Author: wwducat

About: Writer, Technology guy, Photographer, Possibly EX-Software QA Engineer, Worker Bee. Interests: SCUBA, Working out, Friends, New Views, New Vistas, Photography
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My first shooting match… AKA FUN!

I’ve been Slow to Blog.

Monday I woke up crabby, hurting, and out of sorts. A massage helped out there. Today… well it just sort of got away from me.

Sunday, I participated in my first shooting match ever.

I was nervous. Here’s the deal, whenever I try anything new I get nervous. I’m not talking butterflies in the stomach I’m talking hands shaking nervous. In extreme cases it looks like I’ve got the DTs. 

The more dangerous the activity the worse the shakes get even if that danger is only perceived. Opening a 100K computer system isn’t any big deal for me because I know what to expect NOW, but that first system in front of the customer… I looked like I was fresh out of the Betty Ford Clinic. The shakes don’t instill confidence in your audience… Trust me on this!

The same was true Sunday. 

I had a number of “New” things. going on.

1) I’d never walked around with a holstered weapon (Unloaded) at a firing range.

2) I’d only fired guns around my family members (picture small groups of immediate family)

3) I’d only fired at targets from a stationary position, this competition you move to engage targets at some of the stages.

4) I’m familiar with firearms, but not confident enough yet that we’ve seen each other naked.

Thank goodness I was there with friends. One friend was teasing me right from the start. He said “Perhaps you should have taken an Ambien before you got onto the range.” Believe it or not that made me feel better. You know there’s not much point in trying to hide the shakes when your bud just called you out on ’em. By the third stage the shakes were minimal. By the end of the match I was annoyed with my target accuracy or lack thereof instead of being pleased that I was hitting the targets.

I want to point out that while I had fun… Safety is first and foremost in everybody’s minds. There is a pretty strict protocol and the rules are to be followed at all times. The Club reserves the right to ask you to leave if you’re doing something unsafe. On the other side of the coin… there are tons of experienced people around who will answer any questions or give you helpful hints.

The folks at the Palm Springs Gun Club were awesome the weekend before last, and equally awesome this past weekend. 

I felt very comfortable and “at home” at the club. There’s a “Stock Gun Match” next Saturday. I’m sorry that I’m going to miss it. I’ve got plans with a friend on Saturday afternoon and Don’t think that I could get to the match and still get back to my place in time.

Of course the other factor is that I’m waiting on a grip screw from Sig Sauer.  Sometime during the match on Sunday,  I lost a screw and as I finished the match the grip was working itself loose. (being held on by only one screw.) I’m not going to say that the loose grip affected my score… I could probably make a case for it, but none of the guys I was shooting with would buy it… so there’s no point.

The  friend who talked me into trying this shooting match thing suggested that I just tape the grips on the gun and go for it. Tempting!!! But then I started thinking about cleaning the sticky tape crap out of the textured part of the grips and figure… Nah I’ll wait & go to the next match.

Here is a video of me shooting. Yeah I SUCK! So what? It’s a condition that is reparable with lots and lots of practice. I also noticed watching the video that I’m so tense that I was trying to loosen up by unconsciously shrugging my shoulders and it was like I just couldn’t quite get comfortable.

You’ll also see that I’m struggling to get magazines out of my pockets during the reload. My hearing protection and my magazine holders finally showed up this week. Gee, only two days late!

I’m slow as sin but I was very fortunate to have a friend that’s been doing this for a long time, encouraging me. You can also hear the Range Safety Officer encouraging and coaching me.

You see John the Range Safety Officer standing behind me to the right. At one of the other stages of the match John, stopped me and corrected me on a potentially unsafe thing I did. (Finger on trigger… while moving to engage another group of targets.) It wasn’t a major infraction it was a simple mistake and frankly I appreciated that he was keeping an eye on me.

After I finished that stage I said “Thank you, I didn’t give it a thought.” He gave me this big smile and said “You never think of stuff like that until you stumble and shoot yourself…” I didn’t make that mistake for the rest of the day.  At the next stages, John began volunteering info about my stance and how to better proceed and improve. I don’t think I told him Thank you nearly enough… 

Next Time I see him… I will.

Now that you’ve seen what a sucky inexperienced shooter looks like… 

Here’s a video of what someone who knows what they’re doing looks like. This is from a different match at a different location.

I’m not completely sure, but I think this gentleman is the man behind me acting as a Range Safety Officer in the first video. The reason I’m not completely sure is that he was firing an exotic looking weapon in the match where he was a Range Safety Officer for me, and in this video he isn’t firing the same gun plus you never see his face. 

Nonetheless, this is a representative example of how you’re supposed to shoot in these matches.

In the first video you can hear coaching and encouragement. You have to admire the fact that really experienced competitive shooters are patient and willing to coach complete newbies.

Needless to say I was, and am impressed.

So In summary, I had a great time. I suck. These people are very nice. I want to go again. 

I’m going to catch some matches at a couple of other sites and then probably join one of the gun clubs as a regular participant.

***** (5 Star Activity Rating)

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CISPA Ahhh a rose by any other name, Is still a stinking pile…

First it was SOPA, and PIPA.

Now it’s CISPA.

People, this is classic government Bull Shit! One of the thnigs that you must remember about our governement is that the idiots running it are… well idiots! 

Having worked however briefly with the government, I can tell you one true thing. Projects, AKA Bad Ideas never die. They’re just recycled.

Politicians are inherently lazy. They’re not going to create anything new or original they’re going to pick up the tattered remains of some discarded bill. They’ll read about 10 lines of the summary, then they’ll put a new name on it, dress it up with some fancy new benefit and have it on the Senate floor again in a year.

“One Bill” Gill Cedillo is a great example of this. Except in his case he kept presenting the same bill over and over again in the House. He thought it was a good idea for illegal immigrants to have drivers licenses. Every year for 4 or 6 years he’d dust off this stupid bill and present it to the House.

One year is was about Safety, then Next years he said the illegals would get insurance, the next year he made the case that California would see increased registration fees, and so on. In every case his bill was voted DOWN because the people raised hell and in a loud voice told Sacramento HELL NO! 

The people saw that giving Drivers Licenses to illegal immigrants would make being here illegally seem more legitimate. 

The problem with politicians is that they keep presenting the same shit in a different Sunday Hat over and over again. After a while, we’ve all heard about some astoundingly bad idea and voted it down enough times that we think it’s a dead issue. When we turn our attention elsewhere… that’s when one of these moronic ideas gets through the House and Senate and becomes Law.

So it is with this new stupidity.

CISPA Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act

First of all there are only a few organizations within our Government that have the technology and / or brain power to begin to worry about cybernetic data. They ALREADY share information and have since shortly after 911.

The real concern with this Act is much the same the same as it was with SOPA and PIPA OUR privacy. Unless you’re ready for an Orwellian future we all need to pay close attention to the erosion of our privacy.

The primary opposition for this incarnation of a Gee we’re the government you can trust us to spy on you act is that the controls for who is spyed on, where, when, and why are so weak. By WEAK I mean without warrant, or even probable cause.

Even President Obama who in my opinion has serious socialist leanings is against this particular act. He’s already stated publicly that he will not sign this into law. (Hey, even a broken clock is right 2 minutes a day.)

So for those who missed it the first time…

365 Orwell1984

CISPA Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act

Allows for the routine monitoring of any corporation, or individual who the government may find of interest. This monitoring will be done with no warrants, and no judicial oversight.

Couple this with the concept that all it takes for you to BE a terrorist is for the President to SAY you are a terrorist.

The implication is obvious. If someone in the government were to decide that you were a bit too much of an activist or you were exposing criminal wrongdoing via a blog, email, YouTube, or other electronic means. (Think about the secret service scandal. )

The electronic evidence could and would be turned over to government representatives simply because they asked Google, AT&T or whoever. BOOM, suddenly you’re arrested for being a terrorist insurgent trying to undermine the United States. Oh and by the way,  the government would have all the evidence they needed to try, and convict you in a military court. Hope you like GITMO during hurricane season.

This act if passed would also circumvent the Wiretap act and Electronic Privacy act. Both of these acts were passed specifically to prevent this kind of abuse.

So get on the phone, get on email, post your opposition to your blogs, LIGHT UP THE CONGRESSIONAL SWITCHBOARD Demand to be heard.

Demand that your representative answer why suddenly they’re willing to undermine our freedoms? Why haven’t they repealed the Wiretap act and Electronic Privacy act if they now think that CISPA is the proper way to go?

Take control, make your representatives REPRESENT YOU!

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Lubes… No, NOT FOR YOUR CAR!

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I’ve decided that I’m going to be sharing personal views on various products that I use. Some of those products may be “normal” average every day things and some may not.

This is the first installment, I hope you enjoy it.

As a guy that likes to bust a nut. I’ve used a wide variety of lubricants in my masturbatory career.

I’ve often said that If I could give myself a blowjob I’d be homeless living under a bridge and have no need for anyone. I even tried Yoga to see if I could get limber enough! Alas, no joy…

My lack of flexibility…. (notice I said nothing about length… I’m 12 internet inches thank you very much!) has led me to the exploration of various personal lubricants over the years.

As a general rule, I like water based lubricants, but I have to admit a certain perverse fondness for Jergens.

What Mother hasn’t noticed that her Jergens consumption increased by 75% when her first son reached puberty? Yeah Mom, sorry about blowing through all those bottles of the stuff for you… But I couldn’t blow myself and well my dick wouldn’t be denied!

From the early lubes that contained a cornucopia of chemicals and dried the hell out of my johnson to KY, and J-Lube I’ve rubbed out more that a few loads..

My most recent favorites have been Gun Oil H2O and Stroke 29 (also by gun oil). Been using these lubes to bust a nut since I discovered them.

Stroke 29 dispenses like a thick cream then changes state as you stroke and it heats up. It’s long lasting and feels damn fine while I ride my fist to glory. The nice thing about 29 is that you don’t necessarily have to rinse off. A quick wipe with a hand towel and I’m good to go. 

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Gun Oil H20 is nice but is really best suited for fucking. If it’s inside someone it stays slick and lasts pretty well. Using it for stroking is good too but you end up re-applying often and using quite a bit.

This is a common problem with most water based lubricants

As the water evaporates, the lube gets progressively stickier and tacky until you’re forced to wet it down again or re-apply.

Silicone lubes solve this problem but they shouldn’t be used with many latex products.

So if you’re playing with someone and decide to get a little more serious you have to clean up, and then switch to a lube that is condom safe for example.

Silicone lubes are also kind of messy and I’ve found them hard to clean up. (As an aside a nice salt scrub will break the stuff down faster.)

There are other masturbatory lubes that have a variety of chemicals which make them inappropriate for vaginal / anal penetration or use before oral sex. In addition to the bad flavor, the chemical soup can be very irritating to the lining of any orifice.

These products are freakin great for just strokin but you’re back to the stopping and cleaning up if you and a partner decide to mix it up. 

 Recently, I’ve tried Spunk. 

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This stuff is great! it’s slick, and stays wet a long time. It behaves as advertised and cleans off of you with a hand towel, no water necessary.

The stuff cleans easily off your toys with soap and water, leaving no residue.  It’s toy / latex safe and did I mention it looks like cum.

Yeah, for fetishists like myself that’s a major selling point.

I love using my own cum as a lube for the second round of fun. Ok I’m a kinky fuck… moving on…

With Spunk I get to have the thrill of stroking with something that looks like cum… right from the get go.

Spunk is a really nice all around solution because it’s a hybrid. It stays wet & slick longer than the traditional water based lube.

It does eventually require either water or re-aplication but not nearly as often as many of the traditional water based lubes. If you’re into edge play, this can be a nice change.

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It’s safe for use as a vaginal/anal lubricant, it’s also neutral tasting. All are advantages because you can have fun alone or with someone, without having to think about which lube to use or breaking the action to clean up just to umm… get dirty again.

Looking at the Spunk bottle pictured… is that cum or is it Spunk? Can’t tell? that’s the point!  

Yeah I did my own little photo shoot to see if the pictures on the Spunk web site were “Doctored” guess what? I don’t think they were.  

In my highly unscientific comparison spunk stays slick just about as long as my own highly personal product. Of course I can buy Spunk in 8 oz bottles and my personal product cums in only tablespoon quantities.  (Hey I had to do a fair comparison didn’t I? Besides I had the lube on my hand I didn’t want to waste it!)

I will admit that I am somewhat biased to my own product… But I think that’s because I feel so good dispensing it! 

Dispensing Spunk isn’t quite as much fun, on the other hand… dispensing Spunk means I’m going to be having fun so it’s an easy tradeoff.

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Some other notes, my skin can be sensitive, especially around the urethral opening. I’ve had a number of lubes that caused irritation in that area. If you’re a guy like me who’s had lubes that felt like someone was holding a blowtorch to the end of your dick, Spunk is a safe choice it hasn’t caused any negative reaction whatsoever. 

I think that I’ll be switching to Spunk only for all my future sexual escapades… Now can I get a bulk discount?

YES! you can buy the product in Gallon sized jugs.

You know… there is a whole practical joke aspect to this stuff that might just be worth exploring! 

Imagine dropping your car off at your local mechanic with spunk all over the steering wheel or dripping from the underside of the hood. 

I can see that conversation. “Oh yeah I have sex with my car… let me wipe that off!”

If I come across any better lubes I’ll share my experiences with them too. For the time being I’m a fan of the Spunk product.

Feel free to make suggestions or comments, I’m always looking for something new to try out.

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Got a new toy… A Tenga

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OK right at the outset for my friends who are squeamish about me saying stuff about sex…. I’m about to talk about a sex toy.

NO! Not a dildo or vibrator. I’m not planning to extoll the virtues of either.

It’s a TENGA. While this is a lot like the FleshLight (Which I also have and enjoy, but which is also aging). This little Japanese wonder is… Well A LOT OF FUN!

Had some time to give it a whirl this morning. I think I’m going to be making time for this puppy more often.

Tengaflip

Unlike the FleshLight, the Tenga opens horizontally along it’s long axis. This allows for very easy application of lubricant and even easier cleaning.

One down side to the FleshLight is the cleaning.

My FleshLight is showing signs of wear not from use so much as from the cleaning.

The disassembly process puts strain on the silicone insert and over time creates micro-tears around the circumfrence. I’ve also had difficulty with the hard plastic parts becoming brittle over time. 

The Tenga solves these issues and makes cleanup a snap. It’s nice to be able to really get at all the nooks and crannies with plain old soap and water.

A major issue for me with the FleshLight is that after I’ve had my fun, I’ve got the insert out which has all the structural integrity of a dead octopus… that has to dry, plus the outer case, plus the two end caps. This pile of parts has sit somewhere while drying, quite often that someplace is out on the bathroom counter.

If you hurry the drying process with say a blow dryer… you risk damaging any or all of the components. If you just say “Fuck it!” An all too likely prospect in my world, you’ll put it away wet and then run the risk of god knows what growing in the thing.

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The Tenga is completely different.

There are exactly two parts. The cover is used during your fun… it’s what keeps the two halves of the Tenga locked together. When not in use the cover protects the silicone in the business end of the unit.

After cleaning, the cover supports the whole unit upright for drying.

The design is elegant and functional.

I’m not trying to sound like an ad copy writer here but I’ve always had a great respect for simple functional design. I’ve never seen any reason not to have the same design criteria for sexual toys.

One thing that I didn’t realize when I purchased my new best friend is that the nubs and groves are available in different patterns.

I’d been shown the inside of one in the store, and when I got mine home, the inside was different. So if you’ve got a penchant for a particular pattern of bumps, nubs, grooves, etc. pay attention to the packaging. I don’t know if the color of the plastic shell correlates with the pattern or not. But the possible differences are worth noting.

Ok so now you know the basics… Now you’re thinking, DUDE! How does it feel?

In a word…. Ahhhhhhhhh fuck yeah!

OK that’s more than one word… sue me!

Here’s where the Tenga shines. If you’ve been observant, you’ve probably wondered about the buttons you can see in the photos. Each of those buttons changes the feeling. (No, the unit is not powered) pressing the buttons applies additional pressure. The one at the bottom makes the entry very tight. YEAH!

The middle button does something that makes the unit have a lot more suction Whoo Hooo, and the top button increases the tightness, stimulation at the head of your dick. OMG!

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All in all, a series of DAMN good feelings.

Sitting here thinking about it…. I might have to go have another round with my new friend…

…. OK I’m back. Yeah I think I like the middle and end buttons best! Whew!

Now where was I?

Oh there may be a down side for some of my friends. The Tenga isn’t as long as the FleshLight, It’s also not as wide.

The length might not be a deal breaker but the width of the business end could present a problem for some of my well endowed friends. You know who you are!

On my personal scale the Tenga is a great product. It’s a bit pricy but if it holds up, well  worth it. Throw in some excellent  Spunk Lube and this toy will have you spunking in short order.

To my friends… if you’re interested come on by I’ll let you take my new friend for a spin. Something I might add that I never felt entirely comfortable doing with my FleshLight, again that whole cleanliness issue.

Oh and you’re going to clean it… I’m not your fucking maid! And I’m probably going to watch. You all know I’m a voyeur so that should be no surprise!

 

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Had a good day In Palm Springs

It was hotter than Hell!

By the time I decided to leave it was 104F, but what a great day.

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I went to Palm Springs for a shooting match.

I was expecting to meet a friend who’s a regular participant but I’d screwed up on my calendar, I was supposed to meet him NEXT Sunday! OOOOPPPSSS!

I’d showed up with my camera, not a gun so there was perhaps some understandable suspicion on the part of the gun club members. My plan had been to snap some pictures of my buddy and his daughter while they participated in the competition.

After I’d observed for a while, one of the folks participating in the match spoke to me. When I told him I wasn’t a spy for “The Other Side” trying to dig up dirt on the evils of guns he laughed and opened right up. 

It didn’t take long for me to figure out that I’d screwed up and my friend wasn’t going to be there, but I decided to stay, observe and learn what I could. As it turns out that was a good decision. The crew shooting was a gregarious bunch and genuinely decent people. Two Englishmen were perhaps the most welcoming. 

After spending about half the day watching, I decided that I will be out there again next Sunday. Next time I’ll be participating. I think it’s something that I’d like to do as a bit of a hobby.

We’ll see how it goes after next weekend.