My big announcement

It looks like I have to come out of the closet. I am announcing today that I am a fair weathered fan of certain sports. After the display the Cavs put on last night I decided that I don't not need to watch every game or check the score in the paper. LeBron left in July and so was our chance at a championship. Today's athletes are proving they are looking out for themselves and their families so I should not in the least feel guilty about being a fair weathered fan. I guess my true love in sports is baseball. The current status of the Indians is making it hard for me but at the end of the day I would love to watch a ballgame. Financially I can't afford to take my party of 6 to many major league baseball games but thanks to the TV deals I can still feel like I am contributing something by watching the game. Here's to hoping the glory days of all sports franchises in Cleveland return sooner than later!

YouTube's "Recommended for You" is Horribly Flawed

Recently, YouTube has introduced a prominent "Recommended for You" section on their homepage. They explain:

The "Recommended for You" module picks videos based on your viewing history. To see your viewing history, click on the History link at the top right of the page; if you want to clear your history and recommendations, click the "Clear Viewing History" button on that page.

Remember, you will get better, more specific, and more consistent recommendations by logging in (or signing up for a YouTube account, if you don't already have one).

That is all well and good, except for one major flaw. They seem to assume that you enjoy the recent video you watched. Being open to opposing viewpoints, I recently clicked on a video link from a blog that ostensibly supported a claim against Joseph Ratzinger. While slightly unflattering, it wasn't in any manner scandalous.

However, some of the videos that YouTube then started recommending to me were vile. Just "Because You Watched..." a video, it does not follow logically that you enjoyed it or desire exposure to similar videos.

Why ought I be compelled to shield myself from these bigots by clearing my history as YouTube requires? Perhaps YouTube and her parent Google should back off on this aggressive personalization by default.

I'm in the Hayek Posse

I can't pretend to be a smarty when it comes to collecting the Benjamins, but this is dope. (The boom plants the seeds for its future destruction.)