my 5 week report Marc S - 05:44pm Oct 31, 2005 PST

hello everyone, my name is marc stiffler. So far I've been doing lots of reading this quarter. I've read three or 4 different books about gambling, chance and probability. These had an emphasis on the theory of probability (statistics) as well actual information about popular gambling games. Some examples of gambling games that I've read into our roulette, video poker, craps and blackjack. For blackjack i read a book called "Beat the dealer" which taught players of blackjack how to count cards and bet accordingly. Pretty interesting, I tried out some of my new knowledge at the Red Wind Casino off Yelm highway, as well as the card tables at Westside lanes Casino. So far I've won over 180 dollars in these ventures.

I have also been reading books about crime, which are very fascinating to me. I just finished two books by the famous con artist Frank Abangale, one called "the art of steal" and the other "catch me if you can". Catch me if you can was made into a film by steven spielberg starring tom hanks and Leo D. Very riveting. I have just recently started reading a book called Papillon about a prison escape.

Recently I attended a Puget Sound Mycological Society Convention in Seattle. It was amazing, there was a giant conference room filled with thousands of mushrooms all identified and with commentary. There was also a tasting room where we got some chanterelles, delicious! And for those who don't know, the Evergreen woods has its treasure chest of chanterelles, if you keep your eyes peeled.

This is the bulk of my studies this quarter so far, I'm also reading a book on Native American history called "The Earth Shall Weep" by James Wilson.

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