Match Ranking

I only posted a few hours ago about how I did in my first IDPA match. Already, I have had many people ask how I did. I could give you a bunch of numbers to read and let you figure it out or...I could give you a picture.

Here are the match scores below. I am the one in the green.



My squad shot the match backwards. We started at the sixth stage and worked to the first stage. The first one I started out strong, but that was just beginners luck. From the fifth to the first, I steadily improved. My final place was third from the bottom. The first column is my overall rank. I shot ESP Unclassified and beat the other person who was unclassified and one who was classified as marksman. I have also discovered that I don't slap my women, but I slap my trigger.

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Prickly Sheep

I am on the path to becoming a sheepdog (background here). Recently, I took a two day shooting class with TDSA. It was only the entry level course, which taught me just the basics. After the two day course, I went to my first IDPA match. Let's just say I didn't come in last. I also recently started martial arts classes (ketsugo jujitsu if it matters).

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Follow the Red Ball

One thing people fail to realize when wishing for total government health care is that all of the people employed in private insurance will lose their job. It will not happen all at once, by any means, but eventually the private insurance that we all know and hate will be put out of business.
If government run health care kicks into high gear, two things will happen at once: the number of people working for private insurance will drop, the number of people working for new the government health care system increase.

In a nation with about 4.7 percent unemployment, the people hired by the government will be the same people fired by the private insurance companies.

And certain people think that the government can do a better job running health care....

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Running with knives

When I run, I like to carry a knife with me. Sometimes I run in some areas that are fairly remote; other times I run in the heart of the city. Whether I am on my on, where nobody can hear me scream, or coming in constant contact with people, I like to carry a bit of self defense. So I started carrying a folder on my jaunts.

After a few rainstorms it got a little rusty. Secondly and more importantly, there were several problems with deploying it. It is lot harder to present to an attacker than a fixed blade. Also, because some of my shorts do not have pockets, it would move between waistband and pockets, depending on the shorts I was wearing. When in the waistband, the knife tended to get flipped upside down. I set out to solve these different problems.

I was looking for a fixed blade knife that would be very resistant water, sweat, and dirt. It does not have to be too large, but I would like to fit the hand well. I had considered neck knives, but if I was on the ground in an odd position, the knife would not be in a consistent spot. I looked around and Gerber has a river shorty which is made for wet environments, like river rafting. I saw one in the store and the point was blunted. Great for making sure you do not pop you inflatable life jacket, not so great for poking holes in people, and let's face it that is what we are looking for here.

After some searching, I found a line of knives by Cold Steel, Nightshade, which look like they might fit the bill. The only catch is that these knives are plastic (ok fiber glass composite). After debating it with myself I ordered two. I ordered the FGX CAT TANTO and FGX BOOT BLADE II. Let us start with the bad, then I will move to the good.

The bad, these knives are NOT work knives, survival knives, or knives to be used for skinning game. While they could possible be put to use in those capacities, they are not designed for that. Their only goal in life is to poke holes in things. The edges on these knives are dull. The tanto is a little large to be concealed easily. The boot blade is a little thin and the point is fairly flexible. Additionally, they do not come with sheathes.

While the tanto is a little two large, the boot blade is just right. It fits the hand great and the rubber handle is grippy when wet and sweaty. While the boot blade is a little thin, it has a spine that runs the length of the blade, which I believe provides enough strength for simple thrusts. Another great advantage is that the knives are both very light, this makes them easily to carry while running. Besides, the blades were only about 10 dollars a piece. I also figured that I could make a sheath from duct tape. What better material to make a sheath for a plastic knife out of, than duct tape.

Here is the finished product.







Overall, I have been happy with my purchase, though I would prefer the boot blade to have a little bit less flexible blade. As I was gathering links, i found out about the river runner. It is a river shorty with a sharp point. I will probably replace the knives with that one, because I honestly have a hard time trusting my life to a plastic knife.

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My current favoite place

There is not much I like better than TV, but I have found something that consistently makes me happy, makes me feel smarter, and better informed. I present TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design). Basically, it brings people in and lets them talk. You see wonderful presentations on a range of subjects. The best talks i have seen recently range from exploration of the earth, moon, and Europa to how we should reorganize our military. Most of the speakers are really good and compelling, others are just pandering there ideas and beliefs...but they do it very well. The videos can be anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes long, just when I am getting tired of something, it is over and I can move one to another neat idea.

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We had a zen breakthough

My girlfriend finally got on paper a few weekends ago. In retrospect it was the Zen talk that did it. I had covered shooting stance, had her dry-fire till her nubbins were wet with blood, covered sight alignment. I didn't come out last weekend expecting her to hit the ten ring every time, but I was hoping that she had not lost much of what we had gained, though our hard work. Out of an entire mag, only two were on paper. I was near desperation. I had to go kung-fu spiritual on her. "Imagine you are a bird...flying...then pull the trigger so fast you don't know what happened." It worked, that whole zen like state, pulling the trigger slowly, while trying to foget about the big bang that is coming got all twelve rounds on paper, and many in the area where she was aiming. She when from no holes, to seeing the brass come out of the gun (I still close my eyes!).

It is hard to get better at shooting, when you can't even tell where the bullet is going. Now that she is on paper, the nature process of self correction can take place. And only a few more hundred thousand rounds before she can do it while running upside down on the ceiling like that matrix show.



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One of my favorite things

Time is money and I have to little of either. Recently, I converted reading all of my lovely blogs over to RSS feeds. Being using Mozilla Thunderbird as my access client of choice. Liked it because i received posts like emails. Saved me from clicking around the net going to sites that were not updated. Then I upgraded....unsure of what transpired to during the upgrade to break the time-saving functionality I so much loved. Quick search on RSS readers shows that Google has one. Need to sign up, no problem - I sign up with my MSN Hotmail account. Now I can access my RSS feeds anywhere in the world. More access means more time to read, which means I can read more. I can even store posts offline and take them with me. Videos play inside of the reader, because it is web based, pictures show up. This is currently my second favorite thing on the internet.

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Heros

No not the show that just ended poorly, the real kind.

Basically, i know one of the guys how help free those 42 Iraqis From Al Qaeda Prison.

His posts on the matter.

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Back

Sorry I have been gone so long. I promise it will be worth it...well maybe not.

Reason for absence

I moved again, so was without the net for several weeks. Then once i got the net, i wanted to catch up on my blog reading before posting. The new apartment is nicer than the old house I was in. It is 3 times further away from work and the same distance to my girl. Funny, my gas usage is the same. There are several reasons for this. First, I was so close to work, that I was going home over lunch. Second, the entire trip to work did not allow the engine to get warmed up. Driving for 15 minutes twice a day at highways speeds uses the same amount of gas as driving 5 minutes four times a day on surface streets.

Also, I was able to swing not paying for rent for the last year so I was able to get my student loan paid off. I am now debt free!! Because of not needing to pay for the loan or a storage locker anymore, i am living on about the same amount of money I was before I moved, which ain't to bad.

What I have been doing with my time

I have been running and working out a lot recently. Yesterday, i ran 4 miles in about 37 minutes. Not stellar time, but pretty good for a guy who sits at a desk all day. I recently ran a mile in 7:45, a 5k in 26 minutes. Not the best times in the world, but I am getting faster and stronger. I run three times a week and try to do a maintenance workout to keep muscle mass, on my days off. The running is varied, sometimes low and slow with a 15 pound pack, sometimes hills, sometimes speed work. The maintenance workout consists of push ups, sit ups, pull ups, and stretching.

Also, I think i have found the thing to keep my shin splits at bay. I have been reading some of my sister's Running World magazines, from 2005. There were these very nice large advertisements for the Nike Free. I decided that if running barefoot is supposed to be good for you, then i should give it a try. I have been some some short sprint type runs on grass at the nearby park. They seem to have lessened the splits. And you also feel a lot faster, when you run barefoot for some reason.

Funny things I have thought up.

Peanut butter comes out the same color it goes in.
Kiss my muscle mass.


Things to save you time

I have learned how to cook oatmeal while I am in the shower and how to cook brown rice while I am running. It is like being in two places at once and it is great.


Shooting

Signed up for a basic tactical two day course later on in the year. Have been looking forward to this for a couple of years now. Should have done it earlier, but better later than never.

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Hmm

My body is a cage, that keeps me from dancing with the one(s) I love, but my mind is the key
-the Arcade Fire

Not going out like James Kim

Well the entire James Kim epeisode inspired me to do a bug out bag overall. This is my BOB (bug out bag), survial kit, and fugitive kit (fukit). It weighs about 35 pounds, most of that is in fluids. It is a little heavier than I want it to be, but it will have to do for now. I am sure I could carry it for quite aways, but still need to be in better shape to ensure survial.

Here is my list. I have divided my gear into two different sections. The car kit is in a big container and the Bug out bag is in a...uh...bag.

Car Kit
1 pair Leather Gloves
1 cheap Ice Scraper
1 Tri Fold Shovel (derusted myself, painted with rustoleum, and oiled)
1 Heated Ice Scrapper
1 pair Jumper Cables
1 Car powered Air Pump
1 half used can of Ice Melt chemical
1 cheap Pressure Gauge
1 Deluxe Tire repair kit from Wal-Mart
1 pair of Stabilicers Anti-Skid Soles
1 Trioxane fire starter bar
1 emergency poncho
1 Cheap mini mag light knock off
2 Bottles of Tire Slime
4 Extra Rags

Stowed In car
1 Large US, Canda, and Mexico Rand MacNally Map
1 Window breaker\Seat beld cutter



Bug Out Bag
1 medium alice pack

Colthing
Winter\Outdoor\Walking
1 thick wool blanket
1 Grey Basic kit stocking cap
1 Large Poncho
1 Pair of Dahlgren Hiking socks
2 Extra hiking boot laces

Food
1 can of tuna fish
1 can of pork and beans
1 can of black beans
1 box of FulFill (Vitiam Enhanced Drink mix)
2 64 oz bottles of Gatorade

Self protection
1 Handgun with full mag
1 half case of extra ammo (about 25 rounds)
1 extra IWB holster
2 extra full mags

Fire
1 Trioxane fire starter bar
Normal Matches in water proof container
2 boxes of water proof matches


Other Gear
1 roll of duck tape
1 Black Diamond Hybrid head lamp (one led bulb and one Xenon buld)
1 swiss army knife
1 Whistle\compass\singnaling mirror\ water proof contianer
1 Pencil
1 Pen
1 whistle
1 first aid kit (anti diarrhea medicine, lots of Moleskin)
1 pair of binoculars
1 fixed blade knife
1 car charger for cell phone
1 can of BREAK-FREE CLP
Extra Batteries
Tin foil
50 inches of Cord

Gear: Cheap\Charity\Extra
1 mini mag light
1 emergency space blanket


Wish list
4 epipens
Personal Bivey
Sleeping bag
Water filter\purifier
Gas mask
Full sized tire and rim

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Almost coolest night ever

Well last night was almost the coolest night ever. My girlfriend and I had been following the "Safe Escape" segments on the local NBC news. Last years series was about child abductions, this years series was about school shootings. I thought that I had heard the exact same thing from Say Uncle (here), well it turns out that the DARE program that was mentioned must have been safety expert Bob Stuber, which you can see in the videos from the first link.

In the news series he taught the difference between cover and concealment, mentioned to use fire extinguishers for cover, and the option of putting soap on the floor in a bathroom so that they bad guy will slip and fall (which for the record i think is a bad idea). What was most interesting was the way he taught those things to the students. The school he was at let him drill a select group of students on a Saturday. He drilled them once, about half were killed by a pretend gunman. The talked about what went wrong made suggestions for corrections, then drilled them again. More survived, but he changed the game on them and the ones that did the exact same thing as they did the first time were killed (again by a pretend gunman.)


The girlfriend and I DVRed the entire thing and watched it before we went to the stage presentation last night. We had a chance to win an X-Box 360 and I wanted to hear what he had to say. Most importantly I wanted my girlfriend (who is a teacher) to hear what he had to say. It was really good, he did not pull liberal bull crap and got right to the point. He even mentioned once that the guns were not the problem, it was the jacked up kids.

About half of his presentation was talking about the violence cycle of school shootings, they tend to come in threes. He also talked about how to recognize a potential school shooter and what to do about it before they potential shooter becomes an actual shooter. The last part of his presentation was mostly a repeat of what he mentioned on the news cast, but he got people from the audience to help. My girlfriend was one of the helpers.

She thinks she was picked because she is hot, i think she was picked because he looks like a 12 year old. Either way - she was on stage and could end up on TV. The best part is that she also got the job of sending a chair through a window!!!! I am proud to say that she would have escaped. She even got to answer some after event questions for the camera. Because of her excellent command of the English language I have no doubt will be used to promote the program in the future. If I could have won the XBox, it would have been the coolest night ever.

If your children get the chance to particpate in the Safe Escape program, i would make sure they go. It is the real thing and could save their lives.


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Funny Picture

This picture was taken off of the DVR with my camera phone. It is of a man accused of child porn. Funnest thing i have seen in awhile. For those of you who can't see the picture, it is "courtesty of myspace.com".


My sources tell me that it was some sort of computer child porn. I wonder exactly how the goverment traced the kiddie porn to this man. I wonder if the goverment is setting up fake kiddie porn sites and tracking down and charging the people with child porn on their computer.


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You found me

I am the father of Anna Nickole Smith's baby.

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minimum wage

Alright so lets go through the consequences of what happens when the minimum wage is raised. Wal-Mart will then have to start paying more to it's employees. Wal-Mart will also raise it's prices to keep the profit margin constant, go to make a buck you know. At that point in time, all the people who work at Wal-Mart will start paying more for all the things they also buy from Wal-Mart, and they will be just as poor after the minimum wage hike as they were before.

Secondly, I will get screwed because my prices at Wal-Mart will also go up, but my wages won't.

A little sunlight will clear the air

I have been thinking and reading about credit because it is so important these days. I have learned a lot and have also learned how little I actually know about it. Such as, how is my credit score figured out, how do i improve my credit score, can I trust these companies that have so much control over my life?

Credit – how to figure it. When i first started reading about credit I though that I would find a few sites that gave me a some formulas. I thought figuring out my credit score would be as easily as figuring out my BMI. Well it is not. You can get a credit history report for free (best site is this one: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp) , but you have to pay money for your credit score. Hear that!! You have to pay money for something that is supposedly already yours. Truth in advertising would make them say, “You have to pay money for their ranking of your credit”. Also, the formula the three different credit companies use to figure out your credit score is apparently classified. The best the FTC can do is this (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre03.htm):

“Information about you and your credit experiences, like your bill-paying history, the number and type of accounts you have, late payments, collection actions, outstanding debt, and the age of your accounts, is collected from your credit application and your credit report. Using a statistical formula, creditors compare this information to the credit performance of consumers with similar profiles. A credit scoring system awards points for each factor. A total number of points — a credit score — helps predict how creditworthy you are, that is, how likely it is that you will repay a loan and make the payments on time. Generally, consumers with good credit risks have higher credit scores.”

You do not have exact details on how your credit score is calculated. All you have are general details on being a good indebted serf, and making all your payments on time like a good boy. Remember to eat your veggies, too. Keep in mind these credit companies sale YOUR information to other companies. Is it possible that they are telling those companies information that they want to hear. For example, a credit card company would want a person who would never default on their payments, but who also carries a balance. Best of both words. You do not pay these companies, anything you really have no say in what they are telling their clients, the banks and profiteers of the world.

How do we solve the problem of these private companies having so much control over your information. For most people, dropping off of the credit map would be impossible. I think all they would have to do is post their formulas to the web. Once we know how they are computing our scores, we can determine for ourselves if they are fair and honest and which companies to trust.

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Open immigration

There are many ideas in the immigration. Close the borders with wall or electronic fence. Open those borders, because we can't close them anyways and it is the nice human thing to do. An idea occurred to me recently. I have never heard the idea before, though I am sure someone has brought it up, but like i said I have never heard the idea before.

Do not get rid of all immigration quotas, just get rid of them for one country at a time. Make a bid deal of it in the news, maybe hire some pr guys from these international corporations to advertise for us. There would be requirements of course. Such as the person, should be trying to learn English, any American flare (office space lingo) would also help speed the process of acceptance. A test for any incurable and communicable diseases would be nice. Though if it was curable or not communicable, i don't see why it should matter. We could pay for the people's moving expenses, this will ensure that we will get the most people possible. Also put an expiration date on the offer, maybe a year or two.

A year after closing the offer we should then turn around and declare war on the country we opened quotas on and KILL every single living human thing in it using our new citizens are soldiers. This will have the effect of weeding out the ones who are weak or really did not like America as much as they though. Obviously the people that were left did not like America enough to move, or they were fence sitters, which are just as bad. We could probably solve a whole heck of a lot of problems if we were able to separate the good American loving civilians, from all the other people. We could clear out those last hand holds of communism, terrorism, drug lords, and circus clowns.

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Giving Conundrum

Being generous is one of the key traits that separates humans from the animals. The animal kingdom is famous for its brutality and its pecking orders. Because of our humanity we are able to give to the lessor among who don't share our own genes or who we will not receive any direct benefit from.

In the past you could be reasonably certain that when you give money to people, they were in real need and that they had done all that they could to secure the three basic necessities. Even further back, you would not give cash because all you had to give was your time or physical belongings. In my society, these assumptions no longer hold true. We are at near full employment. There is a free public education system to take advantage of (and if you are nice you can even stay there a few years longer than normal). There are tons of sources to get free money to go to college – the government, the army, the sweat of your own brow, private loans from financial institution. If you are poor it is most likely because of the choices you have made. Are there exceptions? Yes. Are they the rule? I do not believe so.

Secondly, the progression of the welfare state has created a class of people dependent of the government for food, education, health care, and even reduced cost transportation.

Therein lies the dilemma. Giving makes you human but giving to unworthy causes creates guilt. I have no good answers to this problem, though I can tell you the strategy that I have taken. I try to give to local causes or local causes dealing with children. The children are the future and that means you are the past and therefore less important. I also try to give to organizations that share my value of hard work. One organization I give to, is willing to give you money for work (mowing the yard, picking up trash, etc.). They seldom have takers.

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The State of Security

So as the count of dead soldiers surpasses the number of people killed in the 9/11 attacks, can you really say that Bush has been keeping the country safer? Or just selecting which ones die? 0 senators, 0 fortune 500 members, 0 investment bankers. The Global War on Terrorism has a lot more to do with us enforcing police measures at home rather than overthrowing governments through military measures.

Trite Wanderings

So I may have missed a step by talking about candidates. Who cares who they are? What is important to me? Or you? So here is my list of concerns for the next four years, in no particular order; Iraq-win or leave, Global Warming-dying polar bears and the rest of the environment, Controlling the Mexican Border, which leads into the next one-National Security, and finally balancing the budget and keeping the economy healthy. To be honest, I am don't take a polarizing view of abortion. I support it in extreme cases but not as a form of birth control. I don't advocate legalizing drugs. I support gays having the same rights as everyone else, as long as it doesn't ascend into preferential treatment. I support free trade generally, but I think Friedman makes good points about each country, company, and person being held responsible for making decisions to benefit the whole.

Pick Your Pony (Part 2)

BTW, here is a list of the official and announced presidential candidates care of wikipedia; John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Tom Vilsack, and Joe Biden. You can read more about them and the potentials at wikipedia.

Pick Your Pony

I recently completed a poll at selectsmart, and was matched with these presidential candidates as ones that most supported the issues that I valued.
(100%) 1: Gov. George Pataki (R) Information

(95%) 2: Ex-VP Al Gore (D) Information

(91%) 3: Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D) Information

(89%) 4: Gov. Bill Richardson (D) Information

(87%) 5: Sen. Joseph Biden (D) Information

(86%) 6: Ex-Rep. Newt Gingrich (R) Information

(86%) 7: Sen. Barack Obama (D) Information

(84%) 8: Gov. Mitt Romney (R) Information

(81%) 9: Sen. Evan Bayh (D) Information

(79%) 10: Sen. John Kerry (D) Information

Which is strange because I am not particularly fond of any of them. Kerry is a huge a loser. Biden's daughter is not the most upstanding of individuals (I knew her in college), and I would be reluctant to let her dad lead the country. I am also not a huge Newt Gingrich fan, and admit to being fairly oblivious toward the rest of them.