Weirdly named body parts

I've got the Tonight Show on in the background, and Heidi Klum is on tonight.

I'm on the computer, not paying much attention, and suddenly I hear her talking about Hans and Franz. I look up, and realize she's talking about her breasts.

I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've ever heard a body part being given a name of the other gender.

Of course, that's just an excuse to post this link and this link (not the picture) and this SNL clip.

Of course, if you ask nicely enough, I might post the pictures from the shoot too.

Silly Dump

OK, let's go with some silly mashes:

Bringing Sexy Back to Scranton:



The Wrath of Chipmunk:

Star Trek II: The Wrath of the Dramatic Chipmunk

Posted Jul 11, 2007

William Shatner meets his worst nightmare...Khaaaaaaaaaaaan!

Boogie Nights meets Star Wars:

Boogie Nights: Star Wars Edition

Posted Jun 05, 2007

Star Wars gets the Boogie Nights treatment.

Pee-Wee's Big Se7en:

Pee-wee's Big Se7en Mashup

Posted Apr 17, 2007

Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman uncover the hidden truth behind the theft of Pee-Wee Herman's bike in this inspired trailer mashup.

And last, an old classic, Raging Rudolph - don't watch with any kids around:



Hope it brings a little humor to the new week.

Good things

I'm not sure if it's because I found pennies yesterday and today, but good things seem to be happening for once.

I passed my panel interview yesterday, and now need to focus even more on being ready for the physical/agility exam. I'm hoping to slim down to about 220 by the time it takes place - which should be before the end of the month.

I'm confirmed for my Fall classes, and everything is taken care of without having to stand in line for registration.

And last, Sammie has decided it's now time to speak, as she's now said BaBa (for Alex), Dada, and Mama. Combined with pulling up and cruising around the house, she's really coming along. She even tried to follow me down the hallway at school, when I left her classroom....she crawled to the door to try and go down the hallway too.

So, good times, for now.

Spot the Tell, Simpsons Style

H/t to Bill Rini.

Steroids win

Bonds just hit 756.

And I just threw up.

Time to start rooting for A-Rod. Hope he hurries up to get to it.

Ugh.

NRO Idiocy

John Derbyshire is an idiot.

Isn't it just a wee bit too early to be conceding elections, since not a single primary has been held and we're, oh, 15 months away from the election?

What was that old quote? Oh, yes, here it is:




Hello?

Too fast

Sammie just turned eight months old.

She has also started cruising and eating real solid food (like Cheerios, peas, and such.)

It's going by waaaaaay too fast. She needs to slow down so we can enjoy her while she is still stationary.

The New Season Begins

No, not football, though there will be many posts about that in the next few weeks, and not just about the fact the Michael Vick still hates puppies.

No, I mean the WSOP Circuit season. Dated announced today. H/t to PokerNews. Now, there are two stops in New Orleans and Tunica apiece. Hmmmmm.....

Grand Casino Tunica, Aug. 29-Sept. 13, 2007
Caesars Indiana, Oct. 17-Nov. 2, 2007
Harvey's Tahoe, Nov. 3-13, 2007
Harrah's New Orleans, Nov. 26-Dec. 5, 2007
Harrah's Atlantic City, Dec. 8-18, 2007
Grand Casino Tunica, Jan. 3-22, 2008
Harrah's Rincon San Diego North, Jan. 27-Feb. 7, 2008
Horseshoe Council Bluffs, Feb. 18-27, 2008
Caesars Atlantic City, Mar. 5-15, 2008
Caesars Indiana, Apr. 2-16, 2008
Caesars Palace Las Vegas, April 20-May 1, 2008
Harrah's New Orleans, May 9-21, 2008

Keeping options open

Well, I'm still looking around, but I've at least made one decision for the future.

I met with my advisor at GSU yesterday, and I'll be a full-time student again, with 12 hours in the Fall semester.

Here's the catch:

Two classes on Monday, and two classes on Thursday....at 4:30 PM and 7:15 PM. So, I still have days open for work, even while I accelerate in classes.

I won't have any classes during the day or on the weekend...for now. If I take on any concentration classes, then I might add one more if I think I can handle it - which is no guarantee itself!

Hopefully, two nights a week won't be enough to drive me insane, or drive Kim insane tackling both kids solo on those nights. At this pace, I should finish it by the end of 2008 - this should helpme catch up from taking the Spring off.

MMmmm......beer.(fest)

Actually, it's Bierfest, and it will be August 25th at Atlantic Station. For six hours.

We aim to please. Even if it is $30. I have no doubt, though, that the readers here who might attend would have no problem getting their money's worth.

Don't let me down now.

Buy him two cigars

Normally, it'd be one, but since there are two deals that help the Braves today, Schuerholz can have two.

The first one became official a couple hours ago - Mark Teixeira will fill a big hole at 1B, and arrives with lefty reliever Ron Mahay (2-0, 2.77 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) in exchange for C/1B Jarrod Saltalamacchia (which makes my spellcheck explode) and SS Elvis Andrus (in AA), and two other pitching prospects.

While it is getting rid of a lot of minor-league potential, this deal appears to be new management taking a stand to try to win NOW. It's a welcome change from the last few years. Teixeira will bolster a lineup weakened by lousy production at 1B and by Andruw Jones, who will probably drop to 6th in the new lineup. Plus, it's a homecoming for the former Yellow Jacket, and he's signed until after the 2008 season, so at least it's not the possibility of a two-month rental and skipping town.

The second deal JUST became final: Kyle Davies is gone, and Octavio Dotel is coming into town. I've never been a big fan of Davies, and Dotel will bring some help to a pen that was promising in April but has been rocked by injuries for the last two months. Though I'd have liked to see some starting help with Buddy Carlyle and Jo-Jo Reyes a shaky back-end, getting two big boosts in the bullpen might provide some support should they be as shaky as I fear. Even so, I don't think they'll be any worse than Davies in starting roles.

I'm happy with both deals. For now. Maybe there will be a deal for Bronson Arroyo in the next hour or so. If so (as has been rumored today) then I have no complaints at all.

The looooooooong update

Well, snce I haven't posted much over the past few weeks, I figure it's time to actually mention all of the weird stuff that's happened over the past month or so.

At the end of June, the one thing I had thought would happen for some time finally did happen - I was let go by the bank. Even though I was miserable every day, dreaded going in, knew they were trying to push me out, and really didn't enjoy it or care anymore, it was still a bit of a shock.

I started looking around the following Monday, but really didn't look too much right away - I was content to focus more on schoolwork as I had a project due on the 15th. Plus, we had the baptism on 7/7/07 and mother-in-law visiting for a little over a week to help out with recovery from Kim's surgery (which went well).

After Kim's mother left I stepped up my search a bit. I decided to contract with AFLAC to be an agent, though that will not work very well if I'm not a halfway decent hustler. I've had a few interviews with corporate jobs, and signed up with a couple of placement agencies. I've contacted GSU about going on a full-time basis. I've even gone through the initial steps of joining the Marietta Police (surprisingly, at a rate better than the bank paid, which says a lot about the bank).

Even crazier has been the environment at my former office. Since I left, I found that one associate took early retirement, another will take it next month, one associate got fired (and required security escort) and that my former manager is leaving the department entirely (former as in two years ago, not former as in one month ago) because she's sick of the new overhead management as well. So, perhaps it's for the best that I am not there anymore. It's turned into an all-out purge of the old guard, of which I was one of the first casualties.

Still, it's not fun not knowing what will happen next. But, at least I'm trying to pursue a bunch of different options. Hopefully, something will turn up fairly soon.

That pretty much sums up why I've been out of touch lately - hopefully this sheds some light on why.

PokerStage: Winter Classic

PokerStage: Winter Classic

December 6-10, 2007.

Hmmmmmm...............hopefully, things will be a bit smoother by then. Also, it hopefully won't be finals time, assuming I'm able to figure out how to go this time.

Test Time

Well, tomorrow I have an interesting exam.

Because they are now recruiting a new class, I decided to submit an application for the Marietta Police Department - follow in my sponsor's footsteps, I guess, and it's something I wanted to do when I was younger anyway. So what if it's not the 13th precinct in New York?

I got a callback for going through the process (which I wasn't even sure I would receive, but thankfully I did) and have the aptitude test tomorrow afternoon.

Thankfully, the physical exam would be later on, so I have some more time to shed some pounds. I actually might be in good enough shape right now to pass the test, but it's probably better for me to resume regular workouts anyway.

I haven't had many happy things to write about lately - I've been pretty listless on many fronts lately, hence the lack of quality postings. Really, of any postings.

An easier way to get it

Well, I didn't take part in any of the Potter hoopla last night at 12:01 AM. Wasn't planning on it with class this morning.

I did find myself having to go to the supermarket tonight, though, for all sorts of items as I normally do on a Saturday night.

What I didn't expect was that Deathly Hallows was being sold at the local Kroger, and that it was marked down already, and that there was already only one copy left.

That copy is now sitting next to the computer, so I think I know what I will be doing tomorrow aside from the lawn. It's bound to be better than the 842nd showing of Blue's Clues and the Wonder Pets.

A nice payout

Bounties can be fun.

Tonight was the Mookie. I haven't played it in a while. I was able to play tonight - sometimes, you gotta love cashing in freerolls and building up something, however small.

Riggstad decided to place a bounty on AlCantHang - one bottle of SoCo.

About 40 minutes in comes this awful, horrendous play.

Full Tilt Poker Game #2989548094: The Mookie - Crazed Poker (22691435), Table 2 - 50/100 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:51:26 ET - 2007/07/18
Seat 2: APOSEC72 (3,290)
Seat 3: PokerBrian322 (13,685)
Seat 4: GCox25 (2,980)
Seat 5: AlCantHang (2,500)
Seat 6: oossuuu754 (11,360)
Seat 7: BuddyDank (3,455)
Seat 8: crazdgamer (3,825)
Seat 9: JTS102 (6,500)
GCox25 posts the small blind of 50
AlCantHang posts the big blind of 100
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to APOSEC72 [Ac Td]
oossuuu754 folds
BuddyDank folds
crazdgamer folds
JTS102
APOSEC72 raises to 500
PokerBrian322 folds
GCox25 folds
AlCantHang has 15 seconds left to act
AlCantHang raises to 1,100
APOSEC72 has 15 seconds left to act
APOSEC72 raises to 3,290, and is all in (I made a crappy play here - shoved back against the wrong guy.)
AlCantHang calls 1,400, and is all in (Please let it be medium pair like I thought...)
APOSEC72 shows [Ac Td]
AlCantHang shows [Qh Qd] (Dammit)
Uncalled bet of 790 returned to APOSEC72
*** FLOP *** [Ks 2d 5d] (Bleak)
*** TURN *** [Ks 2d 5d] [Qc] (Bleaker, now down to four outs)
*** RIVER *** [Ks 2d 5d Qc] [Jc] (NO FUCKING WAY!)
APOSEC72 shows a straight, Ace high
AlCantHang shows three of a kind, Queens
APOSEC72 wins the pot (5,050) with a straight, Ace high
AlCantHang stands up

Sick, sick, sick. Totally sick.

That was an absolutely stupid play on my part, that early on, and I got stupidly lucky. Of course, the rest of the night, I got no respect for any raises at all, and I went out in 27th because I couldn't adjust to save my life tonight.

But, at least I'll be able to get my drink on and be very comfortable in the South. A little.

After the Mookie and Dookie finished, I fired up a .25/.50 NLHE table while completing my writing assignments for the week about torts and Mitch Williams, Richard Jewell, and Tim McVeigh - also known as three people who have never been in my kitchen.

I was able to finish up almost one full buyin, despite not getting a hand better than A-J or 2-2.

Strange, strange night.

Braves Pic Dumpage

A couple weeks ago, when the Red Sox were in town, we all got to go see the game at Turner Field. As a bonus, we were able to all go on the field before the game thanks to a local promotion.

Both kids enjoyed it, and for some reason the scoreboard operator kept putting the kids up on the Jumbotron. Alex, of course, thought it was really, really cool to see himself on a 75-foot screen.

On the runway, being silly.

In front of the Braves' dugout. Roger McDowell said hello. Unlike in Seinfeld, he didn't spit.

On the outfield grass, about 15 feet from Tim Hudson who started the game. Apparently it wasn't that inspiring, as the Braves lost 4-0.

We left after the 6th innings when the skies opened up for an hour-long rain delay. It was still quite fun for everyone, though.

Worlds Colliding

Who's bright idea was this?

Jesus, some people are desparate for weird TV stuff. Even the ones that already have shows.

I guess Matusow's just pissed he's not at the final table tomorrow. As for Griffin - well, I guess when you put crazy and crazy together it's not going to be good.

Hat tip to the Blogfather.

The Opposite of OCD

We all know a lot of people who obsess over one or two things.

Hevad (RaiNKhAN) Khan does not have that problem.




Yes, you did see that correctly. He is playing 26 Sit-and-goes AT THE SAME TIME.

Apparently, he does not have a problem focusing on only one game at a time either. He is holding his own in the Main Event with about half a million chips.

Nice stack.

Among the chip leaders right now is Gus Hansen, and they are well into the money now. Bastards.

Go here for continuous updates on the Main Event and Chip Counts, and yes, that really is Spider-Man still in the event.

Thanks to TripJax for re-linking to the clip, because, well, it's funny.

FTOPS V Coming Soon

Poker Stars does its thing in September...and Full Tilt will run its next FTOPS in August with a total guaranteed prize pool of seven million dollars.

Yikes.

Event Number, Time, Description, Buy-in, and Guaranteed Prize Pool listed below.

Event #1 - Wednesday,Aug 8th,21:00 ET, NL Hold 'em, $200 + $16, $500,000
Event #2 - Thursday,Aug 9th,21:00 ET, HORSE, $200 + $16, $150,000
Event #3 - Friday,Aug 10th,21:00 ET, PL Hold 'em, $200 + $16, $200,000
Event #4 - Saturday,Aug 11th,15:00 ET, PL Omaha6-max, $500 + $35, $150,000
Event #5 - Saturday,Aug 11th,16:30 ET, NL Hold 'emRebuy, $100 + $9, $300,000
Event #6 - Sunday,Aug 12th,18:00 ET, NL Hold 'em, $300 + $22, $1,000,000
Event #7 - Monday,Aug 13th,21:00 ET, NL Hold 'em6-max, $1,000 + $60, $1,000,000
Event #8 - Tuesday,Aug 14th,21:00 ET, FL OmahaHi/Lo, $200 + $16, $150,000
Event #9 - Wednesday,Aug 15th,21:00 ET, NL Hold 'em6-Max Rebuy, $300 + $22, $450,000
Event #10 - Thursday,Aug 16th,21:00 ET, 7 Stud, $200 + $16, $100,000
Event #11 - Friday,Aug 17th,21:00 ET, Limit Hold 'em6-max, $200 + $16, $200,000
Event #12 - Saturday,Aug 18th,15:00 ET, NL Hold 'em, $2,500 + $120, $600,000
Event #13 - Saturday,Aug 18th,16:30 ET, PL OmahaRebuy, $100 + $9, $200,000
Main Event - Sunday,Aug 19th,18:00 ET, NL Hold 'em, $500 + $35, $2,000,000

See you in September

Well, this should attract a bit of traffic to Poker Stars:

Hat tip to Otis and the others having fun/busting ass in Vegas right now trying to cover over 6000 players in one place.

Don't have a Poker Stars account? Click here to get one through Poker Source Online with my referral code.

I don't feel like a couple million.....

Prop Bet Gone Wild

2 Holes.

1 day.

7200-yard course (Bear's Best).

Less than 100 strokes/round.

$340,000 at stake.

1 hangover and almost no sleep.

110 degrees during the day.

Only in Vegas, courtesy of Wicked Chops.

Yep, I'd do it. Of course, I suck at golf, so taking such a bet would be a really bad idea.

He won the bet, got carted to the hospital for heat exhaustion, and then showed up the next day for Event #45 a few hours later and bubbled out.

More Geek than I thought.....

61% Geek

Click on the button to take it yourself and post away...

Only four years behind

Jimmy Kimmel is finally coming to Atlanta.

The show's only been on the air for over four years, so I guess that shows how far behind Atlanta can be sometimes.

Hey, after Tuesday's escapades, anything funny is worth posting.

A link to a Fred piece today.

Pic courtesy of MM.

I don't have much else to add. I'm glad both GA Senators voted against cloture, but still can't believe it went through considering how much opposition there was on all sides.

It makes getting screwed at the gas pump feel like a holiday.

Tragic

With all the news about the local tragedy of Chris Benoit's family this past weekend, a bizarre link showing all of the wrestlers since 1985 who have dies prior to age 65.

It's so long you'll need to scroll down a few times. Saw it this afternoon when I clicked into an ESPN Chat because, well, it was almost time to go for the day and my work was done.

Wow.

Bizarre travel plans

I spoke with my father earlier because he's turning 70 next week. He mentioned that he and his twin brother have booked a room on COMPS at the Rio....during the week of July 9....to celebrate their birthday.

Not that there's anything going on the week of July 9 at the Rio.

He didn't even know it was going on, so I was shocked they were able to book it. At least they had the good sense to avoid the Day 1's.

So, at least there will be two Franci in Vegas for the Main Event....even if it isn't the ones thought of at the beginning of the year.

Weird. Too bad neither one of them knows how to play Hold 'Em. They're more suited to Blackjack.

Crapping out through the years

Another draft note - for those feeling nostalgic, the Hawks' draft picks of the last four years:

2006
1 5 Shelden Williams Duke University (Disappointing - 5 PPG, 5 RPG in almost 20 minutes a night. Not that they could have uised Brandon Roy..........*sniffle, sob, sniffle*)
2 3 Solomon Jones University of South Florida (Still doesn't make sense, a year later)

2005
1 2 Marvin Williams University of North Carolina (Not a bust yet, but he better step it up in Season 3. A 13/5 is a good stepping stone, but that means you get better in Season 3, and I'm not just saying this because they passed on Chris Paul, or Deron Williams.....I'd better stop)
2 1 Salim Stoudamire University of Arizona (OK off the bench, but not really good)
2 29 Cenk Akyol (Who?)

2004 NBA
1 6 Josh Childress Stanford University (Decent, but 10 PPG and 5 RPG aren't enough for a #6 overall pick - which combined with the picks above may be why Horford may be the pick this year. Not that Luol Deng or Ande Igoudala would have been any better.....uh oh, here I go again)
1 17 Josh Smith (For once, a successful pick! Well, mostly.)
2 5 Donta Smith Southeastern Illinois College (2 unmemorable seasons)
2 8 Royal Ivey University of Texas at Austin (A bust so far after three seasons at PG - maybe Chris Duhon would have worked better - he went 1 pick later)
2 13 Viktor Sanikidze (Who?)

2003 NBA
1 21 Boris Diaw (Lousy while here, but great now for Phoenix. At least we got Joe Johnson in return)
2 8 Travis Hansen Brigham Young University (One season was enough, but we did pick up Zaza Pachulia who's at been serviceable at center, putting up a 12/7 last year)

The last lottery-level successful selection was probably Jason Terry, taken in 1999 at #10.

So, after four years, they STILL NEED A POINT GUARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Hawks have not had a decent one since Mookie Blaylock was traded. I'm not counting Speedy Claxton who unbelievable got $25 million over four years prior to last season, which is cap space the Hawks could have desparately used this offseason. The extra seven million per year combined with the rest of their available cap space would have allowed them to try to make a run at acquiring one player or another or another.

So, of course, they are probably going to pass on Mike Conley, Jr., Ohio State's PG, and take Horford, who while is a good player just duplicates areas which are somewhat filled (even if there were better selections available). They might be able to snag Joakim Noah at #11 if Al Thornton gets taken at #7.

If they do take Horford at #3, they better hope Acie Law IV is available at #11 and they can take him, otherwise there might be a riot while everyone searches for Billy Hunter so his head can be ripped off. I'm not sold on Javaris Crittenton - I'd prefer Law, even if he is an Aggie.

Just as long as we don't end up with the latest Chinese sensation. That would be very skeevy.

At least they don't look like bottles of ketchup

The Hawks unveiled their new uniforms over the weekend. Red, white, and blue make for a fairly good combination of colors, or so I've been told.


Home jersey here. Away jersey here.


Now, let's hope they draft the right players Thursday night to fill the jerseys. Who knows, I might decide to go to Philips for the draft party.

Redecorating

As noted in the comments earlier, my template was acting screwy.

Well, I'd been changing it, and finished today, so enjoy the new look.

The Next Chase?

With 756 seeming to be almost inevitable at this point, it got me to thinking again about other player's chances of becoming the all-time home run leader.

Ken Griffey moved to No. 7 all-time in HR yesterday, passing Mark McGwire, and is two behind Frank Robinson for 6th at 586.

Of course, I write this knowing it's almost certain the number to pass won't be 756, but possibly something closer to 800. Based on current numbers, there's really only six players who might be able to get there (in decreasing current totals).

1) Griffey (584) Unfortunately, he is 37 years old already, and would require a Bonds-like renaissance over the next few years to have a chance. Too bad, considering ten years ago it seemed like he was a virtual lock to make it and I don't think anyone would have disapproved.

2) Manny Ramirez (481, 35 years old) - Also pretty unlikely, but if he spends the rest of his career in Boston with lazy flies going over the Monster, may have a shot. We can't assume everyone stops playing at 40 anymore - Bonds is turning 43 soon, and in this time playing past 40 at a decent level isn't that far-fetched, especially as a full-time DH in a few years. He's starting to drop off a little bit this season with only 11 HR so far, but I'm not sure if it's jsut a short-term slump or the beginning of a long-term decline.

3) Alex Rodriguez (492, 31 years old) I knew he'd just passed 450, but didn't realize he may get to 500 by the All-Star Break. Despite 12 seasons of experience, he is still only 31 so he may only be at the HALFWAY POINT of his career. Even with a Griffey-like breakdown over the next several years, he would be within shouting distance of 800. (Griffey has had 165 HR in the previous 7 seasons with Cincinnati, so even if he were to just duplicate that, he would be past 650 at the same age).

4) Andruw Jones (353, 30 years old) Of course, hitting .199 for this season is not helping very much. Short-term, a change of scenery would be best and might get him untracked. Of course, the Braves didn't trade him to the Red Sox last year before he became a 10-5 guy, so they'll only get 20 cents on the dollar thanks to the worst contract push of all time which has made it much more unlikely he will get there. If he can get his head straight in time and return to 2005 form, the odds improve dramatically. If he moved to a better hitter's park, the odds improve as well. If he plays for another 12-15 years, he'd be close to or past 700.

5) Vladimir Guerrero (352, 31 years old) Consistent, but only two 40-plus homer seasons so far. An average of 37 HR per 162 games gets you close, but not quite there. Hurt a bit by the ballpark, too.

6) Albert Pujols (266, 27 years old) He's been amazing to this point - and 26-27 is normally when hitters enter their peak years. In his age 27 year, he's on pace for his fifth straight 40-HR season - and yet compared to prior seasons, he's technically having an off-year. The second-best chance to reach 800 after A-Rod.

So I guess the chances are as such:

1) A-Rod
2) Pujols
3) Andruw
4) Manny
5) Vlad
6) Griffey

In a weird way, folks who wouldn't necessarily root for A-Rod's success may decide to start doing just that if it means he topples Bonds - almost in the same way people didn't really warm to Mantle until Maris threatened to break the single-season record. Also weird since A-Rod shares a few of Mantle's vices.

Good thing he didn't get busted in a poker game last week - the club on 61st was one he's frequented in the past.

NYC Poker Bust

Well, apparently it's getting really hot in more ways than one in New York.

Three poker clubs in midtown Manhattan were busted up Thursday night. The Chelsea club had about 100 folks (firsthand account here)

I've said before and will say again. DO THE COPS HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO????

F***ing waste of time and f***ing ridiculous.

Next up, you will not be allowed to curse, smoke, drink, work overtime, or anything else.

Wake me when New York finishes turning into France.

Defective RINO

Bloomberg leaves GOP, declares as "unaffiliated"

He won't be missed considering he was a Dem before switching in 2001 and continues to act as such. Aside from the registration, it's hard to name one Republican position he really supported.

Good riddance.

A cover that never should have happened

Slayer, meet Tori Amos, covering Raining Blood.

I'm not going to dare embed that video here, but yes, it is as bad as you imagine it might be. Easily ten times worse than Sheryl Crow covering Guns N Roses.

I'll embed a live version instead so you can bang your stress away on a Friday afternoon. I've found it's great for driving away people from your cube - especially when they are playing it even faster than normal.

Friday Video Folly

Today's video is in honor of the Price is Right, broadcasting its final episode today after 35 years on the air.

Enjoy.

Price is Right Nipple Slip

An excited contestant races down to the podium, only to give Bob Barker and the audience the nipple slipping of their lives.

Is there an extra scoop with that?

A million dollar ice cream cone is on the auction block.

Put up for sale by Bruster's, this is not your normal $3 waffle cone.

Proceeds to benefit Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

Swiss Miss

Check out this map of the U.S., but redrawn to show the size of state GDP compared to other countries.

Full listing of equivalencies here.

Apparently, Georgia equals Switzerland, which explains all of the alpine hostels, ski bunnies, fine chocolate, and anonymous banking around here lately. I don't think Alabama would enjoy being labeled as Iran, though.

7*7*7

The number seven comes up repeatedly throughout the Bible and Catholic teachings.



Well, things have a funny way of working out, it seems.



Due to unexpected circumstances, we scheduled Sammie's baptism. We had thought it might be in the fall, but with a lot of things happening right now, we scheduled it a bit sooner.



As the Church only does baptisms on the first and third Saturdays of the month, we decided to go with the first Saturday of the month.



If you're looking at a calendar right now, then you've realized that means the baptism takes place on 7/7/07.



A bit fitting, ya think?

Trekkie Quiz

Your results:
You are Worf

Worf 75% James T. Kirk (Captain) 70% Spock 70% Geordi LaForge 70% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 65% Chekov 60% Deanna Troi 60% Data 59% Mr. Sulu 55% Jean-Luc Picard 55% Beverly Crusher 55% Will Riker 55% Mr. Scott 45% Uhura 45% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 40%

You are trained in the art of combat and are usually intimidating.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Quiz

Turned to the Dark Side, Haiku-style

Junior joins Hendrick.

He will team with Jeff Gordon.

I have just thrown up.

(Come on, it's better than the unintelligble crap Rosie posts in haiku form)

In

Well, polls showed Fred Thompson in either second or a tie for first coming into tonight, when he was not yet an official candidate.

As in, before the Tonight Show.

Well, now, they've "entered a new phase".

I wonder how the next poll will look.

First Arnold, then Fred. How the hell did Jay Leno turn into a kingmaker?

26=3?????

Paris Hilton was ordered back to jail and threw an almighty tantrum when she was ordered back to jail to fill the rest of her sentence - another 40 days (as low as 20 if she starts acting right)

She is 26 years old.

The tantrum she threw wouldn't be tolerated from a 26-month old. Even Alex wouldn't throw a tantrum like that. Strange that a 3-year old can be more mature than a 26-year old.

And no, I don't feel any pity at all for her. She's lucky she didn't kill someone when driving drunk.

Dumbass.

Dolla Dolla Bill y'all

Today, Congress began the process of removing "Dollar Bill" Jefferson.

I guess when it's possible to get 235 years in prison, such measures are needed.

Thankfully, Jefferson's already resigned his committee post and is on a leave of absence to "successfully fight" the indictment.

Feel free to laugh amongst yourselves.

All of man's priorities at once

All in one fun-filled weekend.



This weekend brings Creative Loafing's Beer Fest. Saturday, from 2-7 PM, in Woodruff Park downtown. Too bad my first class isn't this Saturday, because it's across the street. Click here for buy one, get one free tickets.



Also this weekend, the Crocs AVP Tour comes to town, and they'll be dumping a whole bunch of sand into Atlantic Station for the matches. I'll pimp them because Crocs used to be one of my clients.



Well, that takes care of the booze and sports.....as for the other male priority, here you go. Just remember that there's probably a good chance she could beat you up.

Template Change

Yes, the template here is a bit different.

Instead of devoting twelve or so cranky posts to all things political, I just changed the template and that's all I plan on saying about political states of affairs. Other folks can write a helluva lot better than me about such thing right now, anyway.

It might just be political burnout.

The New Yankee Godfather?

OK, so let me get this straight:

Family boss, in failing health and under pressure from rival families (teams) hands off power to Steve Swindal.

Swindal is out after a divorce of Steinbrenner's daughter, which I guess is better than a toll-booth shooting of Sonny.

The daughter is probably going to come back home somehow in a reduced fashion (so she's good for the Connie role).

Middle son Hank (Fredo) is estranged from the family and passed over for youngest brother Hal (Michael) who consolidates his power over the family business as the Yankees' new general partner and makes his other brother-in-law Felix Lopez into a trusted advisor (like adopted Tom Hagen being consigliere).

Does this make Joe Torre into Clemenza? A-Rod into Luca Brazi thanks to their current last-place showing? And of Omar Minaya or Theo Epstein, which one is Tattaglia and which one is Barzini?

And where are my goddamn cannolis?

Lumpy yumminess

Until yesterday, I'd forgotten just how messy it can get feeding an infant.

You'd be amazed where mushed-up carrots can end up thanks to a six-month old. Yesterday was the first attempt with jar food, and while Sammie liked it, it was also quite messy.

Alex thought it was an absolute riot and one of the funniest things he'd ever seen. It's a pretty accurate view, I think.

NETELLER Releasing Funds.....Finally...Maybe

I'll wait until we actually hear that folks are getting their money back. Otherwise, it's about time.

Anyone want to compute the interest earned on that $55 million over the last several months?

Neteller to release U.S. funds

H/t to Chops.

Moving Up

Let's go with a happy post for #500 - why not?

Yesterday was a beautiful day in the ATL. We'd all had a busy day Saturday, between an all-day staff meeting, babybsitter, out to dinner, a twilight trip to the zoo for Northside Hospital parents (which is a lot, considering Northside is a baby factory), and a nighttime drive around downtown to show off the Centennial Park lights and fountain and see the new World of Coke, it was a busy day and a late night.

Around noon, I got Alex ready to head out so that Kim and Sammie could get some needed sleep. Alex didn't need it too much - he was, as usual, the first one awake. We went over to Kennesaw Mountain, where I figured it might be good to drain off some of the excess energy by starting to climb the mountain - when he got tired, we could just head back down. Also, he could look at the Civil War campsite and reenactment that was set up during the weekend.

What I DIDN'T expect was that a 3-year old boy would have no problem climbing a 1800-foot mountain, so we made it to the top in about 30 minutes where he got a huge kick out of how high he had climbed.

What I also didn't expect was that, as we were walking back down the mountain, we would see two adult deer grazing, and then be cut off on the path by a mother deer and her TWIN baby fawns that decided to cross, stare at us and size us up, and then keep going down the mountain. I didn't have the camera with me, unfortunately, but Alex still got a thrill out of seeing wild deer, especially baby deer, and the fact that he made it all the way up and down the mountain by himself - no carrying, no stroller, nothing except his feet for the 1.25 mile trail each way.

After it was all over, he settled down for a nice-long, two-hour nap. So, I guess he got plenty worn out. Too bad I can't bottle his energy, though.

The travel ban is still in effect

Well, it didn't quite go as I'd hoped this weekend on the felt. I finished 27th out of 54 in the Aruba qualifier when I pushed short-stacked with K-Q....and got called by pocket Aces. At least I made it to the top half and, in the end, it was free.

I did go to the live game Friday night, and after playing well through the monkey hour of rebuys, I busted about 10 minutes into the freezeout period where I didn't trust my instincts and ran A-10 suited hearts (yeah, I know, terrible call) into a pretty good players who I had on a push with not much.......until he flopped over pocket Kings. I hit the ten on the flop, but couldn't get another ten or ace and I bombed out. Terrible, terrible play by me, because I ignored my first (and as it turns out, correct) instincts and calculations of what he could have - if I'd done it correctly, I would have folded it, but I ignored it, made a bad decision, and got my stack decimated.

Ouch. At least all I was out was the buyin and add-on - it could have been worse had I forked over rebuy(s) as well.

Have a good weekend

Smile. It's the weekend.

Bye Bye, Billy

Well, it happened.

Billy Donovan left Florida after all. However, he didn't leave to go back to Kentucky, but is staying somewhat local and going to Orlando to coach the Magic.

I like it, for several reasons:

1) He stays somewhat in his comfort zone, as opposed to moves from Gainesville to DC (Spurrier), Lexington to Boston (Pitino) or other flameouts who left college to go halfway across the country. Heck, he may not even have to move from where he lives now!

2) $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. He'll be making twice as much in Orlando as he would have at Florida.

3) Talent. Florida is losing Horford, Brewer, and Noah to the pros so it's going to be a year of lowered results (sorry, guys). Orlando's an up and coming team that made the playoffs, with Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard to build around.

4) His departure means we won't have to deal with the remote possibility of a three-peat in Gainesville, even with those players leaving. Makes all of us non-Florida fans a little happier.

Any way to convince Urban Meyer to head somewhere else?

How to get tens of thousands of degenerates together.....

Today is June 1.

It is the first day of the WSOP, and the first of 55 events are kicking off.

Want to keep up with offbeat news from Sin City over the next two months? Add Tao of Poker to your feeds and experience two months straight in Vegas without the hangovers or easy vices.

I'm not there....I'm still in Atlanta and have no plans to go anywhere for a while since I haven't qualified for any WSOP events (and probably won't since I don't see myself freerolling in, and I'm not planning to reload, either).

I might play live tonight, but I'm not too sure about it. Tomorrow is an all-day meeting, as well as the final CardPlayer qualifier for the Aruba Poker Classic so I may decide sleep is more important.

I qualified about a month ago for the final on Absolute Poker so that will take place tomorrow at 2:00. The qualifiers for this tournament were limited to just CardPlayer folk, so there's only 53 people in the final tomorrow. Top 9 cash, and 1st gets a nice package for the live tournament in Aruba which is also a WPT event.

Of course, if that were to happen, I'd have to reconsider my plan to not do any travel for a while. With most if not all expenses paid, I could be easily swayed.

Bad

Let's just say this is going to be one of the weirdest auctions you'll probably ever see.

Over 1,800 of Michael Jackson's items and items of his siblings, mementoes, and other strange items (like a deed to Neverland Ranch) will be auctioned off tomorrow at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas.

I'm partial to items #73 and 75 - Orange/maroon bellbottoms and blue/green bellbottoms - or item #610, Latoya's percocet pill bottle, or best of all, Item #1379, a NAACP Medal of Freedom for Joe Jackson (given to him in between whuppin's).

I do not see a listing for Bubbles, though. Although I'm intrigued by item #1737, an autographed 12 * 14 photo of.....Billy Ray Cyrus?

Hat tip to The Las Vegas Blog.

It's close to midnight and something evils lurking in the dark
Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart
You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes,
Youre paralyzed

You hear the door slam and realize theres nowhere left to run
You feel the cold hand and wonder if you'll ever see the sun
You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination
But all the while you hear the creature creepin up
You're out of time

Theyre out to get you, there's demons closing in on every side
They will possess you unless you change the number on your dial
Now is the time for you and I to cuddle close together
All thru the night Ill save you from the terror on the screen,
I'll make you see

Darkness falls across the land
The midnite hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y'alls neighbourhood
And whosoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
And rot inside a corpses shell

The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grizzy ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom
And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller

That this is thriller, thriller night
cause I can thrill you more than any ghost would dare to try
Girl, this is thriller, thriller night
So let me hold you tight and share a killer, diller, chiller
Thriller here tonight

Cause this is thriller, thriller night
And no ones gonna save you from the beast about to strike
know its thriller, thriller night
Youre fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller

Cause this is thriller, thriller night
There aint no second chance against the thing with forty eyes
You know its thriller, thriller night
Youre fighting for your life inside of killer, thriller tonight

I ain't sayin she's a gold digga....

At least they are open about it.

The Rich Guys Trophy Wife Speed Date Tour kicks off in Atlanta.

15 cities, including New York, DC, Miami, and of course, Las Vegas.

Apparently, Atlanta gets to be the guinea pig for this little adventure. $50 for ladies, $500 for the guys with a guaranteed seat for $10,000.

Yikes.

Written in the AJC, because apparently it is a slow news day for them too.

Georgia's just Super-Duper

Georgia moves primary to Feb. 5

That makes Georgia the 15th state to decide to hold its primary on that date - nine months before the general election.

In other leapfrogging news, Florida will now have its primary on Jan. 29, the same day as South Carolina. It seems to be a move that would favor any Southern candidate.

Gee, I wonder who might benefit....... (was going to post that news, but got beat to it)

Weekend in review

Things have started to cool down a bit after New Orleans, registration, and three days solo with kiddies. It's a good thing, since I think I was on the verge of a complete and total breakdown. Not that I'm too far away from it now.......

Saturday and Sunday were very dull days. The highlight was going out Sunday for a picnic at Kennesaw National Park, where we tried our best to wear Alex out completely so he would sleep late on Monday. Didn't work, as he woke up at 6:30 AM on the holiday. Thank God for Clifford and Sesame Street.

Monday involved trying to work the barbecue without anything or anyone catching on fire. Mission accomplished, and after steaks, hot dogs, and smoked sausages, we were quite satisfied with the new mini-grill.

And that's it. With class starting and all the other stuff we've had it's time to cut back on some things for a little while. No travel, nothing extraneous, no additions to the poker bankroll (which at this point is nonexistant anyway after cashouts) for a while. It's probably better that way for a little while, considering how the first part of the year has seemed so hectic, stressful, and crazy.

It'll be a nice, boring summer. Then again, it can't be too boring with these guys running around.

Yes, those are Nemo beads. He picked them out himself. He was very proud of them. He'll probably bring them for Show and Tell to show off to everyone.

Spam Trek

I'm not in the mood to write much today, so we'll just have a fun mashup today. Have a good weekend.

Knights of the Star Trek Table

The crew of the starship Enterprise perform a rousing rendition of the Monty Python classic in this inspired mashup.

Best of Both Worlds

Well, the draft sure worked well in terms of local benefit and karmic payback!

Portland and Seattle get the top two picks, with Atlanta moving up to third. If Atlanta had been 4th, the pick would have gone to Phoenix as part of the Joe Johnson deal - it was only top-3 protected this year. In addition, the Hawks get the 11th pick from the Pacers thanks to the Al Harrington deal because the Pacers did not move up.

Good for Seattle, as Kevin Durant (assuming that's the pick) would help tremendously. Good for Portland, for actually giving a damn last year and not being the Jail Blazers anymore.

Right now, the Hawks have no pick next year. But two picks in the top 11 this year is a nice little bit of compensation. I'm hoping the #3 pick is Mike Conley, Jr. from Ohio State, so that the Hawks can finally HAVE A POINT GUARD!!!!!!! As for the #11 pick, I have no idea.

Last, for fans of the Grizzlies, Celtics, and Bucks: This is what you deserve for tanking the end of the season. Serves you right.

Now go get your shinebox.

UPDATE: Again, Celtics fans, the tanking and the fans' erstwhile endorement of it made this inevitable. Shut up and stop whining. You get what you give. Jeez.

One last trip note

The price of gas went up 23 cents from Thursday through yesterday, finally topping $3. It's ranging here from 3.06 to 3.35.

I'm thinking most of you feel like this picture too.

H/t to Cowboy Poker for the picture.

Playing Tag Again

OK, here goes, the latest meme (whatever happened to chain letter?):

7 Things About Me You Might Not Know

1) I had my first drink at 15 when I went to the local bar with my father. It was a Budweiser. Thankfully, my tastes in alcohol have improved since then. Besides, if you're going to learn how to drink, it's probably best someone who knows how to drink does the teaching. Plus, I got to see numbers and football picks get run from the Irish bar to local "benefactors".

2) I almost never came to Atlanta. My last two picks were Emory and NYU, so I almost stayed in New York for college. Things would have been quite different if I'd stayed in New York.

3) Unlike a lot of other people, I did not play poker in college. I've actually only been playing about 4 years by now.

4) Growing up, I wanted to be a policeman or a lawyer, because I had people that stepped in as substitute parents in a way and one was a policeman (and my confirmation sponsor) and one was a lawyer (who helped out a lot in high school after my mother died). Of course, I ended up becoming neither and I'm now stuck in a craptastic job. Yippee.

5) I almost transferred from Emory three times. The only time it almost actually happened, though, was toward the end of my sophomore year, when I almost transferred to Loyola University in New Orleans. I just realized this weekend that first visit to New Orleans took place over ten years ago, so I guess the love affair with the city has been going for a while.

6) I have never lived outside of Eastern Time. I've lived in New York, then Atlanta, Long Island, Decatur (GA), Brooklyn, and back to Atlanta. I didn't really decide to make Atlanta living permanent until the end of 1998, as I had a rough summer in New York - crappy work, broke up with my then-girlfriend, broke my hand, weird Goth-y roommates, got mugged, and just didn't really have fun that summer. I think that's what made me decide it was time to leave New York for good.

7) I have traveled over 40,000 miles for my fraternity activities. I've been to five national conventions all over the country (Minneapolis, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Denver, and Louisville), and a whole bunch of other conferences. I've presented and taught workshops and worked with chapters in 13 different states, from Georgia to New York to Texas to California. Through my life, I've been to 20% of the counties in the United States (and if you want to find out how many you've done, click here.)

Well, that covers me. I hereby tag CrankyCon and GSB.

Recapping the wild ride

This was probably one of the strangest, wildest, most stressful trips I've ever done.

Considering all the long or extended or crazy trips I've taken in the past, that's saying something.

DAY 1

Arrived late Thursday and, after dinner with the family and checking into the room with the very nice river view, I finally arrived in the poker room around 10:00. I signed up for the $65 satellite and took my seat. It's pretty fast paced, as the starting stack is only 800 chips. I did pretty well, up to a point, where I made an absolutely horrid call with K-Q (having hit top pair on the flop) into someone's turned set to decimate my stack. I stuck around for a while but fell out in third when I had to push as an ultra-shorty with j-9 against 4-2 - and of course, the 4 came on the turn to send me away in 3rd.

At least it was better than last year's satellite showing.

Afterwards, I did the same thing as last year - head to my fun little 3-6 table, bought in for 20 BB, and saw it had gotten fairly wild.

Here's one example:

I am in the BB. Seat next to me puts in a straddle. It's raised around the table (I get out of the way) and capped, pre-flop, with five players in for $15 ALREADY.

Eventually, it's a three-way showdown for an $200+ pot. The guy who put out the straddle shows his pocket kings. Another player mucks. The third shows the hand he called and raised all the way through..........

Jack-Eight.

With a Ten on the flop, Nine on the Turn, and a Seven on the River.

Knowing I was surrounded by that sort of donkery suddenly relaxed me quite a bit. Straddle guy wasn't too happy, and left immediately in disgust.

I stuck at the table for about two hours, and finished up 18 BB's. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiice way to start. The table was getting a little small and a lot tighter, and I decided I'd move from 3-6 LHE to 1-2 NLHE and see how well I could do there.

Max buy in was 200 but I bought in for half, as I do a lot online. ON THE VERY FIRST HAND, I look down to see two black aces. Uh oh. I really, really don't want to be a push-monkey on the first hand, but I don't want to get sucked out by slow-playing aces, either.

One other player bumps it to $22. It's folded around, and I think he'll call if I push, even on the first hand, preflop. So, I take a deep breath and shove them all in. I get the call I want, and he flips up A-K (no pocket pair!) The aces hold up, and I get a quick double up.

I stayed in for another hour or so, and head upstairs around 3:30 up 1.5 buy-ins from 1-2, and up 200 for Day 1. Not too shabby.

DAY 2

Here's where bad things started happening.

I entered another $65 satellite that morning, to try one last time to enter the $550 event at noon. I only lasted to 7th when my shorty push with K-rag ran into pocket queens.

Lunch was awful, as Alex decided to take the non-listening to another level by climbing on and through the fences on the RiverWalk balcony. After ignoring our first few requests to get off to avoid falling down to the walk below or into the river, it finally got to the point of having to take him, end lunch, and carry him all the way back to the room for an immediate nap.

It's not fun lugging a 40-lb child a half-mile through a mall back to a hotel. He did go down for the nap, though, so he would be somewhat refreshed to go to his cousins' house.

After seeing everyone else off for the party, I dialed in to check my work voice-mail and see if I had any good news regarding the position I interviewed for on Monday.

Turns out, I got a message from the recruiter.

Turns out, I wasn't getting the position. No real reasons given in the voice-mail.

At this point, I should have cancelled the rest of the plans I had and done absolutely NOTHING, thanks to an EV in the gutter. I was still up about 130 at this point.

Nope.

I donked off about 40 that afternoon in various settings, mostly poker and slots. I also tried going for a very long walk through the Quarter. It didn't help much.

After dinner at the Gumbo Shop, I attempted to go back to the 1-2 NLHE table since the room had cleared out from being so crowded from the circuit event earlier.

A new table opened up, and ten of us were seated. I bought in for a full buy-in this time, with it being brand new and all. I started moving up slowly, and was up about a quarter of a buy-in when it became obvious it was time to pack up (because the tilt hadn't completely f-ed e up yet).

Hand #1: I've got pocket 9's which had already been nice to me earlier in the session and the night before. I mis-played it and it cost me about 1/3 of my total stack. I just could not get a read on the guy, and misplayed my card to the point where it was obvious I'd missed the flop (which had an Ace and King on it). Just awful play by me.

Hand #2: Not as much my fault. I get A-Q in middle position, and raise it up, getting one caller. The board pairs my Ace on the flop, and I fire, getting a call. The turn puts a flush draw out there. I fire again, getting another call. The river makes a possible flush if he has the cards. I check it - and so does he. He got runner-runner to make his flush after calling the flop raise with nothing.

As it's time for another dealer change and table rake, I rack up and leave down another 70. At this point, I am up a total of approximately $20.

DAY 3

None. That's right, I quit. I decided I was facing too much negative tilt and that it was best to avoid the tables. We went to the aquarium, and Reginelli's for dinner. We drove by Tipitina's, around 7:30, and the line was already around the block. Heard the Fats Domino show went great - it was his first back in New Orleans. We got back to the hotel and took Alex on the streetcar up and down the riverwalk.

DAY 4

Leave New Orleans around 1, after taking everyone on the ferry to Algiers. Arrive home at 11 Central Time - Midnight eastern. 10 hours taken for a normally 7.5 hour trip.

Thank God I had today off. Even with the day off I don't think I've drained off all of the tilt.

Maybe this weekend will help. I don't think, though, that I will be taking on any long trips in the near future. Maybe when the kids are a bit older, but not anytime soon.

Picture post to follow later this week.

Cajun Car Ride

Courtesy of the Blues Brothers:

Well, come on ev'rybody

Take a trip with me

Well, down the Mississippi

Down to New Orleans

They got the honeysuckle bloomin

On the honeysuckle vine

And a-love is a-bloomin there

All-a the time

You know ev'ry Southern Belle

Is a Mississippi Queen

Down the Mississippi

Down in New Orleans

Well, come on take a stroll

Down to Basin Street

Yeah, listen to the music

With the Dixieland beat

A-where the magnolia blossoms

Fill the Air

Yeah, You ain't been to heaven

Till you been down there

Well, it's almost time to pack up and head out on the road.





Just in the last hour or so, I've gotten a bit more excited about heading out.



Thankfully, I do not have much more to do at work. Hopefully, I can finish mowing and packing and get to sleep at a decent hour so that an early departure is possible.




I'm hoping to arrive at the Hilton/Harrah's in the late afternoon and play in a satellite tomorrow night to win my way into the Circuit event beginning Friday afternoon.


If not, well, I can always do like last year and rip up the cash tables. Hopefully, I can pocket 7 BB's per hour again like I did last year.




Beyond that, not quite sure. A ferry tour and an aquarium visit are in store at some point, and possibly a visit to Tipitina's if I cash very strongly - because, well, you don't get many chances to see Fats Domino anymore.




I'll probably post during the weekend, in between hands, trips, and other debauchery. We'll see. But if I happen to run into anyone who you would recognize, I'm sure there will be something here.

In the meantime....stay classy.

Are you sure it's not April Fools' Day?

If this is the hottest around, then my taste in women has dropped significantly.

Lindsey Lohan Tops Maxim "Hot 100"

Apparently we've gone from heroin chic to cocaine chic.

The rankings of the next few were Jessica Alba, Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Biel, Ali Larter, Eva Mendes, Rihanna, Eva Longoria, Fergie, Sienna Miller, Angelina Jolie, Beyonce Knowles and Katherine Heigl. I'm somewhat sure all of them should be ranked ahead - I'm not completely sure because I don't know who Ali Larter is.

Yikes.

What Color is Your Brain?

Your Brain is Red

Of all the brain types, yours is the most impulsive. If you think it, you do it. And you can get the bug to pursue almost any passion. Your thoughts are big and bold. Your mind has no inhibitions. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about love, your dreams, and distant places.

What Color Is Your Brain?

Hunting trip

If you've watched Insomniac back when it was on a few years ago, you might remember Dave Attell riding with the Jefferson County police to hunt nutria.

They are like beavers, except not nearly as cute or helpful to the environment.

Told ya. Not cute. At all.

Read more about Jefferson Parish's solution of the last ten years - shooting every one they see.

The money quote:

"The Sheriff's Office has eradicated 14,437 nutria since the snipers picked up their rifles, including about 412 this year, according to statistics provided by the department. "

Only in New Orleans, folks.

Almost no turning back

I got a bit of good news yesterday.

Apparently, I managed to appear halfway competent through first and second interviews, and have been scheduled for a final interview for a position within the Bank to take place Monday morning.

It's a big step up for me, if I can secure it. Hopefully, I will not screw it up too badly. It'll be a lot more research-intensive and travel-intensive, with up to 40-50% in DC and NYC and nowhere else.

Unfortunately, this is where one point of our personnel policy is a bit troublesome. If you are interviewing for another position within the company, you are required to inform your manager before the final interview takes place, so that references and performance can be checked and verified. It's not the case for external positions, only internal ones.

I got the callback for the final interview yesterday, so that meant I got the pleasure of telling my boss this morning about the other opportunity I was pursuing within the bank. Thankfully, it was taken very well - not in a thank-God-you're-leaving way but a good-luck-with-it-hoping-for-the-best way.

Of course, should an offer arise from another party, that will be a whole different story altogether.

But at least it's now known I'm serious about pursuing something else. I just hopes this ends in a better manner than other pursuits lately (even if this search is still only six weeks old.)

Keep your fingers crossed.

Dis-Grace

Nancy Grace show to end on Court TV

Darn. I mean, she was just a shining beacon of fair and balanced journalism.

I mean, just a shame that her exemplary work isn't better received.

Right?



Nah. Must be an exception to the rule, right?



Well, that's just two instances, really......



Are you sure it's not just piling on?



Aw, screw it, just mash them all up. At least her idiotic bloviating will be on fewer channels now.



My apologies for blowing out your bandwidth.

OK, not really.

Marine Hymn

Just a re-post of Fred Thompson's latest.

Because it's a pretty good one.

Too bad he wasn't one of the 10 on stage last week. Maybe next time.

Getting back to normal...not in a good way

Man killed, teen wounded in Lower 9th Ward

These stories are getting too damn common again. It's getting to the point now where even I'm starting to worry about all of us heading down there soon, even if it is only for three days.

And if I'm getting worried about it at this point...........that's not good.

Perhaps now is NOT the time to start having Guardsmen leave the city. I don't know what Warren Riley is thinking to say that it is getting better and more under control with regards to crime. I guess only having 2-3 people killed per day is perfectly acceptable.

Why do I have a strange feeling Greensburg, KS will recover quicker now than New Orleans?

It boils down again to a lack of leadership, which still is lacking and may never get fixed. If folks didn't have enough brains to get rid of Nagin and his cronies when they had the chance, then what do you expect?

Perhaps I will feel better about things after next week, but right now, I'm just not feeling it. It's still a glacial pace and a long way to go. I guess I'd hoped that by now there'd be enough of an impetus to make a lot more progress, but it just doesn't feel that way.

Leggo my...Lego

OK, this is pretty damn funny. The Brick Testament? Imagine how much time it would take for over 3,000 separate setups.

Damn.

And by damn, I mean you might be damned for finding it funny.

So let it be written, so let it be done.

H/t to Katitude.

Oh, what the heck, since I've got the line up top, I'll post a video too since I'm offline the rest of the day. After having to listen to The Memory Remains on the way in to work, this will help drum that piece of crap out of my head.



Peace out.

Latest Straw Poll

Well, better to be one week late than not at all.

Another Primary straw poll posted, so vote early and often (and no, I don't have one for the left side of the aisle).

Fire away.

Getting to know you, getting to know all about you

Because I have a big mouth and I need material, I volunteered to be interviewed by GSB. I gotta say, definitely interesting questions. Probably better than what Craig Kilborn could have come up with.

1) Please name and describe the four P's of the marketing mix, and choose a fifth P that you would consider to be important in your own marketing plan.

Dadgummit, I'm taking the semester off right now, but here goes:

Product - What you sell
Place - Where you sell/how to get the product to the customer
Price - How much you sell it for and making sure you price it right
Promotion - How you let people know what you have for sale and encouraging them to buy it

A fifth "P"? I'll say "People" because without people you won't really be able to accomplish any of the other four items - determing the right price, making the product, promoting the product, or buying the product.

At least, that's what is drilled into our heads here on a daily basis when we aren't passing out printouts telling us ways to save on paper. That's my Dilbert moment of the day.

2) Assess the business, political, and social implications of recent maneuvers by Bank of America to provide credit cards to individuals without government identification (ostensibly, illegal immigrants) and take a position on the increasing consolidation of the finance and banking sectors in the United States.

This is a misnomer, as Bank of America is NOT providing credit cards to individuals without government identification. The program which garned such publicity offers cards to LEGAL immigrants only, with valid and proper identification as listed in federal laws i.e. the Patriot Act.

As for industry consolidation, I don't feel there can be much more beyond this point without a change in federal laws and guidelines. As to purchases up to this point, if a bank was operating in a profitable, serviceable, and admirable position, it wouldn't have been in the position to be bought out/taken over/merged in the first place. Successful banks don't sell themselves out. The removal of weak entities from the marketplace only serves to make the market stronger and laws are in place to keep any bank (Cash, Citi, BAC) from establishing any sort of monopoly power over any specific area. Oligopolistic power isn't even possible among such large entities because of the geographic distribution across the country - it is rare that even two of the megabanks are in the same market, let alone three (New York may be the only one that has all three). There is nothing prohibitive about using any of the megabanks competitors for any product - credit cards, checking accounts, CD's, loans, mortgages, investment accounts - so I do not see consolidation to this point as bad thing, nor do I think it would be bad if such consolidation went even a little further. There is a break point, but I don't think we're anywhere close to it.

3) After you die, you are given a chance to be reborn and chose your gender. Would you be the same sex you are now?

Hm. Tough one. I'd say since I'd already lived a full life as a guy, I'd probably choose the other one. Variety is always interesting. I would probably be a lot more manipulative, too.

4) If you knew that there would be a nuclear war in one week, what would you do?

Move to Aruba or some other tropical isle so that we're not in range of the fallout.

Wait, is this the secret of Lost? Wow. Now I'm free Wednesday nights again. I totally didn't get that from the last few episodes.

5) Fill in the blank: Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox has been known to ________ his wife.

Do the same thing that the Braves have been doing to the Mets this year.

Now, if you want to be interviewed too, here's what ya gotta do:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your weblog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in thesame post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Gone

OK, I'm out of here for a couple days. I'm hitting the road for Columbia, South Carolina this afternoon for an APO LEADS training weekend we've set up.

In the meantime, enjoy the weekend, in one of two ways:

1. Free Comic Book Day

2. Cinco de Mayo, the latest excuse for amateur night at bars everywhere.

Or, enjoy it both ways. Not that there's anything wrong with that.....

Debatable Drinking Game

Well, the Republican candidates are debating tonight.

What better way to liven it up than to play a drinking game?

Take one drink for any of the following:

"When I'm President..." - gotta start with an easy one, it'll get your buzz going nicely :)

"War on Terror"
"Out-of-Control Spending"
"Cut and Run"
"Cowardly Democrat(s)"
"Judicial Activist"
"Nuclear Proliferation"
"Flip-flop"
"Culture of Corruption"
"PATRIOT Act"
"Family Values
Anyone goes over their allotted time
Anyone talks about Virginia Tech in ANY regard - media, gun control, doesn't matter
Any camera shot of a Reagan during the debate

Take two drinks for the following:

"Amnesty"
"Guest Worker"
"Deficit Reduction"
"Gipper"
Any blaming of the media - any type (MSM, blogs, nutroots - go for it!)
Any website pimpage by a candidate
Any pimpage of a candidate's military service
"Fair Tax"
Anyone talks about campaign finance reform

Take three drinks:

"WMD"
"Ethanol"
"Osama"
"Reaganomics"
"Katrina"
"Exit Strategy"
"9/11 changed everything"
Anyone makes an accusation to label another candidate a closet liberal

Drain it:

"Reagan mantle"

It's being held at the Ronald Reagan Libraryat 8 PM Eastern.

Keep plenty of supplies handy.

Feel free to add your own special touches. I probably missed a bunch, but it's a good start.

Also being carried online at Politico.

I hope I'm right

Had an interview today, and it went very well. Was told at the end of it that I'd be invited in for a final interview with the Client Mgr. and BDO, and the interviewer said, in the words of American Idol, "welcome to Hollywood".

We then talked about the show for a minute, making me thankful for probably tohe only time in my life that I was forced to watch the damn show.

I did get asked about last night's show and what I thought would happen. I said Jordin was probably safe because last week's votes were counted, and that the beat-box guy (Blake) was in big trouble.

I'm hoping my evaluation for this position doesn't ride entirely on my evaluation of AI contestants. Unless, of course, I'm completely right, in which case I hope it is!

Manamana

Mashed to Star Wars.

Doo doo do do doo....manamana.