Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in adbploink's LiveJournal:

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Thursday, October 15th, 2009
12:30 pm	2009 Concert review Those of you on my Facebook might have seen my concert schedule for the year, which was probably the most extensive for me in at least 20 years, quite possible ever. Short listing with 1-5 * ratings: April Pink at 02 in Dublin (*** 1/2) It was a last minute call to go to this show and I was glad I did. Always liked her music but was very impressed with her showmanship and playing to the crowd. It was a bit of a more Madonna-ish show, with trapezes and the like, but all in all very enjoyable. Would have been rated higher, but the sound was unfortunately horrible. May Blue Man Group at MEN in Manchester (***) Having seen BMG many times in Vegas and owning the DVD of their tourning show, I wasn't expecting to have too many surprises for this show, and I didn't. It was a nice change of pace from the Vegas show in having more vocal musical numbers, but the strength of BMG is really the performance art and humor and in this setting the show really suffers. June Talon at Gaity Theatre in Douglas, IOM (*) More for amusement purposes (and some slight foreshadowing). This is an Eagles cover band. Even though tickets were relatively inexpensive, I overpaid. I left at the intermission. Dave Matthews Band at Brixton Academy in London (****) I don't think I could ever give a DMB show less than 4 stars, so this is probably at the lower end of my scale for them, even though it was seeing them in a relatively intimate venue (probably 2000 people). Sound was decent but not great and the setlist was very disappointing, with too much emphasis on the new album, approximately 40%. Apparently this was being filmed along with the previous night for a future DVD, so we will see. Hard Rock Calling at Hyde Park in London Day 2 (** - ****1/2) Having missed the first day of HRC to see DMB, this was my first music festival in probably 25 years. Got there early in order to see the Pretenders and Chrissy was in fine form. ***1/2 for her show which includes a 1/2 deduction for brevity but 1/2 increase for the girl in the crowd hula-hooping in a bikini during the entire set. Went to sit in the beer garden until Ben Harper came on and he was somewhat disappointing, really not getting into the crowd at all clocking in the ** rating. Wasn't really familiar with Fleet Foxes but did enjoy the show and the came in a solid ***. Then Neil Young. Wow. The man can Rock. He had it all and really ramped up the performance, until finally bringing on Sir Paul at the end. ****1/2 as befits the headliner for the day. Hard Rock Calling at Hyde Park in London Day 3 (**1/2 - ****) After a late night previously, didn't get the festival quite as early as also my back was starting to act up. Age is definitely starting to get the better of me. Got there in time for James Morrison who was similar to Ben Harper the day before in that he really didn't seem to pull the crowd into his groove, although it could just be that his style of music doesn't work for a big festival crowd, resulting in a **1/2 rating. DMB was good but not great, not helped by the fact that they only got to play for 60 minutes instead of their normal 2.5 hours. Some decent rarieties and the crowd was definitely into them bringing it up to a **** performance. Finally Springsteen took the stage. He usual highly energetic performance had a crowd that was clearly overwhelmingly there to see him going wild. Unfortunately by this point my back was killing me and I had to miss the last several songs of his (long) set which clocked in at a solid **** performance. After these two days, festivals have taken a back seat in priority for me. July Kaiser Chiefs/U2 at Croke park in Dublin (****) Got there around midway through the Kaiser Chiefs performance which was quite simply awesome. I would give them **** which I think it pretty high for an opening act, especially one having to perform in broad daylight. Definitely got the crowd going. U2 was amazing for a few reasons. The stage itself is pretty incredible. And seeing U2 in Dublin is something that should just be experienced. That said, it was still a pretty mundane set that seemed overly polished, but still ****. Eagles at MEN in Manchester (***1/2) Didn't expect to be going to this one and was pretty jazzed about going. As expected, the Eagles put on a polished show that reflected well their extensive catalogue of hits. Formulaic in spots, but still a rare thrill to see some true legends in concert. I do worry about Joe Walsh though, as it does seem as though he is permanently brain damaged at this point. August Glasvegas/U2 at Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales (**1/2) Actually arrived at the stadium too late to see the opener due to traffic delays and parking difficulties. Wasn't too disappointed as I only knew a couple songs from them. I chose to go to this show for a couple reasons. First, it was the closer on the European leg and I was hoping for some surprises. More importantly, I was able to get decent seats for this show (we had floor for Dublin), albeit behind the stage. However I wasn't too worried as the stage is a 360 view (it is called the U2 260 tour after all) which we didn't really get a chance to experience in Dublin as due to the stadium there they only utilized 3 sides. Well it turned out to be a bad decision. In fact, reflecting upon the show, I've just downgraded my rating from 3 to 2.5 stars. Only about 1 in 4 songs had any attention directed toward our end of the staging and only 2 songs in the whole set had any sort of presence throughout the song. In addition they played the exact same set as Dublin, which you would hope would have at least some changes. Apparently U2 are bringing the tour back over again in 2010. I won't be going. September Kaiser Chiefs at Villa Marina in Douglas, IOM (****1/2) Rare chance to see a fairly decent name in a small veneue (<2000 seats). Also was lucky and got ahold of VIP passes which included an after-party with the band. All in all an amazing show. The intimacy of the venue combined with the incredible high energy of the band made it my show of the year. Including some neat tricks such as singing one of the songs from the back of the hall (which was about 10 ft. from me) was just icing on the cake. I would not turn down the chance to see this highly entertaining band again. October Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam at Gaity Theatre in Douglas, IOM (****1/2) Davy is a local legend and, if there is justice, may someday become a worldwide one. I first saw Back Door Slam open for the Who 2 years ago here in IOM. Back then it was Davy performing with 3 other local lads, but it was immediately clear that he was the star with his amazing guitar skills and great sense of rock 'n blues. Not long after Davy traveled to the US to promote his first album, along the way opening for the likes of Chickenfoot and Peter Frampton, who has also produced his most recent album. He also traded in his old bandmates for 3 Seattle musicians and his name has been promoted to the marquee. This was Davy's first trip back to IOM in a couple years and I was again fortunate enough to score VIP passes (which included box seats, and I'm talking REAL box seats, up in the air about 10 ft from the stage) and the aforementioned after party. Well, the concert was simply amazing. Davy is a quality musician and the only thing keeping this from being my top concert of the year and a 5 star rating was the sound engineer's choice to keep the vocals turned down so low. So that is my year in concerts (so far). I still have one more weekend scheduled to see Eddie Izzard in Manchester and Green Day in Liverpool over Halloween weekend and I may follow-up with a report on those as well. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
2:04 pm	Amusing (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, July 30th, 2009
8:40 am	Jealousy Hime may not like this, but John Barrowman (of "Torchwood" fame) will be coming to the Isle of Man for a one night only one-man show tomorrow. No, I'm not going, but I would. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
4:57 pm	It couldn't happen again, could it? For Terrence: another Playboy Mansion event involving Annie Duke and a WSOP seat. From the email they sent me (not that I could find on the site) there is already some good news: "6 Poker Tickets Remain CardPlayer Magazine has a Special Offer for the Remaining Poker Seat Tickets Purchase a Poker Ticket and Receive Double the Starting Chips!! You'll Get $3000 in Chips rather than $1500. Offer good while supplies last (new purchases only). After completing your purchase at Aces-Angels.org, send an emailwith the name of your VIP Host and the Codeword "CardPlayer" to invitations@Aces-Angels.org to redeem." Wow that's so cool, if I registered after people who have already paid their money and really wanted to go, I get WAY more equity than they do! They claim over $50,000 in prizes, although $25,000 of that is for first place, which gets a 2010 main event seat as part of it. No mention as to what any of the other prizes are worth or even what they might be, which probably means they'll be along the line of the fabulous prize that Terrence won. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
12:40 pm	Not expected but not unwelcome I am: William Gibson The chief instigator of the "cyberpunk" wave of the 1980s, his razzle-dazzle futuristic intrigues were, for a while, the most imitated work in science fiction. Which science fiction writer are you? (Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
2:00 pm	Poker Quote Recently read Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" book chosen at random from a bookstore shelf and really enjoyed it. Mentioned it to a colleague at work and was loaned a selection of his books, one of which I started reading last night. Very early on, I came across the following poker-related quote, which I rather enjoy. "God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of his own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players [i.e., everybody], to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time." ~Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Good Omens, 1991 (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, February 2nd, 2009
1:07 pm	My own Meme Let's see if this one takes off. One of the things I do as part of my job is open accounts at various online poker rooms. I've realized recently that I don't always cash out of those rooms and have funds sitting at various sites (currently 7-8). It got me thinking about the number of sites where I actually have an account, whether active or not. Following is my list; 1. PokerStars 2. Bodog 3. FullTilt 4. Cake 5. Mansion 6. PaddyPower 7. DuskTilDawn (DTDPoker) 8. Virgin 9. Ladbrokes 10. Betfriends (moved from Nextpoker) 11. Titan 12. Pokerworld 13. Doyles Room 14. Party 15. GamesGrid 16. Empire 17. CDPoker 18. Everest 19. Hollywood Poker 20. PokerRoom 21. Ultimate Bet 22. Absolute 23. Paradise 24. Pacific Poker (888) 25. Golden Tiger 26. Platinum Poker (I believe now defunct) 27. JetSetPoker (now defunct) 28. Duplicate POker (now defunct) 29. Fleet Street Games (now defunct) I'm almost certain to have missed one or two, but that's pretty close. Anyone else? Current Mood: amused (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
10:29 am	Oktoberfest! I'm am going this year (in Munich). You may all envy me now (especially the ADBs). I already knew this but perhaps some don't; Oktoberfest actually starts in September. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
4:21 pm	Conclusions from tourney question Previously I posted "The following situation comes up: Blinds are 1500-3000. UTG makes it 7000. I don't see his raise (which may or may not be material to the ruling) and say "8500". That's it, I don't say raise, I don't say more, just "8500". What is the correct ruling?" Most of you (correctly) stated that it should have just been a call. The TD ruled that it was a min raise since I "had an intention to raise". More amusingly, he stated "I've worked at the EPT and this is how they do it there". There were about 5 PSers at the table when he said this. I put in my forced minraise, my opponent pushed in when it was folded back to him and I folded. In case you were wondering, I had 88. He told me later that he had AKs. Also, I was chip leader at the time (~55K) and he had about 40K. I wound up finishing 4th and he bubbled in 6th. Bwana won it. There is a real (non) amusing trend here and in the UK in general when faced with a decision a player will say "Oh, go on then". Interestingly, this phrase can mean any of call, raise or fold! Although there is the potential for angle shooting, it's common enough that only the non-Europeans seem to have any sort of problem with it, and it's usually just dealt with by waiting to see what action the player actually takes. I would guess that the majority of American players (and TDs) would consider it a check or call, but perhaps I'm mistaken. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, December 5th, 2008
3:32 pm	What's the ruling? Played in a (live) tournament on Sunday. The place we have here on the island does not have the best tournament rules interpretation (for example, when moving players they take the smallest stack, which is horrible). The following situation comes up: Blinds are 1500-3000. UTG makes it 7000. I don't see his raise (which may or may not be material to the ruling) and say "8500". That's it, I don't say raise, I don't say more, just "8500". What is the correct ruling? (8 Comments |Comment on this)
12:31 pm	Writer's Block: Gone but Not Forgotten Many beloved television shows are no longer with us, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Six Feet Under, and Mystery Science Theater 3000. What defunct television show do you miss the most? View 503 Answers Firefly (Comment on this)
Friday, October 17th, 2008
3:15 pm	VP question Video poker, not Vice President. The only casino on the island has now added standard video poker machines. The pay table on JOB is 8/5. At 20p per coin in (£1 max bet) the progressive is over £1100 (5500 coins). Does this make the machines +ev? THere is absolutely no loyalty program and the drinks are not free. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, October 5th, 2008
12:09 pm	American Politics I'm not one of those who thinks Obama is amazing. But it's quotes like these that make me wonder wtf the Republican Party is thinking: "Our opponent though is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough that he is palling around with terrorists who would target their own country," Palin said of Obama, also calling him an embarrassment. Palin cited a New York Times story on Saturday that examined Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers, a former member of the Vietnam War-era militant Weather Underground organisation who is now a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The Times concluded they were not close. Seriously? Seriously?!?!? Reminds me of that Family Guy episode where Lois gets elected simply by responding to every question with "9/11". (14 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, September 29th, 2008
10:18 am	I think this tournament is still going on Went with a bunch of blokes from work on a lads weekend to Blackpool over the past few days. Translation to American: A bunch of dudes from work and I went to go party, like totally. First night was pretty standard issues stuff. Drinks, drinks and more drinks. Got back to the "hotel" about 2AM and crashed. A couple of the guys had split off and gone to the casino to play some poker, including my roommate. The next morning he tells me there is a £100 comp starting at 1400, so the plan is to have a nosh, give it a go, and then a night of getting pissed. Translation to American: There's a $200 tournament starting at 2PM, so the 411 is to chow down, r00l the donkament and then party, yo. Get there and find out that it really starts at 3. OK, whatever. Did notice a couple of absolutely awesome eateries right next to the casino. Buyin was £100 + £10. Starting stack was 15,000, beginning blinds were 25-50 with 45 minute levels first 2, followed by 40 minute levels for the rest of the tournament. Yeah, let that sink in. Structure for the tournament: 25/50, 50/100, 100/200, 150/300, 200/400, 300/600, 400/800, 500/1000, 600/1200, 800/1600, 1K/2K, 1500/3K, 2K/4K, 3K/6K, 4K/8K, 5K/10K, 6K/12K. Insanely slow. Even with very brief breaks, I played over 13 hours. Certainly fantastic value for the juice involved. First few levels I am completely card dead. Even without getting any hands, I still have 12.5K at the second break. Back from the break, button raises to 1200 and I jam from the BB with ATs. He calls 4800 more with A9o and my hand holds up. I drop down a bit and manage to get the table maniac to stick all his chips in on a Q high board with 44 when I have KQs. Nothing bad happens and now I have about 25K. Keep chipping up and have about 40K when this hand happens; I'm in the cutoff and look down at a Q. I raise to 2400 (blinds are 400/800 now) and BB calls. Flop is 2s 2d 4d. Check-check. Turn is 9d. He bets 5K. I look back and see that my other card is 3s, but my Q is the Qd. I call, pretty certain my Q is good if the diamond hits, but also pretty certain I can push this guy off the hand on most rivers. River is 4c. He thinks a long while and checks. I wait about 15 seconds and push in. He agonizes about 30 seconds and mucks, I show. Guy is still talking about this hand when the break comes 15 minutes later. We come back from break and the BB is away from table so her hand is dead, and it's folded to me on the button. I look down at KK and raise to 3K. Guy makes is 10K and I jam. He instacalls with QQ and it's no good, up to 100K now. I continue chipping up and people keep coming over the top when I have real hands and laying down when I'm bluffing. Get to the final table as one of the three chip leaders with 300K (average stacks is ~165K) and blinds at 5K/10K. I bust two people to get my stack up to 450K. Chop a pot with J7 vs 67 on a T73r board when turn and river come 3-3 (would have taken me to about 600K with 7 left). Lose a hand with TT vs AA to drop down to around 200K. Blinds are 6K-12K when the following happens; I pick up KcKs in cutoff and raise to 35K. SB (tight older woman who I'd been friendly with at previous table) flat calls and BB folds. Flop comes Jxxr. She checks, I jam for ~160K, she says "I think you have aces, but I'm tired and I just want to go home". She calls with AQo, turn Q, river A and I bust out 14+ hours after the tournament start for £390. Overall play in the tournament was pretty weak. Sadly the structure did not include antes, so steals weren't as profitable as they could be. Overall it's a cheap flight from IOM and rooms are cheap, so for a quick weekend poker getaway, it's a nice change. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, September 12th, 2008
4:41 pm	Free money? So I noticed that Intrade has the contract for Biden being dropped as VP at 8ish. However I can bet on Biden being dropped over at PaddyPower and get 33-1. Doesn't this mean I can sell contracts and put the money on over at Paddy for a freeroll? Or am I missing something? (1 Comment |Comment on this)
12:55 pm	Not something I normally do but... A friend of mine has opened up a new fantasy sports site. I have no idea if the site is any good (he assures me it is, but I think he's rather biased) but I do know he is a good guy and the site certainly looks decent. Not being much of a player of fantasy sports, I can't really judge. Anyway, if any of you are interested, you can check it out at Fantazzle.com (Comment on this)
Monday, September 1st, 2008
1:13 pm	Bubblicious no more Played the Sunday Brawl on FT last night. Cashed in 34th for slightly under $1k (over $1k including my 3 bounties). Nice to make a decent run, but as always when I go deep, I'm satisified with nothing else but winning. Went out with QQ v AKo when the 4-flush got there. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
10:49 am	Thoughts on the "November 9" Noticed in the coverage of the Legends of Poker tournament that only 2 of the 9 players from the WSOP Main Event final table are playing. It begs the question from a strategic (and perhaps sponsorship) standpoint: Wouldn't it make sense for them to play as many big buyin tourneys as they can prior to the resumption of the final table to get more experience, or would it hurt from a scouting aspect? Another friend pointed out that due to a huge potential tax bill, they would also be playing at a discount, being able to deduct entries. Thoughts? (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, August 18th, 2008
5:28 pm	Bubblicious Played in the $120+9 FTOPs event last night. 5700+ runners, 558 paid. I have a slightly larger than average stack (~21K) UTG (~23K) raises the 1K-2K blinds to 5500. I have AKo in the BB and jam, called by KK and IGHN. Out 560th. Folding seems wrong. Stop and go seems faintly plausible, but still wrong. Thoughts? (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
12:25 pm	BARGE arrival I will be arriving on Saturday July 26 sometime early afternoon. Anyone who wants to get together pre-BARGE, let me know and I'll send you my vegas cell phone number (which will not be active until I actually land). I'm staying at Binion's. Email is my lj name @gmail.com (3 Comments |Comment on this)