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2009 World Series of Poker

2009-06-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

My employer sent me to Vegas for 3 days this past week. While staying in the Paris I saw a poster advertisement for the 2009 World Series of Poker starting Thursday at the Rio. Wow, what an unexpected treat. Since I watch poker on TV I knew a few names and faces that it would be cool to see.

After work meetings and events were done Thursday I grabbed supper then hopped a cab for the Rio. Signs everywhere pointed to the large convention-sized poker rooms. Upon entering one room I was a little awe-struck at the sea of tables, many of which had players sitting in current games. I was surprised to see so many young guys playing, like 21 or so. I knew that there are rare free ways to get a spot, but most of these guys had to pay several thousand dollars to get in. All of the tables were contained in roped off areas so that large groups of spectators could watch without getting too close.

I wandered around, growing slightly bored until I got to a roped off area of tables loaded with chips, but no players. Dealers were still at the tables guarding the chips. I learned that these were game in progress and were paused for the players to take supper break. The most valuable gem I learned was that Phil Hellmuth would be returning to the table directly in front of me. Players and spectators know he makes rude comments about other players' skills at the table, but he has won 11 WSOP bracelets and I was not about to pass up the chance to at least see him. I looked up at the status monitors which showed a countdown of 40 minutes remaining for the meal break. My already hurting feet cried a little.

I was the lone spectator at “the rail” so could choose where to stand without having to fight masses of other spectators. With about 15 minutes left other spectators started crowding around behind me because everyone knew where the big-name tables were. Most of the players waited until less than 5 minutes to return, and of course Phil Hellmuth waits until the very last seconds. I heard he was actually late to the beginning of the tournament. Maybe he needs to use some of his millions to get a better watch. :)

As game play continued I recognized other faces at the table. Their positions clockwise from dealer were #2: Scotty Nguyen, #3: Phil Ivey, #5: David Pham, #7: Phil Hellmuth, #8: Bertrand Grospellier.

Scotty Nguyen was just to the front-right of where I was standing. He was as vocal as rumors say, often yelling for a beer or arguing with the dealer over a rule. He talks loud and verbally interacts with all the other players. I found him entertaining. He was wearing wife-beater t-shirt, white running suit, numerous gold necklaces, and a fat gold Rolex. He gave signatures to those asking, including a $100 bill. He's won 5 tournament bracelets and his live tournament winnings exceed $10.3M.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotty_Nguyen

I was standing about 3 feet directly behind Phil Ivey. He is regarded as one of the world's best players. Even though he was the closest to me, I barely heard a word from him. He was sat motionless to his seat, except for getting up a couple times to talk on one of his two BlackBerrys. Also texting at the table, I was not going to be rude and try to read it. He gave signatures to those asking, including the $100 bill that Scotty signed. He's won 5 tournament bracelets and his live tournament winnings exceed $10M.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Ivey

David Pham seemed to keep rather quiet, although got up a few times for his phone, and to talk to an apparent relative at the rail to my left. He's won 2 tournament bracelets and his live tournament winnings exceed $7.8M.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Pham

Phil Hellmuth competed with Scotty as most vocal, once even arguing with the dealer about a chip count. A very social guy, Hellmuth got up a lot during big hands, and often walked around to greet acquaintances at other tables. He's won 11 tournament bracelets and his live tournament winnings exceed $6M.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Hellmuth

Bertrand Grospellier appeared quiet the whole night, only responding a few times to table humor. He was one of the world's top-ranked Starcraft and Warcraft III players. His live tournament winnings exceed $5.7M.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_Grospellier

I watched for five hours and saw some eliminations.

Shortly after Phil Hellmuth was eliminated, Alec Torelli took his seat. I had never heard of Alec. He presented thick stereotypical New Yorker mannerisms that reminded me of Andrew Dice Clay. A latecomer to the table, he immediately began conversing with the other players and appears the most comfortable and least intimidated of them all. His big bets appeared to be specifically targeted at other players chips. I was impressed with his style. Reading the news today I see that he made the final table and finished in 6th place, winning $329k.

Other famous players I saw:

Antonio Esfandiari was at the table to my left. I've seen him several times on TV. He's won 1 tournament bracelet and his live tournament winnings exceed $3M. He was a professional magician.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Esfandiari

Vanessa Rousso was at the table to my right. She's known for her PokerStars commercials, is a GoDaddy girl, and teaches poker classes that compare poker strategy to Sun Tzu's Art of War. She's been in Sports Illustrated and Maxim. She stopped right behind me for a fan to get a photo with her. With zero WSOP bracelets and zero final tables, my guess is that she's known more for her looks than her game, although her winnings do exceed $2.1M.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_Rousso

I did not know Mike Matusow before seeing him, and only gave him any attention because he looks like a coworker. I saw him walk between tables a few times. Apparently he's known as “The Mouth”. He has 3 bracelets and over $6.8M in winnings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Matusow

I didn't have my real camera, so had to settle for extremely crummy cell phone pictures.

slow tech

2009-03-10T17:01:00.000-07:00

Kind of crazy when you think entertainment went from sound w/o video (radio) to video w/o sound (earliest TV) to TV w/sound w/o color, to today's TV.

What I mean is like, you are sitting there watching a silent show and you are ok with it because it's normal. Then someone adds sound, but it's ok that it's black and white because it's normal.

I assume between each entertainment era there were scientists/inventors constantly working on the next step. But if you think about it, everything we ever needed (matter) is right in front of us. It just seems to take us a while to get from one step to the next, figuring out what to do with the matter. I wonder if that's based more on human mental capacity, or consumer demand.

We have big dreams of moon colonies, interstellar flight, and a cure for cancer. Why can't we just do them today? Are we slow thinkers that have to sit around for X amount of time pondering solutions? I bet if every adult on earth united every resource toward curing cancer, we would at least know within a month or so if it can be cured at all.

weird (DON'T VIEW IMAGES UNTIL PROMPTED)

2009-03-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

weird (DON'T VIEW IMAGES UNTIL PROMPTED)

This is definitely a weird experience. We stopped to eat at Fuddruckers on a road trip yesterday. About midway through the meal I went to the restroom and used the urinal. There was a framed photo in front of me of a football quarterback about the throw. Upon closer inspection I noticed the photo was just a cutout from a magazine affixed to a box-frame. I also noticed one on the wall by the door. (VIEW IMAGE 1 NOW OF BOX FRAME NEAR DOOR) I thought it seemed a little cheap and unprofessional for a decent restaurant. From that point until I got back to the table, I imagined a restaurant with all walls lined with images glued from magazines. They would encourage customers to bring their own, and tear down or replace any that are offensive. Every now and then employees may have to rip thick sheets of old images off. The restaurant would of course be called Mags. I returned to my table to continue eating and forgot about my ridiculous idea. At the end of the meal I decided to go again since we were getting back on the road. I was speechless when I got to the urinal and someone had ripped the photo from the box-frame. (VIEW IMAGE 2 NOW OF BOX FRAME OVER URINAL) To add to the weirdness, after I told the story to my family, my wife told me a little tidbit. Earlier a man went into the restroom with a folded newspaper. My wife assumed he was going to read it while using the restroom, but he emerged seconds later, not even long enough to have used the restroom OR washed his hands, much less both.

LØL

2009-02-27T14:52:00.000-08:00

The description of LØL has moved to:
http://sites.google.com/site/erlegreer/lol

10-15 cars stall daily near Empire State Building

2008-02-01T16:39:00.000-08:00

In the shadow of the Empire State Building lies an "automotive Bermuda Triangle" - a five-block radius where vehicles mysteriously die. No one is sure what's causing it, but all roads appear to lead to the looming giant in our midst - specifically, its Art Deco mast and 203-foot-long, antenna-laden spire. "We get about 10 to 15 cars stuck near there every day," said Isaac Leviev, manager of Citywide Towing, the AAA's exclusive roadside assistance provider from 42nd St. to the Battery. "You pull the car four or five blocks to the west or east and the car starts right up." [article]

Writers Strike Prompts NBC to Fire Entire 'SNL' Staff

2007-11-18T20:14:00.001-08:00

Writers Strike Prompts NBC to Fire Entire Saturday Night Live Staff
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312073,00.html

The article mentions, "production staff", but surely that doesn't mean the cast talent.

"David Letterman is paying out of his pocket the salaries for both staffs of The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson."
http://www.bostonnow.com/blogs/uncommonbostonian/2007/11/17/writers039-strike039s-first-casualty-quotsaturday-night-livequot

The Golden Compass is opposite of Narnia series

2007-11-17T17:11:00.001-08:00

The Golden Compass "childrens" books and movie are opposite of Narnia series

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

Students would trade right to vote for an iPod

2007-11-16T17:03:00.001-08:00

20% of polled students would give up their right to vote in the next election for an iPod. Not surprising since colleges seem to be such a source of anti-right-thing-to-do.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/6892.html

Very hungry kitten

2007-10-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geG_wDBst8c&NR=1

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Greenpeace hypocrites

2007-10-22T18:28:00.001-07:00

In a boat that is probably not solar-powered ;) Greenpeace activists harass a coal-carrying ship
http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2007-10/33384819.jpg

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How small does an animal have to be so that I won't get in trouble for microwaving it alive? Kitten? Mouse? Beetle?

Magic mirror trick

2007-10-19T18:31:00.001-07:00

A pair of twin girls trick other restroom customers with a false mirror

http://www.flixxy.com/magic-mirror.htm

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How small does an animal have to be so that I won't get in trouble for microwaving it alive? Kitten? Mouse? Beetle?

NO SOLICITING

2007-10-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

Was on a neighborhood walk with one of my daughters and saw a NO SOLICITING sign on a door. Would be funny to try and sell them a new, improved, bigger, brighter NO SOLICITING sign.

I was just thinking how odd the NO SOLICITING sign idea is. Most residents don't want solicitors, regardless of whether they have a sign posted or not. I doubt having a sign is some legally-binding order to stay away, but is rather a notice of preference. So, why would salesmen skip these residences, other than to avoid some surely wasted time? In fact, on a slow, boring day of door-to-door, you might actually want a little angry-resident confrontation to spice things up.

I actually get really mad at door-to-door salesmen, not because they are unsolicited, but because they won't leave after I tell them I am not interested. I even ask, "Did you hear me say I am not interested?" These encounters usually get my wife mad at me. Maybe I should let them go through their whole pitch, then ask them, "What?" and see how many times they'll do it.

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How small does an animal have to be so that I won't get in trouble for microwaving it alive? Kitten? Mouse? Beetle?

Human LCD

2007-10-09T16:43:00.001-07:00

Human LCD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpTJISyKGrA

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How small does an animal have to be so that I won't get in trouble for microwaving it alive? Kitten? Mouse? Beetle?

duplicate YouTube videos

2007-10-09T16:31:00.001-07:00

Why do other people repost someones YouTube videos? Often a search result returns 2-6 identical videos, same time length, different text replies, and different rating. Seems like the feedback and ratings would be more relevant if they were all under the same post. YouTube needs a way to automatically combine or reject dupes.

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How small does an animal have to be so that I won't get in trouble for microwaving it alive? Kitten? Mouse? Beetle?

built-in ashtrays in barber chairs

2007-10-09T15:56:00.001-07:00

I got a haircut today and all of the barber chairs had built-in ashtrays. It's just kind of funny to think of how far we have come since open smoking everywhere. Are in-car cigarette lighters still called that? I would assume that eventually more people will just be using them to power their electronic devices instead of for lighting cigarettes.

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How small does an animal have to be so that I won't get in trouble for microwaving it alive? Kitten? Mouse? Beetle?

University says rape victims can't put perps' names on t-shirts

2007-10-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

University says rape victims can't put perps' names on t-shirts
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.clothesline04oct04,0,1802008.story

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How small does an animal have to be so that I won't get in trouble for microwaving it alive? Kitten? Mouse? Beetle?

Scientists create world's first invisibility

2007-10-05T15:38:00.001-07:00

Scientists create world's first invisibility
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&q=university+maryland+gold+invisibility

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How small does an animal have to be so that I won't get in trouble for microwaving it alive? Kitten? Mouse? Beetle?

Why are planes shaped like birds?

2007-10-01T15:50:00.001-07:00

Are planes shaped like birds because man modeled planes flying animals, or is that shape the basic confines of stable flight?

Germans march into Paris

2007-10-01T15:33:00.001-07:00

The caption says, "A Frenchman weeps as German soldiers march into the French capital, Paris, on June 14, 1940, after the Allied armies had been driven back across France." Why do you think the lady next to him appears to be clapping?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Frenchmanweeps1940.jpg

Immigrant burns body of texas female college student

2007-09-28T15:37:00.000-07:00

Immigrant burns body of texas female college student

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5171215.html

The killer has proper immigrant documentation, but authorities can revoke it when they break certain crimes. Apparently buglary in 2006 and marijuana in 2007 did not stack up enough against the guy to save this girl's life. It is sad that we have to wait for someone to be violently murdered before we take action. Would be nice if we there was a point-formula for previous offenses that would stack up to incarceration.

Manager must learn Spanish to speak to employees

2007-09-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

I won't mention names, but I personally know a Caucasian female native-born U.S. citizen who is a manager at a restaurant in San Diego, CA. Yes, that's in the USA. Well, not surprisingly, there are some non-citizen employees there who do not speak English. The manager's boss told her that she needs to learn Spanish in order to communicate with the other employees. So she bought some books to teach herself Spanish.

Flashlight Weapon Makes Targets Throw Up

2007-08-07T15:42:00.001-07:00

Flashlight Weapon Makes Targets Throw Up

It looks like a big flashlight — but it's really a nonlethal weapon designed to make you sick.

Intelligent Optical Systems, Inc., of Torrance, Calif., has been granted a contract by the Department of Homeland Security to develop what it calls the "LED Incapacitator," according to a DHS online newsletter.

The handheld device using light-emitting diodes to emit super-bright pulses of light at rapidly changing wavelengths, causing disorientation, nausea and even vomiting in whomever it's pointed at.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,292271,00.html

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"Flying ranks top cause of death among passengers of plane crashes"

Shell Oil makes $3 million per hour

2007-07-27T11:30:00.001-07:00

Shell Oil makes $3 million per hour

It's hard to believe Shell Oil makes $3 million per hour when gas prices are so reasonable these days. ;)

http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2134967,00.html

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Aquafina bottles will say tap water is source

2007-07-27T11:29:00.001-07:00

Aquafina bottles will say tap water is source

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=f42ffa36-7a30-4c6b-9ba6-5d20891c2344&k=57207

http://thinkoutsidethebottle.org/

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Helium balloons carry man in lawn chair 193 miles

2007-07-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Kent Couch settled down in his lawn chair with some snacks — and a parachute. Attached to his lawn chair were 105 large helium balloons. With instruments to measure his altitude and speed, a global positioning system device in his pocket, and about four plastic bags holding five gallons of water each to act as ballast — he could turn a spigot, release water and rise — Couch headed into the Oregon sky. [link]