Noah Oliphant - General

World Series of Poker

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 07:54:53 -0600

Jamie Gold won the World Series of Poker Main Event last night on ESPN2, and I couldn’t be more disgusted with his play. The last three days of the event I was rooting against him because of his ridiculous run of good cards and his incessant talking about his hand while playing. I find it to be poor form to try and talk someone into a call or a fold.

Will a poker pro ever win the World Series again? I seriously doubt it. With over 8500 entrants this year the odds are against the seasoned professionals. I’m sure the pros will win more than their fair share of pots, but in the end there are too many amateurs with $10,000 or able to play their way in with an online satellite.

Crazy Friends

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 10:54:35 -0600

I recently received an email from one of my friends announcing his new website:

www.millioncount.com

It looks like a funny idea. Basically he is going to lock himself in a room and count to a million. He won’t start until he gets one million in donations, but once he starts he won’t stop until he’s done. Oh yea, and he’ll be on webcam the entire time.

I’m betting that if he gets the funding, he’ll go insane around 124,201. He’s not far from insane as it is.

Pawley's

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 08:46:51 -0600

I’m lucky enough to have parents with vacation property on Pawley’s Island, South Carolina. I’m also lucky enough to have parents willing to let me go there over Labor Day with some friends. We had a great time.

The weather was amazing. I think the hurricane that had just past through helped in that regard. The surf kicked up on the second and third day of our vacation, which made for fun in the water.

Hunt Hapworth, who was one of our guests, rented two kayaks. I had never kayaked in the ocean before, and found it to be at once tiring and enjoyable. When I first put my kayak in the water everyone on the beach started yelling at me. I turned to my left and saw a fin coming out of the water. It was then that I realized that they were shouting “SHARK!” I turned around and got out of the water

I had heard that people fishing had caught small sharks before at Pawley’s, but this was the closest I had ever come to a live shark. Needless to say it was unnerving. Eventually the shark got caught in fishing net and died in the ocean. We dragged it onto shore and buried it. Once on land we were able to determine that it was about six feet in length.

On the Move

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 09:03:41 -0600

Alison and I are moving yet again. I’m not sure what it is, but she and I need some form of significant change every three or four years. So our big change is to move to a new neighborhood in Birmingham, and trade our three bedroom house for a four bedroom house.

I am excited about the move. We actually will not take ownership until January of 2007 due to negotiations with the current owner. They are building another house and will need to stay in their current residence until it is completed.

I think the best thing about this new house is the size of the lot. The house is very nice, but the lot has some real potential. The land is irregularly shaped and the longest side is 265 feet long. This is much larger than any other lot in the neighborhood.

Followed closely is the fact that there are a number of restaurants, gas stations, bars, movie rental, and other stores within walking distance. Alison and I have always missed the urban lifestyle we had in Chicago, and I feel we are reclaiming it.

Here is a satellite map of the neighborhood. Google maps has it wrong here. The house is actually the one at the end of the street at the bottom left of the cul-de-sac.

Ultimate Remorse

Wed, 02 Aug 2006 10:02:01 -0600

I attended a conference in New Orleans last week and was pleased to find the city recovering. The French Quarter was alive, but the lower neighborhoods still had evidence of hardship and trauma. Most striking were water lines on the houses and a visible black ‘X’ on a wall indicating the number of dead found inside. While chilling, it was good to see the tourism and restaurant industries picking up.

I stayed in an apartment in the French Quarter right next to Jackson Square. The location was incredible, and I must thank Michael Weems for his hospitality.

Michael had a Frisbee, and after the conference activities one day we went to Jackson Square to throw the disc. We found an open area next to the sidewalk and we were about thirty yards apart.

We were passed by many walkers while we threw, but one family stands out in my mind. Ten minutes into our session a father with his son on his shoulders walked past. The mother followed four feet behind, and a young daughter, maybe four, followed another four feet behind her mother.

The daughter was very upset. She was crying, stomping her feet, and generally acting like something was terribly wrong. The family walked past without the mother or father paying any mind to their daughter.

Fifteen minutes later the same family came walking the other way. Absolutely nothing had changed in their appearance, with the father in front with his son on his shoulders, the mother following and the daughter in back. The daughter was still crying and carrying on in the same manner as before. In my estimation she had been in that state for over thirty minutes.

When they got about twenty yards from me, I threw the Frisbee. I would describe it as a poor throw. The Frisbee started curving toward the family, went between two pillars and hit the little girl right on the head. She stopped in her tracks and looked up at the sky in disbelief. She also stopped crying.

I’ve never felt such deep and immediate remorse and regret. I certainly didn’t want to hit anyone, let alone a distraught four year old.

Pebble Beach

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:04:05 -0600

My wife and I had the opportunity last week to play the golf courses at Pebble Beach, California. I’m a beginner when it comes to golf, but had an amazing time on these historic courses. The weather was unbelievable; it was warm and sunny for the whole week. I guess normally it is foggy and rainy.

I am very happy with how I played, shooting almost exactly what I typically score. I consider this to be a big positive considering how challenging these courses were.

Too bad the caddy on my last day put my six iron in the wrong bag.

Orgplace

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 20:21:38 -0600

Lately I’ve been working long hours on a side project. I’m trying to create a centralized management portal for small political campaigns and grassroots organizations. I feel there is a genuine need for a contact management solution due to my involvement with a few political think tanks and my father’s campaign for city council at-large in Lexington Kentucky.

It’s very much a work in progress, but the fruits of my labor are here www.orgplace.com.

Basically this is a spiffed up version of the management database I created for my dad. This same online tool was then utilized by two political think tanks.

The public website for my Steve Kay’s campaign can be found here www.kayforcouncil.com. It consists of a customized WordPress installation integrated with my own management database.

The public websites for the political organizations that have also utilized my system are listed below:

The Valley Forge Initiative

The Foreign Policy Leadership Council

Each of their implementations are simple contact management systems used for targeted communications to their subscribers and leaders.

How May I Help You?

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:18:21 -0700

There must be something about me that makes people think I work in whatever store I am in.

I was having lunch today in a crowded deli. I had gotten up to put my tray away, and noticed a woman walking through the same path of the restaurant. It was a narrow walkway between tables, and being polite, I waited for her to pass. As she approached me, she pointed down to a table and said,
“Will you take these dishes away?”
Somewhat startled I asked,
“Where do you want me to take them?”
“Wherever they are supposed to go, I guess.”
I should mention that I was wearing nothing that would resemble the uniform of the workers in the deli. As I was picking up the dishes and placing them on my tray, I said,
“Let me know if I can get anything else for you.”

The Madness

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 19:48:04 -0700

I officially have March Madness. I'm a diehard UK basketball fan and this is my favorite time of the year. Even if the cats aren’t living up to my expectations or even their potential, I will watch every game I can.

Unfortunately that means that I’m distracted at work during the first round. There isn’t any good excuse for that. I guess I’ll just have to acknowledge that this week makes it difficult for me to concentrate on anything but college basketball and work harder next week to pick up the pieces.

The side projects are suffering too.

I’m more than a little nervous about UK’s game tomorrow night against UAB. UAB has dealt us an embarrassing loss in the tournament in the past. I live in Birmingham, Alabama, so I got more than my fair share of ribbing for the loss.

It’s payback time.

GO CATS!

So let's see what this blog stuff is all about

Sat, 11 Mar 2006 09:45:10 -0700

Well it was only a matter of time before I delved into the world of blogging. I'm a little late to the party, but I've been watching from the sidelines intently since the idea of blogs came about.

I think the reason it has taken me so long is because I'm more into playing with new technology tools than publishing content. I've set up many blogs for others but just have not taken the time to set up my own.

Thanks for reading, and check back for posts about living in Birmingham (AL), web design, and politics.