Paintball Strategy

by J.R. Wagner

I know.  Kind of a random topic...but I love random topics and paintball is loads of fun!

I've been paintballing numerous times and once the game begins, I quickly realize I've got no clue what I'm doing (nor do the folks I'm teamed up with).  Being the super-competitive person that I am, I decided to see if I could find a strategy that would ensure victory (or at least increase my odds of not getting creamed)


I found several good, easily implementable strategies at this website:

Paintball-review-world.com

Here are several I thought could be effective.

Flanking

Team based flanking is an incredible Paintball Strategey if properly implimented. If your team is pinned down, split up and advance on both sides of the opressers. If they don't get eliminated, they will soon fall back when they lose the front protection of their position. The more angles that a target is surrounded by the more stressful and difficult it is to hold a position.

Runners

If you are playing a small center flag based game, I had a Paintball Strategy that we would implement occasionally when the timing was right. Before the game started we elected the fastest running players, (usually 2-3) We had them set their guns down and told them that their only goal is to get the flag. They are to run and get the flag as soon as the horn blows, no distractions period! With that laid out in stone, The other 2 runners would follow the first runner a small distance behind and grab the flag if the first runner fell. Same with the 3rd runner. With a flag train setup the rest of the players focused on running with them and shooting, taking cover as far up as possible, but mainly I had them advance running while shooting to keep the opposing team in cover. We won 80% every time we tried this. When we lost it was because the other team was expecting us to do it. Try to mix up your Paintball Strategies often!

Leap-Frogging

You have most likely seen this if not done it before already. Well practiced teams should be able to do this without thinking. Leap-Frogging is watching your team mates advance while you cover them. You don't have to be under fire for this, it should be common movement for a small team group. Figure out a gesture for "move" and "stop". As your team moves up one by one the chance of your whole squad being taken out is slim, If you have experienced players you can really work this paintball strategy. This will help to eliminate a camping player from eliminating your team. If the current point man get's shot at, the rest of your team can then implement various Paintball Strategies to eliminate the threat.


Here is a great diagram of where one should be when approaching an enemy positioned on higher ground. I found this photo and an insanely detailed, multi-part blog post on paintball tactics HERE.  Well worth checking out. 

 Many of the suggestions from GreyOps.net were more advanced than the game play I'm used to but they are very helpful!

Rather than bog you down with more and more tactics and strategy that would overwhelm a beginner, I will leave you with this final thought:

Nice!

Movie Thoughts: Lincoln

by J.R. Wagner

So I watched Lincoln with my daughter (she actually picked it!) over the weekend.

EW.com's first look at Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln

If you're going into this movie expecting a Glory or Saving Private Ryan type civil war recreation you will be disappointed.  This is precisely what my daughter was expecting (she's 13 going on 30) and she managed to fall asleep within the first half hour.

Does this mean if you are a teenager you shouldn't watch the film? Absolutely not.  If you go in with the proper expectations, you will not be disappointed.

Lincoln focuses on the passage of the thirteenth amendment.

The thirteenth amendment of the United States Constitution:

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Yes, making slavery illegal.

Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation earlier in the war using his presidential powers during wartime to do so but the proclamation was not a law.

"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. ..."

So why was the Thirteenth Amendment necessary if there was already the Emancipation Proclamation?   The Emancipation Proclamation banned Confederate slaves. The Thirteenth Amendment banned ALL slavery.

So the film focuses on Lincoln's struggle to get a 2/3 majority in the House of Representatives necessary to pass the amendment.  Much like today and this fiscal cliff nonsense that's going on,  the House is essentially evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. And, much like today, there was very little give or take between the sides. The Republicans had already passed the Thirteenth Amendment in the Senate (because it was a Republican controlled senate) and needed the 2/3 vote in the house to make it law.

Okay, that's enough history now back to the film.

Lincoln, played by Daniel Day-Lewis, exceeded all of my expectations.

Day-Lewis as Lincoln

Daniel Day-Lewis

He did a phenomenal job not only in assuming they physical role of Lincoln -his walk, the way he carried himself, his mannerisms, but becoming Lincoln -the way he talked, the way he addressed the crowd, the gentle way he told stories to his cabinet, his political opponents, his family. For the duration of the film he WAS Abraham Lincoln and it was immediately obvious why Lincoln was such a popular president. 

Sally Field

Sally Field, who I generally find annoying also did a spectacular job. God, you could see the pain in her eyes when she spoke of the loss of one of their sons.  When she and Lewis were alone together speaking of the untimely death of their eleven-year-old son, Willie, I was completely engrossed in the scene.  I could feel their pain as parents, I could see it on their faces, in the way they held their bodies and how they interacted with each other. Truly, the collaboration of Sally Field and Daniel Day-Lewis made their scenes together compelling and believable.

A Writer's lament ...part XIVXILLX: The downward spiral of book and mortar bookstores

by J.R. Wagner

So I was strolling through the bookstore (I won't mention the name)  the other day and wandered into the YA section as I always do to scope out the competition and have come to the following conclusion:

There is a reason why big chain bookstores are failing...and it isn't just because Ebooks are forcing them to close up shop.


The first thing I noticed is that, with the exception of the YA section, which is growing, every other section is shrinking.  Good for YA readers, bad for everyone else. The toy department (yep, toys) is taking over the real estate once owned by books.


Even within YA there are some disturbing trends.

First is the lack of selection. They've got YA broken down into Paranormal Romance, which gets most of the real estate when compared to the other sections. Then there is YA fiction, YA non-fiction and YA fantasy.

Music With a Message II: The Fighter

by J.R. Wagner

Okay, here is the second song in my Music with a Message series. Music released in the past five years that has a positive,  uplifting self esteem boosting theme. 

Song: The Fighter

Artist: Gym Class Heroes

Panacea -Chapter 3 (Formerly: Enhancing and destroying memories through nanotechnology...really.)

By J.R. Wagner

photo from a great article by SmartPlanet.com

 If you haven't read chapters one and two, I highly recommend it. Links below.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Did I mention I'm a college student? Yep. Sixth year senior.  My parent's aren't exactly thrilled when they write a check each semester but I guess they assume it's a better option than allowing me to move back in. I'm working on my library science degree.

A quick way to a bloody lip would be to tell me my field of study will be obsolete before I graduate (I have temper issues). My father once said, Most fields will be obsolete before you graduate! What can I say? He's an ass.

Where was I before I digressed? Right....the whole 'I was wrong about everything.' bit.  That seems to be a common theme in my life lately -being wrong.  I prefer to think of my wrongness as life lessons.

Anyway, my 'friend' asked me to do him a favor before we parted ways and I, like the idiot I am, agreed.  He said it was simple, would only take a few minutes and would help him (and humanity) out tremendously.

I pulled up to Planet Hills High School in my 1986 Chevy el Camino (shut up) and was greeted by several disgusted expressions as students exited the building  and walked to their much nicer modes of transportation provided by Mommy and Daddy.

Two words: Chick. Magnet.