Was worth a shot, Finish HIM, In the presence of the GOAT

Saturday morning I got out there to play some more pickleball in the continued hot and steamy weather. I had a good outing, winning every game except the last one where I was paired with an older woman that insisted on lobbing the ball incessantly and either missing or giving the opponents an easy overhead put away. Regardless it felt good to be out there.

During the afternoon I worked on several projects including giving my 3D printed kickstand a test. Because of the bad design of the original kickstand mount points I did not have an easy way to attach my 3D printed variety. I figured I would go out and buy the strongest two sided tape I could find, made by Gorilla Glue and see if it was able to hold. During the same hardware store run I also had to buy longer bolts to attach the rubber “feet” to my printed stand.

Unfortunately as I expected the double sided tape let loose as soon as I allowed the massive 120 pound wheel to rest on it. I resigned to myself that the only shot I have to attach this and have it function will be by bolting it to the wheel. However to do so I will need to drill/tap my own holes to make it work. I love a good challenge.

Saturday night we got out to go see Mortal Kombat II. I have been a long time fan of the game and saw the first movie as well so it was a natural move to see this iteration. The movie had ties back to the original which I think was cool. I enjoyed it. If you liked Mortal Kombat the game I think you will too. Hell my girlfriend never even heard of the game and liked it. B+

Sunday morning I made arrangements to meet up with my buddy to go see Anna Leigh Waters, the best female pickleball player in the world put on a clinic and exhibition. She did this along with her mom and coach Leigh Waters who is a pretty elite pickleball player as well.

I was impressed with how genuinely friendly and personable they both were. We watched them do a one hour kids clinic followed by a Q&A session along with autograph signing. I actually bought a mini-paddle so they both could sign it. I haven’t had an athlete/celebrity sign something for me since Karch Kiraly in the early 2000’s. They wound up the session playing an exhibition match and then a rapid fire best 2 out of 3 against anyone that wanted to give it a go.

From watching her afar in various tournaments she has played I had a mixed opinion about ALW. There was never any doubt about her dominance and work ethic. It was her reaction to adversity that was a bit of a turn off. However after hearing her talk about how she is wired, seeing how she interacted with everyone there and being face to face with her I feel differently. She may go down as the most dominant female player ever and she is still only 19. They live over in Boca and have a good relationship with the management at the pickleball facility so it was a great opportunity that I only had to drive 5 minutes to attend.