Y’know, when you think you’ve had a bad weekend because you lost $33 in three straight SnGs, think about this… You could’ve had your chest cavity pierced by a poisonous barb.

Poker-wise, I actually played well, busting out all three times with hands when I had at least a 2-1 pre-flop odds advantage. So I’m not completely despondent over losing. One time, we were down to the final five and I ran my AKs into a deadly A7o that made a runner-runner flush after a flopped 7 and turned K. Another time, my QQ ran into another A7o that hit a nice gutshot to make a Q8645 board. Wonderful.

But better than having my heart punctured by a sting ray.

At some point, when you’re in your 40’s and you have a wife and two kids, you need to start thinking about the future and settling down a bit. Perhaps taking a job as a zoo director… or being like Marlon Perkins and sending Jim Fowler into the dangerous areas while you sit back in the Mutual of Omaha studios with a cigar and brandy. Swimming around with venomous sea creatures is contraindicated. Swimming around with venomous sea creatures without any protective gear is strongly discouraged.

My kids loved Steve Irwin. They grew up watching Animal Planet and various other nature shows with him, especially since I discouraged them from watching the animated crap that passes for cartoons these days. If they wanted to watch television, I wanted them to learn something. Now, if they’ve learned anything, they’ve learned that doing dangerous shit is, well, dangerous. Scott “Dilbert” Adams had a great blog entry (since removed, doubtlessly because of protests from the more squeamish) about the lessons that kids can take from Irwin’s death. Specifically, Adams talked about how parents can now invoke the Crocodile Hunter’s name whenever they tell their kids about dangerous animals (“You better stay away from that strange dog. You don’t want to end up like Steve Irwin.”).

It’s nice that his friends are playing the “At least he died doing what he loved” card. But what the hell does that do for his kids? They’re 8 and 3, for crying out loud. He had a responsibility to THEM. And he failed at that. Oh sure, they’re probably financially set for life, but now they don’t have a father. And that should have been his #1 priority.