en-us Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:39:03 -0500 info@apamaine.com 60 http://apamaine.com/forum/blogrss.asp APA Of Maine Member Blogs http://apamaine.com/ http://apamaine.com/common/forumimages/APALogoLrg.jpg 200 148 kallen4545 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=522 Member Blogs Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:17:13 -0500 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=522 pjulien65 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=523 Member Blogs Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:10:49 -0500 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=523
The shot requires no spin. It is a short, easy, straight-in shot. thinkbingo! A simple stop shot will do nicely. You try to ignore the critical eyes squinting in judgment of your choice. You aim and, mid-stroke, a lightening bolt runs up your leg, enters your spine, and zaps all of the pool neutrons in your brain. Your lower jaw drops to the general vicinity of your socks. The sound of the miscue echoes throughout the room and everybody turns to watch your face fall off. It all happens in about a millionth of a second. The horror is stored in the catacombs of your jellied brain for the rest of your stupid, insignificant life.

You turn toward your chair trying to appear as if the miss was deliberate! A brilliant, sharking tactic only the most seasoned hustlers would understand! Returning to your seat, you trip over a piece of lint, and drop your cue stick. It hits Butch "The Rattlesnake" on the head...just above the scar he got in a beer bottle fight.

Your opponent offers his condolences and, grinning like Jack Palance in the chariot scene from Ben Hur, approaches the table to strip you of any remaining fragments of pride. After running five balls, he is forced to play you safe, but fails. What luck! You have a chance to redeem yourself.

All nine of your balls are in the open, seven of them on the table where they belong. Again you examine the pattern, and play the sequence for the first three shots in your mind, forgetting that your brain was fried earlier. You make your choice for the first shot and try to concentrate on the object ball, which is, at most, only twenty or thirty yards away. As you lock your eyes on the object ball, what's left of your brain keeps playing reruns of the previous miscue. The target pocket keeps shrinking and you suddenly realize you have Parkinson's disease. At least you hope it's Parkinson's disease and not an attack of "jackass-shooting-pool syndrome".

Everyone is familiar with the word focus. It is a synonym for concentration. Games are won and lost as the result of focus, or the lack of it. When focus is lost, even briefly, we become exposed to the dreaded jackass-shooting-pool syndrome. Please try to understand what the jackass-shooting-pool syndrome is. It is not, in itself, a lack of focus. It is an airborne virus, floating around in pool halls, looking for unfocused pool players. It requires no gestation period. It is, in effect, instantaneous. Once it strikes, it not only affects one shot, it gets in the blood stream and attaches itself to our nerve endings. It makes us super sensitive to the smallest distractions, like being awake and conscious. We become aware of oxygen and hair, and can hear people walking around...outside...three or four blocks away.

Syndrome victims become paranoid, distrusting of things like chalk, rails and pockets. Every table is unlevel and every stick is warped. In order to free ourselves of the disorder,we shoot harder, or try position shots that would frighten the Miz. Difficult shots are somehow more logical than simple ones. Playing safe seems cowardly. The syndrome tells us to compensate for our incompetence by playing stupid. Those infected believe that respect is achieved by "going for it" instead of playing safe. The jackass-shooting-pool syndrome rearranges our DNA and makes us believe that losing is a virtue, as long as it is accomplished with vigor and aplomb.

The truth is, trying to beat the virus directly only makes it angry and more determined to morph our brains into something resembling pond scum. The only cure is focus. But how is this accomplished when we are in the grip of such a formidable foe? Well, obviously it is best to remain inoculated to the disease by staying in focus from start to finish. But, since this is not easily accomplished, getting back in focus is critical. The best way to get in focus is to keep it simple. Stick to basics.

First, know thyself, and to thyself be true. It has taken me 35 years to discover the kind of pool player I am, and what my limitations are. Of course I am continually trying to reduce my limitations, but during the game, I try to play within them. I am not Jim Rempe or Johnny Archer. I am Jim Meador. I shoot a fair game when I do what I can do best. I can run from the break, and on very rare occasion I do. But that isn't my goal. My goal is far simpler. I simply try to make the object ball while positioning the cue ball for a reasonable second shot. If I am trying a low percentage shot, I try to leave the cue ball in a position to make it difficult for my opponent should I miss. Keep in mind, a safety is not necessarily a shot that leaves your opponent no shot. Making it difficult on your opponent is often enough. The object is to win the game, not prove to your opponent that you know how to make difficult shots.

By playing within your limitations, you increase your chances of remaining focused. Most players loose their focus trying to play over their heads. Trying shots, of which you are not confident, will result in misses that will leave your opponent open. It is easy to lose focus after a few misses. If you want to try difficult shots, try during practice, not a tournament or league game. Leaving your opponent a tough shot, will force him to take a risk that can affect his (or her) confidence. You can, in effect, cause your opponent to lose focus and make them vulnerable to the jackass-shooting-pool syndrome.

If, when you approach the table, you know you will not try something stupid, there is less reason to feel anxious. If you are relaxed, it is easier to remain focused. You will also enjoy the game more, and probably live longer. Best of all, you will be inoculated against "the germ".

Practice making balls, and little by little introduce positioning to your game. Play to win, but realize that luck is involved at every level of the game. There is nothing you can do about someone who runs the table on you. You can't expect to win every game, regardless of how well you are shooting. Be grateful when you are lucky, and gracious when unlucky. Just hang in there for the long term and measure your improvements by months, even years, but not hours. If you know an advanced player, ask for help. Most players love to help beginners understand the game they love. Keep the game simple and within your skill limitations and you'll avoid the jackass-shooting-pool syndrome.






























]]> champions http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=516 Member Blogs Fri, 04 Jun 2010 12:32:01 -0500 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=516 Champions also has a full menu and 18 drafts plus over 45 other beers.
Watch the REDSOX and NASCAR on our big screens while you play.
This is a great time and a fun tournament!

Thanks
Champions]]> salamn http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=493 Member Blogs Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:45:04 -0500 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=493 grinder http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=492 Member Blogs Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:11:48 -0500 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=492 nconner0 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=491 Member Blogs Thu, 25 Feb 2010 01:21:16 -0500 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=491 9ballking http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=490 Member Blogs Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:33:11 -0500 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=490 nick beaulieu http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=472 Member Blogs Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:35:50 -0500 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=472 Bob Swauger http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=470 Member Blogs Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:03:47 -0500 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=470 AVATARS!

Yes, we heard you!!! We've heard those calls to further personalize the forum and allow members to have an avatar appear when they post. Until recently we've resisted the idea for a number of reasons; the primary being members could not upload images and cross linking slows down page loading because the website has to go out and get the image.

Well now everyone has the ability to create their own personal gallery on the website and post their own member blogs. We thought "What better way to encourage the use of these features!!"

You'll notice both the forum and blog now show avatars for the poster and the those who reply. Clicking on the photo will bring up a full size version without taking you away from the page! The arrows below the picture will allow you to scroll through the Avatars of other members. Now you can get a visual of who is posting... put a face to a name... get a glimpse of who they are and maybe find out if it's someone you know or have seen... or someone you WILL know the next time you see them.

The avatar is actually your profile picture, and while you can still remotely link, we suggest you create your personal gallery and upload an image for your profile. Once uploaded you'll see an icon below the image to set it as your profile picture. You can also use the regular photo gallery the same way. Simply search for your member number and use the same icon.

BLOGS!

To further enhance the blog module we've given members the ability to control the blog a little more. The Author can now lock their blog, and not allow comments (they will have to unlock it to edit it too, but they can prevent members from posting to it!). Members can also delete posts from other members (not admins or moderators) if they don't like them. The blog is yours!!! You can also delete a blog once it's been replied to (the only caveat is you have to delete the replies first - if there are any). Yes, we know there are some limitations here, but they were necessary. We hope you understand.

You can also easily link images from your member gallery into you blog! In the post Format: Options look for the () Icon. You can also post YouTube Videos in your blog using the() icon.

When reading a blog, at the very top to the right you'll see a few more icons and a list of websites you can share the blog on. If you find a member's post interesting share it on your favorite website or email it to a friend. You can also search for blogs by specific players and get a list of blogs by date.

Comments, questions and bug reports are always welcome!

Enjoy everyone!

Bob Swauger
APA Web Admin

]]> pjulien65 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=467 Member Blogs Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:11:52 -0500 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=467 pjulien65 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=468 Member Blogs Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:17:31 -0500 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=468 Bob Swauger http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=445 Member Blogs Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:26:25 -0500 http://apamaine.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=445
Aside from the obvious visual changes to the site there are quite a few new features for you to use and enjoy... and there could be many more on the way, so stay tuned!!!

Here are just a few of the new features:

Personal Photo Galleries - use the link in the left menu and click the folder icon in the upper right to create your own gallery and upload images. Each member has 3 megs of space, or approximately 85 images! You can even select one of these uploaded images into your member profile!

Member Friends list - Integrated into the private message system you can now invite members to be your friends, similar to Facebook. At present it isn't much more than a list that will appear below in your member profile, but there are big plans for this feature, so stay tuned!

Restyled Stats Area - At present there are no new stats. The stats are just re-organized into collapsible tables that are printer friendly (just use your browser's built in print function).

Member WebLogs - You can now blog about your team and your APA experience in your own personal weblog! Your blog has it's own RSS feed that anyone can subscribe to it and post comments as well... you can even link it to your MySpace or Facebook account. We all know lots of interesting things happen during league play! Now you can share those experiences with others; we just ask that you keep it positive. Enjoy!

... and there are many other changes. Please take some time to look around and let us know what you think!

Enjoy everyone!


Bob Swauger
APA Web Admin

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