For those of you that have been keeping tabs on what I've been writing here, this topic should be familiar. Otherwise, suffice it to say that I've come into a bit of a windfall in the past couple of months from several separate sources. If you would like to review those details, you can feel free to review my prior posts entitled "Signed on the dotted line..." and "Mine, All Mine - Officially"
Well, all of the windfall has completed its journey in reaching us. This money has also finished its destination in being spent. As I have previously posted, my car is paid off. Well, in addition to my car, Angel's car is in the clear as well as my teeth. Yes, my teeth. Right before the wedding, I had some pretty extensive dental work done and took out a line of credit to make payment to the dentist.
Suffice it to say, we have quite a bit of extra money available on a monthly basis due to this debt clearing sweep. Unfortunately, the desired outcome of this activity was not immediately realized. My expectations from clearing these bills was to have additional money to clear out our debt on my credit cards that I have in my name for a home improvement, getting my car fixed, buying our house, and expenses from the wedding. Well, an underestimated debt came due. Angel's student loans.
Her loans came due in April. We had a enough money available at that time to make what we thought was the payment amount, a hefty $500. To get thru May and June, we used our economic stimulus check from the government. Then, to make matters worse, the previously assumed monthly payment of $500 was incorrect. We were later notified that it would be in the $725 ballpark. Well, right now, that is just not working properly into our budget. Therefore, we have since requested a forbearance for her student loans.
At this point, you may be asking, why get the forbearance? Well, student loans are a long term debt and they generally have a relatively low interest rate. While we can theoretically afford to make the payments to her loan and maintain the rest of our bills in a satisfactory status (according to the creditors); I find this to be a problem. To take our windfall and maintain our financial status quo is troubling to me. Therefore, the time we are seeking in forbearance will be used to pay down our other debts. Will it be long enough to pay them all down? I don't know, but I know that it will be enough time for two out of the three.
As it stands today, we have a 6 month forbearance with the ability to extend for 6 more near the end of this period. I desperately hope that in this first 6 month block of time that Angel will not only graduate from school, but also find a job in her field to accommodate the payment for her student loan. However, as always, time will be the dictator that will eventually reveal if these recent moves have been the right one or if we're just pissing in the wind.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Financial Update
Sunday, June 29, 2008
The Rediscovery of a Love - Hockey
So, I now bear the title of a "Damn Yankee", but that will never take the North out of me. I have recently discovered a location to play some hockey. Of any of the sports that I have ever participated in, by far, hockey is my absolute favorite. Albeit, the most physically demanding and potentially dangerous sport that I could have selected for recreational play. Yes, I know that there are more dangerous and more physically demanding sports out there. However, as an adult looking to play for recreation and not as an aspiring professional, I can't find it in my area. Additionally, I'll be playing roller hockey.
Personally, I find it interesting that I was even able to find the sport here. Yes, Atlanta has a professional hockey team, but I wasn't expecting to find the facilities or a place with enough participation to play once I moved. Well, I have recently discovered that in the metro Atlanta area, there are exactly three places to play. I have been lucky enough to move to the exact neighborhood of one such location. I am less than two miles from the facility.
Snell Park and home of the South Gwinette Athletics Association (SGAA) are just moments from home.
Please, don't think about the available leagues in the same light as you would down at Neville Island. I've played in a league down there before. They have several leagues for adults. They have the skill levels separated into 4 categories, D thru A. The D league being the entry level league. Well, the SGAA only has two leagues. They have an "A" league for those like me are looking for a recreational league and an "AA" league for those on a more competitive skill level. As it stands right now, I have full intentions of joining the "A" league. However, I will not object to moving up to the "AA" league if I find the competition too lax in the "A" league.
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that I have a false impression of my skill level. I know that I'm not skilled enough to claim any type of good skill rating. However, I have my apprehension about what skill levels these "southerners" are going to have. I also say "southerners" because there are not many native southern bred people that I have met in Atlanta thus far (mind you my exposure is minor). Therefore, the possibility exists that other northerners with some youth bred skills could be participating. I guess I'll know more after the first open skate.
That is another thing that I find interesting. They call it "open skate". I've always knew of open practice time as "stick time". I can go skate anywhere, but I can only play hockey with other people at very few locations. When I hear open skate, I think of a roller rink. All you do is skate. I guess it is all about exposure and interpretation of the terminology used.
Back on topic. Another difference between the league here and those at Neville is that this league is a draft league. You do not bring a team into the league. You bring yourself. Therefore, the league is providing potential players three two hour blocks of practice time. This way, the teams can be drafted on an observed basis. I look at these periods as an opportunity to shake off the rust. I'm going to need it. I think it has been about 4 years since I actually played a game last. Maybe longer.
Anyway, talking about shaking of the rust. This past Sunday, I decided that I was going to throw on the skates and find my legs again. Well, for the most part, this went well. I even had some help doing so. The neighbor's dog was out and wanted to play with my ball. I figured that I have enough ability with my stick that playing keep away with the dog would be safe enough for it. Well, this did turn out to be true, unfortunately, I didn't have enough skill to keep the ball away from the dog very well. She was faster, more agile, and more determined to get the ball than I was to keep it away from her. I must have been outside for about an hour and I either didn't push myself hard enough or I'm in better condition than I thought because I wasn't even sore (in the legs) the next day.
However, the skate didn't go completely without incident. I discovered that the road in front of my house is not exactly level. There is a bit of a grade that I was unable to perceive by eye or while I was running. This was an unfortunate oversight. I decided that since I'm a defense man that I would need to brush up on my backwards skating. Well, this didn't end well, no, not well at all. It all started in the uphill direction. This worked out just fine as I was able to control my speed for when I was going to switch back forward. Well, during the return trip, things were not so peachy. I was gaining speed and fast. I wasn't even pumping and I was going faster. At this point, I knew I was in trouble. However, waiting to slow down was not an option. After my driveway, there is a steep downhill grade that I enjoy going down forward. However, going backward meant certain road rash. I had to attempt to swap over. No two ways about it. Well, I got to about my mailbox and figured it was now or we're going over the hill. I got my first foot over, but as I was pivoting my body and trying to swing my other foot around, something went amiss. It wasn't pretty. I ended up falling on my left hip and left hand.
Before you ask the obvious question here, the answer is a resounding "No!". Of course I wasn't wearing any protective gear. I was wearing exactly the following (top down - no assumptions, complete list):
Nope, no gloves, no helmet, no shirt, nothing at all that would provide padding.
Well, this fall was not horrible. However, it did leave me unable to continue to work on my stick work. I got a very minor strawberry on my left hip. It was almost not worth mentioning. However, then there was my left hand. Apparently, my first reaction to falling was to break my fall with my hand. I guess some instincts never are completely removed. I learned during my days as a pole vaulter to just land without trying to break the fall. Well, that thought wasn't what was crossing my mind as I fell this time. By the time I knew what I had done, it was already too late. I had my hand firmly planted on the ground trying to stop myself from sliding down the road. The result was that I had some scrapes on the meaty part of my thumb, finely sanded skin (not broken or bleeding, just shaved down a few layers) on the heel of my hand and then the real injury. I had a hole on the palm side of my hand where my middle finger knuckle is. Apparently, it was in this location that I had applied all of my pressure in effort to stop the slide.
While the attempt was marginally successful in that all of my other wounds were minor, this injury was pretty evident. It was the only place on my body from which I was bleeding. This hole was several millimeters deep and has since made holding objects tightly in that hand difficult at best. Even the pressure required to handle a hockey stick as my rear hand was too much contact for this guy. A short period of time after this happened, I had enough for the day. Tomorrow (or today, depending on your standards) is going to be my first attempt at holding a stick again and my first at-speed re-introduction into the world of hockey.
Wish me luck. As I'm sure most of you already know, I'm going to need it.
Google Junky
Ok, I have to admit. It has recently been brought to my attention that I have a Google problem. Well, not a problem, but more like a strong affinity. I had recently been introduced to a new Google Gadget. When I was talking it about to a co-worker, I came to realize that I use, on a regular basis, many of the gadgets that Google has developed and have made available.
In the arsenal of Google Gadgets, I use the following:
The newest gadgets that I've begun to use are Notebook and iGoogle.
iGoogle
I was introduced to iGoogle by CW2 Thompson while I was at my annual training this year. He had all of these widgets setup to view news and cartoons at a glance. It was like an interactive bookmark area. Well, I have further come to find that it is a wonderful way to quick reference all of the tools that I already use by Google and incorporate them all into the Google web search interface. Yes, iGoogle replaces the functional centric design of their search bar interface.
For example, I have the following items in my Home tab on iGoogle:
They each show up in their own little box that I can drag & drop into whatever order or configuration that I choose. It is pretty nifty. the only bad thing is that navigating to www.google.com for me now is much slower loading than the non-iGoogle interface. However, since I use Firefox, I have found a work around for this issue. Instead of navigating to Google each time I want to search, there is a nifty little search engine bar built into the browser. Therefore, instead of using the address bar, I just hit the search bar (which I have configured to Google) and fire at will.
I've come to hold my iGoogle page open more often than not instead of the Gmail window I've become so used to having open. Within iGoogle, I can interface into my Gmail account without having the entire page open. This is not a fully functional interface, but it is enough to quickly check to see if I have new mail waiting. Using iGoogle has also helped me to keep up-to-date with my Reader selections. Before, it might have been once a week or so I would check my RSS feeds for updates. Now, since I glance at iGoogle periodically through the day, I can see what's new without any particular effort. Additionally, I have become quite the fan of the Reuters: Oddly Enough news feed. I have previously gotten these updates from the RSS feeds at the top of Gmail. Well, I don't have to wait for the ROE items to have their turn in my mailbox any longer. I can just reference my iGoogle page.
If you are feeling that you need just a bit more organization within your Google experience, iGoogle is a wonderful bridge to put all of the Google tools you use in one quick reference heads up display or dashboard. Also, iGoogle doesn't just do Google plug-ins. You can incorporate other widgets from other websites into your iGoogle interface. You can review the list of items that I have on mine where it is pretty easy to spot that they are not all Google.
Once last word on iGoogle. You can skin the way that your Google search bar appears. The skin/theme that I'm currently using is "The Beer Journal Theme #2".
Notebook
So, I have found 2 reasons to be interested in the Google Notebook application. I work on multiple computers. I have one for work and one for outside of work. Well, I have bookmarks on each and neither list contains everything from the other, but there was a little bit of overlap. Anyway, I got frustrated with having to run upstairs or downstairs depending on the machine I was on and the machine that had the information. So, I decided that I would find a place to put all of my bookmarks somewhere machine neutral. Since I'm such a supporter of Google and their products, I thought I would check to see what they had available before going elsewhere. Within their gadgets list, Notebook grabbed my attention. So, I just had to check it out.
I honestly don't know what Google had intended this application to be, but it immediately appeared to be what I was looking for. Once I added my account to the service, a book was created for me. Well, I immediately deleted it. I didn't need a book called "My first notebook" as I had other books in mind. The application not only allows users to create books, but also segment the books. There is also a place to put bookmarks without being in a notebook.
There were a few shortcomings that I found pretty quickly. These shortcomings are not showstoppers, but rather, annoyances. The items that I will discuss as issues revolve around sections, bookmark creation, and bookmark management.
As with just about any other Google application, the organization scheme that they provide to you is based on Tags or Sections. Tags are pretty straight forward and as flexible as I think they should ever need to be. However, the sections are where I have a complaint. A section cannot be created within a section. Therefore, these sections do not have the same attributes as a folder/directory would have. Folders or directories can be a parent and/or a child at the same time. These sections are not so. Therefore, one of the things I was attempting to do failed miserably and I had to reorganize. I wanted to create a notebook for items for my jobs. Then, create a section for each job with subsections of bookmarks. Well, the work notebook plan had to be junked and each job now has its own notebook.
Bookmarks. Well, bookmarks are a wonderful feature. Unfortunately, they have an annoyance about them. You can only create a bookmark within the "Unfiled bookmarks" area and once created, you can move it into a notebook. I don't understand why I can't create a bookmark within the intended destination. I can create notes there, but I can't create a bookmark. Why can't there be some UI option of creating a new note and converting it into a bookmark? Furthermore, why, once I create a bookmark, can I not modify the URL? I found this to be a bit on the surprising side. Once a bookmark is created, you can create notes related to the bookmark, but you cannot edit the URL that it points to. One of the things I was going to do during the creation of one of my notebooks was create a set of named bookmarks with bogus URLs and edit the bookmark once I got the correct URL for it. Well, a few days after I created the bogus bookmarks, I finally remembered to get the URL off of my work computer. I was quite surprised when I was unable when I tried to edit it. I deleted what I had and started over.
The last thing I would like to mention as an annoyance is the management of the bookmarks. Once you have a bookmark created into the Unfiled Bookmarks, you have two options for relocating them. You can grab the bar on the left and drag & drop them to a notebook. Note that I didn't say notebook section. If you wanted to move the bookmark into a notebook and a section within, you cannot accomplish this in one step via drag and drop. Instead, you have to use the dropdown menu for the bookmark. There is an option for move. Once move is selected, you can select the notebook and optionally the section via an AJAX interface. The only bad thing with this is that you have to do this for each individual bookmark. There is not a way to multiselect the bookmarks and move them in a bulk fashion. If there is such a way, someone please let me know.
So, now that I have my beefs outlined to you, lets talk about the other fine features of this application. Notebook will allow you to publish your work in multiple fashions. You can create a Google Document or HTML or PDF via Google Documents or even provide an RSS feed directly to your notebook. Honestly, I'm not so sure about the value of the RSS features, but I guess that would depend on what you were writing in your notebook. For my personal list of bookmarks, I doubt that there will be much use in attaching an RSS feed to any of my notebooks.
So, I have published one of my notebooks. I have utilized the HTML export of one notebook to generate an index for my development server. I had previously left my third level domain empty for except a message saying that my server was working. I think the message said, "Welcome to my space. Please come back when I have something to show you." Well, that message is gone. It has been so kindly replaced with my Projects notebook that I created more for myself than for others. There is a projects that I'm working on, slowly and intermittently, and have been slowly forgetting the URLs to find our developed code to this point. I would have to FTP into the server to find the paths that I needed to view what I wanted. Therefore, I decided that I would log this information somewhere. The problem wasn't that I had forgotten where the information was, it was that I couldn't remember the capitalization to get there. The site in question is on a Linux server and enforces case sensitivity just about everywhere. Therefore, if you knew the name of the directory for the information you seek, you still didn't have enough info.
Anyway, if you would like to see the published notebook, you'll find it here. Or you can view the export of the document here. I haven't looked, but I'm pretty sure that they should appear exactly the same.
So, there you go. I'm addicted to Google tools and can figure out ways to make their tools work for me. If you have found any information here useful, please leave a comment.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Physical Fitness
Ok, I know that I've been talking about this much less than before, but for now this will be the last rant for some time. This past 2 week excursion for me to do my summer duty included a PT test. The important information to note is that I did pass, although, I was less than excited about the numbers to grant me that pass.
Anyway, for my age and gender I need to do 39 push-ups, 45 sit-ups and complete the 2 mile run in a maximum time of 17:00 minutes. I completed 40 push-ups, 46 sit-ups, and completed the run in 15:43. These performance numbers generated a passing score for me of 195. As usual, my score is just passing and less than 200. I can only recall maybe once or twice in my career (thus far) that I have been able to exceed 200.
For those of you less familiar with the structure of the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT or just PT), there are 2 minutes to do as many properly formed push ups as possible and 2 minutes to do as many properly formed sit ups as possible and then a 2-mile run. The minimum requirements vary by age and sex. If you are interested, you can review these charts. Each solider is to be able to score 180 points on their test. Each event must be passed with 60 points or more. If any one test is not scored above 60 and their score is above 180, they still fail.
Although, in my goal of becoming an officer, barely passing the test is not good enough. The schools to accomplish this goal are extremely stringent on the way that they enforce the standards as to what a "good form" push-up or sit-up is. Therefore, I still need to improve my numbers in order to get the commander's approval to pursue this goal. I guess I will need to continue my training and become more aggressive in maintaining my schedule.
As for my run, this was quite a surprise. We took the test on a Wednesday morning and to familiarize myself with the 2-mile run route, I ran on Monday evening. Well, the course is generally flat with a downhill tendency. During my training run, I ran a pitiful 17:35 2-mile. However, as I previously told you, on game day, my time was significantly better. I would like to know how I can drop almost 2 minutes on a 2-mile run in just 2 days? Well, I can't readily explain it to you, however, I think I have an idea.
This idea is something that any athlete may be able to relate with. I think the acquisition of almost 2 minutes in my time was due to "Game Day Pressure". We all like to think that we train ourselves to our fullest potential when we are by ourselves (or at least I do). However, as I have clearly demonstrated to myself, I clearly don't. There are 3 aspects of the PT test that differ from my training routine.
I think the first two items are self explanatory (I start the clock when I start running; I start at my pace, not the pace of others), but the third one will need some additional info to fully understand the pressure. My supervisor is a CW2 with approximately 10 years on me and I have about 3 or 4 inches on him. Furthermore, I want to become a WO1 and felt that if I can't hang with a CW2 that I may loose his (my supervisor) respect. Therefore, I picked up my pace to match his pace. His pace is notably faster than my training pace but the only thing that I really changed was the length of my stride. With the longer stride, I was able to take better advantage of the downhill sections of the course and subsequently reduce my time yet again.
The most interesting thing (in my opinion) about this run was how I felt when I finished. When I was training at home (hills or not) and my single training run at camp, I was beat down & toast when I crossed the finish line with a recovery that was painful and long. Even by the time I reached the barracks, I was still feeling badly. However, on game day, I walked 2 laps around a cul-de-sac, caught my breath, and was good to go all day. After a review of my watch, I found that my heart rate specs were very similar to those from Monday. Approximately a 180 average heart rate and maxed out a 199. I think game day was around 184 average and 200 max.
Well, I think I'm going to close this rant here. In closing I would like to say that I'm glad that I passed the test on the first go, but I am not pleased with my SU & PU scores. Only time will tell when/if I will be able to improve on those values significantly enough to quell the fears of the people of which I will require a letter of recommendation.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Mine, All Mine - Officially
Well, that money that I mentioned has finally come to fruition. All of my bonuses have been collected and it is time to distribute the funds. As of approximately 1120 today, my car, my 2003 Chrysler Sebring Convertible GTC 5-speed is mine in title.
I contacted my creditor this morning and told them to pay it off. She is mine. In a few short weeks, I will be receiving all of my pertinent paperwork regarding this loan. The paid in full notice, the account closed notice, and my title will appear via the mail in their due time. The process of removing the lien from the title doesn't yet happen over night, so I presume it will be somewhere between three and eight weeks until the title reaches me. The remainder of the paperwork will either meet me at home or will be there shortly after I return home.
Even though I will have the title in-hand, I will remain paying on her for just a little bit longer. Remember when I blew-up my transmission? Well, that debt is still outstanding (the account is current, but is an outstanding debt that I carry). However, this remaining payment on my car is not against my car. I paid for that situation on a credit card and it is at a very low interest rate with a moderately low monthly payment. Therefore, that payment shall continue for a little bit longer and I will have my title.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Little Update on the backyard
Just a small update on our backyard. Bob, me and one of the neighbor boys got a good amount of the ivy pulled out of the backyard a few weeks ago. And since then we have had to put a hold on everything. Bob found poison ivy. And since he was the last one to touch everything needed for working we have to clean everything off before we can re-start our project. I do feel really bad for Bob. He got poison ivy really good. And I didn't even get one spot. I think I can thank my Dad for that. Apparently I inherited his high immunity to poison ivy.
In my walk abouts in the yard I have found that poison ivy now resides throughout the back half of our backyard. Fortunately on my outage for poison ivy lotion for Bob I was able to find the preventive lotion that Bob was telling me about. So, I picked up a bottle. Granted it didn't help Bob the first time around but next time we will both be putting this stuff on.
I do have a couple of hints from my Mom on how to kill the poison ivy that is there now. I'm always open to suggestions (Except for burning the stuff).
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Alabama Trip - Friday and Sunday - MECA Car Stereo Competition
The intended purpose of the weekend was to attend a MECA Stereo competition in Alabama. This intention was almost compromised. It was Thursday afternoon that I was informed that my amplifier had been shipped to the wrong location. It was shipped to Pittsburgh to TNT instead of directly back to me. After some phone calls and further consideration, it was determined that the amp would be overnighted to me from TNT with someone else paying the tab. It wasn't my mistake and I wasn't about to pay for it.
With this development, I was very happy that I had taken Friday off of work. I was going to need all of the time I could find to get my car prepared both for the trip and for the competition. I was up very early on Friday. James was in town for work and had crashed at my place so that we could hang out for a while. I had to have him across town for 9 AM. It was great to have had this opportunity and it also played well into my plans. Since I had to be up to get him to work, it also assured that I would be awake once my FedEx delivery would be made.
All of my activities for Friday, minus packing, revolved around my car. I was preparing a installation booklet outlining the equipment in my car and the effort associated with it. To complete the book, I needed my car complete. I had received my speakers on the previous Friday, so the big wait was all about the amp. The amp was delivered at approximately noon. From that point on, it was a rush to get it tested, photographed and finally installed. Angel got home shortly after 2 and I was just wrapping up the final details of the installation. It took me roughly another hour to get the booklet completed and then it was time to get the packing done.
So, you might be wondering, why didn't I pack between getting home and getting my delivery. Well, it was anxiety. I couldn't focus on packing when I was preoccupied by the work that would follow once my amp did arrive. Therefore, after a quick pack job and loading up the car, we were off around 4. The first stop on the trip was to Kinkos to get the booklet printed out. Everything was already set in a file ready for printing on my thumb drive. Kinkos just had to print and bind it for me. The booklet was comprised of 5 printed pages with a clear front and back. Once the 5 pages were printed, I used their paper cutter and handed them the document back to be bound. With covers, it turned out to be 12 pages and it was spiral bound.
With all of this done, it cost a mere $13 out the door. I can't imagine what it would have cost if I had asked for someone else to do the prep work. Unfortunately, once I decide to change the configuration or add new equipment, I will have to re-do it to some degree. I guess I would have been better off using 8.5 x 11 pages with a 3 hole punch instead of the 8.5 x 5.5 spiral bound pages. This would have made it a bit more flexible. Anyway, it is unique.
After getting the document printed, cut, and bound got us on the road at 5 PM. You can read about the drive in the other Alabama trip post. Another touch on the preparation for the trip included a two day car washing effort. I took the car on Tuesday to a DIY car wash to get her clean and didn't finish off with the liquid wax. Wednesday was the wax job. I found a new tool that I thought would be interesting to try. I picked up a Mother's Power Ball.
It came with a bottle of liquid wax, so I gave that a shot too. Typically, I like to use Mother's Gold paste wax and do it within direct sunlight so it gets very hard and shines marvelously. So, a liquid wax was a new effort for me. In using this new "toy" and liquid wax, I tore through 4 drill batteries just to get the car waxed. I either have to apply this stuff by hand next time or get more batteries so that a lull in the action doesn't happen again. (I had to wait for another battery to charge before I could finish completely.)
So, the drive to Alabama did a number on my wash & wax job. I had expected some degradation of the job, but the number of bugs that were collected on the front bumper and windshield were horrible. Even after a quick wipe down on Sunday morning, there were still bugs left over. So, the drive from Huntsville to Boaz was a bit more exciting than I would have liked to find. The directions that I pulled up terminated about 15 minutes short of our destination. Another word to the wise, double check the location that a mapping service pulls up for you before printing and leaving. The address that Google Maps grabbed for me was not correct and created a brief but stressful situation when we landed in the wrong location.
So, the flyer for the competition event sponsored by Wild Bill's Electronics in Boaz, Alabama indicated that registration started at 9 and that the competition judging would start at 10:30. Well, I don't know what judging started at 10:30, but it certainly wasn't the sound quality judging. Anyway, we got there at approximately 9:30 and had our area setup and registered by 10. I entered into two competitions, Sound Quality (Amateur bracket) and RTA Freq Out. You can find the specifics about these two events in the rule book, but I will gloss over the events to save you some reading.
The objective in the Sound Quality (SQ) event is to have the most realistic reproduction of the selected competition material as possible. This reproduction includes staging as a criteria. The term staging represents that all of the frequencies appear to originate from in front of you. In the amateur class, this is all that is important, however, in the non-amateur classes there are more aspects such as direction (center/left/right), height, and width. There are many more criteria, such as system noise, frequency response, linearity, dynamics, and ambiance. The system noise check can only reduce your score, not enhance it. Frequency response is in regards to the clarity and ability to reproduce the frequencies with accuracy. Linearity is in regards to how the frequency response reacts to volume changes; are the frequencies reproduced equally at different volumes? Dynamics are in regards to the ability of the system to accurately reproduce the high and low volumes within the material and ambiance is the ability to reproduce the size and space of the environment in which the music was recorded. The rulebook gets into more detail about how to score each of these areas.
So, since I am in the Amateur class, I am scored on a 70 point scale and scored a 49.5. The winner of the event scored a 54.5. My score put me into 3rd place and was awarded a trophy for it.
The RTA Freq Out event is based on how the system reproduces each frequency range. Pink noise is used to hit all of the frequencies at the same time. A microphone and electronic meter are used to display how the frequencies are being played with an EQ readout. The objective of this event is to have a flat line response across all frequencies. This event is scored on a 40 point scale. My system scored a 27 and the winner scored a 32. This performance was good enough to place me in second of two. Once again, I was awarded a trophy for this event.
Before I get into what can be improved, lets talk about the last award that I received. I was awarded the SQL Most Improved. Typically, this award goes to the competitor that has most improved their system from one competition to another. Therefore, since this is my absolutely first competition, how can I be considered for this award. Well, the reason for this was because of the clinique. MECA league members are able to take advantage of a system review by the judge prior to official judging. Of course, since this was my first event, I certainly took advantage of this offering (I became a MECA member when I registered for the event).
After the clinique, the judge brought to my attention that I was missing some frequency reproduction between my door drivers and my tweeters. Those frequencies are controlled by the passive crossover network. This was not an active crossover or an amplifier controlled area. Therefore, I knew that the only way to change it would be to hit the crossover type control switch inside the passive crossovers. Once the judge came around for the official judging and finished my car, his comment was to the effect of, "that change made your system sound like a completely different car". Between making that major of a change and the fact that this was the first MECA event in the area for the year, they made the exception to the rules to award me with the honor.
Event Results (Be sure to click on the SQL Results link).
My Score Card:
Event picture album.
So, what did I learn during this experience? Well, the first thing I figured out is that in order to improve my performance, I have tons of work to do. I had the opportunity to listen to some of the other competition vehicles (including 2 class winning vehicles that scored 80+ each) and I have a long way to go to get close to that score. The points that I have immediate control of to improve for the next competition is tweeter placement and front stage adjustments. I was told that the stand-up bass was imaging in the rear rather than the front. This will be a simple crossover change for the next comp. Also, to improve my ambiance score, it was recommended that I put my roof & windows up. I don't know if it will hurt or help me to do so. Having the roof & windows up will introduce more surfaces for the frequencies to bounce. It is my opinion that right now, my system sounds better open than closed. I guess will have to wait until I can attend another comp to find the answer to that one.
There is one more major thing that I can do to improve the performance of my system. The RTA Freq Out pointed out to me that without an EQ, there is very little that I can do to make major improvements. Unfortunately, based on my system design, my options for an EQ are very limited and are very expensive. I did some searching at some of the major player websites and have concluded that I have three options.EQ Installation
Zapco DSP6-SL & DRC-SL processor ($1,000)
Alpine System Overhaul.
Audio Control DQS ($499) and DDC ($180)
Alpine PXE-H650 ($450)iDA-X200 - Digital Media Receiver ($300)
PXA-H100 - IMPRINT Audio Processor ($180)
KTX-100EQ - IMPRINT Sound Manager ($250)
After further review of the KTX-H100EQ is not the same as the required add on of the KTX-H100 required for the PXA-H100 to be used. This cost should be less than $250.
At this time, I am not sure as to what solution I am going to take. The two Alpine units (stand alone EQ or system overhaul) look appealing. However, I am not sure I want to cross the line into a realm that is a slippery slope. The Alpine components are known to inter-operate with themselves the best. I don't have the cash or desire to replace my amps also. If I had to pick right now, the Audio Control unit would be the one I would buy. However, I think more research will be required.
Also, while at the competition, I was able to talk directly with the owner of a sound quality based stereo shop in Atlanta. Granted, the shop is about an hour from home. It is such a relief that there are some shops in the ATL area that I can rely on with questions and part requests that will know what I'm after. With the addition to this ship, I now know of two shops with which I can obtain assistance with my car. The other one is much closer, but they don't compete anymore.
I'm sure now that I've successfully completed my first competition that it won't be my last and that the progress with my stereo is far from done. Even if/when I get my car to a point to call it complete, there is still Angel's car to be dressed. I'm sure that will provide just as much if not more updates in the future.
Alabama Trip - Friday Evening thru Saturday Night, including the "White" Wedding
So, this past weekend Angel & I made a trip to Alabama. The adventure of getting there was interesting. The week leading up to the trip was more exciting than it should have been. However, majority of those preparatory tasks were car related, therefore, I'll save you the details for the car post. For that reason, I'll fast forward to Friday.
I had taken Friday off of work, just to be certain that I would be able to tie up loose ends as they appear. Angel had to work until 2ish. I had anticipated that we would have been on the road by 4. Well, I ended up being close. We left the house at about 4:15, except we were not in route until shortly after 5. This ultimately put us at the hotel at shortly after 9 central time. We had encountered a couple of situations that were more time consuming than I had anticipated as I expected to be at the hotel at 9 eastern time (I had forgotten about the timezone change).
When the timezone change was realized, this produced an interesting response. Angel was using my phone to read a text message and noticed that my cell phone clock was an hour before my head unit clock. She immediately accused me of not fixing my clock, but I knew well better that it had been correct when we left the house. Therefore, the only remaining reason for the difference was switching time zones.
Well, I had been keeping tabs on the weather before our trip. I knew we were going to be driving directly into an approaching low pressure system that was producing some serious rain. However, when we were leaving it was such a beautiful day, I couldn't bear to drive with the roof up because of an imposing rain situation. Therefore, as I'm sure you can conclude, we got wet. At first it wasn't so bad. The windshield was getting wet, but we were chilling dry. I was hoping against hope that I could make it to the next rest stop to put the roof up. Well, this was not going to be the case. We had about 4 miles to the next exit (though we didn't know it because the billboards only said "Next Exit" not what exit number). We got about two miles closer before the cats & dogs started to fall. There we are, on the side of the road and sitting at a dead stop trying to close up the car getting much, much wetter because the road speed wasn't creating a wind buffer to swish some of the water away. Yes, we were drenched by the time we got the car closed.
Then, even though the car was closed up, we were still getting wet because the side rails were wet, the rubber surrounds were wet and holding some of the felled water. This meant that water was pouring in on us from the window area. Thankfully, I had grabbed a towel for a quick Sunday morning wipe down that was easily accessible and was able to dry the areas wetting us further. Once we got back on the road and to the rest stop we wiped down the rest of the car interior so that it wouldn't spot or contribute to the humidity in the car.
From this point on, the rest of the trip was spent primarily in the rain. Due to the rainfall within the car, the air conditioner was required to some degree to prevent fogging of the windows. Thankfully, other than the road side stop, that was as exciting as the trip got. FYI, if you ever travel to Huntsville, review the turns that will be required before you get there (mapquest, Google maps, ect) because some of the directions are really hard to follow without some researched reference.
Once at the hotel and checked in, we were able to find Janette and spent some time with her at the bar until the rest of the guys got back from the rehearsal dinner. It was great to see some familiar friendly faces. The last time that either of us had seen these guys was at our wedding. Additionally, it was excellent to finally meet Randorushiro in person. We had been introduced via Exile and had collaborated a bit on some code. Unfortunately, he has since dropped out from the project, but we stay in touch.
The bar closing is what got us moving in our respective directions. I still don't understand why hotel bars close at 12, but they do. This didn't sit well with the younger crowd and they continued to drink in one of the rooms well into the night. I had called it a night when I got to the room. I had not expected this to be the case, but I was more tired than I had realized.
The next day was the wedding, the "White" Wedding (their last name is White). With the event starting around 3 and we met in the lobby for 2:15, I was expecting this to be an all day affair. It was a surprise when it was not. More on that in a bit. However, the drive to the location was certainly notable. Remember, we are in Alabama, not West Virginia. However, the trip up to the lodge was uneventful, but interesting. The trek began with a short jaunt down the highway. From there it was an accent to the top of a small mountain or a large hill. The first indication that this would be interesting was a sign that indicated large vehicles and vehicles with trailers were advised. I was having a hard time understanding what this meant. Though, with time, I would know well.
The road snaked up the side of this hill. There were a severe drainage ditch on the right side of the road and what appeared to be a sheer drop-off on the left. The drainage ditch was intimidating. Where the asphalt ended, it dropped into this ditch that would certainly do major damage to the underbody of the car and likely frontal damage (depending on where & how you fell into it) and I don't even want to think about the other side of the road. Then later on, after the winding road decided to straighten out, we figured out what was up with the signs for the trucks and larger vehicles. There were 2 180 degree turns in the road. I can't imagine what a vehicle of any great scale would do with this area. Before I move on, for those that missed the WV reference, they are known as ridge runners. This type of road would be more expected within the WV mountains than in the deep south in my opinion.
Apparently there is a dramatic difference between Northern and Southern weddings. The ceremony was beautiful and quaint. Following the ceremony, the reception did not include a meal, however, finger foods, wine/cocktails, and cake/dessert proved to be more than enough. The whole atmosphere was different from what I've come to expect from a ceremony, but definitely not in a bad way. There was not a DJ present for the reception. The only dancing that was done was between the bride & groom, for their first dance (again, very much fine by me). There wasn't any assigned seating, there wasn't a wedding party head table, there wasn't a best man toast, and there wasn't too much else in regards to pomp and circumstance. Additionally, the biggest difference between a Northern and Southern wedding is duration. I don't recall what time we left the location, but it was definitively still daylight.
I hope that these note points do not infer a negative spin on the day. This was certainly not intended. The whole day was beautiful. The actual wedding ceremony was what was expected, with the exception that Randorushiro's mother was presiding. This ceremony was purely designed for show. The couple have been married for 5 years now. They were wed before he got deployed and was done by a JP. This assertion of their vows was for the families and to have the opportunity to share the event. The reception following the ceremony was very nice as well. Just because something is different, it doesn't mean that it is bad. I am certainly glad that I was given the opportunity to join them.
You can see the pictures that I took of the event below. Address Book.
So, following the ceremony, we returned to the hotel and began our search for dinner. We finally decided to follow a recommendation of the front desk for some good, local BBQ. It was about a 15 minute drive to the location and it was certainly in a rural area. Right next to the restaurant was a grazing field for cows. Man, this stuff was good. Not quite the same as JRs back home, but it was very good. If I could remember the name of the place, I would certainly recommend you to it if you ever find yourself in Huntsville.
After our southern grub, we again return to the hotel. With nothing better in mind to occupy ourselves, we break out Munchkin. With 6 people at the table and only using one deck (Bites), we were surprised how long this one game took. It was after midnight before Angel & I returned to our room. Anyway, it was a wonderful way to spend an evening with good friends. It was an intimate, simple, and quiet way to spend the night. Certainly much better than spending the night in a bar or other nightlife establishment that only 1/2 of us would have had any serious interest. Additionally, with us each crashing at different times, it certainly made the event more manageable for all.
From this point, the rest of the weekend was spent solidly revolving around my car. See that post for the weekend ramp up and conclusion.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Yet Again - Yard Work
So, time goes on, more work goes in, and we're still not done. The progress is certainly apparent, but completion is still far away. So, what have we been doing? With 40+ (I think I've lost official count at this point), this little adventure of ours is still a job in the making. It seems that with each milestone we reach, the end goal gets further away. Well, not really, but sometimes it does feel that way. Anyway, the crazy task of removing the leaf debris from the yard is now officially complete. Angel finished up that task last week.
So, you might say, we've found our backyard. Umm, well, not quite. The years upon years of leaf debris has been relocated, unfortunately, the yard still appears quite disheveled. The next daunting task that has begun as of yesterday is to relocate the celluloid debris and major weeds from the yard. In the years of neglect the yard has experienced there is quite the collection of vertical and horizontal brush that needs to be addressed. I've spent some time in the yard with the bushwhacker chopping down anything that I feel the tool can handle. Instead of cleaning as I go, I have just hit everything that I can find at one time and will address the cleaning afterward.
Thankfully, this perspective has paid off already. With the amount of crumbled stone, ivy and other vine like growth, and other miscellaneous tree debris (branches, twigs, ect. [aka cellulose]) trying to clean-up the small stuff to find bare earth is much easier with the tall stuff out of the way. At this time, with the exception of the undergrowth at the creek bed border, any weed, vertically growing vine, wild bush and seedling tree has been eradicated from our yard. Now the cleanup of that chopping is well underway. We're using pure muscle to yank up the vine growth (that stuff is a pain in the ass), rakes to collect the debris, and shovels (with the wheelbarrow) for anything else that piles up along the way. I would estimate that about 5/8 of the target yard area is in a condition to call clear.
There has been one recent development that I'm less than happy about. Apparently with my yard work yesterday, I managed to find some poison ivy. I was wearing my issue brown gortex boots, jeans, gloves, and a short sleeve shirt. That being said, guess where I have it. Yup, you got it, on my arms. This time does not have the appearance that it is going to be a horrible condition to overcome. I know that as a scout and from playing in the Court School parking lot that I've had this much worse. I guess at this age that it will be just a minor annoyance as my time outside and spent sweating is kept to a minimum now. Nothing like when I was younger whereas almost everyday consisted some sweat developing activity that would absolutely irritate the affliction.
Anyway, we're making a lot of progress in the yard. However, if you think that getting the little debris cleared of the yard is as far as we're going to have to go, you would be wrong. Even with the leaves, major debris, trees and other vertical growth chopped down that we would be nearing completion of the yard discovery and ready to decide what we're going to do with this additional functional land. Well, unfortunately, with the yard in the condition that it is currently in, that is not the case. Yes, once the little debris is removed we will have "found" our back yard. Unfortunately, finding it and being able to tend for it are two totally different topics.
Once we get the little shit out of the way, our next move will be to prepare the land for maintenance. One of the key features/tools that will be required to be functional in this new area is the lawnmower. Well, our land is very rocky. There are rocks all over the place. Many of them are jutting up and out of the ground in such a way that will prevent safe operation of a lawnmower in this area. Therefore, we will need to manually pluck these rocks from the ground and relocate them. We're not going to toss the rock into the creek bed because we have some other ideas that will give them an opportunity to do some good.
At this time, regardless of the ground cover we choose to employ on our yard, we have 3 construction projects that we would like to complete in the yard.
We don't yet know where in the yard these guys are going to go, but before any new install landscape goes into place, we'll have to determine how we're going to address these new features.
So, lets examine the projects individually.Fire pit:
Well, Gwinnett County is unlike Allegheny County in that we are permitted to burn. However, typically burning is restricted to the non summer months. However, when you install a pit that is designed specifically for controlling the potential run of the fire, the restriction is all but gone. Since we are also trying to create entertainment features in the yard, the pit has potential for use all year round. The expectation for the creation of this feature will revolve around the use of rock that is already present in the yard. There is plenty of it all around the yard that I think I could create a functional pit with minor expense with what we already have.Horseshoe Pits:
My intention here is to create a single game area that is up to specification with official regulations for all ages. Based on the brief research that I have already completed, I will need to get some experience with concrete mixing and working. The other options for material include paving stones, wood planks, or some other ground covering and controlling device. Cost and effort will determine which approach we take. To fit specifications with the regulations for kids, women, and men at the same time will require me to create a throwing platform that extends well forward of the pins (13' to be exact).
In addition to the pitching lanes, the creation of the individual pits will be an engineering feat. From what I've read and what I intend on doing is to use a 3'x2' concrete rectangle of variable width with a minimum depth of 6" (variable to prevent water from standing on it, slanting out from center) that will have the pin pushed thru at the correct angle while it is still wet. This concrete slab should hold the pin stable longer than what a coffee can or other anchoring system would do. I am thinking of taking this design a bit further and wrapping the hole for the pins in a rubber sheath to absorb some of the impact before hitting the concrete. Another addition would be to include additional horizontal support to the concrete by adding segments of the uprights from the fence that I removed from the yard.
Above and around the concrete, I anticipate using #57 granite gravel to facilitate the drainage from the game playing environment. Above the granite will be a layer of weed blocking landscaping material and then topped with a minimum of 6" of sand. Based on the dimensions of a regulation court, 7'x3' I will require .69 cubic yards of sand and something less than that amount for the gravel for both pits. Thankfully, I have found a local bulk landscaping company that will deliver this bulk amount of material at a reasonable cost including the delivery costs.
Furthermore, I intend on including a backboard into the design. Therefore, rebarb, wood planks and lag bolts will be in my future. I have a feeling that once I get into this, the construction will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 including the purchase of the game equipment. Unfortunately, I foresee more than a single weekend to get this project completed as I think I'll be doing the majority of the work alone or with only Angel's assistance. I have heard of this project being completed in a day, but unlike some people (yeah, you know who you are), I don't have as extensive of a support chain to assist with the grunt work.Boccie Ball Court:
The last project is also going to be the most expensive, if done properly. As I'm sure to no surprise, I have done research on this topic also. A properly designed boccie ball court is 90' by 13' by international standards. However, in America it is acceptable to have a court as small as 60' by 10'. The court is to have raised walls to stop the balls from leaving the court. In my pursuit of examples of what some other people have done, I have found The Joy of Boccie and within their court design section, they've highlighted a few at-home court installations. I also found it interesting that one of them are in the Pittsburgh area. Anyway, seeing their design, implementation routes and final products, I'm not sure if I can afford any of these designs. Please have a look and see what I'm talking about.Carmine D'Agostino, Franklin, MA - Gold Seal Standard
Frank Scenna, Canonsburg, PA - The idea I'm thinking of replicating
John Scarpelli, Beavercreek, OH
Henry Salustro, Marion, MA
So, as you can see, the durable construction of one of these guys is quite involved and on a quite a larger scale in comparison to either of the other yard projects. The estimated cost of just rock material for a 60'x10' structure with 6" of each material (gravel & granite dust) is going to be close to $720 and that is not including the delivery costs or the other materials required for the build.
As an alternative, I am considering the less involved design to cut the rock requirements in half 3" gravel & 3" dust and then covering it with outdoor carpeting. However, due to the desire to complete this project in the most expedient period of time and cost being a factor to determine how quickly it can be completed, I am thinking that even at $360 for rock will be prohibitive.
Lastly, another alternative would be to build our court with the building materials (wood, bolts, rebarb, ground cloth) that either of the aforementioned designs would entail (to some degree or another) and then replace the displaced dirt back into the box. Mind you, this would not be a direct replacement. We would have to sift the dirt (I'm sure I can rent or borrow something to do that) to remove the rock and unwanted materials from the area to create a smooth surface. This concept would be the least expensive and quickest method to implementation over the other options. The only major drawback to this method would be the "mud pit" that would likely be created after a rain. However, if we were really hard up to play, we could turn the pit or something to create a usable playing surface.Horseshoes and Boccie Accents
One feature that I want to build to accent both of these projects is a score keeping location. My original though was to build pedestals at one end or the other of the courts that would be reminiscent of a miniature golf course. These pedestals would be topped with either a scorecard under plexi to be used with a china crayon or a whiteboard & dry erase markers with the score card outlined with pinstripes. However, after taking a lok at the "gold standard" court design for boccie, I am reconsidering this design. I think the cribbage centralized score card design is a nice design. I just might have to take his cue and make mine that way. I could use a centralized post for both scorecards that would face each court accordingly as I plan on the two courts to be parallel with one another.
Another feature that I want to put into place will not be immediate. I would like to add lighting to my courts also. I know that I hate it when I'm at a picnic and have to stop playing my game (either or) because of darkness. However, the requirement of cost will be prohibitive to get this installed this year with trying to get these 3 projects completed. That being said, will I get all three of these completed this year? I don't know. Will the finances be there to drop $300+ each on two different "pleasure" activities? I guess only time will tell.
I know that there are tons of details in here and I have high hopes. However, I wanted to document this information more for myself than for your information. As with anything else, once I've done the research on something, I don't want to loose it. With a topic like this, I guess here is just as good as any other. If and when we get ourselves involved in making this a reality, I'm sure you will hear about it.
Brief Update
This is just a preview post for a few topics that I will be posting following this one with further details. It has been a little while since my last contribution to my blog. I felt that some of the recent topics required a follow-up.
1. Workout - Well, since the back incident, the P90X program has not been resurrected as of yet. However, I pledged that I was going to start running & other preparation for my up coming PT test. Well, that hasn't worked out so much better either. Since my second run last week, I have yet to go again. This past weekend had much to do with that, which lead directly into a user conference for work and then more yard work. Hopefully, next week will bring more disciplined results.
2. Yard work - Yes, the yard work continues. We have well exceeded 40 man hours of work that has been invested in this adventure. Unfortunately, I heard a rumor that rain is expected this weekend and in the event that it does appear, that will thwart further progress there. I'm hoping for a poor meteorological read for the weekend outlook and that I might be able to call the "finding of the yard" complete. See the follow-up post for more information as to what we've done recently and some of the things we're planning.
3. Car Stereo - Well, I competed in my first MECA Sound Quality Competition this past weekend. Lets just say that based on my results I have something to be proud of in my car. However, my creation is not exactly "audiophile" quality yet. Unfortunately, the leap further into that classification will be long in coming. See the follow-up post on the topic for more details.
4. Alabama Trip days 1 and 2 - The early departure for Alabama was credit to the White's. We had been invited to share in the event of a friend renewing their vows. We took the trip and had some notable situations occur in route that will be contained within the follow-up post, but what it boils down to is that the trip was safe, fun, and enlightening. Just a quick note, southern weddings are distinctly from their northern counterparts. However, it doesn't diminish the special nature of the event or the enjoyment of participating, it is just different from what I've come to expect.
So, be sure to check out the additional details on the 3 topics that require follow-up and as always I hope you enjoy this little window into our life together along with our trials, tribulations, and events that we have the opportunity to share with you.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Learning Your Physical Capabilities
Once again, it is that time of year that I need to prepare for my APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test). The Army has a battery of three successive tasks to participate in that need to be completed to a specific standard to pass. The standards are established based on age and sex. In each event the standards correlate to a specific score. Each individual is to pass the test with a minimum score of 180 points in which each event must be passed with a minimum of 60 points. Just because you score more than 180 and one or two events are below 60 points, you will still fail. The score charts go to 100 points per event. However, it is possible to score above 300, although, you will be required to exceed 100 points in all three events, not just one. The score card can be found here. The three events are push-ups (PU), sit-ups (SU), and the 2-mile run.
I've heard of people scoring 259 points and still fail. This 259 represented two 100 point events and a 59 point event. In this example, the 59 point event was the 2-mile run. This has to be one of the worst ways to fail the test IMO. From what I recall, this was a 5 second difference that meant the difference between pass and fail.
I have experienced similar failures but my failures were never toeing the line to the extended scale. It has only been within the recent years that I have been able to consistently score above 200 after three events. The endurance required to completed each of these events to any exceptional level has never be something I've focused on. Granted, promotion points are gained by scoring higher on your PT test, but even then the points have not been motivation to do better since I was unable earn a promotion.
Anyway, I've started training for my 2-mile run just last week. Since December (and my back incident I have not worked out with the P90X program for multiple reasons). Anyway, since the P90X program I would have expected to have less preparation to complete. I have yet to test myself on the PU or SU portion of the test, but the 2-mile run is my greatest bane that I need to prepare for. Also, since P90X, I have a new training aid with which I can prepare with. The heart rate monitor.
I ran track in high school and have usually been able to bounce back into running condition pretty quickly. For the past few years, my running preparation has also started out with utter failure. Times above 20 minutes for 2-miles because of a walking requirement. For the first time I can understand why with a quantifiable reason.
Today was the second time that I've run for this training bout. The first run was in excess of 24 minutes and I had to walk 4 times. Today's run was less than 19 minutes and only walked once. I don't know exactly how long because I accidentally reset my timer. I saw 3:XX on my watch when I reset it and was at 14:31 when I finished. That could mean that I was at 17:31 thru 18:30. Well, I have figured out what is prompting the walking. Each walking bout has been matched with excessively high heart rates. By excessively high I am meaning 195 bpm or higher. During the first run I recorded a max bpm of 199. Today's run maxed out at 201 bpm before I had to walk.
You might be saying to yourself, OMG, if my heart rate was that high it would want to explode. You might be surprised. My issue was not my heart. Obviously my heart rate was accelerated, but I wasn't having any chest related pains. My issue was in my vision. I thought I was about to pass out. That high of a heart rate requires much more oxygen to keep your body happy. Well, mine wasn't very happy with me. I was starting to get light headed and seeing my peripheral vision turning black. I felt that it would be a bad thing for me to pass out in the middle of my route so I dropped to a walk and recovered to a more comfortable 17X heart rate before picking back up to a run. If I were to pickup my breath rate to accommodate my heart rate, I would likely have begun hyperventilating. I highly doubt that hyperventilating and running would have had good results.
Anyway, once I am able to complete a 2-mile run without stopping I will be able to establish what my target heart rate needs to be and set my watch threshold to accommodate that. The watch is setup to beep fast when over your training heart rate and beep slow when your heart rate is too slow. Well, right now I have the beep disabled because otherwise it would beep the entire time. During my P90X workout, it was approximated that my max training heart rate was to be approximately 180. During any of these training events my heart rate would spike above that number for some period of time. However, it did let me know how hard I was pushing. Now that I'm running and have a distinct standard that I am trying to accomplish, stopping or slowing down is not an option. Therefore, I will have to adjust my watch to the run requirements. Then, once I determine what the ideal max should be, I will know how hard to push or not to push once the test comes about.
However, for the first time, I think I will be able to train according to some variable distance with personal justification. Once I tackle the 2-mile run without peaking over the watch I will have a tracking device to let me know where/when I should stop running that will continue the conditioning that I've abandoned in the past. Historically, my training has been limited to 2 miles or just over that. My goal was to improve the 2 mile time but I never pushed myself to go further. Using the watch, I should be able to continue running after 2 miles and based on heart rate, know when I've hit my new distance threshold should be and strive to meet the standard at that distance. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. Therefore, my 2-mile time should be drastically improved and above the standard than just meeting it.
The only question is: how long will this process take? I don't know. I will be running every other day (weekends optional) until June. Is two months adequate to excel that much, I don't know, but this new biofeedback utility should provide interesting results.
As for the other two events in the test, I plan to follow a regimen on the alternate day (weekends optional) of push-ups. Not sure if I'll do either a free-form routine or utilizing the P90X program that requires the most push-ups and then the P90X Ab Ripper 15 minute sit-up routine. I don't like doing straight sit-ups. I don't have the resources to hold my feet comfortably and I know that the Ab Ripper kicks my ass as it is. We'll see how well this works out.
I doubt that I'll bring up my APFT training progress until after the official test, so I wouldn't expect any unless such a time that I might want to share with you a new bpm max.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Why Do I Want To Be An Army Officer?
Well, the answer to this question has some politically correct answers, however, I'm not going to only give you those answers. Oh, those answers are definitely part of my reasonings, but they are not the only ones. That being said, I do have to warn you that I have many reasons and this is not going to be a short and simple answer (when I do write anything that is short and easy?). Furthermore, due to INFOSEC restrictions I will have to obscure some aspects of my explanation. You will quickly figure out when I do this because the details will be nonspecific to any specific function or task. As you know, this is unusual for me. I typically go out of my way to be clear and concise in my details.
Also, this will not be provided in a list approach. The justifications of my intention to become an officer are frequently intertwined and do not lend themselves easily to a list. Therefore, without further adieu, let the explanation roll.
I am currently a Specialist (E-4) in the Army National Guard. I will have completed nine years of service in the near future. In order to earn a retirement from the Department of Defense, I will have to complete 20 years of service. I will have 15 years of service completed at the end of the contract I have just signed. In my current job assignment (MOS), I am unable to be promoted to a higher rank. Unlike the active duty Army, the National Guard has a slot system for promotions. Not only do you have to be worthy of the promotion, but you have to have a slot available to be promoted into. As it stands right this time, I represent the top of this MOS promotion list for the state and I have been for the past six or so years. That being said and experienced by me, I know I can't be promote for slot reasons.
Therefore, you might ask, how can I get promoted then? Well, as long as I keep my current job, I can't. In order to obtain a higher rank, I will have to change my job. This is fine by me. There are other jobs in which I am certainly qualified to satisfactorily (or better) execute and contribute a valuable service to a team. However, due to Army regulations, I would have to attend an Army school or other approved qualification path to be awarded this job. Well, I am insulted by this requirement and will not bend to do what the Army wants. I refuse to waste my personal time and be away from my civilian career to sate Uncle Sam. I know I can do the job that I want but, because I can't quantify it with my civilian education (there exists a small gap between the requirements and what I can quantify in my transcripts and my "official" job title). Attending one of these approved qualification paths require either a year plus of weekends attending a tech school or six months of active duty to attend the Army school. I refuse to waste my weekends for drill falling asleep in a classroom in which I don't belong and I refuse to be away from my civilian job for that time for something that I see as a waste of my time.
Also, my current job is not utilized during my drill weekends or annual training periods. I spend the majority of my time on these weekends looking for work from multiple sources. Many of the tasks that I do pickup are irrelevant to my job or even to the mission. I am tasked to do the menial things that would get assigned to the newbie Privates on active duty. However, since the National Guard is light on the lower ranks, Specialist is a rough equivalent. There are many reasons why my job is under utilized, however, I'm not at liberty to explain those in the detail I would like. Suffice it to say that I'm a peon on my drill weekends.
There is plenty of motivation available to me as you can see already to change my job. If I wanted to stay an enlisted soldier then becoming certified for another job would be the logical route. However, within my nine years of experience thus far, I can tell you with absolute certainty that unless you are a First Sergent or above, you do not have any power to influence anything about how the unit operates, details about the mission, or policies that we are expected to abide. All the way up the enlisted path, the level of responsibility to the lower enlisted remains at a even keel. You will direct them to do the things that you are tasked to delegate. I also see that the upper enlisted are always in a struggle to get the lower enlisted to cooperate. The lack of respect there from the lower enlisted if deplorable in the National Guard. I constantly hear from guys that were on active duty that some of the things that occur in the guard wouldn't fly in the active side of the house. I don't want to have to deal with that. I want to be an expert and have people listen to my advice and have the ability to mold how a mission is going to work in some facet, even if that contribution is something as a minor part of the mission. However, that minor part of the mission is critical to someone. I'm sure of it. I guess what I'm saying is that I want respect and control.
Respect and control are not something that come easily within the enlisted rank. Therefore, with my qualifications (real world experience, years of personal experience, and civilian education) I want to put myself into a place to put those skills to good use. The Warrant Officer (WO) tract will provide that satisfaction (assuming that I can get the job that I want). So, some details regarding the WO environment. Warrant Officers are a hybrid between the enlisted rank and the command officer tract. Warrant Officers are specialists in their field. These specializations are many and various. There are civil engineer WOs, quartermaster WOs, human resources WOs, IT WOs, pilot WOs and more. There are three such specializations that I feel that I can fill (excluding pilot, I am capable but unwilling).
Since WOs are a hybrid between the enlisted and command officers, they are also paid in the middle. I'm sure if you search on Google that you will be able to find a pay chart that will accurately quantify this for you. That leads us to the Officer tract. Officers have higher requirements for entry and are paid the most in the Army. However, they have the most responsibility and also carry the most respect. Also, officers that have gone from green to gold often earn more respect.
Do I know with absolute certain that I can be an effective leader? I'm not sure. However, I know I will give it my best and learn as I go. Becoming a command officer is not my first choice. However, it is the only alternative left if I am unable to enter into the WO tract. Becoming a command officer is the polar opposite of how I would like to participate in any work environment. In my civilian career, I don't want to be in management. I enjoy being in the trenches and having my hands directly in the environments that I am responsible. Don't get me wrong, officers are in the trenches, literally, when the time comes. However, they are the managers of the soldiers and are directly responsible for the actions that their soldiers take and/or lead to take.
So, the one thing that I have yet to address are the requirements to become one of these officer types. They have similar time requirements to commission (the act of acquiring the officer title). There are multiple phases with different titles per tract, but the time requirements are similar. I would be required to complete between six and nine months of training at different training facilities at different durations under different conditions. I believe that a minimum of two of the training excursions would be under zero/minimal contact orders. Meaning that I would be in training without being able to talk to my wife/family/friends at will. I know that one of these training excursions will be like undergoing basic training all over again and contact with the outside world would be minimal. Maybe on Sundays. That's it.
At this point, if you have yet to put the pieces together, you might be asking what is different between the time spent to get promoted as an enlisted soldier or the time spent becoming an officer? Well, there are many things. The officer ranks are thinner and promotions are easier to earn. The requirements to become promoted as an officer are more objective than those of an enlisted soldier. The money is better as a WO1 or a O-1 than that of an E-5. Also, from what I can tell, the job trading to get promoted are less intrusive as an officer. Once I obtain my officer specialty, I won't be forced to change from it again. However, if I remain enlisted, once I earn E-6, I will once again hit a wall. I can admit right now that I could retire as an E-6 if I were to get that high. Furthermore, I could comfortably retire as a WO-2 or a WO-3, or a WO-3 and I won't feel bad about my career. Another aspect to this decision is that the officer tracts are greatly new to me. I would have much to learn before I could claim that I'm comfortable in my job and have an opportunity to become bored. I can't say the same of the enlisted ranks. I've spent plenty of time looking up to know that I don't want to have to deal with that for another 11 years.
The last topic that I want to spend some time on is influence. The upper enlisted are certainly qualified to be respected de facto and the majority of them have the experience and face time to provide influence to their lower enlisted soldiers. However, the influence and ability to obtain control of a situation amongst soldiers is much easier and greater for those of brass. From the first day in basic, the Drill Sergents are immediately in control. However, even at the end of the time spent at basic, the fear and obedience soldiers exhibit towards brass are universal. Soldiers spend the majority of their time among those within the enlisted world. However, with minimal exception, their exposure to those of brass remain at a minimum. There are even rules regarding how and when officers can interact with enlisted at and away from the uniform. Therefore, by default, not only do officers have command and control over enlisted soldiers, but they also have influence. If you have the opportunity as an officer to interact with a single soldier for a long enough period of time, you can mold and shape them to make them a better soldier and/or person. That same ability requires much, much more time and effort for an upper enlisted to accomplish than that of those wearing brass.
Please keep in mind, all of my justifications provided above (minus pay, that is objective and easily supported) are my own opinions of the Army and how it operates. This is not to be used as fact as a documentation source for an argument that does not include me or my position in the Army.
So, after all of that, I'm sure you can see why I chose to make this another post instead of including it into the post that prompted this discussion.
Later all.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Signed on the dotted line.....
Well, as most of you know, that time has come again. Most of you are well aware that I have a second job. I am a proud member of the Army Reserve National Guard. Well, as I stated almost exactly three years ago, "This is the last time I will do this unless something goes horribly wrong." Well, nothing HORRIBLY wrong has occurred, however, my financial expectations of the last three years has not become that of what I was expecting. I am not saying that I'm not satisfied with what I have accomplished financially within the past three years, however, it is not what I had anticipated.
To make a long story short, a side project that I was anticipating to be live and making money hasn't yet entered into any solid development work. Therefore, a CTO I am not and I am still employed by corporate America. Therefore, since I am still an employed IT professional for someone other than myself and my business partner my income has not blossomed into what I had dreamed it would have been.
Between buying a new car, the move to GA, fixing my car, buying a house, getting married (none of which I regret and will not complain about short of the financial aspect), our finances are a bit strapped. Uncle Sam has provided a way for us to escape a large portion of our current debt.
This year I have found myself quite the windfall to put us into a more favorable financial situation.
None of these mentioned thus far were outside my expectations for this year. Let me explain why.
The tax return was the product of claiming Single 1 on my W-4 for the majority of the year and some other write-offs (such as medical). The performance bonus from work was expected, though I did get a bonus that was larger than what I had anticipated. Lastly from that list, is the second installment to my current contract. When I reenlisted in 2005, I was completely out of the Army and the contract bonus incentive dispersement method was split payment. 1/2 at the start and the remaining at the end. Well, that contract is coming to a close and I have been expecting that value.
Now, what I wasn't expecting was to re-up again. Uncle Sam's enticing proposal was three fold. The first (and most lucrative), is $15k for signing on the line for six more years. This bonus is taxed so you can deduce what I will be bringing home. Secondly, they offered an additional bonus in the form of a Student Loan Repayment Plan. Every three years, Uncle Sam will contribute 15% or $3k (taxable income) toward my existing student loans. Lastly, this is not related to my reenlistment but is worth mentioning, is another $10k bonus when I am awarded my commission when I become an officer in the Army. At this time I can't tell you if that will be a Warrant Officer or Lieutenant, but they both offer the incentive. However, that additional bonus will not be available for the minimum of one year out from my contract start date of 20080413.
For those who would like to know my motivations to become an officer, it is a long story and will need to be another post for another time. The reasons are numerous. Although, one of the single driving forces is that in signing this latest contract will take me over the 10 years of service line. 20 years are the requirement for a retirement. Within the job that I currently hold in the Army caps out at my current rank of Specialist. I refuse to remain a lowly Specialist for the next 11 years of my military career. (Don't ask why I don't change jobs, that will be covered in the subsequent officer motivation post.) Becoming an officer (either) will provide me a route to utilize the skills that I already possess to obtain advancement in the Army, provide service in a fashion that is productive and finally, will be fulfilling.
For those that are unhappy about the news, I'm sorry. I have evaluated my current and future situation and have found that it is in my best interest currently to do this again. As for my future situation, completing 20 years of service and obtaining a Federal guaranteed VA retirement with medical benefits is something worth working for. Also, I would venture to say that those of you upset with my decision to further pursue a military career and retirement have the worry about deployment. Yes, being deployed is a bad situation. Going to war means risking my life for my country. Yes, I could loose my life in my pursuit. That is the risk I am willing to take. I know MANY people that have gone to war, some of them several times, and have returned in once piece.
Please don't misconstrue this message as me saying that I want to go to war. That is not the case. I would have no regrets if I complete a 20 year career and never have to enter a war zone. Although, I have consciously signed on the dotted line and if my name or number is called, I will execute the job I have been training to do all of these years.
I AM AN AMERICAN! I AM PROUD! I WILL DO MY PART!
For those interested in our timeline for kids, this will expedite those plans. This financial windfall this year is going to go a long way in the removal of our debt which will subsequently allow us to afford to move forward with our family.
Please don't worry, what will be will be and what has been done is, in fact, done.
Peace!
More Yard Work
Well, this week has been interesting. Angel has put more time into the yard than I have. She is so thankful that our neighbor has lent us his backpack blower. She was just moving along in the yard with that thing. I have been limited to intervals between work and sundown. At most I have put 6 hours into the yard this week. The combined tally of time spent in the yard is ~28 man hours.
It is surprising that in a one and a half day span, the two of us put in 14 hours and it takes 4 days to put in the same amount of time. I guess that is what a 40+ hour a week job will do to housework.
Speaking of house work, the time not spent in the yard this week can be attributed to house cleaning. Angel's parents are currently on their way down to visit with us. We had to give the house a good straightening up. We had done some "spring cleaning" in the past few weeks so this wasn't a full scale scrub down this time. Yet, the living room, kitchen, bathrooms and the floors needed some attention. Therefore, Angel didn't put as much time into the yard as she could have. I did my house work contributions after dark so my yard time wasn't effected.
Anyway, I'll repost the slide show from the previous post (Yard Work) that now includes additional pictures toward the end to illustrate the progress we've completed. During this past week in conversation with colleagues and friends, it has been estimated that we're trying to clean up ~11,000 sq. ft. of land. Between the length of time it has been neglected and scale of land to be cleaned, this project timeline has well overrun my expectations for completion. Thankfully there is not a hard deadline to complete this task, yet I feel that the sooner the better. Once it starts getting too green out there, the project will be extended much further. Small trees, weed sprouts, and fallen twigs have a way of making progress slow.
The backpack blower has proven to be invaluable. I am about certain that I have one of these guys in my near future. Even with the removal of all of the minorly established brush and trees, the well established trees are still numerous and fallen leaves will occur again. Likely next time I want to undertake this cleansing project, my neighbor will be doing the same. Therefore, it is likely within my best interest to acquire one of my own.
Well, with the 'rents on the visit this weekend, it will be interesting to see how the project progresses over the weekend. I still hope to invest some time into the progress as after this weekend it will be three weekends until I can address it again. Next weekend is a drill weekend and the following weekend is a trip to Alabama. I would think that in a three week timespan, green stuffs in the yard will certainly be on the prowl. Therefore, it is in my best interest to put a dent into the yard work sooner rather than later.
Photos:
Obviously, there is more to come on this topic.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Yard Work
After 14+ man hours of work in our yard this weekend, it would appear that not much has been accomplished. Yesterday afternoon (a beautiful one that it was), I decided to start on our daunting task of reclaiming our yard. The prior tenants of the house and property neglected the yard so much there is about a one foot average depth of leaves amassed across the yard. From the shed to the property line looked like pure wilderness. Light brush, tree and branch debris, discarded junk, and of course the leaves. It is a total disaster. At one point, they had dogs and had a plastic mesh fence up in the yard. This didn't help matters any either. Along the fencing the leaves were the deepest. For the life of me, I don't know why they allowed the yard to fall into such disarray.
As for the discarded junk, I have found a dog bowl, truck leaf spring, a shattered mirror, rebar, several 2x4s, 2x6s, burnt wood, a Bic lighter, beer bottles, pop cans, and chicken wire. With the depth of the leaves and debris, it is almost a wonder that we haven't found dead bodies in the yard.
So, you may be asking yourself, with all of this stuff that covers about 1/8 of an acre, where is it all going? Well, at the back edge of our property line is a dry creek bed. At one point in time, it appears that this creek used to have some serious momentum. At points it is about two and a half to three feet deep and about two feet wide. I figured that this is my property and additional development in the area has left it barren. Sounds like a wonderful place to put all of my yard debris. Keep in mind, I mean the vegetation debris, I'm not going to put the metal and plastic debris back there. I will find a better home for those things.
To start off the process, I pulled out our brand new bush whacker. Yes, bush, not weed. This tool is a four blade metal disk instead of the string that a weed whacker would use. The cool thing about this tool is that it is a separate attachment for our weed whacker. Craftsman produced a "convertible" system. The motor and half of the shaft are stationary and the bottom end is interchangeable. The system came with a combo blower/weed whacker head. As a Christmas gift, we picked up the brush tool. I am very impressed with the power and efficiency of this thing. The manual indicates that it is capable of cutting brush up to an inch thick. I'm sure I was able to cut down a tree that was was approximately two inches in diameter with no problem. What a great tool.
After I felt that I had gotten a good start in chopping down the miscellaneous brush and trees from the yard, I felt it was a good time to start moving leaves. I began with the rake. I wasn't making big progress quickly, but I could see quite a difference starting. While I was doing this, Angel got home from work. Well, we only had one rake, so how could I give her to help? I attached the blower attachment to the weed whacker and sent her off and running.
Unfortunately, the blower on the initially provided head is not very powerful. It is great for what I believe is its intended purpose. I think this is to be used when week whacking and cleaning up the clippings. At least that's what I've used it for thus far. It worked well for that. However, with this compacted foot plus pile of leaves in the back yard, it has been proven useless. Angel tried to get it to work for a good half an hour before declaring it ineffective. Thankfully, my neighbor has graciously given me full reign to his tools and I took this opportunity to borrow his Stihl backpack leaf blower. (He wasn't home at the time or I would have asked him instead of just taking it. But permission had already been granted so I didn't feel so bad doing it.)
Anyway, Angel decided that she would take the rake and move on and I was using the blower. The tornado like force that this guy pushes out is just amazing. I am so sold with its power, I'm half tempted to get one of my own. This leaf issue isn't about to go away once we get the yard cleared this Spring. I'm not sure the blower is more effective than good old manual labor, but is sure is lower impact on me.
So, Saturday afternoon, I put in at least seven hours into the back yard and Angel contributed about four. Today, I got a late start in the yard, but instead of picking up any power tools, I took to using the wheel barrow and rake to do some cleanup in the area we were working on yesterday, moved all of the miscellaneous debris to a consolidated location, and did some major brush removal. I found yesterday that the more sticks and obstacles in the way, the more difficult it was to get the leaves to move in the desired location. I hope that the work I did today will pay dividends once I pickup the power tools next time.
Anyway, I've got pictures that will illustrate the before and after shots from yesterday and part of today.
Type rest of the post here
