I had been planning a fun trip where the kids would get to see a whole bunch of the country for Christmas, and see some parts of the family that they had not yet met, for a somewhat relaxing vacation after an extremely turbulent 2008.
Well, apparently 2008 is not yet done screwing over everyone we know.
My sister (who I've written about before) was rushed to the hospital last night with some severe blood problems, possibly relating to the round of chemotherapy she been taking ever since being re-diagnosed as Stage 4 of IBC. I'm not sure if it's the chemo or the cancer, but one of the nasty little buggers put her in the hospital last night.
I am heading out as soon as I finish packing to New York, and I'm hoping to get there as quickly as possible because, well, I'm not really sure what will happen next.
Obviously, this site will be dark for the next couple of days, as I make a mad rush up north. Let's hope she gets a good Christmas present, and in the meantime say a little prayer for her as well as for my niece and nephew who I know must also be struggling a lot right now.
Let's hope the next post I write will have some better news.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Dimmed
Monday, December 22, 2008
Flying High
Car conversations with mini-me, Part 845
Sometimes, punishment doesn't work out very well.
Friday night, on the way back from a little clothes shopping for winter, I'm trying to get the kids to stop yelling at each other about a toy. Sammie stops, but Alex keeps on acting wild.
I tell him if he doesn't stop, I'll take his music off and put on my music. We have some kids' music and Disney discs in the car, and that was what I was going to take off.
Well, he keeps acting wild and yelling, so I tell him I'm changing the music. I reach for what I think would be the most annoying music in the collection for a kid - which is my Metallica, Megadeth, and other similar music.
I flip in Rust in Peace and turn it to Tornado of Souls. Very fast, very loud, very good for driving really fast. I figure he won't like it.
He quiets down, and about a minute in, asks me to turn it...UP. He actually thought it was OK, and didn't want me to go back to the radio and poppy dance-y songs.
I did, though, turn it back to the kids' music, because he did stop yelling and acting crazy. It's funny, though, that he may like my music - at least, until he becomes a teenager and I become the dumbest person on the planet.
Next time, I'll use some sort of bubble gum pop music that is as bland as possible - though that might punish me more than anyone else.
Megadeth - Tornado Of Souls
by ziksoft
Saturday, December 20, 2008
More donktasticness
OK, maybe we won't be shutting down the poker client anytime soon, not with a year-end series now available on BoDog.
For me, I will probably be playing almost zero of these after the 23rd. I think it might be trouble for me to play poker and DRIVE THROUGH SNOW at the same time.
Looks fun, though, and with the overlays it makes for some easy targets. Buy-ins range from $10 to $150 and it gives you a good excuse to get away from people.
Hey, some of us have a bunch of $T to try to convert.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Wrapping up 2008
The end of the year can't arrive quickly enough. Jesus, this year sucked. Let's hope next year is better.
With the end of the year, it's fair to look back and see if I did what I hoped this year.
- Cash in a WSOP Event. Nope - I bombed out of a Circuit event in Biloxi and didn't try any others. I did not try to do too many satellites to go to Vegas, thanks to beginning work here.
- Win a large-field MTT (1000+). Nope, but I did win a 300-person field online and a couple bloggerments, and finished 7th in the donkey dime rebuy on Full Tilt of 3600 people. No win, though. Close, but no cigar.
- Finish the drill - graduate. Didn't happen, but only because I began full-time work. I'll still finish this academic year and I'll walk in May.
- Find a job in IT and/or management. Done, as I deal a lot in process management and write enough code in this new job to qualify.
- Study harder. Marginal improvement - I probably worked harder in the Spring and Fall terms than I did during my undergraduate days, and it had a positive effect on my grades. Go figure - more studying leads to better grades. It's not a 4.0, but I'll take semesters where I average a 3.4 every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
- Quality family time. Easy win, and I'm not just saying that because my daughter likes to snuggle while watching football. There were lots of fun times. Easy win.
- Volunteer more. I did do some more volunteering and church work, mostly with Knights of Columbus, than I've been able to do recently, and I've given a bit of time to service fraternity stuff (though not too much - no 12-hour conference drives for me anymore!)
- Travel more, and ENJOY it more. Biloxi was a trip from hell. New York was one of the best trips we've ever taken. We went to the Georgia mountains several times, and we went to New Orleans. I've got one more trip coming up with the kids soon, and I think they're going to enjoy it despite the long hours. It'll be one hell of a trip, and I'll probably do some photo dumps on the road just so we can keep the camera fresh.
OK, going by this, the year wasn't that bad. But a host of other things - Maggie passing away, Kim's grandmother passing away, cancer hitting several people in our family, more unemployment woes - have made this year pretty rough.
Here's hoping for a better 2009.
Bo-Done-Key
Well, the BoDonkey wrapped up last night with the tournament of champions. 14 entrants and the top 5 paid out in prizes ranging up to $T2000 + $100 in the Bodog casino.
The roll call:
$mokkee bubbled after a crazy final table that saw no action for an hour, and then turned into a pushfest. I went from 18000 chips to 900 chips (JJ cracked by 22) to 19000 chips to 12000 chips over the course of the bubble.
It took three and a half hours to eliminate nine people. With starting stacks of 250 BB and 20-minute levels, it's not that surprising. We started at 9:05 PM and ended at 1:50 AM.
The winners:
5th Place ($50) - Waffles when his short-stacked 10-8 was pushed into StB's A-Q, which became a rivered boat.
4th Place ($100) - StB (Beer City Poker) - I missed the bust because I was typing this up. Oops. The bust gave TonySoprano a huge chip lead, though - 45K to 11K for the other two players.
3rd Place ($250) - Me. Yes, me. I raised my K-J, got pushed back, and called off the rest of my meager stack only to run into aces. Oops. And STFU.
2nd Place ($500) - Wilwonka. Even after running over me with aces, he was still down 2:1 in chips. Knocked out when his A-K was outrun by A-8 which flopped two pair and turned a boat.
1st Place ($2000 + $100) - TonySoprano (Chad) - Hopefully the link still works in the morning for his fifth/sixth/fourteenth blog. After winning 30K the last couple weeks on Full Tilt, he comes over to BoDog and picks up another couple grand. That's hot.
This probably makes most of you happy who bet on him at 10:1 to take it down. From what I hear, it's a whole lot of you. I'm happy for winning the last-longer side bets.
Well done to all - and I'm looking forward to doing it all again sometime.
That wraps up bloggerments for me for the year.
Peace out, bitches.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
No need to relocate
Well, at least all of the cities listed are cities I'm generally OK with spending an extended amount of time.
American Cities That Best Fit You: |
 70% Miami 65% Austin 60% Atlanta 60% Las Vegas 55% Denver |
Tag: if you're reading it, you're tagged.
Besides, it snows in Vegas now. Global warming and all, of course. H/t Pokerati.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Torture by Xanadu
I love having satellite TV. I love being able to watch a whole bunch of different shows, and I am glad that we have a DVR unit to record anything, anytime, on any channel.
I also like the fact that XM channels are carried through the satellite signal. It comes in handy some night when the kids are sleeping in our room - they normally have music playing in their room, and when they sleep with us in our room, we normally turn it on a channel then as well.
Thankfully, they seem to have decent taste - jazz or blues music has been their favorites.
I was flipping through the music channels yesterday, trying to find some stations with Christmas music - normally they add a couple during the season. Instead, I found an absolute monstrosity that must have been conceived with a lot of drugs.
An ABBA channel.
Thankfully, it is only for a limited time - but if you're looking to torture that special someone, behold! Get out your roller skates!
Vicious bastards.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Last chances
UPDATE: 45 minutes before the starting gun, we have 25 players. Let's see a few more...
UPDATE (Wed.): I finished in 7th in the tourney, and 6th overall in the series. The top 11 made it, and the last three got in through the Last Chance tourney tonight. 14 of us suit up tomorrow night at 9:05 PM, so I'll probably be logging in around 9:04:57.
Best Burn
Last night, while indulging my inner insomniac and donking around on the computer, E! was on the tube.
Normally, I don't watch it, but I was in the mood for mindless stuff and, well, E! fits that bill very well. It happened to be showing "The 40 Worst Celebrity Breakups" and, since I like a good train wreck, I kept the tv on the show.
Surprisingly, this breakup wasn't anywhere near the top, but I still think it's the best revenge piece done in recent memory - completely decimate your ex while launching your own career into the stratosphere.
Any thoughts? Anything else that might be better?
Of course, this was after Donovan McNabb clinched a spot for me in my fantasy football league finals. Gotta have priorities.
(Hey, I'm trying to interject something different than politics and poker. Sue me.)
Profile: Steven Chu, Department of Energy Nominee
A brief profile of Barack Obama's choice to head the Energy Department and what we can hope to expect in the future from his past work and current positions
read more digg story
Originally published on my Examiner site.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Georgia Congressional Oversight Examiner: Defrosted
Georgia Congressional Oversight Examiner: Defrosted
I remember being in New Orleans in 2006 when Ray Nagin somehow managed to get re-elected mayor of New Orleans despite his bumbling idiocy in that office.
I was pretty despondent that there would ever be any decent politician sent forth from the state.
Well, we've got Bobby Jindal now in charge in Louisiana, and William Jefferson is out of Congress. Perhaps there is hope yet.
Posted using ShareThis
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Happy endings
1) We finally got through to the insurance agency for the driver who played pinball Saturday night. Her company has accepted liability so now it's just a matter of picking a shop and getting the bumper fixed. The appraisal has already been done, all claim numbers entered, so this may wrap up a lot quicker than I envisioned.
Ironically, while we are moving fast in that regard, the police report is still not ready. Tomorrow, it will probably be ready.
2) I've gotten back two grades so far, an A- and a B+. I got the B+ because, in all honesty, I wasn't focusing really well on what I was writing in my IS Security classbecause I was focusing too much on my Web Application class, and I deservedly got punished for it, turning an A or an A- into a B+. The Marketing class ended well, and an A- is quite tolerable. No end yet for the Web Application class; I am hoping the grade is available by next week.
Even if it's a C+ or a B-, I am just glad the course is over with. If I'm punished for not being able to accomplish something that no one else in the class was able to accomplish, then so be it. In about ten hours, I will be able to just focus on next semester. The grade could be anywhere from a C to an A-, but really, I just want to move on to next term.
As for you degenerate bloggers in Vegas this weekend, have a round or two for me. Just make sure I'm not left out of the Dial-a-shot fun : )
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Georgia Nonprofit Fair 2009
Courtesy of Opportunity Knocks, one of the nonprofit sites I subscribe to. I don't have much else to post at the moment. I'm sure that'll change soon.
----------------------------------------
Early Bird Rate for Nonprofit Summit Ends Friday!
May 11 - 12, 2009, AmericasMart, Atlanta, Georgia
During this holiday season, we are reminded of the importance of gathering together to share stories and friendship and lean on each other. Now, more than ever, is the time for nonprofits to do the same on a professional level and we invite you to join us at the Summit to do so!
You have 2 days left to register at the early bird rate and take advantage of a significantly lower cost to attend the 18th Annual Nonprofit Summit! Many of us have our fiscal year coming to an end, and with that our budgets become "use it or lose it." Invest in networking, education and practical knowledge of how to navigate in our uncertain economic times.
This year we have added even more offerings to make this the ultimate event of the year for nonprofits. Go no further - this is one-stop-shopping!
- Network with the leaders in nonprofits and develop partnerships and collaborations.
- Learn from the experts at the 20+ workshops focused on marketing, fundraising, technology, leadership and innovation.
- Schedule a one-on-one, 30-minute meeting with a consultant.
- Join key funders at a morning roundtable.
- Take advantage of our exhibit hall featuring the latest trends and resources in nonprofits.
- Get inspired at the two keynote sessions.
- Leave with the knowledge and enthusiasm to accomplish your mission!
Monday, December 08, 2008
Atlanta Video Games Examiner: Games are one of the few bright spots this season
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Karma says go to bed
It was a pretty good day up until 6:00 yesterday.
I went to a meetup last night, and it was going pretty well for a few hours - watch some football, play a few levels, yada yada yada.
Then, a knock at the door.
And we get to go crazy.
Apparently, a car came around the bend and plowed into a car which belonged to one of us. Nailed dead-center, no brakes used, no sound until the collision. We didn't hear anything, but a neighbor saw it from the top of the hill and saw the car, with an apparently drunk woman, back up and turn off her lights, then sneak away. Couldn't get a description due to the distance, but apparently she got out, stared at it for a minute, then got back in her car and stole away like a coward.
Really.
At 6:00 PM.
No shit?
No shit.
That car was hit so hard that the trunk was punched in and it was pushed forward a couple of feet....into my truck.
So, we called out the cops, did the reports, called the insurance companies, and all the other fun stuff associated with STUPID FUCKING DRUNK DRIVERS DOING FORTY IN A SUBDIVISION PLOWING DOWN EVERYTHING IN SIGHT.
Our truck has some damage. Back bumper is bent up, but nothing was punched in. The truck stopped about six inches short of hitting the next car in front. It's driveable, and there are no leaks. It just has some added character.
Besides, it's a Ford. The bumper's supposed to be bent, dented, or falling off.
The cops (all four police cars) scoured the neighborhood for the car - as there was no way to exit without going back past us. It was found today in the subdivision as it belonged to another house. I guess it's hard to hide a SUV when you've spent the night HITTING EVERYTHING IN SIGHT BECAUSE YOU'RE TOO GODDAMN DRUNK.
I'm hoping the other car's OK, because it was a pretty sweet Nissan 240X. The truck should be OK. I'm glad there's no worry about deductibles since we now know the little **** that decided to play pinball with her car. Hopefully, the other vehicle isn't totaled.
Nah, I'm not ticked. But the police now know who it is, and the insurance company will know in the morning. A small victory for justice, I hope.
After all that, I wasn't even that down upon hearing Florida won. Meh. They finished up while we were out chatting with fuzz. So did USC, so UT's hopes came down to Missouri, which barely showed up.
After everything was all said and done, I went to watch more football and play around. And I paid for it dearly - starting with Aces cracked by 7's when a runner-runner straight hit. I eventually decided to turn in and decide that the rest of this day - nah, this weekend - would be best spent not doing a goddamn thing. No computer, no chatting, no phone, until about an hour ago.
I spent the rest of last night and most of today snuggling with babies, drawing dinosaurs, and watching football while refusing to move off the couch. A good choice, if I don't say so myself.
Thank God there was no homework to do this weekend.
Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to seeing this bitch in court.
At least I'm not too upset.
Right?
Friday, December 05, 2008
Dolphin Fun
You know, if we weren't planning on other trips, this would be one hell of a bargain.
It has to be booked by Christmas and the stay has to be done by February 28. $250 off 3-6 nights, and $500 off 7+ nights.
For MLK weekend, it would come in at $650 for three nights after the rebate for a terrace view.
I didn't check flights, but Airtran would probably work. It sounds interesting.
Right?
Not gonna happen for us, but still...
Thursday, December 04, 2008
New Math
Written: 20 earned of 20 possible.
Programming: 21 earned of 22.5 possible.
Participation: 12 earned of 15 possible.
Group Project: Cannot be less than 14 earned of 20 possible.
I have two programming assignments that can be done as written assignments, which would realistically get about 13 out of 15 points.
For this class, B is 80-83.
My total is 80 points out of 92.5, with one remaining programming assignment to go.
The one which I've been wrestling with for months, and can't make work because I can't develop a login script or new user script to be used in my ASP.NET forms.
But, I think I already have enough points for a B. At least a B- most certainly.
It's not worth the stress. Not with two grades of at least A- (and maybe A) already in the bag.
Perhaps I should just say...FUCK IT.
What do you think?
Georgia Congressional Oversight Examiner: Profile: Timothy Geithner, Treasury Secretary Nominee
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Oddsmakers
Prop bet time!
There are poker prop bets up on BoDog regarding which of us donkeys will prevail in the BoDog Blogger Tournament.
Right now, I sit on the leaderboard in 4th place, after being in the lead for the first few weeks. That's what happens when you miss two and donk out in two others early (16th yesterday, and 26th last week)
Here's all the props - and yes, I'm featured in a couple, and yes, I will probably take those bets. And yes, you action junkies are probably going to have some fun on this.
Which blogger will have more points on the "Bodog Poker Blogger Tournament Series" leaderboard at the end of all 15 qualifying events?
smokkee (23/20)
salex77 (5/4)
CarnePicante (3/2)
Will the chip leader going into heads-up play (final 2) win the "Online Poker Blogger Final" to be hosted in the Bodog Poker room on December 18th, 2008 at 9:05pm ET?
Yes (-500)
No (+200)
What will be the final winning hand of the "Online Poker Blogger Final" to be hosted in the Bodog Poker room on December 18th, 2008 at 9:05pm ET?
Royal Flush (1250/1)
Straight Flush (800/1)
Four of a Kind (150/1)
Full House (15/1)
Flush (10/1)
Straight (8/1)
Three of a Kind (5/1)
Two Pairs (3/2)
One Pair (2/3)
High Card (9/4)
Which of these online poker bloggers will win the "Online Poker Blogger Final" to be hosted in the Bodog Poker room on December 18th, 2008 at 9:05pm ET?
smokkee (73/10)
CarnePicante (8/1)
APOSEC72 (8/1)
salex77 (73/10)
23skidoo (10/1)
MiamiDon (8/1)
wilwonka (9/1)
Newinnov (10/1)
PokahDave (73/10)
cbags (9/1)
TonySoprano (10/1)
BuddyDank (31/2)
FishEaster2000 (Waffles) (73/10)
Field (Any other player) (4/1)
Which blogger will last longer in the "Online Poker Blogger Final" to be hosted in the Bodog Poker room on December 18th, 2008 at 9:05pm ET?
smokkee (-125)
CarnePicante (-115)
Which blogger will last longer in the "Online Poker Blogger Final" to be hosted in the Bodog Poker room on December 18th, 2008 at 9:05pm ET?
salex77 (-120)
APOSEC72 (-120)
What will be the river card in the final hand of the "Online Poker Blogger Final" to be hosted in the Bodog Poker room on December 18th, 2008 at 9:05pm ET?
Heart (23/10)
Spade (23/10)
Diamond (23/10)
Club (23/10)
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
I can has cheesecakae?
Monday, December 01, 2008
What to do when the orgy ends
Black Friday has become an orgy of consumption and consumerism at it's best or worst, depending on your point of view, and this year was no different.
Once again, there were mobs at stores like WalMart (and by the way, why does this crap always happen at a Walmart?) including one person getting trampled and killed. I swear, we hear stuff like this every year. Is a HDTV at a low price really that important?
We actually did head out this year, and it was a bit fun for us. We actually made it a bit of an adventure for the kids. We made sure they got to sleep early so that waking up at 4:30 wouldn't be absolutely innsane. We got to the mall at 5, when it opened, and while it was a bit crowded it wasn't the bedlam reported in other areas. It was also Kim's birthday, so that added another element of fun.
We stopped at a couple of stores and enjoyed Waffle House when we finished, around 8:15. Overall, everyone handled it pretty well, and everyone enjoyed heading home after Waffle House to go back to sleep. The kids especially enjoyed it, thanks to an early present for each of them we got at the Disney store. They each got a little suitcase, with a blanket and pillow and flashlight - it's a camping and travel set, kid size.
So, at 9:30 AM, we all went back to sleep. It was a relatively easy time. Thankfully, no mobs. It wasn't chaos, or bedlam, or violent. It was almost cheery, in a bizarre way.
Anyway, now that reports are in of spending being up 3% from last year, you are probably reading this while completely broke. Well, here's an interesting link - it's a bit funny, I'm not sure how I found the link (I think it was through another poker site) but it's called Poverty Party.
Enjoy your reading on this Monday - where, allegedly, snow is falling in Georgia on this first day of December.
Of course, if you still have any money left, you're probably shopping online instead of reading this today.
