Android Wins Against Siri

Last night, at happy hour, we were discussing Joe Mauer and whether or not his statistics justify the 57 bazillion dollar contract he signed (side note: I rounded up) (side note 2: they do not). We were trying to come up with the most homeruns he's had in a season. A friend of a friend, eager to show off his new iPhone 4S, decided to ask Siri. So he asked her, "What are Joe Mauer's career statistics?" Siri promptly took him to the Ramsay County, Minnesota homepage in Safari. While he was trying to get Siri to give him a proper answer, I pulled out my Galaxy Nexus, pushed the mic icon on the Google widget, and said, "Joe Mauer's career statistics." It opened Chrome straight to Google with the search term, exactly, "Joe Mauer's career statistics." Yes, it even spelled Mauer right. I blindly clicked on the first link, which took me straight to his career statistic's page. "28" Game over. Scientific study done. Android trumps iOS ;)

Minnesota's Putrid Legislature

Minnesota has a terrible, putrid legislature. Last year they shut down the state for weeks because they couldn't come up with a budget. This year, they're seriously considering just quitting early and not really doing anything this year because, well, here's a quote:

"The tulips are up, the bushes are budding and it's time to go home,"
--Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem, R-Rochester

This is just ridiculous. How many of us get to tell our bosses, "Sorry I didn't get my job done last year, but I don't feel like doing it again this year, cause you know, spring is here and I want to go home."

WE PAY THESE PEOPLE!!!

http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/145703935.html

How Do I Sign Up To Be a Bears Fan?

So the Vikings are moving to Arden Hills?

I'm so excited for a Monday night Vikes-Packers game where the blimp shows gorgeous views of endless flat parking lots and eight lane freeways. That makes our state look much better than 55 story glass office towers and bridges across the Mississippi that we're stuck with now. Why would we want anyone to think we live a dynamic city? I know when I'm looking for cities to go visit, I always say, "Where can I go that has cheap parking?" That's why I never go to Chicago (if you don't know me, there's a ton of sarcasm in this paragraph)

When people travel to other cities to go to games, do they ever say they hated Fenway or Wrigley because the parking was bad? I've never heard that. Yet when it comes to making local decisions, freeways always trump trains. Parking always trumps local businesses. Urban sprawl always wins out, and the metro area as a whole suffers one more blow.

So where do I sign up to be a Bears fan? I want to root for a city that I want to visit; a metro that I can still respect.

A Computer Scientist's View Of a Trump Presidency

Is the Donald ready to run for the presidency? Trump's one big box to stand on is that he's a self described great business man. The problem is, here's the Trump business plan:

1: Find seed money S
2: Come up with big idea B
3: Finance B with S
4: if(B fails) {
    5: File for bankruptcy
    GOTO: 1
} else {
    6: Bang fists on chest and scream about awesomeness level
    7: S = leverage(B)
    GOTO: 2
}

That works well for gaining personal wealth where a person is good at step 1. It doesn't work so well for the largest economy in the world, where everything in the if block equals global depression.

Yes, You're A Bigot

Want to know why I can't stand the religious right? Because apparently it's not bigotry if the only people you discriminate against are people who don't agree with your particular view of Christianity. Yes, your a bigot. You're right, I don't like you. I'm glad we're not friends and I don't have to see you socially.

(I'm referring to the second to last comment, but included the whole conversation for context. Click on the image to read. Edited to protect the guilty).