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  • Tagged (by three_five)

    I don't usually do these, but okay. I'm doing this one, since my narcissistic birthday buddy asked me to.

    1. Number of books I own: lots and lots. Trust me.
    2. The last book I bought: Fortune's Formula: The Untold Story of the Scientific Betting System that Beat the Casinos and Wall Street.
    3. The last book I completed: the same.
    4. Books that mean a lot to me: The Method and Message of Jesus' Teachings, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind.
    5. What I'm currently reading: Korea Unmasked, a cartoon history of the motherland. Adapting Minds, a critique of evolutionary psychology.
    6. TAG! No one. I will not be passing on this particular meme.

  • Happy birthday

    Today's the birthday of my close friend (and former roommate) three_five. Happy birthday, S.O.!

  • Reality check of the day

    Sometimes I daydream about writing a story or screenplay. Then I am
    confronted with the cruel truth that real conversation is funnier and more
    interesting than anything I could write myself.

    Here is an actual exchange overheard in New York City.

    Dumb teen: Hey, look at this! It says "Train for jobs in beeyotch."

    Smarter teen: Fool! That word is biotech. Why you gotta be ignorant all your life?

  • Social commentary of the day

    This NYT article
    describes Hollywood's recent efforts to market
    films towards evangelicals. At the end of the article is this tidbit [emphasis added by me].

    The researchers found that "when it comes to popular movies and popular
    shows, tastes don't differ at all" between religious and nonreligious,
    said Joseph Helfgot, president of MarketCast. "What you find is that
    people with conservative religious doctrine are the most likely to see
    movies rated R for violence    . If you compared it to liberals, it's a
    third more."

  • Email exchange of the day

    Between my brother and me.

    From: Mark R.
    To: Scott R.
    Subject: harry potter 6
    Date: Saturday, 16 July 2005 at 1:38 pm PDT

    it came out today. are you buying it, or is it my turn?

    From: Scott R.

    To: Mark R.

    Subject: Re: harry potter 6

    Date: Saturday, 16 July 2005 at 3:04 pm PDT

    I'm on page 513.

  • Pic of the day


  • One way not to give off tells

    This pic was taken today, during the first day of the main event of the World Series of Poker.

    I always knew that Elmo was a degenerate. But I had no idea that he liked to gamble.

    UPDATE: It turns out that "Elmo" is actually World Poker Tour final table finisher Paul Magriel. If you view this picture of him, you will understand why the WSOP officials let him wear the mask.

    UPDATE 2: Maybe not Magriel after all. Also, poker pro Scotty Nguyen comments on playing Elmo:

    "I was like everyone else at first, you know? I
    thought, 'Elmo, you're dead money, baby.' But that Elmo is scary.
    Scary, baby. You can't even read him. His eyes, they don't blink. I
    just fold everytime under that stare, baby. Scary."

    UPDATE 3: Definitely not Magriel, but some random young dude.

    UPDATE 4: Random young Elmo is Daniel Carrar of Brooklyn. He was apparently eliminated on either Day 1A or Day 2 of the event.

  • Update

    It's been a while since my last post. A few things going on during that time...

    1. I took a vacation with my parents and brother in San Diego and LA.
    2. My brother and I set plans for him to move in with me here in SD.
    3. I signed a contract to purchase a condominium east of Del Mar. Close of escrow is in late July.
    4. I took a five-day vacation in Las Vegas playing poker and meeting friends.
    5. I started playing World of Warcraft, rose to a level 44 mage, and decided to quit.
    6. Tomorrow I leave for my second trip to Las Vegas, with a different
    group of friends this time. We're staying at the Wynn. (The room rate is pretty reasonable if you play poker.)

  • Pretty site of the day

    This site uses Google News to generate a map of stories. Larger and brighter boxes correspond to more popular and more recent headlines.

    I don't know if the site is useful, but it sure looks cool.

  • Variations on a theme

    I had the following conversations a few weeks ago.

    On Wednesday night, my friends came for Bible study.

    Winston: Your place looks amazing! What happened?
    Me: I hired a maid service. They'll be here every three weeks.
    Winston: That's so cool!

    Friday night was poker night.

    Richard: They did a great job! Next time, make sure they wear those French maid uniforms.

    On Saturday, I talked to my brother on the phone.

    Me: I hired a maid service.
    Scott: You loser. How about you just learn to pick up after yourself for a change?