Results from July 10th-31st:
I pwn.
August 2, 2006
YA RLY (poker brag)
recoculous is being massively updated, upgraded, and graduated to its own site. your patience is appreciated, and your eyes are welcomed, wherever my rants may be seen. updates are forthcoming.
Results from July 10th-31st:
I pwn.
Results from July 10th-31st:
I pwn.
July 25, 2006
bigger and better things
recoculous is being massively updated, upgraded, and graduated to its own site. your patience is appreciated, and your eyes are welcomed, wherever my rants may be seen. updates are forthcoming.
i figured out why it hadn't rained for two months in GF: I never washed my car. Here it is, not two days past the latest wash, and the pitter-patter of raindrops can be heard on the shiny white exterior of Carter, the little white Saturn. (yes, i finally found a name.)
Here is a link to the weblog I wish recoculous could be. It can't, though, because this site is called Neatorama. (and it is. neat-o-rama.)
Here's the obligatory political link. This one's about why it's so important for the Democrats to take control of the Senate this fall. Ted "The Internet is Not a Truck" Stevens would get the boot, Kent Conrad would move up to a chairmanship and the chair of a subcommittee or two, Dorgan would get a chairmanship, Leahy would take over Intelligence, and a bunch of other awesome stuff. It's all right here; read it, and vote for Kent Conrad in November. More on that later. Also, if you live in District 43 in Grand Forks (near the library and Red River HS), vote for Jamie Selzler for ND House. Anyone who coaches high-school debate, claims to be a Republican, and then gets sick of the party's mendacity and switches to Dem-NPL is A-OK by me.
i figured out why it hadn't rained for two months in GF: I never washed my car. Here it is, not two days past the latest wash, and the pitter-patter of raindrops can be heard on the shiny white exterior of Carter, the little white Saturn. (yes, i finally found a name.)
Here is a link to the weblog I wish recoculous could be. It can't, though, because this site is called Neatorama. (and it is. neat-o-rama.)
Here's the obligatory political link. This one's about why it's so important for the Democrats to take control of the Senate this fall. Ted "The Internet is Not a Truck" Stevens would get the boot, Kent Conrad would move up to a chairmanship and the chair of a subcommittee or two, Dorgan would get a chairmanship, Leahy would take over Intelligence, and a bunch of other awesome stuff. It's all right here; read it, and vote for Kent Conrad in November. More on that later. Also, if you live in District 43 in Grand Forks (near the library and Red River HS), vote for Jamie Selzler for ND House. Anyone who coaches high-school debate, claims to be a Republican, and then gets sick of the party's mendacity and switches to Dem-NPL is A-OK by me.
July 16, 2006
bbv post (poker post, sorry paul)
so, internet poker has turned me into depressed, angry dusty today.
38 $16 turbo games today.
10 finishes in the money, for a net profit of... -200 or so.
1 first place.
8 2nd places.
1 3rd place.
Among the highlights are five busts when a worse pocket pair makes trips to beat my better pocket pair, and three 2nd place finishes where I had a 3.5:1 chip lead going into heads-up play. I know I took way too many coinflips and 55/45s for my whole stack, and I lost most of them.
this makes it 3 times in a row that I've tried to move up to the 16s and had my bankroll crushed by loose calls, horrible cards, and too many coinflips brought on by the resulting tiltiness. so it's back to the 6.50s yet again, for an hourly rate only slightly better than minimum wage (unless i'm running hot). shit happens, i suppose.
i really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really want to get drunk or smoke a joint or something, just to get out of my head for a little while. but... if I do that, I'll go to prison. that's a whole other side of depressed, angry dusty that we don't need to get into here.
i am helpless in the face of ill fortune's wrath.
/delete
38 $16 turbo games today.
10 finishes in the money, for a net profit of... -200 or so.
1 first place.
8 2nd places.
1 3rd place.
Among the highlights are five busts when a worse pocket pair makes trips to beat my better pocket pair, and three 2nd place finishes where I had a 3.5:1 chip lead going into heads-up play. I know I took way too many coinflips and 55/45s for my whole stack, and I lost most of them.
this makes it 3 times in a row that I've tried to move up to the 16s and had my bankroll crushed by loose calls, horrible cards, and too many coinflips brought on by the resulting tiltiness. so it's back to the 6.50s yet again, for an hourly rate only slightly better than minimum wage (unless i'm running hot). shit happens, i suppose.
i really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really want to get drunk or smoke a joint or something, just to get out of my head for a little while. but... if I do that, I'll go to prison. that's a whole other side of depressed, angry dusty that we don't need to get into here.
i am helpless in the face of ill fortune's wrath.
/delete
July 13, 2006
f**k yeah
pure energy
Information Society is back.
Producer Paul Robb picked up the rights to the InSoc name from lead singer/producer Kurt Harland, who had since 1997 been mostly being goth and producing video-game music. Robb found Jim Cassidy, another original band member, and added two more people (and a variety of featured artists) to bring back MY FAVORITE GODDAMN BAND EVER.
YEAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!
FUUUUUUUCK YEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
PSA
For the love of all that is good in the world, if you're using Internet Explorer right now.... stop. If you're at a public terminal, and they force you to use IE, show them this post.
Internet Explorer may be the worst piece of software in existence. Its unbreakable attachment to pretty much every program in Windows makes it the perfect vector to unleash all sorts of nasty viruses, hack attacks, trojans, and malware. Windows Update runs on my PC about once a week, and there is nearly always a security update for a vulnerability in Internet Explorer, usually having to do with its unquenchable desire to launch embedded Word/Outlook/Excel/whatever documents. Plus, it's slow.
Using IE is exactly like taking a razor blade, slicing open the end of your penis, and then having unprotected intercourse with every crack whore in New York. If you're not already terminally ill, you will be soon, and it's only a (very short) matter of time. "Oh, dusty, you're just being alarmist. Microsoft would never release software that was so dangerous!!!" No I'm not, and yes they would. They did. You're using it, and you're trying to make excuses why you shouldn't switch. No more excuses.
Click here to download Mozilla Firefox. Firefox is fast, supports tabbed browsing, has an excellent pop-up blocker, and is free. I use Firefox on my PC, but I'm considering switching to Opera.
Click here to download Opera. Opera 9 is brand-new, REALLY fast, and has BitTorrent support built right in. Plus, it masquerades as Internet Explorer if the website you're visiting is tracking the browser you use. (So? So, when we become the United Colonies of Microsoft, you won't be purged.)
You're welcome. That is all.
Information Society is back.
Producer Paul Robb picked up the rights to the InSoc name from lead singer/producer Kurt Harland, who had since 1997 been mostly being goth and producing video-game music. Robb found Jim Cassidy, another original band member, and added two more people (and a variety of featured artists) to bring back MY FAVORITE GODDAMN BAND EVER.
YEAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!
FUUUUUUUCK YEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
PSA
For the love of all that is good in the world, if you're using Internet Explorer right now.... stop. If you're at a public terminal, and they force you to use IE, show them this post.
Internet Explorer may be the worst piece of software in existence. Its unbreakable attachment to pretty much every program in Windows makes it the perfect vector to unleash all sorts of nasty viruses, hack attacks, trojans, and malware. Windows Update runs on my PC about once a week, and there is nearly always a security update for a vulnerability in Internet Explorer, usually having to do with its unquenchable desire to launch embedded Word/Outlook/Excel/whatever documents. Plus, it's slow.
Using IE is exactly like taking a razor blade, slicing open the end of your penis, and then having unprotected intercourse with every crack whore in New York. If you're not already terminally ill, you will be soon, and it's only a (very short) matter of time. "Oh, dusty, you're just being alarmist. Microsoft would never release software that was so dangerous!!!" No I'm not, and yes they would. They did. You're using it, and you're trying to make excuses why you shouldn't switch. No more excuses.
Click here to download Mozilla Firefox. Firefox is fast, supports tabbed browsing, has an excellent pop-up blocker, and is free. I use Firefox on my PC, but I'm considering switching to Opera.
Click here to download Opera. Opera 9 is brand-new, REALLY fast, and has BitTorrent support built right in. Plus, it masquerades as Internet Explorer if the website you're visiting is tracking the browser you use. (So? So, when we become the United Colonies of Microsoft, you won't be purged.)
You're welcome. That is all.
July 12, 2006
f**k
Wow, we finally did it.
The war in Iraq is over (we won); terrorism has been defeated (we even figured out that nasty bit about defeating an ideology). Nobody in America has to go hungry, and everyone has access to a doctor. Our kids get the best public education in the world, and we've figured out a way to let all the immigrants that want to come to the US get visas. Money no longer poisons every part of our government, and elections are fair and free. North Korea and Iran have given up on building nukes, and copyright infringement is a thing of the past. Net neutrality will be preserved, and competition between media companies has been protected.
Phew. Now that we've solved all other problems, we can finally ban gambling on the Internet.
Oh, what? We didn't solve any of those other problems?
Oh. That's too bad. At least we can still ban gambling on the Internet.
fuck you, america.
The war in Iraq is over (we won); terrorism has been defeated (we even figured out that nasty bit about defeating an ideology). Nobody in America has to go hungry, and everyone has access to a doctor. Our kids get the best public education in the world, and we've figured out a way to let all the immigrants that want to come to the US get visas. Money no longer poisons every part of our government, and elections are fair and free. North Korea and Iran have given up on building nukes, and copyright infringement is a thing of the past. Net neutrality will be preserved, and competition between media companies has been protected.
Phew. Now that we've solved all other problems, we can finally ban gambling on the Internet.
Oh, what? We didn't solve any of those other problems?
Oh. That's too bad. At least we can still ban gambling on the Internet.
fuck you, america.
July 11, 2006
fun with things
pwnt in the face
this is hilarious. internet hijacked for benign mischief, news at 11. thanks delicious for the link
i hate to say i told you so
...but I did.
In all seriousness, this doesn't surprise me. People talk about mystical religious experiences in terms of depersonalization, disassociation, flashes of insight, and a general feeling of well-being; research into the effects of psychedelic drugs leads to discussions of "ego death" (depersonalization/disassociation), "euphoria" (well-being), and "you know, like, totally seeing stuff in ways that I'd, you know, never seen before. or something." (flashes of insight) And, of course, there's the well-established use of peyote, datura, ayahuasca, and other natural hallucinogens as religious sacraments by native peoples all up and down the Americas.
Reading all the ONDCP's little pamphlets about magic mushrooms always gives me a chuckle. Unwilling to admit that drugs may not be the worst thing that's ever happened to America, they reach as far as their little hands will let them to find reasons why mushrooms are a Schedule I controlled substance (which makes no sense, as anyone who has eaten the little buggers can tell you): "It is difficult to tell the difference between hallucinogenic mushrooms and other, possibly poisonous mushrooms." "Some users experience severe paranoia, accompanied by increased heart rate and perspiration." Note the conspicuous lack of evidence that mushrooms are an addictive/habit-forming drug, which is usually a precondition for being classified as Schedule I ("high potential for abuse with no discernible medical benefit").
Compare this to some varieties of religious experience: it is difficult to tell the difference between a cult and an honest religion (sometimes); it's difficult to tell whether or not your priest has an... uh... unhealthy interest in your teenage son; often times the threat of eternal damnation or a life of suffering is used to extract cooperation and submission from kids who are too young to decide for themselves whether or not they're being fed a load of crap. (what eight-year-old wouldn't become agitated upon learning that their name had been written in the Book of Death?)
Everyone needs a spiritual experience every now and then; spring cleaning for your mind, as it were. American life is such that we either don't have the time to become skilled enough at Zen meditation to achieve depersonalization, or we're so ADD that we couldn't stop thinking for ten minutes if we had guns to our heads. Some of us are disillusioned with the church we grew up in, or we didn't grow up in a church at all, and thus it feels a little strange to pray to something we don't necessarily feel like we believe in. There's no need for us to walk around, self-absorbed and steeped in our own misery. If there's someone we trust that can procure some psilocybin, or mescaline, or DXM, or MDMA, or what-have-you, and we sincerely want to explore ourselves and the malleable nature of our universe, we can. Just so long as we don't do it alone without experience (sorry, Derek), or irresponsibly, the opportunity for a significant, meaningful experience with long-lasting effects on our state of mind is within reach.
this is hilarious. internet hijacked for benign mischief, news at 11. thanks delicious for the link
i hate to say i told you so
...but I did.
In all seriousness, this doesn't surprise me. People talk about mystical religious experiences in terms of depersonalization, disassociation, flashes of insight, and a general feeling of well-being; research into the effects of psychedelic drugs leads to discussions of "ego death" (depersonalization/disassociation), "euphoria" (well-being), and "you know, like, totally seeing stuff in ways that I'd, you know, never seen before. or something." (flashes of insight) And, of course, there's the well-established use of peyote, datura, ayahuasca, and other natural hallucinogens as religious sacraments by native peoples all up and down the Americas.
Reading all the ONDCP's little pamphlets about magic mushrooms always gives me a chuckle. Unwilling to admit that drugs may not be the worst thing that's ever happened to America, they reach as far as their little hands will let them to find reasons why mushrooms are a Schedule I controlled substance (which makes no sense, as anyone who has eaten the little buggers can tell you): "It is difficult to tell the difference between hallucinogenic mushrooms and other, possibly poisonous mushrooms." "Some users experience severe paranoia, accompanied by increased heart rate and perspiration." Note the conspicuous lack of evidence that mushrooms are an addictive/habit-forming drug, which is usually a precondition for being classified as Schedule I ("high potential for abuse with no discernible medical benefit").
Compare this to some varieties of religious experience: it is difficult to tell the difference between a cult and an honest religion (sometimes); it's difficult to tell whether or not your priest has an... uh... unhealthy interest in your teenage son; often times the threat of eternal damnation or a life of suffering is used to extract cooperation and submission from kids who are too young to decide for themselves whether or not they're being fed a load of crap. (what eight-year-old wouldn't become agitated upon learning that their name had been written in the Book of Death?)
Everyone needs a spiritual experience every now and then; spring cleaning for your mind, as it were. American life is such that we either don't have the time to become skilled enough at Zen meditation to achieve depersonalization, or we're so ADD that we couldn't stop thinking for ten minutes if we had guns to our heads. Some of us are disillusioned with the church we grew up in, or we didn't grow up in a church at all, and thus it feels a little strange to pray to something we don't necessarily feel like we believe in. There's no need for us to walk around, self-absorbed and steeped in our own misery. If there's someone we trust that can procure some psilocybin, or mescaline, or DXM, or MDMA, or what-have-you, and we sincerely want to explore ourselves and the malleable nature of our universe, we can. Just so long as we don't do it alone without experience (sorry, Derek), or irresponsibly, the opportunity for a significant, meaningful experience with long-lasting effects on our state of mind is within reach.
July 10, 2006
mild outrage
Chrissy has a coffee cup that can hold half a pot of coffee; it's like a soup bowl with a handle. While carefully navigating the large rim of said cup, and consuming delicious Original Glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts, I perused today's Grand Forks Herald. Page 2A was a gigantic green advertisement, paid for by Americans for American Energy. Read it if you like, but you probably already get the gist of their argument. (Republicans for Republican Elections?)
I thought they made the sort of case that would create a lot of initial nods and murmurs of agreements at breakfast tables all over the region, and I simply could not let this giant fluff piece go by uncontested. Arming myself with some useful tidbits of fact (thanks Wikipedia), I composed the following letter to the editor:
ANWR Ad Running Empty on Facts
Page 2A of July 10th's Herald displays a full-page ad, paid for by Americans for American Energy, exhorting us to call our Senators and encourage them to support legislation to drill for oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The ad makes an attractive case, speaking of "abundant supplies of American-made energy" that are "locked up on federal lands and in places like ANWR."
This ad speaks loudest when we consider what it does not say. According to estimates by the U.S. Department of the Interior, there are approximately 7.7 billion barrels of oil that drilling can recover. The United States presently uses 20 million barrels of oil every day. If ANWR's oil reserves were used to supply 10% of America's oil needs, we would exhaust the entire supply in less than 10 years. A small fraction of our energy needs that will be consumed in the time it takes for a high-school graduate to become a doctor hardly constitutes an "abundant supply."
In fact, it seems that Americans for American Energy are some of the only people left (besides Republicans in the House and Senate, and the president) who are interested in drilling in ANWR. Oil companies with operations in Alaska, such as BP, Chevron, Texaco, and ConocoPhillips, are all quite familiar with the geology of the region. All of them have stopped lobbying for the right to drill in the reserve.
Drilling in ANWR will not, as the ad suggests, "let America solve its own energy problems." In reality, it lets Republicans solve their own election problems. It will also leave the next generation of leaders no ANWR, no oil left in ANWR, and no real, long-lasting solution to America's addiction to fossil fuels.
-----
We'll see if they print it, and if it raises the hackles of any local wingnuts.
I thought they made the sort of case that would create a lot of initial nods and murmurs of agreements at breakfast tables all over the region, and I simply could not let this giant fluff piece go by uncontested. Arming myself with some useful tidbits of fact (thanks Wikipedia), I composed the following letter to the editor:
ANWR Ad Running Empty on Facts
Page 2A of July 10th's Herald displays a full-page ad, paid for by Americans for American Energy, exhorting us to call our Senators and encourage them to support legislation to drill for oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The ad makes an attractive case, speaking of "abundant supplies of American-made energy" that are "locked up on federal lands and in places like ANWR."
This ad speaks loudest when we consider what it does not say. According to estimates by the U.S. Department of the Interior, there are approximately 7.7 billion barrels of oil that drilling can recover. The United States presently uses 20 million barrels of oil every day. If ANWR's oil reserves were used to supply 10% of America's oil needs, we would exhaust the entire supply in less than 10 years. A small fraction of our energy needs that will be consumed in the time it takes for a high-school graduate to become a doctor hardly constitutes an "abundant supply."
In fact, it seems that Americans for American Energy are some of the only people left (besides Republicans in the House and Senate, and the president) who are interested in drilling in ANWR. Oil companies with operations in Alaska, such as BP, Chevron, Texaco, and ConocoPhillips, are all quite familiar with the geology of the region. All of them have stopped lobbying for the right to drill in the reserve.
Drilling in ANWR will not, as the ad suggests, "let America solve its own energy problems." In reality, it lets Republicans solve their own election problems. It will also leave the next generation of leaders no ANWR, no oil left in ANWR, and no real, long-lasting solution to America's addiction to fossil fuels.
-----
We'll see if they print it, and if it raises the hackles of any local wingnuts.
July 9, 2006
wet and/or wild
mini-vacation
The halfway house gives me one night a month where I may gallivant about town (or wherever) without having to come back to sleep. Coincidentally, roommates Travis and Chrissy were going to Chrissy's parents' lake cabin on Tamarac Lake. I, of course, jumped at the chance. We hastily packed up and left on Saturday afternoon, arriving early that evening. The weather was perfect for our chosen endeavors, 90 degrees and calm, with nary a cloud in the sky.
water + skis + dusty = atomic wedgie
I'd never waterskiied before, and Chrissy's dad promised that he'd have me up and going in five minutes. Skiing is incredibly easy, he said; it's the standing-up that's difficult. Really, really difficult. Sheila, one of C's friends, tried six or seven times to get on her feet, but couldn't quite manage it, so I gamely offered myself as the next guinea pig.
Lying on my back in the lake, in a close approximation of the fetal position (except with skis), I signaled our driver to go. The rope went tight, and I was almost immediately struck in the face with an unrelenting wall of water that forced itself into my nose, my eyes, and my ears all at once. I let go of the rope once my skis flew off, over my head. Oops. C's dad (heretoafter referred as Dwight) pulled the boat around, I reattached the skis, and we tried again.
The fourth launch, I made it into almost a sitting position on my skis, but I was not far enough away from the spray to avoid getting a serious water wedgie. I hung on for as long as I could, but with block and tackle tangled in the lining of my shorts, and the constant assault of the spray, I eventually succumbed to the pain and let go, barrel-rolling sideways along the surface of the lake as my skis flew off and my legs pinwheeled in a spectacularly helpless sort of way.
Launch number five was still more successful, but I was once again propelled along the lake when the back tips of my skis crossed and flipped me forward out of them. I would have gone for six, but one of my errant skis clipped me in the back of the head when it landed in the water. I claimed approximate success and gave the rope to Travis, who was also a waterski-virgin. He promptly showed me up by locking out his legs in the fully-upright position on his fifth launch, even skiing one-handed. (jerk.)
tubal ligation
Having established ourselves as relative masters of the waterskiing domain, we moved on to the inner-tubes. I'd never seen inner-tubes like these; they were probably 4 1/2 feet in diameter, and covered completely in nylon mesh, to provide a better surface for jumping wakes. I clung desperately to my tube as Dwight unleashed all 100 of his boat engine's horses, trying not to let my teeth clack together as I flew over the edge of the wake, and then over the front of waves left by jetskiiers, until finally I went airborne without benefit of tube when I was launched off both wake and front-wave combined. Climbing back aboard was a long and draining struggle, and I lasted about 20 seconds on the second run, losing my grip and skipping over the lake surface like a stone when my tube collided with Travis's during a particularly wide turn. (As I came to a stop, I pined for the pre-BTC days, when what little shoulder and back muscle I had was not atrophied away by seven weeks of somnolence.)
Chrissy and Travis proved to be much better tubers than I, with Chrissy attempting the impressive-but-difficult stunt of jumping her tube sideways over Travis's. She completed the trick twice, but was ejected from her tube at the end both times. (From the boat, the wipeouts were just as exciting as the tricks themselves.) Travis's tenacity was unmatched, as he clung to his tube the entire time, cut loose only after an extended period of being dragged upside-down, underwater.
camping out
Weak and tired, we returned to the cabin to build a fire and play Catchphrase with the girls who chose not to accompany us on our water-sport adventures. A recent storm had felled several large trees in the area, one of which was cut up and stacked alongside the house. Some of the wood was really much too thick for satisfactory bonfiring, but Travis was not to be deterred, and threw what must have been the thickest part of the stump (easily 25-30 inches across) into the pit. The seven of us ended up bringing our blankets and pillows outside and sleeping under the stars... at least until dawn, when a thick cloud of mosquitoes descended on us and we retreated into tents and the cabin to sleep a few more hours. Early Sunday morning, Dwight, Travis, and C's friend Natalie went fishing; severely short on sleep, and afraid that I would not be able to ski or tube without more rest, I passed. The trio returned with four northern pike longer than 24 inches, each weighing between 5 and 8 pounds. I would later regret my decision to not fish, as the air remained cool and windy all day (not suitable for being pulled behind a boat). Instead, we just had lunch, I punished Travis, Natalie, and Chrissy in a fast-paced, intense game of croquet, and we headed for home.
Chrissy's parents are equal parts friendly and fun, and they exhorted us to come back again sometime. I can hardly wait.
The halfway house gives me one night a month where I may gallivant about town (or wherever) without having to come back to sleep. Coincidentally, roommates Travis and Chrissy were going to Chrissy's parents' lake cabin on Tamarac Lake. I, of course, jumped at the chance. We hastily packed up and left on Saturday afternoon, arriving early that evening. The weather was perfect for our chosen endeavors, 90 degrees and calm, with nary a cloud in the sky.
water + skis + dusty = atomic wedgie
I'd never waterskiied before, and Chrissy's dad promised that he'd have me up and going in five minutes. Skiing is incredibly easy, he said; it's the standing-up that's difficult. Really, really difficult. Sheila, one of C's friends, tried six or seven times to get on her feet, but couldn't quite manage it, so I gamely offered myself as the next guinea pig.
Lying on my back in the lake, in a close approximation of the fetal position (except with skis), I signaled our driver to go. The rope went tight, and I was almost immediately struck in the face with an unrelenting wall of water that forced itself into my nose, my eyes, and my ears all at once. I let go of the rope once my skis flew off, over my head. Oops. C's dad (heretoafter referred as Dwight) pulled the boat around, I reattached the skis, and we tried again.
The fourth launch, I made it into almost a sitting position on my skis, but I was not far enough away from the spray to avoid getting a serious water wedgie. I hung on for as long as I could, but with block and tackle tangled in the lining of my shorts, and the constant assault of the spray, I eventually succumbed to the pain and let go, barrel-rolling sideways along the surface of the lake as my skis flew off and my legs pinwheeled in a spectacularly helpless sort of way.
Launch number five was still more successful, but I was once again propelled along the lake when the back tips of my skis crossed and flipped me forward out of them. I would have gone for six, but one of my errant skis clipped me in the back of the head when it landed in the water. I claimed approximate success and gave the rope to Travis, who was also a waterski-virgin. He promptly showed me up by locking out his legs in the fully-upright position on his fifth launch, even skiing one-handed. (jerk.)
tubal ligation
Having established ourselves as relative masters of the waterskiing domain, we moved on to the inner-tubes. I'd never seen inner-tubes like these; they were probably 4 1/2 feet in diameter, and covered completely in nylon mesh, to provide a better surface for jumping wakes. I clung desperately to my tube as Dwight unleashed all 100 of his boat engine's horses, trying not to let my teeth clack together as I flew over the edge of the wake, and then over the front of waves left by jetskiiers, until finally I went airborne without benefit of tube when I was launched off both wake and front-wave combined. Climbing back aboard was a long and draining struggle, and I lasted about 20 seconds on the second run, losing my grip and skipping over the lake surface like a stone when my tube collided with Travis's during a particularly wide turn. (As I came to a stop, I pined for the pre-BTC days, when what little shoulder and back muscle I had was not atrophied away by seven weeks of somnolence.)
Chrissy and Travis proved to be much better tubers than I, with Chrissy attempting the impressive-but-difficult stunt of jumping her tube sideways over Travis's. She completed the trick twice, but was ejected from her tube at the end both times. (From the boat, the wipeouts were just as exciting as the tricks themselves.) Travis's tenacity was unmatched, as he clung to his tube the entire time, cut loose only after an extended period of being dragged upside-down, underwater.
camping out
Weak and tired, we returned to the cabin to build a fire and play Catchphrase with the girls who chose not to accompany us on our water-sport adventures. A recent storm had felled several large trees in the area, one of which was cut up and stacked alongside the house. Some of the wood was really much too thick for satisfactory bonfiring, but Travis was not to be deterred, and threw what must have been the thickest part of the stump (easily 25-30 inches across) into the pit. The seven of us ended up bringing our blankets and pillows outside and sleeping under the stars... at least until dawn, when a thick cloud of mosquitoes descended on us and we retreated into tents and the cabin to sleep a few more hours. Early Sunday morning, Dwight, Travis, and C's friend Natalie went fishing; severely short on sleep, and afraid that I would not be able to ski or tube without more rest, I passed. The trio returned with four northern pike longer than 24 inches, each weighing between 5 and 8 pounds. I would later regret my decision to not fish, as the air remained cool and windy all day (not suitable for being pulled behind a boat). Instead, we just had lunch, I punished Travis, Natalie, and Chrissy in a fast-paced, intense game of croquet, and we headed for home.
Chrissy's parents are equal parts friendly and fun, and they exhorted us to come back again sometime. I can hardly wait.
July 7, 2006
elegaic
She said, "kiss me where it smells funny..."
...so I brought her to Grand Forks! HA!
Home is much like I left it. Roommates were expecting me back in a couple of weeks, so it was cool to surprise them. Halfway-house situation is good-to-great; $5 a day and I can come and go as I please, as long as I show up by 11 to go to bed. The motivation to spend all my uncomfortable-bed hours asleep will hopefully return me to some semblance of a regular schedule.
The jerks at the Bismarck Transition Center, where I was so accurately assessed, threw away two nearly-full bottles of cologne that I had in my toiletry bag without telling me. I could not keep them in my room to use; cologne, after all, contains alcohol, which means someone may brave the horrible taste and likely intense nausea and vomiting to drink it. I was told by the guy that counted all my beautiful things upon my arrival that the bottles would remain safe in storage until my release. The administrative-types felt otherwise, tossing out everyone's good smells without so much as a "hey, maybe you should send this back home." So there goes $100. I found the situation neatly descriptive of my time at BTC as a whole.
some delicious factoids
Of the 59 other people I met during my stay at the state hospital in Jamestown last year, 2 of them have since committed suicide. 4 others were at BTC the same time that I was. I did not learn what happened to anyone else, nor did I particularly care to.
There were 43 people on my floor, and 18 places to sit in the TV room.
One of the staff members, who had been there since my arrival, asked me what my name was... the day before I left.
Between the no-booze, lethargy, and missing meals due to sleeping too much, I lost 16 lbs., returning me to my high-school weight of 175.
I received 10 hours of educational group and 3 hours of individual counseling over the course of 49 days (a sore point, obv)
I read five truly great books (Lila, by Robert M. Pirsig; Oryx & Crake, The Blind Assassin, both by Margaret Atwood; Harrington on Hold 'Em Vol. 2, by Dan Harrington et al.; the first half of Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace) and countless crappy detective novels.
I went disc-golfing once at the Hillside course in Bismarck and shot a -23 course par (-5 pro). I could have done better.
Upon my return, my steriod-drink-raging roommate Travis (story for later, heh) bought one extra-large Papa Murphy's Chicago-style stuffed pizza, of which we each ate two slices... with regret following immediately.
The first thing I did when I entered my home (aside from, of course, cheerful greetings) was seek out the giant bag of fruit snacks. Its approximate size had not changed since I left... and they're still moist and tasty.
...go ahead. Put them in your mouth. Chew them up.
It's good to be home.
...so I brought her to Grand Forks! HA!
Home is much like I left it. Roommates were expecting me back in a couple of weeks, so it was cool to surprise them. Halfway-house situation is good-to-great; $5 a day and I can come and go as I please, as long as I show up by 11 to go to bed. The motivation to spend all my uncomfortable-bed hours asleep will hopefully return me to some semblance of a regular schedule.
The jerks at the Bismarck Transition Center, where I was so accurately assessed, threw away two nearly-full bottles of cologne that I had in my toiletry bag without telling me. I could not keep them in my room to use; cologne, after all, contains alcohol, which means someone may brave the horrible taste and likely intense nausea and vomiting to drink it. I was told by the guy that counted all my beautiful things upon my arrival that the bottles would remain safe in storage until my release. The administrative-types felt otherwise, tossing out everyone's good smells without so much as a "hey, maybe you should send this back home." So there goes $100. I found the situation neatly descriptive of my time at BTC as a whole.
some delicious factoids
Of the 59 other people I met during my stay at the state hospital in Jamestown last year, 2 of them have since committed suicide. 4 others were at BTC the same time that I was. I did not learn what happened to anyone else, nor did I particularly care to.
There were 43 people on my floor, and 18 places to sit in the TV room.
One of the staff members, who had been there since my arrival, asked me what my name was... the day before I left.
Between the no-booze, lethargy, and missing meals due to sleeping too much, I lost 16 lbs., returning me to my high-school weight of 175.
I received 10 hours of educational group and 3 hours of individual counseling over the course of 49 days (a sore point, obv)
I read five truly great books (Lila, by Robert M. Pirsig; Oryx & Crake, The Blind Assassin, both by Margaret Atwood; Harrington on Hold 'Em Vol. 2, by Dan Harrington et al.; the first half of Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace) and countless crappy detective novels.
I went disc-golfing once at the Hillside course in Bismarck and shot a -23 course par (-5 pro). I could have done better.
Upon my return, my steriod-drink-raging roommate Travis (story for later, heh) bought one extra-large Papa Murphy's Chicago-style stuffed pizza, of which we each ate two slices... with regret following immediately.
The first thing I did when I entered my home (aside from, of course, cheerful greetings) was seek out the giant bag of fruit snacks. Its approximate size had not changed since I left... and they're still moist and tasty.
...go ahead. Put them in your mouth. Chew them up.
It's good to be home.
June 29, 2006
untitled 52
i'll rejoin the land of the living on july 7th.
i won't be going "home," as such. it'll be nice to go back to work again, and to have my phone and internet access that doesn't cost .25 for 15 minutes again. i can't even read the best of craigslist or check my myspace invites because of library nannyware. bleh. i'm looking forward to seeing my family; i miss them terribly.
i won't be going "home," as such. it'll be nice to go back to work again, and to have my phone and internet access that doesn't cost .25 for 15 minutes again. i can't even read the best of craigslist or check my myspace invites because of library nannyware. bleh. i'm looking forward to seeing my family; i miss them terribly.
June 20, 2006
update
Q & A
Q: Why won't you answer your phone? Where the fuck are you?
A: I'm in rehab in Bismarck.
Q: Again?
A: Yes, again. This time it was my idea.
Q: Did you violate your probation again? Are you going to prison?
A: No and no. I thought it would be cheaper and easier if I just told my probation officer that I needed to quit drinking, but that turned out to not be the case.
Q: Are you sure you didn't violate your probation?
A: Yes.
Q: You're lying, you liar.
A: That's not a question.
Q: I heard you were in rehab for being gambly.
A: I am quite gambly, yes. That's not the reason, though.
Q: So why ARE you in rehab?
A: About a month ago, after a long night of drinking and screwing around (much like nearly every night for the preceding five months), I woke up sweaty and nauseous, and my hands wouldn't stop shaking. I'd never had a hangover like that before, and when I finally felt like a human being the next day, I realized that I drink way too much way too frequently. I also know that I can't just quit cold turkey... I need a combination of community support and psychological evaluation/treatment.
Q: Are you an alcoholic?
A: Most of the literature says that since you asked me that question, yes, I am. If I say no, then I'm in denial, and if I say yes, then I need to be working a program. Some literature (I am not making this up) says that since you asked me that question, you're most likely an alcoholic too.
Q: Huh?
A: Yes, I am. So are you.
Q: No I'm not.
A: Fine, I don't care.
Q: Why didn't you tell anyone?
A: I went from "hey, I need help" to "you're going to Bismarck for evaluation" in about two days. I had lots of stuff to try and arrange in those two days, and I really didn't think I'd be gone this long.
Q: Why not?
A: I was told that I'd be going to Bismarck to get an evaluation by some of the best counselors in the state, and that it would probably take ten days, plus or minus four. Instead, I've been here for a month, and I got a two-hour evaluation from two girls approximately my age who both graduated from Jamestown College. I wish I'd put up the money for counseling outside of my probation officer's clutches, because now I'm in a system where nobody cares about customer satisfaction... and that sucks.
Q: When are you coming home?
A: July 19th, maybe sooner. I think they want me to stay in a halfway house for a while or something. Not real clear on the details -- you can ask three different people what's up and they'll give you four different answers, none of them concrete.
Q: blah blah blah, all other inquiries
A: Fuck off. I'll be home soon.
love,
dusty
Q: Why won't you answer your phone? Where the fuck are you?
A: I'm in rehab in Bismarck.
Q: Again?
A: Yes, again. This time it was my idea.
Q: Did you violate your probation again? Are you going to prison?
A: No and no. I thought it would be cheaper and easier if I just told my probation officer that I needed to quit drinking, but that turned out to not be the case.
Q: Are you sure you didn't violate your probation?
A: Yes.
Q: You're lying, you liar.
A: That's not a question.
Q: I heard you were in rehab for being gambly.
A: I am quite gambly, yes. That's not the reason, though.
Q: So why ARE you in rehab?
A: About a month ago, after a long night of drinking and screwing around (much like nearly every night for the preceding five months), I woke up sweaty and nauseous, and my hands wouldn't stop shaking. I'd never had a hangover like that before, and when I finally felt like a human being the next day, I realized that I drink way too much way too frequently. I also know that I can't just quit cold turkey... I need a combination of community support and psychological evaluation/treatment.
Q: Are you an alcoholic?
A: Most of the literature says that since you asked me that question, yes, I am. If I say no, then I'm in denial, and if I say yes, then I need to be working a program. Some literature (I am not making this up) says that since you asked me that question, you're most likely an alcoholic too.
Q: Huh?
A: Yes, I am. So are you.
Q: No I'm not.
A: Fine, I don't care.
Q: Why didn't you tell anyone?
A: I went from "hey, I need help" to "you're going to Bismarck for evaluation" in about two days. I had lots of stuff to try and arrange in those two days, and I really didn't think I'd be gone this long.
Q: Why not?
A: I was told that I'd be going to Bismarck to get an evaluation by some of the best counselors in the state, and that it would probably take ten days, plus or minus four. Instead, I've been here for a month, and I got a two-hour evaluation from two girls approximately my age who both graduated from Jamestown College. I wish I'd put up the money for counseling outside of my probation officer's clutches, because now I'm in a system where nobody cares about customer satisfaction... and that sucks.
Q: When are you coming home?
A: July 19th, maybe sooner. I think they want me to stay in a halfway house for a while or something. Not real clear on the details -- you can ask three different people what's up and they'll give you four different answers, none of them concrete.
Q: blah blah blah, all other inquiries
A: Fuck off. I'll be home soon.
love,
dusty
May 19, 2006
April 27, 2006
i call bs
PokerStars Game #4763780697: Tournament #23821248, $6.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2006/04/27 - 21:03:49 (ET)
Table '23821248 1' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: blackeleven (1170 in chips)
Seat 2: pepperlehr (2040 in chips)
Seat 3: hakatak (2340 in chips)
Seat 4: bettingman00 (1315 in chips)
Seat 5: beans09 wsp (1045 in chips)
Seat 6: Guinnessd (2690 in chips)
Seat 8: FASTed101 (1640 in chips)
Seat 9: canucmyhand (1260 in chips)
bettingman00: posts small blind 50
beans09 wsp: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Ac Ah]
Guinnessd: folds
FASTed101: calls 100
canucmyhand: folds
blackeleven: folds
pepperlehr: calls 100
hakatak: raises 200 to 300
bettingman00: folds
beans09 wsp: calls 200
FASTed101: calls 200
pepperlehr: folds
*** FLOP *** [Js Jd Ad]
beans09 wsp: checks
FASTed101: checks
hakatak: checks
*** TURN *** [Js Jd Ad] [6s]
beans09 wsp: checks
FASTed101: bets 100
hakatak: calls 100
beans09 wsp: calls 100
*** RIVER *** [Js Jd Ad 6s] [6d]
beans09 wsp: checks
FASTed101: bets 700
hakatak: raises 700 to 1400
beans09 wsp: folds
FASTed101: calls 540 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
hakatak: shows [Ac Ah] (a full house, Aces full of Jacks)
FASTed101: shows [6c 6h] (four of a kind, Sixes)
FASTed101 collected 3830 from pot
hakatak said, "omfg"
hakatak said, "nh"
I never WIN hands that way.
and then the rest of the table berated me for slowplaying. as though I should be trying to prevent 45:1 underdogs from sucking out on me.
Table '23821248 1' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: blackeleven (1170 in chips)
Seat 2: pepperlehr (2040 in chips)
Seat 3: hakatak (2340 in chips)
Seat 4: bettingman00 (1315 in chips)
Seat 5: beans09 wsp (1045 in chips)
Seat 6: Guinnessd (2690 in chips)
Seat 8: FASTed101 (1640 in chips)
Seat 9: canucmyhand (1260 in chips)
bettingman00: posts small blind 50
beans09 wsp: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Ac Ah]
Guinnessd: folds
FASTed101: calls 100
canucmyhand: folds
blackeleven: folds
pepperlehr: calls 100
hakatak: raises 200 to 300
bettingman00: folds
beans09 wsp: calls 200
FASTed101: calls 200
pepperlehr: folds
*** FLOP *** [Js Jd Ad]
beans09 wsp: checks
FASTed101: checks
hakatak: checks
*** TURN *** [Js Jd Ad] [6s]
beans09 wsp: checks
FASTed101: bets 100
hakatak: calls 100
beans09 wsp: calls 100
*** RIVER *** [Js Jd Ad 6s] [6d]
beans09 wsp: checks
FASTed101: bets 700
hakatak: raises 700 to 1400
beans09 wsp: folds
FASTed101: calls 540 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
hakatak: shows [Ac Ah] (a full house, Aces full of Jacks)
FASTed101: shows [6c 6h] (four of a kind, Sixes)
FASTed101 collected 3830 from pot
hakatak said, "omfg"
hakatak said, "nh"
I never WIN hands that way.
and then the rest of the table berated me for slowplaying. as though I should be trying to prevent 45:1 underdogs from sucking out on me.
April 22, 2006
i just wanna break you down so badly
in the worst way
I just downloaded the new Taking Back Sunday album.
it doesn't come out until Tuesday.
I pwn.
I just downloaded the new Taking Back Sunday album.
it doesn't come out until Tuesday.
I pwn.
April 20, 2006
April 17, 2006
it's fun to dream
adanthar, fellow 2+2er and poker savant, won the pokerstars $1,000,000 guaranteed.
dusty placed 12th in a $22 180-man SNG, the highlight of which were 30 starstruck minutes playing against Indyguy28.
americans got sick of the president and his criminal cronies lying, killing their families and friends, and stealing their money.
and graduating from college was no longer the only magical ticket to being successful in american life.
it was a good day.
and tomorrow will be better.
dusty placed 12th in a $22 180-man SNG, the highlight of which were 30 starstruck minutes playing against Indyguy28.
americans got sick of the president and his criminal cronies lying, killing their families and friends, and stealing their money.
and graduating from college was no longer the only magical ticket to being successful in american life.
it was a good day.
and tomorrow will be better.
April 16, 2006
omgwtfpwnd
happy easter
thanks, Paul, for the link. lol!
second hand reports are always unreliable
So all sorts of people from about town have been offering different opinions on the state of the disc golf course at Lincoln Park; yesterday, Derek and I went to check it out. So far, the front nine holes remain completely underwater, and the water is so high that I had to carefully drive off to the right on #10 so my disc didn't go in the river. The back nine holes were in various states of spongy and muddy; 10 was mostly dry, 17 and 18 were somewhat dry, and the rest had a layer of slippery mud coating them. 14 (the long one) had standing water in the middle of the fairway, and 16 was incredibly slick around the pin, so we skipped those two. The course will not really be playable for another week yet.
sign-adjusting hilarity
Seen on the AmericInn sign at 17th Ave. and Columbia Rd., at about 4 am:
THERE THERE
I SPANK LIL
WANT TO BE
A WHORE
omgwtflolbbq.
go twins
Minnesota bitch-slaps the Yankees... barely. I will be watching today's game for sure. It's been a great series so far.
thanks, Paul, for the link. lol!
second hand reports are always unreliable
So all sorts of people from about town have been offering different opinions on the state of the disc golf course at Lincoln Park; yesterday, Derek and I went to check it out. So far, the front nine holes remain completely underwater, and the water is so high that I had to carefully drive off to the right on #10 so my disc didn't go in the river. The back nine holes were in various states of spongy and muddy; 10 was mostly dry, 17 and 18 were somewhat dry, and the rest had a layer of slippery mud coating them. 14 (the long one) had standing water in the middle of the fairway, and 16 was incredibly slick around the pin, so we skipped those two. The course will not really be playable for another week yet.
sign-adjusting hilarity
Seen on the AmericInn sign at 17th Ave. and Columbia Rd., at about 4 am:
THERE THERE
I SPANK LIL
WANT TO BE
A WHORE
omgwtflolbbq.
go twins
Minnesota bitch-slaps the Yankees... barely. I will be watching today's game for sure. It's been a great series so far.
April 15, 2006
sunny and 70 degrees
good times
Yesterday was probably the worst day I've ever worked at BWW. We were incredibly busy, and a little short-staffed. To make matters worst of all, I woke up with a bizarre, nagging pain on the left side of my back. It would go from maybe a 2 or 3 on the Wong-Baker scale at rest to a 4 or 5 when I bent my arm, took a deep breath, turned my torso, tried to lift something, or tried to walk... basically, whenever I moved. I couldn't leave work early, because we were too far behind as it was, and nobody wanted to come in to finish my shift, so I had to work the first two-thirds of my heinously-busy day in intense pain, which made me a little cranky. Luckily, it went away by afternoon, and with it the fears that I was coming down with the cancer.
Last night, save for 20 intensely windy and rainy minutes, the weather was absolutely perfect. I chose to take advantage by having a few friends over to grill; the roommates are all home for Easter, so I had the house to myself. It was a veritable festival of testosterone; we shot the air rifle, sparred, built a fire, and ate lots of charred meat. An excellent time was had by all.
Today, BWW was as low-key and relaxing as yesterday was painful and stressful. We had an extra cashier training with us, and she's simultaneously cute, smart, and willing to do whatever nobody else wants to. The day was made all the sweeter by the comfort of the upcoming two days off. I look forward to sleeping out of spite in the morning. The weather was equally nice this evening, as I puttered around the yard picking up beer cans and shooting them off the picnic table. The scope on Travis's air rifle, which I had previously thought was useless, is actually most excellent, and I fancied myself a professional sniper as I lay prone beneath a tree in the backyard, picking off stationary beer cans from 20 feet away.
poker stuff
I meant to go out tonight, but instead ended up playing $10.50 heads-up tournaments on PokerStars. This was my first time playing them as anything other than a distraction, and I got the idea after reading a couple of articles that were linked to from 2+2. I'll post links next time, as there are a couple of things I'd like to discuss in them. My first impression: totally freakin' awesome. I went on a nice little heater, winning 7 in a row before finally running into someone that knew how to play heads-up poker, tilting immediately, and losing before level 3.
I like being able to intimately know my opponent; in a normal sit 'n go, I don't spend much time worrying about each individual player, as I'm usually 4-tabling, and there's no way to tell who will make it to the bubble, where reads really come in handy. In "match play," as it's known, the beginning of the game provides a nice place to feel out your victim and play some cheap, speculative hands (1500 chips, blinds start at 10/20 and go up every 10 minutes). I also like that if you get lucky, and/or if your opponent is really terrible, you can be counting his money after 5 minutes of play (ex. I flopped top two pair during Level 1, and my opponent flopped bottom two... he was, shall we say, a little disappointed).
It's much harder to autopilot; in fact, it's impossible. I tried two-tabling the heads-up games and hated it; there's too much detail, and the hands come too fast. Playing so many hands gives you the opportunity to really fine-tune your game; just tonight in five hours of play, I learned a little bit more about how to effectively change up your style when the game situation changes, or when your opponent starts catching on to your bullshit.
There's another poker blog to add to the list... the best information here is contained in the last post, where we learn as much as we want about ICM, the Independent Chip Model. Long story short, it's a way to figure out how much of the prize pool you have in front of you when you really just have a stack of tournament chips, and it gives you a way to think about how much equity you stand to gain or lose when you make move X. Anyhoo, here it is.
Yesterday was probably the worst day I've ever worked at BWW. We were incredibly busy, and a little short-staffed. To make matters worst of all, I woke up with a bizarre, nagging pain on the left side of my back. It would go from maybe a 2 or 3 on the Wong-Baker scale at rest to a 4 or 5 when I bent my arm, took a deep breath, turned my torso, tried to lift something, or tried to walk... basically, whenever I moved. I couldn't leave work early, because we were too far behind as it was, and nobody wanted to come in to finish my shift, so I had to work the first two-thirds of my heinously-busy day in intense pain, which made me a little cranky. Luckily, it went away by afternoon, and with it the fears that I was coming down with the cancer.
Last night, save for 20 intensely windy and rainy minutes, the weather was absolutely perfect. I chose to take advantage by having a few friends over to grill; the roommates are all home for Easter, so I had the house to myself. It was a veritable festival of testosterone; we shot the air rifle, sparred, built a fire, and ate lots of charred meat. An excellent time was had by all.
Today, BWW was as low-key and relaxing as yesterday was painful and stressful. We had an extra cashier training with us, and she's simultaneously cute, smart, and willing to do whatever nobody else wants to. The day was made all the sweeter by the comfort of the upcoming two days off. I look forward to sleeping out of spite in the morning. The weather was equally nice this evening, as I puttered around the yard picking up beer cans and shooting them off the picnic table. The scope on Travis's air rifle, which I had previously thought was useless, is actually most excellent, and I fancied myself a professional sniper as I lay prone beneath a tree in the backyard, picking off stationary beer cans from 20 feet away.
poker stuff
I meant to go out tonight, but instead ended up playing $10.50 heads-up tournaments on PokerStars. This was my first time playing them as anything other than a distraction, and I got the idea after reading a couple of articles that were linked to from 2+2. I'll post links next time, as there are a couple of things I'd like to discuss in them. My first impression: totally freakin' awesome. I went on a nice little heater, winning 7 in a row before finally running into someone that knew how to play heads-up poker, tilting immediately, and losing before level 3.
I like being able to intimately know my opponent; in a normal sit 'n go, I don't spend much time worrying about each individual player, as I'm usually 4-tabling, and there's no way to tell who will make it to the bubble, where reads really come in handy. In "match play," as it's known, the beginning of the game provides a nice place to feel out your victim and play some cheap, speculative hands (1500 chips, blinds start at 10/20 and go up every 10 minutes). I also like that if you get lucky, and/or if your opponent is really terrible, you can be counting his money after 5 minutes of play (ex. I flopped top two pair during Level 1, and my opponent flopped bottom two... he was, shall we say, a little disappointed).
It's much harder to autopilot; in fact, it's impossible. I tried two-tabling the heads-up games and hated it; there's too much detail, and the hands come too fast. Playing so many hands gives you the opportunity to really fine-tune your game; just tonight in five hours of play, I learned a little bit more about how to effectively change up your style when the game situation changes, or when your opponent starts catching on to your bullshit.
There's another poker blog to add to the list... the best information here is contained in the last post, where we learn as much as we want about ICM, the Independent Chip Model. Long story short, it's a way to figure out how much of the prize pool you have in front of you when you really just have a stack of tournament chips, and it gives you a way to think about how much equity you stand to gain or lose when you make move X. Anyhoo, here it is.
April 12, 2006
perhaps the noid should have avoided me
all in
I played a couple of satellites for the Heartland Poker Tour in TRF over the weekend. (sorry, derek. it would have been -ev for me to bring you along, as they only ran one at a time.) I have never seen a game with worse blind structure.
winner-take-all
1500 chips
blinds start at 25/50
blinds double (not increase, double) every 10 min.
the dealer has one deck, and uses the same three-stage shuffle he uses at the cash game
...so at each level, you play about six hands. it's like a super-crazy-luckbox turbo. I'm accustomed to playing online turbo games, but this was just nuts. I'd taken one guy down with AK when I pushed preflop and he called with JT; the board missed us both. I pushed with QQ a few minutes later, five handed, and knocked out two other players, one with AT and the other with 88. Later, I folded KQ behind the chip leader's push and another player's call, only to see the three cards that would have made my A-high flush fall. I folded a ton of crap hands near the end, leaving me severely short-stacked and simultaneously allowing me to survive to heads-up.... with a 3:1 chip disadvantage. with the blinds at 400/800, I lasted about three hands. bleh.
luckily, I recouped my $50 loss several times over at the cash game over the next two days, with the highlight being a fairly suspicious SB limp with 35 suited that gave me a straight on the turn, and a blank river card that let me extort a capped round from two players who had flopped 3 of a kind. (final pot: somewhere in the neighborhood of $300, probably the biggest I've ever won)
signs of spring
the weather has been remarkably pleasant the last couple of days. unfortunately, the river is still quite high (receding, now; the point bridge remains closed, but the city reopened the sorlie bridge today. it was sorlie needed, as traffic was getting pretty awful on gateway drive. har har har.); as a result, the disc golf course at lincoln park remains underwater. too bad. what's almost worse is the inevitable coat of flood mud that will remain for weeks after the river's eventual return to its banks.
home for easter
everyone at the house is going home for easter. except me, of course; I am home. most people at BWW are going home for easter, too; somehow, i still got the entire weekend off. i'm looking forward to doing .... nothing. heh. that's not true; there's a local poker tournament going off on saturday, with a $120 buy-in, sponsored by the convention and visitors bureau. they're running $15 satellites at a bar the rest of the week, and unless they're equally ridiculous, I plan to qualify for saturday's game by playing a few until I win. wish me luck.
I played a couple of satellites for the Heartland Poker Tour in TRF over the weekend. (sorry, derek. it would have been -ev for me to bring you along, as they only ran one at a time.) I have never seen a game with worse blind structure.
winner-take-all
1500 chips
blinds start at 25/50
blinds double (not increase, double) every 10 min.
the dealer has one deck, and uses the same three-stage shuffle he uses at the cash game
...so at each level, you play about six hands. it's like a super-crazy-luckbox turbo. I'm accustomed to playing online turbo games, but this was just nuts. I'd taken one guy down with AK when I pushed preflop and he called with JT; the board missed us both. I pushed with QQ a few minutes later, five handed, and knocked out two other players, one with AT and the other with 88. Later, I folded KQ behind the chip leader's push and another player's call, only to see the three cards that would have made my A-high flush fall. I folded a ton of crap hands near the end, leaving me severely short-stacked and simultaneously allowing me to survive to heads-up.... with a 3:1 chip disadvantage. with the blinds at 400/800, I lasted about three hands. bleh.
luckily, I recouped my $50 loss several times over at the cash game over the next two days, with the highlight being a fairly suspicious SB limp with 35 suited that gave me a straight on the turn, and a blank river card that let me extort a capped round from two players who had flopped 3 of a kind. (final pot: somewhere in the neighborhood of $300, probably the biggest I've ever won)
signs of spring
the weather has been remarkably pleasant the last couple of days. unfortunately, the river is still quite high (receding, now; the point bridge remains closed, but the city reopened the sorlie bridge today. it was sorlie needed, as traffic was getting pretty awful on gateway drive. har har har.); as a result, the disc golf course at lincoln park remains underwater. too bad. what's almost worse is the inevitable coat of flood mud that will remain for weeks after the river's eventual return to its banks.
home for easter
everyone at the house is going home for easter. except me, of course; I am home. most people at BWW are going home for easter, too; somehow, i still got the entire weekend off. i'm looking forward to doing .... nothing. heh. that's not true; there's a local poker tournament going off on saturday, with a $120 buy-in, sponsored by the convention and visitors bureau. they're running $15 satellites at a bar the rest of the week, and unless they're equally ridiculous, I plan to qualify for saturday's game by playing a few until I win. wish me luck.
April 5, 2006
it sounds gay, but it's really not
i know an awful lot of people.
of all those people, there are hardly any more alike than derek and myself. aside from derek being smarter than me, that is. (an unfamiliar feeling, for certain)
either way, no single person's foray into the "Web 2.0" has merited an introduction from a blog (that nobody reads) like this person's has.
Welcome to the blogosphere, Derek.
of all those people, there are hardly any more alike than derek and myself. aside from derek being smarter than me, that is. (an unfamiliar feeling, for certain)
either way, no single person's foray into the "Web 2.0" has merited an introduction from a blog (that nobody reads) like this person's has.
Welcome to the blogosphere, Derek.
April 3, 2006
eric gerlitz: 1975-1999
to eric, with swcc:
I wish you could have seen the advances they've made in treating cancer in the last seven years. i don't know if it would have helped. Your website has been taken over by squatters that have exploited your most popular search terms. Gerlitz.com now sells 'virus' sneakers. Despite that, though, a Google search for 'eric gerlitz' leads to three pages of your personal war against email virus hoaxes... some in other languages (particularly German....heheheheheh). You clearly had an impact on both the corporate and academic worlds when you posted that simple little page about how it was all a lie. I think you would have wanted it this way, too -- not for people to immediately find out that you had died, or where you were buried... but for everyone to see the truth... for everyone to talk about what you wanted to do to help protect the Internet.
thank you for introducing me to a style of music that was just finding its feet when you got sick. there is one mix in particular that i wanted to play for you. even people that can't dance love it. your advice/gentle prodding made me seek out and groove (in private) to a sound that is still new and dangerous to most of the people that surround me. eminem says that nobody listens to techno, but we both know he's wrong. I wish I could take you for a cruise down some scary dirt road, making it seem like I didn't know how to drive stick, and then almost wreck your car again. (every time i see a blue plymouth hatchback, I check to make sure you're not just super-incognito.) I wanted you to hear taking back sunday. i think it would have really grown on you, like it did on me.
you were 24. I'm 24 now. part of me is glad that you're not here to see the colossal mess my life has become. let's just say that there would be no internet memorial for me. i know you would still be proud of me, though. thanks for everything. + i miss you.
rule #0: we don't always get what we want.
rule #1: kein mehr lügen.
I wish you could have seen the advances they've made in treating cancer in the last seven years. i don't know if it would have helped. Your website has been taken over by squatters that have exploited your most popular search terms. Gerlitz.com now sells 'virus' sneakers. Despite that, though, a Google search for 'eric gerlitz' leads to three pages of your personal war against email virus hoaxes... some in other languages (particularly German....heheheheheh). You clearly had an impact on both the corporate and academic worlds when you posted that simple little page about how it was all a lie. I think you would have wanted it this way, too -- not for people to immediately find out that you had died, or where you were buried... but for everyone to see the truth... for everyone to talk about what you wanted to do to help protect the Internet.
thank you for introducing me to a style of music that was just finding its feet when you got sick. there is one mix in particular that i wanted to play for you. even people that can't dance love it. your advice/gentle prodding made me seek out and groove (in private) to a sound that is still new and dangerous to most of the people that surround me. eminem says that nobody listens to techno, but we both know he's wrong. I wish I could take you for a cruise down some scary dirt road, making it seem like I didn't know how to drive stick, and then almost wreck your car again. (every time i see a blue plymouth hatchback, I check to make sure you're not just super-incognito.) I wanted you to hear taking back sunday. i think it would have really grown on you, like it did on me.
you were 24. I'm 24 now. part of me is glad that you're not here to see the colossal mess my life has become. let's just say that there would be no internet memorial for me. i know you would still be proud of me, though. thanks for everything. + i miss you.
rule #0: we don't always get what we want.
rule #1: kein mehr lügen.
April 2, 2006
04.02
for the last time
my last name is O'Connell.
See this thing, right here?: '
that is an APOSTROPHE. I don't know why my name has one, but it does. Please don't leave it out, because that makes it a big pain in the ass when I'm on the phone with customer service and they can't find any of my information. Please use a computer system that understands apostrophes on its forms, because it is tremendously frustrating for the less-technologically-inclined members of my family when forms on the Web return as invalid because they're not smart enough to understand names with extra punctuation in them. MOST OF ALL....
It is not a semicolon. THIS is a semicolon: ;
It is not a comma. THIS is a comma: ,
It is not a hyphen. THIS is a hyphen: -
It is not a tilde. THIS is a tilde: ~ (if your puny brain can even pronounce the word tilde, you should know what it is, and therefore, that it is definitely not that thing in my name. seriously, wtf @ you?)
Please do not call my apostrophe a semicolon, a comma, or a hyphen. It's a little less insulting when you call it "one of those..." and trail off, leaving me to say the word 'apostrophe.' I realize that it's a naming convention used only by the Irish and the Klingons, and I also realize that I am neither. Unfortunately, I'm just not the kind of person that is going to change my name because you failed grammar in 9th grade and they let you graduate anyway, just to get rid of you. (don't worry, that's how I graduated, too. but I didn't fail grammar.)
For God's sake, people. Come on. I mean.... seriously. Come on.
And to everyone that's ever filled out a form with my name, included the apostrophe, and capitalized the second letter of my last name... THANK YOU. Your attention to detail is greatly appreciated, and you probably deserve more money than you're making. I'd tip you, but I'm poor.
i live to serve
Today at BWW, bringing food to table of 3 middle-aged men:
me: Can I get you guys anything else right now?
them: Some women would be nice.
me: Well, we have plenty, but they're not for sale.
them: Oh. Well, we'll just take some young boys, then.
me: LOL!!!
pwnd in the face
'pwn3d' is the only 1337 phrase i've ever used with any seriousness. I like it. when I say it, particularly among people that don't know me particularly well or are not geeks, I just say 'owned,' but in my head it looks like 'pwn3d.' We may be nearing common acceptance of the word pwn3d... after all, it was in Newsweek this week. No joke. It was a multiple-choice answer to a question on a quiz of how geeky you are. (marvel at my precise use of prepositions!!! 3ngl15h m4j0rz ph33r my g33k gr33k!! PWNT IN T3H F4C3!!!!!) I scored right in the middle of the geek scale, and I would have been an uber-geek if I'd lied and said I once set up a *nix box, or if I'd lied and said I liked Battlestar Galactica. (PWN3D!!!)
flood of 97 redux
"48 feet, eh? heard that one before..." - Paul
Sometime Thursday night, the sump pump in our basement quit doing the one thing it absolutely must do: pump water from the well. Friday morning, we awoke to pools of water in the basement and soaked carpets from wall to wall. So, Friday night, we did what any homeowner would do... bought some cheap beer, tore up the carpet, threw out the waterlogged padding (HEAVY), shop-vacced, put the carpet back down, and strategically placed air movers around the basement to clear the moisture from the carpet. The bedroom carpet is too thick, and had to be placed on our driveway to dry. Oh, and once we did all that, we stayed up until 5am and drank most of the beer.
The smell, of course, brought back memories. Hopefully, the river will remain within its banks. Hopefully, the new fancy-pants dike system will help keep it there. Hopefully I don't get to wield a sledgehammer and power-washer all summer. If I wanted to do that, I'd go to New Orleans.
insert four words here
new taking back sunday album drops on 4/25. hit my myspace page to hear the first single. man, I can hardly wait. I wish they would tour up this way. check it out. they rock.
my last name is O'Connell.
See this thing, right here?: '
that is an APOSTROPHE. I don't know why my name has one, but it does. Please don't leave it out, because that makes it a big pain in the ass when I'm on the phone with customer service and they can't find any of my information. Please use a computer system that understands apostrophes on its forms, because it is tremendously frustrating for the less-technologically-inclined members of my family when forms on the Web return as invalid because they're not smart enough to understand names with extra punctuation in them. MOST OF ALL....
It is not a semicolon. THIS is a semicolon: ;
It is not a comma. THIS is a comma: ,
It is not a hyphen. THIS is a hyphen: -
It is not a tilde. THIS is a tilde: ~ (if your puny brain can even pronounce the word tilde, you should know what it is, and therefore, that it is definitely not that thing in my name. seriously, wtf @ you?)
Please do not call my apostrophe a semicolon, a comma, or a hyphen. It's a little less insulting when you call it "one of those..." and trail off, leaving me to say the word 'apostrophe.' I realize that it's a naming convention used only by the Irish and the Klingons, and I also realize that I am neither. Unfortunately, I'm just not the kind of person that is going to change my name because you failed grammar in 9th grade and they let you graduate anyway, just to get rid of you. (don't worry, that's how I graduated, too. but I didn't fail grammar.)
For God's sake, people. Come on. I mean.... seriously. Come on.
And to everyone that's ever filled out a form with my name, included the apostrophe, and capitalized the second letter of my last name... THANK YOU. Your attention to detail is greatly appreciated, and you probably deserve more money than you're making. I'd tip you, but I'm poor.
i live to serve
Today at BWW, bringing food to table of 3 middle-aged men:
me: Can I get you guys anything else right now?
them: Some women would be nice.
me: Well, we have plenty, but they're not for sale.
them: Oh. Well, we'll just take some young boys, then.
me: LOL!!!
pwnd in the face
'pwn3d' is the only 1337 phrase i've ever used with any seriousness. I like it. when I say it, particularly among people that don't know me particularly well or are not geeks, I just say 'owned,' but in my head it looks like 'pwn3d.' We may be nearing common acceptance of the word pwn3d... after all, it was in Newsweek this week. No joke. It was a multiple-choice answer to a question on a quiz of how geeky you are. (marvel at my precise use of prepositions!!! 3ngl15h m4j0rz ph33r my g33k gr33k!! PWNT IN T3H F4C3!!!!!) I scored right in the middle of the geek scale, and I would have been an uber-geek if I'd lied and said I once set up a *nix box, or if I'd lied and said I liked Battlestar Galactica. (PWN3D!!!)
flood of 97 redux
"48 feet, eh? heard that one before..." - Paul
Sometime Thursday night, the sump pump in our basement quit doing the one thing it absolutely must do: pump water from the well. Friday morning, we awoke to pools of water in the basement and soaked carpets from wall to wall. So, Friday night, we did what any homeowner would do... bought some cheap beer, tore up the carpet, threw out the waterlogged padding (HEAVY), shop-vacced, put the carpet back down, and strategically placed air movers around the basement to clear the moisture from the carpet. The bedroom carpet is too thick, and had to be placed on our driveway to dry. Oh, and once we did all that, we stayed up until 5am and drank most of the beer.
The smell, of course, brought back memories. Hopefully, the river will remain within its banks. Hopefully, the new fancy-pants dike system will help keep it there. Hopefully I don't get to wield a sledgehammer and power-washer all summer. If I wanted to do that, I'd go to New Orleans.
insert four words here
new taking back sunday album drops on 4/25. hit my myspace page to hear the first single. man, I can hardly wait. I wish they would tour up this way. check it out. they rock.
March 25, 2006
quizzes are stupid
You scored as Anarchism. <'Imunimaginative's Deviantart Page'>
What Political Party Do Your Beliefs Put You In? created with QuizFarm.com |
March 19, 2006
slow news day
a better idea
The conventional wisdom has been that Futurama is returning in a consumerism-friendly, profit-soaked, feature length series of DVD movies.
Billy West, the voice of Fry, tells us otherwise. Finally... something to look forward to.
no wonder poor people can't get ahead
I paid one of my credit card bills two days late last month. Actually, I paid online the day before my payment due date, but the payment didn't register until three days later. Unfortunately, this particular credit card was nearly maxed out anyways, and I got hit with two back-to-back fees, for a total of $90 that I worked about 12 hours to make, but didn't get to spend on anything. fuck.
Much worse, though, was the change in terms of service - because of those bizarro two days, my interest rate goes from an unpleasant-but-manageable 14.99 percent to a ridiculous 24.99 percent, starting this month. I got an email today saying that next month, they are changing the terms of my account so that the 'default rate' (the rate you pay if you've ever been, say, two days late on a payment) will now be 30.99 percent. If I don't like it, I can pay the credit card off and cancel my account. I am in disbelief that this is not illegal.
The conventional wisdom has been that Futurama is returning in a consumerism-friendly, profit-soaked, feature length series of DVD movies.
Billy West, the voice of Fry, tells us otherwise. Finally... something to look forward to.
no wonder poor people can't get ahead
I paid one of my credit card bills two days late last month. Actually, I paid online the day before my payment due date, but the payment didn't register until three days later. Unfortunately, this particular credit card was nearly maxed out anyways, and I got hit with two back-to-back fees, for a total of $90 that I worked about 12 hours to make, but didn't get to spend on anything. fuck.
Much worse, though, was the change in terms of service - because of those bizarro two days, my interest rate goes from an unpleasant-but-manageable 14.99 percent to a ridiculous 24.99 percent, starting this month. I got an email today saying that next month, they are changing the terms of my account so that the 'default rate' (the rate you pay if you've ever been, say, two days late on a payment) will now be 30.99 percent. If I don't like it, I can pay the credit card off and cancel my account. I am in disbelief that this is not illegal.
March 15, 2006
february results are in
preface
First of all, thanks to Derek for pointing out what I had subconsciously felt but not really been able to explain - that I played every hand of the $11 multi last Thursday exactly... wrong. I could come up with a litany of excuses, but honestly, I just haven't been playing well lately... I'm having all sorts of fun playing out of position and trying to push people off made hands.
So for now, I'm stepping away from the tables and crunching some numbers; that's why I keep little notes to myself on tiny notepads and scribble all over a legal pad every month. There's a computer program that will do this same thing for me, but I don't use it, and as a result, my results may be a bit imprecise. So, for those of you who are interested in playing around with numbers, here are the grind results from February of 2006.
the numbers
February:
PokerStars 6.50 turbos (1 and 2 table results combined)
68 cashes in 162 games, for an ITM of 42%.
$1,367.70 earned on $1,053 invested, ROI of 29%.
15 1st place finishes
30 2nd place finishes
21 3rd place finishes
2 4th place finishes (2-table games only)
YTD results:
PokerStars 6.50 and 16 turbos; PartyPoker 11s; a handful of rebuys and MTTs (results combined):
192 cashes in 516 games, for a 37.2% ITM
$5,813 earned on $5,412, for a 7.1% ROI
the analysis
I found a few of these numbers interesting. Obviously, all my results are tainted by the size of my sample; 162 games isn't really enough to determine trends because of variance, but we can still look at things we like and dislike. I was very pleasantly surprised by my ROI; I suspect it's higher because of some strong finishes in 2-table games, which only take 20 or so minutes longer to play out than a 1-table game. I plan on keeping the 2-table game in my arsenal as I move up through buy-in levels, and they are the most compelling reason for me to hang around Stars and play the 16s and 27s instead of the 22s and 33s on Party.
I was surprised to see I had twice as many 2nd places as 1st, and more 3rds than 1sts as well (I certainly felt like I was writing more 1s than 2s as I was playing, but apparently not.) I am happy that I had more 2nds than 3rds, and that I had more 3rds than 4ths, but I apparently need to work on my late game. My 4th, 5th, and 6th places are pretty much evenly distributed; I don't know if that indicates equally good play or equally terrible play; I would be interested to know what the blinds are when I finish in each spot, because the biggest demon I fight is the rapidly-rising levels (5 min) in the turbo games.
I'm not including my multi-table tournament results from February; I only played a few, and didn't even record some of them, so any attempt to divine results from a sample of 7 that is incomplete would be an exercise in futility. Suffice it to say that I lost in all of them, and it probably reduced my net return by 10 to 15 percent. Obviously, playing multi-table games is a leak that I am fixing every day. ^_^
what's next
Over the last 500 games, my ITM is approximately where it was after about 1000 games last year (~37%). I'm not disappointed, but I'm not excited, either. My ROI is still uncomfortably low, at 7.1%... the actual number is probably even lower when you consider the beating I took at the multis last month. We'll see how it shakes out at the end of 2000 games. I still plan to be four- (six-?) tabling the 16s by summer, and then comfortably in the 27s by fall. My end-of-year goal remains to 4-table the 27s or 60s for a tidy profit by my 25th birthday; I believe it's achievable, but it won't be easy, and I will need a little luck on my side.
oh, btw
I'm sure I'll end up having to adjust this as I move up, but at my level, I raise JJ UTG every time with a big grin on my face. I remain in disbelief at the number of people that will call enormous bets/raises with middle pairs and weak aces. then again, these people are the very definition of 'weekend pussy.'
First of all, thanks to Derek for pointing out what I had subconsciously felt but not really been able to explain - that I played every hand of the $11 multi last Thursday exactly... wrong. I could come up with a litany of excuses, but honestly, I just haven't been playing well lately... I'm having all sorts of fun playing out of position and trying to push people off made hands.
So for now, I'm stepping away from the tables and crunching some numbers; that's why I keep little notes to myself on tiny notepads and scribble all over a legal pad every month. There's a computer program that will do this same thing for me, but I don't use it, and as a result, my results may be a bit imprecise. So, for those of you who are interested in playing around with numbers, here are the grind results from February of 2006.
the numbers
February:
PokerStars 6.50 turbos (1 and 2 table results combined)
68 cashes in 162 games, for an ITM of 42%.
$1,367.70 earned on $1,053 invested, ROI of 29%.
15 1st place finishes
30 2nd place finishes
21 3rd place finishes
2 4th place finishes (2-table games only)
YTD results:
PokerStars 6.50 and 16 turbos; PartyPoker 11s; a handful of rebuys and MTTs (results combined):
192 cashes in 516 games, for a 37.2% ITM
$5,813 earned on $5,412, for a 7.1% ROI
the analysis
I found a few of these numbers interesting. Obviously, all my results are tainted by the size of my sample; 162 games isn't really enough to determine trends because of variance, but we can still look at things we like and dislike. I was very pleasantly surprised by my ROI; I suspect it's higher because of some strong finishes in 2-table games, which only take 20 or so minutes longer to play out than a 1-table game. I plan on keeping the 2-table game in my arsenal as I move up through buy-in levels, and they are the most compelling reason for me to hang around Stars and play the 16s and 27s instead of the 22s and 33s on Party.
I was surprised to see I had twice as many 2nd places as 1st, and more 3rds than 1sts as well (I certainly felt like I was writing more 1s than 2s as I was playing, but apparently not.) I am happy that I had more 2nds than 3rds, and that I had more 3rds than 4ths, but I apparently need to work on my late game. My 4th, 5th, and 6th places are pretty much evenly distributed; I don't know if that indicates equally good play or equally terrible play; I would be interested to know what the blinds are when I finish in each spot, because the biggest demon I fight is the rapidly-rising levels (5 min) in the turbo games.
I'm not including my multi-table tournament results from February; I only played a few, and didn't even record some of them, so any attempt to divine results from a sample of 7 that is incomplete would be an exercise in futility. Suffice it to say that I lost in all of them, and it probably reduced my net return by 10 to 15 percent. Obviously, playing multi-table games is a leak that I am fixing every day. ^_^
what's next
Over the last 500 games, my ITM is approximately where it was after about 1000 games last year (~37%). I'm not disappointed, but I'm not excited, either. My ROI is still uncomfortably low, at 7.1%... the actual number is probably even lower when you consider the beating I took at the multis last month. We'll see how it shakes out at the end of 2000 games. I still plan to be four- (six-?) tabling the 16s by summer, and then comfortably in the 27s by fall. My end-of-year goal remains to 4-table the 27s or 60s for a tidy profit by my 25th birthday; I believe it's achievable, but it won't be easy, and I will need a little luck on my side.
oh, btw
I'm sure I'll end up having to adjust this as I move up, but at my level, I raise JJ UTG every time with a big grin on my face. I remain in disbelief at the number of people that will call enormous bets/raises with middle pairs and weak aces. then again, these people are the very definition of 'weekend pussy.'
March 9, 2006
fun on a bun
pumping iron
I didn't know I could squat 230 lbs. more than once. Hell, I didn't even know I could do it once. It turns out I can do it several times. I will regret it tomorrow; I was having trouble walking down flights of stairs after my trip to the gym; I can only imagine what going up them will be like tomorrow. I hate legs day; I always skip a few days when it's legs day because I hate being a cripple the following day, and then I have to skip a couple days afterward because.... yep, I'm a cripple.
slacker
I'm way behind on my goals for this year; all the drinking and two jobs takes the fight out of me. (I am going to stop screwing around/being a pissy bitch and get to work.) I'm comfortably 6-tabling the 6.50 turbos on PokerStars; my bankroll would be high enough for me to tackle the PartyPoker $11s, or maybe even the Stars $16 turbos, but my brother has been playing a lot of poker on my account. He kept losing and giving me cash, which I would then turn around and use on beer and stuff. ("hey, there's money in this wallet!") So I continue to comfortably 6-table the 6.50s, leaving me far short of my goal of being on the Party $22s by March. I doubt I could 6-table those, but I feel confident in my ability to 4-table the 22s, if I have a roll that won't disappear after two losing sets (like last time).
east on 2, north on 59
I went to Seven Clans Casino in Thief River Falls with my brother last weekend for his 18th birthday. (no link; their website is an atrocity of misinformation and broken links) They're running $45 satellites to the Heartland Poker Tour, the biggest poker tournament (?) in the Midwest, to be held on April 20th. I'm seriously considering entering; the caliber of player at the cash game makes me fairly confident that I can win a 1-table (10 man) tournament to gain entry to the Tour.
Ah, the cash game. Seven Clans runs a 2-10 spread-limit game between 4 pm and 4 am, Thursday through Monday. The dealers are engaging, chatty, and funny (if you think rednecks are funny). The games are incredibly, edibly soft. I cashed in $150 and was a bit surprised to see myself sitting down with the big stack, and not just by 20 or 50 or so. I'd say 2/3 the people at the table were my age or younger, not counting me or my brother. They all cashed in with $75 or less. Our table opened, and I was treated to an hour of watching bets be raised and then capped, only to see showdowns between middle pair and bottom pair, bottom pair and high card, and (I swear I am not making this up) high card vs. high card on an all-overcard board. I was itching to engage the hideous play, but my cards were stink-nasty, and the couple of times I found myself with suited connectors, the boy in front of me (he looked like his 18th birthday was about five years away) raised to 10 pre-flop. Frustration settled in, and after about 45 minutes of folding, I found myself heads-up in middle position with a fellow in his 30s in the cutoff after we both limped in. The board came A-x-A, and I looked down at K high and fired off a bet. He called, and the turn card was a random rag, so I fired the second barrel, another bet about half the size of the pot. He called, and we went to the river--another rag. I checked, and he checked, and then he turned over the third A. Defeat feels a little like drowning in air.
Luckily, at this point, the other table broke up, and several new people sat down-- not enough to make a full table. I volunteered to switch, as I had not come all this way to lose a spread-limit game at the same table as my lil' bro. My chipstack was almost halved; I was down to $86, and I had entered the battle with the intention that if I ever blinded down to 50 or less, I was cashing out. The last 50 was to be used in dominating situations only, to pump the size of the pot. Lo and behold, such a situation happened on the first hand at the new table. I limped in from the small blind with 45 of hearts, with one limper before me and the big blind checking. Flop comes K45 rainbow. EP checks, I minbet, and the big blind raises to 6. EP folds, I frown a bit, study my cards intently, and raise to 12. BB calls, and the turn is a 7. I bet 6, and the BB raises to 16. I pretend to be worried for a moment and call. River comes -- 2. I bet 10, he raises to 20, I raise to 30, he raises to 60, I raise to 70, and he puts me all-in. I call my last few chips, and he turns over KT. (I expected KQ, or possibly KJ/KA, and had thought briefly about KK/AA/44/55, but decided that he wasn't being aggressive enough for a monster like that.) I show my two pair, and he is furious as I rake in the big pile of chips and tip the dealer $2 (one large chip) for his trouble. That set the stage for the remainder of the evening; despite seeing only the premium hands AK offsuit once, AJ offsuit once, and no pocket pair higher than 99, I left with $184 in profit. GG me. I bought 3am breakfast buffet for myself and my brother (who also finished up on the night), and we went back to our room, sleeping in and leaving around noon the next day.
that guy can't even spell poker
Here's the last hand of a $3.30 rebuy I played tonight.. this is almost 3 hours in; I had been hanging around 25k in chips for a while after burning up my table in the first hour (cashed in for $12.30, including the add-on), and then i lost a bunch of chips when my AQ made second pair on a K high board and I couldn't put it down (incidentally, i lost to KQ). this was the next hand i played, two or three orbits later.
anyway, enough setup. here goes.
PokerStars Game #4234455562: Tournament #20792986, Hold'em No Limit - Level X (400/800) - 2006/03/09 - 22:52:44 (ET)
Table '20792986 188' Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: MAR108 (50906 in chips)
Seat 2: wsimmobr (10095 in chips)
Seat 3: #1 Big Cat (46703 in chips)
Seat 4: hakatak (9430 in chips)
Seat 5: trig358 (57472 in chips)
Seat 6: Rob Cunning (58622 in chips)
Seat 7: QUIGGY (14780 in chips)
Seat 8: grm69 (86428 in chips)
Seat 9: garyak (53070 in chips)
MAR108: posts the ante 50
wsimmobr: posts the ante 50
#1 Big Cat: posts the ante 50
hakatak: posts the ante 50
trig358: posts the ante 50
Rob Cunning: posts the ante 50
QUIGGY: posts the ante 50
grm69: posts the ante 50
garyak: posts the ante 50
#1 Big Cat: posts small blind 400
hakatak: posts big blind 800
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Ks Kd] (hooray, kings in the big blind)
trig358: folds
Rob Cunning: calls 800
QUIGGY: calls 800
grm69: folds
garyak: raises 4000 to 4800 (hooray, he'll call)
MAR108: folds
wsimmobr: folds
#1 Big Cat: folds
hakatak: raises 4580 to 9380 and is all-in
Rob Cunning: folds
QUIGGY: folds
garyak: calls 4580
*** FLOP *** [Ts 2d 9h]
*** TURN *** [Ts 2d 9h] [Qs]
*** RIVER *** [Ts 2d 9h Qs] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
hakatak: shows [Ks Kd] (a pair of Kings)
garyak: shows [9d 9c] (three of a kind, Nines) (...doh.)
garyak collected 21210 from pot
I was so disgusted and so disappointed that I didn't even pound my desk or throw my hat. I just wilted a little in my chair, and dutifully posted my final hand in the official rebuy results thread on 2+2.
lucked out is one letter away from fucked out
Normally I've got plenty of fire and brimstone for losing a hand where I'm a 4:1 favorite for all my chips. However, I had played an $11 multi-table freezeout tournament earlier in the evening/simultaneously, and I think you'll agree that the occurrences therein are breathtakingly extraordinary... or at least extraordinarily unpleasant.
(legal disclaimer: the following is property of myself and PokerStars, and is not to be used for any purpose other than training and review.)
(other disclaimer: this part is pretty long, and somewhat difficult to read. I apologize, and believe it or not, I cleaned it up quite a bit already. The number contained within the ==== is the hand # of the tournament. 1=first hand, and so on. Good luck.)
Transcript for tournament #20792998 requested by hakatak ( el.dusto@gmail.com)
*********** # 1 **************
Level I (10/20) - 2006/03/09 - 21:35:00 (ET)
Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: Scorpion11 (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: anticon (1500 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 3: martenmania (1500 in chips)
Seat 4: cook99 (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: loveulong (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: I Stay High (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: alde80 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: jhr103 (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: hakatak (1500 in chips)
anticon: posts small blind 10
martenmania: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Kd Kh]
cook99 has timed out while disconnected
cook99: folds
cook99 is sitting out
loveulong: calls 20
I Stay High: folds
alde80: calls 20
jhr103: folds
hakatak: raises 80 to 100
Scorpion11: folds
anticon: folds
martenmania: folds
loveulong: calls 80
alde80: calls 80
*** FLOP *** [6h Td Ts]
loveulong: checks
alde80: checks
hakatak: bets 100
loveulong: raises 100 to 200
alde80: folds
hakatak: raises 200 to 400
loveulong: calls 200
*** TURN *** [6h Td Ts] [9h]
loveulong: checks
hakatak: checks
*** RIVER *** [6h Td Ts 9h] [8c]
loveulong: bets 300
hakatak: calls 300
*** SHOW DOWN ***
loveulong: shows [6d 6s] (a full house, Sixes full of Tens)
hakatak: mucks hand
loveulong collected 1730 from pot
cook99 is connected
cook99 has returned
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1730 | Rake 0
Board [6h Td Ts 9h 8c]
Seat 5: loveulong showed [6d 6s] and won (1730) with a full house, Sixes full of Tens
Seat 9: hakatak mucked [Kd Kh]
*********** # 2 **************
Level I (10/20) - 2006/03/09 - 21:36:44 (ET)
Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: Scorpion11 (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: anticon (1490 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 3: martenmania (1480 in chips)
Seat 4: cook99 (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: loveulong (2430 in chips)
Seat 6: I Stay High (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: alde80 (1400 in chips)
Seat 8: jhr103 (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: hakatak (700 in chips)
martenmania: posts small blind 10
cook99: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Kc Kh] (that's right, KK back-to-back.)
loveulong: calls 20
I Stay High: folds
alde80: folds
jhr103: calls 20
hakatak: raises 80 to 100
Scorpion11: folds
anticon: folds
martenmania: folds
cook99: calls 80
loveulong: calls 80
jhr103: folds
*** FLOP *** [8s 6h 5c]
cook99: bets 20
loveulong: calls 20
hakatak: raises 100 to 120
cook99: calls 100
loveulong: folds
*** TURN *** [8s 6h 5c] [5s]
cook99: checks
hakatak: bets 120
cook99: calls 120
*** RIVER *** [8s 6h 5c 5s] [Jh]
cook99: bets 180
hakatak: raises 180 to 360 and is all-in
cook99: calls 180
*** SHOW DOWN ***
hakatak: shows [Kc Kh] (two pair, Kings and Fives)
cook99: shows [As 7c] (a pair of Fives)
hakatak collected 1550 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1550 | Rake 0
Board [8s 6h 5c 5s Jh]
Seat 4: cook99 (big blind) showed [As 7c] and lost with a pair of Fives
Seat 9: hakatak showed [Kc Kh] and won (1550) with two pair, Kings and Fives
I fold the next two hands preflop. Nothing to see there. Then...
*********** # 5 **************
Level I (10/20) - 2006/03/09 - 21:39:45 (ET)
Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: Scorpion11 (710 in chips)
Seat 2: anticon (1490 in chips)
Seat 3: martenmania (1470 in chips)
Seat 4: cook99 (1610 in chips)
Seat 5: loveulong (2280 in chips)
Seat 6: I Stay High (1480 in chips)
Seat 7: alde80 (1400 in chips)
Seat 8: jhr103 (1510 in chips)
Seat 9: hakatak (1550 in chips)
I Stay High: posts small blind 10
alde80: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Td Ts]
jhr103: folds
hakatak: raises 60 to 80
Scorpion11: folds
anticon: raises 260 to 340
martenmania: folds
cook99: folds
loveulong: folds
I Stay High: folds
alde80: folds
hakatak: calls 260 (I considered pushing, but was afraid of overcards)
*** FLOP *** [4c Ad Jh]
hakatak: checks
anticon: bets 400 (hmm, I think I'm behind)
hakatak: folds
anticon collected 710 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 710 | Rake 0
Board [4c Ad Jh]
Seat 2: anticon collected (710)
Seat 9: hakatak folded on the Flop
*********** # 6 **************
Level I (10/20) - 2006/03/09 - 21:40:49 (ET)
Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Scorpion11 (710 in chips)
Seat 2: anticon (1860 in chips)
Seat 3: martenmania (1470 in chips)
Seat 4: cook99 (1610 in chips)
Seat 5: loveulong (2280 in chips)
Seat 6: I Stay High (1470 in chips)
Seat 7: alde80 (1380 in chips)
Seat 8: jhr103 (1510 in chips)
Seat 9: hakatak (1210 in chips)
alde80: posts small blind 10
jhr103: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Ah Kc]
hakatak: raises 60 to 80
Scorpion11: raises 630 to 710 and is all-in
anticon: folds
martenmania: folds
cook99: folds
loveulong: folds
I Stay High: folds
alde80: folds
jhr103: folds
hakatak: calls 630
*** FLOP *** [Qs Qh 9d]
*** TURN *** [Qs Qh 9d] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [Qs Qh 9d 6h] [Jh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
hakatak: shows [Ah Kc] (a pair of Queens)
Scorpion11: shows [Qc Kd] (three of a kind, Queens)
Scorpion11 collected 1450 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1450 | Rake 0
Board [Qs Qh 9d 6h Jh]
Seat 1: Scorpion11 showed [Qc Kd] and won (1450) with three of a kind, Queens
Seat 9: hakatak showed [Ah Kc] and lost with a pair of Queens
...I folded the next 7 hands. So, seven hands later....
*********** # 14 **************
Level II (15/30) - 2006/03/09 - 21:48:51 (ET)
Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: Scorpion11 (2500 in chips)
Seat 2: anticon (5380 in chips)
Seat 3: martenmania (160 in chips)
Seat 4: alleyezonme0 (2155 in chips)
Seat 5: loveulong (2040 in chips)
Seat 6: I Stay High (1605 in chips)
Seat 7: alde80 (1320 in chips)
Seat 9: hakatak (470 in chips)
I Stay High: posts small blind 15
alde80: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Kd Ks]
hakatak: raises 440 to 470 and is all-in
Scorpion11: folds
anticon: folds
martenmania: folds
alleyezonme0: folds
loveulong: folds
snowman9 is connected
I Stay High: folds
alde80: folds
hakatak collected 75 from pot
hakatak: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 75 | Rake 0
Seat 9: hakatak collected (75)
I fold the next 19 hands preflop. Nothing worth hearing about; there was an A6 unsuited and a KJ unsuited in there. By this point, I realize that as far as the tournament goes, I am no more alive than Terri Schiavo. (before or after they pulled her feeding tube.) I was paying more attention to the $3 rebuy, and I was badly tilted, but my logic went like this: I wanted to get into a hand with the short stacks and not the big stacks because the shorties would have much wider ranges. This looked like one of the only situations that would ever turn out that way.
*********** # 33 **************
Level IV (50/100) - 2006/03/09 - 22:06:32 (ET)
Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: morrent (2040 in chips)
Seat 2: anticon (3360 in chips)
Seat 3: martenmania (490 in chips)
Seat 4: alleyezonme0 (180 in chips)
Seat 5: loveulong (2135 in chips)
Seat 6: I Stay High (2070 in chips)
Seat 7: alde80 (4675 in chips)
Seat 8: snowman9 (1655 in chips)
Seat 9: hakatak (395 in chips)
snowman9: posts small blind 50
hakatak: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Ts 4s]
morrent: calls 100
anticon: folds
martenmania: raises 390 to 490 and is all-in
alleyezonme0: calls 180 and is all-in
loveulong: folds
I Stay High: folds
alde80: folds
snowman9: folds
hakatak: calls 295 and is all-in
morrent: calls 390
*** FLOP *** [7d Jh 2c]
*** TURN *** [7d Jh 2c] [Kc]
*** RIVER *** [7d Jh 2c Kc] [4c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
morrent: shows [Ad 5d] (high card Ace)
martenmania: shows [9d Ah] (high card Ace - Nine kicker)
martenmania collected 190 from side pot-2
hakatak: shows [Ts 4s] (a pair of Fours)
hakatak collected 645 from side pot-1
alleyezonme0: shows [Qc Qs] (a pair of Queens)
alleyezonme0 collected 770 from main pot
*********** # 34 **************
Level IV (50/100) - 2006/03/09 - 22:07:41 (ET)
Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: morrent (1550 in chips)
Seat 2: anticon (3360 in chips)
Seat 3: martenmania (190 in chips)
Seat 4: alleyezonme0 (770 in chips)
Seat 5: loveulong (2135 in chips)
Seat 6: I Stay High (2070 in chips)
Seat 7: alde80 (4675 in chips)
Seat 8: snowman9 (1605 in chips)
Seat 9: hakatak (645 in chips)
hakatak: posts small blind 50
morrent: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Ad 3s]
anticon: folds
martenmania: raises 90 to 190 and is all-in
alleyezonme0: raises 580 to 770 and is all-in
loveulong: folds
I Stay High: folds
alde80: folds
snowman9: folds
hakatak: folds (hmm, this will turn out to be a mistake)
morrent: folds
*** FLOP *** [7s 3d Ac]
*** TURN *** [7s 3d Ac] [8h]
*** RIVER *** [7s 3d Ac 8h] [7d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
martenmania: shows [Jh 7h] (three of a kind, Sevens)
alleyezonme0: shows [Tc 7c] (three of a kind, Sevens - lower kicker)
martenmania collected 530 from pot
...or not. (^_^) Here's the next and final hand for me, as I lose a coinflip that would have tripled me up:
*********** # 35 **************
Level IV (50/100) - 2006/03/09 - 22:08:42 (ET)
Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: morrent (1450 in chips)
Seat 2: anticon (3360 in chips)
Seat 3: martenmania (530 in chips)
Seat 4: alleyezonme0 (580 in chips)
Seat 5: loveulong (2135 in chips)
Seat 6: I Stay High (2070 in chips)
Seat 7: alde80 (4675 in chips)
Seat 8: snowman9 (1605 in chips)
Seat 9: hakatak (595 in chips)
morrent: posts small blind 50
anticon: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [8c Ah]
martenmania: folds
alleyezonme0: raises 480 to 580 and is all-in
loveulong: folds
I Stay High: folds
alde80: folds
snowman9: folds
hakatak: raises 15 to 595 and is all-in
morrent: folds
anticon: calls 495
*** FLOP *** [7h 3h Qd]
*** TURN *** [7h 3h Qd] [Kh]
*** RIVER *** [7h 3h Qd Kh] [Tc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
anticon: shows [5c 5s] (a pair of Fives)
hakatak: shows [8c Ah] (high card Ace)
anticon collected 30 from side pot
alleyezonme0: shows [4h 4d] (a pair of Fours)
anticon collected 1790 from main pot
...and there you have it. I can safely say that I have never before played a game where I've had pocket kings 3 times in 14 hands, much less with an AK and TT to go along with them. I can also safely say that some days, you're just not meant to win.
I didn't know I could squat 230 lbs. more than once. Hell, I didn't even know I could do it once. It turns out I can do it several times. I will regret it tomorrow; I was having trouble walking down flights of stairs after my trip to the gym; I can only imagine what going up them will be like tomorrow. I hate legs day; I always skip a few days when it's legs day because I hate being a cripple the following day, and then I have to skip a couple days afterward because.... yep, I'm a cripple.
slacker
I'm way behind on my goals for this year; all the drinking and two jobs takes the fight out of me. (I am going to stop screwing around/being a pissy bitch and get to work.) I'm comfortably 6-tabling the 6.50 turbos on PokerStars; my bankroll would be high enough for me to tackle the PartyPoker $11s, or maybe even the Stars $16 turbos, but my brother has been playing a lot of poker on my account. He kept losing and giving me cash, which I would then turn around and use on beer and stuff. ("hey, there's money in this wallet!") So I continue to comfortably 6-table the 6.50s, leaving me far short of my goal of being on the Party $22s by March. I doubt I could 6-table those, but I feel confident in my ability to 4-table the 22s, if I have a roll that won't disappear after two losing sets (like last time).
east on 2, north on 59
I went to Seven Clans Casino in Thief River Falls with my brother last weekend for his 18th birthday. (no link; their website is an atrocity of misinformation and broken links) They're running $45 satellites to the Heartland Poker Tour, the biggest poker tournament (?) in the Midwest, to be held on April 20th. I'm seriously considering entering; the caliber of player at the cash game makes me fairly confident that I can win a 1-table (10 man) tournament to gain entry to the Tour.
Ah, the cash game. Seven Clans runs a 2-10 spread-limit game between 4 pm and 4 am, Thursday through Monday. The dealers are engaging, chatty, and funny (if you think rednecks are funny). The games are incredibly, edibly soft. I cashed in $150 and was a bit surprised to see myself sitting down with the big stack, and not just by 20 or 50 or so. I'd say 2/3 the people at the table were my age or younger, not counting me or my brother. They all cashed in with $75 or less. Our table opened, and I was treated to an hour of watching bets be raised and then capped, only to see showdowns between middle pair and bottom pair, bottom pair and high card, and (I swear I am not making this up) high card vs. high card on an all-overcard board. I was itching to engage the hideous play, but my cards were stink-nasty, and the couple of times I found myself with suited connectors, the boy in front of me (he looked like his 18th birthday was about five years away) raised to 10 pre-flop. Frustration settled in, and after about 45 minutes of folding, I found myself heads-up in middle position with a fellow in his 30s in the cutoff after we both limped in. The board came A-x-A, and I looked down at K high and fired off a bet. He called, and the turn card was a random rag, so I fired the second barrel, another bet about half the size of the pot. He called, and we went to the river--another rag. I checked, and he checked, and then he turned over the third A. Defeat feels a little like drowning in air.
Luckily, at this point, the other table broke up, and several new people sat down-- not enough to make a full table. I volunteered to switch, as I had not come all this way to lose a spread-limit game at the same table as my lil' bro. My chipstack was almost halved; I was down to $86, and I had entered the battle with the intention that if I ever blinded down to 50 or less, I was cashing out. The last 50 was to be used in dominating situations only, to pump the size of the pot. Lo and behold, such a situation happened on the first hand at the new table. I limped in from the small blind with 45 of hearts, with one limper before me and the big blind checking. Flop comes K45 rainbow. EP checks, I minbet, and the big blind raises to 6. EP folds, I frown a bit, study my cards intently, and raise to 12. BB calls, and the turn is a 7. I bet 6, and the BB raises to 16. I pretend to be worried for a moment and call. River comes -- 2. I bet 10, he raises to 20, I raise to 30, he raises to 60, I raise to 70, and he puts me all-in. I call my last few chips, and he turns over KT. (I expected KQ, or possibly KJ/KA, and had thought briefly about KK/AA/44/55, but decided that he wasn't being aggressive enough for a monster like that.) I show my two pair, and he is furious as I rake in the big pile of chips and tip the dealer $2 (one large chip) for his trouble. That set the stage for the remainder of the evening; despite seeing only the premium hands AK offsuit once, AJ offsuit once, and no pocket pair higher than 99, I left with $184 in profit. GG me. I bought 3am breakfast buffet for myself and my brother (who also finished up on the night), and we went back to our room, sleeping in and leaving around noon the next day.
that guy can't even spell poker
Here's the last hand of a $3.30 rebuy I played tonight.. this is almost 3 hours in; I had been hanging around 25k in chips for a while after burning up my table in the first hour (cashed in for $12.30, including the add-on), and then i lost a bunch of chips when my AQ made second pair on a K high board and I couldn't put it down (incidentally, i lost to KQ). this was the next hand i played, two or three orbits later.
anyway, enough setup. here goes.
PokerStars Game #4234455562: Tournament #20792986, Hold'em No Limit - Level X (400/800) - 2006/03/09 - 22:52:44 (ET)
Table '20792986 188' Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: MAR108 (50906 in chips)
Seat 2: wsimmobr (10095 in chips)
Seat 3: #1 Big Cat (46703 in chips)
Seat 4: hakatak (9430 in chips)
Seat 5: trig358 (57472 in chips)
Seat 6: Rob Cunning (58622 in chips)
Seat 7: QUIGGY (14780 in chips)
Seat 8: grm69 (86428 in chips)
Seat 9: garyak (53070 in chips)
MAR108: posts the ante 50
wsimmobr: posts the ante 50
#1 Big Cat: posts the ante 50
hakatak: posts the ante 50
trig358: posts the ante 50
Rob Cunning: posts the ante 50
QUIGGY: posts the ante 50
grm69: posts the ante 50
garyak: posts the ante 50
#1 Big Cat: posts small blind 400
hakatak: posts big blind 800
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Ks Kd] (hooray, kings in the big blind)
trig358: folds
Rob Cunning: calls 800
QUIGGY: calls 800
grm69: folds
garyak: raises 4000 to 4800 (hooray, he'll call)
MAR108: folds
wsimmobr: folds
#1 Big Cat: folds
hakatak: raises 4580 to 9380 and is all-in
Rob Cunning: folds
QUIGGY: folds
garyak: calls 4580
*** FLOP *** [Ts 2d 9h]
*** TURN *** [Ts 2d 9h] [Qs]
*** RIVER *** [Ts 2d 9h Qs] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
hakatak: shows [Ks Kd] (a pair of Kings)
garyak: shows [9d 9c] (three of a kind, Nines) (...doh.)
garyak collected 21210 from pot
I was so disgusted and so disappointed that I didn't even pound my desk or throw my hat. I just wilted a little in my chair, and dutifully posted my final hand in the official rebuy results thread on 2+2.
lucked out is one letter away from fucked out
Normally I've got plenty of fire and brimstone for losing a hand where I'm a 4:1 favorite for all my chips. However, I had played an $11 multi-table freezeout tournament earlier in the evening/simultaneously, and I think you'll agree that the occurrences therein are breathtakingly extraordinary... or at least extraordinarily unpleasant.
(legal disclaimer: the following is property of myself and PokerStars, and is not to be used for any purpose other than training and review.)
(other disclaimer: this part is pretty long, and somewhat difficult to read. I apologize, and believe it or not, I cleaned it up quite a bit already. The number contained within the ==== is the hand # of the tournament. 1=first hand, and so on. Good luck.)
Transcript for tournament #20792998 requested by hakatak ( el.dusto@gmail.com)
*********** # 1 **************
Level I (10/20) - 2006/03/09 - 21:35:00 (ET)
Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: Scorpion11 (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: anticon (1500 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 3: martenmania (1500 in chips)
Seat 4: cook99 (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: loveulong (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: I Stay High (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: alde80 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: jhr103 (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: hakatak (1500 in chips)
anticon: posts small blind 10
martenmania: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Kd Kh]
cook99 has timed out while disconnected
cook99: folds
cook99 is sitting out
loveulong: calls 20
I Stay High: folds
alde80: calls 20
jhr103: folds
hakatak: raises 80 to 100
Scorpion11: folds
anticon: folds
martenmania: folds
loveulong: calls 80
alde80: calls 80
*** FLOP *** [6h Td Ts]
loveulong: checks
alde80: checks
hakatak: bets 100
loveulong: raises 100 to 200
alde80: folds
hakatak: raises 200 to 400
loveulong: calls 200
*** TURN *** [6h Td Ts] [9h]
loveulong: checks
hakatak: checks
*** RIVER *** [6h Td Ts 9h] [8c]
loveulong: bets 300
hakatak: calls 300
*** SHOW DOWN ***
loveulong: shows [6d 6s] (a full house, Sixes full of Tens)
hakatak: mucks hand
loveulong collected 1730 from pot
cook99 is connected
cook99 has returned
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1730 | Rake 0
Board [6h Td Ts 9h 8c]
Seat 5: loveulong showed [6d 6s] and won (1730) with a full house, Sixes full of Tens
Seat 9: hakatak mucked [Kd Kh]
*********** # 2 **************
Level I (10/20) - 2006/03/09 - 21:36:44 (ET)
Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: Scorpion11 (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: anticon (1490 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 3: martenmania (1480 in chips)
Seat 4: cook99 (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: loveulong (2430 in chips)
Seat 6: I Stay High (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: alde80 (1400 in chips)
Seat 8: jhr103 (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: hakatak (700 in chips)
martenmania: posts small blind 10
cook99: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Kc Kh] (that's right, KK back-to-back.)
loveulong: calls 20
I Stay High: folds
alde80: folds
jhr103: calls 20
hakatak: raises 80 to 100
Scorpion11: folds
anticon: folds
martenmania: folds
cook99: calls 80
loveulong: calls 80
jhr103: folds
*** FLOP *** [8s 6h 5c]
cook99: bets 20
loveulong: calls 20
hakatak: raises 100 to 120
cook99: calls 100
loveulong: folds
*** TURN *** [8s 6h 5c] [5s]
cook99: checks
hakatak: bets 120
cook99: calls 120
*** RIVER *** [8s 6h 5c 5s] [Jh]
cook99: bets 180
hakatak: raises 180 to 360 and is all-in
cook99: calls 180
*** SHOW DOWN ***
hakatak: shows [Kc Kh] (two pair, Kings and Fives)
cook99: shows [As 7c] (a pair of Fives)
hakatak collected 1550 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1550 | Rake 0
Board [8s 6h 5c 5s Jh]
Seat 4: cook99 (big blind) showed [As 7c] and lost with a pair of Fives
Seat 9: hakatak showed [Kc Kh] and won (1550) with two pair, Kings and Fives
I fold the next two hands preflop. Nothing to see there. Then...
*********** # 5 **************
Level I (10/20) - 2006/03/09 - 21:39:45 (ET)
Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: Scorpion11 (710 in chips)
Seat 2: anticon (1490 in chips)
Seat 3: martenmania (1470 in chips)
Seat 4: cook99 (1610 in chips)
Seat 5: loveulong (2280 in chips)
Seat 6: I Stay High (1480 in chips)
Seat 7: alde80 (1400 in chips)
Seat 8: jhr103 (1510 in chips)
Seat 9: hakatak (1550 in chips)
I Stay High: posts small blind 10
alde80: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Td Ts]
jhr103: folds
hakatak: raises 60 to 80
Scorpion11: folds
anticon: raises 260 to 340
martenmania: folds
cook99: folds
loveulong: folds
I Stay High: folds
alde80: folds
hakatak: calls 260 (I considered pushing, but was afraid of overcards)
*** FLOP *** [4c Ad Jh]
hakatak: checks
anticon: bets 400 (hmm, I think I'm behind)
hakatak: folds
anticon collected 710 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 710 | Rake 0
Board [4c Ad Jh]
Seat 2: anticon collected (710)
Seat 9: hakatak folded on the Flop
*********** # 6 **************
Level I (10/20) - 2006/03/09 - 21:40:49 (ET)
Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Scorpion11 (710 in chips)
Seat 2: anticon (1860 in chips)
Seat 3: martenmania (1470 in chips)
Seat 4: cook99 (1610 in chips)
Seat 5: loveulong (2280 in chips)
Seat 6: I Stay High (1470 in chips)
Seat 7: alde80 (1380 in chips)
Seat 8: jhr103 (1510 in chips)
Seat 9: hakatak (1210 in chips)
alde80: posts small blind 10
jhr103: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Ah Kc]
hakatak: raises 60 to 80
Scorpion11: raises 630 to 710 and is all-in
anticon: folds
martenmania: folds
cook99: folds
loveulong: folds
I Stay High: folds
alde80: folds
jhr103: folds
hakatak: calls 630
*** FLOP *** [Qs Qh 9d]
*** TURN *** [Qs Qh 9d] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [Qs Qh 9d 6h] [Jh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
hakatak: shows [Ah Kc] (a pair of Queens)
Scorpion11: shows [Qc Kd] (three of a kind, Queens)
Scorpion11 collected 1450 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1450 | Rake 0
Board [Qs Qh 9d 6h Jh]
Seat 1: Scorpion11 showed [Qc Kd] and won (1450) with three of a kind, Queens
Seat 9: hakatak showed [Ah Kc] and lost with a pair of Queens
...I folded the next 7 hands. So, seven hands later....
*********** # 14 **************
Level II (15/30) - 2006/03/09 - 21:48:51 (ET)
Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: Scorpion11 (2500 in chips)
Seat 2: anticon (5380 in chips)
Seat 3: martenmania (160 in chips)
Seat 4: alleyezonme0 (2155 in chips)
Seat 5: loveulong (2040 in chips)
Seat 6: I Stay High (1605 in chips)
Seat 7: alde80 (1320 in chips)
Seat 9: hakatak (470 in chips)
I Stay High: posts small blind 15
alde80: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Kd Ks]
hakatak: raises 440 to 470 and is all-in
Scorpion11: folds
anticon: folds
martenmania: folds
alleyezonme0: folds
loveulong: folds
snowman9 is connected
I Stay High: folds
alde80: folds
hakatak collected 75 from pot
hakatak: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 75 | Rake 0
Seat 9: hakatak collected (75)
I fold the next 19 hands preflop. Nothing worth hearing about; there was an A6 unsuited and a KJ unsuited in there. By this point, I realize that as far as the tournament goes, I am no more alive than Terri Schiavo. (before or after they pulled her feeding tube.) I was paying more attention to the $3 rebuy, and I was badly tilted, but my logic went like this: I wanted to get into a hand with the short stacks and not the big stacks because the shorties would have much wider ranges. This looked like one of the only situations that would ever turn out that way.
*********** # 33 **************
Level IV (50/100) - 2006/03/09 - 22:06:32 (ET)
Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: morrent (2040 in chips)
Seat 2: anticon (3360 in chips)
Seat 3: martenmania (490 in chips)
Seat 4: alleyezonme0 (180 in chips)
Seat 5: loveulong (2135 in chips)
Seat 6: I Stay High (2070 in chips)
Seat 7: alde80 (4675 in chips)
Seat 8: snowman9 (1655 in chips)
Seat 9: hakatak (395 in chips)
snowman9: posts small blind 50
hakatak: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Ts 4s]
morrent: calls 100
anticon: folds
martenmania: raises 390 to 490 and is all-in
alleyezonme0: calls 180 and is all-in
loveulong: folds
I Stay High: folds
alde80: folds
snowman9: folds
hakatak: calls 295 and is all-in
morrent: calls 390
*** FLOP *** [7d Jh 2c]
*** TURN *** [7d Jh 2c] [Kc]
*** RIVER *** [7d Jh 2c Kc] [4c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
morrent: shows [Ad 5d] (high card Ace)
martenmania: shows [9d Ah] (high card Ace - Nine kicker)
martenmania collected 190 from side pot-2
hakatak: shows [Ts 4s] (a pair of Fours)
hakatak collected 645 from side pot-1
alleyezonme0: shows [Qc Qs] (a pair of Queens)
alleyezonme0 collected 770 from main pot
*********** # 34 **************
Level IV (50/100) - 2006/03/09 - 22:07:41 (ET)
Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: morrent (1550 in chips)
Seat 2: anticon (3360 in chips)
Seat 3: martenmania (190 in chips)
Seat 4: alleyezonme0 (770 in chips)
Seat 5: loveulong (2135 in chips)
Seat 6: I Stay High (2070 in chips)
Seat 7: alde80 (4675 in chips)
Seat 8: snowman9 (1605 in chips)
Seat 9: hakatak (645 in chips)
hakatak: posts small blind 50
morrent: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Ad 3s]
anticon: folds
martenmania: raises 90 to 190 and is all-in
alleyezonme0: raises 580 to 770 and is all-in
loveulong: folds
I Stay High: folds
alde80: folds
snowman9: folds
hakatak: folds (hmm, this will turn out to be a mistake)
morrent: folds
*** FLOP *** [7s 3d Ac]
*** TURN *** [7s 3d Ac] [8h]
*** RIVER *** [7s 3d Ac 8h] [7d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
martenmania: shows [Jh 7h] (three of a kind, Sevens)
alleyezonme0: shows [Tc 7c] (three of a kind, Sevens - lower kicker)
martenmania collected 530 from pot
...or not. (^_^) Here's the next and final hand for me, as I lose a coinflip that would have tripled me up:
*********** # 35 **************
Level IV (50/100) - 2006/03/09 - 22:08:42 (ET)
Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: morrent (1450 in chips)
Seat 2: anticon (3360 in chips)
Seat 3: martenmania (530 in chips)
Seat 4: alleyezonme0 (580 in chips)
Seat 5: loveulong (2135 in chips)
Seat 6: I Stay High (2070 in chips)
Seat 7: alde80 (4675 in chips)
Seat 8: snowman9 (1605 in chips)
Seat 9: hakatak (595 in chips)
morrent: posts small blind 50
anticon: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [8c Ah]
martenmania: folds
alleyezonme0: raises 480 to 580 and is all-in
loveulong: folds
I Stay High: folds
alde80: folds
snowman9: folds
hakatak: raises 15 to 595 and is all-in
morrent: folds
anticon: calls 495
*** FLOP *** [7h 3h Qd]
*** TURN *** [7h 3h Qd] [Kh]
*** RIVER *** [7h 3h Qd Kh] [Tc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
anticon: shows [5c 5s] (a pair of Fives)
hakatak: shows [8c Ah] (high card Ace)
anticon collected 30 from side pot
alleyezonme0: shows [4h 4d] (a pair of Fours)
anticon collected 1790 from main pot
...and there you have it. I can safely say that I have never before played a game where I've had pocket kings 3 times in 14 hands, much less with an AK and TT to go along with them. I can also safely say that some days, you're just not meant to win.
February 27, 2006
i don't care what anyone says, i like fall out boy
Today's Sweet Link:
If this doesn't cheer up the emo kids... nothing will. (suddenly Google Video doesn't seem so stupid and pointless.)
This Week (last week?) in Poker:
I've been working all weekend and playing Magic all week, so I haven't had the opportunity to play as much poker as I would like, save for a set of 12 pokerstars 6.50s where I picked up one third place... in the 12th game. I am, however, much luckier than ZeeJustin; then again, I wasn't cheating.
Derek posts on 2+2. In other news, meteors strike and buttered toast now lands butter-side-up.
My goal is to play 72 1- and 2-table tournaments this week. I'll be playing the cash game at Seven Clans in Thief River Falls on Friday night, to celebrate the 18th anniversary of my brother's birth. I hear their poker room is nicer than Shooting Star, and also that they have a waterpark. First I splash my chips, and then I splash small children. Perhaps the other way round.
I Like Movies!:
March of the Penguins: B+ / Penguins are cute, and make cute noises. Their mating/cute-baby-penguin-rearing ritual is long, deeply involved, and remarkably unpleasant (reminiscent of me walking to campus in the wintertime, except ^10). I was skeptical, fearing a long episode of a Discovery Channel show, but it turned out to be the show I never knew I really liked.
Broken Flowers: C / Bill Murray was freakin' sweet in Lost in Translation. The same character (well, equally minimalist) doesn't play so well in Broken Flowers, a Jim Jarmusch joint *snicker* about a man's discovery that he may have a 19-year-old son, and his quest to determine who the boy is and where he may be. The writing is alternately boring and clever, and the cinematography is ... well, somnambulant. Jarmusch loves to give us reaction shots of Murray's character, whereupon Murray does his best to conjure up an image of a still, landlocked water hazard with just the slightest breeze blowing over it. The resulting effect is as easily digestible as the excessively saccharine and grandiose language used in this review, with about as much charm and entertainment value.
The Aristocrats: B-* / I haven't seen the special features yet, and I hear they are the highlight of the film, so I'll hold off final judgement until then. I was a little surprised at how seriously the film took itself; it's an actual documentary, and tries to give itself some credibility despite the depravity of the subject matter. Bob Saget is a highlight, as is Sarah Silverman, and I was extremely disturbed to find out that I actually sort of liked Dana Gould. (Gould, along with Ian Haxtone--- uh, Maxtone-Graham, was a writer for The Simpsons during their four- or five-year slump between seasons 9 and 13/14. The highlight of his tenure was an angry Gould telling angry fans that they didn't know what they wanted, and that their opinions mattered little because "none of them could ever write for The Simpsons." Maybe not, but they can sure watch the ads that provide for your paycheck, you ungrateful.... uh... never mind.)
That's all for this time, kids; I have to get re-medicated in the morning, and it's already ten past two.
If this doesn't cheer up the emo kids... nothing will. (suddenly Google Video doesn't seem so stupid and pointless.)
This Week (last week?) in Poker:
I've been working all weekend and playing Magic all week, so I haven't had the opportunity to play as much poker as I would like, save for a set of 12 pokerstars 6.50s where I picked up one third place... in the 12th game. I am, however, much luckier than ZeeJustin; then again, I wasn't cheating.
Derek posts on 2+2. In other news, meteors strike and buttered toast now lands butter-side-up.
My goal is to play 72 1- and 2-table tournaments this week. I'll be playing the cash game at Seven Clans in Thief River Falls on Friday night, to celebrate the 18th anniversary of my brother's birth. I hear their poker room is nicer than Shooting Star, and also that they have a waterpark. First I splash my chips, and then I splash small children. Perhaps the other way round.
I Like Movies!:
March of the Penguins: B+ / Penguins are cute, and make cute noises. Their mating/cute-baby-penguin-rearing ritual is long, deeply involved, and remarkably unpleasant (reminiscent of me walking to campus in the wintertime, except ^10). I was skeptical, fearing a long episode of a Discovery Channel show, but it turned out to be the show I never knew I really liked.
Broken Flowers: C / Bill Murray was freakin' sweet in Lost in Translation. The same character (well, equally minimalist) doesn't play so well in Broken Flowers, a Jim Jarmusch joint *snicker* about a man's discovery that he may have a 19-year-old son, and his quest to determine who the boy is and where he may be. The writing is alternately boring and clever, and the cinematography is ... well, somnambulant. Jarmusch loves to give us reaction shots of Murray's character, whereupon Murray does his best to conjure up an image of a still, landlocked water hazard with just the slightest breeze blowing over it. The resulting effect is as easily digestible as the excessively saccharine and grandiose language used in this review, with about as much charm and entertainment value.
The Aristocrats: B-* / I haven't seen the special features yet, and I hear they are the highlight of the film, so I'll hold off final judgement until then. I was a little surprised at how seriously the film took itself; it's an actual documentary, and tries to give itself some credibility despite the depravity of the subject matter. Bob Saget is a highlight, as is Sarah Silverman, and I was extremely disturbed to find out that I actually sort of liked Dana Gould. (Gould, along with Ian Haxtone--- uh, Maxtone-Graham, was a writer for The Simpsons during their four- or five-year slump between seasons 9 and 13/14. The highlight of his tenure was an angry Gould telling angry fans that they didn't know what they wanted, and that their opinions mattered little because "none of them could ever write for The Simpsons." Maybe not, but they can sure watch the ads that provide for your paycheck, you ungrateful.... uh... never mind.)
That's all for this time, kids; I have to get re-medicated in the morning, and it's already ten past two.
February 16, 2006
100th post EXXXTRAVAGANZA!!!!
That's right, ladies and gentlemen... we have reached our 100th post.
ACT I: Hopes and Dreams
It's been about 9 months since this blog first appeared in the 'sphere (as we blognoscenti are wont to refer to the blogosphere), and it's undergone a few revisions and trivializations since then. My initial purpose was to write up a trip report for last spring's trip to San Francisco; that, however, was predicated on the belief that I would be attending the Electronic Entertainment Expo, otherwise known as E3. (you shouldn't lie to your friends like that... you know who you are)
Since then, I've masqueraded as a site offering pointless minutiae of my daily life, and by turns, a place to read some thoughtful analysis of political or technology news. Mostly, though, it's pointless minutiae, and it remains my goal over the next 100 posts to eliminate the boring and replace it with the thoughtful and/or creative. (I have a couple of good ideas in the works, both of which I think all four of my readers will enjoy.)
The appearance of the site has been changed a couple of times in pursuit of that perfect balance between elegance and readability; the latest change was today, in honor of our first milestone, and any comments on the latest redesign are welcome. My goal for next time is to invent my own stylesheet instead of using the pre-brewed templates here on blogger.
I believe that the measure of a blog is not its frequency, but its content. This is why I chose to make a big exxxtravaganza out of my 100th post, instead of a 1-year anniversary or something, because being around for a year isn't anything special. All it proves is that you managed to not die or get locked up, and post at least twice. On the flip side, 11 posts a month indicates true commitment to myself, my faithful readers, and those who would jeer the 'sphere. I will not make any "daily post" promises or anything like that, because posting a link with a snide sentence at the end isn't much of a post, and really just clogs up the internet. So keep checking back for random updates, and stop hassling me about not updating my blog (you still know who you are).
That's where I want to go in the next 100 posts or so. May they find us all in good health and good spirits, with the wind at our backs and the sun on our faces.
::: applause, cheers :::
ACT II: Lucky Day
(my PokerStars handle is 'hakatak,' just fyi)
PokerStars Game #3982295131: Tournament #19788312, Hold'em No Limit - Level V (75/150) - 2006/02/15 - 16:26:59 (ET)
Table '19788312 1' Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: hakatak (2745 in chips)
Seat 2: Hayseed1979 (775 in chips)
Seat 3: wildkaz (1585 in chips)
Seat 4: slsdesign (1315 in chips)
Seat 5: Moonburn (345 in chips)
Seat 6: golbetkey (5500 in chips)
Seat 7: Nati-Natural (1235 in chips)
hakatak: posts small blind 75
Hayseed1979: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Ah Js]
wildkaz: calls 150
slsdesign: folds
Moonburn: folds
golbetkey: raises 300 to 450
Nati-Natural: folds
hakatak: calls 375
Hayseed1979: folds
wildkaz: folds
*** FLOP *** [Th Jh Kh]
hakatak: checks
golbetkey: bets 900
hakatak: raises 1395 to 2295 and is all-in
golbetkey: calls 1395
*** TURN *** [Th Jh Kh] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [Th Jh Kh 6d] [Qh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
hakatak: shows [Ah Js] (a Royal Flush)
golbetkey: shows [Kd Ks] (three of a kind, Kings)
hakatak said, "AWESOME"
hakatak collected 5790 from pot
::: more cheers, applause :::
ACT III: The Acceptance Speech
Nobody likes a glory hog, so I'll keep this short.
"When you're in a town like this all covered with smoke, you forget that there's a world outside. Nothing amazing happens here. And you get used to that, used to a world where everything is ordinary. Every day we spend here is like a whole lifetime of dying slowly. But now Haruko is here. That's how I know there really is a world outside." - Naota Nandaba
Thanks to modern communications, I am able to partially lift the veil of smoke on a daily basis. This space is (and shall remain) dedicated to everyone that keeps me from imploding under the crushing weight of the ordinary.
Here's to many 100s more....
(^_^) dusty
ACT I: Hopes and Dreams
It's been about 9 months since this blog first appeared in the 'sphere (as we blognoscenti are wont to refer to the blogosphere), and it's undergone a few revisions and trivializations since then. My initial purpose was to write up a trip report for last spring's trip to San Francisco; that, however, was predicated on the belief that I would be attending the Electronic Entertainment Expo, otherwise known as E3. (you shouldn't lie to your friends like that... you know who you are)
Since then, I've masqueraded as a site offering pointless minutiae of my daily life, and by turns, a place to read some thoughtful analysis of political or technology news. Mostly, though, it's pointless minutiae, and it remains my goal over the next 100 posts to eliminate the boring and replace it with the thoughtful and/or creative. (I have a couple of good ideas in the works, both of which I think all four of my readers will enjoy.)
The appearance of the site has been changed a couple of times in pursuit of that perfect balance between elegance and readability; the latest change was today, in honor of our first milestone, and any comments on the latest redesign are welcome. My goal for next time is to invent my own stylesheet instead of using the pre-brewed templates here on blogger.
I believe that the measure of a blog is not its frequency, but its content. This is why I chose to make a big exxxtravaganza out of my 100th post, instead of a 1-year anniversary or something, because being around for a year isn't anything special. All it proves is that you managed to not die or get locked up, and post at least twice. On the flip side, 11 posts a month indicates true commitment to myself, my faithful readers, and those who would jeer the 'sphere. I will not make any "daily post" promises or anything like that, because posting a link with a snide sentence at the end isn't much of a post, and really just clogs up the internet. So keep checking back for random updates, and stop hassling me about not updating my blog (you still know who you are).
That's where I want to go in the next 100 posts or so. May they find us all in good health and good spirits, with the wind at our backs and the sun on our faces.
::: applause, cheers :::
ACT II: Lucky Day
(my PokerStars handle is 'hakatak,' just fyi)
PokerStars Game #3982295131: Tournament #19788312, Hold'em No Limit - Level V (75/150) - 2006/02/15 - 16:26:59 (ET)
Table '19788312 1' Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: hakatak (2745 in chips)
Seat 2: Hayseed1979 (775 in chips)
Seat 3: wildkaz (1585 in chips)
Seat 4: slsdesign (1315 in chips)
Seat 5: Moonburn (345 in chips)
Seat 6: golbetkey (5500 in chips)
Seat 7: Nati-Natural (1235 in chips)
hakatak: posts small blind 75
Hayseed1979: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Ah Js]
wildkaz: calls 150
slsdesign: folds
Moonburn: folds
golbetkey: raises 300 to 450
Nati-Natural: folds
hakatak: calls 375
Hayseed1979: folds
wildkaz: folds
*** FLOP *** [Th Jh Kh]
hakatak: checks
golbetkey: bets 900
hakatak: raises 1395 to 2295 and is all-in
golbetkey: calls 1395
*** TURN *** [Th Jh Kh] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [Th Jh Kh 6d] [Qh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
hakatak: shows [Ah Js] (a Royal Flush)
golbetkey: shows [Kd Ks] (three of a kind, Kings)
hakatak said, "AWESOME"
hakatak collected 5790 from pot
::: more cheers, applause :::
ACT III: The Acceptance Speech
Nobody likes a glory hog, so I'll keep this short.
"When you're in a town like this all covered with smoke, you forget that there's a world outside. Nothing amazing happens here. And you get used to that, used to a world where everything is ordinary. Every day we spend here is like a whole lifetime of dying slowly. But now Haruko is here. That's how I know there really is a world outside." - Naota Nandaba
Thanks to modern communications, I am able to partially lift the veil of smoke on a daily basis. This space is (and shall remain) dedicated to everyone that keeps me from imploding under the crushing weight of the ordinary.
Here's to many 100s more....
(^_^) dusty
February 14, 2006
they just can't stop lying
come on, now.
it was a shotgun.
not a "pellet gun".
if only the media wasn't so liberal; maybe they could get their facts straight.
it was a shotgun.
not a "pellet gun".
if only the media wasn't so liberal; maybe they could get their facts straight.
February 7, 2006
a better way, part 1
Jim Dobson, famous evangelical and head of Focus on the Family, seems to believe that global warming is less serious than abortion. We'll see what he thinks when the Florida coast is underwater.
Abortion is killing the Democratic party. It's a hugely resonant issue among Red State voters, and (I think, don't quote me on this) carries more single-issue voters to the Republican side than any other. Plus, it pits people of deep faith who have otherwise progressive values against progressives that just don't see what all the fuss is about. None of this is good for the country.
So, in lieu of the failed Democratic establishment having any ideas, I am going to come up with a better way. Here's my idea.
1) Compare outlawing abortion/overturning Roe to Prohibition. Making something illegal doesn't make it go away, it just makes it go underground and fills up our already overcrowded prisons even further. Of course, nobody should have an abortion if they can help it; abortion is gross and unpleasant (not to mention abhorrent, if you fear the wrath of God). So....
2) Just like government is uniquely capable of providing schools and roads and bank insurance, it is equally well-equipped to help stem the bloody tide of baby bits ending up in dumpsters all across America (but not in the Deep South). The federal government should oversee a national network of adoption agencies, providing funding, staffing, and responsible oversight so that babies have a safe place to stay between the time they are born and the time they are adopted. A simultaneous, sustained television/paper/school/church campaign touting the benefits of adoption to both the mother and child would begin, hopefully with the cooperation of the Ad Council (their stuff is always so snappy).
3) In case hearing it from the pastor, the teacher, and the tube wasn't enough, the government (probably on a state level, with some degree of federal reimbursement) can offer financial breaks to women who agree to carry their baby to term and put it up for adoption. Stopping short of paying a woman to have a kid, the government can offer, through Medicaid, to cover all expenses related to pre- and post-natal medical care, ensuring that Mom gives birth to a happy, healthy kid. (Exceptions for special cases; birth defects, situations where the mother refuses to quit smoking/drinking/doing drugs during pregnancy, AIDS babies, etc.)
4) And, to close the loop, the federal (and state) governments can offer refundable tax credits (the best kind) on children adopted through the federal government's program, starting out large enough to help defray the costs of raising a baby, and then slowly being reduced over the first 18 years of life so that the parents can rely on a little help from their fearless leaders in Washington as they care for a child that really just needed a loving mom/mom/dad/dads in the first place.
The progressives get to oversee an expansion of Medicaid to help the truly needy, women in fragile situations receive care worthy of the most advanced nation in the world, the evangelicals get to root for adoption and against abortion while handing out pamphlets printed by the government, and the conservatives get a tax credit. Everyone goes home happy.
Abortion is killing the Democratic party. It's a hugely resonant issue among Red State voters, and (I think, don't quote me on this) carries more single-issue voters to the Republican side than any other. Plus, it pits people of deep faith who have otherwise progressive values against progressives that just don't see what all the fuss is about. None of this is good for the country.
So, in lieu of the failed Democratic establishment having any ideas, I am going to come up with a better way. Here's my idea.
1) Compare outlawing abortion/overturning Roe to Prohibition. Making something illegal doesn't make it go away, it just makes it go underground and fills up our already overcrowded prisons even further. Of course, nobody should have an abortion if they can help it; abortion is gross and unpleasant (not to mention abhorrent, if you fear the wrath of God). So....
2) Just like government is uniquely capable of providing schools and roads and bank insurance, it is equally well-equipped to help stem the bloody tide of baby bits ending up in dumpsters all across America (but not in the Deep South). The federal government should oversee a national network of adoption agencies, providing funding, staffing, and responsible oversight so that babies have a safe place to stay between the time they are born and the time they are adopted. A simultaneous, sustained television/paper/school/church campaign touting the benefits of adoption to both the mother and child would begin, hopefully with the cooperation of the Ad Council (their stuff is always so snappy).
3) In case hearing it from the pastor, the teacher, and the tube wasn't enough, the government (probably on a state level, with some degree of federal reimbursement) can offer financial breaks to women who agree to carry their baby to term and put it up for adoption. Stopping short of paying a woman to have a kid, the government can offer, through Medicaid, to cover all expenses related to pre- and post-natal medical care, ensuring that Mom gives birth to a happy, healthy kid. (Exceptions for special cases; birth defects, situations where the mother refuses to quit smoking/drinking/doing drugs during pregnancy, AIDS babies, etc.)
4) And, to close the loop, the federal (and state) governments can offer refundable tax credits (the best kind) on children adopted through the federal government's program, starting out large enough to help defray the costs of raising a baby, and then slowly being reduced over the first 18 years of life so that the parents can rely on a little help from their fearless leaders in Washington as they care for a child that really just needed a loving mom/mom/dad/dads in the first place.
The progressives get to oversee an expansion of Medicaid to help the truly needy, women in fragile situations receive care worthy of the most advanced nation in the world, the evangelicals get to root for adoption and against abortion while handing out pamphlets printed by the government, and the conservatives get a tax credit. Everyone goes home happy.
February 1, 2006
jes kos i luv yew
To everyone that wants to get up and talk about how dailyKos is crap, I give you this:
The January Straw Poll of likely Democratic presidential candidates in 2008.
(I voted for Mark Warner, governor of Virginia... but only because Al Gore is not on the list. Sen. Feingold (D-WI) seems to be the frontrunner, but I gotta say that our last experience with a sitting senator running for president was, well... senatorial. Sartorial? Laughable? Yes.... laughable.)
Wes Clark interests me... there's a comment under the poll somewhere that talks about how Clark "united 19 famously uncooperative European nations and their militaries to fight a war," which I think would play well against Bush's "Coalition of the Mighty Filipinos and Poles." 'Cause we all know that you've gotta fear the Poles... they'll run away.
Seriously, though, check it out. Although there's a lot of "Feingold can't win because he's a ... you know... j-o-o...?" garbage, there are some clever retorts, and it's a generally interesting and stimulating discussion about who should be the one to lead America in saving itself.
The January Straw Poll of likely Democratic presidential candidates in 2008.
(I voted for Mark Warner, governor of Virginia... but only because Al Gore is not on the list. Sen. Feingold (D-WI) seems to be the frontrunner, but I gotta say that our last experience with a sitting senator running for president was, well... senatorial. Sartorial? Laughable? Yes.... laughable.)
Wes Clark interests me... there's a comment under the poll somewhere that talks about how Clark "united 19 famously uncooperative European nations and their militaries to fight a war," which I think would play well against Bush's "Coalition of the Mighty Filipinos and Poles." 'Cause we all know that you've gotta fear the Poles... they'll run away.
Seriously, though, check it out. Although there's a lot of "Feingold can't win because he's a ... you know... j-o-o...?" garbage, there are some clever retorts, and it's a generally interesting and stimulating discussion about who should be the one to lead America in saving itself.
January 31, 2006
the return
People talk about being addicted to alcohol, drugs, tobacco, food... etc.
I am addicted to the Internet.
Five days ago, I blew up my PC by trying to install some memory without unplugging the damn thing first. Four days ago, I acquired a new, faster motherboard, a new case, a video card, and a network card. The next four days are a frustrating struggle to figure out why my wireless card is fubar, and why my video card takes a big poop when my two network cards are in a certain slot, and why the wireless router doesn't work for anyone else in the house when it's on my PC desk, but if I move it four feet to my Mac desk, everything works fine (all the internet must have been going out the window).
An hour ago, I finally got my Internet working again.
Those four days were impossibly long. I didn't realize how much of my routine involved the 'net; in the morning, while I'm having coffee, I surf the blogs. While I'm waiting at the bus stop or riding the bus, I listen to podcasts or new music. I play a *lot* of online poker. At night, I chat up my friends on the IM, and watch friends of mine that make final tables in 20-table tournaments. (congrats, Kevin!!!)
I couldn't do any of that, and I felt SO LOST. I would listen to the radio when I could to get some news, and I've actually been reduced to reading the GF Herald to get snippets of what's been happening with Alito (confirmed) and the Prez'dint (bombed the SOTU). I got a book from the library (Neil Gaiman's "Anansi Boys") and read it in the garage while smoking a cigar yesterday because I had two hours to kill and no idea what to do with myself.
I did my taxes today... sort of. I still have to mail my signed form to the IRS, but other than that, everything is filed and complete. The Lifetime Learning credit is non-refundable, and that's bullshit. However, if I remain a destitute student, next year I will qualify for the EIC, which is most definitely refundable.
In other news, I found a pair of flannel pants at target for $4. I am so sick of Diggnation that I will strongly consider deleting it from my video-podcast directory. GOD those guys are (-1, Offtopic). I still can't get my iMac on the internet. I need another ethercable to put into the switch; you can't just plug an ethernet cable from one computer into another and expect it to work. (to which I say: WHY THE FUCK NOT???)
It's good to be back. If you'll excuse me, I have some surfing to do; there is much tv to be downloaded.
I am addicted to the Internet.
Five days ago, I blew up my PC by trying to install some memory without unplugging the damn thing first. Four days ago, I acquired a new, faster motherboard, a new case, a video card, and a network card. The next four days are a frustrating struggle to figure out why my wireless card is fubar, and why my video card takes a big poop when my two network cards are in a certain slot, and why the wireless router doesn't work for anyone else in the house when it's on my PC desk, but if I move it four feet to my Mac desk, everything works fine (all the internet must have been going out the window).
An hour ago, I finally got my Internet working again.
Those four days were impossibly long. I didn't realize how much of my routine involved the 'net; in the morning, while I'm having coffee, I surf the blogs. While I'm waiting at the bus stop or riding the bus, I listen to podcasts or new music. I play a *lot* of online poker. At night, I chat up my friends on the IM, and watch friends of mine that make final tables in 20-table tournaments. (congrats, Kevin!!!)
I couldn't do any of that, and I felt SO LOST. I would listen to the radio when I could to get some news, and I've actually been reduced to reading the GF Herald to get snippets of what's been happening with Alito (confirmed) and the Prez'dint (bombed the SOTU). I got a book from the library (Neil Gaiman's "Anansi Boys") and read it in the garage while smoking a cigar yesterday because I had two hours to kill and no idea what to do with myself.
I did my taxes today... sort of. I still have to mail my signed form to the IRS, but other than that, everything is filed and complete. The Lifetime Learning credit is non-refundable, and that's bullshit. However, if I remain a destitute student, next year I will qualify for the EIC, which is most definitely refundable.
In other news, I found a pair of flannel pants at target for $4. I am so sick of Diggnation that I will strongly consider deleting it from my video-podcast directory. GOD those guys are (-1, Offtopic). I still can't get my iMac on the internet. I need another ethercable to put into the switch; you can't just plug an ethernet cable from one computer into another and expect it to work. (to which I say: WHY THE FUCK NOT???)
It's good to be back. If you'll excuse me, I have some surfing to do; there is much tv to be downloaded.
January 26, 2006
i hate my computer
Mozilla took six minutes to load a website on my PC today. I know this because I was able to listen to two songs back-to-back before i was able to navigate the 2+2 homepage.
i feel like crap. i don't have enough to do; no job (save for six hours on the weekends), no money, and no car. so i just sit in my house and drink.
here's a link.
go ahead and die.
i feel like crap. i don't have enough to do; no job (save for six hours on the weekends), no money, and no car. so i just sit in my house and drink.
here's a link.
go ahead and die.
January 25, 2006
a legend was born
True Story of one of the best online tournament poker players in the world.
I'm talking like top 5.
Darrell Dicken, aka Gigabet.
It's probably too late for you, but this is how you become the best.
I'm talking like top 5.
Darrell Dicken, aka Gigabet.
It's probably too late for you, but this is how you become the best.
January 21, 2006
January 18, 2006
a little bit funky
DJ Sasha is -- BY FAR -- my favorite DJ. The live show he performed for Radio One's Essential Mix is probably my favorite trance mix of all time. No, you know what, scratch the probably... it's the best. If you're good, I might even link to it so you can download and listen to what was voted (in a landslide) the best Essential Mix of 2005.
Sasha performed a live show in Gypsyla---uh, ...Australia on January 13th, and you can listen to it on the Radio One website. Unfortunately, the BBC Radio Player is a fairly limited device, and before you can get to the good stuff, you have to listen to the show's DJ, Annie Nightingale, mix a brief show first (as well as promote some live shows across the pond that I would cut off two fingers to see). Her accent is 180 degrees from sexy, and her choice in music is.... well... boring.
So, if you can survive the first part of the show intact, you will be treated to the world's best DJ mixing a freakin' sweet set.
But only if you click this link. (This link will only lead to the Sasha show until January 20th, so get there quick and get your fix.)
Oh, and while I'm at it, I encourage you to listen to the Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1 every week. I have never not liked it. If you ever loved, liked, or didn't hate dance music, you will love this show. If you ever wanted to learn anything about dance music, or if you ever wanted to seem European without wearing a turtleneck and carrying a purse, you will love this show. In fact, why are you still reading this? Go there and tap your foot or wiggle your butt in your chair or whatever you like to do. Right now. Go on.... I dare you.
Sasha performed a live show in Gypsyla---uh, ...Australia on January 13th, and you can listen to it on the Radio One website. Unfortunately, the BBC Radio Player is a fairly limited device, and before you can get to the good stuff, you have to listen to the show's DJ, Annie Nightingale, mix a brief show first (as well as promote some live shows across the pond that I would cut off two fingers to see). Her accent is 180 degrees from sexy, and her choice in music is.... well... boring.
So, if you can survive the first part of the show intact, you will be treated to the world's best DJ mixing a freakin' sweet set.
But only if you click this link. (This link will only lead to the Sasha show until January 20th, so get there quick and get your fix.)
Oh, and while I'm at it, I encourage you to listen to the Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1 every week. I have never not liked it. If you ever loved, liked, or didn't hate dance music, you will love this show. If you ever wanted to learn anything about dance music, or if you ever wanted to seem European without wearing a turtleneck and carrying a purse, you will love this show. In fact, why are you still reading this? Go there and tap your foot or wiggle your butt in your chair or whatever you like to do. Right now. Go on.... I dare you.
January 17, 2006
Why President Gore would have been an American hero, Part 1,623,471:
(note: Al Gore is still an American hero, despite having an election stolen from him, too.)
From Gore's speech on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day:
Fear drives out reason. Fear suppresses the politics of discourse and opens the door to the politics of destruction. Justice Brandeis once wrote: "Men feared witches and burnt women."
The founders of our country faced dire threats. If they failed in their endeavors, they would have been hung as traitors. The very existence of our country was at risk.
Yet, in the teeth of those dangers, they insisted on establishing the Bill of Rights.
Is our Congress today in more danger than were their predecessors when the British army was marching on the Capitol? Is the world more dangerous than when we faced an ideological enemy with tens of thousands of missiles poised to be launched against us and annihilate our country at a moment's notice? Is America in more danger now than when we faced worldwide fascism on the march-when our fathers fought and won two World Wars?
It is simply an insult to those who came before us and sacrificed so much on our behalf to imply that we have more to be fearful of than they. Yet they faithfully protected our freedoms and now it is up to us to do the same.
From Gore's speech on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day:
Fear drives out reason. Fear suppresses the politics of discourse and opens the door to the politics of destruction. Justice Brandeis once wrote: "Men feared witches and burnt women."
The founders of our country faced dire threats. If they failed in their endeavors, they would have been hung as traitors. The very existence of our country was at risk.
Yet, in the teeth of those dangers, they insisted on establishing the Bill of Rights.
Is our Congress today in more danger than were their predecessors when the British army was marching on the Capitol? Is the world more dangerous than when we faced an ideological enemy with tens of thousands of missiles poised to be launched against us and annihilate our country at a moment's notice? Is America in more danger now than when we faced worldwide fascism on the march-when our fathers fought and won two World Wars?
It is simply an insult to those who came before us and sacrificed so much on our behalf to imply that we have more to be fearful of than they. Yet they faithfully protected our freedoms and now it is up to us to do the same.
ich bin traurig
Those of you who listen to my angry ramblings are familiar with my belief that when the 2008 presidential election "happens," a couple of things are likely to occur:
1) The President will scare voters away by leaking "information" to the "media" that "the terrorists" are going to target voting places, encouraging the fearful and weak of spirit to stay home and not vote the criminal incumbent party out of office.
If that doesn't look like it's going to work,
2) The President will declare that national security is so tenuous that America cannot withstand a change of leadership during this "time of war," and refuse to give up the White House, period. The "media" hails Dear Leader as "visionary" and "courageous" as the now-lifetime-appointed Totalitarian Dictator lights a cigar on the burning corner of the Constitution.
Considering this little thought experiment, as I often do while walking to a bus stop/waiting for a bus/riding the bus, I decided that it is unlikely that the President would reject our system of elections. Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Canada (!) probably wouldn't stand for such a reversal of fortune in the world's richest country.
The enlightened wealthy leader class in America is one step ahead of me, though, like it always is. They don't need to revoke elections in order to remain in power in perpetuity.
Diebold can build machines to steal elections, call them "paperless voting machines," and then pay Representative #1, Bob Ney of Ohio, thousands of dollars to write and help pass a law that mandates the use of these election-stealing machines in every precinct in America.
Then they can continue to pay Election Stealer #1 thousands of dollars to ensure that a reform bill with over 100 bipartisan co-sponsors never leaves the committee of which E.S. #1 is the chair.
So now, despite exit polls to the contrary, Republicans can "win" every "election," and nobody can challenge the results because the only company with access to them is Diebold, whose chairman promised to "deliver the election" to President Bush in 2004. Wasn't Ohio the last battleground state? Was it ever really a battleground state? Will it be the last battleground state ever, as every election in America ends 51-49 in favor of the criminal incumbent party?
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
1) The President will scare voters away by leaking "information" to the "media" that "the terrorists" are going to target voting places, encouraging the fearful and weak of spirit to stay home and not vote the criminal incumbent party out of office.
If that doesn't look like it's going to work,
2) The President will declare that national security is so tenuous that America cannot withstand a change of leadership during this "time of war," and refuse to give up the White House, period. The "media" hails Dear Leader as "visionary" and "courageous" as the now-lifetime-appointed Totalitarian Dictator lights a cigar on the burning corner of the Constitution.
Considering this little thought experiment, as I often do while walking to a bus stop/waiting for a bus/riding the bus, I decided that it is unlikely that the President would reject our system of elections. Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Canada (!) probably wouldn't stand for such a reversal of fortune in the world's richest country.
The enlightened wealthy leader class in America is one step ahead of me, though, like it always is. They don't need to revoke elections in order to remain in power in perpetuity.
Diebold can build machines to steal elections, call them "paperless voting machines," and then pay Representative #1, Bob Ney of Ohio, thousands of dollars to write and help pass a law that mandates the use of these election-stealing machines in every precinct in America.
Then they can continue to pay Election Stealer #1 thousands of dollars to ensure that a reform bill with over 100 bipartisan co-sponsors never leaves the committee of which E.S. #1 is the chair.
So now, despite exit polls to the contrary, Republicans can "win" every "election," and nobody can challenge the results because the only company with access to them is Diebold, whose chairman promised to "deliver the election" to President Bush in 2004. Wasn't Ohio the last battleground state? Was it ever really a battleground state? Will it be the last battleground state ever, as every election in America ends 51-49 in favor of the criminal incumbent party?
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
January 16, 2006
i can finally sleep safely tonight
last night:
dusty wrote:
sorry, i don't recognize your email address. who is this?
this morning:
On 1/16/06, Joe wrote:
tracy's bf dusty
...who? I continue to get confused. So:
dusty wrote:
oh.
sorry, i don't use bittorrent.
The game ends:
On 1/16/06, Joe wrote:
oops!!... i just found out i had gotten the email address wrong. the one i was supposed to use had a couple numbers after eldusto. sorry
----------------
This could just be a case of mistaken identity... but it could also be an attempt on the part of the media industry to ferret out bittorrent trackers. I certianly wouldn't put it past them. Curious.... curious indeed.
Oh, and check out Josh Christy's website. /plug
dusty
sorry, i don't recognize your email address. who is this?
this morning:
On 1/16/06, Joe
tracy's bf dusty
...who? I continue to get confused. So:
dusty
oh.
sorry, i don't use bittorrent.
The game ends:
On 1/16/06, Joe
oops!!... i just found out i had gotten the email address wrong. the one i was supposed to use had a couple numbers after eldusto. sorry
----------------
This could just be a case of mistaken identity... but it could also be an attempt on the part of the media industry to ferret out bittorrent trackers. I certianly wouldn't put it past them. Curious.... curious indeed.
Oh, and check out Josh Christy's website. /plug
January 15, 2006
curiosity killed the cat
Now this is a curious email:
-----
On 1/15/06, Joe wrote:
Could you give me a list of the torrent sites you use? i forgot to get them b4 i left.
-----
Joe who?
Left where?
Huh?
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you.
-----
On 1/15/06, Joe
Could you give me a list of the torrent sites you use? i forgot to get them b4 i left.
-----
Joe who?
Left where?
Huh?
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you.
January 11, 2006
scotch? or bourbon?
is crown royal scotch or bourbon?
I can never tell.
I'm not happy with the way the Alito hearing has been happening. I listened to the whole deal while I got clowned at the poker tables yesterday, and I gathered three things:
1) Republicans are cheerleaders for anyone else who might be Republican.
2) Roe v. Wade is not "settled law," it is subject to a "super-precedent."
3) *most important* the executive branch of government is not responsible to the legislative, even in cases where the executive claims exception from the legislative. most important of all, there might be situations where the executive can make decisions regardless of legislative imperatives, and these decisions WOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO JUDICIAL REVIEW.
no links; it's way late, and i'm tired. this guy is clearly a bushie. i pray to the god that doesn't exist that the democrats filibuster; otherwise, i wonder whether or not there will be presidential elections in 2008.
all hail king george.
I can never tell.
I'm not happy with the way the Alito hearing has been happening. I listened to the whole deal while I got clowned at the poker tables yesterday, and I gathered three things:
1) Republicans are cheerleaders for anyone else who might be Republican.
2) Roe v. Wade is not "settled law," it is subject to a "super-precedent."
3) *most important* the executive branch of government is not responsible to the legislative, even in cases where the executive claims exception from the legislative. most important of all, there might be situations where the executive can make decisions regardless of legislative imperatives, and these decisions WOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO JUDICIAL REVIEW.
no links; it's way late, and i'm tired. this guy is clearly a bushie. i pray to the god that doesn't exist that the democrats filibuster; otherwise, i wonder whether or not there will be presidential elections in 2008.
all hail king george.
January 9, 2006
don't look at the man behind the curtain
So if Samuel Alito is so freakin' awesome that he should be on the SCOTUS...
why is he telling the Senate, and by extension, the American public, to just ignore every organization he's been a part of, every job he's ever had, and everything he's ever said?
"Awww, relax, guy! I can change!"
why is he telling the Senate, and by extension, the American public, to just ignore every organization he's been a part of, every job he's ever had, and everything he's ever said?
"Awww, relax, guy! I can change!"
January 8, 2006
my fingers feel like hot dogs
my landlord and roommate travis is not from grand forks. therefore, he would not know if he rented his other (OTHER!) house out to some well-known members of the GFK party circut.
Well, he did just that. I went by, shook hands with the 40% of partygoers I am on a first-name basis with (GOD I HATE GFK) and joined in the live entertainment (three guys on guitar, and two guys plus me on hand drums). Great times, but my right hand will be extremely swollen and my extra knuckle will hurt like a bitch come morning.
(update: i was right. i can hardly hold a glass of water, and my hand is black and blue. sweeeeet.)
Well, he did just that. I went by, shook hands with the 40% of partygoers I am on a first-name basis with (GOD I HATE GFK) and joined in the live entertainment (three guys on guitar, and two guys plus me on hand drums). Great times, but my right hand will be extremely swollen and my extra knuckle will hurt like a bitch come morning.
(update: i was right. i can hardly hold a glass of water, and my hand is black and blue. sweeeeet.)
January 5, 2006
changing history, part 3
This is taken from AmericaBlog; I know you're all too lazy to click links, and I wanted a long post without having to do actual work, so here's the goods. There are more links and details on AmericaBlog, and I strongly encourage you to link/visit.
(4:30pm update of news that happened yesterday. Note that NBC did not say "Andrea Mitchell was wrong and should not have said what she said," they instead said "we are continuing our inquiry." Sounds like someone who doesn't want to publish a story they're not finished writing. So has Christiane been talking to Al-Qaeda, or what?)
-----
Well this is getting interesting. NBC just delete two paragraphs from its Andrea Mitchell interview, the paragraphs that talked about whether Bush was wiretapping ace CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour (kudos to Atrios for spotting this).
Here's what the NBC "official" transcript used to say (I copied this text from NBC's own page only 2 hours ago):
Mitchell: Do you have any information about reporters being swept up in this net?
Risen: No, I don't. It's not clear to me. That's one of the questions we'll have to look into the future. Were there abuses of this program or not? I don't know the answer to that
Mitchell: You don't have any information, for instance, that a very prominent journalist, Christiane Amanpour, might have been eavesdropped upon?
Risen: No, no I hadn't heard that.
Here's what it says now:
Mitchell: Do you have any information about reporters being swept up in this net?
Risen: No, I don't. It's not clear to me. That's one of the questions we'll have to look into the future. Were there abuses of this program or not? I don't know the answer to that
Mitchell: You are very, very tough on the CIA and the administration in general in both the war on terror and the run up to the war and the war itself Â? the post-war operation. Let's talk about the war on terror. Why do you think they missed so many signals and what do you think caused the CIA to have this sort of break down as you describe it?
Risen: I think that, you know, to me, the greater break down was really on Iraq. It's very difficult to have known ahead of time about these 19 hijackers. They were, you know, probably lucky that they got through and they did something that no one really assumed anybody would ever do. And I think that made 9/11 a lot like Pearl Harbor. That even when you see all the clues in front of you that it's very difficult to put it together.
Since when is NBC in the business of deleting entire paragraphs from their official transcripts? What's going on here?
----
What, indeed.
(4:30pm update of news that happened yesterday. Note that NBC did not say "Andrea Mitchell was wrong and should not have said what she said," they instead said "we are continuing our inquiry." Sounds like someone who doesn't want to publish a story they're not finished writing. So has Christiane been talking to Al-Qaeda, or what?)
-----
Well this is getting interesting. NBC just delete two paragraphs from its Andrea Mitchell interview, the paragraphs that talked about whether Bush was wiretapping ace CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour (kudos to Atrios for spotting this).
Here's what the NBC "official" transcript used to say (I copied this text from NBC's own page only 2 hours ago):
Mitchell: Do you have any information about reporters being swept up in this net?
Risen: No, I don't. It's not clear to me. That's one of the questions we'll have to look into the future. Were there abuses of this program or not? I don't know the answer to that
Mitchell: You don't have any information, for instance, that a very prominent journalist, Christiane Amanpour, might have been eavesdropped upon?
Risen: No, no I hadn't heard that.
Here's what it says now:
Mitchell: Do you have any information about reporters being swept up in this net?
Risen: No, I don't. It's not clear to me. That's one of the questions we'll have to look into the future. Were there abuses of this program or not? I don't know the answer to that
Mitchell: You are very, very tough on the CIA and the administration in general in both the war on terror and the run up to the war and the war itself Â? the post-war operation. Let's talk about the war on terror. Why do you think they missed so many signals and what do you think caused the CIA to have this sort of break down as you describe it?
Risen: I think that, you know, to me, the greater break down was really on Iraq. It's very difficult to have known ahead of time about these 19 hijackers. They were, you know, probably lucky that they got through and they did something that no one really assumed anybody would ever do. And I think that made 9/11 a lot like Pearl Harbor. That even when you see all the clues in front of you that it's very difficult to put it together.
Since when is NBC in the business of deleting entire paragraphs from their official transcripts? What's going on here?
----
What, indeed.
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