Jeopardy's Watson Computer Kicks Butt

Watson, the IBM computer currently competing on Jeopardy, is doing some amazing stuff.  This is especially significant when you consider the storied histories of its human competitors. 


The competition (quickly turning into a rout), has propelled Jeopardy to their highest ratings in years.  Indeed, it is a sight to see.


Here's a really good background on the technological competitor:

Restaurant Reivew - Lotus Asian Restaurant, Green Bay

I love Thai food.  More than that, I LOVE Pad Thai.  The only problem is that a Pad Thai recipe is a lot like a Bloody Mary recipe - when it is good it is outstanding, but when it is bad (which is more often than not), the disappointment lessens a nice time out. 

When I was here in Green Bay on my own last fall, I ordered take-out Thai from a local restaurant (which will remain nameless), and the Pad Thai I received was nearly inedible.  I began to wonder if Green Bay had a good solution for Thai food, when I happened to drive past the Lotus Asian Restaurant off of Military Avenue. After cajoling my wife for a couple of weeks (she's not a fan of very spicy food), I finally got her to agree to go there to dinner with me last night.  Judging by other reviews I've read on the place, I held out hope that this would be my Thai restaurant solution in Green Bay. 

We started with an order of Thai Spicy Wings, which were the prefect combination of spice, heat, crunch, and flavor.  Just these alone were worth the trip, but for me the true test was ahead.  Fortunately, the Pad Thai more than passed the test - it was outstanding.  Not the best I ever had, but easily in the top five.  Just a great mix of spice, heat, and a hint of sweet.  I also ordered the Pad Prik Khing, a spicy green bean dish, which was done perfectly, with the green beans retaining some crunch, while making my nose run due to the spicy heat.  My wife ordered a traditional Chinese meal of Cashew Chicken which was also very, very good. 

Portions were large (we came home with two containers that will be at more than one more meal for two), and the service, while a touch slow, could not have been more friendly.  It felt great to be in a place with such welcoming, happy, and friendly folks.  The restaurant itself is a touch small, but well appointed, complete with a small bar and flat screen TVs for the sports fan.  Also, they do deliver, so that's an option as well. 

Overall, it was a really nice evening out, and will likely be added to our restaurant rotation.     

The Vikings 2010 Ultimate Embarrassment

Pictures speak louder than words:



What the hell happened to my once-proud franchise? 

Minnesota better find a way to get a stadium deal done.  They need only watch what happens to Minneapolis again this summer when the Twins are in town for any fortitude they need to invest in a source of economic gain and civic pride.

This just turns my stomach... 

Our Last Chapter "Closed" (and Not a Moment Too Soon)

We finally got word that the sale of our house has closed.  The odyssey of my job change and our move has finally closed its final chapter. 

And not a moment too soon. 

The StarTribune reports today that Twin Cities home prices continue to free fall.  Here’s an extract:

During the quarter, home values fell 12 percent in the Twin Cities metro area compared to the prior year, and Zillow said it was one of the worst quarters since it started tracking real estate trends in 1996.  "It almost seems like what you'd see in Florida," said Mark Vitner, a senior economist for Wells Fargo Securities. 

We definitely took a financial hit by selling out home in the midst of this economic maelstrom, but feel lucky that we were able to sell at all.  If real estate is the bellwether of our economic fortunes, there is still a long way to go.  Fortunately, we have our feet underneath us, the new job is going great, the company is doing very well, my wife has been on interviews, and we appear to be OK. 

If we still owned our home in Minnesota, that definitely would not be the case.  We got lucky, and we remain blessed.  

Putting the Frozen in Frozen Tundra

I hate this time of the year. 

The Super Bowl is over, and it will be 6 months until training camp and fantasy football prognostication starts.  NCAA basketball is in mid-season, and we’re a month away from conference tournaments and the big dance.  NBA is hardly a sport anymore.  NHL is about the best thing going, but there’s a scant amount to be had here in hockey-less Green Bay.  We’re more than a week for pitchers and catchers, and full MLB squads about a week after that. 

So why are all of those spectator sports important?  It is -14 this morning.  Wind chill?  Oh, that takes things down to -26.  Here on the frozen tundra, we’re not going outside anytime soon, so TV is our great escape. 

Spring seems like an unattainable goal, and summer something that other people enjoy.  The weatherman is predicting a high Sunday of 36, and while we pray that he’s right, just doing the quick math means that it would be a 50 degree swing!

We’ll believe it when we see it. 

Lost In Lambeau Land

It is official.  I'm living in a Twilight Zone episode.  

 We attended the Return to Title Town celebration at Lambeau Field today.  Here's a little video snippet of what it was like.  

On the way home, my wife suggested that if you would have told us a year ago that we'd be in the front row of Lambeau Field in February, freezing our tails off, in the middle of 50,000 Green Bay citizens, in the midst of celebrating a Super Bowl victory, we would have suggested that you put away the tequila as you'd obviously had enough.  But there we were, in some kind of surreal alternate universe.  Kind of like that Star Trek episode where Kirk beams onto an evil USS Enterprise (Episode #33, "Mirror, Mirror" for you nerds scoring at home).

But there we were. 

Here's my wife in the -10 wind chill. 

And here's Super Bowl 40 MVP Aaron Rogers, and the Lombardi Trophy, a mere 30 yards away. 

Some people have to travel the world to see stuff that they've never seen before.  We just needed to move to Wisconsin.

2011 Super Bowl Advertising Review

At $3MM a pop, a good Super Bowl ad can make (Monster.com) or break (Pets.com) a company.  So, how was this year's crop?  Overall, I felt there were a lot of ads that were just OK, with some strong entries, and a limited level of misses. 

Let's review the bad ones first: 

Doritos Finger Suck - This just flat creeped me out.  Like I need a shower kind of creeped out.  How it will create additional affinity for their brand via this ad is beyond me. 

Pepsi Max Blond Nailed with Can - This is actually one of two ads for Pepsi Max in which people got hit with cans.  At least the other ad went for the tried and true gag of the hit to the groin. 

Sketchers Shapeups - An ad for a women's product that was basically directed at men.  Come on. 

Groupon Tibet with Timothy Hutton - After playing things close to the vest, this is what they came up with?  Holy cow!  At least with this ad that they now have a worse mistake than not accepting Google's offer.  They were better off spending that $3MM on a sock puppet. 

Now, let's take a look at the good ones: 

Bud Light Product Placement - I felt the overall Bud Light offering was weak, but I did enjoy this ad. 

Bridgestone's Reply All - Still don't understand the connection with tires, but this gave me one of the bigger laughs of the evening. 

Teleflora's Boyfriend Pens Note - Great ad!  Completely targeted to their audience (especially by including Faith Hill), this was incredibly effective as well as funny. 

Etrade - Last year's winner has another strong showing. 

Best Buy with Ozzy - Really effective means of getting out the new technology trade-in policy.  Very entertaining, and very well done. 

Pepsi Max Internal Voice - Elicited a very good laugh.  As much as Pepsi spent (between Max and Doritos), they needed one. 

But there is one standout champion, and it is no contest.   Living Social took on rival Groupon, and developed the ad worthy of all of Groupon's hype.  Benefit driven, clear, and funny as hell.  See for yourself: 

The Decemberists Concert Reivew Milwaukee Riverside Theater

 

We attended The Decem-berists concert in Milwaukee last night, and it was a really mixed bag.  I'm too tired to post the full set list - you can find it elsewhere, but here are some points of review:

•  The venue, the Riverside Theater, was sold as general admission, despite being a old time theater like the State in Minneapolis.  I thought, since everything was GA, that we'd be attending something like 1st. Ave.  Could not have been more wrong.  Hence, by the time we finished our meal and headed to the concert for the curtain at 8:00, the place was packed.  Our seats ended up being 6th row from the back in the balcony.  Why you'd choose to hold a GA show in such a venue is beyond me.  I bought these tickets months ago, and would have gladly paid a premium for good seats.  Fail.  
• Opening act was Mountain Man.  Their high harmonies and sparse accompaniment were beautiful and quirky.  Not my kettle of fish, but enjoyable.  
• The Decemberists were very strong.  There was great interaction between frontman Colin Meloy and the crowd, the band executed very well, and the setlist was fairly strong.  Overall a good effort.  
• Sound in the balcony was beyond horrible.  The hall's acoustics were very bad, and the band's sound crew didn't help by forcing their small stacks into the main level.  I've attended over 100 concerts, and these acoustics were the worst I have experienced.  Had I not known the song, I never would have been able to tell what they were singing.  
• Highlight of the night was an impromptu presentation of In the Air Tonight, complete with the whole urban myth presentation about the song.  Total hoot.  
• Best song had to be The Rake's Song.  All of the bad was on drums save for Meloy and Nate Query on bass.  All were totally into it, and it is the one song that was acoustically the least muddy.  
• Two different couples, both within five rows of us, got into very public arguments with their dates.  This all went down during This is Why We Fight, and unfortunately they were too angry with each other to recognize the irony.  

The bottom line was that the band was good, the sound horrific, and I couldn't help but feel like a chump for driving four hours round trip to sit in the nosebleed seats with the total drunks and the people that couldn't have cared less about what was going on up on stage.  Not a good experience, and not recommended.