I told many people, over the last week or so, that I was almost hoping Canada wouldn't win the gold medal in hockey. On account of how nuts I thought it would get down here.
Who was I kidding?
In a lifetime of hockey fandom, borderline obsession, this is by far the greatest moment. God bless Sidney Crosby. God bless Canada. God bless hockey.
(and, yes, it is completely beyond belief insane nuts down here. but so far peaceful nuts.)
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Brace Yourself
One hour to the Gold Medal hockey game. I don't even want to think about how nuts it's going to be down here if Canada wins. Last night was the definite peak of two weeks of madness, but I have a feeling it won't compare to what'll happen tonight. I just hope people don't get stupid, win or lose. Anybody who thinks a hockey game is a good reason to riot has got serious issues, but you know, it only takes an idiot or two to get things going.
After the game we're gonna brave the crowds and walk down the couple blocks to BC Place and the Closing Ceremony. Katy came through with the ducats for that one. It's good to know people, thanks Katy! Then hopefully our building's still standing afterwards...
Grandma Dunnet and Harry are coming over to watch the game and then watch Henry while we go to the closing ceremony. He's been a little extra fussy, especially this morning which is strange cause so far he's a morning baby. But then Rachel spotted the white of his first tooth peeking through. So that explains that!
Oh, and I hit the 20% mark in my pursuit of Elite. Pretty happy I managed to stay ahead of pace amidst the Olympic madness. (with the cash we've been blowing through entertaining and whatnot, I kinda had no choice).
After the game we're gonna brave the crowds and walk down the couple blocks to BC Place and the Closing Ceremony. Katy came through with the ducats for that one. It's good to know people, thanks Katy! Then hopefully our building's still standing afterwards...
Grandma Dunnet and Harry are coming over to watch the game and then watch Henry while we go to the closing ceremony. He's been a little extra fussy, especially this morning which is strange cause so far he's a morning baby. But then Rachel spotted the white of his first tooth peeking through. So that explains that!
Oh, and I hit the 20% mark in my pursuit of Elite. Pretty happy I managed to stay ahead of pace amidst the Olympic madness. (with the cash we've been blowing through entertaining and whatnot, I kinda had no choice).
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
This City Has Gone Nuts
Honestly. If you like crowds, or if you're the partying type, you should just get on a plane and come here. Obviously no hope in hell of getting a hotel room, but we'll figure something out. We don't have a spare bed anymore, cause we got rid of it to make Henry's bedroom a proper nursery, but you can maybe sleep in our car in the underground garage?
Yesterday we went to the women's hockey game between Canada and Slovakia. It was 18-0 for Canada. I was feeling bad for the Slovakians (I think pretty much everybody there with even an ounce of heart was), but at the end of the game they all skated around and raised their sticks to the crowd. And the crowd went absolutely nuts for them, I mean ballistic. And I realized that this was probably the greatest moment of most of their lives, playing in an NHL rink in front of 18k huge hockey fans. And I didn't feel bad for them anymore.
Then we went down to try and see Wilco at LiveCity, the free music venue two blocks down from the condo. It was, literally, the longest line I have seen in my life. Maybe a kilometer long, and ten people wide. As we told our friends who were thinking of coming down, imagine the longest line you have ever seen, and multiply it by five.
So no Wilco for us, but otherwise it's been awesome so far. The city is way more packed and excited than I expected it to be, and I was expecting a lot.
Yesterday we went to the women's hockey game between Canada and Slovakia. It was 18-0 for Canada. I was feeling bad for the Slovakians (I think pretty much everybody there with even an ounce of heart was), but at the end of the game they all skated around and raised their sticks to the crowd. And the crowd went absolutely nuts for them, I mean ballistic. And I realized that this was probably the greatest moment of most of their lives, playing in an NHL rink in front of 18k huge hockey fans. And I didn't feel bad for them anymore.
Then we went down to try and see Wilco at LiveCity, the free music venue two blocks down from the condo. It was, literally, the longest line I have seen in my life. Maybe a kilometer long, and ten people wide. As we told our friends who were thinking of coming down, imagine the longest line you have ever seen, and multiply it by five.
So no Wilco for us, but otherwise it's been awesome so far. The city is way more packed and excited than I expected it to be, and I was expecting a lot.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Henry As Day Patient
Babies should not have to go to hospitals, of course. But seeing that they sometimes do, thank God for the Vancouver Women's & Children's Hospital.
Our pride and joy had not one but two hernias (apparently not uncommon among male babies, something to do with the testicles descending -- true story!) This week the time finally came to get that fixed. It was stressful, but they are pretty amazing at the place. The surgery took less than an hour and the care before and after was incredible. And now, Henry has no hernias!
Preview Review IV
Grandma Dunnet came over yesterday so the wife and I became the last people in the western world to go see Avatar. It was pretty much exactly what I expected. Probably the most impressive thing I've ever seen, in terms of the visuals or special effects or whatever. And the script left no cliche unturned. I didn't think the story was that terrible, but man, the dialogue. Can't he hire someone to help him with that? Of course, when your last two movies are the two top-grossing movies of all time, you can probably be forgiven for not thinking you need help.
Anyway, I don't know if it was just because I hadn't been to the movies in quite a while, but I thought the previews looked, as a group, terrific. Easily the best bunch I've been able to bring you in the Preview Review.
SALT -- Angelina Jolie is sorta becoming the female George Clooney, imo. And not just for the endless off-screen campaigning. She mixes up her film choices pretty good between quirky stuff and very mainstream fare. And her movies always look like they'll be good, but I'm not sure she's ever made a great one. This movie falls into the very mainstream category, and it certainly doesn't look like it will be her first great movie. But it definitely looks fun. SS (secret score) 5. US (upside score) 6.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND -- I've been seeing those posters with the demented looking Johnny Depp for quite a while, and had absolutely zero interest in this movie. But the trailer flat out kicked ass. SS 4. Didn't give away THAT much, but the visuals are kind of the main point, and it sure gave those away). US 8. "It Might Get Loud" was the last trailer that increased my interest in seeing a movie this much.
ROBIN HOOD -- It is, in my opinion, patently absurd to have hard rock as the sound track to this trailer, given that it looks like it's trying to be somewhat authentic. But whatever, it's the movies, and it gets your heart pumping. Russell Crowe looks like he'll be to Kevin Costner's Robin Hood what Christian Bale was to Michael Keaton's Batman. Like, way better. SS 5. Doesn't really give away that much, but, you know, it's Robin Hood. US 8. Crowe is the anti-George Clooney. Unlikeable as all get out, but his movies are somehow always better than you think they will be.
KNIGHT AND DAY -- Terrible name. And it sounds terrible on paper. Tom Cruise is some kind of ninja-Green Beret-Men In Black-assassin-we're not sure, who gets tangled up with an unwilling Cameron Diaz, and they play cute when they're not getting shot at while driving 100 mph or on an airliner. Actually, they even play cute when that's happening. Yet for some reason, watching the preview, I was like, I wish that was playing right now. Fuck Avatar! That hasn't happened since Don King and I were at Billy Bathgate and saw a preview for Whore starting Teresa Russell and left the theater to go to it instead (I'd call it a mistake, cause Whore was dreadful, but Billy Bathgate was no screaming blue messiah either). SS 6. A lot of the money shots are clearly in the trailer, and it's not too hard to guess a lot of the plot, but at the same time I still don't know who Tom Cruise is supposed to be (is he Knight, or Day?) US 7.5. I'm starting to feel like a real slut to the mainstream. I'm probably setting myself up for disappointment, but I think this looks really good.
PERCY JACKSON -- Actually, this has a really long title. Olympians and something about Zeus maybe? I guess it's the new Harry Potter. Is that right? While I can't get too excited about this type of thing, it does look like they've done an excellent job. Maybe a little less goth than HP, which is good, but maybe a little less inspired as well. SS 6. US 6.
Anyway, I don't know if it was just because I hadn't been to the movies in quite a while, but I thought the previews looked, as a group, terrific. Easily the best bunch I've been able to bring you in the Preview Review.
SALT -- Angelina Jolie is sorta becoming the female George Clooney, imo. And not just for the endless off-screen campaigning. She mixes up her film choices pretty good between quirky stuff and very mainstream fare. And her movies always look like they'll be good, but I'm not sure she's ever made a great one. This movie falls into the very mainstream category, and it certainly doesn't look like it will be her first great movie. But it definitely looks fun. SS (secret score) 5. US (upside score) 6.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND -- I've been seeing those posters with the demented looking Johnny Depp for quite a while, and had absolutely zero interest in this movie. But the trailer flat out kicked ass. SS 4. Didn't give away THAT much, but the visuals are kind of the main point, and it sure gave those away). US 8. "It Might Get Loud" was the last trailer that increased my interest in seeing a movie this much.
ROBIN HOOD -- It is, in my opinion, patently absurd to have hard rock as the sound track to this trailer, given that it looks like it's trying to be somewhat authentic. But whatever, it's the movies, and it gets your heart pumping. Russell Crowe looks like he'll be to Kevin Costner's Robin Hood what Christian Bale was to Michael Keaton's Batman. Like, way better. SS 5. Doesn't really give away that much, but, you know, it's Robin Hood. US 8. Crowe is the anti-George Clooney. Unlikeable as all get out, but his movies are somehow always better than you think they will be.
KNIGHT AND DAY -- Terrible name. And it sounds terrible on paper. Tom Cruise is some kind of ninja-Green Beret-Men In Black-assassin-we're not sure, who gets tangled up with an unwilling Cameron Diaz, and they play cute when they're not getting shot at while driving 100 mph or on an airliner. Actually, they even play cute when that's happening. Yet for some reason, watching the preview, I was like, I wish that was playing right now. Fuck Avatar! That hasn't happened since Don King and I were at Billy Bathgate and saw a preview for Whore starting Teresa Russell and left the theater to go to it instead (I'd call it a mistake, cause Whore was dreadful, but Billy Bathgate was no screaming blue messiah either). SS 6. A lot of the money shots are clearly in the trailer, and it's not too hard to guess a lot of the plot, but at the same time I still don't know who Tom Cruise is supposed to be (is he Knight, or Day?) US 7.5. I'm starting to feel like a real slut to the mainstream. I'm probably setting myself up for disappointment, but I think this looks really good.
PERCY JACKSON -- Actually, this has a really long title. Olympians and something about Zeus maybe? I guess it's the new Harry Potter. Is that right? While I can't get too excited about this type of thing, it does look like they've done an excellent job. Maybe a little less goth than HP, which is good, but maybe a little less inspired as well. SS 6. US 6.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Olympic Fever
Man, you have no idea how much I loved the Olympics when I was a kid. I used to go the library and check out "History Of The Olympics" type books and read about Jesse Owens and Peggy Fleming and count up how many medals Canada had won over the years (that didn't take too long). I don't think too many other young boys of my time considered Percy Williams a personal hero.
I haven't really felt the excitement over the Olympics in quite a while. I mean, I'll watch. But it's hard not to get jaded in this day and age of information overload. But this week, with just a couple weeks remaining until the Vancouver Winter Olympics get under way, I officially caught Olympic Fever. I'm pumped!
It all happened last Wednesday. Rachel had been chosen to be a torch bearer as the Olympic Flame relayed its way through Kamloops, so we headed up there with Henry and Rachel's sister Katy. My sister and her kids came up too. I expected it to be cool, but honestly, it was fucking awesome! Basically the whole city came out and lined the streets (and then the football stadium where they lit the cauldron in a big ceremony at the end of the day, with bands and celebs and whatnot). It really was an electric environment. When it was Rachel's turn I completely forgot myself. I ran across the police line keeping people on the sidewalk so I could get pictures of her from the other side. I almost got run over by some kind of Olympic vehicle, and when I looked behind me my nine year-old niece Bethany was almost suffering a similar fate. So I grabbed her and we ran the rest of Rachel's stretch hand-in-hand while trying to snap pictures. So I'm the fun uncle, not the responsible one. I can live with that. I hate to use the word "magical" in the same paragraph I use the word "electric", and I promise this type of behavior will not occur regularly in this spot. But sorry. It was magical.
I've also been getting pumped just by the transformation happening in this city. You can't walk anywhere down town or around the sea wall without beginning to realize just how big a deal this is going to be. I live right in the middle of it, in a 16th floor condo. I can look out my den/poker office and see Hamilton Street, which will be closed off to only pedestrians for the length of the games. It's gonna be a zoo, and I really couldn't be more excited.
10% Done
Over 10%, actually.
Of course I'm referring to my (ill-advised?) pursuit of SuperNova Elite. I finished January safely past 100K vpp's in my pursuit of a million of the suckers. I'm well ahead of pace, and just behind pace for my unofficial goal of 1.25M vpp's (which is worth about an extra $30k compared to just the 1M).
It's going pretty good, I guess. Yeah, I'm really sick of poker, but I'm pretty sure I'm less sick of it then I would be of any other job. It's kinda how it always was, really. Fun when you're hitting flops and dragging pots (that should be on a t-shirt), and no so much when not. Only difference is, when I put in an 8-hour day and I'm running like shit the whole time, that's a fresh new hell.
It's starting to look more and more, btw, like Stars might change the min buy-ins to discourage short-stacking. If you didn't know, I have been SS"ing the last couple months . When I let that slip on cardplayer, btw, I got a few emails/PM's asking me follow up questions, and I promised to address it all in a blog. Only I haven't. So I will soon. I've just been sucking on blogging this month in general, and haven't really had a desire to write a poker blog especially after eight hours 24-tabling.
But I was saying, it looks like Stars might raise the min buy-in. I say might, cause they're not saying anything about it. But I would have thought it close to impossible a few months ago, and now it's at least possible. I have mixed feelings about that, should it come to pass. I am actually enjoying SS"ing, and there is definitely more to it then people think (again, I'll address this in an exciting blog down the road). I'm trying to get better at it, and even though I've been a loser in the game so far I'm way, way ahead after bonuses. So it's kind of low stress that way. I think I can start beating the games, but if I don't I still get paid (so long as I don't fall so far as to have my losses start being a significant portion of the bonuses -- that doesn't seem likely).
But on the other hand, I recognize why people think it's bad for the game. And I had never even tried it in my life before a few months ago, so I'm not really too stressed about having to abandon it. Basically I think if Stars studies it and feels that it will eventually lead to the games drying up in a significant way, then they should go ahead and make the change. But if they think the games will continue to thrive (which, in terms of numbers, they surely are doing now) then I don't think they should cave to the very vocal minority of full-stackers who are currently waging a propaganda war on SS'ers something fierce. It'll be interesting to see what happens over the next few months.
Playing 8 hours a day I sure notice the A game, B game, C game thing. The biggest challenge is staying focused, and I'm getting better at it (one of many things from SS'ing that will help my full stack game when I return to it). Today I was in the BB with 73o. UTG limped everyone else folded. Flop came 763r and I donked. Turn was the worst, another 6. I c/c'd his small bet. River was a random broadway card. I checked and he made another small bet. I thought I was rarely good, but this guy had given clear indications he didn't have a clue and I had really good pot odds so I called. He had 63 for the boat, only I dragged the pot. It seriously took me like 30 seconds to realize that the flop had actually been 733, so I had flopped 3's full of 7's and he had turned 3's full of 6's. FML, time for a break.
Of course I'm referring to my (ill-advised?) pursuit of SuperNova Elite. I finished January safely past 100K vpp's in my pursuit of a million of the suckers. I'm well ahead of pace, and just behind pace for my unofficial goal of 1.25M vpp's (which is worth about an extra $30k compared to just the 1M).
It's going pretty good, I guess. Yeah, I'm really sick of poker, but I'm pretty sure I'm less sick of it then I would be of any other job. It's kinda how it always was, really. Fun when you're hitting flops and dragging pots (that should be on a t-shirt), and no so much when not. Only difference is, when I put in an 8-hour day and I'm running like shit the whole time, that's a fresh new hell.
It's starting to look more and more, btw, like Stars might change the min buy-ins to discourage short-stacking. If you didn't know, I have been SS"ing the last couple months . When I let that slip on cardplayer, btw, I got a few emails/PM's asking me follow up questions, and I promised to address it all in a blog. Only I haven't. So I will soon. I've just been sucking on blogging this month in general, and haven't really had a desire to write a poker blog especially after eight hours 24-tabling.
But I was saying, it looks like Stars might raise the min buy-in. I say might, cause they're not saying anything about it. But I would have thought it close to impossible a few months ago, and now it's at least possible. I have mixed feelings about that, should it come to pass. I am actually enjoying SS"ing, and there is definitely more to it then people think (again, I'll address this in an exciting blog down the road). I'm trying to get better at it, and even though I've been a loser in the game so far I'm way, way ahead after bonuses. So it's kind of low stress that way. I think I can start beating the games, but if I don't I still get paid (so long as I don't fall so far as to have my losses start being a significant portion of the bonuses -- that doesn't seem likely).
But on the other hand, I recognize why people think it's bad for the game. And I had never even tried it in my life before a few months ago, so I'm not really too stressed about having to abandon it. Basically I think if Stars studies it and feels that it will eventually lead to the games drying up in a significant way, then they should go ahead and make the change. But if they think the games will continue to thrive (which, in terms of numbers, they surely are doing now) then I don't think they should cave to the very vocal minority of full-stackers who are currently waging a propaganda war on SS'ers something fierce. It'll be interesting to see what happens over the next few months.
Playing 8 hours a day I sure notice the A game, B game, C game thing. The biggest challenge is staying focused, and I'm getting better at it (one of many things from SS'ing that will help my full stack game when I return to it). Today I was in the BB with 73o. UTG limped everyone else folded. Flop came 763r and I donked. Turn was the worst, another 6. I c/c'd his small bet. River was a random broadway card. I checked and he made another small bet. I thought I was rarely good, but this guy had given clear indications he didn't have a clue and I had really good pot odds so I called. He had 63 for the boat, only I dragged the pot. It seriously took me like 30 seconds to realize that the flop had actually been 733, so I had flopped 3's full of 7's and he had turned 3's full of 6's. FML, time for a break.
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