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RE: Invasion of the Computer Snatchers
by noteworthy at 12:11 pm EST, Feb 18, 2006

Decius wrote:

According to Slashdot the Washington Post published his hometown as the "location" caption for an odd image in the article. He lives in a very small town. Chances are he is going to prison.

I replied:

That's quite a slip-up. It will be interesting to see how the Ombudsman handles this one. (Email her at ombudsman@washpost.com.)

With an estimated male population of 1447 in 2004, and based on the US national age-sex pyramids provided by the Census Bureau, approximately 103 men in this town are between the ages of 20 and 24. If we assume a flat distribution across that range, there are roughly twenty 21-year-old men to consider.

If you look directly at the 2000 Census data for the town, there were 240 total (male and female) in the 15-19 group. Advance that group five to six years, adjust for population growth, account for the male-female ratio, and you come up with an estimate of 25 21-year-old men.

When you consider how many of those 25 dropped out of high school (74% of residents 25 and older graduated from high school), you're down to 5-7 suspects.

When you consider how many of those 5-7 still live with their parents, along with the percentage of 21-year-olds who haven't yet married, you're down to two or three guys. And how many of those families live in a brick rambler with a tan, weathered couch in the living room? And when you consider the obesity epidemic, along with the presumed low incidence of computer geekiness in rural middle America, it's hard to believe that more than one of those three guys is an unemployed geek with a new laptop and a "wiry frame."

RE: Invasion of the Computer Snatchers
by Rattle at 4:21 pm EST, Feb 18, 2006

noteworthy wrote:
Decius wrote:
According to Slashdot the Washington Post published his hometown as the "location" caption for an odd image in the article. He lives in a very small town. Chances are he is going to prison.
I replied:
That's quite a slip-up. It will be interesting to see how the Ombudsman handles this one. (Email her at ombudsman@washpost.com.)
With an estimated male population of 1447 in 2004, and based on the US national age-sex pyramids provided by the Census Bureau, approximately 103 men in this town are between the ages of 20 and 24. If we assume a flat distribution across that range, there are roughly twenty 21-year-old men to consider.
If you look directly at the 2000 Census data for the town, there were 240 total (male and female) in the 15-19 group. Advance that group five to six years, adjust for population growth, account for the male-female ratio, and you come up with an estimate of 25 21-year-old men.
When you consider how many of those 25 dropped out of high school (74% of residents 25 and older graduated from high school), you're down to 5-7 suspects.
When you consider how many of those 5-7 still live with their parents, along with the percentage of 21-year-olds who haven't yet married, you're down to two or three guys. And how many of those families live in a brick rambler with a tan, weathered couch in the living room? And when you consider the obesity epidemic, along with the presumed low incidence of computer geekiness in rural middle America, it's hard to believe that more than one of those three guys is an unemployed geek with a new laptop and a "wiry frame."

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