RUSSERT (addressing the wasted vote question): “Mr. Browne, would it make a difference to a libertarian if either George Bush or Al Gore was president?”

BROWNE: “No. You know, I know, everybody watching this show knows that four years from today, whichever of them is elected, government will be bigger, more expensive, more obtrusive, and more oppressive. If you vote Republican or Democrat, you are giving up. You’re saying ‘I’m never going to be free. America will never be a free country again. I will never get smaller government. So I’m just going to vote for the one I think will take me to hell at the slowest-possible rate.’”

And promptly got busted out. I think it took me only 4-5 hands. Bummer!

They played pot limit poker, which is only a little bit “safer” than no-limit.  Just like no-limit, you can lose all your chips on one hand. You just can’t go all-in as soon as the cards are dealt.  On the way out, I talked to the president of the club, Andy Stebnicki.  Andy told me if I came back the next month, he’d lend me a poker book.

It turned out to be Doyle Brunson’s Super System - awesome book. One of the thickest books I had ever read.  And yes, I did get busted out again.  The other players were intimidating, 2/3rds were about 60 or older. They all had poker faces, and the next youngest guy was 22! Andy told me that some of the players went to Vegas and paid for their trips out of their winnings. Sounds good to me.

After reading the book, I came back for the third month. And I won 22 and 1/2 times my buy-in. I was hooked, but there wasn’t really anyplace for me to play. I didn’t have the money to hit Vegas.

Fast forward a few years, and you have Internet poker. I used to play on Party Poker and other sites, usually in one-table tournaments, called Sit-n-Gos. You’d put up 30, 30, 50 or $100 buy in, usually with a 10% entry fee. The winner would get 5x their buy-in back, 2nd would get 3x, and 3rd would double their money.

I accidentally stumbled on a winning very aggressive approach. Most people are too loose near the beginning of the tournament, and play too tight towards the end. I played limit, because if I made a mistake, I still wouldn’t go broke in just one hand. It’s too easy to get trapped in no-limit.

I didn’t play all the time, but I had months where I cashed out thousands of dollars after starting with just $50. I’d normally play for a month or two, then bust out (I had cashed out many times my buy-in in the meantime. I just wouldn’t bother putting in more cash for awhile.

I could have made a living at it, but I just like it as a hobby. It’s a meaningless way to make a living.

Then poker was made illegal. I can still play online, but the limit tournaments are very small. No more than $20-$30 when before I’d play in $30 - $100 tournaments. It’s barely worth it. I’ll have to learn no-limit instead. Have been winning, just not as consistently.

By the way, I looked up Andy, the poker club organizer. Great guy. Turns out he has macular degeneration, which gives him central blindness. It’s too bad - now that he’s retired and can play all the time, he has trouble doing it.

I almost always watch a few clips from DVDs or YouTube before going out. This way I add to my repertoire of moves little by little.

Then I tried something and the next time we danced, her toes were fine. No weird facial expressions. Sweet, smooth dance.

What did I do to fix things?

I danced with boys. (Shut up. No, I’m not gay, and I’m not homophobic either.)

What happened was I was in a class with 3 guys, one girl, and the instructor. I’m not waiting around for any woman, so I told one guy, “K, I’m the girl. Lead me.”

We swapped off and got in touch with our feminine sides. (Mine is a sexy bitch, whoo-hoo!) The result was pretty cool. Before, whenever we made mistakes, we had NO clue what happened. If you don’t know how you blew it, or even WHO blew it, how can you POSSIBLY get better?

After, we knew exactly what went wrong, and exactly how to fix it. I learned more tango in that one class than two months of regular classes. ‘Course, I wanted to see if it worked with Salsa too.

It did. There’s FAR more variation in how men lead then how women follow. Experiencing everything from wimpy leads to being muscled through the moves was an eye-opener. It let me decide what kind of lead I wanted to be, and showed me how it felt when the lead was sloppy or not clear. (For awhile I made it cool to dance with guys at that studio.)

If you want to get really good at being a man, you’ve gotta dance with men. It’s too bad guys are so damn homophobic. We’d be MUCH better dancers otherwise.

And if you’re a guy, feel free to ask me to dance. Don’t worry, you won’t turn into a “homo”, and the girls love it. One told me, “Real men aren’t afraid of other men.”

Bottom line - Just because you’re dancing doesn’t mean you stop walking. The basic salsa step is just walking!

• There’s no up and down or bouncing when you walk. Just walk a little bit more smoothly than normal. Don’t turn it into a jig or something complicated.
• Don’t do excessive hip or shoulder rolls, move your hands/arms like you’re juggling, or otherwise complicate the dance.
• Do complete weight shifts. When you walk, you don’t just put your foot out in front of you like you’re tiptoeing. You step out on it. A lot of beginning dancers dance like they’re tentatively approaching a cliff edge, (or they’re trying to stay in one place). Don’t dance like you’re scared – step out far enough to look down the edge of the cliff.
• Similar to above, don’t step forward and down, and back and down. You stay level. Keep it smooth.
• Look up, no watching the feet. You know where they are, same place you’ll find them when you’re walking. Watching the feet also engages your visual sense. Dancing is all about the feel - you can’t watch yourself dance. You should be able to dance with your eyes closed, except when taking your partner’s hand.

• Keep your knees together. Think of a little kid that has to pee really bad, just without holding onto their privates. They walk with their knees locked together.

  Bellydancers do this. I’ve taken bellydance lessons before, and used to date a bellydancer. We talked about this, and she agrees - if you want sexy hip movement, it starts from the knees, not the hips. Except in certain moves, all bellydancers keep their knees very close together.
  This is what produces most, but not all, of the sexy hip movement.

  If you’re a guy, you don’t have the hips needed to become a sexy freakshow. So get over yourself and do it right. Knees together.

• Take lessons as soon as possible, to eliminate bad habits. “The chains of habit are too light to be felt, until they’re too strong to be broken.”
• Get out in the clubs and dance with everyone who will tolerate you. I sucked for the first 2-3 years because I didn’t club enough. I think it’s possible to get really good in just a few months.
• Master the cross-body lead, and cross-body lead with a turn. These are the CORE of the dance. A lot of moves are disguised cross-body leads - the only difference is the way you use your hands/arms.

Most of the problems in salsa are in our own heads. Just because you are dancing doesn’t mean you suddenly forget how to walk.

But now I think differently. What have the “rich” ever done to the “poor”? They’re already taxed proportionately to their income. Redistributing wealth is pretty much extortion by the government.

However, there is one problem that wealth causes. Was just reading Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America. One good point the book makes is how the increasing wealth in this country prices housing out of the reach of lower-income people. They have to live further and further from their jobs. I don’t see how they can handle this in combination with rising gas prices.

Something’s gotta give.

Wow.

What I’ve noticed is that every spiritual tradition (not every religious tradition) talks about living in the now.  Being fully present.  Do what you are doing.  Practice perfectly.  Pay attention.

Most of the time we’re planning for the future or living in the past.

True happiness is in the moment.

You see this with kids all the time.  They’re just playing, not thinking about what just happens or what comes later.  Or any other pursuit that you enjoy, whether it’s dancing, photography, cooking, or even sex - the activity isn’t the true source of joy - it’s the focus in the here and now that truly brings joy.

Amazing movie - highly recommended.  It will change you as a person - I just hope the changes stick.

And here we go again. I noticed that the government cracked down on a Mormon sect, and took away ALL of the kids. Not just the ones that may have been statutorily raped, but ALL kids. No hearings, nothing. Just ripped the kids from their mothers.

There were allegations of abuse and broken bones - but much of it was insinuations. No idea if there was really something wonky going on.

James Brausch explained the situation in terms of Libertarian thought. I never really though about how bad DCFS is. I’m sure in some cases the kids are better off with DCFS.  But all of them?  I don’t think so.  Just read The Innocent Man by John Grisham if you want to see just how well this country protects your rights.

Especially if you don’t have money.

Side note: from what I’ve seen, Libertarians tend to be far more successful than the average.  Libertarianism is about respecting the rights of others and taking personal responsibility for ourselves. Americans started out with this attitude, but have since lost our way.  That’s why I don’t read the newspaper much.

Try it yourself.  You’ll never want to watch previews again.

While I have no intention to ever stop “working” (I love what I do), I do want that option and that freedom.