Chat Thread: Tokyo Drift

Bloody cats - they might actually be Skynet, let alone Raptors!

My cat goes absolutely mental trying to grab Jaffa Cakes off us. It might be the orange jelly, as she wasn't simultaneously bothered about chocolate digestives. Cats are supposed to hate citrus fruit. Abbey likes orange, chilli, bolognese sauce, fruitcake... none of which we've actively given to her as some kind of experiment.

Jimbob's sig wrote:

I'm removing my signature temporarily, so you don't remember what it previously was, and realise how bad I am at any kind of creative work.

So what's happened with Picks and Flicks then eh?

Aha, funny you should mention that. I basically decide to do an hour's work every 3 weeks. So what will eventually be a 20 minute long game should be ready by 2021.

And the signature has got an upgrade as well! Good stuff.

Don't mind me, I'm just playing Fetch - with the cat.

Aaaaaw!
(Wait, it the cat catching things, or is a dog catching the cat?)

Put the cat down Zero, that's incredibly irresponsible.

Meanwhile, it's almost November! Which means I'm writing novels and stuff. This time my novel takes place after a generic fantasy adventure: four orphan teenagers have saved the Kingdom of Light for the Kingdom of Darkness, and are now stuck without any transferable skills in an era with high wealth inequality, sexism, racism, and cholera. Should be fun.

Anyone else writing a novel, or (more likely) growing out their upper lip hair for November?

Erk, ya got me, the pair o'yez.

And, no. No moustaches, no novels. My NaNo participation days are very much over: it took too much out of me the last couple of times I tried it. You do meet some cool people, though.

Facial hair sucks.

Spoiler:

I haven't formally signed up for any kind of NaNoWriMo, but I am planning to finish off the novel I've been on the cusp of starting for a while over November.

As for facial hair, I tend to keep a bit of a chinstrap because it makes my jawline look better. Got a bit more beard at the moment because I can't be arsed to shave thoroughly.

Athrun888 wrote:

Facial hair sucks.  

Spoiler:

GET OUT!

The_Jaster wrote:

Athrun888 wrote:

Facial hair sucks.  

Spoiler:

GET OUT!

Ain't my problem if ya can't handle the truth! Facial hair is laaaaaaaaaame. At short levels it prcikles all the time, at long levels it's akin to wearing a scarf on your chin all day every day. It prevents you from feeling the sweet sweet sensation of a premium pillow case at night, and is thoroughly irritating to maintain.

I rest my case. In short, facial hair sucks.

Your honour, the witness' statement is patently untrue! I can give you plenty of reasons why facial hair is a good thing.

• Beards are sexy.
  
• It gives you something to stroke when you're thinking.
  
• Facial hair clearly shows age and maturity, avoiding being ID'd or underestimated.
  
• Provides an extra avenue to express individuality.
  
• Saves time by requiring less regular shaving.

In fact, your honour, I propose the prosecution is merely jealous of some of the cool beards sported by other members of the GNamer forum!

Come on, guys, I've only just recovered from Bat Vs. Lion!

Speaking of which, lions have tremendous beards whereas bats are clean-shaven and lame.

As a clean-shaven fella, that only biases me further away from lions.  Wouldn't think of insulting the beard outright though, Brian Blessed just wouldn't be the same without it.

Drunkalilly wrote:

• Facial hair clearly shows age and maturity, avoiding being ID'd or underestimated.
  
• Provides an extra avenue to express individuality.
  

That said, if you need a beard to help you achieve maturity, high estimation, or individuality, you (EDIT: or society) has problems beyond your grooming routine.  (Unless it's in job interviews when unfortunately appearance is at least 30% of the battle and you need to stretch the truth your way in any way possible.)  And I say this as someone who had problems beyond his grooming routine: I used to have a beard myself.

You say in interviews, snap decisions are made on a day to day basis in all aspects of life, as he said - not getting id'd - is a purely looks based decision.

I tend to find in a meeting people will defer to the older looking person regardless of actual knowledge level, once I start speaking to them they know I'm the right man, but put me next to anyone older and I might as well not be there at first

Personally I like facial hair, but I'm not very good at growing anything respectable looking, so I'll shave for big occaisions/meetings.

Anyone who continues to maintain that expectation isn't worth your while to be honest. And I derive a certain amount of pleasure from proving that stereotype wrong. Also I don't mind getting IDed! That said it happens to me quite rarely now, unless I'm in shorts and a Nintendo t-shirt, so maybe that's why.

I'll admit that it has taken a while at times. For example, in my NaNoWriMo team, one member of the team is far older than the rest of us. Only recently has member 3 of the team realised that the oldest member is substantially less mature than I am. But that kind of makes it sweeter now that is has happened.

At the same time, I do get what you're saying, especially at work where you're forced to interact with such people. And like I said, I used to have a beard for such reasons. But I see that as a failing of society as opposed to a positive of beards.

Honestly I get the points that Athrun is making but since I'm a naturally hairy guy this works best for me & I find having to shave everyday way more annoying.

athrun wrote:

At short levels it prickles all the time....

I get asked about this all the time but if you trim it less often, wash it regularly and use oils etc then this shouldn't happen.

Not having to shave every day is THE best reason for having a beard. Especially given that I have sensitive skin.

I couldn't shave every day, such a waste of time

I am bald and bearded, so I can definitely say a thing or two about people making assumptions!

Pros

• I can win most fights without throwing a punch- people assume I'm handy!
  
• People assume I'm older than I am, or at the very least assume I am my age. This avoids needing to carry ID, and makes people more willing to trust or listen to me. This may be a good or a bad thing, but it is definitely the case when dealing with strangers.
  
• It makes me look sexy, or at the very least not fat. My jawline is done wonders by a chinstrap.
  

Cons

• People think I'm scarier than I am. This lead to, for example, my last girlfriend's mum not being sure about me and until she met me. On the other hand, like Balla said, it is nice to turn these assumptions around. I like that everyone who knows me knows I'm lovable, but people who don't know me take me seriously. I'd prefer that to the opposite.
  
• Sometimes people think I'm older than I am. This is easily rectified and laughed off, though.
  

I'm not saying it's right that people judge how I look, but I'd be foolish to pretend they didn't.
As for the expressing myself thing, I like having "a look". I think it's pretty fair to say I have plenty of humour and personality and charm as well, but being instantly visually recognisable is nice as well. I like having a personal brand.

So I replaced our toilet seat this morning. What have you done with your Sunday?