calibration

With time, misfortune can become comedy. You've probably heard someone say (or maybe said it yourself), "someday we'll look back on this and laugh". Usually it's said in the midst of an unfortunate or difficult situation. A few years ago I had that thought, as I stood in an open dirt lot, hands raised in the air as several policemen pointed their guns at me. Well actually, the thought was more like, "if I live to look back on this, someday I'll look back on this and laugh."

I suppose some background is in order. Somewhere back about 15 years ago or so, a friend and I decided it would be awesome to take up target shooting. Neither of us had any real firearms experience, so we decided to start our sharpshooting adventures with CO2-powered pellet guns. For some reason I think we were spending a lot of time hanging out at K-Mart and they had a selection of pistols to choose from, modeled after real guns. My buddy chose a Dirty Harry-style .44 Magnum revolver replica with the long barrel and 6 shots. My weapon of choice ended up being the Colt .45 semiautomatic replica. They were both made of black plastic, but from a distance they certainly looked like the real thing. Both guns fired .177 caliber pellets and used CO2 gas cartridges to propel the ammo with satisfying velocity, enough to let us blast small holes in soda cans and whatever else we happened to have around as a target.

After a ricochet from a more solid food can zinged right back past my head I figured that we should stick to thinner and softer targets. And maybe shoot from a farther distance than our backyards might allow. We were young(er) and (more) foolish, and one weekend it occurred to us that we should go find an open area to do our plinking in. I knew of some new housing developments nearby where the homes hadn't been built yet and there was plenty of space, so my friend, my brother and I hopped in the car and headed out there with our pistols and some cans for targets.

So we found an empty lot where we set up and started shooting. At one point I saw a pickup truck driving along through the development heading our way. Whoever it was spotted us and almost violently came to a stop. As I watched, it quickly backed up and sped away. I should have known right then and there that it was time to split. Instead we shrugged and kept firing away.

Maybe ten minutes later, the other shoe dropped. A black-and-white police car came along but stopped well short of where we were. Uh-oh. I motioned to my friend to cease fire and started to unload my pistol, tossing it to the dirt. Maybe a minute or so later, about two or three more police cars arrived. Backup now on the scene, the po-po charged up to where we were, lights flashing and all. One of them was a K-9 unit with a police dog in the back. Almost immediately the cops were out of the cars, guns drawn and pointing right at us. "Hands in the air!" one of them gruffly shouted. I'm pretty sure I put mine up immediately. Apparently either my brother or my friend wasn't quick enough, because the next command was "Hands out of your pocket, right now!"

Wind blowing in my face as I faced the five-oh, in my mind I was already expecting to see the flashing muzzles as they took us down. Maybe I had seen too many bad-cop movies but I totally saw the scene going down like this: One of the cops sees something they don't like and puts one of us down. The others open up on the rest of us either out of panic, or to cover their tracks and write up whatever story they want. Dead men tell no tales. "Yeah, the perps saw us come up and didn't cooperate, one of them drew for a weapon and we had to rock 'n roll on they ass!" We'd be face down in the dirt and they could drop a few planted weapons on us to justify the takedown. One of them came towards me and told me to turn around, away from him. Oh, shit.

But the shots didn't come. Instead I felt a hand patting me down, feeling what I had in my pockets. OK, maybe I'll survive this encounter after all. They had us standing there at gunpoint for several minutes, reaching for the sky while one of them checked out what we had dropped to the ground. It didn’t take long for them to figure out what we were up to, and that we weren’t hardened criminals in the middle of some high-stakes drug or arms deal. Just a couple of kids with pellet guns plinking around. Then they rounded us up and led us back to our car. They were surprisingly cool about the whole thing. Perhaps just relieved that it hadn’t turned into a shootout at the OK Corral. They returned our pistols and basically told us to get lost. Subdued and feeling lucky we had gotten off so easy, we got back in our car and got out of Dodge as quick as we could. Our interest in target-shooting diminished pretty rapidly after that. I think we took up bowling for a while instead. Nobody gets shot while bowling.

Years later, yeah I think I can look back on that incident and laugh a little. We were dumb kids but we managed to avoid Darwinian selection. And you know what, I still enjoy trying to hit a bulls-eye with a well-placed shot. A few months ago some coworkers and I got together, and some of them had rifles and pistols so we went down to the gun range and spent an enjoyable morning blasting targets. One of them had a powerful scoped AR-15 rifle that could nail a bulls-eye at 100 yards with ease. But when the time came to switch to pistols and do some closer-range targets, that was when the spark lit up inside me again. Like driving fast on a twisty road or at a race track, I really enjoy the focus and precision involved in target shooting. For that fleeting moment in time, you clear your head of all other distractions, and for me, the singular purity of purpose is where I can find inner peace. Am I a pro race driver or an expert marksman? Not at all, but as they say, life is about the journey not the destination. As long as you have fun, who cares if you don’t win the race or shoot a perfect target every time?

I hate to say it but in this crazy world sometimes you also need to be ready to protect yourself and those you care about, not just rely on the protection of others. So my pursuit of skill and precision has a practical aspect as well. After a lot of deliberation and consulting with some knowledgeable friends, I decided to purchase my own semiautomatic pistol. I went to the range a few more times, to test out some of the pistols I was considering. Ultimately I decided on the Sig-Sauer P226 .40SW, which is weapon of choice for many elite military and law enforcement units around the world, including the US Navy Seals, British SAS, and the NYPD. If it’s rugged, reliable, and accurate enough for these guys, surely it’s good enough for me. The .40 caliber round is also ideal for a home defense weapon due to its stopping power and accuracy. The Sig is a popular and sometimes hard to get pistol, so I put in an order at the local shop for one and can’t wait until it comes in!

renovation

You may have noticed a new look to this blog, I figured it was time for some change and hopefully it's for the better. I tweaked the layout to allow for a little more width in the main body column (that's the column you're reading this text in), and removed some redundant ads and links. I still have links to Amazon to the side and at the bottom if you want to keep helping me out whenever you purchase anything from them.

I enjoy buying stuff on Amazon myself... recently I've bought and thoroughly enjoyed watching The Clone Wars: The Complete Season One (TV Series) on Blu-Ray. The full length movie (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) that preceeded the TV series is not nearly as good (pretty lame plot-wise), but it is the starting point that introduces some new characters and reinterprets some of the old ones from the Star Wars double-trilogy. I got them both just to have a complete set.

I've also decided to try and get back into reading again... by which I mean something other than magazines and internet sites. I used to be really into the Tom Clancy novels like The Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising. One of my favorite books of all time was Without Remorse.
Now I've tried to pick up where I left off in the Jack Ryan series, with a book that's 10 years old at this point, The Bear and the Dragon. It's been years since I read books on a regular basis, so wish me luck.

decade(nce)

Happy New Year and welcome to the new decade! Wow, I can’t believe it’s 2010. It’s one of those futuristic numbers that I thought when I was younger, it would be so far off. So I have managed to cheat death and apocalypse for another 10 years.

It’s pretty customary to take a look at the end of a year, at the past year and try to remember the major events. I suppose it helps you to know where you’ve been, before you plan where you want to go next. So bear with me as I recap the highlights of 2009, even though I am a little late.

I think the biggest personal development for me in 2009 was taking one of my interests and moving it up to the next level – if you have been following along on this blog you probably already know what I am speaking of – Photography. It had always been an interest of mine ever since childhood, but this spring I really went into advanced mode by buying a Nikon digital SLR camera and a couple of lenses. I am fortunate to have a supportive wife who always encourages me to go out and get the best equipment, not just the best deal. And as I ended up traveling quite a bit in 2009, I got plenty of opportunities to get out there and just shoot, learning as I went. Some of the shots even turned out decent, if I may say so myself. Of course due to the nature of my work most of my free time to shoot was at night, which made it even more challenging. But I have much to learn still. I have found I favor static shots like landscapes and architecture, and shooting portraits and action definitely are not my strong points.

Professionally, it was almost certainly the busiest year of my career. Almost immediately following the trial I had in September 2008, I jumped onboard another pair of trial-bound cases and worked virtually non-stop. We had two trials in Washington DC in the fall, which meant lots of travel and ultimately I spent over a month in the capital. I haven’t run the numbers yet but I think I have 2700 hours logged for the year. I also hit my 10-year anniversary with the firm which is both amazing and depressing at the same time.

Thankfully, I was able to take a refreshing 3-week vacation with my honey V. once the trials were over. It was also our belated celebration of our 5th year anniversary, since I missed it while I was away at trial. We traveled to Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia to soak up the sun and devour the cuisine. And to take lots of photos, of course. It was just what I needed to scrape off the battle scars and regain my sanity.

In the electronic gadgets world, I’ve continued to collect nifty toys to keep me occupied in the rare free moments I have. V. somehow always manages to find me the greatest gifts! I have a Sony PSP to play games on the go, and a new pocket-sized projector to bring giant-sized movies with me wherever I go. Gran Turismo and Grand Theft Auto IV (with their multiple iterations of great add-on content) continue to provide me hours of entertainment.

On the automotive front, not a whole lot has changed with my rides. The biggest thing to happen was I ordered, and after 4 months of waiting, put on some new rims and tires on my Lexus. I’m very happy with how they turned out, and doing everything I can to drive and park carefully to keep them in their brand new condition.

So what’s next for 2010? Well it is the start of a new decade and therefore a great chance to make big plans and aspirations. Personally, I hope to keep taking more photos and learn to take better shots. Learn to be a better husband. And if the economy starts to pick itself up, move to a bigger house. With a bigger garage or driveway. And drive bigger and faster cars. Take more vacations. Lose weight and get in shape. Eat healthy. Improve my quality of life. You know, live the American dream, writ large.

Professionally, I am kind of at a crossroads. What I see ahead of me where I am, is the same thing over and over. I’ve already been put on another new case that is headed for trial later this year. I might make more money each year but the same challenges and tasks await. Arguably, I am near the top of my game here, so perhaps it’s time for a change? But with the economy in the tank right now changing jobs or professions doesn’t seem like such a brilliant path.

Executive summary: it’s a new dawn, a new day, a new life. Time to get out there and start living it. I suggest you do the same.

seasonal

Season's Greetings to everyone! Yeah I know it's a little late for the Christmas/Hannukah/Festivus holidays, but better late than never. And I can get a head start on the Happy New Year wishes.

Lest you think it was 100% laziness that prevented me from posting recently, 'tis not true... well maybe 50% laziness. The other 50% can be attributed to some last minute craziness at work, that resulted in my spending a week, with very little notice, in NY and Boston for a hearing. Let me just say, it's pretty dman cold out on the East Coast. At least it didn't snow while I was out there. On the upside, I got to take some photos of mid-town Manhattan just before Christmas -- enjoy the photos here:



I also haven't had the time to post up the photos from our SE Asia trip. I took probably over 6000 photos in all, but here are some of the best shots I rounded up in my first pass through them. Hopefullly more to come at some point (and a little more story to go with it), but this should give you a taste of our trip -- and maybe spread a little more warmth than most of us are experiencing this winter:

Thailand:


Singapore:


Malaysia:

portable

Coming back from two back-to-back trials, the return to normalcy is almost a bizarre and unsettling experience. After being accustomed after over a month away from home, to working 100+ hours a week and sleeping for a few hours during the daytime, returning to a regular work week and sleeping at night is somewhat difficult. My sleep pattern is still a little out of whack, but I am historically a fairly nocturnal person. I think I almost kind of thrived on staying up all night and going to bed in the morning. It's certainly nice to be back home but I almost don't know what to do with all the extra free time I now find myself with; it's like I suddenly gained back 40-50 hours a week that I didn't have. Well, sleep is certainly high on the priority list. But when I returned home my honey V. had also bought me a few toys and games to help kill some time with. Specifically she bought me both the PSPgo and the PSP 3000
"Slim" so I could try them both and see which one I liked better. She also picked me up a copy of the newly released Halo 3: ODST game for the X360.

The PSPgo is a real neat little device--all the abilities of the previous PSPs but in a smaller package. The slide-down controls allow most of the frontal area to be a screen, and it's about the same footprint as an iPhone when closed. Because it doesn't include a UMD drive it's ultra light and quiet. And with its launch in early October the online Playstation Network Store saw a barrage of new digital downloads added to the roster.

The thing is, the older PSP 3000 does everything the PSPgo does, plus it has a UMD drive to play the older sold-in-stores PSP games. They both have wifi to connect to the internet and a basic web browser. They both use bluetooth to connect with other players. And they both have large, bright displays which look great with games and videos. The downside is the 3000 is larger, bulkier, and doesn't come with onboard memory -- you have to buy a Memory Stick card in order to download and store games on the PSP 3000 whereas the PSPgo comes with 16GB onboard. Although when you add up the cost of a PSP-3000 and a Sony 16 GB Memory Stick card it still comes out to less than the list price of a PSPgo. And when you compare the 3000 with its predecessors (the original 1000 and the "slim" 2000, the 3000 is significantly thinner and lighter.

I downloaded several demos on both PSPs such as the addictive Patapon 2, the speedy reflex-testing Wipeout Pulse, and the slash-tastic blood-splattering God of War: Chains of Olympus. I played the same games on both so I could really compare and contrast the two, get a sense of their strengths and weaknesses. And then to really put them through their pace, I bought a digital copy of the newly released Gran Turismo for PSP, which the Playstation network gratifyingly allowed me to install and play on both handhelds at the same time. Sweeet. Some of my coworkers also had GT on their PSPs so we got together several times after work and had some hilariously fun racing parties. Plus with the game's ability to share cars we were able to give each other the cool rides we had been accumulating on our own. I highly recommend this game for any racing fans, it's like having the old GT4 game from the PS2 in your hand wherever you go. Good times.

So what's the verdict? Which version of the PSP did I choose? It was not an easy decision, but ultimately I chose the PSP 3000. Mostly for the way the controls just felt better in my hands, on the PSP-go my fingers felt a little cramped when playing for anything more than a few minutes. I will have some disadvantage from the fact that the 3000 won't fit easily into the pocket like the go does, but when you factor in the UMD drive, the lower cost, and better controls I felt the 3000 had the best combination of features.

That's not all in the gadgets department... in anticipation of our upcoming vacation trip to SE Asia (Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia) we also decided to also pick up a netbook for convenient portable internet access, and an HD camcorder. V. really wanted a pink laptop so I ordered her a ASUS Eee PC 1005HA 10.1-Inch Pink Netbook. And then we got a Sony HDR-XR200V 120GB HDD High Definition Camcorder to document our travels. So you can look forward to plenty of photos and video clips from our adventures in Asia! We're getting pretty amped up about it, we leave for Bangkok in just three days!