With a brand spanking new laptop, and an old laptop full of files that I wanted to move across to the new laptop, I was hoping I wouldn't have to move them via external hard drive from one machine to the other.
In the depths of my mind I recalled using cygwin/openssh in the past to move data from one windows system to another in a similar scenario in the past. But to my surprise I found that microsoft have been working to make openssh work on windows. As evidenced by a post I found at https://winscp.net/eng/docs/guide_windows_openssh_server - so any thought of using cygwin/ssh went straight out the window and have now installed the microsoft supported port of openssh to windows
The hardest part was working out how to configure Norton Smart Firewall to allow SSH connections to my new laptop and files are now happily being transferred between machines. Being slightly paranoid I've left the sshd service as one that has to be manually started so it doesn't run all the time. And the firewall rules only allow connections from machines on the local subnet.
With the need to move a load of data from one system to another and setting up the laptop in a way that I'm happy with being top of mind, the process, so far seems to be relatively painless. Mitigated in some respects by the very snappy response from the new laptop. To say that I'm in love with an inanimate object is taking it a little far. But I am enamoured with the change in response times. The keyboard is a delight to work with. I just have to work out how to deal with the track pad and things will be sweet.
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
An early Christmas present to myself
As 2017 approaches, so does the 6th anniversary of the purchase date of my ancient, in technology terms, Lenovo laptop. While I have extracted maximum value from that purchase, the time has come to end my relationship with its constant poor performance, locking and inability to resurrect itself from sleep mode.
After my optometrists appointment in the middle of yesterday afternoon, I took myself off to a computer shop that willingly sold me a MSI laptop. Specifically, a MSI GP62 6QF Leopard Pro 15.6 inch Core i7, GTX960 4GB Gaming Notebook with 16GB system memory, 128GB SSD disk + 1 TB HDD. Well, at least my invoice says that is what they sold me.
My requirements were that, after experiencing the system lock hell that 4GB memory gave me, I wanted more, and was prepared to pay for more than 8GB. With 16GB being the next increment that was was what I went for. Add in the wasted minutes and hours waiting for my laptop to boot from a non-SSD hard drive, versus the almost instant on that you get when resurrecting the laptop from a sleep state when you are resurrecting it from an SSD drive, and that was a requirement as well.
A bit expensive. But, as I use the laptop so much, one that will improve the quality of my lived experience immensely.
Why choose an MSI laptop. Simply that I had asked a skype poker group that I've joined if anyone had any recommendations and one of the guys had a fairly grunty MSI laptop and was well pleased with it. Given that recommendation allowed me to restrict my choices to one manufacturer this removed a lot of pain from my decision making process. Then it was simply a matter of doing a bit of research via google and the purchase is now history.
After my optometrists appointment in the middle of yesterday afternoon, I took myself off to a computer shop that willingly sold me a MSI laptop. Specifically, a MSI GP62 6QF Leopard Pro 15.6 inch Core i7, GTX960 4GB Gaming Notebook with 16GB system memory, 128GB SSD disk + 1 TB HDD. Well, at least my invoice says that is what they sold me.
My requirements were that, after experiencing the system lock hell that 4GB memory gave me, I wanted more, and was prepared to pay for more than 8GB. With 16GB being the next increment that was was what I went for. Add in the wasted minutes and hours waiting for my laptop to boot from a non-SSD hard drive, versus the almost instant on that you get when resurrecting the laptop from a sleep state when you are resurrecting it from an SSD drive, and that was a requirement as well.
A bit expensive. But, as I use the laptop so much, one that will improve the quality of my lived experience immensely.
Why choose an MSI laptop. Simply that I had asked a skype poker group that I've joined if anyone had any recommendations and one of the guys had a fairly grunty MSI laptop and was well pleased with it. Given that recommendation allowed me to restrict my choices to one manufacturer this removed a lot of pain from my decision making process. Then it was simply a matter of doing a bit of research via google and the purchase is now history.
Vic Roads presents another hoop for me to jump through
And so, Vic Roads corresponded with me to inform me that I could keep my licence. But that, (as my GP had entered the results of my vision test on the line which indicates he had tested me with aided vision), I needed to have my licence updated to have a condition imposed. Namely, that I needed to wear spectacles while driving.
As I had undergone Lasik surgery in 2009 so that I wouldn't have to use glasses for long vision and driving, I was, at first a bit bemused. Then I dug out the photocopy of the form my GP had filled in and saw that, instead of filling out the line which indicated he had tested my vision without any vision enhancing device, he had chosen to fill out the line that he had tested my vision while I was using a vision aiding device.
Sigh.
Decided that instead of filling his pockets for the third time in this mini-drama I seem to be with respect to gaining my full Vic Roads licence, I decided that, as I hadn't had my vision tested by an optometrist for some time, I'd fill an optometrists pockets. Thus yesterday afternoon I found myself being examined by an optometrist with a fairly bland personality who kept me in suspense until the end with respect to whether I had glaucoma or whether I was good for my driving licence without spectacles. And both were good. I will be receiving a pair of reading glasses sometime in the next week or so. But I now have to wander back into Vic Roads and see about getting the restriction with respect to spectacles being lifted from my licence.
This episode just goes to show me that if I had reviewed the form that my GP had filled in with some care I may have avoided the requirement to get my vision tested. On the bright side, I've been aware that I really should have my vision tested as there have been times when a set of reading glasses would have been advantageous. The benefit of technology is that I don't need to use glasses when using my ipad or laptop as I can set the font to an acceptable size. But for some of the smaller text that is out there I am lost without a magnifying glass or a younger set of eyes to assist me. The reading glasses are well overdue but on their way
As I had undergone Lasik surgery in 2009 so that I wouldn't have to use glasses for long vision and driving, I was, at first a bit bemused. Then I dug out the photocopy of the form my GP had filled in and saw that, instead of filling out the line which indicated he had tested my vision without any vision enhancing device, he had chosen to fill out the line that he had tested my vision while I was using a vision aiding device.
Sigh.
Decided that instead of filling his pockets for the third time in this mini-drama I seem to be with respect to gaining my full Vic Roads licence, I decided that, as I hadn't had my vision tested by an optometrist for some time, I'd fill an optometrists pockets. Thus yesterday afternoon I found myself being examined by an optometrist with a fairly bland personality who kept me in suspense until the end with respect to whether I had glaucoma or whether I was good for my driving licence without spectacles. And both were good. I will be receiving a pair of reading glasses sometime in the next week or so. But I now have to wander back into Vic Roads and see about getting the restriction with respect to spectacles being lifted from my licence.
This episode just goes to show me that if I had reviewed the form that my GP had filled in with some care I may have avoided the requirement to get my vision tested. On the bright side, I've been aware that I really should have my vision tested as there have been times when a set of reading glasses would have been advantageous. The benefit of technology is that I don't need to use glasses when using my ipad or laptop as I can set the font to an acceptable size. But for some of the smaller text that is out there I am lost without a magnifying glass or a younger set of eyes to assist me. The reading glasses are well overdue but on their way
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Great email from #1 son.
#1 son recently turned 21. And I was stoked to get a great update email from him today. Travelling well in his University studies with two A's and an A- out of the three results he has had back so far for his second semester.
Plus he has managed to score a summer vacation job that will give him 12 weeks work experience and give him some of the work experience hours he needs for his engineering degree
Have to give him an a+ in his communication skills when he does actually write an email to me.
Plus he has managed to score a summer vacation job that will give him 12 weeks work experience and give him some of the work experience hours he needs for his engineering degree
Have to give him an a+ in his communication skills when he does actually write an email to me.
Sitting next to a morbidly obese woman
Today the seat on my left was occupied by a morbidly obese woman. Her belly extended to her knees when she was sitting down. After a break she returned with a large serving of a rice dish plus a medium sized bottle of Fanta. And it wasn't the diet version. Polished that off and immediately ordered a large glass of coke to finish it off.
I felt like I was watching someone committing slow motion suicide. Never going to say anything to her in that scenario though as it would likely upset her at the table and that would be uncool poker etiquette.
Peter Fitzsimmons has recently released a book documenting how he lost around 40kg by eliminating sugar and alcohol from his diet. I was thinking of that book as I watched the carbohydrate intensive rice dish and the sugar laden fizzy drinks enter the gullet of this unfortunate lady. I hope she some how latches on to some good dietary advice in the near future. Or she gets a stomach band. Because I don't see her weight heading anywhere but up from the short time I spent sitting next to her.
I felt like I was watching someone committing slow motion suicide. Never going to say anything to her in that scenario though as it would likely upset her at the table and that would be uncool poker etiquette.
Peter Fitzsimmons has recently released a book documenting how he lost around 40kg by eliminating sugar and alcohol from his diet. I was thinking of that book as I watched the carbohydrate intensive rice dish and the sugar laden fizzy drinks enter the gullet of this unfortunate lady. I hope she some how latches on to some good dietary advice in the near future. Or she gets a stomach band. Because I don't see her weight heading anywhere but up from the short time I spent sitting next to her.
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Pokerstars exiting Australia
Quite a bit of chatter about the recent government amendment to gambling legislation, that, if it is passed in the Senate, will see the exit of multiple online poker companies from the Australian market.
One of the guys I played a satellite with today even indicated he would look at moving to New Zealand to play. While retaining his Melbourne residence, he would hop over to New Zealand and establish himself there so he could continue to keep playing online. He plays at much higher buy-in levels than me and claims to have won a WCOOP event last year. While I couldn't find that (I may have misremembered his online id or he gave me a bogus one), I have found evidence in his Hendon Mob stats that he has cashed way more than me. So there is a pretty strong likelihood that he is a pretty good online reg.
If I want to play online it will likely only be possible when I head over to New Zealand. And I'll have to go through the rigmarole of changing the information I set the accounts up with. Boring!.
One of the guys I played a satellite with today even indicated he would look at moving to New Zealand to play. While retaining his Melbourne residence, he would hop over to New Zealand and establish himself there so he could continue to keep playing online. He plays at much higher buy-in levels than me and claims to have won a WCOOP event last year. While I couldn't find that (I may have misremembered his online id or he gave me a bogus one), I have found evidence in his Hendon Mob stats that he has cashed way more than me. So there is a pretty strong likelihood that he is a pretty good online reg.
If I want to play online it will likely only be possible when I head over to New Zealand. And I'll have to go through the rigmarole of changing the information I set the accounts up with. Boring!.
Friday, November 25, 2016
Focussing on SnapShove Calling ranges
One of the major weaknesses in my game has been a reluctance to widen my ranges when I become short stacked. With the end result being that I often blind away too much of my stack waiting for a better spot and end up being called by multiple players when I shove and being taken out by a weaker starting hand that flops well.
About a month ago I purchased the SnapShove app and have been using the app in training mode when ever I commute in to the Casino. And while I seem to have the shoving ranges in better shape than I previously had, the calling ranges continue to be where I am weak. Thus, for the next couple of weeks, I will focus my SnapShove training completely on calling ranges. At least until I am scoring above 85% regularly in my training sessions. After I achieve that level in calling ranges, I'll switch back to mixed mode training. That is, a mix of training in Shoves / Calls.
About a month ago I purchased the SnapShove app and have been using the app in training mode when ever I commute in to the Casino. And while I seem to have the shoving ranges in better shape than I previously had, the calling ranges continue to be where I am weak. Thus, for the next couple of weeks, I will focus my SnapShove training completely on calling ranges. At least until I am scoring above 85% regularly in my training sessions. After I achieve that level in calling ranges, I'll switch back to mixed mode training. That is, a mix of training in Shoves / Calls.
It has been years since I've used a comb...
My hair has been receiving regular short cuts for years now. #2 on top, #1 on the sides. Easy Peasy and no need for a comb.
And I haven't changed my hair cut schedule, so why would I use a comb for the first time in years yesterday? Well, in July I started to grow a beard which has morphed into a goatee. And yesterday I was looking at the bedraggled mess that my beard had become and noticed my comb in my toilet bag. What an experience. Unfortunately, while the comb makes he bedraggled mess post shower look much more of a controlled mess, there is still a requirement for some maintenance. Sometime in the next day I'll discover if I can manage to trim my beard with a pair of scissors and a mirror.
And I haven't changed my hair cut schedule, so why would I use a comb for the first time in years yesterday? Well, in July I started to grow a beard which has morphed into a goatee. And yesterday I was looking at the bedraggled mess that my beard had become and noticed my comb in my toilet bag. What an experience. Unfortunately, while the comb makes he bedraggled mess post shower look much more of a controlled mess, there is still a requirement for some maintenance. Sometime in the next day I'll discover if I can manage to trim my beard with a pair of scissors and a mirror.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Breaking an old habit
And so it has come to pass that I have moved away from Firefox as my browser. Microsoft Edge and Chrome are both getting a workout on Windows 10 to see if they are more reliable and less likely to consume all the resources on my 6 year old laptop.
Maybe I should just get a new laptop. And that is definitely a possibility sometime post Christmas. But in the meantime I have my fingers crossed that the regular performance issues I have had on this old clunky laptop may be mitigated by trying different browsers
Maybe I should just get a new laptop. And that is definitely a possibility sometime post Christmas. But in the meantime I have my fingers crossed that the regular performance issues I have had on this old clunky laptop may be mitigated by trying different browsers
A two day fast and some links I found interesting
After reading an article I found via a google search of pubmed on the subject of "fasting inflammation pubmed", I decided that having a two day fast every so often might be a good idea. Firstly as a preventative measure with respect to any cancer cells that might be starting to get a food hold. And secondly, in the hope that by fasting I will be able to reduce some of the inflammatory chemicals in my system that may be keeping my patches of psoriasis kicking over.
Ended up not being too hard. After trying out intermittent fasting last year with the 2:5 diet, the two days fasting was familiar ground in terms of the sensations I had to deal with.
Tim Ferris has started to rework some of the material from his podcast back catalogue into new material. For example, episode 201 of his podcast is "The Tim Ferriss Radio Hour: Meditation, Mindset, and Mastery", and episode 202 is "Derek Sivers distilled"
Both of which I would be keen on my sons listening to. Maybe one day they may stumble over this page and be intrigued enough to check those podcasts out. With respect to meditation, while I have pushed meditation as a tool that can be used to enhance your mental fitness and mental performance, I'm getting the sense that the kiddies have tuned any information from me with respect to meditation (and a bunch of other topics) out. Thus, I believe it is now the case that for them to experiment with a meditation practice they will have to get inspiration from other sources. The sense that familiarity has bred contempt is strong with this topic and my kiddies
Then on my twitter feed I found an article regarding "Why Power Women Are Micro-Dosing LSD at Work". The article mentions both LSD and Magic Mushrooms. My preference if my boys ever try micro-dosing is to go with dried Magic Mushrooms. And they can find plenty of information at places like shroomery.org regarding dosage. Plus if they read "The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide" they can get a bunch of information on micro-dosing. If they ever choose to have a psychedelic trip I hope they read both the Psychedelic Explorer's Guide and Sacred Knowledge to give themselves the best chance possible of having a safe trip.
I'm conscious of Nick Cave's teenage son dying while on a LSD trip. So having a safe environment and a sober guide is important.
Ended up not being too hard. After trying out intermittent fasting last year with the 2:5 diet, the two days fasting was familiar ground in terms of the sensations I had to deal with.
Tim Ferris has started to rework some of the material from his podcast back catalogue into new material. For example, episode 201 of his podcast is "The Tim Ferriss Radio Hour: Meditation, Mindset, and Mastery", and episode 202 is "Derek Sivers distilled"
Both of which I would be keen on my sons listening to. Maybe one day they may stumble over this page and be intrigued enough to check those podcasts out. With respect to meditation, while I have pushed meditation as a tool that can be used to enhance your mental fitness and mental performance, I'm getting the sense that the kiddies have tuned any information from me with respect to meditation (and a bunch of other topics) out. Thus, I believe it is now the case that for them to experiment with a meditation practice they will have to get inspiration from other sources. The sense that familiarity has bred contempt is strong with this topic and my kiddies
Then on my twitter feed I found an article regarding "Why Power Women Are Micro-Dosing LSD at Work". The article mentions both LSD and Magic Mushrooms. My preference if my boys ever try micro-dosing is to go with dried Magic Mushrooms. And they can find plenty of information at places like shroomery.org regarding dosage. Plus if they read "The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide" they can get a bunch of information on micro-dosing. If they ever choose to have a psychedelic trip I hope they read both the Psychedelic Explorer's Guide and Sacred Knowledge to give themselves the best chance possible of having a safe trip.
I'm conscious of Nick Cave's teenage son dying while on a LSD trip. So having a safe environment and a sober guide is important.
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Playing better but still no cigar
Played in the Sunday Arvo $250 at Crown and came in 12th out of 94. With 10 being paid this was tantalizingly close to the money. However, with being card dead for the latter part of the tourney did not help.
However. I came away, in general , pleased with my play. On reflection there were a couple of hands I would have played differently. With one being a major leak and another being a minor leak.
The major leak hand was an AJo hand I should have shoved from middle position 6 handed when I was starting to get short. The Snapshove app has this as a shove and I knew it in my gut before I folded. And as the latter part of the tournament is where you have to take these opportunities or risk being blinded to death. Which is essentially what happened to me.
The minor leak hand was a hand where my river bet could have been all-in. Instead I bet a size where he would have risked half his stack to call and still been alive in the tournament. After reviewing the hand, I know with that particular player / player type, as he had called a check-raise on the turn, he was likely to call an all-in on the river.
Sunday morning saw the 8th episode of Alexander Fitzgerald's Live Poker 101 webinar series. One of the other students suggested setting up a skype group. Hopefully I will be able to use that group to study hands with after the Live Poker 101 series ends.
However. I came away, in general , pleased with my play. On reflection there were a couple of hands I would have played differently. With one being a major leak and another being a minor leak.
The major leak hand was an AJo hand I should have shoved from middle position 6 handed when I was starting to get short. The Snapshove app has this as a shove and I knew it in my gut before I folded. And as the latter part of the tournament is where you have to take these opportunities or risk being blinded to death. Which is essentially what happened to me.
The minor leak hand was a hand where my river bet could have been all-in. Instead I bet a size where he would have risked half his stack to call and still been alive in the tournament. After reviewing the hand, I know with that particular player / player type, as he had called a check-raise on the turn, he was likely to call an all-in on the river.
Sunday morning saw the 8th episode of Alexander Fitzgerald's Live Poker 101 webinar series. One of the other students suggested setting up a skype group. Hopefully I will be able to use that group to study hands with after the Live Poker 101 series ends.
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Hunger Tilt....
Having decided to re-visit the intermittent fasting diet I blundered on Friday night. Having fasted on Thursday, I delayed eating on Friday until 13:00 . Then had some chicken around 17:00 ish. However, that wasn't enough after the fast from Wednesday evening through to Friday 13:00. And relatively early in the Friday night tournament I found my body was crying out for more food. And unfortunately I hadn't packed any nuts that night. Major mistake. Brain did not work well and out of the tournament very quickly with some very poor play.
Contrast to today when I went in and played in an Aussie Millions feeder satellite and managed to bink a ticket to the next phase of satellites. Much better play. Much less feeling of being on tilt at any stage of the tournament.
Lesson being to eat more and to pack snacks if I am playing in a live tournament the day after I fast.
And in a pleasant realization, today I realized that my meditation practice has, over the course of this year, improved out of sight. Feels like a step change in the benefits I am receiving from my practice. Life seems to have improved in some aspects.
Contrast to today when I went in and played in an Aussie Millions feeder satellite and managed to bink a ticket to the next phase of satellites. Much better play. Much less feeling of being on tilt at any stage of the tournament.
Lesson being to eat more and to pack snacks if I am playing in a live tournament the day after I fast.
And in a pleasant realization, today I realized that my meditation practice has, over the course of this year, improved out of sight. Feels like a step change in the benefits I am receiving from my practice. Life seems to have improved in some aspects.
Thursday, November 17, 2016
The Reservoir Rut - a pretty good one
Jumped into the Reservoir rut on Tuesday, having waved goodbye to Box Hill South with some regret. Box Hill had an intelligent Alsation and a couple of cats that were ok to be around.
This place is a two bedroom unit that has a very pleasant feel to it. Meditating in my bedroom feels very pleasant. Quiet street, quiet room, comfortable bed, pleasant ambient temperature.
One mildly unpleasant discovery was that I've gone back up to 90 Kg. Started this year at 95Kg and had been down to 87Kg about 3 weeks ago, so displeased to see my weight heading in the wrong direction.
Decided to google around. And for some reason entered a google search "pubmed fasting inflammation". Partly due to my understanding that my psoriasis is an auto-immune disease which may be related to an inflammatory issue. And during my meandering around the internet I've stumbled across a paper in pubmed that describes hormonal changes associated with increased visceral fat. And that some of those changes are on an inflammatory nature. So I guess some of that information was floating around in my head when I googled "pubmed fasting inflammation". And lo, found an article titled "Fasting: Molecular Mechanism and Clinical Applications". Interesting stuff.
So now I have some extra motivation to fast a couple of days a week - at least until the end of the year.
This place is a two bedroom unit that has a very pleasant feel to it. Meditating in my bedroom feels very pleasant. Quiet street, quiet room, comfortable bed, pleasant ambient temperature.
One mildly unpleasant discovery was that I've gone back up to 90 Kg. Started this year at 95Kg and had been down to 87Kg about 3 weeks ago, so displeased to see my weight heading in the wrong direction.
Decided to google around. And for some reason entered a google search "pubmed fasting inflammation". Partly due to my understanding that my psoriasis is an auto-immune disease which may be related to an inflammatory issue. And during my meandering around the internet I've stumbled across a paper in pubmed that describes hormonal changes associated with increased visceral fat. And that some of those changes are on an inflammatory nature. So I guess some of that information was floating around in my head when I googled "pubmed fasting inflammation". And lo, found an article titled "Fasting: Molecular Mechanism and Clinical Applications". Interesting stuff.
So now I have some extra motivation to fast a couple of days a week - at least until the end of the year.
Monday, November 14, 2016
Public Housing in Box Hill
Today I found out that the AirBnB I'm staying in at Box Hill is a Public Housing property that the host has been living in with his family since Jan 2016. Nice guy. I was thinking he owned the property as he looks after it like an owner would. With the lawns being well maintained and quite a bit of garden maintenance under taken during the course of my stay. Plus he has a lovely alsation dog and a couple of cats. So just assumed he must own it.
We had a bit of a chat about politics, with the recent election of Donald Trump being a starting point for quite a rambling conversation.
Then off into Melbourne to look for some birthday presents for sons #1 and #2. Came to the conclusion that probably better to just give them some money. Memories of my mother buying clothes for me when I was an adult came back to me. And the memories were generally of the poor choices she made. And how much money she wasted in continuing to buy me clothes that were never worn and generally just chucked away.
We had a bit of a chat about politics, with the recent election of Donald Trump being a starting point for quite a rambling conversation.
Then off into Melbourne to look for some birthday presents for sons #1 and #2. Came to the conclusion that probably better to just give them some money. Memories of my mother buying clothes for me when I was an adult came back to me. And the memories were generally of the poor choices she made. And how much money she wasted in continuing to buy me clothes that were never worn and generally just chucked away.
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Walter "Andrew" Mitty at the table
For a while last night the entertainment at the table was the banter between Mel, sitting in seat 2, and Andrew, sitting in seat 6. I was in seat 1, and the only way to have escaped the banter would have been to put on my noise cancelling headphones and cranked some music up.
Early hand. I was on the button with pocket 5s. Andrew open raised, I flatted on the button, and Mel was in the hand. Flop 5Kc5c. We all checked. I have the stone cold nuts and didn't want to bet and have everyone fold. Turn Qc. Andrew throws out a bet. I "think" for a bit and call. River 4d. Andrew checks. After I've been thinking for about 5 or so seconds and my hand is just about to start reaching for chips Andrew says. "Oh get on with it.." and throws his hand in the muck. He then says "I had the 5 of diamonds, but he obviously had the flush".
Later he folds another hand and says "I had the K of clubs" and his opponent shows the King of clubs.... He also claimed to be 49 and have a birth year of 1965 - which would make his age somewhere, at a minimum, be 50 if he was born sometime between Nov 12th 1965 and Dec 31, 1965, and an age of 51, should he have been born before Nov 11 1965. He looked, at a maximum, to be in his mid 30's. He also claimed to work for the federal police and centre link. Claimed to the father of six, and had just had a grandchild born that morning.
Rarely have I heard so much BS uttered in such a short period of time. He said everything with a bit of a grin on his face, as though he knew no one was really believing anything he said.
Mel was the most vocal of his nay sayers. Frequently calling out his claims as being full of it. I was sort of sad to see Andrew get knocked out. Though with his aggro loose style, once he was short stacked he was going to be on borrowed time.
Early hand. I was on the button with pocket 5s. Andrew open raised, I flatted on the button, and Mel was in the hand. Flop 5Kc5c. We all checked. I have the stone cold nuts and didn't want to bet and have everyone fold. Turn Qc. Andrew throws out a bet. I "think" for a bit and call. River 4d. Andrew checks. After I've been thinking for about 5 or so seconds and my hand is just about to start reaching for chips Andrew says. "Oh get on with it.." and throws his hand in the muck. He then says "I had the 5 of diamonds, but he obviously had the flush".
Later he folds another hand and says "I had the K of clubs" and his opponent shows the King of clubs.... He also claimed to be 49 and have a birth year of 1965 - which would make his age somewhere, at a minimum, be 50 if he was born sometime between Nov 12th 1965 and Dec 31, 1965, and an age of 51, should he have been born before Nov 11 1965. He looked, at a maximum, to be in his mid 30's. He also claimed to work for the federal police and centre link. Claimed to the father of six, and had just had a grandchild born that morning.
Rarely have I heard so much BS uttered in such a short period of time. He said everything with a bit of a grin on his face, as though he knew no one was really believing anything he said.
Mel was the most vocal of his nay sayers. Frequently calling out his claims as being full of it. I was sort of sad to see Andrew get knocked out. Though with his aggro loose style, once he was short stacked he was going to be on borrowed time.
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Having my ticket clipped again by the medical fraternity for the privilege of driving
Back to the GP today to get the letter from my cardiologist. Pain in the backside as that is another $70 to pay and all because the cardiologist hadn't turned the letter around fast enough the first time. Then off to Vic Roads with the letter that had informed me my license was being suspended today and I had to send it back to Vic Roads. Luckily the Vic Roads person I was served by at the Carlton office was lovely and went the extra distance for me by ringing up the medical review section in Vic Roads and passing the information on. End result being that my license is still live and I'll receive a confirmation letter from the medical review section within the next couple of weeks.
While I had planned for today to be a full fast day, I found that I'd managed to eat skimpily yesterday with no food after midday. So decided to go as late into the day before eating as possible. Ended up having a 28 hour gap between meals and have only had the one meal today so pleased with that outcome. The goal is to have 6 or 7 weeks with two days of fasting each week then re-evaluate with respect to how my weight is going and how my psoriasis is looking. Have been ferreting around in pubmed and found some interesting articles discussing how fat, in and of itself, is inflammatory. And psoriasis is an auto-immune inflammatory disease. And while there has been no definitive paper in pubmed that suggests that losing more weight will help my psoriasis, I'm keen to see if there is a relationship (whether it is to intermittent fasting for 8 weeks or so or to any weight loss I sustain I won't really know, but will be interested to see).
Poker wise I've been re-watching some Alexander Fitzgerald videos. And slowly, slowly, some of his thinking and tips have been sinking in. Even to the point of opening up Flopzilla after a satellite on the weekend and running several hands through to see whether I had the right mathematical percentages required to play the hands differently. And for one hand it turns out I should have. The benefit being, that having done that analysis away from the table, I'll be able to use that information the next time I'm in a similar situation.
Snapshove is an app by Matt Silver that has been getting a workout for 5 to 20 minutes per day. Ideally I would like to beaver away at this app until I'm getting more than 95% of the SnapCall / SnapShove scenarios right. My short stacked play is a bit too wimpy and I end up being blinded away when I'm less than 10 Big Blinds. And using the SnapShove app in training mode will, hopefully, allow me to open my ranges up when shoving and calling with a shorter stack
While I had planned for today to be a full fast day, I found that I'd managed to eat skimpily yesterday with no food after midday. So decided to go as late into the day before eating as possible. Ended up having a 28 hour gap between meals and have only had the one meal today so pleased with that outcome. The goal is to have 6 or 7 weeks with two days of fasting each week then re-evaluate with respect to how my weight is going and how my psoriasis is looking. Have been ferreting around in pubmed and found some interesting articles discussing how fat, in and of itself, is inflammatory. And psoriasis is an auto-immune inflammatory disease. And while there has been no definitive paper in pubmed that suggests that losing more weight will help my psoriasis, I'm keen to see if there is a relationship (whether it is to intermittent fasting for 8 weeks or so or to any weight loss I sustain I won't really know, but will be interested to see).
Poker wise I've been re-watching some Alexander Fitzgerald videos. And slowly, slowly, some of his thinking and tips have been sinking in. Even to the point of opening up Flopzilla after a satellite on the weekend and running several hands through to see whether I had the right mathematical percentages required to play the hands differently. And for one hand it turns out I should have. The benefit being, that having done that analysis away from the table, I'll be able to use that information the next time I'm in a similar situation.
Snapshove is an app by Matt Silver that has been getting a workout for 5 to 20 minutes per day. Ideally I would like to beaver away at this app until I'm getting more than 95% of the SnapCall / SnapShove scenarios right. My short stacked play is a bit too wimpy and I end up being blinded away when I'm less than 10 Big Blinds. And using the SnapShove app in training mode will, hopefully, allow me to open my ranges up when shoving and calling with a shorter stack
Monday, November 7, 2016
Box Hill - not so dodgy an AirBnB. And a new podcast to sample
And so it came to pass that the AirBnB that I thought might be dodgy turns out to be anything but. My prejudice partly due to a previous lack luster experience at Box Hill back in May/June. Very pleasantly surprised.
And, to my pleasure, I've found another podcast that has a few gems in the episodes it offers. Listening to Ramit Sethi on this podcast is an absolute pleasure. And, even better, I find through a google search that he has been a regular guest on this podcast with at least 3 other episodes I can listen to at my leisure.
This morning I've been listening to Ramit Sethi on episode 399 of the Art Of Charm podcast - titled "Cold Truths About Networking and Success". And have queued up episode 172 discussing "I will teach you to be rich" (discussing some dream job tactics to help you), and episodes 90 & 91, discussing "Automate your life" (discussing how to get off your ass and get rich, finally! In this interview, learn to automate your bill payments, improve your credit score, and get out of debt.)
Lots and lots of episodes of this podcast series to be sifted through to see which episodes might be of interest. Some mildly irritating advertising during the podcast, but to listen to someone like Ramit Sethi I'll tolerate that minor issue.
And, to my pleasure, I've found another podcast that has a few gems in the episodes it offers. Listening to Ramit Sethi on this podcast is an absolute pleasure. And, even better, I find through a google search that he has been a regular guest on this podcast with at least 3 other episodes I can listen to at my leisure.
This morning I've been listening to Ramit Sethi on episode 399 of the Art Of Charm podcast - titled "Cold Truths About Networking and Success". And have queued up episode 172 discussing "I will teach you to be rich" (discussing some dream job tactics to help you), and episodes 90 & 91, discussing "Automate your life" (discussing how to get off your ass and get rich, finally! In this interview, learn to automate your bill payments, improve your credit score, and get out of debt.)
Lots and lots of episodes of this podcast series to be sifted through to see which episodes might be of interest. Some mildly irritating advertising during the podcast, but to listen to someone like Ramit Sethi I'll tolerate that minor issue.
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Dud Pokerstars client update.... Pft
The latest pokerstars client update has not been a pleasant experience.
All my settings were lost.
Which is bad.
Today is my last day at this AirBnB. Moving to a dodgy sounding AirBnB tomorrow and going to have a rare day in and playing internet poker.
All my settings were lost.
Which is bad.
- No hand history folder. So no hand histories for pokertracker to use. Confusing for a while as to why Pokertracker was not updating the HUD stats
- Time Zone lost. Default to ET instead of AEST. And worse, I would set it to AEST, shut down the client, and the next time I started the client, back to ET
- Bet slider options lost
- Back to two color deck instead of 4 color deck. Lost one hand because I was subconsciously thinking I had a 4 color deck and that I had a flush.... Not quite. Boo! Hiss!
- Probably one or two other configuration options have been lost as well.
Today is my last day at this AirBnB. Moving to a dodgy sounding AirBnB tomorrow and going to have a rare day in and playing internet poker.
AirBnB hassles
For some reason my strike rate for making bookings with AirBnB over the past few weeks has been poor. Making my next booking took over 4 requests before I landed one. People declining because their current guests wanted to stay on, long lost friends from overseas turning up and staying for a month and so on.
Plus with my aging laptop seeming to take forever to load up AirBnB, the application process was proving to be excruciating dull. Hence my decision to book for 3 weeks. I have a dodgy sort of AirBnB lined up for the next week. Then two weeks in an extremely well reviewed AirBnB in Reservoir.
Hope it all works out.
On the plus side Alex Fitzgerald put out his latest lesson on Live Poker 101. Once again I am grateful that he sent it out in advance of the scheduled 05:00am Sunday start time. So I could pre-watch it then join in for the Q&A post the pre-recorded webinar.
One of the leaks in my tournament game is Push-Fold play when short stacked. I have invested some $s in Max Silver's SnapShove app and hope that spending some time training with that each day will prove to be worthwhile. All I have to do is somehow work out what cue works best for me with respect to spending some time training.
Went shopping for son #1 and son #2 birthday presents yesterday. Walked into Dangerfield shop in Brunswick with intent of perhaps purchasing some shirts or t-shirts. Being old and daggy, which is outside the target demographic, I was ignored by the sales staff. Some nice stuff in the shop. Will probably return on a weekday in the hope that there will be different sales staff on.
Plus with my aging laptop seeming to take forever to load up AirBnB, the application process was proving to be excruciating dull. Hence my decision to book for 3 weeks. I have a dodgy sort of AirBnB lined up for the next week. Then two weeks in an extremely well reviewed AirBnB in Reservoir.
Hope it all works out.
On the plus side Alex Fitzgerald put out his latest lesson on Live Poker 101. Once again I am grateful that he sent it out in advance of the scheduled 05:00am Sunday start time. So I could pre-watch it then join in for the Q&A post the pre-recorded webinar.
One of the leaks in my tournament game is Push-Fold play when short stacked. I have invested some $s in Max Silver's SnapShove app and hope that spending some time training with that each day will prove to be worthwhile. All I have to do is somehow work out what cue works best for me with respect to spending some time training.
Went shopping for son #1 and son #2 birthday presents yesterday. Walked into Dangerfield shop in Brunswick with intent of perhaps purchasing some shirts or t-shirts. Being old and daggy, which is outside the target demographic, I was ignored by the sales staff. Some nice stuff in the shop. Will probably return on a weekday in the hope that there will be different sales staff on.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Why was my bag in the kitchen?
This morning I toodled off to the bathroom, and when returning through the kitchen saw my back pack leaning against the wall next to the rubbish bin. This initiated a bout of confusion. I recalled returning back to the AirBnB late last night and unpacking my back pack in my bedroom. Plugging the iPad in to charge, using the laptop for a while, and plugging the mobile internet device in to charge.
Exited the room to get myself a drink from the kitchen then back into my room to bunk down for the night. Soooo.... I know I'm getting old. I haven't had a drink in a very long time... Yet here I had evidence that my bag had moved overnight yet I had not been the mover of the bag. So had I sleep walked or had someone moved it?
The other point of interest was that the back door was open. No sign of the hosts. Wondering whether they were keen on airing the house and maybe one of them had gone out for a bike ride or run I returned to my bedroom and meditated for an hour. When next venturing into the living areas, Hong asked me whether I had opened the back door. And, as we talked it came out that her credit card provider had called her to let her know that her card had been used about 6 times for some low value transactions at the likes of Coles etc.
Hong had noted a sound at about 06:30 this morning which is the most likely time that the intruder was in the house. Nicholas had fallen asleep in the lounge, stay there until around 05:30 before taking himself off to their bedroom...
Thus it appears that my bag was taken from my bedroom. And luckily for me the intruders probably got spooked and took off without my bag. For which I am most grateful as both my passport was inside the bag and the bag has given me stirling service over the past year and is one of the best back packs I've had.
Apparently this is the second time that the hosts have experienced a break in at this place.... I suspect a change of locks might be in order.
Exited the room to get myself a drink from the kitchen then back into my room to bunk down for the night. Soooo.... I know I'm getting old. I haven't had a drink in a very long time... Yet here I had evidence that my bag had moved overnight yet I had not been the mover of the bag. So had I sleep walked or had someone moved it?
The other point of interest was that the back door was open. No sign of the hosts. Wondering whether they were keen on airing the house and maybe one of them had gone out for a bike ride or run I returned to my bedroom and meditated for an hour. When next venturing into the living areas, Hong asked me whether I had opened the back door. And, as we talked it came out that her credit card provider had called her to let her know that her card had been used about 6 times for some low value transactions at the likes of Coles etc.
Hong had noted a sound at about 06:30 this morning which is the most likely time that the intruder was in the house. Nicholas had fallen asleep in the lounge, stay there until around 05:30 before taking himself off to their bedroom...
Thus it appears that my bag was taken from my bedroom. And luckily for me the intruders probably got spooked and took off without my bag. For which I am most grateful as both my passport was inside the bag and the bag has given me stirling service over the past year and is one of the best back packs I've had.
Apparently this is the second time that the hosts have experienced a break in at this place.... I suspect a change of locks might be in order.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Melbourne Cup day blundering
First Tuesday in November is Melbourne Cup day. And this vital piece of information had somehow escaped my brain last night as I made plans to toodle off to the weekly Tuesday Auction at Pickles in Altona... Well D'oh... Lurking around the train station were all these people in their Melbourne Cup race day finery. Very obviously race day bound.
Which was a pity as I had slept in and, with the intention of being on time at the Auction, had chosen to miss my morning meditation. However, not all was lost as I managed to squeeze in an hour when I returned home in the late afternoon.
And today saw the lodgement of my 2015-2016 Australian Tax return. Twigged to the fact that the deadline for lodgement was October 31st at about 10:30 pm on October 31st. And spent a couple of hours trying to make the web interface work for me. I suspect that the tax site was under pretty heavy pressure and that it wasn't manage to handle the load. Eventually gave up and lodged my return tonight. Not that it would bother the tax department much. Especially as I am essentially living off capital and there is almost zero income.
Melbourne on cup day is a great place to be, especially if you are traveling by Public transport at the times when most of the masses are on their way to or from the race track. Lots of couples all dressed up, with the ladies tending to sport those fascinating fascinators, and the men wearing suits or jackets. Great feel to the place.
Which was a pity as I had slept in and, with the intention of being on time at the Auction, had chosen to miss my morning meditation. However, not all was lost as I managed to squeeze in an hour when I returned home in the late afternoon.
And today saw the lodgement of my 2015-2016 Australian Tax return. Twigged to the fact that the deadline for lodgement was October 31st at about 10:30 pm on October 31st. And spent a couple of hours trying to make the web interface work for me. I suspect that the tax site was under pretty heavy pressure and that it wasn't manage to handle the load. Eventually gave up and lodged my return tonight. Not that it would bother the tax department much. Especially as I am essentially living off capital and there is almost zero income.
Melbourne on cup day is a great place to be, especially if you are traveling by Public transport at the times when most of the masses are on their way to or from the race track. Lots of couples all dressed up, with the ladies tending to sport those fascinating fascinators, and the men wearing suits or jackets. Great feel to the place.
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