Well, I won $3. So I guess my net win is really $2. But that's way better than I've been running on Powerball lately.

Why do I play it? I know the house edge is something like 50%+. Obviously worse than even the worse bet on the worst game in any casino.

I usually buy one ticket if I happen to be at 7-11 or somewhere where they sell them. It's not like I'm some lottery junkie who buys $100 worth of tickets a week.

Basically, I figure if I hit the jackpot once, I would never complain about a string of bad beats again. Ever. It would be kind of liberating.

Not to mention that the money would be sweet, of course.

I guess I just feel like it's a dollar's worth of entertainment - so it really isn't -EV at all.

Finally decided to start a twitter account. Probably won't really be tweeting much, but rather using it to follow others. If anyone cares, I'm @schaffem111.

Why is it that some days we (I mean that in the general sense) feel great, ready to go out there and kick some ass in whatever way we choose to do so, and other days we just aren't feeling it and would rather stay in bed?

I've been pretty high energy the past month, I think owing mostly to getting into a tough workout routine, trying to structure my days better, and eating better. But for the last week, I seem to have fallen off a cliff. I'm barely making it through my workouts. I'm only working a couple hours a day at best. And I find myself wanting to just lay on the couch and read a book (reading "Game Change" now, it's great so far) instead of doing anything more productive.

I should be pumped up to get a lot done before heading to Vegas next week, but I'm just not finding the motivation, and I can't pinpoint why.

There's not really any point to this except to rant about being baffled as to why I'm in a funk. Guess I've just gotta set some goals and push through.


Update: Feeling much better after kicking ass on a Cardio X workout and getting a couple responses on something I'm working on.

One of my favorite music finds of the past year in Jonathan Coulton. Apparently he became a little internet sensation a few years ago, but I had never heard of him until I heard a song of his on Pandora.

I suppose he's more of a comedian than a musician, but his songwriting is actually very good in addition to being hilarious.

For your listening enjoyment:


Cover of Baby Got Back - best rap (if you can call Sir Mix-A-Lot rap) cover ever. Beats Dynomite Hack's rendition of Boyz N Tha Hood imo.

A news story surfaced yesterday about an air traffic controller who let his kid get on the radio as give a flight permission to land. Stupid as that sounds, it doesn't exactly seem like there was any risk at all to anyone, but that's not why I'm writing this.

The story called to my mind what air traffic controllers do. Well, what they do in movies at least, since that's the extent of my experience on the subject. It seems like they have to quickly process a lot of data across a bunch of screens in a stressful environment while making split-second decisions. Sounds a bit like...online poker.

So it made me think - maybe this is a field that should draw from online poker players. I went to the FAA website to find out how someone becomes an air traffic controller (not that I would ever consider it, but I get easily distracted when I think of something random and I must find answers to it). There, I learned that you can not become an ATC if you are over 31 years old.

WTF?

Apparently I'm not fit to be an air traffic controller because of my advanced age! I should probably be shipped off to a nursing home ASAP. I mean, I get having max ages for important jobs, like American Idol contestant, but for someone who sits on his ass watching blips on a computer screen? That's what I do now, just with money instead of lives.

Considering my issues with distractions (yes, I looked at the FAA website while 8 tabling), I'm sure the FAA is better off without me, but what does that have to do with my age?

/end rant

I'm a bit of a fast food connoisseur. I'm not proud of it, but it's a fact. I eat a lot of fast food, despite my recent attempts at eating healthier.

When new menu items are introduced by a fast food (or pizza) chain, they put out the most tempting TV ads. I mean, they make the stuff look really irresistible. Usually, anything new pretty much sucks though.

Invariably, the ads stick around in my mind, day after day, taunting me and eventually tempting me to try said new item.

Today I was suckered in by KFC's new "Fiery Grilled Wings". It was appealing on 2 levels - I love most chicken-wing-like items, and it's "grilled" therefore not quite as bad for me.

And the verdict is...

They deliver. Big time. These things are fucking good. I love KFC's hot sauce (it's kind of like Frank's Hot Sauce), and normally drown my KFC fried chicken in it. I didn't even use it on these new wings. They've got great flavor, a little heat, and they aren't completely scrawny either. 5 of them plus mashed potatoes filled me up.

Highly recommend.

I've thought about starting a blog for a while, but have never actually done it. I guess I figured that it was unlikely that anyone would read it. Today, while walking my dog on a ridiculously beautiful Colorado morning, I decided that I don't really care if anyone reads it, I'll write one anyway.

What is going to be in this blog?

Probably not much, if any, poker. I post quite a bit in the forums, and I think that pretty much covers the amount of poker writing I feel like doing.

But anything else might show up here. Politics, religion, TV, music, pop culture commentary, rants, musings, and the like. I'll probably be putting out a lot of recommendations - just stuff I like that I think others might like too.

First recommendation: "Stuff You Should Know" podcast. Random shit, in great detail, once a week. If you like to know a little bit about every random subject, you'll love it.