This blog is now "more difficult" to comment in

Sorry guys. But, let me give you a taste of what spammers do :

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6:59 pm
Go 4 yr Neighbours wife; Get Laid ...
Premium properties in India. Own it now Friend in Need by Abraham Sukumar Meet Old Pals.
stramento esercitaz is the owner of ABC exercisekegel exercise which is a premier resource for kegel exercise information.
for more information, go to (their webwsite)

Well gee thanks. I have such a need for property in India. Yep, I'm moving there next weekend. And What's up with the getting "laid" part? "go 4 yr"? Go for your? Go 4 year old Neighbor? Pedophilia is not on my agenda today, and I wear TWO gloves when I play paintball thank you large. Sickos.

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7:09 pm
Israel prevents Rabin's killer from reproducing
In 1995, Jewish extremist Yigal Amir assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Hey, you have a great blog here! I'm definitely going to bookmark you!
I have a Debt consolidation refinance site/blog. It pretty much covers Debt consolidation refinance related stuff.

Come and check it out if you get time :-)


Second spammer, and again going RIGHT for the gonads. First two lines have nothing to do with the spam. What does Rabin's killer have to do with a bottle test OR a refinance blog? And it' snot even a blog site, ya moron. You're scamming people on their last penny FOR their last penny.

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7:13 pm
Been looking at blogs, found your Blog...
I have a Posters, Art Prints and Poetry site and blog.
Feel free to visit anytime. :)


Again, not a blog. Not even worth it. Like the "smile face" actually makes me believe you're not a spammer. 4 minutes after the last spammer.

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7:31 pm
Dawn Eden's Blog On: Think big! HS twins tell peers
Most high schoolers' blogs are the online equivalent of perfumed diaries or locker-room walls - outlets for teens to gossip, confess and network with their pals.
It's so cool to be here - programy graficzne


I'm sensing a pattern here. Sex. Sex is what gets people to look at your blog, because you have nothing better to do with your time. Look, if you're having a hard time figurung out something to do, I can CERTAINLY offer advice.

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7:41 pm
Hey, what's up? Listen, I read like 20 blogs per day and skim about 30 more so when I say you have a knack for writing, I mean it! Coming from the coolest guy on the planet. that's not to be taken lightly! ;-)

Anyways, happy blogging, keep it up! People like me DO actually read these things!

Dave the Blog Addict, The Planet's Coolest Guy!

Wow, u r so k3wl! SO k3wl you spam 20 - 30 blogs a day with your own BLOG SPAMMING PROGRAM! WOW! Can I be you? Please? I'll give you a dollar?

Better yet, I'll give you a cookie if you go away.

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7:41 pm
Dawn Eden's Blog On: Think big! HS twins tell peers
Most high schoolers' blogs are the online equivalent of perfumed diaries or locker-room walls - outlets for teens to gossip, confess and network with their pals.
Hey, awesome blog here! I'm definitely enjoyed the visit we had.I have a gaming site/blog. It pretty much covers the world of games from video to texas holdem related stuff.

too late dude, you already hit me up and I've been on that masturbation thing since then.

And really, teenage blogs being a sex outlet and a "gaming site" are totally polar opposites of each other. Trust me on that.

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7:42 pm
The Anti-Hillary
Got a scoop? Email your tips and suggestions to the editor. Premium Blog Ad Blog Ads Classifieds Amazon About The Site Taegan D. Goddard is the creator of Political Wire, a political column updated around the ...
Great Blog! If you have time see my ##MLM## related site. enjoy! It pretty much covers ##MLM## related stuff.

MLM : Multi-Level Marketing. Also known as "steal all your money if you're not the one organising this scam." Yah, that's a good one. Spam my blog too with it. Yeah, I'll be happy to multi-level you. Your feet stay on level 1, your head, however, goes right up to level 7...

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7:55 pm
Danbury man sees Palestinian side of conflict
Chris Towne of Danbury sits on a camel with Bedouin children in the Negev desert in Israel while delivering water with a peace action group in July.
Hey, you have a great blog here! I'm definitely going to bookmark you!

I have a Frisco Texas site/blog. It pretty much covers Frisco Texas related stuff. This is a great place to find info about Frisco Texas

Come and check it out if you get time :-)

Ok, umm, what does TEXAS have to do with Palestine? I hate people that do this stuff, so I'm taking measures to remove this problem.

As of now, there's a human-proover security on the site. It SHOULD still allow anyone to reply to blog entries, but you'll need to put in a series of letters that are randomly generated to do it. Sorry, but I really dislike spammers.

RECALL NOTICE on "IGNITION" Air Systems

This was forwarded to me, and I'm trying to help get the word out. If you have any of these bottles, or you see other people with it, make sure that the right steps are taken.

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PRESS RELEASE

IGNITION Air Systems – Product Recall Notice

8-25-05: ARCHON Paintball Inc. announced today an immediate product recall of all IGNITION Air Systems with DOT-E 12695 certification.

IGNITION Air Systems were assembled using GCI (Global Composites International) carbon fiber bottles. These bottles were manufactured in the USA by GCI and supplied to ARCHON with correct DOT specification and certification. However, it has been determined by the US DOT (Department of Transport) that these bottles are unsafe and could cause serious injury or death. Do not use under any circumstances.

The Department of Transportation recommends that anyone possessing one of these cylinders take it to a qualified refilling station to have the pressure relieved. These cylinders should NOT be refilled and will NOT be re-qualified for service. You can view this Safety Advisory Notice on the DOT website at:

http://hazmat.dot.gov/regs/notices/sa/70fr-47273.htm

Product Return/Replacement

For product return and replacement authorization, please contact ARCHON Paintball Inc. at 1-864-675-0228 or visit http://www.archonpaintball.com/pages/news.htm.

This recall notice pertains to IGNITION Air systems only. For all other air systems using GCI manufacturing tanks, please contact the manufacturer.

Contact:
Doug Brown, Vice President
ARCHON Paintball Inc.
dbrown@archonpaintball.com

Address:
155 Verdin Road
Greenville, SC 29607

Toll Free: 888-927-1010
Fax: 864-458-7611

Community building

I know that someone will accuse me of picking on a specific group here, but it's not just them. This is something I've seen in a lot of places, but last night I wanted to test it.

Last night I started a thread over on Spec Ops asking people what their long term paintball goals were. In a way I understand it's a loaded question. I'm asking individuals what they want to do in a sport or hobby they enjoy.

Responses were pretty typical. A lot of people wanted to play all over the place. Some wanted to achieve sponsorship. Some wanted to do great things. Some wanted to build fields that were really cool. But there was a recurring theme. All the goals were for themselves. All about things they wanted to do.

"So what?" What I wanted to see is if anyone was interested in building a community. Before you click "back" let me explain. When I asked people about what they wanted to do, I had in mind what I set out to do when I began the WDR shows. One of my goals was to give back to the paintball community, put some information back into the pool that players could benefit from.

This isn't as uncommon as you might think. Many athletes in other sports want to give back to the community they live in, or the community of players in their sport. Some do it with charity fundraisers, using their celebrity to attract money for their cause. Some do it by donating time and money out of their own pockets to build and restore fields for kids to play at. Some do it by selling videos with their techniques on it, but that's more about making a little more money than building a community.

So when I talk about a paintball community, I'm talking about making the player base stronger. I'm talking about a direction for paintball to travel as a whole. I've been told that I'm fragmenting the sport with stuff like the "Woodsball Manifesto" and the "Bashing of tourney players". I don't bash people for playing tournaments; I bash them for being idiots. I'm an equal opportunity bastard like that.

The problem is that tournament paintball is going one way, and separating itself from the remainder of paintball. What you have is a segment of players claiming in words they're part of a larger community of paintball players, when in reality they want nothing to do with the majority of people in the community. This isn't my doing; I'm not the almighty here. This is what they genuinely want.

Add to that my question from earlier, and the responses. What you get is a collection of people who are, for lack of a better term, selfish. And I can't blame them, as paintball is very much geared for individuals. The ultimate irony, paintball is a team sport where a group of individuals play together and try to gain rewards for themselves. But when I asked people what they wanted as a long term goal for themselves in paintball, everyone wanted something for them, and only them.

"I want this gun" or "I want to play in this game". Nobody said anything about "I have a goal to teach some new guys how to play" or "I want to help run a charity game to help both an organization and paintball." There were a few responses about introducing new people to paintball, but mostly it was people wanting things for themselves. But that's what paintball is geared towards. We aren't as much a community as much as we're just a bunch of people that "hang out" together and want to get stuff from the "bottomless pit". But it's not bottomless, the energy and the effort to make it work has to come from somewhere.

Community building isn't just taking things from the game; it's putting effort back into the game. It's not just saying "I want to get sponsored and get free stuff", it's hosting a clinic at your local field to help teach kids to play right. It's not saying "I want to travel to these events", it's helping your local field owner organize an event that people will want to come to. It's not always about you; it's about making the whole game better by giving your time or effort to make things better.

There are some groups that do this, some scenario teams have programs where they teach a kid the basics of scenario play ("Ranger for a day" and the "1st MG Mini Merc" programs comes to mind) But beyond that, who does it? I know that tournament teams certainly don't, for the most part. I think one tournament team had a contest to be part of their "pit crew" for a weekend, but that's more gimmick than giving.

So take a little time, think about what long term goals you have for your paintball game. It's as much yours as it is mine and anyone else's. It's up to all of us to take care of it, and make it better. If you keep taking water from a lake, eventually it becomes nothing more than a hole. You have to put water back in to make it thrive. That's how you build a community. What you get out of it depends a lot on what you're willing to put into it.

Everyone always wants a little bit more.

This one's for me.

I've been reading a lot on the forums about my supposed "Retirement". Amazing. A lot of people will come out of the woodwork and take their final potshots at you when they think you aren't reading them. And they use grudges that they refuse to let go, outright lies they made up or took out of context deliberately, or just their own hatred for me because I managed to do what they haven't. Mainly the accomplishment of gaining recognition in the paintball industry on my own terms, not through the "normal" channels.

That and I understand that there's a lot of anger at my ability to gain some level of "celebrity" for doing my own thing, not following the herd. Sure, my supposed "celebrity" puts me up to take shots from people with agendas and axes to grind. And people are very quick to judge any action I take, or not take, and apply it to what they believe all well known people can do. The joke is that I'm just a player doing what I do as a wordsmith. I write, I create, I put to paper ideas that others want to but for whatever reason they can't, and that's what I do.

But one theme I read over and over about my alleged "retirement" is the following phrase: "He could have done more."

Well, like what? No, really. What did I NOT do as an individual for paintball as a sport? Keeping in mind that I don't run a tournament series, a major company, or have the political sway people think I do, what else could I have done for the sport of paintball?

Let's start with the obvious. I had the video show. 75+ episodes all done on my dime, on my time, for free. That was the object of the show, so I'm not complaining about that. So what more could I have done? Create a DVD and give it away? How about free clinics? Sure, I'll drive around the country and teach people how to play paintball, for free? That's impractical, so the videos will just have to do.

The shows were either very popular, or laughed at depending on who you were in the sport. Tournament players didn't take it seriously because they generally think they know everything. Rec players and new players loved it because it was the only real source of information that existed. The fact it was free definitely helped the enjoyment of the show, that's for sure.

But what else can I have done with the show? Talk about safety? Did that. Talk about doing things in a safe manner like bunkering people? Did that too, but I know the message was ignored. Talk about fair play and doing things right? Did that too. So I'm puzzled, what else could I have done?

Archive the old school days? Did that. Show the social side of paintball? Did that. Show the gritty underside of a tournament? Did that. Seems I did a lot, huh? I feel like I did all I could to portray paintball in a positive way with the WDR site. That I had control over, and I put up content that I believed would portray paintball in a way that would get people to want to try it, or at least tolerate it in their communities

So how about other venues? Write articles to help new players and experienced ones? I do that. Put out a book? Co-authored one and basically wrote the addendums to them all yes. But since I'm pigeonholed as the "rec ball guy" articles I write aren't taken seriously by people who think they're tournament gods. They're not, but that's another rant entirely. So I can't write stuff about serious sports techniques like visualization and training, because that's not rec-ballish enough.

As an individual, there's only so much I can do. Well I could join a tournament team and try to change the system from the inside, but that's impossible as JUST a player. Players have little to no power in the "industry system", but they don't realize that. The only power they have is to vote with their wallets and not go to events, but nobody will do that and that makes the players powerless. That and players tend to be spoiled children who want everything for free when they think they've "earned the rights". If you want to affect change, it takes a LOT of money and a controlling interest in the "scene" to make swooping change like that. I neither have the money, nor the influence as just "Tyger".

But it's interesting how easy it is for other people to say I should have "done more" or "tried harder". It's easy to say that, isn't it? But I've exhausted all the options available to me that I can do as just me. I've done a hell of a lot for paintball. I'd venture to say that I've done more than most of my detractors COMBINED to try to make this game better overall. And I've done it all without being greedy or selfish. I've never asked for anything back from the players. And I only recently asked for industry help to back it up financially, to keep the server going. That didn't work, and after the last incident on the field I see that an individual's efforts are basically ignored by a slick ad campaign and decade old promises that people continue to buy into.

And for what it's worth, what could I have tried harder at doing? Making the game better? I think I did that in all the ways I could without a lot of money to throw at a server. Clean up the tournament circles? Yeah, right, they don't want to be cleaned up. Make the industry better? Well seeing that I'm not a shareholder in any of them they won't listen to me no matter how right I am. I'm an individual, I'm a player. I'm neither a messiah nor a miracle worker. I have as much power as any other individual player to affect change.

I've dropped this hint on the Spec Ops forum, but I'll say it here too. Change is not made by one person's words. Change is made by 10,000 people's actions. If you want to affect change, you need to get help doing it. I have a way to do it, but I'm going to let it simmer a little while. I won't unleash a half-baked idea on the 'net. You'll know when it drops tho. I have a feeling it'll shake things up a little.

To say "Tyger hasn't done enough" is not a fair statement to make. As a person, I've done EVERYHTING in my power that I can. As "B-Grade Celebrity" (as I've been told I am) there's only so much I can pull out of my tail to affect change for the better good. Especially in an industry that's resistant to anything changing.

What's in Tyger CD player :

Items for sale on EBay

I am currently selling the following items on e-bay :

The "Hope Nelspot" paintball gun
JT Harness
Spec Ops harness

Liquidating some of my paintball stock, starting with the smaller stuff.

In simple black & white

Did anyone actually read what I wrote? I mean really?

I'm going to say not, as everyone is now saying that I've retired from paintball. Obviously, you didn't read what I wrote. Granted, it's a long piece so I'm willing to understand that people only glean what they want out of it. I shouldn't expect any different really, nobody seems to read anything I write anyway and they never have. They go off of what someone else told them I wrote, and that's usually nothing like what I said in the first place. Or if they do read it, they take one sentence out of context, blow it out or proportion, and claim that's all I said. All I can say is it's a good thing I keep backups of my works.

So, here you go. Cut and dry.

I'm not retiring from paintball. I never said I was. I said, and I quote "I can not, with a clear conscience, associate myself with a sport that condones by silence any kind of violent behavior". This does not say "I am leaving paintball forever". It says I am not associating with a sport that condones by silence bad or violent behavior, and in my opinion encourages it. Not playing paintball and not associating with an industry selling a prefabricated image to a player base that follows the lead of disposable heroes are two different things. I also said it's not fun playing paintball, and that's still the case.

I am no longer doing the Web Dog shows or most any video production for the near future. They have a life of their own now, and I'm no longer doing anything with them.

I am no longer seeking to fund the show out of my pocket to create an archive site. There are a few players who have themselves, so the videos are still obtainable.

To those who have sent e-mail or posted, I thank you for the words and kind thoughts. But I'm not dead, I'm not committing suicide, I'm not burning myself in protest in the streets of a major city. I'm just removing my website, and not planning on doing more videos in the near future.

I'm just getting out of the way of the juggernaut determined to blast itself into the immovable object of reality. And when it happens, when some kid is killed or severely injured due to player stupidity / industry ignorance, I'll try not to gloat when I say "I told you so."

I also understand that EVERYONE has an axe to grind, and I have people that don't like me. Fine. Don't put words in my mouth, and I won't put words into yours. I don't expect everyone to like me, but I expect you to at least have the courtesy to ask me to my face for clarification if I manage to confuse you. It's not that uncommon, I'm told I'm confused a lot. You want to spread hate or rumors, I can't stop you. But if you claim to be my friend, the least you can do is contact me.

And as far as people agreeing or disagreeing about my motivations or the problems I pointed out, good. If people talk about the problem, that's good. If people actually do something about it, that's even better. I've been told I've started revolutions before, so let's start one.

Farewell to Kings

Adult language follows. Consider yourself warned.

As of this moment, the Web Dog main page reads as follows:

"It's been real.

So long, and thanks for all the Phish."

Yes, it's a reference to the popular jam band "Phish", but more importantly, I'm done. After playing today, and comparing it to the past few events I've been to, I've come to the conclusion that the game being presented as "paintball" is not the game of "paintball" I used to enjoy.

I should explain. In the last two months of playing I've seen fist fights, almost became involved in two more including today, had my civil rights violated by a field enforced mandatory and illegal search and seizure of my belongings, and have had people threaten to kick my ass because I caught them wiping. And that's just my experiences. And I should mention this is all rec-ball, not tournaments.

Then I hear of other stuff going on. How the IAO sucked and no vendors showed up. How the industry fucked itself over a sweet TV deal because they acted like a bunch of hack amateurs. How companies are splitting up or making new brands to sell product and screwing each other. How the industry is turning sue-happy to get more of the paintball pie for themselves.

And you know what? I'm tired. I'm really tired of it all. I'm tired of feeling like I might have to defend myself from violence on the field. I'm tired of people pushing the rules to the breaking point, then beyond. I'm tired of watching 16-20 year old referees try to enforce rules to overly testosteroned 25 year old players whose best retort is "FUCK YOU!" or "FUCK OFF" or "FUCK YOURSELF" as they bully the refs around.

I'm tired of watching the sport I loved get shit-canned for a slicker and more sellable image. I'm tired of dealing with morons in the industry whose interest is making money more than making a community. I'm tired of players copping an attitude because they never learned how to be courteous or even have morals, and I'm tired of being told it's my job to enforce morality upon them. (It never works, and all you get is a mad player in your face wanting to kick your ass for lighting them up when they wipe hits.)

Back in 2000 I hit an impasse. I went to a Dollack scenario game and was assaulted by the "XO" of the opposing team. He shoved a gun into my chest, 3 inches into my chest, and pulled the trigger while someone else held my arms away from me. I reported this to Dollack, and both Wayne and Jackie told me "Boys will be boys." I was also informed I wouldn't be "welcome" at any other event if I pressed charges. It became obvious to me at that point that my safety was not a concern to anyone else but, apparently, me.

I had to seriously reconsider the sport I thought I knew. I figured I'd tough it out, see what came, and ride it from there. I had an opportunity open up with Web Dog, and I took it. Two seasons and more than a few life-changing events later, I'm back at that impasse. The "sport" I thought I enjoyed is not fun anymore, and I know why.

It's the players.

Over time, I've watched the change. The game has gotten slicker in the pro ranks, and I've watched as fighting, screaming matches and over tempered behavior was not only allowed but glorified. Everyone's seen the "Roundhouse" from 300 FPS, as well as the guns that get chucked to the ground in disgust in every major video on the market. If you haven't seen those, how about the temper tantrums pros throw by punching bunkers if they get shot? Plus Rocky's "we will boycott" threat at the X-Ball game after he cowed a referee and made motions like he would punch one of the others.

I've said it before, that there is a very real trickle down effect in paintball. What happens in the pro ranks takes 6 months to a year to become a reality in my walk-on game. Today was that day. Four players were lit up by the same opponent, an off-duty ref who was playing, and one was after he had called himself out and was trying to exit the field. Then the fight, it wasn't from a tournament player. It was a rec guy wearing camouflage pants and a t-shirt. This isn't a game; this was a barely contained brawl.

If it were isolated, I'd let it go. But again in the last two months I've seen the cops called to press charges on a player who started a fist fight on the field of play. It's the Wild West all over again. We've got young boys with guns and nobody around who will teach them morality or how to act. The refs won't do it, the field owners can't, and certainly parents won't punish children for something they didn't see them do if at all.

So this brings me back to my safety on the field. Since my safety is, in part, a result of the players I'm with, I put faith into them. I trust that they don't crank up guns while we're in the parking lot. I trust them to play honestly. I have to believe that they're not going to overuse the trigger in an attempt to injure someone.

Unfortunately, that's simply not the case anymore. Back in the day, it wasn't so bad. But since the "Wild West" mentality has been embraced (light up a cheater, light up someone who's being a jerk, punish the guilty yourself rather than get a ref there) and the level of tech has kept increasing, it's created a volatile mix of adrenaline, testosterone and ego.

One of these days, if the game keeps going the way it is, some kid will get killed. No, not figuratively. Some kid will mouth off at the wrong guy, and catch 50-100 paintballs point blank in the throat or the back of the head. Or some kid will light up some guy in a bunkering run, and said guy will chase the kid around the field and beat him to death with a paintball gun.

Solutions? None that are easy. They involve a huge social revolution in the game of paintball. A revolution that is neither profitable for the industry nor possible with the players. And unless someone turns a buck nobody will want to do it. So this brings me back to the beginning.

"It's been real." And it has. WDR has been a ride and a half. All told I've sunk a lot of time, effort and money into something that I didn't want to turn a profit on. It would have been nice, but that was never my intention. It existed to give back to the paintball community, have some kind of positive impact on the world of paintball. And in a way, it has. I've proven, among other things, that you can film woods-ball with respect to the game. You can make a reality show where people really do like each other and the audience will like it. And you can make a low budget show look good if you have a story to tell and the dedication to it.

"So long, and thanks for all the Phish." A nod to Douglas Adams, yes. More than that, it's not goodbye. On the WDR forums I've already been accused of never intending to bring WDR back at all, and that's not true. The money spent on POW Web would beg to differ. The phone calls telling me that I'd have to sink $500 up front for the hosting I need would differ too.

If it comes back, it comes back. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Just because I'm tired of dealing with morons does not mean that the whole world is full of them. It also does not mean that art should be hidden away. Yes, the clips are art. After pouring blood, sweat and paint into them, they're art. But it's still something I would still give away for free, if I can. But am I done with it? Pretty much, yes.

I set out to do a few things with WDR, and since it's not profitable to do so I don't get any support from the industry. And since it's not tourney-slick I don't get respect. And since it's not showing scantily-clad women or fights, I don't get much of anything else. After fighting uphill so long, you either get the point or get out of the way of the juggernaut going downhill. That includes the industry screwing itself, the events screwing the players, and the players taking out their anger on each other.

I can not, with a clear conscience, associate myself with a sport that condones by silence any kind of violent behavior. If you don't condemn an act, you give the green light for others to repeat it. Today finally was the big fucking spotlight on the fact that in paintball, my safety is not a concern. When I used to ref my main goal of the day was to insure the players all had a safe time, then they had a good time, then they had the rules. Apparently, this is no longer the case.

So I've taken down the WDR site and I'm not planning on anything paintball oriented in the future. If it finds me, it finds me. If not, oh well. Don't think for a moment that this is an easy decision on my behalf. You don't take something you created from scratch and throw it away for no good reason. But I can't place myself in a position that someone will name me in a lawsuit if their kid gets hurt. And I can't write articles that I know nobody will read or heed the advice. I can write all I want "Don't bunker people" but nobody will listen. All that I realistically can do is control my own actions and thoughts.

I can not change the behavior of the players, the industry or the referees, so that leaves me with my own behavior patterns. It's been a rule of mine in life that if you're not enjoying something you do, don't do it. Is this a full retirement? I wouldn't say so, but after the heaps of abuse from people about WDR, the game being more dangerous (with implied and real violence carried out), referees who don't put any care or effort into the games they run, and an industry that "wags the dog" it's gotten to the point that I'm loathing the idea to go out and play. And honestly, I don't want to be on the field where some kid is pounded bloody by an over-testosteroned moron or takes the "golden bullet" shot in the back of his head and causes an aneurysm. Either way, I don't want to see it or be named in the lawsuit.

And before you all say "Well come to my field" I am speaking in generalities. YOUR field may not be like that, but more of them are than are not. But when you see the trend repeated not only in your home field, but all around the country, it's not just a local thing. I've seen it coming for a long time; I've just been denying it. But after today, I no longer have that luxury.

I wish I had an uplifting way to end this, but I don't. Other than I'm still going to update this blog. I still hold hope for the game, but not much. Too much has to happen before paintball is taken seriously by anyone outside of the circle. And if nobody else will say it, I will. I am, after all, a cynic.