I had a nice talk with HAL last week...

[uncle ny]

The person, not the computer.

Hal Richman, inventor of Strat-0-Matic lived in Lake Success, NY for many years. He and his wife became close with my aunt, a neighbor. As a result I started playing with the 1965 cards at the tender age of 8.

Hal attended a family function last week and he and I had a chance to talk. Fun parts of the talk.

* He got a kick out of the fact that HAL is referred to as the "power inside the game" who decides on roster moves, pinch hitting, defensive replacements, etc., while we all sleep and wait for our results. The fact that HAL can refer to both him and the computer from 2001 A Space Odyssey was not lost on him, even though he's in his mid-70's.
* My dear friend Rob L, aka foggyone and wockunfuss, calls me an "idiot savant" because I've had some success here (one world championship and another trip to the finals) without applying advanced mathematics (a al Glenn F) or computer programs (you know who you poop head). Truth is I have a simple way of analyzing cards. Discussed it with HAL and he validated my approach. Unfortunately, I can't share its details.
* Speaking of world champions, he gets a big kick out of the fact that the game's on line and played by players in many countries. It's come a long way since the 40's when he invented the game w/ his buddies in his basement, much to the chagrin of his father.

All in all, we had a nice chat. He seems like a very nice man.

[elpasopesos]

Proof positive that HAL is real....

[tony best]

Too cool!! 8-) A living icon. Better than chatting with a rock star.