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| Wednesday, October 4th, 2006 | | 12:01 am |
Congress Can Kiss My Pasty White Ass
My online poker exploits may soon be coming to an end. Saturday night Congress snuck the Internet Gambling Act into the Port Security Act, which, of course, passed by a wide margin. How the two are related, I have no fucking idea. Congress likes to do these Saturday night add-on sneak attacks on stuff that they don't want the public to hear about or debate. This is a perfect example because the IGA has virtually zero public support, but quite a bit from sanctimonius politicians because it's clearly a burden destroying our fragile society (as opposed to back alley bookies, casinos, horse/dog tracks, and state lotteries that only pay out 50 cents on the dollar - all of which are unaffected by the bill). Of course, it'd be completely impossible for the government to regulate and profit from Internet gambling (y'know, it wouldn't work EXACTLY the same as it does for the aforementioned gambling institutions). Since almost no one watches the news on Saturday, as opposed to week days, this all goes completely unnoticed and undiscussed. Especially when you have some Internet predator in charge of catching Internet predators to distract everyone. Which brings me to another point. WTF?!?!? I'm so sick of our rulers boning us up the ass, almost literally, at every opportunity and the few semi-decent ones covering it up for fear of damage to "the Party" (isn't that what commies call it?). I'm also sick of conservative fuckwits like this Foley dickface and Rush Limbaugh spouting off FOR YEARS about there being no excuse for bad behavior (if you're a drug addict, sodomite, pedophile, liberal, or other criminal you have no one but yourself to blame and should be imprisoned or at least drawn & quartered) UNLESS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THEIR BAD BEHAVIOR. Then it's the pills or the booze or the stress or the touchy-feely priest that made them do it (again, sounds like a bunch of pinko, commie, tree-hugging, feel-good, nancy boy, terrorist loving liberal bullshit to me). These are our "leaders" people. In our system (not to say anyone else's in any better) it's, to quote George Carlin, "garbage in, garbage out" and all us regular folk are fucked with a capital FUCKED. | | Saturday, September 30th, 2006 | | 12:24 am |
Poker Game Updates
We're running two games a week at Rob's now (at least for the next few weeks). Wednesday starts at 7:30 pm with a NLHE tournament and different game cash games to start when the second table becomes available. Sunday starts at 2:00 pm, same deal. Buy-in for tourney is currently $5, cash games $5-$10, though that may change in the future if we keep getting the large groups we've gotten recently. Y'all are officially on notice. You know how to reach me for questions, confirmations, etc. | | Wednesday, September 13th, 2006 | | 1:40 am |
Performance Enhancing Drugs
So I heard about a couple things on the PED front that I found interesting. First, the "B sample" on Marion Jones has been tested and she's been "cleared of all doping charges." Second, some new evidence, in the form of teammate testimony, has come out against Lance Armstrong. . .specifically that he was using PEDs such as steroids, cortisone, HGH, etc. BEFORE he got testicular cancer. In case you didn't know, steroid use can lead directly to testicular cancer. Now, I don't want to turn this into a judgement-fest or anything. I have no idea what any of these athletes have or haven't done, but it seems that no one is beyond suspicion these days. And really, what IS a PED? Doesn't aspirin (or some other pain killer) and anti-inflammatories "enhance" performance on game day by allowing athletes to deal with the pain/discomfort of, well, being professional athletes? Obviously there's a difference in potential negative side effects (aspirin won't give you testicular cancer, steroids might), but let me get to my real point. . . With both the Marion Jones & Lance Armstrong scandals (along with those surrounding their sports - track & field and cycling, respectively), it has come to light that FUCKING EVERYBODY IS DOING THIS STUFF. While the "major" sports besides baseball (NFL, NHL, NBA) have avoided major scandal, track & field and cycling have revealed to be essentially fraudulent. All the competitors have been on all kinds of stuff with all kinds of ways of beating the tests for decades. So, again, to get to me real point. . . Doesn't this mean the playing field was level the whole time? I mean, if EVERYBODY is cheating, then nobody is really cheating (if by "cheating" you mean not simply breaking the rules, but breaking the rules to gain a competitive advantage). Isn't a doped-up Lance Armstrong trouncing a bunch of doped-up Frenchies just like a clean Lance Armstrong beating a bucnh of clean Frenchies? Physically, no, because some people's bodies do/will respond "better" to PEDs than others - giving them an advantage. But, then again, some people's bodies respond better to, say, weight-lifting (trust me, as someone who's body responds to weight-lifting only with anger). I guess my point is that, if literally everyone is doing the same stuff, be it weight-lifting or HGH, then no one has an advantage and so you can't really say any of them is "cheating" (other than, of course, by the letter of the rules). Now, I'm not advocating the exoneration of any "cheaters" or allowing PEDs into sports because by ALLOWING PEDs for everyone, you FORCE PEDs on everyone. If you let the baseball players who want to take steroids do so, then you practically force ALL baseball to take steroids to stay competitive (I think my proof is in the pudding, since this is essentially exactly what happened in MLB). The real crime is you force NON-PROFESSIONAL athletes to do this stuff because, again, they HAVE to in order to compete with all the other non-pros vying for the few professional jobs out there. So, I guess my point is that you shouldn't allow anyone to cheat, but once you've allowed everyone to cheat, can you really still call it cheating? | | Monday, September 4th, 2006 | | 2:13 am |
Season 1 Schedule
I hope this posts ok. Don't know if everything will line up right. I've also got it in Excel if anyone wants me to e-mail it to them. The League Schedule - 2006 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Team A E F G B C H I D J B K C L D Team B J L E A D F H C K A G D I C Team C F E L D A J K B G D I A H B Team D L J I C B K G A E C H B F A Team E A C B H G I J F D H L G K F Team F C A K G H B L E I G J H D E Team G I K A F E L D H C F B E J H Team H K I J E F A B G L E D F C G Team I G H D J K E A L F J C K B L Team J B D H I L C E K A I F L G K Team K H G F L I D C J B L A I E J Team L D B C K J G F I H K E J A I | | 2:12 am |
| | Friday, September 1st, 2006 | | 4:01 pm |
The word on Fantasy Football
We've got our 12!!! THE LEAGUE breaks ground this Sunday, September 3rd, with our first Player Auction. Founding Owners Matt Lonsberry Ty Schalter Kelly Schalter/Melissa Lonsberry* Jason Fields Brad Fields* Brad Lonsberry Adam Schalter Jim McEvoy Rob Bugbee Rob Waddell Ryan Gleason Mystery Dan *Melissa & Kelly will be co-owning their team. Melissa may also have to stand-in for Brad Fields during all or part of the Auction. As you can see, we'll have some friendly, relative, and same-name rivalries going on here. You'll be able to follow all the action during our first season at http://community.livejournal.com/x_the_league_o/ | | Friday, August 25th, 2006 | | 9:47 pm |
More Fantasy Football Stuff
So sorry I never got back with any rules, but Ty and I have had a helluva time getting together to tweak this stuff. We've got everything down in theory, I just have to put it on paper in something resembling English. Here's what we know for sure. . .the auction will be at Ty & Kelly's place on Sunday, September 3rd at 3:00 (show up between 2:00 & 3:00). Entry fee will be $20 or free, with the aforementioned you-can't-get-out-if-you-don't-put-in stipulation. We're kinda' pushing for everyone to contribute, just so the prizes will be significant, but we'd rather have players & no money than money & no players. So, if you can afford it, you're strongly encouraged, but if you can't, you're still welcome. I believe we have 12 participants. . . Matt Ty Melissa/Kelly Jay Brad Adam (Ty's brother) Friend of Adam's (name unknown by Matt) Jim (Carin's husband) Rob W Rob B Ryan and Stu if he wants the spot (let me know either way so we can fill the spot if needed) So block out a few hours on the 3rd & let me know for sure that you're in. I'll get rules e-mailed around (I don't think it's going to be practical to put them up here) - and, in fact, I should get everyone's e-mail address anyway, just for league communication. Any questions, comments, etc. you know how to get ahold of me. | | Thursday, August 10th, 2006 | | 9:34 pm |
New Fantasy Football League
Ty & I are starting a new fantasy football league this season because our old, traditional one has finally collapsed. I am in the process of writing up the rules now and we are trying to recruit a few more participants. Anyone who is interested, or anyone who knows anyone who is interested, please let one of us know. We've got myself, Ty, Jay & Brad Fields, Ty's brother Adam, Jim (Carin's new husband), Rob Waddell and possibly Kelly & Melissa sharing a team. That gives us 7-8 participants, but we'd like 10-12. It's free, or costs money, kind of up to you (this can be explained in detail if you're interested). Let us know. | | Thursday, July 20th, 2006 | | 7:34 pm |
PS - Clerks II
Any word on the plan for Clerks II tomorrow (Friday aka Opening Day)? | | 7:13 pm |
Just thought I'd let y'all know that my store is killing our Clearance section right now. We've been marking down like crazy and, starting today, everything that is already on Clearance is now an ADDITIONAL 50% off. I know it sounds like a sales pitch or something, but seriously it's good stuff. Plus I feel the need for a little karmic retribution because I bought a bunch of stuff on Tuesday before I knew this Clearance clearance was going on. So, yeah, head on down to get some shirts & stuff (for those with babies, you can get just about anything you want for, like, a dollar). You're S-O-L on Painter's jeans, tho. I bought them all. | | Monday, June 19th, 2006 | | 4:14 pm |
For Guys Eyes Only!
Bachelor Party Info Contained Below Must Possess Y Chromosome To Proceed Obviously, there's nothing I can do about it, so I don't really care. So, without further ado, here's the basic plan: Date: Friday, June 16th from early to late --Part I - During the day we'll probably hit a guitar shop, play some frisbee golf, just hang out. No big deal here and no obligation for anyone to attend. I'll just have my cousin in town and have to entertain him anyway. --Part II - Dinner: big steaks & big beers at the Texas Roadhouse (most likely, Ty's making calls to make sure they can accomodate us). The father of the bride & groom will be present for dinner only. They're not invited to Part III or IV. :) --Part III - Adult Entertainment in the Lansing area. 'Nuff said. --Part IV - Mt. Pleasant: We're heading up for some poker (or whatever your game is) at Soaring Eagle casino. Going to make every effort to get as many of us at one table as possible ($3/6 limit) so we can just lose to each other. Soaring Eagle also spreads a $1/2 blind no-limit game that some may be interested in. After the casino, we'll meet back up at my brother's apartment for more drinking/poker/video games/Beer Pong, etc. Anyone who needs to is also welcome to crash at Mike's and head back on Saturday, though transportation is a little limited. That about sums it up. Anyone is invited to any part of festivities they're up for. Dinner & crashing at Mike's is a little limited by capacity, as is transportation, but we'll work it all out. You are welcome to RSVP here or to the best man (he'll be calling you in the near future to confirm anyway). Directions for Part IV will also be provided in both online and hardcopy formats. | | Sunday, June 18th, 2006 | | 7:35 pm |
Wedding Music Update
So I'm sitting here finally hooking up all the PA equipment and whatnot for the wedding music because I finally got a couple test CDs completed. All the PA stuff works A-OK, but I ran into a little snag. I was planning to use my Stereo/DVD Player/Home Theater thing as the "CD player" for the wedding. Turns out that it doesn't have any audio outputs because it's designed to work only with the speaker system that comes with it (it's one of those home-theater-in-a-box things from Best Buy). Now, I happen to have a DVD Burner that I won online laying around unopened because I honestly wasn't planning to keep it. Just to make sure my theory of how everything SHOULD hook up is correct, I opened that thing up and plugged it in. The good news is that everything works the way I thought it would and want it to. The bad news is that this DVD Burner unit is designed to be a DVD recorder, not a DVD player. So while it plays the mp3 CDs I made just fine, it is highly lacking in features - the most notable being a Track Number or any other useful information other than a timer. For Dave's sake, I'd love to come up with another solution. Basically, I just need a CD player that will play mp3 CDs (any decent unit made in the last few years does/will) and has, well, just about any kind of audio output (preferably RCA, but I have adapters for most others). Melissa says the Opera House has a 5-disc changer, but I'll have to call them to check on it's capabilities. Otherwise I'm going to snag one out of somebody's stereo system (parents, brother, somebody). I think there might even be an extra at my parents' house. Of course, I'll have the DVD Burner as a last resort. Any other suggestions of solutions are certainly welcome, though (I tried my laptop already, tho, and couldn't make it work. . .so don't suggest that). | | Saturday, May 6th, 2006 | | 10:30 pm |
New poker tales at The Tilted Mitten
Check 'em out here. http://community.livejournal.com/thetiltedmitten/Matt plays poker versus the guy who wrote Microsoft Word (and it's completely uneventful :)!!! Also news about a casino trip in the near future. As for Matt/Melissa's Place home game, probably not going to happen again until after the wedding due to, well, the wedding. However, might then get a cool heads-up tourney started (Mike's brilliant idea). Will gather a list of those interested, then seed it like an NCAA bracket (perhaps double elimination, not sure yet). So, start boning up on your heads-up skills! | | Wednesday, April 26th, 2006 | | 12:16 am |
| | Wednesday, April 12th, 2006 | | 6:34 pm |
Quick Wedding Update
Melissa and I booked our honeymoon today (we're going to Mexico). I'm ready to go now. Dave, I know I told you forever ago that I'd get you at least an initial iternary. We're still working on the officiant thing, though, so it's still under construction. I promise it's on its way, though. Now that the honeymoon is out of the way, I also am going to start working on music. Ty, Melissa and I have some things to discuss with you in regards to, well, the stuff above. Plus it's time to start seriously talking bachelor party (other gents who may be reading, you are now on notice, too). Everyone, I'm going to start putting together the music for this little shindig. Basically I'm going to make about three mp3 CDs. One of light background music for during mingling/dinner time. One of specific songs for specific dances, entrance, etc. Then one for the "party" with a good mix of fast and slow songs. Looking for any and all suggestions you've got because I know I'll overlook some essentials if I try to do this myself. So reply here or e-mail me (mattlonsberry@sbcglobal.net) any time something pops into your head over the next month and a half. Thanks for the help! | | Monday, April 10th, 2006 | | 10:17 pm |
So apparently I'm on a big game show kick. . .
because I was watching The Feud today (now with Al Borlan) and there was a question on the final thing that I thought was crap. They asked "What is the best place in the house for a third phone?" or something to that effect. The first guy said "bedroom," which was like 7 points, and the second girl said "In the car," which was like 5. The #1 answer was "bathroom." The thing is, how are you supposed to know where the first two phones are? I mean, just about every house has one in the kitchen, but after that it's "if"y. The other thing is, do people really go right for the bathroom with the third one? I've seen that in hotels and on Cribs and stuff, but Average Joe Citizen? So, I thought I'd conduct my own survey. Where would you put your third phone (and, really, where are the first two)? I'm going for kitchen, bedroom, and basement ('cause I'm planning on having at least a semi-finished basement). I watch too much TV. | | Friday, April 7th, 2006 | | 12:42 pm |
Shame Game Details Okay, I've been kicking around a new idea for poker for a few weeks now. Just wanted to change things up to make them a little more interesting (and cheaper to play for some of our more cash-strapped friends). Remember when we used to play tournament-style no-limit hold'em (NLHE), but we didn't know what we were doing and never raised the blinds and sometimes the final two would go on forever? I know Dave remembers. Anyway, we now know how tournaments ACTUALLY work and, while I prefer cash games, I think it's time to visit an old friend. Problem is I've never really run one, so this will take a little experimentation. He's the initial plan: -Everyone buys into the tournament for $1. This money becomes the "prize pool." -Each player starts out with 1000 chips. Not literally 1000 chips, but enough chips to equal the value of 1000 tournament play chips. -The blinds will start at our usual 5 and 10 (chips now, though, not cents) and they will double every 15 minutes. This is the part that will require some refining. This should be a pretty fast blind structure, which I'm hoping will allow us to play two full Shame Game tourneys in one night. -Now the fun part and the origin of the name "Shame Game." When a player is busted out of the Shame Game tournament, that player must reach into their pocket and pay off the person who busted them with a single dollar bill while everyone else at the table "shames" them. The important thing is that the dollar MUST come out of your pocket as you stand up to leave the table and be paid to your new arch-nemesis. It's all about the humiliation. I think this will make the game a little more interesting, create some nice rivalries, and basically be a nice change of pace. Obviously we'll need quite a few singles, but I'll take care of that. -As this is a tournament, we play until one person has all the chips. However, when we get down to the final two, they will split the "prize pool" evenly between them. The final match will be simply to decide a champ and shame the loser (loser still must pay $1 to winner and get laughed at by the rest of us). I think that basically explains everything. If you have any questions or notice anything I missed, please drop me a line. Obviously this will all be explained again to everyone on Saturday before we play. That brings me to another important point about playing tournaments vs. our usual cash games. EVERYONE WHO IS PLAYING MUST BE PRESENT AT THE START OF THE TOURNAMENT! You can't buy-in halfway into the tourney and you can't cash out before you've been busted or won. That means everyone who wants to play needs to be here by 9:00 o'clock PM on Saturday (maybe 9:30). Show up any time after 8:00, but we gotta' be punctual when it comes to tourneys, so please try not to be late. Some other general poker rules you should be aware of: -keep cards above or on table at all times -a verbal statement made in turn is binding (like if it's your turn and you kind of mutter "check" to yourself because you're thinking about it, you just checked). -no string betting. This is the classic "I see your bet. . .AND raise you." If you say "I call" first, then you've called. You can't add on a raise. I know none of us are good enough at poker to take advantage of this, but that doesn't mean we don't have to follow the rules. -no discussing of hands in play by the peanut gallery. If you're not in the hand, stay quiet ABOUT THE HAND until it's over as what you say may effect what the players still involved in the hand do. Save your "I folded X, so would have flopped Y" story for after the hand. I think that's it for now. Again, let me know if I left anything out. See y'all tomorrow. | | Saturday, April 1st, 2006 | | 5:13 pm |
Poker Saturday, Satch Sunday
So you know how Melissa's car has been dead for a month or so now? Well, my uncle's coming up to take a look at it Saturday. And because he's coming up my brother is coming down. And because my brother is coming down, I figured I should have a poker game. So here's the details. . . Date: Saturday, April 8th, 2006 Time: The usual - Show up after 8:00, cards hit table by 9:00 Site: The usual, M & M Factory. Game: Something new. The $1 Shame Game Tournament(s). Details to come later RSVP if possible. As for Sunday, the story is Satriani at the State Theater in Detroit. RW & I are heading down to my uncle's earlier in the day, but we'd love to meet up with anyone else for the show. Let me know if you're interested. In other news, I'm going to need some wedding music help. Details for that also upcoming. Just start thinking about good songs for our rehearsal. | | Saturday, March 18th, 2006 | | 5:32 pm |
Emergency Poker Message
Tonight at our place. Show up between 8 and 9 pm. Also possible poker after Sopranos tomorrow. Sopranos at 9, maybe poker at 10 if anyone's still up for it. | | Thursday, February 16th, 2006 | | 8:28 am |
NO POKER TONIGHT!!!
So Melissa reminded me that we have a prior engagement for Thursday and that I shouldn't have offered our place up for poker. Sorry all! Dave, if you're just coming into town for poker, don't bother. I'll plan it nice and in advance next time and let you all know. |
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