November 26, 2006

• A Free Pass

  Since Thanksgiving was a special occasion, and it occurred to me that
  the Xangaspam being sent out by many people to all their friends and
  subscribers was something akin to Xmas cards, I did not routinely
  delete my subscription to any of those with holiday wishes.  Now
  that the holiday is over, I’m going back to the routine.  Except
  for a choice few friends and some others I might spare on a whim, I’ve
  decided not to stay subbed to spammers.  I have too many
  subscriptions, anyway.  Getting to the ones way down in the
  alphabet to delete them takes some time… less time with every
  “message all” message I receive.  That’s a blessing.

  In response to my previous entry about the fire on top of the woodstove, benevolentMitch
  described my lifestyle as “rugged”.  I wasn’t sure exactly what
  the word meant, but it did have some pleasant associations for me,
  because my father used to describe himself as a “rugged
  individualist.”  I decided to look up the word and see just what
  it meant.  I found more than I expected.

  1. Having a rough irregular surface. See Synonyms at rough.

  2. Having strong features marked with furrows or wrinkles: the rugged face of the old sailor.

  3. Having a sturdy build or strong constitution: a rugged trapper who spent months in the wilderness.

  4. Tempestuous; stormy: the rugged weather of the North Atlantic.

  5. Demanding great effort, ability, or endurance: the rugged conditions of barracks life.

  6. Lacking culture or polish; coarse and rude: rugged manners and ribald wit.
  

  http://www.thefreedictionary.com

  Numbers 4, 5, and 6 have some relevance
  to my lifestyle.  The first two apply to me, and number 3 may or
  may not be true, depending on how you look at it.  I’m sickly and
  handicapped, but since I’m not even supposed to be alive, I guess my
  constitution is stronger than those old doctors knew.

  That was in the straight dictionary.  I really like what urbandictionary, the slang dictionary, said:

  a very universal adjective used to describe anything that is extremely awesome, badass, or insane.

  That’s me, fershure:  awesome, badass, and insane.  Doug and
  Greyfox tell me so all the time, and they know me better than anyone
  does.

  Rugged Individualism is something else entirely, a socio-political buzzword:

  The belief that all individuals, or nearly all individuals, can succeed
  on their own and that government help for people should be minimal. The
  phrase is often associated with policies of the Republican party and was widely used by the Republican president Herbert Hoover. The phrase was later used in scorn by the Democratic presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman to refer to the disasters of Hoover’s administration, during which the stock market Crash of 1929 occurred and the Great Depression began.

  http://www.barleby.com

  Silver_Alexis
  commented that the 2 men in her house were amazed at my progress in
  FFXII.  I have been pleased with it and slightly surprised to be
  doing so well without a player’s guide.  Doug has added a new word
  to my vocabulary — really a new sense to an old word: 
  “farming.”  I do a lot of farming in this game, running about in
  areas where the enemies are right at the upper limit of my abilities,
  earning experience and loot which can be exchanged for Gil, which in
  turn is exchanged for the best available equipment. 

  This afternoon I spent a couple of hours in the Cerobi Steppe, fighting
  Shield Wyrms and flying Charybterix, both very challenging, right at
  the upper limits of my capability to defeat.  Now, I’m in
  Balfonheim Port, where I spoke to a Viera Wayfarer and got a contract
  on a Vyrall, supposed to be out there on that same steppe.  I hope
  that while I’m fighting it, I’m not blindsided by any Wyrms or flyers,
  nor by the Hunter Stalker that is rumored to be slipping up behind
  hunters as we are engaged with our prey.

  Time to get back to it, I suppose.  Seeya later.

  

  • 9:46 pm
  • 2 Comments