Good morning everyone (yeah, if 8:00 p.m. was defined as morning)... This is Wednesday of the week where everyone is finally moving back to San Marcos, America, so you won't read any more crying from me about how quiet town is (you're welcome)... ;) I go back to work in a couple of hours after being off since very early in the morning on Monday, and this ramble is coming to you so late tonight because I focused on getting my living room cleaned up earlier in the day.
There is a really good chance that you will see another installment in the posts on my recent trip to Las Vegas tomorrow (if you see any post) :), and on Friday you will be seeing my NFL playoff predictions for this weekend. I went 6-2 on my calls for Wild Card Weekend, picking correctly both against the spread and on the overs/unders for the first 3 games, and then missing both on the Seahawks/Redskins matchup. I'm currently watching the Lakers/Spurs game on t.v. as I do this entry. I am a Spurs fan for those of you who are new to Bikini Hill. Also for those of you who are new, my sports year pretty much goes like this now: football season (September - the Super Bowl), college basketball season (conference tournaments - the national championship game), NBA (stretch run through the Finals) and MLB season (moreso where it gets me back to football season). I really enjoy watching the NHL playoffs also, especially the MULTIPLE overtime games, but given the limited coverage that we receive in Texas, coupled with the fact that they haven't dropped a puck yet this season, well..., we'll see how that plays out this year...
During the holidays I kind of lost track of my current diet. This isn't to say that I gorged myself (don't count my trip to Las Vegas, where I was guilty of all charges), but I didn't weigh-in regularly, etc. Anyway, I currently tip the scales at 224 pounds, which is lighter than when I began (I would honestly have to go back in my blog entries to see what I weighed when this enterprise began). I am going to start weighing myself regularly on Mondays now, so you'll be able to keep apprised of when I get into the 210-215 range. I have lost the 10-ish pounds I have shed mainly by eating more vegetables (A LOT of salads), fewer carbohydrates (I rarely buy bread, and I have FINALLY??? stopped eating spaghetti), and by cutting WAY DOWN on sodas (which have been my achilles heel for quite some time)... I am still not adhering to any organized exercise regimen, although I am usually active at work (at least at some point in my shift), and I was taking advantage of the beautiful weather in San Marcos, America (until recently) to walk. My place is about a fifteen minute walk from Bikini Hill, and the campus of Texas State University (where I use the library, which I also walk to) is even closer, so the walking will resume once classes start Monday and the weather gets nicer.
For those of you who are used to Wednesdays being about poker and Las Vegas here, I have done/am in the process of writing up so many Vegas trip reports that I hope you don't mind waiting the extra day. You can find some more recent poker material in the links to the right if you're just psyched up to read about chips flying around the green felt. You may also choose to wait a few days if you want to read about some of my personal bad beats...
I haven't jotted down much of the humorous stuff lately, and I don't recall having seen or heard much of it either, but I have a few things for ya... I was watching one of the bowl games last week (I watched so many that I honestly don't remember which one it was now), and the commentator made a comment about the player maybe not going out-of-bound because he hadn't quite gotten to "the white part of the sidelines"... The "white part" of the sidelines - what other part of the sidelines IS THERE?! (Yes, the guy actually said this)...
Watching the national championship game, it seemed like EVERY TIME that a defensive back got their hands on a ball to break up a pass, Brent Musberger was saying, "oh, that ball was almost intercepted!!!" I think that this might have played great on radio, but I'm WATCHING THE GAME... You have to do more than touch the ball to take possession of it... The things that annoy me... :)
Well, I see that it's now time to start getting ready for work, so I'll come back and bother you some more tomorrow. Have a great evening!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
I Hate Football
Good morning everyone. Even though this isn't being tagged as an official entry in my miniseries of Las Vegas trip chronicles, everything in today's entry revolves around my recent excursion. This entry could have easily been called "I should have bet it all on Alabama (or Green Bay)." The Alabama game that I'm referring to is last night's national championship game, and the Green Bay game that I'm referencing is the Pack's Week 16 matchup against the Titans. I did not bet all of my group's money on these games, so let's took a look at the bets that really hurt the bottom line...
Falcons/Lions (Over 50 1/2) - Final Score: Falcons 31 Lions 18
This game was TORTURE to watch as I played 2/4 limit poker at The Flamingo. Both teams had first-and-goal to go situations where they didn't score touchdowns, and the Lions, after blowing one, IMMEDIATELY responded with a safety, which was then followed by DOWNING THE FREE KICKOFF at their own FIVE-YARD LINE (you can't make this stuff up). As you can see above, these two outfits fell 1 1/2 points short - GRRRRR....
Vikings/Texans (Over 46 points - I believe) - Final Score: Vikings 23 Texans 6
This game took place the very next day, and whether 46 was the exact number or not is irrelevant because these 2 teams didn't come close. The Texans offense in this game was non-existant, including an early fumble by Arian Foster in Minnesota territory, and anytime that the Vikings got things rolling, they settled for field goal after field goal after field goal... I was getting so angry watching this game and I know SO MANY Texans fans that I was thinking to myself, "the NEXT Texans fan that mentions Texans and Super Bowl in the same sentence when I get back to San Marcos..." PAINFUL to watch...
Florida (-14) vs. Louisville - Final Score: Louisville 33 Florida 23
Florida was seemingly never in this game, and they were the two touchdown favorite. My thinking was a top-five SEC team playing in their home state - PFFFTTT... The way that this game played out, this was probably the most surprising game of all of the bowl games and Week 16 NFL games that I bet. I will mention here that I bet West Virginia (-4.5) over Syracuse (Final - Syracuse 38-14), but that game was played in the remnants of a blizzard.
Oklahoma (+13) vs. Texas A&M - Final Score: Texas A&M 41 Oklahoma 13
As it turned out, this superteaser with the Sooners getting 13 points would have cashed another parlay ticket for my group. The halftime score was 14-13 Aggies. The Sooners could have easily held the lead at halftime as they had to settle for an early field goal after a first-and-goal situation. I have NO IDEA where the Sooners offense was in the second half of this game as the Aggies outscored them 27-0 in the final 30 minutes of this game.
The crying that I did a few minutes ago goes back to when I was sitting in my hotel room at The Quad and filling out parlay cards at The Mirage also. I bet many, MANY football games. I did not touch the Packers/Titans game right away, and then I considered the Packers being 13-point favorites at home in the cold atmosphere of Lambeau Field against a Titans team that had nothing to play for. The final score in this game was: Packers 55 Titans 7. When I considered the Notre Dame/Alabama game, I thought to myself, "which team is more likely to win this game if it is a blowout?" I NEVER thought that the Irish would blowout the Tide, but I thought that Bama could easily blowout Notre Dame, so I picked the Tide, even though the spread was 10 points. Final Score: Alabama 42 Notre Dame 14...
I hope that all of you enjoyed reading about this trainwreck more than I enjoyed typing it up this morning... Did I fail to mention that on New Year's Day I missed 2 unders by 1 1/2 points and a cover by 1/2 a point? I... HATE... FOOTBALL... :) Oh, even better, I went 6-2 on my picks over Wildcard Weekend, while NOT BEING in Las Vegas. I was 3-1 against the spread and 3-1 on the overs/unders. Both losses came in the Seahawks/Redskins game where Griffin III was injured, so who knows... I will be making picks on this weekend's NFL playoff games also, and you can reference my 'Wildcard Weekend 2013' blog entry from last Thursday to verify what my picks were - I was pretty close on some of those final scores... Have a great day and I'll see you again tomorrow!
Falcons/Lions (Over 50 1/2) - Final Score: Falcons 31 Lions 18
This game was TORTURE to watch as I played 2/4 limit poker at The Flamingo. Both teams had first-and-goal to go situations where they didn't score touchdowns, and the Lions, after blowing one, IMMEDIATELY responded with a safety, which was then followed by DOWNING THE FREE KICKOFF at their own FIVE-YARD LINE (you can't make this stuff up). As you can see above, these two outfits fell 1 1/2 points short - GRRRRR....
Vikings/Texans (Over 46 points - I believe) - Final Score: Vikings 23 Texans 6
This game took place the very next day, and whether 46 was the exact number or not is irrelevant because these 2 teams didn't come close. The Texans offense in this game was non-existant, including an early fumble by Arian Foster in Minnesota territory, and anytime that the Vikings got things rolling, they settled for field goal after field goal after field goal... I was getting so angry watching this game and I know SO MANY Texans fans that I was thinking to myself, "the NEXT Texans fan that mentions Texans and Super Bowl in the same sentence when I get back to San Marcos..." PAINFUL to watch...
Florida (-14) vs. Louisville - Final Score: Louisville 33 Florida 23
Florida was seemingly never in this game, and they were the two touchdown favorite. My thinking was a top-five SEC team playing in their home state - PFFFTTT... The way that this game played out, this was probably the most surprising game of all of the bowl games and Week 16 NFL games that I bet. I will mention here that I bet West Virginia (-4.5) over Syracuse (Final - Syracuse 38-14), but that game was played in the remnants of a blizzard.
Oklahoma (+13) vs. Texas A&M - Final Score: Texas A&M 41 Oklahoma 13
As it turned out, this superteaser with the Sooners getting 13 points would have cashed another parlay ticket for my group. The halftime score was 14-13 Aggies. The Sooners could have easily held the lead at halftime as they had to settle for an early field goal after a first-and-goal situation. I have NO IDEA where the Sooners offense was in the second half of this game as the Aggies outscored them 27-0 in the final 30 minutes of this game.
The crying that I did a few minutes ago goes back to when I was sitting in my hotel room at The Quad and filling out parlay cards at The Mirage also. I bet many, MANY football games. I did not touch the Packers/Titans game right away, and then I considered the Packers being 13-point favorites at home in the cold atmosphere of Lambeau Field against a Titans team that had nothing to play for. The final score in this game was: Packers 55 Titans 7. When I considered the Notre Dame/Alabama game, I thought to myself, "which team is more likely to win this game if it is a blowout?" I NEVER thought that the Irish would blowout the Tide, but I thought that Bama could easily blowout Notre Dame, so I picked the Tide, even though the spread was 10 points. Final Score: Alabama 42 Notre Dame 14...
I hope that all of you enjoyed reading about this trainwreck more than I enjoyed typing it up this morning... Did I fail to mention that on New Year's Day I missed 2 unders by 1 1/2 points and a cover by 1/2 a point? I... HATE... FOOTBALL... :) Oh, even better, I went 6-2 on my picks over Wildcard Weekend, while NOT BEING in Las Vegas. I was 3-1 against the spread and 3-1 on the overs/unders. Both losses came in the Seahawks/Redskins game where Griffin III was injured, so who knows... I will be making picks on this weekend's NFL playoff games also, and you can reference my 'Wildcard Weekend 2013' blog entry from last Thursday to verify what my picks were - I was pretty close on some of those final scores... Have a great day and I'll see you again tomorrow!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Vegas 2012 - Part 3: I Took A Walk
Good morning everyone. Although the temperature is only 36 degrees right now in San Marcos, America, today is the first day of what is going to be a beautiful week in this currently sleepy college town... The forecast has the mercury rising during the next seven days, and the Bobcats will be returning to the campus of Texas State University as classes resume exactly a week from now. The return of the Bobcats is great news for me as complete and utter silence annoys me just a bit - you probably realize this if you have stumbled upon this blog anytime during the past month.
You may also realize if you have stumbled upon 'Bikini Hill' during the past month that this series of entries about my recent trip to Las Vegas is going to proceed about as slowly as a t.v. miniseries, or a complete season of a show for that matter... It is now the morning of Wednesday, December 19th, my first time waking up at The Quad after my adventurous trip from San Marcos to San Francisco to Las Vegas the previous day. After cleaning up, I started walking, and walking, and walking..., AND WALKING... And yes, I was wearing a pair of my new sweatpants, and no, I did not get mugged... ;) For those of you who have had the misfortune of spending any length of time with me in the last few years, you are likely well aware of my habit of manipulating three poker chips in my hand, CONSTANTLY, to the point that I actually wear down the clay on these casino chips. Well, I returned to the desert with a bag FULL of these worn chips, and now it was time to do some sightseeing. Leaving The Quad, which is across the street from Caesars Palace, and in-between the Flamingo and The Mirage if that helps you out, I embarked on my journey north up the Strip. I stopped at every casino on my side of the Strip where I needed to cash in some of these older chips, all the way down to and including The Riviera. The Riviera is where I used to deal poker just over five years ago, and upon finding the poker room, I was greeted with signs on the poker tables which read, "The Riviera Poker Room will be closed from December 19th - December 26th." Hmmph... So much for seeing my old friends... This is now about five hours after I woke up and I'm ready to eat lunch.
My plan all along had been to eat lunch at The Riv with the comp dollars that I had earned during August. At this point let me emphasize that my old workplace was very slow on this December afternoon. I only say that to say that I had to go to a pit boss, who then sent me to the VIP Services at the back of the hotel, who proceeded to send me to Guest Services, who then TRIED to send me BACK to the VIP Services area to receive my comp. So, about 30 minutes after I began, I procured my $13.00 and ate some Banana Leaf (Asian food) for lunch. After lunch I trekked across the street behind The Riv to the LVH (formerly the Las Vegas Hilton - and no, LVH is not an abbreviation for Las Vegas Hilton)... :) I cashed a parlay ticket from August and returned to the Riv. I had given up hope on seeing anyone that I knew because business was so slow, and as I headed for the front doors facing the Strip, I ran into my favorite cocktail waitress. I worked the graveyard shift when I dealt poker, and Maly would usually work 3 of the 5 shifts that I did during the week. Eventually the two of us managed to get the same one-hour break so that we could eat our meals together in the Employee Dining Room (most, if not all Las Vegas casinos feed their employees once per shift), and more importantly, me and my poker-dealing buddies got Maly into football betting. Unfortunately, she started cashing in more winning parlay tickets than we did (I'm just kidding - not about Maly winning more, but none of us harbored any ill will)... :) I enjoyed about an hour chatting with Maly between her trips around her section of the casino, and then I headed south down the Strip.
I crossed the street and ventured all the way down to The Excalibur. For those of you familiar with Las Vegas, I did A LOT OF WALKING cashing in my old poker chips. I started this "walk" sometime shortly after noon, and now it was dark. As I made my way back toward The Quad, I got as far as The Flamingo. At this point I decided to see how many comp dollars I had built up there during August. When I found out that the total was just over $17.00, I made my way to the buffet. After paying $8.64 out of pocket, I found 2 slices of prime rib (hey, the person in line in front of me got 2 slices before I did), then I LOADED the rest of my plate with cold cocktail shrimp, and I SCARFED DOWN food for the better part of an hour. Yes, there were more trips to the buffet, but we won't concern ourselves with that... After managing the short walk back the The Quad, I rolled into bed (yes, literally and figuratively speaking), and that was pretty much the end of my first full day back in the desert...
When we get to the fourth installment of this spellbinding miniseries, I PROMISE that there will be some sort of gambling covered in my writing... :) I hope that all of you have a great day and I will see you again tomorrow, when I will be lamenting the football bets that I made during this trip - DO NOT miss tomorrow's entry if you enjoy trainwrecks... Have a good one!
You may also realize if you have stumbled upon 'Bikini Hill' during the past month that this series of entries about my recent trip to Las Vegas is going to proceed about as slowly as a t.v. miniseries, or a complete season of a show for that matter... It is now the morning of Wednesday, December 19th, my first time waking up at The Quad after my adventurous trip from San Marcos to San Francisco to Las Vegas the previous day. After cleaning up, I started walking, and walking, and walking..., AND WALKING... And yes, I was wearing a pair of my new sweatpants, and no, I did not get mugged... ;) For those of you who have had the misfortune of spending any length of time with me in the last few years, you are likely well aware of my habit of manipulating three poker chips in my hand, CONSTANTLY, to the point that I actually wear down the clay on these casino chips. Well, I returned to the desert with a bag FULL of these worn chips, and now it was time to do some sightseeing. Leaving The Quad, which is across the street from Caesars Palace, and in-between the Flamingo and The Mirage if that helps you out, I embarked on my journey north up the Strip. I stopped at every casino on my side of the Strip where I needed to cash in some of these older chips, all the way down to and including The Riviera. The Riviera is where I used to deal poker just over five years ago, and upon finding the poker room, I was greeted with signs on the poker tables which read, "The Riviera Poker Room will be closed from December 19th - December 26th." Hmmph... So much for seeing my old friends... This is now about five hours after I woke up and I'm ready to eat lunch.
My plan all along had been to eat lunch at The Riv with the comp dollars that I had earned during August. At this point let me emphasize that my old workplace was very slow on this December afternoon. I only say that to say that I had to go to a pit boss, who then sent me to the VIP Services at the back of the hotel, who proceeded to send me to Guest Services, who then TRIED to send me BACK to the VIP Services area to receive my comp. So, about 30 minutes after I began, I procured my $13.00 and ate some Banana Leaf (Asian food) for lunch. After lunch I trekked across the street behind The Riv to the LVH (formerly the Las Vegas Hilton - and no, LVH is not an abbreviation for Las Vegas Hilton)... :) I cashed a parlay ticket from August and returned to the Riv. I had given up hope on seeing anyone that I knew because business was so slow, and as I headed for the front doors facing the Strip, I ran into my favorite cocktail waitress. I worked the graveyard shift when I dealt poker, and Maly would usually work 3 of the 5 shifts that I did during the week. Eventually the two of us managed to get the same one-hour break so that we could eat our meals together in the Employee Dining Room (most, if not all Las Vegas casinos feed their employees once per shift), and more importantly, me and my poker-dealing buddies got Maly into football betting. Unfortunately, she started cashing in more winning parlay tickets than we did (I'm just kidding - not about Maly winning more, but none of us harbored any ill will)... :) I enjoyed about an hour chatting with Maly between her trips around her section of the casino, and then I headed south down the Strip.
I crossed the street and ventured all the way down to The Excalibur. For those of you familiar with Las Vegas, I did A LOT OF WALKING cashing in my old poker chips. I started this "walk" sometime shortly after noon, and now it was dark. As I made my way back toward The Quad, I got as far as The Flamingo. At this point I decided to see how many comp dollars I had built up there during August. When I found out that the total was just over $17.00, I made my way to the buffet. After paying $8.64 out of pocket, I found 2 slices of prime rib (hey, the person in line in front of me got 2 slices before I did), then I LOADED the rest of my plate with cold cocktail shrimp, and I SCARFED DOWN food for the better part of an hour. Yes, there were more trips to the buffet, but we won't concern ourselves with that... After managing the short walk back the The Quad, I rolled into bed (yes, literally and figuratively speaking), and that was pretty much the end of my first full day back in the desert...
When we get to the fourth installment of this spellbinding miniseries, I PROMISE that there will be some sort of gambling covered in my writing... :) I hope that all of you have a great day and I will see you again tomorrow, when I will be lamenting the football bets that I made during this trip - DO NOT miss tomorrow's entry if you enjoy trainwrecks... Have a good one!
Friday, January 4, 2013
Keys In The Door
Good morning everyone. Today you are getting a rare Friday ramble as I did my football post yesterday. For any of you who came here today looking for my predictions on this weekend's NFL playoff games, just scroll down to yesterday's post, "Wild Card Weekend 2013" - feel free to leave your own predictions in the comments section if you wish.
As I begin today's ramble from what is normally beautiful San Marcos, America, the home of the now deserted campus of Texas State University, the temperature here is currently 37 degrees with showers in the forecast, and the high today is only supposed to reach 43 degrees - FREAKIN BRRRRRRR!!!... I hope that the Bobcats bring the warm weather back to town when they return.
As the traffic here on 'Bikini Hill' has spiked recently, my little blog is primed to pass the 20,000 view mark over the weekend. I appreciate you stopping by and hope that you find something that you like - I plan on putting a lot more effort into my writing in the coming year (part of the me staying active New Year's resolution). My plans for Monday are to write the third installment of my Las Vegas trip series, the installment which will actually have me venturing out into big city... (Sorry Miletus, but the weekend won't last THAT long)... ;)
Keys in the door, yeah... It's really lucky for some people that I am such a nice guy, and that I try to do the right thing. During the last week I encountered a situation that I have run into numerous times during my life. I was leaving my apartment for work, and when I made the turn to go down the stairway, I noticed that my neighbor had left their keys in the door. The keychain that I'm referring to was probably a young lady's in this case, as it was one of those that had several "do-hickeys" (yes, I'm going DEEP into the dictionary this morning) attached to it, the type of keychain that you would almost have to have a purse to carry around with you. At this point I knocked on the door (I don't know my neighbors), and waited for the pause to pass as they looked through the peephole, surveyed the situation, wondered what in the heck I wanted, and hopefully opened the door. The good thing in this situation is that you KNOW that your neighbor is home, because they left their keys in the door... ;) As soon as the door opened and the guy answering began to speak, I pointed to the doorknob, said something to him about the know jingling keys, and was on my way. It was during my drive to work that I realized that a less honest person could have rummaged through several vehicles during his lifetime, if not stolen them altogether... Yeah, I realize that a flaw in the stolen vehicle plan is that I live in the same apartment complex as the potential victim - that's probably why I'm one of the good guys... ;)
Speaking of my recent trip to Las Vegas (which I wasn't), the college football part of that trip is coming to an end. For any of you keeping score at home, we want Oklahoma (+13) tonight against Texas A&M. That game is on a couple of parlay tickets and would give us a winning ticket, in addition to leaving us with a pair of live ones for Monday night's national championship game between Alabama and Notre Dame. Speaking of college football (which I was), did you see where Penn State's head football coach (Bill O'Brien) told the press yesterday "I'm not a one-and-done guy" (speaking to his decision to return to Penn State after his first year at the school) AFTER he reportedly interviewed for TWO NFL head-coaching vacancies recently AND received a reported raise of $1.3 million dollars - NICE... (Hey Grrouchie!) :)
For those of you who are sports fans, after the end of the football season, Fridays (which are normally dedicated to sports) will start focusing on college basketball, then NBA basketball, and then baseball (and the football offseason) before reverting back to football full-time again. For any and all of you diehard hockey fans, my heart goes out to you this year... I normally make entries here on Monday-Friday, with the option of giving you something additional on the weekend (RARE occurrence)... :)
I'm going to give up right here for today, but I will see you again on Monday. Please feel free to delve into my previous entries if you're new to Bikini Hill. Have a great weekend and enjoy your NFL playoff games!
As I begin today's ramble from what is normally beautiful San Marcos, America, the home of the now deserted campus of Texas State University, the temperature here is currently 37 degrees with showers in the forecast, and the high today is only supposed to reach 43 degrees - FREAKIN BRRRRRRR!!!... I hope that the Bobcats bring the warm weather back to town when they return.
As the traffic here on 'Bikini Hill' has spiked recently, my little blog is primed to pass the 20,000 view mark over the weekend. I appreciate you stopping by and hope that you find something that you like - I plan on putting a lot more effort into my writing in the coming year (part of the me staying active New Year's resolution). My plans for Monday are to write the third installment of my Las Vegas trip series, the installment which will actually have me venturing out into big city... (Sorry Miletus, but the weekend won't last THAT long)... ;)
Keys in the door, yeah... It's really lucky for some people that I am such a nice guy, and that I try to do the right thing. During the last week I encountered a situation that I have run into numerous times during my life. I was leaving my apartment for work, and when I made the turn to go down the stairway, I noticed that my neighbor had left their keys in the door. The keychain that I'm referring to was probably a young lady's in this case, as it was one of those that had several "do-hickeys" (yes, I'm going DEEP into the dictionary this morning) attached to it, the type of keychain that you would almost have to have a purse to carry around with you. At this point I knocked on the door (I don't know my neighbors), and waited for the pause to pass as they looked through the peephole, surveyed the situation, wondered what in the heck I wanted, and hopefully opened the door. The good thing in this situation is that you KNOW that your neighbor is home, because they left their keys in the door... ;) As soon as the door opened and the guy answering began to speak, I pointed to the doorknob, said something to him about the know jingling keys, and was on my way. It was during my drive to work that I realized that a less honest person could have rummaged through several vehicles during his lifetime, if not stolen them altogether... Yeah, I realize that a flaw in the stolen vehicle plan is that I live in the same apartment complex as the potential victim - that's probably why I'm one of the good guys... ;)
Speaking of my recent trip to Las Vegas (which I wasn't), the college football part of that trip is coming to an end. For any of you keeping score at home, we want Oklahoma (+13) tonight against Texas A&M. That game is on a couple of parlay tickets and would give us a winning ticket, in addition to leaving us with a pair of live ones for Monday night's national championship game between Alabama and Notre Dame. Speaking of college football (which I was), did you see where Penn State's head football coach (Bill O'Brien) told the press yesterday "I'm not a one-and-done guy" (speaking to his decision to return to Penn State after his first year at the school) AFTER he reportedly interviewed for TWO NFL head-coaching vacancies recently AND received a reported raise of $1.3 million dollars - NICE... (Hey Grrouchie!) :)
For those of you who are sports fans, after the end of the football season, Fridays (which are normally dedicated to sports) will start focusing on college basketball, then NBA basketball, and then baseball (and the football offseason) before reverting back to football full-time again. For any and all of you diehard hockey fans, my heart goes out to you this year... I normally make entries here on Monday-Friday, with the option of giving you something additional on the weekend (RARE occurrence)... :)
I'm going to give up right here for today, but I will see you again on Monday. Please feel free to delve into my previous entries if you're new to Bikini Hill. Have a great weekend and enjoy your NFL playoff games!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Wild Card Weekend 2013
Good morning everyone. I didn't end up having to work my Wednesday night shift, but I do have to work tonight, so I'm bringing these predictions to you a day early. Maybe being awake will help me to get at least 1 out of these 4 games right... :) Actually, I did very well predicting the outcomes of last season's NFL playoff games. This year I finished up with an 81-81-2 record for the regular season on my college and NFL picks. From here on out we'll refer to that as a .500 record and start a new count for the playoffs. Below are my predictions for this weekend's Wild Card Round. My final scores account for how I think the games will finish against the spread and in regard to the over/under...
Cincinnati (10-6) @ Houston (12-4) - Saturday 3:30 CST
Houston's lack of defense caught up to them in the last 4 weeks of the season as they ended up dropping 3 of those contests. One win would have given them home field advantage in the AFC throughout the course of the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Bengals have won 7 of their last 8 games, the lone loss being a 20-19 defeat against the Cowboys. These teams last met almost a year ago to the date, when the Texans beat the Bengals 31-10 in last year's Wild Card Round. My prediction is...
Houston 24 Cincinnati 17 ----- Texans (-4 1/2), Under (43 1/2)
Minnesota (10-6) @ Green Bay (11-5) - Saturday 7:00 CST
It seems like Adrian Peterson is still running from last week. Two very different games between the Vikings and Packers this season. The Pack won 23-14 about midway through the season at Lambeau while the Vikes won 37-34 last week. This playoff game is in Green Bay and it is likely to be cold, so my prediction is...
Green Bay 27 Minnesota 17 ----- Packers (-7 1/2), Under (46)
Indianapolis (11-5) @ Baltimore (10-6) - Sunday 12:00 CST
The Colts have won 5 of their last 6 games, their lone loss being a 12-point defeat at the hands of the Texans (which is the amount they beat Houston by last week coincidentally). The Ravens have lost 4 out of their last 5. With that being said, the Ravens schedule was tougher than that of the Colts. The rookie Luck against the Ravens outdoors in January in Maryland, so my prediction is...
Baltimore 27 Indianapolis 13 ----- Ravens (-6 1/2), Under (46 1/2)
Seattle (11-5) @ Washington (10-6) - Sunday 3:30 CST
What a great way to end the weekend. The Seahawks have won 5 straight games (with some VERY IMPRESSIVE wins in there) and the Redskins have won 7 straight games (including what was for all intents and purposes a playoff game against Dallas last weekend). This game features the other two star rookie quarterbacks in Wilson and Griffin III. In the second game of the day near the nation's capital, my prediction is...
Washington 27 Seattle 24 ----- Redskins (+3), Over (45)
Yes, a lot of teams are going to score 27 points evidently... :) I hope that you have fun with those. If any of you have predictions as to the final scores of these games (or even just the winners) and want to go "on the record" with your selections, feel free to type your picks into the comments section. Have a great day and I'll see you again tomorrow!
Cincinnati (10-6) @ Houston (12-4) - Saturday 3:30 CST
Houston's lack of defense caught up to them in the last 4 weeks of the season as they ended up dropping 3 of those contests. One win would have given them home field advantage in the AFC throughout the course of the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Bengals have won 7 of their last 8 games, the lone loss being a 20-19 defeat against the Cowboys. These teams last met almost a year ago to the date, when the Texans beat the Bengals 31-10 in last year's Wild Card Round. My prediction is...
Houston 24 Cincinnati 17 ----- Texans (-4 1/2), Under (43 1/2)
Minnesota (10-6) @ Green Bay (11-5) - Saturday 7:00 CST
It seems like Adrian Peterson is still running from last week. Two very different games between the Vikings and Packers this season. The Pack won 23-14 about midway through the season at Lambeau while the Vikes won 37-34 last week. This playoff game is in Green Bay and it is likely to be cold, so my prediction is...
Green Bay 27 Minnesota 17 ----- Packers (-7 1/2), Under (46)
Indianapolis (11-5) @ Baltimore (10-6) - Sunday 12:00 CST
The Colts have won 5 of their last 6 games, their lone loss being a 12-point defeat at the hands of the Texans (which is the amount they beat Houston by last week coincidentally). The Ravens have lost 4 out of their last 5. With that being said, the Ravens schedule was tougher than that of the Colts. The rookie Luck against the Ravens outdoors in January in Maryland, so my prediction is...
Baltimore 27 Indianapolis 13 ----- Ravens (-6 1/2), Under (46 1/2)
Seattle (11-5) @ Washington (10-6) - Sunday 3:30 CST
What a great way to end the weekend. The Seahawks have won 5 straight games (with some VERY IMPRESSIVE wins in there) and the Redskins have won 7 straight games (including what was for all intents and purposes a playoff game against Dallas last weekend). This game features the other two star rookie quarterbacks in Wilson and Griffin III. In the second game of the day near the nation's capital, my prediction is...
Washington 27 Seattle 24 ----- Redskins (+3), Over (45)
Yes, a lot of teams are going to score 27 points evidently... :) I hope that you have fun with those. If any of you have predictions as to the final scores of these games (or even just the winners) and want to go "on the record" with your selections, feel free to type your picks into the comments section. Have a great day and I'll see you again tomorrow!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Vegas 2012 - Part 2: San Marcos To The Desert
"We've lost respect for decency, when one can turn our world into an antpile..."
-Blue October- (Kangaroo Cry)
Good morning everyone. It's a lovely 36 degrees here in San Marcos, America right now as I begin this post, but I did live through the first day of the new year despite suffering 2 'unders' not covering by 1 1/2 points each and not covering a point spread by half a point - I... HATE... FOOTBALL... Okay, I hate it right now, but I'll probably be watching it again tonight. The lyrics above are brought to you courtesy of Blue October, which is my favorite band for those of you who are new to 'Bikini Hill' - be sure to check them out if you have never listened to them before.
Okay, so now we're rewinding two weeks (and more) and we're starting my recent holiday trip to Las Vegas. For starters, if you have been sleeping through the last month of blog entries that I have made, I HATE how sleepy San Marcos, America is during the month-long break between the fall and spring semesters. One way to combat this is to take a week-long trip to Las Vegas, the city where I lived for two years as a poker dealer (2005-2007). I began this trip with $1,000.00 to spend on playing poker and betting football, the majority of it coming courtesy of my coworkers and friends from Harper's/Slackers/The Veranda. I asked to be scheduled off at work from December 16th-26th, with my trip taking place from the 18th-24th. My last workday before the trip was Saturday, December 15th, which was the last day of graduation ceremonies at Texas State University (my alma mater), and pretty much the last day that San Marcos would see any signs of life until New Year's Eve (not completely true, but pretty much)... :) On Sunday, December 16th I went to San Antonio to hang out with my dad (on very little sleep), and I was treated to the misery of watching my Pittsburgh Steelers lose ANOTHER CLOSE GAME this season, this time to the Dallas Cowboys. NOTE: The Steelers will not be participating in the playoffs this season... This was followed by a trip back to San Marcos to change into respectable clothes for my "company work party." Our work party started at Rocky's ($2.50 you-call-its), then made its way over to the Black Rabbit, and after this quick pit stop we headed down the street and finished out the night at Zelick's. Being as tired as I was, I opted to drink Vodka and Red Bull all night (a drink which I NEVER drink) because of the RED BULL... All of this is relevant to my trip to Las Vegas because I was still tired pretty much all day long on Monday as I packed. I was also tired on Tuesday as I began my trip, which began with lunch courtesy of my dad (I'm already ahead on the trip), and then arriving at San Antonio International Airport at 1:30 p.m. At the airport I had my shaving cream and Brut confiscated by the TSA because the containers were over 3.44 ounces (back to even for the trip)...
The waiting game began after I cleared security, because all that I wanted to do was get on my flight to San Francisco, which wasn't taking off until 3:39 p.m., and this is because I wanted to SLEEP as much as anything. The flight was on United Airlines, and it was on time. For those of you who are new to the blog (AGAIN, GEEZ)... :), I booked the roundtrip flights on United, with a six-night stay on the Strip (at the Quad - formerly Imperial Palace) for $388.00. Not only did United give me an assigned seat (I'm used to flying Southwest), but they IMPROVED IT by giving me an exit-row seat before takeoff because the plane wasn't full, thus giving me my own section of seats and more leg room for the long flight (winning again). At this point I should add that one of our Harper's customers gave me GREAT ADVICE - I did not check any luggage on this trip. I took two carry-on backpacks with me, thus avoiding luggage charges and having to check and wait for luggage (more ahead on the trip already). I slept most of the way to San Francisco on what was maybe the most comfortable flight of my life, and then I... GOT... TO... SAN FRANCISCO... Immediately after departing the plane, I discovered that my flight to Las Vegas was already delayed an hour and a half, and this was in addition to the hour and a half layover I had given myself to make the trip run smoothly (back to even again). The BEST PART came after we were rushed to board the plane so that the travelers with connecting flights in Las Vegas could make their other flights, the captain comes on the intercom (I SERIOUSLY thought this was a joke at first). The captain states that he is ILLEGAL to fly us to Las Vegas... He then explains that he had piloted the original flight from Washington, D.C., which stopped for fuel in Kansas City, and then fought headwinds to San Francisco. Sometime after he had boarded our flight, the tower informed him that he had already worked for over eight hours that day, and the FAA "frowns upon" (okay, those are my words) pilots working overtime (they don't allow it at all)... SOOOO, after it took them an hour to find us a pilot from the on-call pilots, we departed for the desert. This of course came after SEVERAL complaints from other passengers and not being informed of anything that was happening during the course of the hour wait - I felt SO BAD for everyone who had connecting flights... NOTE: During my stay in Las Vegas I met a Delta pilot, and on-call pilots have to be at the airport within two hours of being notified that they are needed, FYI... So anyway, EVERYONE misses their connections with the exception of the people who are flying to Cleveland (and their plane is being held specifically for them as we arrive at McCarran International Airport). I ended up checking into the Quad sometime after midnight (there was no wait at the registration desk, being very early Wednesday morning, and I'll get back to this in a later trip post).
Okay, now that I've arrived in Las Vegas, we'll keep you in suspense until next time, because this post is getting pretty long. I hope that you have a great day and I'll see you again tomorrow!
-Blue October- (Kangaroo Cry)
Good morning everyone. It's a lovely 36 degrees here in San Marcos, America right now as I begin this post, but I did live through the first day of the new year despite suffering 2 'unders' not covering by 1 1/2 points each and not covering a point spread by half a point - I... HATE... FOOTBALL... Okay, I hate it right now, but I'll probably be watching it again tonight. The lyrics above are brought to you courtesy of Blue October, which is my favorite band for those of you who are new to 'Bikini Hill' - be sure to check them out if you have never listened to them before.
Okay, so now we're rewinding two weeks (and more) and we're starting my recent holiday trip to Las Vegas. For starters, if you have been sleeping through the last month of blog entries that I have made, I HATE how sleepy San Marcos, America is during the month-long break between the fall and spring semesters. One way to combat this is to take a week-long trip to Las Vegas, the city where I lived for two years as a poker dealer (2005-2007). I began this trip with $1,000.00 to spend on playing poker and betting football, the majority of it coming courtesy of my coworkers and friends from Harper's/Slackers/The Veranda. I asked to be scheduled off at work from December 16th-26th, with my trip taking place from the 18th-24th. My last workday before the trip was Saturday, December 15th, which was the last day of graduation ceremonies at Texas State University (my alma mater), and pretty much the last day that San Marcos would see any signs of life until New Year's Eve (not completely true, but pretty much)... :) On Sunday, December 16th I went to San Antonio to hang out with my dad (on very little sleep), and I was treated to the misery of watching my Pittsburgh Steelers lose ANOTHER CLOSE GAME this season, this time to the Dallas Cowboys. NOTE: The Steelers will not be participating in the playoffs this season... This was followed by a trip back to San Marcos to change into respectable clothes for my "company work party." Our work party started at Rocky's ($2.50 you-call-its), then made its way over to the Black Rabbit, and after this quick pit stop we headed down the street and finished out the night at Zelick's. Being as tired as I was, I opted to drink Vodka and Red Bull all night (a drink which I NEVER drink) because of the RED BULL... All of this is relevant to my trip to Las Vegas because I was still tired pretty much all day long on Monday as I packed. I was also tired on Tuesday as I began my trip, which began with lunch courtesy of my dad (I'm already ahead on the trip), and then arriving at San Antonio International Airport at 1:30 p.m. At the airport I had my shaving cream and Brut confiscated by the TSA because the containers were over 3.44 ounces (back to even for the trip)...
The waiting game began after I cleared security, because all that I wanted to do was get on my flight to San Francisco, which wasn't taking off until 3:39 p.m., and this is because I wanted to SLEEP as much as anything. The flight was on United Airlines, and it was on time. For those of you who are new to the blog (AGAIN, GEEZ)... :), I booked the roundtrip flights on United, with a six-night stay on the Strip (at the Quad - formerly Imperial Palace) for $388.00. Not only did United give me an assigned seat (I'm used to flying Southwest), but they IMPROVED IT by giving me an exit-row seat before takeoff because the plane wasn't full, thus giving me my own section of seats and more leg room for the long flight (winning again). At this point I should add that one of our Harper's customers gave me GREAT ADVICE - I did not check any luggage on this trip. I took two carry-on backpacks with me, thus avoiding luggage charges and having to check and wait for luggage (more ahead on the trip already). I slept most of the way to San Francisco on what was maybe the most comfortable flight of my life, and then I... GOT... TO... SAN FRANCISCO... Immediately after departing the plane, I discovered that my flight to Las Vegas was already delayed an hour and a half, and this was in addition to the hour and a half layover I had given myself to make the trip run smoothly (back to even again). The BEST PART came after we were rushed to board the plane so that the travelers with connecting flights in Las Vegas could make their other flights, the captain comes on the intercom (I SERIOUSLY thought this was a joke at first). The captain states that he is ILLEGAL to fly us to Las Vegas... He then explains that he had piloted the original flight from Washington, D.C., which stopped for fuel in Kansas City, and then fought headwinds to San Francisco. Sometime after he had boarded our flight, the tower informed him that he had already worked for over eight hours that day, and the FAA "frowns upon" (okay, those are my words) pilots working overtime (they don't allow it at all)... SOOOO, after it took them an hour to find us a pilot from the on-call pilots, we departed for the desert. This of course came after SEVERAL complaints from other passengers and not being informed of anything that was happening during the course of the hour wait - I felt SO BAD for everyone who had connecting flights... NOTE: During my stay in Las Vegas I met a Delta pilot, and on-call pilots have to be at the airport within two hours of being notified that they are needed, FYI... So anyway, EVERYONE misses their connections with the exception of the people who are flying to Cleveland (and their plane is being held specifically for them as we arrive at McCarran International Airport). I ended up checking into the Quad sometime after midnight (there was no wait at the registration desk, being very early Wednesday morning, and I'll get back to this in a later trip post).
Okay, now that I've arrived in Las Vegas, we'll keep you in suspense until next time, because this post is getting pretty long. I hope that you have a great day and I'll see you again tomorrow!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Civilization 1 Mayans 0
Good morning everyone and Happy New Year! The title of today's entry is proof that I'm stealing from my facebook page for 'Bikini Hill'. You'll actually be seeing a lot from my facebook page here in the near future as I was using it as a sort of "notebook" while I was in Las Vegas, making entries with the intention of looking back later so that I could remember everything that I did on my recent trip to the desert. The title refers to the status that I posted very shortly after midnight on December 22nd while I was playing poker at the Flamingo. Up until I said something to my table, I think that I was the only one aware of the time and that we had survived the Mayans' prediction. My facebook status read, "Civilization 1 Mayans 0, But thanks for playing..." (You can ask for your money back at this point, but just remember that this is free, SOOOO...).
Anyway, I don't have to work today, and there are SIX college bowl games on t.v... I did work last night, and it was predictably a very active evening on the Square in San Marcos, America as everyone was ringing in the new year. The first day of January is a very important point in the break between the fall and spring semesters in San Marcos as people FINALLY start returning to town. For those of you who are new to 'Bikini Hill', San Marcos, America is a college town, and I CANNOT STAND the quiet that consumes the town for the month that the college students go home for their Christmas Break. I was the recipient of many handshakes and fistbumps and hugs last night from excited people who are excited for the arrival of 2013.
Speaking of 2013, I do have one prediction for you this morning. In addition to the numerous sports predictions that I make here, I also venture into other areas. This educated (???) guess happens to do with the blog. At somewhere around the 4,000 view mark, I had predicted that the blog would reach 20,000 total views by this morning. The number actually came in at about 19,390. This morning I am feeling very confident, and I am going to predict that 'Bikini Hill' will reach the 75,000 view mark by the end of 2013. Now my blog is just over 15 months old (birthday September 28th, 2011), and receiving 100 views on any given day is noteworthy. For 'Bikini Hill' to reach 75,000 total views in the next 12 months, the blog will have to average just over 4,500 views per month, or 150 views per day (4,500 x 12 = 54,000). 54,000 + almost 20,000 = almost 74,000 (you get the idea)... I also predict that at the end of the year, I am the ONLY ONE who is going to care about this at all... ;)
Also for those of you who are new to the blog, remember that there are plenty of entries that you can catch up on if you find yourself with some free time during this first week of January where New Year's Day falls on a Tuesday. I did a 'teaser' for one of these posts last night on my twitter account where a customer who was leaving my workplace hugged me while I was wearing two oversized sweatshirts and then exclamined, "YOU'RE LIKE A GUMMY BEAR!!!" I do tell many work stories here among the random topics and sports predictions and Las Vegas and poker musings. Speaking of Las Vegas, if I had to guess right now, I would say that the chances that I would be able to move back to the desert this coming summer are probably less than 10% right now. For those of you who don't know, I would be content (workwise) to spend my days playing poker and betting sports (football preferably). Now be aware that when I say this, I am not fond AT ALL of living in the desert, and that San Marcos, America (Texas) is the one place that I have enjoyed calling home above all others. Anyway, I have about 220-something older posts if you find yourself with some free time, and if you go WAY BACK, the writing was definitely worse at the start, definitely... ;)
When you come back tomorrow, there is a 100% chance that you will be reading a post about my recent holiday vacation in Las Vegas. Enjoy the first day of the new year and I'll see you then!
Anyway, I don't have to work today, and there are SIX college bowl games on t.v... I did work last night, and it was predictably a very active evening on the Square in San Marcos, America as everyone was ringing in the new year. The first day of January is a very important point in the break between the fall and spring semesters in San Marcos as people FINALLY start returning to town. For those of you who are new to 'Bikini Hill', San Marcos, America is a college town, and I CANNOT STAND the quiet that consumes the town for the month that the college students go home for their Christmas Break. I was the recipient of many handshakes and fistbumps and hugs last night from excited people who are excited for the arrival of 2013.
Speaking of 2013, I do have one prediction for you this morning. In addition to the numerous sports predictions that I make here, I also venture into other areas. This educated (???) guess happens to do with the blog. At somewhere around the 4,000 view mark, I had predicted that the blog would reach 20,000 total views by this morning. The number actually came in at about 19,390. This morning I am feeling very confident, and I am going to predict that 'Bikini Hill' will reach the 75,000 view mark by the end of 2013. Now my blog is just over 15 months old (birthday September 28th, 2011), and receiving 100 views on any given day is noteworthy. For 'Bikini Hill' to reach 75,000 total views in the next 12 months, the blog will have to average just over 4,500 views per month, or 150 views per day (4,500 x 12 = 54,000). 54,000 + almost 20,000 = almost 74,000 (you get the idea)... I also predict that at the end of the year, I am the ONLY ONE who is going to care about this at all... ;)
Also for those of you who are new to the blog, remember that there are plenty of entries that you can catch up on if you find yourself with some free time during this first week of January where New Year's Day falls on a Tuesday. I did a 'teaser' for one of these posts last night on my twitter account where a customer who was leaving my workplace hugged me while I was wearing two oversized sweatshirts and then exclamined, "YOU'RE LIKE A GUMMY BEAR!!!" I do tell many work stories here among the random topics and sports predictions and Las Vegas and poker musings. Speaking of Las Vegas, if I had to guess right now, I would say that the chances that I would be able to move back to the desert this coming summer are probably less than 10% right now. For those of you who don't know, I would be content (workwise) to spend my days playing poker and betting sports (football preferably). Now be aware that when I say this, I am not fond AT ALL of living in the desert, and that San Marcos, America (Texas) is the one place that I have enjoyed calling home above all others. Anyway, I have about 220-something older posts if you find yourself with some free time, and if you go WAY BACK, the writing was definitely worse at the start, definitely... ;)
When you come back tomorrow, there is a 100% chance that you will be reading a post about my recent holiday vacation in Las Vegas. Enjoy the first day of the new year and I'll see you then!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)