Shaking the Cobwebs Loose

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As the artist formerly known as the Saratoga Resident and I walked out of First Niagara Center last night after a gutty Sabres OT win, he poked me and asked why I haven't posted in a while. I told him I needed a little break in the action and was just taking a short hiatus and would be getting back to business this weekend and dust off the ole blog.

Sometimes it's good to do a little refresh from the blog and the ponies just to maintain perspective on real life and the job that pays the bills. I really haven't read much of anything in the last few weeks, and other than half-heartily playing some informal contests, I haven't made a wager since the Delta Jackpot Stakes (it was a good one, by the way).

I did enter both NTRA free contests this weekend, but as I went to handicap this morning, became annoyed that they did not supply past performances for the contest races. What's up with that? I'm probably not going to wager today so I didn't feel like downloading them from my TwinSpires account, so went searching at the TBA's Past Performances Search Engine and found seven of the ten races. The three races I couldn't find, were of course, one at each of the three tracks (Aqueduct, Hawthorne and Hollywood) of the contest races. Just plain out annoying. I seem to remember that they typically did provide them in past free contests. Looks like I'll be heading over to TwinSpires later.

I enjoyed reading Brock's post on Twitter last night on the way home from the game. He calls the RTIP to task about teaching the doings of social media and found it to be an entertaining post.

On a personal front, I was named the 21st president of a local charitable foundation, the Buffalo Renaissance Foundation, a group that has donated over $500,000 over our 30-year history. I've been a member of the group since 2004, and the treasurer (resident bean counter) since 2005. I'll be serving a two-year term and am looking forward to the challenge. Check out our website and some of the good things we have going on in Buffalo.

Two Bills home games left, and it's now all about the entertainment and social aspect. Surprisingly we are 4-2 at home (counting Toronto), but just haven't been able to get it done on the road. We have our arch rival Dolphins next weekend and the almighty Tebow on Christmas Eve (we have no chance).

I need to read more. I need to follow Twitter less. It's a great tool, but man can it be a distraction. Instead of reading the wonderful racing book collection I have. Looks like I have my first resolution ready for the new year.

I have had time to keep my Friday News' online column going. This week's post is my annual holiday shopping ideas (I know everyone does one, but I started it a few years ago and I like searching around for gifts that you wouldn't necessarily think about).

I did some self analysis on my wagering habits in 2011, and found a few interesting tidbits. The Pick-3 was my most successful wager and my average bet on it was $16. What troubled me however, was finding out that I didn't fare as well on my Pick-4 wagering, but when I looked to my average bet there, it offered a clue as to perhaps why I hadn't been successful. My average Pick-4 wager was $15, a dollar less than my Pick-3. That tells me I'm probably not investing enough or spreading enough in my Pick-4 wagering and "cheaping out" way too much. I did stick with certain tracks (something I promised myself I would do) and didn't stray to unfamiliar venues as much as I have in the past.

OK, time to start getting the tree up...enjoy the holiday weekend, and good luck.