Garage_Rubin

Feeling down about several things. One of Dad's friends nearly drank himself to death a few months ago -- much like that ex-girlfriend who nearly drank *herself* to death several years ago. Same result; he's in a care home, physically healthier now than when Dad came by to give him a ride somewhere, and found him unable to speak or get up. But short-term memory and cognition are dodgy at best. He's not going to get much better. That must be hard for someone who's always been the sharpest guy in the room, and usually the biggest. Honestly, he was sometimes a bit arrogant about Knowing What's Best, to the point where I'm not sure how he'll manage without that edge. I hadn't answered Dad's email about this until today, and felt guilty about that. As said, it reminded me a lot of Mz.Self-Destruct, and beyond that I just didn't want to know. Someone I'd seen a lot of lately, and really enjoyed her company, is not looking for a boyfriend. I still enjoy her company, but friends come and go; couples make a different sort of commitment to each other. I don't particularly care about getting laid, but I don't want to die alone. I sure as fuck won't die of alcohol poisoning. The other night I talked to an old friend I'd kind of accidentally on purpose hooked-up with last year, a rebound fling after leaving her man. Rather, listened to her for a while [she's going through a lot right now], couldn't get a word in edgewise. No comfort there. She is and has always been a great friend, but the whole call I was nodding and smiling and thinking, No, no, no. I love you dearly but we are not compatible. You are not The One. It breaks my heart to say so, but there it is. And finally, to the best of my knowledge, Keith Flint is still dead. Cheers, Patrick.

Reminds me of the Suit, for some reason... Cheers, Patrick.

Did a double-take when I saw this... Cheers, Patrick.

Alrighty then! Cheers, Patrick.

Facebook, actually. Patrick.

Meanwhile, in Mongolia... Cheers, Patrick.

Mind if I repost this, with attribution? Cheers, Patrick.

"Walktopus" Octopus Candle Holder by Scott Musgrove. Cheers, Patrick.

PS: Cheers, Patrick.

So, what you're saying is, contact sports aren't a new thing? Cheers, Patrick.

First, predation is *very* different from aggression; carnivores are basically just trying to make a living, not show their prey `who's boss'. Meanwhile with [healthy] aggression, the intent isn't even to hurt, let alone kill. It serves to resolve social conflict and clear-up heirarchical ambiguities. Thus highly competitive friends can remain friends and sparring partners [and hunt cooperatively, for that matter], by coming to see each other as equals, falling into a stable `hero&sidekick' orbit, or -- best of all -- switching dominance depending who's better at what. Second, warfare is a bit of both, so it's not a natural fit for most. You have to fuck people up to some extent, to make decent soldiers out of them -- jointly increase their `team spirit', selflessness and social cohesion with insiders, while also *decreasing* their ability to see outsiders as human [reduce them to `prey' basically]. A soldier afflicted with empathy won't shoot the enemy, but a soldier without empathy won't do shit for anyone on their own side either -- so both are useless. Third, modern humans suck at hunting for lack of practise, basically [like you said]. Cat's who've been raised indoors kind of suck at it too, btw, because mice and birds are *way* more perceptive than a ball of fluff on a string. ;-P Some examples... * If you've seen cats playing together, you know it's only `practise hunting'; they *always* stop short of killing each other. * If you've seen cats hunt, you know it's *not* playful; it's dinnertime. * And if you've seen cats fighting, you know it's not playful *or* homicidal. It's `fuck off', basically; neither wants the other animal to stick around, not for playtime or for dinnertime, just go away, now. Cheers, Patrick.

What was this doing in the game thread? Anyway... Apologies if you've already seen this on FB, I just can't seem to shut up about these guys. They're awesome. 🙂 Cheers, Patrick.

It could be, but I doubt it. There are a lot of parallels with Anonymous in the show, but they're less direct about it. Cheers, Patrick.

Cut.

Wait, what? Never mind... Patrick.