tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63026522011-10-21T00:29:30.390-05:00The Village Hidden in PaperworkHowdy! I'm Jason, and I'm writing a blog dealing with whatever that interests me. Chances are it's practical shooting sports, religion, history, baseball or MMOs.
email me: jchinds-at-hotmail.comJasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.comBlogger5971100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-35631693797335906222009-08-11T10:51:00.001-05:002009-08-11T10:52:43.274-05:00On Indefinite HiatusUntil I decide that I need to start writing on a regular basis again, this blog is pretty much closed. I've got other things I'd rather do.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-75944035095526466802009-07-24T11:12:00.001-05:002009-07-24T11:14:14.749-05:00While I've got a break...Work has been challenging for the past few weeks, resulting in going a couple of weeks without posts. This may continue until work slows down and/or I have other stuff to blog about besides IPSC nights.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-31920819608667118262009-07-09T20:05:00.004-05:002009-07-09T20:09:05.234-05:00Bowling Night Report 7/9/09You take a week off without practice and it shows. I could barely keep on target all night. Well, that just means I need more intensive work on the fundamentals. I should also go see if I need new glasses. Eh, sooner or later I'll go get my eyes checked again. I'll schedule something for one of my days off.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-44027558359487685972009-06-26T22:44:00.002-05:002009-06-26T22:48:51.197-05:00Bowling Night Report for 6/25/09The steel popper targets didn't give me any real trouble this week. Everything else went poorly as I could not keep my hands steady enough to put all my shots in the A-Zone. I did okay, but not good enough for where I ought to be by now.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-91011005427950963692009-06-18T18:14:00.000-05:002009-06-18T18:16:22.186-05:00I decided not to go to the shooting match tonight. It's just a little on the warm side at the range there. I might go to the gun club this weekend, though, as I still haven't taken the AR out this year. Decisions, decisions.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-52248205099947717132009-06-14T16:08:00.003-05:002009-06-14T16:41:05.217-05:00Membership Has Its Privileges and Its ResponsibilitiesSo, my local gun club (the Abe Lincoln Gun Club on Springfield's wonderful far west side) had its annual work day today. I staked out a spot on the 25-yard range taking down the old wire used for hanging targets and wow, that was a pain. Whoever put the posts that held the wire together decided to ensure it wouldn't go anywhere through the Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-6770231512359195432009-06-11T20:17:00.002-05:002009-06-11T20:19:40.314-05:00Bowling Night Report 6/11/09For once the tiny steel plate made an appearance and I was able to drop it on the first or second shot. It's a six-inch plate that sits a foot off the ground at 25 feet away. It's also a pain in the butt to hit quickly. My aim was just off all night, too. I wasn't getting my usual good sight picture. That just means more practice, then.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-72889333968351351432009-06-06T19:44:00.003-05:002009-06-06T19:56:44.425-05:00"BRB, Saving The Free World"If Twitter had been around during Operation Overlord, some wag in a landing craft would likely have written that.Other than that, there's not much I can say about today that others haven't already said better. So, I'll go with a little joke instead and many thanks for saving people who helped me to grow up in a free and prosperous America.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-33608170377529345622009-06-04T19:57:00.002-05:002009-06-04T20:06:35.967-05:00Bowling Night Report 6/4/09It was another deceptively simple classifier tonight. Oh well. 12 shots total on three targets, and I manage to get one flyer that completely misses on the second closest target. After the running the stage twice, I felt like I should have been running more or something. You usually don't run on classifier nights as you're working on speed as much as accuracy. I Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-30167134987709612982009-06-04T00:01:00.003-05:002009-06-04T00:31:38.257-05:00Twenty Years LaterThere was much promise of the idea of an open and honest government in China, maybe even a peaceful transition to a multiparty democracy like the ones that swept Eastern Europe. I don't remember everyone involved in using the military to crash the party atmosphere of the rally, but the name Jiang Zemin rings clear as one of the many men who decided that the shooting should Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-42506949702629003182009-05-28T20:14:00.003-05:002009-05-28T20:19:08.869-05:00Bowling Night Report 5/28/09Steel targets can be a lot of fun. You get immediate feedback from them since you hear the clang as the bullet hits it and you see the target fall. Tonight was not one of those fun nights. If your aim is off just a little bit, you will miss. A lot of my shots were hitting low and right. Fixing that will be easy. Slowing down and not worrying about my time will Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-88754108278960843782009-05-21T23:17:00.002-05:002009-05-21T23:25:42.651-05:00Bowling Night Report 5/21/09Always double check your magazines to make sure you loaded them to the correct capacity. On my first run tonight I didn't check and only had seven rounds in the magazine instead of eight. That necessitated an emergency reload in the first part of the stage, which just happened to have four targets. Transitioning between that and the next part of the stage would have Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-76847442121213870792009-05-14T22:43:00.003-05:002009-05-14T22:56:15.778-05:00Bowling Night Report 5/14/09Tonight's match involved moving backwards from four paper targets and a no-shoot that blocked part of the two center targets to engage the next set of targets, which just happened to be one paper and five steel targets. I saw some people turn around to run back to the next shooting position, but I was more concerned with safety. After all, you're not allowed to breakJasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-68600036350817636672009-05-12T11:20:00.004-05:002009-05-12T11:39:38.589-05:00Clearly, we need to ban golf clubs.Next thing you know kids will be putting "gangsta style" and rappers will be mentioning Callaway instead of Glock. No one really needs a full set of golf clubs, especially in those high-capacity golf bags. Those caddies you see? They're nothing but pimps for the golf industry. They're always whispering the siren song of golf into the player's ear, like a Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-64442243375919126822009-05-07T23:43:00.002-05:002009-05-07T23:45:02.520-05:00Bowling Night Report 5/7/09Missing a night due to being sick at work is bad enough, but on a classifier night? Gimme a break! Hopefully there will be a shooting match at PASA Park soon. I feel weird without going to at least one classifier a month. Besides, that D classification really grates.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-59654144896136846282009-05-01T17:21:00.003-05:002009-05-01T17:29:21.297-05:00Bowling Night Report, 4/30/09My first run-throughs are rarely good, and this was no exception. I apparently rocked on second run, though. The steel targets weren't too bad last night, either. Also, I forgot that the classifier matches are the first Thursday of the month, so I ran it like I would a classifier. That could be why the first run was so lousy. Oh well. Next week is another Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-44106463250587378592009-04-23T21:20:00.003-05:002009-04-23T21:25:58.634-05:00Bowling Night Report 4/23/09We're getting a lot of new shooters right now, which is great. Not so great, though, is the wait in between my runs on the stage. I only shot once tonight. One cartridge failed to feed properly, and got a nasty dent in the side of the case. That's how badly it fed. That is one of the things I like about practical shooting: Not only do you have all the factors of Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-85075954088393671142009-04-17T19:51:00.004-05:002009-04-17T19:57:31.478-05:00Nope, no match report this week. My sinuses were acting up something nasty. Maybe if the weather is decent this weekend, I'll get a chance to sight in my new inexpensive .22LR scope that's on an old Revelation 120 (the brand name for Marlin 60 rifles sold by Western Auto). It's one of Burriss' cheaper models, but I'm not looking for Carlos Hathcock-levels of accuracy, either. I just want to Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-27697166888290604652009-04-13T00:25:00.002-05:002009-04-13T00:38:23.039-05:00The 1911, Finicky Magazines, Finicky Ammo, And YouSo, I had a bunch of 10-round magazines for my 1911 from Metalform. They're pretty much the only company who makes them in .40 S&W, even Springfield Armory sells them under their brand name. Well, I originally thought they were all bad, since they constantly misfed the ammo I put into it. To a certain extent it was true, as the feed lips Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-17495493469125168292009-04-10T10:35:00.003-05:002009-04-10T10:48:31.026-05:00Bowling Night Report 4/9/09Since I've purchased my new 1911, steel popper targets have been less of a challenge to me. The steel plates in last night's stage decided to get a little revenge last night for their larger metal brethren. I still have trouble shooting at a downward angle like that at smaller targets. On my first run, I left one of the plates standing due to not wanting to waste Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-58206018567605857682009-04-09T14:07:00.002-05:002009-04-09T14:15:58.796-05:00More bad news for gamersDave Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons, died earlier this week.D&D was bigger than either Arneson or Gygax could ever have imagined. Well, maybe not. Blackmoor and Greyhawk were pretty darn big.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-68314772911793880962009-04-06T13:33:00.004-05:002009-04-06T13:39:49.193-05:00Something I just realized about my firearms cleaning regimenCleaning the 1911 isn't as easy as cleaning the XD40, but I'm able to break it down pretty quickly these days. Cleaning the Ruger 22/45 is very non-intuitive. You have to insert a magazine at one point to put it together and to take it apart. That's really annoying when the rest of your magazine-fed handguns require that no magazine Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-91336701078303214812009-04-06T13:26:00.002-05:002009-04-06T13:30:13.020-05:00My second-favorite phrase in baseball is "Opening Day."My favorite phrase, of course, is "World Series Champions Saint Louis Cardinals." I'm hopeful.Of course, now that the Cubs have a century of consistency under their belts of going without a World Series pennant, maybe it really will be their year?Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-17886462602797122472009-04-03T17:01:00.001-05:002009-04-03T17:18:00.184-05:00Bowling Night Report, 4/2/09In the words of Maxwell Smart "Missed it by that much."My first run through the stage last night wasn't very good at all. I missed the last paper target completely, so it wasn't like I was going to score well. The misses killed my score on that run.The re-shoot worked to my favor. I shaved a second and a half or so off of my initial time and I picked up the last Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-67018274132623593352009-03-29T14:06:00.002-05:002009-03-29T14:35:38.220-05:00Trying Out New Ammo in .40 S&W and .22LR, Part 2As I said my previous post, I was running dangerously low on .22LR ammunition. I had expended the better part of a value pack of Federal .22LR from Wal-Mart, and while the 36-grain hollow point (more like a dent stamped into the nose) was nicely accurate, I decided to try out Remington's Golden Bullet brand of .22LR ammunition, also in a 36-grain Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-49462757743273308072009-03-29T12:24:00.002-05:002009-03-29T14:03:21.214-05:00Trying Out New Ammo in .40 S&W and .22LRA few weeks ago I noticed that I was running low on hollow point ammunition for my .40 caliber pistols and I was running dangerously low on .22 for my .22 pistol and rifle. Dangerously low in my case means "The value pack box is running empty and plinking will be generally curtailed." The .40 caliber pistols are a little different as they serve in both Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-19135463368103094322009-03-26T22:51:00.002-05:002009-03-26T22:52:24.729-05:00No Bowling Night Report for tonight. I wasn't really in the right mindset to go shooting tonight. I'll probably go tomorrow night.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-15786883999257947182009-03-20T19:10:00.002-05:002009-03-20T19:15:24.646-05:00Bowling Night Report 3/19/09This was one of the trickier setups I've seen in a while. One of the steel targets had two disappearing targets hooked to it, so that they triggered simultaneously. I didn't do so well on those. In fact, it was one of my worst weeks overall. I got the results from the shoot at PASA Park this week, too. Well, at least they take my best four scores... too bad I haveJasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-66460394926688800602009-03-15T22:05:00.005-05:002009-03-15T22:48:42.511-05:00Bowling Night Report 3/12/09 and BONUS! PASA Park USPSA Event 3/15/09Well, the usual match night sucked. I had a lot of procedural errors that wrecked a decent shoot. There's really not much to talk about there.Saturday I began my search for ammunition. The Wal-Mart I Never Go To For Ammunition, so named for the fact it never has anyone at the counter, was my first stop, as the other two Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-17363251525327954532009-03-05T19:49:00.002-06:002009-03-05T20:03:01.348-06:00Bowling Night Report, 3/5/09The worst part of IPSC shooting is when you've settled into a nice rhythm and something stops. I brought my pistol in line with one of the steel targets and fired... and nothing. The spent case failed to eject, so I had to cycle the slide by hand and try again. Breaking rhythm messed up my sight picture enough to where I missed and had to reload on the stage.My Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-18470154596525563042009-02-27T00:36:00.003-06:002009-02-27T00:43:11.690-06:00Losing an Old Friend in the NewsThe Rocky Mountain News is Shutting down.This is very unfortunate for me. When I was stationed at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, I would pick up a copy of this paper during lunch so I could read it after all my other duties were done for the day. I never read the editorials, just the news, the comics and the sports page. I remember following a good portion of Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-23617515085220205382009-02-27T00:26:00.003-06:002009-02-27T00:33:56.102-06:00Bowling Night Report, 02/27/09I stuck with the plan unlike a couple of weeks ago, but had a brain fart on the "unload and show clear" instruction. The RO looks at me, and says "Drop the magazine, remember?" I need more sleep, apparently. Ah well, at least I shot decently tonight. The steel targets don't bother me as much anymore, either. I don't know if that's due more to the fiber-optic Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-58873408735003538962009-02-25T20:36:00.002-06:002009-02-25T20:42:18.381-06:00It's Ash Wednesday again...I punted this year on what to give up for Lent: my breakfast of champions, the humble doughnut. Ah, well. As Lent goes on, I tend to find other things to add as part of the process of spiritual purification. This year will be no different.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-54834345985378493502009-02-19T18:59:00.004-06:002009-02-19T19:13:24.194-06:00Bowling Night Report 2/19/09No shooting goodness tonight. The sinuses are draining and the last place I need to be is in a very cold indoor shooting range.However, there is other shooting goodness in Illinois that isn't expending a single shot. HB0245 and HB0462 are two bills before the Illinois House that would create a shall-issue concealed carry law in Illinois. These are more like Texas' Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-39247444748027633762009-02-12T20:02:00.001-06:002009-02-12T20:03:51.727-06:00Bowling Night Report 2/12/09I didn't shoot all too well tonight. More practice will be needed. At least I got through the stage without any problems with the door I had to go through. Still, though, I just need more practice.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-69019371941473134262009-02-12T13:29:00.003-06:002009-02-12T13:43:31.726-06:00It's Abraham Lincoln's World, We All Just Live In ItI thought that was a pretty good tribute to the nation's 16th President right there. Besides, living in central Illinois means you are in center of All Things Abe. I don't mind it, really, but sometimes it goes overboard.The 200th anniversary of his birth today? That's not so overboard. I'm enjoying the day off.Oddly enough it's also the Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-65959335454080523472009-02-11T13:18:00.004-06:002009-02-11T17:13:15.968-06:00What you mean "we," white man?*(originally seen at The Anarchangel)The last time I checked books like 1984, Animal Farm, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451 were NOT instruction manuals. Apparently my English and History teachers in high school were wrong about these books being cautionary tales. And yes, I appreciate the contrast of my own situation and my not wanting to live in a socialist Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-8917835577899122442009-02-05T20:31:00.002-06:002009-02-05T20:44:10.075-06:00Bowling Night Report, 2/5/09Tonight was a typical classifier night for me. Not bad, but not great would be my assessment of my shooting tonight. I was still a little low, which means a little more time at the range is needed. So, I'll have to remedy that this weekend.The stage was pretty simple: engage three targets from Box A, run to Box B and engage the remaining three targets. My shots Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-41137867082722486382009-01-29T20:30:00.002-06:002009-01-29T20:39:30.578-06:00Bowling Night Report 1/29/09Round count is your friend. Go through the stage in your mind, see how many shots you can get out of the magazine before needing to reload so you don't have to reload in the middle of engaging a target. Determine where each reload spot needs to be. Then when the timer beeps, STICK WITH THE PLAN. I didn't do that part and had to reload while trying to place the Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-16839755994093101852009-01-22T20:30:00.003-06:002009-01-22T20:39:31.948-06:00Bowling Night Report, 1/22/09Tonight wasn't quite as awesome as last week, but it was still very good. The fiber-optic front sight is great at catching my eye and allows me to hit very precisely. Whatever I put in front of that orange dot gets two shots into it closely and quickly. I had a little trouble with the steel targets tonight but that was more due to slow reloads than anything Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-37756995079960658482009-01-19T11:13:00.003-06:002009-01-19T11:25:13.216-06:00I'd be remiss in not mentioning this song...It's called "Elephant Gun" by a young man named Zach Condon, and his band, Beirut. It's got a bit to do with elephant guns, though being from the Midwest, I'm not sure I'll see too many rampaging elephants around here. I'm really surprised at how much I like this song. The lead singer reminds me a lot of Timo Malo, the former lead singer of The Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-19560965621207494122009-01-16T00:29:00.004-06:002009-01-19T11:13:08.492-06:00Bowling Night Report 1/15/08I think the 1911 has made me a believer in single-stack handguns. As I was stepping back from my second run on tonight's stage a lot of people commented on how much better my shooting was with the 1911 than with the XD40. It's pretty amazing to see what happens when you switch to a gun that fits your hand better and is heavy enough to counteract the recoil of the .40Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-11343223757773153252009-01-08T21:40:00.002-06:002009-01-08T21:52:36.736-06:00Bowling Night Report, 1/08/09It's a new year, I have a new pistol (An STI Trojan in .40 S&W) and apparently this is the handgun I'm going to shoot in competition from now on. I usually suck at classifiers. They're rarely good to me, and tonight's setup required engaging the targets using only my strong hand, then engaging later using only my weak hand. I was surprised at how much the 1911 Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-71389171877808591372009-01-01T18:05:00.002-06:002009-01-01T18:11:06.577-06:00Happy New YearLast year wasn't bad for me, and I hope next year is even better.The only problem I have with New Year celebrations is that even if I stay I at home, I'm up late. So, I overslept and missed the IPSC match we were going to have this morning.As for resolutions, I have a few.Attend Mass more often. More exercise. Run at least one 5k this year, walk Abe's Amble this year instead of Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-86218369685987755692008-12-23T17:15:00.003-06:002008-12-23T17:23:30.821-06:00CURSE YOU, ILLINOIS WEATHER!!!On Thursday, I got frozen out of my IPSC match night. Because of the impending Christmas Day holiday (and a beautiful holiday it is) we had this week's match re-scheduled for tonight.So of course we get a combination of little snow in the morning, a crap load of freezing rain during the afternoon, and follow it up with regular rain that is beginning to freeze now Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-62139708543945064512008-12-11T20:54:00.002-06:002008-12-11T20:57:10.545-06:00Weekly Bowling Night Report for 12/11/08I shot really well tonight. There were a lot of A-Zone hits, but I also got the no-shoot target a couple of times. In all, everything went smoothly except for a little problem with a magazine at the start. I'll figure out what's wrong with it and put the pliers to it until it works again. I still need more shooting time, so it looks like the weekend Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-58359631609222973392008-12-05T09:16:00.004-06:002008-12-05T09:22:49.746-06:00News crew appears in room full of gun owners, escapes unharmedOkay, I was just being silly with that post title. The reporter in this news segment was at our IPSC shooting match last night and got some footage for the report. Two of the women in our group got some screen time, too.I'm just glad they didn't film me while I was shooting. That course of fire hates me for some reason, and it's notJasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-35233269233559511432008-12-05T08:37:00.003-06:002008-12-05T08:52:40.285-06:00The Annual Day of the Ninja is Here!I know, I know. Once again, you promised yourself you'd do something ninja-related on Day of the Ninja. And once again, it just sort of snuck up on you. Well, it's the Annual Day of the Ninja. It's supposed to sneak up on you. And now that you know, go forth and embrace your inner ninja! If you see a ninja out there today, give him a hug and then tell himJasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-24372186172820746212008-12-04T21:16:00.002-06:002008-12-04T21:23:48.862-06:00Weekly Bowling Night Report 12/4/08I didn't shoot so hot tonight, which is normal for a classifier. Most of the targets were partially concealed behind no-shoot targets, so trying to get a good shot in wasn't so easy. The first run was the best missing once on an unconcealed target and hitting only one no-shoot target. The second run was worse all around when I hit two no-shoots and missed oneJasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-61497174607984778892008-11-26T00:29:00.002-06:002008-11-26T00:39:14.963-06:00Bowling Night Report, 11/25/08What's this? IPSC night is on a Tuesday and not a Thursday? Well, we had our IPSC night this week moved to Tuesday from its usual Thursday slot due to Thanksgiving. For a little fun, our club's head honcho and builder put together a Texas Star target: 5 small steel plates on a free-spinning spoked wheel. They balance each other out normally, but once you shoot Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-14035319060295362062008-11-20T22:31:00.002-06:002008-11-20T22:38:55.513-06:00Bowling Night Report 11/20/08Tonight's shoot sucked, mostly because my mind was occupied with other stuff. I didn't have my mind on taking out the targets and it showed. The steel target curse came back in force tonight, as there were two smaller steel targets behind the regular-sized ones. Those were a bit tough to knock down and cost me some time. To make it worse, I couldn't keep a sight Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-78367537679038919912008-11-19T20:04:00.002-06:002008-11-19T20:12:00.387-06:00National Ammo DayToday is a day with a very simple premise: go buy 100 rounds or more of your preferred ammunition. There are an estimated 75 million lawful gun owners in the United States. Some are veterans, some aren't. Some are doctors, some are lawyers, and a few even have regular jobs, too. They all have one thing in common: they obey the laws in order to foster the preservation of Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-61425503783990439062008-11-14T00:56:00.001-06:002008-11-14T01:01:33.950-06:00Bowling Night Report for 11/13/08I didn't get a chance to go tonight, which is too bad. It's going to start freezing like no one's business at range for the next couple of months so this was the last decent "no jacket needed" shooting night. I guess it's a good thing that I don't use a steel or aluminum-framed handgun during the matches. I wouldn't want to end up like Flick from A Christmas Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-11421399992895531012008-11-09T23:10:00.002-06:002008-11-09T23:15:26.069-06:00Bowling Night Report, 11/06/08It was a decent night, but nowhere near as good as last week's shoot. I missed twice on my first run through, and once on my second. Those can really hurt you when you've only got 12 shots at most. Ah, if only they could use my non-qualifier scores from last week, too, I'd look like a much better shooter. I need to practice shooting more from behind concealment Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-67164507375577524432008-11-04T17:25:00.002-06:002008-11-04T17:26:23.191-06:00St. Thomas More, patron saint of politicians, pray for our candidates and pray for our voters.That's pretty much all I've got to say for today.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-32646807157010337572008-11-02T22:02:00.003-06:002008-11-02T22:10:02.769-06:00It's that time of year againOur gun club had its semi-annual clean up on Saturday, so Dad and I headed over to help out. The club is setting up a range that works for both trap and skeet shooters and the area around one of the concrete shooting pads is poorly-drained to say say the least. You'd think cutting a small trench for a length of ABS drainage tile would be easy, but I had the bad Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-53083820900292568332008-10-24T10:00:00.002-05:002008-10-24T10:06:04.014-05:00Bowling Night Report, 10/24/08Last night I shot like a man possessed of greater shooting skills than he should have. Well, at least if felt that way. There weren't any steel targets, and the center targets were tough to point at due to the large number of no-shoot targets in between. Still though, I managed to do pretty well for my current skill level. I think I missed one shot total, and Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-6987865807558128252008-10-21T18:40:00.003-05:002008-10-21T18:45:27.327-05:00Work and all that.Reviewing reports makes for many long days and the occasional night of sitting around and not wanting to go out to shoot. This will hopefully get fixed Thursday night. I also need to head out to the outdoor range and test out the Hornady Leverevolution ammunition I bought for my lever-action rifle. It's in .357 Magnum, so I may try a couple out of my revolver as well. The Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-14477476617757074042008-10-10T14:45:00.002-05:002008-10-10T14:54:03.273-05:00Bowling Night Report, 10/09/08That was one of the most fun runs I've had in a while. I noticed that the first four targets on the 18-shot stage were steel. Steel is a very iffy creature for me. I either hit the popper targets the first time or I wind up emptying a magazine trying to knock two targets down. To top it all off, one of the boxes of ammo I brought had only 13 rounds in it, and I Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-43334111461706019502008-10-05T00:37:00.003-05:002008-10-05T00:41:14.978-05:00Go Cubs Go?More like "No Cubs No" if you ask me. They can have next year's World Series, though. The Chicago Cubs have now provided baseball fans with a Century of Consistency. That's got to be worth something, right?Unlike the Cardinals, the Cubs got to the playoffs this year.Also unlike the Cardinals, the Cubs couldn't get past the playoffs, so I at least have that small comfort as an avid Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-19109592843515329462008-10-03T09:34:00.002-05:002008-10-03T09:38:34.817-05:00Bowling Night Report, 10/02/08Thanks to sinus pressure keeping me from sleeping on Wednesday night, I stayed home and missed a qualifier stage. I hate when that happens. Sure I tend to do worse on them because they involve not moving much and targets that are on average 10 to 15 yards away, but I'd gotten in more practice. So, no shooting fun last night. Next week, though, I should be there Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-10623061196768862612008-09-19T17:28:00.002-05:002008-09-19T17:34:10.576-05:00Bowling Night Report 9/18/08Bleh. I only had enough ammo to shoot the stage once last night. The poppers got me right off the start. Okay, I'm aiming at the target. Front sight is clear, target is fuzzy. I've got all the stability I can get for recoil control and... the gun is pulling to the right. Five shots, not a one hit the popper.Kentucky windage to the rescue! I shift the gun to Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-70068442020250472222008-09-18T11:22:00.002-05:002008-09-18T11:42:07.503-05:0061 years of Air SuperiorityThe entire letter, the entire Air Force philosophy boils down into the three last words of the letter issued by Secretary Donley and General Schwartz: fly, fight, win! This is as it should be. This is the task to which Airmen are entrusted. Maintainers keep the planes flying. Supply transfers the parts needed by the maintainers. Security forces protect Supply and Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-44514117987231277982008-09-11T12:06:00.002-05:002008-09-11T12:33:03.011-05:00I'm not forgetting.Seven years ago, sitting in a basement of a local company and helping to get bills mailed to clients, I started my morning grumbling about New Yorkers. It was mostly about how the Mets mauled the Cardinals in the previous baseball season, but there was a bit of grumbling about New Yorkers in general. I think it was my general "Big cities. Blah." train of thought. Sure, Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-44139341133409127042008-09-09T15:06:00.003-05:002008-09-09T15:14:21.118-05:00Bowling Night Report 9/4/08Well, I shot like utter crap. As usual, most of my shots are going low. Saturday I headed over to my local range and shot from the 10-yard line. I was shooting low. I think I may have figured out a problem with how the XD40 fits into my hand. When firing rapidly I noticed that when the trigger resets to its full position, it's tougher to maintain good contact Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-59967151338202325652008-09-02T12:58:00.002-05:002008-09-02T13:00:57.761-05:00In a World Without Don LaFontaine...People will agree with this article's last line that movie trailers will sound weird.Leaving in 2008: Don LaFontaine. The "In a World" Guy. Anyone who can poke fun at themselves in a GEICO ad can't be that bad, can he?Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-83062090712192637592008-08-27T11:12:00.003-05:002008-08-27T11:17:09.859-05:00It's Official: Cops Have Some of the Best "There I Was" StoriesGo and read, ladies and gentlemen. Thrill to the tale of one man putting his life, his dignity, and possibly even his sanity on the line to take on some of the Criminal Geniuses of our time. Like all the commenters, this would have been better with video of the incident. Clearly, this will be a job for Bill Kurtis and Cold Case Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-8736716253745553242008-08-25T20:01:00.002-05:002008-08-25T20:06:53.068-05:00Like the one guy said in the horror movie, "My body is a road map of pain!" I shouldn't have taken the week off to relax after Abe's Amble. I feel like it's day 1 of my running training all over again. I had a nasty cramp on one side of my lower back. It just means I need to stretch more prior to running. I'm also going to walk on the nights I don't run. I figure some aerobic exercise is Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-59383903978817041442008-08-21T23:07:00.003-05:002008-08-21T23:16:58.084-05:00Bowling Night Report, 8/21/08Coming hot off the heels of a crappy qualifier run, I think I managed to get back into the swing of things very nicely. Tonight I tried timing my reloads. Instead of counting shots, I took a look at the stage and divided it up. It turns out I could divide the targets into three groups, so I did. Once I engaged the last target of each group, I dropped the magazine Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-87073280770914650142008-08-17T11:11:00.004-05:002008-08-17T11:19:12.170-05:00It's Over!Abe's Amble, that is. I walked more than I ran, and the results show it. 1:47:46 was my official time. I had an average pace of 17:23. I was expecting a 2-hour even time based on my times around the neighborhood, so I did better than I expected. So, can I run a 10k? Kind of. Am I better off running a 5k? Most likely. So, that's what I'm going to shoot for from now on. I need Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-58462392000936951282008-08-15T08:36:00.003-05:002008-08-15T08:41:55.320-05:00Sunday Sunday Sunday!Sunday is Abe's Amble. I hope I can remember to wake up early enough to get there. It sucks being a nightowl sometimes, especially when you're doing something that requires you to be awake by the time you're usually going to sleep on a weekend.Am I ready? No. Am I going to go through with it anyway? Yes.From now on, though, it's nothing more than 5k runs. I can switch Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-1547148523671828672008-08-07T20:40:00.002-05:002008-08-07T20:46:27.396-05:00Bowling Night Report, 08/07/08Some days, you're as good of a shot as Wild Bill Hickok or Rob Leatham, some days you're replaying Don Knotts' role in "The Shakiest Gun In The West."Yeah, I was shooting more like Don Knotts tonight. There's only one cure for that: more range time.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-79226103572660418452008-08-02T14:12:00.004-05:002008-08-02T14:17:47.922-05:00Chicago Sun-Times: Daley giving up the fight on Chicago's Gun Ban?Residents of Cook County: What's going on up there? The Cubs are in first place in the National League and the best team in baseball, and now Mayor Richard M. Daley is looking at giving up on maintaining Chicago's gun ban, to the point of not even fighting it in court? What's next? Flying pigs?(hat tip: Second City Cop)Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-59737647786038653832008-08-02T13:23:00.002-05:002008-08-02T13:42:13.702-05:00On things that make Modern Americans happyOne of those things is getting your car's title seventeen months early. I'm one of those happy Modern Americans today.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-88491847583053739022008-08-01T09:25:00.003-05:002008-08-01T10:02:37.655-05:00Bowling Night Report, 7/31/08The motto of practical shooting (more specifically IPSC, the International Practical Shooting Confederation) is "Diligentias, Vis, Celeritas" or "Accuracy, Power, Speed." Well, I've got the accuracy and the power parts down pat, but the speed isn't there just yet. I was only able to shoot one stage last night, so I had to make things count. I got a lot of Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-74344013644600600862008-07-28T07:40:00.003-05:002008-07-28T07:53:45.332-05:00Morton Grove Rescinds Gun Ban(Via Instapundit)Rocket J. Squirrel said it thusly: "Hokey Smokes, Bullwinkle!"Fred Sanford said it thusly: "It's the big one, Elizabeth!"Keanu Reeves declared: "Whoa."This is the village that enacted the first handgun ban in the United States in 1981. For them to drop the ban without any fanfare is amazing. Now there's just one big honkin' hole in Cook County's Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-91804334098682083482008-07-25T13:41:00.002-05:002008-07-25T13:48:25.057-05:00Bowling Night Report for 7/24/08I converted a lot of money into noise last night. The normal-sized steel popper targets were okay. The cardboard targets were okay.The half-sized popper targets? Thanks to trying to be a completist, I expended a lot more ammo than I should have. I averaged 25 rounds for an 18-round stage. Oh, I will get my revenge on you little metal bastards. I will. You Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-76916945191768731332008-07-23T17:47:00.003-05:002008-07-23T18:06:14.217-05:00Wilmette's Handgun Ban Struck Down in 7-0 Village Board VoteAh, DC vs. Heller causes another village in Illinois to rescind its ban on handguns.In a just world we would see a luxuriously engraved letter of apology hand-delivered to Hale DeMar, too. He deserves it. It's nice to see that he has been at least somewhat vindicated after the December 2003 shooting of an intruder in his home. Why am Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-59545902625910004602008-07-23T17:05:00.003-05:002008-07-23T17:20:07.823-05:00Formal Training for the Walk, Week 1Very little has been going on last week, except for one thing: work. We had a lot of panicked callers to the agency and little time for anything else. It was the filing period for semi-annual reports from our registered committees, and I've been spending most of my days looking through math errors, misreported vendors, incomplete information, and the like. Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-32363047262103822292008-07-16T22:25:00.003-05:002008-07-16T22:29:40.584-05:00Formal Training for the Run, Week 8Like a certain detective once said "A man's gotta know his limitations." Week 7 was a bust, and Week 8? Well, 2 miles instead of 4 says that I didn't hit my target at all for this week's run. This sucks, ladies and gentlemen. I'm beginning to wonder if I can do this at all. I don't like thinking that way, either. All I seem to do is fall back further and Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-6277365458940908742008-07-11T18:04:00.002-05:002008-07-11T18:06:20.482-05:00What a week. Thunderstorms on the days I want to run, no competition shooting, either. One good thing did happen, though, and I got into a local private gun club. As long as I have spare time and spare ammo, I can shoot to my heart's content.Hmm. I may just do that in a bit, too.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-6600098975605998312008-07-04T19:23:00.002-05:002008-07-04T19:57:01.669-05:00Where We StandAs the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says, we've got a lot left in our missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. We cannot give up for the sake of our nation and for our newest allies. When we've got two new governments where regular, orderly change can be made via the ballot box instead of the gun or the bomb, where people can breathe free of religious oppression and worship Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-86952927075939217792008-07-02T18:17:00.002-05:002008-07-02T18:23:33.290-05:00The "Half-Way 5K" for Week 6I ran very slowly and walked even slower than normal last night due to eating a very heavy lunch. Lousy hydration and a body still trying to digest lunch made for a very miserable run.On the plus side, my ankles, knees and shin didn't hurt. I made it through with an absolutely horrible time, though.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-25046351424535290742008-06-28T10:04:00.004-05:002008-06-28T10:14:23.382-05:00St. Irenaeus of LyonsSt. Irenaeus, confirmer of truths and revealer of falsehoods, pray for us so that we bloggers will always strive to seek the truth and avoid mistakes and errors that would lead our readers astray.I've considered St. Irenaeus to be the unofficial patron saint of bloggers since I first read his work "Against Heresies." His writings helped to solidify in words what Christians Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-38359637686605859602008-06-27T08:32:00.003-05:002008-06-27T09:02:51.117-05:00Bowling Night Report 6/26/08I think the Heller decision must have made me extraordinarily giddy. The first run through last night's stage was in a word, awesome. I have lost my apprehension of having to shoot at falling steel plate targets, too. Consider this: I'm shooting at something a little smaller than a dinner plate at 30 feet away. Now if it's at chest level, that's not too tough. Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-42003638015018809162008-06-26T16:00:00.000-05:002008-06-26T16:06:39.196-05:00Heller prevails, D.C. failsYes, I'm interrupting the stunning week-by-week story of my attempts to get into better shape and become a better shooter for a healthy dose of opinion on gun ownership and today's decision in the U.S. Supreme Court. This is a significant victory for lawful gun owners in the United States, one that affirms that yes, your home is your castle and you may defend it with Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-37683977638563153812008-06-25T07:35:00.003-05:002008-06-25T07:50:29.343-05:00Formal training, week 5I had a setback this week where I couldn't complete the entire run. I ended up having to head back early due to my right shin. The shin splints were working overtime yesterday. All they are (as if saying "all they are" makes it better) are tiny stress fractures. I have had to deal with these when I run for most of my life, including my time in the Air Force. It's why IJasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-75793483019733507712008-06-19T19:53:00.003-05:002008-06-19T19:55:46.505-05:00No shooting match tonight. I went with a short run instead, 2 miles. I wasn't feeling up to lugging all my gear to the range tonight. With any luck I'll have a bit more access to nearby ranges soon so I can get in more pistol practice between Thursday shooting sessions. This will hopefully occur very very soon. As for tonight, though, a run was enough for me. The bugs are very much out in Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-10935640393963437332008-06-17T20:08:00.002-05:002008-06-17T20:19:48.855-05:00Formal Training, Week 4Saturday, I ran my running group's usual jogging/biking trail with my new patellar knee bands, and my new ankle brace. The knees? No pain. The ankle? No pain. The shin? I still had the pain of shin splints.Tonight, I ran part of the Abe's Amble with the addition of a shin compression sleeve.I noted approximately zero shin pain, no knee pain, and no ankle pain. This Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-56899106316176274192008-06-14T18:13:00.002-05:002008-06-14T18:15:49.473-05:00Shout Out The Cadence Loud and Strong!It's the 233rd anniversary of the founding of the United States Army. Happy Birthday, Grunts!Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-76065404272341619182008-06-12T23:11:00.004-05:002008-06-12T23:20:57.756-05:00Bowling Night Report 6/12/08Tonight the steel popper targets had a friend. One of the targets had been replaced by a falling steel plate. Unlike the popper targets which are designed to fall over, then be propped back up on a hinge, this is literally just a steel plate that falls over. Even more unlike the poppers, this thing is a 12-inch square set about a foot off the ground. A popper's Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-73991994902668364372008-06-11T07:46:00.003-05:002008-06-11T07:50:07.403-05:00Formal Training Week 3My running isn't getting much better. I've got some serious pain right below each knee at the patellar tendon. It looks like I'll be getting some of those knee bands a lot of athletes use. There's also a lot of icing going on, too.And to top it all off, I gave myself a case of heat exhaustion due to poor hydration last night. This morning, I felt the after-effects of it.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-48681481896672981142008-06-05T20:03:00.003-05:002008-06-05T20:10:24.723-05:00Bowling Night Report 6/5/08The lesson for tonight, kids, is this: speed kills, just not who you expect. No, there weren't any injuries at the range tonight or the like, but I shot some of my fastest times ever on a qualifier stage. The problem comes in where I missed a lot of shots on my first run through. If those would have been armed assailants, they would have been able to return fire Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-67042000022978583622008-06-03T20:25:00.003-05:002008-06-03T20:29:40.091-05:00Formal Training Week 2Wow. I even forgot to write about my shooting match last week. Well, this week is the qualifier for ranking, so the first week of every month is most important. I did very well, by the way.Anyway, back to running: 2 miles, mostly walking, but I did a lot of running and ran the last section prior to the finish line. I'll be really impressed when I can run that entire 2 Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-69914506104109115522008-05-27T22:18:00.002-05:002008-05-27T22:25:11.173-05:00Formal Training, Day 1My shins and ankles felt tight towards the end, but I got 1.6 miles done in today's group run. I'm in the second slowest group, but I don't care. I couldn't run it the entire way around, as I had to slow down to walk a few times. At the .8 mile mark, we could stop if we wanted, but I was here to do 1.6 miles no matter what. I did. I haven't run that far in a very long Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-10138229114760206422008-05-26T11:05:00.003-05:002008-05-26T11:22:36.956-05:00Happy Memorial DaySometimes our men and women in uniform can't express their opinions in public. This isn't because we love censorship, but if you're in uniform and well-meaning and community-minded journalist asks you about something political, they might wind up (though I'd never say it was out of laziness or due to bad editing) using your comments as the "official opinion" of your service or Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-3921427380386411502008-05-21T08:10:00.003-05:002008-05-21T08:24:20.315-05:00The Abe's Army MeetingI attended the orientation meeting for Abe's Army, the first-time runners who are going to be training for a 10K run. The meeting was actually way more informative than I expected. I had expected everything to be simple "Here's where we meet, don't forget to stretch, and try not to die on the first night" speeches. I got a lot of good information on how to properly Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-14826076910574558722008-05-15T22:29:00.002-05:002008-05-15T22:33:10.513-05:00Well, I took this week off. I didn't go shooting tonight as I didn't feel like fighting the rush hour traffic in the rain. I didn't run, either, due to sheer laziness. Next week is the first meeting for Abe's Army, a large group of people training to run in Abe's Amble. I'll be getting in plenty of running very very soon. I'm excited. I won't have the speed I used to have, but then again, Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-77941899085772849202008-05-08T20:41:00.000-05:002008-05-08T20:41:40.329-05:00Bowling Night Report - 5/9/08This is my 500th post in almost 4 and a half years. That's not exactly what I'd call stellar performance. Regardless, it's time for a shooting report. Tonight's stage was 17 shots, so it was a bit tougher on the shooters who used Model 1911 handguns. Those usually only carry seven or eight shots per magazine in the single-stack format. Fortunately for me, I use Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6302652.post-53237510813084314452008-05-05T18:29:00.002-05:002008-05-05T18:33:35.535-05:00Informal Training for the Run Day 6Okay, I know I don't have this down right, as I'm not training on a regular basis. So, instead of running to failure (basically run until it hurts to keep running) I'm going to try a new tack instead so I can run without 4 to 5 day gaps in between runs. What I'll do instead is walk for 5 minutes then run for 15 minutes a day, regardless of distance covered. IJasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16125872944300826806noreply@blogger.com0