Why shouldn't we rank our pundits like athletes?

Wouldn't it be great if we measured the performance of political pundits like we do our sports stars? Why shouldn't we know ahead of time that the screaming political "expert" on cable or radio talk shows has been right only 10% of the time? 

Our friends at the always insightful "Freakonomics" radio show raise that very question in examining society's long history in predicting -- make that attempting to predict -- the future. 

Not to spoil the punch line, but odds are those "experts" will miss the mark, and often are no more accurate than a simple guess. 

Formula 1 gets a taste of dirt-track racing

It's not often that one sees a Formula 1 car purposely take to the dirt.

But Red Bull, ever the promoters of the unorthodox, did just that in showing how its world championship-winning car performs on the under-construction Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, which will host a Formula 1 race next year. And by "under construction," we mean dirt, a long way from the smooth asphalt that make F1 cars the most fearsome on Earth.

World of Outlaws, you have nothing to fear.

Gum chomping drive you crazy? This might be why

Anyone who knows me very well knows I can't stand people who chomp their gum or otherwise create a lot of drama while chewing. 

Some people close to me have told me I need to let it go, but I must say I broke out a huge smile this week when listening to a "Soundcheck" podcast about a disorder called Misophonia that's, you guessed it, a formal recognition that over-the-top chomping is a public health threat. 

I kid -- kinda. I think it's somewhat silly to formalize what I consider a personal quirk. Then again, I think I have my "problem" under control, so others who go off the deep end may indeed need professional help. 

What's comforting is I know I'm not alone, as this follow-up "Soundcheck" segment attests (you can listen to the first show above and the listener comments below).