Month: November 2012

Today’s Athletes

The New York Times looked at every athlete who’s won an Olympic medal in the 100-meter sprint since 1896, drew them all on the same track, and studied the wonderful history of sprinting. You can see just how much faster athletes are today than even a few years ago — and how often records are broken. You’ll leave for new respect for today’s athletes, and a profound sense that you will never compete anywhere near that level.

The Times also took on the 100-meter freestyle and the long jump, with each yielding a different and fascinating view of athletic history.

Voter Report Card 2

Literally the day after I got my first Voter Report Card from MoveOn.org, I got another one from Colorado Fair Share.

Voter Report Card

Voter Report Card

Amazingly, I’ve now voted in only one of the last four general elections (and if we assume this still counts only my current address, that’s correct) — but now that’s better than the average for my neighborhood. Clearly, public voting records are just made up on the spot.

Voter Report Card

MoveOn.org has sent me a “Voter Report Card” — and apparently I’m voting at a “Below average” level.

Voter Report Card

Voter Report Card

Of course, I actually voted in all five of the last five elections (plus all five primaries) — and all the elections before that too. But this is “for your current address only”, so my failure is really a data analysis error. But what’s truly confusing is that I’ve only voted once at this address. So when they say I’ve voted in two elections, what exactly are they counting?