I was playing in an informal round robin tournament the other night with some people I didn't know well. All nice folks, but unbelievably slow players. Chalk, look, walk around, chalk, look, get down, stop, get up, look, chalk and finally sink the bunny. I wanted to scream. It wasn't an appropriate situation for me to get on their cases, so I just suffered.
On the way home, I had an idea. Why doesn't someone come up with a simple phone app along the lines of the Predator Break Speed to have a shot clock. I am not a techie, but it seems pretty straight ahead; use the microphone to recognize cue hitting cue ball and a countdown timer starts. Add some time for OBs to roll to a stop. You have a warning beep and then an annoying louder beep when time runs out. Players can set the time (NBA manages to run 10 enormous guys down the court, throw around the ball and shoot in 24 seconds or less). The buzzer can serve as a polite reminder or result in loss of shot. You can pre-agree on a number of extensions. People can use it how they want, but it seems it could make the game livelier.
On the way home, I had an idea. Why doesn't someone come up with a simple phone app along the lines of the Predator Break Speed to have a shot clock. I am not a techie, but it seems pretty straight ahead; use the microphone to recognize cue hitting cue ball and a countdown timer starts. Add some time for OBs to roll to a stop. You have a warning beep and then an annoying louder beep when time runs out. Players can set the time (NBA manages to run 10 enormous guys down the court, throw around the ball and shoot in 24 seconds or less). The buzzer can serve as a polite reminder or result in loss of shot. You can pre-agree on a number of extensions. People can use it how they want, but it seems it could make the game livelier.
