So, I'm wondering if I should keep blogging. The only person that has been reading recently has been Pax who has been arguing with me politically. I appreciate his interest in what I'm saying and a link to his blog has been posted at left with the other blogs that friends have.
(A sidenote: I did to Pax what I've been accused of doing for a while now by friends and family - on Facebook, I started a debate with him and then backed out because I didn't feel like debating with him once he started - and just said, "Yeah, you're right, I know nothing" and acted sarcastic. I can't believe that I actually do this. I will read his blog and engage in more fair dialogue with him in the future.)
Anyway, we started commentary with each other here and here but Pax is the only guy that has commented in a long time.
I know I don't post that regularly, and I haven't been invited join any groups of bloggers like this one, or been successful in starting my own group. Maybe I'm not a great writer, and what I write is being read but is not compelling enough to comment on. Maybe what I write doesn't lend itself to commentary. Maybe it's because this blog isn't eponymous.
I joined Facebook and put a link to this blog but do not seem to have attracted any traffic.
So I ask, "Hello... is there anybody out there? Just nod if you can hear me..." Should I keep blogging here? Does what I write, albeit inconsistenly, interest you enough for me to keep writing? Or, should I just keep my own journal, like Doogie Howser M.D.?
Comment or email at spinningandwinning@gmail.com if you care to!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
No Limit Poker
If you are don't know anything about poker or are just not interested in it, skip this post.
The last time I played poker in A.C., after busting out of the tourney I was in, I sat down for some 1-3 NL (I was at Bally's, and they do 1-3 NL instead of 1-2 NL there). I usually buy in for the maximum $300, even though I probably do not plan to go all-in unless I have the absolute nuts. (I don't want the rest of the table to know this, of course.) I probably shouldn't be buying in for the maximum amount I've set on my bankroll - didn't I learn anything from Mike McDermott in Rounders?
Anyway, I went through a big swing on two big hands that illustrate how great and awful no-limit cash table poker can be, and how, even when I feel like I played the hands described well, luck can either help or hurt you tremendously on any given hand of poker.
So I'm playing...
1) I'm in late position with A-10 of clubs. About three people limp in between the blinds and me. I raise $10 up to $13 total. The blinds call and two limpers call, including one who has just thrown his last $8 in. (Pot has about $60 now.) So now I'm in last position.
Flop comes 7-7-4 rainbow. Everybody checks to me. Fearful that somebody is slowplaying a 7, I make a continuation bet of $25 anyway. The small blind calls after much hesitation and everybody else folds. Now we're at about $110. I eye down the small blind and decide if he checks, I bet no matter what.
Turn is a blank. He checks, I bet $60, and he thinks for a while, then shows 8-8 and folds. Since somebody is all in, I have to show my bluff. It turns out the all-in guy had something random like Q-6 and I won the pot. I probably overplayed it but was proud of myself.
A couple of hands later...
2) I'm in middle position with Q-J diamonds. I just call $3. Everybody folds. The small blind, a tight player, raises to $13. The big blind and I call.
The flop is A hearts - K hearts- 6 diamonds. The small blind bets $10. Big blind folds. I have no business calling, but think maybe he has a middle pair or a flush draw now, and call.
The turn is 10 of diamonds. I now have the nuts and a flush draw. Small blind bets $25. (The pot was about $50). I hollywood for a little while, then raise to $75. He looks over at my stack and says "How much do you have left?" I have about $110 more. He has about $200. I tell him. He thinks for a while. In my head, I'm chanting "PUT ME ALL IN PUT ME ALL IN PUT ME ALL IN". Eventually he just calls.
River is K of clubs. Fuck. He value-bets $25. I know he's got a full house now, but I call anyway, hoping he has a hand like K-Q. Nope, he had A-K the whole time, and he takes down the large pot, more than erasing my winnings from earlier.
I Phil Hellmuth him for about 5 minutes - "do you know you only had 4 outs going into the river?, etc..." He smiles quietly. "What are you smiling about? How freakin lucky you are?" etc... He never responds. The big blind, who folded after the flop, informs me that he folded 10-10 after the flop and would've made the second best hand, and I would've lost to them both anyway if he had called the $10 flop, which he doesn't know why I did. I tell him to fuck off and we continue to play.
Moral of the story: No Limit can be brutal if you don't have a big bankroll!
The last time I played poker in A.C., after busting out of the tourney I was in, I sat down for some 1-3 NL (I was at Bally's, and they do 1-3 NL instead of 1-2 NL there). I usually buy in for the maximum $300, even though I probably do not plan to go all-in unless I have the absolute nuts. (I don't want the rest of the table to know this, of course.) I probably shouldn't be buying in for the maximum amount I've set on my bankroll - didn't I learn anything from Mike McDermott in Rounders?
Anyway, I went through a big swing on two big hands that illustrate how great and awful no-limit cash table poker can be, and how, even when I feel like I played the hands described well, luck can either help or hurt you tremendously on any given hand of poker.
So I'm playing...
1) I'm in late position with A-10 of clubs. About three people limp in between the blinds and me. I raise $10 up to $13 total. The blinds call and two limpers call, including one who has just thrown his last $8 in. (Pot has about $60 now.) So now I'm in last position.
Flop comes 7-7-4 rainbow. Everybody checks to me. Fearful that somebody is slowplaying a 7, I make a continuation bet of $25 anyway. The small blind calls after much hesitation and everybody else folds. Now we're at about $110. I eye down the small blind and decide if he checks, I bet no matter what.
Turn is a blank. He checks, I bet $60, and he thinks for a while, then shows 8-8 and folds. Since somebody is all in, I have to show my bluff. It turns out the all-in guy had something random like Q-6 and I won the pot. I probably overplayed it but was proud of myself.
A couple of hands later...
2) I'm in middle position with Q-J diamonds. I just call $3. Everybody folds. The small blind, a tight player, raises to $13. The big blind and I call.
The flop is A hearts - K hearts- 6 diamonds. The small blind bets $10. Big blind folds. I have no business calling, but think maybe he has a middle pair or a flush draw now, and call.
The turn is 10 of diamonds. I now have the nuts and a flush draw. Small blind bets $25. (The pot was about $50). I hollywood for a little while, then raise to $75. He looks over at my stack and says "How much do you have left?" I have about $110 more. He has about $200. I tell him. He thinks for a while. In my head, I'm chanting "PUT ME ALL IN PUT ME ALL IN PUT ME ALL IN". Eventually he just calls.
River is K of clubs. Fuck. He value-bets $25. I know he's got a full house now, but I call anyway, hoping he has a hand like K-Q. Nope, he had A-K the whole time, and he takes down the large pot, more than erasing my winnings from earlier.
I Phil Hellmuth him for about 5 minutes - "do you know you only had 4 outs going into the river?, etc..." He smiles quietly. "What are you smiling about? How freakin lucky you are?" etc... He never responds. The big blind, who folded after the flop, informs me that he folded 10-10 after the flop and would've made the second best hand, and I would've lost to them both anyway if he had called the $10 flop, which he doesn't know why I did. I tell him to fuck off and we continue to play.
Moral of the story: No Limit can be brutal if you don't have a big bankroll!
Obama Race Email
I first saw this on Facebook, posted by one of the Teaneck boys here. It speaks for itself.
This was emailed to me so i don't know who to properly attribute it to. I don't necessarily agree with all of it but think it is enlightening if we are to truly examine the pervasiveness of race in our thinking and our reactions. It is said that Branch Rickey felt he needed to find the perfect person to break the color barrier in baseball because he knew the consequences of failure. I don't know if Senator Obama is that "perfect person" but he has the bona fides to qualify and he seems to exude grace under pressure.
What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?
What if McCain were still married to the first woman he said "I do" to?
What if Obama were the candidate who left his first wife after she no longer measured up to his standards?
What if Michelle Obama were a wife who not only became addicted to pain killers, but acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
What if Obama were a member of the Keating-5?
What if McCain were a charismatic, eloquent speaker?
If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?
This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.
You are The Boss... which team would you hire? With America facing historic debt, 2 wars, stumbling health care, a weakened dollar, all-time high prison population, mortgage crises, bank foreclosures, etc.
Educational Background:
Obama:
Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.)
Magna Cum Laude
Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)
vs.
McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899
Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters -
B.A. in Journalism
Now, which team are you going to hire ?
The other thing that this email doesn't mention is "what if Obama's unmarried teenage daughter was pregnant out of wedlock?" Seriously, imagine if Barack had a 16 or 17 year old daughter who was pregnant. How would general public perception be different?
This was emailed to me so i don't know who to properly attribute it to. I don't necessarily agree with all of it but think it is enlightening if we are to truly examine the pervasiveness of race in our thinking and our reactions. It is said that Branch Rickey felt he needed to find the perfect person to break the color barrier in baseball because he knew the consequences of failure. I don't know if Senator Obama is that "perfect person" but he has the bona fides to qualify and he seems to exude grace under pressure.
What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?
What if McCain were still married to the first woman he said "I do" to?
What if Obama were the candidate who left his first wife after she no longer measured up to his standards?
What if Michelle Obama were a wife who not only became addicted to pain killers, but acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
What if Obama were a member of the Keating-5?
What if McCain were a charismatic, eloquent speaker?
If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?
This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.
You are The Boss... which team would you hire? With America facing historic debt, 2 wars, stumbling health care, a weakened dollar, all-time high prison population, mortgage crises, bank foreclosures, etc.
Educational Background:
Obama:
Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.)
Magna Cum Laude
Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)
vs.
McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899
Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters -
B.A. in Journalism
Now, which team are you going to hire ?
The other thing that this email doesn't mention is "what if Obama's unmarried teenage daughter was pregnant out of wedlock?" Seriously, imagine if Barack had a 16 or 17 year old daughter who was pregnant. How would general public perception be different?
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Is Colin Powell also a nappy headed ho?
I watched Colin Powell's assessment of the presidential race on Meet the Press the other day with my wife and her uncle in D.C. As soon as he was done, her uncle made similar comments to Side Bar. So that was good.
In the days after, conservatives like Joe Scarborough and I'm sure many others who I don't listen to like O'Reilly and Limbaugh have been saying things like, "Well, of course Colin Powell endorsed Obama. They're both black."
Umm... I'm guessing they either (a) didn't actually listen to Colin Powell speak (unlikely), or (b) listened and felt like Colin Powell was being disingenuous. Either way... where is the outrage directed towards "respected" talking heads not only suggesting this, but saying it outright?
Compare this with the Don Imus outrage. Don Imus, a comedian, was attempting to use a colloquialism to be goofy and came off as racially insensitive, which he was and should arguably be castigated for, which he more than was. He referred to the "nappy heads" of the Rutgers women and called them "hoes", which is obviously silly as he has no idea if infact they are hoes or not. The general tone of what he was saying was demeaning, as these women were not trying to be public figured, nor are they asking to be commented on for their appearance and sexuality, and Imus thrusted them into the spotlight unfairly.
Now, here we have people saying that Colin Powell cannot make an unbiased statement about Barack Obama because somehow, despite his remarkable government experience and intellect, despite everything he articulately just stated after being given an uninterrupted half-hour on network TV to do so because his opinion is respected that highly, he is somehow swayed by the fact that both he and Obama have dark skin and this renders him incapable of being objective. Or, worse, that black people aren't ever really honest and will blindly stick up for another black person despite any other possible factors? Either way, it states quite clearly that, by implication, if Colin Powell, a Republican and Bush-Cheney supporter, cannot be trusted to put his blackness aside and be objective about this, why can we trust any black people with any decisions where there might be other black people involved? They are all lemmings who have no intellect, apparently, and can't wait to collaborate with other black people to stick it to the white man or something.
I don't understand why people aren't outraged by this. Personally, I think I'd be more upset about being told I'm a moron because I'm black, and that I shouldn't be trusted with a vote, than if some goofy dumbass comedian called some basketball players "nappy headed hoes". Am I overreacting?
In the days after, conservatives like Joe Scarborough and I'm sure many others who I don't listen to like O'Reilly and Limbaugh have been saying things like, "Well, of course Colin Powell endorsed Obama. They're both black."
Umm... I'm guessing they either (a) didn't actually listen to Colin Powell speak (unlikely), or (b) listened and felt like Colin Powell was being disingenuous. Either way... where is the outrage directed towards "respected" talking heads not only suggesting this, but saying it outright?
Compare this with the Don Imus outrage. Don Imus, a comedian, was attempting to use a colloquialism to be goofy and came off as racially insensitive, which he was and should arguably be castigated for, which he more than was. He referred to the "nappy heads" of the Rutgers women and called them "hoes", which is obviously silly as he has no idea if infact they are hoes or not. The general tone of what he was saying was demeaning, as these women were not trying to be public figured, nor are they asking to be commented on for their appearance and sexuality, and Imus thrusted them into the spotlight unfairly.
Now, here we have people saying that Colin Powell cannot make an unbiased statement about Barack Obama because somehow, despite his remarkable government experience and intellect, despite everything he articulately just stated after being given an uninterrupted half-hour on network TV to do so because his opinion is respected that highly, he is somehow swayed by the fact that both he and Obama have dark skin and this renders him incapable of being objective. Or, worse, that black people aren't ever really honest and will blindly stick up for another black person despite any other possible factors? Either way, it states quite clearly that, by implication, if Colin Powell, a Republican and Bush-Cheney supporter, cannot be trusted to put his blackness aside and be objective about this, why can we trust any black people with any decisions where there might be other black people involved? They are all lemmings who have no intellect, apparently, and can't wait to collaborate with other black people to stick it to the white man or something.
I don't understand why people aren't outraged by this. Personally, I think I'd be more upset about being told I'm a moron because I'm black, and that I shouldn't be trusted with a vote, than if some goofy dumbass comedian called some basketball players "nappy headed hoes". Am I overreacting?
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Calculus Humor
At my previous school in central Jersey, I taught everything from low level Geometry to Pre-Calculus (but no Calculus). The Calculus courses were all given to two or three established teachers. I became buddies with one of them. Teachers are evaluated by "observations" from administrators where they come in a couple of times per year and watch you teach. (You could be jerking off in class the other 178 days that you don't get observed, in theory, and if nobody complained you'd be ok. I digress.)
Anyway, my buddy would often talk about the times he got observed in his Calculus class, even by our math department head, and would note that it was funny that his observers had no idea what he was talking about.
One day, he said the following to me: "[Our department head] is trying to observe me, when he can't even Chain Rule his ass to his elbow."
(The Chain Rule is one of the most fundamental rules to integrating and differentiating functions, and is used in Calc I and in every level of math beyond that.)
His offhand joke didn't even really make sense, but I found it hilarious and we laughed about it often for years after that.
Now, I've been teaching Calculus for a couple of years now, and gotten observed in Calculus two or three times, each time by former gym teachers turned administrators. Each of them said, essentially, "I had no idea what the hell you were talking about, but it seemed like a good lesson." I laughed about the idea that they, indeed, could also not Chain Rule their asses to their elbows.
Anyway, my buddy would often talk about the times he got observed in his Calculus class, even by our math department head, and would note that it was funny that his observers had no idea what he was talking about.
One day, he said the following to me: "[Our department head] is trying to observe me, when he can't even Chain Rule his ass to his elbow."
(The Chain Rule is one of the most fundamental rules to integrating and differentiating functions, and is used in Calc I and in every level of math beyond that.)
His offhand joke didn't even really make sense, but I found it hilarious and we laughed about it often for years after that.
Now, I've been teaching Calculus for a couple of years now, and gotten observed in Calculus two or three times, each time by former gym teachers turned administrators. Each of them said, essentially, "I had no idea what the hell you were talking about, but it seemed like a good lesson." I laughed about the idea that they, indeed, could also not Chain Rule their asses to their elbows.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Sarah Algar
I can't write much more about the Sarah Palin debacle than has already been said, both by friends and professionals alike. So I'll just add this insight:
Remember the scene in Wayne's World where Wayne leaves Garth alone on the show and he goes "I'm having a good time... not..." and Garth is staring petrified into the camera and the camera guy turns to the other guy and says, "Ever seen the scene from that movie Scanners where the dude's head explodes?"
Well... I couldn't find a clip of Garth doing that or an image on the web, but... for at least the first half hour of the debate, Sarah Palin's petrified stare into the camera reminded us of that.
Remember the scene in Wayne's World where Wayne leaves Garth alone on the show and he goes "I'm having a good time... not..." and Garth is staring petrified into the camera and the camera guy turns to the other guy and says, "Ever seen the scene from that movie Scanners where the dude's head explodes?"
Well... I couldn't find a clip of Garth doing that or an image on the web, but... for at least the first half hour of the debate, Sarah Palin's petrified stare into the camera reminded us of that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)