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Originally Posted by The Reaper

You can work on your active SA, but your passive is much harder to learn.

Thank you, Sir. I had not even realized that passive SA might exist. Perhaps it is developed as a subconscious skill through long practice, as mdb23 hints? I'll try the night sounds exercise - the city has a wealth of different sounds, some pleasant, some otherwise.

On the plus side, I'm not guilty of using ipods or cell-phones. I try to maintain some degree of alertness. But if any thoughts occur to you about how I might augment my abilities, I'd be grateful to hear them.

Originally Posted by RTK

Kim's Games automatically come to mind in training the brain to be able to decipher what we see.

I hadn't heard of Kim's games. That's an outstanding idea! I wonder if I could write a computer program that would accomplish the same end? That way, I wouldn't need a partner. Thank you, Sir!

Originally Posted by Pete

They were sitting in a Starbucks chatting away.

You make many good points, Sir, and I appreciate your thoughts. I hope to learn the general principles instead of focusing on specifics, such as the shopping malls you mention.

For example - one is sitting at home, reading posts on ProfessionalSoldiers.com. There is a knock at the door. Is it the neighbor bringing a pie from a restaurant in a neighboring town? Or, is it a pair of thugs intent on a home invasion? (I cheat. I use closed circuit video to check).

For example - one is asleep at home. One of the household members screams. A different person in the household grabs a firearm and finds an intruder inside; the intruder runs outside, then turns. The person with the firearm fires three shots, killing the intruder. As it turns out, the intruder was a 19 year old from a small town visiting San Antonio. He was unarmed and had no criminal history. He was visiting his sister who resides next door. Could SA have changed this? (By the way - this really happened. Here's a LINK )

I'll try to attend to the basics, as you suggest - but SA appears to be, at least partly, a learned skill. So any thoughts you might have about learning the basics would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by mdb23

For you, I would remember the following three things........ Hands, demeanor, clothes. Let me explain....

Sir, there is a wealth of information in your post! Many thanks. Everything makes perfect sense - I'll try to put it into practice as I get the opportunity.

One exercise I've been doing is trying to spot clothing that could conceal a firearm. I've had a concealed carry permit for some years - in fact, I got one right after they were made available in Texas. However, I rarely use it since I often have business on a University campus, and taking a firearm on campus is a serious crime. Anyway, it occurred to me that observing how others dressed might suggest how I should (or shouldn't) dress at those times I had the weapon with me.

So far, the optimum combination appears to be a Tommy Bahama style shirt, open, over a colored T-shirt, in combination with a pancake holster. Of course, I look a bit more closely at those sporting such clothing...


Again, thank you all for your thoughts and comments. I appreciate it very much.