Poetry?

PokerSlut Tour XIV Stud Hi/Lo

Religion

And variance is NOT life's way of telling me to go eff myself because I am a good poker player, damnit, I AM!

Vacation Photo Dump

It's not looking good for me to actually post any words to go along with these pictures so I'm just going to give you a photo dump.

Enjoy

Please Don't Go

I saw this on Facebook (thanks Kent Hrbek!) (no not the real Kent Hrbek) and it's friggin awesome!

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world - (song is Please don't go by Barcelona) from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

Nightmares

I may have nightmares after seeing this video. 

I can't believe anybody would just take apart a phone like that.

I still have the heeby geebies.

PokerSlut Tour XIV HORSE

Ooooops!  Posted one day too soon.  PokerSlut Tour plays on Sunday nights!

BlackBerry Fever

BlackBerry fever.

I have it. 

It's what has been occupying most of the time since last Sunday when I picked up a BlackBerry Tour from my local Verizon Wireless store. 

This phone is so zippy compared to my Motorola Q9c.  I loved my Q but it was definitely showing its age.  It was slow but it did get the job done. 

The BlackBerry world is a whole new experience.  I'm having to learn an entirely new operating system.  Unfortunately, I miss some of the ease of Windows Mobile.  I was very surprised to find that it was significantly fewer steps in Windows Mobile compared to BlackBerry OS to do some of the simplest things.  I hear this will be improved with OS 5.0.  I sure hope so.

There are some quirks I have found: customizing the ringtones and alerts can be a futile endeavor.  For some reason it is totally hit or miss whether I get the system default or my custom setting.  Luckily, there are several great online resources for BlackBerry phones:  CrackBerry, BlackBerry Forums and coming soon: MyBlackBerry.

The downside of being an early adopter is being the guinea pig for a product that might not be totally ready for prime time.  There are few accessories currently available for my Tour.  I desperately want a dock and it won't be available for another few weeks yet.  I'm looking forward to getting a nice custom theme but the software to make them hasn't yet been updated for the Tour.  So I end up checking the forums daily (alright, hourly) waiting for new information.  I'm sure all of this will be resolved in a few weeks but in the mean time I'm going to have to muddle through. 

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I finally forced myself to update the PokerSlut Tour Leaderboard for the past two weeks. 

I'm surprised nobody was giving me grief about not having it done. 

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It never fails.  Whenever TOH goes out of town all hell breaks loose at my house.  Kids get sick.  Crap falls apart.  Such a huge PITA. 

This time my BFF T came into town so I was hoping I'd escape the usual out-of-town curse but, alas, no.

• The reverse osmosis drinking water system started leaking.
• The propane tank went dry a few minutes shy of well done burgers.
• One of the kids' faucets sprung a drip.
• The oldest breaks his bike's rear brake trying to fix it himself.
• I cleaned the air filter on the HVAC only to not be able to get the damn door back on - apparently an issue with Trane's CleanEffects Air Cleaner System that we paid megabucks for to alleviate the oldest's allergy symptoms.  After calling the HVAC guy (whom I am on a first name basis with for years now) I managed to get the door back on myself only mere moments before a near meltdown.

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OMGWTF!

WalMart already has school supplies! 

Only 33, count them, 33 more days until school starts again! 

I'm Late!

I'm late, I'm late!

I just cannot get traction lately.

If I manage to get one thing done three more things get added to my to do list.

I have 1-2 more posts about the vacation, one about T's visit here with her girls, and one for my new phone;  all this is rattling around in my befuddled little brain along with a ton of other miscellaneous BS that needs my attention.

I feel so out of the loop.  I can't even catch up on the WSOP!  Yeah!  I know!  How sick is that?!?!?!

PokerSlut Tour XIV PLO DS

On The Grande Ronde

On The Grande Ronde.  That's where we spent the 4th of July this year.  The weather was perfect: sunny and upper 90s.  The minuscule burg of Troy, Oregon hosted a lovely cookout, dance and cake auction.  We had awesome burgers, chips, beans, cherries and slaw.  Awesome food!   We stuffed ourselves silly.

A few days before the 4th, we arrived at Spokane airport and picked up our rental car for the 4ish hour drive into the nether regions or Oregon.  We had be informed already that the wireless coverage would go out about 35 miles from our destination.  Yes, we were headed into the wilderness.

The first clue should have been the 9 mile switchback drive down Rattlesnake Ridge.

I was able to scare the begeebus outta my boys going down the hill.  Hee hee hee.  Too bad we got the minivan and not the crossover suv. 

We arrived in the early evening and the first words out of Zooks99's mouth were, "When do we get to go fishing?"  Talk about a one track mind.  The boys were testing out their bunk beds when Grandpa informed me that there were brand new BB guns stashed in their bunks.  Suddenly Zooks97 showed up to inform us that there was, gasp, a BB gun in his brother's bed!  OMGWTF!?!?!?!? You don't say!  Um, what about YOUR bed?!?!? 

Blank Stare.  Off he trots only to return with HIS OWN BB gun!  Woooooooooot!  Grandpa set up a target and in no time at all they were doing their damndest to burn through the 1500 BBs Grandpa and Grandma had bought for them.  Life is good.

After dinner Grandpa hooked up '99 with a fishing pole and he and his new Keens were shin deep in the river just the other side of the deck casting a nice spinner into the Grande Ronde River. 

So for those keeping score we've managed to check off two items on the To Do list mere hours after arriving.  WTF are we going to do to keep these Short Attention Span Theater kids engaged for the rest of the week?  Work with me here people!

Grandpa married Grandma Red a year ago last spring.  After spending the last week with her I can vouch for this: he better not fuck this up or we may have to disown him.  She's an awesome woman and he's damn lucky to have her. 

Grandma Red's previous husband died a few years ago from cancer.  He was a car racer and mechanic.  They had this place on the Grande Ronde for over 35 years.  Red has mad mechanic skills as well and has taken over the shop when needed.

Recently they were offered a free cabin from another property.  It was turned into Grandpa's Man Cave.

Red likes to spruce up the place with lots of flowers. 

Hannibal has been a fixture around the place for some time.  He's a cross eyed Siamese mix with some kind of neurological disorder.  It was interesting to watch him "walk" around the place like it he owned it.

Hannibal isn't the only critter around the place.  Harley and Jazz get a lot of attention as well.  Harley - the brown one - is a recent purchase.  He was intended for Grandpa but he's a little on the small side (in contrast to Grandpa) and they are looking for a bigger horse to replace him. 

Oddly, the boys never mentioned wanting to ride the horses.  The four wheelers were an entirely different story.  Zooks97 was DYING to go for a ride.  Red finally capitulated and agreed to show him how to ride.  In return she said that he would have to help her finish building a fence. 

That Red is always on the go. 

That's all for now.  More to follow.