Pete Z

A fun play

2008-06-16T14:24:31Z

Find the best play. One of my cooler finds of late. From a game last nite against ipecac_icecap

Z10

Rack: ?EEFNRS

George won the game, but to find this play while fighting to stay awake made the game worthwhile.

My most interesting position from Hudson

2008-01-31T22:25:05Z

The position, with full unseen pool and whatnot, is HERE.

It's a relatively straight-forward one at first blush. There are exactly seven tiles left in the bag, with both blanks unseen, and I trail 299 to 323. I strongly suspect, due to an obvious fish the previous play, that my opponent holds at least one, and possibly both blanks, and considering the unseen pool unseen tiles (AANNNOORRSUW??), a bingo, while not automatic, seemed probable. My rack is CEIKRSV. This rack yields one eight, which I did find relatively easily. It also plays at 14A.

Pete: Turn 12

Z10

Q10

	Chris Sheppard	unknown	323
→	Pete	CEIKRSV	299

My logic went as follows: If I bingo, and he has a bingo, I lose. and with any small fishing play, I'm drawing at a sub-optimal leave for the necessary bingo. An intermediate play that scores probably blocks lines I may need to respond, and would probably get outrun by an out in two or three unless I draw a blank. I decided to exchange KV, figuring that CEIRS +2 had a lot of potential on the wide open board, and sticking him with the V and the K might provide the points I'd need.

I just don't know if my logic was totally on the mark. Quackle, after 1019 iterations, gives the following:
F10 (JO)CK             17    48.87%
K10 SICK                 34    48.50%
exch KV                    0     47.12%
14A (O)VERSICK   88    46.97%

I don't know if Quackle is wrong because it doesn't infer that a blank seems less likely to come out of bag than pure probability would dictate, or am I wrong to overestimate the chances that my opponent holds that blank? I think the timing of the plays leads me towards the exchange being better than JOCK, as you're giving your opponent seven tiles if he bingoes, and if he doesn't, throwing a couple of clunky ones for him to work with. SICK seems way too easy to outrun...

I think I did the right thing, I'm just not sure I fully understand why... I open it to the floor for discussion and insults of the author.

Farmington Position

2007-12-24T02:12:05Z

A fun position from Farmington. My rack was AEGNRSU. while the answer may be obvious to our most elite, I was very proud of finding the best play here. It's the kind of play that makes me love the possibilities of this game we play. Sorry for the bad graphics, I'm a luddite. The U in KUFI is on the center square

UPDATE- graphics improved. thanks hector31

Rack: AEGNRSU

Pete: Turn 6

Pete: Turn 6

	Carolyn Easter		194
→	Pete	AEGNRSU	81

---------------------

Answer after Christmas, assuming it's not posted in the comments. This was my favorite play from an otherwise bad day for me. Happy holidays everyone.

Adventures in arcania- My Jeopardy! Audition

2007-12-09T04:27:05Z

It's been quite a week. And how better to top it off than by auditioning for America's longest running quiz show. Yes, I survived auditioning for Jeopardy.

The process began back in January, when I took the online Jeopardy! contestant exam. Fast forward nine and a half months to Nov. 1, when i get an email telling me I passed the online exam, which I had forgotten I had even taken by this point. Of course, I confirm my interest and am placed on the schedule at 3:30 PM Saturday Dec. 8. This was awesome for me, as during a rather bleak period, it gave me something concrete to look forward to, and prepare myself for.

Enough prologue, let's move to Saturday morning. I drove back to Butler (50 min. N of Pittsburgh, where the audition takes place) and stayed with the folks to cut travel time. Of course, that also meant waking up at a ridiculously early hour, as the activity at the ancestral home starts around 7:30 AM. Awakened by the general commotion, I find myself unable to get back to sleep, and I succumb to the concept of consciousness. I find myself really anxious... the hours cannot fly by fast enough. I'm not nervous... I've maintained relatively low expectations throughout the process. I have never expected to make the show, as much as I would love to. It's not the information that gets in the way; I know enough to make the show, without any real prep. But I look funny, I talk funny, and my personality can be an acquired taste, to put it gently (Ben Franklin in 1776 might put it that "I'm obnoxious and disliked"). (Editor's Note: Musical Theatre is a relatively common topic of Jeopardy Answers, and I figured I'd pick up some brownie points from ftangredifor an appropriate musical reference.) But still, a near zero chance is not quite zero, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I take a final look at my contestant information questionnaire, realize I'm as boring as I was when I reviewed it yesterday, and mapquest the directions. Then I shower, and dress

Wardrobe was something that vexed me. I've noticed a tendency towards casualness among the contestants as of late. My problem is, I don't pull off the Jeopardy Casual look that well, so I decided to go with a more polished, professional look. I chose a grey suit that I recently shrunk back into (weight loss has its advantages), a blood red shirt and a black tie. I looked smooth, almost mobsterish. With the new short haircut, I looked friendly but just a touch dangerous. I approved of the look.

Around 12:45, I couldn't stand waiting at home any longer, so I got in Deathtrap (my car) and started the journey. Immediately, I hear the front of the car making noises that would make the authors of a Chilton Manual cry. I got the brakes fixed, but this problem is new. A stop in Cranberry for some Chik-Fil-A, which I had been looking forward to for days (yep, I'm a Chik-Fil-A junkie), featuring chicken nuggets, lemonade, and some study of the fourth thousand eights, and I proceed on... the noise continues, and I notice my steering is loose, especially when I try to do anything other than go dead straight. About five minutes after getting back on the highway, a good Samaritan starts waving frantically as he pulls beside me. I see him pull over ahead, and I pull over a good distance behind, just in case he's one of the Biblically far-more-prevalent bad Samaritans. He steps out of his car (yeah, I can take him), and tells me that my right front wheel is wobbling. Oh boy. There is no way in hell I should continue this journey. I should just call a truck, get towed back to Butler, and not die or watch the front wheel fly randomly onto a suburban Pittsburgh roadside. This reasonable, logical train of though lasts approximately .000073 seconds, after which I realize, this is Jeopardy, dammit. If I can get another ten miles or so, I can catch a cab and make it to the audition. I thank the man for his concern, tell him I'm pulling over at the next exit, and then proceed upon my way.

A stressful half-hour of fighting a hobbled car and negative thoughts later, I arrive at the hotel... where I notice the obcene parking rates at the hotel lot, necessitating another five minutes to find a slightly less pricey locale to park. Seven dollars later, I walk the block and a half to the Westin William Penn and arrive at 2:40.

I walk up the stairs to the second floor, expecting to see a throng of people there. I only knew a general outline of the events for the day; I had no idea how many people would be attending, or how many sessions of auditions there would be. I see one person, sitting half-asleep on a cushioned chair in the atrium. I walk over to the conference room, where a sign on the table outside the closed door gives us instructions. Fill out a contestant info form, take an answer sheet and an official Jeopardy pen (just one, please). I do as instructed, sit down and start answering the questions. Glad I took the time to learn the callsign of the station that televises Jeopardy in Cleveland... No, I'm not related to anyone who works anywhere in anyway connected to Jeopardy. Do I know any former contestants? Why yes... Pat Hardwick, one of our Cleveland Scrabblers, was a champion back in the Art Fleming days. Have I been convicted of any felonies? Uh... no. Am I running for public office? With a tinge of regret, again no. With that done, I try to relax. I' not very good at it. I'm pacing around the place while others arrive.

Eventually I sit down at a table with a few other prospective contestants. A resident in internal medicine from Atlanta (wow, and I complained about my commute), a bearded architect from the Pittsburgh Suburbs with multiple pens in his shirt pocket, and a squirrelly unemployed oldster from Erie, who I immediately knew would never ever ever get on the show. We all fake pleasantries and small talk, but there's a cold distance. We seem to have an unspoken understanding that this is a zero-sum game, and that we are all going after the same finite objective. This dance of forced sociability and quiet "sizing-up" of the opposition seems to be repeated by everyone else throughout the room. Around 3:20, a cheery young lady comes out of the conference room and starts checking off our names, and a guy comes out with a Polaroid Camera, and starts taking head shots. Upon seeing mine, I am glad I lost some weight, as my face looked far smaller than I remember it. The girl tells us, for the first of many times throughout the audition, to smile, and speak up. After a couple more minutes of milling about, the contestant coordinators invite us into the conference room.

The room is arranged with rows of tables and chairs facing the front of the room. At the front, the contestant coordinators are facing us, seated at tables of their own, on either side of a projection screen, with a blank jeopardy board on it. I walk in, and rather than nervous, I feel at home. Seeing the board strangely puts me at ease... it's like this is what I've been born to do. The head coordinator starts with a run-down of the process. Firstly we are all now "officially" in the contestant pool, due to passing the online exam. I give that line as much credence as it deserves, which is none. I know that there are people in the room who, if the choice came between having them as contestants and canceling Jeopardy, a bunch of folks at Sony would be getting pink slips. This audition would be how they determine who actually gets picked from the pool. It would begin with a written test, followed by a discussion with a member of the Clues Crew, and then a chance to play a mock version of Jeopardy!

After giving us a few pointers on Jeopardy question constructs and such, and some sample questions (I got the one involving anagramming STAIN into SATIN.... boo yeah), the test begins. 50 questions from fifty different categories, 8 seconds between questions. In general, not too difficult, although there are a few stumpers that are far more "you know it or you don't" trivia, rather than questions one can puzzle out logically. I got at least 40 of them right, and at least 8 wrong... there were only two I wasn't sure of. Blew an easy one about young water fowl, but otherwise was pleased with my result After the test, the coordinators take our tests and info, and leave the room to grade the exams. We are not told our results.

Jimmy of the Clues Crew starts to talk with us and tell us about his experiences on the show, and then has a Q&A. It was interesting, but it was clear the group of prospects had two very distinct classes: The Junkies who were thrilled to question a real live Clues Crew member, and the non-Junkies, who were wondering, "Who is this guy?" Despite falling into the latter category, I did enjoy it. Shortly after, the coordinators come back in.

They announce the beginning of the mock games, and have the players grouped into threes. They say the groupings have no relevance or significance whatsoever, which immediately leads me to suspect they do, and gets me starting to try to figure them out. They also mention that they aren't concerned with whether or not the contestants get the answer correct; this I do believe... they are far more concerned with personalities, projection, and any number of other factors, than "winning" the game... by getting this far, we have proved we know enough to compete. The first group is called. Maybe there is no significance, no one exceptional, no one lousy... About eight minutes in, the coordinators stop the game, and start conducting an interview with the contestants called. No one bombs, in this group. No one in any group bombs, with the exception of the fellow from Erie I met earlier, who said he's "rather not discuss" previous jobs he's had, among other chestnuts. An Assistant DA from Cambria County talked about his new daughter, who was born yesterday, and the multiple personal injury attorneys (none of whom had one a case yet) sheepishly tried to downplay their career. All in all, an interesting cross-section of white males (yep, 19 white males out of 19 auditioners).

After two groups go through this process, I am called up with two others. I missed a couple of questions, one on Dostoevsky, another on Hemingway (must bone up on literature), but then nailed three relatively tough questions in friendlier categories. Since they weren't even bothering to keep score, I wasn't too concerned. I was happy to have the buzzer in hand, and get to answer questions. Eventually, they halt the game, and I get my interview. We discuss my career in politics (such as it is), my hobby (Scrabble), and they ask, as they ask of everyone, "What would you do if you won a ton of money on Jeopardy!?"

Having done some research, I knew this was coming, and I figured it would provide me an opportunity to highlight my offbeat personality and world view in an attractive and somewhat homespun way. My (absolutely truthful) response is as follows:

"When I was 16, I borrowed my mom's car one day, and I wrecked it. Head on into a telephone poll, absolutely destroyed. Totaled it. My mom love that car, she really did. So if I were to win a lot of money, the first thing I would do is buy my mom a Blue 1987 Chevy Nova."

I think it was well-received; it certainly beat my back-up answer of "hookers and blow." After the interviews, we sit down and watch the rest of the auditioners play and interview. Finally, one of the coordinators tells us what's up. We are now all officially in the contestant pool, and eligible to be called to play any time in the next 18 months. They said they would try to give us three weeks notice before the filming date, and generally, told us we did a great job, and whatnot. With that, we quickly file out of the room, facing the beginning of the waiting game.

I'm pleased with how I did. I was myself, for good or ill... I did well on the test, projected well, and showed just enough zaniness and "differentness" that I may have a shot to get called. It's a fantastically fun process, and I'd do it again (although I hope I don't have to, as I want on the show). I highly recommend it, if you have the trivia and logical game to compete. Now I start training for the off chance i get the call. I need a new Almanac.

My most interesting Opening rack of the day's play

2007-11-12T02:19:03Z

CEEIISZ

to open against Stephen Knapp, I play first. This was a rack that created a dilemma, and I really debated over it... quackle likes SEIZE, which I think is foolish... ZEE vs. ICE is how I saw it, and factoring in the power of the EISZ leave, I took the 10 for ICE over the points and the II leave of ZEE. What would you do?

The pendulum swings

2007-10-31T20:21:12Z

I got an email today... the excerpts from the text are behind the cut.

Congratulations! You have been selected for a follow-up appointment at an upcoming Jeopardy! contestant search for the Pittsburgh area, exclusively for those who successfully passed the online test. This is the next step in becoming a Jeopardy! contestant. We have reserved the following appointment for you:

When: Saturday, December 8th Time: 3:30pm

Where: Pittsburgh, PA

Due to overwhelming demand we can only hold your spot for two business days. If you respond after that period of time, and if we still have space, we will be happy to provide you with an appointment.

Your appointment is non-transferable, and only those who receive this invitation directly from Jeopardy! may RSVP to book an appointment. Each RSVP will be matched against an invite list and forwarded invitations will not be honored.

The auditions will last about 2 hours.

We hope to hear from you soon!
Best Regards,
The Jeopardy! Contestant Department

It's been so long since I took the thing, and didn't hear anything, I had long since forgotten I'd taken the online test back in January, I think. Well, I get home from the gym, and here in my inbox is this letter. I guess I passed that test... Now, I have no illusions that I'll be picked to make the show... I hardly fit their image of the perfect contestant, and I talk funny. But who knows, maybe I'll be surprised. You think I'm skipping the audition just cuz I doubt they'll take me, it's three hours away and probably means missing work? Hells no...

Anyone out there been through the Jeopardy! audition process? What should I expect? Any area of knowledge I should bone up on? Any personality traits I should enhance, or discard? Any advice is appreciated.

What might have been

2007-10-16T15:44:06Z

As I claw my way back to dignity on ISC... I saw what would have been my coolest bingo ever, by far, had my opponent cooperated. I opened with FUNK 7G, and my rack was ?ADIMTZ. If my opponent makes a parallel play, making (K)I, I had the all time style points 9... and the scary thing is, I saw the possibility immediately. I literally learned the word in Kindergarten. Instead, my opponent plays REBU(K)E through that K, leaving me the higher scoring, but far less exciting, AToMIZ(E)D for a double double... The word that might have been is behind the cut

TZADdI(KI)M

Never underestimate the value of preschool and Kindergarten at the Jewish Community Center of Pittsburgh, and knowing your Hebrew plurals in Scrabble.

Maybe I am remembering how to play this game... now if I ever had the opportunity to do so.

That is all.

Everything's Heavy Underground

2007-09-30T23:51:39Z

I know that I have non-LJ readers, and others who are not on my friends list (the mailed death threats constructed out of letters clipped from various magazines have to come from somewhere)... as of late, I've moved towards more friends only posts, and I believe that I will continue to do so. So, if you are at all interested in reading my ramblings, please, add me to your friends list, and if I know you (read: have heard of you, or can identify you on cross-tables, or even think I might know of you), I'll add you. If you don't have an LJ, get one, even if you never post on it, and see the previous sentence.

PZ

Very Brief Hudson Update

2007-09-03T14:08:01Z

Chuck Armstrong and I are playing in a best to five final today... winner gets first, loser gets second. aruspex and stmonday least the general pool at 12 and 11 wins, respectively. However as they met myself and chuck in the semifinal matches, their gaudy records qualify them for no better than third place, while Chuck with 10 wins and I win 9 face off for the championship. Somehow, I like Chuck's chances a litte bit better than mine, but all I can do it play my game, and play it about 30 degrees more aggressive and crazy than usual.

Will have much more post-tournament. Fun event, best Hudson field in a long time, and I shouldn't have even made the playoff... more on these tonite.

PZ

Dayton Game 15- Engineering, strategy and excitement- a reconstruction

2007-08-26T21:42:04Z

Game 15.... so far, the turning point of my nascent scrabble career. I really played a good strategic game, integrating a philosophy of play with smart actions, strong choices, knowledge of the rules, and some board control that frustrated my opponent. I engineered a situation early where I could take control of the game, by forcing my opponent to open the board or risk a likely loss on the six pass rule. While quackle may not agree on every move, I feel very comfortable with my overall strategy in this game. It was unlike any I ever played, and gave me the momentum I needed for an 11-3 run on days three and four.

Lynda Wise is the opponent. I think this game frustrated her immensely, which part of me felt bad about. She seemed a nice opponent, but I wanted and needed the win, and I was going to play the kind of game to make it possible. I kept the board very unfriendly for her... she never played more than 4 tiles off on any play.

Lynda opens with PURC*. Maybe 6 months ago, I let that slide, but not now... It goes off, and I get an empty board with the rack ABENSVX. Sometimes, the play themselves... VEX 8G 26. She responds with HUP 9H 24. Oh boy...

So, the board looks like

......................VEX...............................
........................HUP............................

and I immediately see that the 6 Zero rule is in play... and as I will make plays 1,3, and 5, I am in the driver seat. She almost has to open the board as some point, and bingoing on the board as situated is well nigh impossible. My rack is AABELNS, which if I were inclined to fish, perhaps with AB 10J 12, would leave me with a strong leave. Quackle likes AB... but I am convinced that AB would have been a horrible play. I'm learning that in an impasse situation, it is usually best not to open the board, unless you have to. I was in no rush to open it up... she would have to eventually, and I could exchange and build a better rack to take advantage of her predicament. I exchange AB. She exchanges 4.

My rack is now AEILMNS. I have my bingo rack. She has to open the board one of the next two plays, and if she is to exchange again, I have one turn left to get rid of the M, so that I don't get stuck with it on the six pass. This time, while it doesn't appear as one of it's top 10 choices, quackle sim loves my decision to Pass Zero. I am pleased that I realized right then, I was in the catbird seat, and I'm best not breaking up a rack rich in sevens and 8's in case she chose to play here. She looked a bit perturbed when I said "Pass" and hit the clock... She exchanges 2.

Same AEILMNS, and we have four straight zeros behind us. playing certainly isn't an option... I saw two reasonable alternatives, exchange M or pass again. Passing zero again would put me in real danger of tying or losing if she had only 5 or six points on her rack, which with her exchanges seemed possible. Exchanging M seemed to add variability, as It gives the chances of pick up a high point tile... but the odds were strongly in favor of drawing a 3 point or lower tile. I thought the exchange was worth the risk. Quackle liked pass zero, but i felt like exchanging would be safer, considering i was unsure if she was as aware of the game situation as I was.   She pauses... she seems really confused, she calls the director over. I ask, "what's up" and she wants a clarification on the 6 pass rule. I try to give it to her, but she wants in from a director. She tries to argue that because many of the zeros were exchanges, it shouldn't be in play... uh, no. She seems really flustered. I soon see why.

Lynda plays (P)eNT J9 5. She was vowel-less, and had to burn the blank, for a five point play. I asked her after the game, why she didn't pass and end the game there... she said she had a D on her rack, and also gave the "I wanted to play the game" argument... all well and good, but I may have taken my chances, exchanged the D, and hoped my opponent caught bad on his last exchange. With what i was doing, any opening play would have seemed less likely to win than taking my chances on the pass.

Well, I drew another S, so my rack was the easy AEILNSS...
and the board was

.......................VEX....................
........................HUP.................
..............................e..................
..............................N.................
..............................T.................

I had a bunch of options, but since double-doubling thru the N wasn't one of them, my mind immediately turned to defense. I felt that on this board, with a bingo lead, if I played it right, I could keep the lead pretty much from here. Of the 4 bingoes through the T, I settled on NAILSE(T)S, which opened the fewest lines for 8's and didn't put the esses out for a bingo. 65 pt lead, one blank and 2 esses gone, and a relatively compact and controllable board. Unwarily, Lynda plays into my strategy by dumping W(A)RY through the open A in NAILSETS... I drew ?DDEIOO. no sevens or eights played, but with the second blank in hand, I felt like the game was in hand now. (We are on turn 6, and almost half the plays were zeros, i have a 45 pt. lead, and I know I have this game? I'm either cocky, delusional, or starting to understand a bit of the Meta-game)... I revert to my early game mindset, no need to open the board... I tie it up further by fishing off DO(R) 13C 10. I know she will eventually have to open the board, and with the blank, I'm in position to exploit the opening. Until then, I'm gonna build a rack, and wait for her to open.

She obliges, playing NEE(D)Y 14A 25, opening up the A column. unfortunately, my draw left me with ?DEEEIO, so I block that line with DE(N)E A12 21, leaving a opening for a seven ending in E or O, but I felt confident that holding an E and a blank, and there only being 4 unaccounted for E's, I would be more likely to find use of it than her...

She again makes an opening play, (S)ERF H12 21, pulling within 30 and throwing the board open. I hold ?EIILOS. Forced to choose between the eight from the R, or the sevens on the B column, I choose the 8.   98 pt lead, but the board is a bit more open than I wanted. Lynda immediately kills the most dangerous line, playing MO(t)S O12 24, burning the last S in the process. Now a board shutdown is very doable. I quickly kill the 3 lines on columns MN and O with CAG(E) M11 14

So at this point, there are no tiles above row 8, and there is exactly one open bingo line, which must end in E or O. I hold an 88 point lead.   I like my odds. Lynda fishes with I(C)K, setting up 2 relatively weak lines for 8's ending in I or K. At this point, I know that I have to block the remaining line on the B column. fortunately, JEE/(D)E B10 29 Did that quite effectively and pushed my lead above 100.... if she has a seven ending in O, god bless...

Once a board gets all tight and ugly like this, trying to come back is really a battle. It can be very difficult to open multiple lines at once, and single lines can usually be easily blocked. She opens two new lines for sevens with MAG(I), I close them with (M)IAO, leaving far weaker eight lines in return. when she ties up those two lines to play ZO(A) for 32, the game is essentially over. My response leads me with a 99 pt lead and no bingo lines. The next 5 plays are familiar, she opens, I shut, while outscoring her in the process. By then, we're at the endgame, which while I misplay it somewhat, I'm in no danger whatsoever... there's nowhere left to score.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O -> lynda wise 289

------------------------------ Pete OUER 390

1|= C ' = ' =|

2| F O R T " " - |

3| D ' ' - |

4|' N A B ' - '|

5| I U - Q - |

6| L G R I T " Z A|

7| L ' A ' B O P|

8|= V V E X M I A O|

9| A W E U ' H U P A ' |

10| J O T H I e G " |

11| E T W N N - I C K |

12|D E N A I L S E T S - A M|

13|E D O R Y E ' G O|

14|N E E D Y " R O I L I E S t|

15|E ' A R F T I N S|

------------------------------

At this point, I realized that I could do it. I can out-strategize a lot of folks, even if my word knowledge is not as good as some people's... I can play the game. I can beat people in a variety of ways. I always feel comfortable when I play someone who lacks my level of world knowledge, but this game taught me that in some cases, you can negate the word knowledge advantage by controlling the board. And I felt that every single turn of this game, I owned the board.
I felt bad afterwards, because Lynda clearly had limited opportunities this game, and she looked a bit shocked afterwards. But I also was very pumped that I could conceive a strategy from very early on, and actually make it work. There were six (six!) occasions during this game that my move did not appear in quackle's top options, but simmed either first or a close second. I think I may be starting to understand this game. Now if I only knew some words...

Hopefully see y'all at Hudson.

PZ

Day 2... not quite so good

2007-08-06T10:45:58Z

3-4 and lost a ton of spread today... from 2 to 21 in the standings after rd 14... but I still feel very much in contention for cashing. my lossed were ugly, and I'm making good decisions... lots of baby bingoes today. Closest to a cool bingo was ACEENNSY. The pairings fairy has done me no favors thusfar; I'm seeded in the top half, yet 10 of my fourteen opps have been seeded ahead of me... I have eclipsed 1400...

Won a three way split in poker last nite... 100... woo hoo.

If the Mike Frantz vs. Jean Carol game from D1 doesn't make cross-tables, there's something awful in this world. I may commit it to memory. My question.... is it worth playing TREVEAN(FIG)*/ (Z)N* (or any other random combination of the letters) for 130, and forcing your opponent to decide between the certain loss, or playing on down by about two bingoes? interesting conundrum, for both players... the game theory permutations are fascinating.

Quick Day 1 update

2007-08-05T11:28:53Z

Good start... 6-1 +575 or something like that... currently in second, but it's wicked early... drew almost too well, getting tiles even after i no longer needed them. One star sequence of the day... Rack : EEISSSV.... I play off one S for 24, draw the N. Play SENS(IT)IVE for a double-double to turn a close game into a romp...

Will be playing some very strong players for the foreseeable future in this event, so it should be fun... let's see how this goes.

Won Friday nite poker, lost Saturday... Watched from afar as ftangredi stole HYDRATION with ANTITHYROID in a game of expert Anagrams... fun stuff... I think this beats the Medina County Fair by a wide margin, regardless of what my candidate thinks.

PZ

I'm here

2007-08-03T21:28:00Z

Arrived at the Dayton North Holiday Inn. Got a quick workout in, and played some table tennis with George... waiting for a couple more peeps and then we head to register at the Crown. This place is sweet, and a hell of a lot cheaper. I think Dayton's gonna be alright. Laissez les bons temps roulez.

PZ

I believe my humor's wearing thin and I believe the poles are shifting...

2007-07-31T03:01:04Z

Well, I had a respectable Farmington, by the numbers at 4-3. rating moved up a touch, around eight points, on I'm in the 1390's now, I think... In reality, I played like crap at multiple points. 2 blown endgames, a non-challenge so embarrassing that I should be demoted to Division 5 (altho in my defense, it was game 1, and I try not to think before 10 AM), and a bunch (4) of missed bingoes... as a result, I've pretty much decided to chill on the studying between now and Friday... some basic review, but no more new stuff, and try to just think about the kind of game I want to play.

Some good points to the day... stole an otherwise unwinnable game with a phony 6 on the penultimate play (PHONIA seemed plausible enough), Five of my games were decided by less than 20 pts, and I won three of them, including one which flipped to me on a recount... That was bittersweet, as it was against ipecac_icecap, who played an excellent game to come from behind... I hate playing George in tourney play... I like to have at least some level of dislike for my opponents, even if it is entirely manufactured and forgotten after the game. With George tho, I just can't do it... I feel I play well against him, and usually he plays very well against me, so we have some fun games, but in a tournament, I want detestable opponents I can draw the bag on and feel as tho justice were done. George may be one of the nicer and most likable players out there, so I almost didn't ask for a recount when he won by 2... but I had to, there was a three point error, and I won by 1. Also had a shootout against sopraffina which I managed to win 451-446... may not have been my best game, but it was definitely the most fun, including actually playing a decent endgame...

I'm noticing that I am becoming better at dictating the style of play... 5 of the seven games, I really felt I had a reasonable level control of the flow of the game. If I wanted a board closed, it was pretty darn closed... if I wanted it open, it was open... The other two, one I fell behind early, and had to play catchup, only to lose in the endgame, and then in the other I got utterly bagged. I need to look back at my last 50 games or so, figure out which games I felt I had control of the board, and see what way I played it, and my results in each style of play... I feel that I'm improving on a closed board, but I still have a predilection to the open games. I want to see if the data backs up my bias towards open games.

I've decided I'm putting absolutely zero expectations on myself. I don't know many players in the field, and I don't know how I'll handle breaking out of my regimen for five days. I've been faithful about my gym work (every day but Farmington since I got the membership) and sticking to Atkins (so much tougher than it sounds), and both will be severely tested in the Medium D... So, I just want to have a good time, play as well as I can, and see what results come from it.

Should hit dayton with George early-to-mid Friday afternoon. once there, hopefully get to meet a bunch of you LJers who I know only through your journals... then try to get some sleep...

Thank God for guilty for the guillotine

2007-07-24T13:59:51Z

I really wish Dayton were tomorrow. I feel like my game and anagramming are rounding nicely into form, at least by my standards. Playing well at club, and on ISC... Even been adding the third thousand eights, and making quicker progress than I had previously with adding eights.

People who know me say I study a lot. I probably do, but it doesn't seem like it. Only rarely do I dedicate otherwise free time to studying, because, well... I like to pretend I have a life. I study while I drive, while I work out (I've been to the gym every day since I got my membership... hitting cardio pretty hard), and in the half hour or so while I lay in bed trying to fall asleep. And this method was great for sevens... my mind wrapped around them, and I picked them up pretty easily. I feel extremely solid on the top 3k sevens, and because my study regime when I started sevens was different, I have found that I have picked up many many more outside the top 3k that one wouldn't ordinarily know. I have found the eights to be far more time consuming. It takes me so many more repetitions on any given alphagram until I feel comfortable with them...

I'm finally getting really solid on my second thousand 8's. I've felt comfortable with the first thousand for a while now, altho there are about 20 of those that trip me up on my cards (even when I can find them over the board, which seems odd). I wanted to have more down by now, but now that I have kind of taught myself how to study, I think I'll be able to add 8's more quickly and efficiently now. Instead of months to learn a set of 1000, it's taking weeks.

I also tried Jumble Time once this past week, which immediately made me feel like a moron. Between the fact that I am a pathetic typist, and that I am not a fast anagrammer, my performance was quite poor. I think I'll wait a while before trying again, as my results were kind of embarrassing.

Went to the Rocky River club sunday. Went 3-1, losing only a shootout to Dan Stock 453-439. Pulled of a nice comeback win against Terry O. where I found TUAT(A)RAs. I have never studied it (only TUATERA), but growing up a huge REM fan, I knew the word, as Tuatara was the name of a Peter Buck side project. From there, I just had to hope the OWL agreed with me, and it did.

The NAST satty is filling out nicely. We're up to 18 entrants, and the field is a nice mix of Ohio locals, Pittsburgh peeps, a couple of Michiganders, LJers, friends, clubmates, even a new young player who comes to Rocky River every once in a while. I expect to fill it by Dayton, and collect most of the outstanding entry checks there. Should be a fun field, with lots of players in contention for the three spots in the final. Now I have to hope that someone else hosts a satty or two so I can play my way in.

Probably (95%) heading to Farmington this weekend. I need some tournament games before Dayton, and now that my rating is starting to edge towards 1400, the field there should be a good preparation for the Dayton field. Would be good to build some momentum before Players, but if nothing else, gets me out of the greater medina area for a while.

ipecac_icecap and I met up a couple times this weekend to play a word game of his design. It's fun, as it help with anagramming skills, and has a different set of strategic factors than SCRABBLE. I'll leave any more description of it to its creator, but I highly recommend it...

Otherwise, this week... I'll try to get work done, which with Dayton anticipation seems unlikely. I'll keep my workouts going, and probably hit club thursday. otherwise, all quiet here. can't wait to catch you all at dayton, particularly you LJers I know only through this medium.

PZ

Like a meteorite burned out in the galaxy where the parking lots are oh, so bright.

2007-07-13T04:38:31Z

Won the Independence club tournament, with a relatively pedestrian 4-0... i didn't feel like I played badly, but nothing terribly inspired... Missed an out bingo triple-triple with ?AOPRSV through an L, but I was so concerned about clinching the win, and so pissed he blocked the seven, that I never really fully considered the play... so I beat Northeast Ohios best player despite losing 200 pts in equity during the game... (156 on missing OVeRLAPS). Did come back from 150 down in Game 1 against Pat Hardwick... she opens with PHONiED, I challenge, it's good, she gets a forty pt X play, I make an I dump for 10, she plays off for thirty, and I clean my rack for 16... panic is almost setting in. when my turn comes around, i'm down 176-26. I play (MOO)R/REIFY to the triple for 42, she challenges, it's good, and I draw ABILLRT... how convenient that I got that Y down on the triple word score the play before. I saw the bingo for 98 immediately (frighteningly quickly), to make it a game... then survive her second blank bingo with a good Z play, another pedestrian bingo, and a well conceived endgame... an easy win against Walter, where I got good tiles early and tied up the board, and a victory over local phenom ipecac_icecap, where I got good tiles right when I needed them. wish it had been a full rated event, as my rating would have skyrocketed to 1430 or so, but as a club event, it will just push me a little closer to 1400...

Club tonite was interesting... it turns out that the Barnes and Noble's where we meet decided to start advertising that our scrabble club meets there... without telling me, of course, so I was quite surprised when some newbies showed up... It was fun trying to teach them the little vagaries of competitive play. One of the newbies opened her game with an 8-letter bingo (R)EInDEER, but lost to the other newbie, who clearly had some hi level living room play experience and played a few SCRABBLE words... (not used to seeing a newbie with no study or experience drop RAX, AZON or FIRN on the board). Got them cheat sheets to take home, and I hope they'll be back...

Checked out the Players Championship payouts... which I haven't seen fully discussed or hashed out, as I'm sure it will start a nasty row whatever side of the fence on is on. Personally, I believe the Top divs should get more, and even significantly more, than us lower division morons and illiterates... they put in the work, they deserve some reward... I guess just the degree of difference astounded me.

DIV         ENTRANTS      FIRST      TOTAL         PAYOUT/ENTRANT
1            92                        $12,000   $28,250      $307.07
2            114                     $2,500      $6,575         $57.68
3            107                     $1,650      $4,450         $41.59
4            67                        $1,300      $3,175      $47.39
5            83                        $1,100      $2,825      $34.04

1. places 2-8 in D1 pay as much total as the 33 placewinners in the other divisions combined.
2. The level of subsidization is remarkable... from a pure equity standpoint, it sucks if you're not D1. Especially if you're like me and can't plan months ahead to send money, and have to pay the late fee... not to mention hotel, etc.
3. What frustrates me is that somehow, D4 gets a better return than D3... why should I have worked to get to D3 when D4 actually has a better rate of return? (other than that I want to get to D1 someday in the not too distant future)
4. I know I've heard at club some complaints from lower div. players about the extreme way the money is allocated upwards... like I said, I think a good degree of upwards allocation is a positive... But for appearances sake, perhaps it was a bit much in this case.   I guess the question is where is the balance between appearing fair and rewarding greatness?
5. I know that much of the donated money must have gone to D1 prizes... which is good. That's where it should go...

I'm not trying to start a flame war, or get any kind of pro-expert/anti-expert debate going. Anyone who thinks experts shouldn't be rewarded more handsomely than the hoi polloi, is just wrong. But like it or not, we're all in the same subculture here, and some discussion of the merits of subsidization vs. separate tournaments is worthwhile.

None of this is meant to diminish the work of Chris Cree, Mary Rhoades, and everyone else who put this together. While I have only met Chris once, I was impressed he was willing to take the time to give me study advice and talk a bit about the game. They have done yeomen's work in getting this together. I look forward to it greatly... but at what point do the lower div players get pissed off and stop showing? or do I worry too much.

Well, otherwise , all goes as usual... work, study, gym, study, and other stuff. Now I'll probably regret having written the above, but I'm very interested to hear opinions from all across the ratings spectrum... I think it's an issue that, as more general discussions on CGP have shown, has some legs. Till then, I guess I just have to keep studying to get up to the subsidized division...

PZ
(placing flame retardant jacket on as we speak)

Who's that walkin' round my door? I shot it now, it won't be back no more

2007-07-10T02:44:17Z

My luck is wasted.

Just some news and notes, scrabble and other stuff (is there really other stuff?).

1. Gym membership has been fun. I feel good getting some cardio in daily, and hopefully it will help me for Dayton... if it doesn't at least the flashcards I study while I bike, run, or elliptical should. It's funny the stares that I generate as I flashcard on the elliptical.
I will say, being the fat guy at the gym is quite fun. I think the gym should hire me, frankly. The job I do motivating people is surely enhancing the fitness experience for these people... trust me, when they see the fat guy biking faster than them, they speed up... no one wants to get outworked by me. All in all, a fun time.

2. Had a bad day of scrabble yesterday... lost far too many games, although in general, my play wasn't bad. These are the frustrating ones... In poker, take a bad beat, bust out, and you can call it a day... in scrabble, the adventure continues... and one bad loss you cannot help can easily spiral into many losses you should avoid. Need to find a way to just stay even keeled... it's funny... professionally, I consider my temperament one of my strengths... at the board, not so much. Did learn GALOPADE tho.

3. I'm kinda peeking me head outside of the political world right about now. I'd like to get a chance to see what all is out there for someone with my set of skills. I'm still on the campaign, and I do not know that I would leave, but I would like to at least talk to folks about what else I could do. My resume is strange, as most of my professional experience is in politics, with some freelance writing for newspaper and television thrown in. My political experience includes press and campaign management, as well as consulting, commercial and mail writing and production, and any number of other little things. I have no idea what outside of politics I could do, so I open it up to the mob... what other things could I reasonably find a job doing? Anyone in the writing industry is particularly encouraged to respond. My resume available to anyone by request... contact me at petezeigler at gmail dot com.

4. Starting to go over my upcoming events schedule... right now, i'm about 70% on Farmington, then Players, my NAST Satty (which I will direct, and also be the standby player to avoid byes), then Hudson Labor Day weekend. Look, I know that Chris Sheppard's Hudson tournaments are a bit unusual, and somepeople have not taken a liking to them... but please, come on out. His Labor day events are three days, with a match play playoff... if you've not been there before, come out. If you had an iffy experience there before, give it another try... it's a good chance for high rated players to get a cash, and for lower rated players to make a big ratings bump, and besides... I'll be there. I guarantee it'll be a good time, and as I live about 40 minutes away, I am willing to open my doors to an attendant or two, if that helps make your decision easier.

5. After Hudson, then the two Fenton one-days (always a good time, highly recommended), maybe scrabbleshells Mississauga one day(any excuse to get to the Toronto area is a good one) hopefully Baltimore (which appears to have a quite juicy prize pool), then directing Burning River in Elyria Ohio (COME OUT EVERYONE), and then East Lansing the end of October. Probably a Farmington mixed in there too. After all that, my rating could be as high as 1500 or as low as 1300, depending on how much of a donkey I am. I'd love to hit at least 1453 by the beginning of October, as that would give me a 500 pt jump over my first two years of play... not as fast or as attention getting as I would have liked, but it's something, I guess.

6. Hope everyone had a good holiday week... Catch y'all on the circuit.

PZ

I forgot the joys..

2007-07-04T16:17:14Z

of getting noplayed on ISC by people for the sin of bingoing with high prob 7s... CARLINE, IMAGoES, and IODIzES earned me a no play from qatzy, who came in rated above 1700. Apparently getting racks that anyone could play makes me a cheater. I forgot how much fun that was...

There's nothing to say 'cause it's already said... it's never easy

2007-07-02T20:09:37Z

Well, first things, I sent my check for Players this morning... i guess i'm committed to it. And I can't f'ing wait. I look at the field in D3 as of this moment (the great mediocre middle), I see thirteen opponents I've played in tournament action, and a bunch more I've run across on ISC. It should be fun. I'm hoping for homestate advantage to kick in.

Dayton while not in commuting range, is among the shortest commutes I'll have had for a tournament. Only the Hudson Opens are a shorter trip... While the length of the tournament probably vitiates the advantage after the first couple of days, hopefully I can be a little fresher on the first day or so. I am looking forward to meeting players I've faced on ISC, to seeing the critical mass of expert players in one place, to hanging with scrabble buds and generally taking a week off from real life.

I have no idea how I will do, other than to say I will be as prepared as I am able, both study-wise and mentally. I have a study schedule written up for the thirty days preceding Dayton, and I have begun to adjust my sleep patterns to be more morning functional. I hope to force myself onto a semi normal schedule between now and then.

Now my dilemma is whether or not to play the Farmington one day this month. Money will play a role, since even if I cash, it won't cover the trip, but more significant will be where my game is. Barring a miracle (7-0 as a bottom seed type miracle), I won't move up a division, but frankly, I don't know that I want to. I'm in a division where I think I can contend. the division above me has a few players who, frankly, intimidate me... I'm behind some of the D2ers in every aspect of my game... while I have respect for my D3 compatriots, I have no fear of them. seems a healthy attitude to have coming in... not cocky, not worried.

Farmington will come down to whether or not I feel my over the board game is in good shape... the better I'm playing, the less likely I'll play it... if I need the games to get myself rounded into shape, I'll be there.

Between now and then, 2 to three club sessions a week and hopefully some casual games outside of club. I'm feeling ready to add a bunch more 7's and 8's... now that I'm finding ones like EILNMOO and AEFINPR, I want to get even more strange and challengable words...
at club last week, I got down EPiGEAL, CRAaLIN(G), and REVISOR in one game, drawing challenges to the last two... I want more words like that, and to get them, I'm gonna have to keep working down the probablility list.

Then the 5's... so many strange and useful 5s to learn... I think they may be what prompts my next big ratings jump, once I learn them all.

In other news... this may be a blissfully quiet week. 4th of July brings much work to a halt, and allows me time to decompress a touch. I'll play poker with Dallas and friends on Tuesday, neglecting the maxim to not play poker with someone named after a city... do club on Thursday, write an article sometime in the interim for the Sandusky Register, maybe buy the DVD set of season 1 of Picket Fences, and otherwise just try to have some fun at some point. Hope all of y'all can do that to.

Also wanted to Re-empashize my upcoming tourneys.... AUGUST 18- NAST Satellite (one day) in Independence. If people need places to stay, I can take in a couple of folks for the friday nite before or even the Saturday nite after... just lemme know, and please register, OCT 13-14- Elyria OH, 2days 15 games. More info on Cross tables for both. We are working to try to build a strong tournament scene in Northeastern Ohio, and these tournaments are the first step in making sure that there's a wide variety of events to choose from here.
PZ

Are you looking for the mother lode? No.

2007-06-30T19:26:00Z

Well, the end of period fundraiser has been completed, and was met with moderate success. It failed to meet my expectations, but it exceeded those of the locals here... we raised a goodly sum, and now I can relax for a weekend or so.

After quackling MM, I realize that my biggest problem at this point is mental preparation for a tournament. I blew two games because I was tired. My mind was numb at the end of both days. I need to work on changing my sleep habits to make them more in tune with a scrabble tournament. I need to get used to waking up earlier, and remaining functional longer. I may have to start going the Matt Graham route and find the right cocktail of supplements to aid in keeping my mental faculties about me. I'm open to suggestions.

I'm also realising that it takes time for study to sink in. Just recently, I have been plugging the gaps in the 3rd thousand sevens. It seems like it takes time before the work I do on the cards translates to seeing them on my rack... it's starting to happen tho, which means its time to add the next thousand sevens and 8's. Also been working on the hi fives and 4 vowel sixes.

I'm not sure how I've gotten to where I am sometimes... I compare myself to the players around me in rating and location, and they all have many aspects of their games that blow me away. I think my one native advantage may be a skill at game playing in general, but when I compare myself to ipecac_icecap, I don't have his ability to find tough words, or Dan Stock's strategic ability, word knowledge and general scrabble acumen, the cunning and sheer ballsyness of tatermunch, or the word knowledge of almost any of my peers. There's something to my game, I just don't know what it is yet. While not wildly successful, I've had enough success to recognize that there is a reason for it besides a good run of luck. I just wish I knew what it was... i wish I had one jawdropping skill that I could hang my hat on, even if it's something relatively arcane and useless, like mastery of front extensions, or an uncanny knowledge of sixes ending in Y. I need to figure out what to get good at.

It will be a light week of scrabble. the holiday season being upon us, I have other things to attend to. I'll get my normal study in, of course, but otherwise, probably won't see a board til Thursday. maybe get some games on on ISC, but otherwise, just me, my flashcards and some fun with Zyzzyva.

Don't be fooled, Don't be flattered... it's not like you ever mattered.

2007-06-27T14:24:49Z

Interrupting what was going to be days of MM post-mortems, I had to discuss a game I played yesterday at Independence club against Dan Stock. I got an S, the X and the Z. Dan bingoed 4 times on me. I blew a giant (170 pt) lead. Yet I managed to play a vicious endgame and win. It may be, in some respects, the most promising and satisfying game I have ever played.

He exchanges 3, so off of AINOTXY, I open with OXY. I draw DGO, and it takes me embarassingly long to find the very high prob bingo in ADGINOT. He responds with a phony double double NITRIDIC*, which I challenge off. two turns later, I get GESTAPO down to take a 206-36 lead after 4 turns. against most players at club, I could run out the clock from here already... against Dan, I know the game is far from over. He gets TRAIK(I)Ng and MERLONS down back to back, and then throws down TEARIER for his third bingo in four turns... But I don't get frazzled. He takes a 30 point lead to empty the bag with SUDSIEr and I still don't panic. My rack is CEEELUW, while he has ILPRRW, and I'm under 2 and a half minutes on my clock. I find the endgame that gets me 45 points in 2 plays and can't be blocked.... the kind of play the old me never finds. As Dan tried a desperation phony of PREWEL* to try to scrape out a win, I got a far bigger win than was possible, 463-426. Quackle says that had he played the optimal play, I had a five point win, just as i calculated.

These are the games where I know I am getting better, and that I will get good at this game. I'm getting a far stronger mindset for the game. Less panic, more deliberation and strategic play. There were 5 or 6 opportunities for me to blow this game, and I managed to avoid them all. It shows me that I've got the game to do this.

Fundy planning continues apace, as I hope to remain employed after this week. Otherwise, scrabble study, a BG tourney sunday, and one of my boys is coming out friday to hang out and get drunk. Oh the humanity.

It's hard to say, it's sad but true, I'm kind of dumb, but so are you

2007-06-26T01:45:46Z

Having returned chastened and contemptible from Michigan, where I sucked and let down myself, my roto team, and all those who picked me, I'm actually not that upset. I learned a bunch from the trip, and I had a blast, even if my 7-7 performance was a huge letdown. I'm starting the post-mortems on my games, but first, I want to look at the highs and lows of my trip.

Highlights:
1. The scrabble friends I got to see again. I love the multi-generational, multi-state, conviviality and general bonhomie of the scene. Whether BG, poker, or whatever with bgscrabble and faithenuff, hanging with ericaareicceria and tatermunch, chatting with waystar, bugging calvin_hobbes29 for roto standings the casual games, the cool conversations, everything... it's just a fun little scene. And I'm leaving out so many others, but there are so many people who make tehse events fun. And of course, there's ipecac_icecap, travel partner and soon to be expert, without whom I'd have to about halve my number of tourneys played.
2. Getting to meet and play some new people. NEOhio lacks player diversity, and playing the same small group of people repeatedly can be a touch tiresome...
3. A few really cool plays... opening with AAHHIRS against waystar in a losing effort... getting OVERSTI(R) down and drawing a challenge spring to mind most readily.
4. Doing my first real tourney announcements... seems like I'm becoming more and more a part of the scrabble scene. Now I just hope people show up.
5. Seeing how many people picked me on their rotos... Although I was a horrible disappointment, it was cool to see people I don't know picking me.... I guess people do read livejournals and cross-tables.
Lows:
1. exhaustion. Work, studying, trouble sleeping, and getting myself overly pumped for the weekend led to me conking out at the end of both days... I gave away a game near the end of game 2 on the stupidest play of my career, thanks to just sheer brain fade (details in the post mortems of the coming days).
2. not leaving games behind me... I carried my outdraws and my mistakes with me, and they poisoned my attitude...
3. Overconfidence. While I'm getting better, I need to keep myself in check a bit. I still make too many mistakes, and my word knowledge is still not confident word knowledge... i chicken out on stuff i shouldn't. and I let slide some egregious phonies.

I came in 1360, left 1373, which could be worse... my goal at the beginning of the year was to get from 1254 to 1550.... not quite halfway there, but I have it in me to do it, I think.
Oh well, we'll have the game by game in the coming days, otherwise, back to work on work stuff.... our huge fundy on Thursday occupies my time, as its success is just about critical to our campaign continuing its momentum.... and probably me keeping my job ;-).... makes the pressure of finding the outbingo with less than a minute on the clock pale in comparison...

Fading memories blending into dull tableaux

2007-06-19T15:41:25Z

MM study continues apace... I'm feeling more comfortable with the stuff I should know, and I did better than usual reviewing my 4v6's. Even played UVEOUS to fine effect on ISC yesterday... I need to figure out how to use the Zyzzyva cardbox functions.

I completed my MM karaoke piece last evening. I like it. The lyrics are after the cut.

Better Days (and my rating goes south)
a scrabblized version of Better Days (and the bottom drops out) by Citizen King

It’s 9:15 and I just woke up

Drive to the site and forgot my setup

I walk in, my clock reads 8:44

I’m short on time, should prob’ly forfeit

But I came so far it wouldn’t be worth it

But I have got so much to lose

My rating is busted

Opponent gets down TRUSTED

With my rack I can’t even play

I’m 80 in the hole and the hole gets deeper

When from the S she gets down SLEEPERS

There ain’t a damn thing I can do

Ch:

I’ve seen better days

I blew so many plays

I’ve seen better days

And my rating goes south

I’ve seen better days

Ain’t drawn a blank today

I’ve seen better days

And my rating goes south

I missed YAY + VAV studying my stems,

So I guess I’d better trade all of them…

But what do I do when I pick up 3 U’s?

Now the rout is on and it seems like

I’m up a creek even when I play right

She bingoes off of the L and I can’t even play ULU

I could play like Chuck, but I draw like Zeigler

The bag screws me like it was Dirk Diggler

and she plays ZAIRE for a hundred and 4

One Fifty in the hole and the hole’s getting deeper

I’m overtime and can’t dump the q either

There ain’t a damn thing, a damn thing I can do

I know that I’ve seen better days

I eat the Q, 2 V’s and the K

Down 221 and there’s 6 more games

Yeah I know that I’ve seen better, I’ve had better days.

In other news... I am making an offer. I am hosting an NAST satellite on August 18 in Independence, OH. I have an extra mattress and an air mattress, as well as a little other extra space. I'm opening my place up for out of towners who wanna come out, but don't wanna grab a hotel room. It will have the feel of a college roadtrip more than elegant lodgings, but if you need to save, and don't mind getting to the tourney site a half hour early or so, mi casa es su casa. Just let me know asap.

My MM fantasy team took its first hit, as I had Alyssa Faria, who of course played so well this weekend that she moved up a roto classification, and forced me to change my team... darn. still feel confident tho.

The waiting is a pain... if I had the time and money, I'd probably drive up to Michigan tomorrow and gamble til the madness festivities commence. Otherwise, this week is work, review the basics, read my new backgammon book, and figure out new and exciting ways to raise campaign money.

PZ

A meme is a terrible thing to waste

2007-06-19T02:31:02Z

ganked from half of scrabbledom ericaareicceria squeegman vavaverity and others

Fill out your answers here and then repost so I can return the favor.

1. Your Middle Name:
2. Age:
3. Single or Taken:
4. Favorite Movie:
5. Favorite Song or Album:
6. Favorite Band/Artist:
7. Dirty or Clean:
8. Tattoos and/or Piercings:
9. Do we know each other outside of LJ?
10. What's your philosophy on life?
11. Is the bottle half-full or half-empty?
12. Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best interest?
13. What is your favorite memory of us?
14. What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
15. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:
16. You can have three wishes (for yourself, so forget all the 'world peace etc' malarkey) - what are they :
17. Can we get together and make a cake?
18. Which country is your spiritual home?
19. What is your big weakness?
20. Do you think I'm a good person?
21. What was your best/favorite subject at school:
22. Describe your accent:
23. If you could change anything about me, would you?
24. What do you wear to sleep?
25. Trousers or skirts?
26. Cigarettes or alcohol?
27. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together?
28. Will you repost this so I can fill it out for you?

Even in a perfect world where everyone is equal, I'd still own the film rights...

2007-06-16T15:14:08Z

and be working on the sequel.

MM awaits, now a week away. My studying has cut down to casual review of hi prob 7s, 8's and the 4s. I'm focused on getting my over the board play ready, as I have discovered at club that I'm screwing up a couple of basic strategic concepts... probably just from not playing enough. Sometimes I study, learn all these pretty new words, and then forget that I need to play well for them to make a difference in my game. Thursday at club, I got fish happy, which is a malady II thought I had long since overcome. So, we're gonna get some games in this week and just go over what I already know, studywise.

And I submitted my two teams for the MM roto (thanks calvin_hobbes29). I love rotos... I was tempted to dedicate this posting to an analysis of the roto and my picks, but there's just about no way to do it with unintentionally offending someone or other, and so, discretion being the better part of valour, I'll be somewhat vague in my pronouncements.

The scouting is the fun part for me... I'm a fantasy sports guy, so a little bit of research never scares me. For me, Div. 3 and the middle range of Div 2 were the easiest (I have a hunch about a player in D3 who, in terms of where their game has been and is going, reminds me of the arc I was on last year, and I can't pick against myself in D2-middle). The rest of the field was a bit more challenging... For D1 particularly, I've not played many of those players, and frankly, I'm not yet in a position to make fine distinctions between 1800 players. So I went with past results, momentum, reputation, and in the end, my gut. The other two picks in D2 were also tough... plenty of options in the high and low groups are reasonable and defensible picks (altho I'll be put in the not so fun position of having to beat my roto picks, quite possibly). The high picks, I tended to lean towards established results, the lower picks, potential. as much as I hate goving away free advice, I picked ipecac_icecap on one team, and easily could have justified picking him on both, except that for the two teams to serve any greater purpose than one, I needed some diversity (and with D3 and D2-middle the same on both, I would have been too dependent on not screwing up those picks). I picked a woman on both teams, which while entirely coincidental, seems relatively high-minded and egalitarian in a shallow sort of way.

I think D3 and the bottom two sections of D2 have the biggest potential to determine the roto winner... there will be the most variety of people picked, as many players do not come in with the reputations and notoriety of their higher ranked scrabble brethren and sistren. Good picks here will determine our roto moneymakers.

I also love to see who everyone picks. I like to see if I get picked, and get myself motivated when I don't get picked. Last year, exactly me and Dan Stock picked me... I had the most wins of anyone, and helped Stock cash (my team was torpedoed by some young players in the upper divisions who underperformed... hopefully that scenario will not be repeated.) Even though logically I knew no one there knew who I was at the time, I still got to emotionally play the disrespect card and get myself fired up. Here's hoping for a repeat of that scenario.

Otherwise, work's been crazy (but crazy good) of late... I'm starting to outline a book on the hidden truths of political campaigning, to be finished sometime in 2009 (and quite likely never published, since it will likely end my career). And now, I'm off for a community event featuring free pizza, which is the best kind of community event.

PZ