First of all I'd like to thank everyone who donated to Elizabeth's cause. Her fund-raising total stands at about $5200 as of this writing, and to be blunt she wouldn't have made it without all of you. I don't have exact numbers, but I think people I cajoled donated something like $1000-$1500. If you didn't receive a personal thank you from me it's because I missed the donation (I don't have administrator privs) or because I don't have any good way to contact you (as is the case for at least one $100 donation from this blog...thank you very much JJ), and for that I am very sorry. It means a great deal to me when my friends and family come out to support something like this, and I have nothing but heartfelt gratitude for all of you.
Now...about the actual swimming part of this thing. Two (but hopefully only two) small concessions are going to be made. First of all, while Elizabeth's ride is spread over just 7 days, I am leaving open the possibility that my swim will last for 8. The reason for this is that Sunday afternoons are my absolute best chuck of time to make progress, and I want to use two of them. I have a commitment this Sunday that could last until early evening, but I still should be able to get a good chunk done afterwards and am not going to delay the start of the challenge. Ideally I will complete the swim in technically just 7*24 = 168 hours, but if it ranges up to 172 I'm not going to take any flack from anybody. There is a chance I'll finish early, who knows, but I am making it known right now that that if I use the second Sunday I'm calling it a win. And second of all, while it was sort of implied (by omission) that this swim was going to just be me cruising back and forth down the pool for hours upon hours, that's not actually the case. I'm going to be swimming things that resemble actual workouts, and that involves sets (things like ten 100 yard IMs on 2 minutes and the like) and on occasion, at my discretion, props. Normal swimming workouts do include the use of kick boards, paddles, and even fins, and for some (a small percentage) of my yardage I may use things like this, especially if my shoulder flares up. There is a pretty big difference between a kick board and paddles/fins, and I'm aware of that, but I'm always aware that we used those things not infrequently growing up and I don't consider them cheating at all. It's my party and I'll use fins if I want to, basically.
Physically I feel OK. I have had shoulder tightness the last two days, and I have also had some issues with my knees when doing breaststroke. Those are both pretty concerning, but I'm confident that the swim now simple is going to come down to mental toughness (of which I admittedly do not have an excess). I have never attempted anything like this, and while I'm sure it would have been simple in high school (I doubt I've ever swum this far in a week, but I am pretty sure I put in 15 mile weeks regularly back then) I just don't know how my body is going to hold up. I could be in for a rude awakening of almost any sort. I'll post regular updates here (sets, yardage totals, etc) and if things go well it'll be pretty obvious pretty immediately that I'm going to make it.
Thanks again to everyone out there for your support!
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
The Beatings Continue
I'm sure you've all noticed the paucity of actual poker content recently. There are reasons for it, which I'll explain at a later date, but for now you'll have to make due with two fantastic beat stories.
Beat Number 1
The game is 25/50 (yes, yes I was where you think I was) and I am on the button. 3 or 4 people limp and Mr. 40 Month Win Streak (maybe snapped? He was playing on the 29th!) raises in the cutoff. I cold call on the button with pocket 6s (what else could I possibly do) and we see the flop at least 7 and maybe 8 ways. I don't know. Lots of fucking people.
864r
Obviously. A stone cold idiot who has limped 85s in the middle somewhere donks, it folds to me, I raise, the blinds both call two cold, stone cold 3 bets, I cap, the blinds call again, to the turn.
8
The blinds check (they're both drawing dead now I'm sure) he donks and I actually consider just calling to let the blinds draw but then decide that's stupid and raise. The blinds both fold (which in theory is good since there are like 20 bets in the pot, but I mean really nobody is folding anything with outs here unless I get like a pair of tens to go into the muck) and stone cold...three bets me. He has an 8 and a 5 and he three bets me. He is winning exactly zero percent of the time here (I cannot have 9s or better from the preflop action...so at a minimum I have 87s...an absolute minimum) and this throws me for a loop. Shouldn't he know he can't win? He should. What can he think I have? Tens? I mean, really? I actually call meekly, which given what he has is a MASSIVE mistake. Obviously....
4
He bets I call he wins and has this shit eating grin on his face and absolutely no idea that he did anything remotely unusual in the hand what so ever.
Beat Number 2
This is just a cold deck really, but since it was played at 100/200 it really hurt. It's simply really. The lady opens and I 3 bet the aces in the small blind and she decides to cap headsup in position with a pair of 8s. Sure. Seems reasonable. I'm sure she's super balanced here, and her range isn't just a decapitated piece of shit missing virtually every single monster. I'm sure....The board comes down 833 obviously and against her range I probably have literally north of 90% equity in a 5 bet pot but instead get to lose 6 more. Seems reasonable.
Beat Number 1
The game is 25/50 (yes, yes I was where you think I was) and I am on the button. 3 or 4 people limp and Mr. 40 Month Win Streak (maybe snapped? He was playing on the 29th!) raises in the cutoff. I cold call on the button with pocket 6s (what else could I possibly do) and we see the flop at least 7 and maybe 8 ways. I don't know. Lots of fucking people.
864r
Obviously. A stone cold idiot who has limped 85s in the middle somewhere donks, it folds to me, I raise, the blinds both call two cold, stone cold 3 bets, I cap, the blinds call again, to the turn.
8
The blinds check (they're both drawing dead now I'm sure) he donks and I actually consider just calling to let the blinds draw but then decide that's stupid and raise. The blinds both fold (which in theory is good since there are like 20 bets in the pot, but I mean really nobody is folding anything with outs here unless I get like a pair of tens to go into the muck) and stone cold...three bets me. He has an 8 and a 5 and he three bets me. He is winning exactly zero percent of the time here (I cannot have 9s or better from the preflop action...so at a minimum I have 87s...an absolute minimum) and this throws me for a loop. Shouldn't he know he can't win? He should. What can he think I have? Tens? I mean, really? I actually call meekly, which given what he has is a MASSIVE mistake. Obviously....
4
He bets I call he wins and has this shit eating grin on his face and absolutely no idea that he did anything remotely unusual in the hand what so ever.
Beat Number 2
This is just a cold deck really, but since it was played at 100/200 it really hurt. It's simply really. The lady opens and I 3 bet the aces in the small blind and she decides to cap headsup in position with a pair of 8s. Sure. Seems reasonable. I'm sure she's super balanced here, and her range isn't just a decapitated piece of shit missing virtually every single monster. I'm sure....The board comes down 833 obviously and against her range I probably have literally north of 90% equity in a 5 bet pot but instead get to lose 6 more. Seems reasonable.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Swimming and Magic
First of all, at this point swimming is what it's going to be. I only have 4 more days until I start the challenge, and about all I can do that will really matter here is sleep enough, eat well, and try not to hurt anything. I haven't actually figured out any sort of schedule for the week itself, but I'm hoping it just sort of comes to me. I guess what I'm really hoping is that I can manage to stay in the pool for 2 hours at a time some late mornings and get the bulk of it out of the way in that fashion. I don't have a good solution for counting...and that is truly bad. But on the whole I think I'm going to make it. Thanks to everyone who donated (I think I thanked you all individually except maybe the blog reader who gave $100 whose name I don't really want to make super duper public but thank you very much JJ) and now it's about time to watch me struggle :)
Now on to the discussion of the magic. I spent about 30 hours at the Camp Scherman 45th anniversary this weekend, and while I've heard Danielle simply rave about how awesome the parts of the 23 summers she has spent there have been, I had never really gotten a chance to see it for myself. I was there in 2004 for about 3 hours, but that didn't really do the job. I was young and so was she and I hadn't really realized what a huge part of her life it was and most importantly I didn't get the sense of the magic. And if you don't stop to think about it and just let everything about the place and the people just sort of float by around you as an observer, you will get the distinct impression that something magical is actually happening all around you. The way people behave. The way things get done. The sense of friendship, of caring, of just sort of everything actually seems illogical and impossible.
Of course it's not actually magic; there is no magic, and that's a sad hard truth in our world. Danielle pointed out to me that if there is any magic on earth it very likely does exist, at least for her, in that place, and while I sort of agree with her see above re: there is no magic. If you think about the place and what's happening a little longer you'll realize that what appears to me magic is simply the culmination of 45 years of positive feedback loops doing good things. The values and ideals of the place, the confidence and happiness it inspires, have combined over the years to make it a one of a kind location for everyone who falls in love with it. In turn those people pass on all the goodness down to the next generation, and unlike other institutions where the leadership and active involvement lasts just a few short years (and therefore one bad generation can poison the entire establishment) "camp" has lifers. These people come back again, and again, and again, and each time they do they are even happier to be there, even more confident that THIS RIGHT HERE is in fact the best place on Earth and they try even harder to convince those around them (lifers, newbies, and everyone in between) of that simple and obvious truth. In other words it's not technically magic, but for all intents and purposes it might as well be. You cannot bottle it up and you cannot recreate it. At the very, very most you can think about it, try to understand what makes it the way it is, and learn from it. Or maybe that's too much; maybe you're just supposed to drink it in and let it remain a little bit of magic.
I like to think about things, though, and it made me realize that from a lot of points of view a lot of things that happen in the real world do look like magic. If you just experience something with your logical, reasoning brain turned off then you'll see something magical every single day. And I guess the point is that while it's good to understand things, sometimes it's better to just let them remain magical.
Now on to the discussion of the magic. I spent about 30 hours at the Camp Scherman 45th anniversary this weekend, and while I've heard Danielle simply rave about how awesome the parts of the 23 summers she has spent there have been, I had never really gotten a chance to see it for myself. I was there in 2004 for about 3 hours, but that didn't really do the job. I was young and so was she and I hadn't really realized what a huge part of her life it was and most importantly I didn't get the sense of the magic. And if you don't stop to think about it and just let everything about the place and the people just sort of float by around you as an observer, you will get the distinct impression that something magical is actually happening all around you. The way people behave. The way things get done. The sense of friendship, of caring, of just sort of everything actually seems illogical and impossible.
Of course it's not actually magic; there is no magic, and that's a sad hard truth in our world. Danielle pointed out to me that if there is any magic on earth it very likely does exist, at least for her, in that place, and while I sort of agree with her see above re: there is no magic. If you think about the place and what's happening a little longer you'll realize that what appears to me magic is simply the culmination of 45 years of positive feedback loops doing good things. The values and ideals of the place, the confidence and happiness it inspires, have combined over the years to make it a one of a kind location for everyone who falls in love with it. In turn those people pass on all the goodness down to the next generation, and unlike other institutions where the leadership and active involvement lasts just a few short years (and therefore one bad generation can poison the entire establishment) "camp" has lifers. These people come back again, and again, and again, and each time they do they are even happier to be there, even more confident that THIS RIGHT HERE is in fact the best place on Earth and they try even harder to convince those around them (lifers, newbies, and everyone in between) of that simple and obvious truth. In other words it's not technically magic, but for all intents and purposes it might as well be. You cannot bottle it up and you cannot recreate it. At the very, very most you can think about it, try to understand what makes it the way it is, and learn from it. Or maybe that's too much; maybe you're just supposed to drink it in and let it remain a little bit of magic.
I like to think about things, though, and it made me realize that from a lot of points of view a lot of things that happen in the real world do look like magic. If you just experience something with your logical, reasoning brain turned off then you'll see something magical every single day. And I guess the point is that while it's good to understand things, sometimes it's better to just let them remain magical.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Random Musings
Even for me this one is probably going to be pretty disjointed. Here we go.
Aruba was fun, but I completely understand why nobody really goes there from California. Other than being a little bit cheaper and with seemingly a little better food, Hawaii really is just a better way to go from here. You don't have to leave the country. The weather is better. The flights are way shorter and way cheaper. Like I said I had a great time, but objectively if you're coming from the left coast just go west young man! There were only about 70 people at the wedding, and nearly half of them were my fraternity brothers and their dates. It turns out the guy getting married is one of the more hidden pieces of glue that holds us all together, reaching down to my class and all the way up to a good number of guys who graduated before or right when I arrived. So that was pretty fun.
Flying really does suck. Danielle hates it, and I usually don't understand her beef but this time on the way back I was pretty miserable. The dude in the middle was just too big and we kept bumping each other and the temperature was wrong and we sat on the runway and I still think I have a headache from the fumes and it was just kind of shitty. And that flight from Miami STARTED about 7 hours after we left our hotel. We did discover valet parking at the airport, which is pretty awesome. The dude just picks you up IN YOUR CAR and takes a shuttle back to his office after giving it to you. A little more expensive, but at 11:15pm when you've been traveling since 9am local time saving 30 minutes is worth...well...a lot.
Swimming....yikes. I snorkeled three times in Aruba and did one of them without gear (just racing goggles, probably swam a mile or so) but I have regressed a fair bit. I should still be OK, but it's not gonna be easy.
WSOP....It's here and shit! I am going to avoid backing people this year, although I sure am tempted to get a piece of professor ben as I say this.
Records that likely will never be broken....In my time as a swimmer I had occasion to set some team, pool, and meet records. I bet a lot of them still stand to this day, but honestly I have no idea. My high school ones probably do, since we sucked. My YMCA got torn down so those don't really count. And the pool and meet ones who really knows. I think I hold (or likely am tied for) the record for times quitting the MIT swim team. I gave up twice, and I doubt anyone has ever quit three times. Sort of like the dude who threw back to back no hitters; I mean really, is anyone ever going to throw three? Today I lapped a load of Danielle's laundry for a second time. The stuff she did has been sitting in the dryer for close to two weeks I think, and I have done two full cycles as it's been just hanging out. Lapping a load of laundry three times seems impossible.
My cat...she is upset we were gone for so long but is in super duper lovey dovey mode. She actually purred the entire time I brushed her this morning (something I have done like exactly once, ever, before today) and is hoarse from meowing so much. As an aside I brushed her wearing only my last pair of clean boxers, which demonstrates just an unimaginable lack of foresight.
I am working on a theory of readiness, where by some people actually become unready for an activity simply by way of time being allowed to pass (for example, in the car on the way to an event). I saw this happen with some of my friends this weekend, and I think it is worth exploring.
That is all. No poker content. None :)
Aruba was fun, but I completely understand why nobody really goes there from California. Other than being a little bit cheaper and with seemingly a little better food, Hawaii really is just a better way to go from here. You don't have to leave the country. The weather is better. The flights are way shorter and way cheaper. Like I said I had a great time, but objectively if you're coming from the left coast just go west young man! There were only about 70 people at the wedding, and nearly half of them were my fraternity brothers and their dates. It turns out the guy getting married is one of the more hidden pieces of glue that holds us all together, reaching down to my class and all the way up to a good number of guys who graduated before or right when I arrived. So that was pretty fun.
Flying really does suck. Danielle hates it, and I usually don't understand her beef but this time on the way back I was pretty miserable. The dude in the middle was just too big and we kept bumping each other and the temperature was wrong and we sat on the runway and I still think I have a headache from the fumes and it was just kind of shitty. And that flight from Miami STARTED about 7 hours after we left our hotel. We did discover valet parking at the airport, which is pretty awesome. The dude just picks you up IN YOUR CAR and takes a shuttle back to his office after giving it to you. A little more expensive, but at 11:15pm when you've been traveling since 9am local time saving 30 minutes is worth...well...a lot.
Swimming....yikes. I snorkeled three times in Aruba and did one of them without gear (just racing goggles, probably swam a mile or so) but I have regressed a fair bit. I should still be OK, but it's not gonna be easy.
WSOP....It's here and shit! I am going to avoid backing people this year, although I sure am tempted to get a piece of professor ben as I say this.
Records that likely will never be broken....In my time as a swimmer I had occasion to set some team, pool, and meet records. I bet a lot of them still stand to this day, but honestly I have no idea. My high school ones probably do, since we sucked. My YMCA got torn down so those don't really count. And the pool and meet ones who really knows. I think I hold (or likely am tied for) the record for times quitting the MIT swim team. I gave up twice, and I doubt anyone has ever quit three times. Sort of like the dude who threw back to back no hitters; I mean really, is anyone ever going to throw three? Today I lapped a load of Danielle's laundry for a second time. The stuff she did has been sitting in the dryer for close to two weeks I think, and I have done two full cycles as it's been just hanging out. Lapping a load of laundry three times seems impossible.
My cat...she is upset we were gone for so long but is in super duper lovey dovey mode. She actually purred the entire time I brushed her this morning (something I have done like exactly once, ever, before today) and is hoarse from meowing so much. As an aside I brushed her wearing only my last pair of clean boxers, which demonstrates just an unimaginable lack of foresight.
I am working on a theory of readiness, where by some people actually become unready for an activity simply by way of time being allowed to pass (for example, in the car on the way to an event). I saw this happen with some of my friends this weekend, and I think it is worth exploring.
That is all. No poker content. None :)
Aruba, Jama....Well, Just Aruba Actually
I just got back from a week in Aruba. It was great. I'll write more later, promise.
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