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.

. 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.)

Okay ... other things that I've cleaned in the dishwasher include motorcycle parts, car parts .. well, you get the idea.  If it's greasy and it fits, throw it in.

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!

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.

[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.

Mountain High/Colorado: Dozen Die in Massacre

[Early reports from USA TODAY]

 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.
However, it is the Aurora shooting no one heard about, because there was a different outcome.

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.

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

The answer to these questions can easily be found by reading about the latest maniacal slaughter of the innocent.

Apparently, "those people" aren't reading the same news reports.

Oh, yeah.  But Kevin Baker reads them.   Especially those about Gun Control & Fearless Frank.

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:?

• 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

 The "Anti-Anti-Heroes" in the pursuing posse did little better in the Survival Lottery.

• 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

Even the Anti-Anti Villains have reached their "Best Used By Date":

• Emilio Fernandez ("The General" or "El Indio") died in 1986 at the age of 83

But there were SIX members of The Wild Bunch who survived the original bank robbery:
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

 Strange, that the actor who played 'first to die' in the movie is almost the last to die in Real Life.

(Watch the movie for $2.99 here)

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"

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.

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"

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

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!

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.

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:

1. Sell it outright to whomever needs it, with no returns.
2. Loan the equipment (it's still your), and when the student gets his/her own, it will be returned to the pool.
3. Loan the equipment, with the possibility of selling it at a reduced price.
4. Loan the equipment, with the understanding that it will be returned to the "pool" for use by the next student who needs it.

If you want to sell it, you set the price.  If it's more than the student wants to pay, then the transaction doesn't happen.

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.

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.

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.

"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:

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:

1. sometimes, the fastest shooter DOES win; and
2. sometimes the most accurate shooter tanks the stage

Did I teach the wrong lesson here?  I spent the day teaching them to shoot for A-zone hits, and suddenly I show them that strong hits don't ALWAYS count as much as shooting faster?

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?

Chronograph: War Stories!

In 1998, I (and SWMBO) traveled to my first Major Match, which was the Area 1 match in Reno, Nevada.   I was shooting The Beloved Kimber (.45ACP) in my 200gr SWC load,, and I was entirely confident because it had chronographed consistently in Major Power in my own Chrono Tests, and in the Chrono Tests which my Home Section (Columbia Cascade Section) provided during the Section Match.

So it came as a complete surprise when Doctor John and the Chrono Crew in Reno found that my loads were just a little too slow to prove Major Power!  What's this?  I'm shooting a .45 .. how can it NOT be Major Power?

This was the first Surprise Event in my competitive career, so I wasn't sure how to handle it.  But they shot six rounds, and I was still decimal-points short of the speed I needed in my ammunition to make Major Power.

Chrono Man gave me the option; should I re-weigh the last bullet, or shoot it for speed?

Since my original bullet weight had been measured within one tenth of the declared weight, I  was reluctant to expect that the last bullet would be anonymously heavier.  I asked them to shoot it for speed, and fortunately it was much faster than all the other rounds which I had submitted for testing.  I ended up shooting in Major Power .. but just barely!

The thing is, I was using Hercules Unique powder, which is notoriously coarse-grained.  It did not measure accurately from one round to the next; it was only dumb luck that it had tested 'faster' in the last round.

I finished in the lowest 5% at that match .. in at least one stage, I was the lowest non-zero scoring range.  I wasn't very good, but I was still having fun!

Since then, I have changed to fine-grain powder (Vihta Vourhi 330 or VV 320) for the .45 ACP loads, which weigh much more accurately.  And I quit shooting the .45 ACP in competition, for that reason.

(I use only fine-grain powders in competition, even in Level I matches where the ammunition is unlikely to be choreographed.)

I've said this before, and I won't go to the bother of looking up the links to previous posts, but if you expect to compete in a Major Match, you would be well served by using a fine-grain powder which measures more consistently and accurately in most reloading presses.

BTW, I used the same coarse-grain powder in my next Major Match; the Limited National match at Las Vegas later in 1998.  I overloaded the rounds, and ended up with a Power Factor of 198.  It was a bear to shoot, but I managed to do well enough to jump from C-Limited to B-limited based on my scores at that match.

Knowing the limitations of my ammunition, I was careful to shoot for accuracy, not for speed.  This may serve as an object lesson, as my scores in the National Match were just barely high enough to jump me from C-Class to B-Class in Limited.  That, using a single-stack Kimber (cost: $238) with borrowed 10-round magazines and untested ammunition.

I've got the best job in the world!

Last month I squadded with some of the students from my previous "Introduction to USPSA class", and as usual I was treated to the rewarding demonstration of people who are experiencing their first match.


I had a Father and Son pair show up at the class.  They were shooting reloads, but toward the end of the class they began to experience squib load.  The first time was an anomaly; the second was a trend, and so I was reluctantly obliged to discontinue the class; there was only one other shooter in the class, and it would not have been fair to anyone to complete the class with only one shooter.

Besides, it's always better to quit than to reinforce negativity in competitive shooting.

The next weekend, the Father (Chris) and the son (Dominic) showed up with Factory Ammunition.  Sure, they had reloading problems; but they were not about to miss the fun just because of that!


They both did well during the match, but at the last stage it was clear that Dominic, at least, was determined to have his 'best stage ever'.  He was working hard to get through the stage in a minimum amount of time, and we could all see the big grin on his face as he double-tapped every target on the stage.

At the end of the stage, I approached Dominic and said: "Hey, Dominic ... the stage is over, you can calm down now."

He was still grinning like a Cheshire Cat, so I continued:

"Hey, you're still excited?  What is it?  Do you like this stuff?"

He replied breathlessly:

"YEAH!"

The only one there with a bigger smile than Dominic was his father, Chris.    Well, I was pretty happy for him, too!  He had completed his first match safely (it was my privilege to present him with his Certification card), and from now on he can shoot at any range in the Columbia Cascade Section, and compete at any match safely.  He has proven himself.

That's what it's all about.  

When you can prove your ability to compete in the toughest, most rigorous competition shooting venue in the world; when you can stand up in front of your father and your friends and demonstrate that you are not only competent, but "Safely Competent" ... then you have shown that you are the moral  and competitive equal of any man.  They may be 'faster', and 'more accurate'... but they are not 'better'.

And when your own parent beams with pride at your accomplishment .. well, nobody else really counts quite so much.

Not everyone can do that.  Many of us need a couple of tries before we meet the challenge.  Some of us never meet the (deliberately difficult) challenge at all.    I've known grown men, with a lot of experience, who just couldn't meet the test.

But when you do, then that's the truest test of all, of your ability to be fast, accurate, and safe.

I'll squad with Chris and Dominic anytime, and I'll be confident that they can both perform safely and competitively every time.  I can't say that about everyone I've hosted in my classes.  It gives me special pleasure to work with people who can allow themselves to reach for the maximum.  Perhaps they may not achieve it, but they do not falter in their attempts to be ...


"Faster.  Stronger.  Better."

Chrono Questions

I recently received a technical question from a friend and viewer (Rock):

Will a change from our close-to-sea-level altitude here in the valley, to Bend/Central Oregon, approx. 3300’, have an effect on 9mm ammo that is normally about 127 power factor? 1110 fps X 115 Gr?

This is a reasonable question, and one which has plagued competitive shooters since IPSC was invented  (shortly before Christ was promoted to Corporal).  After serious reflection, I decided to address this important technical question.

Taking into consideration all of the salient factors, this was my reply:

Altitude difference will influence measured power factor inevitably, and usually to the detriment of the shooter.

Other factors which may lower a competitors power factor include, but are not restricted to:

• Humidity
• Ambient Temperature
• Time of day
• Exposing your ammunition to the heat of the sun
• a dirty barrel (always clean and oil your firearm before going to the Chronograph Stage!)
• Different brass, powder, primer or bullet .. not just weight (bullet and powder charge), but lot and brand
• Length of time since your ammunition has been loaded
• The number of times you have reloaded your ammunition
• Your religion; are you "Good With The Lord"?
• How long since you have bathed?   [Whew!]
• The cost and importance of the match
• Travel time and inconvenience of timing of the match
• How long since you have chronographed your load
• The physical characteristics of your firearm
• Your personality: "jerks" never chronograph as Minor
• If you  squad with your spouse or child, one of you will be Minor Power (or under!) with the same ammunition
• Your financial situation:  have you slipped a ten-spot to the Chrono Crew?

Hope this helps.


Jerry

Don't thank me ... it's my job to be helpful.

Tennessee Football Coach fired for making Obama so

Tennessee Football Coach fired for making Obama song. He'll make more money when this song becomes a big hit than he would teaching school. Tennessee middle school assistant football coach, age 26, fired for a song he wrote and played! This could be the next number one hit country song. It's the best effort yet at encapsulating the outrage at the oversteps of this government in an entertaining song. Apparently, the guy was fired over the song because some parents complained. If you like it, help it go "viral" by passing it along to everyone you know. Click for a Great Song!!! x Tennessee Football Coach fired for making Obama so Not saying ... .... well, yes I am.

USPSA Announcements - United States Practical Shooting Association

USPSA Announcements - United States Practical Shooting Association: USPSA - Announcements

For those of you who want to go to the Nationals this year, and either haven't made up your mind for SURE or didn't get a "Slot" from your Section, you need to be aware of this announcement from USPSA:

Slot Deadline Is Approaching


The deadline for slots to the 2012 STI USPSA Handgun Nationals is coming up June 18. All slots not received by end of business on that day will unfortunately have to be voided and *CANNOT* be replaced. The unreturned slots will be rolled over in to the wait list, which opens June 4th.


Make sure that you don't wait until the last minute. Things can and have happened to delay receipt by USPSA HQ of a signed slot with payment by the deadline. Once the deadline passes there is nothing that we can do. Mail your slot with payment as early as possible to make sure there is adequate time to correct any unexpected issues!

Trust me, if you haven't shot the Nationals yet, you cannot claim to be a "competitor" in the largest sense.

I've been to a few Nationals in my time, and it's my personal opinion that they are the "Biggest Bang For The Buck" available .. even though they are outrageously expensive in terms of time, money, effort, heartbreak, and thrills. 

The first time I want to the Nationals (Limited, in Las Vegas, 1998) I met Jerry Barnhardt in the Vendor tent.  I told him: "Hey, My name is so much like yours, the guys I shoot with kid me about beating Jerry Barnhardt, and I can't live up to the name.  So ... lose a match for me, will you?"

Okay, it was dorky, but just YOU meet your Idol and try to make an intelligent conversation!

In my first national, I was lucky;  I was TWO places away from the bottom of the pack ... not just in my Division, but Overall.   Could have been worse; I could have been at the very bottom (I think my overall percentage was insignificantly about 4%).  Still, it was worth the money and the travel and the inglory ... I got to shoot with some of the greatest shooters in the world.

I don't care if it IS your very first year competing, you owe it to yourself to got to the match and see just what IPSC is really about.  You'll meet people you've only heard about (and perhaps not even that), they will kick your ass, and you will consider it money well spent.

How many times in your life can you say that you have pitted yourself against the best in the world?  And if you're really lucky, as I was, you may find yourself shooting mano-a-mano against the world's champion shooters.

Go do it.  You will rue the expense today, but you will never forget the experience.