|
As most of you know by now, I will be vacationing in the East Coast for 2 weeks starting Monday. I will split my time between NYC, Baltimore, and Fairfax. I will be back in mid-July to continue occasionally updating this site.
Pictures may be posted if I can get a comp and a decent internet connection! |
|
One week ago, Hellbunny and I threw the hottest party at the Colleges: the NEDM Summer BBQ. The premise--let's get all our friends together for one last bout of fun before the weekend of graduations.
I spent the majority of the morning shopping with Hellbunny and Damian, going to places like Costco and Longs' to get all the essential items--hot dogs, hamburgers, steak, salad, soda, and a Nintendo DS Lite for Damian. After the food was bought, we cleaned the apartments because people were told to drop by both my place and Hellbunny's place to get the food/drink they needed. I managed to clean out all the trash on my floor, and get most of the vacuumming done before my first party guest, Alex, came over. He was tired because some jackass stole his bike the previous day, and he carried all his Programming Languages books in his backpack from the labs, so all he needed was a beer and a place to sit. I gave him a can of Guinness and he was off to Hellbunny's while I finished cleaning and then headed up to Hellbunny's myself.
Because so much happened at the party, I must use Bullet Points to recount every crazy thing that happened. Without further ado, the following takes place between 4 PM and 10 PM:
* A short while after finishing his Guinness, Alex, Serg, and I had bottles of Sierra Nevada, but no one else had any beer. Fuck them, I'll sponsor them and drink a couple cans in their place.
* At this point the party moved outside, because the first batch of food was almost ready. At this point, Matt and Serg decided to have a water balloon fight on the Colleges lawn, leading to the One Rule of Combat: if you are on the lawn, and you are not the cook, you are fair game.
* Stou stops by, and the first thing he does is say hi to Damian and Hellbunny at the BBQ pit. Except Cousin Amber is at the BBQ pit, and not Hellbunny. The look on his face was priceless: he said "hey [Hellbunny]", Cousin Amber turned around, he realized his mistake, and walked off with a face that said "oh shit that's not Hellbunny".
* I got Stou a can of soda (he was working and thus could not imbibe alcohol), and everyone grabbed a plate of food and started chatting. I was standing right by Alex and Stou when they started talking about Prof. Ma of the CS Depmt's Graphics Group. The discussion turned into a Civil War, with Alex leading the "Ma Sucks!" brigade, and Stou waving the flag that said "Ma is Awesome!" Their debate boiled down to personal taste: Alex didn't like Ma's hands-off teaching style and superfluous program requirements, while Stou enjoyed learning graphics on his own and having large projects with a ton of requirements. The best exchange of the debate, which drifted into "is Ma cool or not?" went something like this:
Stou: "Can't you see Ma driving down 5th Street in an Escalade with bitches in the back seat?"
Alex: "He drives a [lame family sedan--I forget what kind of car Alex said]"
Stou takes a minute to ponder this information, then says "You may have a point."
I laughed at a lot of Stou's comments because he is a born comedian, but I felt bad because a lot of them were disparaging to Alex, and he agreed to be my roommate this fall after he moves out of Davis. I blame Sierra Nevada for making me giggly.
*After we all ate, the water balloon fight resumed, and Alex was hit enough times to make him go into Commando Mode. Imagine a John Rambo armed with water balloons instead of bullets, and you'll have a good idea of what Alex looked like. He later switched from using a ton of balloons to carrying a box full of water--a very Rambo thing to do, if you ask me.
* Somewhere around this point in time, Hellbunny became a total punk: she would throw balloons, but hide on the concrete and never allow herself to be hit in the open. After seeing her dishonorable actions, I decided to take matters into my own hands: I grabbed her around the waist, carried her onto the grass, and told everyone to take their shots now while she was pinned. She got so drenched that she went inside, changed into a swimsuit, and came back ready to settle the score with me. I had nothing to fear because she throws like a girl--she threw 4 water balloons at me, and the only one that splashed me was the balloon that bounced off my back, hit the grass and exploded. CS/Bio Dude Kareem did a better job hitting me with a balloon that just barely missed me, but I remember saying "I gave you beer, and you shot me!" Clearly, I was the only Colleges resident who had honor that night.
* Speaking of beer, Alex helped himself to another can of Guinness while I was outside, I poured a can for Kareem after he learned I had Guinness in my place, and I had a can of Boddingtons, all in the span of about 10 minutes during the water fight.
* I took a quick break from the party to drive Alex home because he didn't want to walk with all his books, and on the way back Andrew called to say he was on his way to the BBQ. By the time I got back, the water fight had ended, people were done eating, Stou had left, and Priya had arrived. Danielle (Chocoholic) came over during the water fight and spent much of her time hiding, and Dave stopped by to eat during the Alex/Stou debate. At this point people just hung out and talked, and it was all very chill.
* Serg played Blackjack with some peeps, and then he and I tried to get a big circle of Texas Hold 'Em going. When there is no betting and no one knows the rules, THE sucks. Hellbunny and I decided it was time for a colossal game of Uno, so we combined our Hello Kitty and Spider-Man decks to form UNO PRIME. Sadly, we only got around to explaining the rules behind the special Uno cards before people decided we should clean up our mess, and then people left to go home. The UNO PRIME game ended before the first card was dealt. The time is now 9:45 PM.
I checked in with Andrew around this time, and he was at Woodstock's with his crew getting ready to see Stargate. I was just about to get in the car and head downtown when I remembered I had no money, and I felt tired from the BBQ. Exhausted, I headed back to my apmt and sat in my chair, and just started to relax when MA called. She asked if I needed a ride to the movies, since I asked if she would ferry Andrew and me to Stargate if we were too drunk to stand. I said I was cool, and then asked if she wanted to play Super Mario Bros. We had talked of playing NES that weekend, but conflicting schedules prevented us from getting our SMB on. She said it sounded cool, so I grabbed the JackPack and bolted out to her place, where Priya looked at me with an expression that said "didn't I just see you somewhere?"
MA and I played some awesome SMB 3, and homegirl is wicked good at SMB 3. I mean, she plays SMB 3 the way I play Metroid Zero Mission. She knows where the location of each cannon on the World 1 Airship, and knows just where to stand so she will never get hit by anything. Dave came over around this time and got in on the SMB fun, and we used our Warp Whistles to head to World 5 after completing the first 2 worlds. I also busted out my Nintendo DS Lite and got some NSMB time in, because Priya never saw me smashing the World 1-1 flagpole with Mega Mario. After playing SMB 3 to death (losing the damn Kuribo's Shoe because of a Spiny makes you want to stop playing and cry yourself to sleep), we all watched Fun with Dick and Jane, and MA/Priya's roomie Michelle watched it with us. After the movie (which means it's now 1:00 AM) my head didn't feel too well, and MA sat with me for like a half hour while I tried to figure out what was wrong, and dangled comics in front of her.
What was wrong with me? I had a sore throat, probably brought on by allergies, but it was definitely caused by a sinus infection that left me stuffed up with an aching head. For a while I thought I had a hangover, which I quickly ruled out. And my graduation ceremony was at 3 PM that day. |
|
So it's old news now: Metallica is back on the road on Escape from the Studio 2006, and they are commemorating the 20th anniversary of Master of Puppets by playing the entire albuim in concert.
No, I don't mean they're playing the whole CD before the concert starts. I mean they're playing all 8 songs live, in order, from start to finish. We get the missing middle portion of "Battery", the full "Orion", and both taped intros to "Battery" and "Damage, Inc." And we get this every night of the tour, with a grab bag of random songs to complete the set, plus mainstays like "Fuel", "Enter Sandman", "One", "Sad But True", and "Seek and Destroy". It looks wierd, since Dream Theater already played the whole album in concert as a tribute, but it makes sense. I mean, the guys released the St. Anger Rehearsals DVD, where they were filmed playing the whole album with their live rigs. This is a band that likes to play full albums, and while it would have been "convenient" to do this during the South African leg of the Escape from the Studio Tour (shorter tour, tour occured in March, the same month Puppets was released, first time ever going to South Africa), this feels much better. Puppets was born in Europe, and the first headlining Met tour was the European Damage, Inc. tour in 1986, so it fits better. It sucks they're not going to play a Danish festival and truly bring MOP home (I think the Danish festival is Roskilde?), but the lucky fuckers who go to the Download Festival at Castle Donington and the Imola Jamming Festival will be in for a treat.
Speaking of lucky fuckers, those assholes in Berlin got to hear a new song! Yes, a brand new song was played at the Waldbuhne in Berlin, which is where Hitler used to address his generals during WWII. (A "different" history than most rock venues, but all that matters is the size of the stage when you rock, not who has been there before.) It is so new, they don't even have a title, and I'm going to return to the Metboards just to see if lyrics exist yet. I'm willing to bet that there is only one verse, or they used the lyrics from "Fuel" so no one bootlegs it. |
|
After weeks of not posting anything, this article on fark.com made me want to find the nearest LJ client and spam your friend pages again. It links to this article about perpetual singles in the Boston Globe. [The fark comments are a mixed bag of "bashing the ugly people pictured in the article" and saying "fuck yeah, women suck!!!11oneone". I don't really see the need for this article: they are writing about a surge in still-single people in Boston. This is like writing an article in a Texas paper saying "OMG!!! There is a rise in the number of Americans who are waiting til marriage to have sex!"]
As many of my friends will tell you, I should be the first person to march in support of perpetual singles. 90% of my friends/companions/acquaintances/relative have "special someones", and thus I tend to be the "extra single friend" who tags along but doesn't bring an additonal guest to the party. The news media is describing this as a change that will rock the foundations of society to its core, so why am I not saying that my stance on relationships has been vindicated, that I have found a cause worthy of my support, and that at long last I am no longer a lone voice in a chorus of smooches? Because these people are fucking nuts, and I could not disagree more with their stance on relationships.
If you are single because you prefer your own company, that's fine. If you love one-night stands and don't want to deal with the daily grind that is a coupledom, that's coo. If you hate emotional attachments and don't want to get tangled with someone, you're kinda wierd, but still not too bad. If you are super introverted and hide in your room because you don't like other people, there's still hope for you, but you're still OK. If you idolize Lone Gunmen like Jack Bauer, Samus Aran, and El Mariachi, and dream of leaping into dangerous situations alone with some guns as your only support, and kick everyone's ass in minutes, then I need to buy you a beer. But if you call people in relationships "Couplists", and make up names like "Quirkyalone, Modern Spinsters, Marriagefree, and Spinsterellas", then you have crossed the line between "single and OK with it" and "single and full of spite".
Reading the quotes from these Modern Spinsters sounded more like the soldiers of [info]childfree than someone who has a different way of life and is proud of it. You can almost see them sneering at the couple holding hands as they walk through a park, as if the icy glare of a Marriagefree would stop the couple in their tracks and split them apart like an atom in a nuclear bomb. What was once an effort to legitimize being alone has turned into a campaign to lash out at people who are better at finding dates than you, and then acting as if not having a boyfriend/girlfriend makes you superior to those who do have one. Making a cute name for yourselves like "Spinsterellas" and "Quirkyalones" is the sign that you have gone to the dark side--first you glamourize your difference from the status quo, and next thing you know you're thinking that your shit doesn't stink cuz you're part of a group with a funky name. What caused their love to turn to hate? Let's see:
1) They are ugly--you'd be surprised how many unattractive people have turned their lot in life into a means of empowerment, which sometimes turns into disdain for people who can't see "the real, beautiful you" hidden in 200 pounds of fat, or behind a face that hit every twig on the Ugly Tree.
2) They were hurt by past loves--there are many reasons why a relationship is unhealthy: abuse, adultery, and unhealthy fixations are some of the prominent examples. If you were hurt once by a past relationship, the only way to overcome the fear/disdain you have for your sexually preferred gender is to get back out there and try to find someone better, a task made easier because almost anyone will be "better". If you are drawn to people who are bad news, and can only feel attracted to these people, then you're doing yourself a favor by staying out of the dating pool and being bitter.
3) They are jealous--sometimes, if you can't have it, and you really want it, the only way to stop wanting it is to hate it and thus not want it. Ever wanted a nice pair of pants that you could not afford? Did you start hating that line of clothing, and the people who buy it, as a Freudian way of not liking it anymore? If you don't want to say, it's alright--we already know who you are.
4) They are incapable of keeping partners--maybe you're very good at repelling people because you are needy and scare away first dates with talk of your wedding date the following year. Maybe you talk about your one hobby incessantly and find it impossible to connect with anyone because your hobby gets in the way. Or maybe you are a world class bitch/asshole, and no one asks you to go to the pub anymore. Why hate other people who figured out their issues and got over them?
5) They are waiting for perfection--the Globe article mentions the end of the "loveless marriage" and the belief in soulmates as a reason why these people do not date. Many of the interviewed singles mentioned the desire to stay single until they find The Super-Right Guy/Girl, the one they've dreamed about since childhood. If you find that the people around aren't "attractive", then either your standards are so high that you are waiting for a gymnast doctor with a PhD will knock on your door, or you have yet to find your "type", the set of traits that make your brain release every attraction hormone in the books and make you turn to mush. Either way, you will wait your whole life time waiting for your personal Godot.
There is a spectrum of human attachment: on one end is the person who so desperately needs another person that they cannot stand the thought of being alone for any period of time. That attitude isn't healthy, but neither is wanting to be alone for the rest of your life, and building a surrogate family to fill the hole in your heart where the love from a real family should go. The best outlook, myself and researchers have found, is one where you are OK with being alone, but you are also OK with having a special someone in your life. That way, you have all the benefits of a relationship/partnership with someone, but you will have outside, solo interests that make this relationship non-co-dependent. Co-dependent relationships only work when you are 8 years old and have nothing else in your brain except the desire to meld with someone and be the same sides of the same coin.
So where do I stand? I prefer to look at relationships from a Buddhist perspective: "if I find a wife, great! If I don't, that's great too! I'm prepared for either outcome, and will be happy either way." If I do get married, I can already see myself teaching my kids how to play "Enter Sandman" riffs and how to Shinespark in Zero Mission. If I don't get married, then I will have plenty of time to go biking in all the great trails and roads around the world (especially France!). Of course, it's easy to say you are cool with finding a girlfriend when you don't actually date and instead sit in a chair writing code/playing guitar/playing games, but I'm working on that. Going out to pubs/places with friends is making me more sociable, and I am well aware that being lazy and unattractive is a double whammy of failure because dating requires a lot of work even when you're handsome, and wanting to avoid even more work than normal means you're destined to eat at tables for one. Also, the rules change at 30, and girls switch from marrying guys because they are super-hawt to marrying guys because they are afraid of infertility and not being able to afford diapers on their own. The odds are stacked against me, but I'm not worried. The trick is to find someone who is interested in starting a family with you, but finds you to be so attractive, they can't keep their hands off you. If I run into one of these fabled chicks, I will make something happen out of it, but I will only pick the girls who want to make and raise my babies, and not just carry them. |
|
[Editor's Note--This used to be the Perpetual Single post, but I moved it into the next entry so I could write about my abscence from LJ. One day, when I have dementia, I'll want to know why the entire month of May is missing from the LJ.]
Holy Cats and Kittens, I missed all updates for the month of May? There are several reasons why I took a month off from LJ:
1) I had 2 long-term class projects that literally required 24 hours of work per day just to get finished. Those classes kept me so busy, I did not cook anything for the last 2 weeks. I survived off of my usual fast food joints and free pizza handed out by the College of Engineering.
2) I bought New Super Mario Bros. for the DS, and it is pimp. It's the original SMB with little elements of each subsequent Mario game mixed in. I finished it last Monday, and I'm still playing it so I can get all the Star Coins and find all the secret exits.
3) I had a stack of Weekend Reports to do, and I just said "fuck it!" and decided not to do them. Therefore, the events that took place during my first and last quarters at the Davis Apmt will be lost.
4) Speaking of said events, I was so busy having a social life that I did not have the time to sit in front of the comp and type.
And what did I do these past 8 weeks that did not get recorded in the LJ? Any one of these things:
[] Getting lunch at the Grad with Alex, Todd, and Lawrence
[] Going drinking with Andrew at Woodstock's, and then seeing Retro movies like Die Hard and Monty Python.
[] Watching all sorts of movies with MA
[] Looking at YTMND's with Hellbunny
[] Playing New Super Mario Bros!
[] Going to big social gatherings like Picnic Day and Andrew's Superhero Party (I dressed up as Mega Man!)
[] 24 Night with the 24 Crew
[] Playing songs on the guitar!
[] Watching Metallica videos on YouTube!
[] Joining Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honors Society, and getting involved
[] Hanging out with Cousin Amber and Her Awesome Boyfriend
[] Raising Hell
In the next week or so I will put off studying for finals by posting some things that I wanted to write last month, but never found the time to do so.
And now, without further ado, I give you Single in the City! |
| » And now for even fewer updates |
|---|
You thought having more to do and being lazier than usual meant fewer updates? Then check this shit out:
Last weekend I tried out Metroid Prime Hunters in Wal-Mart, and at a Retro Movie Fest from a long time ago I played Mario Kart DS on some dude's DS. After trying both games, I decided that a DS would be worth my money, so I decided to wait until the DS Lite was released on American shores. Problem: the DS Lite cannot be found in Japan due to high demand, and Nintendo is reportedly not thinking about releasing the DS Lite here until it can satisfy demand in Japan. So I said "fine, I'll buy a DS soon and trade it in later".
Apparently, "soon" meant "last Tuesday". I stopped at Gamestop after class just to say hi, and ask them if they had any Mario Kart DS bundles in stock. The guy said they had one left, and it was the only one in the region because that bundle has been discontinued. The gears turned in my brain, and I decided now was the time to get that DS. My money was spread out over 2 sources: credit, ATM, and cash, but the nice guys at Gamestop let me use 2 cards and cash just as long as I bought everything I wanted. My total haul:
*Nintendo DS system
*Free copy of Mario Kart DS bundled with system
*Copy of Metroid Prime Hunters
*MPH Player's Guide (20% off because I bought it with the game)
After some time, I can give you my findings on both games:
MKDS is 80% as fun as MK:DD!! The mini-turbo system is not as loose as MK:DD!!, so while the total number of mini-turbos is reduced, but the mini-turbos themselves are stronger, so it evens out somewhere. Also, the courses have more moving shit (Tick Tock Clock, for example), so you need to pay attention and let Physics guide you to the right track. I thought the CPU's were more aggressive than usual, but that's probably just my imagination. Besides racing, I had a lot of fun with the Battle Mode, and those missions are good for improving your Mario Kart skills. The game does make my hands hurt cuz you have to hold A while you support the DS with 2 fingers, but I found a way to hold it that reduces the strain.
MPH is what happens when you cross Mega Man with Unreal Tournament and slap Samus in there as the hero. Every zone works like this: you land your ship, you explore and find 3 Artifacts, you fight a rival bounty hunter, you fight some boss creature, and then you escape before time runs out. The only available upgrades besides expansion tanks are the Bounty Hunter Weapons, and the game tells you when you get a headshot. As for Samus's abilities, your only suit upgrades are the Missile Launcher, the Varia Suit, the Morph Ball, the Normal Bomb, and the Boost Ball, so you can't even do Double-Jump gymnastics or Grapple fights. It takes some getting used to, but the stylus still makes aiming pimp. This is not a First Person Adventure title, this is a straight-up FPS with a Morph Ball so you can run away. If you don't know how to play an FPS without a lock-on feature, then you better learn the fuck now.
Apr. 23rd, 2006 @ 06:25 pm
|
| » Weekend Report: All Alone on Easter |
|---|
All my friends left to go home for Easter, and I had to rot in Davis!!!!!
Seriously, it wasn't that lonely, but it did get kinda boring near the end.
Friday:
I spent the first part of the day finishing my Computer Security assignment: we had to overflow some input buffers to make the program do strange things. I had no problem with the concept of launching buffer attacks--it was little things that made this assignment take longer than 2 hours. Seriously, at one point my attacks weren't working cuz I had newlines in my attack script, so only the first 10 bytes of my 540 byte exploit was written to the computer. But I still got it done, and I raced Alex to see who could finish the whole thing faster. I'm proud to say I won, but he started it this morning, so he deserves more kudos than me.
Afterwards I killed time until 24 Night, which had more people than usual cuz Natalie+1 was there! I think half the people went to get food at the Guad, and the other half trickled in as we were watching 24. And Natalie+1 finally got her DVD of the first 12 episodes of the season, so she was very happy overall!
Saturday:
I played a lot of video games, and some guitar, but lots of people were busy and could not hang. I did start my Databases assignment, and I had Chipotle for dinner, so yay for me! Afterwards, I drove to the Wal-Mart in Dixon to get some stuff for the apmt, but of the three things I was looking for (a good JackPack, a small bookcase, a small trash can for cans/plastic recyclables), I only found the trash can. That's OK, I toured all the aisles looking for anything else I needed, and I found a Metroid Prime Hunters demo in the video game aisle. I don't care what anyone says, aiming with the stylus is fucking pimp. I also peeked in the local Gamestop to look for cool stuff, but there wasn't anything that caught my eye.
Sunday:
Usual Sunday: kill time in the morning until Software Engineering meeting at Dan Lorca's. We were still working on the login screens for all the possible users, but we did get all the project technologies working. Dinner was KFC, cuz most stores were closed for Easter, but in retrospect that was a bad idea cuz the KFC I ate did not like me. Then I went home to do more Databases and chill.
Apr. 18th, 2006 @ 11:26 pm
|
| » Expert Mario Kart Advice |
|---|
Like I said earlier, we watched Celebrity Poker Showdown on Sunday to learn how to play Texas Hold 'Em effectively. Watching Phil Gordon give expert poker playing tips reminded me of my days being a Mario Kart guru, so I thought I'd reach into my magical hat and share some more of my Phil Gordon-style tips with ya'll:
*Quit a GP if you place 4th or worse
You can still win most GP's if you place second or third, but no miracle can help you win a GP if you place 4th, especially in 150cc or higher. The point deficit is too great, so you had best quit and try again.
*Know what Items you can get in any given position
People in first place get Bananas and Fake Item Boxes, with the occasional Green Shell thrown in. Somewhere after 3rd place Red Shells become very common, and then disappear somewhere close to 7th. So if you need a Star, and you're in 2nd Place, you'd better find another way to get past this obstacle.
*Don't make too many mistakes
I can't tell you how many times I've lost a race because I accidentally hit a wall or a Banana, and while recovering from that a Blue Shell of Death hit me and the computers passed me. The BSoD is usually unavoidable, but hitting a wall isn't. Therefore, you should aim to make as few mistakes as possible. Remember: your lead over the other computers shrinks for every second you are not moving forward.
*Watch the Kart in front of you
Is the Thrower facing backwards? That probably means he/she has something that can be placed backwards, such as a Banana or a Mushroom. Get as close as you can so you can see the Item and know what to expect, but don't get so close that you can be hit with that Item.
More tips as they come to me!
Apr. 13th, 2006 @ 11:51 pm
|
| » Weekend Report: I'm So Friggin' Busy! |
|---|
How do I even find the time to sleep when I have so much to do on weekends?
Friday:
Oh this day was all about killing time til BSG night. I briefly considered going out to Chipotle to get dinner, but it was raining and I felt lazy. Instead I ate cookies to keep my stomach from rumbling, then I played a ton of Stanger songs on my guitar. My arm was still bent out of shape when I picked up Danny to go to Dan Lorca's house. The plan was to meet at 8, but that got pushed til 8:40 cuz Dan was napping and needed some time to get going again. We actually didn't get to the Guad to eat until after 9 cuz Dan was moving around books on his shelf and we had to finish that first.
So we watched both parts of "Lay Down Your Burdens" on Friday, and I must say, they packed more character development in the past 10 episodes than in the previous 1.5 seasons. Even the random jumps in time were just there so they could change the characters even more, and "missing years" work great! Last thing: ( cut for your convenience )
Saturday:
The parents came up to visit this morning at 8:30, so I was feeling really tired cuz I had been waking up at that exact same time for the past week due to my daily 9 AM classes. It was a good visit: the parents dropped off my new bike, we got IHOP, and talked about job searches and vacations.
After killing time by not doing my Security HW, reading my new Tucker Max book, and chatting with Hellbunny, MA and I hung out downtown. We got dinner at Pluto's, checked out comics at Borders, and watched V for Vendetta. I don't know how Infinite Crisis ended, so all the "One Year Later" DC comics made no sense to me, but the Ultimate X-Men/Ultimate Spider-Man crossover Deadpool story at Borders is awesome! And the movie was awesome: that one part where V has a monologue where every 2nd word starts with a 'v' was fucking awesome.
Sunday:
Oh, this was a busy day. I slept in, played some guitar, and field tested my new bike. It rides great, and I could not wait to go from class to class with my new baby. After my field test I grabbed my Software Engineering teammates and went to Dan's house for our meeting. The first thing we did at the meeting was play a few hands of Texas Hold 'Em to get a good idea of how to play the game and start thinking of what we have to do internally. Some of these things include handling antes/rakes, managing who's in the game, and finding the best hand out of seven cards. Everyone had their own playing style, and mine was "tight". I accidentally folded when I had a flush, but so did everyone, so I would have split the pot AKA got my money back. But I made a ton of money when I decided to go for broke when I had a straight draw, and the 8 I needed to complete my straight came on the river. No one expected me to win the pot, even when I went all in on the last round of betting!
In addition to playing the game, we watched a few rounds of Celebrity Poker Showdown to see the "What Beats What" hand comparisons, how the blinds/dealer button worked, and to teach the THE newbies how to bet/play competitively. We spent the rest of the evening working on Use Cases, which are Software Engineering paperwork that describe what steps have to happen to do everything from logging in to choosing a table. We took a short break to get dinner at Subway and watch more poker on the TiVo.
Apr. 13th, 2006 @ 11:42 pm
|
| » A Video Game Update |
|---|
Yesterday I went with Hellbunny to Gamestop cuz she wanted to buy the new Ice Age game and I wanted to look at DS games. Gamestop doesn't have a DS display anymore, and I only saw a couple DS games on display, but I did see something even better:
Lego Star Wars 2: The Original Trilogy, bitches!
40 new characters, including the ability to import my old LSW characters? Unlockable vehicles with free-roam vehicle levels? More Force powers and weapons? A character creation menu? Send me a copy, mofo's! The only downside: this game won't be out until this Fall, so I can't skip Boat Dance and play Lego Star Wars instead! Fucking weak!
As for the Nintendo DS games, I'm afraid I will not be buying any DS games until the DS Lite hits American shores. Since I doubt the DS Lite will be out before July, I think I'll ask for DS games from the guests for this year's birthday. Here is a partial list of the games that I would want for my new DS:
*Metroid Prime Hunters
*Mario Kart DS
*Metroid Prime Pinball
*Meteos
*Tetris DS
*Kirby Touch and Go
*Super Mario 64 DS
*Mario and Luigi
*The New Yoshi Game
I'll fix the names later, but I'm definitely buying Mario Kart DS and Hunters at the same time as my DS Lite. I played Mario Kart DS last Thursday, and I thought that it was 80% as fun as Double Dash, especially after the guy next to me said I wanted to get Orange Sparks, not Blue. I also want to try Hunters, because I don't know what the Single Player mode will be like, and I'm curious as to how a Metroid game can be Metroid without searching for Missile Tanks.
Apr. 13th, 2006 @ 11:38 pm
|
|
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92){kind=small}
kirkjr41's journal