Delete/Repost

Ok, I deleted the old posts about the first of the two upcoming vacations because things changed.

Here is the REAL deal.

Fly from SD all they way down to Punta Arenas, Chile. Essentially the bottom of the world. Penguins live there for goodness sake!

From there proceed to Las Torres in the Torres del Paine part of Tierra del Fuego/Patagonia. The lodging:

Spend 5 days in the Torres del Paine area of Chile trekking, horse back riding, exploring and just enjoying being in an amazingly beautiful place.

An extra day in Punta Arenas on the way out and back to SD and vacation will be over. It's a 23 hour flight, so gladly splurged for 1st/Business class.

So you want to get into.....

So you want to get into IDPA style competitions? If you lived in San Diego you could shoot/compete 6 times a month! That is a lot of action if you ask me.

Well having just tripped into it and then really getting into it I have some advice from one not-as-beginner to another beginner about what it costs to get into this....

A minimum
IDPA membership $40
Condor pistol belt $30 solid color, $40 multicam
Itac magazine holder $25
5.11 vest or BDU style jacket $75
500 rounds ammo $180
holster $35
eye protection $10
foam ear plugs $5
2 spare magazines $60
----------
$460

You like it
All of the above but..
500 more rounds for a total of 1,000 $180
IDPA practice paper targets $35
target stand for above $25
3 more magazines $100
electronic hearing protection $50
----------
$460 + $390 = $840

You want to win SSP at Marksman or Sharpshooter
all of the above plus.....
Glock 19 or even a 34 $650
year of range membership $350 (American Shooting Center)
professional instruction $550 (Aegis Academy)
-----------
$840 + $1,550 = $2,390

If you jumped into the deep end and had to totally start from scratch you'd be into it for about $2,400 to have zero excuses. You'd have all the best equipment, professional instruction, all the practice you'd need and then you'd be competing from 1 to 6 times per month.

You wanted to win right? Think that's expensive? Let's say you wanted to race mountain bikes, let me rough that out for you... It's about $3,100 and you've gotten ZERO professional instruction.
Bike=$2,500 (my last mnt bike was $4,400 and have sold lots of $6,000 bikes to racers)
Helmet, shoes, shorts, jersey, gloves= $400
Bike rack $250 (double that for roof rack)

Food, gasoline, entry fees and such are all fairly close consumables so just comparing hard parts to get into it the shooting comp isn't too bad. And if you were already a shooter and had some of this stuff it would be even cheaper.

(the bike will make you a lot healthier though...)

Fitspo & Pinterest & Me & Thermodynamics

Fitspo: The amalgamation of 'fitness' and 'inspiration' to describe a picture extolling the benefits of physical fitness and exercise.

Have you been to Pinterest? I know I've joked about this before, but it is either fitspo or food porn. Ad I think it has effected my life!

I start the morning like this at Antique Row Cafe:

Which forces the rest of my day to go like this:

What is your ideal body weight? Mine for my style of sports and frame is 2.1 pounds per inch of height. 136 pounds. I weigh 141-2.

What is my basal metablolic rate?
What is my BMI?
How many calories do I need to restrict to lose 6 pounds?
How many calories do I need to expend to lose 6 pounds?

It's all math. Calories taken in - Calories used up = how much you weigh.

What's a man to do.....

I know I'm going to start painting this picture with a wide, rough brush but here goes...

When men first starting doing stuff there were just two kinds of men, free men or men who were enslaved or subject to other men.

As things developed then new roles opened for men. Free men could choose to be in the clergy, merchants or in the military.

In the discovery of the world these men were then asked to find and settle frontiers.

Science, the Industrial Revolution, "progress" allowed a man to be just a worker. A provider. Originally a man had to fulfill all the roles. Then he was limited to just a few choices.

Now what is a man to do?

Get a degree? More bachelor's degrees are awarded to women now than men.
Be a father? More children are born to single parents than not.
Be a warrior? Extremely out of favor.. A priest? No thanks... Merchant? Seen this unemployment?

When all of a man's traditional roles are gone, limited or frowned upon; what's a guy to do?

Uncled Again

My latest nephew! I hope he is healthy and everything goes good!

His name will be some sort of variation of Brecken, Breckon

Flip Side

In the past few months I have heard women around me talking about their dogs in this sort of manner, "Oh, dogs are better than men. They will never leave you. They will always love you. They are always happy to see you. They won't cheat on you." Generally comparing dogs more favorably than men.

But guess what? "Dog" is a negative appellation for a man. Your oh-so-better-than-a-man dog? Well he will still try to hump your leg. Constantly. You're still fixing all his meals. And buying them. And constantly cleaning up his crap. Piles of his crap. And he doesn't have a job, only wants to play.

Good choice girls, good choice.

Dramatic....

In learning how to get better at taking pictures I've heard that dramatic clouds can help make outdoor pictures go from tame to stunning. So I thought, why not just take a picture of dramatic clouds? So I did.

A few nights ago I went to La Jolla Playhouse and watched "An Iliad". This was a 105 minute, non-stop, one man play. Well there was a very prominent musician playing an off stage roll of a 'Muse', and while riveting in performance the true star was on stage.

A sparse stage setting, an indeterminate time and location, but within modern history the main/only character proceeds to tell us in spoken prose the general story of Homer's Iliad. With some subtle and not so subtle allusions to our times and the human nature's response to the inhumanity of war and conflict.

Frankly, it was completely enthralling. I did not even look at my watch or know how much time had passed till well past an hour into the performance. I can't remember how many more showings there are, but if you are even remotely interested I would make the effort to attend. (use Google to get some review, they are all positive and better and elucidating just what it's really like)

Today, Saturday, was also my second competition. I am making an impact as no one is treating my like a newbie anymore. People are watching me. I get the attention of the pros as someone with talent. So they avoid me or mentor me. It's a very expensive thing to compete in, but I am really enjoying the validation I am getting. Switching "sports" to get my competitive 'fix' has been dramatic in the time, attention and just everything it takes to do well at something new. Or attempt to do well.