Summer of Dan

Hotel Danifornia

Within the pat week I've booked two hotel rooms, in two totally different areas (mountains and the city), for two totally different reasons.

Two nights in the middle of March at the White Mountain Hotel in a mini-suite for our 6 year anniversary of me asking her to be my wonderful girlfriend. Nothing but relaxing, enjoying the fresh mountain air, and doing some shopping.

Oh, and swimming outside in the heated pool. During the winter. It's amazing.

Two nights Memorial Day weekend in Boston at the Seaport Hotel in the same suite we've stayed in the past 4 years (adjacent to the World Trade Center) for Boston's Run to Remember. Some exercise, shopping, sightseeing, and great food from the North End will be had. Mike's Pastry will not be the same.

And neither will my stomach.

Awesome Random Picture Friday - Part XL

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The most underrated feeling ever

The biggest reason why I love having a Kindle is the fact I am walking around at all times with no fewer than a hundred books. I get a little case of ADD when I'm reading and sometimes I am up for fiction for a few chapters and then change over to a historical non-fiction book about what really happened to the Titanic. Or I'll jump from George Carlin's Memoirs over to a sci-fi/fantasy book I've been reading.

It's hard to describe in one feeling what it's like to finish off a book - accomplishment, excitement to start another book, relief that you made it through, or sadness because that journey is over. Usually it's a mix of emotions and I don't think I'll ever get used to it.

Actually...I don't want to.
 

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours.” 

  - J.D. Salinger

Awesome Random Picture Friday - Part XXXIX

 
 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awesome Random Videos - Part II

The ultimate sacrifice

You can call it a Christmas Miracle.

You can call it Divine Intervention.

You can call it being put in your place.

But no matter what label you put on it, it's a story of selfless sacrifice.

Around Christmas I was playing CoD: MW2 with Flack and a bunch of people. We were playing for a couple hours and we were talking about zombies. I mentioned how the King Zombie of them all was Jesus. I mean, the guy died and rose from the dead. Normal people don't do that.

Before the next map started I told everyone it would be my last as it was getting late and I had to get up early the next morning for work. About 3 minutes into the map and I lose power.

I called Flack, told him what happened and hung up. I went to inspect the breaker when I noticed that other things in the living room were still on. I inspected a bit further and smelled burning plastic. My nose led me to my Monster Surge Protector. 

It was dead.

I bought this surge protector because it was like the Secret Service - willing to take a bullet for you. And it did. The packaging (excuse the blurriest pic ever below) states clearly that it will put itself in harms way to save your electronics.

  

And it sure did. 

I think God was trying to tell me something about commenting about Jesus' zombie-esque attributes by firing a warning shot at my TV, only to get consumed by my own personal bodyguard.

The surge protector was only $70 when I bought it and easily saved a couple thousand dollars worth of equipment but it was well worth it. Because of how certain they are of their product it comes with a lifetime warranty. The next day before work I brought it to where I bought it at Bestbuy and swapped it for a new one. No questions asked. I went ahead and paid the difference to upgrade it to an even better one that is rated for higher surges. Well worth it.

Like I said - Christmas Miracle, Divine Intervention, or being put in your place. No matter what you call it, I lost a good friend that night that took one for the team. He'll be greatly missed.

RIP Monster Surge Protector - November 2008 to December 2009

 

Pah-Pah-Pah-Pah Poker Face

Last Friday night Steve and Kraig picked me up for poker night down in Manchlanta with Dick and some other guys we play with normally. It was only the second time I played with them, having never really had the intestinal fortitude to try my shoddy poker skills out on anyone other than a computer monitor. I went in with the sole goal of not being the first one out in any of the games and not going all in on the first hand. This should give you a good indication on how the first poker night went for me.

The first game came and went and I was the 2nd person knocked out out of 7 guys. I picked up some things that I figured might help in the future, even watching the hands I wasn't playing gave me a little more insight into how I can improve. I mean, I still am not sure if 3 of a kind beats a flush or if 4 of a kind beats a straight, so there's still a lot for me to learn. 

And yes, that is 100% true.

The second game started and I won the first 3 hands, and before I knew it I knocked each and every guy out and won. Skill really was only about 20% at best in this equation, I was dealt amazing cards the entire game - I got a Full House three times, twice I hit it on the flop, and I folded a Full House that I would have hit on the river. Crazy. 

The third game started of much like the first - I won the first two hands and then Steve started winning a few. Between the two of us we knocked everyone out and because of the way the rules are that we agreed upon before we started we tied for first. When it gets down to 2 guys playing if the difference in chips between the two guys is $10k then you split it, otherwise you could be playing heads up for hours and we try to get in as many games as we can.

The fourth and final game turned out to be a marathon. At least a marathon I can envision myself running someday - by getting knocked out within the first 30 minutes of what would be a 2+ hour game. It was crazy. I was knocked around when I had a Full House with 10s and the guy playing against me in the hand had a Full House with Queens. Damn bitches. It wasn't long before I was done for the night as that hand took most of my chips but I watched Steve go to the brink of defeat and ended up coming back like the Sox did against the Yankees in the ALCS. It was a beautiful thing to watch. Between the two of us we won 3 of the 4 games and even though it was past 1:30am when I walked in the door it was well worth it.

Maybe for next time I'll try to learn what beats what...that might help me.

Awesome Random Picture Friday - Part XXXVIII

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awesome Random Picture Friday - Part XXXVII

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Stephen Hawking

I have a list of 5 people that are still alive that I would love to meet and this man is one of them. Aside from being a bona fide genius and revolutionizing science and how we think about space, he's baffled doctors by grossly outliving his condition.

  

He's been poked fun at on South Park and Family Guy and a million other shows because of how he talks through his machine, but from things I've read he takes it in stride (no pun intended...sorta). 

Happy Birthday Mr. Hawking.