As gambling is legal in New Zealand, I play and lose tournaments at the Lanes, a local ten pin bowling club. I’d like to think my skill is improving, but it’s hard to say. My goal is to win a tournament in the next six months.

Although the game can be frustrating, the poker community is great. Not only are its members diverse, they share a unique vocabulary. For example have you heard of the flop, the turn, the river, a Dolly Parton¹, an Anna Kournikova², a bad beat, a boat and a nut flush?

That’s only a few. During the night you can someone say, “I had pocket nines and flopped a boat. He was on a flush draw.” I love the language.

Besides poker I play ping-pong every week with Andy. Again I don’t win, and when we play I focus on how to lose gracefully. I refuse to spit the dummy!³

Through two months of gaming I now realize I have an addictive personality. First poker, then ping-pong. What’s next? How do I become addicted to something productive?

<sub>1. This is when your two starting cards are nine and five, live the movie
2. This is when your two starting cards are ace and king. This is named after her because it looks good but rarely wins
3. A dummy is a pacifier. To spit the dummy means to throw a tantrum</sub>

Sign up and start making stuff! If you smoke or drink you’ll be used to addiction, so go right ahead.

A few months ago I made this long table and this square table. You can see my Ponoko profile, and see the case study about my table.

Supervery Sue and I are collaborating on our next Ponoko project. It’s going to kick ass.

Update: My table was featured on BoingBoing (how cool is that?) and m-net.

Each team (New Zealand and Australia) will build a website in one day for a non-profit organization.

“At the end of 24 hours, a team of judges will review both sites and select the winner. International pride, bragging rights and a trophy will follow for the winning team.”

Wish us luck!