Interesting Stuff from Google TechTalks

I have a habit of watching something when I'm eating on my own, something like an episode of 'Black Books' or 'Spaced'. Maybe it's because I can delude myself that I'm multitasking and not wasting time watching comedies.

Anyways, I've done all my comedy DVDs to death (I'm waiting for a new batch from Santa) so I needed to find something else to keep my eyes busy when my mouth is. I've found 'Google TechTalks' to be quiet interesting. Yesterday and today I've been watching The Paradox of Choice - Why More Is Less. Basically, choice is a good thing, but too much choice can be bad for you. I found it to be really useful, probably because the techtalk helped me get my head around the problem of buying a new snowboard. Like any big investment, I want to make sure I'm not wasting my money. For the last month (or maybe more) I've been hanging around sports shops checking the new snowboards trying to find the perfect one for me. It;s been nearly impossible, mainly because there is so much choice; long boards, short boards, wide boards, narrow boards, stiff boards, soft boards, Burton boards, Ride Boards, GNU boards, red boards, blue boards, black boards, boards with skaeboard grip, boards with wood finish, boards with polycarbon-graphite mesh torsion structures. It's mind boggling. The worst thing is that I hand almost made up my mind on a board, the Arbor Draft, but after looking the last few weeks, I've become less and less satisfied with teh decision, eventhough I know that the board will suit me fine.

According to teh techtalk, this dissatisfaction comes from having too many choices. If I had to choose from a small selection, I would have lower expectations about how good the board would be and would be more likely to be satisfied when the board exceeded these lower expectations. By having a broader choice, it's hard not to believe that somewhere out there is the 'perfect' board, and since any board I choose is bound to have at least one fault, then it will never met, let alone exceed, my 'perfect' expectations: any board I choose is doomed to be unsatisfying and forever compared to the phantom 'perfect board'.

So what to do? Well, the plan is this. Remind myself that I want a new board that is better in the park than my current board. Remind myself that the Arbor Draft is a park board that's greener than the rest. Remind myself that the longer I don't buy it the less chance I'll have to ride it. Then, grab my credit card and order the bloody thing!

But what should I do about boots and bindings?