Losing Bets About Spring

I bet a colleague that Spring had not officially started. We agreed to use the NOAA site as an authoritative source.

So sayeth the NOAA:

The first day of Spring will be a breezy one, as the low pressure that moved
through last evening deepens in New England. This will create a breezy Northwest
wind, but also help to clear the skies over the Southeast. It will be seasonably
cool, with highs in the 30s and 40s.Spring Officially began at 148 AM EDT today
(March 20th).

I am $0.88 poorer as a result. However, given that wikisomething says Spring typically begins between March 19 - March 23, if we assume an equiprobable distribution, my wager was +EV.

DVD Piracy is a National Security Issue

Who'd have thunk it?

A new report from global think tank RAND Corp. for the Motion Picture Assn. ties DVD piracy to organized crime and terrorism in North America, Europe, Asia
and the Middle East.
The reason, researchers say, is that bootleg movies
have a higher profit margin than narcotics and minimal risk of enforcement.

Some of the examples are fascinating. Like this one: “The tri-border area
of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay has emerged as the most important financing center for Islamic terrorism outside the Middle East, channeling $20 million
annually to Hezbollah. At least one transfer of $3.5 million was donated by known DVD pirate Assad Ahmad Barakat, who received a thank-you note from the Hezbollah leader.”

Allahu Akhbar, anyone? Inshallah.