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A ravine of ice chasmed by time
Apr. 23rd, 2006 09:16 amSo, farewell UK Theme Tune on Radio Four. As if my internal memory had remembered an occasion that my consciousness had half-forgotten, I awoke at 5.29am just in time to hear the last playing of the tune "live". It's many years since I automatically tuned to Radio Four at 5.30, mainly because I need the news on Radio Five, rather than the shipping forecast (the state of the North Sea is not usually a matter of much concern to me, I fear). Radio Four is now shifting over to a 5.30am news summary.
Anyway, the UK theme tune, consisting of a hack medley of Rule Britannia, the Sailor's Hornpipe (What shall we do with the drunken sailor), Scotland The Brave, Men of Harlech, Danny Boy and Greensleeves, remains available via podcast. Personally I think that it should be played at most schools just so that kids recognize famous British folk tunes.
I can't say that I will miss it. There is too much of a "preserve at all costs" attitude in this country (and worldwide), consisting of preserving houses, preserving species; in fact, keeping the entire planet exactly the way it is. Why not have global warming? Why not destroy the ozone layer? Planets evolve. Humanity dies out. Big deal. We are only a single species. If you want my view, Greenpeace is being bloody selfish. Let some other species have a go. The longer humanity remains, the more likely it is that we will actually make the earth uninhabitable by any life.
+++++++
Poker is somewhat uneventful at the moment. I've played fewer hours and fewer hands this month -- the former because I've been working hard and the latter because I will not yet three-table at $3-$6 or above, or ever on Pokertrackerless Virgin.
It's genuine grinding at the moment, tweaking my strategy (with some success, it must be said, although it may just be that I am running slightly better than usual).
One "tweak" was invoked this morning on Ultimate. There are sessions when you are likely to head into big trouble if you have not experienced them before. Typically they start with you getting a playable hand and losing with it (say, AQ gets reraised behind, or KQ gets a flop of KJ5 rainbow and loses to KJ, that kind of thing). Then you go card dead for 20 minutes or so, and then you pick up KK. Five people come in with your raise and an Ace flops. Then, five minutes later, it happens again. Then you get AK of diamonds and the board comes 789 two spades. You know the kind of thing.
Then you go card dead for 20 minutes. Then you flop two-pair in the Big blind, and someone hits a flush on the river.
We've all been there, and the important thing is to still have the courage to fold when you know you have been sucked out on. The temptation to call "just to show how unlucky you are being" is very strong. It's here that the Zen book of poker helps. There is no need to show other people that you are being unlucky. (A) Doing so costs you money and (B) they don't care (to which should be added (C) - the good players will make a note of your frustration and exploit it).
I lost $53 net at UB in an hour, but it could have been far worse. Very pleased with myself.
+++++
It's the marathon this morning, not half a mile from my humble abode. I still have never gone up the hill to watch the start.
++++++
And a big up for Surindar Sunar in the Bellagio WPT. OK, Roland de Wolfe is there as well, with a bigger chip stack, but Surindar is the business. He's a great cash player, and he suffered the idiocy of Tony G for many an hour with all the calmness of an elephant with a flea on his back. It was as if Sunar didn't even notice. Bollocks to this "Tony's a nice guy if you meet him in the flesh". His poker activity is beyond the pale and reflective of deep personality problems, and Sunar treated it in the manner it deserved and I wish I could manage, by completely ignoring it.
But GL to Roland too. The Gutshot site has been overwhelmed this morning with no connectivity possible. A top performance by Roland will have Barry counting the money it will generate for GS before you can say "six-four suited".
_________
Anyway, the UK theme tune, consisting of a hack medley of Rule Britannia, the Sailor's Hornpipe (What shall we do with the drunken sailor), Scotland The Brave, Men of Harlech, Danny Boy and Greensleeves, remains available via podcast. Personally I think that it should be played at most schools just so that kids recognize famous British folk tunes.
I can't say that I will miss it. There is too much of a "preserve at all costs" attitude in this country (and worldwide), consisting of preserving houses, preserving species; in fact, keeping the entire planet exactly the way it is. Why not have global warming? Why not destroy the ozone layer? Planets evolve. Humanity dies out. Big deal. We are only a single species. If you want my view, Greenpeace is being bloody selfish. Let some other species have a go. The longer humanity remains, the more likely it is that we will actually make the earth uninhabitable by any life.
+++++++
Poker is somewhat uneventful at the moment. I've played fewer hours and fewer hands this month -- the former because I've been working hard and the latter because I will not yet three-table at $3-$6 or above, or ever on Pokertrackerless Virgin.
It's genuine grinding at the moment, tweaking my strategy (with some success, it must be said, although it may just be that I am running slightly better than usual).
One "tweak" was invoked this morning on Ultimate. There are sessions when you are likely to head into big trouble if you have not experienced them before. Typically they start with you getting a playable hand and losing with it (say, AQ gets reraised behind, or KQ gets a flop of KJ5 rainbow and loses to KJ, that kind of thing). Then you go card dead for 20 minutes or so, and then you pick up KK. Five people come in with your raise and an Ace flops. Then, five minutes later, it happens again. Then you get AK of diamonds and the board comes 789 two spades. You know the kind of thing.
Then you go card dead for 20 minutes. Then you flop two-pair in the Big blind, and someone hits a flush on the river.
We've all been there, and the important thing is to still have the courage to fold when you know you have been sucked out on. The temptation to call "just to show how unlucky you are being" is very strong. It's here that the Zen book of poker helps. There is no need to show other people that you are being unlucky. (A) Doing so costs you money and (B) they don't care (to which should be added (C) - the good players will make a note of your frustration and exploit it).
I lost $53 net at UB in an hour, but it could have been far worse. Very pleased with myself.
+++++
It's the marathon this morning, not half a mile from my humble abode. I still have never gone up the hill to watch the start.
++++++
And a big up for Surindar Sunar in the Bellagio WPT. OK, Roland de Wolfe is there as well, with a bigger chip stack, but Surindar is the business. He's a great cash player, and he suffered the idiocy of Tony G for many an hour with all the calmness of an elephant with a flea on his back. It was as if Sunar didn't even notice. Bollocks to this "Tony's a nice guy if you meet him in the flesh". His poker activity is beyond the pale and reflective of deep personality problems, and Sunar treated it in the manner it deserved and I wish I could manage, by completely ignoring it.
But GL to Roland too. The Gutshot site has been overwhelmed this morning with no connectivity possible. A top performance by Roland will have Barry counting the money it will generate for GS before you can say "six-four suited".
_________
