Month: May 2011

Texas Senate passes Concealed Carry on Campus

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It looks like the Texas Senate has passed concealed carry on campus.

Or maybe not.

I’m not sure about the news report. It says:

The issue was attached to SB 1581 , a bill intended to collect about $30 million in fee adjustments out of education.

Debate between Sen. Jeff Wentworth , D-San Antonio, and the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Judith Zaffirini , D-Laredo, went back and forth.

But, the SB 1581 sponsored by Zaffirini was out of the 79th Legislative session. We’re in the 82nd, and THAT SB 1581 was sponsored by Ogden.

So… I’m trying to verify. It’s still too early and the legislature’s website isn’t fully updated yet.

Updated: I’d say it’s verified. See here. Seen a couple other reports. I think KXAN needs to improve their reporting.

Personally, it’s a tainted win. I don’t like this sort of “passed via amendment” process. We all hate it when crap we don’t like gets through because of this sort of thing (here, tack it onto a bill we know no one will vote against!), and just because this is something we like doesn’t mean it justifies how it got through.

It also looks like our “benevolent leaders” have spoken that they feel they are somehow better and more important than the rest of us lowly citizens, and are trying to exempt themselves from places one is prohibited to carry.

2011-05-09 workout

/ hsoi

Today’s workout went well. Continuing to improve, be it getting stricter and fixing form, or more weight, more reps, whatever. Feeling good.

I have noticed my weight going up. They would call this a “bulking phase”. I’m not opposed to that, it is part of what I’m wanting, but on the same token my clothing isn’t taking kindly to it. Had to wear a suit yesterday and it fit just a bit different. 🙂  It’s all good overall tho.

I did overhear a conversation at the gym. Trainer talking with a female client about goals. He was upping the weight on her, she was a little afraid of it, lots of joking about getting big and huge (tho that won’t happen). Was her goal to have big numbers? No, to have her clothing fit well. It was interesting to me because I too have that same goal, just working in a different way. 🙂

A day at the range – why you need it.

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This past Saturday I was out at KR Training helping with Defensive Pistol Skills 1 and a relatively new course called Personal Tactics Skills.

DPS1 went about as expected, tho I could see Karl continues to make small evolutionary tweaks to the approach and curriculum. I like that he’s never static with material. Sure, the core concepts and focus remain the same, but the approach to teaching them is always refined in an attempt to find the best way to convey and ensure students pick up on the concepts.

Personal Tactics Skills was different. This was my first time helping with that course, and only the second time the course has been taught. The material comes from numerous sources and really isn’t new, just the format of presenting it all. There is no live-fire in this class. It’s all about discussion, role playing, demonstration. It’s no-stress, no real physical exertion, but it’s a LOT of mental work.

And that’s so important.

We all love throwing lead downrange. It’s fun. But is throwing lead going to keep you out of trouble? Well, if you get to the point of having to throw lead, you’re already in deep trouble. What would be better is if you could have avoided the situation in the first place, if you could have kept things from getting to the point of having to throw lead.

That’s what PTS is all about.

Karl wrote a good article titled “Scenario Based Training – Why You Need It“. Read it. Yeah, you might think that because we’re instructors that there’s bias because we’re trying to drum up business for ourselves. Here’s the reality. Do you think Michael Phelps won all those Olympic gold medals by only getting his feet wet in the kiddie pool? No, he had to get into the pool and swim and work in the context he chose to excel in. If you want to be a champion fighter, MMA, boxing, whatever… you have to get in the ring and spar. So if you want to be good at winning a gunfight well… you don’t really want to get into a gunfight because that’d be hard to train. 🙂 But you can simulate it, you can replicate it. You can put yourself into those situations. They allow you to figure out what you need to do, how you can react. It’s so much better to figure these things out now and not when the flag flies. Especially consider that now, you will probably fail, you will probably make mistakes. Better to make them now when it costs you nothing but a learning experience, than when it could cost you something much more expensive.

I mentioned to students in class a good DVD that complements what was taught. It’s called “Practical Unarmed Combat” from SouthNarc of ShivWorks. I have a review of the DVD here.

A good day at the range.

Remember your sunblock, folks.

Got to start breaking in my S&W 640. I like it. While I bought it primarily for the extra weight to help with recoil management, the grip ended up helping a lot more because those small “boot grips” on my 442 leave the top corner of the backstrap exposed and it bites into the web of my hand, whereas the 640’s factory grip covers it just enough to keep it from biting. I do want to try out the boot grips on the 640 for comparison. Next range trip I guess.

Oh, and again… dumping 20-round mags of .308 out of an AR-10 has a high giggle factor. 🙂

Sunday Metal – Venom

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Venom.

Perhaps cheesy. Perhaps not the most talented musicians in the world.

But there’s no denying their place in metal and how metal wouldn’t be what it is if not for them. Pioneers.

One of my favorite songs, from my favorite Venom album: “Buried Alive”

And just because the “Ultimate Revenge” video was such a fucking cool video back in the day, here’s their performance of “Countess Bathory”

 

High giggle factor

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Got to shoot Tom’s AR-10 today.

Boy that thing has a high giggle factor.

Nothing like rapidly emptying a 20-round magazine of .308 at 25 yards to put a smile on your face that you just can’t wipe off. 🙂  Makes me want to pull out my M1A and trick it out.

Back from a day at KR Training. Tired. It’s late. Mother’s Day tomorrow… I’ll have to write things up later.

The Art of Video Games

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I think it’s wonderful when non-traditional art mediums get their due. Just because it’s not an oil painting on a canvas doesn’t mean it’s not art. Or as well, the consideration that some mediums are “childrens” and not to be taken seriously, like cartoons or comic books. To me, that just shows you don’t understand the medium.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum is going to be presenting an exhibition on The Art of Video Games.

The Art of Video Games is one of the first exhibitions to explore the forty-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects and the creative use of new technologies. The exhibition will feature some of the most influential artists and designers during five eras of game technology, from early developers such as David Crane and Warren Robinett to contemporary designers like Kellee Santiago and David Jaffe. It also will explore the many influences on game designers, and the pervasive presence video games have in the broader popular culture, with new relationships to video art, film and television, educational practices, and professional skill training.

Forty years? Geez… that makes me feel old. 😉

What’s cool tho? Look at the winning games. It’s hard to argue with their choices. If I’m in the Washington DC area while this is open, I’d love to go see it. Else, I do hope it tours and comes somewhere near me.

Hypocrisy, thy name is Daley

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As Daley leaves office as Mayor of Chicago, he requests armed bodyguards.

So, guns are good when they protect him, but the peasants aren’t allowed to have guns to protect themselves.

I see.

2011-05-05 workout

/ hsoi

It may be Cinco de Mayo, but there are no 12oz curls in today’s workout. 🙂

Today was MUCH better than Monday’s workout. Mentally I was there. Physically I pushed harder too. My shipment came, so yesterday I started loading creatine. No idea if that actually played into today’s performance. I will probably continue to load for just another 2-3 days and then go on a general maintenance amount of 2-5 grams (not sure yet). It seems the modern wisdom is you don’t need to load any more, nor cycle. Just keep on a daily “maintenance” dose and always take it every day.

Anyways, the workout went well. Felt good. But I certainly am feeling like I’m not getting enough per bodypart any more. I do want to switch to a split and have more work per part. However, I’m going to stick with this at least for 2 more weeks. It’s generally recommended to stay with a routine at least 8 weeks to see how it does. I may switch off at 6, but I may not… but won’t consider it before then. It’ll play into the discipline factor, and THAT mental game is important.

As for supplements.

  • Multivitamin. Right now just finishing out the jug of the “basic” multi from Costco. It’s good enough for now, better than nothing, and I’m not going to waste it.
  • Fish oil. I forget what the capsule amount is, but one of those a day.
  • Optimum Nutrition’s 100% whey gold standard. I like it because it’s one of the best whey’s out there, and well… it’s got digestive enzymes, which really help on the uh… “intolerance” factor. 🙂  I try to have at least one shake a day, maybe two, depending how my overall protein intake is for that day. Certainly have one after a workout.
  • Optimum Nutrition’s Creatine powder. Pure creatine, (CreaPure). Doing a small load right now just to get me going, but I’ll eventually just revert to a standard 2-5g dose per day every day. Take it in the morning on non-workout days (whenever my shake is), take it after workout on workout days (in the post-workout shake).
  • A lot of water. I’ve got a 16oz glass. I wake up, drink one of those. As soon as I have to pee, I’ll drink another full glass. Repeat this throughout the day. Keeps me rather well hydrated. I’ll have at least a gallon of water a day.

And that’s it. Nothing special, really. There’s all sorts of fancy shit on the market, but I don’t need to worry about that until a lot later. The male ego can’t help but be curious if it’s truly of any use and could get faster gains, but later. Right now my body should make great gains just because I’m new and fresh.

The bigger thing is diet, and that’s hard for me. The main thing? I’m not in control of the menu and the kitchen. Wife’s domain, and I don’t have time nor ability to short-order cook everything. Thankfully, Wife’s a fantastic cook, making not just great tasting stuff but also very conscious about what we’re putting into our bodies. Just that the needs of me, Wife, and 3 Kiddos doesn’t always align with my needs, thus some flux in the supplementation. For instance, last night Wife made this tomato pie (think a savory pie, like a quiche). Tasted fantastic, but not much for protein, so I threw back a scoop of whey in 8oz of water to help make up for it. But I can still do my best to watch my portions and exactly what I choose to put in my mouth.

Anyways, onwards. Enjoying the work. Enjoying the progress.

Perspective

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A man named Derek Miller makes his last post — truly, his last post (if that page doesn’t load, try here).

Derek died just a couple of days ago of cancer. I don’t know him at all, just found his last blog page via Fark. He wrote the page while he was alive, with instructions for it to be posted after he died.

Derek writes about perspective. Most of us live our lives thinking we will never die, but when you have a terminal disease and know you’re dying and your time is limited, I can only assume it consumes your every thought to some extent or other. Obviously Derek accepted his mortality and used it to give some good advice for living:

While I was still alive writing this, I was sad to know I’ll miss these things—not because I won’t be able to witness them, but because Air, Marina, and Lauren won’t have me there to support their efforts.

It turns out that no one can imagine what’s really coming in our lives. We can plan, and do what we enjoy, but we can’t expect our plans to work out. Some of them might, while most probably won’t. Inventions and ideas will appear, and events will occur, that we could never foresee. That’s neither bad nor good, but it is real.

I think and hope that’s what my daughters can take from my disease and death. And that my wonderful, amazing wife Airdrie can see too. Not that they could die any day, but that they should pursue what they enjoy, and what stimulates their minds, as much as possible—so they can be ready for opportunities, as well as not disappointed when things go sideways, as they inevitably do.

As I have gone through life, I find the main reason people want to live, whether they realize it or not, is because there’s so much they don’t want to miss out on. The reality is, we all miss out on a lot of things every day. Why do we focus so much on what we don’t have, instead of focusing on what we do have? We spend all our time trying to not miss out on things, and in doing so all we’ve done is focus on trying to not miss out on things, which means we probably missed out on those things as well as missed out on a lot of other things too.

It reminds me of an Eagles song, “Learn to Be Still”

Now the flowers in your garden, they don’t smell so sweet.
Maybe you’ve forgotten the heaven lying at your feet.

We can’t stop death. We can’t avoid death. But what we do have control over is how we live. Live your life well.