Long Guns

Here's a fun one: yesterday, I learned to shoot long guns. It was SO MUCH FUN.

I shot a Remington .22 rifle.

All of these targets were printed on one 8X11 piece of paper and shot from 50 feet, one shot right after another.

I also shot a 12 gauge shotgun (which I don't have pictures of yet) and I NEVER want to do that again. That thing kicked so hard, I nearly fell over.

I shot a Ruger .243 at 100 yards.

I can touch my shots with a quarter :)

It's a bit hard to see but the shot is in his forehead,
right below the hem of his hat  on his left side.

These targets are the size of normal, standard targets.

And finally, I shot an M1 Garand also from 100 yards at a standard size target, but for this one, all I had were iron sights.

Killed him three times and scared the crap out of him once :)

So all in all, that was a pretty cool thing. I also blew through a Coke can (I wish it'd been a Pepsi can) which was AWESOME. Next week, I'm picking up the pistols and probably a watermelon. :)

And just a quick P.S. I decided that Earth Day should be a holiday on my calendar :) Any other suggestions? 

Making a Calendar Pt 2

Alright, so the New Year begins on the Vernal Equinox, which was March 20th this year so that's where we start from. The months are, in order:
Genesis: The Beginning
Creo: Creation
Deus: God
Animus: Soul
Inflamatio: To Inspire Souls
Formosus: Physical Beauty
Concino: Coming Together for Celebration and Song
Mutatio: Transformation
Abundans: Plenty, Bountiful
Quietis: To Rest
Sano: To Be Healed
Recolo: To Reflect
Finis: The End
Accendo: Celebration, Excitement

Each month is named after the major focus of the month, which is designated by the season it falls within and by  the order in which it falls.

Also, I've developed a love--small and shallow for now since I'm only newly acquainted--with steam punk. Repo! The Genetic Opera was AMAZING and my roommate gave me the soundtrack to it and The Devil's Carnival. This shall become a part of my life now.
I've also discovered that I'm at least mildly interested in Ice Hockey.

Oh, the exposure.

One thing more: I'm reading a book I borrowed (well two, really) on witchcraft and Greek magic. The history is extremely interesting.

Many, many things to come.

Creating a Calendar Pt 1

I expected this to be difficult so I'm on the right track. I laid the basic groundwork for my calendar.

I've based the calendar around three concepts: positive creation, rejuvenation, and reflection. The time within my calendar is based on threes because three is the perfect number for cycles. Two thirds of the time within it are given toward positive creation, two ninths toward rejuvenation and one ninth toward reflection. I did this because I think action is more important that rest, rest is more important than living in the past, although the past is worth remembering.

Nine days to a "week," which is three cycles of three, and three "weeks" to a "month." There are thirteen months, followed by another fourteen days in the "fourteenth month" which isn't actually a month. I've designated the fourteen days at the end of the year and toward the beginning to be the cyclical "connector." 

My calendar is technically made up of 351 days, leaving the fourteen "accendo" at the end/beginning, although I'm considering splashing some of them within the calendar year itself, to be set apart as days of "accendo." All of my month names are coming from Latin, by the way. I have the first month, Genesis, the last month, Finis, two months of rejuvenation, Quietis and Sano, the month of reflection, Recolo, the beginning of fall, Mutatio, and the month of the Harvest, Abundans. Accendo is the fourteen day period, specifically for celebration.

I arranged my calendar according to the seasons and, because I'm in the Northern Hemisphere, my New Year is March 20th, which was the Vernal Equinox this year. I'm really considering creating a sliding calendar, but in all honesty, I'm not sure I could work out the mechanics of it. Perhaps Accendo could be a sliding holiday like Easter and simply last from the end of Finis to the Vernal Equinox; that way the New Year would always be in Spring. It's worth considering at least, and everyone wants to have a good party.
This is actually turning out to be a very interesting project.
My next goal is to finish naming my months, designate the year and the "beginning of time" marker and come up with some holidays to celebrate what's important to me.
I briefly considered basing a sliding calendar on the stages of the moon, but I think I prefer this.
I will, of course, keep you updated.

Also, I learned to knit (cast on plus a simple stitch) so be expecting a post.