is extremely addicting. My name hasn't been in the top 1000 since 1994!

I am also a little obsessed with this. The woman ...

2012-05-21T13:38:06.841-04:00

I am also a little obsessed with this. The woman that runs this website takes the Social Security data to a whole new level (see the Voyager, as well as the Blog):

http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager#

Thanks for participating, Josh, Nichole & Capt...

2012-05-20T21:03:26.403-04:00

Thanks for participating, Josh, Nichole & Captain! I didn't want to go back too far in time because of the language issue (as Captain pointed out) and I don't think I would survive very well in ancient times. I get all of my food at a supermarket and generally use a microwave when I cook. That would be a little difficult during the time of Jesus or the pyramids!

Even though I wouldn't be able to stop the Kennedy assassination, it would be interesting to be there to see if there truly was a second shooter.

I spent a (disturbingly?) long time pondering this...

2012-05-19T23:45:52.815-04:00

I spent a (disturbingly?) long time pondering this question at work on Friday - such is the life of contract attorneys that they have plenty of spare brain cycles to use throughout the workday - and my ultimate answer depends on several details of this time travel and the vehicle for such...

The 1960 World Series was the first thought here as well, but a few alternate choices might be superior, depending on technicalities...

If I'm in a more TARDIS-like device that might offer some degree of safety, I think the answer would be the Chicxulub impact event...

The very nature of time travel suggests you can't do anything in the past that doesn't impact future events (well, save perhaps my above suggestion), but can I go back to January, kidnap myself and sit in on the Trivia Kings city championships so my team doesn't mess up the last question so we finish third instead of 24th?

Also, if we travel sufficiently far into the past, the lack of language skills would be problematic, but if there's accompanying babel fish technology (again where a TARDIS comes in handy), seeing Jesus in action would be interesting...

so yeah... Pirates, personal trivia glory, dinosaur extinction or Jesus... they're all kind of on the same plane... that said, given the option I'd rather travel forward in time than backward to any event...

I would love to live during post-WWII America. Th...

2012-05-18T09:46:16.261-04:00

I would love to live during post-WWII America. The housing boom, the growth of higher ed, and just that whole era of the 1950s.

Jason - I certainly understand the Pirates history...

2012-05-18T09:27:47.229-04:00

Jason - I certainly understand the Pirates history, but I don't think a statistic can factor in the possibility the team will trade McCutchen or Hanrahan this summer.

Captain - Thanks for the information. I guess the Pirates terrible hitting has a lot to do with the formula, but you would think the good pitching (and the overall record compared to the other teams I mentioned) would increase the percentage.

I love the idea of going back to 1960 for the Worl...

2012-05-18T09:20:27.962-04:00

I love the idea of going back to 1960 for the World Series.

Being a history guy, I would want to head back to ancient times to see certain things: construction of the pyramids, the battle of kadesh, the Assyrians sacking of lachish, and a whole bunch of other stuff...

and of course, i want to go check out some dinosaurs. that wouldn't end badly.

at the bottom of the standings, you'll see tha...

2012-05-16T21:13:03.801-04:00

at the bottom of the standings, you'll see that it says, "playoff odds provided by coolstandings.com"... coolstandings' methodology for determining playoff odds:
"How do we calculate these statistics? Basically we simulate the rest of the season millions of times, based on every team's performance to date and its remaining schedule. We then look at how many "seasons" a team won its division or won the wildcard, and voila - we have our numbers.

furthermore, from the site's FAQ regarding early season projections:
"You may notice that even before your team plays a single game, in "smart mode" the DIV, WC, and POFF coolstats are already calculated. ... As a result, we incorporate the team statistics from the previous year to estimate scores near the beginning of a season, then weigh these statistics less and less as data is accumulated for the current season."

if you look at the "dumb mode" of standings prediction on coolstandings - basically just a 50/50 coinflip of each remaining game - the pirates' playoff odds correlate to their place in the standings...

baseball prospectus has a similar projection system, based on PECOTA projections of player performance... if you're unhappy with the pirates' odds from coolstandings' methodology, you probably shouldn't look at the BP projection...

Thanks Josh & Lacochran! Amy - Inauguration D...

2012-05-16T12:31:57.597-04:00

Thanks Josh & Lacochran!

Amy - Inauguration Day is only a big deal in DC, right? People might watch the ceremony on TV in other places, but you still have the rest of the day. Plus, are 2nd term inaugurations that big of a deal around DC? Did the 2nd inaugurations of Reagan, Clinton & Bush impact your birthday?

Anonymous - Sharing your birthday with Passover is only bad because you can't eat the foods you want. Unless it overlaps with a Seder, no one thinks Passover trumps a birthday.

Neena - Welcome back! Good to hear from your again...

2012-05-16T12:28:01.384-04:00

Neena - Welcome back! Good to hear from your again. Nice job getting an 8 of 10. To answer your question, I have never seen Blue Bloods. I'm too busy falling asleep on the couch on Friday nights!

Messiah - Nice job with Black Adder. Let's try to meet together for trivia next week.

In case you're wondering, #6 is Meet the Browns.

Yes I can. given that the Pirates have a now admir...

2012-05-16T12:20:48.317-04:00

Yes I can. given that the Pirates have a now admirable (snort) tradition of trading away virtually EVERY player with a modicum of talent as the trade deadline approaches (often to the Cubs), the fact that we may not be a shitty team now belies the fact that we will, most certainly, be a shitty team as the 162nd game approaches.

10. Black Adder It's clearly been a while si...

2012-05-15T22:24:11.464-04:00

10. Black Adder

It's clearly been a while since I've been out with you guys.

1. Silver Spoons 2. Hill Street Blues 3. Grey...

2012-05-15T12:33:21.993-04:00

1. Silver Spoons

2. Hill Street Blues

3. Grey's Anatomy

4. Golden Girls

5. Green Acres

6. ?

7. NYPD Blue

8. White Collar!

9. Blue Blood (does anyone watch this?)

10. ?

Happy Belated Birthday, Sean!

Happy belated birthday!!!!

2012-05-15T09:47:37.298-04:00

Happy belated birthday!!!!

I'm really curious about that anonymous text m...

2012-05-14T21:07:32.498-04:00

I'm really curious about that anonymous text message now. Last time I checked my search referrals, several people had found my blog by googling "Yinzer vanity plate." That made me proud.

What about sharing your birthday with Passover lik...

2012-05-13T22:01:46.157-04:00

What about sharing your birthday with Passover like every other year?

OR an Inauguration Day birthday where everyone goe...

2012-05-13T19:04:21.504-04:00

OR an Inauguration Day birthday where everyone goes downtown for the festivities instead of spending time with you on your birthday :(.

Have a good one!

Happy Birthday!

2012-05-13T16:44:19.335-04:00

Happy Birthday!

Nice job Josh & Christian! You guys know your ...

2012-05-08T22:15:03.206-04:00

Nice job Josh & Christian! You guys know your Buscemi!

Damn, Big Lebowski...I was going to say that, but ...

2012-05-08T13:11:57.180-04:00

Damn, Big Lebowski...I was going to say that, but it seemed wrong for some reason. Good call.

2. Big Lebowski 3. good call on pulp fiction, I th...

2012-05-08T11:45:00.644-04:00

2. Big Lebowski
3. good call on pulp fiction, I thought it was Barton Fink.
4. I think this is from Fargo.
8. 30 Rock
10. Ghost World

1. Reservoir Dogs 2. 3. Pulp Fiction 4. 5. Billy...

2012-05-08T11:36:31.953-04:00

1. Reservoir Dogs
2.
3. Pulp Fiction
4.
5. Billy Madison
6. Big Daddy
7. Boardwalk Empire
8.
9. Mr. Deeds
10.

Since you're not going to admit it, I'll a...

2012-05-03T22:46:07.511-04:00

Since you're not going to admit it, I'll admit that I watched the first season or two of Ally McBeal.

On that note, thanks to everyone for playing this week's Trivia Tuesday!

Thanks Amy & Captain! Time to do some research...

2012-05-03T22:42:10.257-04:00

Thanks Amy & Captain! Time to do some research.