You Smell That?

File this under: IIIIIIIII knew it!!

Have you ever had your wife/girlfriend/mother/sister/daughter/another female in the human race complain of a scent, and you have no idea what they're talking about? It's a little embarrassing to admit, I suppose, but I have. Many times.

Sometimes it's a complaint that I smell. Sometimes it's someone else. Or something else. Heck if I know - I can't smell it.

But 60-Second Science has attempted to explain this olfactory oddity: Women smell better than men. That's probably true in many ways, but I find it comforting to know that there's a scientific explanation for my inability to know that I stink.

So to the few women who read this blog, it's not just that we don't care we stink, it's that we don't know we stink, either.

And for the men who read this blog, if there's any doubt in your mind as to whether or not you stink, you probably do.

And if you found the 60-Second Science story amusing, subscribe to their daily podcast! It's quick and informative. I've been enjoying it for a couple years now.

Happy New Year from TLATL

As usual, our punctuality is impeccable. Happy 2010 everyone! By the way, do you say "twenty-ten", "two-thousand ten" or something else? I like twenty-ten myself.

While our title pays homage to two great mid-Western cities from which a lot of our writers and readers hail, our content rarely covers news from our namesake cities. So I thought it would be nice to kick off the year with a review some news coming out of The Lou.

About a month ago, Highway 40 re-opened after a two-year long closing (the first year it was closed from I-170 to Kingshighway, the second year from Ballas to I-170). Although massive traffic delays and economic catastrophes for businesses were predicted by some, the project went about as smoothly as could be expected. I have to admit that I was pretty surprised when a large-scale government infrastructure project actually finished slightly ahead of schedule. From The Lou's KSDK:

MoDOT leaders are calling the project, which involved demolishing and completely rebuilding a 10 mile stretch of Highway 40, a huge success. It was finished three weeks ahead of schedule and $11 million under budget. It is the largest single construction contract in MoDOT's history and cost more than a half-billion dollars.

Dude, MoDOT is making AfghanistanDOT look like a bunch of chumps.

How do you know if someone isn't from the Lou? They refer to the highway as I-64, not Highway 40. They're like, "Yeah, so I was heading down I-64..." and you think to yourself, "I-64? Oh, man. Did he really tell me he's from Indianapolis? 'Cause I just pegged him for Parkway Central. Aw, snap."

Anyway, take a spin on the new central corridor and I'm sure you'll appreciate the job they did. In all seriousness, it's a great improvement.

And while you're out on the roads, check out the billboards. You may see some advertisements for a smoke-free Ballwin or Kirkwood coming near you.

I've long been disappointed in my state for not being as progressive as our eastern neighbors and others, but it appears that the barriers to smoke free public buildings are slowly coming down... or should I say, drifting away. The argument that making Ballwin, for example, smoke-free will cause patrons to flee to neighboring towns, negatively impacting Ballwin restaurants/bars and thus Ballwin tax dollars just doesn't hold water with me. There are enough people nowadays that will actually drive the extra mile (or miles) to a smoke-free establishment.

That said, there will undoubtedly be some bars that will go under if the neighboring towns don't also follow suit. Hopefully the trend continues quickly, or their patrons are loyal enough to smoke outside.

Speaking of outside... it's cold!! Remember that incredibly mild summer we had? Well, we're paying for it now, as predicted by the Farmer's Almanac.

And lastly, a former Cardinals first baseman made the news recently from his home in Southern California: Gregg Jeffries is coaching high school baseball!!

I'm sure everyone is aware of Mark McGwire (finally) admitting to steroid use. The announcement was necessary and long overdue. We've covered McGwire and the era before, and I don't think McGwire's announcement changes the opinion I posited in that post. It's good for baseball that he took this step, and I hope his tenure as the Cards' hitting coach is long and successful. I haven't seen his interviews yet, but read some transcripts. I think McGwire is a good man, and I think he's genuinely remorseful for what he did, but he did seem to be using injuries to excuse his actions just a little...  Oh well, it's just a game.

I do recommend you check out Bernie Miklasz's interview with McGwire. Bernie has now been the lead sports writer in St. Louis for 20 years, and I think St. Louis sports fans are lucky to have him here.

God bless everyone in 2010!

You Make The Call (Or Fold (Or Raise)) II

Here's a somewhat similar situation to the last You Make The Call post. Still pretty early in a No-Limit Hold'em Tourney at Phil's (blinds are 20/40), I find myself in mid-position with 7h 8h. Sean, one to my right, limped in and I followed behind him. Action folded around to the blinds, SB calls and BB checks.

Flop is 8d Th 3c. Everyone checks to me, and I make it $100 to go. Both blinds fold, and Sean calls.

Turn is 8s (sweet). Sean checks, I bet $300. Sean calls. Hmmm..... two check-calls.

River is Td, the worst card that could have come. The board is now 8d Th 3c 8s Td. Sean bets $300. I have about $2,300 left, and Sean has about $2,000 left.

So the question is, do you call, fold or raise?

Nigerian Princes Have Emigrated To England!

Do you get a lot of spam? On one of my old email addresses that I still have to use, I do. Just got this email, and it made me chuckle. Instead of the normal splash of images and exclamation points to get my attention, this note contained no images and was written in courier font, as you might expect a government note would be. The good news is, it will only cost me $98 to get an ATM card worth $1.5 million! I plan to use my money to get our nation back to a budget surplus.


UNITED STATES POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE, 
PO BOX 555, NEW YORK NY 10116-0555 
EMAIL: upsinspector@in.com


This is to notify you that we have intercepted your parcel from DHL COURIER SERVICE is making the delivery and we have stopped the delivery process for some 


security reasons stated below:


1.  Our scanning system has detected that your parcel contains a confirmable ATM CARD to the tune of $1,500,000.00 USD.


2.  Such ATM CARD coming from African /Europe/Asia is been verified by the POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE which we have directed our inspection team to proceed 


with the verification to ascertain the authenticity of the ATM CARD and now after all the verification on the Parcel/ATM CARD, having contacted the issuing 


institution who made it known to our office that the ATM CARD is a Genuine one and Not ILLEGALLY ACQUIRED. We have also forwarded the Serial Number of the 


ATM CARD to the U.S, Treasury Department and they confirmed that the CARD is Authentic and ready to be cashed at any ATM MACHINES.


Also for the Delivery of the Parcel to continue, you are in obligation to obtain from England, a Duly Sworn Affidavit from British High Court which will back 


up the Origin of Fund. This is in line with the Anti-Terrorist Campaign which the USA Government has embarked on recently to protect our Territory from 


future attacks. You should therefore contact the sender of the ATM CARD or the DHL Courier Agent in LOndon,England to get the Sworn Affidavit for you while 


we wait to receive from you the Affidavit File Number to enable us forward your ATM CARD to your address. 


Below is his contact information. Note that the cost of the Affidavit is $98 and do not hesitate to remit the amount to him.


Name: David Martins
Email address: dmartins2000@bellsouth.net
Tel: +44 704 570 5374


We shall then forward the ATM CARD to you and you will be sure of a genuine ATM CARD that is coming to you.  We are doing this for your interest considering 


the rate which fraudulent and stolen checks/ATM CARD are been sent to our innocent citizen that most times put them in problem. Always send your 


correspondence to our secure email: upsinspector@in.com


Your urgent action on this notice will be appreciated.


Sincerely,


Walter Moore
Chief Postal Inspector

Meet the Natives

I don't watch a lot of TV, but when I do, I usually resort to the same old shows since not much on is worth the time it takes to watch. I wonder how many more channels we would need to get some decent shows. Some of the shows I turn on when there is nothing on are Dirty Jobs, Criminal Minds, Numb3rs and Fringe. Yeah, sorta nerdy, sorry. But I found a new show tonight that was severely entertaining and in many ways heartwarming and educational: Meet the Natives.

I am fascinated by tribal cultures and have been known to begin nonsensical rants with, "well, if we all lived back in tribal times...". But I find a lot of documentaries boring. Some of the shows where guys, usually British for some reason, insert themselves into a tribe for a spell can be pretty interesting but often feel stretched out and sometimes staged. This show center around five ambassadors from a small culture from the pacific island Tanna. They have an odd system of beliefs and connections with the West, specifically with Prince Philip and a WWII guy who went by (I'm guessing) the nome de guerre Tom Navy.

These guys ditch their traditional nambas for clothes that will keep them warm in the U.S., and they travel to five locations to spread their message of peace and happiness: Montana, New York City, Peoria, IL, Orange County, CA, and Ft.Stewart GA/Washington D.C. And their message comes through. They are quick to point out with a refreshingly simple honesty many of the things they see in our lives that are the same, that are great and that they do not like. It is both an interesting and fun show, although I admit it brought to mind various newsletters from a simpler day, when some brave ambassadors from the University of Dayton spread their own messages of peace, brotherly love and jock-strap nambas.

Audit the Fed

As anyone who follows politics realizes quickly, some things stay the same, some things change. I've been shocked that this Audit the Fed bill, pushed by Rep. Ron Paul, has gotten as far as it has. First off, who cares about monetary policy? Second, with super corrupt politicans running both parties, who'd a thunk that they would support the audit of an organization that so many of them, just months ago, said should run the unsupervised distribution of trillions of taxpayer dollars. Ahhhh yes, the voters are mad. I guess that still makes a difference in this day and age. Voters getting mad has changed, politicians doing anything to keep their jobs has not.

I encourage you to watch this whole video, it's not super long, just over 13 minutes. Take the time to understand how confused some of these experts are on the difference between auditing an organization and controlling it (would they object to a corporation getting audited as the same thing as relinquishing control of it?). Look how mad the opening Republican is. I also especially like the ending of it, where the healthcare bill slips into conversation, as does Clute, TX.

Illusory superiority

I am a decent cook. Actually, I am an above average cook. I don't do it a ton- my wife (God bless her) does much more than me. But when I actually do head into the kitchen to make something, it usually turns out to be pretty good.

At least that is what I have for a long time believed about myself.

Then Sept. 23 rolled around and that entire thought was blown to pieces.

Before I finish the above story, I need to delve into something called "illusory superiority." This is a bias that exists in each one of our minds that makes us either overestimate what we see as desirable qualities in ourselves or underestimate the degree of what we see as negative qualities. This defense mechanism creates a belief in our mind that we are better at those things we wish we were good at than we really are. A classic example of this was a study done by a researcher named Swenson in 1981 that surveyed Swedish and American drivers about their driving ability. What they found was pretty impressive- nearly all (93%) of the American drivers thought that they were in the top 50% of drivers with regards to driving skill and safety. Swedish drivers were not quite as generous but still thought they were better than they probably were (69% placed themselves in the top 50%). With regards to safety as an individual measurement, 88% of the US group and 77% of the Swedish group put themselves in the top 50%.

This effect of illusory superiority has been demonstrated time and again and brings us to a very uncomfortable conclusion- none of us are as good as we think we are in nearly every aspect of our lives. For instance, I have been involved in 4 car accidents as a driver, three in which the car I was driving was totalled (one of the contributors to this blog and one of its frequent readers might remember one of these events). Yet, despite this, I would not only say that I am in the top 50% of safe drivers out there, but I would also probably say that I am in the top 10% of safe drivers on the road.

This brings me back to the story of Sept. 23. As I mentioned above, I have always thought of myself as an above average cook. On Sept. 23, my wife's birthday, I decided to make her a cake. A german chocolate cake to be exact. I had visions of this cake turning out perfectly and me winning years of "Good husband points" as a result. But the truth of the matter was not quite so pretty. The cake, to put it mildly, sucked. I forgot to put icing between the two layers of the cake so it literally started to fall apart about 10 minutes after I iced it. To make matters worse, this was not a cake made from scratch. This was actually a box cake and it practically made itself, or would have if I knew what in the world I was doing. In the end, it looked like a bear had eaten a bag of shredded coconut and then crapped on a cake platter. Here are two pictures- see for yourself.

My wife was great about this. I actually acumulated all the necessary karma points but she did email the above picture to all of her friends. I would have, too, if I were her.

So this above experience has caused me to try to take an accurate assessment of my life. I am trying to get outside of the illusory superiority that exists in my brain and see if I can identify where I really stand on certain skills. Below is a list of aspects of life that people often think that they are better than they really might be. After much reflection, the first ranking is what I now think is an accurate assessment of where I truly stand on these skills. The rankings in parentheses are actually where I used to believe I stood (100% being the best in the world, 0% being the worst).

Athletics: 40%- this is difficult. I think that I am a top 20% runner but yet I am a bottom 20% basketball/football player. Since most people's idea of sports is weighted towards team sports rather than things like running, I give myself a less then 50% vote- (80%)
Sense of humor/wit: 80%- (70%)
Driving: 95%- (40%)
My skill at my profession: 90%- (75%)
Looks: 50%- (50%)
Poker playing ability: 25%- (25%)
Photography: 80%- (50%)

Please feel free to comment on your own assessment of yourself or your assessment of my assessment of myself.