Labor Day Extravaganza approaches

Tomorrow there will be lots of this going on. Many of you will join in to play during our Annual Labor Day Extravaganza, but make no mistake the South Side will once again emerge victorious in this game as has become quite the tradition. Heck we might even do it, all the while remaining injury free. But that part, as always, is optional. No sacrifice is too great in the quest for victory. It's not just a game... it's another chance to win!

Also to be played tomorrow will be this little game too! Yes you all know it well. Everyone including the kids loved this game last year so it makes its return.

Of course there will be plenty of food and good times to be had, so come early and stay late. I'm sure as the day slowly turns to night, there might even be cause to throw together a little poker game too. You know on the off chance that some of our friends and family might wanna play that little game too. Yes, it usually doesn't take much pulling of arms to get a game going. : )

Most of today was spent getting ready, cleaning, mowing, and doing whatever Big Red told me to do, so y'all better show some appreciation. At least, you could buy me a beer!

I'll try to keep the camera handy to catch each of you at your best. I'm sure a number of candid moments will present themselves. Pictures of bodies in a twisted pile on the volleyball court are always a bit hit. And thus far, a year has never gone by in which that didn't happen eventually. So be sure to show us your best side.

See you tomorrow.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Parkersburg South vs McKinley Tech

Tonight the Parkersburg South Patriots played host to McKinley Tech from DC and there was much cause for celebration and laughter. That's my baby with the big smile on her face having a great time during the game. : )












McKinley in white, South in Blue are shown here in play action.






Here's another picture of yet another kickoff by the Patriots. Let's just say we had to do that a lot!!!









Mad Max ran the length of the field more times tonight than I think he cares to remember, as each time a TD hit the scoreboard he got to do his thing and run the flag. When the dust settled and the final gun went off, the scoreboard read Patriots 49 McKinley 0... Lots of points on the board, and what a great start to the season. Keep up the intensity boys, work and play hard.

Congratulations! We'll see you next week at Warren High School.
GO SOUTH!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

I've shared this news item through my Google Reader Blog tie-in, but it was just too good not to dedicate a post to it.

According to this article http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/article/4937/wheeling-island-offering-playboy-tournament-series by Kristy Arnett of CardPlayer.com my "thus far" favorite West Virginia casino, Wheeling Island will be playing host to a "Playboy Poker Open!" That's right boys, stop yer grinnin' and drop yer linen!

According to the article players will have the opportunity to enter weekly satellite events for $65 every Sunday at 2:00pm beginning on September 7th. Winners of these Satellites will advance to compete in the "Main Event" which takes place on November 9th at 12:30pm. Players can do a direct buy-in to this event as well but the entry at that time will be $550! In the end ONE lucky winner will find himself on top and claim the "$52,800 purse AND perhaps more importantly a trip for two to a VIP Party at the Playboy Mansion on Nov. 19." Thank you Kristy for pointing this out! You would think that I'd have heard about this before now, seeing as it is in my home state and all, but the local media has been slow to pick up on poker, casino, and gambling related news.

The article as well goes on to discuss the "Playboy Series of Blackjack" as well, in which the top prize will be $25,000 AND the coveted two tickets to the aforementioned VIP Party at the Playboy Mansion on Nov. 19. The $75 satellites for that event begin September 3rd, Wednesdays 6pm and Saturdays 11am. Again that "final" event to be held on November 8th, will offer players the ability to buy in directly for $550.

I do see now that the information is posted on the Wheeling Island website here: http://www.wheelingisland.com/Sites/WIRT/GreyhoundRacing/Promotions.aspx, but unfortunately that information isn't going to be widely received. Hopefully, an advertisement campaign with a little more fanfare is in the pipe already.

Will I find myself there in the thick of that competition? Well, I won't be making any "special" trip up to Wheeling Island or anything... but let's just say I'm rescheduling what I've got on the calendar for November 19th. : P

Regards,

cheer_dad

It doesn't get easier

I ran across the following post http://jacksrok.blogspot.com/2008/08/first-day-of-schoolsniff-sniff.html on a blog that I frequent in which blogger "jjok" laments the fact that his daughters headed off for their first day of kindergarten and that they were growing up, it was all making him a little sad... and that sooner than he wanted he knew they'd be talking about "bras and boys." I remember the same feelings when my kids left for school as well. Seems like yesterday.

Unfortunately, "jjok" I wish I had better news for you, but this is what those little pony-tailed girls will end up doing to you someday:






They grow up...

This one headed off to her first day of high school on Tuesday. Eventually I know it'll be college, and then worse she'll be bringing some "guy" home to meet the folks. (shudder)











I'd like to pretend that it won't be so bad with my son, who is younger, but in the end I know it'll be just as bad. It's just right now it seems like there's a lot more time to deal with the eventuality of it all. We've still got more days of elementary school and little league, thank goodness, but even those are numbered. Either way, try as we might to stop it, our kids are going to grow up on us. All we can do is do our best by them, equip them as best we can and give them love.


The time escapes me... but it was never mine to keep.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Zihuatanejo

Never should you feel in the workplace like you are in a life and death struggle. Loathing the idea of coming to work is one thing, but fear? I mean, c'mon. The crap that Bear faces on Man vs. Wild should not be the ruler against which we have to measure our level of intensity against in the office. Office politics, deadlines, mandates... these are not equivalents to making one misstep and plunging to your doom. Over the past year or two I've developed a mentality that I'm not incredibly pleased with. The Us vs Them, Worker vs Management thought process has invaded. But it didn't get there on its own. It had help. Miserable, self-serving, self-important people and attitudes from the top, with statements like we're doing what's best for the organization not the employees and then turning around and following that up with bullshit speeches like "our people are our most valuable resource." You know what, gimme a fuckin' break. Advance your career on your own damn time... I've got work to do! This is NOT a life or death struggle or a fight or flight scenario. It's a job... it pays the bills. You show up you do it well, you go home and get back to LIFE. Work is NOT life! The accumulation of wealth and power should not be the ultimate objective of one's life!

Sorry there's just been that little rant boiling up inside me, now for a while. I just think there ought to be something else to shoot for. There was a a song by The Godfathers called "Birth, School, Work, Death" that I liked back in my post modern/alternative rock phase in college, (circa 1988,) that summed it all up a little like this:

Yeah I been high and I been low
And I don't know where to go
I'm living on the never never never
This time it's gonna be forever
I'll live and die don't ask me why
I wanna go to paradise
And I don't need your sympathy
There's nothing in this world for me
Birth, school, work, death
Birth, school, work, death

No, don't start emailing, calling and linking me to a damn suicide hotline, I'm a little more level-headed than that (most days.)


I guess this notion that I had about reading that Jimmy Buffett book "A Salty Piece of Land" and getting my "island chill" on, is having a bit of an effect. It's conjured up a lot of pleasing/relaxing imagery in contrast to the daily grind. I keep dreaming about the final scene from Shawshank Redemption in which Red finds his old friend Andy on a beach, Zihuatanejo on the coast of Mexico. The place looks peaceful. The kinda place where your hair will bleach white from the sun, and you'll turn the color of a Chicken McNugget. To quote another song, this time Big Red's leading man Kenny Chesney, "the sun and the sand and a drink in my hand, with no bottom..."

Is it too late to take up sailing... and switch to island time? In a bit of a mood...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Oh yeah... it's a lot like that.

Here I am, fresh back from vacation, once again working for "the man." I've been quickly refitted with the requisite chains and bindings. I can already feel my jaw slacking, and my back beginning to hunch over from the labor of it all. And for Pete's sake, I have a damned office job. How can so much shit get piled back on in a single morning. Not to mention I'm still trying to catch up on the emails from while I was away that were upwards of 400 total. Admittedly, that's low compared to what normally greets me on a return.

I've already heard Laura comment that she's ready to go back to Myrtle Beach and grab a bottle of Jack Daniels for the trip to drown the sorrows. In the picture above, I think she's one of the shadowy figures in the back. I feel like the 3rd in line. The guy in the front bears a striking resemblance to online moniker "Short Stacked Shamus." Hmmmm, go figure. Thankfully Shamus is generally a little more upbeat.

Anyway, work is here and about what I expected. I'm hoping to catch up with JR and Frank today to see how their trips to Tri-State Racetrack and Casino turned out. I'm hoping if nothing else that I can get in a couple of SNG's at some point in the next coupla days to quench the poker thirst.

Over vacation I read quite a bit. I want to recommend the author Christopher Moore to each of you. I devoured two of his books You Suck: A Love Story and Practical Demonkeeping over vacation. I even dropped him an email as appreciation and admiration of his writing, to which I got a response. How cool was that! Anyway, if you haven't done so before, check him out. His twisted wit and story telling were just right up my alley, hope you find him that way too. Right now, I'm indulging in a Jimmy Buffett novel trying to get my "island chill" on with A Salty Piece of Land trying to combat the drudgery of the workweek.

OHHH, and as a side note. I want to thank the nameless faceless person who found my wallet last night outside the restaurant and took it to the manager. Yup, I lost my wallet and didn't even know it, when I get a call from the Eagles Lodge of all things. Turns out the manager found my Eagles membership card and called them to have them get in touch with me to inform me that they had my wallet!?! Whatever, I was glad of it. To top it off, all the cash, id's, credit cards, and dust bunnies were all still present and accounted for. So whoever you were, thanks a lot pal! There are still a few good people out there in the world. My faith in humanity is renewed again.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Adding Insult to Injury

On the heels of Frank's trip to the new Tri-State Racetrack Casino's Poker Room, JR made his maiden voyage trip to the place and sends me the following picture from deep inside the den of iniquity!!! Frank is there again too, and I believe Vince made the trip as well. I suppose I deserve being sent this taunting picture for not tagging along with them. But honestly I've been on the road too long from my vacation. I promise guys on the next trip I'll be there... and I'll probably be losing money.

Thanks for the picture... but where the hell is the poker chip to add to the collection... or are you making me collect it for myself? Have a good trip guys. Come back with big cash and bigger stories.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Getting back in the swing

Since returning from the beach it's been rough to get back in the swing of things. It's kinda like detox, and needing a vacation from the vacation. On Thursday I had to pick Whitney up from cheerleading, right when we got home, and then turn around and head up to Parkersburg South High School for her Orientation. Yes, my baby girl is now in high school, stop reminding me. I'm still struggling to understand how there's going to be enough room for all these kids at South, in spite of all of the renovations and additions to the school over the past couple of years. Of course, I'm not sold on the whole "middle school" concept either. But we'll just have to wait and see. I wish the kids and the administration the best of luck!

Later that evening Big Red and I headed for the Eagles and met up with JR and Nikki and Frank also showed up after a while. I drank a few, and then a few more. We both had a little slot machine time and came out on the plus side, including our bar tab!

The next day, Big Red had to head back to work... haha! : ) I slept in a bit, but then got started on the pile of laundry. Later in the day I took Whit to practice between other chores. The evening was a quiet one and the whole family spent it together in front of the tv, reading, and listening to Cole play with his wrestling action figures. No they are NOT dolls!

Today, was South's Meet The Team festivities at Erikson All-Sports Facility. Long drawn out process, that should really be condensed. But I did get to see my daughter perform and so that was a good thing.

Since getting back today I've been wading through the blogs. Wow, I had a lot of catching up to do, since there were nearly 400 "unread" items to check out. It felt nice to get back in to the frame of mind of reading through these postings again, and sharing out some items and skimming others.

I did talk to Frank today, who didn't in fact head to Tri-State "Casino" on Thursday, but settled instead on Friday. He and Vince and Theresa all headed down to see all the goings on. Frank let me know that he made like $350 and that the place was full of fishies! He's trying to talk the wife into letting him go back tomorrow (Sunday) for another go at 'em. He did tell me that the management of the room left a bit to be desired, and wasn't up-to-par. He was upset by the chaos, particularly since they've had so long to prepare and could have easily taken some pointers from Wheeling and Mountaineer to the North, but it appears that would have been too much to ask. I'll wait for Frank's trip report on his blog to see what other goings on he encountered. Eventually I'll make the trip myself and offer up my impressions as well.

Time to get back to the pile of laundry folks...

Regards,

cheer_dad

To all you nay-sayers...

Well you thought the day would never come. Two outa Three ain't bad huh!?! Well what's been nearly a year in the making is finally going to happen. "What's up, cheer_dad," you ask, "what's the earth shattering news?" Well according to this article http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/x1846891047/W-Va-racetrack-given-OK-to-offer-poker/index.html?printview=true Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center will FINALLY be opening its doors to offer poker to the masses! That's right people the third West Virginia casino will finally be offering something other than slots and dogs. This comes nearly ONE YEAR after the initiative was passed by Kanawha County to allow the casino to open poker and table games at the existing casino. Wheeling Island and the Mountaineer jumped on that bandwagon long ago and has thrived at least as far as my personal observations and the various articles have thus far suggested. I wish Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center good luck, and yes eventually I'll be down to give it a go, but I'm still a little irritated that it took so long to make it happen. The people of Kanawha County were none to happy either, and even the Governor weighed in on it you'll recall from a previous post I threw out here on the blog. But anyway, today's the day following 2 days of successful "charity" poker tournaments to get the ball rolling, the Lottery Commission gave their blessing and a quiet sigh of relief which says, "sheesh, it's about friggin' time Tri-State!!!" Anyway, read the article, and make plans to visit this new poker room when you can. My buddy Frank, was headed down to indulge in the madness of the first day/night, this evening. I haven't talked to him since I left for vacation so I'm not sure how all that's panning out.

I'm back in town now, having just arrived home after that long drive back from Myrtle Beach, SC. It's good to be home, but as usual there's already a lot to get done after a vacation. So rather than sitting here pecking away at the keyboard, I better get to it.

See some of you later this evening at the Eagles drawing, and others I'm sure over the weekend. It's good to be home.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Extremely tired among other things.

Greetings from the sand, sun and surf. A whole lotta sun, and even more beer. Big Red, Cole and I, Steph and Jeffrey, and Chris, Laura and Megan are here at Myrtle Beach , South Carolina. We had another great day in the sun, tanning and tanking, or getting tanked. : ) We've had some great weather, despite the fact that when we were driving in we were getting quite a bit of rain. We were all a bit concerned. But the sun has shined ever since then. The Brothers(es) will be staying on through Saturday, while the rest of us, are planning on leaving Thursday morning. The kids will all be heading back to school VERY soon. Even I hate it for them. Summer is just too short. We're currently here at the condo, unwinding and relaxing. I'm bloggin, and drinking a Corona while everyone else does their thing too.

I wanted to mention that Jr hosted NDPT #12 at the Eagles this past Sunday and got 29 players along for the drive. He seems to believe that they are quite pleased and definitely want the group to return, Sadly we're all disappointed not to have played, but that's just the way it goes sometimes. While did All-In Allman hafta win the damn thing! (Congrats anyway!) Jr let me know that there were 29 players who took part. I'll get the points posted later, but this is the first I've actually been connected while on vacation.

Back home Whit heads to gymnastics as well. Uncle "Jun" is helping to pick up Whit and get her to practice... you have NO IDEA how much I appreciate the help.

Anyway, I hope all is well!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Pack the House

Last word from Mr. Yanok sounds like the basement is going to be full, when it comes time for the cards to get in the air. Tonight at 7:30 we'll converge at the Yanok home for the August qualifier tournament. Maybe I'll actually get around to doing well in one of these. This one would be a good one to take down too, since the numbers, the $$$, and the points will all be high. But let's not get ahead of ourselves huh...

The work day was short, as promised but I actually had to put in some actual work before calling it a day at noon. This Configuration Management thing will most certainly be the death of me. But on a positive note... we leave for vacation on Sunday for Myrtle Beach, again! Unfortunately, Whitney won't be coming along with us this time, as her cheerleading duties and schedule have re-prioritized her life. She's okay with it all though. I haven't heard any complaints anyway. What with all that teenage angst, she's probably looking forward to the time away from the 'rents! For any of you little twits out there who are thinkin' about stopping by to hang with my little girl while I'm out of town, just wipe it from your little brain! She'll be heavily guarded.

Gotta run, now and take Whit and Jordan to the Homecoming festivities. Then, poker Yanok style awaits!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Screamin' Eagle

Nothing but a 5 hour work day to contend with tomorrow, and I use the word "work" lightly. The week has been an absolute grind, and I don't mean in a good way, like on the felt. But working for my Uncle Sam. It's like this "Unc" you've had more than your fair share of me this week. I'm heading out for some R 'n R tonight. You think it'd be a bad thing if I planned ahead for a DD to get me to work in the morning? One plus side to it, you don't have a hangover... of course on the downside, you can't walk a straight line. Then again, how often does that friggin' task come up in the workplace. Okay, okay, I'm only kidding. I'm going to down a few tonight, but I'm not planning on it getting out of hand. To those of you who will be there tonight at the Eagles, you can however expect to see one of those minor skirmishes with the accursed Jack Daniels. Incidentally, I thought the "screamin' eagle" above was apropos! Cut me some slack here people, I've been writing myself silly at work about things I couldn't give a damn about... the cliches are all I got left. The cheer_dad is tapped out. (WTF, did I just refer to myself in the third person?)

So, tonight as I go "out on the town" to "tie one on" forgive me if I say something goofy like "smoke 'em if ya got 'em" or "do you need a nipple for that beer?" Just be sure that you "respect me in the morning" and tell me I "look like hell" or "like somethin' the cat dragged in," but somebody for damn sure better be offerin' me a little of "the hair of the dog that bit me!" It's gonna be one of those nights folks!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Do the Humpty Hump...

Hope you've all had a Happy Hump Day. Congrats we've nearly survived yet another day working for the man! Tomorrow night is Eagles drawing night, followed by an oh so short day at work on Friday. We're getting early dismissal due to Parkersburg Homecoming, which basically overtakes the streets, parking lots, etc... all around our building. There's just not enough to go around, and all the concession carnies start setting up on Thursday night/Friday morning in the street right behind the building, so it gets crowded quick. Aww... how terrible that they just have to send us home so early. I might just drink lunch.

Later that evening we'll converge on the home of the Yanoks for their monthly tournament extravaganza. My daughter will have some various Homecoming duties to attend to throughout the weekend as part of the South Cheerleaders. I think there's a Dilly Dunker in her future. Also this weekend (Sunday) we're leaving for Myrtle Beach, again! I joked today at lunch with Big Red and both of the Brotherses, when Laura was going over her packing list. I let her go for a while before breaking in to say simply... flip flops, trunks, beer... packing's done! Looking forward to feeling the sand beneath my feet one more time this summer, and just soaking up mass quantities of sun and alcohol.

I played a few of those uber cheapie SNG's on Bodog again last night. I fired up 3 tables, and ended up grinding out a 2nd place and two 1st place finishes. Pfffft, this game's friggin' easy. : ) These games are teaching me patience, the power of position, and to not get excited one way or the other. If you win... no big payoff, but if you lose, ehh it's just a little pocket change. Still it's MY Pocket Change though!

Hope all is well with the lot of you, and remember after Hump Day, it's all downhill to the weekend. Now if we can all just avoid ramming into some obstacle on the way down.

Regards,

cheer_dad

NDPT Points Update

I'm a little bit behind, but JR did send me the NDPT Points update to get posted to the website. The link on the website is now pointing to the new and improved points spreadsheet. But in case that's just all too difficult for you to find, try this... http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=ptNl6_cpXDHlDaBaHIU7NVA&hl=en. You will note that somehow despite a horrid finish I've remained on top of the heap, albeit by only the slimmest of margins against Steve "All-In" Allman. Here's where that maximum of 10 games thing starts to kick in. Actually only 3 of us can be considered "DIE HARD PLAYERS" thus far on the year, seeing as we haven't missed a game. That'd be Big Red, Allman, and I. Yeah, we don't have a problem... we can quit anytime we want. We just don't WANT TO!!! However, Steve has the opportunity to be the only one this NDPT 2008 season to get PERFECT ATTENDANCE! Since Big Red and I will be missing the next game NDPT #12 which JR has arranged to have held at the Eagles. We will be baking ourselves on the beach, instead. : ) I know, it's a tough trade-off! So, Steve ole buddy what do ya think, can you make every single game until the end of the year. Duh, there's a no-brainer...

A number of us will be playing this Friday at the Yanok's. Then, hopefully we'll be heading out the next day, beachward bound. I really need a top finish there, to get myself in a position for the end of the year tournament. So, if we could keep the suckouts to minimum, and my case of 2nd best out of it, that'd be great.

Anyway, good luck to you all in that and in Sunday's tournament at the Eagles. Do your best to make this one, and show your support. If all goes well, we hope to continue playing there on a recurring basis.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Bodog Beginner Tournaments

In other news from last night, I decided to logon to Bodog when I finally got home last night with Cole. Big Red headed to the Eagles to meet up with some of her girlfriends, while I opted to stay home, as I was in a bit more mellow mood than that. I joined a couple of the Beginner Tourneys (SNG's) again. I realized last night that these play at higher levels than I'd realized before. I noted the presence of some $8 beginner tables last night, but like I promised myself I was sticking to the lower ones until I reach a pre-determined bankroll level on that site. I won one of the SNG's and took 2nd in the other. I did lose in another one but I got my money in good and lost to a suckout. That happens, but these SNG's when played in multiples have a nice way of levelling out your losses. In fact, I moved up another $10 last night. So that helped to reduce my overall $$$ loss from the night, including JR's house.

I still agree with every move I made in last nights NDPT gathering. I lost but I guess I lost the right way! : ) Hey, I can't complain, how often do you get to look down and see quads. I was on one heckuva card roll there for a while, just too bad it had to end abruptly.

See you all on the felt again, soon. By-the-way Big Red and I will NOT be at NDPT #12 held at the Eagles as we will be leaving for the beach, along with the Brothers clan. Yes, this is beach trip number two for us for this season. I could get used to this. I hate to miss the game and I'm excited to see how it all works out for us, since we hope to add this venue to the available poker frenzy here in our little town. If all goes well, this game will likely be available on a monthly basis... So, don't forget to get out there and support this game with your attendance. Also coming up this Friday is the Yanok Qualifier for August. Actually we WILL be able to make this one, so we'll see you all real soon.

Regards,

cheer_dad

My NDPT #11 experience...

Oooooffff! Okay, NDPT #11 started off unbelievably for me. I caught so many cards, so many hands. But I was the first to recognize that getting cards early on in a tournament is the wrong time for it to happen. I was right. On the second hand of the night from middle position I looked down at pocket 10's. I limped, and got to see a flop, which gave me... brace yourself... QUADS!!! I actually made a little on this one. I, of course checked and let someone else do the betting for a while. I did bet the river and got paid, but I had to hold back a bit, since no one could have much of anything else based on the rest of the board. The very next hand, I flopped a set when I connected with my pocket 4's. By the river I made a boat! I didn't get called, but showed nonetheless. Four hands later, I looked down at pocket 7's and made the call against a mid position raiser. The flop gave me a set, but had also came out with 3 hearts on the board! But they checked to me and I bet anyway, and got one caller. By the turn I made QUADS again! I didn't get called, but showed again! Not long after I made another boat, but didn't get called again... No show on that one, as it was getting old. Then, somewhere along the line, Big Red got knocked out from the other table. It was time for a little table balancing. I was in the spot to move... and was moved in to the former chair that Big Red had occupied. That was a bad omen. I stayed out until I could get a read on people. When I finally entered a hand from late position, I looked down at AQ. I raised to 5X the BB, and figured I might get called by someone thinking I was just pushing. Didn't matter, I got raised preflop. I had made it 500, and was raised to 800 total. Of course I call here. I found pocket 5's in the hand of the other, and this time they held. Ouch. Then in the next two hands I was done. Pocket 3's were bested by pocket Queens, and then I was all in blind, and hit nothing. It was rough... but I wasn't surprised, I've seen it too many times, it just happens that way sometimes.

Anyway we're home now... but as we were leaving Mike R, took it down, for the Big Win. I believe Eric S took the second spot. Congrats guys! I'll have to wait a day or so to see how the points thing pans out. Here's where things start a changin'!!!

Thanks JR for hosting tonight, regardless of how things turned out I had a great time. Have a nice night folks...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Inconsistent enforcement

An interesting article off the Reuters News Wire: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0731627620080807?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0, entitled Lawmakers urge U.S. stop action vs EU gambling firms. According to the article "Rep. Robert Wexler, a Florida Democrat, and Rep. Steve Cohen, a Tennessee Democrat" issued letters of warning to "U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey" urging that the U.S. Department of Justice to cease criminal investigations related to the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act of 2006) against companies which operate Internet gaming from European Union (EU) member nations. Specifically, they warn against investigation of activities which occurred prior to passage of the UIGEA. This "trend" if continued could "lead to a potentially damaging trade spat between the United States and the European Union at the World Trade Organization."

The article by Doug Palmer goes on to say that the European Commission launched an investigation of its own in March to determine if the U.S. "was singling out EU companies for enforcement actions, while allowing U.S. online firms to operate freely."

Recall that following passage of the UIGEA (the law which made payments by banks and credit unions to online gambling sites, illegal) a number of online poker rooms departed the U.S. market and began seeking customers elsewhere. Most notable among that group was the then giant of the industry, Party Poker. Despite this fact there are still quite a large number of available online poker options at the disposal of the U.S. market. These available options are largely outside of the member nations of the European Union. Most notably/remarkably U.S. based companies continue to operate undeterred. This fact causes most concern as it is perceived (and rightly so) as inconsistent enforcement.

As a poker player it goes without saying that I don't agree with the UIGEA and the ban by the U.S. of online poker, under the auspices of "illegal gambling." I'm not going to get into the "it's a sport" argument. It's a game, that can be best played using skill and experience, however involves a true element of chance. I do not agree with demonizing poker, and taking it away from a U.S. public which largely treated it as recreation under the guise that illegal dealings and a seedy element was all that did partake in the online arena. BUT, aside from all of that. Right or wrong and ultimately however this whole online poker thing works itself out; it is FUNDAMENTALLY WRONG to go after someone or a company for illegal conduct which was NOT deemed to be illegal at the time! I can't even get away with that kind of action against my two children. I think even they would raise an eyebrow. I'd look quite foolish. I believe that is the role which Representatives Wexler and Cohen are currently playing. They are crying foul at the activities of the Justice Department. They recognize that the implications could very well be far reaching and further damage the reputation of the United States in the international community. (Yeah, like we need anyone else in the world mad at us!) This just is NOT a fight that is worth winning. I'm not even sure what there is to win.

The UIGEA has proven to be a hot bed of controversy and I fear that its effects will continue to be felt for quite some time. But the problem isn't going away. A large part of the population in the United States continues to play poker, despite the initial impact that was felt when the UIGEA passed. It continues to grow in popularity. Poker players are not going away, their numbers continue to grow. Those are facts that the European Union and the World Trade Organization cannot continue to ignore. Still, I firmly believe that this argument will be going on for many years to come.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Quickie post

Work is going by in a bit of a blur again, although it doesn't seem there's much to show for it. Weeks like that do pop up from time-to-time. Our team did take our summer employee out today for lunch, as she will be heading of to college for her freshman year. She's a good kid and she's been a great addition to our team. We hope to see her back during break and/or next summer.

My daughter has already started in to cheer leading practice. All day sessions ever since tryouts have kept her occupied and active. That's a good thing! A little bit of order in her life is a very good thing. By the way, don't be surprised when I start hitting you all up to buy the fundraiser stuff to support the Parkersburg South Patriot Cheer Leaders! You know it's gonna happen just smile and pay the girl. With my thanks of course!!! : )

We are in a rush this evening as usual, to get things squared away and go out to dinner with part of the larger crew tonight. We're celebrating both Julie's birthday and Chris and Laura's anniversary. Luckily there's a bit of a lull in the action to allow us to get there.

Don't forget that Saturday is JR's hosting turn at NDPT Tournament #11. Oh and in case I haven't mentioned it in a while... I am currently in the points lead, if only by the slimmest of margins. Regardless, you'll need the "A" game people, I'm not going down without a fight, or at least lots of alcohol... and I'm preferring Jack Daniel's these days if you're buying.

Time to call it a post.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Whitney made cheerleader...

My daughter, Whitney, made the JV Cheer leading Squad. She was a little dejected about not making the varsity squad, but Big Red did remind her that she hadn't "cheered" or done gymnastics in nearly 4 years, and so making a high school squad at all was quite an accomplishment. Gone are the days of good looks and a loud voice being enough to make cheer leading. Requirements involve some high level athletic ability. Minimum of a standing back handspring, and a running round off/back handspring combination. You may think they just stand there and look pretty, but I've got news for you. There's a lot of time and effort involved. As part of her schedule for the year, she will practice a minimum of 2-3 days per week for at least 2 hours after school. They are required to also take an outside gymnastics class, to develop new stunting skills. They not only appear at sporting events, but also at fundraisers, charity work, parades, competitions, etc... Also, during the remainder of the summer, leading up to the 1st day of school, they will continue to have some all-day practice schedules. Tryouts and subsequent meetings yesterday, were LONG! Warm up began at 2:30pm, tryouts started at 3:00. At 6:00pm they finished tryouts, and results were posted shortly thereafter. Then parents and cheerleaders met regarding responsibilities and $$$. Uniforms were put together (by the way they each have 4 different uniforms.) It was going on 10:00pm when Whitney and Teresa made it home last night. And she has to be at practice at 10:00am.

I really hope that this turns out to be a wonderful experience for my daughter. I'll do all that I can to help make that happen!

Today, I'm back to the ole grind, after my extra long weekend. : ) It was all right here waiting on me, as usual. The major problems, the minor irritants, the petty squabbles, the typical bullshit. Oh goody. Is it Friday yet?

Time to get back to it...

Regards,

cheer_dad

NDPT #11, Blogger spam issue update, Wheeling and cheerleading too

Here's the latest announcement for the next NDPT Poker Tournament from Jr:

Tourney # 11 is scheduled for August 9 (Saturday) at 7:00. R.S.V.P. Now!!!
It will be interesting to see where the points fall after this tourney. Remember, only the top 10 finishes are counted.
20 - person cap
$25 Total
$20 1,000 chips
$5 All-in (Bounty) chip

Hope to see you all there!
Thanks,
Jr.

P.S. - Second tourney tentatively scheduled for the weekend of August 23rd. Will be either Saturday (at my house) or Sunday afternoon (at the Eagles). There will be no cap if we have it at the Eagles.

Interesting P.S. there too! The Eagles has as of late "inquired" as to our interest in bringing our little poker game "back" to the club. I remember a time when we weren't so welcome. What a difference a new set of officers and a little over a year makes... But that's ancient history now. I'll be happy to return, we'll just see how it all plays out.

In other news I'll make mention of a couple of posts that came from Blogger. I recently made note of the fact that a couple of my favorite bloggers AlCantHang and DrPauly had been identified by Blogger as spammers and their respective blogs were interfered with. That injustice has been recognized and corrected according to the following posts which appeared in the Blogger Buzz...

"Spam Fridays
August 1, 2008 — While we wish that every post on this blog could be about cool features or other Blogger news, sometimes we have to step in and admit a mistake.
We've noticed that a number of users have had their blogs mistakenly marked as spam, and wanted to sound off real quick to let you know that, despite it being Friday afternoon, we are working hard to sort this out. So to those folks who have received an email saying that your blog has been classified as spam and can't post right now, we offer our sincere apologies for the trouble.
We hope to have this resolved shortly, and appreciate your patience as we work through the kinks.
— Brett "

"You Are Not Spam
August 2, 2008 — You knew that already, and now we do too. We have now restored all accounts that were mistakenly marked as spam yesterday. (See: Spam Fridays)
We want to offer our sincerest apologies to affected bloggers and their readers. We’ve tracked down the problem to a bug in our data processing code that locked blogs even when our algorithms concluded they were not spam. We are adding additional monitoring and process checks to ensure that bugs of this magnitude are caught before they can affect your data.
At Blogger, we strongly believe that you own and should control your posts and other data. We understand that you trust us to store and serve your blog, and incidents like this one are a betrayal of that trust. In the spirit of ensuring that you always have access to your data, we have been working on importing and exporting tools to make it easier to back up your posts. If you'd like a sneak peek at the Import / Export tool, you can try it out on Blogger in Draft.
Our restoration today was of all blogs that were mistakenly marked as spam due to Friday's bug. Because spam fighting inherently runs the risk of false positives, your blog may have been mis-classified as spam for other reasons. If you are still unable to post to your blog today you can request a review by clicking Request Unlock Review on your Dashboard.
— Siobhan"

That's good news and I'm glad it's been worked out.

Also, something I meant to mention in my last post related to the impromptu trip to Wheeling on Saturday. Chris finally realized that when I referred to one of my favorite people who worked the Wheeling Island Poker Room, that it was Diane "the dealer" and NOT Diane "the room supervisor." There's no comparison. Diane the dealer is great, and always has a smile on her face and can dish it out as easy as take it. She's great to have at a table! I only wished I'd been able to play at her table longer. Incidentally, she's sporting a new hairstyle. Regarding the other Diane... well let's just leave it at that, mmmkay?

My "little girl" just left for cheer leading tryouts. She's nervous, worried, wants it to be over, and all that; but she's worked really hard for this and that's all she can do. She's just gotta get out there and do it, and leave it all out there on the floor! Good luck baby girl!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Wheeling impromptu trip again

Startingly following last night's AMBUCS drawing that Big Red and I, along with Chris and Laura; our degenerate quartet jumped in the car and headed to... yup you guessed it... Wheeling! JR and Vince were already there (having called me much earlier, to rub it in and invite me along.) I don't know where the idea for us to go to Wheeling came from, but the decision was ultimately Big Red's to make. It probably wasn't the brightest thing I've ever done, but hey any day playing cards and a little casino gaming is just all too appealing.

It was going on midnight when we arrived in the Wheeling Island Poker Room. I was seated immediately, and waved my hellos to JR and Vince, who remarkably were not seated together, and I didn't catch either of their tables either. The room wasn't really all that busy either. Now, I did get to play with Chris at the table with me, so that was kind a nice to have a somewhat friendly face there with you. There were really only a couple of players with issues at the table, you know issues that I can spot and try to exploit! : ) The one, I never got involved with in the #6 seat. I think he tended to push a little hard but he was playing a lot of stuff. The other guy in the #7 seat however, I got involved with. He was first to act and simply called the $2 BB. I popped it to $10, and everyone but the #7 seat folded, he made the call. Now I popped it to take it down then and there... simply playing my position as I should, but in this case it wasn't a terrible hand. The flop came 3-K-3. I bet out $20, and I got a quick call, so there is concern in my mind now. But then the Turn fell a beautiful 9, giving me K's and 9's. As soon as it drops, the #7 seat makes this grossly exagerated motion like he's conducting a symphony orchestra and says "all of it!" I pause only briefly and tell him if you got the 3 I'm paying you and I'll congratulate you on your win. He's got me covered. I turn over my K-9, he shows K-10. So, yes he had me dead to rights and was trying to rope me in, but making the smooth call earlier. But I hit the card and had already decided what I was going to do before it came to that. At first a couple of the guys at the table miscalled the hand as a split, the dealer nodded agreement just like my opponent did, when the River Ace fell. I had to remind them I had Ks and 9s for the win. Yes, it was an ouch for him. And the pile headed my way. What was more interesting was to begin listening to the guy after that. He first criticized me to the girl beside him, saying he couldn't figure out how people who didn't know how to play could win like that. Then, for the next few hands, he couldn't get away from a hand to save his life. Tilt had arrived, and his stack began to dwindle, and finally got off the table. Not long after that I gave some of my stack to the guy beside me, when I raised with AJs in position and got him as a caller. I flopped TPTK with my Jack. I bet out he called, and then the board began to unfurl. We both check the turn, but the river came out filling in a potential straight. He wisely priced me in, with a small bet, which I had to call. He immediately told me that he'd sucked out and hit the straight. Not long after, the table broke up as players filtered their way out of the poker room.
I cashed out up around $30-ish, and headed up to look for Big Red. I played a few slot machines and then finally perched myself at a Three-Card poker table with my wife. She lost the last of her money and I was about to join her when I went on a run and hit two straights in a row, with the dealer qualifying. These paid out 6 to 1. A few other decent hands and I went from the brink of disaster to be up an additional $100.
Not long after that because my eyes were getting heavy, we cashed out and rounded up the herd and headed back home. Of course we had to make our obligatory stop at Denny's for breakfast. When I got home, I grabbed a couple hours sleep and then got up to go into work for patch maintenance on our servers. Thank goodness for coffee.

All in all, last night and early morning was a really good time. Of course I'm tired and it'll take a while to catch up on my sleep. I'm off tomorrow, so that'll help. Hope everyone's day goes well, oh and keep your fingers crossed for my daughter PLEASE. Cheerleader tryouts are today, and she's really busted her ass to try to make it. Just once let her have some luck of her own, and not the lousy kind that usually befalls me.

I'll see you all soon!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Sometimes I can type faster than I can think

By the way, the weekend arrived early at least for me. I took Friday off... and it was a group decision. Big Red told me that I was sleeping really well that morning and so she decided to let me sleep. Ahhh, ain't that sweet? No, not really since what it really meant was that I had really tied one on the night before at the drawing at the Eagles and I was snoring so loud it was registering on the Richter scale. Hey, give me some credit for at least having the decency to sleep on the couch! Anyway, energized to some degree by the extra sleep, remarkably without much of a hangover. That's one thing I can say nice about the accursed Jack Daniel's, he seldom revisits you courtesy of an earth shattering headache. Now if I'd been throwing back draft beer all night, ouch! But I didn't get off all that easy folks. Big Red did have some "honey do" in mind for my lazy carcass. Both of the kids abandoned me just before she gave me the assignment. The little friggin' traitors, I think they must have known. Anyway, Whit headed to the mall, with JoJo, and Cole went bowling with mamaw and some of the other kids in the family. I on the other hand got to enjoy the pleasures cleaning out the damn garage. I hate cleaning. I'm not a slob, I'm not overly on the side of disorder. And from time-to-time I get a wild hair up my ass and decide to clean up something on my own. This was different. This was the garage, and furthermore it wasn't my idea, it was Big Red's and she expects you know... like results! I swear baby, I'll give up the bottle, just don't make me clean the garage! Well that didn't work, and she knew I didn't mean it anyway (damn her woman's intuition.) But I did survive the horror. I did learn one thing while I slaved away. You know, most of this shit, ain't even mine! How many old pairs of shoes do you people need? When did the Home Interiors nick nack crap begin to be "stored" out here? And exactly how many bicycles can you kids ride anyway!?! Alright, I'll stop complaining now, it really did need cleaned up. I didn't die, but when she assigned me the task I still think she secretly had hopes! Like I said, the weekend came early.

I actually played a little poker. By little I mean for a little while, and for some horrendously little stakes. I was bored, Big Red was watching Mama Mia (shudder) although I must admit I knew every ABBA song that was being belted out, in show tune stylings... I grabbed for the laptop and checked email, caught up on my blog reading and writing for that matter, and in the midst of things I fired up Bodog and thought I'd kill some time. I looked for something to occupy the time, but nothing too serious. I've only got a modest bankroll online anymore, and I don't want to squander it off on some poker ego trip. I play online most often to unwind and relax (though there are days when I wonder what the hell I was thinking when I came up with that idea.) Now, if I went bustola, it wouldn't be painful to the wallet. I'm not wagering the milk money (although the sums are similar.) If I lost it all, I'd be upset, cause I'd have this empty feeling but then again I could turn around a drop a few C-notes back out there again and be back in business. But I don't want to. I haven't redeposited "new" money in a very long time. Granted I'm not cashing out either. But that sum is there for my pleasure and it has served me well now for a few years. That first $90 I deposited so many moons ago, has definitely grown. I bought a few things along the way with it too. I'm happy with it. I don't need (right now) those big scores and grinding out for hours and days on end to enjoy poker. I love the game, and anyone who knows me, knows that. I play, talk, and write about it all the time. It is my hobby, and as hobbies go, this one has on occasion turned me a little profit. How many hobbies can people say that about? Over time, my game has improved. My opponents suckouts don't surprise me anymore, and I still feel my pulse quicken when I flop the stone cold nuts and some "guy" on the other side of the felt is betting in to me. Those are the moments I live for. Last night's 2 games were played at the SNG tables. And for a quick laugh I sat at two $2.20 SNG's! These differ from normal SNG's at least on Bodog, in that they payout the top 4 places instead of the customary 3. I played in some of these the other day too, and had a lot of fun, and cashed in like 3 out of 4. Last night I cashed in both of them. Now, I'm not going to get rich here and I know it, but I made a deal with myself, that I'd breach the $200 mark on Bodog before moving up to anything else. The cash tables I enjoy, but when you sit down, you've got to be willing to sit down for the long haul. Surprisingly these little SNG's are not exactly the donk fest that I had expected. There are actually some good players there. They aren't chatty and trash talkin' each other's mothers either. Without knowing or seeing them, they're just a bunch of guys like me, with a little cash online to mess around with. We're not trying to get rich quick, or get rich at all for that matter. We just love to play the game. We just love to improve our game. We just enjoy the learning of the thing in all its forms.

I think that more than anything is what bothered me most about the UIGEA when it came out, and then they (the DOJ) ultimately smacked Party Poker around (among others.) The "law" was passed to protect us from ourselves and to stamp out indecency and illegal activity. But what was really going on was they were taking away a beloved pastime from me and a lot of the folks that I know and for that matter from a lot of the other low stakes/working class stiffs that I played with every once in a while online just to let off some steam, and actually use my brain a little in the process. We weren't hurting anyone, and we resented feeling like it too. The government wasn't going to make any money off of us. We were the fish in most people's minds and we were just contributing at the bottom end of the food chain. We had no aspirations of greatness (at least none that we were telling anyone about.) We just liked playing. We still do, but there for a while our lives were a little out of kilter. Our paltry sums of money were tied up in the "war" against illegal online gambling and a few of the payment processor fiascos. But I didn't lose any sleep over it. I don't play as often as I did during that poker boom that was online poker, but that's been a choice for different reasons. The UIGEA scared some people and inconvenienced some of us for a time, but for us little guys down here at the bottom the effect was minimal, except that it took away from us a very enjoyable pastime. Some guys tinker on cars, some guys watch sports on tv, some guys do other things... but what we and a bunch of us other "little guys" play poker. And we like to play live games, for small stakes most of the time and make an occasional trip to an honest to goodness casino, but it was great and affordable for us to be able to play more often online. You can't go to a live casino and play micro stakes games. AND us playing at those micro levels online wasn't hurting traffic to the casinos one little bit. What the UIGEA really did was squash the fun of the little guys for a little while. But slowly, surely, it's all coming back. It's still poker, we still play it, and we love doing it.

Sorry I've gone on and on a bit here, but I've done it before and you seem to let me just type what my brain is thinking and you don't seem to complain. So, if you made it clear to the bottom of this post, thanks! If you left me somewhere along the way, that's okay too. Thanks for stopping by, hope you come back my way again. I'm all about low stakes, and low standards... and I'm one of those friends that you've got in "low places."

Enjoy your day...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Free Pauly and Al too!

I came across a post over at change100's blog http://potcommitted.blogspot.com/2008/08/free-pauly.html that reports that Google is up to no good again. Not long ago, the search engine giant started booting/excluding from searches a variety of the bloggers that I read daily (if not more often.) Now, Blogger is getting in on the act too, since they are owned by Google. Specifically the http://taopoker.blogspot.com/ and http://alcanthang.blogspot.com/ blogs are in some sort of exile as their sites have been determined by Blogger to be spam sites. Puleeeeezzzzze! So, I'm following suit here and posting up the link above to get the word out to the handful of readers that I have. Hope Pauly and Al both get it worked out really soon.

Regards,

cheer_dad