Davin's blog

Category: Davin

  • How to score a bullseye pistol target

    In a bullseye/precision pistol match, it is normal to score the targets of the shooter to your right or left. So you don’t hold up the pace of the match, you’ll want to be efficient about it. Here’s how. Procedure for Scoring Targets Material Here’s what you’ll need. Process Here’s what to do when you…

  • On Returning to Precision Pistol Shooting

    On Returning to Precision Pistol Shooting

    Nine years ago I stopped competing in precision pistol shooting, also known as bullseye pistol, and a couple months ago, at the urgings of a friend and of my wife, I began again. So far, I’ve only fired my .22, a Pardini SP with open sights, through which I had not even fired a thousand…

  • Thousands separator in Excel as thin space instead of comma

    Thousands separator in Excel as thin space instead of comma

    On days when I look at a lot of numeric data in Excel, usually the data arrives with a hodgepodge of formatting, even with differences on a cell-by-cell, not just column or row, basis. Before I really dig into the data, I often find myself reformatting, even re-arranging, into a spreadsheet that helps me see…

  • What harms us, really, according to the Stoics?

    Marcus Aurelius, then Caesar of the Roman Empire, wrote the following while stationed in modern-day Austria around AD170 while his troops were at war with the locals: [4.8] Anything that doesn’t make a person worse in himself doesn’t make his life worse either, and does him no harm, external or internal. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations: The…

  • Sportsmen’s Clubs: On Bylaws, Officers, and Directors

    Sportsmen’s/Conservation Clubs are typically short 3 key officer roles: Steward, Membership Director, and Events Director. The common-sense reality of such clubs demands that these responsibilities are filled, but because they aren’t defined in bylaws, the existing officers often have to juggle to make sure the work is covered. Particularly for volunteer-run groups, this is far…

  • Mosquitos & Eucalyptus

    Mosquitos & Eucalyptus

    When I was a child, everyone around me would be slapping at mosquitos and black flies, but the bugs would never land on me. I’ve never known why, and these days I’m just as much a host to an opportunistic mosquito as anyone. Today, my wife connected the dots. It was the eucalpytus. I grew…

  • How do you reason about your position on COVID-19?

    Politics, executive orders, barbers, mask-shaming, freedoms, powers, and egos aside, experiences around the world have taught a few lessons on how to greatly reduce COVID-19 infections. Wear a mask when you are with people outside your household. Minimize time indoors with multiple people. Move activities outdoors when it makes sense. Wash your hands often. If…

  • COVID-19, Personal Values, and Performance Continuums

    Many people would sooner die than think—in fact, they do so. Bertrand Russell That quote has come grimly to mind these days. It is printed on the back of a book that I try to review annually: How to Think Straight by Anthony Flew. So, let’s think about our behaviors and our values at this…

  • How to update Ford SYNC with a Mac

    I have a 2013 Ford Fusion. I like the car, but SYNC, the media system (think phones, etc.), is really bad. I thought updating the software would help. Here’s how that went. Throughout this whole experience, I had to keep reminding myself of two facts to properly lower my expectations. Ford is a car company,…

  • “Sportsmen’s Club” is okay

    A side project of mine is to keep up rangelistings.com, a website that provides a list and map of shooting ranges in each of the Unites States. So I see all kinds of variations of names for shooting ranges, and this theme sticks out to me: ABC Sportsmans Club ABC Sportsman’s Club ABC Sportsmans’ Club…