I am finishing out a basement space that with one room to be used as a game room. We will have a pool table and also a ping pong top that is used on top of the pool table. As we were out buying the pool table and looking at pool table lights it occurred to me that a traditional pool table light will NOT work when using the ping pong table top, it would be far too low and interfere with almost every shot. My question is, what alternatives do I have for lighting the pool table?? Recessed (can) lighting is a thought but I worry that it will cast shadows on the playing area. Track lighting is another option but comes with the same concerns. Seems recessed is the best option, can anyone suggest a way to place cans over the table to minimize any issues? Thanks

Apparently a handful of idiots in the Seattle area think it's funny to try to bring down planes with them: SEATTLE (AP) - Officials say a laser was pointed at a jetliner bound for SeaTac Airport Sunday night. Corporate media officer Charla Skaggs says the incident occurred around 9 p.m. but the plane landed a short while later without incident. She says the Port of Seattle is investigating. No further information was released, including the airline involved or what area the laser seemed to be coming from. Since last year, there have been a handful of other laser pointing incidents at the airport. Stay with KHQ Local News for more information on this developing story.

I've been reading this thread since it was posted with trepidation, waiting for the "good ole days" comments and general bashing of current parenting methods; guess I didn't have to wait too long. My early childhood, we played outside all the time, including with the neighborhood kids, or at least I did as much as I was able too. All the kids in our 2-3 block radius were boys my brothers age or older. While I wanted to play, I was seen as the annoying kid sister so I was frequently left playing by myself. When I was 9 we moved into the "country", an established neighborhood 30 minutes outside of town. Everyone lived on a few acres and there were only 2 other "kids" in the entire neighborhood, 2 teenage boys who would hang out with my brother on occasion, but I was still mostly left in the lurch. We were allowed to ride our bikes to the general store a few miles away or go hiking in the canyon, but only together, we didn't really have other playmates. Now, as a mom of 4 kids living in the same neighborhood, I eschew "play dates" but encourage my kids to be active and outdoors. The neighborhood has 2 other families that have children close in age to ours but both parents work and the kids are in daycare/babysitters. My kids playmates are, by and large, each other. Chisue brings up a good point about stay at home moms and sheilajoice added important points as well. Women's lib movement made it possible for ANY woman to accomplish ANYTHING she wanted and I am eternally grateful for that BUT....with it came a flooding of the market with both men AND women capable of doing the jobs. Supply of qualified workers increased and demand didn't follow suit which basically means you've got 200 people qualified to fill these 100 positions. Basic rules of supply and demand means that more workers than jobs drives wages down which means everyone has to work twice as hard. Most families these days don't have much of a choice. Both parents must work to meet ends meet. If the mom stops working to be a SAHM she loses her career advancement. If she (or he) becomes a stay at home parent and the marriage dissolves, they can't just jump back into their career. It isn't about material goods, its about being able to support yourself. I'm taking a "huge risk" in my friends eyes by relying on my husband and believing our marriage will continue to work because, "what if?". How will you support yourselves and the kids?!? Also, my parents, your parents and I suspect most of you when you were parenting young children, did not have to deal with social media, the internet, etc. Very real issues that almost all parents must deal with these days. I'm the "curse" on our elementary school because, as far as I'm aware, I'm the only parent who has said "no, I do not authorize my child or their works to be displayed on the internet." There are different challenges presented to today's parents, and we are doing the best we can in an ever changing world. Here in 20 or 30 years we will get to listen to our kids complain and/or we ourselves will opine for the "good ole days" the same way every other generation has but the bottom line is, we are just like you. Doing the best we can with what we have.

Dimmers will definitely mitigate the risk of overlighting, but I don't know if they will get you to the effect in your inspiration pic. Are the 6" recessed fixtures the only lighting he's recommending? It is hard to tell from your inspiration pic, but it looks like there is uplighting on top of the stone fireplace surround, and possibly downlighting washing down the stone as well. If so, it was nicely done as there aren't any real "hot spots" as can sometimes happen. The time of day might also be contributing to the effect in the pic. You can see high on the left wall a patch of sunlight through the high windows, and the trees in the distance are lit from the side--I think the pic was taken late in the day, which is making the room especially photogenic.