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Random thoughts
Apr. 1st, 2009 11:58 am1. An Avatar Is Worth A Thousand Words: I'm not talking about LJ user pics. Their nature and purpose is somewhat different: to personalize one's "internet living room" as the mood or post strikes.
But what if you're on a forum where you can only have one? Your avatar is your "public face" to the outside world. Depending on the nature of the forum, your avatar (and in some cases your user name) can affect how other forum members perceive you. There are places where your avatar says, "I belong here. I am one of you. I am cool." There are places where the exact same avatar proclaims "I not only don't get out of the basement much, I don't see why I should want to." Or "I have no clue and cannot be taken seriously." Or even, "I'm ten years old."
In wisdom lies being able to know the difference.
2.
The lambent glow of flame,
Their spark smiles in eyes brightened
By nightfall's promise.
Who would not wish to live in
A world lit only by fire?
A World Lit Only By Fire. That's a book title, but it's also a state of mind. People come to the SCA for a variety of reasons. For me, part of the appeal is living in a world lit only by fire, a world where people cope with their environment and solve problems in ways that could be amazingly simple and effective or staggeringly sophisticated, even if they didn't involve internal combustion or electrical current. So if I've been posting all the factors I've taken into account so my historical lighting project can be as fire-safe as possible with candles with the option for LEDs in extremis, that I find LEDs an unsatisfactory substitute for candles in a historical re-creation venue and why that is, please do not tell me to visit some website where I can find instructions on how to build my own LED gadgets. I did not join the SCA so I could learn to solder electrical components. Oh, wait. I see by your avatar - never mind.
3. Speaking of which, has anyone seen my white glue? I want to finish the lanterns tonight and my bottle of Elmers' is not where it should be.....
But what if you're on a forum where you can only have one? Your avatar is your "public face" to the outside world. Depending on the nature of the forum, your avatar (and in some cases your user name) can affect how other forum members perceive you. There are places where your avatar says, "I belong here. I am one of you. I am cool." There are places where the exact same avatar proclaims "I not only don't get out of the basement much, I don't see why I should want to." Or "I have no clue and cannot be taken seriously." Or even, "I'm ten years old."
In wisdom lies being able to know the difference.
2.
The lambent glow of flame,
Their spark smiles in eyes brightened
By nightfall's promise.
Who would not wish to live in
A world lit only by fire?
A World Lit Only By Fire. That's a book title, but it's also a state of mind. People come to the SCA for a variety of reasons. For me, part of the appeal is living in a world lit only by fire, a world where people cope with their environment and solve problems in ways that could be amazingly simple and effective or staggeringly sophisticated, even if they didn't involve internal combustion or electrical current. So if I've been posting all the factors I've taken into account so my historical lighting project can be as fire-safe as possible with candles with the option for LEDs in extremis, that I find LEDs an unsatisfactory substitute for candles in a historical re-creation venue and why that is, please do not tell me to visit some website where I can find instructions on how to build my own LED gadgets. I did not join the SCA so I could learn to solder electrical components. Oh, wait. I see by your avatar - never mind.
3. Speaking of which, has anyone seen my white glue? I want to finish the lanterns tonight and my bottle of Elmers' is not where it should be.....
