As the title says...
So, I guess I'm back or something. AMA ;)
- Thread starter Tinwhistler
- Start date
- Status
Thanks 
It's been busy. Started learning the fiddle, bought a house, married off both my stepsons.
It's been busy. Started learning the fiddle, bought a house, married off both my stepsons.
Have you ever seriously considered or attempted vegetarianism?
How much time and/or money do you invest in your lawn or landscaping?
Think of something you've had to change about yourself in the last few years. What was the straw on the camels back that made you decide to change? What external or internal strengths or strategies did you use to help you make the change? How have you and your family benefitted from the change?
What's your favorite cut of steak?
How much time and/or money do you invest in your lawn or landscaping?
Think of something you've had to change about yourself in the last few years. What was the straw on the camels back that made you decide to change? What external or internal strengths or strategies did you use to help you make the change? How have you and your family benefitted from the change?
What's your favorite cut of steak?
North_Ranger
Staff member
Welcome back Where the hell have you been? 
Where the hell have you been? Nope. I thoroughly enjoy eating tasty animals.
Quite a bit. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be one of those "stay off my lawn!" codgers when I'm old. As an example, when I moved to Denton, the grass was practically gone from the previous tenant not taking proper care of the lawn. I put down fertilizer just before winter, and dropped two kinds of grass seed: a fast growing grass, and a slower growing but hardier strain. When spring came, I was one of the few people on the block to have a lush green lawn in the first couple of weeks, and it stayed nice and full (due to the hardier strain I planted) during the heat of the summer when most lawns were going brown. I'm kind of surprised at how much I care about my lawn, actually.
That's kind of a hard one. I'm in my 40's now, so I haven't had any major personality shifts in the last few years. There are marked differences between me now than I was in my 20's, but most of those changes happened gradually as I matured. The big sudden shifts all usually occurred as a result of major life events--getting divorced, that kind of thing.
I'm a lot more patient than I used to be. I prefer to never make the rash or sudden decision, because doing so has almost always bitten me on the ass in the past. Instead, I play the long game, taking my time and making sure everything is right before taking any kind of bold action. This usually annoys my wife, who's a bit more hot-headed than I am, but I credit it with getting me where I am today.
I'm also a lot more extroverted and willing to open up about myself than when I was a kid. I used to be the shy, mumbly, socially-awkward type.
Filet Mignon. Some chefs kind of laugh at the filet, because it's hard to screw it up. But it really is a decadent, melt-in-your-mouth cut of beef. Medium rare. No steak sauce. No bacon wrapped around the thing.[DOUBLEPOST=1366897650][/DOUBLEPOST]
Did some hanging out on Reddit, though I'm not a prolific poster or anything. I still visited here occasionally to read and catch up on the goings on. Mostly, though, I was doing real-life stuff that didn't involve sitting in front of a computer. I started having my house built back in October, and moved in about a month ago. It took a lot of my spare time.Welcome back
Money, mostly. Back in the 2000's, I made a bit over a quarter million dollars in 9 months during the tech boom, and then didn't work regularly for 3 years after the bottom dropped out of the market. Because of the repercussions of not working while simultaneously having large financial commitments, I had to learn to be very miserly with my money in order to dig myself out of the hole. I still often am loathe to spend frivolously, even when I have the money to spend.In what type of situation do you have a hard time compromising, if any?
Also, it's so good to see you! I've been keeping up with y'all a bit on Facebook.
Hobby you dropped out of when you were younger you regret not sticking with? (E.G. you'd be an accomplished balloon animal artist right now if you hadn't vowed "Never Again!" after the great Balloon massacre in the summer of '93.)
Is television/music/movies/culture worse now than it was 20 or 30 years ago, or do we just look at the past with rose-tinted glasses, only remembering the good things?
ETA on the next Touch of Magic book?
Is television/music/movies/culture worse now than it was 20 or 30 years ago, or do we just look at the past with rose-tinted glasses, only remembering the good things?
ETA on the next Touch of Magic book?
None really. Most of the hobbies I took up when I was younger, I stuck with. Those I gave up, I don't regret giving up. I'm always picking up new hobbies whenever one strikes my fancy--I've been taking fiddle lessons for 2 months now.
Better now. Whenever I watch an old movie I loved when I was younger, I almost always say "why did I like this shit?" Granted, there were some great older movies, like Hero with Dustin Hoffman and Geena Davis and Andy Garcia that showcase what some of the better movies from the era were like. But kids today really can't stand a long scene or extended talking and character development, and out of all the trends in movies today, that's what I dislike most. Generally, though, for pure entertainment value (as opposed to artistic value), I much prefer today's movies.
Books today tend to be better too. Since there's not a lot of "new ground" to cover, books have to be of a much higher caliber to be noticed than when sci-fi and fantasy were in their nascent years. Granted, there's still a lot of crap out there, and always will be, but the great stuff today tends to be more polished and with a greater degree of sophistication.
And while I have gigs and gigs of 80s music on my hard drive, I still love listening to new music. I hope I never get to the age where I say something about the "noise" kids listen to these days
Heh. I was hoping to be done by now. But all the stuff I have going on is really putting a bite on my time, and I kick myself when a week or two goes by without me writing a thing
That said, I am about 15 chapters into it.[DOUBLEPOST=1366911804][/DOUBLEPOST]
First book took about 3 weeks to write 22K words. Then I put it away for a decade. Then it took me about 9 months to finish it up. Then I spent maybe 2 or 3 more editing and revising.
When I finally throw One Direction into a volcano, will you help me lay low?
a) Why wait?
b) I guess the adoration of untold billions could get a bit tiresome after a while.
I like the cut of your jib, frienda) Why wait?
b) I guess the adoration of untold billions could get a bit tiresome after a while.
Welcome back
Why is Jay the only one asking important questions?
How much tin could a Tinwhistler whistle if a Tinwhistler could whistle tin?
In all seriousness, welcome back to the forums! I hope life settles down for ya
In all seriousness, welcome back to the forums! I hope life settles down for ya
I don't know what that means.
Except that Woody don't fuck around.
Except that Woody don't fuck around.
Nope...All my bandmates are 1500 miles away and I haven't really had the time to seek out some new people to play with.
Other
Hah, that's a laugh
Long story short, I had a book fan that kind of weirded me out..they started finding me on all my social media sites, like facebook, soundcloud, and a bunch of sites I haven't actually been to in years. The last straw was when they tried to connect on linkedin. For some reason, that seemed more invasive than any of the other sites. I thought it best to limit exposure for a bit for most places except Facebook. I know some people theorized that it had something to do with Mathias' banning, but I agreed with his banning. I liked him, actually, but he reminded of the kind of friend who would think it was hilarious to start drama at parties and then act surprised when someone eventually made him spit teeth.
There were posts here I didn't feel comfortable sharing with the above-mentioned fan. That got me to think that I probably wouldn't want any fan running across them. So I deleted them. Then I deleted the posts that weren't as questionable, but weren't exactly what I'd want to share with strangers. Then my ocd kicked in and I just kept deleting. Once I really got going, I became curious how far back I could go and delete, because the forum search only went back so far. Heh.
Shortly after I locked everything down, and most of my history deleted I ran out of time to really spend much time here and it seemed awkward to come in and talk about it, since no one was really asking me about it.
To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.
I use different whistles depending on the situation. I keep a cheap Dixon brand in the car for on-the-road playing. I use an Abell professionally. I really wish I still had a Copeland, but I like the Abell just as well.
The family is doing well. Forum members will remember my wife had a bout with cervical cancer weeks before we got married. After her hysterectomy she gained like 100 lbs. She's lost 65 of that, which is nice. The eldest stepson's doing well in the Air Force, and the youngest stepson is applying to the county police. My youngest is doing pretty good too.
Oh, you know...same ol' same ol'
The only things certain in life are death and taxes
Also, thanks everyone for welcoming me back![DOUBLEPOST=1366981593][/DOUBLEPOST]
Nothing really. They never really summoned the courage to actually write me any letters or anything, so...meh. It was weird having them seek out all my online footprints, but I got over it I guess.
Dave
Staff member
Good, so no boiled bunnies or bushes moving outside your door at 3 am. Besides, I've seen your pictures. How could anyone resist your manliness?
North_Ranger
Staff member
With great force of will and experimental medication.
Sounds like you are speaking from specific experience.
North_Ranger
Staff member
Nah, I just happened upon your fanfic page.
- Status