Trivia helper

Tuesday night I went out to trivia with some friends. Before I left, I ate dinner at home with the kids, and Phineas and Ferb (the kids' latest favorite show, which is thankfully not dumbed down very much) was on.

The show had a mention of the mother as a one-hit wonder, and the wife pointed out the beltbuckle of "Toy" which I didn't get at first, but was apparently a Madonna reference of wearing a belt buckle that said "Boy Toy".

Apparently old age makes me forget random trivia moments. Or, I was paying more attention to Bon Jovi than Madonna. Would make sense, considering how old I was at the time.

Fast forward two hours to trivia, and this question pops up:

"When Madonna performed at the 1984 VMA's, she wore a white bustier, wedding dress, and belt. What did the belt buckle say?"

So, I guess I can credit the wife for helping us to finish first in trivia.

Unfortunately, since then I've basically had no voice either, meaning I've worked from home yesterday and I'm hobbling around today.

Still, it seemed a very funny coincidence.

Revelations coming

Within the next day or two, I'll have an epic post about why I've been so drawn down the last few months and why I've been so distracted away from many things, including this little nugget. I promise not to painfully draw it out anymore or post it in 12 different parts like LOST.

Feeling slightly re-charged, but with everything over the last few months it's taken a while to get my thoughts down completely.

In the meantime, let's link dump:

• My division now has a Facebook profile, and it's more active than mine, which is cool and scary at the same time. Kudos, though.


• Florida finally gets real poker, instead of 2-4 no fold-em hold-em or $100 cap tables.


• Boobs for science.


• Bumblebee is not as tall as I expected him to be, as seen in the pic to the right my sister took in Hollywood.


• New salon and spa opened in midtown NY by folks from my old elementary school. I'm glad it's an upscale spa and not one of those seedy highway "spas".


• Overheard @ Tao Beach: "Jersey shore is in the ***** building!". Please make this Jersey Shore and Pretty Wild phenomenon go away, please. I'm begging you.


• Going to Las Vegas? Do three or four buffets for the price of one.


• Rex Ryan gives words of encouragement to Tiger Woods before the Masters.


• There's a museum for everything now. Even Waffle House.


• A good event if you misguidedly think you are hot s**t at playing pool. Like me. Preliminary rounds September 17-19 and there happens to be one at the house where I used to shoot.


• Cake or death?


• Cocaine is a helluva drug...ask Foxy Brown.

Fire away

Full Tilt decided to copy Poker Stars and add a Steps system for tournaments.

So, I decided to give it a whirl to see if I could climb the ladder. Besides, I was catching up on TV.

They even have a "Step 0" which starts at $1.10. The highest step tourney, Step 7, has a buyin of a ticket for $2100 that awards a 12K tournament package, currently for the WSOP.

So, let's have some fun.

Step 0, #155392032: Begun 11:13 PM, Finished 1/99, Win Step 1 Ticket ($3.30)
Step 1, #155400775: Begun 12:13 AM, Finished 1/9, Win Step 2 Ticket ($8.70)
Step 2, #155401845: Begun 12:46 AM, Finished 1/9, Win Step 3 Ticket ($26.00)

Rather than try to push forward and press my luck, I'm heading to bed. Not bad for about 90 minutes work.

More to try tomorrow. Step 4 ticket is $75, Step 5 is $216, Step 6 is $240, and Step 7 is $2100.

Or, I could drop out now, since I have the equivalent of a token to enter any tournament with a $24+2 buyin.

Step 8 would mean a very unlikely return to Las Vegas.

For the record, you DAMN RIGHT I'd go.

Return of the......meh

By request, I've kept quiet about recent plans, from a security perspective. Ever since we were robbed a few years ago, I've been asked not to post too much prior to trips about heading out of town or being away.

It's probably a good explanation for why I will NEVER join foursquare.

Anyway, I just returned from a week-long vacation to Las Vegas, Arizona, and Los Angeles, to see friends, family, cows, and holes in the ground.

I left for Las Vegas last week, but remarkably played only two sessions of poker. The first was a cash game at the Venetian, where the first hand dealt was the hammer and the last hand was my Queens full of tens going down to QUAD QUEENS. The second was the WSOP Circuit event on Friday where I stole, got called by the BB, got all the chips in with two pair and only three cards to dodge, and watched one of the three outs hit to kill me.

As a matter of fact, the only gambling area which was good to me was the sportsbook, where I hit two of three bets for Atlanta teams. The one I did not win ended up as a no-hitter.

(BTW, dear Hawks, when you open up a 23-point lead, please do not try to give it all back as you almost did against Milwaukee Saturday, OK?)

We went to the Grand Canyon Skywalk, which destroyed my feet for the rest of the trip but was absolutely breathtaking in its views, and gut-busting for watching New York drivers try to navigate dirt roads with cows walking alongside/in the road.

I got to see the Wynn Las Vegas for the first time. Very impressive and elegant layout.

I stayed at the Palazzo/Venetian, which was extremely nice (and comped) but had a registration desk staffed with monkeys trying to screw a football.

I got to see the Palms for the first time, and was mildly impressed with it as well, but in a far different way than the Wynn.

I went to Los Angeles and Hollywood for the first time, and got to meet two of my nephews for the first time ever.

I also got a picture with Bumblebee, over which my son will flip out.

Overall, quite a good trip - and now I'm back at work - twelve hours after my flight touched down.

I think I need a vacation.