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April 22nd, 2009
October 19th, 2008
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 I really, really wish that the grill of the A/C unit right outside my bedroom would stop choosing the weekend that I get the flu to start hitting the fan. I think this is like the third year in a row this has happened. |
October 10th, 2008
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 Last night, I rushed home to meet up with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) ifuwereafrog for dinner, but when I went to my car to go pick her up, I noticed that the driver's side door was not fully closed. My initial thought was that I didn't close it properly when I last drove, but I realized that all my belongings in the car had been rifled through. Urgently needing to meet up with Erin (and having a dead battery from the dome-light), I locked up the car and decided to go over it today. Around lunchtime today, I called up AAA to get a battery boost, and when they arrived, took a quick inventory of things that I should expect to find in my car, but are not in there: - A ziplock bag of quarters amounting to about ten dollars in the change cup
- Other change in the driver's side hand-hold.
- My portable air-compressor for use refilling tires when they go flat.
- An emergency car kit including various tools and a set of jumper cables.
- An FM Transmitter for portable music players (and included cable) which could also play mp3s off of USB drives.
- A CD case full of CD-Rs burned with music.
- Who knows what else?
Silver linings: The thieves didn't break a window or anything to get in, so no damage, and they didn't take the CDs located on the visor which include actual purchased-from-store CDs. Still, getting burgled sucks the bag. |
January 18th, 2008
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The older sibling (who could probably go as "thebrightseason" or "the original yellow bastard") sent me a recent New York Times article regarding Midtown Atlanta: We skip dessert, heading instead for a nightcap at our favorite spot down on Ponce, an Atlanta institution since 1965. The anticipation grows as we near. Will the circular beacon in the window flash its neon welcome?
“Hot Now,” it screams, and the whooping commences in the back seat. We watch as our glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts rumble down the conveyor belt, knowing that a frosty night in Atlanta cannot end any more warmly than this. Mmmmmm.... doughnuts. |
August 11th, 2007
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Hit the Alamo Jacks 3rd Anniversary Party last night and met up with the Sweetest Girl in All the World. We spent much of the evening playing Wordster on the bar crack video gaming machine with her ex-girlfriend's mom. It was good, however, meeting up with all the people I hadn't seen in a long while down in the Newnan area. One highlight was hearing the opening "band" 8-bit Wonder, an act consisting of a dude armed with laptop, synthesizer, old Nintendo controllers, mixers, samplers and a mic, playing game-influenced Electronica/Dance reminiscent of VNV Nation crossed with whoever that band was that did "Pac-Man Fever." ( Embedded player behind the cut ) |
May 13th, 2007
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 I know that Emergency Broadcasts are important, and I've even tolerated your stupid interrupt-the-program-when-you-test-the-s ystem-during-primetime-programming test procedure. But tonight, I watched you completely interrupt the penultimate episode of this season of Supernatural some five minutes from the ending, thereby completely obscuring the action from when ( spoiler ) to when ( spoiler ), rendering my watching of said program incomplete and unenjoyable, for the broadcast of an emergency notice of a child abduction which contained no discernable details other than it was in the state of Georgia. In short, you suck donkey balls. |
April 7th, 2007
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 On my drive home just now, it was snowing in Midtown Atlanta. |
February 8th, 2007
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 So last night, I ended up hitting a local bar for their Guitar Hero competition. Having played very little actual Guitar Hero II, I didn't sign up to compete, my primary reason for being there was to meet up with El Guapo, his brother skander, and his other brother who to the best of my knowledge has no sort of blog. I get there somewhat earlier than the rest of the gang and mill about the bar while I wait for the Guapos. At one point one of the competitors walks up to me and asks, "Did you play at the competition at the Independent a long time ago?" When I reply in the affirmative, he responds: "Dude, you're the reason that I play Guitar Hero!" I'm not sure what to think of that. Listening to the morning radio, I learned that the general contractor assigned to do roadwork on I-20 near Atlanta may be fined for exceeding the early-morning time alloted to blocking a lane on the interstate and causing a disproportionate amount of gridlock. Coupled with the recent news that Turner Broadcasting will likely pay some two million dollars for the media and police disruption of Boston as a result of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force viral marketing campaign, it occurs to me that if we're going to make people pay for screwing up traffic, then the purveyors of the Big Dig probably owe the city a pretty penny. And finally, from countessmary: Bold the series that you've seen for 3 or more episodes. Underline the series that you know for sure (or that you've seen them complete). If you want, add three more series (keep it in alphabetic order). I added Beauty and the Geek, Cupid, and Psych. ( big list of television series ) |
November 26th, 2006
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Random Redneck Woman at the Georgia Aquarium: I tell you what, foreigners are the rudest people in the whole world.
thepeopleseason: Thank you very much. |
August 21st, 2006
January 4th, 2006
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 There is very little in this world that is upsetting or off-putting that sitting down with The Sweetest Girl in All the World a.k.a. The Best Bartender in Atlanta a.k.a. my dear friend Runa can't relieve. |
October 3rd, 2005
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 I managed to catch Serenity three times this weekend--Friday night I met up with leeannslytherin and crazchica. Saturday, I avoided the Florida/Alabama game with another viewing and then met up on Sunday with countessmary (who I wasn't able to sit with Friday night) for a third. In general, the Mandarin in the movie is much better than the Mandarin in the series. Since some of the longer phrases are either spoken offscreen or look a bit like they've been ADR'd, I suspect that they had a dialogue/dialect coach come in to a recording studio and run them through the phrases multiple times and picked the best one. ( Some Mandarin Translations--Possible Spoilers )Like I said earlier, Serenity is good, and much of the success of the movie (and any possible future Firefly-related projects) is dependent on both the first and second weeks of ticket sales. So here's an offer for those of you that read this who have little idea of what I've just talked about. Of the qualifying persons who: live in the Atlanta area and have seen neither Serenity nor Firefly, the first one who comments on this entry will receive: one ticket to a showing of this movie for this coming weekend. I'm thinking the 4:40 showing at Regal Hollywood 24, but I'm flexible. In other news, I watched Mirrormask this Saturday night, and it was good, too. A bit slow at parts, but visually striking. |
September 9th, 2005
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 The latest computers capable of running our application for the client have built-in 802.11b antennae. The users have had a lot of trouble getting the Wifi working (they're the typical user--intimidated and clueless), so as a part of my job, I ran around town today testing with two of the machines. After eating first at our clients location (free lunch), I hit Lenox Mall to test at the Apple Store, Panera Bread, and the Food Court. I then drove down Peachtree and hit the Panera Bread next to the Imperial Fez, and then continued down to Whole Foods and Dunkin Donuts. Finally, I hit Aprés Diem where I could connect to their network, as well as the networks for The Independent and The Highlander. In the immortal words of my former roommate, Je vais vomir. |
July 6th, 2005
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 I'm going to IKEA. |
July 5th, 2005
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I spent the day at Centennial Olympic Park yesterday, playing Uno, rummy, and poker with AK, awaiting the night-time fireworks display, and getting a sunburn on my knees. Despite the early overbearing sun and the persistent light rain that would come later, a good time was had. We watched two bands--the first one of those generic cover bands that play crowd-pleasing sing-alongs like "Brown Eyed Girl" and "We Are Family." They did play "I Will Survive" but bucked trend and skipped "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" and (thankfully) "YMCA." The second band was called The Classic Rock All-Stars, and was comprised of members of various bands from the 70s, the only one I recognized being Iron Butterfly. I told AK that I would be pissed if they didn't play "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" and while she didn't think they would, we would hear that overwrought synth organ intro a few songs later. They even made some effort to play the full 17-minutes, albeit with some extraneous flourishes that you always get in a live concert. The fireworks started afterwards, and it occured to me that it's rather funny that most fireworks displays in these here United States choose to end their program with music from a gay Russian man. The announcer came on after, however, and said "we'd like to leave you with this one thought..." and music from a megalomaniacal anti-semite who was ceaselessly in debt began. I guess the organizers don't have a keen sense of irony. Kill the wabbit, indeed. |
June 6th, 2005
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After flipping me off not once, but twice some five hours ago after I had the audacity to honk at you for cutting me off, I'm still pissed off at you. If there's ever the off-chance that I run into your stupid slacker ass again, I do intend to beat the living shit out of you. James, in need of an Anger Workbook. |
May 27th, 2005
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The boss had this query: does Guinness track world records for the most days spent on a construction crane by a suspected murderer? |
May 17th, 2005
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 If you ever go to one of the various locations of The Loop Pizza Grill in Atlanta, GA and consider an individual pizza with the "roasted garlic" topping, please keep in mind that while it might suggest chopped and/or minced garlic, "roasted garlic" consists of WHOLE GARLIC CLOVES scattered all over the six-inch-diameter pie. Not that this is a bad thing. |
March 8th, 2005
December 30th, 2004
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 Got back last night from a lazy, lazy week in Miami. After mom's visit for a few days, we drove from Atlanta to Miami, with a stop in West Palm to pick up the elder brother. During the stop, I watched him play Counterstrike for a few hours before I began to feel slightly nauseous. Must be nice, having a computer fast enough to make you vomit. Watched the entirety of the the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions with Jerry and Dad. Mom bowed out in the middle of Two Towers, and though she watched a bit of Return, I don't think it's something she's thrilled to partake of. I've somehow managed, however, to get my parents (mostly my dad) addicted to Everwood. I watched most of the first season while I was down in Miami, and at some point, I'll need to send the discs down to them so they can watch the whole thing in rapt attention. Things my brother has overheard his FSU-alum co-worker say: - "Well, you should understand. It's in your native language."
regarding the Aramaic The Passion of the Christ to someone from Italy.
- "It must suck to lose to an in-state rival."
to a Virginia Tech-alum regarding Virginia Tech's loss to West Virginia a couple of years ago.
Got cash, some Tai Chi books, Katamari Damacy for the birthday/Christmas. "Katamari Damacy is not a violent game, but you can roll up balls of little children and nobody knows what happens to them after that," according to Wired.com. Drove back up yesterday, listening to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I also had some PKD short stories, the Return of the King audiobook, Prisoner of Azkaban, and some recording to help me learn French. Personally, I think all of the above would have been more worthwhile... |
December 2nd, 2004
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 In case there are people who actually follow this thing and are wondering about my whereabouts, I am alive and mostly well in Atlanta. Last Wednesday, I went to work after a long night of attempted insect genocide. I left work early because of a creeping nausea which at home turned into dry heaves, full-body soreness, and a general malaise. I have a feeling it was either a case of food poisoning or too much exposure to a variety of ant killers including, but not exclusive to, CVS Ant and Roach killer, Terro Ant Killer liquid, a vinegar and water mixture (apparently ants seem to like that not-so-fresh feeling), and some ouroboric acid. Particularly irksome was the knowledge that despite the imperative urge to bring forth stomach acid through my mouth and nostrils, I would have to get up at 6:00 in the AM to get to the airport on time for my flight down to Miami. While I did feel better in the evening, I made sure, despite my pervasive fatigue, to pack some plastic bags in my carry-on, on the off-chance that the a bumpy flight would make me want to spew some amalgam of bottled water and Cinnabon. Didn't do much of anything down in Miami, aside from watching a whole bunch of television and DVDs. Aside from a marathon of Modern Marvel's "Engineering Disasters" on the History Channel, I watched a DVD of The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers and finally caught Donnie Darko. The family also sat down together and watched both Hero and House of Flying Daggers even though we'd already seen the former once before. So I'm back in Atlanta, doing a whole bunch of squat because I'm getting ready for this weekend--the family is heading to Los Angeles, where we're supposed to do a bunch of touristy type things. I don't think we'll be going to Universal, but I did just make a reservation to go see the WB Studio Tour. Hopefully, as we pass through the Gilmore Girls set, I'll catch Lauren Graham's eye, and I can whisk her away to Tahoe or BC or somewhere for a month of something or another involving me dressed up as Santa Claus. Yeah, right. A silly Chinese boy can dream, can't he? |
November 14th, 2004
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Right now, it feels like it's about 50 degrees outside, with a non-insignificant wind chill that always seems to hover around my place (granted, to someone who lives further north than Atlanta, this is nothing, but it's a little more than chilly for someone who grew up in Miami). Since I've been sick for the past four days with a hollowed-out throat, I've pretty much watched all the TiVo I can stand. And now I really, really want to wash my car. |
November 10th, 2004
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 Last night, the guys got together for a bit of trivia over at the Universal Joint. We lead throughout most of the game, but only took second place when the team in third answered the final question: "For either Ohio or Virginia, name six of the eight presidents that the state produced." I'm convinced the third-place team pulled the answers to that one out of their asses cellphones. Lunchtime today, I hit Pho Hoa for a Roast Pork/Spring Roll Vietnamese Rice Noodle Bowl, anticipating the Pork Sung Bun and Char Siu Bao from the Chinese Bakery afterwards. Not only was the Bakery closed, but the Grocery store was out of the frozen potstickers I was planning on making tonight for dinner. It seems the world is conspiring to serve me only a heaping bowl of disappointment today. I think the proper plan would be to go home, hole up, and just watch Lost and Smallville over a delivered pizza. Let's hope the power/satellite doesn't go out. |
July 1st, 2004
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When you're driving on an interstate-to-interstate on-ramp, and there's a moderately-sized upturned orange cone in the middle of the left lane, consider the following before making a complete and abrupt stop on the on-ramp: - You are driving a Mercedes Benz M Class SUV. Since it's on its side, the cone will likely pass right under your car.
- There are a few large and heavy vehicles moving at a fast rate of speed behind you.
- Whatever damage the soft plastic cone may cause to the undercarriage of your overpriced luxury SUV is in no way comparable to the damage it will receive if I plow my vehicle into its backside.
- Next time, quit being a fucking assbag, don't speed up your car in some machismo-inspired act of roadhoggery, and let the person in the merge lane merge. Maybe next time you won't get caught by a stupid cone unawares, and nearly kill the three drivers behind you.
And to think, more than likely, if I hadn't avoided your stupid, big, silver ass, I would have been the one at fault. |
June 28th, 2004
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 Since very seldom go into the area that I'm visiting tonight, I thought it prudent to look up the address and get some driving directions. Here are the first 11 steps to the 13-step directions from my house to where I'm going: - Start at 955 Juniper ST NE, Atlanta on Juniper ST NE - go < 0.1 mi
- Turn Right on Peachtree PL NE - go 0.1 mi
- Turn Right on Peachtree ST NE - go 1.0 mi
- Continue on Peachtree ST NE/W Peachtree ST NW - go 0.1 mi
- Continue on Peachtree ST NE/Peachtree ST NW/W Peachtree ST NW - go < 0.1 mi
- Bear Left on Peachtree ST NE/Peachtree ST NW - go 0.2 mi
- Continue on Peachtree RD NW/Peachtree ST NE - go < 0.1 mi
- Continue on Peachtree RD NE/Peachtree RD NW/Peachtree ST NE/Peachtree ST NW - go 1.5 mi
- Peachtree RD NE/Peachtree RD NW/Peachtree ST NE/Peachtree ST NW becomes Peachtree RD NE/Peachtree RD NW - go 1.6 mi
- Continue on Roswell RD NE/Roswell RD NW - go 1.1 mi
- Continue on Roswell RD NE - go 3.2 mi
The sad thing being that out of all the street names listed, they only amount to about four actual distinct roadways on the path that I'm travelling. Of the instructions listed, I only actually have to follow two turns to get to my destination. I'll say one thing--this city has "character"... |
June 23rd, 2004
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Damnit. Hot Water Music played the Gwinnett Arena last Saturday. I missed it. Helldamn. |
June 22nd, 2004
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I'm sitting now, at the Independent (The Bar formerly known as DuPree's). We've just wired them for DSL and Wireless access. Bonus. Party. |
June 16th, 2004
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Based on a tip from vudiddy's poker mailing list, I decided to do a bit of information gathering on the Texas Hold'em tournaments being held nightly at the various Jock's and Jill's locations around Atlanta. Their Midtown location holds their tournament on Tuesday nights, so yesterday, I woke up at 7:20 AM to get to work early, so I could cut out to get in an early registration. ( The Tournament Rules and Administrivia ) As for the actual gameplay, it was a mix between some fairly good players and some fish. Our first hand saw an all-in bet when the board showed 98732 rainbowed, and a 65o went up against a T6. I lasted a fair amount of time at the table, playing pretty tightly, knocking two short-stacked players out. My penultimate hand, however, I caught a pair of ladies UTG, and bumped the bet to triple the big blind (600). The fellow to my left calls, and everyone else folds except the BB, who raises to 2000. I watch him for a bit, and he's not giving anything away, not really meeting my eye, and I can tell he's got a big hand. Instinct tells me to fold, but since this is pretty much a free tournament, I decide to call. Guy to my left calls too. Flop comes 484 rainbow, and BB moves all-in. I call with a shorter stack, and the guy to my left calls. Since he's got the smallest stack, I actually get to keep 700, because apparently, there's no side pots (I think the rule sheet actually said "No side bets," which is an entirely different thing, in my estimation). BB shows his pocket cowboys, I show my pocket queens, and the other player shows suited Motown (WTF??!?!). Turn and river are rag-rag, and the big blind takes the pot. Next hand, I'm in BB, and I catch ATo. Everyone folds to the SB who raises me all in. This time, he's got the queens. Flop is J8-rag, and I'm calling for a runner-runner straight. the 9 comes on the turn, but the river is no help, and I walk. While part of me regrets not coming off of the queens, I don't feel too bad about busting out--I played most everything pretty well. From there, I went to the Independent, told O about the tournament setup, suggesting that we should do something like that up there. Unfortunately, he says, as a "pool hall," the Independent is pretty much precluded from doing anything of the sort--technically it's illegal for the bar to have even a deck of cards in the house, or a set of dominoes. How's that for the Puritanically stupid? |
June 15th, 2004
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 An assortment of things that have, either peripherally or directly, made my life slightly less boring (in a good way or bad...) in the past few days. - That which I should not have picked up at Target for seventeen dollars:
- Soul Calibur II for the Playstation2, which I played in Weapon Master mode until 12:30 AM last night, despite my intentions to go to the Independent and be social.
- They who should suffer grievous bodily harm:
- The people who stole Rob's chained-up 2001 Kawasaki Ninja ZX 9R at some point last night. They should have the skin flayed from their faces. Glow-stick sodomy is too good for them.
- He who should have massive amounts of funding:
- Rob del Bueno, bassist for Man or Astro-man?, who's trying to push biodiesel use in the Atlanta area and the Southeast through his site, Vegenergy.
- He who must not be named:
- Voldemort
- She who should probably write something a little more substantial than "testing. testing..." since she went ahead and registered for an LJ:
- genny0926
- That which does not work:
- Motorola's Mobile Power Tools, which have given me the capability to hook my new phone up to my computer and synchronize calendar and contacts, but which, for some inexplicable reason, will not upload my self-created MIDI file as a polyphonic ringtone. Damn you.
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April 22nd, 2004
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Fuck you and your damn windshield-cracking stones. |
March 30th, 2004
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I spent the majority of this evening over at the bar formerly known as DuPree's. Through some stranger-than-fiction wrangling, the space is again in the hands of those who would not only sell liquor and beer with a valid liquor license, but also do more for encouraging business than just sell crystal meth and coke from behind the bar. For the past few nights, R has been helping out with a new buildout of the place (which is now going to be known as The Independent). I headed up there tonight to see if I could lend a hand. Our biggest frustration tonight came as a result of the previously mentioned liquor-license-challenged individual, who decided to paint the walls of the bar and revarnish all the wood surfaces seemingly without the foresight to mask off anything that didn't require paint or varnish. As a result, the bar has a number of dark-chocolate wood pillars and door facades with numerous light khaki splotches. We tried using a stain to cover up these items, but it simply rubs right off of the paint surface, and unfortunately, since the painters are coming tomorrow to paint the walls a dark olive, those light splotches will be particularly noticable. At this point, we decided to try to cover up the splotches as much as possible and then use a glossy spray fixative to try to get it to set without having to rub the offending paint stains. Towards the end of the night, it started looking better. At this point, it's the best we can hope for. |
March 25th, 2004
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From the Coffee Achiever: Georgia House bans female genital piercings: Amendment sponsor Rep. Bill Heath, R-Bremen, was slack-jawed when told after the vote that some adults seek the piercings.
"What? I've never seen such a thing," Heath said. "I, uh, I wouldn't approve of anyone doing it. I don't think that's an appropriate thing to be doing." This is why we're living in a world of shit--because we have idiotic legislators who tack crap amendments to good bills. I think pretty much everyone will agree that forced female genital mutilation is a bad thing. Why though, in conjunction with this, does there need to be some law (sponsored primarily by a man, no less) which states that a woman who wants her clitoral hood pierced cannot legally do so in this state? There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Mr. Heath, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. So shut the fuck up, and quit legislating something you know jack about, you stupid asspony. |
February 29th, 2004
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When I first moved to Atlanta close to five years ago, batnandu was my guide to everything. In the first two weeks alone, I ate out every night, went rock climbing at least twice, stayed up well past 2:00 AM on weekdays, and pretty much did so much that one night I exasperatedly said to him, "Dude? Ever since I moved up here, we have done nothing but do shit!" Our most common hangout, however, was DuPree's, a pool hall located about 5 miles from my apartment at the time, and about 1 mile from my place now. I started as the friend of a regular, not necessarily moving in the same circles as the bartenders and managers. Over time, I would change the way I would frequent DuPree's--from playing darts to playing the occasional pool game to playing in one of the house teams; from learning various pool variations on the house table to skipping pool altogether for games of Spades and Hearts or mock-Poker games in the so-called "dining area"--it didn't matter what we were doing. The common thread was that we were pretty much always doing amongst the patrons and workers at DuPree's. After rock climbing weekly with one of the owners of the bar, we obviously made DuPree's a favorite after-climb stop. When I was unemployed for nine months, I helped him open another bar in another part of town. The SGITW used to work there. She took me along on a short vacation to the Florida panhandle. All the people who got me into my poker obsession were regular patrons. Through this place, I have come to know some of the most varied and talented and dear characters I will ever know. So tonight I mourn the passing of DuPree's, on the final night it lived as I knew it. While the most of us laughed and joked as we sat at the bar watching C and K calculate their earnings, I could feel a palpable sense of loss from each person there. Some voiced it, some didn't. We all knew there was no coming back after we shut the door. The bartenders are gone, the managers away. Most of the pictures of the mischief, the dogs, the cats, the babies have been taken from the walls. We will no more gather in the same smoke-filled space to play Gin or ogle patrons or throw water balloons at one another. The new ownership's penchant for Springer-esque drama has robbed the place of any sort of joy (and indeed, monetary compensation) for the workers. And so they, and consequently we, shall move on. But not without some sadness. Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/nolegs/melancholy.gif) melancholy |
January 26th, 2004
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Jerry visited this past weekend, and I took the tail end of last week off to hang with him. His flight got in at 11:30 or so on Thursday, and after grabbing him at the MARTA station, I had to stop off at work for a little bit, but afterwards, we went to Oxford comics to pick up my weekly stack (which just consisted of Megatokyo: Book 2). Thursday night, we met up with a bunch of DuPree's and Thinking Man Tavern regulars at the North End (a.k.a. Peachtree Tavern) in Buckhead to support our very own Runa Ware in the finals for Insite Atlanta's ( Best Bartender in Atlanta 2004 ) Friday, we hit Fernbank, and managed to catch the Roar: Lions of the Kalahari IMAX movie. At night we hit Dave and Buster's and played a couple of rounds of Battletech in the new Tesla pods. Saturday, we went to Chinatown to get haircuts, and then hit the Atlanta Cyclorama and Oakland Cemetary, after which we just hit a Borders. We also walked along Peachtree in Midtown, taking in all of the new furniture and design stores. Finally, on Sunday, we just walked around Lenox Mall until it was time to head over to the airport for his flight. Most of the trip, however, we were trying to get in all the ( good eats that Atlanta has to offer ). It's a good thing we walked around most of the time, otherwise, I think I'd be rolling around in the office today. Just think, Jerry also suggested we eat at Fogo de Chao... Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to get to the High Museum, as well as take the actual tour of Oakland Cemetary, but we're kinda saving that up for the next time he comes up. |
January 6th, 2004
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Dear Atlanta Urinal-Constipation: Thank you very much for the complimentary bird-cage liner. I'm sure the two storage units located underneath the stairway also appreciate their copies. -J For those of you somewhat familiar with Atlanta (or at least my Atlanta routine), the DuPree's sold off DuPree's (apparently to some snooty Buckhead guy). batnandu's not sure what's going to happen with the league team, so right now, my pool playing days are in flux. I suppose I'll just hang out more at the Thinking Man Tavern... Over the Christmas break, my dad gave me his old digital camera (2.1 megapixel), so, among other things, I can finally get those pictures of the different poker hands. I will have to grab the table-topper from tiiguy, though. When I was down in Miami for Thanksgiving, Steph suggested that I should probably start sending Christmas/Holiday cards to my friends and loved ones. I don't know--the whole Christmas card thing just seems like something that guys, in their stereotypical obliviousness, don't do. So just as a straw poll, how many guys out there send Christmas cards, and (since you're not women, I feel completely comfortable asking) what's your age? |
January 1st, 2004
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Happy New Year, everyone! And a special shout-out to bratsey. Hope everything's going well in Japan, and hope to see you home soon. Had one of the best New Year's I've had in a long time. I started at sdtaylor555's place where a bunch of the Dragoncon Buffy track regulars, including aviationwolf and jackzodiac, got together for a party. We first went to catch a showing of Peter Pan (which, in my opinion, was the cinematic equivalent of Chinese take-out--pleasant to look at and perhaps consume, but it will leave you empty and unsatisfied). After the movie we returned to Sarah's place, and had a bit to eat and talked about many a fannish subject. I think the conversations wound their way through South Park, George Clooney, ER, Monty Python (because what geek gathering ever foregoes the Holy Grail quotage?), Harry Potter, Star Wars in various media (film as well as computer games), sock puppets, and my previous suggestion for relationship outplacement. I left the party around 10:30 PM or so, because I had a standing engagement at Dupree's for the regular New Year's Eve poker game. When I got there, I found everyone gathered around a pool table, playing a makeshift craps game, with playing cards representing the field and khubli banking. For a while there, the "customers" were doing rather well, but ultimately the shooter would crap out, and he'd take down the large stacks of chips everyone had on the table. When that game broke down, we began our regular dealer's choice game. For some reason, after folding a few winners, I was hitting lucky cards all night--poker is generally more a game of luck when you're playing at 0.25-2.00 dollar unstructured betting limits. I played a Screwy Louie hand where I passed a pair of Kings and a Queen away, and flattop and khubli passed me three tens to give me tens full of Jacks--the best boat available when two others showed their Aces for the low hand. I made it up to about 160 dollars in profits early in the night, and played tight for a while. When some of the players started getting low, I played a bit more loose (because it's a friendly game). Eventually the two tables of players broke down to one, and we played until about 7:00 AM or so. I ended up about 120 up, after realizing the bank was about 21 dollars short of cash (I had been handling the bank, with khubli). tiiguy was nice enough to split the loss with me, although when he learned that I was so far up, he got a bit miffed. I got home around 7:30, washed the second-hand smoke from myself, and went to bed. |
December 20th, 2003
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So aside from having to work on my birthday, it went pretty well--my supervisor brought in this dark chocolate-raspberry torte pie thing, and I had all of one slice before it glued my mouth shut with a rich, gooey, chocolatey, crack goodness. Then my boss' wife brought in their grand-dog, a lovely Whippet named Molly. Despite my boss' description of her as, "about as smart as an avocado," she really was quite friendly. I'm not a pet owner kind of person--even though dogs really take to me. I tend to prefer the lower-maintenance cats, but I'm allergic to them. Molly was such a sweet dog, however, I could envision myself raising a dog like her... After work I trudged through the afternoon traffic on 75/85 to get to Newnan. Took about an hour to get through it all, but it was worth it. I had some pizza and snacks, and then we started a Hold'em tournament. I got knocked out when I flopped top pair (Queens) against khubli who had pocket cowboys. After dropping out of a second tournament (where I'd built up a good stack playing aggressively, but lost it calling semi-bluffs which turned into suckouts), everyone presented Gene and me with our respective cakes--I got a fancy cake with musesfool's Remus Lupin on it--actually it had Obi-Wan fighting Jango Fett. Way cool. I'll take a picture of the plastic figurines later and post them. We did play one more tournament, and I managed to stay in it long enough to take second place and double my entry fee--by the time it was down to khubli and me, he'd amassed a sizable chip advantage, and the cards were really cold for me playing heads up. I managed to double up a few times, but low pocket pairs (3s or 4s) wouldn't hold up. As far as the birthday booty, everyone got me a gift certificate to Mimosa, the spa/salon in Decatur, which is pretty sweet because my back's been bugging me a bit lately, and Gene got me Odyssey by Delerium, something that's been on my Amazon wishlist for a while. As far as the other kind of birthday booty, well, it's business as usual. I drove home from Newnan at about 3:00 in the morning, because I could feel the beginnings of disease taking me. Slept in until about 11:30, then watched this week's 24, Celebrity Poker Showdown (the players seem to be getting better...), That 70's Show, and The O.C.. Now it's time for breakfast. |
October 15th, 2003
September 9th, 2003
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Arrgh. The mere mention of cuban sandwiches somewhere on the fflist has now given me an enormous craving for Kool Korners. And this is after a large bowl of Bún from Pho Hoa. I think that I'm allergic to dark chocolate. Every time I eat a piece of dark chocolate, my throat tightens up like that feeling you get before you get sick. What I'm wondering is why doesn't it happen with milk chocolate--is it the milk (which sets off my lactose intolerance) or some other dark -> milk chocolate processing thingy? You wouldn't know it from the description, but dried, shredded pork tastes really, really good scattered on top of a sweet baked bun. Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/nolegs/uncomfortable.gif) hungry |
December 27th, 2002
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Last night I went to sleep around 1:00 or so, after playing a game of computer chess and reading Nick Bantok's Alexandria. At approximately 7:45 A.M., the power went out around Peachtree Street from North Avenue to about 14th Street this morning. I woke up to the sound of the First Union Building backup generators kicking in--imagine the sounds of a large diesel engine strapped to a skyscraper. Not so shortly thereafter, the plaintive alarms of my two UPS units started. For about forty-five minutes, I half-listened to the syncopated beeping and tried to return to my dreams. Amidst the cacophony, my clock radio kicked off its own alarm, with the morning news and traffic report. Figuring that listening would just run the battery backup down on the clock, I shut it off and tried in vain to go back to sleep. I tossed about the bed until about 9:32 and then finally rose to shower and shave for work. I was about 10 minutes late, which isn't really a huge concern. I had wanted to stop off at the LaVista Sandwich Shop about six doors down from the office to grab a bagel with egg and cheese or something, but as I approached, I noticed their closed door. They're shut down for the season. So now I'm exceedingly hungry. ( The previously promised More Christmas stuff )Current Mood: hungry Current Music: "But Not Tonight" - Scott Weiland |
December 23rd, 2002
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DuPree's held it's "Family" Christmas Party last night, and we all stuffed ourselves with a potluck dinner, and tossed gifts all around the bar. Like I said before, the acrylic yarn that I ordered for Marsha last Monday is still in Transit according to UPS, so I gave her a card which said: How do you keep a sweet and lovely girl in suspense?
-Ship her present UPS :( She still demanded that I tell her what I got her at that spot, so I reneged and told her. She was most excited. :)  Earnie got me two really cool things-- Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich, the story of the M.I.T. Blackjack team, and a stuffed GIR Plushie. Earlier in the week, Earnie was telling me about the Invader Zim stuff he saw at Urban Outfitters, and said "Which one do you have?"--totally trying to figure out which one to get me. Of course, I was totally oblivious. I'll be flying back down to Miami tomorrow morning at 9:50 in the A.M. Apparently the airports are supposed to be crazy, with one guy getting to his flight two hours early and still being two hours from the counter when his flight took off. Luckily, I'll be checking in online... hopefully the lines won't be too long. Current Mood: ready to leave work... |
November 24th, 2002
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Ok, here's pretty much the definition of frustration: Yesterday was Katie Earle's birthday, and we took her out for a night of fun. Nandu and I started out playing chess up at DuPree's. At some point, I went downstairs to Apres Diem to get some dessert, and The Devil was there. We made some small talk, blah blah blah. Who really cares what we talked about? Will the subject or any of the given details make her want to crawl into bed with me any time soon? No. So let's just move on... I went back up to DuPree's and hung about until it was time to go to the Cheetah. If you want to see something amusing, try going to a strip club with 30+ lesbians, and watch some of the dancer's reactions. Dave was standing by one when the whole bevy came in, and one dancer exclaimed, "OH. MY. GOD!" There were a few standouts, and Earnie was generous enough to buy a dance from one of them for me, as well as a shooter (according to Earnie, the shooter girl, Onyx--right, like that's her real name--can deep throat a Voss bottle; I shudder). But as fun as strip clubs are, when you're condemned to go home alone, they're ultimately extremely frustrating. Afterwards, at the behest of Keely, we headed over to My Sister's Room. Which was interesting to say the least. Of course, Jeech, Earnie and I basically hung out in a group by ourselves, lesbian-watching. There was quite a wide menagerie of lesbians there last night, and it was funny watching the different types making their way about the crowd. There was one girl dressed in all black, and a red necktie, who was quite fetching, but both Earnie and I were a bit uncomfortable watching her for fear of some random right-hook coming and belting us out of nowhere. Again, however, despite the anthropological (and the leering) interest, being a guy and going to a lesbian bar is just an exercise in frustration. And then I went home to shower and sleep. Alone. See? Frustration. On another note, on Friday night, I hit Apres Diem to get some tea to go. As I was walking up the stairs, I stumbled and spilled hot scalding water on my left hand. Jules was kind enough to give me a cold towel to wrap around my hand. When Patty saw it, she asked me what had happened. I explained everything, and she followed up with, "Oh, that sucks. Could you move your hand around the table and wipe it down?" Imagine the fun of trying to play Spades while your hand is covered with a cold, damp, icy towel. Oh well. I might be going to see Die Another Day, but I've got way too much television to watch at home... Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/nolegs/frustrated.gif) frustrated Current Music: Some jazzy stuff at Diem |
November 21st, 2002
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Ok. About two months ago, I made the motions to start refinancing my condo, because the rates were good, and I could use the extra cash. First I had to call around to all the various insurance companies and get condo contents insurance coverage. Most of the time, mortgage companies will want you to show some proof of coverage so they know that they're not going to just lose money on shit. It took me about 2 weeks to get anywhere with coverage because my existing car insurance company (State Farm) apparently had quotas on how many homeowner's policies that they could write. So I finally found a company that would cover me (Farmers), paid their fucking blood money, and got ready for the refinance. After shopping around for good rates, I actually put an application in for my refinance with a company who took my application (along with a $300 application fee). At one point I had to meet a guy at my place so he could appraise it, and then...nothing. For two weeks. When I finally get some news, it's bad--some litigious bint who lived here for less than a year has decided to sue the Homeowner's Association and the Developer of the place for water damage (to her bloody furniture). Someone please explain to me how the damned homeowner's association is liable for water damage? How does that make any sense? On top of that, because the HOA has only been in the control of the homeowners since January of this year, the refinancing's underwriters have determined that the mortgage will be unwarrantable. Eh? All of this means absolutely nothing to me. I've been paying the fucking HOA since October of 2000. How exactly does the voting control of the stupid thing matter? Well, I can bitch and moan all I want, but the bottom line is that - I need to do more running around to get my place refinanced,
- I'll probably get a higher rate than what I locked in at, and
- Dealing with mortgage companies is about as fun as I'd imagine being the recipient of lubeless fisting would be.
I need to find out who sued the HOA, so I can spit a chocolate-oj-milk-based loogie on her if I ever see her again. Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/nolegs/aggravated.gif) aggravated Current Music: dj tiesto - live at innercity amsterdam. |
November 17th, 2002
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Scheduled for last night approximately 8:00-- Hot Water Music playing at the Masquerade. I met Jason at the bar around 7:30, expecting to leave at around 8:30, because the Masquerade is a respectable venue that wouldn't deign to start a punk rock show on time (again, fuck you, Tabernacle). I ate some Thai food, played some cards and got all set to leave. Jason and I drove up to the Masquerade around 8:35 or so. I did notice a significant lack of cars/line/various people milling about, aside from the occasional vagabond. So just as Jason and I walk up to what the Masquerade deems "the box office," I noticed the sign: HOT WATER MUSIC is CANCELLED Fuck. We ended up going back to Jason's place and playing some chess for a bit, and then going to see the Motolitas at Star Bar. We got there just in time to see them start their set. Courtney pretty much rocked. I wish I played guitar as well... The Helgas would come on right afterwards--John would tell me later that it was the Helga's CD Release party, and had I known that, I might have picked up a CD--they were pretty good. But as it stands, I'm still pissed about missing Hot Water. The whole time we were listening to the Motolitas and the Helgas, I felt like moshing. Go figure. That's three shows out of 2002 that I've missed. One at the aforementioned Tabernacle. One which I missed altogether from not monitoring the site. And this one. Pigfuck. So now I'm at Diem, getting some brunch. It's about an hour and forty minutes until the Dupree's Anniversary Party (14th). Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/nolegs/annoyed.gif) annoyed Current Music: Whatever's in Apres Diem's CD jukebox (Air, I think) |
November 15th, 2002
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You're not punk, and I'm telling everyone.
Save your breath; I never was one.
--Jawbreaker, "Boxcar" So despite my living in Atlanta, what could very well be considered a cultural mecca compared to the armpit that is Suburban Miami, I'm a bit on the fence as to what to do this Friday evening. On one hand, batnandu and Earnie will likely be up at the bar playing chess (CHESS?!!? on a friday??!). As much as I'd like to work on my chess game, which I really need to do, The Donnas are playing at the Masquerade tonight. The problem is I've long since moved past the time where I had any sort of punk street cred. Well there was the last Hot Water show that I went to (err...that I actually got to see Hot Water Music play, that is...fuck the Tabernacle for starting the show at 8:00 pm. Who the hell starts a punk show on time??), the merch guy noticed my Spoke shirt (the one that I sleep in now), and gave me a free No Idea comp CD just because I was wearing it. But lately I've turned into a old, preppy guy--hell, I dress in turtlenecks and peacoats from Old Navy. I feel completely out of place wearing an old flannel and some 11 year old shirt. And the young kids who go to see these shows, which, of course, have to be all-ages shows--they're all angry at the world, raising their sweaty fists to the beat of the music, clomping around and denting the bulbous toe of my Frankensteinian Doc Martens. I just can't keep up... Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/nolegs/restless.gif) restless Current Music: "Further" VNV Nation |
November 14th, 2002
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Today is Officially Drive-Poorly Day. Driving in the middle lane of Ponce de Leon intown this morning, I was almost squeezed into an accident by a large SYSCO eighteen-wheeler in the right lane and a white corporate van in the left, until one of them got the clue that the white dashes painted with the road were there for some reason. Farther down the road, the right lane was blocked off (following Briarcliff/Moreland) because of some idiotic beautification effort where the right side of the road will now be stone-paved or something (like anyone really cares what the side of the road looks like...). Either way, said blockage just meant that the guy who needed to turn left right off of that intersection, so graciously blocked by oncoming traffic awaiting a green light, would in turn block the rest of us from any forward movement, until the fools to the left took up the gargantuan holes of space between their cars and let the guy on through. Of course, that took about a literal minute, which while it doesn't seem like much, is actually an eternity--For example:
One minute = 60 seconds
Average Rate: 7.6 expletives/second
Estimated expletives spewed = 456
You get the idea. From there, I would go on to encounter:
- Various fools turning left off of Ponce without the use of their turn signals;
- Another eighteen-wheeler carrying some large construction vehicle trying blocking off all of Scott Blvd. while trying to back into a house;
- A Honda CRV whose driver believes that the appropriate on-ramp speed to merge onto I-285 is 35 MPH; and
- A taxi (Atlantans will understand).
But at last, I'm at work, and for administrative reasons, we've decided to table my primary task for the day. Now I just need to wade through some third-party code and integrate it into our product. From what I have seen of the code, however, I fear this may require a complete overhaul of what the aforementioned third-party tried to do. Joy. Word of the moment: betise Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/nolegs/discontent.gif) discontent |
November 9th, 2002
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Went to sleep at 6:15 last night (err... this morning...) for some reason because after trying to watch all three Godfather movies at Rob's place, playing four games of chess (in the we-made-a-mockery-of-the-game-of-chess sense) with Nandu and Jason, and eating way too much wonderful food prepared by Keely (plus Jessyca's delectable tiramisu, I went home at about 4:30, showered the smoke from me, and began to play Hoyle Casino (2 Texas Hold'em Tournaments) and Hoyle Card Games (Hearts and Gin Rummy). Woke up around noon today, and watched some TV, and then went to eat brunch at Apr´s. John and I then went to CompUSA and I bought another SiPix for Jerry and some other stuff. Went to CD Merchants afterwards to look for used CDs, because let's face it. I'd rather buy a used CD to prevent the freaking RIAA to get any additional income. As a matter of fact, I think I may sell a good many of my CDs now--it's not like I listen to most of them... But I digress. After CD Merchants, I went to Target and bought some cleaning shit for all the mildew growing on my mildew-resistant shower curtain. What gives? I did get to see what could be one of the most sultry women I've ever seen walking by me amidst the aisles of the store. Or maybe I'm just being hyperbolic because it's really just been far too long.So anyways, I made some leftover pasta that Keely left for me with garlic and oil (when garlic starts growing roots and stuff, is the darker part in the middle of the clove OK to eat? I sure hope so, 'cause if not...uhhh.... uh-oh...). Cleaned the tub, and watched John Doe. I was thinking about heading to the bar, but I'm a bit tired, and I don't feel like getting all smoky. So I'm going to upgrade my computer so I can use USB 2.0 devices. Yay. Word of the moment: odalisque Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/nolegs/mellow.gif) mellow Current Music: Good Eats: Gravy Confidential |
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