7 Kids, 2 grandkids, 1 on-the-way, 2 cats, Mom, and Dad

Before and after or When she was a wee kitty.

Here's what Fizban looked like when I first got her. The computer is still about the same size so she's definitely grown up a little bit.

Feeding my addiction or Getting better.

I played poker this Saturday at my brother-in-laws monthly tournament. He started something new, a bullseye chip. If you bought the chip for $5 and you knocked out someone that had a chip too, you got to keep their chip. At the end of the night, or when you got knocked out, you could cash in any chips that you had for $5 each.

It costs $20 to play and $5 for the extra chip and since I managed to knock out four people and kept my chip I made back my $25 just with that. The fact that I kept my chip means that I won first place, worth another $140. I've only been playing for a few months but have won enough so far to play the next 9 months, win nothing, and still break even. :)

I knocked out a new guy, my brother-in-law that has an Asian wife, my father-in-law, and went heads-up against the brother-in-law that has the tournament beating him on the last hand with trip Aces to his two pairs, Jacks and Aces.

The weather is getting colder or Space heater for now.

The price of heating oil is sky high this year so I'm dealing with the slight chill in my office by using a space heater. This warmed the top of my desk, from underneath, and between that and the fan in my laptop, the area to the left of my computer is cozy.

I got up to get a drink of water and when I got back saw that Fizban decided to skip the bed and sleep directly on top of my desk. Her ears are pointed back because I said her name but she didn't deign to turn her head.

Poker Strategy or Thoughts when watching WSOP on TV.

I was watching the WSOP on TV the other night and they featured several hands involving Phil Hellmuth. He's a poker star and has won many tournaments over the years, around $3.6 million's worth.

Anyway, during one particular hand he raised and only one guy stayed in to play. They raised and called back and forth until the guy went all in against Phil's superior chip stack. Phil had A K, and the guy had K J. The guy paired the jack on the river card and it drove Phil insane.

In the world of poker, if someone raises 2-3 times the big blind pre-flop that means they are probably sitting on a premium hand. A K is premium, K J is not. He was upset because the guy won the hand and wasn't playing good poker.

So far as I'm concerned, as soon as you start playing your hands the way someone at the table expects you to play, you might as well hand over all of your chips.

I agree with Phil in principle, but it was still a funny thing to watch.

Barely Autumn or Snow?

I had to visit a customer in VT yesterday and part of my trip took me through Franconia Notch. As Asian Co-worker and I approached that region we could see snow on top of the hills and mountains. We rounded a bend in the road and suddenly the ground and trees were covered with it, right at road level. Further into the notch the snow got deeper and snowbanks from the plow lined the sides of the road.

I stopped and took some pictures but only had my camera phone so the quality isn't the best.

Snow...in October...before Halloween...BRRRRRR....

Bad beats or You win some, you lose some.

I played cards while in Vegas and lost what I set aside for gambling purposes while in Vegas. I had a good time playing and was ahead for a while but then lost my winnings in a blaze of glory.

Biggest lessons: don't bet against someone that has 10 times more chips than you and doesn't mind losing to chase the river, AND find a table with most of the people drinking alcohol of some sort and not just drinking bottled water.

I won a $158 pot. I was dealt Ace King, off suit. The flop was two aces and another lower card. I raised, everyone else dropped out, another guy raised me, I called. The turn was a king, I now have a full house (three aces, two kings), so I raise. The other guy raises me and I call. The turn was some low card. I figure, worst case he has Ace King too and we'll split the pot. We raise and call until he has about $3 left in front of him. I called so he flips his cards and waits for the pot to come to him with his two kings because he has a full house with three kings and two aces. When I flipped over my better full house he got up, grabbed his chips, and walked away from the table. It was sweet.

I had a hand where I was sitting on three of a kind Aces after the flop. Other guy with 100s of dollars in chips calls me, no matter how I raise, until the turn and pulls out a flush. Talk about a bad beat.

You win some, you lose some...but I had a blast doing it and felt like I played pretty well.

Hitting on me or Actually, I just lost all of my money.

At first, I have to admit, I was more than a little bit flattered. After all, young and somewhat pretty girls were giving me big smiles and saying 'hi' as I passed them in the casino.

Was it my cologne or the clothes that I happened to be wearing? Was it my rugged looks and the air of intelligence and authority that rolled off of me in lust-inspiring waves? Nope! It was the potential that I had a few hundred dollars burning a hole in my pocket and was willing to part with them for a 'good time' with said lasses.

My eyes were opened when I saw the same 'girls' talking with some old guys and then walking with them arm-in-arm toward the elevators. After that, any time one of them said hi and asked me "are you winning?" I told them I was broke and going back to my room. Their fake smiles dried up and they moved on to the next lucky contestant.

Which way did he go or Sales conference.

I just got back from a week in Las Vegas for our national & technical sales conferences. I have a number of stories to tell, but today we're celebrating birthdays for Beautiful Wife (looks 30) and Son (20).

I played Limit Texas Holdem at the Wynn and had a great time. I was winning for most of the trip but then had a run of bad luck just before I left. The plus side is that I had a fun time and got the hard part out of the way, playing with a bunch of strangers in an actual casino.

First big tourney or At least it wasn't my money.

I won a seat in a satellite tournament for Texas Holdem poker. It cost $100 + an $8 entry fee to play normally but I got to play for free.

I came in 89th place out of 113 and last around 40 minutes.

Better luck next time.

No show or All go.

The brown spot blight has really done a number on the trees around here this year. The leaves get a little yellowish in color, with brown spots all over them, and then fall to the ground. Once they hit the ground they immediately turn brown and wait to be raked up into piles and carted away.

Between the blight, torrential rain, and lack of sunny weather the foliage season is going to be hit hard this year.

Driving in my car or Nothing like four hours for nothing.

Drive to briefing center.
Buy a sandwich to eat 30 minutes before briefing starts.
Find out 20 minutes before it starts that customer just canceled.
Drive back home.

Four hours...to get a sandwich...

What I did this weekend or If you see someone building an ark.

It poured this weekend. Youngest Daughter's soccer tourney was canceled and we've been there in some pretty awful weather so that lets you know this most have been epic.

We attended a bday party for one of BW's brothers and despite the rain, we all had a good time. We then joined our British Friends for the Beatlejuice concert in Rochester. The band was awesome and we had a great time.

Sunday was spent eating at Sainted Mother's home and then going over to the Outlaws for some more eats and a couple of games of Texas Holdem.

BW woke up with a migraine on Monday and while she was resting I played some Holdem online. I entered a $2 tournament and ended up winning it with a queen high flush against the jack high flush the other guy had. The prize was a free seat at a $100 table playing for an actual live spot in a tournament. I'll be playing this Friday night until the wee hours of the morning, I hope.

Check it out or Donate to see the goods.

I'll do my public service by suggesting that you all look, donate money, and donate pics at the Boobie-thon.

If you aren't sure whether you should donate, feel free to send me your pics and I'll provide my personal evaluation...doing my part for charity.

All kidding aside...it is a worthwhile cause and you can donate to breast cancer research or the Red Cross.

Time on the bus or When I was your age.

Miss Marisol wrote about a bad school bus memory so I thought I'd share some of mine.

First of all, you either caught the bus or you walked to school. For many years my parents had one car and even if they had 100, you missed the bus you either walked or rode your bike to school.

For the most part, if you wanted to go anywhere you walked, rode your bike, or hoped someone else's parents would be willing to supply the ride. I can recall walking four miles to the high school for play practice in a snowstorm because my ride there got sick. I trudged through the snow and got there to find all the cars leaving because of the snow. Nobody was going my way so I turned around a walked back home. The only concern, on my parent's part, was whether I got home on time or not.

Anyway, the bus ride for me was pure hell until I got into high school. Why? Because my Younger Sister would torment me and beat me up. I'd end up getting off of the bus half way home and walking the rest of the way. She'd beat me home and lock all the doors so I had to resort to breaking a pane of glass in the 9-pane door in order to get in the house. I bought those panes of glass by the dozen since I had to replace the broken glass.

The summer after my 8th grade year I started to grow. My sister and I were on our front lawn and she came running at me. She would throw me to the ground and hit me. If I hit her back I got in trouble for hitting a girl. This time, I stepped to the side, grabbed the back of her neck, and pushed her to the ground.

She got up, fuming mad, and made another run at me with the same results. I ran a short distance and turned around as she came running at me again. I had seen a move on some TV show and decided to give it a try...I grabbed both of her outstretched arms, planted my foot in her stomach as I fell back to the ground, and then flipped her over my head. She hit the ground with a resounding thud.

As she lay there trying to get back her breath I walked into the house and got a drink of water. The physical bullying ended that day but she still did her best to make my life miserable from an emotional and social standpoint. Fortunately, I had a year's headstart at high school to make friends and find my niche before having to deal with her again.

Taking days off or Hanging around.

I am taking this Friday and the following Monday as vacation days. I'll be taking a lot of days between now and the end of the year because we are no longer allowed to carryover vacation. That means I have 10 days to use between now and December 31st.

My day, Friday, is shaping up to be a good one. I've got an appointment to have my oil changed and tires rotated at 9am, and then I'll probably spend some time putting together shelves and finishing up work on my garage.

Youngest Daughter is in a soccer tourney this weekend and has two games on Saturday (before noon) and Sunday (the same).

We're going to BW's Younger Brother's birthday party Saturday afternoon. It should be fun too since his wife is Thai and there are many hot Asian chicks on that side of the family.

Beautiful Wife and I are going to see "Beatlejuice" at the Rochester Opera House with some British Friend Saturday night. Their daughter is on YD's soccer team and we've sat with them many a Saturday and Sunday watching games over the years.

Monday is kind of just hanging out there right now...Youngest Daughter's team will be playing on that day if they make it to the finals so we'll have to wait and see.

Victory is sweet or They won't invite me over any more.

I played cards last night with BW's parents and two of her brothers. We played Texas Holdem with a $5 buy in, just a friendly game of cards.

The games went fast because we doubled the blinds every time someone was knocked out. Because of that, we ended up playing three games. Both brother-in-laws went all in on the first hand of the second game which is totally out of character for one of them.

I ended up winning the last game so I went home with $10 more than when I arrived. My mother-in-law is convinced that she can't beat me and that I'm trying to get her. I guess the $4 bet when the big blind was 50 cents wasn't enough of a hint that she should fold. LOL

Happy to see you or Deep tongue kiss.

I was out with Son and Beautiful Wife the other day when we ran into a girl that Son used to date and that we've known for many years. When we saw her she squealed and came running over to give me a hug first since I was the closest.

I was expecting that...what I didn't expect was her to jump into my arms and wrap her legs around my waist as she hugged me. Son said, "Why'd she skip the deep tongue kiss with that greeting?"

I was flattered that this 20-year-old girl was so happy to see me, but it was kind of awkward to have her jump into my arms like that what with BW standing right there. ;-)