I've been meaning to write this post since Wednesday. But this week i was sick. That means that i fell behind at work and had to get caught up. I have time today, so i write. Part of the reason i have time is that the Star City Open is in LA this weekend so the webcast doesn't start until 3:00.
Before i begin let me talk about the Star City Open. I love it. So many great things to say. It is like football but better. All weekend i can watch Magic. Saturday is Type II and Sunday is Type 1.5. For those of you how just started playing MtG, Standard used to be called Type II and Legacy was 1.5. Pete Hoefling has done a great service to the Magic community by creating the SCG Open. He has also done me a personal favor along with everyone else smart enough to hold on to their cards. I figure i have personally gained somewhere around $7,500 or so thanks to Pete's efforts. Card prices keep climbing and there does not appear to be a ceiling. If there was a MtG mutual fund, that'd be the smart place to put your money until the Republicans regain the White House in 2012. Because there is not, buy dual lands, Collector's Edition sets, and cards printed before the Tempest era.
So, Pica. Pica is a medical disorder characterized by an appetite for substances largely non-nutritive (e.g. metal, clay, coal, sand, gum, etc.) or an abnormal appetite for food ingredients (e.g. flour, raw potato, raw rice, starch, ice cubes, salt). In my case this means ice. When pica manifests itself by the consumption of ice it is called Pagophagia. Basically all of this is just a long, rambling way to say that i like to eat ice. I don't actually have pica, anemia, or any other mineral deficiency. I just like to eat ice.
This week i bought myself a Magic Chef 27 lb. Portable Ice Maker in Silver. I am most pleased with this. Best one hundred busks i have spent in a while. It makes twenty-seven pounds of ice a day, i only eat about three. I expect that ice consumption will go up on the weekends when i have more free time. Ice is the perfect snack, low calorie and delicious.
"Ok, Bob, why don't you just use your freezer?" you might be asking. Obviously you are not a ice bon viant. Ice from the freezer is inferior in quality for a number of reasons. If you use the built in ice maker you are getting tap water ice, which can range from excellent in some cities like Waterloo, to god aweful in cities that get their water from rivers like Fort Wayne. My ice maker uses whatever water i choose. I mostly use Culligan since we have it at the office. Erin will not let me use her cool Evian bottled water because it is for guests. But the real reason the ice maker is so nice is that it makes ice that is 32°, that's 0° outside the U.S. Ice at 32° is perfect for consumption. It melts quickly enhancing the ice eating experience. It is also softer which cuts down on the likelihood that you will break a tooth.
I could go on at length about how great this wonder machine is, but for those of you who have access to my office stop in and see it for yourself. Then go get one for yourself. As an American it is your duty to keep the economic recovery going.
Later
Bob
Don't worry, Sam, the 2010 YiR is still coming.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
10 Reasons Why Being 40 is Better Than Being 20
This is not the year in review, but never fear i will get to it. This is something else.
1. Oldies. When you go to the grocery store the oldies music they play is the music you like. When i was twenty i worked at Scott's and all the music was twenty years old and it was lame. Now the music is still twenty years old, but it is awesome. I am sure the food i bought will taste better and be healthier because the Cure was playing when i picked it up.
2. Buying power. Now when i see something i want, i can get it. Whether it is an extra play sets of Jace TMS or new computer i can get the things i want. When i was twenty i had to sell plasma to get the things i want, now my bodily humors remain safely in my body.
3. Technology. Simple fact, the older you get the better technology is. Moore's Law kicks ass. The phone i carry around is more powerful than mainframes when i was twenty. I can watch damn near any tv show i want, whenever and wherever i happen to be. I love technology and it is so much better and more powerful than it was two decades ago. I really hope i survive to 2045 so i can see the other side of the singularity. Being immortal should be cool.
4. Magic the Gathering. I really don't play any more. All my friends have moved away or moved on. But Magic is still the best game every created and when i was twenty there was no MtG. Whenever i need a quick pick me up i can rifle through my Collector's Edition or look at my Cursed Scroll these things would not exist without Magic the Gathering.
5. Amazon.com. Much like MtG, my life is much better as a result of discovering Amazon.com. Whether i need a new book, game, or case of Boo Berry, Amazon will deliver it to my door step. Not only that but i can get these things at 2 AM while i lay in bed.
6. Perspective. It is hard to have perspective when you are twenty, you have not lived enough. Your opinions are just barely your own and you are mainly an extension of the adults who shaped you. I doubt anyone would describe me as an extension of someone else at this point in my life.
7. Character. Having character is good. Getting character sucks. Character building experiences are not fun. No one looks forward to opportunities to build character, in fact if you have any sense at all you actively seek to avoid character building experiences. But given enough time you cannot dodge every CBE, and by 40 most people will have had many CBEs. Having been though many, many CBEs i am happy with the man i am.
8. Satisfaction. At 20 you can't get no. But you try and you try. At 40 you can have satisfaction. It comes from the result of gaining perspective, character, and accomplishment.
9. Accomplishment. Maybe if you are very lucky and very talented you will experience accomplishment when you are twenty. I had a measure of accomplishment at that point in my life. Things like being valedictorian and qualifying for Nationals seemed important at the time. Those things pale in comparison to the things i accomplish now. This week i was able to win a trial. That is an accomplishment. A man is walking the streets right now because of the work i did. That makes you feel good, at least if you are a criminal defense attorney anyway. Don't worry , he isn't dangerous.
10. Erin. Ok, to be fair Erin was around when i was twenty. But she was in New York and a little girl. Now she is with me and makes my life so much better than it would be without her. I love her and she is the best thing to happen to me. On August 20, 2011, we are getting married. I can't think of anything that happened when i was twenty that is better than that.
Later
Bob
1. Oldies. When you go to the grocery store the oldies music they play is the music you like. When i was twenty i worked at Scott's and all the music was twenty years old and it was lame. Now the music is still twenty years old, but it is awesome. I am sure the food i bought will taste better and be healthier because the Cure was playing when i picked it up.
2. Buying power. Now when i see something i want, i can get it. Whether it is an extra play sets of Jace TMS or new computer i can get the things i want. When i was twenty i had to sell plasma to get the things i want, now my bodily humors remain safely in my body.
3. Technology. Simple fact, the older you get the better technology is. Moore's Law kicks ass. The phone i carry around is more powerful than mainframes when i was twenty. I can watch damn near any tv show i want, whenever and wherever i happen to be. I love technology and it is so much better and more powerful than it was two decades ago. I really hope i survive to 2045 so i can see the other side of the singularity. Being immortal should be cool.
4. Magic the Gathering. I really don't play any more. All my friends have moved away or moved on. But Magic is still the best game every created and when i was twenty there was no MtG. Whenever i need a quick pick me up i can rifle through my Collector's Edition or look at my Cursed Scroll these things would not exist without Magic the Gathering.
5. Amazon.com. Much like MtG, my life is much better as a result of discovering Amazon.com. Whether i need a new book, game, or case of Boo Berry, Amazon will deliver it to my door step. Not only that but i can get these things at 2 AM while i lay in bed.
6. Perspective. It is hard to have perspective when you are twenty, you have not lived enough. Your opinions are just barely your own and you are mainly an extension of the adults who shaped you. I doubt anyone would describe me as an extension of someone else at this point in my life.
7. Character. Having character is good. Getting character sucks. Character building experiences are not fun. No one looks forward to opportunities to build character, in fact if you have any sense at all you actively seek to avoid character building experiences. But given enough time you cannot dodge every CBE, and by 40 most people will have had many CBEs. Having been though many, many CBEs i am happy with the man i am.
8. Satisfaction. At 20 you can't get no. But you try and you try. At 40 you can have satisfaction. It comes from the result of gaining perspective, character, and accomplishment.
9. Accomplishment. Maybe if you are very lucky and very talented you will experience accomplishment when you are twenty. I had a measure of accomplishment at that point in my life. Things like being valedictorian and qualifying for Nationals seemed important at the time. Those things pale in comparison to the things i accomplish now. This week i was able to win a trial. That is an accomplishment. A man is walking the streets right now because of the work i did. That makes you feel good, at least if you are a criminal defense attorney anyway. Don't worry , he isn't dangerous.
10. Erin. Ok, to be fair Erin was around when i was twenty. But she was in New York and a little girl. Now she is with me and makes my life so much better than it would be without her. I love her and she is the best thing to happen to me. On August 20, 2011, we are getting married. I can't think of anything that happened when i was twenty that is better than that.
Later
Bob
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