Choices

I like to do two things that others sometimes question. Shoot guns and ride motorcycles. Both are things people think of in some way as dangerous or not a necessary activity. Now if I had to choose just one of them to participate in I'd probably choose motorcycles. If I had to only do one for the rest of my life I'd prefer to ride a motorcycle around.

Now if you were talking about the right to do something, I'd go with firearm ownership. I'd rather have my transportation rights restricted than something mentioned in the Constitution.

So it really shouldn't be surprise then that I went for a ride this Labor Day morning. With my GoPro.

I won my division and the overall for the match today. Yeah! Feels good. It was a very long day though!

At the last indoor match I met and Adidas rep and got a deal for half off anything from Adidas. So I'm gonna take big time advantage of this shoe deal! Casual, outdoor, cleats, clothes. And of course for Super D as well.

I shaved my head. My hair is about 1/8th of an inch. At most. I like it. Well what I actually like is not having to do anything to it or think about it. That is what I like!

My interview with DHS went well right up until they asked me if I've ever been fingerprinted, handcuffed, detained and so on. Told them the story and they said they'd have to investigate and since it did happen at an airport I might not be granted my Global Entry/Trusted Traveler/Sentri. And lose the $100 fee. Sigh.....

My buddy DO came back from 5 months of work in Singapore this week and today was the first day I saw him. Felt good to see a friend after a long absence.

Killer moved outta the house. He is in a different state and will hopefully be doing college type stuff there. Fingers crossed.

I have a cut on my right eye lid that is driving me crazy! Painful and irritated. Yuck.

And in the whiney department, one of my motorcycles has a significant leak from the seal around the fuel pump in the gas tank. So that is going to be a bear to fix as it's an aftermarket tank and installing it was not fun and a two person job. It worked great for 6 months but if it happens again I'll go back to the stock tank.

Very excited to see Little S in three weeks and visit Spain again. I should get on my Spanish study again! ssiiigghhh....

For the Labor Day holiday will go for a hike and probably motorcycle ride. Tuesday I'm on house arrest basically as I have to wait all day for UPS to show up, for the third time, so they can get my apparently very valuable signature.

So yeah, that's the recap. Good night dear readers!

Set your goals!

At each big USPSA match I've been to this year my overall placing has improved, but for the National Championships where you have to look at my classification placing to see the trend continue.
Area 2 Desert Classic this March I was 19th overall in Production, shooting 67%. And 4th B.
Golden Bullet this May I was 10th overall in Production, shooting 71%. And 4th A.
Production National Championships this August I was 101st overall, shooting 70%. And 11th A.
Utah State this August as well I was 9th overall, shooting 88%. And 2nd A.

My percentage of the match winner is getting better, my overall is getting better and my class finish is getting better. Onward and upward!

In two weeks I go the the IDPA World Championships. Last year I was division champion for ESP in an Arizona match. At the US IDPA Championships last year I was 16th place in SSP Master. IDPA and USPSA are both pistol shooting competitions but they are decidedly different, so hard to make a direct comparison. None the less I've been improving this year in USPSA so I hope I'm also improving in IDPA.

With that in mind my goal this year is to be in the top 10 at the IDPA Worlds for my division, SSP. I'm already at the top skill class for IDPA, Master, so overall finish is all that really counts. Trending shows I should be able to do it, tough goal it is though.....

I have a challenging IDPA match in Los Angeles this Saturday, and I am going to shoot it aggressively. I will probably not win with this strategy but I want to push myself a little. Find the edge by going over it. Then the following weekend I have one closer in in San Diego and I'm going to shoot it as cleanly as possible. Ratchet things back down and be more precise, so I'll probably win as I can't remember the last Pala IDPA match I didn't win the overall when I competed..... Been at least a year.

Two weeks from now you should see my post on facebook smiling, saying "I did it!"

Art. Deception.

I have a book, now out of print, entitled "The Art of Deception". Initially one would think this book is about how to deceive but rather it is about detecting other's deception and countering it. Primarily in verbal or written communication. (For body language I recommend the book "What Every Body is Saying")

Which in my stream of conscious thought leads me to wanting to post this poster of logical fallacies. Read it and weep when you realize how often you've made these errors tying to prove a point. That is if you are a real Scotsman....

Ricky Bobby

Hey, we have the same initials! And I've sadly had to come to the same realization that if you're not first, you're last.

The competitive field I am in is very small at the top. It's not like the NFL where there are hundreds of people getting rich and good paychecks. If you're not at the pinnacle you basically don't exist. Which is kinda me right now and it is a crushing feeling.

Last week one of the top people posted a video of him training with an agility ladder for shooting. On my own and months ago I had been doing the same thing. I posted on FB and some shooting forums about it and was basically dismissed in my opinions and training methods. But this guy does it and everyone says "oh, that's why he's the champ", "what a cool new idea", "innovator".

But until I win something on a regional or national level, no one is going to care about my opinion or methods. Which is tough when you're still working hard but just not quite there.

If you aint first, you're last.

Espana

So after going to Little S' birthday party it's back off to Spain again. This time with Super D. I'm thinking 4 days in Madrid as that's the area I know best. Then two days time each down south in Seville and time up north in Bilbao.

Just checking around it's kinda sad that leaving from the east coast doesn't make travel to Europe any easier. And it doesn't look like I'll have my global entry stuff done with DHS by that time either. Oh well, there is always the November trip to take advantage of that nicety.

Any fall or winter travel plans for my readers?

Le Sigh

I have tried a lot of positive self talk but my land ordeal, and especially now its subsequent costs, are really depressing me. I'm not interested in my hobbies. I'm not sleeping well. I have a hard time thinking about other things. I'm cranky at every little thing. I'm eating food in excess. All the classical signs of depression.

I'm aware of it, but not doing a good job of defeating it. Like they said in the movie, "Life is pain, anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something." Thanks a lot Dread Pirate Roberts!

Sadly there is no simple way to make it go away. The county is not letting go at all. I read 68 pages of County code today related to grading and brush clearing and it looks abysmal for me as far as a what I see as a positive outcome. More so the cost of the action items they require just kills me. I spent 3 grand a few weeks ago and will have to spend twice that again still to finally be finished.

I'm unsure of what to do and how to handle it. What once seemed awesome now only bring unhappiness. The physical and emotional effects remind me of a bad break up, losing a job and similar life experiences.

Sigh.