Things are moving in the right direction. The past 4 months have been pretty good, overall. It's amazing how badly things were going back in March and April. I was nearly broke, getting fat and wasn't in a good frame of mind at all.
The thing that keeps me in small business, despite the absolute misery sometimes, is that it also has the potential to be great when things are going well. Yeah, having a small biz put me in a pretty bad hole, but having a small biz is also my best shot at digging out.
Our overhead is so low right now that if we can get a reasonable amount of business (not always a foregone conclusion), we make our nut without a lot of drama. My employees are amazing and have really carried me through this time.
This is the second time I can remember where I felt like I, personally, was going to give up, and my employees carried me through.
Only time will tell if I'll start prospering again, or whether things will stay down, but I've seen the business do well in the past. That's why I keep slugging away at things. Sure would be nice to return to prosperity and profitability.
We had a little bit of a good run due to a very little rain we got in the Spring. We are getting rain today after a couple of draught months. I still contend that my drop in volume is primarily driven by the weather. During good years, we were having 3 weather events per year that gave us more business than we could handle. During bad years, like the last two, we haven't had any.
Paying off debt is going to be the main financial meter that will tell me when I've gotten totally out of the woods. I have some notes to pay off over the course of the next 3 years. When they're gone, my finances will be changed for the better. We were growing so fast, I took on debt to accomodate the growth and anticipated continued growth. When things went the other direction, the debt really became a burden.
Not sure how I could have done things differently, but it's done, now. I'll just keep chipping away at the debt and eventually, it'll all be gone.
My fitness is definitely improving and that is good in every conceivable way. At my age, dropping dead of a heart attack is not out of the question, and over the next 20 years, if I don't take care of myself, it is a distinct possibility.
The main reason I started exercising again wasn't weight loss, oddly enough. It was that with law school coming up, I felt like I needed more energy. I do have that. I'm keeping up with chores around the house monumentally better than in the past.
The one constant in all this is my son who has been a source of both pride and joy. He did great last baseball season, had a fantastic swimming season, and in a week, he starts football workouts. I am glad I've got such an energetic young man as a son.
He's sincere, sensitive, hard-working, helpful and athletic. He's also very friendly and makes friends wherever he goes. I think he'll go far in life. I really wish he wouldn't grow up so fast. He'll finish High School just shy of his 18th birthday. So, 8 more years with the kid. I hope to make them all count.
It is still possible that the Navy could take me away for a year, and that's not something I'm eager to do, but not something I'd shy away from, either. A lot of kids have dealt with a parent leaving for a year to serve the US, and some unfortunate ones have had to deal with much worse. I take comfort in the fact that although it'll be hard for me, he's got a great mother to take care of him and he'll learn a valuable lesson on the nature of service to the country.
Next week, I'll start my CON 120 class to finish up my basic defense acquisition certification. I'll have my DAWIA level 1 certification. This means that if I deploy, it'll almost certainly be as a contracting officer.
The contracting officers continue to be some of the most frequently deployed guys in the navy reserve. That's part of why I decided to pursue this.
If I spent a year away, it quite likely would be a financial boon. Military officer pay is pretty good, especially with a combat-zone exemption. With the tax implications, it's probably analogous to making six figures as a civilian.
My only worry would be my business, but chances are the business would do just fine.
When I get back from my contracting class, law school starts. I'm glad to be doing this. I'm really looking forward to meeting my fellow students.
So, all in all, things are better than they were just a few short months ago. I'm hoping that things continue to improve.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
The Week That Are Going to Be and Wuz
This is my last week before going to Dayton for a two-week Defense Acquisition class. I'm not looking forward to being away from home. I never do. Two weeks is a chunk, though I should be off for the weekend. I'll try to pick up Logan and we'll head over to my cousin's wedding in Akron.
I drill in Texas the weekend after the class wraps up.
Two days off, then Law School orientation starts.
A week after that, and it's Mavericks tryouts for Logan. I'm hopeful there might be some changes in the coming year. Hard to tell, though. We'll just play it by ear. Logan still seems to enjoy being on the team. I have some issues with the way the team is run, but overall, I think the positives outweigh the negatives. Sometimes we sports parents can get a little too critical in pursuit of the perfect experience for our little sportsters.
Speaking of, the coach of the High School basketball team arranges an open gym for the little kids once a week. Logan went for the first time, ever. I thought he did tremendously. I was very impressed. We've worked on his game a good bit over the past year, and the improvement really showed. I hope to get him to as many of these open gyms as possible. They arrange little games between teams with as many kids as show up.
Although I vaguely remember that he wasn't the tallest kid on his rec basketball teams last year, he's really gaining size lately. Both width and height. I swear, he's twice as wide as he was last year. He's also getting taller bit by bit.
He's going into the 5th grade, and I had a small growth spurt right about this time. I had a huge one between 6th and 7th grade. Sometime in the next few years, he'll be getting taller. His mother and I are not the tallest people you'll meet, but we're both taller than average.
It'll be interesting to see how things go.
This week, he's got football camp at Sylvania Southview. That's not the High School he'll likely go to, but the scheduling works out better. Northview's camp was during his swim season.
After that, conditioning starts for football in pads during the 2nd week in August. I'll be off in Dayton that week.
During that week, I also signed him up for Toledo Mudhens baseball camp. I'm not sure that's an overly important camp for him to attend, but they do work on some baseball stuff. He enjoys going.
So, for those who have not been following along on their own scorecard:
Logan just finished swimming.
We're starting basketball workouts.
He's got football camp this week.
Football in pads starts the week after that.
Baseball camp will be going on during the mornings during the first week of football.
Then, he has tryouts for the city's travel team at the end of the month.
Thing is, if we let him do more, he would. The kid is just a dynamo. At least we don't have skiing or swimming to contend with for a while, and he isn't into golf, yet.
I'm feeling pretty good about Law School right now. By that, I mean I think I know what to focus my time on in order to do reasonably well. I have no idea how this whole thing is going to go, but I feel prepared. Maybe not as well as I could be, but just enough to set my mind at ease.
So, things are about to get intense. I think Law School is not going to be difficult so much as it will be gruelling, especially with all my other committments.
I finally bought a couple of laser printers for the office and home so I can keep up with stuff more conveniently.
The other pre-law purchase I need to make is a good dishwasher. Washing dishes by hand just takes up too much time during the day. I bet I spend an hour on it every day.
The running workouts are going well. Man, I'm fat. I'm running 40 minutes a day, and squeezing in a rower workout whenever possible.
Really, when I think about efforts to keep weight off, the way that worked both best and longest was working out. I need to get back to running about an hour a day. I think if I can do that, I should be able to get to where I want, fitness-wise. I may even set a goal of another marathon, but we'll see how it goes.
I drill in Texas the weekend after the class wraps up.
Two days off, then Law School orientation starts.
A week after that, and it's Mavericks tryouts for Logan. I'm hopeful there might be some changes in the coming year. Hard to tell, though. We'll just play it by ear. Logan still seems to enjoy being on the team. I have some issues with the way the team is run, but overall, I think the positives outweigh the negatives. Sometimes we sports parents can get a little too critical in pursuit of the perfect experience for our little sportsters.
Speaking of, the coach of the High School basketball team arranges an open gym for the little kids once a week. Logan went for the first time, ever. I thought he did tremendously. I was very impressed. We've worked on his game a good bit over the past year, and the improvement really showed. I hope to get him to as many of these open gyms as possible. They arrange little games between teams with as many kids as show up.
Although I vaguely remember that he wasn't the tallest kid on his rec basketball teams last year, he's really gaining size lately. Both width and height. I swear, he's twice as wide as he was last year. He's also getting taller bit by bit.
He's going into the 5th grade, and I had a small growth spurt right about this time. I had a huge one between 6th and 7th grade. Sometime in the next few years, he'll be getting taller. His mother and I are not the tallest people you'll meet, but we're both taller than average.
It'll be interesting to see how things go.
This week, he's got football camp at Sylvania Southview. That's not the High School he'll likely go to, but the scheduling works out better. Northview's camp was during his swim season.
After that, conditioning starts for football in pads during the 2nd week in August. I'll be off in Dayton that week.
During that week, I also signed him up for Toledo Mudhens baseball camp. I'm not sure that's an overly important camp for him to attend, but they do work on some baseball stuff. He enjoys going.
So, for those who have not been following along on their own scorecard:
Logan just finished swimming.
We're starting basketball workouts.
He's got football camp this week.
Football in pads starts the week after that.
Baseball camp will be going on during the mornings during the first week of football.
Then, he has tryouts for the city's travel team at the end of the month.
Thing is, if we let him do more, he would. The kid is just a dynamo. At least we don't have skiing or swimming to contend with for a while, and he isn't into golf, yet.
I'm feeling pretty good about Law School right now. By that, I mean I think I know what to focus my time on in order to do reasonably well. I have no idea how this whole thing is going to go, but I feel prepared. Maybe not as well as I could be, but just enough to set my mind at ease.
So, things are about to get intense. I think Law School is not going to be difficult so much as it will be gruelling, especially with all my other committments.
I finally bought a couple of laser printers for the office and home so I can keep up with stuff more conveniently.
The other pre-law purchase I need to make is a good dishwasher. Washing dishes by hand just takes up too much time during the day. I bet I spend an hour on it every day.
The running workouts are going well. Man, I'm fat. I'm running 40 minutes a day, and squeezing in a rower workout whenever possible.
Really, when I think about efforts to keep weight off, the way that worked both best and longest was working out. I need to get back to running about an hour a day. I think if I can do that, I should be able to get to where I want, fitness-wise. I may even set a goal of another marathon, but we'll see how it goes.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Baseball, 17 years later
I'm re-watching the Ken Burns documentary "Baseball". It is every bit as good as his Civil War documentary. Fans of baseball should find plenty to love about it. Non-fans would become fans if the watched it.
The first time I watched it, of course, was when it first came out. 1994 was a heck of a year in baseball. The Cleveland Indians were actually a good baseball team for the first time in my lifetime that year. A strike shortened the season, though and there was no World Series.
My Grandpa Strebler would have loved to see the 90s Indians. He had been a fan his entire life. He was the same age as Bob Feller. My grandpa passed away in 1991. Bob Feller lived a little longer, but passed away last year.
Other characters from the documentary have passed away in the mean time, too. Buck O'Neil, passed away. So did Shelby Foote.
The funny thing is that as I watch the documentary, which highlights how much things have changed over time, I'm reminded how much things have changed for me over time.
In 1994, I was one year out of college. (Took me a looong time to finish.) Most of my friends didn't have very good jobs and if they did, they still didn't pay much, yet. I was young and hopeful. Life was pretty good.
My grandmother was a spry 75 years old at the time. She's still with us, but a lot of others have passed away. I was years away from having my son.
So much time has passed. So much water under the bridge in those 17 years. My life is nothing like it was back then. Where did the time go.
This year, the Indians are good again. They've never really fallen back to their pre-1994 dismalness in the years since. Modern Indians fans even think of the World Series as a possibility sometime in the foreseeable future.
The 17 years since I first saw this documentary were largely positive. I just hope the next 17 will be. I'm 46 years old, now. By then, I'll be 63. My son will be a decade out of High School. A few more of the important people from my childhood will probably be gone.
It's really been a crappy past few years for me. The business has been tough. My marriage is now gone. My son continues to be a perfect joy in every way.
It's nice to revisit this documentary with the drama of all the men who played the game throughout the years. It wasn't always good times. In the end, though, it was all part of one grand game that brought joy to a lot of people.
Let's hope I can say the same about my life in 17 years.
The first time I watched it, of course, was when it first came out. 1994 was a heck of a year in baseball. The Cleveland Indians were actually a good baseball team for the first time in my lifetime that year. A strike shortened the season, though and there was no World Series.
My Grandpa Strebler would have loved to see the 90s Indians. He had been a fan his entire life. He was the same age as Bob Feller. My grandpa passed away in 1991. Bob Feller lived a little longer, but passed away last year.
Other characters from the documentary have passed away in the mean time, too. Buck O'Neil, passed away. So did Shelby Foote.
The funny thing is that as I watch the documentary, which highlights how much things have changed over time, I'm reminded how much things have changed for me over time.
In 1994, I was one year out of college. (Took me a looong time to finish.) Most of my friends didn't have very good jobs and if they did, they still didn't pay much, yet. I was young and hopeful. Life was pretty good.
My grandmother was a spry 75 years old at the time. She's still with us, but a lot of others have passed away. I was years away from having my son.
So much time has passed. So much water under the bridge in those 17 years. My life is nothing like it was back then. Where did the time go.
This year, the Indians are good again. They've never really fallen back to their pre-1994 dismalness in the years since. Modern Indians fans even think of the World Series as a possibility sometime in the foreseeable future.
The 17 years since I first saw this documentary were largely positive. I just hope the next 17 will be. I'm 46 years old, now. By then, I'll be 63. My son will be a decade out of High School. A few more of the important people from my childhood will probably be gone.
It's really been a crappy past few years for me. The business has been tough. My marriage is now gone. My son continues to be a perfect joy in every way.
It's nice to revisit this documentary with the drama of all the men who played the game throughout the years. It wasn't always good times. In the end, though, it was all part of one grand game that brought joy to a lot of people.
Let's hope I can say the same about my life in 17 years.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Reaching Back Through the Years
Of all the tech zillionaires, I am starting to believe that Mark Zuckerberg is the most deserving. Granted, what he did from a technological standpoint isn't that impressive. He didn't create an operating system or a suite of products. He didn't invent the iEverything and 99 cent downloads.
What he's done, though, is to create a way for people to connect, re-connect and stay connected.
As a person who believes that your relationships are the most important thing in your life (next to your personal integrity), I just can't overstate how much this means to me.
Prior to Facebook, every now and then, I'd find a way to reconnect with an old friend. Tommy Meunier and I served in the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea together, within artillery range of the DMZ. We were both very young. I was 18 when we met and he was probably 19. We formed a fast friendship and served our tours.
In the pre-Facebook days, I was able to use the internet to find him again. I sometimes wondered if people thought I was some strange stalker back in those days. Probably once a month, somebody's name would pop into my head and I'd do a Yahoo search on them to see if I could find them. I'd shoot them an e-mail that was the equivalent of saying, "Hey, I stood next in line to you at 7-11 once. How have you been?"
I'm convinced that a lot of folks simply didn't remember me. Others just didn't have that much interest in re-connecting with an acquaintance from years or decades ago.
Facebook? It has really changed all that. It's so easy and natural to touch base with folks. This is Six Degrees of Separation taken to it's high-tech extreme.
One person I reconnected with just yesterday was a teacher I had in Junior High. He taught social studies and news staff. He was my 8th grade football coach. (He also cut me from the 7th grade basketball team... an act I can easily forgive since a different coach cut me from the 8th grade team.)
He instilled in me a love of journalism. He had been a professional sports writer for the Akron Beacon Journal prior to his teaching days. Although I decided (perhaps wrongly) that journalism wasn't the path I would take in life, this was part of the spark that made me a prolific (though usually not particularly interesting) writer for the rest of my life. (Hence, this blog.)
He was one of the teachers who really made a personal connection with students, the type of teacher whose name came up whenever me and my friends would talk about teachers we enjoyed, or who had excited us about some academic topic. He had a true gift.
One anectdote still stays with me about this teacher. I had written an editorial about a guy named David Toma, a sort of inspirational speaker who was the inspiration for the TV character "Baretta". Apparently some concerned parents groups had raised money so he could come to our school and give us a scared-straight type speech about the dangers of drugs.
Personally, I thought it was a big waste of time. The kids doing drugs weren't going to stop based on the speech and the rest of us who weren't doing drugs had to sit through the presentation, too.
So, I wrote an unflattering editorial about the speech. It came to the attention of the Junior High principal who called both me and my teacher into his office.
The intent was to ask me not to publish the editorial. Keep in mind, I was in the 9th grade at the time. 14 years old. When merely asking me not to publish the article wasn't working, the principal then said, "You realize that if you publish this article, we could get in trouble."
In a spirit of both cluelessness and 14 year old moxy, I replied, "And...?"
I saw my teacher out of the corner of my eye and instead of having a facial expression of, "hey, you 14 year old punk, how dare you act like getting me in trouble isn't any concern of yours", he was laughing. It was one of those laughs where he didn't want anybody to see him laughing (certainly not his boss, the principal), but he was laughing!
Chuckling so hard, no matter how he tried, he couldn't conceal it.
In the movies, we see all sorts of examples of people who will put their careers on the line in order to do the right thing. In real life, it's sad to say, we seldom do.
Ever the teacher, he taught me a very valuable lesson that day.
Even a 14 year old has the right to free expression. (Granted, in the context of a school, this has some limitations, none of which I approached by expressing a rational personal opinion on a public speaker.)
He taught me about the first amendment, which he taught in government class, and lived as a journalist. It is perhaps the most important of our freedoms. It may not occur to most people that the principal of a junior high is "the state", but he most certainly is.
To this day, I have a firm belief that individual rights are paramount in a free society. That people have a right to speak truth to power. That every voice should be heard. That even children are entitled to a viewpoint and personal rights.
Would I have come to this without this teacher? Perhaps. However, the events of that day have stuck with me for nearly 3 decades afterwards. I don't think it's a stretch to say that this lesson made an impression.
The other lesson from that day? That even when the fit hits the shan, such as your boss is ticked off and some 14 year old punk doesn't mind jeopardizing your job, sometimes the best thing to do is laugh.
It's a long hard ride if you don't have a sense of humor.
So, here's to great teachers and the ability to reconnect with them decades later. He's approaching retirement, now. I hope the years have been kind to him and will continue to be. He's thinking he would like to be a guide at a national historical site when he retires. If he does, I will make a point to make a trek so he can teach me for at least one more day.
What he's done, though, is to create a way for people to connect, re-connect and stay connected.
As a person who believes that your relationships are the most important thing in your life (next to your personal integrity), I just can't overstate how much this means to me.
Prior to Facebook, every now and then, I'd find a way to reconnect with an old friend. Tommy Meunier and I served in the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea together, within artillery range of the DMZ. We were both very young. I was 18 when we met and he was probably 19. We formed a fast friendship and served our tours.
In the pre-Facebook days, I was able to use the internet to find him again. I sometimes wondered if people thought I was some strange stalker back in those days. Probably once a month, somebody's name would pop into my head and I'd do a Yahoo search on them to see if I could find them. I'd shoot them an e-mail that was the equivalent of saying, "Hey, I stood next in line to you at 7-11 once. How have you been?"
I'm convinced that a lot of folks simply didn't remember me. Others just didn't have that much interest in re-connecting with an acquaintance from years or decades ago.
Facebook? It has really changed all that. It's so easy and natural to touch base with folks. This is Six Degrees of Separation taken to it's high-tech extreme.
One person I reconnected with just yesterday was a teacher I had in Junior High. He taught social studies and news staff. He was my 8th grade football coach. (He also cut me from the 7th grade basketball team... an act I can easily forgive since a different coach cut me from the 8th grade team.)
He instilled in me a love of journalism. He had been a professional sports writer for the Akron Beacon Journal prior to his teaching days. Although I decided (perhaps wrongly) that journalism wasn't the path I would take in life, this was part of the spark that made me a prolific (though usually not particularly interesting) writer for the rest of my life. (Hence, this blog.)
He was one of the teachers who really made a personal connection with students, the type of teacher whose name came up whenever me and my friends would talk about teachers we enjoyed, or who had excited us about some academic topic. He had a true gift.
One anectdote still stays with me about this teacher. I had written an editorial about a guy named David Toma, a sort of inspirational speaker who was the inspiration for the TV character "Baretta". Apparently some concerned parents groups had raised money so he could come to our school and give us a scared-straight type speech about the dangers of drugs.
Personally, I thought it was a big waste of time. The kids doing drugs weren't going to stop based on the speech and the rest of us who weren't doing drugs had to sit through the presentation, too.
So, I wrote an unflattering editorial about the speech. It came to the attention of the Junior High principal who called both me and my teacher into his office.
The intent was to ask me not to publish the editorial. Keep in mind, I was in the 9th grade at the time. 14 years old. When merely asking me not to publish the article wasn't working, the principal then said, "You realize that if you publish this article, we could get in trouble."
In a spirit of both cluelessness and 14 year old moxy, I replied, "And...?"
I saw my teacher out of the corner of my eye and instead of having a facial expression of, "hey, you 14 year old punk, how dare you act like getting me in trouble isn't any concern of yours", he was laughing. It was one of those laughs where he didn't want anybody to see him laughing (certainly not his boss, the principal), but he was laughing!
Chuckling so hard, no matter how he tried, he couldn't conceal it.
In the movies, we see all sorts of examples of people who will put their careers on the line in order to do the right thing. In real life, it's sad to say, we seldom do.
Ever the teacher, he taught me a very valuable lesson that day.
Even a 14 year old has the right to free expression. (Granted, in the context of a school, this has some limitations, none of which I approached by expressing a rational personal opinion on a public speaker.)
He taught me about the first amendment, which he taught in government class, and lived as a journalist. It is perhaps the most important of our freedoms. It may not occur to most people that the principal of a junior high is "the state", but he most certainly is.
To this day, I have a firm belief that individual rights are paramount in a free society. That people have a right to speak truth to power. That every voice should be heard. That even children are entitled to a viewpoint and personal rights.
Would I have come to this without this teacher? Perhaps. However, the events of that day have stuck with me for nearly 3 decades afterwards. I don't think it's a stretch to say that this lesson made an impression.
The other lesson from that day? That even when the fit hits the shan, such as your boss is ticked off and some 14 year old punk doesn't mind jeopardizing your job, sometimes the best thing to do is laugh.
It's a long hard ride if you don't have a sense of humor.
So, here's to great teachers and the ability to reconnect with them decades later. He's approaching retirement, now. I hope the years have been kind to him and will continue to be. He's thinking he would like to be a guide at a national historical site when he retires. If he does, I will make a point to make a trek so he can teach me for at least one more day.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Baseball, Barefoot Running, Road Trips, Government Contracting, Et Al...
Just finished a coast-to-coast road-trip with my brother in 2 days. The coasts we selected were the North and Gulf coasts. Left Toledo early in the morning on Tuesday morning and got back at 3:00 a.m. on Thursday. (Okay, 3 calendar days, but less than 48 hours.)
He's finishing up his business and I wanted to drive with him to deliver some equipment. Now that the biz is sold, he's moving to California, soon, with his girlfriend. They've really been two of my closest friends these past few years. I'll really miss them.
I'm hoping to meet some new people when I start school in the Fall. I live too much like a hermit. I need to get out and interact with folks.
It is ironic that being a father and being an entrepreneur can both be a little bit lonely sometimes. On the other hand, both of those pursuits lead to chances to meet people. I just haven't done a good job of that, yet.
During the long road trip, we listened to the audiobook of "born to run". Good stuff. I thought it was a barefoot running manifesto, but it was really a very interesting story. The barefoot running part only took up a couple of chapters.
I've decided I should try to toughen my feet up by barefoot walking on the treadmill and maybe gradually introduce some barefoot running.
I honestly believe that running shoes have prevented a lot of injuries and prolonged a lot of running careers. However, the point that really struck home was this: modern running shoes shield you from pain. The pain is there to teach you to run in a manner that is less likely to produce injury.
Makes sense. Modern running shoes have a lot of heel cushioning, which teaches us to overstride and heel-strike. The verdict is unanimous that the best footstrike for distance running is a midfoot strike. (Some truly advanced runners strike ball of foot, roll back to midfoot, then push off again with the ball.)
Yesterday, I covered a mile on the treadmill barefoot. Jogged for a couple tenths of a mile in there, too. It's obvious that the stride I've gained from years of running in cushioned trainers is absolutely not a good idea when barefoot.
There is a middle ground between big cushioned trainers and going barefoot, though. (Aside from things like the Vibarim 5 Fingers and the Nike Free.) A few manufacturers used to make shoes called racing flats. Generally, duffers like me were advised to never buy racing flats under any circumstances. They simply didn't have enough cushioning.
However, now, I'm thinking that a shoe like the ASICS DS Racer or the ASICS Gel Tarther might be a good compromise between going barefoot and going overly cushioned.
Business-wise, I am inspired for the first time in a long time. I really need to get my 8a certification and pursue some federal government business. I'll start running down this trail and see where it leads. Need to put together a GSA schedule and get my 8a certification. This could be the breakthrough I've been looking for.
I sold off my son's pitching machine in the Spring when I was broke. Probably a good thing. During the baseball season, ironically, we don't have much/any time to use the thing. However, for off-season workouts, it's a godsend. You shoot wiffle balls with it in the basement and the thing is an awesome training tool.
I bought an ATEC Rookie on advice from Clay (from Bases Loaded School in Murfreesboro) back when Logan was first starting coach-pitch. I always wish I'd bought the battery version.
They're pretty pricey, but I found a place online that had it listed for a ridiculously cheap price. I placed my order. We'll just have to see if they follow through or whether it was a typo.
At first, I used it for hitting, only, but I see the value of using it to train fielding, too. That's 90% of what I want it for right now.
They also make a soft-toss machine that doubles as a feeder. That'd be cool because then Logan can just go down in the basement and hit by himself if I am otherwise occupied.
Sometime before Law School starts, I need a new dishwasher. It's getting down to crunch time. I have 3 weeks off until I take my DAWIA class in August. After that, I have a week, then Law School orientation. I've done a lot of reading in preparation, but need to do a lot more. So far, the bulk of the value of this reading has come from getting the LEEWS system on CD. It's a system that teaches you how to approach Law School exams. During the first year, exams count for pretty much 100% of any grade we get. Any effort spent on tasks that don't improve your exam score are essentially wasted.
I dropped my phone and it broke. My Sprint rep told me I could file for a replacement under my insurance. However, I'm a little leery that they're going to send me a refurb. Oh well, if they do, it's only a few months until I am eligible for an upgrade, anyway. I owned the phone for less than a year. Love the thing. Would love to have another. However, the thought of getting some crappy refurb is less than enticing.
I'm off to get my car fixed. The cylinders that hold the hatch open look like they're busted. I looked at one and it looked like it developed a leak. Should be a quick and relatively inexpensive fix.
He's finishing up his business and I wanted to drive with him to deliver some equipment. Now that the biz is sold, he's moving to California, soon, with his girlfriend. They've really been two of my closest friends these past few years. I'll really miss them.
I'm hoping to meet some new people when I start school in the Fall. I live too much like a hermit. I need to get out and interact with folks.
It is ironic that being a father and being an entrepreneur can both be a little bit lonely sometimes. On the other hand, both of those pursuits lead to chances to meet people. I just haven't done a good job of that, yet.
During the long road trip, we listened to the audiobook of "born to run". Good stuff. I thought it was a barefoot running manifesto, but it was really a very interesting story. The barefoot running part only took up a couple of chapters.
I've decided I should try to toughen my feet up by barefoot walking on the treadmill and maybe gradually introduce some barefoot running.
I honestly believe that running shoes have prevented a lot of injuries and prolonged a lot of running careers. However, the point that really struck home was this: modern running shoes shield you from pain. The pain is there to teach you to run in a manner that is less likely to produce injury.
Makes sense. Modern running shoes have a lot of heel cushioning, which teaches us to overstride and heel-strike. The verdict is unanimous that the best footstrike for distance running is a midfoot strike. (Some truly advanced runners strike ball of foot, roll back to midfoot, then push off again with the ball.)
Yesterday, I covered a mile on the treadmill barefoot. Jogged for a couple tenths of a mile in there, too. It's obvious that the stride I've gained from years of running in cushioned trainers is absolutely not a good idea when barefoot.
There is a middle ground between big cushioned trainers and going barefoot, though. (Aside from things like the Vibarim 5 Fingers and the Nike Free.) A few manufacturers used to make shoes called racing flats. Generally, duffers like me were advised to never buy racing flats under any circumstances. They simply didn't have enough cushioning.
However, now, I'm thinking that a shoe like the ASICS DS Racer or the ASICS Gel Tarther might be a good compromise between going barefoot and going overly cushioned.
Business-wise, I am inspired for the first time in a long time. I really need to get my 8a certification and pursue some federal government business. I'll start running down this trail and see where it leads. Need to put together a GSA schedule and get my 8a certification. This could be the breakthrough I've been looking for.
I sold off my son's pitching machine in the Spring when I was broke. Probably a good thing. During the baseball season, ironically, we don't have much/any time to use the thing. However, for off-season workouts, it's a godsend. You shoot wiffle balls with it in the basement and the thing is an awesome training tool.
I bought an ATEC Rookie on advice from Clay (from Bases Loaded School in Murfreesboro) back when Logan was first starting coach-pitch. I always wish I'd bought the battery version.
They're pretty pricey, but I found a place online that had it listed for a ridiculously cheap price. I placed my order. We'll just have to see if they follow through or whether it was a typo.
At first, I used it for hitting, only, but I see the value of using it to train fielding, too. That's 90% of what I want it for right now.
They also make a soft-toss machine that doubles as a feeder. That'd be cool because then Logan can just go down in the basement and hit by himself if I am otherwise occupied.
Sometime before Law School starts, I need a new dishwasher. It's getting down to crunch time. I have 3 weeks off until I take my DAWIA class in August. After that, I have a week, then Law School orientation. I've done a lot of reading in preparation, but need to do a lot more. So far, the bulk of the value of this reading has come from getting the LEEWS system on CD. It's a system that teaches you how to approach Law School exams. During the first year, exams count for pretty much 100% of any grade we get. Any effort spent on tasks that don't improve your exam score are essentially wasted.
I dropped my phone and it broke. My Sprint rep told me I could file for a replacement under my insurance. However, I'm a little leery that they're going to send me a refurb. Oh well, if they do, it's only a few months until I am eligible for an upgrade, anyway. I owned the phone for less than a year. Love the thing. Would love to have another. However, the thought of getting some crappy refurb is less than enticing.
I'm off to get my car fixed. The cylinders that hold the hatch open look like they're busted. I looked at one and it looked like it developed a leak. Should be a quick and relatively inexpensive fix.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)