mav

Well, I had to take off a couple of days from that first run. That next day someone at work commented that I was walking like someone shoved their foot up my butt and left it there. Tonights run was a little easier and a little better time. 26:05 total, 8:54, 17:44, 26:05. I am hoping I can hit 25:00 the next run. Just to clarify my situation, I am not going from couch potato to going out and running three miles. I never do cardio, but I do heavy (at least to me) weight training everyday M-F for 30 minutes during my lunch hour. Sometime last year I got a wild hair up my butt and I decided I was going to run. I started running about 3-4 times a week for 3-5 miles. My best time for 3 miles was 24:03. I quit after 5 months due to achilles tendon irritation and the fact that I hate to run. I loved the cardio benefit I got from running, just hated the process. Well, the wild hair has grown back, so I figured I will give it another shot. I doubt I will ever get in the sub 20 range because I really don't want to train for it. I think I could push myself to hit maybe 21-22 minutes without a regimented training program, and that is good enough for me.

Rogers Shooting School - Reactive Shooting Training I have been looking for some quality practical handgun training not too far from Chattanooga. Elijay, GA is a little drive from Chattanooga, but I work in Calhoun, so it doesn't seem all that far. While going to the indoor range is valuable, I feel that I am missing something. I pray that I never have to use my handgun in a defensive situation. If I do, I don't think the threat will be standing still waiting for me to shoot them.

I'm a chemist as well. I took two courses in economics, Micro and Macro. That was a long time ago, and I can't recall anything I did in the classes. I read three books earlier in the year on economics, Freakanomics, Basic Economics (Thomas Sowell), and Applied Economics (Thomas Sowell). Freakanomics was an interesting read. The two Sowell books were good, but very boring. They weren't quite as boring as Atlas Shrugged, but boring nonetheless.

I just picked up a copy of "Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century" by Thomas E. Woods Jr. I will start reading it tonight. I don't normally read political books since all they do is tend to tick me off, but this one looked pretty good and had some good reviews. Vince Flynn's new novel is coming out next week. That is definitely on my buy list. I don't know if you guys are familiar with Flynn. He writes action/espionage-type books. If you liked the show "24" and like to read, then I highly recommend Flynn's books.

I don't think I have ever made a bad handgun purchase. I have made some hasty purchases which I should have thought out a little more. Since I just got into firearms just last year, I think I have done pretty well with what I have chosen. FNH Five-Seven: my first handgun (good) FNH FNP-45: (good) FNH FNP-9: (hasty, traded) Kimber Tactical II HD: (hasty, traded) Kimber Ultra Raptor II: (hasty, traded) FNH SLP Mark 1 (x 2): (can't really comment on it since I have never shot it, nor has my brother shot the one I bought for him) Ruger Mark III Hunter: (excellent after some Volquartsen trigger and grip modifications) Sig X-5 L1: (outstanding) Wilson CQB: (good) Glock 34: (good) Nighthawk Custom T3: (good, my EDC) Springfield Professional: (haven't received it yet, Willis' reputation on the line)

I can't comment on the XD, but I can share some thoughts on the Glock 34. I purchased a new Glock 34 several months ago. I have put over 1k rounds through it with no problems whatsoever. Feel and ergonomics: It isn't bad, but sort of blocky to my taste. Sights: Okay. Trigger: It is better than a lot of guns I have picked up. However, the trigger feels a little spongy to me, but it isn't bad at all. Accuracy: Not too bad Reliability: No question there. It is a tank. I just ordered some Dawson Precision sights (adjustable target rear with fiber optic front) and a Vanek drop-in trigger for my Glock 34. While they weren't needed, I would like to make my 34 just a little bit better. Am I pleased with it, and would I buy another one in the future? Absolutely.

Welcome.

While I would never classify myself as moderate (pretty far right actually), well said. I am sure that people have conned me out of a little money in the past. But the way I look at is I have no idea whether they are sincere or not, so I often give them the benefit of the doubt. Now, if you get me on the topic of bailing people out on their homes because the paid too much for it and now they are upside down, I shift far to the right very quickly.

I agree.

I have to admit that this has been a good topic. It has definitely been an eye opener on many different levels. I am actually amazed at the level of rigid libertarianism that I have seen in this thread and on several other forums. While their policy is good in that the responsibility is left with the homeowner, which I am certain that everyone that has posted agrees that is where the responsibility should lie, the policy could be made better without sacrificing the homeowner's responsibility. As I have posted several times, I believe it can. A fire fighting policy for the rural areas could be written that stated that homeowner is solely responsible for his or her property. Fire protection can be voluntarily purchased for $75 on an annual basis. If the owner opts not to purchase the fire protection, the fire dept. is under no obligation to respond to a fire incident on their property. If a response is requested, the homeowner will be liable for the entire cost of firefighting measures. The cost will be $600 per hour. While we can't do anything about what happened in this incident, we can certainly do something better in the future. The policy of either pay us up front or screw you, IMHO, sucks. We can still be somewhat flexible and decent without putting the taxpayer on the hook for someone's lack of personal responsibility. Reagarding the rigid libertarianism I have seen here and other forums, I sure hope that everyone that takes that stance is a taxpayer. According to the latest figures (from what I remember), roughly 48% do not pay federal income taxes. If we took the same approach, we could basically say that if you don't pay, then you get no access to federal services. If we are to survive as a nation without going bankrupt, we certainly need to move towards people taking more personal responsibility with their lives and reducing the number of freeloaders. We just need to do it smartly and with a sense of decency. How is it done? I have no idea. But, I don't think the pay up or piss-off is the way to go about it.

I see cars daily with Obama/Biden stickers on their cars, and they still have their windows intact. I understand where you are coming from with those questions. Personally, I don't ever think about it. While I don't own any of those type shirts, I would have no problem wearing one out in public. I doubt anyone would really notice or care for that matter. It seems to me that most people are lost in their own little world when they are out in public. For those who might notice and have a dislike for firearms, well, they can get bent. You have a permit and a right to carry a firearm.

I like them both. I didn't know they still made Mary Janes. I see they still make candy corn, and I have no idea why. Candy corn and those marshmallow circus peanuts are just plain nasty.

While I do have some criticism for how the fire dept. acted to the situation, it is nothing like the criticism for the policy itself. As stated earlier, I would have no problem with the policy if it stated that the fire dept will respond to the situation if the owner requests such a response. If said owner has not paid the fire protection fee, they are liable for the entire cost of the fire fighting response. In regards to putting one's money where their mouth is, I pay a butt load in taxes and I see on a daily basis all the government waste. I would not mind if my tax dollars went to putting out a fire for someone who was totally irresponsible. Look at all the billions if not trillions we have spent on the bailouts, which if you boil it all down, deals with personal responsibility or the lack thereof. Additionally, due to the caveat I would have put in the policy, the owner would bear the cost of such action. I understand that the current policy does not have such disclaimer, and that action from the fire dept. was contractually correct. However, it seems that they could look at this bad situation, and do some fine tuning to their policy.

I haven't heard anything about them, but I did run across that site about a year ago. I would love to do one of those type classes. However, I don't think I could make it past eating insects unless I really had to. I am no Bear Grylls.

You know what is really crappy about the while situation? While they wouldn't respond to his call, they responded to his neighbor. They were at the scene and they could have done something after they finished the neighbor's property (the one who paid the $75). That is what really irked me; they were on the scene. I understand the whole personal responsibility issue, and I agree. However, there are extenuating circumstances, such as a fire, when we can give that little extra even though someone was being irresponsible. As stated earlier, they should have put the fire out and billed him the total expense of putting the fire out.

I am totally fine with that. $2000-3000 lost to a service charge is better than losing everything.

I think this was an absolute shame. I understand the whole contract issue, but geeze louise. Thankfully nobody was stuck inside the house unable to get out. I swear, there are times that I hate all the government crap. Most of us pay a fortune in taxes, and the government wastes a large portion of it. How many boob jobs, lcd televisions, etc... were bought by some of the hurricane Katrina victims with the taxpayers money being handed out. But, we can't save a neighbor's house because he didn't pay $75. I guess the golden rule no longer applies. Due to this tragic incident, I feel that their policy should be rewritten. They should state in their contract that the fire department will respond to all incidents, but if you have not paid the annual fire protection fee, you will pay the full cost of the firefighting crew. I think that is fair.

Back when I bought my FNP-45, FNH was offering a shooter's pack which consisted of a holster. The holster is owb and made by Blade-tech. It is a very good holster. I have and use Blade-tech holsters for all of my guns except my 1911s (Nighthawk Custom Aristocrat holster) and my Five-Seven (Fobus holster).

I know what you mean. I knew Chattanooga had crime, but I had no idea it was that bad. The area they posted in Chattanooga is pretty crappy. I remember back when I was attending UTC, a guy walked up to my car while I was at the red light at Palmetto and McCallie and asked me to give him $10. I refused. He then asked me to give him a ride. I refused that request as well. He then proceeded into trying open my car door. Scared the crap out of me. Lucky for me the light had changed and I drove off. I didn't own a gun, nor could I afford one at the time.

Planning on buying anything while you are there? Maybe you guys will get lucky like I did. It took me a little less than 3 weeks to get my HCP.

I have no idea what got into me tonight, but as I was perusing TGO I decided I was going to go run tonight. The weather was nice, so why not. I put on my clothes, jumped in the car, and drove over to our local high school track. I walked the first lap to warmup, and then started to run. I haven't ran in about 6 months, but I was determined to get in three miles without walking. The first mile wasn't bad, but not good either, 9:31. I didn't really feel all that winded so I decided to pick up the pace. After the 6th lap, I had to keep encouraging myself not to quit. At the 2 mile mark, I was feeling pretty rough, 18:18. After 10 laps, I started praying that I wouldn't have a heart attack. Either through determination or foolishness, I wasn't going to quit. I finally completed the 12th lap and my time was 26:53. While the time isn't very good, I think it is okay considering the long layoff. I don't think I will be doing this again this week. That was the closest I came to puking while exercising. It sucks getting old.

I took quite a few private lessons after acquiring my HCP. I am wanting to take some practical training classes where I am actually moving and shooting. The biggest problem I have encountered is finding classes that are offered which not too far from Chattanooga.

You need to quit posting all this super nice stuff. I don't want to spend anymore money. You posted a Springfield Professional, and a week later I ended up ordering one myself. I won't be buying a new knife, even though your new acquisition is very tempting. Since I work in GA, where it is legal to carry an automatic, I carry my Combat Troodon M-F. Other than that, I will stick my my cheap Benchmade. It is nothing fantastic, but it still gets the job done.

I have seen it a couple of times. I ran across it several months ago. Fantastic movie.

Very nice. That is too nice and expensive for me to use as a my EDC knife.