What we can and can't do

[pne]

Today, I saw someone inline skating, and it made me think about what people can and can't do.

I can't inline skate, but I can do some things that others can't.

I also thought about the stock character of the competant man or woman. And, since I like polls, here's a poll.

The first question is based on the list of attributes that "a human being should be able to" do, according to a character in a Heinlein novel; the second question is things I thought up myself.

[Poll #1192304]

Comments

[kiss-me-quick.livejournal.com]

Some of the things I ticked I can't necessarily do very well...

[nyssa.livejournal.com]

I feel a little bad now, being in the apparently huge minority of people that can't drive a car. :P

...there is something grammatically incorrect about that sentence, but I can't be bothered to figure out how to re-word it.

[dampscribbler.livejournal.com]

I selected some things that I was once able to do, and I suspect in a pinch I could do again, but I'm not certain.

There are others which I was once able to do which I am quite certain I will need to work hard to re-develop as skills. And of course there are plenty I have never even tried to do.

I recognize that first list -- Heinlein, right?

[pne.livejournal.com]

I recognize that first list -- Heinlein, right?

Yep.

It was the "list of attributes that "a human being should be able to" do, according to a character in a Heinlein novel" that gave it away, right? :D

[fridoline.livejournal.com]

What does "feeding the trolls" mean?

I forgot to tick the box that I can swim.

[dampscribbler.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear. Apparently I can't retain read information very long. Add that to my "to practice" list. :-/

[tungol.livejournal.com]

Some of my answers are questionable in either direction (checked things that I maybe shouldn't have, didn't check things that I maybe should have). I didn't check "tell incompetence from malice" because I think I may err in the opposite direction that I think the question most naturally assumes; I might classify things as incompetence when they're actually malice rather than vice versa.

[thethirdvoice.livejournal.com]

I've never tried dying gallantly...

[pne.livejournal.com]

What does "feeding the trolls" mean?

Do you know what an "Internet troll (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Netzkultur))" is?

Essentially, it's someone who posts an entry that is designed to provoke reactions, such as posting "Scientists have found out that formula gives babies higher IQs!" to a breastfeeding community.

Most of them enjoy the reactions and acrimonious debate that can follow, and the best way to deal with most of them is to ignore them - "don't feed the trolls" -; if they don't get the attention they're after, they tend to get bored and wander off, while if their posts get reactions, that's fun for them and they'll stay.

I forgot to tick the box that I can swim.

You can change your poll answers: click on the poll number at the top, then on "Fill out poll".

[tonytraductor.livejournal.com]

I love inline skating, but if I pretended to be good at it, I'd be lying.
I don't all down...much...but, I can't grind rails and cool shite like that...
But I can cook a meal, speak 4 languages, program a computer, and tie my own shoes...most of the time...etc.

[damerell.livejournal.com]

You don't risk other people's lives for your own convenience. Why feel bad about it?

[pthalo]

I can't drive either. And at the time of my taking it, only 69% of people can.

You prolly live somewhere you don't have to drive.

[pthalo]

I can't grind rails or cool shite like that either. But I can get myself from one place to another, forwards well, backwards less well, and manouver traffic and railway tracks and bridges and what not. So I consider myself to rollerblade well.

[pthalo]

and even the best fall sometimes. one little pebble on a hill, one quick swerve to avoid a car coming out of nowhere, a patch of fresh asphalt that no one thought to mark or block off so that people wouldn't run into it and get stuck... (that's how i sprained my ankle in february)

[tonytraductor.livejournal.com]

which is why, of course, I wear all my pads and helmet...besides, I have to provide a proper example for my daughter...I make her wear armor, too.

[pthalo]

I sometimes wear a helmet. Pads and a helmet wouldn't have prevented the sprained ankle, but I should be less lazy about helmets. I suppose if I had a kid I was setting a good example for, I'd go all out with pads and whatnot. I'm 23, so I'm just getting passed the age where I feel like wearing a helmet is a sign that I'm not good enough to rollerblade without one.

Make my own soap...

[jalbobble.livejournal.com]

I read that as 'soup' - I must definitely can't clean myself with my own blend of minestrone!!

white belts and patent leather...

[tonytraductor.livejournal.com]

Heck, I'm almost forty...I'm about ready to wear plaid bermudas, white socks and loafers...a hemlet sure doesn't bother me.
another year or two and I'll probably be in Depends undergarments and taking Geritol...and still skating...

How did you sprain an ankle, though?
My skates have really good support for the ankle...I'd think it would be tough to do that.

Are you a painter/artist?
pthalogreen is a nice color...
I paint in acrylics (http://www.photodharma.com).

Re: white belts and patent leather...

[pthalo]

Yeah "I'm too cool to wear a helmet" is a teenager thing. Once you're an adult, you can be cool enough to wear a helmet, knowing that you only have one skull. I'm a new adult. :)

My rollerblades have pretty good ankle support too, as you can see from my icon.

I was going fairly fast because it was a good stretch of sidewalk, and there was a patch ahead that had just been repaved, but there were no signs or anything, nothing marking that it was brand new asphalt. I knew it was probably a few days old, because a week ago there'd been a hole there, but I had no idea it was less than an hour old. So I went into it with lots of momentum and my wheels stopped turning and I flew forward. And since my wheel was stuck in the asphalt my ankle was pulled backwards while my body was pulling it forwards and even with the good ankle support on the rollerblades, it was pulled too much for my ankle and i couldn't stand up.

But I wouldn't have been able to sprain it with my ankle going sideways because of the ankle support. They didn't have any crutches at the hospital or ankle braces but they wrote me a perscription and sent me home in a taxi. I had to slide up the stairs to my flat while sitting on my butt. It was really unpleasant.

Yeah, I used to paint a lot more than I do now, this icon is taken from one of my oil paintings. I lost my paints and brushes in one of the moves and I haven't gotten around to buying new ones, but I do have some acrylics and a few brushes left and I try every now and then. I'm rusty though. Pthalo green is one of my favourite colours.

Re: white belts and patent leather...

[pthalo]

I like your pictures. :) Mine, on a website I haven't updated since like 2002, are here

Re: white belts and patent leather...

[tonytraductor.livejournal.com]

that's an awesome painting.

the ankle sprain doesn't sound like it was much fun.

I sprained mine once while running.
I used to run 6 to 8 miles a day.
I sprained the ankle when I was 17, kept running...another 5 miles.
The next morning my ankle was as big as my head...

Re: white belts and patent leather...

[tonytraductor.livejournal.com]

I totally dig this one: http://www.houseofsafety.netfirms.com/artwork/calico.jpg

and this one:

http://www.houseofsafety.netfirms.com/artwork/filteredglass.jpg

My art lj is photodharma

I added you.

Re: white belts and patent leather...

[pthalo]

Yeah, wasn't much fun. I can't imagine keeping running after that. You must have a high pain tolerance. Mine swelled up about 10cm bigger than the other one. It's better now, though it still hurts in the mornings. But I'm back to rollerblading.

[nyssa.livejournal.com]

Ha, that's a good way to put it. :)

[nyssa.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Atlanta has a decent transit system. Not great, but passable. And it's a heck of a lot cheaper than gas/insurance/maintenance for a car.

[blob.livejournal.com]

Definitely don't feel bad about that. There's too much traffic on the roads. :P

[blob.livejournal.com]

I haven't tried some of these things but have ticked them anyway, as I'm confident I COULD do them if faced with the opportunity to do so. Just never had to.

[pthalo]

Szeged is small, so I can get around really well on rollerblades. And the bus system is awesome. You can't walk a block without running into a bus stop. For leaving the city, the bus/train system is also awesome. Even leaving the country is pretty easy. And cheaper, yeah.

[nitaq.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I said I could do things which I haven't ever done, so I wouldn't really know, and not doing things well counts, right?
As in taking criticism ;)

[dampscribbler.livejournal.com]

I thought of another ...

- plan a week's worth of healthy and affordable meals for your family (repeat weekly for eighteen years)