VoIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol has been simmering for the past few years. This year the market has heated up. Many large businesses have jumped on the VoIP bandwagon and have realized savings of 50-percent or more off their phone bills. VoIP providers are competing to add to or replace large PBX systems for the corporations and add web conferencing capabilities plus wireless VoIP (wVoIP) over LAN’s as well.

Hospitals and other large, fragmented workforces are discovering the value of using wireless VoIP phones to converse with one another quickly and efficiently while in different wings, floors or buildings of a large facility. This kind of wireless VoIP setup can have huge cost savings over cell phones and is more efficient that using pagers.

While business VoIP has caught on in the corporate landscape, residential VoIP is still trying to take hold. This is largely because of a couple of current disadvantages of VoIP. First, not all current VoIP systems have power backups. When the power goes out in a residence, the landline is still operational. Since VoIP works over a high-speed Internet connection, which requires power, if the power goes down, so does the VoIP connection. This will be of concern to many concerned about emergency situations. The good news is that many VoIP hardware providers are starting to deliver systems with power backup to address just this issue.

The second drawback of residential VoIP is that not all current VoIP service providers offer full, 24-7 emergency 911 service. After hour calls in Florida, may be mistakenly rerouted to Idaho for instance. This is also about to change. The Federal Communications Commission has mandated that all phone service providers offer e911 service as standard. According to the FCC, “All interconnected VoIP providers must automatically provide E9-1-1 services to all customers as a standard, mandatory feature without customers having to specifically request this service. VoIP providers may not allow their customers the option to “opt-out” of E9-1-1 service.”

Clearly, though, residential VoIP is heading towards direct competition with the local phone companies’ coveted landlines. A couple of years ago at a meeting in SBC’s Publishing division, one of the executive managers cried, “Landlines, we need to stop losing landlines!” This was in response to cell phone companies taking away market share from the local Baby Bells. Now that VoIP is on the radar, the executive management teams for the local and long-distance phone companies must be huddling in their back offices, trying to figure out how they will stop the bleeding in the years to come.

With VoIP costing far less that traditional local and long-distance phone service and overcoming the last of the residential hurdles, one can be sure that consumers will soon be taking notice. Many will also start wearing t-shirt like “VoIP VIP” and “Got VoIP?” to herald in the new era in telecommunications.

About the Author

Copyright © 2005 VoIP Service Providers

VoIP Service Providers – Marvin Bellnick writes for VoIP Service Providers, a company dedicated to publishing the latest happenings in the Voice Over IP industry.

During the 1972 British Open at Muirfield, Scotland, Tony Jacklin and Lee Trevino attacked the 9th hole from the tee. Jacklin went for the carry over the left-hand fairway bunker, while Trevino played more conservatively down the right side. Both finished in the rough, but within iron distance of the green. Two amazing shots followed, both landing about 20 yards (18 m) short of but running onto the green. Both players then holed their putts for eagles.

Hitting into the rough is the most common problem a golfer faces. Even golfing legends like Trevino and Jacklin find themselves in the rough more often than they’d like. But by making a few adjustments you can get yourself out of trouble and back onto the fairway without costing yourself strokes.

When a recreational golfer finds himself in the rough, he often lets the situation intimidate him. Instead of assessing the lie, like many golf instruction manuals suggest, he grabs a club and slashes away, hitting into the rough again or into more trouble. By the time he finishes, he’s hacked out an 8 on the scorecard.

Hitting from the rough–whether heavy and thick or light and fluffy–trips up many golfers–even those who’ve taken golf lessons. But learning how to can get out of the rough doesn’t take a lot of instruction. It just takes a bit of discretion and knowing what adjustments to make.

Thick Rough

Hitting into the thick rough is the more common scenario. The problem is the thickness of the grass. It grabs the hosel of your club and closes the clubface at impact, causing you to pull the ball left (for right handers). The grass also reduces club head speed and takes backspin off the ball. Heavy clumps of grass require almost brute force to get out of.

Choosing the right club is crucial, as most golf tips point out. You need a club with a sharp leading edge, like the shorter irons. The edge cuts through the thick grass, giving the best chance of catching the ball squarely. Try a lofted wood (5,7,9) or lofted iron (9 iron, pitching wedge). The loft gets you airborne quicker. If the ball is buried, try the 6 iron. And don’t try to hit a big hook or big slice. The deeper, thicker grass makes the ball go straight.

Ball position is also crucial: Too far forward means there’s too much grass to get through. Too far back means there’s not enough loft to get the ball airborne. Position the ball left of center (for right handers) with the longer clubs, and right of center with the shorter clubs.

In addition, do the following:

* Take a steeper angle of attack * Keep your hands ahead of the club. * Lean your weight forward * Take a normal stance * Aim your body slightly left * Open your clubface * Take a divot after the ball

Two other adjustments: set your wrists a fraction earlier than normal during takeaway and center your weight over the ball at the top of your back swing.

Light Fluffy Rough

Hitting from a light fluffy lie requires different adjustments, but it’s no less challenging. Like the thick rough, the real culprit is the grass.

With fluffy grass the ball sits up high, almost as if it were on a tee, so don’t take your normal swing. You need to avoid undercutting the ball, which prevents solid contact. Instead, try sweeping it off the “tee,” with the blade of your club barely touching the tips of the grass.

In addition, do the following:

* Choke down on the club * Play the ball father forward * Hover the club at address * Restrict your back swing * End with a balanced finish

Move your hands about an inch (2.5 cm) down the grip and position the ball farther forward in your stance, which encourages more of a sweeping motion through the swing.

Hovering the club permits you to catch the ball flush and guards against the ball moving at address. Choking down on the club restricts your backswing, but also hinge your wrists just a little earlier in your takeaway. Also, stop the club short of the horizontal position at the top of the backswing. Try to end with a balanced finish.

Hitting into the rough–whether it’s deep and thick or light and fluffy–doesn’t have to intimidate you. Just gather yourself and make the right adjustments and you’ll overcome the challenge. Also, stay within yourself. Don’t try to do too much. If the rough looks really challenging, punch it out onto the fairway.

The idea is to put yourself in position to hit the next shot, not cost yourself more strokes by hacking away. You may not land on the green with your next swing, but like Trevino and Jacklin, you might just hit a shot that leads to a surprising finish–and maybe a lower handicap.

The old time professional wood bats were the size of a red wood tree. They weighed as much as five men could handle and could knock down a brick wall with one whack. Mighty men like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb wielded these manly bats with a skill and precision that no modern day baseball pro could ever dream to have.

Then again, Ruth and Cobb didn’t have hurlers that registered triple-digit with their fast balls. They didn’t face the advanced and near magical pitching technique of the Braves bullpen or the Yankees superstars. Today’s batters need to fight fire with fire, and so the technology behind today’s professional bats has to match the velocity and movement of today’s professional pitchers.

Superstar hitters like Derek Jeter and Scott Rolen rely on the best professional wood bats out there to give them a shot. Compared to the mythic sluggers of baseball golden days, today’s batters rely on lighter weight bats that also have thinner handles.

True modern science comes into the way that many of today’s bats are cup balance. This involves removing as much as three-quarters of an ounce of wood out of the end of the barrel to make the bat lighter. A lighter bat means a faster swing, and a faster swing means a farther drive. Experts estimate that as many as 30 percent of today’s players use a cup balanced bat.

Today’s professional wood bats mostly come from wood from the white ash tree. Some players, though, have been experimenting with wood from maple trees. No matter the tree or the amount of wood they scoop out, though, today’s batters still have to be able to have the hand speed, dexterity, know-how, and vision to make that contact. Bats can only help you out so much, even if they are as big as a red wood.

Mike Long is the successful web publisher of Baseball-SuperGuide.com providing valuable tips, advice, and info about a multitude of relevant topics including baseball bats.

High profile Las Vegas sports gambler Lem Banker has wisecracks for every occasion, including the Super Bowl:

“The best proposition I ever got was the $200 hooker who gave it to me for half price.”

Or:

“The whole of North America — the ‘uncivilized world’ — is abuzz over the Super Bowl; a few billion Chinese don’t give a damn.”

Deposit this one in your nearest “lock” box: Banker won’t be sending NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue any Valentine’s Day cards this or any other year.

Never a big NFL admirer, he fully appreciates players’ abilities and the efforts of other personnel.

Banker, however, warns Canadians and Americans to enjoy watching the league’s annual showcase gratis while they can, as he thinks it’s only a matter of time before the loop starts airing the game on pay-per view — perhaps the entire schedule.

“They (the league) want to control everything,” Banker said, noting how the NFL has effectively put an end to Las Vegas’ public casino bashes by theatening to sue those which charge an admittance fee to watch the contest.

“They want all the money themselves.

“What you pay for when you go to these things (Super Bowl parties) anyway is food and drink.”

Super Bowl XL between Seattle and Pittsburgh could become “one for the ages,” Banker believes, despite its lack of luster and a “marquee team.”

The Steelers are 4-point favorites and apparently also the people’s choice.

“This actually shapes up as a great battle,” Banker said. “You have two good coaches, two good quarterbacks.

“Hopefully I’ll be on the right side.

“It’s just too bad the Colts didn’t make it because they were the team everyone wanted to see.

“I guess the long layoff and problems surrounding Tony Dungy’s son were just too much.

“Peyton Manning is still looking for that big fish, but it keeps getting away.”

Banker freely acknowledges his preseason pick, 6-10 Baltimore — a 14/1 shot at season’s start — failed to ignite; he also concedes his big playoff wager, Denver, got devoured in the AFC title game.

Consequently, Lem’s taking his own sweet time in publicizing his Super Bowl pick.

The dilemma in trying to figure this one out early is Banker always has been an underdog player, but, having a family that admittedly is part of the Raider Nation, he also has strong AFC leanings.

“It’s a tough call,” he said. “The team that has fewer turnovers will win this game.”

Banker will release his Super Bowl selection at mid-week, but says he’ll likely “invest” more in propositions than on a side.

“That’s where the money is today,” he said. “That’s where I make my profit.”

Banker offers this note to prop players:

“People ask why so many Super Bowls (the last two being exceptions) are blowouts; I tell them to pay close attention to what goes on late in the third quarter and early in the fourth.

“If it’s the fourth quarter and fourth and 8, the offense is going to go for it because there’s no tomorrow.

“They’ll get a first down about 25 percent of the time.

“Otherwise, it’s a great spot for the defense, which puts its side in great scoring position.

“If a team is down by 10 points or more going into the fourth quarter it’s going to be a blowout.”

During his heyday, when Banker was penning a column and appearing daily (he still surfaces on the Las Vegas CBS affiliate each week) on TV and radio, he once strung together 13 straight Super Bowl victories ATS, starting with the 1973 game.

He remembers that one well.

“Miami went 16-0, but I was going to bet Washington,” Banker recalled.

“My friend Larry Merchant was in town researching his book, ‘National Football Lottery.’

“He asked why I would go against an unfeated team that had been getting the job done all year.

“Larry got me thinking and I changed my mind.”

The Dolphins won (14-7) and covered.

“That started the string,” Banker said. “It’s all publicly documented.”

As he combs through pages upon pages of Super Bowl propositions, Banker keeps one thought in mind.

“The great W.C. Fields was an atheist,” Banker said.

“He was reading a Bible on his death bed when someone asked what he was doing.

“Fields replied, ‘I’m looking for loopholes.’

“That’s what I’m doing: Looking for loopholes.’”

Things are drying up a bit in my small circle of poker games, so I decided to take a little drive to a nearby local charity room. This place is pretty small, mostly locals and middle aged to older gentlemen, with some young kids here and there. The play was so much softer than I’m used to. Everyone was limping, and many people would call opening raises without very good cards. Basically, if you had a big poker hand, it got paid off.

The poker tournament started with 40 players, 8000 in chips with 20 minute blinds beginning at 100/100.

80 Bbs is pretty reasonable, and it makes people call a few extra hundred away without thinking too hard on if it’s worth it. In these beginning stages I took them all to value town. In the big blind I had 7,10 off and the flopped top two pair 4-way. I checked in 2nd position and inevitably, someone bet at it. I smooth called. Turn blanked and I bet and got called and I bet again on the river and it got folded to me. If a face card came out, I was sure to make even more money.

A few rounds later, 100/200 blinds, I have q,10 in the BB and flop top pair on a q,j,4 rainbow board. I follow the 1st player with a check and we see a turn, which looks like a blank. He comes out for 500 and I raise it to 1500; he calls. The river is another blank and he checks and I bet 1000, about 1/4 of the pot. He calls with a weak jack for 2nd pair.

I made a standard raise with kk, flopped a safe 10 high board against one player, and I decided to continue bet. Unfortunately he folded, so I may have lost value there. Basically, against weak opponents, it makes sense just to play straight forward poker. Don’t limp too much, save your money for getting paid off with hands.

I varied from this and lost a bunch of chips limping with q,10 diamonds and the flop was 9,4,4. Everyone checked and in last position I bet outthe pot, and the big blind flat called me. This told me instantly that he flopped trips. I picked up a straight draw on the turn with a jack, he check, I followed. The river came a 7, he checked and I checked. Of course he was slow to show his cards, I announced q high, he still didn’t show, I tabled my hand, and he showed a full house for 4,7. So, the guy missed out on getting any value whatsoever on his hand by checking to me and hoping I continued with

Fall of last year you figured a donut once in an awhile or some other fat and sugar laden nasty food wouldn’t hurt. Your excuse it is the” muscle-bulking season” or you will “work it off”. The next thing you know your waist measurement is almost the same size of your chest. You look in the mirror and you see your v-taper look like a square block. You say to your self “what the heck happen to all my hard work in the gym?” Well all of your hard work is still there if you have been training hard, but it is covered in fat. My better half, my wife once asked me when I was expecting? At that moment, I knew it was time to shed the fat.

Well the first thing to do is to make a final goal. For example, the abdominal muscles showing by May. I used to put pictures of ab shots on my refrigerator to help keep me focused. Now I also keep a watchful eye in the mirror. When I drop an inch or two off my waist I reward myself. And not with eating a whole pie or chocolate cake. Usually I buy some kind of hiking gear, camera equipment or clothing. I generally drink two liters of water per day. You can read an article I wrote about water and bodybuilding by clicking on this link . http://www.nature-boy-bodybuilding.com/natureboybodybuilding/id9. html. Make sure you keep a supply of healthy foods around you to help prevent eating some junk food when you do get hungry. Fresh fruit, nuts, non-fat cottage cheese, you get the idea. When you start your diet don’t go crazy eating little to nothing. If you follow this practice you will lose all the muscle you worked so hard to build. I cycle my carbohydrates and protein around my workout days. I eat the carbs during my bodybuilding workout days and carb deplete on non-bodybuilding workout days. I will increase the protein on the nonworkout days. Here is a summary of the topics above:

Use pictures to keep focused on your main goal. Reward yourself when you meet your in-between goals. Drink plenty of water. Always keep plenty of healthy foods around to snack on. Don’t go crazy dieting.

Make sure that you keep on the right path and you will see your goal of abdominal muscles showing when the warm weather returns. Otherwise your spouse may do like mine and start taking measurements for maternity clothes.

Please feel free to publish this article in your Newsletter or on your Website (with Resource Box included).

Arizona Doctor Discovers Triathlons as the Ultimate Weight Loss Program – Loses Sixty Pounds.

I never intended to get fat! I am not exactly sure how it happened, but there I was a 6′2″ thirty-four year old pushing close to 270 pounds. My cholesterol was high, my triclecrides were high, and my blood pressure was high. I was on a direct course for developing diabetes, increased risk of heart disease, increased risk of cancer, and a ton of other diseases related to obesity.

It gets worse. I am a doctor, a sports chiropractor to be exact and my office is located inside a health club. Unfortunately, like many other doctors and other health professional out there, I was not practicing what I was preaching.

Living in sunny Arizona, land of the endless summer, sooner or later you have to go to the lake, the water park, or you are invited to a cookout and pool party. That is when all my excuses caught up to me. Despite knowing the health risks associated with being overweight, it was the feeling of low self-esteem and embarrassment that finally drove me to action.

So there I was, a doctor, ready to get the weight off. I hate to admit it; I tried some of those quick fix gimmick supplements. I tried a bunch of the fad diets. I bought a bunch of books from all the “weight loss experts”. Sure I would lose a little weight, but I could never stick with the diet for any length of time. When I went off the diet I would gain the weight right back. Then tried working my butt off in the gym, running almost every day. That got real boring, and I found that running everyday is not the best thing to do when you weigh close to 270 pounds.

There I was again, still no direction, no focus, no drive, nothing to guide me. Frustrated about not getting any results and what to do, I thought I was just going to have to accept that I was overweight and deal with it. I gave it a real effort and it did not work.

During all of this, the chiropractor that I bought my office from mentioned that he was beginning a weight loss program at his office, which was based on his experience with triathlon training. That got my attention. I really wanted to give the program a try, but I lived too far from his office to come in on a regular basis. So I began researching the sport on the Internet.

The more I read about triathlons and triathlon training, the more sense it made to me as a way to help me lose weight. If you are going to do an event that involves swimming, cycling, and running you obviously are going to have to train that way. The idea about jumping into the pool for an exercise swim was not something I was looking forward to, and the last thing I wanted to do was to put on a swimsuit and workout. Then I remembered how painful my knees were from running around, and swimming would be easier on my joints.

I also began reading about using heart rate monitors and the affects of exercising at different heart rates. Many of the authors of the books on heart zone training were triathletes themselves, and they gave numerous examples on how using heart zone training you can track your progress and maximize your exercise program.

The more I searched the triathlon Internet sites, the more I became interested in the sport. The people who competed in triathlons looked really fit, it was inspiring. That is when I decided to take my commitment to losing weight to the next level. Weighing close to 270 pounds, I signed up for my first triathlon. Five months away, I was going to do a sprint race, which was a 500m swim, a 15-mile bike, then and a 3-mile run. This was a much shorter distance than many triathlon races, however at the time I could not do even one of the events let alone all of them back-to-back.

Using a combination of what I learned about heart zone training and from the triathlon Internet sites, I started my program. I my alternated exercise sessions between swimming, cycling, and running. I also did about an hour of weight training a week. This really added a variety to the exercise program, and it never got boring. One day I would just bike, then next maybe run 10 minutes, do a weight session, then bike for 25 minutes. Then the next day I would just swim. The next day I would swim then follow it up with a run. My knees were holding up very well with little, if any pain. At the same time I started eating better, no real diet, just common sense stuff, avoiding the sugars and white breads.

The use of the heart rate monitor became a very useful tool. It kept me from working too hard or too easy. The monitor I was using, the Polar 610, also came with software. I was able to download all of my exercise sessions into a computer. Then I was able to objectively document my exercise sessions. The software was able to track my calories burned during exercise, my average heart rate, hours spent exercising per week, and much more. After every exercise session actually looked forward to downloading my session to see how I did.

It also allowed me to exercise at different heart rates. One day I would run at 70% of my maximum heart rate for 10 minutes, then bike at 80% of my maximum heart rate for 10 minutes, then go back to running at 70% for another 10 minutes. The next day I would just bike for 40 min. But I would again exercise at different heart rates, 10 min at 70%, and 5 minutes at 80%, and 10 minutes at 75 %, and 5 minutes at 80%, and then 10 minutes at 70%. This was a fun way to exercise and I actually began to look forward to exercising, the whole process was less boring.

I kept up with this type of training for five months. On the day of my first triathlon, I was forty pounds lighter.

Some how, some way, I did it. I finished my first triathlon, and as crazy as it sounds I really enjoyed myself. I was feeling good about my accomplishment, but I still had some serious weight to lose. So I found another triathlon race six months later, signed up for it and continued training. The weight just kept coming off and coming off.

At the time of my second race, eleven months after learning about triathlons, I had lost sixty pounds.

It seemed like every week one of my patients, whom I had not seen for months, would come in for a treatment. The reactions were always the same, doc what the heck happened to you, you look like a totally different person!

I felt like a different person too, I was running without knee pain, I was happier at work, my relationship with my family was better, I was no longer embarrassed to go to a pool party or the water park, in fact I looked forward to them.

My patients and the members of the health club where my office was located were constantly asking me about my weight loss. I remember one of the gym members walking up to my desk and looking at my before and after pictures. He pointed to my fat picture and said, “That is me” then he pointed to my fit picture and said, “That is the way I want to look”. Wow, what a great feeling, I could not believe it.

As I am sitting here writing this article, it has been a year since my first triathlon. Just a few weeks ago, I raced in my third race and I actually managed to finish second in my age group.

As a result of getting into triathlons, not only do I have a new body, I have a new life.

Dr. Jeffrey Banas is a Chiropractic Sports Physician practicing in Mesa, AZ. He continues to compete in triathlons and has kept his weight off for over a year now. If you would like to contact Dr. Banas, he can be reached at his office at 480-633-6837, or by visiting his web site at www.personal-weight-loss-help.com

Snake Estate – Online Snake Database

Snakes – General Information

There are many useful snake sites on the internet but nothing like snake estate. You’ll find forums here and there and small informational based sites but if you want to get away from the crappy kingsnake dot com site you might as well transfer your direction to snake estate and provide the world with some useful information. Snakes

Snakes In My Dreams

Dream about snakeestate in your dreams, learn to love it, learn to talk about it and learn to post! Share your useful information and make this small world informative of your great discoveries. Dreams are everything; dreams can tell reality and are reality disturbed. Snakes in dreams mean you want a pet snake so go ahead and pick one up today.

Snake Resources On the Internet

DMOZ offers a list of internet snake sites that are humanly selected in order to provide the user with an amazing online experience. You’ll notice that the selection of sites featured on DMOZ are extremely relevant to any species of snake. Be sure to check their listings and expand your knowledge on snakes. Snakes
My Snake Blog is one of many personal snake blogs on the internet. You’ll be able to view photos, videos, information & feedings of many snake hobbyist. Create your own blog today and bring your snake stories to the world! Snake Blog

Kuang Ping was the T’ai-chi set favored by Yang Lu-Chan, the man who brought forward the “Yang” style in the mid-1800’s, now so popular throughout the world. Kuang Ping is what the man trained with himself. The popular “Yang” set was/is something for the masses–not for the aficinado, the athlete, the martial artist.

I learned Kuang Ping from Kuo Lien Ying, third generation student of Yang Lu Chan. I was already an accomplished runner and martial artist when I started training (1970), so it was difficult to please me in the arena of athletics–but 75 yr-old Kuo was definitely impressive! Eventually I studied five T’ai-chi sets, but his was/is definitely the most dynamic and challenging.

I teach two sets currently: a short Yang style (for beginners and the unfit) and Kuang Ping. They are both available on tape.

T’AI-CHI CH’UAN: A Few Words

This soft or “internal” art is, in all aspects, a psycho-physical exercise, a boxing system, and a meditation method. Most of the tens of millions of practitioners are into it for health and meditation, so they move very slowly during the training. But what most people don’t realize is that since the art is founded on using the principles of change, you canand shouldmove the body and mind according to the need of the moment.

This wondrous exercise can be used by anyone, male and female, old and young. A five year-old child and a person of 90 years or more are both able to practice T’ai-chi Ch’uan. The complete form can be learned within three months; pretty good acquaintance can be obtained with a year’s practice; and a student training perseveringly for about five years can have significant integration of mind and body, intuition and knowledge. There are delicate details of T’ai-chi, keys to its marvels which are understood only with faithful practice. Traditionally, a person is required to train seven years before qualifying as a teacher.

Of the more than 100 million people who practice T’ai-chi regularly, most train outdoors, even in severe weather conditions of northern China. The reason is simple and can be understood only when you accept the elements and embrace the opportunity to integrate with nature. Year-round, outdoor training is good for the spirit, heart, mind and body.

Instructor Certification:

T’ai-chi Ch’uan

First – Third years: White Sash Introduction to internal arts studies Yi Bai Ching Kung Zhan Zhuang Basic Health Maintenance Tui-Na Tao Yin T’ai-chi Chi-Kung Stance and kicking drills Tui Shou Postures training for Yang or Guang Ping T’ai-Chi Ch’uan

Fourth Year: Blue Sash 18 Therapies Chi-Kung T’ai-chi Chi-Kung Breathing patterns in T’ai-chi Ch’uan T’ai-chi Kun/Dragon’s Head Staff #1

Fifth Year: Green Sash T’ai-chi KunDragon’s Head Staff #2 T’ai-chi Chi-Kung Continued physical and respiration studies in T’ai-chi Ch’uan

Sixth Year: Gold Sash Five Animal Frolics T’ai-chi Chien/Rapier #1 T’ai-chi Chi-Kung Cont’d studies in T’ai-chi Ch’uan

Seventh Year: Black Sash T’ai-chi Tao/Saber #1 T’ai-chi Chi-Kung Original thesis researching T’ai-Chi Ch’uan

Paintball is a game played up of many players or teams. It can
be played indoors or out, with as few as two people or as many
as 500. Paintball is played at designated fields, back yards or
even in the woods. A game can last as little as 5 minutes or
hours with all depending on one to take something, find
something, or to just be the last person not marked. Depending
on the location of where you play, the strategy of your game
will vary from being quiet and sneaky and choosing your shots
carefully, to being loud, fast, and shooting constantly.
Paintball is a competitive sport played like any other
competitive sport, to win. It is challenging game of tag,
hide-and-seek or even capture-the-flag. Being you shoot at other
people and they shoot at you, paintball requires safety
equipment to be worn such as goggles, special clothing and etc.
An essential part of paintball is the paintball itself. As in
tennis, the ball is the main element of a paintball game. But
unlike a tennis game, paintball has dozens, often hundreds, of
“balls” in play at any one time. As the name implies, these
balls are actually tiny containers of paint. Paintballs have a
really simple construction. They’re actually a lot like bath-oil
beads. They are made of colored liquid enclosed in a gelatin
shell and are available in a variety of colors. Paintball are
also non-toxic, biodegradable and are water soluble. Basically,
a paintball is like a small water balloon, weighing only a few
grams. The shell holds up if you handle it or drop it from a
short distance. When you shoot a paintball from a gun, however,
it bursts on impact and leaves large splatter of paint. The job
of the paintball gun, or as many call a marker, is to shoot the
paintball at a high rate of speed. In a standard gun, the
propulsion system is compressed gas such as carbon dioxide,
nitrogen or ordinary air and is stored in small or large tanks
that can be attached to the gun. The paintball gun is also
attached to a hopper, which holds the paintballs. Maintaining
safety in paintball is important to make the game safe. The
power of paintball guns is strictly regulated. Guns in play are
adjusted so that the maximum speed of the paintball is 300 feet
per second. A paintball traveling at this speed is not likely to
cause serious injury if it hits you, though it will sting and
can leave a bruise. Also, since wind resistance starts slowing
the paintball down as soon as it leaves the gun, it has a
reduced impact when fired from a greater distance. Speeding
paintballs can cause serious injury to the eyes and paintball
players always wear protection. In addition to playing paintball
for recreational use, paintball is also part of military and
police training. In terms of feel and handling, a paintball gun
has little in common with an actual firearm, but paintball is
still good training for combat situations. Mainly, it lets
soldiers and police practice strategy and the fine art of not
getting shot. There are many paintball leagues around with
American Paintball League being one of the largest in the
paintball industry. Another paintball league is the National
Professional Paintball League. There are the two main paintball
leagues. Though they both pertain to paintball, each has their
own set of rules for playing the sport.