I'd rather not know if he's "magically delicious".

Before you run screaming from yet another bowling post, keep in mind that it could be yet another tree falling down post.

I'm on my way to determining the secret of bowling success -- at least for me. Putting my feet in just the right spot for my stance is a contributing factor. The way I move is a contributing factor. However, I identified another possible variable last night.

Our regular substitute has a superstition that he must cover the scorekeeping monitor whenever he bowls, or else he won't bowl well. Taking a cue from him, I stopped looking at my score during the game. Now I can't promise that's what gave me my all time highs a couple weeks ago, but it does let me relax and not dwell on what past frames could have gone better. That week, though, he tried bowling without covering the monitor, and he did poorly (almost entirely psychological, I'm sure). Last night, I told him I'll have to determine if not looking at my score helps me at all, or if he's just my lucky charm. If there's ever a week he doesn't show up, that's the week to test that particular hypothesis.

In the meantime, I'll keep starting at the same spot on the boards. It let me bowl a 136, 202, 164 last night, for my first legitimate 500+ series. (I don't necessarily count the one from two weeks ago; I consider that entire night a fluke.) I can't remember the character's name from the particular episode of Frasier (he was on just one episode), but he said, "You've got to lick it and stick it."