River: 1001. 1002. Simon: River... River: Shh. I'm counting between the lightning and the thunder to see if the storm is coming or going. .1005

'The Message'


Natter 61*  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


lisah - Oct 08, 2008 9:37:01 am PDT #3377 of 10001
Punishingly Intricate

Re Jamie-Lynn, I'm just in awe that anyone in the middle of breastfeeding, usually entailing every 3 hours round-the-clock feeds at this age, would have the mental or physical energy to even think about sex

well, she is very young.


Toddson - Oct 08, 2008 9:38:59 am PDT #3378 of 10001
Friends don't let friends read "Atlas Shrugged"

Also, wouldn't she have some kind of help? so that she's not taking care of the baby 24/7?


Jesse - Oct 08, 2008 9:41:50 am PDT #3379 of 10001
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.

You guys, can I just say, I look at the pie charts on [link] and I get a little giddy thinking that Barack Obama could actually be president. It's just so crazy!!


amych - Oct 08, 2008 9:43:34 am PDT #3380 of 10001
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?

I love those pie charts almost as much as actual pie.


lisah - Oct 08, 2008 9:47:27 am PDT #3381 of 10001
Punishingly Intricate

Oh, thanks Jesse! I keep forgetting what that site is and I like to look at it for the happy making.


Steph L. - Oct 08, 2008 9:57:57 am PDT #3382 of 10001
I look more rad than Lutheranism

I look at the pie charts on [link]

I wish I understood what some of the map graphics mean. I've pked around the site, but I can't find an explanation for what the maps called "Tipping Point States" and "Return on Investment Index" mean. If anyone can shed some light, I'd be grateful.

Also, the pie charts' relationships to each other confuse me -- what's the difference between "Win Percentage" and "Popular Vote"?


erikaj - Oct 08, 2008 10:00:36 am PDT #3383 of 10001
Always Anti-fascist!

I saw Nate Silver on Colbert yesterday, and he said "Win Percentage" is the likelihood that Obama would win.


Jesse - Oct 08, 2008 10:01:01 am PDT #3384 of 10001
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.

I believe "Win Percentage" is the odds that he'll actually take it. Not being a stat-head, I haven't looked that hard into all the methodologies and charts and etc., because I also like the blogging.


amych - Oct 08, 2008 10:01:20 am PDT #3385 of 10001
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?

"Tipping Point States"

Probability that that will be the state that decides it all.

"Return on Investment Index"

States where investment in advertising/campaigning will have the most bang for the buck.

Win percentage is the probability that a candidate will win. Popular vote is what the average of the polls currently says -- like when some poll says "Obama's leading 52-46", only with multiple polls counted in the result (in other words, they're not saying that Obama is going to get 89% of the vote).

There's a lot in the FAQ, but I found it easiest to grok the site by following it for a few days and seeing how things changed as new results came in; there's a "today's polls" post every day that explains the new results and the effects they're having.


erikaj - Oct 08, 2008 10:02:30 am PDT #3386 of 10001
Always Anti-fascist!

wrod. Mr. Silver has been quite the unlikely TV star lately.