Bowling

Did you know that automated bowling alleys were invented in 1936?  Gottfried Schmidt invented the mechanical pinsetter back before the second World War - prior to this people were employed to work as pinsetters or pinboys (or my favourite, pin monkeys) to return the pins to their normal position.

This isn't a picture of a bowling alley.  Unless the bowling alley has pins shaped like unicorns.

So, why are bowling alleys still a bit rubbish?  Bowling is great fun, but I can only ever recall perhaps one time that I've gone bowling and the lane hasn't at some point broken down, requiring someone to come and fix it.  Sure, I get that mechanical stuff has a shelf life and I'm sure bowling alley machines get some beatings from people bowling at the wrong times, but still, they seem to break down a lot.

Apart from bowling, I've been doing stuff in relation to my manly challenges - I can't blog about them because all the material will be going into a book, but let me say that in just the last week I've been worried, injured, excited, wobbling, bleeding, deafened, and fearing for my life.  I can't wait for the next 3-4 months to happen.