ducman

Happy B-day Eric. Good talking to you last week. The timer arrived today!!! Absolutely love it! Dry firing bliss. I'm going to be another one needing meds for my aching hands before long.

Whenever the subject of skydiving comes up, someone without fail will say, "I just can't see jumping out of a perfectly good airplane." Then they will laugh and look at you for approval and agknowlegement that they are sooooo clever. Yea, they might be if they made it up! "Tell us how you really feel." Said just after someone else has ranted (as above). Not creative and just stupid. Everyone should be able to rant to someone else every once in a while without their rant being nulified by a idiotic saying like that. Here's a basic humor rule - Things that are meant to be funny - should be. Last but not least, "Sounds like a personal problem." Still thought to be funny by some though I can't figure out why. Not creative and just plain stupid. People who think that is funny also tend to laugh at any take off of "Truth, truth, you can't handle the truth." Basic humor rule # 2 If every english speaking person on the planet has heard the statement before at least ten times, it's probably not going to be funny. Think old Saturday night live, much of what made the skits so funny was the unexpected.

I second the training recommendation. I took a street/racing course before I got my bike. That training has saved me several times. Kieth Code's books are excellent. He's like the BE of motorcycle racing! His writing is very thoughtful and deep. Do yourself a favor and read them.

Great job Kyle! Now you have me thinking. Maybe I'll stay with my little G23 for limited and leave the high dollar stuff for open.

That is cool. Spook beat me to it. That's a definate must buy for my dad for christmas! He used to import wine.

Tightloop - I actually looked at the Texas Rangers as a possibility several years ago until I found out you have to be a TX native to become one. Guess they don't want us Georgia boys tainting the water. Researching the degree stuff now. Funny, my fiance has a masters in biology. How she ended up with me I don't know.

Sweet. Congrats! So is the .22 league the same as regular IPSC just with .22's?

Great job Matt! How long have you been competing?

Sig lady - Thanks for the support. I get the feeling you've started over a few times yourself.

Shepard - Yea, know what you mean. Kinda hard to get really jazzed about catching people that for the most part hold no malice toward us. They do litter a lot though. "Badguy quotient" - 2 on a 10 scale. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you though. A lot of departments would love to have a guy with a law degree. I don't have my degree, so it limits my choices somewhat. The large departments seem to be the ones that have all the overtime. We should get together and shoot / talk shop. Give me a pm, don't want to get accused of making the thread drift.

"Team Me" -

Arrraaaaa! That drives me nuts! Talk about bans. That should be banned. It goes on in every sport. I always been of the mindset that if you want to look like a pro, do the work, get sponsored and go pro - don't pose.

Just how big is your yard?

I think zorba nailed it. Also, if you're sponsored, the more "billboard space" you have the better.

Chriss - I'm under no illusion that I'm going to rush out and save the world. I don't think there is a perfect agency out there either - there's not. If I wanted to make money - real money, I would have chosen another profession. Part of the point of my original post is that I'm not catching bad guys, at least not very often. Again, the area I was assigned to is just not that busy. Catching bad guys on a regular basis wouldn't be saving the world but it would be something. That's all I want. That and a place where I can afford a decent house where I can raise a family and have a little disposible income to pursue a hobbie or two. Shepard - I'm not saying that the BLM is all bad. It greatly depends on the the office you're in. Phoenix and Tucson are better managed. Part of it is also that I grew up on the east coast (Atlanta & Miami). I've lived all over, but never in the desert. I just wasn't prepaired for the nothingness I guess. The area I work isn't so bad - Julian & Mccain Valley but I can't afford to live there. Sorry about the BP situation. I guess catcing IA's is either something you like or you don't. I imagine that there isn't much variation in the routine though. I like helping you guys out though. It breaks up the monotony.At least you guys got your 11's. BLM talks about it, but it hasn't happened yet.

Glad to hear you escaped the fires. The area I patrol - Julian, California got hit really hard last season. Took out a ton of really nice hiking country.

Eric- Is the gate you are talking about for a road that is a "right of way" to other public land? If it is then he can't keep it closed off. You probably know this though since it sounds like you've been through it before. I deal with this stuff all the time at my job. Spokane is really nice. I used to live there. I liked it.

Zak- yes they are hiring. I have around ten friends that are over ther right now. Already talked that one over the fiance. You can guess what she said. Women, what are you gonna do? It's just as well I guess. I've talked with two buddies that have lost people in their squad/team/platoon. There is a reason they are getting 800-1,200/day. Then you have the issue shred is talking about.

I'll tell you, if I have to move one more time I think I'm going to scream. I'm in federal law enforcement and I've been searching for my "nich" for what feels like forever. For the sake of brevity I'll just include the recent stuff. I was a Federal Air Marshal. It's one of those jobs that sounds a lot better than it really is. I really enjoyed the people I worked with-good bunch of guys. After a year and a half I was bored of the job and ready to move on. The pay was good though, for a Fed job, I gotta giv'em that. I moved out to Arizona (crappy Yuma) a year ago to take a job as a Ranger for the Bureau of Land Management. I took a 23 thousand dollar pay decrease to have the privilage of working outside among the fuzzy creatures (actual job is in California-long commute). It's turning out to be more boring than the Air Marshal job. My sector just doesn't get very many people coming through it. Another issue is that I'm a federal firearms instructor but my chief does all the instruction and won't let me do anything to revamp the firearms program, even though I am bringing updated tactics and drills to the table. He is very closed minded and won't let anyone "threaten" his position as the big bad firearms instructor. All this when he told me during my interview that someone with my experience would do the program some good. I don't get it. It's part of the reason they hired me. So, I'm thinking of doing something that I never thought I would do-leave the federal system after six years and go to work for a local PD like Cheyenne, WY. Only prob is I'd have to take yet another pay cut, about 8k. I'd be happier possibly, but I'll be making litterally half what I was making with Homeland Security. I'd also have to go through another academy. It would be my third academy not counting the Air Marshal training and all the other little schools. I'm tired of academies! Long story short-I want to be useful (who doesn't right). Yes, protecting the public from some unknown threat on airplanes and making sure no one shoots bambi out of season are both gratifying in their own ways. My point is it would be nice to come home at the end of the day and be able to say I did this, and this, and this and feel good about it. Actual things, not -" I sat there and made sure nothing happened." Am I asking too much?

While patroling the river (I'm a Ranger) the guys I work with and myself were laughing at all the little gang bangers with their baggy pants and hats sideways. I coined the word - Stupometer. The further back the hat is... Seriously though, I don't think it's that bad to wear your hat backwards. As long as it's completely backwards. The sideways stuff drives me nuts.

Well, I've ordered my Pro Sx! This is going to be a serious exercise in delayed gratification. Bob and his wife Ingi very plesant to speak with. Bob was super nice in helping me lay out the plans and walk me through the process. He was very patient and not pushy at all. He just answered my questions and gave me recomendations (which I pretty much followed to a T). Now I need to find a decent used open gun to play with in the mean time. Also gotta get a Dillon press and learn how to load brass (the most intimidating thing in IPSC).