Just a couple weeks ago I posted that we would carry on with the PoolStudents project into a second year.

Unfortunately, that was just a lot of wishing and hoping. There just isn’t enough volunteer support to carry the idea to where it needs to go. There’s no value for anyone in limping along the way we currently are.

Despite having lots of potential content the time resources needed to put it into play is just beyond our reach for a project that doesn’t have revenue. I hope to find a home for some of our original material on YouTube.

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Ok, we haven’t been doing much here for two months? We’re suffering from Volunteer Burnout, Or What’sthepoint-itis, and/or What-Were-We-Thinking-Syndrome.

But after pondering PoolStudents’ future we have reached a tentative fine, probably, on continuing in at least the short term.

We couldn’t do this without Abie Padilla who does the endless web updating. And Melinda’s design stuff. And the people who have volunteered to commentate or make a few videos.

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January Topic:
”There are numerous pro athletes, entertainers, and other celebrities who are pool enthusiasts. What kind of potential (if any) do you see for celebrity star power to influence media exposure for the pool world? I really believe that we can all have a positive influence in bringing new eyes to this sport with this next post. What’s your opinion?”

There’s so much angst in the tiny pool world about the game’s place in the world order. That is to say somewhere above organized scrabble but at least one level below bowling. The above question is posed for this month’s edition of “Poolsynergy,” a collection of blogs from bloggers around the Internet pool world. Melinda asked me to give my opinion.

The short answer to the above question is, “No, not in my lifetime.’’

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Many folks would say that’s my normal personality status. Fine. I won’t deny it, but still….

Here’s the issue. The words JAM UP. JAM UP? What? What the hell is that. In the pool world if you’re playing good you’re said to be playing JAM UP. JAM UP? What?

The thing about language is words are suppose to conjure up an image. The British and Australians do a much better job than we do in choosing words that make our language come alive but let’s make an effort people.

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I play pool for one reason. Competition. The thing I’m competing against is my brain, nothing else. Success at pool is all mental. And the amount that you can convince your brain who is boss and that it needs to follow your wishes is, well, key.

Right now for me it’s a little like WWI trench warfare or the damn Charge of the Light Brigade. My brain is killing me. Some days I jump out of the trench and head into No Man’s Land and I’m immediately shot in the face with a cannon ball. Other days I get about 20 yards before being hacked into little pieces. Sometimes my brain even lets me think I’m winning just before it strafes me into oblivion with uranium-enriched, 50 caliber bullets.

That’s OK. That’s what I signed up for and I soldier on.

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