December in Mesa, AZ

aight, my dear friend ken brought it to my attention that i was slacking on this blog.  of course, i already knew that.  i have been putting in a lot of time on various forums, especially TWO PLUS TWO.
first up, i will insert a couple things i have been watching.  HERE is my thread that i have kept fairly updated on 2p2.  A DUDE is attempting to play one million hands of poker in the month of dec.  this is really crazy; he has already set the record for number of hands in one day at 57,000 with a profit of $22 over that 23 hours.  not very good, but pretty crazy.  this dude is an old WoW player apparently.  i never liked that game, but anyway this guy is pretty entertaining.  he's all over youtube as "athene" or something.
the house finance committee held a hearing on the legalization/regulation of online poker last week, which i thought went very well.  i would ask and hope that any of you that are reading this could take the time to contact your elected officials regarding this issue.  http://theppa.org/ is an association which i belong to, that advocates for poker player rights.  please check out their website if you have some time.

have been spending some attention on fantasy football, as always during football season.  it has been a pretty tough year for me, but it looks like i will make the playoffs in my league, so the big first round playoff game to get into the money is next week.

as always, i have been following with great interest my FIRST LOVE.  USF1 is now a reality, so i will have a team to actually root for next year.  hopefully, we can attend next year's canadian grand prix in montreal canada.

as i write this, the rain is pouring down, and for some reason it is interfearing with my air card.  i dont understand what the deal is here!  on that note, i dont understand why the weather is so horrible here.  i guess there is a storm crossing all of america, and perhaps i should be thankful i am not elsewhere (or home), but i wasnt expecting cold and rain, that i can tell you!

as for the last few weeks, we were last in quartzsite, az which i liked quite a lot. it is a desert town that is visited my hundreds of thousands of rv'rs during the winter. it is surrounded by BLM land, so many people legally live for free for long periods on this land. mandi was able to be off-leash the entire time, and we took many walks in the desert. she loves chasing rocks into bushes.

prior to that was san diego. marko was able to visit us there. the most interesting thing was our visit to the border.  over my shoulder is mexico.

below is the wall at the border

visited the grand canyon a month or so ago

anyway, i cant understand the formatting controls on this blog.  perhaps thats why i dont update this much!  this one post took an hour.  it is a massive time-sink.  will try to update more often though.  take care everyone and thanks for looking!

Day of the DOG

Had a pretty crazy night, as i couldnt sleep well, although it was still pretty relaxing.  at about 5am, the dog puked and then immediately pooped INSIDE the rv.  we had taken her to the vet prior to leaving on this trip, and all was well.  she has been a little off, tho for her thats pretty normal i guess.  so, we decided to stay yet another night in vegas.  we have been here almost 1.5 weeks now.  we did a couple errands, and then took mandi (dog) to lake mead for her favorite activity...swimming.  she had a blast, but i had led her thru some underbrush at one point, and she acquired 50-100 prickly half-inch seeds, which got all tied up in her coat.  i mean this was crazy time.  it took over an hour to get all of these things off her.  now its monday night football, and i need a miracle for my fantasy team to win.

A great day

My new favorite show is "shark tank", on abc.  wow, that is some good entertainment.

got a 2 for 1 buffet that was actually really good.  also won a total of $10.04 playing video blackjack by playing my $10 free slot play (so i didnt actually have to risk anything).

we had a great time last night on the strip and downtown in vegas.  got a big slushee drink from fat tuesday, and added a couple of our own "money balls" in homage of jeffo, who is no longer allowed in vegas!  also ate a binyon burger downtown.  the golden nugget, for being downtown, was pretty impressive.  won a grand total of $7 on 6 blackjack bets, lol.

went to hoover dam today, and that was certainly worth seeing, though we didnt take a tour or anything.  also drove through the lake mead nat'l recreation area.

i have decided today to put up my first specific poker hand on this blog.  it is such a glaring example of why money can be made playing my chosen game.  i know that many times people do not want to hear about specific hands, bad beats, or great hands, but i think i will put up specific hands once in a while.  at least one of my friends actually requested it too.  anyway, here is the hand:
i took the flop for free from the big blind in a 5/10nl game, holding K4o.  i think four players saw the flop, which was 44T rainbow.  i decided to check it in order to mask any strength, and the 3rd player bet out the pot.  last position folded, i flat called, and the other player folded.  the pot was approx $120 i think at this point.  the turn was a blank, so i decided to check again.  i was shocked to watch the other player shove his stack of approx $800.  what im thinking at this point is he has me beat with A4 or TT, (or the tiny chance that he hit his boat on the turn), or else im in a great position.  in this game, i must be prepared to call off my stack in this position, as i have seen so many funky plays.  also, a push at this point from an unsophisticated player often shows that he wants a fold, in which case i have him.  i decided to make the call, and there are a couple of "lmfao"s from other members of the table when the guy shows JJ.  this is a great result for me, and a pot win of just under $1900.

Gangstas in the pool

Hmm, maybe we stayed at the wrong place afterall!  somehow, three g-bangers (it seems) have snuck in to the park's pool.  where the f is the security around here?!  this is retarded!

VEGAS!

Plans have changed, as they often will on this trip.  we are paid up for 1 week in vegas.  i also have two weekday comp nights available at bally's or rio.  it would be cool if someone could come visit us last minute!  we may take a trip to the grand canyon soon.  stayed last night in valley of fire state park, which was pretty impressive, though i wasnt in the best of moods to appreciate it.  more soon...

AREA 51

Not sure what it is with this region of the USA, but for the second straight night i had to deal with barking dogs for multiple hours during what i consider quiet time. last night, for several periods, one being 3am-4am, a dog decided it was time to bark. im not talking like 20 barks, im talking an hour straight of barking! i honestly have no idea what these owners are thinking, or if there even ARE owners for that matter. i have NEVER experienced a dog barking for more than maybe 5 minutes in the middle of the night before. what a disaster.


AREA 51 visit was a total success. we went to two of its borders, got some pics, and saw one truck that contained guards who were watching us. what was more spectacular about the area was the testing range. there were constantly fighter jets flying over, and we witnessed about 8 sonic booms. apparently these are multiple daily occurrances around here. the proprietor of the Little A'le'inn was very nice, as were the other employees. we bought two coozies to add to the collection, and had dinner and beers there. we met a couple who have been full-timing in an rv for something like 15 years. they were REALLY cool, and were gracious to invite us into their very nice 5th wheel. they gave us a load of tips and stories, and we had a great time. i thought it was especially funny when the guys and girls from the two couples split up. i sat in the living room talking to stan about a wide variety of subjects, while rachel went to the kitchen to talk about "woman subjects" with sue!! i could overhear small parts of their convo, talking about spices, cooking, cleaning supplies, etc! knowing rachel and her "womens studies" past, i had to laugh inside! anyway, this was our first contact with other rv'rs on the trip, save for some very small convorstaions. thanks to our hosts!

we head now closer to grand canyon. we may spend the weekend in vegas, or possibly valley of fire state park. hope all is well with friends and family. thanks to my mom for continually giving good advice to us on email. please, everyone try to keep in touch!

NV desolation

The desolate, and i really MEAN that, nevada desert: its where we have been since leaving reno. the cotrast to the way of life rachel and i are used to is quite marked. rach is driving the rv now, for her fourth time. we are heading southeast on highway 95 toward tonapah nv. its a two lane road with a speed limit of 70. we usually go 55 or 60 at the most. we have cell service here (i have NO idea how), but data services arent available on it, so i am composing this on wordpad. after leaving reno, we spent the night at scotty's rv park, in hawthorne nv, and last night stayed at the el capitan casino parking lot (free) in the same town. this parking lot was the loudest overall place that we have yet stayed, far louder than the 5 (LOL) free nights in the sands reno parking lot. reno ended up being far better than i would have thought. it was my fourth time there. i lost track of the total reno gambling losses, but they were not above $100. i ended up losing $100 and $80 on two separate nights, while rachel was up $20 and $40 on those nights (i think) all playing blackjack. prior to that we were up a bit less than $50, and rachel also made a final $25 blackjack bet (due to a coupon) the morning we left that she won. maybe we are down around $45? anyway, doesnt matter at all, because we had a great time eating at all the cheap places, and walking around the town. also, poker (online) went quite well while in reno. people might be surpised to find that i didnt spend a single minute at a live poker table in reno. at this point im used to playing 8-12 tables of online at a time. the live game (except for home games with friends) makes me bored and i probably dont play well in that environment either. also, the thought of it just feels like a chore, and i dont think my time is used wisely there compared to just playing my normal online game.


we had a minor problem being parked for 5 days with no electricity: the batteries in the rv ended up going dead. we didnt bring either of the two juper cables we own, so we had to buy some. the ol' suzuki jumped the rv straight away, so no problem. we have a generator which is quite hard to start in the rv, and i think that was the main culprit that drained the batteries. i have decided from now on to start the rv engine before starting the generator (so the alternator will be working). also, it doesnt seem that the solar panels on the rv are charging the batteries at all.

on to hawthorne, and the nv wasteland. this place just feels sad. its not as bad as tulelake was, but there are so many stores that are vacant, and these places just have an overall bleak feel to them. it makes seattle look like such a prosperous place. there are little towns every 20 miles or so out in the middle of nowhere, with deserted and fallen-down buildings, and people living mostly in double-wide trailers on small lots. it definitely makes me keep in mind how good our lot in life is.

we took a day-trip to navada's "best ghost town", aurora, which is about 15 miles east of bodie (a well-preserved ghost town that is a california state park, which we saw last summer on our honeymoon). the roads to aurora were all unpaved. we just followed the gps, and it took us the shortest distance. we ended up on a 5 mile stretch of some of the roughest "road" i have ever seen. it was 5 miles an hour the entire way (yes, took one hour), and totally covered with rocks. the suzuki traveled like a champ, and we got to test out the four-wheel-drive-LO. this road ended up being the rear entrance to a working gold mine! there were two security guards who were very nice, and pointed us in the correct direction (saying that we werent the first nor last to make the mistake, but that we "probably shouldnt come back this way" either!!) aurora once had 10000 or more population, and all that is left is a cemetary and a buch of tin. we couldnt even find any foundations, so it wasnt too spectacular, but the journey was well worth it.

one of the things that has been on my mind a lot is the recycling situation. some of you may not know, but at home i was a militant recycler. over the past three years or so i had started walking often, and i began to clean the entire neighborhood around my house of the bottles and cans that were littered there. one of my friends jake, who didnt have recycling at his apartment even brought his recycling to my house. in the rv, it is impossible to recycle without a huge inconvenience to us. there isnt space to save up the stuff, nor are there recycling containers almost anywhere. also, hauling it around until we do find a place to recycle means more wieght and less gass mileage. so, though it pains me, we have reverted to just throwing away ALL our recyclables.

not having cable or satellite tv is quite a change, though i am glad at this point to not have signed up for it. everywhere we go, we get several tv stations, many in HD. thanks to my dad for helping me mount the 32" HD samsung lcd that we have been enjoying.

to the future: we will stay a night at least in tonopah, nv, which is probably the highest town either of us have been. it is over 6000 feet above sea level. we never know what we will find in any given place, so are ready to stay longer if there is something of interest. next, we will be heading down the extra-terrestrial highway to rachel, navada and past AREA 51! neither of us realized we were so close to it, and i think being close its a must-see. we will continue past las vegas to the grand canyon, as the weather is a concern, and we must hit that asap. then we will either head back to LV to stay for a bit, or south to other nat'l parks and finally san diego. we have a better plan at this point than we have since we started, though we still dont know the specific days for anything (i would argue that this is the perfect way to be!)

now THIS is a nit!

a "nit", in poker slang, is a player who is super tight, and hard to get money off of.  LAG's (loose aggro players) use it as a derogetory term; it is roughly equal to being called "cheap" in real life.  i found the queen of nits last night.  being a real life nit, rachel and i hit the sands $4.99 ayce speghetti and meatballs special.  we each got a full priced drink, so i didnt feel too bad about it, but this dinner was actually good, and also came with a small salad and piece of garlic toast.  about halfway through our meal, i saw a small commotion at a table about 4 down from ours.  the shift supervisor and a waitress were arguing with a silver/senior lady.  she had a scowl on her face and was gesturing at the supervisor several times.  i couldnt hear any of the convo, besides it ending with she super saying "fine, i will do it this time ONLY." and walking off.  this same supervisor came by our table a short time later, asking if we would like another plate (i was shocked when rachel said "yes".  she paid for that later, but thats another story).  i said to the supervisor "little controversy tonight?"  she proceeded to tell me that this lady INSISTED on using her half off coupon at the $4.99 dinner special!!!  L O L.  cmon now.  i mean at the most i can understand her asking if she could use it, but to actually argue for around a minute is just a new low in NIT'dom.  i told the supervisor "we're cheap, but not THAT cheap!"

having a great time in reno.  wifey and i were up a grand total of $3.50 playing blackjack last nite, plus 3 free drinks and tips. 

i want to talk a bit more about some poker stuff i was thinking about, and also recycling while on the road, but those will have to come later.

Poker?

One of my dear friends, cheech, asked "why is there no poker on your blog?"  i want to discuss poker and poker, and poker-related topics, certainly, but at the same time poker does not define me.  also, i am not sure how specific i should be getting.  do win/loss amounts or specific hands even interest people?  i have good days, and bad days at "work", just like everyone does.  my "bad days" take money from my pocket though, unlike the vast majority of americans (or for that matter, the rest of the world).  anyway, here i sit in the sands regency reno parking lot, 8-tabling at this very moment!  generator is on, so there is AC and computer.  its a bit strange to be playing poker online under the noses of all these casinos, but its certainly the +EV play!  i want to give some props to the sands before i continue:  the place looks incredible compared to the last time i was here, and reno as a whole has definitely undergone a face-lift.  also, the sands was the only casino of the six(?) we called that allowed us to park in their (huge) lot.  yes, the "recession" is hitting on ALL fronts.  ((wow, i just sucked out like a total chimp...runner runner straight...$422 pot)).

so, rachel and i both got a free $5 slot play for joining the bonus club.  we had to join in order to park the rv.  you must bet $1 of your own money, but then you get $5 more free play.  we sat at the star wars slot machine, and only rachel played.  she put in $10, and hit max bet ($3), and hit a $30 winner!  that is a huge result in my book, as i, like any good nit, am aware of the massive -EV of slots.  i MADE rachel cashout when she finished her free play (now she "feels bad" for the casinos, since we are "getting free parking", and "taking their money"  lolol, uh huh...i feel really bad too!)

we are off to get the "awful awful" burger...reno's best burger.  rach is not quite so interested, now that she found it was a half-pounder!  maybe they have a kiddie burger too...

Some Random Thoughts

Update:  we are now on the "shores" of "honey lake" (a dry lakebed) south of susanville, CA.  we are heading toward death valley it seems, via reno and ??  i am using the rv boards under the tires for the second time.  im up on the THIRD level.

Satellite dish, but no service
The rv came with a dish, and i assumed that we would subscribe to either dish or directv.  i wanted directv, as they offer the nfl sunday ticket.  soon found that both services require 2 year contracts just to start.  our trip is going to last one year (at least at this point), so i decided to forego getting satellite service.  at this point, i think it was the correct decision.  everywhere we have been, we have pulled in several free channels, many in HD.  its quite a change going from verizon FIOS to random channels, but i think its a change for the good.

Dumping the black/grey water holding tanks
Its much easier than i first feared.  I had a myriad of problems with the valves that empty both tanks (they were leaking.  the grey water valve required THREE fixes!)  It hasnt been much of a problem at all to dump now that everything is fixed, and that was one of my big worries going in to this trip.

More work, but worth it
This lifestyle is certainly more work.  whenever we move, its some work; not to mention the driving.  i was driving down the road today though, just thinking:  "we are really lucky."  im glad to have a wife who was interested in testing out this sort of lifestyle.  obviously, its a blessing to be able to see the country, and not have to worry about "working for the man".  anyway, i think its important for me to remember these blessings even through the rough periods.

Fantasy football
GO JASON WITTEN!!!  with 4:11 left in the 3rd, i am down exactly 3.59pts to arch-rival adam!

Proper Introduction

All of the previous posts were lifted from a thread i started on the 2plus2 poker forum http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/92/travel/america-rv-powered-poker-588711/. I think i should do a proper introduction for this blog at this point, as today is really the actual starting day for it. I was asked on that thread to show my computer setup inside the rv.  This image is looking toward the front windshield of the rv.  I am sitting in the passenger seat, which is turned around.  I have a DELL xps420 with twin Acer 22" monitors.  Above is the samsung 32" lcd that we just installed!

The next view is taken from the drivers seat of the coach:

Here is our RV, with the Suzuki tow car tucked behind:

Here is our dog Mandi:

This is my beautiful wife Rachel and I at Descheutes brewery (holding obsidian and drinking one too!):

Volcano Beds national monument

Still in tulelake.  I am a bit disappointed with myself in that i felt uncomfortable (as a whitey) in a prominently hispanic town.  Still good internet, and 12 tabling last nite.  Down 1/3 a stack so no big thing.  The lava beds monument wasnt near as impressive as newberry monument (the most impressive thing we have seen so far imo).  This area was the site of a japanese internment camp in ww2; i think it will be important to check that out today.

Tulelake, CA

My favorite 5/10 games are keeping us flush.  Got to 12 table last nite for only the second time on the trip.

We are in tulelake, ca.  I went for a walk thru town with the pooch, and it is pretty shocking to see how some americans live.  This town looks quite depressed.  More than half of the space in the buildings on main street is deserted.  There are many people living in tiny apartments.  All the houses are very small. a 1000sq ft (2br/1ba) house is for sale for $89,000.  Looked at two nice parks dedicated to our military service people.  Props to all of you.  Off to the lava beds nat'l monument this morning.

Crater Lake, and a casino

Went to crater lake national park yesterday on a day trip.  It was impressive, but there wasnt much to it besides the big lake.  Did learn some more about the volcanic activity in this area.  As the next stop is going to be "lava beds national monument", and then after that "lassen national park", we should soon be experts in the field!  Wifey likes geology, so its good for her.

We spent the past two nites for free at Kla-ma-yo casino near Chiloquin, OR.  Each nite i was planning on playing some blackjack in there, but both times after hitting the buffet the thought of sitting at a bj table was horrific!  Have had reliable internet here, and played two sessions yesterday, ending about even.

Anger

Last nite was some bs. i freaked out about:  1. cigarette lighter in tow car coming apart/not working (was working prior to departure on this trip, and was going to use it for the garmin gps and invertor to power a laptop).  2. "check engine" light coming on in tow vehicle (after i tinkered with fuse boxes).  it was on today and has since gone out.  3. the NEW ac power charger for the laptop (bought about 1.5 month ago) coming apart at its head. i attempted to take off the protective electrical tape i had put on it, and ripped the head right off. i blew my top last nite. not good for me.


still havent been able to play poker, and getting a bit antsy, as i should be keeping up my playing to keep up the funds. have had a great month prior to this tho. just getting comfortable with 5/10nl.

went to get the tow vehicle looked at/fixed today. they fixed the cigarette lighter and looked at another problem (the front wheel bearings need to be replaced i guess). charged $60 to fix the cigarette lighter. we saw some more volcano stuff (a huge obsidian flow that came 1.5k years ago), and a peak 7k over sea level, plus downtown bend.  sitting outside now relaxing which is really cool.

Setbacks

Today started with our tow vehicle's (Suzuki Sidekick Sport) cigarette lighter malfunctioning. later, its "check engine" light came on. its one project after the next around here. we got to see the volcanic cave and some other volcanic stuff which was interesting tho. i havnet played poker for a week now...our internet is spotty. ive got a lot on my mind...

Starting out

im about one week in to my epic 1+ year rv trip around america. wifey quit her job as a full-time 6th grade teacher, we bought a 35 foot rv and a tow car, rented my house to her mom, and took off. the plan is to travel from seattle to key west and back over a year, seeing as much as we can (or just relaxing), and living off savings and my poker income. i have been playing online for several years, and have derived all my income from it since feb 2007 (wife has also worked). i hope to get feedback from fellow poker players, see if anyone else has done or is doing what we are, keep family/friends informed, and see where others would suggest to go.

we traveled to spokane, wa to visit grandparents, then to silverton, or to meet up with other rvr's including my parents. now we are in bend, or to visit the newberry national volcanic monument and heading next to crater lake. already had my first accident, since im such an rv noob. hit one of those cement protector bars in the second gas station we visited. tard-tastic.

i have a laptop and also desktop system with 2x 22" monitors, but i need to get an antenna for my aircard (currently go thru millenicom for cellular-internet service with the franklin cdu 680 device).

any advice/suggestions/feedback/shouts are appreciated. anyway, off to bed...wish us luck (more than just the tables, please!)