Fence Repair 101
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
More like remedial Fence Repair Basics when it involves me.I got home from the lake last Sunday afternoon to find that the wind, that had gusted over 60 mph on Friday night, had blown over part of my back fence. Luckily, the damage was only to the posts, but I still had to something relatively quickly in order to keep the dogs in the yard and the unwanted out of the back yard.
Home Depot is your friend....or so I thought. After assessing the damage and making a mental note of the required items needed to fix the problem, I set off for the big orange building. I had to buy some treated timbers for the post, a pair of post hole diggers since mine were at the lake and some Quikrete to secure the posts in the ground. I had plenty of screws and my drill gun waiting at home from the last such occurence.
Here's a couple of tips that anybody tackling this type of project should remember:
1. If it requires a trip to Home Depot for supplies, you might as well set the time aside for a second trip to Home Depot, because absolutely no home repair project (at least for a non-technical wizard like myself) will be finished with only one trip to said orange store. You are always going to need at least one more item that you don't have around the house and that you didn't pick up the first time you went to the store. Plan for it, embrace it and get in your truck and go back to the orange store.
2. This tip is for fence repair, in particular. Go with screws and a drill gun rather than nails and a hammer. Hammer....thumb......I don't think I need to elaborate here.
3. Wear gloves when you are on the working end of a shovel or post hole diggers. I'm currently typing this post with two pinkies and an index thumb because of the amount of blisters all over my hands.
4. One sack of Quikrete per hole, unless you have dug down 14 feet and have 22 foot posts. It makes for a pretty good mess above ground if you try and use two. (at least that's what I've heard)
5. Allow your wife and children to offer their opinions without snapping into a semi-postal state. I'll let the married folk out there explain this further in case you don't already know.
6. Allow your wife and children to get on the business end of the post hole diggers if they are so inclined. That way you know your lunch will be ready on time, because they won't be out there in your business for very long if they are trying to operate post hole diggers.
7. Buy one of those really expensive augers that you will use twice in the span of about 8 years. Trust me, if you haven't been on the working end of post hole diggers, that fawking auger is well worth whatever they are asking for it.
8. Finally, be sure and check your work, inspecting all areas of the fence before turning the dogs loose in the back yard. They could find a small hole that you didn't patch and get out, costing you two more hours of your life that you will never, ever get back.
Just a couple of tips, not like any of that has ever happened to me.
Until next time, I fold,
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:38 PM,
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Pimpin's Hard Too
Thursday, February 19, 2009
I haven't taken the time lately to pimp anything or anybody, so I would be remiss at the moment. I need to take care of a couple of things right here and right now.
First of all, whether or not your political views match up with this guy, (which mine are basically a mirror image) you need to stop by there on a fairly regular basis just to see what TFG is up to. I have actually belly-laughed out loud in my office a few times in the past few weeks. It helps that we've actually met and shared a few cold ones, but his humor is awesome.
Second, The Good Reverend was kind enough to offer me a chance to write up a little post about the micro-limit SNG world, since, as you already know, I am the Low Limit Grinder. You can go to Al's Poker From the Rail Blog here and you can view my article here. Take a look, it won't kill you and thanks again Al, I appreciate the opportunity.
Lastly, I was recently asked to complete an interview at bloginterviewer.com. They are some nice folks over there and if you have time, feel free to take a look at my interview and even place a vote for me if you feel like it. I'm on the campaign trail, you know?
That's all I have for today.
Until next time, I fold.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:34 PM,
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Blogging Is Hard
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
At least it has been for me lately.
I haven't been able to find the motivation to put anything down on the virtual paper of late, even though I've been playing considerably more poker in the last month or so than in several months prior. I'm mainly dabbling at the lower limits of Limit Hold Em and Pot Limit Omaha. So far at least, the great PLO experiment is going pertty well. I don't want to jinx myself, but as most of you already know, there are some really bad PLO players out there, especially at the lower limits.
I remember back to the days when I used to throw up two posts in the same day, sometimes a couple of times a week. I couldn't wait to get to work back then, because the first hour or so of my day was spent rehashing the play from the night before. Now, some 4+ years into it, it seems like it's all been said, done and rehashed to death. So, what's the point in keeping this up you ask?
For me, it's the community. Yeah, the perks of blogging are great, what with all Al does for us with the BBT4 coming down the pike and all the extras we have thrown our way from Full Tilt. But when it gets right down to brass tacks, at least for me, it's the relationships I've developed and the friendships I've made that make it all worth while. If you have any questions about that, go over to the OkieVegas Blog and click on OkieVegas 08 at the top of the page. Watch that little video and you will start to get an understanding of how and why I feel the way I feel.
I probably won't be much of a participant in the BBT4, just like I wasn't much of a participant in the BBT3. I don't have the time, the patience or the money online right now to really give it my best effort, so I'm not going to waste my time pretending I care. I may play the odd event on occasion, if I'm bored and the game suits me, but my name will be nowhere to be found on any leaderboards or final tables, I'm sure.
Good luck to all of you and do me one favor. Don't forget to say thanks to the folks that make these things happen. The second or third time we start to take these things for granted, sooner or later they're going to take them away from us. Thanks Al, for all you do for the blogging community and have a great vacation, bro.
Until next time, I fold.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:08 PM,
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Okie-Vegas Blog
Monday, February 16, 2009
Check out all of Kat's hard work here: OkieVegas Blog.
The dates are set, more to come soon.
Until next time, I fold.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:10 PM,
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One Of Those Nights
Monday, February 09, 2009
Truly, it’s been more than a year since I had a night like last Thursday while pokering on the interwebs. I’ve scored much bigger wins than last Thursday, but it’s been a long time since I did as well overall.
First, it was not a big score, by any means. I’m playing .05 / .10 Pot Limit Omaha, for crying out loud, the swings cannot possibly be very big. Second, I was playing my normal, weak-tight game, and by tight, think of that guy in the commercial that says “I wonder what else I don’t know?” and the interviewer says, “Do you know you’re wearing size 28 jeans?” And then the top button of those pants comes flying off like a Mig Jet, flying around the room before finally shattering the vase on the table beside the interviewer. Yeah, that’s how tight I’m playing right now, okay, that’s how tight I always play.
Anyhoo, I log into my new, un-named site of choice for the evening and pull up the 6-max PLO tables and find one to my liking. No big stacks and lots of folks under $10 at the table. I buy in (short) for $12 and wait for my turn in the BB. I immediately begin to notice a pattern with the player two to my right. (the button on my BB for about the next hour)
He is raising every.single.hand. and continuing to fire pot-sized bets, regardless of the flops, the callers or any actions from the other players. He is also calling re-raises from anybody and everybody at the table and, more often than not, showing down less-than-premium holdings when it gets down to a showdown. I immediately make a note on him, tag him green and wait for my chance.
We play a couple of orbits and this guy is running over the table, raising and re-raising until the opponents either give up and fold or he hits a miracle card on the end to keep winning pots. He ran his $4 up to over $25 in just a couple of orbits. Unfortunately, during this time, I am doing a ton of folding, in fact, I don’t get to play a hand due to his action until there are only he and I and one other player left at the table. I’m sitting around $10, the other player has about $10 and our LAGGY maniac has a bit over $20 at this point.
Then it happened. The switch was thrown. All the planets in the universe aligned and the poker gods deemed it my turn to get on a roll. First, I picked up A-K-J-J with the AK suited, in clubs. Our aggro boy raises, the other guy calls and I call and we see a flop of J-8-3 rainbow. The other guys checks, I check and aggro boy insta-pots it. The unfortunate other guys re-raises the size of the pot and I smooth call, as does aggro boy.
When the turn peels off another Jack, the other guy bets, I call (putting me all in) and aggro boy re-pot-raises. I triple up to almost $30, bust one guy (who rebuys for $6) and take aggro boy down a notch to around $15.
Very next hand, I am dealt A-A-K-x, double suited in the small blind. The button (with $6) open raises and I re-pop it, as does aggro boy. We get it all in 3 ways pre-flop and when the beautiful Ace hits on the flop, I have a lock. Looking at their cards, I don’t even have to worry about back door draws, as neither have a pair or a flush draw. Sweetness.
The other guy does not rebuy, but our aggro friend starts rebuying for odd amounts. One time it’s $2, next time $10, next time $6 and so on. We play heads up for probably 6 hands and I bust him 3 more times. My original $12 buy-in is now up to almost $75 and I am feeling invincible against this guy. Unfortunately, the table quickly filled back up and he decided he had gifted me enough money for the night.
He has two notes now:
Over-aggressive LAGTARD.
My new best friend.
It’s not a large amount of money, by any means, but it sure felt good playing cards against this guy. He is just the type of player that typically gives me a lot more trouble than any other kind. I don’t ever have an answer for the aggression, especially if I don’t have the cards to fight back with, but Thursday night was different. I was lucky with starting hands and I was lucky on flops and, thanks to his over-aggresiveness, I was able to maximize every winner I made.
Once I had him identified at the table, which is often the hardest thing for me to do, I was able to sit back, wait for cards and trap him into situations where I couldn’t really lose. Obviously, there were times when he did still have outs, but compared to my outs, he was drawing awfully thin most of the time.
He eventually did slow down when I was in a hand with him, but having the stack that I had, he still wasn’t able to get away from hands where he should have folded before the flop. He played every single hand, almost always for a raise and it took him nearly $50 to figure out that I wasn’t calling him down or re-raising him without a solid hand.
Those nights have been few and far between for me for what seems like two years now, so I went to bed last night feeling pretty damn good about myself. It’s nice when you can get into that situation and make the most of it and I certainly felt like I did that last night.
Until next time, I fold. (unless it’s against my new best friend)
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:32 PM,
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Truckin' and other miscellaneous shit
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
First of all, if you are not already reading this, then that would be your bad.
Truckin' - February 2008, Vol. 8, Issue 2
Welcome back to the latest issue of Truckin'...
1. Kitchen Table by Paul McGuireThat's cool. You're a chick. And chicks are supposed to like sappy shit like Coldplay. I need something that I can play air guitar to. Not 'insert and remove tampons from my ass' kinda music... More
2. A Proper Bow-Tie by Betty UndergroundI lay out the pieces of his tuxedo, he finishes the primping process. Gathering the necessary toiletries strewn across the bathroom floor one by one, as he needs them. The hair dryer goes off. I run my fingers through his dried, loose, locks and secure them in the back in a short ponytail while he tones, moisturizes and brushes. In that order... More
3. Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Joe Ely, and the Cotton Club by Johnny HughesElvis bragged about his sexual conquests, using language you didn't hear around women. He said he'd been a truck driver six months earlier. Now he could have a new woman in each town. He told a story about being caught having sex in his back seat. An angry husband grabbed his wife by the ankles and pulled her out from under Elvis. I doubted that... More
4. First Impressions: Buenos Aires by Jonny VincentI tell him I'm from the Future, from the 21st century where people are used to paying for goods and services with this futuristic method of payment called credit cards. I apologise yet again and claim full responsibility for my own lack of research into his quaint and backwards and medieval system. I tell him I have no gold, no jewels, no currency and nothing to barter in exchange for the consumed food except these futuristic and useless credit cards... More
5. Pancakes by Paul McGuireI just have to tell people the pancakes story and it perfectly explained Sabine. I sat through her bizarre routine every day for a year as she slipped into a trance and maniacally prepared her pancakes. She cared more about the pancakes than her own art. More than herself. Heck, more than me... More
What a Long Strange Trip It's Been...
From the Editor's Laptop:
Welcome back. I can thank our devoted readers enough for returning. This issue features two stories from yours truly... a series of random fictional pieces inspired by some of my old days in New York City. Betty Underground returns with another flirtatious and salacious tale. Johnny Hughes contributed one monster of a story involving Buddy Holly, Elvis, and the thriving music industry his hometown of Lubbock, Texas. And lastly, we have a new scribe to add to the Truckin' roster. Jonny Vincent is known in most circles as a professional poker player, but I happen to think that the Aussie one of the most hysterical writers on the intertubes. You'll see why with his observations about moving to Argentina.
Truckin' needs your help with a wave grassroots promotion. Spread the word about Truckin' on your blogs and whatever social networking sites you are currently addicted to. Please tell your friends about your favorite Truckin' stories. The writers definitely appreciate your support, as do I.
And as always, please let me know if anyone is interested in being added to the mailing list or perhaps you are interested in writing for a future issue.
Before I go, I have to give a hearty and sincere thanks to the writers for writing for free. They expose their guts, blood, and soul to the universe. Their dedication inspires me and I hope it inspires you too.
Be good,
McG
"If you are innocent, you can get away with anything." - Hunter Thompson
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I would be remiss in not stating that I was still playing a few online poker tournaments per week. You should too.
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Until next time, I fold,
G
posted by GaryC @ 7:05 PM,
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