Random Ramblings

I may have some OCD tendencies. I must have the dishes and cups organized in a certain fashion in the dishwasher with no two items (besides silverware) touching. I also tend to eat only one thing on my plate at a time. For example, I’ll eat an entire burger, then the pickle and then the fries unless I make a conscious effort to mix it up.

Brian, the author of the fantastic Pittsburgh Pirates blog Raise the Jolly Roger as well as a systems engineering student shared a homework assignment including the following question:

Picard, Data, Wesley, and Troi are playing poker. Each makes a statement, listed below. Place these statements in order of high to low information content, and explain your reasoning:

(a) Picard: “I have three of a kind.”
(b) Data: “I have three kings.”
(c) Wesley: “I have a royal flush.”
(d) Troi: “I sense hostility.”

I have some problems with this question. First, I would be uncomfortable playing poker with folks name Picard, Data and Troi with an “i.” Actually, I’ll leave my concern with that since I just conducted a Google search to find someone with a first name of Troi only to discover that Troi (and the rest of these characters) are from Star Trek. Anyway, Wesley must be the correct answer since a royal flush is the best possible poker hand.

Facebook is terrific. I learned yesterday that Jordin Sparks was in the office of one of my friends recently and that another friend knows someone who was in a carpool with Prince Poppycock, a finalist on America's Got Talent, when they were kids.

Finally, here is your first Yinz Luv 'Da Stillers of the 2010 season: