I have been draining myself thin lately between work, family, poker and then all of the other crap I try to fit in my daily routine. I realized the other day that I try to work on a few things each day, but I very rarely accomplish much.
For instance, cleaning my house. I was working on the pile of papers that need to be shredded, recycled and whatever in the corner next to my computer desk. The pile overflows a 3x3x2ft cardboard box (I don't know how big it is exactly - it is one of the many boxes I used for moving crap from my condo to the house) and extends another foot above it - mostly using the computer desk to prevent a tumble of papers into my bedroom and over the floor. Anyway - I started working on it and promptly walked away after filling about 1/4 of a trash bag. I barely made a dent in it.
Anyway - I think work takes out a lot of my energy, but I'm fairly certain that I am also a little annoyed by how little the rest of my household does in terms of cleaning things up that are not regular cleanups. This is a tension point for me and is certainly something I need to bring up with my wife.
Currently, we also have a live-in guest. He's fallen on hard times, blah blah blah - but he needs to start contributing and he needs to be better about paying what few dollars we have requested of him. That - or he needs to find a place to stay himself. He doesn't put us out very much - I doubt he affects our bottom line - but he is at times very ungrateful and at times a little rude - and this is something that saddens me since I have provided him a place to stay for the last couple of months. To make matters worse, I think he quit his job on a whim last night - and I don't think he has another lined up to take its place.
Anyway - in terms of family, Gabe is doing great in school and continues to adjust to being on a schedule. This past week has been difficult because a cold has been making its way through the household - so Gabe actually stayed home a couple of times. Guenevere is having a good time as well - but its only preschool - so I'm just expecting play time stories from her. Every day though, they both sit at the kitchen table and practice their letters - something I wish we had started earlier (during the summer or even last year). They all know their letters by sight, but writing is still difficult for them.
Poker has been going a little better of late. I managed a deep finish in a cheap tournament the other day and had a monster of a session the other night at a ring game. Also, I'm pretty close to finishing the side work I have that should bring in another $1500. I think I'm planning on taking some of that money and trying a shot in a tournament down at Foxwoods - but I'll have to make plans for that and figure out when is a good time with work and such.
This weekend, I'm hoping to really get some work on cleaning done - whether it be the pile of papers, my front porch or something else. If the weather is nice, I might take the kids to the Zoo - since it is getting close to the time when it closes for the season and it will be a nice time to go (won't be too hot, won't be too busy). I'll check later if they have anything special going on this weekend.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Kids back at school, Poker and Megamek
Well, it is past the first week of school now. Gabriel started in Spanish immersion this year; Guenevere is in preschool still. Gabe's class runs 4 days per week - a full school day on Monday and then half days Tuesday through Thursday. Due to my son's special needs, and yesterday being his first full day, it appears this will be the major work point for Lindsay and I. I happened to be home when he came home yesterday and he basically tore apart the house for a bit before finally calming down. Even when calmed down though - I could tell he was still out of sorts.
Guenevere has taken back to school as well as I expected - she loves it, missed it over the summer and is upset that her brother goes to class before she does.
Grayson is not in school of course, but is teething something fierce and is likewise miserable. He is also walking full speed and has taken a bit of a tantrum approach to life. Still, he's cute - so I don't think he's in trouble... yet.
Poker continues to produce well for me and my bankroll is almost up to $300. My side project for PokerCrack.com has hit a bit of a snag - but since that's an extra $1500 in my pocket, I want to owkr hard on it to make it satisfactory to Roy.
Megamek's new cycle just started. I only have had the time to play one match so far, but in general I am happy to see it back. I'll probably not really take much part in this campaign though - there's just too much going on to justify more than a time-to-time commitment.
Guenevere has taken back to school as well as I expected - she loves it, missed it over the summer and is upset that her brother goes to class before she does.
Grayson is not in school of course, but is teething something fierce and is likewise miserable. He is also walking full speed and has taken a bit of a tantrum approach to life. Still, he's cute - so I don't think he's in trouble... yet.
Poker continues to produce well for me and my bankroll is almost up to $300. My side project for PokerCrack.com has hit a bit of a snag - but since that's an extra $1500 in my pocket, I want to owkr hard on it to make it satisfactory to Roy.
Megamek's new cycle just started. I only have had the time to play one match so far, but in general I am happy to see it back. I'll probably not really take much part in this campaign though - there's just too much going on to justify more than a time-to-time commitment.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Just a quick update
Haven't been very good about updating this with any of my recent endeavors - but better late than never I suppose.
Lately, I've been getting back into poker and have been pleased to find that my game is starting to come around. August was a tough month and I was in the hole from day 1. I managed to fluctuate from down $50-100 or so for most of it - which was just frustrating. Near the end of the month though, I managed a 1st place finish in a 2-7 Triple Draw tournament and with the money from that and a couple of timely ring game wins - I was down a total of $7 for the month.
This month, however, has started off real well and I'm already up around $60 or so.
For the most part, I am concentrating on tournaments and mixing in ring games when I have the time and patience. The bankroll is still too small to take too many chances, but at least it is self-sustaining. With a solid tournament finish here and there it should grow quite well.
In non-poker adventures, I'm barely playing Maple Story anymore and have netted about 10% in the past two weeks on my main character (TelinArtho2). My wizard also has gained some, but just from Carnivals.
I've also stopped playing Megamek.net during the test cycle. The new cycle starts this weekend though - so I'll plan to split my poker time with it since it is a fun game to play - especially at the beginning of the cycle. Of course, if I make some decent money at poker - I'm more likely to stay on that activity more... decisions decisions.
I've also been trying to get myself back into writing, which has been arduous and not successful thus far. I need to really set down and put some effort into it - but I have to admit - when I do have the time (after work, after the kids are asleep, after I've unwound for a little bit), I'm pretty tired. Regardless - these are just excuses. I have at least started digging around for my past writings and have been disappointed with what I've found.
I found out that Critters.org is still up and running strong. It is a critique website for writers of fantasy, science fiction and horror and was a staple of my writing time during my college and post-college years. I haven't stopped over there since my son was born (and I know this since my profile over there mentions my son) - so its been 4+ years. My how time passes.
It is of course the end of summer and I've gotten little done around the house to show for it. My lawn is overgrown, my house is a tattered mess. This weekend, despite the hurricane that is moving in on Saturday, I'm hoping to get some solid cleaning done to prepare for the fall and winter months.
I'll try to keep posting over here when I get the chance and the time - at the very least it is an outlet of thoughts - which helps the flow for when I do write. Maybe next time, I'll post about some of the story ideas I am fleshing out in my head (to at least get them started).
That's it for now.
Lately, I've been getting back into poker and have been pleased to find that my game is starting to come around. August was a tough month and I was in the hole from day 1. I managed to fluctuate from down $50-100 or so for most of it - which was just frustrating. Near the end of the month though, I managed a 1st place finish in a 2-7 Triple Draw tournament and with the money from that and a couple of timely ring game wins - I was down a total of $7 for the month.
This month, however, has started off real well and I'm already up around $60 or so.
For the most part, I am concentrating on tournaments and mixing in ring games when I have the time and patience. The bankroll is still too small to take too many chances, but at least it is self-sustaining. With a solid tournament finish here and there it should grow quite well.
In non-poker adventures, I'm barely playing Maple Story anymore and have netted about 10% in the past two weeks on my main character (TelinArtho2). My wizard also has gained some, but just from Carnivals.
I've also stopped playing Megamek.net during the test cycle. The new cycle starts this weekend though - so I'll plan to split my poker time with it since it is a fun game to play - especially at the beginning of the cycle. Of course, if I make some decent money at poker - I'm more likely to stay on that activity more... decisions decisions.
I've also been trying to get myself back into writing, which has been arduous and not successful thus far. I need to really set down and put some effort into it - but I have to admit - when I do have the time (after work, after the kids are asleep, after I've unwound for a little bit), I'm pretty tired. Regardless - these are just excuses. I have at least started digging around for my past writings and have been disappointed with what I've found.
I found out that Critters.org is still up and running strong. It is a critique website for writers of fantasy, science fiction and horror and was a staple of my writing time during my college and post-college years. I haven't stopped over there since my son was born (and I know this since my profile over there mentions my son) - so its been 4+ years. My how time passes.
It is of course the end of summer and I've gotten little done around the house to show for it. My lawn is overgrown, my house is a tattered mess. This weekend, despite the hurricane that is moving in on Saturday, I'm hoping to get some solid cleaning done to prepare for the fall and winter months.
I'll try to keep posting over here when I get the chance and the time - at the very least it is an outlet of thoughts - which helps the flow for when I do write. Maybe next time, I'll post about some of the story ideas I am fleshing out in my head (to at least get them started).
That's it for now.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Losses that Could have Been Wins
The last two nights I have lost, for the most part, from just being unlucky. 2nd round of combat last night, I move my clint (AC10 variant) to partial cover for 6 hexes (7 hexes would have been without partial cover so not as desirable). My opponent fires a large laser, hits the clint's torso and pierces it to explode the ammo.
In that fight, my rommel tank also got several shots with his AC20 that missed which would have been very critical.
Nothing to be done about it - it was a close match despite the early loss of the clint - but it just happens.
The night before - I was doing well enough until I jumped my PXH into light woods 5 hexes away (+3 movement modifier). He ran his charger next to my PXH and kicked the leg off (he was a 4/4 Melee specialist though). Unfortunate - but not much I can do about it.
Again - this fight was close - but just didn't work out.
In any case, that brings my net gain down to 3% due to these two losses. Hopefully I'll be able to make some strides for improvement along that front in the coming days, but we'll see how it goes.
My hanger is looking solid with recent purchases including a thunderbolt to help round out my heavy lance, and a hunchback to replace my whitworth that I lost the other day. I've taken to having 3-4 armies active - one around 3k, one around 4k and the last at 5k+. I actually have two options for my heavy lance currently which puts them both at 5.5k - so I only usually have one built at a time.
In that fight, my rommel tank also got several shots with his AC20 that missed which would have been very critical.
Nothing to be done about it - it was a close match despite the early loss of the clint - but it just happens.
The night before - I was doing well enough until I jumped my PXH into light woods 5 hexes away (+3 movement modifier). He ran his charger next to my PXH and kicked the leg off (he was a 4/4 Melee specialist though). Unfortunate - but not much I can do about it.
Again - this fight was close - but just didn't work out.
In any case, that brings my net gain down to 3% due to these two losses. Hopefully I'll be able to make some strides for improvement along that front in the coming days, but we'll see how it goes.
My hanger is looking solid with recent purchases including a thunderbolt to help round out my heavy lance, and a hunchback to replace my whitworth that I lost the other day. I've taken to having 3-4 armies active - one around 3k, one around 4k and the last at 5k+. I actually have two options for my heavy lance currently which puts them both at 5.5k - so I only usually have one built at a time.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Been a week or two - so let's give an update
Took a week off from work and as such had a lot of time to myself. This gave me plenty of time for a lot of things - and updating the blog wasn't really on my to do list. However, I did get a fair number of games in on MegaMek. Not everything went perfectly - but my hangar has grown well and I believe I am winning more important games than losing. I guess after I do a quick rundown, I'll be able to see whether that is true or not. So let's take a quick look:
Bandit Reprisals - 3 wins, 1 loss; 0 campaign effect
Captures - 1 win, 1 loss; Net 0% campaign effect (+2%, -2%)
Hit'n'Runs - 3 wins, 1 cancel, 6 losses; Net -3% campaign effect (+3%, -6%)
Maraude - 1 loss; 0 campaign effect (some lost comps, no %)
Patrols - 12 wins, 1 cancel, 5 losses; Net +7% campaign effect (+12%, -5%)
Pillage - 2 wins, 3 losses; Net -2% campaign effect (+4%, -6%)
Scout - 1 win, 1 loss; Net 0% campaign effect (+1%, -1%)
Sentry - 1 loss; Net -1% campaign effect (+0%, -1%)
Strategical Invasion - 2 wins, 2 losses; Net 0% campaign effect (+12%, -12%)
Vigilant Strike - 1 win; Net +6% campaign effect (+6%, -0%)
Overall: +7% campaign effect
Now - this is skewed because I know there were some missions where I had no loss (because it was a planet where we had no % anyway) - but without the specific lines from each mission, I can't gather that info. Regardless, I would rather work on the assumption that all wins gained % and all losses lost %. In addition, some of the missions have effect that are more than just the % gained or lost - but it is impossible for me to quantify that without a like amount of information about the finish.
Overall - I'm very happy with how things have been going. My hangar is about at its best so far and I am still growing it when I can. Hopefully, I'll be able to move up to Frontline commander sooner or later and really get into the bigger missions. I would definitely like to try out the super operation with a 30k lance or so - but I guess that will depend on how things go.
Bandit Reprisals - 3 wins, 1 loss; 0 campaign effect
Captures - 1 win, 1 loss; Net 0% campaign effect (+2%, -2%)
Hit'n'Runs - 3 wins, 1 cancel, 6 losses; Net -3% campaign effect (+3%, -6%)
Maraude - 1 loss; 0 campaign effect (some lost comps, no %)
Patrols - 12 wins, 1 cancel, 5 losses; Net +7% campaign effect (+12%, -5%)
Pillage - 2 wins, 3 losses; Net -2% campaign effect (+4%, -6%)
Scout - 1 win, 1 loss; Net 0% campaign effect (+1%, -1%)
Sentry - 1 loss; Net -1% campaign effect (+0%, -1%)
Strategical Invasion - 2 wins, 2 losses; Net 0% campaign effect (+12%, -12%)
Vigilant Strike - 1 win; Net +6% campaign effect (+6%, -0%)
Overall: +7% campaign effect
Now - this is skewed because I know there were some missions where I had no loss (because it was a planet where we had no % anyway) - but without the specific lines from each mission, I can't gather that info. Regardless, I would rather work on the assumption that all wins gained % and all losses lost %. In addition, some of the missions have effect that are more than just the % gained or lost - but it is impossible for me to quantify that without a like amount of information about the finish.
Overall - I'm very happy with how things have been going. My hangar is about at its best so far and I am still growing it when I can. Hopefully, I'll be able to move up to Frontline commander sooner or later and really get into the bigger missions. I would definitely like to try out the super operation with a 30k lance or so - but I guess that will depend on how things go.
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