Tech News & Poker

I found a nice tool to use after a night of poker. It's a free poker calculator on Card Player's website. This is great if you want to find out the percent chance you had/have to win a particular hand. I use it often after nights of poker when I lost with hands that were good before the flop. Additionally, I should mention the calculator only works for Texas Hold'em, but they have an Omaha one too.

I have found an awesome website that is dedicated to tech news. TechNewsWorld is a good alternative site to use if you're tired of the tech sections in the mainstream news. The mainstream news just doesn't have enough time to solely dedicate to tech news. TechNewsWorld only has technology news. Therefore, they have the quantity and quality in tech news that I've been looking for.

Sorry for the short and choppy posts lately. I'm whipped from soccer practices.

Peace out.

Youth Rights

As of late, I have been quite busy. I am sincerely sorry for the non-existent posts in the previous few days.

Moving on......

A few months back, I found an excellent website for a cause that I believe in. I found the National Youth Rights Association's (NYRA) website. Before this past school years end, I had to do a debate report for my english class. My topic was lowering the drinking age and I was definetly for it. After researching the issue, it strengthened my position for it. One of the biggest reasons that got me was:

An 18 year old has almost every conceivable right as an adult such as marriage, voting, signing contracts, buying cigarettes, serving in the military, and etc; why can they not buy alcohol?

Here is a quote I found on the quote page of the NYRA website:

"Whether children have first amendment rights is a vexed legal
question, but what is not in question is that they someday will.
Constraining them from expressing their views is no preparation
for exercising those rights."
-Crispin Sartwell

I believe that quote to be very true. In my opinion, this is a great organization, movement, and cause.

Some good underground pop-rock and a useful website

First off, I have found a great website for finding almost any information online. It's a free online encyclopedia called Wikipedia. This is a great resource if you need an answer to almost anything. Search for places, people, dates, and so much more!

Recently, I have found about a great new underground band Cartel. You can listen to some of their music and read about them on their page at purevolume. Cartel has a new album coming out this fall named Chroma. For more info on Cartel's new album check out absolutepunk's leak on it. They consider themselves pop rock. If you like pop, rock, or punk I think you'd love these guys!

Michigan State University

Sorry for the lack of posting in recent days. I had to go help my sister move out of her house at Michigan State University (MSU). This wasn't the first time I had been there, and I hope it won't be the last time.

I am approaching the start of my junior year in high school. Therefore, it is time for me to start thinking about my future after high school. Actually, I have been thinking about life after high school for quite some time. I want to attend college once I complete high school.

With the choice of college, I have many possibilities because the United States has thousands of colleges. I have been contemplating different choices that have appealed to me, and I have come to a conclusion. I want to go to an in-state college. One reason for an in-state college is because the prices are cheaper for public colleges that are state funded (only if you are a resident of the state). Another reason is because then I can be a far distance from my family, but yet close enough to home to return for occasions such as the holidays.

There are a few other reasons MSU appeals to me. One, it has a large population and quite a bit of diversity. Two, it is a big ten school so sporting events would be great fun. Three, I know many people who are MSU Alumni, including my sister. Four, from staying there, the social life at MSU seems like a blast! Lastly, the academics may not be at the same level of Harvard, but that's probably why its a fun social school. Michigan State has good academics, but don't be expecting Ivy League material.

Previously, I wanted to attend a good academic college and study pre-law. The only reason I wanted that was so after college I could go to law school, become a corporate lawyer, and make tons of money.

As I have gotten older and matured more, I have started to realize how short life is and how material possessions aren't as important as I used to think. It's human nature to want nice possessions and lots of money (known as greed). I still place a high importance on being successful and making money, but I have now started to realize that family and friends are of higher importance. They are just nice benefits to have along with good friends and family.

I believe at MSU it's possible to achieve a good balance of social life and academics. Furthermore, for the price it would be hard to go wrong with MSU.

After considering all the previous reasons, I am highly considering MSU as a possibility for after high school. As I stated previously:

"This wasn't the first time I had been there, and I hope it won't be the last time."

Hope to see you, MSU, in the fall of 2007.

Need an entertaining movie or novel?

I am currently reading The Partner by John Grisham. In my opinion, John Grisham produces some of the best novels that can be read for entertainment. All of Grisham's books will suck you in during the first chapter and keep you on the edge of your seat until the end. I'm only halfway through with the book, but its been a great read thus far. If you have previously enjoyed reading a John Grisham novel, The Partner will not disappoint you.

Today I saw War of the Worlds which stars Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning. If you have spare time to burn this weekend and want to see a good movie then watch War of the Worlds. It isn't one of the best movies I've ever seen, but it's quite entertaining and worth your time. Both, Cruise and Fanning, do an excellent job in this movie. I have really been impressed with Dakota Fanning's acting in recent movies. She did a superb job in Hide and Seek and keeps up the great work in War of the Worlds.

If you're bored and need something to do watching War of the Worlds and reading The Partner are both great choices of entertainment!

Who am I?

You may or may not have noticed that my name is Kyle. I am a high school student. Currently, I am employed as an attendant at the community's fitness center. During the summer I did some landscaping work, but now I'm finished with that job. Landscaping was nice because it taught me a lesson. It taught me that I hate physical, laborious work. Having worked there provides me with motivation to do well in school so I can attain a college education and, hopefully, be employed in a white collar job. The hours seemed to last forever, the work was excruciatingly boring, and it was very draining.

At my high school, I am involved in two sports: soccer and tennis. I have played soccer for as long as I can remember. One hobby I have is playing poker. Recently, my friends and I saw the World Series of Poker on ESPN so we decided to start playing every weekend. It gives me something to look forward to during the week. Some other interests I have include music, card collecting, video games, computers, and, of course, girls!

Not sure what else to say, but here is some quick information that may give you a better feel of what I am like:

I watch Fox News, not CNN! I drive a 1988 Volvo, it sucks, but my parents bought it, at no cost to me, so I'll take what I can get. I listen to all genres of music including rap, rock, techno, heavy metal, and, yes, even country. I receive mostly A's in school and have a 4.01 GPA. I'm tall and in shape.

I have probably just told complete strangers more than they need to hear about me. Let's hope no internet predators are reading this. That's it from me.

Good night folks.

Joining the Blogging Craze

I think it would be appropriate to start off my first blog with a well known cliché.

Better late than never.

Millions of blogs exist on the web and that number is constantly increasing with a reported one blog being created every second. Currently, my blog is just a minuscule fish in this large, expanding ocean.

What sparked my interest in starting a blog?

My interest in poker started when I saw the WSOP (World Series of Poker) on ESPN, two years ago. Some friends of mine had watched it too. Consequently, we started playing poker every weekend. My love for poker has grown ever since then.

This past spring, I saw commercials for the WSOP on TV which made me anxious. Impatience overcame me, and I started looking for a way to find updates and/or the results online. Well, I Found it! About a month ago, I came across Dr. Pauly's blog where he was giving live updates from the WSOP every single day.

Dr. Pauly's blog was the first blog I have ever read. From that moment on, I started reading more and more blogs. Not only blogs on poker, but on a variety of topics. Apparently, I'm only one of millions according to this article from BBC News.

The blogging phenomenon has caught up to me.