It’s All in the Angles
Posted by Scott in Practice Practice Practice on May 14th, 2009
Pool is a mystery to some. They simply don’t understand all the tricks of the trade. There are many of these tricks. The good news… there is no cosmic secret to playing pool. It relies on the simplest of physics rules.
In short, it’s all in the angles.
Everyone understands a straight shot. It is elegant in its simplicity. Hit ball A into ball B, ball B moves forward, and falls in the pocket. But here is the trick to start to use to improve your game. Draw a straight line from the pocket to the object ball (Do this even on straight shots). The point at which the line goes through the object ball is the point you need to strike to make the object ball go in the pocket.
Sounding complicated?? It isn’t. Hopefully, you have a straight pool cue (if you don’t… stick around for some links to my recommended pool accessories). Use it. Place the tip of the pool cue at the pocket you wish the object ball to go in. Lay the cue directly over the object ball. Instant straight line! You have to make the cue ball hit the object ball at that exact point to make the object ball go in the pocket. This works every time (given you hit the cueball correctly).
This is a good habit for ANY skill level. As your game develops, you may not need the pool cue. You will develop a sense of shots mentally. But it is certainly a good tool to keep in your bag of tricks. Think of this as training wheels on your bike till you have your confidence built up.
How to Practice:
Building a solid foundation of confidence is one of the most important factors of pool. Knowing you can do something leads to execution. So for this exercise, start simple. Place the object ball roughly two inches from the pocket. Place the cue ball around mid-table (Hint: Most tables have “diamonds”, or markers, on the table. Use these to maintain a steady practice shot. Remember: make it consistent. Try to place the cue ball and object ball in the same place. Do this shot for an entire rack (that’s fifteen times) then move the object ball another inch or two away from the pocket. Start the exercise over when you move the cue ball to a different spot. Place the object ball an inch or two from the pocket then move it out an inch or two at a time.
Stick around for more tips!!
Citizens Consulting Ghost-town
I actually went to dig on this particular company. I figured a Google search would turn up a website so I could see what this company (closely associated with ACORN) is all about. Literally the only thing on their website is their name, address and phone number. No clickable links. No email addresses. Nothing. Now in my 80’s and 90s TV-fed brain, that amounts to a front company. That is a company that takes money, launders it, and distributes it elsewhere.
I will make it clear that I am NOT making an accusation. I am merely pointing to the fact that this is somewhat strange. They have purchased a domain name, and all they have up is the company name, an address, and a phone number on it? Where is the About page? What kind of services do they offer? Wouldn’t you think that a consulting firm would, at the very least, detail what kind of consulting they do?
So who are they? What are their ties to ACORN? Why are they so anonymous?
Hooray for FOX
So what does one of the biggest network stations say to the third presidential prime-time news address within three months? “Nope, that’s OK. We already have a show about liars during that time slot.”
Well, maybe they didn’t say exactly that, but they did pass on The Big O’s third address so they could air their regularly scheduled program Lie to Me.
Seems fairly logical to me. FOX has a major news channel dedicated to news 24\7 that was going to air it. Why have it on both? Would seem almost ridiculous to me unless some democrats are so swept up by Obama that they missed the chance to have it Picture-in-Picture on their tax payer subsidized flat screen TVs.
FOX took heat for this in some of the left-wing circles. Claiming they were more concerned with making a buck with advertising than broadcasting Obama’s call for more tax payer dollars.
Really, Captain Obvious?? A business is going to be more concerned with making money? Wow! What a concept.
Apparently, the other networks are now scratching their heads (or some other body part) and asking “we don’t actually have to air it???”
That’s right. It’s a choice. You would think the left-wingers could understand that one.
Welcome to the waters
What kind of PC should I get?
I get this question a lot. Frankly, I get it more than I care to think about. I imagine most people are asking what brand do I recommend. The answer?? I don’t.
I don’t because eventually someone somewhere will have a problem with whatever brand I suggest and they will come back and complain to me about all the problems they have with the PC. After an initial venting session I find they did not buy what they needed. They bought an “internet machine” (typically a low-end, low graphics, low memory, small hard drive machine) when they wanted to load video games on it. They spent a bundle on a high-end gamers PC when all they wanted to do is surf the Internet and check email.
What I normally do is go into a series of questions to walk the person to their own conclusion. Typically, it saves time and heartache on my part. Both very good things in my opinion. Here, I will attempt to provide some general rules of thumb to go by. A later post will give some examples scenarios.
Rule of thumb #1: More memory (that is RAM, or Random Access Memory) equals speed. This requires some clarity. A hard drive is a storage place for data. RAM is a place to quickly access files and\or data. Here is a quick explanation to help you remember: Your hard drive is much like a book holding an entire story. RAM would be more like the Cliff Notes providing quick access to specific information.
Rule of thumb #2: A little too much is way better than not enough. This applies specifically to hard drives and memory; however it carries over to other considerations. An 80 gigabyte hard drive may cost $45. A 120 gigabyte hard drive might cost $50. 50% more storage is worth 5 bucks. 512 megabytes is all you need to run the Windows XP Operating System. 1 gigabyte will do even better (see Rule #1).
Rule of thumb #3: Wanna sound “techie” when you talk to the sales person? Know which “bus” to ride. Computers have mutiple “buses” which is how data flows from one device to another across the mother board. VESA, ISA, PCI, PCIe, PCIx, Front side, and other various types are out there. VESA and ISA are pretty much obsolete now. The PCI bus (including PCIe and PCIx) is the dominent player out there now. These bus types are typically for internal peripherals (such as video cards, network interface cards, and modems where these devices are not built into the motherboard or are added to “beef up” the computer). The front side bus is a bit different. It still moves data from one place to another but it is more closely associated with processor to motherboard speed. Long story short… the more you have, the faster it runs.
Rule of thumb #4: Set a budget for how much you want to spend for your computer. You can still spend thousands for a computer. Gamers still do. You have to have the latest and greatest gadgets to play games. Ultra-huge hard drive, tons of memory, and a video card with its own processor (or multiple processors). All these things cost more money. Here’s an extra tip on this one: If you want to play games, buy an XBox 360 or PS3. This is what these things are built for, and you will spend less money.
Rule of thumb #5: Shop around. It is that simple. Look around and ask questions. Educate yourself as much as you can (or come back and visit this blog for information… I am going to welcome questions from everyone).
We The People…
Posted by Scott in Perspectives on May 2nd, 2009
Simple logic isn’t it? We the People… That’s you and I. Average Joe’s and Jill’s making our way as best we can in a world of questionable quandries. The people who put their pants on one leg at a time… OK I am not sure how that applies to women in skirts so perhaps that is not politically correct to say anymore; however you get the point.
It doesn’t say “We the ones who are smarter than everybody else…” or “We the ones who went to a really high priced college on Mommy and Daddy’s dime…” It simply says “We the People…” Everybody. End of story.
So can someone tell me when “We the People” handed over our common sense and personal responsibility to a bunch of lawyers who said they knew better than we did how to make it all work? Can someone tell me why we traded “You have to work hard to get ahead in this world” for “No child left behind”?
Callous, you say?? Jaded, perhaps?? You are darn right. No one handed me a thing. The “flipside” to that. No one kept it away from me either.
American Poolplayer’s Association
Posted by Scott in American Poolplayer's Association on May 2nd, 2009
The American Poolplayer’s Association (APA) is an amateur organization dedicated to the enjoyment of the game of pool.
It is, roughly, a year-round schedule broken into four sessions. Each session establishes a top team guaranteed a slot in a City Tournament, and a playoff of the top three teams and a wildcard for another spot in a City Tournament. Each week during the session one team will host a different team and play five matches. Each match is handicapped to the players’ skill levels. A point is applied, per match, to the winning team. At the end of the session the team with the most points wins an automatic spot in the City Tournament for that year. Additionally the top three teams and a wildcard team enter a session play off for another seat in the City Tournament for that year. The City Tournament is a playoff for a trip to Las Vegas to play with other APA teams across the country.
As stated, each match is handicapped to the players’ skill levels. Skill levels range from two to seven (seven being the best rank). While the high end player and low end player matches are handicapped somewhat differently in some matches, the typical scenario requires that the match winner win his\her rank minus one (e.g. A player ranked a five must win four games before his\her opponent {ranked a four} wins three games to win the match). As with many things, this is more easily understood in practice than in theory.