Tampa Taxi Shots

My record right now is 13-5-2 Right now I am rated 675,000 in the world (out of 2.6 million). I am training for a more modern opening for over the board tournaments. This is the Kings Indian Attack Sicilian variation. I like it for you can control the center directly and indirectly without your king ever being in trouble.

What is going on now in the taxi business in Tampa is not just having "a bad day." Most drivers are getting somewhere between two to five calls a day. That's it. "Don't worry, it will be better tomorrow." a customer told me. I am worried.  Each day is just the same. For example, this morning I came out at Five a.m. and did not get a call until Nine. There has never been a time when a driver during the morning hours would not get a call for over 4 hours. The new dispatch system is inherently unfair. If you are not close to a call, it will not give you one, nor will it even send you a f *g bid. Without the bid, I cannot make any money. Paul Hinton says I simply need to park my cab where the calls are going to come out. How in the hell do I do that? The calls could come out from anywhere. I have no psychic abilities, so I guess I am screwed. Talking to Paul Hinton and Eddie Munster (the computer guy) has proved useless. They don't even know what the a...

Once in a great while the storms of change will overshadow the plans of man. That would happen today. A cold wind blew over Tampa Bay this morning, a brief repose from the subtropical heat ever-present most of the year. The cool air felt good on my face and brought my spirits to a new high. I needed a lift. I had a ride out to Boco Ciega which is a beautiful part of the area. I had a scheduled ride of some significance and I felt hopeful. This ride I was on would put some serious money and my pocket. I was excided because I needed a break. Today was going to be a good day. Would I at least have an auspicious start?  It is believed Desoto once landed in this area. It was all jungle prada then. It had to have been very inhospitable to his gallant crew. Today, it is airy homes, many built in a time of no air conditioning. The natural winds off the bay during storm season will cool a house off. You just need to be near the shore. Its the end of winter in Tampa Bay. Winter ...

New flowers for my garden Blogger is now offering modern type of designs to chose from. They have not updated their templates in years and I find these to be refreshing. This design has what is called a Hero post. I guess that is the last post you did. If it is one you choose, I have not found a way to do that yet. I just started working with it and hope I can get all the functions to work. This post is an experiment to see what will happen.

launching an attack on the back rank of my opponent I am playing chess and working out to keep my mind and body sharp as I go thru this difficult period in my life. I just started playing blitz chess on Chess.com which is the best chess site on the internet. It is where all the top players in the world play. The world champion Magnus Carlson plays on this site almost every day. In a game last night, I checkmated a guy in 5 moves! I did not think that was possible. You can view the game below.

Chart off of chess site This is my chart on Gameknot which shows I had a great rating before the economy collapsed and I lost my internet connection. You will also note I am on the rise again. That feels good.

At the doctors office today my blood pressure measured 123/66. The diastolic was actually a little low! You people who are not emotionally involved (like what is left of my family) have no idea how significate this is. The hard work of resistance training and metabolic cardio conditioning has brought me from a state of congestive heart failure to a super charged heart!! I am beating this diseases ass and it fells wonderful. The best part is that I am just reaching the stage where I will be able to turn this up several notches. The best is yet to come. I am now on my way to a different life. My goal is next month to go on a solo backpacking overnight hike in the Green Swamp of several miles and camp out. I now know I  have the physical conditioning to do this. You have no idea how great his feels. I am celebrating life!