Fidel was already 42 years old when I was born a world away in Los Angeles, California, but because my family is Cuban, this charismatic despot–like a distant gravitational force–has overshadowed my life and shaped my world view for as long as I can remember. Here, though, is an extended excerpt from my autobiographical essay, describing my first visit to Cuba: Continue reading
Pari-mutuel sports betting
State anti-gambling laws pose an existential threat to the business models of sports betting companies like FanDuel and DraftKings. (See, for example, pages 26-33 of this treatise by law professor Marc Edelman.) But what if you were to bet on athletes like you bet on horses? Betting on horse races is based on the pari-mutuel system of wagering (“pari-mutuel” means “betting among ourselves”), and this system is already legal in 43 states! You may have heard of exotic Trifecta bets, but the most common types of wagers under the pari-mutuel system are Win, Place, and Show bets. Here is how these wagers work (via turfnsport.com): Continue reading
Legal liability for research fraud
That is the title of our latest paper, forthcoming in the Statistical Journal of the IAOS. Props to Steve Koczela and Orlando I. Martinez-Garcia for their comments and suggestions on the paper. In addition, props to my wife Sydjia Robinson and to my colleagues in the Dixon School of Accounting at the University of Central Florida for their friendship and willingness to disagree with me. Here is an excerpt from the introduction to our revised paper (citations omitted; emphasis in the original): Continue reading
If “did not vote” were a candidate, it would have won the 2016 election

Credit: Taillesskangaru, via reddit.
Paperholm
Check out Paperholm, a beautiful and whimsical paper city created by artist Charles Young, who has been adding a new paper structure to his tiny metropolis each day. More details here, via Colossal. Hat tip: kottke.
What was your first computer?
Anil Dash put this nostalgic question up on Twitter, a question that has been posed many times before. (See here and here, by way of example.) Ours was a Macintosh SE, like the one pictured below, which our parents purchased for us as a graduation gift during our senior year in college. (We needed a computer for law school.)










