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Big Boy games v. Little Boy games
Tuesday Dec 13, 2005 - Link to Entry
Fantasy Football v. Techmobowl. Poker v. Go Fish. Sky Diving v. Going down a slide.
Adult men and their younger counterparts share a love of gaming. From an early age most males enjoy playing. Whether it be videogames, race cars, or sports, boys get their game on. Men are no different, or are they?
For my 5th birthday I received the revolutionary NES 8-bit system (Nintendo). At that time there were only 4 or so games and its predescesor Atari seemed to hold the upperhand... Until it exploded and everyone across America and beyond got caught up in the Nintendo craze. Better graphics, better sound, better games (see Zelda, Tetris, Super Mario Bros.), and better control.
20 years later I still rave about the original Nintendo as well as its sequel system Super Nintendo. But I don't play those games anymore. I don't even own a video game system anymore. The games I play now aren't for little boys... They are the Big Boy games.
Fantasy Football. This is a new game for me. In fact I've yet to even play it for money so in a way you could say it is just like a video game. Only instead of being a game of action it is merely a game of decisions (and luck). For most men (people) who play fantasy sports, this is a major form of gambling (big boy play). While I am now in the Semi-finals due to what I believe to have been very good strategic play, I really just got lucky and played teams that got unlucky at those same moments. I'd say this big boy game is about 10% preparedness/research, 10% decisions, and 80% luck.
Poker. While this game isn't new to me, large successes and failures playing it are. I've gone from playing 3-6 limit poker to being a high stakes no limit and tournament player. The swings are tough to stomach and this ain't no mille bourne (some card game we used to play). I found myself at another final table last night and recovered my losses from the weekend. A definate big boy game that is about 10% preparedness/focus, 50% decisions, 40% luck.
I think besides money, the only difference in Big boy and little boy games is the factor of luck. The idea that if you try your hardest you can succeed applies to youth, but in adulthood you must pick your spots and still hope that luck is on your side.
Company Parties
Friday Dec 9, 2005 - Link to Entry
Hey Whoadeez. I don't know what that means but Pat often uses it to greet his constituents.
Tonight will mark my third work-related-holiday party in 7 days shattering my previous career high of two in 351 days. If anything I've learned the following in my adventures through corporate festivities:
1. Food and Drink aren't really free:
Yes you can enjoy as much as you want. But trust me, the powers that be are watching. Consider these events as much a performance evaluator as your akward quarterly meetings with the manager. Have a good time, but not too much of a good time.
2. Somethings you just don't want to know:
For those of us who have the pleasure of working in a strange field in a strange land (ie film, Los Angeles), these parties will often bring to light many obsurdities you would not anticipate. For example your co-worker may be a crossdresser or your receptionist is actually into S and M. TMI!
3. Don't make the move you've been contemplating:
Look, I know you love her, but she's still your boss and alcohol doesn't change that. If you want her so bad quit and then ask her. You ask her to dance and things get weird, don't blame me, I warned you!
4. Great time to endear yourself to the powers that be:
Inevitably someone who has some say in your salary and your future will be intoxicated. What better time then to talk sports, poker, real estate, weather, etc. Last year one of my supervisors told me that I would be good at voice over if I didn't sound so Jewish. Although it was hardly a compliment I knew that I clearly he is comfortable with me and I'm in good.
Party on Holiday soldiers.
Season's Greetings
Thursday Dec 8, 2005 - Link to Entry
You know what I love? Christmas time. That is now that I live somewhere where you can't tell February from October. You know why I love it? The parties, the foodstuffs, but mostly the tunage. Yes I am a Jew who loves Christmas songs. Some of 'em just rock. Here are some of my favorites:
1. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause - Jackson 5:
If you've never caught this rocking early 70's version just hearing young Michael soar with the high notes makes it well worth the .99 cents on iTunes.
2. Its Cold Outside - Will Farrell from Elf:
This is a great Winter song and a very special version of it. I actually don't know if its on the soundtrack but he sings it with Zooey D. as she bathes at work. Their vocals are suprisingly good especially if you take into account his Dust in the Wind rendition.
3. All I want for Christmas is You- Mariah Carrey:
This is by far and away my favorite. It just tickles me right where pop songs all sucker us into liking bad music and singing at the top of our lungs while we drive down the street with the windows down (in the winter - cause we can do that here).
4. O Holy Night - Whoever:
Actually I spoke too soon...This is too rocking a song to pass up. Gabe and I still make sure that this is a part of every kareoke outing we share. A masterpiece of vocal music - I kid you not.
and the rest.....
Lennon's Christmas Song
Chipmunk's Christmas
and I can't think of the name right now but its the "Do they know its Christmas Time at all"
On a side note I'm enjoying all of the feedback I'm receiving on the last two entries. If you're upset with where your favorite baseball team was ranked remember that that was just as of THIS moment in time. I will prerank during spring training again (but I stand even further by my Blue Jays pick now).
Go White Sox and Merry Hannukah!
Commuting
Wednesday Dec 7, 2005 - Link to Entry
Yeah I've lived in LA for almost 18 months now, but only just now for the first time have I begun to commute. By a stroke of luck I found a job just a mile away from my inhabitance in Hollywood. Unfortunately for me, Hollywood kinda sucks ass and I found myself craving greener pastures -- hence I now live with Cari a mile from the ocean and a half an hour away from work.
Frankly so far I've really enjoyed commuting (I'm on day 3). Living so close to work you don't have the thinking and detox time from a hard day's work (okay work usually isn't exactly challenging). Still I really am having a ball getting caught up on music and sportstalk and even my new favorite in my old age, NPR.
While driving (floating) on the 10 (we use "the" in front of highways in California) this morning I started looking around into other cars as people are wont to do in traffic. I started noticing all of the various things people do during their commute to make the time work for them.
Option 1: The Phone Call
Yes it is both the greatest and worst invention in the world - the cell phone. And yes everyone driving in Los Angeles is typically on it 75 to 117% of the time (true statistic from an unidentified by fully credible source). Most people are now hands free which means they either have an ear piece and it looks like they are chatting with themselves (see homelessness and the insanity it causes) or they have the Britney Spears/Baseball tonight shot on location microphone ear piece and I often ponder whether or not they are simply enganging in Kareoke with some sort of car video game.
Option 2: Grooming
The typical is the application of eye make-up or the lipstick which already helps our nation's weaker drivers (no not all women, just women who don't wake up early enough to put on their make up on) make the road that much safer.
I saw an old school grooming technique in the fast lane this morning that I hadn't seen in years. The electric shave while you drive. The last time I saw this I don't think I even needed to shave regularly (note that while I do need to shave regularly now I still refrain from doing so more than 3 times a week).
In any case it brought up a lot of questions in my mind like:
How does he know he's gotten a good clean shave?
What does he do with the little hairs allover his shirt now?
What if the battery dies mid shave? Does he have a spare or a straight edge and some gel to run to the men's room with upon arrival at corporate job #548293 L (thanks Sam)?
I would never shave driving. While I do not like shaving too regularly, when I do shave I like to have a lot of hot water, towels, bandages, and mirrors for the process. Heaven forbid i get rear ended and end up shaving off an eyebrow and a third of my head hair.
Option 3: Entertainment beyond music/radio
The radio does not harm your ability to drive safely and successfully from point A to point B unless some crazy news occurs, you are listening to a sporting event you are emotionally invested in, or Hanson releases a new single. Reading or watching television while driving does in fact impare your ability to WATCH THE ROAD. Am I wrong here?
Now frankly I get sick when I try to read when I'm a passenger. I don't think I'm alone here. If you're driving and trying to read and watch the road it has to be that much more nausiating.
Imagine this:
Your alarm mysteriously was set for PM instead of AM. By the grace of the big guy you woke up an hour before you're due for a big meeting which you have not done your reading for. You have 10 minutes to get out the door if you just want to make it on time. What do you do?
I'd say take the fast shower get in your clothes and go. You hope to get there faster than the 50 planned minutes of travel time. You bring an electric razor, a straight razor, shaving cream, a bagel for breakfast, some coffee and the necessary reading materials - - and you go.
20 minutes pass and you're still on the 10. You'll be lucky to be on time. You're still unshaved, you have had some coffee, but you've been too nervous to eat. Your secretary didn't answer her cell phone as you were going to have her read you the highlights via speakerphone. Time to break out the electric razor.
You shave and your face feels like its clean and clear. You still have 15 minutes to spare and work is only about 10 minutes away. You decide to go for your bagel. You begin to eat it but it tastes funny. You realize you have little hairs stuck in and around your mouth. You look around and can't find a napkin.
You pick up your reading material as its the only paper in site. You wipe your mouth clean on the back. When you pull it away you see blood stains on the cover. You look down at your shirt and see tiny hairs and droplets of blood.
You're on time but you're all cut up, nauceous, and the reading material you were supposed to read not only wasn't read but it looks like the dog tried to eat your homework.
I don't really know what the point of this hypothetical was other than that you should get out of bed on time or suffer the consequences of being late because you can't plan on using the road time for anything other than very careful eating, phone conversing, or music and thinking my friends.
Forging an Identity
Tuesday Dec 6, 2005 - Link to Entry
JeremyRound.com is really the home of Jeremy Round music and RoundRecords. However with music and RoundRecords being virtually non-existent there has been little to make mention of around here.
It is time to move away from that perception of my blog and start forging an identity for this website. From this day forth JeremyRound.com will be the home of simply all things Jeremy Round. From baseball to gambling, music to film, women advice to travel, this site will explore the interests of its owners and its readers.
For today there are several topics I'd like to discuss. Let us begin with free agent activity and trades in the MLB.
Teams are paying WAY too much for high level talent. Take the Dodgers. They just spent 40 million over three years for a, at best, middle of the pack SS in Furcal. Yes he is at the peak of his career, but 13 million a year should be a PROVEN ALL-STAR calliber type. Hell Paul Konerko almost single handedly defeated the Angels in the post season and signed for a million less a year than Furcal.
What is wrong with the Dodgers? If they had that kind of money to waste why didn't they keep Adrian Beltre and build around him instead of bringing in veterans who will be too injured/old to make a true difference. True, Furcal is one of the first pieces in rebuilding what was a franchise on the rise destroyed by a ridiculous owner/gm combo but I say unless you are planning to turn around and trade the man for some pitching, allocate your funds more wisely. Your team sucks and now you're stuck with a horribly inflated contract. Welcome to Detroit country Dodgers fans.
How bout them Marlins? They're just giving the team away. I just hope the White Sox get a piece of this before the Mets steal it all. With Atlanta losing their SS and with Florida clearly giving up for years to come the Mets are looking promising despite having a payroll that may not only rival the Yankees but surpass it soon.
Whats the deal with paying so much for relievers? The Cubs started the trend by giving multi year big dollar contracts to Eyre and Howry, but then the Mets and Blue Jays followed suit. People, people, people... this kind of money must be saved for starters. Fine, give Billy Wagner a huge contract, he's something special. But BJ Ryan, Eyre, and Howry, come on now.
And speaking of the Blue Jays. They went out and payed ace money for AJ Burnett who will probably be a three or four starter for them. I like the move in the weak AL East where pitching is most certainly a commodity, but again I don't like the money they tied up in the deal. Still if the season were starting tomorrow you have to like the Blue Jays to take that division. The Yankees are one year older and no one will trade with them because they have NOTHING to offer.
What are my predictions for next year? Well they will change as the off season progresses but here they are as of today:
AL West -
1. Angels
2. Mariners
3. Rangers
4. A's
AL Central -
1. White Sox
2. Indians
3. Tigers
4. Twins
5. Royals
AL East-
1. Toronto
2. Boston
3. New York
4. Baltimore
5. Tampa Bay
Wild Card - Indians
NL West-
1. Giants
2. Diamondbacks
3. Padres
4. Dodgers
5. Rockies
NL Central-
1. Cardinals
2. Brewers
3. Pirates
4. Astros
5. Cubs
6. Reds
NL East -
1. Mets
2. Braves
3. Nationals
4. Phillies
5. Marlins
Wild Card - Braves
What will happen in the playoffs? Well I've got to go with the Mets to come out of the NL and stick with my Sox to repeat as AL champions. I think the White Sox pitching will continue with its dominance and win two straight world series titles. But I'm a fan of the team so take it for what its worth. Still the Jim Thome upgrade over Carl Everett with the pitching staff remaining in tact has our fans feeling good.
------------------------------------
NFL
Wow, the Bears came out of nowhere this year. Are they any good? Yes and no. Their defense is comparable to the Buc's and Ravens teams that won recent superbowls, but their offense maybe even more anemic than either of those two championship teams. What does this mean for the rest of the year and the playoffs. This means that unless they get the offense rolling the game rests solely on the shoulders of the defense which must remain staunch and maintain field position in cold and challenging winter games. I like their chances to get a bye and win their homegame but I do not believe they will go into Seattle and win. I hope I'm wrong!
This year I played fantasy football for the first time. I was invited into two free leagues neither of which had a live draft. You just preranked players and went from there. Its free so what do I care. Well my Yahoo team which looked awesome lost all of its greats to injury and I gave up on it entirely. I believe that team is now 0-13. My ESPN team lost its first game so I made a few adjustments and followed that loss with a 10 game win streak. I then split the final two and go into the playoffs the top seed.
Late mid-season one of the teams had a lot of talent but was not getting steady production so I offered up a blockbuster trade that has seemingly bit my team in the ass. Never give up whats working for "upgrades". If it ain't broke don't fix it. Anyway I'll keep you posted but I am the favorite for this weeks 1st round playoff matchup by 27 pts.
College Football
I didn't watch a ton of football this year. Part of it was that my baseball season only recently ended... well no actually that was all of it. But I'll take the World Series over a football season any year even though I LOVE FOOTBALL.
Anyway Ohio State is returning to the Fiesta Bowl for the third time in four years which is simply amazing. And Northwestern is going to a Bowl again which actually now makes Randy Walker the best coach in the program's history. It would be really neat if they found a way to win one!
Gabe often asks me which team I'm really for. Its a tough issue. See I was raised an Ohio State fan and the love of that team is in my blood, not to mention it is quite rewarding. Watching Northwestern is often like cheering for your mentally disabled dog to catch the frisbee. You're happy to see effort and when he does catch it (despite the catch lacking any asthetic prowess) the most amazing feeling of achievement washes over you. I guess you could say they are just different loves -- Really entirely different things.
Ohio State will be taking on the newly renovated Notre Dame in this years January 2nd Fiesta Bowl. January 2nd?!? Yes, because of the NFL there will be no bowl games on New Years day. What the hell is the point of new years without college football? Needless to say I'm pissed about the way the scheduling falls.
NU takes on local UCLA in the Sun Bowl of El Paso, Texas. While our troops didn't fare well in Texas on their last trip there (See 2001 Alamo Bowl) they enter the game on a moral high note while UCLA went from a national contender back to plain on UCLA. Do I think the 'Cats can win it? I think it'll be a very close shootout and that they have a great chance to win. Check this one out on December 30th!
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And speaking of scheduling whats up with the late start on Hannukah? I mean come on people. Christmas night? Isn't the point of Hannukah to one up our Christian neighbors? Now they'll have all their awesome gifts and there we will be just waiting it out, little crappy gift, after little crappy gift. The Jewish children really got *%$ed this year.
That should do for now. Come back soon, I think I've got a few things to share.