Iowa City?  Someone else who plays Magic lives in Iowa City???????  Yeah, there is no magic anywhere around here which is one of the reasons I sold my power.  You also got to miss out on a huge fucking campus tour which always leads to infinite people not knowing how to use crosswalks and obey traffic signals around campus and not know where the hell they are going driving around town.  Missing that might have been the best part of your weekend!

Oh man, I love that card as a 1-of in B/R stax.

I care about Welder and arcbound ravager and trike and grim lavamancer and mogg fanatic and pentavus and triskelavus and suchi and mishra's factory  and aether spellbomb and repeal and echoing truth.  Maybe you don't, but I'm sure there are others who also care about the cards i listed.

The only thing I dislike is removing mana burn.  That is not only simplifying the game, it is removing part of the strategy.  But it does not repalce it with a different strategy like the combat rules might.  It is making the game have less decisions.  It stops Chant from killing a storm player with 18 mana.  It lets people tap Shop for a sol ring and not burn.  Mana Drain has 0 possible downside.  It changes some fun decks--anyone remember Stupid Green from standard in 1999?  Eladamri's Vineyard was a huge part of the deck which burned your opponent for 2 every upkeep unless they had a cursed scroll or something.  I love that card and have it in casual decks but its utility is cut in half.  Braids of Fire has no drawback.  While I support simplifying rules, I do not support removing strategy to do so without adding new strategic point.

Don't play with Welder, Trile, or Pentavus much do you?

Never Abeyanced anybody mid combo have you?  Or cast a 1 or 2 cc spell off a Workshop?

Calc 1 is all that is needed.

I passed my National Board of Dental Examinations Part 1.

100 questions of each section:
Anatomic science
biochem/physiology
microbiology/pathology
dental anatomy/occlusion

I even beat the national mean on each individual section.

I'm so happy I might do a little dance.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Ncw70Hw1ffs

Well, OSU losing didn't surprise me.  The Big 12 as a whole is so far.  I'm leaning towards Florida beating Oklahoma now.

UTAH #2!!!  Make it happen pollsters!

Sorry if this is too political.  I just think its pretty funny.

Duress doesn't stop a topdecked Yawg Will or Tutor-->yawg will.

Nat Championship game: Oklahoma v. Florida.  The toughest to call.  I'll lean to Oklahoma because they want to prove that they deserved to be there.  I think their offense really is just that good and its not just crappy Big 12 defenses.

Rose Bowl: USC v. Penn St.  USC all the way.  They are playing better than Penn St.  Penn St. made a nice statement against Michigan St, but Big 10 generally sucks in bowl games.

Orange Bowl: VA tech v. Cincinatti.  Who cares.  I'll say VA tech takes it.  Cincinatti might succumb to nerves since its their first time.  I haven't followed either team at all so I don't know.

Sugar Bowl: Alabama v. Utah.  Alabama takes this.  I'd love to see Utah win though.  Bama has played well all year long against great opponents.  Utah is just a big unknown.

Fiesta Bowl: Texas v. OSU.  I got Texas.  Hell, I got Texas by 21+points.  OSU has failed against the top teams this year and Texas should be playing in the National Championship game.  They will be pumped and try to steal the final AP poll. 

Anyways, as Steve said, there needs to be a playoff system.  I think Obama's first act as president is to demand a playoff system be put in place    Can you imagine the chaos that would have been the BCS if Penn St. had beaten Iowa and gone undefeated? 

8 teams.  Not sure what rules you might have.  Maybe a 2 team/division max.  Then you have situations like Texas Tech getting screwed over.  But you should have room for the teams like Boise St. that go undefeated and get kicked to the curb.  Given the 2 choices, I'd lean towards a 2 team/division max.  And I wouldn't have the champions of the BCS conferences getting automatic bids.  Nobody can argue VA tech or Cinci has a legitimate claim to the National Championships.  This could be implemented by losing 1 game of the regular season.  Most teams play enough shit in the first few weeks anyway.  Then the top 4 teams would play Dec 1 and the finals would be Dec 8--just like it is today.

I agree that Texas should have been picked over Oklahoma.  And I know that OSU is a different team than the one a few months ago.  But the season still stands that OSU has lost to both teams playing in the Rose Bowl and Boise St. is ranked higher than OSU.  OSU's quality wins include a team who finishes 21 and another that is 22.  Boise St.'s quality win is at 19th.  So neither is too impressive in the quality win category.  At least the teams OSU has lost to are good, but they did lose twice.  I'd lean toward giving Boise St. a chance to prove themselves.  OSU had their opportunity twice.  If you can't beat Penn St (who lost to my school-a mediocre Iowa), how are you going to take on the juggernaut of Texas?  OSU would at least probably beat whoever Michigan State is paired up against in the Capital One Bowl. 

And I can't believe how bad Big 12 defense is.  Now its clear that the conference has ridiculous offenses.  Oklahoma is giving up 20 points a game almost every game of the year.  Texas did for most of the year.  Florida and Alabama are not giving up nearly as many points.  I am very excited about the National Championship.  It will be the test of how great the Big 12 offense is and how poor its defense is. 

My thoughts on college football

Looks like Ohio St. is going to be picked over Boise St. for the Fiesta Bowl.  OSU has already shown that they can't hang with the big boys.  They lost to Penn St.  They lost to USC.  And they didn't just lose to USC.  They got buttraped.  35-3.  35-3 Texas is better than both of those teams, yet they are going anyway?  That isn't going to be a game.  I'm picking Texas by 21+ points.  I'd rather see Boise St. just to see how they would do.  Chances are they'd get killed, but we don't really have anything to gauge that on.  We have OSU's failures against other top teams to gauge that they will get fing crushed.  It will be an embarassment to the Big 10.  Not that they need much help in that department this year.

And the Orange Bowl.  What a shitter.  Virginia Tech v. Cincinatti.  That might as well be called the "Nobody gives a shit about either of these teams because they are both terrible Bowl"  That doesn't fit onto a logo really well though. 

At least the National Championship game looks pretty even on paper.  And just to be clear, the country would shit bricks if the game doesn't turn out to be Florida v. Oklahoma.

I guess I'll say the obvious: where are the Null Rods?

Twilight might be the worst movie in the history of cinema.  I was expecting crap and it did not even come close to achieving that benchmark.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/technology/companies/18yahoo.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Yangtime, we will miss you   

Not Magic, but I'm teaching my fiance to play D&D.  Less math and no strategy in deckbuilding.  She'll like the use of imagination.

Clamp doesn't need to be a draw engine.  It can be used as insurance in case your threat gets dealt with.  Jamison used it very effectively at the last SCG Chicago taking r/g beatz to a Lotus.

The article gave me something to think about.  That is what I like in an article.  Whether the deck turns out to be the next big thing or if it turns out to be a complete pile is irrelevant.  It threw and idea out there and I found myself thinking about options for it all day.  That means the article stuck in my head and intrigued me.  That's what I like. 

This thing will certainly be goldfished and toyed with.

What about the lack of cards to break a stalemate in the aggro mirror?  You have Deed, but that wipes out everyone.  Ever miss Threads or Sower or Control Magic?  You're light on artifact hate too.  Would you add more in the future?

Do you think it is worth bringing in Extirpate against MUD?

I agree.  I've found room to play with 2 in my deck.

Congrats on the win.  I've found this to be a very good and very fun deck.  I'm glad someone else has been able to run with it and be successful

My GenCon honeymoon fell through due to my cousin's wedding being on that weekend.  Puerto Rico is looking like a fine Plan B.  Has anyone been to Puerto Rico?  Good experience?  Where did you stay?  Super expensive or no?  My budget is roughly a set of power   Looking around I"ve found some deals, but I'd like any additional info about people's experience that I can get.

Her legs make nerds die

I've found you need more guys and equipment to make Master as big as you want him as early as you want.  Ninja is nice, particularly being blue, but he doesn't pump Master.  More equipment also makes every single guy you draw almost as good as Master.  Only 2 Swords is really low to me.  I guess it depends on if you want to build a really fast aggro deck, or an aggro-controllish deck like you appear to be.

I wouldn't say this version is more vulnerable to the 2nd tier.  Quite the opposite in my experience.  Goyf is a huge dude that can just blow through some random aggro.  Bob is a good draw engine that doesn't rely on getting through like Ninja.  I guess it depends on which pieces of disruption you chose (stifles, Trickbinds, annuls, spell snares, dazes, negates, leaks, etc.) and what exact build you are comparing it to.

If you're going to build to fight Ichorid, I'd say 6 slots are the minimum.  It's either 6-7 or 0 anti-ichorid slots for me.

I do not believe I am far off at all.  The deal they initially took, ignoring future plans, is a deal they could not afford.  Is that fact wrong?  Ignore their future plans.  When they signed their name on their mortgage, could they afford it?  The question I am asking is very simple and clear cut.  Yes or no.  Not 18 paragraphs of lawyer speak, a simple yes or no.  I don't have a degree in economics--I have one in biochemistry and we ask questions in direct ways and give succinct answers.  That's why I may have simplified things to the smallest piece of the entire fiasco--the individual making a single action, in this case signing their name.

They deal they signed they couldn't afford.  They were hoping things would work out (housing values would continue to rise) and then they could afford it (by refinancing later).  Where did my comprehension of the situation fall apart?  It is very possible that I am missing something, but I do not see it.  Care to explain what I missed in my breakdown?

Or is it possible that I broke the situation down to a different degree than you and therefore came to a different conclusion?  I guess the next time I hear someone say "smoking causes cancer" I could act all superior and pretentious and tell them "no, you are wrong, I have a biochem degree and you have no idea wtf you're talking about" or I could see if there are different ways to interpret the statement.

(I'd say they are wrong because I interpret the phrase as an absolute, so if there is a single example of a 30 year smoker not developing cancer then the statement is false.  Difference of interpretation leads to radically different conclusions)

I have only heard good things about this book.  It is on my list of books to read.

edit:
I am exiting this thread.  It is quite clear that there is someone on here with radically different political views than myself and radically different means of interpretation.  And one of us devolved the discussion with pettiness and the other followed.  To prevent this from happening more and to keep the thread from becoming a flamefest, I will take my leave.

This deck is only going to get better with Shards.  Not that we gain anything, but that Null Rod becomes even more powerful than it was before.  Not to mention 2 power guys can simply kill Tezz after they search out their Vault.  With Oath and possibly Vaults running around, Krosan Grips get even better too.  Especially if Ichorid decides to take a break, you can free up around 4 slots of Crypt and jailer stuff for more Grips, Threads, and/or Trygons.

You took a deal that you couldn't afford, with the intention of hoping things work out so you will be able to afford it.  At the time you signed your name, you took a deal you could not afford.  "They were buying houses they could afford, with the assumption they would refinance later"  means that they could not afford it unless something else happened.

It clearly was stupid.  You are using the most important investment in your life as a chip to gamble to save a few bucks on that very investment.  And for many it failed miserably.  Shit, I wouldn't put my house on a roulette wheel even if the only way I lost was the wheel landing on 0 or 00 but if I won I would gain 10% of its value in profit.  On paper my pot odds, to use a poker term, are great.  In real life, the risk/reward isn't enough.  Even if you get the reward, you didn't necessarily need it because you were doing fine enough.  And if you fail, then you're completely fucked.  Pot odds only work because the player sits down with a good amount of money in the bank in case the odds don't work for him this time.  I'm going to assume most people don't have a dozen houses so if their risk to make a few bucks by taking the low rate and then refinancing later doesn't work out they're still good to go.

On paper it is all the same, in real life you need a place to sleep. 

I think day traders do their homework very meticulously and don't simply listen to what their broker is telling them, even if he's saying "this price on this stock is simply too good to be true--its like free monies!"

Definitely true.  I split the blame 50/50.  When my cards got stolen at gencon a few years ago, it was equally my fault for being a dumbshit and forgetting them on the table when I packed up my dice and mat, and the person who made off with them.  This is not always the case, as sometimes the consumer really can't know the quality of work being done (how is a regular patient supposed to know if the crown he got put on his back tooth is substandard?)

Nobody knew if the government was going to rescue them.  Everyone knew and even made risky investments banking on (lol, pun!) the government rushing to bail out FM/FM.

No, that is stupid.  That is people simply being dumb and signing mortages they couldn't afford.  They were hoping things would work their way in the end and they would be able to afford it after some market changes--but at that time they could not afford it.  That is just plain stupidity when dealing with the most important purchase you'll ever make and I refuse to feel the least bit sorry for anyone stupid enough to try to do this and who ended up getting burned.  Buy a house with a fixed rate and borrow 3-4x your annual salary to do it.  This is your freaking house, you don't play investment games with it.

Steve, how can you not see that the people who took the mortgages have some blame in the matter?  Don't buy what you can't afford.  I'm not going to say that greed wasn't a huge part in the matter, but people should have known better than to take out mortages that are 9 times their annual salary.  As I said earlier, if you're going to make the most important purchase in your life, you might want to spend that $14.99 on a book to learn some basics about the process.

It is obvious that they were essentially government sponsored because the government rushed to stop them from going under. 

He was great.  Quite possibly the best patient I could have had.  I'm fairly certain I could have dropped the syringe needle into his nose and he would not have complained.  The experience was also good.  The actual prep/restoration was cake.  It was everything else that made things crazy.  Oh crap, can't go in that drawer with gloves on.  Oops, can't put that floss container on the tray since it's not clean/sterile.  Now where is this instrument I need located?  Stuff like that.  Ugh, dropped the mirror on the floor, gotta interrupt my groove to to the dispensary to get a new one.  It will get smoother each week. 

First time I've ever drilled on someone's teeth today.  An experience I will never forget.  2 hours (1 putting on a rubber dam) to fill a tiny cavity in someone's molar