Welcome To The Mad House

dD is my hero.....

2010-02-03T08:32:00.001Z

......and keeps me going. I know I'm bloody useless at blogging these days, but he always checks to see if I'm alive. Love you dD :) :) :)

Especially for You!

2009-09-11T16:37:00.003+01:00

You know who you are :p

Let's see if I can get my finger out and try start updating this thing.....for a while at least.

OK a quick catch up.....

I've not been playing much poker at all really. Though when I have it's just been ring games, something I always seem to do well with, so maybe I should get my finger out there too and play more?

I've had a pretty crappy first half of the year for one reason or the other, not least of all because I lost both my brothers with 4 weeks of one another in March :( I'm battling on though, if for no other reason than I want my brother Jason to be proud of me.

I've been doing more voluntary work, both with the Youth Offending Team and The Hinge (a resettlement project finding homes for and supporting 16-19 year old homeless).

Amazingly, the lady I was helping at The Hinge handed her notice in a few weeks ago and her boss instantly offered me the job :O To say I was gobsmacked is an understatement!!! Needless to say I just about bit his hand of at the opportunity. After a few weeks of waiting to see if they had to advertise the position or not, I was duly taken on as the Resettlement Project Manager this Monday gone!!! So after 6 years of trials, tribulations and bloody illness, I am officially a TAX payer again :)

Till next time, take care and Come on Leeds!!!!!

Heelllllllloooooooo

2008-10-24T20:15:00.002+01:00

I guess I'm in trouble again. Eeek!!

Well what have I been up to? Lost the job I've had as a volunteer for 2 years because of a complete two faced liar. Had a tooth out, OMG never again!!! Starting 7 weeks training for the Youth Offenders Panel next Wed (another voluntary job, but a foot in the door of the Youth Offending Team).

What else?

Errrr, not a lot, been out and about, getting totally frustrated by Leeds, they're more confusing that men. I even managed to find myself a man :O wonders will never cease, lol.

Ok well I'm shattered and still got the 'non' tooth ache from hell, so I hope this little update will be enough to keep you entertained and let you know I'm still alive and well dD my sweet,

Have fun and see ya soon :) Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee x

Uh, what, who said that?

2008-08-22T18:15:00.002+01:00

Ah it was MrD.

Ok well the babies are fine, no more fights, just the usual handbags and boxing, which to be honest is funny to watch.

Applied for a couple of jobs in the last few weeks. Had an interview (in my own house, how bizarre) on Wednesday for a position (as a volunteer) on The Youth Offenders Panel. Yeah it's only a voluntary job, but it's experience and I get some valuable training. Plus it's a foot in the door for The Youth Offending Team, who, as you may remember, is who I want to work for. The interview went great, so I'm feeling really good about this one.

I also applied (again) for a job at the local children's home. Not much different to working for YOT's, the kids in the home are a challenge to say the least. I've not heard anything yet, but this time I hope I at least get an interview. Last time the job went internally so I never stood a chance.

If the job at the children's home doesn't come off, I'm going to ring up and offer my services as a volunteer. Again, this could be a foot in the door and will hopefully pay off when another position comes up.

Well that's about it for now. Other than a few profitable ring games, I did actually play a $3+40 10 player NLH Turbo S&G the other day and took it down. So all's looking good right now :)

Till next time (MrD reminds me, lol) Take care :)

OMG!!!!!!!! :(

2008-07-27T12:23:00.001+01:00

Our's is not a happy house right now. Bash n Slick decided to have their first ever fight today

They were happily playing, the usual bit of boxing, then OMG they started scrapping. It was over as soon as it had begun really (I screamed at them and they stopped straight away), but I think it's scared all of us equally.

Slick shuffled off looking shocked, Bash just sat there looking shocked and scared and crawled onto me as soon as I got near and then hid in my dressing gown for at least 10 mins. I then let him back down onto the floor, they both then went to sleep together (although not touching) on the floor, so I think it's gonna be ok.

Although right now, Slick is asleep on top of the sattelite box, Bash went up there snuggled down, but decided he didn't want to stay so is asleep on the floor right now.

Hopefully they're just shocked and still love each other. Don't know about them, but I'm shaking, it scared the life out of me, even though it was only a split second, any other Degu fights I've heard of end in blood and owners being bitten splitting it up, but at least my boys stopped as soon as I shouted.

Update later if anyone's interested. :(

Yaaay I Did It!!!!!!

2008-07-19T11:27:00.003+01:00

Well as you will know (if you're daft enough to read this blog), I entered into the big bad world of University last year at the grand old age of 37. I can't even begin to describe how scared I was, I had no confidence in myself or my abilities, but I did it. But today, to make it all worth while, I received my results and I'm so happy to say I passed, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

So next stop is finding a job. I've sort of got the all clear from the hospital to go back to work (what the don't know won't hurt them, lol) so it's full steam ahead.

So far I've sent out a few letters. I did apply for one job already, but unfortunately was unsuccessful :( Apparently due to a letter I sent the Youth Offending Team (the people I want to work for) last year, I have been asked to apply to be a voluntary member of the Youth Justice Board, so that has to be a positive and certainly a foot in the door if I'm accepted.

As well as looking for a job, I'm also sourcing other training. I'm looking at a doing a course with the police, basically at the end of the course you are qualified to work on the front desk of any police station. Probably doesn't sound great, but it's all experience in that area. Also I am trying to find funding so that I can do a distance learning course in Child Protection.

Well that's about it for now, too excited to write any more, lol.

Have a lovely weekend :)

OMG is it a plane???????

2008-07-16T21:58:00.002+01:00

First off, a big thank you to Si who just ''wasted'' an hour of his life because of me, lol....love you X

Secondly Dd..............I'm sowwy for leaving you for so long :( But I'm back now :) Missed you x

There will be a further blog in the next day or so bringing you all (2 of you) back up to date with the life and loves of Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Take care x

2008-04-02T03:28:00.005+01:00

Sorry I've neglegted you (well my stalker anyway, lol).

Ok, so...........

I've recovered from my last cancer scare, I'm in remission and going from strength to strength. Only health problems right now is my poor lickle toof. I have an exposed nerve and the toothache from hell, lol.

Uni is going great. I only have 10 weeks of classes left (with holidays in between) and then I'm done. I've surprised myself, never mind anyone else, and I'm really chuffed with how well I'm doing.

I'm still going to football, well Leeds United, it can be described as football some weeks, honest! After a very dodgey period when wobbly eyes left, we're begining to get things right again. Fingers crossed now for some of our 15 points back.

Although I'm not ready for a full time job just yet, I have begun to contact people in the hope of getting the job I'm after once I'm fit and healthy again. I've received positive feedback so far, so again, fingers crossed!

I'm still working at the local school with the little devils, ooops, I mean kiddies :) It's going great and more importantly I'm getting some invaluable experience.

Last but by no means least, my little babies, Bash n Slick are doing great.
They've turned into right little characters and keep me entertained on an hourly basis, bless em.

That's Bash trying to get his nose in the vase and Slick exploring on top of the drinks cabinet, don't ask, lol.

Take care all, I hope to be back soon!!

2 in 2

2007-12-30T01:00:00.001Z

Not been playing much poker still. But did get forced into playing another tourney with a mate the other night. Unfortunately he was knocked out after only 20 mins, and muggins here ended up there a little longer :)

Can't say $90+ in just 2 games is too much to complain about though, lol....first the HORSEy game then the Omaha Hi Lo.

This is an automated message sent from Full Tilt Poker.Full Tilt Poker Tournament #35198876 Double Stack $10 + $1 PL Omaha H/LBuy-In: $10.00 + $1.00 92 players Total Prize Pool: $920.00Start Date: December 28 10:15 AM ETDear bomshel,You finished the tournament in 6th place.There has been $55.20 added to your account.

No....You're Not Seeing Things :)

2007-12-23T17:35:00.000Z

It really is me dD :)

Ok, so what's new?

Completed my first module at Uni, and passed my exam. Just about to start preparing my next lot of course work, so keep your fingers crossed for me :)

Had an op and on the mend, be a long haul, but worth it in the end.

Relationships.....What are they, lol?

Not played much poker with me being out of sorts, but managing to stay on course (9th out of just over 44k) for the 10k top 100 Freeroll at the end of the year.

I have to say though, I did actually play a $5.50 HORSE tourney last night/this morning and came 5th, that was fun :)

Well anyway, if there is anyone left out there who looks on this blog...................

Update......

2007-10-08T21:37:00.000+01:00

(especially for dD)

OK, not been up to much on the poker front. Seem to be forever 'doing something' and never seem to have so much as an hour to settle down and just chill. Let alone fine 5 hours or so to go deep in a tourney. Things will change though, I've decided to start getting my life back in some sort of order again.

The last week has been a bit of a nightmare, if it's not one thing it's been another. At this rate I'll be having another bloody heart attack, lol. Less of that crap though, only positives from here on in. If situations are harmful they're not worth getting involved with, so only good stuff and good people in my life now (yeah that includes you dD :o) ).

Things are still going great at school with the naughty little boys, lol. I had thought I might lose my job, as my boss was leaving and I was aware the new woman might want someone with qualifications to help her. But as it is, she and the headmistress are both determined to keep me around, so one less thing to worry about. And also a big confidence boost to know I must be getting something right :)

Uni is going great. Not stressed at all now about the people and surroundings, still worried sick about whether I've got what it takes academically though. But only time will tell. I guess once I've finished my first assignment and I pass, I'll feel more confident. I have in fact just been given my first one, so fingers crossed I do well...eeek!

Well that's about it.....Oh Leeds are fookin brill too.....Take care one and all :)

Blogger Championship...

2007-10-08T16:23:00.000+01:00

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 9002211

I Survived....

2007-09-27T21:44:00.000+01:00

Yay....Wednesday was my first day at Hull University and amazingly I survived, lol.

The plan on Tuesday was to go to bed early and try catch up on some sleep, seeing as I had been able to sleep no more than 2 hours a night for the previous week. I know I'm only used to getting about 3 hours a night, but with flu dragging me down, it had taken it's toll.

Also playing a tourney on Friday night which started at 2am and didn't finish till 7am when I came 4th, then having to set off for footy at 10.30 am, didn't help, lol.

Anyway, Tues I was in bed for 10.30, couldn't sleep, so read and then tossed and turned till about 2am. I eventually fell asleep, only to wake up and spend the next 2 hours sat on the bathroom floor being sick :( I presume it was nerves, as I've not been too ill lately, give or take the odd day.

Anyway, after what turned out to be a hopeless attempt at a restful night, I was up and on my way to Uni at 8.30am. I arrived 45 mins early so I could get parked up, and go see a friend (Ricky) for a coffee and try gather myself. A friend of Ricky's was starting the same course and was meant to meet me, but never turned up so I was back to feeling extremely nervous again, but trundled off to my first lecture regardless :)

In all honesty, the day went great, we had to do some work in groups and so I managed to get to know a few of the people there and so felt a little more at ease. I even had to do a presentation on behalf of our group, OMG that was soooooooo scary!!!

As it was, I made an ally and at least had someone to hang out with, it was nice to have someone to go explore with and have lunch with instead of hiding in a corner somewhere.

I'm still very worried about whether I'll manage to handle the course work, everyone, bar one person was already working in the youth sector, so I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the jargon and discussions we've had, but I'll definitely be giving it my all. Next up is trying to get together all the books they suggested I get hold of.

So all in all, it was a good day and boy, am I glad it's over, lol.

Oh and on a more comical note...................I even managed to come home and leave my first lot of homework on my table at Uni, lol. Not to worry though, they said they're gonna send me it, so fingers crossed it's here tomorrow. If not, it's a bloody good excuse for not doing it, beats me saying my Degus ate it, lmao

Thanks for reading and take care!

Is it a bird, is it a plane........

2007-09-19T12:28:00.000+01:00

Nope, it's just little old me :)

Don't I look better for my rest? lol.

Anyway, hope you all have been ok, apologies for not commenting on blogs as often as I should have, and for being missing in action and not bothering with my own blog. All of your comments and good wishes have been truly appreciated, thank you all.

Right then. What am I up to? Well...................

I'm now working (as a volunteer) at the school as a mentor for the kiddies with ADHD etc on a permanent basis, Monday and Tuesdays. I'm loving every minute, in fact this Tuesday was simply the best ever. I had so much positive feedback from the most difficult of kids and it made what I'm doing seem so worth while. Not only did I get great satisfaction, but the boys in question went on to get green stars (part of the rewards system for good behaviour) for the entire afternoon after our sessions. And they both came to me at home time and said thank you. That might not sound like a lot, but during the school holidays (at the holiday club), I had to take a knife off one of the boys and took a horrendous mouthful of abuse and aggression from the other. So it's a big deal to me!

So that's Mon and Tues taken care of. Wednesdays will, as of next week (OMG a week today), be take up with Uni. I start my Foundation in Youth Studies at Hull University on the 26th and so the next years worth of Weds are now going to be taken up with the biggest challenge of my life ever. A strange thing to say after battling depression, cancer, a couple of heart attacks and most recently a strain of meningitis, but this really is going to be the biggest challenge I've ever had to face.

Not only am I battling my nerves and phobia of new places and being around large groups of people, but I am battling with my confidence and self belief. As things stand I am so scared of failing, but logically I know I will give it my best shot, work hard and ultimately overcome most if not all my phobias and bloody well succeed! It's on a parr with Leeds I guess......I've stuck two fingers up to the football league, so now I'm gonna stick two fingers up to all the people who have used, abused and 'tried' to destroy who I am. Fuck em all! I'm gonna do this and get the career I want, and help some of the young kids out there who really need it.

Bet you wish I'd never come back now after all that, lmao :)

Again, thanks to everyone who commented on here in my absence, I love you all :) Take care each and every one of you and I will be back soon (promise!)

Now where's those poker tables? Let me at em........

Ok, Ok................

2007-08-04T10:41:00.001+01:00

After having my wrist slapped by Cell this morning, I am making an appearance, lol.

As previously posted, I am really not very well at all right now and one of the side effects of the drugs I'm taking for my illness is blurred vision and a constant feeling of vertigo, so reading and writing are very difficult at the mo...........no change there then, lol.

I apologise if I've not visited peoples pages, commented etc, but I promise, as soon as I'm feeling ok I'll be back.

I will even try and give you all a round up of what I've got lined up, later tonight if my head stops spinning long enough :)

As for today, I'm shortly setting off to meet Cell and 'enjoy' my first Leeds game of the season, yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Take care all and good luck in everything you do!!!!!!

FFS...When Will It End?

2007-07-19T09:28:00.000+01:00

The FA have now written to Leeds asking for clarification over what may be a breach of its rules concerning ticket sales. KPMG, signed over the right to sell season tickets to the Leeds United 2007 consortium led by Ken Bates. This was done despite no Football League approvals having been received for Bates's purchase of the club.

Until league approvals are granted it is the old club - in administration - and not Leeds United 2007 that will compete in next season's League One. The FA wants to know how the handover of rights to season-ticket sales cannot be a breach of financial-records rules.

FA rules state: "When a club charges admission to a match, it is necessary for that club to have a system that enables them to record the full gate receipts for each match [and to] account for the full gate receipts in the club's accounting records and bank account."

KPMG confirmed that bank accounts for Bates's new company had received the income.
"Season-ticket money is with the new co; the old co never collected any season-ticket money," said a spokesman. "In the event that the club is not able to start the 2007-8 season [Bates's company] will ensure monies are returned to supporters." The spokesman could not explain why KPMG had handed over season-ticket income to Bates's company but stated that a letter to creditors would be circulated next week offering "complete transparency" over KPMG's handling of the administration.

With potentially millions of pounds of revenue available from season-ticket sales, it is hard to see why KPMG's Richard Fleming, in a letter to the MP for Elmet, Colin Burgon, suggested there was a "risk of the club ceasing to exist, as a result of no funds being available to fund trading".

Quiet Times...

2007-07-19T08:55:00.000+01:00

Hi guys, just wanted to pop on and let you know times are a little rocky right now and as a result I've not (obviously) been blogging, but I assure you as soon as things are a bit better I shall be back :)

Take care, have fun and good luck at the tables...

All Done, Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

2007-07-08T11:03:00.001+01:00

Just a quickie (cos I'm proud as hell) to let you all know I've passed my ECDL (Computer course) at last!

Unfortunately that 100% score in one of the modules eluded me, after yet again getting 97% (only one question wrong) in my final exam on Databases :( That three 97's in a row and what's worse is, the question I got wrong was ''In your opinion, what is the main advantage of.........'', errrr how can I get a question wrong if it's my opinion? Don't answer that Paul or Simon, lol

Anyway I passed :) And what should, I was told, have lasted 14/18 months took roughly 10 weeks :)) On to web design now, weeeeeee. And fingers crossed a counselling course at the college.

Right I'll shut up now, lol....thanks for reading and have fun :)

Yes Miss....

2007-07-08T10:38:00.001+01:00

Especially for MLDonkey, after his piss taking about my new little job at the school, lol. I did in fact get called Miss last week for the first time, lmfao.

I was that oblivious that they were actually talking to me (me a 'Miss', nahhhh), that they had to say it at least 3 times before it registered it was me they wanted, ooops.

Needless to say I pointed out they didn't need to call me 'Miss' and that Jo or Joanne would do, lol......Thanks Paul, I can't keep a straight face now every time it happens.

On the subject of my little job, as some of you know I've taken on this voluntary job (initially only a couple of hours on a Wed), as my first steps back into work after a 3 year battle with a couple of illnesses.

But before I'd even started they had asked me if I would add to my hours to stay and mentor the 'naughty' boys in the afternoon, which of course I agreed to do. That now, has changed yet again. It appears these kids have taken to me and as a result I've now been asked to help out on a Monday too. So what started out as 2 hours, is now 8, but in all honesty I'm loving it working with the boys, though I'm still having to put on an act right now, till my true confidence comes back to me.

Ok just one more thing before I go, and no laughing, but my greatest moment so far since I started at the school happened the week before last when one of the boys painted me a picture, awwww bless.

Yeah I know, so what, lol....but what you have to understand is these kids have huge problems, with anger, violence, trust, etc etc and for one of them to feel comfortable enough with me after just 2 weeks, to paint me a picture was something very special to me.

Named At Last :)

2007-07-06T17:24:00.000+01:00

Well at last I've decided on names for my new babies. In all honesty they named themselves after a day of showing their characters off, lol.

I've decided to call them Slick : Because when you put him down he's like an oil slick, he spreads out everywhere (and also because of big slick of course)

And then there's Bash : Because he's sooooo shy and bashful, bless him "

Hope you like my choices and thank you ever so much for helping me out :)

Take care and good luck everyone!

Especially For Mia's Dad....

2007-07-04T22:58:00.001+01:00

Sorry for the quality, taken on a phone by a 7 year old, lol so the best I can do for now, hope they surfice Mia's dad ;)

No1.......................No2..................... No1 again....

Please, I Need Your Help....

2007-07-04T12:14:00.000+01:00

Ok, so it's not life threatening or anything, lol...but I really do need everyone's help.

Some of you will know I have been waiting for my 2 pet Degu's (google it, lol) to arrive for ages and today I received a call saying they would be here later today,weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

So here's where I need your help.....................I Need Names For Them, lol

I have the choice of 2 girls, or 2 boys (don't want any hanky panky going on, lol) So get your thinking caps on all my lovely friends and please give me some suggestions.

Not bothered how stupid they are (so long as they're not rude), the more choices the merrier !

Thanks everyone :)

Season Tickets Safe?

2007-07-04T11:30:00.000+01:00

From the official site........

Urgent meetings are taking place today (Wednesday) between the Administrators, the club and The Football League to establish how to move forward following the appeal lodged by HMRC (Inland Revenue) yesterday.

The club remain confident of a positive outcome and that it will be able to start the 2007/08 season.

The club can confirm that Season Ticket receipts are being kept in a separate bank account and Leeds United 2007 Ltd, who have sold the tickets for the forthcoming season, will ensure that the money is kept safe so it can be returned to supporters if we cannot start the season.

It is imperative that those supporters who opted to use the interest free payment plan continue to make their payments to our finance partner, Zebra, so the money is available to the club when we receive the news we can start the season.

We understand it is a worry for supporters who have invested in the club for next season but you can be assured it is in everyone's collective interest for the club to continue. This is what we are working to achieve.

The backing from supporters to date has been absolutely superb and it is now more important than ever for this to continue.

Almost Living The Dream...

2007-07-03T23:10:00.000+01:00

What a bizarre couple of games I played tonight......

In the Ranking FR on Railbirds I managed to finish 115th out of 1200ish after going into the first break with 25oo, to find when I came back, PS's would not me join in, OMG!

I sat out on the break as I was babysitting and had to go check on the kids, not wanting to keep people waiting if I was a min or two late back.

What a mistake that was. God knows what happened, but I just couldn't get the 'sitting out' button to turn off, eventually it turned off and I had a whole 800 chippies left, and the blinds just about to kill me off.

Thankfully I managed to pull myself back up and settle down with 3k. Only to see my next 20 hands resemble my luck of a few weeks ago, nothing (I kid you not) above an 8, sooted or connecting, lmao.

So with chips running out someone up there smiled on me and gave me pocket A's, I shoved all in to be called by pocket 10's and yep, you got it, the 10's won, when Mr Lucky got (oh yes he did, lol) a runner runner flush, lmao..........Oh joy :)

As for 'Living the dream'....the dream is well and truly over, lol.

I lasted an hour in the replay of the cancelled tourney from last week.

Just before the break I was sitting pretty after building my stack up from 29k to 119k..........

Sitting on the BB I found AA in my hand (an omen maybe?) and big stack decided decided to try and steal for the umpteenth time, so I pushed back big style and he put me all in holding big slick..........

The Flop......A3K............Turn K............and River K............. Arrgghhhhhhhhhhhh

You couldn't make it up, lmao.....so my dream was over in 16th :(

So near, yet so far :)

Better luck is wished to you all !

Taxman Keeps It Dragging On

2007-07-03T23:00:00.000+01:00

Potential auction flagged up after taxman lodges eleventh-hour objection.

The taxman has lodged an appeal against the CVA proposal put forward by Leeds United and its administrators KPMG, it emerged this afternoon.

Despite improving its offer to creditors from a penny in the pound to 8p in the pound, HM Revenue & Customs has lodged an appeal against the proposals, only an hour before the deadline for complaints to be filed.

The taxman lodged its complaint at 3pm.

PKF business recovery partner Philip Long told Accountancy Age he thought the CVA should now be dropped and the business exposed to a quick auction, which would give creditors the best return. Just what we need.....NOT!

Some advisers had earlier questioned the strength of the original CVA proposal, complaining that the business would be sold to someone who was not necessarily the highest bidder.

Leeds has stated that it 'remained positive despite the disappointing news' and will carry on with business as normal................I'm glad someone is.

The good times Roll on :)

Past The ''Use By Date''

2007-07-02T18:58:00.000+01:00

After giving it some thought over the last month or so, I have with a little disappointment, decided my blog is going absolutely nowhere.

I've kept it going knowing that there are a lot of people out there reading it, but enough is enough. It's ok having readers, but with no feedback from anyone other than my 2 trusty friends, it all becomes a bit pointless.

Good luck to you all and thanks to those few who did take time to comment and keep it alive :)

Take care, have fun and good luck at the tables :)

Nice One!!!

2007-06-28T16:43:00.000+01:00

As you'll know I was rather annoyed at the 'Living The Dream' poker tourney being cancelled the other day when PokerStars crashed.

Well I'm please to report, I've just been sent an email from PS's saying they are going to give the remaing players the chance to finish the game and advance to the final.

Hello,

You are receiving this email because you played in tournament number 41859228, 'Living the Dream'.

As you know, this tournament was cancelled with 73 players remaining due to a system problem at PokerStars on June 26.

A make up tournament will be held on July 3 at 14:00 PokerStars server time. This new tournament will not award any cash prizes, but will determine a winner to advance to the Living the Dream Final on July 31.

You are already registered for the July 3 tourney. All you have to do is log on to PokerStars and play it.

The chip stacks for this make up game will be equal to what they were when the June 26 tournament was cancelled. So if you had 9,000 chips at the time of the crash, you will have 9,000 to start in the make up game; if you had 850 chips when we crashed, then you will have 850 to start in the make up game, etc. etc. The blinds will start at 1500/3000

The new tournament number is 54018612.

Regards,

Mike Jones

PokerStars Poker Room Management Team

Virus Warning !!!

2007-06-28T16:40:00.000+01:00

Experts are warning of a bogus Microsoft security bulletin that contains malware designed to take control of the user's PC.

The emails contain the header 'Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-0065' and come with Microsoft logos and a layout very similar to the Microsoft web page.

Recipients are told that a zero-day flaw in Outlook has already been exploited to infect over 100,000 machines, and the email contains a link to the 'patch' for the problem.

"Security bulletins from Microsoft describing vulnerabilities in its software are a common occurrence, so it comes as no surprise to see hackers adopting this kind of disguise in their attempt to infect Windows PCs," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

"The irony is that, as awareness of computer security issues and the need for patching against vulnerabilities have risen, social engineering tricks which pose as critical software fixes are likely to succeed in conning the public."

The link in fact downloads the Behav-112 Trojan, which allows the computer to be operated remotely to send spam or take part in distributed denial-of-service attacks.

The emails have been widely spammed out over the past few days, so be very careful guys!!!

Ahhh Bullocks......

2007-06-27T00:15:00.000+01:00

I've not posted much about poker lately, mainly because I've been busy doing other stuff and not played an awful lot.

I'm chuffed to say though, that after a nightmare 2 months in the Railbirds FR's and dropping to 44th in the rankings, I've turned in a good couple of weeks and in just one day, I collected enough points to shoot me back up to 22nd (I think), after finishing 101st and 13th, both times out of 1000+ players (and donkeys, lol)

Tonight though was total bullocks!!!!

I player the 'Living the Dream' game and the ranking FR at the same time, whilst babysitting and trying to watch tv, lol. What a great recipe for success, lol.

As it turned out, I finished 12osomething in the Ranking FR after going all in with just under 4k with AK in my hand, to be being called by a pair of 2's and the 2's held up :( I have no complaints, cos the guy did ask me if I wanted the blinds or doubling up and I chose double up (he had 48k), any other time, he would never have called with 2's pre flop with a raise like that.

The bullocks was in the LTD game. God knows how, but I took no notice what so ever in the game, but was playing some lovely poker. Picking my moments and players, and making them pay. As things stood, I was 18th out of 73 players left. almost 30k in my stack and loving every minute of it. That is until everything stopped.

None of us knew what was going on, so we sat and chatted for 40 mins ish, and then the unbelievable happened.

The message ''Game cancelled due to technical difficulties'' came up and the game was over :(

To say I was gutted was an understatement grrrrrrrrrrr.

I soon received an email

PokerStars Tournament #41859228,
No Limit Hold'emFreeroll Super Satellite
1038 players
$1000.00 added to the prize pool by PokerStars.com
Total Prize Pool: $1000.00
Target Tournament #41858670 1 tickets to the target tournament

Tournament started - 2007/06/26 - 14:00:00 (ET)

Dear bomshel,Tournament #41859228 has been cancelled due to technical reasons.

When a tournament is cancelled, and players have already reached the money, we refund each player their tournament fee, and then divide up the prize pool based on the following formula:
- each player receives the minimum prize not yet awarded at the time of cancellation
- the remainder of the award pool distributed proportionally according to the chip count

At the time of cancellation there were 73 player remaining, and your chip count was 29,299.

Total chips in play were 1,557,000. The remaining prize pool was $957.00 and the minimum prize was $2.00.
Prize pool to be divided equally: $2.00 x 73 = $146.00Prize pool to be divided based on chip count: $957.00 - $146.00 = $811.00Your share in money equally divided: $2.00

Your share based on your chip count: $811.00 x (29,299/1,557,000) = $15.26Your entry fee refunded: $0.00Total money refunded to your account: $17.27

We apologize for the inconvenience.

The PokerStars Team

Yeah I know, I could have lost and ended up with a lot less, but I was on my top game and was convinced I was gonna last to the end. So whether you think I'm being realistic or not, I'm gutted I didn't get the chance to see how far I could have progressed.

Oh well, better luck next time eh? :)

Thanks for reading, good luck!!

A Big Thank You!

2007-06-23T20:13:00.000+01:00

I really wanted to just send out a big thank you to you guys for the comments and support you showed me last week when I started my new little job.

From the comments, I can see you all realise just how scary and hard it was for me and to come home to what you all had to say was lovely.

The day went great. Certainly an eye opener, I've never seen a school like it and believe me, I've seen some badly behaved kids in my time, lol.

This coming week we'll be taking some of these kids out on a trip to the launch of a mentoring scheme, set up by the group I am directly working with. So keep your fingers crossed for me, I'm gonna have my hands full trying to keep these guys occupied and out of mischief, lol.

An extra special thanks goes to YP, you're comment about me being an inspiration was very touching and brought a tear to my eye. I'm just little ol' me and for someone to gain something from something I either said or did makes me feel very humble. Take care hun and things will turn out ok for you in the end, I'll keep everything crossed for you :)

Ooooo Scary....

2007-06-20T10:42:00.000+01:00

Not sure how I'm managing to write this blog as my hands are shaking and I'm as nervous as hell, lol.

Today I am venturing into my first bit of work in almost 3 years since I was struck down once again by the dreaded cancer. And I'm having a right flap, lol.

As well as the cancer, I had a nervous break down and it's been a long slow journey back to where I am now. I still find being in strange/new situations and around people I don't know very unnerving and scary, so today is a big deal to me.

I know I probably sound like a pathetic female, but really guys, unless you've been there no-one can explain what it feels like!

Anyway, today I'm taking my first step into my future. I have managed to get myself into a local school helping with a small group of kids that are excluded from breaks because they are too violent.

As some of you who read this blog will now, my aim in life is to eventually work with the Youth Offenders Team, and during the hour I spend with these kids at lunch time, there will be someone from the YOT there too. So a great opportunity for me to show how I cope and come across in these situations.

As I said, it's my first step into a job environment in a long time, and so although it doesn't sound a lot, one hour was a big deal to me. As it turns out though, during my interview last week, I was asked if I would be interested in staying all day and then mentoring the same kids on a one to one basis.

I have to say I was amazed at the request, as I have not official training or experience, simply life experience. Needless to say though I agreed happily and so have thrown myself well and truly in at the deep end, eeek!

So wish me luck guys, I'm gonna need it, lol....I'll update later and let you all know how it went :)

Take care and thanks for reading :)

6 Down 1 To Go

2007-06-09T14:22:00.000+01:00

Just a quick update on my computer course.

After passing the hardest module so far the Friday before last, I got my teeth stuck into the next module (PowerPoint Presentation).

I spent Tuesday morning zipping through the module, Wednesday afternoon doing the assignments and on Thursday decided to take the Test.

Not positive, but I think this is the fastest I've done one yet.

Anyway, I took the test and to my surprise (and disappointment, lol) I got 97% again, meaning I got just 1 bloody question wrong again :(

Ah well, I passed and that's me main thing :) Although I fear my chances of getting 100% out of any of my modules has just gone by the way side. It's Data Bases now, and after an initial 15 mins looking at it on Thursday, I can't see me getting anywhere near 100% lol.

One thing you can be sure of, is I'll give it my best shot. After this one, that's me done, all finished and certified (not that I haven't already been certified, lol)

Need For Changes

2007-06-07T10:40:00.000+01:00

Five areas that need addressing to ensure a future for us.....

1 Rebuild the squad,

Every area of the team needs strengthening and Dennis Wise must build a side in his own battling image because, make no mistake, Leeds are going to be tested every single week by opposing sides determined to win their very own cup final.It is not going to be pretty, and that is why we could have done a lot worse than try to sign Hull-bound Dean Windass, a born fighter who knows all about what is needed to be successful in League One. It has to be a case of 'horses for courses', while there must also be no repeat of the reliance on the loan market that did little to engender team spirit last term.

2 Marching on Together: Improve the relationship between club and us the fans.

In the past few years, a sense of 'us' and 'them' has developed between supporters and the powers-that-be at Elland Road. There are a whole host of reasons for this, ranging from passionless performances on the pitch through to the ticket pricing structure over the past two seasons.The fallout between the Leeds and the supporters club hasn't helped either. What the city of Leeds need to be able to do again is believe in their club, and to that end at least one headline signing needs to be made this summer. Ok Bates has started the ball rolling by slashing season ticket prices to an affordable level, but could some form of loyalty bonus be offered to those who are supporting the club in League One with season ticket holders given a discount for the first year back in the Premiership?

3 Price match day admission realistically

Ticket prices must come down from £26 (£36 in the East and West Stands) which it cost to watch a category A game from behind the goal last season. The reasoning behind raising the prices two years ago was sound, the mistakes of the past had to be paid for and with so many ex-players still on the wage bill, I agree Leeds had to raise the money that way. But with the burden of paying the likes of Danny Mills and Michael Ricketts finally ended this summer, this is a golden opportunity to cut prices.

The sight of a half-empty Elland Road is a dispiriting one for players and fans alike, and undoubtedly a factor in why our home form was so wretched until the final few weeks of the season when attendances were swelled by price reductions.

The categorisation of fixtures also has to be looked at with perhaps only Nottingham Forest and the Yorkshire derbies with Huddersfield and Doncaster being worthy of anything but Category B, with some being more C.

4 Boost off-field income

Leeds' business made a profit last season, it was the debt that made life impossible. So
that shows the club are already moving in the right direction, as will be confirmed by a number of sponsorship deals to be announced in the coming weeks. Big money is not needed to get out of League One, but it is to move from the Championship to the Premiership so we should keep our fingers crossed that talks with potential investors come to fruition in the coming months.

5 Don't look back in anger

We've have paid a dreadful price for mistakes made by previous regimes, but it is time to look forward and not backwards. Promotion is a must next season and all energies must be geared towards that aim.

MOT

One Day.....

2007-06-07T10:07:00.000+01:00

The title of this post is my reference to a time when things at Leeds United might actually resemble normality. Who am I kidding?????

As the years have rolled by, I've cringed, cried, laughed (in sheer disbelief), fumed and despaired, but I've always held on to the belief that 'one day', things would get better and I'd once more be able to cheer, celebrate, laugh (for the right reasons), leave the ground on a Saturday evening jumping for joy.

It's like a New Years resolution, at the end of each season I'm filled with a renewed hope for the coming one. Nothing can be as bad as the last, time for a fresh start, time to build a solid team/club again...........Like I said, who am I kidding, it seems like a never ending nightmare.

A new chairman, a new beginning; a new season, a new beginning; a new manager, a new beginning; have they worked? Have they hell.

I'm not even gonna start with this 'rip off' and 'stitch up' as was the administration fiasco, mainly because I couldn't stomach the thought of going over jet another dodgy deal Bates has won.

Despite everything though, I will always remain true to Leeds and turn up, season ticket in hand every year. No doubt with that same hope filling my heart.

Although that hope is taking a bit of a beating right now after The Football League announced that for legal reasons, it will now take a further 28 days for the CVA to be formalised and therefore we can't make any transfers.

You have to laugh or you'll cry, lol

Oh well, onwards and upwards, MOT and all that :)

Things Not To Do Before You Die..

2007-06-06T09:34:00.000+01:00

Ok, so who wants a good laugh?

Well you're gonna get one at my expense anyway, lol.

I've had some good fortune money wise in the last few days. Along with managing to sell my old car, I've also received some compensation I've been waiting 5 years for.

So for once in my life I thought I'd go out and spend a little on myself and get some of the things I've been wanting/needing for some time.

One of these things was a new GPS system. Anyway, it arrived yesterday so I thought I'd go set it up and try it out.

Within minutes, it was up working and I was ready to go. But then I realised my cigarette lighter (gonna need it to power the unit on long journeys) wasn't powering it up.

I then spent half an hour trying to find out what was wrong and mend it. No chance, everything I did ended in failure :(

So dejected and fed up, I gave it up as a bad job, tried one last thing in desperation, not expecting it to make a blind bit of difference, stuck (and don't ask my why) my finger on the element bit of the actual cig lighter, and foooooooooooook it worked, ouch!

Like I said, I have no idea why, after 30 mins of testing it sensibly, I decided to stick my fooking finger on the bloody thing, but I did and boy am I paying for it, lmfao.

Definitely one of my more blonde moments :)

A Very Sad Day....

2007-06-04T10:24:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I had to bid farewell to my beloved baby Tigra :(

I know it had to be done, as I've managed to blow her up (head gasket) twice already (I really must learn to drive slower) and she's also getting on a bit, but never the less I was gutted to see her driven away.

Oh well, I guess one good thing to come out of this is that the money will come in handy for buying my new season ticket..........Hmmmmm is that really a good thing? I'm not all the sure to be honest, yet I can't wait for the new season to start for some strange reason.

That is presuming we've still got a club to go watch!

Waiting Game...

2007-06-02T10:05:00.000+01:00

As usual, life at Leeds United is never simple!

Our future is left up in the air after the creditors' meeting was adjourned for a recount of the votes on Monday.

Bates, is still expected to have had his offer to buy back the club accepted by the slimmest of margins. But because the creditors vote was so close, KPMG adjourned the meeting and the recount will be held on Monday morning at Elland Road.

Bates needs 75 per cent of the vote to have his offer of 1p in the pound accepted by creditors and the original count showed he had 75.02 per cent.

The waiting goes on......

Can't Believe It...

2007-06-01T18:09:00.000+01:00

Took my latest exam in my computer course today. One I was particularly worried about as I really did find this module hard as hell.

Anyway after only 100 minutes sleep all night, I turned up at the computers place at 8.30am this morning. Took another mock test, just to check again that I was ready, I got another 92% so thought what the hell and I went for it.

Soon as I started the exam I began to worry, as the questions I was being asked were completely different to the ones on all the mock, lol.

By the time I got to the end I was almost convinced I'd just about crept through and had prepared myself for probably my lowest pass score so far. Not a great feeling, seeing as I'm very hard on myself when it comes to succeeding.

Just as I thought, when I answered the last question, the result popped up and I saw the 75% and felt gutted, until that is, I realise I was looking at the pass mark and my score was actually above it and was 97% weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

97% means I only got one question wrong, and, lmao, it was the easiest question in the whole exam, lol.

Turns out I thought the question was that easy I didn't read it properly and I just chose the wrong option from the 'true' or 'false', how stoopid am I? lmao

Sorry for going on, but I can't explain just how hard I found this module and how scared I was of failing. To then get my best (could have got 100%) score yet, is truly amazing for me.

5 down, only 2 to go and I have my full certificate :) Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

The Weekend...

2007-05-27T16:31:00.000+01:00

Just a little update on what I've been up to.

I've played very little poker due to me being a bit off colour since Thursday night. I must be bad, I even missed a ranking Freeroll on Railbirds, lol.

I did play the Stud Freeroll on there yesterday afternoon, and although I don't remember where i finished, I did cash, so I presume it was somewhere around the 40/50th mark.

I've basically spent the entire weekend here at home, mainly resting and trying to shake off what ever is wrong with me.

I've managed to watch the final episodes of both 24 (season 6) and Heroes. I little disappointed in both to be honest, but both series were fantastic and were always going to be hard to live up to in the final episodes.

Watched a few films too. Maybe not the best time to watch such a film, but in the early hours of this morning I watched a film called 'The Messengers'. Very scary and certainly edge of your seat watching. I'm in the middle of watching 'The Good German' right now, good film, but I'm not sure I can live with new films being made in black and white, it just seems fake.

So all in all, not really a riveting weekend, lol.....but at least I'm now 10 days without a cigarette and I haven't killed anyone :)

What A Day.......

2007-05-24T01:04:00.000+01:00

Wow, what a day.........what a week even!

I tried to install Poker Office this morning, so obviously I had to fire up a table (NLHE1c/2c) to do this.

3 hands later I was more than $2 up, lol. So once I thought I was sorted I packed up and went.

All was not sorted though I'm afraid, so I had to fire up another 1c/2c table, this time, within 10 mins I had almost doubled my $5 stake, lol.....leaving the table after 20 mins with $9.45

Off I then trundled to do my computer course (received my certificate on Mon to say I've completed level 1) with a grin from ear to ear. I had a really productive day and can see me being ready to take my next exam in the next couple of weeks :)

Now on to the joy of the day, baby sitting, lol. We had a great night, then they both went off playing in their rooms and left me at a loose end.

So despite not playing the Railbirds Freerolls these days, unless they're ranking ones, I decided I had to do something other than watch tv to keep me occupied. So I entered the Railbirds Limit Hold'em Freeroll.

I didn't do too bad, the cards were so, so.....certainly not blinding, lol. Still, I plodded on :)

You can imagine my surprise when 3 hours later, my mate comes home from work and I realise I'm still playing. The poor girl probably wanted to get to bed, but there was no way she was gonna chuck me out seeing as I was at the final table :)

Anyway, despite a back and forth heads up match, one I thought I was destined to lose, I WON, Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

So that's another $50 in my pocket, or should I say $100, because the winner of the RB Freerolls gets their winnings doubled if they have a Railbirds Avatar. And believe it or not, I've only had one for 1 day, lol. I decided to change it when I decided to make a fresh start and go back to basics, and boy what a great idea that was, hehe.

So all round, I've had an amazing week since I asked for help. A certain someone deserves a lot of credit for my mindset, so thanks buddy :) In less than a week I've added a nice wedge to my bankroll , so long may it continue :)

(Some) Players Defer Wages

2007-05-22T12:59:00.000+01:00

LEEDS United have announced the majority of their players have agreed to defer their wages while the club is in administration.

Thirty-two of the 36-strong playing squad have agreed to enter into a "deed of deferral" following a meeting last week between the players' union, the Professional Players' Association, and Leeds' administrators KPMG.

It has been agreed that the players' wages will be paid after a meeting of the club's creditors on June 1.

I wonder who the ones who wouldn't were, lol

Railbirds Top 100

2007-05-20T23:56:00.000+01:00

It was the Freeroll for Aprils Top 100 tonight and I managed to come 8th collecting $45 weeeee.
I could have done a hell of a lot better, had I not played like a donk and gone all in with bloody pocket Q's again, I got called and the 10J off, hit 2 pair, grrrrr.

From that moment on and with 20 still left in it, I was fighting all the way, finally being taken out with the following hand.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1116193

Yeah I know I could have just called and folded when I saw an A on the flop, but I was short stacked and I really didn't think she would hall that raise. I was wrong and now I'm out, but hey, still the biggest cash I ever had, lol

Ooooooo that looks healthy :)

Heeeeeeelp!!!!!

2007-05-20T22:35:00.000+01:00

OK, you'll be pleased to know it's not poker this time.....that's going great guns, just managed to get, wait for it.......64c for coming 62nd (out of 1022) in the Railbirds Ranking Freeroll, but I'm happier with getting some points on the board after my baron spell.

No, what I really need help with is hair replacement........I stopped smoking on Friday and I'm pulling it all out, lol. So now and over the coming weeks, possibly months, I'd appreciate a bit of support/encouragement/patience(lol), if at all possible peeps.

After yet another scare with the cancer thing I thought it about time I stopped helping the bloody disease along and gave up. Not that I smoked before I got cancer, but every little has to help right?

So grumpy bitch is asking for for help please, any and all is welcome :)

Joe and Jo At The Same Table...

2007-05-20T20:10:00.000+01:00

It got confusing I can tell you, lol.

It was nice to be at the table with a pro though and last longer than he did :)

Progress So Far....

2007-05-20T12:38:00.000+01:00

As you know, I have gone back to basics with my poker (and indeed my life, but that's for another time).

I've not been playing much (6 sessions in all), but I have played when and if I've been in the mood, not just because there is a laptop switched on in front of me.

If we discount Freerolls (only played 3), which I just play for fun and practice, I have been successful in every session I have played since my back to basics began :)

My last sessions being on the 1c/2c tables, where in just under 40 minutes this morning I have managed to almost double up my initial $5 stake, leaving the table with $9.75

Obviously I'm not going to make a fortune on the 1c/2c tables, but that's not my aim. My aim is to gain back the confidence I once had and the belief in myself that recently began to disintegrate.

My profit for the last few days may only be small, but it's profit and I have a 100% record for every game I've entered..........sounds good enough to me

All in all I'm very happy with my game and enjoying my poker very much. Thanks to those of you who went that extra mile to help and support me when I needed it most, looks like it paid off

A bright Light...

2007-05-19T23:19:00.000+01:00

At last something to be happy about at Leeds.

Ben Parker, Gavin Rothery, and Scott Gardner all receive a new contract from the club, despite the administration problems currently faced.

Rothery and Gardner have both been regulars within the Leeds reserve side and Parker has spent the entire season on-loan at Bradford, having trained with the first team during pre-season.

Congratulations also go to young striker Tomi Ameobi, who has signed his first professional contract with the club!

This has to be the most positive bit of news I've heard in ages at the club.

In For A Penny In The Pound....

2007-05-18T18:26:00.000+01:00

Where did all our money go??? Well here's an article from the YEP that lets you know......

THE Company Voluntary Arrangement put forward to Leeds United's creditors by Ken Bates is a transparent depiction of the intricate business that professional football has become.

From the debt of £12,839,309 owed to Astor Investment Holdings Limited to a three-pound payment due to a property firm in Ferrybridge who have entered into liquidation, the CVA document constructed by Bates explains every penny which forced United into the hands of administrators KPMG a fortnight ago.

The list of creditors is long and varied, encompassing a wide spectrum of business and society.

Alongside the names of solicitors, accountants and local authorities are those of delicatessens, locksmiths, travel agents.

Even a mobile disco is listed.

A total of around 1,350 creditors are involved.

Most, if not all, have spent the latter half of this week contemplating the implications of a deal which offers them next to nothing.

The terms of the CVA drawn up in the name of Leeds United Football Club Limited, the company and vehicle through which Bates intends to buy back United from KPMG, confirms that the club's hundreds of unsecured creditors will receive a penny for every pound they are owed if his proposal is approved at a meeting on June 1.

Preferential creditors can expect to be reimbursed in full, but their number will be vastly outweighed by the hundreds of businesses and individuals who have been asked to forego 99 per cent of the money they are owed.

The unsecured creditors are preparing to become the collateral damage of United's historic debts and chronic overspending.

The deal put forward would instantly cut Leeds' liabilities of £35m to something approaching a six-figure sum.

Gerald Krasner, the former Leeds chairman and insolvency practitioner who described Bates' offer as "utterly derisory" yesterday, suggested Leeds United Football Club Limited were in line to re-purchase the club for as little as £500,000, including the professional fees incurred by administration.

In the space of seven days after the High Court issued an administration order on May 4, KPMG's charges totalled £95,038, the result of 340 hours work at an average hourly rate of £279.

The benefits of administration can be numerous but the service does not come cheap.

The basic figures thrown to KPMG by Leeds, showing total debts of £35m and net liabilities of just under £23m, were the tip of the iceberg of cash owing from Elland Road.

Beyond the massive sums of money due to Astor Investment Holdings Limited, Forward Sports Fund and Krato Trust – United's biggest creditors – rates due to Leeds City Council are tallied at £838,494, and more than £630,000 is due to seven former players, one of whom – Danny Mills – left Leeds in 2004.

Mills is owed £216,667 by United, and the enigmatic Michael Ricketts, who made only 29 appearances for the club, is still waiting for a settlement of £117,500.

The combined bill due to Paul Butler, Sean Gregan, Steve Stone, Eirik Bakke and Jermaine Wright is £297,429.

Bakke alone is set to receive £76,000. Barring any fresh agreement, Football League rules will ensure their debts are paid in full.

The liabilities extend not only to ex-players but to other clubs and footballing organisations.

Swindon Town have a bill of £100,000 outstanding, a debt which is likely to be linked to the acquisition of United's management team, Dennis Wise and Gus Poyet, from the County Ground in October of last year.

Barnet are due £150,000, presumably as a result of the deal which brought striker Tresor Kandol to Elland Road last year.

Further money totalling £596,921 is owed to Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield United, Brondby IF, Coventry City, Bolton Wanderers, Wolves, Reading, Celtic, Middlesbrough and Charlton, a list which mirrors the string of loan signings made by Leeds last season.

Numerous agents are also listed among the creditors, along with the Football Association and the Football League.

The effects of administration will be far-reaching among football's economy, and that of the area surrounding Leeds.

The CVA's list of creditors is a roll of every conceivable industry and service, connected in some way to the business of football.

The catalyst behind United's move into administration was a £5m bill called in by the Inland Revenue, though despite securing a winding-up order and as a result of the Enterprise Act, the taxman is no longer classed as a preferential creditor and is technically no more likely to secure their funds on June 1 than the average businessman in KPMG's list.

Bates, however, requires 75 per cent of creditors to approve his proposal, and the Inland Revenue may have a key role to play in next month's ballot.

According to the CVA, United are assured of receiving "unqualified support" from Astor Investment Holdings Limited, Forward Sports Fund (FSF) and Krato Trust, whose combined debt is stated as being in the region of £18m.

FSF hold the shares in Bates' new company, Leeds United Football Club Limited, while Astor have waived their right to claim as a secured creditor having been issued with a debenture in their favour by Leeds on April 4.

But were any of the three to be classed by law as connected creditors – with proven links to United or any of their directors – Bates would require permission from more than 50 per cent of the club's unconnected creditors to force his CVA through.

The quiet threat in the background of the dealings between Bates, KPMG and the rival parties who are showing an interest in owning Leeds is the winding-up petition served by the Inland Revenue on Leeds shortly before midday on Tuesday, April 17.

The petition was issued by the High Court of Justice in Bristol and will be heard on June 27 if KPMG fail to push through a successful takeover bid before that date.

A paragraph in the CVA document revealed that United had been paying £200,000 a month to Her Majesty's Revenues and Customs (HMRC) as the result of historic debts built up over a period of years, and the failure to meet those instalments in March and April – breaching a 'time to pay' agreement with HMRC – prompted the Inland Revenue to pursue a winding-up petition.

Ironically, the information drawn up by KPMG also shows that Leeds posted a net profit of over £1m in the nine months leading up to March 31, 2007, although the club sustained an operating loss and strengthened their accounts with the sales of Rob Hulse and Matthew Kilgallon to Sheffield United.

KPMG have also confirmed that the settlement with Chelsea over the transfer of two youth team players, Michael Woods and Tom Taiwo, to Stamford Bridge was worth in the region of £4m.

When the loans made to Leeds by Astor Investment Holdings Limited between June and October of last year are considered, totalling more than £4.2million, the degree to which money was slipping out of Elland Road is glaringly apparent.

The pressure on Leeds is increased by the fact that the club have few serious assets to speak of.Elland Road and Thorp Arch training ground remain in the hands of British Virgin Islands-based firm Teak Commercial Limited, and KPMG estimate that, in a 'forced sale scenario', the club's squad would bring in a sum of £3.2m.

The Football League would insist that the proceeds from player sales are used to settle football debts, rather than those of unsecured creditors.

Under English rules, all football debts must be settled in full before United's membership of the Football League and Football Association is transferred to a new company.

Among those protected by the CVA are the 184 supporters who purchased 20-year season tickets during Krasner's reign as chairman in 2004.

The investments will be honoured should Bates retain control of United, and other buyers would also be unlikely to bring on a public relations disaster by declaring the tickets void.

The details of United's finances, and the inescapable web they have produced, explain exactly why KPMG were called into Elland Road two weeks ago.

The trap that Leeds walked their way into, over a number of years, was beyond the financial nous of Bates, and beyond the interest of any sensible investors.

Throwing money at an insolvent club was a pointless task while the debts remained as high as they are.

In the days leading up to June 1, the club's creditors will take the time to consider their position and decide whether Bates' proposal is good enough to support.

Krasner says not, and the presence of confirmed and rumoured bidders hovering about Elland Road may persuade others to agree.

The magic number is 75, and Bates will visualise that percentage between now and June 1 as he fights to reach his ideal scenario of a debt-free club.

It is a footballing dream for chairman across the world, but the insolvency of Leeds United AFC Limited will leave financial carnage in its wake, whoever takes the reigns.

Administration always does.

Feeling A Little Flushed....

2007-05-17T23:34:00.000+01:00

Back to basics......

I've made a decision to go back to basics in my poker, and I have to say I'm feeling great.

After my little win in the S&G yesterday, today was my day to hit the ring games. As I said, back to basics, so only the 1c/2c NLHE tables.

I started off badly, my flopped top end straight, was chased and turned into quad Q's for the villain :( Then my K hi flush was killed of when a forth spade came out and the villain had the A in his hand, lol.

Never fear, not long after, I managed to recoup all of my losses and add a little with this little baby :)

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1106281

I sooooooo wanted the guy to bet on the river, but I'd got all I could I think. Pretty scary board, lol...almost folded before the river :)

New PMA :)

2007-05-16T13:18:00.000+01:00

Right, that's it for my moaning. It might be in my nature (as a woman) but it's not in my nature as a poker player, lol

So after losing out in the 2nd ranking FR last night (best hand won for a change), I decided things were going to change, and I was gonna be the one to make it happen, not fate.

This morning I switched on my laptop (that had been off a whole 3 hours, lol) and after checking mail, Railbirds, blogs and Leeds United's continuing fiasco, I decided I was going to try my hand at a small buy in S&G.

It was only $1, but as I'm starting from scratch, I saw it as a good place to start.

I could quite easily have though here we go again and one guy was a complete bully and forced everyone at the table of almost everything.

As the game went on I managed to pick up the odd pot, even bluffed one or two I seem to remember, lol. Something I wouldn't have dreamt of yesterday. I never really got a strong hold though and as the (turbo) blinds took their toll, I was just about hanging in there.

Then a turning point......

I was still getting the constant flow of 84, 93, J2, 57, 23, etc etc, and I didn't think there was going to be a way out, until the bully decided to laugh at the remaining 3 players and tell us all how weak we were. He also continued to push us out of every had pre flop and then show us 63, 59 etc. So I thought enough was enough.

He suggested we gave up poker as we didn't know how to win a pot, so I asked him what he expected me to do when I was getting rags every hand. He said aggression wins, so.......off I went.

And boy did he regret it when we were heads up. I was so short stacked, I just called and even raised him (at times), with absolutely nothing and after calling me on the few hands I did have something, the guy began to fold, lol.

I dread to think what he must have been thinking when I called in the SB with pocket 5s and after a 5 came on the flop I checked straight away, knowing he would push me all in, I was right, I called, and I ended up with quads............funnily enough the 'lol' comments after every hand I played stopped, lmao.

Anyway, needless to say, I won, weeeeeeeeeeee.

Revenge is sooooo sweet :)

Same Shit, Different Day.....

2007-05-15T19:54:00.000+01:00

OK, well I've not posted much (or at all) lately, basically because I've not really had much to say other than to moan about the bad beats and I'm sure you don't wanna read about them, as you've probably heard them all before.

On the subject though, I have to say I am totally fed up to the back teeth of them.

Maybe I'm just not a very good player? Maybe I've lost all my confidence (no question there, I HAVE), or maybe I just killed someones dog and didn't realise it. Who knows, but I'm just about ready to give up the cards and stop punishing myself every single day.

Like I said, you've all heard it before, but believe me, I have NEVER seen or heard of anyone (not even Cell1919) getting the constant none stop bad (and they are bad, it's not just a coin flip) beats, and card dead hands game after game, not just day after day.

I've saved the hand history of the tourney I just played in, yet another disaster, and if there's anyone out there who would like to look at it and tell me where I'm going wrong, then feel free to ask and I'll gladly send you it. The tourney is just another example of what I've had to face for 6 weeks solid. And I mean 6 weeks solid, it's been the same card dead joke every single game, not just day or week.

In fact, it was pretty tame in the way of bad beats to tell the truth, other than the hand that took me out (IMHO), but I must be going wrong somewhere and would love some help/input.

Good luck to you all (well all 3 of you who post, lol)

OMG!!!! Five Aces.....

2007-05-06T11:19:00.000+01:00

And people keep telling me online poker isn't fixed!!!! This is unbelievable........

Ouch!

2007-05-06T04:49:00.000+01:00

That hurt, not much else to say :(

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1066403

Administration and More Jokes...

2007-05-04T16:56:00.000+01:00

LOL...on the day my beloved Leeds go into administration and as a result are officially relegated to the 3rd tier of English football for the first time ever, the news just gets better, when I find out the people who have bought the Club are Bates (lmao) and his cronies.

It just gets better at this club. Personally I know of 2 groups interested in getting their hands on Leeds United, but is he gonna sell now he's just bought us again, lol

Another interesting fact I was informed of today, is that Leeds.United.Supporters.Trust have declared that they are in a position to make a proposal to buy the club. Also stating they are prepared to provide proof of funds.

The plot thickens, lol.......never a dull moment at Leeds eh?

Quads Are Us.......

2007-05-01T01:40:00.000+01:00

Currently I'm 3rd in a .NET freeroll, 6 left out of 630 and I thought I'd just post these two hands that saw me on my way :)

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1050630 I was amazed to get a call on the river with this one :)

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1050604

A Great Article From Ferguson

2007-04-29T09:05:00.000+01:00

I found this earlier and thought it was a great read, hope you find it interesting.

I'm almost a year into an experiment on Full Tilt Poker. I'm attempting to turn $0 into a $10,000 bankroll. With no money to start with, I had no choice but to start out playing Freerolls. Starting out, I'd often manage to win a dollar or two, but I'd quickly get busted and have to start over again. It took some time but, after awhile, I was eventually able to graduate to games that required an actual buy-in.

Even today, people don't believe it's really me when I sit down at Full Tilt's small stakes games. They ask what I'm doing down here, and often tell me stories about how they turned $5 into $500 or $100 into $1,000. Usually, these stories end with the person telling me that they went broke. There's no surprise there. These folks tried to quickly build a bankroll by gambling. They'd play in a game that was beyond their bankroll and, if they happened to win, they'd move up to a higher limit and risk it all one more time. Inevitably, they'd lose a few big hands and go broke.

For me, this experiment isn't about the money. It's about showing how, with proper bankroll management, you can start from nothing and move up to the point where you're playing in some pretty big games. I know it's possible because I did it once before, turning $1 into $20,000.
To ensure that I keep my bankroll intact, I've adopted some key rules:

I'll never buy into a cash game or a Sit & Go with more than 5 percent of my total bankroll (there is an exception for the lowest limits: I'm allowed to buy into any game with a buy-in of $2.50 or less).
I won't buy into a multi-table tournament for more than 2 percent of my total bankroll and I'm allowed to buy into any multi-table tournament that costs $1.
If at any time during a No-Limit or Pot-Limit cash-game session the money on the table represents more than 10 percent of my total bankroll, I must leave the game when the blinds reach me.

I think a lot of players would do well to apply these rules. One great benefit from this approach to bankroll management is that it ensures you'll be playing in games you can afford. You'll never play for very long in a game that's over your head because, when you're losing, you'll have no choice but to drop down to a smaller game. You can continue to sharpen your game at that lower limit until your bankroll allows you to move up and take another shot. These rules also prevent you from being completely decimated by a bad run of cards.

Dropping down and playing lower limits is difficult for a lot of players. They view it as a failure and their egos get in the way. Many want to remain at the level they'd been playing and win back their losses. But this can lead to some pretty severe tilt - and that can go through a bankroll in a hurry. I know that dropping down was difficult for me in my run from $1 to $20,000. When I first played in the $25/$50 game, I lost. Sticking to my rules, I dropped down to the $10/$25 game. I had a losing streak there and had to go down to $5/$10. That was tough. After playing $25/$50, a $5/$10 game was boring to me.

But I had the discipline to stick to my rules, and that motivated me to play better at the lower levels. I really didn't want to lose any more because I knew the consequences: I'd have to play even lower and work even harder to get back to where I'd been, which could take as long as a month. If you ever find yourself bored or frustrated playing at the lower limits, you're obviously not playing well. Take a break from the game. Often, stepping away can give you a fresh perspective and heightened motivation to play well when you return.

There are a couple of more tips I'd like to share regarding bankroll management. First, you should never play in a game that is beyond your bankroll simply because the game seems to be soft that day. It's never soft enough to risk money that puts your bankroll in jeopardy. The other point is that you should avoid playing in games that are at the top of your bankroll limits, when a lower game offers more opportunity for profit.

I'm confident that by sticking to these sound bankroll management rules, I'll make it to my $10,000 goal. These rules are sure to help you as well, as you pursue your own poker ambitions. So, if you want to start your own quest - or play against me while I'm continuing with mine - come open a free account at Full Tilt Poker and look for me online. But hurry, because I'm hoping I won't be in the lower limits for too much longer.

Chris Ferguson

Yahoo! Launch Online Poker Room..

2007-04-28T09:15:00.000+01:00

In what some are speculating will be an event that will cause a seismic shift in the internet poker world, internet behemoth Yahoo! has opened a real money online poker room.

Yahoo! is the first company not specifically involved in gambling to step foot in the ring.

What also makes this surprising is that Yahoo! is an American company. Don’t let that confuse you into thinking that the poker room allows U.S. residents to play, because it does not.

The games are actually operated by European company St. Minver Ltd., which is licensed in Gibraltar.

The Yahoo! poker room runs on the Boss Media software platform and is part of Boss Media’s International Poker Network (IPN).

The choice of IPN is interesting, in that it is quite a small network, ranked only twelfth in traffic industry according to PokerSiteScout.com.

IPN caters primarily to Europeans and has no major rooms in its stable.

The addition of Yahoo! plus the pending addition of Paradise Poker may change things, though.

It will not take a high percentage of Yahoo! Games regulars to give IPN a nice boost.

The eyes of the industry (and many outside of it) will no doubt be on Yahoo! to see how its foray
into the online poker world takes shape

Awwww, How Sweet

2007-04-27T10:27:00.000+01:00

Top woman poker pro Jennifer Harman's well publicized charity poker tournament to benefit animals turned out to be a roaring success, thanks to a little re-buy fever and some dedicated fellow pros.

The event, held in Las Vegas to benefit the Nevada SPCA, drew over two hundred players willing to not only make a $300 donation but continue to feed the pot with $200 re-buys, raising $100,000 for the pups.

Daniel Negreanu was in attendance, as was Patrik Antonius and Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, along with many more pros and filmstars alike, all putting in dollars for dogs. The winner of the event was Kirk Morrison.

Nice to see things like this IMHO, well done everyone who helped out the cause.

A New Bill To Undo Net-Gambling Law

2007-04-27T09:53:00.000+01:00

In a move that may help buoy gaming stocks, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said Wednesday that he plans to introduce a bill Thursday to undo restrictions on Internet gambling.

Speaking to a community bankers group, the Massachusetts Democrat called Internet gambling a "victimless crime."

"Why anyone thinks it is any of my business why some adult wants to gamble is absolutely beyond me," Frank said.

Current law prevents U.S. banks and credit-card companies from processing payments to online-gambling businesses outside the country.

Congress passed this law in October.

Shares of U.K.-based Internet-gambling companies like PartyGaming and 888 Holdings fell sharply as a result. The U.K. companies get most of their revenue from U.S. poker and sports bettors.

Andrew Parmentier, a senior policy analyst at Friedman Billings Ramsey, said that he believes the bill will make headway. "Absolutely there's a chance" for reform of the law, he added.

In a research note Tuesday, Parmentier said that the bill could help boost gambling companies' shares.

"We believe this week's events, coupled with our belief that legislation will pass the House and receive serious considerations and bipartisan support in the Senate, are positive catalysts for content providers," he wrote.

Frank called the law, called the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, "a great mistake."

"I spend a lot of my time trying to protect people from other people who are going to treat them unfairly," Frank remarked in a speech before the Independent Community Bankers of America. "I have no energy left for protecting people from themselves."

After the speech, Frank, who took over as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee this year, declined to provide details of the planned legislation.

The estimated 12 million to 20 million online gamblers in the United States contribute more than half the industry's estimated worldwide annual revenue of $12 billion, according to the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Anthony Cabot, a partner with the law firm Lewis and Roca, said he doesn't foresee repeal of the law, but added that lawmakers may be able to change parts of it.

"There's clearly room for reform of it," Cabot commented.

Frank plans a news conference to discuss the bill, titled the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007, on Thursday morning.

Leeds-Some Good News At Last..

2007-04-25T18:04:00.000+01:00

Leeds United's survival bid has received a welcome boost with the news that Alan Thompson has won his appeal for wrongful dismissal.

The veteran winger was sent off for violent conduct in last weekend's 1-0 defeat at Southampton and was facing a three-match ban which would have ruled him out for the rest of the season.

After the match a furious Leeds boss Dennis Wise slammed the decision and the performance of the referee after the result left the Yorkshire club fighting for the Championship lives.

United are one point adrift of Hull City in the final safety spot with just two games of the season remaining.

"I hope everyone shows it and I hope they also show Chris Baird punching Alan Thompson in the face," said Wise after the full-time whistle.

"The linesman has made the decision but he was 40 yards away.

"Alan Thompson has pulled John Viafara away from Eddie Lewis because they were going to clash and the officials have misunderstood the situation."

Not A Bad Day At The Tables...

2007-04-22T20:04:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was quite a good day in the end. I might not have had the success I hoped for, but placed well, so over all I'm happy.

Played 3 .COM Freerolls and placed 2nd twice and 3rd. Came 7th in the Railbird Freeroll and won $7. Then played another freeroll and won all of $1.40 by finishing somewhere round the 200 mark with 2400 entrants.

For those of us disillusioned about the best hand never winning, here's two that helped me on my way yesterday :)

Don't you just love it when you know the bully at the table is gonna try and steal? LMAO

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1020307

I have to admit, I didn't expect so many callers in this one, so was twitching a little to say the least, lol

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1020324

All's well that ends well though :)

Thanks for reading and good luck at the tables.

Leeds For Sale???

2007-04-22T19:40:00.000+01:00

We've all heard the rumours about Wilkinson from Hull being interested, and I know from my own sources there's definitely been discussions. But now it seems there's other interest.

As reported in today's 'People'

LEEDS United chairman Ken Bates is a target for a takeover move - which could see the Elland Road club under new ownership next season.

And former Sheffiel Utd supremo Mike McDonald is tipped as the man to buy out Monaco-based Bates in the summer if he can find the funds.

Bates has been in charge at Leeds for over two years, but in the past few weeks there have been attempts by prospective bidders to start talks.

McDonald, now based in Belgium, has emerged as a potential buyer and could make a return to football after previous spells at Bramall Lane and also with Man City.

Questions about the ownership of the Elland Road ground and the size of the debts will have to be sorted out - with a sale price of £35million also being mooted.

A sale IMHO has got to happen. Bates has no interest in making us a successful club again. Someone fresh and hungry for success is the only way to go.

Bad Omens..

2007-04-16T02:37:00.000+01:00

Not sure how many of you are superstitious, but I am. And tonight only enforced my fear.

I have myself a little stalker on FT and no matter when it is, as soon as he appears, I lose. I could have pocket A's or a top end straight and they wouldn't hold up once he arrived.

So true to form he did it again. I can't even put it down to bad play on my part.

I was playing in a dot.com on FT, storming away, playing some great poker, even if I do say so myself, and then he pops up. I have trip A on the flop, put the only caller all in and he hits quads, unbelievable.

He disappears again and I start clawing my way back to the top. Stalker turns up again and my top end strait gets beaten on the river by a full house.

He disappears again and I'm chip leader for over an hour, he comes back my two pair on the flop is called by pocket 7s and he hits a 7 on the river.

In the end I had to ask him to go away, lol. Politely of course.

And I make it to heads up with the chip lead. I have the guy on the back foot and who should appear? Yep, the stalker. He informs me "see, I said you'd win", and yep, you guessed it, I put the guy all in with pocket K's, he had A3 and the flop came 233 followed by 45, it just never ends.

Anyway, the upshot of it is, I lost and ended up 2nd. And was gutted to say the least after coming so far. Oh how I wish you could hide on FT. lol

Will I Ever Learn??????

2007-04-15T04:00:00.000+01:00

If I ever go near pocket Q's someone bloody shoot me. I can honestly say I have lost with the sodding things all but once in my pokering days. Arrghhhhhhh!!

http://www.pokerhand.org/?999369

All I can say is, if I someone raised and then called a 2k reraise and then bet all in instantly with KK on the board, I would have thought they had the K, but oh no, I never get the weak players that will fold, lol.

Ah well, I was doing ok till that point, not had any hands of note (only the 2 dozen winning donkey hands I folded A3, 64, 84 etc) and finished 369th out of 1047. To my credit I did finish after the other two, so that's something :)

Still in the B game, so I'll update later (much later I hope).

Update on the B game. I fell hook line and sinker. The guy who knocked me out was chip leader and had raised or reraised every bloody hand at least 10/15 times in a row, maybe more. So I didn't believe he had the Q, how wrong could I be?

http://www.pokerhand.org/?999435

I feel gutted at this hand more than the other, because if only I'd stayed tight and thrown it away, I would have cashed (126 cash). After playing my game for almost 3 hours, I got frustrated and got sick of him stealing. I know I shouldn't have let him get to me, but I did.

A lesson for another day.

Out in 130th :(

Woooo No1

2007-04-15T00:15:00.000+01:00

Had to post it, cos I'm proud as punch :)

Daily Double....

2007-04-15T00:01:00.000+01:00

Well tonight's the night.

As mentioned in a previous post, someone asked if they could sponsor me, with a 50/50 split if I actually manage to win something (fingers crossed, lol).

So tonight, well 2am to be precise, I will be playing in both A and B games, at a cost to my sponsor of $12 each.

I'll let you all (ok, both of you, lol) know how I got on tomorrow :)

Thanks for reading guys. Good luck at the felt.

USA Fails To Comply With WTO

2007-04-14T23:55:00.000+01:00

THE US has failed to change its ban on internet betting to comply with a World Trade Organisation ruling that said the legislation unfairly targets offshore casinos.

The ruling opens the door to possible commercial sanctions against the US. In a 215-page decision, a three-member WTO compliance panel sided with the twin Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, which has argued that internet gambling is a lucrative source of revenue and provides an income for hundreds of islanders.

The Geneva-based trade referee has said Washington can maintain restrictions on online gambling, as long as its laws are equally applied to American operators offering remote betting on horse racing. "It vindicates all that we have been saying for years about the discriminatory trade practices of the United States in this area, and we look forward to the United States opening its markets," Antiguan Finance Minister Errol Cort said in a statement.

Washington claimed victory in the WTO's initial ruling two years ago because the body recognised its right to prevent offshore betting as a means of protecting public order and public morals. But the US acknowledged on Friday that the latest decision was a setback.

"The compliance panel did not agree with the United States that we had taken the necessary steps to comply with the WTO recommendations," said Gretchen Hamel, a spokeswoman for the office of the US Trade Representative. She said, however, that "nothing in the panel's report undermines the broad, favourable results that the United States obtained from the WTO in April 2005."

Washington still has yet to say if it will appeal the compliance panel's findings. A final ruling upholding Antigua's claims would allow the twin-island nation to seek trade sanctions on the United States for its failure to comply. To avoid the penalties, the US government would then have to either permit Americans to gamble over foreign-based sites or eliminate exceptions for off-track betting on horses, including over the internet, as permitted under the 1978 Interstate Horseracing Act.

Nevertheless, it appears unlikely that the US will ease access to companies with servers licensed in the nation of 80,000 people - whose legal efforts were largely bankrolled by British internet gambling operators. The US Congress caught the industry by surprise last year when it added a provision to a bill aimed at improving port security that would make it illegal for banks and credit card companies to settle payments to online gambling sites. US President George W Bush signed it into law on October 14.

The decision closed off the most lucrative region in a market worth $US15.5 billion ($19.1 billion) last year. Several British internet gaming companies and a handful in Europe and Australia subsequently sold off or shut down their US operations, losing around 80 per cent of their combined business in the process. The arrest last year of two British internet gambling executives while traveling through the United States also highlighted the US government's escalation in its battle against the industry.

Peter Dicks, the former chairman of Sportingbet, was detained in New York but released after former New York Governor George Pataki declined to sign a warrant extraditing him to Louisiana, where he was wanted on charges of illegal online gambling. Former BetOnSports chief executive officer David Carruthers remains under house arrest in the St. Louis area awaiting trial on federal charges from the US attorney's office based on the 1961 Wire Act.

Antigua filed its case in 2003, contending that US restrictions on internet gambling violated trade commitments the United States made as a member of the WTO. US trade officials disagreed, saying that negotiators involved in the Uruguay Round of global trade talks clearly intended to exclude gambling.

Antiguan authorities also argued that restrictions barring US residents from betting at offshore casinos were harming efforts to diversify its economy. Antigua, a former British colony in the Caribbean, had been promoting electronic commerce as a way to end the country's reliance on tourism, which was hurt by a series of hurricanes in the late 1990s. There are 32 licensed online casinos in Antigua, employing 1000 people and generating yearly revenue of around $US130 million. Seven years ago, its casinos had annual income closer to $US1 billion.

Antigua is the smallest country to successfully litigate a case in the WTO's 12-year history. The Associated Press

Chances are this won't affect the US government laws on online gambling but it is a small victory - even if only symbolic... however it wouldn't be the first time the US ignores a WTO ruling (softwood trade dispute between Can and US comes to mind)

3 Down 4 To Go....

2007-04-12T19:40:00.000+01:00

Update on the computer course for those of you interested.

I passed Module 7 yesterday with 97% So on to Module 4 (yeah I know, the numbering system makes no sense, lol)

Give it a couple more weeks and I'll know how to use the printer, lol

A Measure Of.....

2007-04-12T19:14:00.000+01:00

What?

Well I'm not exactly sure to be honest. But I have to say I received an email today that both shocked me and made me proud.

"Hey Bomshel, Whats up?. How would you like to be sponsored in a tournament for a 50/50 split. I'm thinking of putting up 2 or 3 players in the Daily Double on Ft. Might be too late for you ?Brian"

My responce of course, was why would you want to waste your money on me, lol. But by all accounts he's very determined to have me play for him and so later this evening I guess I might just be be panicing at the thought of loosing someone elses money. Hope not, lol.

Thanks for all your comments guys, good luck at the cyber felt :)

God Help Them.....

2007-04-11T17:17:00.000+01:00

In a final bid to stave off administration Boston United have offered their creditors a payment of almost half what they are owed.

While this buys the club a temporary reprieve, the Pilgrims' future is now in the hands of the people it owes money to.
This is called a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA).All people owed money by the club have been written to, asking if they would accept a 47 pence pay off for every pound they are owed.

If three quarters of those respond positively then a pay-off, although slightly less than half of what is owed, has been officially agreed.

This would then be paid off over a yet-to-be announced period of time.

However, if more than 25 per cent of the votes say 'no' to the offer then the club looks set to slip into administration – or worse still, liquidation.

This really is the club's final throw of the dice to try and avoid administration.

How the voting system works is simple.For every pound you are owed by Boston United you get one vote.

With this in mind, chairman Jim Rodwell remains positive that an agreement will be reached as he expects former investors and businesses to prefer to take some cash, as opposed to walking away with nothing.

One of the major players in this new twist will be the Inland Revenue.With approximately 900,000 votes it seems they may have a major say in determining the club's future.

Rodwell said: "We hope we can satisfy our creditors by giving them a percentage of what they are owed.

"It's not administration, it's a different way of coming to an agreement with our creditors.

"Our biggest single creditor is the Inland Revenue. We've been in discussions with them and they are fully aware of what we are trying to do.

"We just hope they will vote for our proposal."

Those who the club are in debt to have been written to by Gerald Krasner, the man whose company helped Leeds United survive despite suffering crippling debts.

He invites them to a meeting on April 25 where it is expected a final solution will be sought.

In a radio interview over the weekend Rodwell said that the financial problems faced by Boston United had already had a personal effect on him, costing him 'a house.'

Rodwell also said that Standing Alone Ltd, the still-faceless company that hopes to take control of the club, has been party to discussions prior to this move.

He added: "Entering into a CVA is expensive and they have helped to fund it."

Meanwhile, on the pitch the Pilgrims will face another survival battle this weekend.

Now out of the bottom two, United will hope to consolidate their place with Saturday's trip to Hereford United.

Having won their previous two matches at the Edgar Street, albeit in 2004 and 2001, Steve Evans is looking forward to the prospect of a rare hat-trick.He said: "We have a good record there."

Railbird Ranking...

2007-04-11T16:37:00.000+01:00

Railbirds, is a site set up for poker players everywhere. It is a community where people can play, learn and offer advice about all things poker.

They also run a private Freeroll every evening for members. Some are Ranked and some are just for fun. Each has a $200 prize pool plus there are many other extras. Far too many to point out on here right now.

Anyway, in recent weeks I have questioned my ability to do anything right. But a friend has just emailed me and told me to check out the Railbird Rankings. I have in recent weeks been 8th, 6th and 4th, but just now I have been promoted to 2nd. WOW

There are a total of 11,000+ on RB's and each Freeroll is entered by an average 1000 people, so personally, I'm chuffed to bits.

I might be a complete f*ck up in life, but at least I seem to be doing something right on the tables. I think even Sharky has me (MightyWhites) as hot. lol.

Mans Best Friend...

2007-04-11T14:19:00.000+01:00

And womens for that matter.

I seems that that it's becoming more official that dogs can infact smell cancer.

I was first told about this possibility when years ago my dog took and unhealthy obsession with me around the time I was again diagnosed with cancer. At the time my doctor simply said they could 'sense' it. But now it seems they can actually smell it.

By all accounts, dogs can be trained to sniff out bladder cancer, the first controlled experiments published claim.

There have been anecdotal reports of dogs spotting cancer in their owners, but now researchers say they have proved this phenomenon scientifically.

The scientists at Amersham Hospital, Buckinghamshire, ultimately hope to build a tool that is as good at discerning these smells as dogs' noses.

They were having to pick out smells for bladder cancer amongst the hundreds in urine and that's no mean feat.

Their findings appear in the British Medical Journal.

In 1989, researchers wrote a letter to the Lancet medical journal about how a woman claimed to have sought medical help as a direct result of her dog's inordinate interest in a skin lesion that turned out to be skin cancer.

Similar anecdotal claims have been made about cancers of internal organs like the breast and lung.

Cancers are thought to produce distinctive odours.

Even when present in minute quantities, it is possible that dogs, with their exceptional sense of smell, might be able to detect these odours.

Dr Carolyn Willis and colleagues conducted a carefully controlled experiment to see whether dogs could be trained to spot bladder cancer based on the odour of urine samples.

Over seven months, they trained six dogs of varying breeds and ages to discriminate between urine from patients with bladder cancer and urine from patients without bladder cancer.

On nine different occasions, each dog was offered a set of seven urine samples, of which only one came from a patient with bladder cancer.

Highly-tuned noses

Overall, the dogs correctly selected the bladder cancer urine on 22 out of 54 occasions. This success rate of 41% was significantly more than the 14% that could be expected by chance alone.
Spaniels did the best...but we are still keeping an open mind as to what breed of dog might be best for the job.

Also, all of the dogs indicated one of the "bladder cancer free" samples as positive. This patient had been investigated prior to the study and no tumour had been found.

The patient's doctor was sufficiently concerned by the dogs' behaviour to do further tests.
These revealed a tumour in the patient's right kidney which had escaped diagnosis by usual medical tests.

Lead researcher Dr Willis said: "We are very excited because this is the first time this has been scientifically proven.

"Dogs have these fantastic olfactory abilities. .

"They are recognising a signature smell of cancer which is very difficult to pick up by any chemical methods.

"They are not just detecting a single chemical.

"They were having to pick out smells for bladder cancer amongst the hundreds in urine and that's no mean feat."

Signature odours

The dogs' trainer Claire Guest said it was a bit like naming the ingredients of a soup.

"We looked at a whole range of dogs. The spaniels did the best...but we are still keeping an open mind as to what breed of dog might be best for the job."

The researchers hope to be able to identify the exact cocktail of chemicals the dogs were smelling.

Then they might be able to design a medical device to detect these signature odours and pick up cancers in patients.

They will also investigate whether dogs can detect other cancers in a similar way, starting with skin cancer.

Cancer Research UK's Professor David Neal said: "Using sniffer dogs to detect the minute traces of molecules associated with cancer is a fascinating concept.

"Many cancer patients do have abnormal proteins in their blood and urine.

"The dogs might be smelling proteins from inflammation rather than the tumour itself, although the researchers have tried to minimise this possibility."

He questioned whether it would be practical to use dogs to detect cancers in real life, but said it might be possible to develop other detection methods based on future research in this area.

How Many To Change A Lightbulb?

2007-04-11T09:49:00.000+01:00

Just how many coppers does it take do find bugger all these days?

Investigators have not made any breakthroughs into the killing of Pakistan World Cup cricket coach Bob Woolmer, more than three weeks after he was found strangled to death.

Jamaican police, four Scotland Yard detectives and an Interpol investigator have all been examining security-camera footage from the Kingston hotel where Woolmer was found on March 18.

It beggars belief IMHO. I'm not a big cricket fan, but I do find the lack of progress amazing.

A Fitting Honour.

2007-04-11T09:40:00.000+01:00

Leeds have announced that David Healy is the new club captain following Jonathon Douglas` red card and subsequent collection of his 15th yellow card, meaning a baffling-length suspension

Healy, who has finally started looking like he`s bringing his predatory international shooting boots to Leeds United matches is one of the clubs longest serving players and the Ulsterman told the official website of his pride at becoming the newest Leeds captain.

'I was very proud when the gaffer asked me if I would become captain,' said David, who has made over 100 appearances for United.

It is genuinely a real honour to be asked to captain a club like this, have no doubts about that. We've four games left and I'm looking forward to them.'

I've been one of his biggest critics, but since the conversation I had with him a couple of months ago, my opinion of him has changed drastically.

He promised me he wouldn't be leaving in the Jan transfer window as he wanted to stay and help us survive, and despite interest form a number of other prem clubs, he was true to his word.

He has show a commitment and determination out on the pitch that I'm not used to seeing from him and he obviously is obviously doing everything in his power to help us survive and that's good enough for me.

City Enquire About Healy

2007-04-10T23:08:00.000+01:00

I have it on good authority, Man City have enquired as to Healys availability at the end of the season.

Can't blame him if he leaves, especially if City don't get relegated.

True What They Say.......

2007-04-03T19:49:00.000+01:00

Never play poker while your mind's somewhere else.

How bloody true is that advice?!?

I've played only about 4 games since Sunday and I've buggered the lot of em up completely. Ok so one of them I got to 70 something out of 800+, but even that is pretty bad going for me :(

The last one, only 30 mins ago was an embarrassing 500th. Making calls and raises I wouldn't have even dreamt of in past months. What a complete donkey!!! A very sad donkey at that!

All in all I think it's time to pack up the poker for a while. My heart and very obviously my head, just aren't in it.

So with my two favourite pass times well and truly buggered up, and me being totally and thoroughly fed up of late, I guess I'm gonna have to find something else to try and keep my mind occupied............any ideas???

To those of you still grafting away at the felt, good luck.

Six More Cup Finals....

2007-04-03T16:05:00.000+01:00

ONE down, six more "cup finals" to go for Leeds

The great escape rolls on to Elland Road again this Saturday with us up against Plymouth hoping to recreate the atmosphere and excitement of a special win last Friday.

OK, it was only three points gained in a relegation battle that still sees Leeds up against it, but the victory against Preston signalled so much more.

First of all it was against a side who came to Elland Road in fourth place in the Championship, showing that we need fear no side in the run-in. For the first time this season we came from behind to win a game and more importantly for morale it lifted the team off the bottom of the table, taking us to within two points of fifth from bottom Barnsley.

We now go into the Plymouth game on a four-match unbeaten run. Confidence is edging back into the side and Dennis Wise's bunch of loan players, short term contracted players and leftovers from the Kevin Blackwell era is finally blending into a team.

Supporters have got the message too and although there were only 18,433 diehards in the ground for the Sky game the fans' backing played a big part in keeping the players going right to the end. What a difference it makes when we get behind the team instead of all this stupid booing and stuff.

And what and end it was, certainly a thrilling one with David Healy completing his amazing week by following up five international goals with a priceless 90th minute winner for the team that pays his wages at last.

Robbie Blake had earlier equalised with another classic striker's finish after Preston had led from the sixth minute when one-time Leeds striker Brett Ormerod was allowed the freedom to latch on to a through ball from another ex-Leeds player, Danny Pugh.

It looked to be another of those nights as efforts from Cressy, Healy and Heath all went inches wide and one goalbound shot from Jonathan Douglas was kept out by one of his own teammates.
But the luck finally turned with the second half goals and a hint that it just might be all right after all came when another ex-Leeds striker, Michael Ricketts, incredibly blazed over from no more than five yards out with the goal gaping at the Kop end.

It has to be said, we earned our victory with a committed display that showed the players are working hard for each other now. More of the same attitude will be demanded for the visit of Plymouth and with renewed hope a big crowd can be expected, especially as ticket prices have been reduced again.

Plymouth have enjoyed an improved season under Ian Holloway, but stand in mid-table, 13 points ahead of us, and we beat them 2-1 back in November.

Another three points are a must and with another match to follow on Monday afternoon at Colchester, we need to stay focused.

Some good news is that we have extended the loan spell of midfielder Radostin Kishishev until the end of the season. The Charlton midfielder has been a key figure in the side's recent revival, and thanks to this extension, he can now stay for the last six games, but there is still a 24-hour recall as part of the extended deal.

High Stakes Poker-Season 4

2007-04-03T15:31:00.000+01:00

Just a quickie to let those of you who watch the HSP series know filming is to start soon on Season 4.

Filming of the fourth season of High Stakes Poker will take place at South Point Casino in Las Vegas in May.

So if any of you reading are Vegas bound around that time, pop along, you never know who you might bump into.

Also, coverage of the new World Poker Tour starts tomorrow at 9pm on The Travel Channel.

The True Hero on NBC's Heroes...

2007-04-03T15:20:00.000+01:00

For those of you who watch Heroes, Peter Petrelli or Hiro Nakamura have been the standout Heroes of NBC’s hit show Heroes. I’ve done a little digging and uncovered this scoop, that reveals the true hero of the Heroes saga.

Check it out here.

C’mon, you have to admit it IS funny, lol.

Made It........Just!

2007-03-31T13:45:00.000+01:00

Decided to try my hand at an 18 seater NL Hold'em S&G this morning seeing as I never got any poker in last night because of the football, and boy, was it hard work, lol.

I was floating along merrily, chip leader for quite some time, but the tables were both very tight and even though I was picking up pots, they were only small.

Anyway, there I was with a decent stack and still 6 in, until this happened, lol

http://www.pokerhand.org/?953495

Not looking good eh?

Not to worry. I folded the next 5 hands (including my BB) and waited. It's all I could do.

Eventually I got what was at best a mediocre hand and tried my luck against the same guy.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?953520

Thankfully this time it held up and the fight back began :)

I folded away for the next 3 hands and then thought I'd try my luck again.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?953533

This time a pure bluff, but I guess my raise pre flop bought me some respect. Thank god :)

I folded my BB and then decided to call my SB with K10.....

http://www.pokerhand.org/?953540

Thankfully the 9 on the river bought me a whole lot of chips, and made a big change for me to hit the top end straight and win for a change.

Now begins my downfall, lol. I'd folded the last couple of hands and now it was my BB, hindsight is a wonderful thing, and so are pre flop raises, but I was in no position to make one. However if I had, my opponents hand would surely have been folded pre flop (as he agreed, lol)

http://www.pokerhand.org/?953557

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted, lol.......but was it over?

The next 3 hands were down to the gods I think, lol.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?953563

http://www.pokerhand.org/?953567

http://www.pokerhand.org/?953568

After that I then proceeded to get bugger all, lol....in fact I don't think I got a single pair, connectors, suited cards, or even a card above a 9, lol. Ho hum, but all in all I'm not too disappointed because after the KK, I didn't even expect to make the money, but I did and that's a job well done as far as I'm concerned :)

Ouch!

2007-03-29T00:42:00.000+01:00

I was searching for a nasty incident that happend in one of this weekend's 2nd Bundesliga matches. As first time I saw it, I couldn't make up my mind if it was deliberate or not.

See for yourself.

Tus Koblenz vs Jena

The referee didn't call a foul, the offender was shown a yellow card later in the bandbags that ensued.

The player who got kicked suffered a concussion.

The DFB will not take action against the offender because "it was considered to be an unfortunate accident in a challenge for the ball rather than a deliberate foul."

What's your opinion?

National Heads-Up Poker Championship

2007-03-29T00:28:00.000+01:00

For any of you poker fans who might be interested, the 3rd National Heads-Up Poker Championship will start airing on NBC in April.

The poker tournament, which was filmed at the Caesars Palace Poker Room March 2-4, will air on seven consecutive Sundays in April and May, starting on April 8th.

For the third straight year, a field of 64 of the worlds best poker players competing in a series of heads-up (one-on-one games of Texas Hold’em) matches to determine who the best face-to-face poker player in the world is.

The tournament has a unique, single-elimination, bracket-style format modeled after college basketball tournaments.

Players include: defending champion Ted Forrest and 2005 and 2006 runner-up Chris Ferguson.

Also completing will be Johnny Chan, Annie Duke, Antonio Esfandiari, Sam Farha, Mike Matusow, Jamie Gold, Joe Hachem, Gus Hansen, Jennifer Harman, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Chris Moneymaker, Daniel Negreanu, and Greg Raymer, among many others.

Celebrity participants include Don Cheadle, Jennifer Tilly and Shannon Elizabeth.

Here’s the first NBC schedule of the 7th National Heads-Up Poker Championship, shows will air at 12pm EST (3pm PST):

APRIL 8
1 HOUR - FIRST ROUND (ROUND OF 64 - Hearts)

Mike Matusow vs Daniel Negreanu
Jennifer Tilly vs Jamie Gold

APRIL 15
1 HOUR - FIRST ROUND (ROUND OF 64 - Diamonds)

Don Cheadle vs Phil Ivey
Gabe Kaplan vs Todd Brunson

APRIL 22
1 HOUR - FIRST ROUND (ROUND OF 64 - Clubs & Spades)

Chris Moneymaker vs Joe Hachem
Shannon Elizabeth vs Rene Angelil

Lucky Sod!!!

2007-03-28T23:57:00.000+01:00

A Leeds United football fan has been banned from travelling to watch England play Andorra, police said today.

David Grimshaw, 38, was stopped by police as he tried to catch a flight to Barcelona from Liverpool John Lennon Airport yesterday.

Grimshaw, of Accrington, who was the subject of a previous football banning order, appeared before Liverpool magistrates and agreed to a 30-month banning order.

This means that for the next 30 months he will not be able to attend any matches in the UK or abroad. He will also have to surrender his passport and sign in at a police station at specific times.

Merseyside Police said the banning order was the first imposed under the National Ports Operation for tonight's Euro 2008 qualifying match.

Lucky barsteward!! Why should he get away with having to watch Leeds, when he so obviously needs punishing, lol.

I've Got A New Baby....

2007-03-28T19:20:00.000+01:00

No, not that kind.........god help me if I'd been stupid enough to have brought one of the shitty, screaming kind home, lol.

I was actually referring to the new (to me) brum brum (that's car to the grown ups) that is sat outside right now.

Unfortunately after 2 years of battling sentiment and sensibility, the sensibility has prevailed and I am letting my 'baby' go. To be replaced by a maybe not so meaty, not so good looking car, but a far more reliable one.

Having managed to blow my old car up twice in two years, at a cost of more than £1.5k a time, plus the fact the Police and traffic wardens were drawn to it on a regular basis. I thought now was the right time to give up my baby for the more sensible option :(

I am now the (almost) proud owner of a Mk111 VW Golf. With only (IMO) two things going for it, and that's reliability (priceless) and the £1800 worth of stereo in the boot .

Busy Busy...

2007-03-28T18:28:00.000+01:00

I never thought being off work could be so hectic. God knows how I'd cope with all I'm doing right now, if I went back to work, lol.

As some of you will know, I have been off work over 2 years now after being ill. But In recent months I've begun on the road to recovery with a vengeance.

After working for a food company for 15 years none stop, a job I hated for at least 13 of those years, I have decided to do the job I always wanted to do. And that is to work in some way, with young offenders.

I've spent a lot of time and effort sussing out just what I'll need to do and who I'll need to get in touch with if this is going to be a reality. And so far it seems to be paying off.

I'm helping as a volunteer with The Prince's Trust. For anyone not aware of the Trust, it's a UK charity that helps young people overcome barriers and get their lives working. Through practical support including training, mentoring and financial assistance, they help 14-30 year olds realise their potential and transform their lives. They focus their efforts on those who've struggled at school, been in care, been in trouble with the law, or are long-term unemployed.

Also, I've just (one and a half weeks ago) started a computer course with Learn Direct. Hopefully the course, called ECDL will be an added bonus on my CV when I'm finished with it. I was initially given till the beginning of June to complete the first 3 modules, but so far I have passed the first 2 modules (the 2nd one I took today and passed with 96%) in less than 2 weeks. I just hope I can keep it up and finish the course as soon as possible.

Thanks to Rachel, a contact I made this week, I should (fingers crossed) be starting a part time (by that, I mean as little as 4/5 hours a week) job in the next month or so working for the Youth Offenders Team. Basically supervising and organising young offenders while they carry out their community service. This in itself is a huge step towards doing what I want to do for a living.

Rachel has also suggested I do the same course she is presently doing at Hull University. I forget the name of it. But needless to say it's in the area of youth development and psychology. So come September I intend to have enrolled and be on my way to being a scruffy student for at least one year, lol. Apparently, if I do end up getting a full time job with the Young Offenders Team, the powers that be, will be more than happy to let me finish the course.

Well there you have it. Hope I didn't bore you to death. But there's a little insight into what is going on in my life right now. Of course I have to fit TNG (all day Mon) and Instant Muscle (Tuesdays) in as well. Oh and the Gym and babysitting also have to be squeezed in at least twice a week for each. So all in all a busy, busy schedule. But I hope all my effort pays off in the end :)

It Had To Be Done...

2007-03-27T20:35:00.000+01:00

Cheers Scruffy a.k.a Paul. Thanks to you, I had to go messing with my page too.

Though seeing as you used the colours I would have, I'm gonna have to keep messing till I find a reasonabl alternative. So here's a girly coloured one for now, lol

Screen Names and Real Identities

2007-03-25T16:13:00.000+01:00

As requested in the comments on my last post, here are the names of a number of online poker players. And I can tell you it took a long bloody time doing all this, so I hope it works, lol.

Full Tilt

Poker Stars

Ultimate Bet

Others

FT Winners and Losers....

2007-03-24T12:34:00.000Z

On my travels through cyber space I came across some bits of info I though might be of interest to some of you.

So I stuck it all in an excel doc and thought I'd put it up for you to have a look at.

I hope it works, but if not, let me know and I'll try posting it some other way :)

'Rule out Elland Road as site for new arena'

2007-03-24T12:03:00.000Z

Elland Road should NOT be the site for a new Leeds arena, say business leaders in the city.

Elland RoadA council-owned site next to Leeds United's ground is one of the leading contenders under consideration for the multi-million pound development.

The YEP recently revealed details of a masterplan, drawn up by Leeds City Council working with Leeds United, for developing land around the football ground which includes a plan with an arena and one without.

The authority has committed itself in principle to an arena and is exploring funding options.

However, members of Leeds Chamber of Commerce's property forum, which includes some of the city's top business people, say the new 13,000-seat arena must be built "within or directly next to" the city centre.Architect Gordon Carey, chairman and leader of the forum's cultural facilities sub-group, told the YEP: "We believe Elland Road should not be considered as a favoured site. The location of the facilities is crucial.

Gordon Carey"It is essential that they are situated close to the city centre core in order to help the regeneration of the city, having maximum economic benefit by being easily accessible."Five sites emerged as front-runners after consultants PMP were brought in to advise on the planned £50m development.

The others are Shannon Street, east of Quarry Hill; Stourton North, immediately west of junction seven of the M621; Holbeck, south of Sweet Street; and Carlisle Road, close to the Royal Armouries and Clarence Dock.

Mr Carey said PMP had shown that siting the Leeds arena close to the city centre could boost the Leeds economy by £28m a year – £11m more than an out-of-town location.

He said the property forum, which is chaired by Leeds Building Society boss Ian Ward, had been consistent in pushing the case for good quality conference and exhibition facilities capable of "lifting the standing of Leeds as a city to do business in" and that these should be a key part of any arena development.

Members also felt there was little substance to concerns expressed in Harrogate, which has its own conference centre, about Leeds's ambitions.Mr Carey added: "We are now calling for strong leadership from the council to do the best for Leeds and press ahead with these much needed facilities."

Leeds City Council leader Andrew Carter recently suggested that the secrecy surrounding who owns Leeds United's ground could put plans for an arena and casino on the site at risk.Neither the club nor Leeds City Council knows who owns Elland Road since it was sold to Teak Commercial Ltd, a firm based in the Caribbean.

Surprise, surprise, dodgey dealings and secrecy could scupper something good happening to help Leeds United yet again.

I know the ownership is not the only consideration for the council, but it doesn't exactly help.

Molenaar To Hang Up Boots..

2007-03-23T23:44:00.000Z

Robert Molenaar has announced his retirement from football at the end of the season.

The hulking 38-year-old stopper will take up a technical role at his current club, RBC Roosendaal in the summer.

Robert started his professional career in 1992 at FC Volendam before joining us in 1997. Three years later, he transferred to Bradford City and moved back to Holland with RBC in 2003.

Ol' Bob was a great guy. One of the nicest Leeds players I ever had the pleasure of getting to know on a personal level. All though it has to be said his missus was a bit bizarre, bless her, lol.

I'll never forget on his debut against Leicester backing into Emile Heskey and throwing him up in the air as if Heskey (not a small guy) were just a fly.........what made it more funny was Robert got the free kick, lol. Pure class.

On a more disturbing note, I did in fact name my pet rat Molly, in honour of Robert. However, big Bob wasn't exactly sure how to take the news when I told him. He didn't let me down though, after a few seconds thought (and he'd stopped laughing), he announced he was in fact honoured I should name my beloved rat after him..............Yeah right Robert, I know exactly what you were thinking, but thanks anyway :)

I wish him all the success and happiness in his retirement. Thanks for some great times matey (if only you were a bit younger).

Poker Players Refuse to Fold To Congress

2007-03-22T20:16:00.000Z

Just over a week after Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, several of the biggest names in poker are pushing back.

World Poker Tour announcer and poker pro Mike Sexton will be in Washington, D.C. today and tomorrow to protest the signing of the bill and promote poker as a game of skill that should receive an exemption from the legislation.

"It's time for the silent majority to speak up when we feel our rights are violated," said Sexton, who acts as a consultant for Internet poker giant PartyPoker.com. "Who is someone in Washington, D.C. to tell somebody who works all day in North Carolina, Ohio, Kansas or anywhere else that they can't go home and play a $20 online poker tournament at night in the privacy of their own home? Who does that hurt?"

Sexton, who takes his role as one of poker's top advocates seriously, will appear on over a dozen local news stations across the country Friday during a "satellite media tour" organized by the Poker Players Alliance.

"If I am the ambassador of poker, I need to step up and do something for the rights of poker players," Sexton said.

Other top poker players are speaking out as well. Annie Duke, winner of the 2004 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, recently filmed a "freeSpeech" segment for the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. The segment may air later this week. Sexton, Duke, Barry Greenstein and PPA President Michael Bolcerek are hoping to make appearances on CNN's Headline News, CNBC's On the Money, and other cable news programming.

The PPA is also asking members in New York City to go to Friday's taping of NBC's Today show armed with signs protesting the legislation.

In addition to looking for an exemption for poker in the law, the poker community continues to criticize the way the legislation made its way through Congress. The measure, which was attached to a ports security bill at the end of the Congressional session, never received a full debate on the Senate floor.

"It's just absolutely offensive and it's a weasely way of doing things," said poker pro Daniel Negreanu, a Canadian citizen who lives in Las Vegas. "It's one more American error worldwide as far as its worldview.

"The rest of the world is regulating online poker. Italy just recently passed a law that will make it legal in 2007; in the UK you have the publicly traded companies. And the U.S. moronic government just doesn't want five or six billion dollars a year so they can build more pretty pink bombs," Negreanu added.

Despite the setback, Negreanu is urging everyone to join the PPA and become active in the fight.
"The more people we have on board, the more likely we'll be able to get things done in government," Negreanu said. "Politicians don't do what they think is right. They do what they think is going to get them elected."

Michael Gray Signs For Leeds..

2007-03-22T14:54:00.000Z

I've not blogged much about Leeds lately, mainly because it's too depressing.

However today Leeds made a great loan (albeit only for a month) in the shape of Michael Gray from Blackburn Rovers.

The guy impressed me greatly in his spell here many moons ago and can only be an asset to us in our hour (month) of need.

With Wise also securing the services of striker Jemal Johnson yesterday until the end of the season after agreeing an extension to his loan deal, I have to say it's given me a little lift.

As much as Wise gets critised, I truly believe he's made some good signings of late. As well as bringing Rui back into the fold.....how he wasn't in all the time, I will never know.

I only wonder where we would be now if the likes of Kishishev, Johnson, Sa, Gray, Marques, Thompson et al had been brought in 6 month earlier. And with the likes of Flo still set to return I can only see positives, fingers crossed!!!

Final Table....

2007-03-22T05:37:00.000Z

Yay! My first ever final table in the Railbirds freerolls.

Well that was certainly a loooong night. I started at midnight and have just been busted out after 5 1/2 hours.

I'm too tired now to really write much but I have to say I'm chuffed to bits. All in all I don't really think I could have played it any better, from start to finish.

As the picture below shows I managed to come 8th out of the 1,247 that entered adding a whole $6 to my mini bank roll :)

Arrgghhhhhh!!!!!!

2007-03-21T01:05:00.000Z

God I hate QQ..........never, ever, ever, ever, again!!!!

http://www.pokerhand.org/?923401

Someone please tell me what I did wrong??????

Finished 173rd out of 939...Grrrrrrr

The Cardinal Sin....

2007-03-20T00:33:00.000Z

Today was one of the worst days I've had in a long time and I just knew it was gonna get worse.

I'm old enough and ugly enough to know not to get wound up or involved with idiots, but unfortunately tonight I did just that.

I found myself at a table with a right idiot. She did nothing but bitch and bitch and decided to aim her abuse in my direction just because I was betting her out of the pots she had already raised.

In the hands she was bitching about I'd got pocket A's reraised her preflop. A9 (flop A49) so I reraised her again, she bottled it and slagged me off again. Then I had pocket 9's, I called her raise and then the flop came 663 so I raised her all in, she folded again and called me a donk yet again (along with other stuff). What did she expect me to do?

In between these hands I was folding everything, so surely she knew I had something every time and I wasn't just stealing.

Anyway I got myself a somewhat decent stack early on (8th out of the 1000+ after 30 mins) and then her constant mouthing off got to me. I ended up donking (yes donking) nearly 3k on two pair A's and K's with someone who was chasing the straight and got it on the river. Ordinarily I might have protected my stack and chose to fold as opposed to standing my ground, but I was so het up I didn't think.

Anyway, although I fought my way back to a half decent stack again, I decided with me sat firmly on the BB and only the button and SB limping in, that I would put in a rather large raise with, yes, you guessed it, pocket bloody Q's. One called me, so when the flop came 10 3 7 I went all in and the muppet called me with K2 OMG what was he thinking??????? Needless to say, he hit a K on the turn and I was gone.

Not my best night, and certainly not my most enjoyable to say the least. But the thing I'm most annoyed about is I let some idiot get to me and throw me off my usual game.

Ok, no-one can guarantee anything in poker, but I honestly believe I would still be playing now if I'd been at a different table. You're probably thinking, no you wouldn't, because you'd still have gone out with the QQ, but my reason behind what I say is. Had I not been off my game and donked off my big stack, I'd have been dominating the guy who called my all in with the QQ and would still have had plenty to play with.

Anyway, it's my fault, I let the silly cow get to me and she ultimately won, I'm out in I think 310th (from 1000+) and I'm gutted.

But I'll be back and better next time.

Poker To The Rescue...

2007-03-19T09:28:00.000Z

I've had a somewhat boring and uneventful weekend. However I have to say the poker kept me entertained and almost saine, even if I didn't eacatly place very well.

Although I didn't cash at all this weekend, I still managed a top 100 ish in the 3 Free rolls I entered. Each one consisting of 700+ (sorry it's a bit vague, but I lost the doc I wrote the results down on, lol).

I entered a Hubble freeroll over the weekend, with 27 of the 10,000 advancing to the Weekly round 2 and unfortunately only managed to come 817th. Oh well, I gave it a shot, lol.

Last night however was great. I was invited to a private cash game through someone off a site I'm a member of. I did wonder if I was doing the right thing accepting the invertation, as 3 Pros and only the best players who use the site were invited, yeah I know, so how did I get an invite then? lol. God knows but I did.

Only 42 people took part, and it was a breath of fresh air to actually play poker as it's meant to be played. Not one single bit of donk play in the whole game from what I hear, and certainly not at my table.

Anyway the upshot of the evening was I went out in 10th and just missed the final table, but I was still chuffed with my performance and really enjoyed the experience. I've been invited to some more, so fingers crossed I do better next time.

On a side note, the site I use (Railbirds.com) has started a ranking system for the Freerolls it puts on each night. You have to have played 5 in a month to qualify for ranking point, so I just missed out last month. But this month, so far I am an amazing 23rd, how I've managed that on only one months rankings god knows, there are one hell of a lot of people using that site. Each freeroll has between 550 and 750 entrants each time, so I must be doing something right I guess???

Bed Time...

2007-03-15T02:56:00.000Z

I know I don't sleep, but I really am going to have to stop playing these Freerolls every night, lol.

Just finished my latest one. An Omaha hi/lo. Managed to come 22nd out of 695 and add a little more to my ever growing baby bank roll :)

Too tired to write any more really, busy day tomorrow. So good luck at the tables and have a great day!!!

More Fun At The Tables...

2007-03-13T01:45:00.000Z

I've had a really bad couple of nights sleep wise (worse than usual), Sunday night, getting no sleep at all. So that followed by a really hectic day darting here and there on trains for meaningless (as it turned out) appointments, was hardly a recipe for entering the freeroll tonight.

But, me being me, I had to have a go, lol.

I only just arrived home from babysitting in time to register (4 minutes before the start to be exact), but I made it all the same :)

Not a very eventful nights poker, the banter on at the tables was well worth turning up though. I can take losing so long as I have some fun along the way!

As it turned out, I managed another respectable finish (IMHO). Coming 35th out of 808. And another pay day. Not much, but another $ to add to my mini bank roll.

A Good Weekend At The Tables...

2007-03-11T19:55:00.000Z

All in all I've not had a bad time on the green felt this weekend.

As you see from my previous post about poker, Friday was a great start to the weekend. A $14 profit in the ring games, and a $9.60 1st place in the Stud Hi/Lo S&G.

Saturday I came home and took part in a Stud Freeroll (thanks to Jordan logging into my account and registering me while I was stuck on a bloody coach on my way back from Leeds).

As always on a Saturday when I've been at footy (especially when we win, I'm far too excited to concentrate), I'm not always in the right mood for playing a long game of poker, but hey, what else is there to do eh? lol.

Anyway, to my surprise the Freeroll was Stud! Now Stud Hi/Lo, that's easy peasy, but you actually need to think about 7 Card Stud, lol.

Although I don't think I really got my head around the concept of concentrating, I still managed to put in another respectable display. I managed to win a whole 80 cents by finishing 40th out of 424 players.

Unfortunately, due to a momentary lapse of judgement I blew a huge amount of my stack 3 hands before I went out. Having said that though, I had trip A's on 4th street, and kept pushing (sometimes I wish it wasn't limit), only to be beaten by a flush, with only 2 of his flush cards visible, whilst he could clearly see two of my A's . This single hand decimated my stack from 14,000 to 2,000...........Oooops!

Tonight/this afternoon, I ended up playing two Freerolls at the same time. One started at 5pm the other at 6pm.

Of course I was the epitome of cool, calm, collected concentration.....................yeah right, lol. I was watching footy, fending off two kids, both wanting my attention, eating my tea (thanks Jay), trying to teach Jordan, it's not good to call a raise when you're playing a hand for me and I say FOLD!!!!!! Oh and I decided to start blogging before I'd finished the second Freeroll too, hmmmmm, maybe not the ideal circumstances eh?

As it is, I don't think I did too bad. In the first FR I managed to reach 34th out of 419 and won a whopping 80 cents......not gonna retire, but still, I got there :)

In the second FR, I fell just short of the money, finishing 67th out of 634. I was never going anywhere in this one, and in all honesty I'd had enough by 8.30pm. So when I found my pocket with A8h in it, I decided to chuck my 1.8k in the middle and was called by Q9, unfortunately (or fortunately seeing as I'd had enough) the flop was Q87 turn Q and river 9....Great hand!

I think that's my lot for tonight, I need to go chill with my mate and just watch some tv. So any of you heading for the tables, Good Luck!

One Small Step....

2007-03-11T19:40:00.000Z

Leeds took one small step towards survival yesterday. But as with the Hull game, the jubilation of gaining 3 such valuable points is ripped up and thrown in the gutter, as our nearest rivals for survival both win too.

Never the less, we won and that should not be forgotten. And a deserved win it was at that. We were by far the best team and had the penalty Luton were awarded 4 minutes from time gone in, it would have been a complete travesty.

A big well done has to go out to all the lads, as I don't think a single one of them gave the game less than his best. There was enough passion and fight, as well as skill out there to drag us out of the mire. I only hope we can field a team of basically the same players for more than one game and see a settled side playing with confidence.

Unfortunately, either on Saturday or with his next booking, our newly appointed captain will have reached 15 bookings and will face a 3 match ban. I'm gutted for the lad as I think he's been playing great lately and is more than worthy of the captains armband!

Fingers, legs, eyes, the lot crossed for Tuesday!!!

On On On!

Back To Being A Stud...

2007-03-09T15:13:00.000Z

Well today is about the first day I haven't had one appointment or another to go to, so I decided to play some cash games. Probably not a great idea seeing as I'm not really in a great frame of mind right now, but I thought I'd give it a go non the less.

The first 2 (possibly 3, can't quite remember, lol) NL Hold'em S&G's were a total disaster. A mixture of bad play on my part and some Divine intervention on theirs saw me well and truly crash and burn.

As things didn't seem to be going to plan, I took myself off to the PL Omaha Hi/Lo 2c/5c ring games. I took in my $5 and prayed, lol. As it was, things started very slow. Marginal hand that were neither here nor there were having to be folded left right and centre, a time for patience was definitely needed.

Eventually after about 10/15 minutes of biding my time, my chance came (I won't bother with the hands as the few of you actually reading this (or posting on it at least) don't play the game and it probably won't mean much) and it paid off.

Within the next 20 minutes, my little $5 was now an impressive (IMHO) $19. The cards started to dry up and the players around me must have been taking note for once, because every time I bet into a pot, they all folded like dominoes. Time to move on I thought.

I was still a bit annoyed at my showing in the S&G's so I thought I would give it one last try. See if I could regain some pride so to speak.

I chose a 16 player $1.50/25c Limit Stud Hi/Lo game. I started out ok, nothing too startling, but as time went on it seemed fate was against me and it just wasn't to be my day. Either my trips were getting beaten by a flush (with only 2 of the flush cards visible), after I was chased to the end. Or I was splitting every pot with the lo every time (par for the course in this game) and getting nowhere, lol.

As the blinds hit 1500/3000 I decided to just go for it and take some of the marginal hands in. This time it seemed to work. I got from almost short stack up to chip leader and decided to try and let the others knock each other out. It wasn't going to work though, they just kept splitting everything and no-one was going anywhere, lol.

Time for action, so I started limping back in with semi decent starting cards and managed to shift 4 of the remaining 6 myself. Now finding myself heads up with a huge advantage, my opponent having just under 3k in chips. I'll give him his due, he didn't just give in, or start and all in fest, he tried his best. But fortunately for me, 6 hands later I had the lot and at last I'd managed to salvage some pride for the day.