Stop Saying That!

 

As an instructor it really behooves me to pick my instructional words and cues thoughtfully. Words are powerful and have consequences, both for the good and bad when it comes to teaching students. I've seen instructors pick some less than stellar verbiage in their time with students, and I strive not to follow them down that path.

In general, shorter is better. Most people can remember three things, maybe four things at once. If you have to tell somebody twenty steps, it is likely that they won't remember them, at least not without exceptional and ongoing effort.

No, I try to keep my instructional cues as positive and short as I can. I try not to tell people "don't do this," rather I try to tell them to "DO THIS." If you say "don't slap the trigger," what they'll likely fixate on is "slap the trigger." It would be 100% better to say, "take up all the slack, and then smoothly press through." While that is longer, it is giving them something to DO, not something to avoid. 

There are a whole list of phrases I'm compiling that I'm going to do videos on. It's going to be my "Stop saying that!" series. It probably won't premier for a while, as I have a lot of other content I want to do first, but it is on the list.

I think the comments on blogger are rough, so if you want to interact with me, your best bets are via my email: juan.laluz@graydogllc.com, or via my youtube or instagram. I'd love to hear things that instructors told you that worked really well. I'd also be curious if anything they shared with you was less than awesome.

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Feeling the pinch? Here are some money saving items that may be of interest:

Cheapest Knife Ever: Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops

Slightly better: Ganzo Knife

If you got $70, this is one of the best knives I've ever tried: Civivi Cogent

Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Winter Air

 If you checked your tire pressure and adjusted accordingly during the winter months, it is highly likely that your tire pressure is a bit high right now. As you are doubtless aware, air pressure is affected by temperature. Colder air is more dense, warmer air is not. And if it was 35 degrees when you adjusted your tire pressure, unless you have a slow leak, that pressure has increased.

Given the fact that gas prices are pretty awful right now, it makes sense to check and adjust those tire pressures regularly. Properly inflated tires give better mileage, longer tire wear, and a better ride. It also affects how much traction you have by giving you an optimal contact patch between the tire and the road surface. While many of you may not drive at such speeds or angles that you're using 99% of your traction, having more traction available is not a bad thing.

As you might imagine, I use a very nice dial gauge to check and adjust my tire pressure. It is a Longacre Liquid Filled Tire Gauge. It isn't cheap, but it is very accurate. If I need to add air, I use a pancake tank air compressor. I hate having to go to a gas station to try to use their compressor. Half the time it is either not working or the line to use it is long.

If you don't want high end stuff but you still want to be able to take care of your own tires, here are two less expensive recommendations:

Jaco Elite Pro Tire Pressure Gauge ($22 but cheaper with the 5% coupon)

Astro AI Car Compressor Tire Inflator (does car, bike, balloons, etc.) $32

Things are getting economically sporty right now, so in my opinion it makes sense to be able to handle small adjustments and repairs by yourself. I'm not saying that you have to create your own automotive shop, and even coming close to that goal may be cost prohibitive for most. But the very basics can be taken care of by anybody with no need for a garage or even a driveway.

Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Limeflation

 Unless you've been living under a rock lately, you are aware that inflation has risen across the past 12 months. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics claims that consumer prices are up 8.5% as of March, 2022. They further claim that this is the largest 12 month increase since December 1981. When we drill down further, they also mention that food prices rose 8.8%, food at home rose 10%, and energy up 32%, with the special mention of gasoline pricing rising 48%.

Really, if you look at all of these numbers, the 8.5% quote is artificially low, as it doesn't take into consideration the things that affect us the most, i.e. food, energy, and housing. Honorable mentions go to new car pricing (12.5%) and used car pricing (35.3%).

Now, all these numbers aside, let's just assume that for the typical US consumer, the real inflation rate is greater than that 8.5%. Everybody's situation is quite different, obviously, based on things like your spending habits, needs, area you live in, etc. If you own your house outright and don't need to buy a vehicle this year, your rate of inflation will be one thing. If you're renting and you need to buy a car, either new or used, your rate will be quite different.

Now, since we all know these esoteric numbers by heart, I'm proposing a very simple inflationary index for myself. For those of you who know me or have watched my videos or read anything that I write, you know that I love margaritas. And since I've perfected the recipe for margaritas, there are a few things that directly affect me. Firstly, the price of limes at the grocery store, and secondly the type of tequila that I put into my margaritas. I'll be combining the average of those to give you "Jay's Limeflationary Index," or "Limeflation" for short.

In March of 2020 limes were going for $0.33. Last time I hit the grocery store they were $0.72. Amortized over 2 years, the real rate of that inflation is 27%. And my favorite tequila, Husongs Platinum, was going for $55 for 750ml in March of 2020. Now it retails for $69. That equals a markup of 10.1%. Average those two inflation numbers and you can see that for May of 2022 the Limeflation Index is 18.55%.

Is this a worthwhile number? Should anybody care? Is this tone deaf of me to use these particular markers? Who knows, who cares? Either way, everything is more expensive than it was two years ago. I have my theories on why the cost of everything has skyrocketed, and my two big theories revolve around monetary supply and the artificial cap on energy production and transportation that has caused us to more heavily rely on distasteful countries in order to get our energy fix. Energy is baked into every cost, as there is nothing you own or use that didn't get somewhere via energy, or get built because of energy. But I digress.

What would you use for your own personal inflation index? What markers make the most sense to you? Or for that matter, what markers entertain you more? That's probably the only thing I care about now, because we're all getting an ass kicking from inflation. Might as well have fun with it.

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Feeling the pinch? Here are some money saving items that may be of interest:

Cheapest Knife Ever: Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops

Slightly better: Ganzo Knife

If you got $70, this is one of the best knives I've ever tried: Civivi Cogent

Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Cocktail Videos

 So if you are into cocktails, I've done two videos that may be of interest to you. Firstly, the one on how to craft a PERFECT MARGARITA:

And the second one on the French 75:

Look, I know you could drink all sorts of things, but there are a few things you should know. Firstly, cocktails are classy, and a nice way to impress guests. Secondly, these are really tasty. I'm not into weird cocktails for their historic value. My main reason for drinking a good cocktail is that it tastes exceptional and the second reason is that nice relaxation you get from the alcohol content.

These have both been tested by friends and relatives, all have given it their stamp of approval/thumbs up. Every time I go out to a restaurant I wish that their cocktails were anywhere near as good as mine. Seriously, try these out and let me know what you think!

Some items that you may wish to get to enhance your cocktail experience:

Lime Squeezer

Citrus Juicer

Double Walled Cocktail Shaker

Lime Flavored Cocktail Salt (for rimming margarita glasses)

Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.