Bruceville

Category: Bruce

Stuff about Bruce

  • Cycling is My New Hobby

    For years and years, I’ve wanted to get a bicycle. Finally, just over a month ago, I did. I got a pretty basic hybrid called the Diamondback Edgewood. Each weekend, I’ve done a progressively longer ride. First 17 miles, then 22, 28, and finally 32 miles on Sunday. I’m doing other rides during the week when I can find the time. I’ve got one route that’s about 12 miles that I’ve been trying to beat 1 hour on. Seems easy, but there are some wicked hills to contend with. In flat-as-a-pancake North Texas? You’d be surprised.

    I’ve been using my Android phone and a separate bluetooth GPS unit to track my rides. Originally I was using Google My Tracks, but recently, I discovered the Endomondo app and I’m quite liking it. The app tracks your time, distance, and calories burned. The app also uses speech synthesis to announce your time at each mile, which I’ve found surprisingly motivating. Surely, I should be doing 4-minute miles on a bike! The endomondo.com website also provides interesting stats and shows weekly and monthly views of your workouts. I also imported all my previously tracked rides so far and you can see them here.

    Today I signed up for my first official event: The Head for the Hills Bike Rally in Cedar Hill, TX on May 7th. I signed up for the 40 mile route. I don’t quite have the guts to take on a 60 mile route just yet. We’ll see how things go. Check back here or on Facebook to see how I do.

  • BOOMTAGE – New HD Boomerang Video on YouTube

    We got a new HD camcorder (Canon Vixia HF20) recently and this weekend, Ace and I went out to make our first boomerang video. It was over 100 degrees and the winds were gusty and shifty. To make matters worse, the field we were on was near trees and we were getting some crazy turbulence. Two throws that I would feel were identical might end up 50 yards away from each other. All this added up to a brutal afternoon with way more throwing than catching.

    Here’s the video that Ace put together: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBwXt19XU_4&fmt=22. If your computer and bandwidth are up to it, make sure to click on “Watch in HD”. YouTube down-converted our video from 1080i to 720p/30fps, but it’s still reasonably high-definition. Unfortunately, the boomerangs we used the most were unpainted, but you can still make them out pretty well.

    One new thing we tried was using a fish-eye lens to be able to keep the boomerang in the frame more easily. This worked pretty well for fast catch.

  • Bruce Throws 113 Meters for Second Place in “LD in Big D”

    Cameron, Ace, and Bruce posing with boomerangsSaturday was the 3rd Annual “LD in Big D” long distance boomerang tournament. Once again, Ace, Cameron, and myself competed. Ace and Cameron had difficulty getting things dialed in, but still managed decent throws of 95 meters each. I fared better with a new personal best throw of 113 meters! This was enough to tie me for second place in the tournament, the best I’ve ever placed in an LD tournament. I actually beat my previous personal best of 107 twice during the tournament. My first scoring throw was 108.

    Tom Wythes ran away from the field with some really consistent throwing. He tied his personal best with a throw of 140 meters.

    Click here for a small gallery of photos from the tournament.

  • I’ve Lost 25 Pounds

    The USBA National Boomerang Championships and Expo is coming to Dallas in October this year, and I decided I wanted to try to get in a little better shape by then. It seemed like having some of my neighbor buddies also trying to lose some weight would be a good motivator. A few of them agreed and the “Skinner Road Committee Fat Contest” (or “Biggest Loser”) was born. Our first weigh-in was June 1st, and the final one will be October 1st.

    I’ve never made a concerted effort to try to lose weight before, but I figured I should be able to lose 25 pounds in about 3 months time. Though it was hard work, it did turn out to be doable. In fact, in only 9 weeks time, I’ve achieved that 25 pound goal! My new goal for October 1st is 35 pounds. If I make that, I ought to be able to move around on the boomerang field much better than I could have 35 pounds heavier.

    How am I doing it? Well, anyone who knows me, knows that pasta is my staple food, with lots of pizza thrown in too. I’m still eating the same stuff, just less of it. Also less and smaller snacks and I’ve cut back on beer. Probably most importantly, I’m getting way more exercise. I’ve borrowed a LifeCycle exercise bike from one of my fellow contestants and have ridden it over 500 minutes. Walking the dog and just playing with him in the yard has helped out too. My real secret weapon though, is walking golf courses in 100+ degree heat. That started out really tough, but it’s a breeze now. Some people don’t think of golf as being that great an exercise, but walking 4+ miles definitely burns some calories. Heck, just being on your feet for 4 or so hours has got to be good for you. Plus, my average golf score has dropped by several strokes. 🙂

    I was curious how far these golf walks were and found a cool web site that lets you draw a path of where you’ve walked and it calculates the distance and calories burned. Here are maps of two courses I’ve walked a bunch this summer:

    Of course the routes I drew are straighter than reality and the calorie estimate doesn’t take into account swinging the golf club dozens of times.

  • Cameron Takes First at “LD in Big-D”

    Ace and Cameron ready for some LDFor the second year in a row, my nephew Cameron Kelsey was down from Oklahoma visiting during the weekend of the “LD in Big-D” long distance boomerang tournament. Last year Cameron, Ace, and I all competed in the tournament, and we were all disappointed in our performances. Cameron showed great promise, throwing incredible distances, but not quite getting those awesome throws to fully return.

    This year was different. On Cameron’s first throw, he got what looked like respectable distance, and a very nice return. The official measurement: 118 meters! This was the first successful return of the tournament, and it would stand through all 5 rounds as the winning throw.

    LDinBigD Group. Photo by David HirschWe weren’t able to be at the tournament for the second day so we only got in three rounds, but Ace and I didn’t do too shabby ourselves. Ace set a new personal best at 106 meters and I set new personal bests with throws of 89, 94, 100, and finally 107 meters. (Yes, my best beat Ace’s by 1 measly meter.) Not only did we all set personal bests, but we are finally in the “100 Meter Club”. Our results should be up on the LD website, www.baggressive.com soon.

    At the end of the second round, Cameron, myself, and Ace were in first, second, and third. This drew some good-natured ribbing and threats of finding something in the by-laws against that kind of family collusion.

    We all have to thank the tournament host, David Hirsch for sharing his LD boomerangs with us, and helping tune them between throws. Thanks, David!

    Since neither Cameron, myself, or Ace had ever thrown over 100 meters before, we were classified as “Intermediate” competitors. So not only was Cameron the Tournament Champion, he was also the Intermediate Champion. Ace was the Junior Champion, though there were only 2 juniors entered.

    There was other excitement too. We had a storm blow in and cause a rain delay. I needed a break at that point, because I had worn myself out by chasing my wind-blown golf umbrella clear off the campus and into an apartment complex across the street. There was a also scary moment when one of my throws hit a range spotter, slicing his pinky finger to the bone. Glad to hear you’re OK, Larry!

    I didn’t have my good camera out much, but I did take a few phone-camera shots. A small gallery is available here.

    Here’s something I had heard about, but just now found. I don’t know how long this link will remain active, but there’s a pre-tournament news spot video on WFAA’s site here: http://www.wfaa.com/video/?z=y&nvid=253881

    Here are the full final results:

    • Cameron Kelsey – 118m
    • Tom Wythes – 116m
    • Joe Rader – 116m
    • Dennis “Juice” Joyce – 112m
    • Bruce Armstrong – 107m
    • Ace Armstrong – 106m
    • David Hirsch – 98m
    • Stuart Jones – 98m
    • Mark Wolff – 90m
    • Larry Burns – 86m
    • Bob Rudy – 86m
    • Roy Dempsey – 86m
    • Barry Burns – 72m
    • Walter Owens – 59m
    • Xee Rader – 50m

  • New Golf Bag and Irons

    Close up of my new TaylorMade R7 Draw ironsFor my birthday, I got a new bag and more importantly, some new clubs: The TaylorMade R7 Draw irons (4-SW), and a TaylorMade R7 Draw Rescue 3 Hybrid club. I’m finally done with my 13 year-old “free” White Bluff irons!

    I’m really digging the new irons. Definitely easier to hit and more forgiving of off-center strikes. My next purchase will probably be a R7 Draw Rescue 4 Hybrid to replace the 4 iron that came with the set.

    My full kit is now as follows:

    *aka the “Beer Smuggling System”

  • The Science and Fun of Boomerangs

    For a 3rd grade science project, Holly had the choice of doing a video demonstration or an in-class demonstration of anything at all “scientific”. I’m so glad she chose to do a video, because it is so much fun to watch, even four years later. Some of you may already have seen it on boomsmith.com, but I just now uploaded it to YouTube and it is being well-received. Here’s the description:

    This is a “How Boomerangs Work” video from the perspective of a 3rd grader. The video discusses some boomerang flight science, shows construction, throwing, and catching.

    This video was done for Holly’s 3rd grade science class and was so well-received that it was shown to all the other classes as well.

    And here’s the video: 

  • 2007 Drag Races

    For the last couple of years, several of my Oklahoma kinfolk have come down to the DFW metroplex to attend the NHRA Fall Nationals Drag Races. We’ve had a house full of guests because we live so close to the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, TX, where the races are held. This year, Andrew and I decided to go along to see what all the fuss was about.

    Pictures with the PR girlsWhen we first got to the track, we began to think the whole reason for the event was to get your picture taken with PR girls from various companies. Soon enough we found out there were other activities, like walking up and down pit row checking out the machinery, and playing in driving simulators. In the pits, we heard a few cars started up and “racked back”, and we were (almost literally) blown away by the power and noise.

    We also saw some cars go really fastEventually, we made it to our excellent seats. We were on the front couple of rows directly even with the starting line. Even that far removed from the action, the power and racket were awe-inspiring. Even with hearing protection, you could feel really it when these 7000-horsepower monsters blasted off. I’ve never experienced anything like it.

    It’s not something I’ll try to make it to every year, but it was a fun day, and I’m definitely glad I got to experience it at least once.

    Derek with a Brut Girl  Andrew with 2 Brut Girls  Sandi, Bruce, and Andrew at the drag races

  • LD in Big D

    2007 LD in Big DAce and I, along with my nephew Cameron attended the inaugural LD in Big D boomerang tournament. This was a Long Distance competition that took place at Eastfield College in Mesquite. The three of us performed below our expectations, but several of the competitors got over 100 meters. The top three finishers were Tom Wythes with 130 meters, Stu Jones with 113 meters, and Joe Rader and David Hirsch tying with 112 meters.

    Ace lets an LD flyAce was the family champion (2nd place in Intermediate), beating Cameron and I with his toss of 79 meters. This was 10-meter improvement on his personal best set in Houston in 2004 when he was also about 10 inches shorter.

    It was blazing hot, and we went through water and Gatorade like crazy. One gentleman collapsed from the heat well before noon (he was fine after cooling down in the shade and being checked out by paramedics), and it only got hotter from there. Unfortunately, prior engagements kept us for coming back for Day 2, so we only got two rounds of throwing in, and I felt terrible about not being able to help the guys out on Sunday. The good news is that they were able to round up enough people to range-spot and line-judge, so they were able to get another official round in on Sunday, even though the 3 of us couldn’t make it back.

    Ace and Cameron's fake musclesIt was definitely a fun outing, and even though LD isn’t my strong suit, it sure whet my appetite for trying to beat my personal best at some point in the near future.

    See my small photo gallery here, and here’s a link to the Dallas Morning News’ pre-tournment write-up.

  • Tried my new Golf Clubs

    I got some new golf clubs for Christmas: A set of TaylorMade V Steel fairway woods, 3, 5, and 7. “7-wood”, you ask? Yep. I’ve finally admitted that I’m old, so I’m happy to have this “old man” club. I haven’t hit a good shot with my 3 or 4 iron in years, and now I won’t even have to try. On Spring Break, I finally got a chance to try the new clubs out. I’d been waiting since December, so I was very anxious. I teed off with the 3-wood and it seemed to go nearly as far as my driver normally did, and it was definitely easier to control. I hit the 7 wood at every opportunity, and was very pleased. It goes 170-180 with little effort. I hit it on a couple of par 3’s where it was really too much club, but I just couldn’t get enough of it. This has turned out to be an excellent Christmas gift.