Friday, March 25, 2005

I gotta have more cowbell, baby.

Epic day out on the bikes today with Kelvin, Oli, Cy, Neil, Niall, Mike, and Chipps. I singlespeeded it which turned out to be a stupid decision. I'm just not fit enough to ride hills like that over the course of a day.

We've just arrived back from dinner, after consuming about a bottle of wine each. I was thinking of lots of stuff to say, but the fatigue from the day's ride, and the combination of the long ride, is starting to set in.

Mike's just taken the last of the beer bottle candy.

Friday, March 18, 2005

Turning over a new leaf

I don't think I can make statements about other people having a change of attitude anymore without recognizing that I'm in just as much need of one as anyone else. I need to figure out a way to become a duck. Actually, I thought I was getting better and letting things roll off my back, but there's only so much negativity a person can take.

There's so much that I love about the UK and my friends there. The one thing I can't get used to is the constant criticism. I guess it really is a cultural thing. I didn't grow up in the environment of 'low expectations', and as a result it's really hard for me to deal with it when it comes in such a high dosage. And, it's not even me that's on the receiving! It's not that I want or expect everyone to think like me. How boring would that be? But good grief! How nit picky can people be!? God it's just so irritating.

It's amazing how positive things can become after a nice beer, though. :~)

Thursday, March 17, 2005

1000 words or less



I stopped ignoring my camera today and went to the beach to take some photos. It was overcast all day, so I could have used just a bit more light, but I was practicing after all...I shouldn't strive for perfection just yet. So, you have a sample shot above. I have three versions of it: the original color, a black and white, and this one, which demonstrates on a very basic level the kind of fun you can have with Photoshop.

...-.-...

So there's a new forum out there that seems to be a haven for the previously banned and disgruntled. I am amazed yet again at how small the lives of some people are. I don't have a very good frame of reference, either. I don't know that anyone has every been banned from the Dirt Rag forum. On the other hand, no one on the DR forum has ever done anything that warrants a banning. Maybe it's because there are dramatically less people on the forum. But the attitude is different as well. It's a more welcoming place for new comers, and you don't see people posting rude pictures, or being all that inflammatory (the Politics area is a different story). No one is mean spirited, and whenever there's a disagreement it's done in a respectful manner. I can't imagine anyone doing anything that required a ban, let alone going to another forum to make it sound like they were banned for no reason, or only telling half the story, and saying some not so very nice things about the people that run the forum from which they were banned.

What blows me away even more is the behavior if a certain individual who set up the new forum. That guy really has a bug up his ass, and it's been there so long that it's probably fossilized by now. Have you ever known anyone that you just hope has a bad dose of karma coming back to haunt him/her? He is one of those guys for me. I will never understand the logic of becoming part of something from the ground up, not carrying your weight, leaving but maintaining a percentage of that company, holding on to that percentage in the hopes that you'll make millions, yet at the same time going out of your way to discredit the company, either via a lack of cooperation, not being helpful, or outright public slander. Your objective is what??

I know people say that 'it's just the internet', but I really don't believe that's the case for some people anymore. I think the internet is their reality. It's their primary form of communication, it's how they get information, it's how they arrange social outings, and it's how people decide if they want to know someone or not. Obviously, the notion of assuming an internet personna isn't going away. But more and more I think that what we 'see' of people in the internet is how they are in reality as well, and there's less and less of a line of differentiation. Me for example...I don't pretend to be something I'm not online. At least I don't do this consciously. And the people I know and love in person, are the same to me in the cyberworld. If someone I know was an ass online, but the opposite in reality I think I'd have to ask them about it. Come to think of it, I have. So I don't buy this whole thing of it just being 'the internet' anymore.

I think people who aren't really nice get away with it now. They can still be anti-social in reality, but can 'socialize' with others in their caustic ways online, and that's what internet annonymity has done.

I'm starting to long for the days when interactions with people who weren't so nice were few and far between.

Cheers to my very good friends, Nick and Steve.

Monday, March 14, 2005

Minty arse lard

Woman's intuition sucks. I'd really rather be blissfully ingnorant about things, it would really save me a lot of hassle.

Here's a deep one for you...why do people stay with other people when they'd rather be with someone else? What's the point of being with someone if you flirt with other people? Or worse? I hate the thought of people who get themselves into relationships only to lead lives of quiet desperation. F&$k all, everyone deserves to be happy, and if you'd rather be happy with someone else, then don't leave the other person hanging, and making them think that they are pouring heart and soul into the relationship and getting nothing in return.

Props to Jo for defying typical Shore convention and riding in knickers.

Yesterday's ride confirmed that I'm too tall to fit on any women's specific bikes. Oops!

My crush on Bob Roll is alive and well.

I head home tomorrow, back to my camera!

Sunday, March 13, 2005

Freshly shaved boy legs

Congratulations to Chipps for buying a house!

I think I did the coldest road ride I've ever done today. The temperature was about 25 or so, and it was windy so it felt much colder than that. The tops of my thighs were really cold. Nevertheless, it was great to get out on the bike. I went with Krista, who is the brand manager at Trek for the women's specific products. She's a lot of fun, and had I not lost the feeling in my toes I would have been happy to ride much longer with her.

It's Sunday, so I've had some chocolate. It's so lovely! It's even better when I deny myself the luxury for 6 days.

It's true that women dig a shaved pair of legs on a man, and thinking about it on certain people is very nice indeed! It's for that reason that it shouldn't be joked about. It's the opposite of imagining someone in a red sequined dress.

Friday, March 11, 2005

Back by popular demand

I know, I know...I really do need to stop letting such huge gaps open between posts. I'll try to do better!

I just drove through an incredible blizzard. Cars were spinning out all over the place, and at one point there was zero visibility. All I could see (barely) was the reflection of the headlights on the guardrail. That at least gave me an idea of where one edge of the road was. Still, despite the really bad conditions there were people passing me and driving what I'm sure was the speed limit. I kept it down to 45, which was probably pushing it just a hair. It was a straight road though, and I left enough room between the car in front of me to be able to stop if they hit one of the many patches of snow-covered ice on the road and entered the tilt-a-whirl.

I couldn't help but think about the mindset that makes people drive that fast in those conditions. There's no way I would be comfortable doing that. I don't care how advanced car technology may be, Mother Nature is still going to win sometimes. Maybe my inability to be more trusting of the car and thus go faster, is the same thing that hinders me on a bike. I see people riding faster than me, and riding over things that I think I can ride, but I don't. I know that I could be driving faster on the road, but I don't want to take the risk.

It is a bitch being such a wimp sometimes though.