Don’t mess with grandma!
I scream, you scream, we all scream “All-in!”
Poker is the big craze these days especially Texas hold ’em. There is at least one televised tournament showing on TV at any given time. People of almost all ages are playing poker. Texas hold ’em is not about gambling, its about skill and the strategies used in each game. I’ve only been playing for a few months and have won some and lost some.
Texas hold ’em is tense. A single game can be as quick as playing for one hour or last longer than 8 hours. I’ll admit that I enjoy playing, but its can be very stressful; mentally and physically. Poker is probably one of the few games that can break anyone down. In a Texas hold ’em game don’t be surprise to see some sort of commotion from the most passive people you know. Sometimes you just have to remind yourself its just a game. I promised myself I would not play anymore, but recently, due to peer pressure and the nostalgia of playing in the past was overwhelming, and I succumbed and played a couple of games. It was fun and I had a great time. Can’t wait to play again… but not for a while.
Comic strip: Garfield
The PC for the living room
With the advent of Tivo and Replay TV a few years back there is a strong market for devices that can record television shows when you’re not at home watching them. It’s seems to make sense. Americans now are working hard and with more hours then ever before. Who has time for television? Well, I do, but not as much as before. The personal computer market is picking up the slack and is giving Tivo some good competition.
There are tons of PVR (Personal Video Recorders) that can be attached to the PC making it a Media Center. The Media Center can record tv shows, has tv guide features, and even display some PC features onto the TV like showing downloaded videos, music, and pictures which is where Tivo falls short. You can count me as one of those consumers who fell into the PVR mix. I didn’t get a Tivo. I built a PC just dedicated for my TV. Some would say its totally a waste of a PC, but i beg to differ.
Here are the specs:
SFF PC: SB86i from Shuttle
CPU: Intel 540 P4 (3.2 GHz)
RAM: 1Gig PC3200
HD: 300 Gig WD (Adding another 300 Gig HD)
PVR: Hauppauge MCE 500 dual tuner
Media Drive: Plextor DVD RW 716A
It totalled out to be about $1,500. That’s a pretty expensive device just for watching TV. What can you say, I’m a geek. What really started my urge to build this was the TV show CSI. It’s an awesome show, and I kept missing the shows everyday. I hate watching a show in the middle of it. It ruins the suspense and the value of it’s endings. With my Media Center I can record every show. With my dual tuner I can record two shows at once if needed. I also have a large collection of DVDs. Making a digital back up of them is a logical idea since most of the damage done to DVD are during the process of taking and putting the DVDs back in it’s case. I was able to store a majority of my DVDs onto my HD so watching a movie is as simple as a push of a button on the remote. All my music is backed up as well, so my TV can act as a jukebox.
What makes a Media Center a ‘Media Center’ is the software you use to put everything together. I use Microsoft’s Media Center Edition 2005 which is the most popular and easy to use. But there are other comercial software that are similar and some provide even more options and better functions. I’m totally happy with my Media Center and after a month and a half of using it, I can’t imagine not having one.
Officer’s Hamburger Laced With Meth
“Double quarter pounder with cheese and hold the pickles and methamphetamines please.”
Rockapella samples
Here are some of Rockapella’s songs from their live concert in 2001.
UPDATE: Songs have been removed.
The Incredibles
Pixar has been putting out top-notch movies, and The Incredibles can be added to that list of great movies. This movie mixes up with some of the Silver age and present comic style, and in a social satire sense this movie has super heroes being exploited by lawsuits and are being blamed for social problems. Super heroes across the nation are put into protective custody by the government to protect their identity from the public. Years later, Mr. Incredible and Elasticgirl, a super hero couple, who has since gotten married and have had three kids, each with their own powers, has been trying to hide from their past. Longing for his glory days, Mr. Incredible secretively takes super hero jobs to satisfy his taste for adventure, but he soon finds himself in more trouble than he can handle.
The Incredibles has lots of action, and is fun to watch the super heroes trying to mask and hide their powers from the unsuspecting public. If you’re a super hero comic fan, you’ll see the resemblance of super powers from Marvel and DC comic book characters. That’s too bad that this is Pixar and Disney’s last movie together. As the seperation leaves Pixar as the number one animation studio to beat.
Rating: 
Man Injured in Toilet Blast
“Damn! What did you eat?!”
Summer of 2005
Summer of 2005 looks promising. At least to a movie buff’s point of view. So far heading off this summer’s big movie releases this year was the big Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. This month, June, will have three big movies I can’t wait to see; Land of the Dead, Batman Begins, and the remake of War of the Worlds. And in July the comic super hero team Fantastic Four will hit the theaters. These are the movie I’m definately going to see with secondary movies like Mr. and Mrs Smith and Cinderella Man are worth to watch as well. There hasn’t been a line-up like this for summer in a long time.
2005 seems to be the year of remakes. War of the Worlds, The Longest Yard, Bad News Bears, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are just a few. Looks like I’ll be spending my hard earned money at the theaters this year.
Rockapella Tickets!!!
For those who don’t know who Rockapella is they are one of the best acapella singers in the world. You probably seen the old PBS TV game show called “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” They were the group that sang the theme song.
I’ve been listening to them ever since my middle school years. They perform about once a year in the Bay Area and tickets were sold out the last two times they were here. So now I got tickets, for Dec. 6 showing. I’m totally stoked. I got an extra ticket if anyone is interested 😀