Santorum's Stupid Idea

In case my millions of inter-galatic readers aren't aware of this, Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania wants to prevent the National Weather Service from providing weather information to the general public link. He believes that private companies, such as AccuWeather.com should be the sole providers of weather information. Keep in mind that we taxpayers are paying for the National Weather Service, and AccuWeather gets their information from the NWS.

AccuWeather is based in Santorum's state, and has contributed money to him link. AccuWeather is a company that provides weather information to many newspapers. And their website is similar to the Weather Channel's site (although the Weather Channel is much better.)

Santorum's argument is the usual "private sector can do better than big government" bullshit that Republicans are constantly spouting. Well let's take a look at that.

Below are two radar images from a storm blowing through the Denver area. I captured both images at roughly 3:00 pm. The first one is the AccuWeather radar image; the second is the NWS image.

Accuweather Image 


NWS Image 


Looking at these two images, which one would you rather have access to?

Intelligent Design My Ass

As my millions of fans know, the religious righteous are trying to get "Intelligent Design" taught in our nations public schools. Of course, it is a slam on evolution and a cover for bringing God back into the schools.

The theory of Intelligent Design states that the creatures that inhabit the world are not a result of a series of accidents or mutations. Instead, someone or something designed the whole shebang. The disguised assumption is that God did the designing (although I am sure some people think it was aliens.)

Well, I call bullshit on that. If there is a designer, he/she/it must be a moron. Just look at the human body. Any designer who knew what the hell they were doing would not have designed the human back or teeth. The back can go out at any time (like, when you are spitting out your toothpaste.) And teeth - why the hell do they have nerves? Before the age of dentistry and toothbrushes, our teeth would rot, hurt like crazy, and probably eventually fall out. And if one got an abscess, there were no antibiotics to help. So why have the pain when there was nothing they could do about it? Huh? Answer that one, intelligent designer. (Maybe the designer works at the big Microsoft in the sky - designing just enough to get by.)

So if there is an intelligent designer, I lean toward it being aliens. They designed us poorly so that they could later easily conquer us if we get uppity.

Well, It's Official

I now officially work for Sprint (or, if you will, Sprint - Together With Nextel.) Needless to say, I am less than enthused.

We had a web cast to "celebrate" the completion of the merger. I didn't go. To me, there is nothing to celebrate. I don't know if I am going to have a job in the future. I don't know if my vacation time (20 days) is going to be reduced. I am going to lose my free phone. I am not going to get any more stock options. What the hell is there to celebrate?

It was cool getting into a company that had an entrepreneurial spirit. I saw the company gradually corporatize as it climbed up the ladder. Yet I didn't lose any of the real benefits. Nextel was the best company I ever worked for. I doubt Sprint will be the same. *SIGH*

They did give us a chocolate waterfall to "celebrate". I dunked some banana chunks. We also got the "casual weeks" bone thrown at us - shorts the rest of the month. (Casual day is much better in the summer. I don't think it is a big deal in the winter, because jeans are actually more uncomfortable than slacks.) And I got a neat pen, a pretty cool portfolio, and a stupid t-shirt that I probably will use to sop up beer I drool over myself.

Ah well. See ya Nextel - it was nice.

First Freeroll

(Note: I am writing this for my millions of readers on G-neek 4 in the Horse's Ass Nebula. People who play poker here on Earth shouldn't bother to read the following, except for the note at the end.)

I played my first bar freeroll tournament last Wednesday night at the Rockyard brewpup in Castle Rock. Joining me were Chris and Todd. It was only my second time playing hold 'em live. There were about 40 people playing. Todd and I had placed our names in early. Chris put his name in when he showed up at the bar, so he had to wait for an opening as an alternate.

Apparently it was D-cup night at the Rockyard. I counted at least 5 women (playing and not playing) who were showing off their huge boobs in low-cut tops with push-up bras. The best rack belonged to a player at another table, who Chris dubbed Tit-tania.

I only remember three hands. The first one was very early on. I got quad 5s on the river, but didn't have to show my hand. Man I wish I could have showed that hand (though the proper call was not to.)

The second hand was a stupid mistake I made. I had the Hilton Sisters and ended up heads-up before the flop. The flop came up A-x-x, and I stupidly called the guy's all-in bet (which took about half my stack.) The dude had Ax and went on to win the pot. I KNOW I should have folded when I saw the ace in the flop - but being only my second time playing in the presence of people, I wasn't thinking.

The third hand was the one I busted out on. I held the Big Slick offsuit (A-K). The dude Up-The-Gut called all-in for about $600 and I matched, thinking it would just be us two contesting the pot. Then the chip-leader called us both all in. I should have folded. The original all-in dude showed A6o and the chip-leader showed AA. If the last guy hadn't put all in, I would have been a 74%-26% favorite to win. Instead, the AA were a 87% favorite to win, which indeed happened. I ended up in 16th place.

Obviously I have a lot to learn. I need to relax more so I can make better decisions. I also need to learn to watch the chips as they enter the pot, so I know how much is in the pot. Obviously things I don't think about when I am playing at Party Poker. The tournament was fun. Todd and I are going to be doing more of them. After all, we gotta practice for Vegas.

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On my first smoke-break today, I saw four of my female co-workers chatting and smoking - two married, one divorced, and one lesbian. I thought to my self, "It would be cool to see them all naked and lovin' each other. Well, all of them but the lesbian..."

A Reminder for Stupid People

When you are driving in a rain storm, TURN ON YOUR LIGHTS!!!

The point of this is not to see, but to be SEEN! Trust me, this will reduce accidents.

So remember the lights, dumbass!

--(This has been a public service announcement.)

Forgetting to Blog and Poker

Sorry I have been neglecting this, my loyal readers (all one-half of you.)

OK. I am doing something I never thought I would do - play poker. I got introduced to Texas Hold'em on Memorial Day, when outdoor activities were cancelled due to rain. So I played in a hold'em tourney with nine of the other guests. Todd geve me a brief lesson, and we were off. I ended up winning 2nd place and $30 - which I attribute to beginners luck.

Anyway, I was digging the game because, unlike other poker parties I have been to - where they play all kinds of weird games, this game I can understand. I started reading and playing for free on the internets, and winning (which doesn't mean diddly-squat, since people will do wild things when they aren't losing anything.) The point of playing the free games for me was to see if I could follow what I have learned from the books I have read. So far I think I can do ok OK the real money tables. It is now time to find out.

Oh, and if you want to read a funny blog that centers around poker, you need to read the Tao of Poker.