The Lunatic Fringe

12:11 am - Great weekend

Got back late tonight from a "work day" on the DAR (Dedicated Appleseed Range) for Texas. Some hard work, but also the enjoyment of the company of fellow Riflemen. And on Sat night we got a special treat for all us M1 Garand owners (of which we are new; the wifey having gone to the CMP to acquire ours just last weekend). We shot tracers rounds at dusk. A wonderful sight.

There is nothing quite like being in the company of Riflemen.

04:08 pm - Anniversary

This is an anniversary of a great date in American History. The start of the American Revolution. For those of you that think the American Revolution was about taxation without representation, you couldn't be more wrong. Come to an Appleseed near you and learn about our heritage and why all Americans owe a debt that can never be repaid to the men (and women) of Lexington and Concord, and those who stood at Lexington Green and the North Bridge in Concord. Learn what truly happened on Paul Revere's ride.

In celebration of this day, check out this video.

Edit: Ok, correct link to video now (but ammo is always a good thing too).

09:22 am - One little meme

Courtesy of snonsumr

Reply to this post by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you (or that I randomly pick out of your interests list). Then post them in your Blog and explain what they mean to you.

I was given:
Rush (the band, not the blowhard)
Anarcho-capitalism
Texas
self-defense
evil snarky bastard

( Read more... )

So there you go.

11:13 pm - So it's been a little while...

So I haven't really posted much of any update recently. A lot of what I have to say has been able to fit in 140 chars or less. And even then, not much.

( Warning gun stuff )

Beyond that, job front is same old same old. Do more with less, and no matter how good your product does, we're still having layoffs. Joy. Recently had the roof replaced due to hail damage. The joys of home ownership and living in North Texas. Other than that, looking forward to a Kenpo Camp in a couple weeks, then Appleseed. Should be a fun August.

07:54 pm - Happy Independence Day!

Instead of reposting, since most of the points haven't changed in the last year (which is sad), here's the link to last year's entry.

Take a break from the cookout, fireworks, or TV marathons and read the whole Declaration of Independence. Consider how far we have strayed from the ideals this country was founded upon.

11:30 pm - Any you cheapskates gunna buy a round?

And with that double entendre began one of the stages of our Cowboy Action Shooting weekends. Da wifey and I have taken a liking to this sport, with her leading the charge by far in the enthusiasm department. There are three parts to each stage, a pistol, rifle, and shotgun part. Typically there is a sequence of fire to each of the pistol and rifle parts, and the shotgun part mainly revolves around shooting down folding targets.
( Read on for more )
We both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and it was a really fun time with a great bunch of people. We also have a line on getting a used Uberti Model 66 at about half the cost. It's a great sport and alot of fun and we're looking forward to honing our skills.

08:14 am - Happy Slavery Day!

Happy Tax Day. This is the day you pay Washington D.C. for all it does. Do you think you've got your money's worth? If I were paying a company for services like I pay Washington, I'd demand my freaking money back.

Luckily, Tax Freedom Day was two days ago. Although it varies by state, check the table for your state's tax freedom day. How does everyone feel having to work almost four months to pay for government?

Here's a little test you can do on your fellow citizen. Ask them how much they had to pay in federal taxes this year. If they answer "Why nothing, I'm getting some back!", you're dealing with a blind unthinking lemming. The kind that foolishly elect the "lesser of two evils" every four years.

Now, for all that negativity, to cleanse the palette, please go view someone with true talent. If this doesn't make you smile and just sit back and go wow, you ain't human.

08:19 am - A fufilling weekend.

This weekend was the new date for our annual Kenpo Camp. We moved it from October to be a little more compatible with other camps around the nation and to improve turnout. It was a fun couple of days training with other Kenpoists. Only Mr. Sepulveda (head of our system) and Mr. Burks (our local highest ranking 7th dan) taught this year, but it was jam packed full of good stuff. I especially liked working the knife stuff this year, as we went over Knife Set 1 and 2, and then played around with some knife disarm techniques.

What made this extra special for me this year was the fact that, as a black belt now, I was invited out to dinner at Mr. Burks ranch. He lives about an hour outside of town and has a beautiful ranch where he trains horses. It was really neat to eat some awesome barbeque and share some camaraderie with the other black belts in our system that came to the camp. It was especially neat to sit and listen to Mr. Sepulveda and Mr. Burks regale us with stories from the rough and tumble days of martial arts in the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s. Mr. Sepulveda has worked with and known a lot of guys in the martial arts genre (Chuck Norris, Van Damme, Steven Segal, Bruce Lee), so it was neat to get some "inside" stories about those household names.

In our system, we refer to the collection of black belts as the "Family of Black Belts", and I found that to be very true this weekend. I enjoy training with people who share the love of the art, and also don't have the egos or other problems that some people get when they attain the rank of black belt. We are all students of our art, just at different points in our study.

The soreness and bruises I have today are a worthy price to pay for the opportunity to train with and share that sense of family with other practitioners of my art.

Current Mood: rejuvenated

10:20 am - Happy Pi Day!

A very happy Pi Day to everyone. I can't wait for the Super Pi Day in 2015.

03:45 pm - Citibank