carinab

Thank you for that awesome and awe inspiring post. And a huge THANK YOU to all veterans, inside or outside, of the benoverse. Your service and sacrifice is an example to all and affirms my faith in people.

I will be thinking of you all as I wander about DPC saying "muzzle." Wish I could clone myself for a couple of days! This is only the second time I've missed A4 since moving to Texas...the first time was the summer of '01 when my daughter was born. Good luck to everyone and thank you again to San Angelo for pulling the bacon out of the fire.

Thank you everyone for coming out and shooting. A special thank you goes to all of you who helped with the setup. Michael K. was the lucky winner of a S&W gun pal screwdriver and bit set and he got to shoot for free. It was well deserved as he and "Josey Wales" did some hard work on "Clones II." I think having the props and number of tgts required on the WSB really made setup go quicker. Tear down was equally smooth and we were off the range around 3pm. Outstanding work all around and I'm glad that you all enjoyed it as much as I did. And btw, courses with hard cover and no shoots build character! I'd forgotten how hard it is to MD and shoot at the same time. I was still putting the spit polish on a stage when my squad was already shooting! My first stages had a couple of no shoots and a time that required the use of a calendar. It definitely was a trip down memory lane for me. Just reading the old match books to pick stages was fun. "From box A, engage only T1-T3....From box B...." Yup, things have definitely changed!

Very Cool! Congrats my man! Will you front the band at your own reception?!

Uhm...actually no...this thread and the other one hasn't been a topic of discussion in the hen house. As I mentioned in the first thread, I don't see any harm in asking the question. It's not science until you analyze the data. There are a myriad of reasons, everyone who has posted has their view of those reasons. Naturally, some posts have been more respectful than others. Most certainly, we women operate differently. While men tend be heirarchical, we tend to be inclusive. That is something very noticeable if you compare the ladies squad and the other top squads; we do try to drag everyone forward. With some of the ltd super squads I've been on at area matches, it was every man for himself. There was one where the tension and animosity sure sucked the fun out of it for me - you didn't dare crack a joke. So to answer the question, what will it take to get a lady GM (not a paper one); it will take a woman who is physically strong, naturally quick, mentally tough, who will put in the effort, and who has the support/encouragement to make shooting her sole focus. Doesn't sound like a gender specific description does it? However, the more women who shoot the sport, the more likely this goal will be reached. ETA: After thinking on this a bit longer, I realize I left out one trait; consistency. What separates out the top shooters from the rest is that they are consistent on each stage rarely blowing one up completely. When you can post a good stage every stage in a match, you can't help but be in the top.

Hear that Lawman! You move like a cat - rowwrr! Let that inner kitty out

Why thank you! The ladies camps were born out of a this type of discussion (in a rental car driving back to the hotel from Nationals at Bend). We too wondered amongst ourselves as to why there aren't more highly ranked women. If there are less than 4% GM's in the game and women are less than 5% at any match, it not only comes down to physical differences but the numbers too. So, go out and recruit more women! [Martha Stewart voice] Estrogen at the range is a good thing! [/Martha Stewart voice]

Congrats Athena!! By the way....if you haven't seen it, you were the cover girl for Women and Guns September/October issue. Awesome post, awesome shooter...Girl, you're just made of awesome! And now for boynty77..... I have got to assume that you were kidding when you said Jessie's looks would help her make GM. Surely you're not saying that she could some how use her assets to better her placement?! When I was single, I was dating an "M" shooter. And I heard the gossip of "does she think she can sleep her way to an M card." You would never, ever hear that rumor of a male D class shooter dating a lady of higher rank. I quit dating shooters shortly there after because I just got tired of it. Now don't get me wrong, women like to be appreciated for talent and for looks...No problem. You can tell me I'm gorgeous all day long! But how could it be anything but an insult to say that my rank is related to my looks.... <insert tsk tsk head shaking emoticon here> That would be like saying that <Super Star Male Shooter> only has his GM card because he has cut abs and a...er...um...an impressive piece of equipment. and now back to the topic....

Kevin, ANY type of weather would be appropriate as the stages come from different Ltd Natl's anywhere from 94 to 04....And I can guarantee you I've shot in every kind of weather at nationals, heat, ice, rain, mud, pretty much everything! I'm looking forward to shooting it myself!

I agree with you...However if you make top 8, you are put in the ladies squad regardless of what's on your squad request sheet. The exception is if you are ride sharing or have a sig other whose shooting...but even then it's not a guarantee. Sometimes they'll put you both on the same schedule or sometimes the male sig other will end up on the ladies squad. Just ask Jerry how many times he's shot with the "broad squad."

For those of you in and around the North Texas section, Greenvile (NTPS) will be having it's monthly match this Saturday and it's one not to be missed! I will be stepping in as the guest MD and to make this match a little different, I have selected (with some help) stages from past USPSA Nationals. See, I knew holding onto those match booklets was a good idea! So welcome to the Nationals Nostalgia Match! Nov_Greenville.pdf The match fee is $30.00 for non-members unless this is your very first match at NTPS - the newbie fee is only $15.00. The cost is $20.00 for range members. An annual membership is only $25.00 a year so if you make it out at least twice during the season, put a crowbar to your wallet and join.... Hammer falls at 10am but I'll be there around 7:30am to do setup...Kindly show up and help set the stages as I certainly can't do it all by my lonesome little self...Map Link Tell you what, I'll do a drawing for the folks who show up by 8:30am to do setup. One of you will get to shoot for free (I'll cover your match fee) and I'll dig up a little goodie out of my gun/hobby cabinet (it'll be a surprise to us both what I find). So, do some dryfire, load some rounds, and show up this Saturday. Just think, if you win, you can say you won the nationals!

Congrats!

I'll chime in... Trust me, the ladies have had this discussion many, many times as we'd love to see one of us be High Overall... Like most things, there are a myriad of reasons why even the top women are at around 80-85% of the top men. From the physical side, women don't have as much upper body strength. If you look at video of the women shooters, you'll still see some muzzle rise. Check out the top men, their gun doesn't move. Men may gain some advantage sprinting as well. A taller man has longer strides. The time difference between GM and M hit factor (with points being equal) is generally 1.5-2 seconds. Easily splits and transitions and the amount of time getting from point A to B can make that amount of time. As for focus, single threading versus multi-tasking, it's true women have either families, work, etc., something that competes for their attention. From my personal experience, I can't focus only on shooting without having the other areas suffer and start to fall apart.

Cool pumpkins! But you best be careful what you say on this thread....you might end up with a tagline like I did! Wicked? Hardly....I'm so neurotic I feel guilty when someone else does something wrong!

I told her the news after we got back from karate class. There wasn't much time as we had to rush out the door right after dinner for math night at her school. She was kinda non-chalant about it at first. But then she wanted to know why flower died, was it something she did? I told her it wasn't, that flower's body was just worn out. She went and looked at the tank and when she saw him toes up, I think she really understood then that her pet was dead. We fished him out of the tank, put him in a plastic bag, and he's now sitting in my fridge waiting for a proper burial in the back yard. We had a "lovely" little discussion about decomposition and how flower was going to feed the trees and bushes. The only time she got a bit teary-eyed was while writing down some thoughts for tomorrow's burial. Of all the things I thought I'd experience as a parent, burying a crayfish in the backyard never crossed my mind.

Thanks for the suggestions...and the restraint. I was half expecting to get a boil recipe... There are some good ideas on those google links....I'll be sure to emphasize that it wasn't anything she did. I could see her trying to blame herself as I did have to remind her about feeding him fairly often. I'm glad that at least it was a crayfish and not something she could regularly cuddle and hug. I'm not really certain how attached she was to it. I actually kind of miss the bugger though. You gotta' respect something the size of a small cell phone with so much attitude that it charges at you confidently waving it's little claws - Ya' come get a piece of this!

I'm cleaning the house this morning and noticed movement in the fish tank. As I investigate, instead of seeing my daughter's crayfish come scrambling at me waving it's claws, I see it rolling around in the water's movement, obviously expired. Yup, it's definitely deceased. We went to a crayfish boil in the spring and the kids all "got" to take a live one home. After living in a mixing bowl full of water for a week, we located a "free" tank and then spent nearly $60.00 on all the tank fixings (chemicals, gravel, etc). She named it "flower" because she thought the overlapping bits on the tail looked like a flower...and well, because she's a seven year old girl. Seven year old girls think everything is cute....even a snaggly-faced, spider-looking crayfish. It did great for months but I have noticed in the last week, it wasn't eating well. Usually when you drop the food in, it would charge straight to it gobbling it up. Not so much lately....it'd eat but not always. The tank water is clean and cycled properly so I can only surmise that it was just old. At any rate, I now have the unfortunate job of telling my kiddo her pet is dead. Any suggestions on how to explain it....

Jake's got that right...Fish oil is good stuff....and Emergen-C makes a glucosimine/condrotine version of their fizzy vitamin drink mix....20 calories and < 1 block carb

My goal for this week is to get in two of the CF warm ups a day....I took it easy before natl's so I wouldn't be sore at the match. Stuck to my zone diet and had mental clarity that I hadn't experienced before under match stress (that rocked!)...But, when I got back, I took a week to just do all the stuff that you shouldn't do. You know, to get it out of my system. And the week after that, I got sick. Two weeks to recover and then I hit the gym and the yoga room two days in a row. Whammo....my kid brings home some unyet named cold like malady that lays you out for a week. So I tend to her for a while before I catch it. Then I get all stupid and stubborn as it turns to a sinus infection. Six weeks later and I weigh the same but feel like my muscles are jello....I finished the last of the antibiotics today. Off to yoga tomorrow and then to the gym for some "warm ups." Man, I need to work out! I feel like a sloth! Recovery as you get older seems to be exponential....

Go figure a guy that looks like that can't get a date....

Only 'cos I haven't gotten my IRA/401k statements yet.... Uh, yeah....feel the love...

Being the sole carry permit holder at Con, I got to help with some of the security details....Shatner was always one cool frood...He spent quite a bit of time talking with a friend of mine about horsemanship. Apparently, that's one of his hobbies. He's a pretty unpretentious guy....unlike his castmate, Walter Koenig, a royal pr!ck.

Uh....unless he is really diligent about not touching his face and washing his hand thoroughly before he eats after gathering that brass, you may want to rethink that plan. Lead isn't much off from calcium as far as the chemical structure is concerned. This is why it so quickly settles into your bone marrow where it takes a good bit of time to leech out. Lead for kids is extremely bad....Remember the ban on lead paint?

Back in the day at Norco, when we shot IPSC with large pointed sticks, Wally Arrida had the best halloween match ever! One stage was called "The Headless Horseman." All of the classic targets had their heads chopped off and stapled in random places on the lower torso. You then had to engage them all "mozambique" style with one to the "upper" panel and two to the lower panel. Yeah, I know...not rule book legal....But a heck of a lot of fun. You could always just leave the heads off all together or make the heads their own targets by stapling them on no shoots around the course. And wearing a costume to the range....Hilarious! I once saw a guy dressed up as Shirley Hamilton (Ladies National Champ 95...I think)...He was complaining he couldn't find his reload! Errrr....he was wearing a DD bra stuffed full of socks! :cheers:

Okay....So back in April I flew out to San Francisco to meet up with the core members of our band. Turns out the lead singer had a stroke that should of killed her but didn't and she was having a "re-birthday" party in celebration. I met up with the important people from my high school years at the same time. Oddly most of them moved to the bay area...in particular, I got to see a ex-boyfriend that dumped me in a less than nice fashion. Oh yeah, it rocked to show up looking like a lean, mean, dancing machine!! Yup...see what you missed out on suckah! Anyway, I've kept in touch with the ladies from the band. It turns out I was the secretary, keeping most of the boom box recorded live performances. I sent them to said former boyfriend who now works as a music/art consultant for corporate websites and he managed to engineer a few of them into listenable quality (although they still have that raw garage sound). To help our lead singer pay for her recovery therapy, we made a my space page with some of the songs sampled hoping that someone may be interested in covering them on some future music project. We're also talking about doing a reunion show in San Diego for a mod/scooter rally in June 2009.... At any rate, without further delay.....here are the song stylings of Everybody Violet...... The first, second, and fourth songs are ones that I wrote. The others are ones that Anni (the other guitarist) and I put together with the lead singer providing both melody and lyrics. Don't ask me about the name, my vote was to call our all girl band The Whoopsie Daisies....Come on! That's the perfect name for an all girl band!