August 26, 2004
russians have bigger billiard balls
Russian Billiard tables are designed with small two and half inch openings for the holes. It is very tough to get your angles right. If you think you're good at 8-ball you better adjust your thinking before you try to get good at russian billiards cuz you know what? Not only are the holes smaller, the balls are much bigger than 8-ball balls! Virtually impossible to sink. I had real troubles on this table. This is coming from a guy who lived in a house with a pool table and I played often. I think even my little brother Bernie, who always beat me at pool would have some serious challanges on a Russian billiards table.
The angles have to be right on or you might as well kiss the shot goodbye. Volodia handed me a book on Strategies of Russian billiards. I read the first page with my wife's help and ended that day with a big headache. Criptic visions of cyrillic letters danced before my eyes as I slept. I still knew nothing of the strategies of Russian billiards save for my interpretations of the vector diagrams I studied fruitlessly, drawn on every second page.
They have some real serious ham and beef sausage featured at the little store in Lobnia. They tasted very expensive and that fact added to my pangs of already existant guilt for staying in Moscow for very durn cheap and having very little in the way of cash, with Ioulia’s Uncle and aunt. I was going to leave 100 bucks american in the house clandestinely at the end but my wife caught me said don't do it, it will be looked at like a big insult besides they're family. So I resolved to return the favor big time when they come to visit us down in the Emirates next time! In spite of my pangs, I managed to enjoy the expensive sausages alot almost every meal - cooked, boiled, fried, baked - with other stuff too of course - and barbequed outside. Very nice time altogether in Lobnia, actually. Very restfull. Very nice weather. No mozzies. Wish we coulda stayed an extra few days in Lobnia.
The angles have to be right on or you might as well kiss the shot goodbye. Volodia handed me a book on Strategies of Russian billiards. I read the first page with my wife's help and ended that day with a big headache. Criptic visions of cyrillic letters danced before my eyes as I slept. I still knew nothing of the strategies of Russian billiards save for my interpretations of the vector diagrams I studied fruitlessly, drawn on every second page.
They have some real serious ham and beef sausage featured at the little store in Lobnia. They tasted very expensive and that fact added to my pangs of already existant guilt for staying in Moscow for very durn cheap and having very little in the way of cash, with Ioulia’s Uncle and aunt. I was going to leave 100 bucks american in the house clandestinely at the end but my wife caught me said don't do it, it will be looked at like a big insult besides they're family. So I resolved to return the favor big time when they come to visit us down in the Emirates next time! In spite of my pangs, I managed to enjoy the expensive sausages alot almost every meal - cooked, boiled, fried, baked - with other stuff too of course - and barbequed outside. Very nice time altogether in Lobnia, actually. Very restfull. Very nice weather. No mozzies. Wish we coulda stayed an extra few days in Lobnia.
