Recent Movies

I finally saw Smokin’ Aces. It was certainly not a masterpiece, but man was it fun. It was a great action flick with fun characters and some awesome quotes. The little boy with the Karate shit was too damn funny. My favorite was Jason Bateman as the screwed up lawyer.

I tried the DVD vending kiosk at Kroger across from my office. The $1 a night price and convenience is awesome, but the selection is not that great. I picked up Eragon because I love dragon movies and that genre, but it was geared a bit too much for teenagers for my liking. Maybe I’m getting too old for some of the movie types I used to like.

Children of Men did not disappoint. It had a terrific story and was filmed in such a lifelike manner it often felt like you were watching live news footage. There was so much detail and action in the background that contribute visually, but don’t distract from the main point of the scene, it makes me wonder how much is lost from the novel. Now mind you, I wasn’t curious enough to go read the book. That’s just silly talk. When I watched it, I was often rewinding to check out how well things looked because it happened so fast and was not done in the usual Hollywood massive overkill way. I am still a fan of those types of movies, but this style just seemed to fit this movie perfectly. Clive Owen was great as usual. It was a scary hyper-exaggeration of one path we could be headed for the future.

Déjà vu falls in to the traditional Bruckheimer action category. Lucky for me, I am a fan of these as well. Good story that didn’t try to get too scientific and I liked Denzel’s character and thought he did a good job playing an intelligent and observant detective that struggled with the technological mumbo jumbo that many of us do in these type of movies. Since I love trivia, I’ll share some with you. The smoking hot actress is married to Alan Thicke’s son, Robert.

Stacie will be back Friday night, so “date night” is back on the calendar. That means no Donkament for me as we will be watching a movie or catching up on some other programs that we have put on hold for the past 5 weeks.

The Dirty Dozen

We had 12 people show up for our latest stop on the Neighborhood Poker League Tour. I hosted this week's event and I felt it only necessary to bust out first so I can be a better host. Don't you just love going from winning one game to busting out first the next? Congrats to Matt for the win.

Surf came by and took 2nd. The guest ATL bloggers are 2/2 in taking second at my home games. Coincidently, they were both the ones I was hosting. I look forward to seeing all of the bloggers at future neighborhood events. I had a chance to talk to TripJax for about 15 seconds before I sat down to start the game. He and Surf are heading to Okie-Vegas together in July.

I also was able to say "hi" to mowenumdown and his Dad at the Braves' game on Tuesday. We should see more from him on the felt this summer.

No Donkament for me since I'm heading up I-85 tonight for the weekend at Stacie's Mom's. Only one more week of living on my own and then Stacie will be home. I am really looking forward to having my Baby back and the countdown to Operation: Clean Up 30 Days of Bachelorhood commences on my return Monday. I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day Weekend.....Now don't burn that meat!

This Week in Poker

I bombed out very early in last week's WWDN. I was feeling particulary vulnerable and needed poker reassurance so I jumped in to a 9 person SNG and quickly placed 9th. Obviously I wasn't playing very well, so I decided not to dip in to the luck bank and just called it a night.

I was well rested for the Mookie and didn't want another poor performance 2 nights in a row. This one went a little better and I was able to hang in there long enough to get some points, but no cash. My luck play of the night came when I made a big preflop bluff with the hammer and Mattazuma, the short stack pushed. It wasn't much more to call, but I wasn't happy to see an over pocket pair of the same suits. I don't know why I worried, it was the hammer after all.



While Stacie is out of town, I have been playing in Katitude's Donkament on Friday nights. This is a ton of fun for very little money. I was able to catch some good hands during the rebuy period when you can really get paid for them if your opponent has decent holdings. I had 2 nice ones against the host herself. Yeah, it's easy to win a hand when you have the nutz, but trying to get as many chips as possible is the fun part.




I played absolutely no poker all weekend due to working Saturday morning and doing a ton of yard work. I probably won't be playing online this week because I 'm going to the Braves' game on Tuesday and hosting a game on Wednesday night. If I'm still in town Friday night, I'll play in Kat's, otherwise it's another weekend in Greenville seeing Stacie and cutting her mom's grass.

Hey, I’ve Been Tagged

I feel like a bear in Jellystone.

Kajagugu and 23skidoo hit me up for the 7 things meme. It’s good to have new friends. I have already done the 100 things, but here is some more for your reading pleasure.

1) I have never stepped foot into a poker room. The closest I came was at the MGM a couple of years ago when I asked the guy at the board what time their daily tournaments were held.
2) I have been to LA, but it was so foggy that day, I never saw the water, downtown or any of the sights. It could have been Paducah for all I know.
3) When I play poker online at home, I am always listening to nothing but Seal. ALWAYS!
4) I can name more poker pros than professional athletes or presidents. That is quite sad really. I’m sure that makes baby Lincoln cry.
5) I rarely have bad dreams, but when I do, it’s the same theme. For some reason Stacie and I are no longer together and it make me upset every time.
6) I used to wear an earring for years. Although I don’t now, the hole is still visible.
7) I have a scar next to my left eye. When I was a kid, we were having a BB gun war and one ricocheted I took it right outside my eyeball. It scared the shit out of me and we lied to my grandma when I came in the house bleeding from under my eyebrow.

To tag: FishyMcDonk, Tripjax, David Westbay, and Guin.

Vegas Baby, Vegas

I just love the movie Swingers.

Ok, I decided to hold off on the new car purchase for a few months and head to the WPBT Summer Classic in Vegas instead. I will be heading down to the strip Friday evening and other than the 2PM live blogger game on Saturday, I'm wide open until Sunday evening. If anyone wants to meet up, hit me at BrainMc.poker over at the G to the Mail.

5th is the New Black

I played in Kat's rebuy tournament again tonight. This is only my second time, but I busted out in 5th again. This time I have Mookie to thank (Congrats for takin' it down). It's a great way to end the week, and I don't usually invest more than $4. I don't normally play this because Stacie and I usually have date night on Fridays, but it looks like I will be playing these for at least the month of May. Well I'm off to Greenville in the morning and if I have the chance, I'll play in the next blogger bracelet game Sunday night.

My New Vehicle Options

As usual, I am all over the board about what I want to get next. Do I get a sporty little car or go with another truck? I do have a few requirements no matter which way I go. It has to fit in the garage and still leave room for the motorcycle and have a backseat big enough for Dundee to ride with us. For this reason, the 2 seat convertibles are out of the mix. That’s too bad, I like the new hardtop convertible Mazda MX-5 or the Saturn Sky Redline. Neither are prohibitively priced and I like the styling, especially the Sky.

If I go back with a truck, the most likely replacement for the Ranger will be a 2007 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab SE. I have test driven it and on paper it is the winner in the truck department. I also test drove the new Tacoma, but for the money, I wasn’t crazy about it. At the time, I could get a Tundra for less, but that is just too big. The Frontier has a long bed option for 2007 that I am considering so I can put the motorcycle in the back when necessary.

In the sporty 2 door category, I like the Honda Civic Coupe, Mini Cooper S, and my favorite, the Infinity G35 coupe . I love the current G35 and am considering waiting to buy a car until this fall when the G37 arrives. Who am I kidding? I am not going to buy this car. A used G35 is more likely. I have been lusting for this car for years. It has a great look, awesome power and even a small excuse for a back seat. If I can wait until the summer, the Nissan Altima coupe would be a lesser expensive option. It has a similar look as the G37, but it is front wheel drive, and not as luxurious or powerful (but still plenty) as the G.

Of course, the most glaring option is to just keep the Ranger and enjoy the $400+ per month I'd be saving. Maybe I'll use it to take some poker lessons.

I’m Out of Clothes and the House Smells Funny

As of Wednesday evening, Stacie will have been gone a week. I haven’t burned the house down and I’ve even managed to avoid eating out 100% of the time. I’m heading to G-Vegas Saturday morning to visit and will be back home Sunday evening.

I met Surf over at Kurokitty’s place for some .05/.10 mixed games. Thanks to being a card rack, I was able to almost quadruple my buyin. You know you’re the biggest donkey at the table when you call with something on the turn and didn’t realize your hand actually improved on the river and you take the pot. We played some crazy shit, especially Bandit double flop, and I was able to take at least half of 2 good pots. I had to leave around 11:15 so I could get home in time to catch a few hours of sleep. I have found myself staying up late every night since Stacie left and it’s starting to catch up with me. I’ve said it before, but I just don’t know how other bloggers stay up every night as late as they do, especially those with kids.

I expect very little online poker this week. I will probably be in Kat’s rebuy on Friday and I will try to win a token for the deepstack game Sunday evening.

The Streak Continues

I have had a good past 2 weeks for poker. I have played 12 times in the past 12 days, and it has worked out nicely with a second place or win in 8 of the 12.

It started with a chop for first during the WWDN with a field of 47. I followed this up by outlasting 72 others to win in the next night's Mookie. On Saturday, 4 of us from the neighborhood got together and played (5) $5 winner take all games. I got 75% of the first game after agreeing to a chop and won 2 of the other outright. That's how you turn $25 into $55.

I didn't play again until last week's Mookie and just missed the final table and finished a respectable but non-paying 11th out of 74. I then entered my first Riverchasers on Thursday and bombed out within 30 minutes so I jumped in to a 9 person SNG. I managed to take 2nd and finish the night only down 2 bucks. Woo hoo!

Friday turned in to a mini Atlanta blogger reunion when 23skidoo and Surflexus were able to join me at Kajagugu's neighborhood game. It was great to see the fellas again and I am happy to report I took second out of 16. To show the power of the blogger, "diamond flush" Surf got 3rd and Kaj finished 4th. I brought along two of my solid neighbors (Mike and Mike) to play and they were both impressed with how nice and skilled Surf, Ski, and Kaj were. Kaj's house was kickin' and you bloggers with these Mack Daddy finished basements are making me look bad.

Saturday afternoon was the latest stop on our neighborhood tour. We had 16 turn out for Cinco de Mayo / Kentucky Derby / Poker day. This was a wild and long day with some serious drinking by some. We were supposed to start at 2 and we are usually on time, but we had a more relaxed atmosphere right from the get go. I turned in to more of a party with cards and chips in the background. We finally got started about 3:15 and took a few breaks for Derby events and pizza. Congrats to Tim for the impromptu Derby "lottery" win good for 200 bucks. We started with 2 tables and I was at the more reserved one apparently. The other guys damn near finish a fifth of tequila by the time we consolidated.

At the final table, we were all having difficulty knocking out the short stacks because, as we all know, live poker is so rigged. We tons of 2 and 3 outer saves, yes usually on the river. It made for lots of loud "ooohs", "ahhhhhs" and most certainly "FUCK!s" as you can imagine. I was the beneficiary of at least 2 of these when I pushed while behind the caller. The best was when we were heads up and I look down to see a beautiful 7 2 offsuit from the small blind. What's my move? Duh, I pushed and since he had me covered by at least 3 to 1 and was ready to end it, he called. All I could think was "OOOOF." My posture slumped even more when he turned over 10, 7. We deal the cards and the flop comes X, 2, 7. Wa Freakin Hoo! The power of the Hammer baby. The turn blanked and the river is another 7 for the Hammer boat. This put us about even and I was able to take in down within the next 4 hands. I don't think he mentally recovered from the hammer beat. Just kidding Scott. Oh, to make the day even better, (1) I was able to take the bounty on last event's winner when we were down the the final three and (2) prevented Mike H. from paying out the bounty he had put on me. We finally finished our game around 10ish and the three drunkest were still playing crazy ass cash games. I unfortunately couldn't play anymore. I had to get home and give the girls their walk, feeding, and play time before I hit the bed. I think I will take the day off from poker and try to enjoy the beautiful weather with a motorcycle ride and maybe some productive yard work as well.

I'm So Ronery

Cartman Jong Il sang it best.

I missed the Wheatie this week because Stacie and I wanted to spend some time together Tuesday night. She headed to G-Vegas after work on Wednesday to be with her mom for about a month. Her mom had spinal fusion surgery on Thursday and everything went well. She now just has to deal with the painful recuperation and physical therapy. Stacie took a couple of days off of work, but will be able to work remotely from her mother's. I will be heading up each weekend after work until we can hopefully bring her mom to our place over Memorial Day weekend or the weekend after that (do a shot for me while your at the Summer blogger meet).

Although I have stayed occupied playing poker until at least 10PM for the past 4 nights, I do miss her terribly. It is rare for us to be apart for more than a weekend since either one of us rarely travels for work. Dundee and I aren't completely alone. Dundee also has a playmate for a week since we had already committed to dog sitting her buddy for a week starting today. So between work, keeping up the yard and the house, taking care of the dogs, and slinging some chips, I am able to keep myself busy. I realize I have the easy side of the equation. She has been spending her days and sleeping at the hospital at nights until her mother's release on Monday. Then the real work will kick in for her. So although we are apart from each other for the same amount of time, I know my time will fly by while hers will be dragging until her mother gets better.

Missed It By That Much

Unlike last year, I was not quite able to make it to the final table of my named Mookie tournament. I was close, but finished 2 from the money and final table. Too much work and staying up too late to get busted 11th. I would have done a few things differently, but I don’t think it would have changed my position late in the game. NomeyMyHomey really mopped up the floor with us in his first Mookie. He is one to look out for in future blogger games if we don’t bore him too much.

It's Funny If You Read It Right

You can tell the kind of people I have been dealing with lately. I coined this phrase today and I made myself laugh.

Better customer service starts with "better customer s."

Feel free to use this.