A House Divided And A Yard Unkempt
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
I got a call from a buddy of mine yesterday who rarely calls me. When I answered he didn't say a word, but was laughing out loud (that's lol'ing...for you hip readers). I asked what was up and he said, "your yard man." He is a landscaper so I initially thought he was laughing at the joke that is my unkempt yard. It's quite a mess and definitely could use some love; however, he wasn't talking about the yard at all. Turns out he was laughing at THE SIGNS in our yard.
Click the picture to embiggen and see both signs.
We have become a house divided - one for Obama and one for McCain. My buddy didn't realize we were serious and thought I was just being a jokester. "Dude, that shit is hilarious man." I told him I was thinking of making some signs that said Obama/Palin and/or McCain/Biden to really confuse those passing by.
I'm not much for spewing political shizzle in these here parts, so I'll just leave it at that.
I'm pretty sure I'll be able to make The Mookie tonight, but even if I can't, I'll be buying in to support the Save-A-Waffles fund. Poor guy doesn't even know what day it is so he needs all the help he can get. I really hope I end up at his table so I can play hella aggro against him. I would either like to be the one who takes him out or the one who doubles him up on his way to a victory (or deflating 2nd place). I plan to drink heavily so I should either be out early or win it all.
In an earlier post I introduced the newest member of the family, Java (Jave The Pet). I originally named her that thinking it was a cool name that played on the black dog/coffee theme. My family wasn't having it and, in the end, we all came to an agreement. I'd like to re-introduce the newest member of our family, Sola.
posted by TripJax @ 8:59 AM,
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Jets Fans Fail
Monday, September 22, 2008
Tardtastic!
Until next time, may the felt be with you.
posted by TripJax @ 9:26 PM,
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Java The Pet
Friday, September 19, 2008
A few days ago a truck was driving by ChickJax's mothra's house when it came to a stop, opened the door, pushed out a puppy and kept on truckin'. That's the story as we've heard it from the grand rents at least. Since then, somehow it's been decided that puppy is going to be our new pet. I'm not an animal lover - though I'm not an animal hater either, so go easy folks - I'm just meh when comes to pets; however, ever since our last dog, Kaiser Soze, died my family has been wanting another dog. I guess you could call this fate.
After a couple of days of saying no, I finally broke down and gave the okay to bring the dog home today, though I noted a couple of stipulations. First, the dog is not my responsibility. Sure I'll have the monetary requirements that come with owning a pet, but walking and cleaning up shizzle and all that other stuff falls on those that truly want the dog. I'll be there to help, but I'm not numero uno. Second, I get to name the dog. Now that might not seem fair given the first stipulation, but that's how I roll. I refuse to have to call a dog Fru-Fru or Buttons or Pickles...stupid shit like that.
With all of the above duly noted, I'd like to introduce you all to the newest member of the Tripjax family. Say hello to Java. That's her shortname. Her full name is Java The Pet.
Actually, that name is still pending final approval of the family, but I'm pretty sure it will pass. Yeah I know I said I get to name her, but I'm also not a total ass.
Oh, as for poker this week, it completely eluded me.
Until next time, may the felt be with you.
posted by TripJax @ 2:39 PM,
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No Smoking Fail
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
work. Way to go building management...way to put a "butt depot" right
next to a no smoking sign.
Raggedy ass people from some craperrific call center in another
section of the building are constantly smoking up our front entrance.
It's a great scene for our high net worth clients to experience.
Tuckfards
posted by TripJax @ 1:04 PM,
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These Bankruptcies Are Making Me Thirsty
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
I pretty much won the LivePokerRadio blogger tournament last night. I was the last person remaining at the table and ended up banking $11. Of course, the buy-in was $11, so there's a little more to the story. I use the words pretty much won because I was the only person at the table when the tournament voided.
When I got to the tourney, InstantTorture was the only person seated. I didn't have high hopes for a large field since there was only 10 minutes remaining, but even if it was just Torture, I figured we could chat it up and get caught up since I haven't spoken to him recently. Unfortunately he bailed so we never made it to that point. I hope he is doing okay with all the storm issues.
Times are pretty crazy these days where I work. All you have to do is read Hoy's blog or any news web site to get an idea how things are going in the financial industry. My employer is one of the 10 companies who ponied up 7 billion dollars into a consortium effort to help ensure stability in the financial system. It's to be determined if that will ultimately help. All I know is this is not a fun time to be in the financial services industry, but I'm thankful I still have a job and a paycheck. Going forward I will be thankful for each day I make it home and still have a job.
I've been in the business long enough to have been through some really tough times, but I don't recall ever seeing things happen like this. Having Lehman Brothers, a 150ish year old company, fail is mindblogging to me (yes I changed it from mindboggling...I'm tarded like that). And having one of our biggest competitors, Merrill Lynch, also creeping towards 100 years of existence, announce they are being bought out on the same day. That's just unbelievable to me. I'm ready for these crazy times to end. I don't like to talk about work here, so I'll leave it at that.
Before Hoy turned into the Financial Blog (which I didn't mind for a while by the way), he was talking about Chip Utility. If you haven't read any of those posts, I would suggest you stop here for a moment and give them a gander (click the link and start at the bottom post and read up). My ultimate goal is to go buy the book he is reading and give it a whirl on my own, rather than just rely on his notes. He's given a good synopsis, but in most cases, there's no replacement for the real thing.
So far I really only have one comment/thought I'd like to throw out there for consideration - that is until I read the book and then probably have more to discuss. As I'm to understand, skilled players can benefit from utilizing theories that are based on Chip Utility. They use Chip Utility to put them in a better position - 100 big blinds or more - to build from there and pwn a tournament using their skill base.
I believe, based on the little bit I've read and know so far, that Chip Utility can and will be an excellent excuse for many poor players to play even worse after they have read the book. This problem stems from so many players who THINK they are Blogs gift to the world when it comes to poker. How often do you see a player online talking shit in a $10 tournament like he is the fucking bomb?
I envision terrible players making stinktastic moves early in tournaments and giving themselves an easy way out no matter what the result. If they win a huge hand when way behind, "hey I made a move as a skilled player to utilize chip utility." If they lose a huge hand when way behind, "oh man, I made the right move as a skilled player, but got hosed."
All I'm saying is, so many people will now have carte blanche to make asinine plays that are not in the spirit of skilled Chip Utility, but they will have an easy way out either way. Of course they may go broke, like most bad players do, but they will have an excuse for their play in their minds. Maybe I'm reading way to much into it. Maybe I'm not considering the fact that most terrible players don't take the time to read a poker book. Maybe I should just stop typing now.
All I know is this Chip Utility stuff is coming none too soon for me, 'cause I've been looking for a really good excuse for my poker play lately.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? Am I a tard? Am I slightly onto something? Does it matter even the slightest? I can probably answer that last one.
Anyway...
Until next time, may the felt be with you.
posted by TripJax @ 4:26 PM,
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OldBoy
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Back in 2004 I started reading Joblo, which is a movie review site. It's technically more than just reviews, but that's the primary reason I visited the site. On occasion my thoughts on a movie would differ, but for the most part I agreed with much that he wrote. One of the first sections on the site that caught my eye back then was the Top 10 Films list he made available every year.
In 2004 his #1 movie was OldBoy a Korean flick that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Something about reading his review really got me interested in trying to watch it as soon as possible. Unfortunately it had yet to be released in the US, so getting my hands on a copy would not be easy. I resolved to just give it time to make its way to the US and then snatch it up.
Years went by and I completely forgot about the movie. It wasn't until I read Dragonystic's post about the movie that my interest was rekindled. From there I started checking the local stores, but still didn't have any luck. My sister-in-law was working at a local bookstore that bought and sold movies, so I asked her to be on the look out. This past weekend, nearly 9 months later, she brought me the DVD with a smile on her face. Apparently a dude had brought in a shit ton of books, dvd's and cd's to try and sell. Thanks dude.
Last night I watched the movie and must admit it is great; I really, really enjoyed the entire movie. I didn't come away with quite the emotion that Dragon did, but I understand why he did and can see the reasons why it could happen, especially depending on your emotions at the time of the viewing. I was hooked from beginning to end, which makes for a great viewing in my mind.
Something about the villain, Woo Jin-Lee, hooked me in to the movie completely; not to mention the great acting by Dae-Su and pretty much every character from what I can recall.
I definitely recommend giving this one a spin if you manage to find a copy. I would imagine it is available on NetFlix for those with a membership. One quick word of warning...DO NOT watch the movie using the American dubbed voices. It 100% destroys the feel for the movie hearing American voices dubbed over the characters. I watched the movie with subtitles first and then wanted to see how the dubbed version would be, so I fired it up at the end. The dubbing takes a beautifully crafted, downright mesmerizing movie and turns it into a joke. And I guarantee if we try and remake the movie completely for the American market, we'll fuck that up too.
I plan to cross post this at CineJax also, since I rarely post there anymore and this is technically a movie post.
Until next time, may the felt be with you.
posted by TripJax @ 4:27 PM,
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My Doctor Says I Need More Fruit In My Diet
Saturday, September 06, 2008
posted by TripJax @ 3:49 PM,
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REPORT TO THE RAIL!
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Like many others last night I managed to watch the beginning of the 2008 WSoP Main Event on ESPN. Overall it was an okay telecast, but there were two moments that stuck out from my recollection. How lucky did ESPN get in catching a portion of a hand that saw one man get knocked out with Quad Aces by another man who hit a Royal Flush when an Ace of diamonds hit the river? It just so happened Ray Romano of Everybody Felts Romano was at the table, and as seems to be the case every year, the ESPN cameras and media flock to his table.
Imagine stuffing all your chips in the middle of the pot during a WSoP Main Event hand that sees you land Quad Aces and you walk away a loser. Guess that just goes as a reminder to us all, if you don't have the nuts, you can lose the hand. Yikes none the less.
The other moment was short, but I think will have a lasting impression. Unfortunately it happened amidst a douchebaggery moment by some random old fogie. He might be someone famous or "special," but I have no idea who he is so he gets the random old fogie (ROF) title here. During an all-in ROF was berating the table and the player who was deciding whether to call his all-in. He was yelling so loud everyone had to hear him as he announced he was "THE GREATEST PLAYER TO NEVER WIN A MAJOR TOURNAMENT!"
None of the above is what I figure will have staying power as that's just more of the tuckfardness we see on televised poker these days; however, I did love his "REPORT TO THE RAIL!" comment at the end of the scene. Yes it was even more jackassery, but I admit to chuckling after that one. I get the feeling we may see that one in the intro footage of the 2009 WSoP Main Event telecast, much like Hellmuth's, "I can dodge bullets baby." I also think it will be ALL OVER the online poker table chat. Possibly to the point I will quickly learn to hate it.
That is all.
Until next time, may the felt be with you.
posted by TripJax @ 9:02 AM,
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I'm Back Baby
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
I don't want to scare away my readers who are now accustomed to never reading about poker here anymore, but I played poker last night. I played two of the $17 Beginner's SNGs where half the players get paid. I'm not officially starting any Bodog challenge, but if I were this would be a good time to start as I won them both.
It felt great to sling chips around and actually think about poker. I felt focused and think the awwfukkits that tend to take over my game at the low buy-in games may be a thing of the past. I just don't have any bankroll to speak of online right now so I need to focus to try and build it to a decent level that I can work with.
It feels good to be back on the felt. Hopefully I'll be playing some blogger events this week, but I think I'll be playing more of those Bodog tourneys as well.
I can always tell when it might be time to get back to the online tables because my mind starts straying from whatever it is I'm doing to poker. It's strange though. Instead of thinking about what game to play or a particular strategy, I start to think about new game ideas. Longtime readers of this site will recall I used think up random ideas for poker tourneys and SNGs just to change things up a bit.
Even though I didn't come up with much, I still knew just thinking about poker gaming ideas was a good sign that my interest to play was growing. I might have a couple of poker game ideas to post about this week, but I still want to muddle through some of them in my head for now.
Holy shit football is so on. As is the case every year, I am extremely excited about this. You should consider signing up, though today is the absolute last day to do so. Give the site a gander and then get to signing up. I've been doing it for many, many years and I can attest it is awesome.
If you like to bet a little money on football, but don't want to constantly place bets on different games, then this is the thing for you. You pay your buy-in up front and go through a whole season of picking teams. You can win money each week if you are the high score, but the main goal is to be in the top 1/3 of teams to take home a piece of prize pool. The prize pool is usually pretty huge so 1st through 5th usually get some really nice cash. If you have any questions just leave them in the comments.
Until next time, may the felt be with you.
posted by TripJax @ 8:34 AM,
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