Hi there!

If you're reading this, you're probably just looking at my journal, perhaps even thinking about adding me as an LJ-friend (OK, who am I kidding — I'm not THAT popular, I know), so I thought I'd use this opportunity to say a few things there. :)

First of all, I'll note that I tend to write freely about topics everything that matters to me; more distanced, "professional" entries may directly be followed by very personal ones (and vice versa), and I will, generally, openly write about things like sexuality (especially BDSM), mental health issues, the furry fandom, politics and so on — things that people might consider controversial at times. Some of my entries will be friends-only, but many will be publicly viewable, too, and unlike others, I don't use <lj-cut /> tags or specific "topic filters" (i.e., custom friends groups dedicated to specific topics) to shield people from things they may not want to see.

Well, as long as it's text, that is; I will cut images that aren't safe for work etc. (at least if I remember, which I might not always do!), since I wouldn't want for people to get in trouble if their boss happens to be shoulder-surfing at work. Text, though, is a different issue, and if you'll get into trouble for reading about certain topics at work, chances are you shouldn't check your friends page at work to begin with.

Second of all, concerning friending me — feel free to! There is no need to ask if it's OK to do so, either; everyone's welcome to do so, as well as to post comments etc. (as long as they're genuine: spammers etc. will not be tolerated, but that goes without saying, anyway). I may well add you back if your journal looks interesting or if I know you, too, but this isn't automatic.

Please don't ask about being added back if I didn't do so on my own, either, unless I already know you well and you want to be able to read my non-public entries.

Regarding commenting, BTW, I'm always happy to receive comments. :) However, things like "lol" are not proper punctuation, and correct spelling and grammar would be nice as well.

That's about all I can think of for now. If you have any qustions, feel free to ask!

(Also, since this post is back-dated to the year 2037... I actually wrote it on 2009-09-29, around 13:00. Not that anybody other than me will care, of course. I'll also update this whenever I remember something else that should be said here.)

Tags: my journal

I really should try to keep in mind that there's no use in checking out German BDSM (web)sites.

Outside of the fact that they're all filled uptight, judgemental twits[1] who not only aren't exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer but also apparently have never heard of concepts like YKIOK,IJNMK or TIMTOWTDI[2], they also generally seem to suffer from what I might call "rabbit breeders association syndrome"; I'm not sure that rabbit breeders associations in the Anglophone world have the same reputation as Kaninchenzüchtervereine do in Germany, but both the (German) associations and German BDSM websites seem to be intent on not only regulating things to a far greater extent than would be justified (or even necessary) but also on putting the rules first and the people, community or whatever second.

By contrast, if you take a typical BDSM-related Livejournal community (like askthekinksters, say), there'll be rules, of course, but the rules will be a) sensible and b) intended only to keep the community working and allow it to do what it's intended to do. Put another way, the rules are a means towards an end, not an end in themselves; and in fact, the general tendency for these communities is to have as many rules as necessary but as few rules as possible, an obvious instance of the general "as much as necessary, as little as possible" principle[3] and a reflection of the understanding that the rules are an evil — a necessary evil, but an evil nonetheless.

German sites, on the other hand, seem to see rules and regulations as an end unto themselves. There's several reasons for that IMO, of course; first and foremost, it's a prime example of the German Beamtenmentalität, which, in reality, really goes far beyond the public service sector and which appears deeply ingrained in German culture. This mentality is the exact antithesis of the freedom-based approach generally found in e.g. US-American culture[4], and can be summed up quite neatly in the following few rules which, although ironic, really DO appear to underly much of German society and many German endeavours, no matter what kind (already briefly talked about here, BTW):

• Das haben wir schon immer so gemacht.
• Das haben wir noch nie so gemacht.
• Da könnte ja jeder kommen.

In particular, people subscribing to this mentality, without exception, seem to be entirely unwilling and in fact unable to question it at all, to (attempt to) come up with ethical or philosophical justifications for it, or even to recognize that such justifications are generally necessary for any position one holds — something that ties right into the whole "not the sharpest knives in the drawer" part mentioned above.

Beyond this, the overabundance of rules also appears to be borne out of fear; specifically, fear of what might happen if there are no rules, if people could just do what they wanted without any Blockwarts enforcing Zucht und Ordnung — fear of freedom. Note 4 (see below, and linked to above) seems to be relevant here again, too.

And finally, it seems that some people – certain people – just enjoy exercising the single drop of power that they have been given (or that they usurped, as the case may be); and in my opinion, even though power trips are probably deplorably common in every culture, this, too, seems to be an area where the specifically German mindset of Obrigkeitstreue comes into full effect; not just do the aforementioned Blockwarts enter the stage, but a surprising number of people seems to welcome them, too, finally feeling secure again, perhaps imagining themselves in the same position, cracking down on others, finally bringing meaning to their drab, wretched lives.

It's enough to make you sick.

Of course, it's also interesting to observe this in the specific context of BDSM websites: just like those that have experienced rejection, discrimination etc. should be more aware of these matters and less likely to illegitimately reject or discriminate against others, you'd think that those interested in topics such as power exchange, dominance and submission etc. would recognize that this absolutist approach to rules and to regulating people and their behaviour is ultimately unjustified (and in fact unjustifiable): once you realize you need mental freedom and independence to be able to meaningfully submit in a relationship and give up your freedom (parts of it or all of it), a blind insistence on rules, following rules and having rules for no other reason than for the sake of it becomes quite literally meaningless.

In the end, I think the "German" position simply does not make sense: it doesn't stand up to philosophical or intellectual scrutiny, unless you twist your mind in painful ways and beat it into submission, as it were (no puns intended, BTW). But then, the human mind does have an astounding ability to hold contradictory (even self-contradictory) or illogical positions without actually being bothered by it, so I fear we'll be stuck with it for quite a while longer. And that's doubly true given the need for a critical mass in order to change things; establishing an alternative would be time-consuming and tedious, and they wouldn't automatically come just because you built it.

Just another reason to leave this country some day if I can, I think. (Although I've got to admit that ranting has made me feel better now, at least.)

1. Yes, it's quite possible to be into BDSM and still be uptight at the same time. In fact, this goes for other things, too; people from the USA I talk to occasionally seem to have this idea that Europe is a liberal wonderland filled with intelligent and tolerant people who will accept alternative lifestyles etc. even if they don't fully understand them, but in reality, this just isn't the case. Certain things may be more accepted here (although BDSM isn't generally among them), but more often than not, even those that are into them aren't any more tolerant because of it. Gay rednecks are still rednecks.

   This is even true for things like BDSM which are still – generally – misrepresented, misunderstood and discriminated against; you'd think that the fact that people are at the receiving end of discrimination and rejection would be more aware of these problems, more open-minded, and less likely to discriminate and reject in turn, but in reality, it just isn't true.

2. A term more commonly associated with Perl than anything else, of course, but I think it applies in a more general context as well. In BDSM, the more intelligent, more sensible people sometimes sarcastically talk about the "One Twoo Way™", and that's what I mean here as well — there is no one true way. It's all different strokes for different folks, and you'd think that people'd realize that what works for them won't necessarily work for others — and, more importantly, that that which does NOT work for them may still work for others (which is then basically an instance of YKIOK,IJNMK again).

3. I may have mentioned it before, but this principle was mentioned to me by my last history teacher (who I generally liked), and I've found that it's highly useful for evaluating a wide variety of situations. There's a distinctly libertarian aspect to it, too, although more radical libertarians at least are often too short-sighted to understand that the "as much as necessary" part is equally important as the "as little as possible" part. Perfection may be reached when there's nothing left to take away, but the mental image you should have there is that of a statue being carved out of a block of marble: even when perfection is reached, you technically still *can* take more away, but you'll end up destroying the perfection again. Just like so often, it's about balance, and the "as little as possible, as much as necessary" principle is intended to and can help you find the proper balance.

4. I can understand why those that left Germany for the USA – and it was quite a few, as evidenced e.g. by the fact that "German-American" is the most common background for US citizens even today – did; at the same time, unfortunately, the fact that the more liberal- or libertarian-minded folks left also meant that those who were suspicious of freedom etc. became more prevalent and more important among those that stayed behind. This suspicion of freedom is a very powerful meme, too, and it's no coincidence that German culture, as a whole, values freedom so little even today.

Tags: annoyances, bdsm, rants, websites
Hugarástand: annoyed

Great. The store where I ordered my bike gloves just sent me an email telling me that the gloves cannot be ordered anymore, a full ten days after I placed the order, and told me that they can't be ordered anymore; they're not in stock, apparently, and their supplier also doesn't have them anymore. Of course, the gloves are still listed on their website and can still be ordered there, although I imagine everyone else who tries will just get the same notice, possibly after waiting for a week or two...

Sound familiar? It's exactly the same thing as with the rain overshoes I wanted to get (see the entry linked above for that).

I wrote back to them telling them to send the gloves to me in a smaller size instead, XL instead of XXL (this should still be OK); if these can't be gotten anymore, either, I've found another pair that looks good, but it's more expensive, alas (although it's on sale and currently available for 20 EUR less than what it usually would cost, at least).

Still, I'm decidedly unhappy with this, and will take this into consideration in the future when ordering things (or when deciding whether to order or buy locally in the first place, for that matter). It wouldn't have been so bad if they had told me right away, but almost two weeks where I hear nothing at all, only for this? That's quite some nerve they've got there.

Tags: annoyances, bad customer service, gloves, stores
Hugarástand: annoyed

I've been at the Black Gazza for almost a year now, and it's definitely changed quite a bit. In the past, it used to be a prison and a BDSM, well, place first and foremost (probably in that order, too); nowadays, it seems it's mostly a roleplaying environment with a science-fiction background.

And by "roleplaying", I mean tinyplotish, pen and paper-style roleplaying; a refereeless version, certainly (there's no DM/GM/Storyteller/...), and also one that doesn't concern itself with stats etc. but rather focusses solely on the plot/story, but nevertheless, it's not the carefree, IC-is-OOC, I'm-really-me kind of roleplaying that there was in the past.

Personally, at the risk of sounding like an old coot, I very much miss the old days, too; at the same time, though, I'm not complaining (or thinking that I can turn back the wheel, as it were). I do wish the BG had taken a different direction, but there's no use in crying over spilled milk.

That said, one change that I've been seeing in the recent past is an increase in traffic. In the past, it was easier to still carve out my own niche; nowadays, it seems there's always someone around, everywhere, engaged in their own subplots and -threads and roleplaying, and suspending the disbelief that the place is something it really isn't anymore becomes more difficult.

Tags: black gazza, second life
Hugarástand: pensive

My copy (well, copies) of "The Art of French Cooking" just arrived earlier today. ^^

They seem to be pretty faithful reproductions of the original volumes, too, as far as typesetting etc. is concerned; between that and things like the paper used, it's obvious that these aren't modern books, but the hardcover binding and the slipcase is very nice. :) (And I don't mind the &nadsh; IMO – less-than-stellar typesetting, either, since I'm at least somewhat used to that from other English-language books, although generally speaking, it seems to be more of a problem with softcover editions. But on the other hand, I really don't have enough experience there to say if this is a common thing or if I just got unlucky with the books I bought/looked at in the past.)

Now I'll just have to find a good way to actually absorb the information contained therein (yes, reading DOES come to mind, but that's not what I mean) and make use of it. :)

Tags: books, cooking
Hugarástand: thoughtful

That oven cleaner I bought turned out to be very effective, BTW. In fact, it's effective enough to remove the protective coating from baking trays and reveal the bare metal underneath. o.o (I'm honestly not sure what to make of that, either, given that you are supposed to be able to use it on trays, but I figure mine are just too old, used and worn-out.)

Also, it's interesting how after you sleep wearing stockings, you can still feel them afterwards on your legs for hours after taking them off in the morning. I can definitely see why some women like to wear stockings; they feel great, and if it was more socially acceptable for men to do so, I'd wear them all the time, too. ^^ Maybe I should invest into some tights for men[1], though; there's one online store I know of that has several different brands/models, including a number that come in my size.

Also, why does life have to be so absurd?

(And finally, is it just me, or is Joe Biden actually surprisingly sexy in this picture? Well, if you've got a thing for older men and father figures, anyway (and only in this picture, too; generally speaking, he's crossed the line from father figure to grandfather figure and thus doesn't "do it" for me anymore at all really); but for a guy already in his mid-60s there, he sure is looking rather sharp. Why don't WE have any good-looking politicians over here?)

1. I'm sorry, but I refuse to call them "mantyhose"; that term is just too silly. ^^

Tags: cleaning, hosiery, my life, pantyhose, people, stockings
Hugarástand: blank

Meh. On one hand, I really appreciate it that my parents gave me an advent calendar (as they generally do every year; my mother just loves doing that sort of thing), but on the other hand, I just can't really handle those things. Keeping myself from raiding them completely within the first few hours already has always proven impossible, and this year was no exception again. c.c

Speaking of advent calendars, BTW, I've been thinking recently that I'd like to make my own some time, perhaps. This IS a pretty direct throwback to my childhood, of course; my mother had two self-made ones (very well-done, too) that she used for my sister and me, one made from (IIRC) various colored pieces of felt that were cut into shape and glued (?) on top of each other on a black background and one that was stitched in blue and red on a cream-colored background. Both had 24 numbered rings, and she'd individually wrap pieces of candy etc. and put ribbons on them and then tie the ribbons to the rings.

I'd like to do something like that, too; it sure would beat any storebought calendar, and it'd probably be fun to build one, too.

Of course, I'm lazy, so when I saw an advent calendar along those lines in town today (featuring 24 little sacks into which you could put things like candy etc., and very nice-looking), I thought about buying that one, too. I may yet do so (assuming it won't be go out of stock again soon, given that the advent calendar season is already starting tomorrow), but I'm not sure if I should: would I actually put it up? If so, where? Would I put candy in it? If so, would I actually only eat what I'm supposed to? Would using a storebought calendar (even if it's a very nice one) be as nice as making one yourself? And on top of it all, am I not just trying to relive parts of my childhood, anyway, clinging to the past instead of looking at the future (or the present)?

I have no idea.

Along the same lines, BTW, I've also been thinking I'd like to make a gingerbread house myself some day — another nice tradition. This is something we actually rarely did when I was young, and on the few occasions where we did, it was just using ready-made "DIY kits", as it were, but I imagine it'd also be fun to actually find a recipe for and make your own gingerbread in the right shapes, decorate it entirely on your own, and so on.

But again, who'd eat it? For that matter, who'd even look at it — who'd appreciate it?

I keep thinking it'd be nice to do these things if I had a Master; come up with our own holiday traditions, do things we enjoyed, and so on. But I don't, of course, so it's all rather moot.

For the same reason, I've never really done anything for christmas myself, anyway; I've never had a tree or put up any decoration or lights or, well, done anything at all really (other than baking cookies with my sister and mother, and – of course – getting together with the family for christmas, something that only drives home the stark contrast between what I'm doing and what my parents are doing). I'd like to do so, actually, but again, there doesn't seem to be much use in it; there's noone there to appreciate it, and all it'd do is remind me of that all the time and make me feel even lonelier.

If you've ever seen someone sit outside alone on a day when people traditionally do certain things, like thanksgiving or christmas or so, BTW, this is why, too. Taking thanksgiving as an example, there's no reason why you couldn't celebrate thanksgiving on your own, too, but it wouldn't feel right; at the same time, though, even sitting in your home around doing nothing (other than the usual routine) would only remind you of what you're missing. So instead, you just go outside and try not to care too much.

Well... myself, I *can* celebrate christmas with my parents and sister, at least, so it's not all THAT bad for me, but nevertheless, I'd really prefer to have someone in my life.

Tags: being lonely, childhood, chocolate, christmas, crafts, family, gifts, my past
Hugarástand: pensive

Just to let everyone know, I have a vague suspicion that messages sent on LJ are disappearing into a black void instead of actually being delivered now, so if you're trying to contact me, please email me instead (or leave a comment).

Thanks!

Tags: administrativa, livejournal

Last night saw some travels along Route 7, on a different continent. We started at the south end of the stretch of road on the east end of the continent and went clockwise from there, so the first part of the trip was by boat; after we arrived at the other side, I got into the cart harness again and started pulling. ^^ (That picture also quite clearly shows that the cart I've got isn't really suitable for aeromorphs with wings and tails... *s*)

We came across the intersection with Route 7B, too, and after a while, there was some construction work on the road (which, interestingly enough, coincided with a sim crossing so bad that I ultimately had to relog); later on still, after we eschewed Route 7A in favor of going south and staying on Route 7, the road got a bit sandy, but we made it through that and ultimately stopped at the next point where we'd have to continue by boat (that's the west end of the yellow stretch of road going east-west on the south end of the continent on that map, BTW).

I actually only took a few screenshots for my own use, but maybe I'll try to do some proper "travel diary" impressions tonight. :)

Tags: ponyplay, second life
Hugarástand: calm

Wow. I think today marks the first time I've bought a household cleaning product that not just warns that it will cause chemical burns but in fact severe chemical burns ("Verursacht schwere Verätzungen"). FWIW, it also advises you to wear protective clothing, safety gloves and safety goggles and/or a face cover...

Tags: cleaning, warnings
Hugarástand: astounded

I just wore my new waterproof boots and my rain pants together for the first time. It didn't work out.

I don't quite want to call it a disaster, but it turns out that my rain pants, even though they're long enough to reach the boots when I'm standing, will slide up on my leg to above the boots after about 50 meters on the bike already, so for all practical purposes, they're worthless. I suppose I could try and get a bigger pair, but they're size XXL already, and they're also so wide that I'm not sure even larger ones wouldn't just fall down when I try to put them on. :P

Seriously — the "S/M/L" system of clothing sizes is absolutely braindead. In addition to being entirely opaque, they also, just like shoe sizes, fail to take into account that people come in different shapes instead of just linearly scaling on a single "size" axis. There's people who're short and fat, and there's people who're tall and thin; and there's also people who're short and thin and people who're tall and fat, and even that doesn't begin to describe things.

Jeans, for example, at least come in waist/length sizes, so even in a relatively normal, non-specialist store, you'll be able to find anything from 28/28 to 46/34 or so. Can you imagine jeans coming in "S", "M", "L" and "XL" and people putting up with that?

As for rain pants, this is a pair that's available in "long" sizes and that I'd like to get — or, at the very least, try on. I should visit kalogrenant again some time so we can go to that chain's store in Hamburg.

Tags: annoyances, bike, clothes
Hugarástand: miffed

Second Life can be quite weird at times, on more than one level.

moth_wingthane and I have started travelling some of its roads recently; in particular, we started going down Route 9 a few days ago, and also got the idea of also checking out the other ones. Yesterday, though, we found that muhc of Route 9 is missing, and that the same is true for the other Routes on that continent (Route 9A and Route 10, mostly; the "Shortcut" is broken, too, and the "Short Road" doesn't exist at all anymore). It was a strange feeling, especially since in many places, you could still see where the road was supposed to be.

Of course, even travelling on the parts that *are* still in working condition[1] can be weird, notably when you get to sim crossings (and there's a LOT of those on those roads). The lag there can lead to rather interesting barrel rolls etc. when your client keeps on extrapolating movements etc. in the absence of new server data, and sometimes, you get stranger effects, too, such as the cart getting messed up and having to be re-rezzed (which'll then require finding the nearest rezzing zone, something the Routes fortunately have). On one occasion, I even got logged out and couldn't log back in for five minutes or so when something in the SL grid went out of sync.

But when it works, it's nice. (And yes, I'm pulling a cart there. It's what ponies do, even if it's a bit too small for certain aeromorphs. ^^)

That said, it's times like these when I'm also wondering whether SL isn't actually a good example of hyperreality. Granted, this sort of thing – travelling along public roads and routes, exploring, enjoying the scenery and checking things out – is something I also already did on MUCKs more than ten years ago, and certainly those can suck you in just as much as SL does, but nevertheless...

Of course, strictly speaking, hyperreality appears to be a concept that is defined in comparatively narrow terms and that doesn't really apply to situations where what you're experiencing is not part of physical reality (meatspace, as it were); nevertheless, the way that SL draws you in, especially when you interact with the environment (something that happens in a much more natural and thus less-than-conscious, more immersive fashion than in, say, MUCKs[2]) seems to fit the description of hyperreality as that which is "more real than reality".

And I think this point is driven home by the fact that the whole thing is (deliberately and intentionally!) called "Second Life", too; it's certainly intended to be more than a game, even an MMO game and/or an immersive 3D game, and I myself would definitely hesitate to call it a game.

Nevertheless, as long as you keep these things in mind, it can be quite a bit of fun. And who says that travelling along the highways of a virtual world with a friend and doing some virtual sightseeing is a bad thing, anyway?

(EDIT: Seems like someone actually added SL to the list of examples in the Wikipedia article on hyperreality, too, although no citation is given for that.)

1. Is there a good term for the opposite of "defunct", BTW? "funct" doesn't seem to cut it. :)

2. When comparing MUCKs and graphical 3D environments like Second Life, people often seem to say that the graphics make the latter more immersive, but I think that's not actually true. The text used in MUCKs can be just as immersive; the crucial difference is the way you interact with the environment. Issuing text commands on a MUCK works, and it CAN happen on a less-than-conscious level after a while, too, but it doesn't lend itself to this as well as more "natural" interfaces such as those found in graphical 3D environments do.

Tags: hyperreality, second life
Hugarástand: awake

Just for those interested...

I had a flat tire again recently, on Wednesday. Nothing TOO bad that required immediate care on the road, fortunately; it was just the "lose one or two bars of pressure per hour" kind of flat, but it still needed fixing, so I fixed it. The patch I put on the hole in the tube seems to be holding up well, which is good, and the culprit – a small, pointy little stone, shaped rather like a shark tooth; FWIW, it may have been a piece of road grit – was removed from the tire, too.

While I was at it, I also wiped off the chain some and oiled it, but it'll still have to be replaced soon, I think, so I'll have to take Skinfaxa to the store at some point. I keep postponing it, though, mostly for sociophobic reasons; it'd be nicer to be able to do this with someone than doing it alone.

Ah well.

As far as the crappy weather and my attempts to protect myself therefrom are concerned, I did get a pair of new water-proof boots, at least; one national chain had these for a mere 19,99 EUR, so I went and got a pair after kalogrenant kindly pointed them out. *s* It's a good thing I lost weight, too, since I was able to get them in size 45 (UK: 10.5, US: 11.5) now, the largest available; in the past, I used to have size 47 (UK: 12, US: 13), but I think that was mostly because my feet used to be wider (well, fatter) and thus didn't fit into smaller shoes. :P

I really wish shoe companies would actually start adopting *sane* measuring standards that include foot width and use e.g. Mondopoint sizes, too, but they don't seem to be keen on doing that — it's probably easier (and cheaper) for them to not diversify too much, size-wise. Interestingly enough, I *did* see shoes that gave their size as Mondopoint sizes recently (probably in a Globetrotter catalog), but they actually eschewed the width part and only focused on the foot length again. Oh well.

But I'm disgressing.

Anyhow, I also actually ordered some decent rain overshoes at a bike store here in town on Monday, but they just called me yesterday to inform me that these weren't actually being sold anymore — their supplier couldn't, well, supply them. And of course, it's not as if we live in the computer age or anything, so they couldn't have checked that earlier: rather, they had a huge printed catalog from their supplier that they used to order it when I was there, and since this one is only updated and reprinted once a year and since the shoes were apparently still available a year ago, well...

I'm not too unhappy, though; with the waterproof boots, I probably won't need them THAT soon, and I can still buy overshoes later on, so for now, I'm not getting them, even though I could probably still order them on the Internet. (I originally wanted to avoid this because I wanted to be able to try them on, but the store told me that if they ordered these for me, I'd have to take them no matter what, too, even if they didn't fit. Good customer service? Not quite.)

That said – last not least &ndash, I also ordered a pair of rain gloves and the Gore face mask I've wanted for a while. They haven't arrived yet – haven't shipped yet, in fact –, but I'm looking forward to them. It can get a bit chilly, and when there's rain, I imagine the mask will come in handy, and the gloves... well, let's just say my old fleece gloves are a) not waterproof and b) falling apart.

Finally, Skinfaxa's rear brake shoes are wearing down like there's no tomorrow in this weather, so I had to readjust them recently. I was a bit nervous about that, concerned that I'd end up with either a) non-functioning brakes or b) brakes that would rub against the tire and cause it to rupture again, especially since I wouldn't have anyone to blame this time other than myself, but it all seems to have worked out well enough, although I could probably still use new brake shoes at some point again. Ah well — when you think about it, car owners have to pay ten times what these cost every time they go to the gas station to refill an empty gas tank (and more if they've got large cars with large tanks!), so it's not too bad really, I suppose.

I am wondering how long the rim will last, though; at SOME point, it'll be so worn-down it'll have to be replaced, too, although some quick googling suggests that it's probably going to be after 30000 km (or the same order of magnitude, at least) rather than 3000, so I should still be good for a while. *s*

Nevertheless, I'm thinking about taking Skinfaxa back to her "stable" for a check-up some time; probably not this year, but some time next year, in the spring or summer, when it's warmer and the weather's better. Having everything about her checked and adjusted and all parts that need replacing replaced would be nice.

Tags: bike, clothes, gloves, masks, purchases, social phobia
Hugarástand: awake

You know, there's nothing like going on an (unannounced, and actually mostly unplanned) IM service hiatus for a while and then, when you come back (again, mostly unplanned) have a very good friend of yours message you and bring lots of pleasure to your evening. ^.^

Thanks, love.

Tags: hiatuses, im conversations
Hugarástand: tired

Just copies of some comments of mine I made elsewhere concerning the topic of gun ownership (and the right to gun ownership), mostly for my own reference.

The first was just made earlier on an entry in graafen's journal; it's actually a reply to another comment left by avon_deer, who said:

I personally do not share your optimism that an armed society is always a polite one, or that untrained personnel will be in any way competent at protecting themselves with a pistol in the heart of the moment.

That said, there is perhaps an element to be investigated more deeply here concerning WHY these restrictions have come about in the first place. The popular response is: “protection of the public.” I for one do not believe a word of this. The 1920s saw the first real attempts to disarm the British public (not that many urban dwellers HAD arms back then anyway) and there is no mistaking the correlation between these “out of the blue” control laws and the “red panic” of the era. The old boys club saw the wage earning classes getting restless and they reacted accordingly. Gun control in the UK therefore has its pedigree far more in protecting governments which have failed their people, rather than protecting people themselves.

This is probably food for thought when it comes to discussing arms restrictions. So, what is the long term solution? Like so many things in life, the middle ground is often the best. Switzerland would probably be the best example of this “middle way.” Per capita they are one of the most heavily armed nations on the planet; however gun ownership there is only possible with militia membership. Meaning that those who DO have access to a firearm are (and this is the important bit) trained and competent in their use of it. Maybe the focus needs to shift from either arming or disarming the populace to the creation of an environment of responsible gun owners. Though Switzerland is a very different nation to the UK, in terms of national attitude and population density so it’s solution may not necessarily be Britain’s it does have a model which leaves room for both liberation AND control. Though Switzerland DOES have a problem with suicides involving firearms. Though this is an entirely different debate.

Ultimately, I am with you in that every citizen should have to fundamental right to self defence. The British legal system has swung quite disturbingly in favour of the intruder, and what we will eventually see (if the British public is not TOTALLY mentally beaten into submission) are people demanding a reversal of the more daft legislation we’ve seen in recent years. The question is, will it come too late?

To which I replied:

This.

I tend to be more for than against private gun ownership these days, for libertarian reasons — that is, for me, it's a question that's mostly debated on the ethical level rather than the practical level. On the other hand, it's also a matter of laws of morality vs. laws of cooperation, and I think that emphasizing the "responsible" part is a good example of the latter.

That said, of course it all breaks down in the face of a government that is afraid of, working against and trying to control or oppress the people. Not that I necessarily think the UK has reached that stage yet, but it's something else to keep in mind, obviously.

The second one was left in another friend's journal half a year ago, on a locked post (which is why I'm not linking to it now); there, I said (concerning the notion that laxer gun ownership laws will provide protection against shooting sprees on campuses etc.):

Mmm. I'm in favour of responsible gun ownership myself, actually, but I think the whole "if someone goes on a shooting spree, we'll be able to shoot him" argument is bogus.

I mean... suppose you're on campus, and somebody's on a rampage indeed, and you've got your gun with you. And then imagine you see the perpetrator, down the hall from you — he's just gunning someone down. What do you do? Well, shoot them, of course.

The problem's just that it wasn't the perpetrator — it was someone else who was thinking along the same lines as you. However, you don't have time to realise that anymore, since somebody behind you just gunned you down, thinking that you were the perpetrator.

Put another way, I believe this wouldn't actually work, just like keeping a gun at home to protect yourself against burglars won't make you safer — in fact, it'll actually make it more likely that your family will get hurt or even killed (which should be even more of a common sense argument, since the vast majority of all burglars will be interested in stealing things only).

I think an argument can still be made in favour of gun ownership in general, but it should be a freedom-based argument, not a fear-based argument. About the only fear-based argument I'd accept in principle is that you should be allowed to keep guns in order to keep the king of England at bay, but honestly, these days, I'm not sure whether that still is a relevant argument, given the advances in weapon technology. People like to think that an armed populace could keep any army at bay, but is that really true? I have my doubts.

As for this particular proposal, it seems not wholly unreasonable at first glance to me. Obviously, private institutions should be allowed to put up whatever restrictions they want to; and I also think that public institutions should probably not be allowed to issue blanket prohibitions on guns in dorms, given that that's where people – well – live.

Classrooms I'm honestly less sure about, especially when you're talking about concealed carrying; the whole thing rather reminds me of the question of whether there should be armed sky marshals on flights, one where I recall pilot associations were saying that ANY gun on a plane presented a risk and that the focus should be on keeping ALL guns off planes and that by allowing some in, you'd increase the risk of something bad happening rather than decrease it.

I suppose that in the end, it all boils down to whether access to college is more considered a right (in which case the state wouldn't be justified in restricting other rights you have) or a priviledge (in which case it could be justified, given that you'd be free not to take advantage of the service offered if you don't agree). However, generally speaking, I'm not a fan of abridging students' rights in school, although it usually seems to be more of an issue with 1st amendment rights (rather than 2nd amendment rights), and more in high school etc. where attendance is mandatory than in college, too.

I'm still developing my own opinion there – it's not set in stone –, but I think these comments are a starting point, at least.

Tags: ethics, freedom, guns, thoughts
Hugarástand: hungry

( Wide image )

Tags: ponyplay, second life
Hugarástand: amused

After getting a training plan done for me on Thursday, I actually did some weight training again for the first time in ages yesterday. And I've got to say it actually feels quite good to be doing it again — both actually using your muscles and giving the a bit of a challenge, and also (strange as it may sound) the resulting soreness that I'm feeling quite a bit today and that's radically different from the kind of soreness you get if you exhaust your stamina (e.g. by covering longer distances on your bike than you usually would).

Today, I just did some cardio again; tomorrow and Friday, I'll be doing more weight training. Three times a week seems like a good idea for that right now, and is what the trainer suggested, too.

(Oh, and just to avoid any possible confusion, of course I'll still be doing cardio on the other days. "Three times a week" only refers to weight training.)

Tags: being sore, exercise, work-out
Hugarástand: hungry

Urf. Getting over a sugar addiction (or trying to) that's been rearing its ugly head again can have quite a severe effect on your mood, and I'm sorry people have to endure that. >_>

Tags: depressions, stress, sugar addiction
Hugarástand: sick

I just realized that my father looked pretty much like George Harrison in the past when he met and married my mother. Coincidence? o.o

(Seriously, the similarity is striking; if somebody had shown this picture of George to me and said it WAS my father, I probably would've believed them.)

Tags: father, weird stuff
Hugarástand: surprised

Skinfaxa (my bike) is still holding up very well. I thought I'd gotten a flat tire yesterday, but it turns out I didn't; going over a bump had knocked some air out of the tire, but it wasn't losing any more, and when I inflated it again, it was OK again, too. Given that I'd just inflated the tire the day before, the best explanation I have is that I didn't close the valve correctly, so when the curbstone I was going over knocked into the tire, part of the air was pushed out.

(That said, the pocket tire pump I've got doesn't REALLY live up to the manufacturer's claims, I think. It's said that you can inflate tires to up to 11 bars with it – not that I'd want to –, but when I checked with my regular pump afterwards, I found I'd only been able to go up to about 6. Granted, that's also because I didn't feel like putting in a huge effort and spending lots of time inflating the tire on the road there, but still...)

Outside of that, the rear brake shoes which kalogrenant and I recently replaced seem to have suffered quite a bit again already, to the point where I had to adjust the brakes so I wouldn't have to push the lever *quite* as far before they'd grip. I'm not sure how much longer they'll last — and I'm also wondering now if buying cheap Shimano brake shoes was actually the right thing to do. When you buy more expensive ones (from more expensive series, or from other companies such as Campagnolo), do you just pay for the name, or do you actually get a better value for your money, too?

Well, we'll see.

Finally, while Skinfaxa always used to be more or less completely silent (except for the freewheel, naturally), she started to creak a bit recently, so I put a little bit of oil on the freewheel and near the bottom bracket, which seems to have stopped this, much to my relief. Squeaking is annoying, and what's more, it probably also indicates that somewhere, there's no lubrication where there should be lubrication, so I'm glad that that's taken care of.

Tags: bike
Hugarástand: awake

Oh, and it seems I have acquired a new nickname — namely, "Clip-Clop".

It's cute, too, so I'm certainly not going to complain. ^.^

Tags: nicknames, second life
Hugarástand: amused

Things that probably shouldn't be erotic but are: coffins.

(No, I'm not turning goth – certainly not! –, but I rather like them. Well, I like all sorts of confined spaces, of course – cages, cells, boxes etc. –, but coffins have the added advantage of being just about the right size for a person by their very nature, and the thought of actually being buried is not at all without appeal, either. c.c)

Tags: confinement, my sexuality, premature burial
Hugarástand: thoughtful
Tónlist: Á Sprengisandi

Vibram appears to have come up with a new FiveFingers model — a more rugged version of the KSO dubbed the "KSO Trek":

The Men’s KSO Trek is a more rugged version of our popular KSO. The kangaroo leather upper and sock liner feels soft against the foot, yet is strong and tear resistant, with outstanding breathability. A 4mm EVA midsole offers plating protection from stone bruising, and a lightly cleated 4mm Vibram performance rubber outsole delivers improved traction on trails and over more rugged terrain.

I'll definitely have to get a pair of those some time, too; as lovely as the regular KSOs are, they'd not be suitable for things like hiking and so on. (Not that I *usually* do that, but still.) ^^

Seems like they're retailing for 125 bucks (84 EUR) in the USA, or 130 EUR over here. *eyerolls* Well, at least the price differential isn't QUITE as large as for the "normal" KSOs.

Tags: clothes, fivefingers, shoes, wishes
Hugarástand: "want!"
Tónlist: Tricky Pixie - Carousel

Well, there really isn't anything I can add to this ( wide image that may break friends pages. )

Tags: comics, funny stuff, mathematics
Hugarástand: amused
Tónlist: Still Little Wheel

The first storm of the season... the weather was still good around noon today (overcast but dry, that is — just like yesterday, which was the first completely dry day we had in ages), but it quickly went downhill in the afternoon, and there was quite a bit of heavy rain and wind, with the DWD warning about wind gusts reaching up to level 11 at the coast.

It wasn't quite that bad when I went to the gym, though, I think; I do live in a coastal town, but I don't generally actually am *at* the coast, so I was probably spared the worst.

At least I had my rain pants, though. Things I'll definitely still have to buy include a new helmet cover, the Gore face mask, and a pair of overshoes. Oh, and waterproof gloves. (And new rainpants would be nice at some point, too, although that's more for aesthetic reasons than anything else: the ones I have DO work, at least at this time of year, when it's cold. During summer, they're not all that useful, since they're not breathable, meaning you'll just sweat underneath and still get soaked.)

Tags: bike, clothes, weather
Hugarástand: wet
Tónlist: Little Wheel