Struggles with Donkeys

I wrote in July about the law passed by the Forida legislature allowing higher buy-ins for poker games in Florida.

Now allowed are 2/4 limit and 1/2 NL games with a max buy-in of 100. The games would almost certainly be more lively, considering the reputation of no-fold-em-hold-em.

I got my first taste tonight, at the Seminole Hard Rock. I sat at a 2/4 for about 90 minutes, and saw some crazy things.

Capped pre-flop, flop, and turn betting - with 4-7 people in play - and the winning hand being the fourth-nuts.

Hands such as 9-3 calling two and three bets, preflop, and somehow winning.

Basically, the strategy is to see a lot of cheap flops and start playing after the flop if you hit it hard, and don't bluff. Ever.

The best hand I saw all night was pocket nines - which lost to a pair of queens with a crap kicker on a Q-5-4 flop.

However, I did have some nice takedowns. A queen-high straight, aa nine-high straight (from a suited connector) and wueens up managed me to leave with double my buy-in.

So, the winning streak of live poker wins continues. Five, and counting. I just wish I lived closer to a poker room so I could make it a more regular occurrence, since it's the only thing earning me decent money nowadays.

The Reinfather

Merry Christmas.

Blogging will be light for the next week, for obvious reasons.

Kudos

Congrats to jeciimd for winning the BBTwo TOC.

Go kick some ass down under at Aussie Millions!

Dark Knight Trailer

Something seems ........ off. It doesn't seem right, but I think I'm comparing it too much to Jack Nicholson and Cesar Romero, wihch isn't quite right given the desired darker nature of this set of films.

It still doesn't seem right, though.




(Click into original post for embedded clip if it doesn't feed through)

Northern Invasion

Sometime next year, it will happen.

I don't know when, but it will happen.

We will be in New York in 2008.

I don't know when.

I don't know how.

I just know we will.

While we are there, we will be sure to hit Yankee Stadium, Coney Island/Astroland (both closing in 2008), the Central Park Zoo, and the Statue of Liberty.

I didn't say I was the one setting the itinerary.

Those are the places Alex wants to see, along with the subway. The wonders of television and animation can amaze and inspire a three-year old sometimes.

We'll probably fit in the Museum of Natural History, given his love of dinosaurs and animals.

I'm not sure if we'll go to the old haunts. Depending on when we go, we might visit the Upper East Side for a certain building. I already amazed Alex by showing him how large Georgia State's campus was, so I'm not sure what he would make of the building on 55 E. 84th St.

But we are definitely going.

MLB just needs to hurry up and put out the 2008 schedule.

No, really.

HURRY UP.

Bizarro World

I don't run this well, normally.

I did a piddly little freeroll on Absolute on Saturday and saw $1.40 get posted into my empty account.

Whee.

Since then, I've played 13 SnG's, all at the micro 50-cent level, all Hold Em., and cashed in seven, winning five.

I also won a PLO8B SnG.

Something is very, very wrong when I dominate any tourney in what is easily my worst game, and in Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo - equivalent to the crystal meth of the poker world.

WTF???

I won with three flopped and two turned straights, two rivered flushes, and an occasional pair at showdown. I played about as badly as I could, and ended up with the wire-to-wire chip lead.

Pot-limit Omaha Hi/Lo = crystal meth of poker, because the play and the players are CRAZY (and probably missing a bunch of teeth and brain cells).

Perhaps I should try a Ferguson experiment of my own. I'm hesitant to do so on Absolute, but considering the way Full Tilt's RNG has treated me like a prison roommate, it might be worth it to stay on AP.

Up to $10.87. I hope to run it to 50 this week and cash out/bonus whore on other sites, or crash spectacularly.

I'm tired of spectacular crashes, though.

Carny Terror

On Friday night, we went out to Lake Lanier for their Magical Nights of Lights.

We decided it would be a good way to kick off our winter break - I'm home with the kids until the new year, maybe as long as the 7th. I'm hoping to keep my sanity, but I'm not too worried - I'm writing this with one child sleeping on me and another playing with his new Nativity set (thanks to Uncle Joe for that early present)

There were many more things this year than in previous years, in addition to the seven miles of lights. There was a live Nativity scene, which captivated Alex and Samantha. Alex even tried to climb through to pet the sheep and cow in the scene.

There was a tent with hot chocolate - and Samantha got her first taste of chocolate. She loved it. Alex doesn't like sugar and chocolate very much, but Sammie loved it.

Lastly, we went to the Holiday Village, which is the inspiration for the title of the post. There was a marshmallow roasting pit, a gift area (which Sammie also loved) and a carnival area. Alex loved the funhouse and mini-coaster, and went on the ferris wheel for the very first time. Sammie, on the other hand, was not enjoying the noisy rides or the people working the rides.

Right now, she does not enjoy carnivals.

But, she enjoys chocolate and shopping for Christmas decorations.

Puss In Boots Christmas

We just find this incredibly funny. Hilarious, especially to a three year old (but to us as well).

APBT2 Recap and Atlanta Drivers

Yesterday, Skidoo hosted a bunch of us local degenerates for a nice little game. Butch, Surflexus, Kajagugu, Surly Poker Gnome, and others whose links I don't have readily accessible or don't exist.

But first, the traffic story:

We finally went out to celebrate Samantha's 1-year birthday yesterday - just going out to dinner. We went to Orient Express, because we figured the kids would really enjoy the show, which they did. Alex was amazed when the chef lit the hibachi on fire, and everone loved their food.

I think we caught the place by surprise, though, when we brought in the cake and cupcakes so that Sammie could dig into it. She made a mess, but not nearly as bad as feared. It was almost...dainty.

Anyway, after we cleaned up (and got pushed out by the restaurant, since they wanted the table and there was a big mess from the cake) I headed north to the game. It was raining heavile, which means Atlanta drivers become even more retarded and go either 30 or 95 on the highway with nothing in between. I arrived right at 8, about 20 minutes later than planned, but thankfully a few other people were still en route so we hadn't started up yet.

It was going well, and I sat with an average sized stack with 9 left. BrainMc raised it to 700 (100/200 blinds). I see pocket jacks, and re-pop it to 2000. After a minute, he pushes back all-in, so it would be another 3600 to call.

I was misdirected by seeing him raise and push earlier with nada, and thought it might be the same thing. It was not, as he flipped up rockets which held up (so we know it wasn't a normal home game). I was crippled down to 900 and was out a couple hands later.

I was able to recoup some later on in a ring game, but it was a really bad idea for me to call that bet.

Upon getting home, Samantha has let me know she wasn't happy with me being out. She has been cuddling with me all night and all day and refusing to leave my side, which is really sweet. She's even tried to help type this post for me while we watch another Falcons blowout.

For the Rocket

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays
You're the pretender
What if I say I will never surrender?

Dedicated to all of these folks disclosed yesterday and the many more not listed who probably used steroids as well.

Honestly, we probably shouldn't be too surprised at the names that came out, or the clubs that had a high concentration of names.

If nothing else, bang your head a little this afternoon.

Foo Fighters-The Pretender
Uploaded by lechacal

AAARRGGHH

It is for reasons like this that I don't play much at Full Tilt.

I was in a points token tourney, and we were down to 24 remaining with the top 6 getting a $75 token, which I would be using for the final BBTwo event, Miami Don's Big Game on Sunday night.

Well, once again, in the middle of a tournament, Full Tilt's servers crashed. It probably killed the Riverchasers event, too, if it was still running.

Between bad server experience and lousy beats not seen much on any other site, it's why I haven't playe dmuch on Tilt lately. I'm hoping it's made right in the end, as there were probably a LOT of people logged in at the time it crashed and, well, I was probably getting that token with a spot near the top at the time of the crash.

Anyone else have crapola with FTP tonight?

So that's why they traded him

Yesterday, Miguel Tejada was traded from the Orioles to the Astros for four prospects.

He was just named in the Mitchell Report, along with Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Paul Loduca and about 80 other players.

Developing...

UPDATE: Well, I have time to kill before heading to school. Let's live-blog:

2:04: Mentions of BALCO, 7% positive tests, widespread, affecting every club, dangers of steroids, influencing youth which is really, really bad. Stuff you already knew.

2:06: We should be shocked, SHOCKED!!!! about the widespread use of drugs. Well...not really, but I'm a cynic.

2:08: Discussing Radomski's role (former attendant in Mets clubhouse) and other information sources including former players and strength coaches' testimony.

2:11: 11 players admitting use, and a lot of cancelled checks, statements, shipping records, and other corroborating evidence.

2:12: PDF now available - click here.

2:15:Want names? Here ya go:

Larry Bigbie
Brian Roberts
Jack Cust
Tim Laker
Josias Manzanillo (that explains the manslaughter charge)
Todd Hundley
Chris Donnels
MArk Carreon
Hal Morris
Matt Franco
Rondell White
ROGER CLEMENS starting in 1998 (hmm, he had a good year in 1998)
David Segui
Chuck Knoblauch
Andy Pettitte
Jason Grimsley (we knew this one)
Juan Gonzalez
Gregg Zaun
David Justice (uh oh) with the Yankees (whew)
F. P. Santangelo
Glenallen Hill
Mo Vaughn
Denny Neagle
Ron Villone
Ryan Franklin
Todd Pratt
Kevin Young
Mike Lansing
Kent Mercker
Adam Piatt
Miguel Tejada

2:21: More than half the players are out of baseball, please do not punish the players named wxcept in the most egregious examples. This is not a complete report, there is much they don't know.

2:24: Closing up: The use of steroids is widespread. Baseball's reaction was slow and ineffective and the players' association is also to blame.

More names:

Jason Christiansen
Mike Stanton
Jerry Hairston, Jr.
Paul LoDuca
Fernando Vina
Kevin Brown (I knew there was a good reason I didn't like him)
Eric Gagne (another big one)
Matt Herges
Jim Parque
Brendan Donnelly
Nook Logan
Dan Naulty (admitted, testified)

2:28: Mitchell turns the podium over.

Even more names:

John Rocker (Like you didn't see THAT one coming)
Troy Glaus
Rick Ankiel
Paul Byrd (heard about this one in the ALCS)
Jay Gibbons
Darren Holmes
Gary Sheffield (beyond what was already reported)

There sure seem to be a lot of 21st century Yankees on this list.

Frisco Christmas Lights - Wizards in Winter

An even better light display.

Hand of the Day

Finals are done, I've finished my reading, let's fire up a small $2 tourney for some ****s and giggles.

This was fun, and I retook the chip lead.

Stage #1014340538 Tourney ID 1934308 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $100/$200
Seat #7 is the dealer
Seat 1 - H2O_MAN ($5890 in chips)
Seat 2 - MOUNAKI222 ($4540 in chips)
Seat 3 - SHEEDHAPPENS ($4255 in chips)
Seat 4 - SAMSIT ($3510 in chips)
Seat 5 - FERKLSEPP ($385 in chips)
Seat 6 - HUNDREDAIRE ($1927.50 in chips)
Seat 7 - DOC999 ($4040 in chips)
Seat 8 - AXHANDLER1 ($8762.50 in chips)
Seat 9 - APOSEC72 ($7915 in chips)
AXHANDLER1 - Posts small blind $100
APOSEC72 - Posts big blind $200***
POCKET CARDS ***Dealt to APOSEC72 [Ks As]
H2O_MAN - Folds
MOUNAKI222 - Folds
SHEEDHAPPENS - Folds
SAMSIT - Folds
FERKLSEPP - Folds
HUNDREDAIRE - Folds
DOC999 - Raises $800 to $800
AXHANDLER1 - Folds
APOSEC72 - Calls $600 (let's see how it goes, I don't think it's a race, I think I'm way ahead)
*** FLOP *** [10c 5s 6s]
APOSEC72 - Bets $3600
DOC999 - All-In $3240 with AK of hearts (guess the push didn't work but I still have the nut flush draw and at worst, a chop)
APOSEC72 - returned ($360) : not called
*** TURN *** [10c 5s 6s] [10s] GIN!
*** RIVER *** [10c 5s 6s 10s] [Jd]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DOC999 - Shows [Ah Kh] (One pair, tens)
APOSEC72 - Shows [Ks As] (Flush, ace high)
APOSEC72 Collects $8180 from main pot

Started with 382 runners.
Break 1: 1 of 166.
Break 2: 12 of 71.

Christmas Lights Gone Wild

I'm posting this to see if I can post videos directly without having to copy/embed, and to make sure the Facebook feed works again.

And you thought HORSE would test your skill

The 2008 WSOP schedule was released today. Public events begin May 31, with the main even to begin July 3.

There will be 55 events again, but this one looks to be absolutely insane:

June 4, Event #8: Mixed event (3 days), $10,000 buy-in.

Games will include:

(Limit Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, Seven Card Razz , Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, No-Limit Holdem, Pot-Limit Omaha, 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball)

That's eight different games in one event.

Wow.

4.0

I mentioned that it took me a long time to write up my take-home final exam on Monday.

It was worth it.

One down, three to go. I think one other grade will be a 3.3, and I'm still not sure about the other two classes, but this is definitely a good start.

All done

I finished my finals at approximately 8:40 PM tonight.

My first final finished at 6:36 PM. At least, I think it was 6:36 PM. That's what the time-stamp on my e-mail to my professor says.

Unfortunately, I was still at home at 6:36 PM. My second final began at 7:15, by Oglethorpe, 23 miles away.

I still had trouble writing after getting up today. I don't know why I had so much trouble putting all my thoughts together for this first final exam. I didn't have nearly this much trouble with the mid-term - same format and everything, and I had no trouble.

Finally, I got it done - seven pages later. I put together my links, and my evaluation, and sent it off along with my final.

I had hoped to get in another hour for the Accounting final, but it didn't happen. So, I don't think I did as well as I'd hoped on the second final. I got there at 7:20, so Atlanta traffic was nice to me for once. Perhaps I would have been able to study more if I hadn't been knocked out by a quick bug that knocked me out for about 24 hours - Sammie brought it home, and I got it, and now it's flying around the house.

If I end up with an A- in both classes, I'll be quite happy. It took a lot of work over the last week, but I feel decent about all of my exams. I might end up with a 3.5 or 3.6, or as low as a 3.1. I really don't know, and won't know for another 11 days. Dammit.

However, I shudder to think about how badly I would have performed on those exams if I had been with about 110 of my fellow degenerates in Vegas this past weekend. Just starting to read the trip reports makes me a little jealous for not being there. Not too jealous, but a little jealous.

I guess I'll have to wait until June. Besides, I like it a bit warmer anyway. Hopefully I'll have some miles or points back to make it possible.

Because I'm going to bed

I believe I will be able to write better when there is daylight instead of at 1:40 in the morning. I've done my notes, but for some reason I can't put it all together.

Time for some sleep. And yes, I know, the picture is old.

50 First Dates in Atlanta

With no repetition at all!

50 Fun Things To Do In Atlanta

It's a bit of cheating, because within the links you might find several other items. However, I have not been to:

• The Atlanta Ballet
• A Falcons Game (but I have been to the Georgia Dome)
• The Atlanta Opera (ok, so I'm not a culture snob...)
• Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
• Center for Puppetry Arts - but the rest of the family has been here, I think.
• Chateau Elan - because I prefer to get drunk cheaply.
• Georgia State Capitol - even though my classes are only a couple blocks away.
• High Museum (I SAID, I'M NOT A CULTURE SNOB. I'M THE OPPOSITE.)
• City Segway Tour - Only counts if you're counting wanting to knock them down with a baseball bat. Otherwise, no, and will NEVER happen.
• Yellow River Game Ranch/Kangaroo Conservation Center - Because we need to preseve those native species of the South.....ern Hemisphere? Actually, this might be the next one we all visit.

So, 40 out of 50. I don't think they do a lot of sites justice by lumping them together.

One example - the "Find Theater At Its Best" link lumps together a bunch of theaters which wildly vary in size. Dad's Garage is slightly different than the Fox Theatre.

Ditto on "Festivals Galore" - several deserve their own links and descriptions - Dogwood Festival is the best example of one festival that could use its own link.

Same goes for the Civil War Links - I don't think any further explanation is needed.

I don't think including shopping is really something great about Atlanta. Woo-hoo, a fancy mall! Malls and discount tickets are not what make a city great.

Of course, this post was written mostly because I've gone into brain lock on my take-home exam at 1 in the morning.

The Decision

I mentioned yesterday that I've made a decision on my concentration. I've decided to concentrate within my MBA enrollment on the field of Information Systems.

This was definitely not an easy decision for me, as it means I'm completely changing my career path instead of developing along the path I've taken for the past eight years.

I've been mulling it over ever since I started this journey last Fall. In the end, it really came down to what I would enjoy more in the long-term. While I enjoy working in tax anf finance and banking, I'd been getting the feeling over the last couple of years that conventional opportunities might be somewhat limited, both within the department at the time and within the industry as a whole.

It also seems that all of my interests/hobbies over the last few years have had some technical bearing. Between blogging here, developing websites for APO, designing flyers/graphics for other reasons, or other non-poker related endeavors, I always seem to keep coming back to technical interests in my spare time.

It's been a looooooooong time since I've done any sort of hard-core programming, so it may take me a little while to get up to speed within those classes. I'm scheduled for my first CIS class in the Spring, along with several other classes. I'm not sure how many hours I will take next term - it could be anywhere between 9 and 18 credits. I have 36 credits to go, so if I take a full load in the Spring, I will probably be DONE by the end of 2008, a semester ahead of schedule.

Regardless, I think there will be much more of an opportunity in this path than there would be along the Finance path.

Besides, what's one more major life change?

I just hope I don't screw it up.

As for my classes this term - I might come out of this with anywhere from 3 A's and a B+ to 2 A-, 1 B and 1 C+. I think three of my classes are pretty much set and will all be either A or A-, but one exam today could put me anywhere on the map. The grading style has been a bit harsh for everyone in the class, so it's hard to pinpoint where it would go. I've been studying for a week solid now (which most people know is unique for me) and I'm still quite nervous about it.

In a worst case scenario, I have a 3.3 GPA this term. Considering how poorly I did as an undergrad, I'll still take it. I'd much rather hit a 3.8, if I do well on this exam tonight and my exams Monday. I'm expecting around a 3.5 for the term, which is pretty good for my first full-time semester in eight years.

Be as vapid as Tila Tequila

OK, maybe not THAT much, but this is still interesting, in a way.

I'm called FranCASE for a reason

H/t Kaja

94%DRUNKARD

Wichita Dating

Ummm

Is it bad that I found this the same day I picked my concentration?

Chocolate Rain?

I don't get it. But I'm well behind the curve anyway.

I'm not sure why this clip has 11,814,247 views.

Anyone want to clue me in?

What Should Have Been

Let's say we had a 16-team playoff. Let's say the BCS was used for seeding 1 through 16. Let's go further and say they weren't manipulated much by human error or pressures/lobbying.

Here would be your matchups.

Round 1:
(1) Ohio State 11-1 v. (16) Florida Atlantic 7-5
(2) LSU 11-2 v. (15) Central Michigan 8-5
(3) Virginia Tech 11-2 v. (14) Central Florida 10-3
(4) Oklahoma 11-2 v. (13) BYU 10-2
(5) Georgia 10-2 v (12) Florida 9-3
(6) Missouri 11-2 v. (11) Arizona State 10-2
(7) USC 10-2 v. (10) Hawaii 12-0
(8) Kansas 11-1 v (9) West Virginia 10-2

Three teams from the Big 12 and SEC, two from the Pac-10, and one from the other eight conferences. Florida Atlantic and Central Michigan won their conferences in upsets for automatic bids under this system. The top two games might belopsided, but the other six would be very competitive (and 1-16/2-15 matchups are normally lopsided.)

I would rather see these games next weekend. I also happen to like that 5-12 matchup. Can't imagine why.......

Wouldn't you?

A time-waster

I can only get to Level 11. When I break from studying, I'll try to get to 12 again.

Geography time-waster...enjoy.

Not a surprise

Come one, don't tell me you were surprised by

Pittsburgh beating Wes Virginia
Oklahoma beating Missouri
Washington beating Hawaii (at the moment, by 3 TD's)

and Georgia poised to maybe go to the title game without winning its conference?

Hey, I'll be happy if it happens for two reasons:

1) GO DAWGS!!!!!
2) It might finally force a playoff system.

You might as well put LSU, USC, Ohio State, UGA, Kansas, Oklahoma, Hawaii (if they come back) and Virginia Tech in a hat and draw two out for the title game.

Wait a minute...eight teams with an equally good shot.......nah, that's TOO crazy.

Another quiz

If you like to gamble, I tell you I'm your man
You win some, lose some, it's -all- the same to me
The pleasure is to play, it makes no difference what you say
I don't share your greed, the only card I need is
The Ace Of Spades
The Ace Of Spades

You Are the Ace of Spades

You are ambitious, slow and steady, and at times, self serving. You aim high, and you're willing to be brutal to get what you desire. Highly dominant and controlling, people are intimidated by your presence. Yet while you are a bit scary, you are scarily charming. People are driven to please you. You crave the best in life, and you enjoy the spoils of your success. You live a charmed life, and you're enjoying every moment of it. A gamble you should take: Playing poker Your friends would describe you as: Hard working Your enemies would describe you as: Ruthless If you lived in Vegas, you would be: A student by day, a stripper by night

What Playing Card Are You?

Quiz Time - I Belong WHERE?????

Interesting...H/t to Mellow Cotton

You Belong in Greenwich Village

Avant garde and bohemian, you're quick to adopt new ideas and lifestyles. And while you're a bit less weird these days, you still have a "live and let live" philosophy.

Where Should Your Inner New Yorker Live?

We need a playoff (again)

I feel like I wrote this post last year. I checked, though - I didn't. Odd.

This has been a good year in college football. I've enjoyed upset after upset after upset, without one dominant team truly standing out. It's been refreshing to watch.

Of course, it just further highlights the need for a playoff system. I've ranted a few times about a playoff system using the conference champions and at-large teams to fill a 16-team bracket, and to use existing bowls to make it happen. It could start after exams (in this case, Dec. 22nd) and still end in early January (in this case, Jan. 12, only 5 days after the actual BCS"championship).

11 conference champions give the small schools a chance, and the at-large bids give props to the really tough conferences like the SEC and Big 12 (at least, this year)

So, what would that yield?

ACC: VT or BC
Big 12: OU or Missouri
Big East: WV
Big 10: Ohio State
C-USA: UCF or Tulsa
MAC: Bowling Green
Mtn. West: BYU
Pac-10: Arizona State
Sun Belt: Troy
WAC: Hawaii
SEC: LSU or UT (but come on, UT is not winning this game - bastards, I hated Saturday's game. I fricking HATE Rocky Top. HATE HATE HATE.)

Use the current "ranking system to seed the teams and figure out the other 5 at-large teams. Right now, that would be:

Loser of Missouri/OU (both ranked high enough)
USC
Georgia
Kansas
Florida or BC/VT loser (close call)

Any way you sort them, this would result in a lot of really good games.

As it is, we'll have a bunch of meaningless bowl games in San Francisco, Boise, and Mobile, and only a couple of games that people will care about and a championship game which is not going to determine who really is the best team in the country.

You get what you pay for, I guess.

At least Georgia will get to go to Pasadena (probably) or Miami (maybe). It's a nice change of pace and a nice payday.

Now if I could only get free tickets and a package out.....

What a week

Well, it's been a fun week here.

After the whirlwind trip twelve days ago out west, we decided to stay in town for Thanksgiving.
We all woke up late (meaning, after 8 AM), and watched the Macy's parade together. We went over to the house of one of Alex's classmates, who also has a baby sister close to Sammie's age. We all had a good time, watching football, playing games, and having a great dinner. I did find it funny that all the kids stayed up really, really, REALLY late - as in, to the end of the Falcons game - and still wanted to keep going.

While Kim helped in the kitchen, I tried to corral all the kids in a separate wing of the house, out of the way of the kitchen. It worked for a while, as they were all up for reading books and then playing with trains. By the time they got bored, dinner was ready. Go me.

Of course, Sammie awoke around 6 AM on Friday, but eventually went back to sleep until about 10 AM. We did not indulge in any of the Black Friday hoopla, as we are sane people who do not like mobs. However, we did get to see a polar bear.

We decided to go downtown, to Centennial Park. I took Alex ice skating for the first time, and he loved it, even though he had absolutely no balance at all. We went to see Santa, and Alex was very happy, as you can tell by the picture. I would put up a picture of both kids, except that Sammie had the reaction of WHO THE HELL IS THIS??? AHHH, SCARY BEARD! MOMMY!!!!! so that picture didn't come out very well.

We went inside the World of Coke, as we haven't been inside the new site (and I haven't been since 1995). Once inside, we saw another of Coke's Christmas icons - the polar bear. There was someone dressed as a polar bear for the kids, and taking pictures. I don't have them developed yet, so they aren't here. Alex was thrilled, gave the bear a big bear hug, and sat nicely for pictures. Sammie looked up and thought WTF IS THAT???DADDY!!!!!! as she screamed her head off for us, again. Since Alex used to do this too, I'm not too worried.

Anyway, Alex had a lot of fun, and got to try soda for the first time. He actually didn't like it very much. It's very strange - he doesn't like soda, chocolate, or anything excessively sweet, but he will eat apples, bananas, melon, oranges, and any other fruit all....day.....long.

Saturday - slow day. Cleaning. Studying. Cursing out Kentucky for not finishing off Tennessee. More cleaning.

Sunday - a trip to the store. It's amazing what you make seem fun to a three-year old. He loves going to the store. He loves picking things off the shelves, putting things on the belt, and bringing in the groceries. I am hoping that I can convince him that mowing the lawn is even more fun when he's older.

Aside from that, more studying, paper-writing, and cleaning.

Monday - tax office, where I finished about 2/3 of my problem set (basically, training on the computer systems). I also got some more grades, including a perfect score from a presentation last week which gives me an A for now in that class. I came home, and kept doing schoolwork until 2 AM preparing for papers due Thursday in classes that I do not have A's in.

Today - Samantha turned one. We started the day with a doctor's appointment - her one year checkup, which meant a bunch of shots in the legs. She did not enjoy that. We made it up later, though, with cupcakes at school and muffins at home (which Alex helped make).

So, that's the week in a nutshell. Very low-key, but fun for the whole family.

Let's hope I am able to get my Thursday classes in better shape and keep my Monday classes where they are right now. Two and a half more weeks....

Happy Thanksgiving

Later.

Crank dat?

Hey, at least this mashup isn't using the assumed meanings of the phrases in the song. Which I'm not linking, any supposed meaning...you can find it yourself.

Back from the whirlwind

Well, the 44-hour cross-country extravaganza is over, and I'm back home.

It was an interesting trip, to say the least.

I learned again why I hate taxis so damn much. I really wish the monorail went all the way to the airport.

I learned Henderson is very boring.

I learned that it's very hard to sleep after dozing on a cross-country flight.

I learned that doing homework on this sort of trip is impossible.

I learned that I should never, ever, EVER step foot in the Flamingo again. I never run well on anything there, and probably never will.

I learned that it's very difficult to stay up all night when lugging a duffel bag around the Strip until your 8 AM flight departs.

Lastly, I learned that I should play poker in Vegas whenever I can, because OHMIGOD there is a lot of terrible play.

I went to Caesar's poker room, and it is definitely the nicest poker room I've ever seen. I was up and down and up and down thanks to the riverchasers at the table who kept sucking out on me - which is expected at 3/6, I've seen it enough times.

Best hand of the night: pocket 3's. I limped in late position, because everyone was getting in and I really wanted a good pot if I hit a set.

It's the best hand of the night because of the flop of 3-3-2.

DQB!!!!!!!

I finished up a couple bucks on the night, but it was an overall fun time. If we ever get the chance to do it up right, we'll stay there, because it's really, really, really nice.

As for work.....

I met with the CEO and about 10-12 other area developers and corporate folks. There were about 30 interested franchisees there - aside from myself and one woman from PA, everyone was from Utah, California, or Nevada. It lasted until about 3:00, so it got out a lot earlier than I thought it would.

I've got my UFOC, and materials, and supplemental docs to fill out....yay. But I have two problems:

1) Financing: Still trying to see if it's possible.
2) Timing: The enxt step, if I get financing, will be to go to Virginia Beach for 5 days of training in December. Unfortunately, on the fourth day of training, I have a final exam and a final presentation. While I could move the exam, I might not be able to move the presentation, so this could be a BIG problem.

To be continued.......

NOOOO!!!!!!!!

$8 million for Glavine to return to Atlanta in 2008.

I don't care if it's $5 million less than what he would have gotten as a Met, it's still too much.

And, of course, the article has the obligatory "Mike Hampton may return next year" line that's caused me to throw things at walls.

Ugh.

I'm ready for my close-up now

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

H/t to Jacks R OK.

Arrival

Safe and sound in Henderson, NV. I'm checked in before midnight, even - I'm shocked at the rapid pace I was able to get to the sirport, breeze through security, and get here. From school to hotel took approximately 8 hours - and I got to sleep for half of it.

Tomorrow, it's off to the Strip and NYNY to meet with John Hewitt, the CEO of Liberty Tax Services.

I should also hear from the bank.

Hope for the best!

So, no profit-sharing?

Bank of America Writes Down $3 Billion in Debt

Combined with the 15% drop in the stock price, I don't think the company will be Rewarding Success anytime soon.

Especially in GCIB.

Not that I'm gloating or anything.

Yes, I've been saving this post for a while. I've been very slow this months on posting items of interest, even though I'm not on strike.

On The Road

Well, it's done. My flight leaves in five and a half hours. I'll be back Saturday afternoon. I will probably post some from the road.

Let's hope this meeting goes well and I get some really, really good news for once!

Decisions

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post detailing a new possible job that looked extremely likely to happen. The more astute readers will realize that the post disappeared the day after I wrote it.

I took it down due to some complications arising with the position. Well, it now appears it's not too likely it will happen after all. Some things came up and it may not end up working out after all.

So now what? And why have I been barely posting for the past couple of weeks?

I did mention that I was taking tax classes for the past few weeks. However, a new opportunity might make itself available. There are two franchises within a few miles of my house which might be available for purchase at reduced rates, so it might be possible to own and operate one of those franchises at a discounted rate because the current owners want to get out.

I don't know if I'll able to pull off such a purchase. Since it's already November, I'd have to move fast to ensure a good flow of customers come January 2, and a good staff to handle them.

One interesting point, though, has arisen: In order to receive the UFOC (basically, a standard franchise offer), I'd have to attend one of their one-day gatherings this week, as well as a week-long stay in Virginia for all new franchisees in December.

There are only two sessions left, and I'd have to attend one of them to be considered.

One is in Dallas this Saturday, but I can't get a Skymiles flight or a Hilton or Holiday Inn room for my points so that won't work.

The other is on Friday in a city I am quite familiar with, and there ARE flights available that I can use my mileage (shockingly, because they are almost NEVER available). I'm trying to determine if I can do a hotel room, as I don't know where in the city the gathering would be......but I do love going there and there are rooms in Summerlin or Henderson, so it might work......

So, if any of you Sin City readers happen to be reading this, I might be dropping by your lovely town for a very, very short stay.

Hopefully, I can get some sort of good news about either franchising or the other position by Wednesday, as that's when I'd have to book the flight out.

If bth options fall through, I still have the option of working a lot of hours preparing returns during the season while taking a lot of classes (and maybe finishing the MBA in 2008 instead of 2009) and resuming a search in May when the Spring term and Maymester end.

I haven't mentioned my classes lately, so now's as good a time as any. I have 3 classes with A- or A and one class which is probably a B. Hopefully, the B will improve greatly with a final group presentation and final exam. I'm signed up for a whole bunch of classes next semester and will drop some of them depending on however I set my work schedule but it could be anywhere between 6 and 18 hours.

Bottom line: everything is just as crazy as it has been for the last several months, and I still have no idea what's going to happen next, and I'm still hoping things turn around for the better.

Keep your fingers crossed.....I'm hoping the merry-go-round stops soon and things get to an even keel soon so I can have some direction about what's next.

A good sleeping technique

Several nights this week, I've found myself actually going to bed at a decent hour instead of staying up to all hours studying, watching TV, etc.

The secret? Let a baby fall asleep on you or in your arm(s). Apparently, it's contagious because you will fall asleep soon after. Several times, I've fallen asleep with a baby on my chest, next to me, or in the crook of my arm.

I'll need to keep that in mind the next time I have one of my trouble-sleep spells.

Local Magnifying Glass

College Poker Life: Georgia State University

That is all.

Tagged

Looks like I'm it, thanks to Kaja (thanks for hosting yesterday)



A). Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog...

B). Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself...

C). Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs...

D). Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.



OK, here goes:



1) I've lived in only two states my entire life - New York and Georgia. I spent three weeks in New Jersey, but I'd rather not count that. I think most people who live in Jersey would want to do the same.



2) I have stared down an elk. Gotta love the Rocky Mountains in July, where you can see snow. Estes Park was very nice - and it gets really, really cold at 11,000 feet.



3) I did not start playing poker until 2002. I did not play in college, I did not play in high school. I did not play live for the first time until 2006, in a casino or a home game. My first trip was to New Orleans, which went pretty well. My Vegas play consists of about 20 minutes at Mandalay Bay and a weekly tourney at the Rio. Neither went well.



4) I've visited almost every state in the country, but only been out of the country once, just a few hours in Tijuana while in San Diego.



5) I changed my major eight times in college. I had to take 23 hours or some insane amount my last semester to finish out because I didn't want to get screwed with another semester of gigantic fucking loans. But, I finished a double-major in four years, despite all the switching.



6) I had my first drink and smoke at 15. I quit smoking cigarettes right before I got married but still smoke the occasional cigar. Even the crappy ones.



7) I still have the New York mentality in many ways. I hate stupid people, I want everyone in front of me or around me to hurry up or get out of the way, and I'd rather just take the subway if I could to go somewhere. I'm sure there are a lot of other ways - we'll see when we go next year.



I tag:



Cranky Conservative

Geek Soap Box

AlCantHang

Drawing Dead (if he can find a way to stop counting his winnings in Australia)

Surflexus

Riggstad's Nut Straight

Mellow Cotton

Done

That's it.

After the past week, I think I'm going to take a break from Full Tilt for a little while.

I've seen the most ridiculously bad run of cards ever within the past week. Continual set-over-set and aces cracked way too often, summed up by these bad beats within ten hands of each other.

Hand 1: I am UTG with blinds at 50/100. I have about 3200 - holding steady. I limp, there is a raise to 300 at UTG +2, SB pushes in 600 to be all in. I push over the top, and UTG+2 folds.

I flip over A-A, and SB flips over.....5-2. Offsuit.

Flop is 6-3-J. Turn is 3. River is the miracle 4 to take a chunk out of my stack.

I get moved about 2 hands after this and the break happens. Right after the break, I pick up 10-10. I decide to just call a small raise from the button (big stack). Flop is three undercards, all hearts (I have the 10h). Stack bets, I raise back with my overpair, he pushes all in with what I know is an inferior hand, and I call. He flips over Q-9 - with the Q of hearts - and the river brings the last heart, so I'm gone.

Dookie was PLO8B, Turbo. 45 runners. Couldn't do anything early on with any suited aces and then went out when my flopped set of kings fell to a flopped set of aces.

Spook is 6-max NLHE, shortstacked. I pick up K-K, and get called by A-10 with everything in preflop. The turn brings the Ace.

At least I got my writing done for my classes. Three two-page papers. At least something went right today, because not much else did go right. It was pretty awful from start to finish.

Poker Stars is being slightly more random lately, which menas that my hands as favorites actually HOLDING UP WHEN THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO. There is the occasional suckout, but not nearly as bad as FTP has been with bad beat upon badbeat upon bad beat.

I hope November is better, in many many ways.

Already?

Today is Halloween.

Alex is very excited about dressing either as Tow' Mater or as a dinosaur. I'm not sure which it will be.

Sammie will be dressed as a pumpkin, because we feel that we don't have enough ridiculously cute pictures of her yet.

However, over the last few days, Alex has ALREADY begun talking about Christmas.

It's just way too early to think about yet. I'm glad he's excited about Christmas - but it's two months away.

Math Pimp

Mondays at the Hoy....... I get to play it for once. We'll see how it goes.

UPDATE: Break #1, 82 started, 58 left, I am 52nd. I have some work to do.

UPDATE #2: Not the work I wanted. I ran J-J into A-Q and got knocked out. Blech.

Not surprised

A-Rod opts out.

Apparently $30 million a year isn't enough. He won't be back in NY.

Since Boston won, I doubt he'd go there.

Probably only LA or Chicago would work for his insane salary demand. My money is on Chicago.

He definitely won't end up in Atlanta, which is fine with me - the Braves need pitching more anyway.

Texas must be happy, since they'll get back about $21 million.

Moron.

Omacrack

I have no idea why they pushed in front of me - they were dead on every street. At least it made up for the lousy finish in Riverchasers (84th of 104).

Full Tilt Poker Game #3968522110: Table Mountain Spa - $0.10/$0.25 - No Limit Omaha H/L - 23:33:58 ET - 2007/10/25
Seat 1: KorishEmpire ($12.10)
Seat 2: CardsFan2006 ($20.80)
Seat 3: godzilla51 ($2.45)
Seat 4: SU2003champs ($26.80)
Seat 5: APOSEC72 ($20.40)
Seat 6: roonviag ($11.80)
Seat 7: The Madturk ($6.70)
Seat 8: nicalexis ($23)
Seat 9: snides2592 ($49.45)
nicalexis posts the small blind of $0.10
snides2592 posts the big blind of $0.25
5 seconds left to act
roonviag posts $0.25
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to APOSEC72 [4h As Kd Ad]
KorishEmpire has 15 seconds left to act
KorishEmpire folds
CardsFan2006 calls $0.25
godzilla51 folds
SU2003champs folds
APOSEC72 raises to $1
roonviag raises to $11.80, and is all in
The Madturk calls $6.70, and is all in
nicalexis folds
snides2592 folds
CardsFan2006 folds
APOSEC72 has 15 seconds left to act
APOSEC72: hmm
APOSEC72 calls $10.80
roonviag shows [9h 3d 4s Ah]
The Madturk shows [8d Tc Kc Ts]
APOSEC72 shows [4h As Kd Ad]
*** FLOP *** [Qs 3h 5d]
*** TURN *** [Qs 3h 5d] [5s]
*** RIVER *** [Qs 3h 5d 5s] [Ac]
roonviag shows two pair, Aces and Fives, for high
APOSEC72 shows a full house, Aces full of Fives, for high
APOSEC72 wins the side pot ($9.70) with a full house, Aces full of Fives
The Madturk shows two pair, Tens and Fives, for high
APOSEC72 wins the main pot ($19.70) with a full house, Aces full of Fives
roonviag is sitting out
The Madturk is sitting out
No low hand qualified
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $30.90 Main pot $20.70. Side pot $10.20. Rake $1.50
Board: [Qs 3h 5d 5s Ac]
Seat 1: KorishEmpire didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: CardsFan2006 folded before the Flop
Seat 3: godzilla51 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: SU2003champs didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: APOSEC72 showed [4h As Kd Ad] and won ($29.40) with HI: a full house, Aces full of Fives
Seat 6: roonviag showed [9h 3d 4s Ah] and lost with HI: two pair, Aces and Fives
Seat 7: The Madturk (button) showed [8d Tc Kc Ts] and lost with HI: two pair, Tens and Fives
Seat 8: nicalexis (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: snides2592 (big blind) folded before the Flop

So there were, like, people there?

Apparently Emory people have actually begun to show up for concerts.

Tonight, that's not a very good thing.

Akon Concert Goes Awry; Canopy Collapses

Apparently that stage at McDonough Field has seen too many shows.

But it don't matter, right?

Apparently it does - the show was cancelled.

Maybe it don't matter, since he wasn't the one who got hurt....

Click for a donation

Click here to help donate to free mammograms.

We just found out yesterday that my oldest sister has Level Three breast cancer, but it may have been caught at an early enough stage, so say a little prayer if you have time.

Eroding Confidence

The storm is getting very, very bad for Absolute Poker and a LOT of people are withdrawing funds or withholding action from Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet (as they are now one and the same company.)

Tough Times for Absolute Poker

UB's seemed shady for a while from everything I've seen on there, but I've not had any bad experiences personally on AP. Still, it does not bode well for them.

Great news, of course, for competing sites who don't have any problems right now, which means Full Tilt and........well, that's about it.

South Florida Bull****

I give up.

If Ohio State falls on Saturday, I am going to laugh my balls off. I was joking about a Kansas-BC BCS game, but they could end up being the last two unbeatens standing!

I don't feel so bad about my picks anymore.

Searching for a slogan

It must be a slow news day.

Apparently, "Every day is an opening day" isn't too catchy, so Brand Atlanta has decided instead to use as Atlanta's slogan, "City Lights, Southern Nights".

I haven't heard yet how the new slogan will help with the extreme drought in the area.

I do wonder, though, if the affiliation with "Southern Nights" (NSFW) is really the one they want considering how much this place advertises on the radio.

Nice job, Shirley.

Flopping Kings in Queens?

Somehow, I don't see this getting anywhere, considering Rudy's and Mike's vigilance against NYC poker, but one can dream.

It's closer than Atlantic City, at least. Hopping on the subway to get to a poker room is better than 2+ hours on the Garden State Parkway.

A Casino in Queens?

Aussie Aussie Aussie (Oi Oi Oi!)

Al, you are the man. I'm cutting and pasting in full, which I don't normally do, because version 2.0 is FREAKING AWESOME.

Time for you to reload. I'd love to go to Australia in January - when it's summer there.

---------------

I fully intended to have a BBTwo up an running by now but I got far too busy planning drinker's get away down near Cuba. I wanted to have something running by now because I had a certain prize in mind that would require starting in late September, early October to complete a three month challenge. But I only thought of my needs and went about getting ready to drink my face off.

When I returned from vacation I began talking to Full Tilt Poker about running another BBT challenge and how much they wanted to be involved. Turns out they want to be really involved. Introducing Battle of the Blogger Tournaments 2: Aussie Millions Challenge.

Full Tilt Poker has given us an $18k Aussie Millions package to give away for our next challenge.
$18,000 Prize Package for you and a friend

The 2008 Aussie Millions Main Event begins Monday, January 14th and promises to be bigger than ever. Play for your $18K prize package, including:

* Aussie Millions Main Event entry worth AUD $10,500
* 10 nights stay at the luxurious Crown Casino Resort
* Round-trip airfare for the winner and a guest from Los Angeles to Melbourne
* $3,000 in spending money
* Winner & Pro golf outings, dinners, winery tours, seminars and a bounty tournament
Pretty god damn cool if you ask me and I was stunned when they brought it up. This was the package I really hoped to give away but thought was lost since I started so late on the planning. An opportunity to send a player and companion to the Land of Oz for 10 days with a $10k tournament thrown in there.

During the original BBT there was some positive and negative comments about the point system plus the number of people awarded points. For the BBTwo you won't have to worry about those points. We will be awarding the Aussie Millions package to the winner of a Tournament of Champions. So if you'd like to win the trip, you have to win one of the events during the eight week run. No worrying about making the points. No worrying about who made the most money during the challenge. Win an event and you are in the TOC and a shot at the Aussie Millions package.

So if you are interested in winning the Aussie Millions package, play them to win them.

But only so many people can win an event during this stretch so what about everyone else? We want everyone to play, enjoy themselves, and have a shot at winning something. Full Tilt Poker has given us the Aussie Millions Package but that's not all they're giving us.

FTP is giving us an entry into their weekly big Sunday guarantee tournaments whic we will reward to the Player of the Week. This is where that pesky point system comes in again. We will be using the same point formula as the last Challenge but this time around only the top 25% of players in each event will receive points. Whoever earns the most points during the week will get a ticket into the FTP Sunday Guarantee Tournament.

The point system will also be used to determine players to qualify for an end of challenge freeroll which is still being worked out.

There are just a couple more things to finalize and we'll get back to you with the details. I have an FTOPS Main Event seat to give away and we're just kicking around ideas of what to do with it. I also have an iPod Touch to give away courtesy of the folks at donkit.com. So many things to give away, so little time to figure out how to give them away.

So there you have it. BBTwo is about to kick off and it's time to reload your FTP account, start firing up those Token Frenzies, and strap in for an 8 week, 27 tournament challenge to see what you are made of.

We are going to kick things off on Sunday, October 21st with the big prizepool in Miami Don's Big Game. The rest of the Blogger Schedule will go as planned except now the Riverchasers events will also be weekly during the challenge. The challenge will run for 8 weeks ending on Sunday, December 16th with another Big Game.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop them in comments or shoot me an email.

Feel free to pimp your heart out. This is just the beginning, just wait until you see what happens in the spring. More details to come but I wanted to get the information out there. Start loading up on those tokens.

WBCOOP - Hanging Tough

I am sitting with T18000. We started at 10,000 times 1,337 runners. There are 350 remaining, and I am 276th with blinds at 500/1000.

In the BB, I've just gotten rockets and a walk on my blinds. It's been that kind of day.

Hopefully it has a good ending.

5:44: Blinds going up to 750/1500 with 150 ante. I'm at 19K. 234/274.

5:50: A new addition - surflexus is on my right.

5:52: I am now playing this tourney with a lightly sleeping infant on me. Hooray for multitasking.



5:59: Baby = good luck again. up to 115 of 236.

6:02: Table change. Sitting ar 46K.

6:10: Lightly sleeping infant is now heavily sleeping infant in crib. I haven't played many hands and I'm still around 46K in chips near the 3rd break.

6:19: 3rd break. I am 105 of 188 with T57,050. Average is 71K. Another 107 to go.....

6:35: Still hanging tough. 49K. Lost one hand I played from the BB that I shouldn't have played. We are down to 171.

6:43: Heading in the wrong direction - down to 40K with blinds at 1500/3000 and a 300 ante. My stack is getting a bit low for my tastes. 140 left.

6:55: Double up with AK vs. 8-8 when a King hits the flop. Up to 69th of 126.

6:56: Chip up with A-Q against A-4. Over 100K.

7:06: I am 53rd of 111. T107K.

7:19: Very few posts because I'm sharing yogurt with a three year-old on my lap. Still at 100K, 58 of 94.

7:22: Drop to 75K. 71 of 91. 10 to go.

7:24: Break #4. I am 67 of 91 with 75180.

7:31: Back over 100K.

7:45 Bubble time. Sitting at 90K.

7:46: Made it.

7:53: Shortly after bubble, I pick up A-Q. I call a preflop raise. Flop is A-7-4. I check, player bets, I raise all in, he calls and flips up A-K. Turn gives me nut flush draw, but the river bricks. On the next hand I lose with a pair of kings to Broadway and I am out in 71st.

At least I get a PokerStars duffel bag and a deck of cards. It's something. Too bad it's not the iPod, or the Plasma TV. But it's something.

Now what?

Well, it seems like every Saturday this year has been a "day of upsets". Damn near everybody's championship pick has lost one, two, or a bunch of games.

If you picked USF to win the BCS championship, you are lying your ass off.

My picks are already looking pretty damn toasty:

Big East: Louisville (4-3, 1-1 - eh.)
Big Ten: Wisconsin (I thought I had Michigan typed in here. Both of them are in bad shape.)
Big 12: Texas (Lose two in a row, that's probably shot)
Pac Ten: California (was looking good until two hours ago, but still alive for a conference title)
SEC: LSU (was looking good until seven hours ago...now they have to jump eight teams.)
ACC: Florida State (they lost to Wake and Clemson ALREADY?)
MAC: Northern Illinois (1-6, yeah, that's a good pick, dumbass)
MWC: TCU (4-3, maybe)
Sun Belt: Troy (4-2, 3-0 in conference, at least I got this one too.)
WAC: Boise State (4-1, this one's OK so far)
C-USA: Central Florida (3-3, 1-1 in CUSA)

Who;s left among undefeated teams? Ohio State, Boston College, South Florida, Kansas, Hawaii, and Arizona State.

If you picked more than two teams from this group right.........YOU'RE LYING.

So, we probably haven't seen the last of USC, Oklahoma, or maybe even LSU this year. Because there is no damn way there will be a title game between South Florida and Hawaii, or Ohio State and a patsy.

And the BCS rankings haven't even started coming out yet. They don't start until tomorrow.

Family Fun

Two big things this weekend:

1) Taste of Atlanta, in Atlantic Station. Saturday and Sunday. Would be fun to go to,if we weren't going to........

2) Georgia Apple Festival, in Ellijay. We've gone the last two years, and it's always been a lot of fun for the kids, between the rides, booths, and food.

Plus, there's some really good barbecue to be had at Poole's BBQ, complete with the Pig Hill of Fame.

Mmmmm......barbecue....

December WPBT......i wish....

I wish this were just a wee bit later, as in, not during finals, because that might block me from going before even considering it.

Apparently it'll be at the Venetian instead of the IP or Orleans - which I saw just now.

H/t to Falstaff for putting it together - I wish I could go but somehow it doesn't seem likely.

Damn.

December 6-10. Venetian.

I was a what?

H/t GSB.

This actually doesn't seem that weird. I'd much rather be a sailor instead of a shoemaker, though.

Your past life diagnosis:

I don't know how you feel about it, but you were male in your last earthly incarnation.You were born somewhere in the territory of modern USA South-East around the year 1775. Your profession was that of a sailor or shoemaker.

Your brief psychological profile in your past life:Such people are always involved with all new. You have always loved changes, especially in art, music, cooking.

The lesson that your last past life brought to your present incarnation:There is an invisible connection between the material and the spiritual world. Your lesson is to search, find and use this magical bridge.

Zoom Zoom Zoom

Late last week, we managed to get infield tickets to Road Atlanta for Petit Le Mans - 10 hours of racing goodness.

They were available from Kim's work through a partnership with their vendors.......and it was a lot of fun. We got to go to the VIP area for Ferrari, and got to go down to Pit Row. We even managed to be there for a pit stop and got to meet Nic Jonsson when he switched off with another driver for a stint.

I've been to a NASCAR race, but never a Formula One race.

Alex got a thrill when the #61 Ferrari pulled out of the garage to go back on the track - RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. He loved it - I wish we hadn't run out of film so we could get the look on his face.

We did, though, get these shots:

We've got our tickets!

Sitting in the infield with our own car (courtesy of the state fair)

Walking through vendor village and meeting a monkey at an exhibit - Alex was much more interested in the monkey that the halter-top tire girls. That will change soon.

AAACK! MONKEY IN MY HAIR!!!!!

From the VIP tent

On Pit Row, where they let us come into the pits.

Maybe my future career?

Nah. I need to slim down some more.

The #61 taking off from pit row.

Three-Day Bender

These aren't quite the condition on which I'd want to be drunk for three days straight. Besides, I haven't had vodka in years. Never could enjoy the taste.

Australian Doctors Use Vodka Drip to Save Poisoned Tourist's Life

H/t Kajagugu.

The Last Laugh

Karma sucks sometimes. Not for me, but for the company. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase set to announce $3 Billion in losses

I guess it's a good thing I'm no longer there or own any stock.

Besides, I needed a little pick-me-up before my test this afternoon - third mid-term of three, then I have two presentations to write tonight and tomorrow, plus a mid-term in a tax class.

It's a busy week. I doubt I will have much time for anything else, but I've always said that busy equals good.

Registration

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 1150052

Some of you have already seen this on a bunch of other bloggers' sites, so here's one more.

Cracker

Went to BrainMc's for the latest league game last night, 13 of us to the felt.

Last time, I got my aces cracked on the first level.

This time, I didn't see a decent hand for five levels. I got 7-7 once and A-K once. That was it.

We are down to 8, and I push in my short stack with 8's, and get called by 4's.

After we lose a couple, down to 6 with 3 paying, and I've chipped up a little, I get K-J in the SB. Late position limp. Blinds are 300/600, and I have about 3000. I decide to just complete the blind, but was debating a push.

Flop came out k-j-6, and I call an all in from a bigger stack with......A-A. I've cracked them, and move up in chips to almost the lead.

The very next hand.....I get A-A. Same players pushes in preflop, and of course, I call. KK v. AA, and I think I will have a commanding lead - but to get me back, my aces are cracked with a K on the flop.

I am crippled again, and have to push soon after with J-7 diamonds against Q-J, so I finish in 6th.

Pocket Aces showed up 4 times last night for various players - and lost all four times. In both my times, I've had aces cracked, though this time was slightly easier to take.

The lesson here...NEVER play pocket aces :) 7-2 won more hands last night than A-A.

March 17th Is Just Another Day Next Year

I just heard this from Celtic Atlanta. H/t Gordd Cymru.

Apparently, next year, Easter will take place on March 23rd. This means that Holy Week will start on March 16. St. Patrick's Day next year will instead take place on Saturday, March 15, 2008.

In related news, the St. Pat's Atlanta committee is having a barbecue event in early November.

Mmmm.......barbecue.

Parental Advisory

Thanks to the lovely wife for the heads-up.

The FDA put out a warning about cold medicine for young children, in a concise 350-page survey.

Specifically, it deals with antihistamine and decongestant use in kids under 6.

For any parents out there who read this, it's pretty pertinent.

We now return to your regularly scheduled silliness.

Getting Even Worse

OK, this is starting to seem like piling on for Mets fans.

At least he won't be back with the team.........?

I will say, though - the one-game playoff tonight between San Diego and Colorado was one of the best I've seen in a while. Wow.

How did the picks from March pan out?

AL East: Picked NY, Boston won.
AL Central: Picked Cleveland - right.
AL West: Picked Texas, which was a stupid pick, because Anaheim won.
AL WC: Picked Chicago, it was NY.

NL East: Picked Atlanta. Oops.
NL Central: Picked Milwaukee (which wasn't too bad) and the CUBS??!?! win it.
NL West: Picked Dodgers, it was Arizona.
NL WC: Picked the Mets. Again, oops.

Bottom line, I should have used a dartboard. I only got 2 of 8 teams right. Somehow, I don't think I'm alone in getting so many wrong, though.

Sure to Last

It's good to see old-fashioned romance blossom.

Pam Anderson and Rick Salomon Obtain Marriage License

The money quote (for those that haven't heard the story):

"Anderson revealed she had fallen in love with a poker player who offered to pay off her $250,000 (£125,000) gambling debt for a night of sex. Anderson ... candidly told DeGeneres that she eventually succumbed to the rich fan's offer, explaining, "It worked out, I liked it... I paid off a poker debt with sexual favours and fell in love. It's so romantic."

Salomon is best known for 'starring' alongside Paris Hilton in sex tape 1 Night In Paris."

Total old-fashioned romance. The kids must love this. She found one of the few guys more fucked up than Tommy Lee.

Golly.

MEMORANDUM

To: T. Glavine

From: East Lake Golf Club

Re: Availability

Dear Tom:

We're glad to let you know we were able to squeeze you in for a 9 AM tee time tomorrow, Monday, October 1.

You are scheduled to go just before Mr. Jones's party.

Enjoy your round on the links!

Not bubbalicious

This would be my third satellite bubble this week out of four attempts. The fourth, I came in 73rd of 527 for a $2 rebuy directly for the WCOOP Main Event - had two seats available and I couldn't make enough of a move.

At least it's not missing out on cashing entirely. Then, I'd really be ticked off.

PokerStars Tournament #62546511, No Limit Hold'em
Super Satellite Buy-In: $4.00/$0.40
125 players
Total Prize Pool: $1644.00
Target Tournament #62546314
Buy-In: $80.00
20 tickets to the target tournament

Dear francase13, You finished the tournament in 21st place.

AAARRRRGGHHH.

Bad Day for the Home Town

1) The Braves lost. They had to win out, especially had to sweep the Phillies, and they lost tonight which makes it damn near impossible. NOW Chipper can book a tee time.

2) Apparently it wasn't a one-time thing with the water bottle in Miami's airport. How stupid can you be? At this point, I'm not sure if Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan, O.J., or Mike Vick should be the hot pick in a death pool.

Thankfully, local bad news was mostly limited to sporting items today. What can I say - I spent damn near the whole day unavailable. It's a nice change. Besides, I haven't had anything to post for the last few days.

Hope?

Not much, but still some slim hope remains:


San Diego - 85 70, .548 - (3 at SF, 4 at MIL)
Philadelphia - 85 71, .545 .5 (3 vs. ATL, 3 vs. WAS)
Colorado - 84 72, .538 1.5 (3 at LA, 3 vs. ARI)
Atlanta - 82 74, .526 3.5 (3 at PHI, 3 at HOU)

Obviously, Atlanta needs to win every game this week and pull off a comeback which has never been done - leapfrog 3 teams in the final week - so odds are slim.

It'll be interesting if the Braves can pull off a miraculous sweep of Philly this week to see where they stands.

Also quite obviously, the Mets will be rooting for the Braves this week so they can lock up the division.

It's better than last year, at least. At least a winning record has been clinched.

Tide Rolled

Georgia 26, Alabama 23, in Tuscaloosa?



Woof, Woof, Woof.

Pi**ed

I finished in the money in a tournament, and I'm pissed about it.

I've been debating all week whether to try to satellite into the WCOOP Horse event today at 3 PM. I've been doing well in HORSE and deep-stack tournaments lately, and thought I might be able to do well in it, so I was considering a satellite attempt.

Horse is Hold Em, Omaha H/L, Razz, 7-Stud, and 7-Stud H/L in a rotation. The tournament has a $215 buy-in, which I would not and could not front, but would have a first prize of at least $47K. Stacks started at 3,000 and had 30-minute levels, compared to the ten or even 5-minute levels in normal tourneys.

Poker Stars was running several satellites, and I entered into the last one where an entry was given for every 11 entries. 104 players meant that 9 would get entries, with 10 through 16 getting buy-ins returned.

Early on, I was crippled, and then went on a monstrous tear to get up to 7th out of 16 remaining. However, with the turbo format I was still in danger on any hand of not getting the entry, though I was guaranteed of recouping the buyin.

Well, that's exactly what happened - with blinds of 750/1500, and sitting on a stack of 3600, I pushed in when everyone folded to me in the SB, as I would be anted off within the next few hands anyway - if I folded, I would have 1800 remaining, and be done in 5 hands when the BB hit me again.

I had 10-7 suited, got called by 9-4 unsuited from another small stack (WTF????) and saw a 9 on the flop. So, I finished 11th out of 104. In a cash tourney, I'd get a good amount back. In this, though, I just got back the buy-in.

I wasn't quite sure if I'd be able to play the event, but just having the tourney dollars to do other satellites if I didn't play would be nice. As is, I neither gained nor lost anything.

The HORSE event ended with 1639 players, and a total prize pool of 327,800.00, with first place taking 72K home. As of now, 4.5 hours into the tourney, half the players remain, and another 500 need to drop before reaching the money.

So, I cashed, but I'm ticked. Doesn't make much sense, I guess.

At least there are still 11 other events to try for. Not sure which I might try, though, because the remaining options aren't great in time or in buyin amount.

Ugh.

I didn't hear this on the news!

OK, I get what you were trying to say, but chrissakes, JUST SHUT UP.

Maybe I should add the countdown clock back to the blog too.

Another change

Yes, I've now added a fundraising widget on the right side of the blog. (From Facebook, you'll have to click through to the original post - a lot of stuff gets left out when notes transalte. I hate that.)

It's hard to believe it's only 4 months until primary season gets underway.

At least it'll give the news networks something to do besides focusing on O.J. again.

All we need now are another Hillarycare proposal, and it'll be just like 1994 again.

Oh, wait......

Well, at least there's no baseball strike.

Falcons Sign Julio Franco

Well, they might as well have done so.

Last year, they lured Morten Andersen out of retirement to handle placekicking duties.

Today, after seeing two missed field goals comprise the losing deficit to Jacksonville, Atlanta lured the 47-year old kicker out of retirement again.

In other Falcon news, they may finally sign Byron Leftwich, a move they should have done two weeks ago.

No word on whether either player will require a walker.

Of course, that isn't stopping me from entering a waiver claim on Leftwich - since Harrington is currently my #3 QB - with a titanic battle coming up this week.

Hammer for the win, please (Part 7?)

I've lost count and I don't feel like culling the archives.

The very last hand of a 45-SnG on Stars - a full house, deuces full of sevens.



Whhhhhheeeeeeeee.......

With six you get eggroll!

That will probably be the only Doris Day reference ever on this blog.

If you get a chance, go over to Mookie's and wish him congrats on the arrival a few months from now of a new little one to make a six-pack.

And wish him luck because that's more than a handful.....

Pwned

Sometimes, unwinding after a long day can b quite fulfilling.

Especially when you can make good on a guarantee.

I was playing a Triple Draw Lowball Sng on Stars, and we were down to the final two. All of a sudden, my connection went boom. I saw when I got back in that instead of a 5:1 leader, I was now an 8:1 dog.

That just won't do.

Before the drop, I was up 7300 to 1700. When I came back, I was down 8050 to 950. Upon coming back I let him know that since I'd already taken most of his chips, that I would now do it again.

Here goes:

Hand 1: raise 550 on the 3rd draw (all-in) with 9-high and chip up. 1350-7650.
Hand 2: double with 8-7-6-5-2 against J-7-6-4-2. 2700-6300.
Hand 3: villian mucks pre-draw. 2900-6100.
Hand 4: I fold after the 2nd draw. 1700-7300.
Hand 5: villain mucks-pre-draw. 1900-7100.
Hand 6: Double up when he plays jack-high as a good hand. 3800-5200.
Hand 7: Raise after all three draws, and villain folds. 4200-4800.
Hand 8: I fold pre-draw. 4000-5000.
Hand 9: I fold at the end when I get paired. 2800-6200.
Hand 10: Double up with a seven. 5600-3400.
Hand 11/12: Fold twice pre-draw. 4900-4100.
Hand 13: Crippling blow when my nine takes out his straight - no good here. 7300-1700. (back to where we were before)
Hand 14: My eight takes out his ten. It's OVER. 9000-0. He stood pat with a ten on the last draw.

Hooray for online therapy. Especially against lousy players.

If I keep going at this rate, I might be in the WCOOP event Friday or Saturday. We'll see.

I get older, they stay the same age

News broke that Annette Obrestad of Norway won the Main Event at the WSOP-Europe.

She plays as Annette_15 on PokerStars (where the WCOOP is breaking records, with a $3M tournament this afternoon and a $5M tourney will happen in a couple days).

She just won a million pounds.

She will turn 19 this week, so she cannot play yet in the U.S. legally. But she is slightly more than two million dollars richer, even if she seems to be about 12 years old, so I'm sure that'll help a bit.

It is funny that the winning hand in the picture was the hammer.

When I was turning 19, I was finishing up a crappy freshman year of college and got hit by a taxi. She is definitely having a better year.

Stop the false hope

I just read this astoundingly stupid nugget on Chop-n-Change:

"Mike Hampton threw off a mound for the first time since having elbow surgery back in April. The 35-year old left-hander is trying to come back from two lost seasons due to such surgeries and be an effective part of the Atlanta rotation next year. Any benefit the team could get from Hampton next year would be a huge plus for solidifying the rotation. "

Also being floated (again) is the possibility of a return of Tom Glavine next season.

With apologies to the clip below.......

MIKE HAMPTON ISN'T WALKING THROUGH THAT DOOR. TOM GLAVINE ISN'T WALKING THROUGH THAT DOOR. GREG MADDUX ISN'T WALKING THROUGH THAT DOOR. AND IF YOU EXPECT THE TO WALK THROUGH THAT DOOR THEY'RE GOING TO BE GRAY AND OLD!

Seriously, there is no point hoping for any positive return from Mike Hampton for the remainder of his contract. I wrote this almost a year ago and it's still true. Yet writers continue to trot out this false hope.

IT'S.......NOT.........HAPPENING.

Let's not forget about Chipper Jones and his "injuries" which keep him out until getting called out by Smoltz for babying everything. He's probably quit on the season, unlike a lot of his teammates who are still hanging on, 4.5 games out of the wildcard, desparate with 16 games left but not out....yet.

(Really, they have three against Washington, three against Florida, four against Milwaukee, three against Philly, and three against Houston. All those teams are playing out the string or floundering lately. It's still possible if they get their acts together.)

And of course, there's Andruw Jones, who has turned in one of the worst "contract year" performances I've ever seen. Has anyone ever seen a proven hitter, in his prime, hitting .220 and slugging barely .400 in a contract year? How the hell do you get outslugged by Yunel Escobar? They should have traded him to the Red Sox when they had the chance last year.

At least Andruw is gone soon - the Braves will not re-sign him for what he will ask, even after such a horrendous effort.

Too bad Hampton and Chipper can't disappear after this season, because the team could use the extra $40 million from these three contracts for some people who can pitch and actually give a damn.

You know, gutting it out, hustling down the line, showing up to play every day, hustling and not loafing, not missing weeks or months at a time - something those three haven't done in a few years.

Maybe a little more effort would have the Braves closer than 4.5 games right now and keep me from typing this rant as the season comes to an end, whether it is in three week, four week, or more. There's still some hope.

Aliases

H/t tip to Blonde for posting this meme - I'm posting it because I don't have too many original posts in me right now.

Some work better than others. Feel free to steal of lift at your leisure.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Patches Escort - yeesh.
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Rocky Road Oatmeal
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)M-fra (yech)
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Green Dolphin
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)Lawrence New York (eh)
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)Frami
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)The Blue Kamikaze
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) Jimmy John - that's pretty damn redneck right thar'
9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)Armani Reese('s)
10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )Anne Plummer (ok, that won't work without a lot of surgery)
11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)Morales Madrid (how the hell do I remember some of this stuff?)
12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower) Summer Rose
13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + "ie" or "y")Pineapple Shoesy
14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) Cereal Pine
15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”) The Gambling Wind Tour