An Object Lesson in Quitting While You're Ahead

Tonight I went to the horse races at Grand River Raceway with Patrick and Lindsay to bet on the ponies. Unlike the lucky streak in betting I've enjoyed the last couple weeks, this night I was a total loser. Over 7 races I lost a combined $14. Ah, the exactors just weren't paying off tonight. But other than that, a good time was had. Other observations made:

• If you go to the same betting window, eventually the lady will start mocking you for losing.

• The "sixth race cheerleaders" were a huge disappointment. Not at all what I was hoping they'd be. There should be some sort of law against getting my hopes up like that.

• I'm completely in love with the girl who was doing the greeting at the front door. Old fashioned costume... that was hot.
  

• If I had bet more money, I would have won. Why? Because it makes sense... perfectly logical sense.

To wrap it up, it's clear that I was just getting my losing out of the way so I can sucessfully defend my poker title at the TPTP on Sunday. Yeah, that's the ticket.

There's Nothing Sore About Winning

Not that this is news... it actually happened last week... but I sure like to take the opprotunity to let everyone know of a good golf outing, because it doesn't happen often. Umm.... I mean.... I'M AWESOME! 

I've Got An Itch That Needs To Be Scratched

I just had a great long weekend, which was spent up at my friends Nory and Robin's cottage near Washago. It's a pretty nice cottage too, I must say. It's on the Black River (which actually kinda lives up to it's name... it's quite deep and dark). Anyway, I had a good time maxin' relaxin', and doing some catchup with folks I hadn't seen in a while, and with folks I had never met. I even got to see the outside of Casino Rama. I didn't go in though, as I didn't want to push my luck that I've been having the past week with regards to gambling.

But of course, all silver linings must have a cloud, and mine was the amount of mosquito bites I got over the course of the weekend. It seems they were having some sort of mosquito convention in town or something. I haven't been bitten this much (or at all for that matter) in years. So, I went today and picked up some Calamine Lotion. Now I have pink dots on my arms and legs. It's quite cool, I think I'll start a fashion trend.

You Gotta Know When To Hold'em, Know When To Fold'em - Part 2

Tonight was the first game of "real" poker played at Dan's on his new poker table. The stakes were $10 with a $5 buy-in option for an hour and a half. I would like to thank Dan, Chris, Rudy, and Pat for their generous donations to the "Matt's wallet needs to be a little fatter" fund. Good times were had by all, especially me. The final standings:

1st - Matt
2nd - Dan
3rd - Chris
4th - Rudy
5th - Pat

This sure wasn't the last game played, so if you missed this week be sure to book off the time for the next game. And that time will be... I don't know yet. Ask Dan.

New Game Systems

So, I'm keeping a watch on the unveiling of the three new gaming systems that'll be released in the next year: X-Box 360, Playstation 3, and the Nintendo Revolution. Of particular note, I like that you will be able to download old Nintendo games (from the N64, SNES, and the NES) onto the Revolution. But, it basically comes down to this... I must have them all.

You Gotta Know When To Hold'em, Know When To Fold'em

So, on Saturday, after visiting the Elora Gorge with my school-time roommates Matt and Jen, we decided to stop in at the new Grand River Raceway. It's a typical Ontario harness racing track with a slots area. There was no racing going on on Saturday afternoon, so we decided to check out the slots. For fun, I put $20 in a quarter slot machine, and played until it was through. The only problem is that with about $2.00 left in my $20, I hit a row of 7's, and won $100. At which point, I cashed out and went to the cashier to collect my winnings, laughing at all the regular addicts there along the way.... ok, I didn't laugh at them... I played it cool... well, I didn't play it cool either, as I walked all shifty eyed from the machine to the cashier protecting my winnings. And then we went to get Slurpees. Seriously, what else would you do with $100?

The Only Thing That'll Get Those Bugs Off Is A Little Elbow Grease

Just because I knew you couldn't wait for another picture of my new Jeep, here you go. It was a great day in Bright's Grove last Saturday, and I took the opprotunity to wash the Matmobile before I took the hard top off. Now, thanks to the summer water restrictions in Waterloo, I'll probably have to do most of my washing in the Grove, unless I do it on Wednesdays between 7-10am and 7-10pm. Stupid water shortage... Build a pipeline to Lake Erie already! 

Once Again, The Amazing Race Disappoints

There was never more deserving winners that didn't win than Rob and Amber in last nights Amazing Race. The previous edition Amazing Race ended with the least deserving finalists winning, too. I'm not saying that Uchenna and Joyce were the least deserving of the three finalist... they were second most deserving, but a far second to Rob and Amber. It's those stupid "wait for something to open, so we can bunch the teams back up artificially" that really bother me and make it less of a race around the world and more of a race from the final airport to the finish line. Although, it was impressive to see Uchenna and Joyce win with no money in the last leg. But still, no one has ever played the Amazing Race as agressively and creatively than Boston Rob. I was thoroughly entertained by him this season. During the first few episode, I was completely rooting against him and Amber, but soon realized that they were by far the best team.

Oh well, I'll feel better if we get all the answers in the last few episodes of Lost.

...whaddaya mean "season finale cliffhanger"?

Insects - Your Days Are Numbered

Time to tell you all of another feature of the TJ... It's bug armageddon. Let's be honest; The TJ isn't the most aerodynamic vehicle in the world. In fact, the windsheild pretty much is almost perpendicular to the road, which means, every single bug that gets in my path doesn't stand a chance. MWAHAHAHAHA or ewwww.

Hello! I said a place to hold MY drink!

So, I think by far the best feature I've discovered with my new car is that the cup holder will hold a Slurpee cup. That's a must for any automobile.

Don't Panic

I went to see "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" this weekend when I was in the O.S. to visit Randy and Megan. Let me tell you, this was the best movie that I've seen in a long time. Now, I have never read the book, and I knew absolutely nothing about the plot, which I think helped my enjoyment of the movie. I won't give anything away to those who haven't seen it, so what I'll say is that it was simply and purely entertaining. I sat there for 2 hours and didn't even think of the time going by. Well worth the trip to the theatre... maybe two. Until next time...

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Why Must It Be So Cold?

All I want to do is wear shorts. Is that so much to ask? And I don't want to turn on the heat again in my apartment.