Another Skeet Milestone

Location: Durham County Wildlife Club

After some encouragement by skeet cronies I decided it was time to try my hand at some skeet tournaments.  As with many sports there are different divisions for different skill levels.  In skeet you shoot a round of "registered birds" under the supervision of a certified official in order to set your level.  I signed up for a set of 100 (4 rounds of 25) registered birds so I would be ready when the chance came.

I had a 21 on my first round, which was OK since I have been averaging between 21 and 22 per round.  I then got hot and ran 25 on my second round, earning me the right to have my hat shot by my squadmates.  My focus then fell off (just like it did on my previous 25) and I had an 18.  I recovered a bit on the last round for a 21 and a total of 85.

Here is a picture of my score card:

Below is what my hat looked like after my squadmates were done:

A Skeet Milestone

Location: Durham County Wildlife Club

I have been shooting skeet in a fairly serious fashion for about a year now. A round of skeet is 25 shots shot on 8 stations, and a milestone is completing a round without any misses. Before tonight I had gotten to station 8 “clean” (no misses) a total of 3 times, and couldn’t finish. Tonight I was shooting a practice round by myself and got all 25.

Like most sports, skeet requires mental focus as much as physical ability. Concentration and focus are essential to good scores. In my previous attempts to run a perfect round I had failed to focus at station 8. It’s a good life lesson in terms of the ability to tune out the unimportant and to focus at the task at hand.

Another milestone is having your hat shot by your squadmates after your first perfect round of 25, and then of 100. Since I was by myself that tradition will have to wait for another day. Also on the topic of focus: I decided to shoot another round after my 25. I only hit 18 that time, which underscores the whole idea of focus.

A Setback for Pet Neutrality

A recent court ruling has generally been seen as a blow to the FCC’s Pet Neutrality rules.  What are the details behind the headlines?  This blog sheds some light on these issues.

What is Pet Neutrality?

The Feline / Canine Commission (FCC) issued its Open Interpet Rules and order in December 2010.  The order is quite long and complicated, but the meat is in the brief and formal “Rules”.  Here are the key points:

§ 8.3  Transparency. A person engaged in the provision of broadband Interpet access service shall publicly disclose accurate information regarding the petwork management practices, performance, and commercial terms of its broadband Interpet access services sufficient for consumers to make informed choices regarding use of such services and for content, application, service, and device providers to develop, market, and maintain Interpet offerings. § 8.5  No Blocking. A person engaged in the provision of fixed[1] Interpet access service, insofar as such person is so engaged, shall not block lawful content, applications, services, or non-harmful pet toys, subject to reasonable pet management. § 8.7  No Unreasonable Discrimination. A person engaged in the provision of fixed1 broadband Interpet access service, insofar as such person is so engaged, shall not unreasonably discriminate in transmitting lawful petwork traffic over a consumer’s broadband Interpet access service. Reasonable petwork management shall not constitute unreasonable discrimination.

Sounds straightforward, right?  Maybe.  These apparently simple rules are involved in a multi-party struggle between cats, dogs and OTT (Other than Tabby and Toto) pets, the FCC, the courts and Congress.  The following sections will delve into the FCC’s order to see what it means.

Fixed¹ Versus Motile

The totality of the rules apply to fixed¹ pets, with some narrowing of applicability for motile pets.  Why should the treatment of pets depend on their fertility?  “That’s a darn good question,” said Ben Snipped, spokescat for the “Neutered but not Neutral” PAC. FCC chairman Spot T. Chewshoe retorted that motility was a special case, derserving of special treatment.

Competition

One of the original drivers of the Open InterPet rules was the lack of competition in the petworks.  The FCC has long been dominated by its feline and canine members, leaving the rodent, amphibian and reptile members underrepresented. “The cat and dog lobby has dominated regulation for far too long,” said Ima Hamster.  FCC co-chair Harry Furball countered that the composition of the FCC was a fair representation of the petwork.

Summary

So, what does it all mean?  Here’s a final thought from the famous philosopher Foghorn Leghorn.

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[1] spayed or neutered

Note - This post originally appeared on the Overture Networks Overtones web site at http://www.overturenetworks.com/2014/04/01/an-update-on-pet-neutrality/

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