Author: Muttrox

What a game! I mean — wow, that was just amazing! No coherent thoughts right now!

I gave up on updates. Why? Because ever since I started blogging I’ve lost horribly. Last summer, I won more games than I can count. My Wednesday game is still scared out of their wits of me. In my first seven outings I won something like 5 games, 2nd place once, and once out of the money. As soon as I show up, they joke the game is over and get mad when I sit to their left. You, my dear readers, know that I haven’t done anything to be proud of in months and months. It’s been humiliating to get into a big losing streak just I start blogging the details of it. I just couldn’t sit down at the keyboard on another late Wednesday night to write about how I screwed up or got screwed yet again.

Two weeks ago was the kicker. In the second hand of the night, I had K-J suited. I raise, I have one taker. The guy who called me is terrible. He never bluffs, and rarely raises. He doesn’t even try to hide his expression while he looks at his cards. I couldn’t ask for a better opponent. The flop is J-10-9. I raise again. He thinks about it and grudgingly calls. I can’t even write the rest of the hand. It has never been so obvious to me that I had the best hand. I had the aggression, I had the cards, I had the read. Long story short, I bet almost everything. I had read him perfectly, and he caught another 10 on the river, giving him trips and leaving me short stacked. I was first out. The next week was no bad beats, just no cards and nothing happening, another early exit.

Tonight looked like more of the same. In the first hour, I got Q-Q (no one called my raise), K-K (had to fold when an Ace came up, was the right play), 6-6 (got the 3rd six, but no one called me), A-J, A-Q, K-10… just ridiculously good cards. I wasn’t raising much, but it didn’t matter. No one else ever had cards good enough to play.

I got A-A. I was small blind, bet 300 (3x big blind). Big blind grudgingly calls. Flop is 6-8-10. Given how it’s gone so far, I slowplay check. She puts in 100, I call. The turn is 6. Time to muscle, I put in 500. After a lot of thought she calls. The river is nothing special. I bet 500. She calls. She caught her flush on the river. She says she would never played the hand out except she thought I was bluffing. This is depsite the fact I’ve shown all these amazing cards I’ve gotten (to build my rep) and she knows I rarely bluff against her. Argh. I wasn’t too mad at the situation. It was a terrible beat, but it was at least partially because of how I played it, and hey – that’s poker.

There I was short-stacked. Then my luck turned. Yes, I played fairly well tonight, but it was mostly luck. I went all in with A-10. He had A-J, I got my 10. It was a good sign.

Blinds have just gone to 250-500. I have a pair of 10s. I bet 1500, 3 callers. Flop is 3-5-7. Everyone checks. I want to force everyone off my pot! I put in 1500. Two of them stay with me, one of them is all in. I think the one who went all in has me beat. I figure the other one to have overcards. Turn is another 3. I put the other guy all-in. I don’t want to give his overcards a chance to pair up. But he doesn’t have much less, he’s forced to call. I figure I’m going to lose the big pot, and hopefully make a little something back on the small one. We flip up our cards. Yep, the overcards are A-K. The other guy has 7-7, giving him trips. In the middle of his war whoop the river gives me a third 10 for the win. Heh heh!

I go all in with K-J, she had A-J. I got my K. When we got to heads up, I went all in 2-2. She paired an overcard on the turn, I got a third 2 on the river. All in all I think I was on the lucky end of five or six bad beats.

The final hand I had 3-3. She called my all-in with big slick (A-K). She got three more aces on the board, now that is winning with style!

Man, I write a lot when it’s about good beats!

Tonight: $50
Overall: -$4

They are my new favorite band. I watched them on Saturday Night Live. After their first song I said, “I liked every note of that. These guys are good.” I felt the same way after their second song.

Here’s the one that sold me.

Illustrated guide to the police for children (read the text)

Every Simpsons Couch gag, in one continuous video

Childtrader.com: A brilliant parody site. Yes, it’s a parody.

Fetish chart. Something is more than a little wrong with the mind that made this.

On the Implausibility of the Death Star’s Trash Compactor.

Dear 19 year old neighbor kid whom I’m paying eight bucks an hour to dig trenches:

Mr. Right is here ladies!

A inside account of the rules of baseball fighting

Blind obedience

Time to rethink the company logo

A compilation of Reagan’s wit. Give him his due, that’s a funny guy.

Chris Matthews destroys, just destroys, a right-wing gasbag.

How did Obama get all the money? This article examines this under-reported aspect of his success.

I can’t believe I actually called this one right!

Boy, we look like a completely different team when Allen is hitting his shots. Rondo and Garnett and Perkins call all be mediocre and it doesn’t matter. That’s the nice thing about having the big three. They don’t all have to be on every night. Any two will do. For the most part, my analysis last week still holds, so I won’t add much.

I’m glad we’re playing Los Angeles. Not because of the historical Lakers-Celtics stuff, though that is a bonus. I think we have a better chance against them than we do against San Antonio. Fundamentally, the Lakers are a one player team, similar to Cleveland. Sure Pau Gasol is a great player. But if you can shut down Kobe, you shut down the Lakers. There are no other huge weapons to speak of. The Spurs have two or three big players depending how you count. You can triple team Duncan, but someone else will show up and kill you. Who’s going to do it on the Lakers?

Against Cleveland, you shut down LeBron you shut down the team. Sure Ilgauskis might hurt you, Wallace might hurt you, but you’ll take your chances with them. Similarly, I’ll take my chances with Odom, Walton, and Derek Fisher. (And remember that LA won game 4 under shaky circumstances. I think they still would have won, but it was not truly a 4-1 victory, it probably would have been a 4-2 victory like ours.)

Of course, this all assumes that we can shut Kobe down. Even the best defensive team of the decade is going to have a big challenge with that. Holy cow that guy is amazing.

While in recovery, a photography firm that works with the hospital tried to sell us their services. They were working with the hospital, they were allowed personal and direct access to the room and patients. It’s must be a good business. Those announcement cards cost money. And especially with a first child, you naturally want to treasure every moment.

For some reason we were given a form. The form must be filled out, with the appropriate section completed to accept or refuse the photography. Yes, we had to fill out paperwork to refuse an upsell. We even had to have a witness! We didn’t need a witness to cover what happened if the epidural paralyzed Mrs. Muttrox for life, but we did for this. I wonder what would have happened if we hadn’t signed anything. Would we have been stuck at the hospital, never to leave the grounds, a new century’s Charlie on the MTA? Would photographers have snuck up on us in the hall, sneaking shots like papparazzi and then charging us $200 for them?

They took our answer of no graciously, and left two copies of the form. Why do I need copies of this form? I will file it under “D”. For donut.

In unrelated nuttiness, one of the nurses was named Joyce DeWitt. No relation I assume.

You may have seen some coverage of Clinton’s enormous “gaffe” regarding Bobby Kennedy. Oh, it was so outrageous. Oh, it was so tasteless. Oh, it just shows what an uncaring manipulative crone she is!

Watch the actual video.

So, what exactly is the problem? She is clearly referring to the fact that Kennedy was still campaigning in June. There is no judgment made about the assasination, just stating the facts.

It doesn’t matter anymore, she’s done and done, but it is yet one more example of the bull she has had to put up with the whole campaign. McCain can say that he directed Oceans 11 and no one will blink an eye. If Hilary mentions that she likes cereal for breakfast, the media will find a reason to rake her over the coals for it.

Update: Just found this – Krugman nailing it as usual, Andrew Sullivan having a psychopathic hissy fit as usual.

Elise was born very very early Sunday morning, May 25th. She’s 7 lbs, 19 inches, and a whole lot of beautiful. She was a few days early, which took us by surprise. For instance, Daddy had been planning to study up on the labor phases on Sunday, which seemed like plenty of time for a planned Wednesday birth. Instead, we were in the hospital late on Saturday night. I remembered there was something about breathing and visualization and stuff, that was it. Fortunately, Mrs. Muttrox is an old pro at this and it didn’t matter. The delivery was quick and easy. At least from where I was sitting. She didn’t even mind that I watched the Celtics game between contractions.

Seriously, Mom is in fine shape, resting easy. We are doing great and are delighted with our new addition.

Way to go boys! I watched most of the game, but I was very distracted. More details on that coming up.

Warning: Spoilers ahead. Don’t read if you don’t want to know what happens.

This was a lot of fun. Was it fun because it’s one of our last nights out before the baby comes, or was it genuinely fun? I think the latter. Much like the first one there was hardly ever a rest of more than two minutes before the action got going again. Marion comes back again (she was great), the music, the jumps, the Nazis – it’s all there.

And yet, it didn’t hold together. None of them hold together that well, but this one in particular. It was next to impossible to suspend disbelief. Within the first twenty minutes, Indiana Jones survives a nuclear bomb. Yes, that’s right, a nuclear bomb. How? By climbing in a lead-lined refrigerator, which is thrown end over end for miles. When I.J. gets out, he seems a little bruised. If this made any sense, when the government found this out they would train the populace in how to survive a nuclear blast this way. Why didn’t they? Because it’s ridiculous.

This was typical of the plot. New elements would be introduced and then forgotten about. Complications were thrown in for no apparent reason. The central secret (SPOILERS!) deals with an interdimensional alien. Who is one being incorporated into thirteen bodies. Why? No reason. Just seemed cool to have thirteen bodies in the movie. It has no effect on the plot. Why is it interdimensional instead of normal space travel? No reason. Just seemed cool to have dimensions. What kind of dimensions? Who knows. No one seems curious enough to ask. The mind control that the alien has? Forgotten about. Besides creating some kind of link in their insane guide (who used to be their best friend but no one seems to be emotionally distraught about it) that little plot line is never heard from again. We even see the Ark again in this movie. It’s funny, but you kind of think that might some reprecussions? The McCarthy era red-hunting plot is unnecessary. The natives attacking Indy as he explores their ruins are unnecessary and never seen again. The actions of his friend and betrayer are inconsistent and don’t add up. Etc.

At one point, Jones is captured and being lectured about mind control. He sneeringly dismisses the whole idea, “I don’t believe in that stuff, that’s just a legend!” Just a legend? Really? This is the same guy who has personally witnessed the power of The Lord! This is a man who has personally met King Arthur’s knight, held The Holy Grail and again witnessed the power of the Almighty! But a legend!? That’s crazy talk lady!

Check your brain at the door and then you’ll enjoy it.

Well, that didn’t go like planned. I guess we need to steal one. I am optimistic we will.

A few notes after watching every playoff game:

* Perkins picks up dumb fouls. After a switch, he will often find himself on a guard. He’ll try for a steal as they blow past him, and pick up a foul. You’re a center, don’t try to be quicker than a guard!
* Rondo has got to shoot. Every commentator has been saying this throughout the playoffs. It is absolutely killing our offense that he doesn’t need to be guarded. It was understandable against Cleveland. After getting blocked by Ilguaskus and Wallace a dozen times it’s no wonder he didn’t want to penetrate. But his is not Cleveland. Rondo can penetrate and finish the play himself. Instead he looks scared to get near any defender.
* Allen has been an obvious liability. I hope he has finally found his shot again and last night was the comeback. Sadly, he was one of the reasons we lost last night. Hamilton would come around multiple screens and Allen could not keep up. Hamilton was wide open, allowing him to shoot drive or pass easily. C’mon Ray, keep up!
* What happened to my Leon Powe? True, his team defense needs work. But this is a guy who good thing always seemed to happen around. Quick steals, cheap rebounds, drawing charges… what happened to all that?
* Garnett is amazing. I do not hold it against him that he does not have a higher level. He doesn’t have a higher level because he is always playing at 100%. I wish he was more aggressive, but it seems childish to demand that he be something he isn’t. It’s enough that he’s a very very good player, he doesn’t have to be legendary.
* I’ve always loved Pierce. I hate the commentators talking about he just discovered defense. He has always been a great defensive player. But what’s the point when you’re playing with a bunch of scrubs? I suspect that as much as Garnett brought the defensive attitude, Pierce was the first to buy into it.
* I am sick of Big Baby Davis. He looks worse every game. Every move he makes seems lacking in technique. He’s always a half-second slow, two inches short, slightly out of position, etc. If he would quit playing like a spaz and settle down, he could be very good.

Call me optimistic, but I think we match up better against Detroit than we did against Cleveland. Detroit doesn’t have any superstars, just a lot of good players. They play good team ball, both on offense and defense. It sounds a lot like us. Except we have more raw talent. I think the Celtics finally get that road game victory and put them away in 6.