J. Michael Andresen

Hurricane season has ended. Only Bill, Fred, and Ida made it to hurricane status this year, which means that the answer to Question 12 of the 2009 Prognostication Quiz is A. 5 or less . As I wrote last time , this has been a foregone conclusion for some time. More interesting now is the latest on the last questions 13 (Stocks) and 14 (Snow). November has seen a continued rally in the Dow, pushing the average over the 10,000 point mark. If it dips back down below 10,000, Ted will win. If it stays above 10,000 then things become interesting. In that case, Ted and Matthew will be tied at 7 points while Larry will have 6. Here is the key Question 14: How much snow will fall in Minnesota? a. Fewer than 34 inches b. 34 to 42.9 inches c. 43 to 48.9 inches d. 49 to 57.9 inches e. 58 to 69.9 inches f. 70 inches or more The tiebreaking question is also based on Question 14, asking for a precise number of inches of snowfall. Ted guessed E with a tiebreak of 59.0 inches. Larry guessed D with a ti...

The Yankees Suck Win! They bested the Phillies in the World Series last night, which means that the answer to Question 11 of the 2009 Prognostication Quiz is C. American League in 6 games. Answer C was by far the most popular answer for Question 11, chosen by 18 of the 43 entrants: Pete C. Zoe Larry Ben Stephanie Adrian Michael Missy Jan Kevin Leanne Ellen Zhiqi Sarah Cameron Russell Greg Eric Eliminations Four people were eliminated by question 11: Ekrem Pamela Ana Jeremiah And while the hurricane season doesn't officially end until the end of the month (and despite Ida's upgrade to hurricane strength), we would still need three more hurricanes to get out of answer A. I can tentatively eliminate these five (though a miraculous concentration of hurricane activity this month would resurrect some): Stephanie Grant Missy Tina Leanne Leaderboard That brings us down to just five people with a chance of winning based on Question 13 (Dow Jones Index) and Question 14 (Minnesota Snowf...

For Max's first Halloween, Katie and I had some difficulty agreeing on a costume. My only absolute requirement was that it had to be a mammal. (Cute and furry was just too irresistible for me.) Katie was fonder overall with lobster or frog or one of a variety of invertebrates but relented to my one request. Of the mammals, the lion with the colorful mane was my favorite as well. Katie initially resisted, but eventually bowed to my enthusiasm. It turned out to be a somewhat controversial decision. My sisters in particular thought it was a poor choice. I still think it was a winner. Look how cute: Then we took Max to our next door neighbors and across the street to let him show off his cuteness. At the last stop, he showed off his highly advanced grabbing capabilities. Step one: See the candy. Step two: Grab the candy. Step three: Put candy in mouth. Step four: Throw candy on the floor. (It doesn't taste so good with the wrapper still on, anyway.)