M. Ryan Watkins

I leave for Vegas in about 24 hours and I am pumped. I’ve played a lot of poker recently (I’ve actually had a pretty clean record and finally got my first victory - I have five second places, that pay double the buy-in, at Greg’s). My skills feel sharp, my wallet is good and everything is ready to go.

I’ll see if I can post while I’m out there, but my phone isn’t great with WordPress, so we’ll have to see. Regardless, have a good weekend and wish me luck!

Technorati Tags: las vegas

The problem with turning your life into a fictional narrative isn’t the practice, it’s the inspiration. You may have a complete understanding of the devices used in story-telling, but if what inspires you is your boredom, you’ll never produce anything worth reading - especially if your repackaged boredom is retold with a slight fictional twist (like the protagonist ending up with the girl instead of alone in his parents’ spare bedroom).

Everyone has teenage angst (though, most of us grow out of it). Everyone is bored to death of their life and personal struggles. No one cares that the pretty girls don’t like you - they don’t like the rest of us either. Why not try changing it instead of writing about it?

I leave for Las Vegas in exactly six days. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be ditching work and playing slots for 72 hours in an air conditioned oasis.

Dustin sent me a link last night, showing me what the temperature is going to be while we’re out there. If you didn’t click the link, let me spoil it for you… the low is slated to be 81, and the high will register somewhere over triple digits each day we’re there. We’ve had a few hot days in Atlanta this summer, but I don’t think it will compare to the constant burning sensation my face will suffer in the Nevada desert.

It’s going to be a busy week. I have somewhere in the neighborhood of four articles to write over the next couple of days for RallyWorld (more info on my contributions to the magazine later) and my nine to five is expecting a complete week’s worth of work. I spent quite a bit of time writing over the weekend, but the Olympics were hard to overlook.

If you’ve been to Vegas or currently live out there, hit me up and let me know the hot spots and how to avoid looking like an out of place tourist.

Technorati Tags: las vegas, circus circus, olympics, rally world

I didn’t wear my man-necklace to work today - it’s on the bathroom counter next to the sink.

Lame.

Technorati Tags: necklace, work

And by crash, I mean that I ran into the back of someone who was stopped at about 10mph. Joy. I have decent insurance, except I don’t have comprehensive coverage, meaning that my front bumper and hood work will have to come out of my pocket. Joy.

The car still drives fine, engine seemed to be OK after the collision, but I’ll need to have it checked out. If it’s as much as I fear it’s going to be to fix it, I think travelling will be put on hold for another few months.

Technorati Tags: wreck, crash, honda, travel

Alissa and I are resolved to travel this winter. It’s been a while since I’ve spent any time out of the country, and Alissa has never traveled internationally. We have two very solid options:

• We’ve made new acquaintances who have invited us to their wedding - in India. A completely traditional wedding as intricate as a ceremony in India would be an amazing experience, and to my knowledge, lodging for the better part of the trip would be handled. Still, tickets to India are not cheap, and we’d have to borrow a hefty sum to afford it. An added incentive are the people who would be in India at the same time, my cousin Rebecca and some friends from high school are planning on celebrating Nick’s (a guy I played in a band with in Anderson) wedding there at the same time! I know India is a massive country, but over the course of 10 days, we could see both old and new friends.

• Dustin and Eva are moving to the Netherlands in September. We’d like to visit them in February, when tickets are cheap and tourism is down. Again, lodging would be provided. Flying to Amsterdam is a lot cheaper than flying to India and the dollar should be in a stronger position during non-peak months. Going to Amsterdam (and then to Berlin) would allow us plenty of time to save money for the trip (the Indian wedding is in December). I’m a big proponent of buying what you can afford and not putting things on credit, so this option is certainly the better of the financial choices. Plus, it’s Amsterdam… I’d have a lot of fun there, I’m sure.

Your thoughts would be most appreciated. We’re leaning more towards the European trip only because it’s more practical (traveling to Europe isn’t actually practical, just more so than traveling to India). I think, however, that the exotic nature of a trip starting in Bangalore is too good not to seriously consider.

I’m also taking donations, should you feel compelled to help fund our adventure.

Technorati Tags: bangalore, amsterdam, berlin, travel, alissa

Over the weekend, we had a pretty massive storm roll through Atlanta. In the process, my cable was knocked out for three days! Side note: I love how one of the selling points of cable is its stability in inclement weather - that’s not the case where I live.

While the power and TV were non-functional, I snapped some video with my cell of the storm over downtown.

Technorati Tags: atlanta, storm, lightning

So apparently my graphics card is the culprit. I’ll see about replacing it and give an update after I know more.

Over the weekend, my home computer died. I looked into the problem and it appears that a capacitor on the motherboard popped. I’m not entirely sure how it happened, though heat and dust are the most likely culprits. You can’t leave a poorly cooled system on for months at a time without the possibility of over-heating or shorting out something.

I’ll assume this has nothing to do with my recent installation of Ubuntu…

I used to clean (quite regularly) the inside of the case and remove any dust that collected. I also had cans of condensed air laying around, ever-ready for use in a moment’s notice. I can’t tell you the last time I cleaned off the board or turned it off for any length of time, either.

So, I’m looking at building the replacement in the near future. Alissa and I have her old Dell that we can use in the meantime, but I’ll need to put something together soon. I’ve already created a few wishlists on NewEgg.

At the moment, I’m trying to figure out if I want to go Micro-ATX or not. The compact case and portability are certainly pluses, and I’ve never used more than two PCI slots, anway.

Regardless, I’m looking to put together a top-of-the-line machine for around 500 bucks - not including HDDs or a soundcard - I’m good in those departments.

I wish this hadn’t happened three weeks before my Vegas trip, damn.

Technorati Tags: ubuntu, newegg, vegas, wishlists

I appreciate how Bush is trying to repair his legacy before he leaves office next January. Maybe he’s finally reflected on the impact he’s had on the world since 2000, and maybe he doesn’t like what he’s sees. Either way, he’s got quite a bit of work ahead of him if he plans on making any difference.

Today, the AP broke news that Nouri al-Maliki and the Bush administration have agreed on a ‘general time horizon’ for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq. Bush, who famously insisted that we must ’stay the course’ in Iraq, appears to have caved under the weight of international pressure - or pressure from Maliki - or pressure from us.

Apparently, this new agreement is made on the condition that reducing our presence in Iraq would not be forced and our commanders on the ground would be able to continue missions should such requirements arise.

Convictions obviously don’t matter in your final year as Chief Executive - but in this case, that really isn’t a bad thing. I think that’s why we’re sending an envoy to an E.U. meeting with Iran, as well - which also isn’t a bad thing.

Maybe we can stop borrowing Chinese money and repair some of the damage that the worst administration in the last 100 years has caused. Maybe, Bush will change his mind about other things, like gay marriage, renewable energy (wait, didn’t he do that already?) and abortion.

Regardless, a changing of the guard is only a few months away, and a lot of these things will happen anyway once the Big ‘O’ takes office.

By the way, go donate some money to the Obama campaign if you have a few bucks to spare.

Technorati Tags: george bush, nouri al-maliki, iraq, troop reductions, general time horizon