I thought it would be cool to post what I use to play Starcraft 2, and to also show that you don't need a big fancy computer or a really expensive mechanical keyboard to play well because while those things certainly make the game a smoother experience, they aren't going to win you games. I keep it simple, and I'm trying to invest in products that I will get the most out of rather than constantly buying the latest and greatest in gaming products.
1.) Razer Deathadder 3500 DPI Mouse ($60) - I've had this mouse for about a year now and it is well worth the money! Before this I was trying to play with an Apple Magic Mouse *laughs to self* and after getting a mouse that is geared towards playing games the difference is obviously noticeable and enjoyable. There are gaming mice, especially from Razer but others as well, that cost well in excess of $100. Unless you've got money to spend, you simply don't need them because the DeathAdder has everything you need. Works with PC + Mac, but the driver support is definitely better for PC. You can set custom commands to the two side buttons on the mouse which I haven't found a use for, but I'm sure they could be useful for something.
2.) Sennheiser HD 555 ($180) - I've had these bad boys for the past 6 years now and they have quite a history which I'll sum up really quickly. They came with me to MLG Meadowlands in 2007, the cord got chewed up in a lawnmower (even longer story), and now I use them exclusively for my computer. I'm not an audio expert, so characterizing the sound quality is hard to describe, but they are simply nothing short of amazing. Crisp clear sound quality coupled with outstanding comfort means that you can wear these things for hours and never want to take them off! I think the lifespan of my Senns speaks to how well these things are made. Even though I bought these for a different gaming related purpose, they work well for everything and I highly suggest checking these out if you are tired of your headphones breaking. They are well worth the investment.
3.) 13" Mac 2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4 GB of RAM ($1,200) - I mean, I bought this for college, so running Starcraft 2 was an unforseen purpose until last year. My main concern is that they are going to drop support for my operating system :( Blizzard announced that Heart of the Swarm will require Snow Leopard (10.6), which is fine because I'm running 10.8.2, but my computer won't be able to support the next Apple OS (10.9) if there is a big enough shift in new requirements because my laptop simply does not have the technology to handle it. So for me it is now a waiting game as far as what comes first. Will Blizzard make its minimum requirements 10.9 first, or will Apple set a death sentence for the hardware that I have? Regardless, you can run SC2 great on a Mac laptop.
4.) Team Liquid Mousepad ($20) - I don't actually own this, but I think it would be cool to have! I see mouse pads as having the least amount of impact on your game, and are more just for looks. Whether I use one with a lovely sunset or switch to one with a cool horse prooooobably isn't going to affect my skills. This is on my wish list :)
What do you use in your setup?
Let me know!
Monday, January 21, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
First live poker tournament
Today I played in my first live poker tournament at Sands Casino in PA!
As you can see...it was a $100 buy-in.
Here is the blind structure for those of you who might be looking to play in this soon.
They were 20 minute levels and you start with 10,000 so you only have the first 2 or 3 levels to sit back and play tight before the blinds start creeping up on you. This is a very fun tournament to play, and it is run on Monday's and Tuesday's at 11am. The average number of entrants is around 85 and the cap is 200 though it rarely gets to that number unless it's a holiday weekend or something.
The top 9 got payed starting at $200 for ninth all the way up to a massive 1st place prize of $1,300.
Today there were 71 entrants, and I ended placing around 32nd or so, which I'm really happy about. I think I played great while even making a few "what are you thinking?" calls. In the first couple of levels my goal was just to see some cheap flops and try to hit, with some minor success. Levels 4 + 5 were where I had to tighten up and use my position to win pots as the blinds grew higher and higher. I busted 2 people in level 4 which got me up to 17k before the first break and color up (avg was 16k). It felt good to be hanging strong, and that I didn't bleed chips, get blinded down, and then have to shove in level 3 like a the noob that I actually was. I got aggressive when I needed to, but I know that I need to focus on being more aggressive in the middle stages of the tournament (which is where I know I struggle).
2 and a half hours later I'm down to 13k in level 6 and the blinds are 600/1,200 so I've got around 10 or 11 big blinds and I'm in push/fold mode. I'm UTG and I pick up JKss and raise to 2,400 and I get one caller. Flop comes Ax 5s 6s so I shove my last ~ 10k and he calls. Obviously, I'm chasing a flush draw, but I cant afford to let the big blind get to me in the next hand or I'd really be crippled. He flips 56 for two pair, so I need my flush to hit. turn 9. River is a 6. HOORA-nope. I hit my flush BUT it also gave him a full house and my hopes were dashed :(
In retrospect, the better play would have been to shove pre-flop because 56 would have been folded, even if I won the blinds I'd be alive for a better hand to come along, so that was a deadly mistake I made. I learned and will remember it for next time!
What do you remember from your first tournament? How well did you do? Let me know!
As you can see...it was a $100 buy-in.
Here is the blind structure for those of you who might be looking to play in this soon.
They were 20 minute levels and you start with 10,000 so you only have the first 2 or 3 levels to sit back and play tight before the blinds start creeping up on you. This is a very fun tournament to play, and it is run on Monday's and Tuesday's at 11am. The average number of entrants is around 85 and the cap is 200 though it rarely gets to that number unless it's a holiday weekend or something.
The top 9 got payed starting at $200 for ninth all the way up to a massive 1st place prize of $1,300.
Today there were 71 entrants, and I ended placing around 32nd or so, which I'm really happy about. I think I played great while even making a few "what are you thinking?" calls. In the first couple of levels my goal was just to see some cheap flops and try to hit, with some minor success. Levels 4 + 5 were where I had to tighten up and use my position to win pots as the blinds grew higher and higher. I busted 2 people in level 4 which got me up to 17k before the first break and color up (avg was 16k). It felt good to be hanging strong, and that I didn't bleed chips, get blinded down, and then have to shove in level 3 like a the noob that I actually was. I got aggressive when I needed to, but I know that I need to focus on being more aggressive in the middle stages of the tournament (which is where I know I struggle).
2 and a half hours later I'm down to 13k in level 6 and the blinds are 600/1,200 so I've got around 10 or 11 big blinds and I'm in push/fold mode. I'm UTG and I pick up JKss and raise to 2,400 and I get one caller. Flop comes Ax 5s 6s so I shove my last ~ 10k and he calls. Obviously, I'm chasing a flush draw, but I cant afford to let the big blind get to me in the next hand or I'd really be crippled. He flips 56 for two pair, so I need my flush to hit. turn 9. River is a 6. HOORA-nope. I hit my flush BUT it also gave him a full house and my hopes were dashed :(
In retrospect, the better play would have been to shove pre-flop because 56 would have been folded, even if I won the blinds I'd be alive for a better hand to come along, so that was a deadly mistake I made. I learned and will remember it for next time!
What do you remember from your first tournament? How well did you do? Let me know!
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Promoted to Platinum! :O
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! I can call myself a Platinum league player now!
There isn't much to say in the way of how the game played out. If you've read my posts in the past then you know I went 2 rax poke into 2-1-1 all-in. This was my placement match for the start of the new season and after I won the game, I nervously waited as the "loading" symbol began to spin. I literally jumped out of my chair as I saw the placement screen with a shiny new platinum symbol next to my name!
I've gotten to play around 25 games in the new league, and it is rough. I am hovering between 30-50th place. I was so nervous within the first 10 games of not winning any and getting instantly demoted. Luckily for me, that didn't happen and I've been clawing my way up the ladder. There are a couple observations I wanted to make about the jump from Gold to Platinum.
1.) Faster Players
Plain and simple, there's a noticeable jump in the speed at which people are playing. I've noticed that people are playing from 70-200APM (Actions Per Minute). While you don't need 200 APM to win, these players don't give up as easily and try to use their speed to micro their way out of what would be a sure loss for a slower player.
2.) Better Macro
This is one thing that I attribute a lot of my losses to. I NEED to work on better worker producing from all of my buildings so that I am hitting all of my benchmarks. A solid platinum player has the basic mechanics perfected and this allows them to be confident in engagements because they will have the maximum army size possible relative to a given time in the game.
3.) Unorthodox Builds/All-ins
So, either people will play super standard, but hit all of the benchmarks and do everything they need to, or people will come at you with a 1 base all-in that is different to what I was used to playing against in Gold. Following is what I faced in Gold, and what I'm seeing in Platinum(G/P).
vs. Z - Baneling Bust/8 pool
vs. P - 3 gate robo expand/void ray all-in or 4 gate or Cannon Rush
vs. T - Mass marine/MECH or heavy drop play
It sucks because every game I'm stressing over what is going to be coming at me regardless of scouting. I still have to do a bit more studying on what I see as I scout and how I'm going to respond to it. It's like getting used to playing against a whole new style against each race.
4.) Less Zergs/More Protoss
I'm pretty sure this has been proven statistically, so I'm not surprised. As you move up in experiencethere are less and less Zerg's competing at the higher levels. As a result of this, I have been plying a TON against Protoss, which isn't a bad thing! I'm very comfortable in this match-up, as you would know from my win-rate vs. them, and I know my build almost to perfection.
Just wanted to post a little bit of Starcraft related news after that massive post about 2012 :D
Good luck this season everyone and look for Reedy on the ladder! If you run into me feel free to say hi!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Remembering 2012 - A Look Back
I just wanted to take some time to talk about some of the awesome parts of 2012, and record them somewhere to be able to reflect back on them as well be able to show all of you what I've been up to!
Here are the Top 10 best moments of 2012 for me, lets starts from the top:
10.)Promotion + Finishing 3rd in Gold league
Alright, so I've got to keep my priorities straight everyone and while I am proud of myself for working my way up to the top of Gold League, I can't place this any higher on the list. I think at the beginning of this year I was somewhere around mid-silver. I feel like I have been consistently improving my game over the months, and I am now on the edge of another promotion into Platinum! (Woot ^.^) I've probably taken a lot longer than most to get to where I am, but I'm in no rush. I've had a lot going outside the game that I care more about or want to concentrate on more, and personal growth in the end is what it is all about for me. I'll do another post about wrapping up the current builds I'm using and a more in depth re-cap of the season as I normally do. Hopefully this time next year I can say I'm high up in Platinum!
9.) Balloon ride
For my birthday I was given a special birthday present from my parents, but first I had to be blindfolded and driven to a "secret" location. If you read my previous post about this experience (21st Bday post) then you know that I was scared to death at first when that balloon took off. I'm not afraid of heights per-say, but I'll characterize it as "I need to get comfortable". However, the speed at which that balloon took off didn't allow for much of that. Once you get up into the sky though it is such a beautiful sight and the view is just as breathtaking as anyone could imagine (if the ascent hasn't already done that to you).
Don't tell my girlfriend but I would totally take another balloon ride, and I hope that the next time with some begging and pleading I miiiiiight be able to persuade her to go. On my birthday, I actually convinced my 11 year-old brother Ryan to go with me about 10 minutes before take off! Here are just a couple of the pictures I took while floating on.
8.) Ran a 5k
About 6 or 7 years ago my family started a tradition of running the Flemington, NJ Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot. The last 2 years...I got kind of lazy, and didn't run. But this year I made a comeback! I did a little training up in Vermont before I came home for break, and got up bright and early with my dad and two brothers and we headed off to the race.
This race has been growing every year, this year there were around 6-7,000 people!! I think that when I started running this race years ago there were probably no more than 2,000, so it has grown very quickly over the last couple of years.
Take a guess what minute marker I started at based on these pictures...
6:00 min/mile pace :O
and there were still easily 1,000 people in front of me with 5:00 min/mile being the starting line. It was so ridiculously packed, but such a fun time. As you could expect, those running the 5K repeatedly said "glad I'm getting my workout in so I can devour turkey later!"
And the winner is...
Andrew (20, Right) - 22:30
Ryan (12, center) - 24:50
Kyle (Me :D, Left, 21) - 24:55
Dad (Back, 48) - 25:15
Andrew!
7.) Canada
In the past, we have gone to Sand Lake and that is where we went again over the summer for a week packed full of fishing, fishing, and fishing with some tubing, water-skiing, and wake-boarding sprinkled in. Literally, my little brother Ryan and I get up at 6am and fish until breakfast around 10am, and then we will head out as soon as we can call it "evening" and fish until the mosquitoes are chewing me apart. We look forward to the fishing every year and breaking some of our own records for Bass and Pike.
On the left and right are shots that I took on the first and second morning of fishing. The lake isn't very populated so it's literally glass and untouched until we hit the water. The bottom was a beautiful shot I took on the last evening of fishing. I love Sand Lake.
Just in case you are wondering, YES, I did catch fish as well. Ryan, however, dominated this year and so I think he deserves the photo op. He just got a new pole for Christmas, so I'm sure he excited to get 'em again next year!
6.) Completing my Criminal Justice Administration class
This one isn't going to get a long schpeal because it made my semester hell, and it doesn't deserve any further recognition. On top of normal classes and tests, we had to create the "ideal" criminal justice agency. As it turns out, it is a pain in the ASS to do so from the ground up. After putting over 100 hours into it with my group we made an 80 page agency design, and presented our ideas to the class to get over one of the biggest hurdles in my major. Good riddance CJ Admin, you can stay in 2012.
5.) Turning 21/casino trip/playing poker live
Turning 21 was AWESOME. I love being of age to go to casinos and buy my own alcohol. It's a cool feeling and while I don't abuse either of those privileges it is nice to have the freedom to do either. If you want to read about my birthday and my first trip to Sands Casino (yes, I've been since), then I would like to check out that post here! The activity that is coming in at #5 is finally have the guts to sit down and play live poker. It was only a $1/2 NL game, but I was nervous as soon as I sat down with $160 in front of me. I was shaking as I bet, I played SUCH a tight range, and I didn't really get much done, but I didn't go broke! Now that I have 1 small session under my belt I will be much more confident going into the next cash game/tournament I play and I'm so excited to play again! For Christmas, my family gave $50 to go toward the $100 buy weekly tournament they run, so hopefully I can have some run good and place well in the next couple of weeks. I can't play online, yet, but now I am over the nerves of playing live, and it's a great feeling.
4.) Warped Tour
I have gone to Warped Tour for the past 3 years with my girlfriend Jenna and other friends that make the trip down from VT and NH mainly. I looooooveee going because obviously you get to see a ton of your favorite bands, and run your back account into the ground buying merch or simply paying for the ATM fee to withdraw money (...ask me about last year). I got to take a couple good pictures but when you spend the entire day at the venue you need to make battery life last the whole day, so I also want to list the bands that I got to see. Some were for the first time, some were for the 2nd and 3rd time!
I recorded Of Mice and Men playing Second and Sebring!
So here is a list of the bands that I got to see:
- All Time Low
- Bayside
- Chunk!, No Captain Chunk!
- Falling in Reverse
- For Today
- Mayday Parade
- Miss May I
- New Found Glory
- Pierce the Veil
-Polar Bear Club
Continued:
- Sleeping with Sirens
- Streetlight Manifesto
- Taking Back Sunday
- Yellowcard
Wow! After counting them up that I got to see 14 bands. I also bought an Of Mice and Men t-shirt, their CD, and expensive venue food and beer!
Even though every warped tour I have been to has been a SCORCHER and I'm completely drained at the end, it always turns out to be a great time. Another plus is when you finally get home, the feeling of AC and a comfy bed or couch is the greatest feeling ever for that moment and you most likely just pass out. I'm already stalking the band list for Warped Tour 2013!
3.) Winning the academic excellence award in Criminal Justice
During the spring 2012 semester I had a blue envelope show up in my campus mailbox. This usually means one of two things, either I am in trouble and it is telling me who I need to meet with or an administrative office needs to get a hold of me. It turns that blue envelope was them informing me that I had been selected to receive the academic excellence award for Criminal Justice! I was so honored to be picked out of all of the CRJ majors, and I was so excited because winning awards is not something I do often. There was a nice reception and my mom and grandma drove up to attend the awards ceremony, and Jenna came as well. I get really embarrassed in front of people, so being up on stage and having my professor speaking about what a great student I am definitely made me bashful.
2.) Taking the LSAT/applying to law schools
I took the October LSAT, and if you'd like to see a more in depth post click here. I ended up getting a 145, and immediately signed up for the December LSAT. I am currently awaiting the results for that test, and they should be here by January 5th. I'm definitely getting nervous. Regardless of what score I get I will be applying to a couple of law schools, and I might shoot one out to a school or two far away and see what happens. I know I'm not going to be getting into any prestigious law school, but I'm proud of myself for following this dream of trying to make it into law school and become an attorney. If I don't get accepted now, I am completely fine with that and I wouldn't mind getting a full time job in a law office as a legal assistant or a paralegal so that I can build my resume more and give myself a better shot of getting in next time I apply. Employers! If you are looking for a hardworking, knowledgeable, and dedicated individual who can learn fast and has a passion for the law drop me a comment! (shameless job-hunt plug)
Here are the schools that I am applying to as of now:
- Rutgers - Newark
- Rutgers - Camden
- Earle Mack (Drexel)
- Vermont Law School
- Seton Hall
- Widener Law
If I get into any law school, you can be sure that I will be posting about it because I will FREAKING OUT WITH EXCITEMENT!
1.) Celebrating 2 1/2 years with Jenna
We've been together for 2 years + 8 months, but I just picked the nearest "milestone" that we celebrated. I actually take her on "Monthaversary" dates, so we've been celebrating every 30 days! In all seriousness though, I am such a lucky guy to be dating Jenna. I think one of the best qualities we have as a couple is that we can be ourselves, and we never feel like we need to perform or act like someone we aren't. Whether we are bummin' around the house hanging on our computers, cuddling up to watch Scrubs, or shopping (Yes Jenna shopping) we just feel happy and relaxed to be together. If you keep up with either of our blogs, you may have noticed that Jenna has graduated, and I am unfortunately still in school. While the first 9 months of this year were amazing due to the fact that we saw each other every day during the spring semester last year, and got to do things like warped tour and go to the beach and spend a lot of time together, this past fall semester has been admittedly harder for us because she is living in NJ and working full-time at a hospital and I am going to school in VT :(
BUT
We made it through 2012 together, and looking forward to the future makes me so excited because while I have 1 semester to go, it is my last semester of school in VT! I will be graduating in May, and I want to start planning and deciding where we can afford to live. Sharing an apartment together has been a dream of ours for a long time because we have had to live, at a minimum, an hour from each other throughout our whole relationship (excluding school). I'm excited for the future because of the possibilities we have together. I loved spending 2012 with Jenna, but I'm so excited for us to do so much more in 2013! I'll just post a couple cheesy of photos of us from the last 12 months to close this out, but Jenna is my #1 :)
If you made it this far, please, tell me what your best moment of the last year was!
I hope you enjoyed hearing all about my life, and I hope this Top 10 looks as exciting and interesting to you as it was for me to experience! Thanks for reading!
Here are the Top 10 best moments of 2012 for me, lets starts from the top:
10.)Promotion + Finishing 3rd in Gold league
Alright, so I've got to keep my priorities straight everyone and while I am proud of myself for working my way up to the top of Gold League, I can't place this any higher on the list. I think at the beginning of this year I was somewhere around mid-silver. I feel like I have been consistently improving my game over the months, and I am now on the edge of another promotion into Platinum! (Woot ^.^) I've probably taken a lot longer than most to get to where I am, but I'm in no rush. I've had a lot going outside the game that I care more about or want to concentrate on more, and personal growth in the end is what it is all about for me. I'll do another post about wrapping up the current builds I'm using and a more in depth re-cap of the season as I normally do. Hopefully this time next year I can say I'm high up in Platinum!
9.) Balloon ride
For my birthday I was given a special birthday present from my parents, but first I had to be blindfolded and driven to a "secret" location. If you read my previous post about this experience (21st Bday post) then you know that I was scared to death at first when that balloon took off. I'm not afraid of heights per-say, but I'll characterize it as "I need to get comfortable". However, the speed at which that balloon took off didn't allow for much of that. Once you get up into the sky though it is such a beautiful sight and the view is just as breathtaking as anyone could imagine (if the ascent hasn't already done that to you).
Don't tell my girlfriend but I would totally take another balloon ride, and I hope that the next time with some begging and pleading I miiiiiight be able to persuade her to go. On my birthday, I actually convinced my 11 year-old brother Ryan to go with me about 10 minutes before take off! Here are just a couple of the pictures I took while floating on.
8.) Ran a 5k
About 6 or 7 years ago my family started a tradition of running the Flemington, NJ Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot. The last 2 years...I got kind of lazy, and didn't run. But this year I made a comeback! I did a little training up in Vermont before I came home for break, and got up bright and early with my dad and two brothers and we headed off to the race.
This race has been growing every year, this year there were around 6-7,000 people!! I think that when I started running this race years ago there were probably no more than 2,000, so it has grown very quickly over the last couple of years.
Take a guess what minute marker I started at based on these pictures...
6:00 min/mile pace :O
and there were still easily 1,000 people in front of me with 5:00 min/mile being the starting line. It was so ridiculously packed, but such a fun time. As you could expect, those running the 5K repeatedly said "glad I'm getting my workout in so I can devour turkey later!"
And the winner is...
Andrew (20, Right) - 22:30
Ryan (12, center) - 24:50
Kyle (Me :D, Left, 21) - 24:55
Dad (Back, 48) - 25:15
Andrew!
7.) Canada
In the past, we have gone to Sand Lake and that is where we went again over the summer for a week packed full of fishing, fishing, and fishing with some tubing, water-skiing, and wake-boarding sprinkled in. Literally, my little brother Ryan and I get up at 6am and fish until breakfast around 10am, and then we will head out as soon as we can call it "evening" and fish until the mosquitoes are chewing me apart. We look forward to the fishing every year and breaking some of our own records for Bass and Pike.
On the left and right are shots that I took on the first and second morning of fishing. The lake isn't very populated so it's literally glass and untouched until we hit the water. The bottom was a beautiful shot I took on the last evening of fishing. I love Sand Lake.
Just in case you are wondering, YES, I did catch fish as well. Ryan, however, dominated this year and so I think he deserves the photo op. He just got a new pole for Christmas, so I'm sure he excited to get 'em again next year!
According to Ryan, our record (caught by him) was a monster 6 pound bass that we caught on a live minnow. It might be the one on the left, but I'm not sure because a lot of the fish we caught this year pretty big (stealth brag). It is so nice to get away from everything for a week and just go live in a quiet and peaceful place and enjoy just that. Living in the middle of nowhere is probably not for everybody, but getting to stay on a lake that isn't crowded and noisy and live in a house that is nicely furnished and a fun place to be is one of the most fun vacations I can go on!
This one isn't going to get a long schpeal because it made my semester hell, and it doesn't deserve any further recognition. On top of normal classes and tests, we had to create the "ideal" criminal justice agency. As it turns out, it is a pain in the ASS to do so from the ground up. After putting over 100 hours into it with my group we made an 80 page agency design, and presented our ideas to the class to get over one of the biggest hurdles in my major. Good riddance CJ Admin, you can stay in 2012.
5.) Turning 21/casino trip/playing poker live
Turning 21 was AWESOME. I love being of age to go to casinos and buy my own alcohol. It's a cool feeling and while I don't abuse either of those privileges it is nice to have the freedom to do either. If you want to read about my birthday and my first trip to Sands Casino (yes, I've been since), then I would like to check out that post here! The activity that is coming in at #5 is finally have the guts to sit down and play live poker. It was only a $1/2 NL game, but I was nervous as soon as I sat down with $160 in front of me. I was shaking as I bet, I played SUCH a tight range, and I didn't really get much done, but I didn't go broke! Now that I have 1 small session under my belt I will be much more confident going into the next cash game/tournament I play and I'm so excited to play again! For Christmas, my family gave $50 to go toward the $100 buy weekly tournament they run, so hopefully I can have some run good and place well in the next couple of weeks. I can't play online, yet, but now I am over the nerves of playing live, and it's a great feeling.
(Sorry it's sideways, didn't want to look like a n00b taking a picture playing live poker) |
I have gone to Warped Tour for the past 3 years with my girlfriend Jenna and other friends that make the trip down from VT and NH mainly. I looooooveee going because obviously you get to see a ton of your favorite bands, and run your back account into the ground buying merch or simply paying for the ATM fee to withdraw money (...ask me about last year). I got to take a couple good pictures but when you spend the entire day at the venue you need to make battery life last the whole day, so I also want to list the bands that I got to see. Some were for the first time, some were for the 2nd and 3rd time!
I recorded Of Mice and Men playing Second and Sebring!
Of Mice and Men |
Falling in Reverse |
Take a guess! |
So here is a list of the bands that I got to see:
- All Time Low
- Bayside
- Chunk!, No Captain Chunk!
- Falling in Reverse
- For Today
- Mayday Parade
- Miss May I
- New Found Glory
- Pierce the Veil
-Polar Bear Club
Continued:
- Sleeping with Sirens
- Streetlight Manifesto
- Taking Back Sunday
- Yellowcard
Wow! After counting them up that I got to see 14 bands. I also bought an Of Mice and Men t-shirt, their CD, and expensive venue food and beer!
Even though every warped tour I have been to has been a SCORCHER and I'm completely drained at the end, it always turns out to be a great time. Another plus is when you finally get home, the feeling of AC and a comfy bed or couch is the greatest feeling ever for that moment and you most likely just pass out. I'm already stalking the band list for Warped Tour 2013!
3.) Winning the academic excellence award in Criminal Justice
During the spring 2012 semester I had a blue envelope show up in my campus mailbox. This usually means one of two things, either I am in trouble and it is telling me who I need to meet with or an administrative office needs to get a hold of me. It turns that blue envelope was them informing me that I had been selected to receive the academic excellence award for Criminal Justice! I was so honored to be picked out of all of the CRJ majors, and I was so excited because winning awards is not something I do often. There was a nice reception and my mom and grandma drove up to attend the awards ceremony, and Jenna came as well. I get really embarrassed in front of people, so being up on stage and having my professor speaking about what a great student I am definitely made me bashful.
2.) Taking the LSAT/applying to law schools
I took the October LSAT, and if you'd like to see a more in depth post click here. I ended up getting a 145, and immediately signed up for the December LSAT. I am currently awaiting the results for that test, and they should be here by January 5th. I'm definitely getting nervous. Regardless of what score I get I will be applying to a couple of law schools, and I might shoot one out to a school or two far away and see what happens. I know I'm not going to be getting into any prestigious law school, but I'm proud of myself for following this dream of trying to make it into law school and become an attorney. If I don't get accepted now, I am completely fine with that and I wouldn't mind getting a full time job in a law office as a legal assistant or a paralegal so that I can build my resume more and give myself a better shot of getting in next time I apply. Employers! If you are looking for a hardworking, knowledgeable, and dedicated individual who can learn fast and has a passion for the law drop me a comment! (shameless job-hunt plug)
Here are the schools that I am applying to as of now:
- Rutgers - Newark
- Rutgers - Camden
- Earle Mack (Drexel)
- Vermont Law School
- Seton Hall
- Widener Law
If I get into any law school, you can be sure that I will be posting about it because I will FREAKING OUT WITH EXCITEMENT!
1.) Celebrating 2 1/2 years with Jenna
We've been together for 2 years + 8 months, but I just picked the nearest "milestone" that we celebrated. I actually take her on "Monthaversary" dates, so we've been celebrating every 30 days! In all seriousness though, I am such a lucky guy to be dating Jenna. I think one of the best qualities we have as a couple is that we can be ourselves, and we never feel like we need to perform or act like someone we aren't. Whether we are bummin' around the house hanging on our computers, cuddling up to watch Scrubs, or shopping (Yes Jenna shopping) we just feel happy and relaxed to be together. If you keep up with either of our blogs, you may have noticed that Jenna has graduated, and I am unfortunately still in school. While the first 9 months of this year were amazing due to the fact that we saw each other every day during the spring semester last year, and got to do things like warped tour and go to the beach and spend a lot of time together, this past fall semester has been admittedly harder for us because she is living in NJ and working full-time at a hospital and I am going to school in VT :(
BUT
We made it through 2012 together, and looking forward to the future makes me so excited because while I have 1 semester to go, it is my last semester of school in VT! I will be graduating in May, and I want to start planning and deciding where we can afford to live. Sharing an apartment together has been a dream of ours for a long time because we have had to live, at a minimum, an hour from each other throughout our whole relationship (excluding school). I'm excited for the future because of the possibilities we have together. I loved spending 2012 with Jenna, but I'm so excited for us to do so much more in 2013! I'll just post a couple cheesy of photos of us from the last 12 months to close this out, but Jenna is my #1 :)
If you made it this far, please, tell me what your best moment of the last year was!
I hope you enjoyed hearing all about my life, and I hope this Top 10 looks as exciting and interesting to you as it was for me to experience! Thanks for reading!
Graduation Day! May 2012 |
Cheers! |
New Years Eve! I took Jenna out on a date and we had some delicious food. Chicken nachos, that is all I'm gonna say. |
Labels:
balloon ride,
bass fishing,
Canada,
girlfriend,
gold league,
law school,
LSAT,
memories,
personal,
playing live poker,
protoss,
remembering 2012,
Sands Casino,
Starcraft,
terran,
vacation,
warped tour,
zerg
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The Death Penalty
A topic that a lot of people are fully aware of, but probably don't think much about is the death penalty and it's use in the United States. I'll just put the obvious question out there for you to answer for yourselves.
Do you support the use of the death penalty?
Think it over for a second, and I'd love to hear your reasons why you do/don't support it.
I don't want to just spew out my opinion out because at least at this time I think it would be best if I kept it to myself, but over the last 4 years in criminal justice program I have had the chance to become informed on almost all aspects of both sides of the argument. This year I decided to take an elective class aptly named "The Death Penalty", and while a lot of the topics covered this semester have been review for me I have been trying to take on a more active role in gaining information from sources other than your typical textbook or set of lecture notes. I decided to contact someone who has been involved with the death penalty process for a long time now, and had come within 20 minutes of execution himself until the United States Supreme Court granted him a stay to further allow for DNA testing on evidence that he claims will prove his innocence, or that at least someone else committed the crime. I sent a letter to Hank Skinner, or as his address states "prisoner #999143". This was about 3 weeks ago.
Well, today I went to check the mail for any more Christmas presents that I had ordered for people, and I received a present myself when this this small manilla envelope came in the mail for me!
I was a little stunned that corresponding with a prisoner, let alone a death row inmate took so little time. When I told my professor that I sent the letter out she said expect it to take longer than a month to get back to you. Welp, she was wrong!
The letter I sent him contained some general information about myself, my past, and my views on the death penalty.
The main reason behind sending the letter was to hear from him about conditions on death row at the Polunsky Unit (which is on the label in the picture), his views on the death penalty, and his opinions on the process and how he has lived his lived while incarcerated for the last 18 years.
Hank has been granted 2 stays of executions, and one of them was 20 minutes before he was to be executed. He has experienced everything this system has to offer except for being given the pentobarbital-filled needle. As you can see on the envelope it says that two photos are enclosed, and initially I was a little nervous to open because I wasn't sure how he would react to some random college student trying to strike up a conversation about all of the details that surround his possible execution.
You may be asking "What exactly did he send you?", and here is the list of what was inside.
- 2 photos of himself during interview from 2011
- an 18 page handwritten letter (9pgs front and back)
- Issue #35 of Hell Hole News (This is a newsletter he writes himself and publishes it online)
- A draft of what will be HHN #36 with commentary from himself
Needless to say I was mind-blown by the amount of effort he put into gathering all of this material for me, writing such an intelligent and clear letter, and answering all of my questions. I also felt really bad when I saw a stamp for $5.15 on the letter, and realized that I probably used up a lot of his commissary money by making him spend the money to send me a letter back :(
I'm hoping that I can keep up my conversation with him on whatever things we decide to discuss, but most of all I just want him to know that he has someone to talk to. He has been interviewed by famous film producer Werner Herzog (watch it here) and many other people. I'm super thankful (as I'm sure he is) that he currently does not have an execution date set because of DNA testing that is currently going on in his case. I want to keep learning more from him gaining his perspective on things because talking to him will give me information that no generic textbook will be able to give me.
IF this post sparks any sort of conversation, I would love to do a follow up post to this and start a discussion on here with people as well, not because I'm looking to argue or assert some sort of authority over those I disagree with, but because I find this topic extremely interesting.
So for anyone that reads this, I'm hoping my view on the death penalty is still pretty well hidden, and hopefully this post will intrigue someone to start their own conversation with someone facing death. Sending a letter is so easy, but I can infer from the response I got from Hank that it really does mean a lot.
Take all of this into consideration, and if you'd like to know more details about the information he sent me I could totally do a more in depth post, or maybe even a video on what he had to say!
Thanks for the read.
Kyle
Do you support the use of the death penalty?
Think it over for a second, and I'd love to hear your reasons why you do/don't support it.
I don't want to just spew out my opinion out because at least at this time I think it would be best if I kept it to myself, but over the last 4 years in criminal justice program I have had the chance to become informed on almost all aspects of both sides of the argument. This year I decided to take an elective class aptly named "The Death Penalty", and while a lot of the topics covered this semester have been review for me I have been trying to take on a more active role in gaining information from sources other than your typical textbook or set of lecture notes. I decided to contact someone who has been involved with the death penalty process for a long time now, and had come within 20 minutes of execution himself until the United States Supreme Court granted him a stay to further allow for DNA testing on evidence that he claims will prove his innocence, or that at least someone else committed the crime. I sent a letter to Hank Skinner, or as his address states "prisoner #999143". This was about 3 weeks ago.
Well, today I went to check the mail for any more Christmas presents that I had ordered for people, and I received a present myself when this this small manilla envelope came in the mail for me!
I was a little stunned that corresponding with a prisoner, let alone a death row inmate took so little time. When I told my professor that I sent the letter out she said expect it to take longer than a month to get back to you. Welp, she was wrong!
The letter I sent him contained some general information about myself, my past, and my views on the death penalty.
The main reason behind sending the letter was to hear from him about conditions on death row at the Polunsky Unit (which is on the label in the picture), his views on the death penalty, and his opinions on the process and how he has lived his lived while incarcerated for the last 18 years.
Hank has been granted 2 stays of executions, and one of them was 20 minutes before he was to be executed. He has experienced everything this system has to offer except for being given the pentobarbital-filled needle. As you can see on the envelope it says that two photos are enclosed, and initially I was a little nervous to open because I wasn't sure how he would react to some random college student trying to strike up a conversation about all of the details that surround his possible execution.
You may be asking "What exactly did he send you?", and here is the list of what was inside.
- 2 photos of himself during interview from 2011
- an 18 page handwritten letter (9pgs front and back)
- Issue #35 of Hell Hole News (This is a newsletter he writes himself and publishes it online)
- A draft of what will be HHN #36 with commentary from himself
Needless to say I was mind-blown by the amount of effort he put into gathering all of this material for me, writing such an intelligent and clear letter, and answering all of my questions. I also felt really bad when I saw a stamp for $5.15 on the letter, and realized that I probably used up a lot of his commissary money by making him spend the money to send me a letter back :(
I'm hoping that I can keep up my conversation with him on whatever things we decide to discuss, but most of all I just want him to know that he has someone to talk to. He has been interviewed by famous film producer Werner Herzog (watch it here) and many other people. I'm super thankful (as I'm sure he is) that he currently does not have an execution date set because of DNA testing that is currently going on in his case. I want to keep learning more from him gaining his perspective on things because talking to him will give me information that no generic textbook will be able to give me.
IF this post sparks any sort of conversation, I would love to do a follow up post to this and start a discussion on here with people as well, not because I'm looking to argue or assert some sort of authority over those I disagree with, but because I find this topic extremely interesting.
So for anyone that reads this, I'm hoping my view on the death penalty is still pretty well hidden, and hopefully this post will intrigue someone to start their own conversation with someone facing death. Sending a letter is so easy, but I can infer from the response I got from Hank that it really does mean a lot.
Take all of this into consideration, and if you'd like to know more details about the information he sent me I could totally do a more in depth post, or maybe even a video on what he had to say!
Thanks for the read.
Kyle
Labels:
death penalty,
death penalty information center,
death row,
DPIC,
electrocution,
exoneration,
gas chamber,
Hank Skinner,
inmate,
innocence project,
lethal injection,
murder,
personal,
Polunsky Unit,
prisoner,
Texas
Friday, November 2, 2012
October 2012 LSAT - How did you do?
So I know that I make this all about Starcraft 2, but I also have a life outside of this game (hence why barely ever have time to post).
Warning: This isn't one of those confidence boosting stories, it's probably closer to the opposite.
So back on October 6th I took the LSAT, or Law School Admission Test, after studying for the past 3 months. I didn't use fancy Kaplan test prep courses that cost $2,500, or hire a private tutor to teach me the ins and outs of the test. I bought 2 practice books that covered the whole test, as well as a little prep book that focused solely on logic games, and I tried to teach myself.
I struggled with most of the sections while I practiced. It made me so excited to be getting 13-15 right on each section. One of the prep books came with a free full LSAT online. I took this before I studied anything, and ended up scoring a 142. The test is scored on a scale of 120-180, so this was not a good score at all.
I watched videos online explaining how to master each of the sections, read the review books, and did practice sets daily. I still wasn't getting anywhere, and it was frustrating because I feel like I'm grasping the concepts but the results aren't showing it. From August-October I suspended my social life to study with every free minute I had. Around the end of September I signed up for a free "mock" LSAT that the Princeton review was offering at one of their offices. I took the test, and after a week found out that I had scored a 144.
Being a week out from the real thing, I knew that I wasn't progressing fast enough and was seriously questioning how well I could do. My goal was to get at least a 150 on the October test because this scores usually lies right around the average score for most students, and would give me a decent shot (combined with letters of recommendation, GPA, and resume) at getting into at least a couple law schools. I knew that I couldn't compete with the super-distinguished HSY-striving students who had been studying for the last half a year through prep classes, but also just having the natural talent to do well at this of stuff. It was unrealistic to think I could score anywhere near the 170 + range.
October 6th came around, I felt prepared and positive for the most part. I had the logic games and their different boards racing through my head, and also what my technique would be for answering the logical reasoning sections (I now know this strategy needs some tuning). I stayed calm during the test for the most part and I completed each section right on time, feeling confident about my performance with each passing section.
The scores were rumored to come out on October 29th, but Hurricane Sandy ended up shutting down the LSAC, so they were not able to release the scores, but they said that they planned on having them released by Thursday, November 1st. It was the longest week of my life, as well as the most anxious-excited I've even been about getting a test back. Yesterday, around 6:30 pm, I sat glued to my computer while furiously refreshing my email, eagerly waiting for what could be a score that would further my dreams of becoming a lawyer. I wanted this so bad.
The email came in, and it read "Your October 2012 LSAT score is 145. The percentile rank is 27." The wave of emotions that came over me were a mix of disappointment in myself, and just sadness that I hadn't achieved what I set out to do. Based on my feelings from taking the test, I just expected to do so much better than that. I actually thought I might see a 150, that's how confident I was that I had improved. In the end, I had manged to bring my score up 1 little point.
Luckily for me, the December LSAT is coming up and I'm already registered. I have one month to figure out how to, not conquer, but be more proficient on this test. I want that 150 at least, but I know that I can push myself for so much better. I have one month to drill as hard as I can. One month, to try to push my prep test scores higher and higher.
My next couple posts might be reflective on how well/bad I'm doing in practice, along with how I'm scoring in each section.
How did everyone else's scores go? Hopefully, and probably, better than mine -_-
I'll be focusing particularly on logical reasoning, so if any of you have good techniques for tackling these types of questions feel free to post a response. Thanks!
Warning: This isn't one of those confidence boosting stories, it's probably closer to the opposite.
So back on October 6th I took the LSAT, or Law School Admission Test, after studying for the past 3 months. I didn't use fancy Kaplan test prep courses that cost $2,500, or hire a private tutor to teach me the ins and outs of the test. I bought 2 practice books that covered the whole test, as well as a little prep book that focused solely on logic games, and I tried to teach myself.
I struggled with most of the sections while I practiced. It made me so excited to be getting 13-15 right on each section. One of the prep books came with a free full LSAT online. I took this before I studied anything, and ended up scoring a 142. The test is scored on a scale of 120-180, so this was not a good score at all.
I watched videos online explaining how to master each of the sections, read the review books, and did practice sets daily. I still wasn't getting anywhere, and it was frustrating because I feel like I'm grasping the concepts but the results aren't showing it. From August-October I suspended my social life to study with every free minute I had. Around the end of September I signed up for a free "mock" LSAT that the Princeton review was offering at one of their offices. I took the test, and after a week found out that I had scored a 144.
Being a week out from the real thing, I knew that I wasn't progressing fast enough and was seriously questioning how well I could do. My goal was to get at least a 150 on the October test because this scores usually lies right around the average score for most students, and would give me a decent shot (combined with letters of recommendation, GPA, and resume) at getting into at least a couple law schools. I knew that I couldn't compete with the super-distinguished HSY-striving students who had been studying for the last half a year through prep classes, but also just having the natural talent to do well at this of stuff. It was unrealistic to think I could score anywhere near the 170 + range.
October 6th came around, I felt prepared and positive for the most part. I had the logic games and their different boards racing through my head, and also what my technique would be for answering the logical reasoning sections (I now know this strategy needs some tuning). I stayed calm during the test for the most part and I completed each section right on time, feeling confident about my performance with each passing section.
The scores were rumored to come out on October 29th, but Hurricane Sandy ended up shutting down the LSAC, so they were not able to release the scores, but they said that they planned on having them released by Thursday, November 1st. It was the longest week of my life, as well as the most anxious-excited I've even been about getting a test back. Yesterday, around 6:30 pm, I sat glued to my computer while furiously refreshing my email, eagerly waiting for what could be a score that would further my dreams of becoming a lawyer. I wanted this so bad.
The email came in, and it read "Your October 2012 LSAT score is 145. The percentile rank is 27." The wave of emotions that came over me were a mix of disappointment in myself, and just sadness that I hadn't achieved what I set out to do. Based on my feelings from taking the test, I just expected to do so much better than that. I actually thought I might see a 150, that's how confident I was that I had improved. In the end, I had manged to bring my score up 1 little point.
Luckily for me, the December LSAT is coming up and I'm already registered. I have one month to figure out how to, not conquer, but be more proficient on this test. I want that 150 at least, but I know that I can push myself for so much better. I have one month to drill as hard as I can. One month, to try to push my prep test scores higher and higher.
My next couple posts might be reflective on how well/bad I'm doing in practice, along with how I'm scoring in each section.
How did everyone else's scores go? Hopefully, and probably, better than mine -_-
I'll be focusing particularly on logical reasoning, so if any of you have good techniques for tackling these types of questions feel free to post a response. Thanks!
Labels:
1L,
applications,
applying,
december,
law school,
LSAC,
LSAT,
NJ,
october,
personal,
practice tests,
VT
Saturday, September 15, 2012
TvP 2-Rax poke into 2-1-1 all-in
Hey there!
As promised, I have made a tutorial for the build that I talked about in my last post and that I used all during season 8 to a get a TvP win rate of 63%!
Here is the build order:
10 supply
12 rax
14 gas
15 OC + marine (reactor after marine)
16 rax #2 (tech lab right after)
17 supply
^^that is all you need to set up the poke.
Remember
-It's just a poke, try not to lose all of your units
-Push with your first marauder
-constant 2 marine 1 marauder production
-rally to the front of his base(or a marauder)
- Decide based on what you see whether you will keep harassing or head home to build up an army.
In the event that the poke didn't win the game (which it won't a lot of the time)
- take 2nd gas + factory (add tech lab once done)
- build starport right after
- goal is to push with 3 tank (siege finished), 1 medivac, and a ball of army.
- tech lab on starport-start banshee as you push out.
- Lastly, pull 8-12 SCVs and get over to his base ASAP.
Good luck and I hope this build brings you a lot of success!
As promised, I have made a tutorial for the build that I talked about in my last post and that I used all during season 8 to a get a TvP win rate of 63%!
Here is the build order:
10 supply
12 rax
14 gas
15 OC + marine (reactor after marine)
16 rax #2 (tech lab right after)
17 supply
^^that is all you need to set up the poke.
Remember
-It's just a poke, try not to lose all of your units
-Push with your first marauder
-constant 2 marine 1 marauder production
-rally to the front of his base(or a marauder)
- Decide based on what you see whether you will keep harassing or head home to build up an army.
In the event that the poke didn't win the game (which it won't a lot of the time)
- take 2nd gas + factory (add tech lab once done)
- build starport right after
- goal is to push with 3 tank (siege finished), 1 medivac, and a ball of army.
- tech lab on starport-start banshee as you push out.
- Lastly, pull 8-12 SCVs and get over to his base ASAP.
Good luck and I hope this build brings you a lot of success!
Labels:
1 base,
2 rax,
2 rax poke,
all-in,
battle.net,
halby,
protoss,
team liquid,
terran,
tvp
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)