Why CAL will go to the Rose Bowl in 2008.

The Bears haven't been to Pasadena since 1959. Not in my lifetime. They've been very close in several of the past years, losing a BCS vote to Texas two years ago. (When I had tickets in hand)

So I've planned to go should they ever get there, shave my head, and paint it blue and gold.

Since we'll be in Australia over New Year this year, they will certainly win the Pac-10. Hopefully I can find some yank bar in sydney that is open at god knows what hour to watch....

Fire on the Mountain

editied because the photo I was borrowing is gone!




So the lot where we were going to build our house is just to the left of the big house in the bottom right corner of the photo. They are calling this the "Hawken Fire" since it started on Hawken Road. This could just as well happen on Kinney Lane, but having the Govenor as a next door neighbor should have its benefits in such a catastrophe....

The icing on the Cake

Meh.

This was a very fun yet very unlucky Vegas trip. I wanted to activate my credit line at Bellagio so I played $25 craps for about 25 min. WTF??!!?!?! I played a -EV pit game that I know I can't beat. Insane. Funny thing is, its the first time I won ANYTHING the entire trip. I was ahead $25 when I quit. Plus I must have earned at least $1.75 in comps. Sweet.

Then I played a sattelite to the nightly $1080 at the Bellagio. I crushed it. Just dominated it. Caught cards, made the right calls, the right laydowns. It was sick.

Then I chip down drasticaly from 5K to 3200 in the event and at 100-200 I decide I need chips and pull a stop and go. I have A2s in the BB and a guy who was fairly liberal with his raises makes it 600 UTG+1. Folded to me and I call. Flop is 6-3-2, bottom pair with a backdoor flush draw. Good enough. I push. He taaaaaaaaannnnnnnnkkkkkksssssss. In fact, I'm SURE I have him and in fact want him to call so I double up. He gathers his courage, throws in his chips and shows me King-Three soooooted. Nice UTG raise sir. His pair of 3's are good and its gg, me.

So I decide that I haven't had enough abuse yet and play some 5-10 cash game. This goes badly at first, but I make a good comeback, making sick river bets and raises with air and not getting looked up. Clearly this is satisfying. So satisfying that fate has it the table will be turned: The last hand I play on this trip goes like this:

I have KK in MP and make it 50 after one limper. BB calls. Limper folds. Flop is Q-9-6 rainbow. BB checks, I bet $130 and he shoves for another $400. WTF? I call. He laughs and flips over A8o for nothing. Until the Ace hits the turn. "What you have, pocket Kings???" Yeah donkey, I have fucking pocket Kings and its 330 am and I don't have the energy and can't summon the anti-tilt to stay here and grind my chips back from you. Good game.