I have determined that the duck has a dislocated hip. The joint pops and crackles when I manipulate the leg. I have been trying to hold the joint steady, applying pressure as I extend and contract the leg, gentling urging it to realign. She seems to tolerate “swimming” in the bucket of water, and has taken to dunking her head of her own accord, something that is necessary for ducks in order to keep their eyes clear. When I put her back in the coop, she tries to stand, but only for a second or two before collapsing with that left leg askew. She is, however, still grooving on the night crawlers twice a day, and this morning she actually worked her way over to the without any prompting.
Every morning and evening after I complete this regimen, my dear wife inquires after the duck. I wish I could give her good news. We are hoping against hope at this point, and I have asked that maybe we cease having long discussions about the prognosis. I will give it a couple more weeks.
If another farmer were to read this, one with livestock, he or she might think we are foolish to prolong this. Well, we’re not farming any more, so I guess we’re no longer farmers, and therefore have returned to our greenhorn status, wasting time that we wouldn’t have had a year ago. Indeed, a year ago the bird pretty much would have been left to recover on its own or be put down by now. These next few days of 100 degree temps might hasten the decision for the coop can get mighty hot.
On a more positive note, we received a call from a neighbor that there was a picture of my photo “Red Cab Pink Van” in the newspaper today. All of the winners from the Mayor’s show were shown. Hopefully, this bump for the exhibit will garner some sales. The photo is available as multiples.
In the article I was referred to as a photographer. I was a bit bothered when I read that. I’d like to think of myself as an artist who sometimes uses photography as his medium. Maybe it’s a non-issue, for would I take umbrage if someone said I was a blogger? Probably not; yet, in the back of my mind, I would prefer to take some license and call myself a writer. Maybe prima donna, eh?
To be honest, which, in my case, can mean exhibiting an inappropriately high level of self-disclosure, I am hoping that this blog will not only get me back to writing on a regular basis, but also get me some exposure and a few writing gigs. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing, for it occurs to me that posting the blog is really no different than having my art website. Man cannot live on duck eggs alone. Fried in butter, over hard. Sizzle some bacon and home fries.
Speaking of fried, our DSL is on the fritz. Our phone line is snap, crackling and crisp. I am jonesing for a connection. We thought we had the problem solved yesterday, and it did work for a while, long enough to play some poker at Stars and Poker Academy.
I have been following Gumpo’s strategy of uber tight and aggressive, set mining and the like at very loose tables, to very mixed results. At 25NL I had a flopped set of seven cracked by a flopped straight after a guy min-raised from middle position with 89 off. I was felted. Shortly after arriving at another table, a player from middle position raised 3 X BB and immediately had two callers. I was next to act with AA and cut to the quick with $15. Everyone folded. Maybe I over-played it, yet watching the action at the table after that, I’m not so certain. A lot of weeroll action. Both tables were juicy but I’m still having a difficult time catching playable hands.
PA was even worse. Set over set and the river felted me twice. Even though a straight flush didn’t get paid, I fought my way back up to down just one buy-in before it was time to watch “Squidbillies” on Adult Swim. Bolstered by a good laugh and a couple shots of whiskey, I thought about playing some more poker. However, better judgment prevailed, and after the Olympic coverage on NBC went to infomercial, I hit the hay.
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2 comments:
Regarding your poker comments, I think the mixed results come with the territory. I use a similar strategy when playing against the wild donks and have long stretches of success, in which I convince myself I'm a great poker player, followed by long stretches of 5 - 10% suckouts and complete BS luck which have me wondering why I ever started playing this damn game and why I continue wasting my time and money with it. From my readings and observations, including some of yours from this and previous posts, I infer my frustrating, streaky results are nothing unique.
Still, in the end, I think the strategy is solid and you'll see a steady upward bankroll climb as the long term result. If I wasn't such a stakes whore with a tendency to get bored when playing with only 5% of my bankroll, I would likely have more of a firsthand account to offer... But, I am what I am... So there ya go.
Stay cool. We had a series of 22 consecutive days over 90 here in Colorado with 3 of them (also consecutive) over 100... I feel your pain.
Bastin, a flopped set versus straight is a vanilla flavored cooler. At any level of the game you're not getting away form that. I've had all sorts of brutal beats with sets as well, including many set under set situations and on one occasion, the old 1 outer on the river when he hit his quads. Hang in there!
FG
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