Spider - see my comment to Neil above. It isn't that big a deal so let's move on. I didn't whine and cry about being called a knocker, except maybe when Stan told me he hopes I never get a copy of his DVD. Maybe that's worse than being called a knocker. Whatever.
You know more about my posts from 10 or 15 years ago than I do at this point. I looked into CTE for awhile and, yes, I spent the 2 hours on the phone with Hal. First off, I don't even know PJ after all these many years. I think he and I have had maybe 3 back and forths in any thread in all that time. PJ rubs people the wrong way because he doesn't suffer fools, if you are familiar with the expression. I'm not in any "camp." PJ is generally correct when it comes to technical matters, so yes I think he's a good contributor. If he says something that you disagree with then the solution is very simple: prove him wrong to shut him up.
How about this, instead of having a lot of back and forth and not producing anything of use, why not answer this question that Stan simply ignores:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showpost.php?p=5321812&postcount=1615
If your answer is that you have to be at the table and take your time with it, I've already done that, and such a response doesn't answer the question posed in the link above. I suspect that the real answer is that you don't know. Some of Stan's strong followers have told me by pm that they don't really understand it, but it just works. Fine, then if that's the answer then let's make it public instead of telling the naked emperor that his clothes are beautiful.
I have no agenda. Nobody here has an agenda. Well, truthfully, Stan has one because he stands to make a lot of money. I'm not against that, but let's face the fact that he's really the only one who stands to be affected positively or negatively if CTE is accepted or discredited.
You won't like this last comment, but I don't believe Stan is a particularly gifted instructor like you do. His demeanor and sincerity and general approach is terrific. The problem is that anyone can teach the student who understands everything right away. Only the good instructors can take someone who just doesn't get it (ie, me) and find a different way to explain/demonstrate things so that student can understand. Stan doesn't attempt to win over hearts and minds to his way of thinking by finding unique ways of teaching. He insults and demeans and ignores. I find that somewhat telling, don't you? If I knew 2+2=4 and I had the courage of my convictions about that, you'd better be sure I'd find a way to demonstrate to every last skeptic that 2+2 really did equal 4. Some people are skeptics for a reason, not because of some great unknown conspiracy.
CTE is like a lightening bolt and I don't want to write people off based on this one subject. I used to go to RSB and now AZ for sharing of information, not to chat with buddies or get into pissing matches. If you can search for my posts, you'll find that most all of them are about the game itself, either getting help with something or sharing something I've learned. So have your opinion and say what you want, but don't write off my comments on "normal" subjects and I'll give you the same courtesy.
No hard feelings.