Zidane animated

Civ 3

For the life of me I can't remember what I did this weekend. It was that spectacular.
One thing I did was was I went out to buy a video game. I was thinking a Sim City-type game would be a great way to fill my solo-time. The online poker is still going, but my enthusiasm has started slipping. Mostly because the small bucks poker I've been playing is just so,... boring. Grinding out 3 hours just to make $10 isn't exactly great motivation to keep playing in the big tourneys.
So anyhow, I ended up buying Civilization III since I couldn't find SimC. I know that Civilization 4 is out, but this version came with all the expansions and only cost a grand total of $20. Not too bad considering I've already invested about 20 hours into it, and I just bought it Sunday. I'm telling you, this game is addictive. Once I'm on, I can't stop playing it. I had to drag myself away from it last night, when I could barely keep my eyes open. So I care not that there's a new version out. this game is fun enough. If Civilization 4 is any better than III, They should rename it CRACK, The Video Game.
I couldn't even imagine getting hooked on a Massive multi-player game like WarCraft. I'd not only be officially be a "DORK" but would soon be officially "BROKE" "SINGLE" and "FRIENDLESS."
Then again who needs a girlfriend, money and friends when you have dominated an entire continent, eliminated two nations, built a massive army and a growing Navy?

Obesity in children

Obesity in children
Originally uploaded by Joe_13.

I created this illustration for a story the newspaper is running on childhood obesity.

Joe_13 on films

I'm pretty much a movie junkie.
I've compiled a list of movies I've seen lately. The vast majority of them are recent Netflixed movies. Since I'm too lazy to write up a full review, I'll give you the abridged version of a review.

X-Men 3 - I went into this one with the lowest of expectations and came out entertained. Not quite as good as it should've been. But not horrible. Rent it.
The Proposition - Very slow, dusty and dirty. Can a movie be dusty and dirty? This one is. It's a slow portrait of Australia in Western times. Did I mention slow? It's also VERY brutal. Not for everyone. You'll like it if you like slow movies with flashes of sudden realistic violence.
Winter Soldier - Black and white interviews with soldiers who've experienced real brutality during the Vietnam war. Interesting first person accounts.
Munich - Previously reviewed. Recently re-watched. Excellent film.
End of the Spear - Religious propaganda I think. I was indifferent to this movie.
Underworld: Evolution - Action garbaaage. Skip this shit unless you love mindless action.
Green Street Hooligans - Slightly better than mediocre movie about how Frodo ruins his brother-in-law's hooligan family. Rentable.
16 Blocks - Mos Def with an unbearable retard lisp, and Bruce Willis as a drunken, dirty cop with a conscious. More obnoxious than entertaining. Wait for TV.
The Three Burials of Melquiadas Estrada - Tommy Lee Jones' personal project about the border issue. Average. Wait for it one TV.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - Robert Downey Jr. pretending to be a young man. Mildly entertaining, but pretty far-fetched. rentable.
Final FantasyVII: Advent Children - Great animation. But mind-numbingly BOOOORING. Put in on in the background when you have a house party.
The Squid and the Whale - Wes Anderson's caracature of a Wes Anderson movie. Anoying, but funny at times. Rent.
Duma - Overhyped boy and his cheetah film. Beautifully shot but average at best. Watch it with a kid.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance- Slow moving, violent portrait of a rich man's revenge and a deaf guy's mistake. Certain artsy fartsy film goers will enjoy this. Bruckheimer fans will hate it.
Sky High- Fun movie. Very cartoon-like. It would be a 10-year-old's dream. Watch it with a kid.
The Ringer - Horrible. Coudn't even finish watching it. Note to Knoxville: Keep the acting to actors.
Masters of Poker: Vol. 2: Phil Hellmuth's Million Dollar Secrets to Bluffing and Tells - This is the worst video ever made. Hands Down. Watching this will make you a WORSE poker player. Skip this.
The New World - Slow moving. Beautiful photography. Interesting setting. A bit too much Obsession-cologne-esque internal monologue/art scenery. Fascinating portrait of early America. Rentable
Capote - Brilliant performance, obviously. Great story. Definitely see this at some point.
Match Point - Twisted love story gone wrong. Scarlett Johanssen goes from incredibly desireable to downright annoying. Interesting movie though. Watchable. Not the usual Woody flick.

Colt .45

My dad has planned to sell his house here in San Jose to move to Shanghai full time. They're already spending 6 months out of the year there, so why no dump the $4000 a month of commitments they have here to live there at a fraction of the cost? It does suck to think that we'll officially have no "home base," at least until I buy a home somewhere (who knows when that'll be?)... and that the folks won't be here to take any future children off our hands if we want to go to the movies or something.
But on a lighter note, since he's going to be showing his home for sale, and eventually will need to liquidate all his property prior to his moving, he gave me one thing of his I really want: His Colt 45.

looks just like this

So now, I've acquired his lightly used, slightly scratched matte black Colt M1991A1 Series 80, .45 ACP semi-automatic, bad-ass-muthafuckin pistol.
It's pretty awesome. I took it out yesterday afternoon and put a box of shells through it. The boy has some kick to him. This gun ain't for no sissies, that's for sure. It shot well. I'm not totally happy with the fixed sights on it, but overall, the gun is accurate, and reliable. And it looks damn good. Except for a big nasty scratch my pops put on it.

But to all you burglars and home invaders,... watch yo' ass. And stay the fuck away from my house... lest you get a cap in yo' dumb-ass.

no WSOP for me

So while the World Series of Poker starts up this week, I've opted to stay around town and work at my job rather than wreak havoc amongst the top players in the world. I know they will all be appreciating my absence, since that automatically kicks everyone up a notch on the winner's board. They all must've sighed a collective sigh of relief when the news that I wasn't attending hit Vegas.
I've also decided that next year, I'll make a concerted effort to play in at least one event at the WSOP. That means dedicating a chuck of my bankroll to playing satellites. Initially I planned on doing it this year, but since my multi-table skillz are at an all time low, (I haven't cashed in any big tourneys in a long-long time, (actually haven't played in many either)), I'm a bit rusty at keeping my motivation, discipline, focus for any period of time.
My sit-n-go skillz are still good though. I've been taking a lot of bad beats lately, which is a good sign. It means I'm playing well and getting my money in with the best of it.
That's all I can do. Hopefully that bitch named "Luck" will be on my side again soon.

Earth hottest it's been in 2,000 years

We're all gonna die.

I remember having some political argument with a conservative republican a couple years back. Somehow we got onto the topic of global warming. I actually thought that the theory of global warming was pretty much fact. I had no idea that conservatives considered it bullshit theory. I understand WHY they'd want to believe that; because big energy NEEDS there to be low restrictions on air pollution so they can further gouge the regular people who depend on their overpriced product, and since the GOP is making sweet lovies with energy companies, it only makes sense to give energy companies a break. After all they barely squeak profits every year (that's sarcasm).
Well now there's proof, sort of, of global warming.

Now EVERYTHING you think has officially been proven wrong,... is it time to rethink the direction of the future of our once beautiful country?

PittRounder

Most small time gamblers dream of playing the highest stakes and winning huge bucks. The truth is, big time gamblers go through massive swings in their bankrolls that would make normal people shit themselves. It's well known that often times pro poker players go broke, after having won millions of dollars. In Theo Tran's blog, Pittrounder, though he posts rarely, he goes from a millionaire poker player to being nearly broke. I can't wait to see if he makes it out of his funk.

poker

I've finished 1st place in my last 4 out of 5 sit and go tournaments lately. In my home game last week I took a 2nd and a 1st. I took 1st two 6-handed online sit and go's and won a 9-handed sit and go. BUT, I lost in two consecutive heads-up matches against ScottO.
The heads-up losses were a real blow to my ego. I consider ScottO no-competition. Bottom line, though he has placed in the money in many of our recent tournaments, I feel I play a tougher game than he does. His play is very straight forward. His big hands are obvious. It's obvious when he is drawing. He tilts easily.
But one aspect of his game seems to get me every time. Once he starts having fun, that is, once he starts raising and calling without looking at his cards, he catches cards. So here I am with a relatively big hand heads-up, let's say K10. He raises in the dark. I call. I catch top pair on the flop, with two rags. He bets in the dark. I raise. He calls in the dark. Turn comes, he checks in the dark. I bet. He calls in the dark. River, blank. He checks in the dark. I bet. He looks at his cards and calls. I show top pair. He shows 7-5 off suit and makes two pair.
FUCKING BULLSHIT.
I can't tell you how many times that has happened.

The shitty thing is, he has beat me in the past, but when he has, he has drawn out on me with three outs or less. No joke. The only way he can beat me, is by sucking out.
All in all, I dominate his ass. I just wish the poker gods didn't favor his loud mouth and terrible attitude.
Payback is a bitch.

Tao of Pauly

Dr. Pauly is probably the most psuedo-famous of all the poker bloggers. Not famous like Wil Wheaton or Jen Tilly. His blog is consitently witty, articulate and fearlessly candid. Over the past week or so, he's honored us with an autobiographical blog posting in five parts which has had me glued to my screen each morning. It's a fascinating look into his interesting life and journeys.
I an envious of his ability to put thoughts into words and words into gracefully told narratives.

Check it out

Ferd-Jane and poker in Tahoe

Ferd's wedding in Tahoe was a much needed end-of-the-week treat. The Thursday event effectively stretched our weekend to 4 days. I totally left my coworkers behind and didn't feel one bit bad about it.
The drive up was gorgeous. The mountain tops above 7000 still had snow on it, but it was obvious that camping is definitely possible anywhere below that.
Let the backpacking season begin.
We arrived at the Cal Va Rado Motel, a dive motel recommended by the marrying couple. They said it's cheap, clean, accepts dogs and is conveniently located across the street from all the casinos. It meets my criteria. The motel is cheap, yes ... Clean? Not so much. But adequate.
The wedding went off without a hitch. With the gorgeous Lake for a backdrop, the happy couple exchanged vows surrounded by friends, family and co-workers. Local news personalities were in attendance including Raj Mathai, Lisa Kim and Diane Dwyer from KNTV11.
The reception was fun. The buffet style set up was sort of refreshing. It gave us a chance to eat as much as we wanted. And the food was damn good. It also made the event less stuffy and formal. The guests sort of let their hair down. The TV people were quite rowdy, hootin' and-a hollarin'. They made us frat boys look like choir boys. People didn't seem to be in the dancing mood though and after the obligatory couples dancing, the party seemed to slip away.
The after party was held at the former Caesar's Tahoe, now called Mont Bleu. We stuck around for a few hours playing some Blackjack and a bit of roulette. But my heart was set on playing some live poker. The only casino with any action was Harvey's. So I ditched the wedding party to go fishing at the poker room.
They were spreading $3-6 limit and $2-3 no-limit.
I opted for the safer $3-6 limit. Bought in for $80. Then proceeded to fold for about 45 minutes. Dude to my right: and overly aggressive young Filipino dude. He was raising live-blind every hour or so, bluffing at too many pots against really crappy players and probably a tough opponent when not getting cold-decked. To my left, a non-existant player slowly bleeding his stack. Next an older gentleman playing tight solid. Then the fish: a group on a bachelor party weekend. First the most experienced of them, playing tight, talking shit about how bad the other two were. Next, a dude who has never played poker before. He was slowing the game down every round, "What's the bet?" "Can I raise?" "What's the raise?" "Who raised?" This guys was as clueless as anyone I've ever played against. The guy after him, also had never played. But every decision he made took a lifetime. He'd mad dog every raiser and muck. Or he'd call to the river with King high. Bottom line, These guys were the fish. There's a famous saying,"If you don't know who the sucker at the table is, It's you." Well I knew I wasn't the sucker at this table. And despite my fatigue, I was determined to stay at this table until they left. These guys were +EV in a big way. Following the fish was another middle aged dude, playing weak-loose, very fishy. Then a young guy wearing sunglasses and playing tight. I probably needed to have a hand against him, but he'd be bluffable when out of position.
I figured as long as I played tight and only against the weak opponents I'd be guaranteed to win. My patience paid off. I got away from all the shit hands, and got action on all my huge hands. After about 3.5 hours of play, the fish got up to leave. I immediately called it a night as soon before my blind, up $103.
I wandered back to the motel and crashed for about 3 hours before the dehydration woke me up. We were back in San Jose at 4 p.m.

Gene Bieker RIP

Gene Bieker RIP
Originally uploaded by Joe_13.

Gene Bieker RIP

I just got a call from Janice informing me of the death of an old friend. Gene Bieker, a classmate at SJSU died of an apparent cardiac arrest while on a Europe vacation.
I pulled this pic of him off a myspace site of a band he was once part of.

He was a true artist.

Whitewater Memorial Day weekend

Whitewater Adventure on Cache Creek

After an unplanned detour through Sacremento, we finally made it to the camp site at Cache Creek for our overnight rafting trip. After cruising the campground parking lot looking for signs of Chizz, I finally opted to ask some random people in the parking lot, "Hey do you know Chad and Lyndsey?"
"Oh, yeah, they're right over here."
Miraculously, they just happened to have met our trip organizers earlier in the day, and directed us right to them; past the barn, a playground, over a hill, across a field to the back of the campsite's picnic area. Had we not asked for help, there's no way in hell we would've found them.
Quickly we pitched our $30 WalMart tent and got to drinking. But at this hour, there was no way I was going to be able to catch up with them. They'd been drinking since 2 pm. Soon after, everyone hit the sack. Including my friend JoeO.
It was a cold night. Fucking freezing. Even in our 15º mummy bags, we couldn't stay warm.
The next morning we got moving quick. The launch area was bustling with rafters and their gear. After a swig of Stoli, we loaded our gear onto the gear truck, and then ourselves on the buses. From there, we rumbled to the actual launch area. We endured a quick orientation on how to use a life-vest and how to paddle a boat, and we were off.
We quickly got the hang of navigating the boat, and soon we were maneuvering around rocks and through rapids with relative ease. A couple times our boat got caught on shallow rocks, but mostly we were able to navigate around most of the dangers.
"Mother" is the class 3.5 rapid we had to negotiate. Though for us novices, it did seem a bit intimidating, at that point, we were expertly weaving in and out of rapids, no problems whatsoever. Maybe it was overconfidence that did us in at the end. Or perhaps it was the 6-8 beers I drank while on the river, in lieu of the water I should have been drinking to stay hydrated.
The final bit of rapids seemed harmless. It was a gentle left turn followed by a sharp right turn which was flanked by a large bush on the left bank. It didn't look too menacing, but once we headed down the short rapid, making the sharp right turn became immediately impossible. I watched as our boat slid under the bush, and smacked my GF right off the front of the boat. Another instant and the bush swept me out of the boat too, and an instant later I was bobbing helplessly downstream.
I reminded myself to keep my toes in front of me as my ass cheeks painfully bounced on the shallow rocks beneath. We finally made it to shore, and luckily our friends retrieved out boat for us.
We shivered up the shore to retrieve our tent, cooler, etc, which had been lined up along the banks where we were going to be camping that night. In a few hours, the stretch of shoreline became a massive tent city. The ipod player emerged, as did the coolers of beer and booze.
The rest of the afternoon was a blur of cocktails, beers and volleyball. Sinewy steaks and bone-dry chicken breasts were on the communal menu. As were baked potatoes the size of my head, corn on the cob and pasta salad. The latter items were edible, the previous items, not-so-much.
We were informed that the day two's rafting route was to be a repeat of day one's, (due to road closures) so it seemed to me that opting out might be a good option. As I rubbed my aching butt cheeks, we decided that we'd make the drive home rather than freeze our asses off for another day.

Overall, I had a blast. Besides having a cold, and being cold, I had a terrific time on the river. Camping was pleasant too, as was the communal living aspect of the weekend. Whitewater Adventures runs a decent excursion, and for just over a hundred bucks, they provide quite a fun time.

J5 live

With short notice and discounted tickets, we hit up the Jurassic 5 show last night at Santa Clara University's Leavey Center. Not that I need discounted tickets to see one of the best underground hip hop bands in the world, but it certainly helped with the decision making.
We started the evening by meeting up at Cluck U. Chicken and putting back a couple gallons of beer, which warmed us nicely. Had we known that the Leavey Center doesn't serve beer, we would have smuggled some in. But alas, we entered the arena empty handed, and sobering.
I was surprised to see the sparse crowd at the Leavey Center. It looks like the marketing team did a lousy job of promoting the show. In fact I hadn't heard word one about the show until a Santa Clara U. student told me about it. The Mercury News' Arts & Entertainment section didn't even list it on their calendar. I imagine many fans stayed home because they knew about the beer situation.

Dilated Peoples opened up for them with a slew of songs I couldn't recognize or identify. They didn't perform badly I suppose, but the audio in the arena just isn't perfect for hip hop.
Luke made a call to one of his buddies who was arriving late. He showed up with something nice to spike our gatorades with. Sobriety and concerts is like oil and water. They just don't mix that well. At the very least, sobriety should be at a minimum at any live music event, in my humble opinion.

When J5 took the stage, the difference in skillz is obvious. J5 can turn a party out. They rocked the stage and got the crowd jumping. Furthermore, these dudes can rap. UNLIKE some of the shit that on the radio, these MC's aren't just chanting, hooting and hollaring, repeating the same 'hooks' over and over again. Their lyrics can be profound, the delivery flawless, timing on-point. J5 impressed the shit out of me, to put it eloquently.

So despite the poor turnout, my relative sobriety and poor acoustics, J5 live was a fantastic mid week treat.

home game

After an extended losing streak at my home game (excluding one win a couple weeks ago) I won one last night. The first game was horrible, and I ended up getting blinded out due to being cold decked. But the second game was mine. I concentrated on playing aggressively and going with my reads. Early on I got bluffed out of a pot by AaronManiac, but redeemed myself when he tried an all-in bluff which I called. I got a tell off him and decided to make a risky call. It paid off. With the chip lead, and momentum, I busted JoeO with my pocket 7s vs AKo. That gave me a big chip advantage which I proceeded to use to dominate the rest of the field. In the end SamD and I went heads-u. I won outkicking his top pair for the win, redemption, and a rejuvenated self-confidence.

Poker bad

Last night I played 3 sit n go's and three times I lost crucial hands to horrendous bad beats. As painful as bad beats are, I reconcile with myself the fact that I played great. I made a couple HUGE bluff calls and some big steals. And the bad beats were TRUE bad beats, with my opponents having 4 or less outs to win. Of course the unlikely happened in three games in a row.

The bad beats were abound these past 10 days. I've been on a losing streak. A couple times my losses were due to horrible play, but mostly bad luck. Pretty much all of what I've gained over the last couple months have been decimated this past week or so.

My confidence is a bit shaken. My resolve has waned slightly. Playing great poker is all I can do though. If I keep playing my game: Stay aggressive, keep disciplined, make great reads, I will win.

Star Trek at Caffeine Guy

Caffeineguy linked to a couple StarTrek spots that you have to check out.
It had me laughing for a solid 3 hours. At least.

Check out these commercials for Star Trek on G4.

COPAGs

I bought my first deck of Copag plastic playing cards about a year ago and haven't played with anything but Copags at my home game since. Actually I gave away a deck. So I've been playing with this deck for at least 6 months.
If you've been playing any amount of cards using the cheap Bicycle playing cards, you'll know that these cards don't last very long. At most two games of poker is all they can take before they need to be thrown out.
Plastic playing cards last thousands of games. They are hard to mark, tear, or otherwise damage.
However if any cards do get damaged, KEM and COPAGs offer replacement cards.

Rochester Chess Center has the best prices for plastic cards... And probably chess stuff too, if that's what you're into.

HOSTEL

My GF and I stayed home an watched HOSTEL, produced by QT.
We're both fans of horror movies and this one seemed to be interesting, especially since it had QT's name attached to it.
Hostel is a film about a euro-backpacking adventure gone wrong. 3 guys head off to Euro-land (where the Euros come from) to indulge in the booze and women that reside in Euro-land. Some Euro-dude suggests they check out a hostel in Slovakia where hot Euro-chicks love dirty American backpackers and will sleep with them on-demand. Well that seems to be the case until one of the guys mysteriously disappears. This is the point where things go horrible.
The beginning of this movie is anything but horrifying. Actually from a male perspective, it's quite watchable. Mostly because the Euro-chicks have PERFECT Euro-breasts which are highlighted during the obligatory sex sequences. Strangely my GF thought that the first half of the movie was pure garbage, soft-porn. I didn't see anything wrong with the soft-porn aspect of it.
Hostel then suddenly turns ugly. When one of the backpackers wakes up in a very dirty room, with lots of second hand surgical tools lying around, it's obvious that he isn't in the Hostel anymore.

Insert horrific torture scenes here.

Hostel does not take the standard path to terror. It imagines a worse case scenario of a Euro-backpacking trip and runs with it.

The acting is quite good. Good photography and scenery is better than average. The story could be worse. But at the end I felt a little cheated. I loved the aspect of revenge which brought the film to a close. But if they had added a bit more personal element to the good and bad characters, I could have related more.
The movie has sex and violence. Perfect for the fellas, not so great for GFs. And take note that the torture scenes in this movie make the Reservoir Dog's ear scene look like Winnie the Pooh.

Why did the killers want to kill. What happens to the protagonist? What happens to the torture complex? Does it continue to operate?
Too many questions are left unanswered. Which is probably what the filmmakers intended to do.
For the sequel of course.

TOOL

I just finished listening to TOOL's long awaited 5th album 10,000 Days.
Let me just preface this by saying that Tool is my favorite band and favorite live show. I also need to preface this by saying that each time they release a new album, it takes me two or three listens before my impression sets in. At this point, my feeling is that this is definitely TOOL through and through. Which means, this album is good, solid, dark, hard hitting. Also typical of Tool, it is punctuated with extended melancholic sounds-capes, gritty distorted guitar riffs, smooth, loud Maynard vocals and soul throbbing bass-lines. All very typical Tool
This album is typical Tool. Too typical.
Actually as a standard addition to the Tool library, this is essential listening. Is it better than Lateralus or any of Tool's other albums? I'll venture to say no.
Worth purchasing and supporting? Absolutely.
A refreshing change from crappy pop-rock and shit southern rap hooks? You fucking bet.

After a listening, I feel newly rejuvenated. My music ears are alive. My concert radar is on.