Discover the expert in you.
Discover the expert in you.
When setting your pool timer, you're always going to want to keep a very important thing in mind. Learn how to set your pool timers with help from an experienced swimming pool and spa industry professional in this free video clip.
One of the challenges of owning an inground pool is keeping the water clean at all times. Rain and runoff easily enter a swimming pool, clouding the water and requiring a filter to remove bacteria and debris. An inground pool's filter return jets, or the jets on an automatic cleaner, deliver will clear water only when they're set up properly.
Playing basketball at home is a fun and entertaining way to enjoy the sport in your own driveway or backyard. Manufactured basketball backboards are widely available for purchase in stores or online. But if you want to craft your own economically, you can make a backboard out of a few easy-to-find items available at hardware stores.
Even if you can't sink the eight ball, a pool table is an enjoyable piece of furniture because it is both decorative and provides entertainment. Since billiard players often bump into the pool table during use, the table often slides or shifts across the floor. If your laminate flooring is chipping from pool table use, protect it with a barrier to avoid additional friction-induced damage.
If you have a pool table that seems warped or out of level, it may be difficult to repair, depending on what the playing surface is made from. Less expensive tables may have a plywood surface that can warp over time. Better tables are made with slate and can be leveled more easily. The way it has warped will also be a deciding factor in whether the warping can be repaired. If you still have distortion in the playing surface after attempting to correct any problems, contact a local pool or billiard store for suggestions.
In the world of table tennis, a stiff wrist is often the difference between a missed point and victory. Learning to properly manage your wrists while flicking the ball across the table is a critical component of competitive table tennis play, though it can take some practice before it feels comfortable and natural. If you are having difficulty with your shots, and have less control than you want, keeping your wrists flexed during your matches may improve your game.
A wooden cigar box might not seem like much, but with a little imagination it can become a ping pong shooter. Pull back the launcher, which is powered by a rubber band, and let the ping pong ball fly. You probably have most of the materials needed for this project already, so it is a low- or no-cost way to keep children entertained. They can help you make it and then they can decorate it and shoot it.
The ferrule on a graphite pool cue is the small white supporter that lies between the shooting tip and the cue stick. Ferrules are typically made of plastic or metal and also ivory on antique cue sticks. Ferrules serve a practical purpose too, as they take the brunt of the impact when the cue strikes the cue ball while making a shot. A cracked or damaged ferrule can compromise your ability to make clear, accurate shots.
An old pool table can often be restored to "like-new" condition just by refelting the tabletop. The felt can be worn through years of continued use, or have been torn during moving or storage. In addition, felt is sometimes snagged or torn during use. Once disassembled, the felt can be replaced in less than an hour in some cases. Pool tables come in several sizes. Tournament tables are typically 4.5 feet by 9 feet while many pub and home tables are 3.5 feet by 7 feet. Add an extra foot to the width and length of the felt you purchase…
Foosball, or table soccer is a game that takes up a lot of floor space in your home. While the size depends on your particular game table, sizes measuring 42 inches tall and 32 inches wide are not uncommon. All of this is unused space when you're not playing a foosball game. Adding a tabletop to the foosball table allows you to reclaim that space and use it for a variety of other activities, such as playing cards or eating a meal.
American Heritage was founded in 1987 and specializes in high-quality pool tables and other game-room furniture such as stools and bars and racks. All of their pool tables feature furniture finishes, with leather pockets and pocket liners and slate tops. For the most part, their pool tables can be taken apart in the same manner as most modern tables. It should be noted, however, that American Heritage recommends not removing the legs from the frame because of the triple anchor gusset system used to connect the one-piece corners that support the weight of the slate on their tables.
To successfully make shots in pool, you must have a pool cue that is straight. A straight cue allows you to accurately hit the ball and predict exactly where it will go. If the cue is crooked because it has not been properly stored, you may be hurting your game. Although purchasing a new cue is one option, it is less expensive, in most cases, to try to fix the bent cue yourself.
Having a dent in your pool cue can put a dent in your confidence. If you feel that inconsistency in the surface of the cue every time you line up a shot, your concentration is not on the balls where it should be. Small dents can however be removed with little effort simply by applying heat and moisture. This will get you playing on form again in no time.
Coin-operated pool tables are a common sight in restaurants and bars. These tables release the balls when you put in the coins, and when you sink the balls into the six pockets on the table the balls drop back into the holding area. All except the cue ball, which returns time and time again. Or at least it's supposed to. If the cue ball is getting stuck, then you should check your table's components to be sure it's working right.
“Kinect Sports” is a sports compilation game available exclusively for the Kinect motion sensor add-on to the Xbox 360. One of the games included in “Kinect Sports” is table tennis. This game can be played against the computer on various difficulties as well as against real players online. The top difficulty, Champion, is the hardest mode to beat as the computer player is very fast and delivers a multitude of hits. You will need to be familiar with all of the different ways of hitting the Ping-Pong ball to stay a step ahead of your opponent.
Air hockey paddles have felt pads attached to the bottom of them. This protects the table from damage. It also helps the paddles move smoothly over the table surface. Over time, these pads can tear, come loose or fall off. Using your own glue can be done, but it is recommended to replace the pad with a new pad. Most pads come with adhesive already on them to glue them onto paddles.
Keep young children and teenagers entertained for hours without turning on the television or video game console by providing an air hockey game. With a group of friends or cousins, the competition and cheering can take on a life of its own. Keeping the game moving quickly through the years by waxing the surface properly.
Also known as table tennis, ping-pong is a game that is played worldwide. Professional ping-pong players are not as well-paid as other professional athletes such as football and basketball players. They largely earn their salaries via prize money from tournaments, which are lower than the "purses," or prize money, of fringe sports such as golf and boxing.
Pool, also often referred to as billiards, is a popular game played with a cue, or long shaft, that is used to hit balls around the pool table. The constant impacts with balls, along with various manufacturing inconsistencies and material defects, can all cause pool cues to warp and bend over time. A warped or bent pool cue will negatively affect the quality of your shots. Pool cues should be routinely checked to make sure they are straight.
Lifting a hockey puck into the air is completed sometimes for fun, but it is also done to pass the puck to the referee or to flip the puck into a bucket for storage. The lift is relatively easy to accomplish while on land, but can be more difficult when on ice, particularly for those who don't have a lot of skating experience. Lifting the puck also requires some forearm strength.
The Internal Revenue Service defines a taxable mortgage pool as any entity, except for a real estate mortgage investment conduit (REMIC), that meets three conditions. The first is that almost all the entity's assets are debt the entity is owed or interests in debt owed, and greater than 50 percent of these debts are real estate mortgages or interests in real estate mortgages. The second condition is that the entity owes money on debt obligations that have two or more maturities. The third condition is that the payments required on debt owed by the entity are related to the payments…
Keeping a pool cue ferrule clean is important in extending the life and functionality of the pool stick. The ferrule is located at the end of the pool cue just below the tip and is usually made of resin-based materials, ivory, metal or carbon fiber. The ferrule protects the wood from the intense impact of the tip on the pool balls. With time, the ferrule builds up dirt and chalk residue. Removing this residue prevents damage to the ferrule and retains pool cue accuracy.
Dirt and residue on your pool table felt can change the quality of your pool game. Too much debris will slow the balls down, or even redirect their paths. Of all the debris that gets stuck, pet hair is one of the most difficult to remove without damaging the felt. Too much suction from a vacuum and you will permanently damage the fibers on your pool table surface. Regular brushing combined with a lint remover will pick up those nasty cat hairs.
Modern day snooker is a game of remarkable potting. Gone are the days where a strong tactical player could rely on his ability to out-safety his opponent or construct frame-winning situations with defensive play. More commonly, the best potter of a ball will win frames and matches on the strength of the potting technique used.
A pool cue, much like the bat used by a baseball player, should be fine-tuned, suited to the preferences of the person using it. If a heavier cue feels comfortable then a heavier cue should be used, and the same goes for a light cue. Various physical aspects of a pool player, like the length of the arm, for instance, will determine what feels comfortable. Changing the weight of a pool cue is simple, provided your pool cue has the necessary removable parts.
A Gold Crown is a type of pool table manufactured by Brunswick. The side and end rails on this type of pool table absorb and deflect the force of the pool ball when it makes contact. Over time, the felt on your Gold Crown pool table will show wear as it becomes old and needs to be replaced. When replacing the felt, you should also redo the railings.
A good break is the most effective way to start a game of pool or billiards, giving yourself the best chance to execute shots for the rest of the game. According to "Billiards Digest," hitting dead center at the fastest speed possible transfers the cue ball's momentum to the other balls, including the eight ball. Players can improve an eight ball break, or pocketing the eight ball on the break, by using an overall strategy for setting up the break. Under most rules for a game of eight ball, pocketing the eight ball on the break does not score a…
Table skittles has been popular in European pubs for centuries. A miniature derivative of traditional bowling, a skittles game involves 9 pins (also known as "skittles") and either a small wooden ball or top. Once a prolific full-sized game, the table version is much more convenient and affordable for pubs and other public establishments, and can also be found in many English homes. Make a table skittles bowling game of your very own in a single weekend with some basic woodworking items.
Ping pong -- also called table tennis -- is played both professionally and recreationally. Tables are manufactured for home use both indoors and outdoors. Installing the net is the last step when setting up a new ping pong table. Easy-to-install replacement and specialty nets are also available for purchase on the Kettler website.
Pool table cushions are the padding along the side rails of the table. They are usually rubber, but cloth and leather cushions are available. With proper care, the cushions should last for decades. Regular inspection of the cushions enables an owner to know when to make repairs before damaged cushions can affect the playing performance or appearance of a table.
Delta Billiards Manufacturing of Los Angeles, maker of custom and antique-style billiard tables, went out of business 30 years ago. While it is very unusual to have to change the slate bed (either the one or three piece) on a pool table, it is not unusual to need to change the bed cloth (also known as felt) on a pool table. With age the bed cloth wears out, and more commonly, through cue accidents, rips and tears in the bed cloth will occur.
Like most European-derived games, pool dates back several centuries, and it is thought to have originally been a lawn game instead of a table game. Billiards, which is the formal name for pool, began to hit its stride during the 19th century and throughout the 20th century, continued to develop into the various games people know. For beginners, the table, rules and play tactics can be intimidating, starting with the spots on the table.
One of the most versatile and widely used metals, found in everything from buildings to hip replacements, steel has a long and distinguished history. Though widely thought of as a modern metal, a version of steel was created in India around 250 BC. Steel is one of the hardest metals; that's what makes it so useful, but that also makes it tough to cut and burn. However, this can be done at home with the proper torch and safety equipment, allowing for small or even large pieces of steel to be cut into practical objects for building or artworks through…
"Wii Play" takes advantage of the Nintendo Wii's motion control platform with a series of sports and recreational games. It features nine different games, including billiards. While the Wii billiards game is similar to a "9-ball" game of pool, the scoring is very different than traditional "9-ball."
Putting backspin on the cue ball is an effective way of executing the "draw shot," a technique in billiards by which you can make the cue ball stop momentarily upon contact with the object ball, then roll back in the direction from which it came. This is an extremely difficult maneuver to pull off, especially if you are a beginner who is still working on perfecting your stroke. Putting a backspin on the cue ball is possible with any sized cue, though it will be easier to put more spin the heavier the cue is.
The audience holds its breath. The magician grasps the cloth and in a single flourish, whisks it from the table, leaving all the plates and cups undisturbed. The audience breaks into amazed applause. Try it at home and you'll be amazed too, at how far the dishes fly if you get this traditional conjuring trick wrong. With a little practice and some careful preparation though, you too can hold an audience spellbound.
Warp gates in the game "Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty," are an extremely useful unit production building created by the Protoss race. A Protoss player who upgrades a gateway to a warp gate gains the ability to rapidly create units anywhere on the map. The only restrictions are that the warp-in area is not covered by the fog of war, and that the warp-in area is covered by the field generated by a psionic matrix, which is another Protoss building.
The ellipse is one of the many fundamental shapes found geometry, defined as a two-dimensional object with unequal vertical and horizontal axes. Although similar visually to a circle, the difference is clear when observing the radial properties -- the circle has a constant radius between any two points, whereas the ellipse will always be variable. Despite the increased complexity in comparison to the circle, the ellipse is more commonly used in mathematical and scientific methods as it produces a more realistic model, discovered by Joseph Kepler in the 17th century when charting planetary orbits.
Plinko is a simple carnival game popularized by the game show "The Price is Right." The classic Plinko game board is a rectangular piece of wood or cardboard, with pegs projecting out in a diamond pattern and a horizontal row of boxes at the bottom -- each representing a prize. When players drop a chip anywhere in the top of the board, it runs through the gaps between the pegs, making much noise along the way and ultimately ending up in one of the boxes at the bottom. You can make a Plinko board using a few common tools.
While some sculptors prefer clay, stone or papier-mache, others enjoy working in a heavier, more rigid medium. Metal sculptors use found and purchased scraps of aluminum, copper, steel or iron to develop their artistic vision. To achieve a desired effect, the metal may need to be cut or bent into a certain shape. If you're new to metal sculpture and are not familiar with how to manipulate a metal hoop, all you'll need is a bench vise from your workshop and some basic welding tools.
Silica, also known as silicon dioxide, is a chemical compound most often found in nature as sand or quartz. Known for its extreme hardness, silica is used in the production of glass, optical fiber cables and even Portland cement. Unfortunately, for the purposes of scientific experimentation, you cannot attempt to dissolve silica in sand form in a traditional glass container. Because glass is made primarily of silica, it would dissolve as well. Wear eye and respiratory protection whenever using hydrofluoric acid.
Handmade jewelry made of gold, silver or copper that has been soldered will oxidize. Oxidization is a darkening of metal which occurs when the metal is heated at high temperatures with a torch. Metal components in silver, such as copper, rise to the surface when heated and cause a blackening of the metal. Pickle solution is an acid bath for your jewelry that will eat away the oxidized portions of your metal before polishing.
Electrons are tiny subatomic particles with a negative charge that orbit in shells around the nucleus of an atom. Each shell can be considered an energy level, and each energy level must be full of electrons prior to an electron moving to a higher energy shell. The amount of electrons held in each shell varies, and orbits and arrangement of electrons are not like the perfectly circular models commonly seen.
Routers are tools that carve. Usually used on wood, routers have special blades that rotate. Unlike a saw that rotates vertically, a router's blade rotates like a drill bit. The cutting edge of the blade removes the wood as the router moves over the surface of the material. Different types of blades make different shaped cuts from simple beveled edges to highly detailed molding. Routers can cut shapes for signs, edging, molding and joints.
Pickling your gold-filled metal properly is an important facet of the fabrication process, but if it is done incorrectly it can ruin the surface of the metal. Pickling metal, after annealing and soldering, removes oxidation and firescale layers. These layers develop as the surface of the metal reacts to the extreme heat of the torch and the oxygen in the air during the previous processes. Removing this layer makes it easier to finish and polish the metal. The gold layer in gold-filled metals is typically only a millimeter thick and can be worn away if you over-polish it.
Gas solubility varies with the temperature. Oxygen becomes less soluble in water as the temperature rises, but dissolves more easily in cold water. In nature, the rising water temperature has serious consequences for aquatic life. The solubility of other gases such as hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon monoxide are exceptions in that their solubilities rise with increasing temperature.
An ellipse is a geometric figure that results from the intersection of a cone by a plane. Ellipses are closed curves that are symmetric about their horizontal and vertical axes. Circles are a particular case of ellipse. The major and minor axes of an ellipse define its diameter. The major axis is the longest diameter of an ellipse; the minor axis is the shortest. A circle has only one diameter because its major axis is equal to its minor axis at all points.
Copper that is exposed to the elements develops a layer of copper oxide on its surface. Any heat treatment applied to the metal hastens the oxide formation. This oxide is unsightly and makes the copper appear dirty. Copper oxide also interferes with solder and paint or other finishes. If you are working with copper that has become tarnished, you can treat the metal with readily available chemicals to remove the oxidation. Metalworkers refer to the solution and the process as a "pickle," but it is a simple acid wash to clean the copper to bare metal.
When Halley's comet comes rocketing past the Earth every 76 years on its way to perihelion, its nearest approach to the sun, it is following an elliptical orbit. An ellipse or elliptical orbit is like an elongated circle. Scientists describe ellipses using parametric equations. Parametric equations define the variables "x" and "y" in terms of a third variable, often called "t." A single x-value and a single y-value still define a single point on the ellipse, however.
Microbiology is the study of microscopic organisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoans. During this course, you will need to learn a significant amount of jargon (i.e., specific scientific terms) as well as complex processes that describe how microorganisms obtain nutrients or make energy. You will also need to learn lab procedures and learn about different types of tests used to identify microorganisms. Microbiology is a challenging course, to say the least, but a good study strategy can help you to be successful in this course.
