FeralBlog

After a little bit of help on my part getting the newest MT(Movable Type) installed on their new site, Paul and April finally have a blog! Look for climbing stories, pictures, video, and anything else to do with their newly-married escapades.

April’s dad was kind enough to send these shots my way, and he says there’s more coming.

Paul and I just put the last plywood sheet into place, and we’re ready to start setting routes and climbing on the thing!

All pictures here.

My buddy Jason just unveiled his blog to me in a comment. You might have to know him to appreciate it, but I was just telling him the other day that he’s one of the funniest/quirkiest guys I know. Example: David just moved into a house recently, and has a workshop basement where he can putter around and make furniture and stuff. So what does Jason bring him as a gift the other night? A “muscle car” calendar from 1994, complete with big-hair chicks and awful scenery. I asked him if he specifically bought that, or if he had it lying around. He had just picked it up in NY state, and was waiting for the opportunity to use it.

He also put a “2 drinks and I’m gay” magnetic bumper sticker on my car a few weeks ago. I’m still biding my time as to passing it on.

Also, he was the architect of the cowboy party, as well as the awesome photoshops after.

Go read it I’m looking forward to getting more updates from him.

Hey everyone… it’s my best friend Ryan’s birthday today. He’s turning 30, which of course means that now he is an old man. Send him a birthday greeting (or e-card or whatever) at esthero412[at]yahoo.com.

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The near-constant flood of poker shows on The Travel Channel has finally broken me down, and I started lobbying this weekend for a friendly weekly game with the climbing peeps. Lots of emails flying around today about which day of the week would be best (so far Monday and Wednesday are the main candidates), as well as some side discussions about what the format should be. On one hand, there’s something to be said for a low threshold limit raise game. More people will play in each pot, since a quarter or $.50 to see a flop is no big deal. You’ll also lose money more slowly, so it would be hard to whittle away more than $20 over the course of 3 hours or so.

On the other hand, nothing compares to the strategy and gut-wrenching feeling of playing no-limit hold’em. You can’t really bully the short stack with a $.50 call, but if you push $20 into the pot unless he’s sitting on American Airlines he’ll probably back out pretty quick. The flip side of that is everyone going all-in right away to try and double up, which makes for not a very fun night. So, coming out of the side discussion that Joshua and I were having, I have a few ideas for poker nights:

• Two different games. Maybe we all get together around 8, and play $.50/$1 limit raise games for a few hours, until maybe 10. That way everyone’s had their fill, and gotten to play a bunch of hands for good or ill. Then at 10, anyone who’s got the stomach for no-limit can get dealt in on no-limit or pot-limit games. This could get ugly quickly, which leads me to my next option.
• Tournament play. Everyone has a set buy-in, maybe $20, and then gets a supply of “fake money” chips... maybe totalling $1000 or something. Everyone just plays until they are eliminated, and then based on what place you come in, you take home a certain percentage. Depending on the amount of players we could probably just use this WSOP table. That’s how most tournaments are run anyway. The downside to this is that maybe 1/3 of the players are guaranteed to go home with nothing, whereas with the limit raise games I’ve played so far, even if you’re doing poorly you tend to have at least $5 left at the end of 2-3 hours.

• Saw an interesting article about spread limit games, which gives you some flexibility on your bets each round, but still capping the totals to the pots don’t get too out of hand. That way you can make calling a little more uncomfortable for people if you either a) have a good hand, or b) are trying to buy the pot.

  In any case, I don’t know if it can all get organized this week, but I’m guessing by next week we’ll have our first game, and I’m pretty excited about it. Should be lots of fun.

   

I have Good Friday off today, and so does David, so we’re going to pretend we’re cute little old Jewish men and meet in Squirrel Hill and have breakfast and play Scrabble. Should be a lovely day for that sort of tomfoolery.

Update: It was a tie game, which I’ve never had happen before, but according to the “in case of a tie” rules, I won by two points. I smell a rematch! Also, while out running errands today I passed Dave Chappelle tour bus. Apparently he’s in town this weekend to do some shows.

If your friends tell you they’ll meet you at Dee’s for a drink, make sure you find out if they mean “Dee’s 6-Pack and Dogz” in Regent Square, or Dee’s Cafe on the South Side before you drive all the way down to the South Side and find out that it’s the wrong one.

David and I have been swapping some funny emails yesterday and today. As a little bit of background, he’s been really hot to set up some sort of web collection to buy this hot dog suit. As a further bit of background, today is his last day at his current job.

bq.. From: David
To: Matt

it was only 2k….

think of all those site that people set up to ask people to dontate money to help pay off debt/whatever…

could be interesting experiment.
———————————————
From: Matt
To: David

for example:
http://www.giveboobs.com/

now.. if you would swear to go out and do goofy things in public wearing the hot dog, and i would either videotape it or take pictures, that would be something.
———————————————
From: David
To: Matt

but i don’t want implants…
———————————————
From: Matt
To: David

you can get that hot dog suit surgically grafted to your body!

now that would be hot!!!!

i wonder if that girl is the same as the
http://www.readmyboobs.com/ one
(Not Safe For Work link)
———————————————
From: David
To: Matt

no safe for work?

it’s my last day, i’m looking at porn right now

cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock cock

Friday night my friends Jason and Heidi hosted a “cowboy party”, which involved dressing up in all the cowboy gear you could muster, and walking into a room with The Magnificent Seven on the TV, and Johnny Cash on the stereo. Some people really pulled off the cowboy thing well, especially David (who made his own hat and belt buckle out of card stock and aluminum foil) and Will (whose family has a ranch in Texas, natch).

I, on the other hand, looked like some sort of psychedelic 70s cowboy acid nightmare. I didn’t have an actual cowboy shirt, so I went with this paisley polyester thing I had, which when combined with my hot new spinner belt buckle and borrowed hat made me look like a demented rodeo clown. However, I did do well in the spitting competition and was able to get a cherry pit into a spitoon from about 10 feet away. Several times, in fact.

The hot photoshop jobs in the gallery were all Jason’s… very nice work!