One obvious downside of relying on route efficiency in a vacuum is that on some balls that aren't sharply hit the most efficient route (direct path) isn't the optimal route. If you have time to do so you'd rather catch the ball coming forward, both to set up a throw and it's simply better mechanics.

I'm not freaked out by a woman holding a door for me, but I am horrendously terrified walking beside someone you don't know while heading for the same door, that causes a ton of stress in my life. Should I hurry up to get there first then hold it open? Is that weird? What if I drop back a step or two? Will they open…

Not just that, but long arms are a great asset for a d-lineman. Maybe the bench press is not the best tool to evaluate strength at that position...

That's a really good point. But it is tricky though to draw the line though between art and sport, and I'm not sure where exactly that boundary lies. For that reason I understand the perspective of ballet not being a sport; at its highest level ballet is not done competitively. The world's best dancers (in most…

Half of a Yellow Sun is a great book, but depressing as hell. Go read it, but be warned...

They say sitcoms get by on the chemistry of the ensemble. In this case it was the chemistry and charisma of 3/5 of the ensemble, and SERIOUSLY JUST GO AWAY TED AND ROBIN. Let NPH and Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan have fun times without you.

THIRD BASE!

Downhill skating?

Many national Olympic programs operate on exactly this principle to fill out the rosters of less-popular sports. Bobsleigh is the big example, with sprinters or running backs being the perfect body type for a brakeman. (Lolo Jones obviously, but my first thought was Jesse Lumsden, former CFL running back that won a…

Another example along those lines: the response the media had to how the Canadian Women's Hockey Team celebrated winning Gold at the 2010 Olympics. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/otherspo…

Yep. The look of shock on her face is the look of a professional that's so used to get the canned "we played hard out there... so proud of my teammates... it's all about work ethic" kind of responses they get 98% of the time that she couldn't believe the goldmine she stumbled upon. She was smart enough to get out of…

They're both awful-to-substandard and shouldn't have made it out of the first round. BLUE CHEESE WAS ROBBED. This plastic-y abomination is going to win the whole damn thing at it's an outrage!

I'm surprised the grouped "beverages" together. You'd think Pepsi and Budweiser aren't really fighting for pieces of the exact same pie.

I've heard of exams getting cancelled/postponed due to snow in Montreal messing up the transit system, which I think is fair. Normal class? Pffff either explain it to the prof or just don't worry about it.

Regarding Amir Johnson (and setting aside the fact that you can dress LeBron at PF and sidestep this whole issue), I strongly believe his WP is being inflated by two factors, TS% and Blocks. (also maybe offensive rebounds, but the guys who maintain the WP stat are adamant that they value rebounds correctly so let's…

One thing to keep in mind is that there are two sides of the coin. While most of the discussion around issues like this focus on the (absolutely valid and very important) question of how girls perform/act. I don't mean to be all "what about teh menz" , but I believe that segregating boys and girls in formative years…

I have very mixed feelings about the washroom attendant. I mean, on the one hand, the poor guy's job sucks and he undoubtedly earns every single cent he gets. On the flip side, he provides essentially a net negative to the equation, making the whole thing much more awkward than it should be, I'd rather pump my own…

I wonder how the shape (skew and variability) of this data compares to other leagues. You'd have to imagine that a more popular less gate-driven league like the NFL would have a more even distribution right?

I'd also add that (unless you're setting up your character to be a complete villain) it is necessary to give some redeeming characteristics. You don't need likable, but you probably need at least one of likable or brave or charismatic or caring or funny or exciting or rational or so on and so forth. Going back to the…

The amount of data involved in sending a text is absolutely miniscule. Assuming you have a data plan, even a small one, (or even if you're paying by the kB in most cases!) you're still going to come out ahead over paying the 25 or 50 cents per text that Rogers or Bell makes you pay, which is downright highway robbery.