What does it mean when all your friends are being arrested? I may have to spend a little more time with that question now that they nabbed my buddy Vinnie Procopio (pictured above at the 2007 LAPC). That makes four people I know arrested in the last few weeks on gambling charges.

I think Wicked Chops is trying to come up with a mob nickname for him, but I have always called him Vinnie “Prairie Dog” Procopio, because of the way he’s always popping up out of his seat when he plays. I guess Prairie Dog doesn’t quite work as a fearsome mob name though. In LA, Vinnie played some of the best short-stacked poker I’d ever seen. So I think he’s probably handling the situation with his usual, but unique to Jersey, calm.

In other news, we no longer have to worry about global warming. Climate scientists the world over noticed a decided and permanent shift in the weather a little over a week ago. They were able to identify the cause; hell had indeed frozen over, giving us at least 120 more years to spew crap into the atmosphere with impunity.

It took them awhile to track the actual source, but have now decided that it occurred the minute wildbill got engaged…to a woman even. One of the last remaining pokerboyz’ confirmed bachelors is tossing in the towel. I knew something was up when the wildone (pictured above with his intended…no wait…that’s a horse) took the woman on a date to the gun range; I mean that’s serious. Being the true romantic that he is, he proposed over the phone. Coward. Of course, if the Shrink actually settles down, it will mark the beginning of the new Ice Age. Luckily for the rest of the world, the Shrink seems more than content just grazing through EHarmony.

I’m a bit frazzled this week. The family pulls in tomorrow and the kitchen and family room are stripped down to the bare concrete. Mmmmm. How cozy. I’ve been doing utilitarian shopping for myself lately, so today’s trip to the grocery store was a bit mind boggling. What does one do in the produce aisle?

I played my new “home game” again this week. Again I made the final table without moneying. I did have one fun moment when I got a guy to lay down pocket aces by convincing that him I caught quads on the river. It’s just a really great group of guys. And if I ever need work done on my house (I mean if I ever pay someone to do work on my house) this is like the Austin contracting trade brain trust.

Well I’d better do a little more cleaning for the fam’s arrival; I don’t want them to find too much mortar dust on their pillows.