en-us Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:40:41 -0500 info@ctapa.com 60 http://ctapa.com/forum/blogrss.asp The APA of Connecticut Member Blogs http://ctapa.com/ http://ctapa.com/common/forumimages/APALogoLrg.jpg 200 148 BNPalacio http://ctapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=1802 Member Personal Blogs Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:20:51 -0500 http://ctapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=1802
Two years ago, I had the great privilege of qualifying for my first Singles Regional event ([9]). Although I had been on Vegas qualifying Teams, this was a lot different. There are no teammates around for you to pick you up when you have a tough outing, no coaches, and unless you have been in the league for some time or brought a friend with you, nobody is there to root you on.

I was very nervous and it showed early on. Fortunately, my opponents in the early rounds were also very nervous and I scraped by a couple of matches. Next thing I know, I am in the Semi-finals playing a 9, who I knew only by reputation. His wife was with him and kindly kept score for us so we can focus in on the game. It was a very good match and went down to the wire. To his misfortune, and to my good fortune, he scratched on the break after pocketing 2 balls and needing only 3 to win it. I myself needed only 5 balls and completed the run with Ball-in-hand. We shook hands and he congratulated me.

Now these events, there are people from all over, MA, RI, NY, and even ME. This particular individual was a local, and unless I get his permission, I will not disclose his name. I go to play in my finals match and introduced myself to my opponent. About halfway through the first rack, the gentleman who I just played and his wife, sat down at the table next to where I was set up, and rooted me on. They did not have to stay, they did not have to cheer me on. But they did and it showed me exactly what this league should be. People out shooting pool, having fun, and rooting on each other. Kudos to this man (& his wife) and I wish more of the players in this league can show this type of sportsmanship.

And if you are wondering, I lost in the finals in an exciting match. I also heard that this player who won (coming from MA) moved up to an 8 after beating me in the finals. He didn't fair too badly in Vegas either, finishing 17th out of 76.

Duckie
]]> tobor11313 http://ctapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=1796 Member Personal Blogs Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:37:52 -0500 http://ctapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=1796 Well I did not win. But since it was the third time for me to get an invitatation and the first time I had the BALLS to go... (Yes the pun was intended) I am glad that I did. We played what is called a double elimination. That means you get to lose twice and then you are out. Now I am a Skill level three. The lowest skill level a male can be. Skill level seven is the highest for those that dont know. 110 players showed up. Out of that only seven Skill level threes showed up.Well the way it goes is you start out by playing in your own class.Then if you win you move up to playing the next higher class. So in my case I played against a skill level three. Its a race to win two games. I won the lag which I was happy with. So I got to break the first rack of balls. I did and I proceeded to run the table. That means to those that dont know . I made every ball on the table and sunk the 8 ball for the win. Needless to say I was thrilled because as a skill level three it is very difficult to do. My oponent never got a shot at a ball. The next rack I broke again. Bam Instant win. I sunk three balls including the eight ball in the side pocket.Total match time 5 minuites. I got to move up and play against a Skill level four. I won one game the first one. I needed two wins . He needed three to win the match. He won two in a row. I knockeled down 6 balls and missed my last ball ball by a hair. He had one ball and made it and the 8 ball was in front of a corner pocket.. My final match paired me up with another skill level four. I may as well have played against Alison Fisher. I again needed two games to her three. I got the lag by a mile. Nothing went in and nothing looked good. She missed her shot and I made one ball and scratched. She got ball in hand and ran out. I racked the second game. She broke and three balls went in. She proceeded to take the low balls that seemed to be in front of every pocket and won hands down I never got a shot. Game three she again broke. I swear not a low ball moved and the high balls were everwhere. She continued to shoot and made 5 balls and burried me hard. I missed the kick gave her ball in hand and that was it. Needless to say she was a Excellent player. I later spoke to her because she kinda flagged me down. She mentioned that she had seen my first match and knew that she could not give an inch. I told her that it was my first time playing in a single competition. She gave me a nice compliment and said I have excellent composure and I should do it more often. Needless to say she was an awesome competitor and a very good sport. We shook hands and left it as..WE Will MEET AGAIN !!! I really enjoyed the competion. I guess that is why It is called The Best of The Best !!![:)]]]> linwoodst http://ctapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=1764 Member Personal Blogs Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:23:07 -0500 http://ctapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=1764
]]> luckirishman http://ctapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=1783 Member Personal Blogs Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:35:12 -0500 http://ctapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=1783 OrangeSkittle http://ctapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=1750 Member Personal Blogs Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:08:07 -0500 http://ctapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=1750 Bob Swauger http://ctapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=1638 Member Personal Blogs Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:19:34 -0500 http://ctapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=1638
Aside from the obvious visual changes to the site there are quite a few new features for you to use and enjoy... and there could be many more on the way, so stay tuned!!!

Here are just a few of the new features:

Personal Photo Galleries - use the link in the left menu and click the folder icon in the upper right to create your own gallery and upload images. Each member has 3 megs of space, or approximately 85 images! You can even use one of these uploaded images in your member profile!

Member Friends list - Integrated into the private message system you can now invite members to be your friends, similar to Facebook. At present it isn't much more than a list that will appear below in your member profile, but there are big plans for this feature, so stay tuned! Simply find the member you're looking for using the member search feature and click the 'Send Friend Request' link. If they accept they'll be add to your friends list.

Restyled Stats Area - At present there are no new stats. The stats are just re-organized into collapsible tables that are printer friendly (just use your browser's built in print function).

Member WebLogs - You can now blog about your team and your APA experience in your own personal weblog! Your blog has it's own RSS feed that anyone can subscribe to it and post comments as well... you can even link it to your MySpace or Facebook account. We all know lots of interesting things happen during league play! Now you can share those experiences with others; we just ask that you keep it positive. Enjoy!

... and there are many other changes. Please take some time to look around and let us know what you think!

Enjoy everyone!


Bob Swauger
CT APA Web Admin

]]> Bob Swauger http://ctapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=1654 Member Personal Blogs Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:44:17 -0500 http://ctapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=1654 AVATARS!

Yes, we heard you!!! We've heard those calls to further personalize the forum and allow members to have an avatar appear when they post. Until recently we've resisted the idea for a number of reasons; the primary being members could not upload images and cross linking slows down page loading because the website has to go out and get the image.

Well now everyone has the ability to create their own personal gallery on the website and post their own member blogs. We thought "What better way to encourage the use of these features!!"

You'll notice both the forum and blog now show avatars for the poster and the those who reply. Clicking on the photo will bring up a full size version without taking you away from the page! The arrows below the picture will allow you to scroll through the Avatars of other members. Now you can get a visual of who is posting... put a face to a name... get a glimpse of who they are and maybe find out if it's someone you know or have seen... or someone you WILL know the next time you see them.

The avatar is actually your profile picture, and while you can still remotely link, we suggest you create your personal gallery and upload an image for your profile. Once uploaded you'll see an icon below the image to set it as your profile picture. You can also use the regular photo gallery the same way. Simply search for your member number and use the same icon.

BLOGS!

To further enhance the blog module we've given members the ability to control the blog a little more. The Author can now lock their blog, and not allow comments (they will have to unlock it to edit it too, but they can prevent members from posting to it!). Members can also delete posts from other members (not admins or moderators) if they don't like them. The blog is yours!!! You can also delete a blog once it's been replied to (the only caveat is you have to delete the replies first - if there are any). Yes, we know there are some limitations here, but they were necessary. We hope you understand.

You can also easily link images from your member gallery into you blog! In the post Format: Options look for the () Icon. You can also post YouTube Videos in your blog using the() icon.

When reading a blog, at the very top to the right you'll see a few more icons and a list of websites you can share the blog on. If you find a member's post interesting share it on your favorite website or email it to a friend. You can also search for blogs by specific players and get a list of blogs by date.

Comments, questions and bug reports are always welcome!

Enjoy everyone!

Bob Swauger
CT APA Web Admin

]]> jvswerbo http://ctapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=1644 Member Personal Blogs Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:46:23 -0500 http://ctapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=1644

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