Friday, August 29, 2003
A List
Barring Square re-releases, the era of the Playstation is definitely past. The five best Playstation games were:
5. Dewprism (Threads of Fate)
4. Gran Turismo
3. Final Fantasy VII
2. Silent Hill
1. Genso Suikoden II
(GIA reviews were generally excellent, but the second to last paragraph of their Suikoden II review is possibly the falsest statement ever to appear in print.)
Barring Square re-releases, the era of the Playstation is definitely past. The five best Playstation games were:
5. Dewprism (Threads of Fate)
4. Gran Turismo
3. Final Fantasy VII
2. Silent Hill
1. Genso Suikoden II
(GIA reviews were generally excellent, but the second to last paragraph of their Suikoden II review is possibly the falsest statement ever to appear in print.)
The Cadillac of Poker
I need to learn how to drive.
Last Friday I played in a no-limit Hold'em tournament hosted by Mike Bodell. The tournament really showed me how bad I am at poker. Maybe this was because there were no players there who were obviously worse than me. Whatever the reason, I realized that I was basically not playing with the same mindset as the other players. I rarely consider pot odds. I don't know the relative strength of the two-card hands. I hardly ever figure out what an opponent is betting on. And I'm definitely not reading anyone's tells (or paying attention to my own).
I ended up finishing fourth out of eight in the tournament. But, this was mostly because I just kept folding early. After several people had been eliminated I started betting and I lost quickly. There was only one hand where I can really consider myself unlucky (although I did lose most of my chips on that one). My worst play came on my last hand of the night, when I as holding nine-ten unsuited. I was the big blind and Alex (to my left) was the only player left in the hand. The blind was $8 and I had maybe $20 in chips left. The terrible play I made was not just betting all-in with that hand, but deliberating for a long time in such a way that it was completely obvious my hand sucked. Not surprisingly, Alex called and I lost.
I've done a bit of web searching on the topic, but the free resources I've seen on Texas have been pretty awful. If you know a good book on poker (especially hold'em), let me know.
Regarding this blog, it does look like it's already withering, but we'll see what happens.
I need to learn how to drive.
Last Friday I played in a no-limit Hold'em tournament hosted by Mike Bodell. The tournament really showed me how bad I am at poker. Maybe this was because there were no players there who were obviously worse than me. Whatever the reason, I realized that I was basically not playing with the same mindset as the other players. I rarely consider pot odds. I don't know the relative strength of the two-card hands. I hardly ever figure out what an opponent is betting on. And I'm definitely not reading anyone's tells (or paying attention to my own).
I ended up finishing fourth out of eight in the tournament. But, this was mostly because I just kept folding early. After several people had been eliminated I started betting and I lost quickly. There was only one hand where I can really consider myself unlucky (although I did lose most of my chips on that one). My worst play came on my last hand of the night, when I as holding nine-ten unsuited. I was the big blind and Alex (to my left) was the only player left in the hand. The blind was $8 and I had maybe $20 in chips left. The terrible play I made was not just betting all-in with that hand, but deliberating for a long time in such a way that it was completely obvious my hand sucked. Not surprisingly, Alex called and I lost.
I've done a bit of web searching on the topic, but the free resources I've seen on Texas have been pretty awful. If you know a good book on poker (especially hold'em), let me know.
Regarding this blog, it does look like it's already withering, but we'll see what happens.
Monday, August 25, 2003
My first Buffy experience
Wow. For a pilot, I'm quite impressed. It was cheesy and the acting was mediocre (by television standards), but overall it was quite enjoyable. Compared to "Encounter at Farpoint", it's a work of art.
Wow. For a pilot, I'm quite impressed. It was cheesy and the acting was mediocre (by television standards), but overall it was quite enjoyable. Compared to "Encounter at Farpoint", it's a work of art.
I [heart] Amazon
My Buffy DVDs arrived today. I think I ordered them on Friday, and I used the free (5-9 day) shipping. This is the second time in a row they've really impressed me with the speed of their delivery. Apparently they're shipping things from Nevada, I wonder if that's new? It seems very clever.
My Buffy DVDs arrived today. I think I ordered them on Friday, and I used the free (5-9 day) shipping. This is the second time in a row they've really impressed me with the speed of their delivery. Apparently they're shipping things from Nevada, I wonder if that's new? It seems very clever.
Sunday, August 24, 2003
This one time, at, um, here...
I now understand why Alyson Hannigan so thoroughly dominated the standings at whatsbetter.com back when it didn't suck. She is, if you'll excuse the phrase, hella charming. Most of her still photos aren't all that great, but her expressions and the personality that comes across when she's on screen are amazing. American Pie 2 has become the next "A Walk to Remember" or "Ever After" for me. (For those unfamiliar, those are movies I watched a lot.) I've now ordered the first two seasons of Buffy on DVD... hopefully I won't end up regretting it.
I now understand why Alyson Hannigan so thoroughly dominated the standings at whatsbetter.com back when it didn't suck. She is, if you'll excuse the phrase, hella charming. Most of her still photos aren't all that great, but her expressions and the personality that comes across when she's on screen are amazing. American Pie 2 has become the next "A Walk to Remember" or "Ever After" for me. (For those unfamiliar, those are movies I watched a lot.) I've now ordered the first two seasons of Buffy on DVD... hopefully I won't end up regretting it.
Music
The best present I ever got was a pair of Grado SR-125 headphones.
When I was in high school I used to listen to music in bed before I went to sleep... almost every day, I think. Now I have to use my headphones to do so, but it's still well worth it. I should do this more often. Music needs to be appreciated without distraction sometimes.
The best present I ever got was a pair of Grado SR-125 headphones.
When I was in high school I used to listen to music in bed before I went to sleep... almost every day, I think. Now I have to use my headphones to do so, but it's still well worth it. I should do this more often. Music needs to be appreciated without distraction sometimes.
Saturday, August 23, 2003
Could you really be in this town?
This game is genuinely creepy. I can't say it's as good as the first one, but that really is the challenge that all sequels struggle with. When the original was not only great, but also the first experience of its particular type that I ever had, it's doubly hard for the sequel to live up. Silent Hill 3 is in a better position than Silent Hill 2 as I've already been somewhat disappointed by Silent Hill 2... as with Back to the Future 3, I'm going into this one with lower expectations. So far I've been pleased.
Horror is a very interesting genre, as fear is not really a pleasant experience, yet experiencing fear is the primary reason for any work of (true) horror. (I'm discounting faux-horror like, say, "Freddy vs. Jason" from this discussion). I think fear may be fascinating because we experience so little of it in our daily lives. Historically, I'm sure humans experienced a lot more of it than we do today. On the other hand, I'm not sure the fear aspect of the Silent Hill games by itself generates any of my interest in them. The world of Silent Hill has a very rich atmosphere, and the games (especially the first one) are executed superbly. Immersion in a rich and interesting fantasy setting is a fascinating experience almost regardless of the setting. Silent Hill is by far the most immersive video game I've ever played, which ultimately is what makes it so great. The horror aspect may only be a trick used to accomplished that end, but it works. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I highly recommend trying the game (with the lights off).
This game is genuinely creepy. I can't say it's as good as the first one, but that really is the challenge that all sequels struggle with. When the original was not only great, but also the first experience of its particular type that I ever had, it's doubly hard for the sequel to live up. Silent Hill 3 is in a better position than Silent Hill 2 as I've already been somewhat disappointed by Silent Hill 2... as with Back to the Future 3, I'm going into this one with lower expectations. So far I've been pleased.
Horror is a very interesting genre, as fear is not really a pleasant experience, yet experiencing fear is the primary reason for any work of (true) horror. (I'm discounting faux-horror like, say, "Freddy vs. Jason" from this discussion). I think fear may be fascinating because we experience so little of it in our daily lives. Historically, I'm sure humans experienced a lot more of it than we do today. On the other hand, I'm not sure the fear aspect of the Silent Hill games by itself generates any of my interest in them. The world of Silent Hill has a very rich atmosphere, and the games (especially the first one) are executed superbly. Immersion in a rich and interesting fantasy setting is a fascinating experience almost regardless of the setting. Silent Hill is by far the most immersive video game I've ever played, which ultimately is what makes it so great. The horror aspect may only be a trick used to accomplished that end, but it works. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I highly recommend trying the game (with the lights off).
First Post.
This is an experiment. It remains to be seen whether I have any use for a weblog. I do sometimes miss the chance for written discussion afforded by newsgroups, now that I no longer use them. It seems like this format has one major advantage over a newsgroup in that I can write about whatever topic I like. The drawback is that you don't have other people posting interesting things to motivate you to write. I guess that's why you read other people's blogs. The other drawback is that a blog requires constant attention from its owner or it will whither and die - I definitely forsee this being an issue here. We'll see how it goes.
This is an experiment. It remains to be seen whether I have any use for a weblog. I do sometimes miss the chance for written discussion afforded by newsgroups, now that I no longer use them. It seems like this format has one major advantage over a newsgroup in that I can write about whatever topic I like. The drawback is that you don't have other people posting interesting things to motivate you to write. I guess that's why you read other people's blogs. The other drawback is that a blog requires constant attention from its owner or it will whither and die - I definitely forsee this being an issue here. We'll see how it goes.
