I went to the firing range for the first time in something like seven years. Back then I took a firearms training class, and all we shot was a .22. This time out, I got a quick refresher and shot a Springfield XD 9mm. The XD is the gun I have been looking to buy, but wasn’t sure about the caliber, as it comes in 9mm, .40 and .45. I may rent a bigger one next time out, but I have to say that I thought the 9mm felt really comfortable. I didn’t do to bad according to them, and even I thought it wasn’t too bad considering how long it has been and the jump in caliber. Most of the shots were grouped just lower left of the center bullseye, touching it and extending a bit from it. I shot 100 rounds, and less then 20 were jerked and randomly placed (all low), most of the rest were in that lower left of center spot, or there abouts, some on the red bullseye itself.
Things I need to work on is grip, which tends to be too tight and my strong hand isn’t up quite high enough for ideal. I also lean back too far and need to work on leaning forward. I used an isosceles stance and may try Weaver Stance next time out to see if that helps, I think I used that with the .22 eons ago. Smoother trigger pull is also on the list of must improve aspects.
On the purchase side of things, a Springfield XD, probably a 9mm with personal defense rounds that will fragment when they hit plaster/drywall. A .22 for most of the practice to be done with as ammunition isn’t cheap, especially the rounds you would likely use in defense situations. Of course one must also do plenty of practice with their main weapon, and a good bit of that practice should be the rounds used for defense, but a .22 works well for casual practice. For the .22 I will probably go with the Beretta U22, which seems semi-affordable compared to most other .22’s. Of course a good gun case would be a must since Ari is here, even if the gun is kept unloaded, with a child around I think it should be kept safe, there are safes that open without having to be looked at to put the combination in.
I keep thinking competitive shooting would be a fun sport… that and perhaps some Krav Maga training… 😉 Sara and I saw an episode of Human Weapon that featured Krav Maga, and while I have leaned to Aikido as the martial art I may want to learn, Krav Maga does have a bit more appeal from the practical stand point.
Anyhow, I had a good time.

We had free lawn tickets to the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Music Center and since one couldn’t ask for nicer weather I of course went. Sara was too tired, having had a full day already, and by this point it was too late to get another date for the night so I went alone.
I found a great spot to camp out at. Not far from me was some people who brought a whole table with them and had it fully setup… short 1 foot high table, but a table none the less. I was dead center to the stage, with the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream stand to my one side.
Parking ended up not as bad as I originally thought, though I was in the grass, it was a 10 minute fast walk, perhaps 15 minute regular walk. I was on the freeway in another 15 to 20 minutes.
On the program today, we had guest conductor, Jahja Ling conducting the Cleveland Orchestra in Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Opus 83, with Peter Serkin as the piano soloist. I enjoyed this piece, especially what I would think was the second movement…The fourth movement I have to admit was a bit slow for me and I found my mind wondering.
A small intermission and then it was onto Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Opus 67 which of course has perhaps the most recognizable opening of any classical piece to those who don’t listen to much classical anyhow. I of course recognized the familiar “ta-ta-ta-TA” and most of what I would guess is the first movement, however, the next three movements all seemed to meld into one or two in my ears, perhaps this is just the way Ling conducted it, or the way it is written, I don’t know.
We’ll probably go one more time. Right now I am leaning to the “Zinman Conducts” night where we’ll get a few pieces, including a violin concerto and the “Enigma” Variations… I am not familiar with any of them… at least that I know of.

I missed it somehow, but Stephen King’s Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #1 (Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born), the first of the new Dark Tower series is out… I must get to the comic store tomorrow and pick it up as the book series was incredible. The comic series goes in proper chronological order, where the book told Roland’s past via flashbacks. This will take us from his childhood, through the moment “the man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed,” to the fate of Roland’s companions and himself, and what lies beyond the door at the top of the Dark Tower. (And that is as far as I’ll spoil it for you, that Roland or one of his friends will make it to the top of the Dark Tower and see what lies beyond… who does and what they will see you’ll only find out if you read the books.)

All the best to Steve Irwin’s family and all of Australia for loosing a national treasure. Steve died Monday (Sunday US time) diving on the Great Barrier Reef filming his show when he was stabbed in the heart by a stingray. (More.) He died happy doing what he loved doing.

What boxing needs, in the humble opinion of an under educated fan, who probably doesn’t know enough to actually have a valid opinion:

• An end to the alphabet soup mess.
  There are way too many sanctioning organizations. We have the WBA, the WBC, the IBF, and the WBO, and those are the ones I know of. Each can recognize a separate boxer as the champion in their weight class. This leads to confusion for the more casual fans.
• Less Pay-per-view.
  Unlikely to happen since the boxers, at least the two on the title-card, get a percentage of the buy-in. However, it makes it expensive to watch the big fights. It is bad enough if you want to watch most of the bigger fights, you have to have Showtime and HBO, especially HBO which seems to be home to the bigger matches. So you have basic cable to get ESPN 2, then two premium channels and then you have to buy a bunch of PPV fights. In 2005 you would have to buy 20 pay-per-view matches to catch them all. I don’t know if too many fans bother watching the Spanish networks to catch the fights there since the commentary wouldn’t be understandable, but perhaps the really big fans do. Anyhow, cost is an issue and they need to bring the price back down so the fans can watch again. More network coverage would probably help as well. I don’t know if the networks just don’t want to show it, or if they can’t get any of the more worthwhile matches since ESPN/Showtime/HBO/PPV get them.
• More constancy across the sports/boxing commissions in various states.
  To that end McCain is pushing for a Federal Boxing Commission. Something I personally don’t support, the last thing we need is the Federal Government to get involved and mess everything up. A better solution, which I seem to remember reading about somewhere once, is to have each state send a representative from their commission, to a national (not controlled by the Federal Government) commission. This commission would insure that every state is using the same rules, and more importantly, licances fighters and officials (both referees and judges) by the same criteria. Hopefully this will result in more neutral officials (one only needs to see some of Emanuel Agustus‘ fights to see how slanted officials can be for the hometown boy). This would also probably result in an and to the three knockdown rule which some states use, but others do not, as the rules would need to be even across all states under this proposal.
• A weighted ranking system.
  Boxer A has a record of 20-0 (18) and B has a record of 18-1(12). Which is the better boxer? Impossible to tell just from that. One would think A is the better boxer, but it all depends on who his opponents were. If boxer A had lots of easy opponents, and B took on some really challenging opponents, than B is the better boxer. The record isn’t a reliable way of knowing which is the better boxer, or how well they match up. A person in the know may think that the A vs B fight will be a slaughter for fighter A with B walking all over them, but that isn’t what the record alone show. We need a consistent weighted ranking system that everyone can agree on. Yes, give us the fighter’s record, but also give us a weighted rank so we know how well they actually match up. Let us add boxer C to the mix here with a record of 18-0 (15), who has a lower rank than B but higher than A. So from first place to last place it is B, C, A. A will raise in rank more by beating B than beating C. C gains little from beating A, but some from beating B. B gains little from beating C and even less beating A. They always gain something, even if it is a lower rated opponent. If you gave nothing to B for beating A, B may never take the fight. We need a way to still encourage them to give a chance to the boxing journeymen.

I am sure there are far more things boxing needs to get back to its prime, but these would be a good start.

Edit: I knew about The Ring Magazine Ratings for boxers. But I don’t think their ratings quite fit the weighted system above. However, BoxRec seems to have just the system I was talking about, if not more complex.