That Pie Chart Sure is Purty

On Monday, the El Paso Times ran a story with the headline "Richard Wiles preferred heavily in race for sheriff." The story led off with this graphic:


Isn't it a pretty picture?! Riddle me this - what does the fine print say? Click here if you can't read it. Here's a summary: 350 likely voters were polled with a +/- 5.5%. Here's what I have to say about that -

1. The 2006 population (estimated) of El Paso county is 736,310. Simple math shows the sample size for this poll was only 0.05% of the entire county.

2. Plus/Minus 5.5% - You've gotta be kidding me!

3. The Reuel Group (the firm responsible for administering the poll) allows users the option of creating customized voter lists, totally negating any type of "random" sample that may occur. Or at least throwing the concept of "random sampling" into a realm open to criticism. And, while I cannot confirm, it is rumored that the group themselves have publicly endorsed Wiles. That stench you smell is what I like to call "conflict of interest."

4. Does anyone else see a problem in polling likely voters as opposed to registered voters? Here's why they have to print it that way - you see, these polls are conducted via automated telephone calls (you know, the type that say "To elect a douchebag, press 1. To come to your senses, press 2.") Yeah, my 2 year old cousin can pick up a phone and press numbers. The methodology also causes one to ask, "Which candidate did they chose to be option 1?"

5. In the body of the story, the Times reports that if you removed the percentage of voters who chose "Don't Know" Wiles would have the support of 56% of the remaining people polled. Do you want to know what that math equals? 145 people which equals 0.02% of the county population. I wouldn't necessarily brag about that.

Let this be a lesson to you folks - pretty pictures don't necessarily make the best things on which to base your opinions. Unless you want to trust a second rate news source. And then you have to remember - you get what you pay for.

"Liars Figure, Figures Lie"

A report in the El Paso Times Sunday reports that overall crime rates in El Paso are down. I'll let you read the article and discern what you wish.

I'll tell you this though (it's a little bit of logic, so turn your brain on): If the EPPD is currently down by a reported 300 officers, wouldn't it stand to prove that there are less officers to take reports resulting in less crimes being reported?

Again, the transitive property rears its ugly head.

So Who's Up for Some Pot Pie?

I wonder if Tyra Banks ever regrets being the catalyst for Janice Dickenson being thrust upon the world again. Maybe a little guilty?

Whatever, as long as Ms. Dickeson keeps her male models working for 2xist, she can be any shade of crazy she wants!

So, I often have a problem when it comes to dinner time. Backstory - Wilson and I got into a huge argument over groceries the other day because I wanted to buy groceries and he didn't want to because I tend to buy things I won't ever eat (mostly because I have this notion that I'm a chef, when in reality, the only cooking skill I have is the ability to dial for chinese delivery!), they go bad, and in the long run he wastes money. Okay, all logical. So anyway, we argued, we bought groceries. Cut to today and me sitting on the chair, literally watching the minutes pass, thinking, "How late do I have to let it get before I don't feel guilty for making the decision to not make food, but to order it ..." Then there's the whole problem of me waiting so long to make food that I get so lethargic about it ... what a viscious cycle.

No! Make food! You can do it! Oohh, there are tater tots ... No! Tater tots are not food! So, I pull out some chicken from the fridge ... what shall I do with it? Let's just sautee some chicken, boil some pasta, throw some red sauce on there and call it a meal. No fuss, no muss, and a net gain of approximately 4 dirty dishes. But wait - what's that yellow box in the corner? Bisquick ... ooh a recipe for dumplings! I've never done that before. Yeah, yeah, you can boil some chicken in some chicken broth, cut up some celery, put in some potatoes, some carrots, green beans, corn, onions and totally make a stew!! With dumplings!

P.S. Who knew it would take an hour and a half to make this stew with dumplings and that I wouldn't be eating dinner until 9:45. Not this kid, that's for sure.

I'm not even going to get into the fact that I was one can of chicken broth short and it really came out as chicken and dumpling pot pie stuffing ... so guess what's for dinner tomorrow?! Oh and I'm also not going to get into the fact that I have no idea what dumplings are supposed to a) look like or b) taste like, so I dont' know if I got those right ... as far as I know they're balls of steamed dough ... and I like dough, erego, I liked the dumplings. That's the transitive property, bitches.

Anyway, the moral of the story is that when it comes to cooking I'm way more ambitious than I am talented.