The lurkers lurk often, because they are the smartest ones, who would rather not set themselves up to become targets.

As a longtime lurker, and recent member, I can say the latter holds true, though I wouldn't go so far as to support the former. If anything, I feared deserving to be a target, and not having anything of value to contribute.

I'd definitely back you up with that assertion, as I've experienced this phenomenon quite a few times myself. "Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of men's desires, but by the removal of desire".

Then again, if you have no desire to hit the bulls-eye, why judge such a shot to be better than missing the target entirely? One of life's little paradoxes.

Firstly, the Commerce board is for promotion, not Audiofile. Secondly, just to taper your expectations, I wouldn't expect any kind words from this community.

After a small bit of searching, I found an old guide I once used in an attempt to better myself. An excerpt:

"Pure Reaction Time (PuRe Time): This is how long it takes for you to react to something when your mind is clear. You wait for an action, you figure out what it is, and you respond. PuRe time for most people is pretty strong, surprisingly, provided you know how to respond to different situations (see tactics, below).

Amplified Reaction Time (ART): Your ART is how quickly you react to something that you expect. When you know something is going to happen, you have your course of action planned out ahead of time, and then what you expect happens. Your ART is much better than your PuRe Time, although just how much varies from person to person.

Diminished Reaction Time (DiRT): DiRT is how long it takes to react to something you didn't expect. When you think the opponent is going to act in one way and he acts in another, there is extra lag time in your mind while you re-adjust. In fact, sometimes you think "he's doing this, not that!" and you do your pre-planned response anyhow, or you adjust and mistime your new response."

Your deer-avoidance skills seem to have a lot in common with what the author labelled Amplified Reaction Time. Maybe you should pick up Melee sometime?

A certain level of asceticism is possible in a city; more, perhaps, than usual, as the distractions and temptations are more abundant here. I mostly just abstain from eating junk food, consuming alcohol, watching TV, and wasting money away on frivolities. Some days I'll fast, just as an extra measure. My only indulgence is playing video games. Though I've cut back on this quite a bit in the past while, I'm loathe to eliminate it from my life entirely. I'm quite good at acts of omission. The only thing I actively do to discipline myself is working out. While most people I know quite enjoy being active, I hate every minute of it.

As for hermiticism, that's far less realistic, especially considering I'm working full time as a cashier. Every interaction with other people for the past 9 years has done nothing but drain me and make me more asocial. 8 hours a day of that is too much for me. Outside of work, and seeing my family at home, I rarely see any humans.

Haven't visited many places; as I'm still rather young, I don't have much freedom, and can't go off adventuring throughout BC. I have hiked Mt. Garibaldi in High School, and camped at Shannon Falls, but that's about the extent of my travels here. Sorry to disappoint. And I hope you think something of me by now, whether it be good or bad. There's nothing wrong with forming quick first impressions, provided you're equally as quick to amend them.

The more I ask myself whether or not I like who I am, the less sure I become. I look back on myself years ago, and while I've changed significantly over that period, I'm not sure whether I've progressed or gotten worse in time. Maybe there is no "better"; just "different". Though I'm sure many would disagree.

I rarely watch TV, and never programs like this, but my attention was brought to this video, and throughout its duration, I couldn't stop thinking of this post. A cautionary tale of what can happen when you identify yourself as a victim.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6LY7TJ16pg

Bumping this thread in hopes that someone might post something. Does anyone have any of the missing files saved to their computers, and can upload them?

I've been messing around on Anvil Studio for a few months now, hoping to create something deserving of being posted here, but thus far I've seen no success.