Stochastic Confessions

Book It!

2009-10-16T12:52:00.000-04:00

Flight and hotel have been reserved for Vegas. PHL > LAS 12/11 arriving around dinner time. LAS > PHL 12/14 leaving after breakfast.

Going to be a loooonnnng 7 weeks.

Take Off To The Great White North... Ok, Not Quite

2009-08-31T12:44:00.002-04:00

Although we didn't actually make it over the border, we took the family almost 500 miles north from southeastern PA to the coast of Maine for a week long, much needed vacation. Since family oriented trip reports aren't nearly as fun as those other kinds (check back mid-December for the next one), I'll be brief.

Friday - left around 5:00, grabbed dinner along the way in NJ, and found a place to crash in MA around 11:30 PM.

Saturday - finished the drive after the wife mandated pit stops in Kittery and Freeport. Arrived at our cabin on Georgetown Island around dinner time, grabbed some grub and chilled for the rest of the night.

Sunday - Reid State Park - although the beaches were all closed (something about a bill out in the ocean), kids has a good time in the lagoon. Let me tell you, though, 18-20 foot waves crashing down on a rocky coastline are really impressive.

Monday - only bad weather of the whole week. We took the kids to see Shorts at the closest metroplex on the mainland. The 8 year old LOVED it. The 4-1/2 year old realized that she really likes goobers (the chocolate covered peanuts, you scum bag).

Tuesday - York Wild Kingdom & Amusement Park - the 2 hour drive each way pretty much made this the only event of the day. Nothing compared to America's oldest zoo, but still cool to get within 5 feet of a full grown bengal tiger.

Wednesday - Popham Beach State Park - arrived half way between low and high tides. Stayed until the land bridge between the beach and Fox Island was completely covered by the returning waters. Typical beach day with small children.

Thursday - returned to Popham, but right before low tide. Climbed to the top of Fox Island, helped the kids try to find some sand dollars (we found 4 good ones), and some more time in the water and on the sand. Then back to Freeport (where it wouldn't suffer from weekend crowding) for the obligatory souvenir shopping.

Friday - a morning boat ride and tour of Robinhood Cove courtesy of our cordial host, followed by some kayaking. Then the wife took the girls blueberry picking while I got everything together and into the car. I was determined to make it all the way home without stopping and, despite the torrential downpours that started halfway through Massachusetts, managed to get home by 12:30 Saturday morning.

Yikes, that was some family friendly week. I'm bored just having typed it. Just over 3 months until Vegas where there will be absolutely no thoughts of blueberries or sand dollars.

Saturday was my fanatasy football draft where I think I put together the most meh team in history. I got to pick 9th in a 10 team league and after my starters were set, I mostly concentrated on possible good value position picks. My roster, in as close to drafted order as I can remember: Andre Johnson, Chris Johnson, Roddy White, Pierre Thomas, Larry Johnson, Tony Gonzalez, Matt Cassel, Brandon Marshall, Jay Cutler, Jericho Cotchery, Titans DST, Mason Crosby, Jeremy Shockey, and Ricky Williams.

At least I'm not going into the season starting Laurence Maroney and Ronnie Brown as my running backs like last year. Oh wait, I won my league last year. Interestingly, none of the Patriots RBBC was drafted, but all of both the Giants' and Titans' were.

Every year, we try to set a team name theme. This year we finally got around to a Simpson's theme. I am The Flying Hellfish. Best name? Nerds Pummelled In Football Melee. Worst Name? Fat Bald Guy.

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

My Vick Dilemma

2009-08-19T11:31:00.002-04:00

Last week on Facebook, I publicly asserted that the signing of Michael Vick officially made the Philadelphia Eagles dead to me. Was this a knee-jerk reaction based more on emotion than on an internal logical conclusion? Probably.

Am I stating now that I have absolutely no problem with bringing in a player who commited, was convicted of, and served 2 years for an absolutely abhorrent act? No. Resoundingly.

However, upon deeper reflection, am I also willing to discard almost 35 years of faithful fandom to an admittedly frustrating football franchise based on what seems to be a poor decision by management? I don't think I can.

If this was purely a decision that the coaching staff and front office made, that would be one thing. I could easily separate my distaste for the signing from my love of the team. But it was reported that Donovan McNabb actively campaigned to bring this guy in. And that complicates things for me. What were HIS motivations for such action? Does he know things about Vick that are not widely reported or is there something else?

Of course, Jeff Lurie said all the right things at the press conference introducing his newest Eagle. And it really sounded like he struggled with the decision, having put Vick through an extremely rough interview process before agreeing to proceed. Make no mistake, I don't believe that Michael Vick needs to merely show that he is reformed. Just one slip up, and the owner has already promised he is gone. He needs to go out of his way to attempt to mend his reputation as a human being. Above and beyond. Way above.

That means lots of dollars to the local SPCA's, shelters, and rescue organizations.

That means volunteer time at one or more of the above on a continual basis. Bathing strays, cleaning shit out of kennel runs, anything and everything.

That means speaking engagements and PSA's.

And that means never, and I mean never, have contact with anyone associated even tangentally with that operation.

This man is going to be under the microscope, and I honestly hope that he has been reborn in a way. For his sake, and for the sake of my team. I will leave it to the offensive coaching staff to make the best use of his unique on field talents and I have no doubt that it will be at least mildly successful. A guaranteed deep playoff run again? I don't think this guarantees anything, but with the proper schemes and some good fortune on the injury front, the Eagles go from having a lot of questions offensively pre-draft to a downright scary team for an opposing defensive coordinator to prepare for.

So what have I really been blabbering about? I am retaining my fandom and going to take a wait and see attitude with Vick in particular. I hope I'm not let down.

I'll let you know in Vegas at the Winter Gathering.

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

Keg's Almost Kicked, But I Made It To The Party

2009-06-01T10:45:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was the first Riverchasers TOC of 2009. Making these it not all that hard. In fact, 400 donkeys are invited for each one, in each region. So having qualified for each and every one since I started playing in Riggs' little sandbox a little over 3 years ago is, to me, really no big deal. In fact, during one cycle, I was able to qualify in both regions. Unfortunately, back then, both tournaments were held on the same day, so i was SOL.

The bigger accomplishment is that around 225 of the 400 show up each time around and I have been heads up at the end of the last 2, having won the last. Previously though, the final tables in each region would reconvene at the Borgata for a 2 table freeze out, with the winner grabbing a buyin to a major tournament there. This time, there is a TOC day 2 involved where each day 1 is played down to 30 and stopped. Then, those 60 players combine to finish off the tournament with whatever stacks they had remaining. Essentially, the individual regions no longer have their own TOC, but each make up a day 1.

Anyway, it was a super deepstack, slow (for riverchasers) structure that held the potential for a lot of play. Everyone started with T400, level 1 was 1/2 (no antes at any point), and 30 minute levels. I generally played my tight game, but called a few more raises in position with speculative cards. I won't go through the entire 6 hours of play, but will note a few of the key hands that I was involved in.

I called a raise from LP with 44 against a known LAG and flopped a set. When he bet out, I min raised on the rainbow flop as I was only mildly concerned about a possible straight draw and wanted to build the pot a little. I raised bigger against the same opponent earlier with a flopped set and he folded. Lo and behold, the case 4 comes on the turn and he leads again which I call. The straight card comes on the river and he fires a 3rd bullet. I honestly thought he was stronger than he was and massively overbet to which he folds 66 unimproved face up. Damn.

Later I called another raise with 7c5c in position that I knew would also get flatted by the pre-raise limpers. Flop is AQ7 with 2 crubs and I knew I wasn't going anywhere. Yet. Limpers checked as did the raiser who I observed as one who tries to slow play big hands, so I took the free card and hit my flush. After another pair of checks, he fires T100 (pot-sized) and I call. I'm not thrilled with a 7 high flush, but I can't put him on a made flush unless he raised with something like KJc or KTc. The other players get out of the way and the flop pairs the 7. I'm less than thrilled, but call the second 100 chip bet. He tables AQ for a flopped two pair and says show me two clubs in quite the condescending manner. So I do. He mutters about 75 suited for the next 15 minutes until JJ cracks his AA and is gone.

Soon after that, millerd33 gets moved to my table directly on my right and all hell breaks loose. He is already short stacked, and starts open shoving with alternately air and big cards. He has most of the entire table on tilt but I just laugh about it with him. Right up until he forgot that the BB will defend with almost any 2 cards and shoved with 6 high and couldn't catch up to KJo.

Right before miller's exit, I open-raised with AhQh from the SB and got flatted by a notoriously tight BB. Flop was jack high with 2 hearts and I check raised her for the rest of her stack, but she had the one hand in her range I didn't want to see, JJ. I really thought that my A was still live when she bet out (I had her on KK or QQ at that point) and that I was about 50/50 and willing to race. Oops. Down from T1300 back to a starting stack.

Doubled with QTo through the same guy who busted miller when I four flushed his KQ. Then I got a little revenge on JJ when I completed from the SB with T7o with a few limpers already along for the ride. I bet the T74 rainbow flop and BB called. Limpers got out of the way. A 6 came on the turn and I shipped the rest of it and she called with 55 for an OESD and 4th pair. After fading the 3, 5, and 8, I was up to around T2600 and there were under 40 left in the room.

We broke down to 4 9-handed tables and I decided that it was time to try to accumulate some chips for day 2. The shorties were desparately trying to hang on (why I have no idea as this wasn't a satellite) and the big stacks at my table we generally willing to coast. After a few hands, I picked up AhQh again in MP and raised 3x BB to T600. The tournament chip leader who had just been moved to our table was in the BB and had a tad over 6000. She had seemed willing to coast, but when she looked at her cards, shrugged, called, and bet 1/2 pot on an A75 flop. I called, hoping to solicit a turn check where I could take the pot, but instead she put me all in when the turn brought a K. At this point, we are on the day 2 bubble, and I'm down to T1400 so I tank for a good 2 minutes. Eventually I come to the conclusion that she really is strong and fold. She flips A7o for the flopped top 2. FAWK.

The bubble bursts at another table during our next hand, so I made day 2, but not in the position I was hoping to be in. 214 showed up to play in the Eastern day 1, so about 86,000 chips are moving on for an average stack size of a little under T3000 and the chip leader with around 8 or 9k. The blinds were stopped at 100/200 when we got down to 35, so hopefully we play level 1 starting from there. If we pick back up at 200/400, even the chip leaders will have less than 20 BB to start and that will make for some sub-optimal poker to say the least. Personally, I'm hoping for a 50/100 start so that chip leaders will be rewarded with approximately a standard riverchasers starting stack (usually 100BB) and the rest of us, while (much) shorter will still have some hope. I know multi-day tournaments generally don't work that way, but this is all new for RPT and they are pretty good at finding and implementing creative solutions to less than ideal circumstances.

fawking AQ. I call it Al Qaeda for a reason. It always blows up in your face making playing it a suicide mission.

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

Happy Memorial Day!

2009-05-25T08:15:00.003-04:00

Take a moment to reflect on the sacrifice made by current and past generations to sustain a level of freedom where you can do this with your free time:

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

Indoctrination... Complete

2009-05-20T12:33:00.002-04:00

Saturday was my older daughter's first communion. I'm not Catholic. I wasn't raised under any form of Christianity whatsoever. And today, honestly, I can't say I'm really anything of that nature. My wife, however, is. So I went along with the program. Let my daughter develop the same level of cynicism that I have on her own.

That morning really reinforced my feelings, though, toward organized religion of any sort. Stand up, sit down, kneel, sing this song, lather, rinse, repeat.

I was a little saddened, actually, by the sheepishness of it all. I don't mean to offend either of you who read this drivel, and if you take solace in your weekly spiritual rejuvenation that way, I'm glad it works for you. Me? I just see a 2,000 year old global enterprise, with generationally instilled brand loyalty, brainwashing its customer base on a weekly basis under the guise of a reward program that they will never have to provide. All this for only 10% per annum.

That's just the church. I don't doubt that the premise and goal are the same across the board, just the methodology and specific script are different. Sad. And now my daughter is officially in the fold. Hopefully she will come to her senses over time, but I won't do or say anything to encourage/discourage her ultimate decision.

I think I prefer the gospel according to the Wyld Stallyns. Two simple commandments. Be excellent to each other. Party on. Fathers Preston and Logan nailed that one.

Anyway, I'm looking for some other 40ish year old musicians to start a basement band. I want to call it "Mid-Life Crisis". Suburban Philly area. People with day jobs. Maybe pick up a gig every once in a blue moon. Just for the fawk of it. Know anyone? Leave it in the comments.

Wow, that was post #100? Pretty anticlimactic.

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

Tax Day

2009-04-15T13:13:00.003-04:00

On this, the holiest day of the redistributionist calendar, I can only reflect on what is, and what should be...

Nothing is given to man on earth except a potential and the material on which to actualize it. The potential is a superlative machine: his consciousness; but it is a machine without a spark plug, a machine of which his will must be the spark plug, the self-starter and the driver; he has to discover how to use it and he has to keep it in constant action. The material is the whole of the universe, with no limits set to the knowledge he can acquire and to the enjoyment of life he can achieve. But everything he needs or desires has to be learned, discovered or produced by him––by his own choice; by his own effort; by his own mind. - The Objectivist Ethics

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

Sageness of the Boomtown Rats

2009-03-23T12:30:00.003-04:00

I don't like Mondays. And the Monday after L.O.A.D.? Ooomph.

It's been years since I could physically handle the cabin for an entire weekend. Eventually, the body just can't handle that kind of abuse. Evidently, 12 hours is my rapidly approaching breaking point.

Rolled into the lodge around 2 P.M. Saturday afternoon and, after a badly needed trip to the bathroom and some brief greetings to those already gathered, went directly to one side of the improvised outdoor beer pong table. I was lights out in game 1, taking out 7 of the 10 cups on our way to a 3 cup victory. Game 2 was a more team based triumph, going down to the final cups. The knock out blow was self-inflicted as an opponent miscue sent the terminal volley directly into his team's final cup. Never seen it before, might not ever see it again. A win is a win.

Thus concluded beer pong. No more takers. Obviously our karma was entirely too strong for anyone else to want to try to test.

There might have been a tales game break out after that. Remaining details of the night are sketchy at best.

Hey, poker content!!! Micro poker, but still...

We played 2 5-man SNGs. I went gigli in both. In the first, I ran with a semi-bluff one street too many into a guy who I later realized was going to showdown if he was in the hand. Every time. Card death plus drunken luckboxy calling station (DLCS) never shows good results. Finally ran presto into AK and, since I am actually J.D. McDuffie, lost the race and was gone. Tried to play much tighter in the second one, but of course ran 77 into DLCS's KK and stacked myself. Even morons have a hand sometimes. Even morons have a hand sometimes. Of course, he didn't win either game.

Being quite frustrated, I tried to transition the game into a cash table. 3 handed. Me, DLCS, and one other unfortunate soul. .10/.20 NLHE. Huge stakes, I know, but the average pot was actually around $15. DLCS was raising 2 of every 3 hands to $3.00 pre-flop. Usually blind. We each bought in for 200 BBs so, theoretically, we should have been able to play some good deep stack poker. Should have been. I dropped 85% of my buy-in, most of which came in two hands that DLCS rivered a winner. 30 minutes later, the game ended and I cashed out +25 BBs.

Finally, the table was usurped for Whales Tales. L.O.A.D. is generally the one place where you will find a professional grade game of Tales and this was no exception. And if that wasn't enough, one of the older guys threw in a new rule as a challenge. Between that, the frequent golden chairs, and the bottle of Sambuca on the table to supplement all the malted goodness, my destiny was just about set. The intermittent hiccups were the final straw.

I finally gave in around 1:00 AM, tried one last time to banish the diaphragmatic contractions and, unable to do so, curled up on the floor in the side bedroom. The problem was that the terminal point in the day's digestive process wound up being the northernmost egress. Not good. But the kick in the junk? DLCS was the only one in the room who managed to sleep through the yacking. One last one-outer and he didn't even know it.

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

Leave Your Voter Registration Card At The Door

2009-03-05T16:19:00.003-05:00

Seriously? Who are these 24% and why do they still have a say in things that effect me and my family?

From the raw data of a recent Opinion Dynamics pool...

12. In thinking about funding the federal government, which of the following
statements do you believe?

1. The federal government has plenty of money of its own without using
taxpayer dollars, or
2. The federal government is entirely funded by taxes and
taxpayer dollars
3. (Neither)
4. (Don't know)


              Government    Government funded
              has own money by taxpayers       (Neither) (Don’t know)
3-4 Mar 09        24%              65              8          3
Democrats         26%              62              8          3
Republicans       21%              68              7          4
Independents      24%              67              6          3

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

On The Origin Of Species

2009-02-12T10:52:00.002-05:00

Sharks and other smaller fish. They existed happily in the same seas for a long time obeying the natural predator/prey relationships.

In a fluke accident, an asteroid, the Moneymaker, collided with the known world setting off a chain of events eventually known as the Binion-Harrah (B-H) Boundary. The seas boiled and many areas of land were uncovered, previously barren of life. In these areas, huge numbers of braying quadrupeds emerged, evidently mesmerized by the aftereffects of the asteroid strike.

The sharks found themselves competing with these wild, unpredictable creatures for sustenance and many could never overcome the typically irrational behavior exhibited by the newcomers. Only time will tell whether this will lead to a mass extinction event, but certainly there have already been many deaths...

Happy 200th Chuck!

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

Back To Back

2009-02-09T09:59:00.002-05:00

Not only did I accomplish my goal in making consecutive Riverchasers TOC final tables, I improved on last trimester's 2nd place finish. The Eastern TOC was on Saturday, which I could not make, so I trekked 2 friggin hours from north of Philly to Hershey on Sunday to play with the hillbillies in Central. Banjos were wayyyyy more than dueling. Seriously.

Maybe I'll fill in some of the detail as the work day goes on, but just a few tidbits...

-- I was down to 1/2 BB and all-in blind in the SB when at 100/200 (level 9).
-- KTo can beat KJs and AKo AIPF when it needs to
-- 83o if perfectly acceptable to call off your stack with, assuming the correct conditions

Borgata bound on March 22 for a 1 in 20 shot at a big buy in (to what I don't remember, and I can't get to RPT from work to check). And from what I hear, there are not nearly as many players to be concerned with this time around. Can't do worse than the 17th place egg I laid 4 months ago. Do not go broke with TPTK, do not go broke with TPTK (especially holding AJs).

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

When Bacon Explodes

2009-02-06T11:17:00.003-05:00

http://www.bbqaddicts.com/bacon-explosion.html

5000 calories of bacon and other associated pork fats. Dinner for 10 or an afternoon snack for Al and a date.

What had me rolling was the closing quote used in the wiki article I found this bad boy on:

After preparing a version of the dish, Andrew Vennari of the San Francisco Food Examiner said the dish tasted better than expected, "but I didn't learn the true meaning of the bacon explosion until the next day."

Riverchasers TOC on Sunday in Hershey. Let's see if I can put together back-to-back final tables at this bad boy (2nd place last time).

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

Steel Panther

2009-01-29T15:01:00.002-05:00

I've read the reviews of those who made the trek to see these guys during the seasonal gatherings and I was quite intrigued. So, lo and behold, evidently Steel Panther is releasing some new original music (available on iTunes since Monday) and already into the regular rotation on Octane on Sirius/XM.

If "Death To All But Metal" is indicative of what these guys are all about, I HAVE to get my ass to GVR the next time I make the trip to Vegas.

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

Well I Guess I'm, Ummm, That Guy

2009-01-16T09:48:00.005-05:00

That guy.

It's a description that never comes in a positive connotation. You use it for the person at the party that thinks everyone is laughing with him, but they're actually laughing AT him. The guy who pukes in the kitchen sink. Or the guy that every woman in the room is trying to avoid. And it usually follows, "Don't be..."

On the other side of the coin, "that guy" is also the chap who is so nondescript, so uninteresting that you barely remember him even being somewhere. "You know, that guy, the one with the shirt..." Completely unmemorable.

Anyway, I'm not going to say where or by who, but there I was in a series of photos from the 2008 BASH. All the others were either accurately captioned or the unknowns in the shot were just not mentioned. This one was just me. Captioned "ummm, that guy".

My question is, why post it at all if you don't know who the only person in the picture is? And a full profile no less. My self-confidence isn't all that robust to begin with. Reinforcement of my anonymous hideousness doesn't help. Or maybe I was wearing the proverbial lamp shade that night. At least it's Friday. And a 3 day weekend. Now I can bury my head in the sand for half a week and know that no one will notice and/or remember.

Weeeee.... Eagles/Cards on Sunday. I hate having the Eagles in a championship game as a favorite. No good ever comes of it. They should win but, everytime I think about it, I throw up inside. Just a little. Eagles vs. Steelers rematch in the Super Bowl. I hope.

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

To The Desert We Go

2009-01-12T12:41:00.003-05:00

What else can I say other than "great game"? Probably not so great for a Giants' fan, but I'm not one so who cares? Anyway, for those Eagles' fans who are unable to get the home feed, click the link below for the video highlights. Merrill Reese calls all of the good stuff for the Eagles. Additional comment by me is undesired and unnecessary.

Eagles/Giants Highlights

Two more rematches to go and Philadelphia can forget their championship drought for even longer. And then the pressure goes back on the Phillies to repeat. Who would've thought?

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

Generic Pre-Weekend Post

2009-01-09T13:58:00.002-05:00

Sunday. Eagles. Giants. Meadowlands. Cold. Wind. Playoffs.

Nothing matches when two NFC East teams get to play for a third time in a season. As expected, I will be getting together with a few friends to watch the game at an establishment known for their wings and being tacky. Actually, their wings suck and their beer is overpriced, but it is centrally located to the four of us and the scenery inside is generally voluptuous.

Playing the Giants, I thought back to a song parody one of the local sports talk stations put together back in the mid-late 90's. For some reason, I seem to remember it was directed at the Rangers but the sentiment would still hold. Think of a typical South Philly guy trying to mimic Frank Sinatra... "And don't for-get, New York, you suck!" I failed in my attempt at finding either the clip or even just the lyrics so you'll have to trust me.

Could this be McNabb's last game in Philly? Will his #5 be purple next year? Can anyone honestly tell me that the Vikings don't beat the Eagles last week if they had McNabb at QB? We know Andy Reid will be back, but will Donovan hold out for a contract redo that Jeff/Joe won't want to do? Should be an interesting offseason here in Eaglestown but, until then, Fly Eagles Fly!!

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

An Institute You Can't Disparage

2009-01-08T16:22:00.004-05:00

Denial. It's not just a river in Africa. It seems my parents are (at least mildly) racist and will not accept the fact. Mom picks up the younger girl from school once a week and then I join them for dinner when I go get her to bring her home. Anyway, Dad likes to keep the tv on during dinner and a clip comes on of Michael Steele, ex Lt. Gov of Maryland. Also, African-American. Mom goes, "Oh, we really like him. He's so articulate." What? Why that word? To me, that implies that her assumption is that he would NOT be articulate and that she was surprised and pleased that he is. And why would that be? I asked her if she would have said the same thing about a white guy and got back something incoherent about Barney Frank being white and inarticulate and her not liking him.

Now, if Barney Frank had been on tv instead, I'm sure I would've gotten something about how he's a moron, or his politics suck. Then maybe something about his mumbling to pile on. Instead, even though I know she agrees wholeheartedly with his politics and there are many other fine primary descriptors she could have used, she went right to articulate. Could I be wrong here?

Anyway, TV Thursday... January 8, 2009:

Married With Children. The best show to ever air. Period.

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

Change, Stasis, What's The Difference?

2009-01-07T15:31:00.002-05:00

I don't think Ayman al-Zawahiri would make all that great a poker player. He seems incapable of switching gears, regardless of the others involved in the game. George W Bush was definitely a LAG president with no desire to ever play small ball. P.E.B.O.? He's registered for the tournament, but his cards don't fly for another 2 weeks. We shall see.

From the AP, via msnbc.com...

In the comments, which were posted on a militant Web site and obtained by the SITE Monitoring Service, al-Zawahiri described Israel's actions in Gaza as a "crusade against Islam and Muslims" and called it "Obama's gift to Israel" before he takes office later this month.

"This is Obama whom the American machine of lies tried to portray as the rescuer who will change the policy of America," al-Zawahiri said, according to SITE. "He kills your brothers and sisters in Gaza mercilessly and without affection."

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

I Want To Puke

2009-01-06T15:26:00.004-05:00

http://www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=9613572&nav=menu578_2

Drunk? That pissed off? Some of both?

New Year's Eve was the last time Andrew Smith saw his neighbors and fellow Warm Springs Tribe friends, Hannah Crowe and Julian Wallulatum. The last time
alive, that is.
Almost three days later, their neighbors' three older children came to his door, hungry and worried about their parents, locked behind their bedroom door. The horrible truth came soon after: The couple had died in a murder-suicide, their infant at their side. And their three other children had been in the apartment ever since.
It was a gruesome scene, one that Smith says he'll never be able to forget. "They had the same clothes on from the day I left them, on New Year's Eve," he said. Clothes soaked in blood, with their baby beside them, her shirt also covered in blood, as she sat in her own feces.

I've said it before in this blog, but it bears repeating right now. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?????

Tune Tuesday is cancelled. I'm too pissed off at the world. Go hug your kids. I can't wait to get home to hug mine.

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

How About A Nice Greasy Pork Sandwich...

2009-01-05T10:03:00.004-05:00

First the good...

Eagles 26, Vikings 14. As expected. Next Sunday at NYG +4.5 seems about right. Birds pretty much need to execute the same game plan again. Stop/contain Brandon Jacobs and pressure the crap out of Eli Manning. With Eagle killer Plaxico not an option, this game should be a FG difference one way or the other.

Congratulations to my wife for successfully finishing the Advanced Rally title she was striving for in Syracuse. They scored 90 and 99 (with 70 needed for qualification) on the back to back trials to complete the 3 required legs.

But the bad...

Both she and the 7 year old came home with some nasty stomach virus. The girl lost an entire day's meals right before she went to bed and the wife, although keeping the inside stuff inside for now, is not tempting fate and taking a sick day.

Movie Monday, January 5 2009...

Continuing today's vomit theme, for your consideration, I offer 80's cheeseball comedy Weird Science. "He pukes, you die!" Cross War Games with Frankenstein and stick Kelly LeBrock in skimpy outfits and there you are. There's probably something in there too about teenagers with low self esteem finding and bringing out their inner confidence as an initial step on the path to manhood. But I digress.

But no discussion of movies and vomit would be complete without paying homage to Wil Weaton (and a few other Hollywood nobodies) in the timeless adaptation of Stephen King's novella, The Body.

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

Ugh, You Call This A Weekend?

2009-01-02T21:38:00.004-05:00

Wife took the 7 year old and two of the dogs to obedience trials this weekend in Syracuse. This is relevant as it means I'm left home with the other 3 of her dogs and the 4 year old. But not complaining (too much) gets me MY occasional weekend away in, say, Vegas. Quid. Pro. Quo.

Eagles are -3 on the road in Minnesota after just squeaking into the playoffs. You should be embarrased if you are a division winner and a home dog to a 9-6-1 wild card team. Any Viking fans will need to be suitably humble if in attendence at the '09 Bash after their team goes one and done for the '08-'09 post-season. Maybe having to sing Fly, Eagles Fly while arm wrestling or something.

Fan Boy Friday, January 2 2009...

That was it. I'm just doing a preview of a game I will most certainly be watching. In my living room. With my 4 year old. She'll demand to wear her "5" jersey if I'm wearing mine. Might have to just cause she's so damn cute in hers. However, I WILL be meeting the boys at a local watering hole for Eagles/Giants part 3 next weekend. That will not be negotiable.

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

We're Off To Outer Space

2009-01-01T20:13:00.006-05:00

First off, who cares about the stupid Rose Bowl? Once the Lions lost to Iowa and screwed themselves out of any hope of playing for a national title, it didn't matter. Right? Not right. I hate seeing them getting embarrassed on a national stage, especially when it will continue to get them stereoyped as an overrated Big 10 school. I guess not so unjustifiably.

Eagles / Vikings in 3 days. Let's keep the magic of Philly sports in 2008 going for a few more weeks.

Now back to the charade...

T.V. Thursday, January 1 2009:

This week's selection is one that gives me the comforting warm fuzzies. It was probably my favorite show while growing up, even though it was only shown for a year or so here in the U.S. Each series was actually an entire continuous plot line and I never saw the final 2 episodes when I was young and finally decided to find them on youtube a couple of weeks ago.

STARBLAZERS

I was a geek 25 years ago and very little has changed.

And ck, if you want poker content, it'll show up here occasionally but I'm not planning on talking about it unless I get myself to AC or play in a TOC. No one cares about the poker thoughts of a freeroller/micro stakes donkey.

There go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

If A Tree Falls On A Blogger...

2008-12-30T22:10:00.008-05:00

Actually, if a blogger who nobody reads doesn't post for 2 months, does anyone notice? Does anyone care? Methinks no. Not really too much going on other than laziness that kept me away from the old blog. New job. Quit smoking after 20 years. Commitment to get to the gym a couple times a week. Won my fantasy football league. That kind of nothing.

So, now that we are on the cusp of another new year, I have found that most of those typical things I might resolve to (but never) do in the coming year have already been done over the last couple months. What to do? Since nobody reads anyway, nobody will care if I hijack my own blog in the hopes that it might stimulate some actual good content. It probably won't, but at least it will keep my post count ticking upward.

To that end, I resolve to post each and every weekday of 2009. However, I usually don't have anything to say, so I'm implementing one of those lame weekly list thingies. For the coming year, we will have:

Movie Monday
Tune Tuesday (group, album, song, or concert)
Wildcard Wednesday (whatever I feel like typing about)
T.V. Thursday
Fan Boy Friday (sporting events I personally attended, watched on tv, or heard on the radio)

On each day, I will post about something related to the daily theme. It could be (and probably will be if I know myself) as simple as a one line post, but hopefully just the act of logging on everyday will start the flow of the creative juices. To that end, I might as well get started a day early...

Wildcard Wednesday, December 31 2008.... from the genre of music:

The new job blocks many fewer web sites and I am able to fire up the Sirius media player to keep me going all day. Lo and behold, on comes a song by Apocalyptica. Could it actually be the same group? Those 4 long haired cello playing Finns with a passion for metal? I was first aware of them at the start of the decade when I heard about their cd of all Metallica covers. On cello. Nice.

Their next cd (Inquisition Symphony) included a few more Metallica covers, covers of Faith No More, Sepultura, and Pantera, and a couple of originals to boot. They also improved the mix of the different "voices" which I found slightly annoying on the first disc. Two of the songs that transformed incredibly are "For Whom The Bell Tolls" and "Fade To Black", found in their original forms on (arguably) Metallica's best album, Ride The Lightning.

And with that, my foray back into the blogosphere is complete. Drop a comment if you agree or disagree with my daily topic. Each one is designed to offer a small insight into who I am as a whole. Or at least what I like, and have liked, for most of my 4 decades of life. I'd been thinking of changing the closing for the new year -- "My game may suck, but I won the Mookie. Have you?" But then I remembered that the old one was only used a few dozen times.

There go another 5 minutes of your life you're not getting back...

Upcoming Press Conferences

2008-10-27T14:20:00.003-04:00

In anticipation of the Philadelphia Phillies impending first world championship since 1980, Barack Obama and Joe Biden have scheduled dual press conferences in Seattle and Pittsburgh on Tuesday morning. It will be announced that in the 1st 100 days of an Obama administration, Phillies stars Cole Hamels and Ryan Howard will be assigned to the Mariners and Pirates without compensation to Philadelphia as "it's only fair that some of the teams behind the Phillies can share in some of their success."

On a related note, the federal government is planning to announce a 1 billion dollar bailout package for the New York Yankees and Mets. It seems that, in order to save our beloved national pasttime, these organizations cannot be permitted to be excluded from any future post season play. Rumored to be part of the package are cabinet level positions in the next administration for Pedro Martinez, Carlos Delgado, and Jason Giambi. Wow, talk about buying up bad assets.

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're never getting back.

TOC, FFL, and MLB

2008-10-13T20:07:00.002-04:00

First things first. In my fantasy football league, I sold from strength and bought for my main weakness. Greg Jennings for Matt Forte. Barring byes, my weekly lineup is going to be Palmer (once he finally gets health), Forte, Ronnie Brown, R. Moss, TO, Gates, Crosby, and the Giants D. Could be worse. In week 6, I already have a 5th win locked up regardless of how the NY football giants do tonight.

Speaking of tonight, my Phillies need to pick a 3rd win. I'll feel much better knowing that if the series needs to come back to the Bank, it will be with a 3-2 lead. I'll also feel better about getting to 3-2, again if necessary, if we get it tonight. Joe. F'n. Blanton. Wait, Derek Lowe is pitching again already? We never make it easy on ourselves, do we?

Anyway, yesterday was the riverchasers TOC. The goal? A seat in a 2 table winner take all SNG at the Borgata. That prize? I think it's something like an entry to a $5,000 buyin at the Borgata. The first table was already set a couple of weeks ago at the Central PA TOC. This time, 230 Eastern PA donkeys got together to play down to 10. There were individual prizes for the last 10 of varying value, but the real goal was the final table.

There's absolutely no way I can remember more than a small fraction of the day, but some of the more memorable hands once we got to push-fest time:

JJ vs A9o, A on the flop but the miracle J on the river
KJ vs A9o, Q on the river for broadway
AKs vs 77, A right in the door
KT vs A9, trips tens on the flop, and a rivered boat to rub it in
Blind vs blind and I raise almost 1/3 of my stack with K5o. BB comes over the top and I let it go. He showed AA. He actually went on to pick up AA 3 more times during high blind play.
One of those times, we were heads up and I folded my small blind to him.

Nuts. I gave it away. Yes, I got heads up after 228 others hit the rail. We started with me at a 6:1 chip disadvantage, but I battled back to a 3:2 deficit. Until... we got it AIPF with my JJ against his AT0. Ace right in the door, and I didn't have one more miracle in me. I'll take my second place and the seat in the grand championship. 1 of 20 for a $5000 prize. Therefore, I put my odds at approximately 165:1. Anyone planning on being in AC on Sunday the 26th? Besides me, Riggs and LuckTruck?

And there go another 5 minutes of your life you're never getting back.