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.

---

[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/

Think you are a genius? Solve this!

Who is a Journalist?

In general I would put this question in the category of "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin" in that it is only interesting to a very small subset of society.  However, we have seen ongoing attempts to limit the applicability of First Amendment protection of freedom of the press.  That amendment was designed to protect everyone; now there is an ongoing attempt to limit certain aspects of these protections to officially certified press and journalists.

One manifestation of this narrowing is the creation of journalistic "shield laws."  The intent of these laws may be noble as they to provide protection for investigation and reporting of malfeasance.  However, they may only apply to officially designated journalists.  For example, the AP reported on December 7, 2011 that:

A federal judge in Oregon has ruled that a Montana woman sued for defamation was not a journalist when she posted online that an Oregon lawyer acted criminally during a bankruptcy case, a decision with implications for bloggers around the country.

Crystal L. Cox, a blogger from Eureka, Mont., was sued for defamation by attorney Kevin Padrick when she posted online that he was a thug and a thief during the handling of bankruptcy proceedings by him and Obsidian Finance Group LLC.

The law in question in the Cox case was a state law, but the trend is larger.  On September 12, 2013 AP reported the following:

A Senate panel on Thursday approved legislation designed to protect reporters and the news media from having to reveal their confidential sources after narrowing the definition of a journalist and establishing which formats - traditional and online - provide news to people worldwide.

...

The compromise also says that information is only privileged if it is disseminated by a news medium, described as "newspaper, nonfiction book, wire service, news agency, news website, mobile application or other news or information service (whether distributed digitally or otherwise); news program, magazine or other periodical, whether in print, electronic or other format; or thorough television or radio broadcast ... or motion picture for public showing."

While the definition covers traditional and online media, it draws the line at posts on Twitter, blogs or social media from non-journalists.

I personally find this astounding.  I sometimes interview people to provide material for blogs.  These interviews are almost always done confidentially because the people are not authorized to make public statements regarding their companies.  This is exactly the same situation that "official" reporters are in for many of their stories.  However, they would be afforded shield protection, and I wouldn't.  

We seem to be on a path to constrict the definition of the "press".  No longer will it be the larger world of non-verbal communications, whether pencil, ink, electronic, sign language or smoke signals.  Now it will be the narrow world of J-school grads writing for the AP.

Lucky 13 for Overture

Overture Logo circa 2000

Today is the 13th anniversary of when Jeff Reedy and I incorporated Overture Networks, right here in RTP at the First Flight Venture Center.  As I have written elsewhere in this blog, the year 2000 was a difficult time to start a telecom equipment company, and there was plenty of pain along the way.

Even so, it has been a tremendously rewarding experience seeing Overture grow.  We started with ideas being discussed in Jeff's kitchen on Saturday mornings, and grew to a company with hundreds of employees, tens of millions in revenue, and a customer base that is almost unbelievable to people in the industry.

How did we get this far?  A lot of blood, sweat and tears is a given, and a healthy dose of luck factors in.  However, those factors apply to just about every small company that grows past the embryonic stage.  What did we do that helped us make it?

If you asked 20 old hands at Overture, you would probably get 30 answers.  Since this is my blog :-), you will get my view.  Here are some things that I think were a factor:

Overture Logo circa 2008

Sell Something

We had an early focus on finding an application for our product that somebody would actually pay for.  They say you don't know what the price of something is until you sell it.  That's very true.  It's also true that you don't know if anybody wants your offering until they buy it.  Because we were able to win some early business, we knew the aspects of what we were offering that actually had some value.

Watch the Dollars

It's very difficult to get money in the door, be it through venture funding or sales.  It's very easy for those same dollars to find their way back out the door if you don't watch them like a hawk.

Here's one example of just how frugal we were.  When it was still just Jeff and me we landed a meeting with a service provider in the Denver area.  A flight from Raleigh-Durham to Denver was quite expensive, but a flight to Kansas City was pretty cheap.  I also found a western airline with low fares between Kansas City and Denver.  I hatched up the following itinerary:

• Day 1: fly from RDU to KC and spend the night
• Day 2: fly from KC to Denver at oh-dark-thirty, meet with the service provider, and fly back to KC
• Day 3: fly from KC back home

That brilliant plan left only the matter of an inexpensive hotel.  I found one online, and we were all set.  There was just one small problem: we were sharing a room, and the second bed was a foldout couch.  The first night one of us took the bed and the other took the couch, and we swapped the next night.  Never again!

Overture Logo today

Be Honest and Open

This applies to your customers, your suppliers, your employees and yourself.

Like the People That You Work With

This is easier if you only hire people you like, but that's not possible.  Given that reality, liking your co-workers means taking an active role in seeing the best in them and ignoring or working to change the worst.

What's in Store for the Next 13 Years?

Hopefully a liquidation event that makes the employees and investors of Overture very wealthy!  Setting that possibility aside, I hope that Overture continues to grow and prosper, whether as a standalone company or as a part of a larger combination.  Wish us luck!

Why I Like to Break Clays

No, I don't mean throwing dishes. I am talking about the shotgun sports of skeet and trap.

Sometimes people ask if I am taking out my anger or frustration on the clay targets.  The answer is "no".  Instead, it is a positive experience.  Here are the aspects that I like:

Fresh Air and Sunshine

Like many of you I work at an inside desk job.  When I have some time for recreation I want to be outside.  Whether it's biking, boating, fishing or shooting, I want a chance to make some vitamin D.

Physical Activity

People today are much more aware of the connection between a healthy body and a healthy mind.  I also exercise regularly to build aerobic endurance as well as strength, but that is not very satisfying in terms of a sense of accomplishment.  Skeet and trap bring in the development of hand-eye-body coordination.

Focus

The principles of skeet are simple, but hard: keep your eye on the bird, keep your head on the stock, lead the bird, and follow through.  To achieve a hit, you have to focus on the task at hand and tune out all the other junk that is usually running through your head.  That's a useful ability.

Beautiful and Functional Tools

The modern shotgun is a very efficient and elegant tool.  The combination of steel, wood and synthetics creates a visually attractive and physically satisfying tool for the task of break clays.

Camaraderie

Like other adult sports, a big part of shotgun sports is the fellowship of the other people.  Just remember - target shooting and adult beverages go well together, but you have to be sure and get the order right!

Give it a Try!

As a fairly recent entrant to the shooting sports I know it can be difficult to get started.  I now try to help others learn how to shoot in a safe and low-key environment, and I have found that many people who have never shot really enjoy it.  If you are a shooter, I encourage you to help others learn about the sports that we enjoy.