Yeahh so I obv never got a second entry posted in October, but I really have been quite busy lately. The one thing that can make blogging difficult is as the days pass, it becomes harder to collect all of your thoughts from the time in between your last post and present. I think of a few things each day I'd love to write about, but if I tried to squeeze in everything, I'd never finish an entry.

      However, as things slow down around Thanksgiving, I should have plenty of excess time and content to write about as I'll be traveling to the east coast to visit family for the holiday.

      Last weekend for Halloween me & BriN met some of the n0ch0p crew in Champaign, which was a blast. Crazy costumes, crazy parties, crazy night. Met a lot of cool people, chilled with some old friends, and had plenty to drink. It was the third time I've headed up there on Halloween, and each time it seems to get progressively more awesome.

      It's been pretty wet here lately so I haven't played any golf since my dad's outing, which sucks. Hopefully I'll get in some rounds before it gets too cold.

      Been keeping up on reading and am definitely on pace to read the 10 books I set out to back in August. They are as follows:

- Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw{in progress}
- 4-Hour Work Week by Timmothy Ferris[x]
- Biology of Transcendence by David Chilton Pearce[x]
- Secret Tactics by Kazumi Tabata{in progress}
- The Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi[x]
- What Lincoln Believed by Michael Lind{in progress}
- Third Man Factor by John Geiger[x]
- Curious? by Dr. Todd Kashdan; [x]
- Body, Mind, Mastery by Dan Millman[x]
- Words I Wish I Wrote by Robert Fulghum{in progress}

      Progress in the other areas of my life has been steady. I enjoy training everyday even more as each week passes. I've been much more disciplined in my diet, completely cutting off soda, candy, processed junk, etc. I'm stoked to get back on N0-Xplode, but it hasn't come in the mail yet as I write this - reupped on the fruit punch, as they didn't have either lemon-lime or pink lemonade online for purchase, both of which I was told are excellent. I took the four weeks off in between containers as recommended. I'm glad the break is over - it makes working out a lot more exciting. Plan on taking it for another three months/twelve weeks/until it's gone and continue taking four week breaks.

      I've designated five separate Microsoft exams/credentials I want to pursue, and have started studying for the first two listed:

- Supporting Users and Troubleshooting a Windows XP Operating System {70-271} to attain Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) credential

- Passing Supporting Users and Troubleshooting Desktop Applications on a Windows XP Operating System {70-272} to attain Microsoft Certified(MC) Desktop Support Technician credential

- MC Technology Specialist

- MC IT Pro Enterprise Support {70-621}

- MCITP Consumer Support Technician {70-623}


      I'm stoked it's finally basketball season. There's no other sport where it doesn't matter what (NBA)game is on, I'll watch it 99% of the time. It doesn't get any better than Cap City's own Andre Iguodala posterizing Terrance Williams of the New Jersey Nets. Without a doubt the play of the year so far.

      I'm also eager to start getting to the gym and playing 5v5 more, definitely gonna try to get a team together in some public league hopefully.

     The n0ch0p front is looking stronger every day. The World Series of Beer Pong V is just around the corner, and needless to say I'm stoked outta my mind to have two teams flying the NC flag. BriN's squad, RAK DAT, will be making it's second consecutive appearance. Gas0l & Trey-Deuce will combine to formulate the always potent AUT0Z0NE lol. I plan on going as well to hand out some free swag...n0ch0p t-shirts, stickers, etc. Should be pretty sickk.

      Everyone has been tearing up both sides of the felt lately for the most part, which is fuckingg sweeeeet. It's always great to see everyone doing well and supporting each other.

      Gizmodo Gadget Guide posted some updated pictures of the new bypass over Hoover Dam that I posted pictures of back in June. It's called the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge. I think this is a great way to honor the former NFL star and fallen hero. His death was tragic and he will live on in memory and his name and deeds will never be forgotten.



      I have the utmost respect for all of our troops and their commitment to defend our great nation. I have several close friends and family members who have served and am proud, honored, and blessed to call them so. I'll forever be indebted for their services and bravery and wish everyone overseas and here at home a happy and safe Veteran's Day.

R.I.P Marine Cpl. Stephen Bixler



Zune Top 5:

1} Forever Young by Jay-Z ft. Mr. Hudson on Blueprint III
2} The World Is Our __ by This Will Destroy You on Young Mountain
3} Be Somebody by Kings of Leon on Only By The Night
4} Catastrophe And The Cure by Explosions in the Sky on All of the Sudden I Miss Everyone
5} Summer by Mogwai on Young Team

    The time that has elapsed between my last post and now has been pretty surreal in more ways than one. Between all the business developments I'm involved in and the events of the past few weeks, I have a new found focus and motivation to accomplish the goals I've set out for myself.

    Before I go any further, I'd like to take the time to remember a childhood classmate and friend of mine who took his own life recently.  I don't feel I need to speak on his name, nor find it appropriate. However, I do feel it's necessary to say that I'm going to live this life with the vigor and energy for all of those who have left us far too early. If there's one message I've taken away from my father's death and the passing of other friends and classmates, it's to stay positive.

    With that being said, being able to celebrate my father's life with a lot of family and friends over last weekend I think brings all of us to do just that. I've been doing my best to live my own life in a way that he would respect and admire me for, and that's all I can do.

    The golf tourny went smoothly aside from the rain pushing back the initial tee times of the second group an hour or so. After that cleared up it really turned out to be a beautiful afternoon for golf. My group of consisting of my younger brother, my sister's boyfriend and myself, however, didn't exactly dazzle the competition. Soo, for the fourth year running I put in yet another disappointing performance, which grossly changes my strategy for next year. I've decided to bring in a couple ringers, most notably KFDeux and BriN1285 of n0ch0p fame and fortune. Combine that with the leak I plugged in my drive, and you might as well chalk up that W now.

    As far as the next week is concerned, the aforementioned members of NC & I will be attending game 3 of the NLDS on Saturday in Saint Louis. I'm pretty stoked never having been to a playoff game before, so it should be dope.

    Aside from that, my attempt to pass my second A+ exam to collect my certification is right around the corner. I'm excited to finally complete this goal and continue achieving accomplishments in the IT realm, as it's something I truly enjoy. Much like poker and martial arts, it is something that evolves everyday and that one will never be perfect at. I've become aware that these are the challenges I tend to relish and excel at most.

    I continue to progress daily with my workouts and, for the most part, my diet. For instance, last night I ate some Skittles and more than two slices of Hawaiian pizza, so needless to say maybe I could have done better to control my nutrition and calorie intake. With that being said, I have made some strides concerning this vice.

    Two weeks ago I promised myself I would not eat another box of Dots (Bombest. Candy. Ever.) until New Year's Day, which will be no problem but something I look forward to very much. I've given up essentially all processed shit, stuff that's not really food at all, i.e. Doritos, fast food, etc. I never really liked any of that garbage anyway and am happy to do without it.

    Usually I eat oatmeal or a slice of wheat bread with peanut butter and a banana for breakfast, with either a small cup of juice, a tall glass of water, or both. If it's before I work out I generally wait at least an hour and a half before I start.

    Lunch is usually the same sandwich from Subway (9 grain honey oat, turkey, pepperjack cheese, lettuce, tomato, green peppers, baby spinach, cucumbers, & ranch) or a MET-RX Big 100 Colossal meal replacement bar, usually Super Cookie Crunch, with a Naked Juice or Odwalla protein drink. I don't get why people don't like Subway. I guess as my friend so eloquently put it a few weeks back, "It's too healthy."



     I've been trying to eat as much salmon and chicken as possible for dinner, with rice and veggies on the side. The last 4 or 5 months of eating like this have helped me boost my energy and fitness levels tremendously and I wish I would have established this routine some time ago.

    This past week I tweaked my schedule a little so I could workout and run earlier in the day, then get in another workout in with some weight training or use Total Gym later in the evening. Made it a goal to run 10 miles each week as a minimum. I usually warm up with some shadow sparring. I'll throw a 1-2-1 (jab, straight, jab) and reset four times, do 12 pushups, get up and throw 12 knee strikes. I work my way down from 12 (pushups/knees) to 8 to 4, then back up. That usually gets the blood flowing pretty good.

    Afterward I run through the park around the corner or neighboring subdivisions at a pretty moderate pace no matter how far I plan on going, I generally don't break that stride because I don't stretch until afterward. I then repeat my initial warmup and go from there, mixing it up a little, working on my forms until I feel like I've accomplished enough. There's nothing more satisfying than watching myself get better as a fighter and a person everyday.

    I would never think about competing in MMA unless I absolutely had to, which I don't see happening. My reasoning for this is based mostly on traditional martial arts philosophy, that competition weakens the fighter because it places limits on their training and instincts. However, I want to be in peak physical condition so I could fight if I actually wanted to. I'd say another 6-8 weeks of training like I have been and I'll be right there.

    I'd love to hear some varying opinions regarding this particular topic, or some insight from people who are familiar with this subject or have training/fighting experience.

    In the meantime I've started writing down essentially everything I do on a daily basis to make publishing entries easier and more time efficient. I've made it a priority to get in at least two entries every calendar month. Thanks for all of your feedback, keep it coming.



Zune Top 5:

1} Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare) by Kid Cudi on Man On The Moon: The End
2} Diamonds & Girls by Lil Wayne & Currensy
3} Neva Antiquated (Dark Jedi Remix) by Jedi Mind Tricks on The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consiousness
4} Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd on The Wall
5} E.I. by Nelly on Country Grammar

      This summer has really flown by. I suppose traveling from IL to Vegas to the east coast and back only made it seem shorter. I love summer as much as anyone, but I'm actually ready for fall and winter to come. More than anything, I'm stoked to get some serious shred sessions in this snowy season, hopefully I can make that happen, as central Illinois isn't exactly the most optimal place to live for anyone aspiring to snowboard several times before spring.

      In the meantime, I've gotten into what is probably the best shape I've been in my whole life. I might not have quite the same wind as I had when I was playing soccer @ RMC, but damn close. Been running almost everyday, but have been taking every 4th or 5th day off and just doing strength training. It gives me great satisfaction to know I'm becoming more fit and a better martial artist each day. I really love the regime I'm using right now and have been doing pretty solid with my diet for the most part.

      I'm psyched for the Mayweather/Marquez fight on Saturday (and a new ep of Entourage Sunday), it should be an epic battle. I really hope Pretty Boy Floyd wins by KO as not to tarnish his almost untouchable legacy a la Roy Jones, Jr.

      It's really tough to say unbiasedly who will win in all honesty. I love Mayweather. He represents pure home-grown American awesomeness. I'd be committing treason if I said I hoped Marquez won.

      They are both incredible fighters, but moving up a weight class (like Marquez is) always more beneficial that moving down one; you get to eat more and therefore have more energy all of the time leading up to the fight.

      Not being able to eat as much and still training the same amount or more equally as hard is much more physically and psychologically demanding. This could be an edge in itself, I suppose we'll find out this weekend.

     Aside from my physical training, I've been studying hard for the A+ IT Tech {220-602} exam, which I'll probably dominate within the two to three weeks. I'm excited to finally obtain the certification that I've been chasing the majority of this year.

      Other than that, I've been doing a lot of reading and finished Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss & Biology of Trancendence by Joseph Chilton Pearce. I started Body, Mind, Mastery by Dan Millman as well as The Third Man Factor by John Geiger. I should accomplish the goal I set for myself of reading 10 books by the new year easily at this rate. I'm sure once winter turns the corner I'll be spending even more time inside reading anyway.

      As far as poker goes, I've been taking it super easy and just playing a few mid stakes live tournaments in the area. There's definitely a sick underground scene here as compared to other places, which is awesome because the games are super soft and generally attract schools of fish. I must say I've enjoyed this hiatus from playing online a lot because it's I've gotten to do so many other interesting things, but after I've gotten my A+ certification I'll be ready to get back in the groove.

      I +stumbled upon+ a pretty interesting article on Foxwood's financial woes the other day, and while it's not that detailed it's still a pretty interesting topic.

      I found out a few weeks back Lumiere Place is opening a sister casino in St. Louis called The River City Casino this coming spring, which looks amazing. While obviously there's no pictures because it's under construction, the sketches look impressive and I think the Monte Carlo-style atmosphere is a perfect fit for StL.

      Now I know in my last entry I said I was going to, "write another entry tomorrow hopefully" because there was so much going on IT-wise that I wanted to address some issues, but I realize now that because so much changes on a daily basis in that realm it's nearly impossible to do unless you employ a full staff of writers.

      Let me just say first and foremost, Microsoft is fuckingggggg sweet. They sent me a brand new Zune 120GB in the mail for $2.15. Two dollars and fifteen f'ing cents. Anyway it will at least hold me over until I can get a new ZUNE HD. The feature I'm probably pumped most about is the ability to wireless sync Netflix from my Xbox360 to the Zune HD, which is essentially the coolest thing ever.

      It is the most advanced portable media player in the universe known to human knowledge, and I would be doing it a total injustice if I only called it wondrous. I'm not even talking about how spectacular the software and hardware is, which both make iTunes look like the Bing.com search engine makes Google look - ugly, dumb, and old.

      Microsoft also hooked me up with a month of free Zune Pass (the best deal in music, period. If you have an iPod/iTunes, I pity you endlessly.); can't hate on that. I stopped short of writing back a letter that said, "I love you, too."

      Speaking of how much more incredibly awesome Microsoft is lately, Windows 7 (Gizmodo's full review here) makes Mac's Snow Leopard operating system, an "upgrade" (also known as a service pack) of Leopard, look like a sick kitty. The first security patch was (already) released to developers last week, and really doesn't fix anything THAT major, just a few minor problems pertaining to "stability, compatibility, and security." Turns out Apple had some trouble getting it's own applications to work...isn't that kind of odd?

      How do you develop an operating sys--errr, service pack-- that causes 60 software programs you designed to crash? I'm pretty sure that warrants a massive fail label. Probably the dumbest thing I've heard since I read about this. Just another fun thing to do at the Apple store, I guess. I'd almost rather go hang out with Best Buy's Geek Squad, at least they know what they're doing(...Winnebago?...Really?).


Zune Top 5:

1} Rebel Music by Bob Marley feat. Krayzie Bone on Chant Down Babylon
2} Killer by Drake feat. Nipsey Hussle
3} New Paths to Helicon Part II by Mogwai on Gov't Commissions
4} Workin the Wheel by Pimp C & Slim Thug on Pimpalation
5} Cool Outrageous Lovers by Lil Wayne feat. Andre 3000 & Plies

    I've been back home now for a little over a week, which has been refreshing to say the least. Traveling anywhere, no matter how new or familiar, is always a terrific experience, but I can't imagine not having a place to hang your hat when you get tired of trekking around. That being said however, I'm trying to plan a few more excursions in the next 6-12 months. Backpacking and camping are certainly on the agenda, although where and when and with who is far from set in stone.

    Since returning to the Midwest, I've been doing everything possible to be progressive -- studying A+ after a brief hiatus to prepare to gain my certification, pushing myself to work out hard everyday, and planning out the next several months.

    After much reflection and thought, I'm doing my best to think of ways to improve my quality of life and have set some goals for myself for the rest of the calendar year and 2010 as well. Some of them are pretty straightforward, like reading 10 books before the new year. While on the surface this might seem a bit extreme, I'm including the (five or so?) books I'm reading now, some of which I'm the majority of the way through already. I actually find it incredibly easy to juggle so many books, depending on what type of mood I'm in or what I'm wanting to accomplish by days end...basically whatever I think will spark some creativity at the time.

    Other goals include leveling up at DragonFire, and achieving both my A+ certification & MCDST(Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Tech.), a total of three exams. I should accomplish all of these goals with relative ease in the next two months.

    Surprisingly, none of the goals I initially set for myself had anything to do with poker. For a moment, this made me scratch my head. I then came to the realization that because I have essentially played zero poker for the last month since returning from LV, I've become content(?) that I can just as easily obtain the same enjoyment on any given day doing any number of activities as I do from 9 tabling for 8 hours...and I love poker. I've undoubtedly poured more time and effort and energy into poker in general over the last 6+ yrs of my life than every other mild interest in my life combined.

    It's hard to really weigh the value of playing a single or several long winning sessions versus enjoying a getaway to somewhere new, especially if playing is making all of it possible in the first place. Obviously it's far from healthy to play online all the time and never branch out into other activities, particularly something you have not tried before.

    As I gradually work myself back into putting in long sessions online, I have a new found outlook on how to organize and balance the other elements of my life simultaneously. From my studies in both philosophy and martial arts I have learned that to master, is to simplify. Designing your lifestyle is a skill set, something you must work at to improve. It will not change overnight, as it takes a real commitment to make a positive transformation. As the old proverb goes, "Many a false step was made by standing still."

    Irish poet and author Oscar Wilde once said, "Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." The more I think about this quote, the more ideas come to mind of what I want to accomplish and experience in this lifetime. I want to visit the five (warm) continents, learn to surf, own multiple businesses, just to name a few...the possibilities are endless.

    While all those thing I listed previously are pretty basic, I've set aside some other events on my 'bucket list' to take in before long, namely an Arsenal FC game @ Emirates Stadium and another versus Manchester United, as well as attending the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. I can't make up for lost time, but I can do everything in my power to make sure I do not make the same mistake in the future.

    Anyway, I'm long overdue for a good meal, but felt obligated to pump this update out since I originally planned on writing it almost a week ago. I'll definitely write another entry tomorrow hopefully, because I really wanted to address some IT issues and news that's come out the past few days. If you're in the area and want to hang out or to plan some sick trip somewhere, shoot me an email or msg on FB! Deuces

    Zune Top 5:

1} Wetter by Twista on Category F5
2} So Fly by 213 on The Hard Way
3} Hustle by Cam'ron ft. Rick Ross & Vado
4} A Toast To The Good Life by Fabolous
5} Up On It by Young Dro & T.I.

      Hanging out in the northeast for the past week and a half has been such an awesome time, even if it's rained almost every day since I got here. Thankfully it was perfect weather for my cousin's wedding reception in NH, which was a blast! I was sooo stoked to see almost all of my father's side of the family, many of which I hadn't seen in far too long. Spending all day with so many people I care about was just too cool, I really wish I could do it more often.

     I've also had the chance to hang out with some of my oldest and closest friends, something that brings back several spectacular memories from growing up out here. It makes me think just how easy it is (today) to reach out to someone you haven't seen or spoken to in a while, yet how complicated we all find it to juggle all of the relationships with the people we've seemingly lost touch with. I've promised both myself and others that next time we catch up will be sooner rather than later.

     After a crazy weekend I'm heading to Block Island on Tuesday, chillin in Point Judith Wednesday before heading back to CT briefly, then heading down to NYC Thursday to visit my older brother. I haven't been there in a few years so I'm excited to be a part of the chaos. Not sure what else I'll be doing until I leave...I do, however, plan on spending as much time as possible with a very beautiful young lady that, although a bit mischievous herself, does an excellent job keeping me out of trouble. It's quite unfortunate we live so far apart, as I have yet to come across a person who's company I enjoy more.

     I fly home Sunday and will lay low because I gotta sick birthday plan for Monday. Gonna head to StL in the afternoon and grab a nice lunch with some of the n0ch0pp0ker crew before the Cardinals/Reds game. Haven't figured out where we're setting up shop yet...Harrah's, Hotel Lumiere or Four Seasons right next door. I usually don't get very excited for things like this, but it's gonna be a fun time so I'm pretty stoked.

      Ran some full court 5v5 the other night under the lights, which I hadn't done in what feels like forever. Watching the same summer league I used to shred had me wondering where all the years have gone? I'll be 23 in a little over a week...really? Anyway, nuthin better (well, almost) to clear your head than a few competitive pickup games. When I play basketball, much like poker, I totally forget about everything that is going on and just focus on playing the game I studied and practiced for so long perfectly. It's a type of mental discipline I've always possessed, but only in the past few years have I started harness it consciously.

     My diet has either been absolutely stellar or particularly lackluster from day to day here, but my workout routine has been pretty solid. Been running about 2 miles a day and hitting the bench hard afterward, which is really convenient to have around. I've also really started to fall in love with shadowboxing. It gives me the ability to see everything improving in front of me: my footwork, my hand speed, my form and technique. I'm extremely eager to get back and start training at the DragonFire Dojo again. Certainly one of the best decisions of my life.

     Other than all that, I've been doing a lot of IT and business stuff, trying to organize my digital life. Haven't studied much A+ lately - didn't even bring study guide out here - but I know I'm ready to take 220-602 IT Technician and PWN it. I've started studying for both of my Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST) exams: Supporting Users and Troubleshooting a Windows XP Operating System 70-271 and Supporting Users and Troubleshooting Desktop Applications on a Windows XP Operating System 70-272.

      It's easier than it sounds.

     Had a chance to check out Windows 7 RTM (release to manufacturer)edition the past couple days, which IS sick. I'll make the transition in the next few days. With Windows 7 due to drop this fall along with the ZUNE HD, and after officially partnering up with Yahoo! this past week, Microsoft looks poised to finish the year on a strong note, increasing it's market share of online search and advertising. If you use Google for online search, I highly recommend switching over to the much more attractive, Microsoft powered bing.com engine, which frankly is a lot cooler, and returns shorter, more valuable results.

     Not much is new over at Apple aside from your occasional iPhone related murder-suicide. Other than that, it was just a really normal month of June. You know, patching year-old vulnerabilities that could leave all customers helpless, playing grabass with Google, being tormented by children, and, last but not least, the increasingly frequent but never boring flaming alien iPhone of death.

     Who ever thought being a fanboy could be so fun?

Zune Top 5:
1} Plenty Money by Plies on Da Realist
2} Robocop by Kanye West on 808s & Heartbreak
3} Kinda Like A Big Deal by The Clipse & Kanye West
4} Warm Embrace by Twista & The Speedknot Mobstaz on Mobstability
5} Barry Bonds Freestyle by Fabolous

      Sooo I've been slacking pretty hard with the blog lately, I know. I'm sorry. I never even gave anyone a proper Las Vegas recap, so here she is:


1 $70 traffic ticket for speeding(76-65) in [Springfield,]Illinois {see: brin1285}
22 CLIFF bars
1 stop @ Tulsa's finest Red Lobster property
1 warning for speeding at Nevada police checkpoint (Cop-"Sir, did you see the sign that said speed limit, 5mph?" Brian-"Yeah." Cop-"Were you going 5ph?")
No broken anything
1 puke trail of epic proportions (my guess is 20-30ft)
7,936 milligrams of sodium consumed daily on average by the Squid
1 pet rattlesnake named Gilbert
Several thousand bottles of water
5 Brian-to-stranger chestbumps in succession at 6am uber drunk
1 lost roommate(and by lost I mean gone-for-24-hours, wandering aimlessly through the desert sun, lost)
Not enough visits to Red Rock breakfast buffet
1 endless display of billiards dominance by yours truly
1 (live) backdoor Royal Flush w/ J10d
1 Caesar's Palace Mega Stack Tournament final table
48 hours of driving 3400 miles halfway across the country spread over 6 days
1 warning by Texas State Police for speeding {see: brin1285}
1 attempted carjacking in Albequerque
1 more stop at Tulsa's finest Red Lobster property


      Awesome, I know. Anyway I'm heading to the east coast for like 2 weeks to visit some family, but will be back in the midwest for my birthday. Haven't been back to CT since Christmas but I'm excited. Spending time and catching up with friends and family never gets dull.

      Other than that just been doing a lot of studying for the A+ 220-602 IT Technician exam and getting some business things organized since I got back.

      I'm about 200 pages deep into the 800 page biography Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw, which offers a really intriguing perspective on how people did business in that time period. I've also been jumping back and forth between Joeseph Chilton Pearce's Biology of Transcendence and The Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, both of which are just spectacular books.

      Been working out a lot still, mostly just running increasingly longer distances and practicing my forms. Haven't had a chance to get to go train martial arts since I've been back [in IL] but I'm stoked to get back to the dojo. I think the time period away has helped me tremendously, and upon return I will be much more focused. I started drinking hot green tea about three weeks ago and literally have not stopped. It's fucking incredible.

      I was surfin the net the other day thinking to myself how sweet it is to be a Cardinal fan goin through the blogroll when I stumbled upon this list of the 5 types of Cubs fans you'll meet at Wrigley Field, compiled by Cubs fans. Lee Elia must be proud.

      Meanwhile in the tech world, Google (still) has no clue what the fuck is going on, Apple is (still) years behind, and Microsoft is (still) much better at developing everything.

      Now that I'm awoken from my first blog coma, I certainly intend to keeping you all much more informed. Until next time

Zune Top 5:

1} Still Don't Know by Young Jeezy on Can't Ban The Snowman
2} Pass The Mic by Beastie Boys on Check Your Head
3} Ride Wit Me by T.I. on KING
4} Time's Up by Jadakiss on Kiss Of Death
5} 2nd Childhood by Nas on Stillmatic

     The desert heat is relentless. I never realized just how quickly it can rob you of your fluids and dehydrate you so quickly. I've lost count of the number of cases of bottled water we've gone through in the last two and a half weeks. It's insane.

      Attempting to jog in the morning is like running through Hell. It's takes an immense amount of endurance and focus. By the time I'm done I feel like I've been baptized in fire. I've tried laying out by the pool and reading the past few days, but I never last more than a half hour. After ten minutes my sunglasses are filled with a reservoir of sweat. The temperature is only bearable if there is a breeze going. Jumping in the pool makes the air cool over your body, which is refreshing.

      I've been getting my workouts in everyday for the most part. Warm up with some push ups, stretch, jog a few miles, push ups, stretch, swim...continue working on my forms. Can't say I'd have the motivation without my new friend, N-O Xplode. It's fruit punch flavored and tastes great. As Master Wu so eloquently put it, when have you ever in your life had fruit punch that wasn't awesome?? Remember the Red Balls skit from Chappelle show? Basically the same stuff.



      We really haven't done anything the past few days but shoot pool all through the morning until Red Rock buffet opens, then sleep the majority of the afternoon. Tough life, I know. I finished Rat Bastards, the memoir of John Shea, protege of Whitey Bulger, head of Boston's Irish mafia. Bulger has been on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List for more than 10 years. It was a pretty easy read - less than 300 pages - but a solid book overall, I'd definitely recommend it.

      I watched the USA/Brazil clash in the Confederation Cup final on Sunday. I don't think it's necessary to describe just how fired up I was when Dempsey netted the first goal, and Donovan the second. I thought for certain we were on the path to triumph. Obviously I know the skill and talent Brazil possesses, and knew they would come out motivated. You think they want to lose to the USA? In soccer? That'd be comparable to the Dream Team losing to Australia in basketball.

      It makes me sick that we lost, especially in that fashion. But it's certainly a positive note for American soccer, showing we can compete with (and beat) the best teams in the world.

     Sticking with soccer here for a minute, I'm stoked that my man Robin Van Persie is fully committed to staying with the Arsenal. With rumors of Emmanuel Adebayor perhaps transferring away from the Emirates swirling, I'm glad one of the top strikers in the world is motivated to winning hardware with the Gunners. With Cesc Fabergas also reiterating his desire to collect trophies, and the possibility of signing French superstriker Karim Benzema of Lyon, the mighty Gunners of Arsenal are already looking a very strong contender for both the Premiership and Champion's League titles.

      Anyway, not much else has been happening here. We went to Red Rock yesterday to catch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It was a lot better than I expected honestly, and contained far more explosions that I thought even Michael Bay was capable of, which is a strong statement in itself. All the reviews I read were awful, detailing the lack of a real plot and character development, but I'd give it a solid 3 outta 5. I must say I loved the first one, and have probably seen it an upwards of 20 times on HBO, but I think this one was equally as entertaining, if not more so.

      Gotta swing DaFish to the airport here in a few hours - he's headed back to the Chi for Independence Day. PokerBabe is flyin' back in later tonight along with HoopsPG32 for another week, hopefully he doesn't get lost again haha. That's about all that's new here.

      What a crazy week it's been on this planet though. I'm totally sick and tired of hearing about Michael Jackson. The guys lucky he died of a heart attack and not capital punishment for fingerblasting all those little kids' bum bums. That's all I'm gonna say.

      A much more important issue transpiring is the U.S. troops' anticipated withdrawal from all Iraqi major cities today. The 130k+ troops will still carry out necessary combat operations with the approval of the Iraqi government, and will continue to provide security and intelligence.

      Just think about what life was like for the average Iraqi citizen ten years ago; constantly living in fear, unable to speak freely about their thoughts on the government. Living under tyranny and oppression. Things we as Americans constantly take for granted.

      I understand why people are against war. It costs money, resources, and more importantly, human lives. But what the United States stands for - freedom, democracy, liberty - is something every human deserves to taste, something that in order for our species to enjoy, certain things must be sacrificed for the good of human kind as a whole. Vegetius, a 4th century Roman writer, once wrote, "Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum."

     "Let him who desires peace prepare for war."

      One of the few things people know about this war, there are more U.S.- employed military contractors in Iraq than soldiers. There is no doubt that our "government was unprepared and ill-equipped to mount a major contingency relief and reconstruction program in Iraq in 2003". With that being said however, from a humanitarian perspective, it was the right decision for the future of people on this planet to remove Saddam Hussein from power in that region - to promote freedom, democracy, and liberty. It's obvious by the current democratic revolt in Iran that the people of that region are fed up with not being heard, tired of government parties that try to strong arm their own citizens with violence and intimidation.

      You see, there is no room on our little blue marble for people like Hussein, or Kim Jong II of North Korea - guys who crave power and choose to instill fear instead of respect. All people like this do is slow the progress of humankind.

      Changing topics to something that will actually benefit our wonderful planet...Microsoft announced it's set pricing ($49-99) for Windows 7 and the XP/Vista upgrade program, offering a discount to people who pre-order the new operating system, which is due out this fall.

      Apple meanwhile, will be charging users full price who don't have the most recent Leopard OS X, who wish to switch to the new Snow Leopard. Even their chief software architect has been quoted as saying Snow Leopard is merely an "upgrade" from Leopard. Basically, it's just a service pack. As corporate vice president of Microsoft Brad Brooks put it, "We don't charge people for service packs."

      Mozilla Firefox version 3.5 is out and running beautifully. The overall increase in speed is obvious.

      Weave also upgraded to version 0.4 beta in time for the new Firefox launch. For those of you unfamiliar, Weave is a (free) Mozilla add-on you can use to sync all of your bookmarks, passwords, preferences, et cetera. I find it extremely useful and would recommend downloading both Firefox and Weave, if any of you are (actually) still using Internet Explorer.

     Last but not least, I just wanted to comment on Activision's decision to drop the "Call of Duty" title for Modern Warfare 2...dumb and stupid are really the only two words that comes to mind.

Zune Top 5:

1} 36 O's by Young LA on Black Boy White Boy
2} 21st Century Breakdown by Green Day on 21st Century Breakdown
3} Doin' Time Remix by Sublime ft. Snoop Dogg on Everything Under the Sun
4} Every Girl by Lil Wayne ft. Young Money
5} It Feels So Good by Twista on Adrenaline Rush

First Round Wrap Up


    If there's one team who could have screwed up the #1 overall pick in this years' (or any, for that matter) draft, it's the Clippers. However, they went both the obvious and safe route selecting Blake Griffin, who will certainly be the front runner for Rookie Of The Year.

    For a team that was last in the league in rebounding last year, the Grizzlies taking Hasheem Thabeet at #2 no doubt made the most sense out of any other option because they will improve more in the short term than they would if they chose to take any other player on the board, like Rubio or Evans.

    With the third pick the Thunder decided to take James Harden from Arizona State, which is a great fit for both parties. A lot of scouts see Harden as a left-handed version of Paul Pierce, and while he clearly won't be getting near as many shots as Pierce did in his first few years in Boston, he fills their need as a starting two guard, who can split point duties with Russell Westbrook if need be.

    The Kings got the player who is, in my opinion, the best player in this draft here at #4. Tyreke Evans is just sick. A true point guard, no, but a pure baller without a doubt. He has extremely long arms, big hands, and filthy handles. He's an above average defender and perimeter shooter who can create shots for himself and others. While it's obviously not the ideal situation for him from a winning standpoint, he'll have the ball in his hands a lot and will have a plenty of room to grow over the next few seasons.

    The Wolves did something with their #5 and 6 picks here I don't think anyone really expected: taking two point guards. Ricky Rubio probably got more hype before the Draft than any other player, with everyone raving about his passing ability and creativity. No one really had him 'slipping' this far down the board, and while it was the obvious pick for most teams, I think Minnesota made a huge mistake, and it has nothing to do with his ability as a player.
   
    First of all, he doesn't want to play in a small market. Secondly, he has a $6m buyout clause in his contract with DKV that can enable him to stay their until 2011. Now while this could play to the Wolves advantage in a trade scenario, if they drafted him with the intention of playing him, it was just a horrible pick, because make no mistake about it, they will have to trade him if he chooses to go back to Spain this season.

    Now remember the fact that the Wolves have ZERO exterior scoring now that they traded Mike Miller and Randy Foye to the Wizards for the rights to the 6th pick {funny side note: if you go to their team website, they are both still on the roster, with Kevin McHale still listed as head coach} and it's blatantly obvious they needed to address the glaring hole they have at the two-guard spot.

     Terrance Williams would have been a perfect fit here. I know no one had him going this high on the board, but what does that matter really? They are young anyway and will be lucky to win 20-25 games, so you might as well develop a solid nucleus now. It doesn't matter what order they take him and Flynn so long as they share the same backcourt. If they made this move they'd be looking at a starting lineup of Flynn{sorry Bassy}, Williams, Brewer/Carney/Gomes, with Love and Jefferson rounding out the front court. Is that a championship contending starting 5? Of course not, but it's better than inserting Kevin Ollie or Bobby Brown{no, not that Bobby Brown}.

    This opened up the chance for the Warriors to snatch up Steph Curry at #7, who is a great fit in their run and gun offense, and will add depth to their bench without question. He won't start, but will be a great spark plug coming in for Monta Ellis and will still be able to play off the ball a good deal and get plenty of open looks.

    The Knicks wanted Curry bad, but got what they needed even more I think in Jordan Hill. They desperately needed another athletic forward who can run the floor, defend, rebound, and finish around the basket. Think of him as a (much) more skilled version of Renaldo Balkman.

    With the 9th overall pick, the Raptors picked up Demar Derozan, who draws comparisons to a young Vince Carter, albeit a little less mature, skills wise. While he's still a bit raw, the mechanics are there. He's a good shooter and slasher, and has a potential to become a lock down defender at the NBA level.

    Brandon Jennings got selected next at #10 by the Milwaukee Bucks, and do I ever feel bad for him. First of all, no one, I repeat, no one wants to play in/for Milwaukee. Secondly, it's easy to see he's the type of player coach Scott Skiles will clash with. Skiles wants to play a walk it up, grinding style of basketball, and that just isn't how Jennings plays. He has blazing quickness and footspeed with the ability to blow by anyone with his first step or off the dribble. He's court savvy and an exceptional passer, but they don't have much proven talent outside of Michael Redd, and are far from a playoff contender.

    The Nets taking Terrance Williams at #11 is a solid pick. He's big enough to be effective at the two and can handle the ball well enough to play some point if need be. After trading Vince Carter to the Magic, New Jersey have a scoring vacuum to be filled and Williams can provide that. He's also a more motivated defender than Carter(who isn't) and a good rebounder for his size.

    Charlotte taking Gerald Henderson at #12 was the worst pick in the draft at this point depending how the Rubio situation turns out. He's an undersized two guard who lacks NBA three point range or the ball handling skills to share minutes at the point. He's shorter than Gerald Wallace and far from the dead eye shooter Raja Bell is. The Bobcats should have taken Earl Clark here, easily the most talented player on the board and arguably the player with the most upside in the whole draft. Not to mention it was a shock since Michael Jordan is clearly stockpiling UNC alumni; he might as well have taken Tyler Hansbrough, at least he would have filled their need as a backup PF.

    Next up were the Pacers at 13th, who did select Psycho-T, which I think was the best pick for them in all honesty. Bird loves his toughness and work ethic, and Danny Granger needs more of these types of players around him. Hansbrough has a never-ending motor, and is no fun to play against because he is relentless. He's a good enough shooter from 18 feet and in, and will get a lot of offensive rebounds and second chance points. People have the perception he won't be successful because he's not a "great" athlete, but Kevin Love had a great rookie year and essentially fits the same mold.

    Earl Clark is an awesome pick for the Suns at 14. WOW. As I stated before, he has just as much upside as a one in the draft. He can do a little bit of everything. I think he slipped this far because team scouts think he isn't assertive enough, and often doesn't show enough fire or intensity. If he finds his mean streak, which is the big question mark, he has All-Star potential.

    The Pistons taking Austin Daye from Gonzaga at 15 is a good pick for them. Like Clark, he has a large skill set, and will learn a lot from Rasheed Wallace. He's an above-average passer with a lot of versatility, though questions still linger about his toughness.

    Chicago decided to take James Johnson at #16, which I wasn't expecting. His game is a lot like Jason Maxiell's, an undersized PF but a much better shooter from outside. He's tough and works hard on both ends, a bit like Charles Barkley. He is a champion kickboxer who possesses the right attitude and discipline it takes to be successful at the highest level.

    I love Jrue Holiday to 76ers at 17th - finally Andre Iguodala gets someone multitalented to play alongside. He's an explosive combo guard who will learn a lot from Andre Miller, who never had half the ability or potential Holiday has. He can get to the rack at will and finish in traffic, and has the chance to be an outstanding defender. He isn't a great shooter, but in time has what it takes to become much more efficient.

    The T-Wolves decided to take another PG at #18 with Ty Lawson, but immediately shipped to him to Denver for a future 1st rd pick in 2010. It's a great fit for Lawson, who will back up Billups in the Nuggets uptempo, high octane offense. He is the most efficient PG in the draft and is lightning fast from end to end.

    Can anyone believe the Hawks finally drafted a point guard? He's not Chris Paul, he's not Deron Williams, but Jeff Teague will be good. He's a good passer with a high basketball IQ - not a great defender, but was a great scorer in college that is plenty capable of getting to the basket and the foul line. He's a strong leader that will get plenty of burn for the Hawks.

    Utah took Eric Maynor with the 20th pick, a true point guard who flew under the radar most of his college career playing at Virginia Commonwealth. However, the guy can flat out play, and will be an excellent backup option for DWill. He's tough and is absolutely electric with the ball in his hands. He knows how to play and Jerry Sloan will only make him better.

    The New Orleans Hornets taking Darren Collison at 21st overall is essentially the same  thing as the Jazz taking Maynor - a solid backup PG that will fit in nicely and is ready to play now. He's a solid perimeter defender who makes minimal mistakes. The NBA is all about landing in the right situation and this is a perfect fit for both parties.

    Rodrigue Beaubois got selected next by the Thunder and was later traded to the Mavs for B.J. Mullens who would eventually get taken at #24. Mullens fits the bill in OKC, who lack a true center or post presence.

    With their second pick in the first round the Chicago Bulls took Taj Gibson from USC at 26th, who isn't a physical beast on the inside but will provide the frontcourt with some added defense and rebounding. He's a good post passer and will give the Bulls more depth and energy off the bench.

    With the 27th pick the Grizzlies took DeMarre Carrol out of Mizzouri, an energy guy who possesses all the intangibes. He's your prototypical garbage man - a hard worker that's tenacious on the glass and a good defender who will make other players better in practice.

    At 28, Minnesota took Wayne Ellington, which is actually a smart pick. They get a three point threat to replace Mike Miller who can spread the floor and is probably undervalued in this draft. Above all else, he's a proven winner.

    The 29th pick was held by the Lakers, who sold it to the Knicks for $3m. In return, they get Toney Douglas from Florida Sate who can straight up score. He takes pride in playing good defense, something the Knicks need badly, especially with an offensive minded coach. They get a shoot-first PG who can create his own shot, shoot from perimeter, and is a solid ball handler. He's not afraid to take it hard in traffic and get to the foul line.

    I really thought Cleveland would take a Sam Young or DeJuan Blair here, someone that could contribute to the championship cause now. Both do a lot of little things that don't show up on the stat sheet. They really could have used Blair's rebounding. Instead, they took Christian Eyenga from Congo, an explosive two who won't play this year.

2nd Round Steals


    The Rockets get Jermaine Taylor from UCF. This dude is a baller. He's aggressive on both ends of court and can finish in traffic, and has the ability contribute immediately.

    Pistons picking up DuJuan Summers. Detroit got great value here, as he certainly had first round potential. He can do a little bit of everything and fits the Pistons' organization style of play. He can finish at the rim and make contested shots from the perimeter. His game is similar to that of Caron Butler.

    Minnesota getting Sam Young. This is another great value pick. The T-Wolves are a youthful squad, and Young will provide toughness. He can play inside and out and will help with the rebounding load.

    The Spurs snagging DaJuan Blair and Jack McClinton. Blair fits their style of play perfectly, and can contribute immediately. He has a big wingspan for his size and will take up space. He's strong as an ox and won't back down, and should get a decent amount of garbage points. McClinton can flat out shoot the rock and will get a lot of open looks due to the double teaming of Duncan and teams collapsing on Parker and Ginobli in the lane.

    Portland landing Patty Mills. Seriously, I have no idea how his stock slipped all the way to 55! The only reason Phoenix passed on him for Taylor Griffin is so they have a chance at scooping up his brother, Blake, when his rookie contract expires...that is of course, if he is still on the team. Mills went toe-to-toe with Chris Paul and Deron Williams when the US played Australia in the Olympics, and is an exceptional backup for Brandon Roy, and an upgrade from Steve Blake.

    Boston getting Lestor Hudson. This guy averaged a little over 26 ppg the past two seasons at Tennessee-Martin, and will be a great backup PG for Rondo.

    The Bobcats drafting Derrick Brown. This guy is exactly what the team needs. He's a crafty left-handed 2/3 that is athletic and strong. He absolutely has star potential and could easily see some starts for the 'Cats as the season progresses.

    The first two weeks have almost come and gone since we got here. Before I got to Las Vegas, I had been building it up in my mind for 6 months. It seemed so far away for so long, but now that I'm here, the days drift by and I find the sands of time slowly draining into the bottom of an imaginary hourglass.

    While my results have been less than stellar since we arrived, seeing my friends and roommates taste some success has been equally as pleasing. It's never easy going through stretches of poor luck or poor results, but it's uplifting having a core of people around you that offer encouragement and insight when things aren't going your way.

    I cant say I'd would have had the same positive outlook a few years past. That was a very tumultuous time in my life...I've made so many improvements in character since then.

    I enjoy and appreciate the gift of life much more. I learned to extract all possible positives from negative situations, namely death. I smile more, and rarely let stress be the outcome of trivial events that happen from day to day. I realized that it isn't events themselves that hurt our pysche, but how we view and react to those particular happenings.

    Christian Larson, a man many credit as the leader of the New Thought movement once said, "That a man can change himself...and master his own destiny is the conclusion of every mind who is wide-awake to the power of right thought."

    Anyone who knows me well would tell you I have always been extremely easy going on the surface, but inside I always felt tormented by something I couldn't name or describe. It wasn't until my father passed away I gained an increasing thirst for knowledge. A lot of this motivation in my quest to gain wisdom came from my desire to improve at poker. Since then, I've naturally sorted through any related book that seems appealing, if only by the look of the cover.

    Over time I started devouring philosophy and self improvement books. Anything that seemed interesting or insightful. I read almost religiously now. There is something about making a conscious effort to improve your quality of life by learning from others that one can only help but to respect and admire.

    I was never very studious in school. I got by solely based on my intelligence, memory, writing and test taking skills. Sometimes my peers would become agitated with my lack of enthusiasm when their hours of studying wouldn't warrant them a higher grade than me on tests. Easy game.
  
    Back then I had no idea what I wanted to obtain out of life on this planet. Chasing girls, partying, sports...what normal guy thinks of anything else in high school and even college? I wish I had focused on poker and improving the quality of my life more back then.

    Looking back it would have been much easier to let my life crumble around me. Being negative and not caring is not nearly as difficult as reminding yourself to stay positive, even more so when life isn't going your way. When you're a kid, you dream of how you wish your life will be years down the road, and the thought never crosses your mind that things might not turn out that way.

    I've come to the realization the only tool one needs to succeed is the right frame of mind. What you see everyday in the mirror is the residual outcome of all of your past thoughts and actions. Like Buddha said, "All we are is a result of what we have thought."

    From Neville Goddard's The Pruning Shears of Revision I learned that the only thing holding you back is your own will, for your will is always under your control. I learned that happiness depends on three things; your will, your ideas concerning the events which you are involved, and the use you make of your ideas.

    The Art of Living by the great Greek Stoic Epictetus, elaborates on this principle. "Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principal: Some things are under our control, and some are not." He preaches that we cannot choose external circumstances, only how we respond to them and that when something transpires, the only thing in your power is your attitude towards it.

    Mark Sanborn's The Encore Effect is a book about remarkable performances. The two most important lessons he speaks on are that there is no such thing as failure, only feedback, and that (positive) results are merely the reflections of strategies that work.

    A few months back while studying A+ at Barnes & Noble, I stumbled upon The 33 Strategies of War and The 48 Laws of Power, both by Robert Greene. From these two books I took away that emotion is strategically counterproductive, and that "...the moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril."
  
    Every one of these principles can be directly applied to poker.

    Beginning martial arts a few months back has only enhanced my understanding and drive to better my lifestyle. I keep a much healthier diet now, something I wasn't sure if I'd be able to maintain here in LV...I still haven't been to In N Out Burger yet, which I'm honestly pretty disappointed about lol.

    I usually start my days off with a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee, maybe a Cliff protein builder bar. For lunch I mostly go with a turkey, chicken or tuna wrap with spinach leaves on a whole wheat tortilla. For dinner is always some veggies and rice along with grilled chicken or fish. If I get hungry in between, a slice of bread with peanut butter and a banana usually holds me over. [note: I might be eating breakfast at noon, lunch at 5pm and dinner at 10pm. Standard]

    I stretch, run and exercise more frequently. I've been drinking BSN's N.O.-Xplode leading up to my workouts lately. It's a performance igniter supplement that Master Reid turned me on to. It gives you a boost of energy, focus, strength and endurance. Great stuff. Right when you normally hit the wall, you catch a second, third, or fourth boost of power.

    I've been meditating more. I try not to oversleep. I've gained much more confidence as a person. I'm more disciplined. More aware, more alert. More in tune with my surroundings.

    I feel like every normal guy has the mentality that they could properly defend themselves if they were ever put in the situation. Call it machoness or arrogance, whatever you want to. I used to get into quite a few scuffles through grade school, and always considered myself a tough kid. However, only after learning proper striking techniques among other things did I realize that essentially everyone without training in some form of martial arts is so beyond ill-prepared if a dangerous situation or confrontation actually presented itself.

    Anyway, it's starting to get hot {as Hell} here. Last week the weather was perfect. The temperatures are starting to climb.

    I've spent most of the past few days laying out and shooting pool. Cheffing up dinner for the crew every night; grilled some rib eyes yesterday after letting them soak in a New Orleans Cajun marinade, which was great. Also marinated a whole salmon fillet in a Hawaiian sauce that should be spectacular, whenever we decide we're hungry enough to make it.

    Other than that, just been reading, trying to get some business organized. Livin' the dream.

    I've said more than once now I'd present some type of explanation as to what I use for security on my PC. While I don't exactly want to reveal all of my secrets for obvious reasons, I will offer a few pointers.

    You can create a solid foundation, especially on a new computer, by using Norton's Internet Security, BitDefender[can download free trials for Total Security, Internet Security and Antivirus here:  http://www.bitdefender.com/] , AVG[free 30 day trial here:  http://www.avg.com/download-trial] or PC Tools Spyware Doctor. I would opt for AVG, BitDefender or PCT-SD because the size of the programs themselves are smaller than Norton's IS and won't hamper the speed of the system quite as much.

    There are a bunch of other free programs that are really effective, too. The best is Spybot Search and Destroy, which works best if you use it along with one of the programs listed above.

    Other free programs that are less effective imo are AntiVir PE Classic, SuperAntiSpyware, Iobit Advanced System Care, and MalwareByte's Anti-Malware. The only one I'd recommend is Iobit ASC, because the free version will clean up a lot of registry errors that would otherwise go unnoticed, and has several utilities that are pretty efficient in cleaning up your hard drive.

    Certainly plan on getting a few more updates out this week. I'll be playing more cash games and some smaller tournaments this week, as I was unable to play in Event #39 on Saturday.

    Looking forward to more feedback. Keep it coming folks.

Zune Top 5:

1} Our Last Day As Children by Explosions In The Sky on Friday Night Lights Soundtrack
2} No Quarter by Led Zepplin on Houses Of The Holy
3} Get Your Money Right by Dr. Dre ft. Jay-Z & The Game
4} Me & My Drank by Lil Wayne ft. Short Dawg
5} A Song For Our Fathers by Explosions In The Sky on How Strange, Innocence

    With so much drama in the LV its kinda hard being IL23...just kidding, but the last few days have been absolutely crazy.

    Friday we all headed over to the Rio for the 2pm restart of $1500 NL event 24. PokerBabe started the day with around 25k and Stu Marshak was 7th in chips with 200k+ and was seated to the right of Intervent1on.

    PokerBabe eventually busted in 204th after reshippin in the SB preflop with JJ and getting called by the original raiser with K9. Kxxxx. GG buddy.

    The next break we headed over to the Palms to catch the 4:30 showing of 'The Hangover'. It was hilarious, probably even more so than advertised or you've heard.

    Afterward we headed back to the car, headed to the grocery store and eventually back to the house. By the time we got back the Penguins had already captured the Stanley Cup, which is awesome because I hate the fucking Red Wings.

    I marinated some steak and chicken for the weekend while BriN and PokerBabe continued to playing their 1v1 pong challenge that stands at something like BriN-10 -PokerBabe-23.

    Everyone got ready/started drinking and we headed back down to the Rio around 11:30, with play not stopping in Event 24 until 3am or til the FT. BriN dropped me and DaFish off because him and PokerBabe were going to O'Shea's to play pong.

    Chris Moore was already @ the FT of the $1500 Shootout, but by the time we got there Jeff Carris had already captured the bracelet. Congrats to Chris for finishing in 4th for $82k.

    Players started to drop and soon they were down to 5 tables and then 4. 1ntervention went out when he reshipped AQ and got snapcalled by AK. The Maven went out when he ran into KK on a KQJxx board, but I didnt see what he showed down or mucked.

    Julian Verse came down and hung out with me and DaFish on the rail for a while as we debated what to do from there. GovShark stopped thru and eventually they both headed off into different directions into the Vegas night.

    I hung around until the next break and wished Stu luck before heading over to O'Shea's to see how hammered BriN and PokerBabe were. I found out shortly after that they had run off 8 straight and were totally belligerent. Talk about entertainment. I chilled for a little while but was bored senseless and losing my buzz, so I headed over to Caesar's Palace to play some $1-3.

    Played for probably two hours with my stack fluctuating anywhere from 20-80bb, before I changed seats and this hand came up 6 handed. I had about 75bb utg and straddled to $6. The player to my left made it $15 with about 20bb in front of him, and got minraised by a quiet player who had only raised 2 pots in an hour and a half. I immediately put this guy on AA. The SB folded and BB called as did I after peaking at Ks10s. The original raiser folded. Flop was Kh109h. The SB checked. I had the reraiser covered and knew he would call an allin. After a moment of thought I pushed my chips to the center of the felt, and he called pretty quickly (with AA). I was not expecting however the SB to call, which he did and showed AhJh for the nut flush draw. The turn was a {fucking} heart, and I didn't improve on the river. Bleh.

     I reloaded and picked up a few small pots, before this obnoxious donkey who wouldn't shut up earlier when I was trying to make a decision for all of my chips sat back down again. Four orbits went by, where I straddled each time and he would move allin for 30+bb each time only for me to look down at trash and fold.

    The next time I straddled it folded to him, he moved allin on the B, fold, fold, I looked down at AcJs and snap called.

    Now the hand before this he moved allin with 4 limpers in front, only for everyone to fold and he showed down Qc5c.
 
    This time he flipped over KsJc. However, the board came out 2s3s4s5sx. GEIH. I promised DaFish I'd only play another orbit anyway because he was trying to bring home some strange. BriN was plastered and as we wandered back to the car, he chestbumped six random strangers between Caesar's and Bill's parking garage, one of whom was about 6'5, 250 with a pitcher of beer in his hand. One chestbump from BriN later, he had a half pitcher of beer all over his shirt and for some reason neglected not to kill him. The kid runs good.

    Now somewhere between 4am and 6, BriN and PokerBabe got separated. Maybe it's just because we saw The Hangover earlier in the day, but we couldn't find him anywhere.

    We got back to the house and stumbled around for a while. I was the last one up, was running all of security software when I heard some commotion upstairs. I finished up, shut my laptop down and walked upstairs. As I reached the top, I looked to my right only to see a trail of vomit, stretching from midway up BriN's door, all the way down the hallway into the bathroom. I'm talking a puke of epic proportions. A world record maybe. I know right away none of my roommates are dumb enough to possibly have done this; BriN has a bathroom in his room, DaFish wasn't even that drunk (by his standards). Only a dumb bitch could pull this off.

    I just shake my head and tip toe down the hall like I'm walking thru a field full of claymores. I pass out rather swiftly.
 
    I wake up at 1, and there is no sign of PokerBabe. No messages on my phone or FB. Naturally we are worried about him, but know he could easily be perfectly okay. Maybe he just got a hotel. Maybe he found a girl and went home with her.

    I did however receive an update from DaFish, letting me know Stu busted Event 24 in 14th for $36k. He would play the $10k HU later in the day, defeating Di "Urindanger" Dang in the first round, only to bust out in the 2nd.

    The hours pass away and PokerBabe is still M.I.A. Eventually I get on FB @ around 8:30 and realize he has updated his status. He is nearby, and alive. We go pick him up and eagerly anticipate hearing his story.
 
    His blurry rendition of his morning includes being told several times by casino employees he is too drunk and needs to stop gambling, passing out at an undisclosed casino, waking up to being poked by two cops, taking a $65 cab to Red Rock (we live in Summerlin), walking several miles in the wrong direction, and coming to rest at a pizza and pasta joint where we eventually picked him up. Wp, sir.

    Today I was first to arise. Layed out by the pool and read 5 chapters of "Rat Bastards," a memoir by John "Red" Shea, one of the most notorious and the most honorable Irish mobsters from South Boston. Awesome book I'd highly recommend.

    Afterward I shaved most of my head, carving in a pretty gnarly mohawk, if only for the day. Dropped DaFish off @ Venetian for the $500 Omaha8 DeepStack. By the time I got back BriN and PokerBabe were already fast to work grinding mtt's outside. I hopped in the pool, read some more, then grilled some steaks for dinner to go with red potatoes and green beans.

    We might head over to Red Rock in a while to play cash, or just booze and play pool the rest of the night...The Lakers just won the championship.

     I know I said in my last post I was going to detail of the the security software I use and will do so tomorrow, I just haven't had the time or energy the past few days. Again, almost all of it is free and user-friendly, so be sure to check it out soon. Til next time


Zune Top 5:

1} Be By Myself by Asher Roth on Asleep In The Bread Aisle
2} Overtime by Ace Hood ft. Akon & T-Pain
3} They Roll by Nipsey Hussle & The Game
4} Hot 97 Grammy Family Freestyle by Jay-Z
5} The Smoke Will Lead You Home by Logh on A Sunset Panorama

    By 12:30 Sunday BriN and I were heading westbound on I-55 towards StL, not even outside the Springfield city limits when he declared he was "going to get a ticket in every state" About a minute later, we were approaching a state trooper that was already pulled over on the shoulder, and threw his sirens on before we even passed him. We were in the left lane so we got over, only to realize we were getting pulled over?

    Apparently he was going 76 in a 65, and got a $70 ticket. I had no prior knowledge of this, but later he told me he had never actually been given a ticket. He was already on a remarkable pace to accomplish what he had stated just minutes earlier.

    We had absolutely zero plan as to where we would be staying the night, and no real goal as to how far we should drive other than knowing we wouldn't get to Amarillo, TX and would probably be staying somewhere west of OK City.

    We made a handful of gas/bathroom/food stops over the course of the day, including stopping @ a Red Lobster in Tulsa for dinner around 9. I got the Maui luau salmon and shrimp which came on a bed of rice pilaf with a slice of grilled pineapple and a side of lobster mashed potatoes. It was better than it sounds.

    We rolled into Elk City, OK, roughly 700 miles from Springfield, and got a room at a Comfort Inn around 1:15am CST.

    Woke up to my cell phone alarm going haywire like seven times between 8:30 and 10:30, which was both befuddling and annoying. Got on the road by 11:30 with almost 1000 miles of I-40 staring us in the face. The plan was to make it to Flagstaff, AZ by about 10 local time. I downed a water and a CLIFF bar to hold me over until we could find a Subway. Over the course of the whole trip, I think we would eventually pass 257 of them at some point or another.

    We shredded thru the rest of OK, a small sliver of Texas, and all of New Mexico in good time before stopping @ Denny's for dinner breakfast. We decided to push the envelope, electing to stay on the road until Kingman, AZ, which is the last blip on the map before US-93. Before we headed out a $50 prop bet was made to determine the Greatest Claw Machine Player in the World. I knew I had an edge here because the last time I played a claw machine was @ a Denny's under similar circumstances, albeit slightly smaller stakes, against two opponents and dominated on my first try. Ship it.

    This time however neither of us could collect the South Park Kyle or the gnarly colored dragon. An employee tried afterward but had no luck. FAIL.

    Motored into a Holiday Inn Express in Kingman around 11ish. Looking around and seeing all of the palm trees, it begins to set in that yes, I am farther west than I ever been in my lifetime, and that Sin City was only 100 or so miles away.

    I went inside to check availability/rates and was greeted by a magnificent cunt working the front desk. Not only was she a colossal fucking idiot, but an uber bitch as well. The whole time she's filling out my folio she never made eye contact, answered maybe two of my ten questions half-assed with the response time of hybrid slothdonkey. Easily the most unprofessional and unintelligent person I had come across in some time.

    I was just way too tired to care. I was really eager to get some writing in and work on some tech stuff but barely managed to make any progress before passing out.

    Woke up at 10:30 or so, grabbed some coffee in the lobby and printed out the directions for the day. Hung out for another hour before heading out, eager to just get to the house and get off the road.

    As we neared Hoover Dam, we saw a sign that read something like, "Road Construction, 2003-200?"...LOL/WTF/FML

    The Dam itself was really impressive. It was much different than I had seen in pictures and whatnot. It seemed to be recovering nicely from the Transformers/Megatron incident from a few years back. The new bridge that they are building is both fucking enormous and awe-inspiring.



    After a while the skyline was in sight, and before long we were rolling thru Summerlin in search of Mansion de Lagtard. Pulling in the driveway was such a relief. Knowing we didn't have to hop in the car the next day and drive until we were hallucinating felt vvvvvvvvvvnice.

    We unpacked and got comfortable before heading to Red Rock to place some bets on the Penguins and Magic before both games started. Needless to say, BriN was not too happy when Orlando failed to get a defensive rebound three time as the clock dwindled and didn't cover the 4.5 pt spread.

    We went grocery shopping at Whole Foods, where I was excited to learn they actually carried Acai Machine Naked Juice, something that had eluded me for several months east of the Mississippi River.

    Once we returned home, I grilled some chicken breasts and made{microwaved} some quinoa and whole wheat brown rice which was bombbb. We shot some pool before heading down to the Strip to meet up with DaFish @ the Rio who was birding Tom Koral the FT of Omaha 8 10k Championship. Congrats to him for taking 7th.

    We arrived about 20 minutes after Negraneau busted fourth, but in plenty of time to see Daniel Alaei win his 2nd bracelet.

    Checked out some of the $2500 6-max before heading off in search of drinks with lots of alcohol in them. We wandered thru Bellagio, grabbed some Crown & Coke's and watched some high stakes action in Bobby's Room before heading to O'Shea's for some pong pwnage.

     Myself and BriN went 2-0 against two incredibly drunk guys around our age, winning the first $20 game in regulation and the second in 6 cup double OT. At some point an older lady way past drunk stumbled up to me and asked how to get a pong game started. I told her I was relatively new to the scene and suggested she ask the bartender. She then asked where the bartender was, and I replied, "Behind the bar."

    Afterward we stumbled around aimlessly before deciding it would be fun to play $1-3 at Caesar's because we wouldn't have to pay for drinks anymore.

    I folded 99% of my hands preflop for two hours, raking in one medium size pot with the nut flush in the only hand I saw a turn with cards in front of me. I blinded down to about 30bb when I was involved in a hand that I probably could have played better lol. I held 68d in the CO and the action went foldx2, mp+1 calls, mp+2 raises to $18, HJ calls, I flat, B calls, blinds fold, mp+1 folds. Before the flop the A of hearts is exposed as a burn card. Flop is A59 with one diamond. It checks to me and I move all-in for something like $55 into a pot of $78.

    I'd like to think my reasoning for this is solid. The original raisers' range is obviously pretty wide open, and the chances of either player checking an A or a set here is pretty slim. In either case I would assume they would just value bet thin to try and build a decent pot, and probably don't have the stones to check call with a smaller pair like JJ, 1010, 88, 77. I think either player in front of me would have rr preflop with QQ or KK, and is hopefully laying down a gutshot lol.

    Unfortunately for me, the guy on the B nearly beats me into the pot and flips over AQ. I declare I need 'help' but never receive any. Bleh.

    BriN was getting a lot of action and left up a couple hundo, I think. Where we went from here is a little blurry, but we at some point made it back to the Bellagio parking garage and headed home. We watched SC and Season 2, disc 1 of Entourage and ate the leftovers from earlier before crashing shortly after the sun came up.

    Today I woke up at like 12:30 somewhat dehydrated and wondering why the Hell I wasn't still sleeping. Did some techy stuff on my computer whilst writing at the same time. Not doing much this afternoon but relaxing/recovering until PokerBabe's flight lands around 5. Probably grind online tonight, and am planning on playing in some live tourny tomorrow although haven't decided which one yet. DaFish is playing in the $230 HORSE @ Golden Nugget, and I'll prob do the same.

    I'm going to try to get another update tomorrow that will outline some tips to secure your computer, i.e. free virus and maleware programs you can download, as well as a few other programs you would really be foolish not to check out. Again, they are all free programs so don't forget to check them out. 1.


Zune Top 5:

1} Cleveland is the Reason by Kid Cudi
2} Go Hard by DJ Khaled ft. Kanye West & T-Pain
3} Sports, Drugs, and Entertainment by Cam'ron ft. Notorious B.I.G.
4} Yes by Pharell & Lil Wayne
5} Been Throwin' Money by 2 Pistols

    Such an awesome week since I last posted on Monday. I hope my rant opened up some Apple-veiled eyes.

    Tuesday night I didn't do much except study for my A+ Essentials 220-601 exam and go train @ DragonFire for an hour and some change. It was an awesome session overall; we learned a few new techniques but mostly just worked on freelance ground control while Master talked to potential students. In the first 10 weeks or so, I'm more than satisfied with my decision to start taking martial arts. I feel much more confident just in general, as well as more self-aware and alert. I feel more comfortable socially and obviously more lethal physically. More than anything, I feel a heightened sense of understanding about the world around me. It's a nice feeling.

    Wednesday I got some stuff done around the house - cleaning, laundry, organizing - ran some errands and made some small purchases necessary for any cross-country, 1700 mile road trip through the desert. I started packing some clothes and stuff, which at this point is pretty irrelevant because no matter how many days I start packing in advance I finish a half an hour before we are supposed to depart. Standard.

    I headed down to St. Louis to pick up my older brother who was flying in from NYC where he goes to law school. When I rolled into the city the Lumiere Place's exterior was illuminated a neon red that lit up the Gateway Skyline and looked really kool. His plane got in around midnight, and we stopped @ Steak 'N Shake before embarking on the 90 mile trek back east to Springfield. Although wonderfully greasy, a double steakburger isn't exactly the model for a healthy meal, so I get mine with lettuce and tomato and with no cheese. This is where I am at this point in my life.

    Thursday I woke up around 1:30pm with my exam scheduled for 3pm. I grabbed a yogurt and a cup of oj before showering and scrolling the ProProfs forums for what other people were saying about what was on the exam they took earlier in the day. Ty, colludaments.

    I finished in about 65 minutes and scored an 820. Que several Matias Anderson(sp?) fist pumps and a huge sigh of relief. The idea of spending $170 to take an exam is less than thrilling. The prospect of failing it I suppose is motivation enough for any deeg to study hard, if only in fear of spewing away precious time and money. So instead of being on max tilt I'm on Cloud 9, and with tickets to the night's Cardinal game versus the Reds it's only gonna get better.


    I get home at 4:30 and start getting ready. By 5:45 myself, my brother, Keithfolds, and my buddy John are heading west on I55 after brief stops @ McDonald's and a gas station. We were able to get booze and make our way to the last section of padded seats down the third base line in time to see the first pitch of the 3rd. Carpenter was already in vintage Cy Young form in the top half of the inning, and in the bottom half Pujols showed why he's the reigning MVP, demolishing a 2-run HR into left center.


    The View.

    Sometime in between my first beer and last call, we acquired Busch Stadium's exquisite deluxe nachos, which are borderline heart-stopping.


    Sir Albert's blast proved to be the difference, with Carp throwing a CG three-hitter, giving up 1 ER off a solo-shot that brought his ERA all the way up to .71. The scoreboard actually gave him credit for the W before the 9th inning even started, moving him to 4-0, which everyone found hilarious.

    Afterward we enjoyed a small detour to Lumiere Place before stopping at the same exact Steak 'N Shake we'd went to at the same time the previous morning. WP.

    Today was really productive on many fronts. I got some more packing in, took care of some n0 ch0p business, and bought some books for the trip;
What Lincoln Believed: The Values and Convictions of America's Greatest President by Michael Lind
Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw
Rat Bastards: The Life and Times of South Boston's Most Honorable Irish Mobster, A Memoir by John "Red" Shea
I love reading and will be doing a lot in Las Vegas when I'm not playing poker, shooting pool or drunk.

    Tomorrow is my sister's high school grad ceremony, but hopefully I can squeeze in a round of golf before the sun sets.

    I'll be posting periodically as we trek through the southwest en route to Sin City. Get a hold of me if you wanna chill before I leave. PEACE

ZunePass Top 5:

1} All The Above by Maino & T-Pain on Black Flag City
2} Miami by Sublime on Everything Under the Sun Disc 2
3} Afternight by Trans Am on TA
4} U Don't Know by Jay-Z on The Blueprint
5} Get It In Ohio by Cam'ron on Crime Pays

     Sooo it seems like not a day passes by that a new Apple commercial comes out trying to brainwash the misinformed, claiming how much "better" they're computers are than your average PC. I guess it makes for good tv? I can't say I've seen a Dell, HP, or even a Microsoft commercial bashing how ridiculously overpriced or unupgradable Macs are. Maybe because they don't have to?

      Let's face it, the typical computer user, particularly anyone born before 1980, just isn't that tech savvy. So if you didn't know crap about computers and I came up to you and said Macs "don't get viruses" or are more safely guarded against hacks, you would probably believe me! Now while I won't go out on a limb and call you an idiot, I will say that if you just picked up the latest monthly edition of WIRED, you'd probably learn more in an hour than you have your whole life. Why else would they make Macintosh antivirus software identical to that of Windows PC version ?

      If you think that your Mac, equipped with no anti-virus software and spyware security, is impervious to an organized attack against your network, then hackers probably love you. They are probably sitting in their basement, elbow deep in a bag of Doritos effortlessly using your machine as a ghost to steal your mom's credit card info. Even with state of the art security, the Mac is still easy pickings for a well-seasoned hacker.

      I know you're probably scoffing at the mere thought of this as you read, but is it really that hard to believe? The only reason Window's based PC's get the bad rap as a bigger security risk is simply because the market share is significantly higher. Windows continuously dominates the market in terms of large, multi-server networks that typically run Windows XP, but are slowly moving into Vista and eventually into 7. Although Linux is typically considered the prominent server platform, Windows still occupies about 75% of the overall server market, with Linux hovering around 20+% or so, and OS X picking up the scraps around 5%. That means more computers on this planet run Windows than there are automobiles. Like, billions man.

      Make no mistake about it, Vista is the most secure operating system to date.

      Now I already know what Mac users are thinking. "Well Macs run Windows Vista, too." I'm glad you brought that up, I'll chalk another victory up for Microsoft. Any PC that is Window's compatible will never in our lifetime be OS X compatible, unless they want Microsoft to pull the rug out from under them[note: you can run OS X on a PC, but it's, uhhh, illegal]. Why would they want anyone to touch what is essentially a monopolized market? If OS X was even marginally superior then Macs wouldn't need to run Windows to compete.

      I know you probably still don't believe me. If there is one thing Apple is actually good at (besides making the exterior of there products look flashy, if only to hide the lack of intelligent design on the inside) it's...well, bullshitting.

      PWN 2 OWN is an thee annual ethical hacking contest that pits Windows v. OS X v. Linux, where the hack surface for all three laptop machines is essentially identical. The winner walks away usually with around $10k and the recently hacked machine. The past three years, OS X has gotten hacked first through unpublicized vulnerabilities in as fast as 20 minutes, where Windows and Linux have taken an upwards of 36-72 hours.

      Now even though it's pretty obvious to anyone even remotely knowledgeable about computers that PC software is at least as good if not better than Macs, there's still the hardware side of the argument, or lack thereof. It's pretty straightforward really, PC's are all upgradeable in every sense of the word. If you use up all your hard drive space, or RAM, guess what?!?! You can add more!! Want that new graphics card for high performance gaming?!?! You can add that, too! Want to install a DVD drive?!?! A new CPU fan?!?! A power supply with more wattage output?!?! No problem, dude.

      Ohhh, you have a Mac. Ummm, that's going to be a problem. Unless you want to invalidate your warranty??? You maybe asking yourself, "Well why the f*ck would I want to do that??" Don't look at me, I don't know, either.

      Since some of you are probably still skeptical/delirious, let's compare two similar computers: a brand new Mac Pro and the brand new Alienware Area51 X58 Wartime Edition. If we're just going by name, the Mac Pro is looking (and sounding) pretty lame already. But I want to examine this closer, because the results are pretty staggering. On each companies respective website, I created an order for essentially identical machines.

      Both come equipped with 2.93gHZ Intel processors, the Mac Pro with the Quad Core Intel Xeon and the Alienware with the Intel Core i7. Both have one hard drive bay that can store up to 1TB, and have 6GB of memory. Both have dual 512MB NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards. Both have one optical drive and a 30" HD monitor. Both have a wireless mouse and keyboard. Both come with a 3-year protection plan.

      The Mac Pro costs $6,246. The Alienware Area51 X58 Wartime Edition costs $4,280. Throw in the fact that Alienware's are fully customizable {i.e. lighting displays, chassis) and come equipped with a liquid cooling system used by the United States Armed Forces, and I think it's a no-brainer.


      Are you beginning to see the (PC) light at the end of the damp, dark (Mac) tunnel?

      Welcome all. Before I start I just wanna thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to your feedback.

      While writing my first entry at this hour might seem a bit odd to the "normal" person, I actually find the thought of it incredibly reasonable. For starters, at this point in my life being up at 3 am is sfstandard, I'd be worried about myself if I weren't up right now.

      Yesterday I played golf @ Brookhills with BriN and two other friends we went to high school with, Kyle and Marc, around 4. I played just okay, didn't keep score but probably shot a 40+ {9 holes, no par 5's, par 31} probably from a combination of not stretching or getting loose and drinking a giant Crown Royal & Coke followed closely by a few Budweisers. Some may consider this to be a formula for success, however I was not so lucky on this particular day. Kyle shot a 32, discounting his first tee shot on 1 that traveled a total of thirty feet only six inches off the ground and directly into the water hazard. WP.

      Afterward we had a few more drinks before heading our separate ways with plans to meet back up @ Darcy's Pint in an hour for dinner and more drinks. Instead of getting the Hawaiian Chicken Salad, which I've ordered probably the last 34 times I've been there, I got a deluxe ground beef horseshoe since we're leaving for LV this Sunday and I won't be able to eat one for a month. This coming off a 7-day stretch where I didn't eat red meat or dairy products to help cleanse my body for what should be a week littered with intense workouts.

      Now for those of you who have never visited the lovely capitol of Illinois {not Chicago!}, a horseshoe is probably the most unhealthy/mouth-watering entree you have never seen. Basically, it's a piece of Texas toast, covered in your meat of choice, topped with a mountain of french fries and smothered in an amazing white cheese sauce. The deluxe one I ordered, also comes with diced tomatoes and chives, as well as hot sauce. You cannot buy a horseshoe anywhere else on this planet, so if you want one you gotta come to the birth place of Abraham Lincoln and Andre Iguodala.

       After downing a couple Smithwick's {pronounced Smitticks, for all you non-Irishmen and women} we decided to head downtown to Floyd's to meet up with some more old friends from our graduating class. Upon arriving, we grabbed some Bud Lights and started shooting some pool, a hobby I love but have started to progressively get worse/suck at over the years. I'm stoked that our house in LV has a nice red felt table, it should get plenty of use over the month we're there.

     Me and BriN squared off in air hockey where he lucksacked his way to a 7-6 victory. sfRIGGED. We'd must have been drinking for a solid 6 hours at this point, because we went downstairs to meet some other people and in between floors BriN yacked on the staircase LOL. However it was so stealthy that I probably wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't told me.

     I think they closed @ 1 so we headed down to Marley's, where we picked up where we left off, slamming beers and if my memory serves me correctly, a few fruity colored shots presumably with no alcohol in them. This continued until the bars closed at 3, but somehow I managed not to make it home until 5. I was vvvvvvvdrunk and had a few glasses a water, which made me feel like I just shotgunned a 6 pack in as many minutes. The perfect solution to this was chef up a couple Eggo waffles with some fresh strawberries before heading to the den for a donkey slumber until I arose around 3:30. GG.

     Yesterday - Sunday, I didn't do much except read, watch tv, and recover from what was most certainly the most alcohol I've drank in two months.  The VMA's sucked, and the fact that Twilight won best movie or film or wtfever over Dark Knight and Ironman is just a joke...but I guess that makes perfect sense, since MTV as a whole is a shite network that doesn't even play more than an hour of real music on any given day. [note: BriN insists it's not "tomorrow" until you go to sleep and wake up, but I'm trying to be politically correct here, at least in this instance]

     I can't wait to see The Hangover, which will probably be even more hysterical simply because we will be in Vegas where the movie takes place. Public Enemies looks like the sickest movie that's come out in the last few years, hopefully it lives up to the hype.

     My step-mom, younger brother and I went to Friday's for dinner, which was actually pretty awesome. I got the Dragonfire Chicken, partially because I love spicy food and chicken, and also because I train at DragonFire Martial Arts, so I thought it was the obvious choice - and some type of passion fruit/Red Bull concoction, which was refreshing.

     As far as the rest of the week goes, I've got a ton of shopping to get done before we take off this Sunday, mostly just clothes and stuff. I'm planning on taking my A+ Essentials 220-601 exam on Thursday, and need to get a bunch of n0ch0p business taken care of between now and then. I'll most certainly be attending at least two of the possible four martial arts classes this week, depending on how my body feels.

     Other than that, I'll be trying to continue getting a workout and a run in everyday, and doing lots of cramming. My older brother is flying in on Wednesday night into StL for my sister's hs graduation, so I'm gonna scoop him up, then we're gonna hit up the Cardinals/Reds game Thursday night, which will be awesome because I haven't gotten a chance to make it down for a game yet.

     In honor of the announcement of Microsoft's ZuneHD shipping 9/5/09, I'll be posting 5 songs getting a lot of play on mine recently:
1} The Art of Storytellin', Part 4 by Andre3000 on DJ DRAMA's Gangsta Grillz
2} My President by Young Jeezy ft. Jay-Z & Nas on 80 JEEZ
3} Maybach Music 2 by Rick Ross ft. Kanye West, T-Pain & Lil' Wayne on Deeper Than Rap
4} Quiet by This Will Destroy You on Young Mountain
5} Your Hand in Mine by Explosions in the Sky on The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place

I guess it's time for bed, the sun is creeping up over the horizon. 'Til next time.

-JT$