Giant Buddha Poker

It. Is. On.

2012 grind in full effect. I’ll be playing 6 to 10 hours per day, almost every day, for the rest of the year. I’m going back to the method I used to build my game up in 2008. Two shorthanded tables or one table heads up. High focus, quality over quantity, repeated hour after hour. [...]

Discount Coaching For Fiction Fans

As part of the Kickstarter for my Flash Fiction Folio, I’m offering coaching at about half my normal rate. That’s $75 for one hour or $300 for a five hour package. Each of those comes with the eBook and paperback editions of my first collection of fiction. Sessions can be for limit (small to mid-stakes), [...]

Out of the Clouds

I’ve been in Germany for a solid week now, and despite all the novelty – new language, caramel soy pudding – the time has flown by. It took a few days to get some poker sites set up, and I’ve yet to play a substantial number of hands. It’s time for that to change.
That’s not [...]

Poker Player Bill of Rights

From superusers to colluders, from shady sites to greedy governments, poker players are constantly at risk of being cheated, swindled, and defrauded. While intelligent players look out for themselves and each other, not everyone has access to enough information to keep safe. There should be an organization keeping an eye on these things, allowing players [...]

German Soy Pudding

After mixed success on the soy milk front, I decided to brave the soy pudding frontier. As you can see, I went a bit overboard and bought all four varieties. Again the results were mixed. The vanilla is mediocre, the dark chocolate is decent to good, the “milk” chocolate is very good, and the caramel [...]

Gifts From The Dead

I’m leaving my homeland on Saturday night, spending the year abroad. Hamburg, Soderhamn, London, then expedia knows where. I don’t self-identify as an American, even if I am quintessentially so. But I am interested in being a citizen of the world, seeing the sights, learning the language.
In the process of putting my affairs in order, [...]

A Little Help From My Friends

Dear Friends,

I’m putting together my first work of published fiction, and you can help make it a success. My project is a collection of (mostly dark) short stories titled Zen Madman’s Flash Fiction Folio. You can read samples HERE and HERE. I’ve launched the project on Kickstarter.com, which is an all-or-nothing funding site where you can pledge support in exchange for [...]

To Do (Ha Ha!)

I’m a big fan of To Do lists. Maybe it goes back to my parents’ “To Do (Ha Ha!)” file, but I’m great at making lists of things to do. I’m slightly less awesome at crossing everything off of them. I’ve pretty much been moping around the house all day, not for any particular reason. [...]

No Balls, Two Strikes

I just finished up a new story for my Flash Fiction Folio. This one’s about baseball and may have too much lingo for those who aren’t fans. Let me know what you think, though. I’m always interested in the opinions of fans and critics alike. You can read it on Free Association.

Low Noon

You know how 12:00 PM is called high noon? Well, I like to call 12:00 AM low noon. It’s gonna be a thing.
When in doubt, talk about the weather.
A few days ago, it looked like winter was finally here. The temperature dropped into the 20s for the first time since last winter. But now, on [...]