RECCE ROOM

10 years ago, I went to an Appleseed clinic. I wrote much about this - both pros and cons of the program.  But I didn't write nearly as much as some of their folks wrote in retort. Many tried to defend the cons in many ways.  Therefore, I was curious what, if any updates the program had made to its curriculum. Back in the early part of the year, a friend had told me she and her family were thinking about attending an Appleseed and she asked my thoughts.  I told her to try it. I also said I'd go and shoot, as well.  But, I needed a goal above and beyond just being there for a friend.   So, I made my personal goal to be this: I wanted to earn the Rifleman patch with my M16A4 rifle. With a government profile barrel and bulk ammo, my task would not be a guarantee. My technique would have to be true. Gear My rifle is free floated, so I attached the sling swivel to the Midwest Industries free float rail.  This would prevent POI shift. The rifle uses an A...

Seen on social media - Just one problem - Women are well known for having an entire make-believe world in their heads.  This includes being in relationships with men.  And being out of the relationships, as well.  So, as usual, there is no way for a man to correctly answer this.  

Once you get your rifle zeroed, one of the best things you can do is work on your marksmanship. Being able to hit targets at distance - 100, 200, and even 300 yards is certainly attainable for any rifleman who has just a little bit of self-discipline. Once your marksmanship is in order, the next thing you need to work on is what is called presentation. Presentation is the act of bringing the rifle to bear in a situation where there is an immediate threat. This can also be called an "up drill," or a "ready-up" drill. Many instructors teach this from a "low ready," or "challenge" position. Although you are less likely to use the rifle in this manner, it is a great place to start. I'm more likely use would be from a "patrol ready" or muzzle down position. These soldiers are patrolling with their muzzles down. Hence, it is sometimes called the "patrol ready" position. The rifle is slung, but not put away. Muzzles are pointed...

Recently, I received a call from a Yelp Account Executive.  His purpose was to sell me advertising for my martial arts studio. I've received several such calls over the years. My studio has never - not once - had a prospect call that came from Yelp. If none call naturally, then paying extra probably won't generate much better results. I surmise that people do not venture to Yelp to find Martial Arts instruction in these parts.  As a side note, Google and Facebook ads yield 8:1 returns on investment (ROI) and can be had for as little as $50. Yelp is far more expensive - $15 per day to start, from what I was quoted.  All that said, Yelp does some things well. Particularly, if you wish to look up food places, Yelp is the place to go to do that.  Folks just don't go to Yelp to look up martial arts schools. The account executive was relentless.  I like that.  He sent me via email an example of a success story.  He told me the success story was from a ma...

The Transformed Wife   has an article out about the topic of co-sleeping. Co-sleeping is the act of children sharing the bed with Mom and Dad. The block author points out that this became popular in the US when a book about it was released in the 1970s. Since then, a number of marriages have been ruined due to the wife's insistence on co-sleeping. Co-sleeping is an integral part of attachment parenting. Yours, Truly, has so thoroughly thrashed attachment parenting in the past, that you can already guess where I'm going to go with my thoughts on the idea. An anecdote that I can share comes from a family I know. Their eldest child was born just a few weeks before my own daughter was born. The mom decided to co-sleep with the baby. Fast forward a couple of years, and mom wanted another baby. The dad put his foot down and said that if she wanted that, then the eldest would have to learn to sleep on his own first. Evidently, they desire to become a mom again outweighed the desire...

On social media, I recently witnessed the friend of a friend state that clean shaven men are perceived as more trustworthy. Of course, he was in sales, and he felt that trustworthy equals a better salesman. While it is true that people tend to buy from people they Trust, that does not mean that they do not trust people with beards. In fact, most of the successful sales people I know are men with beards. So why the disconnect? Simple. It is a faulty premise. Go online and you will see dozens of resources stating that women prefer men that are clean shaven. The primary problem with those surveys is the fact that women don't know what they want. A study by Meredith chivers conclusively proved two things - that a woman is not aroused by the sight of a man, shaven or unshaven; and, two, a woman is aroused most by watching bonobos mate. Now go and ask any woman on earth, and she will tell you that she is not attracted to bonobos mating. Women honestly don...

This is not a repo story, however there is quite a bit of humor. Working at Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Memphis was an eye-opening experience, to be sure. One of my first days on the job at the largest location in the entire state at that time provided a bit of humor, as well as insight. A female rental return a car, and had the audacity to ask if she could get $100 off for rental for flashing her breasts. A fellow employee grab the spare clipboard behind the counter and showed her the pre-printed page which read: Want to trade "services" for all or part of your rental bill? * Flash = $20 Feelski = $40 "The whole shebang" = $100 * Qualified applicants only.