StudioGlyphic

Blah. Monday sucked. Won money at the weekly game, lost quite a bit online. Again, it's that whole playing before 10PM thing.

Tuesday was better, but not a lot better. I waited until 10PM to play, and netted $14.25 after 3.92 poker hours. That's more like 2.5 hours in real time. What a grind.

Former White House Adviser Richard Clarke on Fresh Air

Clarke is the former national coordinator for security, infrastructure protection and counterterrorism. He held the position in President Clinton's administration and continued for President Bush. He resigned in March 2003. His new book is Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror. In the book he criticizes the Bush administration for failing to heed warnings about al Qaeda before Sept. 11, and for invading Iraq without evidence of a connection to al Qaeda. Clarke also worked for the Reagan Administration and the first Bush administration.

I played at 7 different tables, two at a time, and won money at 5 of them. Between 8 and 10, I won $9.25. Between 10 and midnight, $10. Between midnight and 1:30, $36.50. $55.75 in total.

I'm still down for the week, but it seems that late in the evening, especially on Sundays, is the best time to play.

My bank's now comfortably at $125. Thank God. Friday saw its share of losses. But now I'm up past my Wednesday night level. Monday night will hopefully be as profitable as last week.

Yesterday I lost $39. There was a problem with Party's hand history emailer, so I was working in uncharted territory. This morning I got a bunch of hand histories and so I went over my play.

My rate of voluntarily putting money in the pot was 18% all evening, and my showdown win rate was 52%, so I don't think I was doing anything terribly wrong. In fact, during the period of 6 to midnight I played 7 sessions for a total of 7.23 hours, which translates into roughly 3.5 hours of real time. My loss rate per hour was $5.34, which isn't too bad.

What is obvious, however, is that I lost the most money when I played between 6 and 10. $24.29 per hour for 1.05 hours between 6 and 8. $12.19 per hour for .27 hours between 8 and 10.

When I started up again at 10, I played 5.92 hours and lost money at a rate of $1.67 per hour.

As I've said in earlier posts, the hours between 10 and midnight seem to be best for me. Until I build up a large enough bank to accomodate losses during non-optimal hours, I ought to stick to the hours my past history prescribes. Of course, given the fact that more players hit the site on weekends, I should devote some hours playing then as well.

BBC - Cult - Simpsons nearly sued - News story

You can't make this stuff up.

No, seriously, dude, this isn't a poker blog. In fact, I went to see Dukakis give a speech tonight at the West LA Dems club.

But while we're on the subject, Iggy's got a rundown of the Poker Blogs out there, so if you're interested, go check it out.

Still down from my high of $155, but I tried the strategy I outlined yesterday (early this morning) and I'm finishing the day with $120. Not bad, considering I started my most recent two hour session with $75. So it seems to be a combination of the strategy and timing. My most profitable sessions seem to be between 10PM and midnight. Catch me on Party then.

There's a web-based Button Maker. Too bad it can't make longer buttons.

Lost $70 today. Yeesh. I chased hands I shouldn't have chased. I let other players scare me out of pots. Overall, I saw the pot stealers lose money to the tight-aggressive players. I should have been one of them.

So this leaves me with just a little over half my profits at Party. Still not bad, but it makes me feel like an idiot blowing through half my bankroll. I think I'll try playing two tables simultaneously and folding everything but the best hands. Hopefully that'll increase my chances of getting good cards, and give me enough action to prevent me from playing a hand out of boredom. I'll also step up the aggression on the hands I do play.

Check back in a couple nights for an update.

...has a blog. You probably remember Wil as the kid on Star Trek and maybe as another kid in Stand By Me. Anyway, his Star Trek character was always annoying, so I wasn't sure what to expect from his blog. Turns out he's actually a decent writer, sounds like a decent guy, and is an ubergeek. Check it.

Oh, and he turns out to be both progressive and somehow-related to poker. So now you know.

This isn't going to turn into a poker blog... there are plenty of those out there, including Iggy's Poker Blog. He pointed me to a bulletin board post from David Ross, who's trying to play online poker for a living. Ross notes:

Don't I know it! As I said in the post just below this one, my high for the day was $175. 50 minutes later and I was down to $155. Sure, it's loose change to a guy like Ross, but the point is that I started chasing with overcards and paying to see winning hands. Brutal. It's just not worth it. If I play enough hands, someone else will show me if the guy who's betting into me is an aggro bluffing river rat with shit hole cards.

Gotta keep focused on profits.

After taking advantage of a PokerStars deposit bonus of a measley 15% back in February, I basically ran through my bank, leaving me with a dollar or so. It's enough to play at the nickel or penny tables, but seriously, that's a freaking waste of time. I'll go back from time to time for the freeroll or frequent player point tourneys to get some NL practice in, but I don't think I'll be doing much more than that.

Ten days ago I bought in for $50 at PartyPoker. Party rocks. If you play well, you'll catch lots of wins against the fish. 6 days later I had doubled up and cashed out my initial $50. Nice. Nothing better than playing with Other People's Money.

A couple days ago I switched over to the 1/2 tables from the .50/1 tables. It's more expensive, but provided I play well enough to minimize my losses and win enough medium and big pots, I tend to come out on top. I've gotten some great hands: Royal Flush, four Kings (twice), Aces full of eights, etc. Gotten some good winning flops, too.

Today I started with $122 in the bank. I ended the day with $155 (low - $100, high - $175). I cashed out $50 to Neteller (by accident) and another $50 to my bank account. I'd prefer to have $100 in my bank on Party, but I can wait for a promotion to give me a little extra. Actually, a friend of mine was watching me play earlier and liked what he saw. He may put in some real money and get me a referral bonus.

But even with all this money floating around, I'm still down $150 since June. $250 of all money I've spent was wasted on PokerStars, so that's not too bad. Now that school's back in session and I'm hip-deep in work, I think I'll cut back on my play a bit. Hopefully I can keep up this run when I do play and get into the black overall. I have some poker purchases I want to make with my poker money: Books, software, etc.

When Sharpton endorses Kerry, you know it's really over.

Kerry's the nominee, so c'mon. Help him raise ten million dollars in ten days.

Give today.

Too principled to toe the line, too popular to whack.

Wounds of 2000 never healed for McCain

I'm completely sick of the administration and its backers equating the war in Iraq with confronting terrorism despite the debunking of all pre-war claims about WMDs and an Iraq-Al Qaeda link. And the journalists and politicians are not calling them on it. I could list specific examples, but really, it's a ubiquitous phenomenon. If we let them continue to repeat the "Iraq war = war on terror" mantra, we let them control the conversation. We cannot let them do that. Every time they say it, we need to hit back and say:

Iraq is a distraction. Instead of chasing Al Qaeda through the mountains of Afghanistan, we took a detour through Baghdad. Instead of working with leaders around the world to prevent terrorist acts and infiltrate their organizations, we pissed off long-term allies and the Islamic world. There was no imminent threat from Iraq. There was no connection between Iraq and September 11. Now that we're there, we've inflamed anti-American sentiment and swelled the ranks of terror organizations.

If time is limited, just firmly state: "There was no imminent threat from Iraq. There was no connection between Iraq and September 11." Repeat.

Gotta love the Kos. They post analysis on everything, including how well Bush's ads were received.

Yes, seen ads           39%
Yes, heard or read      21
No                      39

                        All GOP Dem Ind Con Mod Lib
Very appropriate        18% 41%  8% 12% 30% 10% 12%
Somewhat appropriate    23  28  15  29  28  24  16
Somewhat inappropriate  18  15  19  19  20  18  18
Very inappropriate      36  13  54  35  16  46  50

                        All GOP Dem Ind Con Mod Lib
Very appropriate        14% 30%  4% 13% 19% 13%  8%
Somewhat appropriate    24  35  16  21  31  23  11
Somewhat inappropriate  20  19  20  21  16  24  19
Very inappropriate      34   8  53  36  22  34  53

Awesome.

Read the full post to see what's been said about the ads that attacked Kerry. Basically ineffective.

As though having Faux News on its side wasn't enough, the Bush administration has created fake news to trumpet the benefits of its Medicare plan:

The Atlantic Monthly interviews Douglas Brinkley, author of Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War. Brinkley shares insights on Kerry's personal ties, his decision to enlist, and the kind of soldier he was.

When McDonald's decided to phase out its Supersize menu, it didn't seem newsworthy to StudioGlyphic. The Daily Trojan's editorial board, on the other hand, thought the move was "a defeat for responsibility."

I'm sure McDonald's has good reasons for removing the SuperSize option from its menu; they're probably tired of being the whipping boy for America's obesity problem. Google "supersize" and "obesity" and you get 3950 results.

Lexis-Nexis turns up 247 results.

With the growing association between these two terms, McDonald's is looking out for its image as a brand and as a responsible corporate entity.

More to the point, your underlying thesis that McDonald's actions are symptomatic of a shirking of personal responsibility in society oversimplifies the issues surrounding these "frivolous lawsuits."

The notion of personal responsibility and, by extension, consumer choice, rests upon the assumption that individuals have perfect knowledge of available alternatives and consequences when making decisions.

This is rarely the case.

Smokers who began smoking at age 13 or at a time when cigarette companies used "doctor" endorsements to promote their products could hardly be characterized as rational actors.

Investors who relied upon fraudulent analysis and misleading earnings reports were likewise ill-equipped to make the right choice.

In a world of "sexed-up intelligence," the courts are often the last resort of individuals confronting the failures of responsibility of corporations, regulators, and the media.

Taking away this option under the guise of promoting individual responsibility would undermine our democracy.

Salon.com | The new Pentagon papers

In Rebuff to Bush, Senate Raises Bar for Tax Cuts

Daily Kos || Bush in trouble. Even in red states

Daily Kos || Lincoln Bedroom for sale in Bush White House

Ugh. Goddamn hypocrites.

McCain Xtreme-Fries

Oh lord.

Flak Magazine: Funyuns, 11.17.03

Read it.

Daily Kos || Comments || Open Thread

Stern ranted against the religious right and the Bush administration today, comparing them to the Taliban and fundamentalists, and urged listeners to vote against Bush.

I think it's time to stop enabling those greedy bastards. According to OpenSecrets, George W. Bush's Top Contributors in 2000 include the following:

MBNA Corp
Vinson & Elkins
Credit Suisse First Boston
Ernst & Young
Andersen Worldwide
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co
Merrill Lynch
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Baker & Botts
Citigroup Inc
Goldman Sachs Group
Enron Corp
Bank of America
KPMG LLP
Jenkens & Gilchrist
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
State of Texas
American General Corp
Deloitte & Touche
AXA Financial

Note that these are the companies contributors work for, not necessarily the companies themselves. At the same time, executives within those companies often encourage contributions from their colleagues and underlings. So cut up those MBNA and Citibank cards, close your account at Bank of America, and stop using PWC as your auditor!

Thanks to SockEye at DailyKos for bringing this up. Of course, he only advocates getting rid of your MBNA card. MBNA topped the list, its CEO is a big Bush supporter, and apparently they do other bad things. I guess I can keep my Citibank card and you can keep your BofA account.

Seeking subpoenas: McCain and Bush clash on powers, scope of intel probe

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is pushing the White House to give subpoena power to the independent commission President Bush created last month to investigate intelligence operations.

The administration has turned him down, but the senator is refusing to take no for an answer.

...

McCain also wants to extend the inquiry's scope beyond the limits set down by the president. Bush prescribed an examination of the quality of intelligence gathered on Iraq, but he withheld a mandate to scrutinize how the administration used the information.

McCain wants to examine how that intelligence was used by policymakers to justify the Iraq invasion.

...

Unlike the House and Senate Committees, the president's independent commission will not limit its intelligence review of weapons of mass destruction programs to Iraq.

"Their scope is a little broader," said Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) "It's the systematic challenge we've had."

Roberts hesitated when asked if the commission should be given subpoena power before finally saying "If they ask for it I think they ought to have it."

"Creative Class War" by Richard Florida

In summary, the US economy stays ahead of the game through innovation. But the clustering of creative and non-creative people gives control to Republicans, whose policies undermine our competitiveness. Sounds pretty sound to me.

MSNBC - Avoiding attacking suspected terrorist mastermind

With Tuesday’s attacks, Abu Musab Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant with ties to al-Qaida, is now blamed for more than 700 terrorist killings in Iraq.

But NBC News has learned that long before the war the Bush administration had several chances to wipe out his terrorist operation and perhaps kill Zarqawi himself — but never pulled the trigger.

Those sons of bitches.

Political Mugging In America
Anatomy of an "independent" smear campaign

On November 7, 2003, a strange new group no one had ever heard of called "Americans for Jobs & Healthcare" was quietly formed and soon thereafter began running a million dollar operation including political ads against then-frontrunner Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean. The commercials ripped Dean over his positions or past record on gun rights, trade and Medicare growth. But the most inflammatory ad used the visual image of Osama bin Laden as a way to raise questions about Dean's foreign policy credibility. While the spots ran, Americans for Jobs—through its then-spokesman, Robert Gibbs, a former Kerry campaign employee—refused to disclose its donors.

Scum.

Geneva motor show 2004 - Renault Wind

Leather is indeed something of a theme on this car... it's even got to the roll hoops and boot lining, as well as the two front seats and the central section linking them together.

This section is what provides the car's party trick, actually. You can take it out and turn it inside out to create a saddle shape - and hey presto, your two-seat roadster has turned into a 2+1.

Road test: Lotus Elise 111S

"This is quite simply, the best Elise - and probably the best Lotus - ever."

That's quite an endorsement. Now if they'd only do something about that sticker price.

Ack. Maybe they ought to stick to attack ads because these new ads (characterized as positive) aren't doing anything for him.

Josh Marshall says this: "you quickly see a main -- probably the main -- theme of his reelection campaign: it's not my fault."

Daily Kos reports that the reaction from family members of WTC victims and the firefighters union to the ads has been very negative.

Now that the nomination is tied up, the hard work of winning back the White House begins.

Make a donation to the Kerry campaign. I haven't personalized my fundraising page yet, but that will come in time.

The strategic thing to do would be to vote for Edwards. If Edwards makes a good enough showing, the race will be extended, focusing media coverage on the Democrats and their message. Narrowing it down to John Kerry will put an end to the free media and signal the Bush campaign to open fire.

That would be the strategic thing to do, but last night I read an excerpt from one of Dean's speeches last year (before all the media fuss). It's not particularly eloquent--that wasn't Dean's strength. Nor does it talk about grand, inspiring ideas. It is, however, a perfect example of why I supported Dean.

"In our state, we believe in inclusion in special ed so we include 82 percent of all our kids who need special ed with IEPs [Individualized Education Programs] in mainstream classrooms. Now that scares a lot of teachers and it scared a lot of our teachers. There's a lot of nervousness about how in the world a classroom teacher was going to handle a big influx of kids with disabilities. I think today they wouldn't trade it for anything. Because what we did, of course, is have those kids go in with adequate funding and with para-professionals.

"Let me tell you what that meant. It means that teachers have other adults in the classroom. They're not certified teachers, but they are adults and because there's very few disabled kids with para-professionals that need a hundred percent all the time, that frees up the para-professionals to help once in a while with some of the teacher's duties. Kids make more progress who require special ed, but let me talk to you about what I think is the most important thing about this is -- for me it's very personal.

"I have two kids, neither of whom require special education. When we made this change in Vermont, my daughter was in the sixth grade, my son was in the 4th grade; my daughter's now a freshman in college, my son's a junior in high school Our daughter is too far advanced for this to affect here. We phased it in. But my son was affected; he had a child in his 4th grade class that couldn't speak and of course didn't have any other skills in terms of communication, other than very, very basic ones. That child not only got to the 8th grade, was still included. And one day I asked him, how is Patrick doing. He said, he's doing pretty well; he talks and he writes.

"The effect it had on Patrick was extraordinary, but the effect it had on my son was more extraordinary because we have a whole generation of kids who are now growing up understanding that people with disabilities are just people who have some differences like every other person has differences, but they're people."

But we can reverse this trend by supporting institutions, policies, and yes, plans that promote interaction across all social boundaries. For example, public schools, affordable housing, and pedestrian-oriented development can put people back in touch with one another and perhaps make them think twice before supporting harsh action against illegals, fags, welfare queens, and the whole roster of "others." It's a basic concept that Dean understood and implemented, as exemplified by his story, and it's an approach to policy and governance we desperately need.

If you have the luxury of voting in a purely strategic fashion, I urge you to vote for Edwards. But the primary is supposed to be the one time you're able to vote your conscience. This will likely be the only time I can vote for Dean, and I only have one vote to cast. Don't get me wrong; whoever becomes the nominee will get my time, energy, and money in the race against Bush. But today, my vote goes to Howard Dean.

The cutest candidate for the House (Stephanie Herseth) has some very good ads. Yikes.

If Dean's Iowa ads had been anywhere near as good as these, we'd be looking at a completely different race right now.

Economists say that the US has to generate 150,000 jobs a month just to keep up with population growth, immigration, and other factors. In December, the US only added 1,000 jobs to the rolls.

In January, nearly 240,000 workers were laid off. Weren't those billions of dollars in tax cuts going to generate a million jobs?