Friday, April 10, 2015

I’ll Let the Racket Do the Talking

“Freed from the thoughts of winning, I instantly play better. I stop thinking, start feeling. My shots become a half-second quicker; my decisions become the product of instinct rather than logic.” – Andre Agassi

I started playing tennis a few years ago and I have thoroughly enjoyed itI was never very physically active in my younger years. I was obsessed with my work. At the ripe old age of 48 I started mountain biking, surfing, kiteboarding and tennis. I struggle and come home bloody every now and then but I am getting good at the mountain biking and tennis.

I am a member of our local country club in Atlantic Beach. It used to be called Selva Marina but they revamped the whole club a few years back and rebranded it as Atlantic Beach Country Club (ABCC). It’s a great family place and I love to play tennis there. I’m a member of the ABCC league. The courts are located smack dab in the middle of the Atlantic Beach area and is a members’ only facility featuring seven premium Har-Tru courts and a comprehensive program.

The men’s program features five weekly round robins for the 2.5 to 3.0 level, two weekly round robins for the 3.5 to 4.0 level, and 2 men’s teams from 3.0-4.0 level.

I took some lessons and seemed to pick things up pretty quickly. The Atlantic Beach Country Club staff is wonderful and the pro teaching me was helpful and patient. It is sometimes tough to teach an old dog new tricks but I was very willing and eager to learn. I felt like a kid again!

I’m really glad I picked it up, even in my ripe age. It’s a great sport to continue to play into your later years and it gets you up and moving around. I find it’s easier to workout when it’s masked by a friendly competition or sport. I’m hoping that with some more hard work and dedication I can get ranked higher and start playing in the “big leagues.” I've been continually setting goals to ensure I’m on target. Even though I see it as a hobby, I think it’s always good to set goals for yourself to make sure you are progressing. 

How to Train Your German Shepherd Puppy Not to Pull on the Leash

I started Guardian Therapy Dogs, a nonprofit organization committed to providing a k-9 guardian to survivors of rape, a few years back and I learned a great deal about training German Shepherd puppies. We chose to use pure-bred, female German Shepherds due to their intelligence, nurturing characteristics and motherly protective instincts.
 
We’ve had quite a few German Shepherd puppies now. A few of my favorites were ZuZu, Anya and Sampson (the only male German Shepherd we’ve trained). These dogs have a special place in my heart and I try my best to stay in touch with the current owners to be able to reconnect with the dogs.

During the first few months of training, one of the toughest things I encountered was trying to take the puppy out on a walk without her pulling on leash and going wild. Of course you want your puppy to be well behaved and you want to be able to take them to social gatherings but it’s tough when they get rambunctious and try to pull you all over the place while on the leash. You have to remember that they are young and still learning. They are very impressionable so you must teach them at this age to listen and heal. Keep in mind that they are still puppies so it will take time for things to actually resonate with them so be patient.

Two methods that I found had the most positive effect were as follows:

Technique 1:
When ZuZu would start to pull on the leash, I would stop dead in my tracks. I would stand as still as possible and not move forward with her. I would wait until she would finally stop pulling and then I would praise her and continue on our walk. I would repeat this method every time she began pulling again which really helped to reinforce the fact that I was not going to let her pull me around. She picked up on it pretty quickly and although she would test me some times, she eventually gave in to me and allowed me to control the walks.

Technique 2:
With Sampson it was a little bit different. Being that he is a male, he wanted to assert his dominance and tried to pull me all over the place. He was much stronger than the females and was more difficult to corral and stand my ground. For him, when he would start pulling on the leash to go his own way, I would quickly turn around and start walking in the opposite direction of where he was trying to go. After a little tug of war, he had no choice but to follow at that point and he would hurry over to me to keep up. This gave me a bit more momentum when trying to redirect his behavior and helped to counteract his strength. When he started to follow in the same direction I was headed, I would praise him and give him a treat so he knew his actions were good. Sampson really liked treats so that helped the process. Some of the females we trained were not motivated by treats so we would just use praise.


So there you have it! I know it’s tough and it takes practice, but you have to assert that you are in charge on the walk. If you let them pull you all over the place once then they will continue to do it over and over and it will instill in them that action when they are older. That’s when it becomes a lot more difficult to control them since they are very strong dogs. So, start early and make sure you have a good grasp on the concept. Like I said, they are puppies, so be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day. German Shepherds are very intelligent dogs so they will try to test you and let you know who’s boss. It’s your job to counteract this behavior and make it known that you are the one in charge by using praise to reinforce good behaviors.

Bikes, Bikes...Get Your Bike!

I recently finished a 3-day mountain biking excursion in Santos. It was such an amazing adventure, very tough but rewarding. There were many great sites to see along the way, although it’s tough to keep your head up to see the magnificent scenery when you’re trying to traverse the side of a mountain. We stopped a few times, but I felt it was best to keep my momentum going and continue to pedal. Once you stop, it’s a little more difficult to get going again so I figured I’d keep my breaks to a minimum which is kind of a shame because it would have been nice to take in the scenery a bit more.

I kept up pretty well for having just recently started mountain biking. It’s definitely a workout and very challenging but I think I held my own for being somewhat of a novice. Don’t get me wrong, I may have gotten a scrape or bruise here or there but all in all, I fared pretty well.

All that aside, I have decided to sell my mountain bike and I’m asking $800 for it. The bike is in great condition and I’ve only used it a few times. I will not ship the bike so the buyer must come pick it up. I live in Atlantic Beach, Florida, so if you’re willing to make the drive, I’m willing to sell to someone out of state but I’m assuming someone in the surrounding Jacksonville area will probably be most likely to scoop it up.

I will be posting the advertisement on a few local bike forums so get it while it’s hot!


I really am sad to see it go but I’m hoping that it will bring just as much joy to its next owner as it did to me. I’m hoping this bike’s legacy will live on through a new owner and it will continue to provide enjoyment and adventures.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

The Egg-citing Easter Egg-travaganza!

Michael HostoBeing that I am the social director for OceanWalk, my neighborhood in Atlantic Beach, I helped to put on our annual Easter egg hunt for all the children in the community. This year we had 1,000 eggs and at least 100 people came out to participate.

We hid the eggs in a blocked off plot of the neighborhood and let the kids loose to find as many eggs as they could. I think we got pretty creative with our egg hiding this year. Of course we had some easy ones for the little kids but I challenged myself to make it tougher for the older ones. I’m pretty pleased with our ingenuity.

I’d really like to thank the others who helped me plan and manage this event. We got donations of prizes, candy and eggs to make this all possible. Without the help of my fellow planners, I would not have been able to put this Easter egg hunt into action.


I’d say it was pretty egg-cellent! I know my girls enjoyed themselves and my wife enjoyed mingling with the other families. It’s nice to have a tight-knit
community like OceanWalk where all the neighbors are friendly and like to interact with each other. It makes living here so much better and I love being able to get everyone together for celebrations and other events. It’s a wonderful community and I’m happy to be a part of it. My wife and I have really enjoyed raising our girls here.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Set For Sail

“You can never discover a new land without first losing sight of the shore.”

Ever since I can remember I have had this passion for sailing, and it’s been such a pleasure living by the ocean. The issue now is that I haven’t been sailing in a while. I've been so busy with family and work that it’s been tough to find time to go out. I don’t have a sailboat so that’s one obstacle I have to overcome as well. Also, I’m not an expert so I would like to go out with others who are experienced and learn from them.

For now, I am looking for an adventure! I’m looking for an opportunity to join a crew for a week and sail around. Whether it be to transport boats from place to place or just an excursion with others, I’m very willing to volunteer a week of my time to go learn from the best. I would really like to stay in the waters surrounding Florida, so maybe a trip to the Bahamas or the Caribbean. I’m flexible but it depends on the needs of the job.

For those who are searching for crew members, I swear I am an able-bodied citizen and very easy to get along with. I know you are probably looking for people who are tolerable since you will be spending quite some time with your crew and will be sharing close quarters. I am very reliable and a good community-focused individual. I’m a family man and I’m just looking for a fun way to relieve stress and get back on the water. I may not be the best sailor but I take constructive criticism well and I’m very much looking forward to learning in the open seas.

So if anyone knows of a captain looking for a crew member, feel free to refer him or her to me! I would jump at the opportunity to sail again.

Check out my personal website: www.michaelhosto.com.

Friday, April 3, 2015

A Little About Me

I grew up in rural Missouri and attended the University of Missouri where I realized my true passion was for learning to build businesses.

Shortly after college, I began his career in the fire damage restoration business with industry leader, Paul Davis Restoration. During this time I also became an American Red Cross Disaster Action Team (DAT) volunteer and built strong relationships within the local chapter. Together, with chapter officials, we designed a new program that would provide emergency structural stabilization services to local fire victims.

After many enjoyable years with the Paul Davis Restoration organization, I went on to start 1-800-BOARDUP. I have created an amazing organization made up of a remarkable network of disaster recovery professionals that service the needs of victims of catastrophe – available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, all across North America. The service offerings go much deeper than just the standard emergency structural stabilization services. 1-800-BOARDUP puts more emphasis on the victim and helping them in their time of need.

I now live in Atlantic Beach, Florida, with my wonderful wife and three amazing children. I work out of 1-800-BOARDUP’s Jacksonville Beach satellite office, where I get to watch the dolphins and sharks feed from his desk.

Follow me on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn.

Check out my website: www.michaelhosto.com