Yesterday I took the advice of EdLee, Hushfield, and just about everyone else and focused on playing more games. Against humans, mostly. And online ones, too, sometimes.
I post them in case anyone is curious about them or about my progress.
Game 1: I played a teaching game online on KGS with paK0 [10k] from here (many thanks!). Also, out of the kindness of his heart, Patchouli [4k], stopped by and gave even more review. We went through the game like three times, total. Many thanks to both of them!
http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/download/file.php?id=4960
My favorite part of this is Move 189, and how we both completely miss it. Patchouli's comments about it on the next few moves were hilarious at the time.
I met many cool people in the L19 room. It was wonderful. Made me feel much better about playing online.
I do have one annoying problem with KGS, though:
Since my rank is [?], I can let the automatch run for 10 or 20 minutes and never get a hit. I've also directly tried to connect to two appropriately ranked open games, and was denied both. This has happened for two days straight. I may, simply, never be able to get a rank there.
Someone advised me to play computers to get rank, but all the computers I've found are [-].
Big chicken and egg problem.
Game 2:paK0 was of the opinion I should be destroying MFG at 18k with 0 stones, and I was desperate to give it a try.
First chance I got, I dropped 6 stones off my handicap with MFG and dove right in!
I was pretty sure that, in previous games, my losses came from playing too fast. This time, I decided to take a deep breath and purposefully pause 5 seconds after each of MFG's moves, so I would not rush to keep up. It worked out pretty well.
http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/download/file.php?id=4961
I had the same plan as the previous 6-stone and 7-stone games where I beat MFG:
1) take a corner
2) find a big string attacking that corner that I can cut off
3) cut it off
4) kill it
5) win.
After devastating me in the end game and lots of really stupid mistakes by me, MFG managed to catch up and win by 2.5 points.
Considering how badly he tore me up in Yose, I can only assume I was far, far ahead.
Result: I didn't win. But I'm sure I could've, if I were just a little more careful and better at Yose.
Game 3: This game was in person, at the Thursday night Dallas Go Club, and I don't remember it, sorry -- I don't have that ability yet, to remember a game I played from start to end.
The game was against a 10 kyu named Kevin. Based on the advice of a 7 kyu at the club who often gives me teaching games, and estimates me at "the mid teens kyu", we set the handicap at 4 stones.
I tried the same strategy I used against MFG again. I'm beginning to be a one-trick pony, I think.
I successfully surrounded a huge string, cutting it off, and my opponent didn't even notice. He later said he thought they were alive the whole game, and was shocked when he realized they weren't.
However, this time I didn't go in for the kill. The string had 7 open liberties, and I would have to give up a lot of sente and make some truly disgusting shape to finish it off.
It all came down to one bamboo joint that for 30 moves I knew I needed to make. I never quite found the time, instead mentally justifying sente moves elsewhere to steal eyes/corners.
This was obviously a huge mistake. There was no other move on the board worth as many points. I should've just taken it. Immediately. Because I didn't, and my opponent eventually realized his danger, cut me, and won the capture race.
Kevin won the game by a huge margin. Conversely, if I had made the bamboo joint, I likely would've won.
Still, this strategy I keep using seems unreliable -- kind of like a "hail mary" pass in football. It's an all-or-nothing, lose-win thing, and if my opponent knows what I intend, it won't work. At least that's the way it's been so far.
I believe I should take another stone against him next time.
Oh, also: Everyone that looked at the game told me my endgame was terrible. So I guess I need to be working on that
Game 4:I got home from Go Club at 10:00pm, a full hour past my normal bedtime of 9:00pm, but I was wired and feeling like I was playing slightly better. I wanted to keep going.
I logged into KGS, and once again hit the brick wall of game refusal, so I ditched it, and jumped to IGS. I've complained about IGS in the past, but I had fun this time.
Once again my endgame was terrible, but he didn't manage to erase my lead.
http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/download/file.php?id=4962
A weird thing:
Something about the way the guy played felt very enjoyable. Not because I was winning, I think. He just felt like a fun guy to play (watch me find out he's actually a computer!)
He immediately re-challenged me with one less stone, but I had to decline. It was 12:30am, and I needed to wake up at 6!
Great day, overall, but one problem:I spent all my time playing, and didn't study any Tesuji, Tsumego, or Joseki. I already feel rusty.
I need to be independently wealthy so I can do this stuff full-time, and not in bits and pieces throughout the day
Mostly, though, I am glad that playing online feels fun again. On both of my servers.
. 
R-10. Extension cum pincer.
The problem isn't that Black is overconcentrated, it is that Black has weak points at P-03 and R-03. A White stone on either point would threaten to connect to White's strong stones.
O-06. It is important to get access to the center, to bolster your own stones. Also, this play keeps the two White groups separated. Divide and conquer, remember? Yes, P-05 is another weak point, but that cannot be helped.