Another book I recently read was Dracula by Bram Stoker.
I greatly enjoyed reading this book. It is the vampire book par excellence for good reason. The book is a collage of diary entries, telegrams, newspaper articles, letters, and other fragments of text.
I read the Barnes & Noble edition. My only complaint about these editions are the endnotes for the book can give away part of the story earlier than the actual text. The good part is they provide a lot of context for the terms and explain things about the era.
As I read the novel I tried to imagine Victorian England. It is a place I have visited before by similar means. One aspect I found interesting was how people communicated by letters. People (at least in the novel) would write letters and regularly communicate on a deep level. Also in the social interaction realm, how marriage proposals happened was odd. One of the characters received three proposals, at least one of them from a man she did not know very well.
Sometimes when I am reading I will come across a name that I know from general knowledge will become important. When Professor Van Helsing is first mentioned I knew immediately he would be drawn into the action and led the fight against Dracula. This same feeling occurred in a previous book when I read about a Mr. Hyde. In one way it is bad because this gives me a skewed perspective when reading. In another way it adds excitement because I am watching every move a character makes from their first appearance.
One day I might develop a rating system for books. Until then I will say you should read about the Count.
Dracula
Bram Stoker
400 pages
Barnes & Noble
7/25 - 8/1
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Acknowledging what is done right
I will start with stories from the offices of people who wear white coats, my doctor and dentist.
When I saw my doctor a year ago, she was concerned. She said my weight had gone up from my previous appointment and that I needed to get it under control or else I would have health problems later on. This was the strongest lecture I had received from my doctor in over six years of being her patient. From this and my own concern about my weight I took action. I evaluated my eating habits, cut out a lot of junk food and empty calories, and started biking and jogging in earnest. The next time I saw my doctor a year later I had lost 20 lb.
In January my dentist told me I needed to have oral surgery. The exact procedure ordered was a frenectomy, which would cut a tissue connecting my gum to the top of my lip. The connective tissue was pulling my gum and exposing more of my teeth than was normal. I was also told to change my brushing pattern to stop the retreat of the gums. Being a good patient I went to the oral surgeon and had the frenectomy. I also changed my brushing style, which took a lot of mental focus.
As an aside, the frenectomy was my third oral surgery. Earlier in my life my wisdom teeth were removed and my jaw was sawed in half and then repositioned. Compared to those the frenectomy was a breeze, an out-patient procedure.
What did my doctor do after I lost 20 lb after her lecture? She said nothing. No acknowledgment of my efforts or results.
What did my dentist do after I had surgery and changed my brushing patter? Nothing. I had to ask her as I was leaving if my gum looked any better.
Things that are done correctly should be acknowledged, especially if future instructions will be given.
The last thing I want to promote is constant positive feedback for every little thing done right. I am not asking my doctor to give me a high five for not smoking a pack of cigarettes every day or expecting a cookie every time I brush correctly and have no cavities. However, losing 20 lb and having surgery are hardly common things that happen between checkups.
I do not want to be angry or resentful about this. Instead I will focus on acknowledging what people do for me. I will not take for granted the favors people do for me, but realize the effort and thank the correct people.
The best thing to say now is thank you for reading my blog.
Thank you for all the things you have done for me I never acknowledged.
When I saw my doctor a year ago, she was concerned. She said my weight had gone up from my previous appointment and that I needed to get it under control or else I would have health problems later on. This was the strongest lecture I had received from my doctor in over six years of being her patient. From this and my own concern about my weight I took action. I evaluated my eating habits, cut out a lot of junk food and empty calories, and started biking and jogging in earnest. The next time I saw my doctor a year later I had lost 20 lb.
In January my dentist told me I needed to have oral surgery. The exact procedure ordered was a frenectomy, which would cut a tissue connecting my gum to the top of my lip. The connective tissue was pulling my gum and exposing more of my teeth than was normal. I was also told to change my brushing pattern to stop the retreat of the gums. Being a good patient I went to the oral surgeon and had the frenectomy. I also changed my brushing style, which took a lot of mental focus.
As an aside, the frenectomy was my third oral surgery. Earlier in my life my wisdom teeth were removed and my jaw was sawed in half and then repositioned. Compared to those the frenectomy was a breeze, an out-patient procedure.
What did my doctor do after I lost 20 lb after her lecture? She said nothing. No acknowledgment of my efforts or results.
What did my dentist do after I had surgery and changed my brushing patter? Nothing. I had to ask her as I was leaving if my gum looked any better.
Things that are done correctly should be acknowledged, especially if future instructions will be given.
The last thing I want to promote is constant positive feedback for every little thing done right. I am not asking my doctor to give me a high five for not smoking a pack of cigarettes every day or expecting a cookie every time I brush correctly and have no cavities. However, losing 20 lb and having surgery are hardly common things that happen between checkups.
I do not want to be angry or resentful about this. Instead I will focus on acknowledging what people do for me. I will not take for granted the favors people do for me, but realize the effort and thank the correct people.
The best thing to say now is thank you for reading my blog.
Thank you for all the things you have done for me I never acknowledged.
Apheresis again
On Monday I donated platelets.
Some statistics include:
Blood pressure: 110/60
Machine time: 79 minutes (or maybe 85)
Movie: Live Free or Die Hard
The notable thing is the Oreo cookies available afterward were in packs with 6 cookies. In the past the packages only had 2 each.
I have been keeping my cup from the last few times I donated. My collection is slowly growing.
Some statistics include:
Blood pressure: 110/60
Machine time: 79 minutes (or maybe 85)
Movie: Live Free or Die Hard
The notable thing is the Oreo cookies available afterward were in packs with 6 cookies. In the past the packages only had 2 each.
I have been keeping my cup from the last few times I donated. My collection is slowly growing.
A graduate program I will not graduate from
Last month I applied to a Masters in Engineering program at UCLA. It is designed for the working professional, but I contacted the director and he said I should apply and they would consider my application.
To cut to the salient part of this story, I was rejected.
The email had the line "Unfortunately, we can not admit you based on your major field GPA in Physics."
Considering I had a Physics GPA of 2.4, this makes sense.
Now I am going to ramble on to make myself feel better and remind myself I am smart and intelligent, even if my GPA implies otherwise.
When I was choosing a college, I picked the best school I could get into. UC Berkeley's Physics graduate program is rated No. 3 in the country (actually a four way tie for third by US News). I also double majored in Classical Civilizations. Rankings for Classics departments are hard to figure out, but the first sources on Google put Berkeley at No. 2.
I could have simply majored in Physics or gone to a second tier school and earned a much higher GPA, but I did not. I went to the best school I could, majored in two divergent fields, and graduated in four years. I also wrote for one of the best conservative student political magazines in the country.
If that is not good enough for UCLA's engineering program, I don't know what is.
On a happier topic I have some educational commentary from our heroes Rocky and Bullwinkle:
To cut to the salient part of this story, I was rejected.
The email had the line "Unfortunately, we can not admit you based on your major field GPA in Physics."
Considering I had a Physics GPA of 2.4, this makes sense.
Now I am going to ramble on to make myself feel better and remind myself I am smart and intelligent, even if my GPA implies otherwise.
When I was choosing a college, I picked the best school I could get into. UC Berkeley's Physics graduate program is rated No. 3 in the country (actually a four way tie for third by US News). I also double majored in Classical Civilizations. Rankings for Classics departments are hard to figure out, but the first sources on Google put Berkeley at No. 2.
I could have simply majored in Physics or gone to a second tier school and earned a much higher GPA, but I did not. I went to the best school I could, majored in two divergent fields, and graduated in four years. I also wrote for one of the best conservative student political magazines in the country.
If that is not good enough for UCLA's engineering program, I don't know what is.
On a happier topic I have some educational commentary from our heroes Rocky and Bullwinkle:
In Pottsylvania all schoolchildren learned the A, B, Cs, Assassination, Bomb making, and Conspiracy, with the occasional advanced course in Sneaking and Prowling.This is available on hulu in episode 15 "The Fright-Seeing Trip."
Sunday, August 23, 2009
If you hitchhike across the galaxy, you must be out of your mind
Today I finished reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I received the book in a secret Santa exchange a few years ago, but only opened it up recently. My feelings about the book can be easily summarized:
I didn't like it.
The earth is destroyed, things don't make sense, the book is not consistent, there is no appreciable ending, and the nuggets of humor are not worth wading through the rest of the filler in the book.
In the novel, the Hitchhiker's Guide is an electronic book that is filled with information about the galaxy. It is first described on page 26:
As if that is not enough, there is no resolution to the plot line at the end of the book. If you really want a conclusion, you could search out the four sequel books and throw more of your life away. I do not plan on reading any of the other books in this series and I recommend not reading this book.
The edition I read also included 93 pages of material talking about the making of the movie and interviews with the cast. The worst book I have read in the last few years and they include that many pages talking about making the dribble I just read into a movie.
Did I say I did not like this book? Of the last 30+ books I have read, this is easily the worst, and I like science fiction.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams
216 pages
8/20 - 8/23
I didn't like it.
The earth is destroyed, things don't make sense, the book is not consistent, there is no appreciable ending, and the nuggets of humor are not worth wading through the rest of the filler in the book.
In the novel, the Hitchhiker's Guide is an electronic book that is filled with information about the galaxy. It is first described on page 26:
"This had about a hundred tiny flat press buttons and a screen about four inches square on which any one of a million 'pages' could be summoned at a moment's notice."Then on page 52:
"A screen, about three inches by four, lit up and characters began to flicker across the surface."Is the screen four inches square or three by four? This item is so important the novel is named after it and it can't be consistently described 26 pages apart. Did anyone even try to proofread this book?
As if that is not enough, there is no resolution to the plot line at the end of the book. If you really want a conclusion, you could search out the four sequel books and throw more of your life away. I do not plan on reading any of the other books in this series and I recommend not reading this book.
The edition I read also included 93 pages of material talking about the making of the movie and interviews with the cast. The worst book I have read in the last few years and they include that many pages talking about making the dribble I just read into a movie.
Did I say I did not like this book? Of the last 30+ books I have read, this is easily the worst, and I like science fiction.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams
216 pages
8/20 - 8/23
A trip beyond the stars, through the Stargate
A few weeks ago I started watching Stargate SG-1 on hulu. I have been interested in seeing the show for a while, but I wanted to start from the beginning to get a full understanding of the action and development.
If you are not familiar with hulu, it is a website hulu.com that has TV shows and a few movies on it to watch for free. It is fully legal and has a few commercials during the content. Some networks will agree to have the last 5 episodes that aired on TV of their popular shows available for viewing. It also has some older shows, like Stargate SG-1 and even Rocky and Bullwinkle (which I recommend).
I am almost finished with the third season of Stargate SG-1 and enjoying it a lot. Here is the basic premise of the show:
I would recommend watching the movie Stargate beforehand. The show picks up where the movie left off and references the events of the movie. Also, the first episode of SG-1 is not currently available online. I saw the movie with my Associate a few years ago and from that I had enough of a basis to understand things immediately. While watching all the episodes in order is not absolutely necessary to follow the storyline, the show is more linear in its development than Star Trek, where all the episodes of a series could be seen in a random order and still make sense.
Watching has inspired me to pick up my books on ancient Egypt and start reading them again. Ancient Egyptian gods like Apophis and places like Abydos are incorporated into the story. They even have a burial in season 3 episode 10 that is complete with the weighing of the heart against a feather and negative confession of the deceased.
If you are not familiar with hulu, it is a website hulu.com that has TV shows and a few movies on it to watch for free. It is fully legal and has a few commercials during the content. Some networks will agree to have the last 5 episodes that aired on TV of their popular shows available for viewing. It also has some older shows, like Stargate SG-1 and even Rocky and Bullwinkle (which I recommend).
I am almost finished with the third season of Stargate SG-1 and enjoying it a lot. Here is the basic premise of the show:
People dug up a big circle in Egypt that is a piece of alien technology (the stargate) that allows nearly instantaneous travel from one gate to another. These gates are located on planets across the galaxy. The mythology of ancient Egypt and other societies developed around travelers from an alien race that used the gate. While the original purpose of the gate system and the race who built them are a mystery, it seems one of their purposes was to transport different human cultures to different planets. The show takes place in the present day, or at least the present day starting in 1997 when it was made. One of the four person teams that goes through the gate to explore other planets and make contact with people is codenamed SG-1 as in Stargate team 1. The show develops from the people and situations SG-1 encounters.
I would recommend watching the movie Stargate beforehand. The show picks up where the movie left off and references the events of the movie. Also, the first episode of SG-1 is not currently available online. I saw the movie with my Associate a few years ago and from that I had enough of a basis to understand things immediately. While watching all the episodes in order is not absolutely necessary to follow the storyline, the show is more linear in its development than Star Trek, where all the episodes of a series could be seen in a random order and still make sense.
Watching has inspired me to pick up my books on ancient Egypt and start reading them again. Ancient Egyptian gods like Apophis and places like Abydos are incorporated into the story. They even have a burial in season 3 episode 10 that is complete with the weighing of the heart against a feather and negative confession of the deceased.
Monday, August 17, 2009
We are open
After some practice getting into the habit of posting and being pleased with what I will be talking about, I have decided the blog is ready for publicizing. A couple of people have already seen the blog and the feedback so far is positive.
Before I forget some of my ideas for future posts, I will list them. I hope by reading this list I will be inspired to give these ideas form on the computer.
Sending mail with stamps and writing letters on paper
Dracula wrap up
Summer "Reading" Program
Why I am the coolest person some ten year olds have ever met
Wedding next month
Flowers in the garage, from six years ago
Morning offerings
My special use of words, including dictionary entries
Its summer and time for a block party
Items in my room
Omnibus book post
Grammar I learned later than normal
The best posts I never made for the Patriot blog
Recipes: Air fried chicken & Tennessee Peach
The first time we met
Me: The facebook snob
People from the university asking me for money
Clothing sizes
Why I should make videos to put online instead of writing posts
As I said, the theory is by writing all this out I will post more frequently based on these ideas. The action could be different. This brings me to a story.
During Welcome Week of my freshman year, I went to the Chancellor's reception on Memorial Glade. This involves the Chancellor and some other people making speeches, free t-shirts, and a free lunch. I went with my Associate, primarily for the free lunch. As it was a sunny day, we sought out the shade of a small tree far away from the speaker's platform. Under this tree we met two other fellow shade seekers. We came to know one of them was named Yinbo. Discovering he was interested in math, physics, and the like there was much to talk about. At one point we kept coming up with different ideas to get a meal before the speeches were finished. We could make distractions, impersonate someone else, or simply walk up and take the boxed meals. Observing the myriad of ideas presented, Yinbo explained the problem is we are all theorists, none of us are willing to put any of our theories into action.
Only time will determine if my theory of naming my posts beforehand will be realized by me taking action and writing them.
Before I forget some of my ideas for future posts, I will list them. I hope by reading this list I will be inspired to give these ideas form on the computer.
Sending mail with stamps and writing letters on paper
Dracula wrap up
Summer "Reading" Program
Why I am the coolest person some ten year olds have ever met
Wedding next month
Flowers in the garage, from six years ago
Morning offerings
My special use of words, including dictionary entries
Its summer and time for a block party
Items in my room
Omnibus book post
Grammar I learned later than normal
The best posts I never made for the Patriot blog
Recipes: Air fried chicken & Tennessee Peach
The first time we met
Me: The facebook snob
People from the university asking me for money
Clothing sizes
Why I should make videos to put online instead of writing posts
As I said, the theory is by writing all this out I will post more frequently based on these ideas. The action could be different. This brings me to a story.
During Welcome Week of my freshman year, I went to the Chancellor's reception on Memorial Glade. This involves the Chancellor and some other people making speeches, free t-shirts, and a free lunch. I went with my Associate, primarily for the free lunch. As it was a sunny day, we sought out the shade of a small tree far away from the speaker's platform. Under this tree we met two other fellow shade seekers. We came to know one of them was named Yinbo. Discovering he was interested in math, physics, and the like there was much to talk about. At one point we kept coming up with different ideas to get a meal before the speeches were finished. We could make distractions, impersonate someone else, or simply walk up and take the boxed meals. Observing the myriad of ideas presented, Yinbo explained the problem is we are all theorists, none of us are willing to put any of our theories into action.
Only time will determine if my theory of naming my posts beforehand will be realized by me taking action and writing them.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Help sick children...or let them die
I should have posted this a day or two earlier to have a better effect.
Today is Miracle Treat Day at participating Dairy Queen locations. The proceeds of Blizzards purchased today go to the Children's Miracle Network. The Network helps children's hospitals around the country raise money that is used for research, medical care, and education.
I think this is a good cause and purchased two Blizzards today (I had a midnight truffle and my Mom had a Thin Mint). My question is why are some Dairy Queen locations not participating? None of the three DQs near my house are participating. I looked online and 4 of the 5 closest stores to me are not participating. While there are reasons and factors I do not know about, it is disappointing I have to go a couple of cities away to find a participating location. Do some of the stores hate children?
I do not run off to Dairy Queen on a regular basis, but the next time I do I will remember which locations did not participate.
Today is Miracle Treat Day at participating Dairy Queen locations. The proceeds of Blizzards purchased today go to the Children's Miracle Network. The Network helps children's hospitals around the country raise money that is used for research, medical care, and education.
I think this is a good cause and purchased two Blizzards today (I had a midnight truffle and my Mom had a Thin Mint). My question is why are some Dairy Queen locations not participating? None of the three DQs near my house are participating. I looked online and 4 of the 5 closest stores to me are not participating. While there are reasons and factors I do not know about, it is disappointing I have to go a couple of cities away to find a participating location. Do some of the stores hate children?
I do not run off to Dairy Queen on a regular basis, but the next time I do I will remember which locations did not participate.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
When the Sleeper Wakes
I have a couple of book wrap ups to do. I finished When the Sleeper Wakes by H.G. Well several days ago. I have read a lot of Wells lately, including The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, and The First Men in the Moon. When I read the introduction of the last of these, it mentioned the book so I decided to look into it.
The library had the novel in an edition called The Collector's Book of Science Fiction H.G. Wells. The Collector had three complete novels and many additional short stories by Wells. This book had illustrations that appeared in magazines when the stories were published around the turn of the century. I enjoyed looking at the art and reading the captions for the novels I had already read. It was great to see the world of the Moon illustrated.
Before I go any further, I must say I will not nor do I ever plan to spoil major plot lines or the ending of any book I talk about. I will not let my desire to talk about a book destroy the experience of reading it for another person.
My first impression is When the Sleeper Wakes is not as good as Well's better known novels. The first half of the book is the title character running around trying to figure out what is going on. It got repetitive and almost boring. When I thought about it, running around trying to figure out what is going on happens in Well's other books too.
I liked Well's world of an anti-utopia (or dystopia might be the better term). It is set 203 years in the future from around 1900. It is a time before flight and the aeropiles descried are wondrous devices that seem ridiculous by today's standards. The babble machines, moving walkways, and huge dinning halls of the future would make a great cinema experience. Then there were the couple of lines in the middle of the novel where the narration style suddenly acknowledges the reader before returning to following the Sleeper.
I would recommend the book most for its interpretation of the future. As for storyline, any of the more classic books of Wells are better. On my list of books to still read include Shape of Things to Come to finish my Wells reading as well as Brave New World to look into the future again.
When the Sleeper Wakes
H.G. Wells
8/2 - 8/4
The library had the novel in an edition called The Collector's Book of Science Fiction H.G. Wells. The Collector had three complete novels and many additional short stories by Wells. This book had illustrations that appeared in magazines when the stories were published around the turn of the century. I enjoyed looking at the art and reading the captions for the novels I had already read. It was great to see the world of the Moon illustrated.
Before I go any further, I must say I will not nor do I ever plan to spoil major plot lines or the ending of any book I talk about. I will not let my desire to talk about a book destroy the experience of reading it for another person.
My first impression is When the Sleeper Wakes is not as good as Well's better known novels. The first half of the book is the title character running around trying to figure out what is going on. It got repetitive and almost boring. When I thought about it, running around trying to figure out what is going on happens in Well's other books too.
I liked Well's world of an anti-utopia (or dystopia might be the better term). It is set 203 years in the future from around 1900. It is a time before flight and the aeropiles descried are wondrous devices that seem ridiculous by today's standards. The babble machines, moving walkways, and huge dinning halls of the future would make a great cinema experience. Then there were the couple of lines in the middle of the novel where the narration style suddenly acknowledges the reader before returning to following the Sleeper.
I would recommend the book most for its interpretation of the future. As for storyline, any of the more classic books of Wells are better. On my list of books to still read include Shape of Things to Come to finish my Wells reading as well as Brave New World to look into the future again.
When the Sleeper Wakes
H.G. Wells
8/2 - 8/4
Monday, August 10, 2009
Apheresis, also known as platelets
I have close to a dozen different ideas for posts. They have been planned out to varying degrees in my mind. I will start with one from today.
For the last five months, I have been donating platelets through the Red Cross. My blood type of A is the universal platelet donor so the people at the donation center talked me into trying platelets, also called an apheresis donation.
Today was one of my biweekly appointments. Donating platelets is similar to donating blood. Both start out with the same set of questions asked and blood pressure, pulse, and iron levels checked. For the actual procedure two needles are used, one in each arm. Through one side blood is taken out and sent to a machine. This separates the platelets which are collected from the plasma and other blood components which are then returned to the donor through the other arm. The processing can take between 70 - 100 minutes of being hooked up to the machine. Since it takes a while, you can select a movie to watch while it is happening.
The numbers for today are:
Blood pressure: 120/70
Movie: Fast & Furious
Time: 99 minutes
Update: I almost forgot, while I was in the cantata after the donation I looked at a couple of old National Geographics. The pictures, advertisements, and so many things were straight out of the 80s. The cover story of the October 1982 issue was about "The Chip." It talked about transistors on a chip that were becoming part of people's lives in many ways. The story even had a glossary to explain terms like bytes and RAM. There was even an ad for a Ford car (Escort I think) that had an EPG estimated 33 MPG.
Twenty-seven years from now someone will pick up a magazine from 2009. I want to tell that person I helped realize the exciting possibilities that were only imagined on those pages.
For the last five months, I have been donating platelets through the Red Cross. My blood type of A is the universal platelet donor so the people at the donation center talked me into trying platelets, also called an apheresis donation.
Today was one of my biweekly appointments. Donating platelets is similar to donating blood. Both start out with the same set of questions asked and blood pressure, pulse, and iron levels checked. For the actual procedure two needles are used, one in each arm. Through one side blood is taken out and sent to a machine. This separates the platelets which are collected from the plasma and other blood components which are then returned to the donor through the other arm. The processing can take between 70 - 100 minutes of being hooked up to the machine. Since it takes a while, you can select a movie to watch while it is happening.
The numbers for today are:
Blood pressure: 120/70
Movie: Fast & Furious
Time: 99 minutes
Update: I almost forgot, while I was in the cantata after the donation I looked at a couple of old National Geographics. The pictures, advertisements, and so many things were straight out of the 80s. The cover story of the October 1982 issue was about "The Chip." It talked about transistors on a chip that were becoming part of people's lives in many ways. The story even had a glossary to explain terms like bytes and RAM. There was even an ad for a Ford car (Escort I think) that had an EPG estimated 33 MPG.
Twenty-seven years from now someone will pick up a magazine from 2009. I want to tell that person I helped realize the exciting possibilities that were only imagined on those pages.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
What can you learn from Doyle Brunson?
One of the things I want to cover is the books I read. I will eventually make a big post with the complete list for the past year.
Today I finished Poker Wisdom of a Champion by Doyle Brunson.
First, I will detail how I came into possession of the book. When I went to Las Vegas in June, I went to a free poker seminar. It was at the Rio where the World Series of Poker was being held. The seminar was a presentation by Mike Caro with a question and answer session by Doyle Brunson. I filled out my name and address on a card for a raffle, so I am guessing they took my address and sent me the free book.
The book was originally published nearly 30 years ago. It is filled with stories from Brunson's life and poker experiences. In all of them he pulls out advice on poker. Come to think of it, the book is similar to one line of writing I described in my previous post that I want to follow for this blog.
I enjoyed the book. It is very easy to read and the stories are short, maybe five pages on average. Some of the comments are applicable to all gambling or even life in general. Things like don't play when you are upset or in emotional disarray. I will summarize one of the stories:
I also saw the movie Rounders when my Associate was in town. It is about poker and I recommend it.
Wisdom of a Poker Champion
Doyle Brunson
208 pages
7/20 - 8/1
Today I finished Poker Wisdom of a Champion by Doyle Brunson.
First, I will detail how I came into possession of the book. When I went to Las Vegas in June, I went to a free poker seminar. It was at the Rio where the World Series of Poker was being held. The seminar was a presentation by Mike Caro with a question and answer session by Doyle Brunson. I filled out my name and address on a card for a raffle, so I am guessing they took my address and sent me the free book.
The book was originally published nearly 30 years ago. It is filled with stories from Brunson's life and poker experiences. In all of them he pulls out advice on poker. Come to think of it, the book is similar to one line of writing I described in my previous post that I want to follow for this blog.
I enjoyed the book. It is very easy to read and the stories are short, maybe five pages on average. Some of the comments are applicable to all gambling or even life in general. Things like don't play when you are upset or in emotional disarray. I will summarize one of the stories:
There was a player who came into a game and had two books he put down on the table next to him. The top one was something by Steinbeck and the title of the other book below it was blocked. After some playing, the player was in a big hand. When he was betting, he nudged the book with his elbow, almost accidentally. The title of the second book was revealed to be How to Bluff Constantly and Win!. Seeing this, the other player in the hand dumped his money into the pot. The book guy called and it ended up he was not bluffing, but had a great hand and raked in the pot. For the rest of the night, some of the players felt compelled to call all of his bets, thinking he was bluffing. The player had a killer night. When he left, he said he did not need the book, so he tossed it into the center of the table as he walked out the door. The players eagerly grabbed the How to Bluff Constantly and Win! book and inside it was all blank pages, except the first page on which was written "Don't."
I also saw the movie Rounders when my Associate was in town. It is about poker and I recommend it.
Wisdom of a Poker Champion
Doyle Brunson
208 pages
7/20 - 8/1
What I am writing about
I am trying to craft the voice I want to use for this blog. I will break up my different impulses and explain them.
Politics
This is what I have the most (actually the only) experience blogging about. I wrote over 100 posts for the Patriot blog and connected almost all of them to politics. I do not want to get obsessed with politics. Also, if I do start advertising the blog to my friends, some of them will get into arguments with me that I want to avoid.
Activities
I want to incorporate a lot of what I do on a daily basis. The places I go and the books I read are filled with fun and a great source of material. However, I do not want this to become a boring recount of what I do. There are already enough of those blogs online.
Feelings
There are a lot of things I would like to say about how I feel about people and things. Two dangers present themselves. First, a lot of them would be negatives directed to people around me. These include things like "my brother did X and it is so stupid, I have to fix it every time" or "my dad does Y and I can't believe he has managed to live his entire life without learning the correct way to do Y, how many of my things have to be ruined before he learns to do Y, I learned how to do Y correctly by the time I was 10 years old, it is not that difficult." This is bad because if someone I direct a diatribe at reads it s/he will be angry and mad at me. Second, I do not want to spend my time chronicling everything I am annoyed by. I want to focus on the good things and forget about the unpleasant ones.
God
There are two extremes. Either God is a real all powerful, knowing, and benevolent being or God is all made up. If the later is true, there is no place to talk about God here or anywhere in my life. If God is as described before, then I should talk about Him all the time and place His words and will at the center of everything I do. Since the blog is an extension of my life, God should be similarly present.
Useful Commentary/Funny Stories
There are a few useful things I know or learn that I would like to share. There are also some great stories that happen to me. The current title of the blog is "Stories from my life." People tell me I have good stories and I enjoy dramatically telling them. I will try to incorporate them whenever possible and include a moral or piece of knowledge if possible. I suppose I should mention, in feelings above Y = laundry.
Relationships
To paraphrase Fr. Charlie from an SMT meeting, people do not share anything about their romantic relationships here, if you would like to you can. I would like to write some things about girls I like. It might help if I did not think the friends of the girl I currently like the most will be among the most active readers of this blog.
Formatting and Presentation
I want to make full use of pictures, html tags, Photoshop skills, and maybe even audio editing. I am capable of making a unique theme and format for the blog, I just have to decide what to do with it.
Connection to other things
Do I want this blog to be easily accessible to anyone who wants to find me online? I can avoid the use of proper nouns that would bring this up in a Google search. I have not decided if I am going to put a link here in my facebook profile. When I am happy with how I am writing and how often I am posting, I will probably connect it to everything.
The blog is still in a testing mode. I am trying to figure out how I want to write and get in the habit of posting before I tell anyone about this blog.
The best thing for me to do now is sit down and type. Whatever ends up on the screen is what I want to talk about. I will see where this goes.
Politics
This is what I have the most (actually the only) experience blogging about. I wrote over 100 posts for the Patriot blog and connected almost all of them to politics. I do not want to get obsessed with politics. Also, if I do start advertising the blog to my friends, some of them will get into arguments with me that I want to avoid.
Activities
I want to incorporate a lot of what I do on a daily basis. The places I go and the books I read are filled with fun and a great source of material. However, I do not want this to become a boring recount of what I do. There are already enough of those blogs online.
Feelings
There are a lot of things I would like to say about how I feel about people and things. Two dangers present themselves. First, a lot of them would be negatives directed to people around me. These include things like "my brother did X and it is so stupid, I have to fix it every time" or "my dad does Y and I can't believe he has managed to live his entire life without learning the correct way to do Y, how many of my things have to be ruined before he learns to do Y, I learned how to do Y correctly by the time I was 10 years old, it is not that difficult." This is bad because if someone I direct a diatribe at reads it s/he will be angry and mad at me. Second, I do not want to spend my time chronicling everything I am annoyed by. I want to focus on the good things and forget about the unpleasant ones.
God
There are two extremes. Either God is a real all powerful, knowing, and benevolent being or God is all made up. If the later is true, there is no place to talk about God here or anywhere in my life. If God is as described before, then I should talk about Him all the time and place His words and will at the center of everything I do. Since the blog is an extension of my life, God should be similarly present.
Useful Commentary/Funny Stories
There are a few useful things I know or learn that I would like to share. There are also some great stories that happen to me. The current title of the blog is "Stories from my life." People tell me I have good stories and I enjoy dramatically telling them. I will try to incorporate them whenever possible and include a moral or piece of knowledge if possible. I suppose I should mention, in feelings above Y = laundry.
Relationships
To paraphrase Fr. Charlie from an SMT meeting, people do not share anything about their romantic relationships here, if you would like to you can. I would like to write some things about girls I like. It might help if I did not think the friends of the girl I currently like the most will be among the most active readers of this blog.
Formatting and Presentation
I want to make full use of pictures, html tags, Photoshop skills, and maybe even audio editing. I am capable of making a unique theme and format for the blog, I just have to decide what to do with it.
Connection to other things
Do I want this blog to be easily accessible to anyone who wants to find me online? I can avoid the use of proper nouns that would bring this up in a Google search. I have not decided if I am going to put a link here in my facebook profile. When I am happy with how I am writing and how often I am posting, I will probably connect it to everything.
The blog is still in a testing mode. I am trying to figure out how I want to write and get in the habit of posting before I tell anyone about this blog.
The best thing for me to do now is sit down and type. Whatever ends up on the screen is what I want to talk about. I will see where this goes.
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