@dj_nme
I think the first choice was the correct one in 1/3 of the trials in the linked web page. There is nothing to indicate otherwise. And if they were trying to reproduce the Monty Hall problem, 1/3 of the time the first choice would be correct. Why do you think the first choice is never right?

"Each pigeon was faced with three lit keys, one of which could be pecked for food. At the first peck, all three keys switched off and after a second, two came back on including the bird’s first choice. The computer, playing the part of Monty Hall, had selected one of the unpecked keys to deactivate. If the pigeon pecked the right key of the remaining two, it earned some grain. On the first day of testing, the pigeons switched on just a third of the trials. But after a month, all six birds switched almost every time, earning virtually the maximum grainy reward."

You are right in that the pigeon is switching so as to not go hungry, but we need to assume some motivation for the experiment to matter. If you assume the pigeon doesn't want food, the whole setup is meaningless.

@dj_nme
Maybe the reproduction above isn't accurate, but what it describes is not what you describe. The computer turned off the light on one of the unpecked keys, just like Monty revealed one of the unchosen doors to be worthless. I don't see any reason to believe that "the one remaining option that was remaining was made to be the correct answer, with no chance that the first choice was the right one."

"Academic economists gather in Atlanta this weekend for their annual meetings, always held the first weekend after New Year's Day. That's not only because it coincides with holidays at most universities. A post-holiday lull in business travel also puts hotel rates near the lowest point of the year"
--http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126238854939012923.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

Houston actually has a fairly vibrant art-car scene. Some may say it's hokey, but no one ever said it was for out of towners. :-) I actually have a few art cars in my neighborhood and can run by the art car museum from home (http://www.artcarmuseum.com/)

At first I wanted to insult the intelligence of Daily Show viewers. Then I realized no one more credible instantly springs to mind (if you control for the comedy factor, I suppose, well, okay, maybe it's news?). That said, Matthew Miller (Left Right and Center), the casts of Morning Edition and All Things Considered, Tavis Smiley; they all have earned my trust.

I think people need to understand the difference between viewpoint and trust. While not everyone shares my viewpoint on everything (Mr. Smiley, for instance), I trust numerous people when it comes to presenting me the whole story. I've never really thought that "just the facts" is possible when a human is conveying the info (any info, not just the news). So long as someone is honest with his viewpoint, and doesn't let it otherwise interfere with his work, I trust the guy (male pronouns chosen for simplicity). Sadly, NPR is the only reliable source of such people. Everyone else is either too simple or too slanted to earn my trust.

I'm never a huge fan of local news, and especially fluff pieces like this, mostly because you can tell people are just biding their time until they can break into something bigger. This guy, though, really appears to love his job, and because of that, I loved the clip!

I wonder if there is an entry for people who don't use you're and your correctly. The whole blog might circle back on itself and form a singularity.

The moves were pretty good, but the thing that brought a smile to my face was the pro's reaction. He's a real sport. My hat's off to him.

Wow. I kind of knew that when I clicked on the link out of my rss reader, there would be a few comments, but this is amazing! I love this post. Post it again in 50 years, and I'll die happy!

kW isn't a time measure. You can't power anything for a period of time with a kW. A kilowatt HOUR, however, is a useful measure and therefore that's what the electric company bills you for.

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That image might be CC from the person you linked to, but it's unclear whether or not he has the right to apply CC to the image (it's not his).
http://flickr.com/photos/brajeshwar/112343586/in/set-72157594303730695/

Vandoo. We need to admit we are wrong. I mean, aren't commercials always 100% live, unedited and real-life?

Proof that there are still some creative people left. (Also proof that one is never truly above well-done bathroom humor) Bravo.

#2 is on the money when it comes to how to figure these out with relative ease. I solved this one in well under 10 seconds.

Oh man! I had a big long post about how Sputnik didn't go into geocentric orbit. Then I realized what I thought geocentric referred to was actually geosynchronous. So to prevent someone else from looking like a moron, I'm posting this and providing this helpful link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocentric_orbit