Poker Dreams

I've been doing pretty well with my poker playing lately. In six of the last four games that I have played in, I have won money. I have come in second in two tournaments and I have won money in four cash games. I guess the point I am trying to make, is that I am becoming pretty confident in my poker playing. Lately I have been thinking about trying to take my game up to the next level. I'm sure that many of you have seen World Series of Poker tournaments on ESPN or the World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel, but what you may not know is that there are regional tournaments throughout the country. In fact, there are WSOP tournaments as close to me as Ceasars Casino in Indiana. My worry is that I am either just getting lucky lately, or the people I play cards with just aren't too good. Maybe it's just a combination of the two. No disrespect if you've ever played with me, of course. Honestly, I think I have just been lucky lately. Still, I would like to have the chance to play in a big tourney to see how I fare. In all likelyhood, I will be one of many who think they are good at poker, but they get their asses handed to them by the real pros. I am amazed at times by some of the play I see from the pros in the WSOP games I see on ESPN. One of my favorite pros, Daniel Nagranu (probably spelled wrong, sorry) was on the other night and he was nailing every call. It's like he could see everyone elses cards. It's a little scary. I guess I can always give it a go and see what happens. I have plenty of time to think about it. The next game in Indiana that I would probably be able to make would be in 2007.

Something Funny (I think)

While going through the Sunday paper coupons, Jessica found something that I thought was kinda funny: A coupon for Vagasil. Now, I don't think it's funny that there was a yeast infection treatment coupon in the paper. I know it is a reality for some women and it's good that there is a product out there to take care of the situation. What I found funny is that there was a September 29th expiration date on the coupon. I guess if a woman is prone to getting yeast infestions on a regular basis, she may buy a supply to have on hand just in case, but the first thing that I tought of was a coupon crazed woman seeing that coupon and thinking, "Boy, I hope I get a yeast infection before this coupon expires." Maybe it's not as funny as I think it is, but I had a good chuckle. To be honest, I really don't see the need for these types of products to advertise. If you need vagasil, you know about it. It's like those commercials for medications perscribed by doctors. If you have herpes, you've gone to your doctor (hopfully) and he gave you (hopfully) the correct medication. If you have high blood pressure, your doctor should know about the different treatments. Sorry, I don't mean to get off track. I just don't see why some medications need commercials.

It's about that time again.

It's time for most of my female readers to look at the title of my post, see that it is OSU football related, and them move on to a different web site. Well, sorry ladies, but the Buckeyes kick off the 2006 season in six days against Northern Ilinois University. At first, I wasn't too concerned about this game. But then, I saw some clips of the NIU running back out running entire defensive squads, including a 70 or 80 yard run against M*ch*g*n. I mean, this guy was FAST. With Ohio State's line backer corps depleated by the NFL, a fast running back could really cause some issues this coming Saturday. Something else that causes me some concern is that ESPN 'experts' have picked Ohio State to win the National Title. Add that to the pre-season #1 ranking and you might as well draw a big bullseye on the Buckeye football team this year. I liked it better when we started out low in the national rankings and OSU fans had to listen to all of the commentators talk about how badly Miami was going to kick Ohio State's ass in the title game. Well, I will remain optimistic, but will try not to get my hopes up too high. The game in Austin Texas in two weeks will probably be the best gauge as to whether or not the Buckeyes can reclaim the National Title this year.

Galactica vs. a Star Destroyer

I'm sure I'm not the first person to ask the question: If Adama and the Galactica crew were to stumble into the Star Wars 'verse and run into an Emperial Star Destroyer, who would win? As you know, I have been collecting both Star Wars and Battle Star Galactica miniatures. Yesterday I found a Viper Mark VII to complete my BSG collection (there were only three ships: The Galactica, the Viper Merk VII, and a Cylon Riader) and this morning I put the ships on my desk. I have an A-Wing and a Star Destoryer up there too. Seeing the Star Destoryer and the Galactica next to each other, the previously mentioned question popped into my head. I have to admit, I am a bit stumped by the question. Here are my thoughts:

1. A Star Destroyer has energy weapons. Galactica has projectile based weapons. Advantage Star Destroyer

2. A Star Destroyer has energy shields that can be taken out if you hit the shield generator. Galactica has an outer hull that can withstand a nuclear blast. Advantage Galactica

3. The Star Destroyer has squadrons of TIE Fighters. Galactica has squadrons of Vipers. In my opinion, the Vipers are much more manuverable and the pilots are better (TIE fighter pilots always seem to fly right into an X-Wing's line of fire). Also, the Viper can perform a 180 turn in a split second. Advantage Galactica.

4. If this battle were to take place in the Star Wars 'verse, the Star Destroyer would have all sorts of back up, considering there are hundreds of Star Destroyers. So, if the Star Destroyer would get into trouble, they could call for help and several more Destroyers, or the Executor, Vader's Super Star Destroyer, could come in and mop up the Galactica. Not to mention the Death Star. However, if this battle were to take place on neutral ground, I like Galactica's chances. They have been up against the odds many times. In a neutral setting, advantage Galactica.

5. The commanders of Star Destroyers always seemsed to be cocky and stupid. Whenever they'd fail (which was often) they would go apologise to Vader thinking that he would forgive them and respect the fact that they took responsibility for thier screw ups. Come on! Vader force-choaked more Star Destroyer commanders than I can count. Adama, on the other hand, is smart and daring. He took two to the chest and was too stubborn to know that he should have died. Advantage Galactica.

Having never seen a Star Destoryer and the Galactica next to each other, I can't really judge the size differences. I tend to think that the Star Destroyer is bigger (the Emperor seems like the kind of guy that would buy big, fancy rides to compensate for some short comings) but I think that the Galactica is built sturdier and could be functional after taking more punishment. So, my verdict is this: If the Battlestar Galactica went one on one against an Emperial Star Destroyer, I think that the Galactica would come out on top after a long drawn out battle. Yes, the Galactica would be severly damaged, but Adama would pull out all of the stops in order to insure a victory, where as an Empirial commander would pee himself and worry too much about getting force choaked by Vader. The winner: Galactica

The 4400....a Pleasant Suprise.

So, lately I have been getting Star Trek, Voyager on my NetFlix. I have viewed seasons 1 through 6 and have started on the seventh (and final) season. However, like in some previous weeks, NetFlix has sent me some DVDs that were not at the top of my list. This is an irritant to me, but at least I get DVDs that are on my list. Yesterday, instead of getting discs 3, 4, and 5 of Voyager, I got discs one and two of The 4400 season one and Disk one of the new Dr. Who series. The 4400 was a request from my wife. She had seen a few episodes and wanted to watch it from the beginning. I never really had any interest in the show, but was pleased after watching the first disc. If you don't know, The 4400 is a series about 4400 people fro mall around the world that were taken throughout the years by some entity (aliens, a higher power, the government, we don't know who. Maybe Woody took them). They are all returned at the same time in Seattle. It doesn't matter that they were returned in Seattle, they could have been returned in NYC, Houston, or Po-dunk Ohio (I madeup that town). It is a little sad in some respects, because some of these people have been missig for several years and their families have either died or moved on with their lives (the people were returned without aging and it was like time did not pass for them). As the show goes along, we discover that someof the 'returnees' came back with powers. It's all very X-Files like. So far, the story is very interesting. Thee are two government agents (a Skully and a Mulder) who are investigating where the 4400 went and how they came back. I won't get into it too much because I highly recommend that you go out and rent this series. So far, it's been pretty good. I was fairly rivetted by disc one.

360 Update

As you may know, I recently bought an Xbox 360. For games, I bought Kameo and Prey. I have played both games now, and can give you my two cents on each.

Kameo is a game where you are an elf princess (please don't read into that.) who needs to go around the elf world and collect powers so that you can fight trolls. It was pretty fun. The graphics were pretty good, but there were times when the point of view would get a little out of control. What I mean is, if I would stand in a patch of grass and look up high, it would look like I laid down in the grass so that it would cover my head and block my view. I hope that makes sense. Really, that is the only glitch though. It was kinda fun because you would need to switch up your powers regularly in order to be successful in the game. Each power would make you morph into a different creature with specific abilities. For example, there was a dragon named Ash, a snow creature names 40 Below, and my favorite: Thermite, a small ant-like insect that hauled a huge, lava/mortar cannon on it's back. All in all, it was a fun game, but was definately a kid-geared game. I found that it was pretty easy to beat.

I haven't beaten Prey yet. I've only been able to put a few hours into it so far since it is rated M for mature, has foul language, and isn't appropriate for children. In this game, you are a Cherokee that is abducted by aliens. The goal for the game is to find your girlfriend (also abducted) and escape the ship. You find alien weapons as you go and need to find different ways to get through the ship. There are anti-gravity walkways that let you walk up-side down and on the walls in order to navigate the alien vessle. It's a little disorienting at times, but so far it's been pretty fun. Honestly, it's just making me want Halo 3.

Oh yeah, I just bought NCAA Football 07. I've played a few games and so far it is pretty difficult. You have a 25 second play clock, like in real life, but that means that you have to scroll though all the plays, pick one, get to the line and hike the ball in 25 seconds. It's a hard at times. I have picked a few favorites that I use, but it's still hard to play. I know that it's something that I need to get used to. The graphics are incredible. The game has all of the NCAA division 1 teams, all of their stadiums, all of their mascotts, and bands. It's pretty cool. I need to practice some more and figure out how to play a season.

V. Not Just a Mini-Series About Lizard Aliens Anymore

As you may or may not know, I am a fan of The Matrix Trilogy. Three movies about Neo and Morphius and their fight to stop the machines that took over the earth. If you've seen the movies, you know what I'm talking about. If you have not, go to the video store and check them out. When I saw the first film, I was blown away. I didn't know much about it, as I think that the story was kept under wraps, so when the 'suprise' was revealed, it was pretty intense. The two following movies weren't as shocking (since you knew the secret) but they wrapped up the story, had stellar special effects, and great action sequences. If fact, I think tomorrow I may have a Matrix film fest.

Ok, the point. The makers of the Matrix movies have put out another film, called 'V for Vendetta'. It is based off of a comic (DC comics, I think) of the same name. I'd never read the comic or heard of the story before, but I was such a fan of the Matrix that I bought the DVD when it came out last week. I was not disappointed. The story is gripping and, like the Matrix, there are great action sequences and special effects. It is quite like 1984 (A GREAT book about a dystopic future). England is ruled by a strong government that keeps a tight reign on the populace. A masked figure rises up and starts a rebellion of sorts against the government. It's really quite interesting how everything plays out. Natalie Portman is in the film and plays a bit of a love interest for the main character know as V. I won't go into it too much because it is a good movie and worth a viewing. I don't know that I like it more than the Matrix, but I am working on watching this movie a second time as I type.

Gone 360

I was in a grumpy mood earlier this week. It happens to all of us at one point or other. So, I listened to my feminine side and went shopping. I suppose I should go back a little bit and say that, in the past week or two, I played and beat Halo and Halo 2 (yet again). The Halo games are by far the best first person shooters that I have ever played. Doom 3 is pretty kick ass too, but Halo has a great mulit player function that puts it on top. Needless to say, playing these two games got me to thinking about Halo 3. It's not out yet and I understand that it will only be released for the Xbox 360. So, I decided to break down and get the 360 now, since I needed new games to play. Yes, I could have gove the cheap route and bought some new Xbox games, but I went a little crazy. Grumpy moods tend to make me want to spend money. I bought two games with it, Kameo and Prey. I'd seen Kameo commercials and it looked good, so I went with it. It's pretty fun. Prey is a first person shooter and the graphics looked sweet, so I thought what the heck. Now, when Halo 3 is out, I will be good to go. Plus Fable 2 will be out on the 360 and I really liked Fable. So, anyone know any good 360 games?

T-minus 29 days and counting

I heard on the radio today that my beloved Ohio State Buckeyes are ranked #1 in the pre-season polls. I'm not too sure how I feel about that. Yes, it's great that the Bucks are getting some pre-season respect, but being #1 is like painting a bullseye on your chest and going to a firing range. Yes, we are returning almost all of the starters on the offensive squad, but we lost about half of the defensive starters. I have faith in the coaching staff and think that the offense is going to put up some mad numbers this year, I am just a little bit nervous about the defense. Then there is the schedule. The second week of the season, the Buckeyes get to go play Texas. The only silver lining is that Vince Young is no longer playing for the Longhorns. Still, it is going to be a nerve wracking game to watch. Two weeks later, Penn State rolls into Columbus. All of the Big Ten games are going to be tough this year. Probably the toughest game of the year is going to be The Big One, when M*ch*g*n defiles the OSU campus on the 18th of November. A wierd thing that I noticed is that OSU doesn't have a bye week this season. The silver lining is that every rough game is followed by a game that should be not-so-tough. No game is a given, the MAC teams thrown in the schedule will take the edge off the rough Big Ten season this year. Something else to be excited about are the two Heisman Trophy candidates on the Buckeye offense, Ted Ginn Jr and Troy Smith. I have to admit, I wasn't always a fan of Mr. Smith, but by the end of last season, he showed everyone that he can lead the team to victory in tough games. Had he been the started all year, OSU could have won the National Title. Well, I look to this season with a great amount of enthusiasm.

Northern Illinois Sept. 2, 3:30 pm
@ Texas Sept. 9, 8:00 pm
Cincinnati Sept. 16, Noon
Penn State Sept. 23, TBA
@ Iowa Sept. 30, 8:00pm
Bowling Green Oct. 7, TBA
@ Michigan St. Oct. 14, TBA
Indiana Oct. 21, TBA
Minnesota Oct. 28, 3:30
@ Illinois Nov. 4, TBA
@ Northwestern Nov. 11, TBA
M*ch*g*n Nov. 18, 3:30