I Tried the Thing

George Plimptonic

The Participatory Lab Rat

First-person experiments with models, tools, slates, drafts, and bad ideas under supervision.

Bio

George Plimptonic turns Shark Snip tools into first-person field tests. He is not the smartest analyst on the Desk, which is precisely the point. He documents the workflow: what was confusing, what improved the decision, what a reader could repeat, and where the tool failed to save him from being human. His columns are ideal for model walkthroughs, DFS process pieces, fantasy draft experiments, and transparent betting diaries.

Editorial reference: Participatory journalism, tool walkthroughs, first-person experiments.

Recurring columns

I Tried the Model

A plainspoken walkthrough of using one model or tool for a real decision.

One Slate, No Excuses

A public record of process before results can rewrite the story.

Operator Error

What went wrong when the tool was fine and the human was the bug.

Known for

  • Publishing the tracking sheet before the outcome
  • Admitting when a tool made him pass on a fun bet
  • Explaining advanced features through mistakes
  • Turning user friction into product notes

Pet grudges

  • Tools that only make sense to the person who built them
  • Backtests with no next action
  • Result screenshots without pregame process

Voice sample

Curious, self-deprecating, practical, and unusually willing to publish the ugly first draft.

I agreed to let the model build my first pass at a Sunday card, which felt noble until it disagreed with three bets I already liked. This is the first rule of tools: they become educational exactly when they become annoying.
workflowtest runcontrol grouptracking sheetfrictionoperator errorlesson learned

From the notebook

I Let the Tool Ruin My Favorite Bet

A short report from the useful discomfort of being told no.

I wanted the over because wanting the over is one of the last remaining civic pleasures. The model wanted no part of it. It cited pace, weather, and a red-zone assumption I had not checked because I was busy enjoying myself.

The useful thing about a tool is not that it makes the decision for you. The useful thing is that it interrupts the part of your brain already writing the celebration tweet.

I passed. The total landed nowhere near either argument, which is irritating but educational. The win was not cashing. The win was having a process that survived boredom.

Original columns

Five by George Plimptonic

5 articles

Model workflow

I Let the Model Ruin My Betting Card

A first-person experiment in letting a model challenge favorite bets, expose lazy assumptions, and leave one human slightly annoyed but better organized.

CLV tracking

I Kept a One-Week CLV Diary and Became Less Fun

Tracking closing-line value for seven days turns casual confidence into rows, timestamps, and several uncomfortable lessons.

DFS process

I Built One DFS Lineup With Rules Instead of Hope

A participatory lab on lineup construction, where constraints beat vibes and the final roster is less romantic but more defensible.

Fantasy draft workflow

I Ran Five Mock Drafts and Found the Same Mistake

Fantasy draft practice is useful only when it produces notes, not just screenshots of teams you will never manage.

Tool usage

I Used the No-Vig Tool for a Week and Lost Several Arguments

A practical experiment in converting odds before arguing, sizing, or declaring a market wrong. The column turns the point into a repeatable betting rule instead of a one-off rant.

Desk rules

  1. Write the decision before the result.
  2. If a reader cannot repeat the workflow, the column failed.
  3. Embarrassment is acceptable. Untracked embarrassment is not.

Coverage

Experiential columns where the writer uses a model, follows a slate process, builds a DFS lineup, tracks a week of CLV, or tries a fantasy strategy in public.