Posts by BenWilson
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Field Theory: How's that working out for…, in reply to Bart Janssen,
There's also quite a few sports involving physical activity which stand a very good chance of decreasing your fitness. Rugby is one of them. A broken neck tends to lead to physical atrophy.
Even the quite minor injuries I've had in many sports have actually added up over time to quite bad health problems. Ball sports often mean asymmetric development which is very bad for posture. My skin is quite fucked and a lot of that is down to waterpolo, since it's always played in warm chlorinated water, and you may not wear anything that makes you slippery, so I could not moisturize before going in the water. I have had many issues with jaw dislocation that come from being punched and kicked in the face over the years. Fortunately I've never been KOed, nor even knocked silly, but professional kickboxers I've trained are clearly quite badly brain damaged by the time they reach their 30s. One instructor I trained with went to Thailand for training, and came back fit and strong, but with permanent damage, having had his eye socket smashed by a flying elbow. Anyone who does MMA for any length of time is likely to lose teeth at some point. Same goes for hockey players.
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Hard News: I have a feast for you, in reply to 3410,
I don't even need to listen to music anymore. I can tell if I like it just by looking at the waveform. ;)
Just a natural flow on from being able to read the music by looking along the vinyl grooves?
The scariest part is I suspect you aren't kidding. I got my MIDI-USB stick today - any recommendations for software? On Windows.
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Field Theory: How's that working out for…, in reply to Sacha,
yeah but why does it matter in the slightest, in this case? really
My reading is that people who want to widen the appeal of sport, probably so that more people will like the RWC, seek to widen the term so that more people feel included. The reverse is the case for people not into the RWC, they probably would like the definition to get narrower, more exclusive, so that RWC supporters feel a bit more isolated.
Note that in both cases, they're working backwards from the goal of pushing a point, to the semantics blocking that point. So they're just warring over communication, rather than actually trying to understand each other. It's futile, when the camps have already pre-decided their positions anyway. There may be some undecideds who could be turned one way or the other, depending on their own attachment to the word "sport". But seriously, I doubt that anyone will change their mind about whether they like rugby. They could just end up changing their mind about whether, say, chess is like it in some respects.
I also think this community is smart enough to find what I've said on this extremely obvious, and are playing the meta-game already, of making fun of semantics, which, as Gio says, is a sport.
My two cents on the debate is that it's fucking obviously a lot like chess, and also totally unlike chess. I like both, and will happily give Islander enough time to think about her move any time she wants a game, although personally I usually prefer timed matches, 10 min + 10 seconds per move. I don't expect her to like rugby, though, even if we both agree that chess can be a lot like it.
Islander. E4. Your move. No rush.
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Field Theory: How's that working out for…, in reply to Sacha,
yes, what's the point of making a distinction again?
If there is any good purpose at all, it's usually so that you can communicate ideas without confusion. But this kind of debate is very often used to make sure other people can't communicate their ideas. Semantic debate is usually a sign of a debate that's going nowhere, and is simply a struggle to control the way people think by attacking the tools of thinking. Sometimes that is actually a justified thing to do, if the tools have been set up to disadvantage particular thoughts. It can also be useful if the purpose is technical, and no one really has anything vested in the terms, they just want precision.
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Hard News: Is that it?, in reply to Josh Addison,
Yes, I shouldn't have said "didn't like working with women". I should have said "Didn't like working as a man in teaching".
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Field Theory: How's that working out for…, in reply to Steve Barnes,
Tangling is far less of an issue than other players simply ripping them off you, and them tossing them around between themselves, before flinging them as hard as they can muster at the goal. They can be thrown so hard they literally bounce off the water.
Can't do beers tonight, family appointment! Next week?
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Field Theory: How's that working out for…, in reply to Steve Barnes,
Well, according to Wikipedia to qualify as a Sport it must involve Balls.
So Ballroom dancing qualifies because it has room for the defining object.Surely anything involving a non-eunuch male qualifies, too? In naked swimming, the balls are even on display. OK, maybe not in cold water.
ETA: When I'm swimming, my balls are always on display. Waterpolo demands it, hiding your balls is a foul. No, that does not carry through to the horse's balls....
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Field Theory: How's that working out for…, in reply to David Hood,
Upon leaving this thread a few hours ago, I didn't think it would mutate into a culture wars thread.
I'm not surprised it's happened, and feel better that it has. It drew people on both sides, something that there's been a bit of a lack of at times in PAS recently. I hope Hadyn hasn't got the pip about it, it looks like the longest thread he's ever had on here. That's got to count for something.
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Field Theory: How's that working out for…, in reply to Ngaire BookieMonster,
And, uh, I'm now almost totally ashamed to admit it but those Sky ads made me giggle.
What, you blew 93 days straight without giggling at advertising? Corporate loving hussy, repent!
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Hard News: Is that it?, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
I guess teachers have a sense of social responsibility that stops them engaging in either collective action or aggressive individual bargaining to improve their pay.
They do strike, you know.
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