Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

Morning all, & a very happy Xmas to every one of you.

I've been a bit meh for a month or so, & feel bad that so many of you posted & I've not replied (yet) to any of you. Genuine apologies. I will though. I've actually already done some & saved them elsewhere. Sort of "here's one I prepared earlier".

When I get behind, it's a bit like standing on the side of a cold swimming pool & trying to find the courage to jump in.

And I've developed bad OCD. All Diary posts have to be replied to in chronological order. And I never reply to Diary posts when I'm behind with PM replies.

Today, I've at last caught up with PM replies. So let's see if I can get caught up.

I'll break my own rules & throw some new stuff in as I go along, in a vain attempt to keep it mildly interesting.

Oh, & have a lovely Christmas.

[tikay]

 

 Many of you will remember a lapsed blonde by the name of Robert HM. We've not seen him here for many years. Used to be a Mod here actually.

"HM" are his surname initials - Hardy Mc-Bride. Sounds like a character, & he sure is.

Had quite a life, one way & another. Wandering eyes & all that.

A solicitor by profession, & the last I heard he was living on a boat.

Anyway, he posted this on Twitter this morning.


She said “yes”


Does not say where the photo was taken though. Anyone care to guess? Pretty sure it was not Bognor Regis.

PS - Congrats to Robert.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

I'd never heard of this man until he died recently. (November).

His name was Ricky Jay.

Prepare to be amazed. I mean, it's obviously sleight of hand, but it's proper clever.

[tikay]

From Twitter........




Gather round, Gentle Readers. It is time I tell the story of the worst decision I ever made in an office. Some of you have heard this. Some have not. Whatever you do in your office today, this week, the rest of this year, you can console yourself by recalling this tale.


A long time ago, I was a talent agent. I worked for a woman named Susan Smith, who had her own small boutique agency. She was known for three things: 1. She had fantastic taste in clients. If there is someone you admire, odds are good that at some point, she was their agent,

2. She could negotiate a deal like few who have ever trod the earth. Casting would give her all the money they had budgeted for that part, plus a little more, plus promising to get her dog Barnaby groomed. She was magnificent to watch


3. She was insane

I'm sure you're thinking, "Quinn, it's the entertainment industry, they are all insane." Yes, many are. So consider this; if you told someone you worked for Susan, people who worked for insane people would look and you and whisper, "I hear she's insane."



Volatile, capable off toggling between rage-screaming and whispered tears in 90 seconds. An unerring instinct at knowing exactly what you doubted about yourself and musing aloud about it. A level of vitriol to subordinates that was outlawed by the 13th Amendment.


She went through assistants with comical speed. One young man - who had endured the rigors of law school - went to "move his car" after ninety minutes on her desk and never came back.


I was her assistant for six months. If I hear a phone that sounds like the one we had in the office, I still get nauseated.


But oh, did she love her clients. She had no husband, no children; her clients were everything. Specifically, Kathy Bates and Brian Dennehy. She had discovered both of them when they were doing off-off-off-Near Hackensack-Broadway. She adored them. One could argue she made them.



For years, Brian had wanted to do DEATH OF A SALESMAN on the stage, in Chicago. For years, for a number of reasons, it hadn't happened. Finally, with superhuman strength and negotiating prowess on Susan's part, DEATH, with the perfect director on the stage Brian wanted, went up.


Brian got the kinds of reviews he deserved. The play was a huge hit. So huge, in fact, that it went to Broadway. Again, Susan hammered out the seemingly endless details of moving a production to a Broadway theater. She went to the opening. The reviews were love letters to Brian.



Susan was ecstatic. But the real joy came when Brian won the Tony for his performance. I watched it at home and I was 99% thrilled for Brian and 1% thrilled for us at the office. Susan had a tendency to walk in the door screaming instructions and grievances.


I was now an agent, not her assistant, but Susan didn't hold with such distinctions. We all got screamed at, we all became miserable, we all started whatever self-soothing behavior allowed us to not cry in the hallway. At the very least, Brian's win would delight her.




And then Brian forgot to thank her.



The next morning, we walked around with the resigned despair of a tank of sentient lobsters. We were all to be boiled alive, it was just a matter of when. Susan flew in the door, raced to her office, slammed the door shut. The quiet was actually worse.


At lunch, her assistant "Chet" slid into my office. He had the look of a man who had been screamed at for five hours. He asked a favor. Brian had called him; he was aghast he had forgotten to thank Susan, the woman who had made his dream come true. He thought he had a solution.



He would put a full-page ad in both VARIETY and HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, the daily trade papers read by everyone, thanking her. It was to be a surprise. The only thing Brian had needed from the Chet was a picture of her to put in the ad. Problem was, Chet couldn't find one.




had been on her desk six months, did I know of one?



I smiled, because I did. Susan, like many women of a certain age, wasn't terribly fond of having her picture taken but it so happened there was a picture of her on the side-table in her office. Susan loved decorating, nothing was by chance, she must have liked that picture.



We got it, Chet slid it out, overnighted it to Brian, we crossed our fingers she wouldn't notice the picture was gone for a day. Even if she did, the ad was to appear the following day; after such a loving gesture, who could be angry with us?



The next day, we all waited breathlessly for her to walk in the back door from the parking lot, down the long hallways, past each of our offices. For once, she wouldn't be screaming. I wondered if she would hug me. I decided it was a small price to pay.


The door opened


I swear to you, even the phones stopped ringing for a second.

Susan inhaled


"Who the fuck," she screamed, "Gave Brian a picture OF MY MOTHER."

[tikay]

This diary used to be good but I think it has tailed off and become a hassle for you to do!

I feel a need to explain that comment by Magic817, who is a bit of a shortarse, but a really good friend & a wingman to me Next Door.

UKOPS is taking place, started yesterday & runs for 10 days, and is very important for The Business, so I do a little write up every day. To try to lighten it up &, arguably, make it more readable than just a string of poker-related names, numbers & results, I mix it up with some general (non-poker) news & comment.  

Today's missive was north of 2,000 words long, contained 20 or more photos, I started it at 0600 sharp & it took me until 1pm to finish. And I was up past midnight last night monitoring the results as they happened. None of which I mind at all, in fact I enjoy doing it.

I described it myself in self-deprecating but entirely fair terms as splurge & waffle, & amongst the feedback - & all feedback is welcome - was included one Gentleman or Lady who wrote.....


I enjoyed this read but you tailed off and made it seem like it was a hassle for you to do and a hassle for me to read. At one point you said it was splurge - I am not familiar with this expression but I have assumed it is an excretion of some kind.


I'm still trying to decide if it was intended as a compliment or an insult. I fear the worst but hope for the best.

The process of ageing continues to take it's inevitable toll.

I do hope that was not too much hassle for you to read......


 

Highlighted bit immediately made me think of this:



"Yes, well I'm a slow reader myself..."

Keep up the good work, Tikay. Sounds like a lot of fun.

Ha, now THAT is splurge and waffle of the highest quality.

Does Robbie Coltrane still do acting stuff? I rather enjoyed his work.

Did you ever watch Cracker? That was a hell of a show

No, never watched Cracker. My favourite Robbie Coltrane stuff is when he was mending a Morris Minor or whatever, in a series called 'Planes, Trains & Automobiles.

This sort of thing;






More recently, James May - the sensible one from what used to be Top Gear - did a similar series called "The re-assembler". It was TV gold.

[Kev B]

I know it's not your thing but Happy Christmas to you and Gill. Hope you have a fabulous New Year.

[tikay]

This diary used to be good but I think it has tailed off and become a hassle for you to do!

I feel a need to explain that comment by Magic817, who is a bit of a shortarse, but a really good friend & a wingman to me Next Door.

UKOPS is taking place, started yesterday & runs for 10 days, and is very important for The Business, so I do a little write up every day. To try to lighten it up &, arguably, make it more readable than just a string of poker-related names, numbers & results, I mix it up with some general (non-poker) news & comment.  

Today's missive was north of 2,000 words long, contained 20 or more photos, I started it at 0600 sharp & it took me until 1pm to finish. And I was up past midnight last night monitoring the results as they happened. None of which I mind at all, in fact I enjoy doing it.

I described it myself in self-deprecating but entirely fair terms as splurge & waffle, & amongst the feedback - & all feedback is welcome - was included one Gentleman or Lady who wrote.....


I enjoyed this read but you tailed off and made it seem like it was a hassle for you to do and a hassle for me to read. At one point you said it was splurge - I am not familiar with this expression but I have assumed it is an excretion of some kind.


I'm still trying to decide if it was intended as a compliment or an insult. I fear the worst but hope for the best.

The process of ageing continues to take it's inevitable toll.

I do hope that was not too much hassle for you to read......


 

Piffle.

You are still the most interesting poster on here. Look forward to every post you make, and we all know I don't do arse licking, so this is a genuine comment. Varied and well written.

Mantis/Tal(for educational purposes) and Doobs, when he isnt telling us what a great punter he is and instead spilling the beans on his thoughts, are all close up.

At the other end of the scale is the top bum licker on here, my old mucker Marky who loves a good orifice lick, and his monoword posts are crap.

Woodsey posts make me laugh and shake my head at the same time, and I think I would enjoy a beer with him, but I doubt I would get a word in.. Also like the hydgrdftrrrr blokes posting style  too.


Keep up the good work Tikay.

Thanks Adzy. I was genuinely touched by that, though I doubt too many would agree with your sentiments.

If there is one thing I yearn to be able to do better, it's write really well. I read Bryson or whoever, & spend half the time marvelling at how easy they make it look. It's mainly clever use of adjectives, but I struggle with that, partly because I rush everything so. 

I think more than anything, I wish I could write better. Or play the piano well. Or be Joe Walsh.

Actually, I think I'll settle for being Joe Walsh. I've got that exact bandana, in fact I'm wearing it this morning.

[tikay]

I know it's not your thing but Happy Christmas to you and Gill. Hope you have a fabulous New Year.

Thanks Kev.

Gill was down for a week about a fortnight back, is spending Xmas with her Dad & brother, & is then coming down back end of next week for 4 or 5 days. Works out well really, as I am quite happy being on my own at Xmas, & I don't want to give her stress by having to choose between me & her family. I've got to work later this week too, for Xmas UKOPS Next Door, which takes me around 8 hours per day for 4 days straight, so if she were here I'd feel bad about that. It's all good.   

You have a lovely Xmas too mate.

[tikay]

How 'PokerStars-y' is it over there these days Pops? Got many Stars folks in the Leeds office? Are they changing much up? Is there much rivarly between the sky folks and the stars folks aka:

Morning Barry.

Hard to say really. I've been keeping my head down & getting on with my job. Who'd have thought I'd end up working for 'Stars?

The whole thing, before & after TSG, has been amazing really, I've had a ringside seat watching the rise & rise of SB&G. They were a little subsidiary of Big Sky when I joined 12+ years ago, then they went independent, then TSG came in. It'd been amazing to witness the whole story. I enjoy business talk, so I've been very lucky to see it all.

We used to see much more detail in the numbers, especially Bet. Every day we would all be told what our liabilities were, how much we (SB&G) stood to win or lose if results went for or against us. Swings of £10 or £15 milly per day were better than having a bet, it was incredible to see it all pan out.  Knowing that 9 of the Top Ten most popular bets had won & sweating the tenth was better than having a bet myself. 

These days, due to limitations due to being part of a Listed Company means we don't see the numbers in detail any more - that would break all the rules, but we still see how we are doing on a weekly basis v Forecast, & Y-O-Y etc.

From what I can see, TSG don't interfere much. The Leadership Team has changed a fair bit though, for a variety of reasons. Sad in some ways, but understandable.

Most of all though, it's the media sentiment towards bookmakers at the moment that fascinates. Until 3 or 4 years ago, it was the Payday Loan businesses that exercised the media, Wonga etc. Then they got tired of that & switched to bookies, initially with FOBT's etc, & then the bookmaking industry generally. It's all a bit weird to be part of an Industry of which there is so much negativity. A bloke does his bollox on as FOBT & everyone gives him sympathy. I'm not quite sure that equates. And of course punters love to knock bookies. They still bet with them though. "Traders" seem to be mocked & despised by all, but those who criticise have no idea how it works these days in the retail gambling environment. Bless.

Anyway, forget all that. For readers who don't know Barry, here's his Dog. What's not to love?

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

As I continue with the catch-up, am going to give a shoutout to a few TV programmes that caught my eye.

Top of the list - not even close - was an Attenborough affair, "Attenborough's The Wonder of Eggs".

It began like this;


I think that, if required on pain of death to name instantly the most perfect thing in the universe, I should risk my fate on a bird’s egg’
Thomas Wentworth Higginson, 1862

No truer words were ever spoken, & it was TV Gold. It was on BBC2 so it ought to be on I-player if you care to look.

One of nature's greatest & most inexplicable tricks is the Cuckoo. I'm sure you all know the drill. The Mum Cuckoo typically lays it egg in the nest of a Reed Warbler, having first displaced enough of the host eggs to make room. That's all the Mum Cuckoo does. Does not build a nest or rear it's young, just dumps it's egg in an alien nest & buggers off. It's known that the Reed Warbler will eject any egg of the wrong colour, so the Cuckoo egg mimics the Reed Warbler egg perfectly. Except in size - it's much bigger - but the Reed Warbler does not seem to notice that.

The Reed Warbler dutifully sits on the clutch until they hatch. The baby cuckoo's first job is to throw out the Reed Warbler hatchlings. The Mum does not notice that either.

And here's the thing. A Reed Warbler weighs half an ounce, & a cuckoo weighs 5 ozs - so 10 times bigger & heavier. And the Reed Warbler is oblivious to this.

So this is how it looks. And the poor old Reed Warbler Mum never realises the coup. Did you ever see anything so weird?

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

It featured the Blue Tit, too.

Again, a very small creature - less than half an ounce.

It somehow regulates the hatch time of it's eggs to suit the weather. If it's too cold, it slows down the hatching date, too hot & it speeds it up. Why? Because it needs to ensure that hatching coincides with a bountiful supply of caterpillars.

The Blue Tit hatch averages 10 (TEN) eggs, so 10 chicks. And Mummy Tit has to find enough caterpillars to feed them all. Attenborough reckoned that entailed flying away, finding, catching, & bringing back 1,000 caterpillars every single day. Imagine the energy & expertise that needs. All from a creature that weighs less than half an ounce. Truly astonishing.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[doubleup]

Happy Xmas tikay and everyone at blonde

[tikay]

Happy Xmas tikay and everyone at blonde

Thanks mate, & I really appreciated you popping across to SPT Glasgow so we could have a chat.

I'll tell you a funny story that arose at another SPT when I get round to it. Pure poker gold.

[tikay]

Hi TK, At the request of my son I was dragged along to a talk by Dr Jordan Peterson last night. Very entertaining , very thoughtful and very measured in how he addressed the audience. For the last 30 minutes he did a Q&A session and the last question was what does he consider to be a good life and a good death. I couldnt possibly elaborate on his response but bloody hell it was so profound.

Wiki page if you haven't heard of him before https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Peterson

I've just started reading his second book '12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos'. It has got me hooked. Although a lot of what is in there is common sense the way he presents it is very compelling. He's a bit of a divisive character but I would gladly pay to hear him talk again.

And what did he consider to be a "good life & a good death"? Genuinely interested.

[tikay]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-6387877/Fascinating-pictures-shed-light-vintage-train-journeys-no-longer-exist.html

one for you TK

Thank you my friend. We've become big fans of railway trips, & if you book well in advance, it's really very cheap. Some photos will follow when I get caught up.


Loved these three photos in particular.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.