Sounds good, Nick, especially that ride to work. We got dumped on all winter, so it was always to wet, & now my bike is dead & I haven't made time to deal with it. . . I've had to do all kinds of other dumb exercise just to keep from tanking out. Really good to hear that things are looking to settle down for you, though.
Ria....aren't you far enough south some good snow to be dumped on you? Maybe some skiing or other fun stuff?
My work looks like they're going to let us work 45-50 hours/week(normally I'm only scheduled for 30) for the foreseeable future, so I'll definitely be taking advantage of that.
Nice. It's good to hear that things are starting to work out for you. It's nice to hear that good things are happening. For a while it seemed everyone in the clan was struggling with something. Riding the bike will be great too. Solid Job, better health, better shape,...will do wonders is curing that Depression and anything else that ails ya.
Aside even from the politics of species reintroduction, don't they realise that we've already ☺☺☺☺ed with nature enough, and that trying to restore the balance is at least worth considering?
I figure their thoughts on the matter is that if reintroduction will have a direct negative impact on their lives then the answer is no, its not worth considering and they're mad as hell that it happened. It has happened though, and the debate has moved to control. Can there be wolf control, how much, and what methods are acceptable. I don't think there are any good argument against all control beyond the fuzzy feel good sentimentalism of groups like PETA. I suppose a driver of the anger might be that in many cases logic is losing out to emotional sentimentalism. But then I am biased.
It also doesn't help that some of the die hard wolf supporters don't really care about wolves. Groups like the "Western Watershed Project" are just using wolves and word smithing of the Endangered Species Act to try to remove all ranching practices from public land. They also use the Sage Grouse, Pygmy Rabbit, Slickspot Pepper Grass, and other endangered species as tools to further their political agenda.
As for thoughts of restoring balances, what exactly do you consider worth considering? No matter what, there is a balance. Just because it may be a beautiful spiral of self destruction doesn't necessarily demand interjection even if it is initially caused by us. I enjoy watching nature restructure itself back to "something". I find it fascinating watching the resiliency and weaknesses exploited as things change.
Cheers,
Daggertooth
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***Official Rune Master and Rational Extremest of The Called***
************************From Sound to Sea**********************
And I guess that I'm a lucky one for the truth of what I know. For my heart had not denied me and I have somewhere to go. I shall never be a prisoner of steel and glass and stone. If I leave, I will return again to my Rocky Mountain home.
It's no secret that we've been a bit decadent over the past year. A decline that, despite changes to our membership policies and the infusion of new members, has continued relentlessly. Seems that nobody has much to say or is too busy with real life to post. The majority of posts lately has been Ria and me, and most of those are more occasional updates on our lives than any real conversation.
Clans slow down, its a fact of life. I know the Greek Alliance has slowed to a screeching halt a few times and they seem perfectly happy with a very slow clan. I know there are some people who are unhappy with the pace (myself included), and that maybe things are transitioning into a new generation of Called. It's happened before, I know none of us are the original called members. The difference here is that I'm not sure theres enough interest in our clan for it to even exist as a slow clan.
So where do we stand?
Here's where I stand. I only come to mtgsalvation for our clan. I feel like trying to encourage more posts is like pulling teeth. I'm not sure If I'm boring everybody or if I'm contributing to our decline, but I wouldn't put it past me. I tend to be long winded and boring. I just know that if the Called isn't here I wont be. I suppose I can live with the clan being extremely slow, but I find that I'm not having as much fun with it as I used to. Not sure exactly what that means, but there it is.
I know I'm a Moderator here, but that was to help out Ria and Yuk. I have no interest in remaining a Moderator if the Called no longer exists.
Cheers,
Daggertooth
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***Official Rune Master and Rational Extremest of The Called***
************************From Sound to Sea**********************
And I guess that I'm a lucky one for the truth of what I know. For my heart had not denied me and I have somewhere to go. I shall never be a prisoner of steel and glass and stone. If I leave, I will return again to my Rocky Mountain home.
C'mon, it was totally a go-out-with-a-bang effort. One last hurrah before we turn out the light
I've got most of you guys on faecesbook, anyhow. There's no need to slam the clan shut, of course, but it's not been the same clan for a good stretch, whatever the reasons.
I don't think it's terrible to say that we've had a good run & leave it at that.
Wait, the Called is shutting down just after I join? No fair.
Mostly things have just been same old, same old up at college so I haven't had much to report on. I did watch a great mystery film called Transsiberian the other week though. Makes me wonder if all of Russia is a gangster winterland like the film portrayed.
Aside from that I'm taking a Tai Chi course and I'm still waiting for the instructor to teach us how to hadouken. I just started watching the TV series The Shield and it's pretty damn incredible. For a basic cable drama it's grittier than HBO stuff by a mile. I highly recommend it.
As for the clan issue I have some comments. Daggertooth, your posts are great and aren't boring at all. You could discuss sex and drugs for added excitement though, those two topics always attract people. Dux, more pictures of your cats and/or foil MTG collection would be cool. I just started a foil binder myself.
When I started posting in this clan I saw that it didn't have a dozen posts a day or super high levels of activity. What it had was familiarity and a sense of togetherness. People only posted when they had something to say, which led to discussions that were sporadic but always engaging and content rich. To disband this clan for doing (from what I can tell) has always been its status quo is a mistake, I believe. With that said, I will try to post here more, which in turn will motive me to go out and do things that are post-worthy.
C'mon, it was totally a go-out-with-a-bang effort. One last hurrah before we turn out the light
I agree that it has been a good run. I mean it wasn't exactly subtle that part of the effort for the Coty was to go out with a bang. Especially with you doing all the work for that last contest. I wonder though, is it so bad that the clan has slowed down to a crawl? I know I don't like it, but it still fits the definition of a clan. I know I prefer a slower clan, just not as slow as whats been going down lately. I'd be complaining just as much if it was going 10 posts a day as well.
I know I don't like how slow the clan has been, but since the clan is the only reason I'm here I will stick with it as long as there is enough interest to keep it "technically" alive. Even with it being excruciatingly slow.
I really hate to interrupt this critical discussion, but I'm reeling from a pretty powerful blow. Bonnie broke up with me today. Now to tell the truth I'm not sure if it was a true breakup, or a semi-friend zone situation being put in my place, but it was a conversation to finally set the record strait. We were both a bit confused as to where we stood. I mean I took her out, bought dinners, brought flowers and chocolate, and tried to show her a good time...but I wasn't exactly intimate which I guess confused her as to my intentions. I was also unsure exactly where we stood, but I tried.
I guess giving a valentine present confused the issue too much and she decided we needed to talk. I opened my heart up a little, told her things I should have been telling her all along, but I guess it was too little too late....she decided we should stop seeing each other.
Mostly its my fault. I have intimacy issues...I tried to overcome them but didn't in time so I can't really fault her. It sucks because I feel she is perfect for me. She's funny, caring, intelligent, loves the outdoors, and is beautiful. I want to run to her, tell her I can be better, tell her things can work out...but, well another problem is that if we continued, our relationship would be doomed to be a long distance relationship, an issue that has been haunting me a bit for the last month. We talked...I've witnessed many long distance relationships and I can't think of any being successful....she's had two she has tried and they both failed.
Ours wouldn't be a short separation either...I'll go wherever the jobs are and wouldn't see her till at least December when she graduates. Then the only way it would work out is if one of us completely gives up our career to follow the other. I know I don't quite love her, wouldn't be willing to do that and she wouldn't be willing to do the same. Still, I want to tell her that we can work things out, that she's wrong and "we" are worth pursuing, but any way I think of it, any scenario no matter how fantastic, I can't see the relationship working. I think that last bit is the most frustrating of it all.
I hate the fact that she's right about this, but it is what it is. Now I have to figure out if theres a way to transition this into a friendship. I've tried once before and found that I was too attracted to the girl...too bitter that things didn't work out...to be friends with her. I'm hoping thats not the issue here.
Any advise on how to make that transition actually work?
Cheers,
Daggertooth
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***Official Rune Master and Rational Extremest of The Called***
************************From Sound to Sea**********************
And I guess that I'm a lucky one for the truth of what I know. For my heart had not denied me and I have somewhere to go. I shall never be a prisoner of steel and glass and stone. If I leave, I will return again to my Rocky Mountain home.
Reya & I were long distance; pen-pals for a year, then we actually met, hung out for the 4th of July weekend, then she went on to London where she stayed for four months. I do feel like we are pretty exceptional in that regard, but, it can work. Just think of that old Heinz commercial with the ketchup dripping from the rooftop, worked for me
Seriously though, I have to say I find it weird that you hadn't expressed your feelings but felt compelled to do it up on Valentine's. Other than that I gots no useful input, I have not remained friends with any of my ex-girlfriends (even jumping overseas aside).
If people are content to let this clan be what it will be, I am totally cool with that. Just felt like sassin' everyone, I suppose, since it has almost become the Rin & Dt chat log up in here
AL, O & I have been doing tai chi for a little while now, strictly home-study through books & video, but if you can't feel that fireball charging after a couple of lessons, time to trade in your sensei
If people are content to let this clan be what it will be, I am totally cool with that. Just felt like sassin' everyone, I suppose, since it has almost become the Rin & Dt chat log up in here
Next time you want more content just say so. No need to get trigger happy with the Clan's future.
Seriously though, I have to say I find it weird that you hadn't expressed your feelings but felt compelled to do it up on Valentine's.
It was a very bad move on my part. Probably made worse by the fact that I wasn't compelled to tell her anything, she just asked and I told the truth. I thought she knew my intentions, I mean I showed up with flowers and chocolates and was paying for all the meals and somehow the issue was confused. Well okay, I was a bit confused by it cause I never said anything and neither did she, plus I kinda had the impression that if I didn't make an effort to call her or contact her I'd never hear from her, but even so I thought it was obvious that I was interested in her as more than friends.
Reya & I were long distance; pen-pals for a year, then we actually met, hung out for the 4th of July weekend, then she went on to London where she stayed for four months. I do feel like we are pretty exceptional in that regard, but, it can work. Just think of that old Heinz commercial with the ketchup dripping from the rooftop, worked for me
It's comforting to see a positive result from the long distance relationship. Its such a rare thing. I think my big problem here is that even though I really like this girl, I just can't see a long distance relationship working. Its the reason I didn't fight the issue or chase after her trying to make her change her mind. She wasn't wrong and I can't see a way around that. I had been trying to come up with a way to sit down and have a serious talk with her anyway, she just beat me to it. I wasn't planning on breaking up with her, just to ask her what she thought of a long distance relationship. Though I figure If I had brought up the issue her response would have generated the same outcome. It's bad timing in general and neither of us are willing to sacrifice our careers on the off chance that we might fall in love.
Basically we'd be facing an indefinite hiatus from each other. From May to December is just the time she'd be in school and I'd be off who knows where (I've already applied to 25 jobs from Alaska to Florida and everywhere in between). From there who knows, she's like I was five years ago....extremely eager to go off to exotic adventures like studying elephants in Africa. How many years that may be...well who knows. I could follow if I was willing to sacrifice my career and make her support me....or she could crush her dreams to be tied to me. Since we just really like each other either idea seems like a horrible proposition, it'd be bad either way if we loved each other. So no, I can't envision any realistic scenario where this relationship would work. I was just content not to think of it...she was good company.
I should reiterate that I know my feelings for her right now wouldn't last a long distance relationship. I was hoping to ignore that fact for now and to try to spice things up in the next few months to change that.
It sucks, but it is what it is. Now if I can figure a way to maintain at least a friendship. That's the kicker, something I've failed with in the past. I think I'll give myself a week to ponder this. I might need that time anyway. For whatever reason I'm taking this a lot harder than I would have expected.
***Official Rune Master and Rational Extremest of The Called***
************************From Sound to Sea**********************
And I guess that I'm a lucky one for the truth of what I know. For my heart had not denied me and I have somewhere to go. I shall never be a prisoner of steel and glass and stone. If I leave, I will return again to my Rocky Mountain home.
Things for me have just become so busy in real life that forum posting (aside from 1 or 2 snarky comments in the gutter) has become nearly non-existant for me, between tafe the part time job and late night parties there is not a lot of time to make long write up posts about how my life is going, or rather I don't have the energy for it anymore, coming home from a long day at tafe/work I don't even feel the urge to go on the forums let alone make posts, most of the posts I make are from tafe and are no longer than a few lines of text.
I have been having an especially tough time recently with my cat of 14 years having to be put down and my mum recently having a cancer operation (she's still hospitalized) have had me feeling depressed and run down, getting through it though.
Anyway, sorry for being a downer but I just felt the need to justify why I haven't been posting, I'd really prefer the clan not be shut down as I do enjoy reading the posts.
I don't think there are any good argument against all control beyond the fuzzy feel good sentimentalism of groups like PETA.
As for thoughts of restoring balances, what exactly do you consider worth considering? No matter what, there is a balance. Just because it may be a beautiful spiral of self destruction doesn't necessarily demand interjection even if it is initially caused by us. I enjoy watching nature restructure itself back to "something". I find it fascinating watching the resiliency and weaknesses exploited as things change.
I really don't like dismissing unquantifiable notions as 'sentimentalism,' there would be many who would like to see the normal order restored somewhat, without parading around PETA style for the end of meat-eating, etc.
I think everything is worth considering once, at least to verify it before dismissing it. "You can try anything in your life once, except for cocaine and morris dancing."
And hey, best wishes with Bonnie, no matter what direction your interactions go. I'm too inexperienced to offer any advice.
eds - hey, good luck with the move, Talore! See you in a few months?
Thanks Ria, I should check in every couple days or so. This work 'till 6, then homework after dinner routine is wearing on my mind more than anything. I was planning on going to my best friend's house and cheer him out of depression with some D&D, but it looks like my social life is on hold for a couple months.
I really don't like dismissing unquantifiable notions as 'sentimentalism,' there would be many who would like to see the normal order restored somewhat, without parading around PETA style for the end of meat-eating, etc.
What normal order? People have a bad habit of taking their first impressions of a system and assuming it is pristine, perfect, the way it has always been and the way it should always be. There's a perception in the west that pre-European influence was nature perfection. So great effort is taken to force landscapes to be stuck in a snapshot of the late 19th century. As such you get restoration projects that call for the eradication of all trees younger than 130 years old while at the same time contending with 21st century variables such as invasive species and global climate change.
I don't dismiss all unquantifiable notions of sentimentalism. Restoration is largely based on that after all. It's when those notions become self-destructive when I have problems (though I also take exception when they conflict with my objectives). The issue with wolves, beyond the economic impacts, is that after 50+ years of their absence there is now an over abundance of prey species. Population dynamics suggest that wolf populations will increase to accommodate that bloated prey population, will decimate or eradicate it, then crash hard. Environmental groups don't want that to happen and range folk don't want that to happen (they like prey species), but because the issue is politicized everyone's too frozen to stop that.
I suppose caring about crashing population dynamics, eradicated prey species and decimated wolf populations, is sentimentalism anyway. The reason I'm not passionate about this issue is mainly because I am curious to see if Population dynamics will work out as expected. I suspect that the territoriality of wolves might be an interesting variable.
Cheers,
Daggertooth
Edit: Feeling better this morning...well if you ignore the headache, slight nausea...and the fact that I didn't get to sleep till 6am this morning. A touch too much whiskey methinks. I had to reread everything I typed to make sure I didn't make a complete fool of myself....might have been a little over the top in that first post, but it could have been worse. I vaguely recall wanting to email Bonnie in that stupor....checked my sent box, thank the gods that didn't happen. I'm relieved that I'm feeling a little better though, hopefully means I'll get over this faster than I expected. I'll chock that up to medicinal whiskey.
***Official Rune Master and Rational Extremest of The Called***
************************From Sound to Sea**********************
And I guess that I'm a lucky one for the truth of what I know. For my heart had not denied me and I have somewhere to go. I shall never be a prisoner of steel and glass and stone. If I leave, I will return again to my Rocky Mountain home.
I would probably feel a pang of sadness if the Clan dissolved. But maybe not much more than that. We just have so few members, and I don't feel attached to more than a couple. I don't dislike anyone(for like the first time since I joined..maybe our clan needs drama to survive :P), but we just don't know each other. I would stop coming to the site, though, I imagine. This and mafia are the only reasons I visit, and I'm talking a break from mafia as soon as my ongoing games are over(admittedly, they're both early, and the clan could be completely rejuvenated by then).
I don't post tons, because I can only say 'life sucks' so many times/different ways before even I don't want to read my posts. I do enjoy reading everyone's posts, though.
@Chris: I think that being friends with a girl after she breaks up with you is hard, and frequently not worth it. There is just a certain bond/trust that is broken when a relationship ends, and it doesn't come back. Plus, when you meet a new girl later, as much as she'll insist that it doesn't bug her if you're close friends with another girl(s), it probably will be a strain. Maybe just chalk it up to a learning experience and cut ties? Focus on school and such?
Well, if ya all are worried about the clan being too slow for you, I'll make a concerted effort to post everyday. Except weekends. No amount of clan loyalty is going to make me get near the computer when I find rare time to spend with my fiancee.
My posts just may be boring, as I don't have a whole hell of a lot going on right now. I mean, wake up, go to school, come home, study, sleep. That's about the long and short of my weekdays.
+ when I post something that isn't that exciting, it's not like it spurs any sort of discussion north of "Oh, hey, wild Yuks sighting"
Also, Cyan, go ☺☺☺☺ yourself. There, now we have some drama to liven this place up.
My posts just may be boring, as I don't have a whole hell of a lot going on right now. I mean, wake up, go to school, come home, study, sleep. That's about the long and short of my weekdays.
Ditto.
Except for the school part right now. switch school with babysit the kids and you have my days. About the only changes is the fact that I am going to church again and that I will be re-attending school in the Fall. (I don't remember if I had mentioned this before.
Oh yeah. I'm coaching again this year too! Yeah...kinda sad that's the highlight of my life.
naw. I think DUX would need to tell Cyan that for there to be drama.
Agreed.
But wait? Personal drama isn't good enough...we need interclan drama? I could go ask BLOD to come post a few times...I still talk to him on occasion. A good debate on Veganism could cure what ails us?
@Chris: I think that being friends with a girl after she breaks up with you is hard, and frequently not worth it.
I've only tried to pull it off once before and failed pretty badly. I just couldn't pull off the friendship thing with her, but I felt it was more my problem since I couldn't view her as "just a friend." As emotions and frustrations settle down here I'm thinking that I could handle it... I wanted much more in our relationship and had high hopes, but the fact that we didn't cross that road together might save the friendship (my fault for playing it way too slowly). At least my thoughts...we'll see if thats true in practice.
I can't think of any personal examples where relationship --> friendship worked. I've talked to a few people and they can't think of any success stories either. I do know of one success story though....I met a couple in North Carolina who had been married before the guy realized he was gay. That ended the marriage, but afterwards they stayed close and became best friends. So I guess stranger things have happened?
Plus, when you meet a new girl later, as much as she'll insist that it doesn't bug her if you're close friends with another girl(s), it probably will be a strain.
Now I hope you are wrong here. I have a female friend whom I love to death. She's a vegetarian hippie type, works at a raw food store, and has a side job utilizing shiny rocks for their curative properties. Apparently different colored crystals do different things to the body in a holistic healing kinda way... I'm more inclined to stick with medicinal whiskey. Anyway, I would hope a relationship is strong I would be allowed to have a few female friends who are just friends.
Have I complained about the Forest Service's hiring practices? Well let me set the scenario for a second. First there is a Job announcement. Something like:
Job: Rangeland Science Technician
Location: 16 vacancies -Throughout the Nation
Simple enough. So you go to their website, fill out your info. Then select your preferred location. To facilitate this process they give a neat map of the US where you can just click on a state. It then lists every city that has a forest service office and you can simply click on that and have up to nine options. Simple, efficient, neat and clean.
The problem?
They never tell you where those jobs are. The above announcement, only 16 openings, odds are my 9 guesses over the entire US wont find the right station thats advertising the job. The only way to know is to have inside information, or call up each station and ask. For the above I happened to have inside information on two places....just guessed on the other 7 preferred locations. Ah government efficiencies...
This is actually why I've never heard back from the forest service despite hours of applying on their website.
Ah well, all the other alphabet whatevers are relatively intuitive. Searched Antarctica, no good jobs there. A few in South America but they don't pay enough. Waiting on an email for a job in Borneo, its carbon cycling in peat bogs...not exactly my cup of tea...but I wouldn't mind going back to that place. There are also two PhD's that have piqued my interest...
Have only applied to 35 jobs so far. Market is not quite saturated with my resume.
***Official Rune Master and Rational Extremest of The Called***
************************From Sound to Sea**********************
And I guess that I'm a lucky one for the truth of what I know. For my heart had not denied me and I have somewhere to go. I shall never be a prisoner of steel and glass and stone. If I leave, I will return again to my Rocky Mountain home.
Decided I was done moping. Round 6pm went for beers with a handful of gradstudents and professors. Stayed there chatting until they closed the place down and kicked us out.
Then we went to a cocktail bar and chatted and drank until we were ready to leave. But on the way out I recognized another group and sat, drank, and chatted with them till the bar closed and I was forced to stumble home round 2:30am.
...just woke up....4pm...world too bright. Wondering what was so bad about moping that I had to do that to myself. :weird2::gonk::xd::p
.....Does remind me why I don't take advantage of that invite every Friday.
Cheers,
Daggertooth
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***Official Rune Master and Rational Extremest of The Called***
************************From Sound to Sea**********************
And I guess that I'm a lucky one for the truth of what I know. For my heart had not denied me and I have somewhere to go. I shall never be a prisoner of steel and glass and stone. If I leave, I will return again to my Rocky Mountain home.
I realize I've been kinda ignoring my clan, but that doesn't mean I forgot you guys or you guys became less important to me. After losing my internet connectivity for a large amount of time, I spent the spotty time I had on mafia and frankly just decided I kinda wanted to lay low for a bit anyway. I havn't even been that active in the gutter to be honest, and that only requires three word posts.
My life's been pretty nuts over the last couple months though. I'm still hustlin and bustlin pretty much all the time (mostly hustlin), with school and work and social life and all that jazz.
I also kinda had relations with my boss, and as expected that situation exploded, imploded, reloaded, and then unloaded on me again.
@Cyan: Glad to hear the job is getting better and things are finally looking up. Light up the darkness man.
@Daggs: Don't be friends with your ex anything. Trust me.
@Ria: Close the clan! Over my hardly active clan body! Peaks and valleys man, peaks and valleys. Sure it's slow motion now, but some ladies like that. You can't go fast all the time, give [The Called] a moment
Relations with your boss seems like one of those things that can be great during, but can't possibly last, and would be a complete disaster afterwards.
Relations with your boss seems like one of those things that can be great during, but can't possibly last, and would be a complete disaster afterwards.
That pretty much sums it up completely. It was great during, obviously wasn't going to last, and then went atomic bomb explosion on me.
I mean I totally knew it would end up working out like that but I did it anyway cause I mean.............I'm in college and what not.
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First off....dis-clanding is a bad idea. The CALLED is what a clan is. It was the start of something pretty cool. An elitist club of sorts that got the ball rolling where those with similar mindsets and viewpoints got together and had discussions and arguments and talked personal when the mind felt like it.
As for Daggs....this is all I can say....If you feel a certain way a bout a girl then you need to tell her exactly that. Whether you put it in a letter or get her in person, that is what needs to be done. You need to grab your drawers and get over your insecurities about the fairer sex. DO NOT CALL HER AND TELL HER HOW YOU FEEL! It doesn't have the same effect.
If you like her, tell all the reasons that you do. Tell her about how insecrue you are about relationships and tell her why. It is never to late to speak your mind and get everything out on the table. If she is someone you really enjoy being around, isn't worth it get everything out on the table and settle the air. I can imagine your regret a year from now if you don't let her know where your mind is/was. Do it now, while it's still fresh.
Doing this puts everything out there. If she isn't the one, then you'll know right there and then. You don't want to always wonder if you should have put up a fight for her. I'd love for you to find the lady for you. You're a great person with a lot of heart and conviction and I think that if you both have strong feelings for each other, the distance thing won't be an issue.
Just jumping in to give a little elderly advice to my young friends. Even though I'm not a member of this clan, i would hate to see it go away and not see Daggs post his beautiful imagery.
jon
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"Talkin outta turn....That's a paddlin'. Starin' at my sandals....That's a paddlin'. Paddlin' the school canoe....You better believe that's a paddlin'!" --Jasper
nothing to see here
I LIKE CHICKS!
So Long TBGTE
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Nice. It's good to hear that things are starting to work out for you. It's nice to hear that good things are happening. For a while it seemed everyone in the clan was struggling with something. Riding the bike will be great too. Solid Job, better health, better shape,...will do wonders is curing that Depression and anything else that ails ya.
I figure their thoughts on the matter is that if reintroduction will have a direct negative impact on their lives then the answer is no, its not worth considering and they're mad as hell that it happened. It has happened though, and the debate has moved to control. Can there be wolf control, how much, and what methods are acceptable. I don't think there are any good argument against all control beyond the fuzzy feel good sentimentalism of groups like PETA. I suppose a driver of the anger might be that in many cases logic is losing out to emotional sentimentalism. But then I am biased.
It also doesn't help that some of the die hard wolf supporters don't really care about wolves. Groups like the "Western Watershed Project" are just using wolves and word smithing of the Endangered Species Act to try to remove all ranching practices from public land. They also use the Sage Grouse, Pygmy Rabbit, Slickspot Pepper Grass, and other endangered species as tools to further their political agenda.
As for thoughts of restoring balances, what exactly do you consider worth considering? No matter what, there is a balance. Just because it may be a beautiful spiral of self destruction doesn't necessarily demand interjection even if it is initially caused by us. I enjoy watching nature restructure itself back to "something". I find it fascinating watching the resiliency and weaknesses exploited as things change.
Cheers,
Daggertooth
For my heart had not denied me and I have somewhere to go.
I shall never be a prisoner of steel and glass and stone.
If I leave, I will return again to my Rocky Mountain home.
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*kicks a can, watches it rattle across the vacant lot*
eds - hey, good luck with the move, Talore! See you in a few months?
Is it?
It's no secret that we've been a bit decadent over the past year. A decline that, despite changes to our membership policies and the infusion of new members, has continued relentlessly. Seems that nobody has much to say or is too busy with real life to post. The majority of posts lately has been Ria and me, and most of those are more occasional updates on our lives than any real conversation.
Clans slow down, its a fact of life. I know the Greek Alliance has slowed to a screeching halt a few times and they seem perfectly happy with a very slow clan. I know there are some people who are unhappy with the pace (myself included), and that maybe things are transitioning into a new generation of Called. It's happened before, I know none of us are the original called members. The difference here is that I'm not sure theres enough interest in our clan for it to even exist as a slow clan.
So where do we stand?
Here's where I stand. I only come to mtgsalvation for our clan. I feel like trying to encourage more posts is like pulling teeth. I'm not sure If I'm boring everybody or if I'm contributing to our decline, but I wouldn't put it past me. I tend to be long winded and boring. I just know that if the Called isn't here I wont be. I suppose I can live with the clan being extremely slow, but I find that I'm not having as much fun with it as I used to. Not sure exactly what that means, but there it is.
I know I'm a Moderator here, but that was to help out Ria and Yuk. I have no interest in remaining a Moderator if the Called no longer exists.
Cheers,
Daggertooth
For my heart had not denied me and I have somewhere to go.
I shall never be a prisoner of steel and glass and stone.
If I leave, I will return again to my Rocky Mountain home.
Moderator Helpdesk
Blaspheme, shame on you.
I know we have all grown old and lazy. But we are still a clan and still la familiar here.
Called hit CotY ..and you speak this way?
....I got a razor in my pocket.
.
.
.
Homebrew is creating Magic.
Are you a pilot or a creator??
I've got most of you guys on faecesbook, anyhow. There's no need to slam the clan shut, of course, but it's not been the same clan for a good stretch, whatever the reasons.
I don't think it's terrible to say that we've had a good run & leave it at that.
Mostly things have just been same old, same old up at college so I haven't had much to report on. I did watch a great mystery film called Transsiberian the other week though. Makes me wonder if all of Russia is a gangster winterland like the film portrayed.
Aside from that I'm taking a Tai Chi course and I'm still waiting for the instructor to teach us how to hadouken. I just started watching the TV series The Shield and it's pretty damn incredible. For a basic cable drama it's grittier than HBO stuff by a mile. I highly recommend it.
As for the clan issue I have some comments. Daggertooth, your posts are great and aren't boring at all. You could discuss sex and drugs for added excitement though, those two topics always attract people. Dux, more pictures of your cats and/or foil MTG collection would be cool. I just started a foil binder myself.
When I started posting in this clan I saw that it didn't have a dozen posts a day or super high levels of activity. What it had was familiarity and a sense of togetherness. People only posted when they had something to say, which led to discussions that were sporadic but always engaging and content rich. To disband this clan for doing (from what I can tell) has always been its status quo is a mistake, I believe. With that said, I will try to post here more, which in turn will motive me to go out and do things that are post-worthy.
Hang in there, all.
I agree that it has been a good run. I mean it wasn't exactly subtle that part of the effort for the Coty was to go out with a bang. Especially with you doing all the work for that last contest. I wonder though, is it so bad that the clan has slowed down to a crawl? I know I don't like it, but it still fits the definition of a clan. I know I prefer a slower clan, just not as slow as whats been going down lately. I'd be complaining just as much if it was going 10 posts a day as well.
I know I don't like how slow the clan has been, but since the clan is the only reason I'm here I will stick with it as long as there is enough interest to keep it "technically" alive. Even with it being excruciatingly slow.
I really hate to interrupt this critical discussion, but I'm reeling from a pretty powerful blow. Bonnie broke up with me today. Now to tell the truth I'm not sure if it was a true breakup, or a semi-friend zone situation being put in my place, but it was a conversation to finally set the record strait. We were both a bit confused as to where we stood. I mean I took her out, bought dinners, brought flowers and chocolate, and tried to show her a good time...but I wasn't exactly intimate which I guess confused her as to my intentions. I was also unsure exactly where we stood, but I tried.
I guess giving a valentine present confused the issue too much and she decided we needed to talk. I opened my heart up a little, told her things I should have been telling her all along, but I guess it was too little too late....she decided we should stop seeing each other.
Mostly its my fault. I have intimacy issues...I tried to overcome them but didn't in time so I can't really fault her. It sucks because I feel she is perfect for me. She's funny, caring, intelligent, loves the outdoors, and is beautiful. I want to run to her, tell her I can be better, tell her things can work out...but, well another problem is that if we continued, our relationship would be doomed to be a long distance relationship, an issue that has been haunting me a bit for the last month. We talked...I've witnessed many long distance relationships and I can't think of any being successful....she's had two she has tried and they both failed.
Ours wouldn't be a short separation either...I'll go wherever the jobs are and wouldn't see her till at least December when she graduates. Then the only way it would work out is if one of us completely gives up our career to follow the other. I know I don't quite love her, wouldn't be willing to do that and she wouldn't be willing to do the same. Still, I want to tell her that we can work things out, that she's wrong and "we" are worth pursuing, but any way I think of it, any scenario no matter how fantastic, I can't see the relationship working. I think that last bit is the most frustrating of it all.
I hate the fact that she's right about this, but it is what it is. Now I have to figure out if theres a way to transition this into a friendship. I've tried once before and found that I was too attracted to the girl...too bitter that things didn't work out...to be friends with her. I'm hoping thats not the issue here.
Any advise on how to make that transition actually work?
Cheers,
Daggertooth
For my heart had not denied me and I have somewhere to go.
I shall never be a prisoner of steel and glass and stone.
If I leave, I will return again to my Rocky Mountain home.
Moderator Helpdesk
Seriously though, I have to say I find it weird that you hadn't expressed your feelings but felt compelled to do it up on Valentine's. Other than that I gots no useful input, I have not remained friends with any of my ex-girlfriends (even jumping overseas aside).
If people are content to let this clan be what it will be, I am totally cool with that. Just felt like sassin' everyone, I suppose, since it has almost become the Rin & Dt chat log up in here
AL, O & I have been doing tai chi for a little while now, strictly home-study through books & video, but if you can't feel that fireball charging after a couple of lessons, time to trade in your sensei
Next time you want more content just say so. No need to get trigger happy with the Clan's future.
(Though it did get people posting)
It was a very bad move on my part. Probably made worse by the fact that I wasn't compelled to tell her anything, she just asked and I told the truth. I thought she knew my intentions, I mean I showed up with flowers and chocolates and was paying for all the meals and somehow the issue was confused. Well okay, I was a bit confused by it cause I never said anything and neither did she, plus I kinda had the impression that if I didn't make an effort to call her or contact her I'd never hear from her, but even so I thought it was obvious that I was interested in her as more than friends.
It's comforting to see a positive result from the long distance relationship. Its such a rare thing. I think my big problem here is that even though I really like this girl, I just can't see a long distance relationship working. Its the reason I didn't fight the issue or chase after her trying to make her change her mind. She wasn't wrong and I can't see a way around that. I had been trying to come up with a way to sit down and have a serious talk with her anyway, she just beat me to it. I wasn't planning on breaking up with her, just to ask her what she thought of a long distance relationship. Though I figure If I had brought up the issue her response would have generated the same outcome. It's bad timing in general and neither of us are willing to sacrifice our careers on the off chance that we might fall in love.
Basically we'd be facing an indefinite hiatus from each other. From May to December is just the time she'd be in school and I'd be off who knows where (I've already applied to 25 jobs from Alaska to Florida and everywhere in between). From there who knows, she's like I was five years ago....extremely eager to go off to exotic adventures like studying elephants in Africa. How many years that may be...well who knows. I could follow if I was willing to sacrifice my career and make her support me....or she could crush her dreams to be tied to me. Since we just really like each other either idea seems like a horrible proposition, it'd be bad either way if we loved each other. So no, I can't envision any realistic scenario where this relationship would work. I was just content not to think of it...she was good company.
I should reiterate that I know my feelings for her right now wouldn't last a long distance relationship. I was hoping to ignore that fact for now and to try to spice things up in the next few months to change that.
It sucks, but it is what it is. Now if I can figure a way to maintain at least a friendship. That's the kicker, something I've failed with in the past. I think I'll give myself a week to ponder this. I might need that time anyway. For whatever reason I'm taking this a lot harder than I would have expected.
Cheers,
Daggertooth
For my heart had not denied me and I have somewhere to go.
I shall never be a prisoner of steel and glass and stone.
If I leave, I will return again to my Rocky Mountain home.
Moderator Helpdesk
I have been having an especially tough time recently with my cat of 14 years having to be put down and my mum recently having a cancer operation (she's still hospitalized) have had me feeling depressed and run down, getting through it though.
Anyway, sorry for being a downer but I just felt the need to justify why I haven't been posting, I'd really prefer the clan not be shut down as I do enjoy reading the posts.
I really don't like dismissing unquantifiable notions as 'sentimentalism,' there would be many who would like to see the normal order restored somewhat, without parading around PETA style for the end of meat-eating, etc.
I think everything is worth considering once, at least to verify it before dismissing it. "You can try anything in your life once, except for cocaine and morris dancing."
And hey, best wishes with Bonnie, no matter what direction your interactions go. I'm too inexperienced to offer any advice.
Thanks Ria, I should check in every couple days or so. This work 'till 6, then homework after dinner routine is wearing on my mind more than anything. I was planning on going to my best friend's house and cheer him out of depression with some D&D, but it looks like my social life is on hold for a couple months.
Keep your chin up, Teefo
What normal order? People have a bad habit of taking their first impressions of a system and assuming it is pristine, perfect, the way it has always been and the way it should always be. There's a perception in the west that pre-European influence was nature perfection. So great effort is taken to force landscapes to be stuck in a snapshot of the late 19th century. As such you get restoration projects that call for the eradication of all trees younger than 130 years old while at the same time contending with 21st century variables such as invasive species and global climate change.
I don't dismiss all unquantifiable notions of sentimentalism. Restoration is largely based on that after all. It's when those notions become self-destructive when I have problems (though I also take exception when they conflict with my objectives). The issue with wolves, beyond the economic impacts, is that after 50+ years of their absence there is now an over abundance of prey species. Population dynamics suggest that wolf populations will increase to accommodate that bloated prey population, will decimate or eradicate it, then crash hard. Environmental groups don't want that to happen and range folk don't want that to happen (they like prey species), but because the issue is politicized everyone's too frozen to stop that.
I suppose caring about crashing population dynamics, eradicated prey species and decimated wolf populations, is sentimentalism anyway. The reason I'm not passionate about this issue is mainly because I am curious to see if Population dynamics will work out as expected. I suspect that the territoriality of wolves might be an interesting variable.
Cheers,
Daggertooth
Edit: Feeling better this morning...well if you ignore the headache, slight nausea...and the fact that I didn't get to sleep till 6am this morning. A touch too much whiskey methinks. I had to reread everything I typed to make sure I didn't make a complete fool of myself....might have been a little over the top in that first post, but it could have been worse. I vaguely recall wanting to email Bonnie in that stupor....checked my sent box, thank the gods that didn't happen. I'm relieved that I'm feeling a little better though, hopefully means I'll get over this faster than I expected. I'll chock that up to medicinal whiskey.
For my heart had not denied me and I have somewhere to go.
I shall never be a prisoner of steel and glass and stone.
If I leave, I will return again to my Rocky Mountain home.
Moderator Helpdesk
Hang in there, TFO *catsdangling.jpg*
O is making up words on the fridge. "S-N-O-J. That is when the death of doom is underground & everyone is underground."
I don't post tons, because I can only say 'life sucks' so many times/different ways before even I don't want to read my posts. I do enjoy reading everyone's posts, though.
@Chris: I think that being friends with a girl after she breaks up with you is hard, and frequently not worth it. There is just a certain bond/trust that is broken when a relationship ends, and it doesn't come back. Plus, when you meet a new girl later, as much as she'll insist that it doesn't bug her if you're close friends with another girl(s), it probably will be a strain. Maybe just chalk it up to a learning experience and cut ties? Focus on school and such?
My posts just may be boring, as I don't have a whole hell of a lot going on right now. I mean, wake up, go to school, come home, study, sleep. That's about the long and short of my weekdays.
+ when I post something that isn't that exciting, it's not like it spurs any sort of discussion north of "Oh, hey, wild Yuks sighting"
Also, Cyan, go ☺☺☺☺ yourself. There, now we have some drama to liven this place up.
Ditto.
Except for the school part right now. switch school with babysit the kids and you have my days. About the only changes is the fact that I am going to church again and that I will be re-attending school in the Fall. (I don't remember if I had mentioned this before.
Oh yeah. I'm coaching again this year too! Yeah...kinda sad that's the highlight of my life.
naw. I think DUX would need to tell Cyan that for there to be drama.
*Edit. Yuks: You never replied to my PM, mister.
Official Deschanel Stalker of The Called
Agreed.
But wait? Personal drama isn't good enough...we need interclan drama? I could go ask BLOD to come post a few times...I still talk to him on occasion. A good debate on Veganism could cure what ails us?
I've only tried to pull it off once before and failed pretty badly. I just couldn't pull off the friendship thing with her, but I felt it was more my problem since I couldn't view her as "just a friend." As emotions and frustrations settle down here I'm thinking that I could handle it... I wanted much more in our relationship and had high hopes, but the fact that we didn't cross that road together might save the friendship (my fault for playing it way too slowly). At least my thoughts...we'll see if thats true in practice.
I can't think of any personal examples where relationship --> friendship worked. I've talked to a few people and they can't think of any success stories either. I do know of one success story though....I met a couple in North Carolina who had been married before the guy realized he was gay. That ended the marriage, but afterwards they stayed close and became best friends. So I guess stranger things have happened?
Now I hope you are wrong here. I have a female friend whom I love to death. She's a vegetarian hippie type, works at a raw food store, and has a side job utilizing shiny rocks for their curative properties. Apparently different colored crystals do different things to the body in a holistic healing kinda way... I'm more inclined to stick with medicinal whiskey. Anyway, I would hope a relationship is strong I would be allowed to have a few female friends who are just friends.
Have I complained about the Forest Service's hiring practices? Well let me set the scenario for a second. First there is a Job announcement. Something like:
Job: Rangeland Science Technician
Location: 16 vacancies -Throughout the Nation
Simple enough. So you go to their website, fill out your info. Then select your preferred location. To facilitate this process they give a neat map of the US where you can just click on a state. It then lists every city that has a forest service office and you can simply click on that and have up to nine options. Simple, efficient, neat and clean.
The problem?
They never tell you where those jobs are. The above announcement, only 16 openings, odds are my 9 guesses over the entire US wont find the right station thats advertising the job. The only way to know is to have inside information, or call up each station and ask. For the above I happened to have inside information on two places....just guessed on the other 7 preferred locations. Ah government efficiencies...
This is actually why I've never heard back from the forest service despite hours of applying on their website.
Ah well, all the other alphabet whatevers are relatively intuitive. Searched Antarctica, no good jobs there. A few in South America but they don't pay enough. Waiting on an email for a job in Borneo, its carbon cycling in peat bogs...not exactly my cup of tea...but I wouldn't mind going back to that place. There are also two PhD's that have piqued my interest...
Have only applied to 35 jobs so far. Market is not quite saturated with my resume.
Cheers,
Daggertooth
For my heart had not denied me and I have somewhere to go.
I shall never be a prisoner of steel and glass and stone.
If I leave, I will return again to my Rocky Mountain home.
Moderator Helpdesk
Ah, thought I had. No thanks, I don't really have a ton of free time right now. I'd suggest giving it to someone else.
Congrats on coaching again.
Heading out to the lake soon. Weather's been absolutely gorgeous lately and I can't wait to get out of the house.
Decided I was done moping. Round 6pm went for beers with a handful of gradstudents and professors. Stayed there chatting until they closed the place down and kicked us out.
Then we went to a cocktail bar and chatted and drank until we were ready to leave. But on the way out I recognized another group and sat, drank, and chatted with them till the bar closed and I was forced to stumble home round 2:30am.
...just woke up....4pm...world too bright. Wondering what was so bad about moping that I had to do that to myself. :weird2::gonk::xd::p
.....Does remind me why I don't take advantage of that invite every Friday.
Cheers,
Daggertooth
For my heart had not denied me and I have somewhere to go.
I shall never be a prisoner of steel and glass and stone.
If I leave, I will return again to my Rocky Mountain home.
Moderator Helpdesk
I realize I've been kinda ignoring my clan, but that doesn't mean I forgot you guys or you guys became less important to me. After losing my internet connectivity for a large amount of time, I spent the spotty time I had on mafia and frankly just decided I kinda wanted to lay low for a bit anyway. I havn't even been that active in the gutter to be honest, and that only requires three word posts.
My life's been pretty nuts over the last couple months though. I'm still hustlin and bustlin pretty much all the time (mostly hustlin), with school and work and social life and all that jazz.
I also kinda had relations with my boss, and as expected that situation exploded, imploded, reloaded, and then unloaded on me again.
@Cyan: Glad to hear the job is getting better and things are finally looking up. Light up the darkness man.
@Daggs: Don't be friends with your ex anything. Trust me.
@Ria: Close the clan! Over my hardly active clan body! Peaks and valleys man, peaks and valleys. Sure it's slow motion now, but some ladies like that. You can't go fast all the time, give [The Called] a moment
That pretty much sums it up completely. It was great during, obviously wasn't going to last, and then went atomic bomb explosion on me.
I mean I totally knew it would end up working out like that but I did it anyway cause I mean.............I'm in college and what not.
As for Daggs....this is all I can say....If you feel a certain way a bout a girl then you need to tell her exactly that. Whether you put it in a letter or get her in person, that is what needs to be done. You need to grab your drawers and get over your insecurities about the fairer sex. DO NOT CALL HER AND TELL HER HOW YOU FEEL! It doesn't have the same effect.
If you like her, tell all the reasons that you do. Tell her about how insecrue you are about relationships and tell her why. It is never to late to speak your mind and get everything out on the table. If she is someone you really enjoy being around, isn't worth it get everything out on the table and settle the air. I can imagine your regret a year from now if you don't let her know where your mind is/was. Do it now, while it's still fresh.
Doing this puts everything out there. If she isn't the one, then you'll know right there and then. You don't want to always wonder if you should have put up a fight for her. I'd love for you to find the lady for you. You're a great person with a lot of heart and conviction and I think that if you both have strong feelings for each other, the distance thing won't be an issue.
Just jumping in to give a little elderly advice to my young friends. Even though I'm not a member of this clan, i would hate to see it go away and not see Daggs post his beautiful imagery.
jon