The Bad

Saturday's tourney.

OK Kids, I got a few minutes to try and knock this out. We last left your hero with missing brain cells and a lack of fundage.

After a fitful sleep, I got up and showered, watched some tube while waffles snored and don cackled. I fell asleep again for a minute and then roused the dudes. I needed some food, since I failed to eat on Friday. We got dressed and decided to cab it over to Aria, I wanted buffet, so we walked about 14 miles around Aria until we found it. Totally worth it.

I had my home made omelet, and various other sundries from the huge buffet. The real bad part is that my hung over brain and shrunken stomach couldn't really take advantage. The shrimp were awesome and the prime rib was bloody, I just couldn't eat very much. I sucked as much down as I could and had a leisurely brunch before the tourney.

My last longer partners were wolfie and xkm1245. We were seated separately, but close enough I could keep an eye out. Neither of them looked particularly enthused, myself I was drowning in missed flops and picked off at least twice when I thought my raise should have been respected. I tightened up and was able to take a couple small pots, but I never got above my starting stack, I was terribly frustrated. I made a stand with ATo and was called by KTo which obviously paired on the river.

I enjoyed meeting Astin, who was to my right until he busted early. His printed photos of the view from Bellagio were spectacular.

I hung out and watched most of the rest of the tourney, getting up to give JOOOO reports on buddy once in awhile. She taught me how to play some penny slots and I bled away about 15 bucks but I did get a beer! woot.

I sweated several notables including Bayne, Mary, DawnSummers, Veneno, Garth, Gracie and Sweet Sweet, OhCaptain, Gnome, Drizz, and the eventual winner MiamiDon.


It was a treat to catch up with Gnome, and meet his wonderful wife who insisted on calling me ScoobyDoo. She was great, and a coupon meister. I also caught a Cat sighting, he told me about red rocks and seeing Dave Matthews unplugged, good stuff.

There's a particularly large hole in my memory here....I'll need to figure out what happened next cause i can't really recall, but there was more to Saturday night that included parading the golden hammer, more poker and drinking, but I'll end here for now.

Coming up, the ugly, an epilogue and things I remember that I forgot.

Interlude

I hurt too much to write, I just want to curl up in a cool dark place.


Look at these pictures here. They made me feel a little better.

The Good

For as many as five years I have wanted to join in WPBT festivities in Vegas. It just never was really feasible with its vicinity to the holidays, and y'know I'm just a poor old southern boy. Anyway I'd like to first say that I'm grateful to those that put their hard work, time, and effort to make this an unforgettable weekend in many ways. In no particular order I'd like to thank Al, Pauly, Iggy, CJ, April, FullTilt, Pokerstars. These are the lynch pins that make all this goodness go down...

Lets go ahead and skip to Friday night, cause well, the only thing I can remember about Thursday I'd rather forget. Maybe I'll come back to it in another post.

I woke up in darkness and had a mild panic attack. I wasn't exactly sure where I was. Luckily my phone was in my pocket. The clock read 8:05PM. I went to the shower and cleared my head, looked at the clock again in disbelief, and head out towards the MGM. I took the walk since I seriously needed it. The air was crisp but not cold and I grabbed a water on the way that went down way too fast. I sauntered past the MGM bar and noticed some bloggers there, not really sure who was there, but I smiled and nodded and moved along to the poker desk. I knew I had a hole to get out of.

I sat down and bought in for 100, which is not my preference, but i needed a stop gap. Pokergrump was already sitting there, and I didn't recognize anyone else. I played abc for a while and realized I could open up a little. I chipped up nicely gor a solid hour or so. Another blogger sat down that was either Soxlover or Penner. I'm really sorry that I got your name at one point and lost it. I think I called you sox on the way out of Legasse's hoping you'd correct me if I was wrong. By the time BrainMC sat down I had about 400 in front of me. The only hand I remember was with him when I flopped the nut flush draw (crubs) vs his set of tens. Didn't get there and I doubled him up. I got myself on the HORSE list and shortly started the blogger mixed game. I know the other CK was there, grump came too, we were joined by Josie, Yestbay, and CJ...maybe 2 more I can't remember right now. You can read about the oh so fun hand of razz I played vs Josie in the grump and josie links above. Good times. Bottom line, donks always win.

After awhile I retired to the bar and chatted up FromtheMorning, who was in town for less than a day, sox/penner/?, Waffles, CA April, Numbono, Ftrain, Iggy, Pauly, STB i think...and possibly more. My brain wasn't working so good, and now the memory is foggy and bleeding together.

We ended up back at the IP, where MiamiDon, Iggy, and I drank until about 5:30. A little aside about MiamiDon. I must admit I was not looking forward to being around him. We have butted heads on a couple occasions and I just wrote him off as an asshole. Well maybe some life moments have softened him up or whatever, but I had a hell of a time chatting and hanging out with Don. He's one of the good ones in my book and what's past is past.

If I met you and didn't mention it, please don't take it personally, I'm not that great in crowded social situations. I tried to get over my phobias as much as I could. It also doesn't help I was recovering from the massive hangover of Thursday night seemingly all weekend and there are several holes in my memory.

Next up: The Bad, Then The Ugly.

Recovering

I had back spasms all day yesterday, also sore throat cough, all that fun stuff. Those of you who didn't see me in Vegas can safely assume that other than meeting some really fun people, things didn't exactly go as planned. Full post coming at some point.

Finishing touches.

About this time tomorrow I will no longer be able to function as a rational human being. Too bad I'll be at work most of the day.

I'm still holding out hope of getting my bounty delivered today, if not, someone gets an IOU or I pull an Astin and just win the damn thing.

I got this:

to read for the trip. Hopefully the good Doctor can sign it for me.

I had to finish getting our big ass tree set up and decorated last night. We sat around after finishing up and played 'I spy' with the ornaments as the kids sipped hot chocolate and munched on chocolate chip cookies. Norman Rockwell would be proud. Here is said big ass tree:

Tonight I have to pack and spend some more quality time with the kids and the wife. Tomorrow will be like a trip to the dentist until 5PM est.

See you kids soon!

EDIT: I also found another picture compilation that is pretty neat. Pencil VS Camera

Far out

I don't know how many of you see the daily mail, but this is great.


Clouds



I plan on recouping from a massive hangover about this time next week W0000T!

One week!

AAAARRRRGGH

It's finally coming and I can hardly contain myself!!

I've got to get a to-do list together so I don't forget anything. At my advanced age I've finally learned not to depend on remembering more than three things at a time, so here goes.

I need to get my travelling music together. My 60GB iPod bit the dust early this year and I did not replace it. It was probably my 5th ipod, so I gave up. I have my phone though, so I'm culling together a 5-10 GB list for Vegas. In the last couple days I replaced some older music I had been longing for for awhile, namely Sebadoh's Bakesale, The Cure's Three Imaginary Boys, and Fugazi's13 Songs. I also got ahold of some newer music such as Fang Island, Vampire Weekend, and Kings of Leon. I'd also like to give the gang over at Coventry music blog a big high 5 for finding the complete Mushroom Jazz series online.

I ordered a bounty the other day, hopefully it gets here in time.

I've taken Paulys 'Invading Vegas' post and taken most of his tips to heart.

I plan on packing as light as possible, so I won't be winning any best dressed awards this year, also I'm on the fence about bringing my laptop. Other than the plane ride, I don't seeing it being of much use, but we shall see. I'd be happy to hear an opinion or two on this. What else, Oh money. I've withdrawn some $ from FT, I'll be crossing my fingers that it gets here in a week, if not, no worries. I don't really plan on eating any insane meals. With 3 kids and a wife to provide Christmas for, its hard to justify dropping three bones on some fancy hunks of meat, although I must admit I'd really enjoy it.

As far as extra curriculars I want to just go with the flow. My only real appointments would be Saturday's tournament and tilting back a few glasses of yummy brown liquid with OhCaptain et al.

What else? ahhh, the last longer challenge. I have filled the final spot on the team with xkm1245. XK has been playing the blogger series for a pretty long time and will certainly be a great additon to the Rock and the maniac.

I'm really looking forward to seeing some folks I havent met and those of you I have.

You kids be careful out there, at least for one more week.

Vegas

Yep, It happened, I managed to secure passage to Vegas for the WPBT guilt free. Though a combination of Haitian Voodoo, mind altering drugs, and a lot of begging, the wife is allowing me to head to Vegas. I know, it sounds whipped cause it is. When you are in a marriage with kids, you have to make sacrifices, concessions, and relinquish a little part of your ego. That also happens to be the gift you receive. Its hard to explain but totally worth it. Anywho, I'm heading out on the 9th and coming back the 13th. I need to see if anyone is looking for a last-longer teammate, so hit me up. I'm terribly excited to go to my first Vegas blogger gathering and only my 2nd trip to vegas ever.

In 2003 I went to Vegas with a friend in the neighborhood. He was going for a conference and offered a room. I remember sitting down and playing blackjack for about 9 hrs. We didn't make it to the room until the 2nd day and I was in the hole. I somewhat remember getting asked to leave the Bellagio at one point. We rallied the next day playing 2/5 limit and betting football and horses. My buddy hit a longshot winner and handed me a wad of cash at some point that evening. Later we went to see the delertianers and played 20/hand blackjack. Somehow I managed to leave the 3rd day with some money left, good times.

I'm looking forward to seeing the bloggers again, and meeting some for the 1st time. People looking for last longer partner email me or leave a comment.

This is flippin' cool!

I just need to go out and get a DSLR...

Making Future Magic: iPad light painting from Dentsu London on Vimeo.

Random

Hey there! I just wanted to shoot a little post up to anyone who still has me in their reader or whatever. Things a the same as they ever were, just more of it. 3 kids and 2 parents doing 5 sports keeps us moving all week these days. Seriously, friends in the 'hood ask me every now and then how we do it and I have no answer. We just keep on moving.

One of these days we will look back and miss being sofa king busy and that keeps me motivated.

I'm looking forward to going to the Falcons game this weekend. I'll be taking my son and father in law. If everything moves along correcly we will also have some tailgating time with kuro, sham et al.

I hope you and yours are doing well.

I still got some skill

The more things stay the same, the more they change, or something like that. I remembered that I had some amount of cash on Bodog, so I decided to download the poker client for my XP virtual machine. ( Can we please get a Mac client sometime this decade?) I found 36 bucks in cash and 54 in tournament credits left over from the blogger series (link doesn't work anymore) a while ago. SO I found a 1000 guarantee in late registration and joined in. The play was bodonktastic, and I was the chipleader as late as 6 players left, but I got a bad beat from the 2nd place guy, and coasted into 3rd for a $114 profit. Pretty sweet.

If you've been paying just a little attention to my posts for the last few months, you should notice I've been trying to make some positive changes to my life. I had a physical at the beginning of the year and it was a smack in the face. I flat out have not been taking care of myself for many years. I had fallen into some bad habits and I began to realize the abuse I have been doing to myself.

In January, the wife and I decided to quit smoking. It really wasn't much of an issue for us. I suspected my wife would have more of an issue than I, but she stayed strong and we haven't looked back ( minus 1 or 2 slip ups).

In May I decided that the fat had to go. I  was 236 pounds, inactive, tired and uninspired. I shed 12 pounds in a month and have maintained 221-225 since the end of June.

Well this month I decided to bite the bullet and quit drinking. Today makes 2 weeks and it was a little easier than I thought it would be, despite the fear I had. It was the fear I felt associated with quitting that really set my resolve. It scared me that is scared me to even think about quitting, circular logic wins!

Well that's it for now folks, maybe next month I'll start studying to be a priest and really complete my transformation. You kids be careful out there.

Quick one.

Sitting at 224 pounds....not exercising....shocker.

Ready for a long weekend, may the 4th be with you.

You kids be careful out there.

Time keeps on slippin.

The girls were really proud of themselves when they dug up their matching PJ's that have turned into regular old t-shirts now. Gcox should be proud of them.

Then:


Now:

Makes a man feel a little old.

Geeking out

I can't wait!

30 Days

Well today marks the 30th day since I began to try and lose weight. My initial thought, is that A) It's really hard. B) It takes dedication and sacrifice C) I've been really lazy for a very long time.

Things I've improved: General eating choices - I eat smaller portions and only when I'm hungry. I also eat more green stuff now.
Sleep habits - I've been getting 7 hours of sleep a night (for the most part). Exercise - I'm now exercising at least 3 days a week.

After 30 days, I feel like I have more energy and feel thinner. I don't look at the gut in the mirror and grimace. I feel good. I've lost 12 pounds, which is below what I wanted, but I feel like I can keep going and extend this for another 15 days at least. I hope my continued dedication pays off with another 5-8 pounds of missing weight.

Thanks for the well wishes I have gotten, it really means alot to get some support. See y'all at the virtual tables tonight. Go play the charity tournament for the Ronald McDonald House.

Details:

Date: June 16
Time: 9PM CDT (Same time as Mookie)
It will actually be running in place of the Mookie. BDR will be broadcasting it.
Charity: Ronald McDonald House
$5 + $5(Tournament, charity)
Password= vegas1
Tournament#= 164273435

10 pounds and a good cause. Day 23

Hello there folks, things be moving along here. I'm really starting to feel some of the heath benefits of weight loss. I've passed my first milestone, 10 pounds. I was 226 this morning!

I can definitely tell my belly is shrunk a little and my face has become more defined. Maybe next week I'll grace you with some pics. I ramped up the exercise and it is paying off so far, despite being a little sore. I may just have to extend my challenge past 30 days. Its starting to get contagious and the hunger is a small price to pay for how I feel right now.

Now for something that will make you feel good as well.:



Even if you are unable to play, $5 of your buy-in goes to the Ronald McDonald House. So, yeah, it's OK to be dead money. No one will complain :)

So one last time, here's the details:
Date: June 16
Time: 9PM CDT (Same time as Mookie)
It will actually be running in place of the Mookie. BDR will be broadcasting it.
Charity: Ronald McDonald House
$5 + $5(Tournament, charity)
Password= vegas1
Tournament#= 164273435

Day 18

Sorry for the dissapearing act, I've had a head cold all week, but I'm feeling a bit better today. Sickness really helps a diet I believe. I've crossed the 230 barrier and was sitting at 228 this morning. I'm beginning to understand the importance of exercise I believe. I feel like I've been starving myself and have only lost 8 pounds. I'm going to jump into July and really try to up the exercise.

I'm going to  take the wife on a real date this weekend to take advantage of the kids being gone. The house is really quiet when they're not around and we've had the chance to catch up on some cleaning etc. I've wondered more than a couple times this week what we talked about before we became parents. It's not a struggle, but its just odd to catch myself searching for a conversation. Anyway, the beat goes on and I'm glad to be out of the haze of a head cold. It should be a good weekend as tennis kicks back in. Summer is mixed season, so me and the wife get to team up tomorrow. I'll be doing some stretching tonight.

Oh, I twittered it but in case you don't follow me @iam23skidoo my lovely wife got the news that she passed the bar! It's a huge weight off of both of our shoulders, I assure you. I had no idea how much it was affecting her until about 3 days before getting the results. She broke down in a rare weak moment and shared her deep fear that she failed and how that failure was so deeply tied to her feeling of self worth. I tried to assure her that no matter what the results, she is in many ways my hero and my motivation for being a better person. Congratulations Rachel, it was a long journey from sitting on our little porch 5 years ago, going over the pros and cons of sending you to school, buying a new house, and not killing each other. We accomplished all those things and more. We are still friends and that's all that matters.

You kids have a good weekend, be careful out there.

Halfway there.

And I'm stuck at 230. I figured I might have gained some weight over the weekend, but I was pretty much on a liquid diet, all of it beer. I feel lite total crap today, my head won't clear up and I had hazy hangover sleep last night. I sure hope to get some rest tonight. Today is day 3 of the kids being away. The grandparents took them to the beach for a week which is awesome for them and us as well. Those of you with kids understand I'm sure.

Sunday was really a piece of work. Anytime you have an impromptu fire in your backyard is either real success or failure. I'm not sure where this lands, but if you ask the wife it's borderline retarded. She's a pretty good barometer for that sort of thing and one of the reasons I don't get into too much trouble when she's around. As the story unfolds, there were about 10-12 guys at the house beginning around 1pm. We drank a torpedo of Sierra Nevada and 3 mini-kegs of home brew (Stone Ruinaiton Clone and an IPA). We also managed to go through 2 cases in my fridge, half a bottle of Jager and a bottle of Crown. It was a mean drunk for sure. How we managed to get through it without injury is a minor miracle. Well into it, someone had the idea that the kid's playhouse had to go. Admittedly, the roof was rotting and the girls haven't played in it in 2 years. I got out a sledgehammer and an axe, but the idea of burning the house somehow became the call. I had a moment of clarity and brought down a hose, but that freaking house went up like a match (dousing it in gasoline helps). It got real hot and singed the tree overhead pretty good. Not my finest moment to be sure, but the fire department was never called and no one got hurt, so here's to small miracles.

Also in the fray, our sump pump decided to stop working and a small amount of sewage leaked. So imagine you're my wife... You come home knowing full well that there was a party going on, you walk into your lovely home that for some reason smells like poop and there is a huge burned out area in the back yard where the lovely little yellow house once stood and your husband is nowhere to be found. ( I was at a neighbor's house playing rock band, blind drunk) I managed to redeem myself slightly by getting a plumber over in the morning to replace the pump ($1200!!) and had a friend bring over his Kirby vacuum/steamer. We even watched a movie down there last night, so the smell didn't seep in.

If she wasn't such a saint I'm pretty sure we'd be divorced by now.

You kids take care.

Day whatever

230 again this morning. I mowed the lawn yesterday and did 3 sets of 20 crunches. FML.

Its shaping up to be a good weekend, 2 parties tonight, one tomorrow. Beer brewing and tennis party on Sunday. Hopefully Monday will just be relaxing by the pool.

Next week the inlaws will take the kids to Florida for a week!!! God I love them. Should be a good time as I will go on a date with my wife for the first time in a bit. I need to come up with bday ideas for her, it's coming up quick.

You kids be careful out there. If your drinking, don't drive and if  you're drivin, dont drink.

Day 11

OK, now I'm a little pissed. Can't a guy deviate just a little??? 231 this morning. I let the wife talk me into going to eat Mexican last night. I looked over the menu and found no 'healthy' options, so said fuckit and ordered what I wanted. I'm not giving up dammit. I'm over 1/3 into this and I must succeed. Time to start burning calories more... there is no miracle pill.

In other news, I flamed out in 27th in the MOOOOK last night and my big bro played. His exit was sealed up against the mighty 2-4. I had a blast listening to Buddy reminisce about the good ole days. Thanks for entertianing the donks for 3 years. Oh and I cashed in the DOOOKIE too, turbo razz is painful.

You kids have a good long weekend, it's not going to do my diet any favors I'm sure.

Battle of the Poker Bloggers Finale Tonight

I'm still on the diet wagon by the way weight has been 230.5 for 2 days despite walking 2 miles per. I'll start crunches soon.

See yall tonight.

Day 6-7 Weekend wrap-up.

I weighed in at 233 on Saturday morning. Must have had something to do with the bowl of chili right before bed on Friday night. We played outside for the better part of Saturday. It started off overcast and turned into a heck of a day. I tormented the girls soccer team mates on the jet-ski. There's something really satisfying about scaring the piss out of little girls. It's too easy.

I slept over 11 hours Saturday night. I needed that.

Weighed in at 231 Sunday morning and I spent the better part of 3 hours in the yard. Followed that up by taking the kids to the pool. It was packed to the gills and the kids had a really good time. I came home and napped for about 30 minutes. The sun took alot out of me and I have a nice red neck to show for it.

Weighed in at 230.5 this AM, so its back on the horse tonight. I'm going to try and add a half hour of workout tonight since my results aren't where I want them.

I hope y'all had a good weekend! Cheers.

Day 5

230 pounds.

I'm still working on the self control thing. I had raw oysters for dinner last night and stayed up too late again. Today was not a fun day for me. I'll stick to it and and keep on trying. I'm going to have a nice quiet weekend and keep trying to make good choices.

Day 4

Alright this is going to be like an AA meeting I guess.

Hi I'm Brian and I'm an alcoholic fatty....

I did manage to eat better yesterday, did some walking and stayed away from the beer. One day at a time right...

231 this AM by the way, I probably took in right at 2000 calories yesterday. I made relatively good decisions, besides staying up until almost 2am. This supplement is messing with my brain for sure. I felt really depressed on Tuesday and then really upbeat yesterday. I stayed up and bubbled the mook, cashed in the doook, then blew $30 bucks or so playing OH8 russsshhhhh. I was very meh about the whole thing, but then regretted staying up. I'm not tired at all. I haven't been tired all week and I'm just going to have to force myself to go to sleep.

Big congrats to my buddyOOOSSSSUU for taking down another TOC spot. You fucking donk.

Why didn't I think of that?

Usually I do, but someone else has figured that shit out and I didn't know about it. I totally came up with the idea for the iPod and the Apple store before they came out. I was (am) just to dumb to do anything about it.

So lo and behold I need to get a picture printed for the UMPTEENTH FUCKING STUDENT PROJECT THIS YEAR for my lovely child and I say to myself "Self, you know drug stores and photo processors should just allow you to go and upload some photos for them to develop. I mean, who uses film anymore??" I go over to www.walgreens.com and gosh darnit if they don't have that capability...f me.

cheers!

Day 3

231.5 this morning. Essentially I'm starving myself, and I know this is no way to build towards long term health. HOWEVER, I'm shedding some pounds before I really begin to worry about it. First a little blah blah and I actually have some poker content today!

I had to have some caffeine this morning. I'm so weak, but mmmmmm coffee.

Yesterday afternoon on the way home I got a call from one of my happy hour crew, who am I to deny the call?? So 3 beers there and I 'made up' by having just a piece of frozen pizza and some water for dinner, oh and another beer....weak. 3 days in and I'm already seeing a pattern. In my defense I really haven't been hungry. Even with the beer I calculate I had about 1800 calories yesterday. Not good.

Today I brought more tuna casserole and added a big helping of broccoli. I also brought some almonds to mix with the sunflower seeds.

I took some pics this AM, but will not share them. Trust me you don't want to see my fat ass. Maybe I'll do a before and after though. Here's a pic of me and my youngest and the scale this AM.



And now for poker.

A month ago I swore I wouldn't make any more deposits to online poker. I was pretty good until I finally ran out of money and fpp's. Monday night when I couldn't sleep I threw some cash on the poker machine and nearly blew my wad on super turbos. I clawed back and made a small profit, then closed up FT and vowed to get the $ back off. I had every intention of doing so last night, but I figured I'd just see a few hands of RRRUUSSSHH to try and get some rakeback and play only the nuts. I'd only need 32 hands to get my fill.

On the 11th hand I made a small raise in mid position with ATo and got one caller.
I bingo'd on the flop of TT6 rainbow and checked, villain checked behind.
Jc hit the turn [ThTc6s Jc] and villain lead out with $19 (pot), and I took my time and reraised to $42 which the villain calls.
Villain check-folded to my $100 bet on the 2s river and I take a nice little pot.

Hand 15 I got KK in early position and raised to $8. (too little?)
I flopped a set and made another $8 bet hoping to get a raise. villain complied by doubling my bet and I reraised to $42.
Villain let it go and I took another small pot.

Up about $80 bucks and I was ready to book a win when on hand 17 I got AA UTG +1. I raised to $9. (I've played so little lately I'm pretty sure my betting is weird, but I'm really not sure what to do there.)
Villain in late position called and I bet pot on the [4c5h3d] flop. If that's not an AA busting type flop then I don't know what is.
Villain raises to $42 and I reraised to $78 in hopes of taking it down there and held my breath.
Villain almost timed out (warning) at that point but showed QQ when I called his push. I faded his 2 outs and doubled up.. weee poker is easy.

I ran my $160 up to $434 then lost a little with 2 pair when some dunce couldn't lay down a straight and flush draw. I then folded a few more hands before booking a $237 profit in about 15 minutes....good stuff.

So what does 23skidoo fresh off some new found money??




Fear not, I withdrew that shit, you kidding me?? See you soon kids.

Day 2

Yesterday was filled with fail for the most part. I didn't eat too much, but I also did not eat well. I need to begin inserting healthy options into my diet. This will take some effort by me, but I updated my wife on my plan and she is all for it. Hopefully her positive nature will have an influence on me. My rough calculation from yesterday is around 2100 calories. This includes 2 beers, which definitely have to go.

I was 233.5 this AM which I consider standard deviation. I woke up late so no pics. Consider yourself lucky. So far today I've had my supplement and 4 glasses of water. I'm shooting for 8 glasses at least per day. I'll be having 1/2 cup of shelled sunflower seeds after I finish this post. That's a little over 200 calories. As soon as I'm done with the sunflower seeds I'll switch to a healthier snack. For lunch I have Tuna Pasta with cheese, I'm estimating lunch to be right around 600 calories.

That's all for now. see you kids tomorrow.

Day 1

Because of my tendency to overindulge in foods as pictured below and the more than occasional adult beverage. I have decided to challenge myself to lose some weight. I've made a few half-hearted attempts in the recent past, but I'm really getting tired of the big fat belly I see in the mirror every morning. Mine's not looking that good either...ZING.

As of this morning I weigh 234LBS. I'll begin weighing myself with pics tomorrow through June 18th. One month. My goal is to drop 15LBS in one month. Geez that's scary writing it down. I haven't been under 220 for several years now. My ultimate goal is 200, but I don't want to set my goal too high. I want to see what kind of changes I can make in 30 days. I'm going to shoot for 2000 calories a day and one hour of light to moderate exercise.

I'm cheating a little I'll admit. I will also begin taking a 'dietary supplement' beginning tomorrow. I may divulge my secret in a month depending on the results.

Today I skipped breakfast and have had about 6 glasses of water. For lunch I had yellow rice and mixed beans and corn with 2 small boneless pork chops. I estimate my lunch was around 1200 calories. I also walked 6 blocks after lunch.

This is now public record, so hopefully my fat ass will stick to it for at least the minimum...wish me luck.

Quick Chili

I do like to cook from time to time, unfortunately I don't always have the time to devote to it that I like. I have perfected the art of making real quick (~1hr) delicious chili. Here's my primer. I tweak the recipe almost every time I make it.



The ingredients: 1LB ground beef, 1LB ground pork, Whole tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, jalapenos, red wine, garlic clove, onion, red pepper, green pepper, chili spices, red kidney beans, pinto beans.



Mix together the whole tomatoes, diced tomatoes, chili spices,  and some of the tomato sauce. Turn the sauce on low.



Add the beans and mix.



Put all the garlic through a garlic press and add the jalapenos.



Cut up the onion and put about 1/4 of it into the sauce, the rest of it goes into a non-stick pan and sweat them in some red wine.





Fry up the meat in the onion mixture, drain most of the grease.



Add the meat and onions into the chili, then chop up the peppers. Add the  green peppers and about 1/2 of a beer. Use cheap beer.



Mix this up and let it cook for 20 minutes or so.




Add the red peppers.



Cook another 20 minutes and its ready. The longer the chili cooks the better it will taste. It will be even better after a night in the fridge.

Enjoy.

Weird

I was lazy yesterday and didn't bring my lunch, so I decided to go out around 1:30 when I could barely think straight. It was particularly beautiful yesterday afternoon and I decided to take a nice stroll to a place with a patio a few blocks away. This particular place has a decent menu and a great selection of beers on tap. Perfect for a long lunch on a sunny patio right? I ordered my salad (!?) and perused the menu, slowly talking myself into ordering a draft .  I believe it was Bell's Hopslam that they had on tap that was getting me jonsin'. Nevertheless, as I was getting the bartendress' attention my work phone rang.

Long story short, I had to scarf down my salad and ditched the idea of a long beer fueled lunch. Now this is where it gets weird.

As I was briskly walking back to the office I had the uncanny feeling that I had a buzz, that I in fact had a beer or three before leaving the restauraunt. I couldn't shake the feeling for a good hour, it was like I had an acid flashback with beer....weird stuff. It probably means my liver is saturated and I'm dying, but I'll just chalk it up to psycho-somatic drunkenness. Weird eh?

Well this weekend is shaping up to be boundless fun. First there will be poker played tonight! Weeee! First live cards since I went to NYC last month. Sham is hosting a HORSE tourney and I'm sure there will be shenanigans.

Tomorrow I'm hosting my tennis/beer group and we will be making a Lager of some sort. I even secured a torpedo of Sierra Nevada for the festivities.

Sunday I'll be making up to my family for being an absentee dad for 2 days. I hope they are gentle with me.

You kids have a good weekend, see you soon.

I don't want to go to school anymore!

What the hell is it with the schools and all of the freaking parental participation crap?? I send my kids to school for you to teach them useful things like math, and geography and not to sing some crappy DrSeuss montage at 9am or make a freaking tiki party with juice and cookies at 2:30pm!! wtf! Just teach them and send em home. I promise that I do actually talk to them and participate in thier life. I DONT NEED TO TAKE TIME OUT OF MY DAY TO COME TO SCHOOL AND SEE THEM. good lord. I dont EVER remember my parents coming to schol for 4th freaking grade graduation or any other crap at 10 am requiring them to take  a day off from work. Do teachers even have the basic understanding of how they are paid?? We work, we pay taxes. You teach my kids and GTFO. Thank you.

Take 2

Not an overwhelming positive on that one, this one is a bit more PC.



Here's another one I like..



Looks like I'll have fun for the next 30 days...

The Dank

So here's my first custom banner attempt for the Dank. Thoughts?

Just cause

Its fun to play with MS paint rather than work.



Maybe I should go ahead and get photoshop....

Did you know?

You can qualify for the WSOP for $11???

Thanks Full Tilt and Al

.....for finding new and interesting ways to separate me from my money...

See you donkeys soon.



In case you havent seen it elsewhere...here ya go.

Weekly Champion Profile - Me

Back in the day, winning the mookie held a certain distinction among bloggers. Well, dammit if I'm going to miss my chance to participate in the weekly champion profile.

Without further adieu, your weekly champion profile with 23skidoo



Q: How did you get into poker?
My grandmother taught me solitaire at a very young age (6-7 maybe) then when I had a firm grasp of suits she taught me spades, hearts and bridge. When I was about 20 I started a nickle, dime, quarter dealers choice game at my apartment and gained my love of -EV card play.

Q: Do you have any poker related goals and if so what are they?
My main goal is to have fun and don't be stupid. Hard to do sometimes. I also have trouble controlling my emotions at the table especially when someone doesn't follow the rules.

Q: What would your first piece of advice for someone wanting to learn how to play poker (submitted by Maudie)
Learn and practice proper bankroll management. I never have.

Q: What level of static do you get over your poker habit? (Submitted by Drewspop)
This was a huge problem in years past. Now that I have weened myself from the online teat, the wife is much more accepting of poker as a casual hobby.

Q: What was the first poker blog you read?
I first entered the world of blogdom through Paul Phillips Paul led me to Wil Wheaton, who at the time had the coolest weekly online poker game evar.

Q: How would you describe your playing style
PassiveLaggTight

Q: Who would be at your 6-handed SNG?
This has always been a tough question, I would want a fun time, so Antonio E, Phil L, Lacey J (rawr), Tripjax , and Jordan.

Aside: I found this post where tripjax bested me heads up in 2006 at the mook.

Q: Between Nihilism and Masochism, which do you think better describes why you play poker? (Submitted by Iakaris)
No question about it....masochism.

Q: What is the last book you read?
River of Doubt by Candice Millard, based on this.

Tell us a little know fact about yourself.
I wanted to be an actor growing up, but I wasn't very good. Then I wanted to make films, but that was too hard. I became an IT guy cause it it kind of fell into my lap. Oh Im lazy by the way, but you know that.



Now I know why Mook stopped doing this. Its a pain. Maybe next week's winner will follow suit though...it was fun.



ED Note: I just noticed that I started this blog 5 years ago on this coming Sunday, holy sneyekees!

Weekend Update

Hi there to those of you who stop by here every now and then.

I'm not terribly motivated to post anymore these days, but I did want to give a big time thanks to Otis, theMark, G-rob, and badblood for their gracious hospitality and fantastic effort in putting together such a great excuse to get out and meet some folks I have 'known' for years. I hope to make it back up there again one day and spend some more quality time.

Thanks as well to bustout poker for the additional prizes and food. Good luck on your new venture, you look to be doing it right.

See you guys soon I hope...

23skidoo

Fading Hoy

I'm fading all of Hoy's picks cause he's worthless.

Not that I read anything other than his picks, but whatever his reasoning, I'm sure it's wrong.

Cards +7 will lose to the  Saints. The Saints D is relatively healthy again and their offense has more weapons. Hightower and Wells will be ineffective and one will drop the ball at some point. Cards-24 Saints -35

Colts -8 will squeak by the Ravens 17-13.

Vikings -3 win at home, cause that's what they do. The Cowboys defence has looked good over the last three games more because of their opponents than anything. They will focus on AP and will be carved up by farrrvre. Cowboys 21 Vikes 28

Chargers -7 don't cover and may just lose. Marmalard will get chuck happy against a very good defense. My pick is 21-17 Bolts.

There ya go kids, strap in for a good weekend of championship football mixed with good old fashioned hatery.