Gotta have a hobby

I had hobbies in the past.  I used to play role playing games (mostly D&D and Traveller), played paintball fairly heavily, then roller hockey, in addition to computer video games and eventually airsoft.  However, since moving to Texas, I have found little to no outlet for many hobbies I had in the past, and actually little interest in pursuing it.  I enjoy the shooting sports, but have not been a big purchaser of guns before.  I bought a bolt action .308 because I wanted to shoot longer range targets and did not feel that I needed an AR platform for that activity.  California's ever changing goalposts on gun ownership may have cycled into that decision.  I have been shooting friends ARs back to the 80's, but never felt the need to buy or own one.  I never even considered building one.

Things change, and after ending up in Texas, I finally bought an entry level AR.  I also had just started working for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and we had to qualify on several firearms yearly.  So I picked up a Ruger Ranch Mini-14 and a S&W Model 65 as well and I already owned the shotgun.  I had forgotten how much I enjoyed shooting an AR.  Ammo, while not quite as good as .22, still is pretty affordable.  Well then, lets look into this hobby some more.  While I no longer work for TDCJ, I still have the guns.

I have always looked at building a rifle as daunting.  I also used to view building computers that way as well, but once I bit the bullet and started doing it, I found it was far easier than I thought.  It is really about having a basic knowledge to start, having a healthy respect for the items you are dealing with, and an understanding of how your budget matches your desires.  I started small, just moving my .308 from a synthetic stock to a wood thumbhole stock and realized that it wasn't magic, just knowledge and understanding your limitations.  I won't be building custom raceguns, but I can do the basic building and do ok for myself.

So then I took on building an AR.  I bought a well rated basic lower and then moved forward.  I was still not entirely comfortable with certain items, so I bought a completed upper and just built out the lower myself.  That was a learning experience, but one I had the parts, a few well written assemble demonstrations and time to just sit and look at how it all went together, I was amazed at how simple the whole thing is.  And it works, so that was a bonus.

So now I have three AR rifles and I am building a fourth.  But while talking to a friend about it, I was asked how many more I would build.  I suprised her when I said none.  I have more guns that I want to get, but not many.  I don't want to be one of those people who have many guns but never shoots many of them.  I want to put my time and money into using them at the range, several times per week if things are going well.  My list of guns to get is small and I am still debating about one, so we'll see.  In the meantime, more trips to the range, which is surprisingly more challenging in Texas than I thought it would be.  My list of guns to get is small and I am still debating about one, so we'll see.  In the meantime, more trips to the range, which is surprisingly more challenging in Texas than I thought it would be. 

Dear Facebook Scammer...

If you are going to create the fake account and start hitting up my friends list, you may not want to start the conversation with my relatives by telling them that my mother (who passed away in 2015) is getting better.  They may not be the sharpest bowling ball in the bag, but they will pick up on that one...

Forced to stretch...

Ever since I got into working in the IT field, I have always been part of a team.  I like working in a team environment and have turned down positions where I would be the sole IT person.  When I started my current job, the staff was small and fairly inexperienced.  They were shocked to find someone with my resume available in deep east Texas.  Since I started, we have grown by one, plus had a retirement that resulted in another very experienced hire for a replacement.  So now four of the six non-management people are very experienced, and the other two are very experienced at the specialized systems they used in other departments before transitioning to IT.  All in all, I am very comfortable with where we are.

Then I have weekends like this one. I have the late shift this week, so I am coming in when everyone else is leaving.  Everything starts good, progress on several projects is made without disturbing the business.  I'm happy.  Then I get back to my desk and my director calls.  My director who is out on leave due to a death in the family.  Alerts on the VMWare environment are hitting her inbox.  While we are going over the notes, half the system goes down.  Crap.

Now, I have experience with virtual machines, but not with our software.  There are similarities, but this is not only different, its also been five years since I touched it.  So, call to the vendor, then two escalations later I am on the phone with a Level 3 tech who was just about to clock out.  We spend two hours fixing things and doing detective work to find out what caused the server to crash.  Turns out that a network switch that was put online for testing a month ago has been arguing with the VM server over the IP.  After a month, the server lost the argument.  What made it worse was that due to failover partially working, the business was not down, but fixing it would cause an outage.  That part sucked.  Despite warnings to management, the phone still rang off the hook. 

Once the network admin showed up, traced the MAC to the switch and fixed the issue on his end, we got everything back up and running and made some other changes to better support the load.  Two and a half hours of operating in areas of the environment that I was intimidated by.  Stress that no amount of coffee can fix. 

The real disappointing part was finding out that all of the documentation that I am working on daily to fix/organize/update was no use because those who set up the virtual environment before I arrived had not documented this part.  So, the new network administrator relied on the documentation that I was assured was correct and caused me to have to stretch my IT skills.  It was uncomfortable, but made me realize how much a do recall and where I need to improve.  It also put two other projects well behind and made today a very busy shift.  Still, I got it done and I feel good about that.

Tis the season...

The tree is up and most of the lights work. The cats may actually go near it this year, so any decorations that are breakable are out.  Andy Williams has played, so it is now officially the Christmas season.  Since I work the afternoon shift on Christmas day this year, things are looking good.  I need the holiday pay due to medical bills, tho it may go to replacing the car instead.  Who knows?  All that counts is that I can now get eggnog for a month!

Oh the cold...

I am entirely too amused by my friends here in Texas.  Its comparable to when the temperature went down in California.  People lose their minds and act like a new ice age is beginning.  Snow flurries that melted as soon as they hit the ground caused wonder and panic.  Same people who planned hurricane parties. 

Going to the range, Texas Vs California

So, I used to live in the Silicon Valley, near the hear of California liberalism and anti-gun policies.  Now I live in deep East Texas, where gun laws are much closer to my tastes and both auto parts stores and purveyors of glass windows/auto glass have a gun and ammo section.  So, shooting sports are popular and should be accessible and affordable sue to the lover cost of living, right?  Mmm, not so much.

See, in San Jose I would generally shoot at one of two locations.  The first was an indoor range, Reeds, which was my favorite indoor range in the area.  Good facility, right around the corner from work and generally nice people.  Range fees are now $16/hour (up a little since I left) and you get one target.  They generally don't care how many guns or calibers you are bringing.

If I wanted to shoot outdoors (rifle, pistol or skeet/trap) I used the Santa Clara Field Sports Park.  For $15, you can shoot all day with as many guns and calibers as you want.  Or, for $9 you can shoot 25 clays on the skeet/trap range.

Here in Texas, things are different.  At the local range on the other side of town, its only $10 for an hour on the range.  However, if you bring more than one gun, its $10 for each additional gun.  If you bring different calibers of ammunition to shoot through the same gun, each additional caliber will cost you $10.  And it seems, this is a standard for many ranges in the area.  There is an indoor range about an hour from here, towards Houston, that is spectacular.  They don't care how many guns or calibers I bring.  But, its $20 for the pistol range and $29 for the rifle range.  Plus the hour drive.

Skeet and trap have their own differences.  There are several near Houston that are great.  One has pistol and rifle as well.  Pricing, tho, is $10.50 for 25 clays, $14 for pistol/rifle and $7 for each additional gun.  The other one has similar offerings and no extra gun/caliber charges, but does have the member/non-member pricing scheme, so my prices would be higher still as I am not a member.  Plus the hour drive for either.

Generally, for skeet and trap I am driving an hour in any direction.  Many of the surrounding shooting venues have the member/non-member pricing.  The membership costs would be ok if i lived close and could go multiple times per week.  But that just isn't in my budget, since gas prices are still north of $2 a gallon.  Most of them I would need to use twice a week minimum for me to break even at the end of the year.

So, while my cost of living has dropped dramatically from when I lived in California, my cost for a day of shooting has gone up.  Disappointing, but I still am far happier in Texas.  Now I just need to make friends with someone who has a home range and a skeet machine...

Where did the time go?

Time passes and some things get pushed from "I'll do it tomorrow" to "Where the hell did the last year go?"

I spent six months of the last year and a half working for TDCJ.  12 hour shifts working Texas Death Row.  Not a job for everyone, as my cardiologist pointed out after an ambulance ride to the cardiac unit in the middle of a shift.  It was definitely an experience and I give all respect to the people still doing it. 

Still, a job in IT appeared out of the blue near me and I have to say, things generally could not be better.  Good pay, great people to work with/for, and I really do enjoy my job.  I missed IT work.  Amusingly, a co-worker who joined four months after I did also came from TDCJ.  Apparently that's common around here.  Overall, I am learning new things, sharpening old skills and looking forward to the future.