Applewood

Sweet jeebus, is it Monday again?

I made it through the weekend with less difficulty than believed, but I guess that's often how these things go. We prepare for the worst, and then reality is a little easier to take. Having my best friend around to help distract me and keep me busy helped tremendously.

Technology is great. To think what's possible now that wouldn't be even 5 years ago is pretty amazing. The even more impressive part is that it's all so easily adopted.

Friday - much poker donkery. I don't think I won a damned thing depsite being awesome. The donkament was fun as I sucked out and took down some big pots repeatedly in the rebuy session. I think I only contributed $5 this time. Post-rebuy, Donkette took a hand from me that I'm almost positive I was leading until the river, and then she rivered a set to my aces to knock me out later. I was displeased.... then I remembered it was a $1 rebuy and I had spend $5.

The 50-50 was pricier than usual as I failed to satellite in and just paid up front. Never really got anything going.

The 28k went a bit better, and after a few key hands I was doing pretty well. Then it fell apart on something lame. I don't recall what.

Then I fell asleep on my couch for 7 hours before getting up and going to bed until 11-ish. At least I was able to check some status.

The day went a touch slower than planned, with some groceries being done later in the day. I can live with it. I now also have some Indian Monsoon coffee for Eh-Vegas.

Dinner was ordering in a pizza from Massimo's with my best friend. I didn't have a menu, so we walked the 15 min to the place, grabbed a menu and walked out. Then ordered delivery when we got back to my place. Hey, there was snow and it was cold, I didn't want the pizza to get chilly. It was good pizza... which it had better be after all the hype I'd heard about it the last week or so.

Sunday was prep for the Superbowl. A trip to Kensington (local market of awesome) with the above-mentioned friend to pick up a few supplies ended in disappointment on the kitchenware front, but was otherwise a successful trip.

Dinner was... chili con carne! It was ready a little bit after half time if I recall. Don't worry, the chips and salsa and homemade guacamole held back the hunger. Oh, and the bowl of edamame in the afternoon.

So the chili. Is there anything easier to improvise than chili?

Ground beef, browned and seasoned.

I think I used 4 types of chili powder (regular ol' find-anywhere kind, ancho, chipotle, and mexican), cayenne pepper, salt, fresh ground black & pink pepper, ground coriander seed, and garlic powder.

Onions and garlic sweated in a pot, green peppers, chopped jalapenoes, couple cans of tomato, a tomatillo, tomato paste, lots more chili powders, chipotle tabasco sauce, suzy's hot sauce, a nice guajillo pepper, salt, bay leaves, thyme, basil, and then the meat added. Simmer for 40 min, add the kidney beans, simmer 20 min more.. deeeeelish.

And the final touch - serve with toast, and cover with English Applewood smoked cheddar. Mix in the cheese and wow.

I can't wait to try it again after a day or two in the fridge.

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Quick movie reviews!

The Ten - Meh. Amusing in parts, but overall meh. Ten comedic stories based on The Ten Commandments, starring a great cast. A shame it was so uneven, and that some pretty smart ideas weren't fleshed out properly. That said, Oliver Platt was brilliant, and I'm glad Paul Rudd is getting more roles.

Paris Je T'aime - Really nice film. Perhaps not the best choice in some parts for me, but overall a good film. Around 20 short films about Paris and love. To see the different directorial styles and takes on a basic, yet complex, subject was interesting. There were some real gems in here, and even the worst of them was enjoyable. Again, great cast... I guess the offer of "come act in a 5 minute short in Paris" isn't the worst thing an actor can hear. I need to go back there sometime. I've decided the last short (14e Arrondissement) was better than I thought. The horrible french accent was brilliantly done, and somehow added to the sincerity of the monologue.

I'll finally see Black Coffee tomorrow... it's about time. I get the feeling I'll be even more guilty about drinking commercial coffee afterwards. Of course, this means I once again miss a Skill Series game. I doubt I'll ever make one of these.

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The MATH, as always, is tonight. You know I'll be there. I'm sure Hoy will have a blog up about it on his blog sometime.

I'll probably also try and squeeze in a few other games beforehand... I'm at that cusp where I'm about to refocus on my game again. I've developed some pretty big holes of late, and I'll need to patch those up.

Methinks some sort of quesadilla will be made for dinner. Must remember to thaw chicken.

But I also want that leftover slice of pizza... and the chili... and a jamaican beef patty. Woe is me who has so many food choices. Quesadilla it shall be though, as the veggies are already cut.

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Eh-Vegas is coming up fast. Next week I make the ice cream (which will take six days, no joke)... and then the week after will be final prep for the arrival of however many degenerates are coming into my home.

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Microsahoo? Yahcrosoft? A bold move by the boys in Redmond. If Yahoo rebuffs them, I think it puts Microsoft in the lurch. It doesn't say much about their confidence in their web presence if they have to buy Yahoo to make a dent in Google.