He's a little jealous

Jordan was nudging me to include him - I wrote about the cats earlier and he wouldn't let me be about it. So here's a few of the handsome fellow.

Packin' and Unpackin'

Today has been a fun filled day of packing. I've got some pretty loyal pets that like to follow me around and check on everything I am doing. I just realized how darn cute (i mean darn darn darn cute) they are and how lucky I am to have them in my life. Their names are Pumpkin and Sugar. When I'm mad at them I threaten to make a sugar and pumpkin pie! It's rare that I could be mad at them - lemme list what they have done to get on my "gonna bake a pumpkin & sugar pie" list:

1. Sugar claws the heck out of my furniture. He loves to show off how he can climb furniture and leave his marks. Yeah, real nice Sugar.


2. Sugar chews up my cables to everything - nice again.


3. Pumpkin kneading and forgetting he's kneading right into me! Ouch.

That's about it - they are pretty close to perfect. They both purr like a motor mount and give me their undivided attention. They love sleeping next to me and won't get up until I put one foot out of bed.

I owe both of these lovely boys to one of my greatest pet clients. They found both of these boys and offered them to my home. I am thankful each day.

XAMPP

You've probably heard folks mention "Apache," "Perl," "PHP," and "MySQL." When I first heard the terms, this is what I thought:

Apache: Native American Indian Tribe with mad skills!

Perl: My neighbor's dog - Perl.

PHP: My old insurance company, Physicians Health Plan.

MySQL: Why is it your SQL? Does it always have to be about you? Why not call it RSQL...*grins*

Now you ask, what the heck do they do?

Apache is a web server. When you view a web page, good odds are that Apache is the program that sent it to your computer since it is the most widely used.

Perl is a powerful scripting language. Among other things, it creates dynamic content for web pages very easily.

PHP is similar. PHP is a web-mature language which has its primary purpose on the web. The difference is Perl is a rich, powerful language that can be used for almost anything. Perl is also a scripting language that can also be used on the web but this is not its only purpose. The syntax of these two languages is quite similar but not identical.

MySQL is a database. It can hold and organize grand amounts of data. Customers, product information, records, invoices, etc. and is commonly used for a database on an e-commerce web site.

Each of these utilities are very robust, well developed and sophisticated. Setting them up correctly one-by-one can be quite a chore itself. Heh, getting them to talk and work with eachother is even a greater task.

XAMPP is a free software package that ties them all together for you. With one single download and a simple installation, you are ready to create just about any web site you can fathom. Even if you just want to try it out or test your own HTML, PHP, or Perl CGI programming, XAMPP is a very easy, excellent and helpful tool. It's available for Windows, Linux, MAC & Solaris.

Enjoy and start developing!

Home Video

New Austin Home

I'm moving in this week to my new place and can't wait to get settled in. It's in a nice little neighborhood in South Austin, near downtown. It's got tons of natural lighting, a zillion windows and a perfect layout for what I like in a place. Not sure which is worse, packing or unpacking, but the end result is worth it 100 times over. Jordan, Pumpkin and Sugar are pretty excited and helping me pack, well, more like climbing in the boxes and peeking out. *smiles*

Sue & Dead Stroke

I just got in from a full day of billiards at GCue. I went up around 4:00pm to meet an old friend that I used to play with years ago. He's coming back into the billiard world and it seems like he never put a stick down. He's playing strong and preparing for the Texas Open next year. He's the type of person that is not just playing to "play", he's playing to take the tourney down. I like the confidence and he can back it up with continous practice.

Soon after, my girlfriend Sue showed up and a few other players, Angie, RJ and Melody. We all were playing 9-ball and winner remained on the table as we rotated the matches. Sue was on Dead Stroke and impossible to beat when she's in this zone. She's one of the most solid players I know and when she's on - she's unbeatable unless the pool gods step in and give you a win or two. Out of the 100s of games that were played today, she won at least 90 of them. Incredible.

When I say Dead Stroke -- the meaning of it. Similar to playing on autopilot where a player is at peak playing level and is playing without any conscious effort or thought. Dead Stroke is a sustained period of play where the specific player is in stroke. In simple terms, dead stroke is where a player is performing so flawlessly that he or she just cannot miss. To a player who is experiencing dead stroke, the game seems effortless.

I had a great time tonight with everyone and it's amazing how playing a good game of pool with good friends makes for an excellent day. It's a natural buzz. We all plan to play in the Texas Open next year, so that gives us 340 days to prepare *smiles*.

Nice job Sue - you inspire me to get to another level.

"I once quit pool. It was the most terrifying weekend of my life."

Goodnight all.

Railbirds won the play off match tonight!

Tonight was a great night. The team shot well and the pool gods were on our side. We won play off and advance to Tri-Cups, September 27th and 28th. That gives us about 3 weeks to sharpen our games and get some practice in before that event. If we do well in that event, we'll qualify for regionals (which is the event to go to Vegas to compete). Both teams tonight that were in playoffs will advance since it was the summer session and two teams advance. Tonight was really about playing for the title and the bigger trophy.

Both teams did well and it was a pleasure to play them. They shot well and we ended up going to the rubber match - always happens that way. That is a sign that both teams are shooting well.

Nice job everyone and I'm excited about Tri-Cups!

Just got home from a day/night of watching the Texas Open

I'm still in awe about the caliber of play I have seen the past two days. You watch these players and it makes you want to become a better player. I've had the opportunity over the past two days to see Pros play within 15 feet of me. It's pretty surreal and anyone that attends one of these events would agree with me.

Tonight at 7:30pm Rick Stanley played Cliff Joyner. This was prolly one of the toughest matches I've seen so far. Both players shot lights out and it really depended on who got on the break to run the table. Neither player missed shots or made any mistakes. It's crazy to see two players at this level compete against each other. I was impressed with both.

Updates: Bastrop is still dominating in the winners bracket. Watching him is an honor and I expect him to keep going until the end. After two days of watching everyone and seeing all this amazing talent, it's hard to predict who will take this title. Out of the initial seeds I chose, they are all still in this.

This has truly been one of the most amazing weekends I've had in a very long time. I can't wait until tomorrow to see more matches...will update later. Goodnight all.