Life

Something we could all use more of right now

/ hsoi

There’s a lot going on right now in the world.

There’s the whole handling of the Recoil Magazine flap.

There’s the new unrest and violence in the Arab world, towards Americans.

The list can go on.

The thing that gets me about it all? Well…

I’ve been listening to Dale Carnegie’s book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” (yes, listen… audiobook while I’m stuck in traffic). It’s a book I’ve started many times but haven’t finished for whatever reason, but every time I read it well… I always start from the beginning, and chapter 1 has gotten a lot of re-reads.

The first thing Carnegie speaks of? “Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.”

And it rolls on from there.

Hearing all of these things from Carnegie and then seeing how these situations have been handled? It bothers me.

It’s about how we choose to go about expressing our disagreement.

I know I’m far from perfect. I’ve got a record right here in this blog about many things, so I’m sure someone can easily go searching through the archives and find enough examples of me being an asshole or calling someone out, criticizing and condemning. I’m sure this article itself will be construed as violating those very things. I know I need to make a better effort, and yes… just like I’m working on my dedication to lifting, to dry fire practice, to my side-projects… and yes, perhaps now to how I work to win friends and influence people. I know I’ve got a lot to learn, and I know I can always improve myself.

But just reading/listening to Carnegie’s words? Gee… if we could all behave as he teaches, yeah… we’d remove a lot of resentment and ugly in the world, and build things up a lot better.

If you haven’t read the book, I recommend it.

Extraordinary Resolve

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

Regular readers know — I hate squatting.

I don’t hate it so much these days, but it’s still #4 on my ranking of the 4 main lifts. Why do I keep doing it? Because I’m supposed to. I know I won’t get stronger, I won’t get better, and I’m generally a wuss, if I don’t squat.

I still have some deeper fears about squatting, ingrained from my youth. Injury of course, or just that I’ll get down in the hole and fail and won’t be able to get out of the hole. I guess to some extent, squatting intimidates me.

Some make it metaphorical, in terms of what squatting teaches you. That all this heavy weight can be on your shoulders, and it can press you down, it will press you down, it will hurt like hell and it will do all it can to keep you down in that hole. But you prove your mettle by pressing back up and getting out of that hole… and perhaps, doing it again, over and over, until you are stronger. Eventually the weight isn’t so heavy, and you’re able to handle more, to do more, and you are stronger and better for it. Yes it will be scary, yes you will have fear, but it’s up to you how you want to address it. And so, there’s physical, but also the metaphysical that comes from squatting heavy weights.

Recently I’ve found myself squatting heavier than I ever have. I will not lie — it scares me. I am closing in on squatting 300# as a work weight, and while on the one hand I’m really excited about breaking a barrier I’ve never broken before, I’m also afraid I’m going to hurt myself… or at least, that I won’t get back up. That I won’t be as strong as I want to be, and the weight will get me down. The weight will win. While I know to not let it, I cannot deny the little demon gnawing inside me does exist and eats at me. My challenge is to control him, my challenge is to beat him.

So while I’ve been squatting — especially since my current routine has me squatting a lot more (the 5×10 assistance work)… it’s caused me to have to find some extraordinary resolve within me to keep going. That I will not quit. That the only reason I stop is because my body truly gave out and couldn’t give any more. Not because I pussed out, not because I gave into that little demon. I do look at it purely physically, but I also look at it philosophically because I know if I can handle this, I can handle anything. That will be stronger physically, but also mentally — everything else in life is pretty easy by comparison. All I have to do is resolve to do it.

But just as I think I have it… I realize how far I have to go. Dave Tate, founder and CEO of EliteFTS.com write about where “ER” really comes from.

After reading that, while I’m working to improve myself… I can see how far I really have to go.

But perhaps now when I’m down in that hole I’ll remember to think:

“Chest Up.” “Chest Up.” “Head Up.” “Head Up.”

 and from that, I can find greater strength.

15 Quick Training Tips from Dave Tate

/ hsoi

While most of these tips apply to lifting, we probably all need to pay better attention to #15.

  1. Try to drive your heels into the floor when you bench press.
  2. Training and building a lift are two totally different things. Know the difference.
  3. Don’t press the bar out of the rack when your bench press, pull it out instead.
  4. Break with the hips first when you squat.
  5. When training lats, focus on pulling more with the pinky finger side of your hands.
  6. If you have a weaker side/arm when you bench press – DON’T look at it.
  7. When you box squat count in your head, one thousand one…then stand up explosively.
  8. The advanced lifter needs less volume and the beginner more. Much is due to coordination and efficiency.
  9. A fat bar can take a lot of strain off the elbows and shoulders with pressing and extension movements.
  10. Grip work is very hard to recover from, so keep it to one or two times per week. Once every four days is a better option.
  11. If you’re dead-set on overhead pressing, but your shoulders hurt when you do them, try it with a reverse grip.
  12. Close-stance safety bar low box squats will solve the majority, but not all, of falling-forward problems in the squat.
  13. When you squat drive you head back into your traps.
  14. When you bench press keep your wrists in line with your elbows.
  15. Keep your excuses to yourself – nobody cares.

emphasis added.

(originally printed here)

A tidbit of wisdom

/ hsoi

Besse Cooper is among an elite group of eight super centenarians who have lived to the age of 116.

Her secret to longevity? “I mind my own business,” Cooper says. “And I don’t eat junk food.”

Emphasis added.

Full story. (h/t Maku mozo!)

on dog training collars

/ hsoi / 13 Comments

Our Kuvasz, Sasha, is doing great. Big, beautiful puppy. Well ok… a 95# dog isn’t a puppy. 🙂

We took a lengthy hiatus from taking her on walks. She still got a lot of exercise playing with the kids, no worries there. But walks just didn’t happen for whatever reason. The main issue? Given her highly protective nature, it’s difficult to go walking at most times of the day. If too many other people are out, especially walking their own dogs, it just makes it difficult to get a successful walk in. Then it got hot, and between the hot pavement and too many lawns with burrs in the yard, walks just were not going to happen.

But a few weeks ago I started taking her on walks again. I’m up very early in the morning, so early morning walks are workable. Plus if I can get a good brisk walk in, that’s some amount of exercise for me… not huge by any means, but better than nothing and every bit counts right now. Yes, I’m trying to work this into my exercise strategy… like walk a bit as a warm-up, put her back inside, then drag the tire sled. We’ll see. I digress.

Plus, recently Sasha started to get a little too big for her britches, so doing some more rigorous training exercises helps her remember her place in the pecking order. Nothing bad, but again she’s got an alpha temperament and needs to remember that *I* am alpha, then comes the rest of the family, the cats, and so that puts her somewhere around lambda or maybe upsilon. 😉  So going on walks is good for that, especially since the walks aren’t just putting her on a leash and wandering around. No, there’s lots of commands, lots of leash control, lots of working on her self-restraint. BTW, she loves these Cloud Star Chewy Tricky Trainers Cheddar flavor. Excellent training treat.

In training, the collar is important. Not just so we can keep hold and control over her, but to provide Sasha with feedback. When we first got her, we took her to the Triple Crown Dog Academy. There they recommended we use their Pro-Training Collar (used to be called the StarMark, but I guess they recently changed the name). This was a tremendous help in Sasha’s early stages because we had to deal with a lot of her rehoming issues. She had to (re)learn her proper place in the pecking order. She had to learn what was appropriate and what was not. At the time, Triple Crown’s techniques were precisely what we needed — they were the “emergency” first aid to help get Sasha back where she should be. But long term, we needed someone who better understood and could take the time to work with her breed, her temperament, and her issues to best provide what we needed to operate in our environment and home.

The trainer we found and worked with (and I’ve covered elsewhere on my blog) was fantastic. If not for her we never would have made so much progress with Sasha, and Sasha wouldn’t be the happy pup she is. We are grateful for what we learned.

Certainly tho, the trainer didn’t like the Pro-Training Collar. Instead, she wanted us to get a martingale collar, pure nylon as one with a chain would just bind up in Sasha’s long fur. Of course, we did as she requested, but we always had reserve. The main reason? Choking. Sure they appear more humane than the “star” or a prong/pinch collar, but I’ve been around the block enough to know that appearances/cosmetics don’t correlate to utility or humaneness. I hated how we might have to snap the leash for reinforcement, and hearing Sasha gag and choke. Or we’d take her on a walk and she’d go a little too far and get gagged and cough. I just didn’t see that as being better. Think about it… what does the collar do? It constricts. Put your hands around someone’s neck… now sharply constrict and tell me that’s pleasant. Well sure, it’s supposed to be unpleasant, but let’s compare. Instead of using the flats of your hands around the neck, curl your fingers so just your fingertips are against the neck; now constrict your fingers. To me, that’s preferable. First, since the force is now directed to a few small points instead of flattened out across the entire length, the specific pain is sharper and more acute. But because of that, you need less total force to get your point across. Furthermore, now there’s no constricting against the windpipe. To me, that’s the big thing. I live in fear of crushing or collapsing her windpipe or causing some other damage to it — that’s going to be fatal, and it’s totally preventable.

And yes, I’ve put both collars on myself. I’ve felt them. I know what’s happening and what it feels like. I’d rather get the StarMark collar because well… I guess I don’t like the feeling of strangulation.

It doesn’t really matter to me the philosophy behind the “prong” collar. Some say it’s replicating the bite from a mother dog or the alpha dog to remind the other dog of their place. Some say it’s merely because it’s an uncomfortable or undesirable sensation that they just will learn to avoid. Even read this article from AKC advocating the prong collar. But whatever the reason, I just always thought the “star” collar was better: it was less problematic, and more effective.

Here’s the real testimony.

When I started walking Sasha again, of course I used the martingale. The one we have is about 1″ wide and pure nylon. It acts as her normal everyday collar… we never take it off, no reason to. I would use it, walk her, but management could be challenging at times. This is not atypical. She listens, the commands register, but sometimes her genetic programming takes over and she’s like “Yes, Dad, I hear you, but this thing is a threat and I need to let it know I mean business — stay away!”  Sometimes I have to work the collar hard, but it doesn’t matter. Basically it winds up choking the dog and being a massive tug-of-war. It only serves to hurt the dog, and it’s not providing the necessary feedback. What good is that?

So about a week ago I pulled the StarMark collar back out. Instantly I saw a difference. Sure she got a few reminders at first, but after that wow… she knew. Whereas all of my “walks” were little more than going up and down our road, working on commands, keeping her “at my side” and working on basic leash stuff again… suddenly I was able to go around the block. In fact, this morning we did two laps around the block with almost no stopping nor correction, loose leash. It was fantastic.

Note that I don’t leave the collar on all the time. It’s only used when we go on walks or need to ensure proper reception of feedback. We’ll keep her martingale collar as her normal collar with her tags and everything, and we’ll still use that in a pinch if we need it.

I will say, a prong is not a panacea and is only a tool. Like any tool, it can be misused and abused. There’s no question some people do not know how to use such a collar in proper context. And I would also say that not every dog needs such a collar. So again, it’s all about proper tool selection, proper tool use. I cannot make a blanket statement of “use this collar” because it just depends upon each dog and each situation. But I can say at least for me and my dog and my situation? Oh yes.

sleep

/ hsoi

apparentlyt my body craved (more) sleep.

who knew.

edited: speaking of sleep….

Sleep made an awesome band promo picture.

And if you need something to do for the next hour, here’s Sleep’s “Dopesmoker”

Lone Star School of Music

/ hsoi

I originally wrote this over at Yelp, and since it’s my review there I felt it only right I also post it here.

Plus, I can give an update. 🙂

When searching for a music school for my children, I chose Lone Star School of Music because of the flexible scheduling and diverse teaching staff. I have stayed with Lone Star because of the wonderful experience. The owners are great people, friendly, knowledgable, responsive. The teaching staff is fantastic.

What I love most about Lone Star is the emphasis on having fun. They understand that it’s more important to develop a love of music, than to play scales and drills all day. Sure, they still work on scales and fundamentals, and all those things, but if the kids don’t love playing then scales don’t matter; love playing and you understand scales are part of playing and you don’t mind so much. If there’s any testimony to the fun and enjoyment, one of my children always bummed out the lesson is over because he has so much fun and doesn’t want to stop! Never a chore to practice, never a battle to go to lesson time. Another of my children wants to do more of the school’s additional offerings, like the Rock Camp and Rock Band. The child actually just did Rock Camp and had a blast… Kurt (owner) makes a big effort to make it a lot of fun and ensure the kids have a wonderful experience that builds great memories.

Just great stuff.

Since I wrote that review, Kiddos are still going strong. All are still taking lessons, all are still enjoying it. There’s no chore, but there is a lot of exploration. Oldest has widened his musical tastes. Daughter bounces around on every instrument she can, working to learn songs by ear. Youngest is getting quite an ear for classical music. Like I originally wrote: the school and teachers work to foster a love of music. That’s most evident in the Rock Band class.

A couple months ago there were finally enough kids on the right instruments wanting to play in a band together, and so the Rock Band class has been going. This is a pretty neat deal where they work with a teacher (yes, a little adult supervision, direction, and input is good here… so it’s not just aimless banging around), they work up a library of songs, and the school will book them on gigs every month. They’re not quite ready for their first gig yet, but soon. It’s great listening to them work it out in practice. They work, but they also have a lot of fun. The biggest surprise is Oldest. We had no idea he’d want to do anything like that, but he jumped in on his own and while reluctant at first, I think he’s more excited about going to weekly practice than Daughter is!

I’m really happy with Lone Star School of Music.

City of Austin crime data

/ hsoi / 5 Comments

I was reading an article interviewing Tom Givens, and Tom is a data man. He doesn’t teach what he teaches because of something he read on the Internet or because he wants to be a tough guy. No, Tom likes looking at hard facts and evidence. Granted, Tom lives in Memphis, TN, one of the most crime-infested cities in America. In the interview Tom said:

All you have to do is go to the Bureau of Justice Statistics or the Uniform Crime Reporting system and look to see what actually happens. Look at the crime tallies for your own area, break it down by population and see what the actual threat level is.

In my city, you have about a one in eighty chance of being the victim of an aggravated assault this year alone. There are 7,500 of those, a couple thousand rapes, and five or six thousand armed robberies, so when you break it all down, you have a one in twenty chance of being involved in a violent crime this year in my city; about one in fifty in the country as a whole.

So I wondered… what about Austin?

Let’s look at a few things.

I looked at the FBI 2010 Uniform Crime Report. I looked for Austin. Note that as of this writing, 2010 was the latest data; 2011 data was starting to be reported but didn’t yet have the Austin breakdown. It reports Austin with a population of 796,310 and lists “violent crime” (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault)  at 3,790. That’s about 0.48%, or about 1 in 210. Property crime (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson) is 45,826, or 5.75% or about 1 in 17. Austin may not be as violent as Memphis, but it’s sure not crime free.

Here’s another Austin crime data analysis I found, that looks at the 2009 data and projects 2012 data. I’m not sure how they’re making their projections, but they are projecting an increase. Now, I’m not totally sure about this because they looked at 2009 data and skipped over 2010, which I briefly looked at above and by comparison, violent crime went down in 2010 (2009 – 4,024 reported incidents, 2010 – 3,790), and property crime too (2009 – 48,026, 2010 – 45,826); population was lower in 2009 (768,970 in 2009, 796,310 in 2010). So is the trend really upwards? Hard to say based on 2 years of data. But, they did have some relative numbers too:

The city violent crime rate for Austin in 2009 was higher than the national violent crime rate average by 21.86% and the city property crime rate in Austin was higher than the national property crime rate average by 106.12%.

In 2009 the city violent crime rate in Austin was higher than the violent crime rate in Texas by 6.59% and the city property crime rate in Austin was higher than the property crime rate in Texas by 55.84%.

So according to their data gathering, Austin is higher than both the national average and state average in both violent crime and property crime. I must admit, seeing the property crime numbers surprised me. I knew property crime was a problem, but didn’t realize how it compared.

And again remember, this is only reported crime. Lots of crime happens that goes unreported. Furthermore, I reckon this is only looking at Austin proper, and likely leaves out areas that we like to consider Austin but aren’t, like Westlake or Rollingwood, Lakeway, and even “greater Austin area” like Buda, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Dripping Springs, Bastrop, etc..

I looked at the Trulia crime map for Austin. It only listed data “from 6/7 to 6/14”. I wish there was a way to list more data, say all of 2012 so far, but if there is a way I couldn’t find it. Just looking at that one week of data, I saw a few interesting things:

  • Crime trends by day was pretty steady. 6/14 had a big dropoff and I’m not sure if that was because it was Thursday or maybe they didn’t have full data for the 14th? But every other day was pretty steady.
  • Crime trends by hour? Most happened in daylight, tho certainly into the early night as well. It seemed from about 10 AM through midnight, with peaking in the afternoon (3 to 6 PM). 4-6 AM seemed to be rather unpopular.
  • Crime was most prevalent downtown and in the University area. Neither are too surprising. East Austin wasn’t as crime-riddled as stereotypes would suggest, tho 78741 around Riverside/Oltorf/South Pleasant Valley was pretty heavy. More crime in north Austin than south Austin.
  • When you look at individual crimes, one thing to observe is the scattershot pattern — it’s all over the map. Basically, there’s no “safe place” in Austin. Crime can and will happen anywhere and everywhere. Yes some areas may be more prone, but no where is immune.
  • Robbery’s tend to happen in the afternoon.
  • Assault happens any time, but seems to be moreso at lunch, dinner, and generally in the evening. Alcohol involvement perhaps?
  • Burglary hourly trend was not a surprise to me: strong during the day, from about 10 AM to about 3-4 PM. Again, this is because most people aren’t home during the day, so that’s the prime time to strike.
  • Theft runs an hourly pattern similar to burglary, tho runs a bit longer into the night.

I bet I could spend a lot of time in krimelabb and find more interesting data. And City of Austin has their CrimeViewer, but it’s too limited for what I’m trying to do. Both are good resources, but neither gives me just a flat out list of data.

Take this data for what it is. And I caution against using this data as a way to “fine-tune” your behavior, like to think that walking around outside at 5 AM means you don’t need to carry your gun. Austin may not be the most dangerous city to live in, but it’s certainly got danger. Shit happens, folks. It’s up to you how you want to handle things when the flag flies.