The Juggling Edge - Small Talk

My one regret. Please Help!

Dear The Juggling Edge,

It was EJC in Spain. Out on the lawn near the Vollyclub and Hammocks was a lady.

This Lady sold a bag. Not just any bag, but one that has an individual slot for 3 clubs. You then roll it up, tie a little tie, and throw it over your shoulder.

I, in a moment of madness, did not buy this bag. For some reason, I let it out of my grasp.

I have never seen her again.

The Jugling Edge, Please help. Does anyone know who I am talking about? I want this bag and I fear my only way to get it is....gulp.....make it myself.

God Speed,

Jimifun

# by jimifun, 2012-04-23 18:55 BST

Re: My one regret. Please Help!

Hi Jimi!

Unfortunately I don´t know anything as convenient as what you describe, but I do know something that´s pretty handy. Al you need is a strong rope. You make a knot in the rope so that you have a cirle. Next you tie the string to your backpack. Then you wrap 3 clubs in the rope and pull the rope one underneath it so it´s good strong.

This is the finished result: http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/577467_283472705080657_100002537892179_590934_1687010387_n.jpg

If you want to I can make step to step pictures :)

Rob

# by Rob van Heijst, 2012-05-06 16:52 BST Parent

Re: My one regret. Please Help!

I've done something similar with velcro strips. I can't seem to get my head around the method you're describing. I tried it a few times, and the second and third club always come loose with a bit of shaking. Obviously one can tie three different knots, but with what you're suggesting, it seems quicker to tie and quicker to untie using just the one and a couple wraps. If you could post more pictures or a bit more information on your method, I'd be happy to post a picture of my velcro. Although admittedly my velcro isn't very compelling.
-alex

# by nomorepoetsplease, 2012-05-21 02:17 BST Parent

Re: My one regret. Please Help!

I've found that if you take three thick hairties and just slip them onto your belt then you can hold your clubs on those. Handy part is that if you want to use the clubs you just pull and they come free. I've worked on some more "better/adaptable" solutions, I'll post them up as soon as I find them. If you were at BJC this year and saw some people with clubs just hanging around the belt area they were probably the holders that I made.

# by mrawa, 2012-05-21 13:57 BST Parent

Re: My one regret. Please Help!

Whenever I've done the "sling the clubs over my shoulder on a piece of string" thing, I've found that bunching up the clubs then tying a larks head around them to hit a good balance between secure and simple.

Larks head knot in video form...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyzUmetVJFA

The weight of the clubs acts to tighten the knot, but it's still easy to undo. For carrying 6 clubs, I use a loop of string and tie them on in two bunches of three using opposite sides of the loop.

# by Little Paul, 2012-05-21 15:18 BST Parent

I'm not a connoisseur but I know some here are into their fine whiskeys. So are these people taking the proverbial or what exactly?:

http://sippingstones.com/

# by Orinoco, 2012-05-24 18:20 BST

It's not red, but it has got rocks in! Ah yeah, I'm in the wrong advert again.

# by barnesy, 2012-05-24 18:32 BST Parent

They seem to be $15 a set, which compared to some bags of stones I've seen for sale[1] is a bargain. The idea of "something cold which isn't ice to go in your drink and cool it without diluting it" isn't new, I've been using frozen grapes for this sort of thing for years. As a bonus, you get a grape to eat at the end of your drink!

Also, I don't like my whisky chilled. I like it room temperature with the *tiniest* bit of water to just open up the flavours a bit (rinse the glass out before adding the whisky seems to be about right) but given the prices are in dollars, I assume they're designed for bourbon which should be thrown away rather than drank.

[1] http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina31.htm $39-$159 for a bag of pebbles, which when taped to the cables on your hifi magically improve the sound... Now *that's* taking the proverbial!

# by Little Paul, 2012-05-24 18:51 BST Parent

I like the idea of frozen grapes, although how many times have you chomped down on one to find it is still frozen inside?

# by Orinoco, 2012-05-24 19:07 BST Parent

the winning technique is to bite slowly. By the end of the drink they're never really frozen as hard as ice is, it's more like eating a small grape flavoured icelolly.

# by Little Paul, 2012-05-24 19:31 BST Parent

And, if you are slow enough, it will be an alcoholic grape by the time you get to it. :)

# by mtb, 2012-05-24 21:25 BST Parent

> I assume they're designed for bourbon which should be thrown away rather than drank.

Have you run out of things to strip paint from?

# by Cedric Lackpot, 2012-05-24 20:13 BST Parent

Fifteen bucks for nine squared off pebbles? Yeah, that's a piss take all right. They'd be nicer and more useful if they were marked as dice.

If you like the idea and want to try it out, then what the feck is wrong with some carefully selected pebbles? It'd be an excuse for a visit to the beach. The only drawback is the risk of breaking your prized crystal glass whisky tumblers as you idly swill a handful of rocks around!

But personally I'd visit my local independent toy store in Leicester, where they flog a plethora of polished semi-precious[1] gem stones to starry-eyed pre-teen girls eager to become werewolves. Or something. They come in a huge variety of shapes, sizes, and colours, for a fraction of the price of the silly over-packaged pebbles. They'd beat SippingStones into a cocked hat for looks, do just as good a job, and not be quite such pretentious bollocks into the bargain, and like LP I think there are sound reasons for wanting a non-dissolving whisky cooler. Or you could just chill the glass like they do in Oz, where the bars have one fridge for the beers and another for the glassware.

By the by I recently made a very agreeable conversion from rabid objection to water in whisky, which I have now discovered is rather good in the right time and place.

[1] Semi-precious in this context means "ooh, shiny", or something that may once have been used by a lapidary centuries ago. Or for a more modern slant, it means they get to rush you 30p for a small pebble.

# by Cedric Lackpot, 2012-05-24 20:45 BST Parent

Good grief, I've just noticed they're made of soapstone. You're gonna need a rock the size of your head to compete with ice, what with water having a specific heat of 4.2j g^-1 deg c^-1and soapstone slouching in with a measly 1.1j g^-1 deg c^-1[1]. You'd need to drink quite a lot of whisky to persuade yourself that they are a good idea.

[1] http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=what+is+the+specific+heat+of+soapstone

# by Cedric Lackpot, 2012-05-24 20:56 BST Parent

Rock in general is a good insulator.

You might have better luck if you made the tumbler out of rock and kept it in the freezer....

# by mtb, 2012-05-24 21:24 BST Parent

I'm just going to make small waterballoons that can be frozen.
a lot more efficient and they can be personally designed for everyone.
Now all that needs to be done is decide a price, how about €20 for 5 small pieces of plastic with water in them?

# by Marlon, 2012-05-24 23:34 BST Parent

Given my experience with all drinks (from tea to coffee to booze to ribena), plastic is not allowed anywhere near my drink. No plastic mugs, no storing in plastic containers.

Somehow it always just leaves a slight taste (although not even close to the taste from a camping water container). Usually I'm metal (or enamel), ceramic or glass only. Stone is on the list to try, but I don't think I have yet. Paper (paper) cups aren't ideal, but they're not too bad - Styrofoam cups are bad.

So, given my aversion to ice in drinks (not talking about whisky here) - I'd be interested in a method for cooling a drink other than chilling the glass or ice (chilling the glass isn't so great if you're at home and want to keep topping up a cup all day long).

I'm actually tempted to go out to find and clean some pebbles capable of cooling a summer drink.

I'm sure that I notice this effect of plastic far more than most people - but I'm also sure that whisky drinkers, would care more - so I doubt they'd want frozen water balloons in their drinks.

# by ^Tom_, 2012-05-25 09:48 BST Parent

A wide variety of vendors sell reusable ice cubes that are not made of rocks, although they cost more than rocks, but less than special whisky rocks.

Apparently it is the phase change from solid to liquid that cools the drink quickly, so ones with liquid in presumably work better than rocks.

# by emilyw, 2012-05-25 10:03 BST Parent

oh and in gin and tonic, or Coke, frozen lemon wedges!

# by emilyw, 2012-05-25 10:11 BST Parent

Should work in rum too.

# by mtb, 2012-05-25 10:13 BST Parent

Sorry, but they're not as bad as you make them sound. You were looking at weight-specific heat. I think you should be comparing same size (rock/ice) cubes, where the rocks gain due to their higher density. Still 3 K/(J*cm³) for rock compared to 4 K/(J*cm³) for ice, but that small difference might be worth getting rid of dilution.

I've never understood why people spend lots of money on fluids which are to be consumed at taste-numbing temperatures...

# by Tobias, 2012-05-25 11:25 BST Parent

I've been bartending about eleven years now, so I'll throw in my two cents.

The stones are a rip. No one serious about any spirit would do this, at least in New York City, without being ridiculed as impractically pretentious. Frozen grapes are used a lot in bourbon, rye, gin, flavored vodkas and anisette; but I don't imagine Scotch drinkers would be interested in it (although I have never heard anything to the contrary).
Chilling glasses is more common than using frozen grapes, but it's still in the "uncommon" category for old-fashion style glasses and highballs. Frozen glassware are most commonly cocktail/martini glasses and pint glasses.
One of the principle reasons people use ice in a fine whiskey, besides to chill the drink, is that a small amount of water "opens" the whiskey, releases a lot of the flavors and aromas. This is called (pretentiously) "expressing the bouquet."
Many small cubes tend to melt quickly, diluting the drink. Some people prefer this effect, sometimes allowing a drink to nurse until sufficiently dulled. The alternative is to use a rather large cube.
This large cube trend is incredibly popular in New York right now, and any cocktail bar worth its salted rim has an ice machine that produces a large, glass-filling cube. It melts considerably slower and cools the drink more thoroughly. I have seen at least a few menus refer to drinks in this style as "On The Rock."
Chilling stones and putting them in your drink is, to me, silly. Paying for stones to chill is also, to me, quite silly. They'll also probably scratch your glassware.

best,
-alex

# by nomorepoetsplease, 2012-05-25 04:08 BST Parent

I've no idea about the stones but a heads up for UK whisky drinking juggling types, Tesco is knocking out some nice single malts at £21 atm (Glenfiddich, Glenmorangie, Jura etc)down from £30+.

# by Seán_, 2012-05-27 01:14 BST Parent

synch siteswap causal diagram

fair play, i'm double posting this: r.j and on jugglingedge.

i can't quite get my head around how to draw causal diagrams for synch
siteswaps.

in vanilla siteswaps, the dots representing the "hands" are
isometric/staggered to show the alternating throws. in synch, are the dots
lined up?

also, if i'm drawing the path of the 6x in a (6x 4)*, obviously projecting
the path six places will land it on the same hand. do you draw the path to
the seventh place or the 5th? or am i missing the point entirely?

thanks,
-alex

# by nomorepoetsplease, 2012-05-16 03:57 BST

In sync the dots are on equal heights but you have to leave a blank level between each throwing level
Something like :/ /:/ /:/ /

The amount of levels you let a ball travel desn't change[1] between sync or async for a specific number just cross if there is an x.

6x is 5 levels up (or down) and crossing. It lands on an empty level, stays in the hand for 1 level and gets thrown again.

[1]- assuming you also draw a 1 level hold time in async, I know some people don't do that but I feel that is the more correct method. It makes 1's horizontal which is a good representation of how they feel.

# by Marlon, 2012-05-16 09:24 BST Parent

(OR): 8p 2 6 2 8p 2 6 2 8p 2 6 2
(OL): 6 2 8p 2 6 2 8p 2 6 2 8p 2

When you say causal diagram, I assume that that's not what you mean. Causal diagrams show (as has been explained far better by others [see Aidan's passing article in the IJA ezine for example]) what the cause for needing to do something is - so a hold is shown as nothing - nothing is making you to have to do anything with it, and you're not making anything else happen with it (much like the Os you see in the image).

A 3 ball cascade as a causal diagram is a single line hopping between adjacent points

3 3 3 3 3 3

Whereas I'd imagine you were expecting to see something like

(RR):3.5p 3.5p 3.5p 3.5p 3.5p 3.5p
(LL 0.5):3.5p 3.5p 3.5p 3.5p 3.5p 3.5p

(which is actually a passing causal for 7 prop.

If you wanted a diagram which shows each hand, each throw, and where following a line across the diagram will tell you what one of the balls will do, then I'm not sure the name for it, probably a ladder diagram. But I've replicated it for (6x,4)* at the top.

I'm afraid that I disagree with Marlon about a 6 being a 5 + a hold of 1. I understand why he thinks it - it's more realistic in relation how a juggler throws things, but removing a dwell of 1 for everything in the diagram may seem convenient - the dwell time may even be close to 1 for some people, but as siteswap is about the order in which throws are done, and not about the throws themselves, it makes things unnecessarily more complex, and makes the siteswaps less useful for creating/checking patterns.

note, you will need automatic rendering of causal diagrams turned on in your settings.

Here's another one, once again with the numbers bodged to get what you probably want from the diagram

(RR): 5p 4 5p 4
(LL): 4 5p 4 5p

# by ^Tom_, 2012-05-16 11:06 BST Parent

SOBREBOLAS [TJ and CJ Video]

Now this is a good reason for you to come to #IVCPMC
Rodrigo and Lucas just did a new video, and it's awesome!
High quality juggling with balls. Toss and contact.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2WjiB_qcJI

# by lucasgabd, 2012-04-13 13:40 BST

Phenomenal video, Lucas.
I've been meaning to comment on your posts here and on r.j for a while. Your videos are always great quality, creative, and showcase a lot of great juggling I've never seen before. Thanks for all the great material; I think you're making an incredible contribution to the juggling community.
-alex

# by nomorepoetsplease, 2012-04-13 19:30 BST Parent

Good stuff, Lucas! This is one of the rare videos where I enjoyed the videography skills the same as the juggling. I must admit I skipped forward once I realized the "quirky" introduction was going to last 2 minutes.

# by lukeburrage, 2012-04-14 09:43 BST Parent

I'm really glad you liked it!
Just notice that the Lucas in the video is not me, is a great friend of mine that lives in Rio de Janeiro.

We're meeting again by the end of the month on the #IVCPMC

Thank you very much Alex, soon I'll be putting lots of new videos on my channel youtube.com/lucasgabd or facebook.com/malabarismo

yes Luke, maybe the introduction is too long, but I like it too! Of course, it's not as cool as the rest of the video...

I'll tell them to take a look at your comments here, and to sign in to The Edge, if they want.

# by lucasgabd, 2012-04-14 17:20 BST Parent

Apple, carrot, ginger and lime juice. If you've never tried it then give it a go, tastes lovely, like a soft drink of some kind. They have been the base of my daily juice for the last six months, I've gradually added spinach, cucumber, celery and beetroot. After some online research I bought a cold press juicer (Matstone 6 in 1).

My health has improved enormously, I haven't been ill or had a cold since I first started (I used to suffer regular colds every 4 - 6 weeks). I look much better (hair, skin and eyes) and I feel more alert, springy and just much better generally. If like me you don't eat enough vegetables I couldn't recommend it enough.

And, my juggling has taken a good leap forward over the last few months, more than any other time over the past few years. I've a feeling that is partly down to the juicing.

# by pumpkineater23, 2012-04-11 17:02 BST

My first post here. Hi, I'm Alex. Or Sandy. Whatever:

I cannot stress the importance of a good juicer or a blender. This time last year, my pre-juggle beverage was whiskey. And there's definitely some certain virtue in drunk juggling. But the last few months, I've been drinking a lot of fresh squeezed juices and smoothies (all home made), and you're right -- good juice is enormously beneficial.
I always add a considerable amount of green tea or seaweed somethingorother.
I will say this: Juice aside, if you drink three cups of good green tea each day, you will juggle better. Because you'll be doing everything better.

no more poets please

# by nomorepoetsplease, 2012-04-12 07:22 BST Parent

Kickup Fetishism video, just posted to rec.juggling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rcF2jktK7o

Some nice ideas in there. I particularly like the 4 club multiplex at 0:56

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rcF2jktK7o&t=0m56s

If it wasn't raining outside, I'd pop out and give that one a try.

Regards, Colin E.

# by Colin E., 2012-04-10 12:29 BST

Oh dear, so a link to a specific video location barfs. I should have checked the preview first! My bad.

# by Colin E., 2012-04-10 12:30 BST Parent

the link to 56secs works just fine for me, Colin.
-a

# by nomorepoetsplease, 2012-04-10 15:38 BST Parent

Do you have the following checked "Settings => Forum Options => Embed videos" ? This embeds videos directly within the Small Talk post. I have a feeling that embedding YouTube videos with the start-time querystring parameter is not supported by YouTube itself.

Now where do I submit bugs?

Colin E. - enjoying being an end-user rather than a webmaster for a change :-)

# by Colin E., 2012-04-10 15:57 BST Parent

Just had a dig in the history to find the right comment. It seems Orin foresaw this problem: http://www.jugglingedge.com/smalltalk.php?ThreadID=102&SmallID=627

# by barnesy, 2012-04-10 16:12 BST Parent