Nope, Not Kansas

Hearing the name Toto most folks would immediately be reminded of the line in the Wizard of Oz when Judy Garland says Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more. But that is not the Toto I am writing about today. Toto today is the company that makes Toto sinks along with other plumbing stuff like toilets and accessories and things for the bathroom. They have been in business for more than 90 years so you know they must be manufacturing great stuff.
The site selling Toto products is, for me, way ahead of their competition. The site is clean and orderly (like a bathroom should be) and easy to get around on. And, the best part for me as someone that likes to shop online, they accept PayPal. That may seem silly but not to me. there are tons of people that either have no credit card or choose not to use the credit cards they have online and PayPal is the excellent choice as a replacement for that. So it is very nice to see a company that accepts that as a payment for goods.
So, if you have been thinking that your bathroom could use a new look or perhaps you just want something that might help you conserve water (a very precious commodity these days in amny states) you should go take a gander at the goods that are offered and check out all the Toto supplies.

After all these years

I watched It's A Wonderful Life a few nights ago and, even though I know what's coming and when, the ending always brings a tear to my eyes. Frank Capra was a true movie making genius in my book.

Poker is, well, poker. Some days I seem brilliant and other days I seem like an idiot at best. Still working on being a more patient player because it pays off. Sometimes though I just get tired of looking at decent cards to start a hand and having the same jackass go all in with every hand. I got better things to do than just sit there and be that patient LOL

Happy Holidays

It is almost Christmas Day, a time when many people around the world are happy and feel good about life. But, sadly, many people also die around the holiday season and that bears some deep thinking. If you were to pass away, what would your family do? Are you prepared to help them with all the financial mess that comes from a death in the family?
Even though your mind may be racing around with thoughts of gifts for friends and loved ones, you should also take a few moments to think about Life Insurance and wholesaleinsurance.net.
You can check out different types of insurance and find a policy that fits you and your budget. Whether you are a smoker or not, if you are a senior citizen, whatever category fits you you still can find some insurance there.
Don't leave your loved ones hanging, wondering how they will afford to put you to rest. If you don't do it today, at least make it your New Year's Resolution.
Have a very happy and safe holiday season no matter what holiday you celebrate.

Come Join The Fun

I am having a lot of fun and making friends online while playing cards. If you'd like to know where this is, leave me a comment and I'll let you know :)

Never Too Early

post deleted by request

It's A Bluff

Bluffers amaze me. I just watched one bet 1500 dollars even though there were four spades on the table. All any of the other players needed was a spade, just one. And someone called him and raised him another 3000. Bluffer wisely folded. What a ding a ling LOL
I rarely bluff. Not because I don't know how, but I realize how costly it can be if you are called. Not worth my time effort or money.
See you on the felt...

Phone Check

I know it may sound strange to you but there are still many people that do not have a credit card. They prefer to pay by check, perhaps because there is an instant record of just what they have spent which makes sense to me. But, if you are an online business then how do you get these people without a credit card to purchase your goods? There is a solution to your problem.
There is a place where you can go called Q-Check which will give you the means to accept a phone check or even a check by fax. This allows you to accept purchases by those without a credit card or those that simply wish to pay by check for whatever reason.
The great thing about this program is that they will allow you to try it out for free, for a whole month (thirty days). This will give you the opportunity to see just how it works and if it is a right fit for your operations.
Why deprive yourself and your company of the money that these people have to spend? Money earned is money, no matter if by credit card, debit card or check. And that is why you're in business, to make money.
Give this product a whirl and see if it can work for you!

I stink

I've been playing horrible games lately. I am impatient, too impatient. I want things to happen NOW lol
I must work on playing slower, watching what I am doing, relaxing. Remembering that games are supposed to be fun might help :)

One More Time

I know it seems like I harp on this a lot on this blog and you are correct. It may seem even stranger considering that I am as skinny as a stick. Always will be, I'm sure.
But I have always been surrounded by people that couldn't seem to lose weight and keep it off their bodies. The holiday season never helped them in that regard either. Too many rich, fattening foods that are too delicious to pass up. Perhaps you too are one of those folks. So, I continue to blog about such things as weight loss pills.
It would be really nice if someone actually invented a pill that would make people lose weight, but no one has done that, at least not a pill that works for every single person no matter what.
But, if you are trying to lose some pounds then you have to at least give these diet pills a try. You cannot afford to pass up something that might actually work for you, not if you are serious about losing that weight.
And with these pills, you have nothing to lose but weight. They come with a money back guarantee, so you can try them and, if they are not right for you, ask for and get a refund. So, give them a try.
Lose that weight now and enjoy not just the holiday season but every single day, healthier and in better shape.

Worst Game Week Ever

It seems like, no matter how well one plays, there is always the possibility that someone else will play better. I must learn patience!!

Have a great week, everyone. Stay safe, stay warm :)

Digital Memories

One of the nicest things I seen about progress and computers and digital cameras is the digital frame.
Instead of just an old photo that you look at once in a great while and, if you have a moment, think about the person in the photo and smile. With a digital frame you have more options, for instance you can get a digital frame that has an MP3 player inside, so you not only get to remember something or someone special to you, you get to enjoy your favorite music as well. How neat is that? Just look:

Whether you want to look at one single picture or many there is a digital frame for you. Why be tied down to a single picture in an any given frame? In a digital photo frame, your images are only limited to your photos on your memory card. These frames also make excellent gifts for any occasion, like Christmas (which is right around the corner).
So, take a few moments to think about how nice a digital frame would be sitting on your computer desk or anywhere else and how much you would enjoy looking at pictures you've taken. Or, if it's a gift for someone think about all the pictures you'd like to share. Maybe loading a digital frame up with say all the family and sending those pictures to Grandma and Grandpa. Then they could enjoy looking at you and the kids over and over. As a grandpa myself I know how much I have enjoyed seeing pictures of my grandkids.
Okay, now that you have thought about it, go get yourself a digital frame. What the heck, buy several and use them for different types of photos or as gifts.

How Strange

Went bowling on my league yesterday and actually bowled very well for a change. Didn't do the team much good though as we lost three of the four points LOL
I like the new poker site NoPay Poker but they really need to work on their software. In a five player game two of the five were "away" for the entire time I was there, roughly 45 minutes. I finally got tired of playing with the one other person that was actually playing the game and went all in with nothing and lost. The problem is that in that five person game they only pay out 2 positions and the two that were away were probably going to end up winning all the money. How retarded!
I did some Christmas shopping online last night for the two females in my life. Hopefully their presents will get here in time LOL
The mice in my house are getting noisier and bolder. What the hell is up with that? Aren't they supposed to be afraid of humans? I definitely need to buy some mouse traps! I hate mice!!!

Ho, Ho, Ho?

Are you starting to look like Santa Claus? Does your belly jiggle and wiggle like jelly? If it does then the holiday season with all the fancy foods and desserts isn't going to help you much.
Maybe it is time for you to look into a diet pill like the adipex diet pill. Start taking those unwanted pounds off now and restrict your food intake during this holiday season. yes, that means ignoring all the cakes and pies or at the very least eating very small portions of them.
That fat may be keeping you warmer during the winter months but it isn't worth it. All those unwanted pounds of fat may be more hazardous to your health than the extra warmth is worth. And, with the exception of the holiday party where everyone asks you to be Santa Claus because of your weight, there truly is no real genuine benefit to being overweight.
Time to be serious and seriously think about becoming a new, slimmer you. Let someone else fit into the Santa fat suit. You'll look better and feel better as well. And, you will be healthier.

Playing Meaner

Lately I've noticed that my poker playing is getting more aggressive. This is not always a good thing but occasionally it seems to work just fine. I refuse to be bullied out of hands simply because some idiot made a large bet, bluffing.
What amazes me about a bluffer is that after all the cards are on the table and I have re-raised his bet thinking I have the best hand (and I do), why in the heck do they call that re-raise showing all the people at the table that they had nothing to bet on? Makes absolutely no sense to me. If I'm bluffing and I get a re-raise like that I fold that hand so no one can see that I was full of baloney. I'd rather they think I was too chicken to call and waste more chips.
Playing aggressively does seem to have a major drawback for me. I need to learn to leave my anger emotion away from the table. I have made bad calls out of anger and lost more than it is worth. I need to constantly remind myself that there will always be other hands to play and that, sooner or later, if I am patient I will get the dork that keeps going all in right after the flop or even pre-flop.
Poker is, for me, an ongoing learning process.

Where Do You Put That Gift?

It's time for Christmas shopping in a big way. Even though the news people keep saying that the economy is still down and people are not going to be spending a lot of money I don't see that as being true. The folks they interviewed for Black Friday waited overnight in long lines to buy really expensive items like laptops and HD televisions and big screen t.v.s. Does that sound like they aren't parting with their hard earned dollars?
If you are one of the many that is ready to buy (or has already bought) a new television for that family room or bedroom then you are also going to be in the market for tv stands. You can't just set that big screen t.v. on the floor, that would be tacky and pretty silly.
I know most people wouldn't even think about these things, their thoughts are gone as their eyes glaze over just admiring that screen and how wonderful every television show and movie is going to look on it. But, once you've bought that gift for the family where are you going to put it?
First off, I'd offer some advice, but I don't really have any as I have no clue what your living space looks like and I doubt that you'd give me the details. But, you can get some advice from people that know what's what about such things. If you need help choosing a stand or a mount, give them a call at 800-807-1477. They will be happy to help you decide which mount or stand is the right one for you and your television room.
So, that should solve the placement problem. Then all you have to do is put the set wherever you want it, on the stand or mount of your choosing and sit back in your easy chair and enjoy!

It's getting worse

The past week was not a good week and this week isn't any better. I am losing my rear end playing good hands and getting skunked by crappy ones. That's the way the game goes, I guess. Any hand can be beaten at any time no matter if it's pocket Aces or a pair of twos LOL
But, on the bright side I did find another website to play poker on called NoPay Poker. They actually pay their players cash winnings! I mean that you can earn money every time you are playing not just special cash tournaments. So, I've been spending more time there than over on NLOP as I want to make money. I enjoy playing the game but I can always use more money :)

Let's Smoke

I have been smoking for fifty years. yes, I know they are supposed to have killed me by now but I refuse to die because of them. I enjoy my cigarettes but I also enjoy a good cigar now and then. And now I have found a place to get some truly good cigars online.
If you enjoy a fine cigar now and then this could be the place for you too. Let's face it, there's not a lot of places left where one can actually smoke anything, cigars or otherwise, there is always home. As far as I know the laws haven't forbidden smoking at your own home.
Whether your taste in cigars is Cuban or American, this site has a wide choice of cigars to choose from. And the prices are not going to break your wallet or purse, that's important too.
So, browse through the place, pick some cigars and wait for them to be delivered right to your door. Then kick back in your favorite chair, light up and enjoy.

Happy Birthday

It's my birthday. I turned 59 today, no big deal really. The only good part of turning 59 is that I now only have six months before I can see if there is anything left in my tax sheltered annuities since the stock market is in the toilet. I hope there is still a few dollars left LOL

A Great Time To Buy And Sell

With the end of summer and Winter fast approaching, this might just be the best time to think about selling your RV. I know that this is probably the best time to find that perfect ad stating used rv for sale.
Buying things in an "off season" market is the way to save a lot of money. Selling your RV now is a great way to catch those buyers that truly want your RV so it is a win-win situation for everyone.
Now you might be thinking that the RV is just going to be sitting around all winter doing nothing but that doesn't necessarily have to be true. Having the whole Winter season gives you the opportunity to get to know your RV and certainly there will be days when the sun is out and it's a nice day to take a drive so why not take the RV out for a spin and get used to driving it? Come Spring and Summer you'll be an expert RV driver.
If you'd rather have a brand new RV the site I posted has those for sale as well. Some folks just do not like to buy high ticket items that are used, they like them brand new. Nothing wrong with that if you have the money. What good is money anyway if you aren't going to spend it on something you truly want? You work hard for every dollar you should really get some enjoyment out of all that hard work and an RV is a great thing to buy and enjoy.

The Week That Was

And I wish it was the week that was not. Flashes of brilliance were almost non existent. Some hands I thought I played well but then I lost . I was feeling rather down by Sunday but vowed to do my best in the weekly championship tourney and I did try hard. I finished 355 out of 1491 players, which isn't that bad. Still I couldn't help but look back at the week and feel a little sorry for myself. I finished the week with 27435 points which is the worst points amount ever in a week.
But, just when I was feeling bad, I read this:
Crushed Bellagio game last night and followed that up with my biggest online loss ever. Felt like I was on HSP yay!

The above comes from the Twitter of Daniel Negreanu, a professional poker player. You can follow his ramblings here http://twitter.com/RealKidPoker/

I have to admit that I felt a little better after reading that Tweet :)

Friday I turn 59. Yay for me :)

This should be me playing poker

Monday November 9,2009

Played the weekly championship tourney yesterday. Was sailing along pretty well for a while but then had a streak of bad luck, bad cards and just misplayed some hands. But, it isn't all bad news. We started with 1364 players and I finished 108th. I made it past a lot of players! I also lasted for roughly an hour and a half so I can take some pride in myself for that.
On a different poker site where normally I am humbled by getting beaten soundly by much better players I entered a qualifying tourney just for the heck of it. $500 Weekly Qualifier. I finished in 92nd place with a starting field of 589 players. Not too shabby :)
I try to look for the positives of my game instead of dwelling on the negatives. Everybody has bad days at poker, even those who play it for a living.

I'm not this bad. Yet LOL

"Mom and I saw a great movie last night...No, don't remember the name. It was about a guy or, no, wait.. fuck, getting old sucks."

This comes from shitmydadsays. I read this guy every day because, like his dad, I'm an old fart. And I find it funny :)

I've Been NLOPed!

While playing a multi-table game on NLOP I was almost finished playing a hand in which I had bet a considerable amount of chips. I was waiting for one more player to call me so that I would win the hand when suddenly, without a warning I was moved to a new table. WTF?? I blinked, looked at my chip count and nope, I had lost all the chips I had bet, did not win the hand (because i wasn't there to end it) and got myself royally screwed without Vaseline LOL
I posted my rant on the NLOP forum and also turned in a "complaint" to the powers that be. Hopefully they will fix this bug so that it doesn't happen in the future to anyone.
Another player on NLOP answered the discussion and also made me this picture. Thanks a lot, Thom ( DIECASTER ). I now have been officially NLOPed LMAO

What A (Crummy) Week

All was going well until Thursday night. I was playing as well as ever the first few days of the week. Then Thursday came along. In the space of two hours I lost 6000 points! I was playing hands that made sense and getting killed by hands that made no sense at all. I'm betting on say Kings and Queens and getting whipped by some idiot with a 3 and and 8. WTF??
The week ended on a much brighter note though when I won the point tourney that gets me an entry into the Weekly Championship tourney on Sundays. It was a smaller crowd, less than thirty players. I was, at one point, down to a few hundred chips but I persevered and won it all :)
I ended up the week with a bankroll of only 33932 points. Hopefully this week will be better :)

Then And Now

When I was a kid, we had a television set and thought we were living high on the hog, even though it was a black and white (few people had color sets yet). It looked somewhat like this one:


The family would sit together in the evenings and we would watch whatever my parents wanted to watch. It was great, the shows were a thousand times better than the junk they put on television these days.
Now days, seems like families don't do that togetherness stuff much anymore, which is a shame. But, they still like to have the latest and greatest television sets and pretend they too are living high on the hog or at the very least, keeping up with the Jonses. They get a fancy LCD HDTV. The pictures are so much better than the old sets and the screens are much, much bigger too. For instance, this one:


An incredible 80,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and 1080p resolution brings out brilliant high definition details in everything you see. Touch of Color™ design is unlike anything you’ve seen and its other features are nothing short of amazing. Infolink™ RSS feeds customized news updates right to your screen while Auto Motion Plus 120Hz makes sure action scenes are as realistic as possible.And the screen is 40 inches wide! That's a lot of television screen. You wouldn't have to sit close to the set to see this baby and your parents wouldn't have to yell at you for doing so (sitting to close to the t.v. is going to ruin your eyes, young man).
I remember when LCDs were used in calculators and some wristwatches. Now days, it's television sets and computer screens. The pictures are so much clearer, I hate to watch horror movies on these screens, LOL
Get with the times, get yourself one of these LCD screens. You'll be glad you did, and so will your eyes.

Are They Crazy?

When I am not playing poker online I like to watch the pros play it on t.v. I am often surprised at how many of these pros think that there is no luck involved in poker. Are these folks delusional?
I watched two players today that were all in. the first one had an Ace and a King, considered by the poker pros to be a very good pocket hand. The other guy called him with a 2 and a 9, a terrible pocket hand. Why he called the all in bet is beyond me and it was also beyond the comprehension of the poker expert that is on the show. But, call the bet he did. And, to make things even funnier, he won the hand with a pair of nines!
Tell me again there is no luck involved. I've gone and made large bets based on "good" pocket hands only to be blown out by something stupid, either because they caught a flush or got two pairs of low cards. If that ain't luck I don't know what it is. I know one thing is for certain, it sure as hell isn't pure talent LOL

Let's Play

Christmas is coming and it is time for us all to be thinking about getting something fun for our little ones. Of course that means that we, the adults, will have to play with them first. You know, just to make sure that they work *grin*.
If you are a parent of a child (or perhaps you still think you are entitled to play with things) then you might be interested in the latest toys.


This is the WowWee Robosapien Robot with remote control which looks like it would be a lot of fun to play with, no matter your age. Standing over a foot tall, this completely interactive robot has the ability to walk, dance and groove, as well as pick up and throw items. This robotic wonder also delivers several combinations of strikes and chops. The fluid biomechanical motions are amazing. Kids can control all the robotic movements with the easy-to-use remote. Remote transmission is infrared which requires the controller to be in the line of sight of the Robosapien. Program up to 84 different action sequences, and utilize four program modes for advanced operations. As if that weren''t enough, the Robosapien also sports an interactive reflex system comprised of six sensors that detect obstructions. How great is all that? Hours and hours of fun whether you are six or sixty six!
Check out the latest gizmos and have yourself a ball. But, don't forget that you are buying these toys for your children. Wrap them up on Christmas Eve and maybe, if you are real lucky, your child will let you play with them once in a while. Either that or buy two, one for them and one for you!

Advertisers take note

Commercials on television have always been annoying, either by content or simply because they interrupted my show. But lately, there are two that go beyond annoying if for no other reason than they are beyond retarded.
Viagra: Okay, I get it. Way too many men have erectile dysfunction and your product swears that it can help these poor guys. Okay, that's well enough. However, if I had taken your product and gotten an erection, would I truly want my lovemaking to be in a ceramic bathtub? Nope, damned things are cold and hard. And besides, what good would it do me to have myself and erection in one bathtub while my lover is in a different bathtub? Just how long do you think you can make a penis, anyway?? Get a grip, Viagra!
Dulcolax: In my 58, almost 59, years of living I've had occasion to take this product and I can vouch that it works just fine. However, I have never taken a stool softener and then thought "what a great day to be in a boat in the middle of a lake". Hello! The only place I want to be after using a product like this is close to a bathroom so I can get rid of some waste! I hope nobody swims in that lake those people are on!
Ford: I have written before about the Ford vehicle with Synch, a Microsoft product. I wouldn't trust any part of an automobile, not even a Ford, to be controlled in any way by a product made by Microsoft. However that is besides the point here. What gets me about this commercial is when they show the inside of the car. There, in plain sight sits a lovely piece of equipment that looks exactly like an APPLE IPOD! Couldn't the geniuses at the ad agency have had enough brains to at least use the MICROSOFT ZUNE? LOL
Okay, I feel much better now that I got that off my chest :)

Don't Be Wrinkly

It's rough getting older. You can't do the things you used to do easily and you don't look as nice as you once did either. Only medical people can help with the first one, but there are things you can do yourself about the second one, especially if you are worried about wrinkles.
Funny thing about anti wrinkle creams. Many of them are great for the face and the neck area but they do not work around your eyes. Seems silly to me since that is where many people get wrinkly. Why don't they work around the eyes? The answer is simple. Because 99% of the wrinkle creams are not strong enough. I guess the skin area surrounding your eyes is tougher than it looks. This is probably a good thing though as you want to do everything possible to protect your eyes.
The good news is, there are few products that are strong enough to get rid of wrinkles around your eyes, eliminate dark circles and even reduce puffiness underneath your eyes. This is where eyecream.org comes into play, to help you sift through the hundreds of eye creams on the market and provide the most powerful wrinkle fighting products for the areas around the eyes.
Seems like these days looking all wrinkly doesn't indicate character the way it once did. It just shows that you are getting older and most people (judging from all the ads) don't want that to happen. So, if you are one of those that does not wish to show signs of aging, then you should check out the anti-wrinkle creams that are available. Find one that can help you get rid of those awful wrinkles.
And, if you are not as spry as you used to be then I advise you to see your family doctor so that they can assist you with that. Think young, be young :)

Weekly Update October 26

I tried to be more patient while playing poker, especially in the weekly championship tournament. The results were so-so. 1355 players started tourney and I finished in 570th place. I beat out a lot of players but still am a long, long way from winning the cash.
I finished the week with 41,792 points which is neither all that great but it isn't all that awful either. I started the week losing followed by more losing but by the latter part of the week I was more on the winning side of things.
Interesting side note... Shelly wondered aloud yesterday how would I do if I were playing real poker at a table. I told her I would probably be more cautious with my betting as it would be my own real money I'd be betting instead of online chips. I wonder the same thing myself, but I don't think I am quite ready to take the plunge and go to the casino and find out.
Have a great week everyone :)

It's Not Too Late

If you're getting up there in years, like I am, you might be thinking that time has passed you by as far as Life Insurance goes. The ads you see for insurance are almost always devoted to young people or even middle aged folks. But, there is still time for you, there is available life insurance for senior citizens.
We all know, or should, that Social Security will not give your loved ones enough money to bury you. Heck, they wouldn't even be able to afford a decent wake with the little that SS will give them. It's sad, truly sad. But, you can do something about it and help your family with those terrible expenses at the end. I know they are terrible, I have already had the experience of burying my mother and, believe me, it was not cheap. That was over ten years ago, I cannot imagine how much more expensive burials are these days.
So, if you think that Life Insurance has passed you by, give yourself another chance at it by looking into what is available for us Senior Citizens. Your family will be glad you did.

Painful

Playing poker can be painful at times. I just went bet all but 100 of my chips in a pot where I had an Ace high flush only to be beaten with a full house. It's one of those occasions where you almost HAVE to wager with such a hand, even though you know that the full house might show up and bite you, which it did. Such is poker life I suppose LOL
Even though it can be painful, I keep on playing. Maybe that makes me a masochist LMAO

Stop That Drip

Think about your faucets for a moment. Do they drip? Or, do they just look old and funky? Or maybe you live in a place like California where water is a premium commodity these days. Maybe you'd just like to remodel your plumbing areas. No matter what your reasoning, the name you should be aware of is Hansgrohe. Hansgrohe has been synonymous with faucet excellence in the shower, kitchen and bath since 1901. For Hansgrohe, the shower is not just part of a busy day-it energizes your body & soul.
They have a point, a shower should not only be a place to clean the grime and dirt off your body but also it should invigorate your body, calm away stresses and make you feel new again. If you have a lot of aches and pains as I do, it can also help rid the body of some of those with a nice, soothing, massaging action.
Hansgrohe makes a variety of faucet and shower systems that are bound to be right for just about everyone, no matter what your decor is. And, if you own that house, a new system for your kitchen and bathroom can help you sell the house at a better price as much as any fresh coat of paint.
The newer plumbing systems these days are also great at water conservation, important to those, like me, that live in areas where water is in limited supplies at times, sometimes even rationed.
So, if new fixtures are in your future you should consider Hansgrohe fixtures for your needs.

Not a great week

Ended up the week with 34000 points. I played okay but not that good. I lost hands I should have won and made some bad bets. Since most of the games I played I played without distractions from family or the net (meaning I wasn't surfing at the time) I can only blame myself. I need to do better.
I did manage to place second and fourth in two different points play tourneys and got my invitation the the weekly championship tourney. As I type this entry there are 964 players registered with 2 and a half hours to go before the tourney.
I already started this week off badly, losing 1000 of my 1500 points in a sit and go. I had a straight, Ace high. I went all in and got beat by a full house. Crap! LOL
Oh well, another week has started and I will try to play better than lst week...

Time To Save

Summer is, for most people, over and done. Labor Day has come and gone, along with the last barbeque of the season. Time to think about putting the patio furniture away for another Autumn and Winter before it gets ruined by the foul weather that surely is coming your way.
But, before you store it all in the garage, perhaps you should take a real good look at it. How long have you had that furniture anyway? Are the seats still as good as new? Or, is it time to seriously think about patio furniture cushions?
As Fall is in full swing and Winter is rapidly approaching (just ask the folks who've already had snow), now is a great time to look at replacing the cushions on your patio furniture. Why wait until next Summer when the prices for summer type things increases? Do it now and save yourself some cash.
Imagine yourself kicked back next Summer, sitting on some comfortable cushions instead of the old ones that are well worn and you are simply used to them. Imagine the delight of your friends and family as they too enjoy comfort as well as style. Make your patio furniture look good, and you too look good.
Perhaps you think that your furniture cushions will be hard to replace. Look at this image, then give the folks there a try and see if they have the right cushions for you. Free shipping? That right there could save you some serious cash!
Now is the time to save.

That's a lot of pumpkin!

HALF MOON BAY, Iowa (UPI) -- An Iowa man's 1,658-pound pumpkin was the winner -- and record-setter -- at the 36th Annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in California.

Don Young, 45, of Des Moines was awarded $9,948 for topping pumpkins entered by 60 growers from California, Washington and Oregon at Monday's competition in Half Moon Bay, Calif.

Event organizers said Young's pumpkin, dubbed the "Monster from the Midway," crushed every giant pumpkin record in the state. It will be displayed at the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival during the weekend.

While a gargantuan gourd, indeed, Young's plump pumpkin would not have made the grade at this month's Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin Growers Weigh-In where Nick and Christy Harp of Jackson Township near Massillon beat all comers wit the 1,725-pound pumpkin they grew, WJW-TV in Cleveland reported at the time.

Mesothelioma

Post deleted by request

Why dogs hate Halloween

Get Steamed

If you have a pet, especially a small dog like I have, there is always going to be a messy spot somewhere. It's not the dogs fault, sometimes small pets just can't hold it as long as a larger dog or even a human. And, they cannot use the bathroom like a human so they may have "accidents" on your carpet. They will feel bad, or ashamed, when you yell at them and while you are cleaning the accident up. If this scenario sounds familiar to you then perhaps this is the time to think about looking into steam cleaners.
There are many sizes of steam cleaners on the market, from handheld jobs to large cleaners that you might use for the entire carpeted areas of your house. Only you can decide which is best for you and your household.
Don't have a pet? That's okay. There are other steam products that might be better suited for your needs, like home steam irons. More and more people are looking to save money. One way is to stop lugging your clothes to the dry cleaners. Using a pressurized steam iron can give you professional quality results for a fraction of the cost. Who doesn't like saving money?
Whatever your steaming needs, you owe it to yourself to look into these products. Save yourself a lot of money over the course of time and you can enjoy more things. Maybe you'll even spend some of those savings on a new pet.

Sounds like a great place to visit

CLEAR LAKE, Calif. (UPI) -- A California woman said her new memorabilia shop doubles as a museum to display the nearly 700 lunchboxes she collected during the past 25 years.

Debbie Clarke, 52, a former middle school teacher, said The Lunchbox Museum, her weeks-old pop culture memorabilia store in Clear Lake, features lunchboxes emblazoned with teen idols, TV shows, toys and other pictures in cases and shelves safely away from the reach of curious shoppers, The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee reported.

"People come in, and they're blown away because there's so many lunchboxes," Clarke said. "Then they start to look for the lunchboxes they owned as kids. They say, 'It's like walking back in time.'"

Customers said they find it difficult to leave the store.

"I think this is charming," browser Rose Marie Petkovich said. "You can't walk in and just walk out."

Alli and dieting

Whenever I hear the word alli I think of ally, a friend. So, I think the people that manufacture this product had a good head on their shoulders when they named their product. Everyone needs a friend and that is no more true than when you are trying to diet. Dieting can be very, very stressful and having a friend can help to ease that stress.
Now anyone that knows me knows that I have never been on a diet in my life as I have no pounds to lose. But everyone in my family has, at one time or another, been on a diet so I know that they can be one of the most stressful parts of your life. The changing of attitudes towards food, the exercise, the counting calories, there is nothing about a diet that even remotely looks friendly. But, now there is Alli.
I didn't know that much about the product other than what I have seen on television but I have found a site that sheds a lot of light on this celebrity endorsed product and went to check out the alli reviews. I was shocked at what I learned and I urge any of you to go look at these reviews before you decide to spend your hard earned money on this, or any, diet product.
If you are on a diet, I wish you the best of luck. I also urge you to check with your doctor before you do any dieting and exercise. You may be overweight but you may also do more harm to your body by these things. It is always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your health.

Strange Week

I've not had that much luck at the tables this week. I am almost through the week and I am sitting at around 25000 points. I have played too aggressively and I have paid dearly for it :(
I have a shot at a tourney that may qualify me for a chance at an WSOP tourney which normally is ten thousand dollars just to sit down at so I am hopeful that I can get to that and win. Heck, I might even wind up on television and scare viewers LOL
In the meantime, I have many paid blog jobs to finish and they all seem to be due today so this blog might be a very busy blog for the day.
It's Friday...enjoy your weekend :)

Aging Gracefully

When I was a much younger person men that had wrinkles had "character" while women with wrinkles were just old women. Never did quite get a handle on that sort of thinking, why didn't the women have character too? But, that was then. Today, at least according to all the advertisements I see, wrinkles are no good for anyone of either gender. Everyone wants to look as young as they possibly can. Perhaps they've all been reading Danielle Steele novels and think that, at fifty, you should look twenty.
I personally don't worry about wrinkles, most of my face is covered by a beard and the wrinkles are hard to see. But, I know that many people do worry about looking younger and they are always searching for the perfect wrinkle cream. Wrinkle creams appear to be the latest version of Ponce De Leon's fountain of youth.
Do wrinkle creams work? Yes, they work great. Wrinkle creams have become an essential tool for women and even men who are starting to show signs of aging - the crows feet, smile lines and those amazing forehead wrinkles. They help you look years younger overnight.
Do "cheap" wrinkle creams work? Yes, they work just as well as their 'expensive' counterparts. They are just cheaper. A less risky financial investment. After reading some of the comments that customers have left for almost every wrinkle cream available, there seems to be a 50/50 split. Anti-aging serums work or they don't. What works for me might not work for you. Unfortunately this trial and error process of finding the right wrinkle cream is not cheap!
Now, seeing that some of these creams can be very expensive I have to admit that I am happy I am not one of those striving to look years younger. But, I am retired so it doesn't really matter if I am wrinkled or not. But, if you are one of those still working and trying to look your best then wrinkle creams may be a blessing. If you click the link above you can see reviews of some of the many wrinkle creams out on the market today and get a good idea of which one might be right for you. This can save you a lot of money which is hard to get and keep these days.
So, do yourself a favor and check out the site and get some information. Maybe you can be like a Danielle Steele heroine and be fifty but look twenty.

I Am Flattered

Yesterday was not a good day at the tables for me. I started the day by losing almost all of my points, playing poorly. I finally had to give the tables up and wait until 9 p.m. so a "new day" could start as I get 1000 points just for logging in each day. This enabled me to enter a sit and go with ten players, the buy in is the 1000 points I just earned for logging in. These sit and gos are not usually speedy unless you bet all your chips and lose right away but I was more careful and didn't chase after really bad hands. Finally it came down to just two players, me and a person I have seen a few times before in these sit and gos. This person is very tough to read, meaning I can't really tell if his hand is a winner or he's bluffing. So, the points were going back and forth for quite a while, I win some then he wins some.
I was getting sleepier by the moment as my Tylenol PM started to really kick in and thought what the hell I'll just go all in and take second place and the 3000 points I'd win. He called my bet as he had more than enough to cover. I typed in Good Game in the chat box and when the flop was coming up and it appeared he's win I sent the message. Imagine my surprise when, on the river card, I won the hand and almost all of his chips!
I got an even bigger surprise a few moments later when the chat box said that he had sent a message telling me I was a "very good player"! Me? Good? That made me laugh considering the lousy day I had had playing poker. But, since we have played against each other in the past, I truly felt flattered. Hell, I am still feeling flattered this morning. It's nice to know that I may not be as awful a player as I think I am :)

Colon Cleansing

Maybe I'm getting old or maybe I am just paying attention more these days, but either way it seems like there is a lot more talk now about our bodies and or health. Having rarely ever worried about my health maybe I'm just starting to because I am getting old, I'll be 59 next month.
One of the many things I've been seeing and hearing about is colon cleansing. Colon cleansing (colon therapy) encompasses a number of alternative medical therapies intended to remove fecal waste and unidentified toxins from the colon and intestinal tract. I never realized this was so important but I guess a lot of people do and they spend a lot of money on products that will colon cleanse.
There appears to be so many cleansing products out there all vying for your money. But, which one is the best? And, how can you pick the right one? There are four factors one should consider, and they are:
1. Effectiveness & Safety
We know colon cleansers. We know which ingredients are work, which ones are safe, etc. We also know the sneaky tricks used by all too many companies. For example, some companies like to "Dress the Label." This means they list high quality, effective ingredients, but use such miniscule amounts that there is little to no benefit to the cleansing program.
2. Company & Guarantee
Don't buy a colon cleanser without a money back guarantee. Only products that work come with money back guarantees. However, deceptive marketers are getting sneakier. Many companies will advertise a money back guarantee, but when you look at the small print, it's only good for 15 days from the date of purchase. When you take transit time into consideration, that leaves you no time to try the product. Since we purchased each cleanser, we were able to put companies' guarantees to the test. We'll let you know which ones live up to their promises.
3. Consumer Feedback
This is the ultimate test. A company can have beautiful packaging, an excellent web site, low prices, fast shipping and 5 star customer service, but if customers don't like the product, the business is in trouble. Our editors have scoured the Internet for customer reviews. In January of 2009, we added a consumer review forum for each product.
4. Value
How much "bang for your buck" are you getting? There are colon cleansers that work, but are WAY over priced. Why pay 2, 3 or 4 times as much for a product when there are cheaper--and even better-- alternatives available? We've looked heavily into this issue and assigned value rating for each product.
This makes sense to me. Choosing any product that goes into your body is an important decision, as some "great item of the moment" may either do you no good or may harm your body. There's no harm in investigating things that can affect your health and well being.
So, if you are one of those people concerned with things like colon cleansing for a healthier you I urge you to do some research before you ingest anything.

The weekly Update

Last week was strange as far as poker playing went. I had a lot of ups and downs, either playing like an expert or a complete doofus. But, all in all it went well :)
My final bankroll for the week was a whopping 47275 points! I almost made it to fifty thousand!
I played well Sunday morning/afternoon and thought I was ready to tackle anything that came my way in the Weekly Championship Tournamnet. Wrong! I placed 988th out of 1253 players. I didn't even survive the first half hour of the tourney. But, as I told Shelly, there is always next week!
I already placed second in the points tourney which is how you qualify for the weekly so I won't complain that much :)
Have a great week everyone!!

Fancy Car Parts

Most of the people that actually read this blog, and I know there are some readers, know that lately I have been highly involved with playing poker online. My better half would quickly point out that I play too much poker online LOL But, I do enjoy the games and I really enjoy the game when I am playing for money. I watch poker on television every chance I get too, watching these lucky people that have paid a ten thousand dollar entrance fee and wind up at the final table where they walk away with hundreds of thousands of dollars and the winner gets a million bucks or more! I dream of a day like that, where I am a big winner. And, when I win, I think of fancy cars that I can buy with that kind of loot, like a fancy Ferrari, a car that not only looks great but is fast too. I like to drive fast!
But, with a fancy Ferrari, like any other automobile, comes the time when you need to repair it. Then what? You need to find a place that specializes in Ferrari parts. No car ever made doesn't break down somewhere, somehow, it's just the joy of car ownership.
Of course, if I won enough money to buy a Ferrari I'm sure I wouldn't mind shelling out the dough required to fix it. A car that just sits, doing nothing, is not worth anything. It must be drivable!
No matter what the car needs, having the right parts is of utmost importance and this site has lots and lots of Ferrari parts to help any Ferrari owners get through those fix-it times. They even have some shades for your fancy Ferrari so it looks even cooler while sitting around waiting for you to drive it. I'm sure the shades help keep the interior cooler so you don't burn your backside when you finally do get the chance to drive the car :)
So, if you are a Ferrari owner, they might be able to help you out with the parts you need. If you are like me, you can still keep dreaming of owning a Ferrari :)

Strange Game

I've been losing my butt all day. Either beaten by flushes or low cards. I finally caught a flush, king high. Went all in to be beaten by a guy with 5-8 who ended up with a full house.
I just lost all in with an Ace-Jack to a guy with Jack-3. WTF??? Strange game, poker LOL

I'm Tired Of You

I use this expression a lot when I'm playing poker. People that make outlandish bets and then I fold only to find out they had diddly squat. They just wanted everyone to fold so they win the pot. This irritates me no end. So, I wait...
Once I have what appears to be a great hand and they make some stupid looking bet I say "I'm tired of you" and I go all in. I love taking points away from donks.
Looks like I am in a round now with two of them, this should be interesting. Which donk will win first? LOL
(While typing this one of the donks went all in and lost all his points and is gone. One down, one to go)
I'll be back later to write a post for money :)

It's That Time Already

Maybe it's because I am retired, maybe it's because I really don't do much other than play around on the computer all day long. Maybe it's because I am getting old. Who knows? But, it is Holiday Season already. Seems like not long ago I was blogging about the holidays. *sigh*
'Tis the season to bring out the goodies so everyone can get fatter. Too many treats, too much delicious food, too many people embarrassed to say no. If you are one of those people that gain weight during this time of year then read on.
Everyone I know would like to lose at least some lose belly fat. Not me, as I am skinny as a stick, but everyone around me would like to lose weight.
If you Google 'fat burner' you will get about 4,500,000 results! How are you supposed to find good information about fat burners with so much bad information out there? What if there was a site that took all the information out there and put things into perspective? Certainly that would help, right? Well, there is such a site and you are welcome to visit it and see what information they have gathered and then decide which fat burner program is right for you and your wallet. In this day and age, that wallet is becoming more and more important to watch.
So, there you have it. Take a gander at yourself in a mirror. If there is some excess fat that you'd really like to get rid of, now is the time to do it. Before the Holiday Season makes it worse!

Forgot to post this picture

Employee Checking

Where do you go when you need to screen a new employee? I mean, you do screen them, don't you? The days when you could hire someone off the street just because they looked like a decent sort of person are long gone. With all the advances in technology and so much financial information being stored on computers you can't just let anyone you don't trust have access to these things. It could completely ruin you and your business.
Fortunately, there is a place online where you can go and do your employee screening. They can do Criminal Background Checks, Pre-Employment Screening and even Drug Testing. I'm not quite certain how they could do drug screening online, we haven't become that advanced so I assume they must do these things in person, using a lab that is close to your community.
They have been in the screening of people business for over twenty five years, which in my book makes them seem very trustworthy. You can't stay in business that long without doing something correctly.
So, if you need some employee screening tasks done, or perhaps you are a landlord and want to know what kind of tenant someone may be, these folks can help you sort things out.
Accurate Information Systems, Inc. is their name and screening of people is their game. You can visit their website or you can contact them the old fashioned way, by telephone at (800) 295-7109. The choice is yours.

weekly Update

Looks like I forgot to do a weekly update on my poker playing. OOPS! I cannot retrieve the exact amount I finished with but I can say that it was a bit over 30,000 points.
I also placed in the top five of a points tourney and got an invitation to the Weekly Championship Tournament. That was the good news.
The bad news was that the weekly tourney was huge! It's the largest amount of players I've seen in the championship tourney, 2,340 players! I finished in 243rd place. I think I did okay :) I really need a butt though, these tourneys can be long and drawn out and since I have no cushioning back there I hurt like the Dickens when I finish. Now, if I ever win the money I'm sure I won't complain about a sore butt LOL
This week started off very well but has since settled into mediocrity. I play some games very well and some I play like a complete buffoon. I have to work on that.
More good news...I just checked my paying site and I have eight assignments to write between now and the 16th. That's forty dollars :)

Spice Up That Room

Take a look around your house. No, really, take a good look at your living spaces. What do you see? The same dull furnishings you've had for years. It's comfortable, right? Like an old pair of gloves with holes in the fingers that you cannot possibly bear to throw away. But, it's time! Time to change your living quarters and I have just the place to show you how with some great contemporary furniture.
This place has furnishings for places both large and small so you're bound to get some great ideas for your place no matter where you live. They could even decorate a jail cell LOL
They offer a lovely 196 page online catalog for you to browse through, showing you all sorts of furnishings for your pleasure and delight. From very fancy to downright simple they have lots and lots of furniture for homes. And, just to show how nice things are they even show real people enjoying themselves in these nicely furnished rooms. I hate looking at furniture when you cannot actually see someone relaxing on it. Makes me wonder just how uncomfortable it might be. But, you'll not have this worry with their catalog.
So, take another good look around your living spaces. Then, click on the link above and see just how much better you can make those living spaces of yours.

World Series Predictions

I entered this contest for a chance at ten grand. Hey, it's free to enter LOL

Sore, very, very sore

I finally got to bowl yesterday. First time I've bowled since May and my old body is letting me know that it is sore, very sore. Mostly it's my bowling hand. My wrist feels terrible.
But, it was fun to bowl and hang out with the other bowlers. I am happy that I joined this league because everyone in it is just there to have some fun so it's not cuthroat and competitive like the mens league is. And, I bowled good for someone that's been off for month.
I established at 157. It might have been higher but I pretty mcuh ran out of steam by the third game. Part of that may have been because we bowled unopposed and we were going pretty quickly.
The biggest concern was that I was tired so quickly. My teammates kept asking me if I was okay, and they sounded very concerned about my health. I've got to get more exercise during the week and build my stamina back up. I don't want to be scaring people who are supposed to be having fun LOL
Have a great weekend, everyone :)

Pretty Darned Good

1284 players started the Weekly Championship Tournament. After playing for a little over two hours, I went bankrupt. It was a do or die bet on my part and I lost. Close but no cigar LOL
At the end of my run, I finished very respectfully, in 69th place. Only 68 places away from the $750 first place prize. I don't feel the least bit unhappy as I played, I think, very well. I folded when I should have folded and called the big bets when I thought I could win. Just what any poker player would do.
There is always next time :)

Another week bites the dust

Another week has come and gone. Time flies! It's been an interesting week though.
I went down to the bowling alley on Thursday to see if I could sub in the School Employees league. I haven't bowled since May when the Sagebrush Men's league ended. But, I didn't bowl. There was a spot open and I thought they would ask me to sub but they didn't. This made me slightly depressed since it was beginning to look like nobody wants me! I know I am not the best bowler around but I can't possibly be that bad at a 161 average, can I? My self esteem really took a hit there.
I noticed that one of the teams that had been full last week had a vacancy so I asked what happened to their third bowler. They said she had hurt herself in some way and had to quit because she couldn't bowl. So, I asked if they'd like me on their team and, after talking it over, decided I would be welcome. This made me feel much better. Both of them are low average bowlers, in the 120's on a good day, so hopefully I can help them win some games :)
In the poker area things are improving. I find myself more patient when it counts, not chasing after straights or flushes that aren't coming. More inclined to match someone going all in when I have a high hand. I always hate folding an Ace and something else just because I am being overly cautious. I especially hate folding that Ace when I see that the person that went all in has two low cards like a 5 and a 7. So, I have really been thinking hard before I fold on an all in bid and it has worked out okay. yes, I lost some pots and ran out of chips but I also have won some very large pots being a more aggressive player.
I finished the week with a little over 35000 points, pretty good. I checked my ranking on the site and find that, for last week, I was ranked 612 out of 2000. Not bad, not bad. Thus far I've played 558 tournaments. I've won 145 of them, was in the top 10% 154 times, the top 30% 281 times and in the top 50% 392 times. Pretty darned good for someone that isn't an expert poker player :)
I got another invitation to the Weekly Championship Tournament which starts in about three hours from now. Last week there were 1201 players in that tournament. Wonder how many this week and how long I can survive LOL
Hope all of you had a good week and will have a great week coming up :)

Power

Sitting here fooling around when all of a sudden, blackness on my computer screen! In the corner of my eye I see someone outside and I dash out there to see the SCE man turning things off. What the heck?
I tell him I've had the power on since January. He tells me they have no record of power service ever having been established. Finally he gives me a card and tells me I need to call a number. I tell him I cannot do that because he's turned the power off and my phone needs electricity to work as it is a cordless phone. He gives me one hour to do what I need to do.
So, I called Edison and get the service turned on. Again. LOL Hopefully, when the man comes back he will have gotten the order and will leave things on and go on his merry way. If not, I will be without power and will be grumpy without my computer I'm sure.
I did also get the man at SCE to say he would send me an application for their CARE program, offering low income households a discount of 20%. I'm sure I qualify for that, my income sucks.
As for you all, have a great weekend. Have some fun :)

Flaunt Yourself

Well, not yourself personally. there are strict laws against too much self flaunting. But, you can flaunt your website or blog. And, the best part is that you can do it for free.
How often during the course of a day do you go to Google or Yahoo or Bing and search for information? If you're like most folks, quite a few times during the day. That's where directory submission comes into play. If you're searching, just imagine how many others are searching too. And, in order for your site or blog to be found easily it needs to be up at the top of the search lists.
With a free directory submission, you will be one step closer to generating a massive flow of traffic to your site! FreeDirectorySubmission.org understands that it can be difficult to generate the traffic you want and need. This is why they provide you with this very simple tool for free!
There are many ways to get site to your traffic, often times these methods can be time consuming and/or expensive. Submitting your website to a directory is a very simple way to get your site noticed by major search engines. Please use their free easy-to-use SEO tool to submit your site to many free web directories. The Internet is a large place, with millions of web pages.
So, what are you sitting there waiting for? Click on the link above and flaunt yourself! More traffic means more readers, maybe even a lot more money (if you have something to sell). And, more traffic makes you more enticing to advertisers so you can make money.

Never Again!

Last night I played two pokers tournaments at the same time. I will never do that again! The window of the game pops up whenever it is your turn. There were a few times when it was my turn at both tables. I almost bet most of my points on a hand that I wanted to fold. OOPS!
I shall try to stick to one game at a time, just for my own safety there. The funny thing was that in the money qualifier I finished 15th out of 70. So, it wasn't all bad.
The way the windows pop up though was making me dizzy. Hard to pay attention to these things. *sigh* I think I may be too old for two poker games at the same time LOL

Back It Up

If you work in a big company then you probably already know that their information and data get stored, or backed up, daily if not more frequently. But, what about your computer at home? Isn't your data worth backing up?
Did you know that an estimated 1-in-10 computer hard drives fail each year resulting in the loss of important files such as financial documents, emails, digital photos and music? Even more people, nearly 43% of all computer users, will lose some of their important files because of other computer or hardware problems. Luckily, this is totally preventable with the use of an online backup service. These services will run automated or manual backups of your computer's hard drive so that if for any reason your files are corrupted or lost they can be recovered as good as new. These services are easy to use, totally secure and will prevent losses in time and money in the event of some sort of file loss.
Having been the unlucky one to lose a few hard drives along my way I can tell you that it is incredibly frustrating to realize that all your personal stuff is gone. While I do not have any businesslike information and I can always go get music and videos back I always have some pictures on my computer that I cannot get back, either pictures of my kids or my grandkids. Using an online backup solves that problem.
Click on the link I just posted above and it will take you to a wonderful site where they have reviewed a number of online services that you can use to back up your important data. Stop for just a moment and think. What would you do if you turned on your computer tomorrow and nothing happened because the hard drive crashed? Isn't a backing up service truly worth looking into? There is a reason why businesses back up their information and there is good reason for the rest of us to do so also.
Click on the link above, find the service that is best for you and get yourself some computer peace of mind.

For Better or Worse

Finished another week strongly, ending up with roughly 35000 points and another invitation to the Weekly Championship game where the winner wins $750. Too good to pass up. Unfortunately there were way too many people that thought the same thing, LOL In fact we started the tournament with 1201 players! I beat out around 540 of them but then ran out of cash and was wiped out of the tourney. No cash :(

The worst hand of the week? I had a full house, Queens and 2's. I went all in and was shocked when someone actually called my bet. Their hand showed they had three 2's, so I can understand why they thought they could win. But, I was feeling pretty darned good until the river (last card) came up a 2! I got wiped out by four of a kind?! Darned river!

No matter what the poker experts say, the game of poker still comes down to one thing...luck LOL

Pure and Simple

I can remember, when I was a kid, a lot of people were making a big fuss because the government wanted to put fluoride in the water. Seems like they thought we needed that fluoride to help our teeth, but people were worried about what else the government might want to put in the water. Guess they were afraid the government was planning on turning everyone into zombies or something. But, their fears were for nothing. Fluoride is in the water and nothing bad has happened since they did it.
Now days, people are still concerned about the safety of their water and they drink their water either bottled or filtered. I'm not sure if they just don't still trust the government or they just have not liked the taste of their own water. Either way, they go to great lengths to make sure their water is pure and simple. Just water.
If you are one of the many that drinks water this way, then you should really go and check out this website and see all the wonderful water filters they have. They have brands from Amana to Whirlpool and much more. Heck, they even have a water testing kit so you can see how good your water truly is. Also, be sure to read the very informative Blowing the Lid off Bottled Water.
You don't have to drink bottled water and pay a high price (and these days, saving every penny helps). You can purify your own water and save money. So, check out the website. Click the link above and keep your water pure and simple.

Another Great Week

Although the week looked like it was going to be the pits, having lost almost all of my points on Sunday, it rebounded quite nicely.
I finished the week with slightly more than 25 thousand points. Although I didn't win any bigger tournaments, especially the qualifiers for the money on Mondays, I did finish well in a mega points tournament. Out of roughly 80 starters I finished fourth!
This morning I awoke to find this email waiting for me:
Dear Bonebag,

You won an invitation to play in the "Nlop Weekly Champ Sept 13th 2009 at 7:30" tournament which is scheduled to start 09/13/2009 07:30:00 PM. If you have not already done so, you must register for this tournament to play in it. To register for this or any other tournament, log on and click the Tournaments tab. All tournaments and their details, including dates and start times, can be found there.

Sincerely,
NLOP Customer Service


Guess I am doing alright at the tables. I still need to practice patience. I just can't believe how long some players can stare at two cards and not know whether they want to call or fold. LOL

A Record Broken, Sadly

Records are made to be broken, they always have been. I was happy when Babe Ruth's home run record was broken because I admired Hank Aaron. I was somewhat happy when Lou Gehrig's record was broken because I admired Cal Ripken Jr. But, the record I shall report about today does not make me happy. It makes me sad, very, very sad.


By Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
PITTSBURGH -- On pure observation, the Pirates' 4-2 loss to the Cubs at PNC Park on Monday ended like any other. The team filed out of the dugout and into a quiet clubhouse. No music blared inside.

Sure, the sting from not being able to sustain any momentum from a thrilling walk-off win on Sunday was there. And certainly the mounting frustration of having lost 10 of the last 11 games didn't help the mood. But on the surface, it was essentially just another loss.

From a historical sense, however, this one was vastly different.

Perhaps fitting that it would come on an overcast day and under an ominous sky, Monday's Labor Day defeat sealed another losing season in Pittsburgh. And this one, the franchise's 17th in a row, permanently stamped the Pirates as the only North American professional sports franchise to ever endure that many consecutive losing years.

"None of the guys on this team were here for any of the majority of that. It's just the label we've been given," third baseman Andy LaRoche said. "But it's up to us to apologize to the fans because we're the team that actually broke the record."

LaRoche said that it wasn't until Sunday he realized that the club sat one loss away from such a distinction. That absence of awareness seemed to be the norm. Yes, most players knew that such a streak existed, but it had been anything but a common subject in the clubhouse.
"It's frustrating," said Brandon Moss. "But how many of these players have been here more than three years? We don't think about it."

To answer Moss' question, the answer is four. Only Paul Maholm, Zach Duke, Ryan Doumit and Matt Capps started the 2007 season with the Pirates.

"We in the front office own the 17-year losing streak. We are a part of it," general manager Neal Huntington said. "These players, their job is to get better on a nightly basis and to consistently win games. Their job isn't to worry about how we've lost for so many years."

The 16-year losing streak the Pirates had entered the 2009 season with matched that of the 1933-48 Phillies.

"Our great fans deserve to be able to passionately support a winner again," said Pirates president Frank Coonelly. "The fact that they have supported us so well through these last 17 years intensifies our commitment to provide them with that opportunity and to do so as quickly as possible."

It will be Pirates starter Daniel McCutchen who finds his name attached to this historic loss, despite the fact that McCutchen has thrown just 205 pitches in his brief one-week Pirates career. He picked up the loss on Monday in what was his first professional decision.

He admitted afterward that he didn't know this potentially historic day actually fell on Monday until just before he took the mound. And if only it hadn't been for Chicago's Derrek Lee.

The Cubs first baseman saw two pitches from the rookie September callup and sent both over the wall. The first, a fastball, was crushed into the shrubbery out in center for a solo shot. The second, a changeup, was lined just to the inside of the left-field foul pole and into the first row for a two-run blast. The combination of homers gave the Cubs the early 3-0 lead.

"Both of them weren't located where I wanted to pitch them," McCutchen said. "A guy like that, he's the don't-let-him-beat-me guy in the lineup."

To his credit, McCutchen battled and kept Chicago from widening its lead any further. Making his first start at PNC Park, he followed up his six-inning debut with a seven-inning effort against the Cubs. He was charged with four runs on nine hits, but also struck out five.

The only problem was that an offense so enthused one day earlier had little answer against Cubs starter Ted Lilly. Moss' one-out double in the fifth pulled the Pirates to within two of Chicago's lead. LaRoche had taken Lilly deep with his own first-pitch homer back in the third.

"I noticed he was just trying to get me with fastballs to get ahead," said LaRoche, who now has eight homers this year. "I was sitting on something middle in and happened to get it. It felt good to square something up."

Those two hits would be it for Pittsburgh, as three Cubs relievers, including former Pirates pitcher John Grabow, followed Lilly's six-inning start with a perfect inning each. Grabow, along with lefty Tom Gorzelanny and third baseman Aramis Ramirez, had an unusual vantage point for Monday's record-setting defeat as all took paths through Pittsburgh before joining the Cubs.

"If you play for them, you feel sorry for them," said Ramirez, who played in Pittsburgh from 1998 until 2003, when a Trade Deadline deal sent him away. "Since I've been here [with the Cubs], we've been in the playoffs three times, and that's fun. They make you play for something. When you're never in the race -- you're going to have years when you're going to struggle, everybody goes through that -- but 17 years in a row is a long time."

Considering the Cubs hold arguably baseball's most recognized run of futility with a 100-year World Series drought, perhaps there's some irony that the Pirates hit loss No. 82 against the Cubs.

"Teams try, nobody wants to lose," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "I'm sure [the Pirates] in the near future will start winning with more regularity. It'd be great for the National League and it'd be great for the fans here. They have a lot of history here and they've had success in the past to draw on."

That was precisely manager John Russell's message afterward.
"We can't erase it," Russell said of the streak. "We can't say it didn't happen. It did. But our job is to continue to play baseball and to continue to grow for the future."

It was a very good week

The week is over at NLOP and it was a very good week for me. I ended the week with a whopping 22435 points. This means that I won (or at least cashed) more tournaments and sit and gos than I lost. I guess it really means I am getting better at playing poker as well as knowing when I can bet and when I should just give up the hand and save my points. Patience is not my strong point LOL
I'm also getting better at spotting the donkeys and the outright big bluffer players, which is an important step in my progress. A lot of the players there are beginning to realize that I do not bluff, or at least I hardly ever do. This helps me a lot for when I am bluffing. If my bet is larger than normal for the time most of those that have played against me will fold, knowing that I have a darned good hand and there's no sense losing their points.
Am I ready to lay my own money on a table somewhere? Nope. But, I may at some point in the future. I don't have a lot of money to waste on gambling.

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) - It didn't take much work for two county sheriff's deputies in Minnesota to track down four burglary suspects.

In fact, the suspects pulled right into the Happy Chef restaurant where the Blue Earth County deputies were on a coffee break
Wednesday night.

The deputies had been investigating three residential burglaries that seemed to be related. When they were on their break at Happy Chef, a report of another burglary came in from another county, along with a description of the suspects' pickup truck.

A truck matching that description pulled right into the parking lot. The stolen goods, including laptop computers, other electronics and jewelry, were in the back.

Captain Rich Murry says it shows even a coffee break can be productive.

---

Information from: The Free Press, http://www.mankatofreepress.com

Home Buying Time

Post deleted by request :)

Thoughts

Poker players go from one extreme to the other. Some think too much, some just don't seem to think at all.
Here is the thinker: they've been dealt two cards. They take forever trying to decide if these two cards are worth betting on or not. What i8s there to dwell on? Either they are good cards or maybe they go together, like a 3 and a four or they are the same suit, or they just aren't worth your money. Don't make everyone else suffer just because you are confused. Fold and get it over with already!
The non-thinker: Has a five of clubs and a nine of hearts. No fives or nines in the flop. They bet all of their chips, sometimes thousands of dollars worth. There is no way in Hell I'd go all in with garbage like that. These folks do it and then are shocked when they lose LOL
My better half says I have a problem. If she goes out for a walk she comes home to find me playing poker. If she goes out shopping or somewhere and she calls me, she finds me playing poker. When I am home alone, I play poker. I don't see the problem. It's hard to concentrate on things with people around, especially when I need to listen to them and respond so that they know I am listening LOL
I wonder if I will have a problem when I finally win a cash tournament? LOL

It's Today!

Dear Bonebag,

You won an invitation to play in the "$500 Big Monday Championship" tournament which is scheduled to start 08/31/2009 09:00:00 PM. If you have not already done so, you must register for this tournament to play in it. To register for this or any other tournament, log on and click the Tournaments tab. All tournaments and their details, including dates and start times, can be found there.

Sincerely,
NLOP Customer Service

Just so you know, that's 9 p.m. Eastern time. 6 p.m. for me. I will be there :)

SUCCESS!!!

Finally! I made it to the top five by placing fourth! On NLOP my name is Bonebag and I posted a screenshot of the standings. Now I get to play in a tournament for 500 dollars!!!
Can you tell I am happy? LOL

This Is Different

I have to admit that, at times, I write things in this blog that are rather silly, but not this time my friends. This time is something different, something unusual, something unique!
I realize that Summer is still here and all that. And, of course, being male means I don't normally start thinking about holiday gifts until the holidays are much closer. But, I found this website that just blew me away with their great ideas. This site is perfect for everyone on your holiday list, from family to friends, heck, even your boss. And the best part is that it is all tax deductible.
It's very simple, yet astounding. What you do is you buy a gift card to give to someone on your shopping list. Then the person that you gave the gift card too can then go to the website and pick one of 100 charities to donate the money too. Meaning, of course, that both you and the person you give the gift card too get to feel good, having helped out a charity. We all know that charities always need help. What better way to help than this?
If you are a business, they even can help you promote that business by putting your logo on the card. How cool is that?! This gift is perfect. Got someone that is a pain in the neck to shop for? Give them this card. Know someone but not quite well enough to know what is an appropriate gift for them? Buy them this card!
You can get these wonderful gift cards two ways, plastic cards or ecards. Either way you get the card I'm certain that the person that gets it will be delighted.
This year do something completely unusual with your holiday spirit, help someone in need. Get one of these great holiday gift cards now and start spreading the good works around. Click on the link and feel good.

Inching my way along

I'm getting closer to an invitation to the $500 Monday night poker tournament! I've finished in the top 20 the past few nights, last night being the best at 14th place. I need to be in the top five places to get the invitation. I was pretty pleased with myself last night :)
This morning, on a whim, I entered the tournament again. I made it to the final table! Three 8's wiped me out of the game, but I was so close. But, I finished NINTH! Only missing the invitation by four people makes me more confident and certainly very happy with my style of playing.
I can make this invitation come to me, I know I can. And, I will!

In other poker news, something strange and horrible also occurred this morning. I was playing on PurePlay in one of the beginner poker rooms. I was holding my own, not losing nor winning. When suddenly I find myself with a lovely straight! Not wanting to scare away the other betters I made several normal bets as the cards came onto the table. All the players were calling and the pot was getting somewhat large. Right after the last card was on the table and just one more player had called my bet and I knew I was going to win the pot, I got redirected to some dumb building supplies company page. WTF?? I tried to go back to the poker site but all I got back to was the home page :( Stupid ads! GRRR! I finally get a great hand and then I get the shaft instead of the pot. How's that for bad luck? LOL

Saving Yourself Money

I've discussed this in my blog before, and it seems more relevant today than it ever did before. In the economy of today, anything that can be done to save your business money, whether it is in time saving measures or stock updates to insure you have the products you need on hand and in stock, or simply keeping track of the stuff you have already, it's a good thing.
The best way to keep track of things in a business is to have great inventory software. Knowing what you have, and exactly where the item is, is an effective tool that helps not only you, but your salespeople as well. Not many customers want to wait around while the clerk goes into the back room to look for something. Time, theirs and yours, is money.
With POS software and barcode equipment shopping is easier for both you and the customer. You'll know what you have on hand and where it is so that you can easily get to the stock and get it to the customer. Makes everyone happy, and a happy customer is a repeat customer.
Whether your business is small or large, online or off, this software can help your business run smoother than you ever thought possible. And, who needs another worrisome headache for their business day? You owe it to yourself and your peace of mind to click the link above and visit the folks at POSGuys. Find the right software, barcode equipment, heck, even security cameras (so you can watch any sneaky employees/customers). POSGuys carries a full line of inventory software for a variety of needs, including general product counting, asset tracking, check in and checkout, as well as software to build your own inventory software solution. From developers such as Proxis Software, New West Technologies, Fishbowl, and Redbeam, these products are a great way for your company to better track your products.
So, don't delay, click that link above. Remember, Time IS money!

Donks R Us

Seems like everywhere I go on the poker sites I run into donks or donkeys, or jackasses, whatever you choose to call them. Most of what I call them is unprintable LOL
I will never understand why anyone would enter a game or a tournament and, first thing they want to do is go all in, haven't even seen the first flop yet. Then they must sit back and grin because most everyone folds like we are afraid of their poker power. I seriously doubt I would call them even if I had pocket aces. I wouldn't want to risk all my chips on the very first hand.
Last night I was in a very friendly little game, six or seven players, all betting two or four dollars here and there. A big bet was maybe 25 dollars. Suddenly two different players join the table and first thing they both do is go all in. What the hell? They didn't even watch the table the first hand they sat out to see there were no big betters? What dumb people!
We finally managed to get rid of these two idiots when, wham, here comes another! I gave up, said goodnight to the decent folks and left the game. I hate donks!

Information Security

On one of the social networking sites that I belong to, one of the more common questions asked is "What is the best anti-virus software?". I have no doubt that this is a popular question because anyone that uses the internet for anything is concerned with what extras they may pick up along the way, especially a virus that can destroy their computer. I've been hacked before and I can tell you, honestly, it is not a fun thing to have happen. There is nothing sadder about using a computer than having someone, somewhere, destroy your hard drive.
If you think that having your personal computer hacked into is bad, what about your business? Think of all the information a business keeps track of in regards to their customers, names, addresses, credit card information. How awful that would be to turn that information unknowingly over to a stranger who could then use that information to literally help himself to goods and services without paying for anything themselves. This is why companies and government agencies rely on IT tech people that are savvy and smart in the ways of hackers and other malicious people in order to protect them from the growing risks and threats to IT functionality, integrity and data privacy they face on a daily basis.If you, or someone that you know, is interested in learning more about these things, then read on my friend, read on!
The Lewis University Online Master of Science in Information Security offers
masters information security degrees in two concentrations, Managerial and Technical.
The Managerial Concentration focuses on the impact of information security
on individual lives and personal privacy, the growing information security
risks facing business and government, strategies for securing information, and the
influence of laws and public policy on how information is secured. It is ideal for IT
analysts, managers, and directors who must define, audit, and examine IT security
policies and procedures.
The Technical Concentration examines how information systems can be
made more secure. It covers information processing systems, secure operating
systems and applications, network security, cryptography, security protocols, and
other issues that confront those charged with securing information networks. The
curriculum includes hands-on training in the identification of security breaches, the
implementation of security policies and procedures, and the resolution of security
problems.
Which concentration is right for you? The Lewis University Online Master of Science in Information Security will challenge your views and help you think and solve problems in new and less conventional ways.
Graduates of our online Master of Science in Information Security program are
ready to take charge of their organization’s IT security needs, act with confidence
and knowledge, and have the vision and innovative tools to stay ahead of the
curve.
With technology expanding exponentially, the need for Information Security professionals is rapidly out-pacing supply. There is a global need for leaders who have the skills and the knowledge to meet the ever-morphing challenges of a modern
world almost entirely dependent on computer networks, databases, and the
Internet. Are you ready to take this challenge? You can get much more information about this exciting career path by either clicking on the link above or by calling an Advisor to learn more at 1-866-967-7046.
Are you ready to meet today’s complex information and data security challenges?

This is the program that will open doors for you. Lewis University’s online master’s

in Information Security program offers you:

* Flexible online format to accommodate your professional and personal life

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of data security in depth

* Affordability — we offer competitive tuition and generous financial aid

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Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association of

Colleges and Schools.

No matter which path you take, managerial or technical, you cannot go wrong. And, many people will be forever thankful that you have helped keep their computer systems and, more importantly, their information, safe.

More Poker Stuff

Had my best week so far, surpassing the 8000 points I made in my first week by 55 points. I also did well in a couple of tournaments, both of them qualifiers for a $500 pot. Out of 102 players I placed 17th, not too shabby for a beginner. The second time I placed 16th so I got a little better.
Now if I can just stop getting frustrated by donkeys, people that go all in every single hand just to watch everyone fold and collect the antes and the blinds I might be okay.These people make me want to scream LOL
I am becoming a bit more patient, learning that it is okay to fold when the pair of cards dealt is not that good, or folding when the pair is okay but suddenly the bets before the flop are getting out of hand. I don't want to bet half my money when all I'm holding is a King and maybe a nine. It makes no sense. I notice that, at times, people play poker like they bet on Ebay items, spending more than it is worth. I do not want to be that guy.
***EDIT***
Having come off the best week I've had thus far, I stunk all day long! I lost 900 of my 1000 dollars :( I hope the rest of the week goes better!

Never mind spam, beware of these emails LOL

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - You've got mail - and possibly an STD. The Brazilian Health Ministry has created a Web site to let people inform partners they've got a sexually transmitted disease via an e-mailed virtual postcard.

The official in charge of the ministry's STD and AIDs programs notes that many people have a hard time telling partners they're infected.

Mariangela Simao said in a statement this week that the e-mails may help people "to tackle these diseases directly and with minimum exposure."

One of the cards shows a young man reclining in his underwear. It reads: "Hi! I don't know if this is the best way to tell you, but I've learned that I have an STD."

The card suggests the recipient see a doctor.



http://www.aids.gov.br/muitoprazer/index.php?qdiganao

To Buy Or To Sell

it's Summertime and it's vacation time for most. A time to hit the road and see new sites, fight new traffic and discover who your family really is. When I was younger, everyone traveled by car and we really discovered just how much animosity could be put into a car, with tempers flaring every few miles as my brother and I fought and my parents yelled and threatened. Oh, the joys of travel!
But these days, it's so much nicer to travel in an RV. Room to stretch out without kicking the drivers seat, room to play games with your siblings and room for those siblings to get away from each other when they want to fight. If you're one of the lucky ones that own an RV, I salute you! But, what if you're one of the unlucky ones and you don't own an RV? You're in luck!
If you have a motorhome and are looking to sell motorhome then you need to click on the link and they can assist you in doing just that. And, if you are in the market for a motorhome, there are plenty of ads to browse to help choose the one that is right for you, be it an RV or a folding camper for those who prefer listening to the kids bicker all day in the back seat of the family car.
Whichever you need to do, buy or sell, this place has lots to offer in assisting you to get what you desire. Give that link a click and see for yourself. Then, if you're a buyer, load up the family and hit the road. If you're a seller, take the money and run to the bank or do whatever needs to be done around the home. Either way, it's all good.

The Answer Is Blowin' In The Wind

No I.D.? No clue who he was? Why??


Rock legend Bob Dylan was treated like a complete unknown by New Jersey police.

Dylan was in Long Branch, N.J., as part of a tour with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp that was to play at a baseball stadium on July 23.

At 5 p.m. a resident called police to report a man looking at houses while wandering around a low-income neighborhood several blocks from the oceanfront.

A 24-year-old police officer appeared on the scene, asked Dylan his name, which didn't ring a bell, even though he said he was there on tour.

``I don't think she was familiar with his entire body of work,'' Long Branch business administrator Howard Woolley said Friday.

A second officer, also in his 20s, responded to assist the first one. He, too, apparently was unfamiliar with Dylan.

The officers asked Dylan for identification. The singer of such classics as Like a Rolling Stone and Blowin' in the Wind said that he didn't have any ID with him and that he was just walking around to pass time before that night's show.

The officers then asked Dylan, 68, to accompany them to the Ocean Place Resort and Spa, where the performers were staying. Once there, tour staff vouched for Dylan.

The officers thanked him for his cooperation.

``He couldn't have been any nicer,'' Woolley said.

Guess it's true. When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose.

Let's All Go To Florida

Summer is almost over and Autumn is right around the corner. So, if you haven't taken your summer break from work yet, or maybe you'd like to take another break, you're in luck!
There are some great hotels in south beach fl that are looking for you and your family. And, you can get some great rates to help out in these tough economic times. So, you can get a fantastic deal and impress the family without spending like you're a movie star.

Just think of yourself and your lover, kicked back at the beach having a drink and enjoying the ocean. That picture sure beats sitting at a desk in some small cubicle at work, now doesn't it? Even if you don't sit in a cubicle, work is work but the beach is something special.
Click on the link above and check out some great deals on wonderful places to relax and vacation. Some of these deals even include airfare from popular cities. So, come on, what are you waiting for? Click the link, book your sweet vacation and pack your swimming gear.While you're in Florida don't forget to send the boss a postcard.