August 2012 Open Thread

[rescued]

Originally Posted by Precept2

Pure BBV.

I got a new phone today. Samsung galaxy SIII. Pure gold for android users.

I work for T-Mobile. The s3 is a beast. Best phone I've seen so far. Curious what HTC is gonna do to compete. It sure as hell isn't the one S.

[jzpiano]

Originally Posted by palindrome

Solid win!

A friend of mine hosts a pine wood derby for his birthday every year and today is the day. Have any tips on how to make my car go faster jzpiano? I made it to the quarter finals before being handed a smack down by a eight year old girl.

Wired did a little blurb a few years ago about it. There are links to some of his photos in there too.

Afterwards I'm having a few of the boys over for a short handed game. Ship the DERBYRUNGOOT!

Boost it with some nitrous and strap a pro charger onto it. Profit! Don't forget to make your wagers in large quantities of girl scout cookies.

[mariettabull]

Originally Posted by Precept2

Pure BBV.

I got a new phone today. Samsung galaxy SIII. Pure gold for android users.

That will be the phone I get when I drop my iphone.

[mariettabull]

I need the HP RUNGOOT to make a call of port in Atlanta tonight. I'm looking at going back to a very loose NLHE/PLO game tonight. The last time I went, I dropped 200BB before calling it a night, and there were at least two guys into the table for close to 1000BB each when I left. I need to not be card dead this time, so ship the Rungoot!

[rescued]

Originally Posted by mariettabull

I need the HP RUNGOOT to make a call of port in Atlanta tonight. I'm looking at going back to a very loose NLHE/PLO game tonight. The last time I went, I dropped 200BB before calling it a night, and there were at least two guys into the table for close to 1000BB each when I left. I need to not be card dead this time, so ship the Rungoot!

Glglgl! Gogogo

[palindrome]

I can't even bring myself to do a full TR for Saturday but suffice to say it was a flaming disaster. I dumped two full buy ins on flopped sets of aces only to be outdrawn both times. I tossed the third away later with a frustration shove and got called in two spots by aces! I was mostly card dead for the night and when I picked up hands they went south fast. I bought in for the fourth time and just folded until the rest of the guys wanted to pack it in.

We did have a new guy play for the first time. He was a horrible station that just couldn't lose. At one point I think he had a little over half of the money on the table. The guys started to adjust and got half of it back before he left but he still left with a nice profit. He was enthusiastic about coming back so I will be waiting for him at the next game.

[lanyi]

Some quick pics mid vacation.

This is the view from the room:



This is at the northern tip of Israel (well, pretty close to it). Nice fresh air and at night I can finally breath and not die from the humidity

This is me chillin from the 38c degree heat at one of the streams nearby (it's actually a river, but by US standards calling this a river is kind of embarrasing)

[Schmendr1ck]

Originally Posted by IBeDrummin

Playing at the Hard Rock, or a track?

I was thinking about Hard Rock, but decided against the longer drive and went to Daytona for 1/2NL, where I was a set magnet all night. I started at a pretty nitty table and managed to donk off a BI with TPTK-type hands and nut draws vs. flopped sets. I got a table change and moved to a much better table; everyone was loose and having a good time, and a couple players were drunk and just throwing the chips around. I couldn't really capitalize on the situation, but I did manage to run a couple of big pocket pairs into a flopped set and a turned set.

After running into six sets and not being able to get much else going all night, I was almost at my $500 stop-loss. I finally got it in with pocket kings and they held, then managed to turn the nut straight in a three-way pot and get one villain to pay my river bet. Another hour of mostly folding, and I headed home down $230.

Perhaps I was a little weak-tight when the cards were cool and the table was loose, but I also saved a lot of money by folding when I was supposed to (and often getting shown a much better hand after my fold). Overall no major mistakes, just bad cards and a little too passive.

[Schmendr1ck]

Originally Posted by jzpiano

One additional note: Everything went great until the dog took a **** on the floor next to the table. It was pretty LOL.

I've had nights where I felt like taking a dump next to the table...

Originally Posted by jzpiano

On a side note: I took my dad out for his b-day gift today. I couldn't just be a spectator so I hopped into the saddle as well. Good times

That looks hella fun. Unfortunately, I doubt I would fit in any of those cars unless I strapped one on each foot like a pair of jet-powered roller skates.

[Schmendr1ck]

Originally Posted by palindrome

Solid win!

A friend of mine hosts a pine wood derby for his birthday every year and today is the day. Have any tips on how to make my car go faster jzpiano? I made it to the quarter finals before being handed a smack down by a eight year old girl.

Wired did a little blurb a few years ago about it. There are links to some of his photos in there too.

Afterwards I'm having a few of the boys over for a short handed game. Ship the DERBYRUNGOOT!

I recall working really hard on a car with my dad many years ago, and bringing home second place. I was pissed at the kid who won; his dad had shaved the body down to a thin wooden dome, then packed the bottom with lead to bring it up to just below maximum weight. That thing barely looked like a Pinewood car, but it flew.

[Superman423]

Originally Posted by palindrome

I can't even bring myself to do a full TR for Saturday but suffice to say it was a flaming disaster. I dumped two full buy ins on flopped sets of aces only to be outdrawn both times. I tossed the third away later with a frustration shove and got called in two spots by aces! I was mostly card dead for the night and when I picked up hands they went south fast. I bought in for the fourth time and just folded until the rest of the guys wanted to pack it in.

We did have a new guy play for the first time. He was a horrible station that just couldn't lose. At one point I think he had a little over half of the money on the table. The guys started to adjust and got half of it back before he left but he still left with a nice profit. He was enthusiastic about coming back so I will be waiting for him at the next game.

If he is there on the 24th, I call sitting to his left

[gedanken]

Originally Posted by Schmendr1ck

packed the bottom with lead to bring it up to just below maximum weight.

I thought that was standard. If your car isn't at the weight limit precisely, you're not doing it right. Overfill with lead slightly, then drill out to get down to the exact limit.

Our high school woodshop class had a pinewood derby, and I went all out on aerodynamics and friction by making a teardrop 3-wheel version (rear wheel rode on top of the guide strip). Came in 2nd as I recall, and there was talk of shenanigans on the final heat (rubber band on the track).

Turns out that friction and air drag are very minor factors, though. Lubricate the wheels with either graphite or teflon, and you're as good as can be. Speeds just aren't high enough for wind resistance to matter.

What it really comes down to is contact between the insides of the wheels and the guide strip. The cars that win are the ones that ride straight and don't bump. The track will often have a lane that's much faster. In other words, there's a huge luck component once you do the basics like get the wheels on straight, use a good lube, and weigh in properly.

[Lottery Larry]

Originally Posted by jzpiano

They were just a small part of my winnings from my home game.

No WONDER you're doing full FBI checks and body cavity searches!

I'm up for adoption, if you need a homeboy.... errr, house boy...

[Lottery Larry]

Originally Posted by gedanken

Turns out that friction and air drag are very minor factors, though. Lubricate the wheels with either graphite or teflon, and you're as good as can be. Speeds just aren't high enough for wind resistance to matter.

What it really comes down to is contact between the insides of the wheels and the guide strip. The cars that win are the ones that ride straight and don't bump.

Agreed- "Weight N Wheels" are the primary goals.

Originally Posted by Schmendr1ck

I was pissed at the kid who won; his dad had shaved the body down to a thin wooden dome, then packed the bottom with lead to bring it up to just below maximum weight. That thing barely looked like a Pinewood car, but it flew.

The "dad did the car, kid got the credit" reactions one year, after some suspiciously-pristine cars won the day, made our local Cub Scout Pack change their rules, to remind people what the race was supposed to be for.

Unfortunately, people need reminding... reportedly, things got so bad with various area Boy Scout Troops that they decided to drop the derby altogether, Council-wide.

For those who want bitter flashbacks.... check out this film sometime.

[palindrome]

Originally Posted by Schmendr1ck

I recall working really hard on a car with my dad many years ago, and bringing home second place. I was pissed at the kid who won; his dad had shaved the body down to a thin wooden dome, then packed the bottom with lead to bring it up to just below maximum weight. That thing barely looked like a Pinewood car, but it flew.

There was one entry this year that did almost the same thing. He took off most of the wood until it was just a stick. The problem he had was the weight wasn't distributed correctly and the car would wobble on the track, slowing it down.

Originally Posted by gedanken

Turns out that friction and air drag are very minor factors, though. Lubricate the wheels with either graphite or teflon, and you're as good as can be. Speeds just aren't high enough for wind resistance to matter.

This is the second year I have participated and I think this is spot on. The winning car this year had a giant claw stuck on the back and a friggin laser mounted to the front of it! Wind resistance was not a factor. The key is all in getting the wheels right. I think where you place the extra weight helps a bit too.

Originally Posted by Superman423

If he is there on the 24th, I call sitting to his left

Try not to take it all right away. I would like to have a crack at getting some of it back first!

It will be good to have you back again sir.