Bloggasm

Scott Chaffin: I’m 45, married, three kids, in high-tech sales as a
career with a background in mainframe systems admin before becoming a
salesman. Half-rancher, with many different irons in the fire, and
pretty bad card player.

Simon Owens: Do you think that now that poker has become the new fad that playing it now has lost some of its charm?

SC: No, poker has always been a great game, it’s just that a new generation is discovering it. I’m very glad they are discovering it, as I get to indulge a life-long passion that had been dormant for many years. There are unquestionably faddish aspects to the current boom, but in the long run, there will now be millions who love the game, and will continue to play for the rest of their lives. Hopefully, we’ll be able to play legally some day soon here in Texas.

SO: Do you think that there will be fewer and fewer poker pros as any Joe Schmoe can now watch the pros on television and learn how to play well?

SC: That’s almost laughable, once you get to know the game of poker. What happens on teevee is so condensed that it’s practically impossible to learn poker well from the tube. That’s just one layer of the game, and it’s been heavily edited and produced to make an enjoyable viewing experience…which has not a whole lot to do with tactics and strategy.

SO: Do you think Texas holds its own kind of state pride that isn’t as strong in other states?

SC: Absolutely. We were our own nation once, so we’ve got that huge history that we all hope to live up to. We’re geographically huge, and geographically diverse — five distinct areas, as I recall, from mountains to swamps to deep woods to desert to plains. There are so many things here that I can point to that make me proud to be from here, it’s almost hilarious. Personally, my favorite export is cultural, our music, of all types. I could listen to nothing but music by Texans for the rest of my life and be pretty happy. You can’t go wrong helping yourself to a Shiner Bock, either, while the tunes are playing.

SO: What are the five blogs everyone should be reading (besides your own)?

SC: Man, it’s hard to stop once I get going. Guess I better try, though. In no particular order:
Alan Sullivan
Francis Poretto
Craig Henry
Florida Cracker
With Cheese!
Spirit Fingers
Kevin Whited

Let me plug my wife’s newly relaunched project, texasgigs.com. It’s a very cool partnership with a smart young man who’s working very hard to change the media / journalism dynamic in our city. I’m thrilled to be even tangentially involved with what she’s doing with Mike, and what it might mean for the future of The Newspaper.

You can find The Fat Guy over here