My friend Karl Eric Oppermann would have been 38 today.
You will be severely missed.
May you rest in peace.

Karl touched a lot of peoples lives. Mine was definitely one of them. :)

(Karl is on the left. That's Phil Thompson on the right.)
Some of his favorite tunes at least the ones I remember...

http://beastieboys.com/

MC. A. I will cherish your rimes. God bless. R.I.P.

Sensei Addresses his Students in Advanced Class

For those of you who could not make it here is a video of the talk that Sensei gave
during last weeks advanced class.We would encourage any students in our school
to write a response and submit it for this months newsletter.

TRON LEGACY COMIC CON TRAILER

This movie looks so awesome. I cant wait to see it.

Remove Tar Paper with A Walpaper Steamer

WALLPAPER STEAMER = EPIC WIN OVER TAR PAPER!!!!!!!TAKEN FROM AN ARCHITECTS BLOG, WORKS LIKE GANGBUSTERS!!
THIS REALLY WORKED FOR US TO REMOVE TAR PAPER AND THE ADHESIVE!!

The following was found as a respond to a post in a forum.(http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf40011047.tip.html) This is the only safe effective solution we found. Goof off and chemicals,total Garbage. Nothing works as well as the method he describes below.

"I am an architect in Milwaukee. I am on my second 80 year old bungalow. I am in the process of removing my second kitchen and hall way floors. I've tried most of the typical method...s, but today discovered the simplest, easiest and least costly process of removing linoleum and the tar paper backing and adhesive underneath them.

I can add my own two cents to the discussion.

1997: In my first home, I removed linoleum from the hallway by pulling it up. I then used heat gun to heat the adhesive and tar backing and scraped them off the hard wood floors. Very labor intensive and odorous.

In the kitchen of that house, there were two layers of flooring: a top layer of sheet vinyl with an underlayment and linoleum underneath that. We pulled up the sheet vinyl, pulled up the linoleum and scraped the tar paper backing and adhesive off the soft wood subfloor. Very labor intensive. It took forever. I was younger and stupid then. But it worked. Who knows what I breathed in when I scraped off the adhesive!

2007: With this kitchen floor, there was a layer of original linoleum covered with a 12 by 12 vinyl tile. I pulled up the vinyl tile and linoleum by hand, using a paint scraper to pull it up. I tried scraping the tar backing and adhesive, but decided I could not do that again. There had to be a better way.

I decided to try chemicals first. I bought Krud Kutter and also Jasco Adhesive Remover, both from Ace Hardware. I sprayed a 1 foot by 1 foot area with the the Krud Kutter and another with the Jasco Remover. Surprisingly the Krud Kutter worked better at removing the tar paper. It made it more pliable, but it still had to be scraped off with a lot of elbow grease. The Jasco worked less efficiently but seemed to soften more of the the adhesive than the Krud Kutter.

THE SOLUTION: I had removed wall paper from the walls in this room and cleaned the walls earlier in the day. Of course, lots of hot water managed to get on the perimeter of the floor at the walls. I noticed that this was surprisingly pliable. So, having read about boiling water, I put down an old bath towel folded in half on the tar paper. I then boiled a tea kettle full of water. I poured this on the towel and waited for it to cool. when I removed the towel, the tar paper and most of the adhesive wiped right up. It was a bit messy, but not too much so.

So, I decided that steaming the tar paper and adhesive would be the best choice. I went to Home Depot and rented a steamer for wall paper. It cost 20 dollars for 4 hours.

After warming up the steamer (about 25 minutes) I sat on a stool and laid the steamer applicator (which was about 8" x 12" on a section of flooring. I left it there for one minute to 90 seconds. Then moved it to another area to steam. The tar paper and adhesive scraped off the wood subfloor with NO effort. While the next section was steaming, I took a bucket with hot water and a heavy duty scotch-bright pad and scrubbed the area where the paper had just been removed, then wiped it up with a wet cloth.

In this manner, I removed the tar paper and adhesive from a soft wood sub floor in this area of the room (6' x 10' area) in less than 2 hours. It cost only 20 dollars for the steamer and little effort at all--in fact, if I scraped too hard I found that it would more likely damage the edges of the subfloor boards. I found it was best to pull the scraper towards me without a lot of pressure. The tar paper just peeled right off like wet paper towel.

So, the only method I would use is a wall paper steamer. I thought it would be messy and hard. I couldn't believe how easy it was."

-Dude. You rule.

No kidding. This process is safe and removes some of the risks that come with this type of removal. The paper and adhesive stay wet so it does not release dust.
The walpaper steamer costs about fifty bucks @ Lowes to buy or you can rent one. For the price of 2 gallons of goof off which really doesn't do squat,its totally worth it.

I wish we had used it to remove the carpet padding that was stuck to the floor in other parts of our house.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=179856&id=582088741&l=a2e9923db3
Oh yea for those of you who didn't know we bought a house in vestal ny.:)

Getting to Know James Richtsmeier at FMK Karate

Getting to Know James Richtsmeier at FMK Karate

How long have you been with our school?

Probably about as long as I have been living in the Binghamton area. I would have to say about roughly five years. I actually joined the school after my first visit to the dojo. I was totally blown away, the school has been a positive force in my life ever since.

Have you had any martial arts experience before joining us?

I started karate classes for a few weeks in Seattle before my family moved to the east coast but I can’t remember anything other than some rudimentary basics. I had a self defense course or two during college but everything I know about karate I have really learned at FMK.

What made you want to join our school?

Who wouldn’t want to study karate here? FMK is the best karate school on the planet. Our Sensei is a 10th degree grand master who has an honorary doctorate in karate and a phenomenal human being. No other karate school can top that. Every time I visit the dojo I feel better about myself and the world around me. I have always been so impressed with how our school represents itself and the conduct of our students is exemplary.

What do you think makes our school so special and unique?
FMK has all the essential elements of what the best karate school should have. Sensei empowers his students as he urges us to be the best we can be. Sensei teaches us to not only be good karate students but be kind gentle and good to others. Our school is truly the place of the way of karate. There is no other place like it I have ever known. I really wouldn’t want to study karate anywhere else.

What are your other interests and hobbies?
Comedy and humor keep me sane; I couldn’t live without laughing once or twice a day. It’s probably why I have so much fun learning from Sensei because he can absolutely crack me up. I adore Japanese cinema and culture, I always have. I am really into films particularly science fiction and classic monster movies, but that sort of goes hand in hand with all my computer geekness. I have been an active artist for years and draw and paint and love Photoshop and computer graphics. I love spending time with my wife and daughter with whatever free moments I have with them. Lately fatherhood has taken up most of my free time. I really love it though.

Do you have any messages or advice for people here?

Go to Sensei’s classes. I have not been able to make it to a great deal of them lately and believe me it just hurts you, badly. Make whatever time, how little it may be, so you can to study at the dojo. Help Sensei with the school in any way you can by helping out with cleaning or any activity that supports the dojo. Do not be afraid to ask questions or be afraid of doing something wrong FMK is here for you. No matter what life throws at you this school is a place where you can grow stronger. Just stick with it and don’t give up. Sensei is one of the greatest teachers I have ever known. As his students we should remember that it is our privilege to learn from him as he gives us more than one hundred percent of himself.

Roberson Museum’s Karate Day

FMK Karate participated in Roberson Museum’s Karate Day with a Demonstration on May 22nd 2010. Although we did not have much of an audience, the turnout on behalf of our school and our families was phenomenal. I feel that everyone who participated should be recognized for their involvement and dedication to our school.

I learned a very valuable lesson on this day, I am very lucky to attend a school that embodies the true ideals behind karate and what it stands for. Our Sensei values how people should be treated and teaches his students to be kind gentle and good to others. As his students we know what it means to be a student of karate and how important it is to respect others and the world around us. I have to admit when I left the museum that day I felt proud of our school and how we represent ourselves to the local community.
Funakoshi stated that, “He who would study Karate-Do must always strive to be inwardly humble and outwardly gentle. Karate begins and ends with courtesy.” Karate is not only a means of self-defense; it is also a sport and philosophy and a way of Life.
Although the public turnout at the demonstration was practically nonexistent, we received a huge amount of public exposure through this event. Photos from the demonstration were featured in the newspaper and we were on a television segment that rotated through the entire weekend. The museum staff was very impressed with us and we have been offered spots to return and demonstrate again throughout the coming year.
After speaking with the staff, I want to make sure that everyone who was there knows that we made a very positive impression and will ensure our involvement in future classes or demonstrations . I feel very fortunate that I had the opportunity to take part in an event that also was a great learning experience.

"Some people think a martial artist has to be tough against everybody - that's not true at all. A martial artist has to be strong against bad people. But we must also be able to know and understand the feelings, moods and mentalities of good and bad individuals before we can comprehend when to be strong and when to be gentle."
- Tsutomu Ohshima

Tron Legacy Teaser Trailer

TRON LEGACY