Moving Forward...

... in space, time, and the bathroom remodel.



Where I last left off, I was California bound, but only for a short time. I have since returned with enough computing power to launch a small, privately financed, space shuttle. Perhaps this is a marketable side business... I do not know... maybe in Russia. But what I do know is that I now have all of my construction tools on hand as well. This is an overwhelming convenience. My life is much happier, and healthy now.

Since returning, I have framed in the shower walls, and installed the mixer. The mixer, is the device which mixes both the hot and cold water together, to an individually perfect blend of hot and cold water. Hence the name, mixer.
The shower head plumbing has also been decided upon, and installed. The big news though, is the water test that we performed yesterday. Turns out, there was one PVC pipe fitting located on the outside wall, for fresh water supply that was not glued. This burst, and the test failed.

Today, the fitting is now glued, and the hot water heater must be electrically connected to truly test the hot and cold function of the aforementioned mixer.

Once all the "inside the wall" stuff can pass inspection, the shower pan can be placed permanently, drain installed, insulation put up, and backerboard screwed in. Backerboard being, that which the tile will adhere to. Then, drywall will go up all around. After that, you may well imagine, we are tangibly close to a real bathroom.

As far as the picture from above, it is just a stock photo of Cape Arago, just a few miles south of town. I included this for the exclusive benefit of you, the occasional observer. Enjoy.

What Month Is it??

I can't believe it's been a month since I posted. I guess it's not too bad, if compared to my brother's blogs. I think I'm still way ahead on an average post per month basis... assuming the last 8 months are included in the calculation.

Where was I... the loft bathroom. Well, at this point, all the heaviest of heavy duty labor is done. 146 feet of trench dug, all at 1/4" per foot of slope to accommodate the necessary plumbing exit (sewer line, that is, in layman's terms). Since then, all 146 feet of 4" ABS pipe has been placed, glued, and buried, along with all code appropriate cleanout intervals. In short, the loft is now plumbed to the septic. Hypothetically, if you carried your own bucket of water with you, you could take a duke, if you so desired. But I wouldn't recommend the sitting position as comfortable, since the toilet is not actually installed. However, in Japan they do it that way. If we have any Japanese visitors soon, we are ready for business.

So, as for the very now, the honorable Uncle Dan and I have been negotiating shower wall plans. He opinioned that plastic walls would be fine. I have advocated for tile. I think I am winning this debate. We are also divided on the floor material. He believes linoleum is ok. And, yes, the cost savings is significant (whereas costs are comparable with tile shower walls vs. plastic) and installation would also be much quicker and easier with his preferred choice. I may relent, but only if the shower walls can be done the right way, with tile. However... work is about to go on another break. This should only last a week.

This is the deal. I am starting up KB Design, with worldwide headquarters located here in lovely North Bend, Oregon. The KB stands for Kirk and Bryan. Bryan Coleman that is. The week delay is for me to travel back to California to pick up a computer, and some light training with my Uncle Dieter. Then I return to Oregon as soon as possible, and we embark.

This does put the loft bathroom, somewhat on a back burner. NOT off the stove, not chilled and in the freezer, just lowered to a simmer, and set nearer the wall. I will then pick it up on weekends, and when there is time between the new startup work. It does look like I will be busy immediately, so weekends just may be the only time.

IN other news, I sold the Supra. It was burning more oil than I thought was healthy. That, and I really do need a truck. Sports cars are fun, but not practical. Even for a single guy. So, with a favorable tax return, I picked up a Nissan Frontier.

I'm liking it so far.




I think that's it. No poker news. I'm just too burnt on it all. Perhaps when I'm an old rich dude, with nothing to do in my retirement but burn hundred dollar bills. For now, I got a bidniss to run.

Oregon at Last

I have arrived in Oregon recently, soon to find out that my uncle Rick had passed away.

A family reunion will now fall together. And, this has changed my plans. Not to a great extent, but I have put the loft bathroom somewhat on the backburner now.

Instead, the loft's main living quarters have been given priority for wayward travelers here to mourn all that was, all that had been, all what might be of Uncle Rick.

Although the bathroom does have a newly purchased vinyl, sliding, window, and a shower pan on order, for the most part, yard maintenance, household cleanup, and occasional Uncle Dan helper-outer duties have scheduled out my days. I have been chipping away at the drain trench too. (This will take some time unless a small crew can be assembled for the thankless, unpaid, and back-breaking labor that it is) (Oh, trencher machine you say, great idea, but no, it cannot be. The area available between the house and the hill do not provide enough clearance. Sadly, it must all be done manually.)

Billy, Liam, perhaps Sheena and my mom are all on their way as well. I am really looking forward to getting together again.

In other news, I have begun the steps to set up a small printed circuit design studio up here. My cousin Brian appears excited about seeing if he may want to collaborate. Additionally, a friend of the family, Jeremy may be interested as well.
I am very excited about the prospect.

As a courtesy note, I may not update my blog here, as often as I have in the past. Out at the house, there is only a weak 28k dial up. Thus, I need to drive into town, and shack up at a local coffee shop (as I am doing now) to update. And, all in all, the days are more routine, and non-noteworthy enough to warrant a full-on blog update. Just rest assured, work is being done, and sooner or later, there will hopefully be most of the following:
a) a clean, well maintained house/loft
b) a clean, well maintained yard
c) a fully functional bathroom in the loft
d) a financially viable, productive pcb design office

Now, I need to pick up a few things at the hardware and grocery store.

The Delay, It's Almost a Cliche

Leaving Santa Cruz late week, I thought I quick stop in the San Jose/Walnut Creek/Discovery Bay area would be all that separated me from Oregon. Instead, while driving through San Ramon I realized I needed to pull into San Ramon Valley Medical Center.

Long story short, another minor medical phenomena has held me back. For Friday of last week through Tuesday of this week, I had been laid up on Jimmy's couch. Wednesday (yesterday) I was finally able to get around and feel normal again. And with that, I would have been Audi 5000. Except for one thing.

My brakes on the new car, as I posted earlier, had a slight squeak. I had already had them checked in Merced from a trusted family mechanic who told me, it was nothing more than the non-factory brake shims rubbing during braking. But, while driving to Santa Cruz last week, I was feeling some shuddering at freeway exit braking levels.
So, while in Discovery Bay, I figured Jimmy's garage was a great place to replace the shims, and investigate the shudder.

I had ordered the shims on Tuesday, so I already had the new brake parts. But instead decided to first reroute a wiring harness under the hood, that I thought could be a future problem. End of day Wednesday, the harness was fully done, and looking good. But it did end up taking all day.
Today, I began the brakes only to find out I received the wrong parts from Toyota. Awesome. Tomorrow I should be getting the right ones.

If all goes well, I should be taking off tomorrow afternoon.

WPT Qualifier At Bay 101 - The Results

Today I played some 6-12 before the 8:45am tournament. I made a whole $20.

The tournament though, was a $125 buy in, with 110 entrants. 1st and 2nd would gain entrance into thier WPT main event in March. The other top 15 or so would gain take home cash.

We all started with 1000 chips, and the blinds began at 25-25, going up every 20 minutes. Perfect. Exactly how I like it. Chill, and wait for the good cards to come.

At the 45minute mark I caught A-A, and some guy ahead of me had already bet 600. I hesitated, and waited a while, to make it seem like a tough decision, but then carefully stacked it all-in. He thought for a while, and eventually caved. Dam. I guess 600 plus the blinds, will be ok.
Later, I'm holding an A-J, it's me and another guy after a hefty 300 pre-flop bet. The board goes K-Q-10. I flopped the straight! I bet 200, in a "I'm buying it, kinda way." He goes all in. I call. He holds a friggin A-Q. Then the turn gives him a jack for a straight also. Dam. I guess splitting the blinds will be ok.

For the last hand before the 1 hour break, I catch a King-high flush. This is normally a great hand. Instead I see a huge chunk of change lost when I was beat not only by a full boat, but also by four of a kind. Jimminy Christmas, I thought, for lack of another foul-language outpouring.
An hour and a half into it, I'm down to 800. Half the table has moved into the multiples of thousands range, and the blinds are soon to be 200-400. It's time to make a move.

Three of us call 400 to go. I have A-10 suited in clubs. The flop-ola is Qclubs-8clubs-9diamonds. I act first. I pretend to think about betting (I have the nut flush draw, an inside straight draw, and an ace for an over card) and instead, power check. Dude next to me immediately bets 200. The other guy ponders the reality of life, for an eternity, and then moves all in. I have to call. I have only 400 left, and I have a 3-1 chance to draw the ace high flush, and a shot at other potentially win-able hands. I call, putting myself all in.

Dude next to me calls. For an opportunity to go way up in chips, I liked my chances. IN the end however, no other club showed up, nor did an ace.

Big tourney victory will have to wait another day.

I'm am now in Capitola, to meet up with my cousin Sage. Then, it's northward.

The Royal

Yes, I got a royal flush.

But there is a story.
Isn't there always?!

First, I play a 3 table satellite. A measly $5. I played an hour, and did not win a single hand. But it's five bucks, and if the cards are gonna be cold, at least it's only for $5.

Then, I enter another. Same thing, 3 tables, for $5.

Another hour goes by. I'm getting sucked for every blind, and not hitting a single hand. Of any kind. Then, I get Q-Q. I bet big. Everyone folds. OK, great. Things will change.

I then keep a K-9. This is the flop:

I check. The turn comes, I check. On the river, I put in a "token" $75. Not a single caller.

Friggin great. I win only two hands in two hours, including a flopped full boat, and not a single extra chip was pulled in with any of it. Amazing.

What then seemed like half an hour later, I'm getting whittled down again on endless garbage hands, when I realize I'm down to 400 in chips. Everyone else is moving into the 2000+ range. It's time for one thing, and one thing only. Time to go chuck it all in there, and hope for the best. I'm holding Q of clubs and 3 of diamonds.

Then, with a little help from the dealer, I catch it:

Yup, only the second royal flush I have ever seen. And both have been mine.

With that win, I was able to propel myself to the final table with a comfortable chip lead.

Soon, a few people drop out, it's down to seven, but they only pay five of us.

Later, in my big blind I hold a 5-10 suited in hearts. One dude, raises to double the blind after every one else folded. It's relatively cheap for me to call, and I figure "why not, what if I flop a flush?"

Sure enough, all hearts show up on the board. I bet the minimum amount. Dude raises 2k. I go all-in. He has A-A. But one of them is a heart. The river gave him the last heart he needed, and the last heart I wanted to see. (I would have been an overwhelming chip leader, if I had won that one)

What a game. Another one of those situations where I can only blame the dealer. But, online, I can't even do that!!

Delayed Again...

I was planning to leave for Oregon last week. However, since selling the Tundra, I was without wheels. I had a plan though.

My dad's truck, I was going to borrow originally, just for the Oregon trip. But it's having transmission trouble. Than there was the Mercedes. Now it has troubles.

So, I did a quick look on craigslist for a truck or something, and instead found a sports car. Toyota Supra, with the targa top. Oh well, I'm so sad. Seemed like a good deal tho.

IN any event, this forces me to visit the lovely, and always fun Department of Motor Vehicles. I really really love it there. Always something fun to do.

I also need to get the brakes checked out. No big deal, just a slight squeak. I could do it myself. But sometimes time, (and grease up every fingernail) is worth money.

This put's me on a course to leave town Wednesday (approx.).

IN poker news, I'm doing so-so. Playing some 7-card stud, while trying to round out my skill sets. There, I've made money this week. In hold'em, my cards are ice cold. Just not catching anything lately.
However, Billy seems to be getting it. I saw him take a 1st, and a 2nd, out of three events last night. Way to go.

Tonight, a cheesy Jackie Chan flick is on the agenda.

Oh by the way, the picture at the top is kinda like my car. But it's not blue, and it doesn't look exactly like that. Mine is red, and looks more like the car below.

Poker Flats

Longing for some real, live action poker, and tireing of computerized charactors, I sauntered on down to Poker Flats, in downtown Merced.

Now, downtown Merced does not have what I would call panache, but it does have a new movie theater, and a poker room. So, things are kinda looking up for the place. However the poker room only has three tables. Can't have everything I guess.

They have a $10 buy-in every weekday at 11:30. You get 50 in chips, and the blinds start out at 1 and 2. The blinds also double every 7 minutes (maybe every 5 min. something like that) which makes it essential to get good cards early.

A few weeks ago, I went down there two days in a row. With such a quick round of blinds, and after not catching any cards, I ended up playing only four hands for both days. Neither of which got me anywhere at all.

But today, I caught a few hands early, including A-A with someone all-in ahead of me. That was nice. I made it to the final table with 250 in chips.

I then call an all-in for another 50, with A-7. But only because it was cheap to potentially knock someone out, and for a chance to see all five board cards. An ace hit, and it was a win.

Later, another situation like that appeared, but for 100 in chips. One dude, heads up, all-in on his part. A perfect chance to see a gauranteed five board cards, with minimal investement. My J-8 had a decent chance to his Q-9. I paired my eight on the flop, but he ended up outdrawing me for a straight.

This left me with 200 in chips, and the blinds were now 50-100. It was down to five of us, and I peeked at A-J on the button. I pulled the ripcord: all-in. I got one caller. He had K-Q, and again, I paired on the flop, with the jack. But the turn delivered a King, and I was knocked out for fifth spot.

I still earned $20, doubling my money. And, I guess if you call thier free greasy chinese food edible, I got lunch out of the deal too.

Again, and I've said it before, so many reads can be had in live game vs. internet. Some people just project thier weak cards so transparently. Today, I was not able to capitolize on this, but others could have.

Soon, I wil be departing for Oregon, by way of San Jose (to see my cousin Sage) and Lafeyette (to see Jeffrey LaPLante about some software) and Discovery Bay (to see Jimboni also about some software). I'm hoping to hit Bay 101's WPT qualifyer Wednesday morning, or thier daily tourney Thursday morning.

Then, it's onto the Oregon Trail. Where there is no tournament poker, but only a bathroom worthy of A high stakes remodel.