Rediscovering the Smashing Pumpkins

Unless Billy and Jimmy can wow me with their new stuff, Siamese Dream is the best Smashing Pumpkins album, ever. Listen for yourself.

A Funny Conversation

A recent AIM conversation I had with my brother recently.

(1:52:27 AM) Johnny: hey.. have you solved anything with your vista productivity lately?
(1:52:44 AM) mk73183: what do you mean my 'vista productivity'?
(1:53:04 AM) Johnny: i dopn't know.. the random slow ups.. problems with programs saying thier missing files.. etc
(1:53:49 AM) mk73183: i actually one night decided to install a virus scanner, and did a scan
(1:53:55 AM) mk73183: holy crap i had like 490 infections
(1:54:17 AM) mk73183: most of them on exe files, i don't know if that was the root problem, but i hope that's the end of it
(1:54:27 AM) Johnny: what about the random slow ups?
(1:54:58 AM) mk73183: not so much, although only when media center encoder helper opens up, which isn't much
(1:57:10 AM) Johnny: maybe i should do a virus scan
(1:57:19 AM) Johnny: although my computer is sly as a fox
(1:57:28 AM) mk73183: i used the latest avg
(1:57:45 AM) mk73183: get the f out of here with that.....
(1:57:49 AM) Johnny: i think viruses see my rig.. and get scared
(1:58:32 AM) Johnny: yo.. my computer is too good for viruses.. what am i thinking
(1:59:02 AM) mk73183: yo that's vanity
(1:59:09 AM) Johnny: that's respect
(2:00:07 AM) mk73183: if your computer has its butthole exposed, a virus isn't gonna care how good of rig you have, it's gonna rip it apart......
(2:00:22 AM) mk73183: you can't stop what's coming to you....
(2:00:23 AM) Johnny: well my computer ain't gay so its no problem
(2:00:41 AM) Johnny: you make socially awkward computer analogies
(2:01:15 AM) mk73183: i'm just saying you never know when you'll be caught with your pants down, that's all
(2:02:32 AM) Johnny: haha in understand..
(2:02:39 AM) Johnny: you're a funny guy
(2:08:22 AM) Johnny: haha i gotta go to bed..
(2:08:31 AM) mk73183: later

Maybe next time I should stay away from the homosexual innuendo.

Artist Of The Moment

Marjorie Fair
Album: Self Help Serenade

To be honest, I've only heard one song from these guys, called Waves. It's a great song and it's stuck in my head. One hit wonder? I guess we'll see.

Artist of the moment

Eleni Mandell
Album: Miracle of Five

If you're in the mood for some rhythmic, sleepy folk music, give her a try.

He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

Isaiah 2:4

The Conversation

I came upon this video that showed the behind-the-scenes of this classic moment in Heat. Makes you wonder how these guys make such quality acting look so effortless. Watch as these two powerhouse bad asses of cinema go at it.

Gang Starr

For those of you who've never heard of Gang Starr, you should definitely check them out. An influential rap group from the late 80's and 90's that mixed some nice tracks using jazz and traditional rap beats. There's a nice track called "Royalty" that's stuck in my head right now.

Macgyver

For some odd reason, I have the Macgyver theme song stuck in my head. And suprisingly, there's a bunch of versions of it on YouTube. Here's one on the piano that I enjoy.

High Stakes Poker

Of all the poker television shows that have flooded into the market over the past couple of years, I have found one that I believe tops them all. High Stakes Poker on the Game Show Network features some of the top pros and amateurs coming together to play a $300/$600 no limit Texas hold'em cash game. What's the difference between this show and other poker shows you see on television? Well, for starters the cash and chips that you see on the table are the players' actual money, not tournament chips. So when you see someone making a $50,000 raise on this show, that's actually $50,000 he's dropping in the middle of the table. Needless to say, pots can get pretty huge and you do see some big hands go down. If a player loses all of his/her money, they can just reload on the spot and buy additional chips. One of the things I appreciate about this show is the laid back atmosphere that's created around the game despite the large amounts of money at stake. Players drink, play and chat with each other casually. Plus, if one player leaves, another one comes and takes the former player's spot, giving the show a little variety. It's nice to see a lot of these pros come together in a casual environment playing some pretty competitive poker while getting a glimpse into some of their personalities outside of tournament play. And just to show you how big the pots can be, here's a clip of the biggest pot shown thus far.

Nobuo Uematsu

I never realized the grace and beauty of the works of Nobuo Uematsu until recently. It just doesn't sound as good when you're hearing this music blasting from a 32-bit gaming system using a MIDI sound engine. Ugh. Here's a link to enjoy some of this man's fine work.

Phil Hellmuth

Say what you will about the guy. He may be a loud-mouth cry baby who always seems to either tout himself as the greatest hold'em player or bad-mouth other players and the way they play. But I have to admit, the man knows what he's doing at the poker table.

Check out this lay down.

Hardcore Scrabblers

I love Scrabble as much as the next guy, but this game amazed me. Just shows how hardcore these tournament players are. The combined score in this game was well over 1000.

Get Well Soon Windows

Let's face it. Windows XP is insecure. If you are facing problems such as spyware, viruses or just plain bloat, you may want to read on. I don't consider myself an expert on any of these problems, but I do find that the things I've implemented here work for me to keep my computer free of the crap that is on the web.

To relieve yourself of most spyware, using an internet browser other than Internet Explorer will help quite a bit. In my opinion, Internet Explorer is too tightly integrated to the operating system and it does things without your permission (mainly due to ActiveX controls). My suggestion, use either Mozilla Firefox or Opera Web Browser. They're both free and pretty stable browsers. Also, get anti-spyware software. These programs will hopefully detect and eliminate spyware from your system, although you must remember to update your spyware definitions consistently. Microsoft Anti-Spyware and Spybot are probably the two most popular and overall best solutions for the normal user.

For viruses, I go the cheap route and mainly use AVG Anti Virus. It's free and I run it maybe every month or so just in case something I downloaded unto my system is infected. Remember to update your virus definitions as well!

There are also services that run in the background that you really don't need in my opinion. To see what services you are running, go to Start > Run. In the command line type "services.msc" and hit OK. Chances are you have a multitude of services that are running in Windows that are hogging up precious resources on your system. There are web sites that can help you address this problem. I myself have used two:

The Elder Geek

and

Black Viper

Both are pretty thorough in identifying which services you need or don't need. I've seen so much bloat running on so many people's computers it makes me want to vomit. Here is what is running on my system, just to give you an idea. This is only to give you an idea. Please be careful when adjusting certain services as you can potentially turn off a vital system service.







One last thing, if you are running Windows XP, be sure to have a router connected in between your cable/dsl modem and your main computer so worms and other nastiness don't creep in.

So in conclusion, to really secure yourself and have a decent running system:

- Use an internet browser other than Internet Explorer
- Run some sort of anti virus software on a regular basis
- Turn off unnecessary fluff (services, visuals, etc.)
- Protect from Spyware and adware using two programs and run them regularly:

1) Microsoft Anti-Spyware
2) Spybot - Search & Destroy

- Use a firewall or router of some kind

Big Slick Giveth and Big Slick Taketh Away

(Note: This post makes reference to Tom McEvoy's fine article in Card Player magazine. Many of the points made here are similar if not the same from the article, but I have added a few more points based on my own experiences. Keep in mind, I do not consider myself any kind of poker expert, as some of what I am about to tell you comes from my own experiences. Some of the things that I may mention may differ from what others may say.)

Let's say you're playing No Limit Texas Hold'em and suddenly you look down at your hole cards and see this:




Ace King (aka Big Slick) in No Limit Texas Hold'em is probably one of the more complex hands to play. Why do I say that? Because it is a hand that can essentially make you or break you. There are things about playing AK that may not seem readily apparent against certain opponents and in certain situations that you need to be aware of. Conventional wisdom says that you should raise with AK everytime pre-flop. But is that always the best strategy? For instance, let's say you were in early position and immediately raised with AK. Let's assume that you made this raise while playing in a table full of tight, solid players. Your raise right here will probably be a strong signal to the other players that you have a significant hand and you will probably win the pot right there without a fight a majority of the time. Let's now assume that you're playing in a loose table where the majority of the players behind you call your raise. What do you do now? Is your AK still a favorite to win the hand? Maybe, but then again maybe not. It will depend a lot on the type of game you're in, the size of the blinds, the size of your stack, your opponents, the texture of the board, and of course your position, which in this case is pretty bad. With all these variables that come into play in this situation, you have to be extra careful when playing AK. Against loose calling opponents, you may want to back away from any action unless you hit one of your aces or kings. Even if you try to trap these opponents with just a call before the flop, you're still asking for plenty of other callers who wouldn't have normally called had you raised. Also, even if you do hit an ace or king, you still could be up against someone who just hit a two pair, set or a flush draw. If you do sense a draw from an opponent, you must make the price of drawing fairly high to shove them out of the pot, given their loose play.

Ace King, in general, is a great raising hand, but not such a good calling hand. If you get reraised pre-flop, you may be against someone with a pocket pair. If they happen to have pocket aces, you are about a 10% dog. Against pocket kings, you are about a 30% dog. If your opponent has a pocket pair lower than those, you are at best, a 47% dog to win the pot. Does that mean you should call? It depends. Does that mean you should fold? It depends. I know that may not be the answer that many want to hear, but it's true. You must take into account all the variables in the hand and evaluate your situation on an individual basis. In a no-limit tournament situation where you must decide to call someone's all-in, it is vitally important since your stack can be at serious risk. In side games, you may be able to afford to gamble every now and then with AK against a reraise, but in a tournament situation, you must learn how to win with AK and beat AK at the same time.

I can remember during the 2004 World Series of Poker Scott Fischman was involved in two hands with AK, both with bad results and both with Doyle Brunson. In his first hand with AK, Fischman made a good-sized re-raise to Doyle's initial raise with pocket 7s. Brunson, apparently sensing two overcards from Fischman, moved all-in. After careful consideration, Fischman folded his hand, as he didn't want to risk elimination so early in the tournament. The second instance that Fischman held AK, he called the all-in raise of a short-stacked player from early position. Brunson, however, held a great hand himself with pocket kings. Brunson moved in. Fischman called and was eventually sent to the rail as he was schooled by the lengendary "Texas Dolly".

In general, you must not be afraid to be aggressive with AK. It is still a good hand to play and by no means should you be afraid to use it to take advantage of weaker opponents. But always remember that it is still a drawing hand and not a made hand. If you're one of those players that love to overbet the pot and get comitted with AK, you will probably find yourself in a tough spot every now and then.

In the works:
- Free Windows XP from Bondage

More Poker: Because Diversity is Fun

No Limit Texas Hold'em seems to be taking over the world these days, but little do people know that No Limit Hold'em was actually a dying game before Benny Binion reintroduced it when he started the World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe in 1970. Remember, poker is not the name of one card game, but of a variation of card games where betting is involved. The Poker Forum is one of the best places on the web that I've found with detailed rules about different variations of poker from Texas Hold'em to Mississippi Seven Card Stud.


Benny Binion - Founder of Harrah's Horseshoe Casino

And if I had to choose an ideal poker game, it would be pot limit with mixed games. A good mix of Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Low, Stud, Stud Hi/Low, Mississippi Stud, Lowball & Draw High. Good times...Good times.


In the works:
1. Big Slick giveth and Big Slick taketh away
2. Free Windows XP from Bondage

Jimmy John's: A Gift from God? Just maybe......

Jimmy John's was started in 1983, the year of my birth. Was this destiny? Probably not. But not only did it start in 1983, its birthplace was also in my home state of Illinois. Today, one look at their quaint, little sandwich shops may not be the most awe-inspiring sight for some people, but it's what's served inside that brings hoards of followers inside. Its founder, Jimmy John Liautaud, wanted a way to make some money as a college student at Eastern Illinois University by selling and delivering four different kinds of subs from a converted garage. Well, business grew and today Jimmy John's has over 16 sandwiches on their menu and is currently a multi-million dollar regional business based in Elgin, IL. With franchises expanding all the way to central America, Jimmy John's looks like it's going to continue to grow. Even though it may not be as big as some other sub sandwich vendors like Subway or Quizno's, it still doesn't change the fact that they make some of the best deli sandwiches money can buy.



Let me just say first off that I love their business model. It screams of operating efficiency and cost control. Most of their shops around Purdue consist of small, corner spaces that are the size of most Chinese take-out places. At the very most, they'll have about 5 or 6 people working there at one time and ordering is either a phone call or, as in my case, a short walk away. They bake fresh bread everyday and use high quality ingredients. Not only that, they make your subs any way you want and they make 'em super fast. I don't think I've ever spent more than a few minutes in a Jimmy John's. All I have to do is walk in, say hi to the guy at the counter, say "Turkey Tom", and I"m out the door with food in my hands 30 seconds later. I probably have bought a sub from them about 3 times a week this whole school year. Some of my favorites include: the Turkey Tom, Billy Club, Beach Club and Club Lulu. And if ever in a cheap mood, one could just buy Hellmann's mayo, deli meat, provolone cheese and whatever else you wanted at your local grocer and then buy day-old bread at a Jimmy John's which only sells for $.45. That way, you save a little money and still bring that Jimmy John's goodness home. And all I can say is amen to that.

Be sure to check out their menu here.


In the works:
1. Big Slick giveth and Big Slick taketh away
2. Free Windows XP from Bondage
3. More Poker: Diversity is Fun

Initiation

Let me start by listing a few things I will try not to do on this web log (for your sake and mine):

1. List trivial things that happened to me during my day, week, etc.
2. Vent my problems to the world
3. Make inappropriate comments toward other people

Things I will try to do:

1. Make this web log as informational and helpful as possible
2. Make this web log as entertaining as possible at the same time
3. Make fun of Johnny as much as possible


I guess this will have to be my compensation if I never write those cherished memoirs of mine 40 years from now. Eh.