Back on yer 'eads Monday

team47b · July 2016

'ning

Nice idea I thought...

http://portugalresident.com/faro-airpor ... mbly-areas

This does not constitute an invitation

homers_double · July 2016

Good god it's wet out today and I'm joining the gym.

It's not been a great start to the week.

On a plus, it can only get better.

veronese68 · July 2016

Morning all,
Struggling with a distinct lack of motivation today, at least it wasn't raining for my ride in. Rather humid and quite windy so not the nicest ride in, but nice to be on a bike after too much time spent in cars over the weekend. Delivered the boy up for his work experience last night. He dropped the Mini off in the car park and was given a tour of the works after I left him. He was more than a little excited when I spoke to him afterwards, very glad to hear that. It wasn't just the subsidised canteen that excited him either.

seanoconn · July 2016

I'm glad to hear the rain has moved North for the time being. Mmmmm subsidised canteen, every Rugby players dream

homers_double · July 2016

What's he doing V68, something exciting or something dull?

veronese68 · July 2016

homers double wrote:

What's he doing V68, something exciting or something dull?

R&D department for a rather successful F1 team, I'm dead jealous to say the least. Should be very exciting straight after the GP.

homers_double · July 2016

Very nice!

veronese68 · July 2016

homers double wrote:

Very nice!

Yes, got him in through a classic case of "it's not what you know, it's who you know". I'm dead jealous.

team47b · July 2016

A friend here sent me this link, warning positive news and football related...

http://www.bbc.com/news/video_and_audio ... s/36761385

Wheelspinner · July 2016

Feeling decidedly second-hand... sore throat from the last few days is slowly turning into Ebola, or the Plague or something. Trying the usual combos of narcotics and booze to see if that helps. Am sure it will, one way or another.

Cool windy day. Spent *far* too much money on a new (digital) piano. Awesome gadget, now just gotta learn to play..

S.O. made me the standard chicken vegetable soup for dinner, which was in fact delicious.

tlw1 · July 2016

Today I fear is expensive with 5 plumbers and a builder playing at the house

I met them and then hot footed it out of there to Solihull

seanoconn · July 2016

Wheelspinner wrote:

S.O. made me the standard chicken vegetable soup for dinner, which was in fact delicious.

I'm glad you liked it

The secret is in the stock.

pinno · July 2016

team47b wrote:

'ning

Nice idea I thought...

http://portugalresident.com/faro-airpor ... mbly-areas

This does not constitute an invitation

There aren't many in here who can actually assemble a bike.

Me finished the plasterboard off me. Just half a bathroom to do (and sink, and bath, and old heater).

Started scraping floor in kitchen - glue residue off old Lino tiles. Lovely.

Laters.

Stevo_666 · July 2016

Cycled in but now on train back. Will pedal again tomorrow eve.

Its Stropteen's last night at home before she heads off to Slovakia for 8 days on some concert tour. I think the shock of having to do stuff for herself may be too much. Awaiting the inevitable last minute packing related panics...

pinno · July 2016

Stevo 666 wrote:

Cycled in but now on train back. Will pedal again tomorrow eve.

Be careful they haven't cancelled the train.

Stevo 666 wrote:

Its Stropteen's last night at home before she heads off to Slovakia for 8 days on some concert tour.

Singing or musical instrument?

Stevo_666 · July 2016

Pinno wrote:

Stevo 666 wrote:

Cycled in but now on train back. Will pedal again tomorrow eve.

Be careful they haven't cancelled the train.

Stevo 666 wrote:

Its Stropteen's last night at home before she heads off to Slovakia for 8 days on some concert tour.

Singing or musical instrument?

Violin - local youth orchestra jobbie. Good bit of life experience as well hopefully.

pinno · July 2016

Good for her. Any pretensions of the RCM?

Stevo_666 · July 2016

Pinno wrote:

Good for her. Any pretensions of the RCM?

Don't think she's thought that far ahead. Got to get grade 8 first - and a few GCSE's.

pinno · July 2016

Stevo 666 wrote:

Pinno wrote:

Good for her. Any pretensions of the RCM?

Don't think she's thought that far ahead. Got to get grade 8 first - and a few GCSE's.

Better crack the whip. Scholarships are available from there. Imagine the tuition fees you would save

Stevo_666 · July 2016

Hmm...not much more than normal uni fees. Thought it would be extortionate. It's her choice: doing a couple of weeks work experience at a local vets this summer, seems like Muttley has got her interested.

pinno · July 2016

A scholarship to pay for it, dummy.

http://www.rcm.ac.uk/apply/feesandfunding/rcmawards/

Stevo_666 · July 2016

Yeah I know...was just saying the base fees aren't that bad compared to the normal uni fees that I've budgeted for. Don't even know if she wants to go there yet.

Wheelspinner · July 2016

Stevo 666 wrote:

Yeah I know...was just saying the base fees aren't that bad compared to the normal uni fees that I've budgeted for. Don't even know if she wants to go there yet.

Remind her the alternative is marrying someone like, er, Seano. She'll soon make her mind up...

Flâneur · July 2016

Or marry a similar person to the old Vt... she'd get a better car than her old man.

On the serious side, all sounds sensible and proper, where have all the pushy helicopter parents gone? or is it just me who has to deal with them?

seanoconn · July 2016

Wheelspinner wrote:

Stevo 666 wrote:

Yeah I know...was just saying the base fees aren't that bad compared to the normal uni fees that I've budgeted for. Don't even know if she wants to go there yet.

Remind her the alternative is marrying someone like, er, Seano. She'll soon make her mind up...

My current Fiancé has a Masters in some gobbledygook or other. Degrees don't improve a woman's taste in men.

I'm sure Stevo would be over the moon to be my father in law. It's still an option

pinno · July 2016

Flâneur wrote:

On the serious side, all sounds sensible and proper, where have all the pushy helicopter parents gone? or is it just me who has to deal with them?

They are omnipresent.

They send their little darlings along to the Table Tennis. Pretty sure that I am a glorified child minder sometimes. 19 times out of 20, I have to bite my lip because they are mostly, talentless, unmotivated and lazy, when providing feedback.
It's a viscous circle - offer up platitudes and they keep coming back for more.

I tend to leave 15 minutes at the end of the sessions to have games. I can give them an inordinate handicap to give them half a chance and make the good one's work, or I can start them off scratch and totally demoralise them. I tend to go for the latter and weed the feckers out.

veronese68 · July 2016

Pinno wrote:

Flâneur wrote:

On the serious side, all sounds sensible and proper, where have all the pushy helicopter parents gone? or is it just me who has to deal with them?

They are omnipresent.

The only thing worse than other people's kids is other kids' parents.

seanoconn · July 2016

Pinno wrote:

Flâneur wrote:

On the serious side, all sounds sensible and proper, where have all the pushy helicopter parents gone? or is it just me who has to deal with them?

They are omnipresent.

They send their little darlings along to the Table Tennis. Pretty sure that I am a glorified child minder sometimes. 19 times out of 20, I have to bite my lip because they are mostly, talentless, unmotivated and lazy, when providing feedback.
It's a viscous circle - offer up platitudes and
they keep coming back for more.

I tend to leave 15 minutes at the end of the sessions to have games. I can give them an inordinate handicap to give them half a chance and make the good one's work, or I
can start them off scratch and totally demoralise them. I tend to go for the latter and weed the feckers out.

Are you an attacker or a chopper?

pinno · July 2016

seanoconn wrote:

Pinno wrote:

Flâneur wrote:

On..them?

They...out.

Are you an attacker or a chopper?

Ultra aggressive power player.

I like playing choppers. I like chopping a chop back to them and then attack the return instead of loop loop loop all the time, which is what they love playing against. Chopping is so old school due to modern rubbers. Choppers tend to rely on aggressive top spin. When they have no top spin to play against, the effect of the chop is much reduced. Attacking players tend to try to be exponentially more aggressive to choppers which just feeds them.
I have a protege who can play such heavy topspin he can neutralise a chopper within 1 or 2 strokes. However, he is a pen hold grip which lends itself to attacking backspin/chop. I changed his grip 2 seasons ago and he's sprouted wings.

Watch Ma Long - he can mix it up and is one of the best against the heavy choppers. I teach all my fast topspin players to play against chop - mainly because it forces them to play with good topspin technique and for very little other reason. I also teach them to chop too. You can chop with an aggressive, grippy topspin rubber (1.8mm to 2.2mm sponge). If you get two heavy topspin players together, it will just turn into a toss of a coin boxing match. If a player in the middle of a topspin rally suddenly chops, it can leave the opponent totally befuddled.
So instead of simply blocking, I teach them to chop block - it serves blocking topspin better and forces the opponent to loop or fail. Loop is reasonably easy to play against - it can be done close to the net or off the table.
Aggressive topspin requires a minimum amount of speed coming at you. I tend to try and make my players constantly mix it up - disrupt play; don't get into a slugging match.
By default I am more speed orientated rather than spin (top spin). Once you get to a level, canny players can play against heavy topspin - you're just utilising the spin and speed that's coming towards you with a bat angle (and direction) and little arm movement. If you put the emphasis on speed and direction, it is far more useful tactically than heavy topspin.

Stevo_666 · July 2016

Flâneur wrote:

Or marry a similar person to the old Vt... she'd get a better car than her old man.

On the serious side, all sounds sensible and proper, where have all the pushy helicopter parents gone? or is it just me who has to deal with them?

She doesn't need 2 helicopter parents...and doesn't seem to be a gold digger - yet.

I know she has zero interest in the sort of stuff I do so I'm not going to push it, but then again she's not thought seriously about what she wants to do. This two week stint working at the vets in the summer hols might get her interested in something half decent.

seanoconn · July 2016

Pinno wrote:

seanoconn wrote:

Pinno wrote:

Flâneur wrote:

On..them?

They...out.

Are you an attacker or a chopper?

Ultra aggressive power player.

I like playing choppers. I like chopping a chop back to them and then attack the return instead of loop loop loop all the time, which is what they love playing against. Chopping is so old school due to modern rubbers. Choppers tend to rely on aggressive top spin. When they have no top spin to play against, the effect of the chop is much reduced. Attacking players tend to try to be exponentially more aggressive to choppers which just feeds them.
I have a protege who can play such heavy topspin he can neutralise a chopper within 1 or 2 strokes. However, he is a pen hold grip which lends itself to attacking
backspin/chop. I changed his grip 2 seasons ago and he's sprouted wings.

Watch Ma Long - he can mix it up and is one of the best against the heavy choppers. I teach all my fast topspin players to play against chop - mainly because it forces them to play with good topspin technique and for very little other reason. I also teach them to chop too. You can chop with an aggressive, grippy topspin rubber (1.8mm to 2.2mm sponge). If you get two heavy topspin players together, it will just turn into a toss of a coin boxing match. If a player in the middle of a topspin rally suddenly chops, it can leave the opponent totally befuddled.
So instead of simply blocking, I teach them to chop block - it serves blocking topspin better and forces the opponent to loop or fail. Loop is reasonably easy to play against - it can be done close to the net or off the table.
Aggressive topspin requires a minimum amount of speed coming at you. I tend to try and make my players constantly mix it up - disrupt play; don't get into a slugging match.
By default I am more speed orientated rather than spin (top spin). Once you get to a level, canny players can play against heavy topspin - you're just utilising the spin and speed that's coming towards you with a bat angle (and direction) and little arm movement. If you put the emphasis on speed and direction, it is far more useful tactically than heavy topspin.

Bizarrely I was watching a documentary last night about 2012 US Olympic table tennis hopefuls, called 'Top Spin' A prodigy of 17 doing a two month stint in China to improve his game but found it too tough. The program's ends with him narrowly missing out on an Olympic place to a Canandian. I googled him to check his progress, only to find he hadn't played competitively since. Hardly surprising after 6 hours training/practise a day and winning the National championship, merits a cheque for $340.

Back on yer 'eads Monday

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