Re: Random Thoughts: The Randoming

[Guest]

Well, if I didn't already find the idea of 'wingmen' counter-productive, I probably would now.

[Robjection]

Well, if I didn't already find the idea of 'wingmen' counter-productive, I probably would now.

I can't help but feel that, for guys, wingwomen might be more productive.

[reboot]

Same gender wings work best when they are: a) already coupled (bonus if partner is there); b) do not share your taste in partners; or c) prefer a different gender than you do

[Guest]

I, more or less, find the entire idea of having someone tag along for the express purpose of trying to find someone unappealing, but yeah, both of those make sense.

Also, just general competitive natures are best avoided. I love my best friend like a brother but we are competitive as shit. I can envision that easily seeping into stuff like being wingmen.

[nearly_takuan]

I just don't like having an audience when I'm acting as myself. Plus overexposure to designated third-wheel status has given me an allergy to such things.

[Guest]

Goddamn you Stannis, you spineless, pigheaded excuse for a father.

[The Wisp]

Million dollar idea that will never happen and has a ton of practical and possibly also conceptual problems but is still fun to think about *gasps for air*: Neighborhoods that functioned much like college campuses minus the education bit. They would be marketed towards people with specific personality types, values, and interests, and one would have to pass through an interview process before being allowed to live there. Possibly, there would be age restrictions. Housing would be semi-communal, with common areas in each building/floor, but everybody would get their own small apartment. There would be clubs, organizations, and events. The whole neighborhood would be walkable and have a central park area as well as shops and restaurants within or near the neighborhood. There would be some sort of semi-formal social support functions in the community, too. Most people who live in major metro areas would be able to find one that matches them, and find instant community.

[eselle28]

Million dollar idea that will never happen and has a ton of practical and possibly also conceptual problems but is still fun to think about *gasps for air*: Neighborhoods that functioned much like college campuses minus the education bit. They would be marketed towards people with specific personality types, values, and interests, and one would have to pass through an interview process before being allowed to live there. Possibly, there would be age restrictions. Housing would be semi-communal, with common areas in each building/floor, but everybody would get their own small apartment. There would be clubs, organizations, and events. The whole neighborhood would be walkable and have a central park area as well as shops and restaurants within or near the neighborhood. There would be some sort of semi-formal social support functions in the community, too. Most people who live in major metro areas would be able to find one that matches them, and find instant community.

I shuddered in horror for a good 30 seconds, and then I smiled at all the fascinating housing discrimination and wrongful eviction suits that would arise.

More seriously, there were some newer luxury buildings in New York when I lived there that were basically this. Tiny apartments justified by numerous and luxurious common areas. Residents almost all single upper class yuppie types due to a combination of high rent, tiny living spaces, and restricted neighborhood appeal. No park, but a walkable neighborhood with shops and restaurants. I can't say whether or not the usual resident made new friends there or just socialized with college buddies who lived near, but the reputation of those buildings was not as being a paradise for introverts, and they sort of had a negative reputation (of course, that might be a clique difference).

Even more seriously, I think community structures that help people meet each other informally are a good thing, but I think decreasing housing diversity for long term, non-campus-housing folks is a bad thing - and that includes a lot of retirement communities.

*age for sure, most likely race/religion/sexual orientation/family status by virtue of the interview process, plus very likely rights to live with family members (and in some jurisdictions roommates) when someone has a change in circumstances and their spouse/child/parent/roommie doesn't pass the personality test

(Just to be clear, Wisp, I'm just batting the idea around rather than critiquing you for having that or wanting to live in a community of similar people. It's an interesting one, and current infastructure admittedly leaves a lot to be desired. I tend to have sort of negative experiences with self-segregating communities, especially more affluent ones, so I see the downsides rather than the upsides!)

[Enail]

Housing co-ops.

[eselle28]

Housing co-ops.

Oh, sure, those exist and have a little more legal flexibility.

I guess my experience with those is that they get sued, too, and that a lot of them exist as a way for snobby rich people to make sure they don't have to interact with anyone else (or are small enough that they don't attract the ire of people who want to live there but can't). I'm not really sure Crossfit Professionals or Ethical Eaters Who Like Crafts are going to be willing and able to devote so many resources to keeping out the masses, especially if there are lots of these communities around and (as it sounds) the government is supporting them by building infastructure to support them.

[reboot]

Chia Squeeze are boba soylent green

[The Wisp]

Eselle, the homogeneity of these communities was the big conceptual problem I was alluding to. I didn't think of the lawsuits, though those could be interesting. Now that I think about it, there is probably a good science-fiction dystopian setting in that concept!

Also, personally I wouldn't want to live even in the idealized versions of those places. It's exhausting to even think about!

Still, my inner speculative fiction writer is like "ah, but these would me so much more efficient than having one's social circle spread out across a metro, and college life is the peak of many people's social lives, this is just a natural response to those facts!"

Housing co-ops.

This is like housing co-ops dialed up to 11 and scaled up, however, like an almost entirely self-contained community (save for employment). As eselle said, even those have issues (they're technically illegal in Boulder, for instance, though a few exist on the edges of the city apparently).

[eselle28]

Eselle, the homogeneity of these communities was the big conceptual problem I was alluding to. I didn't think of the lawsuits, though those could be interesting. Now that I think about it, there is probably a good science-fiction dystopian setting in that concept

"Later, as he sat on his balcony eating the dog, Dr Robert Laing reflected on the unusual events that had taken place within this huge apartment building during the previous three months."


Admittedly, it's more the 70s, class differences focused version of dystopia. A 2015 update of the concept could be pretty interesting.

[Enail]

Housing co-ops.

Oh, sure, those exist and have a little more legal flexibility.

I guess my experience with those is that they get sued, too, and that a lot of them exist as a way for snobby rich people to make sure they don't have to interact with anyone else (or are small enough that they don't attract the ire of people who want to live there but can't). I'm not really sure Crossfit Professionals or Ethical Eaters Who Like Crafts are going to be willing and able to devote so many resources to keeping out the masses, especially if there are lots of these communities around and (as it sounds) the government is supporting them by building infastructure to support them.

Wait, really? My experience of co-ops is that they're relatively affordable housing (sometimes sliding scale rent) and committed to staying that way, and tend to attract a mix of lower income families and hippy-ish sorts of a variety of income brackets. Very community-oriented, and probably a little run-down due to the fact that residents do a lot of the maintenance and repair themselves. I've never heard of rich co-ops! Is this a local thing??

[eselle28]

Housing co-ops.

Oh, sure, those exist and have a little more legal flexibility.

I guess my experience with those is that they get sued, too, and that a lot of them exist as a way for snobby rich people to make sure they don't have to interact with anyone else (or are small enough that they don't attract the ire of people who want to live there but can't). I'm not really sure Crossfit Professionals or Ethical Eaters Who Like Crafts are going to be willing and able to devote so many resources to keeping out the masses, especially if there are lots of these communities around and (as it sounds) the government is supporting them by building infastructure to support them.

Wait, really? My experience of co-ops is that they're relatively affordable housing (sometimes sliding scale rent) and committed to staying that way, and tend to attract a mix of lower income families and hippy-ish sorts of a variety of income brackets. Very community-oriented, and probably a little run-down due to the fact that residents do a lot of the maintenance and repair themselves. I've never heard of rich co-ops! Is this a local thing??

I'm pretty sure that the kind I'm talking about are specific to New York City. It's basically a whole apartment building that's gone coop, but not with the crowd that goes with the sort of college town coops at all!

My experience with the low income/hippy-ish sort of coop is that it tends to be kind of small, maybe 10 or 20 family groups at most, though Google tells me there are some big ones in San Francisco! So, okay, apparently I am a bit of a cynic about my fellow humans and their ability to live together. That being said, I'm still a little skeptical about this concept applied on a wide scale, particularly when applied to what sound like pleasant apartments and neighborhoods and residents who aren't signing up for the work bits of communal living.

[Enail]

Yeah, it's definitely got its downsides as well as upsides, and I don't think huge neighbourhood scale would be a good idea. But for people willing to put in the work and deal with the drawbacks, I think it can be a good middle ground version of the kind of thing Wisp describes.

[reboot]

I lived in a big (150 person) coop in college. It ended up being a bit classist. The people that could afford the fines for blowing off work shifts ($50) did so and the work fell on those who cared and people like me when exchanged picking up the slack for lower rent. Common areas were a bit squalid and in the last month, when everyone had finals, all work got blown off because people knew they were moving and could dodge the fines. Those of us who had to do the work for rent were overwhelmed and slipped behind.

That said, it was a fun place to live and we had awesome parties with good bands and I made a lot of friends. It just killed my belief in large group communal living. The under 50 people coops managed much better because they were small enough for social shaming to work.

[Enail]

I also lived in a fairly big one in college, but it was separated into smaller houses and groupings of houses, so social pressure was still somewhat effective. It was fairly squalid, sometimes to real problem levels, but we didn't really have the problem of people with more money blowing off fines - I think people with more money just chose to live in places that didn't expect them to work for their rent.

I've never lived in a non-student co-op, but I've had some exposure to a few, and they seem to tend to be ramshackle but above the student co-op levels of squalidity, and a little more strict enforcing the work requirements.

[WJMorris3]

Today I found that consuming copious amounts of oxidane can lead to diaphoresis and micturation. Who knew?

[Guest]

C'mon Miura, it's been 20 fucking years. Finish the damn manga already!

Are the Sand Snakes as disappointing in the books as they're made out to be on the show? For a woman who was born and raised in a culture where explicit expressions of sexuality was the norm, why does Obara call Tyene a slut?

[eselle28]

Are the Sand Snakes as disappointing in the books as they're made out to be on the show? For a woman who was born and raised in a culture where explicit expressions of sexuality was the norm, why does Obara call Tyene a slut?  

The Sand Snakes are actually awesome in the books, and the show has just ruined them. The book version of Obara wouldn't call Tyene a slut. The sisters are close and respect each other, and no one in Dorne is that hung up on virginity. That being said, the book version of Tyene isn't being shipped with a guy her dad's age or used as the Attractive Naked Young Woman of the Week, all of which makes me roll my eyes whenever she comes on screen. In the books, she's the deceptively sweet and innocent-looking daughter of a septa who specializes in poison and spycraft. Obara is the no-nonsense, somewhat masculine fighter. Nymeria is the politician of the group.

[Guest]

Aquarius:   They won't talk much, but they will be vulnerable to their emotions. hands still, or moving your hair out your face, cheek kisses and confessions. Honest love, big spoon

Huh. Well, I am a man of few words sometimes when I'm not scared or worried.

EDIT: Removed the link since there was some pretty NSFW stuff on there

[eselle28]

I thought we'd agreed on this during all those movie previews? Age of Ultron, Mad Max, Jurassic Park, Inside Out, Terminator, Ant Man. Maybe Mission Impossible and The Man from UNCLE, depending on reviews and schedules. I'd go to Hitman with you if you went to Tomorrowland with me.

I'm not going to Aloha. If you want to watch Emma Stone pretending to be Asian to what sound like awful reviews, you can go with your roommate.

[BasedBuzzed]

>the hilarity when the "bronies are pedos" gal from OKC pops up on someone's FB page
>the profile shows she writes for a now-dead blog of which the tone can be best described as Dutch Jezebel
Even if I'd never score a date, OKC was still worth it purely for the laughs it gave.

[The Wisp]

On the internet, every man supposedly has an above sized penis and a higher than average IQ (and the majority a genius IQ).

[Sponsored content]