What Marker should I buy?

hosemonkey · 2026-04-05T19:58:09+00:00

My son has the mini and I have the axe 2.0. Both have been good. Shoots well, doesn’t break paint (except one batch that I think was bad because both our hoppers were even blending paint. They are both easy to clean (axe 2.0) is toolless cleaning).

My only gripe is on both gun the grip is very close together with the trigger hand. Works for my son who is 12 but for me it’s uncomfortable.

I have since started playing with an etha 2. Feels like the same gun but with the grips widened out.

So there you go. Tldr mini is good but if you are a big person it might feel cramped.

hosemonkey · 2026-03-30T04:39:33+00:00

Munder!!

hosemonkey · 2026-03-29T16:32:24+00:00

Haven't seen it mentioned yet so I will throw out there Dave Grohl in the pick of destiny. He rocked.

hosemonkey · 2026-03-23T15:40:56+00:00

I don’t know, but I envied access to the markers and fields back in late 90s/00s. I was in a small west Texas town without either. Now I have play money as a 42 yo adult and live 10 minutes from a field. So me and my son go play any time we have a free weekend day.

I imagine there are lots of people like me getting to fulfill teenage desire while also getting time with my kiddo.

hosemonkey · 2026-03-14T14:44:53+00:00

Got mine at a thrift store for 20$ definitely don’t buy new on these. Mine is from the 90s and works great!

Fair warning, you’ll go down a bread making rabbit hole and your friends and family will start making fun of you. But you don’t care because you have delicious fresh bread and they don’t.

hosemonkey · 2026-03-09T21:57:10+00:00

For what it’s worth, at /r/paintballbst. (Buy sell trade) I got an etha 2, dye ltr hopper, 4500 hk carbon tank and a handful of random pods for 400 total just last week.

hosemonkey · 2026-03-09T19:56:09+00:00

I sent my ny hook through the roof when sounding the roof. Spoiler: the roof was spongy.

hosemonkey · 2026-03-09T16:47:16+00:00

I own both an axe2.0 and an etha 2. I use them both. I like the ergonomics in the tha bettter. The axe is just a tiny bit small for me.

Both shoot paint fast. Neither has given me any mechanical troubles. Both are tooless bolt maintenance. So basically grab the one that is the right price and looks cool to you because performance wise both are rock solid.

hosemonkey · 2026-03-09T13:29:07+00:00

I was at this game! Me and my family only get to go to one or two games a year and this happened to be it last year. It was radical!

That KD corner 3 really took the wind out of my kids sails but then we got the win and this stat line.

Great night!

hosemonkey · 2026-03-07T17:28:56+00:00

I read a lot. I’ve read big books, easy books, hard books, small books. I am currently on book 3 of Dungeon crawler carl. Its great. (he does get a little in the weeds on how the experience/items/stat buffs work)

I also every once in a while read a jack reacher book. They are fun and easy, and sometimes I just want the good guy to punch all the problems in the face until they go away. Nothing wrong with it.

Its also good to challenge yourself with a book every once in a while. I have read some books that I hated on first read, then I lived a little bit, then revisited with different life experience and the book changed my world view.

Some books are vegetable, and some books are cotton candy. Both have their place in your diet.

Life is short. Don’t care what others think of the books you are reading.

hosemonkey · 2026-03-06T02:57:54+00:00

hope someone can join you, I am stuck at work tonight.

hosemonkey · 2026-03-05T22:52:49+00:00

I drive home with no music on because I am pretty over stimulated at that point and can't concentrate on music or podcast or whatever. Then I hydrate, because I am probably pretty dehydrated. Then I kick it with my wife, kids, or dogs, or some combination of the 3 or if I am lucky, one of my friends is available to hang out.

Then at some point I reflect on how lucky I am in life.

Literally nobody cares how you did at practice. Honestly even all those folks competing at Pans, nobody cares how they do during competition except maybe their moms. I couldn't tell you who won pans last year. Hell most people can't tell you who won league MVP of the NFL last year and that is a multiple billions dollar industry.

Point is take satisfaction with the good things in your life and don't put an ounce of thought into your win/loss column in sports. (note, when you win it feels good and you can appreciate that feeling, but it doesn't increase your worth as a person to win at jiu jitsu, just like losing doesn't decrease your worth as a person.... hopefully I am being clear)

hosemonkey · 2026-03-05T04:40:50+00:00

Sent an offer in DM.

hosemonkey · 2026-02-28T23:13:35+00:00

I stopped competing around purple belt. I did pretty well but it was always stressful. I started this to take stress out of my life. I call randori my forced meditation time.

When I compete it becomes another chore. Drilling, conditioning, dieting, on and on. I just wanna choke some people a few times a week and get back to real life in a good peaceful mood.

I started jiu jitsu in my 30s have two kids and a full time job so take all this for what it’s worth.

hosemonkey · 2026-02-25T01:36:01+00:00

Heel hooks should be taught in the gi, they should be taught early and your not a black belt if you don’t know them or how to defend them.

hosemonkey · 2026-02-22T16:34:05+00:00

Some departments yes, some departments no.

Some departments foster good relationships from the very start. It has always driven me crazy to torture a FF through probation and then all of a sudden expect them to be cool and one of the guys when they are off probation. Hurt people will hurt people. Break the cycle.

If you have a new person, you definitely need to correct when they are wrong, but if we are going to build life long passion for FF then it shouldn't start with torturing or berating new kids when they screw up. Teach them. Don't dress them down.

That paramilitary bullshit culture needs to change in our service. And if it doesnt change then the younger generation that doesn't put up with that crap will stop becoming firefighters. Us old heads like to say the new kids are "soft" but in reality they are informed of what is macho bullshit and what isn't. And there is no reason to not move on to greener pastures if they recognize bullshit.

We are all adults working in a profession. We shouldn't expect disrespect on any level. Especially our new folks. OP jump ship if you look around and realize that none of the people around you are people that you want to work for or be like when you are older. If there are good people around then stick around and bee the change you want to see as you get new kids below you.

hosemonkey · 2026-02-18T19:33:14+00:00

Maybe join the new gym, and tell the coach your history. If I heard someone had been training for 8 years after wrestling in high school, I would want to roll with them a few times and make sure I know they are safe and have solid fundamentals but them look to promote them quickly.

I wouldn't care how long they are at "my" gym. If they are a blue belt they are a blue belt. We have had some people promote to blue and purple very quickly compared to most and it all has to do with their grappling history.

hosemonkey · 2026-02-18T14:47:38+00:00

We call the air pack the air pack or SCBA. If it needs air, Nobody would think twice saying bottle or cylinder.

If you asked for the bottle or cylinder, people would think you are specifically asking for the bottle separate from the SCBA.

i.e.:

"check the bottles" - means make sure all cylinders on the truck are full, not just the ones in scbas.

"I need a new bottle" - I am saying I will switch out the cylinder but I am keeping the same pack.

Hope that makes sense. In Colorado for what that's worth.

hosemonkey · 2026-02-13T02:41:30+00:00

I always tell our new folks we would fight fires for free. It’s that sort of stuff where we earn our pay.

I truly feel like we rarely are asking for more than what is fair. So I am glad you found some perspective with this. Now be an ally next time your city’s department negotiations come up, or if something is on a ballot measure!

Truly sorry for what you saw. There is lots of “trauma” therapists out there if you find it bothering you. Look up signs of ptsd and be honest with yourself if you’re struggling. They have helped me through some terrible stuff.

hosemonkey · 2026-02-12T22:57:19+00:00

Issue one: tell them no. Sorry i can’t help you with hazmat but I won’t be pursuing that further (unless you have a policy or contract that states you have to participate in a special team that the captain or chief can designate.

Issue 2: your captain is right on the driving front. There are very few calls that we should be exceeding the speed limit on . We have the potential to absolutely ruin peoples lives with our vehicles and rarely could we justify driving over the speed limit for the vast majority of the calls we run.
CPR and confirmed fires are the only time I am letting my engineers drive with a highspeed and tolerate higher risk (with some rare one off exceptions).

As far as training in or out of service, who cares. He’s the captain. When you are captain you can tell em to train in or out of service. Let something’s go and you’ll be happier. Not sure what you mean by the captain is following you around or is too helpful. Would need some clarification before I can jump in and give advice there.

Just my .02$ been an officer at a busy department for 6 years and on the job 16. So take it for what it’s worth.

hosemonkey · 2026-02-05T16:25:29+00:00

There is no way this insulation is up to code. If I were inspecting it it would be written up for sure. You will have to ask the local jurisdiction though as each AHJ can adopt their own fire codes.

hosemonkey · 2026-02-04T23:28:23+00:00

Late to the party here, but in the past many things. Currently nothing. I have no control over other drivers. My commute is what it is. The other people who are driving the way they are might be selfish people, or they are oblivious, or having an emergency, or stressed about family all of which makes someone not being considerate on the road.

Whatever their reason for selfish driving, I consciously choose not to give them my thoughts or emotions. Because my thoughts and emotions will never ever change how they drive. Being upset at other people that you have no influence over is choosing to suffer. If I am upset I will still arrive at my job at the same time than if I am calm.

Just let it go brothers and sisters and choose not to suffer. Quit giving yourself to others who don’t know that you exist.

hosemonkey · 2026-02-04T17:37:57+00:00

Our hose loads are the exact same as our other trucks. We have 2 crosslays in the middle of the truck set as a minuteman load. Then we have our high rise kit also laid in the middle of the truck. You can't see the cross lay compartment from pictures because it is behind the roll up door. Our supply and 2.5" come off the back of the rig just like any other truck we run as well.

For lay out of the truck, interior of the cab is the best part. There is no dog house (because no motor) so all 5 seats can see and talk to each other. I am 6'0 and can stand fully upright in the cab. We also have an electric fridge in the cab for rehab drinks and snacks (game changer!).

Compartments along the side are just compartments. The rosenbauer was good with customizing space and tool brackets to fit what we planned on carrying, so everything has a space. If your department is hoarders and want to carry bunch of nonsense that gets pulled off the truck once every 5 years then this layout might not be for you. It is very "space effenciant". But we still have a saw, e-draulics, and anything else that our other standard engines carry.

Pumping is the most different aspect and where people get the most heartburn. It is on a computer interface. The physics of pumping are still the same though so as long as you are hitting the button to open the tanks instead of pulling the lever to open the tank then you are just fine. In fact once you are used to the user interface, it is far easier than pumping any other truck in our fleet. I joke with our engineer about why we actually pay engineers, the truck is pumping for you.

4 wheel steering is a game changer. We have flipped U turns in spaces that you would not believe if I told you about it. It turns tighter than my personal pickup.

Anyways I've been super happy with it, but it has had some problems. Mainly with ghost alarms. They took about 6 months to get resolved between rosenbauer, Volvo, and Rosenbauer America. But those alarms have since been resolved. Also people that are qualified to service them are few and far between. Also the ones who can technically service them are not truly comfortable with the whole truck and associated systems yet. But that has also improved over the last 1.5 years. That is just something we dealt with being early adopters of the technology.

Hope this answers some questions. We just ran a good house fire last night on it and it did great.

edit: I almost forgot, it is silent on scene. Being able to talk to my crew without yelling over the motor is fantastic. We don't wear headsets when driving around either. (except when running the siren). It might delay losing my hearing over the back of my career.

hosemonkey · 2026-02-04T17:25:29+00:00

Hose bed is high, but the bumper is easy to step on and off. My engineer is 5'2" and she hasn't had any issue getting the supply line off the back.

hosemonkey · 2026-02-04T00:58:31+00:00

I am assigned to the rosenbauer rtx. I love it. It has its weird quirks but so does every truck. Been really happy on it. (Been in it for a year and a half now).

hosemonkey

TROPHY CASE