poker, traffic and football

Just a few ramblings before I get to the business of washing my truck, designing a logo and playing some poker.

Poker
I held my first poker night here a few weekends ago. I invited 16 people and by the time all was said and done, two showed up. I even extended my invites to people I didn't think would show up anyway. I was right. Funny, they all said basically the same thing. Sounds like fun, keep me on the invite list. I have to tell you, if I invite you a few times, let's just say THREE, and you're a no-show all three times... right. Off the list. Maybe two! I fared well against a tough player, Wesley. And we taught Brian the mechanics of Texas Hold 'em. He broke even after three games, so I think he was catching on. And I think he had fun, too.

I'd like to start a monthly game and take a rake to send the yearly champion to Tunica for an all expense paid trip to the WSOP satellite for the tournament. I figure the buy in is $100 and the room is about $50, so we could take $20 a month toward the poker champiion prize and then have a year end poker weekend party and use the rest for food and booze. Of course with only three players that would be difficult. I figure a few of us would even pay our own way to Tunica (or wherever)and make it a poker road trip. THAT WOULD MAKE FOR SOME GREAT BLOGGING!

Traffic
Traffic in Atlanta is so awful! It looks like I'll be traveling to the North end of town to work again. I'm excited and bummed at the same time. There's no bigger waste of time than sitting in traffic or sitting at the MARTA station waiting for trains to break down, skip your station, be too crowded, etc...
Someone needs to run for office and fix this mess. New York is a perfect example of how it can work. What are some others?

Football
Spat on. That's how I feel. T.O. spat on D Lo. He might as well have spat on me. I like the sound of the word spat. Funny. I'm still a believer that Atlanta can make the playoffs. And lose in the first round. Mort and Vick both made it into the record books last night. They kept us in the game, The defense kept us in it the first half, but couldn't make the stop to give us a chance to pull it off. Mora said those stupid things last week. I truly believe he was joking, but it wasn't funny. I hate the play calling: 3rd and 17 run, 3rd and 1 run, 4th and 1 pass, 1st and 20 run... just no strategy. Hand-off to Dunn, pitch back to Vick, pass to Dunn for 17 yards... ingenious! Dangerous, but ingenious none the less. Ok, enough football. I'll be back sooner than I was last time. Go Falcons. Carolina and Philly to get in. Hope Philly gets beat by New York today... they should.

Tom Johnson — Graphic Designer — TJ Studio

injury timeout

So I spent yesterday in the emergency room at Rockdale Medical Center.

I woke up and my leg was pretty sore. I put lights on the house Sunday (two story house, 11 windows and the cute icicle lights on the eaves). By the time I got to work my leg was throbbing and I could find no position in which it gave me any relief. I left early and had my wife come home and take me to the hospital.

Did I mention that I hate hospitals? And doctors. And being sick. And the guilt I feel when I'm sick. And the fact that the last time we ended up in that place we spent 4 hours there and never saw anybody, not even the triage nurse.

So within half an hour we were in a room talking to a doctor.

Tests, Xrays, pain medication, muscle relaxers, very good explanations of all the time and procedures...

I guess they heard us talking when they decided to revamp their building and their systems. That's something that I think companies have a hard time with. LISTENING. Frankly, I have a hard time understanding why bosses don't listen to their employees. Why Captains, Lieutenants, Seargents and Squad leaders don't listen to their enlisted men. Why REPRESENTATIVES and elected officals don't listen to their constituents.

When we get the Democratic and Republican nominees for the Presidential race for 2008, what input do we have in the selection? And then we get to vote on those two (and some independents) "qualified" candidates. Lets see, states select delegates (via witchcraft and pressing of palms) and they nominate a candidate. Then they go to their respective conventions and nominate a party candidate (using calculus, more witchcraft, referencing the latest Farmer's Almanac and more pressing of the flesh). Then we have our Presidential Candidates, groomed from birth, held in high favor by the people that are part of the system (read: problem) and the general public gets to vote on them. Where are our choices? Seems the price of entry is too high for "commoners".

"I hear of a convention to be held at Baltimore, or elsewhere, for the selection of a candidate for the Presidency, made up chiefly of editors, and men who are politicians by profession; but I think, what is it to any independent, intelligent, and respectable man what decision they may come to? Shall we not have the advantage of his wisdom and honesty, nevertheless? Can we not count upon some independent votes? Are there not many individuals in the country who do not attend conventions? But no: I find that the respectable man, so called, has immediately drifted from his position, and despairs of his country, when his country has more reason to despair of him. He forthwith adopts one of the candidates thus selected as the only available one..."
-- by Henry David Thoreau - 1849

Detailed description of the selection process here.

Then we get to see the debates, see the television commercials.

"Or take it one slice closer to the bone. Leverage care. For the cost of a jar of peanut butter, you can be a Great Mom, the kind every kid would love to have. You can look out on your happy kids playing in that perfect suburban backyard and breathe a little sigh of contentment that life's so good, with not a wicked witch in sight. Just like on television.

We die. And there's more than one way to get it over with. Advertising has some serving suggestions for your premature burial."
-- Cluetrain Manifesto

I want choices. Real ones. Not lip service. I want conversations about what type of government is right for me. For me and my morales, for me and my needs. The majority rule is not working. We need to speak up. We need to not be governed. The BEST government doesn't start with a capital letter. The BEST government is composed of people, not career politicians. Liberty is freedom from government to stand as an individual, to be protected but not squashed. We need a support group, not a government. There needs to be more conversation and less regulation. What control do we as a society have over where our tax dollars are spent. I mean really have a say.

Lets start talking about things that matter with people who make a difference. And the othere need to start LISTENING.

Thanks for taking care of me yesterday all you support people at Rockdale Medical Center.

Tom Johnson — Graphic Designer — TJ Studio