Wednesday, March 18, 2009
On Becoming a Parent ...
There's a brilliant post on Becoming a Parent over at Marko's ... off you go for a read ...
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Range Report #11
It's been awhile since I've done a range report, so here's one from today!
It was an IPSC trophy shoot and there were three squads shooting. We had 11 people in our squad and I think the other squads were around the same size.
There were 5 stages. The stage I found most challenging was a start seated, with gun and all mags/ammo for the stage on the table. There were 10 targets. On signal you had to flip a coin, load and then if you got tails you shot the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th targets, if you got a head you shot the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th with two shots each.
I flipped the coin and it spun forever! I felt like whacking it! ... I DIDN'T load the gun while waiting though (in my defence this is the first time I've done this type of stage!). Anyway, eventually the coin stopped on tails, so i shot the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and (for some unknown reason) 10th target. So even though I got pretty much all As on the other targets I lost a lot of points with getting the wrong target :( I was really proud of how I shot that last target though - did it really fast (for me) and the shots were neat As ... shame they didn't count.
Only one other person messed up the stage - and they managed to hit all the wrong targets!
The stage after this was a tricky one. Again we started unloaded (in fact there was only one stage where we started with a loaded gun today). There were two targets to the right (with a no-shoot overlapping them). Then to the left there was a door way (with a fault line) and a popper which controlled a swinging target. The swinger could not be engaged from that point (not visible). There was also a paper target.
Then to the left of that was two portals through which you could see the swinging target and three static paper targets.
I missed the swinger :( I'm not very good at shooting at swingers - especially through portals. Definitely need more practice with them.
The last stage also had a swinger and I managed to get one shot on it (it was only a D too!).
The other stages were quite fun and I did pretty good - still slow but at least I'm still shooting pretty much all As.
It was an IPSC trophy shoot and there were three squads shooting. We had 11 people in our squad and I think the other squads were around the same size.
There were 5 stages. The stage I found most challenging was a start seated, with gun and all mags/ammo for the stage on the table. There were 10 targets. On signal you had to flip a coin, load and then if you got tails you shot the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th targets, if you got a head you shot the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th with two shots each.
I flipped the coin and it spun forever! I felt like whacking it! ... I DIDN'T load the gun while waiting though (in my defence this is the first time I've done this type of stage!). Anyway, eventually the coin stopped on tails, so i shot the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and (for some unknown reason) 10th target. So even though I got pretty much all As on the other targets I lost a lot of points with getting the wrong target :( I was really proud of how I shot that last target though - did it really fast (for me) and the shots were neat As ... shame they didn't count.
Only one other person messed up the stage - and they managed to hit all the wrong targets!
The stage after this was a tricky one. Again we started unloaded (in fact there was only one stage where we started with a loaded gun today). There were two targets to the right (with a no-shoot overlapping them). Then to the left there was a door way (with a fault line) and a popper which controlled a swinging target. The swinger could not be engaged from that point (not visible). There was also a paper target.
Then to the left of that was two portals through which you could see the swinging target and three static paper targets.
I missed the swinger :( I'm not very good at shooting at swingers - especially through portals. Definitely need more practice with them.
The last stage also had a swinger and I managed to get one shot on it (it was only a D too!).
The other stages were quite fun and I did pretty good - still slow but at least I'm still shooting pretty much all As.
(More) Newbies on the Range
Met up with some on-line friends on Saturday for a BBQ. We had a nice time and two of them had indicated that they would like to come and try shooting. So after lunch, I took them up to the range.
One of them was quite nervous about guns and said that she was interested because she has never liked them. My eldest daughter came too.
I started them off on the .22 (Ruger 22/45), my daughter shot first (with me helping her hold the gun) and then the other two shot.
We then moved onto my 9mm Springfield and they shot off two mags each (my daughter decided not to shoot this one).
Even though we didn't spend that long up there they said that they had fun and in fact, the lady who "never liked guns" said that "it was more fun than she had expected". I hope she'll come up and watch me shoot an IPSC match in the near future.
One of them was quite nervous about guns and said that she was interested because she has never liked them. My eldest daughter came too.
I started them off on the .22 (Ruger 22/45), my daughter shot first (with me helping her hold the gun) and then the other two shot.
We then moved onto my 9mm Springfield and they shot off two mags each (my daughter decided not to shoot this one).
Even though we didn't spend that long up there they said that they had fun and in fact, the lady who "never liked guns" said that "it was more fun than she had expected". I hope she'll come up and watch me shoot an IPSC match in the near future.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Newbies on the Range
Just got back from taking a group of people from work to the range this evening. All up we had 6 staff members and one brought her husband. Three of the group have been shooting with us before, but the other four were newbies.
My boss (& friend), Steve, started off by giving a safety lecture and general info on bullets & guns & stuff. They quite liked the demo of the burning powder (he pulled a .22, a shotgun cartridge and a rifle round apart).
We then broke into two groups. I took the women (3) to shoot pistols and the guys went with another friend/club member, Bill, to shoot revolvers.
The women had a shoot with the Ruger 22/45 first and they all got all of their shots on one of the three targets I had set up at the end of the range. Which they were all very pleased about.
We then moved onto my 9mm Springfield. I set up 8 poppers for them. I like using poppers with newbies because getting a good hit is very rewarding. They all shot off one magazine each and the basic consensus what that it was fun but the gun was heavy. Two of them knocked down three targets each, the other two.
The guys had moved on to play longarms with Steve and Bill took over with the women and let them shoot his revolvers. Again he used the steel and I could hear them being knocked over regularly (I was down watching the guys by this stage).
Once the guys had finished with the over/under shotgun, the Mosin Ngant and the Lee Enfield, I introduced them to the semi-autos.
Again I started with the Ruger 22/45 and after a magazine each they moved onto the 9mm and the poppers. I think they ended up shooting at least three mags each and then Bill and I had a turn (I like poppers!). Ended up going through 180 rounds.
During this time I could hear the women with Steve and he was letting them shoot his Edge. When I caught up with them afterwards most of them said it was definitely the best gun to shoot (I agree - but unfortunately it's too big for my to hold comfortably, so I'll have to stick to my 9mm).
We were on the range for 2 hours and I think they would have liked to have done more, but it was getting pretty dark by the time we finished.
I wonder how sore their shoulders will be tomorrow.
My boss (& friend), Steve, started off by giving a safety lecture and general info on bullets & guns & stuff. They quite liked the demo of the burning powder (he pulled a .22, a shotgun cartridge and a rifle round apart).
We then broke into two groups. I took the women (3) to shoot pistols and the guys went with another friend/club member, Bill, to shoot revolvers.
The women had a shoot with the Ruger 22/45 first and they all got all of their shots on one of the three targets I had set up at the end of the range. Which they were all very pleased about.
We then moved onto my 9mm Springfield. I set up 8 poppers for them. I like using poppers with newbies because getting a good hit is very rewarding. They all shot off one magazine each and the basic consensus what that it was fun but the gun was heavy. Two of them knocked down three targets each, the other two.
The guys had moved on to play longarms with Steve and Bill took over with the women and let them shoot his revolvers. Again he used the steel and I could hear them being knocked over regularly (I was down watching the guys by this stage).
Once the guys had finished with the over/under shotgun, the Mosin Ngant and the Lee Enfield, I introduced them to the semi-autos.
Again I started with the Ruger 22/45 and after a magazine each they moved onto the 9mm and the poppers. I think they ended up shooting at least three mags each and then Bill and I had a turn (I like poppers!). Ended up going through 180 rounds.
During this time I could hear the women with Steve and he was letting them shoot his Edge. When I caught up with them afterwards most of them said it was definitely the best gun to shoot (I agree - but unfortunately it's too big for my to hold comfortably, so I'll have to stick to my 9mm).
We were on the range for 2 hours and I think they would have liked to have done more, but it was getting pretty dark by the time we finished.
I wonder how sore their shoulders will be tomorrow.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
First Aid ...
Just done a 2-day Senior First Aid course (it is a requirement of being a Girl Guide leader). It was held at the Guide HQ and there were 17 other Guide leaders or older Guides there.
Great fun bunch of people and the instructor was very knowledgeable and good at communicating. She kept the course fun and casual but we did learn a lot. I was surprised at how tired I was at the end of each day.
We had three practical assessments - one for CPR and two for general first aid and a 50 question written exam (luckily open book). I passed.
Couple of interesting things came out of the course:
1. Legal side of rendering first aid
- not required to unless you want to. Once you start you can't stop until ambulance arrives / you are exhausted or the situation becomes dangerous
- protected from suing under the "Good Samaritan" legislation (in all Aust states)
2. Change in CPR techniques
- the push from the Australian Resuscitation Council is to get people to do some and not stress too much of getting everything perfect or not doing it because you're scared of messing up things. So no longer measuring to get the right spot - just aim for the centre of the chest.
- rhythm is 30 compressions then 2 breaths. The 30 compressions are to be done fast (very fast), around 100 per minute. This is the same for infants & babies.
- if you don't want to do the breaths, doing the compressions are fine
- an attempt is better than no attempt
- after the primary survey (for signs of life) just keep going with CPR - no need to stop and check for signs of life again (oh, and no need to check for pulse ever).
3. Jelly fish stings
- Tropical jelly fish (Geraldton to Bundaberg north) - flush with vinegar, remove tentacles
- Temperate jelly fish - flush with sea water, remove tentacles
4. Snake bite
- bandage directly over site, then bandage limb from extremity towards heart as far as you can, make mark over bite site to assist hospital, immobilise.
5. Breaks
- if ambulance is less than 1hr away don't do anything
- if more than that, bandage as far as possible without moving the limb
oh, and the other funny thing was that I was the only person in the class who knew what "priapism" was .. thanks, of course, to Ambulance Driver.
See i knew reading blogs was educational!
Great fun bunch of people and the instructor was very knowledgeable and good at communicating. She kept the course fun and casual but we did learn a lot. I was surprised at how tired I was at the end of each day.
We had three practical assessments - one for CPR and two for general first aid and a 50 question written exam (luckily open book). I passed.
Couple of interesting things came out of the course:
1. Legal side of rendering first aid
- not required to unless you want to. Once you start you can't stop until ambulance arrives / you are exhausted or the situation becomes dangerous
- protected from suing under the "Good Samaritan" legislation (in all Aust states)
2. Change in CPR techniques
- the push from the Australian Resuscitation Council is to get people to do some and not stress too much of getting everything perfect or not doing it because you're scared of messing up things. So no longer measuring to get the right spot - just aim for the centre of the chest.
- rhythm is 30 compressions then 2 breaths. The 30 compressions are to be done fast (very fast), around 100 per minute. This is the same for infants & babies.
- if you don't want to do the breaths, doing the compressions are fine
- an attempt is better than no attempt
- after the primary survey (for signs of life) just keep going with CPR - no need to stop and check for signs of life again (oh, and no need to check for pulse ever).
3. Jelly fish stings
- Tropical jelly fish (Geraldton to Bundaberg north) - flush with vinegar, remove tentacles
- Temperate jelly fish - flush with sea water, remove tentacles
4. Snake bite
- bandage directly over site, then bandage limb from extremity towards heart as far as you can, make mark over bite site to assist hospital, immobilise.
5. Breaks
- if ambulance is less than 1hr away don't do anything
- if more than that, bandage as far as possible without moving the limb
oh, and the other funny thing was that I was the only person in the class who knew what "priapism" was .. thanks, of course, to Ambulance Driver.
See i knew reading blogs was educational!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
What the World Eats
I found this series of pictures and associated information titled "What the World Eats, Part 1" absolutely fascinating.
Go check it out and then come back and tell me what the photo from your house would look like.
Go check it out and then come back and tell me what the photo from your house would look like.
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