For many years, Texas A&M Aggies basketball tickets have been nothing more than an afterthought in College Station. Texas A&M was always a football school, and little else mattered much at all. However, the culture in the area is beginning to turn, and the Aggies are providing fans plenty of reasons to go to games against their Big 12 rivals. As hard as it is to believe, local fans are realistically dreaming of a run to the Final Four, and below we’ll look at a few reasons why that’s the case. Coaching Simply put, Billy Gillispie is a coaching star. He was hired to run the program at Texas A&M in 2004, and the team hadn’t had a winning season since 1994 before he arrived. To make matters worse, the Aggies were coming off a dismal season in which they posted a record of 7-21 under previous coach Melvin Watkins. Gillespie immediately restored respect to the program, winning 21 games in his first season and advancing to the quarterfinals of the NIT, which was the first postseason appearance by the Aggies in more than a decade. Gillispie also drummed up interest in Texas A&M Aggies basketball tickets by refusing to make the excuses that had long existed under previous regimes, namely that Texas A&M was a “football school,” that they “didn’t have the support from the administration” and many other issues that he quickly dismissed. Talent Gillispie isn’t just a leader and a tremendous game coach, but he can recruit as well. He was one of the first coaches in Aggie Land to aggressively pursue top-flight recruits, and that pursuit paid off several times. He added talented current players such as Joseph Jones, Josh Carter and Donald Sloan, and each of these players turned down “bigger” programs to come and play in College Station. Gillispie is building a pipeline for recruiting in Texas and beyond, and that’s making the folks in Austin and Lubbock very nervous indeed. The more Texas A&M wins, the more credibility Gillispie and his program gain, and the snowball effect will take over from there. What it all Means This season is not a one-year wonder. The Aggies have posted three consecutive 20-win seasons, and they’re currently ranked in the Top Ten in both major college basketball polls. Their recruiting for next year looks very promising, and their young team is still getting better. What this all means is that folks better get their Texas A&M Aggies basketball tickets now, as they’ll become even harder to find in the very near future.
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Sunday, September 18, 2016
The five core ethics of the martial arts
Many martial arts schools around the world promote a philosophy of self-improvement as well as an expected standard of technical skill. When you think about it, it is the philosophy rather than the technical skill that should influence every practitioner’s daily life. The martial arts philosophy, or at least the traditional karate philosophy, is called the Dojo-Kun. The Dojo-Kun is simply a five point ethical guide for training in the martial arts and for behavior in your everyday life and is sometimes called the “Student Creed” in English. The traditional karate ethics are often translated as: · To strive for the perfection of character · To follow the paths of truth · To foster a spirit of effort · To honor the principles of etiquette · To guard against impetuous courage In many traditional karate schools these precepts are chanted at the beginning and end of each lesson in Japanese, and in other schools in English. In some schools there is no chanting at all, just a posting of the principles on the dojo wall and other schools invent their own “Student Creed.” I’m not here to tell you which way is right or wrong, but what you should do when choosing a martial arts school is ask yourself whether the core values of that school resonate with your view of life and your moral ethics. After all you are exposing yourself and your family to a very emotive venture by beginning your karate journey. A conflict of moral values is likely to “Dim Mak” (deliver a Death Touch to) your involvement in the martial arts from the very beginning. The Dojo-Kun’s precepts can offer a very simple template for following a virtuous path and for reaching your potential in everything you do and for being a good citizen. It’s up to you to decide how this philosophy fits in with your own ideals and ethics. Most people find these five core ethics to be something that they can relate to on an intimate basis; some people don’t place much value on the philosophy of the martial arts and are in your karate class alongside you for very different reasons such as self-defense or basic health and fitness. The phrase “each unto his own” is definitely applicable here. As with so many things in life, we have to find our own way given our own set of criteria and backgrounds. Essentially there are many other paths to self-realization and understanding of the greater world around you. The martial arts simply offer a valuable template for beginning to understand yourself and others through understanding movement, power, speed, timing, energy, tension, relaxation and harmony. It is a beginning in what can be a long and extremely rewarding journey. If you need more help with this or any other karate subject, please be sure to download my FREE Report “Beginners Guide to Karate”. You will find out how to download it at freekarateinformation/beginner. html Good luck and best wishes on your journey in karate.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Tips for selecting highly collectible reuge music boxes
When you think of collectible Reuge music boxes, think of the best and most exclusive music boxes available on the market. But how you can be sure that you have indeed purchased a highly collectible Reuge music box? We’ll be covering how you can find and select such music boxes in this article. Reuge music boxes are truly special items. The first creator of these fine music boxes was Charles Reuge, who handmade music boxes in a small town in Switzerland. Due to their fine craftsmanship, these music boxes spread far and wide. After his death, his son continued in his footsteps. In fact, the workshop is still there at the same address, in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland. Collectible music boxes are hand made. The workshop in Saint-Croix in world renowned for producing some of the finest and rarest music boxes around the world, so make sure you are getting the real deal. For the music box connoisseur, it is best to make a trip to Switzerland in order to select the limited edition models that may not be sold at many stores because of their price and limited quantity. You can also ask the locals of that little town if they own any Reuge music boxes. They are likely to own some of the first and best models, maybe even those handmade by Charles Reuge himself. If you are able to acquire such pieces, you are a lucky owner of a rare and highly collectible Reuge music box. The size of the music box and the tune are also an important determinant in a collectible. Bigger boxes tend to be harder to maintain and keep. The cost to acquire them was also high, making it affordable only to the wealthy. The tune is also important because if you had popular tunes, people would be more willing to buy it than to acquire one that plays an obscure tune especially in the case of non-interchangeable music boxes. The materials used to make good music boxes were rare and expensive, such as rose wood, which made them rather resilient to aging if well-taken care of. Another good place to check is online specialty stores that sell collectible music boxes. If you do some research you might find a Reuge music box worth collecting. Make sure they are old, in good condition (for its age) and is limited in quantities. It’s a pretty good bet that if you have one from the early 1900s that the music box is hard to find. If you are not an expert at fixing these music boxes, make sure you have an idea what restoring a piece might cost. Otherwise, it’s a lot better to go ahead and pay the premium for a working music box than to take the risk of paying exorbitant restoration costs for a collectible music box. The price will also tell you a lot of things. Highly collectible music boxes don’t come cheap. Reuge music boxes are items of a highest quality, so any item of any color, size or material can be highly collectible as long as the numbers of items you can find on the market are limited. In fact, at the beginning of the career, Charles Reuge hand made some limited edition music boxes, which now own a special status: highly collectible Reuge music boxes. The best places to find highly collectible Reuge music boxes are: rare art and collectibles auctions, Saint-Croix and specialty stores. Since these music boxes can be prohibitively expensive for most, a good strategy is to purchase contemporary Reuge music boxes. They cost a whole lot less than the rare ones and are also easier to acquire.
Friday, September 9, 2016
Taekwondo footwork training to improve your attacking precision
Tae Kwon Do is a martial art form that originated in Korea over two thousand years ago. Tae Kwon Do literally means "the way kicking and punching". Tae Kwon Do stresses fast and effective strikes that are accurate and powerful. Tae Kwon Do is not just a martial arts style, but also a mindset and way of life. Most people recognize Tae Kwan Do by its fast kicks, spinning kicks, and aerial kicks. However, Tae Kwon Do also makes use of the fists and can be very defensive as well. Taekwondo footwork training allows a martial arts practitioner to improve his or her precision and speed. Tae Kwon Do pushes muscles to their limit in terms of speed, strength, and flexibility. Tae Kwon Do also pushes your body to operate with as little oxygen as possible so that you can perform fast and energy-draining moves without getting tired quickly. Tae Kwon Do combines extensive fitness training with fighting skills that can be applied to most self defense situations. The precision gained from Taekwondo footwork training can even be applied to other martial arts disciplines and make you a more effective fighter in any martial arts style. Tae Kwon Do is also effective at training the mind and improving the student's ability to focus. Tae Kwon Do is not about sheer strength but focusing the mind to allow the student to deliver strikers on target while keeping a cool head. Tae Kwon Do helps you identify the correct target to strike and improves your ability to make a strong impact. Tae Kwon Do also stresses the ability to quickly return to your fighting position after following through on the previous move. Strikes that are seen before they land often do not land at all, which is why Taekwondo footwork training is designed to help you minimize your telegraphing of moves to help each strike be a surprise that is not blocked and reaches its target. By combining mental focus, cool-headedness, precise strikes that hit the most important targets, extreme physical fitness, and fast reactions and defenses, Tae Kwon Do is a complete martial arts package that represents the pinnacle of unarmed defense. It is important to keep focuses enough to be able to logically deconstruct the situation. It takes precision to hit the proper targets. Hitting a good target can end an altercation quickly while repeatedly hitting less optimal targets can make very little head way. Being able to move quickly helps ensure you will not be blocked and that you can return to your stance quickly enough to prevent a counter attack. Tae Kwon Do is a very practical martial arts system that works in the real world to offer personal protection.
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Improve your soccer betting using the simple sequence method
Improve Your Soccer Betting is a series of articles that describe some well known and well used statistical techniques that will help the soccer punter make more informed bets. Each of the techniques has its own advantages and disadvantages and using them in isolation will improve your chances of winning. However, together they will prove invaluable in your battle with the bookies. In each article we will describe in detail how a particular method works giving you enough information for you to go ahead and create your own forecasts. We will also give you information as to where you can already find websites that use this technique in comprising their weekly soccer betting forecasts. The statistical methods described in this set of articles will help you to arrive at a better decision about the match, or matches, that you are betting on. In this article we will be describing the well known Simple Sequence method. The Simple Sequence method is not just a single method, there are many ways of devising a simple sequence method, and you could probably devise one of your own. The way the Simple Sequence method is implemented in the Footyforecast 2.0 software and on the 1X2Monster website is to use a weighting factor on each of a series of games. Here are the basic rules… A number of matches are used to look back at from the forecast date. So let’s say our team has the following results (most recent on the right hand side): W D L L W This would give them the following points: 3 + 1 + 0 + 0 + 3 = 7 Now to take into account current form each is given a weighting factor, so the oldest match is multiplied by 1 up to the most recent match being multiplied by 5. Of course this will vary depending upon the number of matches you use, but for this example it gives us the following: 3*1 + 1*2 + 0*3 + 0*4 + 3*5 = 20 points Now let’s say the away team playing against the team above have the following record: W W D D D They will have: 3*1 + 3*2 + 1*3 + 1*4 + 1*5 = 21 points. The points difference HOME v AWAY = 20 - 21 = -1. Now, depending how you classify this it could represent an away win, i. e. all matches below a points difference of 0 = away win, or it could be classed as a draw. Let’s look at a simple example… For our example we will use the last ten games played for each team. That’s the last ten home games for the home side, and the last ten away games for the away side. The match is between Middlesbrough and Bolton Wanderers in the English Premiership played on 20th Jan 2007. Middlesbrough L L W W W D L D W W This gives 0*1 + 0*2 + 3*3 + 3*4 + 3*5 + 1*6 + 0*7 + 1*8 + 3*9 + 3*10 This equals 0+0+9+12+15+6+0+8+27+30 = 107 Bolton L W W W D L L W W L This gives 0*1 + 3*2 + 3*3 + 3*4 + 1*5 + 0*6 + 0*7 + 3*8 + 3*9 + 0*10 this equals 0+6+9+12+5+0+0+24+27+0 = 83 Therefore the difference is 107 – 83 = +24 This could be determined as a home win but depending on your chosen threshold levels could be classed as a draw. Now it’s your turn… Of course you may choose to use different values to those shown above and by experimenting you may come up with better values to use. You may also choose to use all home and away games played by each team in your calculations instead of just home games for the home team and away games for the away team. You may choose to have different thresholds than those shown above. You may also find it beneficial to plot actual results against the Simple Sequence method predictions to see how many actual draws fall in the away win, draw, and home win prediction zones. If you have the necessary skills you could go away and build your own spreadsheet of data or even write a piece of software to take in results and fixtures and apply the Simple Sequence method to your data. Or, if you’re lazy like me, you could grab some free software that already does this for you. 1X2Monster and Footyforecast have been providing this kind of facility since 1999. A total of seven different statistical methods are used to determine the outcome of each game played in each league, and a comprehensive record of how each method in each game performed is kept. Apart from how each tip performed within its respective league 1X2Monster also provides the league tables of how each league has performed in successfully predicting outcomes of games. The league tables of prediction performance are produced for home win predictions, draw predictions, away win predictions, and for overall predictions and are invaluable tools to the soccer punter when deciding where to target their European soccer betting predictions. Here is a list of all the articles in this series… How To Make A Profit From FREE 1X2 Soccer Picks Improve Your Soccer Betting Using The Rateform Method Improve Your Soccer Betting Using The Footyforecast Method Improve Your Soccer Betting Using The Win Draw Loss Method Improve Your Soccer Betting Using The Simple Sequence Method Improve Your Soccer Betting Using The Score Prediction Method Improve Your Soccer Betting Using The Superiority Method
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Camping and snowmobiling excursions
Adventurous snowmobilers often add an extra measure of excitement to their snowmobiling vacations – camping. Sleeping outdoors over night for a few consecutive nights is not an easy feat to accomplish without experiencing frostbite or hypothermia or, at the very least, extreme discomfort. It is cold enough to endure the frigid temperatures that go along with snowmobiling during the daytime hours, but the evening hours provide another level of frigidity and cold weather without the warmth of the sun to balance out the cold. There are some precautions and measures that adventurous lovers of the outdoors can take to protect themselves during winter camping to fully enjoy their experience, though. Camping in the winter wilderness can be an exciting and adrenaline-producing experience. Planning is the most important aspect of enjoying a winter camping adventure, though. Doing research about the areas you plan to visit and the winter seasonal conditions in those regions should be foremost in your planning so you can bring the appropriate equipment to stay safe. Knowing the average amount of snow, routes that you plan to take, and the experience of the group that you are going to travel with are important factors in planning your winter camping trip. For instance, planning a snowmobile vacation that involves camping overnight with young children would not be an ideal scenario as they are generally more susceptible to exposure from the frigid winter elements. Overnight camping, especially during the winter seasons, can cause your body to lose heat at exponential rates. This can be a great danger if the proper precautions are not taken care of during the planning stages. Thermal clothes are an essential during any winter activity like snowmobiling and they are even more vital if you are going to sleep outdoors overnight. It is also important to use the layering method. The idea behind this method is to wear several loose layers of clothing, each layer providing more insulation for the body. Layering also makes it easier to remove clothing if the body begins to overheat. A body that is sweating will likely dehydrate and lose heat much quicker than a body that is dry, which is why it is important to find a comfortable amount of layers in order to balance the amount of heat needed to keep the body at an acceptable temperature. Winter clothing is not meant to warm the body, but rather to keep the natural heat of the body from escaping. Campers will also want to take along extra gear to make their winter camping excursion an enjoyable experience. A sleeping bag is vital, of course. But choosing the right sleeping bag is just as vital. The sleeping bag that you choose to take with you should be rated to lower temperatures that the temperatures you will experience in the area. This will help ensure that you will stay warm throughout the night. Also, take a foam pad to place between the sleeping bag and the snow-covered ground to help you further avoid the risk of hypothermia and frostbite. For cooking and warmth, you will also want to pack a gas-powered stove (along with the proper fuel, of course) rather than trying to build a fire. Firewood can be difficult to find and burn in snow-covered regions. Finally, no overnight camping trip would be complete without an ample amount of food for everybody in the group. A popular treat among campers is s’mores, but campers should also include foods that provide a better degree of nourishment. Since appetites lessen during cold weather, the food you take with you should be appealing so you are sure to get enough nutrition to keep you moving throughout the day. Food should ideally be dried rather than fresh fruits and vegetables. These weigh too much and contain water, which can get frozen during your trip. Dried and baked goods that are rich in vitamins and minerals, such as oatmeal, granola, and cheese are ideal components for a winter camper’s diet. A snowmobile and camping trip can be a fun and exciting excursion for adults to enjoy as groups or as couples. With some careful planning and packing, it can be an enjoyable and enlightening experience that can be enjoyed as often as possible. It is important to realize the dangers associated with poor planning so the adventure does not turn out to be a negative or even fatal outing.
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Golf basics about greens
Knowing how to drive and putt are not the only things you need to learn about playing golf. Golf being an outdoor activity you play on a living portion of land, and as in everything else out of doors, Mother Nature loves to play this game. Grasses are different; you might encounter a plush putting green or a weed patch with little growth at all. The putt can be altered by the texture, length and texture of the grass, and how much grass is actually there. A true golfer doesnt play only on sunny days with no breeze, it is quite common to see a golfer with an umbrella (to protect the clubs) playing in the rain. Like any other outdoor activity, the rain changes how you putt a golf ball. You will also come across a condition that is created by man, that is recognized by few golfers, this is called the “lumpy donut” however this is not a real threat. In the United States you will most likely be playing on one of two types of grass: Bent is a cool weather grass found in the northern states, it is soft with fine blades growing close together, and this creates a carpet like texture. It cant take prolonged heat or humidity. Bermuda is used in the warmer climates; it is a strong weedy grass that handles warmer climates and humidity found in the southern states. The blades are long, broad, shaggy and sparser; golfers describe it as a wild shag rug which causes the ball to rise and fall in and out of the blades. Bermuda also has a grain, the direction in which the grass grows. Their differences create very different playing surfaces for golf. Balls will roll truer on bent grasses and the break will be caused by the slope of the land. With Bermuda your shot can be affected by uneven growth patterns in the grass. The place to identify how your shots will react to the different types of grass is the practice green.
Friday, August 26, 2016
Tennis anticipation early warning systems what is it
The radar early warning systems in computer games, calls your attention to an incoming missile or enemy attack...and you take evasive, defensive or aggressive action. Boy, would this be useful in tennis! Some players seem to have that kind of radar; Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Martina Hings to name a few. In lay terms it is called "anticipation", in the players above it is almost an inborn factor that they naturally just use. For us regular humans it is something that one can learn and train. How does it function? There are several other factors that influence "anticipation" but I am going to focus on just one; ball tracking. Teachers often keep on telling pupils to "watch the ball", I say, "track the ball". Professional players track the ball from the moment it leaves their rackets to the moment the opponent strikes it and so on. Why tracking and not watching? Because when you track the ball your minds eye automatically produces a directional vector of the ball's trajectory from the point of impact to the point of landing, therefore, giving your brain the exact coordinates where to go next. There are different levels of tracking reactions, beginner, amateur and professional. - Beginner; the ball is struck by your opponent, travels past the net, bounces off of the ground and at that moment you start reacting. - Amateur, the ball is struck by your opponent, travels a few feet past the net and then you start reacting. - Professional, the moment the ball is struck by your opponent, you react and move immediately in the direction the ball is going to bounce. So when practicing, get used to activating your "early warning systems", track the ball from your racket and the moment your opponent strikes it, react immediately. Once you start using this new weapon in your game, you will notice that you will have plenty more time to get to the ball and you will eventually begin to beat opponents you thought were out of your reach! Hope you will enjoy becoming a "faster" player. Have fun with "The Game". For comments or ideas about this article please email the author Copyright © 1999-2005 Tenniscruz®. All rights reserved.
Karate what is it really all about
This question seems innocent and easy to answer. But the truth is that it is not an easy question to answer at all, because it must be answered on so many different levels. “What is karate really all about?” Is it about learning some punches, kicks and blocks? Is it about memorizing endless forms? Is it about self-defense? Is it about health and fitness? How about making friends and socializing? And what about all of those buzzwords such as self-discipline, self-confidence, self-control, self-esteem and all of those other ‘self’ prefixes that cater to our already aggrandized egos? Some of us have already done our research on this topic to find out what karate is all about and we have found many different but complimentary answers. Conventional martial arts wisdom tells us that karate is about perfecting our character, being truthful and honest, never giving up, building strong spirit, trying our best at all times, adhering to strict discipline and etiquette, following “the path” or “the Way”, and reaching our potential in life. I can guarantee that if I put this question to a room full of students, all of the above answers will be volunteered and probably several others. The point of the introduction to this article is that karate is about all of the above and none of the above. It all depends on who you are talking to. The problem is that the difference between most people’s words and actions can be significant. For example, saying that karate is about focus and discipline and then demonstrating weak technique and bad manners while being easily distracted tells me that someone isn’t really being honest. Saying that karate is about health and fitness and then driving straight to McDonalds after class for a Big Mac with extra fries might be equally questionable in terms of an honest practice. So “what is karate really all about?” I’d say it’s all about YOU and it’s all about what YOU make of it. You can make it a fun and challenging hobby and family activity by participating with other family members. You can make it a really worthwhile physical activity by training hard and improving your health and fitness. You can also make it an incredibly tedious and frustrating pursuit that becomes potentially harmful to both your self-confidence and your character by not trying to do your very best, and feeling like you are “no good” compared to everyone else in your class. Or, as I have done, you can make it a lifelong goal to try to capitalize on the strengths that you were born with and gradually improve your weaknesses through the honest and fully committed practice of karate. Perfection of character doesn’t mean that you never make a mistake. Trying to be truthful and honest doesn't mean that you never catch yourself being hypocritical at times. Nor does trying your best mean that you’re never tired. What is most important from all of this is your self-awareness. Through the template and practice of karate we should be able to constantly polish the stone that holds all of our skills, so that we can clearly see our own reflection in all its beauty and even all of its ugliness. Gradually through consistent effort, practice and knowledge of ourselves that we develop through our practice, we can tip the balance of our life’s scale to positive nourishment and self-improvement. This inevitably leads toward helping others and finding our own place in this world. Karate, although not complete in and of itself, holds many keys that lead us towards this goal. If you need more help with this or any other karate subject, please be sure to download my FREE Report “Beginners Guide to Karate”. You will find out how to download it at freekarateinformation. Good luck and best wishes on your journey in karate.