Author: hsoi

Early Voting starts Monday

/ hsoi / 5 Comments

OK fellow Texans.

Early voting starts on Monday.

If you are registered to vote (and if you’re not, why aren’t you?), if you know who you are going to vote for, you best make sure you get to the polls and cast your vote!

If you are registered but don’t yet know who you are going to vote for, you best get yourself educated quickly! Then go cast your vote.

There’s no excuse to not vote.

If you think one vote can’t make a difference, think if everyone thought that way. If instead you think that your one vote can make a difference and everyone thinks this way, then look at the turnout we’d have! Races can and have been decided by one vote. Your vote matters! If nothing else, that you voted also validates your “I can bitch about things” card… you know, don’t vote, don’t bitch. 🙂

If you want to not vote as your way of voicing your opinion, realize that doesn’t work in our current system. The system doesn’t tally who doesn’t vote, only who votes. Lack of voting as an explicit message just gets lumped in with the people who didn’t vote because they didn’t give a darn or couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed in the morning. So if you are trying to say something, you must vote!

Vote!

Counting blessings

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

Weather is perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. Sunny skies.

Sitting in the backyard overlooking the greenbelt.

Doves flying everywhere. Can’t shoot ’em, but I can sure point at them to practice tracking and follow-through.

Wife sitting next to me. Dog at our feet.

A glass of good Cabernet Sauvignon.

Rocky Patel Edge Missile, with a Maduro wrapper.

Kids playing and having a ball together.

Life is good.

Now THIS is a boilerplate

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

I just received an email from one of my US Senators.

Dear Mr. Daub:

Thank you for your recent letter.  I am glad to have the benefit of your ideas and appreciate you bringing this matter to my attention.

You may be certain I will keep your suggestions in mind as these matters are discussed.  I appreciate having the opportunity to represent you in the United States Senate.  Thank you for taking time to contact me.

Sincerely,

JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator

 

 

How… personal!

I have no idea what this is in regards to (their reply system could have at least quoted why I contacted them). My guess is the muscovy duck FWS issue, which they are unlikely to have a stock reply about (e.g. my previous email to him regarding some tax issues with gun makers received a boilerplate “gun rights” reply since they merely keyed off the word “gun” and not “tax”).

My tax dollars at work.

 

.300 BLK

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

I just read about the .300 AAC Blackout on The Firearm Blog. He wrote about barrels and reloading dies, but I’ve never heard of this round before. So I went looking.

Here’s a writeup.

Here’s the official website.

Now, I’m all into 6.8 SPC because of the purpose-built nature of the round. Looking at .300 BLK? It too is being purpose built along the same philosophy as 6.8 SPC but attempting to address some issues with it. For instance, to use 6.8 in your existing AR you need to change the barrel, bolt, and magazines. With .300 BLK? only the barrel. That’s huge, especially if you’re aiming for adopting by the military.

Here’s a brief synopsis from the .300 AAC Blackout website:

 

Full power 123 grain ammunition matches the ballistics of the 7.62x39mm AK, has 37% more energy than 5.56mm M855, and 9% more than 6.8 SPC TAP 110. In fact, from a 9 inch barrel, the 300BLK has more muzzle energy than 5.56mm M855 from a 16 inch barrel. When 300 BLK is used in a 16 inch barrel, it has 23% more energy than 5.56mm M855 from a 16 inch barrel – with much higher-mass projectiles for a more dramatic effect on the target. Or choose subsonic cartridges for optimal use with a sound suppressor – 220 grain Sierra OTM (open-tip match) bullets vastly outperforms a 9mm MP5-SD in penetration and long range accuracy.

 

 

Look at that performance from a short barrel. Now stick a suppressor on the end of that, and you’ve got suppressed fire with adequate ballistics out of a rather compact package. Wow!

Of course, there are the obvious social implications. But I also think about hunting. For instance, using the same platform in the morning for deer hunting, then just attaching the suppressor and switching to a subsonic load for hunting hogs at night.

Go check out the official website. Lots of information, data, spec sheets, and even handloading information.

This is something I’m going to keep my eye on.

 

No awareness

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

I had to pick up Oldest from his Confirmation class. There are a lot of teenagers in that class, maybe 100 or more.

I arrive towards the tail end of class and stand just inside the doors to wait for them to finish. The lights are dim because they are having a quiet reflection time. They finish, dismiss everyone, but lights stay dim.

What do I see coming towards me? A sea of teenagers. I’d say 80% of them I could only see the top of their head… not because I am at least a foot taller than them, but because they have their heads down, face illuminated by the liquid crystal glow coming from their phones… texting or dialing or flipping through messages as they walked.

First, I felt old because it was obviously a sign of the younger generation.

Second, I felt upset because none of these kids had any awareness of what was going on around them. I’m thinking next time about standing in the middle of the aisle to see how many run into me.

Zero awareness.

Recipe for danger. And I’m not just talking about something like getting mugged. But even more mundane things like walking into something or tripping over something.

*sigh*

Wingo update

/ hsoi

The Austin Chronicle has an interview with Trivett Wingo about his departure from The Sword:

OTR: What exactly is the issue?

TW: Not to get too specific, but my level of anxiety pertaining to being on tour got to the point where medication was not the answer. You can crunch Valiums all the time, but at a certain point you have to ask yourself if you should just be staying at home. I had been medicating myself to be on tour, and I realized that psychiatric help wasn’t the answer. I was very deeply unhappy. I didn’t want to sedate myself and do something that I wasn’t enjoying. I figured it was better for me to finally listen to my inner voice and strike out on my own. I wanted to finish it all. If I had known what point I would break, I wouldn’t have planned anything beyond that, but I reached my own personal breaking point as far as my panic and anxiety. I was living in a mental hell. I think it was really starting to affect my performance as well. I really officially completely burned myself down to a nub.

OTR: Is the relief immediate?

TW: I feel sad and confused that I’m not with the band anymore. I can’t say that I don’t have some regret that I couldn’t make it work, but I do feel like a weight is off me in knowing that I’m not getting on that bus again. It’s going to take me a long time to get over it and unwind all of the stuff in my mind. It’s a change in identity for me. I realized that I couldn’t be in a touring band, even in a couple years from now. It’s been hard on everyone. People think it’s really easy to just ride around and fly on airplanes and play rock & roll shows. What they don’t realize is that you completely give up your entire personal life. All of your meaningful relationships are thrown into a pile and neglected. You’re not there for your friends or your family, the people that you love. Meanwhile, you’re thrust into this void where you sit around and jerk off for 23 hours waiting to play one hour of music. That just killed me. I was dying on the road. I can’t deal with that amount of downtime everyday and being disconnected from everything. I decided it was time to work 9-5 and rehabilitate myself. I just want a fucking “normal life,” with a dog and a wife and a kid and the whole deal.

I’m sorry to hear that, but I can’t say I blame the guy. It’s good that he realized it and is taking the steps for his sanity and well-being.

Glad you’re taking care of yourself. Wish you the best, Trivett.

Seen at the local bookstore

/ hsoi

Went to the bookstore to look for a book (what else?). While walking the aisles I saw this:

😯

Alright! Way to help the cause. It’s not like depressed people are sensitive and low on self-esteem. 😉

 

10 down

/ hsoi

So about 4 weeks ago I started to work on “serious” weight loss. You can read the background that got me to this point, and the course of action I’m undertaking.

Since I started, it appears I’ve lost 10 pounds. 10 pounds in 4 weeks? I can live with that, especially since not all weeks were ideal. There was the business trip to California, and that was tough because meals are social events, but even if I couldn’t be strict about a down day I still kept the intake reasonable. Then there was the trip to Georgia to get Sasha, and while that wasn’t ideal I was pretty close to sticking to the regimen. I’d like to think if I had been able to stick to the diet perfectly I’d probably be down another couple of pounds, but hey, so long as I’m seeing steady progress I’m alright with that. And again, about 2.5 lbs a week is a good average rate.

I don’t really notice the difference when I look in the mirror, but it’s 10# of loss spread over a very tall frame. Now that I think about it, stupid me should have taken pictures. I guess I should remedy that now. I’ve no plans to share the pictures. Too scary (for you), too personal (for me).

But I have noticed my clothing fitting differently. For instance, I’m using the same hole on my belt yet the belt is a little looser. I can’t switch to the next hole yet, but I know that will come. So, seeing what I see on the scale along with a little bit of “tangible” evidence, I can dig that.

As for the program itself (up day down day), I have to admit, it’s working. On paper it works because you are decreasing your total caloric intake but not starving your body. But the best part? It’s not a mental stress. In fact now after 4 weeks of it I’m finding myself in quite a groove with it. Week 2 was the hardest for me — the down days just got old. But you press on because you know it’s merely a matter of hours until you can eat normally again. Then when you can eat, you eat but you always keep your goal in mind. It works out pretty well. I also like that this program requires nothing but my own discipline. That’s as it should be. No buying meals, no buying other products or supplements. I like that it costs me nothing and I can still eat all the good food Wife cooks.

So all in all, this is working out well. It’ll feel neat to break through the 200 lbs. and hopefully by the end of November I’ll be there. I did notice that Thanksgiving itself will be a down day for me, and yes I will stick to it. Besides, the leftovers are always better than the original meal. 🙂

In the dark

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

“Strange things happen in the dark….”

I’ve been walking my neighborhood in the dark.

I see how dark my neighborhood is, and I know it’s not the only one.

People have no lights illuminating the exterior of their house. Street lights don’t cover every inch of ground. It’s amazing how dark it is out there.

And how that darkness can conceal and hide things.

As I walked around I could point out all sorts of great places to hide. Places where I could work a door or window open to break into someone’s house and no one would see me. Of course, I wouldn’t partake in such activities, but you have to think like a criminal so you can understand your enemy and work to defeat them.

To me, it’s a simple premise: cockroaches don’t like light.

From the road – patience

/ hsoi

To bring Sasha home we had to drive 2000+ miles to Georgia and back. Spending about 37 hours on the road, we saw many interesting things.

One of the best things I saw? My children.

They were bored. They were tired. They were cooped up and cramped up in the car. They could have been cranky, they could have fought, they could have complained. But never a problem.

We looked at the trip as an adventure. A way to see more of the world (Wife and I had never been through this part of the world). A way to experience different things. And of course, a way to bring Sasha home.

I often speak of how your mindset makes a big difference on how you view, experience, and consider life. Giving my kids a good mindset, framing the trip ahead of us? And of course, rewarding their positive behavior? All the difference in the world.

The kiddos were well-behaved, excited, looked at the world with wonder and inquisitiveness. Yes they were tired, yes they were sick of McDonald’s and Subway, but they hung in there and were real troopers about everything.

I like my kids. 🙂