Five Thirty Eight

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:08 am

If I can't find ANYTHING I like about the site, does it mean I really don't like data as much as I thought I did, or that it sucks? I don't get what happened, but there's nothing for me there at all.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:19 am

Ryan wrote:If I can't find ANYTHING I like about the site, does it mean I really don't like data as much as I thought I did, or that it sucks? I don't get what happened, but there's nothing for me there at all.

Agreed. Not sure how they are missing the mark, but they are missing it pretty badly. I had followed them on twitter, but they are annoying there too.

howard · Post by **howard** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:25 am

Not everything that counts can be counted.

Not everything that is counted counts.

(or there are three types of lies)

Brontoburglar · Post by **Brontoburglar** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:26 am

I was excited about the site. Still am. But I'm finding myself going over there, reading the headlines and not clicking on much, if anything. The excitement is waning.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:34 am

The one on ball/strikes was OK, but the data was damn near inaccessible. Took a lot of staring at those charts and still not positive I understand them very well at all.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 2:21 pm

I can't finish most Bill Barnwell articles when he crunches the numbers and goes on for days and days about stuff. And I love the NFL and math.

So I can't even imagine that I'll like the 538 stuff. Hell, I didn't even realize it launched.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 4:28 pm

I gave it a week, reading articles from many different fields and just didn't really like many of them. Bookmarked when it launched and deleted said bookmark about a week later.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 10:01 am

I've been greatly underwhelmed as well. I think they'd do well if they had longer pieces and better writers. The quick hit 1000-2000 word articles aren't getting it done.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:39 am

govmentchedda wrote:I've been greatly underwhelmed as well. I think they'd do well if they had longer pieces and better writers. The quick hit 1000-2000 word articles aren't getting it done.

This. These things need to be team efforts. The writing is sophomoric. Maybe this is what statistics papers read like, but it doesn't interest me to read poor writing, especially when it's on a subject that I need the writing to fill in the gaps of my knowledge.

I fully admit to part of the problem being me not recalling statistics as much as I should. But that said, I took two college level stats courses, and if I struggle with it, I'm not the only one.

Silver is by far their best writer. I don't mind the quick hitters because that means there is more content...don't have to wait a week and they are responding to more current events. But just write them better.

rass · Post by **rass** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 5:59 am

Perhaps their first great piece: A Statistical Analysis of the work of Bob Ross

Though I can't help but think that perhaps the internet has lost something now that people are getting paid for stuff like this rather slaving away for little or no credit or recognition.

h/t rush

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 11:34 am

I think this is pretty interesting, and kind of in the wheelhouse of what they should be doing.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/what ... l-and-nba/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Mon May 19, 2014 10:33 am

I'd like to see more stories like this from 538.

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 10:27 am

VORB

I'm jealous.

Post by **brian** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 11:11 am

Holy shit, Komex Fusion made the Top 20 list. That place is awesome.

Post by **brian** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 11:43 am

brian wrote:Holy shit, Komex Fusion made the Top 20 list. That place is awesome.

I've actually had four of the burritos on that Top 20 list as it turns out. Best Coast, y'all!

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 12:16 pm

rass wrote:VORB

I'm jealous.

A friend of mine that's still in New Mexico response: "Maybe they think that you need a passport to New Mexico, perhaps that will eliminate us from this competition on burritos, which, BTW, New Mexicans simply refer to as "food.""

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 12:18 pm

Rush2112 wrote:
rass wrote:VORB

I'm jealous.

A friend of mine that's still in New Mexico response: "Maybe they think that you need a passport to New Mexico, perhaps that will eliminate us from this competition on burritos, which, BTW, New Mexicans simply refer to as "food.""

ETA (I've been to three, two of which are on the EAST coast.)

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 12:19 pm

How am I missing the top 20? Is it a graphic that could be blocked at work?

For lunch yesterday I had a delicious burrito from this food truck yesterday. Best drunk find ever (not yesterday, post-night one at ACL 2010.).

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 12:21 pm

Note that list of 20 wasn't the full list, or even the top 20. There are at least 48 more places coming, most of them from somewhere other than CA.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 12:23 pm

That list is "Yelpers favorites", not the best list.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 12:30 pm

Giff wrote:How am I missing the top 20? Is it a graphic that could be blocked at work?

For lunch yesterday I had a delicious burrito from this food truck yesterday. Best drunk find ever (not yesterday, post-night one at ACL 2010.).

It's the highest VORB list in the middle of the article.

Post by **brian** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 12:39 pm

rass wrote:Note that list of 20 wasn't the full list, or even the top 20. There are at least 48 more places coming, most of them from somewhere other than CA.

Right, it was the VORB list, but for now it'll have to do since that's all they teased.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 1:00 pm

Clearly, I need to spend more time at San Francisco taquerias!

Rush, I think the reason for the lack of New Mexico presence on the list is partly explained by their sparse population, leading to a relative low number of restaurants. But, I will give a harrumph, harrumph to your comment on how Mexican food is simply "food", there. I grew up in Colorado with Canadian parents who preferred fairly bland food back then. But, they moved to New Mexico 25 years ago, and now times have changed, as they adapted to the New Mexico palate. Whenever my mother serves me something nowadays, she asks, "do you want red or green chile with that?"

Post by **brian** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 1:05 pm

New Mexican is awesome. We have a Gardunos here as well as a dozen other places run by New Mexicans that specialize in specifically New Mexican cuisine. Me personally though when I think about New Mexican, it's not burritos it's usually blue corn enchiladas or stuffed sopapillas and even Frito pie (though that's more west Texan than New Mexican is my understanding).

(And I'll have the red chile please.)

Post by **brian** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 1:08 pm

Though it should also be said I think the best burrito place in Las Vegas actually is a New Mexican restaurant.

If any of y'all are ever in Las Vegas, check it out.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 1:14 pm

sancarlos wrote:Clearly, I need to spend more time at San Francisco taquerias!

Rush, I think the reason for the lack of New Mexico presence on the list is partly explained by their sparse population, leading to a relative low number of restaurants. But, I will give a harrumph, harrumph to your comment on how Mexican food is simply "food", there. I grew up in Colorado with Canadian parents who preferred fairly bland food back then. But, they moved to New Mexico 25 years ago, and now times have changed, as they adapted to the New Mexico palate. Whenever my mother serves me something nowadays, she asks, "do you want red or green chile with that?"

It's not "Mexican" it's NEW MEXICAN.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 1:17 pm

brian wrote:
(And I'll have the red chile please.)

I like red that's been marinating pork ala Carne Adovada, but prefer green or Christmas generally..

Also green chile cheeseburgers are the most perfect food on the face of the Earth.

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 3:13 pm

brian wrote:Though it should also be said I think the best burrito place in Las Vegas actually is a New Mexican restaurant.

If any of y'all are ever in Las Vegas, check it out.

Should be back again in late September.

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 3:14 pm

Rush2112 wrote:
brian wrote:
(And I'll have the red chile please.)

I like red that's been marinating pork ala Carne Adovada, but prefer green or Christmas generally..

Also green chile cheeseburgers are the most perfect food on the face of the Earth.

Jim Gaffigan ran into Marc Maron at Frontier last week.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 3:31 pm

Giff wrote:Jim Gaffigan ran into Marc Maron at Frontier last week.

The Frontier in ABQ?

Place sucks now that some idiots started a gang fight. Not that the food is worse, but not the same ambiance when you get searched if you enter after 9 at night.

Still a fan of the tortillas and western styles, helped me survive college.

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 3:47 pm

Rush2112 wrote:
Giff wrote:Jim Gaffigan ran into Marc Maron at Frontier last week.
The Frontier in ABQ?

Place sucks now that some idiots started a gang fight. Not that the food is worse, but not the same ambiance when you get searched if you enter after 9 at night.

Still a fan of the tortillas and western styles, helped me survive college.

Yessir. The only time I've been in the last 15 years was on a layover coming back from Vegas in '08. Took a cab from the airport, inhaled some green chile enchiladas, and cabbed it back. With time to spare.

Used to visit ABQ all the time when I was a kid and the parents lived there from '97-'00. Parents are going to be in Santa Fe all next month and hoping to make it out. They still go all the time and they still love Duran's Pharmacy.

Post by **brian** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 3:55 pm

Giff wrote:
Rush2112 wrote:
Giff wrote:Jim Gaffigan ran into Marc Maron at Frontier last week.
The Frontier in ABQ?

Place sucks now that some idiots started a gang fight. Not that the food is worse, but not the same ambiance when you get searched if you enter after 9 at night.

Still a fan of the tortillas and western styles, helped me survive college.
Yessir. The only time I've been in the last 15 years was on a layover coming back from Vegas in '08. Took a cab from the airport, inhaled some green chile enchiladas, and cabbed it back. With time to spare.

Used to visit ABQ all the time when I was a kid and the parents lived there from '97-'00. Parents are going to be in Santa Fe all next month and hoping to make it out. They still go all the time and they still love Duran's Pharmacy.

I need to figure out a way to get out to ABQ/SF for a few days here in the next few months. I used to go all the time for work. So much good food.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 4:50 pm

Sad that I haven't been back for 2-3 years. May need to go this Fall, if only to pick up 50 lbs of fresh roasted chiles for a song.

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu Jun 26, 2014 6:15 am

An analysis of time spent with the ball out of play vs added stoppage time at the World Cup, in the context of the USA/POR match.

I was waiting for someone to do this. Not so much because I thought the US got screwed with the 5 minutes of added time. I just thought it was odd that much time was added after only 2 minutes were added in a first half that included a water break(!).

This section is the TL/DR summary, and confirms what I thought happened at the time of the Gonzalez for Zusi substitution:

Given this inconsistent state of affairs, the U.S. was unlucky, but not excessively so. Based on the usual relationship between time out of play and stoppage time, the U.S. could have expected to play an extra four minutes at the end of the match, rather than five. And several reports indicate that the referee originally signaled just that much time. Subtract a minute from the match and U.S. fans would have partied all night.

However, after the fourth official prepared to signal the amount, but before he did so, his electronic board was occupied with a U.S. substitution that went on and on. A full 82 seconds elapsed between the last soccer play logged before the substitution and the first one after it, according to Prozone. When the substitution was finally made, the official signaled five minutes. The U.S. might have gotten away with the lollygagging earlier in the half, but it was hard to ignore right at the moment when the fourth official was ready to signal the amount of stoppage time.

ESPN didn't flash the added time on the screen until something like the 45:45 mark. I wonder if we got a little too cute with the timing of that substitution and Zusi's trip off the field? Just a little extra fuel for the regrets machine if the results of today's matches are poor.

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu Jun 26, 2014 6:16 am

Also, every single one of the burrito articles has made me really hungry.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 7:52 am

They could really use a non-nerd on staff. The recent Messi article refers to his La Pulga (the flea) nickname, and mentions Barca's Club World Championships ahead of their Champions League trophies. He's rarely referred to as La Pulga, and the Champions league is infinitely a bigger competition than the Club World Cup.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:47 pm

Behind the makings of classic rock radio playlists

Post by **Shirley** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 3:36 pm

That was pretty interesting. I would love to see more of the data.

Johnny Carwash · Post by **Johnny Carwash** » Thu Jul 31, 2014 2:31 pm

rass wrote:Also, every single one of the burrito articles has made me really hungry.

I keep getting updates for this series in my Twitter feed. So are burritos the latest thing that we're no longer allowed to like without the express approval of a network of Brooklyn hipsters?

rass · Post by **rass** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 8:31 am

I can't tell. Are the 2 (and counting?) articles on ultimate frisbee analytics this morning a joke?