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Last night was the fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention, the night when Kerry officially accepted the nomination of the Party. I've watched Kerry throughout the primaries and on some of his campaign stops before the convention. Last night he gave his best speech and his best performance all year. Kerry is clearly not as gifted as some of the other talent in the party, but last night he laid out the Democratic platform in broad strokes and concrete details with authority and relative concision. He made the case for why the Democratic ticket surpasses the Republican ticket in national security, foreign policy, and domestic affairs. Kerry took on the question of values and vowed to restore "truth and credibility" to the White House. He challenged the President in the forum of big ideas, and vowed to make policy based on facts, to promote science for the good of all Americans. In short, he rose to the occasion, and said everything he needed to say.

Full Text of John Kerry's Speech to the Democratic National Convention

John Kerry's Speech (WindowsMedia)

Documentary Video: 'A Remarkable Promise'

Another down week. I say again, I don't even know why I play.

    This week  Cumulative

CR    +$0.05     +$2.10

EM    +$1.00     +$7.40

ER    -$3.15     +$0.75

JB    +$2.00     -$3.30

JC    +$2.00    +$10.95

Me    -$1.90    -$10.85

JC had his fourth consecutive positive session. He won one hand against CR when he riverred his boat: CR had made his boat on the turn with king-rag and check-raised on JC, JC called and got an ace on the river, which made his AQ good for aces full of rags. Sucks for CR, but then again, king-rag is a shitty hand to play.

EM continued her steady play, though she tended to get lucky with her straight draws completing on the turn or river.

Second night's speakers stoke the party fires Harsher line toward Bush revs up base, sets the stage for nominees

Day one of the Democratic Convention (watch it on C-SPAN) was marked by Bill Clinton's amazing speech. The Democrats were excited and wistful, and it was pretty obvious that they wanted someone like Bill Clinton to come forward again.

Day two brought us Howard Dean's long, warm reception from the very people who, had the stakes not been so great, would have loved to have given him the nomination. They clapped and cheered for minutes before he had even said a word.

Day two also marks the day that Barack Obama hit the national stage and shone brilliantly. That man can speak like no other member of the new generation of Democrats, and the reception was floor-pounding, earth-shattering--simply great. I feel sorry for any of these poor bastards who have to follow him. Watch his Senate career and a possible run for the Presidency in 12 years. Yes, he's that good.

This speech on C-SPAN was given at the Commonwealth Club of California in September of 2002. Given hindsight, wouldn't we have been better off with this man in office?

Restaurant.com has an eBay Store where they offer gift certificates for restaurants all over the country. You'd be surprised at what you can find there. Tonight we went to an excellent Armenian restaurant in Hollywood (Carousel, Hollywood and Normandie) and saved $19. Good God, I'm stuffed.

Basically you find a GC you want, buy it at a great discount, print it out, and take it to the restaurant. They have dollar value certificates, and percentage certificates (e.g., 50% off your entire bill). Be sure to read the fine print, though. There are a couple restrictions that you'll want to be aware of before fronting the cash. The gift certificate we used required a party of four or more, which was fine with us, since we wanted to go there anyway.

Richard Clarke has some suggestions on how to deal with Islamic jihadism:

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Crash Landing:

Two things to note: the driver of the Cruiser ran a red light, and the pedestrian was also crossing against the light. Presumably the driver and the ped were trying to save a few seconds. Stupid, stupid. I guess some people value 30 seconds more than they value the potential loss of hours, their vehicle, or their lives.

Of course, it could be that Ms. Cruiser was chatting on her mobile and just didn't realize the light was red. In this case, the trade-off is between saving time (by not waiting to make/take a call) or reducing the "boredom" of driving and the potential loss of hours, their vehicle, or their lives.

I hope the driver of the Cruiser loses both her legs.

According to Top Gear:

While this car isn't as ugly as all the other Bangled models, it has a distinctly Japanese look to it. What in the world?!

Check out audiogame.net for fun with Flash.

C-SPAN will be offering complete coverage of the convention all week starting at 12 PM (Pacific) on Monday. Thankfully C-Span is one of the channels I actually get (I don't usually watch TV and therefore don't subscribe to cable, but do get a few channels from the co-ax in the wall). I don't have Tivo and will have to miss the start of the convention while I'm in class Monday, but C-Span will have archived video on their website. Monday's speakers include Former Presidents Carter and Clinton, Former Vice President Gore, and Senator Clinton.

Yes, yes, Al Gore is "old news," but Brenda Bell's "Deconstructing Al" is an excellent read. I've watched four of the speeches that Al Gore has given for MoveOn, and they're all great: well-reasoned, passionate, and easy to understand--they provide a stark contrast to the immature stutterings of the current administration. Props to the rightful president for speaking out in the face of lies and the politics of fear. While I don't think that it is possible in our country for Gore to salvage his political career, I would encourage him to continue to say those things that need to be said, that no politician would dare say.

There's something particularly humiliating about bouncing out on the bubble, especially when you know you could have post-and-folded into the money. I was one of two or three short stacks in this morning's freeroll with 21 players left, which was a shame, since I had been one of two or three large stacks when there were 113 players left. Anyway, I had about 2xBB left and decided to limp in with QTo UTG. ?! Flop missed me and I folded. Wow, that was stupid. Next hand I post the BB and with T$5 left I call a raise from the SB with 55. First he makes a higher pair, then he makes a higher flush, and I'm out in 21st. Frustrating.

So here's something that I need to figure out: I may have missed out on an opportunity to make even more money early on in the tournament. I flopped a boat, nines full of jacks, with J9. I bet the minimum and got called. Next card is another Jack. I bet half the pot and got called. River's a rag, and this time I bet a third of the pot and got called. He had the other nine and I swept the pot, leaving him with about 35-40% of his starting chips. So the question is, at what point am I supposed to realize that this guy is with me to the showdown and push?

Against my better judgment, I risked the rest of my chips tonight at a 1/2 table and left with a dollar! Might have gotten more fun out of them by playing four SNGs, but that's ok. I've been feeling like I've been playing too much anyway. About 50 hours since the start of the month, which comes out to a couple hours everyday, not counting these freeroll tournaments. Including those, that comes out to about 4-5 hours a day. As you may or may not be aware, I'm in grad school right now, so I might be better off spending that time doing something productive.

The polls show a fairly even split between Bush and Kerry, with many polls showing Kerry with a slight lead. Bush's favorable/unfavorable and right-track/wrong-track ratings are something for the Bush campaign to worry about. The talking heads keep harping about Kerry's "inability" to take advantage of Bush's bad news cycles. This echo chamber talking point is ludicrous; historical data shows that an incumbent in Bush's current position isn't likely to win, and that challengers usually trail the incumbent at this point in the election. As election day draws nearer, and particularly after the convention, we should see Kerry establish a more solid lead as independents/undecideds break for the challenger.

Still, this isn't something to take for granted, so I'll do my part in introducing John Kerry to both of my readers.

It seems to me that our country has been going through a kind of ethical struggle. In the political world, there is the question of the link between Al Qaeda and Iraq, the stockpiles of WMDs, the prisoner abuse scandals, the false Niger uranium story, the outing of a CIA operative, the stifling of the actual cost of the prescription drug benefit, etc. In the corporate world, we've seen the scandals surrounding accounting practices, mutual funds, insider trading, executive compensation, and the energy crisis. It's true that there are on-going investigations and reforms that don't necessarily make the headlines every day, but these things need strong political backing, and I believe a Kerry administration will give these matters the attention they deserve.

In his years as a Senator, Kerry distinguished himself in investigating and uncovering the truth in the Iran-Contra affair, the drug trade, money laundering, and the status of Vietnam MIAs and POWs (see David Corn and Sydney Blumenthal). He took the lead on these issues, sometimes alone and without thanks, because of the lessons he learned in Vietnam as well as his own personal integrity. In contrast, the current administration is characterized by its penchant for secrecy and obfuscation. We can do better than that.

In a democracy that prides itself on being a model for all nations, its chief executive should have the kind of commitment to truth and openness that Kerry's record reveals. John Kerry would help salvage some of our faith in our institutions, and that in itself is worth supporting.

Make a contribution or sign up with the campaign.

Good question.

There's been some confusion as to what not placing in the money in these freeroll tournaments and losing lots of big bets on Wednesday means for my overall bankroll situation.

The freerolls don't affect my bankroll at all (esp. since I can't seem to place in the money). These are free multi table tournaments (with cash prizes!) that MultiPoker holds twice a day. Like I've said a few times, my tournament play is lousy, so I usually won't buy in to a cash tournament. And while playing a no fee tournament does introduce an element of wildness, most of the players have thus far been pretty solid. According to HD, MultiPoker advertises a lot in Sweden, thus explaining the fact that 90% or more of the freeroll registrants are Swedish. These guys, for the most part, aren't WPT-wannabes, so I think it's still good practice to play these freerolls.

As for the big loss on Wednesday, that came after two weeks of fairly consistent wins. I'd withdrawn a few hundred dollars since the beginning of July (to pay myself back for my early losses on PokerStars and poker-related purchases), so overall, July is looking good for me. Unfortunately, Wednesday's losses are somewhat crippling, so I'll have to be a bit more careful. I'd prefer not to re-fund the account with my money. OPM's much easier to play with.

The slaughter continues. Early on in the evening I lost nearly half my stack to JN when my flopped queen high flush lost to her king high flush. Ouch. I guess you shouldn't discount beginner's luck. The rest of the evening went on pretty much the same way, with the exception of a medium pot I won with AK. The last hand I played was pocket jacks, which I raised before the flop. I bet after the flop, putting me all-in. CR had pocket queens and flopped a boat with Q55. Then the river showed another queen. That's right. Quads. Wow.

   This week Cumulative

CR   +$3.10   +$2.05

EM   +$3.85   +$6.40

ER   +$3.05   +$3.90

JB   -$4.00   -$5.30

JC   +$1.45   +$8.95

Me   -$5.00   -$8.95

JN   -$2.45   -$2.45

Early on in this morning's freeroll (level 3, BB is 30), I find myself UTG with rockets. I raise to 60, MP2 raises to 90, and MP3 goes over the top. I call and MP2 calls. MP2 had KQo, MP3 had nines, and I swept the pot (2760). I was in good shape.

Then I got moved to another table where I met the luckiest guy in the world. It's level 4, BB is 50, and lucky guy's the chip leader with 260 times the big blind. He's UTG. The next biggest stack is UTG+1, with 65 times the big blind. Lucky guy decides to call, UTG+1 raises to 425, MP1 re-raises to 870 (all-In), Lucky guy calls, UTG+1 re-raises all-in (3275), and Lucky guy calls. Lucky guy has 92o, UTG+1 has KK, and MP1 has JJ. Here's the board: 7 A 9 2 5. Unbelievable. Lucky guy now has 340 times the big blind.

Over the course of several hands, I notice that lucky guy plays almost every hand (at least four of the ten people at our table were away) and either uses his stack to push people around, or pairs a rag for a win. I stay out of his way and resolve to only play the premium hands.

A few levels later, I get a premium hand. I'm in the CO with cowboys. Two people limp (BB is 150) and I raise to 500. Lucky guy is in the big blind and calls. One of the limpers calls and the other folds. Flop is 2 2 J. Lucky guy checks, limper bets 375, and I raise all-in. Was this a mistake? I don't know, I think I was pretty safe with my pre-flop raise. Lucky guy has 9x the chips I have and calls. Limper folds. Lucky guy has pocket fives and I figure I'm good. There are only two cards out there that can help him. He doesn't have any runner-runner flush or straight draws whatsoever. Predictably, the turn flips up a 5 and I bounce in 98th. Lucky guy eventually finishes in the money in 20th place.

Now, I'm sure I could have folded into the money (people get desperate), but who the hell folds cowboys?

I'm pleased to announce that the Gentleman Drinker is now online. Think Oscar Wilde by way of the Banana Republic outlet in Camarillo. The editor is one of our weekly regulars, and if the first post is anything to go by, it's going to be some pretentious ass shit. Sounds good to me. The blogworld could use more pretention and fewer hand histories.

Wow. I got slaughtered today. My bankroll still has a little less than the recommended buy-in at a 1/2 table, but that's only a third of what I started the day with. It was the same story all afternoon and evening. I couldn't catch cards, I couldn't win with the ones I did, and I had odds for all sorts of draws that never materialized. On top of that, I kept ending up at tables with tough players and suckout kings that sent me away crying like a little girl. My VP$IP was pretty damn low: 16.81% And my loss rate pretty damn high: -7.74BB/100 hands over 589 hands.

I think a holiday from poker is in order--online poker, anyway. The weekly game tomorrow night is still on, of course. The worst I can do there is lose the $5.

Two bad plays, two bad beats, and I bounced out in 98th place.

Bad play #1: Hiltons in the big blind, 6 callers. I should have raised before the flop. Flop comes up K-x-x and I fold to a 2.75xBB bet. Winner had pocket sevens. Damn.

Bad play #2: Tens in LP, 4 players. Fold to one small bet after a pair flops with an ace. Turn is a 10. Damn.

Bad beat #1: ATo in the SB, 2 players. Flopped an ace, with a flush draw on the board. I bet 2xBB and the other guy raises 5xBB all-in. I outchip him by 5 times and call. He's Q5s and makes his flush on the river.

Bad beat #2: With about 2xBB left in my stack, I raise all-in in LP with rockets. Two people call, including Mr. Flush from SO#1. His KJo makes a straight on the turn. And I'm out.

Good thing these are freerolls. I clearly need the practice.

In the last few months I've had to deal with crazy spyware on my machine and my sister's machine. It used to be the case that you'd get spyware on your machine by installing a program like Limewire or getting suckered into adding the Bonzi Buddy to your computer. Now visiting the wrong web page with Internet Explorer can get spyware installed without your knowing.

Removing spyware

If you've been infected, you're in for some work. It's like dealing with a flea infestation, without all the vacuuming.

1. Download and install these three free programs: AdAware, Spybot Search & Destroy, HijackThis! AdAware and Spybot S&D are similar, but they each seem to cover some things that the other doesn't, so it's good to get the overlap. HijackThis is a very powerful and dangerous tool. Don't mess around with HJT unless directed to do so by a guru (more on that in a bit).

2. Use AdAware's update function to install all available updates and run a full scan. Then allow it to fix everything it finds. There might be some things which you'll want to keep, but if in doubt, fix it. AdAware might require you to restart your machine.

3. Use Spybot's update function to install all available updates and run a full scan. Be sure to select a mirror located in your country, or you may get a checksum error when downloading the update. Then allow it to fix everything it finds. There might be some things which you'll want to keep, but if in doubt, fix it. Spybot might require you to restart your machine. Spybot also has some Internet Explorer protection features. I've only run into a couple issues with this one, and usually it involves watching some cartoon on the web. Since doing this kind of activity isn't critical to my happiness, I just move on.

4. Run a full anti-virus scan. If you have AV software, make sure the definitions are up to date. If you don't, you can do an online scan at BitDefender or you can install AVG Anti-Virus.

5. Run HijackThis and save the log of what it finds. Do not mark/fix anything until you've gone to The PC Guide Discussion Forums and posted a description of your problem, your prior actions, and the full log file. One of the experts (Budfred's a good one) will go through your log file and give you further instructions. If you're not comfortable with rebooting into safe mode or using a command line to delete files in your windows\system32 directory, recruit someone who is.

That's about it. It's a lot of steps, and it'll take you a few hours to do it, but for the really vicious stuff, it's the only way.

Preventing spyware

There are a couple options:

1. Don't use Internet Explorer. The combination of insecure software and market domination makes IE the target for all kinds of hijinks. Try Mozilla instead.

2. If you're like me, you like using IE (for no good reason). In this case, use Windows Update to get the latest security patches for Windows and IE. Download Spybot S&D and/or SpyWare Blaster and run the protection scheme. Update your virus definitions or get AVG to protect your system.

Good luck.

Yahoo! News - Body Of Woman Found In Rural Area Identified
(PDF of original web page)

Thanks to Iggy.

The problem with having monster sessions is that perfectly respectable ones lose their luster. I know that 7.09BB/100 hands is a good win rate, yet ending up only $32.75 after 3.25 hours of game time somehow feels inadequate. It's not just the money: part of the reason for this feeling is that a lot of my big wins was the result of getting some lucky turn and/or river cards or playing against really really bad players who will call to the showdown or try to bluff with nothing. In the monster session, I usually had my opponents beat from the flop or before the flop. I had a feeling that I was getting and playing the right cards, and got rewarded for it. I guess ultimately I want to win the money and know that I deserved it.

After coming in ninth ($2.50) in this morning's MultiPoker freeroll, I fired up a 1/2 table and played until the afternoon turbo freeroll. Man, I got killed on some hands in a big way. This table was a bit more loose-aggressive than the normal 1/2 tables, and that magnified my losses. After busting out of the afternoon freeroll with pocket jacks (the caller had 9To and flopped a set), I went looking for a second table to try to average out the wins and losses.

I found the best table in the world.

I won 11 of the 94 hands I played, and split a few more. I won 4 of the 10 biggest pots, including the largest one of all:

I ended the day up $66.75, for a win rate of 14.77BB/100 hands.

I still don't know anything about table selection, but I suspect avoiding having multiple loose-aggressives at my table will probably help my win rate quite a bit.

1. Buy under time pressure.
2. Inspect the car without a friend.
3. Forego the dealer inspection.

I followed all three of the steps outlined above, and started paying for it from day one.

Almost as soon as I got the MR2, I noticed a weird periodic grinding noise coming from the rear. Turned out the wheel bearing needed to be replaced. Fuck. That cost about $800 in parts and labor, and I could have avoided it if I had actually taken the car to get the safety inspection done.

The latest drama with the MR2 is a problem with the engine--some kind of periodic clanking sound coming from inside the block. Toyota wanted to charge me a few hundred dollars just to open up the oil pan and figure out what was wrong. Ugh. I took it to two other mechanics and they refused to work on it--the first one said to take it Toyota to get the engine overhauled, the second to get a used engine installed. My dad found a shop in K-town that would do the swap for $1500, which we figured was the best price we were going to find.

Hopefully this engine swap will take care of the remaining problems and keep the car running long enough for me to sell it next year.

Seat 1: EM
Seat 2: JB
Seat 3: JA
Seat 4: MA
Seat 5: Me
Seat 6: JC

JC is the button.

I'm annoyed that I'm slightly down. After my big lead early on, a couple pots and missed flops have whittled away my lead. I look at my cards and decide to play.

JA folds, MA calls, I call, JC folds, EM calls, JB checks.

Flop: K K 4

EM checks, JB checks, MA bets, I call, EM folds, JB folds.

Turn: K

MA bets, I call.

River: 2

MA bets, I raise, MA calls.

I take the pot (9BB).

What did MA have? For that matter, what did I have?

I'll post the answer in the comments section in a day or so.

Finally up. I'd taken the lead earlier in the evening, but one particularly bad pot and some missed flops resulted in a serious degradation of my stack. CR and ER missed this week, but a couple new players showed up in their stead.

   This week Cumulative

EM   -$0.80    +$2.55

JB   +$1.25    -$1.30

JC   +$3.05    +$7.50

Me   +$1.10    -$3.95

JA   -$0.15    -$0.15

MA   -$4.45    -$4.45

After the massive wins (for me) on Sunday and Monday, I signed on Tuesday night fully expecting to make more money. The poker gods had other ideas, and I lost about $25 a day two days in a row. One of the problems was the fact that I was playing really late at night, and Sunday night's 2/4 session notwithstanding, late night play = -EV for me. Also, I wasn't able to play during "prime time" on Tuesday or Wednesday because I was out or watching a movie. I probably should have skipped playing those days altogether.

Still, it's been a good week:

Fri  $38.01
Sat -$15.50
Sun  $37.13
Mon $112.75
Tue  -$5.50
Wed -$50.25
Thu  $22.50

Total: $140, 4.21BB/100 hands.

Weekly home game tonight. Wish me luck.

In the last ten minutes of the Dean-Nader debate I mentioned last week, the host stated that only half the country voted in the 2000 election, and asked the debaters how they would get more people to vote. Nader suggested making Election Day a holiday, same-day voter registration, proportional representation, more candidates, more initiatives, and "binding none of the above." If binding none of the above got more votes than any candidate, then a new election would be held.

Dean strenuously disagreed with Nader's last two proposals. For binding none of the above, he said that we lived in the real world and that people needed to make real choices. Picking none of the above shirks that responsibility. I think Dean makes a good point, and as a practical matter, leaving open the option of holding multiple elections to decide the same offices seems a waste of money. Furthermore, Nader has suggested we implement instant run-off voting, which would seem to be incompatible with this binding none of the above idea.

As for the initiatives, Dean said that the referendum process represented the tyranny of the majority, and that Vermont would not have supported adopting civil unions if it had been left up to a referendum. He went on to cite the initiatives in several states that led to gay marriage bans, denying gay couples the benefits, rights, and responsibilities of straight couples.

I would add that the referendum process is a flawed way to make law. Ballot initiatives are simplistic and inflexible; yes or no votes for a change in the law that may have both good and bad aspects.

For instance, California's Prop 13 protects individuals from property taxes rising above their means to pay, but it provides the same protection to large corporations. Since property owned by individuals changes hands relatively frequently, individuals end up bearing a growing share of the property tax burden. The three strikes initiative was too broad--putting some people away for 20 years for a third, but minor, offense. Other initiatives have locked up the budget, giving our representatives little control over how our funds are allocated, no matter what the economy or current needs are. This is the problem.

In the normal legislative process, we could discuss the proposal and say, "Hey, let's protect individuals on their first homes, but not the corporations or some wealthy person's second home," and then leave some flexibility for adjusting the property tax rate for these other circumstances if there's an insane rise in property prices or the economy's going through a slowdown. In the initiative process, we can't.

Furthermore, initiatives tend to bring out the interest groups and single-issue voters, and thus skews the perception of what the voters want. Nader is dead wrong on this one.

Played 118 hands at the 1/2 tables and made some crazy money: 21.36BB/100 hands at one table, and 48.08BB/100 hands at another. $71 total.

In the first session I think I played the same number of hands as usual (VP$IP of 18.99%), but just made the most of them. In fact, it got to a point where a pre-flop raise or first-in bet on the flop got a bunch of folds around the table, cutting into my win rate.

In the second session I got a good run of cards (VP$IP of 28.21%) and made most of my money from a few select hands: bigger flopped set beating a smaller flopped set, flush on the river beating flopped two pair (he slow-played it), and some others. Yeah. I'd rather be lucky than good.

I also watched HD at the 5/10 short-handed tables. Talk about variance. I don't think I could stomach it myself. That 2/4 session last night was crazy enough as it was. Sure, it paid off, but it could have just as easily left me with nothing, preventing me from making another $71 today.

I think I'll stick to 1/2 for now.

Okay, I'm playing way above my bankroll's limit. And it's 1 in the morning, a time that has never worked out for me. But after losing 24 bucks at the 1/2 tables a little earlier, I decided to see if I could make a quick buck at a higher limit. Good God. People at this table were raising pre-flop a lot, and there were very few showdowns. I got caught in a few situations where I'd fold on the flop or turn, and I have no idea whether or not those people had anything. Thankfully a few hands worked in my favor:

Now I can go to sleep.

Otherwise known as getting lucky with cards and lucky with opponents at the 1/2 tables. A lot of my big hands and medium pairs got hit by the flop or the turn, and I managed to make about $60 or 22.11BB/100 hands. It's been a while since I've pulled off that kind of win rate. And hey, it still feels good.

Biggest pot I won:

Also managed to catch Pauly at an Omaha SNG. Like I told him at the table, Omaha freaks me out. I like playing it, and I think it's good to learn how to play it, but I'm really pretty shitty at figuring out what the hell makes a good hand. Pauly gets props for playing it. Alas, he bubbled out in 4th.

Kinda like my SNG Friday night with JC. Or rather, my second SNG Friday night. JC didn't manage to secure a place in the first one. First hand I get KQ suited or something, and the flop comes up AJ9. I forget the particulars, but I had a straight draw and flush draw and called someone's all-in. They had AK. Turn makes my flush, river makes his boat. Ugh. Out in 10th place, first hand! Something tells me I should avoid tournament play when an entry fee is involved.

My Internet connection's been spotty all day, and getting progressively worse. I sat through two freerolls and some limit ring games with the connection going in and out, in and out. Ugh.

Then it occurred to me just fifteen minutes ago that I ought to restart the modem.

That fixed everything.

So my plan to win some more money at 1/2 on Saturday was shot to hell, but at least I'll have a good connection for tomorrow morning's weekly freeroll.

This might be the best "Presidential-level" debate you'll hear during this campaign:

NPR : Dean, Nader Debate Role of Third Parties

It's also Dean's best debate performance I've heard.

...get hit by the flop in a big way, and manage to have people stay in with crap that doesn't improve.

Another down week for me, and it looks like I'm at the bottom of the pack for these two sessions.

      This week   Cumulative
CR      -$5.00      -$1.05
EM      +$2.05      +$3.35
ER      +$0.25      +$0.85
JB      -$5.00      -$2.55
JC      +$9.45      +$4.45
Me      -$1.75      -$5.05

JC had a monster session, winning approximately 16BB/hr. EM's doing pretty well in the cumulative, too.

KCRW has a new show called Final Curtain. It's fantastic. The writers scour the obituaries for interesting stories and do short pieces on each person. It's really not as morbid as you might think. The show features 100-year old diving champions, freeway engineers, and more...

The archives were getting way too unmanageable, so we switched from weekly to monthly archives. It'll take a couple days or so for Google to catch up with their index.

We're certain you're ecstatic.

No, not them. Kerry and Edwards.

Kerry made the announcement this morning via email.

I like this choice. Edwards made a good impression on voters and the media during his campaign. If the primary season had been longer, he might have been able to use his second place Iowa finish to make more of an impact on New Hampshire or Oklahoma.

Still, his inexperience as a legislator or an executive was a big drawback. And at 50, he was one of the youngest candidates running (Bush turns 58 today, Kerry's over 60). It's probably for the best that Edwards didn't get the nomination.

But none of these things matter when he's running on the ticket. After all, George H.W. Bush won in '88 despite having Quayle as his VP choice. Edwards, on the other hand, is going to bring a good dynamic to the Kerry campaign. He's Southern. He grew up poor and made good. He's quick on his feet and articulate. While Kerry is out talking about national security and jobs, Edwards can talk about poverty and health care. Several polls have indicated that a Kerry-Edwards ticket is the strongest combination against Bush. All of that sounds good to me.

Best of all, after 8 years in the VP seat, Edwards will be primed to run in '12 against any and all comers from the GOP.

Wasn't sure if it were possible, but there you have it.

MultiPoker's Sunday morning freeroll:

I bounced out in 133rd (out of 189) within one or two orbits. Went all-in with KJs; ATo caught an ace on the flop and that was that. He also managed to take down someone with pocket jacks who didn't improve.

We had our fourth no limit tournament last night. Eight players, $10 buy-in with $5 rebuys available in the first two rounds. No one rebought.

This was probably our best tournament yet, in terms of level of play and the action.

Some highlights:

One poor guy in UTG+1 played the hammer and flopped a boat. Unfortunately someone in SB made his boat with pocket queens when a third Hilton made an appearance on the turn. That was painful to see.

On another hand I raised with AQo and got re-raised over the top by someone who had pocket 7s. I called and caught my ace on the flop, and another on the turn, giving me a full boat to her two pair. That turned out really nicely since she had earlier sucked out a set on the river to my paired ace, ten kicker. In fact, I think she had pocket 7s then as well.

After that I had enough chips to push some blinds around and eventually got in the money.

With pocket 7s in the big blind I mistakenly raised $6 against two callers. Should have figured it was a bad idea after what happened to that girl, but.... The button re-raised $10 and I went all-in to find myself against cowboys. I bounced out in third with 20% of the prize money. Serves me right.

The heads-up play was intense. Lots of back and forth, lots of swapping of position. It lasted for at least two and a half rounds or so, and that meant that they were at it for about two hours (I think 45 minutes is way too long--but last time people complained 30 minutes was too short). There were some tough laydowns, and some crazy all-in action: 1) QJ beating AK when the board made a set on the flop and showed a queen on the river; 2) a postflop AXs flush draw beating top two pair on the river. Same guy held both losing hands. At some point pocket 7s lost again. Ugh.

Finally, with $24 in the pot and the buzzer signaling the end of the $3-$6 blinds, the shorter stack went all-in with AJo. Bigger stack called with K6o. K6 caught a 6 on the flop and won half the prize money. Unbelievable. But after the bad beats and suckouts that happened to K6 earlier, this was his due. The poker gods eventually restore balance and +EV.

Good times.

Looks like they made it, and are up to no good:

Watched Starship Troopers again tonight. Great movie.

Critics across the board have pretty much dismissed it as a pro-facist, Melrose Place in space summer blockbuster, but they've got it completely ass-backwards. This is satire, folks. The visual cues of Nazi Germany, from the eagle symbol of the Federation to the uniforms of military intelligence, should have made it obvious to any viewer that the film is trying to make a point. If the characters seem vacuous and bland, it's because the society in which they live have stripped them of their humanity, filling them instead with nonsense about patriotism and the glory of violence. That these would-be "citizens" are devalued as human beings is underscored by the fact that about half of the characters that are introduced in the film are brutally maimed, impaled, or torn apart by the end.

This film is anti-fascist; more than that, it is oddly prescient of the terrorist attacks on the United States and the reaction of the country and our government to those attacks.

Thankfully, the good people at the Digital Bits seem to have their heads screwed on right: