Success Warrior: The Blog That Embraces ADHD

Who Won?

So,

Who won?

Trillary!

H'rump!

I'll bet neither of them has even touched a disc golf disc before.

Whuh?

I think we may have crossed wires but I must say that a disc golf tournament would be an interesting way to choose the president.

Right?  Maybe it could be one of the weekly challenges for next election's reality show:  Survivor: Presidential. 

To answer the question you thought I was asking, the winner was the 1% who duped 100 million people into voting that the 1% maintain control over the country.  It was pretty unclimactic but I did find a couple of interesting things in the voting numbers.

Hillary got 92.8% of the votes in the District of Columbia.  For those of you trying to figure out why Hillary lost, you don't have to look any farther than this.  A vote for Hillary was a vote for the corrupt system.  Not that voting for Trump was a vote against the corrupt system.  As part of his character in the 2016 Election reality show, he got to play the role of the outsider.  This played in his favor even though it was just written into the script for his character.  We all know that a true outsider would never be allowed to win the primary or be given the same amount of media attention as the 1% candidates.  Hell, Ron Paul won the Nevada caucus and the results were thrown out and McCain delegates were appointed by the RNC to represent the state.  A true outsider is never given the slightest chance of being seen as a viable candidate, never mind winning the election.  The fact that they appointed delegates rather than go with delegates selected by the people demonstrates that this country is not a democratic republic.  People are allowed to vote as long as they vote for one of the two puppets the 1% puts forward.

There have been a lot of things posted on Facebook by Trillary supporters with one side posting "Suck it!" messages and the other side announcing the end of the world.  The best that I have seen so far though was from a Johnson supporter reprimanding Hillary supporters for wasting their votes.  Had they voted for Johnson, he would have won and if he wasn't suicided or killed in a freak accident before January, things might have changed. 

Yeah, four years of zero presidential coverage from the media.

No bully pulpit for you!

Oh they would cover him extensively.  They would cover his inability to get along with congress members.  They would talk about how his vetoes were stopping the good work of congress, work done for the 1% obviously but that part would be left out, and his inability to get congress to champion any of his causes.  He would be portrayed as the biggest loser of a president every, a cautionary tale of what happens when the people vote third party.  It would have been very interesting but obviously people who vote for the status quo are not going to vote for change, only candidates who talk about change, but turning the common complaint of wasted votes upside down was a nice twist.

You know who really does want to break from the status quo? 

You.

Us.

Well, yes, but also people in Utah. 

We are in Utah.

Have you ever heard of Google Maps?

Voters in Utah.  Most states had single digit percentage of voters who voted third party.  New Mexico had double digits at 11%.  25% of voters in Utah voted third party.  That's freaking amazing.  It didn't change anything this time but we can always hope that people are waking up to just how rigged the system is.

Even if it wasn't rigged, it would still be a strange system.  18% of the population voted for Trump.  If Trump wasn't a puppet and actually decided the course of the nation, what kind of messed up system would allow 18% of the population to decide how the other 82% of the people had to live their lives, what they could do, couldn't do, and had to do?  That's crazy.  There may be new readers to this blog tempted to say something like, "Well, you could vote in the hope of determining how everyone should live their lives."  First, I have way too much respect for people to use violence and threats of violence to force them to live their lives in a way I find acceptable.  Second, the system is set up in a way to make sure every vote is a wasted vote.

The question in the title for this post was supposed to lead into a discussion of my first disc golf tournament.

You should have been more specific.

Especially after such an emotional election.

My performance in the tournament evoked far more emotion than a fake election or the hysterical reactions of the disciples based on what candidates said they would do.  One of the biggest complaints about politicians is how much they lie and yet devotees on the right are screaming in triumph about how much things are going to change and zealots on the left are screaming in anguish about how much things are going to change.  Neither is waiting to see if anything is actually going to change.  So much drama, it's like the all the voters are high school students.

Maybe they should raise the minimum age for voting.

There are drama queens in every age demographic.

Ahem, back to the tournament.  It was a shotgun start and I started on hole with a narrow fairway that I usually play for and get par on.  I thought that I should try to play it safe, which of course, was a mistake because by changing my game, it just made things worse.  My first throw was out of bounds in a way that I have never done before.  My game had few shining moments in the first 9 holes while I made mistakes that I rarely make.  After that though, I seemed to find my groove getting birdies on several holes.  I would have done very well on the second half except for a couple of mistakes caused by trying to cut things too closely to trees.  One hit a tree and one went out of bounds adding 3 strokes to my score. 

My overall feeling was that I did not play the course as well as I usually do.  Tournament jitters maybe.  It was also a bit chilly at the start and I couldn't get my hands to warm up during the front nine.  Probably a bit of both.  The end result turned out to be a bit surprising.  I tied for third place in my class.  To keep it in context, I must point out that there were only 9 people competing in my class.  It was interesting to look at my score compared to the results of the other classes.  If I had played in the advanced class, I would have taken 6th.  If I had played with the best players in the open class, I would have taken 11th (which would have been third from last). 

I received $25 worth of credit at Infinite Discs for getting third place.  Pretty cool.  I used it on the spot to buy a couple of discs.  I got a fairway driver for myself that I had on my list of discs to experiment with.  I got a distance driver for Trey as payment for caddying for me for part of the course.  We tried them out at our local course on our way home.  I'll probably do a review of the disc I got in a future post after I've had a chance to throw it some more.

So, my first tournament went as bad as I feared it could and ended up with better than expected results.  I signed up for another tournament too, which those of you who know me will find surprising.  Not only because I never played tournaments before yesterday but also because it's in January in northern Utah.  I hate the cold and it will probably be about 32 degrees.  Come on global warming! 

I don't think that's PC.

Is anything he says PC?

All things considered, I'm glad I did it and plan on playing in many more tournaments next year.

Oh yeah, remember that I guessed that my PDGA player rating would be about 850.  The rating for my play on this course for this tournament was 882.  Since that's my only tournament rating, I think that will be my PDGA rating until I take part in more tournaments.  I don't have any other scores to average in yet.  I wasn't far off with my guess and was pleasantly surprised that I had guessed low.

 

 

Bringing the Year of Disc Golf to a Close

So,

The weather is still freakishly warm and I'm still playing disc golf every day.  Not only that but...

Excuse us.  We haz a question.

Does today's pic relate to disc golf in any conceivable way?

Yes.  As I saying, this has been the year of disc golf and...

Excuse us again.  We haz a follow up question.

How does today's pic relate to disc golf in a conceivable way?

Well, it's about my putter.

That's what you call yours?

Mine's a driver.

Yeah, a big ole one wood with an oversized head.

I told you to go see a doctor about that.

I have tried several putters over the years.  I started with the Innova Aviar, probably because it's sold everywhere that discs are sold.  When Vibram started making discs, I switched to the Vibram Ridge. 

A putter with ridges, for her pleasure.

You need help.

I ended up trying the rest of Vibram's putters: Sole, Summit, and V.P.  I've tried most of Vibram's discs and have several in my bag including a Summit for short floaty anhyzers.  I tried the MVP Ion for a while.  I recently heard a disc golf commentator say that the difference in putters is mostly about what the golfer *thinks* works for them.  He's probably right.  None of them ever really clicked with me but there isn't a ton of difference between them all.  They all fly straight if you throw them correctly but I hadn't found *my* putter.  That changed last Friday when I bought a Gateway Warlock SSS (from Infinite Discs of course).

You're saying that she's a warlock?

Remember, I did say in a *conceivable* way.

I searched for a warlock pic but didn't find anything fitting for this blog.  I did a search for "Witch" and this was one of the pics returned.  So, apparently, she is some kind of witch.  That's the connection.  Anyway, from the first throw of the Warlock, I knew that I had found my putter.

Ahh, love at first flight, how sweet.

Absolutely adorable.

You guys suck. 

I learned something about discs that I didn't know before I started doing more research into putters.  I learned the terms beaded and beadless.  I also learned why discs are beaded.  I was aware of the feature on the discs because the feeling between beaded and beadless is very different.  I just didn't know the actual term.  For those of you who care, the bead is an extra ring of plastic added to the bottom of the disc.  The disc to the right is a beaded disc and the extra lip of plastic between the red lines is the bead.  Some people prefer the grip offered by beaded discs.  I hate the feel of beaded discs.

You're gonna leave us hangin', aren't you?

Huh?

No one knows what you're talking about at this point, you might as well tell us the purpose of the bead.

Oh that.  The purpose of the bead is to keep the designed flight path of the disc from changing for as long as possible.  As you nick up the bottom and edges of a disc, it's flight pattern will change.  The bead is there to protect the area that would normally be the bottom of the disc to extend the disc's life.

I was considering trying the Gateway Wizard SSS, an extremely popular putter but it's beaded.  The description of the Warlock started with "The Warlock is the beadless version of the popular Wizard putt and approach disc."  I veered away from the Wizard and decided to give the Warlock a try and now I have my putter, at least for the time being.

I totally did not think this post was going to be about putters.

You always totally do not think but this time, you're right.  This guy is absolutely terrible at staying on point.

I feel like I need to just start over.

So,

This has been the year of disc golf for me and I'm going to make it official. 

Maybe she...

SHUDDUP!

While I was playing over at the Logan Fairgrounds Sunday, there was a disc golf club (Cache Valley Disc Golf) playing doubles best-disc.  A couple of them invited me to come out on Sundays to join them.  I thought, if I'm going to be there on Sundays, I might as well take part.  One of them also invited me to a tournament that will be happening on Saturday.  Part of the proceeds from the tournament will be put toward adding three new baskets to the course around a water hazard.  I've never played in a tournament before.  I thought about just kicking in a donation toward the baskets because it's a fun course worth improving.  Then I decided, what the hell?  It is the year of disc golf, after all.  What better way to cap off the year then taking part in a tournament.

Some ibuprofen and a good massage might be a better way to cap it off.

Especially if it comes with a happy ending given by a witch with big brarmor.

It's a tournament sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) so for the first time in my decades of playing, I am a member of the PDGA (#89711).  The PDGA gives players a rating based on how well they play.  I obviously don't have a rating yet but my guess is that it's about 850.  Again, this probably doesn't mean anything to anyone but to put it in perspective, this tournament has 4 classes: Open, Advanced, Intermediate, and Recreational.  The PDGA lists these rating guidelines for each: Open >= 970, Advanced >= 935, Intermediate < 935, and Recreational < 900.  I registered for the Intermediate class and after this tournament, I should have a rating.  Another way to look at is that the top players in the world have a rating over 1,000.  If that's an A+ player, I'm probably a B to B- player. 

Do we care?

I know I don't.

I don't really care that much either other than out of curiosity.  I don't plan on putting so much effort into disc golf that I turn my hobby into a job.  Especially when I have turned my job into a hobby (a story for another blog post).  I'm just having fun, loving the weirdly warm weather, donating toward new baskets for one of my favorite courses, and adding a new experience to my year of disc golf. 

Your Vote Has Already Been Tallied

So,

This is a couple days late because the weather went from "here comes winter" to "Ta da!  It's spring!".

Huh?

There have been several studies that show an inverse correlation between unseasonal warm weather and the ability to meet blog deadlines.

Really?

No.

I have spent a large part of the previous two days playing disc golf and plan on doing it again today, at least for as long as my arm holds up.  I played 5 rounds both days (that's 90 holes each day for those of you raised on common core).

Surprisingly, I feel pretty good so I'm just going to keep playing until I get tennis elbow or disc golf shoulder.

Or the weather returns to its regularly scheduled programming.

Or you have to go to work.

Yeah, it will all end when the weather turns cold.  I'm still considering the work aspect of the issue.  This has been the Year of Disc Golf for me, which is far more interesting than the illusory election that's going on.  I think I very well may have played more disc golf this year than I did in all the years prior to this year.  That's a long time so it might not be accurate but it might and even if it isn't, it accurately describes my impression of how much I played this year.  From June through August, I played 18 baskets during lunch and another 18 in the afternoon and then, quite often, another 18 in the evening when it had cooled down a bit.  I changed the discs I use, how I drive, and how I putt.  I now get my discs from Infinite Discs.  I don't get anything from them for the plug but if you play disc golf, you should check them out.  They carry just about every disc that is out there and you have the ability to look through their entire inventory to select your discs by color and weight (actual weight, not a weight range).  They have a Disc Comparison Matrix that compares many of the discs by flight characteristics allowing you to find a disc for particular shots or select other discs to try that are similar to discs you are familiar with.  Note:  The x axis of the matrix is labeled "Fade - Turn".  In reality, it's Fade + Turn.  Turn is often a negative number so a disc with a fade of 1 and a turn of -1 shows up as a neutral disc with a combined score of 0 (1 + -1), not 2 (1 - -1).

No one knows what you're talking about now.

And those that do, don't care.

I suppose you guys are actually right...this time.  Maybe I'll write more posts about my disc golf year later.

When it's cold, right?

You'll just be talking to yourself.

<sigh>Let's move on to the topics I said I would cover: the pseudo election. <gag>

Can we talk about Hillary being in Satanic cult?

Can we not talk about Hillary at all?

Let's go with the great and powerful Oz, Obama.

Boo.

<groan>

It's not Hillary.

I should have been more specific.

*I* was specific.

It appears that a month before the 2008 election, Obama's transition team received an email from Citigroup letting them know who would serve in Obama's cabinet.  This was a month before the election, not a month before Obama took office.  The article doesn't state if a similar email was sent to the other candidate.  My guess is yes.  If not, it would clearly show the value of voting because it would mean the 1% knew who was going to take office.  Even if it was sent to both candidates, it still shows the value of voting because, unless you are completely unfamiliar with the US oligarchical system, you know who ended up in Obama's cabinet and who would have ended up in the other guys cabinet.  In 2008, the election was over on October 6th, a month before the clueless went out to vote.  The cabinet of deciders, to use a Bushism, had been selected.  A cabinet who advised Obama to not only not punish the criminal actions of banks for the 2008 disaster, but rather, give the banks money.  The cabinet's advise, which Obama followed naturally fulfilling his role as puppet, was to create a climate of moral hazard such that such that a similar disaster in the future was a certainty.

Like the certainty that Hillary consorts with Satan worshippers and pedophiles.

I don't think moral hazard applies in that situation.

Speaking of Hillary...

Yes!

No!

I heard some speculation that one of the reasons the FBI investigation into Hillary's illegal email server was because Obama obviously knew what she was doing.  One would think that the president and the secretary of state were emailing one another and getting an email from [email protected] would tip the guy off.  He did nothing about enforcing a law which has the intent of protecting national security, which is...ummm...bad?  Anyway, having the FBI investigate the president for his role in the criminal activity would be...

Awkwarrrrrd.

Pointless.

Last, I'll leave you with a paraphrase of a comment I read about why someone is still voting for Hillary: just to see the heads of Trump supporters explode.  Not because she will do a good job, because she won't, but just out of spite for the other team.

A compelling argument, to be sure.

That could be cool.

Polarizing the elections keeps citizens attacking each other while the rulers are free to do whatever they want, without pesky resistance from commoners.  However, if voting third party would have that effect on the supporters of both puppets, I might actually be persuaded to take part.