Packing and upgrading

I have been working on this for a while, but until the last couple of weeks, I haven't really done much work to get it done.

However, a couple of weeks ago I finally got off my duff to begin doing something about it.

It's been a long time coming, but it's time for the site to move.

I finally got my own domain, and for now will post here and there. Starting next month I will begin posting there exclusively. The feeds will redirect and I will only post over there.

So, take out the blogspot of the address here, and you have the new site:

http://francaseplace.com

I'm building the blogroll slowly and tinkering with the format but I kinda like it now.

Feel free to drop on by.

In the meantime, after June, Blogger can go DIAF.

Live-blogging the Dankie

Dank? Mookie? Both?

I dunno, but let's live-blog it. I've played seven or eight of these tourneys and failed to cash so far. Deplorable. Fullt Tilt, please treat me a little better tonight. Mmmmkay?

10:00 Off with 84 runners so far. I only recognize two names at my table.

10:14: Waffles got moved to my left. Thank you God! Time to chip back up.

10:18: Take a small pot off Waffles to move back over a starting stack. We are at 91 donkeys tonight. Final table of 9 pays out, with the winner getting a 3-in-23 chnce of a Main Event seat.

10:20: Maybe some music will do too. Dude, next month pay for the server space to get your site back.

10:25: Fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, raise and take, fold, fold, fold, fold.....

10:33: Apparently folding 20 straight hands isn't enough to convince people to stay away. Pissed away about half my stack on that hand.

10:35: Do I want to try to bust Waffles? Sure.

10:36: AYFKM? My K-J v. his K-8. Guess what shows up on the flop.

DIAF.

Next hand, K-K, and I shove all 240 chips in...and run them into Aces.

I think I'll go back to Cake.

Hammertime

U can't touch this...

Hammer boats are frigging AWESOME!

I checked the BB and bet on every street, including a push on the river, and got called all the way down.

Still went out 60th in the Mookie/Dank out of 96...but it was fun. This edition of the BBT has been fun so far, even if it has been fruitless so far.

GeekDad in Practice

So, I'm solo with the kids all through the weekend. As usual, I try to make the weekend as packed as I possibly can.

Yesterday was a normal school day, with playground after school, a healthy dinner of chicken, broccoli, and macaroni (cut me SOME slack, after all) and in bed by 9:30 on a Friday.

(We'll ignore not being asleep until 11:00, as I was working on auditing an APO chapter's books last night while the kids were in bed with me. Hooray for multitasking!)

Today, I tried to pack in as much as I could, after a healthy, relaxed breakfast at home. Thankfully, the kids like strawberry waffles.

• Ballet for Sammie, from 10 to 11.
• Home to change.
• Head to Emory, to deliver the paperwork used for the audit and discuss that Emory's APO chapter was doing a pretty darn good job.
• Stop for snacks.
• Stop at a dojo near the house to learn about possible classes for Alex.
• Lunch - pizza.
• Local comic book shops Raven's Nest and Dr. No's, for Free Comic Book Day. Each of the kids now has their first comic books ever - Iron Man for Alex, and Toy Story for Sammie.

Once home, a couple hours of cleaning, included folding several loads of laundry, before making chicken alfredo and movie night. In this case, we went with a disc of Return of the Jedi, instead of Revenge of the Sith which was on TV

Alex has seen all of the original trilogy, but none of the prequels. Thankfully, he likes all of the originals. Tomorrow, that will change, as we will watch Revenge of the Sith.

Sometimes, I do need to punidh him, but not so much as to make him sit through the Phantom Menace, and really I don't think I need to make him sit through Attack of the Clones either when I can barely sit through it.

Thankfully, this was still a fun and productive day.

Trivia helper

Tuesday night I went out to trivia with some friends. Before I left, I ate dinner at home with the kids, and Phineas and Ferb (the kids' latest favorite show, which is thankfully not dumbed down very much) was on.

The show had a mention of the mother as a one-hit wonder, and the wife pointed out the beltbuckle of "Toy" which I didn't get at first, but was apparently a Madonna reference of wearing a belt buckle that said "Boy Toy".

Apparently old age makes me forget random trivia moments. Or, I was paying more attention to Bon Jovi than Madonna. Would make sense, considering how old I was at the time.

Fast forward two hours to trivia, and this question pops up:

"When Madonna performed at the 1984 VMA's, she wore a white bustier, wedding dress, and belt. What did the belt buckle say?"

So, I guess I can credit the wife for helping us to finish first in trivia.

Unfortunately, since then I've basically had no voice either, meaning I've worked from home yesterday and I'm hobbling around today.

Still, it seemed a very funny coincidence.

Revelations coming

Within the next day or two, I'll have an epic post about why I've been so drawn down the last few months and why I've been so distracted away from many things, including this little nugget. I promise not to painfully draw it out anymore or post it in 12 different parts like LOST.

Feeling slightly re-charged, but with everything over the last few months it's taken a while to get my thoughts down completely.

In the meantime, let's link dump:

• My division now has a Facebook profile, and it's more active than mine, which is cool and scary at the same time. Kudos, though.


• Florida finally gets real poker, instead of 2-4 no fold-em hold-em or $100 cap tables.


• Boobs for science.


• Bumblebee is not as tall as I expected him to be, as seen in the pic to the right my sister took in Hollywood.


• New salon and spa opened in midtown NY by folks from my old elementary school. I'm glad it's an upscale spa and not one of those seedy highway "spas".


• Overheard @ Tao Beach: "Jersey shore is in the ***** building!". Please make this Jersey Shore and Pretty Wild phenomenon go away, please. I'm begging you.


• Going to Las Vegas? Do three or four buffets for the price of one.


• Rex Ryan gives words of encouragement to Tiger Woods before the Masters.


• There's a museum for everything now. Even Waffle House.


• A good event if you misguidedly think you are hot s**t at playing pool. Like me. Preliminary rounds September 17-19 and there happens to be one at the house where I used to shoot.


• Cake or death?


• Cocaine is a helluva drug...ask Foxy Brown.

Fire away

Full Tilt decided to copy Poker Stars and add a Steps system for tournaments.

So, I decided to give it a whirl to see if I could climb the ladder. Besides, I was catching up on TV.

They even have a "Step 0" which starts at $1.10. The highest step tourney, Step 7, has a buyin of a ticket for $2100 that awards a 12K tournament package, currently for the WSOP.

So, let's have some fun.

Step 0, #155392032: Begun 11:13 PM, Finished 1/99, Win Step 1 Ticket ($3.30)
Step 1, #155400775: Begun 12:13 AM, Finished 1/9, Win Step 2 Ticket ($8.70)
Step 2, #155401845: Begun 12:46 AM, Finished 1/9, Win Step 3 Ticket ($26.00)

Rather than try to push forward and press my luck, I'm heading to bed. Not bad for about 90 minutes work.

More to try tomorrow. Step 4 ticket is $75, Step 5 is $216, Step 6 is $240, and Step 7 is $2100.

Or, I could drop out now, since I have the equivalent of a token to enter any tournament with a $24+2 buyin.

Step 8 would mean a very unlikely return to Las Vegas.

For the record, you DAMN RIGHT I'd go.

Return of the......meh

By request, I've kept quiet about recent plans, from a security perspective. Ever since we were robbed a few years ago, I've been asked not to post too much prior to trips about heading out of town or being away.

It's probably a good explanation for why I will NEVER join foursquare.

Anyway, I just returned from a week-long vacation to Las Vegas, Arizona, and Los Angeles, to see friends, family, cows, and holes in the ground.

I left for Las Vegas last week, but remarkably played only two sessions of poker. The first was a cash game at the Venetian, where the first hand dealt was the hammer and the last hand was my Queens full of tens going down to QUAD QUEENS. The second was the WSOP Circuit event on Friday where I stole, got called by the BB, got all the chips in with two pair and only three cards to dodge, and watched one of the three outs hit to kill me.

As a matter of fact, the only gambling area which was good to me was the sportsbook, where I hit two of three bets for Atlanta teams. The one I did not win ended up as a no-hitter.

(BTW, dear Hawks, when you open up a 23-point lead, please do not try to give it all back as you almost did against Milwaukee Saturday, OK?)

We went to the Grand Canyon Skywalk, which destroyed my feet for the rest of the trip but was absolutely breathtaking in its views, and gut-busting for watching New York drivers try to navigate dirt roads with cows walking alongside/in the road.

I got to see the Wynn Las Vegas for the first time. Very impressive and elegant layout.

I stayed at the Palazzo/Venetian, which was extremely nice (and comped) but had a registration desk staffed with monkeys trying to screw a football.

I got to see the Palms for the first time, and was mildly impressed with it as well, but in a far different way than the Wynn.

I went to Los Angeles and Hollywood for the first time, and got to meet two of my nephews for the first time ever.

I also got a picture with Bumblebee, over which my son will flip out.

Overall, quite a good trip - and now I'm back at work - twelve hours after my flight touched down.

I think I need a vacation.

Jay-Z Vader

Too funny not to post...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Done Deal

I booked my ticket today.

I'll be playing in the WSOP Circuit event at Caesar's in April in one of the preliminary events.

After the last few months, I could use some quiet time/relaxation time/donkey-shredding time.

More to follow later.

The Vegas countdown is now underway....

Bracketology for Degenerates

Wow, 10 days without a post? Yikes.

Anyway, with March Madness coming up, it might be fun to have a little contest going on for bracket bragging rights.

If interested, drop a line in the comments with e-mail to use for, um, gathering information.

Link (on CBS):

http://bracketologydegenerates.mayhem.cbssports.com

Pwd: hammer

Diary of a Day

With the wife out of town this weekend, I'm finding it quite easy to fill up the time.

Last night had a good time for a birthday dinner, for which the kids came along and ate an ungodly amount of garlic rolls and spaghetti.

Today was a different day. Here goes:

8:30: Wake up.
8:31: Trudge downstairs, half-asleep, to make breakfast.
9:10: Begin getting everybody showered and dressed to go to ballet class.
9:40: Realize that every pair of stocking for Sammie's ballet class has run away.
9:41: Scramble to find other clothes for Sammie.
9:42: Leave for Target.
9:44: Arrive.
10:05: Leave Target with stocking after waiting for morons to clear out in front of me
10:12: Arrive for the 10:15 ballet class and get Sammie dressed in ballet clothes juuuuuust in time.
11:15: Make the unilateral decision to go to Krystal. To hell with cooking lunch.
12:30: After corn dogs and burgers, head to Kroger to get materials to cook later tonight. Yes, there is a plan.
1:00: Home. Laundry. Dishes. Let kids chill for a little while.
2:30: Pack up everybody in the car to go downtown for a Tea Party Protest, which I was going to write about and take pictures of to write up.
3:20: Arrive downtown, and see that no streets are closed. Last year, on April 15, 10,000 people were in front of the Capitol. This year, no streets closed, all folks on the sidewalk, less than 400 people. Make the decision to not cover it and not park. Kids are also wondering where the hell everybody is.
4:30: Back in the neighborhood, head to Laurel Park with the kids to get their energies out at the playground instead.
5:30: Walk to the pond to feed geese and ducks.
5:31: Hey, look, a dozen ducks want to nibble from Sammie's hand. Sammie does not like that.
6:00: I still don't feel like cooking a meal, since I'm making a dessert later. Time for pizza.
7:00: Time to start making the cake. We make the frosting, then put on Snow White, then assemble the cake afterwards.

Recipe:

• Combine 2 oz cream cheese and 3 tbsp confectionary sugar with mixer.
• Watch kids laugh as sugar sprays from bowl onto their clothes.
• Decide to mix with a fork.
• Add 1/4 tsp vanilla extract and 1 cup heavy whipping cream.
• Whip and mix.
• Allow kids to use mixer.
• Cower in fear.
• Thank the maker, nothing broke or spilled!
• Place icing in fridge.
• Place bag of popcorn in microwave.
• Pull everyone onto the couch for movie cuddle time.
• After the movie, take poundcake (not made from scratch, I have my limits) and slice horizontally twice to make three layers.
• Bottom layer: spread out 1/4 cup lemon curd, cover with 1/2 cup raspberries.
• Middle layer: slather with 1/4 cup raspberry jam, place down on top of previous layer.
• Middle layer: spread out 1/4 cup lemon curd, cover with 1/2 cup raspberries.
• Top layer: slather with 1/4 cup raspberry jam, place down on top of previous layer.
• Hand spatulas to kids.
• Begin slathering icing on cake.
• Remember that I should have put something down to take care of any drippings that come from a three-year old icing a cake.
• Ah, fuck it. Keep slathering. I'll clean it up later.
• Hey, she has some coordination and isn't dripping very much. Really. The proof is here.
• Alex got bored, though, so he isn't in the picture.
• Put cake in the fridge to chill overnight. It tastes delicious.

Put kids in bed at 10:00.

Hey, this wasn't a very hard day. Granted, I didn't cook any meals, just a dessert, but it wasn't too rough a day.

Nothing is going on until 5 PM tomorrow, when we shall bring said cake to a cooking club. So, hooray, we can sleep late!

G'night.

Me Time

I've noticed over the last few weeks that I've played less and less poker. I haven't really been up for playing too much, and haven't been too excited about either grinding away for itty-bitty amount or trying to take long shot in tourneys with thousands of players to hit a 0.05% chance of a big score.

It just hasn't interested me much lately. I've had too much other crazy stuff going on.

Of course, my computer went on the fritz as well, so that probably did not help either.

I have been starting to devote myself to other things, though. Instead of playing poker, I've been reading about it. I've actually been picking up books and reading - and not just for a class, either. It's been a long time since I bothered reading anything that wasn't for class or just a magazine (which doesn't require much of an attention span.)

I just started reading Every Hand Revealed by Gus Hansen, which is a review of his win at the 2007 Aussie Millions and every single hand played. Hopefully it will provide some good insights to battling through some large fields and trying to exploit every edge, which I know I've had trouble doing recently.

The last book I read for leisure prior to this was Check-Raising the Devil, an autobiography of Mike Matusow, co-written with Amy Calistri (Aimlessly Chasing) and Tim Lavalli (PokerShrink).

My big question, right now, is what else might you recommend as good reading material? I don't plan on putting any money online for the time being (unless a nice deal comes my way) and the absolute earliest I would be setting foot in a casino would be April in Vegas for a Circuit event (assuming I can still get out to Caesar's then).

Any thoughts? (Aside from Lost Vegas, when it comes out, of course.)

As for non-pokery books, the only other book I've recently read were Liberty and Tyranny by Mark Levin. That's it.

Gingrey participating in health care discussions in district

Gingrey participating in health care discussions in district

Posted using ShareThis

Fleeing the Titanic

It seems everyone is racing to get off the Democratic ship.

First, Chris Dodd and Byron Dorgan decide not to seek re-election.

Then, Evan Bayh shockingly quits his re-election campaign - perhaps for future presidential primary challenges, or a governor's race, or who knows what despite being up by double-digits over any Republican challenger. Democrats are now scrambling to find a candidate as the seat is now an absolute toss-up and a heavier favorite to flip in November.

Last night, Sen. Frank Lautenberg falls at home, and while we can hope for a speedy recovery, he is 86 and may decide to step down anyway if he has the chance - he is not due for re-election until 2014, at which point he would be 90 years old, and New Jersey will be in GOP hands until 2013, when he will be 89.

But most interesting is the news that Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) may also withdraw from a re-election campaign in 2010 due to health-related reasons.

Now, while it is sheer lunacy to think that a Republican would have a chance in the state of Baltimore + DC Suburbs + farms, you could also say the same thing about any number of other seats.

Like Massachusetts.....oh, wait...

Or California, where heavily entrenched Democrats are unassailable...oh, um...

No seat is safe, and if there is a candidate who could make a run for it, it would be nice.

Too bad the RNC hasn't been great at finding candidates themselves lately - whoever is in charge probably should find something else to do until November.

Hey, wait a minute......

Of course, in the lunatic off-chance that Michael Steele should agree to leave the RNC chairmanship to take another stab at a Maryland Senate seat, we would need to find somebody to take over the RNC duties that Steele hasn't done a great job of doing for the past year - and at some times, has done such a poor job some folks (myself included) have said it is time for him to go.

Now, he'd have cover to leave, but we would need to find someone else up to the tasks at hand.

Going on media tours.

Finding new donors and getting heavily into fundraising.

Fielding suitable candidates who aren't liberals in sheep's clothing.

Having a telegenic personality.

I wonder who would meet all of those criteria that could do the job for 2010.......

Make the call, if the opportunity arises.

But the groundhog said it would be an early spring

Going through the site and updating a lot of lists, especially the sidebars.

So, if your site isn't there, and you'd like it in the blogroll, you should probably let me know.

That's right, I'm doing Spring Cleaning a month before Spring shows up.

Either I'm grabbing the bull by the horns and being really good in being productive...or I'm trying to put off doing other stuff that I DOAN WANNA DO YOU WOAN MAKE ME WAHHHH!

You're probably right either way.

Bayh stepping down

LInking because I started writing on Examiner again. Go check it out if you feel like it.

Evan Bayh (D-IN) decides not to chase third term

Happy Chinese New Year

Everyone else may say Happy Valentine's Day, but we didn't celebrate it too much. Sure, the kids had fun with it in making and getting valentines at school, but this year we didn't really go for (or try to do) anything along the normal Valentine's day route.

No schmaltzy stuff here.

On Sunday, we ended up going a different (and cheaper) route.

In the afternoon, the four of us went down to Georgia State's Rialto Center for the Arts. They were having a free concert, which was meant not just to highlight Valentine's Day but also the Chinese New Year (which occurred Feb. 13).

The kids behaved themselves surprisingly well, considering it was their first concert. They did get tired toward the end of the 2-hour concert, but they were quite interested throughout and behaved remarkably well.

Next stop was dinner, and again we went with the Asian fare on a budget. Trader Vic's or another fancy Asian bistro may have pushed the kids' patience and our wallets a bit, so we went to Doc Chey's in the Virginia-Highlands area of downtown - one of the few Intown Atlanta places I'd consider living - as the kids enjoyed their lo mein and we enjoyed spicier dishes and shrimp rolls.

Lastly, after a well-behaved dinner, we walked down Highland Ave. to Ben and Jerry's and had ice cream, where the kids played with other kids and I was able to turn off the radar for more than 10 seconds - always a good treat.

The kids passed out on the way home, just shy of 8:00. Thanks for the present!

So, a fun time was had by all, and the kids even got to have some decent cultural exposure. Alex will have a field trip to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra later this spring, so this was a good warm-up for that experience - and on the bright side, he enjoyed it thoroughly as well.

For the budget-conscious, the whole day ended up being a helluva lot less than the normal fancy dinner/show/babysitter combo, but more fun since the kids had a good time too.

Turn it around, back up

He didn't show, but probably flopped the flush. Was really hoping for a call on the river so I could show the table a decent hand for once. Too bad it auto-mucked.

DQB!!!

Gift-Shopping for Your Valentine

Looking for jewelry? Well, you can try this or this, depending on your affiliation. $12.99 is a lot less than dropping dough on diamonds.

As for a card, well, times are tough, so perhaps it would be best to send your loced one of 18 valentines produced by the GOP, in a humorous attempt which actually seems funny (as intended, for once).

Say "I love you" with a card that says "Happy ******* Valentine's Day" - because with double-digit unemployment and massive inflation on the way, thrift is king.