Oh, the irony.  When I moved here 9 months ago, I was stoked.  Sunset Bowl was a pretty good bowling alley; a mere 5 minutes away, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Not only that, but weekend bowling was dirt cheap so long as you showed up before 10AM.

I speak of it in the past tense, as it is soon to become victim of one of the cold hard realities of zoo-like urban living in a land mass that was never intended for it.  A few weeks from now, it'll be shutting down, making way for yet another pile of high-density housing monstrosities that are popping up everywhere.  With each passing month, there are more and more people packing in to this area with nowhere to go but up.  As the sheep roll in, past-times such as bowling roll out, leaving behind only America's two favorite past-times; eating and drinking.  Sunset Bowl could very well be the last decent bowling alley in Seattle, and it'll soon be gone.

That's right; Seattle, "home" of the Professional Bowlers Association.  Not only do we have no tour stop on the schedule, but it would now appear that there will be no opportunity for one in the future.

A few weeks ago, I stopped at a number of places in the area, trying to figure out where I was going to go once the masses trample over my alley of choice.  West Seattle Bowl, though recently remodeled, ended their remodelling efforts at the foul line.  The first 15 feet of their ancient wooden lanes look like the surface of the moon; no chance for a consistent roll whatsoever as your ball bounces its way through the heads.  The Garage is simply a bar with bowling pins at one end of the room.  The only place in Seattle proper I've yet to try is AMF Imperial Lanes which is located in a somewhat seedy area of the city.  As it stands, it's Seattle's last hope as far as I know.

Nearby communities have a few offerings. One was a very nice, modern facility that turned out to be nothing more than a very expensive playground for screaming kids.  At $25/hour, I think I'll take up golf; thanks.  In fact, most of the offerings just outside the city are quite expensive.  The only promising prospect I've seen so far is Robinhood Lanes in Edmonds.  The prices are decent ($15/hour) and the facility seems fairly well maintained and not too terribly out-dated.  We'll see how long that lasts.

End rant.

My Dexter SST 4s are shot. Actually, they've been that way for quite some time. I've had them for roughly 2 years, and unfortunately can't say much for them in terms of durability. The insole has peeled back, the lining behind the heel has opened up, exposing some rather abrasive threads, and the "finish" on what is supposedly a leather exterior wore off within a month of buying them, exposing a light blue surface beneath. I could swear these shoes were spray-painted.

Now secure in my decision to try another brand, I ordered a pair of Linds Wedge shoes; Linds having a reputation for creating a very durable (if not rather stiff) shoe. A prominent bowling supply website suggested that Linds run about a half size large, while Dexters are true to size. My 9 1/2 Dexters fit pretty cozy on my rather small feet, so I requested the Wedge in the same size, figuring I was plenty safe. I would have bought these from a pro shop so I could first try them on, but I've never seen a pro shop in which these were carried; much less for lefties such as myself.

If you have never tried Linds shoes, here's a word of caution (or encouragement, depending on how your feet are built). These shoes are VERY, VERY NARROW. True to the recommendation of the aforementioned website, they ran about 1/2 size big... Length-wise. I had a good 1 1/2" of clearance between my toes and the front of the shoe. However, my toes were being squished together to the point where they were practically overlapping each other by the sidewalls of these shoes.

So, it's return time for these sardine cans. Since I don't feel like going through a lengthy process of multiple exchanges, I'm going back to Dexter for the time being. I guess I'll see if the SST 7s hold up any better than the 4s.

That's what you may call me, being that I haven't updated this thing in quite a while now. I suppose that's because there hasn't been a whole lot to report, lately. The wife and I have been busy with work, and my daughter has just started at her new school.

On the bowling front, I'm still trying to recover from my 2 months off during the whole selling/buying/moving process. I practiced a bit this morning and started off awful, as I have been of late. Toward the end, however, I finally realized that I wasn't following through. I don't know if I was just being lazy, or trying a little too hard to implement the advice of Bill Spigner at my last lesson with him. I'm working on keeping my shoulders open a little longer during the downswing, but I started to overcompensate, and cut my follow-through short, basically flicking the ball at the end with my elbow. BAD, Josh, BAD!

Once I fixed that, my power and accuracy immediately increased dramatically. Every shot was in the pocket the next (and final) game, and although I shot a fairly average 208, I knocked down at least 9 every time. That's a whole lot better than what I had been doing.

I'm going to see about shooting some more video this weekend, and see what other damage I did during my time off.

Seattle has been great, despite being full of hippies. The weather has been outstanding, and I smirk every time I see the temperature in the Midwest climb up over 90. I initially thought it was less humid here, but I've come to realize that it's actually more humid; it's just a nice, cool humidity right off the ocean; not like the sopping, steaming stew that I had to swim through back in Illinois.

In other news, I want a Wii. I just thought I'd tell you that. No, I don't want that stupid Brunswick Pro Bowling game that's been in the banner at the top of the page for a while now; it looks awful, as most bowling games are. But I'm sick of going to the XBox 360 shelves and seeing the same old game rehashed in 15,000 barely unique ways.

There's only one problem; the Wii doesn't actually exist. I've never seen one in a store, and probably never will. What I do see are dozens of games, controllers, battery packs, and gobs of other accessories, right next to the massive pile of grossly-overpriced PS3s. The way the scheme works, of course, is that people will buy the games in the hopes that they'll soon be able to purchase the console itself. But it isn't real, and if you try to tell me otherwise, all you're proving is that you're also in on this vast, Nintendo conspiracy. What are they paying you, and how do I get in on some of this action?

Well, we're pretty much settled in to our new home in Seattle.  The weather has been outstanding, despite the claims of some of the locals who have clearly been spoiled by the climate in this region beyond belief.  I actually enjoy being outside here; something I don't think I ever experienced back in the Midwest.  It was always too hot, too cold, too humid, too windy, too wet, or some combination thereof.  Here, I can eat outside without anchoring my plate down against the wind.  I can sit outside without being eaten alive by bugs.  I can mow the lawn without dying of heat exhaustion, though no bigger than our yard is, that wouldn't be much of a problem in any climate.

Now on to the bowling stuff. 

What is it about this infernal game that compels me to make hamburger out of those sticks of meat that protrude from my hands?  That short, thick one specifically.  I bowl a few games, and begin to notice some discomfort in my thumb.  I ignore it, and continue.  A few games later, I can feel blisters beginning to form; I can feel them before they fully develop because I've had lots and lots and lots of practice by now.  Still, I disregard the obvious signs and proceed.  A few games later, the skin begins to tear.  "Screw it", I tell myself, determined to bowl no matter what.  Thick layers of skin peel back in patches, revealing the raw, red skin beneath.  I gnaw off the loose stuff with my teeth and I just... keep... bowling.  As long as I keep throwing that ball, those spots will remain somewhat numb, and my performance won't be affected by the pain.

Finally, I stop; not because my thumb hurts, but because it's getting late, and my wife will kill me if I don't come home now.  The burning sensation as I wash my hands informs me that the numbness has worn off.  Now it's going to be a week before I can stand to stick my thumb in a ball again.  I could just bowl 4 or 5 games at a time, and do it several times a week, but I never learn.  Well, I do learn; I simply don't care, at least at the time.

I've rented a locker at the local lanes. My intent is to leave a bit early 2 or 3 days out of the week and bowl a few games before I head in to the office.  I have yet to actually do it, however.  I've been sick this weekend (a COLD in JULY), so I haven't had the chance to put my thumb through the meat grinder as I otherwise surely would have.  I should be in good shape to give this a shot next week.

Have a good one! 

We are now the proud owners of a huge mortga... er... small house. It's in a great location with an outstanding view of downtown and Mt. Rainier. That is, when we add the second floor a few years from now. Oh, right; that huge mortgage thing. Never mind. For now, we can at least walk to the end of the street to be treated with an astounding view of the Olympic Mountains to the west. The walk is more than worth it when you consider that this 1/2 of a block equates to $1 million in real estate. I can buy a lot of new shoes for that.