tugrik

Since I've seen about 10 people on my friendslist try this, I'll give it a shot too. Yes, in case you were wondering, this is indeed an attempt to get mysef back into journal-writing more regularly.

I'll answer as honestly as I can. If the question becomes one of a best-not-for-public-consumption nature, I reserve the right to respond privately instead of in the Journal. I'm definitley curious what (if anything) folks want to know that I don't already blather on too much about. :)

I'll post the answers as comments on this post, as they roll in.

[Poll #144320]

As a bonus for this post: Here's a favorite ambient/trance song I've been listening to. It's called "think 4 a while". It's excellent chill-out stuff. Let me know what you think. mp3 format, about 7.5mb

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

stryck.livejournal.com

Oh.. bonus question.. how can I get a poll? I'm infected by the meme! I must join in! *twitch, twitch*

From:

tugrik.livejournal.com

spotweld: Where do you get all those wonderful toys?

I can't even begin to try to pose as Batman. And you want to talk about embarrasing or sad-looking if I tried... aieee!

Just in case this was a serious question: Most of it is stuff I research and find on the net and around various technology-showcase media. It's fun digging through the hype to find the truely useful and powerful stuff instead of just the consumer "ooh, aaah" junk.

perlandria What actions from friends make you feel appreciated and cherished?

I appreciate it most when I'm able to make someone honestly laugh -- the kind of laughter that isn't forced or held back. I also appreciate being needed in my usual infrastructure ways, such as someone coming to me to help them solve a problem. And, while I don't take compliments well at all, I admit there's a part of me that loves them when they happen. The compliment just has to survive my usual too-strict internal analysis to make sure it was an honest one and not just smoke-blowing... I'm not a cynic, really. I just have automated systems that sometimes make me seem that way.

I like being an integral part of things. The sort of event, place or relation where it's just simply expected that I'm there and part of it, because I truely am. Not tacked on, wedged in, picked last or included so I won't feel left out -- but instead being a simple, no-frills natural part of things. Those types of things are rare, and I seek them out whenever I can.

paka Given my build, interests in roadtripping, and limited funds, how would you suggest I get into bikes?

Easy! Take the CMSP (California Motorcycle Safety Program, aka "MSF" or "CCRider") safety course. It will cost you $195. Bring good over-the-ankle shoes, long-sleeved shirt, jeans and gloves. They will provide you with a helmet, a motorcycle, two days of classwork and two days on-bike on a closed, safe course. They start you out from utterly Zero, as if you've never even sat on something with two wheels before, let alone one with a motor.

If you weren't sure if you'd (a) like or (b) be able to ride a bike, this course will help you find out. If it turns out to be your thing, it will also get you your license (after graduating the class and taking a simple written test down at the DMV). From there I can start pointing you at excellent 'first rider motorcycle recommendation' sites for a good starter bike, and the rest of the path will open up before you.

Best $195 you'll ever spend, re: motorcycling.

cjthomas What's your real name?

Dern thing is all over the net anyways; I've not done much of a job of hiding it. Still, I'm oddly ginchy about posting my full first/middle/last in my online journal. For the sake of answering something here, I'll state that while normally folks RL call me "Tor", the actual legal name is "Tori". The middle and last I'll tell you over on FM next time I see you on.

Sometime around the middle of elementary school there was a girl named Victoria who started calling herself "tori" instead of "vicky" or any other shorter name. This bothered the heck out of me, and I started dropping the 'i' from my name. Besides, "Tor" was a nice barbarian-sounding name that fit my type-A little runt-brat nature of my youth. Heck, in olde-english it means "small hill", which is what I became as I grew to be the tallest/biggest-framed (and yes, ugh, fattest) kid in my classes in HS and then college.

From:

tugrik.livejournal.com

kibbles Besides me, of all the people online you havent met, who would you like to meet and why?

But you're the oooonly one for me, dahlink! *grins*

Honestly? Hmm. I've not really thought about it. I've in-person met just about everybody I'd hoped to. Most of the folks I roleplay with (that is, not just sit around and talk RL stuff with) I wouldn't *want* to meet face to face: it ruins the roleplay. This has indeed caused minor angst in my life as online roleplayers bump into me at various cons or other social gathers. It always gets awkward.

I definitley wouldn't mind meeting all my LJ and muck friends that I havent' already, not including the 'folks I roleplay with' ones. Some would be more fun than others, sure. I will openly admit that some of them would make me twitchy to meet as I would worry about what impression my player would give them vs. the online-persona that they know... but overall I tend to have faith in friendly people so would go meet 'em anyhow.

If I had to pick just one name off my Friends list that I've not met and would go out of my way to... ? Hmm. *noses through the list* Jeez, I've met so many of them already... and there's a few here who would totally get the wrong idea if I said I wanted to visit to say hi. Aaah, here:

shaddragon. I know them on FM and find 'em cool people, the player isn't someone I'd weird out or would think I'm 'after' them, I don't really roleplay with them (other than the usual mannerisms-stuff) and I really like Shad's attitude. I could see us going and menacing a neighborhood together, just for kicks.

stryck I know you listen to Groove Salad radio.. any other style of music?

Oh, jeez. I could (and should, someday) write a huge entry on this, complete with sound samples and discovery threads through my own personal music history.

I'll go a little lightweight on this one, then, and go with the things that've been in the iPod for motorcycle trips of late.

Early electronica (art of noise, yello, etc)
Some 80's stuff (the sub-parts of which 80's things would take way too long to mention, but really they're specific ones, not 80's in general)
Trance/ambient works, 'specially the kinds that paint proper audio-landscapes.
Experimental rhythm and the Clatter of Life: blue man group, stomp, david van teigham, and a whole slew of things that stomp and click and whirr and thud
Epic flare, transformational aura, and introspective sound: a general category that contains a whole slew of stuff that can be from the thoughtful to the euphoric to listen to. It often involves synced-chorus vocal, clean-line instrument solo amidst chaos, slow rhythm that builds into motion and crescendos that, when timed right, can be a serious neurochemical rush. This is the most special category but the hardest to quantify, as it tends to contains bits of songs but not entire songs themselves. If you've heard it you know what I mean and why I can't type it out well.

noressa The world is your oyster! Or not... Where would you love to take a one month hiatus to, for photos and riding?

Earlier in another post I talked about taking a month to photojournal all the places I've grown up in. I do indeed want to do that -- and see much family along the way -- but that's a form of Looking Back and hugging close to family. If I was instead looking forwards, and seeking adventure?

Austrailia.

There are a number of month-long "Dualsport ride through the Outback" grand-level adventures that I would absolutely go after. I'd hop on a plane with the bike in a crate tomorrow if I had the resources, on-season or off.

Another choice that's just as important, but in all honesty I don't think I have the stamina, ability and health to complete even if I did have the money and time: The Silk Road. China, mongolia, and on into russia. But that's also 2-6 months, not one. I read the adventure novels of other BMW-GS riders who have done it... and tons still do, even in today's unstable political and SARS-laced climate there.

From:

tugrik.livejournal.com

learnteach Of your burning man experience, what was your best piece of infrastructure?

Best, as far as equipment? That would be *thinks* 2000, I believe. The one where we had a 45' windmill tower, 4 solar panels on a tracking array, independant power-grid boxes with their own solar-powered cooling systems, a hot/cold running shower (also sun-driven), weather station, laptops, and an uplink. We also did a good job with the food, cooking stations, and fuel that year... with only one run for more major food supplies, we could have stayed out there for a very long time.

Socially, though, it wasn't the best. The wind-tower was a bear to set up and my campmates that year didn't quite realize how much work I was hoping to load-share with them. Also driving the big truck required to get it all out there made the travel experience less than pleasant for a few. Socially speaking I think the best was a lot simpler: 1998, when we dragged Frang and Japhet and a bunch of others out there and simply had tarps between the vans and chairs to sit on. The infrastructre then was purely 'family', not technology. We survived the event together and truely enjoyed it.

I'm trying to return a little to that method this year.

dv_girl What is the best chili you've ever had?

Without a doubt I would have to say the chili that Mercedes Lackey makes. That is the chili that marked my change from being a chili/beans/spice hater into a chilihead. I can blame a lot of my entire love of southwestern and mexican food on that chili.

In 1993 I decided to take a friend up on her offer of floorspace to crash, and with $500 in my pocket (thank you, Mark Stanley!) and a broken Buick LeSabre I headed westward from Michigan to California. En route I was invited to stop at Misty and Larry's to see them, as it'd been a year or so since I was out there last (I worked out there for the previous year's summer). On the phone she told me she was going to make her famous chili for when I came by. It took some time to make.

At the time, I hated chili... but I really was looking forwards to seeing them again. I figured I would start playing the part of Adult and just grin-and-bear-it instead of offend anybody and turn my nose up at the offered chili. The visit was a lot of fun. The chili was, well... I actually liked it. I couldn't tell that so much at the time because I was too mentally busy being surprised I didn't hate it like I normally hated chili. After the road-break at their house I continued on westward.

About New Mexico or so, my brain went "you know, that was damn good chili."

Arizona, I was thinking "Man. That WAS good chili. Really good chili. Wow."

When I got out of Vegas (a story I've already told, and a fun one at that) and was on my last leg of the trip to the Bay Area, I was just about ready to turn around and drive back to the midwest just so I could get another bowl. I was hooked.

From that point on, I started seeking out chilis and trying them. I've had from the mild to the insane, from the traditional to the fru-fru outlandish. I still haven't found the 'wow' level that I found in Misty's chili. I'd be curious to try it again someday to see if it really was that good, or if it was a combo of the travel, friends, changes, other things surrounding that trip *and* the flavor. Sometimes the best foods are a combination of flavors and events far more than the flavors themselves.

Unfortunatley, Larry and Misty dropped out of the social circles in which I travel and I've not had reason to be in or near their locale in a long, long time. I miss seeing 'em, and hope to again some day... but at this point it's probably not too likely I'll find 'em again.