Sunday Metal – Obituary
Month: April 2013
A Grave Duty
Legitimate defense can not only be a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another’s life, the common good of the family or of the state. Unfortunately it happens that the need to render the aggressor incapable of causing harm sometimes involves taking his life. In this case, the fatal outcome is attributable to the aggressor whose action brought it about.
A fuller examination from Mr. Michael T. Barry. (h/t Wife) Please click through and read.
So despite what some “Catholics” might feel and say about gun control, they do not speak for The Church and one should not mistake their opinion for dogma.
2013-03-19 training log
Wasn’t feeling it today… but in a good way.
Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 19, week 1
- Work Set – Deadlift (working max: 385#)
- 1x5x155 (warmup)
- 1x5x195
- 1x3x235
- 1x5x255 (work)
- 1x5x290
- 1x6x330
- Assistance – Deadlifts (speed)
- 5 x 5 x 225
- Assistance – Side Bends
- 3 x 25 x 20/30/40
I wasn’t feeling it today, but in a different way. I was very serene, very peaceful. Not quite the mental state for lifting. 🙂 But it was alright. I told myself to just hit the prescribed reps (well, 1 more) and be done with it. That was fine. I didn’t kill myself, got the reps, felt alright.
5×5 on the assistance was good, but I wonder if I should maybe drop down to 195 (i.e. 50%) and go up to 8 reps. I’m more concerned here with strict form and explosive speed. Want more reps, but not too many more. *shrug*
Side bends… first time doing them, so I started light, which was too light. I’ll start at a 40# dumbbell next time and progress up from there.
So today wasn’t where it should have been, but that it wasn’t was alright. I think my body and mind are thankful.
Who needs more than 10 rounds?
Apparently Timothy Gramins:
At long last the would-be cop killer crumpled to the pavement.
The whole shootout had lasted 56 seconds, Gramins said…. Gramins had discharged 33 rounds. Four remained in his magazine.
Full story. (h/t John Robideau)
It doesn’t matter that Timothy Gramins is a police officer and was on duty. What matter is he was a man being brutally attacked, and he chose to fight, he chose to live.
And he needed a lot more than 10 rounds to preserve his life.
Who would need more than 10 rounds, indeed.
Some might say that he’s police, and they always get exemptions from the law. It’s precisely because they know there’s no good reason to restrict capacity, because one may well need it, as Sgt. Gramins did. Is there some reason we plebeians should be treated differently? Of Tom Givens‘ 60 students still alive today because they were carrying their gun, the range of shots fired ranged up to 11 shots. That’s more than 10; that’s more than 7. Was the life of this one person not worth it? because I thought “if it saves just one life, then it’s worth it”.
Who would need more than 10 rounds, indeed.
(Aside: another lesson to learn? you’re not dead until you’re dead. Keep fighting. Both Sgt. Gramins and his attacker were brutally wounded, but both kept fighting, both kept working to survive and live. You’ll be dead when you’re dead; meantime, keep fighting.)
One more medical post
So yesterday I post that you should learn some medical skills.
Then I post about KR Training and Lone Star Medics having an article in a national magazine.
It just keeps coming. Some of this is coincidental, some is intentional, relative to the timing of the Boston Marathon bombing and the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion. But if casting them in that light helps and motivates people to learn, then there’s some light from this darkness.
And so Greg Ellifritz posts some quick stuff about field medicine for terrorist attacks. It reminds me strongly about the lessons Caleb Causey (Lone Star Medics) taught me in the Medicine-X EDC weekend and Dynamic First Aid class.
Now I know Greg’s article is presented in the context of terrorism, but really, it’s useful in the face of anything more serious than a boo-boo or bee sting. Serious car wreck? you are likely to encounter a car accident than a gunshot wound or a bombing. Bleeding is bleeding whatever caused it. Stopping bleeding is important, regardless of what caused it.
Greg’s writing really mirrors what Caleb teaches, and what strikes me is how counter it is to any first aid training you may have had in the past.
Point #1: get the patient to safety.
In my youth I was always told to not move the patient. They might make exceptions for if there was severe risk, but it was always presented in a manner to really discourage moving. Thinking about it tonight, I realize that so many of those contexts were never serious. In fact, so much first aid training was never put in any sort of context at all. It was just “here’s a broken bone, how do you stabilize it?”. Maybe they might talk about being on a hike or some such, but really, everything was in a vacuum. Not necessarily a bad thing, but that’s where Med-X EDC really shined because it put you into real situations. It put you into context. It wasn’t done in a vacuum, and it made you realize what you need to do and you had to do it. I mean, Caleb saying “CONTACT FRONT!” over and over to me because I failed to “get off the X” and get the patient to safety as my first and most important task… those 2 words keep ringing in my head. And I’m glad for that, because I bet you dollars to donuts that if I’m in such a situation for real, I’m going to hear Caleb’s voice and MOVE. Learning took place.
Point #2, which really goes with Point #3 – stopping bleeding, and using a tourniquet. Yeah, I carry an IFAK (thank you, Caleb) almost everywhere. I tried to come up with a solution for carrying a SOF®TT-Wide on my belt with the rest of my EDC but haven’t found a workable solution yet (Caleb’s solution of an ankle wrap is genius, but I wear shorts a lot so it doesn’t really work for me). Again, it goes against so much prior thinking. I also appreciate the approach Caleb said about sterility. Everyone freaks about sterility, but Caleb is right: stopping bleeding now, treat infection later. I mean, infection doesn’t matter if the person bleeds to death; infection is treatable… later. Stop the bleeding first and foremost. Tourniquet is one of the best ways to do it, and while you need some training and instruction on how to use and apply them, it’s not hard.
Give Greg’s article a read. It’s short, and it may do more towards saving lives than any concealed carry gun, AR-15, or political hand-wringing ever will.
KR Training and Lone Star Medics in the news
Remember the Lone Star Medics Med-X EDC class I took back in September 2012?
Karl Rehn of KR Training wrote an article on the class, which was printed in the April 2013 issue of Concealed Carry magazine. (link to PDF, article starts on page 80).
Coincidental timing to my prior post about getting medical training. But maybe the extra exposure here might prompt you to get some training.
Admitting fault
We take a break from the typical topics of guns and weight lifting to talk about something else.
I’m not perfect.
I’m happy to admit it.
I don’t expect you to be perfect either.
And, I’ve worked to make that clear to my children.
I read this article and thought to share it. (h/t Cass and El).
I’m talking about kids who are well adjusted, high functioning, easy to talk to and seem to have nothing to prove.
Secretly (until now), I’ve noticed a common theme amongst well-adjusted kids. The theme seems to be this: Great kids come from families in which parents are real about their shortcomings. They come from families who live and believe in grace.
I’ve also noticed the opposite. Many of my friends who’ve confessed to me they’ve had problems in life come from families in which parents (and mostly the Dad, honestly) have a hard time admitting they’re wrong. Often they come from religious families in which the parents felt they had to play a role model of perfection.
I’m sure I’m not the best Dad in the world. My kids think to seem I’m OK, but I know my shortcomings. I know what I’m failing at, and I admit it to my kids. They forgive me, and we work on it together. I think about the things my own Dad did and didn’t do, and how I swore I’d be different. In fact, I was thinking about this very thing the other day, and then that Harry Chapin song came into my head. It was both me as the son, growing up to be just like the Dad I swore I wouldn’t be like, and me as the Dad both not wanting my sons to be like me but fearing they might. And if that’s going to be the case, what do I need to change about myself so that if in fact they will be like me, hopefully they’ll not have my same failings.
And so, sometimes that requires admitting my mistakes, my failings, my weaknesses to my kids.
Sorry to admit this Mom & Dad, but I don’t really recall them ever being so frank with me. Admitting when they made a mistake. Apologizing when they were wrong. I do remember having feelings of resentment because when it was quite evident they were in the wrong, they didn’t admit it, they didn’t own and fess up to it, they didn’t apologize for it. No, it’s not time for a pity party for me, but I guess that is something I swore I’d do differently, and have succeeded at.
I don’t like bullshit, I’m not one for bullshit, I won’t bullshit other people, and I don’t like people who bullshit me. That holds especially true for my kids. If I made a mistake and didn’t own it, that’d be bullshit; thus, I own it.
Trust is so important with kids. When they’re young you can rule them with an iron fist. But as they get older, they can and will make their own decisions. I know that eventually trust is the only thing we’ll have, and I have to trust they will obey and they have to trust that my judgment and guidance is right and best. And in part of that, I know that showing I’m not perfect and that yes sometimes I will make a mistake, that sometimes I might steer them wrong… well, that’s helpful for them to know. Because they can know I’m working truly in their best interest, and that I will make best effort for them. It allows them to have stronger faith in me. I too must also accept they will make mistakes, more likely than not since they are kids and learning. And that I must allow them to make mistakes, to learn from them, and to grow and move on.
I’ve also found telling stories of my own mistakes, my own failures, it’s helped the kids. It’s helped them realize that mistakes aren’t the end of the world. This was especially true for Oldest, who never took failure very well and sometimes it would keep him from wanting to ever try because he didn’t want to risk failing. To see successful and happy Dad, and that he made it here despite that… that Dad learned, what Dad learned, and how Dad overcame and did better? Who else should be that good role model in life, but Dad, right?
No, I’m not perfect.
But I try to be better every day.
And sharing my failings with my kids, hopefully helps make them better every day too.
If you can only learn one thing this year…
…learn medical skills.
Start with basic first aid stuff — boo-boos, bee stings, shock, hypothermia, dehydration, burns, etc.. Think “Boy Scout First Aid Merit Badge” sorts of stuff.
CPR.
And try some more serious stuff too, like how to work with tourniquets, pressure dressings, etc..
Make yourself a kit, or buy a kit. Keep something in the car. Keep something in your purse. In your briefcase or daily bag. Whatever. If you need it, you’ll need it pretty quick, so have it handy and be redundant.
Just consider events of the past week. Not just the explosion in West, Texas. Not just the bombing in Boston. But how many car wrecks did you pass during the course of your week? Medical skills are useful.
Shout out to my bud, Caleb Causey @ Lone Star Medics. If you can, try one of his courses. You’ll learn a lot.
2013-04-17 training log
Not sure what to make of today.
Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 19, week 1
- Work Set – Bench Press (working max: 240#)
- 2x5x45 (warmup)
- 1x5x95
- 1x5x120
- 1x3x145
- 1x5x160 (work)
- 1x5x180
- 1x7x205
- Assistance – Bench Press
- 5 x 10/10/8/10/18 x 145/145/135/115/95
- Assistance – DB Rows
- 4 x 15 x 50
- And then 50 JM presses with a 45# bar, and 50 face pulls with 30#
I’m not sure what to make of today. The 6th and 7th reps I had to crank out. When I look at my logs, on paper it doesn’t seem like I’m progressing. I think I am, because last time I did 205 itself was cycle 16 (mark 2) on my 3-week and got 5 reps. So yeah, stronger, but comparing numbers I’ve done lately by that 1RM calculation method and it all seems stagnant. We’ll see how it pans out, I guess.
Also, I was really good with form… until the last set. Tight. Feet planted, and I remembered a squat cue about lifting your toes off the ground and pointing them up, which forces weight back onto your heels, which is what I want for the push here. When I put my belt on, I was having deep breaths, really pressing into the belt. Really good… until that last work set, and everything went to jelly, especially my legs. WTF?? I think it may be mental. I get the weight in my hands, and a seed of doubt or “this is heavy” or something else fucks with my head, sows a negative seed, and blamo. I gotta work on that.
And so, it really drained me for my assistance work. I didn’t care so much about the weight as I did the reps, so I just dropped set the whole way down. Geez.
Opted to switch to DB Rows. Yeah, my lower back doesn’t feel as beat up, and I feel it more in my upper back. Yeah, I’m going to keep on this “heavy, but higher reps” thing for a while. I had no idea what today would be, so I just picked up a 50# and did 15 to see how it would go sets across. 4 sets with 60 seconds rest in between worked me decently enough for today.
Well… we’ll see how it goes.
An observation
I saw somewhere else someone making a worthwhile observation.
Bomb goes off killing and injuring many people, we blame the bomber.
Gun goes off killing and injuring many people, we blame guns.
We haven’t called for a ban on pressure cookers, or background checks, or licensing, or registration, or whatever… because we know that’s silly because the pressure cooker isn’t to blame. We haven’t called Martha Stewart evil or demonized the NRA (you know, the National Restaurant Association).
Why is this horrible event about the person that committed the act, and particular other horrible events about the inanimate object that the person used to commit the act?
I’m not trying to politicize the events, I really don’t want to do that. But it’s a fair observation that bears repeating.
Stuff From Hsoi 