Online Observations

Learn the game before playing it

A couple of weeks ago I had written about online casinos and gaming online in general. When it comes to gaming, there are two types of players (whether playing online or otherwise) – casual-for-fun players and serious-for-money players. The casual for fun players normally hit the slot machines, or roulette, or craps, or other such games. But the serious for money players usually go after games such as poker or black jack. The difference between the two is that while all of them are games of chance, the latter games are also dependent on the skills of the player.

Now, if you would like to be in the second category of the players, then you better learn the game that you are playing very well. You can start out by learning the different types of games. These vary a lot, and even within game types, there are tons of variations. For example, poker alone has a large number of variations, different game types, mixture of game types, and so on (with one of the most popular being Texas Hold’em). What you need to develop and learn are the rules of the game that you pick (which is easy) and the strategies of the game (which is hard, given there is no end), and to develop the quality that makes you a good poker player (which is the hardest, since that is so hard to define).

The good news is that at least for the first two, there are plenty of resources out there which can help you out. I am sure there are guidelines and commentaries about the last one as well. How do you go about looking for these tips? Well, you search for them – for example, for Texas Hold’em, you would search for hold’em tips on your favorite search engine, and you should find a lot of information (and to get you started I have linked to one such site). You will get access to guides, tips, videos, psychology (that third point), various aids to quickly calculate the mathematics of the game, and basically everything that you need to turn you into a serious card player.

These resources will even help you find rooms where you can play, with the various characteristics of the rooms along with reviews. There are people who teach these games for a living (and there are a lot who learn). The teachers are past or current professional players. You can watch games being played by other people and learn from them. And you can get access to a lot of training tools which can help you hone your own skills at the game. I have watched some of these games on TV and to say that these are just a game of chance is totally incorrect. They require serious skill, and consequently require serious training and practice to acquire the skill.

Here’s a video of a poker game going on. Watch it and see if it is exciting (there was a reason that Casino Royale – the James Bond flick – was such a thriller – part of the thrill was in the poker game):

Here’s a new way to play Guitar Hero

I love the folks behind Microsoft Research as they are always doing something super cool. Take for instance this new interface that they are developing called the “Muscle-Computer Interface”. This allows them to detect control input by sensing the movement of your muscles in your arm when you do something with your hands. I could never explain it well, so you better watch this demo video. Essentially, you will be able to play Guitar Hero without the Guitar.

Most amazing creativity and talent

I can never get over how talented a place the world is. There are so many people out there who are just geniuses of what they do. I found someone on Flickr, and her name is Alejandra Salgado. She is a painter, and she posts photographs of her work on Flickr. And all I can say is wow. The only way to explain my reaction is to share some of her work and to let you go look at the rest for yourself on Flickr.

Here are a few of her latest posts on Flickr:

If you enjoyed this, and you want to see more, here’s a link to her photo stream on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/salgadopintora/.

A lot of lives are lost because people just don’t know that they can help

YouTube is a destination for a lot of people for entertainment. It also represent a channel for people who need to reach out to a large audience for help. Sadly, these help seeking videos never get as viral as the entertaining ones. Take a look at the video below:

This girl passed away last year (yup, it is an old video… over one and a half years old). This video has garnered only around 40,000 views. It is very sad. But what can we do about it? What we can do is we can gain some knowledge about what can be done to help.

People donate blood all the time, and it helps save hundreds of lives across the globe. Why do people do that? Because people know that it is possible and it requires no risk to the person donating. Similarly, it is possible to donate your bone marrow to someone who needs it. The only difference is that a bone marrow donation is always needed in a situation where the recipient has no other option left for staying alive.

Read again: The recipient has no other option left for staying alive.

So, how do you donate bone marrow? By being part of a registry for Bone Marrow Donation. Be The Match (the registry I just linked to) is one such place. It is also mentioned in the video above. What they essentially do is act as an exchange between people who are willing to donate, and people who need the transplant. This is the first step that you have to take.

I began by saying that not enough people donate because not enough people know that it is something that can be done, and it is something that can save lives, and it is something that poses little or no risk to the donor. Here are some quick facts:

1. Less than 5% of the donors bone marrow is needed for a transplant. This is replaced within 4-6 weeks by the donors body.

2. In a lot of cases, this amount of bone marrow can be harvested simply from the blood stream. The process involves taking some medication to which promotes release of marrow in the blood stream, which can be harvested.

3. Even in the cases where the marrow is retrieved directly from the bones (which is needed sometimes), the procedure is done under anesthesia, and is not painful for the donor.

4. Most patients are able to get this done without having to stay in the hospital, and a complete recovery from symptoms such as fatigue is achieved within 2-3 weeks.

If you go to that registry site above, you will get answers to questions in by looking at the FAQs. I agree that it is not as simple as donating blood, but on the other hand you are saving a person’s life. And that has to count for something.

Finally, the rest of the world can access the awesome Kindle

The Amazon Kindle book reader has always been in my sights as a must have gadgets. I buy over 50 novels or books each year, and that alone will easily pay off the price of the device in less than a year. Not only that, it will help me because I will reduce the use of paper further in my life (which is being environmentally conscious).

The one thing that has kept me from buying it so far is the fact that it works only inside the United States… or it used to. But that is no longer true. Amazon has now launched an international version of the Kindle – here’s the product page for Kindle International. This is perfect for me. It guarantees connectivity in almost all the places I visit in the world, although the only thing that is free (when it comes to downloading content over the air) is the download of purchased books. That suits me just fine.

I can use the USB connection for translating documents and other reading material by hooking it up to my laptop. I am definitely buying this baby within the next couple of months. This is going to be such a lot of fun.

The only downside is that I will have to give up my love of the physical form of the books. I love books as much for their content as for their feel. For example, I prefer to buy hard cover copies because they are usually printed in better font and on better paper. It makes a noticeable difference in the comfort of reading if you have a nicely printed book. Still, I can’t wait to get my hands on the Kindle.

The most awesome fan ever?

What do you say when you become a fan of a fan? But this is no ordinary fan. Take a look at the picture below; are you expecting bladed to come out all of a sudden from somewhere? But no, this not an ordinary fan. This is a bladeless fan designed by Dyson. The fan uses aerodynamics principles to create an airflow inducing air from behind the fan into a continuous flow towards the front.

It basically takes in air from a small vent hole from the bottom, and then throws it out along the sides of the ring which causes air from behind the fan to get sucked into the fan as well. To see how that works, go to the page here: http://www.dyson.com/technology/airmultiplier.asp. They explain how the air multiplies technology works on this thing.

Sadly though this is not retailing yet, but it will pretty soon. Its expensive alright – $300 and up. But, I think something like this should be bought no matter the price (if you can afford it, i.e.)

Love it.

If you have a gaming streak, try going online

Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Macao, and a lot of other places in the world are popular destinations for people willing to try their luck in a Casino. Some people do it for fun, others are professional gamers for games such as poker and blackjack. However, its not always feasible to just hop on a plane and go to your favorite casino. And that is where the Internet comes to the rescue – you can go to an Online Casino. Online Casinos (such as the one linked) offer players a chance to indulge in casino gaming from the comfort of their homes and the privacy of their computers.

Most online casinos offer the entire variety of games which you find in a normal casino – slot machines, roulette, various card games, craps, etc. Some online casinos even offer multiplayer games where instead of playing against a computer you play with other human players on the table (as you would in a real casino). Typically, a Casino may ask you to install a software on your computer (which is normal for a lot of the casinos as they use this software to run the games on your computer). Some casinos simply work in the browser using Flash technologies.

If you are a seasoned player, then you can usually just dive right in. But if you are a rank newbie, then you might want to either stick to something simple like the slot machines, or if you really want to make money instead of having fun, there are many strategies to follow that can increase your probability of making money (online or offline in a real casino). Search the Internet for topics such as “making money with an online casino”, or similar. Watch the videos and read the tutorials; try out several strategies using small amounts of wager before committing big money. However, at the end of the day remember that these are still games of chance, and with that there is always a chance of losing no matter what. So, try to have fun while playing.

Typically, most online casinos offer various signup bonuses and loyalty rewards for sticking around on their website. There are several rules, however, which govern the uses of such bonuses to ensure that players are not just cheating by signing up, taking bonuses, and then trying to withdraw away.

On the flip side of things, one should watch out for several things before starting to play online. One thing that you should know is whether this is permissible in your country – if not, you can get in trouble by going to online casinos in your country. You can visit this topic on Wikipedia to see a discussion about the legality of online casino gaming in your country. But remember, the Wikipedia is not a source of legal advice, so double check before engaging. The other thing to watch out for is that some casinos are not honest themselves. They can engage in various mechanisms to cheat the player. Casinos have been known to use unfair game algorithms, to delay payouts for player’s winnings, or change terms and conditions of playing after the player has joined. So, before you decide to spend money on an online casino, do search the Internet for its reputation. Usually, players who have been burned by a casino will post about it on Internet forums and blogs, and so you should scout before you spend.

So log on, and start playing.