So I was thinking the other day...the life of a postal carrier sounds pretty good, for a mindless job. Just cruising around all day dropping mail off. It'd be especially nice in LA, where perfect weather would make that "rain, sleet, snow" crap pretty meaningless.
The only weird part about doing the mail thing is how the passenger side and driver's side are inverted. That's a little strange, but I guess no big deal. Still, it got me thinking.
I haven't been to London, but I imagine if I go it will be a bit tricky driving. I won't be used to the fact that they drive on the other side of the road. The fact, however, that the driver's side will be flipped, will make a bit of sense to me, its the passenger side that is the right direction in which to be driving both here and there, right?
But what if you're a mailman visiting London and you rent a car.
Now, instead of there being two strange things to deal with - driving on the other side of the road and sitting on the other side of the car to drive. There's only one, driving on the other side of the road. So is it easier? I postulate that it's harder. I think this is so because of the value of the symmetry between driver's side and side of the road. Once that symmetry is broken, it has to be very confusing for a postal worker.
So if you're a mailman planning a trip to London - get a designated driver. Oh, and stay the fuck away from roundabouts!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
Black Friday (or why the unexamined life ain't worth shit)
Well, Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
Thanksgiving, as usual, was great. Most people think vegetarians don't like thanksgiving because they can't have turkey. That may be true for some of them, but I loveee thanksgiving because of "all the trimmings." This year Janessa made all I need in a good meal: mashed potatoes, yummy stuffing with cranberries, cranberry sauce, lima beans and biscuits. MMMM. Awesome. She's amazing, clearly I'm the winner in THIS marriage. :)
Tofurky? Not so much. As Janessa put it to me, why would a vegetarian want something that tastes like meat? I guess some are vegetarians for health reasons, but you would think you'd lose the taste for that stuff pretty quick. Lord knows, I have. But I guess I wasn't eating Tofurky all those years... Anyways, I never liked turkey even when I ate meat. So why start now?
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. No, not just for the food (a plus), or the company (a ++), but because it seems like the only genuine, non-religious holiday left. It's true that thanksgiving started with the pilgrims giving thanks to God, but giving thanks is not confined to monotheism, thankfully. No, thanksgiving is, ideally, the day when people come together to break bread, share each other's companies, and reflect on their lives and give thanks for however much or however little they have. That's a pretty positive message especially when juxtaposed against the other big nonreligious holiday - Christmas. Black Friday? Yea, I read today that a Walmart employee was KILLED when shoppers rushed into a store and trampled on him. Now THAT's a holiday.
Anyway, taking time to reflect on things is an activity criminally underutilized in this world. The mindless zombie consumer stuff really proves the old saying that the unexamined life just ain't worth shit.
Anything that shakes people up for even a few moments is a good thing, in my opinion. Last night we watched a film called What Would Jesus Buy, all about a man named Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Church Choir, who traveled cross-country last year doing activist events against consumerism in places like Starbucks in California, the Wal-Mart headquarters in Arkansas, and Mall of America in Minnesota. Fantastic stuff. Reverend Billy looks like a southern preacher and acts like it in a kind-of pitch-perfect impression complete with grunting and flailing.
Finally, a religion worth joining.
The best part about this kind of thing is that it breaks up the routines people go through. They never question a thing about where the products they buy come from - and this type of thing wakes them up from their slumber, even if just for a second, and that's invaluable.
I think the corporate economy benefits enormously from mindless behavior. Indeed, I think it actively exploits American potential to mindlessly behave and that television and mass-entertainment are major pieces of the blinders we've all started to wear. Look straight ahead for good, clean value and ignore that evil, peripheral vision. Things are black and white, not gray, and we've got all three on sale now in the menswear section.
All of these distractions successfully train us to be a good corporate citizen. We get fat because we never stop to think about what we are eating and because we eat too much, both because we're distracted (watching TV while we eat) and because marketers know how to assist this behavior. We don't exercise much because we're too busy with TV, flicks, video games, and cell phones. And that's what they want, good, passive, fat people. There aren't many better people to buy useless shit than passive, fat people.
I know none of this is news to thinking people, and that none of it is really original, but that doesn't mean it's not true, and that doesn't mean its not a problem. The Bush Administration really accelerated this dumbing down of America, of course, with its disgusting emphasis on consumerism (patriotism is spending more money than you have! a Patriot is a big SUV! No metaphor there. [or truth]).
To name a guz-guzzling overwrought SUV piece-of-shit the "Patriot" is something that defies satire. The "Patriot" is a living expression of American retardation.
Although the media and corporate culture take advantage of and reinforce passivity, they don't wholly create it (though they are advertising to younger and younger kids, which is, in itself, disturbing). Schools and parents (ignorance should not be an inherited characteristic) have a lot to do with this.
We really need an entirely new model for education, one that focuses not on retention but on understanding. Law Schools teach the type of thinking I'm talking about - CRITICAL thinking - and without it, we are doomed and lost to wander from Starbucks to Starbucks. Critical thinking is the perfect example of that old truism: "teach a man to fish." That's what it's really all about, and I strongly believe critical thinking skills should be a major part of the curriciulum from the beginning of school onward.
I was fortunate enough to gain some of these because I was in gifted in elementary school and my gifted program focused on critical thinking skills. What wonderful luck! I want everyone else to be so fortunate.
In any case, despite all the things I learned in Gifted, it was a loooong time ago, and there are still plenty of important things that I did not or could not have learned back then that I wish I could have learned in school. Strangely, most of these skills and thinking models have come to me in the past few years. Even more strangely, they've come, in my opinion, as a direct result of my intense participation in no limit texas hold'em tournaments, primarily online.
What particular skills and attributes am I thinking of? Here's an incomplete list:
Simple and domplex decisionmaking & problem solving, when to use either and which variables to apply in both
Patience/calm and centeredness
Long-term perspective/keeping ego in check
Planning and thinking ahead
Thinking on your feet
The critical nature of observation and of paying attention in general
Pattern-recognition and exploitation
The value of assertiveness
The value of position
Understanding how different people think and what their motivations may be
Discipline.
to name a few.
I'm not an expert by any means, I'm an amateur, but I'm a profitable one, and I've played in well over 10,000 tournaments online, which is a drop in the bucket for many people, but enough that I feel I understand the above values. I'm going to address each of these (and whatever else comes to me) in turn in coming blogs.
My hope is to articulate the value of the particular knowledge and show how each skill is a vital part of the toolbox of any critical thinker. I will give examples of how each skill has enabled me to make better choices in my daily life, in a variety of aspects, from interpersonal relationships to self-restraint to attitudes toward daily stressers. In the end, I will make a case that a poker curriculum would be a powerful and effective way to improve elementary and secondary education and develop better, more-informed citizens, less prone to running over customers to get that $700 plasma.
-Rob
Thanksgiving, as usual, was great. Most people think vegetarians don't like thanksgiving because they can't have turkey. That may be true for some of them, but I loveee thanksgiving because of "all the trimmings." This year Janessa made all I need in a good meal: mashed potatoes, yummy stuffing with cranberries, cranberry sauce, lima beans and biscuits. MMMM. Awesome. She's amazing, clearly I'm the winner in THIS marriage. :)
Tofurky? Not so much. As Janessa put it to me, why would a vegetarian want something that tastes like meat? I guess some are vegetarians for health reasons, but you would think you'd lose the taste for that stuff pretty quick. Lord knows, I have. But I guess I wasn't eating Tofurky all those years... Anyways, I never liked turkey even when I ate meat. So why start now?
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. No, not just for the food (a plus), or the company (a ++), but because it seems like the only genuine, non-religious holiday left. It's true that thanksgiving started with the pilgrims giving thanks to God, but giving thanks is not confined to monotheism, thankfully. No, thanksgiving is, ideally, the day when people come together to break bread, share each other's companies, and reflect on their lives and give thanks for however much or however little they have. That's a pretty positive message especially when juxtaposed against the other big nonreligious holiday - Christmas. Black Friday? Yea, I read today that a Walmart employee was KILLED when shoppers rushed into a store and trampled on him. Now THAT's a holiday.
Anyway, taking time to reflect on things is an activity criminally underutilized in this world. The mindless zombie consumer stuff really proves the old saying that the unexamined life just ain't worth shit.
Anything that shakes people up for even a few moments is a good thing, in my opinion. Last night we watched a film called What Would Jesus Buy, all about a man named Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Church Choir, who traveled cross-country last year doing activist events against consumerism in places like Starbucks in California, the Wal-Mart headquarters in Arkansas, and Mall of America in Minnesota. Fantastic stuff. Reverend Billy looks like a southern preacher and acts like it in a kind-of pitch-perfect impression complete with grunting and flailing.
Finally, a religion worth joining.The best part about this kind of thing is that it breaks up the routines people go through. They never question a thing about where the products they buy come from - and this type of thing wakes them up from their slumber, even if just for a second, and that's invaluable.
I think the corporate economy benefits enormously from mindless behavior. Indeed, I think it actively exploits American potential to mindlessly behave and that television and mass-entertainment are major pieces of the blinders we've all started to wear. Look straight ahead for good, clean value and ignore that evil, peripheral vision. Things are black and white, not gray, and we've got all three on sale now in the menswear section.
All of these distractions successfully train us to be a good corporate citizen. We get fat because we never stop to think about what we are eating and because we eat too much, both because we're distracted (watching TV while we eat) and because marketers know how to assist this behavior. We don't exercise much because we're too busy with TV, flicks, video games, and cell phones. And that's what they want, good, passive, fat people. There aren't many better people to buy useless shit than passive, fat people.
I know none of this is news to thinking people, and that none of it is really original, but that doesn't mean it's not true, and that doesn't mean its not a problem. The Bush Administration really accelerated this dumbing down of America, of course, with its disgusting emphasis on consumerism (patriotism is spending more money than you have! a Patriot is a big SUV! No metaphor there. [or truth]).
To name a guz-guzzling overwrought SUV piece-of-shit the "Patriot" is something that defies satire. The "Patriot" is a living expression of American retardation. I'm hopeful that an Obama administration will change this direction, however it won't do it all, there needs to be an effort on the part of people to change their lives if this economy or this world is going to get on the right track again. I'm not saying that television and movies are bad and not worth watching, necessarily. But it's like alcohol - some people can handle it responsibly and some can't. It doesn't mean you should regulate it, but it does mean people need to be REMINDED to THINK now and again. Or even that THINKING is good, a controversial idea in recent days.
Although the media and corporate culture take advantage of and reinforce passivity, they don't wholly create it (though they are advertising to younger and younger kids, which is, in itself, disturbing). Schools and parents (ignorance should not be an inherited characteristic) have a lot to do with this.
We really need an entirely new model for education, one that focuses not on retention but on understanding. Law Schools teach the type of thinking I'm talking about - CRITICAL thinking - and without it, we are doomed and lost to wander from Starbucks to Starbucks. Critical thinking is the perfect example of that old truism: "teach a man to fish." That's what it's really all about, and I strongly believe critical thinking skills should be a major part of the curriciulum from the beginning of school onward.
I was fortunate enough to gain some of these because I was in gifted in elementary school and my gifted program focused on critical thinking skills. What wonderful luck! I want everyone else to be so fortunate.
In any case, despite all the things I learned in Gifted, it was a loooong time ago, and there are still plenty of important things that I did not or could not have learned back then that I wish I could have learned in school. Strangely, most of these skills and thinking models have come to me in the past few years. Even more strangely, they've come, in my opinion, as a direct result of my intense participation in no limit texas hold'em tournaments, primarily online.
What particular skills and attributes am I thinking of? Here's an incomplete list:
Simple and domplex decisionmaking & problem solving, when to use either and which variables to apply in both
Patience/calm and centeredness
Long-term perspective/keeping ego in check
Planning and thinking ahead
Thinking on your feet
The critical nature of observation and of paying attention in general
Pattern-recognition and exploitation
The value of assertiveness
The value of position
Understanding how different people think and what their motivations may be
Discipline.
to name a few.
I'm not an expert by any means, I'm an amateur, but I'm a profitable one, and I've played in well over 10,000 tournaments online, which is a drop in the bucket for many people, but enough that I feel I understand the above values. I'm going to address each of these (and whatever else comes to me) in turn in coming blogs.
My hope is to articulate the value of the particular knowledge and show how each skill is a vital part of the toolbox of any critical thinker. I will give examples of how each skill has enabled me to make better choices in my daily life, in a variety of aspects, from interpersonal relationships to self-restraint to attitudes toward daily stressers. In the end, I will make a case that a poker curriculum would be a powerful and effective way to improve elementary and secondary education and develop better, more-informed citizens, less prone to running over customers to get that $700 plasma.
-Rob
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Star struck by A.D. Miles (or Sarah Silverman has a rash)
So true believers - I have an amazing story to tell.
In the past few months I've become quite enamored with the work of A.D. Miles, a young comedian who I've been noticing in a lot of people's work that I've liked, for example he was in Role Models (the tall redhead who took a shit in the woods), and has been featured on Tim and Eric, Awesome Show, Great Job! (My favorite show)... also he has a web series, a parody of soap operas which is available at http://www.mydamnchannel.com entitled "Horrible People." This shit is seriously funny and made me poop my pants numerous times.
Anyway, because of all this and because of the peripheral roles A.D. Miles often gets, I often notice him in the background of scenes and indicate to Janessa - "A.D. Miles...A.D. Miles," at which point we verify it is him (easy to do since he's tall, skinny, and redheaded), and happily move on..
So, last night me and the lady attended Sarah Silverman's standup show in LA at Club Nokia. It was a fine show, but way more important than the show is what happened in line PRIOR to the show. We were standing in the line waiting for the doors to open, and I was facing toward the back of the line while Janessa was facing me and the box office which was to the right of the line.
When holy shit. My heart froze, I could barely get words out, finally I muttered excitedly (and loudly) A...D...MILES...OMG ITS AD MILES!! (Literally I said "O-M-G" I'm such a nerd).
True story - it was totally him. He went to the box office, got tix and walked toward the back of the line. I was freaked out and honest-to-god starstruck. Janessa encouraged me to talk to him, but I didn't have the nerve. I think I was more nervous about him than I would have been if like Brad Pitt or someone had walked by. Seriously. The amazing part was, no one else in the line even noticed him. Janessa got a good look at him and confirmed that I was not hallucinating. Also, it makes sense because he lives in LA and, logically, would like Sarah Silverman. But anyway, I hate to make a fuss and embarass people. And I'm a pussy.
I eventually got the courage to walk to the back of the line to see if he was still there and congratulate him on his web series success. He wasn't. I assume he went in through some "celebrity-webseries-godman VIP" entrance. Anyway, easily the highlight of the night.
I mean honestly, wouldn't YOU be starstruck by this beautiful mug?
Club NOKIA is pretty lame, you guys. The venue itself was OK, but we were stuck in the "lower balcony" which was weird because there was only one balcony. OK, we were in the lower part of it, I guess, but where do they draw the line? Row M? Just weird. Also we couldn't sit down for like 20 minutes because the curtain was in front of the balcony and they had to figure out how to get it up. Not real clear on why this was such an issue, especially given that there had been a 6:30pm show already that evening (we went to the 9:30pm). Anyways, once we sat down it was cool. Our pimping lower balcony seat was at least in the center of the row, and the place is pretty small so the view was good. Or so we thought.
Sarah had friends of her from her show open for her. The first one was Mark Cohen, a standup who plays her dad on the show. Hideous. Not funny, just obnxoius. Fine, he wasn't on long.
Brian Agee came on next. He was pretty funny. I like him. In case you don't know he's the OTHER huge gay guy on the show besides Brian. He showed us some video he supposedly submitted to Comedy Central to secure his place on Sarah's show. It might have been funny. I really don't know. We couldn't see shit.
The good people at Club Nokia decided to have video screens, three in fact, but not to put them high in the air (too logical) but rather close the ground. The effect was that they were NOT visible from our seats, but only to people on the floor or in the very front of our balcony (the lower-lower balcony??). Gay. We could see them when we stood up, but still...gay.
Brian P. was next and he was hilarious. Probably the funniest guy of the night. Check out his CD "Nerd Rage" - its also quite good.
Sarah was next and she was OK, but it was clear she was super distracted. For one thing she claimed to have a rash all over her body. I believe her...because it seemed real and because she was scratching a lot before she said anything and not at incredibly obvious points either. Another problem: she was convinced there were earthquakes happening and virtually no one knew wtf she was talking about.
As it turns out, the club is on level 3 of a big building, level 2 of which is inhabited by a place called "Lucky Strikes" - what appeared to us to be a combo bar/restaurant/bowling alley - where they were having their grand opening. So she was feeling the bowling through the stage, obviously. But it was still weird.
Her set was ok. Most if it had been integrated into episodes of her show, so it was weird she repeated it, since you have to figure 90% of her audience watches that show. She also performed songs, all of which had been in her show or movie. They were ok. The thing is, between her distractions and her already slow and strange pacing, it was kinda boring. Not terrible, just not super great.
It wasn't helped by the crowd, 75% of which seemed to be functionally retarded. I'm glad they are getting out without the aid of doctors, but I wish they wouldn't sit next to me. Goddamn. The guy on Janessa's right kept yelling out "WOOOO!" at entirely inappropriate moments. Which was pretty gay. To be honest though, even at appropriate moments, I fail to understand the "WOOOO!". Did you not get enough attention from your parents? I mean WTF... Steve says he sat at home on his couch and smoked weed a lot and got a "WOOOO!" the thinking obviously being (OMG I DO THAT TOOO WOOOOOOOO HE IS AWESOME!). WTF. Shit, even if I felt like a "WOO" inside, I'd never do it. I think people that do are supergay. I guess that's one big reason I married Janessa. No woo. No woo potential. Just not a crazy person. Big plus for me.
Then the stupid bitch on my left was yelling at the TOP OF HER LUNGS right into my ears constantly. Well, not constantly, the rest of the time she was LOUDLY explaining the jokes to her boyfriend who seemed befuddled by the whole thing. That itself was weird. There were numerous people at the show who seemed shocked at the scatelogical content of the show. WTF, even her emmy nominated song is full of profanity. What'd you expect? Anyway, loudly explaining the show, wooing wayyy too fucking loud, etc...I was about 5 minutes away from punching her out and then repeatedly beating her to death with my irritated junk.
Thank god the show ended then, and we went home.
Anyway, I <3 you A.D. Miles. I know you'll never read this, but I swear to god, the next time I randomly see you somewhere I will approach you and embarass the shit out of you. Provided I've had some alcohol, or can get some reasonably fast.
Baby Batter 4 Life, Dawg.
In the past few months I've become quite enamored with the work of A.D. Miles, a young comedian who I've been noticing in a lot of people's work that I've liked, for example he was in Role Models (the tall redhead who took a shit in the woods), and has been featured on Tim and Eric, Awesome Show, Great Job! (My favorite show)... also he has a web series, a parody of soap operas which is available at http://www.mydamnchannel.com entitled "Horrible People." This shit is seriously funny and made me poop my pants numerous times.
Anyway, because of all this and because of the peripheral roles A.D. Miles often gets, I often notice him in the background of scenes and indicate to Janessa - "A.D. Miles...A.D. Miles," at which point we verify it is him (easy to do since he's tall, skinny, and redheaded), and happily move on..
So, last night me and the lady attended Sarah Silverman's standup show in LA at Club Nokia. It was a fine show, but way more important than the show is what happened in line PRIOR to the show. We were standing in the line waiting for the doors to open, and I was facing toward the back of the line while Janessa was facing me and the box office which was to the right of the line.
When holy shit. My heart froze, I could barely get words out, finally I muttered excitedly (and loudly) A...D...MILES...OMG ITS AD MILES!! (Literally I said "O-M-G" I'm such a nerd).
True story - it was totally him. He went to the box office, got tix and walked toward the back of the line. I was freaked out and honest-to-god starstruck. Janessa encouraged me to talk to him, but I didn't have the nerve. I think I was more nervous about him than I would have been if like Brad Pitt or someone had walked by. Seriously. The amazing part was, no one else in the line even noticed him. Janessa got a good look at him and confirmed that I was not hallucinating. Also, it makes sense because he lives in LA and, logically, would like Sarah Silverman. But anyway, I hate to make a fuss and embarass people. And I'm a pussy.
I eventually got the courage to walk to the back of the line to see if he was still there and congratulate him on his web series success. He wasn't. I assume he went in through some "celebrity-webseries-godman VIP" entrance. Anyway, easily the highlight of the night.
I mean honestly, wouldn't YOU be starstruck by this beautiful mug?Club NOKIA is pretty lame, you guys. The venue itself was OK, but we were stuck in the "lower balcony" which was weird because there was only one balcony. OK, we were in the lower part of it, I guess, but where do they draw the line? Row M? Just weird. Also we couldn't sit down for like 20 minutes because the curtain was in front of the balcony and they had to figure out how to get it up. Not real clear on why this was such an issue, especially given that there had been a 6:30pm show already that evening (we went to the 9:30pm). Anyways, once we sat down it was cool. Our pimping lower balcony seat was at least in the center of the row, and the place is pretty small so the view was good. Or so we thought.
Sarah had friends of her from her show open for her. The first one was Mark Cohen, a standup who plays her dad on the show. Hideous. Not funny, just obnxoius. Fine, he wasn't on long.
Brian Agee came on next. He was pretty funny. I like him. In case you don't know he's the OTHER huge gay guy on the show besides Brian. He showed us some video he supposedly submitted to Comedy Central to secure his place on Sarah's show. It might have been funny. I really don't know. We couldn't see shit.
The good people at Club Nokia decided to have video screens, three in fact, but not to put them high in the air (too logical) but rather close the ground. The effect was that they were NOT visible from our seats, but only to people on the floor or in the very front of our balcony (the lower-lower balcony??). Gay. We could see them when we stood up, but still...gay.
Brian P. was next and he was hilarious. Probably the funniest guy of the night. Check out his CD "Nerd Rage" - its also quite good.
Sarah was next and she was OK, but it was clear she was super distracted. For one thing she claimed to have a rash all over her body. I believe her...because it seemed real and because she was scratching a lot before she said anything and not at incredibly obvious points either. Another problem: she was convinced there were earthquakes happening and virtually no one knew wtf she was talking about.
As it turns out, the club is on level 3 of a big building, level 2 of which is inhabited by a place called "Lucky Strikes" - what appeared to us to be a combo bar/restaurant/bowling alley - where they were having their grand opening. So she was feeling the bowling through the stage, obviously. But it was still weird.
Her set was ok. Most if it had been integrated into episodes of her show, so it was weird she repeated it, since you have to figure 90% of her audience watches that show. She also performed songs, all of which had been in her show or movie. They were ok. The thing is, between her distractions and her already slow and strange pacing, it was kinda boring. Not terrible, just not super great.
It wasn't helped by the crowd, 75% of which seemed to be functionally retarded. I'm glad they are getting out without the aid of doctors, but I wish they wouldn't sit next to me. Goddamn. The guy on Janessa's right kept yelling out "WOOOO!" at entirely inappropriate moments. Which was pretty gay. To be honest though, even at appropriate moments, I fail to understand the "WOOOO!". Did you not get enough attention from your parents? I mean WTF... Steve says he sat at home on his couch and smoked weed a lot and got a "WOOOO!" the thinking obviously being (OMG I DO THAT TOOO WOOOOOOOO HE IS AWESOME!). WTF. Shit, even if I felt like a "WOO" inside, I'd never do it. I think people that do are supergay. I guess that's one big reason I married Janessa. No woo. No woo potential. Just not a crazy person. Big plus for me.
Then the stupid bitch on my left was yelling at the TOP OF HER LUNGS right into my ears constantly. Well, not constantly, the rest of the time she was LOUDLY explaining the jokes to her boyfriend who seemed befuddled by the whole thing. That itself was weird. There were numerous people at the show who seemed shocked at the scatelogical content of the show. WTF, even her emmy nominated song is full of profanity. What'd you expect? Anyway, loudly explaining the show, wooing wayyy too fucking loud, etc...I was about 5 minutes away from punching her out and then repeatedly beating her to death with my irritated junk.
Thank god the show ended then, and we went home.
Anyway, I <3 you A.D. Miles. I know you'll never read this, but I swear to god, the next time I randomly see you somewhere I will approach you and embarass the shit out of you. Provided I've had some alcohol, or can get some reasonably fast.
Baby Batter 4 Life, Dawg.
Friday, November 21, 2008
I have a blog?
Wow it's been awhile.
It's not like much has happened since March in the world, right?
Have I missed anything?
Wow.
Well, obviously, we have a black president named Barack Hussein Obama. As many of you faithful readers know, I am gay for Obama (megagay in fact, rest-stop gloryhole gay!) so this makes me very happy. Indeed, I finally have the rallying point to motivate me to become a United States citizen. As promised, I have completed the application and am mailing it out in a few days. Exciting stuff.
There's tons more to talk about politically and economically (UGH!) but I'll get to that in another blog (hopefully in less than 6 months this time). This one's personal.
Let's see, on July 12th, 2008, I married the lovely Janessa Lazon in a beautiful ceremony in Berkeley, California. The ceremony was in a redwood grove on the Berkeley campus and the reception was at a lovely restaurant called Adagia right across the street from the law school from whence I matriculated. Janessa planned 95% of things and, as usual, did an amazing job. Everything was perfect, we had a wonderful time and our familes got along famously. I always thought weddings were ubercheesy and lame and scripted and more for families than for the people getting married - but ours was different. We planned it (well, Janessa did with my input) and it reflected who we are as people, which made it feel much better.
The restaurant served all organic, vegetarian cuisine, which many of our family members prospectively complained about - but all loved when they actually ate it. Instead of cake, Janessa got a ton of cupcakes made so that people could have different flavor choices and so that we could accomodate dietary restrictions. Also, Janessa wore an absolutely beautiful vintage 50s wedding dress which knocked me on my ass. Truly, and I know I'm biased, but still, she was the most insanely gorgeous bride in the history of bridedom.
Pictures will follow to verify all this. We only got them recently. I don't want to go into why too much, but suffice it to say our photographer is a total unreliable douchebag. Well, at least the pictures are great. Once we have time to go through them all we'll make discs to send to the family and picture books and all that great stuff.
People have asked me what being married is like, and I have to say that, for the most part, its absolutely no different than life before marriage. Janessa and I lived together for over a year and a half before we got married, so its not like we're moving in together. Other than getting some cool gifts and being pulled closer by a nice experience, marriage hasn't changed my relationship much at all, and I admit that I'm confused as to why people thought it would. I guess there are some women who change after getting married, or so I'm told, but Janessa isn't one of them, she's as wonderful as ever and I wouldn't have married her if I thought she was that type of person, anyway.
Interestingly enough, though, being married has changed my mindset about life in a significant way, and, admittedly, its not something I anticipated at all.
For the first time in my life, I'm not in any real sense on my own. Marrying Janessa joined our lives together and I am daily reminded of this by the presence of my wedding band. I've never worn a ring before, so it took me several weeks to get used to having one on. The feeling of the band on my finger is a constant reminder that I need to take my life more seriously and that I need to be more responsible. It has, in a very real sense, opened my perspective up to the world. I guess I grew up.
Don't worry though, I'm still a silly bastard most of the time.
<3
Rob
It's not like much has happened since March in the world, right?
Have I missed anything?
Wow.
Well, obviously, we have a black president named Barack Hussein Obama. As many of you faithful readers know, I am gay for Obama (megagay in fact, rest-stop gloryhole gay!) so this makes me very happy. Indeed, I finally have the rallying point to motivate me to become a United States citizen. As promised, I have completed the application and am mailing it out in a few days. Exciting stuff.
There's tons more to talk about politically and economically (UGH!) but I'll get to that in another blog (hopefully in less than 6 months this time). This one's personal.
Let's see, on July 12th, 2008, I married the lovely Janessa Lazon in a beautiful ceremony in Berkeley, California. The ceremony was in a redwood grove on the Berkeley campus and the reception was at a lovely restaurant called Adagia right across the street from the law school from whence I matriculated. Janessa planned 95% of things and, as usual, did an amazing job. Everything was perfect, we had a wonderful time and our familes got along famously. I always thought weddings were ubercheesy and lame and scripted and more for families than for the people getting married - but ours was different. We planned it (well, Janessa did with my input) and it reflected who we are as people, which made it feel much better.
The restaurant served all organic, vegetarian cuisine, which many of our family members prospectively complained about - but all loved when they actually ate it. Instead of cake, Janessa got a ton of cupcakes made so that people could have different flavor choices and so that we could accomodate dietary restrictions. Also, Janessa wore an absolutely beautiful vintage 50s wedding dress which knocked me on my ass. Truly, and I know I'm biased, but still, she was the most insanely gorgeous bride in the history of bridedom.
Pictures will follow to verify all this. We only got them recently. I don't want to go into why too much, but suffice it to say our photographer is a total unreliable douchebag. Well, at least the pictures are great. Once we have time to go through them all we'll make discs to send to the family and picture books and all that great stuff.
People have asked me what being married is like, and I have to say that, for the most part, its absolutely no different than life before marriage. Janessa and I lived together for over a year and a half before we got married, so its not like we're moving in together. Other than getting some cool gifts and being pulled closer by a nice experience, marriage hasn't changed my relationship much at all, and I admit that I'm confused as to why people thought it would. I guess there are some women who change after getting married, or so I'm told, but Janessa isn't one of them, she's as wonderful as ever and I wouldn't have married her if I thought she was that type of person, anyway.
Interestingly enough, though, being married has changed my mindset about life in a significant way, and, admittedly, its not something I anticipated at all.
For the first time in my life, I'm not in any real sense on my own. Marrying Janessa joined our lives together and I am daily reminded of this by the presence of my wedding band. I've never worn a ring before, so it took me several weeks to get used to having one on. The feeling of the band on my finger is a constant reminder that I need to take my life more seriously and that I need to be more responsible. It has, in a very real sense, opened my perspective up to the world. I guess I grew up.
Don't worry though, I'm still a silly bastard most of the time.
<3
Rob
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
I am totally Gay for Obama
This was an historic speech. Even if Obama ultimately loses, he's changed this country for the better just from his oration, IMO...
And hey, omg, amazing -- an american politician who isn't talking to the public like we're children, but like we're adults... brav-fucking-o
Two points I thought were especially important:
Obama said that anger in the black community was real and had to be dealt with.
Obama also said that corporate greed is the biggest problem in this country and that racial issues were often used as a smokescreen for that fact/
No major political candidate in this country has ever said these things. It's significant.
Say what you want about his politics, the man could have easily threw his friend under the bus for the sake of his campaign. Instead he had the courage of his convictions to take his critics on head-on, defend himself and still renounce views he disagrees with. That's refreshing.
Finally, his statements about white anger and about problematic things the left say were very revealing. Obama says he wants unity and people say "its just words" but this speech was more than words - he acknowledged the suffering of people on the other side of the aisle as real, and that is a huge first step toward unity.
I think this whole thing shows more about Obama the man than any speech. He's handled it all with class and integrity and stayed positive while still acknowledging the viewpoints of others. There hasn't been a politician like him in America in a long time, if ever.
And hey, omg, amazing -- an american politician who isn't talking to the public like we're children, but like we're adults... brav-fucking-o
Two points I thought were especially important:
Obama said that anger in the black community was real and had to be dealt with.
Obama also said that corporate greed is the biggest problem in this country and that racial issues were often used as a smokescreen for that fact/
No major political candidate in this country has ever said these things. It's significant.
Say what you want about his politics, the man could have easily threw his friend under the bus for the sake of his campaign. Instead he had the courage of his convictions to take his critics on head-on, defend himself and still renounce views he disagrees with. That's refreshing.
Finally, his statements about white anger and about problematic things the left say were very revealing. Obama says he wants unity and people say "its just words" but this speech was more than words - he acknowledged the suffering of people on the other side of the aisle as real, and that is a huge first step toward unity.
I think this whole thing shows more about Obama the man than any speech. He's handled it all with class and integrity and stayed positive while still acknowledging the viewpoints of others. There hasn't been a politician like him in America in a long time, if ever.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Set over Set over Set - Finding Sense in the Nonsense (AKA The Lagtard)
1. SoSoS:
Full Tilt Poker Game #5596575343: Tier Two $24+$2 Sit & Go (42591921), Table 2 - 40/80 - No Limit Hold'em - 19:23:07 ET - 2008/03/11
Seat 2: Cixelsyd23f (2,015)
Seat 3: ALC69ALC (1,455)
Seat 4: The Poker Golem (3,880)
Seat 6: cubby1974 (905)
Seat 7: KingMelis (1,130)
Seat 8: gutshot12345678 (2,980)
The Poker Golem posts the small blind of 40
cubby1974 posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Cixelsyd23f [6s 7c]
KingMelis folds
gutshot12345678 raises to 200
Cixelsyd23f folds
ALC69ALC folds
The Poker Golem calls 160
cubby1974 raises to 905, and is all in
gutshot12345678 calls 705
The Poker Golem calls 705
*** FLOP *** [Kh 7s 6c]
The Poker Golem checks
gutshot12345678 checks
*** TURN *** [Kh 7s 6c] [Jd]
The Poker Golem bets 1,300
gutshot12345678 raises to 2,075, and is all in
The Poker Golem calls 775
gutshot12345678 shows [6h 6d]
The Poker Golem shows [7d 7h]
cubby1974 shows [9d 9h]
*** RIVER *** [Kh 7s 6c Jd] [9s]
gutshot12345678 shows three of a kind, Sixes
The Poker Golem shows three of a kind, Sevens
The Poker Golem wins the side pot (4,150) with three of a kind, Sevens
cubby1974 shows three of a kind, Nines
cubby1974 wins the main pot (2,715) with three of a kind, Nines
gutshot12345678 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6,865 Main pot 2,715. Side pot 4,150. | Rake 0
Board: [Kh 7s 6c Jd 9s]
Seat 2: Cixelsyd23f didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: ALC69ALC (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: The Poker Golem (small blind) showed [7d 7h] and won (4,150) with three of a kind, Sevens
Seat 6: cubby1974 (big blind) showed [9d 9h] and won (2,715) with three of a kind, Nines
Seat 7: KingMelis didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: gutshot12345678 showed [6h 6d] and lost with three of a kind, Sixes
Nothing really to say other than wow. Just a crazy hand, glad I folded pre :)
2. The LAGtard
There is a certain type of player in low-stakes online sit n go play that I call the "LAGtard." To make this term a little clearer, I'll break it down. The LAG in "LAGtard" stands for "Loose-Aggressive." It is a common term used in Poker conversation to denote a player that plays a lot of hands and plays them aggressively. Many of the world's best players play this style. I myself am more of a natural "TAG" (or tight-aggressive) player.
So being a LAG is not in itself good or bad. There are many nuanced ways to be a LAG. For example, many great players give the appearance of being a LAG maniac by raising small very often, but by getting out if they encounter strong resistance or if the bets get big (and, assuming, they haven't hit their hand). The LAGtard, however, is anything but nuanced, hence the -tard ending.
LAGtard play tends to break down along these lines:
Always make a pot sized raise. Either before or after the flop. It doesn't matter what cards you have, or what cards the other person has, or, for that matter, what the board reads. PSB (post-sized bet) pre-flop, if checked to or first to act on flop, PSB.
Heads-up, LAGtards use a very unsophisticated gameplan.
They will raise very often. Some LAGtards will simply double the big blind. Others will make a standard raise. But regardless, they will raise with a lot of hands. This in itself is not a bad strategy.
It's after the flop where this strategy is the most exploitable. Assuming I flat call the LAGtard's preflop raise, I expect they will shove any flop at least 75% of the time, irrespective of their holding or the board. This is the LAGtard way.
As you can imagine, this tendency is especially exploitable:
Full Tilt Poker Game #5597188639: $22 + $2 Sit & Go (Turbo) (42598525), Table 1 - 150/300 - No Limit Hold'em - 20:10:32 ET - 2008/03/11
Seat 1: Cixelsyd23f (3,400)
Seat 2: BRIANSPATIO (5,600)
BRIANSPATIO posts the small blind of 150
Cixelsyd23f posts the big blind of 300
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Cixelsyd23f [As Ac]
BRIANSPATIO raises to 600
Cixelsyd23f calls 300
*** FLOP *** [9s Qs 3d]
Cixelsyd23f checks
BRIANSPATIO bets 5,000, and is all in
Cixelsyd23f calls 2,800, and is all in
BRIANSPATIO shows [Ks Th]
Cixelsyd23f shows [As Ac]
Uncalled bet of 2,200 returned to LAGTARD
*** TURN *** [9s Qs 3d] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [9s Qs 3d 6d] [8h]
LAGTARD shows King Queen high
Cixelsyd23f shows a pair of Aces
Cixelsyd23f wins the pot (6,800) with a pair of Aces
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6,800 | Rake 0
Board: [9s Qs 3d 6d 8h]
Seat 1: Cixelsyd23f (big blind) showed [As Ac] and won (6,800) with a pair of Aces
Seat 2: LAGTARD (small blind) showed [Ks Th] and lost with King Queen high
Its always possible that the LAGtard would call an all-in reraise, but I do not want to give him the chance to get away when I have a big hand. Since I can count on him to shove a lot of flops, and since I am going to be ahead of his range on almost any flop, I can take the chance that he'll actually hit the flop hard enough to beat me. While I'm sure it will happen eventually, it hasn't happened to me yet. Instead, I've won many tournaments against these players by simply being patient and tight, folding a LOT (encouraging them to continue overbetting the pot), and waiting for the right sort of spot.
Incidentally, I don't need AA to make this play. I will make it with KK or QQ most of the time. I will almost always flatcall with any pair and evaluate the flop. The other day I did so with 66. The flop came Q 4 3 rainbow. He shoved and I called, figuring the best he had was middle pair. Sure enough he did. He hit trips on the turn and won the tournament, but still, I had him drawing to five outs, so I felt fine with it.
Identifying the LAGtard:
This is easy. The LAGtard routinely bets pot, presumably because its easier to push that scary POT button than to actually type a reasonable bet. Watch the table, if a player is routinely betting pot, even sometimes in Way Ahead/Way Behind type situations, they're probably a LAGtard.
Keep in mind, I think you have to notice this behavior a LOT for it, on its own, to establish LAGtardation (TM)(R). Some good players play a laggy style which will include a fair number of PSBs. Watch what hands they are turning over and gauge how credible their bets seem.
An even easier way to know if you've got a LAGtard on your hands is by checking their stats on Sharkscope.
I've found that 90% of LAGtard's I encounter have an ROI worse than -7% and usually worse than -20%. Obviously if the player has a positive ROI they are usually at least reasonably good, and thus, generally not a LAGtard. What about 0% through -6%? Well, I'll admit that -7% is pretty arbitrary, there are borderline cases, but what I've noticed with some consistency is that most people in the 2% through -2% range are Tight Passive players. They don't play too wildly, so their win-loss rates don't fluctuate a bunch. They are break-even players. (I love it when they're in my big blind!).
In conclusion, LAGtards can be frustrating. They make infuriating plays, destroy your drawing odds, and suck out on you like the horrid donkeys that they are. Whatever you do, do not play into their game, this only helps them. Tighten up and wait for them to make a mistake - or induce one. Its only a matter of time before the TARD shines through.
Rob
Full Tilt Poker Game #5596575343: Tier Two $24+$2 Sit & Go (42591921), Table 2 - 40/80 - No Limit Hold'em - 19:23:07 ET - 2008/03/11
Seat 2: Cixelsyd23f (2,015)
Seat 3: ALC69ALC (1,455)
Seat 4: The Poker Golem (3,880)
Seat 6: cubby1974 (905)
Seat 7: KingMelis (1,130)
Seat 8: gutshot12345678 (2,980)
The Poker Golem posts the small blind of 40
cubby1974 posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Cixelsyd23f [6s 7c]
KingMelis folds
gutshot12345678 raises to 200
Cixelsyd23f folds
ALC69ALC folds
The Poker Golem calls 160
cubby1974 raises to 905, and is all in
gutshot12345678 calls 705
The Poker Golem calls 705
*** FLOP *** [Kh 7s 6c]
The Poker Golem checks
gutshot12345678 checks
*** TURN *** [Kh 7s 6c] [Jd]
The Poker Golem bets 1,300
gutshot12345678 raises to 2,075, and is all in
The Poker Golem calls 775
gutshot12345678 shows [6h 6d]
The Poker Golem shows [7d 7h]
cubby1974 shows [9d 9h]
*** RIVER *** [Kh 7s 6c Jd] [9s]
gutshot12345678 shows three of a kind, Sixes
The Poker Golem shows three of a kind, Sevens
The Poker Golem wins the side pot (4,150) with three of a kind, Sevens
cubby1974 shows three of a kind, Nines
cubby1974 wins the main pot (2,715) with three of a kind, Nines
gutshot12345678 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6,865 Main pot 2,715. Side pot 4,150. | Rake 0
Board: [Kh 7s 6c Jd 9s]
Seat 2: Cixelsyd23f didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: ALC69ALC (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: The Poker Golem (small blind) showed [7d 7h] and won (4,150) with three of a kind, Sevens
Seat 6: cubby1974 (big blind) showed [9d 9h] and won (2,715) with three of a kind, Nines
Seat 7: KingMelis didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: gutshot12345678 showed [6h 6d] and lost with three of a kind, Sixes
Nothing really to say other than wow. Just a crazy hand, glad I folded pre :)
2. The LAGtard
There is a certain type of player in low-stakes online sit n go play that I call the "LAGtard." To make this term a little clearer, I'll break it down. The LAG in "LAGtard" stands for "Loose-Aggressive." It is a common term used in Poker conversation to denote a player that plays a lot of hands and plays them aggressively. Many of the world's best players play this style. I myself am more of a natural "TAG" (or tight-aggressive) player.
So being a LAG is not in itself good or bad. There are many nuanced ways to be a LAG. For example, many great players give the appearance of being a LAG maniac by raising small very often, but by getting out if they encounter strong resistance or if the bets get big (and, assuming, they haven't hit their hand). The LAGtard, however, is anything but nuanced, hence the -tard ending.
LAGtard play tends to break down along these lines:
Always make a pot sized raise. Either before or after the flop. It doesn't matter what cards you have, or what cards the other person has, or, for that matter, what the board reads. PSB (post-sized bet) pre-flop, if checked to or first to act on flop, PSB.
Heads-up, LAGtards use a very unsophisticated gameplan.
They will raise very often. Some LAGtards will simply double the big blind. Others will make a standard raise. But regardless, they will raise with a lot of hands. This in itself is not a bad strategy.
It's after the flop where this strategy is the most exploitable. Assuming I flat call the LAGtard's preflop raise, I expect they will shove any flop at least 75% of the time, irrespective of their holding or the board. This is the LAGtard way.
As you can imagine, this tendency is especially exploitable:
Full Tilt Poker Game #5597188639: $22 + $2 Sit & Go (Turbo) (42598525), Table 1 - 150/300 - No Limit Hold'em - 20:10:32 ET - 2008/03/11
Seat 1: Cixelsyd23f (3,400)
Seat 2: BRIANSPATIO (5,600)
BRIANSPATIO posts the small blind of 150
Cixelsyd23f posts the big blind of 300
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Cixelsyd23f [As Ac]
BRIANSPATIO raises to 600
Cixelsyd23f calls 300
*** FLOP *** [9s Qs 3d]
Cixelsyd23f checks
BRIANSPATIO bets 5,000, and is all in
Cixelsyd23f calls 2,800, and is all in
BRIANSPATIO shows [Ks Th]
Cixelsyd23f shows [As Ac]
Uncalled bet of 2,200 returned to LAGTARD
*** TURN *** [9s Qs 3d] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [9s Qs 3d 6d] [8h]
LAGTARD shows King Queen high
Cixelsyd23f shows a pair of Aces
Cixelsyd23f wins the pot (6,800) with a pair of Aces
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6,800 | Rake 0
Board: [9s Qs 3d 6d 8h]
Seat 1: Cixelsyd23f (big blind) showed [As Ac] and won (6,800) with a pair of Aces
Seat 2: LAGTARD (small blind) showed [Ks Th] and lost with King Queen high
Its always possible that the LAGtard would call an all-in reraise, but I do not want to give him the chance to get away when I have a big hand. Since I can count on him to shove a lot of flops, and since I am going to be ahead of his range on almost any flop, I can take the chance that he'll actually hit the flop hard enough to beat me. While I'm sure it will happen eventually, it hasn't happened to me yet. Instead, I've won many tournaments against these players by simply being patient and tight, folding a LOT (encouraging them to continue overbetting the pot), and waiting for the right sort of spot.
Incidentally, I don't need AA to make this play. I will make it with KK or QQ most of the time. I will almost always flatcall with any pair and evaluate the flop. The other day I did so with 66. The flop came Q 4 3 rainbow. He shoved and I called, figuring the best he had was middle pair. Sure enough he did. He hit trips on the turn and won the tournament, but still, I had him drawing to five outs, so I felt fine with it.
Identifying the LAGtard:
This is easy. The LAGtard routinely bets pot, presumably because its easier to push that scary POT button than to actually type a reasonable bet. Watch the table, if a player is routinely betting pot, even sometimes in Way Ahead/Way Behind type situations, they're probably a LAGtard.
Keep in mind, I think you have to notice this behavior a LOT for it, on its own, to establish LAGtardation (TM)(R). Some good players play a laggy style which will include a fair number of PSBs. Watch what hands they are turning over and gauge how credible their bets seem.
An even easier way to know if you've got a LAGtard on your hands is by checking their stats on Sharkscope.
I've found that 90% of LAGtard's I encounter have an ROI worse than -7% and usually worse than -20%. Obviously if the player has a positive ROI they are usually at least reasonably good, and thus, generally not a LAGtard. What about 0% through -6%? Well, I'll admit that -7% is pretty arbitrary, there are borderline cases, but what I've noticed with some consistency is that most people in the 2% through -2% range are Tight Passive players. They don't play too wildly, so their win-loss rates don't fluctuate a bunch. They are break-even players. (I love it when they're in my big blind!).
In conclusion, LAGtards can be frustrating. They make infuriating plays, destroy your drawing odds, and suck out on you like the horrid donkeys that they are. Whatever you do, do not play into their game, this only helps them. Tighten up and wait for them to make a mistake - or induce one. Its only a matter of time before the TARD shines through.
Rob
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Grace Under Fire or The Downswing
Any serious or semiserious poker player knows about the downswing.
That sinking cyclone enveloping him. He tries to spin in reverse, to slow its descent, to rally against the stream, but he is no salmon.
In many ways, I think how someone handles a downswing determines their ability to succeed in poker (and perhaps, in life).
In poker, a downswing is a long pattern of ordered badness in a random collection of variables. There is no rhyme or reason to why or when it happens. The only sure thing is, if you play long enough, it will happen to you, no matter how good you may be.
Poker is not like other games; you can play perfectly and still lose. As I stated in a previous blog, some things are out of even the best's control (namely -- the cards, but more than even that). This type of statistical turn, then, can foster a cynicism that can ultimately be self-destructive. When you can feel that bad card coming it usually seems to but that is no reason to give credence to that feeling.
All anyone can do is remember that each individual event is an individual event with an outcome correlating over the long term with probabilities. The rest is grace, patience, and strength.
The most difficult thing for me to do has been to control my emotions and remain in a good mental state. I become negative, frustrated, unnecessarily combative. I am out of the flow. This is where the grace is struggling to emerge. I am impulsive by nature and this characteristic leads me to make many calls I simply should not make. This is where patience is struggling to emerge. Sometimes the sequences are simply overwhelming and I get worn down and lose my aggressiveness. This is where strength is struggling to emerge.
Anyone can play well when the cards are running good and the situations are positive.
It is a masterful skill, however, to play your strong game during the worst of times. That is my goal. I can only hope that these downswings foster at least that - in my game, and hopefully, in my life.
-Rob
That sinking cyclone enveloping him. He tries to spin in reverse, to slow its descent, to rally against the stream, but he is no salmon.
In many ways, I think how someone handles a downswing determines their ability to succeed in poker (and perhaps, in life).
In poker, a downswing is a long pattern of ordered badness in a random collection of variables. There is no rhyme or reason to why or when it happens. The only sure thing is, if you play long enough, it will happen to you, no matter how good you may be.
Poker is not like other games; you can play perfectly and still lose. As I stated in a previous blog, some things are out of even the best's control (namely -- the cards, but more than even that). This type of statistical turn, then, can foster a cynicism that can ultimately be self-destructive. When you can feel that bad card coming it usually seems to but that is no reason to give credence to that feeling.
All anyone can do is remember that each individual event is an individual event with an outcome correlating over the long term with probabilities. The rest is grace, patience, and strength.
The most difficult thing for me to do has been to control my emotions and remain in a good mental state. I become negative, frustrated, unnecessarily combative. I am out of the flow. This is where the grace is struggling to emerge. I am impulsive by nature and this characteristic leads me to make many calls I simply should not make. This is where patience is struggling to emerge. Sometimes the sequences are simply overwhelming and I get worn down and lose my aggressiveness. This is where strength is struggling to emerge.
Anyone can play well when the cards are running good and the situations are positive.
It is a masterful skill, however, to play your strong game during the worst of times. That is my goal. I can only hope that these downswings foster at least that - in my game, and hopefully, in my life.
-Rob
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