Monday, December 12, 2011

Help for Tennis Elbow

With the weather turning colder, some people have been saying that their tennis elbow is acting up.  Some players look into tennis rackets (weight and vibration damping) as well as string tension (lower tension, perhaps by 2-3 pounds, and as much as 5 lbs).  Here's some information:

Technique First, Gear Second  If the way you’re hitting the ball is the cause of your arm problem, no amount of equipment changes will save you.   

Make the Sweet Spot Bigger  Bigger sweet spot = hitting more balls in the sweet spot = less vibration. Try using a lower string tension. A 2 – 3 pound reduction in tension noticeably enlarges the sweet spot. If you’re looking at making a racquet switch, remember that racquets with a larger head size will have a larger sweet spot too. Consider moving up a size. 

In addition, there are several products that people say have been helpful.  One product is very useful for strengthening the arm and forearm:




Some people like this type of product because it gives relief from tennis elbow pain:






Read more here:
http://www.tenniscompany.com/about4.html



Thursday, December 8, 2011

Humor and Parenting

Line of the day (from a parent on motivating children to take ownership and be responsible / proactive):

"Do you think Christopher Columbus' parents nagged him to discover America?"  

from the TV Show "The Middle."

On parenting: it's always good to keep your sense of humor!




Friday, December 2, 2011

Kindle Fire - #2 to the IPAD

We love the Kindle Fire -- and so do a lot of others.  According to a Bloomberg article (see below), the 7-inch tablet (smaller than the Apple I-Pad) is taking over the #2 spot in the tablet wars.  Amazon actually loses a bit on each Kindle Fire sold, but expects to make up for that with increased sales/revenues.




Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)’s share of the tablet computer market will surge to 14 percent this quarter as consumer demand catapults the Kindle Fire to the No. 2 spot after Apple Inc.’s iPad, according to research firm IHS Inc. (IHS)
Amazon will probably ship 3.9 million units of the Fire in the final three months of the year, IHS said today in a report. After hitting store shelves on Nov. 14, the Kindle Fire has surpassed more established products from Samsung Electronics (005930) Co. and Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS) in vying with the iPad, which will ship an estimated 18.6 million units, IHS said.


Read more here: