The Libloggery

2009 Major League Promotion/Relegation Results

Now that the regular season for Major League Baseball is complete, it is time to recap the hypothetical divisions and apply the promotion/relegation rules I proposed in previous posts here and here. To summarize the rules:

Top two teams in each 1st division play for spot in the World Series.
Top two teams in each second division will be promoted to the first division next year.
Bottom two teams in each first division will be relegated to the second division next year.
Third place second division team will play third to last place first division team for a spot in next year's first division.
If the first division team in the fourth to last spot has a losing record and the fourth place second division team has a winning record, they will play for a spot in next year's first division. Same rule applies for fifth and sixth place second division teams and fifth and sixth to last first division teams.

American League First Division				National League First Division
Team	Wins	Losses	gb	Team	Wins	Losses	gb
NY Yankees	103	59	0.0	LA Dodgers	95	67	0.0
LA Angels	97	65	6.0	Philadelphia	93	69	2.0
Boston	95	67	8.0	St. Louis	91	71	4.0
Minnesota	87	76	16.5	Florida	87	75	8.0
Tampa Bay	84	78	19.0	Chicago Cubs	83	78	11.5
Milwaukee	80	82	23.0	Cincinnati	78	84	17.0
Chicago Sox	79	83	24.0	Houston	74	88	21.0
Toronto	75	87	28.0	NY Mets	70	92	25.0
American League Second Division				National League Second Division
Team	Wins	Losses	gb	Team	Wins	Losses	gb
Texas	87	75	0.0	Colorado	92	70	0.0
Detroit	86	77	1.5	San Francisco	88	74	4.0
Seattle	85	77	2.0	Atlanta	86	76	6.0
Oakland	75	87	12.0	San Diego	75	87	17.0
Kansas City	65	97	22.0	Arizona	70	92	22.0
Cleveland	65	97	22.0	Pittsburgh	62	99	29.5
Baltimore	64	98	23.0	Washington	59	103	33.0

Promoted/Relegated Teams This year the Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, and New York Mets would all be relegated to the second divisions while the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, and San Franscisco Giants would be promoted to the first divisions.

Promotional Playoffs In the American League, the Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Rangers would play for a spot in the 2010 first division. As these teams did not meet during the regular seasons, their records against common opponents will be used. Milwaukee was 19-30 while Seattle was 29-27 against Colorado, San Diego, Arizona, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Franscisco, Minnesota, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland, and Detroit. Seattle had the better record and thus win promotion to the first division while Milwaukee is relegated to the second divison.

The Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds would meet in the National League Promotional Series. The Reds went 6-3 against the Braves during the regular season and, despite having a losing record, retain membership in the first division while the Braves remain in the second division.

League Championship Series The American League Championship Series would be played between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels. This series was the actual one played this year and the Yankees won it 4-2.

In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies would play for a spot in the World Series. Again, this series was actually played with the Phillies winning 4-1.

World Series The World Series in this hypothetical promotion/relegation league would be played between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies. Since this matchup is this year's actual World Series, the hypothetical and real champions are both the New York Yankees.*

In summary, the table below shows the teams in the 1st and 2nd divisions for each league for the 2010 season.

2009 Major League Baseball Magic Numbers

Often towards the end of each baseball season references to the "magic" numbers of teams in play-off contention become more frequent. I thought I would get a head start and create a table listing the numbers as the season progresses. The table lists the magic numbers for a team winning its division as well as the magic numbers for winning the league wild card. The table is updated at 20 after each hour between 3 p.m. and 3 a.m. EDT.

Time for Clinton to end her campaign

Given Hillary's Clinton's recent comments concerning the assasination of Robert Kennedy in 1968, it's become obvious she is not fit for the presidency. Here is what she said:

"My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it."

First of all, these comments are insensitive, not only for hinting, whether intentional or not, at the prospect of the assasination of a political opponent but also given the recent diagnosis of Robert Kennedy's brother Ted with brain cancer. There is no excuse for such a comment. However, even giving Clinton the benefit of the doubt here, taking her at her word that she was only invoking historical references, is difficult. She is being intellectually dishonest.

In 1968, only 13 states held primaries. California, being one of the obvious "big states", held their primary on June 5. New York held it's primary after California, demonstrating that the primary election calendar extended beyond this year's end date. In 1992, again the primary calendar was extended beyond this year's end date, with "big states" such as Ohio and California, holding primaries in late May or June. Thus, if it's the "big states" that really matter to her, they're already finished this year, as she should be.

On a side note, Clinton continues to talk about seating the delegations of Florida and Michigan because she wants their votes to be counted, claiming that not counting those votes disenfranchises millions of people. On the other hand, she has claimed that if the primary were winner-take-all she would already be the nominee. But, doesn't electing delegates in a winner-take-all fashion disenfranchise those who voted for the losing candidate? Isn't it more fair to allocate delegates based on the number of votes, so that the votes of everyone counts for something at the nominating convention?

I would think that for someone as smart as Mrs. Clinton that it's not to hard to understand. The reason the nominating battles went so late in previous years is because a large percentage of people had not yet voted and delegates had not yet been awarded when the calendar turned to June. The two examples that Clinton cites for long primary battles, nevermind the historical problems that polictical parties have had reuniting after a protracted nomination battle, are misleading at best and dishonest at worst. It's time for Clinton to end her campaign, or if she won't do it gracefully, for the superdelegates to align behind Obama and end this campaign for her.

Revote in Michigan and Florida?

Although I am an admitted Obama supporter, I'll try to form an unbiased opinion about the situation with seating delegates from Michigan and Florida. First of all, it is obviously unfair to use the results of the initial primaries. This is not only unfair to the candidates who pledged not to campaign in those states, but also to the voters who decided not to go to the polls after being told their votes wouldn't count. Secondly, using the initial results sets a precedent for future primary seasons so that other states may begin moving up their primaries with the expectation that their delegates would eventually be seated at the convention. So, is the answer a revote?

No, I do not believe revote is the solution either. Again, that sets a bad precedent that if you mess up big time, it's okay, you get a do over. The anger toward the national party leaders is misdirected, intentionally so by leaders in each state. The voters in Michigan and Florida should be upset with their state representatives and leaders who held the primaries early despite warnings from the national party that doing so would mean their delegates would not be seated. Thus the voters in each state should remove from office those that disenfranchised them from having a voice in the Democratic Presidential nomination process and not direct anger at the national party leaders.

However, it seems likely a revote will occur. Should this happen, I believe that Michigan and Florida still must suffer some consequences for not following the rules they had originally agreed to. The punishment handed down by the Republican party seems appropriate, halving the number of delegates for each state. So, even with a revote Michigan and Florida still should lose some delegates for this season to send the message to other states in the future that the rules everyone agreed to should be followed.

Am I voting for Obama or against Clinton?

The Democratic Party's presidential nomination process has captured the attention of the country, leaving many of us, myself included, hungry for every tidbit of information that can be found. Not so long ago in 2004 a young and charismatic Illinois State Senator by the name of Barack Obama delivered an inspiring speech at the Democratic National Convention. With this speech, he burst onto the national scene and whispers of a potential presidential run started almost immediately. I for one was optimistic that he would run, and in February of 2007 my hope came true.

Did Hillary Clinton speak at the 2004 convention? I can't recall, and if she did it certainly wasn't memorable. And while it does take more than speeches to get anything accomplished, a leader must first capture the attention of those they are empowered to lead. Messages of inspiration, unification, and hope are necessary in this time of economic turmoil and war and only one major candidate is providing those for our nation.

It is amazing that the Obama campaign has positioned itself where it is. Barack took on the establishment of the party and the most powerful couple in the party, the Clintons. Certainly their platforms are very similar and I don't agree with every political stance they have. The primary difference, though, is the message that each candidate is sending to the electorate. Obama is spreading inspiration, hope, and leadership in a campaign that seems aimed at putting our country back on track. Clinton is spreading misinformation, venom, and doubletalk in a campaign that seems aimed more at accomplishing Clinton's ambition to become the first female President than at doing good for the country.

I would have preferred a more libertarian candidate who would respect the Constitution and ensure civil liberties were protected. However, I believe given the times that Obama is the best candidate of those that can reasonably expect to win the presidency. He has promised to "discard Bush's unconstitutional executive orders"1 and statements like that have reassured me. More than that, however, I prefer a candidate who seems to respect the intelligence of the voters. Obama's willingness to cross party lines to get things accomplished (well established by his record in the Illinois State Senate and US Senate) combined with his message of hope, the intelligence with which he speaks, and the respect he gives to voters makes him the first Presidential candidate for whom I want to cast a vote for rather than voting against another.

That being said, the way in which the Clinton campaign has been run makes it impossible for me to ever cast a vote for her. It has been a campaign of hypocrisy, misinformation, religious intolerance, racism, and the same fear-mongering employed by the Bush administration. It started with Bill Clinton's attempt to cast Obama as "the black candidate" by comparing him to Jesse Jackson and has continued with Clinton's relative silence to Geraldine Ferraro's comments that Obama is only in the position that he is in because he's black. The anger that spewed forth at one of Obama's advisors calling Clinton a "monster" seems all the more hypocritical in light of one of Clinton's advisor's racist comments. The lack of action on removing Ferraro, a member of her campaign finance committee, from her campaign speaks loud and clear to her ambition to become president at all costs rather than to an ambition doing real good for our country.

Obama hasn't been perfect himself in this campaign, but he has certainly carried himself with more dignity than Clinton has. Our leaders should not resort to crying and hypocritical "shame on you" comments or claims of political experience that they really don't have (see her claims of international diplomacy forays,2 one of which ironically includes a speech).

As for the question of experience? It's certainly true Clinton has more experience living in Washington than does Obama, but then so does Bush and that hasn't made him a good president that last few years. Furthermore, if we're voting for experience that John McCain should be our choice, not Clinton. And what would Clinton say of the charismatic, inspiring young Democratic elected president in 1992? Someone by the name of Bill Clinton who had zero elected office experience in Washington prior to his Presidency. Which of the Senators did she support over her husband that year, Tom Harkin, Bob Kerrey, Eugene McCarthy, or Paul Tsongas?

Thus my support, my vote, and a modest contribution from me are going to Barack Obama. It will be my first vote for a Presidential candidate rather than against another. Admittedly, it is his inspirational messages of hope that drew me to his campaign, and I believe he deserves a chance to deliver on these promises. He might not succeed, but I think that's all he and his supporters are asking for: a chance to do something good for our country.

References:
1. Newsvine
2. Seattle Times

Major League Baseball 2007 Relegation Report

Now the the 2007 Major League Baseball regular season is over, let's see how the final standings play out given the promotion/relegation criteria I previously proposed .

The final standings are shown in the table below.

American League 2007 First Division
Team	Record	GB
Boston Red Sox	96-66	-
Los Angeles Angels	94-68	2
New York Yankees	94-68	2
Detroit Tigers	88-74	8
Toronto Blue Jays	83-79	13
Minnesota Twins	79-83	17
Oakland Athletics	76-86	20
Chicago White Sox	72-90	24

National League 2007 First Division
Team	Record	GB
Philadelphia Phillies	89-73	-
San Diego Padres	89-73	-
New York Mets	88-74	1
Los Angeles Dodgers	82-80	7
St. Louis Cardinals	78-84	11
Houston Astros	73-89	16
Cincinnati Reds	72-90	17
San Francisco Giants	71-91	18

American League 2007 Second Division
Cleveland Indians	96-66	-
Seattle Mariners	88-74	12
Milwaukee Brewers	83-79	13
Texas Rangers	75-87	21
Baltimore Orioles	69-93	27
Kansas City Royals	69-93	27
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	66-96	30

National League 2007 Second Division
Arizona Diamondbacks	90-72	-
Colorado Rockies	90-72	-
Chicago Cubs	85-77	5
Atlanta Braves	84-78	6
Washington Nationals	73-89	17
Florida Marlins	71-91	19
Pittsburgh Pirates	68-94	22

In the American League, the Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox would be relegated to the second divsion with the Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners promoted to the first division. The Minnesota Twins would face the Milwaukee Brewers in a playoff series for the final first division spot. Since the Twins and Brewers split their season series 3-3, we'll use aggregate runs to declar the winner. The Brewers outscored the Twins by the thinnest of margins, 34-33, in their six games together and thus the Brewers would win promotion to the American League first division.

The American League championship series would be played between Boston Red Sox and either the Los Angeles Angels or New York Yankees. The Angels went 6-3 against the Yankees in the regular season and so would have met the Red Sox in the ALCS. Since the Red Sox and Angels met in an actual Division Series, I'll use those results to decide the AL champ. Boston swept the Angels 3-0, and so would be the American League represenative in the World Series, as they actually were.

The National League presents a compelling case for reassessing the criteria for promotion and relegation. Half the teams in the first division had losing records, while over half in the lower division had winning records. One can certainly argue that more than three teams from the lower division could improve enough to deserve promotion in a given year. Thus, the following amendment is made to the promotion/regulation criteria: Any team outside of the bottom 3 in the first division with a losing record will be forced into a playoff with team from the second division, provided there is corresponding second division team outside of the top 3 with a winning record. Thus, the St. Louis Cardinals would face the Atlanta Braves in an additional playoff series with a spot in the 2008 first divison going to the winner.

The Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants are relegated to the National League's second division while the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies are promoted to the first division. The Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros would participate in a playoff for a spot in the first division, as would the Cardinals and Braves due to the above mentioned amendment. The Cubs went 8-7 against the Astros, winning promotion to the first division while forcing the Astros to be relegated to the second division. The Cardinals were 4-3 against the Braves thus preserving their spot in the first division and keeping the Braves in the second division for another year.

The National League championship series would be played between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres. The Phillies went 4-3 against San Diego in the regular season, and so the Phillies would meet the Red Sox in the World Series. Since these teams never met in the regular season, records against common opponents must be used. Against common opponents* Boston was 43-28 while Philadelphia was 29-35. Thus Boston is my hypothetical World Series Champion, and for the first year my hypothetical champion is the same as the real champion.**

In summary, the 2008 Major League Baseball First and Second Divisions are shown below.

American League 2008 1st Division	National League 2008 1st Division
Boston Red Sox Cleveland Indians Detroit Tigers Los Angeles Milwaukee Brewers New York Yankees Seattle Mariners Toronto Blue Jays	Arizona Diamondbacks Chicago Cubs Colorado Rockies Los Angeles Dodgers New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies San Diego Padres St. Louis Cardinals
2008 2nd Division	2008 2nd Divison
Baltimore Orioles Chicago White Sox Kansas City Royals Minnesota Twins Oakland Athletics Tampa Bay Devil Rays Texas Rangers	Atlanta Braves Cincinnati Reds Florida Marlins Houston Astros Pittsburgh Pirates San Francisco Giants Washington Nationals

*Arizona, Atlanta, Chicago(AL), Cleveland, Colorado, Detroit, Kansas City, San Diego, San Francisco, and Toronto.
**Previous WS Champs: Hypothetical (Real): 2005 Cardinals (White Sox), 2006 Mets (Cardinals), 2007 Red Sox (Red Sox).

Find Habeas Corpus

It's been awhile since my last posting as I've been extemely busy with grad school and all. However, I feel that I must make a post in support of something I really believe is important for our country's future.

The American Civil Liberties Union has a petition supporting the Restoration of our Constitutional Rights that I believe any true patriot of our country should sign. Regardless of your polictical affilation, this issue is something we can all agree upon. The erosion of civil liberties and violation of human rights that have occured under the watch of the Bush administration must be stopped and reversed. Asking Congress to take a stand on this issue is something we not only should we do, but must do as citizen's of this great country.

As a side to their campaign, the ACLU has also started a website, findhabeas.com. The concept is a bit corny, but it does offer the opportunity for debate and dialogue on this very important topic.

Sign the Restore Our Constitutional Rights petition.

Libloggery One Year Anniversary!

One year ago today, I registered the domain name for the Libloggery and began tinkering with it. The first "official" entry was "The hickory tree. . ." on Feb. 14, 2006, although I altered the timestamp of the Libloggery's introduction post to be Feb. 12, 2006.

Including that first post, I've made 171 entries to the Libloggery that include photographs, political opinion, poetry, prose, game solutions, and science interests. The diversity of these posts is indicative not only of my interests, but a struggle I've had in giving the Libloggery an identity. I envision the Libloggery as being a sort of library of blogs, with each section of the "Blog Menu" being a separate and somewhat independent blog. I also feel as though I've "copted out" at times by simply creating entries that are little more than links to someone else's content. While that's not all bad, I should be working harder to create my own content and at least add entertaining or insightful commentary when creating such an entry.

The last few months at the Libloggery have been slow, but that's primarily due to my day job. The life of a grad student often leaves little time for extracurricular pursuits. But, with the light at the end of the tunnel (let's hope it's not a freight train), I should be graduating soon and moving on to a post-doctoral position at which time I will probably be able to devote even less time to the Libloggery. :)

It's been a fun first year. I've learned a bit more about html, cascading style sheets, and minimal perl. Just enough to be dangerous, that is. This website is probably not the best example of coding on the internet. But it is mine, and I look forward to another and better year.

Defeat of comment spam in pollxn?

Over the last few months or so, I noticed an alarming amount of comment spam being posted here at the Libloggery. Some stories seemed very popular with the spambots, but I think I've found a way to defeat them in the pollxn comment program. At least for the time being.

I "hacked" my pollxn.cgi script to read the response to a math question a commenter must answer before submitting their comment. So, if you don't answer the question or answer it wrongly, the comment will not be accepted. This might not be the best way to do it, but I do hope it will reduce my comment spam. If you'd like to see specifically how I implemented this, feel free to comment or contact me.

A Mexican Sunrise: Chapter 6: Gambling woes

     Isaac sat thinking, sipping his beer. At a table in the front corner of the room sat a group of three men playing poker. Isaac had noticed them when he walked into the salon. Had this been a pay day for him, he probably would have asked to join in their game. The group had not been able to hear Issac and Charlie's discussion, but they did see Charlie give Isaac five dollars.
     As Isaac was leaving, one of the men yelled to him, "Hey, partner. Would you like to join us for a friendly game?"
     One of Isaac's weaknesses was gambling. He knew he should go straight to the tailor and buy a suit, but the offer was very tempting. "I don't know. I don't think I have time. Thanks, though." He replied, convincing not even himself.
     "Oh, come on now. Just a couple of hands. You got time for that, don't you?"
      "Are you playing for money?"
      "Wouldn't be poker if we weren't, now would it?"
      "No, I guess not. What's the ante?"
     A smile crept across the man's face. "A nickel."
      "That's too expensive for me." Isaac recoiled.
      "What? I just saw your friend give you five dollars."
      "That's not really money I should use in a poker game." Isaac put his hand in his pocket and began to unconsciously pick up the coins and allow them to fall back through his fingers.
      "Surely you can spare some of it just for a couple of hands." He knew he almost had Isaac convinced.
      "Well, my friend is expecting me. . ."
      "A couple of hands won't take too long."
      "Okay. Deal me in." Isaac walked over to the table and put a nickel on the table. The man that had been speaking was also the dealer. He dealt the cards to each player.
      "Give me three." Isaac said. Two of the other players also took three, and the last took only two.
      "What do you want to do?" The dealer asked Isaac.
     Isaac looked at his cards. He had never gotten such a good hand in his life. He hoped that he hadn't tipped his hand by showing excitement. He didn't notice that his hands were also shaking slightly. With a slight nervousness in his voice he said. "I'll raise a nickel." Don't want to raise too much just yet. Maybe I can bait them into a big pot. The others saw his raise, and the dealer raised him another nickel. Uh oh. I wonder if he has a better hand than I do. He looked at his cards. A straight flush, jack high. There's no way he can beat that. Only two hands could beat that.
      "Okay, I'll see your nickel and raise you a dime." The other men showed obvious surprise at this move. Ha, got them on their heels now. One of the men folded, the other saw his bet, and the dealer once again raised him a nickel. They must be just trying to bluff me now since the pot has gotten so big. Well, I'll show them. "I'll raise another dime."
     The other man folded, but the dealer saw his dime once again and called. "Let's see what you got."
     Isaac excitedly put his cards down. "Straight flush, jack high!"
      "Dammit!" The dealer said, putting down a full house.
      "I've never had a hand that good in my life!" Isaac exclaimed, pulling the pot toward him.
      "Must be your lucky day. Alright boys, ante up again."
     To his surprise, his won his next four hands as well. Must be my lucky day! He lost the sixth hand, but won the next three. He had won over dollar, and an hour had passed, but he hadn't noticed the time. He was on a winning streak the likes he had never been on. Once the tenth hand was dealt out, he had four aces. He once again started by raising a nickel, then a dime at a time. One of the other men continued to raise his bet. Once again, Isaac believed that since the pot had gotten so large he was just trying to bluff him into folding. I'll try raising a quarter. That should scare him into folding. The man saw and raised that bet. Dangit. Maybe two quarters will end this. It did not.
     Isaac looked down at his cards. He knew he was going to win this hand. There was no way the man across from him could beat four aces. Was there? The doubts crept into his mind. But, he had already dipped into the money that Charlie had given him, and he had to get it back. He finally put down his quarter. "I see you and call."
      "What do you have?" The man asked, flashing a quick smile towards the dealer.
     Isaac gleefully put down four aces. "Four of a kind."
      "That's a great hand. But, is that better than a straight flush, seven high?"
     Isaac's heart sank. He had just lost over six dollars, leaving him with seventy-five cents.
      "Well gentlemen, that's enough for one day. We should head back to the ranch."
     Isaac protested "Wait, you can't stop now. Give me a chance to win something back. I can't leave here with only seventy-five cents. I started with over five dollars."
      "Sorry, but we have to go. Maybe we'll see you around tomorrow."
      "Come on, one more hand!" Isaac pleaded.
      "Well, since you were such a good sport, here take this." The dealer gave Isaac a quarter.
      "No, I need a chance to win my money back. More than just a quarter."
      "We'll see you around." With that, the men left.
     Isaac felt devastated. He had lost plenty of money in past poker games, but at least it had been his money. He didn't know if he could face Charlie. Five dollars was a lot of money. Maybe he could go to the tailor and get a suit for the dollar he had left. Maybe even on credit. If I give him a dollar as down payment, surely he'll extend me enough credit for the rest. Then after we're done with our robbery I can come back and pay him the rest. Or if that won't work, maybe there will be a nice fitting suit at the ready-to-wear store. He knew that wasn't likely, but he held out hope.
     He stood up and walked slowly out the door. At the tailor he asked about credit, but was refused. A suit costs four dollars, and he couldn't just give anybody with a dollar in their pocket a suit on credit. Isaac then went to the read-to-wear store, but there wasn't a complete suit that properly fit him. He dawdled at the store until it closed, delaying facing Charlie for as long as he could.
     As Isaac walked toward his meeting with Charlie, he thought about what he was going to say and imagined how the conversation would go.
     Hey. He would say jovially. I was just reminded of another liability that I have.
     Oh, what is that?
     I have a bad habit of gambling my money away.
     Is that so?
     Yes.
     What reminded you of that?
     I lost most of the money you gave me playing poker today.
     What!
     Isaac didn't know what would happen after that. He imagined Charlie exploding in anger, but hoped the light hearted manner in which he was going to tell him would lessen the blow. Perhaps they could even have a laugh about it.
     Isaac arrived at his door. He opened it and walked it, finding Charlie reading the newspaper, although it wasn't the same one that he had bought earlier. He saw a stack of newspapers, one from each of the stacks he had seen earlier at the general store. Before Isaac could speak, Charlie looked up. "Hey, when will your suit be ready?"
      When will my suit be ready? You mean I wasn't expected to walk out with it? Maybe I don't have to tell Charlie I lost his money after all. He nervously responded, "Uh, a couple of days."
      "Really! That's one fast tailor. Are you sure you aren't returning for a fitting?"
      "Oh, maybe that's what he meant. I guess I misunderstood."
     Isaac could see that knowing look in Charlie's eyes again, the same look he had when he figured out that Charlie couldn't read. Maybe he saw me playing poker when bought those other newspapers. He decided to change the subject.
      "Anything interesting in the papers?"
      "Nah, just the usual stuff. What were your measurements?"
      "My measurements?" What is he talking about?
      "At the tailor. What were your measurements?"
      "Oh, I don't know. He didn't say. Just wrote them down."
      "Oh, okay."
     Isaac could tell Charlie wasn't convinced. I should just tell him the truth right now. No, tomorrow I'll get the tailor to take my measurements and try to find some way to come up with the rest of the money.
      "Did you happen to get the price of a bowler hat?"
      "A what? Uh, No. Should I have?"
      "Why don't you go back tomorrow and get one. Here's some money for it." Charlie put five dollars on the table. "You'll look pretty sharp in a suit and hat."
     Isaac's heart jumped into his throat when he saw Charlie put the money on the table. He does know! But, if he doesn't maybe I can get the hat and suit for what I have now. "I don't know how I'll ever thank you."
      "If we succeed in getting that train robbed, that's all the thanks I need."
      "I hope we do. I know how much you want to get back to your wife."
      "Let's get some sleep. We have a full day of preparation tomorrow."
      "Alright."
     Isaac didn't sleep well that night. He felt bad for trying to deceive Charlie. He also worried that Charlie knew. That made it even worse. What does he think of me if he knows and I'm not fessing up to it? A few times he decided to admit his mistake to Charlie, but every time he looked over Charlie was sound asleep. After much tossing and turning, he finally fell into a restless sleep.