Texas 30, Texas A&M 38, Coach Franchione Resigns

The Aggies take another game from Texas tonight and afterwards, Coach Fran resigns. Best of luck to you coach.

Yes, my Aggies looked good tonight but after too many national TV losses, see you Coach Fran.

I wonder who the replacement coach will be. Spurrier, Jason Garrett? Funny.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to the very few of you that actually read this dribble I call a blog. I have much to be thankful for, especially this year, it's been a hard one.

Lost my grandmother earlier in the year who lived to be 94 year old matriarch. I got to see her in the hospital in Dallas shortly before she passed. I'm thankful for that. She didn't want me to leave her hospital bedroom. I didn't know she'd leave us so soon. She had her faults like we all do but 99.9% of her was all love. Great conversationalist, great bridge player. She's with her husband now. Better places, better places.

Lost my mother's boyfriend very early this year. Good guy and very smart, I wish I could have known him longer.

Lost one of my dogs a couple months ago. That was hard, especially on my other dog Mary. Anyone that tells you that caring for dogs isn't like caring for children either doesn't own dogs or isn't a good pet owner. Peace Casper.

Sorry, I didn't want this post to be a downer, in fact, even hard times make you thankful in some way. Whether family, friends, or even pets, everyone has something to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving.

A&M Bonfire - 11/18/99

I still remember it as it was yesterday, I was in College Station in college at the time, Junior year. Received a call from my parents at 6:30 the morning after wondering where I was. I can't believe it's been 8 years since. I want Bonfire back but I understand the concerns.

Was It Me?

Wasn't me.

Here are couple good clips:

'Lost Cause' performed by Beck. Sea Change is a hellava album.



I feel like doing this after work sometimes, no kids though.



Go Cowboys! 8-1 dawg.

Jamming

Wow, had a music jam with a few buddies tonight and I felt awkward as ever. The chops aren't good, the ear isn't better, but I guess it was good (in a bad way).

I wish I knew enough about guitar licks and finger positions so I could follow but I don't and I'm sure I looked confused.

Knowing my keyboard prowess (or lack thereof) isn't what it used to be is hard on my ego, but again, practice in a 'live' setting is always good and I think I'll get better. Just frustrating having so many good thoughts that don't materialize.

Rant over, friend's wedding and nephew's first b-day tomorrow, good times.

Sushi Axiom

Well tonight I took Pops to dinner at Sushi Axiom off of Hulen near Arlington Heights and Central Market. Appetizer and soup were lacking but my entree and sashimi were nice. I tried the Teriyaki Tenderloin and albacore/mackeral for my sushimi dish. At around $17 for the tenderloin, I recommend highly. I've had better Japanese but Sushi Axiom isn't bad, especially the view. Toss up between it and Edohana, but I'll take Royal Toyko in Addison over both anyday. Hello Heiko-San.

Funny that I noticed that I'm the conversation starter with my dad, guess he was just interested in what I had going on. Not so much, dad. He's getting old, but aren't we all?

Maybe I need a date???

The Economies of Halo 3

I ran across a good article today that describes the economies of Halo 3, the shoot 'em up/tactical game on a couple game console platforms. The reason I found this article pretty compelling was that is very similar to my experiences in Quake 2 in college. Basically what this article does is explain the rationale for suicide bombing in video games, especially first-person-shooters. While I in NO means support suicide bombing in real life, I'm a big fan of it in video games, and I'll explain why:

Basically their are 2 separate social economies in online gaming. One group consists of teenagers and those that support themselves out of their homes, i.e. entrepreneurs if you will. The other group consists of people like me, 9-5 job, with kids, without kids, let's just say, worker bees. I would venture to say that the first group are the ones with more time to play online games and hone their skills, but not always. The second group are the people that might have an hour or so every day to get out there and venture around. This guy's article suggests that in many cases he resorts to suicide bombing to even the talent pool when he plays.

Believe me, I used to do it in college playing Quake 2. I wanted to even the pool. This is kind of like the reference in the poker movie Rounders where they're at the table and they describe their play like the Nature Channel. Their not working together but they aren't working against each other either. That's the best explanation/analogy I can come up with, if that makes sense at all.

Another way to look at it is that the second group's (the group I fall into) opportunity cost is higher, meaning, it is more valuable for them to be doing something else during this time but they like the gameplay, yet don't have the time to be Billy badass. If you're in a tight match with a superior opponent, throwing in a suicide bomb here and there might be decent strategy.

Surely there are others out there, right? Maybe I just stink at gaming.

Elementary School

I distinctly recall in middle school being asked by the school counselor along with some other people to meet in the library. We weren't sequestered because we were in trouble, we met because we all knew Stephen Hill in elementary school. Stephen had died, a victim of starvation brought upon by his parents. I didn't see any signs of trouble before. What I do know is that I didn't treat him as poor as some people did but I didn't stick up for him either. That's why I still haven't forgotten about him those many years ago, I will never forget.

I remember he was a slow learner and socially awkward but not a bad kid. He, like me, had an appetite for crackers and that's what stands out in my mind.

More than anything, I want to thank him for giving me the integrity to stand up for things that I don't feel are right, specifically, any bully I encounter, whether personally or professionally. I didn't do that for you Stephen but I would now. Thank you, RIP.

Cowboys v. Eagles, Amazing Race

Enjoying a peaceful Sunday after a crazy weekend. BACM was in town and we pulled a college night out on Friday, body was hurtin'. Woke up Saturday at a buddy's house, came home for a couple hours, watched football at said buddy's house, watched 1st half of A&M game, passed out from 7:30 to 11:30 last night. Yikes.

Cowboys in Philly tonight, big game. Amazing Race too at the same time. Will have to flip channels.

Wonder what I'll do on my day off tomorrow? Sleep? Check.

Mavs 92, Cavaliers 74 (Season Opener)

The Mavs returned to fine regular season form last night as they handed Cleveland a loss in the NBA season opener. Jason Terry was money off the bench last night scoring 24 points, while Diop was equally impressive both defensively and offensively inside the paint. Not a bad start to the season, holding Lebron James to 10 points on the road.

How do you think this '07-'08 Mavs squad will do? Playoffs? Finals? Championship?