Pick Time

Well, the season is upon us, so I guess picks are in order before the season actually starts.

AL West: Well, the Yankees got rid of Johnson and Sheffield, and brought back an older Pettitte. They didn't get Dice-K, but they're not on the hook for $50 million to him either, gyroball or not. And Carl Pavano is starting on Opening Day. But they still have Mussina and Wang, could get four months of Clemens, still have Mariano Rivera, a couple decent setup guys, and an absolute bitch of a lineup. They don't have to trot out Coco Crisp, JD Drew, and Mike Lowell every day. Boston does. I'll say the Yankees win it again, and make enough moves to get to the Series and make everyone vomit.

AL Central: The Indians are the trendy pick again, after an 84-loss season thanks to some atrocious numbers from their staff. It hasn't improved much, so I won't pick them again. The Tigers came out of nowhere last year, only to lose the division to Chicago on the last day. None of them have the bullpen or the staff ace of Minnesota, though. I'd feel more comfortable about this pick if Carlos Silva wasn't playing such a big role at the moment, but I'm picking the Twins to win the Central.

AL West: Buck Showalter got fired in 1995 from NY and 2000 from Arizona. The next year, those teams won the World Series. Last year Texas fired Buck Showalter. However, they will win the West because they could have enough of a bullpen and a powerful lineup to overcome woes from the pitching staff - but if Padilla reverts to old Phillie form and McCarthy continues to emerge, Texas could take it.

AL Wild Card: Chicago. Detroit won't do it again because Gary Sheffield will poison that team.

NL West: With their pickups of Jason Schmidt and Randy Wolf, to go along with Brad Penny and Saito in the bullpen, I'll pick the Dodgers.

NL Central: Because I don't think they'll get hit with nearly as many injuries this year, and because every other team in the division seems absolutely appalling, I'm going waaaaaaay out on a limb and picking Milwaukee. Really, in looking at the lineup off Bill Hall, Prince Fielder, Geoff Jenkins, and Johnny Estrada (pretty darn good if he stays healthy), combined with Sheets, Bush, and Capuano putting up decent numbers while hurt, and it could come together for this team. Besides, it's not fun picking St. Louis or Houston every year.

NL East: It's always about pitching. The Braves had one of the worst last year, but come into this year with one of the best, on paper, with Wickman, Mike Gonzalez, and Rafael Soriano. The Mets still have a pretty good pen too. So, would you rather have a rotation of Glavine, Duque, Maine, Oliver Perez, and Mike Pelfrey, or a rotation of Smoltz, Hudson, Mark Redman, Chuck James, and Kyle Davies? I think I will pick the rotation that doesn't have 2 40-year olds and Oliver Perez, and has three all-star pitchers instead of two. I think the Braves re-take the division - no Pedro for NY, no repeat. Not that it matters, because neither gets to the Series - just like last year (ouch).

NL WC: Mets.

World Series: Dodgers over Yankees.

All predictions right, or your money back.

UGA VI to retire after 2007 Season

Well, dogs do get old, and he'll just have to retire to a life of sleep, kibble that looks like steak, and lady bulldogs.

Oh, wait, that's his life now.

A damn happy Dawg.

So, only one more season to try to take out an Auburn or Florida player. So hurry up.

Ankle-biting karma

So, how's this for a cycle:

• Work really hard.
• Work so hard that there is more stress.
• Get sick because you're stressed.
• Stay home because you're sick from the flu and can't get out of bed for 4 days.
• Return to work and get written up for.....taking sick time while sick.....because you were working too hard.

Let's say busting my behind so much in the office is going to be taking much more of a backseat to getting the hell out of the office.

M. I. A.

So, it's been a little while. How ya feelin? Keeping busy?

Last week, I started feeling a little unwell. I had been thinking it was just allergies, as it normally happens now.

Well, when I had trouble just walking into the house, or getting out of bed, or just keeping my balance walking down the hall, I had to concede it was probably more serious than that.

I've been housebound for almost a week. I got to know a whole bunch of nice side effects which I'm not going to describe here. I did find out, though, that the normal run of this nice little flu bug last about 10 days.

I've never had flu like this before, so it's thrown me for a massive loop. Doing anything, no matter how little, has been a big stress for me. I haven't even been able to check my e-mail (so if you got a NDN message back from me, that's why).

Here's hoping I feel better soon. So, that's why no one's heard from me, seen me, etc. Getting winded so easily means I haven't been doing anything at all. Not even watching basketball and seeing 3 of my 4 picks make the Final Four (dang longhorns).

So, you should hopefully hear more from me as I feel better.

One broght side is that I'm finally able to hold Sammie again. She's been talking up a storm to me and smiling continuously since I've been able to hold her again, so that is a VERY nice and soothing prescription.

Latin in Nebraksa?

Yes, I know it's a week old, but things reach me slower now that I'm older.

Una Voce America is pleased to announce a collaborative program with the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) designed to provide training for any priest interested in learning how to celebrate the traditional Latin Mass.

It'll be interesting to see how much interest there is across various spectra within the priesthood.

It'll also be interesting to see interest locally in this throughout the Atlanta diocese.

Somehow, though, I don't think St. Joseph's will be too interested, given its Mass-in-the-round and hand-holding. But one can hope.

Not your normal St. Patrick's Day

Normally, it is a day for massive celebrating, drunkenness, and frivolity.

So, of course, I absolutely blew it out on Saturday - by going to the DMV and IKEA.

I am such a party animal. At least I got in and out of the DMV in 20 minutes - which was a nice belated birthday present.

Of course, the rest of my time was spent watching basketball. I'm a but stunned by the results - there really isn't one team left you could term a Cinderella, such as a George Mason, Valpo, Xavier, and so on.

I mean, I don't ever recall seeing this many high seeds left:

Midwest: 1, 3, 4, 7
East: 1, 2, 5, 6
South: 1, 2, 3, 5
West: 1, 2, 3, 4

Only one #2 seed is gone - and of course, I had picked them for the Elite Eight. Seriously, can anyone remember a time when no one above a 7 remained?

Taking the chalk all the way might have been the best idea after all!

Bracket Busting

Well, March Madness is underway.

So I might as well throw out who I picked.

For once, it was not Kentucky. I actually picked them to lose in the 1st round to Villanova.

Today, I went 13 of 16. Not too bad. The only ones I missed were Butler (Old Dominion), Vanderbilt (George Washington), and Texas Tech (Boston College).

At least I was right about VCU over Duke.

As for games tomorrow, I picked a few upsets. Miami (OH), Winthrop, Arkansas, Villanova (9), and some little state school in upstate NY. 5 lower seeds out of 16.

Sweet 16 picks: I lost George Washington, so here are the other 15:

Florida
Maryland
Winthrop
Wisconsin
Kansas
Virginia Tech
VCU
UCLA
Nevada
Texas A & M
Ohio State
That school in NY
Georgetown
Texas
UNC

Final Four: UCLA over Florida, Ohio State over Texas
Final: UCLA over Ohio State

I can't believe I'm picking UCLA to win it all.

So far, I'm running second in my pool, so hopefully I can stay there and continue my run of good luck.

Go, go, go, go, go, go, go,

Go Shorty
It's ya birthday
We gonna party like it's ya birthday
We gonna drink Bacardi like it's ya birthday
Cuz you know we don't give a **** cuz it's ya birthday

Well, I made it. 30 years old and I'm still here.

And what's the best way to begin celebrating?

Cashing in the Mookie, that's how.

After being the chip leader for a while, I dropped down a bit, but still had enough to be in the top 5 spots and cash. Finished 5th, which was good enough.

A nice way to start.

Now, time for this old codger to go to bed.

One door closes, another door opens

Late last week, we received a letter from the auto auction company to let us know the old ble Escort was sold at auction, to notify us of the total amount of donation.

Today, I flew to Pensacola to pick up an OLDER Escort (but with onyl 22K miles) and drive it back to Atlanta.

I had to drive pretty slowly, and had to pull off for a nap, so a normal 6-hour drive took 9 hours. The car is now in the driveway, resting, so it can head to the mechanic later this week.

At least it's over with.

Time to go to sleep, after the 700-mile round trip, because there's still work tomorrow.

The end of the search

We looked through a bunch of stores, but couldn't find anything decent.

Finally, earlier this week we started looking at sites likes craigslist to see if there were any good deals.

Yesterday, we got our deal. A 32 inch Panasonic flat-screen TV, with HD. We were also able to get a DVD player and a small entertainment stand included as well. We bought from a very nice family who is moving to Qatar, and it's probably pretty hard to bring a big TV and stand several thousand miles to the Middle East.

We got it hooked up to the dish and DVD last night, and it's working quite well. We still need to figure out how to get the VCR hooked up as well as possibly order a new tuner to take advantage of the HDTV.

And just in time for March Madness, thank goodness.

Calendar Girl

Sometimes, it is the stupid calls that are the funniest.

I got a request today from a panicked customer who was having trouble pulling their transactions. I gathered all the information, and asked the date or range of dates she needed.

She replied, "February 29 through 31".

Yes, that's right. Not January. February. And yes, she was completely serious. Thankfully, I restrained myself on the call, though it was good for a hearty laugh after hanging up.

I know I was on leave for a while, but I didn't think things changed that drastically.

It's the dumbest interaction I've had since returning to work, but sadly, not by much.

Hot Streak

I started a streak with a MTT on Wednesday by cashing in a $5 event, and then winning the Mookie 2nd chance Thursday.

Over the weekend, I kept it going as well.

On Friday, I played in another tourney and cashed again, with a small profit, finishing 61st out of 1052. On Sunday, I played in a $1 re-buy and finished 49th out of 951 players.

Late Saturday and Sunday morning (while SNL was on and afterwards, with everyone else fast asleep after a fun birthday), I had the big moment of the streak. Playing in a $5 MTT with 321 players, I managed to outlast the other 320 players and take home a tourney win and my biggest purse to date.

Of course, I'm a bit psyched.

The streak did end yesterday with a loss in a HORSE satellite tournament (placing 20 out of 24), but the run allowed a increase of approximately 900% and I'll definitely take cashing every 5 out of 6 tournaments!

It seems to be a much safer option than stocks at the moment, given Asian volatility and the resulting corrections in American stock markets (now reaching a 5% drop since Tuesday).

I'd rather worry about +EV than P/E. At least at a poker table, I don't have to worry about the carry trade and currency manipulations.

Thursday, the inspector came out to look at the house, so if nothing else, this streak means being able to finally fix some things that need fixing, and none too soon before April comes and it starts raining every other day.

3

Little man isn't so little anymore. His third birthday has just ended, and he is fast asleep with dreams of animals, presents, and Disney characters.

And he's getting to the point where I can't really call him little because hes not just growing up in size, but in the ways he acts and speaks too.

So, even though it is about 90 minutes after it ends, happy birthday, Alex.

The madness begins

As March begins, apparently so does qualifying.

If you are on PokerStars or Full Tilt, enjoy the next five months trying to qualify.

H/t to Change100 and Mookie for the heads up - and because I want to put up this poster below.

And, who knows, if you happen to have free time next Wednesday, you might want to drop in.

If you scroll down on Mookie to the description of the 2nd chance tournament, you get a nice surprise regarding who won. And yes, a lot of you APO readers will recognize who won.

Back to DC?

If you're going to CPAC, have a safe trip.

If not, well, you can still go. Hotel rooms still available too.

I'm not there, but it would be interesting to hear Rudy's and Newt's speeches. Besides, I got enough of DC already.

I like my 70-degree weather and I got enough of the white stuff in the picture to last a while.

Credit Card Clarification

Mostly because my schedule is a bit on the insane side, I'm just going to post this press release regarding Bank of America's credit card pilot program in the Los Angeles area (which has inspired some e-mails and debate, mostly here and partially incorrect:

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

February 22, 2007

The following opinion piece by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ken Lewis was published this morning in The Wall Street Journal. Its purpose is to clarify Bank of America’s position on the company’s credit card marketing pilot in Los Angeles, as well as to dispel any misunderstandings as a result of recent media coverage.

Finding oneself in the middle of a heated national debate is never pleasant. For the 200,000 associates at Bank of America, the harsh reaction by some to our pilot program marketing credit cards in Los Angeles has been deeply concerning. We are feeling the passion that surrounds America’s unresolved immigration debate.
Some of our customers have been direct about their feelings: They don’t like what we are doing. Why should anyone, they ask, who does not hold a Social Security card have access to credit?

There are two answers. First, the program is not about illegal immigrants, and never was. It is designed to help Bank of America customers build credit history. Second, we believe we have an obligation to serve all those in our country who are legally eligible to receive services. To do less would be discriminatory and unfair.

This debate arises out of the identification laws and regulations in the financial services industry, and the facts may surprise some who have criticized this pilot.

Many of the laws the financial services industry follows today were put in place to help protect America. Shortly after 9/11, Congress, in near unanimous agreement, passed, and the president signed into law, the USA Patriot Act. This law has one provision that troubles many of its critics. It allows financial institutions to accept some official identification sources issued by foreign governments, including the matricula consular, an ID issued by Mexican consulate offices to its nationals living outside Mexico, as valid.

Former Treasury Secretary John Snow wrote to Congressional leaders in 2004, “Americans are better protected if consumers of all nationalities are invited into the financial mainstream.” To do otherwise, the secretary warned, would “drive large sections of the U.S. population to underground financial services, [and] weaken the government’s ability to enforce money laundering and terrorist financing laws.”

I agree with Secretary Snow’s comments. And I observe no shortage of irony in the efforts of those whose first concern is national security, but who seek to undermine a regulatory structure that was designed in large part to thwart terrorism.

The matricula consular card has received its share of criticism, much of it because it allows for the possibility that illegal immigrants may use it to participate in our financial systems. But it also is a key tool in our efforts to ensure our financial systems are not used for illegal purposes.

Specifically, in regard to Bank of America’s marketing program, I would like to clarify some facts. Some have suggested that we directly target illegal immigrants, or that our program could undermine law enforcement. Let me be clear: Bank of America does not deliberately market financial products and services to illegal immigrants from any country. And our program complies with all our company’s efforts to work with law enforcement agencies to prevent misuse of our nation’s financial systems.

Even so, reports have stated that in some cases illegal immigrants are able to sign up for the bank’s products and services. These reports are true. They also are true for many financial institutions and businesses in our country today.

We created this pilot program in Los Angeles to help Bank of America customers with little or no credit history build a solid credit history with a leading bank, and to strengthen our relationships with individuals and families we hope will become loyal Bank of America customers in the future as their financial needs grow. As with all our products, the program meets the identification requirements of the USA Patriot Act, U.S. Treasury Department regulations and internal fraud prevention procedures.

The bank requires that all applicants provide us approved forms of ID, including an unexpired, U.S. government-issued or foreign government-issued identification card. In fact, while many people legally in our country do not possess Social Security numbers, 84% of the participants in our pilot do. The remaining 16% meet the requirements for government-issued ID as set forth above.

Secured credit cards are nothing new. They are offered at Bank of America and many other financial institutions as a way for customers to build their credit history. The L.A. pilot is simply a new promotion of a secured credit card product that has been available for years.

After a week of listening to our customers, we have made a decision. We will continue our card marketing pilot program in the Los Angeles market.

We know some will find this unacceptable. Even so, we feel we have a great obligation to live by the laws of the land, to serve our customers, and to do our part to support the security of our nation’s financial systems. Congress may choose to revisit this important issue. And as they do so, we will do what we have always done: abide by the letter and spirit of all this nation’s laws and regulations, and continue to meet the needs of all our customers and the communities we serve.

Mr. Lewis is chairman and CEO of Bank of America.

Won't Ge Fooled Again

We watch CSI: Miami on occasion, and it is too funny to watch David Caruso's terrible acting on this show.

What's even funnier?

Jim Carrey mocking David Caruso on Letterman.

h/t Ace.

Amnesty?

Congress may be looking at a stay or a repeal of the UIGEA which started a flood of departing poker rooms (most recently, Doyle's Room) based on recent comments by Barney Frank.

Also, I think it's required of me to link to any article that has the words "Barney Frank" and "bargepole".

Ah, those quirky Brits.

The gist of this is, you now have Pelosi, Frank, and Conyers (mentioned before, but not in this post) looking at revisiting or repealing the online poker ban. All three now have positions of power since November. For millions of U.S. poker players, this is a good thing.

In related news, Bill Frist and Bob Goodlatte (VA, House sponsor of UIGEA) still have no friends and we still hate them.

Tough Pick

Well, Mardi Gras ended yesterday, and today is Ash Wednesday.

For the first time in several years, I actually made it to church to get ashes. All four of us received ashes at Christ the King, since they had an evening service (which was packed, standing room only, overflow into the parking lot.) Perhaps it was because Archbishop Gregory was there, or perhaps a lot of folks did a lot of sinnin' and needed to start repenting badly.

Also, for the first time in a while, I decided to actually try to give something up for Lent this year.

Not food. Or alcohol. Or poker. Or snacks.

Swearing.

Looking back on the just completed road trip to DC, it seemed as though I ended up swearing quite a bit, whether it was because of running late, stupid drivers, or something else. Considering how high my stress levels and blood pressure have been, and the fact that Alex is being much more of a parrot lately, I decided it was a pertinent feat to attempt that may have some good beyond only myself.

Of course, we'll see how well it holds up over the next 46 days.

White Pellets From Hell

We spent the last few days journeying to Washington DC for a happy little wedding, which is why I haven't written anything in quite a while.

Overall, it was a fun trip, punctuated by the occasional yelling when someone didn't want to listed, pay attention, or other normal toddler behaviors.

Pictures will be up later this week as soon as I can feed them over from the camera, but for now just one bit of the story will do fine.

We left the hotel Sunday around 12:30 after a big hearty breakfast and headed for the zoo. The big points that Alex was excited about for this trip were trains, snow, and bears. He'd already ridden Metro a few times and seen the snow, so now it was time to see the panda bears.

We got to the zoo, and spent about three hours there. Around 4:00, it started to snow. We were expecting "light flurries" so no big deal, right?

Well, it started coming down harder.

And harder.

It was very heavy when we finished semi-sprinting back to the truck. We pulled out around 4:30 and headed for White Flint Mall. We got there around 5:00, and I sprinted in and out to return the tux.

In the 10 minutes that took, a 1/2 inch gathered on the ground and the temperature has now dropped low enough for it to stick.

Uh oh.

We tried to start heading out to the Beltway, but the access rd. to get on at Wisconsin Ave. was blocked. We had to keep heading south, and unfortunately, since we don't know our way around the outskirts, that was going to mean heading all the way into the district to get out.

While driving down Wisconsin, the sun went down and the snow got heavy enough to cause white-out. We skidded a couple times, but nothing too bad since we were going so slowly.

After about 90 minutes and only making it about 6 miles, I pulled off for McDonalds to keep everyone marginalyl happy. On the way out, I got to enjoy slipping and getting my wrist slammed in the car door while trying to hand everything off. Too bad there wasn't a video camera to record it and send it to win $10,000!

About another hour later, we finally make it far enough down Wisconsin to M Street. We finally turned off and went over the Key bridge to finally escape the North. We found an opening for I-66, swerved across the road to get on it, and drove about 30 mph because of the snow/ice mix on the road. We took it to the Beltway and made it onto I-95 around 8:30 where I could finally drive normally.

We stopped in Henderson, NC on the way back, at the same hotel we used on the way up, and got home last night. Today, it's back to work.

And the temperature is 64 degrees.

With no snow in sight.

Or stupid drivers.

Or ice.