Friday, July 25, 2008
Steve Braband
This guy (who you have never heard of) is going to be on 375 (three hundred seventy-five!) LIVE commercials on ESPN over 15 days. That's twenty-five per day starting Sunday July 27.
Mike Haugen
Randy Pausch
Randy Pausch passed away this morning. He was twenty-three months older than me. He was somewhat well-known for his last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. I saw most of this ABC News feature with Diane Sawyer when it aired in April 2008.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Dates
July 19 60th Anniversary of Mincer's.
July 22 Thirty-Two years ago I became an official employee of Mincer's. In the beginning, Dad paid me 25¢ an hour out of his pocket. My first official payweek (with taxes withheld, etc.) was July 16-22, 1976.
July 23 Five years ago, I fell on a slippery deck at the Outer Banks and severely sprained my wrist.
July 22 Thirty-Two years ago I became an official employee of Mincer's. In the beginning, Dad paid me 25¢ an hour out of his pocket. My first official payweek (with taxes withheld, etc.) was July 16-22, 1976.
July 23 Five years ago, I fell on a slippery deck at the Outer Banks and severely sprained my wrist.
Minimum Wage
The minimum wage increases as of today. We don't have anybody under $7.00 here. Miniumum wages in the United States were first established in 1938.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Engineering
An engineer dies and reports to the pearly gates. St. Peter checks his dossier and says, "Ah, you're an engineer -- you're in the wrong place."
So, the engineer reports to the gates of hell and is let in. Pretty soon, the engineer gets dissatisfied with the level of comfort in hell, and starts designing and building improvements. After awhile, they've got air conditioning and flush toilets and escalators, and the engineer is a pretty popular guy.
One day, God calls Satan up on the telephone and says with a sneer, "So, how's it going down there in hell?"
Satan replies, "Hey, things are going great. We've got air conditioning and flush toilets and escalators, and there's no telling what this engineer is going to come up with next."
God replies, "What??? You've got an engineer? That's a mistake -- he should never have gotten down there; send him up here."
Satan says, "No way. I like having an engineer on the staff, and I'm keeping him."
God says, "Send him back up here or I'll sue."
Satan laughs uproariously and answers, "Yeah, right. And just where are YOU going to get a lawyer?"
So, the engineer reports to the gates of hell and is let in. Pretty soon, the engineer gets dissatisfied with the level of comfort in hell, and starts designing and building improvements. After awhile, they've got air conditioning and flush toilets and escalators, and the engineer is a pretty popular guy.
One day, God calls Satan up on the telephone and says with a sneer, "So, how's it going down there in hell?"
Satan replies, "Hey, things are going great. We've got air conditioning and flush toilets and escalators, and there's no telling what this engineer is going to come up with next."
God replies, "What??? You've got an engineer? That's a mistake -- he should never have gotten down there; send him up here."
Satan says, "No way. I like having an engineer on the staff, and I'm keeping him."
God says, "Send him back up here or I'll sue."
Satan laughs uproariously and answers, "Yeah, right. And just where are YOU going to get a lawyer?"
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
World Series of Poker
At the end of Day Six, there were 27 players.
At the end of Day Seven, there were 9 players.
Official November Nine Chip Counts and Seat Assignments
On November 9th, 2008, the following nine players will return to the felt with 21 minutes and 50 seconds left in level 33:
Dennis Phillips - 26,295,000
Craig Marquis - 10,210,000
Ylon Schwartz - 12,525,000
Scott Montgomery - 19,690,000
Darus Suharto - 12,520,000
David 'Chino' Rheem - 10,230,000
Ivan Demidov - 24,400,000
Kelly Kim - 2,620,000
Peter Eastgate - 18,375,000
Read more here.
At the end of Day Seven, there were 9 players.
Official November Nine Chip Counts and Seat Assignments
On November 9th, 2008, the following nine players will return to the felt with 21 minutes and 50 seconds left in level 33:
Dennis Phillips - 26,295,000
Craig Marquis - 10,210,000
Ylon Schwartz - 12,525,000
Scott Montgomery - 19,690,000
Darus Suharto - 12,520,000
David 'Chino' Rheem - 10,230,000
Ivan Demidov - 24,400,000
Kelly Kim - 2,620,000
Peter Eastgate - 18,375,000
Read more here.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
World Series of Poker
At the end of Day 5 there were 79 players remaining.
Thank Goodness for the Color-up
As we admire the enormous chip stacks of players like Mark Vos, Tiffany Michelle, and current chip leader Mark Ketteringham, it's interesting to think that they could have been a whole lot bigger. On Day 1, these players each started with 20,000 in tournament chips which were a total of 29 "actual" chips in front of them. The chip denominations were as follows: Two orange (T5,000) Seven yellow (T1,000) Four light blue (T500) Eight black (T100) Eight green (T25) There have been a total of three color-ups or "race-offs" thus far in the event, during which the green, black, and light blue chips were taken out of play and replaced with larger denomination chips. Currently, the largest chip in play is the dark green (T25,000.) In the later stages of the tournament a T50,000, T100,000, and for the first time ever, a T250,000 chip will be introduced. There are three more color-ups remaining, the next one scheduled for the completion of level 24 early tomorrow afternoon. While somewhat trivial, it's interesting to note that if there were no color-ups, there would be roughly 2,420 (over 24 racks) individual chips in front of each player in the tournament right now. If that weren't insane enough, when play reached the final table, each player would sit behind an average of 22,052 (220 racks) individual chips making play physically impossible.
Hellmuth Ends the Day With a Blow-up
Cristian Dragomir opened with a raise to 80,000 before Hellmuth made it 255,000 to go from the small blind. "I hope he doesn't have aces," said Hellmuth as Dragomir asked for a count. After a few moments, Dragomir made the call. They saw a flop of and Hellmuth checked to Dragomir, who thought for a moment before firing a healthy bet of 300,000. Hellmuth sighed in disgust before folding face-up on the table. Matusow laughed and said to Dragomir to show the bluff, and Dragomir flipped ! Matusow and the crowd roared in hysterics as Hellmuth jumped out of his seat and stormed around the room berating his opponent for calling his reraise with ten high. "Listen buddy, you're an idiot!" screamed Hellmuth. "This is the Main Event and you are the worst player in history!" he continued as the crowd was loving every moment of the blow-up. Dragomir's entourage continued to cheer as Hellmuth continued the barrage. The TD stepped in and issued a warning to Hellmuth to settle down before Dragomir stood up out of his chair to put Hellmuth back in his place with a cry of, "Enough is enough!" Fortunately for both players the clock ticked over to the end of the level, and the end of the day's play to settle both players down. They eventually shook hands and began to bag up their chips as Mike Matusow summed up the situation best as he shouted, "Thank God for Phil Hellmuth! Thank God for Chris Moneymaker!" What a way to end the day!
Extra! Extra! Hellmuth Starts Day 6 in the Penalty Box
Everyone thought Phil Hellmuth ended the day just with a blow-up and a warning, but that's not the case. He continued to berate Cristian Dragomir for several minutes after the last hand we described and after floor person Robbie Thompson issued him a warning. That prompted Thompson to summon supervisor Steve Frezer to the feature table. Frezer listened to Thompson's description of the situation and then assessed Hellmuth a one-orbit penalty to start Day 6. Never a dull moment when Hellmuth's around.
Thank Goodness for the Color-up
As we admire the enormous chip stacks of players like Mark Vos, Tiffany Michelle, and current chip leader Mark Ketteringham, it's interesting to think that they could have been a whole lot bigger. On Day 1, these players each started with 20,000 in tournament chips which were a total of 29 "actual" chips in front of them. The chip denominations were as follows: Two orange (T5,000) Seven yellow (T1,000) Four light blue (T500) Eight black (T100) Eight green (T25) There have been a total of three color-ups or "race-offs" thus far in the event, during which the green, black, and light blue chips were taken out of play and replaced with larger denomination chips. Currently, the largest chip in play is the dark green (T25,000.) In the later stages of the tournament a T50,000, T100,000, and for the first time ever, a T250,000 chip will be introduced. There are three more color-ups remaining, the next one scheduled for the completion of level 24 early tomorrow afternoon. While somewhat trivial, it's interesting to note that if there were no color-ups, there would be roughly 2,420 (over 24 racks) individual chips in front of each player in the tournament right now. If that weren't insane enough, when play reached the final table, each player would sit behind an average of 22,052 (220 racks) individual chips making play physically impossible.
Hellmuth Ends the Day With a Blow-up
Cristian Dragomir opened with a raise to 80,000 before Hellmuth made it 255,000 to go from the small blind. "I hope he doesn't have aces," said Hellmuth as Dragomir asked for a count. After a few moments, Dragomir made the call. They saw a flop of and Hellmuth checked to Dragomir, who thought for a moment before firing a healthy bet of 300,000. Hellmuth sighed in disgust before folding face-up on the table. Matusow laughed and said to Dragomir to show the bluff, and Dragomir flipped ! Matusow and the crowd roared in hysterics as Hellmuth jumped out of his seat and stormed around the room berating his opponent for calling his reraise with ten high. "Listen buddy, you're an idiot!" screamed Hellmuth. "This is the Main Event and you are the worst player in history!" he continued as the crowd was loving every moment of the blow-up. Dragomir's entourage continued to cheer as Hellmuth continued the barrage. The TD stepped in and issued a warning to Hellmuth to settle down before Dragomir stood up out of his chair to put Hellmuth back in his place with a cry of, "Enough is enough!" Fortunately for both players the clock ticked over to the end of the level, and the end of the day's play to settle both players down. They eventually shook hands and began to bag up their chips as Mike Matusow summed up the situation best as he shouted, "Thank God for Phil Hellmuth! Thank God for Chris Moneymaker!" What a way to end the day!
Extra! Extra! Hellmuth Starts Day 6 in the Penalty Box
Everyone thought Phil Hellmuth ended the day just with a blow-up and a warning, but that's not the case. He continued to berate Cristian Dragomir for several minutes after the last hand we described and after floor person Robbie Thompson issued him a warning. That prompted Thompson to summon supervisor Steve Frezer to the feature table. Frezer listened to Thompson's description of the situation and then assessed Hellmuth a one-orbit penalty to start Day 6. Never a dull moment when Hellmuth's around.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
World Series of Poker
At the end of Day 3, there were 474 players.
At the end of Day 4, there were 189 players.
At the end of Day 4, they were in the middle of level 19 -- 5,000 and 10,000 blinds with a 1,000 ante.
At the end of Day 4, there were 189 players.
At the end of Day 4, they were in the middle of level 19 -- 5,000 and 10,000 blinds with a 1,000 ante.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
You must protect your own hand
and cannot expect to get a "gift decision" like this from the floor person. (Early Thursday afternoon on Day 3).
Simon Rinoldi was all in under the gun for 13,600. He was called by Gabriel Chuang, and Rinoldi stood up to await his fate. As he stood up and stepped back from his chair though, the dealer pulled all of the cards into the muck, including Rinoldi's. The floor was called over, and eventually the supervisor, Charlie Cresi had to be summoned. He took a minute to survey the situation before making his ruling. "It's definitely a dead hand," he said, indicating that it was impossible to retrieve the cards from the muck. "In essence, it's the player's responsibility to protect their cards," he added. The decision was made to save Rinoldi's tournament life though. Cresi ruled that a minimum raise -- 3,200 chips -- had to be taken out of Rinoldi's stack, and the pot was awarded to Chuang. Rinoldi was given a 10,200-chip rebate to use in another spot. Rinoldi was unhappy with the decision, but he very easily could have lost his whole stack in the incident. "I'm making a ruling in fairness to the game," Cresi said. The dealer apologized profusely, though by the rules, Rinoldi was at-fault for failing to cap his cards to prevent them being prematurely mucked.
Simon Rinoldi was all in under the gun for 13,600. He was called by Gabriel Chuang, and Rinoldi stood up to await his fate. As he stood up and stepped back from his chair though, the dealer pulled all of the cards into the muck, including Rinoldi's. The floor was called over, and eventually the supervisor, Charlie Cresi had to be summoned. He took a minute to survey the situation before making his ruling. "It's definitely a dead hand," he said, indicating that it was impossible to retrieve the cards from the muck. "In essence, it's the player's responsibility to protect their cards," he added. The decision was made to save Rinoldi's tournament life though. Cresi ruled that a minimum raise -- 3,200 chips -- had to be taken out of Rinoldi's stack, and the pot was awarded to Chuang. Rinoldi was given a 10,200-chip rebate to use in another spot. Rinoldi was unhappy with the decision, but he very easily could have lost his whole stack in the incident. "I'm making a ruling in fairness to the game," Cresi said. The dealer apologized profusely, though by the rules, Rinoldi was at-fault for failing to cap his cards to prevent them being prematurely mucked.
WSOP Prize Amounts
1st $9,119,517
2nd $5,790,024
3rd $4,503,352
4th $3,763,515
5th $3,088,012
6th $2,412,510
7th $1,769,174
8th $1,286,672
9th $900,670
10th-12th $591,869
13th-15th $463,201
16th-18th $334,534
19th-27th $257,334
28th-36th $193,000
37th-45th $154,400
46th-54th $135,100
55th-63rd $115,800
64th-72nd $96,500
73rd-81st $77,200
82nd-90th $64,333
91st-99th $51,466
100th-162nd $41,816
.
.
.
604th-666th $21,230
Full Payout Structure here.
2nd $5,790,024
3rd $4,503,352
4th $3,763,515
5th $3,088,012
6th $2,412,510
7th $1,769,174
8th $1,286,672
9th $900,670
10th-12th $591,869
13th-15th $463,201
16th-18th $334,534
19th-27th $257,334
28th-36th $193,000
37th-45th $154,400
46th-54th $135,100
55th-63rd $115,800
64th-72nd $96,500
73rd-81st $77,200
82nd-90th $64,333
91st-99th $51,466
100th-162nd $41,816
.
.
.
604th-666th $21,230
Full Payout Structure here.
World Series of Poker Chip Leaders
Top ten chip leaders after Day 2:
Brian Schaedlich 801,000
Peter Biebel 531,000
Alex Outhred 486,800
Raja Kattamuri 411,100
Hunter Frey 397,000
Jeremiah Smith 386,000
Steven Goosen 362,100
Patrick Fortin 355,900
Reagan Silber 355,500
Kellen Hunter 354,100
Six former Main Event winners are still alive, according to the USA Today.
Brian Schaedlich 801,000
Peter Biebel 531,000
Alex Outhred 486,800
Raja Kattamuri 411,100
Hunter Frey 397,000
Jeremiah Smith 386,000
Steven Goosen 362,100
Patrick Fortin 355,900
Reagan Silber 355,500
Kellen Hunter 354,100
Six former Main Event winners are still alive, according to the USA Today.
Rose Bowl World Record Holder
Yet another example of someone with too much free time . . . at the Rose Bowl.
WSOP Main Event Day 2b
World Series of Poker Main Event - Day 2b: 855 of 2379 players (36%) advanced to Day 3.
The numbers don't match up exactly with what was previously reported, but there are approximately 1308 of 6844 players remaining going into Day 3.
The final 666 (!) players will make it into the money.
Top three chip leaders from Day 2b have
531,000
486,800
411,100
so the guy from Day 2a with 801,000 is still the chip leader.
The numbers don't match up exactly with what was previously reported, but there are approximately 1308 of 6844 players remaining going into Day 3.
The final 666 (!) players will make it into the money.
Top three chip leaders from Day 2b have
531,000
486,800
411,100
so the guy from Day 2a with 801,000 is still the chip leader.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
WSOP Main Event Day 2a
World Series of Poker Main Event - Day 2a: 466 of 1251 players (37%) advanced to Day 3.
Chip leader is Brian Schaedlich with 801,000 in chips.
Schaedlich qualified for the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event via a $135 satellite at Mountaineer Racetrack Casino in Chester, WV.
Chip leader is Brian Schaedlich with 801,000 in chips.
Schaedlich qualified for the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event via a $135 satellite at Mountaineer Racetrack Casino in Chester, WV.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Dara Torres
Here is (non-swimming) photo of Dara Torres, the 41-year-old mother (of a 2-year-old child) who is going to be oldest female swimmer ever at the upcoming Summer Olympics. Dara was born April 15, 1967.
The profile mentioned above from the New York Times Magazine.
More info about Dara including an interview with CBS news.
And an interview with with Carl Foster, professor of exercise and sports science at the University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse and past president of the American College of Sports Medicine, about how aging athletes like Torres can still do it from Newsweek.
The profile mentioned above from the New York Times Magazine.
More info about Dara including an interview with CBS news.
And an interview with with Carl Foster, professor of exercise and sports science at the University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse and past president of the American College of Sports Medicine, about how aging athletes like Torres can still do it from Newsweek.
WSOP Main Event
The World Series of Poker Main Event began on Thursday (July 3). The four different "day ones" were Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. "Day Twos" are today and tomorrow.
Although exact figures are hard to come by, these numbers are approximately correct:
Day 1a: 636 of 1297 players (49%) advanced to Day 2.
Day 1b: 615 of 1158 players (53%) advanced to Day 2.
Day 1c: 1026 of 1928 players (53%) advanced to Day 2.
Day 1d: 1352 of 2461 players (55%) advanced to Day 2.
A total of 3663 players (53.5%) remain from a field of 6844.
Not sure where the extra 34 players came from.
The buy-in for each player was $10,000.
Each player started with 20,000 in chips.
The blinds for the 1st round were 50 and 100.
Each round lasts two hours.
The chip leader after all four day ones had 242,950 chips.
They will play through July 14 until only nine players remain.
For the first time ever the final table will be played apart from the rest of the tournament.
The final table will be Sunday and Monday, November 9 and 10.
The average stack at the final table should be approximately 15,200,000.
First place pays $9,119,517.
Here's an interesting anecdote from late Sunday night:
How do you make sure you make it to Day 2? You try not to play any hands at the end of Day 1. A recent hand in the Blue section took over ten minutes to complete, and it never made it past the flop. It seems that several players at the table were stalling, so they would be assured of making Day 2 and not busting in the waning moments of Day 1. One of the other players at the table wasn't so thrilled, and asked the dealer to call a floor person. That floor person than called the clock on two different people in the same hand, and remains stationed at the table for the remainder of the level (as of this writing, another six minutes). Each player will have only 30 seconds to make a decision through the end of the night.
Although exact figures are hard to come by, these numbers are approximately correct:
Day 1a: 636 of 1297 players (49%) advanced to Day 2.
Day 1b: 615 of 1158 players (53%) advanced to Day 2.
Day 1c: 1026 of 1928 players (53%) advanced to Day 2.
Day 1d: 1352 of 2461 players (55%) advanced to Day 2.
A total of 3663 players (53.5%) remain from a field of 6844.
Not sure where the extra 34 players came from.
The buy-in for each player was $10,000.
Each player started with 20,000 in chips.
The blinds for the 1st round were 50 and 100.
Each round lasts two hours.
The chip leader after all four day ones had 242,950 chips.
They will play through July 14 until only nine players remain.
For the first time ever the final table will be played apart from the rest of the tournament.
The final table will be Sunday and Monday, November 9 and 10.
The average stack at the final table should be approximately 15,200,000.
First place pays $9,119,517.
Here's an interesting anecdote from late Sunday night:
How do you make sure you make it to Day 2? You try not to play any hands at the end of Day 1. A recent hand in the Blue section took over ten minutes to complete, and it never made it past the flop. It seems that several players at the table were stalling, so they would be assured of making Day 2 and not busting in the waning moments of Day 1. One of the other players at the table wasn't so thrilled, and asked the dealer to call a floor person. That floor person than called the clock on two different people in the same hand, and remains stationed at the table for the remainder of the level (as of this writing, another six minutes). Each player will have only 30 seconds to make a decision through the end of the night.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Hurricane Bertha
Only six days until our week at the Outer Banks. I hope Bertha doesn't decide to join us.
Much to my surprise, this CNN link is being updated throughout the week.
Here is the MSNBC (animated) Bertha tracker.
Much to my surprise, this CNN link is being updated throughout the week.
Here is the MSNBC (animated) Bertha tracker.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Sat on Top of the Wall
Kevin Youkilis hit a long fly ball to left field. Johnny Damon caught it, hit the wall, lost it and then the ball actually sat on top of the wall for a second or two. Youkilis' triple tied the game at 3. Red Sox won the Independence Day matchup at Yankee Stadium by the score of 6-4.
Rooting for a re-run of 1994
Bob Lipper from the Richmond Times-Dispatch outlining the (basketball) thought pattern for the ABC (Anybody But Carolina) contingent.
WSOP Main Event began on Thursday
The first of four "Day Ones" at the World Series of Poker Main Event was Thursday.
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