Perfect Game

Fall of 2011

2011-10-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess it's been a while since I last blogged... I guess it hasn't been as big an issue and my pool playing has been curtailed more than usual.

In the spring of 2011, I placed 7/8th in the ISPA 9-ball tournament, didn't cash in 8 ball and our team -- Pocket This - Brad, Brian, Tom and the other Matt placed 2nd in the open team tournament after winning the bracket, getting double dipped by the team that returned from teh backside. At any point in the final two team matches, had I made the two outs I was working on, we would have won the tournament. Hmm -- it's key to play well in key times. :-)

Fall league has gone well and my stats are very strong. My Carmeli is playing well and I have a new Olney that will be delivered next weekend. A nice looking cue, but will probably sell it to fund the high end Olney that he has in the pipeline. I hope to keep the 6-pt Purple heart cue and add it to the collection and hopefully one of my kids will find enjoyment in the game.

FWIW

Summer time

2010-06-03T19:54:00.001-07:00

Summer is here once again.

Team was 7/8 at ISPA -- Not very good finishes for me. Didn't play well in singles - what-so-ever. VNEA was a crap shoot, made some great games during team play to help us into a fairly decent finish Sunday morning.

Played Theo Sunday night (Mem. Weekend) and won two sets. Race to 4; 8 ball -- I got all the breaks. We went hill-hill first set and back/jacked it and I won the second set. 4-2. It was 2-2 i believe when he rolled the 8 ball after pocketing a stripe and it fell in the side. 3-2 me. It was crazy because the window to get to the side pocket was NARROW and an off angle. Luck, Karma, Destiny -- Freaky any way you call it.

Played a lot of 1 pocket with Ray that night as well. Even is probably no longer good. He banks too well and the second half of the game is usually his. 10-6 went my way 4 x in a row, so probably 9-7 in the future -- Maybe just 9-7 on my breaks first.

Looking forward to some summer league to get me playing again regularly and making the weekly tournaments when I can. traveling this summer probably doesn't involve a pool excursion as well. Bummer.

If you need a good snooker table, I know of a place in the NW corner of Nebraska. LOL

Once again, hoping summer pool brings winter champions.

IOMA

2010-03-17T17:47:00.001-07:00

Taking off tomorrow early for the IOMA tournament. Here's hoping for a good showing individual, some good pool and a great team showing. Better than a week at the beach, IMO.

Friday 10-ball and Expo

2010-01-17T07:35:00.000-08:00

Got out Friday night to the Big Dog for some Friday night 10-ball tournament.

As an added bonus, John Schmidt and Earl Strickland were there for a pool exhibition. All in all a pretty good night. I played a scotch match with John as my partner against Earl and another spectator. It was pretty fun. I got bad shape for John on a clustered 5/6 and he fouled the shot. Earl and his partner ran down to the nine and after the novice missed a tough 9 ball, I was left an awkward cut in the center of the 9' GCV. I lined it up very precariuosly and made the shot.

The 10 ball tournament went well -- after the double steer by Randy on the start time and actual having the tournament -- and I got entered late, after the fact. I drew Jody and lost 5-3, won 5-0, 5-1, and 5-2 on my way thru the back side of the bracket. My game with Wes was 3-2 and I missed an out. Never really recovered from that. He gave me chances but I couldn't quite capitolize like you need to with a player of his calibur.

Watched some more one pocket and enjoyed the evening rather well.

Can't wait for my Carmeli to get back -- should be any day now and possible this week.

Ariel Carmeli Cue

2010-01-07T10:33:00.001-08:00

Catch up and the Carmeli Cue

2010-01-07T10:21:00.001-08:00

Well, well. It sure looks like I haven't posted in a while. Where to begin....

League is league. Que Sera Sera. - Team is poised in 4th to make a monster run to the basement, but seem to be holding our own week to week. We will not catch #1 or #2, so the race to hold our position is on. In a 15 team league that is fairly populated with talented shooters, it's good to be doing this well -- given our team is comprised of all 'OPEN' players.

I finished the year ahead of the curve thanks to some good poker luck and ran across a Carmeli cue on AZB that I couldn't resisit - Pics to follow.

Currently, it's in California getting a little spa work done (Complete re-do) by the master (Carmeli) himself. He reports that he didn't make very many of this type of cue and so my good buy may be a rare find and makes it much more interesting to me.

I had planned on the using the option of selling it when my Olney cue is finished, but now may decide to keep it when the time comes up to part ways. The cue played well the three times I played with it prior to sending if off for the work.

Starting to prep for the Atlantic Tournament in February, IOMA in March, and ISPA in April. Hopefully a little luck and a lot of preparation between now and then and my summer work may pay off.

Tut Tut for now.

Pool Boot camp

2009-09-19T06:48:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I got to spend ($) time with Randy Goettlicher (sp?) from Cue-Tech pool school. Probably the best stuff that I have learned in my pool 'life'. I just need to get busy on my drills now. I think I liked the ability to have three days to myself to work on pool. Lately my life hasn't been very cooperative to my pool game.

My joint VNEA/BCA league started this week. SHould be a great time and some steep competition. The joint league has done a good job of mixing the teams up and lots of guys are switching and trading. I am glad my group isn't like that. I have really found a great team -- luckily. Hoping I can get my game mechanic'ed enough to keep my proformance up.

Cue update: My new cue has no update, which is sad. I need to go see Jeff and see what's up. I'm not so upset with the wait, but rather lack of progress. I just want to get it sooner rather than later. LOL (no patience, right?)

I now promise to work my drills tonight if I get back from this neolithic Dairy hell in a decent time.

Wish I were in Galviston.

Circus in Town

2009-07-30T18:03:00.000-07:00

TAR is in the house. All the players from parts unknown are here. Let the games begin.

Watched Mike Athens play in ring game qualifier last night, shoulda stayed; after I left he got double dipped by Adam Behnke for the chance for free entry into Ring Game tonight.

Probably watch the Stream on TAR tonight and can't wait to go to the three night clash of Frost vs SVB.

Christmas can come in July.

more Kentucky pool

2009-07-23T05:40:00.000-07:00

The gang was a little stir crazy Tuesday night and was ready for an outing, so we ended up with a field trip to the pool hall.

I should have known that the Silver Cue would have been packed on a Tuesday night. They had an (appeared to be) in house APA league going on. Luckily, we were able to secure a table in the back and everyone was able to play.

While I watched everyone play some doubles 8-ball, I ended up making a game with a gentleman playing solo two tables over. He had a very nice old Mucci cue and played - or practiced - rather well.

we settled on some 9' table 9-ball and we started off. In the early running, he made several early 9 balls and I was quickly down 6-3. Playing with a little more effort, I made it back to even at 6-6 and tied again at 7-7 before I closed out 10-7. My group was ready to leave at that point, so we ended up not playing any more, but a really good time and some good competition. It's always nice to get out and play some.

Probably the end of my Kentucky pool experiences for a while, as we head for home tomorrow.

My old Kentucky Home

2009-07-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

Met up with B. at the Silver Cue on Saturday night after putting my conference compatriots to bed early.

The Silver Cue again was a good place to play and playing on the 8 foot tables on this night proved to be a more ego boosting experience as I played much more like I expect to play. The 8ft Olhausens played very similar to my own 8' at home.

B. was a nice surprise. After chatting on the Internet some, we ended up being able to work out a time to kick some balls around. He was a very skilled and knowledgeable player. Not to mention he has been to the Derby for 3+ years. I sure wish that I lived within 45 minute drive of the Pool/Action extravaganza.

B. also sported a very OLD SCHOOL Schon (?, not 100%) that we talked about for a bit. A very nice old style with some very nice veneers. Heavy too. at 22 oz, B. liked the hit more than any he has had. I agreed it was a very solid cue. A great story on the find and a great player for him.

We kicked them around for a hour or two and had a wonderful time. He played a shade under me and had some real moments of genius. I think given more time, we both would have like to migrate to some 1-hole. I would have been interested in playing some banks also, since this area is known for it's banks. Unfortunately, due to our recreation during the day, I was tuckered out had had to call an early end to the night around 1 am.

Probably all for now, since I am back at the grindstone this week and probably won't run back to Lexington during this week. Can't say never, I may want to wander up there tonight or Tuesday. Sigh.... Two weeks is too long for this event....

I will write more if anything happens. I am contemplating stopping at Louisville at Bank Shot to pick up another t-shirt --- I wish I had time to play but probably need to be getting home.

Looking forward to Scott Frost vs Shane Van Boening at the end of the month at the Big Dog! Definitely jones-ing to play some pool.

Later

2009-07-14T17:13:00.000-07:00

Picked up a cue last night for the first time in a week or so. The Silver Cue in Lexington was a good room. Nice tables with good fast cloth. They had a lot of 8' tables and 7' tables with a few 9' tables.

I picked a 9' table and practiced for a while until making a game with a nicer gentleman with a 25+ year old SW cue. It was a nice cue and really made my Olney look sharp in comparison, as it's a SW style cue. Jeff's work compares very favorably with the older SW.

We played and he came up a few games ahead. He was making a return to the game after a longer layoff (almost as old as his cue). He played very sporty for such a long layoff. Very good stroke and play.

I played well enough and started to get the idea on the big table after some of the practice earlier. It is weird how it makes your game so much different for essentially the same shot.

Look forward to returning there soon, as there is much hassle in this stay in Lexington.

Until the next time,

Kentucky Pool

2009-07-12T17:44:00.000-07:00

Arrived for my incarceration in Kentucky today after 11 hours on the road. Hopefully some pool can be found someplace. I hate to have to drive all the way into Lexington to find something worth mentioning.

I will post what I find this week, unless my homework keeps us too busy.

Lunch

2009-07-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to check out Don McCoy's Bar on the west side today. Enjoyed a good Reuben sandwich and was only really looking to practice a little on a big table.

Don - the proprietor and only professional player in the big city -- came over and we ended up playing some for a better part of a couple hours.

What an experience. I couldn't believe his speed control. Almost every shot was exactly dead on and when the angles weren't perfect -- the speed was. It was amazing to watch him float the cue ball effortlessly around the table. I am hoping to end up there again for lunch. What an excellent day!

We talked about new tips (he liked the Wizard tip on my new Olney) and some of the recent news in the pool world. An enjoyable place, staff and of course, my thanks to Don for the lessons.

Upper Plains treasure

2009-06-18T06:12:00.000-07:00

This year I was attending a regional conference in Nebraska and made a suprising discovery.

Upon walking into this small establishment, my eyes were drawn to the pool area, as usual. Two bar tables and underneath a cover was a huge six legged table -- and what to my prying eyes should appear, but a 10' snooker table! Holy Cow!

I have always heard about small towns in the upper plains having snooker tables tucked away in little bars, almost like the saloon's of old, but I didn't think I would ever see one. The table played exceptionally well and true. No odd rolls or errant bumps. I played a corner to corner shot that was as true as it could be, played at pocket speed on a 10' table. Poetry in motion. The physics of a game I truly enjoy.

So, I took the opportunity to play several games, and started to regain the ease on a snooker table that I had learned while playing in my grandparents basement. My log in and title of this thread all revolve around the perfect run in snooker of 147. A Perfect Game.

No local games were available, so I had to impose upon my colleagues to play and they were wonderfully good sports as the table is unforgiving to even those who are well versed.

What a neat find. I feel a bit heartened, like Americana hasn't let this game escape from it's grasp completely, yet.

Olney Christened and other tragedies

2009-06-02T18:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally got my New Olney cue out and gave it a good initiation into the world of billiards. The Friday night 10-ball at Big Dogs. I eventually went 3-2, but was 2-0 to start with two quality sets against opponents that I would have to play top-notch to beat. I am still having trouble with the shaft. (I went from a Z2, to the olney shaft and the angle shots w/ english and draw still are less than 60%. I just haven't had the time to get comfortable with the cue and shaft yet. It hits like a dream in every facet and i probably can't even blame the occasional miss on the cue. I just haven't figured out how to work it yet. Probably a lot like not having the handle on a stock car.... ain't the cars fault, just the driver.

I will paste a entry off of azbilliards that more accurately describes last night. I played better than expected and the cue again performed very admirably.

So last night Brad / Brian / Tom / Matt showed up to play league at Big Dogs to
find out they had a bye. Brad was trying to match up with someone/anyone
including Jon Brown. I said lets play a 4on4 team match. And i said we would
take Frost as our handicap. Me / Justin / Jon / Frost.
After some discussion we decided (brad did) that they needed spotted 6 games in a race to 25. Anyhow they beat us 25-13, lol
We agreed to trade Frost for Mikey H and play them race to 15
giving them 3. Went hill/hill and Matt playing me. Matt missed a run out and i
didnt. We break even, except for Mike H who actually made money, lol
Frost had
made a side bet, his $80 to win his $50 back. We really had alot of fun, all of
us had a good time making a game and playing it out.

Yes -- I was the goat in this latest escapade and couldn't finish a run out to win the whole set on the hill. Needless to say, I spent the better part of this morning working on that particular pattern. I won't blame the cue, but it was my uncertainty with it that was probably my undoing.

que sera sera.

Looks as if the summer is going to shape up into a fairly good pool summer - lots of action coming and TAR will be in the house in July! Can't wait.

Later

2009-04-27T10:10:00.000-07:00

The post tournament, spring doldrums have set in. I need to play ... soon. Practicing has no appeal lately and I need to get out and back 'in the mix'.

During my formative educational years, my favorite shirt had "Summer Wrestling makes Winter Champions"... I am hoping it works in pool too.

Here's to a summer spent in pursuit of personal development and achievement of far-off goals.

New Olney Excursion

2009-04-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

With any luck, I may be able to take my new Olney on it's first excursion into the felt jungle tonight. a local non-handicapped 8-ball tournament with the best players in town should be a pretty good look.

I have fairly realistic expectations for performance in this usually pretty stacked tournament and it should prove to be the ideal location to break out the new cue for a few games. Maybe even a few more than that. :-)

2009-04-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

Team finished 5/6th in the recent ISPA tournament in the Quad Cities. It was a good showing, only marred by the fact that we didn't play to our best level in the two matches we lost. Overall it was a good trip, one of my teammates was 3rd (at worst, LOL if you know how it went down) in the Open Singles 8-ball, which is a super good showing, given the over 500 players in the brackets.

I placed well enough to get paid in the 9-ball and poorly (0-2) in the 8-ball. I did play reasonably well in the team, but no where near as consistently as I could have.

My serendipitous win will aid the completion of my new Olney cue and with any luck it will be as fine as any I have ever seen. I hope that I will be able to pick out some nice stuff wood in the near future for it.

Later,

The best time of year

2009-03-30T09:59:00.001-07:00

State Pool tournament time, of course. Now just a slim 48 hours away. 9-ball, 8-ball and teams.

In review of the past state tournaments, I hope to increase my showing, as I feel after the VNEA two weeks ago, I think that I am hitting them as good as I ever have. I just want to bring that level to the table starting Wednesday.

If I can get all my real-world concerns taken care of this week, I hope to leave with a sense of focus and see if this couldn't be a breakthough year.

Not that I am thinking of quitting, but without some type of success, it may be harder to justify this type of excursion in the future.

maybe that's just life....

Big letdown Dog

2009-03-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

Wandered up to the Big Dog last night to see if I could get in the non-handicapped 8-ball tournament. For a whopping $7, I could get in on the fun.

Mentally stale is a nice way of describing how I played. Some flashes of brilliance, but overall, it was a frustrating night to say the least.

I did break and run out the hill-hill match with Phil. Which is saying something. A short race to 3 is tough to judge anything by as the luck and momentum shifts can contribute to the outcome more than skill and ability.

End of the year league tournament starts tonight and VNEA is knocking down the door. Hopefully things can move forward in the next week.

Some time at the practice table wouldn't hurt either.

Good vs Great

2009-03-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

well, with the start of a new exercise program (which was sorely needed) I wonder how it will affect my game in the short term and long term. Ha, new exercise, sore... I get it... HA....

So far I have been too sore to walk this week, much less practice any. but in the long term I think that the greater flexibility and core strength will help.

Big tournament in a week and 3 days. Should be fun and exciting. I should do well and have been working to improve this year. I hope to just play my best and see what happens. The tournament is a short race and I think that will probably come into play more than once. Shorter races favor luck over skill too often and have less margin for error. I guess we will find out.

I am hoping to get out tonight to play some and test drive my game some. Sometimes I have been pleasantly surprised by good performance after a particuluarly long lay off. I wonder what the reason is? Especially after I have been practicing hard for a while, a three or four day lay-off and then when I play again, it seems to have positive effects. Things that make you go hmmmm.

Later

Closing down

2009-02-28T06:19:00.000-08:00

Closing in on the last weeks of league. Team is in 6th place and had a forfeit this week to a team that didn't finish the season. So I hope that there will be some improvement in our standings.

Then we have the end of the year tournament. This should prove to be interesting and a good ramp up for the state tournament.

Going to the VNEA tournament during spring break this year for the first time, so that should prove to be interesting and I hope that I will play well.

Rack 'em.

Olney

2009-02-08T08:05:00.000-08:00

X-mas a little late! Just picked up my new Olney Cue. What a specimen. I just couldn't get away from the design of this cue. It kept drawing my eye and it wouldn't let go.

A sharp 6 pointer SW style with one veneer w/ purpleheart wood, 3 ebony points and some purpleheart on the but off set with some curly maple. What a gorgeous work of art. The points are razor shart and the ring work is exceptional.

Taking Jeff's suggestion, the double black/white wrap sets it off exceptionally. A perfect option that brings out the purpleheart.

Now if I could just learn to use it....

In the picture with 2, it's the bottom one.

Thursday Yet

2008-11-04T17:35:00.000-08:00

Can't wait to play some this Thursday. League shouldn't be a tough team, but it has been two weeks or so since Ihave played.

Is it Thursday yet??

No Pool

2008-10-31T08:33:00.000-07:00

Since beggars night was last night the team organized a make up week last week after the regular league night I missed and played this weeks round last week.

Essentially, that means no pool for me and I am sad....

A win is a win?

2008-10-21T19:14:00.000-07:00

Last week we were playing a team of young guns. The up and coming teenage group. In one particular shot, my opponant drew the cueball back a short distance with lots of force and fouled on the end of his cue. My team saw the foul, but I didn't say anything. The kid ended up winning by running out after the fouled shot.

Now, giving due consideration to the fact that he didn't know he fouled, I think that he did know, but didn't acknowledge the fact. When is a win a win?

The game of pool is wonderful in the respect that you are really competing with yourself. I guess I have always tried to play the game as fairly and squarely as possible and with the notion that in the long run, cheaters never win. I guess this game is always ready to test a persons character.

And the pool room is always full of characters....

Poor practice

2008-09-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

will lead to poor performance.

Couldn't really get it into gear last night. I focused on some different shots and played a slowly methodical game of 9-ball, but couldn't really get a lot of focused practice in. Maybe tonight will be better. A short two weeks until league play, and maybe one more stop at the Big Dog 9-ball tournament before the season gets underway.

May all your banks be true, snkr147

Holy Cow!

2008-09-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

Has it been a while or what?

I don't think the workload has slowed down any. It seems that my inability to let a good thing pass will probably be the death of me. I spent most of last night tossing and turning with my mind racing 100 mph. Thoughts of school, pool, some to do lists ---- I'm surprised I sleep at all sometimes.

The IAAE Presidency is going well, although I don't have a great frame of reference. So ignorance is bliss, I guess. Linkin Park is currently pushing my mood as I sit here getting ready for the Iowa FFA Foundation meeting. The third week of the month is designated for meetings, I swear. County Fairboard last night (caught up on all the good rural news), Foundation tonight, plus a few I am forgetting.

Pool is in the air! I think tonight was the league organizational meeting that our "Pocket This" team captain is at. With some luck, I will be able to stop in tonight to see what the word is.

I feel woefully inadequately prepared for the start of league. I have played well, probably the best I ever have lately in competition, but I am not sure how it will transfer to league play. Sometimes I can't believe the difference between gambling (Not much experience), league, tournament and just 'fun' play. Mental, I'm sure, but different all the same.

I think that I will cronicle my year as the IAAE president more, but definately keep the pool log running as well. I want the ability to look back and see if there was any improvement as I continue on this journy.

See you on the tables, or at the meeting; LOL

Horse Results

2008-09-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

Thought I would post an update. The team finished 4th in the state at the horse judging contest. One of the girls was the fourth ranked individual and the others came in somewhere in the top 50. There were 33 teams and over 120 kids judging.

So needless to say, a good showing, but the potential is still there for them to improve for next year. Lots of pink ribbons (4th place).

Rolling stone...

2008-09-09T06:56:00.000-07:00

gather no moss. Or at least from what I hear. I haven't much experience in the stone rolling department.

I do seem, however, busy from day to day. Guess that's just a hazard of the job.

Big Dogs is holding an handicapped 8-ball tournament on Saturday that I would like to play in. I need to work on some stroke issues and really get some good practice in this week. I am anxious to see if the recent success(for me) in 9ball will translate.

League will be starting in a couple weeks and I hope to make a good transition to 8ball with the hopes of a good performance in the ISPA state tournament in April.

At the FFA Horse judging contest today and had a minute before the results room gets busy. My team has all the potential in the world and we will see if the summers' practice with Angie will pay off for them. I would guess top ten, maybe a top five if were lucky. We would have to have a stellar day to be in the hunt for the top spot.

Greenday is soothing right now....

Back in the Saddle again

2008-08-20T07:47:00.000-07:00

Well, the first day of school has come and gone and I can't say that I have missed it much. :-) I also should tender the fact that it came the next day after our marathon 15 run at the Iowa State Fair. Tired is something I have become used to. Managing fatigue is probably key to any Ag teacher. LOL

It always baffles me how some kids are with it, some are clueless and many are in between; yet in the end they all mostly turn out fine. Maybe it just comes with age, maybe it has something to do with the educational process. I would like to think that we play a small yet tangible role in that process somehow.

I think it will be another year of interesting twists and turns.

Meats and Livestock judging is on Saturday and my birthday is on Sunday. I think all that I want for my birthday is a nap.

FWIW - ME

State Fair

2008-08-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

"U gotta Love it" :-

Were in day 3 of the fair. While it has it's perks, it has it's grinds. My chapter students are helping at the Animal Learning center. They love it. The students get to assist in all kinds of animal husbandry practices that many of them, unfortunately, miss out on. It also gives those students with notions of becoming an animal practitioner some hands on experience and interaction with some real vets and vet students. Such a great experience. It is settling down now as well and the students are into their routines and are my two student supervisors are exceptionally talented this year, so things are going smoothly.

Ran three out Thursday night for a 30-0 start in league night. They were gracious enough to hold up the show until I was able to free myself up from my responsibilities. (Most of pool is contrary to a responsible life.) And ended up with a 69 point night. (possible 90) One more night and a positioning round and we should be able to pull off the top team award. As long as no one trailing me makes a nine on the break, I will still hold the lead at '4'. I have been breaking well lately, but no nine balls in league lately.

Brad brought up an option for adding a strong player to our '5' for the state tournament. While I would like to play all the time, I also think that a strong "6th" would be an asset to cracking the top echelon of the tournament. Something that just occurred to me, but I am not sure we would want to break up the team if we ended up winning the entire tournament, nor am I sure we want to start playing in the Master Team level either. I will ponder this more for a while before I get my final thoughts together for Brad. Always something.

More from the fair in the future.

Banquet

2008-06-25T20:41:00.001-07:00

Well, everyone was impressed with my 'man-bag'. In fact, I had many compliments.

The second day of the conference went well. The formal banquet was tonight and went fine. I was very nervous as the MC and made several mistakes. Most I think were just because of nerves and hopefully no one cares. Now that I have done it once, I would be able to do it better next time.

The President's reception was fun and the leather furniture in the suite was comfy. Next year, I look forward to this perk.

I watched the finals of "Farmer Wants a Wife" and the girl that I picked on day one, WON! I don't think I win anything, but it was nice to pick the winner.

One of the sales reps wants to play some pool in the future, so that might be a fun event.

Everyone headed out too Karaoke tonight at the local watering hole. Since I am feeling tired and run down, I decided to stay in and go to bed early after some online poker. The responsibility of it all is nauseating.

Later

Man Purse

2008-06-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

The dubious honor of being the first person eliminated from the Texas Hold-em tournament. Pretty good for the future president, huh. So I earned this very nice flowerd and jeweled 'man-bag'. I think I will use it tomorrow to carry my stuff around for the conference. It seemed to make everyone's day that I took so much pride in my "Prize". Pocket 8's will get you killed everytime.

Later

IAAE - Day 1

2008-06-24T05:18:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to start the first day at our IAAE convention. As president-elect, I have plenty of duties (I think I should have read the job description before I said yes), but few responsibilities. I'm not so used to that. It feels like things are way out of my control, but I think that is the way it is supposed to feel. At any rate, it looks to be a busy day, capped off with a steak dinner in the park(YUM) and maybe some poker tonight at the 'recreation night' at the hotel.

Later

Back in the saddle

2008-06-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Well, Region III was a great time. We finished up on Thursday and after a short five hour scoot home, I had some unscheduled time to kill before heading to the FFA Foundation meeting that evening. After the Foundation meeting, I scooted over to the Twisted Parrott for our mid-season positioning round.

Brian, Tom, and I were scheduled to play the second place team - 3's Company. It was a sad state of affairs, at least from my perspective. I went 1-8 over the course of the night. It was a shadow of what I hoped to be. Especially for a playoff night. And to be frank, 3's Company will make you pay for any misses that you make. We ended up a 3-1 rounds loser, and avoided the skunk, by the grace of a tie-breaker criteria. Brian should be credited with coming through with the clutch win to secure the tie and then subsequently tie-break. Tom also came through in the next to last game to help put us in position to make a run for the lonely win. Sheesh. No help from me, and dead weight is the nicest thing I can say about my performance.

Sunday night - I got a chance to play in the Sunday Night 9-ball tournament at Big Dog Billiards in DM. (Race to 6 on winners, 5 on losers, winner break) Usually a high calibur tournament, it usually draws the best players in DM and I am usually a two-and-through, although I have made some break through performances. Perfection is the key, as any minor imperfections (and in my game there are many) will be fatal, as these guys (and girls) take no prisoners and will make you pay with losses. And then they have the next break and usually tack on a run of two or three (or more) racks(games).

Overall, I was happy with my performance. I ended up tied for 5/6th place in a 30 person field. A couple nice wins, and a couple could-have-beens. I was particularly happy with the performance given Thursdays 1-8 game.

1st game was with Duane and after some trading of poor shots, I ended up with a 6-4 win.

This advanced me to the next round on the winners side against Jamie F., who is the best player in DM in my uncles' opinion. I tend to disagree, but he is no doubt a top quality player. I won 6-2, in no small part to several non-typical misses by Jamie and a couple of shots that I made that I usually don't. Nothing spectacular, but he made mistakes and I didn't. A good win, but nothing to get excited about, because he crushed me last time 6-0.

If I get one good win per tournament, I consider it a good showing. In this tournament, I got two, but not in a row.

Third round front side -- Mike A. -- IMO, the best player in DM. We went to 3-3 ,with some good break and runs, and I got a couple of good games in. In the 7th rack, I missed a chance at a run out and for the life of me, I can't remember what it was. And true to form, Mike got out -- broke and ran three for the win. I get the rack and 4-3, with a break and I might have had a chance at something, but it was somewhat closer than our matches have historically been. Maybe it's an indication of a small improvement.

Back side matches -- I won over Anthony after being up 4-0 in a race to 5. He came back to 4-4 after a couple nice run outs, and an early combo. In the final game, he missed the 5 or 6 and I ran the last three for the win. Into the Money -- and it had been a long time since.

Next game was the title fight for the Pride of Home Town bragging. -- Jim P., a long time pool player from the old town. I have never beaten Jim and he historically plays way better than I do (or used to). After a 5-1 win, I couldn't believe it. He missed a couple routine shots that we somewhat un-characteristic, and I played well. I will say that the work on my break is paying off as I usually made a ball or two and had position every time in that game. It is nice to have some confidance in that portion of the game, especially after some hard work.

In the last game (and I got to run, so will cut this short) I lost to Tom, who I shouldn't have. up 4-1 and ended up on the hill. he missed the seven, leaving me a short cut shot to play. After hitting the ball going to the far end of the table and back for the nine. I played for perfect shape instead of getting close, left the cue in the jaw of the pocket, leaving an thin razor cut on the nine into the opposite corner pocket. I made the shot, but typical of that shot, scratched in the opposite end of the table, opposite corner. By one ball length, any easier and I would have been good. A chance at 3rd place and locking up 4th.

Even though, a good night and a good finish.

Later

New Laws

2008-06-19T06:16:00.001-07:00

I am pretty sure that Karaoke should be outlawed at conferences. After hours there was some 'singing' that surely made the dogs within hearing range cringe. With probably less pause than I will admit too in public, I joined the crowd for some rousing renditions of David Allen Coe.

We had some wonderful tours today (Wednesday) at the conference. We went to Organic Valley, an organic milk/cheese/ etc producer that had just put up a new cold storage facility that was very impressive. 11 stories high stacks running two computerized stacking cranes and a 11 bay dock for out loading.

The second was at the fish experiment station that was in Minnesota. Their fish lab was very impressive and had many varieties in studies. Lake Sturgeon was the one that I liked the best, but they had some 8 year old blue-gill that would make any pond fisherman happy.

This AM - Thursday - we have the final business meeting and my presidents report (was less then stellar) was given since Brian was unable to be here. Not exactly my favorite part of the conference, but since it was part of the position.... I really need to start reading these job descriptions before I sign on.

Heading home this afternoon and an FFA Foundation meeting this evening upon my return, before making my way to play our play-off game tonight.

Rolling stones gather no moss, I guess.

Region III

2008-06-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

Spent today at the Region III Ag Teachers conference in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

We enjoyed a round of golf this AM and Peiffer and Fisher were great companions on the course. I hit the ball well enough, and had several shots that would pass for good, but as the round wore on, it was apparent that I don't play enough golf to hit the ball for 18 holes. There were train tracks that bisected the course and we had several close-up looks at the freight train as it passed through.

This evening we enjoyed a ride up the Mississippi river on a river boat to the lock and dam north of LaCrosse. It was a nice trip and we all enjoyed the company and conversation with fellow Ag Educators from across the Region. (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska) (Not listed in order of importance) :0)

Just finished a social outing this evening and the 29 pepsi's that I have contributed enough caffeine to my system to stimulate an elephant. I suppose I should turn in and be able to function tomorrow as we start the meeting portions of the conference. A couple tours in the PM should be interesting and showcase some of the unique agriculture in this area.

Till then....

PS - Got to play some pool tonight at the 'Library'. I mostly played lefty to keep things sociable and actually enjoyed the time at the table more than I thought I would.