Good Ho'penings...

First, Pam has started going to these big time dentists that advertise all the time on TV and have all the latest equipment - CAT scans, digital xrays, etc. They need them as they both look to be about 25 or so, and probably don't know the 'older' dental techniques/skills - and are also pretty cute... Amazingly enough, their prices are quite high, but Pam likes them and they seem to be doing a good job so far. She started her deep root cleanings and came back almost without any trauma and was given a $100 tooth brushing system free - another way you can tell when you are being charge too much...

Anyway, she need a lot of work done that should have been done 40 years ago and needs to be done while her body can still adapt to the changes and it will boost her self image which she has always had a problem with...Not! (A little joke there). But, it is good news. I have been trying to get her to go for 3 years now, as her Dell dental insurance provides $ 1,500/yr, and for the first two years she didn't use it and there are few thing I hate more than leaving good insurance money on the table...

I went to play in the weekly 9-ball tournament again this Tuesday. I had only had about an hours worth of decent sleep on Monday night and was going to blow it off as I was real tired, but ended up going. All of the league playoffs are done and all the really good players are back from the Utah State Tournament and they were all there to play. I am not sure how many people were playing, but I would guess in the 20 range. And, about 15 of them were players that I consider equal, better, or much better, than me in my mind.

While I am on that subject, It was pointed out to me that I had mentioned in an earlier post of this tome, that the best player in the area was Steve - and it was further pointed out that there was at least one other player that is equal to or better than Steve on any given day... So, I wanted to point out that Carey Ziebarth is also a great player and one of the best banker shooters I have ever seen in non-pro players... I hope the "Crowd" is pleased now...

Anyway, as I was saying, all the good players were there, including both Steve and Carey and literally all the really good players in the area. So, it started and I got a bye on the first round. Steve had to play Curtis and Curtis beat him. So, then I had to play Curtis and after a very rough start, ended up beating him to both of our amazement. I always start off cold and most times loose my first match in these tournaments. Then, I had to play this cowboy, who wasn't very good, but real macho and had his girl and boots and all. He can make some good shots, but didn't have a clue about shape. Anyway, I ended up scratching on the 9-ball in the first two games and the score was 2 to zero, in a race to 4. This table was amazingly fast and the cue ball just kept rolling. It was hard to control for all. Anyway, I finally ended up beating him, 4 to 3.

Then, the next match was against my old 'friend' Dr. Dave... We have talked and have many common interests and both lived in the same two places in Kalifornia and knew a lot of common stuff, but anyway, we started the match. On the first shot, I missed my shot, but because the table was so fast, a ball kept rolling and ultimately knocked in the 9-ball for the win. Well, Dr. Dave went off saying that this was the same nightmare that happened last time we played and was on the path to the cliff to jump... Any time I made any type of extra good shot, he would go off and I was starting to feel bad for him. I even missed one 9-ball on purpose, trying a almost impossible shot, to sorta make up for the first shot that bothered him so much. He was just too frustrated to play well and I beat him. He was realll happy.

I then had to play a number of other good players and beat them all until I and one other player were the only 'unbeaten' players left. His name is Rob and he is a very good player, so we started and I got in an early 9-ball combo for the first win. Then, I had the break and broke and ran the table for 2-0. Then, he broke and missed and I ran the table again up to the 9-ball and hung it in the pocket. I should have taken appropriate time to make it as the best and usually only way to win with these good players is to not let them get to the table. So, instead of it being 3-0, it was 2-1. He won the next two games making it 2-3. Then, he ran the next table down to the 9 and missed it, which I put in, making it 3-3 with only the final game left. I was starting to fade fast by that point about 11pm or after. In the last game, he ran most of it, but again left me the 7-9, I think, which I ran and won the match. So, I was the only unbeaten player in the tournament.

Then I had to wait for the rest of the looser bracket matches to finish and was getting more an more tired. I then played the last player in the looser bracket and he would have to beat me two matches - the first one to both be losers and then see who won the final match. His name was Budda, for obvious reasons, and is a very good player. With his skill and my being overly tired, he won the first match with little 'objection' from me. I just couldn't see very well at that point. So, we were equal score wise. He mentioned that he wanted to play golf early and asked me if I would be interested in him quiting and us splitting the money equally. In my current status I jumped on that offer and ended up 'winning' first place again. I was very happy with the results, considering... He would have probably beat me if we had played, but you never know...

So, Wednesday morning real early, I got up and went fishing. I figured that it was the first good weather for a while and with all my 'luck', how could I miss a good day fishing. When I got down there and was caring all my stuff to fish, I noticed that the river was up about 3-4 feet higher than usual. This happens every so often. They open up the dams and blast a bunch of water through to clean out all the trash and test the systems or something. Anyway, there is all this stuff floating in the water, like weeds and logs and all sorts of stuff. I guess the underwater scene is messed up to because I ended up not even getting one bite all day. It was a nice day, but not a very 'lucky' fishing day.

On Tuesday, another bridge jumper was killed. He was jumping in 40-50 mph winds and his little opening shoot, which they hold in their hands here because its only 650 feet and need it to open fast, got wrapped around his arm in the wind and never opened his main shoot. That is the 6 jumper to die there and yet again they are calling for banning the 'sport'. I view it as sort of a thinning of the species...

I saw, I really hate to say this...Speaker of the house, Nancy Peliosi on Jay Leno last night. I have 'enjoyed' her for many years while living in the SF Bay area before moving here to DaHo. She was an inarticulate, crazy liberal then and she still is now. I didn't see her for a few years lately, but she is really a weird looking person these days. She has these two sets of eyebrows that I just don't understand. when she was sitting there being all smug and 'thoughtful' there was only one thick set, but when she starts talking and getting animated, these other thin, sorta high-centered ones pop up about an inch above her real ones. Its the weirdest thing I have ever seen. I thought they were always there, as I guess all the pictures show her with her 'face' on or something, when you see her on TV, but when not animated, they fall into her real ones. Check it out, it is really weird. I wonder what the Arab leaders thought of them and all of us...