Monday, February 13, 2006
what's more startling?
(a) netflix treats it's costumers differently based on renting patterns, or
(b) the picture in that article? (when did corey feldman grow a mustache, change his name to manuel villanueva and start renting 20 movies a month?)
(a) netflix treats it's costumers differently based on renting patterns, or
(b) the picture in that article? (when did corey feldman grow a mustache, change his name to manuel villanueva and start renting 20 movies a month?)
Friday, February 10, 2006
ground rules >>> quittin' time?
i have established an unwritten rule at work (this of course only pertains to me): no work related duties other than reading/sending email can be done before 3pm mst. i don't exactly know when i instituted this rule, but i do know i've been holding steadfast to it for the past few days. yesterday i left work at 2pm mst, so draw your own conclusions about my productivity on thursday february 9, year of our lord 2006.
i left work early, as i do roughly once a week, in order to go play poker. i am currently contemplating (sometime in the next few months) asking to become a casual employee, meaning i can work reduced hours. my plan is potentially to work ~20 hours a week and play poker another 20. i'm fairly sure i would take a pay cut, but (a) it wouldn't be by 50% (i project the range of impact on my current take-home income would be between -30% and +10%, and (b) um, i would only be working 20 hours a week (duh).
my consideration for this plan took a moderate hit yesterday though, when in 3 hours i lost 28 big bets. i haven't felt as confused at the poker table or taken such a beating since the first time i ever played (bachelor party in vegas, labor day(bor) 2003, compliments of ahren, cj, and the free budweiser). the place i play is typically very loose and passive and comfortable, but yesterday i felt like i might turn to the player on my left and see quatto holding his cards. yesterday was craisins (quatto would definitely be auto-raising), and bets were hitting the table faster than the golden state warriors season went in the tank (thank you baron davis). the number of times the boards were 4 to a flush or 4 to a straight was astounding. 90% of the pots were 15 bets or greater (not that that's bad, just different than usual). the worst player at the table, who was wont to (no exaggeration) limp-3 bet pre-flop with k7 offsuit, was up roughly 80 big bets. constantly telling myself it was good to have a table full of overly-aggressive idiots, i tried to ride out his storm. i soon realized 3 hours is not enough to do this, and at some point i decided consistently losing to players who raise preflop with k3 or q5 was demoralizing. and now my point (it wasn't just to bitch - i swear): this is what terrifies me of moving to $10-20 and partially quitting my job. could i stand to lose a grand in 3 hours? to guys with decaying front teeth and johnson fishing pole t-shirts?
only time will tell, i suppose - i'll have some time to stew on the idea since i won't be playing poker at the casino for a while. the next two weeks will be helter skelter: we drive to durango tonite for a weekend of boarding and microbrews, then i go on my first ever business trip (anyone know anything fun to do in houston?), return for the 3-day weekend (another trip to snowy colorado, this time with nina's brother kurt, affectionately known as "krut" or "chinstrap"), then go back to houston for 4 days (fear and loathing in houston anyone?).
since 3pm mst is just around the corner, i'll leave you with one simple question: why can't nasa be headquartered in vegas? all i know about houston is to beware the light rails described in the sg's super bowl column...
i have established an unwritten rule at work (this of course only pertains to me): no work related duties other than reading/sending email can be done before 3pm mst. i don't exactly know when i instituted this rule, but i do know i've been holding steadfast to it for the past few days. yesterday i left work at 2pm mst, so draw your own conclusions about my productivity on thursday february 9, year of our lord 2006.
i left work early, as i do roughly once a week, in order to go play poker. i am currently contemplating (sometime in the next few months) asking to become a casual employee, meaning i can work reduced hours. my plan is potentially to work ~20 hours a week and play poker another 20. i'm fairly sure i would take a pay cut, but (a) it wouldn't be by 50% (i project the range of impact on my current take-home income would be between -30% and +10%, and (b) um, i would only be working 20 hours a week (duh).
my consideration for this plan took a moderate hit yesterday though, when in 3 hours i lost 28 big bets. i haven't felt as confused at the poker table or taken such a beating since the first time i ever played (bachelor party in vegas, labor day(bor) 2003, compliments of ahren, cj, and the free budweiser). the place i play is typically very loose and passive and comfortable, but yesterday i felt like i might turn to the player on my left and see quatto holding his cards. yesterday was craisins (quatto would definitely be auto-raising), and bets were hitting the table faster than the golden state warriors season went in the tank (thank you baron davis). the number of times the boards were 4 to a flush or 4 to a straight was astounding. 90% of the pots were 15 bets or greater (not that that's bad, just different than usual). the worst player at the table, who was wont to (no exaggeration) limp-3 bet pre-flop with k7 offsuit, was up roughly 80 big bets. constantly telling myself it was good to have a table full of overly-aggressive idiots, i tried to ride out his storm. i soon realized 3 hours is not enough to do this, and at some point i decided consistently losing to players who raise preflop with k3 or q5 was demoralizing. and now my point (it wasn't just to bitch - i swear): this is what terrifies me of moving to $10-20 and partially quitting my job. could i stand to lose a grand in 3 hours? to guys with decaying front teeth and johnson fishing pole t-shirts?
only time will tell, i suppose - i'll have some time to stew on the idea since i won't be playing poker at the casino for a while. the next two weeks will be helter skelter: we drive to durango tonite for a weekend of boarding and microbrews, then i go on my first ever business trip (anyone know anything fun to do in houston?), return for the 3-day weekend (another trip to snowy colorado, this time with nina's brother kurt, affectionately known as "krut" or "chinstrap"), then go back to houston for 4 days (fear and loathing in houston anyone?).
since 3pm mst is just around the corner, i'll leave you with one simple question: why can't nasa be headquartered in vegas? all i know about houston is to beware the light rails described in the sg's super bowl column...
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
mo money mo problems
mo lina signing: so good or no good?
zaun
salary: ~$1mil
age: turns 35 in 2006
05 warp: 3.3
05 obp: .355 (career obp .342)
05 slg: .373 (career slg .375)
05 RAR (fielding runs above replacement): 18
05 RAA (fielding runs above average): -4
05 Rate2 (100 is average): 97
05 caught stealing: 21/93 = 23%
molina
salary: $5 mil
age: turns 32 in 2006
05 warp: 3.5
05 obp: .336 (career obp .308)
05 slg: .446 (career slg .395)
05 RAR: 14
05 RAA: -3
05 Rate2: 97
caught stealing: 20/64 = 31%
mo lina signing: so good or no good?
zaun
salary: ~$1mil
age: turns 35 in 2006
05 warp: 3.3
05 obp: .355 (career obp .342)
05 slg: .373 (career slg .375)
05 RAR (fielding runs above replacement): 18
05 RAA (fielding runs above average): -4
05 Rate2 (100 is average): 97
05 caught stealing: 21/93 = 23%
molina
salary: $5 mil
age: turns 32 in 2006
05 warp: 3.5
05 obp: .336 (career obp .308)
05 slg: .446 (career slg .395)
05 RAR: 14
05 RAA: -3
05 Rate2: 97
caught stealing: 20/64 = 31%
Friday, February 03, 2006
chatty cakes
in case you didn't see it, espn had a chat session today with the sports guy and then klosterman (1 hour each). i never read those chats, but since chuckie k would be on i made an exception. there were some other page 2 folks on after that dynamic duo, but do yourself a favor and read the first two hours worth here. my favorite exchange:
Larry (Tampa, FL): Why has Troy Polumalu not been drug tested? He is physically impossible for anyone to get around the field like he does all game long. Is this some sort of NFL human performace testing testbed?
Chuck Klosterman: The NFL does not test for peyote.
in case you didn't see it, espn had a chat session today with the sports guy and then klosterman (1 hour each). i never read those chats, but since chuckie k would be on i made an exception. there were some other page 2 folks on after that dynamic duo, but do yourself a favor and read the first two hours worth here. my favorite exchange:
Larry (Tampa, FL): Why has Troy Polumalu not been drug tested? He is physically impossible for anyone to get around the field like he does all game long. Is this some sort of NFL human performace testing testbed?
Chuck Klosterman: The NFL does not test for peyote.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
state of the onion
i hate the state of the union. it's not that i find it unimportant or boring (though a case could certainly be made for both), but that i despise the tv coverage of it. is it really necessary for all 4 major networks to air this? couldn't they just agree to rotate so abc, cbs, nbc, and fox can each get it once every 4 years? that way at least i could watch scrubs 3 out of every 4 years and just read the transcript in the morning (therefore eliminating all that incessant clapping). club noonan did a nice little synopsis last night as well.
i hate the state of the union. it's not that i find it unimportant or boring (though a case could certainly be made for both), but that i despise the tv coverage of it. is it really necessary for all 4 major networks to air this? couldn't they just agree to rotate so abc, cbs, nbc, and fox can each get it once every 4 years? that way at least i could watch scrubs 3 out of every 4 years and just read the transcript in the morning (therefore eliminating all that incessant clapping). club noonan did a nice little synopsis last night as well.
questions for the nl east
nym: they sure made a lot of offseason noise. but was their improvement as big as everyone is making it out to be? sure, they upgraded big time at first and closer. but their outfield is worse, and la duca is declining fast. not to mention they did nothing to improve their staff (i think it's worse than last year in fact)...
phi: this team did absolutely nothing to improve itself on the field for 06. how long can they continue to trot david bell out at third?
fla: sure they'll be pretty bad. but am i the only one who thinks they may not be as bad as everyone thinks? if they have a rookie or two (probably one pitcher and one hitter) perform well i think they may not lose 100. if this team is great in 08-09, does it show the firesale is not so bad?
was: in church, vidro, johnson, guillen, soriano, and zimmerman, do the nats have the best top 6 hitters in the division (philly's the only team that can compete, right?)? or do these 6 never even play together because alfonso refuses to play the of?
atl: will the young guys improve, or will the sophomore slumps be atlanta's demise? will adam laroche flourish as a full-time starter, or is .265-22-85 all we can ever expect out of him (not that this is bad)?
nym: they sure made a lot of offseason noise. but was their improvement as big as everyone is making it out to be? sure, they upgraded big time at first and closer. but their outfield is worse, and la duca is declining fast. not to mention they did nothing to improve their staff (i think it's worse than last year in fact)...
phi: this team did absolutely nothing to improve itself on the field for 06. how long can they continue to trot david bell out at third?
fla: sure they'll be pretty bad. but am i the only one who thinks they may not be as bad as everyone thinks? if they have a rookie or two (probably one pitcher and one hitter) perform well i think they may not lose 100. if this team is great in 08-09, does it show the firesale is not so bad?
was: in church, vidro, johnson, guillen, soriano, and zimmerman, do the nats have the best top 6 hitters in the division (philly's the only team that can compete, right?)? or do these 6 never even play together because alfonso refuses to play the of?
atl: will the young guys improve, or will the sophomore slumps be atlanta's demise? will adam laroche flourish as a full-time starter, or is .265-22-85 all we can ever expect out of him (not that this is bad)?
