day 2: on a roll

update night #2. 156 hands, + $1.30. The play is so bad I really don't see any chance of not doubling up at least a few times. It seems like Razz is the game where strategy changes from most from higher level games. Since the hands start out 5-7 handed. I won't play 8s under any condition, but will play 2 wheels cards more than I woudl at high levels. Oh, and thin the field raises are non-existant. All raises are pot builders.

Total so far: $298 hands. +$2.05.

Here is the challenge that I've accepted to prove a point. If anyone cares, I'll likely post some updates from time to time here, I definitely will on my blog.

Start with $5 in a new UB account. I will start playing at .05/.10. Every time I double my $, I will increase the stakes so that I have 50 big blinds.

The bets.

What are the odds I get to $50? $250? $1000

What is the over/under for total number of hands before I go busto?

What is the over/under for highest day-total bankroll?

Some background on me. Primarily a mixed-game player. Haven't had a losing year in the past 6.

what i did on my winter vacation...

As many of you know, Wifey is a graduate of Wellesley, a very prestigious all-woman's school outside Boston. At the school, there are tons of holier-than-thou students whose response to any situation is to "write an angry note". That being said, here is my review of our vacation which will soon be posted (hopefully) on the cruisecritic website.------------


You know its a bad sign when you return from a cruise and when you check into the airport and say "finally some decent food."

This was my first cruise with Princess and will likely be the last. The principle reason was the food was horrible, worse than most cafeteria food and definitely far below expectations. Out of 7 dinners, I sent my entree back 5 times. I had salads with brown lettuce, veal that was all fat and every pasta dish was overcooked. Soups were all water and seafoods wasn't fresh. Additionally, the cooks didn't understand anything about how the appearance of food. Having a bunch of chopped up food with a half leave of mint on top is not attractive.

We went to both premium restaurants and they were a little better. But the same issues with quality of food, though preparation was a bit better.

Service on the ship was hit or miss. Our room attendant was very good and did an excellent job with our stateroom. The service in the dining room was pretty good. They really made an effort to give us what we wanted. (It was their food the food was horrible). The bar service was hit or miss. We spent lots of time out by the pool and it was also impossible to flag down a waiter. (Maybe it was because my wife and I don't drink). On other occasions, when waiting in line for pizza, I was skipped in line for a countryman of the person working the area. On the postitive side, my wife (who is Flipino) often didn't have to pay for her drinks when she ordered them from Filipino countrymen. This is a major customer service issue which needs to be address immediately by Princess.

Shore excursions were OK. We probably didn't pick the best ones but the tour guides were qualified and friendly. One problem-- nothing started on time!!. They made a big deal about excursions starting promptly, but they always started at least 20 minutes late. Apparently, they built this into the schedule. This is completely disrespectful to Cruise guests.

Entertainment onboard was OK. The comedian wasn't funny, but wifey and I enjoyed the art auctions. The biggest issue I had was with the casino. The dealers (especially the Blackjack and poker ones) didn't know the rules. Several guests had to complain and it was very unprofessional. It appears that Princess doesn't invest in basic training for its staff.


Getting on the boat was easy. Got there at 12:30 and were in our room by 1:15. Getting off the boat was another issue. There was little communication to the process. There was tons of line going around the boat and noone communicated which line to get in. We ended up lining up before our assigned group (seems like other people did the same) and noone cared. A few signs explaining the process could have gone a long way.

All this said, we will not sail Princess again.

Gone cruising

Won't be much bloggage for another week since I will be on a cruise with Wifey and her parents. Should be a decent time to get to know them better. Since its a confined environment, I will definitely get the chance.

Hopefully, the Diamond Princess will leave and arrive safely.

A new tradition

thanksgiving is quickly becoming my favorite holiday. Plus, I have established a new Thanksgiving tradition.

Got up at 6 this morning and went to Jewel before the crowds overtook them. Then, Wifey and I went to an early movie. Five bucks for a 10:30 show of "Bobby". Pretty good movie about the assassination of Robert Kennedy. Its strength is not so much in that it provided any real insight to the tradition, but that it was a pretty good period piece, putting some real life into complex social issues.

LiLo (Lindsay Lohan) played a small role about a girl who is marrying a guy who was recently drafted so that he wouldn't get sent to Vietnam. Based on this premise, you are less likely to get sent to the front line if you are married. If this is actually true, it wouldn't make much sense to me. Plus, I'd think that I would have seen more of these Vietnam couples since then.

Then, we got home, cooked the Turkey in a box and it was quite tasty. Both the movie and turkey in a box were quite good. Oh yeah, and very little traffic. This might be another new tradition.

you gotta love wal-mart

you might not agree with Wal-mart position on low prices, low wages, unions or its role in corporate america. who cares? You got to love the way they slap liberal politicians around.

As you know, PS3 is the big thing this Christmas. Former Prez candidate John Edwards wanted to cut in line (which started at 2:30AM) to get his son the latest toy. Wal-Mart in their brilliance decided to slap Edwards for being selfish, yet praise him for choosing to shop at Wal-Mart. This is truly brilliant.



Walmart's response

i want to sell you... myself

Great post by Vixen that needs to be read by anyone applying for anything. Been doing a decent amount of interviewing lately, everyone from high school kids applying to college and MBAs. One thing is is common-- they pretty much all suck. They are passive participants in the process and they make the task as hard as possible.

If there is any chance you may ever interview with me, please read this.


Vixen's job advice

My dilemma

The classic gambler's dilemma today.

In fantasy football, I have a big game against our General Manager Kevin George's team. Though both teams will likely make the playoffs, this is all I will hear about if I lose. For that game, he has Larry Johnson from KC and I have the KC defense.

However, I have a big bet on the over in the KC/Oak game. How do I cheer for this? Is bragging rights more important than $$ or should I just have not made the bet in the first place?

Maybe I should just close my eyes and not watch? Nah!!

nfl picks

Haven't posted any in a while.  so what the hell..

 

 

San Diegeo +130 vs. Denver.   The Jay Cutler era is ready to begin.

 

Green Bay + 5.5 over. New England.  More of a play on a home dog than anything else.  Plus NE is overvalued.

 

Cleveland +3.5 over Pittsburgh.  See Above.

 

Oakland/KC over 35.5.  I still like Aaron Brooks.  I think the Oakland defense is overrated and KC just has too many weapons.  I would probably go over 40 in this one.

 

Washington +3 over Tampa.  Tampa shouldn't be favored over anyone on the road. Period.  I dont care is Washington doesn't have Portis or Brunell.  Neither has really product this year anyway.

 

 

Indy PK over Dallas.  My un-sharpest pick ever.  I think peopel try to outhtink themselves on this one.  Indy should win this game more than they don't.  Tony Romo though good is still young and Dallas' defense really can't stop anyone.  If the over didnt move so much this week, i would have liked it too.

 

 

 

say it ain't so, Bo

I remember it like it was yesterday. The headlines of the Detroit News, the day Bo Schembechler resigned as head coach from the U of M. As an 9 or 10 year old growing up in Michigan, you knew who Bo is. You wanted to play for Bo someday. Unless you were one of those who rooted for Michigan State. And I couldn't figure out why anyone would. Who was George Perles and why would you want to play for him? All he was about was run, run, pass, run, run, pass, run, run, pass punt?

He gave us one of the best quotes ever when Bill Frieder left to coach Arizona State at the end of the regular season: "I want a Michigan coach coaching a Michigan team. I don't want an Arizona State coach coaching a Michigan team. I want that to be understood." Bo was badass.

As he became older and the coach emeritus, you saw him less, but that deified him more. Once in Ann arbor I saw him literally stop traffic. I know it wasn't the first time.

Michigan has a football game tomorrow. They should win. I said that all year. But no matter what, that swagger won't go away.

when you're running good, you're running good

not one losing day in the past week. was about to have a decent loss after getting sucked out on back to back wheels against made 7s on back to back hands in the 30 sixty. Then this happened. note back to back hands. The first is against a maniac so note the rope a dope strategy.



Hand #36803835-4152 at Effingham (No Limit Hold'em)
Started at 15/Nov/06 21:21:35

Laptopsmasher is at seat 0 with $2488.
xxomegaredxx is at seat 1 with $1234.
fourdoor is at seat 2 with $970.
YaYaMoto is at seat 3 with $1214.
Monzo is at seat 4 with $2788.75.
roscopeeco is at seat 5 with $1221.
The button is at seat 0.

xxomegaredxx posts the small blind of $5.
fourdoor posts the big blind of $10.

Laptopsmasher: -- --
xxomegaredxx: -- --
fourdoor: -- --
YaYaMoto: Kd Ac
Monzo: -- --
roscopeeco: -- --

Pre-flop:

YaYaMoto calls. Monzo folds. roscopeeco folds.
Laptopsmasher folds. xxomegaredxx raises to $40.
fourdoor folds. YaYaMoto calls.

Flop (board: 6h Ks 9s):

xxomegaredxx bets $55. YaYaMoto calls.

Turn (board: 6h Ks 9s Kc):

xxomegaredxx bets $150. YaYaMoto calls.

River (board: 6h Ks 9s Kc 4d):

xxomegaredxx bets $285. YaYaMoto calls.



Showdown:

xxomegaredxx shows Ts Th.
xxomegaredxx has Ts Th Ks 9s Kc: two pair, kings and tens.
YaYaMoto shows Kd Ac.
YaYaMoto has Kd Ac Ks 9s Kc: three kings.


Hand #36803835-4152 Summary:

$3 is raked from a pot of $1070.
YaYaMoto wins $1067 with three kings.
----------------------------------------------------------------

i love it when this works

Hand #36804466-445 at Forsythe ($30/$60 Triple Draw 2-7)
Started at 14/Nov/06 22:02:10

LLC22 is at seat 0 with $1657.50.
groth911t is at seat 1 with $810.
meowgary is at seat 2 with $3476.
zhanfox is at seat 3 with $3696.
YaYaMoto is at seat 4 with $2661.
The bigchief is at seat 5 with $3340.
The button is at seat 0.

groth911t posts the small blind of $15.
meowgary posts the big blind of $30.

LLC22: -- -- -- -- --
groth911t: -- -- -- -- --
meowgary: -- -- -- -- --
zhanfox: -- -- -- -- --
YaYaMoto: 2c 5s 2d Kh 4s
The bigchief: -- -- -- -- --

First Round:

zhanfox raises to $60. YaYaMoto re-raises to $90.
The bigchief folds. LLC22 folds. groth911t folds.
meowgary folds. zhanfox re-raises to $120. YaYaMoto
calls.

zhanfox takes 1 card. YaYaMoto takes 2 cards.

zhanfox: -- -- -- -- --
YaYaMoto: 5s 2d 4s 3c Jh

Second Round:

zhanfox bets $30. YaYaMoto calls.

zhanfox takes 1 card. YaYaMoto takes 1 card.

zhanfox: -- -- -- -- --
YaYaMoto: 5s 2d 4s 3c Ah

Third Round:

zhanfox bets $60. YaYaMoto raises to $120. zhanfox
calls.

zhanfox takes 1 card. YaYaMoto takes 1 card.

zhanfox: -- -- -- -- --
YaYaMoto: 5s 2d 4s 3c Kc

Final Round:

zhanfox bets $60. YaYaMoto raises to $120. zhanfox
folds. YaYaMoto is returned $60 (uncalled).

Hand #36804466-445 Summary:

$3 is raked from a pot of $705.
YaYaMoto wins $702.

--

thought for the week...

Ohowihateohiostate.


Plus Luke Perry is from Ohio. That gives you even more incentive to root for Michigan. Currently, Michigan is at +230 at Pinnacle. Even more incentive for Maize and Blue if you ask me.

Luke, Part 2-- Can you hear me now?

Perhaps the Viagra endorsement isn't the best choice. Maybe Verizon is a better fit for this overacting wanna-be.

After his encounter with Cousin. He didn't bother to call, write, email text or send smoke signals. Guess we had his 70 seconds of fun with a hot 23-year-old and went on his way.

You know there is a reason he is divorced. That's right Luke I'm calling you out. Can you hear me now?

Luke Perry, Part One-- Will Act for Viagra

As many of your know, Wifey's cousin was dating Luke Perry for a while. I was totally hyped by this for a while, but apparently Dylan isn't a relationship kinda guys.

Cousin met Luke at a Democratic fundraiser and they went on a few dates. Then Luke went away to shoot a made-for-TV movie. Cousin and Luke texted each other for a while and luke talked about how much "he missed her".

Well, Luke came back and quickly got with Cousin. Or should I say came quickly. Very quickly. As cousin said, "He had a big thing, but really didn't know what to do with it or couldn't last that long." That must have been exactly why Brenda cheated on him with Dean Cain in Paris



Since Luke is looking for work these days, a Viagra spokesperson made not be a bad choice. Calling Pfizer.

first poker hand posting in a while.

You'd think that people who played middle limit poker know the basic strategy. I might post a blog sometime later with horrible play at the 10/20 and 30/60 games in UB. the 2-7 play is passable, but the a-5 is a joke. Appareently, very few people understand that hand value change.

In case you don't know, defending your blind with 876 in the game IS A MISTAKE. So is drawing to an 86 after a raise on the 2nd draw.


----
From a juicy a-5 game on UB. BB plays decently, a bit too tight for a 3-handed game. button is complete fish who will be drawing to 9s after a raised turn.


3-handed A-5 30/60. I am in the small blind with 63A. Folded to me, I raise, BB calls.


I draw 2; BB draws 3. I blank and bet, BB calls.

1st draw, I get nothing and bet/call. I draw 2 again, BB draws 2 as well.

I make a 7653A. I bet, BB raises, I call (mostly due to my read of his tightness). I stand pat. BB draws 1. (which shocked me).

Is this an autobet here?

football

Watched a bunch of football today. Several teams that are very young,
had lots of youth on their offensive line and were horrible 2 or 3 years
ago. Note: Duke is NOT one of these teams.

Indiana, Illinois, South Florida are all young teams that were laughable
3 years ago. All 3 of them would pound Duke. Hopefully, someone else
will see this and sack Template Ted.

Go Duke. Beat BC.

poker

Took a poker break and started playing some more today. Restarted my
account on UB and had a decent, yet very volitile afternoon. Played a
bit all of the games, limit HE, NLHE, triple draw. Really only made one
mistake (at least that I realized) where I got a bit aggressive with a
middle pair against likely A-K on an dry board. Check to induce the
bluff idiot.

Also played some 1-2 NL where I tried to play every hand. That is fun.
I used to be a limit machine but I need to play some more NL. I
honestly think the 1-2 NL game might even be a better game than the
30-60 TD (and that's saying something).

Maybe I'll post some hands later.

I have stats now...

another reason for me to get some better content.  Check out the link on the right about my links and see what my rank is. Got the link from Mark Cuban's blog who is #3.   Need to check to see who numbers 1 and 2 are.

An even better quote from wifey...

"let's get a flat screen TV for our bedroom"

quotables

Great quote from my wife:

"The problem with most work environments is that there are too many damn women."


If I said that, I'd be slapped. Gotta love the Wellesley education. And yes, I completely agree.

Navy 38, Duke 13

Usually we you beat yourself this much, you end up chaffing. Someone
please buy Ted Roof some vaseline.

Uh-oh: Butch Davis to UNC

From Carolina Blue:

CarolinaBlue.com has been told by sources that the two-week search to replace John Bunting has apparently come to a close with the Tar Heels landing one of the most-sought after coaches in the college football circles.


A real blow to Duke-- To think we are this bad in the worst year in ACC history. Hopefully, this will force Duke to take a national recruiting approach.

bye bye bunting...

but john we only knew you so long.

Here is the kicker-- apparently, a key alumnus, the parent of a walk-on
has agreed to personally buyout his contract. ohh, the things we do for
football.

larry johnson is my hero

best NFL play in a long time, tackling troy paulomalo from Pittsburgh by his hair. Serves him right for wearing that mane and looking like a girl.

No idea why they called a penalty on him. Apparently, hair pulling is now an NFL penalty. At the very least, they should give this penality its own signal.

i'll try to find a YouTube link...

so much for duke basketball

according to reliable source, Greg Paulus broke his foot and is out 6 weeks to 2 months. Without another natural point guard on the team, this leave Duke is a horrible situation. True freshman shooting guard Jon Scheyer and experienced Demarcus Nelson are the only reason options

tasteless joke of the day.

in new york sports action yesterday, the score is now

 

Airplanes 2,  Buildings 1

 

 

 

 

 

high comedy

there is nothing funnier than having a having a overly horny oversexed dog of a man be unable to get it up when dating an undersexed chunky, annoying stalker of a women.

Remember that friend of my wife's, Sara, who decided to stalk her. Well, we heard it through the grapevine that the self-inflicted drama queen decided to get inebriated at a local watering hole. There she meets Cheryl's friend Don Z, who never saw a piece of tail that he didn't like.

Before I go any further, I need to give some more background on both of the characters. Sara is an unemployed 40 year old, yet shops at forever 21. She hasn't had a date for a while. You see, she is slightly overweight, much older than the men she tries to pick up and not at all slutty. (The worst possible trifecta for a woman past her prime.) Don lives in Milwaukee where apparently there is no nightlife, so he comes to town to stay with friends almost ever weekend and chase the chicago tail. He talks a great game, but hasn't been taught the art of subtlety.

So, these two characters met up and drink enough to slow Sara's inhibitions and make it bad to her place. Meanwhile, Sara disrobes but Don is unable to release his snake.

Now that is some irony O. Henry would be proud of.

online poker

haven't written for a while.  been real busy.  out recruiting and then visiting my parents and dreaming of ways to run Ted Roof off the duke campus.  but as I am sure you know, they attached an online poker bill onto a Port Security bill last week.  As a result, online poker is now illegal.

 

What will the effects of this be?  no one really knows.  Pokerstars and Party Poker have claimed they will shut down their operations to US business soon.  Not sure I understand why.  It's not like online poker was particularly legal in the first place.  Furthermore, the impetus is on the banks to stop this.  most online sportsbook will continue business as usual.  Personally, i think everyone is overreacting a bit.  Maybe the existing financial services companies which do these transactions will change or morphy into something else.

 

my bet... party and stars will be back within 6 months.

back to the gothic wonderland tonight...

really havent been back in 5 years... hope i still know my way around.

wow

a good start. MSU and BC both up 7-0, ND looks horrible. maybe the football gods are gonna smile at me.

One more late pick for me. Boise -14.5. Huge steam play.

DOH

Bama misses the FG. Air Force scores a TD.

so much for momentum... maybe its cause its a bad day, but i want to bet more on BC now (discipline, discipline)

YEAH.

Arkansas throws an INT in OT, almost returned for a TD, but CB is caught at midfield. Only problem-- BAMA's kicker is horrible

at least somethign is going right

OSU scored 2 TDs from defense in garbage time to cover. that's abotu all that's going right. Arkansas needs a last minute FG to send it under otherwise i'm in trouble. WVU just can't score and wyoming is not looking good.

yuck

0-4 on the afternoon is a distinct possibility.

PSU up 3-0 on OSU and driving
wvu/ecu tied at 7
AF up 7-0 on wyoming

only the 10-3 halftime of bama/ark is looking ok.

the ACC is horrible

VT came back and beat cincy by 2 tds but the ACC is horrible this year. No significant non-conference wins. In fact, I think it is worse than the BIG EAST. Louisville and W. Virginia are better than anyone in the ACC and the rest of the teams are relatively close as well. I think Rutgers and Pitt could beat almost anyone else in the conference and UNC, Duke and UVa probably couldn't beat anyone in the Big least.

all quiet on western front

2 games on now-- OSU and Bama. not much happening in either game. Ark up 3-0 after 1. scoreless in the other in some rain.

PSU hasn't come close to running the ball yet so OSU needs to find a way to make 18 points.

Afternoon thoughts

i'm down but not out. here you go


Bama under 38
Ohio State - 17
Wyoming Pick-em
Michigan State +140
BC - 6.5
WVU - 21.5

Some thoughts.

- Love the SEC under this year, especially a game with young QBs.

- After seeing what OSU did to a young Texas QB, this PSU guy has no chance. I think their team speed should create lots of TOs versus PSU

- My favorite game is Wyoming (though i didnt bet any more). Going into the season, they owuld have been a 10 point favorite and then AF plays Tenn close and everyone goes crazy. This happens alot with option teams. They play well against a non-conference opponent who has never seen the option and expect them to overperform against ateam that is used to it.

-BC - 6.5: I will bet again Chuck the Chest until he proves me wrong. This team will quit on his coach and go into freefall. Not if but when.

-WVU: Love steve slaton. WVU needs to throw some numbers on the board. After what they did to MD, they should pummel EZU

Afternoon thoughts

i'm down but not out. here you go


Bama under 38
Ohio State - 17
Wyoming Pick-em
Michigan State +140
BC - 6.5
WVU - 21.5

Some thoughts.

- Love the SEC under this year, especially a game with young QBs.

- After seeing what OSU did to a young Texas QB, this PSU guy has no chance. I think their team speed should create lots of TOs versus PSU

- My favorite game is Wyoming (though i didnt bet any more). Going into the season, they owuld have been a 10 point favorite and then AF plays Tenn close and everyone goes crazy. This happens alot with option teams. They play well against a non-conference opponent who has never seen the option and expect them to overperform against ateam that is used to it.

-BC - 6.5: I will bet again Chuck the Chest until he proves me wrong. This team will quit on his coach and go into freefall. Not if but when.

-WVU: Love steve slaton. WVU needs to throw some numbers on the board. After what they did to MD, they should pummel EZU

tally for the morning

up

Michigan Under
Louisville -13

Down

Iowa -21 (no over yet, but they are just killing the clock)
Purdue Over
UNC + (less than 50)

well they tried to blow it

24-6 louisville. K-state has 4th and 4 on the louisville 25. throw a pass 20 yards out of bounds. late hit on lousiville. Thankfully, they turn it over the next play. first win of the day.

thank you brent

27-10 2 minutes left. Wisconsin on the michigan 8. 4th and goal. They... decide.. to.. KICK A FIELD GOAL!!

Thanks coach.

damn

illinois scores... 24-7. My safe pick is now in trouble...please keep tate in the game.

great news

just found out i bet michigan at 41.5 not 41. yeah. this last drive isn't that big after all.

great news

just found out i bet michigan at 41.5 not 41. yeah. this last drive isn't that big after all.

so much more momentum

Wisco decides to committ personal fouls to give michigan field position and K-states scores a TD then recovers an onside kick

michigan scores..

doh. no more points in the last 11 minutes.

24-0 Louisville

even if I didnt bet on them, they are so fun to watch.

Michigan's D is dominant

Wisco has 5 straight 3 and outs... thankfully they have a very good punter.

D'oh. Breston returns one to the 31.

oooh

illinois driving and drop a wide open pass in the end zone. They are 0-3 for a reason.

michigan scores

up 17-10. gotta D it up now guys. no more points. but don't cause any turnovers either which will give your offense good field position

ever want to have fun on a saturday

go to the message board of a team that's getting smacked.

http://mb23.scout.com/finsidecarolinafrm10

not good

iowa/illinois still 21-0. need another TD before the 4th quarter then Iowa will take its starters out

42-0

go heels

lack of creativity

don't think there is anything less creative than colleges public service messages ads which networks are required to run once during any game. There are basically two types-- one a highlight film showing athletic excellence and the other showing academic excellance.

Personally, I think all college use the same chemistry shot for all of their ads.

This is like the laundry ad where the dirty kid coming in caked with mud and then they show a side by side comparison between the new detergents and a "leading" brand. No creativity.

nerves

nothing gets you going more than rooting for a game to go under. You want teams to drive the ball to midfield then punt. Don't walk 3 and outs, but obviously don't want them in the red zone unless they have an awful red zone offense. Actually field goals are greast in under games.

It gets even more complicated when the game is tied and you have to try to avoid the college overtime. Michigan/Wisco 10-10 in the middle of the third. I love saturdays.

TD Louisville

I am actually "winning" a bet... wow. i'm sure it won't last. To this point, Bobby Petrino makes adjustments better than anyone I have ever seen. Too bad he didn't have enough experience for the Duke coaching job.

TD Louisville

I am actually "winning" a bet... wow. i'm sure it won't last. To this point, Bobby Petrino makes adjustments better than anyone I have ever seen. Too bad he didn't have enough experience for the Duke coaching job.

minnesota drifves to the 2 and throws an interception 10-7 at the half. Not sure what has a bette chance this game going over or UNC covering 17?

21-0

Iowa up 21-0 now. Drew Tate throw a nice deep ball after another Illinois turnover. My best play is starting to look good.

Illinois has benched their freshman QB and put Tim Brasic in. It seems like just yesteday I was on the sidelines of the best high school football game ever. Joliet Catholic 55, Riverside Brookfield 50. when Brasic threw 7 TDs in a game with a total of 4 defensive stops. Now he is a redshirt senior.

Damn I'm old.

usa down 10-6

after Tiger wins the last match of the day. don't think it justifies me getting up early in the morning to watch singles tomorrow. they are showing that day live when the US has no chance.

colorado is smacking UGA around. just watched the last few minutes of the 1st half and UGA just didn't show up.

Never mind

I'm a dumb ass.

The louisville/ K-state game is on TV. Funny, no website has "Alt 5" listed on their website. Can someone explain to me why I don't get Fox Sports Channel, but do get Fox Soccer Channel, but why Fox Sports Channel content is on Alt 5 on my TV?

anyone anyone.. Bueller?

The ACC really sucks

Va Tech down 10-5 to Cincinnati. Take that all you people you didn't believe me when I said VT sucked when they were spanking Duke all over the field

poker

want to start an I hate Jamie gold group on Facebook. but i am still trying to figure out how to do it without appearing to be anti-semetic. Granted, Jamie fulfills almost every negative Jewish stereo type do I need to find a more creative way to critize.

usa down 10-6

after Tiger wins the last match of the day.  don't think it justifies me getting up early in the morning to watch singles tomorrow

21-0

Illinois has benched their freshman QB and put Tim Brasic in.  It seems like just yesteday I was on the sidelines of the best high school football game ever.  Joliet Catholic 55, Riverside Brookfield 50.  when Brasic threw 7 TDs in a game with a total of 4 defensive stops.  Now he is a redshirt senior.Damn I'm old.

 

Iowa finally starting to move the ball as Kirk Feretz starts to adjust to Illinois blitzing every play.  Way can't so many big name coaches make simple adjustment.

 

clemson up 28-0.  Maybe UNC really is this bad.  or maybe they are trying to give Duke a false sense of confidence.  With John Bunting, Chuck the Chest, Larry Coker and Al Groh almost sure to be fired this year, Ted Roof may be one of the more senior ACC coaches this year.

 

Go Duke

pet peeve

NBC are a bunch of dumb asses.  They are showing a tape delay of the ryder cup WHILE THE EVENT IS IN PROGRESS.  Why would anyone watch, especially as the US is getting trounced.  If you know me, I am as patroitic as they get but I will watch the US get smacked live, but I won't do it when they are on tape delay.  I ain't that masochistic.

Minnesota and Purdue look like high school teams.  Never seen so many false starts in my life.  Iowa looks like they might actually score a point.  Hayden Fry would be proud.

way to start the day

Let's see where to start

 

Iowa and Illinos are scoreless almost at halftime.  clemson made up the 18 points in about 2 seconds and Minnesota and Iowa have decided to stop passing the ball in a 7-3 slugfest.

 

Louisville is up 7, but from the internet looks way to be struggling.

forgot one..

 

UNC +18 versus Clemson.  now that was a great pick.

today's picks

a bit after kickoff, but after looking at them-- trust me i didn't change anything

 

 

Iowa - 21 vs. Illinois--  Illinois is just horrible, Iowa usually does well against a big number and doesn't look ahead.

Louis -14 vs. KSU-- Don't care that their best 2 players are gone.  This team is focus and just slapped miami around.  one of the most athletic teams around.  noone wants to believe they are any good.

Mich/Wisco Under 42-- Mich defense loves to bend but not bend and go under.  And noone has big let downs like Lloyd carr teams

Wyoming +1 vs. Air Force-- My best play of the day.  Should be a 10 point favorite if AF didn't play Tennessee close.  Wyoming has seen the option before and knows how to stop it.

Minn/Purdue Over 60.5--  Love going over high totals.  Both teams gave up over 30 to bad MAC teams.

picks

last week was horribel in ncaa and got some back in nfl, especially with the vikings.. here we go for this week.

NCAA

Oklahoma +5 vs. Oregon
Wake/UConn Over 41
Florida -3 vs. Tennessee
WMU/Virginia Under 44
Auburn -3 vs. LSU

NFL

New Orleans / GB Over 38
Detroit/ Chicago Over 32
Oakland/Baltimore Under 34

 

well yesterday's NCAA sucked.  I watched most of the games and feel like with the exception of Texas I was on the right side for most of the games, which is good.  Now time for NFL, which is where our bread is buttered.  Remember my rules.

 

1) Never take any team who more than 60% of the teams on Wagerline like.

2) Always look to favor underdogs.

3) Never take the Bears over or Colts Under.

4) If all of your friends like one team, take the other.

 

Before I start, here is the latest update from Wagerline.

 

Time (ET)	Away	Line	Picks	Pct	Home	Line	Picks	Pct	View
1:00 PM	Atlanta	+4.5	1239	31.01%	Carolina	-4.5	2757	68.99%	Detail
1:00 PM	Buffalo	+10	1226	32.07%	New England	-10	2597	67.93%	Detail
1:00 PM	N.Y. Jets	+2.5	1295	34.5%	Tennessee	-2.5	2459	65.5%	Detail
4:15 PM	San Francisco	+9	1352	37.17%	Arizona	-9	2285	62.83%	Detail
1:00 PM	Baltimore	+3	1583	41.52%	Tampa Bay	-3	2230	58.48%	Detail
1:00 PM	New Orleans	+3	1682	45.05%	Cleveland	-3	2052	54.95%	Detail
4:15 PM	Dallas	-1	2505	62.84%	Jacksonville	+1	1481	37.16%	Detail
8:15 PM	Indianapolis	-3	2630	66.21%	N.Y. Giants	+3	1342	33.79%	Detail
4:15 PM	Chicago	-3.5	2772	70.55%	Green Bay	+3.5	1157	29.45%	Detail
1:00 PM	Denver	-3.5	2845	72.91%	St. Louis	+3.5	1057	27.09%	Detail
1:00 PM	Philadelphia	-6	2949	73.76%	Houston	+6	1049	26.24%	Detail
1:00 PM	Cincinnati	+1	3099	74.07%	Kansas City	-1	1085	25.93%	Detail
1:00 PM	Seattle	-6.5	3246	78.42%	Detroit	+6.5	893	21.58%	Detail

 

Detroit +6.5 over Seattle.  The #1 play from Wagerline usually looks good.   I actually kinda like Detroit this year.  Mike Martxz can score points and Detroit has a pretty big home field advantage early in the year before the fans give up.  Plus Jon Kitna can succeed in this style of offense.  Best pick

 

Houston +6.  Almost same logic as the game above.  David Carr gets a new coordinator and everyone is counting on Philly to recover.  Plus home field advantage in week one is usually bigger than most other weeks.

 

So there you go.  If I didn't have my Bears rule, I would also be taking the Packers as well.

 

 

wall street journal

As if Duke's football team didn't cause enough problems the WSJ (and I don't mean winston salem journal) shit all over the Duke admissions process today.  The story talked about how Duke and Brown, two wannabe ivies, have been actively recruiting the children of captains of industries in order to ensure that the Tobacco baron's university would continue to be well endowed.   It make it seem like Duke and Brown are the only two schools which engage in this practice and that all Duke is concerned about it fundraising.

 

Luckily, the reporter omitted several of the big-time students which attended the school and the infamous Alicia Silverstone controversy of the mid-90s.  It also neglected to mention how Duke admitted levels of women and minorities which are much higher than its "peer" schools, two groups who tend to give at much lower levels than the evil white males.

 

I wonder if our PR department will respond to the article.  It should be a welcome relief to be corrected press inaccuracies which have nothing to do with games played with sticks.

don't even know what to say anymore...

 

Duke football has taken at least another 3.5 hours out of my life and possibly a few years off my life.  Lost a 14-13 game to Wake.   considering that they were 19.5 point dogs, not that bad, right, eh?  But this game was lost in a way that only Duke can lose em.

 

In the first quarter, the offense was on first.  Over 300 yards of total offense.  We had a 16-2 edge in first downs at the half.  Thad Lewis looked like the best Duke QB since Spence Fischer.  So duke must have been up 20-0 right?  maybe 27-3?  Nope, 10-0.   We were in the red zone 4 times and walked away with 3 points.  1 short missed field goal from the 27 yards outs, 2 turnovers in the red zone.  2nd and goal from the 2 after moving 60 yards in 7 plays.  Let's go out of the shotgun why don't we?  Quick bad snap and that scoring chance is finished.

 

Then halftime comes.  In classic Duke fashion, nothing of substance occurred in the locker room.  Wake made some adjustments to stop our weak-side waggle off pass-action which was so effective.  Duke, did ummmm, really not sure yet.  Halftime ends and Wake starts moving the ball and has 3 possessions where they walk down the field to our end zone.  Thankfully, they pulled a Duke and made some mistakes after getting the ball to the one so they only had 14 points to show for it.  Duke meanwhile stops their aggressive passing game which moved the ball down the field four times and moves to a george perles run-run-pass playcalling methodology.  A couple big plays which created a field goal, but the rhythm was gone.  We were clearly playing not to lose.   The only time we were aggressive was with 4 minutes left and a 6 point lead when we actually did need to milk some clock.   Roofie must have gone to the Art Shell school of game management.

 

Well, you know how it ends.  After Wake drives for a touchdown to go up 14-13.  Duke gets it back and gets it to the 6 yard line with 9 seconds to go.  Do we take a shot at the end zone with a timeout and a sketchy kicker?  Nope.  Instead, we put the game on the football of Joe Surgan, ourkicker.  Kick blocked ball game.  Welcome to 0-2, blue devils.  With Va Tech up next it looks like an 0-3 team will be showing up at homecoming to play UVa.  Scarily, that might be our most winnable game for the rest of the schedule

 

I realized that most of this is written as a fan, not as a neutral observation, but that doesn't make it any less relavant.  There are some positive signs.  Thad Lewis is a player.  If he can stay healthy for the rest of the year (which if sketcky with our o-line) he could be of the top freshman in the country.  Defense is much improved, though team speed is a big problem.  But this was a game which Duke would have,should have, could have won.

 

It seems Duke just doesn't know how to win.  Is that something you can teach?

one last pick

Duke/Wake Over 37.   Duke has a completely inexperienced offensive line.  no experience at quarterback and Wake's QB is out of the game.  Need to go over... why you ask?  lots of possession, lots of turnovers.  turnovers cause field position which causes points.  Love the over..

Picks of the week...

1-2 last week, glad i didn't pick more games.  nothing like Mack Brown covering more than 5 tuddies. 

 

so here's we go...

 

Texas -2.5 vs. Ohio State.   Has a #1 vs. #2 game ever gotten this little hype?  Noone is talking about this game.  ND/Penn St is getting more hype.  Anyway,  Colt McCoy should be able to manage UT to a win in this one.  Ohio State proved they are a one-man team and one man team don't win championships.  To think I am picking Mack Brown in a big game is getting scary.

 

Penn St +8 vs. ND.  Lots of people think this is a bounceback game for the Irish.  But QBs with happy feet  don't lose them, especially against a good defense.   Plus ND still has noone who can cover Derrick Williams.

 

Texas Tech -7 vs. UTEP.  The system the system, the system.

 

 

NFL to come later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NFL

Duke football...not good-- the Roof is falling in

Duke football lost yesterday.  Again.  To a Division I-AA team. 13-0.  That's right, they didn't score.  And until the last 5 minutes, they weren't particularly close.  It wasn't like Richmond was just opportunistic, they dominated every phase of the game.

 

As a result, Blue Devil nation is pissed.  Surprisingly, they have enough energy or care enough to be pissed, especially after the administration cancelled Tailgate.  Most people are calling for Ted Roof's head, Joe Alleva's head and even Bill O'Brien (new offensive coordinator)'s head.  Everyone is pissed and looking for answers, but are concerned about starting another cycle of turnover/change and excuses.  the real questions is.. "Why can't Duke identify and hire a capable head coach?"

 

I think alot of it that that 1) we are too influences by recentevents (e.g. the recency mental block per MBA books) and the administration is just unaware of what makes a good head coach.

 

let's remember something. A football coach at a high-profile I-A schools is

1) an administrator first
2) then a leader,
3) then a motivator

then concerns himself with things around football. I don't think anyone here is questioning Ted Roof's knowledge of football, but rather his ability to lead an organization. That is where I think this thing is falling apart.

Famous business author Malcolm Gladwell, once said in an interview, that he would be a better coach or general manager than many in the NBA or NFL (including Isiah Thomas) despite never having played either game past high schoool. His reasoning was not that he knew any more than the others , but because he knew less and KNEW IT.

Over the past 2 years, Duke's problems have been due to poor preparation and adjustments-- (read: asst. coaches aren't doing their job). Now this is either happening because Ted can't hire/retain competant coaching or he won't let them do their job. Neither is acceptable.

I think we need to understand this whenever the next coaching search begins. The problem with Franks and Roof (both somewhat successful Asst. coaches)is that they haven't been able to exhibit organizational leadership. This is why previous D-1 head coaching experience is so important. it is also why I am a bit more skeptical of a I-AA head coach. Due to the smaller size, these coaches need to be more hands-on and can't manage the organization.

Jimmy Johnson, Bill Parcells, Pete Caroll and Mack Brown are great examples of this. Neither of them is known as a visionary, either on offense or defense, but they surroung themselves with talented people, motivate them and see the results.

one more

didn't see there was a line on Texas/ N. Texas

 

I'll take UT to open the season and cover big points against ANY team.  Lay the 41 with dirty orange.

opening football weekend.  I was able to have enough discipline to not bet ont he Nevada Dresno state game last night.

I dindt realize how few games there would be tonight.  I am getting zero value for my ESPN Gamplan.  What also pisses me off though is that they are putting some decent games on ESPNU.  seems a bit deceptive to me, but oh well.

 

 

anyway pics for today, (none of which I actually like that much,but oh well).

 

Michigan - 26 vs. Vanderbilt.   Noone is better against bad opposition than Chad Henne.  Also coaches on the hot seat tend to cover big numbers.

 

Notre Dame -6.5 at Ga Tech.  I know you aren't supposed to take ND and this has all the makings of a trap line.  But Weis doesn't coach like a normal ND coach and I think calvin johnson is the most overhyped WR in the country.  Also, ND's defense couldn't be much worse.  When ND has been gamplanning for a game for 5 months, you know they will be sharp.

 

 

Also of note, all NCAA totals this week.  with the new clock rules, it looks like there will be 15-20 fewer plays per game.  Will the average better adjust.  Would betting every game unde this week be a good choice??  we'll see.

sara stalks me too...

my wife has a great new blog.. .actually not that GREAT.   its about a persistant friend of hers who wants to hang out 24/7. check out sarastalksme.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

party foul...

a new pet peeve of mine..

 

Cher and I had a party last weekend.  Good time, around 20 people came, but a few who RSVPed didn't make it.  Mostly people from work.  What drives me crazy are these same people explaining their sob story of why they couldn't come.   It's nice that they recognize that they didn't come, but at the end of the day I really don't care why they didn't make it.  it's the past over... let's move on.

 

 

is this thing on?

always want to know who is reading out there so here is a little game I play.  It's called question wonderland.

 

First, recommend to me:

A) A Movie
B) A Book
C) A Vacation spot

 

Then: Ask me three questions ... anything you want ... don't be shy ... and I will answer in the comments section.

congrats to billy and susie

Congrats to Billy Gould and Susie Becker who finally got engaged this past weekend. I know they will have a lifetime of happiness ahead of them. They are the perfect couple, they balance each other out, are the ying to the other's yang and are generally good people.

This relationship also proves a few important points.

1) High school seniors should spend a bit more time checking out 8th graders in their local junior high.

2) You can meet the love of your life at venues where barmaid dance on the bars.

3) Single people in Manhatten actually do get married. Take that, Sex in the City.

i am irate

not sure if you have heard the story about the little league championship game in bountiful, Utah.  To make a long story one of medium length, here is what happened.  Bottom of the sixth inning, two outs, the Red Sox are leading the Yankees by one run with two outs and a runner on third.  The Yankees best hitter is up.  On deck, if the Yankees weakest hitter, an undersized cancer survivor.  Given this situation, the Red Sox coach walks the best hitter and the cancer survivor strikes out.

 

The two coaches nearly come to blows and the liberal media got on this like stink on a money.  Rick Reilly and the media blasted the coach for this.  Apparently, in the new world, we need to find a way to be nice to our opponents.  The fact of the matter is that there are winning and losers in life.  The thing worse would if they didn't keep score.  Children need to learn how to live with disappointment.  Sports are a great way of teaching this.

 

And you know what, I am speaking from experience.  I have been one of the worst players on a little league team.  And guess what happened--- i practiced and got better.  Maybe the cancer survivor will never be intentionally walked himself.   However, he should at least have the chance to try.  because if we are going to try to "compete" in things but not really push ourselves to the limit, then how shallow is the victory?

 

 

For a more biased account of the events, check out rick reilly SI column about this.

 

sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/rick_reilly/08/07/reilly0814/index.html

menu for barbeque

- Johnsonburgers.

.....

 

 

still need to work on this though the weather looks good.

 

 

 

wsop final table

final table tonight...who will be the focus of the poker world for the next 12 months.  i'm rooting for AC, for all of those who said a top pro would never win the big one again.

 

please support my advertisers

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strasser out in 130ish place

lost a big hand early in the day AA vs. AK.  (he was AA)  After that, he hovered around 200K for a few hours, but never really got back into it.

 

In other news, the main event is about 1 day ahead of schedule now.  They were supposed to be down to 300 after yesterday, they are down to 137 now.  They are supposed to play down to 150 today so technically they don't even have to play.   However, they will end up stretch out the final table to 2 days now.  However, fatigue ath the final table won't be the difference this year.

Fwd: movie business challenge-- an equity market for movies (aka how to align theatre and studio interests)

Recently Mark cuban make a blog entry with the following challenge. 

 

So if you want a job, and have a great idea on how to market movies in a completely different way. If your idea works for any and all kinds of movies. If it changes the dynamics and the economics of promoting movies, email it or post it. If its new and unique, i want to hear about it. If its a different way of doing the same thing you have seen before, it probably wont get you a job, but feel free to try.
 

Here is my response.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: mark johnson <double  suited77@gmail.com>
To: mark.cuban@dallasmavs.com

 

Mark,

 

I am writing in response to your Movie business challenge blog entry from last week.  I have taken a slightly different approach than most of the others who have posted about ways to either get more people into the theatres or create a better value equation for those consumers.

 

Well these tactics may create some growth in the movie industry, they won't stem the existing tide of declining revenue for theatres.  Ultimately, growth in any industry must come through innovations.   For the movie industry, this means we need to change the business model for making a movie and getting mass distributions.  We need to take some costs out of the equation and reallocate some spending toward parties who can perform them better.

 

My proposal for you Mark, is the creation of an equity market for both movie financing and movie distributions.  In my market, studios will share equity portions of films at all stages of production.  In return for the equity, studios will receive either cash or more likely, guaranteed points of distribution or local marketing investment.   By pushing support for theatres down to the local levels, studios have now removed one of their biggest expenses.

 

This "efficient market" if you will, will make it easier for smaller films to be financed, while guaranteeing distribution at the same time.   As a result, marketing costs will be partially transferred from the studios to the theatres, who can market locally better anyway.  Films will now have an easier time being shown is cities other than New York and Los Angeles.

 

Current Scenario

 

There are currently three general key players in the movie industry rights—the movie studios(both large and small), the movie theatres and the consumers.   All they have in common is that they don't like doing business with the other two.

 

Consumers think they are paying too much for a commoditized experience.  Movie theatres complained about declining margins, lack of choice and little revenue from the back-end of the movies.   Studios are caught are suck in this high-spend situation because everyone else is doing it.

 

The biggest result from this scenario is the lack of quality films.  Marginal films can not be produced due to the problems described above.   What if there was some way to remove risk from the projects?  Let's find a way to make it easier for films to be financed and remove some of the risk from movie producers.

 

Some of these problem have been solved by the vertical integration of the process, which your companies have made significantly progress in.   As a result, you have created some differentiation between relatively similar chairs in the theatre.    I expect trends like this to continue.   However, given the declining number of theatres in America, the number of fully integrated movie companies will be limited as well.  We need to find another way to add more choice to market.

 

Problem 1:  Right now 80% of the screens are owned by a small number of companies.   Their efforts are centrally coordinated and relatively inefficient.   Since they are being squeezed on margins in both directions, they have little ability to promote content themselves.   As a result, these theaters are generally only interested in promoting films which have a huge general market media spend behind it.   As it stands, studios don't actively promote one film over another and really don't spend much behind any film at all.

 

Let's look at the income statement as a typical movie theatre.  Currently, it has a huge fixed cost base due to real estate.   As a result, theatres are doing whatever they can to push marginal consumers into the seats.   We saw this happen as 50-screen multiplexes opened up through the 90s.   Nice theory, however, when everyone else is doing it, it doesn't make much sense.  So now, we have a million screens out there some the exact same movies every 15 minutes.   Given the search for eyeballs, movie theatres are positioning themselves in high-traffic, high-population areas.  This is an expensive real estate strategy.   So let's reviews, we are adding a ton of costs to an undifferentiated movie experience.   Since consumers don't see any difference between theatres, these theatres has no incentive to market movies themselves since other competitors will just "Free ride" off their efforts.

 

Problem 2: Given problem 1, major movie studios need to make big bets.   In order to cut through the marketing clutter from advertising spending, only large pictures can be promoted.   As a result, many quality pictures are either not made, or made then not subsequently promoted because of poor intial test results.   There are more Direct-to-Video or limited  releases now than ever before simply because a full national release is not justified.

  

My solution

 

With an efficient market in place now, marginal films with risks of distribution due to poor support will now be able to be funded.  With distribution guaranteed, marketing effort can now be better targeted (hence, cheaper) and theatres will now have an interest in promoting certain pictures over another.  Moreover, under this system, there may be only one or two theatres within a city with a specific movie.  Now, there is some differentiation as well in the industry.

 

Additionally, we now have an alignment of goals between theatres and studios.  Those studios with distribution will now have a vested interest in promoting smaller films locally.  With guaranteed distribution, more films get made and will be shown outside of New York and LA.  The average consumer in Boise, who wants to go to the movies now has more choices.  With more choice, the movie industry will now get more share of these consumers' wallet.

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  Please shoot me an email back if you have any thoughts or would like to talk about this further.

 

Best,

 

Mark

more complaints..

 

 

- PTI without BOTH Tony and Wilbon

- Women with big toes (especially when they try to show them off)

- The lack of new movies.   I'm not the biggest movie fan in the world, however, I heard so many people complaining about how Hollywood is dead.  Look at your local multiplex, find me one weekend other than amajor holiday one, where more than 2 major films opened.   One of my favorite shows is HDNET's nothing but trailers, however, the trailers change at a very slow rate... eason being, the pipeline is just so damn slow.

can the US finally be lovable winners?

So ok, they have only lost their last 2 international competitions, but it may as well have been the last 20.  The US men's national basketball team is not exactly the Chicago Cubs, but they aren't prohibitive favorites either.  Kinda strange but I am rooting for them more than I can remember rooting for a US team in a definitely, definitely more than the recent world cup.

 

I remember the 1992 olympics with the so-called Dream Team winning every game by 40 and generally making jackasses out of themselves.  The rest of the world didn't have the talent to compete and the US team finally convinced the sports world that they were as ugly americans as anyone else.   Over the next few years, the level of play slowly diminished as did their worldwide reputation.  They should have lost in Sydney and finally lost in Greece... and the rest of the World LOVED it.  As an American, I wasn't that upset because our best players didn't play, and those who did whined and I hate whiners.

 

But now things have changed.  we have a coach noone can criticize and the shenanigans of the past just won't happen with Coach K.  And one more things... we have put a TEAM together.  No longer do we have a shoot-first point guard and a center who is either a completely offensive liability or a complete defensive one.  The team works hards, isn't outwardly cocky.  I think this has the makings of a great story.

 

 

---------------

editor's note:  As I am typing this, the US is down 30-29 to puerto rico in the middle of the 2nd quarter.  oh well!!

Strasser

Jason strasser finished day of the main event as one of the chip leaders.  Way to represent Duke, Jason.

 

"Mom"

Parents came in town to visit last weekend and had a fairly respectable time. Minimal periods of awkward silence. Cheryl was quite nice to them, in fact nicer than I ever am.

The strangest thing was that she called my mother, "Mom" I don't think I have ever called my mother "mom". At least not in the last 15 or 20 so years. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I never use titles. Every day, I heard it, I almost looked around for something else.

you know its bad when

there used to be an off-color joke about a person tried tried to committ suicide and failed. I guess that just couldn't do anything right.

In related news, one of my wife's pestering friends was rejected from Eharmony.com, basically because they thought she was unmatchable. For some reason, all I can do is smile. Kind of like that episode on How I Met your Mother when Ted can't get matched from a dating service.

However, this friend is really a piece of work. She is in her early 40s, yet keeps trying to date guys in their mid-20s. However, she wants a committment. Even worse than that, she doesn't put out. Gee, I wonder why that doesn't work.


Let's see. Hey 26-year old guy. Wanna date any older women who wants a ton of committment and you won't get sex. Oh, by the way, she has been single forever and won't put out. Gee, I wonder why e-harmony couldn't match her. I used to make fun of e-harmony because of the way it matched "based" on feeling. But, when you take an unmatchable person and don't match them, you win some respect with me.

new website

great new website-- www.jockreport.com

 

 

kinda like drudge, but about sports.  it's my new guilty pleasure.

Fwd: The most wonderful time of the year

Dedicated to a certain small-cap analyst (with help from andy williams)

 

It's the most wonderful time of the year
When the earnings start coming,

You can't be off bumming. Gotta
Get those notes out to sales
It's the most wonderful time of the year

It's the hap-happiest season of all
There'll be much aggravation

And heart palpitations, if
any of your targets turn out not to be true
It's the hap-happiest season of all

There'll be reasons for misses,

New hypotheses and sudden  
optimism for top-line growth
There'll be dreams of new Lexus to replace
the old Beemers From
Of Earnings Season  long, long ago

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Financials models start churning

Midnight oil always burning
valuations always rise
It's the most wonderful time of the year

free time... or lack thereof

summer goes by so far.  It seems like no matter how much free time you think you are.  You are always overscheduled. 

 

People ask me what I am doing this summer and I will usually reply "nothing"  however, if you want to do something with me, it is hard to schedule any time.  Parents in town one weekend, going to a wedding another weekend, someone having a party another.  same thing with weeknights.  Remeber that I am chronically underscheduled too because of my natural aversion to socializing with people.

 

I wonder if one of the main reasons people go on vacation during the summer is so that they can free themselves of all their local social obligations.

great quotes about financial modeling

From my friend ash..

Top 5 quotes to avoid with Excel.

• “The model has always been that way”
• “Oh yeah, the model changed”
• “That’s a hardcode”
• “No problem, that will take me five minutes”
• “Because that’s what the model says”

feeling blue...

much has been made with my passion for Duke football. Or to put it another way, how I stay humble. Usually, there are high expectation which are usually cooled off 2 or 3 weeks into the season. This year it could be even worse.

It looks like Duke's starting quarterback true Sophomore Zack Asack will be the entire season for an academic suspension. This leaves Duke with only one non-true freshman scholarship QB. Now Marcus was one of the most hyped QBs Duke has ever had, but is very inexperienced, probably only took 20 snaps last year, almost all of which were pure running plays. Now he will be expected to command the entire offense. However, given the inexperience of the offensive line, a QB who knows how to run is probably a good thing.

things that annoy me.

My wife's blog last week had 100 things that she liked.  Since i am more mean spirited, here is my response-- things that annoy me.

 

1. Steven A. Smith

2. Tip jars at Starbucks

3. press coverage of Barbaro's fight for life.

4. credit card company telemarketers

5. friends of my wife who are too needy

6. people living in America who make no effort to speak English.

7. Commericials before trailers before movies.

8. the smell of movie theatre popcorn.

9. Zinadine Zadine

10. Carnie Wilson

11. Kelly Ripa

12. Waiters who don't deliver food to the table

13. Poorly designed hotel swimming pools with 1/3 of the adequate number of chairs

14. beginning golfers who take 5 practice swings.

15. well-dressed beggers.

do women have short attention spans?

isn't the typical stereotype that men have short attention spans.

 

last time, my wife finally found as sporting event that we liked on TV-- the home run derby.   I am not sure if the long home runs impressed her, or if it was the people in kayaks waiting for the ball.  Nonetheless, she was fully engaged in a sports event on tv for more than an hour.

 

 

wow.

 

 

 

what a disappointment..

Usually the NBA draft is one of the best days for unanticipated comedy.   Watching asian guys try and failed ot connect on a high-five.  Watching greasy Eurotrash players nearly make out with their entire family after being picked and the normal fashion disasters or five.

 

Unfortunately yesterday it didn't happen.  The number one pick was from Italy and all he got was a handshake.  The only thing close was when an African-American player from the inner city got drafted by Utah and his family looked scared when they realized where they would have to live the rest of your life.

 

 

MBAs gone wild...

Imagine for a second that you are in an MBA marketing class and your project is to fix the Chicago Cubs.  As a good MBA student, you want to work to maximize the value for your teams.  Here are a few key facts HBS-style

 

Andy MacPhail leans backs in his chair in the Tribune building and thinks about the Cubs greats in years past.  then we thinks to the future and realizes that he needs his organization to take the next step in

 

 

MBA students would likely come up with the following suggestions.

 

- Since we already sell out almost all of our games, let's raise ticket prices.

 

- Since we already sell out almost all of our games, let's raise beer prices.

 

- Since we already sell out almost all of our games, let's stop promoting our team in the community.

 

- Since we already sell out almost all of our games, 'let's stop acquiring top free agents.

 

 

Amazing, this is what has happened.   The cubs are on track to finish near the bottom of major league baseball this season and may end up in the top 2 or 3 in attendance.  In fact, they probably will.  What does this say about Chicago?