Thursday, April 04, 2013
4.4.2013
... you can feel it in the air's very ions: Darrell Hall is going to get laid before the night's over. --DFW
Saturday, October 06, 2012
Dunlop Grand Prix / Worst Tennis Ball Ever!
The Greater Cincinnati Indoor Tennis Association (GCITA) recently adopted the Dunlop Grand Prix (@DunlopSport) as the official ball of the 2012/13 Interclub season.
To put it succinctly, I have been playing tennis for a long time and the Grand Prix is the worst ball I have ever encountered.
Dunlop has created the heaviest feeling, hardest, and fuzziest ball that I've ever seen. These unfortunate characteristics make for a very unenjoyable game of tennis, no matter what level you play.
A 5.0 player on my team commented on how many times his forehand hit the tape due to the excessive weight of the ball. I find the Grand Prix particularly bad for serving. A powerful swing is usually greeted with shoulder-jarring impact.
Besides negatively impacting play, I believe that these balls are also dangerous. The weight, density and "fuzziness" are a recipe for shoulder, arm, and elbow injuries.
I suffered a shoulder injury last year and worked for several months to get rid of the pain and weakness. By the end of this summer, I was back to normal. At that point, the Grand Prix's made their appearance in my Tuesday night doubles group. Everyone immediately noticed how heavy the balls were. By the end of the first set, many players were complaining about the fuzziness and hardness of the balls. The next day my shoulder felt horrible.
If you despise these balls as much as I do, please send an email to the GCITA at gcita@inbox.com and demand a change. Be sure to tell your club owner as well.
In my opinion, Wilson U.S. Open (@WilsonTennis) and Penn Championship balls are superb. Perfect weight, density, and no fuzziness!
[Update: March 27, 2013] After taking a month off from singles play for my fatherly responsibilities; I returned to action on March 16th. (I had been playing doubles every Tuesday during my singles break; but fortunately I persuaded the group to ditch the Dunlop balls at the beginning of the session.) Anyway, I guess I had lost whatever Dunlop immunity I had built up. As my singles match wore on, I could feel my forearm and elbow breaking down. By the end of the match, I was serving at 50% speed. My forearm and elbow felt like someone had set a blowtorch to it; this pain lasted 3-4 days. I haven't played tennis since March 16th - singles or doubles. I have decided that as long as Dunlop balls are being used, I can no longer play singles in the GCITA. Thus, I will sadly be stepping down as captain; a postion I have held for 13 years or so. I will attempt to play GCITA doubles next session. Since the serving rotation is 1 every 4 (instead of 1 every 2); my arm and shoulder might be able to withstand the Dunlop assault. I am thoroughly convinced that Dunlop Grand Prix balls lead to shoulder and elbow injuries. Hopefully one day I will be proved right.
Friday, September 07, 2012
Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac - Suggestions / Complaints / Bugs
Unfortunately help is not on the horizon. Microsoft has no plans to release a version of Office 2013 for Mac users.
I have created this post to serve as a living and breathing list of suggestions (and complaints) to the @OfficeforMac team. Please feel free to offer your own suggestions in the comments section. If I like your idea, I'll add it to the list. We can make a difference people! Change is coming! Children are the future!
Suggestions / Complaints / Bugs
1. Outlook - Include a full featured Signature Editor that supports images and text formatting. There is no excuse for the inexplicably hobbled "editor" that is currently in the product.
2. Outlook - Give Mac users the "Outlook Today" view featured in Outlook 2010. The Mac equivalent is nowhere near as good.
3. Outlook - Users need the "Insert" command when creating a Meeting. This is useful for attaching supporting documents to a meeting invite. Currently Mac users must drag documents from Finder into the Meeting window. Very inconvenient.
More on the way...
Thursday, September 06, 2012
AT&T LTE Finally!
Big news for people with AT&T "4G" service... LTE service is coming! Hopefully your city makes the cut. Thankfully, Cincinnati is on the list, meaning there is one less thing I'm mad about.
I have provided a text list for easy readability. If you prefer AT&T's inscrutable coverage map, it's available here: http://www.att.com/network/
I have provided a text list for easy readability. If you prefer AT&T's inscrutable coverage map, it's available here: http://www.att.com/network/
The new markets:
o Syracuse, NY
o Bakersfield, CA
o Modesto, CA
o Omaha, NE
o Anchorage, AK
o Jacksonville, FL
o Bridgeport, CT
o Plus two market expansions: NYC-NJ, Washington D.C./Baltimore
LTE by the end of this year (2012):
o Albany, NY
o Albuquerque, NM
o Allentown, PA
o Birmingham, AL
o Boise, ID
o Charleston, SC
o Cincinnati, OH
o Columbia, SC
o Columbus, OH
o Denver-Boulder, CO
o Detroit, MI
o El Paso, TX
o Fayetteville, NC
o Fort Myers, FL
o Gary, IN
o Grand Rapids, MI
o Green Bay
o Greenville, SC
o Harrisburg, PA
o Hartford, CT
o Honolulu, HI
o Knoxville, TN
o Lancaster, PA
o Little Rock, AR
o Louisville, KY
o Memphis, TN
o Milwaukee, WI
o Minneapolis, MN
o Nashua, NH
o New Haven, CT
o Philadelphia, PA
o Pittsburgh, PA
o Portland, ME
o Portland, OR
o Providence, RI
o Reading, PA
o Rochester, NY
o Sacramento, CA
o Salinas-Seaside-Monterey, CA
o Salt Lake City, UT
o Seattle, WA
o Toledo, OH
o Tucson, AZ
o Tulsa
o Wilkes-Barre, PA
o Wilmington, DE
Friday, November 11, 2011
Say hello to my little friend!
"Max Pacino"
Max as Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface...
Looks like we've found Max's 2012 Halloween costume. This is my gangsta-riffic, pimpalicious First Communion attire from 1976. My mom has (for some reason) kept and preserved it in near-perfect condition.
The toy gun in the photo is also circa 1976.
Max as Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface...
Looks like we've found Max's 2012 Halloween costume. This is my gangsta-riffic, pimpalicious First Communion attire from 1976. My mom has (for some reason) kept and preserved it in near-perfect condition.
The toy gun in the photo is also circa 1976.
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