tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-127674962024-02-28T06:40:55.191-08:00Strickly BloggingViews and ramblings from the mind of Michael Stricklen. Currently Michael is a development director for mobile device management at a major software vendor.Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-32437463372622735112009-03-23T07:23:00.000-07:002009-03-23T07:25:09.565-07:00Welcome to the Poker ExpressHere's a hand that demonstrates why tournament poker is such a roller coaster. I'm the d0nk3yk0ng on Full Tilt, and this hand went down during a $3.30 KO multi-table tournament this past weekend:<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre-wrap; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; ">Free hand converter brought to you by <a href="'http://www.cardrunners.com'">CardRunners</a><br /><br />Seat 1: mox393 ($8,883) (38% / 8% / 1/ 16)<br />Seat 2: <b>d0nk3yk0ng</b> ($5,575) (6% / 6% / 0/ 16)<br />Seat 3: vacationgirl ($478) (21% / 14% / 1/ 11)<br />Seat 4: dewkisses2001 ($8,760) (20% / 0% / 0/ 5)<br />Seat 5: alex-p-68 ($12,514) - <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/images/db.gif" /> (21% / 11% / 2/ 16)<br />Seat 6: ninefinger9 ($5,326) - <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/images/sb.gif" /> (13% / 13% / 0/ 16)<br />Seat 7: joey9966 ($9,431) - <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/images/bb.gif" /> (17% / 6% / 1/ 16)<br />Seat 8: corvino77 ($15,063) (23% / 23% / 0/ 16)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:'3';color:'#000000';"><b>PRE-FLOP:</b></span><br /><br />ninefinger9 <span style="color:'#272BA6';">posts small blind $150</span><br />joey9966 <span style="color:'#272BA6';">posts BIG blind $300</span><br /><b>Dealt To: d0nk3yk0ng</b><br /><img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/hk.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/dk.gif" /><br /><br /><span style="color:'#B93238';">CALL corvino77</span> ($300)<br /><span style="color:'#000000';">FOLD mox393</span><br /><span style="color:'#272BA6';">RAISE <b>d0nk3yk0ng</b></span> ($900)<br /><span style="color:'#B93238';">CALL vacationgirl</span> ($453)<br /><span style="color:'#000000';">FOLD dewkisses2001</span><br /><span style="color:'#000000';">FOLD alex-p-68</span><br /><span style="color:'#000000';">FOLD ninefinger9</span><br /><span style="color:'#000000';">FOLD joey9966</span><br /><span style="color:'#000000';">FOLD corvino77</span><br /><span style="color:'#000000';">UNCALLED <b>d0nk3yk0ng</b></span> ($447)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:'3';color:'#000000';"><b>FLOP:</b></span><br /><br /><b>Pot:</b> $1656<br /><img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/c10.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/ck.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/d1.gif" /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:'3';color:'#000000';"><b>TURN:</b></span><br /><br /><b>Pot:</b> $1656<br /><img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/c10.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/ck.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/d1.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/images/hhtools/spacer_white.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/sk.gif" /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:'3';color:'#000000';"><b>RIVER:</b></span><br /><br /><b>Pot:</b> $1656<br /><img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/c10.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/ck.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/d1.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/sk.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/images/hhtools/spacer_white.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/s1.gif" /> <br /><br /><span style="color:'#000000';">ANTE mox393</span> ($25)<br /><span style="color:'#000000';">ANTE <b>d0nk3yk0ng</b></span> ($25)<br /><span style="color:'#000000';">ANTE vacationgirl</span> ($25)<br /><span style="color:'#000000';">ANTE dewkisses2001</span> ($25)<br /><span style="color:'#000000';">ANTE alex-p-68</span> ($25)<br /><span style="color:'#000000';">ANTE ninefinger9</span> ($25)<br /><span style="color:'#000000';">ANTE joey9966</span> ($25)<br /><span style="color:'#000000';">ANTE corvino77</span> ($25)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:'3';color:'#000000';"><b>SHOWDOWN:</b></span><br /><span style="color:'#000000';"> <b>d0nk3yk0ng:</b></span><br /><img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/hk.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/dk.gif" /><br /><span style="color:'#000000';"> vacationgirl:</span><br /><img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/c1.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/h9.gif" /><br /><br /><span style="color:'#007F11';"><b>d0nk3yk0ng collected $1856 from main pot with four of a kind, Kings</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:'3';color:'#000000';"><b>SUMMARY:</b></span><br /><b>Total pot:</b> $1 <b>Rake:</b> $0<br /><br /><b>Final Board:</b><br /><img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/c10.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/ck.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/d1.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/sk.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/s1.gif" /> <br /><br /> Seat 1: mox393 folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-25)<br /> Seat 2: d0nk3yk0ng showed [Kh Kd] and won 1,856 with four of a kind, Kings - Net Gain/Loss: ($1378)<br /> Seat 3: vacationgirl showed [Ac 9h] and lost with a full house, Aces full of Kings - Net Gain/Loss: ($-478)<br /><img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/c1.gif" /> <img src="http://www.cardrunners.com/members/hand_history/playingcards-images/h9.gif" /> <br /> Seat 4: dewkisses2001 folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-25)<br /> Seat 5: alex-p-68 button folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-25)<br /> Seat 6: ninefinger9 small blind folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-175)<br /> Seat 7: joey9966 big blind folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-325)<br /> Seat 8: corvino77 folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-325)<br /><br /><br />Free hand converter brought to you by <a href="'http://www.cardrunners.com'">CardRunners</a></span><br /></div>Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-21161757600088809272007-04-19T13:30:00.000-07:002007-04-19T13:35:01.083-07:00Dust the blog offTime to dust the blog off so I can log what transpires over the course of the next three weeks: CA World 2007, Microsoft Mobile and Embedded Developer's Conference 2007, and Wireless Enterprise Symposium 2007 (RIM, BlackBerry). The first two are in Las Vegas and the later in Orlando. I've got some of my top guys from Hyderabad coming over to do the shows in Las Vegas. I'm going to try to take lots of pics and keep a constant stream of content coming to the blog over the course of these three weeks. I know my sister over in Iraq is looking for something to read, and I'm going to keep this front in my mind while I'm taking in the upcoming experience. To anyone else who's reading, thanks for joining us!Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1139575619293188362006-02-10T04:34:00.000-08:002006-02-10T04:46:59.313-08:00Who Knows?<blockquote></blockquote>Not only is he unable to pronounce the word "nuclear" ... it seems our top administrator is unable to tell the truth about damn near anything.<br /><br />Exhibit 1: He didn't know Jack Abramoff (courtesy of the AP):<br />“The guy saw me in almost a dozen settings, and joked with me about a bunch of things, including details of my kids. Perhaps he has forgotten everything, who knows,” Abramoff wrote in an e-mail to Kim Eisler, national editor for the Washingtonian magazine.<br /><br />Exhibit 2: He didn't know about the plight of New Orleans for almost 2 days:<br />The earliest official report of a New Orleans levee breach came at 8:30 a.m., hours after Hurricane Katrina roared ashore. Word of the possible breach surfaced at the White House less than three hours later, at 11:13 a.m.<br /><br />One things certain, perhaps we're just as dumb as he is, Who Knows?Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1139545362953018492006-02-09T20:18:00.000-08:002006-02-09T20:22:42.963-08:00Mmmmm ... Spicy VenueLunch yesterday was at the Spicy Venue with Venkat and Srinivas. The food there is wonderful! They earn their name as well - I left sweating profusely! One of the most interesting aspects of lunch there is the choice of music. I was treated to a large selection of 80's classics such as Boston's "Hooked on a Feeling." I find it entertaining that on the other side of the globe you'll be listening to American 80's music in a local Indian restaurant. Next post I intend to put some of my pics up. <br /><br />I bid a fond adieu to Harrie from Funambol last night. He spent the day on the AP Tourism Office's tour of Hyderabad. His analysis you might ask? "An encounter." Well put Harrie. Godspeed on your trip back to Nurembourg, and I hope see you again soon! (Perhaps next time in Milano!)Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1139391910484225182006-02-08T01:37:00.000-08:002006-02-08T01:45:10.486-08:00Impeach BushI've consciously avoided straying into the political on my blog, but enough is enough. The more I think about where our country has been led, the less I can resist the urge to say something. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about oral sex. No one died, no one's civil liberties suffered, the nation didn't spend billions of dollars. As we all know, it recently came to light that the Bush administration called for domestic spying under the banner of "terrorist surveillance." I'm not sure what legal grounds they really think they can base this on (I know the argument about "war making powers" ... weak!) but it occurs to me that executive action in direct contravention of established US law is exactly why we have the mechanism of impeachment. Mr. Bush took an oath to uphold and defend the laws of this land. He's broken his oath. I don't think you can find an argument which would support his actions. It seems plain that congress is impotent to take any action on this issue. A sad commentary on the whole of our government now, but we elected them and until November we've got what we've got. We do have a recourse to address our grievances and that's in the state legislatures. Click the ribbon in the upper right corner if you're interested in learning more. <br /><br />This isn't about leftist/rightist, conservative/liberal, democrat/republican. It's about whether or not we are a nation of laws. Reflect on that thought a while ....<br /><br />-MichaelAlabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1139221281400858612006-02-06T02:08:00.000-08:002006-02-06T02:21:21.416-08:00Tough Weekend in IndiaWow, did this past weekend suck! It all started late Friday night when I was rudely awoken from my sleep with the sudden urge to worship the porcelin god. After a good couple of hours of praying on the bathroom floor, I crawled back to bed. It was at this point when I realized I was running a fever, and that another worship service might be in order. Given that I was a <strong>LONG</strong> way from home, I thought it wise to contact someone to let them know my plight. I called up my supervisor to get the ball rolling. When I called him I had one thought on my mind, when was the next flight back to Boston. He had different thoughts ... I'm sure he wanted to get the most value from this flight, and after all he's in his house with his family. He did a great job supporting me however ... people from the hotel and my company were calling to check on me no more than 20 minutes later. I had no interest in a trip to the hospital or a visit from a doctor. If it was a stomach bug, it would pass. The next day (Saturday) I awoke to find the fever was still hanging around, but the nausea had passed. Good thing I brought the Advil. I started eating those and they really kept the fever (and headaches) in check. By Sunday morning I was rid of the fever, but I started having chest pains! Let's see: Nausea, fever/chills, chest pains ... umm, can you say symptoms of a heart attack!!! That's right, now I'm freaking myself out thinking I might have had a heart attack, and I'm 9,000 miles from home. I finally decided the proper course of action was to take a visit to the hospital, which I did today. This is where the story turns: ECG, vitals, everything else - normal. Doctor's assessment: I'm having some anxiety issues from my issues at the beginning of the weekend. I love to hear the good news, but now I feel like a fucking hypochondriac. That's a tough pill for someone like myself to swallow. I don't go to doctors unless I'm really sick. This is twice in 3 months I've thought I'm having some cardiac related issues. I know I need to get in better shape, and I think that thought in my subconscience is shaping my self-assessment when it comes to issues such as these. I'm getting on the wagon and fixing the underlying issue here: I'm going to get in pisser shape. I'm also going to work on my meditation. I should've spent some time this weekend clearing my mind before I let it take control of me. Mostly, I need to get back home and make some turns on my snowboard. I've not had near enough of that thearpy this season, and I think it's really affecting me in other ways.Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1138873810709903332006-02-02T01:44:00.000-08:002006-02-02T01:50:10.723-08:00Back in HyderabadWell, I made it! I was surprised when I arrived to see that the Hyderabad airport had been remodeled a bit. The changes they had made were wonderful!! Last time I was here it took almost 2 hours to get my bags. This time it took less than 30 minutes to go from airplane seat to car seat and on my way to the hotel. Makes a difference after you've been flying for over 24 hours. The weather here is about as far from Boston as you can get. 90+F every day. The food is about as far from America as you can get as well. I'm trying to diet - this means cutting carbs and let me tell you, that's a real challenge in India. Rice is served (and I mean SERVED) with every meal. I've been good for the most part ... the exception being last night when I buckled and ordered the chicken fingers. They're just so good, yet so bad for me. I paid my pentence and did 15km on the exercise bike this morning. Then I had a breakfast that was almost 100% protein. Hopefully I'll be able to maintain my discipline tonight when it's dinner time.Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1138679798931527422006-01-30T19:50:00.000-08:002006-01-30T19:56:38.950-08:00There's mobile blogging, then there's ...How about posting a blog entry from the business class section of a 747-400?!?! I'm currently in Seat 5A on my way from Boston, MA to Hyderabad, India via Frankfurt, Germany. Boeing has built an inflight wireless network system that is absolutely killer! I was making VoIP calls earlier with my wife and my boss. The quality was surprisingly good! I've even got a power port here for my laptop!!! Amazing how far along we've come in the realm of air travel. Not quite sure how all these people made to my blog searching for "casino quality clay poker chips." I do remember looking for a nice set of those a while back ... guess I blogged it and Google did the rest! <br /><br />Anyways, as I stated earlier I'm headed back to India! I have to say I was sad to leave home this time :( I had a great weekend snowboarding, and after such a weekend I wasn't ready to put my home environment on the other side of the planet from me. However, this is only a 16 day trip and I'm sure it will go by quickly. The captain says we're going to land in 25 minutes. I need to get off, but I'll keep the blog up to date while I'm in India. Watch this space for some pics!Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1117720074423305772005-06-02T06:16:00.000-07:002005-06-02T06:47:54.430-07:00New England Diving ... Part 2 of 2Saturday was magnificent! The sun was blazing, and the air temp was a good 15 degrees better than it was on Friday. I was much happier to be headed to Cape Ann, and this time I brought my wife Rhonda to watch my bubbles. Set out on the river @ 11AM, and at 11:15 I had one of those "oh shit" moments. I had brought my wife, but left my mask at home on the table!!! For those of you who are reading this who don't dive let me explain. No mask = No diving. So back to the dock to allow my ignorant ass to run to Cape Ann divers for a mask. While I was there I got some info on where the bugs were along with a chart to help us find the spots. The first dive happened @ 1PM, and this time we were on the bugs! The vis was 7-10', not good but compared to Friday significantly better. Our first dive had us dropping to 60', and I found this to be a bit disconcerting. It kept getting darker and darker, and I couldn't see the surface or the bottom. If you've never been in a situation like this let me tell you, it's a bit stressful. One of the things diving teaches you is emotional control. Panic kills when you're underwater. Once on the bottom I saw the world I remembered ... full of life! Sea peaches, frilled anemones, tons of green sea urchins ... oh yeah, and lobstahs! It was cold and the current was bit stiff, but I was happy to be diving again. This dive yielded some keepers (a 3lb one as well!), and after 45 minutes we were back on the boat and loving life. Dive #2 of the day exposed me to my first dive emergency. We had lollygagged around on our surface interval and let high tide pass us by. We anchored right off Folly Point in 20' of water, and jumped in to find a strong outgoing current. Decending down the bow line I found that our boat was directly above a giant boulder. The true bottom was at least 40', but we had found the habitat for the lobsters. Cracks and shelfs were everywhere. Whereas on the previous dives I had to look long and hard for a bug this time I grabbed a keeper before my computer showed 2 minutes elapsed. Greg and I went on to pickup a good number of really nice ones, and everything seemed to be going swimmingly. We were getting low on air and I found myself wicked cold, so we decided to surface. That's when I noticed that Greg's BC inflator was leaking out a ton of air. Everytime he put a shot of air in his vest it would immediately leak out. He had just switched to a HP 100 ft^3 tank, and he hadn't adjusted his ballast properly. In layman's terms, he was an anchor. Try as he did to swim up to our safety stop, it wasn't happening. So we crawled along the bottom until we found a large rock which he climbed to 20'. We did 5 minutes on top of the rock for a safety stop then we made a swim for the surface. I'm still unsure of how he got above water without ditching his weight, but he made it! When we surfaced it was apparent how strong the current was. The boat was anchored (HARD) about 30' off the craggy coast. We found ourselves a good 100' out to sea, and being pulled ever farther. Try as we might to swim for the boat, we couldn't make any headway. We asked Greg's son Nick to pick us up. Nick couldn't weigh anchor, and Greg was getting ever more desperate as he struggled to stay on the surface. I asked Nick to tie the anchors off to a boat bumper and pick us up ... we'll deal with the anchors once we're both safely on board. Greg's desparation led him to start yelling at his son, and this led his son to gun the engine and completely entangle the prop in a line that was trailing off the stern. Now we are in some deep shit. The boat can't move, and we're going to have to swim for it. I fully inflated my BC and pulled up close to my dive buddy. After a concerted 10 minutes of swimming we were close enough for a line to be thrown to us. I don't think I've ever been so happy to have a rope in my hands. A few moments later, a very exhausted, very relieved pair of divers were on the boat. We got the prop untangled, and Greg did 2 bounce dives to unstick the anchors. All's well that ends well. Final count, 7 keepers (2 well over 2 lbs!). I live to dive another day. Rhonda took some pics of the bugs we cooked up at our apt. I'll post these here when I get back from the office today.Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1117718202131952602005-06-02T05:52:00.000-07:002005-06-02T06:51:16.353-07:00New England Diving Not for Wimps! Part 1 of 2Like all other blogs in existance, this one doesn't get the ongoing attention it deserves. Partially this is due to my schedule, but really I seldom find much to be blogworthy. Memorial Day weekend activities were blogworthy, and now I'm getting around to blogging them. Aqua Shack, the local dive shop, put me in touch with a gentleman looking for a fellow diving lobsterman. He and I setup a meeting time for Friday, and we were off in his 18' Glastron to pickup some ocean roaches. It's been a while since I had been underwater (and the first time I'd done any "spring" diving in New England.) I was a bit hesitant about going out, the previous four days had seen the worst nor'easter in nearly four decades. I knew vis was going to be poor, and checking the buoy data out of Gloucester harbor I could tell it was going to be C-O-L-D (46-ish degrees.) Friday morning was a gloomy, fifty-something degree day (hey, it's truly *New* England,) and this only served to dampen my spirit even more. In spite of that, I loaded my gear onboard, and we were off. Up the Annisquam River into the Atlantic Ocean right off the northwestern most point of Cape Ann. Our first site was just south of Lane's Cove, and after a backroll off the starboard gunwale I found myself in a brisk 48 degree aquatic environment. On the way down I realized that vis was worse than I expected ... I honestly couldn't see my hand at the end of my outstretched arm. If I was going to stay with my dive buddy, we were going to have to stay right on top of one another. With this vis, the only lobsters I'm going to get are the ones which walk up and pinch me in the ass. The first spot was my buddy's "lucky spot", but once on the bottom all I found was sand. For those of you unfamiliar with the habits of Homarus Americanus, let me tell you, they don't live in sand. These guys are only found in rocky caves, cracks, and crevises. So after a short 20 minutes of swimming around at 30' in 46 degree water I signalled that I was ready to surface, and Greg had no objections. Surfaced with 2000lbs still in the tank, and ready to find a spot which has a chance at producing some lobster. The second dive was better. We found a spot heavily populated with pots (a good sign!) between Plum Cove and Lane's Cove. This spot was all rock which helped the vis improve to about 5 feet. Didn't switch tanks during the server interval, but was doing well enough on my consumption to squeeze a 30 minute dive out of my remaining air. I hadn't warmed up during the surface interval, and about 20 minutes in I found that I had gotten hypothermic (when I stopped shivering I knew I was in trouble.) We surfaced from this second dive with no keepers. Lobsters 1, Divers 0 ... but there's always tomorrow.Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1115929511514938642005-05-12T13:15:00.000-07:002005-05-12T13:25:11.516-07:00Ten Minutes of Fame RemainingWell, after eating lunch at the conference it's clear that I've expended at least five minutes of my alloted fifteen minutes of fame. I was questioned by numerous other people about last night's show. "Did they make you sign a release?" "Were you not terrified?" "Did they really swing you around upside down?" "Are you going to change careers now?" Are all examples of what people were wondering after that wonderful shared experience. Thank you Bill G and thank you Blue Man Group, you definately put an exclamation point on this conference with last night's event. If anyone reads this blog and happened to take pics of me on-stage with BMG, please leave a comment with a means for me to get in touch with you. The female participant got a Polaroid of her participation, but unfortunately I didn't get anything (Man, that canvas would've been absolutely killer!) Anyways, for those of you wondering about my future in show biz, I don't think that's going to be in the cards. I like to ham it up as much (or more) than the next guy, but I've committed alot of energy to arrive at my current station in life, and I can't imagine running away and joining the circus now. As for MEDC, things are winding down in a hurry. One more session to attend, and I'm done. This week has been incredibly eye opening, and I'm certain that CA has gotten more than their money's worth from this conference. It's going to take a while to digest all the info I've been exposed to.Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1115919684883151902005-05-12T10:33:00.000-07:002005-05-12T10:41:24.893-07:00Poker at the MGM GrandThe recently reopened poker room at the MGM Grand is fantastic. Comfy seats, friendly dealers, prompt wait staff ... what more can you ask for? Oh yeah, plenty of fish!!! I sat at the $2-$4 Limit Hold `Em table from 10p-2a and throughly enjoyed myself. I was in seat 6, and all through the night I had the rocks to my left and the maniacs on my right. I couldn't ask for more. The texture of the game was consistenly passive/loose, and I found myself up as much as $200 during my session. The last 45 minutes I tried to push it and I only walked away only $80 up, but I had a great time and ended up with cabfare to my hotel and more. One of the guys I met at the MEDC attendee party was a big poker fan and he accompanied me over to the room, but we ended up on separate tables. Around midnight he came over and told me all he was getting was cold cards, but I couldn't say the same ... the very first hand I was dealt was AA. Caught another A on the flop, and that set the tone for the rest of the session. I just may have to go back there tonight for some more.Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1115918938599234072005-05-12T10:21:00.000-07:002005-05-12T10:28:58.603-07:00Blue Man Group pull me on stage!Microsoft sprung for Blue Man Group tickets for all the MEDC attendees. I was sitting on a row seat near the top of the "orchestra" section, and before the show started I was approached by a stage hand who inquired if I'd agree to participate in the show. Of course I accepted, and 45 minutes later a Blue Man wandered through the audience and pulled me out of my seat! I was brought up on stage and dressed in a white jumpsuit. The Blue Men then proceeded to turn me into a human paintbrush!!! If you've ever seen the show you know exactly what I'm talking about. Following this, I found myself in a black box with my head inside of a giant jello mold. One of the Blue Men ripped the jello off to reveal my head and the audience went wild!! I have to say it was a <strong>very</strong> unique experience, and I only wish my wife was there to share it with me. I met some guys before the show and one of them took pics while this went down. I'm hoping they turned out, and he will mail them to me. Check this spot for an update on that.Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1115850046332427092005-05-11T15:20:00.000-07:002005-05-11T15:20:47.286-07:00<p class="mobile-photo"><img width="320" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2366/1097/0/Image_19-746332.jpg"/></p><p class="mobile-post">Windows Mobile security panel discussion. Two of these guys were involved with the OMA DM implementation!</p>Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1115757902117873392005-05-10T13:33:00.000-07:002005-05-10T13:45:02.126-07:00Windows Mobile Enterprise FeaturesJust attended a session on enterprise features found on Windows Mobile 5.0, and I have to say it was excellent. This is perhaps a biased view as I found out Microsoft is shipping an OMA DM agent in 5.0!!! This is fantastic news! ActiveSync 4.0 supports new features including media synchronization function which uses the DRM from Windows Media. The new Office Mobile suite indeed looks sweet (no pun intended.) During lunch I spoke with an employee of a major pharmaceutical company, and to my surprise he indicated that they were rolling out a SFA application for their field organization. This is my first direct indication that enterprises are going to embrace the handheld device as a platform for enterprise applications. Wireless email is cool, but it can't be the application that carries these devices. I'm glad to find out that the market is reaching this level of maturity. Management and security are certain to be near and dear to the organizations that are going to be putting so much critical data on a device that is so easily misplaced.Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1115747768335176452005-05-10T10:56:00.000-07:002005-05-10T10:56:08.346-07:00<a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/img/102/5675/640/Image%2814%29.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/img/102/5675/320/Image%2814%29.jpg'></a><br />The fountain in the lobby of the Embassy Suites. Notice the lack of slot machines, and other annoyances that you endure while staying in a casino. The LV monorail is only 7 minutes away (by foot), and it only took me 40 minutes to make it all the way down the strip, change monorails, and hoof it to the Mandalay Bay Conference Center (which is gigantic on its own.) With the exception of a mild sinus infection I'd have to say this has been my best trip to Vegas so far!!!Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1115747551403711332005-05-10T10:52:00.000-07:002005-05-10T10:52:31.410-07:00<a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/img/102/5675/640/Image%2816%29.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/img/102/5675/320/Image%2816%29.jpg'></a><br />Opening Keynote MEDC 2005. We're about to have Bill G out on stage.Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1115746956944127702005-05-10T10:33:00.000-07:002005-05-10T10:42:36.950-07:00TomTom GPS Receiver in KeynoteA was surprised to see a TomTom GPS receiver identical to mine displayed in the first demo during the opening keynote. Ford Davidson, Product Manager for Windows Mobile 5.0, demoed an application called Rundo which provides data to runners about their running activity. This application was shown on both a Samsung i300 (Smartphone), and a HTC Universal (PPPE) device. Cool uses of the new APIs included a photo capture feature (to take pics while you run, logging the location where the pic was taken), integration into the Windows Mobile Media Player ( to display what song you're listening to as well as changing tracks w/o leaving the Rundo application.) Some of these features leveraged the new "State Activity" API which provides applications data regarding any state change on the device where the app lives. Rich technology which provides someone like myself with alot of ideas. Bill G was also hyped on this idea of a picture UI (for dialing, contact organization, etc) which was something I was writing on the plane trip to Vegas. Guess I can put that code into the snippet heap now. I'm currently waiting on the "Windows Mobile Enterprise Features" breakout session to begin.Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1115746373003387202005-05-10T10:23:00.000-07:002005-05-10T10:32:53.016-07:00MEDC 2005 Opening KeynoteBill G. opened the 2005 MEDC with a 75 minute keynote. The main focus of the keynote was to pull the wraps off of Windows Mobile 5.0. The keynote consisted of 4 demos all structured to highlight the new APIs, Visual Studio 2005 integration, and the new Compact .Net Framework 2.0. I felt the most impressive item was the advances in VS.Net 2005 which made it unbelievably simple to write applications that leverage the new APIs. Alot of the new features were additions to the framework which ease integration to the new Office Mobile applications. A demo given by one of the Lead Product Mgrs for .NET CF had him writing and deploying a restaurant database that leveraged integration with Outlook Mobile (to set an appointment for a reservation), integration with the telephony APIs (you could click the "Call" softkey to call the currently selected restaurant), and integration with the Picture Caputure API (so you could save an image of the restaurant you've visited.) Cool stuff. While they paid a passing nod to the Windows XP Embedded market (one demo used a kiosk to send custom themes to a smartphone), the real focus of all the activity in this first event was all Windows Mobile. On a sidenote, I did a little WarToothing before Bill G got started and I found 15 open and discoverable Bluetooth devices. Here's the breakdown:<br /><ul><li>Nokia 7610</li><li>Nokia 6820 (2 of these)</li><li>Nokia 6230</li><li>Nokia 6630</li><li>Blackberry 7100</li><li>Sony/Ericsson T630</li><li>Audiovox SMT5600</li><li>Unknown Phones (5 of these)</li><li>Unknown Windows Mobile</li><li>Laptop</li></ul><p>I didn't have time to connect to them all, but the first three I tried allowed an OBEX push with no pairing (no clue if the end user accepted the object I pushed.) Shocking that this many open devices would be found here. Blackhats would have a field day at this place!</p>Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1115685638874596222005-05-09T17:33:00.000-07:002005-05-09T17:40:38.880-07:002nd Night in VegasHere's hoping I can keep my eyes open longer tonight than I did last night (in the sack @ 8:30PM last night.) My plan is to kick the night off with the free drinks at the Embassy Suites, and then head off to catch the monorail for a trip down the strip. I'm planning playing a little poker somewhere on the strip (The Wynn poker room is super nice, but with Negraneau, Mason Malmuth, and some other big names in there I'd do best to stay away.) All I'm looking for is some entertainment, so I'll probably go up to the MGM Grand for some Limit $2-$4. Opening keynote is @ 9AM tomorrow, and I've got sessions following that from 11AM-7PM. Perhaps tonight may be another early one ...Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1115663817115390482005-05-09T11:32:00.000-07:002005-05-09T11:36:57.120-07:00Poker is KING!Ah, the power of ESPN. Last year there was a few more poker rooms than the year before, but this year it's ridiculous! Every single casino now has a poker room. Good news for someone like myself who has no appetite for gambling (table games, sports book.) I prefer a challenge that provides an avenue for skill and strategy ... something you don't get from Blackjack, Craps, or Roulette (ok, so some would argue that all of those have strategies ... I disagree.) Also, I've no interest in adding to the coffers of these casinos. They're doing just fine without any contribution I'd make. With that, I'm off to put some chips in play. Luck be a lady, and deal me the cards that play themselves. Before I left MA I told myself I'd come and play some poker where I kept a strict discipline. Let's hope I'm dealt cards that don't need any discipline.Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12767496.post-1115660492363680672005-05-09T10:35:00.000-07:002005-05-09T10:41:32.366-07:00MEDC 2005 - Viva Las Vegas!Reporting from the Microsoft Mobile and Embedded Developer's Conference at the Mandalay Bay in fabulous Las Vegas! I've got a jam packed schedule from Tuesday-Thursday as I attempt to absorb as much information as possible surrounding Windows Mobile. MS is giving away some Tablet PCs while I'm here, and I plan on doing my damnest to score one!! Keep watching this spot as I intend on blogging the conference as it happens. Tomorrow morning is Bill's big keynote, and probably the next time I'll put in an entry. Oh, if you're ever in Vegas, make sure to check out the new Wynn Resort. Steve Wynn followed through on his promise and really produced an experience that is "two clicks above the Bellagio." Too bad CA didn't spring to put me up in there (I'm on the other side of the golf course in the Embassy Suites ... which aren't bad at all.)Alabama Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03340175467368079451noreply@blogger.com0