“The observation of a phenomenon inevitably changes that phenomenon.” – the Observer Effect Theory Sorry, that song actually has nothing to do with anything. It just pops into my head every time I hear the word “phenomenon”. But let’s track back to Heisenberg, Schrödinger, Einstein, and a feline or two. In Particle Physics, the Observer Effect plays into things you’ve…

Online A/B testing is a Sisyphean task, by definition. No matter how big the win that comes your way, you start the next day back at your new Ground Zero. “What have you done for me lately?” applies every single morning, and all you can do to keep the gig is go find another win before people get tired of…...

“HOW WAS THAT POSSIBLY A FOUL?!?!?”, a voice called out so close to my ear that I surely must have been the one saying it. Turns out it wasn’t me. It just turned out to be a particularly bad time to be nestled near to my wife during a closely-called Denver Nuggets game. As my ear kept ringing, we watched…...

“Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Soft. Overrated. Built for the regular season. No killer instinct. Those were the words being spoken a little over eight years ago about a player who is now considered to be one of the greatest of all-time, a three time champion in his sport.…...

Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small. – Donald Rumsfeld Gail Devers came within a hair’s breadth of missing realizing her Olympics dreams of a gold medal. The U.S. sprint specialist had experienced troubling health issues during her training for the 1988 Summer Games. With dizziness, migraines, and more clouding her ability…...

The Brooklyn Space Program was a thing of genius. You’re unfamiliar? Don’t remember that launch? Some strange borough offshoot of NASA? Well, not exactly. You may be more familiar with the story this way. 10 years ago, a gentleman from New York named Luke Geissbuhler Wanted to do something cool for his very curious sons. Luke had some serious know-how, spent…...

Fifteen years. The champ had not been beaten in fifteen years. To make matters worse, he’d only gotten better as he’d gone along. In addition to fifteen undefeated seasons, he’d won seven straight world titles, and three gold medals to boot. The last time someone had even scored a single POINT against him had been over a decade prior. And…...

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.” ~Henry David Thoreau Tell me which NBA star had this pre-draft camp report… somewhat disappointing, although solid at times athleticism does not look as good as in college body carries too…...

“But if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need” – The Rolling Stones I always thought I’d be the weird person who might actually enjoy solitary confinement. I wasn’t willing to commit the crime that might get me there just to figure out the answer, but my fairly introverted and non-social self always figured I…...

“To have a comeback, you have to have a setback.” – Mr T. I pity the fool who doesn’t imbibe of the deep wisdom of Lawrence Turead, especially when it comes to turning setbacks into comebacks. T was down on his luck several times throughout his life, routinely making tough moments into something better. A few of his wins along…...

“This is a song Charles Manson stole from the Beatles. We’re stealing it back.” – Bono, U2 I’ve always loved the idea Bono threw forth in that introduction. That just because someone had taken a song or phrase that had once been amazing, lovely, and perfectly acceptable, and associated it with something awful, that it didn’t have to stay forever…...

My first jersey was a Colorado State Rams tank top, a lookalike with the name “Kerr” on the back. I was only one year old, so I am still unsure if it was Lloyd or Floyd Kerr who I was emulating, but they were both huge contributors to a Rams team that came eight points from taking the Rammies to…...

It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience. – Julius Caesar Strangely, the Roman Empire didn’t start out as an empire. Initially, they were simply another fighting force amongst so many in the Europe/Mediterranean region. But what they lacked in size and knowledge, they made…...

“We gaze continually at the world and it grows dull in our perceptions. Yet seen from another’s vantage point, as if new, it may still take the breath away.” – Alan Moore, Watchmen A friend and I were pretty big fans of the graphic novel Watchmen, so much so that we’d attended the film on its opening day. We were…...

“When you write a story, you’re telling yourself the story. When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not the story.” – Stephen King The aforementioned Mr. King has admittedly been one of my favorite authors over the years. After the scaring the piss out of me for the better part of my teens…...

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before… Q: What looks like a cartoon butthole, but leaves an even fouler stench on every sports season it touches? A: I guess I gave the punch line away in the headline. * Forgive me. My tight five needs a lot of work. In the 423 combined seasons that the NFL, NBA, NHL,…...

“I want you to take my job,” my buddy said. My response was very eloquent: “You whaaaa?…” Let’s back up for a second. An old friend of mine had recently accepted a new gig, getting him out of a real hell-hole. He’d been working his ass off at the old place to get his young family on their feet, putting…...

I’m standing in a forest. The trees are so tall, I can barely see any light at all. Only the trees aren’t actually trees, they’re men. Three giant men. As I gaze up at one of their somehow impossible height, I recognize that the giant in front of me is Nikola Jokic. In a huge and booming voice, he says,…...

“The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.” – Robert Green Ingersoll When I came to, the first thing I realized was that I was no longer wearing swim trunks. The second thing I realized was that that was not my biggest problem. As a kid growing up on the less-desirable side of L.A.,…...