cautery

I am a C-class shooter, unlikely to ever see a card higher than "A" (best case scenario...). 1) Class System - With all its warts, the classification system is useful. It gives me a tool (one of several) to gauge my overall progress. However, I do NOT think it should be used in ANY fashion to determine how prizes (cash or merchandise) should be distributed.... EVER. Would I like to see improvements to the system? Yes, absolutely. In fact, I'd volunteer to work on a project to do just that. But I don't think it should be eliminated. 2) Awards and Prizes - I think that one should view Awards and Prizes separately. I believe that awards (plaques, trophies, medals, ribbons) can and most likely should be used to recognize shooters for overall and/or class performance. A NOMINAL award to recognize a shooter's effort/progress is a good way to encourage growth in membership and individual shooter progress. However, Prizes (cash or merchandise) should NOT be awarded in any way utilizing the class/category system. In a perfect world, I'd like to see prizes eliminated altogether. However, reality dictates that this will not (and likely should not) happen. Sponsorship is a desirous thing... It helps with match resources and helps keep the industry connected/involved with the sport. (Although, I think we should invest much more time, effort, and creativity in seeking out non-industry sponsors!) I see three possible (better) ways of distributing prizes: 1) Strictly by overall placement from top down. 2) Strictly by random drawing. 3) By some percentage breakdown (e.g 50/50, 75/25, 80/20 etc) between match perfromance and random drawing. Personally, I would prefer strict OA placement (Option "1"), but this would likely be objectionable to many/most sponsors. My secondary preference is 100% distro. via random drawing. I suspect this would be looked upon more favorably by the sponsors. HOW you execute the drawing would need to be settled though. Draw per prize would be easiest, but would probably have a much higher rate of shooters getting something they don't necessarily want. Using a random number draw (by shooter number, ticket, etc.) to determine pick order from the table would minimize this, and likely be more acceptable to the sponsors for a number of reasons. I suspect that the most "palatable" solution would be the split format with a designated percentage split... However, I would NOT want to be the guy designing this system. Options 1 and 2 would remove the a lot of the incentive to game the classification system. Some folks would still sacrifice their integrity for an award, but it's the lure of material gain that seems to cause those of weak character to rear their ugly heads. I'm guessing that some/most of those primarily motivated by "loot hunting" would stop doing so or simply fade away. Option 3 would likely have little impact in this respect. 3) Motivation to shoot - I'm tempted to launch into a sermon on why folks shoot, but I've decided to restrain myself... somewhat. However, I will say this. I'm in USPSA (et al.) because the vast majority of folks I find in close proximity to the sport are the kind of people with whom I want to associate. I shoot because it's fun; a useful skill, and a way to challenge myself to become better (at many more things than simple gun handling). I do NOT "Shoot for Loot". They day I find that this is the case, I will quit. If you are "Shooting for Loot", perhaps some self-examination is in order. Perhaps you should re-evaluate why you got involved in the this or other shooting sports. Do I think its cool to take something home from a match besides expense receipts and yellow score sheets? You bet... But if I don't (and this is frequently the case), it wouldn't affect the number of matches I work/shoot. I shoot as many as I can "get away" with...

As to the question in this thread.... No reshoot. Now, as to the going hot between strings, et al... I RO'd the classifier at Area 3 which is one that specifies scoring and taping between strings... What we did was set up two identical copies of the stage side by side. Shot one string and then moved the shooter hot to the second copy to shoot the second string. This accomplishes the spirit of the classifier by separating the strings (so that the 2 hit per no-shoot limit doesn't give an advantage), makes the stage run way faster, and most importantly, doesn't require anyone down range when a weapon is hot.

Good way to look at it... Nope... it's an '07 ZO6, black, all options but nav system... Super nice vehicle. And I'm not even a real Corvette fan. in that case, it actually sounds like you had a great day!!! would that be an '06 Z06?

Nah... probably only doing like 2 miles an hour... Not a mark on my bumber; marred the tail light lense just enough to need replacing... tore the finish off the corner of the truck cap... Learned the meaning of "Built Ford Tough" today... The Chevy didn't fair nearly as well; getting popped in the door...Probably a couple of thousand dollars damage... I can deal with that, but I'm sick about it. It was a brand new truck, and I KNOW how I'd feel if it was MY brand new truck. I'm going to make sure it looks/is brand new... but you never feel the same way about a vehicle after it's wrecked... Oh well, at least it was the company truck and not his new ZO6.... 3 days old.

I hate that I had my first automobile accident in 26 years. I hate that it was all my fault. I hate that I have been distracted all day, which contributed to my NOT noticing that the vehicle was behind me. I hate that the accident happened in my driveway. I hate that the vehicle that I ran into (and completely destroyed the driver's side door) belonged to my brother-in-law. I hate that his truck is a BRAND NEW 2006 Chevy 2500HD with less than 3000 miles on it. I hate that MY truck suffered damage to the new LEER truck cap that I put on a few months ago, that WAS NOT added to my insurance and probably WON'T be covered. Today has NOT been a good day.

Not unexpected, but great to hear he is doing well! God is always faithful. Would that WE could ALWAYS do the same.... nothing in or about the world could touch us.

Matt, Just added my prayers for your Dad, you, and your family. God Bless and Keep you all!

I tried a bunch of them in our company trucks as we built the "fleet"... BY FAR the best I have come across is SuperLiner... That's the one I chose to put in my personal truck. I really like it. It DOES matter who the installer is... Make sure you get references ont he ACTUAL person who is going to do the application. Prep is critical and thicker is almost always better.

If you don't run your home, your child(ren) will. There are few places more miserable to be than in a home or around a family where the <insert age here>-year old is in charge.

They ever designate a match hotel?

1) I am VERY happy that we have a "When:" 2) It'd be great for me if it is indeed in Louisiana. But bottom line is this... Irrespsective of the who, what, when , where, and how et al. surrounding the event this year, I plan to be there. I look forward to shooting and working the match. I want to thank IN ADVANCE all of the folks that are (and will be) involved in putting the match on. I know that I am the "new guy' on the block and all, but if my opinion counts for anything to anyone, I just want to say this... All that REALLY matters is what we do today and tomorrow to make this a top notch event... safe, fun, and challenging. Everything else is just "white noise".... distracting and non-productive. I'm in... and would encourage all to adopt the same attitude, especially those for whom Area 4 is "home".

LOL!! Damon... Don't think there is ANY chance I will EVER be described as "muscle bound". In any event, I do relatively high reps/low weight concentrating on full range and form. Not a bulk building program... mostly strength with flexibility. Agree on the cardio.... Can't really do too much cardio IMHO. Yup, I'll be at the Texas Limited for sure... Weekend after Nationals. In fact, the way it looks now, I may just go straight from Quincy, IL to Breckenridge, TX. Working and shooting, and generally havin' a good time. No way I'd miss it! Had such a great time last year.

tobydog - 3 was near the end of my match (started on the classifier). it's clear that my intensity and focus are still fading at the end of my matches... and it's clearly due to (a lack of) conditioning. I'm working out pretty steadily, and hope to drop another 30 pounds or so before Area 2. Once I get a few more pounds off these 42 yr old knees, I'll be able to really start pushing the running/weights on the lower body. I believe getting a solid foundation under me that will last 10 or 12 stages will yield dividends in many ways to include smoothing out and quickening my movement. Right now, I can't move smoothly enough to shoot accurately on the move which hurts... a lot. Not to mention the cardio benefits of getting my legs under me... Getting the VO2 up should keep the brain well supplied which should help prevent the "focus drift" when I get tired. Yup... I've begun keeping records of both my practices and matches. If you've never recorded your performances, it is kind of "amazing" how clearly your weak areas highlight themselves. Heh, thanks Sheldon. Appreciate that. I'm working at it! Getting better at both I hope. Some day it'd be nice to have both parts of the game in balance.

Yin and Yang is all about balance right? Bottom line up front... My performance at Area 3 was "less than stellar"... to put it mildly. Actually, I stunk the joint up. That's the bad news... I came in 5th C Limited... I ran threw the numbers really quickly and t's very sad... I GAVE AWAY 120 points in Mikes and/or No-Shoots... FOUR Mikes on Stage 3 alone!! Add those 120 points back into the mix, and I move to 2nd C; 31 points shy of a win. Using the front sight ALL the time, and prepping the trigger ALL the time would have significantly reduced/eliminated that 120 point deficit... and would NOT have made me slower. Matter of fact, the stages that I was "under control" on were actually smoother/faster than the ones I point shot and slapped the trigger on. The good news is that I "think" that's the best major match I've shot... Bad news... I didn't perform nearly to my current potential. Good news... I've learned enough to KNOW what things I did wrong, and what I need to work on (most of it anyway).... yeah, yeah... besides shooting the match clean. Bad news... I'm running out of major matches for this year... Good news... At my current rate of improvement and practice intensity, I should place for the first time and/or move to B-class by the end of the season.

Guilty as charged LOL!! Me too. Convenient... and doesn't black "go" with almost anything?

Made it into Lenexa last night... Fixin' to run to WalMart for a few things and then out to the range to help out and scope the stages. Anyone wanna try to put a group together for a meal tonight?

heh... OK, Kyle... will do. Been in Sna Antonio/Houston since last Wednesday and back out to Kansas for Area 3 tomorrow, but I'll try to shoot some pics of the stuff and put 'em up when I get back.

Heh... Well, they do in fact pay me quite well. But I would have done the project this way anyway. I'd never done a Wireless PTP link before, and I learned a lot of new stuff on this bit. No way anyone else could/would have done the project on such a tight budget and gotten near the same results. The ONLY outfit that would even quote the job wanted 4 times what I spent on the project. And they wouldn't guarantee it'd work. heh...

Living out in "the sticks" as I do, there was no DSL, Cable, or a reliable Wireless provider. The Company FINALLY let me get them setup with a mondo huge dish to get the Business Class Sat. Internet from Hughes... It's taken months of "spare time" (like any of us has any), but I finally got the Wireless PTP link finished all the way to my desk... I'm typing this message via the link. Just gotta brag a little on what it took to get the service to me... 1) Convince Company to install Satellite Internet (at the upgraded band width). 2) Search and find 2 Linksys WAPs that were the old style LINUX firmware so I could hack on them. 3) Tear WAPs apart and install in custom aluminum enclosures so they can be installed on antennae masts. 4) Purchase 24dBi antennae (2), masts (2), and all the associated cabling, N-connectors, etc... 5) Construct custom antennae mast mounts from steel I-beam for ultra solid mast mounts that won't allow antenna to move in wind (large antennae, super narrow beam, North Texas wind = need for super solid mounts). 6) Install antennae and WAPs on masts, masts on mounts, mounts on buildings.... 7) Run AC source to base of each mast in conduit w/ weatherproof housing. Weatherproof power supplies and extend/shield/weatherproof the DC power cord so it'll reach up the mast into the enclosure. 8) Run CAT-6 wire from Company Router (Gateway to Satellite) to Company WAP. Here's where it get's interesting... NO antenna allowed on house... So.. 9) Mount home side antenna on shop building located about 300 feet away from house (rear side at peak). 10) Tap AC from existing conduit/circuit and run to new AC outlet adjacent to mast.... Oops... Shop AC has no ground wire, and conduit isn't grounded.... 11) Back up and COMPLETELY rewire shop to code... grrrrr... 12) Finally get power to Near end WAP. 13) Run Exterior/Underground rated conduit from base of mast along roof line to corner post and down to intermediate box about 4' off ground. 14) Pull CAT-6 wire. 15) Wire and power everything up. 16) Configure near/far end WAPs in Bridge Only mode and confine signal to the MAC addresses for the two WAPs to avoid war drivers hacking network. 17) Peak (aim) antennae for strongest/most reliable signal. 18) Hack WAPs to get max power and 14 channels. Move to channel no one will be looking for. 19) Test link on near end with laptop at intermediate box... WORKS! Surf until dark... 20) Rent DitchWitch 1030 and trench the 300 feet from shop to house. (Hand dig over the existing phone, AC to house, AC to shop, and water well power conduits already in the ground. 21) Run conduit from intermediate box to rain gutter downspout extension on house... Terminate with an intermediate box. 22) Drill box to accept flexible conduit fitting. 23) Install flex conduit fitting and run flex conduit UP the gutter downspout, down the gutter and to the corner of the house. 24) Pull CAT 6 from shop intermediate box back through the flex conduit (2 steps), and ull through 200 feet extra. 25) Shrink tube 30 feet of pulled CAT 6 from flex conduit end to where will penetrate house. 26) Seal flex conduit end where CAT 6 comes out with UV stable silicone. 27) Hang upside down off roof and staple CAT 6 under edge of soffet/fascia to hide it all the way up to peak of roof near attic/ridge vent. (Can't use ladder since it'd have to be 40 foot long to get over the awnings AND reach the roof). 28) Feed wire into attic. Terminate end of CAT 6 and test with laptop to make sure I didn't separate conductors when pulling wire. 29) Find a route across house to drop location that CAT 6 won't be closer than 18 inches to an AC or other signal/power wire. 30) Fish CAT 6 down existing drop (Dish, UHF/VHF/FM antenna, etc.) to home router location. 31) Terminate CAT 6 and install in last available slot on face plate. 32) Test with laptop... Still works. 33) Make patch cord and patch WAP to near end Router... 34) Great! I can see everything on the local network and company network, but NO Internet... Crap, crap, crap!!! 35) Jack around with routing tables, etc, etc.... for HOURS! 36) Finally settle for disabling near end DHCP and letting far end router be the only DHCP server. 37) Laptop and my tower system grab IPs and see the internet.... Take rest of day off... You gotta REALLY need/want broad band to do it this way. But it works really, really well... Just as fast here as sitting in the office.. Later!

Sure could use the Match Hotel Info ASAP. I'm driving out, but I'd sure like to nail down my hotel reservation right now. I think I'm going to come out a few days early as well... Maybe a week or so total. Some places, shps, et al. I'd like to visit while I'm out there.

Can't believe I hadn't seen this thread before... Had an aluminum handle on my 550 just as soon as I could order one after one session with the ball. Don't bother with the plastic roller... I just wish there was an aluminum roller option for the 1050... guess i'll have to make one.

AAR = After Action Review = #1 way to improve any operation IMHO. It's a what we did right, what we did wronf, and what we can/shold do to fix any shortcomings. led by a facilitator that is not directly THE guy (commander/MD/RD) Hard to do on the net, but SHOULD be done by the match staff right after the event is final.... Facilitator is the key to making it work well. Net comments... great idea, but should not be real time. ALL should be reviewed prior to public availability. Personally, I never want to see a "this sucked" post... I am only interested in seeing a well thought out, constructive criticism... and THEN ONLY if it is accompanied by a well thought out proposed SOLUTION to the problem. The solution is the price of submission for the priviledge of "bitching".

Flex and Dave have it... I ONLY load out of the ammo box. If it's not in the box, it don't go into a mag. If it falls out of my hand or hits the ground, it goes in the bottom of the bag to be recycled/checked and then used only for practice. I haven't had a match malf related to ammo since I started doing this... However, I DID have a couple of malfs with my practice ammo a while back as I had loaded loose into an ammo can and neglected to chanber check each round. I'm now chamber checking ever practice round as well...

Eric - Yup... pulse rate is a good indirect indicator of hydration. Resting pulse rate SHOULD be determined in the position for which you need a baseline.... which for us would be predominently standing. Dehydration (heat exhaustion/heat stroke) is actually primarily diagnosed by taking heart rate/pressure in three positions: standing, sitting, horizontal. They use the deltas between the three to assess probable dehydration. Blood pressure and heart rate both increase inversely to the level of dehydration. Hydration level can be TRAINED to a higher plateau. Just like you can train your body to reduce resting pulse rate and increasing VO2, you can train it to keep a higher "resting" tissue hydration ratio. This is an obvious advantage. Hydration and Electrolyte balance are really two totally separate issues bu that have similar/some common effects on body function. Hydration: Water uptake into the body tissues is almost a perfect osmosis deal... Your digestive tract (and your body tissues) will pretty much only absorb additional water if the water concentration is higher on the input side of the "membrane" than on the "other side" be it the blood stream or cell interiors. The BEST way to do this is by maintaining a higher concentration of PURE water in the stomach than that which is in the blood stream/tissues. The larger the osmotic difference/ratio, the greater the potential for fluid transfer. The best case scenario is that you have sufficiently "pre-hydrated" in the period before your performance that your initial output the morning of the performance is as close to clear as possible.... yes, to do this will likely require you to get up in the night several times for a latrine visit... BUT, use this time to drink more water at the same time. THEN, DURING the performance, you should drink as much water as possible. The goal is to HAVE to urinate at LEAST every 2 hours... Every hour is better, and the product should NOT show a color increase. If it does, you are not drinking enough or your body is not absorbing enough. You control the first by increasing input; you control the second by TRAINING your body to absorb... The body NEEDS to practice/learn how to lose/absorb water at the planned intensity level. Electrolyte balance: This is done/not jeopardized in the period BEFORE the performance. Short of a marathon or other EXTREME performance, there is very little you can do DURING the performance to affect your electrolyte balance. IF you are balanced prior to the match, even a 12 stage Area 4 in July/August effort will not significantly throw off your Electrolyte balance... YES, you will deplete them, but it will generally not be a performance impacting depletion level... HOWEVER, it's not a "bad" thing to take in a reasonable amount of replenishment materials during the performance to offset/speed up RECOVERY after the perfromance. Generally, however, what you eat for step three below SHOULD be MORE than adequate for this purpose. Aside from hydration, it is the glucose/insulin roller coaster that affects performance more than anything and is OFTEN mistaken for simple dehydration. This is a very complex balancing act and I won't go into the long explanation, but suffice to say THIS one REALLY needs "training" before the performance, and needs AT LEAST as much maintenance DURING performance as hydration. Your glucose/insulin (et al.) system needs to be "in shape" prior to performance... The best way to do this? Work out, eat 6+ SMALL meals a day of the PROPER food a day. No caffeine, tobacco, excess processed carbs (sugar/bad starch), or any other synthetic chemicals in the diet... Same thing DURING the performance... NO caffeine or sugar etc. Keep a constant/consistent supply of GOOD food/fuel during the performance to maintain the balance. Cellular activity specific to muscular exertion (and brain function as well) is akin to keeping a steady fire going... It's easier to KEEP a fire going than to start one or RE-start one that you let die down. Dumping several loads of fuel on a fire on an infrequent basis will do one of two things... Casue you to have a fire that burns really hot for a short time and then dies down to a less than adequate blaze for the majority of the time, OR worst case... dumping TOO much fuel on the fire smothers it out altogether to a smolder that takes forever to catch back on. If you have a good fire going, you KEEP it going by constantly tending it... Keeping the ash (waste) from building up, adding small amounts of fuel FREQUENTLY and consistently, and making sure there's plenty of oxygen available. Eating sugar or trash carbs is akin to dumping gasoline on a fire... It burns like crazy until it burns the accelerant off, then dies very quickly. In the body, this also serves to jack up the insulin balance which does bad things for both your muscles AND your brain. Caffeine, tobacco, et al. screw up body chemistry in countless ways... Addictive... meaning your body becomes accustomed to them. If you are addicted to them now, it's not a good time to quit if you have a lot of matches coming up... Actually, it's a great time to quit anytime, but your performance will likely suffer until your body heals. Essentially, your body needs about 21-30 days to detox enough from either to reduce the dependency enough that the effect on performance becomes un-noticed. So, pick a 30-60 day match lag (July/August for me) and QUIT them both cold turkey... Also helps if you can hang out in a cave in Tibet too... so that you won't abuse all the folks around you during withdrawal. Match Food Tip: There are lots of food replacement options, but I find that EAS's Myoplex Lite bars are a great match food. Quick and easy to eat. Low in sugar, and they are well balanced in all the goodies you need. I try to eat one about every two hours during a match, every three hours when not during a match. When I am PROPERLY observing my nutrition plan, I have Breakfast, MR, Lunch, MR, Dinner, MR, (MR). MINIMUM 1.5 gallons of water per day (10 pints). Add a half pint additional for each NON-water beverage consumed. Add 1 QUART additional minimum for each alcoholic based beverage (1 quart PER ounce of alcohol). Needless to say, it's better to forego the alcohol altogether from a strictly perfromance/health performance standpoint. MR - Meal Replacement: A Myoplex mix, Myoplex Ready to Drink, or Myoplex Bar in order of precedence... Mix requires less additonal water than RTD, which requires less additional water than bar. Each bar requires at least 1 pint additional water. (MR) is an optional "meal" added if bedtime is later than 2100hrs. Eat every 3 hrs. NEVER get "hungry". NEVER get "FULL". Don't eat within 1.5 hrs of bedtime, preferably 2. Sleep AT LEAST 6, preferably 8 hours a day. DO NOT sleep in a room with TV, radio, or lights on. Don't read before etiring. Try to have at least 30 minutes of non-stimulation time prior to retiring (improves sleep quality and gets you to REM quicker). Wow... Sorry... Got a little more detailed than I intended. Aren't you glad I didn't do the LONG version? Hope this proves useful... BTW, I am not a doctor or a Nutritionist... but I lived with a certified Dietician and bonafied nutrition nut for 14 years... The above plan is a modified "Body-for-Life" plan that I have successfully used to lose/maintain substantial weight losses, and BF % reductions (on the order of 45lbs in 12 weeks). It's hard to get through the first few weeks, but way easier to keep doing it for life as long as you pay attention.

Mmmm... kinda getting a late start. I should be there in about 7 or 8 hours. See y'all after while...