One goal – find a way to play in the World Series of Poker – Main Event.
This story starts at 5 A.M. on Tuesday, the 16th of June. We make it to the Parking Spot by 5:20. My gf and I sit in row 11a in car (as we are told) with the lights on because it is raining. One shuttle comes down row 12 a few moments later but keeps going. Then the next shuttle goes by, then the next one, then a fourth. Finally D calls the front desk and gets a rude a-hole that just responds, “They are coming! Hold on!” A few minutes later another shuttle zooms by in row 12. Finally the rain stops and D calls again half yelling, half crying because we have waited patiently for over a half hour and now we are verging on missing our flight since it takes off at 7.
Luckily we got their attention because the next shuttle came directly to our car so we loaded up and had a direct path to the Southwest gate. I had hoped this wasn’t the start of a bad trip and more bad karma headed our way. Read more…
nickthenerd Fun gf, Poker, Vacation
You could call it a party, but since it was an all day event, it seems right just to call it a ‘Day.’
Today started in great fashion because I had a bunch of server upgrades this morning for a client from midnight to 7 A.M. I was up around 2, went out, got some lunch and by the time I got back, the marmot mobile was in my driveway, ready to head to the K. Read more…
nickthenerd Fun Friends
Take a few beers, a nice night, a great venue, excellent sound balance, and two big time, named bands and what do you get… If you hadn’t guessed already…. a damn fine show.
I was lucky enough to go to the show in Columbia last winter with a friend from work. NIN rocked the stage and I probably saw the best lights and technology show, bar none. However this wasn’t that kind of show. NIN decided that they were announcing this as the final tour and with that annoucement came a smaller light set and smaller set list, too.
Another point to be made was that NIN played first, then Jane’s Addiction. This surprised most people after they showed up since they expected NIN to be the headliner. This also meant that NIN would be playing an outside show while the sun was still on the horizon. I think this might be another reason for the smaller stage setup as well. Read more…
nickthenerd Music Concert, Friends, gf
I think I should start this blog off by telling you about my history/knowledge of CAKE. This will allow you to stop reading now, call me biased in the comments section and move on. 
I love me some CAKE (band). I got into CAKE early in my high school career when the Lazer (105.9) would play “Rock & Roll Lifestyle,” along with tunes like “The Distance” and “Frank Sinatra.” Shortly there after, I picked up both the “Motorcade of Generosity” and “Fashion Nugget” albums. My reaction to CAKE was that it sounded kind-of crazy, but I liked hearing this new music that just sounded so different from every other band. As a matter of fact, John (lead singer), had mentioned between songs that the mid-90s music turned sour because “nobody would play 3/4 time any longer…they were scared.” Read more…
nickthenerd Music Concert, Friends, Music
Congratulations, self..you finally did it. You made it to 30 years old! or perhaps it should say…”Ding! You’ve reached level 30! You gain a -1 in stamina!”
What exactly does turning 30 mean, anyways…Does it mean cheaper car insurance? Not really. More wisdom or experience? Maybe..depends on what you call wisdom or experience. Or does it just mean I’m officially old…. I don’t exactly feel old, but I certainly don’t feel like I did five years ago either. Once upon a time, I could run many miles, could scoop many shovels of sand and dirt from a car wash pit, and was able to handle three hours in an attic without much concern or tire. Now…that isn’t the case. Read more…
nickthenerd News Friends, gf
I was lucky enough to be drawn for the second round of tickets..apparently a lot of people bailed for one reason or another and had to release their tickets. The seats I picked up were at the very top row of a corner section. The benefit to these seats are that they were located on the end of the row, nearest the Men’s room and very close to a concession stand. The sight line was not bad at all either…obviously anywhere on the side would of been better, but I can’t complain too much. I liked where we sat, if for nothing else, the convenience.
As per usual, the Sprint Center gets an epic fail for their security issues. They just cannot get people in the door fast enough. Blame the people all you want for waiting so long to enter but let’s be honest, a majority of these folks had not been in the Sprint Center and probably had not heard of all the issues they have getting people in on time. Just open more doors people! Every single time I go there, ten minutes till the game starts the doors swing open and the security goes into panic mode. Why can’t we do this 20 minutes earlier? Anyways, I digress. That is my only consistent complaint about the Sprint Center and the rest of the post will be shown in a positive light. Read more…
nickthenerd Fun Family, Sports
My original plan was to take off half a day, starting at noon for some drinking and to chill in the “living room” of the P & L. What a great day. 
It was about as perfect as could be for just a day of fun in the sun, drinking until sunset.
Unfortunately my plans changed and we (gf and I) were only able to get there around 4:30. This just happened to be when Silversun Pickups came on stage …and were they prompt…maybe too prompt. They were already playing when I rolled in past the security check at 4:27 P.M. This was a breath of fresh air considering all of the bands I have seen in the last 10 years that are constantly late, sometimes by up to an hour or more.
The mood was great with a lot of people just having a good time, except for one couple. Read more…
nickthenerd Music Concert, gf, Rock
Well…it wasn’t exactly unexpected by any person who follows college basketball. Kansas State lost to Texas tonight. They lost by three in a defensive struggle.
The cats had a hell of a time scoring, which is also not a surprise. These last few conference games, Kansas State has averaged a whooping 29% field goal percentage. That is horrible, folks. At the same time, our opponents usually shoot 50% , give or take 5%. The good news is that Kansas State is good at both offensive rebounds and defense.
Unfortunately tonight was not the night for Clemente when he went a bone-jarring 0-7 from 3-pt lan in the first half. I feel like if we could of just hit some points here and there this game wouldn’t of even been a contest. Kansas State really needed to win this game to make a push for the NCAA. Since we didn’t win, it is pretty much a guaranteed ride into the NIT now. Read more…
nickthenerd Fun Family, Kansas State, Sports
One thing is for sure…the economy hasn’t stopped the under 21 crowd from showing up in droves to these shows.
At approximately 8:15 pm, the show was kick started with the Japanese Motors playing a fairly short set..probably clocking in under a half hour. I have seen many different opinions on this band, most of which were positive. Myself…I didn’t really dig it too much. It wasn’t that it was terrible though, to me it just seemed like the same old rhetoric. General rock playing quarter notes on the bass, ad nauseum. It is really a personal preference. If you like the band, great for you. I’m just tired of hearing the same old thing over and over…which is part of the reason that I love Modest Mouse. Read more…
nickthenerd Music Concert, Rock
Before you get carried away and point out a typo, Harry Trumen is a band name. I had never heard of them before so I’m not even sure if they are local or where the heck they came from… All I know is that they played four songs and spent about 20 minutes on stage and were out of there! I will give them a pass. They were not a bad band but they seemed pretty boring to me. The lead singer had some Trent Green looking face and hair thing going on and he likes to sing sometimes with his teeth clenched. Strange, but whatever floats your boat I guess…it’s your band! Read more…
nickthenerd Music Concert, Rock