Day 94
My laptop is making some very strange noises.
Most of the day was spent in one position on the sofa while I rattled off a couple of thousand words for a magazine that for some reason seems to think they’d like my writing thrust upon their unsuspecting readership.
Oh well, I guess there’s no accounting for taste.
It was due to this activity that I presume either the cooling fan gave up its struggle for life or a major component had somehow become dislodged in the mechanism and was clattering away like rattlesnake in a box of rusty nails.
After removing myself from the sofa and leaving an arse shaped indentation where I was previously resting, I gave it another couple of shakes in the hope it may magically solve the problem before admitting defeat and seeking a more technical solution.
An unfortunate side effect of these odd sounds was a complete inability to connect to the Internet thereby meaning not only was I unable to post entries to this diary (which some would say is a good thing) but also I couldn’t play any poker.
As I didn’t want to turn into a quivering wreck I figured the best thing to do was take it to a local repair shop. Luckily, the owner was not swamped with work and agreed to try and diagnose the problem while I waited.
He carefully took out a couple of screws, removed the back and a small lump of chewed plastic fell out onto the counter. Now, unless a battalion of microscopic rodents have invaded the house, there were only two possible explanations for the presence of the offending article. Either the cat has been eating bits of its food bowl and spitting it into items of electrical equipment (unlikely but not beyond possibility) or Small Child has somehow been playing with the laptop while I was taking a doze this morning (extremely probable).
Seeing the look of acute embarrassment burning across my face, the storeowner took pity on me and decided against charging me for his time. I showed my gratitude by dropping a few coins in his charity box and asked if the dribble-coated lump would prevent a connection to the net.
At this point it became obvious he was dealing with an idiot and exhaled deeply before telling me it wouldn’t. Trying to regain at least some self-respect I explained the domestic situation and was offered a potential answer to the conundrum.
If Small Child had managed to get something into the laptop, maybe it had also managed to do something to the wireless router.
Sure enough, when I got back home and checked the Internet equipment (housed on top of the stereo in an open front cabinet) I found it had been moved slightly from its usual position and a lead had been dislodged from the back. I plugged it back in again and it worked perfectly.
I had no concrete evidence to support the theory of Small Child being the culprit but the circumstantial evidence was overwhelming.
Now able to avoid any serious withdrawal symptoms, I logged on and registered to play a $5 tournament. As the entrants were limited to a maximum of 180 I figure I’m in with a reasonable chance of finally getting to the money.
I played very, very tightly and as others were eliminated I just about stayed ahead of the average stack. Then, in a moment of complete madness I re-raised a King high flop (with K-7 off in the big blind) and got an immediate call. Assuming my opponent was bluffing I made a pot sized bet (leaving me very short stacked) and was called. I missed the river and was put all-in. I called and found myself staring at two und-pairs and elimination from the game.
The knuckle shaped smudge on door sis testament that only the top 18 got paid and of course I just missed again coming 22nd. Next time I find myself doing this I shall not take out my aggression on inanimate objects…I’ll punch myself in the mouth instead.
As this entry was written while I was languishing on the bed with half an eye on the television I only had a limited amount of time to complete it before Mrs. Snowman came up to retire for the night. I therefore had to remove myself and take the laptop downstairs in order to carry on.
Needing a pee, I tucked the computer under one arm and excused myself. The subsequent conversation was brief but demoralizing when I pointed out the bathroom was required. I don’t think Mrs. Snowman was being in anyway sarcastic when she asked me “Don’t you need two hands for that?”
….if only.
Starting bank: $0
Current bank: $66.36
Most of the day was spent in one position on the sofa while I rattled off a couple of thousand words for a magazine that for some reason seems to think they’d like my writing thrust upon their unsuspecting readership.
Oh well, I guess there’s no accounting for taste.
It was due to this activity that I presume either the cooling fan gave up its struggle for life or a major component had somehow become dislodged in the mechanism and was clattering away like rattlesnake in a box of rusty nails.
After removing myself from the sofa and leaving an arse shaped indentation where I was previously resting, I gave it another couple of shakes in the hope it may magically solve the problem before admitting defeat and seeking a more technical solution.
An unfortunate side effect of these odd sounds was a complete inability to connect to the Internet thereby meaning not only was I unable to post entries to this diary (which some would say is a good thing) but also I couldn’t play any poker.
As I didn’t want to turn into a quivering wreck I figured the best thing to do was take it to a local repair shop. Luckily, the owner was not swamped with work and agreed to try and diagnose the problem while I waited.
He carefully took out a couple of screws, removed the back and a small lump of chewed plastic fell out onto the counter. Now, unless a battalion of microscopic rodents have invaded the house, there were only two possible explanations for the presence of the offending article. Either the cat has been eating bits of its food bowl and spitting it into items of electrical equipment (unlikely but not beyond possibility) or Small Child has somehow been playing with the laptop while I was taking a doze this morning (extremely probable).
Seeing the look of acute embarrassment burning across my face, the storeowner took pity on me and decided against charging me for his time. I showed my gratitude by dropping a few coins in his charity box and asked if the dribble-coated lump would prevent a connection to the net.
At this point it became obvious he was dealing with an idiot and exhaled deeply before telling me it wouldn’t. Trying to regain at least some self-respect I explained the domestic situation and was offered a potential answer to the conundrum.
If Small Child had managed to get something into the laptop, maybe it had also managed to do something to the wireless router.
Sure enough, when I got back home and checked the Internet equipment (housed on top of the stereo in an open front cabinet) I found it had been moved slightly from its usual position and a lead had been dislodged from the back. I plugged it back in again and it worked perfectly.
I had no concrete evidence to support the theory of Small Child being the culprit but the circumstantial evidence was overwhelming.
Now able to avoid any serious withdrawal symptoms, I logged on and registered to play a $5 tournament. As the entrants were limited to a maximum of 180 I figure I’m in with a reasonable chance of finally getting to the money.
I played very, very tightly and as others were eliminated I just about stayed ahead of the average stack. Then, in a moment of complete madness I re-raised a King high flop (with K-7 off in the big blind) and got an immediate call. Assuming my opponent was bluffing I made a pot sized bet (leaving me very short stacked) and was called. I missed the river and was put all-in. I called and found myself staring at two und-pairs and elimination from the game.
The knuckle shaped smudge on door sis testament that only the top 18 got paid and of course I just missed again coming 22nd. Next time I find myself doing this I shall not take out my aggression on inanimate objects…I’ll punch myself in the mouth instead.
As this entry was written while I was languishing on the bed with half an eye on the television I only had a limited amount of time to complete it before Mrs. Snowman came up to retire for the night. I therefore had to remove myself and take the laptop downstairs in order to carry on.
Needing a pee, I tucked the computer under one arm and excused myself. The subsequent conversation was brief but demoralizing when I pointed out the bathroom was required. I don’t think Mrs. Snowman was being in anyway sarcastic when she asked me “Don’t you need two hands for that?”
….if only.
Starting bank: $0
Current bank: $66.36