Posted On Friday, January 26th, 2007 By David Veatch
Ok. I replaced the tips on my two cue shafts today. Now I’m really ready to quit sucking. Which, by the way, I have been… very successfully, the last few times I’ve been at the table. Sucking that is. Badly. The worrisome part is that it really didn’t take that long to fall into my first slump… I’m thinking it’s just lack of sleep. I’ve not been sleeping well lately, and this week I’ve not given myself that much of a chance to overcome that. Late to bed, early to rise just ain’t working for me. I’m old enough to know that I’m too old for that kinda lifestyle.
Posted On Sunday, January 21st, 2007 By David Veatch
I ordered it, and then it arrived on Friday. I spent about two, maybe three hours assembling it that evening, and then had my first, albeit mild, workout yesterday with it. Oh yeah. It’ll work. It’ll work well. I’ve put together a spreadsheet of all the exercises available, with their corresponding seat, pulley and handle positions so that I can work through my own workout with minimal adjustments. Next up, the Kreitler rollers trainer. If I arrange it all just right, they’ll both fit in the same room, though it will be rather tight. I still need to finish the room with a coat of paint, crown molding, some mirrors (b/c what gym doesn’t have mirrors?!), and some shelving for the extra equipment.
Posted On Tuesday, January 16th, 2007 By David Veatch
Wow. I really liked pool. A lot. I got it in my head to recreate the Equal Offense spreadsheet I used to use to (briefly) track my skill progression. I did so, and thought to upload it to my server at home for use there. In doing so I found a treasure trove of videos, rule sheets, charts, graphs, designs, tips, and spreadsheets I’d completely forgotten about! I like the spreadsheet I put together today better than the one I used to use, so it wasn’t time wasted, especially since I found all this cool stuff! Maybe once I’ve used it a while and beat the bugs out I’ll post it up here.
Posted On Thursday, January 11th, 2007 By David Veatch
Last night, my second night back in league was … interesting. First, there was my own performance. While I got a 46 out of 50, winning four out of five games, I don’t feel that great about it. Two of my four wins were good wins. That is to say I played well enough that winning felt like the proper outcome. The other two wins were mine for no better reason that I made fewer mistakes than my opponent. Due to the lackluster playing on my part, however, I wasn’t happy about them. By all objective measurements, I did play better than they, but to say I played well would be an untruth. I simply screwed up fewer times and with consequences less decisive. On the other hand, the loss was definitely deserved. Second, there was the most vocal member of the opposing team. He started in on that "I didn’t deserve that" self-pity crap like he was reading from the Color of Money script. Barring the very rare events where faulty equipment gets in the way, what happens on the cloth happens b/c the players make it happen. At the table, the concept of merit simply does not exist. more »
Posted On Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 By David Veatch
I’m lucky my house didn’t burn down. A couple weeks back I turned on the basement lights and the north fixture flashed like the bulbs had burnt out. Both bulbs. Simultaneously. That should have been my first clue. I changed the bulbs last night, but no light was bathing the gorgeous carpet. This afternoon, when I had more light streaming in through the windows, I set out to figure out what happened. I took out the bulbs, unscrewed the fixture from the mounting bracket, and the whole thing fell off. Note that my step-by-step recounting of events didn’t include the removal of any wires. That’s b/c they had already burned through. That flash wasn’t the bulbs burning out, but the wires burning through. I can only imagine that the insulation in the fixture itself was fire retardant. I can’t imagine how else I avoided catastrophe. After tearing out the ceiling tiles, I was going to replace those fixtures with something that would look better with bare joists anyway, but still… Incredibly, the previous owner, Danny, was an electrician. The inspector that examined the electrical aspects of the house said at the time that he was surprised the house hadn’t yet more »
Posted On Monday, January 8th, 2007 By David Veatch
Assuming that tax season doesn’t hurt as bad as I fear it will, I’m thinking about turning the spare bedroom into a small home gym of sorts. Populating said gym could be the following: The Weider Max The Kreitler Challenger Rollers with Forkstand, Flywheel and Killer Headwind attachments. Anyone out there have any thoughts on those? I’ve been reading reviews all over the place online and haven’t seen anything to rule out these two. It terms of price for value, they seem like a pretty good deal, with all of the above coming in for less than $1,200. I’d rather go with something like the Max vs. free weights for a variety of reasons including price, safety and space available. I’d rather go with the Kreitler rollers vs. a fluid or mag trainer b/c it trains not only the endurance, but the balance as well, and from all accounts the headwind and flywheel attachments make for a very realistic road-like experience. I can expect some adjustment time as I get used to it, but once I’m there, I should be golden for a long time. I’m leaning towards a home gym setup vs. continued gym membership for convenience, long term more »
Posted On Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007 By David Veatch
I joined a pool league again. When I dropped league last February, it really felt strange… I wanted to free up time for riding, and given the home improvement going on at the time, I just didn’t have the time for all that and pool too. The team wasn’t doing too hot either, and in spite of wanting to play for the sake of the game, rather than to win, it did start to wear on all of us. No one likes to lose all the time. In spite of that, it was a decision soaked in mixed feelings. I wanted to ride and get my house together, and I was tired of losing, but I wanted to keep playing too… Well, now I getting back into it. Riding has slowed down on account of winter. Home improvement has slowed down on account of having gotten a lot done and no longer having the deadlines. A new place to play has been found that may not have a hopeless level of competition. Thus, pool is back in. It’s an unaffiliated ACS style league on Wednesday nights at Ace’s and Eights on Shawnee Mission Parkway. I’ll be spending a lot more more »