Those "members" getting banned are mostly spambots. Actual real people tend to stick around for a bit longer.

TK's right, those were spambots.

I already reported a couple of them as they smelled hinky. As if I could smell anything through a computer monitor . . .

I gotta disagree with the argument that the forum would be worse with a larger group of people due to flamers and trolls because those types of people have generally avoided these forums anyways. The mods and admins around here have always made it known that this sort of behavior is not tolerated on any level and there have been very few times that I've disagreed on their decision to ban people or close threads. I've been here since way back and even when this forum was really active there weren't many immature jerks around. Personally I'd like to see the news page updated in hopes that it'd draw a few more members around here but honestly I have no expectations for Skyrim.

Edit: I just noticed that Stargelman is no longer a forum Administrator...whats up with that he's been an Admin since before I can remember and now he's just part of the regular member's group.

The forum only shows you the primary user group...

Seriously though, it just looks that way. I'm not very active here anymore, and the member group you see reflects that.

I was just crying foul because you've lost the Admin rank but hey as long as you're good with it, no big deal.

Time to brush the cobwebs off this thread.

I'm off for a week caravaning on saturday. Also, England is much hotter than Scotland! We have all the windows open and some office fans on constantly!

Ahh, caravaning... or as Jeremy Clarkson once so eloquently put it:

"The pastime of complete morons clogging up the roads and backing up traffic so they can sit in a field for a few days sleeping and eating biscuits." (Or something along those lines)

Course, last time the Top Gear team took a crack at caravaning, they ended up burning the trailer down, so hopefully you'll fare better. Have fun!

I hope you have fun caravanning, grif11! We occasionally lose power for a week or so at the end of summer from hurricanes, and we have to boil our coffee on a gasoline fueled camp stove in the back yard. Is that anything like caravanning?

I don’t know if I mentioned it, but I injured my back last fall. I thought it was better a few times since, and then injured it again exercising. And there was the one incident with the box of books. Anyway, I’ve been exercising for a week now with no major setbacks. Fingers crossed in three weeks I can start running. I don’t like running, but I love the results. Apparently it makes me easier to live with despite the extra laundry.

Grif, I'm with you on the warmth of England. I'm melting here, the place I was working yesterday got cold last winter so they perminantly sealed the windows. It was like an oven with no one doing any work becasue of the heat (or in my case because I'm lazy). Enjoy your caravanning.

Grits, injuries are annoying aren't they. I did my knees last june and still can't run properly. Have you tried other exercise? Depending on the injury cycling might go better than running because there's no impacts.

Hey friends!

Just got back from germany, where I've been living in the woods for the last three weeks. I heard about the terrible incidents in Norway the day after it occurred, from my son who also got a norwegian friend.

I don't have words to decribe what I felt about it! And I really do feel for you Tellie dear, and I'm so sorry for your loss, and for all others who lost s dear one.

May that one who did this really get what he deserves!

minque, welcome back!

aww thank you!

Indeed- so glad to have you back with us. Hope the trip was enjoyable and restful.

Hope you enjoyed your camping Minque! I've only ever been to Germany briefly, it's a nice country (well what I've seen of it).

Welcome back, chorrol should be some consolation to returning to work...

Welcome back, minque! I saw your cat photos in the pet thread, beautiful!!

Olen, biking is a great idea, thanks. It also reminds me that all of the family bikes are leaned against each other in the garage, awaiting some adjustment or another. Some things have piled up while I’ve been un-bendable. I’m going to start running on the treadmill this time. It’s bouncy, so maybe if it goes badly it won’t go too badly too quickly. I’ve been walking the distance in my neighborhood, it just takes a long time. But the treadmill is so boring. This is where I messed up last time. I walked for about a week, then I thought, I’ll just run this next little bit… Also I’m doing very different crunches than before. Turns out sit-ups can be bad for your back, if you do them the way my gym teacher showed us. (Way back in the last century.) Now that I think about it, the elliptical stepper and my Kindle might be another one to add to the rotation. I didn’t have a Kindle before, and I couldn’t stay on the damn thing while I turned the pages in a book.

Crunches are pretty dubious if you have a bad back too, but certainly better than sit-ups which are a surefire way of damaging yourself. Unfortunately most of the alternatives aren't as good and involve machines, though varying feet position can be worth trying (I find putting the soles of the feet together takes some pressure of a dodgy vertibrae), or (slightly controversially) hanging leg raises take pressure of the lower back (lying ones very much don't) and obviously stopping before form gets ropey.

Another mistake to avoid in the area is building up core strength at the front (lots of crunches) and leaving the lower back and sides weak. I'm guessing you knew that stuff, but thought it might be worth mentioning. Whatever your doing it will be better than the chamber of horrors which is the gym at work.

Anyway I hope the cycling goes well.

I had a cervical fusion in '97 and the idiot docs that did the surgery did not send me to physical therapy afterward due to issues with the insurance, which changed from one company to another two days after the surgery. The initial insurance was bound to cover any follow up but anyway....not the point. Point is this, I went through years of "attacks" of muscle memory issues that returned me to the state I was in before the surgery. Last year I finally tripped over a PT that actually KNEW what he was doing. He explained that my major muscles were in good form and were doing ALL the work, the secondary muscles, and the connective tissues ie ligaments and tendons, were the problem. I work out with elastic bands a couple times a week for about 45 minutes, it doesn't seem like much but...I haven't had an attack since then.

Just a thought for you Grits. Find ways to strengthen the secondary muscles, let them be the support for more aggressive workouts. It shouldn't take a lot of time nor does it take a lot of physical exertion, but for me it has been the answer to YEARS of fighting with a demon I had no control over.

Today is a day that makes me disgusted at my own country. Not everyone, but at the minority who are tearing apart our communities for no good reason.

For those who don't know, I have no idea how widely reported this is outside of Britian, a few days ago a man was killed by police during an arrest, a police officer was also shot and wounded, we do not yet know who shot first. People in the area were outraged, and called for investigation, which is being carried out. However, relations with the police here have always been on edge since riots in the 80s.

Later riots broke out, mainly focused against the police, in what some called reaction to the shooting. Yesterday, the looting started, and riot police were once again forced in, since yesterday this rioting and looting has not stoppe., Buildings and peoples homes have been set ablaze, shops looted, people and journalists attacked, and there simply are not enough police to deal with it.

It's made worse by the fact that the people doing this are organized through messaging services, so they dissapear into the woodwork and reform wherever the police aren't, they're pretty much untraceable. However the thing which disgusts me most is that they are now tearing apart thier own communities. It's no longer fighting the government, it's just looking for violence and hurting innocent people.

Today I am worried about the future of my country, because this is what people my age have turned to.

I am so sorry to hear about what is going on Ahrenil. I just looked up and read the latest BBC report. I totally understand the frustration regarding the shooting, it sounds like typical politics at it's best...or worst in this case. The violence though is inexcusable. There are much better ways for them to use their messaging services to make a change in the status quo rather than destroying the lives of their fellow countrymen.

Stay safe Ahrenil.

I feel for you. It seems most of the hellraisers are just taking advantage of the situation and couldn't care less about how it started or the people they're trampling on. Stay safe over there, May the Lord bless you and keep you.

A point of corection - the man the police shot hadn't even fired his gun (though he did own one and if he pointed it at them then he got what was coming, but I'm not sure I'd trust anything either side says frankly). The protest after that I understand, the Met have a shocking track record with race relations and general relations with the poorer communities, but then it just turned into looting with no political motive.

The fact it spread so quickly (as it has to a lot of cities in England) does suggest that there's something wrong on both sides though. Certainly the arson and looting is completely wrong, but I bet in the storm after it no one actully asks (let alone addresses) why these people were doing it. Why do they feel alienated from the state and police and without hope? I suspect there's failings on both sides, the very presence of primarily non-white areas suffering from deprevation suggests this.

What really scares me though is the number of people calling for the use of excessive force against them, the same people who condemn other countries when the same is done there. I'm not saying they shouldn't use force, but calls for live ammunition? Really?

It's that more than the riots which makes me want to pack in with this country and move up north again.

What is happening in Merrie ole England is that, sadly, England is finally catching up - in a bad way - with the rest of the world.

For a long time English society was more or less self-policing: most other large cities of the world would have gnashed their teeth in envy at only an average of 3,000 police officers on duty in a city the size of London. Even the 'extraordinary' presence of 16,000 bobbies on duty today, compared to the size of London, would seem to be a joke to them.

If London was as policed as other cities her size she would need 10,000 bobbies on normal duty with the ability to expand, in emergenices, to 30,000 and more. And recent events will push her in that direction.

Okay, enough bad news for now.

Just spent the day at the railroad museum in WI, where I have worked on wooden car restoration in the past.

For the first time in 11 years, steam ran again on the Rattlesnake Line. This is a big deal for a museum that is supposed to be about steam railroading at the turn of the last century (1900). All of their working steamers hit the major maintenance downtime, and funds are tight for this non-profit. So restoration has been very slow.

Anyway, the Flagg Coal Company #75, a tiny little tank engine (well, tiny next to the steamers), came to visit for this past week. This weekend they made a special train up with the Copper Range coach #60 and its sister combine #25. It is the latter car that I put in a few hours restoring these past couple of years. Anyway, these old cars (108 years old) saw service for the first time in 20 years on a special train this weekend. Five trips today, and both cars are filled with reservations. I got seats for myself and a friend for the second trip today, and we both enjoyed the ride. It was great to smell coal smoke again - something that takes me back to when I was three years old and riding these trains all day in the summers.

Here's some pictures:

Coming around the bend. It's a tank engine, meaning it carries its water in a tank over the boiler, instead of pulling it behind itself in a tender.

Workin' on the railroad. That cab is soooo tiny it's standing room only for two guys. The coal is stored in the back corners of the cab. You can see some on the left side of the picture. That cab is so small I swear the guy is stoking the fire with a spoon instead of the usual shovel.

The brass eagle. Even tiny locomotives get something to be proud of.

Return to the depot. The locomotives pull the train out of the station. At the end of the line, the locomotive uncouples from the train, runs around, and recouples onto the rear of the train. It then pulls the train backwards to the station. That's the coach #60 directly in front of the locomotive. The combine (baggage/coach) is in front of that, and mostly out of sight.

Switching to run around to the front of the train for the next trip.

Olen, it's been terrible reading about that stuff in England. It's normally so, well, civilized. Now it's becoming like the rest of the world.

I think the civilised reputation is a bit of a myth really. Like anywhere there are bad bits in cities, perhaps not as bad as in some places but there's plenty of most you wouldn't go near. A lot of areas have a raging facist movement too who are a charming group of people with slightly too large a following. Certainly the whole of the UK (probably moreso in Wales and Scotland) is an example of gun control succeeding (being an island helps) which helps. Anyway...

Great pictures of the trains there. Steam trains are nice machines, I've always found there's something pleasing about them. Glad you enjoyed your ride and thanks for sharing.

Well, I've returned with an unburned caravan!

I had a brilliant time, apart from hearing about the riots (although looting is a better word). However, I am glad to be back home, with internet and no need to arch over whenever you stand up.

1. I completely agree.

2. Sort of...since the gun control laws there have been alot more stabbings and people clubbed to death. As long as there are people they will find a way to kill each other with or without firearms. I for one am against disarming law abiding citizens.

Random interjection -

Yesterday I had the luck of being able to see live renaissance music at a festival (...the festival, really) - using traditional instruments from an instrument museums, wearing costumes and with costumed dancers! In the interval I got to try playing on a vielle (precursor of a violin) and a rebec, which is related. It was a really amazing experience

...I am also now fighting the idea of working out what kind of music and dance they'd have for my Morrowind fic and adding in sacbuts, rebecs, shawms and cornetts. (Hey, they've got lutes, why not other medieval instruments?)

How neat! I've used lutes, harps and singing in my fic, but fear that I have kept that aspect pretty simple. There certainly are loads of possibilities however. Aren't renfaires fun?

I assume by 'the festival' you were up in Edinburgh? Great city. I recommend getting up Arthur's Seat if you haven't already and over the North Side towards Duddingston there's a pub called 'The Sheep's Heid' which is great if you like old fashioned places with good food, it's been open since the mid 1300s.

</Random bit of tourist info>

For those who don't know the festival it's the biggest festival of comedy, arts, threatre, and just about anything else you can imagine (and some you wouldn't) in the world and makes it impossible to actually live in the city for August.

It sounds pretty neat! I'll have to try to get in next time.

The only medieval show I've been to was a jousting tournament. It was great fun!

So tomorrow I will travel north, to another NPP for a project that will last app 6 weeks. Anyway I will have internet access so I will be in touch with you ..and post my story!

Safe trip to you minque! If you go any farther north though, won't you be in Skyrim? I'm so glad you will be able to stay in touch. Hmm. . . what is NPP?

See you when you post again

Yep, that's what I meant by the festival! And I actually lived in Edinburgh for four years - went to uni there - so I commiserate on the city getting crowded... although I often missed most or all of the festival season because I was home for the summer, so when I got off the train it was just "where did all these people come from?!"

Hi! A colleague set up a network so..HERE I am again! Now an NPP is a Nuclear Power Plant

We're living in barracks, its ok but in our barrack there are dogs! 8 dogs with their trainers i.e security guards...Well I'm not so pleased about that so we'll see! There are 7 of us and 4 dogtrainers so I suppose or rather HOPE they move the dogs BEFORE they find out I smell CAT!

Yes that would probably be a bad thing, might not get the ending of the story....then I would have to take evasive action and send the dog catchers or something. Use the stealth mode when walking around them and stay safe. Sorry about the six weeks in a barracks too, might not be too bad depending on who the company is. hehe.

But just to set something straight I really think you should be more careful of the volatility of the NPP than the guard dogs, just sayin...

Dogs are gone for now! I'm not afraid of doggies...and even LESS afraid of NPPs! Been in that business fpr more than 16 years so I feel very comfortable with nuclear power!

And no we do not have any riska of tsunamis or earthquakes in Sweden, and also knowing the business means knowing about the safety regulations and routines. I feel very safe!

Missing my kitties though!....

Minque, you should get a dog They're great...

Also...fair warning to all you 90's gamers out there... If you have to reinstall Fallout 2 and try to keep your saves, give up on it... Good bye, Advanced Power Armor, 5,000 caps, and more plasma weapons than money can buy...

I had dogs when I lived with my parents, that was ok my mom was home all day and could look after them. Now its impossible, nobody home for many hours. cats are ok they can be alone during the day as long as they have food, water and a litter box!

Besides...cats are cuter, softer and more beautiful....

Male cats are just dogs who've forgotten they're not cats.

Wow, when you’re preparing for a hurricane, you just don’t expect an earthquake. This week could turn out more exciting than I’d planned.

Yeah, just heard about that! A nice respectable one, too! Never woulda thunk Richmond would get it!

Suppose that's what the Rebs call "the Big One" huh? Hopefully no one was hurt.

Dixie's been taking a pounding lately, first Joplin, and the drought in the west, now the east coast. Like Haute said, hope the damage was minimal.

There has been a lot of abuse hurled between the North, the South and the West Coast today! My favorites: That wasn’t the South rising again so much as shifting further to the right, and in California 6.0 is how we stir our coffee.

My Virginia family reports some loss of mortar, but that's in a 250 year old house. We're laughing so that we don't stress over the dang hurricane.

ETA: This just in from a friend near DC: MIRACLE! Dog survives post quake apocalypse by making nest of comforter that fell off top shelf during tremor.

Seriously though, I hope no one was hurt.

The State of California is really the State of Emergency.

Riots, Earthquakes, constant fires, going broke with the eighth most powerful economy in the world, the Governator, legalizing Gay Marriage, then rescinding it, rush hour traffic that makes New Yorks laughable (25 mph average? Thats practically speeding here!) Gangbangers three streets away from the rich districts of Beverly Hills, dropping off patients at two in the morning in the middle of the Ghetto.....really, I feel prepared for the zombie apocalypse, and whatever else the world can throw at us.

And now for something completely different....

(WARNING: Turn your volume down a bit)

I don't know about you, but this made me cry.

Military funerals always do, especially when they play "Taps" (that was when I lost it at my Dad's funeral). But this one was especially poignant.

Loyal to the end

Hopefully Sai won't have to do that, ever.

Oh I remember seeing that on the news. That's so sad.

Dogs are so much better as being people than we are.

I had a pre-dawn meeting with Mr. Grits to finalize our Hurricane Irene plan and catch up on the various life storms that have converged on the Grits family. (The kids are fine, it’s grown-up stuff. Well, one kid has a black eye, but she doesn’t mind because it looks like non-dress code eye shadow.) I saved the biggest piece of insanity for last, knowing that nothing productive would occur after this particular revelation.

Mr. Grits sat stunned for about half of a minute. Then he said, “I don’t have room in my wagon for all of this bull[crap].”

Nice. So now we have a new phrase for dealing with approaching drama, at least some of it: That [crap] is just not going to make it onto the wagon.