Dan's Orbiter page
Orbiter English => Orbiter English => Topic started by: StarLost on 20 May 2005, 06:41:50
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While I'm recovering from my shoulder rebuild surgery (medicos have extended my medical leave another six weeks) I'm
contemplating popping over to UK to visit my brother and his family. They live in Doncaster (close to Manchester) and I was
wondering whether there were any Orbinauts in the Manchester area (yhp?) who might tolerate a visit from one from the west
side of the Atlantic.
Drop me a line.
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Well, i'm in leicester which is a couple of hours away on the train. perhaps we need another uk orbiteer meetup in
the pub? :)
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Simon, I'd love that for two reasons. My mother's father's parents apparently came from Leicester so I'd like to see it, and
well, wherever two orbinauts meet, there's the Orbiter convention.
No promises, yet, but I'll inform when I do make it across. And, unfortunately(?), I don't consume alcohol for spiritual
reasons. I'm sure UK pubs still have alternate items to imbibe, don't they?
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No problems, if you'd prefer we can take a trip to the national space center here in leicester. And yes, UK pubs have
an ample supply of coke (the drink, for those sniggering now :p) etc :)
I'll probably be around in Leicester until mid-august although i may be popping away for the occasional weekend so
just lemme know how things are going. Sorry to hear about your shoulder, btw - sounds like you must've bashed it
pretty good!
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Simonpro wrote:
Sorry to hear about your shoulder, btw - sounds like you must've bashed it
pretty good!
Overall, it was a product of my misspent youth. Original partial tear came from playing baseball (I'm lefthanded, so I catch
with my righthand, let the ball pull the shoulder into a partial dislocate). Second injury was kayaking. Did a little roll in
white water and smacked a rock with the shoulder. Another dislocate and more tear. Third injury was rockclimbing, belaying
for my youngest son. He said "belay off" so I did. Whereupon he fell off the face of the cliff and dropped 2m before I
snugged him up. Didn't snug the shoulder. More tear. Last one was last August, at work (thankfully, in terms of workers
injury compensation). Put too much pressure trying to dislodge a set of metal components. Rotor cuff (Supraspinatus muscle)
finally tore completely and the tendon attaching it to the upper arm was ripped loose. When they went in they also found some
problems with the shoulder bones so they trimmed, pinned and realigned. I was supposed to be awake for the surgery, but they
encountered an additional problem and shut down my awareness, though my physician assures me that I was indeed still awake.
I got to see the video record of the surgery a week later. They did a lot of work.
So, guys, be forewarned. Your sins will come back to haunt you. The surgery itself was the easy part. The reconstruction
physiotherapy has been brutal (at least my physiotherapist is very easy on the eyes).
Having lived a fairly active life (rugby, football (real and North American), archery, etc) I find that every little injury
that I bounced back from when I was younger ... once you cross the 40-45 yr threshold, you will feel everyone, everyday.
When/if I come, I'll give you plenty of lead time. Now I really am looking forward to it.
Simon, are you just finishing up your third year or is this your last one?
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Makes me glad I'm a lazy indoorsy type that can't possibly get injuries from being too active.
of course I'm sure there will be reprucusions for my inactivity when I reach the 45 yr mark... :pfff:
maybe I'll get a life and stop orbiteering someday before then. :)
...nah... ;)
Post Edited ( 05-23-05 05:06 )
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Sorry, was away at the grand prix and couldn't respond. Sounds pretty nasty, starlost - glad to hear you're a fellow
leftie though! And a rockclimber, i usually do a spot of that when i head up to scotland, pretty good fun.
Anyway, yes i am in third year - i'm doing a masters so i have another year of student life to enjoy! unfortunately i do
quite a lot of real world work at the same time, so never get a chance to be a proper student and spend all week in
the pub :)
Right, talking of work, better get back to it...
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freespace2dotcom wrote:
Makes me glad I'm a lazy indoorsy type that can't possibly get injuries from being too active.
of course I'm sure there will be reprucusions for my inactivity when I reach the 45 yr mark... :pfff:
maybe I'll get a life and stop orbiteering someday before then. :)
...nah... ;)
Hey Freespace, remember I raised two boys alone since my youngest was 4 months old. How do you keep 'em out of trouble? Keep
'em busy. So I had fun along with them. Of course, their best source of laughs was watching the old man writhe in pain
after doing something stooopid. At least they had the grace to flinch when they saw the videotape of the surgery ... and
their turn is coming!
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Simonpro wrote:
Sorry, was away at the grand prix and couldn't respond. Sounds pretty nasty, starlost - glad to hear you're a fellow
leftie though! And a rockclimber, i usually do a spot of that when i head up to scotland, pretty good fun.
Anyway, yes i am in third year - i'm doing a masters so i have another year of student life to enjoy! unfortunately i do
quite a lot of real world work at the same time, so never get a chance to be a proper student and spend all week in
the pub :)
Right, talking of work, better get back to it...
Ahhh, understanding dawns ... normally in North America when we speak of what year a student is in, the base assumption is
that he/she is an undergraduate (chasing that first baccalaureate). Masters and Ph.D candidates are regarded as graduates
and what year they are in in post-graduate studies is meaningless (due to the workload and advanced studies). And working in
the real? world, too, as opposed to being a TA (Tutorial Assistant). A tough row to hoe. My respects sir. Especially in
your field of study.
"Proper student and all week in the pub" ... reminds me of someone's first year at university and also the first year away
from the oldsters sphere of influence (and being 17 to boot) ... besides the pub is not really for drinking. It's the playing
field for "The Hunt" ....
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yes, I understand how little kids love people getting hurt. :) I've babysitted kids on more than one occasion. I once
intentionally "fell" down a starcase much to a few kids' amusment.
and yes, yes, simon has my respect too. We just have disagreements on several issues, is all. :)
*cough*katanasrule*cough*
I'm just aiming for a simple degree myself. This particular program is a bit out of touch with what I had orignailly
wanted, so I'm likely to veer onto some other slightly different track, but I don't regret spending a small fortune on
this to be able to make an entry-level salary 25% higher than my stepfather's current one with all of his experience in
his field.
http://www.devry.edu/programs_us_ect_curr.html
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StarLost wrote:
Ahhh, understanding dawns ... normally in North America when we speak of what year a student is in, the base
assumption is
that he/she is an undergraduate (chasing that first baccalaureate). Masters and Ph.D candidates are regarded as
graduates
and what year they are in in post-graduate studies is meaningless (due to the workload and advanced studies). And
working in
the real? world, too, as opposed to being a TA (Tutorial Assistant). A tough row to hoe. My respects sir. Especially in
your field of study.
"Proper student and all week in the pub" ... reminds me of someone's first year at university and also the
first year away
from the oldsters sphere of influence (and being 17 to boot) ... besides the pub is not really for drinking. It's the
playing
field for "The Hunt" ....
Yeah, it can be pretty tough. I've been working for the past 12 months now though and i get to work from home most
of the time, so its not too bad. I guess i still count as an undergrad in america too, then - I am going straight to
MPhys, missing out the BSc, so I don't have to do extra years at uni!
And starlost, love the pub quote. :)
At the end of the first term in my first year i spent every night for 2.5 weeks in the pub - played a whole lot of table
football and drank a whole lot of cheap beer :p
I think my girlfriend would have something to say about "the hunt" though, I'd probably get hit over the head with
something heavy...
Freespace: Foils are better! :)
That degree course looks quite interesting, I hadn't realised american students had to study topics such as
humanities in a degree course! I'd fail rather badly if we had to do that. The degree looks to have a nice wide range
of topics in it though, which is a good thing. Havn't heard of deVry university, is it based in Florida?
Thanks for the nice comments, guys - cheered me up. Now i'd better go revise for my exam. :)
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Havn't heard of deVry university, is it based in Florida?
actually... I've not been 100% sure of devry's origins. what I do know is that there are 3 campuses in the chicagoland
area. I looked it up and sure enough... It started in chicago. :)
Also, for the record, I think that humanities classes are a waste of time for anybody but a person majoring in them (and I'm gonna bet that a masters in that isn't worth much.)
http://www.international.devry.edu/about_history.php?image=201000
I think rather locally, so I love my city more than my country. :)
http://quizilla.com/users/roolet/quizzes/Are%20You%20a%20True%20Chicagoan%3F
Post Edited ( 05-25-05 12:25 )
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Btw, the image in your sig has my i.p wrong :p
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technically it has mine wrong too, if you're refering to the computer you're on right now.
but then, I think the ip point where the network is connected to the net is chosen in this case.
either that or the isp's.
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Lol, yes its the i.p of my ISP's server, iirc.
Btw - good coincidence, i just got an email from devry university talking about degrees :)
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yes, well, they're nosy bas-
er... people... :)
I started getting spam email from them after I registered for classes about how great their courses are, despite that
I'm already taking one.
I suspect they sold it to other education lists, too.
anyways, I'm AT devry right now. :)
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I'm at home witha cuppa, attempting to revise for my next exam - already had today's ;)
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I just got done with a 10 question quiz on routers.
I'm 99% sure I got a 100% on it.
And all that was needed was a little studying just before the books had to be shut....
beyond what was already covered in lectures, of course. ;)
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nice :)
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Katanas ... foils ... hmmm....
Seems I remember us having this same conversation some months back on M6. Same people in the discussion to (along with some
others.
Jaysus, Simon. Straight to MPhys. Now I am really impressed. Just do yourself a favour from time to time. Remember the line
about "all work and no play makes Johnny a very dull boy". I would dearly hate to hear someone else join NightLanding's ...
ahh ... "classification" (any one know if he's been released and how he's doing?).
And as for your lady ... well remember two words, one tone. "Yes, dear" , said sombrely. Then resume. "The Hunt" may be in
abeyance, but runs eternally. As you spent your adolescence ensuring that the oldsters didn't find out what you were up to
... just consider the costs.
Swordplay, and I'm out of contention at the moment due to the shoulder, ... Northern Shoalin Sword, using a standard Chinese
Tai Chi Sword, double edged design. But I do have a penchant for the katana. Lovely blade. I've had to grind my edges
myself over here because none of the manufacturers will put a proper combat edge on the instrument (first third from tip of
blade razor sharp, middle third at half sharp for sliding opponents blade away, last third to hilt left dull for blocking
blows). They normally grind their swords to a slicing sharpness from hilt to tip ... bloody butchers!
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Wasn't around here for nightlanding, but don't worry - i won't turn out like him. ;)
After next wednesday i have until ovtober free of any studies, so i can concentrate on work and (dare i say it) having
a little fun! I intend to spend all of next week in the pub :)
Luckily my lady lives in Sweden, so i can kinda get away with a certain amount of "hunting", but she'd find out and i'd
never want to leave her anyway (awww). Still jolly good fun chatting to a random lady in the pub though, nice to
know if i still have it or not :turning:
I can vaguely remember a debate about foils etc, freespace, y ou have a much bettr memory than I! And i'd still get
you all with a foil, even if you came at me on a horse with a crossbow :p
Well, maybe not then - but you know what i mean ;)
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I've had to grind my edges
myself over here because none of the manufacturers will put a proper combat edge on the instrument (first third from
tip of blade razor sharp, middle third at half sharp for sliding opponents blade away, last third to hilt left dull for
blocking blows). They normally grind their swords to a slicing sharpness from hilt to tip ... bloody butchers!
That has been filed way into my brain. Though I do seem to recall that katanas were never meant for that sort of swordplay. maybe the ones nowadays can handle it, but the old ones were meant for one thing only. cutting people.
Iron in japan in the sengoku jidai was relatively poor quality, so people didn't want their blade to snap in combat from excessive strain, so they just went in for the kill the moment the battle started. not to mention samurai were mostly calvalry, so blocking wasn't a big thing. or perhaps I should say, AS big a thing.
I can vaguely remember a debate about foils etc, freespace, y ou have a much bettr memory than I! And i'd
still get you all with a foil, even if you came at me on a horse with a crossbow :p
Well, maybe not then - but you know what i mean
Haha. Yes, I know what you mean. :)
though in any case, my goal would not be to avoid "being gotten" by you. It would be to "get you". :)
If we both got each other, considering I have no education in such matters, I would consider it a victory. In fact, if we
did get each other, I'd bet your wound would be worse due to our weapon's properties (even if you got in a few
blows), so I'd try to get in a smug statement on that. ;)
(but in all truth, I'd prefer an old longbow, than a crossbow, if I had my choice to learn one. so go ahead, tell this
young 'un how much better a crossbow is to the far cooler weapon. :) )
Post Edited ( 05-26-05 10:50 )
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Of course, you can't beat the good old English longbow :p
I think the problem here is that as a fencer i don't really care if i get hit - as long as i hit the opposition first, which
would pose a bit of a problem against a broadsword i imagine ;)
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Yeah, as a non-fencer, I care mostly about hurting my opponent more than he hurts me. :) it really doesn't matter if
he hits first. ;) (provided it's not an overly damaging blow, I really don't*.)
Damn, I gotta learn how to handle a sword on'na these days :)
*This attitude may change once I get into serious swordplay.
Post Edited ( 05-26-05 12:31 )
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indeed ;)
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allright. that's enough about swords now.
lets start talking about how awesome miles are. :)
Post Edited ( 05-26-05 13:39 )
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Before we do. My nickname in World War 2 online, JUST happens to be LongbowS (S is just coz, longbow was taken)
(http://www.vidmar.org/images/LongbowS-sigi.jpg)
Cheers,
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My nickname in everything internet based is Simonpro, although in reality i am generally called "si", "mr proud" or
occasionally galen raketman, depending on how drunk my girl is :p
Think i prefer si :)
Oh, and i'm not getting into a debate about miles, we all know that km are miles better.
ahaahhaha 0.o
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hahahaha!!:)
Sorry, simon, I'm not giving up one inch. ;)
anyone who dares take them away will suffer having my foot on their face.
http://img196.echo.cx/my.php?image=583966nq.png
http://img196.echo.cx/my.php?image=ruler4xe.png
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Oh, Lord ... the metric versus imperial/american standard again! It's all so arbitrary.
You guys ever notice the commonality of other interests we Orbinauts share? The main reason for my surgery is that I am/was
a competitive archer (compound bow, 3d and static target, primitive longbow) and that being left handed I hold my bow in my
right hand. It will be months before I can draw a bow again.
But the other interests we share!!!
Ah, Simon, about Swedish girls ... you didn't happen to have a conversation with Oz (Kent Osborne) over on M6 before he got
married, did you? Seems you two share a common taste for Nordic Valkyries. As for "the Hunt" ... it's the journey that
matters, not the destination.
Hey Doc, isn't that a Hurricane in the LongbowS graphic? And nice to see you join this conversation, too.
Oh, and freespace, wouldn't you rather express the expanse of the Noble Upright Unit as 14 cm rather than 5.5 in. (speaking
of Kinsey averages, of course)?
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No, i didn't - has he married a Swede too? Glad to see he has good taste (ducks) :)
Archery seems quite a common sport among scientific types (if you don't mind me putting you in that group ;) ). Quite
a lot of my friends are very keen archers, and I like to have a go although I'm nowhere near as good as
them. :turning:
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Ah... Nordic Valkyre :) Put me in that same group. Love independant, smart, witty and beautiful women. But
fortunatelly didn't have to venture to Sweden for that. From what I've heard they are a bit too relaxed for my
tastes, "hunting-wise".
Hey starlost. I didn't really follow it from the start, but I had to react to the age-old modern/traditional discussion :)
And I didn't know you were an archer. That's a little passion I intend to turn into a hobby one day as well. You never
know what future holds, but if manure starts hitting the propellers (heh), I want to be skilled in a "natural" method of
fighthing. Sniper rifles are usually scarce in such times.
How are you doing ..?
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Ah-ha, now to burst all their bubbles in one fell male-chauvinistic, mysogynistic swoop. And since my own tastes for the
fairer, but usually stronger gender fall into a decidedly Nihon bent (that's Japanese girls for you slightly illiterate ones):
It doesn't matter whether they are Japanese, Swedish, European, North American, black, white, tan, redheaded or raven-tressed
... scratch any two ... and you will find ... sisters !! Bwahahaha !!!
Maybe I should go back on the Percocet?
Now that I have that, once again, out of my system ...
Doc, I started in archery about 15 years ago after a very strange hunting trip. I had a beautiful buck lined up in the
'scope of my rifle, and the damned thing turned and shot those big, beautiful brown eyes straight back at me. I could not
pull the trigger (amongst many North American hunters we call this "buck fever"). I gave up using firearms and turned to
archery as it gives the animal better than half a chance. As an archer, you must get closer; your stalking skills and animal
lore skills must be top-notch. Ten years ago, when I crossed over to Buddhism, I gave up hunting altogether, and now just use
static targets to keep the skills honed. BTW, when aiming my bow, I superimpose an image of my sons' mother on the target ...
my opponents have said that I'm deadly when I do that.
As for the manure and the big blenders ... a hobby that I've held for a long time is to keep many of the old skills alive.
For instance, I knit my own nets, and knap my own flint. It's called self-reliance. And lest some of you wonder, no I am not
part of the survivalist movement.
Simon, placing me in the scientific category now, might be a stretch. I do have an addiction to the printed page (including
text books). My original university study was in genetics. When I went into the Air Force, I crosstrained to avionics and
computers.
Real small world, isn't it?
And Doc ... still pain from the surgery, 'cause I'm overdoing the physical rebuilding. 95% of motion range regained and about
10% of the strength (they can't push it too much or we will undo the surgery). As to what your question was really about ...
we're OK. The angelic ones seem externally unaffected and no other developments to date except what I have already shared
with you. I still seek my own balance.
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:lol: to the ex-wife comment :)
I'm glad you gave up hunting. I find it a rather useless and totally counter-productive activity (which of course it is
designed to be) unless used to actually feed youself and yours. BUT, totally agree with you on the caveman skills aspect. I'm
not survivalist either, but I like to be self-reliant (which I'm not), even tho it's almost impossible to practice it in an
urban environment unless you live in say.. Canada where nature is still abundant and intersecting with (not subdued by)
civilization.
Good to hear about your health and of your kin. I appreciate the fact you are pushing yourself, but do listen to doctors :)
Lol, back on topic, so who else do I contact if I ever get me arse to Manchester? :)
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DocHoliday wrote:
I'm glad you gave up hunting. I find it a rather useless and totally counter-productive activity (which of course it is
designed to be) unless used to actually feed youself and yours. BUT, totally agree with you on the caveman skills aspect. I'm
not survivalist either, but I like to be self-reliant (which I'm not), even tho it's almost impossible to practice it in an
urban environment unless you live in say.. Canada where nature is still abundant and intersecting with (not subdued by)
civilization.
Doc, when I was younger I spent many summers with an Aunt and Uncle who lived beside an aboriginal reserve (Anishnabe First
Nation, what most people call Ojibway). Consequently I spent much time ON the reserve. They taught me a reverence for the
taking of life that has never left me. I was a hunter, not a butcher. If you must kill, use the entire animal, and respect,
mourn and venerate the gift of its life to you. Hunting is always for food, never for sport. He who kills an animal for
sport, or kills more than he or his family can consume immediately, is a butcher, not a hunter.
It is true that much of Canada has abundant natural resources (90% of our population is within 200km of the US border and our
landmass is roughly 6000km x 4500km). Unfortunately, as happened in Europe, wildlife is much in decline, especially in
southern areas, due mostly to habitat destruction. Where nature and civilization? intersect, nature is ALWAYS subdued.