New location for my blog
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posted by Monish at 11:12 PM
5 comments
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Friday, December 02, 2005
The Price is Right
In college my roommates and i always used to watch the Price is Right (10am ch4 in chambana). It was always my dream from then to be on the show, if nothing else to at least go to a taping of the show. That was one of the high priority things I was going to do while in Vegas. On Tuesday, November 29, my aunt, uncle and I went to the Price is Right taping at the CBS Studios in Hollywood. One more thing i could checkoff my list!
I ordered tickets online. its much better than trying to send a SASE and waiting for tickets. alternatively one could go to the studio and pick up tickets, however you cannot get same day tickets. Online is the best method -- it shows which days shows are being taped and if tickets are available. you can get upto 4 tickets online.
getting in the audience is a long procedure. first you show your ticket to get an order of arrival number. The gates to the studio open at 6am, we arrived at 6:30am and got numbers 112-114. Then we were told to come back at 8am, so we wandered off to the Farmers Market which is just south of the studio on Fairfax.
People with the lower numbers got there early, like 3am. Its definitely beneficial to get the lower numbers, you get seated in the rows right behind contestant row. Probably want a number less than 30. Next time i go i'll shoot for the real early number and get there around 3am.
ok, back to the story. we get back at 8am. they have everyone sit in order of the order of arrival number. then they go through and check the ticket (email printout or paper ticket), and assign a number. Nothing fancy, they write it on the email printout or ticket with a sharpie. This number is close to the order of arrival number but might be lower due to people leaving. Our numbers were 110-112. Then we were told to show up at 10am.
We got breakfast and then came back at 10am. We were seated again according to the new number (sharpie). Then they came around with numbered blue cards that had a detachable stub. On the stub we fill out our name and Social Security number, and then they verify that info and collect the stub. Bring a drivers license and social security card with you.
There are only like 4-5 pages doing this for over 300 people, so that procedure takes some time. Afterwards some pages come around and start making the nametags. By about noon we have our nametags. Yay! Now i feel like i'm gonna be in the audience!
Once you fill out the stub and get your nametag you cant leave the studio grounds. there is a small store with some food items, but really you cant get a good lunch. so i'd advise getting a huge breakfast and bringing some snacks in a paper/plastic bag as you cant bring a backpack.
next was the interview process. this is how they select contestants. a group of about 10 people go stand in front of a few producers and they ask a few questions. "Hey Monish, where are you from? what do you do?" and that's it. then you go wait outside the studio.
There was no pattern for the people picked as contestants. Some old, young, different ethnicities. Not all the people picked were rah-rah types, there were some pretty boring people on stage.
Taping began around 2:30pm and we were let in about 15 minutes early. the studio is cold and much smaller than it appears on TV. Rich Field, the announcer, warmed up the crowd. He brought a few people on stage to dance, had a few people take the mic and announce "Come on down, you're the next contestant on the Price is Right!!!" Eventually Bob Barker came out and the show began. The show portions went by fast. During breaks Bob would talk to the audience. Cool guy, answered a bunch of questions in a genuine manner. Everything ended around 4pm and we left.
The show will air on Jan 12, 2006. I wont go into details about what happened on the show. I did not get called as a contestant :(, but i will be back!
I ordered tickets online. its much better than trying to send a SASE and waiting for tickets. alternatively one could go to the studio and pick up tickets, however you cannot get same day tickets. Online is the best method -- it shows which days shows are being taped and if tickets are available. you can get upto 4 tickets online.
getting in the audience is a long procedure. first you show your ticket to get an order of arrival number. The gates to the studio open at 6am, we arrived at 6:30am and got numbers 112-114. Then we were told to come back at 8am, so we wandered off to the Farmers Market which is just south of the studio on Fairfax.
People with the lower numbers got there early, like 3am. Its definitely beneficial to get the lower numbers, you get seated in the rows right behind contestant row. Probably want a number less than 30. Next time i go i'll shoot for the real early number and get there around 3am.
ok, back to the story. we get back at 8am. they have everyone sit in order of the order of arrival number. then they go through and check the ticket (email printout or paper ticket), and assign a number. Nothing fancy, they write it on the email printout or ticket with a sharpie. This number is close to the order of arrival number but might be lower due to people leaving. Our numbers were 110-112. Then we were told to show up at 10am.
We got breakfast and then came back at 10am. We were seated again according to the new number (sharpie). Then they came around with numbered blue cards that had a detachable stub. On the stub we fill out our name and Social Security number, and then they verify that info and collect the stub. Bring a drivers license and social security card with you.
There are only like 4-5 pages doing this for over 300 people, so that procedure takes some time. Afterwards some pages come around and start making the nametags. By about noon we have our nametags. Yay! Now i feel like i'm gonna be in the audience!
Once you fill out the stub and get your nametag you cant leave the studio grounds. there is a small store with some food items, but really you cant get a good lunch. so i'd advise getting a huge breakfast and bringing some snacks in a paper/plastic bag as you cant bring a backpack.
next was the interview process. this is how they select contestants. a group of about 10 people go stand in front of a few producers and they ask a few questions. "Hey Monish, where are you from? what do you do?" and that's it. then you go wait outside the studio.
There was no pattern for the people picked as contestants. Some old, young, different ethnicities. Not all the people picked were rah-rah types, there were some pretty boring people on stage.
Taping began around 2:30pm and we were let in about 15 minutes early. the studio is cold and much smaller than it appears on TV. Rich Field, the announcer, warmed up the crowd. He brought a few people on stage to dance, had a few people take the mic and announce "Come on down, you're the next contestant on the Price is Right!!!" Eventually Bob Barker came out and the show began. The show portions went by fast. During breaks Bob would talk to the audience. Cool guy, answered a bunch of questions in a genuine manner. Everything ended around 4pm and we left.
The show will air on Jan 12, 2006. I wont go into details about what happened on the show. I did not get called as a contestant :(, but i will be back!
posted by Monish at 5:44 PM
4 comments
Friday, October 14, 2005
Football Picks Oct 15-16
Ok, no more betting on the Big10. Its killing me.
well, if i did have to bet on the Big10, here's what i would do: i'm not placing any $$$ on it, so watch, i'll get most of these correct.
wisc at minn, minn -5
not touching this, minn has injuries to their qb/rb
indiana at iowa, iowa -15
both these teams beat Illinois the past few weeks. i dont think iowa is that great, and indiana seems to be playing well. take indiana and the points.
mich st at ohio st, ohio st -7
both teams coming off losses, tho MSU has had 2 weeks to prepare. i think tOSU will be fired up coming off a loss to PennSt and MSU will come back to earth. take tOSU
northwestern at purdue, purdue -7.5
are you kidding me? northwestern will most likely win this game. purdue = BAD defense. take northwestern and the points.
(side note: the o/u here is like 68 or so, i'd also take the OVER)
penn state at michigan, michigan -3.5
michigan doesnt lose 2 big10 games at home in a row. the big10 refs will make sure of that :)
-------
ok, serious picks
--
Stanford at Arizona, Arizona -5.0, o/u 49
Arizona is coming off losses at Cal and USC. They've played a tough schedule so far, @Utah, Purdue, @Cal, @USC. This team should be ready to play a home game against a team they should beat.
Pick: Arizona -5.0; ideally take Arizona 1st half.
--
that's it for now, if i come up with any great ones i'll post them later
well, if i did have to bet on the Big10, here's what i would do: i'm not placing any $$$ on it, so watch, i'll get most of these correct.
wisc at minn, minn -5
not touching this, minn has injuries to their qb/rb
indiana at iowa, iowa -15
both these teams beat Illinois the past few weeks. i dont think iowa is that great, and indiana seems to be playing well. take indiana and the points.
mich st at ohio st, ohio st -7
both teams coming off losses, tho MSU has had 2 weeks to prepare. i think tOSU will be fired up coming off a loss to PennSt and MSU will come back to earth. take tOSU
northwestern at purdue, purdue -7.5
are you kidding me? northwestern will most likely win this game. purdue = BAD defense. take northwestern and the points.
(side note: the o/u here is like 68 or so, i'd also take the OVER)
penn state at michigan, michigan -3.5
michigan doesnt lose 2 big10 games at home in a row. the big10 refs will make sure of that :)
-------
ok, serious picks
--
Stanford at Arizona, Arizona -5.0, o/u 49
Arizona is coming off losses at Cal and USC. They've played a tough schedule so far, @Utah, Purdue, @Cal, @USC. This team should be ready to play a home game against a team they should beat.
Pick: Arizona -5.0; ideally take Arizona 1st half.
--
that's it for now, if i come up with any great ones i'll post them later
posted by Monish at 5:15 PM
1 comments
Friday, September 30, 2005
Football Picks for Sep30-Oct1
My football picks for this weekend:
Pitt at Rutgers
line: Pitt -1, o/u 48
This is an interesting game to handicap. Pitt has been pretty damn awful this year and has a bad coach (Wannstedt). Pitt's offense is bad, but its defense is decent. Rutgers is the opposite.
Pitt has been dominant in the series, winning the past 4 matchups. On paper i would expect Pitt to win easily. But...
The key for this game is that it is a nationally televised game (fri nite espn2). For a team like Rutgers, this does not happen often, and especially at home. I think Rutgers will be extremely fired up early in the game, and Pitt will be a bit apprehensive, especially with their struggling offense. I expect Rutgers to jump out a lead by halftime. In the 2nd half Pitt might wake up and realize they're playing Rutgers and win, or they might not.
Pick: bet on Rutgers for the 1st half.
----
Minnesota at Penn State
line: Minn -2.5, o/u 50
Minnesota at Penn State, an interesting matchup. Minnesota has a very good team this year and they finally overcame their big ten opener jinx by coming from behind to beat Purdue last week. I think we have a fired up Minnesota team that sees its big ten championship hopes intact. Minnesota also has been very good vs PSU recently, winning the past 2 matchups.
PSU barely beat NW. PSU is an ok team, but they have a very inconsistent quarterback in Michael Robinson. Minnesota's defense is 100x better than Northwestern's. Its really hard for me to be confident in an inconsistent quarterback. Plus with series history, Minnesota's confidence, and a quality running game, i think Minnesota is gonna win. WIth the line at -2.5, if they win by a FG then i win $$$. Final score 24-17 Minnesota.
Pick: Minn -2.5
---------
Notre Dame at Purdue
line: Purdue -3, o/u 58 or 57.5
In a rivalry game like this i expect both teams to play conservative and not try and make major mistakes. I dont expect either team to dominate the other, instead i see a hard fought game that will be won in the 4th quarter.
Although Purdue and ND have explosive offenses, in rivalry games like this i expect the game to be close and relatively low scoring. Lots of FGs and fewer TDs. In the past 4 years the total on this game has never been higher than 57, and during some of those years Purdue had an explosive offense. I dont expect that to change this year. I expect a final score of around 27-20, not sure who will win. So take the under
Pick: Under 57.5 or 58
-------
Illinois at Iowa
Line: Iowa -18, o/u 52
I'm only betting a few bucks on this game because i'm an Illini and i'm trying to avoid playing them unless i know its a lock. Anyways, Illinois is not as bad as they looked last week and Iowa is not as good as they were last year. Iowa should win easily, but I'm looking for Illinois to get a back door cover here.
Pick Illinois +18 *not a major play, only for my tv watching purposes
----
Michigan at Michigan State
Line: MSU -5.5, o/u 57
Chad Henne has looked really bad in the 2 big games Michigan has played this year (ND, at Wisc). Michigan could not shut down a 1-dimensional Wisconsin offense. MSU looks really good this year and has a powerful balanced offense. Michigan had a tough game last week vs Wisc, MSU has a laugher vs Illinois. I dont see how Michigan is gonna be able to score enough to hang with MSU, and I think the spread of less than a TD is generous. I expect a score of 31-21 MSU in this game.
Pick: MSU -5.5
-----
Virginia Tech at West Virginia
Line: VT -10, o/u -41.5
WV, a real good team, is getting 10pts at home. VT is good, but they only beat an average NCSt team on the road by 4pts. WV played very close to best vs ECU last week, only winning 20-15, while VT blew out GT at home. I think WV is saving themselves to play their best game of the year against VT, and I think they might just win. I'm looking at this more as a speculative game, since WV is +300 on the moneyline. I'm probably gonna throw $20 or so on WV to win outright here.
Pick: WVU +300 moneyline *speculative wager only, not for primary unit betting
----
Other games worth considering:
Florida at Alabama
Line: Florida -3.5 o/u 48
Tough SEC conference matchup between 2 very good, athletic defenses. Expect similar results to the FL-Tenn game. Low scoring game.
Pick: under 48
----
Washington St at Oregon St
Line: OSU -1.5
gut feel game. take the home team here. Wazzoo has a new QB, Alex Brink, and this is his conference opener. OSU is not that bad, they've just played 2 really good teams the last 2 weeks (at Louisville, Arizona State). Wazzoo will be much easier for them
Pick: OSU -1.5
Pitt at Rutgers
line: Pitt -1, o/u 48
This is an interesting game to handicap. Pitt has been pretty damn awful this year and has a bad coach (Wannstedt). Pitt's offense is bad, but its defense is decent. Rutgers is the opposite.
Pitt has been dominant in the series, winning the past 4 matchups. On paper i would expect Pitt to win easily. But...
The key for this game is that it is a nationally televised game (fri nite espn2). For a team like Rutgers, this does not happen often, and especially at home. I think Rutgers will be extremely fired up early in the game, and Pitt will be a bit apprehensive, especially with their struggling offense. I expect Rutgers to jump out a lead by halftime. In the 2nd half Pitt might wake up and realize they're playing Rutgers and win, or they might not.
Pick: bet on Rutgers for the 1st half.
----
Minnesota at Penn State
line: Minn -2.5, o/u 50
Minnesota at Penn State, an interesting matchup. Minnesota has a very good team this year and they finally overcame their big ten opener jinx by coming from behind to beat Purdue last week. I think we have a fired up Minnesota team that sees its big ten championship hopes intact. Minnesota also has been very good vs PSU recently, winning the past 2 matchups.
PSU barely beat NW. PSU is an ok team, but they have a very inconsistent quarterback in Michael Robinson. Minnesota's defense is 100x better than Northwestern's. Its really hard for me to be confident in an inconsistent quarterback. Plus with series history, Minnesota's confidence, and a quality running game, i think Minnesota is gonna win. WIth the line at -2.5, if they win by a FG then i win $$$. Final score 24-17 Minnesota.
Pick: Minn -2.5
---------
Notre Dame at Purdue
line: Purdue -3, o/u 58 or 57.5
In a rivalry game like this i expect both teams to play conservative and not try and make major mistakes. I dont expect either team to dominate the other, instead i see a hard fought game that will be won in the 4th quarter.
Although Purdue and ND have explosive offenses, in rivalry games like this i expect the game to be close and relatively low scoring. Lots of FGs and fewer TDs. In the past 4 years the total on this game has never been higher than 57, and during some of those years Purdue had an explosive offense. I dont expect that to change this year. I expect a final score of around 27-20, not sure who will win. So take the under
Pick: Under 57.5 or 58
-------
Illinois at Iowa
Line: Iowa -18, o/u 52
I'm only betting a few bucks on this game because i'm an Illini and i'm trying to avoid playing them unless i know its a lock. Anyways, Illinois is not as bad as they looked last week and Iowa is not as good as they were last year. Iowa should win easily, but I'm looking for Illinois to get a back door cover here.
Pick Illinois +18 *not a major play, only for my tv watching purposes
----
Michigan at Michigan State
Line: MSU -5.5, o/u 57
Chad Henne has looked really bad in the 2 big games Michigan has played this year (ND, at Wisc). Michigan could not shut down a 1-dimensional Wisconsin offense. MSU looks really good this year and has a powerful balanced offense. Michigan had a tough game last week vs Wisc, MSU has a laugher vs Illinois. I dont see how Michigan is gonna be able to score enough to hang with MSU, and I think the spread of less than a TD is generous. I expect a score of 31-21 MSU in this game.
Pick: MSU -5.5
-----
Virginia Tech at West Virginia
Line: VT -10, o/u -41.5
WV, a real good team, is getting 10pts at home. VT is good, but they only beat an average NCSt team on the road by 4pts. WV played very close to best vs ECU last week, only winning 20-15, while VT blew out GT at home. I think WV is saving themselves to play their best game of the year against VT, and I think they might just win. I'm looking at this more as a speculative game, since WV is +300 on the moneyline. I'm probably gonna throw $20 or so on WV to win outright here.
Pick: WVU +300 moneyline *speculative wager only, not for primary unit betting
----
Other games worth considering:
Florida at Alabama
Line: Florida -3.5 o/u 48
Tough SEC conference matchup between 2 very good, athletic defenses. Expect similar results to the FL-Tenn game. Low scoring game.
Pick: under 48
----
Washington St at Oregon St
Line: OSU -1.5
gut feel game. take the home team here. Wazzoo has a new QB, Alex Brink, and this is his conference opener. OSU is not that bad, they've just played 2 really good teams the last 2 weeks (at Louisville, Arizona State). Wazzoo will be much easier for them
Pick: OSU -1.5
posted by Monish at 1:37 PM
3 comments
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
applying for a job in vegas
the past few days i've gone around trying to get info on finding a job here in vegas. i'm looking for a casino job to get an idea of what life is like behind the scenes. hopefully i get something that might be cool.
almost all casinos use online applications, so i've filled out some of those. its kinda weird putting in Intel as the previous work and trying to explain what i did there when applying for a entry-level part time position at some casino. Casinos have a few different job categories - full-time, part-time, steady extra and extra board. FT/PT are self explanatory. Steady Extra means that you have a few scheduled days of work and then are on call in case someone cant make it in. Extra board means that you are always on call. i'm trying to avoid the Steady Extra and Extra Board positions.
i've applied for a Race and Sports Book Ticket Writer position at Luxor and a Players Club Representative at the Palms so far. I checked into getting a job at like Rain/Ghostbar, but with no luck. Rain/Ghostbar/Skin/etc at the Palms are run by a separate group, the N9NE group. They only had positions available for Cigarette Runner (yuck) and Retail Sales at this time.
if anything happens i'll post it here. wish me luck!
almost all casinos use online applications, so i've filled out some of those. its kinda weird putting in Intel as the previous work and trying to explain what i did there when applying for a entry-level part time position at some casino. Casinos have a few different job categories - full-time, part-time, steady extra and extra board. FT/PT are self explanatory. Steady Extra means that you have a few scheduled days of work and then are on call in case someone cant make it in. Extra board means that you are always on call. i'm trying to avoid the Steady Extra and Extra Board positions.
i've applied for a Race and Sports Book Ticket Writer position at Luxor and a Players Club Representative at the Palms so far. I checked into getting a job at like Rain/Ghostbar, but with no luck. Rain/Ghostbar/Skin/etc at the Palms are run by a separate group, the N9NE group. They only had positions available for Cigarette Runner (yuck) and Retail Sales at this time.
if anything happens i'll post it here. wish me luck!
posted by Monish at 8:41 PM
1 comments
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Las Vegas, Initial thoughts
Outside the strip, las vegas, from outside appearances, is a very bland city. if you've ever played SimCity, you will recognize a lot of that in Vegas. there are major streets on a orthogonal grid with certain areas zoned as residential, commercial, etc. all the houses and buildings look similar.
traffic here sucks. most of the left turns are protected lefts. and with the orthogonal nature of the city (no main diagonals), there are large lines for the left turn lanes. it might be easier to drive out of the way and make 3 rights instead of a left.
place i'm staying at is pretty nice. cheap (compared to NYC), in a nice neighborhood, and has wireless internet. i will be here until early/mid december.
things i'm planning to do while in Vegas for the next few months
* gamble on football
* roadtrips to Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Arches and Zion NP
* trips to Phoenix, San Diego and Los Angeles
* get on The Price is Right, and maybe a few other game shows
* job in a casino
* Spanish classes
i will post my football picks and commentary every week. feel free to offer suggestions, comments, criticism, etc.
traffic here sucks. most of the left turns are protected lefts. and with the orthogonal nature of the city (no main diagonals), there are large lines for the left turn lanes. it might be easier to drive out of the way and make 3 rights instead of a left.
place i'm staying at is pretty nice. cheap (compared to NYC), in a nice neighborhood, and has wireless internet. i will be here until early/mid december.
things i'm planning to do while in Vegas for the next few months
* gamble on football
* roadtrips to Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Arches and Zion NP
* trips to Phoenix, San Diego and Los Angeles
* get on The Price is Right, and maybe a few other game shows
* job in a casino
* Spanish classes
i will post my football picks and commentary every week. feel free to offer suggestions, comments, criticism, etc.
posted by Monish at 11:20 AM
3 comments
