So yes, I'm "back in town," as it were. Well, to be fair, I've been in town since late Friday night but I haven't had an opportunity to post any sort of chronicle regarding our recent excursion to Sin City, USA until right about now. Indeed, you may be wondering why we would even think to take a vacation to Las Vegas, NV (again) during the month of July (again) when it's hot enough there to parboil one's innards if one is foolish enough to be caught walking around out of doors...The answer is a simple one, fool! It's cheap! Additionally, it's one of the few times of the year that my wife can take a real vacation being that she's a schoolteacher and all...Anyhow, this time out, we went with my parents because, while they'd been to Las Vegas before, they had never been to Las Vegas with the wife and I...I shall fill you in on some details regarding said trip in this, the first of a number of posts which will surely total greater than one...Ready for all of that? Good...Here we go...

Thank God For Rewards Points Vouchers...
With my father's comfort and my mother's proclivity to overpack in mind, it was decided that we would rent a minivan and drive to Las Vegas as opposed to fly there on one of them jet plane things. My father had mentioned that, since they had amassed an ungodly number of rewards points on their credit card, we could use their rewards points to get the vehicle, thereby reducing the out-of-pocket costs and making everyone just a bit happier. As it turned out, the only rental car company affiliated with the rewards program which allowed the use of rewards points towards the rental of anything larger than a standard car was Avis, widely known as the most expensive rental car company ever. Seriously, you'd think that their vehicles were made of some precious metal or were able to perform specific unnatural acts when you look at their prices. Regardless, it was Avis or nothing and so, many thousands of rewards points later, we found ourselves the proud recipients of $500 worth of vouchers to use toward just about any Avis rental we pleased. We ended up with a shiny silver Dodge Grand Caravan with the Stow N' Go Seating which, as it turned out, was the best possible vehicle we could've hoped for...

Mom!..They're Pushing Me!..
Right before we were scheduled to depart on the big Vegas road trip, my father was diagnosed with a very serious infection in his foot. This infection meant that, in order for him to join us on the already mostly paid for vacation, he would have to stay off of the affected foot as much as possible (read: all the time). THIS development meant that a wheelchair had to be rented so we could push him all over Sin City. All things considered, the wheelchair wasn't a huge problem...It was surprisingly easy to push around and, once we collectively got the hang of it, easy to fold up and transport. Outside of the fact that 90% of the people wandering around casinos seem to be oblivious to what's going on around them and elevators are not always immediately conspicuous, we got dad around and didn't have to sacrifice any of the show tickets or dinner reservations...

First Night In Town: Eat Shitty Food, Lose At Poker...
Another something which we found out right before we left was that Brad, one of the guys who we play softball with, was taking a vacation in Las Vegas right around the same time as we were. It was decided that, since Brad and I both enjoy playing poker, we would get together and play in one of the daily tournaments at Sam's Town, where we just so happened to be staying...Well, that's where WE were staying...Brad was at the Monte Carlo...Not at Sam's Town...Where WE were...Yeah...Anyway, because of timing, we were only able to sign up and play in the 11:00pm tournament on the Sunday that the family and I arrived in town. Prior to the playing, since our wits would have to be razor sharp and our eyes keen, we figured that we could get some dinner at the mexican food establishment inside Sam's Town called Willy and Jose's. The place advertises itself as both "authentic" and a "Zagat Award Winner." It also happens to be a restaurant which I had enjoyed about 7 years ago on one of our first Vegas trips. Long story short, I don't know what the Hell happened between then and now and I seriously don't know what the fuck kind of Zagat award Willy and Jose's could've possibly won but the food was absolutely horrible. I'd even go so far as to say that it was the worst "mexican" food I'd ever had the misfortune to try. Apparently the Zagats hand out their little awards like two-for-one coupons...I'll never trust any of their ratings or recommendations again...Horrible...

But I digress...

As we finished "dinner" and made our way to the poker parlor, Brad wondered aloud why he had to come all the way to Las Vegas to play poker with me. I then reminded him that he's been "conveniently busy" every time I host a tournament at my home. As a nice coincidence, Brad and I started at the same table in the tournament but, as the game wore on, it was obvious who's night it was...Brad took down several good-sized pots, busting 4 players along the way and eventually getting moved to a "better" table. I languished in short-stackville for a while after that, tripling up after a couple of decent hands at one point but, in the long run, not having enough chips to survive...I busted out midway through the 2nd round and noticed (as I left, shamed) that Brad was still going strong. I still don't know yet how he finished but I do know that he, like I, had a hell of a lot of fun playing in the tournament...The poker parlor at Sam's Town is nice and small without feeling crowded and the folks who deal the poker and run the room were nice and friendly. If you want to get yelled at and have no room to move, go play at the Sahara or the Orleans. You want to while away time, having fun playing poker in a non-threatening environment? Sam's Town all the way, baby...

This, kids, is only the beginning! Hell, it only covers our first DAY...More Las Vegas style updates will follow, containing such descriptatory delights as our lunch at the Burger Bar, dinner at Diego (a REAL high-end Mexican food place, fuck YOU, Willy and Jose's) and tons more...Additionally, stay tuned for reviews of the shows which I had the occasion to witness this time out...As always, thanks for stopping by...You kids have a fine Tuesday now...

Labels: get outta town, I eat food, lame stories, poker

You know what? the one thing that I can say is that at least I'm self-aware...What I mean by that is I'm fully aware of my largest problem. Yes, kids, that (large) problem of mine is called "procrastination." I procrastinate better than anyone I know...Hell, if there were some way top make a living by procrastinating, I would surely be a wealthy man. Anyhow, as is painfully obvious by now, I was unable to post anything from Wednesday of last week until...right about now. Honestly, I could say that I was way too busy to really come up with anything, but that's a weak excuse. Now that I think about it, though, so is just saying that I'm a dirty procrastinator. Regardless, I shall procrastinate no longer! Here comes some post!..

It's National Dog Bite Prevention Week...No, Really, It Is...
So I think I've mentioned this before, but why not piss several people off again: I. Hate. Dogs. Dogs are smelly, stupid creatures who should be treated more as livestock than family members. I know, I know, you dog people out there are likely feeling the burning hatred. You're also saying things at your screen like "Not MY dog. MY dog is sweet and kind! MY dog would never do anything like bite or bark." Newsflash: You're WRONG! H. Wrongy Wrongenstein! As the poster I saw this morning in my local post office says, "Even the sweetest dog can pose a threat - be a responsible dog owner." I took offense to this poster for one simple reason: Dogs aren't sweet. Dogs are stupid. Personally, I've been bitten and/or attacked by dogs more than once in my life. In recent years, I've been lucky in that I haven't had too many dog run-ins. I do, though, often take walks on my lunch hour here at work. I take the same route every time out and walk past the same houses. I know which houses have dogs and I've had some dogs run after me and jump at me on these walks because, yes, dogs are stupid. There's one house in particular that has a dog which has always barked like a retard on speed from an upstairs window whenever anyone or anything passes within a half-mile of said house. This past Thursday, however, as I walked around the corner and towards the aforementioned house, this particular (aforementioned and stupid) dog was not confined to an upstairs window. Instead, this dog streaked out of the garage, teeth bared, barking and coming after me...I wasn't even near the property line of the house at that time, but the dog was set on attacking me. I backed up into a defensive posture once I realized what was going on and tried to stay away from the stupid fucking thing, but it kept lunging and snapping at me. I yelled for it to get away and that's when I notice that the owner is outside, but he's not doing anything about the situation. I then yell at him to call his dog off and he does a half-assed "get in the house" thing. Instead of this piss-poor command working, a whole OTHER dog runs out of the garage and joins the fray...It's here that I become quite angry...

With my adrenaline flowing in overdrive now, I scream at the owner and let him know that if he doesn't get control of his dogs, I plan to snap one or both of their necks. Would I have been able to? No. Would I have liked to at that time? Yes, please. Hearing my threat, he attempts another "get in the house" and the dogs begin to follow, barking and baring their teeth all the way. After the two idiot mange-factories are finally out of sight, the owner turns and stares at me like nothing happened. So of course, I let him know that he's a real asshole and that he could, in fact, kiss my ass. As he stumbled quickly into the house, emitting some no-doubt witty retorts to avoid having to own up to the fact that he's an irresponsible shithead, I decided that I'm buying myself some pepper spray.

Second Place Is The First Loser...
Shifting gears to sports (kind of), I have news of near triumph ending in not-so-abject failure...Since the first game of the spring season where it seemed that we just couldn't "get our shit together," the softball team that my wife and I play on had been simply unstoppable, winning every game and decimating every team. This past Friday was our final scheduled game and, in a sappy, Disneyesque coincidence, because of each team's respective record, that final game ended up being for the league championship: we win, we're first. We lose, we're second...Well, long story short, we lost so we're second...On the bright side, I think that second is the best that we've done up to this point and we now have bright yellow shirts to parade around town in (or to wear while we wash our cars or do yardwork)...Um...Yay us!

Liquor In The Front, Poker In The...
So yeah, on Saturday, 364 long days since the last time I hosted a Dead Money Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament, A bunch of us amateur poker players got together and gambled within the state-regulated limits. We had a good turnout for the tournament even though some players canceled out and, wouldn't you know it, when the smoke cleared and the dust settled, I was able to outlast Justin's wife Jennifer and win the whole damn thing. Hell, it was so much fun, I figure that I'm going to have to make the tournaments a monthly thing...This once-a-year shit just ain't cuttin' it...

By The Time I Get To Arizona...
...It'll be like...1:00am on Friday morning...And why, you may ask? Well, the wife and I will be driving to Phoenix this Thursday for a memorial weekend hockey tournament. The wife is playing in the Women 3 division on a team called "Old School" and I'm playing with some of the guys that I USED to play with in the Grand Canyon division on a team called the Colorado Springs Posse. There are a lot of California teams in our division (like the San Jose Subzero...I like that name...) and one Arizona team and IT'S GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN! I played in this tournament at right wing and center with another team back in 2002 and we didn't win a single game. I was then asked to go as a goaltender in 2003 but had to decline due to scheduling conflicts...My wife played in 2004 and her team won their division. These tournaments, which are put on by California Hockey Productions, are very well run...There are several divisions of play and great prizes and locker room refreshments (read: Beer) and I'M SO EXCITED, I GOTS THE ADHD! Hell, I'm like a kid at Christmas...I can't wait...Oh, by the way, if anyone who reads this silly little blog lives in the Phoenix area, come watch us play! Also, if anyone's in the Albuquerque area and wants to have dinner on...Let's see...Monday night, let me know 'cause that's where we'll be...

So that's that...I will do my best to get some stuff posted before we take off this week and hey, maybe the hotel(s) we're staying in will have the internets which could lead to blog posts as well...Either way, thanks for stopping by: You kids have a fine Monday now...

Labels: get outta town, hockey stuff, indignities, lame stories, poker, sports

He's been Crosstraining in the off-season...
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Hot shit, this week is going by like a stinkin' blur! As it stands, we are currently entrenched in "Thursday" and, since you WILL ignore my complete lack of a post last Thursday, I know that you have arrived at my humble blogsitething today in hoped that I shall share my latest Illustration Friday endeavor with you all. Well, even though I KNOW that you've all heard the phrase "get used to disappointment" more than once in your collective lives, TODAY IS NOT THE DAY FOR YOU TO BE FORLORN! On the contrary, today (all 2 or 3 of) you shall be rewarded for your faithful clicking! HERE COMES THAT ILLUSTRATION! the theme was "run" and, if you click on the speedy little bastard, he'll get big enough to see real well.

Indeed, even though I colored him up special today, just for you, this is not a "brand new" illustration. I drew the above featured "sprinting skeleton" some time ago. He even graces the $25 chip from my custom poker chip collection:

So there you go...As always, thanks for stopping by - you all have a fine Thursday now...

Labels: cartoons n' stuff, Illustrations, poker, spooky shit

Hey, look! It's like..."Monday" and stuff! For me personally, despite the utter ineptitude that the Broncos displayed on Sunday, my weekend was pretty darn good. On Friday afternoon, my wife called me at work to let me know that she had decided, "just because" basically, that we needed to go out and have ourselves a nice, expensive meal. I was hesitant to commit to such things, taking into account, of course, that it was Friday afternoon. I figured that it'd be hard to get a reservation at any place which could serve a meal like she described on such short notice. I told her that I'd give it a shot and, since she suggested the Craftwood Inn first (and adamantly, I might add), I gave them a call. Luckily, we were able to get a reservation for that evening and so, for the first time since our friends Andy and Andrea were in town, my wife and I were set to enjoy wild game and other delights at one of the most awesome restaurants ever...

No, I really mean that, the Craftwood really does "kick ass."

If'n you ever find yourself passing through the Colorado Springs area and you happen to have a couple hundred dollars to "blow" on a nice meal, you should really consider "blowing" it at the Craftwood (which is actually in Manitou Springs, just to the west of Colorado Springs proper). The menu at the Craftwood is loaded with (dare I say) "sumptuos" wild game dishes which you simply cannot find just anywhere. On top of that, they offer a full bar with a decent selection of single malt scotch, an extensive wine list, a cozy atmosphere and, on the service side of things, they treat you like royalty, something that I'm not altogether used to. You, though, are not content to hear about mere generalities...YOU CRAVE DETAIL!..

Fine...Here are some of those detail thingies which you love so much...

On Friday, I started my meal with an order of The Macallan 12-year old Single Malt (neat) and a Caesar salad (with real anchovies, mind you) while my wife enjoyed the tortilla soup (special of the day) and a glass of Dr. Loosen Riesling. In addition, house-made garlic bread and herbed butter was brought to the table. My salad was quite good but I have to say that the tortilla soup was even better...I regretted not ordering it after having a taste, but that's neither here nor there. After our soup and salad, we enjoyed the Bison Roulade appetizer which consisted of grilled bison, wrapped around roasted artichoke hearts on top of green chili and wasabi cream sauce. Frankly, in a larger portion, I wouldn't have minded if we had the dish as an entree, it really was awesome. Not long after my wife and I polished off the roulade, our entrees arrived. My wife had gone with the "trio of tenderloin," which features beef tenderloin, bison tenderloin and, best of all, tenderloin of boar...

That's right...BOAR...And it is SO FRIGGIN' GOOD...

myself, I went with the grilled wild game platter, consisting of elk, antelope and venison. All of the meats were quite tender and flavorful, so I couldn't really say which one was my favorite (definitely boar). Both of our entrees were accompanied by garlic mashed potatoes, a sort of risotto pilaf dish and "purple Peuvian potatoes" which had been roasted and were really quite enjoyable. Both my wife and I truly enjoyed our meals to the point of being too stuffed for dessert (which is a shame because the Jalapeno cream mousse really is "to die for"). If it weren't for the price tag, I'd probably make a regular habit of eating at the Craftwood. If I were the gradin' type, I'd have to give the whole experience an A+...Give it a try...

So on Saturday, I worked a shift in the morning at the radio station and then came home to prepare for yet another Dead Money Poker Tournament. We had a pretty good turnout (14 people) and big fun was had by all. The results of this particular tournament are posted there on the sidebar (on your left there). My dad had said that he felt like winning this particular tournament, but what he really wanted to do, more than anything, was to simply beat me. As it turned out, he did both, having the pleasure (I'm sure) of putting me out of the tournament and, ultimately, winning the whole thing...

So way to go, dad...

Also, congratulations to everyone who placed "in the money" and thanks to everybody who showed up to play. On a side note, mr. gloom-and-doom himself, Collin ended up finishing in 3rd place, despite his standing prediction of failure for himself. So "way to go" there, too...

And after the poker, we sang karaoke...Good times...

So on Sunday, there were these "professional football games" played and I really don't want to talk about any of that. I didn't do very well at all in the "fantasy football" department and I'm scared to find out just how poorly I did in ol' Pat Angello's feetsball peeck 'em thing this week, LET ALONE my being extremely pissed off regarding the utter embarrassment that was the Broncos game in Miami...Feh...Come to think of it, there were enough upsets in college football on Saturday to put me in a bit of a foul mood re: college football pick 'em stuff before any of that pro stuff happened...You know, I used to think that I knew at least a little SOMETHING about sports...Now, though, I'm thinkin' otherwise...

Anyhow...Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook and David Akers could still salvage a little somethin' for me in the ol' fantasy department...To quote WarGames, "Confidence is high...I repeat: confidence is high."

Finally, I do have an audio entry for you all which I will share later in the week. In addition, I have the English version of the poorly translated comic strip from last week which I will share later on as well. I have to say that I enjoyed Justin C. and HappyFunBall's "translations" so well, that I may turn it into a blank "write your own" strip thing in the future...We'll see...I've already ripped off one of Justin's lines for my subheader...

At any rate, you all have a fine Monday...

Labels: I eat food, lame stories, poker, sports

Well, well well...Welcome to Monday...I don't have actual "content" to post today, but when has THAT ever stopped ME from filling space before, huh? That's right...Never...

Anyhow, the big time Dead Money poker tournament which we held on Saturday evening was, by all accounts, a "success." The results of the tournament are posted there on the sidebar for your viewing pleasure...While I didn't win, I still feel pretty good about where I ended up...I made two errors over the course of the night which kept me from winning. Really, that's all that poker is in the long run: making more correct decisions than incorrect decisions. I guess if I make a mere two truly incorrect decisions out of a hundred or more total chances to make a decision, I'm not doing too bad. In fact, I'm doing well enough to place 3rd...Go figure...

Luck does play a part in poker too, though...Must not forget that...Must...Get...Lucky...Anyway...

This most recent tournament boasted the best turnout we've had, with all 16 available seats filled (and that made it quite hot at the ol' Maison De Chevalier, lemme tell ya). The blinds worked just as they were supposed to and, if I had to find anything to change, I figure that It'd be the way we color up the next time...

Well, that's just about enough poker chatter for one day...I'm working on actual content that I shall "bust out" for you soon enough, I really am...I promise...You all have a fine Monday, kids...

Labels: poker, tales of triumph

Ever get to a point where you just have nothing to type about?..I mean, there's stuff goin' on and all that, but there's just not ENOUGH goin' on to turn into a cohesive entry? Is it just me? Regardless, I shall do my best to soldier on, despite such things...I bring you RANDOM POST OF CRAP! The crap begins...Now...

Congratulations to my cousin Jason, who married his fiancee Michelle on Friday. My wife and I couldn't make it to his wedding, but we WERE able to go to a barbecue which was held at my Aunt and Uncle's house for all of the relative-type folks who were still around. At one point, my cousins said that I should go jump on the trampoline. I declined, reminding them that the last time I did that, I ripped my pants. Another younger cousin (Brittany) heard this and mistakenly thought I said that I had "wet" my pants.

Brittany: "You wet your PANTS?"

Me: "No, I RIPPED my pants. RIPPED."

Brittany: "Oh...You know, if I HAD to choose, I would certainly rather wet my pants. See, if you wet 'em, you could just wash 'em and dry 'em and wear 'em all over again, but if you RIPPED your pants, well, then you'd have to sew 'em and then EVERYBODY would be pointing and asking you 'what did you do to your butt?' and you'd have to tell the story OVER and OVER...Yep...If I HAD to choose, I'd really rather wet my pants."

Me: "Yeah, well...I just threw mine away. Thanks, though."
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Not long after that conversation, the stinkier of the two dogs that were at the barbecue emerged from a wading pool and shook itself off in the middle of everyone, Brittany included...A little while later, as Brittany was finishing off her drink, she made a "screwed-up" face and peered into her glass. After drinking the last of whatever was in there, she pulled back, shook her head and exclaimed "ooh...The end of that tasted like dog." now, the fact that she KNOWS what "dog" tastes like is perhaps something which I should find slightly disturbing. Of course, Brittany WAS the one who, while the younger people were discussing the food served at the aforementioned wedding, asked the very pointed question "why do those 'rich people' always eat such crappy food?"

for the record, the menu at my cousin's wedding looked really REALLY tasty, making me regret not being able to attend..."Yeah, yeah, congratulations...When do we eat?"
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My dad was featured on the local news and in the newspaper this week because he had a revolutionary procedure done to remove a blockage from an artery in his leg about a month and a half ago...The doctor used what's called a Silverhawk to basically go in and "roto-rooter" a blocked vein in my dad's leg, completely removing a 7" blockage and effectively saving his leg. He's pretty happy with his brief fame now and continues to remind us that he "looked pretty damn good on the TV." I do think, however, that there are less painful ways to get on TV than by having a catheter inserted into your groin...Still, I'm happy that the procedure was successful...Yay, dad!
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One of my uncles was not as fortunate as my dad, However...He had to have his right leg, I believe, amputated below the knee last week...From what I can gather, while in the hospital for problems with his toes, my uncle contracted an infection which basically ate away the bones starting with his foot and then progressing up his leg. Apparently, he also had a procedure done to his eye at one point and was wearing an eyepatch, the details of that I'm not certain about...I AM certain, though, that one of my uncle's grandkids has now decided that my uncle needs a wooden pegleg instead of a fancy prosthesis so that said grandkid can take him trick-or-treating in october...Yarr...

The kid isn't all there...He's funny, but he's not all there...
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So, I think I fractured my left hand...Hockey puck, you see...This still remains to be seen...For now, I type tentatively.
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Speaking of hockey (we were), the NHL has ended it's (completely frivolous) lockout, what with the players and owners coming to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement and it's being ratified at the end of last week. The players, despite their adamant refusal to accept a salary cap last year, will have to exist under said salary cap of around 34 million (maximum per team), with a maximum on individual players' salaries as well...It'll be interesting to see how the Avalanche fare under this new system, considering their spending habits in the past. Hell, either way, I'm just happy to have NHL hockey back.
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Yet another Dead Money poker tournament is scheduled to "go down" at my house this coming weekend. I'm actually expecting a really good turnout for this tournament based on the RSVPs I've received already...There's still some people who haven't said yes or no (you know who you are), but things are still looking like there will be a decent field to fight through...As long as I'm not the first one out, I'll be happy.

Oh, who am I kidding...I HAVE TO WIN! I must now defend my title, after all...
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Well, that's enough random crap for one day...You all have a fine Tuesday, we'll see you later.

Labels: dad's stories, hockey stuff, indignities, poker, sad stories, sports, stagnation

Hey, kids, welcome back to what is commonly called "reality" following that extended 4th of July holiday weekend...Hopefully, everyone had a safe and enjoyable celebration of the birth of our nation (229 years young, baby) filled to the proverbial brim with barbecued meats, freely-flowing booze and things which "light up and go boom." Oh, yeah, also "togetherness with friends and family" and stuff like that...For the most part, I had a good time over the aforementioned "weekend," despite having to work in the morning at the radio station on both Saturday and Monday...Admittedly, radio ain't manual labor, but just "getting out of bed" at 10 'til 5 on Monday morning turned out to be a bit of a challenge for me, not to mention trying to "stay awake" and "speak clearly" for 6 hours after having stayed up late on Sunday...

But that's neither here nor there...Where were we?..

Oh yeah, so on Saturday, after I got home from "the work," I assisted my wife in finishing up the "cleaning of the garage," a project which was just BEGGING to be done...I have to say, it's amazing how much space you suddenly have once you just start "throwing crap away" and/or giving said "crap" to Goodwill...There's room to move in the garage now!..I'll readily admit that my wife did the bulk of the work related to said "garage project," but, c'mon, what could I do? While I was all at "work" and stuff, she got all "motivated" and stuff and did a lot of...Well, "stuff."

And then, after that stuff, it was time to prepare for the poker tournament...stuff...

See, kids, on Saturday evening, we hosted the (second ever) "Dead Money" Texas Hold-'Em Tournament at our humble abode...Due to that whole "holiday" thing which we already discussed (oh, we did), some of the people who would've otherwise jumped at the chance to play some cards ended up "not being able to play" due to their being "out of town." At least one "player" had to work on Saturday evening and a couple others simply had too much "stuff" to do...As such, we ended up hosting a smallish tournament (9 players total), but it was a whole lot of fun, nonetheless...The tournament field included myself, my wife, my mom, my dad, my sister (who was the big winner of the first tournament back in September), Collin, Justin, Justin's wife Jen and Joe, who went to high school with my wife...Play began on two separate tables and, after three players were eliminated between those two tables, we merged into what is, of course, called the "final table." With the blinds steadily increasing and, conversely, my chip stack decreasing, I figured that it wasn't long before I was finished...

Then came those 4 jacks...

I went "all-in" and pulled back a tremendous amount of chips on a single hand where I was lucky enough to hit 4 jacks...Suddenly, I went from being on the brink of elimination to "sitting pretty." After some whittling away of players' chips and, at the same time, the players themselves, eventually there was just me squaring off against my dad...Once we started "heads-up play" for the championship, I was facing a near 3 to 1 chip deficit, despite winning the big hand which I elaborated upon earlier...A few hands went by and I decided that I should start playing a tinch more aggressive, so I went all-in, pre-flop, with a suited jack-4...Dad called my all in...We flopped...

The flop came Jack, 4, 4...Dad, in effect, was suddenly "drawing dead."

That hand took a big fat chunk out of his chip stack and, a couple hands later, roles reversed...Dad went all-in, pre-flop and I made the call. Dad showed unsuited king-queen, I showed suited Ace-4. No one paired up on the resultant flop-turn-river and, as such, I won the hand (and the tournament as a whole) on nothing more than a stinkin' ace high...Yay me...So, after divvying up the prize money pats on the back and vats of pride, I fired up the audio equipment and, with only a couple exceptions, the tournament participants stuck around to finish off the fun by singing some karaoke...All in all, it was a great time, one which I hope we can have more often than "every 9 months" or so...

After packing so much "fun and frolic" into Saturday, Sunday was pretty much a wash...Slept in, did yardwork, played video games and lounged around...Stayed up late, though, like I mentioned...

So, after working Monday morning and, afterward, taking a nice afternoon nap, my parents came over for dinner and fireworks...I had spent 50 bucks on a big-ass "family assortment" at Collins fireworks and was prepared to dazzle everyone with a display of fountains, crazy jacks and these things called "crackering balls." As the festivities got goin' last night, though, it was painfully obvious that I was the only one in the neighborhood that "didn't get the memo," so to speak...Whilst I set off my weak-ass "legal" fireworks, pretty much everyone within a 2-block radius was busy setting off thousands upon thousands of dollars of high-end (and completely illegal) fireworks pyro-friggin'-technics to everyone's amazement and awe...Don't get me wrong, I love the stuff that flies and explodes and is generally "dangerous" and that has been deemed "outside the law" in our state (face facts, it's COOL), but I haven't actually been in possession of such things for many years now. It seems, however, that everyone else in the neighborhood saw fit to make the trip to wherever (Wyoming or New Mexico, both are easy to get to from here and both sell the stuff) to pick up "the good stuff" as it were...One particular family MUST HAVE spent close to $10,000 on the fireworks which they set off, I'm not kidding. From late afternoon until 10pm, Friday until Monday, these people were putting on one Hell of a show, firing off everything from roman candles and bottle rockets to the larger, cannon-fired "mortars" which you see at the large, commercial fireworks shows...

the concussion from these things shook our windows...Seriously...

We really did have the best seat in the house, so to speak...All in all, we got to see some amazing pyrotechnics from the neighbors and I got to have fun lighting my lame crap on fire...I'm utterly flabbergasted that the Sheriff's department didn't show up...Not even one deputy rolled down our street during the nearly 3-solid-hour "boomfest." The lack of law enforcement presence through all of that makes me feel real safe...Almost safe enough to get me some bottle rockets for next year...We'll see...

Well, kids, it's back to work for me...You all have a fine Tuesday!..Don't blow anything up...

Labels: holidays, lame stories, poker, radio stories, tales of triumph

As is customary when I've been away and have TOO MUCH CRAP rolling around in my pointy little head, I am (once again) going to blatantly rip off gently borrow the format of everyone's favorite monkey, who is known simply and inexplicably as the Monkey. This is due to the fact that I am just as "lazy" as I am "evil" and, if you are to believe the things which are typed by the likes of Collin, then that makes me much lazier than you...Believe it...

Anyway, here goes...

I just returned home from visiting the Las Vegas area, something which my wife and I are apt to do at least a couple times per year. We've had family in the area for about 5 years now, and it seems that the number of people whom we can visit/stay with/depend upon to cart our lazy asses around keeps growing year by year. My wife's dad, stepmom, and grandmother all live there, and my wife's sister and her man (Big Al) recently purchased a very nice home just up the road from the dad. In addition to that, my friend Andy, who is the copywriter Andy that DOESN'T have a website, lives there now with his wife. It's kind of nice to visit Las Vegas and NOT stay at a hotel/casino sometimes, it helps me avoid two things that I really kind of hate: cigarette smoke and "people."
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Speaking of Las Vegas (we were), it's just so damn strange to be in a place with such gigantic frickin' landmarks. Now, I know that this is nothing new, but I think that I noticed it just a bit more than normal this time since I was a full-time passenger and not a driver. Case in point: you can see "the Strip" from a good number of miles away, but can't actually GET to "the Strip" in a timely fashion from that "good number" of miles away due to the insane amount of traffic and road construction. Don't get me wrong, Vegas has been crowded before during my many visits, but this most recent visit was easily the most crowded I've seen it...
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So, that Michael Jackson guy...Um...So what's with him?
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Remember when I said that I might post while I was away? Remember that? Heh...I...um..."lied."
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I participated in the a poker tournament at the Orleans while I was in Las Vegas. In a strange twist of fate, the same exact hand (Ace-Eight) won me my first pot in this tournament, just as it did when I played in a tournament at the Orleans around Christmastime. Conversly, a wired pair of nines led to my exit from the tournament BOTH FRICKIN' TIMES...Same place, same hand, same result... I think that the lesson to be learned here is NOT TO PLAY NINES...Of course, I'm sure that if I were to FOLD the nines, a nine would come up on the board. Why? Because this is how my luck works. Overall, though, I did better than the last time. It's only a matter of time before I win one of those stupid things...
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Speaking of "not losing" (we kind of were), the Sharks, with whom I play the "hockey," are on a "not-losing" streak. We've tied the last two games we've played in the advanced league at the Chapel Hills Mall. This "not losing" thing is a real confidence booster for the team, it's only a matter of time before everything comes together and we "win" a game.
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We rented and watched a couple of movies while I was in vegas...White Noise, the supposedly spooky film based loosely on the real-life Phenomena that is EVP, was the first rented film that we suffered through watched. Granted, it had it's moments of shock value, but I found the plot to be a little weak and the drama, what there was of it, was not particularly well-developed. You kind of knew who the bad guys (or spirits) were the whole time and the "big payoff" at the end was not that big of a twist...I guess I did like how there was no happy ending at all, for anyone, in this film, but as "horror" movies go, the previews and the commercials I saw for this film turned out to be scarier that the film itself.
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Speaking of "scary," or, better yet, things that turn out to not be scary, the second film that stole two precious hours of my life away I sat through was Wicker Park which appeared to be, if the trailers and commercials for the film are to be believed, a "suspenseful thriller." in the end, though, this film turned out to be anything but. I can easily break this movie down to 3 specific points...Ready? Good... A: If you're scheduled to go to China, you GO TO FRIGGIN' CHINA. You don't turn into psycho stalker boy, looking for your "woman," who ain't even still your woman, you just go...to...China...Of course, there wouldn't have been a movie if he DID go to China, but that would've been just fine with me.
B: If you're a psycho stalker girl who's been doing everything she can to get to psycho stalker boy who's been trailing your friend, obsessed with HER the whole time you've been obsessed with HIM and you've finally gotten said stalker boy to notice you, you should probably take the opportunity and simply kill your friend. I mean, really, she gave up WAY too easy...Again, I thought that this chunk of shit movie was supposed to be suspenseful! I really don't think that the Star Wars series would've had the lasting appeal that it does if ol' Darth Vader just simply said "ok, whatever you wanna do, I'm gonna just go hang out" when Luke refused to come to the dark side...Or whatever, I dunno, I don't like Star Wars...Anyway...
C: Without "flashbacks," this movie could've easily been nothing more than a half-hour sitcom, even if you threw in some commercials. The way this story was told was not "innovative," nor was it "clever." It was, in fact, "fucking annoying." I hate you, Brandon Boyce...You too, Paul McGuigan...
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Have a fine Tuesday, kids!

Labels: get outta town, hockey stuff, lame stories, poker, sports, stagnation, tales of triumph

Hey, it's Monday already! It's a crappy, cold, snowy day here which is made even worse by the fact that, prior to it getting all cold and snowy, it was all "rainy." That means that all of the roads around town, with precious few exceptions, are quite treacherous. I hear tell that there was even a large pileup of cars this morning where I would usually get onto the interstate. Due to that fact, I was forced to utilize a number of "alternate routes" to get to work today, all the while dodging the other "drivers" on the road...Things is crappy and are probably only gonna get crappier...

Wish me luck in getting home later...

So, in case you weren't paying attention, or just don't like "football," there was this "big game" on the television yesterday. I'll admit, I wasn't paying a whole crapload of attention to the damn thing because A: I don't like either of the teams who were participating in the game and B: I was busy taking the money of the people who threw the party which I attended during the poker tournament which they organized...I love playing that game of poker! It's fun, especially when you can make money while doing it. I officially took 2nd place (out of 10 or 11 players) in the tournament, but was really just trying to end the whole thing by going "all in" on every hand once it came down to the last 2 players (myself and a congenial drunk fella' named "Brian"). Eventually Brian called my all-in and won. Even though the loss didn't completely break me, I was dead set on going home, so I conceded. Still, I had fun and, more importantly, made some money...Nothing better than that, right?

For any "law enforcement" personnel who may stumble upon this entry: no money changed hands! Only pride and, c'mon, pride is PRICELESS!..Anyway...

I performed a few "housekeeping" things related to the ol' blog today, including rearranging (slightly) a couple of the sidebar links which lead to other blogs. One, which I had moved to the "retired" section because she had said ON HER BLOG that she was "hangin' 'em up" did NOT, in fact, quit blogging...As such, even despite the fact that she's a flaming liberal, I still think that there's SOME redeeming quality to her writing, so I moved her back (barely) under the header of blogs which I read. Another, which I had denoted as "active," has not updated since...Well, since a long damn time ago....As such, I've moved it under the retired header...

Look, kids...If you're gonna be a damn quitter, just do it! Stick with it and quit!..Save Uncle Derek the time and trouble of cutting and pasting your sorry link every couple of weeks...At the same time, if you're gonna blog, and make me read your blog by writing things that are interesting, KEEP IT UP! This way, I won't have to be all "I had to rearrange..." ok?..Good...Thank you...Heh...

So anyway, in a total "geek" move, and as a gift to myself in honor of my one year "blogiversary" (which will occur later this week), I registered the domain name www.sonofcheese.com. I'm not planning on moving or mirroring or anything like that, but Yahoo had a registration deal which I couldn't pass up AND that allows me to have THAT address forward automatically to HERE...In addtion, I can have an "email address" that automatically forwards to my Yahoo email...I FEEL SO OFFICIAL!..I am the proud owner of sonofcheese.com for the next 5 years...I know it sounds silly, but you never know who is gonna reserve something when you ain't lookin'...

Also, because I recently added the referral ads from CafePress to my sidebar, and the ad is touting discounts on selected "Valentine's Day" merchandise, I thought it might be good to add those items to my store. Again, THIS IS NOT A PLEA FOR YOU TO BUY ANYTHING, just an opportunity to see some of the stupid things that are in my Shop. Look especially at the boxers and the bear, 'cause they're new (today)!

Past that, things are pretty uneventful...I do have this stuff called "work" to get done, so I'd better get on doin' that...We'll see you again soon, kids!

Labels: 'round town, geekery, lame stories, poker, sports

And I just got back from it. There's just SO MUCH that I have to share from my time away that, in lieu of writing 20 different long, drawn-out stories, I am forced to (once again) rip off the Monkey's blog style for today's entry. Ready? here we go...

My wife and I traveled to Las Vegas last Monday to spend some time with family and friends. It seems that there are more and more people to see every time we go out that way, with the most recent addition to Sin City being Andy, whom you all know from the clever comments which he leaves from time to time. This Andy is not to be confused with Andy C., just so's you all keep things straight. THIS Andy, Andy K., recently landed a job at SKG advertising as a copywriter. Way to go, Andy!
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And speaking of Andy (We were), his wife Andrea paid him a surprise visit on Wednesday, which we were all aware of, but had to keep a secret, for obvious reasons. IT'S SO HARD TO NOT SPILL THE BEANS! Luckily, nobody ruined the surprise, which turned out to be a "good one." When she arrived, Andrea took a cab from McCarran to SKG, snuck up behind Andy and gave him a "kiss." Andy was scared to turn around, as he said, because when Andrea kissed him, what started running through his mind were all of the girls that had been nice to him...AND ONE GUY! He said that, if it HAD been the guy, he was prepared to "punch him."
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Backtracking to Monday, I had booked our flight on a "low-fare" airline called Allegiant. I booked the hotel with them as well, part of a package deal for which I paid an insanely low price. Sometimes, it is true that you "get what you pay for." Upon arrival at the Colorado Springs Airport, it was clear that, even though we got through the security and check-in process with plenty of time to spare, not everyone would be as fortunate. Allegiant, being the cheap-asses that they are, subcontract out the check-in and United, being the cheap-asses that THEY are, only allotted Allegiant one very slow station which was, in turn, "staffed" by one very slow individual. The check-in line extended far beyond a very far away place and things looked very bleak for an on-time departure. All of this "crap" conspired to put us a full hour and a half behind schedule. In addition, when we finally made it to our hotel, good ol' Allegiant, it seemed, simply failed to make our hotel reservation. Perhaps you can imagine my displeasure when I was told that, according to the Orleans, I didn't exist. Apparently, during the tirade of curse words which I followed THAT revelation up with, I must've hit on some "secret password" because we not only got a room soon after, but we were given a significantly better room than the folks around us who also were checking in (and existing) got.
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Speaking of crappy, low-fare airlines (oh, we were), Allegiant Air is officially "on notice" to "watch their ass." Listen here, you jerks! I've already utilized my (considerable) psychic powers to put Vanguard Airlines out of business and, believe me, I won't think twice about using that shit on you...
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On a lighter note, We (myself, my wife, Andy, Heather's Sister Shannon and Shannon's boyfriend Aldie) got together at P.F. Chang's on Monday evening. If you've never eaten at a Chang's before, I highly recommend doing so. If you HAVE enjoyed Chang's fare prior to reading this entry, you know what unbridled food-related bliss the whole experience can be. Say it with me..."Lettuce wraps."
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By the way, the whole "not having a hotel reservation" thing DID get cleared up, but I'm still not backing off of Allegiant. Someone's getting a letter, dammit.
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In addition to Chang's on Monday, my wife and I joined Andy (and Andrea) for dinner on Wednesday at Diego, which is in the MGM Grand. I will admit, I was a bit leery of "gourmet Mexican" fare going in but I'm a believer now. Two words for you folks. Well, 3. No, make it 4. "Guacamole, prepared fresh tableside." Oh holy crap, THAT is some damn good stuff. Unfortunately, for Andy, it was his first experience with guacamole. He enjoyed it immensely, as did we all, but I assured him that after having THIS particular guacamole, most others would really suck by comparison. Also, we had goat barbacoa. That is some good stuff, lemme tell ya.
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Well, that should be enough for now. Later on, I'll fill you all in about things such as how I participated in an actual poker tournament, how many presents my wife got from her dad and stepmom (enough to pop the seams in our luggage) and perhaps more dining experiences, since we go to Las Vegas primarily to eat food and get fat. Until then, I hope you all had a great holiday and, if you're back at work today, I hope you can make the best of it. If you're NOT back at work today...Well...Sleep in...Or somethin'...I dunno.

Labels: blatant rip-offs, get outta town, I eat food, indignities, poker

There was SO MUCH that happened over the weekend, I'm hoping I can cover it all in one little entry...(taking a breath)...Here we go...

Worked at the radio station on Saturday morning. Also had to sit through a "mandatory" staff meeting during my airshift. What a joke...Anyway...

On Saturday evening, we had the first official Dead Money Poker Tournament at my house. Some of the invitees declined, others cancelled out at the last minute but despite such things (and thanks to a last-minute phone call), we still had enough (9 players) to make it fun and competitive...For this tournament, we were playing no-limit Texas Hold 'Em with blinds increasing every 20 minutes. I personally didn't catch enough cards to hold myself in once the blinds went up into the $250/$500 range and, as such, was the fourth player eliminated, right about the same time as Ray, and a while behind Trevor and my wife (who was first out). Playing for the big money ($20) at the final table were Collin, Sandy, Lorne, Jason and my sister Heather.

Collin, while he WAS having a wonderful run of luck before moving to the final table, became apprehensive (by his own admission) because he started to see the chips as real money...Due to this loss of composure, Collin was the first eliminated from said final table and, sadly, did not finish "in the money" as the kids say. Sandy was the next to go from the final table, finishing in fourth place and earning her entry fee ($5) back. Lorne, Sandy's husband, was the next to go. Lorne finished in 3rd place and earned an $8 prize. That left Jason (the Iowa Kid) and my sister (Heather Bee) squaring off for the big money top prize (and also the t-shirt that UPS misrouted to California). In the style of the big time televised poker tournaments, the $20 was brought to the final table to "show the players what they were playing for." Heh.

Long story short, my sister continued to catch cards, as she had done all night, and eliminated Jason in 5 hands. Jason came away with $12 while Heather earned $20 and the t-shirt (which should be delivered today). Congratulations to her and thanks to everyone who participated. It was big fun! We'll surely do it again soon...

Sunday was a day to do very little other than watch NFL football. I'm involved in two different Yahoo Fantasy Football Leagues, so just about every game on TV held interest for me. Initially, my wife was only interested in watching the Pittsburgh Steelers game seeing as she went to high school and college with Aaron Smith, who is a Steeler defensive end. Aaron had a good game on Sunday, including scooping up a fumble and rumbling 50 yards downfield before being tackled. Heck of an effort all the way around. Of course, once the Broncos game came on at 6:30, we were both glued to the set. A few of my observances regarding the Broncos/Chiefs game...

Bernie Kukar is a moron. His entire officiating crew are morons. Perhaps Bernie Kukar is too old to be an NFL official, or perhaps he's just a dickhead. Either way, if the NFL does not take any disciplinary action against Kukar and his crew, I'll be sorely disappointed. Again, Bernie Kukar can kiss my ass.

Preist Holmes IS the Kansas City Chiefs. They should change the team name to the Kansas City Priests and just admit the fact that they are completely one-dimensional.

Trent Green is ugly.

Dick Vermeil cries more than any man should.

Joe Theisman, for having played professional football, must not have retained anything. As a commentator, he's a failure. Still baffled as to how ESPN allows him on the air.


I thought that Pat Summerall had his drinking problem licked...Maybe not...Pat seemed lost during most of last night's game and sometimes was just mumbling about nothing...

Paul Maguire mumbles MORE than Summerall...he also trails off while talking about nothing to the point of being inaudible. The three of them are completely worthless, almost to the point of being Bernie Kukar-esque. I'd rather listen to two monkeys chatter and screech during the game than endure the constant stupidity that spews forth from Pat, Paul and Joe. You guys suck.

It's Quentin GRIFFIN...Not "Griffith." Get it straight, you'll be saying it a Hell of a lot this season.

Clinton Who?

Dick Vermeil...Did I mention that he cries too much?

Tony Gonzalez is no longer a viable weapon at tight end. Hey, Tony, you weren't interfered with, you just suck. Retire already.

Dante Hall, meet John Lynch.

Eddie Kennison is a quitter. He'll probably quit the Chiefs after they lose their first 4 games.

And finally, to all of those "prognosticators" who arrogantly claim to know SO MUCH about professional football who gave the Broncos no chance against the Chiefs, you can kiss my ass. Again, I know more than you do. If you wish to challenge me on that fact, all we have to do is compare fantasy football stats over the last 3 years.

Anyhoo, I'm done being an ass about it. Yay Broncos! Boo Chiefs!

Labels: lame stories, misguided rantings, poker, sports

Dammit, Shit, Fuck, Hell, Crap, Poop! United Parcel Service seems, due to some bad karma on my part, to have some sort of stinkin' damn grudge against me. I can almost sense when they're about to screw with me, too, it's uncanny...See, if I order something that I merely want, it'll arrive MOSTLY on time...If I order something that I ACTUALLY NEED, however, those bastards at UPS will find SOME way to misroute my package. If by some miracle they don't misroute it, they'll simply forget to deliver it. failing that, If they have a chance to do so, they'll actually lose my package WITHIN THE LOCAL FACILITY ("I know it's here SOMEWHERE"...). They're real effing efficient at PISSING ME OFF, which seems to be about the ONLY thing that they're consistent at. The latest evil deed that this vile global shipping entity has perpetrated upon yours truly has to do with the top prize t-shirt that I ordered for the big poker tournament this weekend...

As I mentioned last week, I ordered the shirt from CafePress in what I hoped was an ample amount of time to have it produced and shipped to me. This, in fact, WAS the case right up until stinkin' UPS got their greasy mitts on the thing...With an originally scheduled delivery of tomorrow, which would have been AWESOME seeing as the tournament is this Saturday, UPS took it upon themselves to route the package the wrong God Damned way...Seriously. The wrong direction. The information that I am able to get from the tracking page tells me the following:

AN INCORRECT ROUTING AT A UPS FACILITY CAUSED THIS DELAY;THE PACKAGE WAS MISSORTED AT THE HUB. IT HAS BEEN REROUTED TO THE CORRECT DESTINATION SITE

Hey, thanks at least for FIGURING OUT THAT SAN JOSE, CALI-FUCKING-FORNIA IS NOT THE SAME AS COLORADO FRICKIN' SPRINGS, COLORADO! As such, the delivery has been rescheduled for Monday the 13th. MONDAY! Dammit...This means that my smokin' top prize will not even be AVAILABLE to award to whomever ends up being the big winner of the poker tournament. Oh Heck no, instead, I'll have a FUCKING PICTURE of the shirt to show the winner with the promise that they'll get the shirt EVENTUALLY. I say eventually because, even though delivery is SCHEDULED for Monday, I still don't trust that it'll happen. No, Something else COULD go wrong...I won't trust UPS until I get my shipment in hand and EVEN THEN I'll still want to poke those assholes in their collective left eye for the consistent level of incompetence that they display...

Not that Fed Ex is any better...Ah well...Enough of that crap...

So if you happen to be an astute observer of change (and things like it), you may have noticed that I added an Avalanche logo to my sidebar (right over there...TO YOUR LEFT! yeah, there). This is due to the fact that I am participating, thanks to Tricia, in the big Rocket Jones Hockey Whoopass Jamboree wherin competitors (like me) choose their hockey team and, because hockey KICKS ASS, proudly display that team's logo on their site (Like I did). You are then required to talk trash about impending games with other Whoopass Jamboree competitors and, if your team loses to a team that's been claimed by another competitor, you have no choice other than to display said opposing team's logo IN PLACE of your team's logo for a period of...what...24 hours or so...Sounds fun!..Well, sounds fun as long as there'll be an NHL season that is...Let's all think collectively good thoughts about that collective bargaining agreement situation, shall we?

So, speaking of sports (we were), the NFL season kicks off tonight with the stinking Indianapolis Colts traveling to Foxboro, Mass. to take on the stinking defending SuperBowl champion New England Patriots...Hooray for football! This means that I can start to REALLY pay attention to my fantasy football teams...Go Broncos!..

Ooh, before I run off and be more productive and stuff, I'll share the fact that today, being that this week marks my 5-year anniversary at the agency, I had my annual review. Things went well! Apparently I'm an "asset" to the department (who knew!?). Always nice to hear such things when it comes to employment...Yay for being appreciated!...It's certainly better than having to look for a job...

Labels: hockey stuff, indignities, misguided rantings, poker, sports

I figured I'd better upload a photo to show that there IS something new going on...Heh...Anyway, here is that photo, taken mere minutes ago...

Here I stand, proudly displaying the 650 extra poker chips I purchased for the big poker tournament that I have in the works...They arrived via UPS today from a wonderful company in Ohio called 5 Star Deal. If you happen to be on the market for casino supplies, they rock. They also sell knives and swords and stuff, but I stick with the casino stuff. For now.

And yes, that is my #54 "Knight" official Charlestown Chiefs jersey. Putting on the foil as we speak, folks...

Labels: Phrickin' Photoblogs, poker, tales of triumph

It's been a screwy, busy week for me...I've been feverishly working on a specific set of ads here at work that have turned out to be nothing more than a giant pain on my ass due to the "too many cooks" principle. Actually, if all of them damn "cooks" would just communicate with each other, it probably would've been much easier. Anyway, with all of that going on, I've been kind of handcuffed when it comes to polishing up "content" for the ol' blog here, but I haven't forgotten about it. No sir...

A couple of times last week, I shared some small chunks of a larger project I was working on called "Dead Money." As I said, Dead Money is a poker term which, if you want the full definition of, you can find here. Since I've been busy (like I said) I haven't had a whole lot of time to complete said project. Good news, as I see it anyway, is that I finally DID complete it, working a little here and there. As such, I will share more information with you all now...

I am planning on having a Texas Hold 'Em poker tournament with some of the people that I (semi-regularly) play poker with. And, if you're wondering, Texas Hold 'Em is INDEED the poker that you see most often on ESPN or the Travel Channel, but in our case, there's no celebrities, hidden cameras or really good players...I'm also looking to include some other newer players, a few of whom truly are "dead money," but that's neither here nor there...This whole "tournament" idea is not new, in fact we've done it before, just not at MY house and NOT with a smokin' top prize such as I will now describe...(get ready)...

Everyone will buy in to this little tournament with five measly dollars. They will then be given $1,440 in chips to play with. I'm hoping to get 12 players in this tournament and start play on 2 separate tables, combining into one after enough people are eliminated. If I do get 12 people to play, which is likely, the top four finishers will receive prize money with the WINNER receiving 30 bucks AND (as if that weren't enough) A FREE commemorative T-shirt! Yes! A whole T-shirt! THIS was what I was working on. Yep. The design for said "championship t-shirt." Because I like you, and because I know you won't tell anyone, I'll let you all take a sneak peek at the shirt design...Ready?...

I've already ordered more chips especially for the tournament and also ordered the shirt from my store. THIS IS GONNA BE AWESOME! I'll let you know the results after it happens. Oh yeah, it's scheduled for Saturday, September 11. So...um..."Stay tuned," as they say...

Labels: cartoons n' stuff, Illustrations, lame stories, poker, spooky shit, Stupid Contests

Thursday brings more work and business and such. I know, it sounds like a cop-out, but it means that actual content from me is unlikely, but seeing as I am a "value-added" blogger, I will show you another small chunk of the "Dead Money" thingy I've got in progress. Here now is the $100 chip:

someday I should get these chips actually made. It'd cost a bit much, but it'd be fun. Anyhoo, I hear the microwave...Lunch is ready...See you all later.

Labels: cartoons n' stuff, Illustrations, poker, stagnation

It's a pretty busy day here at work (no Collin all week will do that). As such, I don't have time to polish up some of the entries I've been working on, but I DID want to share a couple things...

The first bit of sharing is that all of my equipment (the stuff that got wet after that wedding on Saturday) is fine. All of the speakers (even the "sloshy" one) tested good and are fully operational. The only real problem I encountered is that my main carpeted equipment rack got wet which caused the glue that holds the carpet down to seep through. This created a nasty, sticky mess. I aired the rack out, though, and mopped the floor. All now seems to be well. In addition, I took an extra safety step and picked up a cheap plastic tub that should protect the spare stuff from the rain better than my old Converse gym bag did. I'm also going to start carrying 45 gallon trashbags with me to gigs so that, if it looks like it may rain, I can place these bags over the racks and stuff BEFORE I load them in the truck so they stay dry regardless of how stupid I am regarding my tarp placement.

You're probably wondering "why the Hell is he telling me all of this?" The answer is simple..."Because."

The second thing I want to share is this preliminary illustration that will be part of a larger shirt design called "Dead Money." If you're not aware what the term "dead money" means in poker, it refers to a player at a poker table who has little chance of winning. If you were unaware that "dead money" was even a poker term, you should come to one of our poker nights. We'd love to have you...Anyhoo, the King of Spades looks like this:

So there's that. I've gotta get back to work, so you all have a fine day.

Labels: cartoons n' stuff, Illustrations, lame stories, poker, spooky shit