Comments

Episode-1657- Expert Council Q&A for 10-9-15 — 19 Comments

  1. Reagarding course sand… Consider pool filter sand, it is graded specifically to drain well. I used it in propogating delicate marine corals quite well. When I was using it the price was less than the big box stores for regular sand that could go anaerobic on me. As with any packaged sand be careful of inhaling the silica dust. Cheaper and drains very well.

  2. Hey! Jack and I have the same scope on our 10/22s. 🙂 It’s also made in good ol’ Oregon, USA I don’t think he mentioned that.

  3. This is some follow up on the question around cancer. Recently I watched a video online that expands on what Doctor Bones was saying about how the medical testing approach used to evaluate potential cures is not always in the patients best interests as the interest of medical science and the patient are not always congruent. I put it on my blog. Hope its useful http://www.takingbackcontrol.me/surviving-terminal-cancer/

  4. Jack sorry I didn’t follow instructions with the gun question. Thanks for answering.
    On a cool note. I recently bought a Marlin 25. I was looking for a gun that shot 22 short, long and long rifle. My research led me to the marlin 25. I use it mainly for 22 shorts. It is a fun gun to shoot. Interesting that it was your 1st gun.

  5. My 2 cents on the 10/22 question and answer. Ruger now makes a 10/22 with the same stock as the American rimfire, which you can replace the rear of the stock for length of pull and comb height. It also comes with a rear peep sight and a rail on top for mounting optics if you choose. A sweet little setup for about $269.

    I also wanted to give a word of caution and disagree with Jack on the inexpensive Simmons scopes. I have learned the hard way, after having three of them fail, that it isn’t worth wasting the money on cheap optics. One kept losing zero this summer at an Appleseed event and another caused me to miss twice at under 30 yards at a nice buck last winter.

    • Note the scope I recommended was a Redfield and not cheap. The Simmons was if you didn’t have the funds.

      Now the cheap option I mentioned the 22 mag line, yea that is cheap but they are not junk as you seem to feel or have experienced.

      Three failed, what did you do to them? Are you sure it was the scope.

      9 times out of 10 when someone says they have a bad scope (holding zero) unless it is really junk it isn’t the scope. I have seen this many times, in general remove the base and rings, clean everything, reinstall the scope and all is well.

      The person goes on and on, but I used locktite, the mount doesn’t move, etc. etc. etc.

      All I end up saying is well there are 5 rounds from your gun and scope on a dime at 25 yards, so I don’t know may be I healed it with my magic fingers?

      The other side, hell may be you did get three bad ones? Anything can happen, did you buy them all at once? Could they have come from a single run?

      Or did you have a 22 mag but NOT the one I recommend?

      I recommend if you go low end you get the fixed 4X.

      Most shooters will instead opt for the 3×9, is that scope junk, YEP!

      The lower end you go the simpler the design and less moving parts you should choose.

      How did I do?

      Did you really burn up 3 fixed power scopes or were they 3×9 variables?

  6. I agree with John in regards to 529’s. I did the accounting for 529 funds years back for the custodian bank. All the ones I saw had fee structures that were deducted from the net asset value of the fund. The 529 assets were invested in mutual funds managed by the same company and fees were collected from each of those mutual funds. Nothing like investing in a “fund” that only invests in the companies other funds which are then invested in stocks/options/ etc.

  7. There are a great many things ‘wrong’ with CrossFit. There are even more things wrong with Gary’s argument against it. There are more than 10,000 ‘boxes’ around the world. There are at least 200,000 people using CF as their workout of choice. To quote sensational headlines with bogus data and exclaim 70% of participants have been injured and 30% have been catastrophically injured is irresponsible. Actual factual studies conducted found similar or lower injury rates within CF than regular weightlifting and much fewer injuries than runners, gymnasts, cheerleaders or soccer players. Kinda like being scared of sharks when there are far more deaths every year due to cows.

    Telling people not to lift weights is also irresponsible. Gary and everyone else should read the book ‘Starting Strength’ by Mark Rippetoe to get a simple, detailed explanation why everyone should squat, deadlift, power clean and shoulder press every week to build the strength that is the most important factor keeping you out of a nursing home. Strength Coach Dan John also has amazing insights on strength such as why weighted carries are the single most important exercise most of us are lacking that would give us the most benefit. Both have parted ways with CF by the way. In fact the list of former subject matter experts that have been ostracized by CFHQ is one of the things wrong with CF. Google CrossFit Kids and Jeff and Mikki Martin or CF and Robb Wolf or 2007 inaugural CF Games champion James OPT Fitzgerald.

    Finding a good box with good coaches is hard in an organization that is adding 3 new boxes a day. If you don’t find a coach who is a fitness nazi about your form, look somewhere else. That being said, you will learn more useful information about health, fitness and nutrition in a two-day weekend CF Level I ‘hands-on’ course than you would in most four-year exercise science degrees at a fraction of the cost. The rest of the other popular personal training certifications don’t amount to more than a 3-hour written test that teaches you outdated, ineffective training and nutrition advice.

    Is CrossFit perfect? Heck no. Is it a great place to start to open your mind and start using what works (for you) and abandoning the rest, heck yeah.

    The benefits of CF are too many to mention but here are a few: CF Endurance and running injury free (try that with the ultra-injured marathon crowd); CrossFit Kids (link between exercise and cognitive function); CrossFit Nutrition (bringing the Paleo Diet mainstream and precursor to the ‘Primal’ lifestyle); StandUpKids (working to put stand up desks in every classroom); Google CrossFits fight against Big Soda and Gatorade; Operation Phoenix (initiative to fund outfitting entire USMC with CF gyms shot down by Dept of Navy); the unparalleled boost in membership and support to USA Weightlifting; thousands of fund raisers conducted at boxes all over the world every year benefitting breast cancer awareness, special operations families; millions of pounds lost resulting in thousands of babies; etc…

    Yes I’ve drunk the kool-aid, got the tshirt, got the tattoo, and got some of the injuries too but far fewer than when I was running 3-miles-a-day in the Army. But I’ve also fallen out of love with CF as I look for methods that work better for this 44-year-old man. CF is not perfect but it doesn’t try to be. CF is whatever each individual box owner wants it to be. That individuality and freedom to grow and share best practices is what makes it great and it’s not going to go away. Reebok did not throw its financial weight behind Jazzercise…

    • First I think you need some of this, http://bit.ly/redrump

      Next I didn’t hear Gary say not to lift weight but not to powerlift with out proper training. Once a person’s pet thing is called negative in anyway it seems perception bias prevents them from hearing what was actually said.

      Next can the 70% claim be journalisticly backed with two sources?

      One – http://www.stack.com/2014/01/16/crossfits-injury-rates/ seems quite creditable and lists the rate at 73.5%

      Two – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24276294 Government cited study backing the first journalistic source also citing 73.5%.

      Does that prove Gary right? No but it does show that his citing of the statistic is not irresponsible.

      Here is an insiders look at what this all means, http://breakingmuscle.com/functional-fitness/the-great-injury-debate-is-crossfit-dangerous-we-may-never-know

      I love his closing!

      “But let’s give that 73% the benefit of the doubt and trim it all the way down to 51%. If the likelihood of getting injured doing CrossFit is 51%, then statistically, you are more likely to get injured than you are to get fit. And that, my friends, is the exact opposite of why we’re all supposed to be doing this.”

      Now can I cite proof of the 30% statistic having a valid source? No and why? I don’t care enough about this pet issue of yours to work hard enough to prove or disprove it. Gary is a credible source to me, if you wish to prove there is no basis in said number you have to prove it. The burden of proof lies with you.

      All your stuff about stand up desks etc. are appeals to emotion. We do good so we must be always doing good.

      Sorry bro it doesn’t work that way! Cross fit works for you, good keep doing it but others have different opinions and voicing them and backing them with solid facts and reasons is not irresponsible.

      Now if you say it is up to Gary to prove the 30% is from credible data to back his claim, well that would be valid. It is then up to him if he wishes to provide it or stand on his personal reputation.

      • Jack

        Why do you continue to throw insults at people who ask questions here and always assume they are too close to something to have any legit difference of opinion?

        I thought this was a valid question to which you did not actually answer. You actually gave some supporting evidence here, but also continue to blame people for their appeal to emotion, for which you are guilty of all the time. I thought this was supposed to be discussions of opinion, not attacked on character and insults?

        • I think perhaps you need a dictionary. There were no insults thrown at anyone.

          I didn’t blame the appeal to emotion, I pointed it out. The question “is cross fit injury prone” is independent of things like standing desks, more active children, etc. So all that was is the fallacy of appealing to emotion. That is not insulting or accusational it is a statement of fact.

          Next I didn’t say he was too close to anything. I didn’t say he had “drunk the koolaid and bought the t-shirt” he did say that about himself though didn’t he?

          Did the butt hurt cream graphic bother you. If so get a thicker skin! I imagine it was simply funny to @Michael Perkins and he didn’t get butt hurt by the butt hurt meme!

          I mean show me where I did any of the things you claim.

          Show me where I called this man a name? Show me where I “threw an insult”? Show me where I even said he was wrong about his opinion that Gary was wrong? What I refuted is two things.

          1. Gary’s opinion is irresponsible.
          2. Gary said not to lift weights at all

          Anyone who would go back and listen to the piece would see I refuted them both for good reasons.

          Again I didn’t even say that Michale’s opinion was wrong, or that Gary was right, just his numbers are valid if sourced. Are you sure you actually read what I posted?

  8. Paul Wheaton, You mentioned that you are running a deal on permaculture playing cards. I think this is a great idea for Christmas gifts. My kids each need a set too. Oh, and their homeschool friends could benefit, and….. How do I take you up on the offer? I can only find links to them for $14 each.

  9. To Steven Harris,

    Mr Harris, as an Electrical Engineer, I’ve designed several power supplies over the years, and one caveat I thought you would have mentioned is that when a piece of equipment is designed for sale to the public, it must undergo several tests by compliance agencies and part of this process involves specifying the allowable voltages and frequencies under which the equipment should be tested in order to obtain compliance.

    If I were asked the question whether a piece of equipment would work properly under modified sine-wave power, my natural answer would be “I don’t know, we should test it”. There is a problem with telling the ‘public’ that its OK to use the equipment outside of its specifications (e.g. using modified sine-wave, which includes very strong odd harmonics not found in normal power), that in doing so, you are implying that you are guaranteeing it will work, have tested it and possibly even have had that mode of operation certified. To date, I have not seen a UL or CSA standard for certifying equipment powered with modified sine-wave.

    Regarding the likelihood that modified sine-wave causing problems with electronics, I can imagine equipment with an off-line active power-factor-correction front-end (which has become very common with recent EU requirements) could become unstable with the stepped-edges of the modified sine-wave signal, and therefore cause the control loop to overcompensate and over-drive the PFC boost circuitry. This would result in a nice poof of smoke from the main 400V bulk-capacitor being over-voltaged long before the device gets hot to the touch. This isn’t necessarily the result of the device giving up the ghost simply because it was ready to do so, but because it wasn’t designed to deal with this type of input-power. I do agree, if you have had success with many hours of the equipment under load on the modified-sine-wave power, it is unlikely to cause problems in the long run and this is evidence the equipment is capable of handling it. However, given that this is unusual and thus untested and unintended you are indeed taking a risk and in come cases you are pushing the electronics harder than it might otherwise be under line-power.

    • I have two led desk lamps. One works with Modified sine wave and pure sine. One only pure. The other lamp does both. I pay the extra and run Pure Sine wave. I do notice my fridge and freezer really clank and make noise with MSW. I will not run my RYOBI chargers on MSW either.

  10. LED lamps, those that screw directly into a socket generally do not have complex electronics. Those that are designated as compatible with dimming circuits should not have any problem with MSW. Any AC motor, whether it’s a “universal” (in AC drills and saws) or a normal AC motor shouldn’t generally have a problem on MSW, but you will usually hear the overtones of the MSW square wave since a motor has a similar electromechanical construction as a speaker. Battery charging equipment and other electronics however could have a problem since internally it converts the AC into DC. If the electronics high voltage rectifier circuit is simple and has only passive PFC circuitry, you won’t have a problem. The only problem lies in older active-PFC designs that try to make the electronics look like a heater (by simulating a purely resistive load) may not be able to compensate for the MSW power signal. Given, this is the exception and not the rule and most everything should work fine with MSW, but it can’t be guaranteed by manufacturers since they haven’t had this mode of power certified. I suspect newer PFC ICs are able to deal with MSW without problem, but there’s no way to know without testing.

  11. What is the website that Paul Wheaton references? It sounds like ‘scudly.com.’ It sounds quite useful for video/education etc.