More stuff

I got a call from Herb yesterday. Quite a suprise, since I haven't heard from him in a while. We wanted me to pass the word that he and his wife had another kid. A boy this time. This makes 4.

I got my ass handed to me all night in poker again. My cards just aren't hitting. I did get quads one (four of a kind) but was only able to win $10 out of the hand. It would have been better if there were more people in the hand and someone else had a pair, giving them a full house. Oh well. Life goes on.

Jessica and I are going out tonight. We are going to the Movie Tavern to see Prom Night. It looks like a slasher film. Could be good. Jessica wanted to see it because there are so few 'good slasher movies' out there anymore. It was a toss up between that and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I think it looks funny. I will let you know how Prom night is. It has that cutie from American Dreams and John Tucker Must Die, Brittany Snow. OK, she is pretty hot in that picture, not just cute.

I also started a new NCAA 08 football season. It's been a while since I've played it. I decided to try to get a Heisman Trophy using Hawaii and their quarterback. Basically, pass a lot and all of my run plays are the qb as well. I got an achievement for over 350 passing yards in one game. The Xbox automatically pulled my QB and put in the second stringer. It was fun. I smell Heisman!

Various posts

I've been neglecting my blog. Sorry. I just haven't really been too into it, I guess.

-I am trying to play some cards tonight. I haven't won playing cards for a while. Terrible luck and, let's face it, bad card playing. Hopfully things turn around for me tonight.

-I really would like to become more of a baseball fan. Specifically, a Cleveland Indians fan. I was really into their play off run last year, but for some reason, I just can't get into the regular season. When you can say something like, "The Indians are 2 games below .500 with only 114 games to go." you know that the season is just too long. At least thatis my opinion. The people I really can't understand are these guys that play fantasy baseball. Who has time to track all of those stats? I don't. I think that my baseball fan status will have to be limited to checking out the scores on Sports Center.

-I was really disappointed with one of my NetFlix picks that I watched this week. It was a Simpsons compilation called Bart Wars. It shows a picture of homer and Bart in the Luke/Vader get ups crossing light sabers. I thought that maybe it was a Star Wars spoof, ala Family Guy's Blue Harvest, or at least some episodes with Star Wars references. I was wrong. I guess that's what I get for adding a DVD to my queue without reading the explaination. the DVD was only a set of four episodes with little to do with Star Wars. There was one episode that had Star Wars references, but the rest were old shows that I had seen and were second rate at best. Oh well. You live and you learn.

-I want to go on record that I STILL love my DVR. Last night we watched Grey's Anatomy while recording CSI and then watched CSI while recording Lost and ER. AWESOME!

Jumping the Shark?

Jump the Shark: When the Fonz went water skiing and jumped a shark, it was considered the moment in Happy Days that the show was coming to an end. Has my two favorite shows, Battlestar Galactica and Dr Who jumped their sharks? I have written about these shows often. I love them, have loved them since they started. However, the debut of Dr Who and the beginning episodes of the last season of BSG have been kind of weak.

BSG - I thought that, since we are in the last season, we would be getting answers and the story line would start to progress. Instead, we are getting weak subplots that are taking the show in weird directions. Apparently, Baltar is some religious vessel and hot girls are hiding him in a 'secret' room on Galactica, Apollo wants to be a political pain in the ass of the president, instead of a kick ass viper pilot, and we needed a whole episode to show that at least one of the new Cylons is a murderous bitch. Oh, and Calli can't hold her breath in space. The one saving grace so far has been all of the Cylon in fighting. It has been interesting and had a few suprises here and there. Other than that, this season has been kind of boring.

Dr. Who - I wasn't too thrilled with the season debut of Dr Who. It was an hour and a half long, instead of the normal hour episodes. It was pretty weak. Robots reprogrammed to kill instead of help people. I think they used that plot already. And why are all of the season debuts of Dr Who taking place on Christmas Day? I guess they are trying to show a linear progression of time somehow, but I don't see why when time travel is one of the show's cornerstones. They also seem to be trying to make the David Tennant Dr Who all bad ass. "I'm the Doctor and I'm the one that is going to save you. Any questions?" That may not be the exact quote, but it is close.

I am not going to stop watching these shows, but I hope they get better soon.

How they have fallen

I just saw a commercial for the new Speed Racer movie. The first time I saw a preview/trailer for Speed Racer, I thought it looked retarded. Yes, I watched Speed Racer when I was knee high to a grasshopper, but I have NO craving what-so-ever to see this movie. What makes me sad is that the commercial said that Speed Racer is from the makers of the Matrix. I LOVED the Matrix. How can you make a kick ass movie and then stoop to a corney kid film? Maybe I need to see more before I judge, but I prefir to jump to conclusions in this case.

Hey, did anyone see Cloverfield? It is coming out on DVD next week. I added it to my NetFlix queue. Is it worth the watch?

Starting to get that Football feelin'

Although it is only April, and there is still about five months before the OSU football season officially kicks off, I am already starting to get the OSU Football jones. Probably because the Spring Game is this Saturday. I don't kow if we will be going to the game, but it officially indicates the start of the 2008 season. It is the first taste of the football team as they shake the winter rust off and prepare for another run to the National Title. Honestly, I think it is going to be a great season this year. The Buckeyes only lost four or five starters, so they are basically fielding the same team that went to the title game last year. This is the season that they were suppsed to go to the title game. Last year was supposed to be a 'rebuilding season'.

Another thing that is exciting is that Ohio State signed the top ranked QB prospect, Terrelle Pryor. It was between Penn State, M*ch*g*n, and the Buckeyes. People are already compating him to Vince Young. He is big, fast, and has a cannon for an arm. He never had any real competition in highschool, so going to the college ranks could be a shocker to him. I saw an interview and he seemed pretty full of himself. I am hoping that we don't have another Clarette on our hands. One good thing is that I think he wears number 13, so if he lives up to the hype, I won't have to hear anymore Clarette comments when I wear my number 13 jersey.

Big games of note: at USC, at Wisconsin, Penn State, at Illinois, and M*ch*g*n. The biggest challenge will probably be the game against the Trojans. I remember the home/away series against Texas a few years ago. It was a great series.

For You, Betsy

A while back when I was asking what movies I should add to my NetFlix queue, Betsy asked me to review There Will Be Blood. I had seen commercials and thought that the movie lookes interesting, so I added the movie to my list. It arrived yesterday and I watched it today. Honestly, it was nothing at all like I thought it would be. The previews I have seen made the film look like an old Western movie. I was expecting shoot outs, stage coach chases, you get the meaning. Although this movie was based in the west, it revolved around the big oil rush to Texas. No shoot outs, no chases. Daniel Dey Lewis played the main character, who was an oil prospector that hit it rich. If you remember Gangs of New york, Daniel Day Lewis played the leader of the racist gang and was a real bastard. He is kind of a bastard in this movie too. Although, I won't be buying the film to watch over and over, I somewhat enjoyed the movie. It was very well acted and there were some very engrossing scenes. I guess if you are interested in this film, be wary that it may not be what you expected. Still, entertaining. It is long though, almost three hours. There are some slow spots, but not enough to really turn me off to the movie. I may even watch it again if Jessica wants to watch it tonight or tomorrow.

It Didn't Go Well

Monday and Tuesday I was in Indiana playing cards at Caesar's Casino. I would love to say that I played brilliantly and hit all sorts of hands. It wasn't so. I got OK hands and played them poorly. On top of that, when I got killer hands, I would always get a bad beat. It was terrible. I have never had such piss poor luck when it comes to cards. Examples:

1. I was dealt two kings. That is the second best starting hand in Texas Hold'em. I played them, bet a lot of money, and got my ass handed to me by someone that had pocket aces. The best starting hand.

2. I hit a jack high straight on the river, giving me the best possible straight. Unfortunately, the jack was a spade, giving someone else a flush. A flush beats a straight.

3. THE WORST HAND OF THE TRIP: I was dealt two queens. I bet, was raised, I called. The person betting me had Ace-King of clubs. The flop came up 2, 4, 5 which was OK, except that there were two clubs. So, he needed an Ace, King, any club for a flush and a three for a straight. That makes 17 cards in the deck that will win the hand for my opponent. The turn card came up a 9 of hearts. Then the three of diamonds came on the river. I could have lived with an Ace, a King, or a diamond, but for the lowest possible straight to come on the board was just PAINFUL. It was the last hand I played for the whole trip. I figured that the poker gods were set against me and I needed to cut my losses.

I did play a few other fun games. I didn't win anything, but it was fun. There was Carribean Stud Poker, where you get five cards and try to beat the dealer's five cards. There are also bonuses when you hit big hands. There was a jackpot of about $52000, and if you hit a royal straight flush, you would win the jackpot. It was fun. We played three card poker too, which is similar. Actually, I just watched that. We played blackjack as well, and the bealer was being brutal. When we would hit 20, she would hit 21. The worst was when she had a 6, which is a great card for the dealer to have. It is easy for the dealer to bust. She then dealt herself a five and a ten....21. We walked away from that table. All in all, it was fun. The dealers were nice and helped if you didn't understand the games.

We Are the Champions

You 2008 NIT National Champions: THE Ohio State Buckeyes!!!

Is a national champion still a national champion even if they won the consolation tournament? Last night Ohio State proved that they are the best of what's left by winning the NIT title. I would be excited by this, but really, who cares about the NIT? On one hand, it is a title, and Ohio State may hang a banner in their arena, but on the other hand, there are basically 65 teams that the powers that be thought were better than the Buckeyes. Otherwise, wouldn't they have been invited to the NCAA Tournament? Screw that! We are the Champoins! WOO HOO. We Buckeye fans need SOMETHING to hang our hat on after all of the big games we have lost in the past few years. In reality, if they had gone to the 'Big Dance' they would most likely have been bounced out by the second round.

You would think that the NIT champ would then go on to better things, but out of the last four NIT champs, only one has gone to the NCAA tourney, one went back to the NIT, and the other two (including M*ch*g*n) did not go to any tournament. I doubt that will be the case, seeing as how OSU is getting a seven footer that would go to the NBA, if not for the new rule requiring all NBA players to go to their first year of college.

Lions, Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!

I know, a lame title that has been WAY over used, I'm sure. Anyway, since the kids were on spring break and we wanted them to enjoy themselves, they went to both the Circus and the Zoo. I didn't go to the circus because Jessica took them on the same night as my big poker game. I kinda wanted to go just to watch the kids have fun. I guess they were a little leary of the clowns. Still, they rode rides and watch circus-y stuff. Pictures are on my Flickr page. I did go to the zoo though. I am not really a huge zoo fan, but I again wanted to watch the kids have fun. Ally touched a snake, but Gabe was a little scared, I think. It seemed like animals were attracted to him though. One snake followed him (in it's cage) as he walked by and a stingray came right up to him (in it's tank) as he walked by. Again, pictures on my Flickr page. the kids seemed to enjoy themselves, so it was worth it.

The wait is almost over

I saw in the weekly television guide that Battlestar Galactica starts this Friday at 10:00. WOO HOO!!! This will be the last season of my favorite show. Last season got a little weird for me, what with all the major characters ending up being Cylons. I'm still not sure if I buy that. Anyway, it was really frustrating knowing that the season was ending and that we has over a year to wait for new shows. At least we got Razor to tide us over a bit. We know that they will find Earth, but not much more than that. I am excited to see where they go with this season. I can only assume that it will be chalk full of plot and excitement. If they are going to end the story there is alot of things that will need to happen. I only hope that there won't be a shitty spin off like there was after the original BSG. There was a group of kids stranded on Earth with two Viper pilots. Since the gravity on Earth was 'less than they were used to' the kids were able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. The Vipers could also become invisible to be hidden on earth. It was a really bad show. Still, BSG in five days! WOO HOO!!!!

What a CRAZY Night

I went to play some cards last night. It was a damn long drive from my house, but all my friends told me it was worth the trip. The night started out with a big tournament and ended with some cash games. There were 64 people in the tournament and the payout for first place was over $1000. I was looking forward to the challenge. Things started well for me in the first round, as I more than doubled my chips. I hit three ace high flushes in the first hour. Then, we switched tables and things went south. My cards got cold and I started playing sloppy. I think I was getting cocky. Anyway, out of 64 people, I came in 13th. I didn't win any money, but I still did pretty well in my book.

There were a few things I didn't like about this game. First, you changed tables after every round. This is usually not done. Usually, when a table loses people, that table is mixed up within the other existing tables. You get to stay where you are (unless you are at the table that needs to move). It threw off my game a little. I got a feel for the table I was playing at and then we had to move. Second, there were no side pots. If one person had five chips and went all in, the maximum anyone else could bet was the five chips. If not for this rule, there were a few hands that I could have bet more to get weak hands out, giving me a better chance of winning the pot. Oh well. I won't complain much. I just probably won't play there again.

The cash games were poker, only in the loosest terms. Anyone in the hand would basically throw their money into the pot and then hope their cards hit. For example, I had pocket queens to start. I bet big and several people called me. The flop came up COMPLETE garbage, something like 9-4-6, all different suits. I bet big again, got another call. The turn was another 4, I bet, get called. The river card doesn't matter because the person calling me played with a 7-4. He called a five dollar bet with a 7-4. I guess it worked because he won the hand, but I was just amazed. Whatever. I probably won't play there again.

I Never Got This Much Crap

So, I a my parent's house for Easter. My cousins, Carrie and Jason, and my Aunt Carol and Uncle Terry are here as well. Jessica got suck working this weekend, so I am handling kid wrangling myself. Ok, not really. For those of you with kids, you know that, having relatives around is like having free day care. It is nice. My mom, aunt, and cousin Carrie are handling all of the kid stuff: baths, changing, dressing, teeth brushing, etc. It is like a little vacation. In my new found free time, I am going through all of my mom's digital pics and uploading them to my Flickr page. There are alot and it is taking em a while. My parents have broad band internet, but not my blazing fast business class Road Runner that Nationwide is paying for me to have at my house. What would take me a minute to down load is taking me five minutes here. Plus, there are ALOT of pictures. You know grandparents and taking pictures of their grand kids. I think my mom may actually have more than I do! Ok, maybe not. Still, if/when you check my Flickr page, there will be some pictures that are not in chronilogical order. Sorry.

So, the rest of the day is going to be filled with family time and then the traditional eating too much. We will have the usual ham, potatoes, and green bean caserole. My mom also request that Jessica make her sweet potatoe caserole. Yum. Not to mention, last night my mom get these bake-at home- pizzas from Papa Murphy's (I think). They were pretty good. She got three family sized pizzas for 10 people. These things were HUGE. Pretty good too. They had a stuffed pizza which was really good. I think that there are some in Columbus, but I don't know that I liked it ehough for me to want to get them myself. I prefer Donatoes.

I don't remember ever getting as much candy as my mom got for my kids. She bought all the candy so that I didn't have to hide it on the trip up to Monclova. There were SO many bags of candy that I only put about half of it in their baskets. Yikes. Anyway, I hope that all is well with everyone and that you are all eating way too much with your friends and family. Happy Easter!

Hoppy Easter

I hope everyone has a nice holiday. I will be taking the kids up to my parent's house. I am dreading the car ride since I will be taking the kids solo. Jessica has to work this weekend. Yikes. It shouldn't be too bad. We will probably pick up my cousin on the way, so she will hopfully be able to help out a bit. It should be OK. I will probably be bored all by myself (wife-free). Oh well.

Scroll down a bit for a cute picture of Ally in bunny ears.

Funny Stuff about Dookie and Pee

Sorry if this is a gross post, but I think poo and pee are funny. Especially when there are foods and drinks that alter poo and pee in funny ways.

Asparagus - I LOVE asparagus. It is SO good sauteed with butter, some salt, and pepper. YUM. However, I get 'asparagus pee' after I eat asparagus. It smells weird. Not necessarily bad, but weird. It certainly does not smell good. Anyone know why that is?

Heineman's wine - I ordered some more wine from the winery on Put-In-Bay island in Lake Erie. They only deliver to Ohio. It is GOOD stuff. If you order a case, you cost will break down to about 7 or 8 dollars per bottle, which is what you'd pay for a pretty good bottle in the stores. Anyway, I don't know why, but when I drink this wine, it makes my poo smell weird. Again, not bad, but weird. Certainly not good either. Maybe it is the sulfites in the wine.

Red white and blue sprinkles - When I used to work at Friendly's in my college days, we would screw around and eat rainbow sprinkles. They were there for Fourth of July sundaes. Anyway, large quantities of red white and blue sprinkles will make your poo blue.

Beets - Pickled beets will make your poo turn red. THAT is a shocker the first time you see it.

This used to be my favorite picture of Ally. It is still SO cute, but here are a few more that may challenge it as my favorite. Both have been taken within the last few months. It is pretty rough having the cutest girl ever as my daughter. For one thing, it is hard to get angry at her when she is rotten and shen she is bigger, I am going to have to beat the boys away with a stick. Oh yeah, plus she knows I am her bitch. I am in SO much trouble.

Yes, It Was a Schload

As Mona commented, we got a "schload" of snow a week or so ago. Some areas of Columbus received about 20 inches of snow, but we only got about a foot. Still, it sucked. I have a small driveway and it still took me a hour to shovel. Not much fun. The kids enjoyed playing in the snow though. The snow came while Jessica was at work and she got stranded there. She had to work the next day, so she stayed the night and came home the following day after the roads have been cleared a bit. Luckily, when our street was plowed, then snow was pushed to the other side of the street so I didn't have to shovel again. Our dog, Moose, had a hard time taking his pee breaks in the back. He is only about a foot tall, so he needed to bound through the snow. I think he liked it, except for when the snow was above his head. It was HILARIOUS to watch. There were circles in the snow from where he was leaping through the snow.

More pictures on my Flickr page.

Good Night Bad Morning

I played me some cards last night. I did pretty well, ending up with $120 more than I started with. :-) The night started out slow, with my losing $50, but I turned things around, started playing smarter, and began hitting hands. The hand of the night was a Royal Flush (A, K, Q, J, 10 of clubs) and unfortunately it was against me. Still, it only cost me $10. What sucked is that I started the hand with two pair (AA and 10 10). Oh well. A great hand like that is rare. The ride home was interesting, what with the pea soup fog and barely able to see five feet in front of my car.

This morning was rough, waking up after four hours of sleep. Coffee is good. It was bad because, apparently, we have vandals in the neighborhood. Several of the mail boxes in the area have been knocked down. Boo. I must say though, I am proud of my workmanship. I put up a new mail box post this summer and my mail box is NOT knocked down. It is at an angle, but not knocked down. Hoodlems SUCK.

Movies Update

I watched a bunch of movies this week. In case you care:

The Lookout - This starred the kid from Third Rock From the Sun. It is about a guy that gets into a car wreck, loses his short term memory, and then gets invilved with some bad guys that want to rob a bank. It sounds a little out there, but it was actually pretty good.

No Country for Old Men - I had high hopes for this one, but was a little disappointed. It was pretty good, but not as good as I thought it would be. It was totally against the normal movie line. The hero dies, the bad guy gets away, and Tommy Lee Jones just kind of fades away. I am glad I didn't buy it.

Dejavu - Should have been called DejaBOO. It had some good action sequences, but was REALLY dumb. Like Time Cops, only less likely. I won't go beyond that.

Scrubs really rocks still. LOVE this show.

NetFlix woes

I am running out of NetFlix ideas again. It's my fault, really. I had all six season of Scrubs lined up, but I decided that I liked it so much that I went out and bought them all. Best Buy had them for $20 each. I can't resist a good deal. Plus, Scrubs makes me laugh out loud and I knew Jessica wanted to see it too. I guess I have a few things in my queue still, 11 to be exact. Five movies and the first season of Prison Break. I never really wanted to watch Prison Break, the concept seemed dumb, but my friend Jesse said I should give it a shot. Really though, how much can you do with the story line of breaking out of a jail? Then, they get stuck in another jail. I will keep an open mind. The five movies I have lined up are:

Beowulf: I don't really like the whole "cartoon based off of real people's images" concept, but the movie looked OK.

American Ganster: I hear it is really good.

Michael Clayton: ditto above

Mad Max: an oldie but a goodie

Grindhouse: Planet Terror: Looked silly in the trailers, but I saw Deathproof and it was really entertaining. I figured I'd give the other 'Grindhouse' film a shot.

So, when I am done with these movies and Prison Break, I am out of movie ideas. I guess I watch too many for my own good. Another thing is that my DVD burner has pooped out on me. I guess I just have to buy them now if I want to keep the movie.

Good Bowling Night

I rocked out on the bowling lanes last night. Three 200+ games. I love it when I am on my game. It hasn't happened too much this year. My average is respectable in the 180's, but last year it was in the 190's. I'm not sure why I am off pace this year. The final tally for my night: 215, 220, and 243 = 678. I was hoping for a 700 series, but I had a few bad breaks. Still, it is my best night of bowling this year. Even better is that my team won all of our games. The first game, we were down going into the tenth frame and we rolled ten strikes in the tenth frame to win the game. It was sweet.

Scrubs is Fun

I have been watching the back episodes of Scrubs lately. It is HI-larious. Great characters, good story, oh and HI-larious!!! Plus, there are all sorts of hot girls in the show that often show up in skimpy outfits. I guess it is very realistic too. Jessica works with several doctors and they say that Scrubs is the most similar to real life hospital work. I am on season three now. Tara Reed is joining the show this episode. I don't get why everyone thinks she is so hot. She is OK, I guess, but is WAY to skinny.

To MySpace or Not to MySpace

I have a MySpace account. I never use it, have never really done anything with it, and was suprised when I already had friend requests. Granted, they were all friend requests from porn sites or dating services, not real people, but I was still suprised, considering I have really done nothing with the account. I am really on my fence a bit as to whether or not I want to do anything with the account. It has been open since September. I put all of my pictures on Flickr and all of my bloggin' here, so do I really need a MySpace page? I guess if I want to become a sexual preditor, it is the way to go (I am SO joking about that). Is there really anything that is better about MySpace, as opposed to Blogger?

I don't think I am a fan of MySpace. Not necessarily as a user, but as a parent. As you may or may not know, teens LOVE myspace. They get to act all big and important in the non-parental-supervised world of the internet. Noah has a MySpace page. It is a little funny how kids try to act all bad-ass. Still I digress. Although I do not think any perverts have contacted Noah, his biologocal father's family has. We are not thrilled about this. I guess it was inevitable, but MySpace gave these people an opening into our lives that is shady and cowardly. They owe us THOSDANDS of dollars in child support and have never been involved in Noah's life (no birthday presents, no Christmas presents, etc). I say it is shady and cowardly because they are bypassing us to get to him. We are not forbiding the contact, but we told Noah to watch out and not to give them any personal information. He is acting all excited about the whole 'new family' idea, but I don't think he is thinking about the fact that these people have never really tried to be in his life for 14 years. I don't think they should be able to visit even see him until they are paid up in child support. WOW!!! Did I get of the subject!

I guess I may play around with my MySpace page, but not too much. I will add a link to my blog if I ever set up the page.

General Postings

1. My card game Friday was fun. I had a really rough night though. I couldn't hit a hand to save my life and some of the people I play with play with garbage that they should fold. Then they hit their hand and win. It is a little rediculous, but it backfires on them when they don't hit their hand. I played with WAY more money than I wanted to. I wanted to play with no more than $100, but I lost that, then another $100, and finally, with my last $40, I won back most of it. All in all, I am down $50 for the night. The last hour saved my ass. I doubled up twice. I am glad I have a forgiving wife. She could get mad with my gambling, but she knows I usually win more than I lose. All of my card playing for the year, and I am only down $50. Not bad, in my opinion. Especially since, after I win the WSOP Main Event, I will be a millionaire.

2. You know it's a slow sports day then ESPN is carrying speed billiards. I didn't really watch much of it, but from what I saw, they had to make all the balls as fast as then could. I'm not sure if they had to go in a certain order. If they missed a shot, they were penalized and if they didn't call a shot (aka "slop") they were penalized.

3. My bank sucks right now. It is transitioning from a credit union to a bank. I don't know the differences, really, but I didn't really have a choice in the matter. Anyway, this week they were converting a lot of things to different systems and everything got all screwed up. My ATM card stopped working, I had to re-register for online banking, and apparently, several people were having their checks bounce. I didn't have that issue, but it has been a pain not being able to get cash out of the ATM. Anyway, I got a message this weekend stating that all of the issues are supposed to be fixed now. Let's hope so. I I have to go another week without being able to get cash, I will have to change banks.

Big Game Tonight

I am having a card game tonight. It should be a good time. It is not going to be a big game, only ten people, but it is going to be a high dollar cash game. I made the buy in $50. Since people can buy in several times, I am thinking that there will be about $1000 on the table. Fun stuff. I would like to win it all, but will be happy with doubling my initial $50 buy in. I would love to get enough to pay for my entire Caesar's Indiana trip. Still, just as long as I have fun and win a little bit, I will be happy.

Speaking of my Indiana trip, I just found a voucher for a free room. This means that I only will need to pay my buy in and for food and drink. I am hoping to do well in the tournament so that I spend all the time playing in the tourney and not much time at cash tables. That is where I could potentially lose alot of money. Still, I am getting mu bonus from work this month, so I have the costs covered. Fun stuff!

Halo 3: The new Love Affair

As you know, I play Halo 3 alot. I love that game. Lately, I had been getting a little tired of playing, since I don't seem to be getting anywhere with my ranking. I have been yo-yo-ing from level 25 to level 30. I guess it depends on if I am on my game or not. Some days I play better than others. Anyway, I found a new spark to feul my Halo 3 obsession. Team Slayer. I played a little with some friends I know, but their ranking for team slayer is much higher than mine. I should say WAS a lot higher. they are all mostly level 20 or higher and I was level 3. It made finding a match harder because of the different skill levels. Anyway, I started playing team slayer on my own (just searching for a game and finding random players to play with) and in a span of two days, I have brought my level up to 17. Of course, since I am a level 25-30 Major in solo slayer, I was basically kicking the shit out of inexperienced players for a while. One game, I had 20 of my team's kills (out of 50) and died only eight times. I was ROLLIN'! Anyway, I have met a few players that I like playing with, so I guess we sorta have a set team. We sometimes win, sometimes don't. It is a helluva lot of fun though.

General Post

1. When did Moe grow a beard? I logged into Blogger.com just now, and this picture popped up as one of their current members. I don't know why I could care that this Mountain Man Moe is a member of Blogger.com, but the doppelganger pic gave me a chuckle.

2. Working from home is nice some times. 300 central Ohio schools are closed today, due to snow. I was watching the news and the trafic report said that there was a car overturned at the exit I would use to get to my office (if I were to go to my office). The downside is that, if people call off because of the snow or the office closes because of the snow, I get to pick up all the slack.

3. I can't remember if I mentioned this, but I got a poker DVD through NetFlix a while back. It really changed the way I think about playing poker. I would like to say that I am unstoppable now, but I still have some bad habits I need to break. Plus, winning poker really depends on the cards that you get (to a large degree). Sure, you can bluff every hand, but that wouldn't work for long. Still, the last two games I played, I came in 3rd and 2nd place.

4. What the fuck is going on with Lost? (SPOILER ALERT!!!!!) The show is good enough that I am going to watch the rest of the season, but I think that the writers smoke a bag of pot before writing and try to think what they can do to give watchers more questions. "How can we fuck with them this week?" I am getting really thrown by the way they are showing flash forwards. Mostly the time lime is throwing me. In the season opener, we see Jack and Kate meeting with Jack saying they need to go back. Last night we see Kate on trial. Did the trial happen before or after their other meeting? Plus, we see Aaron looking like a three year old. Why wouldn't Jack want to see him? I assumed it was because Kate got knocked up by Sawyer. I think probably the biggest question now is, why are there only six survivors from the island? Did everyone else die ro stay? I really want to kick Locke in the balls for being so wishy washy and a whiney little bitch. AAAARRRGH!!!! There are just SO many questions about this show! There are so many new questions that I am forgetting old questions from previous seasons!

TV Updates

So, Knight Rider was a bit of a disappointment. They spent entirely too much time on making the car effects look cool, used them too many times, and forgot that plot is pretty important to a show as well. I am hoping that it was just a pilot episode blunder. The effects were good, but not enough to make up for a weak story and a stupid cameo by David Hasselhoff. Plus, I was really hoping for an appearance by the original KITT. There were also some time line issues. KITT is supposed to go hundreds of miles per hour, and yet the bad guys were always one set ahead of Mike (the new good guy). Yes, the bad guys had a helicopter, but they are not as fast as a super powered Mustang. Maybe it was the "as the crow flies" routes they took instead of being confined to roads. I will give Knight Rider another shot, but it may fall to the way side if it does not get better.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles is still pretty good. I am a little worried that they are going to try to make too much of character intrigue. They are casting suspicion on Uncle Reese a bit and making some conflict between him and Summer Glau. I guess they need to do something to make the show more than just fighting T-888s. I still like the show alot. I just hope they don't ruin it by trying to make too much out of it.

Ain't I Sweet?

This is a picture of Jessica's Valentine's Day present. I know, I know.... flowers die, but they always seem to make her happy. I usually ger roses, but decided to switch things up a bit. I thought these looked nice. Plus, I thought the vase was nice. I felt a little bad because I was out a little late. Valentine's Day fell on my bowling night. Still, it was an OK day, I guess. I usually don't get into Valentine's Day much more than dinner and a card or flowers and a card. I guess that is more than some guys do. Jessica got me a Vader bobble head. Fun stuff.

Multi-Bloggin'

I was bored at work yesterday (we were out of work and I was counting the minutes before I could log off) so I did a blog search on poker. I found several blogs and checked a few out. The first didn't have much to offer, but the second was slightly interesting. Hella Hold'em is the site name. I haven't read much of it, but what I did read, I liked a bit. Anyway, during the search, I found the person first and she had several blogger pages. One looked like a general posting blog, there was the poker blog, and a few others. I wonder, does the author have too much time on her hands, or does she separate her posts for her readers. I'm sure that most of you would rather skip my OSU football posts. Should I have an OSU blog for football season? I know Amy did it while she was preggers. I would check both on occasion. Honestly, I doubt I will check this stranger's daily blog, but I was glad to find the poker blog. I don't think I am going to separate my posts into two or more blogs. Honestly, I don't have enough time or material to multi-blog. So, I guess you will just have to read this some days and skip it on others.

Speaking of poker I won a bit of cash last night. I bought in for $40 and left with $101. I can live with that. I would have won more, but I went all in with pocket aces and lost to pocket kings. A third king came up on the board and kicked my ass. I had a bad feeling that he had kings, but had to play my hand. It cost me about $80. I hate those hands where I know I am beat but have to play anyways.

Enough is Enough Already

Ok Winter, you can go away now. I usually don't mind this time of year. I like cold weather. The snow and ice is what I am getting tired of. Trash day was Tuesday, during a long snow and rain storm. The lid was left off the can, so it filled up and then froze. Plus, it melted a little during the day and refroze, effectively freexing the trash can to the ground. I fixed that yesterday by bumping it (on purpose) with my car, but it is heavy as hell because of the ice in the bottom. Don't get me started on my gas bill. I guess what I am saying is, I am ready for Spring.

I'm sure I have already mentioned, but Spring is my favorite time of the year. I love all the green stuff popping out of the ground. Tree blossoms, flowers, green grass, are all so nice in the spring. Plus, the temperature is perfect and there are no bugs. I also look forward to the gardening/landscaping plans I think up during the winter. Sure, it is tiring, but I like making my yard look nice. I sort of let things slide last summer, so I have alot to do thins coming Spring. I want to expand some flower beds and 'fix' my front yard. There is a big tree in the front and its roots are popping up making it hard to mow the grass. That means putting down dirt to comer the roots and then planting grass. While I am at it, I am going to put in a flower bed around the tree. I also need to prune my trees and bushes and spread mulch. I don't enjoy those things too much. The bad things about alot of flower beds are the mulching and pulling weeds. I will probably take a week off to get all of these things done. Fun stuff. Actually, if starting a business isn't so scary, I would do landscaping stuff as a career.

A Happy Birthday Present we want to return

Why have a party for your kid's birthday at Chuck E Cheese's? Games, pizza, fun all around.

Why NOT have a party at Chuck E Cheese's? Germs, bacteria, and viruses all over the place.

Since Gabriel's party last Friday, both he and Ally have been sick. This illustrates how parents are irresponsible and allow sick kids in a public places so that they can spread their germs and also illustrates how poorly Chuck E Cheese's crew cleans and sanitizes. It isn't the same illness either, I don't think. Ally has had a runny nose, bad cough, and a mild fever. Gabe has a higher fever and a cough, not so much the runny nose. Ally seems to be getting better, but Gabriel's fever has been going strong since Sunday. He is being a trooper, saying that he feels OK, but that fever just won't go away. This will be his fourth missed day of school this week. Jessica is taking him to a doctor today. Hopfully, he will kick this soon so that he can go back to school. Not that I want to get rid of him, he likes school and is sad when he can't go. Seriously.

The Orange Box

Since I finished Bioshock, I wanted to get a new FPS (first person shooter) game. I was thinking about Turok, which looks pretty good, but I went with a game that I knew more about. Although they called it The Orange Box, it is really Half Life 2. I had played Half Life on my PC WAAAAAAAY back in the day. The situation is kinda like Doom 3, what with the old game getting new life on the new gaming console. Anyway, the reason I went with Half Life 2 is because I remember that the old game scared me a bit and was quite fun. Although I have only played The Orange Box for a few hours, it is not disappointing. The graphics are good and, so far, it is playing quite well. I am trying to get to some doctor's lab through a maze of tunnels with bad guys trying to kill me. Not an easy task since the tunnels are dark and hard to get though.

Another feature of The Orange Box is called Portal. I haven't played it yet, but have heard good things about it. You get to be the unwilling participant in some lab experiments, like getting through mazes and solving puzzels. My firends say that it is something that I "need to try." I am unsure if I will give Portal a shot right away or get all the way through Half Life first. Plus, I still will need to feed my Halo 3 addication. One bad thing about Half Life is that the buttons are a little different than H3. Hopfully it won't though me off too much when I switch back and forth between the two games.

On a side note: FUCK ME!!!! IT'S COLD!!!!! The pipes to our shower are frozen. Luckily the other shower is fine.

Party Time

I can't believe it, but my little boy is turning six this weekend. It amazes me how quickly he seems to be growing up. Again, Gabriel asked that we have his party at Chuck E Cheese's. That is OK by me. The kids have fun and we don't need to clean up at all. I think three or four of Gabe's friends will be coming along. My parents will be here as well. The party is tonight, but his actual birthday is this Sunday. He also lost his first tooth this week. He lost it at school, and then he lost it at school, so the tooth fairy didn't get to take it. He still got a dollar though.He has other loose teeth, so pretty soon he will be missing all his front teeth. I think kids are cute when they are missing their front teeth.

Anyway, I will be sure to post pictures of the party on my Flickr site.

Poker on the Brain

I know I have been posting about poker alot lately. Sorry. Really though, I would love it if I could make playing cards my career. I know I am not good enough for all that and Jessica would probably frown at moving to Las Vegas, but could you imagine playing cards for your job? how fun would that be?

I am going to watch an instructional DVD today about playing in tournaments. It will probably be boring and include alot of things that I already know, but if I can learn something to improve my game, it will be worth it. I am playing in a little tournament tonight and will be playing in the big one in April. you all know that though, so I won't go over that again.

I won a tournament on my Xbox yesterday. I was pretty happy. I got three achievements for it, which I need to catch Woody in achievement points. He made a huge jump this past month. Anyway, it was a seven card stud game, which is really different from Texas Hold'em. In seven card stud, you get two cards face down (you can look at them) and one card face up. There is a round of betting, another card face up, a round of betting, another card face up (betting), another card face up (betting), and a final card face down. Basically, you get three cards face down and four face up. You make the best five card hand out of the seven cards. You get to see half of your opponent cards, so it kinda makes the game a bit interesting.

I was thinking about getting a card related tattoo. I'm not sure what or where though. I was thinking about an ace of spades with the Japanese symbol for the word patience in the center. My biggest poker problem is being over aggressive when I should fold cards. I was also thinking about a spades royal flush. I just don't know where I would get a tattoo. I am kinda hairy, so placement would be difficult. I would be silly to get a tat and have hair grow all over it. I'm not Robin Williams hairy, at least. I was thinking either my calf or my forearm. Probably some place hidden so that my parents wouldn't give me crap about it. Actually, I don't care about that. Cost is another issue for me. Tattoos can be expensive. Especially if I were to get the royal flush. I'll probably just go with the Ace of spades idea.

Not Going Well Bloggin' in 08

It's been a slow blog year so far. Sorry about that. I don't really know the reason. Maybe I am just running out of things to babble about. Let's face it, I don't exactly have the most exciting life. I get up, get out of bed, drag a comb across my head...... Go downstairs and drink a cup..... ok, ok, you know the song. Seriously though, I don't really do too much that is intersting enough to write about my daily life. Maybe my life has gotten even more bull, since January 08 has the fewest posts in one month since 06. Maybe I am just getting lazy.

Anyway, the Super Bowl was on last night. I am glad the Giants won. Not because I like the Giants, I just dislike the Patriots. They cheat and are sore losers. Their coach left the field before the game was officially over. Are you kidding me? Show some class, you dick.

I watched House after the Super Bowl last night. It is one of our usual shows. I was a bit leary about this episode when I started seeing the commercials. (SPOILER ALERT) They were video phone calling someone in the South Pole and talking them through tests and diagnosis. They made the patient poke, prod, and stick herself over and over trying to figure ou twhy she was dying. It was highly unbelievable. After all the tests and telling her she was dying, it turned out she had a broker toe. Are you kidding me? How retarded. "Sorry we made you stab yourself with a needle and then drill a hole in your head. Our bad."

Jessica's New Ride

We went to the car dealership to get a new car for the family. I was on the fence about getting myself a truck or getting Jessica a car. We decided on a car. Initially, we were looking for a used Toyota Yaris that was on the web for $11900. I think it was a 2003 model. With the payment we could put down, the payments wouldn't be too bad. Unfortunately, when the salesman started up the car, it sounded like shit. Plus, it was obvious that the windows were left open during a rain storm at some point. The seats were wet, the windows fogged up, and a mildew smell was present. So, we started looking around some, test drove a Toyota Carolla and then a Toyota Matrix. The Matrix is basically the same as a Carolla, but has more room and an SUV-type body. We ended up going with the Matrix. If you want to check it out, follow this link. It is a little more than I wanted to spend, but it is a 2004 model and looks brand new. It has some milage on it, but we have a five year warranty and Toyotas tend to last forever. Plus, Jessica really likes it. I just hope she doesn't wreck this one. It has some really cool features, including an actual plug outlet, a moon roof, and I think a plug for your MP3 player to go into. I must admit, I am a little jealous. I guess it is a little small for me, if I want anyone to ride in the back seat, but I like the extra features she gets to play with.

Best Time of the Year

Well, for us it is. Tax time is always fun for us. The best thing about having kids isn't making them. The best thing about kids is the tax credit that you get after the end of the year. Especially if you have more than one. Ok, Ok. I guess the love that you get from them is OK too. Anyway, I think I still have my tax reporting through work indicating that I am single. This means more money is taken out during the year and a bigger refund. I't kind of like a savings. I won't tell you how much we are getting back, but I will say that we are going to buy a new shed for the back yard and a new garage door. Maybe a new lawn mower. After that, we should have a substantial amount left over. An indicator at how much we get back: we got our last W2 on Thursday and out return was mailed today. Give me my money back Uncle Sam! Plus, we should get the $800 bonus refund from G Dubya. He is an idiot, but he sure likes to give us money back.

Ever have a conversation take a SHARP turn?

So, I went to Krogers last night to pick up a bottle of wine to have with dinner. I went in, got the wine, and went straight to the checkout line, no hustle, no bustle. I like to powershop. Anyway, the cashier was under age, so she had to call someone over to ring up my purchase. So, it was me, the guy scanning the wine, and the bag girl. As I am waiting, the conversation between these three people went to the fact that the cashier didn't like the dark and slept with a night light. I understood this, since I have trouble sleeping in pitch black. The guy ringing up the order laughed at the girl, so I jokingly chastized him, asking why he had to make fun. "Lots of people sleep with night lights." This is when the turn took place. The SHARP turn. The cashier who started the night light talk said something like, "Yeah, I need to have a light on when I sleep. I see demons." Bwwwhhhhaaaattt????? She had a dead serious look on her face. I quickly shut my mouth, paid, and ran. How do you have a conversation at your work, in front of customers, where you state that you see demons? Wow.

That is all I can say.

General stuff

1. I started playing Marvel Universe Ultimate Alliance this weekend. It was free with my latest Xbox. I finished Bioshock and wanted to play something new. I think I am getting frustrated with Halo 3 and not getting better in the multi player stuff. Plus, I can never find buddies online to play with. Anyway, I guess MUUA is OK. I don't really like third person perspective in games, but it is unavoidable in this case. It would be too hard to make this a first person game. My favorite mutant to use is Wolverine. Probably because he is my favorite mutant. All in all, this is not my favorite game, but it is good enough to make me want to finish it.

2. Jessica wrecked her car last week. I am not thrilled with the situation, but at least she is OK. It was not a serious accident, be the car was totaled. I am just glad that I got the top grade insurance on the car, or else I would have been screwed. We would have lost money instead of getting a check from the insurance company. I am going to use it to put a down payment on a new car. I should say a used car. I can't afford a new car. Really, I just want something that Jessica can drive to work and back. I don't mind doing most of the driving. I am thinking another Toyota or a Honda. Those cars are usually reliable for a long time.

3. I got my butt kicked in cards last Friday. I couldn't catch a hand to save my life. The best hand that I got all night was a king high flush and I got my ass kicked by a straight flush. It was pretty frustrating. I played for five hours, so I wasn't being wreckless, it was more like a slow, painful, bleeding of chips from my stack. You will have nights like that though. Considering that I have been winning money most of the time, it is OK when I lose a bit. I really take those nights as learning experiences. To put it into perspective, I once read an interview with some pro poker players, and one of them said that it was not a big deal to lose $1mil in a month because you will likely win it back next month. WOW! Anyway, I have been keeping track of my poker money since January 1st and I am only down $40 so far for 2008.

It's almost that time again.....

It amazes me how time seems to whiz by now that I am over 30. The days seem to melt together into the weeks and months. In two months, I will be going to Caesar's casino in Indiana for another shot at their World Series of Poker tournament. If you remember, I played last year and got my butt kicked. I had a full house and lost to a better full house. Craziness. Still, I had a good time and I am sure that I am a better player from the experience. Now, I have almost another year or poker playing under my belt and think that I could really make a run in a big tournament. Unfortunately, like my bowling game, my poker playing is inconsistant. I have been winning alot lately, but there are times that I make big mistakes that cost me big money. All in all, I have only lost money in a night of cards twice since November. I may not win a lot of money, but I win. I think my main problem is that I am impatient and tend to bet when I shouldn't. Over-aggressiveness is the word. Still, I am reading players better and playing my hands better.

A test for my readiness will occur tomorrow night. My friend is having a big cash game with alot of people I have never played with. I want to see how I do against people I don't know. I am hoping for a big night so that I can win enough money for the $340 WSOP buy in. I have won that much in a night before, but it is rare. My goal over the next two months is to win enough so that can pay the buy in and hotel stay with cash. $1000 should do.

A fun fact about my poker playing: I have been playing off of the same $40 since November.

Not sure what I think about this.....

Watching TV last night, I saw a commercial that took me off guard. I wasn't really paying attention, so I wasn't sure I saw what I saw. Instant replay (DVR) confirmed the call on the field and a new Knight Rider series is set for the 2008 season. As the title indicates, I am not sure how I feel about this. I was a fan of the old show, staring David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight and his kick ass, bullet-proof, talking car, KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand). Knight would drive around the country helping those in need. Some of the most memorible episodes included KITTs evil twin, KARR and a huge, armored semi truck (I forget the truck's name). Obviously, TV producers are through looking for new ideas. Battlestar Galactica seems to have opened the flood gates for remakes of the 80 sci-fi show. Now, we have Bionic Woman, which I don't watch anymore (it bored me), BSG, a GREAT show, Doctor Who, another great show, and soon, Knight Rider. Plus, there are movies based on old shows coming out as well (Get Smart comes to mind). I know that originality in television and movies is a think of the past, but you would think that they would make more of an effort to produce something new. Look at Cloverfield, a movie with the Bad Robot label of JJ Abrams. I haven't seen it, but watching the preview, does anyone else think it is Godzilla all over again? I am a little suprised by this, considering the one truly original show, Lost, is a Bad Robot production. I guess that there just aren't any new ideas out there.

Not much to write about lately.....

Three posts in thirteen days is not how I want to run this blog. Sorry for being lazy. Actually, it is more that I don't really have too much going on to post about.

I could write about movies I have watched lately, but none of them have been very good. Mostly they are predictable B films that looked mildly interesting. Let's just say that I am getting to the dregs of my NetFlix queue. Only about ten more DVDs until I am to zero. Lately, I have been watching the so-so films I kinda wanted to see, but not enough to pay good money for them. I can't even remember the names of the movies I've watched. That should tell you how bad it has gotten. You may think that I watch too many movies and you are probably right, but they are mostly to have as background noise while I work. If there is a movie I really want to watch, I wait and make sure I can give it my full attention.

Noah is doing pretty well with his arm. He had to go back to the ER twice because the cast was too tight and was cutting off the circulation to his fingers. Mostly, he is being a drama queen and acting like he is the first person to ever break his arm. I guess I was a little over dramatic when I broke mine, but hearing the same stories over and over is getting a little old. Plus, he is acting helpless, like a person couldn't survive life with only one arm. Hopfully he will get to go back to school tomorrow.

I don't wanna talk about it.

If you want to hear my rants about the game Monday, check out my post on Woody's blog. It was riddled with OSU mistakes and had very few LSU mistakes. Man! I am getting SO tired of being an Ohio sports fan. The Buckeyes lose three titles (2 football, one basketball) in two years, Browns get booted out of the playoffs, Cinnci had a rough year, the Blue Jackets never make the playoffs, the Indians screw up the in the playoffs, heck, even the Columbus Destroyers were close to a title this last year. We Ohio fans should start holding up two fingers when the TV camera is on us at a sporting event. "We're number two!" Sorry, I said I wasn't going to rant. At least we beat our Div 1-AA opponent.

My day yesterday was pretty shitty. First, I get a call from Gabriel's principal saying that he is getting in trouble on the bus and at recess. I don't get it. He is so sweet when he is at home (most of the time). Anyway, is got kicked off the bus one day and we have to go in for a conference tomorrow with the teacher and principal.

While talking to Gabriel after school, I hear a frantic knock on the door. I grew concerned because I knew Noah was outside riding his bike. Well, he flipped over the handle bars after trying to jump his bike and broke his arm. So, my ass was in the hospital for five hours. I don't really care b/c it was something that us parents need to do for our kids. It was just a big huge drag. Luckily, Jessica's dad came to get the little kids. This break was almost as bad as mine a few years back. Only he broke both of his bones in the forearm and I broke my humerous (upper arm). They were able to set it without operating, but he still may need to get it reset if the bones aren't healing together correctly. It It is amazing how extreme situations can bring out different sides of a person. Noah was very polite and kept telling everyone 'thank you' for helping him. It was probably the drugs. Normally, he is a moody teenager who speaks monosyllabicly like Rinnert. Not moody like Rinnert, talks like Rinnert. Rinnert isn't too moody these days that I know of.

General Posts

1. The Halo 3 online servers have been a little slow lately and I have been a little frustrated with the lack of my friends playing H3 lately, so I put Halo 3 aside for a while this weekend. Try not to gasp too hard so that you don't choke on your gum. Anyway, I revisited Bioshock. I had posted about it a long time ago, but I hadn't played it too much at that time. Basically, it is a first person shooter with some different angles. You still get your main weapons, which increase in power as you go along (wrench, then postol, machine gun, shot gun, etc.), but you also have the opportunity to use 'plasmids'. Plasmids are genetic upgrades that give you special powers. It is kind of like mixing a game like Fable (where you gain experience and pick up new powers and abilities) and a classic FPS. I am REALLY liking it. I loved Fable and I love shooters. You have to go through and complete quests while killing and explloring. LOTS of fun.

2. I did put Halo 3 back in after a while because I downloaded some new maps. I wish I had saved my Xbox Live credits. The maps are huge and confusing and only used in team games. I usually play solo and am not too good in the team matches. I guess I like capture the flag, but there are some games I don't like too much. Plus, since I am a solo guy joining in the big game, none of the teams I join really communicate. You need communication for for these big games. I will give the maps a few more tries, but will revert back to the traditional maps after some time.

3. Was that Betsy Reutz postin' on my blog? Hi Betsy! Good to hear from you! I always feel bad when I am reminded that I live no more that 30 minutes away from my highschool and college friends. I am such a jerk for never calling or visiting. There's Betsy, Heather, Rinnert used to be here, and I have LOTS of Ohio State buddies in the area. I guess that's the way of life. I think I am DEFINATELY going to have a cookout this spring/summer. I have a nice area for it with the deck. I am thinking probably spring since my deck gets really hot in the summer. Food, drink, good people, and good times.

4. Oh yeah. Big game tonight. I have probably beat the Ohio State vs. Louisiana State National Title Game to death, so I will just say: GO BUCKS!!! Hopfully they confuse the LSU purple and gold with M*ch*g*n's maize and blue. I predict a close game that will come down to the wire. Either team could win, but hopfully OSU will avenge last years embarassment.

It's been a while. Sorry

Sorry that it has been a while since my last post. I have had little time and little content. Not too much has happened these pase several days. Or, maybe I am just lazy and haven't wanted to take the time to post. You decide.

1. Happy New Year! We didn't do anything special. I view New Year's Eve and Day as a reason to buy a new calandar. I always get a Dilbert daily calandar. Dilbert makes me laugh. Jessica was in bed around 10:00 New Year's Eve and I played Xbox until I went to bed around midnight. We are really exciting, eh?

2. My poker roll is still trucking. I can't explain it, really. I guess I have just been getting new cards. I am definately having fun with it, but I worry that my poker friends might be getting a little tired of my winning. Since the beginning of November, I am at least up $1000. I wish I were closer to a casino so that I could take this hot streak somwhere that I could win some real money.

3. I need a vacation. Work was a little hellish last week. Two of my co-workers were out (one on vacation, the other on maternity leave) so I was basically holding a lot of things together. There are a few other people that do my job, but they do not have my experience. So, every messed up issue and question were routed to me. No fun. I feel really burned out right now. I am trying to be stingy with my vacation time though. I would rather try to save it for later in the year. It's hard to do though with this nice, annual infusion of vacation time.

4. Is anyone going to watch that Terminator TV show? I think they are calling it the Sarah Connor Chronicles. Don't know why since John Connor ends up being the savior of mankind. I will probably give a few episodes a try. Might as well, considering all of my regular shows are down with the strike. I liked the Terminator movies and am glad that Arnold isn't in the Terminator roll. Plus, it has Summer from Firefly. It should be good, I think.

5. So far so good with the diet. I haven't weighed myself yet, but I have made the transition from my bad eating and drinking habits to eating better and not drinking. I have basically cut almost all of the carbs out of my diet. I eat eggs every morning and meat and veggies the rest of the day. For an afternoon snack, I have a few nuts. Add nothing to drink but water, and I should be losing weight here pretty soon. I need to get on the tread mill and to the gym more to make the process go faster.

One Game Left

I only have one football game to look forward to this year/season. After the Browns blew it last Saturday against Cincinnati, they needed Indianapolis to pull through and beat Tennesee. No such luck. After pulling their first string offense, the Colts looked like St. Mary's School for the Blind playing against the Titans. Now, the Browns are out. They are the only ten win team in the NFL not to make the playoffs. Granted, I don't think they would have survived the all road game schedule they would have faced if they did make the playoffs as the wildcard, but it would have been nice to see them have a shot. Now, I don't know if I can get excited about the NFL playoffs. I usually pull for Indianapolis, but after they let me down, I just can't get excited for them. As we Cleveland fans are used to saying: there's always next season!

The one game I have to look forward to, of course, is the BCS National Title game in seven days between Ohio State and LSU. LSU is picked to win by 4 or 5, but I think either team has a legitimate chance of winning. I like that the Buckeyes are under dogs. They may go into the game with a chip on their shoulder. My only concern is that LSU has two mobile QBs to choose from and a mobile QB is one thing that the Buckeye defense has trouble with. Anyone remember a guy names Juice Williams? Still, I a hopful for an OSU win and National Title.

I guess am looking forward to today and tomorrow as well. Some pretty good bowl games coming up. (OK, so I am excited about more than one game. So what?) Is it weird that the Indiana/Oklahoma State game is going to be on the NFL Network? I will probably watch Wisconsin take on Tennesee, M*ch*g*n against Florida, and Illinois against USC. I try to hope for all Big Ten teams in the bowls, but I must admit I am a little torn for the UM vs Florida game. This may be a game that I hope for all of the players to get food poisoning and the schools must put in the marching bands to play. Honestly though, I see UM getting their asses kicked by a tough Florida squad. It will also be interesting to see if Hawaii can finish an undefeated season against the team that could be playing in the BCS title game.

Ever Google Yourself?

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Four Days of Fattness

I have madeup my mind that this coming year, 2008, starting January 1st, I am going on a major diet. No more drinking booze. No more Christmas cookies. No more fast food. Add some excercise. I am hoping to get back down to my college weight by summer. It will be difficult and improbable, but it is a change that I need to make. I haven't weighed myself for a long time, but I know that I need to drop some pounds. So, that means that these last four days are the last days for me to be a bad boy. I won't be a glutton, eating nothing but cookied and carbs, but I will allow myself a few favorites before I impliment my diet. I will probably get some Roosters (like Hooters or BW3's, but better) and some Chipotle. The rough part is going to be no more beer, whiskey, or wine. the diet books say that some alcohol is OK, but I usually put my liver to the test and drink too much. The easiest way to do this is to just not buy anymore.

The hardest part about dieting, for me, is taking the time to prepare all of the foods that I am allowed to have. It takes time to make a nice salad and grill some chicken. Plus, it is hard to make these foods interesting everyday. What I usually do is make a big bag of salad and cook up several chicken breasts and eat off them sor a few days. Another negative is the cost of the diet. Eating salad and chicken or steak gets pricey. Still, I need to do it for myself and for my kids. I don't want to be that dad that never does anything with them because I am too fat and tired all the time. After all is said and done, I may post my before and after weights, but I don't want people to know how much I weigh now, until I have lost all I want to lose. I only hope that there are no major stressers in my life while I try to lose weight. I am a stress eater and drinker.

Go Colts!

I don't say that just because the Colts have been my 'play offs' team in the past few years(the team I root for in the play offs, since Cleveland is never there), I say that because the Browns need a Colts win to make the play offs this year. I am not sure how it all works out, but if both Cleveland and Tennesse win this weekend, the Titans go to the play offs, but if they both lose (or if just Tennesee loses) Cleveland will go to the play offs. Weird, huh? I don't really know how that math works out. Anyway, we Cleveland fans need Indianapolis to start Peyton and the rest of the first team offense for at least a half, so that they can build a lead, win the game, and bump the Browns into the post season for the first time since........ I can't remember. I am feeling a little doubtful about Cleveland's chances, after blowing their chance to clinch a play off spot by losing to Cincinnati last week. What the hell was up with that? Anderson threw back to back interceptions that lead to Bengals TDs in the last minute of the first half. TAKE A FUCKING KNEE ALREADY!!! It was really terrible. All I can say is, if the Bungles (oops) Bengals lost that game (which they almost did) they should have all returned their salaries and wrote the city of Cincinnati a letter of apology. Anderson should do the same for Cleveland, since he basically blew the play offs with his piss poor performance. I think he threw four interceptions in all: two leading to Cincinnati points and the other two halting Cleveland scoring drives. They definaltely looked like the Cleveland Clowns of years past.

Happy Christmahanaquanzikmidan!

No matter what your religion, nationality, race, color, or creed, Happy Holidays! I hope that you get to spend your time with friends, family, and loved ones.

Christmas has been pretty good so far. I was able to sleep until 9:00, if you can believe it! Considering I have two little kids, I figured I would be up at the crack of dawn. The kids all seem to be happy with their gifts. The big ones were: Noah - Ipod Shuffle Gabe - a Robosapien Alydia - a talking playset for her dolls. They were all pleased.

Again, Happy Holidays! Time for me to go eat some cookies!

Christmas Rant

I hate wrapping presents. Actually, truth be told, I SUCK at wrapping pictures. However, year after year I seem to get stuck with wrapping duties. I guess I don't mind, but I get very frustrated with the task. Not the easy square angle boxed items so much, but the weird kid toys that come in a container with a round side, a cut off corner, and weird angles. I hate those. The problem is, every damn toy out there is contained in a weirdly shaped box. The probability of a neatly wrapped toy is next to nothing. Honestly, some of the gifts I have wrapped look like they were wrapped by a two year old. I doubt that the kids will care though, they are just going to rip it all of in a few days. Still, any toy manufatcurers out there reading this post: USE SQUARE BOXES FOR FUCK SAKE!!!!!

Wood? Really??

So, Jessica and I are approaching our fifth wedding aniversary (01/06). It's hard to believe that it's only been five years....it seems like an eternity! JUST KIDDING!!! Seriously though, I really can't believe it's only been five years since we went to Las Vegas to get hitched. There have been ups and downs, but all in all I think we are doing very well. At least we aren't planning on separating or anything. We have some great kids, a nice house, are financially independant (more or less), and have good times together. What more do you need? So, I was wondering what one gets for one's spouse on their fifth anniversary. I firgured it would be something nice, like gold, wine, china, or something sentimental. Nope. Apparently, the fifth anniversary is the wood anniversary. "Happy anniversary, honey! Here's a stick!" I guess it could be something like furniture or a wooden picture frame, but wood seems like a pretty weak gift for the fifth anniversary. Considering I know people that have been married, divorced, and remarried in less than five years, I would think that a fifth wedding anniverary would rate something a little more flashy. I think maybe I just like spending money too much because I think of jewelry or other expensive gifts when I buy presents for my sweetie. The only bummer this year is that Jessica has to work on our anniversary this year. I guess I can cook a nice dinner or something before give her a twig. Maybe I will give her a homemade certificate good for one tree to plant in the spring. It can be our love tree! How cheesey! Seriously though, I know she wants a weeping cherry tree, so maybe that's not so bad of an idea.

Fuck you Nintendo. Fuck you and the Wii you rode in on!

I may have mentioned previously that Jessica and I have been looking for a Nintendo Wii for the kids for Christmas. Ok, Ok.... it is for us too, but mostly for the kids. Well, the Nintendo Wii is about as easy to find as a VD-free hooker in the ghetto. No, scratch that. A VD-free hooker is probably easier to find (not that I would look for one of those). Needless to say, the search has been frustrating. The reason for this is because Nintendo has been holding back production to keep demand high. This has created a Cabbage Patch Kid type frenzy when it comes to finding a Wii. I went to a Game Stop a while back and there was a line foe a Wii just because there was a delivery coming in that MIGHT have a Wii included. There were none. Anyway, yesterday, I found out that both Best Buy and Target were supposed to have Wii's available. So, I got up at 7:00 thinking I would get to Best Buy before they opened. I did, behind about 100 other people that got up earlier. So, I went to Target. There was no line, but when I got to the door an employee said they passed out tickets for the Wii at 7:00. I tried another Target and was told they passed out tickets for the Wii 15 minutes before I got there. If I would have went there first, I would have gotten a ticket and a Wii. Seeing as how this is the second time that I have checked multiple stores for a Wii, I have decided to call it quits. If Nintendo doesn't see fit to provide enough Wii's for the hundreds of people that want one for their families, I say, "Fuck you Nintendo!!" I have my Xbox and have had hours of fun with it and will have hours more to come. If I happen to see a Wii in the future, I will pick one up, but I am no longer going to actively search. It's not that important to me. Besides, we have already bought the kids enough stuff for Christmas.

I Am Legend - Worth Seeing in the Theater

I like sci-fi/horror movies. More specifically, I like the zombie genre: Dawn of the dead, Night of the Living Dead, Resident Evil.....these are all fun movies to me. I can't say why, maybe I just like being scared. Anyway, I Am Legend is the same type of film. Jessica and I went to see it last night and I really enjoyed it. It was really much better than the films I mentioned above. I was right in my post earlier this week. I Am Legend is very similar to Resident Evil and 28 Days Later. Will Smith play a survivor of an outbreak that has wiped out a large part of the world's population. I won't go into details though, because it was a really good movie and worth watching. Will Smith gave a really good performance. Some of the effects were a little fake looking, but they were not bad enough to be turned off by them. There were enough good scares and good plot twists and turns to make this a fun movie to watch. It was weird though. at the end of the movie, people clapped. I don't get that. I guess they are showing their appreciation for the film, but the actors and film makers can't hear them clapping. What's the point?

I was really excited my one of the previews that I saw: The Dark Knight. It is the Batman Begins sequel. It was weird, because I was thinking to myself, "Self, I wonder if there is a new Batman movie coming up sometime soon." just before the trailer started. The movie looks pretty good. The villian this time is The Joker, played by Heath Ledger. I was suprised by this because Heath Ledger is such a pretty boy and he looks hideous as The Joker. I must say that I really like the route that they took for these new Batman films. They are bringing out more of the darkness of the story rather than trying too hard to make the movies look like the comic books. Batman was good with Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker, but then the films just got silly. Anyway, I am excited about this movie.

Best Poker Night Ev'

I played some cards last night after bowling. Considering the shitty shitty night of bowling I had, it was apparent that all of my karma was going towards playing poker. I couldn't buy a strike to save my life and out team got DESTROYED every game. Anyway, the highlight of the evening was poker. One of my poker buddies lives close to the bowling alley and usually has a cash game on Thursdays. I mentioned a few posts ago that I was doing well lately in cards. I am up about $200 since the beginning of November. Not a bad chunk of change. Well, last night made that chunk of change over a month look laughable. I was hitting hand after hand and playing them well. There were only a couple hands that I play where I was upset with myself. I started out with $20, played with it for a while, went up, went down, up again, and then lost it all. I bought in for another $20. I played with it for the rest of the night. Went up, and up, then down a little, and then back up and up some more. All in all, I turned my $40 total buy in into $339. WOO-HOO!! Honestly, some of the winnings were due to luck, but I think most of them were due to playing well. I am amazed at how much money some of the guys lost last night. One guy, Benny, went to the ATM three or four times. He was easily in for at least $200. I guess he can afford it, but I only play with $20 or $40 before I quit. Anyway, I stopped keeping track officially, but I think that I am now even in my poker winnings and losses. I am rather pleased with myself. I hope that it is a sign that I am actually getting good at playing cards, rather than just being lucky.

December DVDs = Me Spending Lots of $$

Ah, the Christmas season. Time for lights, family, food, and mass DVD releases of summer movies. This is always an expensive time of year for me. So far, I have bought the following:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - I saw this in the theater, but these movies are all so good. If you have never seen them or read the books, get out of your hole. The stories are really good.

Pirates of the Carribean At Worlds End - The third enstallment of this movie franchise. I also saw this in the theater, but I had the kids with me, so I was distracted and missed alot. It is a good movie, but the first one is better. Kiera Knightly is hot, but she needs to eat something. WAY too skinny.

Bourne Ultimatum - Another third movie. This is a really fun spy-type film. Matt Damon is a pretty good actor. He definately has made better movie choices (after Good Will Hunting) than Ben Afleck has.

Lost: Season 3 - I don't know why I watch this show. It is so frustrating to me. Every question that is answered poses new questions. I guess it is a show that I love to hate and hate to love. there is supposed to be alot of extra content on the DVDs, so hopfully I will get a few answers.

Next Tuesday: THE SIMPSONS MOVIE!!! I have not seen it yet. Yes, I am that guy. I wanted to, but having three kids restricts the amount of time you get to go see movies.

I think Jessica and I might go see I Am Legend this Friday. It looks like a pretty good film. I like Will Smith as an actor. The story looks like it may be like a Night of the Living Dead or 28 Days Later type film, where the majority of the people are infected and there is only one survivor. Still, it looks like there will be some originality in this film.

BSG bummer

I was watching BSG Razor on DVD. It had some extended scenes that were OK. If you saw the Razor "flashbacks" on Sci-Fi.com, then you saw most of the extended scenes. Mostly it was a young Adama kicking Cylon ass in the old war. There were some other good special features, including interviews and deleted scenes. I found it really disturbing when the actor playing Lee Adama was interviewed and he had a British accent. He sounded like a nancy boy. Anyway, there was conflicting information in the special features. One of the writer/creators said that the final Cylon may be revealed this season. Thus, implying that there will be more seasons. Then, there was a season four preview which said that it was the final season of Battlestar Galactica. WHAT???? This bums me out a bit. I seem to think that one season may not be nearly enough for BSG to wrap up satisfactorily. There are so many questions and loose ends from season 3. I hope that they are not going to use vague explainations to wrap up all of the lingering questions. They probably will though. Anyway, it is supposed to start in March.

General Stuff

A Rant - What's up with DVD sleeves? Do you all remember when CDs came in those huge cardboard boxes? I thought they were neat because I would keep them and hang them up on my walls in my bedroom, but the music industry put a halt to the use of these boxes in order to become more green friendly. Less cardboard used, fewer trees cut down. I got it. Now, the DVD industryhas started the same practice. Not all, but several DVDs are packaged in sleeves, both cardboard and plastic. What the hell for? Nine times out of ten, the box is identicle to the main DVD case: same pictures and same information on the back. I just don't get it. They waste space and make it harder to get into the DVDs. I usually just throw them away.

Bowling - I got one of my bowling balls worked on this past week. I have three, but really only use two. The one I got worked on is the older of the two, my Brunswick Zone. It is probably the more aggressive of my two bowling balls, but I don't use it as much because it was drilled wrong. I guess my hand has changed some through the years. Anyway, I got inserts put into the finger holes. They are rubber sleeve thingies that go into the finger holes to improve grip and reduce finger irritation. Well, I used my Zone last night and rolled a 648 series (216 per game average). I was pretty excited.

Poker - I won more money last night. We played a little bit after bowling at the ally. We have done it before, but this time the security guy told us that the assistant manager didn't want us playing anymore. We didn't have any money on the table, but were using chips. I guess they (the manager) were worried that the chips would violate their liquor license. Well, at least we played long enough to win $30. I am now up $230 for the past month. Nice. It probably would have been more because some guy at the ally asked to join the game and he lost $11 in three hands. All to me, actually. I am on my game, but I need to keep my head about myself. Last time I won a lot, I started playing sloppy and lost it. I am trying to hone my game enough so that I can do better next time I attempt the World Series of Poker even in Indiana coming next year in April. I am going to try to play in as many games as I can up until April.

Multi-post bloggin'

1. Tin Man - The Sci Fi Channel is getting some pretty good programming these days. This past week, Sci fi aired a mini-series called Tin Man. If you are not familiar with the show, it is based off of the story The Wizard of Oz. It is not the same story that the old movie told. It is losely based of the same story, but is more modern. Thee is a Scarecrow type character, a Cowardly Lion character, and a Tin Man Character, only each character is a bit different from classic story (the Tin Man is a police officer. The badge is made of tin Get it?). I won't go into details too much, but it is definately worth watching. You can see it on SciFi.com and I think it is being aired again this weekend.

2. Superbad = Super Hilarious!!! Get the DVD.

3. BUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRR - It snowed about six inches here yesterday. I like the first snow of the year. It is very pretty. I also like it snowy for Christmas. It just seems like it's not really Christmas unless there is some white powder on the ground. Beyond that, I wish the weather was a constant 80 degrees and sunny. Occasional rain is nice too, but the first days of Spring is the best time of year in my book.

4. How my mom stole Christmas - This year my mom told me that she is not buying presents for "adult children" this year and that we are not allowed to buy anything for her. Talk about bah humbugging Christmas! She said that it is because she hates shopping because she never knows what to get anyone. I like that this happens the year AFTER I buy them a DVD player. I was expecting to cash in this year. Plus, we usually hand out pictures of the kids this time of year for presents. I guess she doesn't get any this year. I have a way around it though. My parents' anniversary is Dec 28th, so instead of Christmas presents, they are getting anniversary presents. She is going to hate it.

5. In regards to above, we have almost all of the shopping done for the kids. Noah is getting a Ipod shuffle and some other odds and ends, Gabe is getting a RoboSapien, which is a remote control robot and some Transformers and other toys, and we are getting Aldia some dolls and toys. Actually, we only need to get things for Ally still. The boys are taken care of. We also want to get a Wii, but they are hard to find.

6. Wii's are hard to find. We have checked WalMart, Target, and GameStop. Each place tells us they are sold out and are expecting a shipment any day. I would try to order one online, but I doubt I will find one at a reasonable price that will ship in time.

Here we go again!

Once again Ohio State is in the BCS National Title Game. Nice. Honestly, I was perfectly content playing in the Rose Bowl, but then West Virginia and Missouri both lost Saturday night. It's a Festivus Miricle! The Buckeyes will meet the LSU Tigers, which is the match-up that everyone wanted before both teams lost late in the season. I think it is going to be the best match-up in the country, but I also think some teams got boned. For example, Georgia was ranked 4th last week, behind Ohio State (3rd), and both the #1 and #2 teams lost. Shouldn't that mean that the #3 and #4 teams should become #1 and #2? Then, there is Kansas, the only "big conference" team with one loss. Finally, Hawaii was undefeated this season. Sure, they had the weakest schedule in the nation, but they won all of their games.

Honestly, I don't know too much about LSU. I know that they are good and that they won the SEC title. They dropped two games, one to Kentucky and the other to Arkansas (both in triple OT), but they won six games against top 20 teams. They have a good QC, a 1000 yard rusher, and several good receivers. Also, their defense is tough and hard hitting, much like the Ohio State defense. I think that the LSU offense will give the OSU defense fits, buthopfully the Buckeyes learned their lesson when it comes to playing a team with a QB that can run. I believe that I have heard that LSU is favored in the game by five points. I am hoping that this game will resemble the 2002 BCS title game. No one thought that Ohio State could do anything against Miami, but the Buckeyes shocked the world by winning the game. I am excited to see what happens. GO BUCKS!!!

Special props to Illinois for going to the Rose Bowl to play USC. I fear that they may get their asses kicked, but hope that they show the country that the Big Ten is not the push over conference that everyone seems to think it is. Also, it looks like M*ch*g*n will get to have thier asses handed to them by Florida in the Capital One Bowl. Honestly, I hope the boys in blue win. I always try to support the Big Ten in the bowl games. I won't cheer if scUM wins, but I will be glad if Florida loses. Here is the bowl schedule.

Der Dutchman is Der Delicious

For Thanksgiving, I picked up my cousin Carrie and we went up to my parent's in Toledo. Carrie lives in Marysville, which is northwest of our house (in Hilliard) and is on the direct path to my parents' house (if you take the back roads). On the way home, we got a little lost and ended up in Plain City (in between Marysville and Hilliard). As we were trying to find our way, we passed a resturant called Der Dutchman. The name reminded me of the show Dead Like Me (only on DVD, but a really good show) because the characters all meet at a place called Der Waffle Haus. I really wanted to go to Der Dutchman because it has 'Der' in it's name. Sure, der is only German for 'the' but I am a simple person. So, last night Jessica and I went out with our friends Barb and Brian and we ate at Der Dutchman. It has a normal menu and a buffet, so most of us got the buffet. It was pretty limited in choice, but the quality was outstanding. Imagine all of your favorite comfort foods: ham, chicken, roast beef, meatballs, mashed potatoes, stuffing, beans, corn, YUM!! It was a little pricey for a buffet, but TOTALLY worth it. We walked in, sat down, and was done in under an hour. It was amazing since the parking lot was jammed packed.

After dinner, we went to Barb and Brian's house and played on their Wii for a bit. I think it convinced Jessica that we need to get one. I am fine with that, since it was pretty fun. We played the bowling game and I boxed Barb once. My only concern is how I will connect it to our TV which already has sat TV, DVD, and the Xbox connected to it. I guess I will need to figure it out. The boxing game was fun and made me sweat a little.

As a side note, it looks like the Buckeyes will be playing for the National Title again this year. Both West Virginia and Missouri lost. The only question is going to be which team will meet the Buckeyes. The experts seem to think it will be LSU. I am a little nervous about the Buckeyes playing in the title game again after last year's ass whipping they received from Florida. Hopfully, they have learned a lesson and will not take their opponents lightly. GO BUCKS!!!

We Find Out Today

One one hand, it sucks that the Buckeyes' fate is in the hands of other teams, but on the other hand, all they need to do is sit, wait, and see what happens. Ohio State is number 3 in the BCS rankings behind Missouri and West Virginia. Both teams play today, Missouri against Oklahoma and West Virginia against Pittsburgh. The best shot for OSU is that Oklahoma beats Missouri. It has happened already this season. Honestly, I am happy no matter what happens. It has been a good season for Ohio State. #3 in the country and whooping on M*ch*g*n is a great season in my book. If both Missouri and West Virginia win, Ohio State still goes to the Rose Bowl for a probable game against USC. Not a bad deal. Honestly, a match up with West Virginia scares the crap out of me. The way Illinois mobile QB tore us up is a pretty good indicator that WVU would run through our defense as well. Well, I guess what happens happens. No matter what happens, Ohio State is going to get to go to a good Bowl game.

I have been doing pretty well playing poker lately. I'd say that, over the past month, I am up about $200. I was keeping track of the exact amount of my winnings and losses, but I was getting depressed watching the negative amount increase. I am basing this turn around on the movie Rounders. It is about poker players. I had become too cautious ad was playing my cards more that I was playing the players at the table. Texas Holdem is more about reading the players and betting on what you think they have than it is about betting on the cards that you have. For example, last night, I had two 5's in my hand and totally bought the hand. There was a king, queen, and some other cards all higher than my 5's. I kept betting the whole way, knowing there was no way I had the best hand, and was able to win me a big pot. Good times.