Tuesday, April 28, 2009
A few more details
I know, I know. I never post anymore. I could give you the standard excuses, but I won't. I'm just busy and not quite as into it as I have been in the past. But I did buy a new camera, and I have been blown away at how good the picture quality is. I picked up the Canon Rebel Xsi, which is a little better than an entry-level SLR, and I got the Canon 70-300 lens with built-in image stabilization, so the lens ended up costing about when the camera did, but as you can see from the pics on the last post, it's worth it. Special K and Dr. K came up to Merlefest for Saturday, and he showed me a few tricks to make my shots better. I took over 60 photos over the course of two days, and culled that down to 100 or so that I liked. My plan for the week is to cull even further and then do a little iMovie thing to show off some more pics. If that ever happens, I'll let you know.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Update from the land of dead blogs
I bought a new camera.
I took it to MerleFest.
I saw some killer boogie.
You should all go with me next year.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Riding Coattails
If you wanted any more proof that he's one of the very best in this business, go to PokerNews and follow Pauly's live updates from the LAPT final. With Pauly, Change, Mean Gene and Otis all at one non-WSOP event, the A-Team is definitely in Argentina this week.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Back in the saddle
Poker content - Lost my ass in Tunica. Lost my ass again at BadBlood's. Shoved into the nuts and lost my ass at my home game. And I still love the game. We did wonder what type of thread we could get started of jealous bitches on the forums if we posted that Lee Jones made a McDonald's run at Blood's home game, though. That dude is great fun, but I hate getting in big hands with him. You'd think he'd played the game once or twice.
Today was first tech for the Avett Brothers, and it was a trip to be back in the saddle. This was the first show I'd really done since Godspell in September. I did a little one-weekend thing in December, but it was super-simple and nothing near as complex as this. I picked up a dozen used LED color-changing fixtures online (go here if interested) and bought a pair of small moving lights. I also got a lighting board that is PC-based, so the whole control rig runs out of a backpack, and a bunch of cable and big hampers to move everything with. So today was all about loading it in, putting it together for the first time and beginning to teach their road guys how to run it all. Once I figured it out, that is.
The Avett boys are really loyal, and their road crew (the parts that don't play in the band, that is) are all people that they've known for a long time. This doesn't necessarily mean that they know a ton about lighting, so I'm learning how to run a new console while I try to figure out how to teach their lighting guy how to be a lighting guy. It's a challenge, but he's really bright and was like a sponge today soaking everything up, so I'm pretty sure it will work out okay. These guys are getting bigger and bigger and I think they might be ready to make the next step. If you're going to see Dave Matthews over the next 5 weeks or so, get there early enough for the opener, because they're worth it.
They're also all about the art, which is very cool. So today we got the rig put together, and everything actually worked the first time we turned it on, which NEVER happens. We actually got done early enough to cut a chunk of the crew early and I got a couple hours of dark time in the theatre to program. That's something that I almost never get, and I've yet to be on any show where I have enough time, so to grab an extra two hours today was a luxury like getting to sleep in when the time changes. I think we've put together a good rig, and the ColorBlast TR fixtures (the LEDs) have a ton more output than I expected. We're flying them at about 20-22', and I didn't think they'd give me any punch at all over 16-18', so I was very pleasantly surprised.
And the console that I'm learning has turned out to be very intuitive, and I think it will be good for their guy, since he doesn't have any experience on lighting boards and thus doesn't have any bad habits. It's a Jands Vista PC, which uses a much more visual system of running and programming lights than any other lighting console on the market. When it came out, it was a total reimagining of lighting control, the kind of thing that comes along once every couple of decades. And since it's PC-based, it doesn't have a big piece of furniture, so it's way less expensive. It's available in a big desk-type light board as well, and I've sold one of those to a big church that I worked on a few years ago, but the PC version is ridiculously inexpensive and powerful.
So all my gear worked and I got out of the theatre by 8, so that was a good day. And it was a good thing, since I've got another 8AM call tomorrow. I'm still debating with myself whether or not to talk to Scott about running a couple of their shows later in the summer. They've got two shows in Myrtle Beach, which is an easy drive and I'd only have to burn one vacation day, but if anybody knows the boys are coming close to them and wanted to party, I might be persuaded to range a little farther afield.
Today was first tech for the Avett Brothers, and it was a trip to be back in the saddle. This was the first show I'd really done since Godspell in September. I did a little one-weekend thing in December, but it was super-simple and nothing near as complex as this. I picked up a dozen used LED color-changing fixtures online (go here if interested) and bought a pair of small moving lights. I also got a lighting board that is PC-based, so the whole control rig runs out of a backpack, and a bunch of cable and big hampers to move everything with. So today was all about loading it in, putting it together for the first time and beginning to teach their road guys how to run it all. Once I figured it out, that is.
The Avett boys are really loyal, and their road crew (the parts that don't play in the band, that is) are all people that they've known for a long time. This doesn't necessarily mean that they know a ton about lighting, so I'm learning how to run a new console while I try to figure out how to teach their lighting guy how to be a lighting guy. It's a challenge, but he's really bright and was like a sponge today soaking everything up, so I'm pretty sure it will work out okay. These guys are getting bigger and bigger and I think they might be ready to make the next step. If you're going to see Dave Matthews over the next 5 weeks or so, get there early enough for the opener, because they're worth it.
They're also all about the art, which is very cool. So today we got the rig put together, and everything actually worked the first time we turned it on, which NEVER happens. We actually got done early enough to cut a chunk of the crew early and I got a couple hours of dark time in the theatre to program. That's something that I almost never get, and I've yet to be on any show where I have enough time, so to grab an extra two hours today was a luxury like getting to sleep in when the time changes. I think we've put together a good rig, and the ColorBlast TR fixtures (the LEDs) have a ton more output than I expected. We're flying them at about 20-22', and I didn't think they'd give me any punch at all over 16-18', so I was very pleasantly surprised.
And the console that I'm learning has turned out to be very intuitive, and I think it will be good for their guy, since he doesn't have any experience on lighting boards and thus doesn't have any bad habits. It's a Jands Vista PC, which uses a much more visual system of running and programming lights than any other lighting console on the market. When it came out, it was a total reimagining of lighting control, the kind of thing that comes along once every couple of decades. And since it's PC-based, it doesn't have a big piece of furniture, so it's way less expensive. It's available in a big desk-type light board as well, and I've sold one of those to a big church that I worked on a few years ago, but the PC version is ridiculously inexpensive and powerful.
So all my gear worked and I got out of the theatre by 8, so that was a good day. And it was a good thing, since I've got another 8AM call tomorrow. I'm still debating with myself whether or not to talk to Scott about running a couple of their shows later in the summer. They've got two shows in Myrtle Beach, which is an easy drive and I'd only have to burn one vacation day, but if anybody knows the boys are coming close to them and wanted to party, I might be persuaded to range a little farther afield.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Flooding New Orleans
With my chips, that is. Two buy-ins in two hours was enough to get me out of the casino and onto Bourbon Street for the night, not that my nights run all that long anymore. Anyway, I've got a teleconference at 9 tomorrow, so turning in early was ok. I set myself a 2 buyin stop loss for the night, and rapidly went past that dumping another hundred at the blackjack table. But on the to my tales of woe and mediocre play.
First bu-in was easy - I lost about $50 playing 4/8 Omaha Hi before I got called to my $1/2 seat. All that came in a hand where I flopped the open-ender, got there on the turn, and got out for only one bet on the river when the board paired. My nut straight no good to her boat, but at least it wasn't PLO. Meh. Then about three hands into my $1/2 session at what might be the most passive table I've ever seen, I flopped the K-high straight on a board of K-J-10 with two hearts. I held Q-9 off suit, and led out. Guy immediately to my left called, and the short stack at the end of the table raised my $6 bet to $20. I raised enough to put him all in, and the guy to my left moved all in over the top of me. I hadn't been at the table long enough to have much of a read, but I thought he was a pretty sharp player, solid, but capable of making a move. I put the short stack on a King or maybe two pair, and the guy to my left on hearts, so I made the call with the baby end of the straight, saying to the guy on my left "If I'm coolered, I'm coolered."
I was coolered. He turned over A-Q off, having limped into a 7-way pot with AQ and flopped Broadway. Shorty at the end showed another Q-9 off, and when the board didn't bring an ace, I lost my first buy-in. I didn't sweat that too much, since it's pretty rare that someone limps with AQ at the $1/2 table, so I reloaded. A big chunk of my second buyin went away when I flopped a flush draw, bet out, got one caller. Turned the open-ender to go with it, bet out, got called, and when the river missed me I had to fold to his shove. Then I made my last poker mistake of the night. Old nit had raised his button to $12 every orbit. He was a local, and old fuck, and a table captain besides. Add that to his habit of hiding his green chips behind all his other chips, and I kinda didn't like him. So the third time he raised his button, which put me having limped in under the gun with Qh-7h, I called out of spite, figuring he was raising with position. The only times he raised preflop was from the button and cutoff, and he limped every other hand. His pattern was to raise preflop and overbet the flop if it checked to him. This flop came down A-7-x, and I checked, planning to go to war with 2nd pair if he did his standard overbet. He did, pushing $50 into the $30 pot, and I moved all in over the top. He had A-K, I didn't improve, and I went to wander Bourbon Street.
Neither of those hands turned out the way I wanted them to, and maybe with more information on the old fuck I don't make that move. It could be that he had the goods every time he had the button, but I don't buy it. I just ran into him the time he did. Meh. Tomorrow will see me heading to Biloxi to check out the casinos there after I wander the Quarter a little during the daytime, take some pics and snag some souveniers for my sis and Suzy. Then hopefully I can rebound in Mississippi from the drubbing I took in NOLA.
First bu-in was easy - I lost about $50 playing 4/8 Omaha Hi before I got called to my $1/2 seat. All that came in a hand where I flopped the open-ender, got there on the turn, and got out for only one bet on the river when the board paired. My nut straight no good to her boat, but at least it wasn't PLO. Meh. Then about three hands into my $1/2 session at what might be the most passive table I've ever seen, I flopped the K-high straight on a board of K-J-10 with two hearts. I held Q-9 off suit, and led out. Guy immediately to my left called, and the short stack at the end of the table raised my $6 bet to $20. I raised enough to put him all in, and the guy to my left moved all in over the top of me. I hadn't been at the table long enough to have much of a read, but I thought he was a pretty sharp player, solid, but capable of making a move. I put the short stack on a King or maybe two pair, and the guy to my left on hearts, so I made the call with the baby end of the straight, saying to the guy on my left "If I'm coolered, I'm coolered."
I was coolered. He turned over A-Q off, having limped into a 7-way pot with AQ and flopped Broadway. Shorty at the end showed another Q-9 off, and when the board didn't bring an ace, I lost my first buy-in. I didn't sweat that too much, since it's pretty rare that someone limps with AQ at the $1/2 table, so I reloaded. A big chunk of my second buyin went away when I flopped a flush draw, bet out, got one caller. Turned the open-ender to go with it, bet out, got called, and when the river missed me I had to fold to his shove. Then I made my last poker mistake of the night. Old nit had raised his button to $12 every orbit. He was a local, and old fuck, and a table captain besides. Add that to his habit of hiding his green chips behind all his other chips, and I kinda didn't like him. So the third time he raised his button, which put me having limped in under the gun with Qh-7h, I called out of spite, figuring he was raising with position. The only times he raised preflop was from the button and cutoff, and he limped every other hand. His pattern was to raise preflop and overbet the flop if it checked to him. This flop came down A-7-x, and I checked, planning to go to war with 2nd pair if he did his standard overbet. He did, pushing $50 into the $30 pot, and I moved all in over the top. He had A-K, I didn't improve, and I went to wander Bourbon Street.
Neither of those hands turned out the way I wanted them to, and maybe with more information on the old fuck I don't make that move. It could be that he had the goods every time he had the button, but I don't buy it. I just ran into him the time he did. Meh. Tomorrow will see me heading to Biloxi to check out the casinos there after I wander the Quarter a little during the daytime, take some pics and snag some souveniers for my sis and Suzy. Then hopefully I can rebound in Mississippi from the drubbing I took in NOLA.
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