this week's puzzle

thought i'd quickly post my times for the week for mom

Mon: 7:20
Tues: 12:50
Wed: ~14 min
Thurs: ~39 min

Exxon sucks my ass

Hi,

So, ever since Exxon merged with Mobil, I have had a self-proposed ban on purchasing anything from them. The reason being that they were allowed to merge, while at the same time Microsoft was being publicly castigated for being a "predatory monopoly". Yet the top two gas companies merging, one of which has a monopoly over highway-side gas stations, was not seen as a threat?

Anyhow, I have risked running out of gas on more than one occasion, but refuse to do business with them. To be quite honest, I did cheat once, allowing Liz (I think it was Liz?) to pay and pump while I was in the driver's seat. But aside from that, I don't give them my business.

Some have argued with me that EM really isn't that much of a monopoly, Shell, Citgo, BP, Sunoco, are all fairly sizable companies. I've thought about this, but really I think my issue wasn't so much that I thought of them as a monopoly as I thought it was hypocritical of the government to allow the merger while at the same time flogging Microsoft with lash after lash.

Well, today I read something that burns in my ban. EM has decided, 19 years after the fact, that they are going to the Supreme Court to fight the punitive damages awarded to the victims of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The award, a little under 3B, represents three weeks of profit for EM.

A big F U to EM.

poker tourney of wackiness

So I wanted to share a couple crazy things that happened when I woke up this morning and felt like playing a quick tournament. Got onto Fulltilt and entered a $2 6-man turbo. I'd been having good luck lately, building my bankroll up from $1.70 to $17.80 in a few days.

Six hands into the tourney I got A7o from early position. Not typically a hand I call in that position, but it was early in the tourney, it was only 6 people so there really wasn't too much "early" about my position, and blinds were low, so I was about to call. But I have been trying to play consistently well so at the last minute the angel on my shoulder chimed in, and I folded. Here is what happened (note: on screen captures it shows my cards even if I folded them):

I laughed, of course, at the poker gods screwing me as usual, but I wasn't upset, it was an ok fold. Or maybe not - because as I continued analyzing in my head whether I should be playing A7o, here is what happened on hands 8 and 9:




Obviously, someone was rubbing salt in the wound, and mocking my A7 fold. So the very next hand I get A7. Now I know the following facts WILL happen:

1. I will limp in on my A7
2. I will likely get raised to an amount for which I should fold
3. Knowing the events of the last few hands, I will call anyway.
4. I will be pushed all-in after a mediocre flop
5. Knowing the events of the last few hands, I will call anyway,
   
6. I will lose by a mile to a monster hand
   

Steps 1-5 happened as foretold, but fortunately, step 6 did not, and I actually won the hand.

Pretty wild huh? Anyhow I am doing pretty well in the tourney after this, I had about 2500 chips for a while, but I made a bad move or two (including pushing all-in w/ AT and running into AA) and found myself with 58 chips. I built this up to 1100. Blinds were getting high right now, because this was a turbo, I think they were 80/160. I went all-in preflop w/ JTs and got called by ATo. Finding myself completely crushed, I was totally psyched to see a J come out on the flop - what luck! Now all I had to was avoid an Ace on 4th and 5th street, and I was golden, back in the game, my comeback complete.


Ah, poker...

nyt

tough puzzle today. a few new words we'd never heard of before. mom, you finish it? try using the blog comment function, not email...

quarterbacks in heaven

Peyton Manning, Tony Romo, and Tom Brady go to heaven to visit God and watch the Celtics play a game. God decides who will sit next to him by asking the boys a question....

God asks Peyton Manning first: "What do you believe?" Peyton thinks long and hard, looks God in the eye, and says, "I believe in hard work, and in staying true to family and friends. I believe in giving. I was lucky, but I always tried to do right by my fans." God can't help but see the essential goodness of Manning, and offers him a seat to his left.

Then God turns to Tony Romo and says, "What do you believe?" Tony says, "I believe passion, discipline, courage and honor are the fundamentals of life. I, too, have been lucky but win or lose, I've always tried to

be a true sportsman, both on and off the playing fields." God is greatly moved by Tony's sincere eloquence, and he offers him a seat to his right.

Finally, God turns to Tom Brady: "And you, Tom, what do you believe?"

Tom replies, "I believe you're in my seat."

nasty lean cuisine

About a week ago I figured out I spend about $1000/mo on food. Ridiculous. So I decided as a first step to fiscal conservatism, I'd start bringing lunch to work instead of going to a take-out place every day. 20 days at $3 vs $9, so a savings of $120. I bought a bunch of Lean Cuisines because they were cheap, have a good reputation, and are (I guess?) healthier than the other frozen dinner brands, other than Koshi, which was about 25% more expensive. True, we are only talking $1 difference, but it's the principle.

Anyhow, today for lunch I tried the Chicken Parm. After requiring an astonishing 9 minutes in the microwave, I was expecting a treat. But it was gross. As I explained to a co-worker, "it tastes like someone squeezed the sludge out of a horse leg and churned it into this container."

What else is going on... Well interest rates fell 0.75 points today, sure to usher in another period of overborrowing and overspending, along with an even weaker dollar. I have been predicting since around 1998 that the US as we know it would no longer be a country by 2020 and we seem to be right on course. The horrible fiscal situation of this country and the serious foreign affairs trouble we are in because of George Bush is the camel's back that will be broken by some sort of terrorist attack, leading to a split between those who want to nuke the middle east and those who think that maybe if we weren't such assholes to the world, the world might not be such assholes to us. No one likes a bully, and when the runts get nukes, the bully gets his ass kicked.

I see the potential for this country to split into three: Eastern, Central, and Western US. I think it would be a great idea, and it's likely that the populous would be in favor of it. All the red states could be their own country, ban abortion, teach abstinence, put drug users in jail for life, burn evolutionary textbooks, walk into a wal-mart and buy a gun no questions asked, etc. The WUS would be pretty much the same as the EUS, although I imagine they'd be more environmentally friendly out West and more business-friendly in the East. Plus they might want to come up with a different acronym for the country or they risk being labeled a bunch of wussies.

I think it's a cool idea. Anyhow, I watched the democratic debate last night, and while I'm still voting for Ron Paul in the primary, I am now pretty sure that I support Hillary Clinton when she wins the Dem nomination. Obama just seems like he is always making up excuses, and just doesn't seem honest to me. Every time he gets asked a tough question or has his record doubted, he starts to address the issue, but then goes off into some sort of bad MLK impression where he stands up extra tall, looks into the ether, and makes some broad, sweeping comment that really has nothing to do with the question at hand. "Obama, why did you not vote in 140 sessions?" "Because a non-vote indicates that one is unhappy with the proposal, Hillary". Oh, bullshit, Obama. A non-vote means you are too chicken-shit to take a stand. A Nay vote means you are unhappy with the proposal.

Clinton looked good to me. She doesn't hide her mistakes, she admits to them and uses them as a strength. While I do favor Obama's health care plan because it doesn't force people into it (as Clinton/Edwards both do) there's not much else I like about him. He has admitted that as president he would not be hands-on and would have advisers make most decisions and his cabinet do most of the work. Well then, Obama, who the hell needs you? You've got some good ideas and in theory I like some of them more than Hillary's, but you've got like, no political experience and you constantly come off as being not much more than a balloon filled with hot air. Maybe I'm missing something.

Viv, if you read this, I'd love an opposing view - leave it as a comment.

So hmm what else. Had a pretty good weekend. Saw The Will Be Blood on Saturday, then went out to RockBottom for dinner, then back to my place, then out to the Klink with a new group of peeps I've been hanging out with. Sonya, Justin's friend, stayed over in Liz'z room, as Liz was in NY for the weekend. I introduced Sonya to my 3rd floor tenant, who recently broke up with her girlfriend and is now looking for a new roommate, and Sonya seemed interested. We'll see what happens.

Sunday started out well with the Pats winning (as expected) but then the Giants won too (as not expected) so now I don't know who to root for. When they met up for the final game of the season in December, I rooted for the Giants for the first half and the Pats for the 2nd half. But this is the Super Bowl, i can't do that. I don't know what to do!

Ok, I'm going to get back to work.

Trip photos online

Here they are, with captions and everything!