Dart League Week 7 vs. Team Money Shots

I sat this game out so I don't know the round by round breakdown, but here's the result. . .

Final Score:
Club Car Bombs 26, Money Shots 17

So the streak continues. Which is great, but all this success is going to come at a price when the playoffs come.

As of 3 weeks ago, th 16 teams were split up into a first division and a second division. After starting out with a brutal schedule (4 of the top 5 teams), we came in 10th and were thus relegated to the second division. For the rest of the season we'll be playing against the 8th through 16th teams until the playoffs come.

This means we're going to be cleaning up. Which means our handicaps will fall accordingly. All this winning is great, but by the time the playoffs come we'll all be sitting at absurdly low handicaps because we're all winning games against the bottom tier teams.

On the other hand, all of the 1 through 8 teams will be playing each other. They'll win some, lose some against good competition and their handicaps will be a reasonably accurate indicator of their level of play.

When all is said and done, it's conceivable that we'll have better handicaps than nearly all of top 1-8 teams, making it nearly impossible to make a heroic run for the title.

I suppose I may be getting ahead of myself a little bit, but if things get too good (which means too bad) the idea of sandbagging could look pretty appealing. Lose a close game here, a close game there, forget to mark down a win dart or 7 mark, that's what might have to happen for us to be in a position at the end of the year.

Until next week. . .

Roll on Club Car.

Dart League Week 6 vs. Team Hit This: The Streak Continues

Score After Round 1:
Club Car 14, Team Hit This 2

Score After Round 2:
Club Car 32, Team Hit This 2

Score After Round 3:
Club Car 41, Team Hit this 2

We lost one game in the first round but never looked back. That's 3 wins in the last 3 weeks for a 3-3 overall record. I don't see this streak ending any time soon.

My stats: 6-0 with 4 win darts. For the first time ever, I wore the Hirotsumo Japanese baseball jersey. This will be a regular site on the circuit from now on. My highlight of the evening was a win with Murray where we clocked in at 3.88 marks per round. It took exactly 20 darts for us to finish a game of cricket.

Post game money darts: two 5 dollar games lost, 1 10 dollar game won to break even.

Big winner of the evening: Murray takes home 40 dollars with impeccable darts late in the evening.

Dart League Week 5 vs. Team Legalize It

Score After Round 1:
Club Car 12, Legalize It 4

Score After Round 2:
Club Car 24, Legalize It 10

Score After Round 3:
Club Car 33, Legalize It 10

33-10. That chug-chugging you hear in the distance is the sound of the Club Car gaining steam. After a dominant effort tonight we have officially started our streak.

Sure, the naysayers might make excuses: their best player was celebrating his birthday, they'll say. He was wasted and complacent, they'll say. It was over after the second round so they weren't even trying the third round, they'll say.

Well I don't buy that. If there's one thing I've learned as a two year veteran of the sport it's this: the naysayers are going say a lot of things. What matters is playing your game and putting a check mark in the W column. We did that tonight in a more than convincing fashion.

Highlight of the night besides the victory--
Murray and I won 50 dollars playing post match darts at the Club Car. I'm going to put it into a fund to buy drugs that make me better at darts (go Marion Jones!). It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

That's 2 in row and counting. . . .

Who the Hell is Knocking at the Door at 5 in the Morning?

Here's a cool story about Obama keepin' it real.

I've always thought if I was a candidate for the presidency of the U.S., one of the things that I would do would be to get out and knock on doors myself. Sure, you can't reach as many people as a prime time ad, but the people you do reach are probably going to vote for you, if nothing else for the fact that they can say "I remember the time I was eating lunch and President X knocked on my door and we chatted for a while."

Can anyone see Kerry doing this?

Dart League Week 4 vs. Team Shakespeare's: Victory is Ours

Score after round 1:
Shakespeare's 6, Club Car 10

Score after round 2:
Shakespeare's 15, Club Car 19

Score after round 3:
Shakespeare's 20, Club Car 23

When I started thinking about it, it all made sense. We were going in to this match as the 12th ranked team in the league. Shakespeare's was the 5th ranked team. Those of us familiar with March Madness pairings are well aware of the unpredictability of a 12- 5 matchup.

Add that to the fact that the number 5 ranked NCAA football team has lost the last two weeks straight (West Virginia last week and Wisconsin this week) and you've got the mixins' for a pretty major upset.

The stars were definitely in alignment. It didn't hurt that we hit the shots we needed to hit and finally came out of the first round (singles round) with the lead.

What was the best part about this victory? The fact that we probably should have won by a lot more. In about three team games we were coasting and had the rug pulled out from under us by our own complacency. We won't make that same mistake again.

Next week we we go into Old Capitol Brew Works to face a team that we have a history of beating. But that's beside the point. Tonight it's all about savoring this victory and building on it for the future.

Like any train, a Club Car takes a little while to build up steam. But once that Club Car is chugging along, I advise you steer clear.

Old Capitol Brew Works is officially on notice.

Marion Jones: Once Paragon of Virtue, Now Needle Sharing Pariah

Is anyone else getting really tired of all the sanctimony coming from the media about this whole Marion Jones steroid thing? I just heard a CNN reporter say something like, “she cheated us all.”

Speak for yourself. I for one don’t feel one bit cheated. And I think the media pile on that’s taking place is, to say the least, unsavory.

This is the basic storyline: Marion Jones was such a great athlete, such a great human, a real American hero, and now look at her. . . A WORTHLESS JUNKIE. To be perfectly honest, I don’t care when Marion Jones lies to police about steroid use. Why? Because I don’t think steroid use, as the paridigmatical example of a victimless crime, should be illegal.

Sure, steroids cause all sorts of physical problems to the USER, but so do all sorts of other lawful human behavior (smoking, overeating, boxing, or even just banging your head against a wall in your home). If there are any adverse effects to society at large, however, I am unaware of them. You don’t to often hear of the junkie on the street robbing the old lady so he can get his next “steroid fix.” People might “roid” out every once in a while, but if that was a problem testes would have been clipped wholesale a long time ago.

So, if we move from the premise that her use of performance enhancing drugs is not morally wrong (and therefore should not be illegal), then what’s the big deal? It comes down to a simple case of cheating in a game, which, though not exactly admirable, is hardly a cause for international scorn.

If Marion Jones wants to use the drugs, great. If the Olympic Committee doesn’t want her to do so, that’s fine too. They’re the ones who organize the “games,” they get to call the shots. If I host a scrabble tournament at my house, and find out someone is hiding tiles in their pockets, they don’t win the tournament. The cops aren’t called because cheating in games isn’t illegal. (Unless of course, the cheating in the game also HAPPENS to be illegal, e.g. “The Last Boyscout” where a football player pulls out a gun and shoots his way to the goal line. Not only was that highly illegal, but it would also, technically speaking, be considered “cheating.”)

Basically she uses these supplements at her own peril. Maybe she’ll get caught, maybe she won’t. It’s a calculated risk that she and many other athletes feel the need to take. There’s an economic equation in there somewhere, but I don’t have the drive to go into that now. (Probability of success without steroids measured against probability for success with steroids adjusted for the probability of being caught).

Now, I didn’t go into this story thinking, wow Marion Jones is a real American hero and a great human. To be honest, I don’t know that much about her except that she won a bunch of medals at the Sydney Olympics. I hardly consider this information sufficient to characterize her as either a good or bad personally.

Maybe the media people know of things that I don’t. Maybe she gives to all sorts of charities and is an activist for the Sudanese people and volunteers 60 hours a week to the homeless junkie shelter. Well, then maybe she actually IS a great human being, steroid use be damned. I guess what I’m saying is that her use or non-use of steroids should have very little effect on how we see her AS A PERSON.

If this was the case I’d probably say something like “You know, Marion Jones, that woman who is really generous with her time and always kind and thoughtful and cheated in those silly little fantasy games that one year. What a great mix of generosity and chutzpah.”

But even Marion herself is making the mistake of putting this story in the kind of earth shaking terms that make it appear to be a big story. There she was this morning, crying on TV saying things like “I betrayed myself and my country.”

You betrayed your country? WTF? Calm down Marion.

No. You violated some regulation in an athletic event and you’re going to have to give back the medal because you broke the rules. Maybe it was stupid, maybe it wasn’t (it depends on how the equation above would work out), but in the end, you got caught.

The American people have ABSOLUTELY nothing to be upset about Marion, nor do the Olympics, nor whoever broadcast the Olympics (think of how many people tuned in to watch). The only people that can legitimately be upset are your competitors, because maybe they would have won had you not broken the rules. And maybe they can even bring a suit and get damages. This too, is a risk you entered into when you cheated.

But keep in mind that it’s highly possible that the woman we’ll end up passing the medal to used the exact same formula you did. Maybe she took steroids, maybe she didn’t. That would be determined by whatever she considered to be in her best interest at the time. In fact, assuming that she was a rational human being we should probably just assume that she did (use the formula, not the steroids).

So then the second place person will have the Gold. And all we’ll be able to say about her is that she won the 100 meter dash and that she may or may not have used steroids as well. . . which, by the way, will mean absolutely nothing.

Bill Clinton to campaign, fundraise, debate for Hillary

Hillary Clinton announced yesterday that she has officially asked Bill Clinton, her current husband and former leader of the free world, to take a more active role in her campaign as the Iowa Caucus approaches. Among the duties formerly performed by Hillary that will now to be taken over by Bill are: speaking at fundraisers, appearing in advertisements, and debating her Democratic opponents at the next debate on October 30 at Drexel University hosted by MSNBC.

“While we in no way question Hillary Clinton’s intelligence, eloquence, or rhetorical aptitude” said a spokesperson for the campaign Doug Schuler, “we feel that Bill Clinton is an incredible asset to this campaign and are looking for ways to effectively utilize him.”

“Hillary’s vision for America is a powerful one,” Doug continued, “but focus groups have indicated time and time again that that audiences respond favorably to that vision when it is explained by Bill and, unfortunately, no so favorably when it is explained by Hillary herself.”

Hillary Clinton also thinks the move will be a successful one. “I’ve been doing the circuit for about a year now trying to raise funds and the story is the same everywhere I go: I get up and give this amazing speech and everyone applauds politely, and then Bill gets up and tells some food-related joke and the place fucking explodes. Whatever. If everybody loves him so much maybe he’s the one who should be debating. ”

The move has been characterized by her opponents as a cowardly publicity stunt. “If Hillary Clinton isn’t ready to talk about the real issues affecting real Americans, then I don’t think she’s ready to take the reins of the most powerful country on earth and lead us to prosperity and progress that our citizens deserve,” said John Edwards. “ I’ve been running for the presidency for 7 straight years now with no other job and I have yet to back down from a debate. MSNBC should not allow a stunt like this to take place.”

Officials from MSNBC, however, have already consented to the Clinton family substitution, even providing for a 15 minute intermission wherein Mr. Clinton will be allowed to play his saxophone and recount funny anecdotes from his days in the White House.

Nielson has predicted that the debate will draw up to five times the viewership of past debates, with all of the additional proceeds going directly to MSNBC. This has caused some visionaries in the industry to classify the conventional debate format as outdated.

“Debates where the candidates debate each other are so lame,” said MSNBC executive Kevin Maynards. “For the next debate, we’re going to have each candidate select their favorite movie, wrestling, or reality television star to debate on their behalf. Just imagine: Rob Reiner debating Martha Stewart, Brett Michaels debating some girl from ‘Welcome to Newport Harbor.’ The possibilities are, literally, infinite. We feel that this kind of format will encourage more stupid people to get involved in politics, thereby broadening or electorate and strengthening our democracy.”

Maynards concluded by revealing that the debate would be decided by a “vote-off,” with the last star standing being the de facto party candidate.

Wall Street Charmed by UI Dems President

Here's a pretty interesting story in the Wall Street Journal about how Atul Nakhasi has revived the UI Dems and turned them into a potent force during the campaign season. Go Hawks!

One Conscience at a Time

I just came across a post over at T-Sinister about San Diego mayor Jerry Sander's change of heart on gay marriage. The San Diego city council recently issued a resolution in support of gay marriage and the mayor had the option of vetoing. After much hand-wringing, this is what he concluded:

“In the end, I could not look any of them in the face and tell them that their relationships, their very lives, were any less meaningful than the marriage that I share with my wife, Rana,” Sanders said. “I’ve decided to lead with my heart. . . to take a stand on behalf of equality and social justice,”

This is remarkable for two reasons:

1. He is an elected Republican who took a pledge to resist gay marriage during his campaign.

2. San Diego is the 8th largest city in the nation.

It's always nice to see the world the world improve one conscience at a time.

I think we're going to make some huge strides on this issue very soon. Why? Because people are embarrassed at their own actions. Mayors and legislators are embarrassed when they have to go to a cocktail party and tell their gay friends why they're incapable as humans of entering into this human institution.

Fathers are embarrassed when they have to explain to their gay daughter why society is better off if she is legally discriminated against.

By the way, that was exactly the case in this situation. Jerry Sanders found out his daughter was gay and. . . (presto!), his opinion changed.

I almost wish that wasn't the case; that he would have made this kind of decision without an immediate family member directly affecting it. Because if that's what it takes to change minds, a legislator having a gay son or daughter, this might take longer than I think.

But I suppose the purity of Larson's reasons are probably beside the point. Cornucopia, the Horn of Plenty applauds him for taking a stand for social justice.

GOBAMA !

I just saw Obama a couple of hours ago and left feeling very reassured about my decision to support him. I had gone to see Richardson a couple weeks ago and he dropped from my radar after kind of acting like a cromagnon jerk. So I was afraid that maybe Obama would do or say something that would rub me the wrong way. My fears were unwarranted.

In fact, I couldn't have asked for more out of Obama tonight. He was exactly the same kind of authentic, articulate, and likable person that he comes off as on TV. Plus, he's a serious liberal and has a knack for getting all sorts of people to vote for him. After the 2004 elections, I thought long and hard about supporting a candidate (Kerry) whose liberal credentials were impeccable but who was kind of an arrogant asshole. I feel so much stronger about my support for Obama.

After great introductions by key Democrat Dick Myers and former political speechwriter for JFK Ted Sorenson, Obama began his stump speech, emphasizing his resistance to the war in Iraq back before it began.

He only read a little bit of the incredible speech, but the full text is really good and it can be found here for those that are interested.

He then spoke a bit about his domestic experience, his passion for change, his biography, his international experience, his willingness to negotiate, his desire to be a leader in nuclear disarmament (a question I asked Richardson that he didn't answer), his skill at fundraising without the help of PACS, and most importantly, his eagerness to be a public servant.

The energy in the air was electric and the response from the crowd was amazing. Not surprising from a guy that won a Grammy for his spoken word album.

A Grammy. He's going to make one hell of a President.


Highlights of the evening:

1. The adorable little girl sitting on her father's shoulders who would wave her barbie doll whenever people clapped.

2. The twister swirling around outside that didn't hit the hotel.

3. All the young people in the audience who look like they might be attending their first caucus.

Dart League Week 3 vs. Team Speakeasy

Score after round 1:
Speakeasy 12, Club Car 4

Score after round 2:
Speakeasy 21, Club Car 13

Score after round 3
Speakeasy 25, Club Car 18

This game was nearly identical to last week with the notable distinction being that we (Murray and Will) won the final 5 point match. Up until that win we had gone 0/5 in the final round.

I had a dismal performance marked by a 1-6 record and only one winning dart.

Next week we return home for a game against arch-rival Shakespeare's. I am dubbing this our "homecoming" match. This is when we find it out if this season is "to be or not to be. . ."

We need to start winning some close games if we're going to make a run this season.

One More Reason to Like Obama. . .

Here's an article in the NY Times about why your children's children might be safer if you vote Obama.