2026-01-31
Meanwhile, I stumbled across this cool pic
I like the way the colors reflect in my all metal kendama I got at BATB last year.
Second lunch is calling…
…we had only got up at 11 since we were up until 3am the night before! We ate Waffle House at about noon. Then we found out the hotel would refund our unused night if we left by 1p. That put as at In-N-Out by 2p. A little early for another meal, but… Down it goes! 🤪
Heading home out of Nashville last weekend
It was just starting to really come down as we hit the highway, but we still pointed towards an important stop before we got too far out of town…
2026-01-30
Must be bad if even Waffle House is on rations!
Kind of silly really. They all agrees, but "that's what corporate mandated…"
Breakfast across the street from the hotel.
We decided we could fuel up and head out before the snow got any worse. It was just starting, and heading the same direction we needed to.
BATB group photo
A fun tradition each year for Battle at the Border. See if you can find Andy and me. Should be pretty easy… Hit me up if you need a hint.
The old guy finally get s a point on stage!
I was happy! I advanced the first round since my competitor didn’t show. That means according to the books, I technically beat him 3 to 0… haha. I scored my first point during an intermediate open competition in the second round too. Lost 3-1.
Freeze frame of Andy’s pro level competition
It was nice of him to center himself up on the logo behind him just for my picture haha.
2026-01-29
You can see what a pro-level kendama competition looks like!
Andy was happy with his performance! He managed to score two points and set a couple tricks (matching when the other guy made it and nulling them out). He landed some tricks he doesn’t normally lace too. He was pretty stoked as he came off the stage this time. Was cool to see and be there to be part of.
Top 16 freestyle!
The Japanese guys dominated. But don't underestimate Colton (13 year old in the gray t-shirt under the B in BATB). He entered the scene two years ago, brand new to it. Has played 4-6 hours a day and is at the pro level now. Fun to see him growing, his parents and the crowd cheering him on.
Starting day two on day one
At about dinner time we finished day one, took a quick break, then started on day two! Plan was to go until about 2am!
Ok, now THIS is a good daily sesh!
I was looking for a new setup that had the feel of my old ones, and a little of the wood highlights, but that would hold up longer. The others seemed to chip at the cup edges too easily. I also wanted to counter the Mugen with its nearly "natty" (natural wood finish) slipperiness. This OK Kendama setup is just the ticket. I tiny stripe of dark wood highlights and a super sticky tama. The purple fade is just the right finishing touch. Now I need to wear it in for our trip to Detroit in May.
Cool old fridge while I wait for my BBQ
We hit Martin's for our forth meal for the day. Since we were competing into the early morning, we needed more sustenance.
2026-01-28
Trying some cheap, 3-D printed thumb chucks
Kind of plays like a balisong without inducing panic in those nearby you🤪
I ran out of coffee in my thermos…
Since we didn't know we'd be staying two days straight I got to buy a coffee from the cafe and get this cool sticker too :)
2026-01-27
We’ve been here so long…
…we're sprouting weeds🤪 The sun pouring in the windows made some nice photographic lighting. Andy's kind of pic.
One of my COOL new setups!
So pretty, so much craftsmanship! And a really crazy spike/cup connection design. Probably not the main one to sesh (it's pretty slippery), but a lot of fun to play and look at!
Eating in style…
You know you're having fun when you use your rack of ribs as a plate to enjoy your rack of ribs! Andy and I each got a full rack for lunch. That gave us enough leftovers for dinner. It was a good plan until we realized we were going to be competing until 2am…! While I was grabbing lunch, they announced they would be holding day 1 and day 2 back to back, non-stop to beat the weather. Hold on to your hats, ribs, and energy drinks, here we go!
The essentials?!
Ketchup, salt, pepper, a Kendama AND Pegleg Porker. First things first! Once we got checked in, I headed down the street to grab some lunch. We were already feeling the pressure of the weather forecast and figured we better get it before they closed up! Sunny and 40º. Was hard to believe it was all coming at us. Even the radar showed nothing, shore to shore.
Let’s go! Battle at the border 2026.
This is the setup I started with, however, it's badly chipped so I'll be on the lookout for something fresh :)
2026-01-26
Great food. Quality you can taste!
Animal style fries, Flying Dutchman, double-double, protein style, a shirt, and a strawberry shake. All set❣️
They had a LOT of people working there…
We counted 25 people just in the counter, cash register and packing area. There was a guy doing nothing but lifting the fries out of the fryer. Another few people DEDICATED to cutting fries. They were super efficient thought. Even though it was packed, and had long lines, we would less than 40 minutes from parking lot to parking lot and we even ate it there. :)
They even have a cool shirt!
They alternate between black and white shirts each year. I prefer the white ones. Andy and I commented that we'd never bought a Battle at the Border shirt… So, this will be my Nashville/BATB souvenir.
EVERY time I wear an In-N-Out Burger shirt out of the house, SOMEBODY makes a comment about it, without fail! It doesn't matter where I've been. Europe, China, India, wherever.
No airplane involved 🤪
It's nice to be able to have an In-N-Out Burger without having to get on an airplane. Just a quick 4 hour and 40 minute drive to Nashville. Worth the trip!
We headed straight to In-N-Out Burger!
They opened a few locations in Nashville over the last year so we had to try one out! We had to park in overflow parking. The drive-up line was wrapped around the building and parking lot several times. Here we are walking from the overflow up to the door. You can see Andy approaching the red car. :)
2026-01-25
Time for a road trip with Andy!
We headed to Battle at the Border in Tennessee this past weekend. Into the jaws of the storm too.
Of course Andy brings an energy drink to keep up with my cofffee intake, hahaha. At least he found one that came in this cool can!
Just a pretty view of the sunrise
It's nice to be able to sit and enjoy it from the warmth of our living room❤️
Off-roading can be messy sometimes…
I was watching a couple I follow on YouTube. They were stuck in Columbia when a trail was worse than they expected and some of the Jeeps weren't working properly. They were out into the middle of night in the Jungles. This was about 20 mins AFTER one of them said, "Well, at least it isn't raining!" 🤪
Cool lights during a break in the action
The hockey games always have a sing along while we’re waiting for the players to come back onto the ice after the period break. Everybody gets out the flashlight on their phone so I caught some of them in the reflection while walking around the arena.
2026-01-24
2026-01-23
Some of the stuff I got up to in my Jeep last weekend at Hollerwood Holiday hill etc.
Some of the stuff I got up to in my Jeep last weekend at Hollerwood Holiday hill etc.
Nine of us enjoyed the woods and trails
It was a nice weekend for it last week. 40º and Sunny. A little muddy, but that meant we just tested our skills and rigs a little more. 🤪
People don’t believe me…
…When I tell them my Jeep drives easy down the highway. 75mph, one finger on the wheel. 🤪 I like to have it easy on the road and killin' it on the trails.
2026-01-22
Just playing around in the snow…
By the time I got home, the snow had all but disappeared. I thought my rig looked pretty nice on the thinnest of snow blankets. So I grabbed these pics while goofing around out front of the garage.
Winter is coming?
I was out running errands a few nights ago and got hit with this little squall. The predictions for the weekend sound dire… What are the chances they’re right? ;)
Some of the guys at work were messing with me…
This was their use of AI to show me either putting the spilt beans back into the can, or combining our two meeting threads back into one. Regardless, pretty fun version of "me", hahahahaha!
These are really cool!
There's a gazillion of these floating around all the socials. I'm trying not to get sucked into any of them as most are probably too good to be true. This particular supposed design, coloring and quality looks pretty good on the screen. I decided to satisfy my self by saving a pic. 🤪
2026-01-21
Watching a video about an abandoned IBM training facility…
The urban explorers in the video stumbled onto some cool artifacts behind the rear projection room of the main training area.
Imagine the days of being the guy that had to find a keyboard, make the little arrow, stick the printing on it, then frame it up on a film camera to make this one slide to add to the projector carousel to be shown in a training presentation on where the enter button is on a computer! 🤪
This facility was in its heyday about the time I was entering the work force. It gives you an idea how things have changed during my career timeframe!
Back at it again - Kendama
Andy and I are headed to one of our two annual competitions again soon. So I have my trick list and have run through it a few times. I added a couple new ones I can do (nightingale and hanging pinch start-tama grip-spike for example), got better at some that used to stop me (one turn lighthouse), but I still have a couple that are always gonna give me trouble (whirlwinds and juggles). At least I make a little progress every year 🤪
Julie bought this cheese at Kroger!
It's a sheep's milk cheese laced with black truffles. It is REALLY good! Just the right firmness, texture and flavor!
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