Author: hsoi

Recognition for good customer service

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

I want to make a public statement about some good customer service I recently received.

I’ve studied with SouthNarc and really admire his approach, his knowledge, and his products. For the past some years I’ve wanted to pick up one of his Clinch Picks, but they were no longer being made.

Well, he’s been working on getting some production versions made, and they’ve finally become available through ccdefense.com. In fact, it’s been great that a lot of SouthNarc’s stuff is finally available again via ccdefense: be it the clinch pick, the clinch pick trainer, top popper, or his DVD’s. All good stuff.

So I previously ordered stuff from ccdefense and received it no problem. Then some weeks ago I decided to order some more stuff. Well, the stuff didn’t show up in a timely manner. When I contacted Will @ ccdefense, he looked into matters. We’re not sure what happened as the USPS said it was delivered, but I sure didn’t receive it. But Will didn’t leave things be. He said he would ask the Shivworks guys if he could just send me another order. Yesterday I received my order, plus one of Shivworks’ DVDs (I already had the DVD, but it was a nice gesture). I don’t know what happened to the first order, but if I ever receive it (I’ve had that happen — 2nd order gets sent out, and then a month later the original shows up), I will send it back. Updated: Will let me know he did get the package back from the Post Office; apparently the package got caught in a sorting machine and it destroyed the box. So that explains that.

I wanted to make this positive customer service experience known. It’s my understanding Will does this on the side, so he’s got other things in his life to deal with — this is not his primary focus in a day. But he went out of his way to remedy a problem that was probably my fault (due to how I sent payment through PayPal). There was no hassle, no problem, just a desire to make things right. Plus I got a little extra, which was totally unnecessary but very cool.

Will (and perhaps Craig too), thank you very much for your good customer service.

2013-11-22 training log

/ hsoi

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 25, week 3

  • Work Set – Press (working max: 165#)
    • 45 x 5
    • 45 x 5
    • 65 x 5
    • 85 x 5
    • 100 x 3
    • 125 x 5
    • 140 x 3
    • 160 x 2
  • Close-grip pulldowns (neutral grip, superset with warm-up pressing sets)
    • 70 x 16 x 5
  • Press
    • 100 x 10
    • 100 x 10
    • 100 x 8
    • 100 x 7
    • 100 x 6
  • Wide, pronated grip pulldowns (superset with additional pressing sets)
    • 100 x 12 x 5
  • Cable EZ-Bar pressdowns (pin the elbows to the side)
    • 40 x 12 x 3
  • Rotating DB curls (superset with pressdowns)
    • 25 x 10 x 3
  • Foam Rolling

Today was OK. Not awesome, not crappy, just OK. I have pressed 165×1 before, so I told myself you’re doing 160 for 2 today. No sweat. 3 didn’t quite happen, but I know I wasn’t fully committed to the lift. Like I said, today was OK.

I hoofed it on assistance work. 1 minute of rest between sets, supersetting everything. I think between that and eating like it’s going out of style, it’s building some muscle. My challenge will be to keep it when I change my diet up.

Not much else to say.

Start part 2 of the “6 week cycle” on Monday. Same basic structure. I don’t know what numbers will be, but as long as at the end I creep closer to that 1000# total, I’m happy.

Your business, or your rights?

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

The other day when I attended my Texas Concealed Handgun Instructor certification renewal class, many people arrived quite early (including myself). While in line waiting for the doors to open, I listened to a lot of the conversations happening around me.

One of the big topics was the recent changes to the CHL-related laws: the change in number of hours (4-6 hours for the classroom), and the removal of classroom/proficiency for renewals. There were many comments and much discussion going on about the various aspects and impacts this had, but one line of discussion stood out to me.

There was talk about loss of business. This makes sense. If people had to come to you for renewals but now that need is eliminated, that’s a fair portion of your business killed off. And now if people don’t need to be in your classroom for as much time, you just can’t charge as much money for those classes.

I cannot deny this affects and hurts business, and there were voices expressing how upset they were the law changed in a manner that damaged their business. I cannot fault them for being upset about this.

But what do you want?

If there was open carry and Constitutional Carry in Texas, you wouldn’t have any business at all! Are you saying it’s more important to preserve your business model than your fundamental rights?

I’m not necessarily advocating one way or the other, but just step back from your emotions for a moment and consider your stance.

Meantime, I see many ways in which the change in the law actually opens doors for creative business-folk to offer more classes, more instruction, and work in ways that can improve the class, capability, and confidence of Texas CHL holders. Of course, it might mean you have to get out and expand your business, your marketing efforts, your own skills and résumé so you can offer these things and still grow your business. But isn’t that what America is supposed to be about? You getting off your duff and building the future you want, instead of having the government structure and hand you something?

 

2013-11-20 training log

/ hsoi

Meh.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 25, week 3

  • Work Set – Deadlift (working max: 400#)
    • 160 x 5
    • 205 x 5
    • 245 x 3
    • 305 x 5
    • 345 x 3
    • 385 x 3
    • 305 x 5
    • 305 x 5
    • 305 x 5
  • Foam Rolling

I don’t know exactly what to blame, but I fell asleep much earlier than usual. Slept kinda crappy. When the alarm went off I didn’t want to get out of bed — I could have slept a lot more. In fact, I entertained the thought of skipping the gym and crawling back into bed. I obviously didn’t, but I was giving it honest consideration. I don’t feel sleepy, but I do feel tired. I’m not sure if I just had a bad night, or if maybe there’s illness creeping in. It’s starting to be that season, and there are people around the office (and office building) coughing, sniffing, not washing their hands, and so on so…. maybe my body is starting to fight something. I don’t feel bad, just kinda tired and not motivated.

I almost jack-shitted it, but couldn’t let myself do that. So I picked another “Beyond 5/3/1” technique of first-set-last-set and after I worked up (385×3, which went pretty well — sure it wasn’t textbook pretty, but I can tell all this quad work and deadlift technique work is paying off because I’m not just using my back any more), I dropped down to the “first set” weight and did 3 sets of 5 with about a minute rest in between. That was good.

Called it. Rolled. Left.

If my body needs more rest, I don’t need to destroy it more.

The importance of managing time in the classroom

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

The other day I spent a very long day sitting in the Texas Concealed Handgun Instructor certification renewal class. It was a very long day (class officially started at 8:00 AM and I didn’t leave until 7:00 PM). There were a few things that stood out to me about the class, but one thing in particular.

Classroom time management.

When you have a particular set of material that you must cover, you must be aware of how you present that material in a manner that is not only effective but also sensitive to time constraints.

There are a few big time killers.

First, anecdotes. There’s no question anecdotes aid learning. It gives real-world perspective to what is being taught, and the impact of the story can  aid in retention of the material. But anecdotes must be used sparingly. If every bullet-point on the slide is accompanied by a story, everything will drag out. Furthermore, a heavy amount of stories lessens the impact of those stories, both from overload and the restlessness of the audience with “Oh boy, another war story”. Sometimes as well, it expends further time because now others want to chime in with their stories. And the time-wasting grows.

What can make this worse is when you have multiple instructors (e.g. co-teaching) and everyone feels a need to chime in. Yes, we all like to make our pet points, yes we all have things to say. But all instructors must be mindful of keeping on time and on track, and sometimes that means shutting up. This isn’t to say the other instructors must remain in silence, but that the entire teaching team must have their watches synchronized and do their part in keeping the classroom on track and on time.

Second, and this isn’t so much a time-killer as a morale one, but setting time-expectations. When you start off saying this next section should only take 20 minutes to do, then it winds up taking 45 — because of so many anecdotes — people are going to be annoyed. When the invitation says class should be done by 6:00 PM then you start going on about how we’re going to run over because time’s being wasted, but then you’re the one wasting the time? Um… doesn’t sit well with folks.

Furthermore, when you know Q&A is an important part of the reason for holding the classroom session, then there’s almost no time alloted for Q&A because all the time was used up by stories and other time-wasters, that’s a problem — especially when you set the expectation that part of the reason we’re there is to have open lines of communication between the students and instructors.

Third, underpromise and overdeliver. This goes back to the time issues. If you say “this is going to take 20 minutes” then you take 45, people are going to be upset. When you say we’ll be out by 6PM then we’re not out until 7PM, people are going to be upset. Instead, you should say it’ll take 45 and deliver it in 30, or that we’ll be out by 6PM but we’re actually done by 5. Be more realistic in setting your expectations, overestimate a little bit, and that way if you run up to that time then at worst you did what you said; if you still go over, hopefully then it won’t be by much; and if you go under, everyone will love you.

Finally, realize that it’s your classroom. You are the one in charge. If you set rules for classroom procedure, you need to follow and enforce those rules. Furthermore, you should not chastise the students for being the time-wasters, because if the students are wasting time it’s only because you are the one allowing them to waste the time. If you set rules that questions should be held until a particular point of the presentation, you should not be acknowledging hands raised at other times during the presentation (other than perhaps to say “I see you, we’ll take questions at the end”… do that a few times and everyone will get it and things will flow better). But of course, you must ensure to allot and then preserve that Q&A time — it cannot be sacrificed because you failed in other areas of time management. If the classroom fails to run smoothly and on time, it’s not the fault of the students, it’s the fault of the instructor.

I do understand how this goes. I have to run classrooms, I assist in classrooms. I’ve been there, done that. I know I have my own things to work on, and that’s probably why these things stood out to me because these are things I see in myself and my own classrooms. Things we’ve worked on, things we still need to improve upon. I don’t say this to be ugly to the instructors of my CHL-I class, but rather as feedback from one instructor to another on how we can all work to make our classrooms better, more productive, and more conducive to successful learning.

2013-11-18 training log

/ hsoi

Solid.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 25, week 3

  • Work Set – Bench Press (working max: 230#)
    • 45 x 5
    • 45 x 5
    • 95 x 5
    • 115 x 5
    • 140 x 3
    • 175 x 5
    • 200 x 3
    • 220 x 5
  • Face Pulls (superset with the bench press warm-up sets)
    • 30 x 15 x 5
  • Close-grip Bench Press
    • 120 x 10 x 5
  • T-Bar Rows (superset with the close-grip bench press)
    • 90 X 12 X 5
  • Seated cable rows
    • 90 x 10 x 3
  • A bunch of light rope-handle pressdowns, and empty-bar curls
  • Foam Rolling

Felt solid today, despite starting off slow. Slept crappy last night, so I wasn’t going into the gym with the best feeling in the world. But I think my new “preworkout” of 25g whey isolate and 200mg caffeine capsule may be working out well. I get going, and just press.

I did do something different. For some reason I was motivated to wear wrist wraps today, so the last 3 sets were belt and wraps. Not sure how much it helped, but I felt strong and the 220×5 just felt good. I felt I could have done a couple more with looser form, but no point in that so I racked it. Still, I’m feeling a LOT better than I did last time when something in my shoulder just said “nope”. I’m expecting my work-up on the 5/3/1 week of the next cycle (2nd half of the 6-week program) to be nice.

Close-grips, making a firm effort to lock out every rep and hold the lock out for a second or so, to ensure lock-out.

The t-bars are still kinda weird because it feels like there’s no range of motion, but I cannot deny how they hit my back muscles like nothing else.

All in all, a solid session. Happy with it, even if it started off slow.

Lone Star Medics – Field & Tactical Medicine Conference 2014

/ hsoi

Lone Star Medics is hosting a Field & Tactical Medicine Conference in Dallas, Texas on March 29-30, 2014.

Alas, I won’t be able to attend, but I wish I could. The lineup of presenters is impressive, and there’s no such thing as having too much knowledge about first aid and medicine.

 

Sunday Metal – Lazer/Wulf

/ hsoi

Inspired by the Orange Goblin show in Austin September 2013….

This is Lazer/Wulf. I have no idea what the name of this song is, but I remember them playing it at the show. The fretboard tapping stood out.

Like I said. These guys aren’t quite my cup of tea, but you really should check them out live if you get a chance. They are pretty cool.

 

If you live in Austin, here’s where your car will get broken into

/ hsoi

Our friends at krimelabb were featured on local KEYE-TV about the most likely places your car will be broken into.

Let’s get to the good stuff:

So where are the hot spots?

According to police reports from the past year, coming in at number three is the UT campus. The sheer number of faculty, staff and students who drive to the university, make it a prime target.

Coming in at number two is anywhere along the I-35 corridor. “The criminal wants to make a quick getaway. They don’t go deep into a neighborhood where they’re passing over speed bumps and stop signs,” added Darby.

And the number one spot you’re most likely to have your vehicle broken into is Burton Drive in East Austin. The area has the most apartment complexes on any street in all of Central Texas. Residents in the neighborhood are get hit all the time.

So it’s about places with lots of cars and also lots of people. The article reports most break-ins happen between 10 PM and midnight — when we’re still awake, but perhaps as many people around. And yes, under cover of darkness. Seems Sunday’s are the most popular day too.

But what causes the cars to get broken into?

“Some people don’t lock their cars,” said Austin police detective Damon Dunn.

[…]

“Mainly your electronic items because that’s what the crooks are looking for,” added detective Dunn.

I have a friend that used to work in the Maine legal system. He never locked his car doors. His take? Leave nothing in your car. Your car should be nothing but your car. Thus, there’s nothing inside for them to steal. If they do want to break in to look, having the doors unlocked means they (hopefully) won’t smash your windows — just open the door, see there’s nothing, close it and leave. If they want your car itself, he says there’s almost nothing you can do as they will take it. So to lock or not to lock isn’t so much the issue, as it is leaving things in your car that the thieves want.

I see it frequently. People at the gas station leaving their car doors open, iPod’s and phones left in the car. Expensive stereos. Then all manner of stuff in the car too: your books, gym bags, other junk. If it’s something someone else could use directly or sell, it gives them reason to try to take it.

Just because you don’t live in one of the hotspots doesn’t mean you won’t be victim. My own neighborhood has been hit, and I’m sure if you look through enough crime reports, you’ll see yours has been too. Take some time and look at the data krimelabb has compiled; you might be surprised, but more importantly, you’ll be informed.

Learn to Read Korean in 15 minutes

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

I may be half-Korean, but my knowledge of Korean is pretty poor. The main reason is lack of exposure — I just don’t need nor use much Korean in a day, week, or month. Use it or lose it, y’know?

When I was studying a Korean martial art, I had actually brushed up on my Korean speaking and reading skills pretty well, but since that time, everything’s waned. Heck, if there’s any second speaking/reading (as opposed to programming) language I should know, it’d be Spanish, given the daily exposure I have to it.

Still, some time ago I came across this nifty little resource on How to Read Korean in 15 Minutes (and I always meant to blog about it, so finally here I am). The cool thing is Hangul is phonetic, so once you recognize the characters, sounding things out isn’t that difficult. Of course, to fully understand Korean is another matter, but I’ve found the ability to read and sound things out to be useful.

Story time.

Wife loves Korean pancakes (Pa-Jeon). My mom told me I needed to look for this flour/powder mix called “Buchim Garu” (that’s how you pronounce it). She told me over the phone, so I knew what the words sounded like, but I had no idea what it looked like. And of course, everything at the Korean grocery store will be written in Korean.

Enter the joy of the phonetic language!

I was in the store aisle that was obviously of the flowers and powder mixes. I picked up bags, looked at labels, and tried sounding things out (hopefully your browser/computer can show Korean)

부 (bu….)

부침 (bu… chim…)

부침가루 HA! Buchim Garu!

I was triumphant. 🙂

(Funny… Google Translate translates that as “fluctuations powder”. Heh. “Frying powder” is more correct, but I like fluctuations powder)