Six Mile Trails

     Sometime around 1980 I got my first motorcycle, a 1976 Kawasaki KX 125.  It isn’t possible to explain the elation that went through my 10 year old brain as this was still the On Any Sunday era.  We lived out in the county and I learned to ride on some private property with a few trails and lease roads near our house.  Once I learned the ropes and kept the bike vertical most of the time, I was graduated to the Six Mile Trails in Midland.

     The trails are bordered by Interstate 20 and Business Loop 20 (old Highway 80) between Loop 250 and South County Road 1250 in Midland County.  At the time I started riding there, 1250 was still dirt.  I remember the impressive sight of a mile of pickups parked on the service road lined up bumper-to-bumper with motorcycles buzzing everywhere.  It was an intimidating place for young riders, but the old salts were quick to show me the ropes.  The riders established the direction  and other courtesy rules of travel on the course, and I soon learned to get out of the faster riders’ way.  The trail system had four major lobes that adjoined a central circular track around an old windmill tank near a “buffalo wallow.” 

     Sunday was the big day for the trails, with dozens if not a hundred spending the day at the track.  My family would pack lunch and drinks along with enough pit gear to keep me going through the day.  My mom usually watched in horror as I tore up the dirt with the much older and more experienced riders.  Trail riding is different than motocross, and this is where I discovered the zen-like state that a long motorcycle ride delivers.  Even a kid experiences stress, and I was happy to leave my worries on the track. 

     As I entered high school we moved closer to the Six Mile Trails.  I was now able to hit the trails in the evening and summer days when almost no one else was there.  My cousin and I discovered that we could reach the trails with a short trip down a county road to the dirt.  The trails would take us all the way to the National Truck Stop where we could refuel and score snacks and drinks. 

     During my first semester at Midland College, my Kawasaki KLR 250 was my only mode of transport, rain or shine.  While the KLR is a perfect dual-sport machine, I learned quickly that the wear-and-tear of trail riding makes it tough to get to school in the morning.  More than once the odd mesquite-flattened tire caused me to be late for class.  I once lost a license plate after crushing it between the tire and fender on a jump.  Still, the trails were a great escape.

     I didn’t own a motorcycle again until 2003.  I still made trips to Six Mile Trails, but this time it was on a mountain bike.  I worked evenings and would make morning trips to get a workout.  This is when I noticed the end of the trails coming.  Four-wheel ATV’s were becoming the norm, and they changed the shape of the trails.  There were now two “ruts” instead of a concave cross section, and it altered the feel and speed on two wheels.  The biggest change was that the trails were very popular and people began centering around the lake bed instead of alongside the road.  For some reason, riders started cutting numerous new trails near the lake bed to the point that it was tough to discern the original trails.  Accidents were becoming more prevalent, and it was common to see four helmetless kids piled onto a four wheeler while drunk parents looked on.  Much of the land was owned by the City of Midland, and one day the “no trespassing” signs popped up and the sheriff’s office began enforcing the closing.

     The Regional Planning Commission built a police driving track on the north side of the trails sometime around 2000 and the trails evolved around the driving track.  Agri-Empressa purchased a large chunk on the east side that fenced off the southeast loop.  I drove by the site in January of 2013 and saw that most of the property is being developed and the remaining trails are disappearing into vegetation.

          It is also the site of the best snipe hunt ever conducted.  Sometime around 2004 when I was a patrolman for the Midland County Sheriff's Office, I rolled up on a suspicious vehicle inside the circular lake bed track one winter night.  It was a group of teens, and one of them came running up to me.  She explained that it was a snipe hunt for an out-of-state relative who desperately deserved practical joke revenge.  It was a slow night, so I told the girl to act scared as the other kids walked up to see what was going on.  I put the word out over the radio and was soon joined by a couple more deputies and the high sheriff himself.  I began reading the Endangered Species Act (well, I made it up) and explained that the snipe was endangered and snipe hunters could be subjected to a hefty fine.  All was going according to plan until one of the co-conspirators broke out laughing.  The victim conceded that revenge was duly served, and we all posed for a photograph with the kids.  The mark was featured with his snipe stick and bag in hand.

     I’m saddened to see Six Mile Trails fade away, but it’s the price of a strong economy. Not only is it where I found a love for motorcycling, it is where I flew model rockets with my son, hunted rabbits with my cousins, and had tailgate parties with high school friends.  I miss the dirt bike days, but my  Councours 14 and miles of open road does the trick these days.

    The photo is dated 1996.  The major trails are visible, but the newer trails can be seen.

     I’m sure there are others with memories or historical info about the trails.  Please comment and share your story!

 

The Vegan Experiment

     I recently met with a friend I hadn’t seen in several months.  He dropped 45 pounds and looked and felt great.  He told me that the movie “Forks Over Knives” had introduced him to a vegan diet that led him to a healthy meatless existence.  I watched the movie and read over the Engine 2 diet.  These guys link the consumption of meat to just about every health problem known to man, much like the “Wheat Belly” folks demonize wheat products.    They approached it from a nutrition standpoint with no mention of animal rights or anything on that avenue.  After discussing his diet, I told him I believed the weight loss came from reducing “white” carbohydrates and junk food, not the elimination of meat.  I decided it was time to prove a point.

     I read up on Engine 2’s 28 Day Challenge, in which the diet’s creator, Rip Esselstyn, promotes a plant-based diet that fueled him through his career as a professional triathlete.   Go ahead, read the last two words again.  Got it?  That’s right, PRO triathlete.  I haven’t done any endurance racing in a while, so I decided to brush up on distance running during the 28 day experiment since I’m between fencing tournaments for a while.

     Boring diets are no stranger to me.  It’s the price you pay to lose weight, and I used to tip the scales at 250 plus pounds.  At the end of the 28 day period, I was up five pounds and couldn’t wait to get back to an omnivore lifestyle.  I’d like to share my observations with you:

1.        I’m pretty sure even God hates kale. 

2.       I have no problem with tofu as its creators intended.  It is an abomination to attempt to pass it off as anything else. 

3.       It was easier to stay hydrated

4.        I actually had dreams about eating meat.

 

5.       I added three additional workouts (weights and treadmill) per week in addition to my regular fencing regimen and still gained weight. I watched caloric intake to make sure I was eating enough- failure to do so can cause weight gain.

6.       A wheat-based breakfast left me fighting for consciousness by 10:00am. 

7.       A little fiber in your diet will make you regular.  An all-fiber diet will make you unstoppable. 

8.       The veggie version of any meat product should be against federal law. 

9.       I slept better and never had any heartburn or indigestion. 

10.   I now know why I don’t like most vegans.  It’s not their fault they don’t socialize well.  They spend most of their lives eating horrible food while staying hungry the whole time, they can’t eat any food commonly found at restaurants or parties, they’re broke from buying food from niche stores, they have a constant ringing headache and can’t be more than five minutes away from a bathroom. 

     I ended the diet by taking down a 12 pack of tacos.  I did gain some skill in making vegetables more interesting.  I’m still a believer that meats in moderation are important and vegetables are more than just a side dish.  I’ve added more whole foods to the mix.  Most importantly, I proved to myself that wheat is my personal dietary greatest evil.  I can say I gave Engine 2 a solid try and it failed for me.  I’m firmly convinced that we are products of our individual evolutions and there’s no one perfect diet for anyone. 

Your First Telescope

     The West Texas Astronomers recently held a presentation at the Blakemore Planetarium that featured a show-and-tell view of popular “first” telescopes.  There is no better way to crush a budding young astronomer’s spirits than cheaply constructed gear.  What’s presented here is a consensus of local amateur astronomer opinions as to what will ensure the best observing experience without breaking the bank.

    We tend to avoid buying used things as gifts.  That’s usually the best way to extend your astro-dollar, but it’s understandable that hand-me-downs aren’t popular under the tree.  If you stick to the basics listed below and come across good used stuff, you may go bigger for the same or less money.  Astronomy gear tends to be well cared for and makes for an excellent value.  I’ve never owned a new scope!

     The first rule is to NOT purchase from discount, sporting goods, electronics or department stores.  It is very rare that reasonable quality scopes are found in such places.  The brand names populating our astronomy club’s list are Orion, Celestron, Meade and Vixen.  While these brands range from middle to higher quality gear, some of their less expensive gear doesn’t fit the bill for a beginner.  These brands are usually found only in astronomy shops.

     Without going into great detail, there are two types of telescopes in the price range for beginners: Newtonian reflector and refractor.  A refractor uses a main lens to collect light and focus it to a point where it can be viewed through an eyepiece.  This is the typical tube telescope we’re used to seeing.  Binoculars and spotting scopes work in this manner.  A Newtonian reflector collects the light with a large mirror which focuses the light to a second smaller mirror and then the eyepiece.   Larger diameters collect more light which allows the observer to see dimmer objects.  Of the two designs, the reflector gives more light collecting ability than the refractor for the same money, generally speaking.

     It makes no difference what “power” the telescope is.  Quality scopes advertising magnification power are, generally speaking, not worth having.  There are quality optics like binoculars and fixed-power spotting scopes where this number is important, but astronomical scopes have to be a bit more flexible.  Interchangeable eyepieces are used in astronomy to vary the field of view and magnification power to suit the conditions and the object viewed.  Very seldom is maximum magnification used.  Remember, diameter is king.

     The reflector with its larger diameter will provide good views of the moon, planets and stars with the added advantage of seeing some deep-sky objects like galaxies and nebulae.  Refractors in the same price range are less likely to see the “faint fuzzies” in deep-sky viewing but typically work for planetary and lunar work.  The refractor is a bit more durable and maintenance-free than the reflector.  Reflectors require collimation, which is the aligning of the mirror.  It’s a little tricky to learn but not impossible.  Fortunately there are some good YouTube videos on the topic in addition to several sites explaining the process. 

     Finally, you have to decide on a mount.  The general consensus of the locals is that the Dobsonian is king of the beginner mounts.  It’s a cradle that holds the scope tube like a cannon barrel.  It stays at a reasonable height and there’s very little setup involved.  Don’t worry, as you expand your interest in the hobby you’ll be able to spend thousands on a suitable mount.  I started with a “Dob” and it’s still a favorite.  The mount was invented for “sidewalk” astronomy at star parties.

     Here come the specifics.  The highest overall recommended scope by our local club is the Orion SkyQuest XT6 Classic Dobsonian.  At $309 shipped, it’s a turn-key setup with everything needed to get started.  As for refractors, the Meade Terrastar 90 and Vixen Space Eye 70 are good values.  The refractors come with a tripod.  Make sure the scope you pick comes with an eyepiece or two.  Prices fluctuate, especially around the holidays, so make sure you search for the best deal.

     Entire books have been written about eyepieces, and they can get extremely expensive.  The most hardcore amateur astronomers I know still have a few $20 eyepieces as spares.  These are a very popular item to trade among other stargazers.  Just about any scope can use something in the 10, 15 and 20mm range.

     If you’re willing to spend a little more money, larger diameter never hurts!  Keep in mind that larger scopes get heavy, so check the specs.  Computer guidance  is nice, but it’s always best to start with an unguided scope to browse and learn the sky.  Pick up a star chart, Google Sky phone app or Stellarium and you’re set for stargazing!

     I strongly recommend hitting a star party or two WITH your scope.  You'll receive plenty of friendly support from your local astronomy club.  Any input is appreciated, so please feel free to leave comments!

ABC News: Bring a Phone to a Gun Fight

     In my previous post I shared the results of my informal survey about how and when armed citizens and off-duty police carry firearms.  I decided to run the survey and write about it after I ran across this ABC News story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QjZY3WiO9s.

     In this story, ABC News seems to be telling us that the best action in an active shooter situation is to dial 911 and play dead.  They run an experiment designed to show us the ineffectiveness of armed citizens, and that it’s best to wait for professionals.  There are several problems with their story, and I hope the police instructors participating in the study were edited in such a manner as to look supportive of ABC’s opinion.  If not, they should be ashamed of themselves.

     ABC took some college students, ran them through a class taught by police instructors with Simmunition guns and trained them with more hands-on work than most states’ CHL requirements.  Each student is placed in a classroom while armed with their Simmunition Glock and surprised when an active shooter barges in the classroom and shoots the place up.  ABC is quick to jump on them for failures and mistakes while ignoring their own.

     First, the bad guys in the study are trained police instructors.  They are inoculated against the stressors in the simulation and do not act as all shooters would in the same situation.  The students are in a classroom and it takes them a while to understand that they are in a simulated shooting.  I believe they would respond sooner in an actual shooting.  People take more risks with training gear.  They push their luck because they want to learn limits that will save their lives later.  The bad guys in the study did something in the video that I believe is a real possibility in the real world:  When the test subjects returned fire, they stopped shooting random people and fixated on the person returning fire.   This will save lives.

     Also, think of how many shooters have been arrested after the shooting.  It turns out that some of them don’t want to be shot.  This would cause them to take cover or engage anyone firing at them.  Lives would be spared because anyone else could flee.

     ABC makes a huge statement about tunnel vision and how it causes a person to fixate on a target while ignoring innocent bystanders.  I’d like to note that none of the students shot a bystander.  They hit the bad guy, the floor and a wall.  ABC cites two shootings by citizens to support their stance.  In the first, a man shot his wife in their home.  It seems that he thought she was an intruder.  I see absolutely no correlation to the topic at hand.  That is poor judgment and failure to identify the target.  It’s not tunnel vision during a mass murder.  In the second, a clerk defends against an armed intruder and fires past a woman holding a small child.  They make a point that he fired inches away from the child, but again I see no relation to the topic at hand.  He didn’t hit the kid and he made the bad man go away.

     ABC wants us to play dead, call 911 and wait for the professionals.  This point is followed up by how even the professionals screw up shootings by hitting the wrong people.  They also make every mistake just as the study subjects did, and for the reasons they did.  They are humans  and training degrades if not repeated.  Modern police are trained in responding to active shooters, but the shooting is usually over before they arrive.

     I don’t find this study to be good science.  It seems to be politically motivated and not based on reality.  There are few active shooters stopped by armed citizens because a mass murderer chooses the crime scene based on probability of success.  They seek kill zones where the cops are far away and there is a confined mass of unarmed people to slaughter.

     In mass shooting, time equals human life.  The maximum number of barrels on the bad guy means less time and more people survive.  Opinions on firearm ownership are like politics and religion.  They are not based on fact, they are cultural.  This is a clear case of bias to align with one’s belief while ignoring reality.  There is no replacement for good training, and the vast majority of armed citizens have very little.  Many police don’t have enough and they probably won’t be there before the shooting is over anyway.

     The cultural fear of firearms produces kill zones where mass murderers do their work.  Teaching citizens to disarm, play dead and call 911 increases a murder’s success.  Firearms are a part of the American culture that will never go away.  They were here when the U.S. formed and can never be completely eliminated.  Mass murdering active shooters are an evil that the government cannot protect us from.  They will get their weapons no matter what laws are on the books, and they will kill as many innocent people as possible.  I am thankful to be surrounded by the people in my survey who choose to stand against murderers and those who seek to improve their success.   

Armed and Concealed; The Survey

In the wake of all the recent active shooter incidents, I decided to take a survey of my Facebook friends to get a picture of our level of preparedness.  I have no way of knowing who participated, but I’m guessing most are in the Midland area.  I will be using the data to refute some claims against armed citizen’s effectiveness in mass shooting incidents.

First, the survey asked if the person had a concealed handgun license (CHL) or not, and asked if they were a peace officer or similar person.  14 responded as having no CHL, 20 with a CHL and 19 were peace officers.  The most common firearm is a full-sized automatic followed by a compact.  22 carry a spare magazine and 11 carry two spares.  16 people responding carry more than 17 rounds.  Peace officers were asked to answer the survey referring to their habits of carrying a weapon off-duty.

12 reported carrying their weapon inside a vehicle and two of them were peace officers.  All of the unlicensed folks carry in their car.  94% of respondents carry a phone.  Half said they carry a knife and/or flashlight.

I expected fewer CHL licensees to carry outside of the vehicle based on my experience as a CHL instructor asking renewal customers about their experience.  Most tended to carry less as time went on, much like rookie cops.  It’s encouraging to see holster use high, with 19 using a holster and 11 carrying in a waistband.  I hope the waistband people can be encouraged to adopt some sort of holster.  It’s hard to put up a fight when your firearm is in your pants leg or laying in the parking lot.

The survey showed a majority tilt toward good decisions when carrying a concealed firearm in public.  Peace officers showed a higher tendency to carry in a holster on their person and have more ammo available.  They also tend to carry a full-size firearm a little more often.   While this survey does nothing to evaluate skill and experience, it does show that armed citizens are very close to sworn peace officers in the equipment department.  It’s also worth noting that in places where concealed handguns are not allowed, half of the people in the survey would be disarmed. 

My recommendations for concealment have always been the same:  Full size or compact firearm (no nano-guns), strong-side holster, at least 12 rounds and a cell phone.  I’m happy to see this as a trend.  It’s not something I dreamed up, it’s just a matter of good sense based on experience.  Nano guns are tough to use.  Only movie stars can run a half-marathon through back alleys and not lose the .45 stashed in the waistband of their boxers. 

A mass shooter picks the crime scene based on the probability of success.  They’re looking for condensed targets like a crowd jammed in a doorway, close distances, and the likelihood that no one will resist them.  They will do their damage within the police response time.  All it takes is a single, well-placed opponent to stop them.

Thought for Food

It’s been a year since I started following the Slow Carb Diet from Tim Ferriss' The Four Hour Body.  I’m still lighter than I was in high school and wondering why it took me 41 years to figure this out.  Friends have sent me links to books and movies that, for the most part, align with Slow Carb, Glycemic Index and Paleo thought.  If you're looking for some diet info, here's your summer reading/watching list!

The next book to come along was the book Wheat Belly (http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/).  Dr. William Davis explains how the wheat we consume now is not the same plant our grandparent’s ate and how elimination of wheat from one’s diet causes a significant health increase. 

Next was the movie Fat Head, which is a response to Supersize Me.  The latter is about a vegetarian who eats at McDonalds for a month and gains weight.  Fat Head is about a regular guy who also eats at McDonalds for a month while limiting carbohydrate intake and loses weight while improving his cholesterol levels.

Both Fat Head and Wheat Belly assert that starchy foods like potatoes, rice and breads are metabolized just like table sugar.  I was one of the people who thought that whole-grain cereal with low-fat milk was a healthful way to start the day.  I’ve since learned that I was biochemically ensuring that I would store fat no matter what I did or ate.  It’s a function of the glycemic index.  The general assertion is that our ability to process a high-carb diet has not evolved as fast as our ability to create it, hence the Paleo diet.

For years I wondered why calorie counting failed and eating whole grains wasn’t doing the trick.  Apparently birds are the only creatures on the planet well suited for consuming large amounts of grain.  I miss eating pasta and other wheat products on a regular basis, but I’ve become conditioned to looking forward to the one-day-a-week food orgy where I eat anything I want.  Re-setting the clock and quieting the beast is an important part of the diet.

Yet another friend told me that he lost 45 pounds on a plant-based diet after watching Forks Over Knives.  This documentary says that meat consumption causes cancer.  I can see the weight loss coming from the fact that refined grains are out of the picture too.  I’m not going to take the vegan plunge anytime soon, but I do eat more beans and greens than before.  A decent steak, plate of fajitas or chicken stir-fry is one of the few meals I look forward to. 

On an interesting note, I once tried vegetarian hamburger patties.  They’re not all that bad, but it’s not sirloin.  I had an elevated cholesterol level most likely caused by eating egg yolks because I had become too busy/lazy to boil ahead of time and eat only the whites.  I was downing about 6-8 eggs worth of omletes per day!  For about a month I lived on vegetarian meat substitute products.  It’s not bad, but damn sure not the real thing.  The result?  I gained weight even though I was working out regularly and otherwise maintaining the slow carb regimen.  The culprit was wheat gluten that was present in all of the vegetarian junk.  I went back to lean meat and chicken and the weight went away.  Once the egg yolks were gone the cholesterol got back in line.

There’s no denying that your genes define how you metabolize food, but there’s also no doubt that our average high carb and sugar diets are the cause of mass obesity.  The most common response to the Slow Carb diet is “I can’t go without my [insert processed wheat product here].”  Somehow we’ve developed a belief that each meal should be entertaining.    That was the toughtest part for me to master, because it's like breaking addiction.  It’s a matter of dealing with instant gratification that the "cheat day" takes care of. 

It all boils down to a diet centered around green vegetables and lean meats, reasonable exercise and completely pulling out the stops once a week.  There's nothing like eating a half-gallon of ice cream (using cookies as spoons) to lose weight.  That makes up for every craving supressed through the entire week. I'm convinced there's a perfect lifelong diet out there for everyone alive and I've finally settled on mine. 

A Quick and Dirty Guide to Fencing Classifications

My friends and family have made me feel like a celebrity for going to the U.S. Fencing Summer Nationals for the first time.  There are a few fencers from our club who have gone to the “Nats.”  From memory , Robert Walter, Mike Husband and Orlando Temple from back during the formation of the club, and more recently Jim Geitgey and Dr. Denise Fitzsimon-Hawke.  The latter two were both “vets.”

Fencers start with a rating of “U” for “unclassified.”  Depending on where they place in a tournament, they achieve a rating a rating of A, B, C, D, or E with A being the highest.  The rating is often followed by the year.  Yours truly is an “E09,” which means I rated an E in 2009.

                In a tournament, the number of competitors and their rating determines what ratings will be awarded to the top finishers.  For example, if enough fencers of varying ratings meet the standards for an “A4” tournament, here’s how the ratings are distributed:  The top 8 fencers are rated A, then the next 8 get B’s, then C’s to the next 8, etc.  For a tournament to meet standards of an A4, it requires 64 fencers with a specified minimum number of each rating.  The smallest possible tournament rating is an E1, where 6 unrated fencers would complete and first place would be rated an “E.” 

                There are currently 55 entries in my event and the ratings are well spread.  While your rating does indicate how well you fence, it’s easy to see how it’s possible for just about anything to happen.  According to the last few years of Nationals, there have been A’s finish near the bottom and E’s make it halfway to the top.  There are plenty of factors at play, notably how strong the competition is in your own yard.  Our division is dominated by Amarillo Competitive Fencing Association and the Texas Tech Fencing Club, both of which produce strong athletes so I definitely had to work for my “E.”

                I’ve never fenced an A, but I’ve been thrashed by B’s and C’s.  I’ve put a few points on all of them.  The only way I could describe fighting these people is like one of those dreams where you can’t run and you feel like your legs are submerged in quicksand.  Their speed and precision makes you feel as coordinated as a six month old puppy on a tile floor.  All of the ratings compete together, so U’s will face A’s and it all comes out in the wash.

                My hope is to promote to the finals after the pools.  I don't stand much of a chance in winning a rating because only the top 13 or so will rate and there are more than 13 A's and B's.  

                That’s the reason I’m aiming for the upper middle part of the very bottom.  I have a better chance of being hit by a meteor than placing high on the list, but I’ve set a goal that’s enough out of reach that I have to train hard.  That’s what amateur sports is all about!