carinab

KDJ and I can probably speak at lengths about dropping your center to create movement. It is central to doing aikido. Which ever direction you need to go, drop your center in that direction. It isn't leaning and your body weight is never in your heels. Your center is midpoint between your hips. Generally, bending a knee will drop your center. In a start position with heels on xx's, bending one or both knees will drop your center allowing you to fall foward and push off. The same principle can be used on 180 degree turns. To understand the idea of dropping weight (or dropping your center), try opening a door that has crash bars for a handle. Activate the bar with your hand but don't use your upperbody strength to push the door open. Instead, bend one knee and let your body weight fall forward until you have to step forward. Your arm should maintain it's position on the handle. Don't bend your elbow or wrist. Your arm is a connector not an affector. Keep your posture square to the the door as you drop your weight. You should feel your body weight dropping through your arm onto to the door - as if the door was going to hold you up.

Mike Caylor at Caylor Custom - 214-831-3332 He's in the Dallas/Fort Worth area

Sorry guys I had a blonde moment and uploaded the wrong pics.... As I was saying, every woman needs a little black something or other for those special occasions. Behold my sexy, flat black long slide. The only things that are stainless are the barrel and hammer. Everything else is black tenifor coated. Sweet and Chic!

I could view it with IE. Pretty darn funny! Now I understand why you wouldn't just describe it....

Area 4 has a great prize table, good stages, and is close to entertainment (casinos and good eats) and I always enjoy the nationals. Texas State Limited is always challenging but you have to provide your own fun (pizza and beer - no problem!).

All I see is something that says "Sorry this site is not part of imagedeposit.com network" Clicking on the link, shows the same thing....I'm using netscrape. Let me try internet exploder...

Uh, the image is gone....Care to share with verbage what the pic contained?

Installment Four: Here are a few unrelated oddities: The con had a 24 hour film program and I started my con life as an AV geek. When events at the convention would end for the day, the films would move over to the hotel. I ran into Sergio Aragones (he draws Groo and the little tiny cartoons at the edges of Mad Magazine) late one evening when I was on my way work a film shift. He had a pen in hand and was, I think, a bit tipsy. We wandered down the hall a ways and he says, "Aha, perfect." And next thing I know, he was doing some of those crazy, little drawings on the painting. The paintings that line the hallways in hotels are always those cheesy landscapes. You know, the ones with a split rail fence standing caterwompus in front of a wild flower filled pasture or it's a lake scene with a log cabin. You wouldn't have noticed the tiny crew of cartoons climbing the fence rail unless you were looking for them. I thought it was hilarious and mentioned it to a co-volunteer the next day. He obviously told someone else and word got around. When all was said and done, the con had to buy $8,000.00 worth of new artwork for the hotel to replace all the ones stolen! As the convention grew, so did the amount of cash going through. I was very careful to keep little of it on hand by scheduling a lot of armored car pick ups to take it to the bank. But this too presented problems because I wanted the guards doing the pick up to take a different route through the center every time they visited. So, I would have one of my assistants meet them and take them on their roundabout journey. When my assistant was close to the office he would hail me on the radio, provide a pass phrase (one meant trouble, the other all clear), and I would unlock the door. So one day it's time for another pick up and we're both tired and have burned through all the boring pass phrases (they changed too). So in honor of the days special programming guest, we decide the pass phrase should be, "The delegation is here to see the Shatner Turbo 2000 hairpiece." Now all the convention staff had handy-talkies and we did use multiple channels. My friend, the security supervisor, had a special one that would scan all the channels and stop where ever there was voice traffic. So just as she is walking our esteemed guest, William Shatner, to his program room, my assistant announces, "The delegation is here to see the Shatner Turbo 2000 hairpiece." Oops! Either he didn't hear the hairpiece bit or he was cool enough not to care, he did ask my friend, however, where the delegation was from. Being quick on her feet, she said it was a star trek fan club.

We had really good people in management who handled every crisis that came up with common sense. There always seemed to be some crisis too. A common joke phrase was, "Valium, it's not just for breakfast anymore." I had a theory that we stuck together and were so loyal to each other because we all had the same "bonding under stress" experience. Sometimes I miss it but I wouldn't want to live in Kalifornia again. I should visit..... Once I get back from work, I'll see if I can get out another installment....

I will not even get started on that! I probably didn't need to but there was an impression that I over reacted. I don't have enough of an ego to worry about it.

Yeah, what Patrick said! We had similar rules, peace bond blades or obvious mock phasers, etc. Nothing realistic ever made it through the front doors. This guy came in with the vendors/exhibitors through the back. Needless to say we modified our security checks at ALL entrances. And Rhino, yes, the rifle was a prop, the ammo was live ammo. It's one of these situations where if one person is allowed then others will think it's allowed. Two problems arise from that; fan-boys will assume it's okay since the hired actors can do it - they will then be ticked off at the convention when not allowed entrance, or worse, the hired security (unclear or unsure on policy) could be convinced it's okay since he saw someone else with something realistic. I'm not certain either that we could educate the guards enough to know a prop from the real thing. Given the quantities of people (it was 49,000 when I left), I think this was the only policy possible. Now if Kalifornia gave concealed carry licenses to anyone legally able to carry.....Let the fan-boys in with a checked prop. Their stupidity might earn them a darwin award for harrassing the someone with a CHL. 'Course there wouldn't be a convention left after the lawyers were done.

Installment Three: "But I was hired to play The Punisher and he carries a gun." Another year, another comic con. This time over the handy-talky, I hear the floor manager say there is a large guy in a costume with a rifle down by the Marvel booth. <Why is it always Marvel?> My friend in charge of security responds and asks for aisle and cross aisle numbers to better locate the fool. I hop on the radio and ask my friend if she'd like help. I'm the only one with enough brains, er-um, a carry permit, to carry a pistol. She agrees and I meet her close to the booth. We decide on a code word to let the floor manager know if the situation requires police. I study the rifle as best I can for the distance and it pretty much looks to me like a FN-FAL and damn real. The guy is also wearing two bandeleros of ammo. My friend and I talk and she is convinced it's not real, no one could be so stupid. She's probably right but I argue that one should never underestimate the level of human stupidity. To no avail, she wants to go talk to the guy. I say okay but "You distract him and I disarm." All the while, teenagers, kids, and people are wandering by the guy. My friend is very attractive. She got his attention while walking up to him, I came up behind him. The rifle was resting in the crook of his elbow and pointing straight up so it actually wasn't hard to snatch it from him. I'm half-running backwards while trying to drop the mag and rack it but nothing budges, it's spot welded shut. Now the big guy is yelling, very pissed off, "Hey, give that back." The big goof had a british accent. I sling the rifle over my shoulder and walk back up just in time to hear my friend, who has a sense of humor, ask Mr. Punisher, "Um, excuse me but what are you doing bringing something like that into the exhibit hall? Are you planning a take over at tea time?" He replies very angrily, "But I was hired to play The Punisher and he carries a gun." He then suddenly and quickly starts to reach into a pouch, I start to sweep my coat back. He producs a folded bit of paper and announces, "It's a letter from the Sheriff's department stating the gun is only a prop so give it back." My friend starts to reason with the guy; think of the kids, their parents will be afraid, blah-blah. No use, he is full of pith and vinegar. And he is getting louder. I call for the yellow coats (the large, private security folks that we and every other concert event hire) just in case. They arrive and my friend switches from passify mode into b!tch on wheels. She tells our fool that he has a choice. He can either be escorted to his vehicle where he will leave the rifle and bandoleros before returning to the hall or we can call the cops and push him out the front door with his rifle and gear as the SWAT truck rolls up. Realizing that he could soon be introducing himself to cellmates wearing a black body suit and leotards or worse, he decides he can probably portray the character adequately without the hardware.

Installment Two: This put you in the same pantheon as Doc Octopus and the Gremlin. So I haven't been treasurer for very long and because this is a once a year event, I don't have my scheduling down. The armored car service left 45 minutes ago and here come piles of exibitors on the last day to pay for next year's booth...with cash. Rather than leave it in the portable safe in the convention office overnight, I organize a few trusted people to walk with me to the bank two blocks away. I have a quite a number of night deposit drawer sized envelopes stuffed into my back pack and a gun. I figure I'm ready to go. We leave the office and start making our way across the long lobby, two people in front of me, two behind. It's pretty crowded but I think everything is okay since we've covered 2/3 of the distance and are close to the doors. As we pass by the stairs, Spiderman leaps over the side of the staircase from a landing and drops in front of me. He grabs both of my shoulders. I scream and grasp his arms, step backwards, and turn. His is now off balance and I use his momentum (plus add a little of my own) to turn further and throw him into the wall of the staircase...pretty hard...thunk... I then start to run for the doors at full speed wondering if Wolverine is next...I hate blades... my racing mind is interrupted by the crackle of my handy-talky. "Carina, stop. It's okay. It was only a joke." I stop, turn around, and see on the staircase, the chairman of the convention with the Marvel sales representative. They are both laughing their a$$es off. Spidey wasn't laughing as he was still hurting from his run into the wall. He ended up going to urgent care where they told him he had bruised ribs and a slight concussion. Within hours, everyone heard the story and I was in trouble. The chairman and I had to draft a letter apologizing to Marvel and to the actor they hired. The chairman had no idea I was on my way to do a bank drop. But, he certainly knew that if I was ever unarmed, it's because I was either unconscious or dead. Stupid to say the least....I'm just glad my instincts weren't to ventilate the dumb b@st@rd.

That's what I was going to suggest...Lots of mags so that you can rotate and clean the dirty ones dropped in the mud at your leisure. DRY socks or waterproof shoes are a must. If not available, invest in Gold Bond Medicated Foot Swabs...you'll need them for the jungle rot!

As requested from the TRON thread, here is the first story about my years associated with a comic book convention. One of the funnier stories involves a celebrity who shall remain nameless but is known to many for his Star Wars character. One year he came to our convention to visit his friend Bill Mumy. Bill Mumy if you remember was the red haired kid from Lost in Space (Danger Will Robinson Danger!). Bill Mumy had a band put together of other comic/film stars (Steve Leialoha, Max Allan Collins, Miguel Ferrer) called Seduction of the Innocent. And, this band played the dance after the InkPot awards banquet. Our celebrity enjoyed a few cocktails at the dance and then perhaps a few more at the after party because he didn't pay attention to the room number when he and Bill finally turned in for the evening. This normally wouldn't be a problem unless you wake up some where different than where you went to sleep. So here it is, zero-dark-thirty in the morning, and our celebrity finds himself wearing only his Fruit of the Loom's wandering the Omni hotel in search of his friend's room. Realizing that this could be could turn very ugly (far worse then those scenes of harried Beatles running from fans - at least they were dressed), he decides to go the back side of the hotel. Being resourceful despite a bit panic stricken, he finds a hotel phone next to a service elevator and calls the front desk. I imagine the discussion went something like this: Celebrity: "Hi, I need Bill Mumy's room number" Front Desk: "We can't give out room numbers but I can connect you to his room." Celebrity: "Okay." Phone: ring, ring, ring, ring, ring. Celebrity: "Dammit!" Phone: ring <click> Celebrity: "Bill, what room are...." Hotel Voice Mail System: "The guest you are trying to reach..." Celebrity: "Dammit! He's passed out." <hangs up and presses zero on the key pad> "Hello, Front Desk? Bill Mumy isn't answering his phone." Front Desk: "You can leave a message in his voice mail if you like." Celebrity: "Uh no, I was staying in his room, I slept walked out, so I need the room number." Front Desk: "So you lost your room key?" Celebrity: "I don't have a room key, I don't have any pockets at the moment to put a room key in! Can't you send someone up to let me in?" Front Desk: "Are you listed on the room? Because if you are, we can make a new key for you. Just bring your driver's license to the front desk." Celebrity: "My driver's license is in the room! Besides I'm not listed on the room. I'm standing here in my UNDERWEAR so I am not coming to the front desk!" Celebrity explains WHO he is. Front Desk: "If you're not on the room, I can't make you a new key." Front Desk clearly fails to grasp the situation. Celebrity: "So how do I get the *&%^! back into the room?" Front Desk: "Can someone with the convention help you?" Celebrity: "I hope so!" This is the point of the story where I get involved. My friend is in charge of security for the convention and we are still at an after-after party when we get the call on the handy-talky. The front desk is about to tell us where the celebrity is waiting when my friend interrupts and suggests that it wouldn't be wise to say such a thing over an open channel. So we head down to the front desk. Upon entering the elevator we notice something smeared all over one of the ad placards. A closer look reveals it to be blood. When we get to the front desk and tell them about blood in the elevator, the response is, "I'll notify house keeping." A valid and correct answer to be sure, but not the answer we expected. After several minutes of discussion and assurances on our part, the front desk agrees to make a room key but hotel security has to tag along. Fine by us, maybe he'll be interested in the blood stained elevator. Nope, "Housekeeping" he says. We finally make it to the Celebrity who is fit to be tied by now. The only thing the hotel security doofus can say is, "Holy Sh*t, you're <Celebrity Name> !" He repeats the observation at least six more times before we safely deliver the celebrity back to the room. The moral of the story is, if you sleep walk, be sure to write your room number down on your hand BEFORE you go to sleep - no matter how sh*tfaced you are.

For those interested, Jim Scoutten was kind enough to send me the following reminder about this week's ShootingUSA show topic: Our profile of the US Shooting Team continues this week with the members of the Rifle and Pistol Team. Thursday 10/7 9:00 PM Eastern - 6:00 PM Pacific Thursday 10/7 10:00 PM Pacific (Friday 1:00 AM Eastern) Sunday 10/10 9:30 AM Eastern - 6:30 AM Pacific Monday 10/11 7:00 PM Eastern - 4:00 PM Pacific Monday 10/11 11:30 PM Pacific - (Tuesday 2:30 AM Eastern)

Today I will try to post a couple of the better stories in the "I was there" forum.... And Rhino, a prop gun caused one of the altercations....I have a Shatner toupee story too....

Since the match was in August, how did you do lukipsc? Which training method did you use?

Here's a man that knows his priorities!

I don't particularly care so long as the stage is challenging. But the fun factor is certainly enhanced when there is a good theme behind a match or stage. My all time favorite stage is from the Linea De Fuego section (repeated at Area 2) called the Wizard of Hoze. At the start you had to push over a house onto a witch (her legs would stick out from under the house). You then proceeded to take a heart to the tinman, a medal to the lion, and a diploma to the scarecrow all the while shooting at flying monkeys (well, flying monkey target stands). You finished by hitting an activation steel and taking out the evil witch mover flying across the range on her broom. Big, Big FUN!

I'm the opposite, I'd wear #9 as perfume (and often do unintentionally after cleaning my gun). FP-10 for lube (in a pinch can also clean) Just a warning for all you folks using Mobil 1 out there. Don't get it anywhere near your feed ramp or hood if you use moly-lube bullets. I was shooting one year at Area 4 in Texarkana and had borrowed some oil for my gun. It ran out quick from the bottle and I got some in the wrong places for sure. End result? I shot the elevator stage in 96 seconds after having to slam shut or break the gun open after every shot (I got CUT UP - ouch). Mobil is a detergent oil and it ate the moly-lube coating gumming up the chamber so badly that the next round would rarely go into battery. It didn't have anything to do with the cases either, they were all drop checked before the match.

I tell you, don't mess with those folks unless absolutely necessary. I spent a good number of years working as the treasurer for San Diego Comic Con/Comic Con International. Those of us on the staff had a name for the ultra-geeky, we called them fan-boys....mostly because of their maturity level. I love Science Fiction, Comics, and most popular culture, don't get me wrong. But I have witnessed the weirdest and sometimes stupidest behavior from fan-boys. In the time I worked the conventions, I have had altercations with no less than Conan the Barbarian, Spiderman, and the Punisher...Oh and one guy who thought he was Judge Dredd (oh never mind, that was Sylvester Stallone). I also met a guy in drag dressed like Wonderwoman. The incident with Spiderman was kinda' bad. I actually had to send a letter of apology to Marvel for beating up their super hero. On the bright side, I saved Luke Skywalker once from a horribly embarrassing predicament! Man, I haven't thought about that stuff for years. If there is an interest, I can post the stories in the humor section.

Recipe - I need to see a recipe!

You know your life is overscheduled when you look forward to the extra hour of sleep every fall and curse at losing an hour in the spring.... BTW, in Arizona they ignore DST.....

My fault Patrick for not being clearer. My intention was to convey that WE are the ones being rebuffed. What could we know about shooting since all we do is spray and pray? <sarcasm mode off> Your observation about heirchal versus practical was dead on. What method would yield the best results? The practical method may lead to more experimentation and hence mistakes but would ulitmately be perhaps the most successful. Of course only if you take advantage of learning from the mistakes - which brings up the next point and it can be applied to a person or an organization in almost any field or endeavor. Stagnation will never lead to success. Evolution is necessary and those that evolve almost always LEARN and change. They aren't particular who they learn from either. Even in an adversarial relationship, you learn about your weaknesses and hence the adversary has helped you. To assume that something can't be improved is to stagnate. For the sake of USAS, I hope that they choose evolution and not devolution.