About

Hi, my name is John Biddle and this is my blog.  I’m 56 years old and reside in Florida with my wife.

I have a BA in Philosophy from Boston University and an MBA in Finance from the University of South Florida.

I was a cop in St. Petersburg, FL for 11 years and then worked in Information Systems for a total of 20 years at 3 large banks, the largest being JPMorgan Chase which I left in 2006.

My interests are varied, from reading and doing crossword puzzles to kayaking & maintaining a koi pond.  My primary interests though, are computing and pocket billiards.

I thought that building this site would give me a chance to learn about creating and maintaining websites rather than just surfing them.  It would also give me an opportunity to focus on pool in a more disciplined and organized fashion and share what I have learned about getting better.

I should tell you right up front that I am a good but not great player.  I’ve never won a major tournament, nor do I expect to ever do so.  But I am an intelligent and analytical person, and I take the game very seriously.

I have read more than twenty books, many twice, and scour magazines and the web for more instructional information.  I have watched quite a number of instructional videos and expect to watch quite a few more.

Though I have only been playing for just 3 years (plus a couple months one semester in college over 35 years ago), I’ve gotten pretty good, and I think that my approach has helped me quite a bit and can help others as well.

I expect to learn as much about pool through this website as I’ll pass on to you.  I aim for this site to be mutually beneficial, with me playing the student as often as I play the teacher.

I have big plans for this site, but I’ll be keeping much of it under wraps for awhile.  It’s only me, so far, and I don’t want to promise more than I can deliver.  I’ll be focusing on how to get better, and I expect to provide value to those at all ability levels, though obviously I have little to teach experts.

I’m going to experiment with a number of different technologies; nothing brand new, just new to me on the developer/administrator side.  I have access to several very knowledgeable friends and relatives to bail me out if I get in over my head, so I don’t expect that to be a problem.

Keeping the site interesting and valuable so people want to come back regularly will require a constant stream of new, high quality content.  I can’t possibly do it all, and am more than willing to provide a forum for you writers/teachers out there who either don’t have an appropriate outlet or need another one to reach the right audience.  I’m a better editor than writer, so don’t let a concern for your prose stop you.  There’s no money in it, at least for now, but money isn’t everything, right?

If you have an interest, or if you’d just like to provide me your feedback on my efforts so far, feel free to contact me at john@poolstudent.com.

7 Responses to “About”

  1. Joe WaldronNo Gravatar - December 7th, 2008

    Hi John:
    Nice site and enjoyable content. I like your book reviews — informative. Feel free to use anything from my site that you find interesting.

  2. ShepardNo Gravatar - December 10th, 2008

    Hi Grandpa,
    I like the site. Do you have any pictures of how to hold the pool stick, I’ve seen several different ways and I want to know which is the best.

  3. ClareNo Gravatar - July 15th, 2009

    Shepard, go to http://www.freepoollessons.com You will find what you are looking for there.

    John, I like your blog.

  4. Dylan,ShepardNo Gravatar - September 16th, 2009

    Hi Grandpaw

  5. Dan BuresNo Gravatar - November 30th, 2009

    First I would like to thank you for a most enjoyable website. I just joined your community and was browsing the various blogrolls. All was proceeding well untill I clicked on Gradys Place. My AVAST antivirus protection warned me that this blogsite was attempting to download a worm onto my computer. I am aware of Mr Gradys prowess as a player and writer and am by no means under the impression this is his fault. Have you had this reported by other users? Perhaps it is a glitch in my antivirus program? Is their anything difference in this blog and others (aside from content of course) that may cause this warning??

  6. John BiddleNo Gravatar - November 30th, 2009

    Dan, I went to Grady’s page to see if there was some new issue, but I had no problem whatsoever. That said, no AntiVirus product gets everything, so maybe yours is more sensitive than mine. Grady’s site isn’t being updated, so given your issue I’m going to remove it from my Blogroll. I’m glad to know that your AV software prevented an infection.

    Thanks for the kind words, I hope you continue to find something useful.

  7. Michael ReddickNo Gravatar - March 10th, 2010

    John, FANTASTIC blog! Very neat and professional. I look forward to reviewing all the content and learning a thing or two. Keep up the great work!

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