My Hands Smell Like Girls [Salsa]

This is more for me, but if you dance a little salsa, you'll like it to. Learned multiple good moves at class today--possibly enough to make it worth taking. We have another week too.

A new place
Some place called "Sellers" on 1st and Blanchard. Apparently they do salsa on Tuesday nights. Some people at my class said they were going there tonight. That means people there would know me, people that can dance well enough for me to try my old moves. If last weeks sinus infection wasn't coming back for a re-match, I'd probably be going there tonight.

[Weird belly rape move]
I'm probably not going to do this move the way I just learned it. All those shy girls that don't like my turning them from the hip are definitely not going to want me rubbing my thumb across their stomach, and doing so doesn't transmit a strong direction change. But the move appears to be the same move as the sweetheart, which I've been meaning to start doing again.

Footwork--back break, like an enchufla, but she doesnt spin around. You go around behind her. 1,2,3 is your back break, push your feet extra forward on 2 and 3. On 5, cross your right foot behind you (you're now behind her, facing her, she facing away from you). On 6, left foot way forward. On 7, do something with your right foot. I guess you can cross it.

Hands--start with...your left to her right. Enchufla pull thing on 1. On 2, pull and toss her arm above and to the right of your head. Sort of over your right shoulder. On 3, right hand starts going across her belly, and allegedly if you turn your hand and mostly only grope her with your thumb, its better. (I'd prefer to make a V with my hand and push back gently and firmly, but thats a different move that I can't remember.) Around 5 or 6 you take your right hand away.

This move relies on the girl both A) knowing to do her basic, since you're not really pushing back with your thumb and B) knowing not to turn around and follow you. Why did I write this down? Oh, cause its like the sweetheart move.

[Sweetheart move]
You start this in open position. She will be facing the same way the whole time, while you scurry around behind her.

1,2,3, back break to start an enchufla, but she's not turning. Your right hand will be wrapping her slightly lower, and your left hand has to cross her, wrapping that arm to your right/her left before you pass her, wrapping that arm above the other one. When you get behind her, she is like hugging herself.

On 5, you do the right foot crossing behind, I think, and I think you also pull on the arms for the direction change. 6,7 you come back around on the other side.

I'm not sure about this move; I didn't get to try it tonight. Now that I'm more confident about the footwork, I'll probably do it.

["hacky sack" -- men's styling for cross body lead start]
I learned some men's styling I actually liked. It was great. My instructor called it a hacky sack, because it looks like you're playing that for a second. Anyway, imagine you are starting a cross body lead, but you are already on the side of the dance track (where you get to on count 3). Instead of stepping in and out again on 1,2,3, you can stay in place and wave your left foot around to show on.

Count 1: best way to describe this: keep your left toe where it is, turn your knee inward, heel outward.
Count 2: reverse the direction of your left foot. Swing it to the right, so your heel is in front of your right leg, just above your right knee.
Count 3: swing your left foot back out to the left, pointing to the left. That whole look-im-sexy-cause-i-moved-my-leg-to-the-left pose.

Count 5: proceed with the cross body lead. Could probably do an inside turn.


[side-switching move that seemed cool in class]
This move seemed awesome 30 minutes ago. Now that I'm about to write it down, I can't describe what the point is.

You start on the right side of the dance track, your left to her left, as if you are halfway through a pepsi cola. He had us not use our right hand at all, but I probably would use it to help lead the inside turn.

Do an inside turn. Right foot in place on 5 like usuall. On 6, cross as much of the dance track behind her as you can with your left foot. On 7, take your left hand and place her left behind your head for closed position. Also on 7, right hand to shoulder blade ("dance button"). You should end up on the side of the dance track, as if you've just done the 1,2,3 of a cross body lead.

This isn't much different then a normal inside turn, but I think the point is you end it sooner, and you are then already on the side of the dance track, ready to do that hacky sack move.

This move reminds me of what you do to do a 360 after an inside turn.




I need to go dancing this weekend. I want to get the Sweatheart and that foot waving thing into my head. If I added one or two moves every week, I would probably be great in a few months. Well...3 months would be twelve new moves. I'll need more than that to dance to the music.

Yeah, cause spam is a good thing

Hello,

The group "Who the Hell is Sarah Woodson?" has been removed because it violated our Terms of Use. Among other things, groups that are hateful, threatening, or obscene are not allowed. We also take down groups that attack an individual or group, or advertise a product or service. Further shenanigans wit'in Ye Olde Facebook's borders mayhapse cause ye arrrrrcount t' be used fer cannon fodder!

If you have any questions or concerns, you can visit our FAQ page at http://www.facebook.com/help/?topic=wgroups.

The Facebook Team




[Edit]
I just got two more friend requests, this time from people that are obivously spammers. I think spammers look you up on facebook from your email address. It appears to be impossible to block people from finding you via your email. One option could be to create an email address just for facebook, so I can remove my real one from my account.

Imitate the Theft

I seems pathetic that I only ever write lyrics I like to the rhythm of another's song. I've heard many artists start off imitating. I'm pretty sure this is better than nothing. This contains the phrase "so alone" that I mistakenly though was a lyric in Wings of a Butterfly, a song I love by a band that hasn't made anything else I like--at least that I know of. I was also disappointed when I finally read the lyrics to Wings of a Butterfly; they turned out to be boring compared to the ones I thought I heard on the radio. I wonder if there are any "* metal" bands that are anti-anti-some-religion. That would be creative.

Dragon Man

Was a man
in my town
wore a ring
wouldn't tell

He wore black
all the time
black dragon
on his neck

dont know who--who he was
dont know when--when he came
dont know what--what he did
dont know why--why he stayed

The shadows
covered him
as he walked
all alone

He would melt
into a crowd
but he was still
so alone

dont know who--who he was
dont know when--when he came
dont know what--what he did
dont know why--why he stayed

water covers the sky
he walks, all alone
wind dives in behind
he walks, all alone
light there on his face
shadows beat like wings
still he walks, yeh he walks
all alone, so alone

dont know who--who he was
dont know when--when he came
dont know what--what he did
dont know why--why he stayed



[Edit]
Also tonight I went to some fancy place called El Gaucho or something on 1st and Wall. It is ridiculously expensive, but on Sundays and Mondays, happy hour lasts all night. Happy hour means food is half off, making it normal priced. The drinks are super expensive. Gwen and Nick said the dinner steaks there are $100. They also extolled the virtues of dive bars. I think I prefer college bars, or "kiddie bars," as people in some Philly web forum described them, trying to sound condescending. These internet haters said there is no point to going there unless you want to hook up with 22 year olds. I'm not sure why those people go to bars, then.

Also, Big Picture, the bar/movie theatre I've wanted to try, is in the same building as El Gaucho. I now know exactly which building its in. I don't have much of an excuse not to go--besides lack of a date. The last time I tried to go was when I asked out the girl who works at the office here. We try not to think about her though.

Another mad man done struck again

Saturday night I went to an Amazon party with Firefly Girl at the History of Flight Museum down at Boeing Field, where I learned to fly. The museum was interesting, but the party...well, I don't know many people at Amazon, so I basically walked around and looked at old planes while drinking captain and cokes. I guess you can't normally do that at the museum. I saw about two people that I knew. Thats pretty good, since the total number of people I know about Amazon is about 8. They had a band there, playing music you can't really dance too. And some crappy flight simulators.

Tonight I found an awesome song I want to learn. Then I checked out Triple Door, a salsa place near 3rd and Union. Live band, crowded, $7.50 for a captain and coke. I've forgotten how difficult it is to dance when you literally don't know anyone--not even familiar faces. And I don't know how to describe it, but everyone was somehow different than the people you see dancing in Philly. Maybe too many white people...I don't know. I danced with one girl, who was pretty hot, but she kept dancing on2 and I basically suck at that. I also suck at dancing in tight spaces. On the bright side, I've found two new salsa places in three days, and I know there are more. It kind of feels like I'm starting over. I guess I could use a challenge.

Jailbait

Halo

My first weekend when I'm not on call or sick or detained by some other dumb reason. Tonight I elected to check out a new Salsa place called Halo. Strangely enough there was no bouncer at the door. Almost did that awkward thing where you think someone is the bouncer and then they're not.

Up the stairs, and there's not much signage. Bonus points for being pseudo-hidden: great place to take a girl. Up top, I pay my $7. They don't bother stamping my hand. Still no one has checked my I.D. I look around and see no bar. I sit down and put my dance shoes on. The shoes I walk in have too much traction for dancing, and the shoes I dance in get all torn up if I wear them outside. Before leaving for Halo I actually sat down and debated how to get my shoes to the dance club, and in the absence of bags that wouldn't look ridiculous, I elected to just carry them all 10 blocks or whatever. I need to figure out how dancer guys do it. Maybe a tiny duffel bag? Could throw in there an extra shirt too.

To my left I see some kids dancing--like high school age. They look cute. I like it when someone brings some kids--start 'em early. Then I stand up, mindful of trying to look cool and I survey the room looking for an open girl. The girls here are more attractive than the ones at the other club I've been to, Century Ballroom. Suspiciously more attractive. It took about 1 or 2 dances for me to realize that almost everyone was in high school. Being alarmingly close to the elderly age of 30, I not only had to worry about dancing good and figuring how which girls are good dancers, but also somehow not be a creepy old guy. And there's a bunch of high school guys that dance better than me. And I had no real motivation to meet anyone.

Most of the kids aren't good dancers. I spotted one or two. This isn't a bad thing, since I need to work on my beginner moves, but a lot of the girls were too unstable to really dance with. Bonus points for trying. Too bad all that extra kid shyness makes it even less likely that girls will save me some effort and ask me to dance.

On the bright side, there is a lot of room there, and the guy to girl ratio wasn't terrible. And, again, the girls, while illegal, were at least better looking than the ones at century ballroom. If I brought my own girls, like at least two good ones (a Seattle version of Nicole and Cassie), it could be an awesome place to go dancing. The music was decent, and there was plenty of room, and no creepy guys. And I need to go dancing...all my skills have atrophied. Most of my good moves have faded, and I'm not sure I'll ever be able to do the awesome cross body lead again (it only worked with Nicole anyway).

I miss Brasils.


Salsa Move of the Week

This is really more for my reference than anyone else's. In three week's worth of material at the salsa class I'm taking I've learned one move that I can use when I'm out dancing socially. It's really just a cross body lead, but looks fancy cause its one where the guy turns to the right. You can do it from closed position. On count 5, instead of stepping in place with your right foot, you actually step back towards your left (I don't know why this works) and turn to the right...stepping forward with your left on 6, turning more on 7. Around count 5ish put the girls hand on your shoulder, and she should let it slide around you as you spin, coming down your front and you can catch it with your left hand again.

Not impressive, but the girl is just doing a cross body lead, so its a move you can throw in there with beginners, and also with advanced girls if you spin one too much and need to give them a break.

Bagpipes

This post is about LINUX and COMPUTERS. Yay!!!

Ah, hello. Today, we are going to talk about my opinions on Linux. Actually first, we are going to talk about prepositions. Then linux. One of my English pet peeves is being told not to end sentences with prepositions. That's a retarded rule. Actually, its not a rule--at least, not one that I ever have to follow, because while writing this blog entry I found an edition of The Elements of Style that backs me up: sentences can end with prepositions. The pdf I randomly found on the Internet happens to be from a version of The Elements of Style so old it doesnt have E.B. White's name on it, but as far as I'm concerned, ---this paragraph has been edited to fit in the space allotted (like all of the movies I just saw on tv).

Ok now for Linux. And free software. And Microsoft. Like I totally hate Microsoft, but I still have to strike a balance between how much I want to hate them and how much I want to look like a normal person. I bought a ps3. How and I doing? Also I hate Ubuntu. I have a feeling that I actually hate the Linux Operating System, the Linux Kernel, The Linux System Libraries. STAR TREK. I just don't know which groups are responsible for which retarded changes that are ruining my life. Also there is a group of annoying people out there that think most of the things I just mentioned should have a retarded sounded acronym in front of them. THIS IS COMMANDER DATA, EVACUATE THE ENTERPRISE. You know when you ask a really geeky guy a question, and as he's answering he tries to tell a really stupid joke, in a tone that makes it obivous he thought you would be laughing by now and he stumbles through it giggling? But you need this information, so you don't just walk away? That's what the GNU acronym is. Its the same stupid joke, and those geeks think it should be the name of an operating system that actually works. I think I might actually switch to a mac.

You have no Idea how this is related now, but please read this portion of the MIT license:

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
THE SOFTWARE.

Ok all of that was just a smokescreen to make the girls that know me stop reading this. I'm not saying girls dont know linux: I'm sure there are thousands of hot female linux administrators out there somewhere. Based on empirical evidence: none of them read my blog.

Anyway, found this in a file called test.txt while preparing my hard drive before the power supply fan fails and lights my apartment on fire. The original version must have been about some stage girl dancing at the Penssylvania Rennaisance Faire. It sucked. I just tweaked it based on my feelings about siting at home on a Friday night writing on my blog with an ibuprofen hangover and wishing I hadn't let so many slip through my fingers:

Pirate Dream of Bagpipes

I'z a high on em bagpipes, alone in a crowd
she ran by the stage and she made not a sound

white corset with tassels and braids in 'er hair
moved with such grace! an' a brisk Scottish flare

quick turn of the hip and she caught me wide eyed
we danced all night long till the good rum ran dry

I pulled her in close and leaned in to smooch her
but I was held back by the ring on 'er finger

I faked a cute smile but my eyes yet revealed
hers was a booty I could never steal

I began to feel sick but before she was gone
the curse of my ethics got vanquished in song

I followed her out to give her that kiss
but that corset disappeared into the mist

The file was dated: 2008-08-23 22:46. I think I was listening to this (by these guys) when I wrote it.

Well I woke up on the floor...

Not the story I wanted.

I have been sick on and off since November, occasionally getter better, perhaps for almost a week, before lapsing into more fever/cough/sore throat. Normally it is my policy to only see a doctor if what I think I have is life-threatening, but being sick made me miss an entire weekend that I could have otherwise spent flying, skiing, rock climbing, going to ikea, hanging out at pikes place, etc.

Doc tells me I have a sinus infection. Pretty mundane for being sick for almost two months. I was expecting mutant mono. She wrote me a prescription, and said I should also get my flu shots because I have athsma. I asked if it was dangerous for me to get flu shots since I was already sick. She said it was fine, as long as I didn't have a fever. I forgot to tell her that I did have a fever that morning, and it probably only went away after I popped an ibprofen pill that morning. They gave me the flu shots.

Then I went to Rite Aid, a block away to pick up my perscription. I shop around for sick food. I start to shiver. The pharmacist tells me I should eat yogurt to replensish the "good bacteria" that the antibiotics will kill. I'm eating yogurt right now. It tastes like rotten pudding.

I start to feel faint as I'm heading to the register to pay for my food, and remembered that I did not each lunch, and barely had breakfast. Based on past experience, I am sensing an immediate loss of consciousness in my near future. I have no protocol for what to do in a Rite Aid, and with the blood apparently draining out of my brain I couldn't really think, either. I knew I was in trouble when I knelt on the ground, pretending to look at the gum, and was still feeling more faint. I told the cashier I was feeling faint, grabbed my cards at the end of the transaction and ignored her advice to just sit down over there on the floor. Was there something sugary I just bought that could save me? No time: the edges of my vision were going dark, I only had seconds left. Out the door I stumbled.

I fainted immediately after exiting the store. I was making my way to the wall when my vision and balance gave out. My last concious thought was a verbal "oh shit."

I don't know if I actually lost conciousness, but I was blind for a while, and for the second time in my life (the first was the car accident) some woman started talking at me while I gazed around blindly. Eventually my vision cleared and I began regaining my faculties. I've fainted about 3 or 4 times in my life, usually as a result of not eating breakfast, and I've always been fine afterwards. Good to go. But it was too late. The manager, apparently, was already on the phone with 911. He convinced me to sit and wait for "these guys [to] come by and look at you." It sounded reasonable, and because I was still not thinking clearly, I had no counter argument. I should have convinced him that no, I was fine, really, and I just need to get home and get a bite to eat. But I couldn't think straight or even stand up yet, so I just grabbed a sugary carbonated juice drink that I had just purchased and sat against the wall, waiting in the rain for the EMTs/paramedics.

They brought a fire truck. It was...ridiculously embarrassing. And they were quite interested in taking me to the hospital, seeming almost offended that I was just going to walk home. I don't know if I had hypothermia also, but I took a hot shower until the water ran out and I was still shivering. The last time that happened was the time I rode a motorcycle through a winter rainstorm.

Here I am, now, back at home and safely in the seated position, eating disgusting yogurt and broadcasting to the entire world the most embarassing thing that happened to me since...well for many months. I'm not sure how long it will be until I can go back to that rite aid. I think it was good that I fainted outside the store--no one saw me. A visual of me falling would be more memorable. How did the manager find out though? He'll definiately remember me. And they brought a FIRE TRUCK.

I Have to Tell Someone

I am watching House. The double episode where a weed-growing cop dies and Foreman gets sick. And besides a cliche CPR mistake that seems below the series, House makes a sort of...error. Not to much an error as doing something unsmart. Of course, I'm writing this during a commercial break, so maybe he will fix it, but the solution popped into my head immediately:

They gave Foreman an array of medications for various toxins. They don't know which one is fixing hit problem, but having them all at once are killing his pancreas. They can tell if the meds are fighting the infection. Removing one at a time would be too slow.

The quickest way to figure it out would be to remove half the meds. If the infection comes back, (or doesnt), we know which half of the meds the good one is in. Switch Foreman to the half that still works, and cut it in half again. It called binary search, and while people laugh at me when I mention it in social conversations, they'll be sudden fans of the algorithm if their lives ever depend on identifying one of a set of possibilities using a time consuming boolean test. So There.

Grrr.

[Edit]
House just tossed a vial full of some virus into a contamination chamber. I forgive him.

On the Precipice

While attempting to research whether it is legal to resell Legos (er, I mean, Lego(TM) Bricks) as a set, with instructions that you yourself make up, I stumbled across someone who is making money with them.


I have begun doing more research into the acquisition of Lego bricks. Buying used pieces in bulk on ebay can get you prices in the neighborhood of $0.06 a brick, which unfortunately is still a bit pricey: 100,000 Lego bricks would still cost $6,000. I have not yet purchased any that I brought back to my apartment...yet. The rule about not keeping Legos where I sleep is, perhaps, the last vestiges of my sanity. I say this because when I see even the largest, most impressive displays of Legos on the internet, I think they are pathetic. A good, ugly start, perhaps. A creation that consists of roughly a hundred baseplates, a couple thousand dollars worth of Legos, and which consumes most of someones basement is an ok start. They usually have too few buildings though, and everything is all packed in too close, and they don't think about the colors. When I look at a Lego landscape, I want to think this is Bricktania. I don't want to think this is someone's ugly childhood lego collection all on one table. I want to create a city with multiple trains, monorails, airports, and sizeable marine areas--a creation where one's eyes could get lost among the streets--a creation that would make the more imaginitive of us worry that the little Lego people might get lost. If a tiny little lego person can walk from one end of your city to another in less than a day: its not a city.

Unfortunately, since my finances are still a minor disaster because of my flirtation with the world of aviation, I am still developing some kind of monetary scheme, or set of rules for myself, that will allow me to purches Legos at some reasonable rate that will not exceed my discretionary income. I currently have agreed to no such scheme with myself. If I, this instant, went on ebay and lego.com and began aquiring those lovely little bricks, I would, quite literally, attempt to purchase every lego on this planet. And those unwilling to sell would behoove themselves to keep a close watch on their toys. I mean, no one else is doing much with them. And it takes more than 500 trillian baseplates to approximate the Earth. That makes me curious: if I did make an entire planet our of legos, how big would the physical model be? If only I had some legos with which to establish a scale. Ah, got it. Google says the radius of the Earth is 6378.1 kilometers. I am seriously doubtful about the .1, but I digress. My lego planet will be 6000 km to make things easier. According to this calculator, 6000 "minifig kilometers" is...137.80 km in the real world. Well, that explains why anyone who even begins to use their legos takes up half the basement. 137.8 km is 74.4 nautical miles. Philly is cut off on all of my world aeronautical charts, but based on the measurements I just made, Philly to NYC is about 75 nautical miles. So my Lego planet I want to make would just fit there. I think even I can admit that won't happen, since I can't afford that much land, and 500 trillion baseplates don't exist, and I can't come up with that many interesting blocks anyway. Now, a small moon on the other hand....

My first attempt to make money with Legos is going to be a web comic. Or a traditional comic, with episodes, that is available primarily on the web. Some people call that a web comic too. I have a script for one episode. Or issue. Whatever. I intend to write more, and when I can prove to myself that I am serious about it (and come up with a budget) I will start acquiring the Legos. I was going to do this entirely on the computer with 3d modeling tools, but it is really difficult and annoying to create legos virtually. Every idea I have, I preemptively shoot it down because I just don't feel like trying to move all of those bricks around virtually. It is my hope that, besides the typical t-shirts and advertisements that people do, that I will be able to sell my own models, of things that appear in the comic strip. Oh, and maybe I can sell custom Lego directions for the Kindle! I would have to buy a Kindle though. I'm not sure if thats a good thing or not.

Anyway, I also went Salsa dancing tonight. It was pretty cool. Its weird, though, learning from someone that I don't exactly trust. The people I learned from in Philly were amazing and I ate up every word, every move. The moves that I'm learning in my current studio, though, occasionally feel a bit off. Like I'm not sure thats a real move. Admittedly, dancing, as in any art, need not adhere to some strict cannon of allowed and disallowed moves, and my love for East Coast Swing, with all of its dangerious tricks and dips, is proof of my agreement. However, when it comes to salsa, not a move is more than "I've never seen that before." Not a move means the move feels incredibly awkard, and things are being done on certain counts of the music that are normally not done on those counts, and we're off balance and hurrying to get through. Also, and I don't know how he does it, but my instructor manages to insult me when correcting me. I've been told point blank, and quite often, by many different instructors, that I'm doing something terribly wrong, and I've stared blankly as they've patiently tried over and over again to show me how its done properly. This guy though...he just manages to piss me off. Maybe I'm being prideful. Maybe I've just gotten soft. Whatever is it, I'll be getting over it because my moves have gotten stale and I need these classes.