My hard drive melted Saturday night, I'm typing this on a guests' tablet. I'm not upset that no one has missed me, what bothers me is that no one even noticed. Would it kill someone to start a thread about how much nicer the forum has been the last several days? :P

I noticed.

Me too. :p

Thieving a guests tablet to post on GOG. You really are desperate for attention.

I just figured you got a little busy or were taking a small break from the forums. I do that sometimes on the weekends myself. Maybe, got caught up in a new game.

I haven't noticed. The thing is, the hate level on the internet is self-regulating, other members make up for one user's absence without even noticing.

Tired. Weary of how life locks people in different collective bubbles, making communication, empathy and curiosity so difficult between them. How world representations and ensuing prejudices separate groups with painted curtains, through which they think they communicate, while actually adressing half-relevant images. Whether it's separations of social classes, nationalities, ideological identities, age, whatever subculture it is - and the subcultures who claim to be above it are hardly better in their own ways to paint over the reality of their interlocutors.

I encounter this, daily, in so many forms. In the problems of discriminatory police behaviour, and in its popular answer in the form of default hostility to the police. In the difference of attitude of some friends when it's unknown locals or unknown migrants from the "wrong" country, who come to chat with them. In the fake smiles of diplomats and foreign delegations in calculatory lunches where they try to evaluate each other's usefulness or stances, labelling people as fast as they can get the slightest hint, while trying, on their side, to give as little hints away as possible. In the reactions to professional statuses. Sometimes in the silent hostility of inhabitants of the same builing, when they belong to too different generations. In the changes of expressions at some keywords, connotated terms, or even statement of origins (in a predictable lottery of "good" and "bad" backstories). In discussions with politically militant friends from all side, and their failure to accurately, humanly describe each others, their relief or crispation when their interlocutor nods or cringes at some key points, leading to global categorisation and doors promptly shut on an untouched familiar room with opaque windows.

I feel like I live with my foot crushed by all these heavy doors, that I try to keep open, whether on myself or on third people. Whether at professional or personnal level. But doing this is also being a part of it, opening oneself to categorisation. Even an informal mediator is not a gaz - he's a person, in the flesh, being attributed a role and a position, and having also to "mediate" between himself and the others. And in reverse, building his own room, setting his own curtains, with their own painted fresques of categorized others - "the ones who are interested", "the ones who are locked up", etc. It's not a game you escape, as long as you're part of humanity. And when you do, it can only be silently, letting yourself dissolve between others. When you open your mouth, you incarnate yourself, you paint yourself on other walls, and paint them on yours.

It's so difficult, so unavoidable, so systematic. It's the direct consequence of our perceptions not going that far, our capacity to understand the world in its complexity and multiplicity being limited by some data processing economy. By the limited range of our experiences. By our stupidity, short-sightedness, and our "fog of war" that requires speculations and assumptions. By our taste and requirement for order and classification.

But it makes life so sad, so tedious. Unless you live middle in one bubble and don't approach its frontiers except to bark at images, and at bewildered real people through them, you're forced to confront yourself to these limitations and to be aware of how unfair they make us. And when you live on the frontier itself, spending your time looking at the borders themselves more than at the areas they enclose, you become simply oversensitive to a dramatic condition that is too "structural" to ever change deeply. And, on the long term, it can get terribly draining.

Today was a heavy day, in that respect. Been confronted to too many different manifestations of it, one of them involving me directly. Am tired.

Of that.

Part bitch, part not.

I got for the first time in my life a realistic perspective, so now I must go through a diet which consists mainly of not eating anything but taking artichoke juice etc. so I don't get hungry.

I tried LCHF before and it worked really fine but I gave up after a month (and 15kg lost) when one or two weeks later I had for other reasons gained 5 kg and it demotivated me.

So please do not wish luck or anything here in the thread - actually, that also is often demotivating -, but send me your silent support and - if you wish so - include me in your prayers.

After a really bad time I had - and actually still have - my life is about to change a lot if I manage to get my weight issue solved. The issue started in my childhood with a certain medicine with Pipamperon, but I was too weak to do anything against it, since I always had a lot of hunger afterwards. So this is my chance! Whoever saw me bitching on christmas 2010 (2011?) will like to read this as a follow-up. Who didn't can skip this post.

The bitch part is that until my weight is gone, I have a severe medical condition that nobody talks about when talking obesity. I have not diabetes, but excess water that lead to other issues, meaning that in the meantime I have serious pain in my toe (or between two toes) almost every day, of the kind that can drive someone into suicide (actually, without my perspective in life that would be an option but I went too far to give up now). This also means that doctors are out of measures, I must help myself with the diet.

The good part is that my life gets a lot better, actually for the first time like a life I WANT to live, if I make it through successfully. If it works, I move to another country and start a life on my own there, including occupation and hopefully a wife.

(And yes, videogames still help me a lot to get through my life. So thanks to GOG, Steam, Indiegamestand, Indie Royale, Groupees, Desura, and however everyone is called for having the good deals often!)

I want to bitch about the sport i love - fishing!

Ever seen the movie called 'Final destination' and random chance is 'bent' for the purpose of killing people who are supposed to be dead.

Well for me, the random chance is 'bent' similar to the movie except for the purpose of preventing me from catching fish!

Here are two examples, just for starters;

1) I used to own a 14ft fishing boat but after owning it for over five years, i was forced to sell it. Why? well the simple answer is that i was not able to use it. Every time i would plan an outing, it would come up very windy that day. Ok no problem, occasionally that will happen rite? Well yes, if occasionally means every trip every time spanning five years without exception!!!!!!!!!!!

2) In my life i have never caught any of the larger species of fish in Australia. Some years ago (after selling my boat) i was determined to catch a type of fish called a Jewfish or Mulloway. Was never able to catch one, and eventually i gave up. But the day i gave up, it was very clear to me that i should do so because of what happened. Jewfish are a predatory fish that mostly feed on smaller fish. I had 4 lines out all with live bait fish hooked up. Meanwhile my friend was targeting a small fish called a whiting with worms. Next thing i know, he hooks up a Jewfish and after a lengthy fight, manages to land it on the whiting rig. I look up and say to God, "Yes, i do get the message loud and clear". Ever since then i have never fished for Jewfish.

Edit: Do not think for a moment that wind just attacked my fishing boat outings either, nooooo, i can honestly say that i have to remember back 30 years of fishing to the last time i saw a glass calm stretch of water in front of me. It is forbidden for me to go fishing anywhere ever without there being wind.

And do not think i have never hooked up to large fish either. Have done so thousands of times but always, always there is some petty little excuse the fish gets away.... It is forbidden for me to land any large fish....oh unless it was a stingray or 'wabbygong', then in that case it is allowed for me to land it.

Not quite a bitch, more like asking for a favor.
Drivers! Check your mirrors prior to any maneuver! And if you wanna be real nice -- check them twice. There're motorcyclists out there, you know? And it's not fun to spend two weeks in hospital due to some bast... err... bad man not looking in the mirror before taking a left turn. Ah, it was getting colder every day anyway, and I have all the long winter to put my Yamaha into working condition.
PS Protective gear RULES.
PPS At least, that lamp post I crashed into after being thrown from the bike is in a bad shape too. :)

Perhaps you need to get some of those noisy pipes like a Harley. I know every time one of those damn things is near by I will usually speed up or slow down so I don't have to hear the damn things.
Another tip, avoid cruising in my blind spots. I see a lot of the quieter bikes and cars cruising in my blind spots when I am trying to change lanes. Why do people insist on cruising in people's blind spots?

"Yaaaawwn, errrr,,,, Dhhhar, whats a mirror? Oh golly gosh, and um and whats this big round thing in front of me do? how did i get here? and what planet am i on anyway? perhaps if i turn my head this way and that with a stupid look on my face, somehow then i will come to know what planet i am on??"

These are the questions which i commonly imagine other drivers asking themselves as i observe their 'behavior' behind the wheel.

Maybe this is a cultural thing, but in traffic I think it is the one coming from the back who should mostly be careful, biker or not.

I am unsure what was the situation in your case (so this may be irrelevant to your case), but what the driver (in front) is obliged to do is to make it known beforehand that he is going to turn left, ie. use the turn indicator. If someone is coming from the back at that point, he certainly should not e.g. pass the driver from left, if he is turning left. He should either stop, or room permitting, pass from the right.

Naturally if the driver in front didn't use turn indicator before turning, he is at least partly at fault (but even then the one coming from the back should have at least slowed down, if he sees someone in front is slowing down or even stopping). If he did, the one coming from behind (and passing from left) was wrong.

Another maybe similar thing I've been warned about abroad is that I shouldn't brake too fast, because someone behind me might bump into me. And if this happens, it is supposed to be my fault that I brake too fast?

Excuse me??? The fucker behind me should keep long enough distance to me that he/she is also able to brake safely, in case I have to make an emergency braking.

Of course the driver in front should not make unnecessary sudden changes either, like braking hard on a clear road without good reason, or just to annoy people behind him. In that case he/she becomes liable as well.

Oh, and if we are talking about changing lanes (and not actual turning), then obviously the one changing lanes should mind the people who are already on that lane, even if they are behind him. That's a different case, above I was mostly thinking that the one coming from the back is changing lane in order to pass someone from the left, when he is already trying to turn left.

Speaking of blind spots, here's my PSA about that:

Adjust the mirrors properly and there is virtually no blind spot for most vehicles I've driven. If your mirrors are pointed so you can see along the sides of your car, then they are adjusted wrong.

http://blog.motorists.org/how-to-adjust-your-side-view-mirrors/
[url=http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~gdguo/driving/BlindSpot.htm]http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~gdguo/driving/BlindSpot.htm[/url]

And a bajillion other links for "adjust mirrors properly". If previously adjusted the wrong way, it'll take a few driving hours to get yourself adjusted to the 'new' way, but it's also a huge improvement. The only reason to go back to having them sighted along the sides of the car is for backing a trailer.



Musta been a year or two back, 25MPH road, I'm on my bright blue sport bike wearing my nuclear tennis ball-yellow ("safety yellow") jacket - I always ride ATTGAT. Really difficult to NOT see that combo, and even cruising at low RPM the bike is still a bit noisy with the stock exhaust. Middle-age chick in her minivan passes on the left going about 28-30 and changes into my lane while I'm still in it. No way she didn't see me - hell, she approached from behind and was in the process of passing when she just plowed over into my lane.

Wake up, folks - I wanna get home to the wife and dogs.

Try to go swimming at least 2-3 times/week. It helps a lot.

Can't stand loud noises myself; loud pipes don't help that much in most cases cause a car with all windows closed and audio on a medium level won't let it's driver hear a closing bike until it's danger close. Such pipes are helpful when you're crawling through a traffic jam, but not so during higher speed encounters.
About blind spots -- true, I'm instructing newbies about them all the time. And I avoid them myself, cause I dislike large wooden boxes more than anything myself. :)

True, but all the awareness won't help while someone hits the brakes and turns left during your overtake.

I'm not that easy to kill, heh. :) ATGATT rules, especially hear in Russia, and not only on road -- saved my hide three times during combat assignments. Still, this time I got only two places unprotected -- neck and ass -- and what do you think? they both got hit. Friggin' funny to sit on 1/2 of butt only with a collar on the neck. :) Ah, the two-wheeled romantics! :)

BTW, here's the video of my crash -- bad quality but that's all I have.