maybe we’re really like strangers passing one another on a moonless night

Posted: September 7, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: inward stare, pig out, pool & billiards, pool & billiards accessories, pool & billiards reviews, random thoughts | Tags: , , , , , | 10 Comments »

the weather lately has been unpredictable.  yesterday was unbearably hot, and today promises another descent into the furnace.  not much to do except to survive it, i guess.  so to my fellow californians, drink plenty of iced water, try to stay cool, and be safe.  if you drive, don’t be stingy and turn on your ac.  better that than a heat stroke.

this past weekend i was in dire need for nourishment, so i went with this delectable option.

that’s a bowl of beef noodle soup, or pho in the original language.  here in socal, pho is a staple of asian cuisine, along with other famous asian dishes like fried rice and sushi.  i’ll just say that the healing power of pho is phenomenal; it’s the perfect blend of spices, meat, soup, noodles, and veggies all in one bowl.  anthony bourdain loves this stuff.  people say that the ones in vietnam are wayyy better, but vietnam is like a few thousand miles away, and i like the local version just fine.  when i get the chance, i’ll sample the authentic pho.  until then, i’ll go with the ones i can find around the neighborhood.

before we begin, just want to briefly mention a chalk comparison.  a while ago i tried and reviewed the nir super professional chalk.  after comparing the nir to its sister product, the blue diamond chalk, i have concluded that the blue diamond works much better than its kin.  granted, the super pro is a good chalk, but the bd just sticks to the tip better, and doesn’t make a big mess.  plus, the bd chalk has a much finer grain than the super pro; the little dust that comes off the bd when you chalk looks almost mist like.  the dust from the super pro, in contrast, seems heavier and drops to the ground faster than the dust from bd.  so for me, i’ll stick with the blue diamonds because they are (to me) a better product.  my impression: master chalk/triangle chalk = average, nir super pro = good, blue diamond = better.  when i get enough change from my panhandling gig, i may pony up for that magical kamui crack powder chalk and give it a spin.  (my fellow bloggers ms. omgwtf and mr. frerking both reviewed the kamui chalk some time ago; check it out if you like.)  that is assuming i can find any in stock.  and now, back to our regularly scheduled broadcast.

i previously wrote this post about something completely different.  after reading through it a number of times, i didn’t think the post said what i wanted to say.  so i decided to change the whole thing and do a little personal narrative.  after all, picking on myself is more instructive.

it’s hard to make friends at the pool hall.

i think that at the pool hall, it’s easy to make acquaintances.  if you have been going to a pool hall for some time, you will probably have a bunch of them, and that’s just the natural progression of frequenting any business.  at the pool hall, you’re likely to get to know the counter person, the regulars who play there, players you practice with, people you buy and sell pool equipments to and from, and hustlers and gamblers trying to make a game.  but for me, i can’t say that i have friends at the pool hall.  i think that at pool halls, there is a basic element of distrust, which create an atmosphere not friendship-inducing.

of course, i’m talking strictly about myself.  when i say friends, i’m referring to a specific definition of my own choosing.  simply put, it’s who i share with.  for example, when i have a great day, i don’t call acquaintances to celebrate; i don’t know these people well enough to have their phone numbers.  instead, i call up my friends for some good old revelry and grubs.  if i have had a terrible day, that too is reserved for my friends.  joy, pain, meals, drinks, company–in some ways, my friendship is defined through sharing.

at the pool hall though (and i suspect in many other areas of life), we have many different people with many different ideas of what a friendship should be.  some are content at the surface level: a shallow and loosely-defined type of friendship.  others view friendship as an ever-changing set of alliances due to switch any second depending on what is happening, or what is perceived to be happening.  and there are the loners who don’t feel the need to know anyone, except maybe a small handful of people.

looking back on my pool days, out of the hundreds of people i’ve met, i had made exactly one friend.  a shocking statistic to me, when i think about it.  so now you know my bias.

in a previous post i touched on the subject of “limited purpose venue”, or lpv.  the reason i look at pool halls as a limited purpose venue is because to me, there isn’t a lot to do at the pool hall except to play pool.  since i believe that i’m more likely to make acquaintances at a pool hall than friends, i focus on pool when i go.  i rarely eat at the pool hall.  sometimes i’ll buy a soft drink, but that’s about it as far as my tab goes.  for me, pool halls are a true lpv, because the social aspect is fleeting at best, the owner has put the disco plan on halt, and the steakhouse inside the pool hall is not forthcoming.  the only constant thing at a pool hall is pool.

when i see the people at the pool hall hanging out with one another, i can’t help but think certain questions.  do they share meals with one another?  do they share stories and jokes and private laments?  do they care about one another as i do with my friends?  am i just socially inept and thus incapable of making friends?  and most important of all, do i actually want to make friends with people at the pool hall?  i say the last statement without an ounce of snobbery.  i’m not looking down at the people at the pool hall; it’s simply a flat question i ask myself.  we all do it when we meet new people: do i want to be friends with that person?  so please don’t take it the wrong way.

the answer to my questions is that i don’t have an answer, just like i don’t have answers to most of life’s questions.  which is apropos, because pool is often a microcosm of life.  and since i don’t have answers to my questions, i will remain a poolriah, looking from outside in.

flawed system, maybe?

Posted: June 29, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: pool & billiards, pool & billiards accessories, pool & billiards reviews, random thoughts | Tags: , , , | 4 Comments »

let me just say that i’m not an expert on apa at all.  not even close.  below are just my opinions; take it or leave it.

over time we’ve all read about some of the shenanigans that occur in the american poolplayers association, or apa for short.  there are, for example, intricate plots of sandbagging.  and depending on who you play, the myriad ways of sharking, either overtly or covertly.  some implied physical violence, and with it, probably, actual fistfights (those are far & few in between, i’m sure).  what i fail to hear, however, are actions taken against the perpetrators.  i often wonder why that is.  could it be that there is no established system of trained referees?  lack of disciplinary actions by the tournament directors or league operators?  maybe no one cares, because that means “i get to sandbag and shark too”?

i have a hypothesis, although i can’t vouch for its validity or accuracy.  as i understand it, apa leagues are basically franchises, much like your local mcdonalds or subways.  in short, an apa league operates under the for-profit model, meaning the league operator makes money off of the league, which is a business a la taco smell.  as such, each league member is also a customer.  and in a for-profit business, the customer is always right.  now let’s assume (yeah i know) the franchised league is the league operator’s only source of income.  if he/she decides on a disciplinary action against a league member, it’s possible that the member will get pissed off, withdraws from the league, and goes on to baselessly badmouth the league & the operator to other potential members and drive away business.  that isn’t a big deal if the league is already established and has a lot of members already; this probably means the league operator has established a good reputation and can withstand minor assaults on his/her integrity and good name.  however, if the league is still new or is trying to get established, this kind of attack can be detrimental to future business.  in the latter case, each punishment doled out by the league operator becomes a potential land mine.  will the offender take it in stride?  will the offender repent?  or will that person get pissed off and verbally trash everything the league operator worked so hard for?  so instead of looking at things from the ethical perspective, the league operator may end up looking at things through the business perspective–or to put it bluntly, through the fear perspective.  through the fear of losing business, the prism of right and wrong gets swept under the rug.

i’m not saying which approach is right or wrong.  it is a really difficult position to be in for the league operator though.  unfortunately, i don’t really have a solution other than to have a national board (with regional representatives) to levy out punishments so the league operators won’t be in the line of fire.  but i don’t think that’s a good solution at all.

and for something completely unrelated, here’s a quick product review.

because i’m a total slut whore for nifty tools & gadgets, after i read omg’s review on the kamui gator grip i decided to give it a go.  (i’m also in the market for a utility belt that will hold all my cue/tip tools i need–such as a giant bastard file, 50 grades of sandpaper, leather buffing piece, cordless drill, hammers, throwing stars, poisoned darts–that has a giant metal batman belt buckle.  in black.  if you know a shop lemme know.)  some people say that i’m a tool.  your opinion may differ.  below are some pics of the gator grip; click on them for larger versions.  btw, if a kamui rep is reading this, consider paying omg a commission.  she got you my $30.  :P



above is an image of the gator grip.



above is a picture of the opened gator grip.  the cover piece is held closed by the little magnets in the corners.



above is a close-up of the swirly pattern of the abrasive surface.


after i opened the gator grip, i examined the inside.  (i shall now refer to the kamui gator grip as kgg.)  the first thing i noticed was how flimsy the metal abrasive pad looked; it was basically a very thin piece of metal with patterned abrasive teeth affixed to the wood base.  i did think the magnetic closure was very nifty though.  but enough with looks; the proof is in the performance.  (does that even make sense?)

before i used the kgg, i watched kamui’s instructional video on youtube.  then very cautiously, i roughed up the tip surface with the kgg by mimicking the video.  my tip surface went from flat to fluffy pretty quickly.  i only applied very light force; had i went at it more aggressively, i would’ve roughed up the tip quite a bit.  in short, the kgg worked as advertised.  i actually wish the abrasive surface is finer, so first time users won’t accidentally shave off more than they intend.  one small gripe i have is that with the kgg, my tip doesn’t have that nice sharp edge along the circumference of the tip.  when i shape my tip with a fine diamond file, i can get that nice clean edge easily.  the trade-off though is that with the diamond file, you’d remove quite a lot of tip.  but for taking out mushrooms, you have to use a file; the kgg simply isn’t designed to remove mushrooms.  you’ll probably destroy the kgg’s abrasive surface if you do.

is there an alternative for the kgg?  my guess is that as long as you apply very light pressure, you can achieve the same result by using a very fine emery board or maybe a baby’s emery board.  for my pool brethren, ask a girl what that is unless you’re metro.  (fortunately i have very cool female friends who are willing to edumacate my ignoramus a~*, so i can pretend to know what i’m talking about.  :P )  on the other hand, my pool sistren should have no questions whatsoever.

dollar vs. value?  hard to say.  you pay that $30 for the kgg for its unique packaging, genuine wood body (boxwood or ebony), and the wow factor, plus it does work, so you’re not paying for a piece of junk that’ll sit in your garage or inside your messy drawer.  on a budget?  you can get very creative and find many different alternatives, just not in places you may think.  (i’d try hardware stores or beauty supply shops.  target and walmart will probably carry emery boards; guys should probably grab the wife or girlfriend for camuflaje.)  i like mine, so i’d say get it if you got $30.  no cash?  i’ve been there.  hey, poverty is the necessity for creativity, and creativity is the necessity for invention.  :D   do what suits your budget.

misrepresentashun

Posted: May 25, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: blogging, pool & billiards accessories, pool & billiards reviews, random thoughts | Tags: , , , | 8 Comments »

recently i read something interesting on snarky’s blog.  apparently, some spammer left a comment under the guise of wanting to do a guest post on snarky’s blog.  after some emailing with snarky, i found out that a pool company had hired some firm to do some seo work.  (i’ve no idea what this pool company was selling; cues, accessories, no idea.  frankly, i didn’t care to find out.)  i know nothing about seo, but my very rudimentary understanding is that you can increase your visibility on search engines by doing certain things for your website/blog, such as having people link to your site, leave comments on other people’s blogs that link back to you, include certain words/phrases in your posts/articles, and so on.  i don’t know exactly how this works, but apparently you can hire a tech or marketing firm to do this for you.  i’ve seen lots of spam comments and people trying to leave links in comments, but i’ve not seen people spam under false pretenses such as asking to do a guest post on your blog.

although i understand the need for people to expand their businesses, this to me seems a little low.  i realize that many people create blogs as a vehicle to sell stuff.  if you’re starting a business and there isn’t a lot of money, blogs are free platforms to do advertising; all you need is to put some hours into some basic design and you can start pushing your products and services.  (no hosting fee!)  for me though, blogs are a platform to express ideas and personal feelings/beliefs that cannot be shared otherwise.  so when spammers try to take advantage of personal blogs, it cheapens the platform and makes communication less meaningful.  to do so under false pretenses is, to me, an extra low blow.

i’m glad i have spam filters and they catch a lot of stuff.  it’s just kind of sad that we have to use them at all.  i’m rambling now; forgive my babbles.

btw, i recently got to see the simonis x-1 table cloth cleaner up close.  the x-1 cloth cleaner is quite expensive; i’m sure the cost alone has stopped people from even considering the purchase.  when i examined it up close, the cleaning pad has a pretty rough surface, but it doesn’t seem abrasive.  (weird, i know.)  i can’t tell what material it’s made out of (simonis says it’s some sort of high tech stuff), but a demonstration shows it cleans up dirt & chalk marks with ease.  according to the x-1′s website, the x-1 works by generating static and then traps the dust particles inside the high tech cleaning pad.  i believe the retail price can be up to $110.  is it worth all that money?  not sure.  but it does clean the cloth without much effort, and you won’t need chemicals or brushes that may damage the cloth.  (a vacuum cleaner is one of the most efficient cloth cleaner, but it may cost way more than the x-1, so that’s something to consider.)  those that are loaded should get one, and maybe let your friends borrow it.  :P   just make sure you get it back after your buddy’s done cleaning.

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