It's still raining outside and it's the type of weather you really don't wanna drive in, and the idea of staying in and relaxing on the sofa is a pretty darn good idea. I was flippin' through stations and saw that Ellen DeGeneres was having Sandra Bullock on, so thought I'd watch it since Sandra always makes me laugh.
I cracked up and couldn't quit laughing during the "I'll do anything once" dare that Sandra accepted. Here's the Clip.
Oh, another nice thing to mention is that Sandra has opened her own restaurant in downtown, Austin, TX called Bess. The menu looks so yummy too. It's got Shepherd's Pie and Macaroni & Cheese - how completely awesome is that? It's my next restaurant to visit soon.
My eyes are getting drowsy, so that means sunrise will be here soon. Goodnight all.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Billiard Movies
There’s not a ton of billiard movies out there – but here a few to get you started. There are a few more and I hope that I can add to this list…
Hustle: to lure less skillful players into competing against oneself at
(a gambling game)
1. Movie: The Hustler, 1961
Paul Newman was only a promising and somewhat successful actor until performing the part of the brash, lonely, love-and-reputation seeking poolshark, "Fast" Eddie Felson. This single role turned Newman's career and made him an overnight superstar.
Billiard Quotes in Movie:
“I’m shootin’ pool, Fats. When I miss, you can shoot.”
“Do you like to gamble Eddie? Gamble money on a pool game?”
2. Movie: A Game of Pool, 1961
A young pool player finds himself playing against a long-dead master pool shark. The stakes: his life.
Billiard Quotes in Movie:
“I’m only a pool player, but I’m the best.”
“You WERE the best.”
3. Movie: The Baron and The Kid, 1984
A Pool Shark, Johnny Cash, meets his son for the first time
at a charity tournament. when they discover they are father and son, after recognizing a gold ring the father was wearing, they decide to join together Financially and Professionally, and open a pool room together.
4. Movie: Kiss Shot, 1992
Out of cash, out of a job, and soon-to-be out on the street, single mother Sarah Collins suddenly finds herself returning to the pool rooms of her youth to pay a massive home mortgage bill. But just as she plays her way into a big-money tournament that could solve all her problems, a globe-trotting, pool playing ladies’ man threatens to disrupt her safe, secure life with her daughter – as well as her own fragile peace of mind.
5. Movie: The Color of Money, 1986
Pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) finds the young,
promising pool player Vincent (Tom Cruise) in a local bar and he sees in him a younger version of himself. After hearing Vincent break open those 9 ball racks like thunder Fast Eddie was hooked again.
Billiard Quotes in Movie:
“You couldn’t find big time if you had a road map.”
“You gotta have two things to win. You gotta have brains and you gotta have balls. And you got too much of one and not enough of the other.”
“Money won is twice as sweet as money earned.”
6. Movie: Poolhall Junkies, 2002
Obsessed by the world of pool, Johnny (Mars Callahan) could be one of the best. But his mentor and "trainer" Joe (Chazz Palminteri), a shady hustler who decides how and who Johnny plays, is holding him back from his dream. When the day finally comes, Johnny breaks from Joe, which leads to only one thing - violence. Joe is beaten up by some of Johnny's buddies as a sign to leave him alone, and with this final act of freedom, Johnny leaves the world of pool-sharking.
Billiard Quotes in Movie:
“You beat them, you take their money, you call them names to their faces... and they love you. I don't know how you do it. I never saw anything like it. Beating a man out of his money, that's easy. Anybody can do that. But beating a man out of his money and making him like it... that's an art. That's an art of a true hustler.”
7. Movie: Behind the Nine, 2004
It's the final weekend of an underground nine-ball tournament, with the winner taking home $500,000 cash. The losers take home nothing but a handshake and a pat on the back. Eight players remain, and these players and their hangers-on meet at the proprietor's house to play out the remainder of the tournament.
Billiard Quotes in Movie:
“Most people get one, maybe two weeks of vacation, and work the other fifty. They got it backwards.”
Hustle: to lure less skillful players into competing against oneself at
(a gambling game)
1. Movie: The Hustler, 1961
Paul Newman was only a promising and somewhat successful actor until performing the part of the brash, lonely, love-and-reputation seeking poolshark, "Fast" Eddie Felson. This single role turned Newman's career and made him an overnight superstar.
Billiard Quotes in Movie:
“I’m shootin’ pool, Fats. When I miss, you can shoot.”
“Do you like to gamble Eddie? Gamble money on a pool game?”
2. Movie: A Game of Pool, 1961
A young pool player finds himself playing against a long-dead master pool shark. The stakes: his life.
Billiard Quotes in Movie:
“I’m only a pool player, but I’m the best.”
“You WERE the best.”
3. Movie: The Baron and The Kid, 1984
A Pool Shark, Johnny Cash, meets his son for the first time
at a charity tournament. when they discover they are father and son, after recognizing a gold ring the father was wearing, they decide to join together Financially and Professionally, and open a pool room together.
4. Movie: Kiss Shot, 1992
Out of cash, out of a job, and soon-to-be out on the street, single mother Sarah Collins suddenly finds herself returning to the pool rooms of her youth to pay a massive home mortgage bill. But just as she plays her way into a big-money tournament that could solve all her problems, a globe-trotting, pool playing ladies’ man threatens to disrupt her safe, secure life with her daughter – as well as her own fragile peace of mind.
5. Movie: The Color of Money, 1986
Pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) finds the young,
promising pool player Vincent (Tom Cruise) in a local bar and he sees in him a younger version of himself. After hearing Vincent break open those 9 ball racks like thunder Fast Eddie was hooked again.
Billiard Quotes in Movie:
“You couldn’t find big time if you had a road map.”
“You gotta have two things to win. You gotta have brains and you gotta have balls. And you got too much of one and not enough of the other.”
“Money won is twice as sweet as money earned.”
6. Movie: Poolhall Junkies, 2002
Obsessed by the world of pool, Johnny (Mars Callahan) could be one of the best. But his mentor and "trainer" Joe (Chazz Palminteri), a shady hustler who decides how and who Johnny plays, is holding him back from his dream. When the day finally comes, Johnny breaks from Joe, which leads to only one thing - violence. Joe is beaten up by some of Johnny's buddies as a sign to leave him alone, and with this final act of freedom, Johnny leaves the world of pool-sharking.
Billiard Quotes in Movie:
“You beat them, you take their money, you call them names to their faces... and they love you. I don't know how you do it. I never saw anything like it. Beating a man out of his money, that's easy. Anybody can do that. But beating a man out of his money and making him like it... that's an art. That's an art of a true hustler.”
7. Movie: Behind the Nine, 2004
It's the final weekend of an underground nine-ball tournament, with the winner taking home $500,000 cash. The losers take home nothing but a handshake and a pat on the back. Eight players remain, and these players and their hangers-on meet at the proprietor's house to play out the remainder of the tournament.
Billiard Quotes in Movie:
“Most people get one, maybe two weeks of vacation, and work the other fifty. They got it backwards.”
Monday, December 25, 2006
Happy Holidays to All
Not sure where the year has gone, but 2006 definitely flew by with the most wonderful things and a few things that stopped us in our tracks. Wishing you and your family an even better year filled with all the best you deserve. Thank you to all who have made 2006 such a great year -- I couldn't of done it without you. Peace & Love Always.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Create your own Ethernet Patch Cables
Things like this excite me.
Have you ever had those days where you needed an Ethernet cable that was just a “little” bit longer and you had to head out to Fry’s to buy one and fork out $10 - $25 on a cable? No need to do that – just create your own. These simple instructions will teach you how to make a good Ethernet patch cord at a fraction of the price it would cost you to buy it pre-manufactured.
Here is all you will need:
1. CAT5 Cable (Get a box of 500ft or so - will run you about $70)
2. RJ45 Micron connector ends (50 of them run about $8)
3. Crimper Tool for RJ45 (Cheap one runs about $12)
4. Scissors or wire cutters (or a knife works well too)
The internal part of the cable has 8 wires that are color coded and twisted into 4 pairs. Each pair has one color theme – one solid and one striped.
The RJ45 ends look like a large phone plug. It is a 8 position modular connector that fits the 8 wires.
To create your standard, straight through wiring – you can either do the T568A or the T568B. It doesn’t matter as long as you are consistant.
Here is the diagram for the T568A & T568B
Now comes the fun part:
1. Cut off about 1 to 1.5 inches of the blue cable sheath and be careful not to cut the little wires inside.
2. Untwist the 4 colored pairs, but not too much. Just about 3/4 of an inch should work.
3. Align the colored wires like the schema above - keep it consistant with A or B (both bring you the same result). You are wanting to create a straight cable which is used to connect a device to a hub, switch or router. You can also do a crossover cable if you want to connect two computers so they can talk to each other.
4. Trim all the wires neatly and even with the cutter (crimpter tool), about 1/2" left exposed from the sheath.
5. Carefully insert the wire ends into the RJ45 with the clip facing down. Double check to make sure each wire is fully inserted to the front of the RJ45 little corridor and in the correct order.
6. Crimp the RJ45 end with the tool. You will need to press firmly. Don't worry - you won't break anything.
7. Check to see that the wires ended up the right order and that the wires extend to the front of the RJ45 end and make good contact with the bronze metal contacts.
8. Cut the cable to whatever length you wish.
9. Do the same steps above for the other RJ45 end.
10. You're done.
A 10 ft CAT5 patch cord can cost you up to $7 in a retail store. If you make your own cable, it would run you about $1.25. Great deal, eh?
BTW: You might be wondering why it matters what order the wires are?
There is reason for the order in 568A/568B connectors -- The pairs of cables in the cable are twisted together at different ratios (called "twist ratios"). When an electrical current travels down a twisted pair of wires, a magnetic field perpendicular to the twist occurs. For ethernet, only the pins 1,2,3,6 are used (the orange and green pairs). One pair is tightly twisted and the other is loosely twisted. This causes their magnetic fields to be out of synch with each other, and minimizes crosstalk. This results in much better transmission, and reduces data loss.
Have you ever had those days where you needed an Ethernet cable that was just a “little” bit longer and you had to head out to Fry’s to buy one and fork out $10 - $25 on a cable? No need to do that – just create your own. These simple instructions will teach you how to make a good Ethernet patch cord at a fraction of the price it would cost you to buy it pre-manufactured.
Here is all you will need:
1. CAT5 Cable (Get a box of 500ft or so - will run you about $70)
2. RJ45 Micron connector ends (50 of them run about $8)
3. Crimper Tool for RJ45 (Cheap one runs about $12)
4. Scissors or wire cutters (or a knife works well too)
The internal part of the cable has 8 wires that are color coded and twisted into 4 pairs. Each pair has one color theme – one solid and one striped.
The RJ45 ends look like a large phone plug. It is a 8 position modular connector that fits the 8 wires.
To create your standard, straight through wiring – you can either do the T568A or the T568B. It doesn’t matter as long as you are consistant.
Here is the diagram for the T568A & T568B
Now comes the fun part:
1. Cut off about 1 to 1.5 inches of the blue cable sheath and be careful not to cut the little wires inside.
2. Untwist the 4 colored pairs, but not too much. Just about 3/4 of an inch should work.
3. Align the colored wires like the schema above - keep it consistant with A or B (both bring you the same result). You are wanting to create a straight cable which is used to connect a device to a hub, switch or router. You can also do a crossover cable if you want to connect two computers so they can talk to each other.
4. Trim all the wires neatly and even with the cutter (crimpter tool), about 1/2" left exposed from the sheath.
5. Carefully insert the wire ends into the RJ45 with the clip facing down. Double check to make sure each wire is fully inserted to the front of the RJ45 little corridor and in the correct order.
6. Crimp the RJ45 end with the tool. You will need to press firmly. Don't worry - you won't break anything.
7. Check to see that the wires ended up the right order and that the wires extend to the front of the RJ45 end and make good contact with the bronze metal contacts.
8. Cut the cable to whatever length you wish.
9. Do the same steps above for the other RJ45 end.
10. You're done.
A 10 ft CAT5 patch cord can cost you up to $7 in a retail store. If you make your own cable, it would run you about $1.25. Great deal, eh?
BTW: You might be wondering why it matters what order the wires are?
There is reason for the order in 568A/568B connectors -- The pairs of cables in the cable are twisted together at different ratios (called "twist ratios"). When an electrical current travels down a twisted pair of wires, a magnetic field perpendicular to the twist occurs. For ethernet, only the pins 1,2,3,6 are used (the orange and green pairs). One pair is tightly twisted and the other is loosely twisted. This causes their magnetic fields to be out of synch with each other, and minimizes crosstalk. This results in much better transmission, and reduces data loss.
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