Here are my statistics from the Lawyers have Heart 10K:

2204 - Adam Moore - 25 - ARLINGTON VA

Net Time: 49:14 (Gun Time: 50:54)
Pace: 7:56 minute miles

Rank:
Men (20-29): 103 / 316
Men (All): 343 / 1132

And a thank you to Praveen, Emily, and David, who put my parents to shame.

We were decimated by the DJ section and the music section. Maybe next time. There was a dispute about the capital of Tennessee. Being born in Memphis, I felt sheepish that I didn't know. But I also didn't care that much, since I had already demonstrated that I didn't know anything that evening. Coming home, I did discover the Mule Capital of the World is actually in Tennessee. So that's pretty sweet.

No other big debates. I mean, we were wrong about a lot of things, but at least we were wrong together. And that's all that matters in the end. The more you know, eh?



In other news, I appear to have a plan to make it down to Charlottesville in a week. Good times ahead after President's Day!

It's been a good morning. First Micah makes a cover for the virtual CD I created late last night and posted in the previous entry. I was happy to have a CD, but then I realized that I was just cashing in on the genius of others. So I was feeling like I couldn't get any lower.

Then I go and do something like this... and TOTALLY redeem myself (thank you Dumb & Dumber). As you didn't know until this moment, I have played yahoo online pool on occasion. Why? Two reasons: It's a lot cheaper and I'm a lot better. Games don't drag on for hours as I try and guide the 6 into the corner pocket. So anyway, back to my triumph:



As you can see, I dominated this game. It's my first shut out in online pool. Probably the first time the other person has been schooled so badly, so I'll leave out his name. No reason to embarrass him, but I wanted to document the event. Not like I am going to call home about it, but I am going to post the picture here. I think sinking all of your balls on the same turn is called running the table. Let me know if it's not. I'll edit this post ASAP.

Lawyer related because I spent the evening with a bunch of lawyers. I skipped trivia (Sorry Caren and Deepa) to play poker and watch David Cross come in second place in Celebrity Poker. Nicole Sullivan won, so I wasn't too upset. I didn't come as close in our nine person tournament. I wasn't the first one out, but I still lost, so who cares about anything else? Eight losers and I was one of them. At least Paul Rudd didn't win everything on Bravo.



There were a lot of players down in the Mercer Pub. It was pretty sweet. No one pulled a gun. I took about 20 pictures. No real dramatic events happened while we were there. Just a lot of bonding and money exchanging hands, which is all we have to look forward to in the real world right? Someone goes all in and then you call them. Wait, is there a zen philosophy book regarding poker?

On other, similarly unexciting law related news, the second day of classes went down fine. I still haven't decided what else to drop, but that doesn't really move the tides. Maybe it will be Economics of Law. For now I need to really get all my moot court work out of the way, or else! Dropping may not take place until this weekend. I don't want to do sixteen credits worth of work even though I enjoy all five of the classes, so I will just have to suck it up.

Side note, Fark approved my first submitted link for posting on the front page. I owe it all to my attendance in antitrust class today since that is where the professor mentioned the Supreme Court had ruled on some case. I guess it means my life is going from great to awesome. Or not, since that is the biggest thing that happened all day (aside from the helicopter shot down and all the real news in the wolrd). There is a chance that copyright class or the musical styling of Bishop Allen will be able to turn things around with a pair of strong performances tomorrow. If nothing else, I will stumble across a Kodak® moment and it will make NYC seem like an awesome place! Everyone cross your fingers, I will need mine uncrossed to brush my teeth.

We lost in Trivia. By 0 points. We were tied for 3rd (10 dollars), but we had one less right answer on the final section. Had anyone supported my Robert Johnson answer, we would have won third place outright.

[steve martin] I wouldn't believe in anything if it weren't for my lucky bottlecap keychain [/steve martin]

Tuesday Night Trivia at the Baggot Inn did not go well. I won't mention much about it. We took in wings. It was a huge turn out for a night with the World Series happening. The questions were tough and once again shifted slightly into areas we did not know well. C'est la vie. I yelled out a funny answer to a question and was told by Caren Lissner that i should have taken the time to write it down as my answer. The only problem with such a solution was that I also knew the real answer to the question. The game unfairly forces you to choose between hilarity and a point. Since our only win tonight was for naming the Mayor of Philly "Mayor McCheese", each point was vital to our fragile egos.

[Clerks cartoon] Nothing can kill the Grimace [/Clerks Cartoon]

Funny moments. One dude sang "Believe it or not" to the audience. I made a joke at Mother Teresa's expense using the word missionary (the aforementioned catch-22(?) between comedy and competition). Deepa described someone as a MILF. I managed to remember all of the lines to the fake answering machine parody to "Believe it or not." Our argument over whether there is a spending requirement to be considered a tourist in a foreign country, and our argument over why Steven King would never wear a bag over his head. Actually, it wasn't really funny. Losing is never funny. Except when you lose to a clown.

----

As for the lack of all other updates, the life is pretty chill at this point. Here are some slice of life moments that demand further explanation but will not get any such thing:

Watching two high school friends try out DDR for the first time.
Running into a pretty high school acquaintance while I was buying an apple in the last place you'd expect to see a guy in a tuxedo.
Debating Wash politics on new (to me) couches on both Saturday and Sunday.
Getting injured because of Starship Troopers.
Listening to the same mix tape six times through over the weekend.
Missing my chance to eat two free donuts.
Missing my chance to see Matt and Ben.
The End.

Lost in Trivia. by 1/2 a point. Well, we lost third place by .5, second place by 1, and we were soundly defeated by the first place team. But a tie for second place might have gotten us in a battle for a chair. For the record, the team was, in alphabetical order, Adam (me), Amy, Anand, Deepa, Eric, and Jeff. We all had one question where we KNEW the right answer, but failed to get it right. But of course, we HAD the right answer on one, and Anand made us change it. So he probably feels pretty bad. and he should. We could have used the Heineken director's chair.

Oh, and it turns out the host is also a published author AND keeps a blog. So you know what that means. LINKS A PLENTY. Her Homepage and her Blog. Good times for everyone. I think I will add her to the old 'Daily Reads' section.

If you don't normally see the daily reads, it is because you aren't viewing this page as Jesus intended. (Actually, you are, so don't worry. This was directed towards lazy LiveJournal readers). Well, not Jesus, but people didn't really like the way he did things anyways. I mean, most of my friends have bad taste, but no one is going to KILL them. Which brings me to the next point.

Submerge. Turns out some Jesus type people like to play trivia. One of them also liked the shirt I was wearing (Satan is a Nerd). I didn't point out that it was being worn ironically, because I was scared. Turns out people are crazy. Who knew? I think I lost the little handbill they gave me advertising their show. Wait. Nevermind that. I found it. Here is their website. Maybe not so crazy, but the guy handing out tickets is obviously in need of a lesson in spotting people who are jaded and hip. (Then he would have realized how cool and ironic is was that I wore his people's shirt in public.)

Also, Jeff spilled beer on me and Deepa. That was probably worse than missing the chair in the longrun, since it means that laundry day is one day closer than it had to be. Perhaps I just need to start enjoying paying one dollar a load. If only doing the laundry felt as good as purchasing a dvd. I now realize that you may want to know more about where we play trivia. We play at the Baggot Inn, it happens on Tuesday night at 7:30 PM. I do not know much, but I like to go because it reminds me of Bw3 (or Mellow Mushroom, really...but even though the format is more like MM, it happens on Bw3). The really interesting thing is that they do not serve food there, so they are fine with you bringing in your own food as long as you still buy their beer. So we brought in take-out Chinese food. It was one of my brainstorms. So even if I didn't contribute much to the win, I did pull that out of my ass. Below, a picture of the Inn.



Of note, there was a "one hit wonders" audio challenge. And the first song? Weezer's Buddy Holly. I was hurt a little

Having now competed in a trivia contest in a bar in New York City, I can say that trivia is hard everywhere. Like a giant rock, or something else equally hard.

Also, two quick quotes from the third season of Mr Show.

Regarding handicaps - as told by the rock band "Indomitable Spirit"

"You can do anything. Just look at us.
Playing rock and roll and riding the small bus.
Being cool.
And staying in school.
Not doing drugs.
And giving out hugs!

My name is Terri and my arms are half there!
But that doesn't stop me from riding on the snare.

Hi, I'm Jimbo and I'm missing my arms too.
So I play guitar with my feet and so can you!

Hey there, I'm Mickey. The one with just a head
And I can play this here flute and knock you out of your head!

I'm Fran and I'm a woman!"

Regarding drumming skill:
"If your arms were made of drumsticks and your head was a drum, it wouldn't matter. You still would suck."

Goodnight everyone! (I just read the constitution!)

I emerged seven dollars ahead after poker last night. Most of it won back from the big mean girl who had stolen it about four weeks prior to this. That puts me up twenty two dollars. Of course, there is one man who is up around 40 dollars, but everyone else is somewhere around even or down to make up for our collective domination, I think.

That being said, the only big thing on the personal agenda this week is to see a movie at midnight on Saturday at the Byrd. Tell your friends, unless they are the kind of people who only respond after a second big fear-of-no-food email. I like people who respond ASAP even if they are only 50% sure they can come and then update their status as new information becomes available. Here that Bush? You can't come! Oh, and I need to send out a poker invitation, since I am in charge until lyle passes the bar.

Now ev’ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin’
Is knowin’ what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
’cause ev’ry hand’s a winner and ev’ry hand’s a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."

Having been unable to complete a joke for the past four days, I will just stick to reporting the facts. I won over eight dollars in Poker last night. Of course I played for about four hours, so the hourly wage still isn't enough for me to quit my day job. I tried to think of humorous ways that I could describe how my friends play poker, but mostly, the one dangerous move is to try and play it drunk. Sure, it doesn't hurt you too much in standard games like five card draw, but even with seven card it can really start to make you behave irrationally. Hmm. Do I have 3 two card straights? Gosh. And then once you get into the really complex games, you notice that you as the sober person can no longer read the hands of the drunk person. They always stare at their cards for a long time looking confused, even if they have a good hand. Perhaps if I had learned poker drunk, then sobering up would create the same kind of effect. Anyways, I just purchased my first song from the iTunes Music Library.

And yes, it was Kenny Roger's "The Gambler' off his "20 Great Years" CD. Now I will be able to burn it to a CD and let everyone listen to it without violating any copyrights. Lyle will be pleased. In my mind, I should start spending all my poker winnings on music, but since I have only won 14 bucks over more than 5 weeks, I do not think I would have much to show for it.

Oh, and if you want to give the Gaskets a listen, let me know.

Poker was minimal last night. I was out four dollars and change by the end of the evening. It was both a big turn out (eight people) and a small turn out (only four wanted to play). We will need to invite better people next week, I suppose. One person said he would have played with us if it wasn't for money. But then no one would have wanted to play for three hours. Having an actual dollar on the line makes behavior slightly more rational. If we were playing for fake money, no one would take it seriously. I certainly want to come out ahead, but I always remind myself that my other option would be to get everyone to come out and go to a movie. We would all lose 7 dollars and have a good time not talking to each other. So as long as I do not average >7 dollars lost for each three hours of poker, I am coming out ahead. I just don't have another movie under the belt. But what with the free NYU movie channel and no really good movies available, I am doing pretty well.

What if I had paid money to see the Hulk movie? wouldn't I have gambled and lost there? So, word of advice, entertainment costs money in most ways, be willing to pay for it. That is what I seem to have been saying all week in my head. Perhaps that should be the theme of the week.

[Poker] is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base. Americans pride themselves on being He Men and they ARE He Men. Remember that the enemy is just as frightened as you are, and probably more so. They are not supermen....

...[Poker] is a bloody, killing business. You've got to [win their chips, or they will [win] yours. [Raise] them up the belly. [Bluff] them in the guts. When [cards] are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt off your face and realize that instead of dirt it's the [folded cards] of what once was your best friend beside you, you'll know what to do!" ...

...There is one great thing that you men will all be able to say after this [game] is over and you are home once again. You may be thankful that twenty years from now when you are sitting by the fireplace with your grandson on your knee and he asks you what you did in the great [poker game of June 26, 2003], you WON'T have to cough, shift him to the other knee and say, "Well, your Granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana." No, Sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say, "Son, your Granddaddy [played in Richmond with that] Son-of-a-Goddamned-Bitch named [Adam Moore]!"

Poker last night turned profitable for yours truly. The big hands at the beginning put me deep into the hole. I blame the Thai food for slowly my judgment. Of course, after just 90 minutes of playing two people were down so much more than me, they wanted to buy in an extra five dollars. We voted and allowed it, but not without some debate. No one should lose a lot of money to us. Of course, one of the big losers tonight had made over 15 dollars in the previous two matches, so I did not feel bad about liberating his money.

There was not a single game that made my night, so don't expect any great description here (Not that the previous description was anything special). I was once dealt a royal straight in five card draw. With only two rounds of betting, the pot was not exceptionally large, but taking zero cards also may be the only way that bluffing could work in five card. Some people did go out when I took nothing. It was pretty sweet, but that also decreased the pot. There were six rounds of hold 'em or something. I did not fare well, but I also did not have it drive me from the game, so I cannot complain that I did not understand. The big Iron Cross and Pyramid games also helped me out. When people have no way to figure out the odds because the game is so complex, they bet more. You have to imagine the scene where those still in the game will all just lay down our hand and say, "Hmmm, what do I have, Lyle? Do I win?" Anyways, tonight tended to be the one night where that worked well for me.

And I have nothing against winning because of luck. So, end of the night for the five players, we had Lyle as the undisputed champ with winning around 16 dollars, me with a healthy 14 dollar profit, and everyone else in various stages of losing. The total pot for the night had been 70, and with Lyle and I taking a total of 50 dollars out of the pot, you can see that everyone else went home less than happy. Bill went out with 7.50 to his name...which means that the other three people got to split 12.50, if you know what I am saying. (They lost a lot!).

So, for the record, I was down five, up .70, and up 14. That leaves me with an average earning of $3.23(3333...). Since we normally play for three hours, I am earning a little more than a dollar per hour. Even if I had lost 10 dollars each week, I would only be losing money at the rate of about three dollars an hour... Lyle believes that this low stakes prevents bluffing from having the desired effect when you have six people. People are going to stay in because it only costs then an extra 25 cents to see what you are holding. Some hands do end with everyone folding but one person, but somewhat rarely. I'll keep you updated if I think our group behavior begins to change.

And now, time to work!

Poker players live life on the edge, but I am sure you already knew that. But I will use this entry to demonstrate that we are your average, rootin, tootin' cowpokes. Actually, some of the players DID grow up in Texas, so there was already quite a cowboy (and girl) atmosphere in the room. Anyways, on June 9 we thought we would play in Chesterfield. On the eighteenth we made the shift to Grace Street Today we shifted our location to Monument. So, as you can see, anyone without a phone would never have been able to make our party. Cowboys live life on the edge.

After picking up Lyle near his brother's apartment, I stopped in Plan 9 and had my Indie cred challenged by a sign. I purchased the album to prove my manhood, and now it is going to get the listening of a lifetime tomorrow at work as I write more about potential implied remedies. Anyways, Lyle and I grabbed dinner at some Italian place on Cary Street. Huge portions, pretty cheap. Hopefully, I will get Thai next time and Zoidberg will eat! By the end of the meal, it was Seven o'clock and we were late for our date.

Arriving at Eric's house, I noted that they had been busy bees since the day before. The desk I had helped move up was not covered in items. I was pleased to see such dramatic results, since it also meant that there were enough chairs for our butts, there was a table for resting our cards and cups, and there was a fan to keep us cool. There was a window with a great view. I did not look, because it was kinda far from my chair, but other people seemed to like it a whole lot. Maybe if I ever go back. There is a whole summer stretching before me like a huge stretch armstrong pulled by two tractors. Perhaps somewhere on that 1980s toy there is another poker night on Monument Ave. Who can really see that far?

So, there we were. Five people playing poker, and two watching. Eric, Laura, Brennan, Lyle, and Adam. Bill and Renee. We had a 10 pm bedtime because Eric's job was going to get him out of bed at 6 am. I started off the game with some big wins, which was nice. I considered cashing out after 20 minutes, but that would have created a bad precedent for future games. I had purchased Pepsi Blue and Dr Pepper. Both were excellent for only costing 60 cents each. Lyle got dip that he hated and chips that were Salsa-less. Cigarette breaks and bathroom breaks kept us from moving quickly, but we played lots of games.

The salsa error really cost Lyle his mental edge, as he would be the first to 'go out' of the game. By the time he went out, I was down to about two dollars. that means that 18 dollars profit was sitting in the hands of the other three people. We were approaching the time limit, so I proposed we play one more game. Pyramid. Bum Bum Bum! I had searched long and hard for the rules that I had been taught, but those did not exist. The only version I found was as follows:
- 9 cards face down, 4, 3, & 2 in the shape of a pyramid
- 5 cards dealt to every person
- Flip the first two cards after anty, those two cards are the wild. If it is a 2, and you have a 2 in your hand, then that two in your hand is now wild.
- Bet, then flip the middle three cards. Those cards are now shared. Like Texas hold'em, everyone can combine the three with the cards in their hand to make the best five card hand they can.
- Bet, then flip the final four cards. Each of those cards pull those numbers out of your deck. So, if you were holding a 3, you lose it.

I put down the nine cards, explained the game, then dealt the five cards. I had a pair of fours, a six, and two other cards that are now forgotten. The Wilds were Jack and perhaps a 2. Whatever it was, it did not help me, so I did not pay attention. I stayed in, but bet very little because a single pair was so little when I knew someone must have gotten a wild card. Flipping over the shared cards raised my spirits. Both a 4 and a 6 were there! That gave me a full house. BAM! Now the biggest fear was that the only remaining four was in the remaining grave yard cards. Blah blah blah, I bet big, reducing my total holdings to eighty cents. Flipping the evil cards, one of them was the same as a wild! This pulled a card out of one person's hand. I lost a 7 at some point, but it did not matter to my full house. the final round of betting ate up my eighty cents. BAM! I win! Three cheers. Well, this story lacked a lot of the drama, but that is because we are not movie stars.

So, as you probably figured out, I ended up with 70 cents profit (which is why I was willing to write this entry in the first place). Had I not won, I would have had zero dollars walking out (instead of 10) and you would not even know that I played that last hand. Fate has rewarded both you and me. Take a moment to thank your lucky stars, because I ain't got the time.