west of philly - bob

Keep a diary of what you're hitting, what's frustrating you, and your goals.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

well thank goodness... I played some effing hacky sack last night. It was so extremely tiring to play, my body is still recovering from the recent madness. I was sweating like crazy - getting the toxins out. But it felt good to be back on track playing again.

tonight, i finally will get back to barn building... of course, I bought really nice work gloves so I don't get another splinter infection! ha ha. I just have a couple weeks of pushing to get to the point where I can have the floor poured... then I can start shredding in the barn on a nice smooth surface, with tons of room to move around. that's all I'm trying to get to for now. The rest of the project can take as long as needed.

edit: I love it when a page starts with me being happy about footbag

edit 2: holy shit you have to watch this video of flash.. god he's good. and, in my opinion, he plays the right way

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=cLc9enanEyI[/youtube]
Bob R.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

had a mostly normal weekend thank god. worked like hell on the barn on friday night and saturday during the day, watched final four (damn it, both my teams lost! Uconn and Nova!), played with the kids tons. The only thing that didn't happen is that I ran out of energy to play footbag. But considering what I went through last week and weekend, I'm ok with that. Brian bailed on me, and I just didn't have it in me to play solo. I'm shredding with him on Tuesday night though, so that will be fun. And I was strong enough to do my morning workout this morning as usual. So things are looking up for the moment.

Some of you follow the barn pics on facebook already, but for those that don't, here's some pics. This weekend was a huge milestone for the project... I got the new center post in. aka, the most important structural element of a barn is now new and strong and plumb and safe. The last really scary part of this project is now over. From here on out, the other steps are difficult, but not "knock the barn over" difficult. Big win.

anyhow, here's the post before hand. The jacks that you see on all sides of the post become important a couple of pics from now:
Image


here's a close up showing how rotten that post was:
Image


like I said, those jacks are important.. here's me standing under several tons of barn..
Image


and here's the new post on a new footer... footer has rebar burried inside, and the post is bolted to the footer.. post extends up to the second floor where I have it tied in to the healthy part of the original post. after this pic was taken, i added in all the cross bracing etc. to get it to it's final place. but this gives you a good idea. Just a couple more posts to fix (and these are all easy fixes, no complicated tie ins required) and then the new floor!

Image
Bob R.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

here's some stuff I want to try to hit (hit again)

Difficult but doable:
Flurry = barraging legover

Whirr

Barfly

Pdx drifter

Paradon swirl

Whirling swirl

Pixie paradon

Blurriest

Down double down

Double pixie

Stepping eggbeater

Pixie double over down

Gyro DLO

Spinning ducking clipper



Sort of out of reach, but what the hell:

Jani walker = barraging butterfly

Atomic paradon

Toe set barrage

Mobius

Ripped warrior

Diving DLO



and what the heck is up with that kyle kid? god, i'm so over all that bullshit.

side note: I've become that grumpy guy that doesn't like to teach newbies. I've actually been avoiding some newbies in my area that are interested in playing all the time. I think that makes me mean sort of but that's just how I roll these days. so there
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

floor joist repairs in the barn last night.. there's a section where the previous owner just cut away a chunk of three consecutive joists, meaning the floor above that area is a death trap (I had temporarily braced it a long time back to make it safe). So I had to sawzall all sorts of shit so I could sister in some new joists, so I was totally covered in saw dust because I was cutting above my head. Got one of the three finished before I was too beat to continue. Won't be a death trap when I'm done, it'll be strong as can be.

also, found a guy that saves garage doors when he's installing new ones at people's houses. so he sells the salvaged garage doors really cheap, and does the install for a good price too. so, I can have my new garage door in a couple weeks, have it installed, and have it all come out to same price as if I'd bought a new one and installed it myself (all without the bull shit of having to learn to install a garage door). yay.

gonna footbag with brian tonight. thank god, I didn't feel like skooling at all, so just playing for fun will be way better.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

i'm so ready to be back hardcore into footbag. the last 2 weeks worth of being sick, and the crappy session with clavens before that, left me really rusty last night. Brian skooled me in fact. It's ok, I'll be back in form quickly because I'm back on my schedule of tuesdays/thursdays/one weekend day. Although next week, I might attempt to play every day and skip barn work. It depends on how the hamstring feels.

I did hit pixie drifter for first time, so that was cool.

footed stepping eggbeater.

got a couple blurriest just as one offs, not in a run.

cannot even remotely come close to whirr. weird. I can stepping ss whirl, but whirr is stupid uncoordinated on both sides.

gyro dlo continue to be ridiculously difficult for me despite many other simliar tricks that I can hit. But I think I can work that one out.

atom smasher > paradon to start a nice run

ripwalk > symple swirl > dlo to start another nice run

spinning and gyro was rusty as hell, stepping and pixie also rusty as hell.

overall, it was fun to get beat down and gain some motivation.

--
edit: oh, tonight, finish joist repairs in the barn, on saturday start lifting the next post so i can put in new footer and splice in good wood. I just have to repeat that process in 5 spots before I can have the floor poured. I think we can have new floor by end of may.


---
edit2:
So I just got finished watching basically the first vid I posted after I came back to footbag. It was posted almost exactly a year ago.. it's on you tube labeled "less tired" under "rieferman1" as the username. It's funny because a lot of stuff I do now, I did then, but I was really happy to see how much nicer my game looks now vs. then. So it's not like I learned 100 new tricks (probably 25 or so), but I think there's a lot of improvement aesthetically (sp?) speaking. But I still want a "calmer" looking set of body movements. Always evolving this stupid little game of ours.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

yay, footbag tonight. solo session at the ymca. really looking forward to it. i've been heating my sore hamstring at work since my last session, and I ice it after I play. that's what my friend (a physical therapist) recommended. Seems to be helping. I just want to play play play.

last night, finished repairing joists in the barn. was able to remove a temporary support post that I had put up 3 years ago. That really improves the flow of the 1st floor, and the new joists make the 2nd story nice and safe to walk on now.

next up, lifting and re-setting 4 posts. then, build forms as needed so floor can be poured.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

session was as fun as i hoped, way better than rusty sesh the other day with brian. nathan, i did some flowy tiltless in some runs as promised, it was fun and the spectators actually dug it :-)
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Post by Rieferman »

yawwwwwwwwwwn

tired

other than sleep problems this weekend (insomnia one night, coughing child the other night) it was a really nice weekend.

friday - got out of work at lunch time, picked up some troegs mix case and a case of bud select, went home and mowed the lawn real quick (for newer readers, I invested in a professional grade lawn mower last year, so doing my lawn is a breeze now), played with the kids, eventually got the kids to bed. Then, grabbed some of the aforementioned beers, headed out to the barn, and did some reorganizing/prep work for fixing the next post. Another one of those "lots of work for no visual payoff" types of nights. But I know.

Saturday - morning fun with the kids, then trip to Lowes with everyone. Got the gable vents for the barn (yay, there will be visual payoff soon!), scored on the clearance table (beam straps for 25 cents each?!?!?!), more fun with kids, session with Drew at the YMCA, more fun with the kids, finished prep work to lift the next post... after this post is fixed, the entire end and entire center of the building will be done. Then, just have to fix the other end.

Session notes: I was back to normal, so I was really happy about that. I commented to Drew that right now when I drop I feel surprised most of the time. That's a good place to be. I'm happy with my form for the most part (I feel controlled, clean tricks), and I'm pretty happy with my trick selection etc. For Boston Jam, I just want to refresh my memory on some pixie shuffle I've been ignoring, and get a little bit of practice in on spins/gyro. Otherwise, just going to shred at my practices from now until then so my flow is right.

edit: shoot, I forgot to give Drew props for the session. He's really coming along. He's figuring out how to use his windows and ankle crank to develop a nice set of "drew tricks" - he's building his style. His consistency is good too, and he's having fun throwing in some more difficult stuff here and there. And just a nice guy to hang with, easy to relate to etc. Which is key, it's so much better shredding with someone that's fun to get along with. Anyhow, he had 2 runs in particular that were easily up over 20 tricks, much of it guiltless (Drew, if you're reading, you're not ready to go completely guiltless yet, so don't fall too far in love with that concept) and some really cool stuff mixed in. Like I said, he's coming along nicely. If he sticks with it, he'll be teaching me stuff before long. That'll be a nice problem to have.

sunday - woke up and did an egg hunt around the house with the kids. they loved it and had so much fun. keegan believes so deeply in things like the easter bunny, it's just heart warming to see. Emily just follows along and does whatever keegan does. then church (that's 1 of my 5 times a year that I have to go), kids looked cute in their little outfits. then family get together which was crazy and fun and included another egg hunt (keegan has so much candy, I'm scared of the 3 weeks of sugar high that is coming) watched the Masters as much as possible, chilled.

this week, might shred with brian tonight. got to call him. then some barn stuff lifting that post. shred again by myself on thursday. friday night, my folks arrive for a visit, so i will actually not shred or barn build this weekend at all. which is probably good for me.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

I think pink floyd wondered 'is anybody out there?' I'm wondering too :-)

front center post (see above for description of effort) is going great... entire set of center posts will be fixed by end of weekend. here's some pics


the rig I built to lift the post up
Image


Another angle, and you can see I was successful in lifting and removing rotten portion of the post.. just need to dig, pour footer, put in new fresh wood.. easy stuff.
Image

shredding with brian tonight, yay!
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Post by Sporatical_Distractions »

That barn's looking good
bob the barn builder wrote:It's funny because a lot of stuff I do now, I did then, but I was really happy to see how much nicer my game looks now vs. then.
congrats. that's a great feeling
Welcome to Flavortown

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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

hey kev, thanks for dropping by with a nice comment :-)

well, that said, I promptly went out last night and shredded horribly with brian again. he's secretly loving it because it coincides with some strong sessions by him, so he's been kicking my ass. ha ha, it's all good. :-) it's motivation for sure, and I'm glad to see him stepping it up.

while i was being terrible at hacky sack, it was easy to determine why it was happening.. fucking barn. I worked hard on monday night out there, and literally was so damn sore even after stretching out really well. it is what it is. until barn project wraps up in a couple weeks I'm just going to be tired a lot.

Good news is that this weekend, I am taking off from footbag and from barn building because my folks are coming into town for a visit. And then, I'm shredding with Brian Monday night, and will take the entire week off from manual labor etc. Maybe just a "coordination session" on Thursday night (basically just some bops and tiltless, and some stretching). And then BOSTON. I really just want to show up there and play like me. Last shred I had in Pittsburgh, I sucked. Last two times I shredded with David, I sucked. Last two times I shredded with Brian, I sucked. But other than those 5 sessions, I've had countless really good/fun sessions with great energy. I'm just ready to play well-rested and have tons of fun when everyone is around.
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slapdash21
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Post by slapdash21 »

yup.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

thanks for that insight there mr. bowler :lol:

in the "why do players quit" thread, Laroche wrote:
It's hard to focus on something that doesn't go anywhere
I dunno about this part, for me at least. One of the main benefits of footbag for me is that I can still act like a kid, chill with some buddies, shred it up. That is, the fact that it hasn't "gone anywhere" (even though I'd say that's really debatable) is actually a good thing from my perspective.

Clavens gave me a great compliment awhile back (at least I took it as a compliment.. I think I did so correctly). Really paraphrasing, he talked about how I was able to balance life experience with remaining young at heart. I think hacky sack and the people I know through the game is a big contributor to 1/2 that equation.

Then again, I've always thought that a lot of people's desperation to make footbag "big" is misguided. Ok, I didn't always think that (Vince) but for most of the last 10 years, I've thought that.

You'll hear the BMX guys, or skateboard guys etc. talk about how it's great that they're making money, but that they had way better relationships, and so much more fun, when they were scraping money together to go to events and hang with their buddies.

You can always make money, you can't always create a fun scene.
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Post by slapdash21 »

besides, if its any indication (it is), just the debates alone about making footbag big and commercialized are causing the scene to be significantly less cool. its not stopping me from having fun shredding and getting together for jams, but it seems like all some people can think about...
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Post by Drew »

Some insightful thoughts there, Bob n Pete. I agree with both of you...

Like you said, Bob, some bikers and skaters had more fun when in times of need, because that's when the people that stuck around were those that stuck around for the love of the game, not for the profit or fame. I feel like it might be even more so with footbag, the people that are attracted to it play it for fun. There's not much fame or money involved, which is why events and hanging with footbaggers is fun, because it's all for the love of the game and less based around material things.

Just my two cents...
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Post by Rieferman »

definitely drew, I'm with you on that.

also, I sometimes think that people that go through the long struggle to being good at footbag sometimes are the ones that play the longest and enjoy it the most. The quick rise to glory (or just the rise to glory in general) can possibly be anti-climatic once you arrive (I don't know because I've never been to the top).
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

i can't even believe i'm sick again. mild cold, but still... it's just depressing to have a sore throat and runny nose. fuck it, i'm pretending that i'm not sick because I just can't take it anymore.

so, last night i worked my ass off in the barn (are you surprised?). got the front center post dug, concrete mixed and poured with rebar etc.

"digging" in the barn is interesting.. it really involves getting on your hands and knees and using a pick axe to dislodge hundred year old stone foundation down as far as you can get. Large flat stones, dry stacked. Surprisingly strong/stable after all these years. In fact, all my footers so far have ultimately been poured on top of one of the stones - basically, I unstack as far as I can get, and usually end up reaching a slab about 4 inches thick by the size of a large pizza pie. Nearly impossible to dig up at that point, and plenty strong.. So once I reach that, I pour there and call it a day. It's an accepted way to go amongst barn builders so I feel good about it. The basic rule of thumb is that if you can't move it with a sledge hammer, you're good to go.

Front of building was raised over 2 full inches during this phase. It probably needs to go 2 more inches, but I reached the "building is fighting back" point so it's another situation where close enough has to be good enough. It's just the way it is with a structure that took 100 years to get bent out of shape.

I save stuff while I'm building. I consider it my little way of being "green" during this project. Everything you can save and re-use is something you don't have to buy etc. So I have a large pile of really awesome stones built up now, and more to come from the rest of the work I have to do. I think I'll build a cool garden wall with them in the end. Or maybe a patio someplace. Or maybe make a nicer fire pit. It'll be cool that there's a story behind it. I save vintage wood, siding, hinges, glass, 2x4's, copper pipe, wire.. I'll re-use as much as possible, sell whatever else, recycle what I can.

tonight, practicing some hacky solo at the YMCA
Bob R.
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Post by slapdash21 »

Yo Reefuh-

9 Days biznatch.

barn good. yus.
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Rieferman
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Post by Rieferman »

wow, i'm quoting laroche twice in a week... in the like water conclusion thread, he wrote:
I don't really get the whole thing, seems like a lot of self-righteousness and elitism to have a small group spring up out of nowhere and decide they are an authority
right on. right on. I gots to say, I don't even want to know who the members are of that "like water" BS, because all it will do is make me respect those guys less. Give yourselves a "hip" name. Act like high school picking the popular kids. I just disagree with it, no matter what justification you try to throw at it, it was executed wrong in my opinion.

It's almost as bad as when there was that secret sub forum. :oops: ha ha, that was bad too. Yeah, so I'm a hypocrite. Whatever.
Bob R.
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slapdash21
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Post by slapdash21 »

but really what place does an invite only forum have anywhere on or in proximity to modified have?

and the language they use is preposterous...the whole message is this random group elitist rainbow children are making conclusions and then making them known to the community as a whole. the idea is laughable.
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