Who is Nate Silver & Why is He Leaving the NY Times for ESPN

Prepare for a new line of sleek, stylish calculators coming out. Data crunching and statistical analysis just got cool.

For a certain group of political and data junkies, Twitter and the blogosphere was buzzing this week with news that statistician, blogger, and presidential polls savant Nate Silver was leaving the New York Times for a new, lucrative contract with ESPN. Wait a minute ... what? A presidential polls statistician inked a deal with ESPN? What gives? Who is Nate Silver?

Nate Silver - a statistician, sabermetrician, sephelogist, social critic, and blogger - gained national prominence for election predictions in 2008 after he accurately called the election results in 49 of 50 states. He also correctly predicted all thirty five Senate races. By collating and extrapolating on hundreds of polls - and using a system he developed to predict baseball performance - Silver out performed nearly every poll, pundit, and news source working the election. At that time he was writing on a blog called FiveThirtyEight.com that he founded after becoming frustrated listening to poll watchers randomly predict results with very little data behind their decisions. Following that successful run, Nate Silver signed a deal to move his blog to the New York Times - a move which proved extremely lucrative for the paper in the 2012 race with as many as one in five NYTimes.com visitors coming to the sight exclusively for Silver's predictions. At the same time, Silver had published an inspired and insightful tome on predictions and data analysis called The Signal and the Noise. Sales for the book went up 400% the day after the election.

Like any successful person who challenges the conventional wisdom, Silver has been the source of a couple well publicized feuds with people like MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and, more notably, Politico.com  Many saw Politico's criticism of Nate Silver as sour grapes for a website that was basically schooled by Silver on predicting presidential politics. Of course, none of the criticism of Silver by any who disagree with him has done anything to diminish the rise of the young mathematician. In this day and age, with a population obsessed with data and information, and companies forever seeking an edge with their knowledge and manipulation of Big Data, Nate Silver is a verifiable data rock star. Silver has made data and statistics cool, and that will only continue with his new deal to move FiveThirtyEight to ESPN.

So, how does a mathematician end up with a contract at ESPN? Important to remember is that his earliest data work - and success - was in developing his sports performance system. Anyone who has read, seen, or heard of Michael Lewis' insightful explanation of Moneyball and the use of sabermetrics in sports knows that sports and numbers are intimately engaged. The marriage of sports and stats grew exponentially with the rise of fantasy sports - and we all know someone who is obsessed with how his fantasy football/basketball/baseball team is doing. And from Silver's perspective, there is so much more he can do than just predict elections or sports performance. The plans for his new site at ESPN is for the system to expand into weather and entertainment - even predicting Oscar winners based on polling data. Certainly, he may be biting off more than he can chew with something as arbitrary as Academy Awards, but Silver has definitely got the clout at this point to try.

For all the young data geeks out there, Nate Silver has a great lesson on the politics of math and developing a brand.

Can You Retire at 30?

When I was about twenty-six and living abroad, making good money and saving a lot, my father introduced me to the idea of investing and saving for retirement. He had retired with a lump sum that he invested, and was learning a lot more about financial advising. So, he got me started with an IRA and investment account - some stocks and mutual funds. With his information about saving ten percent and the magic of compound interest, I started of with those dreams of a millionaire's retirement. In fact, a part of me started to believe I could retire with millions by the age of fifty ... Or younger.

As I approach my mid-forties, I accept I won't be sitting around with millions in my fifties. However, I still wonder about those stories of people retiring in their thirties. Because it is possible, and you don't have to live you're twenties in poverty to do so. That's the story of The Mustache Money Man, who retired in Longmont, Colorado at the age of 32, with a cool $800K in the bank. By saving money on the little stuff, investing wisely, and planning for retirement, MMM did actually retire that early. Most people who research investing and retirement plans know the advice from The Automatic Millionaire author David Bach who warns about the latte factor. And MMM certainly follows that advice. He carefully selected where he could afford to live well for less, and he made prudent decisions about car payments and mortgages and daily luxuries.

Certainly, MMM has learned to live simply in exchange for his early retirement. And not everyone could make such choices or live in such a way. However, it is interesting to learn MMM's story and keep an eye on his advice. Living the dream the way MMM does is absolutely doable - it's simply a matter of some research and choices.

Lovely Loses Again on Next Food Network Star

OK, can we just declare Nikki Dinki the winner of season 8 of the Food Network's Next Food Network Star. Clearly, she is the only finalist in a very weak field of contestants who even has a chance of hosting a watchable show on the Food Network. Nikki won again this week, taking the first challenge and then putting together a team - with good choices of Demaris and Stacy - to win the food promo competition.

Lovely returned from the Food Star Redemption competition - in a baffling decision by Robert Irvine. What the Restaurant Impossible host saw in Lovely defies all sense that he is a true culinary artist. Lovely never made anything that my wife can't whip up in the kitchen on any given Tuesday. And the dishes she created to beat Viet, Chris, and Chad were utterly forgettable. Seriously, she made a crumble with potato chips. That was weak. But she was allowed back in ... and promptly shown the door when she validated her early exit by being almost a non-entity in the team promo with Russell and Rodney. In the promo she had next to nothing to say - and that was only slightly worse than the other two. In fact, it would have been preferable for Rodney to say nothing at all.

Rodney and Russell are almost certain to be the next two to go home. Hopefully, Rodney goes first. The "Pie Guy" is simply crass and unsophisticated. There is simply nothing he can bring to the Food Network that it needs, and I am weary of his low-class, wacky guy exterior. Rodney would never entertain me as a Food Network Star. Russell can cook, no doubt. But he's not close to polished enough for the Food Network. And that comment about culinary sins in the promo? Ridiculous. The problem with people like Russell and Rodney is that they think they can be like a Guy Fieri or Alton Brown - edgy and cool. But they can't ... because Guy and Alton know food and they know it well. Guy would never have ignored a story about 500-year-old yeast or the use of potato flour in doughnuts. Guy and Alton would have spun some great commentary out of that because they know food. Rodney and Russell don't.

This is clearly the weakest and least entertaining field of Food Network Star contestants I've seen. Even among the finalists now, only Nikki is slightly interesting.

Let's just get it over with.

Sugar, Sugar, Meat, & Fat - America's Breakfast

"You've got sugar, sugar, meat, and fat."

Those words from vegan chef Alex Jamison to her boyfriend Morgan Spurlock in the game-changing documentary film Super-size Me still resonate with me all these years later. In the scene Alex is somewhat mocking Morgan while clarifying the "food groups" represented in his McDonalds breakfast of hot cakes and sausage - there may have been some scrambled eggs on the plate as well. That simple explanation of standard American breakfast fare recently came back to me while on vacation.

Enjoying a fabulous summer in Summit County, Colorado at the very nice Keystone Resort and Spa, I walked past a group of people eating breakfast at an outdoor cafe - nothing but "white foods."  Pancakes and waffles and biscuits & gravy and white toast and hash browns and ... nothing of any significant nutritional value. Granted, a few people were eating eggs - which is a good protein, though I doubt this is an organic free range egg with good omega fats. And, there was one bowl of oatmeal - certainly a "white"-looking food, which could have been easily amped up in nutrition and flavor with some fresh berries and nuts and cinnamon.

We've all been guilty of the doughnuts-for-breakfast moment, and there is certainly something positive to be said about pancakes and waffles and hash browns. That is without doubt. And maybe what I was seeing is simply splurging for vacation. But American has a problem with its mindless fixation on "white" starchy foods that are seriously lacking in nutrition and sustenance. It's been years since I've started a day without some fruit and nuts, and I switched to whole grains years ago. Eggs are a staple, as are hummus and nut butters - the sort of foods that provide fuel the body needs. And they also lack the empty, starchy, sugars that are the key to America's busting waistlines.

Enough with the white foods for breakfast.

40th Anniversary of Bruce Lee & Enter the Dragon

You could say America's love affair with the martial arts began in July of 1973.

That was the year Bruce Lee's standard-setting martial arts film Enter the Dragon premiered to rave reviews and fascinated American audiences. Bryan Enk of Yahoo Movies offers an engaging look back at the film with history, insight, and commentary from Bruce Lee's wife Linda Lee Cadwell. I was only three years old when Bruce Lee entered the American movie lexicon as a true movie star, so like many Bruce Lee fans, I came to the story later through a variety of Bruce Lee bio-pics and reading Lee's groundbreaking martial arts book - about a style of kung fu he created and refined - The Tao of Jeet Kune Do. It takes a pretty significant and deep mind-body connection to create a martial art - a skill set that generally developed over centuries.

For martial arts fans, it's certainly worth looking back at the legacy of arguably martial arts' greatest icon. Certainly, reading Lee's book is a great place to start. And, of course, Hollywood did produce what it considers to be the definitive biography - Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story. However, there are may other great sources of information, and for the true fan, it's worth checking out a wide variety of films about the star. The story of Bruce Lee  is full of myth and legend. I can even remember believing as a kid that Bruce Lee would return on the tenth or twentieth anniversary of his death because he had not died, but retreated from society to deal with supernatural issues we could only marvel at.

While I'm certain now that Bruce is no longer with us - and not coming back - it's always worth looking back on one of the greatest cultural icons of the twentieth century.

Stand Your Ground Laws & Disproportional Response

The verdict that freed George Zimmerman after he killed Travon Martin has generated some intense debate about gun rights and the freedom to react with deadly force to a perceived threat. My gut reaction to the verdict was unease, particularly because I don't agree with someone taking out a gun during a fist fight. The crux of this issue is the existence of Stand Your Ground Laws.  These laws originated out of "castle laws," which allow a person to use lethal force in response to a home intruder perceived to be a threat. However, it's my understanding that gun rights advocates actively pursued extending the right to use a gun in situations outside the home. And that seems risky at best, and quite dangerous at least. Certainly, there is research to indicate these laws increase violence, rather than mitigate it. People are, simply, more inclined to quickly resort to gun violence. In fact, areas that have these laws will have 30-40 more gun deaths for adult males than areas that don't. Clearly, the death of Travon Martin did not have to happen. And from my point of view, the altercation and death resulted from the stupid and irresponsible decisions of George Zimmerman. He simply shouldn't have followed Travon, he shouldn't have left his car, he shouldn't have carried a gun, and he shouldn't have taken it out and fired when a situation he created turned against him.

In a correlated issue in southeast Denver, a drunken - and unarmed - man was shot and killed by a resident who feared the would-be intruder was a threat to his home. The question, of course, is whether this man had to die.

SAT vs. ACT: What’s the Difference?

Standardized testing is a way for colleges to compare students across the country on the same scale. High schools vary by curriculum, grading scales, and methodology, so GPA is not as level a playing field as a third party assessment. By issuing the same test to all students, no matter the district, state, or region, colleges can better select students for admission

The SAT – created and run by the non-profit College Board – is a standardized test that scores high school students on mathematic and critical reading skills. Within the last several years, a writing portion has been added. Students have 25 minutes to formulate an essay on a prompt provided in the section. The essay is scored on a scale of 1 to 6 and is graded by two readers. Before this addition, the test was all multiple choice, aside from a math problems calculated within the test packet. However, because essay writing is a significant component of college, this written portion gives colleges a bit more insight into a student’s ability and possible performance if admitted.

The ACT is run by ACT, Inc. and is a competitor to the SAT. Historically, the ACT is not taken by as many students or as broadly nationwide as the SAT, but in recent years this has changed. It seems more and more students are taking the ACT and the SAT or just the ACT alone. The ACT has four distinct areas – English, mathematics, reading and science – and an optional writing section, recently added like the SAT’s. The ACT questions are considered by many to be slightly easier than the SAT but need to be completed in a shorter amount of time. Thus, it all evens out.

Colleges accept scores from both tests. In many cases, which test to take is determined by where a student live and/or wants to attend college. The SAT is popular on the East and West coasts while the ACT dominates the central portion of the country. Both require several hours of your Saturday morning. Depending on the colleges you’re looking to apply to, it might be best to consult the admissions department to see if there is a preference or to at least obtain the school’s score ranges. 

For more information and guidance, please visit  barronstestprep.com.

** This is a sponsored guest post.

Nate Silver & the Rise of Data Scientists

Statistician and New York Times blogger Nate Silver made a name for himself between the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections through his unique algorithms and numbers crunching that enabled him to accurately predict election results in all fifty states. Such success also enriched Silver even more as his fascinating data-crunching book The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail, But Some Don't shot to the top of Amazon's sales list shortly after President Obama won re-election. The rise of people like Nate Silver and Big Data in general has led to the creation - or at least prominence - of a "new" and lucrative career - Data Scientist. To meet the demand for all these new numbers crunchers, Wired magazine reports on a degree program in data science. Thus, for all those Nate Silver wannabes out there, a degree as a data scientist from the University of California - Berkeley is waiting for the "bargain" price of $60 grand. Just crunch those numbers.

Content Curation, The Long Tail, & the Economics of Abundance

The rise of technology culture and the internet economy changed everything we know about classic rules of supply and demand. And that is nowhere more true than with digital products and digital marketing that changed the way products could be accessed and consumed. Ultimately, the future of commerce is very much connected to the idea of "selling less of more." The concept is the heart of an essay and now an engaging book called The Long Tail by Chris Anderson, who is the editor of Wired, and the visionary behind the ever-popular TEDTalks.

In studying the way companies like Apple - with applications such as iTunes - Amazon changed the accessibility of products and what could and would come to market, Anderson explains that a lack of scarcity and the economics of abundance have allowed new niche markets to flourish in ways they never could outside of a digital world. When physical stores stock their shelves, they must consider the probability of sales in choosing which products are valuable enough to be given shelf space. That reality doesn't exist for songs on iTunes or books in an Amazon warehouse - or as digital files for the Kindle - meaning the companies could stock an infinite - and increasingly smaller - supply of niche products. These small numbers of product actually represent "the long [thin] tail" on a sales curve. And it means nothing is ever so insignificant that it's unmarketable.

The concept of the economics of abundance mean that normal supply/demand rules don't apply, and that enables more niche markets to emerge and thrive. Thus, even an obscure blog for some fringe product can exist and thrive if people can access it. These niche markets are relevant to the concepts of Mavens described by Malcolm Gladwell in The Tipping Point. When I first read Gladwell's book, I thought of the obscure bloggers who collected information and dispensed to a public that - because of digital accessibility - would always find their source. The issue of abundance is also significant in the work of Daniel Pink whose book A Whole New Mind argued that the rise of abundance and the lack of scarcity in markets has increased the need for right-brain thinking because vendors need to appeal more to consumers for even the most basic and useful items.

What does this mean for content curators? Well, in terms of collecting content and information, web creators and curators need simply makes themselves available for accessing their materials. Thus, the more a curator collects and distributes, the better off he is.

Nike Goes Barefoot Running

Nike is undoubtedly the running shoe behemoth, and it has been since the 1970s when Phil Knight hooked up with the running coaches at the University of Oregon and Stanford and began peddling more structurally padded shoes. The effect was the launch of a new industry and fitness craze, as jogging entered the lexicon, and Nike shoes became the apparel of choice. In recent years, elite running has steered away from the mainstream companies, and pure runners have gravitated toward shoes with less obvious structure and a style that mimics the foot in its natural form. With it came the rise of the barefoot running craze, greatly influenced by Chris McDougal's excellent sociological work Born to Run, which gave rise to barefoot-running "shoes" like the Vibram Five Fingers.

Now, Nike is playing catch up.

The release of the new Nike Free Hyperfeel Flyknit is certainly a hype-worthy story, as it is an incredibly paired down running shoe crafted from a single piece of fabric.  The story has been profiled by both Wired Magazine and the Daily Beast, and each comments on the attempt by Nike to remain relevant in a world that may be moving away from Nike's MO of padding and supporting the foot as much as possible. Kyle Vanhemert takes particular notice of Nike's efforts commenting on how Nike Jumps into Barefoot Running. Vanhemert  sees this shoe as the new direction of Nike, and it's likely that may be true if the shoe company hopes to stay relevant. In a slightly more entertaining expose of the Nike Empire, Winston Ross reports for The Daily Beast on a revered trip Inside Nike Headquarters. The story of Uncle Phil and his company's attempt to deal with the pendulum swings between shoes offering more and less support subtly mocks the hallowed ground in Eugene, even as he offers a compelling account of the roll-out of Nike's new shoes.

As far as the actual feel and performance of the shoe, it is said to be somewhat like "wearing a sock," clearly an indication of the single fabric construction and connection to barefoot running. At $160 a pair, this is not a shoe for the casual runner, and it may not be for everyone. Certainly, there is no reason to believe this shoe is a necessary purchase for someone who wants to revert to less structure and more natural and barefoot-style running. In fact, it's not a stretch to say that anyone in nearly any shoe can "run barefoot while wearing shoes."  In reality, barefoot running is all about the gait and not really at all about the shoes.  The key is to run, as if sprinting - or as McDougal says, "like you would if you had to chase a toddler into the street while in bare feet." Basically, natural runners land on the balls of their feet, not the heels.  The heel strike - and the potential damage and wear/tear - results from the more padded shoes of the past thirty years that allowed runners to land on their heels. That's not what a runner should do.

And, if a runner wants a bit of protection - especially for street or trail running - the thin barefoot-like shoe doesn't have to be Nike. For as Vanhemert implies, Nike is sort of late to this game. Companies like Merrel have provided barefoot shoes for years. Newton is another great low-structure shoe company and Adidas has some great styles as well.

Schools Raise Money Selling Useful Products, Not Candy

The start of school is just around the corner, and with that comes school and club fundraising which has kids knocking on your door and meeting you by the supermarket to know if you want to buy some candy to support poms or basketball or theater or lacrosse or speech and debate or ... whatever.  However, some schools are breaking free from the standard candy sales - a good move in this fitness-lacking country - and instead offering products everyone can use. For example, Beth Harpaz of AP reports on a school selling trash bags as a fundraiser instead of candy. She also spotlights many alternatives to the standard candy sales that have plagued communities for decades.

Chevrolet "He's Strong" Commercial is "Strong" by Will Hoge

If you caught the end of the All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night, you may have been captivated by the extended Chevy commercial video that blended images of men being "strong" with lyrics of the same idea. Well, if you're wondering, the song is "Strong" and it's by country singer Will Hoge.  The commercial was a good 2-3 minutes long, and the moving images and poignant lyrics pulled at heart strings of American families, singing the praises of hard-working family men who are twenty year straight get to work on time ... a love one woman for all his life ... a shirt off his back give you his last dime ... [and] strong. 

A shorter version of the commercial is in play now, with the one-minute version playing during the All-Star Game last night. This is some great marketing, to be sure, and it reminds me of the old "Like a Rock" video/commercials featuring the Chevy Silverado to the background of Bob Seger's song.  As a matter of fact, that commercial/song came out during the summer of my first job, working maintenance and "feeling strong" and somewhat like "a man." I was fifteen at the time. Perhaps, that's why they resonate with me so much. Sure, these commercials can seem a bit sappy - or even shallow when you realize they're just marketing a product.  But, I for one enjoyed the images and the song. Makes me proud to be a son, husband, and father. And, as I only ever buy American cars, it makes me proud to be an American, too.

The song and the music video/commercial certainly reflect all the sentiments that make so many country songs so memorable.  Of course, that may surprise many of Will Hoge's fans who don't necessarily consider him "country."  That's the sentiment of many who consider him a "country outsider."  But you can get a lot of country mileage out of singing about the common man, especially when you mention him as a loyal husband and father ... and one who has a truck. There is more to Will Hoge than just one song, but people often look to artists after a situation like this to keep producing the same type of song with the same type of feelings and melodies. And that would be wrong. Regardless, Will Hoge - who has seen some struggles and has never been a household name in fifteen years in the business - will continue to produce great music and "never give in."

Lyrics, compliments of OnlyLyrics

He's a twenty year straight get to work on time
He's a love one woman for all his life
He's a shirt off his back give you his last dime
He's strong

He's a need to move something you can use my truck
He's an overtime worker when the bills pile up
Everybody knows he aint just tough
He's strong ... Strong

He'll pick you up and won't let you down
Rock solid inside out
Somebody you can trust
Steady as the sun
Ain't nothing gonna knock him off the road he's rollin on
He's strong

It aint what he can carry what he can lift
It's a dirt road lesson talkin to his kids
Bout how to hold your ground and how to live
Strong ...He's strong

He'll pick you up and won't let you down
Rock solid inside out
Somebody you can trust
Steady as the sun
Ain't nothing gonna knock him off the road he's rollin on
He's strong

Strong, Like the river rollin
Strong, Gonna keep on going
Strong, When the road runs out
They gonna keep on talkin about
How he was strong ... Strong

He'll pick you up and won't let you down
Rock solid inside out
Somebody you can trust
Steady as the sun
Ain't nothing gonna knock him off the road he's rollin on
He's strong

Everybody knows he ain't just tough ... He's strong

Read more at http://www.onlylyrics.com/will-hoge-lyrics-1119313.php#XbA8CdtgZFPG4tef.99 

SupplySide is Irrelevant - It's Demand that Fuels the Economy

Featured on Salon.com in coordination with the Los Angeles Review of Books, Tom Streihorst presents an insightful and compelling description of the unique paradox of a more comfortable and advanced, yet precarious and stagnant, economy that exists today. We live in an era of such abundance, as well as the subsequent anxiety that pervades an economy so awash in supply that a lack of demand threatens to derail all but the wealthiest elite. A lot of great research and commentary in this piece.

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The Gates Foundation Education Reform Machine

Several years ago in an op-ed for the Washington Post, Bill Gates set a goal of 80% of high school graduates earning bachelor degrees by the year 2025. At the time, I was shocked at the absurdity of the goal from a business standpoint and I wondered, "Is Microsoft going to hire all these highly educated people?" Because the American economy which is supported by 30% of its adults with bachelor degrees certainly can't sustain that level of education with the commensurate salaries to justify it. It just seemed, from a businessman's point of view, to be a terribly poor decision, both inefficient and unnecessary. It just seemed so ... un-Bill Gates-like.

Of course, the nation had to listen - and even many applauded mindlessly - because the idea came from Bill Gates and his Gates Foundation, arguably the biggest behemoth in education reform by sheer vastness of resources and the ability to impose its will. When billions of dollars are on the table, people listen. Even when the direction proves to be misguided. Certainly, the Gates Foundation has had its share of mis-steps, precisely because it is dealing with a very un-business-like issue. The huge investment in smaller schools to improve results is one example. The aligning with controversial people like Michelle Rhee is another. Yet, I don't mean to dismiss or disparage Bill Gates or the Gates Foundation because I firmly believe in the goal they are after. And they are doing many things right. Supporting people like Sal Khan and the Khan Academy is one notable achievement that can't really be bad for education. However, the jury on Gates' positive versus negative impact is still out. This week, The Chronicle of Higher Education weighs in with a slew of commentary on the Gates Effect:

Marc Perry and others question the Gates Effect after the Foundation has spent nearly a quarter of a million dollars on education initiatives.  Notably, not all - or even many - in the education sector are singing the praises of the cash infusion "Some experts have complained that the Gates foundation approaches higher education as an engineering problem to be solved. Most important, some leaders and analysts are uneasy about the future that Gates is buying: a system of education designed for maximum measurability, delivered increasingly through technology, and—these critics say—narrowly focused on equipping students for short-term employability."  There is reason for concern, as education is simply not a business, and there are too many intangibles to turn it into a system of widgets and bean counting.  In another piece Katherine Mangan examines "How Gates Shapes State Education Policy," and this raises concerns about the democratic process to be sure. Certainly, there is no reason to completely dismiss Gates contributions, as the state doesn't have exemplary records on reform. And addressing the unacceptable rates of remediation for college students is a primary goal to say the least. The Chronicle also features an interesting info-graphic on the role Gates and his Foundation have played.  But where is this all really going, asks John Thelin. The Gates' certainly hope to see results for their investment and efforts, if not now then within fifty years of their deaths. So the pressure to produce is driven in a market way that again may compromise the education field. And its those potential costs - and collateral damage - that is the concern of Robin Rogers who worries about The Price of Philanthropy.

The reality is that Gates and the Gates Foundation are the premier force in education reform. So, they must be acknowledged. The Chronicle has done a nice job of continuing the conversation. And, for more critical analysis and links to studies on Gates' goals and success, check out Anthony Cody's insightful piece for EdWeek Mr. Gates Goes to College.

Colleges Offer More Career Prep - Less Liberal Arts

Is the time spent in college about broadening your horizons and developing a liberal arts education - or is it about getting a job? As the costs of college rise - and the job prospects for young Americans remain thin - prospective students and their parents are weighing more critically the luxury of liberal arts studies versus the acquisition of skills necessary to enter a career and earn a living. And this has raised concerns in some circles that the studying of the humanities is a luxury for wealthy kids, while the middle and working class need to forego the study of literature, philosophy, and music to pursue careers in technology, finance, and health care.

In response to the legitimate anxieties of the millenials and their parents, "colleges [are] offering more career prep." That's the analysis from AP writer Beth Harpaz who has discovered "instead of 'Follow Your Passion,' the mantra has become more like, 'we'll help you get a job.'" This is not a surprise to me, and I agree with the emphasis on job skills, even as I hope students can balance that pursuit with their desire to study interesting classes in the liberal arts. These days, numerous writers and consultants are urging students to avoid the follow your passion myth, and there is good reason behind such advice. "Passion," in all its innocuous excitement, leads very few people to careers in life. As a friend of mine has long noted, "We have lives, and we have jobs. Passion is for life, not work." Granted, some people - like me - are passionate about their work. Yet, more people would be better served developing skills and following their talents, rather than letting their passion lead the way. This is the message - Follow your passion and go broke - of Mike Rowe in one of my favorite TEDTalks:

Other great sources of information and advice on the passion versus skills debate are people like Daniel Pink, Cal Newport, and Daniel Coyle.  Newport's book So Good They Can't Ignore You encourages students to work hard at developing skills and talents in areas that interest them. By doing so, Newport believes, students will become highly skilled in jobs which will then become a passion for them.  Daniel Coyle makes the same argument in The Talent Code. And, these days technical skills are highly valued by nearly all companies, and it's important for all people to remain as current and trained in workplace technologies as they can. Chad Bailey offers this information for BusinessDaily on Tech Skills that Employers Want.

Chad May Be Out as the Next Food Network Star

This week on the Food Network's Next Food Network Star, the competent but continually uninspiring work of Chad Rosenthal finally caught up with him, and Chad was eliminated - he will not be** the Next Food Network Star. Chad's inability to really talk engagingly about any food - Bobby Flay's salmon masterpiece or Chad's very own barbecue poutine - led Alton, Bobby, and Giada to conclude Chad was never going to progress - he was never going to be the Next Food Network Star. For a man who has lived barbecue professionally for years - and who is seen saying in the trailers that he can "talk about food like nobody else" - Chad has surprisingly little to say.

Russel barely held on this week - and he will not be the Next Food Network Star either. However, it does appear that he is a slightly better - or at least more interesting and innovative - chef, and there is more potential for him to grow into a marketable personality. Barbecue is pretty generic and well served on the Food Network - cooking with the "Seven Culinary Sins" is something new. Candied bacon and horseradish ice cream are certainly worth taking a look at - though they may belong on Anthony Bourdain's show, as opposed to the Food Network.

Demaris continues to disappoint - though the judges have some sort of misplaced affection for her southern "charm." Though I would certainly not be tuning in to a Food Network Show to learn about green bean casserole - or really anything "southern" that Demaris offers. And I would hope that Demaris' piss-poor whiny attitude would count as a strike against her. That woman complains about every single challenge - it's never exciting for her, only a burden. That is just rather classless, and certainly not "Star" quality.

Rodney continues to be - in the words of Bobby Flay - "a disaster." While his food seems to always be tasty, how hard is it to screw up a mixed berry pie. The thing that bothers me is his absolutely sloppy presentation. His culinary skills and his finished products are always a mess, and I would be turned off as a judge just watching him work. On top of that, his presentations are always annoying and rather low class, and his personal appearance reminds me of the unkempt schlubbiness that was the trademark of the Pop-A-Waffle guys on the Great Food Truck Race. In my world, style counts ... and Rodney has very little.

Finally, both Stacy and Nikki were winners tonight, though it's obvious that Nikki was the top presenter. Bobby overpraised Stacy because of her story, overlooking the fact that she said very little about the actual food. And, the Meat-on-the-Side concept is a heck of a lot more interesting than a Vintage-Modern Kitchen. Though either of these ladies will be competent. The key word being competent - for there are no true stars among this incredibly weak field of food finalists.

** Chad's chance at redemption came in a competition with Lovely. And while Chad wasn't stellar, he - like all other redemption candidates - made a much more interesting dish than Lovely who simply "made a salad." That is not star quality, nor were any of her other dishes. However, Robert Irvine is going to make us wait until next week to see he comes back.  It better be Chad.

The Best Content Curation & Aggregation Sites

Content curation and aggregation is the foundation of much of the internet economy, with revenues generated by readership, links, and advertising. Clearly, Google's AdSense is the top of the game for this, but there are many other companies cashing in on pay-per-click revenue. But where is all this information coming from. As I noted in my earlier post Stephen Rosenbaum has aggregated an insightful analysis in  Curation Nation: How to Win in a World Where Consumers are Creators., and his textbook example of premier curation and aggregation is the Huffington Post, brainchild of media darling Arianna Huffington. Arianna is a great role model for aspiring internet-preneurs, and the story of HuffPo's success by Rosenbaum is worth reading.

So, who else does a great job of curation and aggregation? Here are a few examples of the sites I scan for engaging and informative collections of web buzz.  Consider checking out:

Slate Magazine

Salon

Mediaite

Yahoo News

Talking Points Memo

Real Clear Politics

Instapundit

Politico

And, of course, one of the originals that simply links ... and profits:

The Drudge Report

These are the sites that I check most regularly for news of "what's going on."

It's a Curation Nation - Information is Currency

University of Chicago professor and social critic Neil Postman once said, "The challenge of the 21st century is to turn information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom." This prescient analysis was an apt summation of the current state of the internet and social media.  For the blogging world, this flood of information - or "content" - is the life's blood of the network. 

For an excellent analysis and understanding of the world we've created - and what that might mean in a business sense - internet afficionados should read Steve Rosenbaum's inspired and insightful Curation Nation: How to Win in a World Where Consumers are Creators., available on Amazon or its own website.  Rosenbaum offers a historical perspective on the entire idea of "curation," which is basically the filtering and re-packaging of all the noise out on the world wide web. Basically, what I am doing now with this entry and its inherent links is "curation" of information about curation.

Michael Jordan Always Better Than Kobe ... and Everyone Else

With the exit of Dwight Howard from the LA Lakers, it also appears to be the last chance for Kobe Bryant to equal the career titles of the man he's always been compared to - and aspired to be (or surpass). That's the analysis from YahooContributor Lucas Bowen in a great analysis for YahooSports. The reality of Kobe's career is that he never secured a title - or even a playoff berth - without a premier big man in the lane, one who was clearing the way for his outside game. Michael Jordan dominated like no other player ever has or will, and he did it with the likes of Bill Cartwright and Luc Longley. It's simply not a reasonable comparison, Bowen writes, and perhaps the exit of Howard from LA can also clear the way for the exit of Kobe and the end of this tiresome discussion. Michael Jordan will always be the greatest basketball player ever.  And, don't even get me started on Lebron James because in that case, there's only one argument to be made:

Ohio School to Arm Staff

The news reports that an Ohio school district has cleared the way to arming its teaching staff if the individuals have a gun license.  This is not, in my opinion, the correct response to the SandyHook shootings, though clearly that is the impetus. Schools should not seek to arm citizenry, but instead should implement a School Resource Officer program in all schools. The program is "well-regulated" and time tested. Certified law enforcement are trained to shoot in a crisis; the average person is not. More than likely, increased gun presence increases the margin of error, and law enforcement officials I've heard do not support a more armed populace as a safety measure - especially in schools. Granted, there is concern that an SRO is not always present or in the right place, for we know that Columbine High School had an SRO on campus.  But procedures have changed since then.  And, for evidence of a trained professional armed guard being the appropriate response to gun violence, I would point to the armed guard who brought down a shooter at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs in 2007.  In this case, it was a trained security officer who saved the day, not the average citizen.  When the average citizen carries a weapon and responds to "trouble," society is more likely to face a situation like George Zimmerman stupidly and irresponsibly shooting an unarmed man out of fear ... and maybe ill will.  As a final thought, I would offer some insightful commentary from Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing.  It's not specifically about schools - but it says something about arming any citizen with the intent of making the world safer or preventing crimes.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKdSGSZfbnA&safe=active

Schools Should Learn from Effective Schools

Granted, there are many problems with simply trying to emulate in one school with a select group of students the same practice, producing the same results, in another entirely different school with a different select group of students.  However, that's not to say we can't learn from success - a point well-made by Greg Anrig - From Health-Care Reform, Lessons for Education Policy.  I don't always agree with Greg, but I like the way he thinks. Interesting findings from a UChicago consortium that studied effective schools:

The consortium identified five key organizational features to advancing student achievement:

• A coherent instructional guidance system, in which the curriculum, study materials, and assessments are coordinated within and across grades with meaningful teacher involvement;

• An effective system to improve professional capacity, including making teachers' classroom work public for examination by colleagues and external consultants, and to enable ongoing support and guidance for teachers;

• Strong parent-community-school ties, with an integrated support network for students;

• A student-centered learning climate that identifies and responds to difficulties any child may be experiencing;

• Leadership focused on cultivating teachers, parents, and community members so that they become invested in sharing overall responsibility for the school's improvement.

There was also research from the National Center for Educational Achievement which offered these common characteristics of successful schools:


The common practices they found in those schools included a high degree of engagement between administrators and teachers in developing and selecting instructional materials, assessments, and pedagogical approaches; embedded time in the workweek for teacher collaboration to improve instruction; an openness among teachers to being observed and advised; close monitoring by administrators and teachers of testing data to identify areas where students needed additional support; and personnel who dedicate time to extensive outreach to parents and coordination with community groups and social-service providers.

Hacking Your Education

The challenges of the 21st century require a new vision and new type of thinking that breaks free of the original models - this is especially true in education.  It's no surprise I am opposed to the rigid K-16 model of education based on "seat time" and the Carnegie unit.  With the rise of MOOCs and concurrent enrollment classes, school systems and communities are starting to see the light and craft innovative approaches to education.  Homeschooling has always bent "the rules," but the Un-schooling model has always fascinated me more.  And this year at the TIE (Tech in Education) Conference in Copper Mountain, Colorado, I learned a great deal more through the story of Logan LaPlante.  Logan's 13-minute TED talk is worth viewing:

Logan was part of a presentation on "Hacking Your Education" presented by Canadian teacher and blogger Michelle Cordy, and that idea has resonated with me ever since.  The idea of "hacking" is not simply limited to nerdy guys spreading computer viruses from their parents' basement. No, not at all. Hacking is about breaking free from the conventions that demand an established path or approach to living and problem solving.  It can be "hacking your life" as a way to be more efficient and - dare I say - happy, or it can be hacking your job or institutions or daily decisions or ... really whatever you want it to be.  In fact, a growing number of people are "hacking their religion" these days, as the rigid institutions of the major religions are leading people to mix-and-match beliefs and describe themselves as "spiritual, but not religious."

A couple of great resources on "hacking your education" are Dale Stephens and Anya Kamenetz, who are innovative writers and thinkers committed to presenting alternatives in a world that is increasingly closing off the traditional pathways to success.  Stephens' book Hacking Your Education should be required reading for everyone who will engage with education institutions in the coming years.  In fact, he reminds of the classic quote from Matt Damon in Good Wil Hunting when the savant janitor schools the Harvard boy, telling him, "You paid $150,000 for an education you could have got for $1.50 in late charges at the local library."  Classic.  And true.  Dale Stephens has established himself with the help of entrepreneur Peter Thiel with the organization and development of a great resource website - UnCollege.  Doing similar work with a comparable message, Kamenetz has been ringing the warning bell for her generation for a few years now since writing Generation Debt.  While that is an interesting, albeit depressing read, I highly recommend her second book, DIY-U: Edu-punks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education. 

Regardless of who you are, the idea of education hacking is worth checking out.  It's liberating, and it's the kind of innovation that not only made America strong, but will lead it into the future.

The Sugar Habit - Ditching a Dangerous Routine

I've noted before a desire to eat healthier and promote better nutrition.  In fact, following the information and conclusions of Dr. Robert Lustig, I once posted that "Sugar Is the Devil," and that isn't too far off the truth.  It is a truly harmful component of the average diet, precisely because it is used to such excess. The sad part of America's sugar addiction and consumption is that so much of it is unintentional, as processed food makers have seen fit to slip sugar into nearly everything we eat, from ketchup to bread.  Often this comes in the form of high fructose corn syrup - which has received plenty of bad press over the years, much of it deservingly so.  For a little more information, summing up a lot of the conventional wisdom on sugar, check out Maura Kelly's piece How to Ditch the Sugar Habit, published in the Fitness Magazine on Yahoo Shine.

Kids Menus Are ... Pathetic

"So ... your kids eat that food?"

It's surprising how often we hear that question when discussing a restaurant with people we know.  My wife and I are foodies, and we enjoy good meals at nice restaurants.  And, we spend a lot of time together as a family, which means our kids enjoy good food as well.  Recently, we had a wonderful meal at The Warming Hut in Breckenridge, Colorado where we dined on beef, bison, and lamb sliders, green lip mussels, bison and chorizo chili, and boar sausage.  It was a fabulous meal - which I accompanied with five pours of nice wines for the "Wine Wednesdays" tasting.  On other days we enjoyed calamari, truffle fries, steamed mussels, and more at great places like Modis and Hearthstone, also in Breck.

My kids enjoyed it as well - especially the boar's sausage.  Yet people are surprised that my kids would eat "that food."  As if it is some bizarre concoction of flavors that would gag an eight or eleven-year-old.  Which brings up the issue of the Kids Menu.  You've seen it - it's the same at every restaurant.  There's grilled cheese, pizza, hot dogs, PBJ, chicken tenders, etc.  The food all tastes the same, and it is nothing but starchy and salty.  How someone can justify paying twelve dollars for a PBJ at a nice restaurant is beyond me.  Yet, people do it because they claim "That's all my kids will eat."

Uh, no.

Kids certainly have more limited and distinct tastes than adults.  The subtlety and richness of many spiced and savory foods are sometimes too much for young palates.  However, there is no reason to simply stuff their mouths with mozzarella sticks and chicken tenders just so Mom and Dad can "enjoy" a nice meal.  Kids tastes develop along with their parents, and if kids will "only eat that," it's much more a parenting issue than one of true palates.  

Next Food Network Star - Chris Ousted from Weak Contestant Field

For the show that gave the Food Network Guy Fieri, Arti Party, and Jeff the Sandwich King, this season of the Next Food Network Star is the weakest field of contestants I have ever seen. There are no true "stars" anywhere on this show, and it really makes me wonder about the selection process that led to these contestants. If these are the best potential Food Network Stars, then something is seriously wrong with the screening process.  Were there truly no more interesting, engaging, and skilled chefs and food personalities desiring to be a Food Network Star?  Sad.

This week gave contestants the opportunity to develop their own food products and market them to some "high powered" food executives.  Finally, a show about the contestants' point of view and what they can offer the Food Network.  Granted, there is a "pie guy," a "meat on the side," a "vintage modern," a "southern ... whatever," a "culinary rebel" (again?), and a BBQ guy; but the presence of a truly compelling culinary vision has been lacking among these lightweights and amateurs.  And, that probably led to the elimination of Chris Hodgson - who is a skilled and interesting chef, but really couldn't "sell" to the judges, even though he claims selling food and his food vision is his whole identity.  Chris Hodgson will, thus, return to his successful restaurants - unless he can salvage salvation on Robert Irvine's second chance show. (see below)

The winners for some strange reason this week were Nikki, Russell, and (ugh!) Demaris.  While Nikki still seems to have the most marketable vision with meat-on-the-side, she is still so clearly not-ready-for-prime-time.  Russell is interesting and the bacon candy looked quite tasty - but there is still something so flat about him.  Demaris ... don't get me started.  She is simply "blah," and there is nothing compelling or skilled about her.

As far as the bottom crew is concerned, Chad continues to putter along, but Rodney is simply gross.  His presentation is sloppy and unappetizing - and I am a pie fanatic.  But watching him cook simply repulses me, and his offerings never look at all appealing.  His crass, folksy, loud persona simply adds to the sloppiness of his presentation, and he is not a Food Network Star.  Stacy is really failing on the point of view angle - "Vintage Modern"?  What?  Didn't the "Retro-Rad" girl fail with this last year? And Stacy is simply the mom who has a child with eating conditions, and she runs a restaurant.  So what.

Very unimpressed lately.  Bob Tushmann warned Stacy last week about the dangers of being "too perfect."  Well, he must love this year's crop because they are nowhere near close to perfect.

** SPOILER ALERT

Robert Irvine has screwed up again, and he has some weird fascination with Lovely's mediocre cooking skills that lead to utterly simple and forgettable dishes.  Chris Hodgson took potato chips and re-crafted them into a clever theme of fish-and-chips by creating a soup from the potato and adding some salmon.  Lovely crushed some potato chips and made a crumble.  Lovely did nothing, absolutely nothing with the ingredient.  She is not star quality.  Sorry Chris.