All Things Rowdy

I must be manstruating as it seems almost everything I've done today has been designed to elicit a response of supreme irritation from me. 6am woke up from an extremely fitful night of sleeping. Negative dreams and poor health from what I am now thinking is actually a cold and not allergies. A small, unsatisfying, unvaried breakfast. Argument, well maybe just on my side, about a child support issue. Divorced in one state, living in another, ex living in another and kid living in another state does not make doing this stuff easy. My hair wouldn't do anything today other than make me look stupid. Not ugly, stupid. Ugly can't be helped, stupid is more of a choice. And thus a greater affront. Renewal time for one of my professional licenses for a job I do like one month a year max. Feels like a waste of time, energy and so on. For the two days this month I've been tentatively asked to do nuclear medicine. The US Post Office. Oh man, did the director of the DMV t...

Some silly surf pics from yesterday afternoon.

Some of my favorite pictures I took at the MotoGP race a few weeks ago.

But only until May 21st, 'cause that's my birthday. So while you are waiting for my Austin, MotoGP and Texas Tornado Boot Camp pictures and video think about the things you could get me for my birthday. 1. Ammo. Sounds silly, but I need it for practice and I don't make my own. 9mm, 115gr, fmj. From 50 rounds up to 5,000 I need it. $20 for 50 rounds to $300 per thousand. Or .45acp would be nice too. 2. A nice set of fins, snorkel and mask for the ocean. Roughly $200-300. Self sealing snorkel, medium frame mask and I wear a size 8 tennis shoe for the fins. 3. The complete works of R.L Stevenson, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne or anyone else in that style. Classic fiction for men, young or old. Or this book John Landis wrote about movie monsters, titled I think 'Monsters". Also a new book about the war on terror titled, "The Way of the Knife." 4. Nikon D7000 or D7100 plus lens(es). Something up to say 300mm in zoom for one and then say a fixed 50mm prime. B...

Ten quick things about my ten day trip to Texas. 1-I like the heat and humidity. Totally not an issue for me. But the 'cedar fever' or whatever, while in my case mild, was still annoying. 80F and 80% at 8am I can handle just fine but not being able to go outside without sneezing like crazy and being stuffed up is a huge drag. Texas is still on the list for places to move in the future, I'll just buy lots of Claritin. 2-Austin is growing too much even from my little experience going there over the past 8 years. And toll roads all over? Come on... But it still is the #1 choice in cities for TX relocation. Though the time I spend in The Woodlands part of Houston was pretty dang good at making a case for it as well. 3- Food. From eating a delicious sandwich in tiny Andice, wonderful home cooked food by family, fancy French food, fried catfish or all day smoked bbq brisket I never found Texas to be lacking for yummy food choices. 4-COTA. Circuit of the Americas is probab...

I got my hair cut today and the woman doing it (Morgan at Bomshell Salon in Encinitas) said something about how our conversations are always about the various trips or activities I have done or plan to do soon. So in things unsaid that means we never talk about anything substantial. Capital L life stuff. On the drive home I realized why I seldom have to talk to anyone about the deeper things in my life. It's because I have them/it figured out. I don't have to devote any of my brain or life to thinking about the "great mystery" because I feel completely comfortable in the answers I've found for myself. So I have plenty of brain cells left to think about what I have upcoming, the next 10 days I will be spending in Texas! Visiting family in Austin. Going to all three days of the inaugural MotoGP race at COTA just outside of Austin. Then a short drive to Conroe (north of Houson) for 5 days of training at the Texas Tornado Bootcamp motorcycle riding camp. See ya ...

I love being alive now, in this 'age'.

A funny little video, if I do say so myself. Archer + me shooting = snorting laughter.

Just some pictures I took myself. 'Cause like I'm a photographer and all.

Oh, it is almost time!! Next Wednesday I go to Austin Texas for the second MotoGP race of the season, held for the very first time at this track. Booyah! Fri, Sat and Sun filled with motorcycle roadracing and just being in Texas. And as if that wasn't enough, then on Monday following the race I hop in the rental car and head to "bootcamp". hahaha. I mean I had to a 4 day riding course with none other than Colin Edwards III, world champion! Four days staying at his ranch and learning how to tear around on a motorcycle better. Faster. And when we're not all doing that there is shooting, paintball, gokarts and whatever. Then once 'vacation' is over, it's back to hardcore practice for The Masters IDPA tournament on May 11th in Alabama. Where again, I'll be doing something motorcycle related in visiting the museum and such at the Barber motorsports track while in Birmingham. Then it will just be a couple weeks till my birthday! Then a trip to Yellowst...

I have a lot of interests. International relations, cinema, good food, history, motorcycle racing, opera, black and white monster movies, off roading, tennis, rock climbing, surfing and so on. Things that capture my attention but don't necessarily drive or motivate me the same way a hobby would. My hobbies currently would be things then like downhill mountain biking, foreign travel, motorcycles, shooting sports and photography. Of all of these photography is the one I have spent the least amount of money and time pursuing. I would like a new camera body and lenses, like a Nikon D7000. I'd like a legit copy of Photoshop. I'd like a quality waterproof point and shoot. I'd like to take another class about photography. I'd like to enter pictures into the fair and contests. But the act of taking pictures is a pretty solitary pursuit. And I think that is what slows me down in just really taking off with it. I do think about it and work at it. I do try to improve the p...

Watch my winning ways and funky self. Sadly you miss my umbrella. And stage 5, but I was shooting from inside a barrel so wasn't really GoPro friendly. 1st in SSP-SS. Would have been second in SSP-EX (the class above me skill wise, that I just moved into). Would have been second to last in SSP-MA hahaha (which is the highest class possible skill wise). 25th out of 140-some shooters over all. And 10th out of 47 for my total division. blah blah blah. hahahaha. I am super stoked and ready to put in more work. My next big match is May 11th in Alabama, The Masters. Watch out!

Magic Chinese Noodle House in the greater Phoenix area was my dinner the other night. Yum! I had lemon garlic noodles and beef. The noodles are hand made when you order and you can watch the process. It's as artful as watching pizza dough get thrown. I've kinda rediscovered riding again now that it is spring. I'm feeling fit, enjoying my new bike and for some reason have a lot of confidence in my ability on the bike, so I'm riding "moar", if that makes sense. Going big and going home. I really hope to do another Utah, Colorado trip this summer to downhill at resorts for a week. I'm actually almost 5' 7", technically 5' 6.5", so when I saw this water depth thing at my hotel's pool the other night I couldn't resist. And of course I dove in head first, no diving sign or not. If I wasn't worried about competing the next day I would have back flipped. You may or may not remember that I have some monster movie posters framed ...

I started a totally new sport in September of last year, shooting my very first IDPA match after only owning a pistol for 3 months. Yesterday I competed in the Arizona State IDPA Championships and finished first in my classification, Stock Service Pistol-Sharpshooter. In doing so I was bumped up a skill level to Expert. This was not done alone though and I would just like to now say thanks to everyone who has helped me along this journey. Bob at American Shooing Center for mentoring and my indoor training. Pat and Jimmy at Aegis Academy for my trigger control and their Basic Pistol class. Bill at Academi for coaching me extensively on the game and his Advanced Pistol class. Sean at SGO Fitness for maximizing my fitness and customizing it to my needs. Dave and Victor at The Glock Store for setting me up with flawless guns. All of my friends, the businesses I frequent for clothes and other purchase related to the sport and especially Super D's long suffering support.

Successful people do daily what other people do occasionally. Fear is the mind killer. Thinking is the enemy of perfection. Bleed in training so you sweat in war. It's the fire that refines. These are some of my favorite sayings. But they are just sayings. I use them to motivate myself and to stay on course for my goals. In some circumstances they would also probably be considered trite. I use them and repeat them to myself often. But I don't go around telling them to other people all the time. Until real life happens. Want to read a true story about fear, accomplishment, being refined by fire and coming out the other end in one piece? Here is a link then to the post sister wrote about her actions and reactions during a medical ordeal with her son. (my nephew who is the shark lover, like me) READ IT HERE Fear, faith, hope, anxiety, love, anger. The breadth of human emotion writ on flesh.