100th post EXXXTRAVAGANZA!!!!

That's right, ladies and gentlemen... we have reached our 100th post.

ACT I: Hopes and Dreams

It's been about 9 months since this blog first appeared in the 'sphere (as we blognoscenti are wont to refer to the blogosphere), and it's undergone a few revisions and trivializations since then. My initial purpose was to write up a trip report for last spring's trip to San Francisco; that, however, was predicated on the belief that I would be attending the Electronic Entertainment Expo, otherwise known as E3. (you shouldn't lie to your friends like that... you know who you are)

Since then, I've masqueraded as a site offering pointless minutiae of my daily life, and by turns, a place to read some thoughtful analysis of political or technology news. Mostly, though, it's pointless minutiae, and it remains my goal over the next 100 posts to eliminate the boring and replace it with the thoughtful and/or creative. (I have a couple of good ideas in the works, both of which I think all four of my readers will enjoy.)

The appearance of the site has been changed a couple of times in pursuit of that perfect balance between elegance and readability; the latest change was today, in honor of our first milestone, and any comments on the latest redesign are welcome. My goal for next time is to invent my own stylesheet instead of using the pre-brewed templates here on blogger.

I believe that the measure of a blog is not its frequency, but its content. This is why I chose to make a big exxxtravaganza out of my 100th post, instead of a 1-year anniversary or something, because being around for a year isn't anything special. All it proves is that you managed to not die or get locked up, and post at least twice. On the flip side, 11 posts a month indicates true commitment to myself, my faithful readers, and those who would jeer the 'sphere. I will not make any "daily post" promises or anything like that, because posting a link with a snide sentence at the end isn't much of a post, and really just clogs up the internet. So keep checking back for random updates, and stop hassling me about not updating my blog (you still know who you are).

That's where I want to go in the next 100 posts or so. May they find us all in good health and good spirits, with the wind at our backs and the sun on our faces.

::: applause, cheers :::

ACT II: Lucky Day

(my PokerStars handle is 'hakatak,' just fyi)

PokerStars Game #3982295131: Tournament #19788312, Hold'em No Limit - Level V (75/150) - 2006/02/15 - 16:26:59 (ET)
Table '19788312 1' Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: hakatak (2745 in chips)
Seat 2: Hayseed1979 (775 in chips)
Seat 3: wildkaz (1585 in chips)
Seat 4: slsdesign (1315 in chips)
Seat 5: Moonburn (345 in chips)
Seat 6: golbetkey (5500 in chips)
Seat 7: Nati-Natural (1235 in chips)
hakatak: posts small blind 75
Hayseed1979: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hakatak [Ah Js]
wildkaz: calls 150
slsdesign: folds
Moonburn: folds
golbetkey: raises 300 to 450
Nati-Natural: folds
hakatak: calls 375
Hayseed1979: folds
wildkaz: folds
*** FLOP *** [Th Jh Kh]
hakatak: checks
golbetkey: bets 900
hakatak: raises 1395 to 2295 and is all-in
golbetkey: calls 1395
*** TURN *** [Th Jh Kh] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [Th Jh Kh 6d] [Qh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
hakatak: shows [Ah Js] (a Royal Flush)
golbetkey: shows [Kd Ks] (three of a kind, Kings)
hakatak said, "AWESOME"
hakatak collected 5790 from pot

::: more cheers, applause :::

ACT III: The Acceptance Speech

Nobody likes a glory hog, so I'll keep this short.

"When you're in a town like this all covered with smoke, you forget that there's a world outside. Nothing amazing happens here. And you get used to that, used to a world where everything is ordinary. Every day we spend here is like a whole lifetime of dying slowly. But now Haruko is here. That's how I know there really is a world outside." - Naota Nandaba

Thanks to modern communications, I am able to partially lift the veil of smoke on a daily basis. This space is (and shall remain) dedicated to everyone that keeps me from imploding under the crushing weight of the ordinary.

Here's to many 100s more....
(^_^) dusty