Poker, Billiards, and of course Anime

Final 9 are Set!

2009-07-20T12:23:00.002-05:00

Here are the final 9 top dogs for the November 2009 final table at the WSOP. Good to see Phil Ivey make it and looking forward to it.

Seat 1: Darvin Moon – 58,930,000
Seat 2: James Akenhead – 6,800,000
Seat 3: Phil Ivey – 9,765,000
Seat 4: Kevin Schaffel – 12,390,000
Seat 5: Steven Begleiter – 29,885,000
Seat 6: Eric Buchman – 34,800,000
Seat 7: Joe Cada – 13,215,000
Seat 8: Antoine Saout – 9,500,000
Seat 9: Jeff Shulman – 19,580,000

A letter...

2009-07-18T13:33:00.002-05:00

Been out of the loop on my Blog.

Hello all. Sorry for the lack of updates, but there's been a ton going on in my realm and trying to figure out how to add more hours in a day to keep up. Unless I move to another planet, my options are limited. *smiles*

I'm a pretty private person overall, but I do want to share with you the most amazing letter that I have ever come across.

I am going to leave names out, where I found this letter, and why it was written. This is something I want to leave to the world forever.

Small and slim, always in black. Short, dark, perfectly coiffed hair. Quick and efficient. Broken English, but always wiling to repeat and repeat until those of us with a less than great listening skills could understand.

Loyal, lonely and private.

NAME was so loyal to her customers, that after the store changed policies on mailing products to Canada, she spent her own money and own time to mail products to a favorite lady in British Columbia.

NAME was called, After NAME's illness, to get updated on NAME's recovery. Even though they had never met, the customer felt very close to her "Charles of the Ritz" supplier.

Lonely, but she never let us know what a solitary life she led or how her heart hurt for those she had left behind. Private. After her stroke, NAME came to realize she was was so private because she felt ashamed. We would all speak of our families, but NAME never mentioned hers because she was show sure we would think less of her.

There was a special connection to NAME...more than the usual supervisor to a valued employee. Again, only after her stroke did NAME begin to understand our commonalities.

One of my first impressions of NAME:

A local TV show made an appearance in our store and interviewed NAME in "her" cosmetic's department. They were trying to make a joke of the money spent on cosmetics and NAME wouldn't have any of that. When she realized what was happening, she simply walked away, and left the gentleman standing with a blank look and no one to interview. Don't mess with her very honorable profession.

I watched this from my home, and I knew then I wanted to learn more about this woman. After all, how many of us would have the courage to walk away with live TV camera's present?

We never knew her age. Even when we celebrated her birthday after her stroke, she told us she was turning fifty, but she was actually several years past. I think that too related to her profession. Not remembering our conversation at the time, I do remember her reaction. She pointed to her face and said, "You don't think I look like this without my make up, do you?" No one saw her without make up until after her illness, and then she was still a beautiful woman that did not look near fifty.

When NAME need clothes, I went to her apartment and upon enter her living area, saw a picture of a younger NAME and it made me gasp when I was her beauty in her youth.

NAME's guilt: NAME acted rattled, confused, a bit lost one day when she came into work. I knew she was concerned about the changes at X Company, so we all thought that was the problem and let her go home to relax and calm herself. She didn't come to work after her time off was over and no call. So unlike her. We soon learned NAME was in the hospital and suffered a severe stroke. She called 911 from her home for her badly needed help. Why didn't I see the signs? Insist she go see a doctor or check on her when she went home?

In the hospital, she couldn't hide the fact that she had given birth because of her C-scars and I overhead a nurse speaking to her about her children.

NAME cried for a very long time when NAME told her that I knew she had given birth. She cried for her lost children, she cried because she thought I would not be her friend, and she cried because she thought others would think she was a bad person. NAME held her as she cried and tried to ease her pain by explaining that NAME's mother had left too as a young child, but as an adult, I just wanted to know her. NAME felt so strongly that it would be unfair to her children, to have to see her in ill health. She was so frightened and afraid that would wouldn't be forgiven. NAME feels sorry that she was unable to talk her into giving the opportunity to know this very lovely lady.

She mentioned a brother, possibly in STATE, a father in COUNTRY and her children, in STATE. At no time would she let me try to contact anyone. I had to respect her wishes, but I did always try to tell her about how much NAME appreciated the fact that NAME got to meet her mother. If NAME has a very strong will and very much pride, I can tell you where these traits came from.

Many from her work family visited her in the adult family home and she really enjoyed the company, but she did not like living in that home. After a year, we no longer heard from NAME when we sent cards. The day I feared came, ironically on Mother's day, when NAME called work to tell NAME of NAME's passing.

Random thoughts of NAME:

1. She was good, kind, hard working. I never heard her say an unkind word about another person, customer, or coworker.

2. She didn't like chocolate, so when I purchased treats for the department, I would find something non-chocolate for her. But it took over a year of receiving chocolates before she let me know she didn't love chocolate like NAME did.

3. She had such an eye for display in her department ans she would wait until she was pretty sure I wouldn't be in the area before she would fix the displays that I may have not set to her satisfaction. NEVER would she want anyone to think that she was trying to correct them or their work.

4. I wished I had asked her about her tastes in music. She always had headphones on when she came to work and left.

5. Her lunch was usually Ivar's, fish and chips, or clams/prawns and chips. That is what she always wanted when she won a department contest that awarded lunch from me.

6. I laughed when this prim and proper woman told me she work nothing but underwear under her black smock that was part of the dress code in the department.

7. Her department was always "perfect", so I was surprised to see her home anything less than perfect.

I took her home after inventory one year. She lived in a basement apartment in CITY, not far from the hospital that she had her first stroke.

Smoking was probably a factor in having the stroke. She was one of the few smokers I have known that you could not tell by her skin or the smell of spoke on her.

CITY's weather suited her because it was similar to ANOTHER CITY. She didn't like the occasional hot day.

I have never seen so many cosmetics, lipsticks and fragrances outside of a cosmetic department as I saw in her bathroom. No wonder she could do such dramatic things when a customer came into the store for a makeover.

She understood that smoking was a part of the reason for her stroke and would ask me to speak to one of the ladies in the store that she knew still smoked. She was so pleased when NAME finally quit smoking.

When I first became the department supervisor, I had the opportunity to go to a workshop for Chanel with NAME. She patiently explained every detail she cold to me. She was so knowledgeable, but never gave me the impression she recognized the fact that I knew nothing more than the name, Chanel. She just shared and taught me about her craft. Then later in life, after the stroke, she taught me so much about people and life.

My job has kept me challenged, fed and clothed, but it has given me the the opportunity to enjoy the diversity of many people. Some of those people have been very special to me, but NAME is the one that really touched my heart and soul.

Rest in peace, dear friend.

Smack down on the boys! Predator 10 Ball Open.

2009-05-16T18:37:00.002-05:00

Wow - All I can saw is Wow for Yu Ram Cha. She beat Shane Van Boening in the World 10 Ball Predator tournament.

One of the most difficult come back performances ever...Yu Ram Cha fought through a 8-4 deficit (race to 10) to defeat the former World 10-Ball and US Open Champion Shane Van Boening. Cha was one of the only three remaining women left in the event with the monumental task of qualifying for the final stage of the event. Ozone Billiards presented the 112 top players from around the globe along with top sponsor JBETpoker.net on the Dragon Promotions production at the Riviera Hotel & Casino May 11-16,2009 during the BCAPL’s National 8-Ball Championships. The 9th Annual Predator International 10-Ball Championship features live scoring of the entire event on www.Predator10ball.com.

The match started out shaky for Cha and routine for the impressive Van Boening. Shane took an early 4-1 lead, which Cha later narrowed to 5-4. Shane then took the next 3 games to lead a comfortable 8-4. The valiant Cha never gave up and fought her way to close the gap at 8-6. After a smashing break, which she switched from the middle to the side rail, she made a tricky off angle combo on the 10-Ball to get within 8-7. The next game was cat and mouse with Van Boening with him leaving Yu Ram a half table length jump cut shot. Cha jumped a ball and sliced the 4ball down the rail in an amazing shot and proceeded to run the rack out to tie 8-8. The crowd was going wild.

In game 19, Cha broke and ran out. On the hill leading 9-8 now, Cha broke and made another ball on the break and faced a jacked up shot as the cueball lay over a ball and she had to shoot length of the table off angle shot on the 1ball. She nailed it perfectly.

“That was a helluva shot”, murmured Johnny Archer watching the match from a distance.

Cha was set up for an open table run, and she executed the run perfectly down to the final 10-Ball. Looking at the shot, getting down, and then up ne more time the nerves were showing. The steely eyed Cha then regrouped and stroked an off angle shot on the 10-Ball for the win. A big smile formed on her face and she was overcome with emotion as she had to sit down. She got up to embrace her mentor and coach Charlie Williams as he paused his own match to come over and congratulate her victory.
In an amazing comeback performance, Yu Ram Cha overcame a 8-4 deficit to defeat former World 10-Ball and US Open Champion Shane "The South Dakota Kid" Van Boening.

In an amazing comeback performance, Yu Ram Cha overcame a 8-4 deficit to defeat former World 10-Ball and US Open Champion Shane "The South Dakota Kid" Van Boening.

“That girl is going to be a force to be reckoned with”, said Nesli O’hare, former top WPBA womens pro.

Happy Mother's Day to all Mom's

2009-05-10T11:50:00.005-05:00

Every day we live & love is a miracle. Wishing all the mother's a very lovely day that is only yours. Make sure you do something for your mom - make her favorite cookies, take her to her favorite restaurant, spend the day with her...let her know how amazing and strong she is.

I want to send a very unique and special wish to my beautiful mom. I know that you are always near to me although I cannot physically see you. You are always in my heart and thoughts.

Always hope and eternal love~

Need help to keep from wasting time?

2009-05-09T13:09:00.003-05:00

Are we really busier than our parents were when they were our age? Do you ever find yourself making an excuse to friends or family that you cannot make a dinner or party because you are really tied up on emailing, twittering, visiting social websites or spending hours or cools sites like digg....you know what I mean!

As different social networks and/or social websites are created, we have part of ourselves that feel an obligation to respond to others, check in the updates of friends and family that we don't always get the chance to visit or even pick up the phone to call.

I remember in my early teens, there was no "www". Yes, there were Bulletin Boards where you could dial in on your external 56K modem and post on subjects and maybe do a little coding magic to make words show up, disappear, and show up again. After an hour or so, you hit all the BBs and read the posts. Heck it was so slow, that sometimes you would just get fed up and go back to playing video games on that Commodore64. Yikes.

Now, there are tons of addictive online social networks, such as YouTube, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, etc. Although these are great sites, and the technology behind them is pretty darn good, they are all time consumers that can impact you from doing other things that may be a little more productive.

We have all been there and get caught up on site and bam, hours are gone. Sometimes we just need a little kick in the arse to keep us disciplined. If you can't do that, then here's the perfect tool to manage that. It's called, MinutesPlease.

MinutesPlease is an online app which allows you to set up time restrictions for any website you visit where you know you spend um, too much time on.

I'm am guilty of this. I won't name the sites, but they are sites that I could (and do) splend hours and hours at night. I could be sleeping!

So, here's how this nifty little innovative site works:

1. Go to www.minutesplease.com and enter the URL of the website you want to minimize your time on. Set the time limit and that site will only stay open for the amount of time you specify. It's even got the option to give you warnings when your time is about to be up. Kind of like when you are at the car wash and it starts beeping at you to feed it more quarters if you want to finish rinsing your car from all the soap suds! Once your time is up, the window (or tab) is closed.

What I really like about the site is that, there is not signup, no account information, no email to submit and it's FREE. Check it out!

Lastly, take a day or two off from email, websites, blogging, updates and just take the time for yourself to enjoy things that matter to you outside of the web world. Spend time in person with the family that loves you, the true friends that will always be beside you, pets that will always look up to you and take a nice walk in your neighborhood (get that fresh air). Heck, pick up the phone and just give them a call to let them know you are thinking about them. That means more than any email, twitter, or update about yourself.

Mother's Day is tomorrow, so remember all the friends and families that are mothers and be sure to let them know they are in your thoughts.

Wanna watch a movie with me? How Bout' Star Wars?

2009-04-27T00:02:00.002-05:00

If you are at your computer working and and want to run Star Wars in the background to pass the time, you are in luck my friend.

You can telnet to a server to watch it now. Let's start the fun:

1. Go to your start menu and type run
2. Type in: telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl
3. Click ok!

Enjoy Star Wars in ASCII (pronouces Ask-ee). It's the acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, a widely used standard for encoding text documents on computers.

For those of you that say this is a complete waste of time, we'll you are partially correct. It's a darn cool waste of time. *This has been out there for awhile, but thought I'd post a reminder for those of you who have never experienced it.*

My pets playin' poker.

2009-04-26T22:26:00.002-05:00

Womens World 10 Ball Tournament going to be a live broadcast this year on TV!

2009-04-25T23:31:00.001-05:00

Check this out. The Women's World 10-Ball Championship is going to air live this year on ABS-CBN.

Dragon Promotions and Filipino broadcast television giant ABS-CBN have entered into an agreement to air the Women's World 10-Ball Championship June 2-6, 2009. ABS-CBN will be airing the Women's World 10-Ball Championship live over the five days of the event with a guaranteed 25 hours live coverage as well as delayed taping of other feature matches. With this kind of media and $20,000 at stake for the champion, as well as an additional $50,000 for the top finishers, this will be the biggest women's sporting event in the Philippines this year.

The historic event will be aired nationally throughout the Philippines as well as internationally on ABS-CBN and The Filipino Channel which covers the USA in New York, Illinois, California, Florida, New Jersey, and 30 other states, with additonal coverage in Canada, Puerto Rico, and Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, and many more. Fifteen countries on three continents will air the matches.

"ABS-CBN is very pleased and excited to give national and international coverage to this event. The Women's World 10-Ball Championship is a historic event and will be the biggest women's sporting event of the year in the Philippines. We are looking forward to a long and prosperous relationship with Dragon Promotions and billiards," said Peter Musgni, Vice President for ABS-CBN Sports.

New Radio Poker Show!

2009-04-24T20:38:00.000-05:00

There's a new Live Radio Call-In Show for Poker!

Jesse May, the former host of the television series Late Night Poker and author of Shut Up and Deal, has signed on to co-host an interactive radio show with Matt Broughton and Irish poker champ Padraig Parkinson. It's based in the UK.

The first show is this Sunday! The boys will be talking to a host of big names from the poker world, including internet master (I bow to him), Tom "Durrrr" Dwan, Neil Channing who'll be announcing his all-new Blackbelt Poker team on the show. To top it off, there will be an interview with Dan Harrington. Great way to start off the new show.

The show is going to be live and listener generated - a soundtrack to your online poker evening. It will be a central hub for online poker players to all share ideas and thoughts.

What's really cool about The Poker Show is it's live nature, interactiveness and listener feedback.

If you want to be part of the show, here is more info on how to do that: http://thepokershowlive.com/contactus.htm

The show will air Sunday through Tuesdays from 8pm - 11pm.

To see more about it: http://thepokershowlive.com/

Bugged, Bug'd, Bug.gd

2009-04-22T23:13:00.002-05:00

I spend a good portion of my day doing support and when I am home, always trying to break applications. Anyone who is in a support role runs into all types of errors/bugs with systems and software. There's a great site out there, called Bug.gd (cute name) and it's a really cool site that has a community of other users that posts errors and the users help eachother find working solutions. This site is basically a database of errors and solutions, posted by people for the people *smiles*.

People love to share their knowledge and new posts get answered very quickly.

The beauty of this site is that users vote on the solutions to posts so you can decide if it's a solution that is worth trying. What more could you ask for?

Check it out and enjoy - it's a site you can spend weeks, err, hours on.

Unbelievable, but true.

2009-04-22T21:57:00.003-05:00

I came home the other day and there were two stray cats in my house. They were sitting in front of the television and watching some Star Wars movie. I sat down to join them, and realized it was Sugar and Pumpkin starring in the movie. Who know my cats could kick some Darth Vader arse?

I must say, I am very proud of them. Sugar is on the right and although looks very sweet, was prolly the one that pushed Pumpkin (on the left) into playing so aggressive in this scene. How to make a mom proud. *sigh*

Grand Restaurant Specials in April - Listen up!

2009-04-14T01:06:00.004-05:00

For those that know me, you already are aware of how extremely lazy I am with cooking and love to dine out in Austin. We have so many delicious choices in our city, that it's absolute temptation on every corner. Eating out all the time can get expensive, so always got my eye out for great deals and love to spread the word.

Here are some amazingly, fantastic specials going on this week.

1. TGIFs: $.01 Appetizers and buy one meal, get one for $1!

- Buy any beverage at the bar and get any appetizer for .01 (yes, one cent). One per person.
- Buy any entree and get the next one for $1.00

You can either sign up for their Stripes club (free) at: http://www.tgifridays.com/home/welcome.aspx

or you can print the coupons from this link here and use them as well:
http://www.eatdrinkdeals.com/tag/tgi-fridays-coupon/

These expire on April 20, 2009

2. Threadgills on North Lamar - FREE dinner (one per person)

This is an Austin classic. It's where Janis Joplin got her start. It's an amazing piece of Austin's history. They recently shut down for a few months to remodel and they are open. It's great food, great service, and great atmosphere. You'll see.

Eddie Wilson (owner) is convinced that if you go there, just once, you'll fall in love with the food, the folks, and the heritage that is Threadgills and you'll be back over and over. He made a special announcement on KGSR this morning...

One week only: Monday April 13 through Sunday April 19, 2009 (as seen on the inside front cover of INsite Magazine) - Wilson is going to buy you dinner when you visit the North Lamar location. No strings attached. Just go in anytime after 4:00pm and sit down for a great dinner. Don't forget to tip your waitstaff!

On the same note, here are some specials that are at our local restaurants all the time. Check them out if you haven't been there before.

1. Docs Motorworks on S Congress: 2 for 1 Hamburgers all day on Mondays.
2. Hut's Hamburgers on W 6th Street: Enjoy two-for-one burgers at Hut’s from 6pm to 10pm on Wednesdays.
3. Boulevards Sports Bar & Grill on Far West Blvd: 2 for 1 Hamburgers on Mondays, Saturdays and Sundays. They are very yummy.
4. Boulevards Sports Bar & Grill on Far West Blvd: 2 for 1 Chicken Fried Steak or Chicken on Thursdays.
5. El Mercado Mexican Restaurant: 2 for 1 enchiladas on Wednesday night. Great food. Check em' out.

I'm hungry now. *smiles*

Taken care of that cue...

2009-03-25T21:28:00.000-05:00

We all go through this. You play all the time and tend to take your cue for granted. It's important to keep that baby clean! It's your number one tool in the game and never forgot that it's kind of like a life long partner. Treat it well and take care of it, and it will take great care of you.

How To Clean A Pool Cue

Pool cues often become sticky because of a build up of chalk and oil from our hands. If they are not cleaned regularly, they can become permanently damaged or even warped.

There are serveral different ways to clean your cuestick. Choose a preference and make sure you clean your cue at least once every few weeks, more often if you play daily.

Materials Needed

Cleaning detergent (dish soap or orange oil diluted 5:1 with water), 1500 or 2000 grit sandpaper, and a piece of Simonis cloth or cotton cloth.

Cleaning Options

Apply your chosen cleaning solution to a cloth. Dampen the cloth, getting too much liquid on the cue may cause warping, so be careful. Clean the cue from the bottom to the ferrule. Then lightly sand the cue with 1500 or 2000 grit sandpaper. This will remove any excess chalk that may be left on the surface. Wipe down the cue again with the damp cloth and dry immediately.

Check out how beautiful it becomes...*smiles*

Alright Ladies...Women Poker Events coming up

2009-03-25T20:28:00.003-05:00

June is just creeping up around the corning and the month will be full of poker events for the gals.

Things for women to keep tucked away in the back of their minds:

1. Learn the Game: Read books, do hand simulations, study the rules of the game, play with friends, and learn all you can about the game of poker. If you are new to the game, you should learn and understand the hand rankings, the flow of the action, and the options of folding, calling, betting, and raising.

2. Start with low stake games and graduate to higher stakes: Put in time at the tables in low limit games where you can learn proper game skills as well as table etiquette. Once you beat the game on a regular basis, move up a level and repeat. Before long you will have earned your way to high limit games and proven that you have the skills and the knowledge to be a contender.

3. Keep sex out of it: Don’t play the sex kitten game at the table. It may work for you, but long term you want to play straight up and show that you are a player. The same holds true for online play and poker forums. You can make a logical statement about poker, but if your avatar is a girl that's in a bikini, you can kiss all respect from good players goodbye.

4. Male intimidation: If you feel like you are not prepared to handle male intimidation, create a unisex screen name and play online until you feel more confident in your abilities.

Here are some upcoming events that you can play in while you are in Vegas during the WSOP this year.

7:00pm - June 4, 2009 [ Golden Nugget Casino - Vegas ] [ Poker Gives Charity Tournament ] [ $200 +$30 with $50 rebuys. 50% of prize pool to charity ]

ALL DAY - June 5, 2009 ] [ Golden Nugget Casino - Vegas ] [ Friday Sit N Go Frenzy! ] [ SNGs for all the Grand Series Events & Satellites for LIPS event on Monday ]

6:30pm - June 5, 2009 [ Golden Nugget Casino - Vegas ] [ 2009 Women in Poker Hall of Fame Ceremony plus Dancing and Dinner ] [ Induction Ceremony ]

ALL DAY - June 6, 2009 [ TBD ] [ LIPS WiPHoF Super Satellite ] [ $150 + $25 Satellite winners get certificate into one of the Grand Series events or the LIPs Championship in August + Cash ]

ALL DAY - June 7, 2009 [ The Rio - Vegas ] [ WSOP Ladies Event ] [ $1000 ]

Noon - June 8, 2009 [ Golden Nugget Casino - Vegas ] [ Poker Queen Ladies Event - It's a bracelet event and winner gets a LIPS Championship seat! ] [ $200 + $30 ]

Texas BCA State Tournament 2009

2009-03-15T20:39:00.003-05:00

Just got in from our annual state BCA Billiard team tournament at the E-Center in Harker Heights, TX (right outside of Killeen). There were 99 teams competing this year and it definitely was a learning and humbling experience.

I consider our BCA teams in Austin to be pretty strong and we had 5 Austin teams representing our city in the event. We went up and played as Crazy 8's. It was a double elimination format, with race to 13 on both the winners and losers side. We lost both our matches in the tournament and even with the solid play of our team, we got killed in the tournament.

The format of this tournament is straight up. There is not handicap, just playing one game at at time for a win. The first team to pull in 13 wins, and the match is over. It really forces you to bring your best game because all the other teams are - it's amazing play by every single player. They also had the Master's division playing -- now those are some pool players!

It was a great event overall though. Met some really nice people, had a great time with the team, got some work done at the hotel, ate at some great restaurants and had many good laughs. I wish we could rewind and step into the tournament all over again. It just ended to quickly.

They also ran mini tournaments for singles and had the speed pool event going on. The goal was to run the table of 15 balls (no particular order, as long as the 8 ball was last). You had to wait for the cue ball to come to a stop before shooting the next ball. The best time I saw was a player doing that in 1 minute and 2 seconds. Frakkin' nuts! Can you fathom doing that?!

I missed my little ones when I was gone. I had some friends come over (thank you!) to make sure they were staying out of trouble when I was away. They tend to get into everything and have a little party if they can. Pumpkin and Sugar will find the cat food and have a grand 24 hour non stop feast. Jordan will make himself king of the home and hang out on the sofa, my bed, play with my shoes and also find anything and everything to eat.

Weekend of pool is over and I miss it already. *sigh* Back to reality and the real world. *smiles*

2009 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters at Riviera

2009-03-08T17:21:00.003-05:00

Billiard event sponsered by a Poker Site - pure beautifulness!

Following the success of the 2008 event, the PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters will return to the historic Riviera Hotel and Casino in May. A total of 16 of the finest players from around the world will be competing in the event, which will be staged over three days during the annual BCAPL National 8 Ball Championships.

Promoted by Matchroom Sport the PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters will be running for the 17th year consecutive year and its roll call of champions reads like an international who's who of 9 ball. Defending champion Alex Pagulayan of the Philippines will be back, as will runner-up Mika Immonen (Finland), the reigning US Open champ and P&B's Player of the Year.

Other players confirmed include World 10 Ball Champion, England's Darren Appleton; Mosconi Cup star Tony Drago (Malta) and former World No. 1 Dennis Orcollo of the Philippines. Representing United States hopes will be the top two American ranked players on the BCA Men's Point List, Shane Van Boening and Johnny Archer. Montreal's Dancing Bear, Alain Martel, will be flying the flag for Canada.

The European vanguard of five-times Masters champion Ralf Souquet (Germany) and Holland's multi-titled Niels Feijen will both be in attendance. They will be joined by top ranked European stars Nick van den Berg of Holland, England's Imran Majid, who KO'd Van Boening in this event last year, and teenage Russian sensation Ruslan Chinakhov who will be making his Masters debut. Challenge of Champions winner and '07 World Cup winner Fu Jianbo will arrive from China and 2005 World Pool Masters victor Raj Hundal, now representing India, will return to the fray at the Riviera.

There is one female in the 2009 Masters line-up and that honor this year goes to the rising star of the women's game, 21 year-old Korean Yu Ram Cha.

Once again, the Masters will be promoted in partnership with Mark Griffin's BCA Pool Leagues and the opening first round matches take place on the evening of Friday, May 8, culminating in the championship match on Sunday, May 10. Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn said: "The event was a big success for us last year at the Riviera and we're looking to build on that in May. The crowds at the Masters were good and with the outstanding line-up we have assembled this year, I am sure that we will have bumper crowds."

There will be a $66,000 prize fund, with the winner collecting $20,000. Tickets will be made available in March on the Playbca.com website.

BCAPL's Mark Griffin added, "BCA Pool League players love professional action. They are excited the World Pool Masters will return to the Riviera for 2009, and they hope that Matchroom will continue to honor our tournament with their participation for years to come."

Visit POOLMAG.COM for more details as the event get's closer.

Our Ladies Poker Tournament Site is Live!

2009-03-07T20:15:00.004-06:00

Sorry I've been out of touch. Tons going on and not sure why the 24 hour days are flying by in 10 hours. Just dont' get it!

We just started our Spring Gals Poker Tournament, which is a qualifier for the Ladies WSOP in June of 2009 in Vegas. I've been working on creating a website for everyone to keep up with what is going on with the tournament and also provide some cool poker links and information. Check it out AustinPokerGirls and if you are interested in playing, let us know. The only requirement is that you are a female, and no, dressing up like a female will not be accepted. It's a great group of women and we always have a good time.

"Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult." -- Charlotte Whitton.

Best Valentine's Day Ever!

2009-02-14T23:02:00.003-06:00

Today was our Tri-Cup tournament for 8-ball. Our team got first place last session, so we got a seat at Tri-Cups this year. Just walked in from an amazing 14 hour day at Slick Willies.

The place was packed when I walked in about 9:30am this morning. Today was single elimination for the teams, so if the teams didn't when 3 out of their 5 matches, they were out. The first round started at 10:00am and half the field was eliminated. We won our first match 3 - 1. It was an extremely tough match, but the team really focused and brought their best game out. The team shot lights out and that put us in to play at 2:30pm. We started out strong and pulled another victory of 3 - 0 against our opponents who played very well.

We took a dinner break for about an hour, then our next match started at 7:00pm. Our opponents were tough this round, as it get tougher as teams are eliminated and you are playing winning teams. The team pulled together and won 3 - 1 to put us into Sunday's bracket. If we win our 10:00am match tomorrow, that seats us for regionals, which is the tournament to go to Vegas to compete.

Today was such a great Valentine's Day. Spent it with people I adore, we had chocolate covered strawberries (I'm in heaven) and we shot solid the whole day. Tough to beat that! I wanted to send my thanks out to those who wished me well at the tournament today -- you are all so thoughtful and your good wishes carried us through. Thanks again (you know who you are). *Hugs*

Heading to sleep now, morning will be here soon.

Turn the River

2009-01-25T00:53:00.005-06:00

There are not many movies that are about billiards -- guess it is kind of hard to do a film that can keep an interest from the audience. There have been some great movies such as The Hustler and The Color of Money that will always be known.

There was another billiard movie that was released in 2007, but never made it big. The title of the movie is, "Turn the River" - that definitely peaked my interest. It sounds like a poker movie and it seems to have a "Rounders" feel to it on the previews.

Framke Janssen (also in X-Men) stars in the movie as a pool hustler. She's a really gorgeous brunette, but has a down to earth look about her as well. I could see someone like her as a real hustler type, the kind that noone would suspect. She looks like a badass on the table too! The preview looked great, so I am in the process of downloading it now (at 30%), so should be able to watch it in the next hour or two. It's a little slow since there are not many seeds.

While it's downloading, I'm going to make a fruit salad with mandarin oranges, grapes, apples, kiwi, pineapple and strawberries with a splash of OJ in it to keep it yummy. Then I can curl up on the sofa, play the movie and enjoy a nice chilled salad. I'm looking forward to it.

Moving on to good times -- Tri-Cups

2009-01-24T01:27:00.006-06:00

The team did awesome last week, so we are playing in Tri-Cups on Feb 14th. Yes, I know what day this is - it's the same day that Space probe Voyager 1 takes photograph of entire solar system on Feb 14, 1990. Can you believe it? We are playing Tri-Cups on the same day in history! We are missing our secret Weapon, Tanya, in this photo since she was out of town working last week. We sure did miss her, but she was with us in Spirit. We'll get another team photo taken so we have one of all 7 of us to put up on the wall. If we do well in Tri-Cups, we are heading to Regionals which qualifies us to compete in Sin City. That's what I'm talkin' about.

This is our team, Cue's Your Daddy! Left to Right, starting from the top.

Totally Amazing Tanner, Rolling over the other players Ronnie, Noone can stop him Nick, Jack the ball up Jen, Preying on the weak Phil, Totally killer Travis and our missing anchor (who will be in the new photo), Tear them up' Tanya!

How can we not appreciate a President that plays pool?!

2009-01-21T20:34:00.004-06:00

Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, surely you can appreciate this image of President-elect Barack Obama which appeared on the cover of the New York Daily News in early December. New York Daily News photographer Scout Tufankjian followed Obama throughout his campaign photographing the Presidental candidate from a different perspective.

According to the Daily News article, "He's a really good pool player," says Tufankjian, "and he comes up to me and goes, 'I bet you thought I was going to suck at this. I bet you thought this was going to be like the bowling. I got some game.'"

Billiards aside, today was a great day. How wonderful for each one of us to be a part of this monumental day in history. His inaugural speech was not only articulate, but truly moving. I, along with many others, wish him and his administration great success.

One of my favorite parts of his speech today which included the word "Grand" (I love that word):

"And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more." B.Obama

My blessings to our new President and the United States of America.

FRAK!

2009-01-17T00:33:00.004-06:00

Say it ain't Frakkin so!

I FORGOT to record the first episode of Season 4.5. I knew I needed to do something this evening and it was bugging me all day. Just now it hit me and hit me hard *ouch*. The sad part is that there is ONLY ten episodes left of the show and this is the last season. So dreadful.

I'm sure many are feeling the same as I do. I bet there was even Frak parties around Austin for the first episode of 4.5. Gah - I missed out.

I can download this episode from iTunes, but I really love sitting down with a pizza, fruit punch gatorade, turning the lights out, grabbing a blanket and relaxing on the sofa as I watch Battlestar Galactica. Did I mentioned, that I missed it!

I'll record the rest of the episodes so there shall be no excuses for me not watching it. This is by far, one of the greatest shows to ever air on television (Sci Fi channel). If you have never watched it, I highly recommend you watching all 4 seasons. You'll be hooked. Let's find out who the final Cylon is (although there's much more to the series than that).

Team did it!

2009-01-16T00:06:00.003-06:00

The pool gods were definitely with us tonight. We went 3-0 as a team and each match was solid. There were some unbelievable rolls, shots, and opportunities that we couldn't have had without them. I often joke about "pool gods", but I really do believe in the idea of them. Not an actual God that support billiards, but the spirit of believing in something although it's not really there. We all walked in the pool hall tonight with the thought that something was going to carry us through this -- well, that "something" is each person's own mental thoughts that they are going to play the best they can and with the combination of skill and opportunities, they will win.

They all did. Phil went up first and his match went hill/hill. Phil was definitely in the "zone" tonight and he felt it, and more impressively, he played it. His opponent was tough and shot extremely well, but Phil shot lights out for a solid win. He set the momentum for whole evening.
Great way to start off the play off match and thanks for the win!

In the blind spot, we put up Ronnie, one the most solid players in the league. He's the type of player that opponents know is solid on the table and when Ronnie walks into a room, everyone knows he's there and is a danger to be reckoned with. Ronnie's strengths, among many, is his break and flow on the table. He's got a good rhythm, solid stroke and very tough to play against. His match went hill/hill as well and he won his final match to bring our 2nd win in. It's the first team to win three matches and the game is over.

We then put up Travis, who recently went up to a skill level 7. In APA, that is the highest skill level there is, and once you reach that level (and he very much earned and deserved it), you are a fierce player. He made some impressive shots and kept great cue ball control on that games. He shot beautiful and brought in another win for us in his match.

Since we won the first three matches, no one else needed to play and we ended with a victory. I'm really amazed with the level of play on the team and I'm pretty lucky to have them as my teammates. Tri Cups are next month, so that gives a month to sharpen our skills and play our best in that tournament. It will be tough, but I really like tough *smiles*

Oh, we are also changing our team name after having the same one for years. It's "Cues your Daddy?" Pretty cute and every time I hear it - I giggle. Fun to giggle...

Gotta Pray to those Pool Gods tonight

2009-01-15T18:00:00.004-06:00

"Dear Pool Gods, I ask that you help carry us tonight. Please give us good rolls on the felt, let all of us be in the "zone", keep our cue ball on the table on the break (we all know who I am referring to on that), give us a few break and runs, an 8-ball on the break, and make sure the rails are not dead for those unpredictable bank shots that we may have to do. Keep the billiard devils away from us, no matter how tempting they are and let us make the Pool Gods proud. BTW: Is there a pool table in Heaven? If not, then I'm not going!" *smiles* Seriously, I'm looking forward to tonight and we are all going to have fun no matter what.

Tonight's our final play off game for the Fall season. Last week we won, so that allowed us to get qualified for Tri-Cups in February. Tonight is for the title - either 1st or 2nd. The main differences between the two:

1. Braggin' rights
2. A nice 2" thick billiard plaque with our team picture on it that hangs in Slick Willies. It's quite nice, solid wood backing with the names engraved.
3. 3 Inches...The smaller trophy is 3" smaller than the first place one. Important.
4. It's just plain cool to come in first as a team. We play as a team, win or lose -- we do it together. We'll have fun either way (but hope to win) *smiles*

Let the action begin!

2009-01-11T16:30:00.005-06:00

The 11th Annual Derby City Classic Event is at the Horseshoe Casino & Hotel this year. It's the largest billiard event which includes 9-Ball, One Pocket and 9-Ball Banks tournaments. Those are three main events and off course, there is tons of action for those side games. If you are not playing, then you can bet on players with some side action. This event is open to all players, pro or amateurs, so anyone can play in these events.

Here is the list of events:

2009 Event Dates

9-Ball Banks
$110.00 Entry Fee(Entry fee includes a $10.00 registration fee)
Total: $110.00
Entry Jan. 23rd, 10am $50.00 Buyback
Players Meeting,12 Noon
Match Play Begins at 1:00pm

One-Pocket
$135.00 Entry Fee(Entry fee includes a $10.00 registration fee)
Total: $135.00
Entry: Jan. 25th, 10am $75.00 Buyback
Players Meeting,12 Noon
Match Play Begins at 1:00pm

9-Ball
$160.00 Entry Fee(Entry fee includes a $10.00 registration fee)
Total: $160.00
Entry: Jan. 28th, 10am $100.00 Buyback
Players Meeting, 12 Noon
Match Play Begins at 1:00pm

9-Ball Banks Mini-Tournament Player Entry
$25.00 Entry Fee(Entry fee includes a $5.00 registration fee)
Total: $30.00
Limited to first 64 players Race to 5
Tuesday, January 27th
Match Play Begins at 12:00am

9-Ball Mini-Tournament Player Entry
$25.00 Entry Fee(Entry fee includes a $5.00 registration fee)
Total: $30.00
Limited to first 64 players Race to 5
Saturday, January 24th
Match Play Begins at 12:00am

One-Pocket Mini-Tournament Player Entry
$25.00 Entry Fee(Entry fee includes a $5.00 registration fee)
Total: $30.00
Limited to first 32 players Race to 2
Friday, January 30th
Match Play Begins at 12:00am

Keep an eye out for these dates: WBPA Tour 2009

2009-01-04T23:06:00.002-06:00

WPBA Regional Tour Championship
Dates:
February 21st - 22nd, 2009
Tournament Venue:
The Parlor Billiards & Spirits
Location:
700 Bellevue Way NE, Suite 300 - Bellevue, WA 98004

Phone:
425-289-7000

Website:
http://www.parlorbilliards.com/

San Diego Classic
Dates:
April 1-5, 2009
Tournament Venue:
Viejas Casino
Location:
Alpine, CA

Phone:
1-800-847-6537

Website:
http://www.viejas.com/

Great Lakes Classic
Dates:
June 17-21, 2009 **Tentative**
Tournament Venue:
Blue Chip Casino
Location:
Michigan City, IN

Phone:
1-888-879-7711

Website:
www.bluechipcasino.com/

U.S. Open
Dates:
July 29 - Aug 2, 2009
Tournament Venue:
Riverwind Casino
Location:
Norman OK

Phone:
1-405-322-6464

Website:
http://www.riverwind.com/

Carolina Classic
Dates:
Sept. 9-13, 2009 **Tentative**
Tournament Venue:
American Tobacco Campus
Location:
Durham, NC

Website:
http://www.americantobaccocampus.com/

Pacific Coast Classic
Dates:
Oct. 14-18, 2009 ** updated as of 12/18/08***
Tournament Venue:
Chinook Winds Casino
Location:
Lincoln City, OR

Phone:
1-888-CHINOOK

Website:
http://www.chinookwindscasino.com/

WPBA Championship
Dates:
November 11-15th, 2009 ***Tentative***
Tournament Venue:
Seminole Hard Rock Casino
Location:
Hollywood, Florida

Website:
http://www.seminolehardrockhollywood.com/

I think I have corrupted my nephew

2009-01-04T19:49:00.005-06:00

My goodness, where do I start. My nephews came to stay with me for a couple weeks this summer and I had the best time with them here. My youngest nephew, who is 6, was so facinated by my video games, my adorable pets, my hours on the computer, e-mail, billards and saw a bit of poker. We played lots of video games (and yes, he um, well, um, beat me), he paid so much attention to my pets, was on my computer anytime I wasn't watching, and went with me to pool league to watch and learn how to play.

He asked if I would show him how to use e-mail, so set him up a gmail account. I didn't really think he would use it since he could only type at a minimal. Gosh now, I get e-mails from him, and more recently he figured out how to use gmail's IM client. He's got this incredible mind where if he learns about something, he digs to find out exactly what it is capable of and how it works. I am amazed.

How this began...I'm checking my e-mail, then all of a sudden a chat window pops up and it's him! We chatted for a bit and I was so impressed how he could carry on a conversation and his spelling was perfect. He figured out how to change the status message on his chat profile. As witty as he is, he changes them periodically. I was logged in yesterday and saw this:

I laughed so much and thought it was adorable. Miss. Pool - that's how he refers to me. About an hour later, it said this!

Again, he always spells my name right - it's the little details that never cease to impress me. He's very thoughtful and always puts a smile on my face when I hear from him.

Now, he knows I have a passion for billiards and poker, so he likes to ask me about it. Today, I was viewing his profile and saw this. What?! Online poker?! He likes to call himself Mr. Sly.

If he ever reads my blog, I hope that he forgives me that I have corrupted him. I should be the aunt who teaches him how to play baseball, soccer, karate, build tree houses, create kingdoms with legos and build go carts. I need to change my own habits to be a better aunt. Hmm, maybe not *smiles*

He's impressive.

Cute things about kids

2009-01-01T12:23:00.002-06:00

I got the most pleasant e-mail from my nephew today. He's recently become a internet and computer guru and loves technology. He's had tons of experience at the amazing age of 6!

Seriously, he's turning 7 tomorrow and I got this e-mail from him today.

"hi jennefer im going to be 7 tomrrow im going to behappy"

This made me smile ear to ear. I love that he always spells my name correctly - always. He types unbelievable without looking at the keyboard and his spelling is at 98%.

I missed the days when we are turning another year older and we are happy about that. As we get older, we tend to shun away from turning another year older. I should adopt his belief. I'm going to be another year older and I'm going to be happy. Think I need to make a t-shirt that says that.

I don't get to see him as much as I would like. Geez, sure do miss him.

100 Ways

2008-12-25T13:30:00.003-06:00

Afrikaans - Geseende Kerfees en 'n gelukkige nuwe jaar
Albanian - Gézuar Krishlindjet Vitin e Ri!
Amharic - Melkam Yelidet Beaal
Arabic - I'D Miilad Said ous Sana Saida
Aramaic - Edo bri'cho o rish d'shato brich'to!
Armenian - Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand
Aromunian - Crãciunu hãriosu shi unu anu nãu, bunu!
Azeri - Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun
Bahasa Malaysia - Selamat Hari Natal
Basque - Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!
Belorussian - Winshuyu sa Svyatkami i z Novym godam!
Bengali - Shuvo Baro Din - Shuvo Nabo Barsho
Bicolano - Maugmang Capascuhan asin Masaganang Ba-gong Taon!
Bohemian - Vesele Vanoce
Brazil (Portuguese) - "Feliz Natal" or "Boas Festas
Breton - Nedeleg laouen na bloav ezh mat
Bulgarian - Vasel Koleda; Tchestita nova godina!
Burmese - Pyaw Shwin Thaw Christmas Par!
Catalan - Bon nadal i feliç any nou!
Cantonese - Seng Dan Fai Lok, Sang Nian Fai Lok
Cebuano - Malipayong Pasko ug Bulahang Bag-ong Tuig!
Choctaw - Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito
Cornish - Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth
Corsican - Bon Natale e Bon capu d' annu
Cree - Mitho Makosi Kesikansi
Creek - Afvcke Nettvcakorakko
Croatian - Sretan Bozic
Czech - Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok
Danish - Glædelig Jul og godt nytår
Duri - Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak
Dutch - Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!
Egyptian - Colo sana wintom tiebeen
English - Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
Eskimo - Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!
Esperanto - Gajan Kristnaskon
Estonian - Rõõmsaid Jõulupühi Head uut aastat
Euskera - Zorionak eta Urte Berri On
Faeroese - Gledhilig jól og eydnurikt nýggjár!
Farsi - Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad
Finnish - Hyvää Joulua or Hauskaa Joulua
Flemish - Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar
French - Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année!
Frisian - Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!
Friulian - Bon Nadâl e Bon An Gnûf
Gaelic - Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ur!
Galician - Bon Nadal e Bo Ani Novo
German - Froehliche Weihnachten und ein glückliches Neues Jahr!
Greek - Kala Christougenna Kieftihismenos O Kenourios Chronos
Greenlandic - Juullimi Ukiortaassamilu Pilluarit
Hausa - Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!
Hawaiian - Mele Kalikimaka & Hauoli Makahiki Hou
Hebrew - Mo'adim Lesimkha. Shana Tova
Hindi - Shub Naya Baras
Hungarian - Kellemes Karácsonyi ünnepeket és Boldog Új Évet!"
Iban -Selamat Ari Krismas enggau Taun Baru
Icelandic - Gleðileg Jól og Farsaelt Komandi ár!
Ilocano - Naimbag a Pascua ken Naragsac nga Baro nga Tawen!
Indonesian - Selamat Hari Natal
Iraqi - Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
Irish -Nollaig Shona Dhuit
Italian - Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo
Japanese - Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Jèrriais - Bouan Noué et Bouanne Année
Kadazan -Kotobian Tadau Do Krimas om Toun Vagu
Karelian - Rastawanke Sinun, Uvven Vuvenke Sinun
Korean - Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Krio - Appi Krismes en Appi Niu Yaa
Kurdish - Seva piroz sahibe u sersala te piroz be
Ladin - Bon Nadel y Bon Ann Nuef
Lappic - Buorit Juovllat ja Buorre Oddajahki
Latin - Natale hilare et Annum Nuovo!
Latvian - Prieci'gus Ziemsve'tkus un Laimi'gu Jauno Gadu!
Lausitzian - Wjesole hody a strowe nowe leto
Lithuanian - Linksmu Kaledu ir laimingu Nauju metu
Livian - Riiemlizi Talspividi ja pagin vonno udaigastos
Low Saxon - Heughliche Winachten un 'n moi Nijaar
Luxemburgish - Schéi Krëschtdeeg an e Schéint Néi Joer
Macedonian -Streken Bozhik
Malay - Selamat Hari Natal dan Tahun Baru
Malayalam - Puthuvalsara Aashamsakal
Maltese - Nixtieklek Milied tajjeb u is-sena t-tabja!
Mandarin - Sheng Dan Kuai Le, Xin Nian Kuaile
Manx - Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa
Maori - Meri Kirihimete
Marathi - Shubh Naveen Varsh ( Happy New Year )
Mongolian - Zul saryn bolon shine ony mend devshuulye
Monogasque - Festusu Natale e Bona ana noeva
Norwegian - God Jul og Godt Nyttår
Occitan - Polit nadal e bona annada
Oriya - Sukhamaya christmass ebang khusibhara naba barsa
Pampamgo - Malugud Pascu at saca Masayang Bayung Banua!
Papiamento - Bon Pasco y un Feliz Aña Nobo
Papua New Guinea - Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu
Pashto - De Christmas akhtar de bakhtawar au newai kal de mubarak sha.
Pennsylvania German - En frehlicher Grischtdaag unen hallich Nei Yaahr!
Polish - Wesolych Swiat i Szczesliwego Nowego Roku.
Portuguese - Boas Festas e um feliz Ano Novo
Punjabi - Nave sal di mubaraka
Pushto - Christmas Aao Ne-way Kaal Mo Mobarak Sha
Raeto-Ramance - Bella Festas da zNadal ed in Ventiravel Onn Nov
Rapa-Nui - Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua
Rhetian - Bellas festas da nadal e bun onn
Romanche - Legreivlas fiastas da Nadal e bien niev onn!
Romani (GYPSY) - Bachtalo krecunu Thaj Bachtalo Nevo Bers
Romanian - Craciun fericit si un An Nou fericit!
Russian - Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva i s Novim Godom
Sambal - Maligayang Pasko at Masayang Ba-yon Taon!
Sami - Buorrit Juovllat
Samoan - La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Sardian - Felize Nadale e Bonu Cabuannu
Sardinian - Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou
Scots Gaelic - Nollaig chridheil huibh
Serbian - Hristos se rodi
Serb-Croatian - Sretam Bozic. Vesela Nova Godina
Sicilian - Bon Natali e Prosperu Annu Novu !
Singhalese - Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Sorbian - Wjesole hody a strowe Nowe leto.
Somali - ciid wanaagsan iyo sanad cusub oo fiican.
Slovakian - Vesele Vianoce a stastny novy rok
Slovak - Veselé Vianoce a šťastný nový rok
Slovene - Vesele bozicne praznike in srecno novo leto
Sorbian - Wjesole hody a strowe Nowe leto
Spanish - Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo
Surigaonon - Malipayon na pasko sanan bag-on tuig!
Swahili - ºKrismas Njema Na Heri Za Mwaka Mpyaº
Swedish - God Jul och Gott Nytt År
Sudanese - Wilujeng Natal Sareng Warsa Enggal
Tagalog - Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon
Tamil - Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal
Thai - Suksan Wan Christmas lae Sawadee Pee Mai
Tok Pisin - Meri Krismas & Hepi Nu Yia
Tongan - Kilisimasi Fiefia & Ta'u fo'ou monu ia
Trukeese - Neekirissimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech!
Tswana - Keresemose o monate le masego a ngwaga o montsha
Turkish - Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian - Veseloho Vam Rizdva i Shchastlyvoho Novoho Roku!
Urdu - Naya Saal Mubarak Ho
Vepsi - Rastvoidenke i Udenke Vodenke
Vietnamese - Chuc Mung Giang Sinh - Chuc Mung Tan Nien
Waray-Waray - Maupay nga Pasko ngan Mainuswagon nga Bag-o nga Tuig!
Welsh - Nadolig LLawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Xhosa - Siniqwenelela Ikrisimesi EmnandI Nonyaka Omtsha Ozele Iintsikelelo Namathamsanqa
Yayeya - Krisema
Yiddish - Gute Vaynakhtn un a Gut Nay Yor
Yoruba - E ku odun, e hu iye' dun!
Zulu - Sinifesela Ukhisimusi Omuhle Nonyaka Omusha Onempumelelo

Round of Cats

2008-12-21T21:27:00.006-06:00

Lots going on the the cat world. Here are a few pictures that I came across that are pretty darn adorable. You know I can't resist cool cats playing billiards or a good game of cards. The Christmas cat is unforgettable! Wishing you, your family, and your loved ones a cherished holiday season and wonderful 2009 to come!

Trail of Lights Austin

2008-12-21T01:03:00.004-06:00

Just got in from going to the Austin Trail of Lights. If you haven't gone this year, I highly recommend that you put it on your "to do" list before the end of the year. It takes about an hour to walk the trail and it's absolutely gorgeous out there. There have been thousands of man hours to create the setting and set up the lights.

The Trail of Lights is a continuous 1.25 mile long display of over 40 lighted scenes. There are some craft booths, some yummy food vendors selling turkey legs and funnel cakes (to die for) and there's even Santa waiting to visit with you. When you first arrive, you'll see the amazing 155 ft tall tree, that has over 3000 bulbs and is gorgeous.

Tonight was the perfect night to go. Texas weather is so unpredictable - we were in the 70s today and tomorrow it takes a dive to the 30s. Walking that trail when it's that cold would be quite painful. It was crowded tonight, but it moved very smoothly. There were some lights set up that were not there in the past, so if you haven't been in a few years, you'll be pleasantly surpised.

They also have a great train that you can ride around the trail if you do not feel like burning a few calories by walking. The train is 3.00 a person for Adults and the kiddos can ride for $2.00 - not a bad deal! You can even bring your dog out - there were tons of our little K-9 buddies out there.

After I finished the trail, it made me think about how wonderful Austin is and how the community keeps traditions running year after year. Thank you to all the workers and volunteers that make this event a beautiful one to remember.

Again, if you haven't gone, take a couple hours out of your evening and head down there to share the experience with your family and friends. I promise it will be a memory you'll keep for a very long time.

Do not read this if you are short on time

2008-12-21T00:23:00.002-06:00

Want a new addiction. Check out Flixter. It's a great site that you can rate movies, compare them with your buddies, take fun quizzed and play games. The beauty of this site is that you can also watch moves free from your computer and they stream pretty well. They do not have a huge amount of movies to choose from, but a pretty good selection that is completely free (~200).

This site is perfect for movie buffs. It's been out since 2006 and it's kinda like a social network that is devoted to movies and actors. I'm warning you though, it's highly addictive and can consume your free time. *smiles*

Check it out though - you can watch movies without registering. If you do register, you can create your own profile, start rating movies, see how other rate movies and even have fun creating quizzes for others to complete.

I forgot to mention that you can also watch some great television shows - Family Guy, Alf, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (highly recommend), Lost in Space, Naruto, Alfred Hitchcock, and the list goes on. There's even Battlestar Galactica, the greatest show ever on television! Note that not all episodes are on this site for each series, but they are always adding.

Enjoy the site.

It's been awhile

2008-12-17T16:15:00.007-06:00

It's been over a month since I have posted and have missed taking some time out of the day to post my random thoughts and experiences. Alot of great things have been going on and not sure how the weeks fly by so quickly.

I'm finally settled into my home - took me a couple months to get unpacked and still have a little more to do, but 95% of it's done. Pumpkin, Sugar and Jordan have been getting used to the space. When we first moved in, they were not sure about the whole stairs thing and how to walk on stairs. They could make it up, but going down, they run down, slip and slide and end up sliding into the wall at the bottom of the stairs. Good thing for cats is that they are invincible and get right back up. They love the lighting since there are a ton of windows and are first to greet me at the door as I pull up. *smiles*

On the billiard front, I haven't been playing as much as I would like due to other commitments, but starting in January 09, I am going to put a focus on improving my game. I want to play with confidence and elevate my game to the next level. Always something to learn, and I want to be ready to play in the Texas Open in 09. I'm really fortunate to play on some great teams and have excellent coaches. With their guidance, I can get to the next level. By the end of the year, I want to be at a skill level 6, but it's going to take a ton of practice to get there. Gotta set goals.

Our team tonight is in a 4 way tie. Crazy. If we do well tonight, we can seal our seat in the play offs. Goal is to go 4-1, but a 3-2 should be ok to get into the play off. We have a solid team, so I am pretty confident everyone will do well tonight.

Our BCA team on Tuesdays is going to complete in Vegas for the BCA Nationals in May. It will be at the Riviera Casino again. Tough competition out there, but we are going anyway. *smiles*

Wrapping up for now, going to get some practice in before league starts. Till later...

Cute Cats

2008-11-09T21:02:00.005-06:00

I have the cutest pal. Pumpkin is my little feline buddy that likes to be where ever I am at. He's like a dog, but with whiskers. He pretty much rules the house as well.

First Mama Fu's Video Clip to play at a JumboTron!

2008-10-01T23:10:00.007-05:00

Look for this at the JumboTron in Bentonville, Arkansas - I dabble in things and the manager at our location in Bentonville asked for a little 30 second clip to have played during football games on their JumboTron. I LOVE doing things that are creative and that gets my heart a pumpin'. Anything from drawing, designing websites, painting, creating sculptures, photography, videos, building cool lego stuff, anything that gets you using your creative juices.

You ask what a JumboTron is? Greeeeaaaat question. When I first heard the term, I automatically thought it was a HUGE video game console with Tron on it. How awesome is that? For those of you that spent your evenings in the local arcade - you know what I'm talkin' about. It was a game made by Bally Midway in 1982 and it involve 4 games in one -- 1. The grid bugs, 2. The light cycles, 3. The MCP cones, and 4. The Tanks (the one I hated). It was definitely one of the greatest coin op games from the early eighties. Ah good times...spending your allowance dumping quarters into a machine. Heh, wouldn't trade it for anything.

Anyway, a JumboTron is not an enlarged Tron console. Too bad. *smiles* It's actually a large screen that is displayed at sports stadiums. I created this at work today so that Mama Fu's in Bentonville can advertise how awesome they are. It's fantastic pan asian cuisine that combines wonderful food with a great atmosphere. You should try them out if you haven't. For locations - visit http://www.mamafus.com/. This clip was created in Windows Movie Maker and it makes it easy for folks to create cute little videos from images. You can even add audio , have the images on specific timelines and control the way the images flow.

Try Mama Fu's Asian House out - I think you'll really enjoy the experience and make you want to come back for more! My favorite items are the Dynamite Shrimp and the Mongolian Beef.

He's a little jealous

2008-09-21T01:30:00.004-05:00

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'

2008-09-20T21:18:00.004-05:00

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:

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.

Sugar chews up my cables to everything - nice again.

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

2008-09-19T23:20:00.003-05:00

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

2008-09-19T23:18:00.001-05:00

New Austin Home

2008-09-19T23:13:00.002-05:00

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

2008-09-07T01:29:00.004-05:00

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!

2008-09-04T00:52:00.003-05:00

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

2008-09-01T03:44:00.002-05:00

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.

Bastrop wins 9 - 6

2008-08-31T11:57:00.002-05:00

Noon update: Bastrop played Chelo in the winner's bracket and took the win with 9 - 6. Good match to watch. The noon rounds are about to start and some good matches are lined up. Al Mason is playing this round -- but late on his table. There is a 10 minute window for him to show...He's in the winner's bracket, so if he is not able to make it, he'll still be in the tournament. More to come...

Rick Stanley & Cliff Joyner

2008-08-31T09:55:00.002-05:00

Both won their 9:00am matches solid (as predicted) -- so that means they will match up on their next match. Gah! This will be an extremely great match to watch. Cliff won 9 - 1 against his opponent and Rick won 9 - 6. It is double elimination, so one will move on in the winner's bracket and the other will play in the loser's bracket.

Shane Van Boening won is match - continuing on.

They play their next match at 7:30pm. You all should come out to watch...

Sunday Morning - 9-Ball continues

2008-08-31T08:27:00.002-05:00

Morning everyone...it's 8:30am and the first round starts at 9:00am for the winner brackets. I'm very much looking forward this round. Gotta get ready to head out. Will update as events evolve...

Good shootin' and skill everyone.

Mr. David Escobedo - Buy up all da' players

2008-08-30T23:25:00.002-05:00

11:01pm - David just finished up his match and won the game against his opponent. He's a "natural" according to Sue and his performance reflected that. He's the player that bought every great player that was seeded to win. I never got into a bid with him during the calcutta since he'd outbid me! Seriously, he's a great player and a owns half the players (thief) *smiles* in this tournament. I asked him how many players he bought in the auction and he shows me a full notepad. Gah!

All the players are still going strong even though it's been an extremely long day for all of them.

Ah, guess what? Wendy just showed up in her Disney Store attire with her "Wendy Manager" name tag and her Mickey Mouse lapel pin. How cute is that. Wait...why in the heck is she not playing in this event? Ah, her and Sue have the same problem...darn work. Work is such an imposition on the great things in life.

Also, the ladies event is underway and some really impressive shooting. They all must be playing with "female" cues instead of the "male" cues. They are on autopilot.

More to come...

Texas 9 Ball Update - Saturday Evening

2008-08-30T20:39:00.006-05:00

It's been a great event so far, lots of talent and strong play throughout the day. One of the first matches I watched was Shane Van Boening play and he swept the match 9-1. He would of won 9-0 if there wasn't a scratch on the 9 on one game. This guy played unbelievable and controlled the table throughout the match.

Rick Stanley, one of my top picks, played against Shawn Putnam and both played amazingly well. It was a tough match, but Rick took control over the table for a 9-6 win. During this match on another table was Cliff Joyner, another top pick. He went against Randy Smith and it was another sweeping match of 9-1. Cliff is a very controlled player, has a perfect stroke, and dead on with his shots. I was fortunate enough to meet him earlier this morning and he was a perfect gentleman and shook my hand.

I'm glad both of these players won their matches, but if they both win their next matches -- they will be matched up against each other and this will be a verytough match. It's one of those matches I want to watch, but on the same token, would hate to watch. The beauty of this tournament is that it is double elimination, so no matter what happens, both will continue in the tournament, just in different brackets.

Also more importantly - SUE is HERE. She's not playing in the ladies event since she had to work. I can't believe they made here work today. If she didn't have to work, you know who would of SWEPT the ladies event. Yes, Sue. Ask anyone.

More updates to come...

35th Annual Texas Open

2008-08-30T11:11:00.003-05:00

So excited.

Today starts the 35th Annual Texas Open (9-Ball) and has a total of 128 players competing in the open division. There are some strong players competing this year, including Shane Van Boening, Jeremy Jones, returning champion Sylver Ochoa, Gabe Owen, Justin Bergman, Charlie Bryant, Rafael Martinez, Ismael Paez, Glenn Atwell, Shawn Putnam and Cliff Joyner.

I went up to the event last night for the calcutta and to see the brackets. A calcutta is an auction of the players at the start of the tournament. All the proceeds from the auction are put into a pool and if the player you "bought" wins, you win the money in the calcutta pool. There were some players that went for a pretty high price, so the prize pool is substantial this year.

I saw a player shooting last night and didn't know who he was. He had stepped outside to make a call and when I was outside to get a breath of fresh air (yep, smoke-fest in the billiard hall), I asked him his name. He said his name was Cliff Joyner - wow, this guy will also be a top contender in this event. He had the most amazing control on the table and perfect stroke. If I had to choose the top winners of the event, it would be Shane Van Boening, Jeremy Jones, Shawn Putnam, Cliff Joyner, Rick Stanley, James (Bastrop) Sr., or little David.

We'll see how on or off I am.

I am getting ready to head out there soon and will update this blog as the matches are played.

This is a really amazing event that only happens once a year here, so if you get a chance, stop by and you'll see some of the most amazing live pool with the talent here this year.

Also, the ladies event starts tomorrow and there are some strong women in this event too. I'll update you as that unfolds as well. My goal - play this event one day. It's open to pros and amatuers, but it's not an event to play in unless you have been practicing day and night to prepare for this 2.5 day event.

I do wish all the players good skill - after watching them for 4-5 hours last night, it could be anyone's title to take. Good luck all.

You wonder how Chris Ferguson slices those bananas?

2008-08-24T01:22:00.006-05:00

I think I have it figured out. I found these cards today and as soon as I saw them, they were a must have. Not a "I will think about it", or "I'll come back later", or "Do I really need these?". It was a very simple decisions - MUST have.

You've seen the Chinese throwing stars in those Kung Fu movies or at a local "Kick your butt because I'm a Ninja" shop. The Chinese stars have been around for centuries and mainly used by ninjas. The way that the starts differ from a knife being tossed is that the Chinese stars are supposed to provide the same impact, but with the option to hit your target no matter which side it lands on. These are just like those, but disguised extremley well to master the art of deception and concealment.

These are 5-pc Stainless Steel throwing cards designed as a "Royal Flush" in hearts. These cards are incased in a black nylon carrying case with see through window that folds for small compact carrying and with Velcro closure.

So the next time one of you peeps steal my money on the table, I might need to get it back when I turn into a ninja and toss the Royal Flush cards your way. So if you want to use one, just let me know - I have 5 of them with 4 to spare *smiles*. Note: Chris Ferguson didn't really use these cards. He really uses a deck of cards - he's just really swift with his throw!

Silent Alarm Clock

2008-08-20T00:08:00.005-05:00

For those of you who know me, know that I am late to everything. I'm late to bed, late to get out the door, late to eat, late to most any event that's i'm attending. I'm never purposely late, it just seems like time flies faster than I can seem to keep up. There's always something interesting that peaks my attention and I get routed to whatever is popping up at that time. This leads into my interest in this conception alarm clock.

I normally set two alarms. One is my standard annoying alarm clock that has this horrible buzzing sound that is the worst sound I can imagine. In addition to that, I set two alarms on my cell phone that are 20 minutes apart. Those phone rings are right up there with mr. annoying alarm clock. So every time I'm in deep sleep, those alarms are going off just as I lay my head down. Funny how that happens.

There is a new clock coming out that is a pretty cool concept. They are wireless rubber rings with an integrated vibration device that generates a tactile alarm and are quite sexy in the way they look. Sleek silver grey and/or black with the word "Silence" engraved on them. The way they work is you put one on your finger and as the set alarm time hits, it jolts you lightly with vibrations to shake you awake (heh, I rhyme). The way to get it to stop is you shake your wrist to get the ring to stop buzzing, which acts as a snooze bar. Once it goes off again, you have to shake harder for it to stop buzzing and it gets progressively harder and requires more movement to turn it off, forcing you to get up so you don't have to deal with it.

The clock comes with two bands and you only need to wear one and your spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend/bedmate can wear the other. That way you can set two different alarm times and you both can sleep in until your bracelet goes off. Thoughtful.

I think I might become immuned to the vibrating rings and might need to wear two of them. How fun is that?? *smiles*

If you want to check it out, visit Johan Brengesjo's website at: http://www.johanbrengesjo.se/sil1.html. He's a smart industrial design engineer that not only has a some really cool gadgets, but is also a very talented musician: http://www.johanbrengesjo.se/more.html.

Speaking of late, I better get to bed - morning shall be here soon. Goodnight all.

Iorgov Custom Cue

2008-08-16T21:56:00.002-05:00

Last week I had my cherished Lucasi cue with it's Predator shaft, cue case, and my buttons and patches stolen. I've been playing with that cue for the past 3 years and when you have had a great tool that is used religiously, it's tough to not have it. I know I can easily get another cue, but finding a cue that feels the same, hits the same, looks the same, etc...is pretty tough. For those of you that shoot with your favorite cue, you know exactly what I mean and feel.

I have a friend that knew someone that made custom cues. I've never had a custom cue, but was definitely open to looking at the cues. I saw three that I instantly feel in love with. Next, was to hit with them to see how they hit the balls and how they felt when I stroked with them. It came down to two that shot really solid. I ended up choosing the lighter weight of the 2, feels like a 18oz, but it may be 19oz. It's a gorgeous birdseye maple cue with a darker wood on the base. The shaft is a TerminatorShaft3, which is very similar to the Predator shafts, which minimizes cue ball deflection. After shooting with it a bit, I realized what a solid hit, good feel, and minimal deflection it had -- pretty darn close to the feel of the Predator.

I did lose my match on Thursday shooting with the new cue. I don't blame it on the cue, gotta blame it on the player. We all know a good player can shoot with a broomstick! I lost by making mistakes that I had complete control over. I had to win 3 games to my opponents 2 games. I won one game, then shot the 8 out of turn on the 2nd, and then shot the 8 ball in on the 3rd -- while scratching. Gah! So lost my match. Double frakkin' gah!

Overall, I'm thrilled with the new cue and going to look for a great case to protect it. It's going to be my new "baby" and I need to treat it right. Playoffs are in two weeks, so I have a little time to get it broken in...look forward to being the lucky person who gets to play with the Iorgov custom cue. He does great work and if you are interested in a beautiful cue that hits really well, just let me know and I'll give you the contact of the person who can show you the cues.

Good shootin' all.

Great Poker Quotes

2008-08-12T21:57:00.002-05:00

Here are some great poker quotes - hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Poker is generally reckoned to be America's second most popular after-dark activity. Sex is good, they say, but poker lasts longer.
-- Alfred Alvarez (2001)

Limit poker is a science, but no-limit is an art. In limit you are shooting at a target. In no-limit, the target comes alive and shoots back at you.
-- Crandall Addington, Texas oil millionaire

I believe in poker the way I believe in the American Dream. Poker is good for you. It enriches the soul, sharpens the intellect, heals the spirit, and - when played well, nourishes the wallet.
-- Anonymous

Once you start thinking you have nothing left to learn, you have everything to learn.
-- Steve Badget

Try to decide how good your hand is at a given moment. Nothing else matters. Nothing!
-- Doyle Bunson

Poker is a microcosm of all we admire and disdain about capitalism and democracy. Poker can be rough-hewn or polished, warm or cold, charitable and caring, or hard and impersonal, fickle and elusive, but ultimately poker is fair, and right, and just.
-- Lou Krieger

A person should gamble every day, because think of how bad it would be to walk around being lucky and not know it.
-- Robert Turner

With spots quadrangular of diamond form, Ensanguined hearts, clubs typical of strife, And spades, the emblems of untimely graves. --William Cowper

Fusion Tables

2008-08-11T22:49:00.004-05:00

I came across this table at Fusion Tables -- it's elegant, clean, functional, sleek and well engineered billiard and dining table. The table transforms in seconds to a billiard table after you finish up your dinner. It's perfect for smaller spaces where you don't have room for a dining table and pool table. The accessories (pool cues, chalk, balls, rack) are all store under the wood table so you don't even need to worry about hanging a rack -- it's very practical. What a brilliant concept.

The table is marketed as easy to put together. You can choose a wooden line or metal line, along with your choice of felt.

The beauty of this table is that it also has optional casino game cloths - heh, how perfect is that? Today, great products need to fit people's lives and address their needs for mememorable times and precious times.

Their website shows great photos of the table and a nice little PDF of the product. In fact, the site tells everything but the price. So I'm guessing that means the price of the table is going to cost you a pretty penny or multiple pretty pennies. Start saving...

Cool Cats Playin' Billiards

2008-08-05T22:02:00.006-05:00

Some things are just plain sexy

2008-08-05T03:29:00.005-05:00

Here's the perfect item for your favorite poker player -- it just shows you how absolutely stunning poker cards can be. These are beautifully etched in a high grade stainless steel and would make your game the coolest game on the planet. They might be a tad bit difficult to shuffle, but it eliminates the peeps that like to bend your cards. *smiles*

You can order these pre-cut and ready to go or in a solid sheet and hang on the wall in your game room or poker room. I could definitely see this hanging on a wall (my wall).

They actually have a ton of uses, so investing in the cards would be worth it.

Artwork for your gameroom
Tossing them at bananas to slice them in half without being the cool Chris Ferguson
Mirror to put on your favorite lipstick
Just staring at them because they are just plain pretty
The list goes on...

Heh, I'd even like to have some fun and run through an airport checkpoint with them in my pockets, my purse, my jacket, and my duffle bag. Ah, the lovely sound of "Beep, beep, beep, beep" -- "Ma'am, can you empty your pockets".

These bad boys run about 150.00 for the set or as "Artwork".

Need to have fun and be light hearted in everything you do - even Billiards

2008-07-31T20:56:00.005-05:00

Our team had a good night last night at league - we went 4 - 1 - very sweet. My nephews have been in town with me for the past two weeks and one of them wanted to go and meet the team. Ethan is six and I can tell he's going to be a natural lil' hustler. It's in the blood. He had never picked up a cue before and he was eager to try something new. He wanted to shoot with my cue and he kept saying, "It's heeeavy...". One of the other players happen to have a cue made for kids and offered it to Ethan. Ethan with a glee in his eyes said, "Thank you! Now I can make the balls." I have never seen such a beautiful cue made for a child. He said he got it in Vegas and now I must go just to get one. I found a site that sells kids cues - check them out here: http://www.ozonebilliards.com/adjuchkidcue2.html. Pretty darn cute.

We practiced stance, the importance of chalking your cue, bridging your hand and the stroke. He followed all steps to a tee - it was pretty impressive to see him and of course, all eyes were on him. He could barely reach over the table, but he never gave up. By the time we left the pool hall, he had fans talking to him and all Ethan could do was smile from ear to ear with his dimples. He wants to go back!

Ethan tought me a great lesson - never take things too seriously and always have fun with what you do. I know I personally take billiard too serious sometimes and get down on myself when I don't perform well. I need to step back and realize it's just a game and there's always an opportunity to learn from my mistakes and be a ball of fire on my next game. You know how honest kids are...he said the funniest things.

Ethan say's: "I can beat you!" Rick says, "You got a dollar?" Ethan replys, "No...Aunt Jennefer, you have a dollar, I can beat him!"

"The stick is so heeeeavy"

"This game is hard." (You're telling me!)"

"I need a chair to play this game...I can't see."

"Wow! I can make long shots"

"All your teammates are good Jennefer! Can I play with your team?"

"I am good! I am good a many things...I can play Guitar Hero on expert and now I can play pool!"

"Jennnnneeefuuuur....you should try dipping your fries in ketchup, ranch and bbq sauce....it is sooooooo goood!" (He's right)

"Hey Rick, Chalk is fweeee"
Lastly, I came across an cute billiard joke - made me giggle. Hope you enjoy:

Snooker:
Two drunks went into a pub and found the snooker table set up for a game."Can we have a game?" they asked the barman."Sure, it’s all free."After an hour neither of them had potted a ball."Lets speed things up," - said the first drunk."How?" - asked the other."Firstly, lets take the balls out of the frame..."

*winks*

My Pool Captain is a cool cat

2008-06-20T01:35:00.002-05:00

Something a little fun that my captain of my Wednesday night league is doing is sending out a team newsletter that talks about the previous week. He does it in this great format and sends it out to us by email and it looks like a real newsletter! Since I can't duplicate it on my blog, I'll post the text version of it. Pretty darn cute.

Volume 1, Issue 1
June 19, 2008
$1.25
$2.50 (in Canada)

The Official Newsletter of the RAILBIRDS

Special Points of Interest:
· Current Rank in our division: 2nd
· Weeks until playoffs: 10
· Next Week: Pocket Monkeys
· Hotshot of the Week: Not Lance

Breaking News
This week The Railbirds played Royal Austin Monkeys. We sure made monkeys out of them. The team won 4 out of 5 possible matches.

In the first match Ken Mayes played against another SL2. The first game went to his opponent, but did little to deter our teammate who went on to win the next two for the win. The match ended 2-1.

In the blind spot Lance went up hoping to get one of their SL6s but was surprised to learn that they were putting up another SL2. Unfortunately, Lance’s opponent shot lights out and won 2-2.

The third match Rick pitted Jennefer up against an SL6. Her opponent won four in a row before Jennefer got on the board. Smart playing and good shooting ended up winning game six to make it hill hill. In the last game our teammate made a bank in the side and a long eight ball shot in the corner to win the match 3-4.

The fourth match Rick played against an SL5 and won quite easily 5-0 with three break and runs.

In the fifth match we played Wayne against an SL3. . On the last break with the scored knotted at one apiece Wayne hit the rack only to have the eight ball shoot out at warp speed and land in the comfort of the side pocket. It ended 2-1.

Shannon, Jaime, and Wendy sat out this week.

Since we have one eight ball break this season we will talk about how Wayne actually achieved the accomplishment. On the break place the cue ball on the second diamond two inches from the rail. Now with bottom English hit the second ball as full as possible. This allows the eight ball to separate from the pack. It usually sends it in the direction of the side pocket opposite from where you broke. Every once in a while another ball will kick it in the corner for the win.

Simplicity or Syncplicity?

2008-06-20T00:26:00.006-05:00

We have all been in that situation - your PC or Laptop goes on some sort of fritz. The first thought is usually, "Fudge!", and the second thought, "Gawd, I should of backed up my data!". It's a pretty heart sinking feeling when you realize all the work, photos, programs, resources, documents, data, etc you have store on your machine may be suddenly gone.

Backing up your data can be a pain, but it's one of those necessary evils that should be done and you'll be glad you did just when you least expect it. There are several options for backing up - copying your data to another drive, burning the data to a CD, putting them on a USB drive, putting on a server, etc.

Well, here's an awesome solution that makes it easy. It's called Syncplicity (cute name, huh?) and it is exactly that. You just download their application from the website and it backs up all your files or specific folders - it's your choice. I would recommend doing a complete back up of everything since you may forgot about certain folders that are stored miles deep. They make it easy to do - it's web based and you just click a button, bam, backed up. Note: this is for Windows only - not compatible with MAC users. No worries, it should be available for MACS by the end of the year.

It's got some really cool features as well:

It will sync and back up all your computers continuously (no need to schedule a back up or sync) - this is great if you work on a pc at home and laptop at work - you don't have to remember what is on which computer. Syncplicity will look to see if there are duplicate files and leave them alone - if there is data on one that is not on the other, it syncs and you now have everything in one area or on your other computer. It's smart. Very smart. Did I tell you that it's SMART?!
You have access to all your files anytime - even if your computer is turned off. There's times where you need to remote or vpn into your work machine to get a doc and with this, you don't have to worry about not having access because that machine is shut down. Nice. Very nice.
You can share specific folders with authorized users - this is a cool feature because you no longer need to email the most updated copy of a document you changed - it automatically syncs the newest saved one and they always have the current copy. Wowser.
Unlimited Storage - nuts! That is a beautiful thing.
It's secure - uses 128 bit SSL to transfer your data.
All your files are encrypted once they are stored (and encryption keys are stored in a different data center) - only you will be able to access your files.

The best part - don't worry about waiting while it initially backs up your data. It does it seamlessly in the background so you can work on other things.

You are prolly wondering how much this service is...Well, it's in Beta, so it's completely free. Yes, free - free is good, very good. They are wanting to charge something for the service in the future, as they should. This is a pretty powerful tool.

Try it out - it's pretty sweet.

Crazy 8's

2008-06-17T22:30:00.002-05:00

I just got home from a new league that I just joined tonight. I usually play APA leagues since I feel most comfortable with the people that play APA and it keeps teams in a good balance of players since they cap the skill levels allowed to play on one team.

Tonight's league is BCA. It has a few different rules and it's 'call pocket'. You play each player on the opposite team one game straight up. You will play 5 games total. If you win, you get 10 points (a point for each ball and the 8 counts as 3 points). The goal is for the team to get a higher amount of points than the opposing team per round.

The AWESOME team I was lucky enough to be invited on was amazing. We are the only team with 3 females on it. There are 8 teams total and there are two other teams that have one female on the team and the rest of the division is male. I love that our captain mixed our team up to a co-ed format! I was pretty nervous about playing BCA since the level of play is escalated compared to APA. There is no handicap and it's one game against your opponent - that's it. So you want to play your best and always think that if you miss your shot, you may not get another turn at the table.

We won 4 - 1 tonight and I can't imagine a better BCA team to be on. Everyone was so welcoming, friendly and talented. I admired the play of everyone on the team and that gives me the aspiration to play like they do. It was my first night, so I decided to pray to the 'pool gods' to give me a little boost. I shot a 46 out of 50 and won 4/5 matches! I was so excited and owe it to the pool gods. Thank you!

I can see this team going to Vegas in the BCA finals - I look forward to us shooting there. It's just a gut feeling.

Tomorrow is APA and I look forward to the league - it's another great team and I can see us going to Vegas in APA! Yes, I have many visions. *smiles*

Good job everyone and look forward to next week.

Pool. Not as in the game...

2008-05-19T23:04:00.003-05:00

Sunday in Austin was pretty darn warm. It's the kind of weather where you walk outside and the sun in beaming down on you and your skin can act as a frying pan. Well, those days call for a dip into a nice, cold pool.

A friend and his awesome wife was having a BBQ, pool get together at their home. I'd never been to one of their regular get togethers and thought it was time since I've always heard nothing but the best stories about their "come on over and don't knock on the door" parties. They are so welcoming, where you can just walk in and there is everyone! Adults, Kids and even doggies *smiles*.

I roamed through the house to end up in their back yard that has the coolest deck with a grill, canopy tent with white lights and straight ahead, a stone pool! It was beautiful - something I'd see in the movies. The water was a dark blue and the stones were all placed perfectly with a waterfall -- simply gorgeous.

This photo isn't the actual pool, but just so you can get a visual - absolutely amazing. They made scrumptious fajitas with an array of great dips and quesos to munch on while the fajita's were grillin'. Thanks for having us over and inviting everyone to your get together - I can see why everyone raves about your parties.

Poker and Pool in one game?

2008-04-29T20:33:00.003-05:00

Playing around on the computer this evening and I came by this photo with the funniest caption:

"It suddenly became Obvious to the producers that the idea of combining the game of poker with that of pool, sounded a lot better on paper."

This is definitely one of those one of a kind photos that you just don't come by often. Heh, this gentleman needs some lessons in poker. He just doesn't know how to protect his cards!

Actually, this is Rob Mollien, a magician from Holland. Rob Mollien became the first Dutchman to hoist the coveted PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters Trick Shot trophy over his head by defeating a pack of hopefuls including Lukasz Szywala of Poland, Tyler Edey of Canada, and Vincent Facquet of France. The 32 year-old from Amsterdam is a professional magician by trade but he avoided his trade mark tricks in favour of a succession of pure skill shots that went almost to perfection, to the delight of the enthusiastic crowd.

Mollien finished off with an eye-popping finale that involved spearing his cue through a pack of flying cards and an impaling a card pre-selected by a member of the audience.

You gotta check this restaurant out

2008-04-28T20:31:00.002-05:00

A new mediterranean restaurant, Phara's, just opened off of North Loop and Lamar. There's times you walk into an establishment, whether it's a store, a restaurant or even someone's home, and you are impressed beyond your greatest expectations.

Phara's is just that. It is located where Ararat once was and I was an avid fan of their restaurant and missed them terribly. When I heard Phara's opened up, I had to try it out. As we walked in, we were warmly greeted with a pleasant smile from the host, "Hello and welcome to Phara's". Such a nice little touch that is a rarity now. We were promptly seated and I was admiring the layout and ambiance of the room. It was a deep purple with small white lights throughtout the dining room. Beautiful seating arrangements and had that "comfy" feel. Music was playing and as we sat down, the belly dancer came by and danced to the beat of the music. I love belly dancers - always thought they were graceful and amazing, especially since I can't dance, move my body like they do, and I am definitely not graceful (two left feet) - so it "wows" me!

The waiter took our drink order and asked if we wanted an appetizer - I saw hummus on the menu and said, "that's a must." He smiled, and said it was a good choice. It came out very quickly and he was right - made perfectly. The owner came by and introduced herself as Phara and welcomed us to her restaurant, very inviting and she set the tone for a great dining experience. She had a great smile and very calm demeanor - you couldn't help but feel comfortable around her although I just met her. I asked what her favorite dish was on the menu and she quickly recommended the Beef Kabob and said her cooks werefantastic.

I ordered that dish and my friend ordered the Salmon - both were so amazing. Cooked and seasoned to perfection and served with rice and vegetables. Simply amazing. She came by after the meal and asked how we liked it - um, how could it not be liked? So darn delicious.

Overall - a 10 experience. I also wanted to mention that there is a gorgeous patio out back with candles on the tables and white lights to light up the back. There's also a wooden deck that is covered where you can enjoy Hookahs that you can enjoy with a group of friends. I think it's priced per person - but not sure on that since I just walked over to see the set up. If you have never heard of a Hookah - here's a little background info:

Hookah (also known as Shisha) is a smoking device originated in ancient Persia and is used to smoke many substances - mainly herbal fruits and tobacco. I'm not promoting them since I'm not a smoker, but for those that do - I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience.

The average meal is 15.00 a person and it is BYOB - so for you drinkers, you can bring your own drinks and they'll provide you the set ups. They also don't have a website yet - I might ask Phara if she wants one. I'd love to create a site that helps her restaurant reach out to the Austin community. She's got a very moving story about her and her son and the back of the menu - so please take a moment to read it while you are enjoying your visit.

I can't wait to go back - I'm taking my girlfriends there soon and I think they will be in for a very pleasant surprise.

Angel Food Ministries

2008-04-26T08:56:00.002-05:00

What is it? With a heart to help others and a generous spirit, Joe and Linda Wingo founded Angel Food Ministries in 1994 to provide food for friends and neighbors who were struggling financially. Today, they are still doing the same thing. The Angel Food program now is helping provide food relief to more than 500,000 families each month across the nation.

I just got back from picking up the order I placed two weeks ago. They distribute once a month at a central location and there are over 40+ volunteers that get up early on the weekend to make sure the food is ready for the community to pick up. There is even the option to sponsor a box which goes to a family that cannot afford to buy a box. They are $30.00 for the main box, and the specialty boxes are usually $18 - $20. My goal is to sponser one box per month so that a family can have food in their cabinets and refrigerator. If you can, please sponser a box this month - it's a great cause.

You can place your order online and pay with Paypal or mail a check to the host location (usually a local church in your neighborhood). The deadline is always mid month and the pick up date is at the end of the month. I told my girlfriends about it and they ordered as well. Now there is no reason for all of us to get up at the crack of dawn, so thought it would be easier for me to pick up the orders for all of us since I usually stay awake on Fridays until the sun rises, so it is perfect timing.

The menu package is pretty impressive - it's a variety box of all the basic food groups and then you have the option to get "special" boxes that are usually steaks, poultry, variety meat packs, etc.

I'm also impressed with their newly released website from their IT department to help spread the word. Check it out at: http://www.angelfoodministries.com/ It has some great information about what their mission is, press releases, recipes, host information, area to donate and much more valuable information.

The host location is responsible for collecting the money, placing your order and takes care of all the paperwork. They get a $1.00 for every unit sold and that is given to the church.

If you are interested in placing an order for May, you can visit the website above and type in your zip code to search. It will give you the closest location.

I'm excited to do some cooking this month, and those that know me...well, know that Jen loves eating out and too much of a slacker to go grocery shopping, pull those pans out and cook up a meal. Yep, I'm a slacker in the kitchen.

Ah, I also wanted to mention that the volunteers are amazing. Everyone from the person that checks you in, to those that are unloading the food from the main truck, to the sorters that are placing the orders in individual boxes, to the greeters, and to my favorite little guy who is 15 years old and been volunteering for over 1.5 years (he's a true gentleman - he helps all the females carry the food boxes to their car no matter what). They are all amazing and make sure everything goes smooth.

It's about 9:15am and I'm hitting the pillow to get some shut eye. Good night or good day for some of you.

Custom Pool Table Felt - Feels Right

2008-04-23T22:49:00.006-05:00

I'm sitting here thinking about how beautiful it would be to have a billiard table at home to practice on anytime I frakkin' want. I came across this website of a company that makes custom felt for your tables - ugh! Just makes me long for one that much more.

An eight foot table felt design runs $625.00 and to have anything you wanted printed is a pretty fair deal. My perfect idea of an image would be to have Battle Angel Alita on it (the picture above). How cool would it be to wake up everyday and glance over at the table and see her on it, then shoot a few games - heck, just having her on the table would motivate me to dunk everyone of those balls in the pockets that are beckoning them! Now just gotta save up for the pool table, find a place large enough to have a table without bumping into the walls, have the table delivered and then buy the felt.

The company, poolfelt.com, has a two week turn around time - pretty impressive. Now once it arrives, you need to replace the old felt and if you don't want to hire someone to do it and feel like taking on the tasks like a true player should, then here's your official Pool Table Cloth Installation Guide. *smiles*

Deal

2008-04-19T00:03:00.006-05:00

Just finished watching a poker movie called "The Deal".

It stars Bert Reynolds, Alex Stillman and Shannon Elizabeth and has a plot line that is similar to the "Color of Money".

It's about a young poker player that is a student from Yale that has the typically cocky, maverick, style of playing. He has a brief encounter with Tommy Vinson (Bert Reynolds), a retired poker player, and then a plan develops.

Of course, you have the woman that comes in to stir up a little bit of something something as we are sometimes known to do.

After Rounders, it's really tough to make a great poker movie. "Deal" is no "Rounders", but even though it was predictable -- it was still a good movie to watch. Tough not to like a poker movie. *smiles*

There's several poker cameos: Antonio Esfandiari, Isabelle Mercier, Chris Moneymaker, Joe Hachem, Greg Raymer, and Phil Laak.

1 Week = LJRHTTRGR8T

2008-04-16T08:41:00.000-05:00

A coworker of mine when out of town with work for a week and I had the pleasure of spending time with her three amazing children and two super awesome dogs for 5 days.

There’s all kinds of experiences we have the opportunity to experience and this ranks up there in the top ten off all time. I had met them once prior to staying the week with them, and I was a little nervous that I would completely screw something up like forget to feed them, forget to make sure they were home, forget their names *smiles*, etc. I’m kidding of course – but I’ve never raised children and wasn’t sure what to expect.

Well, they exceeded my expectations…in every possible way. She has brilliant children and not only are book smart, they are life smart – a rare combination. I enjoyed talking to them about their interests in volunteering their time with kids that were less fortunate, going to church, their school, their friends, their boyfriends *ahem*, and how much they respected and was proud of their mom.

They got up on their own everyday and got ready for school. Every morning, they made theirselves breakfast, fed their two dogs and brand new puppy prior to stepping out that door. Their maturity level was impressive as well. I could easily have a conversation with them that I would have with an adult – again, they exceeded my expectations.

These three kids are going to make a huge impact on this world – just you wait. I can tell they are leaders by their actions and independence, and always will be just from hearing about their past experiences. Can’t wait to see what milestones they reached in the next 5 – 10 years – can guarantee, they are going to be impressive. They have a mom that raised them well, taught them valuable and useful lessons in life, loved them more than anything in this world and you see it in each one of their eyes.

Most that know me, know I have never had the desire to raise a family – but after my experience this past week, I could now never rule it out. Funny how a short experience can make such a huge impact. Thanks for the experience.

The heavier ball

2008-04-11T13:33:00.001-05:00

There are 8 billiard balls. One of them is slightly heavier than other seven. Only way to tell which one is heaviest is by putting them on scale against the others. What would be minimum number of times you have to use scale to find out heavier ball.

It's two - how?

APA Billiards League - Austin, TX

2008-04-11T00:15:00.002-05:00

We play 5 matches and the goal is to win 5 - 0 against the opposing team, which is difficult. A 3 - 2 win makes my night and we consider it a win for the team.

I played the first match tonight and won by just a hair. It was double hill and he was on his last ball before the 8 ball and I was on the 8. I shot at it twice and completely missed the pocket - poor execution on my part. I got lucky and had the opportunity to shoot at it one more time, and finally sunk it on the 3rd try to bring in a win. I love games that go double hill - it means both players played a great game for it to get that far.

I forgot to mention that I lost the lag, so my name is on the "bottom" frame of the score sheet since the person that wins the lag is on the "top" frame. This is important and it comes into play by the time I finish writing this.

Our 2nd player goes up and wins the lag and is the "top" of the frame. He plays an excellent match, but the opponent wins.

Our 3rd player goes up and wins the lag and again, is the "top" of the frame. He plays a great match, but the opponent wins.

Ok, halt for a moment. I'm staring at the score sheet and I see that the person that wins the lag, loses the match on the past 3 matches. Statistically, that means I can forecast that whoever loses the lag will bring in a win.

I whisper jokingly to my other two teammates before they play, "be sure to lose the lag and you'll win the game." They just laugh at me...and I would do the same if someone said that to me. They both lose the lag, not because I said it, but it just happened. Guess what? They both shoot lights out - solid, very solid and win their matches.

So, all players on the bottom frames won their matches. Who says it's always better to be on top? Sometimes losing a small something brings you great rewards. Funny how it happened.

Summing it up, team did wonderful and we went 3 - 2 for the night. Good shootin'and let's do it again next week! They were tough matches tonight and we pulled it off! If this game was easy, we wouldn't be fanatics about it and keep bringing us back. *smiles*

Time to get some rest, daylight will be here soon.

The Grand

2008-04-05T21:12:00.004-05:00

Just got in from seeing The Grand at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's an entirely improvised film about 6 players who reach the final table of a huge poker tournament, The Grand Championship of Poker which parallels the WSOP main event.

Improvs are hard to do because it's tough to come up with something funny on the spot and it doesn't always come out the way you want. The strong cast pulls it off though.

The movie has a stellar cast, Phil Gordon, Woody Harrelson, Cheryl Hines and Richard Kind, just too name a few, so I put it on my list to see. There were also plenty of cameo, professional poker players that were in the movie, although none of them had many lines. I expected a little bit of a stronger movie with the cast, but I guess there were just too many to have enough time to develop their characters.

You should also be a fan of watching the WSOP tournaments on EXPN or ESPN2 to understand some of the satire. It makes many of the whacky scenes enjoyable and keeps you giggling for a bit.

I might even see it again, but it's another one of those movies that isn't a "must see", but for the poker community, it's a "should go and have fun see." It's currently playing at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar, so get some good friends together and check it out. Relax, have a beer or two and enjoy some good food. My favorite is the tasty BBQ chicken pizza and a nice bowl of vanilla ice cream with raspberry and chocolate sauce.

It's rumored that the people in the movie actually played the poker game straight and didn't know who was going to win or lose the tournament, so that gave it a cool twist during the filming. I do love the person who wins the tournament and I was pulling for that person the whole way. Glad "the person" won. *winks*

Also, this movie wasn't released in to many cities, but Austin was one cities that it hit - so support our local theater, Alamo South, and go check it out!

When is cheating ok?

2008-04-04T00:38:00.001-05:00

Almost all the time *smiles*

Snagging a Meme

2008-04-03T01:15:00.003-05:00

I'm snagging a meme, so sue me for meme infringement! Here goes it.

Before I start - for those who want to know exactly what a meme is.

A meme is:
- An idea that, like a gene, can replicate and evolve.
- A unit of cultural information that represents a basic idea that can be transferred from one individual to another, and subjected to mutation, crossover and adaptation.
- A cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one generation to another by nongenetic means (as by imitation); "memes are the cultural counterpart of genes".

If I were a direction I’d be… the Future
If I were furniture I’d be...a soft bed with tons of pillows
If I were a liquid I’d be… water
If I were a sin I’d be… too much for you to handle *smiles*
If I were a gem/stone I’d be… garnet
If I were a metal I’d be… platinum
If I were a tree I’d be… a palm Tree
If I were a fruit I’d be… a sweet clementine
If I were a flower I’d be… a tulip
If I were weather I’d be… a cool breeze late at night
If I were a music instrument I’d be… a plastic guitar (for guitar hero)
If I were an element I’d be… oxygen
If I were a colour I’d be… #000000
If I were an animal I’d be… a ocelot
If I were a sound I’d be… unable to get out of your head
If I were a lyric I’d be… “But I'm not gonna quit and I'm not gonna stop"
If I were a song I’d be…If You Could read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot
If I were a music type I’d be… fusion
If I were a perfume/cologne I’d be… Japanese Cherry Blossom
If I were a feeling I’d be… hope
If I were a book I’d be… Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
If I were food I’d be… A yummy steak
If I were a city I’d be… Las Vegas
If I were a taste I’d be… chocolate mousse with raspberry sauce and whipped cream
If I were a scent I’d be… fresh rain
If I were a word I’d be… Why?
If I were a verb I’d be… dream
If I were an object I’d be… a camera
If I were a piece of clothing I’d be… some worn in blue jeans
If I were a body part I’d be… hands
If I were an facial expression I’d be… intent
If I were a cartoon character I’d be… Battle Angel Alita
If I were a movie I’d be… Part 1, Part 2, Part 3..
If I were a geometrical figure I’d be… a triangle
If I were one of the 4 seasons I’d be… Autumn
If I were a sentence I’d be… "Try not. Do or do not. There is no try."

I'll have Jordan, Pumpkin and Sugar fill theirs out and I'll get them posted soon.

21 (BlackJack)

2008-03-30T02:08:00.004-05:00

"I love blackjack. But I'm not addicted to gambling. I'm addicted to sitting in a semi circle."
-Mitch Hedberg

Just got in from seeing 21 and it made me want to head to Vegas - Vegas is a city that when I'm there, I never want to leave. It has gambling, great food, tons of people from all over, city never sleeps, you are free to roam anywhere you want and do pretty much anything you want to do. When you are there, you leave your 'day to day world' behind and emerge yourself in 100% of no responsibilities and pure fun. Trust me, it's hard to come back - crazy thing about that city how it makes you forget all the worries in your world, even though it's temporary.

Most movies about gambling or casinos always peak my interest, but I never set my expectations high. I always go in with with my bucket of popcorn and Fruit Punch and get ready to relax for the next 1 hour and 30 minutes to enjoy a show on the big screen.

This is your typical heist film + blackjack (nice combination). It's not about planning a heist to break into a casino's vault to take a huge sum of money, it's about beating the game.

The actors did well - Lawrence Fishurne and Kevin Spacey (my favorite actor) were both in this movie and I would of liked to see more of their character develop, especially Spacey's. He's an outstanding actor and I love his twisted actions in most movies he is in. He does well at pulling off things that we all think about, but don't actually do.

The cast keeps your attention (and I bet they had a great time making this movie) and although, you can prolly predict what is going to happen, you'll enjoy the ride along the way. The music in the movie also kept it flowing well. I need to get this soundtrack -- has some great songs, I love I Am Unknown and Big Ideas. 21 doesn't completely get the psychology of gambling, but it was enjoyable and I'd see it again.

21 Soundtrack:
1. You Can't Always Get What You Want -- The Rolling Stones (SoulwaxRemix)2. Time To Pretend -- MGMT3. Big Ideas -- LCD Soundsystem4. Giant -- D. Sardy featuring Liela Moss5. Always -- Amon Tobin6. Young Folks -- Peter Bjorn and John7. Mad Pursuit -- Junkie XL featuring Electrocute8. Sister Self Doubt -- Get Shakes9. I Am Unknown -- The Aliens10. Shut Up And Drive -- Rihanna11. Alright -- Knivez Out12. Tropical Moonlight -- Domino13. Hold My Hand -- UNKLE14. L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever) -- Mark Ronson featuring Kasabian15. Tender Buttons -- Broadcast

Who's really the boss?

2008-03-26T02:08:00.005-05:00

*stretches*

It's just past 2:00am and I was working on a few things before I hit the pillow. As I am finishing up some emails, someone comes pawing at my knee. For those of you that know Jordan, that's his signature move if he sees you sitting down. He politely comes up, takes his left paw and taps you on the knee. If you don't look at him right away, it becomes slightly of a harder tap. It get's my attention quickly. I wasn't sure what he needed, so I just followed as he lead. He went to the front door and I guess wanted a midnight stroll. Who knows....

We'll I unlock the door and we go strolling down the block. It's gorgeous out and although it's 2:00am, the night is beaming beautifully. Amazing how I never really stop to appreciate the beauty of silence with just enough light. It's peaceful and relaxing. I decided I better get back in the house and Jordan swiftly beats me to the door panting. Think he had a good little run.

I come back to my computer to do one last thing and he is just staring at me. I wish I had a camera to take a picture of him, because it's the perfect pose. So I scroll through some old pictures and found a picture of the way he looks right now. It's a typical doggy pic -- decided to see what Jordan would look like as a cartoon...yep, my mind thinking about compleeeetely useless ideas.

So 5 minutes later after doing a few tweeks in photoshop, we have the picture above. He is just as cute as a cartoon as he is in real live. (kinda looks like he slurped up a little to much Pepto-Bismol)

I'm thinkin' I should start a comic strip, starring this great little guy.

Good night all, morning will be here shortly.

Scotch Doubles

2008-03-26T01:30:00.003-05:00

Scotch Doubles (and no it's not stick tape)

Scotch Doubles is this weekend at Slick Willies and I am playing with Anthony, who just recently joined APA this session. It's our first time playing as partners in a Scotch Doubles Tournament and I'm really lucky to have him as a partner for this event. I've had the pleasure of partnering with some unbelievable Austin talent in the past and know this will be the same!

I first met Anthony in a BCA league about 3 years ago and lost contact with him over the years. What a great surprise to see him show up to join the league. He's a very modest player (as many good players are) and has a smooth stroke and excellent eye for seeing the whole table and how the game is going to play out.

A Scotch Doubles tournament is where each player on the same team (of two) alternate shots each inning. It's key to make your shot, and also crucial to leave your opponent a shot after yours. It's a fun tournament and anyone that plays league should definitely play the tournaments - it's always a great time by all. It's a double elimination format, so if you happen to get an unlucky roll on the felt and your opponents get the opportunity to run out the table, well, there's always the other bracket to meet up with that team again *smiles*.

I've also heard another definition for a Scotch Doubles Tournament:

"Scotch doubles played male and female will kill your relationship with the opposite sex." For many of you, you know what that means. For some of us others, it's just about having a good time and playing the game we all love.

Good luck everyone on the felt Saturday. Shoot well and keep a smooth stroke!

Why do we paint Easter Eggs?

2008-03-23T12:41:00.008-05:00

Happy Easter everyone!

The egg itself is nature's perfect package. It's represented mystery, magic, medicine and a source of food. It is the universal symbol of Easter celebrations throughout the world and has been dyed, creatively painted, and adorned in the celebration of it's special symbolism.

The Romans, Gauls, Chinese, Egyptians and Persians all cherished the egg as a symbol of the universe. From ancient times eggs were dyed, exchanged with others and shown reverence.

Ornamental egg designers believe in the symbolism of the egg and celebrate the egg by decorating it with superb artistry. Some use flowers and leaves from greeting cards, tiny cherubs, jewels and elegant fabrics, braids and trims, and paints and dyes to adorn the eggs.

The colors you choose also have meaning. The main element to colors on pagan eggs is that the belief was the more you had, the more magic the object was filled with and the more effective its spell casting capabilities would be.

My egg was created in purple and orange this year --

The purple represents:

Purple has a special, almost sacred place in nature: lavender, orchid, lilac, and violet flowers are often delicate and precious. Because purple is derived from the mixing of a strong warm and strong cool color it has both warm and cool properties. Purple can boost your imagination or your creativity as an artist.

The orange represents:

As a warm color orange is a stimulant which can stimulate your emotions and even your appetite. Orange can be found in nature in the changing leaves of fall, the setting sun, and the skin and meat of citrus fruit. We enter a new season, leaving winter and embracing Spring.

Although the omens and the mystery of the egg have disappeared today, the symbolism remains, and artists continue in the old world tradition of adorning eggs.

Her Birthday - Celebrate

2008-03-10T01:19:00.005-05:00

I can't think of a better way to start today, but in honor of my mom. Today is her birthday, born 1946, in China. She passed away about 10 months ago.

She had wonderful friends that were by her side. Although she wasn't near me, I know we were "together", all these years. I choose to celebrate her life on her birthday - she's beautiful. I looked through all her photographs today and still in awe of her beauty. I have books that she read, pajamas that she slept in that kept her warm, and many other things that make her presence felt daily.

How do I describe her? Strong, beautiful, intelligent, talented, artistic, caring, full of spirit, huge heart, stubborn, petite, quiet, mentor, proud, and so much more. Everyone that knew her, described her in the exact same way -

I want to live my life working to be as strong and amazing as the woman that brought me into this world. The world knows I have made some bad choices (as we all have) and I've tried to learn from them. My goal: As the future unfolds, I am going to gain strength from her spirit which will help direct me to make the choices that I think is appropriate for the situation.

My wish: More time - time to have gotten to know you, have your guidance, sit down with you to just hear your voice and see your smile. I'll miss you all my life although your spirit is right next to me. Today is your birthday and your day -- Happy Birthday Mom.

If only I could be animated

2008-03-06T02:57:00.004-06:00

My babe, Jordan

2008-03-06T02:51:00.004-06:00

Boom and Jen

2008-03-06T02:50:00.004-06:00

Wakerupper

2008-03-06T01:41:00.003-06:00

I'm notorious for running late, snoozing the alarm clock until I absolutely have to wake up, and yes, forgetting my dear friends' birthdays. I came across this cool little web based tool called Wakerupper. It's a telephone reminder service that calls you to remind you of important todo's (and I love todo lists) or you can use it for a simple wake up call with something really motivating to get your morning going. Sure you can set your phone to to go off at a specific time and you see it flashing while ringing the little alarm bell. It's kind of annoying, just as much as your alarm clock is every morning.

The cool part of this, is it calls you when you set the time and date. When you answer, it's a recorded voice that repeats the information you typed on the website. A nice little wake up call with "GET UP SLACKER!", "TODAY IS THE GOING TO BE THE START OF THE BEST DAYS TO COME!", "MCDONALD'S IS GRILLIN' UP EGGS AND PANCAKES FOR YOU!", or "IT IS NOW 9:01 AM" (When it's really 8:01) *winks*.

I just tested it out to see if it really worked - nothing like creating a reminding call and it never calls. I scheduled a call for 1:45am and typed in the message: "Go get some Gatorade Jen". It called me at 1:45am on the dot with the caller ID of: 8887792537. I answered and politely said, "Greetings". A nice male voice came on and said, "Go get some Gatorade Jen."

And I did.

Cool part: it's Free. Not much in life is free, so I relish things like this. You can see how it can help you with day to day tasks. It can remind you of meetings, flights, anniversaries, birthdays, dr. appointments, tasks, and other things that are important to you.

There is also a beta version that includes:

Voice reminders
Snooze (love it...love it)
Recurring calls
Unlimited reminders

So to wrap up - this is a cool tool that is of no cost, a useful tool, fairly entertaining and I'm sure you can think of how it can help you.

The name of the site is cute, Wakerupper. Maybe they should have another version called, Wakemupper, with a sweet female voice for the reminder calls.

Billiard Sculptures - Creativity

2008-02-23T02:32:00.004-06:00

I'm always impressed with people who are creative. Creativity is the essence of every person. Creativity starts with the imagination within our own minds and is driven by the passion in our heart. I came across a site where they make metal sculptures. Sculpures I've never seen and would never think of such a clever idea.

I definitely have this on my "to get" list. After seeing it, I spent the night pondering on where I should put it - on a specific shelf, in my room, on the end table...hmmm. Well, I'm sure it will find the perfect home in my world. This is so creative and I wonder what made the artist think of these sculptures? Easy answer, it's the creative side of the artist and it reflects beautifully in the sculptures.

Creativity is not limited to traditional art forms and ways of thinking; a person does not have to be a Picasso or a Monet to have unique art. Although, a beautiful piece of art is breath taking. We are born creative - as kids, we can take a crayon and scribble on that white wall and we think it's beautiful (I know I did). Wait, I did get grounded. Hmmm, maybe not so creative - heh. Our minds as kids can imagine almost anything, nothing is out of reach. Where does that go?

As we get older, growing in experience and wisdom, we may try different activities such as skydiving, sports (plug for billiards, join APA), collecting stamps/coins, doodling pictures of your dreams, writing poems, designing a website, creating a blog or even setting up a MONSTER enterprise to rule the world *smiles*. In the process we may discover we have a skill that had been untapped throughout our life prior to doing it, often because our creativity had been subdued due to our day to day activities that keep us responsible.

Embracing the creativity that is inside of you and others around you, and you may just find that life takes on a happier, easier hue. In stirring up that perfect coffee blend, wearing a new style of dress that makes you feel like a million bucks, buying your groceries at a store you've never stepped into, going to see a live band, daring yourself to challenge the "norm", saying something positive to the the coworker that just never really talks to anyone, or even better: simply smile. That takes courage, but the rewards are always positive.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-30T23:32:00.000-05:00

Five little halloween balls sitting on the table,
The one ball said,
"Oh my, i'm feeling a little unstable"
The two ball said,
"But we don't care."
The three ball said,
"I see the player making the cue ball flying in the air."
The four ball said,
"Let's roll, and roll, and roll."
The five ball said,
"Ut oh, our destiny is to the holes."
Then miscue went the stick,
and knocked out all the lights,
And five little halloween balls rolled out of sight!

Trick or Treat. Trick or Trick Shots?

2007-10-04T04:21:00.000-05:00

I love gadgets - things that are unique and even more impressive, that some genius thought of creating something to make our lives easier or just plain fun.

Here is a cool little rack that teaches you how to do trick shots. If you saw "The Huster", which came out in 1961, Paul Newman made this cool little shot in the movie. With this rack, you just rack the balls, aim your cue ball smack down the middle and the 6 balls will travel to their respective pockets - one in each hole. Once you get it down, who needs the rack! But until you do, rack your balls in this rack and then enjoy the magic.

If you want one, they are about 15 bucks and you can order it from a website called Things You Never Knew Existed.

The best lunch I've had in a long time.

2007-10-02T20:55:00.000-05:00

Today was such a great day - one of those days where everything goes right, and if anything did go not as you planned, it turns out better than you could of imagined.

My closest friend said, "Let's do lunch". I hadn't seen her in over a month - She offered to stop by my work and pick me up so we'd ride together and be able to catch up on a month worth of living in 1.5 hours. Funny, it's easy to do. Everytime we see each other, we are non stop chatter boxes.

We agreed to go to our normal dining establishment, a Chinese buffet off of Burnet. They have great food, superior service with a smile (although the wait staff speaks little english, they make you feel at home). The manager always remembers us, which is something I've always treasured. He smiled and said, "You both haven't been here in awhile." All I could do is agree and make it an effort to stop by more often. Lunch was great, company was great, and the fact that the manager took time out of his day to let us know that he enjoyed having us there was great. That's 3 greats in less than an hour. We caught up on the past month during lunch and on the way back to work.

Take the time today to show a friend how much they have impacted and made your life just that much better. You don't have to even tell them - just your actions and they will know. I want to list the things that without her advice and friendship, I'd be in a different place. She knows I love change and new challenges and she's supported me 110% no matter what - noone will prolly understand this, but her. Yep, she will laugh.

1. Thanks for showing me what a real smile could look like. It took 2 years, but the metal worked.
2. Thanks for giving me advice on medicine and great doctors. It took 6 years, but now reflections aren't so bad *smiles*
3. Thanks for being there for our other friends, we couldn't of made it through our most trying time without your strength - and you know that. She thanks you and I do.
4. Thanks for all the stories and experiences - all of em'. My favorite is still the Oasis one...unbelievable.
5. Thanks for giving me the springboard to go to the big "S". That was the most important trip to date and know no trip will trumph that.
6. Thanks for always helping me with whatever endeavor I start - you've helped me every time I start out and make it that much easier.
7. Thanks for the suitcases (both of em')
8. Thanks for bringing the magazine, book, and critter and letting me know what a nut I am. You stilled smiled although you didn't agree with my decision and plan. Thank you for doing that.
9. Thanks for all the extra things you always do - the glass, the glass, and the glass.
10. Thanks for saying great words at the most random times. "Glow" "And..." "Oh no..." "Outfit!"

I've got some wonderful friends and I love lists. I enjoy creating them about things - lists for everything. I could create them and read them again 10 years later, and never forget what each sentence represents.

To end the perfect day, I've got my 4 little furry ones surrounding me on the sofa. Well, going to go back and watch my Sex & The City episodes - they are a pleasurable addiction.

Till again...good night.

Google Apps

2007-09-23T23:21:00.000-05:00

Google goes over the top again - building it's empire.

Google Apps was released last year in August of 2006. I've started using it for the email client for a small business in Austin that needed an all in one solution for email and communication. Anytime you start a small business, budget plays a huge role in the success of the business. Anytime you can save money, it's vital to the business. That's what Google Apps provides...

Google Apps is a great resource for small companies that don't have their own IT resources at their disposal. It brings together communication services to unite your organization. The best part, it's easy to set up, nothing to install, no hardware needed and no maintenance required on your end -- also, did I tell you, it's free!

Here are just a few of the cool communication tools it offers:

1. Gmail - Offers 10 GB of storage for each account
2. Google Talk - You can send IM anytime, anywhere - file sharing and voicemail is included.
3. Google Calendar - You can organize your schedules, share events, meetings and calendars with others. Even publish events to the web for your users to view.

Here are some publishing tools it offers:

1. Google Docs - Create documents, spreadsheets and presentations - collaborate with other users in real time.
2. Start Page - A central place for users to view their inboxes and calendars, important content and search the web.
3. Google Page Creator - Create and publish web pages for your domain easily - you don't even need to know html.

Google Apps offers gmail to organizations with your own personalized email address - ie: irock@ialwaysrock.com. It has powerful virus, phishing, and spam filtering, POP capabilities, free forwarding and mobile access (easily install Gmail mobile app to your BlackBerry for access anytime) to provide you a complete mail solution.

Google Apps offers 99.9% guarantee uptime for all premier edition users. Bonus!

Also it's supported by all of the most widely used browsers, IE, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Netscape and others.

Expect it to evolve as all of Google's applications do...

Oh, I just downloaded Google SketchUp 6.0. Google SketchUp combines a compact yet robust tool-set with an intelligent guidance system that streamlines the 3D drawing process. I'm going to play with it a bit and blog my review of it on my next posting. I love 3D modeling and think this is going to be another one of my new passions. Stay tuned.

It's been over one week

2007-09-14T14:24:00.001-05:00

I have to mention that it's been over 1 week since any of my things have been mutilated beyond repair. Can you believe something so cute is possible of such?

I still wake up each day and let my eyes peruse the room to see if anything is missing or destroyed. It's been a wonderful one week without anything missing (usually find in the backyard shredded) and nothing at home being torn to shreds.

I'm so proud of Boomer...*smiles*

Not sure how true this is...

2007-09-14T08:57:00.000-05:00

A cool cat friend of mine, took a "nerd" test. He's brilliant beyond belief - one of those people that know so much and are talented at whatever they do! Well, he took the test and he ranked pretty high on most of the categories and it referred to him as a Cool Nerd King. Well, it's 33% correct. He's is very cool and could possibly be a king if the opportunity presented itself.

I just took the Nerd Test V.2 and here were the results. It's false though. It's 75% wrong! I'm am never kinda in anything. It's all or nothing! I am not a dork by any means - geez. Nerd - nope, nada. The part I completely agree with - yep, I'm a queen.

There is a quote that all us girls should think like a queen.

"A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness."

Har, so all my failures are just helping me reach my grandness! *Whew*

Hermit Days...we all have them and we are okay

2007-09-14T00:13:00.000-05:00

I go in periods where I surrender myself at home. I do not have the desire to connect to people on messenging or on the phone -- I want to be a ghost. I'll entertain myself with sketching, reading or creating something that is unique -- perhaps sleep, then wake up after a few hours still feeling like I didn't accomplish everything that I am destined to accomplish for the day - something is always not finished.

Hmmm, do I or any of us really exist? Well, I think I'm alive, I think I still exist, I know I'm breathing and I'm tangible. But who can prove the truth of that when people don’t see or hear from you? Are you actually alive? Perhaps it's the same - If we have no contact with the outside world, is it the same as not existing. So does that mean I like not existing?

Heh, then I can easily rationalize that I am walking the fine line of sanity with a dash of insanity.

It’s defintitely an experience, actually, to feel like a ghost -- when I'm walking through my home as the sun is rising, sunlight barely filtering from the blinds which makes my vision blurred, swaying a bit because I am not fully awake. I don't feel nervousness, panic, happiness or sadness -- nothing --just a neutral twinge of habit. Just like a newborn -- you rest your weary bones on your bed as night falls, then suddenly, you watch the moonlight rise and shine and you feel archaic nostalgia as if you’re remembering the world when it actually began. You feel wise, and all-knowing, yet possibly not alive.

Even when I go out alone, many times I walk through crowds and I feel invisible as if they don’t see you at all. Am I really alive?

I don't long for what many others do - warmth, comfort, or love. In turn, I don’t tire myself from experiencing the emptiness of some emotion. Am I just selfish and want to not have to experience what many do with emotions? Is it easier to remove emotions and then we have no expections of others, just myself.

I am a friend of solitude and melancholia. I like to sit in the shadows, observing the miracle of this world watching it go by, and I feel omnipotent -- almost like a god.

And just like that, I am affirmed that it’s all right to go on my hermit days. It's ok being alone -- away from the world. For myself, anyway. I exhibit unexplainable behavior if I am kept from my alone time.

For the life of me, I don’t even know why I’m designed this way -- that I need time apart from this constantly mingling, constantly talking ecosystem of temporary bonds and sometimes superficial happiness.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I am so fortunate and honored that I get to experience and communicate with individuals who are built differently than I am. I see the smiles and pleasantries involved in dialogue and they are completely happy and content. I thank my friends and loved ones who show me their worlds.

And now, as I sit here as midnight approaches, with the silence for company in the background, and I realize how it pleases me to be alone. I do get a sense of a god-like complex. I get a better hold of myself, my feelings, my thoughts -- and I am finally be able to just enjoy the quiet that I seek after a day full of experiences that create us. It’s not even the "loser-kind" of being alone. I actually thrive when I am left alone. I get peace from the warm and bountiful silence -- and I'm okay, always okay whether I am existing or ultimately, not existing.

[wahyld-kahrd]

2007-08-26T16:28:00.000-05:00

Deadly Strokes, my awesome Wednesday night team, didn't make high enough points to secure a place in the top three. The beauty of APA Billiards, is they draw a wildcard at the end of the season and that team gets to play in the play offs. We got lucky (um, thanks to the pool gods of course) and got the Wildcard!

There are just some things in life that really excite me to no end...getting a seat in playoffs via the Wildcard draw is definitely one of them. *so excited*

Look forward to a good match against Woody's team on Wednesday.

"GOD CREATED BILLIARDS TO KEEP MAN HUMBLE."

Still arresting folks using open WiFi networks...When does it stop?

2007-08-24T13:27:00.000-05:00

Geez, can we please quit arresting folks that are using open WiFi networks?

Over the past few years, you have heard about people getting arrested for using open WiFi access and is it really a crime that deems getting arrested?

I just read about a guy in Chiswick, West London, that got arrested for using someone's open (yes open) WiFi network. The cops saw him sitting on a wall using his laptop and they proceeded to ask him what he was doing. He admitted he was using someone's wireless connection to browse the web. In the UK, it's considered a violation of a communications law and a computer misuse law - which makes no frakkin' sense. Heck, in Singapore you can get 3 years in the slammer. Yikes.

This guy wasn't physically trespassing on the property and the owner of the WiFi has it open. What's the real issue here. If the owner really wanted it closed, he would of closed it. It lies in the access point owner to secure their WiFi connection.

It's all radio waves, so when will the cops start arresting folks who use their neighbor's light shining through the window to read a book or newspaper from the street? It's the same thing right - radio waves or streams of light emitted from someone's property and hitting public areas.

In conclusion, I find it interested that cops would go around asking random people on their notebooks, "are you using unsecured wireless access?" Um, "Oh yes, officer, I'm sitting her using someone's unsecured wireless access..yes sir, I am."

Personally, If I was aquiring the wireless connection from a neighbor or other outside source, and was asked that question...well, I would just say, "I'm browsing the web." Enough said.

Now if I was honest and they arrested me...I would be sitting in a jail cell and my friendly cell mate would ask, "What are you in for?". I would reply, "I was on the internet." *giggles*

Note: I did "borrow" the WiFi image above.

In 4 hours...

2007-08-22T15:28:00.000-05:00

Tonight is the last night before play offs in our 8 Ball league. We are tied for 3rd, so need to have a really strong match tonight for us to seal a seat. (You must be in the top 3 for play offs unless you happen to get lucky and pull the wild card).

We are playing a pretty strong team tonight, so we will all need to be on our best game possible. I feel good about tonight. I spoke briefly with the pool gods and they are on our side...thank goodness.

We'll have a great match tonight no matter what. I love the team we are playing and they will force us to be on our best game. Ultimately the pool gods do hold the outcome, so whatever happens...it's for a reason.

Good luck to our team and our opponents tonight.

May all your strokes be smooth.

It's about time...

2007-08-20T15:07:00.000-05:00

Click here for the story.

Michael Vick pleaded guilty today on the indictment that was given this past Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Richmond, Virginia.

It's a very sad issue and I wish that there would simply be an eye for an eye, let the punishment fit the crime. I guarantee that people would serioiusly think twice about actions they take.

I remember watching a movie called Amores Perros about 7 years ago and it involved dogfighting in the plot of the movie. I never realized there was dogfighting and this movie made me aware of this horrible activity. (No dogs were hurt during the filming of this movie).

I have always grown up with animals and know my pets not only have made my world a better place, but have been a huge part of what completes my happiness. They are what we put into them - they are innocence, love, loyalty, respect and companions. Personally, laying down at night knowing they are right next to me, either by my bedside or laying their paw or head on my arm without wanting anything else in return...well, that's unconditional love.

I have a beautiful cat and two amazing dogs. They have the same routine everyday that I know they are going to do. They sleep until I wake up, they wait by the bathroom door until I get out of the shower and they greet me with smiles as soon as I open that door. My cat will meow until he's next to me, my puppy will stay on top of my feet where I almost trip, and my oldest dog will stay by my side with his ears pointed and tail just waggin'. It's the most awesome feeling - if you have pets, you know what I mean.

Something I can't fathom. There are over 40,000 people in the US that are involved in professional dogfighting and bets up to 100,000 for just one fight. It's illegal in the US and a felony (with the exception of Idaho and Wyoming where it is a misdemeanor). Who are these people that enjoy or seek out this? I do not get it and it turns my stomach ill.

The law states that violators can be sentenced up to three years in jail and pay over $250,000 in fines. I hope Mike Vick gets this + permanently banned from the NFL. End of story.

1. What is dogfighting?

Dogfighting is a sadistic "contest" in which two dogs—specifically bred, conditioned, and trained to fight—are placed in a pit (generally a small arena enclosed by plywood walls) to fight each other, for the spectators' gambling and entertainment. Fights average nearly an hour in length and often last more than two hours. Dogfights end when one of the dogs is no longer willing or able to continue. In addition to these dogfights, there are reports of an increase in unorganized, more spontaneous street fights in urban areas.

2. How does it cause animal suffering?

The injuries inflicted and sustained by dogs participating in dogfights are frequently severe, even fatal. The American pit bull terriers used in the majority of these fights have been specifically bred and trained for fighting and are unrelenting in their attempts to overcome their opponents. With their extremely powerful jaws, they are able to inflict severe bruising, deep puncture wounds, and broken bones.

Dogs used in these events often die of blood loss, shock, dehydration, exhaustion, or infection hours or even days after the fight. Other animals are often sacrificed as well. Some owners train their dogs for fights using smaller animals such as cats, rabbits, or small dogs. These "bait" animals are often stolen pets or animals obtained through "free to good home" advertisements.

3. Are there other concerns?

Yes. Numerous law enforcement raids have unearthed many disturbing facets of this illegal "sport." Young children are sometimes present at the events, which can promote insensitivity to animal suffering, enthusiasm for violence, and a lack of respect for the law. Illegal gambling is the norm at dogfights. Dog owners and spectators wager thousands of dollars on their favorites. Firearms and other weapons have been found at dogfights because of the large amounts of cash present. And dogfighting has been connected to other kinds of violence—even homicide, according to newspaper reports. In addition, illegal drugs are often sold and used at dogfights.

4. What other effects does the presence of dogfighting have on people and animals in a community?

Dogs used for fighting have been bred for many generations to be dangerously aggressive toward other animals. The presence of these dogs in a community increases the risk of attacks not only on other animals but also on people. Children are especially at risk, because their small size may cause a fighting dog to perceive a child as another animal.

5. Why should dogfighting be a felony offense?

There are several compelling reasons. Because dogfighting yields such large profits for participants, the minor penalties associated with misdemeanor convictions are not a sufficient deterrent. Dogfighters merely absorb these fines as part of the cost of doing business. The cruelty inherent in dogfighting should be punished by more than a slap on the hand. Dogfighting is not a spur-of-the-moment act; it is a premeditated and cruel practice.

Those involved in dogfighting go to extensive lengths to avoid detection by law enforcement, so investigations can be difficult, dangerous, and expensive. Law enforcement officials are more inclined to investigate dogfighting if it is a felony. As more states make dogfighting a felony offense, those remaining states with low penalties will become magnets for dogfighters.

6. Do some states already have felony laws?

Yes. Dogfighting is illegal in all 50 states and a felony offense in almost every state.

7. Should being a spectator also be a felony?

Yes. Spectators provide much of the profit associated with dogfighting. The money generated by admission fees and gambling helps keep this "sport" alive. Because dogfights are illegal and therefore not widely publicized, spectators do not merely happen upon a fight; they seek it out. They are willing participants who support a criminal activity through their paid admission and attendance.

8. What can I do to help stop dogfighting?

If you live in one of the states where dogfighting is still only a misdemeanor, please write to your state legislators and urge them to make it a felony.

Texas Open 9-Ball Championships

2007-08-17T16:36:00.000-05:00

The 34th Annual Texas Open is just around the corner...literally. It's the annual event where some of the greatest players in the country meet up to play. It has two divisions - one of the males and one for the females. If you win the male event, it pays about 10,000 big ones to the winner. Hmmm, a weekend of pool (i'm sure plenty of action) and getting paid 10 G to have fun.

The beauty of the location is it is only 2 blocks from my house, so I know where I'll be hanging out throughout the weekend. It is held at G Cue Billiards, which usually closes down at midnight, will stay open 24 hours that weekend.

I remember hearing through the pool circuit about an amazing feat in 84' that everyone still talks about today. It was the finals, and Bob Vanover was playing Steve Smith. Steve won the coin toss and broke -- Bob Vanover walked up to the table and ran it. The winner then breaks and Bob ran 9 racks in row....yes, for all you APA folks, that's one inning. *bows to Mr. Vanover*

I can't wait!

Bell, Chico & Sting

2007-08-06T01:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I spent the day with the daughter, Caitlin, of some close friends of mine. I had to write a summary of the day since it was truly one of the best Saturdays on my list of "Great Saturdays". She's one of those bright, witty, talented, hard working teenagers that is going to make a great impact in this world. Just you wait and see.

The day started a little late since I stayed up all night watching movies and didn't get to bed until 5:00am the night before. I woke up around 9:30am and let her know that I would be at her house to pick her up around 11am (which is noon in Jen time). I arrived to her home, picked her up and started the day. The plan was for her to assist me with two of my pet clients this weekend. I can always use help and the company of a bright young girl is always great to have.

We started out the day driving through Mc'Ds. Yes, Mc'Ds. She said she never had a Big Mac before and I gasped! I thought, "well, it's time.", so I ordered a #1 - Big Mac Combo and she did too! We were eating in the car on the way to the client's house and as she finished her meal, I asked, "Ok, on a scale of 1 - 10, how does the Big Mac rank in comparison to other hamburgers?" She said, "I'd give it a 7." That's pretty good for the first time chowing down on a Big Mac. I still couldn't believe this 13 year old girl had never had a Big Mac! I'm going to have to talk to her parents and find out how this is even possible.

We arrived to the first client's house and the cat's loved her - they went right up to her and started purring away! She's great with animals - they really adore her. We proceeded to the 2nd client and same thing, they went right up to her and started purring loudly. So adorable.

We finished the 2 visits and we were passing a house on the corner and it had a For Sale sign in front of it. It caught my eye, so we pulled over and looked in the windows. O MY - it was the cutest house. It was only 400 - 500 square feet, and it is perfect for one person. It had a living area, bedroom, bath and kitchen. Around the side and in the back, it had this gorgeous deep brown wood deck with metal trim around it. It the back, it overlooked a creek and was surrounded by trees for shade - very peaceful.

Sometimes things just catch your eye, and this home definitely did that. It had hardwood floors, a beautiful kitchen with track lighting. The bathroom was small, but again perfect for one person. Even it was gorgeous. That was about it to the house - no den, no laundry room, that's it. But for it be "that's it", It was pretty awesome. I decided to call to see what it was priced at. I assumed 80K. When I called the gentleman was very kind and proceeded to tell me how it was completely remodeled and described the property. After talking about the home, I asked him the price. He said, it's 199,000. *Gasp*. Um, for 400 square feet home? I didn't say that of course, but boy I thought it. I said, thank you and I'll keep that in mind. He told me he would be happy to meet me to show it. I don't think I will meet him *smiles*. For 199,000K - you can build a brand new home + have it completely furnished. But geez, it was cute...

So next on our agenda was to head to another friend's house that was have a BBQ. Mmmmm, more burgers! They just bought their new home together and wanted to test out the BBQ. We decided to stop by Bark and Purr to pick up some treats for their two cats, Earl and Mooch. We picked out 2 balls, 2 bags of treats, 2 collars, and one catnip cigar toy. The gentleman at the counter said, the kitties will go crazy for it. We thought we'd bring dessert since they were providing the burgers and stopped by the local HEB. We got a cake that was this 3 layer chocolate, mousse, cream filling, strawberry topping, fudge topping thing! Perfection. That's what I call it. We arrived and got a tour of the new house - awesome house guys! We gave the kitties their new cigar. They adored it and wouldn't let it go! Too funny. It's drugs for cats!

We munched on some snacks and then tried out the burgers. They were the BEST. Thick burgers, cooked to perfection and the toppings to make it perfect. We were both so stuffed and plopped down on their sofa. It was about 7:30pm by now and next on the agenda was to head a little north to feed horses. She said I could help her. Kinda funny, she helped me with my pet clients and now I was going to help her with her pet client that had 3 horses. Ok, this my sound strange - but I have never been near a horse. Seen them along the side of the road, at the horse track, etc -- but never been more that 15 feet from one.

We got to the property where the horses resided and she explained what we would be doing. She said that we would feed them their dry food, feed them hay, groom them and spray this fly, bug, go away forever, kind of spray. We opened the gate and the three horses, Chico, Bell and Sting came right up. I wasn't sure if they were going to kick me or lick me. The did neither, just wanted to be petted. These three horses were so absolutely gorgeous. They were very intelligent - they knew it was feeding time and went into their individual stalls to get ready for dinner. As they were eating, we loaded the hay into their stalls and groomed them. It was fun brushing them - their coats were so shiny. After that - we sprayed them with the "flies go away" spray. We rinsed our hands off and then headed back to the car.

Next on the agenda was to play a poker tournament back at the BBQ Rocks House! We stopped by to pick up poker chips and headed back to the new home. We gathered around the table and started the tourney. It was almost midnight and three of us were still in it - me, Caitlin and Kristin. Caitlin's curfew was 12:30am, so we weren't able to finish the tourney. We just decided that the top two chip stacks would take the winnings. That was Kristin and Caitlin! She's a solid poker player for being 13 and in another year - she's going to be killer on the table.

I took her back home and thanked her for a great Saturday. As I was driving home I realized that we all get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and rarely take the time to just relax and just take the day as it comes. This was one of those days - nothing set in stone, but the day was filled with great times. I didn't think about work, I didn't answer any work calls, I didn't check my email and I didn't rush anything that day. It was perfect.

Action Figures! Who knew?

2007-08-02T19:13:00.000-05:00

Ultra Jump, the manga serial in which Gunnm (Battle Angel Alita) Last Order is currently running, announced on their website plans to produce a special edition Gunnm Gaiden (”side stories”) manga volume complete with Masaki Apsy-sculpted Gally (Alita) action figure. Price, release date, and preorder availability have not yet been announced *stomps feet*. I'm a huge fan of hers and it's pretty sweet that they are releasing action figures that move. Of course, since I adore her - a badass female cyborg that kicks ass, it's on my must have list. Yesyes, must have.

They are really cute. I can't wait. *smiles*

Poker Pup thinking...

2007-08-01T16:21:00.000-05:00

This little guy is going all in. Does he want a call?

Drinking while playing pool

2007-07-31T01:44:00.000-05:00

I was talking to a friend today about the mental part of billiards and having confidence. This has always been my most difficult part of the game which I have never seem to overcome. It holds me back and keeps me from getting to the next level. It's a strange, but exciting feeling when I walk up to a table to play a match. My heart starts pounding lightly and I get really excited about getting up to the table.

My weakness falls here, I get so nervous with shots and worrying about if I am making the correct shot decision, if I'm hitting it right, the right speed, right english, etc. So many factors to make sure you pocket the ball and get your next shot. This is just within me! Now, toss into the mix these extra pressures: your stronger opponent, the pool room (music, lighting, smoke) and your current state of mind (stressful day, lack of sleep, etc).

I've heard a few different tactics for keeping calm or being about to play stronger during the match. Here they are:

1. Take a deep breath between each shot.
2. Don't think about your opponent, and just play your game.
3. Play with confidence, look confident, even if you know you cannot make a shot.
4. Practice drills before your match - get comfortable with the table speed and your stroke.
5. Have a few drinks

Ok, #5 is the one I have always wondered about. I often hear other players saying a drink or two increases their confidence level and they shoot better pool. Is that true? Or is playing pool just a reason to take a drink? (The social aspect)

I can see how a drink can relax you and make your stroke more fluid, instead of a jerky stroke which leaves you with no control over your shotmaking. I've never drank during a match because I think it would impair my game even more;).

Alcohol impairs your concentration and I would imagine it makes your line of sight a bit blurry. Even your stance would be a little off. Still, I see players shoot lights out when they have a couple of drinks vs. having none.

I can't ever see myself being able to take those couple of drinks and playing my best. I don't think liquid confidence can ever substitute for true confidence which comes with dedication and practice of the game.

You know, when you see someone walk up to a table with natural confidence - that's very intimidating and they have an advantage from the start. I guess it doesn't matter how you get it - with liquid or mental, it works the same.

It's close to midnight and something evils lurking in the dark...

2007-07-30T00:21:00.000-05:00

Just got home about an hour ago since I tend to roam around Austin late at night. Seems like I do my best thinking and get the most accomplished when there is no traffic or people crowding the stores. I can go to a Walmart and have the store to my entire self...pretty nice. I can drive on the streets and not get stuck in traffic or have to step out into the blazing sun (get's warm here).

We all have things that are routine for us. Mine is opening the door to find 3 cutie pies waiting for me. Of course they are just hungry, so when they see me, they think "FOOD". Yes, Boomer, Jordan and Pumpkin - you are just using me for food. No, not true -- they are very loving and always brighten my day/evening.

Where am I going with this...Oh, yes, well as part of my evening routine, I feed the gang, take my shoes off, get a diet coke and start browsing the internet. Tonight, I was searching for some songs and then thought about finding some songs about billiards. Never really heard a "billiards" tune. I've got some good poker songs, but billiards, nada.

Well, I found a parody about billiards to the tune of Micheal Jackson's, Thriller. It's awesome! I even found some balls with monsters on them just to enhance this song *smiles*. Here goes ladies and gents:

It's time to chalk cues
And set the balls up, now it's time to play
Will not lose to you
Don't think so, no sir, no losing today

You try to aim
But sweat will make you miss the ball completely
May be a game
That doesn't mean I'll play a bit more fair
No need to swear

We're playin' billiards
Chalk your cue
And if you sink the black ball 'fore the rest
That's when you lose
I'm lovin' billiards
And I'll bet
That if I'm six ahead
I'll get to take your, eat your French fries!

I love the sound of
The plop that balls make when you sink them in
And there's the snap from
Your mind exploding when you know I'll win

You wince your eyes
Because you've just set me up for the 5 ball
You realize
That it was not so smart to challenge me
Now for the 3

I rule at billiards!
All the time
You've still got seven balls or so to sink
I'm on the 9
I've won at billiards
Once again
You almost sunk the 10
But I still owned you, p4wn3d U, tonight!

Nine balls are sunk
And you've still got all your balls on the table
There's no surrender or the throwing in of the towel
(Time's run out)
You have to play, can't step down!

I can't belive you
You wanna play again? You've lost your mind
Prepare to lose, fool
You shouldn't mess with the skills that are mine
The time has come
For you to stop playing me 'cause I'm better
Again I've won
Should save yourself from copping all this crap
Like you're on crack

You've lost at billiards
No sunk balls
Although you've beat the rest, up against me
You lose them all
Man, this is billiards
Not ping-pong
Just stop smoking your bong
And just start winning, owning,
Singing, grinning here tonight!

You sick of billiards?
Well, no duh
If I kept losing to some stuck-up prat
I'd quit for sure
Billiards!
Want some more?
I'm starting to get bored
'Cause I keep bragging, taunting

Let's play some billiards tonight!

("Rap" by the poor sod who keeps getting 0wn3d)
All my balls are on the felt
They're never sunk, my heart it melts
Backspins, jumps and other tricks
Employed by him, it makes me sick

All who face him always lose
Some turn to drugs, some turn to booze
Some stand and say that he's a prick
He says "I know" and pulls his stick

The men defeated hang around
To see who'll try to take him down
And fools who bet on who will win
Will lose their food, their drinks in tins

And though some try to kick his ass
We need some kind of wizard
For no mere mortal can defeat
The master of the billiards

(Sound of another game starting,with the laughter of the master, and
the soft music played to ease the uncomforting silence)

The grandest ever?

2007-07-29T14:50:00.000-05:00

Regardless of the sport, the easiest way to stir up a heated discussion is to pose the question, "Who was the greatest ever?"

In pocket billiards, that question is still cause for great debate. The general consensus is that the finalist are William Mosconi and Ralph Greenleaf. Greenleaf, a child prodigy from Illinois, reigned over the pocket billiard world from 1919 - 1938. During that time, the classy showman won 14 world pocket billiard titles. Mosconi won the first of his 15 world championships in 1941 and simple dominated the sport until is retirement in 1957.

Although their careers intertwined only briefly in the late thirties, Greenleafand Mosconi did spend the summer of 1934 together, touring the South. Greenleaf, 38 at the time, won the majority of the early matches against his 21 year old opponent, but Mosconi held is own in the later exhibitions. After 107 matches, Greenleaf had won 57 to Mosconi's 50.

Perhaps the greatest legacy of Mosconi's career are his high runs. The Philadelphia native still holds the recognized mark of 526 balls in a competition in Springfield, Ohio, in 1954. He did this remarkable run on a 4 x 8 ft table.

I can only imagine what the matches looked like back them, but I can see the gentlemen dressing up in black suits and a tie just to compete. Can't really seeing them drinking beers, but something like martinis. Who knows, I wasn't there, but I like to visualize;).

Greenleaf never matched Mosconi's high runs, but exhibition wasn't really his style. Greenleaf was flamboyant and a great admirer of the good life. It's been said that Greenleaf, a natural talent, never practiced a day in his life. He indeed was the "Babe Ruth" of pocket billiards.

I think it's pretty amazing that both men are still strong legends in your local pool hall. Mention either name - and you know who they were. I often wonder who the "Legends" are from Austin. There's some remarkable players here and I believe a couple of them will be a future name in the billiard world.