Indulging Dorkiness

OK, I'll admit that I'm a tad interested in going to the movies to see Star Trek. I was thinking a little bit about even taking Alex, but some parts of the movie might be a bit too confusing or, um, advanced for his age.

Fine.

I've got three hangups, though.

1) How well it might fit in to other known qualities - kind of the same reservations I had about Batman Begins, I guess, what with the current trend of "rebooting" a bunch of past series.



2) Shaun of the Dead as Scotty?






3) Harold (as in Harold and Kumar) as Sulu?



Lastly, if weed is introduced in the movie, will the new Kirk start singing Rocket Man?

Check up

NO, I did not fall off the face of the earth.

It sure seemed that way, though.

I finished up my final final exam on Thursday night, but couldn't really relax yet because I was not sure if I did well enough on my last two finale exams.

On Friday, I had a long talk with some folks at work, where it became readily apparent that I needed to get some things done which had been pending for too long. Mostly, this was due to my own actions, not anything else. I'd focused much more on studying and papers and not so much on projects that needed to get done at work.

As a result, this weekend was spent much like the past fifteen weekend have been spent - lots of work, up late, stressed, rushing to meet a deadline.

Thankfully, I've gotten my main project back on track, and as of tomorrow I will hopefully be cleared to move ahead with rollout in the next phase.

So, finally, I have begun to feel somewhat calmer and relaxed. It's been good to be home to read to the kids and tuck them into bed, and it's been good to be able to not have to run around, completely batshit crazy.

Heck, I've even gotten to play a little poker with a clear mind. I'd planned on playing more blogger events when classes were over, and on Monday I got to play Riverchasers, cashing in 7th place and putting me 11th on the leaderboard after three events.

Tonight, I get to play the Mookie for the first time all year. Let's see if I can start punching a ticket for Vegas with a win tonight.

Area 51

As of now, it looks like this guy and this guy are playing in WSOP Event #51, starting Saturday, June 27.

That's probably the one I would be playing as well - and I'm already reserved at Imperial Palace. Right now, Im booked from the 25th through the 28th - but hopefully I would need a room for the night of the 28th.

That's the plan, man. Just need to book the flight which I should do in mid-May.

Shocked

Haven't been posting much, since I've been in the middle of Hell Week here. I wrote about what the first batch looked like, after which I got a break for a few days.

The second batch is actually getting close to do, and here's how it looks:

4/20: Capstone Presentation - we bombed, but so did 5 of the other 7 groups between last week and yesterday.

4/20: Portfolio Submission, Consulting - locked up an A-, at minimum.

4/22: Paper for CIS class in Wiki format. Five articles, which came to 13 pages double-spaced in Word. I wrote about the evolution of technical standards and development of I/T structure and requirements in the banking industry post-2000. No grade yet but it took a lot of work and I'm actually pretty proud of it.

4/22: FI 8000 Extra Credit Assignment: Unfortunately, I took so long with the item above that I complete forgot about this. I am hoping this does not come back to hurt me.

4/23: Capstone: Paper editing and rewrites, through GoToMeeting. I <3 technology.

4/25: Aim to spend whole day studying. Instead, drive to Brimingham for a wedding (reaching 110 mph going past Talladega without flipping into the wall), and get in about 3 hours of studying/index cards on the way back before meeting some Emory folks for dinner at Melton's.

Now, the fun part:

4/27, 8:05-9:00: Get chewed out at work, which is funny considering I almost QUIT on Friday.

Didn't see that one coming, huh?

I had a final interview on Friday for a worldwide consulting firm. However, I don't think I got the job, as if it had gone well I would have been offered it right there in all likelihood. It was through campus recruiting, and they were pretty much making up their minds immediately after the team interviewed the candidate. I got no offer.

So, I didn't quit. I am still working. As for the rest of the day:

4/27, 4:30-5:40: Consulting class, presentation
4/27, 5:45-6:30: CIS class, review
4/27, 6:35-7:14: Finance class, Review
4/27, 7:15-9:45: Capstone class, giant-ass paper submission

Yes, that's four class sessions in a row. What is this, high school? In reality, I didn't have a choice, if I wanted to show I was serious in each of these classes to hopefully push up my grades even by just a little bit.

Thankfully, only three items remain now.

4/29: Finance, StockTrax Trading Analysis Paper
4/29: CIS 8100 Final (only 35% of our grade)
4/30: FI 8000 Final (only 30% of the grade)

5/1: Drink.
5/3: Sober up.
5/3, 4:00 PM EST: Begin massive pwnage on Full Tilt for May for that $2,000 package.

Spectacular finish

Wow. Just Wow.

After the run, Alex now has a new favorite driver.

He got to see the last twenty laps - which meant seeing TWO big wrecks. The last one, though, looked just like the ending in Cars, even down to the blue paint.

Click the link for the video.

Georgia Congressional Oversight Examiner: Perdue voices some support for MARTA assistance

Georgia Congressional Oversight Examiner: Perdue voices some support for MARTA assistance

Posted using ShareThis

Money...it's a crime

Want to see how your money is spent?

It may take you a while to get through the picture below to get an idea.

That warm, fuzzy feeling you get might be nausea, though.

Way TMI

Self-esteem is a great thing to have, especially as a poker player - you need to have that sort of attitude.

But ya know, there are probably some things you shouldn't say when the camera is rolling. Even if it is NBC and no one is watching.

Below, from Celebrity Apprentice, Annie Duke:

Atlanta Tea Party almost ready to burst (Live Post!)

Georgia Congressional Oversight Examiner: Atlanta Tea Party almost ready to burst

One benefit of having class at georgia State is this sort of actoin is only two blocks away, and easy to head over to. Crowds are growing rapidly and many streets are now shut down. Attendance may surpass 10,000.

Not bad at all.

UPDATE: Make that 15,000. For once, I see how Twitter woulda been pretty damn useful.

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Compensated

Well, I busted 19th from the Skillz game tonight. After busting out (mostly due to my own fault), I decided to donk around on the low NL tables since my conference call was done and I was out of the tournament.

Having these two hands within a span of ONE ORBIT is probably something which will never happen again.

Too bad I wasn't at a $200/$400 table instead of bumming around the micro tables.

Hand #1, at 12:14 AM:

Full Tilt Poker Game #11691262387: Table Transom (6 max) - $0.05/$0.10 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:14:35 ET - 2009/04/15
Seat 1: Bighooks ($10.81)
Seat 2: RedDevilRed ($21.09)
Seat 3: jojorico ($4.25)
Seat 4: juanra016 ($16.42), is sitting out
Seat 5: oldjudge ($10)
Seat 6: APOSEC72 ($4.41)
jojorico posts the small blind of $0.05
oldjudge posts the big blind of $0.10
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to APOSEC72 [Ad Ts]
APOSEC72 raises to $0.30
Bighooks folds
RedDevilRed folds
jojorico calls $0.25
oldjudge calls $0.20
*** FLOP *** [Jh Tc Th]
jojorico checks
oldjudge checks
APOSEC72 bets $0.50
jojorico raises to $1
oldjudge adds $0.30
oldjudge folds
APOSEC72 has 15 seconds left to act
APOSEC72 raises to $4.11, and is all in
jojorico calls $2.95, and is all in
APOSEC72 shows [Ad Ts]
jojorico shows [Js Qh]
Uncalled bet of $0.16 returned to APOSEC72
*** TURN *** [Jh Tc Th] [5s]
*** RIVER *** [Jh Tc Th 5s] [Td]
APOSEC72 shows four of a kind, Tens
jojorico shows a full house, Tens full of Jacks
APOSEC72 wins the pot with four of a kind, Tens
jojorico is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Board: [Jh Tc Th 5s Td]
Seat 1: Bighooks didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: RedDevilRed (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: jojorico (small blind) showed [Js Qh] and lost with a full house, Tens full of Jacks
Seat 4: juanra016 is sitting out
Seat 5: oldjudge (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: APOSEC72 showed [Ad Ts] and won with four of a kind, Tens

Hand #2, at 12:16 AM (yes, two minutes later, at the same table). He was way behind, so the Jack was just gravy:

Full Tilt Poker Game #11691295029: Table Transom (6 max) - No Limit Hold'em - 0:16:47 ET - 2009/04/15
Seat 1: Bighooks ($11.16)
Seat 2: RedDevilRed ($21.24)
Seat 3: jojorico ($8.62)
Seat 4: juanra016 ($16.42), is sitting out
Seat 5: oldjudge ($10)
Seat 6: APOSEC72 ($7.88)
Bighooks posts the small blind of $0.05
RedDevilRed posts the big blind of $0.10
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to APOSEC72 [Kc Qc]
jojorico folds
oldjudge folds
APOSEC72 raises to $0.30
Bighooks calls $0.25
RedDevilRed has 15 seconds left to act
RedDevilRed folds
*** FLOP *** [8c Tc Ac]
Bighooks has 15 seconds left to act
Bighooks bets $0.80
APOSEC72 has 15 seconds left to act
APOSEC72 raises to $2.50
Bighooks calls $1.70
*** TURN *** [8c Tc Ac] [8s]
Bighooks has 15 seconds left to act
Bighooks bets $1.10
APOSEC72 raises to $5.08, and is all in
Bighooks has 15 seconds left to act
Bighooks calls $3.98
APOSEC72 shows [Kc Qc]
Bighooks shows [6s Ah]
*** RIVER *** [8c Tc Ac 8s] [Jc]
APOSEC72 shows a Royal Flush
Bighooks shows two pair, Aces and Eights
APOSEC72 wins the pot with a Royal Flush
*** SUMMARY ***
Board: [8c Tc Ac 8s Jc]
Seat 1: Bighooks (small blind) showed [6s Ah] and lost with two pair, Aces and Eights
Seat 2: RedDevilRed (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: jojorico didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: juanra016 is sitting out
Seat 5: oldjudge didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: APOSEC72 (button) showed [Kc Qc] and won with a Royal Flush

Returning to Form

Last night, I essentially finished two of my classes for the semester. I turned in final projects for my Consulting Class, and I took a final exam for my Capstone class.

Both sucked. The papers sucked, even though it was on topics I enjoyed, because it took a very long time to put them together. The test sucked, because it was very difficult despite the fact I had been studying for it for a week and a half.

Thankfully, they are now both almost done. All that remains for each class is a presentation.

With that in mind, I decided on Friday to have my Examiner political column re-activated. I have since written the first two articles - one, on "Tax Freedom" day, and one regarding the Atlanta Tea Party taking place tomorrow at the State Capitol which might draw several thousand people.

I probably won't be re-posting those articles over here anymore for direct linking. Aside from digg, I probably won't go cross-posting everything as I was doing previously. It was getting to be a pain to self-hype so much. I might cross-post an occasional article, but not all of them as I was doing before.

At the very least, it's good to have some return to normalcy.

BOOM

Boy, I wish I'd thought of this. Click the link to pre-order a shirt...

WIN!

H/T Blackfive.

Grrrr

So, does means I have to bite Roy Horn when I head to Vegas?

You Are a White Tiger

You have a strong individualistic streak. You are unique and outspoken. You have firm ideas of right and wrong. You will stand up for your unpopular beliefs with pride. You believe that learning the truth is important. Even if it's ugly, uncomfortable, or awkward. You give it to people straight, and you expect them to do the same. You can't stand ambiguity of any kind.

What Big Cat Are You?

Interview: Changes for 2009

Thanks to RawVegas and WCP, an interview about what will look different at the WSOP this year.

Watch WSOP 09 Official Changes on RawVegas.tv

In other news, it may now be possible that I head out there TWICE. I'm booked for the final weekend of June, but it is now a slight possibility that we head out Memorial Day weekend as well.

Note that for May, it is not "I", but "We". Possibly.

To be continued.

One less stress

For the past few months, we have stressed and worried about where Alex would go to kindergarten next year. He's moving out of the day-care and pre-K realm, so the past few months have been fraught with worry about starting school.

In February, Alex's school changed to something closer to home, since we no longer lived or worked where his old day care was located. Both he and Sammie are now only half a mile away from my office, which makes it much easier on everyone. We don't have to spend an extra 90 minutes in the car going to Sandy Springs from Marietta/Kennesaw in rush hour traffic, and the kids can actually have more time to be kids.

We had been hoping to get Alex into the school affiliated with church. If that had failed, or if we had not been able to find some other religious or private place to send him, we were seriously considering home-schooling for a year until trying again next Spring. Even before I got married, or was even considering having kids, I was dead set against sending my kids to public schools for many political, personal, and philosophical reasons - a viewpoint which hasn't changed much over the past couple of decades, regardless of whether I lived in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Douglasville, Atlanta, Decatur, or Marietta. That sort of rant can take up another few pages, so I will stop there.

Thankfully, we got word on Saturday that Alex will indeed be starting at St. Joseph's in the fall, and hopefully he can spend the next nine years (K-8) there receiving a quality education. Even though it will cost more than the public school alternative (duh) it is the one thing that I was always taught as being of the utmost value while growing up.

Hopefully, he can have a better chance to succeed as well. Thankfully, it is our home parish so he is familiar with the church and the school already. It's now one less thing we have to worry about - and boy, was it a major thing we've worried about for the past several months.

Compression

I had hoped that I would be able to get about 15 hours of work in this weekend so I could finish one paper entirely for Monday and do enough studying for a test Wednesday.

I'd hoped to get in a few hours of work yesterday while at Emory for a conference, and then knock out a lot this afternoon and tonight.

Well, I only got in about 45 minutes of work yesterday, and only about an hour and a half in today. Since I've only written 4 of a possible twenty pages for my paper, I've requested for it to be pushed back until next week, and thankfully gotten an extension on it.

So, now the next eight days will be absolutely killer for me.

Tomorrow: Finish one proposal for work for a Canadian client, and determine for class where I need to work on our group paper so I am actually contributing, and make up what was missed last week. I think this means I'll probably have to take the lead on actually presenting - considering how much I LOOOOOOVE speaking in class, this should be so much fun. I will also have to meet with my Wednesday professor regarding a test I took a couple of weeks ago.

Tuesday: Work on a RFP for a new client for work, and go to practice at church for Easter Vigil. Oh, and study for a test.

Wednesday: Options test in Finance, including pricing of derivative securities and arbitrage. Yay.

Thursday: Complete draft of response for client, and finish up process mapping from work that I have been trying to complete for months. Also, go see doctor (probably) as a follow-up appointment to last week, as I had another breathing attack on Saturday and I will have to go for a follow-up appt.

Friday: Work is closed, so when I am not at church this will have to be the day I make up all of the writing for my papers for my early Monday class. If I don't make it up by the end of the day, I am in big trouble.

Saturday: Easter Vigil. I am one of the readers this year, so after I do a bit of studying during the day I'll be at church for a while. The previous time I went, Easter Vigil lasted from 7 PM until just after midnight. Some of you may have experienced longer. And no, the kids will NOT be there.

Sunday: Easter, but also, I will have to finish editing our group paper, and studying, because...

Monday: FINAL EXAM in the same class, the Capstone class. Also, now turn in two papers for my Consulting class in addition to the group paper turn-in for the Capstone class.

Also, somewhere in the middle of all of this, I need to buy a new computer. My old one has a hard drive which is pretty much shot, so it's cheaper to buy a new one that fix the old one, considering all the other damage to my old one (missing hinge, wonky trackpad and buttons, etc).

Boy, this is fun.

On the bright side, one of my finals has now been pushed back a day, so I don't have to worry any longer about taking multiple finals on the same day. I now have a CS final on Wednesday the 29th and Finance on the 30th ending at 9:45 PM.

Drinking will begin at approximately 9:50 PM on the 30th. I will probably head to SideBar right after the exam is over.

On the upswing

Why I have been off the grid for the past few days?

It's a simple explanation, actually.

I started getting a sort throat on Tuesday. on Thursday, severe congestion set in. On Friday, I began to lose my voice while we flew to Washington. On Saturday, it was pretty much gone, replaced by a drop-dead perfect imitation of Harvey Fierstein.

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of seeing our USAir flights cancelled, and a re-routing which, in the end, would have stranded us in Charlotte overnight Sunday. So, we went to the Hertz desk and were able to rent an Impala to DRIVE from Reagan Airport back home. We arrived around 1:30 in the morning, or about nine hours earlier than we would have arrived had we flown.

Monday saw me go into work and battle all day while feeling awful, as I could no longer cough up any congestion and I had to do work and finish a paper for a 4:30 class (which I finished at 3:43). I made it to class, only to be interrupted halfway through by one helluva coughing streak that saw me have to leave my early class, cancel out of my second class, and head to Piedmont Hospital.

Bottom line: I had a virus which has been going around a lot of people (pretty common) but because of my stress levels and lack of sleep thanks to home, I also had inflammation and a bacterial infection in my lungs.

I had X-rays taken, and it was NOT bacterial pneumonia - but if I had let it go another day or two, it would have probably become such.

(The X-Rays to the right are not mine. I don't have the copies.)

I came back home last night, armed with steroids and antibiotics, and I am back at work today I was very glad to see the kids last night, and hopefully, I can be back to decent shape to spend some quality time with them soon when I'm not sleeping on the couch (a very diffiult situation when trying to deal with everything else.)

It has been a very rough first quarter of the year, so hopefully the second quarter can get off to a promising start as well. I did lose 5 pounds over the last month - but another 55 remain. Only 28 days of classes remain as well. Then...who knows?

Cross this instrument off the list

I wasn't planning on the harp, so it's not like this changed the list of instruments to teach very much.



This kid is not going to get laid for a very, very, very, VERY long time.

Enough downers

I've been very jumpy over the past few weeks (with good reason) and by the end of the day I may not have a desk anymore. It's been eerily quiet today - and of course, I'm firing off a post in between developing two proposals and editing code.

So let's change the mood a bit - I got one bit of good news in the past couple of weeks, which if nothing else might work as a backup plan.

I submitted it in correlation with my Examiner site, even though that is inactive until the end of April. I figured it couldn't hurt, the worst that could happen would be "no".

I got a slightly different response.

I am pleased to inform you that your request for press credentials to cover the 2009 World Series of Poker has been approved. This year, all media badges will feature a photo of the bearer. Please forward a high-resolution (300 dpi or greater) passport-style photo of yourself in jpeg format so we can complete your official credential. You may pick up your badge in Amazon A&B in the World Series of Poker
tournament area at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. The credential office is
open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

So, if the worst does happen today (or before Memorial Day, for that matter), maybe I'll be traveling out west for about seven and a half weeks during the summer to try and hack it out there as a rank amateur (at least compared with a bunch of folks who might/might not read this and do a far better job).

I was planning on going out over the summer for a blogger get-together and possibly play in an event. Sounds like some folks are thinking of the second weekend in June or the fourth weekend in June, so that was when I'd also go out.

But if the worst case scenario hits, then maybe I'll actually head out to try and pass myself off as someone who knows what the hell they're doing.

Besides, if it doesn't work out well, I can always try to feed off the cash games. It worked last time I went to Vegas for work.

In another related bit of good news, I got a bunch of offers (thanks Total Rewards) for staying in Harrah's properties, including the Rio where the WSOP takes place, for FREE. Sometimes, desperate sellers can make for good times for buyers. As soon as I confirm when I'm heading out, I'll be taking advantage of it. (There are also free nights at the Imperial Palace and Flamingo, too.)

As for more traditional occupations - I've been looking, just in case, but ideally I would like to stay here. Unfortunately it's out of my hands at this point, so every one of us is just waiting around on pins and needles for the guillotine to fall - and hoping it falls somewhere else.

UPDATE, 3 PM: I'm safe and live to fight another day, or at least come to my little desk. A very big sigh of relief around these parts.

No wait for a trap

In decompressing after a long day and firing up a Sit and Go on Full Tilt, I ran into this on the very first hand.

Raise UTG, get call from button.
He checks, I c-bet, he calls. Time to slow down.
Turn: check check.
River: I fill up with Jacks over Tens, but he has the case jack. He bets, I fold, he shows the quads.

I can't blame him too much for defending his blind and getting lucky, but geez we didn't wait long there, did we?

(I don't owe anybody a dollar for that - no bad beat or crying call that knocked me out.)

On the bright side, two hands later I got my chips back. Twelve hands later, he lost his stack by pushing 40 BB with 3-3 and then A-9 offsuit. Forty hands later, I took it down.

A decent way to decompress - though I would prefer the RNG not try to hate on the very first hand for a while.

Round 2 About to Begin

Well, it is indeed happening sooner than I thought - the company will be making its second round of cuts/RIF's, probably today or tomorrow. Round 1 in January claimed 10%, this round is expected to claim another 7-8%.

Obviously, everyone is on edge. I'm even more worried than normal because I had to leave early yesterday afternoon to get one of the kids at school because they were sick. I am hoping that is not the final impression they have, as I've been explicitly trying NOT to leavae any earlier than absolutely necessary for classes, let alone anything else. I'm still the new guy, after all.

To say I'm on pins and needles right now would be an understatement.

In related news, I had a three-hour session with Microsoft yesterday (including remote diagnostics) and was basically told that the computer is not repairable by them as they can't figure out what is wrong with it now either.

This has not been a fun month. Hopefully, it starts to get better very, very soon. Between work drama, school drama, and home drama, I've had about as much as I can handle.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Baked

Normally, at 4:20, this would be a good heading to have.

However, it's four-twenty IN THE FREAKING MORNING, so it's not a good thing.

OK, it could be a good thing at this time, but really it's not.

I've been up not because I was playing poker, or out having drinks, or on a trip, or out partying, or any other form of debauchery.

I'm awake because this little laptop decide to crash approximately nine times today while I was trying to do research and write my portion of a paper for my Capstone class which I was supposed to upload tonight so we could present a workable draft for review and discussion after Monday's class.

It took me almost eight hours to do the research required for what amounts to a page and a half of writing, because this computer seems to have forgotten just how to allocate memory, and has decided to adopt to attitude of Oliver McCall by just shutting down at random points, which kick-starts a long, painful boot and recover each time.

It took 30 minutes to download and open a simple Excel document from a SharePoint site - which is about as good an example of fucked-upness I can think of.

Like many other things, I'd been hoping this computer would just make it until graduation. It's looking more apparent it won't make it until May unless a minor miracle occurs. Given how much I've worked it, it's not much of a surprise, but it is still one more annoyance I didn't fricking need right now.

Looks like I'll be trolling on eBay for a refurbished model again - I did that a few years ago with an old Dell, and it worked well for a while, so perhaps I can find a decent one for under $200 (if current auctions are a sign, I should be able to get around that price point.

And no, even though it is 4:20 and I did just complete an assignment, I am not celebrating with a bowl. Unless you count ice cream - though generally the munchies come AFTER the bowl, not in the bowl.

Home stretch

Six more weeks.

That is all that remains.

I got back two exams yesterday, with mixed results.

In my Finance exam, I lost the points I expected to lose, but lost barely anything else. Despite the low score on the test, it was good enough in comparison to ensure that I am solidly in the "B" range for now.

In my later exam, there were a few inconsistencies with what I wrote and what was read in review, so the grade was a bit lower than I expected - not low enough to cause major confusion, but still too low for my comfort level.

I still have a solid "B" in my capstone class and I'm moving towards an "A" in my MGS class so hopefully I can finish these last few items as quickly as possible. This item is more for myself, I think, to get it all clear.

March 23: MGS, I/S Org Analysis
March 30: MGS, Data Collection Exercise
April 8: Finance, Exam 3
April 13: MGS, Niche Market Analysis
April 13: Capstone, Final Exam
April 15: CIS, Paper
April 20: Capstone, Presentation
April 27: MGS Data Presentation
April 28: CIS, Final
April 29: Finance Final
April 30: Finance StockTrak Report

Graduation is May 9, now to be held in the Georgia Dome. On the bright side, I don't have to worry about dishing out tickets or sitting outside for four hours sweaty and drunk during commencement like someone else I know.

It doesn't seem so intimidating when I put the tasks in this manner, but in reality it seems very foreboding to me right now, especially combined with the sword of Damocles hanging over us all at work.

Hooray for pressure!

Wrong fade

I wrote earlier thgis week how I'd put down Kansas to win.

Well, I had switched up my brckets in error. I'm in three different groups/pools, and I wrote from one where it was a just-screwing-around bracket.

There are two of those types of brackets, and one which is a little more involved, so for the sake of posterity I'll mention that one again.

My only goal is to do a better job on my main bracket than Obama did on his bracket. I doubt that Sportscenter would devote ten minutes to me filling out my bracket - but perhaps the media could focus for that long on another of his failed policy objectives instead of his bracket.

OK, here goes:

Round 1 Upsets: #9 Siena, #10 USC, #9 Texas A & M, #11 Utah St., #10 Minnesota, #11 VCU, #9 Butler, #11 Temple, #12 Western Kentucky

Elite Eight: Louisville over Kansas, Memphis over UConn, Pittsburgh over Villanova, and Gonzaga over Oklahoma

Final Four: Louisville over Memphis, Pittsburgh over Gonzaga

Champion: Louisville

Enjoy the rest of the day in front of your wide-screen TV, following the games on the web, or in the sports book watching every game at once.

Culture

Ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day...

Example A - enjoy the classics of poetry and literature:

O well for him who lives at ease
With garnered gold in wide domain,
Nor heeds the splashing of the rain,
The crashing down of forest trees.

O well for him who ne'er hath known
The travail of the hungry years,
A father grey with grief and tears,
A mother weeping all alone.

But well for him whose foot hath trod
The weary road of toil and strife,
Yet from the sorrows of his life.
Builds ladders to be nearer God.

"Tristitiae", Oscar Wilde (1845-1900)



Example B: celebrate days of yore and special remembrance (like our 8th anniversary of being married in New Orleans).

Example C: Celebrate in the traditional festive way of millions across the country - drunk off your ass. And, if some of you end up at Right Wing Tavern in Woodstock, hoist a pint for me if I'm not there.

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Good maiden voyage

I said last month I would be playing very few BBT4 events until May, and that it was likely I would only play the Brit Bloggerment on Sundays as that was the only event I was not tied up doing something else - class (which kills Rivershasers or the Mookie) or family time (which kills Skillz).

With the 4 PM start time of the Brit Bloggerment on Sundays, it's actually possible to play, either because I'm taking a break from schoolwork or, like yesterday, I'm stuck on the couch sick.

So, I played in my first BBT 4 event yesterday while stuck on the couch, after trying to slug through a book for class, while sick.

All things considered, not a bad showing:

Yep, I'm now a whopping 85th on the leaderboard for the month. I'm not winning this month, but I never really had plans to win one of the $2K month packages right now. It's been so long since I played a bloggerment it was just fun to do for a little while.

It took my mind off the aaarrgghhhh feeling in my stomach for a little while - though I'm sure a bad beat early one would have done it.

Yucky present

You know what's really not fun about a birthday?

Being sick all day and not being able to do anything except shuttle between bed, bathroom, and couch hunched over and pathetic.

You know what else is not fun?

Not being able to take a sick day from work and classes because of required meetings and deliverables for both work and school.

What a crappy way to turn 32.

At least I was able to watch the NCAA Selection Show live for the first time in three years. I even did my brackets already.

Let's just say you should probably fade the Jayhawks, if my history proves anything. Not that the pick is much of a stretch - repeating is very, very difficult.

Blech.

I find your lack of hope disturbing

Apparently, someone decided to publish a quiz to see how "progressive" the quiz-taker was in their political leanings - though it's a bit slanted for my tastes.

Well, I took it, and apparently my score was so off the grid that I am apparently a troglodyte who like to club baby seals, grind them up, and pour the contents into my gas tank.

That's not entirely true. But they taste delicious!

I had a score of 91/400. I am curious to know your results.

Cleanout

Every six months, there is a consignment sale at the church down the street, which is where we normally buy a lot of the clothes for the kids for the next few months - it beats going to the mall. For the first time this year, we've decided to sell items at the sale which we no longer need - clothes, toys, and other stuff the kids have outgrown.

I took the kids yesterday to the sale, and they actually made measured decisions about what to get or not get. They actually said no to some things a decent amount of the time, so I know they were actually paying attention to all the clothes I'd pulled out.

After my classes end in April, we'll hopefully start looking at doing some re-designs within the house. Once clutter is removed, we can start working through the house.

We'll go from the living room (which is probably the easiest to do) and work backwards through the house - kitchen, then dining room, then the rest of the first floor. We've talked for ages about getting new dining room furniture, so hopefully if we both have jobs over the summer we can finally look at a replacement set.

Thankfully, we don't need to go after a new television right now - even though the set we had downstairs broke, we were able to pull out and hook up another set - the same television I had when I was an undergraduate many moons ago!

Next, we work on the front and the outside of the house - a lot of lawn work, before the weather gets hot, and finally putting in a food garden of sorts, though I will not be filling cabinets with SPAM and other survivalist measures - yet.

Lastly, we'll work on upstairs. With Alex starting kindergarten, it'll be time to look at some kids furniture for his room, including a desk so he can actually do homework. He's actually excited about having homework like I've had - which is good, but strange, since I don't ever remember being excited about homework. We'll also need to re-do Sammie's room, as she's getting ready for a big-girl bed and we'll have to look at bedroom sets which would fit well with the rest of the house.

In a recession, you don't look to sell your house. You look to upgrade what's already there. Since things have been tight and may stay that way for a while, we'll want to find something with decent quality but mildly inexpensive if at all possible. We really need to change the layout of the house so it feels more like a home instead of a place to store all our stuff, as George Carlin would have put it.

I'd like to actually have people over sometime for a poker game, movie night, or other fun gathering of folks in my own house. I can't wait until I actually have a modicum of time to see people for more than 10 minutes.

Good lack of focus

I'm glad I haven't been paying attenntion to many things lately, otherwise I'd probably be more worked up about Steele's flip-flops since becoming RNC head than I actually am.

Apparently, there have been a lot, including a big one over the last couple of days.

Perhaps if there was actually a clear position to differentiate the party, it might actually have a chance of success. Too bad nobody gets the message, and the limited amount of attention I've paid just involves blundering on all sides.

At least I know I'm not wasting my time.

Not so hot

I figured that going to Disney World for a few days with the family would be a nice way to get away from the grind and recharge my batteries abit before getting into the next two months.

Sunday was spent doing a little bit of work for school, finishing up a paper for my consulting class due Monday. I also found out my grade for my Capstone midterm, and I'm sitting with a solid B at the moment in that class.

Monday, though, marked a return to work and school that I was not expecting. The last three days, actually, have been pretty rough.

It looks like we will be cutting another 8% of the workforce within our area, on top of the cuts of 9% a few weeks ago. I had been hoping the next round, if necessary, wouldn't occur until May and after classes were over,but it doesn't appear to be that way.

I'm not as confident in this round as I was last round (which wasn't much) about surviving. I'm more than a bit nervous this time around.

I also bombed another Finance exam today, running out of time and not being able to finish two of the questions. For those that know how I take tests, I'm normally one of the first ones done on any exam, so the fact I ran out of time so badly (along with at least 1/3 of the class) is probably a good indicator of the difficulty of the test.

Lastly, Alex was throwing up last night, and in getting out of bed Kim broke a toe, so she's now in a soft cast for a week after a fun hospital visit tonight.

So it's not been a good return so far. Instead of refreshed, I'm already looking forward to the next break and feeling exhausted. I guess a shitload of stress and only 3 hours of sleep a night will do that. I'm even starting to see and feel some of the depressing symptoms I've had in the past, and I really don't have a desire to return to those days.

So when the hell is the Summer Blogger Gathering in Vegas, anyway? That might be needed, especially if I need to find other means of income!

June seems so far away......but really, when is it?

Much closer

H/t Otis:

Apparently, I don't ave to drive all the way to Ocala, New Orleans, Biloxi, or Tunica for a live poker fix.

Harrah's Cherokee in North Carolina (just up I-985 and US-23) now has electronic poker tables. All of the tables are automated, with no dealers - they belong to PokerTek, a company I had invested in a long time ago when they became featured in some Atlantic City roms, before being featured in Excalibur's room.

So, instead of driving 5-6 hours or a live fix, it's now less than three hours away.

Not bad...not bad at all.

You wrote how much?

Back home, safe from the constant reach-arounds from Mickey Mouse and friends over the course of Tuesday through Friday, as well as a drive which should have been less than seven hours each way, turned into ten each way.

And, oh, the stories to tell.

As well as to read - with over 2500 items sitting in my aggregator and a ****load of e-mails, I think I know what I'll be doing tomorrow when not working on homework due Monday and studying for a test Wednesday.

New month, new sale

With spring fast approaching and tax refund checks starting to show up in the mail, many homeowners are doing what they often do in a recession.

Remodeling. Hey, if no one's buying houses (aside from the government) then now is a decent time to take a little set-aside money to do some projects around the house.

Next week, I'll unfortunately be doing lawn work. Lots of lawn work. I suck at it.

Other folks will do other projects around the house.

A couple people I know may even be creating new game rooms for their house. Hey, if all the materials for putting it together are cheap, then why not? Game systems on sale, furniture on sale from business who are going out of business, and of course, poker tables for making it a full-fledged game room.

Here as well, it's a buyer's market - overstock specials on poker chips and other assorted poker supplies for building a new game room...just in time for March Madness, to go along with the 48-inch TV you can buy for 2/3 off the price, the bar furniture you bought at liquidation prices, and any other amenities you can probably find for dirt cheap.

Hopefully this summer I'll even have some time for hosting a home game or two.

Now if there's just a way to get out of doing the lawn work.

Atlanta Tea Party

THE PARTY IS ON FOR FRIDAY at HIGH NOON!

COME JOIN US AT THE GEORGIA STATE CAPITOL for the ATLANTA TEA PARTY!

Please RSVP by sending an email to southernbelleblog@gmail.com or by commenting on her blog.

Also, check out these other folks who will be holding similar rallies across the nation - last I checked, the list was around 50 different events.

Top Conservatives on Twitter
Smart Girl Politics
DontGo Movement
Americans for Tax Reform
The Heartland Institute
American Spectator Magazine
FaceBook Event page
Nationwide Chicago Tea Party


As for the clip that started it...

Jet funny

I needed a laugh, because lately whenever I hear anything political I want to gouge out my eyes with a rusty pair of scissors.

One quick year

I started in my new job one year ago, as of tomorrow. It's hard to believe it's already been one year and at the same time it feels like I've been here forever.

A lot's changed, I guess, since last February.

On this date last year:

• Hillary Clinton was still leading Barack Obama in the primary race, heading into Pennsylvania.
• Starbucks shut down for three hours in the middle of the afternoon to "re-train" baristas - most of which are now probably out of a job.
• The Dow had shaved 10% off its highs from 2007, to close at 12,694. Don't you miss those days?
• Oil traded around $100 a barrel. We don't miss those days.
• The movie industry fretted about the lowest-rated Oscars EVAH.
• William F. Buckley, Jr. died. Thankfully, it was before his son became an Obama shill.
• Pres. Bush announced tax rebates in the form of $600 for every taxpayer and $300 for every dependent claimed. Checks would be sent out as lump-sums beginning in May - compared to a $13/week bump in your withholding which amounts to $400/taxpayer.
• In Atlanta, the AJC proclaimed home sales were bottoming out. Oops.
• Geraldine Ferraro plays the race card.
• Welcoming our new killer robot overlords.

I probably missed a bunch. Hey, it was my first day. It was a busy day.

Done, but not the way it was planned

I decided to try and work out somewhat today, probably after my class tonight. However, after this afternoon, I think I've already met the requirement for today.

For the first workout in the couch-to-5K plan I referenced last week, one should alternate 90 seconds of walking with 60 seconds of jogging, for 20 minutes (eight reps in all).

Let's see how well we measured up:

Five-minute warm-up walk.	Park Car in M Deck on GSU Campus.
Walk 90s/Jog 60s	Walk to corner to cross street, Run across street as light changes to the Bookstore to exchange books, into the Student Center, and up to the desk to try and sell books from last term.
Walk 90s/Jog 60s	Walk out of Student Center after being able to sell back only 1 of 6 books. Run across street again.
Walk 90s/Jog 60s	Walk down Courtland St. to the other independent bookstore. Run to and across street when light at Edgewood begins to turn.
Walk 90s/Jog 60s	Walk out of bookstore when they offer crappy prices, back to garage. Run up stairs.
Walk 90s/Jog 60s	Drop off books, get briefcase from car. Walk to stairs, run down stairs.
Walk 90s/Jog 60s	Walk a block, then curse self and slap self on forehead for forgetting the blue book for tonight’s test. Run back to garage, run up stairs, run back to car, get blue book.
Walk 90s/Jog 60s	Walk away from car, with blue book, and walk down stairs. Run across Woodruff Park to avoid gathering hordes.
Five-minute cool-down walk	Walk into Tin Drum Café, park on a stool, and wolf down shrimp pad thai as the one big meal for today.

Well, at least I did some working out and ate healthy, even if it wasn't what I planned. I think that's enough for today, though.

Test coming up tonight, last one before Spring Break. Hoping for the best.

New beginning

If you've been out and about today, you've probably already seen folks with smudges on their foreheads.

Hopefully, you haven't reacted to them like Ted Turner did toward some of his employees.

Yes, with Mardi Gras yesterday, we now enter the Lenten Season with Ash Wednesday. For Catholics, Lent is supposed to be a time of spiritual reflection and personal penitence. I'm reprinting some of the details here, but for a full writeup, click away.

• Abstinence The law of abstinence requires a Catholic 14 years of age until death to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in honor of the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. Meat is considered to be the flesh and organs of mammals and fowl. Also forbidden are soups or gravies made from them. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles and shellfish are permitted, as are animal derived products such as margarine and gelatin which do not have any meat taste.


• Fasting The law of fasting requires a Catholic from the 18th Birthday (Canon 97) to the 59th Birthday (i.e. the beginning of the 60th year, a year which will be completed on the 60th birthday) to reduce the amount of food eaten from normal. The Church defines this as one meal a day, and two smaller meals which if added together would not exceed the main meal in quantity. Such fasting is obligatory on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.


• Aside from these minimum penitential requirements Catholics are encouraged to impose some personal penance on themselves at other times.

So, based on that, I've decided to really move ahead on what I wrote last week and make exercise/working out my penance for Lent. Instead of stopping something or giving up something, I've decided to start doing something I really should be doing if I want to be able to get around better and be healthier overall. Now's a good time to start.

I guess that means going to IHOP yesterday for their free pancake fundraiser for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta was my last hurrah.

At least it was for a good cause.

Hope! Change! A little less of it

I've finally decided to go on hiatus from writing over at Examiner. I haven't been writing very much, and given how little time I've really had for anything else lately, I needed to scale back a little bit.

Can't scale back school.

Can't scale back work.

Won't scale back kid and family time.

Have to sleep and eat.

That pretty much rules out time for anything, let alone writing 3-4 pieces a week per column for games and/or politics in addition to anything I throw up here.

I haven't really followed much on game news (including poker) and any political news over the past two months has been damn depressing, which probably accounts for why I've been so glum about it and why it seems like I'm only posting here and not there.

So, for the next two months, that's how it'll be. I'll be posting only on here; might be big stuff, might be little, you never know.

As for Examiner, it's on a break until May 9, when I graduate.

Hopefully, in May, I can pick it back up a bit, as I'll be getting about 20 hours a week of my life back. That should make it easier to really throw myself into it.

I hope.

Juxtaposition

On Saturday night, the family enjoyed a night out. The kids went to a sitter, while Kim and I went to St. Joseph's for a fundraiser they were having.


The school (where Alex will hopefully go come August) was having a fundraiser - a silent and live auction, which they were hoping would be the first of many annual events.


It was good to go, migle with other people, and get to know other flks without having to worry about the baby radar going off every few minutes.


The planning committee secured about 80 to 100 items for auction, ranging from one-hour chiropractic treatments to $200 towards tax services to three-day stays at a beachfront house, all either donated by other parishoners or by local businesses.


Most of the events were conducted in a silent auction, but about 15 of the events were auctioned off in a live auction. For this, one of our former priests at St. Joseph's, Fr. Ricardo Bailey, came out to emcee the auction of everything from classroom projects, to an autographed Matt Ryan jersey (which went for $1,500) to orthodontics treatment (which shockingly also went for $1,500). Apparently, football jersey = braces and retainer.

And no, I was not the winning bidder on either of those items. I don't have a place to hang up an autographed, boxed jersey, and I'm extremely thankful for now that both the kids have straight teeth.


If you've heard of him, it's because I've written about him before. Or, it's because you've heard him on the radio. Or on the Today show. lots of places have profiled "Fr. Crunk". He is now at Blessed Trinity HS in Roswell.


Anyway, I happened to snap the photo to the side of Fr. Bailey and our pastor, Fr. John Walsh. Yes, that is an itty-bitty Shih Tzu puppy Fr. Bailey is holding - one of the families in the parish had recently had a litter, and there were four of the dogs at the event. The family was giving one away to another family in the parish. The puppy is, I think, eight weeks old.

Yes, I know the picture is poor quality. I took it with my phone.

Kim got to hold the puppy too, but I did not snap the picture of that. I snapped the picture here instead.

Overall, it was a fun night. The kids enjoyed the sitter (and got to have fun away from parents for a minute) and we enjoyed the dinner (and got to have fun away from kids for a minute).

This was probably a good thing, as Sunday involved a trip to the circus (with a photodump to come very late tonight). More on that adventure later, assuming nothing crazy happens on the way home from class again tonight.

Eagerly awaited BBT4

OK, the BBT 4 schedule is now out.

As I've said before, I am not playing a lot of tourney poker until the end of April. Beyond that, I am also unavailable on Mondays and Wednesday - which means no chance in March and April of playing in the revised Riverchasers game on Monday or the Mookie on Wednesday.

Surprisingly, though, the addition of the Brit blogger game, targeted mostly for our overseas friends, is the event this East Coaster would be MOST likely to play. The Skills game on Tuesdays is a distant second, as waking up early for long Wednesdays of work and classes make those also unlikely.

I'm also out for the first two Big Games, thanks to travel and to final papers being frantically written.

Once May rolls around, things might change a bit and you will probably see me in more. Maybe I'll try to go for one of the monthly winners' packages. Hell, if Waffles can get one (like he did last year) then anything's possible, right?

Besides, ponying up for all the events would be a lot of time - and about $880 which is magically not lying around right now, for a lot of tourneys which would blind me out before I even logged in. So, I'll probably participate at the same level I did a couple years ago - two, maybe three events. Not too many overall, unless I manage to win those two, maybe three. (snicker)

So, if you see me on Full Tilt for the BBT4, it'll probably be for the BritBloggerment only, you limey bastards.

Until then, I'll be on Poker Stars and BoDog, as there's no doom switch currently turned on over there.

Tournament: Brit Blogger Game
When: Sundays at 16:00ET
Game: NLHE
Buyin: $5 + $0.50
Password: donkament

Tournament: Riverchasers
When: Mondays at 22:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: $24 + $2 (or $26 token)
Password: riverchasers

Tournament: Blogger Skillz Game
When: Tuesdays at 21:30ET
Game: Rotation of non-NLHE games
Buyin: $10 + $1
Password: skillz

Tournament: The Mookie
When: Wednesdays at 22:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: $10 + $1
Password: vegas1

In addition to the weekly events, Miami Don will be hosting the Big Game on the following dates at 21:30 ET (Password: donkey):

March 1, 2009: NLHE Super Stack ($69 + $6 or $75 token)
April 19, 2009: NLHE Rebuy ($24 + $2, with one $24 rebuy and one $24 add-on)
May 31, 2009: NLHE Super Stack ($69 + $6 or $75 token)

The goat has taste

see more pwn and owned pictures

Games Examiner: PokerStars unveils S.C.O.O.P. for April

Atlanta Video Games Examiner: PokerStars unveils S.C.O.O.P. for April

April 2 through April 12 will see torunaments with over $30 million guaranteed in prize pools.

You've probably already heard about it, if you're reading this here, but if not, well now you know.

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First time, and probably last time

This might be the only time I EVER lay down aces before the board cards start. I know it's Stud, but yowzah.

(Holy crap, it's poker content!)

18-man Sng, in the 8-game layout (Lowball, HORSE, NL Hold Em, and PL Omaha HL) pretty much on the bubble with 4 paying and 6 left.

PokerStars Game #25139013412: Tournament #142163232, 8-Game (7 Card Stud Limit) - Level XIII (400/800) - 2009/02/19 22:35:51 ET
Table '142163232 2' 6-max
Seat 1: Mooseperson (602 in chips)
Seat 2: francase13 (1298 in chips)
Seat 3: manndl (4959 in chips)
Seat 4: seakelp (4099 in chips)
Seat 5: Quaestuary (7210 in chips)
Seat 6: gromac (8832 in chips)
seakelp: posts the ante 80
Quaestuary: posts the ante 80
gromac: posts the ante 80
Mooseperson: posts the ante 80
francase13: posts the ante 80
manndl: posts the ante 80
*** 3rd STREET ***
Dealt to Mooseperson [Qs]
Dealt to francase13 [As 5h Ad]
Dealt to manndl [Qc]
Dealt to seakelp [Ah]
Dealt to Quaestuary [7h]
Dealt to gromac [Js]
Quaestuary: bets 400
gromac: calls 400
Mooseperson: raises 122 to 522 and is all-in
francase13: folds

Pause for a second: The way the betting was, one guy was all-in already and another might be, and the way the betting looked I figured I should fold, as one of the other four left in the hand was going to run me down.

I was right: I was ahead, and I would have been run down.

manndl: calls 522
seakelp: folds
Quaestuary: calls 122
gromac: calls 122 (OK, 4 to the flop)
*** 4th STREET ***
Dealt to Mooseperson [Qs] [8s]
Dealt to manndl [Qc] [Jd]
Dealt to Quaestuary [7h] [Ts]
Dealt to gromac [Js] [2c]
manndl: checks
Quaestuary: bets 400 (into a dry side pot)
gromac: calls 400
manndl: calls 400 (everyone go for the ride)
*** 5th STREET ***
Dealt to Mooseperson [Qs 8s] [4d]
Dealt to manndl [Qc Jd] [8c]
Dealt to Quaestuary [7h Ts] [Ac]
Dealt to gromac [Js 2c] [Jh]
gromac: bets 800
manndl: calls 800
Quaestuary: raises 800 to 1600
gromac: raises 800 to 2400
manndl: calls 1600
Quaestuary: raises 800 to 3200 (CAPPING IT?)
Betting is capped
gromac: calls 800
manndl: calls 800
*** 6th STREET ***
Dealt to Mooseperson [Qs 8s 4d] [3h]
Dealt to manndl [Qc Jd 8c] [Qd]
Dealt to Quaestuary [7h Ts Ac] [Td]
Dealt to gromac [Js 2c Jh] [9s]
manndl: checks
Quaestuary: bets 800
gromac: calls 800
manndl: calls 757 and is all-in (I TOLD YOU!!!)
*** RIVER ***
Quaestuary: bets 800
gromac: calls 800
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Quaestuary: shows [Tc 7d 7h Ts Ac Td 4h] (a full house, Tens full of Sevens)
gromac: shows [Qh Jc Js 2c Jh 9s 6h] (three of a kind, Jacks)
Quaestuary collected 1686 from side pot-2
manndl: shows [7c 6c Qc Jd 8c Qd 9c] (a flush, Queen high)
Quaestuary collected 13071 from side pot-1
Mooseperson: mucks hand
Quaestuary collected 2568 from main pot

So, we have a donkey capping from someone who thinks two pair are good against three other players - one with a set, one with a flush draw, and he hit the boat on sixth street to knock out two players and pop the bubble.

Then again, perhaps it's the illustrative lesson known as STOP BEING A FLUSH-CHASING DONKEY!

That'll do, donkey...that'll do. Sometimes, these things are worth the sheer entertainment value regardless of placement.

*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 17325 Main pot 2568. Side pot-1 13071. Side pot-2 1686. | Rake 0
Seat 1: Mooseperson mucked [Ks Kd Qs 8s 4d 3h 8h]
Seat 2: francase13 folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 3: manndl showed [7c 6c Qc Jd 8c Qd 9c] and lost with a flush, Queen high
Seat 4: seakelp folded on the 3rd Street (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Quaestuary showed [Tc 7d 7h Ts Ac Td 4h] and won (17325) with a full house, Tens full of Sevens
Seat 6: gromac showed [Qh Jc Js 2c Jh 9s 6h] and lost with three of a kind, Jacks

Examiner: Pay for Georgia Power's new plant expansion - before construction starts

Georgia Congressional Oversight Examiner: Pay for Georgia Power's new plant expansion - before construction starts

Because what's another $6.4 Billion, forcibly taken, between friends to remove all risk from primary stakeholders?

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Cooler knockdown

Which one of these is the cooler-looking knockdown?

Shea Stadium, February 18, 2009:



Dink.

No drama, no majesty. I know you have weird laws, but hell, at least use a wrecking ball or something. Just a stairway falling down.

Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, September 19, 1997:



BOOM.

See, we done got good at blowing up stuff real nice-like.

Up to speed

At the beginning of the year, I made sure to mention I wasn't making any promises or resolutions regarding getting in shape or losing weight. I figured there was enough other stuff to worry about until May that trying to focus on getting in shape was not the sort of drama I needed to add.

Well, I have not gained a single pound this year. That's the good news.

The bad news is I gained so much in 2008 that it's really starting to affect me on a daily basis. I'm finding it harder to get around, and I'm finding it more difficult to do things I used to take for granted.

I even had trouble last week doing some wind sprints with Alex at Kennesaw Mountain - which is a bad sign, because if I'm having trouble keeping up with a four-year old on a small path, what will that mean for when the kids are older or we're in a much bigger place (say, New York or Disney or Las Vegas or somewhere else just as noisy).

Getting stitches or out of breath doing simple tasks is not what I'd planned on, so it's really time for me to start looking at losing weight again. I had done a decent job of that during my previous job search - but that period of renewed activity ended almost 18 months ago and I've gained 40 pounds since then. Since I'm not pregnant, that's a problem.

I've had a site bookmarked on my computer for a while, but perhaps next week might be the time to start doing it. It's an article called the "Couch to 5K Running Plan". Even though I've been disdainful of running in the past it might be time to finally give it a go. I don't need to do strength training, I need to lose this damn fat which would last a bear through the winter.

Ideally, in a couple of months (nine weeks, really), you'd be able to run/jog for 30 minutes, starting out tiny and gradually working your way up. I know this isn't rocket science for a lot of people, but frankly I never really have tried any sort of regimented running program. Whenever I worked out before, it was with weights, Nautilus machines, or bike machines.

I didn't run. I hated running. I still do. Even when prepping for the police fitness exam, I hated it, which probably helps explain why I missed the cutoff time on the 1.5 mile run despite dropping 10 pounds getting in better shape for the test.

So, there are nine weeks in this program, and nine weeks in the semester. I guess I'd probably do this on Tuesdays and Thursdays between work and picking up the kids, and then maybe Saturday or Sunday around the local track or neighborhood.

Yes, Georgia State has a big fitness center. But I'm barely making it to class as is, so fitting a workout in between a full workday and six hours of classes on Monday and Wednesday is not a practical solution, and I don't want to add an hour plus of round-trip driving every time I go to work out.

I'm not really sure of all the dynamics. Or if I'll even want to stick to this after a week.

I do know that being out of shape is starting to have a dramatic effect on my everyday activity and actions, and I don't really enjoy being so inactive. At least, I don't enjoy it anymore.

So, we'll see how it goes. I'll probably start it next Tuesday. Hopefully I'll keep it for more than one session.

Zoom

I often mention my rusted-out station wagon because, well, it's funny sometimes.

It's got a radiator leak.

It's got a leak around the fuel tank which means I can never fill it up.

It has survived many hot Florida summers, but due to poor maintenance got a nice licking of rust.

It has a cracked rear bumper.

It overheats because a gasket needs to be replaced.

It doesn't really leave Atlanta at all because it may not make it very far - it almost never leaves Cobb, Bartow, Dekalb, or Fulton counties.

It's not in great shape, but still works about as well as we need it to work.

And yet, after all that, a couple of fucked-up cokeheads tried to carjack me while I was sitting at the corner of Auburn Ave. and Edgewood Ave. on my way back from Georgia State tonight after a brutal exam in my capstone class.

One guy began walking from the curb to the front of the car, in plain sight and very slowly, like many other homeless in the area. It caught my attention to the point I really didn't notice another man running at my car door - not to the person, not to anything else as there were no other cars, but definitely towards me and the car.

Thankfully, the decoy in front of me had not cut off all the angles, so I was able to swing the car to the right and swerve around him. I made a right onto Auburn Avenue through the red light (I was planning on going straight onto the Connector) and gunned the engine (as much as I could gun the engine on a fifteen-year old station wagon) to get away as fast as possible.

Thankfully, the limited pull on the engine was enough. A couple turns later I was on the interstate - though I still gunned it all the way home.

I'm pretty grateful right now that the engine didn't miss the gear change like it tends to do when cold - you can rev it, but it'll just idle for a few seconds before it catches. I'm also pretty grateful I always lock the car while in it.

But what does it say when folks are willing to take a chance on grand theft auto when the auto in question is an admitted and acknowledged (though still functioning) P.O.S. on its last legs?

Are the junkies and criminals getting that desperate here already? Is 1977 New York closer than we may have originally thought?

In summation, the car is fine, and I am fine, though the now-empty bottle of Chardonnay next to me has helped to calm my nerves down a lot.

For now, I'm glad the car worked and we were able to get away and that nothing worse happened. God forbid te car got stolen, or that I ended up running over one of them, or that one of us got hurt pretty bad, or that any sort of shooting were to come into play.

I don't think that would be a fun explanation for the kids.

Whew.

Putting Off

WARNING: RIDICULOUS CUTENESS TO FOLLOW.

Today, I have a lot of items to turn in for school.

In my 4:30 class, I have two projects to submit. One was due last week, but I was granted an extension. The other is due today. I just finished working on them a few minutes ago.

In my 7:15 class, I have a mid-term. Yes, already. Even though it's only mid-February, I am awash in mid-terms. That happens when your classes start just 11 days after Christmas.

I am planning on spending the rest of the afternoon (including my 4:30 class) studying for the test.

Now, why am I doing this today? What happened to the weekend?

Well, here goes.

Saturday was spent doing some cleaning, and then a very nice dinner at Pappadeaux's. We decided to go to Pappadeaux's (which does not take reservations) over taking a 5:00 or 5:30 reservation somewhere else. We figured we would have a wait (and we did, for 2:48) but we had a good table by the bar for some good cocktails and relaxing times before a good dinner of shrimp and crawfish fondue and lots of other good, delicious seafood.

(The kids got a good dinner too - they had pepperoni pizza. Win-win.)

So, I figured I would get my work done on Sunday afternoon after church. Kim took Alex out to see Hotel for Dogs, and I stayed home with Sammie because she was a bit fussy and cranky - traits which do not work well in public.

A few minutes after Kim and Alex left, Sammie snuggled up with me on the couch, for a snack and a story before she would take a nap. She has done this before - taken a nap on me while I study or write - so no reason to think this would be otherwise.

At least, no reason to think otherwise until 30 minutes later when I find myself also falling asleep. Sleeping babies will make you tired as well - which is probably good for forcing you to slow down and clear your mind a bit.

Apparently, we were both tired, as we both slept until Alex and Kim got home - almost two hours later. So, I ended up working late into the night (2 AM) and then some more from work.

Was it worth the tradeoff?

Yeah, I think so. Baby therapy is quite calming and relaxing.

Surprisingly, Kim did not rush for the camera to snap a ridiculously cute shot. Consider yourselves spared.

Now, let's hope I actually remember enough about Porter and VIRO frameworks tonight on my test.

Badass ways to travel

Even though it's French, it's pretty damn cool.

I think this is how Cranky will be driving to the hospital pretty soon.

Damn you, Waffles.


c´etait un rendezvous from megahoschi on Vimeo.

Well, at least I'm a badass

Putting your appointed path ahead of any inner conflicts, you make your own rules for the benefit of all.

If my life or death I can protect you, I will.

Animal Humor Overload

Cute Things Falling Asleep v. Lolcats v. Fuck You Penguin. Too cute, versus cute, versus actually funny.

Discuss.

This is about all my brain can process right now because it is still mired in the muck of determining covariance and standard deviations manually.

Really.

If you asked me what two plus two was right now, I would probably answer with chicken.

Examiner: Mixed success to refine the latest rotten bailout

Georgia Congressional Oversight Examiner: Mixed success to refine the latest rotten bailout

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Tax thought

It is a scary realization when you are doing your taxes and you realize that you have somehow spewed off enough in medical items that it's something that can be itemized on your taxes.

Yuck.

On the bright side, at least they'll be done quickly this year. Last year, I prepared our taxes through Liberty Tax Service, since I was working there for the season.

This year, I'm back to using TurboTax, and unlike the new Secretary of the Treasury, I actually know how to use the program and stay up to date on tax rules.

I seriously wonder, though - how is it that schmoes like us are able to use the program, but genius public officials like Tim Geithner and Tom Daschle can't, or won't?

Oh, wait, there's ANOTHER one?

Sheesh.

The first reaction is the best

This should make the Staten Island groundhog smarter than a majority of New York City voters.

A confederate yankee after all

Since I didn't have enough drama last week when I wrote about time and the lack thereof, God decided it would be good to add some more crazy stuff to life.

I wrote my piece about free time and balancing my life last week when it appeared downsizing would eventually happen.

They did. THE NEXT DAY. Last Wednesday and Thursday, out of 1400 people in our division around the world, almost 200 were either let go or offered early retirement which they accepted. Included among the departed were several good friends, as well as my boss's boss, which also meant a complete realignment of our department and the realignment of all of our duties which will (probably) result in more cuts later that may or may not include my position.

I didn't even realize how it had happened until midday Thursday. I left Wednesday for school, and my superior was in his office. I came back Thursday, and the office was closed and the nameplate removed.

Thursday and Friday were very strange days. I was thankful to still have a job (for the time being) but at the same time you feel bad, even guilty, about those who may not be there anymore. In this case, one of the departed was one of the ones who hired me, so it was a very strange feeling.

Today involved a two and a half hour meeting discussing roles and responsibilities for each of us who remained, which was then followed for me by two more two and a half hour classes.

Things are looking more and more uncertain here, but for now I know my kids and I will probably be stable. Probably.

After May, who knows? I might find something else in Atlanta. I might stay within the company in a different or expanded role. I might change industries or fields entirely again.

I've had job search agents set up for other cities for a while now, just in case the "perfect" opportunity came along. Those two cities are New York and Las Vegas.

While there hasn't been much in my field in Las Vegas and I don't have much of a support structure there, it would be fun to live there - though I don't know about raising two kids there. I like the city, but visiting and going for work is a LOT different than moving there.

As for New York - it's probably been obvious from my posts over the past few months that I've been gaining a re-found affection for my old home. The kids have been developing a great affection for the city as well - not just the tourist traps, but even Stuyvesant Town and the Village and other sites of my old haunts.

So, let's just say the possibility of the kids and I returning to New York City is not nearly as farfetched as it was several months ago, especially if the right opportunities come along. There would be some adjustment with regards to finding school for the kids - though I'd hope they could receive the same opportunities I received - but if things do break a certain way, then it has to be considered as an option.

Now, there is no way I would want either of my kids to potentially be deprived of the opportunities available to them, so if there's an opportunity to take advantage of, then it would be foolish not to take it. If I weren't able to get them into a decent school in New York, then I wouldn't consider it. But I miss the city, and the kids miss the city, so perhaps it would be worth it if the correct opportunity presented itself.

For now, though, I'm still in the same job, in the same house, taking the same classes. At a certain point, though, you really have to start addressing every option on the table, including the ones that seemed ludicrous and unfathomable mere months before.

It's been ten years since I made the decision to stay in Atlanta. I may be closer to making the reverse decision than I ever thought I would be, both for myself and for the kids.

Every option is on the table.