Here's something I discovered while screwing around with old US News & World Report college ranking data. Using the most responsible statistics I know and leaving out the reputation scores, Cal Tech and Johns Hopkins were at the top of the undergraduate rankings. There's no real point to this. Except that the second highest weighted category - graduation rate (20%, behind the 25% belong to "reputation score") - is heavily skewed toward private schools. Of the top 100 graduation rates, there were 3 public schools (all in Virginia, oddly - UVA, William & Mary, James Madison). There were 873 schools, 258 being public. Also, that you can make the rankings say most whatever you want to by adjusting the weights a little, even more of whatever you want if you include something like "reputation."
When people are in the movie theater and they clap during or after a movie, I want to punch them, because A) no one in the theater cares what they thought, B) the movie I just saw was probably kind of bad if it attracted such a person, so I'm already kind of pissy and C) that's applause inflation and it needs to end. Stop clapping for everything. Stop clapping for so long in-between songs at a concert or after a set. You've really made your appreciation for the 'artist' be known by showing up despite the obscene ticket prices and service fees.
