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Subject: Sim. Sports Horse Racing -- Week 1313
Posted by: Toral
- Sustainer [2111201313] Wed, Feb 20, 2002, 21:36
Back to regular stuff.
Perhaps my temper hasn't been improved by the fact that this has been the worst week for me in terms of getting horses ready and race placement ever. First the two stars of my stables, Kangaroo Minstrel and Mine Devastation, show up RTG and have to be put back a week. Then there are no races for Chief Northern and Dan's Forest so I have to put them in stakes for which they are dubiously qualified. (Actually they are 9/1 and 15/1, which isn't as bad as I thot). Despite 49+ points, my 2-year-old, Telephoned Appeal doesn't draw in; neither does Annual Ballot, to a $10K claimer. Net results: only 8 horses running and except for 2, they have odds like 17-1 and 22-1.
Then to top it off, I get the MJC Entry Mail notification that a horse I had been tracking is running this week. The name doesn't look familiar...suddenly it dawns on me, Alywagon, who was claimed from me a few weeks ago and who I was looking to claim back possibly, has been bred over. That son of a blank. I checked and the guy wasn't a Claim Bandit.
If Finland beats Canada tonight...I don't even want to think of it.
On a lighter note Dan's Forest makes something of a triumphant return to North America after being sent to Europe by mistake in her second race. She was once put up for auction at her CPU of $35K and got no takers before she turned it around a bit.
Good luck to all.
Toral
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| 1 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Wed, Feb 20, 2002, 22:35
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Ouch, Toral. That's tough. I've been there, mostly.
Interestingly enough, one of my old claim horses is running against Skin Jumping in DC this week -- anyone else remember Our Nooses? He was my first 90+ speed horse! I think Skin Jumping can take him (and the entire field) reasonably easily. Although SJ is sometimes erratic.
Overall, I've got a lot of stuff going on this week. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble with some SRF links, so I can't see all the fields. But highlights:
Secret Society takes to the track for the second time in three weeks after his injury. Hopefully the results will be better this time around. He's in the 3yo Stakes race in Kentucky, rated at 6/1.
New claim acquisition King North is running at 3/5 odds in DC in the 11th (Skin Jumping is in DC in the 7th). King North is going to dominate those turf sprint low-tag races -- as long as I can find them!
I'm excited about Royal with Silver in the 3rd in CT at 3/1 odds. She won her first two races for me, and got beat in her third as she came home lame. Hopefully she'll stay healthy; she's shown great potential (104 speed at 8f D) when healthy. I have no idea if she can handle 10f, however.
Somehow, Sal at the Bell got entered over his head in the Minnesota Stakes. We'll see if he can pull out another against the odds ITM finish like he did last time. He rated at 12/1, but the field is very, very deep.
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| 2 | Toral
Sustainer
ID: 2111201313
Wed, Feb 20, 2002, 22:46
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Wait a minute, I checked again...Alywagon wasn't bred over; he was sex-changed and used in the breeding (making Danzig the dam-sire). That's perfectly OK. Makes me look stupid if the horse is a champion, but I'll be rooting for the horse. He could only run 70-75 at distances, but starting at 7, maybe that's enuf ability.
Whoo, I feel better.
Toral
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| 3 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 10372222
Wed, Feb 20, 2002, 23:35
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I had some problems with my entries into races this week as well. Spent quite a bit of time looking for just the right race for Sixth Deputy this week. I wound up entering him in 2 different races for 4yo's only and he is 7! It's that stupid find races thing. I see the races at 4+ and then don't check to see whether they are 4 only, 5 only, etc. Oh well, changed the train for to next week, and we'll go from there.
Hero Grub on the other hand was entered correctly in a starter allw T race in KY. This is going to be a run-off between the top 4 horses in week 1292. Hero Grub took 2nd there, but is the favorite over the winner? The winner of that race is at 9/5 so it's a tie and then the 3d place horse is 2/1. 4th place horse is 6/1. This should be a good tight race and another good test even though it is a 4 pony race.
Hot Republic is going off at 8/5 in a claimer in Newmarket. I was hoping he didn't go so high in odds, but he drew into the second race and not the first. I'm going to hate losing him, but only because he was a draft horse. Really only had 1 good race.
Pleasant Senor is one of my 4yo home breds I tried. Still not sure why I did that. Going off at 10/1 in NC. I think this horse is under rated right now and am hoping for win here. Going against a horse from the bacup stable. Is that one of Cab's?
Stolen Boundary VA and Dinky Boy MO both have $2k starter allowances against weak fields, 3/1 and 9/2 and should come ITM. There is one good horse in each race 1/5 and 2/5.
Could this be the week for Dusty Colony to break his maiden in NY? 9/5 odds, but moving for a turf try this week.
My favorite 53SP max claimer is entered in NM for a back to back run, hope I don't get labeled a CB member! He was sharp this week and finds a T race and even though he is only 3 I felt I had to do it. Had 6 weeks rest prior so should be pretty fresh.
Erica Bark and Neatly Impregnate are off at 7/1 and 6/1 this week. No real favorite in EB's race. A 4/1, 5/1 and several 6/1 horses in a full field. Should have a good chance there.
So except for screwing up Sixth Deputy I am looking good this week.
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| 4 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Wed, Feb 20, 2002, 23:37
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Yeah, that's perfectly acceptible behavior. I'm kinda surprised someone would do that, however. Please keep us informed of his progress.
Maria's Mon is an OK sire, but not worth a ton, IMO. And then to spend 125 in a broodmare sex change, when the seed horse wasn't any good and the DDS kinda sux . . . But Danzig is a stud. Just not sure I would have paid 200+ credits for that combo. The problem is getting a quality sire. Lots of quality DS and DDS's out there.
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| 5 | cab
Donor
ID: 471471321
Thu, Feb 21, 2002, 05:10
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Yup,Movie dan is mine STL..Don't know whats up with him..I don't recall him being sharp ever since i've had him...
Chief coy heads for a stakes race in MA...The only real highlight for me...I have a bunch of horses entered in msw or claim races but none that look that promising....Most of my Cab runners are taking a well earned rest...They have tried valiantly over the past 3 months to capture the quarterly contest at NWRC...I may still hold onto second,which ain't bad first time starting...
On a slightly off topic....The curiosity got the better of me and i am now running a basketball team!...I have no idea what i am doing but so far i have won all my games so far(2-0 in exhibition and 2-0 in regular season)..The MB is considerably quieter over there at the moment! ;)
Good luck to all runners this week!
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| 6 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 2504849
Thu, Feb 21, 2002, 12:37
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Good luck with the basketabll Cab. I'm pretty sure all ofthese SSB and League4 and League5 type threads in this forum pertain to that.
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| 7 | Toral
Sustainer
ID: 2111201313
Fri, Feb 22, 2002, 08:36
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StLCards' Hot Republic is picked by the Newmarket Tip Sheet ....
Toral
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| 8 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 2504849
Fri, Feb 22, 2002, 10:36
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Thanks Toral, I guess he'll be claimed for sure now. Guess I'll start looking at some horses to claim myself. Maybe a CB horse? Or maybe better, a CB'rs good stable with a decent horse trying to sneak through?
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| 9 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 340491814
Fri, Feb 22, 2002, 13:06
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Dusty Colony is picked by the NY tip sheet to win in Race 3. A $41K 7f MSW turf event. Hope he likes the turf. This will be his first test on it.
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| 10 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Fri, Feb 22, 2002, 14:03
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Sal at the Bell picked to be 4th by the SRF in his Missouri Stakes race, if I read it right. Or maybe he's just arbitrarily listed first in the list of "also ran's", hahaha. Can't say that I blame him. He's got his work cut out for him. . .
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| 11 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Fri, Feb 22, 2002, 20:36
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Secret Society not getting any respect at the SRF, not even picked to place, and not given the long-shot bid. All this despite having the single highest speed rating of any horse in the field. C'mon bargain baby, let's prove the "experts" wrong!
Although honestly, I'm a bit worried about the distance. Getting a bargain baby that can run is hard enough; getting one that can run distance is probably even harder.
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| 12 | Toral
Sustainer
ID: 2111201313
Fri, Feb 22, 2002, 20:52
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I'm just happy thast Dan's Forest wasn't insulted openly in the Arkansas preview.
Toral
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| 13 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Sat, Feb 23, 2002, 14:11
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Ha! Sal at the Bell Cranked his 3rd consecutive 100+ speed rating to sneak into 4th place in 2410! Ha! Eat that Missouri Tipster! :)
Secret Society ate dirt, however. This horse is going back into regular allowance races to see if he can regain his form.
King North and Skin Jumping with wins, but numerous other disappointing performances. Sigh. I had a bunch of horses going, too. Homebred Snow Storm is making me start to question the value of bargain breeds outside of MC's (well, his performances coupled with Secret Society's. But then I look at my 3 300 point homebreds, and I realize that my cheapies are better!!)
Tsultress with a 91 speed over 16f on turf. I wasn't sure she could compete that well at 16f, based on historical performances! I think there is a higher variance to performance speeds in the longer races, likely because the jockeys back off a bit if they can. At any rate, her marathon turf ability means that she might actually be one of the best claim acquisitions I've done! Kind of unexpectedly so . . .
Royal with Silver Can't handle 10f. That's OK. There was a bug in my race program that made that race look like a 9f test for her! Ooops. What is really strange is that her start% was 34% !?!?!?! We shall see what was up with that. Did I have her fixed at a front-running style before?? Sign of injury??? Wish the stables were updated.
Claim bandits or no claim bandits, this game is still fun. 8 top 3 finishes -- not a good percent, but I had some failures because of distance, which always kills %. That's still 24 extra BP this week because of the rule change!
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| 14 | Toral
Sustainer
ID: 2111201313
Sat, Feb 23, 2002, 14:25
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I wasn't expecting much this week, but did get one pleasant surprise. I was expecting another clanger from recent pickup Caustic Hunter so was considering breeding it over immediately, today, for my planned Machiavellian purchase as soon as I got the bad news. She takes the lead instead and wins at 14/1! So she likes turf routes, eh. I thot she should be able to win an MC at something. Now she has to stay around for a while.
Hank's Rattles, caught at wire, wants to know why there aren't any 2-furlong races. Alsterimist has to go into claimers now. I babied her because as a cheapie she ran an MSW for me but facts is facts.
Yeah, I too wish the stables were updated. Like to lick my moves right away and move on...
Toral
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| 15 | Toral
Sustainer
ID: 2111201313
Sat, Feb 23, 2002, 14:32
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Laff. I added a post with a simple period (which seems to be this MB's version of 'butt') to the thread that has the actual quotes from the CBers' message board on it. An alert mod, I guess realizing correctly that someone didn't intend to let the thread fall off the page, deleted the whole thing. Happily I made a copy of it before it disappeared.
Wish I had copied Euan's Cookbook though.
Toral
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| 16 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 10372222
Sat, Feb 23, 2002, 15:33
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Hero Grub with a dominating performance against the same horses that went down to the wire LTO.
Hot Republic also with dominating win in his claimer race. I expected this win, but will hate losing this horse as I'm sure he is gone.
My 3yo claim specialist gets a 3d place at the same track. Raced him back to back so I guess I look like a CB'er now, but that T allowance was to good to pass up.
A couple of 3d's a 4th, and a couple of 5th's with only one or two out of it totally.
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| 17 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Sat, Feb 23, 2002, 19:33
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Rakida's Plug is hitting the breeding shed. I don't know what happened to him, but he was never the same after his pair of injuries. I'm still not 100% convinced that injuries don't negatively affect a horse.
Maybe I shouldn't have used his breeding . . . Dunno. But I bred him with Rainbow Quest -- turf distance. That's a tough Sire/Dam-Sire combo, even if the DDS is weak.
I really wanted a 3yo, but to use the lineage, I could only breed a 2yo. 237 points. OUCH. That stable is a hurtin'.
I acquired a re-tread claimer in the auction, as well as a CB horse that I'm going to try to breed over. I also snagged a CB horse with madman999 that I'll likely breed over, as well.
Showboat stables lost ALL NINE of his horses he had in claimers. I haven't checked to see how his lone Allowance runner placed. hehehe. Unfortunately, he still has about 5 horses in his barns since he got 4 new claimers. Ugh.
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| 18 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 10372222
Sat, Feb 23, 2002, 19:59
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I cleaned up on points in my stlcards3 stable, I guess from my 3yo claimer. I'm up to over 300BP's. Think I went up over 100BP's this week.
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| 19 | Toral
Sustainer
ID: 2111201313
Sat, Feb 23, 2002, 20:03
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Pedroza stables ("I will continue to manage my stables as I see fit.") took a claiming hit too, I believe from looking at his SSS record for the week and comparing it to his current holdings. He too picked up replacements.
Toral
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| 20 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 10372222
Sat, Feb 23, 2002, 21:02
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I decided to breed a 3yo myself.
Put in for "Clear Account" Cryptoclearance x Private Account x Blade. 290BP's
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| 21 | Toral
Sustainer
ID: 2111201313
Sat, Feb 23, 2002, 21:13
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Very nice. I like Cryptoclearance a lot. Good luck with the little one.
Machiavellian disappeared sometime in late afternoon (not that I was looking to use him today). He seems to disappear around the 170 mark, and when the time comes I'll try to get him at about there.
Toral
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| 22 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 10372222
Sat, Feb 23, 2002, 21:19
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Toral, I think that as soon as people get their auction or claim horses for the week, there is a rush on breeding on Saturday. I would plan to breed on Friday night or something.
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| 23 | Toral
Sustainer
ID: 2111201313
Sat, Feb 23, 2002, 21:26
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Well, Machiavellian was there on Saturday afternoon right after the races simmed, and he has been around till about that time before, so I think it's possible, and I don't mind saving 16 hours of points. Of course when the free 750 are handed out the demand curve may change...but I'm not in a big hurry. Keep up with it while it's at 2, and then hit as soon as it declines to 1 (left)...if other people aren't doing the same thing.
Toral
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| 24 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Sat, Feb 23, 2002, 23:29
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OMG! I almost forgot to do the rest of my breeding tonight! So caught up in the calendar fiasco . . . I mean, get this . . .
3 months = 12 sim weeks
6 months = 25 sim weeks
9 months = 38 sim weeks
12 months = 53 sim weeks
I mean, WTF? Why not 13 sim weeks per every 3 months???
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| 26 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Sun, Feb 24, 2002, 02:20
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Man, I can't believe I did what I just did. I was looking through the sires, and saw that Summer Squall had 2 2yo's and 1 3yo left! I couldn't resist!!!!
So, I spent 411 points with Madman4 to breed Saxon Dusk or Agrippina. Dang, hope I spelled that right. At any rate, Summer Squall x Woodman x Nijinski II -- 3 yo. That horse should be a beast, just hope it has the speed.
I then did what I WANTED to do. Well, sort of. I wanted a 3yo for Madman999, too. But the pickings are slim. Since I didn't want to take Toral's Machiavellian, I went instead with a 2yo -- Summer Squall x Red Ransom x Woodman = Red Summer or Red Rose. Cost me 152 + 124 + 72 = 348. OUCH. That stable is getting slim on BP's, and I have too many young horses. I have 2 2yo's in there (OUCH), although both are top of the line breeding types. I have a bum 3 year old crop -- Miswaki Music which is going into Maiden Claimers ASAP and Just Another T -- a claim gamble.
However, I'm hoping solid low-tag starters like Tow's Terms and King North keep that stable afloat. Plus, Light Jupiter SHOULD be good, but he's slumping. Zarb's Pass might start pulling in some Claim points. So, I think I'm OK with that stable, although I'm a bit slim right now with the crappy 3 yo class.
The bigger issue is Madman3, since I MUST breed a 3yo with that stable, since my point earners suck in that one -- no decent starter-tags. However, at the same time, I only have 280 points left . . . Sigh . . .
OK, just got it done. I took out Space Boulder CB and replaced him by Meteor Shower (Christmas Storm x Beaudelaire x Touching Wood). 25 points (actually 23, but minimum is now 25). I'll post these in the breeding forum. I figured I'd go cheapie breeding and enter this fella in 5-10K MC's from the beginning. Hmmm. Actually, I may put him in 3.5K MC if I can find one. If he's a runner, then this gives him an AWESOME tag for a week. I'm too scared of 2.5 or 2.0K MC's, even for a FTO horse.
Dang, I've done a lot of breeding lately! I think this week was good, breeding-wise. I'd bet that until the bonus BP's come out, the breeding might be a bit slower for 3 yo's. . . If nothing else, all this breeding means that I SHOULD have a few more runners again this week, since every horse you breed Saturday night LIKELY means that you can turn around and race them immediately . . .
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| 27 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Sun, Feb 24, 2002, 02:46
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BTW, Toral, Machiavellian has bottomed out at 121.
Were you trying to breed a 2yo or 3yo???
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| 28 | Toral
Sustainer
ID: 2111201313
Sun, Feb 24, 2002, 10:06
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You should have grabbed that Machiavellian, Madman! I'm not breeding this week -- no slots -- just following the ticker to see when they usually disappear. And I was after a 2-year-old anyway, so you could have grabbed the 3!
Congrats on the great Summer Squall pickups.
BTW the site is down for me. Anyone else having problems?
Toral
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| 29 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Sun, Feb 24, 2002, 11:13
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Site's OK for me.
No biggie, Toral. I was debating which to use, and the fact you were looking at Machiavellian just made it easier to go Summer Squall. SS is a top tier sire, IMO, and he was absurdly cheap. Although Machiavellian at 121 . . . wow.
Right now (actually probably the past month) has been a great time to breed cheap 3 yo's, I think.
Next year, this is going to be my strategy (assuming the rules don't change -- LOL!!)
1) Breed 2 yo's starting in July. Continue breeding that class of horse for basically a year, or until each stable has two top tier newbies.
In other words, keep breeding three year olds through the end of the Triple Crown cycle, basically.
This is the strategy I AM pursuing with Madman4. Although after the 411 point hit, I'm down to 380. C'mon Mike. Give me those 650 BPs! (Madman4 hasn't been around for a year, yet).
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| 30 | Toral
Sustainer
ID: 2111201313
Sun, Feb 24, 2002, 11:32
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Hmm, can't get in. Restarted computer, resynchronized modem, still can't get in.
My stables are still there I trust?
Toral
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| 31 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 2504849
Sun, Feb 24, 2002, 13:28
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Yeah Toral, your stables are still there at least the 3 that I checked.
I got my new horses, both fillies. I was hoping for at least one colt.
What does this mean?
Atticus x Forty Niner x Riverman = $5K CPU.
Cryptoclearance x Private Account x Blade = $2,983,212 CPU.
Is it because one I used credits and one I used BP's?
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| 32 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Sun, Feb 24, 2002, 13:52
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Yep. Any horse you breed with credits has a 5K CPU value. The 2.983 million reflects the BP cost if you didn't use credits.
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| 33 | Toral
Sustainer
ID: 2311301516
Sun, Feb 24, 2002, 14:06
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Thanx for checking. Site works OK at my sister's place; must be my computer or rpovider.
Toral
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| 34 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Sun, Feb 24, 2002, 14:30
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Anyone know what happened to Goatlocker or JKaye? This group is kinda getting a bit small (although high quality, of course: ) ) -- especially with cab not being around a bunch.
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| 35 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Mon, Feb 25, 2002, 00:59
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UPDATES TO THE SSS!
This is turning into one seriously powerful tool . . .
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| 36 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 10372222
Mon, Feb 25, 2002, 03:07
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Goatlocker said he has a bunch of things going on and had to drop this at least for now. Said he might look at his original stable again if he can remember the password.
Madman - did you get rid of the virus in the SSS?
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| 37 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Mon, Feb 25, 2002, 12:53
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StlCards -- actually, I never found it. Please download it, if you can, and check it.
I described the mess I went through trying to find a virus with the posting on the SSHR website. I really don't see how it could have one. AVG AND NORTON both didn't see anything.
It might have been the JS/Seeker virus doing something weird. I *DID* have that virus on my machine, although it didn't *appear* to have infected anything or be related to those particular files in any way that I could determine.
This was an entirely new build -- after I had re-done my virus definitions, etc., -- so even if the previous one was infected, this one shouldn't be.
However, someone just emailed me with a tiny bug. So you may want to wait until I post a message confirming the fix -- probably after 10:00 PM CST tonight.
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| 38 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 2504849
Mon, Feb 25, 2002, 13:06
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I just followed your link and downloaded the full thing. Ran a scan on the zipped file.
Scan type: Manual Scan
Event: Virus Found!
Virus name: W32.Weird
File: C:\Downloads\SSSversion4.zip>>Wint351.ex_>>Wint351.exE
Location: Quarantine
Computer: PAR3
User: kes
Action taken: Clean failed : Quarantine succeeded :
Date found: Mon Feb 25 12:23:03 2002
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| 39 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 2504849
Mon, Feb 25, 2002, 13:21
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Here is a link to the symantec description about W32.weird.
It says it affects windows, but may not properly infect windows 2000. Maybe your running a Mac or Linnux?
This link tells how to remove the virus. Requires to boot in dos or a windows start up disk. This virus can create a backdoor into your system.
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| 40 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Mon, Feb 25, 2002, 13:31
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StlCards -- something very strange is going on here. In that description of the virus, it says that I should have a 10K, hidden, executable in my c:\windows\ folder, yes? I don't have such a thing!. Very frustrating.
I didn't know that W32.weird is the same as W95.weird. I *DID* have W95.weird on my system for awhile a few months ago, but AVG supposedly cleaned it out. It was a big pain. And I *DID* have a 10K hidden executable on my machine back then.
Windows 98 here. Any other possibilities? I almost wonder if my wint351 file WAS corrupted awhile back, and left some sort of marker that Norton picks up on. Maybe AVG cleaned the virus, but a file change was left that Norton picks up on? But then, why didn't the Yahoo Norton thing pick up on it?
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| 41 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 2504849
Mon, Feb 25, 2002, 14:32
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I'm not sure that cleaning the virus from your computer necessarily would clean all of your infected files, although I am by no means a virus specialist. The fact that Norton said I couldn't clean the file in my mind means I have to delete it and start from a fresh copy that is not infected. That may or may not be the case, but I'm surprised your AV software doesn't detect the virus. Have you tried downloading the file from the site in the zipped format and scanning it for a virus without unzipping it?
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| 42 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Mon, Feb 25, 2002, 14:49
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Yep, I had done that.
Regardless, I isolated the two files that are in question. They were two files that AVG had CLEANED from the W95.weird virus that I had awhile back. I REPLACED those files with originals off my VB CD.
I've just now re-posted a NEW complete version. It will hopefully work. In the process of replacing those files, I may have erased a dependency file that one of the DLL's needs, so I'm not 100% sure this new version will work. But I'm 100% certain this new version is virus free.
P.S. Richard Smith from lobo13 also downloaded both the compact and complete versions and found no virus using MacAfee. He hasn't downloaded this latest re-posting yet, however. But if the last one was virus free- this one definitely should be.
I'm pretty sure this is a false positive because AVG didn't clean those files in a way that Norton trusted.
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| 43 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 2504849
Mon, Feb 25, 2002, 15:07
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Madman,
I downloaded again and found no virus (or false indication thereof) this time. Hopefully it is all intact with that .dll. I don't have time to install it right now, but can try later tonight if you want me to test it.
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| 44 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 2504849
Mon, Feb 25, 2002, 15:08
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p.s. - I downloaded the compact version at home a few weeks ago and had no problem with it and am running Norton there too.
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| 45 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Mon, Feb 25, 2002, 17:02
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Cool. Yes, please try to install the Complete version, just in case.
The "Compact" version only has MY code in it. Yes, a virus could attach itself, but that would occur only in a situation where my whole machine was horribly infected, and I'd definitely know it if it was THAT bad!
I'm pretty sure the deal was the AVG "patching" of those two setup files. Norton is very sensitive, apparently!
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| 46 | Toral
Sustainer
ID: 2111201313
Mon, Feb 25, 2002, 19:08
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Madman34 Yes, we are getting a bit thin in numbers, aren't we? When I had my connection problems yesterday (apparently due to a server router prob somewhere along the way) and thot I would be the next to go, I wondered if we weren't seeing a reenactment of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None."
Well, I put my body on the line by sending out invitational OT posts on all gurupie MBs last year, when the horses were suddenly replenished (taking a hit from The Mad Thread Rater, who gave all my threads a 1.0). A couple people joined -- winmiller, twarpy -- but I guess they "did not persevere", as the HR lingo goes. Chris tried to set up once, admiring the intensity of Madman's posts, but the stable never came through. (we missed a great addition there, altho I think Chris has apparently been more interested in his first undergrad year since Sept. Surprise!) Alas. (Has happened to me too. That's why there is a toral2 and a toral 6 and nothing in between). The game is great. I suspect that Horse Racing is too foreign to many for it to stick. we need to grow enough to reach what Gladwell called in his recent book, "The Tipping Point", where this great game is cool among gurupies.
What to do now? I must note we're entering a bad time to try to get new entrants to games. We just passed the best time to attract general sports fans' interest -- the dead period between the Super Bowl and the start of Spring Training. With BB about to go, and the research involved therein, this is a terrible time to be trolling for new members.
I suppose, Madman, that you could insert a free plug for the game at the beginning of all your free dispensation of SW/TSN knowledge on the baseball thread (absolutely first-class stuff, of course). (BTW, are you playing the Ultimate game this year? I am on the bubble.)
We could create a residency-type-thing for gurupies with special races -- cab mentioned something like this last year -- and I would shell out some dough. But we really need more people to make it interesting, even for any of us.
We could offer free guidance in initial stable-selecting and subsequent race placement to any gurupies who wanted to join. But my experience from the chat room (where I recruited vigourously last year) has been that gurupies don't really want that kind of leading-by-the-hand. We are gurupies, you know!
OK, Madman, since you brot up the issue, what's the solution? Forget about that SSS thing for a moment and tweaking it so that it will be able to tell you who was 3rd at 2nd call in the 8th fastest 8.5 yielding turf non-restricted <$15K claimer in week 827. What *about* the people problem? You're the most respected guy on the boards -- what do *you* suggest?
Personally I'm suite happy to be able to chat with you and StLCards aboot the game -- I still want to look at your new-breds, and StL Cards' breeding explanations, closely. But I agree, it is disconcerting to be so small, and perhaps this board is now taking up too much of your (Madman's) time. A shame from my view, but I understand.
Ah well. I'll be here to turn out the lights, anyway.
Toral
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| 47 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 2504849
Mon, Feb 25, 2002, 19:23
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Toral I think some found the basketball sim more entertaining. Not big into hoops myself. I am also on the bubble about Ultimate Baseball. I am stretched pretty thin as it is time wise. I think we can woo Goatlocker back. I asked him on the Golf boards and he hinted he might give his original stable a look-see. My previous post on the golf boards about this game received a less than enthusiastic response.
This seems to be one of those things that you just have to play before you realize how much you enjoy it. And to think that there aren't even prizes offered. It sure would be nice to get a bunch of gurupies together. I've taken a bit of refuge in the MO residency where there is a bit of interaction on tbe boards, but not much.
I would think golfers would love this sim. It is a nice parallel with real golf. In golf it just takes one good shot to keep you coming back each week. In the sim it is one nice race, claim, breeding, auction, etc.
I've heard about the book The Tipping Point. Is it any good?
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| 48 | Toral
Sustainer
ID: 2111201313
Mon, Feb 25, 2002, 19:53
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StLCards Yes the hoops sim is entertaining -- I came here from there myself. I like it myself very much even tho I don't follow college hoops either. And it's not that hard. Blank, if I can finish 23-1 and have the #2 ranked team in a 256-team-league in the first season where I recruited all the players, it *can't* be that hard. The HR game is a lot more complex -- although one can enjoy it at whatever level of horseflesh one has, whereas there's no fun in going 2-22 in a sim hoops season (I assume. I've never finished under .500 even over about 12 seasons now with 2 teams.) Maybe it doesn't offer the immediate payoffs -- I could take a team to the top in 4 game-seasons (36 weeks) there, but I don't expect to have a Bluegrass Derby contender for quite a while. Maybe there is a "patience" factor in gaming generally -- with Hoops at one end and golf and horse racing at the other.
The Tipping Point is a great fast read. I mentioned it in a post near the end of the Politics Forum thread "Technopoly" in our somewhat-disastrous attempt at a book discussion group there. A couple other people chimed in to agree that it is a great read (i.e., probably would have been a better selection than the one we picked). Well-written and makes you think -- altho if you think it over, there's a lot of holes in it. But it has original ideas, and this plus very fine writing makes a great read.
Toral
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| 49 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 2504849
Mon, Feb 25, 2002, 20:12
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Madman
I downloaded the SSS and tried to install it to my D drive on a Windows NT machine that is still a virgin to the SSS. The setup program seems to get hung up after I say install. After a few minutes I killed the process and the SSS seemed to be installed, but when I try to import a raceout.zip file I get Run-time error '9'. Subscript out of range. I have the .mdb file there and have access '97 installed on my C drive. I have tried this twice with the same result.
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| 50 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Tue, Feb 26, 2002, 00:07
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StlCards That error could be associated with an ODBC problem. I'm not sure I follow the C: or D: drive issues. I'd first try to download the additional database drivers from Microsoft -- pretend like you don't have Access '97 installed.
Someone on the boards *I THINK* just got it to install OK, so I'm not really sure what is going on.
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Toral I'm not going to bother with baseball, except for the political gurupies. Don't have the time. HR has become my main game. I'm content with that. You can build your own "team", and play year round in a dynamic environment. Much better than the cheesy SW torment of years past.
About the people problem, I really don't know. I doubt I have that much "respect" -- I haven't been around much at all for a year now. And I do not intend to show up too much in the baseball forum or elsewhere. Just not worth the effort, IMHO. There were some problems I had with Gurupies last year, and I would guess that they would continue to haunt me in any sort of public involvement. Yeah, I could buck the few and hang with the many. But, honestly, I do this for fun only, and a few bad seeds can wreck the enjoyment of the whole thing, especially with personal attacks and bad memories.
I don't really know what to do. I've thought of starting a Guru-track residency site or something. But yes, we really do need more than 3. If we could get JKaye and Goatlocker back, I think that would be enough for a credible start.
There were a couple of others who professed interest.
Another possible activity would be to go it the reverse way -- bring people to Gurupie land. The obvious problem is that you can get people that you don't know a lot about. Further, I'm a bit worried about making public (to the sim hr community) some of the comments I've made on these boards!! :)
I could also make these boards the default SSS troubleshooting guide, or even post statistics here and link it from the main message board. I think we could get some reasonably prominent gurupies to get involved.
The main requirement for a functional residency, however, seems to be a MB, yes? And these boards would be the natural candidates. So, any new recruits would have to become part of the community here first. So, maybe we should actually try to recruit for Ultimate Baseball or whatever, and bring HR people here. Then, if we can get a few, start up a residency?
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| 51 | StLCards
Sustainer
ID: 10372222
Tue, Feb 26, 2002, 00:21
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Madman As long as others are gettin it to install then I'm satisfied. I was just testing it out and planned to delete when I was done anyway. The C or D drive issue shouldn't be a problem that I know of, just thought I would mention it in case you had something hard coded to expect the C:drive or something. I'm not much of a programmer myself.
I can try again tomorrow at work where I have the fast connection.
Trying to bring Sim people here, hmm. Fletch didn't seem to last long and left us with a stable. I've almost got it to 20 races now to dump the horses. Could be some sim people looking for a new home with the CB thing. I have mixed feelings about it. Some would be great to have here, but I would hate to spend all my time arguing and defending myself if you know what I mean. That is the few but they seem to be the first to come. I guess I'm neutral on it. It would be nice to have more on board here.
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| 52 | Madman
ID: 21020124
Tue, Feb 26, 2002, 01:12
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Yeah, the history of HR to Gurupie stables isn't good.
I was thinking maybe private inquiries whenever possible. Find out if they like fantasy sports in general. Then point them here. Zgreat would be a natural first start, I think. Maybe others -- few of the more stats-oriented players, or programmers.
One critical issue is what we'd want this group to become -- do we want to continue to post our weekly race cardings? If so, new gurupie blood would be the better place to start, since we could give advice. More experienced external players aren't necessarily going to want to spend a lot of time doing that, until they would get to know us.
One alternative would be to also form a rough "Think Tank". Some of the Stats I've been posting on the regular message boards should maybe be located here where they don't get instantaneously lost. They are very "Guru-like". We could make the Guru's site here the HQ for statistical analysis of the sim. That would be attractive to a number of stats-oriented players, and might give us a comparative advantage that would make this group grow.
But I think, once again, that sort of angle should be mainly by invite only at first until we could get a nucleus of maybe 10 or so solid posters, instead of 3!
One thing I really like about these boards is that they are "away" from the sim. I can post what I really think and feel without worrying about people snooping. I'd like to keep that feeling. Which may be tough to do if we try to grow.
Just thinking out loud.
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