Maybe The Best Ad Of The Political Season So Far…
I don't see any change here, do you?
(H/T to The Hobo Brasser, who sez: "He's the Green Guy .. he recycles".
How's that "hope and change" thingie working for you so far?
It's probably "unfair" to compare the promises of politicians from their first campaign to the next.
Fun ... but in no sense "Civilized".
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
DNF
IPSC History: DNF
"Oh no, not the Dreaded DNF?"
If you have been indoctrinated into The Cult of IPSC for less than ten years, then you are probably unfamiliar with which I choose to call "The Dark Ages of IPSC".
HISTORY OF IPSC:
Initially, the burgeoning sport was called "Combat Pistol", and yes .. it was an unofficial meeting of military and law-enforcement professionals, along with aficionados, hangers on and wanna be's; plus some individuals who just wanted to hone their self-defense handgun skills OR ... people who thought that there was nothing wrong with playing with guns, but there should be some kind of organization which could codify rules, establish a safe environment, and establish a competition environment where they could compare their expertise with others with the same (or similar) attitude toward excellence in pistolry.
The movement attracted a lot of people who .... like me .. had a pistol, but really weren't sure how good they were compared to other people. My introduction in 1983 soon convinced me that I wasn't as good as I thought I was. Not by a long shot!
The 'movement' was initiated by people who had excellent skill sets. They were safe, proficient, accurate, fast, experienced, bold shooters.
What they were NOT was .. they were not people who did a really good job of writing a rule book. (This is a "yuppie" skill ... and not important .. because they all know what they knew, and it was all dreadfully informal.)
Eventually, there were so many yuppies (such as myself) involved in the sport, someone had to take a hard look at the rules and ensure that they were clear, concise, complete, and ... gee .. reasonable? Even to people who didn't have the experience of real-life gunfights and the exigencies there-of?
Maybe, we aren't talking about training to shoot people. Maybe we're just learning to play a game!
There was a period when the hard-core gunzines (shooting-related magazines) ran such articles as:
"IPSC will teach you to get killed in a gunfight!"
*(I haven't researched this, but for a long time it was part of the evolving IPSC lore; today .. who cares? Since 1998 my mission was to teach this one simple lesson: "It's a GAME, Folks!". Since then, the Founding Father of IPSC ... Col. Jeff Cooper .. disavowed any association with IPSC because he was totally disgusted with what has become "a sport". To him, it was and would always remain a means to hone gun-handling skills, based on Speed Power and Accuracy, which would help "Brave Men Who Protect You While You Sleep" to accomplish their mission. For the rest of us ... "It's A GAME, Folks!")*
And maybe it will get you killed if you allow yourself to enter into a gun-fight using the skill-set you learned in your "Introduction to USPSA" class. Or .. maybe it will teach you the gun-handling skills you need to not shoot each other when you're at the range. Maybe it will provide you with incentive to use your handgun safely. Maybe it will save your life when the Bad Guys bust into your house and "When Seconds Count, The Police Are Always Just A Minute Away". I don't know, I don't care, but I do love to shoot in benign competition against people with the same skill sets, and see how I measure up. It's like playing a video game, except you're using real guns and shooting real bullets.
The problem is; you need Rules of Competition, and they need to be clear, consistent, mutually supportive, rational, reasonable, and justifiable.
The early rule books were NOT well written. The rules were vague, inconsistent, often contradictory, frequently arbitrary, and usually not supported by an identifiable rationale.
Well, hell. These guys weren't rule-writers; they were rule-enforcers. THEY knew what they meant, and they often used a sort of short-hand language which made complete sense to them, and why did they need to conform to the mind-set of a bunch of freaking Hippy-loser Yuppies?
Except, of course, that the sport had been taken over by hippies and yuppies like me, and we really wanted to rules to make sense.
On the other hand, IPSC had gone World-Wide, and nations whose governments didn't even want their citizens to HAVE handguns .... let alone practice with them ...were demanding that the Rule Books include provisions which accommodated the considerations which drove their national political strategies.
First Hippies and Yuppies, and now Political Correctness? Yuck!
----
Moving on from Politics to Reality ... IPSC and USPSA ... and then both entities separate but equal .. evolved the Rules of Competition to accommodate National Culture. And Hippies and Yuppies. And clove to "Combat Pistol" priorities, until Colonel Jeff Cooper threw up his hands in disgust, quit IPSC, and retired to his *(profitable!)* Raven Training. He washed his hands of us, and we profited.
One signifier of the evolution of Practical Pistol Competition was the DNF Rule.
1983
As originally codified (See Footnote 1), if you didn't complete the course of fire, that meant that you had met the bad guys in a dark alley and you had run away. That is, you were insufficiently combative. In competitive terms, they took the very worst score on that stage, magnified it, and you were the loser by 'that much' because you didn't complete the Course of Fire .. the "stage". That was the competitive thought as of 1983,
This (competitive) situation was designated as DNF ... "Did Not Finish". That is to say, because of lost of equipment or ammunition, or the malfunction of your firearm, you were unable to continue the militant confrontation consequently abandoned the Field of Combat.
_____
1992
Later, and still entirely in keeping with the concept of Combat Pistolry (and during a period when we should have entirely acceded to the demands of the Hippies and the Yuppies, like me ...), the authors of the rule books (See Footnote 2) decided that .. gee, if you ran out of ammunition, or your handgun was jammed or otherwise malfunctioned .. you didn't just lose the fight, you were DEAD! Your score was not just 'the worst' .. it was ZERO! You were not allowed to abandon the Field of Conflict ... you lost. Definitively!
That was the the competitive thought of 1992.
____
1995
Still later, in 1995 (See Footnote 3), if you were 'assigned' a DNF, you score was still zero. But the explanation was curiously less precise, less definitive, and less easy to intuitively understand the reasoning behind the penalty .... even though you (we) were already conditioned to accept that we had been engaged in a gunfight and were rendered a functional non-combatant in what we already understood to be a 'combat' situation.
My reading on this is that the rule book update was sloppily applied; the authors didn't know what they were doing, or why they were doing it, but they knew the rules and they were determined to proffer that because ...
... because we were all so eager to continue The Sport, we didn't much care what the rules were, we just wanted to be able to go shooting on the occasional Saturday, No .. we wanted to be ALLOWED to go shooting. We were not very critical .. until it was WE who were DNF'd, and eventually we realized that we didn't really understand the rationale behind the (entirely arbitrary) judgement.
Then ... we became active members, and we demanded a voice. We wanted to know WHY this competition was still being processed as COMBAT.
"It's a GAME, Folks!"
2000 ...
"The Toilet Paper Ruleboook", and The End of Combat Shooting
In a surprising and revelatory move, IPSC/USPSA decided suddenly in 2000 to abandon (at least partially) rules which pertained to Combat Shooting ... and finally recognize that this was COMPETITION and not COMBAT!
Penalties would hereafter pertain to competition. We're not shooting at "people". dammit! We're not even shooting at "targets shaped like people"! We're just shooting at cardboard targets, and steel targets, and we have CLEARLY defined that all the rules of competition are based on competitive concepts.
Did your pistol go south for the winter? Did you fail to bring enough ammunition to engage all targets? Okay. You didn't engage some targets? We have rules to cover that ... Failure to Engage. No problem.
The United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) encourage that dramatic change of concept in 2003 by issuing a 'provisional' Rule Book Version which was so under-the-covers that it didn't even have a "heavy-duty-cover-in-color" .. instead, the cover was of the same flimsy coarse-fiber paper as its contents. (See Footnote 4).
Immediately (and appropriately) designated "The Toilet Paper Rule Book", the USPSA membership responded with very few criticisms. What we saw would tentatively legitimize a number of "common sense" changes to the rules; the most significant changes were that all references, no matter how inconsequential, to "Combat Pistol", had been changed, or deleted.
Specifically, the DNF rule and any allusions to the "You stopped fighting; you died" .. were gone.
Instead, if a competitor was unable to complete the course of fire, he was merely penalized " ... all appropriate miss and failure to engage penalties...".
This changed the penalty structure from a dramatic "zero" on the stage .. or worse .. to a simple administrative ruling which gave credit to scoring which had already been achieved. Or, to put it in context ... you stopped competing, but you may have stopped because of reasons which WE (USPSA) won't attempt to interpret in terms of Combat. And you're not fighting ... you're just competing!
This 'temporary' (or "Provisional') rule book change was so well received .. which is to say, received with so little rancor from even the most aggressive members of USPSA .. that it was later (see Footnote 5) reitterated with only minor revisions in 2001 as USPSA R%ull Book, 14th Edition ("The Red Book").
From this point on, USPSA (and by extension, IPSC) became a 'competition', not 'Combat Pistolry'.
___________________________________________________
Earlier, in 1997, IPSC (via IPSC GREECE) applied to the International Olympics Committee (IOC) for establishment as a "Demonstration sport" to subsequent Olympics competition. The IOC rejected it with a great deal of judgmental prejudice, saying in part that they would not now, nor would they every accept as part of the Olympics a sport which "... is not a sport, but merely a hobby".
(It's a disappointment that this data is primarily available from an anti-gun website; should we as IPSC members not be more willing to archive our disappointments as well as our successes?)
The road to legitimacy has been long, arduous, and fraught with failures. We are no longer a COMBAT TRAINING activity, and that is good. Well, at least my my personal point of view. We are summarily rejected from legitimacy by no less than the IOC. I think the suggestion was presented too soon for the IOC to see that our character has changed, and no one is more bitter about the ill-timed presentation than am I.
We are castigated for our COMBAT roots, with no recognition that we have changed. We are percieved as aggressors, rather than mere competitors. There are other shooting sports in the Olympics; in fact, most of the sports epitomized in the Olympics are based upon combat (Javelin? Biathalon? Even running .. remember that Marathon was in celebration of a Military Victory!)
So, we are not allowed to celebrate our advancement before the world.
But still .. we no longer need to contend with the Dreaded DNF. And in our own small insulated world, that is a major triumph.
We don't lose; we don't die. We are just " penalized " ... all appropriate miss and failure to engage penalties...".
I can live with that.
For me, it's good enough.
__________________________________________________________
FOOTNOTES:
__________________________________________________________
Footnote 1:
Rule Book: "The International Shooting Confederation and The United States Region of IPSC"
1st Edition; May, 1983
"The Original Rule Book"
(Page 18)
__________________________________________
Footnote 2:
Practical Shooting Handbook
6th Edition April 1992 (USPSA)
"The Yellow Book"
Footnote 3:
Practical Shooting Handbook
7th Edition, 1995
"The Blue Book"
(Note 1: This was the rule-book currently available when I took my original Range Officer Certification course in 1997. At that time, "revisions" to previous rule-book versions were marked by the note REV in the margin; however, a new version had been approved at that date even though it had not yet been published. During the class, the NROI [National Range Officer Institute] instructor identified the changes and directed us to cross out deleted text, and write in new or amended text.Deleted text is identified like this; added/amended text is identified like this.)
(Note 2: At this time, early attempts to designate rules which were unique to USPSA, but not part of the IPSC rules, were designated as US **.** rule number. The IPSC rules were cited first in the rule book; then the US rule version was cited.
'(Note 1: This was the rule-book currently available when I took my original Range Officer Certification course in 1997. At _____________________________________
Footnote 4:
USPSA RULE Book
14th Edition, 2000
"The Toilet Paper Book"
(Page 22)
5.7.3
_____________________________________
Footnote 5:
USPSA Rule Book
14th Edition,2001
("The Red Book")
(Page 46)
5.7.3
"Oh no, not the Dreaded DNF?"
If you have been indoctrinated into The Cult of IPSC for less than ten years, then you are probably unfamiliar with which I choose to call "The Dark Ages of IPSC".
HISTORY OF IPSC:
Initially, the burgeoning sport was called "Combat Pistol", and yes .. it was an unofficial meeting of military and law-enforcement professionals, along with aficionados, hangers on and wanna be's; plus some individuals who just wanted to hone their self-defense handgun skills OR ... people who thought that there was nothing wrong with playing with guns, but there should be some kind of organization which could codify rules, establish a safe environment, and establish a competition environment where they could compare their expertise with others with the same (or similar) attitude toward excellence in pistolry.
The movement attracted a lot of people who .... like me .. had a pistol, but really weren't sure how good they were compared to other people. My introduction in 1983 soon convinced me that I wasn't as good as I thought I was. Not by a long shot!
The 'movement' was initiated by people who had excellent skill sets. They were safe, proficient, accurate, fast, experienced, bold shooters.
What they were NOT was .. they were not people who did a really good job of writing a rule book. (This is a "yuppie" skill ... and not important .. because they all know what they knew, and it was all dreadfully informal.)
Eventually, there were so many yuppies (such as myself) involved in the sport, someone had to take a hard look at the rules and ensure that they were clear, concise, complete, and ... gee .. reasonable? Even to people who didn't have the experience of real-life gunfights and the exigencies there-of?
Maybe, we aren't talking about training to shoot people. Maybe we're just learning to play a game!
There was a period when the hard-core gunzines (shooting-related magazines) ran such articles as:
"IPSC will teach you to get killed in a gunfight!"
*(I haven't researched this, but for a long time it was part of the evolving IPSC lore; today .. who cares? Since 1998 my mission was to teach this one simple lesson: "It's a GAME, Folks!". Since then, the Founding Father of IPSC ... Col. Jeff Cooper .. disavowed any association with IPSC because he was totally disgusted with what has become "a sport". To him, it was and would always remain a means to hone gun-handling skills, based on Speed Power and Accuracy, which would help "Brave Men Who Protect You While You Sleep" to accomplish their mission. For the rest of us ... "It's A GAME, Folks!")*
And maybe it will get you killed if you allow yourself to enter into a gun-fight using the skill-set you learned in your "Introduction to USPSA" class. Or .. maybe it will teach you the gun-handling skills you need to not shoot each other when you're at the range. Maybe it will provide you with incentive to use your handgun safely. Maybe it will save your life when the Bad Guys bust into your house and "When Seconds Count, The Police Are Always Just A Minute Away". I don't know, I don't care, but I do love to shoot in benign competition against people with the same skill sets, and see how I measure up. It's like playing a video game, except you're using real guns and shooting real bullets.
The problem is; you need Rules of Competition, and they need to be clear, consistent, mutually supportive, rational, reasonable, and justifiable.
The early rule books were NOT well written. The rules were vague, inconsistent, often contradictory, frequently arbitrary, and usually not supported by an identifiable rationale.
Well, hell. These guys weren't rule-writers; they were rule-enforcers. THEY knew what they meant, and they often used a sort of short-hand language which made complete sense to them, and why did they need to conform to the mind-set of a bunch of freaking Hippy-loser Yuppies?
Except, of course, that the sport had been taken over by hippies and yuppies like me, and we really wanted to rules to make sense.
On the other hand, IPSC had gone World-Wide, and nations whose governments didn't even want their citizens to HAVE handguns .... let alone practice with them ...were demanding that the Rule Books include provisions which accommodated the considerations which drove their national political strategies.
First Hippies and Yuppies, and now Political Correctness? Yuck!
----
Moving on from Politics to Reality ... IPSC and USPSA ... and then both entities separate but equal .. evolved the Rules of Competition to accommodate National Culture. And Hippies and Yuppies. And clove to "Combat Pistol" priorities, until Colonel Jeff Cooper threw up his hands in disgust, quit IPSC, and retired to his *(profitable!)* Raven Training. He washed his hands of us, and we profited.
One signifier of the evolution of Practical Pistol Competition was the DNF Rule.
1983
As originally codified (See Footnote 1), if you didn't complete the course of fire, that meant that you had met the bad guys in a dark alley and you had run away. That is, you were insufficiently combative. In competitive terms, they took the very worst score on that stage, magnified it, and you were the loser by 'that much' because you didn't complete the Course of Fire .. the "stage". That was the competitive thought as of 1983,
This (competitive) situation was designated as DNF ... "Did Not Finish". That is to say, because of lost of equipment or ammunition, or the malfunction of your firearm, you were unable to continue the militant confrontation consequently abandoned the Field of Combat.
_____
1992
Later, and still entirely in keeping with the concept of Combat Pistolry (and during a period when we should have entirely acceded to the demands of the Hippies and the Yuppies, like me ...), the authors of the rule books (See Footnote 2) decided that .. gee, if you ran out of ammunition, or your handgun was jammed or otherwise malfunctioned .. you didn't just lose the fight, you were DEAD! Your score was not just 'the worst' .. it was ZERO! You were not allowed to abandon the Field of Conflict ... you lost. Definitively!
That was the the competitive thought of 1992.
____
1995
Still later, in 1995 (See Footnote 3), if you were 'assigned' a DNF, you score was still zero. But the explanation was curiously less precise, less definitive, and less easy to intuitively understand the reasoning behind the penalty .... even though you (we) were already conditioned to accept that we had been engaged in a gunfight and were rendered a functional non-combatant in what we already understood to be a 'combat' situation.
My reading on this is that the rule book update was sloppily applied; the authors didn't know what they were doing, or why they were doing it, but they knew the rules and they were determined to proffer that because ...
... because we were all so eager to continue The Sport, we didn't much care what the rules were, we just wanted to be able to go shooting on the occasional Saturday, No .. we wanted to be ALLOWED to go shooting. We were not very critical .. until it was WE who were DNF'd, and eventually we realized that we didn't really understand the rationale behind the (entirely arbitrary) judgement.
Then ... we became active members, and we demanded a voice. We wanted to know WHY this competition was still being processed as COMBAT.
"It's a GAME, Folks!"
2000 ...
"The Toilet Paper Ruleboook", and The End of Combat Shooting
In a surprising and revelatory move, IPSC/USPSA decided suddenly in 2000 to abandon (at least partially) rules which pertained to Combat Shooting ... and finally recognize that this was COMPETITION and not COMBAT!
Penalties would hereafter pertain to competition. We're not shooting at "people". dammit! We're not even shooting at "targets shaped like people"! We're just shooting at cardboard targets, and steel targets, and we have CLEARLY defined that all the rules of competition are based on competitive concepts.
Did your pistol go south for the winter? Did you fail to bring enough ammunition to engage all targets? Okay. You didn't engage some targets? We have rules to cover that ... Failure to Engage. No problem.
The United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) encourage that dramatic change of concept in 2003 by issuing a 'provisional' Rule Book Version which was so under-the-covers that it didn't even have a "heavy-duty-cover-in-color" .. instead, the cover was of the same flimsy coarse-fiber paper as its contents. (See Footnote 4).
Immediately (and appropriately) designated "The Toilet Paper Rule Book", the USPSA membership responded with very few criticisms. What we saw would tentatively legitimize a number of "common sense" changes to the rules; the most significant changes were that all references, no matter how inconsequential, to "Combat Pistol", had been changed, or deleted.
Specifically, the DNF rule and any allusions to the "You stopped fighting; you died" .. were gone.
Instead, if a competitor was unable to complete the course of fire, he was merely penalized " ... all appropriate miss and failure to engage penalties...".
This changed the penalty structure from a dramatic "zero" on the stage .. or worse .. to a simple administrative ruling which gave credit to scoring which had already been achieved. Or, to put it in context ... you stopped competing, but you may have stopped because of reasons which WE (USPSA) won't attempt to interpret in terms of Combat. And you're not fighting ... you're just competing!
This 'temporary' (or "Provisional') rule book change was so well received .. which is to say, received with so little rancor from even the most aggressive members of USPSA .. that it was later (see Footnote 5) reitterated with only minor revisions in 2001 as USPSA R%ull Book, 14th Edition ("The Red Book").
From this point on, USPSA (and by extension, IPSC) became a 'competition', not 'Combat Pistolry'.
___________________________________________________
Earlier, in 1997, IPSC (via IPSC GREECE) applied to the International Olympics Committee (IOC) for establishment as a "Demonstration sport" to subsequent Olympics competition. The IOC rejected it with a great deal of judgmental prejudice, saying in part that they would not now, nor would they every accept as part of the Olympics a sport which "... is not a sport, but merely a hobby".
(It's a disappointment that this data is primarily available from an anti-gun website; should we as IPSC members not be more willing to archive our disappointments as well as our successes?)
The road to legitimacy has been long, arduous, and fraught with failures. We are no longer a COMBAT TRAINING activity, and that is good. Well, at least my my personal point of view. We are summarily rejected from legitimacy by no less than the IOC. I think the suggestion was presented too soon for the IOC to see that our character has changed, and no one is more bitter about the ill-timed presentation than am I.
We are castigated for our COMBAT roots, with no recognition that we have changed. We are percieved as aggressors, rather than mere competitors. There are other shooting sports in the Olympics; in fact, most of the sports epitomized in the Olympics are based upon combat (Javelin? Biathalon? Even running .. remember that Marathon was in celebration of a Military Victory!)
So, we are not allowed to celebrate our advancement before the world.
But still .. we no longer need to contend with the Dreaded DNF. And in our own small insulated world, that is a major triumph.
We don't lose; we don't die. We are just " penalized " ... all appropriate miss and failure to engage penalties...".
I can live with that.
For me, it's good enough.
__________________________________________________________
FOOTNOTES:
__________________________________________________________
Footnote 1:
Rule Book: "The International Shooting Confederation and The United States Region of IPSC"
1st Edition; May, 1983
"The Original Rule Book"
(Page 18)
2.8 Malfunctions - in the event of a malfunction, the normal procedure will be for the shooter to rectify the situation, keeping the muzzle pointing down range, and carry on with the event. If he is unable to do so, he will stand fast, lower the weapon to waist height and lock onto the target. He will then reaise his free hand to signal the RO/CRO to stop the clock, and proceed to examine the weapon. In the event that a pistol cannot be unloaded due to a broken or failed mechanism, the contest directore must be informed and he will take such action as he thinks best and safest. In no case shall a contestant leave the firing line in the possession of a loaded pistol.(Emphasis in the original)
2.8.1 When, due to breakdown or loss of personal equipment or injury, a competitor is unable to complete or wishes to terminate a course of fire, he will raise his free hand and call "TIME".
The competitor's target score will stand as shot minus applicable penalties and he will be awarded an elapsed time equal to the slowest time recorded on that course plus five seconds.
The penalty may also be stated in the course of fire for not completing a stage or course.
__________________________________________
Footnote 2:
Practical Shooting Handbook
6th Edition April 1992 (USPSA)
"The Yellow Book"
This book contains:
The USPSA Member's Handbook'USPSA Pistol Regulations
The most current I.P.S.C Rules
Combined I.P.S.C Rifle & Shotgun Rules
Copyright 1992 by USPSA/IPSC, Inc.
Sedro Woolley, Wa 98284
11:09 DID NOT FINISH (DNF) - When a competitor is unable to complete a course of fire for whatever reason, other than range equipment failure, his score will be recorded as zero for that stage. (See 8.06, 8.08) (Page 54-55)
8.06 MALFUNCTIONS - In the event of a malfunction, the normal procedure will be for the competitor to rectify the situation, always keeping the muzzle pointing downrange, and carry on with the stage. If he is unable to do so, he will stand fast, lower the handgun safely pointed down range and signal by raising his free hand. The Range Officer will stop the clock and proceed to examine the handgun. See 11.09 (page 45)
_____________________________________
8.08 UNABLE TO FINISH COURSE - When, due to a breakdown or loss of personal equipment or injury, a competitor is unable to complete a course or wishes to terminate the course of fire, he will raise his free hand and call TIME. See 11.09 (page 45)
Footnote 3:
Practical Shooting Handbook
7th Edition, 1995
"The Blue Book"
Including:
USPSA Member's Handbook
7th Edition USPSA Rules
12the Edition IPSC Rules
11th Edition USPSA Rifle &
Shotgun Rules
Copyright 1995 by USPSA/IPSC, Inc.
Sedro Woolley WA 98284
(Note 1: This was the rule-book currently available when I took my original Range Officer Certification course in 1997. At that time, "revisions" to previous rule-book versions were marked by the note REV in the margin; however, a new version had been approved at that date even though it had not yet been published. During the class, the NROI [National Range Officer Institute] instructor identified the changes and directed us to cross out deleted text, and write in new or amended text.
(Note 2: At this time, early attempts to designate rules which were unique to USPSA, but not part of the IPSC rules, were designated as US **.** rule number. The IPSC rules were cited first in the rule book; then the US rule version was cited.
11.00 PROCEDURAL ERROR - A procedural error is defined as failure to comply with the stated procedure as specified in the stage and/or match information. The penalty will be assed as minus ten points (twice the value of a single maximum scoring hit) per occurrence.
REV: US 11.00 PROCEDURAL ERRORS - Procedural errors apply to violations of stated procedures which are not otherwise covered by other specific rules. Do not apply two different penalties for the same offense ......
[Inapplicable text omitted in this footnote]
Failure to engage (shoot at) a target specified in the stage description is a procedural error. Failure to engage will always result in one procedural penalty regardless of the number of required hits on the target. Failure to engage will not result in a DNF unless the failure is due to the competitors equipment failure, loss of ammo, etc. (See rules 8.08 and 11.09)Failure to successfully engage a stop target results in a DNF.(page 52)
REV 8.08 - UNABLE TO FINISH COURSE - When, due to a breakdown or loss of personal equipment or injury, a competitor is unable to complete a course and wishes to terminate the course of fire, he may raise his free hand. His score will be recorded as zero for that stage. (page 42)
'(Note 1: This was the rule-book currently available when I took my original Range Officer Certification course in 1997. At _____________________________________
Footnote 4:
USPSA RULE Book
14th Edition, 2000
"The Toilet Paper Book"
(Page 22)
5.7.3
In the event that a firearms malfunction cannot be corrected by the competitor, the competitor shall point the firearm safely downrange and advise the Range Officer. The Range Officer shall terminate the course of fire in the normal manner. The course of fire shall be scored normally including all appropriate miss and failure to engage penalties.
Copyright 2000 by USPSA/IPSC, Inc.
Sedro Woolley WA 98284
_____________________________________
Footnote 5:
USPSA Rule Book
14th Edition,2001
("The Red Book")
(Page 46)
5.7.3
In the event that a firearms malfunction cannot be corrected by the competitor, the competitor shall point the firearm safely downrange and advise the Range Officer. The Range Officer shall terminate the course of fire in the normal manner. The course of fire shall be scored normally including all appropriate miss and failure to shoot at penalties.
Copyright 2001 by USPSA/IPSC, Inc.
Sedro Woolley WA 98284
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Presto Change-o!
Well, that was easy.
Blogger has been warning its users for months that we would HAVE to drop our old template and convert to a new one, and I'm so dubious about new software versions that I've waited until almost literally the last moment. If there are any bugs, I wanted someone else to be the Pioneer.
With no more time to lose, I pushed the button at 5pm Sunday ... just a few minutes ago ... and this is The New Blogger.
I deliberately chose a very simple design, one which should give me as much room as possible on the screen for text and photos.
Of course, all of my customization is gone. I'm not sure how comments will be handled, or how past comments will display. I'll be rooting around for a while checking out the differences between Old Blogger and New Blogger. Eventually, I'll start loading this template with the custom features which I had installed on the old template, so I can look forward to something which looks more like home to me.
Right now, it's like moving into a new house. I'm just wandering around, seeing how big the rooms are, wondering where I'm going to put the waterbed and the television. Maybe I'll throw out some of the old furniture; I kind of like the new roominess available here.
You're invited to comment, if you're interested. If nothing else, it will allow me to test the commenting feature.
Some really good things about this software version; it allows me to change colors "on the fly", for example. I REALLY didn't like the clumsy looks of the old design. It was too dark, and gloomy. Other things I'll not know about until I start working with it. It's actually kind of nice to have a new project ... a new toy, if you will.
The worries I've had were the difficulty of converting, and finding places to put my own features. The conversion was literally a push of a button. And the design appears sufficient for at least the sidebar thingies. What about the footer? I use to pack a lot of stuff in there, but several months ago my old template quit working the way it originally did, and those things were crammed into the sidebar ... where they did NOT fit! (Knowing that I was going to convert to New Blogger soon, I decided to ignore it; as nearly as I can tell, it bothered only me.)
I may be putting up some goofy looking posts for a while. No, don't look at me with that "so what's new about that?" expression. What I mean is, I'll be experimenting with different ways of doing things.
For now, it's just a sunnier view.
Blogger has been warning its users for months that we would HAVE to drop our old template and convert to a new one, and I'm so dubious about new software versions that I've waited until almost literally the last moment. If there are any bugs, I wanted someone else to be the Pioneer.
With no more time to lose, I pushed the button at 5pm Sunday ... just a few minutes ago ... and this is The New Blogger.
I deliberately chose a very simple design, one which should give me as much room as possible on the screen for text and photos.
Of course, all of my customization is gone. I'm not sure how comments will be handled, or how past comments will display. I'll be rooting around for a while checking out the differences between Old Blogger and New Blogger. Eventually, I'll start loading this template with the custom features which I had installed on the old template, so I can look forward to something which looks more like home to me.
Right now, it's like moving into a new house. I'm just wandering around, seeing how big the rooms are, wondering where I'm going to put the waterbed and the television. Maybe I'll throw out some of the old furniture; I kind of like the new roominess available here.
You're invited to comment, if you're interested. If nothing else, it will allow me to test the commenting feature.
Some really good things about this software version; it allows me to change colors "on the fly", for example. I REALLY didn't like the clumsy looks of the old design. It was too dark, and gloomy. Other things I'll not know about until I start working with it. It's actually kind of nice to have a new project ... a new toy, if you will.
The worries I've had were the difficulty of converting, and finding places to put my own features. The conversion was literally a push of a button. And the design appears sufficient for at least the sidebar thingies. What about the footer? I use to pack a lot of stuff in there, but several months ago my old template quit working the way it originally did, and those things were crammed into the sidebar ... where they did NOT fit! (Knowing that I was going to convert to New Blogger soon, I decided to ignore it; as nearly as I can tell, it bothered only me.)
I may be putting up some goofy looking posts for a while. No, don't look at me with that "so what's new about that?" expression. What I mean is, I'll be experimenting with different ways of doing things.
For now, it's just a sunnier view.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Bitter Clinger
DHS 'attempting to conceal' info about immigrants on welfare | The Daily Caller: Four powerful Republican senators are demanding answers to questions they posited to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in early August regarding the apparent watering down of immigration regulations which prohibit those seeking residency or citizenship from being primarily reliant on welfare, or a public charge.I recall several years ago when I was curious about Australia immigration laws. My research revealed that anybody could immigrate .. as long as they could prove that they were self-sufficient and had a guaranteed job.
The Department of Homeland Security missed the Aug. 20 deadline and has yet to respond. Also addressed in the initial letter was Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The State Department did respond, claiming that the majority of the inquiry fell under the purview of DHS.
Also, I looked at Jamaica. Same thing: Sure, you can immigrate if you have X-number of dollars in private capital, or could prove that you had a guaranteed job. Of course, in Jamaica, Native Jamaicans are always preferred in any job application. Well, it's their country (I mused), so it's only reasonable that they want to insure employment for their own people. They only accept immigrants if they can't find people with the same skill-sets "in-country".
Now, the United States is applying the same tests for immigration .. or are we?
Of course, it's the angry, divisive Republicans who are demanding that our nation's immigration laws be not only observed, but strictly enforced.
Unfortunately, there seem to be entire Federal Departments (those upon whom we rely to think of our citizens first) who are undermining immigration requirements.
I'm retired, and I worked for a living for over fifty years. Now I can sit back and enjoy the benefits that I've EARNED. Of course, we're now talking about benefits to which I have contributed (retirement, pensions, Social Security, Medicare, etc.) and our government is saying that they may have to cut benefits, because HEY! We just don't have the money.
But we have money to allow the immigration of people who have NOT contributed, who arrive here without jobs or the means to support themselves and their families?
I am aware of the words written on the base of the Statue of Liberty. "Send me your poor, your downtrodden ... " And yes, I would wish that we are able to save everybody.
But it's not like that, is it? Instead, it's as if our Federal Government believes in the old rumor that "The Streets Are Paved With Gold".
The streets here in Corvallis are paved with tar. And sometimes, concrete. And the City Fathers spend three summer months a year repairing pot-holes; making 'wheel-chair accessible' ramps on every corner curb of every intersection; maintaining traffic-control signals.
Somebody has to pay for this infrastructure maintenance. It's certainly not the people who come here with nothing, work for very little, and do not pay taxes. They are able to live with less money, because they are accustomed to doing without, unlike we spoiled Americans ... who pay taxes.
Now, I am learning to live with less money, do without. I rely only on the savings (Hah!) that my Government has invested (Hah!) on Social Security and Medicare, because ... I've been paying into those funds for fifty years.
Oh, and my pension? It goes down every year, because the Stock Market .. upon which the 'interest' on my pension savings is dependent ... is going in the tank.
And when I finally discover that I cannot live on Social Security alone, and when my savings are gone, and when my pension (taxable, when I draw it) is wiped out? When every cent that I have contributed has been allocated to support the penury of immigrants?
Then I am proud to be an American, and to be the sole support of those who have contributed NOTHING to the National Economy .. excepting, perhaps, that they can work for less money than would support me, assuming I could get a job picking Strawberries in the Summer.
This is what I fought for, in the jungle. I hope that the ghosts of my friends who gave their lives in Vietnam are content with their contribution.
To my children: if you tell me I cannot smoke in your home, when I come to live with you ... enjoy your legacy!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Unconventional Uses for your Dishwasher
Okay, I admit it; maybe I'm going a little crazy here doing all this unlikely blogging with no warning.
Go to the link (see above) to list all of THEIR 'unconventional uses for your dishwasher. And maybe they're going a little crazy here, too!
The thing is ... I HAVE cooked Fish Filets in a dishwasher. The first time was for a girlfriend in the 80's, and maybe it was a desperation thingie; she already had convinced herself that I was a kook (EDITOR'S NOTE: that's a very Politically Correct expression meaning "Asshole", in the Real World). But when I slathered a Salmon Fillet in mayonnaise, wrapped it tightly in three layers of tinfoil, put it in her own otherwise-empty dishwasher (without detergent) and ran it through the whole cycle ...She decided that ... oh. Okay, Full Disclosure: she still thought I was an asshole, but maybe I was not COMPLETELY full of bovine effluvia
I don't have SIX Unconventional Things, but I have also blogged here on my use of the dishwasher to clean firearms ... this time, both with and without the CASCADE soap. (As I have just today made my custom, I'm not gong to search for the original article; if you're that interested, you can search for it as well as I can.)
Rules of Thumb for cleaning guns in your Dishwasher:
And washing caps in the dishwasher? Absolutely! In fact, it may still be possible to purchase 'cap forms' online, which can be inserted in your cap to insure that it keeps its proper form through both the wash and the dryer cycles. I've washed a lot of caps this way. Especially after the end of the Summer Competition Season, when half of my caps are showing significant rings of salt due to perspiration. Really, it WILL make them look a lot better; you cannot DO this in a Laundry Washer and Dryer with the same positive results.
FINAL CAUTIONARY WARNING: .... and this is serious, Folks, so disregard this at your own peril:
Do all of this when your wife is NOT at home. Well, except maybe for the Salmon Filet .. hey, no dishes; what's not to like?
But greasy guns, car/motorcycle/boat parts? Funky caps? You can't put that stuff in the laundry washer, and she'll agree with you there ... but she doesn't want the dishes to taste and smell like your Hoppes #7; you know, that stuff that you not only use to clean firearms 'by hand', and even as a cologne by some misguided competitors.
FINAL FINAL!
. 6 Unconventional Uses for your Dishwasher - DishwasherInfo.com: It takes the right mix of ingenuity and desperation to discover new uses for old tools, but whoever first tried steaming a salmon fillet in their dishwasher must’ve been drunk. For folks who are curious about what else their kitchen contraptions can do, here’s a rundown of the most unconventional uses for your home dishwasher.
Go to the link (see above) to list all of THEIR 'unconventional uses for your dishwasher. And maybe they're going a little crazy here, too!
The thing is ... I HAVE cooked Fish Filets in a dishwasher. The first time was for a girlfriend in the 80's, and maybe it was a desperation thingie; she already had convinced herself that I was a kook (EDITOR'S NOTE: that's a very Politically Correct expression meaning "Asshole", in the Real World). But when I slathered a Salmon Fillet in mayonnaise, wrapped it tightly in three layers of tinfoil, put it in her own otherwise-empty dishwasher (without detergent) and ran it through the whole cycle ...She decided that ... oh. Okay, Full Disclosure: she still thought I was an asshole, but maybe I was not COMPLETELY full of bovine effluvia
I don't have SIX Unconventional Things, but I have also blogged here on my use of the dishwasher to clean firearms ... this time, both with and without the CASCADE soap. (As I have just today made my custom, I'm not gong to search for the original article; if you're that interested, you can search for it as well as I can.)
Rules of Thumb for cleaning guns in your Dishwasher:
- Rifles are not a good candidate, especially if they're (a) long, or (b) stocked with a wooden stock. If you don't understand why, maybe you should consider just laying all of your rifles under the rear tandem-wheels of your F350 and running over them two or three times. Same effect, but it's faster and easier.
- If you're just putting your barrel in, go ahead and use the Cascade if it makes you feel good. Include the slide? Still okay, as long as you detail-strip it. It's optional, but it WILL remove most of the grease and oil; not so good for lead or copper-jacket deposits in the barrel, of course.
- Want to put the frame of your pistol in the dishwasher? hmmm probably a good idea not to add the Cascade; regardless of the television adds; you may discover that some unfortunate deposits (lime, soap-scum, etc.) may be building on the small parts and the channels through which they operate. And always, ALWAYS TAKE THE STOCKS OFF THE FRAME! They won't get clean, but they may be damaged by heat & humidity. Also, they will interfere with the flow of the hot water through the frame interior.
- Want to detail strip the frame, and then put it through your dishwasher WITH the detergent? Hell, I don't care. It's probably not the best idea, but you might get just as good a clean doing it by hand using the regular methods, and you'll probably be a lot more sure.
- Stainless Steel .. isn't. but I've run my S&W 659 through the dishwasher lots of times, and if I miss a target on a stage, I've always got a ready alibi.
- Small parts; yes, you CAN springs, pins, safeties, extractors, etc. through your washer, and even include the CASCADE ... but make sure that your small parts are (a) enclosed in some kind of container, like a cloth bag, and (b) large enough that they're not going to squeeze out of the bag and wash down the drain.
- Always, ALWAYS run the parts through the dry cycle as well as the Wash and Rinse cycle. That little bit of moisture left in the extractor channel in the slide, for example? It needs to be dry. (Running a Q-tip through the extractor channel is never a total waste of time.)
And washing caps in the dishwasher? Absolutely! In fact, it may still be possible to purchase 'cap forms' online, which can be inserted in your cap to insure that it keeps its proper form through both the wash and the dryer cycles. I've washed a lot of caps this way. Especially after the end of the Summer Competition Season, when half of my caps are showing significant rings of salt due to perspiration. Really, it WILL make them look a lot better; you cannot DO this in a Laundry Washer and Dryer with the same positive results.
FINAL CAUTIONARY WARNING: .... and this is serious, Folks, so disregard this at your own peril:
Do all of this when your wife is NOT at home. Well, except maybe for the Salmon Filet .. hey, no dishes; what's not to like?
But greasy guns, car/motorcycle/boat parts? Funky caps? You can't put that stuff in the laundry washer, and she'll agree with you there ... but she doesn't want the dishes to taste and smell like your Hoppes #7; you know, that stuff that you not only use to clean firearms 'by hand', and even as a cologne by some misguided competitors.
FINAL FINAL!
- It never hurts to run an extra rinse cycle at the end
- It may HELP if you run the last cycle without soap; or even run a cycle before you start. It might keep keep the machinery clean, but it's also a way to prevent irritation of the member of your household who cooks. Nobody likes it when dishes come out of the washer dirtier than they went in.
- When you're done with the 'laundry list of suggestions for unconventional dishwasher tasks,maybe you can think of a couple which are unique and original within your own mind. There's room for imaginative thinking here, and your creativity might earn you a little free time, while you relax and let the Dishwasher do all the "heavy lifting"
Oh, NOW I remember why I haven't been posting!
Yeah, our charming host BLOGGER (aka GOOGLE) has been updated so that ... well, the old templates can no longer be maintained by the user. Which means, we are forced to go to the new-and-improved BLOGGER templates, and "some of the features may not be retained" in the transition.
This is a Bad News/Good News situation.
Want to hear the Bad News? I'm not gong to have all the features on my sidebar that I use to have.
The Good News? My template was already fairly hozed by the updates to BLOGGER, and most of the really keen features I'm incorporated (read: "stole from other bloggers) since I started this blog in 2004 are either no longer functional, or they have been randomly distributed to other frames of the blog ... where they did not fit.
I'm thinking I have very little to lose, and honestly I saw this coming. It's not that I'm so wise, it's just that they have been TELLING us for the past two years that we're going to have to change our template. Me? I've been too grumpy to embrace the change. Hey, it may be so bad that they go back to the old version, and why should I go to all that trouble when I may have to undo the undoings I've already undone, if I change?
Remember the old John Lennon song (are there any NEW John Lennon songs?) IMAGINE, where he sings so mordantly:
"You may say I'm a Dreamer, but I'm not the only one ...."
(I'm of the sincere opinion that Mark David Chapman shot Lennon because of this song, but imagine I'm not the only one)
Anyway, Imagine that I was right and the New Blogger is a total piece of hooey, when it comes to translating eight-year-old templates to the new format. But I've given it as long as possible to get from release 2.0 to release 2.1.11.01. ( I actually worked with a piece of vended software with that that release number, and what a piece of work THAT was), so I'm ready to concede that there are no alternatives to biting the bullet.
Uh ... sorry, John. That was an ill-chosen phrase, in this context, wasn't it?
I'll do the conversion, okay? So get off my back?
Maybe not tonight, though. I don't think I've had quite enough to drink yet. I'm not finished with the bottle of wine, and I've got three more stashed in the pots-and-pans cupboard, where the landlord won't find them in a million years!
And then, there's the half-gallon of Jameson, if I find I'm in need of still more "Dutch Courage". (I always thought that phrase should be "Irish Courage", haven't you?). Not to mention the Glenfiddich, the Stoly, the Ron Rico, the Malibou Stork, and that funny coffee flavored stuff you put in your coffee when you want to pretend you're not really drinking liquor when you really are.
Yeah, I can put this off for a LONG while yet, if I don't intend to actually do much blogging.
Or maybe the next time you sign on, this will look completely different (as those Monty Python guys use to say), and maybe it will look really trim and slim and totally RAD, Dude!
Yeah, right. As if anyone still reads this blog.
Cheer up! I've only had two glasses of wine today. And it's not even four pm yet.
Whatever happens, you can't say I didn't warn you.
I'm just saying ........ OUCH!
This is a Bad News/Good News situation.
Want to hear the Bad News? I'm not gong to have all the features on my sidebar that I use to have.
The Good News? My template was already fairly hozed by the updates to BLOGGER, and most of the really keen features I'm incorporated (read: "stole from other bloggers) since I started this blog in 2004 are either no longer functional, or they have been randomly distributed to other frames of the blog ... where they did not fit.
I'm thinking I have very little to lose, and honestly I saw this coming. It's not that I'm so wise, it's just that they have been TELLING us for the past two years that we're going to have to change our template. Me? I've been too grumpy to embrace the change. Hey, it may be so bad that they go back to the old version, and why should I go to all that trouble when I may have to undo the undoings I've already undone, if I change?
Remember the old John Lennon song (are there any NEW John Lennon songs?) IMAGINE, where he sings so mordantly:
"You may say I'm a Dreamer, but I'm not the only one ...."
(I'm of the sincere opinion that Mark David Chapman shot Lennon because of this song, but imagine I'm not the only one)
Anyway, Imagine that I was right and the New Blogger is a total piece of hooey, when it comes to translating eight-year-old templates to the new format. But I've given it as long as possible to get from release 2.0 to release 2.1.11.01. ( I actually worked with a piece of vended software with that that release number, and what a piece of work THAT was), so I'm ready to concede that there are no alternatives to biting the bullet.
Uh ... sorry, John. That was an ill-chosen phrase, in this context, wasn't it?
I'll do the conversion, okay? So get off my back?
Maybe not tonight, though. I don't think I've had quite enough to drink yet. I'm not finished with the bottle of wine, and I've got three more stashed in the pots-and-pans cupboard, where the landlord won't find them in a million years!
And then, there's the half-gallon of Jameson, if I find I'm in need of still more "Dutch Courage". (I always thought that phrase should be "Irish Courage", haven't you?). Not to mention the Glenfiddich, the Stoly, the Ron Rico, the Malibou Stork, and that funny coffee flavored stuff you put in your coffee when you want to pretend you're not really drinking liquor when you really are.
Yeah, I can put this off for a LONG while yet, if I don't intend to actually do much blogging.
Or maybe the next time you sign on, this will look completely different (as those Monty Python guys use to say), and maybe it will look really trim and slim and totally RAD, Dude!
Yeah, right. As if anyone still reads this blog.
Cheer up! I've only had two glasses of wine today. And it's not even four pm yet.
Whatever happens, you can't say I didn't warn you.
I'm just saying ........ OUCH!
YIKES!
I've been singularly inactive here for the past (mumble mumble mumble) days ... okay, it's like about two months ... mostly because my life has been so placid and boring that I didn't really have anything much to say.
I know, that never seemed to stop me before. Well, now I'm old. And I'm retired.
So you may be excused for being surprised that I actually found something to talk about today. Something even more interesting than complaining about my inability to keep my loading presses functioning smoothly, my competition pistols functioning smoothly, and the odd directions in which targets dodge to avoid those very expensive bullets I pour downrange at them in vain hopes of not embarrassing myself TOO badly during IPSC-style shooting matches.
What's so exciting today?
I've been robbed.
Smooth but shady characters have sneaked into my private domain and slipped smoothly away with $1,327.00 of my money, and they almost got away with it. But I caught them, shot them down, and got my money back. Yes, I shot them ... not with my Beloved Kimber or the Marvelous Mossberg, but with my lowly Casio cell phone.
Here's the story:
I didn't get to go to the Dundee match this weekend because I'm now having trouble with my Lee loading press, so I spent some time on my computer, checking on my financial situation. I signed onto my VISA credit card account and I discovered that I owed them over $1,600 dollars!
Hence the "YIKES!" title of this post.
Two transactions, the description of both beginning with "SQ*" showed up, dated on the 19th of this month. Posted on the 20th ... it took me three days (this being the 22nd, if I can remember to actually PUBLISH this post before I wander off to the kitchen for another glass of wine) for me to discover them and report them via phone to my credit card carrier. I talked to a representative in their "Fraud Department". That very helpful Customer Service Representative assured me that I would NOT be required to pay for those transactions. However, I have been sternly enjoined to destroy my credit card immediately and insure that any statements or other documents which may have my account information NOT be casually tossed in the trash, etc.
The funny thing is, I'm almost entirely paperless in my financial transactions. Any document which includes my name, or any account information (such as account number and/or transaction details) is shredded. I don't even put the shredded paper in the trash until Trash Day. Well ... okay, sometimes I forget to do it on Trash Day, but I always dump the shredder stuff on SOME Trash Day!
The accounts which include legitimate transactions are those -- such as Amazon.com -- with which I have done business for years.
It's a total mystery to me how my credit card number got out, and I suppose I will never discover the labyrinthine manner in which those shady shoddy sneaks winnowed out my account information. But it will do them no good in the future, because my account has been cancelled, and a new card will be FedEx-ed to me (signature required!) during the coming business week.
Thankfully, I don't depend on credit cards to make most of my purchases, so being without one for a few days is not an imposition. I'm grateful for my carrier that they took me at my word and acted immediately ... which is to say, while I was still on the line ... to cancel the card and arrange for its replacement.
It's probably a very good thing that I discovered the fraud so early.
It's only a fluke that I chose to check my account almost a month before the next payment is due.
But you know, I've noticed a LOT of 'flukes' in my life recently. For example, I lost my cell phone last week. Not in the usual places (desk, coffee table, nightstand, charger, trouser pocket, etc.) but before I began a THOROUGH search of the usual second-tier places (car, garage, under the sofa cushions, in the refrigerator ... I swear I'm not making that up) I somehow thought to look behind the curio cabinet which abuts the stairs to the second floor. Yup, there it was, on the floor very close to the book case. I NEVER put anything on top of the curio cabinet, except for pictures of my kids, and I have no idea what prompted me to look there. Must be some kind of sub-conscious "save this idiot from losing his stuff" survival-oriented instinct of which I have not previously been away. Anyway, I found the phone and I walk around the house with it in my hand, when I'm wearing pajamas which have no pockets. (I suppose you would call those pajamas "A T-Shirt And Boxer Shorts", but I'm much classier than that.)
Well. I had another "Credit Card Crisis" incident slightly similar to this a few years ago, involving sums of a considerably less significant denomination. [I would include the link here for your edification and reference, but I'm old and retired and therefore too lazy to look it up. Maybe later.] At that time, I made some profoundly helpful suggestions about how everyone should monitor their financial accounts closely and frequently, including at random dates for no discernible reason. I'm pretty sure I've been taking my own advice, and I want to congratulate myself for sharing my wisdom.
Now, everybody get off this loser blog and go check your accounts. Do it now.
Oh, by the way .... if any of you should happen to stop by Chez Geek, would you mind looking around for a pair of bifocals? I don't remember where I placed them, and it's unbelievably difficult to find glasses when you don't have .... er .. the glasses you need to be able to SEE to find your glasses.
So you may be excused for being surprised that I actually found something to talk about today. Something even more interesting than complaining about my inability to keep my loading presses functioning smoothly, my competition pistols functioning smoothly, and the odd directions in which targets dodge to avoid those very expensive bullets I pour downrange at them in vain hopes of not embarrassing myself TOO badly during IPSC-style shooting matches.
What's so exciting today?
I've been robbed.
Smooth but shady characters have sneaked into my private domain and slipped smoothly away with $1,327.00 of my money, and they almost got away with it. But I caught them, shot them down, and got my money back. Yes, I shot them ... not with my Beloved Kimber or the Marvelous Mossberg, but with my lowly Casio cell phone.
Here's the story:
I didn't get to go to the Dundee match this weekend because I'm now having trouble with my Lee loading press, so I spent some time on my computer, checking on my financial situation. I signed onto my VISA credit card account and I discovered that I owed them over $1,600 dollars!
Hence the "YIKES!" title of this post.
Two transactions, the description of both beginning with "SQ*" showed up, dated on the 19th of this month. Posted on the 20th ... it took me three days (this being the 22nd, if I can remember to actually PUBLISH this post before I wander off to the kitchen for another glass of wine) for me to discover them and report them via phone to my credit card carrier. I talked to a representative in their "Fraud Department". That very helpful Customer Service Representative assured me that I would NOT be required to pay for those transactions. However, I have been sternly enjoined to destroy my credit card immediately and insure that any statements or other documents which may have my account information NOT be casually tossed in the trash, etc.
The funny thing is, I'm almost entirely paperless in my financial transactions. Any document which includes my name, or any account information (such as account number and/or transaction details) is shredded. I don't even put the shredded paper in the trash until Trash Day. Well ... okay, sometimes I forget to do it on Trash Day, but I always dump the shredder stuff on SOME Trash Day!
The accounts which include legitimate transactions are those -- such as Amazon.com -- with which I have done business for years.
It's a total mystery to me how my credit card number got out, and I suppose I will never discover the labyrinthine manner in which those shady shoddy sneaks winnowed out my account information. But it will do them no good in the future, because my account has been cancelled, and a new card will be FedEx-ed to me (signature required!) during the coming business week.
[My GOD! Can you just hear the stentorian tones? I swear I can hear John Huston or John Amos or some stentorianly voiced John doing a voice-over. No wonder Darth Vadar lost the fight. Oh, wait a minute ... that WAS the Stentorian-Toned one, wasn't it? Okay, never mind.]
Thankfully, I don't depend on credit cards to make most of my purchases, so being without one for a few days is not an imposition. I'm grateful for my carrier that they took me at my word and acted immediately ... which is to say, while I was still on the line ... to cancel the card and arrange for its replacement.
It's probably a very good thing that I discovered the fraud so early.
It's only a fluke that I chose to check my account almost a month before the next payment is due.
But you know, I've noticed a LOT of 'flukes' in my life recently. For example, I lost my cell phone last week. Not in the usual places (desk, coffee table, nightstand, charger, trouser pocket, etc.) but before I began a THOROUGH search of the usual second-tier places (car, garage, under the sofa cushions, in the refrigerator ... I swear I'm not making that up) I somehow thought to look behind the curio cabinet which abuts the stairs to the second floor. Yup, there it was, on the floor very close to the book case. I NEVER put anything on top of the curio cabinet, except for pictures of my kids, and I have no idea what prompted me to look there. Must be some kind of sub-conscious "save this idiot from losing his stuff" survival-oriented instinct of which I have not previously been away. Anyway, I found the phone and I walk around the house with it in my hand, when I'm wearing pajamas which have no pockets. (I suppose you would call those pajamas "A T-Shirt And Boxer Shorts", but I'm much classier than that.)
Well. I had another "Credit Card Crisis" incident slightly similar to this a few years ago, involving sums of a considerably less significant denomination. [I would include the link here for your edification and reference, but I'm old and retired and therefore too lazy to look it up. Maybe later.] At that time, I made some profoundly helpful suggestions about how everyone should monitor their financial accounts closely and frequently, including at random dates for no discernible reason. I'm pretty sure I've been taking my own advice, and I want to congratulate myself for sharing my wisdom.
Now, everybody get off this loser blog and go check your accounts. Do it now.
PS: Gee, this writing business is kind of fun. Maybe I should start a blog?
Oh .. wait a minute, I already have one, don't I? I forgot. Well, I'm old.
And I'm, retired. Have I already mentioned that? (smug moment here)
If I'm too proud to inflict my peripatetic mundanities on myself, why should I inflict them on you? Other than, of course, that I CAN! (There's enough smugness here to fill a wine glass, which is a good thing because I've emptied mine and it's a damn long way down to the kitchen to get a refill.)
PPS: Damn! This means I can't write another blog entry until I've been robbed of an equal or greater sum. I KNEW this was a bad idea!
PPPS. Never mind. By this evening, I would have forgotten all about this post, so I have a good excuse for writing about anything I wish, whenever it strikes my fancy. Who says that Getting Old Is No Fun?
Oh, by the way .... if any of you should happen to stop by Chez Geek, would you mind looking around for a pair of bifocals? I don't remember where I placed them, and it's unbelievably difficult to find glasses when you don't have .... er .. the glasses you need to be able to SEE to find your glasses.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Mountain High/Colorado: Dozen Die in Massacre
[Early reports from USA TODAY]
Calls for gun control stir little support | General Headlines | Comcast:
There's a lot of sympathy for the victims, both those who were shot ... ... and those who were witnesses.
But there are voices being raised saying that the shootings in Aurora are less an argument for gun CONTROL than for gun OWNERSHIP ... and Concealed Carry.
For example:
In the past 20+ years, American states have dramatically liberated their citizens to defend themselves .... by permitting concealed carry. But the killings go on, in theaters, in schools, in churches, in shopping malls. "Gun Control Advocates" (a polite term for "Gun Grabbers") continue searching for a :"dialogue" (a polite term for "we want YOU to concede your rights, unilaterally, so we can feel good about ourselves) and the center of their argument continues to be:
Why would you want to carry a gun in a:
Apparently, "those people" aren't reading the same news reports.
Oh, yeah. But Kevin Baker reads them. Especially those about Gun Control & Fearless Frank.
Calls for gun control stir little support | General Headlines | Comcast:
WASHINGTON — Gun control advocates sputter at their own impotence. The National Rifle Association is politically ascendant. And Barack Obama's White House pledges to safeguard the Second Amendment in its first official response to the deaths of at least 12 people in a mass shooting at a new Batman movie screening in suburban Denver.
Once, every highly publicized outbreak of gun violence produced strong calls from Democrats and a few Republicans for tougher controls on firearms.
Now those pleas are muted, a political paradox that's grown more pronounced in an era scarred by Columbine, Virginia Tech, the wounding of a congresswoman and now the shootings in a suburban movie theater where carnage is expected on-screen only.
"We don't want sympathy. We want action," Dan Gross, president of the Brady campaign said Friday as President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney mourned the dead.
There's a lot of sympathy for the victims, both those who were shot ... ... and those who were witnesses.
But there are voices being raised saying that the shootings in Aurora are less an argument for gun CONTROL than for gun OWNERSHIP ... and Concealed Carry.
For example:
On April 22, 2012, convicted felon Kiarron Parker, just released from jail, entered the parking lot of an Aurora, Colorado church and shot and killed one of the members of the congregation before being killed himself by a member carrying concealed. Parker had been convicted for assaulting two police officers, breaking and entering and drug abuse.Many of us have been saying for years that most mass shootings occur in locations where firearms are not allowed .... starting with the 1991 massacre at the Luby Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas.
However, it is the Aurora shooting no one heard about, because there was a different outcome.
In the past 20+ years, American states have dramatically liberated their citizens to defend themselves .... by permitting concealed carry. But the killings go on, in theaters, in schools, in churches, in shopping malls. "Gun Control Advocates" (a polite term for "Gun Grabbers") continue searching for a :"dialogue" (a polite term for "we want YOU to concede your rights, unilaterally, so we can feel good about ourselves) and the center of their argument continues to be:
Why would you want to carry a gun in a:
- theater
- school
- church
- shopping mall
Apparently, "those people" aren't reading the same news reports.
Oh, yeah. But Kevin Baker reads them. Especially those about Gun Control & Fearless Frank.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
We're Running Out of Anti-Heroes!
The Wild Bunch (1969) was arguably Sam Peckinpah's greatest tribute to cinema violence. Essentially, almost every major character died in the bloody shoot-out that ended the movie.
In real life, many of the main actors have also passed away during the past 42 years.
This week, the last of the four key characters died. In the iconic photo, right to left:
Ernest Borgnine, who played Dutch Engstrom, died this week at the age of 95 of kidney failure
As for the three "other" Wild Bunch characters who survived to the final shoot-out:?
The other two?
In real life, many of the main actors have also passed away during the past 42 years.
This week, the last of the four key characters died. In the iconic photo, right to left:
Ernest Borgnine, who played Dutch Engstrom, died this week at the age of 95 of kidney failure
As for the three "other" Wild Bunch characters who survived to the final shoot-out:?
- William Holden ("Pike Bishop"}died in 1981 at age 63. The rumor is that he got drunk on vodka in his home one night, fell down and hit his head. Too drunk to realize that he was seriously injured, he went to bed and bled to death. This information is also from the autopsy report and resultant book by the L.A. County Medical Examiner.
- Warren Oates ("Lyle Gorch") ...died in 1982 at age 53 of heart attack
- Ben Johnson ("Tector Gorch") .. died in 1996 at age 77 of heart attack
- Robert Ryan ("Deke Thornton") ... died four years after the movie was completed, in 1973 of cancer
- Strother Martin ("Coffer") .... died in 1980 at the age of 61 of heart attack
- L.Q. Jones ("T.C. ") ... will be 85 next August
- Emilio Fernandez ("The General" or "El Indio") died in 1986 at the age of 83
The other two?
- Edmund O'Brien ("Freddie Sykes"), the hostler, died in 1985 at the age of 69 of Alzheimer's Disease
- Jaimie Sanchez ("Angel", who was the first to die after having his throat treacherously slit by El Indio, which action was the direct impetus for the final shoot-out) .. as of this date is alive and well and still working at age 74
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Camp Grenada
"Hello Muddah, hello Faddah
Here I am in Camp Grenada.
It is very ... entertaining,
And they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining."
Do you remember that 1963 novely song by Alan Sherman?
If you do, or if you've just listened to it, you have an idea about how my trip to see my grandchildren has been working for me so far.
The very old, like the very young (and like dogs ... see below), have 'problems' dealing with their environment and experiences.
For me ... well, I'm like The Hobo Brasser ("My Travels With Hansel and Gretel"), except the grief in my life comes from my car.
Yesterday, my car died just as I was pulling into the motel in Medford, Oregon. I ended up perched on a red curb (NO PARKING: VIOLATORS WILL BE TICKETTED AND TOWED!") by the restaurant next door to the motel. After I had explained and apologized to both the motel and the restaurant owner, the car started right up and I drove to my room.
Today, halfway to the American River Valley area along Interstate 5 in California, my front tire started to make "funny noises". Like THUMP-THUMP, THUMP-THUMP. So I pulled into a gas station at the next exit (ever notice how Service Stations never have a "Mechanic's Bay" anymore?) and it looked fine,
Back on the road, 20 miles later the car started pulling to the left.
It's 6pm Saturday Night, no place to go, so I limped on into Stockton and got room. The most disreputable Motel 6 in the entire chain can be found there; i'm in room 105, and the fine folks in room 106 are starting their Saturday Night early. WHOOPIE! Did I mention that the ice machine isn't working? I called the front desk. They checked. "Yes sir, our ice machine is working". Yes, it's churning and making noises .,. but it isn't dispensing any nice. One presumes that the fine folks in room 106 are making regular Ice runs too keep the machine drained. Either that, or in 94 degree weather, the stuff melts before it gets to the dispenser.
I haven't tried the shower yet. I'm afraid to.
Maybe I should just go visit the party in 106. It's my best chance to get ice, and The Good Lord knows I'm not going t get any sleep tonight anyway ... and I'm afraid to drive a car with a wobbly wheel like a grocery store shopping cart tomorrow.
Tomorrow: "Muddah Faddah Kindly Disregard Dis Lettah"
Monday, June 25, 2012
Geek Ride
Here's the problem; I live in Oregon (mid-Willamette valley, milepost 228 on the Interstate 5) and my kids live in San Diego (milepost 0 from the Mexican Border). I've got two kids, and between them they have SEVEN children. They don't come to visit me in Oregon very often, and I can only handle one trip a year because ... face it! ... I won't fly with the current regulations, and it's a drive of about a thousand miles.
Who knows how many? Maybe only 900 miles between us, maybe 1100. Perhaps I should keep track of my mileage this year, so I could REPORT it accurately; but I think if I spend too much time focusing on how far away they live, I may talk myself out of the next trip. So I'm saying 900, if only because it's doable.
Oh. That's one-way distance. Not round-trip. I don't want to think about round-trip distance.
In previous years, I've made the trip in three days. The last day is always a killer. I cannot help but thing that The City of The Angels is right next door to Saint Diego; but in truth, just getting through the LA Freeways is a grueling experience for a guy how has lived in a small college town for the past 20 years.
And of course, the time of the year is important.
Right on the California/Oregon border, there's a mountain range where any trip attempted September through March offers the possibility of fog at least, snow/sleet/ice at best on what can only be described as "a treacherously curvacious freeway".
It looks straight-up and straight-down, except that the Interstate 5 freeway appears to have followed the path of a notoriously lazy cow, always searching for a road grade which tries (but often fails) to conform to the standard of a 6% grade.
There is no chance at all that I would choose to make this trip during the winter; I have, often enough, when my kids lived in the San Francisco Bay area. I could make that trip in two days.
Once I rode a motorcycle from Oregon to the Bay Area, with a passenger. When we got to the bay area, I dropped the bike in a super-market parking lot, at night, when we got to Oakley (where the kids' mom, my ex-wife, lived). My passenger ... my second wife .. ended up in a hospital being treated for possible spinal injuries. Thankfully, she was only suffering from bruises, but the experience demonstrated how fatiguing it can be to drive too far in too short a time. I don't want to dump my car because I'm suffering from driver fatigue, so I'm leaving a week early and also taking another week to come home.
Unfortunately, this means that I will be unable to commit to my regularly scheduled "Introduction to USPSA" class, which should take place on the first Saturday of the month; July 7. I may or may not be back home by then, but I won't make any promises.
Mac has volunteered to take the class for July, and I'm volunteering to let him do it. He's a good instructor, even though he's still going through "The Cancer Thing" ... chemo-therapy undermines one's stamina, but he feels he's able to handle it. We've got one student signed up for the class so far, and frankly I'm hoping that (a) the class won't be so large that it's a challenge to the instructor, and (b) local competitors will volunteer to support Mac during the class, so HE won't be tempted to exert himself physically more than his current condition allows.
Me? I'm retired, but I still allow myself one vacation a year. I'm going to see my kids and my kids' kids whatever it takes.
Granddaughter Samantha and friend
(below) Granddaughter Elizabeth showing off her six-stitch scar from where she hit her head on the side of the swimming pool while doing "laps"
Who knows how many? Maybe only 900 miles between us, maybe 1100. Perhaps I should keep track of my mileage this year, so I could REPORT it accurately; but I think if I spend too much time focusing on how far away they live, I may talk myself out of the next trip. So I'm saying 900, if only because it's doable.
Oh. That's one-way distance. Not round-trip. I don't want to think about round-trip distance.
In previous years, I've made the trip in three days. The last day is always a killer. I cannot help but thing that The City of The Angels is right next door to Saint Diego; but in truth, just getting through the LA Freeways is a grueling experience for a guy how has lived in a small college town for the past 20 years.
And of course, the time of the year is important.
Right on the California/Oregon border, there's a mountain range where any trip attempted September through March offers the possibility of fog at least, snow/sleet/ice at best on what can only be described as "a treacherously curvacious freeway".
It looks straight-up and straight-down, except that the Interstate 5 freeway appears to have followed the path of a notoriously lazy cow, always searching for a road grade which tries (but often fails) to conform to the standard of a 6% grade.
There is no chance at all that I would choose to make this trip during the winter; I have, often enough, when my kids lived in the San Francisco Bay area. I could make that trip in two days.
Once I rode a motorcycle from Oregon to the Bay Area, with a passenger. When we got to the bay area, I dropped the bike in a super-market parking lot, at night, when we got to Oakley (where the kids' mom, my ex-wife, lived). My passenger ... my second wife .. ended up in a hospital being treated for possible spinal injuries. Thankfully, she was only suffering from bruises, but the experience demonstrated how fatiguing it can be to drive too far in too short a time. I don't want to dump my car because I'm suffering from driver fatigue, so I'm leaving a week early and also taking another week to come home.
What's the Point?
The point is, I'm going to admit that my stamina has decreased, and there's no reason why I should push myself so hard that I will be to tired to enjoy my grandchildren when I get there. I'm looking for under 300 miles a day, and a good night's sleep between every leg.Unfortunately, this means that I will be unable to commit to my regularly scheduled "Introduction to USPSA" class, which should take place on the first Saturday of the month; July 7. I may or may not be back home by then, but I won't make any promises.
Mac has volunteered to take the class for July, and I'm volunteering to let him do it. He's a good instructor, even though he's still going through "The Cancer Thing" ... chemo-therapy undermines one's stamina, but he feels he's able to handle it. We've got one student signed up for the class so far, and frankly I'm hoping that (a) the class won't be so large that it's a challenge to the instructor, and (b) local competitors will volunteer to support Mac during the class, so HE won't be tempted to exert himself physically more than his current condition allows.
Me? I'm retired, but I still allow myself one vacation a year. I'm going to see my kids and my kids' kids whatever it takes.
 | ||
| Grandson Jack teasing his Pre-school teacher with his diploma |
Granddaughter Samantha and friend
(below) Granddaughter Elizabeth showing off her six-stitch scar from where she hit her head on the side of the swimming pool while doing "laps"
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
iPad Beer at Hofbraeuhaus
iPad Beer at Hofbraeuhaus - Simon Pierro - YouTube
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.". - Arthur C. Clarke .. the third of Clarke's Three Laws
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.". - Arthur C. Clarke .. the third of Clarke's Three Laws
Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates. Epic Rap Battles of History Season 2. - YouTube
Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates. Epic Rap Battles of History Season 2. - YouTube
http://youtu.be/njos57IJf-0
Thanks to the G-man .. I think it's funny as heck!
http://youtu.be/njos57IJf-0
Thanks to the G-man .. I think it's funny as heck!
Skin Song: Day 2
This is a really boring post, unless you're into medical crap.
I went to the Dermatology folks at Oregon Health Science Unit in Portland yesterday. They spend 2 hours taking medical history, asking questions about my life style and health-care habits, and eventually got down to the Nitty Gritty; putting the patches on my back to check for allergies.
So far, nobody has made any statements about what they think may be cause of the skin peeling off of my fingers. Well .. nothing new. Over the past four years, various medicos have suggested, and failed to support, their theories of stress, fungus, yatta yatta yatta. That's their way of saying they have NO idea. Now they're working on the theory that I've acquired an allergy to some substance. I didn't believe it then, I don't believe it now, and if they find the cause as a result of this "Patch Test" (and if it leads to a successful treatment) I will be thrilled to admit that I was wrong ... as long as the skin quits rotting away, and my hands quit bleeding.
I mentioned before that they were going to do about 150 patch tests? The technician corrected me, saying that they were going to do "only" about 115. But when she finished applying the patches, she noticed that she had room for more, so we said "WHAT THE HELL?" and she found some more substances to test for.
Then she covered my entire back with tape, to make sure the patch-arrays (there are 8 substances in each array) wouldn't rub off in my sleep.
The common comment from other people who have been tested is "it feels like my back is covered in cardboard". They're right.
There was a movie called "The Tingler" starring Vincent Price; aliens affixed themselves to human spinal columns and controlled them. Now I think I know how they might have felt .. the humans, not the Tinglers.
Tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday, June 20) I make the 80 mile drive back to Portland to get the first evaluation. They take the patch arrays off, and see if there's any reaction to any of the substances. I don't expect them to find much, because nothing is even tingling, let along itching.
I'm very much looking forward to the event, because they have all of this tape and plastic plates affixed to my skin with glue. Think of it as having extensive very-sticky bandages covering 100% of the skin on my back. Are they going to go to the slow, excruciatingly painful method of removing the tape? Or will they use the fast, excruciatingly painful method? I'm sure that, in the future, when I'm feeling bored, I can look back on that event to remind myself that boredom is not always the worst thing that can happen.
Well, it IS something to look forward too.
I had asked the technician to take pictures, so I can see what my back looks like. I told her I wanted to put the pictures on my blog.
Bad idea. I have an ugly back, and the pictures do not flatter. Maybe I'll edit them down to smaller photos of the details, in case anyone is that much interested. But I won't do it tonite.
I'll be getting to bed soon, so I can be rested and make it to my 3pm appointment tomorrow.
What a life, eh? When the most interesting thing I have to talk about is getting tape ripped off my back.
I went to the Dermatology folks at Oregon Health Science Unit in Portland yesterday. They spend 2 hours taking medical history, asking questions about my life style and health-care habits, and eventually got down to the Nitty Gritty; putting the patches on my back to check for allergies.
So far, nobody has made any statements about what they think may be cause of the skin peeling off of my fingers. Well .. nothing new. Over the past four years, various medicos have suggested, and failed to support, their theories of stress, fungus, yatta yatta yatta. That's their way of saying they have NO idea. Now they're working on the theory that I've acquired an allergy to some substance. I didn't believe it then, I don't believe it now, and if they find the cause as a result of this "Patch Test" (and if it leads to a successful treatment) I will be thrilled to admit that I was wrong ... as long as the skin quits rotting away, and my hands quit bleeding.
I mentioned before that they were going to do about 150 patch tests? The technician corrected me, saying that they were going to do "only" about 115. But when she finished applying the patches, she noticed that she had room for more, so we said "WHAT THE HELL?" and she found some more substances to test for.
Then she covered my entire back with tape, to make sure the patch-arrays (there are 8 substances in each array) wouldn't rub off in my sleep.
The common comment from other people who have been tested is "it feels like my back is covered in cardboard". They're right.
There was a movie called "The Tingler" starring Vincent Price; aliens affixed themselves to human spinal columns and controlled them. Now I think I know how they might have felt .. the humans, not the Tinglers.
Tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday, June 20) I make the 80 mile drive back to Portland to get the first evaluation. They take the patch arrays off, and see if there's any reaction to any of the substances. I don't expect them to find much, because nothing is even tingling, let along itching.
I'm very much looking forward to the event, because they have all of this tape and plastic plates affixed to my skin with glue. Think of it as having extensive very-sticky bandages covering 100% of the skin on my back. Are they going to go to the slow, excruciatingly painful method of removing the tape? Or will they use the fast, excruciatingly painful method? I'm sure that, in the future, when I'm feeling bored, I can look back on that event to remind myself that boredom is not always the worst thing that can happen.
Well, it IS something to look forward too.
I had asked the technician to take pictures, so I can see what my back looks like. I told her I wanted to put the pictures on my blog.
Bad idea. I have an ugly back, and the pictures do not flatter. Maybe I'll edit them down to smaller photos of the details, in case anyone is that much interested. But I won't do it tonite.
I'll be getting to bed soon, so I can be rested and make it to my 3pm appointment tomorrow.
What a life, eh? When the most interesting thing I have to talk about is getting tape ripped off my back.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
CCS asking for Equipment Donations!
Okay, it's not the Columbia Cascade Section asking for equipment donations, it's just me.
And it doesn't have to be a donation; it may be a loan, or a sale.
Almost every month, when I teach a new class of "Introduction to USPSA", I find students who don't have sufficient equipment to compete in matches. Usually, it's a matter of crappy holsters; as often, they don't have enough magazines, or enough magazine carriers, to provide them with sufficient reloads to shoot some of the "Hi Round Count Stages".
Many of the folks who are really interested in competing want to shoot their first match as soon as possible, but they just can't afford, or can't receive the extra equipment necessary to shoot in their declared Division.
I try to help them out by offering what equipment I have, but often it doesn't fit their pistol, or their magazines.
Some of the equipment I have is not needed (because it's redundant, or not appropriate to the Division in which I expect to compete, so I offer it to the students. But I'm concerned that these folks may not compete at all, because of the high start-uip costs.
If YOU have equipment which you don't use any more, I am hoping that you might be willing to donate it to the Introduction to USPSA Equipment Fund (which I just now established), so new shooters have what they need to decide whether they sufficiently enjoy the sport; if not, they can return the equipment. If they want to continue competing, they can buy their own, or use what is available until they can afford to replace it with something that is more appropriate to their basic gear.
My thought is that they can buy the equipment (belts, magazine carriers, even magazines) from you at a "Used" price, which would save them money AND get the equipment to them in the week between the Introduction class, and their first match.
Of you want to to sell your gear at a reduced price, that's fine. The new shooter will pay you what you ask, or decline the bargain.
If you want to just contribute the gear, it will be used by several shooters until they can get their own gear.
Do you want to sell it, but are willing to wait until they decide they want to keep it? Okay, they can have the loan of it until they decide to buy their own, and return your gear; or they can pay you for it, and continue to use it.
The basic choices are:
Okay, it can be complicated or simple. It's your choice.
I don't care HOW you want to make the deal, as long as we can get usable (if dated) equipment to new shooters. My only concern is that we encourage new people to TRY the sport, and if they don't like it, then they haven't spent a lot of money just to learn that it isn't for them.
Please contact me (contact me in the COMMENTS section for this post) and we'll work something out. I won't be giving a July class, so there's at least six weeks for you to make a decision, set a price (if necessary), and arrange for the exchange of merchandise.
I'll keep the gear, on trust. I'll entrust the gear to the students; if they rip us off, I won't be able to pay you. Folks who know me, know that I won't be keeping the gear for myself.
Please think this over, and let me know if you're willing to make your gear available to new shooters. But remember ... the more competitors there are, the more people who will show up at matches and Build The Sport!
(Also: they will tape targets, pick up brass, and tell you what a GREAT shooter you are!)
Well, maybe not the last part. but the more shooters we have, the better the sport gets.
____________________________________________________________________
Mac has promised me that we can store them in the ARPC Club "Vault", so they'll be readily available. And in the future, contributions can be turned in at either the Stat Shack during Match Days at ARPC, or at the Pro-shop.
They will be disbursed to shooters on the basis of need. No strings attached, except that they will be encouraged to return them to the club Vault when they are able to replace them with gear which they can now afford, after they determine that they are committed to the sport.
Then they will be made available to other shooters.
I plan to keep track of which specific items are contributed by each donator. I think that feedback should be available, although there is no requirements imposed on the recipients. However, I don't plan to institute any major tracking program. My experience has always been that people are more than eager to contribute to the sport, and to encourage new shooters. The recipients of these donations will likely want to keep the Gear Box full, if only because they realize how helpful it may be for the New Shooters who follow them. And if they don't? Then the program will be discontinued. Any system which becomes too cumbersome to administer will fail, so we'll make this one as 'unofficial' as possible and count on the good will of both donators and recipients.
If you donate, and later decide you want your gear back? If we still have it, just ask for it. Thanks for the loan, no problem.
Other clubs who also offer a Certification/New Shooter Safety Training Program might consider instituting a similar equipment repository. As time goes by, and if unexpected situations occur, I'll keep you informed of any negative consequences of this program.
And it doesn't have to be a donation; it may be a loan, or a sale.
Almost every month, when I teach a new class of "Introduction to USPSA", I find students who don't have sufficient equipment to compete in matches. Usually, it's a matter of crappy holsters; as often, they don't have enough magazines, or enough magazine carriers, to provide them with sufficient reloads to shoot some of the "Hi Round Count Stages".
Many of the folks who are really interested in competing want to shoot their first match as soon as possible, but they just can't afford, or can't receive the extra equipment necessary to shoot in their declared Division.
I try to help them out by offering what equipment I have, but often it doesn't fit their pistol, or their magazines.
Some of the equipment I have is not needed (because it's redundant, or not appropriate to the Division in which I expect to compete, so I offer it to the students. But I'm concerned that these folks may not compete at all, because of the high start-uip costs.
If YOU have equipment which you don't use any more, I am hoping that you might be willing to donate it to the Introduction to USPSA Equipment Fund (which I just now established), so new shooters have what they need to decide whether they sufficiently enjoy the sport; if not, they can return the equipment. If they want to continue competing, they can buy their own, or use what is available until they can afford to replace it with something that is more appropriate to their basic gear.
My thought is that they can buy the equipment (belts, magazine carriers, even magazines) from you at a "Used" price, which would save them money AND get the equipment to them in the week between the Introduction class, and their first match.
Of you want to to sell your gear at a reduced price, that's fine. The new shooter will pay you what you ask, or decline the bargain.
If you want to just contribute the gear, it will be used by several shooters until they can get their own gear.
Do you want to sell it, but are willing to wait until they decide they want to keep it? Okay, they can have the loan of it until they decide to buy their own, and return your gear; or they can pay you for it, and continue to use it.
The basic choices are:
- Sell it outright to whomever needs it, with no returns.
- Loan the equipment (it's still your), and when the student gets his/her own, it will be returned to the pool.
- Loan the equipment, with the possibility of selling it at a reduced price.
- Loan the equipment, with the understanding that it will be returned to the "pool" for use by the next student who needs it.
Okay, it can be complicated or simple. It's your choice.
I don't care HOW you want to make the deal, as long as we can get usable (if dated) equipment to new shooters. My only concern is that we encourage new people to TRY the sport, and if they don't like it, then they haven't spent a lot of money just to learn that it isn't for them.
Please contact me (contact me in the COMMENTS section for this post) and we'll work something out. I won't be giving a July class, so there's at least six weeks for you to make a decision, set a price (if necessary), and arrange for the exchange of merchandise.
I'll keep the gear, on trust. I'll entrust the gear to the students; if they rip us off, I won't be able to pay you. Folks who know me, know that I won't be keeping the gear for myself.
Please think this over, and let me know if you're willing to make your gear available to new shooters. But remember ... the more competitors there are, the more people who will show up at matches and Build The Sport!
(Also: they will tape targets, pick up brass, and tell you what a GREAT shooter you are!)
Well, maybe not the last part. but the more shooters we have, the better the sport gets.
____________________________________________________________________
UPDATE: June 19, 2012
So far I have received emails from FOUR people who have offered to contribute their old gear. Mostly, it's magazines, magazine pouches, and holsters. These are three of the most essential items for IPSC type competition, so I'm sure they will be very welcome by new shooters in the future.Mac has promised me that we can store them in the ARPC Club "Vault", so they'll be readily available. And in the future, contributions can be turned in at either the Stat Shack during Match Days at ARPC, or at the Pro-shop.
They will be disbursed to shooters on the basis of need. No strings attached, except that they will be encouraged to return them to the club Vault when they are able to replace them with gear which they can now afford, after they determine that they are committed to the sport.
Then they will be made available to other shooters.
I plan to keep track of which specific items are contributed by each donator. I think that feedback should be available, although there is no requirements imposed on the recipients. However, I don't plan to institute any major tracking program. My experience has always been that people are more than eager to contribute to the sport, and to encourage new shooters. The recipients of these donations will likely want to keep the Gear Box full, if only because they realize how helpful it may be for the New Shooters who follow them. And if they don't? Then the program will be discontinued. Any system which becomes too cumbersome to administer will fail, so we'll make this one as 'unofficial' as possible and count on the good will of both donators and recipients.
If you donate, and later decide you want your gear back? If we still have it, just ask for it. Thanks for the loan, no problem.
Other clubs who also offer a Certification/New Shooter Safety Training Program might consider instituting a similar equipment repository. As time goes by, and if unexpected situations occur, I'll keep you informed of any negative consequences of this program.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Gun Sales Up, Violent Crime Down (Again) | NSSF Blog
Gun Sales Up, Violent Crime Down (Again) | NSSF Blog: Preliminary crime statistics for 2011 released today by the FBI show a 4 percent decrease in violent crime–a continuation of a long-term downward trend nationwide. The report highlights that all four violent crime categories–murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault–declined in the country’s four major geographical regions and in all city population groups. The report also noted that violent crime decreased both in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties. The continuing decrease in violent crime comes at a time when firearms ownership has increased across America, a fact that utterly contradicts the mantra of anti-gun groups that that more guns equals more crime. “Every firearms owner should be armed with this information,” said NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti. Read the report. (opens in a new window)
The Skin Song; same song, different verse
For three and a half years I've been whining here about my crappy hands.
Admittedly, while SWMBO was slowly dying of cancer, I tried to ignore my eczema; it seemed to be (and it was) exceedingly self-centered of me to complain about what was essentially 'dry skin' while her lungs were rotting away. It was worse when I came home from work and she asked me 'how are your hands?'. It seemed graceless to complain .... and it would have been.
But she's gone now, and I've decided to go back to whining.
It's nothing more than an inconvenience, but it's debilitating to a "slightly" lesser degree than cancer; when I try to do anything more strenuous than type on a computer keyboard, or read a book, the skin on my fingers dries out and splits. And bleeds. It's like getting paper-cuts, grasping nettles, or a severe sunburn ... often all at the same time. Oh, and sometimes the skin on my hands just peels off, and I get these open bleeding wounds which make it really hard to do something like ... uh, shoot a pistol? Even dimpled plastic grips get slippery.
So last month I went to my doctor (for the first time in a year), and HE asked me "how are your hands? Still got the same problem?"
I admitted that I've adopted ways to cope with the problem. I put ointment (Clobetasol, which is a 5 % steroid compound in a petroleum jelly base) on three or four times a day, and the rest of the time I just use vaseline petroleum jelly to keep my hands from drying out. And I wear vinyl gloves about 12 hours a day to keep the stuff from drying out. Still, it makes it awkward when I can't wash my hands with soap unless I immediately put that greasy crap all over my hands, and cover them with gloves.
My doctor, bless his heart, suggested that I see a Dermatologist. I explained that the last one I saw did nothing more than prescribe clobetasol ointment and tell me to avoid washing and especially avoid soap. And then last year, he retired ... mostly, I suspect he's living high on the extravagant fees he gets for telling people to quit washing.
To my surprise, my family doctor told me that there were now new dermatologists in town, and would I like him to refer me?
Would I? Oh, HELL yes!
I went to see Dr. Vandergrift, and he didn't even look at my hands. Not an auspicious start, from my perspective, but apparently he had been discussing my 'case' with my family doctor (who spent 9 months trying to eliminate the problem as being a fungus infection) and he understood that the only thing which had EVER helped was semi-annual massive infusion of Steroids ... which worked for a week at best.
(Then it came back, just as annoying and aggressive as ever.)
Dr. Vandergrift decided that since nothing else had been discovered to explain the situation, it must be an "acquired" allergy to some substance which had never been an issue until recent years. He has referred me to the Oregon Health Science Unit (a division of the Oregon University System, and the Major Hospital facility in Oregon).
I made the appointment, and in subsequent phone calls to Doctor Pamela Norris I agreed to submit myself to a Patch Test. This is the process where they scratch the skin on my back in about fifty places and deposit various substances, to see if my body reacts to them. I filled out a questionnaire, and after a couple of phone conversations with Dr. Norris's office, it turns out that they will be testing 150 substances, simultaneously. It makes me feel like a Drunken Sailor getting his first tattoo during an extended shore-leave, and I haven't even had the tests yet!
On Monday, June 18, I'll show up at the office and they'll inscribe "MOTHER" on my back in 150 different languages. In two days I'll come back, and they'll evaluate the results.
The next Monday, June 25, I go back for the 7-day evaluation. Lord knows what that's going to be like.
In the meantime, I can NOT get my back wet until the testing period is completed.
There are a lot of benefits to living alone; when I say something funny, everyone in the room laughs at my jokes. Everything stays just were I put it, and if I can't find it, it's my fault. And if my dinner tastes crappy, I don't have to smile and say "It's delicious, Dear .. can we have this again next week?" Instead I can just spit it out and phone for a pizza delivery.
Now there's another benefit to being a hermit: when I haven't bathed for a week, I have nobody to offend but myself.
But, still ... Yuck!
It isn't easy, being Geek.
Admittedly, while SWMBO was slowly dying of cancer, I tried to ignore my eczema; it seemed to be (and it was) exceedingly self-centered of me to complain about what was essentially 'dry skin' while her lungs were rotting away. It was worse when I came home from work and she asked me 'how are your hands?'. It seemed graceless to complain .... and it would have been.
But she's gone now, and I've decided to go back to whining.
It's nothing more than an inconvenience, but it's debilitating to a "slightly" lesser degree than cancer; when I try to do anything more strenuous than type on a computer keyboard, or read a book, the skin on my fingers dries out and splits. And bleeds. It's like getting paper-cuts, grasping nettles, or a severe sunburn ... often all at the same time. Oh, and sometimes the skin on my hands just peels off, and I get these open bleeding wounds which make it really hard to do something like ... uh, shoot a pistol? Even dimpled plastic grips get slippery.
So last month I went to my doctor (for the first time in a year), and HE asked me "how are your hands? Still got the same problem?"
I admitted that I've adopted ways to cope with the problem. I put ointment (Clobetasol, which is a 5 % steroid compound in a petroleum jelly base) on three or four times a day, and the rest of the time I just use vaseline petroleum jelly to keep my hands from drying out. And I wear vinyl gloves about 12 hours a day to keep the stuff from drying out. Still, it makes it awkward when I can't wash my hands with soap unless I immediately put that greasy crap all over my hands, and cover them with gloves.
My doctor, bless his heart, suggested that I see a Dermatologist. I explained that the last one I saw did nothing more than prescribe clobetasol ointment and tell me to avoid washing and especially avoid soap. And then last year, he retired ... mostly, I suspect he's living high on the extravagant fees he gets for telling people to quit washing.
To my surprise, my family doctor told me that there were now new dermatologists in town, and would I like him to refer me?
Would I? Oh, HELL yes!
I went to see Dr. Vandergrift, and he didn't even look at my hands. Not an auspicious start, from my perspective, but apparently he had been discussing my 'case' with my family doctor (who spent 9 months trying to eliminate the problem as being a fungus infection) and he understood that the only thing which had EVER helped was semi-annual massive infusion of Steroids ... which worked for a week at best.
(Then it came back, just as annoying and aggressive as ever.)
Dr. Vandergrift decided that since nothing else had been discovered to explain the situation, it must be an "acquired" allergy to some substance which had never been an issue until recent years. He has referred me to the Oregon Health Science Unit (a division of the Oregon University System, and the Major Hospital facility in Oregon).
I made the appointment, and in subsequent phone calls to Doctor Pamela Norris I agreed to submit myself to a Patch Test. This is the process where they scratch the skin on my back in about fifty places and deposit various substances, to see if my body reacts to them. I filled out a questionnaire, and after a couple of phone conversations with Dr. Norris's office, it turns out that they will be testing 150 substances, simultaneously. It makes me feel like a Drunken Sailor getting his first tattoo during an extended shore-leave, and I haven't even had the tests yet!
On Monday, June 18, I'll show up at the office and they'll inscribe "MOTHER" on my back in 150 different languages. In two days I'll come back, and they'll evaluate the results.
The next Monday, June 25, I go back for the 7-day evaluation. Lord knows what that's going to be like.
In the meantime, I can NOT get my back wet until the testing period is completed.
There are a lot of benefits to living alone; when I say something funny, everyone in the room laughs at my jokes. Everything stays just were I put it, and if I can't find it, it's my fault. And if my dinner tastes crappy, I don't have to smile and say "It's delicious, Dear .. can we have this again next week?" Instead I can just spit it out and phone for a pizza delivery.
Now there's another benefit to being a hermit: when I haven't bathed for a week, I have nobody to offend but myself.
But, still ... Yuck!
Sunday, June 03, 2012
A Clean Gun is a Happy Gun .. not!
I was cheerfully shooting the "El Presidente" stage as a demonstrator on today's (okay, yesterday's) "Introduction to USPSA" class, when my 2011 STI Edge in 10mm ... just didn't feel right.
I did the "Tap Rack Bang" and charged on. A couple of shots later, it failed to go into battery, so I had to perform the same remedial exercise again.
Now, I've been shooting this pistol with NO maintenance for the past year, in classes and in matches. It probably has 1,000 rounds fired from it (based on my orders from vendors, where I bought new reloading components), and it has performed flawlessly. But I cleaned the gun, and oiled it (using medium weight oil appropriate to the weather) last night, and today ... well!
I'm not sure whether to claim that "The Gun Let Me Down", or "The Sweet Old Girl Just Isn't Accustomed To Shooting 'Clean'", bu the one thing I DO know is that I was surprised at the failure of the slide to go into battery during a speed-shoot stage.
Or, it may be to a kind of "Psychic Shock" (if such is possible with an inanimate object like a pistol).
Well, that, and I'm not willing to consider that it might have been something that (_I_) might have done.
... other than cleaning the gun, of course.
Never mind ... that's the last time I'll clean THIS gun until this winter, when I have to change to a lighter oil.
I did the "Tap Rack Bang" and charged on. A couple of shots later, it failed to go into battery, so I had to perform the same remedial exercise again.
Now, I've been shooting this pistol with NO maintenance for the past year, in classes and in matches. It probably has 1,000 rounds fired from it (based on my orders from vendors, where I bought new reloading components), and it has performed flawlessly. But I cleaned the gun, and oiled it (using medium weight oil appropriate to the weather) last night, and today ... well!
I'm not sure whether to claim that "The Gun Let Me Down", or "The Sweet Old Girl Just Isn't Accustomed To Shooting 'Clean'", bu the one thing I DO know is that I was surprised at the failure of the slide to go into battery during a speed-shoot stage.
Or, it may be to a kind of "Psychic Shock" (if such is possible with an inanimate object like a pistol).
Well, that, and I'm not willing to consider that it might have been something that (_I_) might have done.
... other than cleaning the gun, of course.
Never mind ... that's the last time I'll clean THIS gun until this winter, when I have to change to a lighter oil.
"Does the fastest shooter win the stage?"
The "Introduction to USPSA" classes run for three hours (at ARPC, the First Saturday of every month). One of the challenges is to present a HUGE body of information within this very limited time span, without boring both the student and the instruct staff.
The question which invariably comes up is: in the balance between Speed, Power and Accuracy, which is more important?
The answer is, and always should be: "It Depends:".
This was the essence on the final question on the test: Question Number 20:
The textbook answer is: No. After all, the purpose of the course is to shoot SAFELY, and shoot ACCURATELY. (We always tell our students: "Shoot for Accuracy: speed will come to you, as your experience increases".)
My comment was, and always has been:
"Well, sometimes the fastest shooter DOES win the stage. It depends on the stage, and the shooter. Fast shooters are often more experienced, and they CAN shoot quickly without sacrificing accuracy."
So instead of a drill about shooting behind a Bianchi Barricade, today I substituted shooting an "El Presidente" stage as the final exam.
I did this because about half of the students, during the Live-Fire Exercise, started competing among themselves to see who could shoot a teaching stage fastest, and still shoot all (or mostly) "A-zone" hits. Surprisingly, they were doing a good job of it!
They were ready to learn a lesson that not every class could handle, so we gave them the opportunity to learn about DVC .. .with emphasis on the difference between the three factors of Speed, Power and Accuracy.
For those who aren't familiar with El Presente, here is a short description.
That may not be the perfect description of the stage, but that's the description we adopted.
All nine students attempted the stage, and for the first time we recorded both score, and time. We had deliberately avoided recording Stage Time before, because we are trying to teach an emphasis on Accuracy.
The lesson we taught here was an education to all of us.
Here's a summary of the most salient scores on El Presidente, a 60-point stage:
Highest Score: 59 points in 19.78 seconds. Hit Factor: 2.98 (9th Place)
Second Highest Score (highest time): 57 points in 14.61 seconds. Hit Factor 3.90 (7th Place)
Fastest Time: 50 points in 7.03 Seconds. Hit Factor 7.11 (1st Place)
Second Fastest Time: 56 points in 10.47 seconds. Hit Factor 5.35 (2nd Place)
ALL scores sequenced by hit factor (place of finish)
(place)=(score/time)=(HitFactor)
1 = 50/7.03 = 7.01
2= 56/10.47=5.35
3= 46/09.57=4.81
4= 54/33.24=4.08
5= 56/13.91=4.03
6= 54/13.69=3.95
7= 57/14.61=3.90
8= 54/17.68=3.05
9= 59/19.78=2.98
What this taught the shooters included:
I don't think so.
I think I provided a valuable lesson, in that if the shooting problem is "easy" (3 targets at 7 yards, for instance), shooting fast without a miss may ultimately score MUCH higher than slow, careful, ACCURATE shooting.
The exercise, hopefully, drove home the lesson that in ANY shooting problem, the competitor must always balance accuracy vs speed + power (shooting Major results in higher scores for a C-zone hit).
Yes, we want them to shoot safely, and that IS the primary purpose of this class. But we also want them to be as competitive as their own personal skill-set allows, and sometimes we need to DRIVE this lesson home by allowing each to focus on the potential of their skills to perform well on a certain kind of stage.
---
I think I threw them a curve. I taught them accuracy all day, and them I made them shoot a Speed stage. I should have taught them the other side of the equation, as well.
In retrospect, I should have also included a stage where the same targets were presented at a range of, say, 15 yards. Or better, 20 yards. With about the same round count. This would have allowed the shooters whose greatest skill is ACCURACY rather than SPEED to demonstrate their forte.
So you see, I learn as much from my students as they learn from me.
The next class I teach, I'll include TWO "Real Live" stages which focus alternatively on SPEED, then on ACCURACY.
Has anyone a suggestion on which Classifier stage would best present this contrast? And which should I present first? The ACCURACY stage, or the SPEED stage?
Anyone?
The question which invariably comes up is: in the balance between Speed, Power and Accuracy, which is more important?
The answer is, and always should be: "It Depends:".
This was the essence on the final question on the test: Question Number 20:
20: Does the fastest shooter win the stage?
The textbook answer is: No. After all, the purpose of the course is to shoot SAFELY, and shoot ACCURATELY. (We always tell our students: "Shoot for Accuracy: speed will come to you, as your experience increases".)
My comment was, and always has been:
"Well, sometimes the fastest shooter DOES win the stage. It depends on the stage, and the shooter. Fast shooters are often more experienced, and they CAN shoot quickly without sacrificing accuracy."
So instead of a drill about shooting behind a Bianchi Barricade, today I substituted shooting an "El Presidente" stage as the final exam.
I did this because about half of the students, during the Live-Fire Exercise, started competing among themselves to see who could shoot a teaching stage fastest, and still shoot all (or mostly) "A-zone" hits. Surprisingly, they were doing a good job of it!
They were ready to learn a lesson that not every class could handle, so we gave them the opportunity to learn about DVC .. .with emphasis on the difference between the three factors of Speed, Power and Accuracy.
For those who aren't familiar with El Presente, here is a short description.
Shooters start out facing uprange in a shooting box, pistols loaded and holstered, and the starting position is Facing Uprange with toes touching the back of the shooting box, wrists above shoulders. On the start signal, turn, draw, and engage each target with two rounds each. Perform a mandatory reload, and re-engage each target with two more rounds each. The targets are positioned 7 yards downrange of the forward edge of the shooting box, positioned on the supporting stakes about 40" at the shoulder, and about a foot apart". Twelve rounds required, sixty points possible.
That may not be the perfect description of the stage, but that's the description we adopted.
All nine students attempted the stage, and for the first time we recorded both score, and time. We had deliberately avoided recording Stage Time before, because we are trying to teach an emphasis on Accuracy.
The lesson we taught here was an education to all of us.
Here's a summary of the most salient scores on El Presidente, a 60-point stage:
Highest Score: 59 points in 19.78 seconds. Hit Factor: 2.98 (9th Place)
Second Highest Score (highest time): 57 points in 14.61 seconds. Hit Factor 3.90 (7th Place)
Fastest Time: 50 points in 7.03 Seconds. Hit Factor 7.11 (1st Place)
Second Fastest Time: 56 points in 10.47 seconds. Hit Factor 5.35 (2nd Place)
ALL scores sequenced by hit factor (place of finish)
(place)=(score/time)=(HitFactor)
1 = 50/7.03 = 7.01
2= 56/10.47=5.35
3= 46/09.57=4.81
4= 54/33.24=4.08
5= 56/13.91=4.03
6= 54/13.69=3.95
7= 57/14.61=3.90
8= 54/17.68=3.05
9= 59/19.78=2.98
What this taught the shooters included:
- sometimes, the fastest shooter DOES win; and
- sometimes the most accurate shooter tanks the stage
I don't think so.
I think I provided a valuable lesson, in that if the shooting problem is "easy" (3 targets at 7 yards, for instance), shooting fast without a miss may ultimately score MUCH higher than slow, careful, ACCURATE shooting.
The exercise, hopefully, drove home the lesson that in ANY shooting problem, the competitor must always balance accuracy vs speed + power (shooting Major results in higher scores for a C-zone hit).
Yes, we want them to shoot safely, and that IS the primary purpose of this class. But we also want them to be as competitive as their own personal skill-set allows, and sometimes we need to DRIVE this lesson home by allowing each to focus on the potential of their skills to perform well on a certain kind of stage.
---
I think I threw them a curve. I taught them accuracy all day, and them I made them shoot a Speed stage. I should have taught them the other side of the equation, as well.
In retrospect, I should have also included a stage where the same targets were presented at a range of, say, 15 yards. Or better, 20 yards. With about the same round count. This would have allowed the shooters whose greatest skill is ACCURACY rather than SPEED to demonstrate their forte.
So you see, I learn as much from my students as they learn from me.
The next class I teach, I'll include TWO "Real Live" stages which focus alternatively on SPEED, then on ACCURACY.
Has anyone a suggestion on which Classifier stage would best present this contrast? And which should I present first? The ACCURACY stage, or the SPEED stage?
Anyone?
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