Modern Polymath

All humbleness aside... I love being right.  I wrote this when oil futures closed at about $138 a barrel.  It peaked a few weeks later at just under $150.

Right now it's currently well under $110, and still think the slip isn't over.

A few years back, I was dating a girl who is rather well known (even more these days) for her incredible beauty. She was a lot of fun to hang out with, and I got a great feeling of being ‘da-man’ whenever I showed up somewhere with her on my arm. One evening in particular, when we had just started seeing each other, was of particular embarrassment for yours truly.

She and I had gone out to dinner, and decided to rent a movie to take back to my place to watch so the rest of the evening could be enjoyed relaxing in each other’s company. I have a TV and DVD player in both the living room, and the bedroom, and asked my date if she wanted to watch the movie on the couch, or on the bed. She chose the bed.

I put the movie in the DVD side of the DVD/VCR combo, changed the channel on the TV to read the video player, and got the magic blue screen, waiting for the movie to start playing. I decided to use the restroom, and told my date to press play when she was ready to start the movie, and I’d be back in a minute.

When I came back into the bedroom, I heard the unmistakable sound of moaning and cheap instrumental dance music, and saw a very confused look on my dates face, and porn playing on the TV.

“I just hit play. I don’t know what happened”, she said.

I did. The DVD/VCR combo was still set to VCR, even though I had just put a DVD in. When she hit play, the player started playing the porno tape I had left in the VCR part, rather than the DVD.

I quickly hit Stop, pressed DVD, and then play. “Whoops” was all I could say, and then couldn’t help but start laughing hysterically.

She was cool about it. I think she held back some laughter for fear of embarrassing me.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Awhile back, I had posted my previously written response to the question:  ‘Looking back on your life, of what are you most proud?’ (Read it here.)

After reading the above quote from Theodore Roosevelt, I guess I can sum it all by saying:  

“I am the man in the arena.”

So, when I say I am intimately acquainted with failure, don’t think I’m looking for pity, nor should you feel any for me.  Those who feel sorry for me when they hear of my defeats in the past can be grouped with those who, when told of my various successes, call me ‘lucky’.

It isn’t circumstance that determines the number of times you succeed, or the number of times you fail.  It’s the number of times you try.

http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/trsorbonnespeech.html

Because I like to manage my online presence, I often perform a Google Search on my name to make sure I'm doing a good job of it.  I'm the only Micah Rousey in the world, so if someone Googles my name, I'd rather my blog and software expert sites come up first, rather than all the poker stuff.  Cash in a few major poker tournaments, and your name is plastered all over the internet as a poker player.  It made it look like that was all I did.

Anyway, what I found on my last search was entertaining, and filled my mind with questions:

One for everyone:

http://www.stylefeeder.com/i/299m242m/I-Love-Micah-Rousey-T-Shirt

And of course, for all you special people:

http://www.stylefeeder.com/i/g4lcry2t/Micah-Rousey-Loves-Me-T-Shirt

I know you're all dissapointed these are no longer available, but really, someone did design this to try to sell... and it wasn't me.

(I did figure out why these exist, but I'm not sharing.)

Many of you know already, but I'm in a new venture lately.

Krähe Tourbillon Watches 

Click the above link to check out my site, which is still in development.