August 2008 Archives

Since I didn't get much response on yesterday's call for blog topics, today's topic is going to be on my latest, greatest personal interest...poker.

Poker?  Hell, I didn't even know her!

Sorry, just had to get that out.  I never said I wasn't crude.  Now back to the show.

(I'll be using some game specific terms so if you need a primer on the game, start here.)

Last night I was invited to play in a free, friendly game at a local restaurant/bar only a few minutes from my house.  I got parole from the warden and sat down to play at around 7:30.  Hal, from No Sleep in Helena, Alabama was there and I was glad to meet yet another person I have followed on-line for quite a while.  Strange to think most of my social circle is made up entirely I have meet through this blog or other internet sites.  Anyway, the game cranked up shortly thereafter and it only took a few hands for me to realize I was in for a very different experience.

I am used to playing very tight in the early rounds.  The first game I was invited to a few months ago at my new friend Scott's house is very competitive and full of good players.  Those guys won't call the blind or a pre-flop raise just to see the flop.  It would be throwing money away.  If they pay to see the flop they generally have good starting hands for their position.  Last night's game, however, was completely different.  People were paying to see the flop with garbage hands.  6-3 off suit in early position for example.  Even my pre-flop raises were getting called with garbage.  It completely threw off my game.  I have been studying strategy for weeks now but just about everything I have learned was useless in this game.  Because of the wild calls, the odds of losing on a suck-out jumped dramatically and it happened to me on more than one occasion including my last hand.  It simply came down to the complete lack of stakes in the game.  While yes there was some restaurant credit on the line, for the most part there was nothing to be won or lost so players played to play and not necessarily to win.  That being said, the most loose player ended up the chip leader.  Sometimes reality just doesn't agree with the odds.

I realized I had to start calling with more hands just because of what else was going on.  I was playing tight and was on my way to the short stack due to a very fast game where the blinds got high quickly.  I figured if I can't beat them I had to join them so I started playing weaker hands than I have been taught to play.  I won a few hands and lost a few and ended up in 5th place on the table when I got K-6 off suit.  I was in the blind and a few players called to me.  I, of course, checked and saw the flop.  The flop came 9-K-3 rainbow.  A good flop for me.  Knowing that the players had been playing VERY loose I decided to go all in with my kings.  The table folded to the dealer who called.  That left just two of us head to head.  He showed Tens and I showed my kings.  I was in great position to double up my $7500 stack.  The turn came and it was a 7.  Then came the river.  Guess what folks...it was a ten!  I don't know if that would be considered a true suck-out but I know it certainly did suck.

My night was over just like that.  I left shaking my head.  Nothing played the way I expected.  I did learn that I need to adjust my strategy earlier if the play requires it.  I hope to get another shot at the game next week as apparently this is a weekly game.  Here's hoping the odds are with me next time.

I am trying to find something to write about and am drawing blanks.  My mind is preoccupied with many things at the moment, but nothing that really stands out.  I have talked about my new love of poker, my ongoing interest in photography, my addiction to buy books, and a whole host of other interests that are likely only important to me and not to anyone else on the internets.  I could rant about the current state of politics but there are plenty of people out there that do it better than me both from a comedic point of view and from the serious angle.  So given that everything has been done, what else is left more me to say?  I can't think of anything.  Therefore, it is now time to turn over the subject to you.  Yes, I am looking at you.  Got a question for me?  Now's the time.  I can't guarantee I will answer it but there is a really good chance I will.  Basically I am fishing for ideas here folks so bring them on.

One final note and this one is actually political.  The current campaign has got me soured on the state of American leadership.  I feel like Vizzini from The Princess Bride.  In the battle of wits with the Dread Pirate Roberts, Vizzini must chose between two cups that have been poisoned by Roberts.  It is up to Vizzini to figure out the best choice between two potentially deadly cups.




What Vizzini didn't know is that both cups were poisoned so either choice would end in his death and in a very War Games moment the only correct choice would have been not to play.  This election is very much the same.  Both choices will result in bad outcomes and the only correct choice to not to elect either person.  Of course the large majority of the voting public is either unable or unwilling to reject the current two party system and find a true leader and thus willingly drinks the poison. 

Anyway, got anything exciting to talk about? 

A running joke among my family is that I have exactly no rhythm.  Everyone in my family, and I am talking about blood relatives here, has played some kind of instrument at some point in their lives...except me.  My father even played in a jazz band for most of my young life and only stopped playing when he was transferred away from his band mates.  My mom and brother were both members of their high school bands and I still have other relatives that play to this day.  I, on the other hand, can't keep a beat for more than about 2 bars and even then it must be a slow 4/4 (is that right?) time.  My lack of rhythm is also at least partially responsible for my inability to dance.  Imagine the worst white guy dancing and you will be imagining someone who can dance better than me.  It's almost sad really.

It is therefore quite surprising, even to me, to find that I own not one but TWO rhythm based games for the Xbox 360.  I purchased Dance, Dance Revolution many months ago because it seemed like my daughter might enjoy it.  She did, for a little while, but lost interest do to the competition aspect of the game.  She, unlike me, doesn't got for competitive activities.  As for me...I look like some spastic monkey that just woke up from a 5 year coma playing that game.  It is ugly folks and the game has pretty much been collecting dust these past few months.  I just can't play it.  I can't get the beat right in my head and my feet just flail around wildly.  Maybe this explains why I hate ballet so much.

The other game, Rock Band, was purchased this last week.  It seemed like a great family game and I have been secretly coveting the game since it came out.  Really, who doesn't want to be a Rock Star right?

I found out quickly that my fingers are just about as coordinated as my feet when it comes to keeping up with music and my first shot at playing the game was a miserable failure.  Of course that is about the time I learned about EASY level.  Ah...now this is what I need.  Rock Band for the musically retarded.  I played through the entire EASY set list this weekend.  I did ok, but did not complete any song perfectly until about 11:00 last night.  I have played some MEDIUM songs and one HARD song with varying levels of success.  It is painfully obvious, however, that I was just not intended to be a musician.  Even a fake one.  My one shot at EXPERT was comical at best.  I even think I failed when there were no notes on the screen. 

My lack of rhythm aside, the game is hella fun and I was mostly playing by myself.  It is certainly more of a party game and I can see how much more fun it would be with a few others along for the ride.  I can also see how games of this nature could possibly be the savior that the music industry is looking for.  I played a few songs that I had never heard before and I am interested in following up on those bands.  I heard more new (newer) music last night than I have in years because I just don't listen to the radio anymore.  It will be interesting to see how games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero can change music distribution.

One final note.  I saw the following postcard on PostSecret this morning.  I literally laughed out loud when I spotted it.  Remember, I was up until 11:00 playing last night.  I wonder if my wife thinks it is as funny as I do...

We took a trip to the casino last weekend and I am proud to say that not only did I win a the poker table, but overall we came back with more cash than we had when we left.  While the trip was fun and much needed, it was also a learning experience.  I sat down at a live poker table for the first time in my life.  For me it was very intimidating considering I have only been playing the game for about 2 months.  My hands shook on every bet I place and other players pointed it out.  The good news was that it was not really a tell because they shook regardless of the quality of my cards.  In my first 4 hour session I walked away with over $350.00 dollars on top of my original bankroll.  I went into the game with a very specific strategy and it paid off.  I got lucky and was playing against some people that were making poor decisions and a guy who though he could scare me off of big bets because I was a beginner.  I only bet when I had the nuts and he paid for it.  I wiped him out after about an hour and a half. 

Later that evening I went back to the table and was winning again until a change in the room occurred that I did not pay enough attention too and it cost me.  The poker room was running a promotion that gave away several thousand dollars over the course of three days with the day I was there being the last day.  The final drawing was for $4,000.00 and the room stayed full until that drawing.  I hit the table 2 hours before that drawing and got up about $250.00.  The drawing came and went and the room started to empty out.  Before I realized what had happened, all the marginal players who were basically waiting to see if they won the $4,000.00 had left and I found myself at a table full of experienced players.  If I had walked away at that moment, I would have been up almost $600.00 for the weekend.  I kept playing and found myself loosing consistently for the next 3 hours.

I got short stacked to about $75.00 (from a high that evening of ~$575.00) but rallied and came back to ~ $300.00.  Then things went bad.  I lost a few hands and sat looking at a bankroll of less than $250.00.  The hand that killed me was a straight draw with two other players in the action.  A guy I had been battling with held my attention and I didn't notice the old timer who had played very conservatively all night make a few large bets on the flop and the turn.  I was too focused on the other guy that had been eating my lunch all night.  I drew a low end straight on the turn and raised.  The other guy called and the old timer re-raised.  All the signs pointed to me being beat but I didn't notice.  I was tired and kinda pissed that the other guy had short stacked me twice and I made a bad call that put me all in.  The other guy called as well.  The river came and was no help.  Everyone showed their hand and the old guy produced the nut straight.  Jack high straight.  The other guy and I both had the 9 high straight.  We both got taken on the sucker straight.  The old guy took in about $600.00 on that one hand ($1/$2 table) which probably made his evening as he had been forced to re-buy at least once since I sat down.  My only consolation to loosing my bankroll (I started the session with what I won early so I still had a net gain) was that the other guy I was having trouble with lost too.  I thanked the table for the lesson and walked away a little dejected but overall happy that I had the guts to play at all and that I still came out ahead.

If my wife (who also hit a big jackpot) and I had walked away at the right time would would have been up over $1000.00.  We still came home up but not that much.  The next morning I went to the blackjack table, won some then lost a bunch.  We left, still ahead, but we both agreed we should have stopped at midnight the previous night.  It all worked out well in the end and it was a successful trip.  So successful that I can't wait to go back.

I learned quite a bit about the game of poker that weekend, the most important of which is that I have a lot more to learn.  What surprised me was how loose some people can be when playing with their own money.  One guy did nothing but lose all night and just kept throwing hundred dollar bills on the table.  EVERYONE knew how this guy was betting and that he would bet on crap hands and chase Aces all the way to the river.  I made money off of him and so did everyone else but he just kept at it while drinking all the time.  I am glad he had the money to piss away because he made my first live poker experience a success.  The most important thing I learned though was that there is a time when you are no longer in a good position to win and you should walk away.  I did it right the first session but failed to walk at the right time during my second session.  It is a lesson not soon forgotten.

Thanks again to Scott for introducing me to the game.  I don't know whether to thank him or curse him for igniting the fire of a new obsession but I am grateful for the chance to hang out with some really good people regardless.  He invited me to his house game without ever meeting me in person.  I have yet to win any cash at that game but my time is coming.  I am learning more each week and have some new strategies to test out at the next game.  Here's hoping Scott is on my right next time. 

One last thing, if you like poker but have never sat at a live, casino game I highly recommend it.  Take a couple of hundred dollars that you won't mind losing and play until it is gone.  It is a mad rush and easily worth the money if you lose it all.  Just remember, set a point where you are going to walk away both high and low.  That way you will be happy no matter what the outcome. 

Good Luck 

I have been watching Olympic coverage every night since the opening.  Watching these athletes do amazing things have made me feel just a bit inadequate as a human being.  It has, however, motivated me to keep up with my workout routine and I am starting to see some, if minor, results.  The shoulder I messed up back in '98 is starting to feel much better and I can rotate it straight up which is something I could not do before.  It still hurts when I sleep on it but not as much and not every night.  I have also increased my total pounds lifted per workout by about 6,000 pounds.  Now, I know that does not correlate to anything including muscle development but I am still happy about the progress.  I think the rate of increase should level off now that I have found a level that is challenging my muscles.  It just took me a while to figure out what the best weight per exercise and per set should be.  I certainly feel a difference in my upper body even if it is not showing yet.

The bigger accomplishment (for me at least) came last night when I beat my all-time 30 minute treadmill record.  I won't discuss what it is, but I beat it my an extra 6/100ths of a mile.  Not much I know but I haven't been able to get within 1/10th of a mile of my previous best in a month.  I had a really strong 15 minutes and then pushed myself harder in the last 15, especially the last ten.  I hit a maximum speed of 8 mph during the run.  It's funny that I was able to make that mark last night considering I really considered skipping the run after my strength workout.  I ended up in the cardio room though figuring I could at least do a leisurely 30 minutes to keep my schedule consistent.  Once I got on the treadmill though I was feeling good and decided to give a record run a shot.  I realized by around minute 20 that I was on pace to beat my record which motivated me to push it just a bit harder than normal.  It was good but I am still having trouble.  My legs, especially my right achillies tendon, are still giving me problems.  To much pounding I guess.  Gotta stretch more.  The amazing thing though is that my lungs are not fighting me.  Breathing has been my downfall all of my life but this time things are improving with each run.  If the slow but steady improvement continues and I can lick the leg pain problem then I can honestly see hitting my goal of a 3 mile, 30 minute run by the end of the year.

There is a 5K run in October.  I am considering entering, but I am not ready yet.  It would give me something to shoot for, but I am nervous.  Running has NEVER been my thing.  After last night's success, however, I am more confident I can do it.  Maybe by the end of August things will be clearer.  Baring any injuries I might even get back on the soccer field.  Now that really would be fun.  

I just love this poster.  It is as simple as that.  At first it doesn't look like much but once you realize it is a SAW V poster then you know something must be up.  That's when you notice the face.  Do you see it?

Last Friday night I played in a house poker game. I came away $10.00 poorer but mentally richer. I am continuing to learn more about this game and starting to understand how complex it really can be. Although online poker can be fun, there is nothing like a live game around real people.

The hair band trivia was flying fast and furious and I am embarrassed to say that I confused Gary Charone of Extreme (and later Van Halen) with the lead singer of Tesla. I was able to redeem myself later with my knowledge of Damn Yankees. Even Winger made an appearance Friday and I don't know whether I should be proud that I know Winger is the favorite band of Stewart from Beavis and Butthead or just sad that I ever had to experience the suckitude that is Kip Winger.

I am trying to decide if this blog/website/thing should continue.  I am not asking for opinions on the subject but rather talking out loud.  Bouncing thoughts against myself to see how I feel about them.  I can't shake the thought that this site and all of my other various interactions with the internet have become nothing but a distraction.  Almost like the internet and technology is the forest that I can't see around to find my true destination.  I wonder what life would be like if I let it all go and walked away from the wired world.  I am forever linked to the medium for various reasons but it seems like my life wouldn't be missing anything if just turned it off.

I had hoped that rebooting this site would re-energize my excitement about the internet but that has not been the case.  No, it has only been a frustrating annoyance at best and a time sink that I am increasingly finding difficult to justify.  I won't mention how it affects my work productivity.  Just assume that it does.  The other issue, and the one I consider the elephant in the room, is that I am finding that I just don't have anything to say.  I don't "bring anything new to the table" and I think I am ok with that.  I have things I enjoy discussing but I have learned that I enjoy it only when others are there to debate with me.  Throwing out an idea where it sits and rots seems...I don't know...self serving. 

Maybe this is how it ends.  With a whimper.    

Do you find blogs that primarily just repeat news from other locations worth visiting?  I see this quite a bit but have never really been able to figure out why these blogs exist.  The authors don't offer commentary on the story, just basically a summary and then a link.  I know some sites are just link farms but I also see plenty of personal blogs that are really just repeats of popular stories from places like digg.com, slashdot.org, and the like.  Why would someone take the time to do this and who would go back to such a site on more than one occasion? 

I am not saying these sites are bad, pointless, or teh suck, I just wonder for what purpose the author continues to post stories without adding something of value.

Do you visit a site like this?  If so, why?

I had a discussion yesterday that started out weighing the relative merits of private versus public schools and ended with a philosophical debate regarding faith.  The connection between the two topics is the "teaching" of intelligent design as a counter to evolution in a science based curriculum.  Obviously I am against the notion as ID is a philosophy and not a testable hypothesis.  ID can be "taught" (I hate using "taught" and "teach" with regards to ID as the words really should not be in the same sentence.) in philosophy or theology but it does not belong in biology.  However, since this is not a post in which I debate ID versus evolution, let's move on.

I think I have discovered a metaphor that describes the nature of religious debate.  Debating the existence of god is a lot like watching porn when you are alone.  Even though you will probably get all excited during the process, in the end you are left right back where you started only a lot more frustrated.  It is uncanny how the two things are alike. 

The reality of the situation is that no matter how compelling either argument becomes, it is never going to be enough to change the mind of the person on the other side.  At least that is my assumption.  Any atheist worth his salt knows that there is always the possibility that god exists and should be willing to concede in the face of overwhelming evidence. It is the understanding that god is not completely falsifiable that separates the atheist from the theist.  This also explains why atheism is NOT a faith. 

Faith is believing in something without proof as well as believing in something REGARDLESS of evidence to the contrary.  Otherwise, one would not need faith because the truth would be self evident.  The atheist, on the other hand, is defined by the lack of faith.  Atheism then cannot be a faith in itself.  The good atheist should not say "I don't believe in God" as this assumes belief without evidence.  The good atheist should say "There is no compelling or reproducible evidence that suggests god exists and thus I do not have faith in a god."  It is always possible that god will show himself one day and prove his existence but until that time the rational and logical conclusion must be that it is unlikely god exists.  This philosophy is NOT faith and should never be confused as such.

Personally, I am just overjoyed to have finally been able to liken god to porn.

The adequate yearly progress scores for Alabama schools are out and I couldn't me more proud of my Alma Mater. 

If you haven't picked up on the sarcasm yet, let me just go ahead and let you know that the high school from which I graduated failed to meet the AYP standard.  Thompson High School in picturesque Alabaster, Alabama failed to meet reading standards.  Guess who is not surprised.  If you guessed the author of this post then give yourself a cookie.

From the Shelby County Reporter:

"...Thompson High School missed AYP because of weak reading proficiency scores among students who receive free and reduced lunch and among black students."

Let me list a few of the brain busting assignments and other little factoids I can remember from my time as a student.  I will admit that this was during the years '89-'93 but it doesn't look like things have changed much.

1.  I remember doing SEVERAL word finds in senior level American History.  Yes folks, I said WORD FINDS.  Like the same thing you remember doing in elementary school.

2.  The same class also was assigned to make a poster dealing with a famous event from the colonial era.  Just so you know, the teacher of this class was the wife of the principal.

3.  Driver's ed consisted of MAYBE driving a car twice in the semester and only then to run errands for the "teacher".  Errands like picking up dry cleaning, dropping off movie rentals, going to the post office, and other various and sundry things most people have to do during their lunch breaks.  Is it any surprise this "class" was taught by a coach?  Oh, that same coach went on to be an assistant basketball coach at UAB during its worst performing years.  Color me shocked.

4.  As a senior I took "journalism".  Supposedly this class was tasked with putting out the school newspaper.  This class consisted of 0% journalism instruction.  It was really just a break for the teacher and we spent most of the time goofing off.  We MIGHT have published 4 papers during the year.  Maybe. 

5.  The school had a grand total of 3 AP classes which were English, Biology, and Art. 

6.  Students were forced to attend pep rallies (football only of course other sports like soccer could just suck it) and would be given detention if they did not stand and sing the school song.  This is what you get when former coaches become principals.  However, one coach at the school was a good educator and was the sponsor of the math club.  He was the exception and certainly not the rule.

7.  Most people would not use the school's bathrooms out of fear they would be attacked or harassed.  I don't even think the teachers would go near them most of the time.   

8.  In a different history class we were given a study guide for an exam that consisted of the questions that would be asked.  All the student needed to do was look up the answers and memorize the sheet.  People still failed this test. 

I could go on but what's the point?  Thompson High was not known for academic excellence and it seems things have only gotten worse.  Yes, the school had some good teachers when I was a student and I have no doubt that there are good teachers there today.  I received a solid scholarship and earned a spot in a very exclusive academic program upon graduation from the school and I know of at least one student that went on to an Ivy League school so it could not be all bad but I can never remember academics being a priority. 

I put as much blame on the students and, more specifically, on the parents of the students.  A school is only as good as its students and they are only as good as their parents and my guess is that there are plenty uninterested and uninvolved parents in this story.  A kid that has no interest in learning can't be taught and I know from personal experience that there were a lot of kids there that never cared learn a thing.  So, the school is not entirely at fault.  I am not going to excuse the performance though.  If it is anything like it was 15 years ago the teachers don't always challenge the students.  That, I think, is the biggest failure of all.  Some students are never going to succeed but some can given the right environment and such an environment was hard to find at THS.

Go Warriors.