Net access and gym problems

So, saturday morning, I left to go running with the veggies. I got there late. I tried running with my backpack, which left some marks on my lower back, not unlike smaller versions of the trampoline marks from the spring. I also tried running the same direction they probably went. I only managed to keep up the run with the backpack for like 1/3 of the distance, or maybe a little over a mile. The weight wasn’t a problem, but the shifting, chafing, bouncing, etc, was a problem. The new shoes, btw, do indeed rock for running.

When I got home, the net didn’t work. I fiddled with my computer for a sec, determined it could see the router, but couldn’t see the outside world. I went down to check the cable modem, and it was gone. Not there. Missing. Yet the power adapter was still there. Ben was still asleep, the house had been locked while I was gone, and there was no sign of . Fucked up. Two major possibilities occurred to me. Former residents and the cable company. How the cable company would have gotten in is beyond me. Why they would have taken it, end of service, perhaps? Neighbors make more sense, but according to Brian the modem is generally the property of the cable company, not the customer. It makes no sense that either of them would have left the power adapter, though, I suppose it makes more sense for the cable company than the former residents. It could also be the most bizarre and selective theft ever. None of these theories make sense to me.

Later in the day, and came over, and we talked about as potential third roommate. Looks like this may well happen. I then had Ross help me cart computing equipment over to ‘s apartment, where I spent most of the rest of my non-sleeping weekend time.

Sunday, I had to turn in my towel and locker membership foo at the university rec center, two weeks before my summer gym membership is replaced with my automatic grad studently gym membership. Oh, and the rec center is closed monday through friday this week for maintenance. That means busing over to the st paul campus (not _too_ inconvenient) to use the gym. Which sucks even more than the rec center does. *sigh*

Need to look into that ymca membership pronto.

Strange dream

It’s kinda weird that I had a dream about CoH, given that I’ve been playing FFXI. But it was a dream related to that. And me in speedos running across a parking lot to meet up with unspecified lj homo CoH’ers, and seeing behind the counter inside a store (which didn’t look nearly as cool as Zeus actually does), and thinking I should make the time to go over and say hi, and knowing that I wouldn’t.

Maybe it’s because of all the DART related reading I was doing. Hmmm.

I hate rental van companies

Uhaul has agreed to maybe give me something on the 31st, if they can. I would love, love, love to have some sort of alternative, but my lease is up on the 31st, and we have no guarantee of having access to the place before the 31st. And, of course, no car.

This means, of course, that I’ll have to get up at 6am on the 31st, to bus out somewhere on the suburban fringe to get a rental truck larger than I’m comfortable maneuvering (despite having asked for a van), so that we can hastily cram all my remaining earthly possessions into the van, then cram all of brian’s worldy possessions, then uncram them into an apartment that may well not yet be truly ready for our arrival.

I do not want to play a second round of this moving game while in minneapolis. Given that we have such a sweet deal, I have every intention of keeping this place for both years. Let’s see if it actually happens.

PS, if any of you all are willing and able to loan your labor or your high capacity vehicle to the effort, it would be much appreciated, and rewarded at minimum with a tasty dinner at a restaurant of your selection on me.

And the lightbulb turns on

I think I just had a minor, if obvious, revelation.

An evolutionarily produced pro-corporate (read: pro-management, if you prefer) political platform would oppose guaranteed essentials of life (food, housing, and health care) no matter how minimal, because it weakens the corporation’s hold over its employees if the employees can leave the corporate teat and not be totally fucked. How’s that for a cynical conspiracy theory?

Pacifism and social change

In response to a comment on a protected post in someone’s journal. It was discussing pacifism. Among many things, he said pacifists, by which he meant those unwilling to defend themselves, ought to be killed (I hope he was being hyperbolic). I replied identifying myself as a pacifist, and willing to defend myself. He said aversion to violence is normal, and shouldn’t be labeled pacifism…

Yeah, I see what you’re saying, and it’s certainly a valid point, most people are averse to violence. I regard it as a question of degrees: How far does this have to go, before I react with violence? I use pacifist to mean someone who has a higher threshold for violent response than most.

Now, to bring it a little closer to reality, let’s consider this as part of a richer world. In any given problem, there are multiple avenues of possible action. Someone starts badmouthing your mother, you a) slug the jerk, b) take it c) leave d) insult his mother e) tell him to shut up f) etc…. Alternate example, someone kills your best friend in front of you, do you try to a) kill him, b) run and hide, c) call the cops, d) negotiate with him, e) surrender, f) try to disarm him, g) etc…

Obviously, there are a ton of circumstantial variables to consider. And more than one course of action can be taken in response. But if you have a high threshold against violence, maybe you’ll attempt to run and hide, or disarm your friend’s murderer rather than kill him, even if that is a riskier move on your part. Then call the cops.

One can have a threshold on violent action that they would sooner die than kill, or sooner let thousands die than kill one person. I’m a pretty close call on the first one, but I’ll unenthusiastically choose my life over someone else’s if it ever comes down to it. I’ll definitely choose one life lost to 1,000 lives lost.

But, I think I have a higher threshold than most on violent action.

And I think pacifists serve a valuable function. I doubt either the civil rights movement, or the Indian liberation movement would have achieved the success they did without the (publicized) victimization of non-violent protesters.

I likewise suspect those non-violent activists probably wouldn’t have made it anywhere without the violent resisters operating in parallel. Someone to scare people into paying attention and thinking it might be worth the cost to change, and someone to express the desired change in an understandable, sympathizable, non-threatening way.

I may be blowing smoke there, and it may just be that these are two natural responses to being in an undesireable situation, so both spring up when people desperately want change, and, due to only one of these mechanisms, or, for that matter, divine intervention, the change happens. This is theory unsupported by hard evidence. It is plausible, but is it true? Is there any way to find out?

new shoes

I got some bright shiny new shoes. They are also the most expensive shoes I’ve acquired in my life, I think. $80. Montrail Vitesse trail runners, with perfect arch support which simply will not let me underpronate, so maybe this will help with my knee problems. Turns out they were the 2nd cheapest of the shoes I checked out, and the best fit.

I also really appreciate my co-op discount. 84 cents per (already discounted) clif bar means that I can stock up for uber cheap. Sweet. Hiho, hiho, it’s off to the gym I go.

(about 6 or 7 responses to the roommate ad thus far. woohoo =)

early afternoon doldrums

productivity taking a nosedive. (hah, as if that’s possible).

I’m thinking it’s time to hit the eject button.

Intriguingly, I’ve discovered the cube farms cultivate misanthropy in me even better than driving does. Driving may take the lead in extended gridlock. I would prefer not to perform extensive testing.

Fortunately I got in here early this morning (yay swim practice). And I can go to the gym this afternoon. (yay sweatiness).

I’m going to establish a new goal. A minimum of two chapters of the piece on transportation cooridors, and two articles from the BRT edition of public transit I have, each day. I’m not going to tie it to a reward. That never works for me. If the task isn’t it’s own reward, I won’t fucking do it. Nature of the beast. But I am a creature of powerful habits. And I do need something to break me out of the habits. Particularly the habit of Slack.

Few nibbles on the roommate ad. I realize I’m being impatient, but we have only two weeks, and I want a decent field from which to select. I’ll certainly give craigslist a chance to work its magic. Still, I suspect a couple more versions may be forthcoming. Something emphasizing the fun, cool, video games and comic books nature of the people assembled, and another one which mentions our homo-ness and my gym-tastic nature.