One of the benefits of the current delay of my business project is the extra time I'm allowed to explore. Using my Twitter feed as my starting point, I can spend hours in a day following conversations and suggestions, ideas and presentations that would take me days or weeks to discover independently. Culling my disparate thoughts and reactions to this process into a cogent weekly blog post is the resulting challenge.

This week I wanted to share a few of my explorations and their loose intellectual intersections; justice and difficult decisions worth making.

1. Gary Whitta, writer of the movie "The Book of Eli", was being interviewed on TWiTGameOn regarding his new project as head writer for the new video game series "The Walking Dead." He shared that he is relishing the opportunity to create original story-telling that stays true to the original comic and subsequent popular AMC cable series. Whitta admitted that he found the writing for a video game was more challenging than the movie due to the sheer volume and necessity to explore every possible decision and outcome from the character's action. With the inherent recognition that fans enjoy end of world apocalypse type scenarios, he asserted that what distinguishes the Walking Dead series is the discourse and consideration that the main characters endure. It is when they are put to tough decisions that their true identity and humanity are revealed/exposed.

2. Many of my evening of late, I'm streaming movies on my computer. Earlier this week I watched "Machine Gun Preacher." It starred Gerard Butler and was based on the true story of an American biker, druggie and criminal who found god and a new mission. At his self-formed church that encouraged all sinners to attend, a missionary from Africa came to speak and inspired him to go to Uganda where he learned of the horrible fate of the invisible children of Sudan. These orphaned or kidnapped children were often forced to kill their own parents before being forced into sexual slavery or becoming child warriors. The movie followed his inspirational and obsessive journey to start a church there, save as many children as possible and battle the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army).

From my time traveling in Africa twenty years ago, I had heard of this shadowy military group so I looked up more information about the LRA's leader Joseph Kony. For over 25 years, Kony has created a religious cult like army that had abducted and forced an estimated 66,000 children to fight for them while killing hundreds of thousands and helping displace over two million people out of fear.

3. Flash forward a couple days and I noticed a tweet about the Invisible Children and Kony 2012. The link led to a compelling video by Jason Russell who had his own experience in Uganda with the invisible children and had made a promise to do something about it. Over the last nine years, he has built momentum for what is now becoming a "revolution" that will hopefully gain full wings on April 20th. I highly recommend the video for a variety of reasons; the justness of the cause, the creative and innovative techniques used, and the power of social networking to mobilize the masses for worthy causes. He is trying to turn the traditional pyramid of power upside down to educate and pressure politicians to ensure that Kony is recognized, captured and ultimately faces justice for his horrific misdeeds.

A few selected quotes...

"He didn't choose where or when he was born, but because he's here he matters."

"Where you live shouldn't determine whether you live"

"The best you can offer a child is by letting them be independent...and that was by providing education."

"We've seen these kids. We've heard their cries. This war must end. We will not stop. We will not fear. We will fight war."

"It's always been that the decisions made by the few with the money and the power dictated the priorities of their government and the stories in the media. They determine the lives and opportunities of their citizens. But now there is something bigger than that. The people of the world see each other and can protect each other. It's turning the system upside down."

4. The final piece of media that I encountered this week was considered one of the most moving presentations of this year's TED Global 2012 conference. It was a speech given by Bryan Stevenson on the issues of injustice. At a conference that celebrates technology, innovation and entertainment, Stevenson addressed the injustices in the United States that has the highest incarceration rate in the world and a massive imbalance along racial lines.

A few selected quotes...

"2.3 million people are incarcerated in the U.S." The highest percentage in the world and up from 300k in the 1970's.

"Everybody is better than the worst thing they have ever done."

"The opposite of poverty is not wealth, the opposite of poverty is justice."

"50-60% of young black men are either in jail, prison or on parole."

"Out of every 9 people on death row, we've identified one person who is innocent. Can you imagine if we let 1 of every 9 planes crash?"

"We have a justice system that treats you much better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent."

The response was so strong to Stevenson's talk that in the few days following his speech, the TED attendees donated $1.12 million to help his cause - Equal Justice Initiative that fights poverty and challenges racial discrimination in the criminal justice system.

What all these various media share is a recognition that we are defined by the important decisions we make in our lives. It is in those moments that we feel most alive and create our legacy. There are causes worth fighting for, not out of some personal interest but because they are right. Each of our paths and priorities may differ, but we each matter and deserve a level of respect and dignity.

In the Internet age, there is no more valued dynamic than something going viral. Your personal creation or business product is quickly disseminated throughout the web spreading like wildfire to a vast audience. Although you can't predict the reaction (e.g. it could be praise and amazement or derision and ridicule) that massive exposure is invaluable and can't be replicated without massive investment.

Understanding how something goes viral, though, is shrouded in mystery. Many have tried and failed to unlock and tap into the powerful distribution mechanism. One person who has good insight on the process is Kevin Allocca, YouTube's Trends Manager. He oversees the largest collection of freely distributed videos anywhere on the net. Allocca explains that over 48 hours worth of video are uploaded every single minute of every day. So how is something expected to stand out from the incredible volume created?

Allocca shares three key elements that come together to fuel a video that goes viral.

1) Tastemakers - These key individuals have extensive and influential followings. When they take a point of view and share it with their large communities, they can often be the catalyst for an explosion to a much wider audience.

2) Communities of participation - Those following the tastemakers, and those further down the line that are exposed take some kind of ownership over the product. They feel some responsibility to share it with others and often will become part of the phenomenon. They don't just want to enjoy it, but they want to participate. While it may be a small passionate core of enthusiasts, many who would considered techy/geeky acolytes, they are often inspired to create remixes and variations of their own which further expands the phenomena.

3) Unexpectedness - The actual subject matter varies tremendously. It may employ popular vehicles like babies or animals. There is often an attempt to entertain through humor or whimsy. Unexpectedness, in the form of intensity of emotion or inspired action is usually present. The subject touches us in ways that break through the "mundane-ness" of modernity. We lead busy over-saturated lives. We struggle to find meaning. Finding a few moments of unexpected inspiration, humor or amazement give us a brief respite.

Viewing the top five 2011 YouTube viral videos shows the diversity of what types of videos can go viral. In the fifth most popular with over 65 million views, there is "Nyan Cat" with its thousands of variations and parodies. In fourth, there is "Talking Twin Babies" which represents a fairly tried combination of cute, theatrical, and humor. Third most popular, "Jack Sparrow," is the only commercially created piece, in a long popular line from the SNL crew who also did "Dick in a Box," "On a Boat," or "Jizz in my Pants" etc. The second most popular was "Ultimate Dog Tease" which synces the vocalizations of a German shepard with a funny script. And by far the most popular viral video of 2011 is Rebecca Black's "Friday" video who has been seen over 180 million times, inspired countless parodies and turned the 13-year-old into a household name.

Some older viral videos that come to mind are Paul Potts and Susan Boyle who shocked Britain's Got Talent audiences when their ordinary appearance and demeanor masked incredible singing talent. Over 85 million views are testament to their powerful and unexpected appeal. One of the early music videos to launch a music group was OK Go's "Here It Goes Again." Another video that stood out in 2011 was New York bike lanes protest by Casey Neistat.

The mechanism of distribution when a video goes viral is greatly aided by the power and proliferation of social networks. An individual's circle of direct and intimate contact is relatively small, usually from two to six other individuals. So it is in the power of social networks that spread the word quickly (i.e Twitter and Facebook ) that the stampede begins. Social connectors and influencers play the key role of linking disparate communities.

The largest social network, Facebook, has been tinkering for years with the right balance of allowing the easy spread of something going viral while ensuring their own economic benefit. In fact, Facebook has been ratcheting back significantly the opportunity for business endeavors to go viral. The last game to truly go viral was Zynga's 2007 introduction of their poker game. Over the last few years, Facebook has scaled back and eliminated invites, the forced mechanism of introduction and dissemination to the wider community. Although the move has been welcome to most members, it was a more calculated move to monetize the activity within its environs.

Facebook makes 80% of their revenue from advertising with the remaining roughly 20% coming from virtual currency transactions. It didn't make economic sense to allow and facilitate free advertising/viral spread when they can charge the gaming companies to pay for that advertising of their product. Instead feedback elements such as "Likes" and "+1" were introduced requiring a more active individual participation. Gaming creators have had to return to more traditional "pay-for-notice" mechanisms that drive attention for their products but further removes them from going viral. Only a few game makers have really embraced making their games more social, to reintroduce the social spread to their games. Most recently for businesses on Facebook, the very popular landing tab, which many companies have used to introduce potential fans to their brand through giveaways and the more controversial "like-gating." have been eliminated. Social networks will continue to tweak their formula of encouraging and economically harnessing the ability for something to go viral freely.

Before wrapping up this lengthy blog entry on going viral, I wanted to demonstrate from a first person point of view, the mechanism that participating in the process contributes to something going potentially viral.

The sequence of events went something like this:

1) I saw a retweeted tweet by @feliciaday. I didn't know who she was but I noticed she had over 1.8 million followers so I figured she must be a big deal somewhere. (Check the account)

2) Her profile picture was a a smiling attractive young redhead. I checked her description which indicated she is an actress, new media geek, gamer, misanthrope and she likes to keep her tweets real while not wasting people's time. Seems interesting enough. (Time to follow to see what she tweets about )

3) She soon after tweeted about having a #VaginalFantasy streaming group meeting open to the public on google+. (Now if that isn't titillating and worth a look, I don't know what is...LOL)

4) I watched the first episode from January. VaginalFantasy is a live cammed book club with @feliciaday @veronica @kiala @bonniegrrl that focuses on fantasy novels with heavy elements of romance and fantasy. (Time for my reaction)

5) I didn't particularly like how they were sensationalizing their book club with such a tawdry title, but I couldn't ignore that they made the subject entertaining. I'm not a bookaphile, but I could appreciate their analysis of the books and related issues. I don't come from their fantasy world, but I could embrace the intelligence and humor of their discussions. (There was no denying that they had chemistry and a certain repartee)

6) My curiosity to understand the popularity of @feliciaday and @veronica who also has over 1.6 million followers led me to learn that Felicia Day was famous in the gaming and tech community through her work on Dr. Horribles Sing A Long Blog Ex. 1 Ex.2 and The Guild online series. Veronica Belmont is the TV gaming host for Tekzilla, GameOn! and another sci-fi and fantasy podcast Sword and Laser.

7) I watched the second episode of VaginalFantasy this week to see if it had any legs and what the ongoing chemistry would be like. One can't avoid the sense of extreme voyeurism as you sit in on their quasi-book club. Whether you know them or not, you can appreciate that these women are well read and passionate about their topics.

I can't speak with certainty that their video book club will go viral, but it has many of the elements in place. They are well known, likable individuals intelligently sharing themselves around a common passion. They understand the need to balance the playful and serious. Despite not embracing their exact interests, I am now playing my part to participate in the process of dissemination to give others the opportunity to see something real and entertaining. Something that breaks the monotony of our humdrum lives. Good luck ladies. In our new media age where anyone has access, the audience defines the popularity. And I say go viral!

In a recent Tweet response to Draft Day's marketing chief Natalie @nirenel, I mentioned the classic line that "life is what happens while you are busy making other plans." Despite our natural desire to plot, plan, and control our future, life has a way of introducing unexpected curves and ultimately making its own path. In my own case, I've never been one to plan too much or plan too far ahead. I suppose it should come as no surprise that I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up. But how in the world could I have predicted as an idealistic teenager where the first 25 years of my adulthood would take me?

How could I have foreseen backpacking through over 20 African countries on three separate trips? Who could have predicted I would be the only non-believer to go to a local bible college to get a post-graduate teaching degree? Who could have predicted I would make over 200 flavors of ice cream, gelato and sorbet from scratch as a job? Who could have predicted I would move from the East Coast to the West Coast, where I had never even visited before and had no job or place to stay? Who could have predicted I would run an art gallery and sculpture garden for twelve years without any formal training? Who would have known that I would travel with suitcases full of cash, often with bodyguards, around Zimbabwe on yearly buying trips.

Lastly, who could have predicted that I would fall in love with online poker and that I would work and play it every day for over six years. The key for me has always been to responsibly live in the moment and gain the most from the experience before I move on to the next one. I'm now ten months removed from playing online poker daily. My daily compensation no longer comes mainly from the poker world, so as I transition to the next stage I thought it would be a positive step to look back at what I learned from my time playing No Limit Texas Hold'em and Pot Limit Omaha.

Here are a dozen lessons I learned from playing poker that will help me in life:

1. +EV decisions - Poker is a game of taking calculated risks based on the available information. In certain situations, there are mathematically correct decisions to make that will pay off in the end, even if they don't in the short run. Sometimes you make the right move and lose, and sometimes you make the wrong move and win. Learn to identify +EV decisions and then let go of the immediate outcome with knowledge that your decision will pay off in the long run.

2. You can't avoid losing, but you can avoid going broke - Losing is an inherent and inevitable part of playing poker. The best in the world rarely win more than 60% of the time (in cash games). But you can plan your poker play not to go broke. Bankroll management and stop loss disciplines work in all areas of life. Managing your risk is a key component to success.

3. It depends - There is no one right answer in every situation. It depends on many variables and the context of the situation. Many different styles and approaches can succeed. Choose your own path that resonates with you. Your conviction carries tremendous strength.

4. A chip and a chair - As long as you are in the game, you have a chance to come back and win. Don't squander your chances no matter how short you get. Those that never give up always have the upper hand on the rest of us.

5. Luck and skill are two sides of the same coin - Timing and luck are ever-present in our lives. We don't control luck, but we can influence our own skill. Focus on developing your skill in how to deal with the good luck and bad luck that you encounter in the game.

6. It's all one long game - Don't be defined by one hand, one session, or one swing. Patience and discipline are a big part of managing your play and life. You have to pick and choose your spots carefully where you have the best action before you act.

7. Assert Yourself - In many situations no one has a very strong hand, so don't be afraid to take charge and gain the upper hand. Fear, passivity and inaction are your enemy. Learn to assert yourself both in taking action or choosing not to fight that particular battle.

8. Your ego is your enemy - Remove your ego from the game. The cards don't take it personally and neither should you. Tilt undoes more good work than any other aspect of poker. Folding hands and minimizing losses are key ingredients to managing your success. Remember that in poker (at least in cash games), you don't have to beat everyone, you just have to come out ahead. You do a disservice to yourself by focusing on what other players are making, simply manage your stack and bankroll so it grows reasonably long term. Comparing yourself to others will only lead to jealousy, misery or false pride.

9. Manage your table image - People are quick to make an impression of you. When you play with opponents repeatedly, your reputation proceeds you. Conduct yourself in a way that benefits you. When the game finishes, your reputation is more valuable than the size of your stack.

10. Keen Observation - While there are many opportunities to pay for your poker education, the cheapest and often the best is through astute observation and analysis. Paying close attention to those around you, typing them, and looking for patterns will help you to manage your future interactions.

11. Adaption - The game and all its variants never stands still. You must constantly improve your game to stay ahead of your opposition in the quest to come out on top. Never stop learning and adapting to your circumstances.

12. Nothing ventured, nothing gained - Before I played real money poker, and even for a while after I started playing real money poker I focused much of my energy and strategy to avoid losing. Eventually I learned that losing is an inevitable part of the game. You have to be willing to risk and sacrifice some in order to come out ahead. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, as long as you can learn from them. Focus on taking smart and calculated risks so you can bask in the confidence that comes from being decisive. Know that when you leave the game, you will have gained something from the experience regardless if your prospered greatly or not.

Over twenty years ago I sat at a large round dining table surrounded by seven members of a Kenyan Luhya family in Nairobi. I was a 20 year old exchange student involved in a month-long home-stay as part of my semester abroad. The home-stay father, a strongly built 6' 4", cut an imposing figure with his low booming voice and his traditional authoritarian ways.

In the center of the table were a variety of unfamiliar looking dishes such as Sukuma Wiki, Mchuzi Wa Mbaazi and Chapati, which all surrounded the the large central platter that contained a massive white mound of Ugali. Ugali is the ground corn meal dish that serves as the staple for most Kenyan meals. One important pre and post meal ritual had one member of the family walk around the table with a basin with soap and a pitcher of water, pouring it over our hands so we could wash your hands as there were no utensils. After a prayer, we were instructed to commence eating. When it was your turn, you had to dig into the massive and piping hot Ugali to grab your portion. I recall the intense heat that the dense mound retained as you would take smaller pieces from your portion to form them in your hand before dipping them in one of the other flavorful sauces. The Ugali eaten plainly was extremely bland, but with the right amount of additional flavorings was palatable. I keenly scanned the table for any cues on how to improve my technique of what size and shape I should make my Ugali tastings.

When I completed what I had initially taken on my plate, I relaxed thinking I could now focus on conversation and after meal considerations. Suddenly I heard the booming authoritative voice command "Malisa." As my Swahili vocabulary was functional but not overly expansive, I inquired in English what he was saying. He said it came from the verb "kumalisa," to finish. He wanted me to keep eating. In his culture, the more a guest ate, the more appreciation and gratitude one showed for your hosts. So I sheepishly took another portion of Ugali and side dishes and labored on and on. In the following days, I would hear that comment frequently and I always obeyed.

Somewhere along the line, my home-stay father, impressed by my willingness to earnestly adapt to his culture, nicknamed me "Malisia." All the other members of the family started to call me that name as it was more difficult for them to call me Bill or William and I had no particular need to be called by those American names. My desire was to assimilate and learn their culture and receiving a traditional nickname assisted in that process. I felt like I fit in and was accepted more easily after that point.

In the following weeks, months and subsequent visits back to Kenya, a closeness ensued as I was accepted as a member of their extended family. I would visit their tribal home and attend a range of family and cultural events like weddings and funerals on subsequent visits. Years later, I even brought my wife to Kenya on our honeymoon trip to gain a taste of my time living abroad amongst cultures very different from our own. Although a real culture shock to her, it allowed her to see a piece of my former life that shaped me greatly as I gained an awareness and appreciation for different ways of living and loving.

The catalyst for remembering that story today was a Twitter exchange with Jeff218 regarding a humorous tweet he made referencing Asian-Americans adopting American first names. Although he meant it humorously, I responded seriously explaining that I felt it was a valid assimilation technique for any people looking to adapt and fit into a new culture. I had experienced it once again through my original partners in my art gallery I owned for twelve years in Portland. He was the eldest sibling of four who emigrated from Zimbabwe to the United States. He was orginally called Unoda and his three Shona siblings were called Unoda, Ura, and Uni. Unoda, in an effort to assimilate and ease his transition to American society changed his name to Sam, while the subsequent arrivals kept their traditional names. Sam embraced American sports, while the others didn't embrace the American sport culture. Ultimately Sam had it the easiest transition and the greater acceptance, without people constantly being intimidated and mispronouncing his name.

The other amusing and interesting interaction today that once again involved Jeff218, was a forum discussion that originally began as a funny take on checking out Myspace to look for women but evolved to a discussion of the merits of Facebook. Surprisingly, a few members were sharing their dislike for Facebook and desire to remove the massive time waster and inane updates from their lives while Jeff218 argued the merits of managing the FB experience more diligently. The forum post is filled with trolling and leveling, but amusing nonetheless.

In light of the upcoming Facebook IPO that some predict will value the company at over $100 billion, I find the discussion of young single men who are quite active online starting to abandon the site as quite interesting. I've always been an outsider to the Facebook phenomena as I'm that rare person that has never had an account there. It never resonated with me and I found no use for it in my life. I greatly disliked their setup, graphics and found their social elements disturbing as people brag/compare/update and leave inane messages back and forth. But then again I'm old, anti-social and with my limited energy focus most of my attention on my immediate family. I think I only began to experience some of that same social dynamic with getting more involved on Twitter where you can worry about how many followers you have, making regular updates and "voyeuristically" tracking others.

Speaking of Twitter, the last comment I wanted to wrap up this long blog with was in relation to a tweet made recently by WPT winner Taylor von Kriegenbergh... "Wearing sunglasses in Miami is like wearing a scarf in Europe. If you don't have em on #YouAintCool"

I can honestly say I've never worried about being cool in my life, nor has anyone ever really said I was cool. Fair enough. I've made my choices not for other's consideration but those of my own and my immediate family. But even without a cool bone in my body, I recognize that when everyone is doing something it ceases to be cool by definition. Coolness is something we attribute to others, not ourselves. Coolness if it actually exists must be something conducted by a minority of the population. We may aspire to be like others (whether they be rich, hip, famous, beautiful etc.) but the ultimate cool is in being comfortable in your own skin.

In fact, that was the reply I made as one of the first to comment to Jason Somerville this week as he became the first successful male poker player to "come out." The resulting outpouring of support for Jason Somerville, in my opinion, was not as much for some passion over his sexuality but rather a respect for the desite that we all want to be comfortable in our own skin and be honest with ourselves and those around us. We want to be accepted and appreciated for who we truly are. The first and most important step in that process is to learn to accept ourselves. If we can show that level of confidence, regardless of any external acceptance, we stand a much better chance that some day that elusive "cool" term might be thrown our way.

For weeks now, I've been thinking of posting this blog. Each week I find a new excuse not to post it. But I need to face the truth. The affair is over. All that is left is the nostalgic reminiscing...


The first time I saw her, she was on TV. It was as if she was looking just at me. I felt an immediate connection.

All her guile and cunning were on display. She was so entertaining and exciting. I couldn't get enough. I would watch her for hours and hours. She set her alluring hook long before I ever met her.

And meet her I would. I was tentative at first, but eventually I got up the nerve to introduce myself. I took it slow, afraid that she would consume me if I wasn't careful. I spent the early days studying and researching everything about her. I asked so many questions. I wanted to know everything about her. She was so intimidating. I wanted to prove that I could stand proudly by her side and hold my own.

Our conversations would go on for hours, deep into the night or whenever I could find time. She became my constant companion. I even changed careers to be closer to her. I wanted her to see how much she meant to me.

Over time, I earned her respect as she saw my devotion to her. Any time that I had away from work or family I would choose to spend with her.

I'll admit we had some bumps in the road. There were times when she treated me badly. In those dark times, I questioned my sanity and even cursed her name. I wondered if we could make up after the hurt she had caused me. But when cooler heads prevailed, we always made up and we found a way back to better times. Even on those days where we struggled to make any progress, I was glad to be near her because I knew nothing compared to the feeling of when we were in complete harmony. I felt on top of the world in those moments.

Unfortunately her father didn't approve of our union. He was quite protective of her. But in those early days, none of his half-hearted attempts to keep us apart worked. I was willing to overcome any barrier he put forth.

But, I was not alone. She had many suitors who had similarly been captivated by her TV appearances. We all competed for a piece of her heart. To many she dished out heartache, to some a begrudging respect, and to a select few, pure joy and ecstasy. Sadly, all of the attention on his daughter primed her father for more dramatic action. After years of plotting, he finally took the bold step of forcefully removing her from our lives with no warning.

While some of us had seen the warning signs for years, we all naively hoped that the affair would continue forever. With her out of our lives, we bitched and moaned at the injustice her father had wrought. We felt so sorry for ourselves. A select few, desperate to have her remain a part of their lives, picked up their homes to chase after her. Many others, like me, were resigned to wait out her return. The days turned to weeks. The weeks turned into months. Each day her memory started to fade bit by bit, slowly replaced by life's routines and demands. It was never a conscious choice to abandon her. I was outwardly steadfast in my devotion despite losing my job that kept me closer to her. But each day without gazing on her or talking to her led to further distance.

I questioned if I could ever find that feeling again. Without purposefully pursuing another, a subconscious part of myself started to look elsewhere to find what I had found in her. I deeply wanted that intoxicating feeling again. I wanted to feel alive and in love again.

Then one day "another" she appeared from an unexpected source. With more life experience, I was able to see her in a different light than I would have in younger days. She didn't have to live up to my former love. She had her own compelling cunning and guile. The more that I let go of the past, the more I was able to open myself up to her charms.

As each day passes, I'm more excited for this new opportunity to see where things can go. She takes my breath away and I've missed that feeling so badly. Although things are still in that fresh and and discovery phase, I look forward to the challenge to fully understand her and earn her respect and admiration.

It's strange now, because I keep hearing various whispers that my lost love may return. The rumors even indicate that her father has had a change of heart. He now realizes that his daughter has suffered over the many months. But even if she returns in the future, I don't know if I can ever go back to that place again. I will always respect her. I will always remember fondly our time spent together. I learned much from her. She helped shape me in ways I didn't expect. She was a catalyst in my work and life of which I'll always be thankful for but honestly part of me doesn't miss having to keep our affair quiet.

Who knows, maybe her triumphant return will re-awaken my lost ardour. With her father's blessing, a new glorious union could be forged. But I doubt it will ever recapture the innocent, intense and pure feeling of those years gone by. In my youth I believed that we searched for our one true love, but life has taught me that we can have many loves, each special in their own way. Timing and circumstances are complicating factors for us all. I will certainly always miss her.

Her name, you ask?

She was Online Poker!

(and if you hadn't guessed by now, her father was the DOJ)

Several years ago when I was looking for a good avatar to use on poker forums I fell in love with two famous Paul Cezanne paintings that featured card players.




They were painted as part of a five painting series by Cezanne between 1890 and 1895 around his family estate in Provence. While the other four works are in museum collections, my favorite "The Card Players," (top pictured) I learned today, was part of the collection of the late Greek shipping magnate George Embiricos. Over the weekend, the Qatari royal family paid over $250 million at auction to purchase the work. Yes, $250 million for a 120 year old painting of some card players.

The previous record was held from the 2006 auction sale of Jackson Pollock's 1948 No. 5 painting to Mexican financier David Martinez for $140 million. With all the oil money in the Gulf over the last decade, many modern and contemporary master's works have been ending up in locations like the Qatar National Museum. This staggering purchase indicates that many other famous paintings are on their wish list and should bode well for the valuation of the many higher profile artworks out there. I'm figuring if they are willing to pay that kind of money for the artwork, they might want to protect its value. So my avatar may go into retirement soon...

Last night for Mrs. Zimba's birthday, we got dressed up and drove into Portland with another couple to do a restaurant hop with a food tour company we found on Groupon. We met up with eight others to make a group of twelve at the Irving Street Kitchen in the Pearl neighborhood of Portland. The concept is to have appetizers at one restaurant, main course at the second, and dessert at a third. Our guide ordered an assortment of each restaurant's best or most popular dishes with everyone taking a small portion and sharing every dish as it's passed around the table. The second restaurant was the Peruvian fusion restaurant Andina, and the dessert place was Clyde Common. At first I tried to take pictures of the dishes to write up a fuller report, but I found it too hurried and obnoxious for tons of people at the table to be constantly taking pictures. So here are some pros and cons I found from the experience:

Pros

- We got to try so many delicious dishes over the evening.
- The appetizer and main course selections were excellent.
- Discovered two new good restaurants and revisited a former anniversary dinner location.
- Meet some new people.
- Walked through the neighborhood.
- The cocktails were inventive and delicious.
- The Groupon food value was good for the experience.

Cons

- Sharing each dish amongst the table caused you not to have more than a bit or two, even if you really enjoyed a dish.
- All alcoholic drinks were extra, with pricey cocktails, so our alcohol tab and tip was easily more than the original Groupon purchase.
- The last dessert bar was over 10 blocks away, a fair walk for the third place and 13 blocks back to our cars.
- Our guide was on his second restaurant outing on his own and could have hosted and guided us a bit better.
- The dessert restaurant had some "out there desserts" like blue cheese apple pie, beet sorbet, and parsnip tapioca. We also tried Absinthe, for the first time. I don't recommend it unless you are a big fan of anise/black licorice.

Overall it was a fun evening out and a good excuse to experience many dishes from the foodie scene in Portland. Since the gallery days, we don't go into Portland as much so it's always a fun time.

Not all writers intend on becoming writers. In school and college, I wasn't a big fan of writing. I didn't feel I had a narrative voice and I didn't pursue any formal training. As I went about my post-college years until my mid-thirties, my experiences started to color my mind. After traveling, working, starting a family, I started to feel I might have something to contribute by writing. In a job that didn't require it, I volunteered to start writing a blog. The original goal was to inspire others to do the same. Along the way, I realized I had something unique to contribute and I looked forward to writing.

It's been a few years and jobs later, but I'm still blogging. As readers will note, the regularity and subject matter has shifted as time has passed but a post a week has been the bare minimum generally. The last few months the muse hasn't spoken to me as often as I grapple with shifting employment or unemployment demands. This past fall, I used the blog to promote my weekly column on EpicPoker but after fourteen contributions, the column has been put on hiatus for now while they rethink their direction.

I'm currently pitching a new business to some investors while I do freelance writing on the side. I am doing the market research and due diligence necessary to see the project beyond conception to reality but you can never fully predict a new business. From Thanksgiving until now, there has seemingly been constant holiday or family commitments that have taken from my usual workaholic schedule. Due to constant budget cuts the last few years, having a four day school week is the norm, with three week Xmas break too. My son turned 13 on Saturday joining the teenage world with an outing with his best friends to an Airsoft arena shooting extravaganza and sleepover along with three indoor soccer and Futsal games over the weekend. On Sunday after the morning game, it was seven hours of driving up and back to Seattle for my daughter's ballet tryouts. Her goal is to have her summer ballet intensive program at an east coast city, so we have to return to Seattle two out of the next three Sundays for the 7 hour round trip. For good or bad, my slackening work demands have allowed me to be there for my kid's constant soccer and ballet demands of late.

One last area to touch on today...I noticed Phil Galfond made an extensive blog post decrying the current state of the game along with some suggestions for improving or fixing the current problems. I had thought of breaking down all the arguments, but it's a big project so I will summarize my initial reaction.

1. Everyone who gives advice is looking out for their own interest whether it be the high stakes shark, fish, reg, or whatever title you give them. It was obvious many of Phil's suggestions catered to adding to his personal win rate.
2. There are pros and cons to each suggestion or solution. As such, no one solution pleases everyone. Making poker an easy and fun experience for both pros and recreational players is difficult due to the inherent different goals of the players.
3. The online poker room priorities are typically 1) increase deposits, their overall liquidity pool 2) to increase their rake intake. This can be accomplished by various methods including increasing the volume of play or higher rake paid per hand/mtt. Safety, security and the player's interests are only secondary priorities.

I applaud Phil for trying to open up the dialogue and stir debate on these important online poker issues. Players of all levels and abilities need to speak out and be heard, otherwise they simply become pawns of others.

On Thursday I noticed a retweet from @AndrewWiggins of a @ColeSouth recommendation to watch an interview by noted investor and entrepreneur Kevin Rose of Digg and Milk who was interviewing his friend and fellow influential Silicon Valley entrepreneur, investor and advisor Chris Sacca. The quality of the interview was apparent, but what struck me was how down to earth and real the two were. Despite their success, there was no formalities, pretense or attempt to play the corporate PR game when conducting the interview.

A few things I noted from the interview:

- As an angel investor or venture capitalist, you will fail more than you succeed. But you need for your hits to be big ones so you come out on top in the end.

- Bending the rules is often a necessary part of survival and your ultimate success. Sacca essentially gambled his student loan money on a start-up then day trading up to a $12 million gain and ultimately a $4 million loss.

- Don't run away from your debts, as your name and reputation are important.

- Be unwilling to accept defeat.

- Realize that while you may not feel your skillset is that valuable, it probably is to someone without your background and experience. Each person can contribute value.

- Having a sense of humor about your situation.

- As @AndrewWiggins noted "Create value before you ask for value back." Being known for being helpful will open doors for you.

- Determination against all odds is a key ingredient to long term success.

- Sometimes you want as much promotion and awareness of your product and project, but other times it's best not to alert other competitors or investors where you are putting your efforts or where you see the market going.

- Having a detailed closed feedback loops give specific value to a venture. You can't just "spray and pray" in advertising these days, you need direct accountability.

- Despite free catered local organic food for you and your friends when working at Google, you can't demand Pheasant in the cafeteria. The sense of entitlement is crazy at some successful businesses.

- Sacca's one reticence to share information openly was how much equity of Twitter he owns (rumored to be as much as 10%). There are some things best not openly known.

The qualities he looks for in an entrepreneur or project to invest in:

1. A product he has an understanding of, use for, or where he can help.
2. Someone who has worked a crap job that has humility and perspective for what tough work really is like.
3. Someone who has lived, traveled or studied abroad for the mind expanding opportunities that creates.
4. Education isn't a pre-requisite, but a successful track record of succeeding at college can be a good indicator of future success.
5. Someone who plays sports, someone with outside interests, an alternative source of bounds and endorphins to balance their work. Being too focused on work isn't the perfect recipe for innovation. Outside interests and balance can drive creativity.
6. Interesting people, ones you want to spend time with developing a project.

One last piece of advice Sacca shares is that your first investment is rarely going to make you big money, it's in identifying your future winners based off metrics and doubling down on those few high flyers that brings you out a big winner.

I ended up watching a couple more videos in the Foundation series. Although I enjoyed the Sacca interview best, I find the interviews inspiring and educational to hear how others have gone about starting and growing a business.

And not to forget my latest Social Director column on EpicPoker focuses on "Enhancing the Value of Twitter for 2012."

Have a safe and fun New Year's Eve. Here is a quick look back at the year that was 2011 to appreciate some of the things I did and where I spent a lot of my time.

10. Blogging - One enjoyable constant the last few years has been my blogging. The frequency, intensity and subject matter has varied but the goal of expressing and sharing myself has grown, as has the readership. Thank you to those who check it out.

9. StarCraft2 competitions - One of the side benefits of contributing poker content on a gaming site was being introduced to the hardcore gaming world that is SC2 and enjoying watching the streamed and live commentated competitions on Justin.tv amongst the top players in the world. Despite the fact that I've never played the game, it is a fascinating game with many levels of complexity and skill.

8. Parenting - Although I've invested probably too many hours sitting in front of computer in 2011, the flexibility of working from home allowed me to be quite involved in my respective children's active ballet and soccer passions; whether it be coaching or just being a chauffeur and supporter.

7. SEO - The transition away from strictly poker writing led me to freelance with some sites that focus heavily on SEO'ing sites with content. I learned a fair amount about an area I had never focused on but is so important to driving traffic in searches that are the underpinning for so many online businesses.

6. Hot Girls of Poker - What started as a belated whim to show someone how to create a more interesting, inclusive and respectful "hot women in poker" type forum post became the largest collection (over 360 women) of photos of women in the poker world.

5. Social Director - I was invited to contribute a weekly column on the Twitter poker world for the Epic Poker League official website. Although it could be positioned and marketed better, it has been fun to have a new project to gain greater visibility.

4. Twitter - Although I'm not the most active tweeter as it often competes with my content creating demands, I finally embraced the Twitter world and started becoming more actively engaged. It has become one of my primary sources and inspirations for keeping abreast of the poker and non-poker worlds. I have met a few really quality people at the WSOP this year I never would have otherwise and reached 700 followers by NYE (@pokercurious).

3. Fantasy Premier League - An invitation by @CrashoutCassius led to my joining the smallish CardRunners fantasy football league. It introduced me to the world of fantasy sports where I have subsequently spent many hours learning, researching, crunching numbers and getting into the competitive aspects of what had already been a long standing Premier League interest.

2. Poker drifted away - Mid-April marked the end of my poker playing after playing most days for the last few years. My full time salaried poker position transitioned to part-time freelance writing in the fall, so less of my overall time is focused on the poker world and I'm starting to consider other areas of the business world again. Although I remain an ardent fan, I am no longer certain I will be as involved when poker returns to a fully legislated and regulated U.S. environment.

1. Mrs. Zimba is a believer again - In my last blog, I touched on the complicated aspects of long term relationships. After a couple "frustrated with me" years, Mrs. Zimba is back on board. I don't say that lightly, as any relationship takes regular work to maintain. I know all things are possible as long as we are together and on the same lifelong path. Money and security means nothing if you don't have someone you love with which to share it. She and my two kids are my bedrock and inspiration for all the work I do.

I'm excited for 2012 and the opportunities it will bring. I am currently researching and pitching a new business plan that if it happens will be incredibly involving and bigger than anything I've done before. Regardless, I will continue to challenge myself and focus on those things that make feel alive.

May your reflections on 2011 and the start to your 2012 be equally uplifting!