Bowling update:

This week was a difficult week at the bowling alley. After somebody decided to relieve me of all my bowling equipment, including 3 balls, two pairs of shoes and a rolling bag, I was forced to climb into the attic for some older equipment.

When I began warming up, it was pretty apparent that I would not have as easy a time as I have had in previous weeks. Here's the skinny:

Game 1
1.9-spare
2.9-spare
3.Strike
4.Strike
5.6-spare
6.Strike
7.Strike
8.Strike
9.8-1 open
10.9-spare, Strike

The first game was 211 and all three 9 counts were 10-pins. It could have been much worse and much better all at the same time.

Game 2
1.9-spare
2.9-spare
3.Strike
4.Strike
5.9-spare
6.Strike
7.9-whiff-I missed my first 10 pin of the night.
8.9-spare
9.6-spare
10.Strike, Strike, 9.

I got two big strikes in the 10th frame to squeak out a 201.

Game 3
1.Strike
2.9-spare
3.9-spare
4.Strike
5.Strike
6.9-whiff-missed my 2nd 10 pin of the night.
7.Strike
8.9-whiff-missed my 3rd 10 pin of the night.
9.Strike
10.Strike, Strike, 8.

202 for the 3rd game and the pattern continued. I was throwing the ball pretty well, I just couldn't seem to carry the 10 pin on any type of consistent basis. I left a total of 9 10 pins and missed three of those, otherwise it would have been a typical, just a bit above average night. Instead, with no carry, I shot a bit below my average for the first time in many weeks.

Oh well, for the most part, I was pleased. I threw the ball really good and, although I missed entirely too many spares, it wasn't a difficult night on the lanes. I made a good adjustment early and bowled pretty well, except for the lapses in concentration while shooting at the ten pin. (or in the gutter, whichever way you prefer to look at it)

That's all for this week.

G

Bad Night, Bad Week

This recap is a bit late due to some ass-hat breaking into my truck and stealing a bunch of stuff. I simply haven't had the time to update here this week, what with running all over OKC trying to get the window replaced in my truck. That and the heaviest thunderstorm of the season pouring down some much needed rain here left me little time to blog.

Tuesday night was a good night and a bad night all wrapped up in one. First off, we won four games from the 2nd place team in our league and they were not very happy about it. We climbed above the .500 level for the season for the first time in quite a few weeks with the sweep and are solidly in the middle of the pack with just two weeks remaining.

Unfortunately, the robbers took all of my bowling equipment out of my truck, so I will be bowling with old equipment for the last two weeks while waiting to see just how bad the insurance company tries to screw us when all is said and done there.

The lanes are definitely getting tougher as we near the end of the league. Normally, it is just the opposite, as the house generally puts up an easy shot at the start of league and the end of league, in hopes of attracting more bowlers for their summer leagues. Anyway, the shot has tightened up and it is obvious by the scores throughout the league.

Game 1
1.9-spare
2.9-spare
3.9-spare
4.Strike
5.Strike
6.9-spare
7.Strike
8.Strike
9.Seven-nil-split.
10.Strike,6-3

I got a little lost at the end and was not able to recover, shooting 197, my first game under 200 in the last five weeks. It would not be my last game under 200 on this night though.

Game 2
1.7-2 - split
2.Strike
3.Strike
4.Strike
5.Strike
6.Strike
7.Strike
8.Strike
9.Strike
10.Strike, 9-spare

Much better this time around, finishing with 268 and feeling like I actually had a shot heading into the last game of shooting my fourth 700 in the last five weeks.

Wrong!

Game 3
1.7-2 - split
2.8-1 - split
3.9-spare
4.8-spare
5.9-spare
6.Strike
7.9-spare
8.9-nil-missing a single pin is unforgivable.
9.8-spare
10.Strike, 8-spare.

Really nice, 162 in my out-game and I miss my average by three sticks for the night. I'm not sure what happened the last game, other than I didn't throw the ball very well and I didn't carry when I did hit the pocket. I chalk it up to one of those nights. The lack of concentration is inexcusable for a bowler with my experience and missing a single pin is simply lack of concentration on my part.

No bad beats, just bad bowling. Hopefully it will be better next week, but with one of my older bowling balls, that remains to be seen.

Have a good week.

G

Another 700

Well, I had another good night at the bowling alley last night and my team was succesful as well, going 3 and 1 on the night. Last week, when I played hookie and stayed home to play poker, they, of course, won 4 while bowling me blind. They all bowled really well the previous week and decided to give me a ration of shit before last night's festivities got under way.

Following the good natured teasing from my buddies, I proceeded to kick them all square in the junk.

224-248-242 for a 714 series.

Again, I raised my average another stick and am sitting squarely at 210 per game with three short weeks left in the season. I would rather have the average higher than that, but since I am only bowling one night per week now, I am still pretty happy with 210.


Game 1
1.Strike
2.Strike
3.Strike
4.Strike
5.9-spare
6.Strike
7.8-1-chopped the 6-10 after a bad first ball.
8.8-1-another bad pitch, split this time.
9.Strike
10.Strike, strike, Eight.

I came back well from two bad frames and finished with 224, then I get up for my first ball of the next game and do the exact same thing as the 7th and 8th frame of the first game.

Game 2
1.7-2-right through the nose and an ugly split.
2.9-spare.
3.Strike
4.9-spare.
5.Strike
6.Strike
7.Strike
8.Strike
9.Strike
10.Strike, strike, Nine.

Again, I finished strong for a 248 and I am on a good roll heading into the last game.

Game 3
1.9-spare-my only 10 pin of the night.
2.9-spare-seven pin that definitely should have carried.
3.Strike
4.Strike
5.Strike
6.Strike
7.9-spare
8.5-spare-my ball did something funny here and stayed right and left the 1-2-4-6-10 washout, but I covered it.
9.Strike
10.Strike, strike, Nine.

Again, but for a few little hiccups along the way, I could have really shot a big series last night. Still, with the 242 in the last game, I shot 714 overall and I am very happy with that.

That's all for this week, see you next Wednesday.

G

Nada

No update coming this week as I had a buddy sub for me and I stayed home and played Pokah!

Karaoke Gear

These are the microphones that we use for our shows. Sturdy Shure corded SM58's for the singers, the wireless headset for my wife and the wireless handheld for me. They are all good mic's and we have had them for a long time.

--

This new floor monitor was actually more expensive than the speakers were individually, but it is well worth it for the singers. It is very important for the singer to actually be able to hear themselves and short of investing in the high tech gear that professional artists use, these things work just fine.

--

This is the karaoke machine itself. We used to use a triple tray player and pull each individual disc for every single song. This machine has a built in hard drive and we currently have more than 21,000 songs stored that are simply at your fingertips. Punch in the number on the remote control and you have karaoke without ever leaving your table.

--

Here's where the music all starts, our Mackie 408 powered mixer. It has built in effects and seperate amps for the main speakers and the floor monitors. It is strong enough to actually run a small band and has 8 channels, of which, we only use 5 for the music and the microphones.

--

Here is one of the new additions to my karaoke gear. The wife and I purchased these last Friday (thanks Uncle Sam) and they are a godsend. They really don't sound alot different than my huge JBL's, but they only weigh 35 lbs. or so, compared to 109 lbs. apiece on the older JBL's.

--

Okay, there's the gear. I'm sure you are thrilled that you wasted those 5 minutes of your life. Thanks for stopping by.

G

Heater? Nah

After two straight 700's at the bowling alley, it was time for a dropoff and that dropoff aarrived last night. The lanes had even more oil than normal and it took some time to adjust. I did make a pretty good adjustment though, after struggling most of the first game:

Game 1

1.Strike
2.Strike
3.Nine-spare-ten-pin.
4.8-open-left a 7-10 split on a pocket hit.
5.6-3-trying to adjust, I came up light and washed out.
6.9-spare-four pin.
7.9-spare-another ten-pin.
8.Strike
9.Nine-spare-ten-pin.
10.Nine-spare-Nine-another ten pin.

I went from lined up to lost and back to lined up, but could not find a way to carry the ten pin. 181 for the first game and my lowest game in at least three weeks.

Game 2

1.Strike
2.Strike
3.Nine-spare- seven pin.
4.Nine-spare-ten pin.
5.Strike
6.Strike
7.Strike
8.Six-spare. I got way too fast with this shot and missed right, leaving the 2-4-8-10 split, but I was able to convert it.
9.Strike
10.Strike, Strike, Strike.

244 in the second game and back on track a bit.

Game 3

1.Nine-spare-four pin.
2.Nine-open-left a solid seven pin and missed it in the ditch.<--lack of concentration. 3.Six-two. Pulled this shot right through the nose and left the big four split, 4-6-7-10. 4.Strike 5.Strike 6.Strike 7.Strike 8.Strike 9.Nine-spare-ten pin. 10.Strike, Nine-spare-seven pin. Finished strong for 215 after a horrendous start. This is what I should have done the first game, except I couldn't carry when I finally got it to the pocket. 640 series, which is above my average, so I am still pleased and for the first time in a while, we finally won 3 games out of 4. We could have won all four games if I had struck out in the first game, but it wasn't meant to be. Current Average-209 I haven't talked about our positions in the lineup, but I am the anchor man on my team. That means I bowl last and face the other team's best bowler on a nightly basis. Last night provided one of the rare opportunities of stepping up in the tenth frame and knowing that I needed a strike for my team to win the game. More often than not, I get those strikes, but last night was not one of those nights. I pride myself on being able to get up there under a bit of pressure and throw a solid shot and both balls in the first game last night were good enough. They got to the pocket, just didn't carry and really, that is all you can do. It's a bit like trapping your opponent in poker, playing perfectly and flipping the cards up to find out that he has a two-outer to beat you. Some times you dodge the two-outer and sometimes you don't. Anyway, bowling is going well and I have raised my average 2-3 pins in the three weeks I have been tracking it here. I think I have paid more attention and had a higher degree of concentration since I started keeping track of my score to document here, so that is one goal accomplished. Too often, when my team is getting hammered by the opposing team, I found I would lose concentration and the results would be poor shots. As tricky as our oil pattern is right now, there is no chance for success without concentrating on what you are doing on every single shot. That's all I have for today, thanks for stopping by. G

Back To Back 700's

After going through the entire league with not a sniff of a 700 series, I've been able to bowl back to back 700's the last two weeks. I followed up last week's 714 with a 713 last night, again raising my average another pin.

Current Average: 209

Game 1
1.Strike
2.Strike
3.Nine-spare
4.Strike
5.Strike
6.Strike
7.Strike
8.Strike
9.Eight-spare
10.Eight-one for my only open of the game and promptly turning a 250 or 260 game into 234.

Game 2
1.Strike
2.Strike
3.Strike
4.Nine-spare-fawkinig ten pin!
5.Strike
6.Strike
7.Nine-whiff-another fawking ten pin and I missed it.
8.Nine-spare-another ten pin.
9.Strike
10.Nine-spare-Strike-and yet another ten pin.

216, but missing the ten pin in the 7th frame cost me another pretty big game. I didn't miss the pocket once this game and really threw the ball well.

Game 3
1.Strike
2.Strike
3.Strike
4.Strike
5.Nine-spare-yup, another ten pin.
6.Strike
7.Strike
8.Strike
9.Strike
10.Strike, Seven-dash. I split on the out ball and then missed everything on the spare attempt.

263 in the out game for a 713 series.

Overall, I threw the ball great again last night and with a little luck, could have shot much, much higher. Of course, had I just made all my spares, I would have shot much higher also, but we don't like to talk about that.

The shot has changed a bit over the last three weeks and alot of good bowlers are having trouble adjusting to it. They have decided to add a touch (and by a touch, I mean, just a little bit) more oil to the lanes at the start of the night and it has changed things ever so slightly. The change has been perfect for my shot, allowing me to move right early in the night and also allowing me to stay in my normal spot for much longer into the night. I am normally moving left by the early frames of the second game and now, with a bit more oil on the lanes, it is well into the 3rd game of the night before I ever have to think about moving.

I have certainly enjoyed the last few weeks at the bowling alley and I think by keeping track of my individual scores to monitor on this blog, my concentration has been much better as well. I probably still won't get the average up to the 215 I would like to carry this year, but it is on the rise and I am happy with that.

Until next week, I will be practicing shooting ten pins.

G