heuheuheuhe

Hey guys, I'm landing in Vegas tomorrow. I'll be there for about 10 days.

Going to play a bunch of 2/5 and get out of make up with any luck at all. Been thinking a lot about poker again the last couple of days and working on making sure my game is strong.. I feel pretty good about it.

But I want to have a couple of nights hanging out with mah frienz. Here's the place to let me know what's going down. I won't be online but to check my e-mail for the next 3 weeks so get at me NOW if you want to trade phone numbers n shit. I'll be staying like one block off the strip, flamingo ave I think.. on the Wynn side of the strip. Won't have a car.

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There has always been this behavior that puzzles me in hand histories. Someone posts a questions, "What should my action be on this river?". A couple of microstakes and low stakes donks respond with a simple genius explanation, "check."

A couple more post "check because (factor which has little bearing on the situation)".

A highstakes, intelligent player posts a different action, "Shove all-in.. " with accompanying small breakdown of their range and what they expect to get value from.

Two more microdonks respond "check"

What drives you donks to reject a skilled player's input and suggest the opposite move without any explanation? When people ask for help with a hand history they don't just think so highly of random jokers' opinion that they want you to reply "check" like you are even remotely authoritative on the subject.

I dunno I don't mean to complain.. just a weird thing I see people doing all the time. I probably do it too.

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Step 2: be amazingly, mind numbingly bored

HOLY SHIT I AM SO FUCKING BORED TODAY. OVERWHELMINGLY bored.

FUCK wat do i do ?////

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done

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Hey folks. A little while ago I had a sort of, what was to me at least, a penetrating thought.

High vs Sober thinking

In my experience, thought is controlled differently when high. Through years of practice the unconscious mind has become very effective at cutting running, tangent, or otherwise ancillary thoughts out before they ever surface to the conscious. I believe this is a very useful attribute during day-to-day living. However it doesn't serve as well when we try to bend our mind to abstract, more complex thoughts (philosophy, the inner-workings of finance, etc), or when we are simply trying to be creative.

When high and set to the task of considering a topic I've previously laid ground on, I find myself asking many more questions. Several of which, in hindsight, I realize I had taken for granite (u c wat i did thar?) as being "the way it is". Basically unconsciously ignoring certain aspects of a topic that I may of been unfamiliar with. But as a wise man once said, "Knowledge is in the nuances."

Creative thinking is a highly value attribute of humanity. We are unique in our ability to think abstractly, deeply. But many of us feel uncreative day in and day out, like being creative is for other people. I can personally attest to having had such feelings. Since then, however, I've come to suspect that many people aren't simply "more creative". But the way that a creative, effective thinker approaches a topic is the difference. Effective techniques for thinking are what set intelligent people apart. As an example of a technique that I've heard of successful people using is to write down any tangent or wild thought that could be developed further. It is important to welcome foreign concepts and ideas so that if we are to discard them, at least we have a more thorough knowledge of what doesn't work and why. It is therefore my contention that for many people it isn't that they are stupid or uncreative but that they don't have the proper knowledge of technique needed to think effectively.

At any rate I think I got part of my idea across.. there are many tangents from here, you see.

Do you consider yourself creative or a deep thinker? What techniques do you use to think of new things or to think of new questions about established things? Do you think what I've said has any relevancy to how your personal techniques work?

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Here is my very incomplete (because I have so much to learn) analysis of LFVN's current situation. I'd like any comments on it, especially from knowledgeable persons who can share some of their experience with regard to my questions at the bottom of this entry. Thanks guys!!!

I am pretty sure that this company is a disaster waiting to happen, but there are many questions I need to learn how to answer. I don't truly know much here.

Analysis of LFVN
LifeVantage Corporation


What is LifeVantage?

"LifeVantage is a dietary supplement company which markets and sells its products through the network marketing, or multi-level marketing industry and seeks to enhance life through anti-aging and wellness products while creating business opportunities. We pursue our mission of “helping people reach their health and wellness goals through science-based solutions to oxidative stress” by providing a financially rewarding business opportunity to distributors and quality products to distributors and customers who seek a healthy lifestyle. We sell our products in the United States, Japan and Mexico, through a network of independent distributors, preferred customers and direct customers."(1)

LifeVantage is a multi-level marketing company traded over the counter. Multi-level marketing companies have a history of facing strong criticism, as Wikipedia outlines below,

"their similarity to illegal pyramid schemes, price-fixing of products, high initial start-up costs, emphasis on recruitment of lower-tiered salespeople over actual sales, encouraging if not requiring salespeople to purchase and use the company's products, potential exploitation of personal relationships which are used as new sales and recruiting targets, complex and sometimes exaggerated compensation schemes, and cult-like techniques which some groups use to enhance their members' enthusiasm and devotion."(2)

As someone who personally knows a LifeVantage distributor and having heard the language of methods they use to embolden their distributors, LifeVantage clearly fits the above criticisms of Multi-level marketing companies.

Product

Nearly all of their sales efforts are around their "flagship product" Protandim. They promote it as a patented dietary supplement and claim that it can "indirectly increase antioxidant activity". They don't release their sales numbers or any info pertaining to specifically how many units of their products are sold at any time.

They use the "scientific reports" of a specific Dr. Joe McCord's team as clinical evidence in all of their claims of efficacy in the anti-oxident activity of their product. Unfortunately, McCord's method of measuring the anti-oxidant activity of their product was found to be inaccurate and their results to be utterly unreliable in an independent review published in the British Journal of Medicine,

"In a 2008 review article it was noted that Protandim is one of many
supplements that claim to act as antioxidants, but that changes in TBARS levels and increases in the levels of antioxidant enzymes in response to a treatment do not provide a reliable indication that the treatment has an antioxidant effect, since the same responses are produced by pro-oxidant compounds that induce oxidative stress."(4)

My personal contact with one of their distributor's has lead me to discover that, in private, the company representatives claim the product's anti-oxidant properties can cure cancer, fever, bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, and nearly any other ailment you can think of.

I believe their product is a simple fraud, a fill-in needed for their multi-level marketing strategy to hook distributors and encourage them to promote the company (ie to find others also become a distributor and continue the scam).

Problems

-Outstanding Shares & Warrants, Options

As of 5/18/2011 LifeVantage trades at $1.80 a share, has a market cap. of $132.3m with 73.5m shares outstanding. The Company has a long history of issuing options and warrants against its stock at bargain prices, resulting in the dilution and ultimate loss of shareholder value.

Their June 30, 2010 10-K lists a sale of a total of $5m in convertible debentures, resulting in 24,974,999 shares of stock convertible at $.50 a share or $.20 a share and 14,998.499 convertible at the other price. To accomplish this they used the confusing method printed in (3).

In their 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31,2011 they have included the following outstanding options or warrants for shares of the Company:

2009 & 2010 issuance of $5m in convertible debentures resulting in 16,204,575 shares convertible or on warrant for $.50/share and $.20/share

Under the 2007 Incentive Plan, the company has options for 8,137,731 shares priced between $.21 and $.76 per share outstanding to people involved in the company

Under the 2010 Incentive Plan, there are options for 2,412,000 shares outstanding.

Total options and warrants: 19,430,306 shares at an indeterminable cost between $6,449,838 - $11,526,190 against 73,500,000 outstanding shares "worth" $132,300,000


-No Earnings

This company has averaged -.04 earnings per share over the last 19 fiscal quarters. In their Q3 2011 result, their operating costs grew at 77% of revenue. They don't make money over time. Their EPS for Q3 2011 was -$.13/share.

-Balance sheet

In the pricing of their investments and derivatives the company uses the widely criticized as inaccurate and useless Black-Scholes-Merton model(5). The model is strongly criticized for not properly taking into account the true risk of an investment.


References
Most information comes from their Q3 2011 report at http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/849146/000095012311050754/a59472e10vq.htm

(1) the company's most recent 10-K, for fiscal year ended June 30,
2010 http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/849146/000095012310086417/a57251e10vk.htm

(2) the relevant Wikipedia article

(3) Effective June 30, 2009 and August 5, 2009, the Company sold
6,869,369 unregistered shares of common stock at a price of $0.35 per
share. In connection with these issuance, the Company also issued
warrants exercisable for 1,373,852 shares of its common stock. The
warrants have an exercise price of $0.50 per share and may be
exercised at any time following issuance during the three-year
exercise period.
Effective November 18, 2009, December 11, 2009, December 31,
2009, January 20, 2010, February 4, 2010 and February 26, 2010, the
Company entered into securities purchase agreements with accredited
investors pursuant to which the Company sold an aggregate of
$5,000,000 of 8% convertible debentures and warrants to purchase
shares of the Company’s common stock with an exercise price of $0.50
per share. Each investor received a debenture in the principal amount
equal to such investor’s aggregate subscription amount less the
amount equal to the quotient obtained by dividing such aggregate
subscription amount by $1,000. The debenture is convertible into
shares of the Company’s common stock at any time at the discretion of
the holder at a conversion price per share of $0.20, subject to
adjustment including anti-dilution protection. Each investor also
received a warrant to purchase that number of shares of the Company’s
common stock that equals 50% of the quotient obtained by dividing
such investor’s aggregate subscription amount by $0.20. The Company
issued debentures in the aggregate principal amount of $4,995,000 and
warrants to purchase an aggregate of 12,499,999 shares of the
Company’s common stock. The Company also issued warrants to purchase
an aggregate of 2,497,500 shares of the Company’s common stock to
placement agents in conjunction with this offering.
The maximum number of shares of common stock issuable upon
conversion of the debentures and upon exercise of the warrants the
Company issued in this offering is, respectively, 24,974,999 and
14,997,499, assuming the conversion price and exercise price is the
initial conversion price and exercise price at the time of conversion
and/or exercise.

(4)Wikipedia's reference:
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?
fromPage=online&aid=1884700

(5)http://www.scribd.com/doc/33244478/Why-We-Have-Never-Used-the-Black-Scholes-Merton-Option-Pricing-Formula-5th-Ed-Taleb-Haug

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I have spotted what is potentially an incredible investment (well, short sale opportunity), but I have absolutely no way to take advantage of it personally. I need like an investment stake ROFL (no I'm not looking for such a thing).

So yeah.. since I'm poor, I can't make any money from it. If I were rich I could get richer. Simple finance, really.

Anyway, I still want to know if my analysis of this company is any good. Can anyone knowledgeable about stocks and specifically the companies behind them spare a moment to read my analysis and critique it please? I want to send it in private before I put it in my blog.. PM me please and I will send ya it.

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Hey guys I was just watching "Talking Funny" with Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Ricky Gervais, and Louis C.K. got me thinking about comedy and how storytelling works; especially because jokes are often dressed up storytelling. Things got crazy from there and so what I'm about to write isn't focused around jokes or comedy, just storytelling and is probably most applicable to stories told via the written word.

Stories are most frequently told through a narrative. The audience is told what is happening, what is this character thinking, about the broken shard of the realm a heroic young elf just picked up. Where has a story been told without a narrative of events?

Many stories in all forms of media have played with the sequence of events, Kill Bill which use a nonlinear narrative being an example. This type of storytelling, from my perspective, causes the viewer to be more engaged in the film and plot because, knowing the film is nonlinear, they are likely to be actively thinking about how to put the plot together in a linear way. Our natural way of thinking about events and timelines drives us to do this.

Granting that audience engagement or involvement is a good thing, where has the audience been challenged by a narrative that focuses on describing things outside of the actual narrative. If the subject of a book were, instead of a handful of people in a city being destroyed by a sci-fi monster (Cloverfield), the feelings and the varying sentiments of the population of New York as this disaster unfolded. And it was told by describing the various "strains" (characters?) of sentiments and thoughts that went through this group -- of individuals -- as the reality of what was occurring passed by.

I don't know anything further about this subject and was hoping I could get some tips on where things like this have already been done (novels, poems, etc). The only things that ring a bell when I think of this is the name "ee cummings" and that one author who wrote "stream of conscious" novels (Joyce? idk).

I didn't proof read at all sry rofl GG I'M FUCKIN BLAZED SON

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Well, my last great attempt at poker was when I got picked up on a stake in March. I put everything I could muster into it and it.. didn't work out at all. I had taken the week before black friday to clear my mind and was actually going to resume playing on that day. But it wasn't to be.

My personal strengths and skillset don't lend well to being a high-level poker player. There are much better opportunities for me in this world.
Poker is behind me as something I will seriously pursue, but I will still play when the opportunity arises and try to maintain a bankroll.

Anyways,
Even though poker hadn't been going well, black friday along with the events with my schizophrenic uncle, repeatedly injuring myself in the gym and all around life pressure, I've been really depressed and all of my personal habits went to shit. I started smoking like 5x more than I did for the past year and a half and that hasn't helped either. So I'm making some changes and am going to get back into that productive groove. I really hope the changes I make in my workout stop me from hurting (my right shoulderblade area was getting injured after my back day, I think it was the French Press so its gone from the workout now.)

As part of these changes I've picked up a new hobby: Dance. Moving to music has always been a love of mine, there's nothing like feeling that beat and returning some art from the soul. I've pretty much never practiced but whenever I'm out on the town I just lose my shit and go crazy on the dancefloor. Surprisingly, people compliment me. I always receive them bashfully because the praise feels unearned. It will feel good to earn it with a bit of practice and improvement. Maybe I'll post some videos of myself down the line if some.. entertainment value comes up.

gg all

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Can anyone hook me up with some info on a legit pandora stream ripper? I have pandora one, if it makes any difference

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