Month: June 2011

Let’s Get Real

/ hsoi

Jeff Paulick, singer and bassist for Lazarus A.D. is writing a blog/column.

The first entry is up, and I think he makes a good point. See, he’s a 23 year old kid so he’s part of that particular generation. He’s also directly involved in the music industry as an artist trying to make it. He’s got a good band and they have great potential. So he’s got a good perspective on the state of the music industry… one that seems to be aware of the future, while he struggles against an industry that doesn’t get it.

So tell me about air guns…

/ hsoi / 22 Comments

I’m sure I have some readers that know a thing or two about air guns, e.g. Gamo Whisper. Those sorts of things.

I’m considering buying one, but while I stood there at Cabela’s I realized I need a lot more research on the topic.

.177 vs .22?

Are they really that loud, and is something like Gamo’s Whisper technology really that good at dampening the sound?

I saw a Gamo model that had a fixed barrel, instead of their lock open model. It looks like the fixed barrel contributes to accuracy but… just how much? I’m not looking for high-end-competition one-ragged-hole competition…. minute of dead varmint is good enough. But then, that could also affect effective range. Just wondering if it’s worth it because it’s more accurate but seems to have less FPS, and you can get ones with far greater FPS… what’s the trade off? is it worth it?

A lot of the ones came with a scope. How necessary is that? One had a 3-9×40 on it and that seemed like a lot; do these have enough range to matter? Others had fixed 4x and those seemed potentially reasonable enough, if you needed magnification at all. Heck, they all had irons (well, typically fiber-optic types) and that seemed like it might be good enough.

Anyways… if you have experience with them, products to recommend, to avoid, websites with info, or whatever… I’d love to hear it. Please share in the comments. Thanx. 🙂

Attacked in his own home – lessons to learn

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

A man was attacked in his own home by two men armed with knives: (h/t to LowTechCombat’s FB page)

 

A man was attacked with a knife in his own home, police said. […] The 52-year-old found two strangers in his hallway. When he confronted them, one of them struck him with a knife. Police said they think it is a case of mistaken identity. The two men then left the house and the injured man alerted emergency services. […] Detective Constable Nick Gribben, at Pollok CID, said: “This would appear to be a totally unprovoked attack on an innocent man.

 

 

Scary eh?

I found a BBC report that seems to be the same, with the only added detail that the man was home when he heard a noise and went to investigate.

To me, the lesson is preparedness.

My first thought was, the man was out of his home, the thugs broke in, and when the man returned home he was attacked. Many people are all into the notion of home defense, but it’s curious why that doesn’t extend into personal defense. The fact is, most attacks occur outside the home, so all your “home defense shotgun” stuff doesn’t do you much good in the parking lot of the shopping mall. Then, if the attacker is already in your home, what good does the shotgun do you if you can’t get to it when you need it?

But since the man was home, he went to investigate and wasn’t prepared for what he found. Granted, most of us don’t expect to find someone else in our home like this, but that’s what being prepared is about.

A solution in both cases? Like Tom Givens says, “carry your damn gun, people!” If it’s on you, it’s there when you need it. Because the reality is, you don’t get an invitation with an R.S.V.P. weeks in advance to when you’ll be attacked. It will be sudden, unexpected, and a surprise.

It’s a shame tho. This gentleman was in the UK…. a country that now puts the rights of criminals above those of the good citizenry, that empowers thieves and robbers and cripples the law-abiding.

 

Too much marketing

/ hsoi

I mentioned I’m changing my fitness goals. At first I thought doing the StrongLifts5x5 would be good, but then I changed my mind and I’m going with Rippetoe’s Starting Strength. I mentioned “less hype-y bullshit” and given what came in my inbox I want to expand upon that notion.

In order to get the SL5x5 program you have to give the guy your email address. That’s the first sign of marketing. But, I bite and give it to him. I then get an email with a link to the “Secret 5×5 report”. When I download the report it’s a 211 page PDF. And boy, when you get it, it’s a lot of marketing chaff and not a lot of wheat. Heck, starting on page 66 and going to page 207 is nothing but testimonials. Page 2 to 33 is a lot more marketing hype, which isn’t all crap, but just read how it’s put together and he’s being a total pitch-man as to why this approach — and his approach — are awesome and the be-all-end-all. Do the math there on page count and you can see there’s little wheat amongst lots of marketing chaff.

Each day I’ve been getting an email, and it’s always trying to be a tidbit of information, but then a P.S. with some sort of tease about what’s yet to come. I did wonder where his promised tracker spreadsheet was, and the emails finally started to say “it’s coming”. And so this morning I get the “here’s the spreadsheet” email (which of course has a P.S. about more information still to come, just stay tuned!)

And what happens? You go here and it’s a big survey. Yeah, you can’t get something for nothing… you want his spreadsheet, you need to answer his questions.

Now, don’t get me wrong. The StrongLifts.com website is a decent website with some good information. There are lots of articles, there’s even a forum… but why is the forum closed to new members? Oh I see, because if you want to join you have to give him your email address. Plus, it makes it seem more exclusive and somehow better. Marketing crap. I see nothing wrong with how someone wants to run their business. He’s doing nothing wrong, I just find what he’s doing annoying. This style of marketing bugs me because well… it doesn’t come across as genuine, just as some guy trying to pitch and sell and make money. I see nothing wrong with making money, but there’s an air of “slime” in this approach that just doesn’t sit with me. Front Sight does this as well, and it bugged me there too. USCCA did it too, but I hear they’ve gotten better. Heck, even some of the marketing stuff done by my day job company bugs me. It doesn’t mean the product vended isn’t good, but the way it’s gone about doesn’t sit well with me. It comes across like their priorities in life are backwards, but they’re just backwards from mine.

But that’s me. Here I am writing on my blog about lots of topics, and I’m more than willing to give a lot of good information away for free. Why? I’m more a teacher than a marketer. I’m more out to educate people than to get rich. I don’t feel a need to charge people or that I always have to get something that benefits me before I’ll give you something that benefits you. Some people would probably call me stupid for doing that, but I know what I’ve reaped based upon what I’ve sown and the yield is high.