Just how well do *you* know Andrew Webster?

Yes, I'm certain this question keeps you up late at night. In order to paint a robust picture of myself, I've decided to post a blog entry about a few of my favorite things.

Music:
I'll listen to anything!!! Anything that was recorded between 1978-1982, that is. My favorite CDs are: Eddy Grant "Killer on the Rampage," The Slits "Cut," Lizzy Mercier Descloux "Mambo Nassau," and any Bananarama B-sides that I can get my hands on.

Movies:
Movies are an easier fit. Unlike music, I don't view my taste in movies as an extension of myself. Thus, I've been wildly entertained by "Fracture" and "Breach" recently. Truthfully, I have a set of mathematical criteria which enable me to decide on which movies to watch.

First, I look at theater count - anything playing in over 2,500 theaters domestically is instantly disqualified, as I prefer underdogs. Next, I'm a huge fan of movies scraping the lower regions of the domestic top 10 (positions 7-10 are ideal).

Finally, any movie where less than 20% of its total domestic gross was made in its opening weekend is a likely fit. In the "biz," movies that have made 5x their opening weekend profits have "legs," which means that the movie had good word-of-mouth.

I avoid movies that make most of their total domestic gross from their opening weekends, as they tend to be typical blockbluster schlock (see: Spider Man 8 or any Harry Potter movie). These are the movies that rabid fans line up around the corner (2 days early, dressed in character) to see. Usually these movies are awful.

Television:
I don't watch television because I'm too cheap to pay for cable.

Household chores:
My favorite chore is cleaning the bathtub with comet, as it is instantly rewarding to see the tub whiten 3 shades with a little scrubbing.

Zodiac sign:
Scorpio - so all Aries should be forewarned, we are *never* going to get along.

Mirror, mirror on the wall

This is Andrew Webster, reporting live from the school library.

Today I'll be studying chapter 6 from my statistics textbook. But, before I get into probability, I'd like to mention that I've walked by the reception for the incoming MBA class. I'm trying to determine if the incoming class is more handsome than me, in general.

Overall, it's a difficult call. In order to determine which class is most handsome, we must first define handsome. Is there a range? Can we assume normal distribution?

I could conduct an experimental study, where I randomly select 10 students from the class of '09 and 10 students from the class of '10. Then, a panel of expert judges could grade each participant on a three point system, like the Miss America pageant (evening wear, swimwear and talent). I am a firm believer that my talent (which at this point still remains undiscovered) would help boost my score from the lower range of the first two events. As this study would be experimental, I can't think of a single confounding factor that would affect which class is truly the most handsome.

Actually, I had an opportunity to secure a space in this reception, but it would've required sitting on a Q&A panel for the incoming students. I like the idea of helping other people figure out if an MBA is right for them, but I'm worried that one of the guests will ask a difficult finance question that I'll be unable to answer.