Life

Personal Responsibility

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

TXGunGeek has rather a good rant today.

He recalls a situation he was involved in, where someone got injured, as an EMT he responded and did everything he could to save the guy’s life. Unfortunately the injuries were too severe and the person died. What did TXGunGeek get for his trouble? A lawsuit.

Reading TXGunGeek’s recounting of the story just made my blood boil. You really need to go read it.

The bottom line? It was everyone else’s fault this guy died. It wasn’t his own fault for being illegally in this country. It wasn’t his own fault for working for this company for “under the table money”. It wasn’t his own fault for walking behind an 18-wheeler dump truck. No. It was everyone else’s fault.

IT’S CALLED PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!

This guy was responsible for his actions and everyone else was being blamed.

Unfortunately it has just gotten worse in this litigious society where not only does everyone sue everyone else, but, everyone blames someone else for what happened. It cannot be the fault of the person who actually did the action. It has to be the car or it’s manufacturer, the bartender, the gun or it’s manufacturer, seller or distributor, the trampoline manufacturer, the road crew or whoever.

Of course, much of this is drive by greed. Suing TXGunGeek really didn’t matter that much, because he didn’t have deep pockets (but hey, milk everyone you can, right?). Gotta sue the ones that have the deep pockets, because often it’s not about winning the lawsuit, just causing enough hell and grief to get paid off.

Scum suckers.

People need to be responsible for their own actions and parents are responsible for their children until they are old enough to be held responsible for themselves. Parents NOT SCHOOLS OR THE GOVERNMENT are responsible for teaching their children that they are going to be held responsible for their actions and just what that means.

Rant on, Brother Geek.

I don’t make a wee bit of sense

/ hsoi / 17 Comments

I saw that commercial for the first time last night.

I’m Scotch-Korean (well, German Scots-Irish, and Korean). So apparently I don’t make a wee bit of sense. Or maybe since I’ve got some Irish and German in me too, I make even less sense?

I’m offended.

Yes, my feelings were hurt.

They’re making fun of me.

They’re making fun of my ethnicity.

They’re putting me down.

They’re equating me with candy.

I have no self-esteem.

I’m going to sue! Sue I tell you! That’s The American Way.™

Nah….. not really. I think it’s pretty funny. Yes I know, strange thing this “sense of humor” and “thick skin”, not very common these days.

Random health and fitness

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

There’s an article at LowTechCombat that had a few random fitness things I wanted to keep around.

Talks about running barefoot. I walk around barefoot as much as possible and have tried running barefoot only to have everything from the knee down hate me after a short while. This may be a better way to get started.

A discussion of milk. I have noticed that I don’t consume milk that much in my adult life. I’ll have some with a bowl of cereal and I do love ice cream, but that’s about it. One issue not addressed in the article is the consumption of cow milk. Cows have a more intensive digestive system than we humans do, thus it stands to reason cow milk is oriented towards… well… cows. I’ve been told that humans can bode better with simpler milks, such as goat milk. Of course, I’ve tried goat milk and I can’t stand it.

Crossfit intrigues me. I like their 100-word description of world-class fitness:

Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.

not so much….

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

I have no idea if you care or not. I have no idea if you noticed or not.

But I haven’t been writing much lately.

It’s mostly due to lack of time. Lack of time to zip around the ‘net to read what’s going on in the world. Lack of time to do much of anything other than work, sleep, and time with the family. A few off things here and there, but then often I’m ready to do something other than sit in front of the keyboard for longer than I already have. Heck, I almost forgot about today’s iPad announcement, and many times I’ll watch the live feeds of such events but all I did was catch Apple’s 8 minute promo video on their website. Just no spare time for such things.

Plus I must admit, if I have some free time I’ve been watching videos at vbs.tv. The Liberia series is almost done (just finished watching part 7). It’s hard to not watch this stuff, and next thing I know it’s almost bedtime.

It’s just the ebb and flow of life right now.

I do have some things stirring in my head, regarding palm strikes. Still letting it gel. I haven’t written about martial arts stuff in a bit and really want to.

It reminds me how good life is.

/ hsoi

I’ve been working as a full-time telecommuter for at least a decade.

I enjoy it. It’s my preferred mode of working.

The company I work for finally opened an office in Austin. They opened it due to other projects in the company (all the people and projects I work on are in California), but hey… it’s here, I can work in it. I figured if nothing else, I should establish a presence there. Meet the folks in the office, stake out a claim on a desk, stuff like that. So that’s kinda cool. The office is still being brought online 100%, but today I spent my first day there.

I don’t like it.. 🙂

Don’t get me wrong. The office itself is alright. The people are good (especially the lady that’s managing the office). Yes there are some hiccups as the office is coming online. But hey, all in all things aren’t bad. Plus I have a proper office, with a door, a window, a nice view.

What do I not like? I can’t listen to loud music while I work. I don’t have the smell of Wife’s wonderful cooking filling the air. I don’t hear my children playing. I have to wear shoes all day. I can’t just wander out of my office and go poke at my best friend (Wife) or play with my kids or see what they’re up to. No cats to sit in my lap.

I know. Cry me a river.

I know my life is good. I know that I’m blessed and fortunate. I have a life that many people would love to have. I worked hard to get here. I wouldn’t settle for anything less than the life I have, and through hard work, dedication, and sacrifice I’ve gotten where I am. So days like today? They’re just reminders of how fortunate I am and how good life can be. That whole “count your blessings” thing.

Every morning when I wake up I say to myself, “Daub, don’t fuck this up.”

Still, I’ll probably come to the office now and again. It’s not all bad.

Paranoid vs. Prepared

/ hsoi

Earlier I made mention of two concepts: paranoid, prepared. I think it’s worth elaborating on them.

To some, a particular level of preparedness is paranoia. You carry a gun? You must be paranoid, thinking everyone is evil and bad guys lurk around every corner. You’re storing food and water? Do you think Armageddon is coming? Yes, I can see how some could perceive these two notions as a range, and how one could classify something closer to one or the other. However, I don’t think these two concepts are mutually exclusive nor on a range. Nor do I think someone who is prepared is (necessarily) paranoid.
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Lockhart BBQ on TV

/ hsoi

So it seems the big families of Lockhart, Texas BBQ are going to be featured in a little TV reality drama.

Yeah, I’ll watch it.

Lockhart has truly some of — if not the best — BBQ in Texas. Of course, I’d say best in the world, but I’ll concede this is Texas-style BBQ… it’s not ribs from Memphis or pulled pork from the Carolina’s. It’s a different style. Nevertheless, it’s damn good stuff.

Personally, I prefer Smitty’s over Kruez’s; I just like how they do things. Plus I often get my BBQ on Sunday and Kruez’s is closed on Sundays (I respect that, but it’s a bummer sometimes… like when you crave for Chick-Fil-A). Chisholm Trail BBQ is alright, and there’s a nostalgia about dining in their restaurant. However the best pleaser for my whole family is Blacks because they have great Angus beef brisket and a healthy variety of sides.

You know, the weather has been so good here lately I was thinking about going for a motorcycle ride tomorrow morning. Now I may just have to take that ride to Lockhart and bring some BBQ home.

Live and let live

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Been watching more of VBS.tv, mostly the “Vice Travel Guide” stuff.

When you look at what’s presented to you, when you look deeper, when you read between the lines… you come to realize some things.

The best philosophy in life? Live and let live.

The more we meddle in the affairs of others, the more we prohibit and prevent others from living their lives — even a life we find revolting — from there our problems and conflicts arise.

You live your life, I’ll live mine. I’ll leave you alone, you leave me alone…. unless you ask for it. And that could mean it either way, that you might ask me for help, or you might ask for an ass kicking.

Yes it may mean some people will be living a life that you don’t like, but that’s the way it goes. Instead of worrying so much about how I’m living my life and how much you don’t like it, why don’t you spend your finite time and energy living the life you want instead?

It may also mean that you may not get all the things you want in life. That you may have to do without. I may have something you want, but you find what I do revolting. But instead of passing laws or using other means of force to stop me and thus let you get what I want, you’ll need to find a way that works to our mutual benefit or just learn to do without. Else all you’ll foster in the long-run is more ugliness.

Is this a perfect maxim? No, but it’s a very good guiding principle. We’ve got 6 billion people in this world, and if you really want us all to live in harmony, letting people live their lives so long as they don’t infringe upon yours is a good start towards that harmonious goal.

New Shooter Report

/ hsoi / 7 Comments

I got to spend the day doing a wonderful thing — introducing a young man to the world of firearms.

Background

Back when I studied Kuk Sool, Dusty did as well (he outranks me, been studying far longer than I). He taught me, we trained together. He’s a good man. One of his sons, Collin, just celebrated his 14th birthday. Some months ago Dusty contacted me because he knew I was an NRA Certified Instructor. As a surprise for Collin’s 14th birthday Dusty wanted to introduce his son to firearms. Why? Dusty is not against firearms; spent some time with them as a kid, but nothing serious. Dusty’s wife (Collin’s mother) is no-guns. However, she understands that guns are a reality of life. They know their son is growing older, that he’ll be exposed to more things, he’ll need more ability to make his own decisions in life. Dusty’s goal was to provide his son with some basic information about firearms, how they operate, how they function, and most of all, how to be safe with them. So I constructed a day-long course just for Collin.

The Morning

We started at my house and spent a couple hours going over the basics. I took the basic shape of the course from the NRA Basic Pistol course. Talked about safety, not just “the rules” but also things like health safety (eye and ear protection, lead exposure, etc.). Gave a basic overview of firearms and how they work using pistols but also demonstrated how different firearms worked: bolt action rifles, semi-auto rifles, pump shotgun, revolver, and so on. I wanted him to get a broad exposure today, nothing too deep other than the safety aspect.

Then we worked on basic skills such as trigger control and sight alignment/picture. Stance, grip, breathing were also discussed. We worked through dry fire of the firearms using dummy ammo so both Collin and Dusty could get a feel for how each firearm worked.

It was a lot of information crammed into a couple hours, but I did sent Collin home with some NRA student booklets to help him remember and reinforce what was learned today.

The Afternoon

We loaded up the car and had lunch at Patsy’s Cowgirl Cafe. Driven by there many times but never ate there until today. Dusty bought lunch (that’s all I asked for in return). Then it was off to the Austin Rifle Club.

I’m happy for how the new action bays are assigned for us to use for I was able to do all of our shooting at 2 bays (one for pistols, one for rifle and shotgun) and very close to each other. If not for the way the actions bays are set up, today would have been far more cumbersome.

We started shooting pistols. It’s always wise to start small, light, and close. So we set up paper targets at about 7 yards. We started with a Browning Buck Mark .22 LR pistol. Every time we started a new firearm we’d ensure familiarity with the firearm itself, then load and go. Focusing on fundamentals and focusing on being safe. After the Buck Mark we went to a Springfield XD-9 Tactical (5″ barrel). This of course was a step up in recoil and noise, but certainly manageable. I also let them shoot a few out of my customized XD-9 to feel the difference. One thing they may not have consciously noticed but certainly did feel were the vast array of triggers; it’s something that will make more sense to them later on. Then we finished out the handgun shooting by shooting the Smith & Wesson 442 snub nose revolver.

After the handguns we moved to another bay and shot long guns. Note in the pictures that they’re doing a quasi-benchrest. It’s somewhat limitations of the bay rules as well as trying to take some of the complexity out of the equation for the new shooter… go with me here. We set the targets at 25 yards. Started with a Bushmaster AR-15. More recoil, but not as much as was expected. We then moved to the Savage 11 bolt-action rifle. That had the most recoil of all so far, but it wasn’t too bad due to the excellent recoil pad. Unfortunately we didn’t get to shoot the .308 as much as we wanted because time was running tight. So we moved on to the Mossberg 500 12 gauge shotgun. Let them shoot some birdshot, then some buckshot, then some slugs. Yes, shoulders were sore and it didn’t take a whole lot. While they may have felt a lot of kick and may have a sore shoulder in the morning, the smiles on their faces were just priceless to me. Nothing like a little recoil… it’s good for you. 🙂

I asked what they liked. Seems the AR and the Buck Mark were the big winners. I can’t say I blame them, especially with the Buck Mark. That’s just way too much fun for 1 gun.

The Aftermath

All in all, a good day. A lot was presented and a lot was done. Again, the goal was to provide a broad introduction to firearms, with an emphasis on safety with a side of fun. I know at times I rambled on and went on about things, but I love what I do and so sometimes I can go on a bit. I also know that I missed a few things… probably were some things I wanted to talk about but didn’t, I know there were some pictures I wanted to take but forgot to. If Dusty sends me some pictures, I’ll post them here.

It seems that a good day was had, and an enjoyable birthday present was given. Collin, you handled yourself quite well. For a first time shooter, you shot well. You understand the rules, now you just have to put them into practice. I can tell from the day we spent together that you’re a fine young man and have the family and foundation necessary to grow into a strong, responsible man. If I can be of help in the future, never hesitate to drop me a line.

Pick One

/ hsoi / 13 Comments

Was reading something this morning about “speed vs. accuracy”. The article was about not choosing between the two but striving to have both. I would agree with that. However, I still believe there’s ultimately one that can edge out the other for the top spot. Thus this post. I’ve got a list of things and am going to “pick one” and tell you why. This isn’t gospel, just rambling. But I’d be curious 1. what you’d pick and why, 2. if you’ve any other “pick one” situations to share.

Note, this isn’t purely a gun thing, so you non-gun folks are welcome to read on. 🙂

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