A wheat be vacant - know, that such a right use of your time is having it all

First Thing's First:
Greetings From Sunny Florida!
Also: Merry X-Mas!
And! Get yourselves ready for the HoP overhaul! (more in a moment, but first, THIS!)

Now, I've been to Florida before, but not quite under these circumstances-- being that my parents now live here, so it is part of what I might have to call home from now on. I've noticed that Florida is much different than anywhere else in the US because of its misplaced population (yankees) and living standard deviation (I saw a Lamborghini, a new Bentley, a Rolls Royce, and 2 Dodge Vipers in the span of about an hour. Later, a cluster of overcrowded swamp-bordering mobile homes dripping with poverty.) Tonight, my folks and I went to Hollywood, FL--just south of Boca Raton and just north of Miami--to the Hard Rock Casino. Ho-Ly-Shit-Bat-Man... I have never been to Vegas, but I've heard stories. I can only imagine what that place must be like if this single casino is any indication. Imagine little naive me amongst thousands of people and slot machines, poker tables galore and just enough money in the bank to have a good time. Needless to say, I camped out at a cluster of machines that I felt comfortable with, some video poker style thing that had its bells and whistles, and dropped a bill over the time span of about 6 hours. I was greedy and unprepred for what I was getting into, and when I was sure I had it "figured out," it turned out that I had nothing "figured out" at all. I am in the hole about 80 bones, but wiser for it. Caveat emptor, I suppose. The experience was enriching, overall, because I think of the people watching I was able to take in when I wasn't being enveloped into video poker. It was amazing to see people sink thousands of dollars into these machines as if it were nothing. It felt as if we (myself included) were turned into lab rats in some giant computer maze. Bingo, I found, was the end and beginning of all these machines. There is really no strategy involved in any of them. No matter how you slice it. Which is why no one really had it "figured out." Everyone was just basing their winnings on "luck" which I will kindly defer to its actual nature "chance." Unfortunately, my greed got the better of me, and I left bitter and yet very satisfied with the fun I had. Overall, I give this trip a solid 85. Good fun, good company (my folks), but bad because it is addictive and you come out lighter in the pocket. The experience reminded me of going to a strip club, but with less tits and ass.

Anyway...


It's almost a new year, and it will be almost one year since I've begun maintaining this blog. In that time, I've only posted 70 entries. I know, I know. Well, fear not meine freunde, I plan to really give this thing a nice little kick in the keister and make it virtually unstoppable. I look forward to 2007, as I suspect it to be a very productive year for me in general. I have some exciting collaborative projects in the works, and even a couple that I've only just begun to think of. I want to revisit the novel, and learn a thing or two on my new computaterator.