Free Agency

NFL free agency has been pretty active today.

For the Eagles it's going to get weird.

They wanted Saturday, and he opted to stay in Indy.

They got Stacey Andrews (brother of current psycho lineman Shawn Andrews).

LJ Smith went to the Flacons.

B-Dawk is in Denver... This would truly mark the end of an era

Kellen Winslow was traded to the Bucs. The eagles had targeted him as well.

There is talk about them courting Tory Holt, Whosyourmomma, and possibly Marvin Harrison who is from here, and lives here.

Ought to be interesting to see how all of this pans out.

I give to you... because it's what I do

My buddy started a cigar company... take advantage of his offer. They really are very good

Welcome to the Flatbed Cigar Company

I started this business because I love cigars, and feel we all work too hard, and relax too little.

I have a stimulus package for you. While the rest of the country may be picking your pockets (seemingly), my plan does the opposite. I am going to leave more money with you. YOU decide how to spend it. I will suggest a good Whisky, or Bourbon to accompany your PANACEA cigar.

We are not great marketers, as you can see, but we make GREAT CIGARS and want to help out in this crazy economy.

Here is how it works:

Use this code: Stimulus25 at check out and save an additional 25% on your order. That's it. Simple. 25% Off on ANYTHING in the store. I am also offering FREE SHIPPING on box sales.

I want to sell cigars, you want to buy them, but we both need to watch our wallets. This plan works. All sales are 100% Guaranteed. If you are unhappy with what you receive, send them back. No worries.

One more thing. Make sure you take time to enjoy life.

Mellow On Ahead...

Paul

PANACEA Cigars...The Old-School Way

Well how'd you get the beans above the frank?

My 4 year old had a doctors appointment yesterday. She was born with a nevus sebaceous on the very top of her head. In relative terms a small one. It measured about an inch and a half long and about half an inch wide. Really, nothing more than a birth mark. When she was born we were told by the doctors that she would eventually need to have it removed, but because of it's location, and it's relatively size, her hair would cover it and it would basically go unoticed.

She also has an angiokeratoma on her right leg, which anyone who doesn't recognize the term would know it as a rasberry. Again, this one is small and I actually thought of both abnormalities as those little physical things that do nothing more than add character to people.

We never really gave either any thought, but about a month ago, the keratoma on her leg started to bleed a little, and get a littly crusty. This is normal for such things, and will eventually need to be excised. However, this usually waits until after the child reaches puberty. Same as the Nevus.

Within the last two weeks my wife noticed a bump, or growth on the top of the nevus. Within a week it had doubled in size and was bothering her (actually the child, and the wife). She had complained when she slept and we figured it was time to get it looked at again.

Yesterday was that appointment. The doc came in the room, said hello, looked at it, and said he wanted her in the OR by next week. Now, when he said that so quickly, I kinda felt a little surprised. I expected that it would need to come out, but being so early, regardless of the growth there, I kinda was a little pissed.

I did some research, and these things have a 5-33% chance of becoming cancerous in anyone, but that usually doesn't become a real possibility until after puberty. I read that on the internet so it has to be true.

I spoke with the doc and he gave me 20-1 odds that it was likely not a problem, but the sudden onset of the growth, and its appearance gives him a little pause. Luckily, this is dermatological. So far. We aren't expecting anything else. What worries me the most is that my little girl (our third of 4) has to endure general anesthesia. Not a big fan. I'm one of those guys who subscribe to the theory that the cure is always worse than the problem. Take chemo therapy for example.

So this tuesday she will be going under and have this thing removed, as well as the angiokeratoma (since she will be under, they'll do it all at once). I'll wait for the biopsy to come back before I worry.

In reality this is probably nothing more than someone getting a mole lopped off. But the doc seemed anxious, and gave me odds. I don't like that. The kid is 4. She's a princess as well. She's not the warrior type like my 8 year old daughter. In addition, she's mine.

I was 40/60 on hitching a ride with Bam and Pebs on their way to Gvegas this weekend. But I think I will stay home now and just hang out with the little one. She's noticeably nervous and questions everything almost constantly. "daddy, when do I have to go back to the doctors?" "Mom, can I just not go at all?" "LOOK! It's gone! I feel better!"... That type of stuff. See with the 8 year old, I'd be able, and feel comfortable, telling her to man up. Don't sweat it. In and out, and you're good. She would get it. This one, not so much. She needs reassurance.

So no poker games for me this weekend. More like movie nights, and trips to the zoo to keep her mind off of what is coming next week. I'll probably miss sundays opening BBT events and most likely Mondays as well. Definately Tuesdays skill game. Wednesday will depend on how Tuesday goes.

*******************************

I saw something funny this morning in the paper. I recalled Bams post about Americans being stupid for judging Michael Phelps and his bong escapades. It was a story that said a media company from Toronto that schedules motivational speeches had cancelled Phelps' appearances in Calgary and Vancouver in light of his recent misgivings. LOL

Last night, I was chatting with Goat while Lost was on. My wife watches that show. I don't. I told her the name of the show was lost becauase thats where it leaves the viewrs. Lost. She asked me to relay some questions to Goat while watching. I think I caught up on the whole series asking those questions, and getting the answers from him. So I thought, Good. Now I don't have to watch. Cause now I know. One less thing!

Have a good day and be mean to someone. Telling you to be nice is just sooooo cliche'. Wait, so is 'have a nice day'...

We use words like honor, code, LOYALTY

It never ceases to amaze me the sense of entitlement people have when it comes to everything in their daily lives. In all aspects of life, there are some who just regard most things as a right. A right to eat, a right to work, a right to breathe.

These are all priviledges. Not rights. You don't have the right to free speech either. You think you do, but you really don't. Legally, yes. You do. This country and it's 'flawed" constitution gives every citizen the right to say what they want, about whatever they want, whenever they want to, without persecution. Legal persecution, err, make that prosecution actually.

But in reality, is it a right? Do rights assume a certain level of aceptance? As in, a guy has a right to state that he wishes the sun didn't exist. No. They don't. He has the right to say it, but most would not accept it. But I think people have come to believe that acceptance should be included in terms of something being a "right".

Is healthcare a right? Is having a job a right? I don't think so. Is being able to work a right? Our forefathers didn't think so, and they certainly didn't live that way. They worked hard, made sacrifices, and squeezed as much as they could out of everything they earned. They were proficient in such things.

As I watched the Presidents speech last night, I was disheartened by a few things. I know it's no ones fault, because it's the way our society has grown. And not just ours. But mainly ours. The issues we are having, all politics aside, are born out of the push to obtain things faster than we normally would. Give peope the ability to spend so that the economy can grow exponentially. Makes sense.

Our grandfathers SAVED to by a car. They SAVED to buy their houses. Credit started a whole new lifestyle. It wasn't born out of necessity. But it did spark a revolution for companies to make ginormous profits. People could by things without having the capital to do so. All of this culminated into the issues we have today. It was a big snowball and just kept rolling, and getting bigger.

Today, it's not about the TV's and the computers people bought on credit. It's the amount of cars, the soaring costs of healthcare, the size of their home, that they would never ever have been able to afford back then. Moreso recognize the fact that they couldn't afford it.

My father purchased his house in 1968. He went to his employer of 1 year at the time, and asked for a advance on his salary to help with the down payment. He needed 4k and was a little short. The house cost $17k. Could you imagine that today?

Obama made a point in his speech last night that they would do things to open up the credit markets. People will be able to buy houses again. That will create jobs for people who make those houses. And those people will then have money to spend.

The question is, spend on what? The 60k in debt they have? What happens to the the trillions in personal debt this country has racked up, let alone the national deficit? We haven't addressed that problem at all. This personal debt isn't going away, and now the adminstration will make it easier again for people to obtain loans to buy more cars and houses?

And what about the companies extending these loans? You think they are going to sit idly back and give standard terms? To me it seems like throwing gas on the fire. I know it's how the economy works, but this way of fixing the problem is only going to separate the classes even further. It truly will lead to the end of the middle class given enough time.

I honestly think this country is in no way even close to a comeback (shocker!). There are way too many things to overcome before we can even start to figure out a game plan. Everything needs to be looked at again. Will it ever change? I don't see how it can without a fundamental shift in how the American lifestyle is viewed. Something like that would take a bunch of farmers to pick up some pitchforks and start revolting.

I don't know where I am going with this. I hear a lot of stories from neighbors, friends, and even employees who are just stuck like never before. Some have lost their jobs, and others see their jobs going away shortly. They are scared and not happy about the situation. They don't understand the system anymore. That used to be easy.

Get an education, get a job, borrow some money on three different levels... credit cards (status), mortgage (house), and an auto loan (more status). I say status for auto loans because most bought the car out of want and pride, rather than necessity. Sure it is a necessary purchase in todays time, but it certainly changes when the payment on a brand new BMW is only $200 more a month than a civic. Of course, that's assuming you don't own it at all, rather lease it.

Seems to me that the sense of entitelment will soon dissapate into a very thin cloud as people start to realize how important it is to take care of themselves. That no one else will be there to protect them. That once again, it will be on the individual to take care of business, and make sure themselves and their loved ones are taken care of.

Primer Course

The BBT semi kicked off last night witht he first PPI/ Riverchasers event. This one didn't count towards the BBT but it did make for an interesting night.

33 showed up to participate and the new partner brought some interesting players. Lee Childs, Eric Lynch, Brandon Jarrett, and others were all there to do their part in shoving draws, and stealing blinds like it was their job (I guess it is, actually).

The first two went out when kings ran into aces twice, and we were quickly down to 31. I had Brandon Jarrett to my left and he had built up a stack pretty quickly. It was a pretty standard table and folks seemed to be having a good time, but were also very focused on the play.

Al was at my table as well, and sat out the first 2 levels sucking on chinese food. After his fingers were clean he would commence with the button smashing. I was doing fairly well, but not getting any action on my big hands. Every prelop raise I put in went uncontested and I hovered around the 3k mark for about the first level.

Jarret left me alone on most of my blind steals but but he quickly started repopping me. One particular hand he limped utg. There was one caller, and I raised with AQ out of the bb. Jarrett shoved, the other folded, and I tanked. It was a fairly easy fold to make, but I waited a little before doing so.

It was an intersting battle everytime it came to the blinds between the two of us, and I (we) were having fun. It was getting close to to the final table and I was now at about 8k. I picked up AK on the bb, and Jarrett raised standard utg ($1400 or so). Up to that point, when he had shown down his preflop raises, it was a very large range. Even from UTG. Another called, and I opted to over shove the AK. Brandon snap called (I had him covered by $2500 or so) and the other folded. He showed AA, but I 4 flushed him and took the chip lead.

That came back to haunt me at the final table when we got down to 3. Myself, NZgreen, and Spideysomething had stacks of 45k 45k and spidey at about 20. Green and I were very active with preflop raises, and Spidey sat most of it out. He made the comment about being a spectator. I took a nice chip lead when Green raised UTG to about 2200. It was his standard raise and I though it was small. With the antes I was getting about 3:1 to make any call, and I did with Ts8c.

The flop came 4 5 7 and I led out about 2/3's of the pot. He called and the turn came the 6. This time I opted to check and led out a pot sized bet. I just called and the river brought an A. I led out half the pot this time, and tanked and ultimately called with AJ.

This brought me up to 65k, leaving him with 26k and spidey still sitting around 20k. Green open shoved the next few hands as we both folded. Green finally folded UTG and spidey shoved on me with AJ. I was holding AK, but it wasn't meant to be as the J spiked the river. This brought me down to 46k and I picked up AK again the very next hand in the small.

Spidey limped, I raised, and Green reraised. Spidey folded, and I shoved. Green called and showed 55. I missed and was down to under 20k just like that. My final hand had me shoving As8s into Green again pre, and he called with 55 yet again. I hit the A on the flop, the 8 on the turn, and he spiked the 5 on the river to end my night in third.

It was truly disappointing to end that way with such a fun final table and grabbing the chip lead like that. If it was any indication of how the BBT is going to go, it sure as hell will be a lot more fun that last time!. The play was solid, save for a few clowns who were quickly sent to the rail.

I spoke to Randy, one of the principals of PPI, and he explained that most of the pros were at the LAPC or in Vegas playing the Venetian deepstack. A lot will of them will be playing in the BBT when they aren't playing live. It is certainly going to up the amount of players that get into this thing. I wouldn't be surprised to see twice the fields of past challenges. Either way, we will all be better for it.

So load up those accounts and be ready to dust off. The games begin in 5 days!

Cash Game Crazys!!! WARNING! Poker Content!

Friday night I got together with some old c-game friends. We used to play a ton together but they have been few and far between for almost a year now. They are all good guys and we have a ton of fun.

Some are ok players, some have zero clue, or choose not to play with a one. This isn't a very hard game, and I don't think there are too many people out there who have played for some time, that don't get at least he basics of checking raising and folding. But there are a few of these guys who take HERO calling and aggression to a new level.

Case in point...

It was a pretty odd night with the amount of big pots and suck outs. There was one particular fella who was there who I didn't know at all. He kept asking for a hand rankings card because he said he did not know how to play this game at all. He played a few hands that I thought were indicative of a highstakes cash game player. He got heads up by rerasing pre, and then check raising and what seemed to be floating and taking down nice sized pots. I thought he was just being a dick, but then I saw him go bust in a three way pot with J4 in a multi way pot eventually getting all three players to put their money in on a J high flop. The winner had a straight, the other player had top two. That put the thought of him being a player to rest. He quit after that.

Another particular hand I wasn't involved with had the two most aggressive players at the table going at it. There was a 3 bet pre getting these two head up.

The flop came K J 3. First to act made a pot sized bet, and the other called. The turn brought a 7. This time FTA checks, and the guy behind makes an oversized bet of about half more than the pot (1.5x's). FTA tanks and CALLS. The turn brings a 9 and FTA shoves. about the size of the pot this time. The guy behind now tanks and ultimately calls. With 44. He was kinda right, because FTA had 66, but he still lost. :)

I got into a hand on the button with Ac4c. There was a standard raise, with two callers and I elected to call as well. The flop came 9c 7c 7d. FTA made it a pot bet. The second player (Mr. 44), called as well. The guy behind folded, and I shoved. Now, it wouldn't be surprising to see one of them holding a 7, even with all of the action pre, but I decided to take a shot here. The guy who led out was popping every flop he was in. It was very likely he was just stabbing at moreso than anything else. Based on his play he is more likely to check if he has a 7 so I decided I was good against him.

Mr. 44 however could have had anything. FTA folds, and Mr. 44 tanks. He starts talking saying things like, "what do you think riggs? This would be a major suck out." I was silent and happy.
"Anytime you are bluffing you're always chatty. Your silence leads me to believe you actually have a hand". (LOL). "MAN, this would be sick!"

At this point I am trying desparately to figure out what he has. The only thing I could think of was a Kx of clubs. What else could he be drawing to? An overpair and he is snap calling me. A 7 and he is obviously snap calling me.

He looked at me again, and now I'm smiling at him. He giggles a little, and says, "Well, I came here to have fun, and I'm up $x dollars. Do you want to gamble?". I told him I was thirsty.

He reluctantly threw his chips in the middle and turned over Ah Kc. I flipped up my Ac4c and he stated he was surprised. LOL!!! Surprised. That's about the only thing he can put me on to even consider calling. My shove was about 2x more the pot. But he did. I said to another guy later that if I thought he was a thinking player, I'd give him credit for the call. But I just can't. He's not that guy.

Before I dealt the turn, we discussed his thought process with the table. He didn't offer up anything that made me feel that he thought it through strategically, but then he offered a chop. A chop?!?!? REALLY??

The table seemed to be ok with it. I asked again if anyone would be pissed, and no one objected. I asked him if he was sure, and he couldn't have agreed any quicker. I accepted it and we ended chopping FTA's money.

It was a rough night for me having to fold TPTK at least 3 times, being right doing so each time. Once I was against AA, and once I was against a set. The other time I'm not sure about. I have to think I was right because it was against the tightest player at the table. He didn't tell me, and I didn't ask. But it's been sitting in my crawl.

I raised up pot to two limper with AT. He flat called and the others folded. An Ace hit the flop with a 6h 2h. He led out and I raised him. He called. I was intent on raising the pot again if he checked the turn as I expected. The turn came a black Q and HE led out the same bet I was anticipating to make. Without hesitation. I immediately put him on Aces up. I thought about it for a while. More posing than anything else. I'm certainly not going ot the mat against this guy with AT. I folded, and showed my cards. He glanced and stacked his chips without saying anything.

One of the other guys seemed quite surprised that I could fold there (LOL), and I stated that if it was Mr. 44, or Mr. 66, I would be snap calling.

It was fun to get back to palying with these guys. It's quite a diverse group and everyone gets along quite nicely. I look forward to the next time.

BBT4

BBT4 is among us people! Get thos bankrolls built up, and start taking your naps. This one will be sure to please. Check out Al's site for most of the details, but I will have some info up shortly as well detailing everything involved!

I think the games are actually set up this week, but the series doesn't start until the following Sunday. Good Luck to all. I'll see you at the Full Tilt tables once more!

It's high times for you Melvin. The GAY neighbor is terrified! TERRIFIED!

Usually about twice a month a business opportunity comes across my desk. Someone or group has been working on something that they want advice on or they're looking for investors. Or someone requests I take a look at their work, and see if there can be a better way to monetize their ideas, or at least turn it into a professional business plan.

Most of the times it's with some fella's I've done work for in the past, and on occasion it's from colleagues or friends who are just looking to chase their dreams. And every so often, it comes from an unsolicited email through the company web site or just a random email from someone whom I've never met, heard of, or spoken to.

I got one of those this week. The email came through a while back asking for a phone call to discuss an opportunity that was so huge, he would only meet in person. This person operated another free roll poker company somewhere out in Pennsyltucky, and my first thought was that he was going to propose that I buy his company and that he could blah blah blah blah blah.

That type of email has been the norm lately. Free roll poker tours are hurting because of mismanagement, lack of vision to see the need to keep up with the ever changing climate, and the failure to address those needs that arise because of said changes. My company is thriving because we see those changes and adjust accordingly. (pat's his own back) I digress.

I did a little research on this company. His website was a free website through league lineup, and immediately left me rolling my eyes. I wouldn't call it a company, but I had responded in an email that we would speak at a certain time, so I called him.

His first comments were about me getting out there to see him to discuss because he wouldn't do it in person. The opportunity was to big. I explained to him that I see a couple deals a week and I wouldn't drive 2 hours to sit down with him, or anyone for that matter, without knowing what it was about, and fell silent.

About 4 seconds passed and he asked, "ok, you won't screw me?". I crossed my fingers behind my back and said "no, I won't screw you".

He goes on to tell me that there was a ruling in Pennsylvania that will allow him to open up poker rooms. Real poker rooms. Offer cash games, take a rake, servers, etc. I asked, "In PA?". He said rather abruptly, "YEAH, That's what I'm talking about here".

I asked, "Are you referring to the case that was tried outside of Pittsburgh sometime back?" "Um, no, I didn't hear about that". He then went on to tell me that a guy he knew was running a game that got busted by local police. The game was broken up, and all of the participants were arrested. But the judge threw the case completely out, and no one received any charges whatsoever. His contention was that he knew the judge, and the judge asserted that he would never prosecute any case relating to poker. He wanted to open up at least 10 poker rooms.

I explained to him that it's not up to the judges to decide what gets prosecuted or not. And if a DA wanted to charge someone with a crime, they would most likely do so, regardless of some municipal judges opinions on said matters.

PA law states very clearly that gambling is comprised of three things. Consideration, chance and reward. Regardless of any ruling that any judge makes, you can be sure that the state is going to keep its thumb on this one. Even when it does become clear that they can't fight it anymore, requiements will be made on those wishing to open card rooms. Licensces, fees, and background checks will be standard.

Even DE has a law that any game held anywhere in the state has to have qualified, and certified dealers to run the game. It's a little known law, and something that came about back in the 80s when they were preparing to open card rooms before the referrendum failed to pass.

I don't tell this story to make fun of guy who is obviously short sighted in his bid to become a poker mogul. And there is no reason to finish the story, other than laughs galore. It got hysterical, really. But what is important is the change that seems to be coming in the poker world, and how those changes will effect the game.

Multiple rulings have been passed over the last month in several different states. Most recently yesterday concerning the case in Sout Carolina. Judges are ruling more and more that Hold'em is a skill game. They somehow think this is going to change their states legislative view on gambling for one particular game. I don't have to tell you that it won't. But it will, and has, helped with the idea that maybe the push to make this game legal outside of normal casino halls isn't going to go away. And for that, states should start to look into allowing professional halls in their states. They'll claim regulation first, but we'll all realize that it's about the dollars. It's always about the dollars.

I would also assume that most of the judges that are making these rulings are avid players and are sick of being hypocritical. In addition to being an avid player, they are also probably the type of player who plays with their egos more than their brains, and therefore are better than everyone else, and absolutley know that this game is about skill. Hence better, and not luckier. <---- SWEEPING JUDGEMENT!

There is a lot to consider. With the economy the way things are, I can see states going after every single dime possible. Gambling revenues, although dropping, will certainly be pursued at every level of government.

I have a lot more on this but it's getting a little long, and I am losing concentration. Plus I have to go get my balls checked out. It's that time. I will continue this next week, and venture into some of those interviews I had with some pros about how they see this playing out. A lot of them were very opinionated about what is happening. It's a big part of the change of poker.

A Polar Bear fell on me!

That's how you feel when you wake up two hours after getting home from celebrating, no, honoring, a guy who is about to embark on one of those life journies. You know, the kind where every single swinging dick would take in a heartbeat if they had the courage to do so.

Red Webster: How long are you gonna be in town?
Dalton: Not very long.
Red Webster: That's what I said 25 years ago.

I can see this being the first conversation Al has at the local marlboro shop his first or second day in Key West.

After some usual road blocks that become more of speed bumps because of the ease of being able to negotiate them, it was decided that Al's farewell bar thrashing would take place at a different venue since the Pub fell into uncertainty ('nother story). I posted the impending farewell party on the RPT site, and we all expected a nice little gathering to send the man off.

The decided temple of joy juice resided in King of Prussia, a little town famous more for its mall than its people. I knew I had a few things to deal with before getting there and would be a tad late, but I was intent on getting there and at least throwing back a congratulatory shot and a hug and maybe some wise cracks to send him on his way.

"where are you going at this hour?" asked the wife. "Gotta send Al off. He's heading to Key West", I replied. "What the hell's so special about that? You're sending a guy off for going on vacation?" "No sweetheart, he's going forever. He's OUT!". "You mean forever, forever? What's he going to do?" "Looks like he is going to live his life. If you're asking me what he will do for cake, well, he has his Full Tilt gig, and he can do whatever I need him to do from anywhere with an internet connection. Plus the casinos are only a flight away". "Good for him. Sounds like Earnest Hemmingway".

She has a point. The only thing missing will be the cats. But he has the strip clubs and the "procedure" for that.

So we sent the Rockstar off in grand fashion, singing some karakoke, and throwing back shots (not unlike any other night), and annoying the 21 year olds who were celebrating a birthday.

I'm kinda sad. I'll speak to him everyday. Much like every other day via IM's and texts. But I won't be able to see him. I won't be able to say "EFF this place" and take refuge at the bar next to him to unwind, settle down, or just flake. Al has a way of making that more enjoyable, rather than just heading anywhere.

Text a shots only go so far. One thing that can't be replaced is being in his presence. But it's his time. I doubt most of you will detect the slightest change at all. But when you have the ability to hang with Mr. Canthang, it changes you. You see the realness of someone who says what they mean, and means what they say. They do shit because they see a need, not because they want recognition.

I'd say good luck, but that's boring. I'd say best wishes, but thats about as sincere as giving someone a head nod to say hi. So I will say Thanks, instead. Thanks for being that guy. Safe travels kid! Take it down. Pwn it. And for God's sake, make the most out of this experience. Take everything you want out of it. Wring it out like a sopping wet dish rag. This trip has purpose. Soak it up.

I had a nice conversation with Al on the way home. I was trying to put into words his outlook on this next chapter for him. He actually said to me that the best part about this for him was that for the bext three months, HE finally gets to be the man. I said, brother, you might finally get to realize that you've been the man. And there's the redemption. So with a little humor, and a little sincerety, I offer you this in song. Make the most of it! Live it like it's your last stand!

stim-u-lus (stim-ye-les)

1. Something causing or regarded as causing a response.
2. An agent, action, or condition that elicits or accelerates a physiological or psychological activity or response.
3. Something that incites or rouses to action; an incentive: "Works which were in themselves poor have often proved a stimulus to the imagination" W.H. Auden.


The main pitch of this "bill" is to create 5,000,000 jobs. At $819 billion thats about $160k per job. Rockin'!

Why not just pick Ten million people and hand them a check for $80k? Of course, Reid still gets his 1billion for the state of Nevada, and the clean coal department gets their 2bil to try and execute a plan that ended up costing double because some poles "owed" donors and such. Because of that the Bush administration cut it off.

Such horseshit really. Obama stated that "We have begun the essential work of keeping the American dream alive in our time", calling the bill "the most sweeping economic recovery package in our history."

Of that 800 billion, the individual taxpayer will see $400 ($800 for couples) of it. This includes those who don't make enough to pay taxes. I have no issue with that. What I do take issue is the amount of tripe that gets hundreds of millions, and even billions of the package under the guise of 'job building". Heck, the way the Healthcare package is being presented you'll have an industry turned upside down.

There's little doubt in my mind that our President is trying to do the right thing here. As much as he is a politician, and "owes" a ton of people for his success, I believe he still desires to do right by the office he was granted by more than half of the American people.

His party has done him a disservice really. Lining up to get there share of a bill that has really very little to do with stimulus as it does lining the pockets of the democratic parties political machine. Not in dollars mind you, but in poltical collateral. A lot of folks are going to owe a lot of Dems in future elections.

In other news...

Did any of you here about that Monkey that attacked and killed the friend of it's owner???
The audio of the 911 call is here. NOW THIS IS NEWS!!!

WTF???

You probably can't even read this because something has happened to my blog. Blogger has no answers.

I am thinking I am going to tear down this abortion of a product and start over on word press or something.

It's starting to piss me off

You friggin' people make me sick... All you did was weaken a country today Caffey!

I believe it was the beginnig of January when I placed odds on certain things happening this year. One of them was blogger drama. That was quickly dashed by something, I forget, but it was funny.

I dig that about you people!

Then this happened. Which in and of itself was a brilliant post to try and call someone out without really being a douche about it. Depending on how you look at it. The accused put up his own thoughts on things and I thought for a second that we were ready to rock and roll with some hard core blogger battle!!!!

Then people started throwing in their two cents. This guy must have had a conversation with a smarter player before he made his post cause GOD knows he has no idea how to think through any hands in any type of game. So it had to come from someone else. HAD TO!

Then Jordan announces that he had his hands mixed up. That just kills all the fun out of it. I mean, be right brother! I want it to be right! That would add at least a little justice.

Then, yet another person throws in her two cents in the comments and totally brings common sense to the thread with a perfect analysis of the hand stopping all comments DAMN THOSE ASIANS!!!

In the end, all we get is agreement and apologies, and apathy and "it's all good", and blaahahaha.

I blame not being able to extend the battle on WAFFLES! He's the root of all evil. I don't even know how he has time to listen to anyone else, let alone comprehend and absorb the information he so blatantly rips off of other people to put up such a clear and consise comment.

I mean, GAWD, where's the love. We need content people!!! CONTENT!!! Nothing better than arguments. Especially from feuding poker player lawyers from opposite sides of the coast, let alone different countries!!!!

Man I could have done so much more with this post if Jordan didn't confuse hand histories, or CK wasn't so damned smart!

Can we pretend that Jordan really does think his hand was worthy, and that he really does want to call out PL for crying all the time, or however Jordan put it? I think it would make a great lead up to the BBT4.

WE need something here people!!!! Friggin Waffles!

*disclaimer

I was bored and needed a reason to rip waffles. Making fun of him for rubbing out to avatars and WOW characters doesn't seem to do it anymore

Out of Order? I'll SHOW YOU OUT OF ORDER! Who the hell ya think you're talkin' to here?

Power wet out this morning due to Oklahoman winds that attacked this little patch of PA. So I do what any responsible person does, and head to the local Panera Bread company to grab some coffee and free wifi!

I'm sitting here right now getting ready to dump some emails out that needed to be out pronto, and as I wait for outlook to boot up, I start perusing some blog sites.

The weirdest thing is how many of you are blocked by the firewall. And it's pretty straight on as well. TBA was viewable. He's a clean guy! Al was not. He's a dirty guy :)

Some others that just make me laugh. Waffles got through at first, and then the second window popped up saying, "this site blocked by sonic wall". So he gets through the first time, but then gets denied. But I could still read his posts so he managed to trick the system at least. Tyical Waffles!

If any of you are interested, I am putting up a contest on the Riverchasers site. It is a Forum Posters Invitational. The people with the most amount of posts from midnight tonight til May 1st, will get invited to play in a free roll tourny somewhere around the philly area.

The winner of that tournamet will win a $1,000 seat into the Borgata Summer Open. You can find the forums via the link above. Understand that you will have to be in the area for the invitational tournament to play. This will not be an online tourney.

just couldn't resist

80's rock baby! SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!!!!!!!!!!!

Any of you that don't want to get shot, might just want to move on out the back

AHH, the BBT4 is close upon us. And as we settle in for another dose of telling friends that we'll have to miss another get together, or our spouses that they should get ready for some more sessions of therapy because of neglect, I thought I would respond to some of the posts that have gone up in the recent weeks about peoples thoughts on this little series that has become a big one.

Recess questioned the lack of higher buy-ins, and asked about the validity of it's business sense. Why wouldn't they want higher buy-ins, hence more rake. (I'm hoping I'm not putting words in your mouth).

Of course Recess is an action junkie and would pay more for a buffalo burger just so he could increase his equity on any prop bets are made to determine who actually purchases the meal.

Some others wrote posts about it with the ole "who cares" type attitude, and a certain disdain for those who "questions the manner in which AL provides it" (read that is if it's coming straight from Jack Nicholsons speach in A Few Good Men).

I thinks it's fairly obvious, or at least should be to understand how Al gets all the good stuff he gets for the BBT's. It's not rocket science. It doesn't have much to do with the fact that Al is a rockstar (notice I wrote much) either. It does have to do with the fact that he actually did something. He asked. Which is more than most people do.

But FT saw the opportunity. Let's see, a 100 or so blogs with a cummulative amount of hits in the "x" range, all pimping our site with their private tournies, and all of those "eyes" outside of blogger's themselves seeing that we are helping this group out with added kick ass prizes? Hmmmm... Makes great sense to us. We throw in a little rake for a free roll at the end of the series, and let's see what happens.

That was the first BBT. Nothing more than a 2k free roll, that was provided by FT off of the rake of each participant, from each tournament. That was such a success, they did it again, and again, and now, again.

Buy-ins don't matter. And what's more, this isn't for bloggers alone. It was all of us who made it happen. True. But FT is also hoping that hte word virally spreads and reaches out to more and more players that hopefully participate.

You want the numbers? On average, an online poker site pays about $480 per conversion. What is a conversion? A conversion is a new account that deposits at least $50, and plays x amount of hands. I don't know what x is because the insider I got the info from didn't know, but it's not much.

That means every single person that signs on for the first time costs the site $500. What they put into the BBT is a good way to go in hopes of gaining new players. The other side of this is dormant palyers. Guys with accounts that have not been used in x amount of time.

I practically have not played on Full Tilt since the last BBT tournament. My account would then be considered dormant. They get me back for the BBT. IF the BBT wouldn't exist, I doubt I would play on that site. There would be no reason really, with me playing Bodog so often, and being perfectly content taking money from sports bettors who like to dust off at the PLO tables.

Another accusation was that this is for bloggers, and as such should be some sort of poll taken to see what type of buy-ins should be the norm.

Guess what. It isn't about just bloggers. It's about who we reach, and hopes of getting more than just bloggers to participate. Remember last time around? Scott Fischman played and (I think) won the first event?

There was some noise about a pro playing in these events, and blah blah blah. Regardless of how he blasted away, there were complaints about a pro playing. Well, let me tell you. This time around will probably see a lot more of those pros playing. Word is getting out. And others may try to take advantage of such a sweet system to get to the ME this year. Some might play just as a favor to one of us, and some may play just because they want to have some fun and they have been invited by a friend.

The BBT is not an exclusive club for us. It started out that way, but once FT threw their tens of thousands of dollars into the ring, it became a business proposition for them to acquire more players. This is what it is about. That's the business side.

I think this will be cool for 80-90% of us out there. I think 90-95% of will get it. There's always that 5-10% of every group that will know the reasons but still complain about it, and there is still 5-10% of every group who just won't get it at all. Waffles is def in that 5-10%. :)

Regardless, everyone as players will play because of the ridiculous equity that is provided to actually earn your way to a chance at a real poker life.

I hate science fiction

But had nothing else to write....

I think I'm closer to his role in "Scrooge"

I wanna bring the heat so I can announce my presence with authority!!!

My second daughter had her 8th birthday this weekend. I'm not the kinda guy to be all up on schedules when it comes to household stuff. You know, birthday parties, etc. The wife handles that one.

That doesn't mean I don't remember my kids birthday's either. The point falls more to the notion that even though I know her birthday is Feb 8th, I don't exactly know how many celebrations there will be, or who will be involved. I just know that I will need to be on standby becuase there will be some sort of a party, and I will have some sort of responsibility.

I also know (after 12 years of marriage), to expect that there may or may not be another party the weekend before or after to share witht the in-laws and cousins, or actually whichever side of the family doesn't show up for the actual celebration.

I know it's coming. I just don't know the specifics. Which is where I usually get housed. Like this past Friday for example. All is well. Doing some work, having a few stop overs for some quick meetings and chats.

It's 3 o'clock and here come the two oldest off the school bus. Only this time they have 3 more kids with them. Nevermind the fact that I was told to write a note that morning for Sydneys teacher explaining that Gianna, Sophia, and Haley would be getting on the bus with her. That little tidbit escaped my mind until I saw them walk, no explode into the house with my daughters.

My oldest, Cierra, saw the immediate look of confusion on my face when the others tore up the steps into Syd's bedroom, and just shook her head as if to say, "I knew you would forget about this, dummy!". She's turning into her mother.

Anywho it was my responsibility to take those crazies to go see a movie. Rock Solid! Taken it is! I really wanted to see that movie. Couldn't wait. When I explained that was the film I wanted to see, I was attacked with multiple sorties of NO's, followed by CORALINE, CORALINE, CORALINE!!!!

SO Coraline it was. Awesome. Well, at least I could bring the crackberry and play poker during the whole movie. I obviously wouldn't be interested in an animated 3-D movie about some 10 year kid who is obviously on acid.

That lasted until the part where they had the 70 year old huge breasted lady in bikini bottoms and pasties while performing a broadway-like musical. I'll stop there so as to not give away any spoilers, since I know that most of you will be running out to see the matinee after you have read that last line.

I was ready for a sleep over after the movie, but that apparently wasn't on the books, and I had to jettison each of the other girls at their respective houses after the movie. I was however, met back at the house with another sleep over for the 4 year old and our neighbor friend. They all slept in the den, in front of the TV keeping me from watching what I wanted. And of course, they did't fall asleep until about 2am. Long after I had x's for eyes with the drool sliding out of the corner of my mouth while I sat up allowing the laptop battery to die.

Saturday was more of the same, sans a trip to the movie theater, and Sunday was yet again more of the same only with dinner at the local Appleby's with my mother and father. Fantastic! Not.

Dad and I got into a debate about the stimulus package, the boy was salty because he couldn't get ice cream out of the gates, and the restaurant was understaffed, so we were there about an hour before anything hit the table to distract the children. Thanks goodness they were stocked with scotch. Even if it was just Dewars.

Needless to say, she got her DS and is extremely content with the other stuff for her Birthday. The 8 year old is the pitbull of the family. You don't mess with her. She's been to the pub. She has played field hockey, and basketball with more brute force than talent. She certainly isn't the surgeoun of the family as much as she is bull dozer. We respect her for that. I lover her for it.

Next weekend we get to do it all over again as we celebrate with the wifes' side of the family, deciding to take care of two birthdays at once. The niece turns 6 so they both get double treatment. I guess that's the way it goes anymore Hell, they almost expect it.

So Happy Brithday to my Sydney. Only two months away from the next one! Only this time it's the boys. That one should be easy. He'll only be three.

A man walks to the plate with a bat. What is it time for? Idividual achievement!

BREAKING NEWS!!!

Alex Rodriguez was tested positive for 2 different types of steroids.... in 2003!!!

and this is breaking news in 2009 because.....???

I don't know how this is going to play out, or why it's coming out now, but all I have to say is...

Bud Selig should be jailed. That is all.

The machine is still on Moira ~

SO it goes like this...

Every morning, I drop the kids off at school, and stop at Wawa. Wawa is a convenience store chain that has gone from an obscure dairy farm to one of the largest C-store chains in the country. I think they celebrated their 1billionth cup of coffee sold or 1 billionth dollar or something like that last few years.

It's not your average chain, either. They sell fresh deli items, and do a kick ass business making sandwhiches, hoagies, hot subs, etc. They also sell gas.

I like the place because of it's cleanliness and complete and utter size really. Plus there is one on almost every other corner, so they are conveniet. But their coffee ranks about 5th on the list behind 7-11 and Amy-Lynn doughnuts.

Because it's clean and fast and convenient, I suck up the lesser coffee and call it a morning. But there is something else that bugs the shit out of me. When you get your change, they give you the paper first, then lay the coins on top of the paper. You are usually in a big honkin' hurry because there are 37 other people right on top of you realizing they must do their part in keeping the assembly line of checking out under 7 seconds a customer.

In addition, you usually have one hand holding a coffee AND a bag that may or may not contain a newspaper, a breakfast product, and or a can of tobacco. Of course, your keychain is dangling by your little finger as well, as you put your free hand out to accept the change.

Of course they slide the paper into your hand now, and since you can't open your hand to accept change they lay it on top of the paper. Now you can't clutch, and the shit usually goes all over the place.

It's like watching an assembly line of buicks being made and the windsheild wiper guy is trying to install the blades while the wipers are moving. Totall sucks the life out of me, and for 8 years going, this has been my daily routine. I just thought that today I would finally allow you into my obsessive compulsive brain.

I had a dream last night that I was at my Wawa, and was the only one in there. It was cloudy and things were sort of in slow motion as I walked up to the cashier.. A comely, young little lass with soft blonde hair, flowing down her shoulders smirked at me. I placed my items on the counter. She entered the items into the register and asked for $2.49. I handed her a five and as I watched my open palm, still in slow motion, she placed two one dollar bills in my open hand. I grimaced, and sneared as I watched her place the two quarters and one penny on top of the paper bills, and suddenly, everything went into normal speed.

My head snapped up! I let out a loud yelp and took a fighting stance, products and money flying all over the place. I jumped up in one swift move onto the counter and dropped and axe kick right on top of her head. I yelled again as I struck her head and watched her fall to the floor. No less than 10 deli personnel came running out behind the deli all wielding those stupid box cutter knives and salami sticks. All of them wore those little change dispensers a'la the Good Humor man.

I jumped off the counter and they circled me, deciding to come two at a time. I threw a flurry of roundhouse kicks, and ridge hands, dispensing all of them in short order. I looked around and mouthed, "put the coins in my hand first", but came out sounding more like, "You wanna fight? Fight me!"

Then I woke up.

You are not an American, you are the victim of America!

Spending some time on my couch this weekend, recovering from my little procedure (not really recovering as much as milking it a little), I got to spend some "quality time" in front of the TV. What I saw was almost mind blowing. Sure, you hear the stories in the peripheral while going about your business, seeing them on the net, listening to friends tell them as almost a joke.

But when you really watch, and research a little, or listen to the whole story, it becomes unfunny, and very serious. "These are the signs of the times" is something a friend said to me as he came over to play cards. I desparately tried to explain to him what I saw on the TV, and he just sat there, with almost a dismissive attitude. As if to say, "yeah dude, big deal. This is old news, and there will be another story like it in two hours".

I've never been more depressed in my life. I heard these stories before. But they were nothing more than a joke. Nothing more than, aw, kids will be kids. These are the signs of the times.

Actually, these are the signs of the beginning of the end of times. No, I'm not talking bibilically, or spiritually. I'm talking literally. This is getting retarded. These are some of tidbits I heard. And it's not like I (we) haven't heard them before. They are all over the net, the airways, the papers. But when you are sitting (laying) around for hours with nothing else to do, the enormity sinks in.

Missouri asked the federal government for $260 million dollars because next week, their unemployment compensation fund is bankrupt. BANKRUPT! This means that anyone who loses their job this week will not be able to collect any compensation from a fund that they have paid into for their entire working career. Because there is none left.

All the while, the Federal Government is asking for a trillion dollars to jump start the economy. Let's get this straight... Americans are going broke. They are losing their jobs and houses at an unprecedented rate. Some are already calling this a depression. And the federal government wants to take a trillion to jump start the economy. Ok, fine. But where is the money going? I did a little research, and the 600 page bill is almost impossible to decipher but I saw 20 billion to go towards the upgrading of government buildings, and another 10 billion for governament cars, and yet another 50 million to a cultural arts foundation. how is any of that going to spur the economy?

The proliferation of Cash for Gold infommercials. Now, I have seen these for at least a year now, but always at obscure times. This time around, there was one DURING the Superbowl! I mentioned it to a friend that these companies were smart because gold is trading so high right now (I think over 900), and that they would probably pay less than $100 an ounce. Probably even less. But I didn't think about it as being anything more than that. His contention was it didn't matter what gold was trading at. It was more of the fact that people have no money. They need cash. And will do anything to get it. Obviously there needs to be a market, and I looked at it as a medium for people to actually get rid of their crap jewelry. But it's scary to think that people are selling everything they have just to make enough to cover the mortgage payment at least one more month.

The last one I saw was more disturbing than ever before. It's not new, and it certainly isn't surprising. But after a long conversation and debate, I came to a conclusion that is more scary than anything else. Apparently, "sexting" is very popular among teenagers. Now, realistically this shouldn't be too surprising. Kids will be kids, and if (and any other guy my age) had the ability to surf porn on the internet when we were kids, we probably would never leave the house. The playboys and penthouses only went so far. You could only look at the same pages so many times before you actually got bored.

The girls back then still had a modicum of self respect as well. They did or didn't do things based on the ability to keep their repsect. Their innocence. That obviously doesn't exist today. The term "slut" holds no social recourse anymore. Because apparantly, everyone is doing it. And it seems almost that if you don't partake in such activites, you are looked at in even more of a bad light. The term "Self Respect" has certainly been redifined.

Have we lost out core values? They obviously have changed, but as the father of 3 daughters, one quickly approaching puberty, I am concered about where her peers recognize the line. That is, the line where kids and parents define acceptable behavior. That line has always been about 100 yards apart for both parties. But I fear, more than ever, that it is rapidly shrinking. This isn't all the kids fault. Sure, they have a million outlets that we didn't have growing up. But it seems to me, after some conversations, that parents are almost accepting that this shit will happen. Of course it will happen, but how do you tolerate it? Aren't your kids worth protecting?

Listen I am very liberal about this kind of stuff. But there are things to consider. How does behaviour like that effect a CHILD when they are older? Is becoming a pornstar, or stripper, or something of the sort more acceptable now? Is it like an experiment the way people in the 80's used to experiment with drugs?

The question I asked myself was if taking care of your own is enough anymore? "Take care of your kids, and everything else will sort itself out". I don't know that that is good enough anymore. This isn't a save the world type of thing, but intervention has to go further than your own. The people they hang out with, the environment they live and play in. I guess I'm glad I am a coach because I get to see so many of the kids and have more of a pulse on my kids friends and who they associate with than most.

But what scares me most is thinking everything is ok. Not seeing anything unusual. I trust my kids, and I can read them like a book. But they're still young. Is it possible that I have no clue what they are talking about and how much they know about such things? It seems half of the 5th grade class at her school already have cell phones. Am I wrong in thinking that this is totally retarded? Sure, some need them to communicate with their parents to schedule pick ups and drop offs and things. Maybe some have divorced parents, and use it as they were meant to be used. But they shouldn't be getting them becase their parents want to feel cool. Which is what I have seen more of. "My kid, my kid, my kid". Isn't it time for the parents to be grown ups?

I'm ranting here and am gettig off track a little. So I will stop. But I am seriously concerned about where we are headed. How do we stop it? Where do we start? Is it stoppable? Is it a whole lot less serious than what is portrayed? Maybe, hopefully, probably.

It just seems more and more that people are concerned less and less about others. I think we need to start there.

So to recap... I had a vasectomy. Paid more attetion to the news and other current event stories while recovering. Became depressed. I think the world is coming to an end. End Rant.