Good43.com

@realdawnsummers < @dawnsummers

I was introduced to Dawn virtually via a link from F-Trains blog. I didn’t know she was black until I had been reading her stuff for a few months. By then it was too late, I was hooked. She is funny, and witty, and sad and human. And if she spent less time watching TV she could be one helluva writer. Go find her famous thanksgiving post. I am too lazy to find it and link to it.

We have met face to face a couple of times. Although based on the fact that neither one of us really likes people it was basically a head nod and a return to drinking. The first time I met her I used her real name which earned me a stink eye as she could hear me pronouncing the “ie” at the end.

Then this one time she paid me $100 to rig a football quiz for her. That was cool.

Another time I bought her a can of mixed nuts and a peanut butter pie. She slapped me. I baked her a Key Lime Pie but ate it before I could send it to her.

Dawn, of the nine black people I am friends with on facebook you are one of them. You are only one of two that I didn’t play football with and that must mean something. I think it means black people don’t like facebook and that you’re a girl that never played football.

Next year we will figure out how to make her birthday all about me. I didn’t get you a present, mainly because my birthday is earlier in the year and you didn’t get me one. If you end up in Vegas in December I’ll buy you a Jamesons Daiquiri or some other concoction you like.

Happy Birthday invisible internet friend.

-Chilly

The Future

This photo was taken almost exactly five years ago. My wife and I took her brother and first cousin to Six Flags. The boys are both 12. Her brother is the son of a 6’4″ dad and 6′ mom. Her cousin not so much. I have thought a lot about that day in the past 24 hours.

Her brother will graduate in a week. He’s just turned 18 and is one of the younger kids in class. He earned better than average grades in high school. He’s active in church. He’s practically traveled around the world. He’s an Eagle Scout. He’s going to college in the fall and plans on majoring in engineering and might want to be a doctor. He has the world in the palm of his hand.

Her cousin’s 18th birthday doesn’t come until September. Same day as my youngest child’s birthday. He has another year of high school. He’s one of the older kids in his class. He was just inducted into the National Honor Society. He hasn’t been around the world. His house is on a farm in rural Illinois. He mows his grandma’s grass and helps take care of his 3 year old niece. He had the world in the palm of his hand. We really miss you. Rest in peace buddy.

MASTODON WEEKEND

French Toast

I made Alton Brown’s french toast for breakfast this morning. I am sorry that I did, for I have ruined all other french toast for my family.

I did tweak the recipe by adding a 1/4 tsp cinnamon and about 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. I used a loaf of what was labeled Country Loaf from Companion. I purchased the loaf on Wednesday and let it sit until Saturday. It was perfectly stale and fit for purpose. In addition I baked the bacon. One package on my pizza pan (pan covered in foil) into a cold oven set to 400 F. 25 minutes later and it was perfect.

Alton Brown French Toast and Baked Bacon

How good was it? I had to make an extra half batch to get everyone satiated.

Poor Healthcare Billing Practices

St. Francis Hospital Greenville SC

The story of how a hospital in Greenville SC is able to screw people again and again.

Prime

At 5:43 (no, seriously, 5:43) I turn 37. Yes today is my birthday. A lot of very nice congrats and happy wishes and such from various internet sources. To which I am grateful that some many people cared enough to let me know that they cared enough.

Oh, and I pulled up and moved over here.

In lieu of real content, here is a little nugget I have been holding onto for a while. I know that Badblood will like this one.

Menus

Christmas Eve Dinner
Appetizer
Baked Brie

Dinner
Baked Ham
Butter Nut Squash
Asparagus
Crescent Rolls

Desert
Baklava

Beverages
Milk
Iced Tea
Schlafly Christmas Ale
Sierra Nevada Celebration
Boulevard Nut Cracker
Prosecco

Christmas Dinner
Appetizer
Mushroom Puff Pastry Turnovers

Dinner
Corn Casserole
Green Bean Casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Horseradish Sauce
Yorkshire Pudding
Prime Rib Roast * changed back to use the old recipe

Desert
Pumpkin Pie
Cheese Cake TBD

Beverages
Milk
Iced Tea
Ommegang Hennipen
Trader Joe’s Vintage 2009 Ale (hey, it’s brewed by Unibroue and is $4.99 for 750ML so back off. seriously go buy some and cellar it, I am)
Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon

The Playroom

Back in April I started on rehabbing a room on the third floor. The plan was to convert this room from a dirty, forgotten storage space into a playroom for the kids.

There was quite a bit of cracked and sagging plaster. I decided that rather than tear out the plaster I would do my best to repair. I started by using “Big Wally’s Plaster Magic“. I won’t go into the particulars, as Wally provides the instructions that I followed here. Big Wally’s works just as advertised, but its an expensive undertaking for a 16×20 room that has cracks and sags on each wall and the ceiling. Like four figure expensive. So I started looking for alternatives. A couple were self leveling masonry caulk and P&L Construction adhesive. I finished the majority of the project using P&L and a squirt bottle of water as a substitute for Big Wally’s. So far the results have been fantastic.

I had to completely patch a few places. There was a water damaged spot in the ceiling that was rotted through the plaster and lath. Cut the hole back to the joists and patched with new plaster and metal lath. There were two spots on the walls that were similar, both on the west wall, one under the window and the other to the north of the door. Same process, cut the hole, wire lath and plaster.

The ceiling was much more difficult as gravity had been assisting with the sagging and cracking for 100 years. Additionally doing the plaster repair overhead was tiring. Hours upon hours up on the ladder, drilling, screwing, filling and sanding overhead. My shoulders still hurt.

Once the walls and ceiling were finished in terms of plaster repair, I coated the entire surface with Gardz. Gardz sealed and hardened the surface and made a great surface to paint. and paint and paint and paint. The paint job was fun. There are two wall colors, an orange (Invigorate) and a cream (Biscuit). The trim was all painted brown (Rugged Brown). All paints were sourced from Sherwin-Williams as I love the service and the quality of their paint.

After the painting I was ready to tear into the floor, literally. Near the radiator the floor had a dip that was 3/4 of an inch over 2 feet. Yikes! I tore up the existing subfloor in that area and made a repair. I sistered 2x stock to the joist and cut new plywood to rest on the sisters 3/4 of an inch below the joist,actually integrating the last two joists into the subfloor. I think I can get away with this as the joists are right against the wall and won’t get any foot traffic. The alternative was to shim up the rest of the joists over the 20 foot span of the room.

Getting the subfloor finished was a big task, then came the layout and installation of the new floor. 3/4″ hardwood that I purchased for $1.67/ sq ft from World Wide Liquidators in St. Ann. 30 bundles were purchased. I bought a flooring nailer at Harbor Freight and away we went. My dad not only lent a big hand painting but he also helped install the floor.

The Journey - Winter Classic 2009

Dear friend-

I am 90 minutes into a 3 hour flight and already finished my book. I am surrounded by cowboys and degens on Air Greyhound flight 2884 back to my life.

I am writing this on my blackberry. There are 4 ibuprofen on the tray in front of me, waiting for their diet coke. I am listening to Steve Miller as that is the only music I had that was a remotely appropriate companion to John’s wonderful collection “Returning the Favor“. Sorry John, they wouldn’t let me read it aloud on the plane and I couldn’t let it just sit there. “The Christmas Lights” gets me every time.

My ibuprofen are swimming now. The music is now Violent Femmes. My head doesn’t hurt, my knees do. I am an old man made temporarily melancholy by a cocktail of exhaustion and a good read.

2009 is the year I barely played poker. I hung out more, tried to be myself as much as possible. Tried to have real conversations. The funny thing is I played as well as I could have expected to in the tourney. I stole timely and tried to keep my decisions simple. I busted on the 2nd hand of the final table. Al made it 25k from the button and I was sitting at 7 bb and had a pp. Al’s bet had me covered. Al ran out broadway. The slow death.

So what has changed since the summer of 2005? A lot of the faces, even the ones that are the same. In some ways I wish I would have stayed with my normal M.O. In other ways this was the better experience.

The depravity and disgustingness that Pauly always writes about stood out to me for some reason this time. Maybe its because of Casino Royale craps, or maybe because I paid attention. I wonder if that is what the town does to you or if they are already like that and its why they end up here.

I went to a show and I left the strip. I played craps. I went deep in the tourney. I was basically sober. I drank but not much. I didn’t get stuck the first night. I didn’t bang Iggy in the ass, he was double teamed by two 2 Eurotrash grad students named Hanz and Franz. All firsts for a WPBT trip for me.

I always have regrets while flying home. Being Nardi free sucked. Bobby always brings a party and BG always has the right words to make someone get off their metaphysical plane and return to the floor of the Geisha Bar. That was less a regret than an observation. Regrets were more around not doing a better job of saying goodbye as I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this.

No I am not retiring or any bullshit like that its just my life is crazy now. I have three kids and a house that needs more work than Iggy’s tranny hooker. I can’t promise I’ll be back.

It makes me sad because a few of you know the difference between the IRL me and the “good” me. I’d like to share that with a few more, but suspect we are stuck in a rut and will never have that chance.

-Chilly

P.S. In case I don’t make it next year, Iggy will do ATM if you let him reverse cowboy.

For the Luckbox

Read the link, then read my revision of the math. Look, an argument I support with numbers. Did I wrinkle your brain?
Royal Poker Blog: Belichick Was Correct

The linked post shows the calculation in favor of going for it as:
(0.60 * 1) + (0.40 * (1-0.53)) = 0.79 WP

I actually calc this as:
(0.75 * 1) + (0.40 * (1-0.65)) = 0.89 WP

based on the Pats 4th down conversion % against the Colts of 75% as told by ESPN and my own assessment of how likely the Colts are to score from the 28.

Additionally I’d say 30% chance that Colts make a TD after the punt is low. I’m not sure how low, but I am sure the Colts are at least 1 Standard deviation from the mean, so in the case of punting the Pats WP is probably more like .60 or .55.

That being said, if it works he’s a genius, if it fails he’s a goat.

GOAT Belicheat!