The bonanza bingo game has been played for many, many years. The problem or shortcoming with the game is that bonanza requires additional bingo equipment that only large casinos and tribal halls could afford. Now a new bonanza card known as the PreCall Bonanza Game Card eliminates the equipment requirements and everyone, even the smallest bingo game and home parties can now play the new bonanza game! Here’s the difference.

The traditional bonanza game is played on special folded, sealed bingo cards thereby making the card’s numbers hidden to the player. The object of the game is to cover or blackout all 24 squares on your bingo card. The free space is free. No number needed for this square.

Prior to starting a bingo session the bingo game operator would call or draw 48 numbers and post them on a lighted bingo flashboard which is a dedicated display board for this one game. After the players are seated they break open their bonanza cards and daub the numbered squares displayed on the bonanza board. Only the bingo halls that could afford the extra lighted flashboard that is used exclusively for the bonanza game could play the game.

Throughout the bingo session players would purchase additional bonanza cards hoping to get a card only one or two numbers away from a coverall. The prize won for the first coverall varied by bingo location. The folks playing with their friends at home played just for the thrill of being a winner. The home players would keep a tally of the numbers called for future reference. This just would not work for the players in a bingo hall. The hall players expect the numbers to be clearly posted and in full view from anywhere within the hall.

When the game was ready to be played the bingo operator would ask if there were any bingos. If no player had a bingo then the game would continue with calling the 49th, 50th ball and so forth until a player yelled bingo! The players love the game.

In order to make this popular game available to more players at more locations a new card was designed by Bingo King and named the PreCall Bonanza Bingo Game Card. On the outside, PreCall cards look like the regular bonanza bingo cards, but the difference is on the inside. PreCall cards include predetermined shaded numbers on each card. All the shaded numbers, up to 22 on some cards, are pre-dabbed spaces. The shaded numbers replace the previously called balls in the traditional bonanza game. So a player with 22 shaded squares only needs only 2 numbers to win.

Now the bingo hall no longer needs special equipment and there is no need to call bonanza bingo numbers before the session starts. The new game is faster and requires many fewer ball calls so several bonanza games can be played during one session. The new PreCall Bonanza Bingo Game Cards come is assorted colors so the games stay unique based on card color.

The PreCall Bonanza Bingo Game Cards are a new welcome twist on an old popular game. Now bonanza bingo is available to everyone who loves to play bingo!

Wren Hall is now a public house close by one of the Coastal Medical centres, but it was originally built in 1598 for the Edmondson family. It was still in their possession in 1662, when Helen Edmondson was christened there. It wasn’t until 1803 that it is known that the house changed hands, as Sam Bailey rented the large house out.

In 1811, Richard Caton inherited it from Sam Bailey and he put it up for sale.

1814 was when it officially became the property of Robert Hesketh, and he used it as the Bailiff’s house.

Heysham Tower

This building was first built to be part of the Rossal Hall estates and was owned by Robert Hesketh. He lived there with his wife Maria, and their children, but only used it as their summer home.

After Robert’s death in 1824, the house passed to his eldest son Peter, but within four years he had handed the house to his sister Anna. She had married Thomas Knowlys, in 1828, and the couple spent the following two years enlarging the building.

Mr Knowlys was the driving force behind the alterations which included:

– Library

– Large dining room

– Tower for astronomy

Unfortunately, Mr and Mrs Knowlys only lived in the expanded home for ten years, before Mr Knowlys died. He suffered a gunshot wound, the reasons for this injury have not been made public record.

Mrs Knowlys lived there until the 1870s but must have left prior to the 1881 census as she was living with her daughter Florence, in Bristol. Her daughter and son in law had evidently taken her to live with them.

There were two further owners of the Tower, as in 1881 it was the property of Mr and Mrs Bennet who lived there with their daughter. By 1891 they had been replaced by the Cawthra family.

Heysham Hall

This was a large structure, built in 1839 for Ann and Thomas Rawsthorne. They were evidently a fertile couple, as they had ten children.

Unfortunately, Thomas, lost money due to his unwise investments while he was working as a solicitor. That might have been the reason behind why the Hall was sold in 1854.

Officially the home was meant to go to a ‘gentleman of fortune’, according to the advertisement of the sale, so it seems as though Thomas’s financial problems were the reason behind the sale.

Heysham Hall had a great many rooms

Ground Floor

– Entrance Hall and staircase

– Drawing room

– Library

– Dining room

– Breakfast room

– Billard room

First floor

– Nursery

– Bathroom

– Twelve bedrooms

– Three bedrooms were ensuite

– Servants rooms

– Attics

Basement

– Wine cellar

– Ale cellar

– Other cellars

Outbuildings

– Hot houses

– Conservatory

– Wash house

– Laundry

– Three stables

– Loose horse boxes

– Double coach houses

– Porter’s lodge

– Cottages for the gardener and three labourers

– Piggeries

– Cart house

Excellent walled gardens

The Rawsthorne family also owned the White House, which was situated between Heysham Hall and Heysham Tower. The White House was a smaller residence, containing six bedrooms.

In 1879 Frederick Grafton bought the White House. He was a mill owner from Accrington and completely renovated the place.

Rangoon’s/Yangon’s Chinese Community has always been very rich. Subsequently, they are supporting the Shwedagon Pagoda Trustees with significant amounts of money. They also have two pavilions here on the pagoda platform; the Pavilion of the Chinese Community and the one in front of us, the Chinese Merchants Pavilion. It is home to a collection of Buddha statues of different size and in various postures. These different symbolic postures/gestures i.e. ways of positioning legs, feet, arms, hands and fingers are called mudra, which means in Sanskrit sign or token. There are many mudras but the ten mostly used and important ones are the: Dhyani Mudra (gesture of meditation), Vitarka Mudra (teaching gesture), Darmachakra Mudra (gesture of turning the wheel of teaching), which represents a central moment in the life of Buddha when he preached his first sermon after his Enlightenment, Bhumisparsha Mudra (gesture of touching the earth), Abhaya Mudra (gesture of fearlessness and granting protection), Varada Mudra (gesture of granting wishes), Uttarabhodi Mudra (gesture of supreme enlightenment), Vairochana Mudra (mudra of supreme wisdom), Anjali Mudra (gesture of greeting and veneration) and the Vajrapradama Mudra (gesture of unshakable confidence).

Look to the right and there you see in front of the main stupa located at the right hand side of the Kassapa Adoration Hall, also called Temple of the Kassapa Buddha, statues of Mai La Mu and Thagyamin the king of nats also known as Sakka Deva, king of the celestials. That these two are placed together under a royal umbrella has of course a reason. Here is the story: as legend has it Mai La Mu was born out of a large fruit of the Ma Lu tree (a mangrove species that back then existed here in abundance) and grew into a very beautiful young lady. When Thagyamin saw her from Tavatimsa the heaven of devas he fell in love, came down to earth in the form of a human being and married her. The couple had a boy child that was to become the later King Okkalapa, the founder of the Shwedagon Pagoda.

After having continued a few steps farther north we are now standing between the Kassapa Adoration Hall to our right and the top landing of the Western Stairway to our left.

The pavilion at the upper landing of the west stairway to our left is also called Two Pice Pavilion or Two Pice Tazaung and is one of the 2 ‘Two Pice Pavilions’ on the Shwedagon Pagoda. The name originated from collection points at which pagoda stall owners and Rangoon market stall owners made their daily donation of a ‘Two Pice’ (a coin issued by the Bank of India and used during British colonial times) for the restoration and renovation of Shwedagon Pagoda stairways as well as the pavilions at their lower and upper landings. Here at the western stairway pagoda shop owners and owners of shops on the Theingyi Zay that was built in 1905 in Latha Township, made their daily ‘Two Pice Donation’.

The Western Stairway has like the northern and the western stairway an interesting history. The western stairway leads down to the former Voyle Road, now U Wizara Road, and was damaged during the second Anglo-Burmese war in 1852. From December 1853 to March 1930 it was closed to the public as a means of protection against insurgents.

In 1931 a serious fire that started in one of the stalls at the foot of the western stairway and quickly spread up to the Shwedagon Pagoda complex totally destroyed the stairway and many of the structures on the pagoda platform.

On our right hand side is the Kassapa Adoration Hall or Temple of the Kassapa Buddha.

As the name already suggests, this temple is dedicated to the 27th Buddha, Kassapa. Kassapa Buddha is sitting on a throne in the Bhumisparsha Mudra (gesture of touching the earth) in an illuminated cave the front of which is covered with a glass window. The statue is made of an alloy containing gold, silver, copper, iron and lead, is relatively small and has a neon halo. On the left and right hand site of the cave you can see several Buddha statues of different sizes. These Buddha statues are made of brass.

We are leaving the hall trough the front entrance to continue our Shwedagon pagoda tour.

Here, to the left of the Kassapa Hall you see the Planetary Post for Jupiter. In case one of you is born on a Thursday, this is your place. Again no one? Then let’s continue northwards.

Up there on the right hand side you see the statue of the famous Mon King Okkalapa, the founder of the Shwedagon Pagoda and according to legend son of Mei La Mu and Thagyamin.

He is placed under an umbrella what indicates that he has royal status. By the way, the statues in the many shrines that you see alongside the main stupa are devas (supernatural beings). According to Buddhist belief there are many devas of different classes, the highest class or order being those living in Tavatimsa heaven. They are also called ‘Devas of the Thirty Three’.

To the left is the pavilion with the Buddha Tooth Relic Replica.

We have reached the north-west corner of the main stupa and here you see the Planetary Post for Rahu, the elephant without tasks. Is anyone of you born on a Wednesday afternoon? Not, OK.

Now we move a few steps further into the open space of the terrace in direction of the small octagonal pagoda with the niches in the lower part.

The statues are as you can now clearly see images of sitting Buddhas and images of animals. This Buddha here is accompanied by a naga (snake or serpent). What does this tell you? Right, this is the Saturday Buddha because Saturday born are nagas. When you go around this pagoda you will find that there are 8 niches with 8 Buddhas accompanied by 8 different animals; one for each weekday (Wednesday has two). That is why this pagoda is called the Eight Weekdays Pagoda. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that according to Burmese Buddhists belief, for example, Wednesday born (elephants) and Saturday born (naga) people get along very well. My wife of 23 years and me are living proof that this is true.

Directly behind the Eight Weekdays Pagoda we have the pavilion with the Maha Ganda Bell (Maha Ganda meaning ‘Great Sound’ in Pali) made of bronze. It was cast by order of the successor and son of King Hsinbyushin, King Singu Min, who ascended to the throne on 09 June 1776, between 1776 and 1778 and donated by him to the Shwedagon Pagoda on 17 January 1779. The bell is 7 feet/2.13 metres high and at the mouth 6.6 feet/2.01 metres wide. The bell’s walls are 1 feet/0.305 metres thick and its total weight is said to be approx. 24 tons.

There is an interesting story about this bell. A story of the kind we will later hear about another bell from the Shwedagon Pagoda. At the end of the first Anglo-Burmese war in 1825 the British had the bell removed from the Shwedagon Pagoda with the intention to move it as a trophy to Calcutta (now Kolkata). But they did not get beyond the intention because the raft they had placed the bell on gave way to the bell’s weight and the bell sank to the bottom of the Rangoon River. That caused them plenty of headaches but all salvage attempts failed. Later the Burmese succeeded in lifting the bell from the bottom of the river. The technique they applied was to give the bell sufficient buoyancy by putting a large number of bamboo sticks in a criss-cross pattern under it. Once the bell was out of the water they re-installed it at its old place at the Shwedagon Pagoda where it is now hanging right in front of us.

This bell provides another chance for good luck for you. If you strike the bell at the band above the lower rim three times for the three Buddhist jewels (Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha) with the end of one of the wooden mallets you see over there on the stand you are supposed to have good fortune. Go and give it a try. Ah, you better wait, I will first show you how to do it properly. Done, did you hear the beautiful sound of the bell when I struck it? This sound comprises three distinct parts. First comes the tone from the impact of the strike, then a prolonged reverberation after the bell is struck and, finally, the decay of the sound when the bell’s vibration slowly dies away. The more precise you hit the bell, the better the tone. OK, now it is your turn.

Well, that was something, wasn’t it? Now that we have had our ‘bell-striking-experience’ and can hope to have good fortune we continue to the Hall of Great Prosperity over there opposite the Maha Ganda Bell.

The Hall of Great Prosperity is used by Buddhist abbots (sayadaws) to lecture Buddha’s teachings to Buddhist monks both from outside and inside the Shwedagon monk community (sangha) and religious ceremonies such as the annually ‘Shwedagon Pagoda Weaving Competition’. This competition is about weaving Buddha robes. It begins on the eve of the Full Moon of Tazaungmon (October/November) and lasts till the other morning. In this night young woman weave against each other in a fair contest. There is no enmity between the contestants and once the shuttles are laid out of hand they will happily celebrate together.

The hall is home to a 30 feet/9 metres high seated Buddha statue, the Chanthar Gyi Buddha Statue. This is the Shwedagon Pagoda’s highest Buddha statue accompanied by 2 more Buddha statues on his right and 2 on his left side.

The hall to the right of the Hall of Great Prosperity is the U Po Thaung Hall. The hall was completed in 1923 and named after the officer of the Rangoon Land Department and Trustee of the Shwedagon Pagoda, U Po Thaung.

Now we walk through the passage between the Maha Ganda bell and the Hall of Great Prosperity in order to get to the north-west corner of the Shwedagon Pagoda platform. Here ‘hidden’ in the corner we see to our left some smaller shrines. This one is the Shin Saw Bu Shrine. The golden Wonder Working Buddha Image that is often adorned with strands of Sabai blossoms and other flowers – in this case Shwe Ban – was donated by Queen Shin Saw Bu and it is said that this Buddha can as the name suggests work wonders and fulfil wishes. Another chance for you to get a wish fulfilled. All you have to do is to join the small group of praying people, say your prayer and make your wish. You do not want to do that? Well, well, well, maybe you are missing the chance of your life. Who knows? You do not want to reconsider your decision? OK, your choice. The Shin Saw Bu Buddha is one of the nine Shwedagon Pagoda wonders.

Over there in the far corner you can see two sacred Banyan or Bodhi trees that are embellished with small flags and flowers on the occasion of Buddhist religious events; today there are no flags. The right one, also called Maha Bodhi Tree, was planted in 1903 and is grown from a cutting of the very Bodhi Tree in northern India under which as Buddhists believe Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment (bodhi). This tree is a ‘Ficus’ that belongs to the family of ‘Moraceae’ and is classified as ‘Ficus religiosa’. It is commonly known as ‘Banyan tree’, ‘Bo tree’ or ‘Bodhi tree’ and is a fig tree, more precisely the ‘Indian fig’ tree. The other tree was planted by U Nu who was (with 2 breaks) from 1948 to 1962 Burma’s first Prime Minister.

Now we return to the inner part of the platform and in front of us (behind us the Hall of Great Prosperity) is an open space called Victory Ground or Wish Fulfilling Place. This is the place where kings, princes, generals and soldiers of Mon kingdom armies used to pray with their faces oriented towards the main stupa prior to their going to war what explains the name of this place. That’s why people pray here for success in their ‘wars’.

We now continue eastwards passing the Eleven Shrine Cluster. This is a round shaped complex of 11 smaller shrines. In each shrine guarded by chinthes, nagas, manokthihas and nats is a seated Buddha image. In the centre you can see atop the cluster a golden standing Buddha placed under a golden umbrella (hti shwe).

A few steps further eastwards on the northern part of the platform is now to our left hand side the Buddha’s Footprint Pavilion.

The pavilion is guarded by statues of Thagyamin and home to a larger number of Buddha statues of different sizes and in different mudras both standing and sitting. But the main attraction is the statue of a large seated Buddha in Bhumisparsha Mudra (gesture of touching the earth) but in this case without actually touching the earth. The Buddha’s face and head are looking quite unusual. The shape and expression of the Buddha’s face I would like to describe as somewhat ‘Buddha-unlike’. In front of the Buddha is a Buddha footprint (chidawya) divided into 108 sections as prescribed in the old scriptures and guarded by a naga (serpent), which I think is Muchilinda also called Mucalinda the snake king who sheltered Siddhartha Gautama with his body and hood during the heavy rain and thunder that broke out while he was meditating at the Mucalinda Lake in the sixth week after enlightenment. Muchilinda is sometimes shown multi-headed and sometimes with one head only. The lake is located in front of the Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya in north India.

We are leaving the Buddha’s Footstep Pavilion through the main entrance located on its southern side and see opposite from us the Zediyingana Society Building.

In the Zediyingana Society Building is a seated Buddha with a moderate neon halo on an artfully carved wooden throne. On either side of him are two larger sitting brass Buddha images with large neon halos.

The building houses one of the Burmese societies responsible for the restoration, repair and maintenance of pagodas. Increasingly old scriptures and plans are used to conduct these works to be authentic. It is said that the society’s library collection consists of some 6.000 books and documents on Buddhism and other Burmese religions as well as on Burmese culture.

A little bit to the right between the Building of the Zediyingana Society and the main stupa you see the Sandawdwin Pagoda also called Hall of Hair Washing, because this is the place where as legend tells the Eight Hairs of Gautama Buddha were washed with the water of a well prior to their being enshrined. The Pagoda’s nucleus was a square shaped with glass mosaic decorated brick shrine that was built over the Hair Relics Well in 1879. The water from the well is said to come directly from the Ayeyawaddy River. Later an open pavilion was built over the pagoda. The pavilion comprises a tired roof that is resting on 12 columns. The pagoda inside of the pavilion is guarded at its four corners at the first level by nagas and the corners of the second level by manokthihas. Gautama Buddha is placed inside the pagoda with another manokthiha guarding the entrance. The story about the merchant brothers Tapussa and Bhallika from Okkala who got the eight hairs from Gautama Buddha and brought them to Okkala to present them to their king Okkalapa you can see depicted in the carvings of the wooden screen.

The Sandawdwin Pagoda is one of the nine wonders of the Shwedagon Pagoda. However, some sources say that the Temple of Dhammazedi and Dhammapala is one of the nine Shwedagon Pagoda wonders and that the Sandawdwin Pagoda is not one of them. So, what is true? I really do not know.

Now we are leaving the Sandawdwin Pagoda and find ourselves standing directly in front of the northern main shrine, the Gautama Buddha Adoration Hall. This hall houses like the other adoration halls several Buddha statues but the main Buddha here is of course that of the present, the 28th Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama Buddha who is placed in an illuminated cave at the back of the hall. The front of the cave is covered with a glass window and Gautama Buddha is in Bhumisparsha Mudra (gesture of touching the earth) sitting on a throne. The statue is relatively small, has a neon halo and is made of an alloy containing gold, silver, copper, iron and lead.

The post in front of us is the Planetary Post for the Venus. This is the place where the Friday born (like my grandson) perform their washing ceremony. You can see the Guinea pig or mole statue there in the floor basin. This is the place where the Friday born (like my grandson) perform their washing ceremony. You can see the Guinea pig or mole statue statue there in the floor basin. Is anyone of our group born on a Friday? No? You are born on a Sunday? You too? Well, in that case you are Garuda birds and your place is right over there at the north-east corner of the main stupa. We will be there soon and then it is your turn with offering, praying, wishing and watering to avoid misfortune and bad luck.

The first member of the Bradshaw family that is listed as living in Halton, was William Bradshaw, an experienced and well-regarded tapestry weaver who worked in London. He was the son of James and Elizabeth Bradshaw who lived in Cockerham, another village not too far away from Halton, in 1700.

William was friends with a well-known furniture maker William Gillow before he went to London in 1728. He must have been a hardworking and driven man, regardless of what financial backing he might have had, as he established premises in three locations in London, taking them over from Joshua Morris after Joshua lost a lawsuit to William Hogarth. He earned enough money to retire in 1748, returning to the north of England and the house that he had purchased five years before, Halton Hall.

His nephew William Fletcher Bradshaw was a forceful and charismatic man, who owned Halton Hall up until his death in April 1815. William changed his middle name as a mark of respect to his uncle, becoming William Bradshaw Bradshaw after he inherited in 1775. He and his first wife Isabella had five children together, one of which, their daughter Elizabeth was born before their wedding in an act that would have been remarked upon at the time.

Isabella and William had the following children:

– Elizabeth

– Sarah (1800)

– Robert Fletcher (1801)

– Isabella (1802)

– Margaret (1803)

– Maria (1804)

William and Isabella’s sole heir Robert Fletcher was born in 1801 and was their third born child. Robert was possibly a headstrong man, inheriting his father’s disposition, as he married before he came of age. Robert married his cousin Sarah Anne in 1819, he was seventeen and she was four years his senior. The two of them were evidently a very fertile couple who loved each other, seeing as they managed to have fourteen children together.

Their children were called:

– Annie (born 1822)

– Robert Fletcher (born 1822)

– Sarah Isabella (21.04.1823- 25.05.1875)

– Sydney Maria (1824)

– Millicent Jane (1825)

– Henry Yates (26.07.1826- 10.09.1826)

– Charlotte Elizabeth (1827)

– Charles Billington (1828)

– George Wrayfell (1830)

– Phoebe Ellen (1831)

– William (01.10.1832- 17.11.1832)

– Cicely Mary (1834)

– Sofia Alicia (1835)

– Frances Emily (1837)

Unfortunately, they lost three of their children before they reached adulthood, something that was all too familiar to others of their time.

His book, Coaching Youth League Baseball, was written by College Hall of Fame Coach, Skip Bertman in 1975. Much of what he wrote about bunting is basically ignored today.

However, it is still relevant as an example of how the game should be taught and played at all levels of baseball – not try to catch up when a player reaches the Majors. What’s sad is that the “art” and value of the bunt as a “weapon” has been lost by the last two generations of players, coaches and managers.

Skip wrote, “The Major-League emphasis on the long ball and the big inning has caused the art of bunting to be neglected. However, every year as the play-off games begin and the World Series starts, we see professionals bunting in spite of the lively ball and artificial surfaces. The bunt will not score as many runs as the home run, but it is very often instrumental in the outcome of an important game.”

“Bunting is an important weapon for every team’s offense. Well-executed bunts can break a game wide open. The bunt-and-run can be an effective play. A hitter might surprise the defense and bunt for the base hit with no runners on base, or with two outs and a runner on third.”

“If a coach feels any play involving a bunt is called for, he should go ahead with it. Don’t pay any attention to the second-guessers who always seem to know what should have happened after the play is over. By using the bunt, your team can create many difficult situations for the defensive team, and if your opponents are not properly prepared, many mental mistakes and fielding errors will result.”

In 2016, MLB had the fewest Sacrifice Bunts (SH) per game (.21) in its history. The recording of SH started in 1894 and they have declined since then to what we have today. The numbers say the lack of SH is in the same boat with most Strikeouts (SO), which were also the most ever. In 2013, analysts criticized former Texas Ranger Manager, Ron Washington, because they thought he bunted too often. His response was, “They can take the analytics on that and shove it up their (expletive) (expletive).” That year, the Rangers had.28 SH per game, matching what was then the fewest in MLB history. Washington’s response was perfect, and agreed with Skip’s advice, “Don’t pay any attention to the second-guessers.”

In the book, 34-Ton Bat, by Steve Rushin, he quotes Casey Stengel, famous NY Yankee manager, in 1945, when he was a Minor-League manager. Casey said, “I get mad at the ball players today that can’t bunt.”

Funny, in those days, he was referring to a handful of players, and I wonder what Casey would say now about the futility of a clear majority of players that we must watch. Yes, I know, the game has changed, as today’s active generations consider bunting as “old school, small ball” and no longer relevant, but the facts trump yesterday’s “old fashioned” or today’s “new-fangled” opinions.

When the players don’t know how to bunt, when to bunt, or where to bunt, managers don’t know the value of bunts as a potential weapon, and both don’t care that they don’t know; they must consider them terrible things. They would be wrong! They have been sold a mind-set bill of goods about bunting, along with a host of other misinformed ideas that have gained wide acceptance over the past 40 years. Defenses today routinely ignore the possibility of a batter bunting for a base hit, because the batters have no understanding of the fact that in many circumstances they can dictate defensive positioning in future at bats by executing a well-placed bunt, but never make the attempt. There are ways to beat the exaggerated defensive shifts now being employed, but not with clueless players and managers. “Wee” Willie Keeler rightly said, “Hit ’em where they ain’t.” Bunt ’em where they ain’t, also works.

Being a good bunter is not easy; it is a learned skill that requires proper instruction and constant practice, just as all skills in baseball and other sports. The ability to bunt during batting practice has absolutely no relevance to bunting against a pitcher that is trying to get the batter out in a critical game situation. Without proper technique and confidence, the batter has little chance to be successful. That said, NL starting pitchers who play five or six times a month now do most of the sacrifice bunting, so if they can learn the basics of bunting surely position players can too.

An example of the commitment that may be necessary to have the proper skill set is what Coach Nellie Fox told his then Washington Senator’s Manager, Ted Williams about his process as a player to become an excellent bunter. “Doc Cramer (a former teammate of Williams with the Red Sox) used to make Fox carry a bat around as though it were a hot poker, with his thumb and forefinger as loose as possible. Fox said if Cramer suddenly tried to knock it out of his hands and couldn’t he’d ‘kick my butt.'”

Whatever the 5’6″, 160 lb. Fox did to be a better bunter it worked, because one year he bunted safely – for hits – in 26 of 30 attempts. This was accomplished although he wasn’t the fastest runner around averaging only 5 stolen bases and 5 caught stealing per year, which indicates that he excelled at the bunting three-legged stool, of how, when and where to bunt. In addition, he also averaged 14 SH and 15 SO per year, with never more than 18 SO. Since Fox was selected to play in 12 All-Star Games, was the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 1959, and inducted by the Veterans Committee into the Hall of Fame in 1997, his constant efforts to be a better player were obviously rewarded and being a good bunter was a weapon he used to great advantage. Nellie Fox was not the biggest, was not the strongest, was not the fastest player – he was indeed a BASEBALL player – always striving to improve.

Bunts can not only dictate defensive infielder’s positioning, but can also be a useful weapon to disrupt the rhythm of a pitcher. Get them off the mound to field their position, make throws to the bases, and cover 1st base. Disrupt them as much as possible. Bunts create threats that must be defended. When defended, holes open for base hits and other plays that would not normally be available. What Skip said, is worth repeating, “… if your opponents are not properly prepared, many mental mistakes and fielding errors will result.”

Nothing in baseball works all the time, however, bunts can be useful and productive, not terrible, things. Try ’em, you’ll like ’em.

Coin operated pool tables are certainly becoming very popular these days and for good reason! There are many benefits to the coin operated pool tables and a lot of reasons why you should get one. It is also a great investment if you choose to make money from it. There is never a reason to question the rules, or wonder if someone is trying to cheat with a coin operated pool table. Also, there are many different businesses that could use a coin operated pool table such as a Family game room, Pool hall, and Bar.

Public Bar

To make a public bar a little classier it would be a great idea to add a coin operated pool table to it. Most bars have coin operated pool tables. Not only would it keep fights from starting, but it would also earn you money constantly. Because what is it that people like to do at a bar? Get drunk and have fun. When you are providing such a great entertainment to people, they are going to spread the word, and bring friends. Because everyone wants to show off on their pool skills, if you provided the balls and cues, then that would be even better. This would be a great way to earn some extra flow in cash. Whereas if you just had a regular pool table, you would not be gaining any extra cash.

Public Pool hall

Your business can make a lot of money because a lot of pool players who are members of pool associations will go to your pool hall to compete or practice for their next game or competition. You don’t have to own the pool hall to put your pool table in there; you could possibly rent a space. Just check with your local pool hall to see if there is a rental space available. If not you could always start your own pool hall with coin operated pool tables. It’s usually a place where friends gather to play pool. Pool Halls get a lot of business just imagine all the money you could make off of your coin operated pool table.

Public Family game room

Pool is a great game for family’s to have fun together; it’s a good recreational activity for dads to spend time with their son. All fathers love to teach their children what they know, rather it be basketball, football, video games, or pool. They would have a lot of fun playing pool, and it would provide something for not only children to do, but also an activity for adults too. All men love a friendly round of competition to impress their family on who is best at the game, and if they didn’t win, they’d want to play again. So why not earn your little bit of cash while they are having their fun?

There is no doubt that coin operated pool tables are very popular and great investment. So be sure to definitely have a look at this when you decide to buy your next pool table!

I am currently going to be a senior at Bentley College in Waltham, MA, so I have a lot of experience and know how things work at Bentley. As a freshman at Bentley College you will be living in the Tree Dorms, Slade Hall, or Miller Hall. If you have a choice I would highly recommend that you choose to live in the Tree Dorms because this is where the majority of freshman are going to be living, so there will be more activity going on in the building and you will meet more people. Slade Hall is across the parking lot from the Tree Dorms, so that would be my second choice and Miller Hall is small and kind of isolated, so that would be my last choice for freshman housing. If Bentley offers you the opportunity to live with upper class men I would decline their offer and live with freshman. It will make the transition into college life a lot easier.

I registered for classes during orientation and it is kind of a hectic time. Usually your first two years at Bentley you are focusing on satisfying your general education requirements, so registration your first two years is pretty easy. The classes that you take will pretty much be chosen for you, but you will still have the opportunity to select which professor you would like to take. I recommend that before you attend the Bentley orientation that you go on RateMyProfessors and SyllabusCentral and do a little research on professors so that you end up with some good professors your freshman year.

As a freshman you will mostly be eating at Season’s Dining Hall, Harry’s Corner, Boloco, and A&W. Your meal plan covers unlimited entries into Season’s Dining Hall, but the quality of food there isn’t too good. At Harry’s Corner you can use your discretionary money and Harry’s is good for getting a sub, pizza, or fried food like mozzarella sticks or chicken fingers. Harry’s is also close to freshman housing, so you will probably be going there a lot. Boloco and A&W are on lower campus, which is a good walk, but I think it is worth it for Boloco. Boloco is my favorite food on campus and once again they take discretionary money.

As a freshman your classes should be pretty easy. After freshman year your classes will become a lot more difficult, so I recommend that you buckle down and get some good grades to boost your GPA freshman year. It will be difficult to recover your GPA from a bad freshman year. There are two very easy things you can do to boost your GPA as a freshman. The first is to just go to class and the second is to always do your homework. Even if you homework isn’t going to be collected I still highly advise that you just do it on your own and try to stay disciplined. It is too easy to put your homework off and then get really behind and not be able to learn everything before a mid-term or final. Be sure to pace yourself throughout the semester and you should do fine.

Playing a pool match with your buddies sounds like a fun plan during the weekend. After all, it is a guys’ night out. But due to this reason too, you have to take cautions to avoid an argument over the table at the pool hall.

Here are some rules and common agreements when playing pool.

Agreeing to the rules

Everyone should make it clear about the game rules. This can be 9-ball, 10-ball or an 8-ball game. Maybe you declare a special rule making the game different. At the same time, you should also make sure your opponent knows this too.

Ask

At any point of the game, if you are not sure about an issue, simply ask the referee, your opponent or surrounding people who are watching. This simply point can prevent an argument caused by simple misunderstandings.

No beverage

If you are thirsty, make it a habit to retreat to a nearby table instead. Don’t make it a habit to put any types of drinks on the pool table. You should know that the pool cloth is not cheap too.

Don’t distract your opponent

This is rather not a gentleman style. Focus and attention are 2 very important components in the game. They are required to win. When you distract your opponent, it is rather unethical in doing so.

Respect the cue and balls

Don’t abuse them in any other ways. The cue is for delivering strokes to the cue ball and you should hit the right balls. Again, respect for the other player is key here.

Be sociable

This is especially true when playing against strangers at the pool hall. Be polite and talk in a friendly manner and you will certainly enjoy a good game of billiards on a weekend.

Costly gasoline prices are forcing today’s consumers to preserve automobile fuel as much as possible. Unbeknownst to many, even an idling car is guilty of using up valuable fuel, not only unnecessarily wasting this expensive resource, but also causing danger to the environment and a risk to the health of many others. Idling may actually harm your vehicle, but that’s only the start. It can also be responsible for increasing pollution levels caused by gasoline burning in the atmosphere.

Many people believe that there are times its okay to for their car to be idle. This common misconception is what makes parents rushing to drop their children off at school or those in a hurry at the cleaners to leave their car in this dangerous mode. It’s also another reason that many think leaving a car idling early in the morning, to supposedly warm it up before hitting the road, is an acceptable practice but ironically its one which really isn’t needed at all. Vehicles don’t require any warming up unless temperatures are less than 25 degrees (and even then, an engine needs less than a minute). The best way to get your car, including its wheel bearings, the steering mechanism, tires and transmission, warm and willing, is to begin driving. Turning your car off entirely can also help save on fuel economy.

Avoiding idling can also help preserve your car’s engine. An engine that’s in an idle state doesn’t operate at its peak temperature and fuel combustion is unfinished. This causes fuel residue to constrict cylinder walls, expel oil and harm engine components. A driver could see the effects of this damage later on through accelerated fouling in their spark plugs or through condensation in their car’s exhaust. Damaged spark plugs can increase fuel consumption up to 5 percent and a faulty, corrosive exhaust system can diminish your engine’s longevity. Turning your car off completely can reduce such potential risks.

The damage that can be done by an idle car, though, isn’t limited to just the vehicle itself. Idle cars produce emissions that have been found to negatively affect respiratory health. Vehicle exhaust also contributes to unhealthy air quality and the presence of smog. These factors have resulted in ailments like asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and even premature death. Children and the elderly have been affected the most, but the environment itself is also impacted. Idle vehicles emit pollutants like carbon dioxide. An engine that idles for 10 minutes yields 90 grams of this gas and consumes 0.14 liters of fuel, (commercial vehicles produce even more). These fumes could be greatly reduced if all cars stopped idling their engines by a minute less ever day. Some countries have even instituted regulations already aimed at doing just that. One environmental organization has established a plan to end idling altogether. Widespread practices like these will help to decrease pollution in the air and the threat of global warming.

An idling car can be costly and corrosive. It affects your engine, your health and your wallet. Don’t be idle when it comes to keeping your planet safe.

Theaters are normally provided with a minimum of 16 dramatic sound effects. When talking about 4d movie theaters, where the seats in the hall moves according to the movement in the film appearing on the screen, additional chairs can be arranged in the available space. In addition to seats, these movie halls are provided with other special effects to offer the real movie-watching experience to the visitors. These special effects include exclusive sound effects, spraying of water when the same appears on the screen and with the great excitement offered, visitors will be motivated to visit the theater again and again as soon as a new film is advertised.

With the number of people visiting cinema halls reducing these days due to popularity and availability of home theaters, the owners of cinema halls are forced to take some steps to attract more and more visitors. One such tactic followed by most of the hall owners is including some shopping malls and restaurants in the area of the cinema hall in such a way that family people can come and enjoy the cinema and can spend their time in shopping mall and can finish their dinner in the restaurants attached before leaving their home.

One of the tactics that can be followed by Movie Theater owners for attracting more and more viewers is to alter their movie hall into 4d Movie Theater. Since watching movies in these halls can offer a real adventurous experience to the visitors, more and more people will begin to visit the hall. For enabling the theater owners to convert their hall into 4d type, there are companies specially offering the service of conversion of a normal hall into a 4d hall by providing it with the appropriate type of seats and other special effects for offering the best movie watching experience to the visitors.

Even the 4d theater can be easily converted into 5d theater by adding special effects like tickling under the seat, personal speaker on the back of each seat, etc… and these effects will offer the live experience to the viewers, when such scenes appear on the film. When contacting a manufacturer for this purpose, it is better to ensure that they have experience in creating these types of movie halls for theater owners in such a way that they can get more and more visitors for their hall and can make them happy.