Articles – Page 62

Preston

Claire and I are in Preston, and I’m taking advantage of the opportunity to get hold of real internet access, characterised by the fact that, as you’ll see, I’ve put links in (it’s a pain in the arse to do while posting from my phone, as I have been). I can’t post long, as we’re soon about to head off to Maulds Meaburn to pick up Ruth and JTA and then on to Edinburgh, in accordance with the plan, but I’ll say a few words about how things are going and how I’m feeling.

BiCon was mind-blowingly fabulous. I really enjoyed it. In fact, I cried with happiness on the car ride up to Preston (after we’d finally escaped from the crowd of people trying to hug everybody goodbye at the end of the conference). The workshops were interesting and mind-expanding, the entertainments were fabulous (oh, by the way, I’m so going to get a copy of Killer Bunnies for the Geek Night crew in Aber – it’s brilliant – big thanks to Alex and Lucky for introducing me to it), and the people were, almost without exception, amazing. I’ve come away from the event with contact details for loads of cool and interesting people I’m hoping to get in touch with soon (if I’ve given you a QCard, send me an e-mail!). Notably missing from my list is contact information for Dirk – if you happen to read this, you crazy hat-wearing beast, get in touch! Also, apologies to Suzy for not managing to say goodbye before we left – it wasn’t on purpose: we just couldn’t find you.

Wow, the BiCon LiveJournal community just exploded with activity.

Anyway: now we’re in Preston. My sister Becky has brought back a hammock from her recent trip to Thailand, and – with the help of my mum, her boyfriend, my other sister, her boyfriend, and Claire, we managed to finally attach it between the tree in the garden and a study fence post. I’ve got some pretty good photos which I’ll have to share with you at some other time (imagine a human pyramid, on a slope, with a pair of bolt cutters, reaching up to lop off part of a tree which is being weighted down by a man jumping on top of it, and you’re headed in the right direction).

We’re running a little late, because my mum’s tumble dryer seems to be taking about a lifetime and a half to finish drying our clothes so we can get on the road, but we’ll get moving eventually. No doubt I’ll make a post or two from Edinburgh, and then a wrap-up or two when I get back to Aber on Tuesday 28th. I hope everything’s going well back home (I haven’t heard anything from Paul so I’m guessing that Troma Night went without a hitch); somebody drop me a text or an e-mail or something to let me know you’re all still alive and well.

The Magic Of BiCon

Three sit on the damp grass. One reads out a bad example of a good erotic story, stopping from time to time to turn the book around and show the pictures to the others, who laugh.

Five cuddle up in each others’ arms, in some sort of exclusive party for those they love – or might like to love – the most. It’s past 3am now, and the quiet skies are punctuated by occasional, beautiful flashes as meteorites strike the atmosphere. “I’ve never seen a shooting star,” one says. “Then just watch,” says another, adjusting his arm to better cup her icy hands, “And maybe you’ll see one tonight.”

Suddenly, low on the horizon, there is a bright green flash and a long white trail. “I saw it!” she says, excitedly. They all have. Their extremities, damp and cold, are beginning to numb, but they’re beyond caring. The rest of the party has started to disperse. A few couples cuddle or chat or share a drink nearby. One or two have curled up under blankets or duvets or towels. But these five stay where they are, wrapped around each other in peaceful comfort. Now and then an arm or a leg will move, or a hand will adjust it’s grip on another, and it is good. Sometimes, not quite by accident, two pairs of eyes will hold a stare for a little longer than necessary, or two faces brush against one another.

One leaves. Then another. Then another. The remaining two, still untired, chat on, watching the skies, until exhaustion takes hold and a sudden drop in temperature threatens hypothermia, and they call it a night.

It all started with a midnight picnic, and it all finished with the deepening of a new friendship. Almost nobody said anything, because nothing needed to be said. Time, and trust, and a little bit of love.

Magic.

BiCon Ball

Wow. Last night’s costume ball was amazing. Claire’s “Lara Croft” outfit went really well, and our efforts in the Costume Workshop earlier in the day to convert my picnic rug into a great kilt (for my William Wallace costume) paid off. Unfortunately at midnight the spell was broken and my kilt turned unexpectedly back into a rug while I was dancing, but a quick scavenge for safety pins (thanks, everybody on the information desk) proved sufficient to keep me decent.

Not that it would have mattered much, of course, judging by a couple of the other costumes! One young lady wore just a chainmail bra and knickers (leaving little to the imagination), which also doubled as a sheath for two long sharp knives. Another wore a leather skirt completely devoid of sides, a spiked bra, and am enormous pair of demonic wings. A young man appeared at first to be dressed as Robin Hood, but this costume later turned out to consist only of body paint and a strategically-placed handkerchief. Another came wrapped somewhat less-than-completely in tubular bandages, which exaggerated, rather than hid, those parts that he might normally hide.

The costumes weren’t all excessively revealing, of course (although some, like those above and the Lelu [The Fifth Element] costume, really did expose quite a lot). I was particularly impressed with the effort taken by the wearer of the stunning HAL 9000 costume.

Got to go and help run a BiCon Geek Night now. Will post more as and when.

First Day At BiCon

Yesterday, of course, was our first “full day” at BiCon, and it made the difference in terms of feeling welcome and “at home.”

Claire and I went to a couple of welcome-y workshops: Start Here! and Getting To Know You! The timetable’s pretty well organised because despite there being up to 6 activities on at any given time, few people seem to have “clashes” in the things they want to attend: the organisers have taken care to put, for example, crafty things in different slots and BDSM things in different slots and poly things in different slots and so on so that your interests can be satisfied, whatever those interests may be.

There’s a fascinating mix of people here, too: a real mix of age, gender, sexuality (no, not everybody is bi, though it’s a majority), background, religion, ethnic group, etc. I’m not sure what I was expecting but I’m surprised anyway.

I’ve been to a variety of workshops on polyamory, time management,bisexuality, and the labels people use to define themselves. I’ve net a number of strange and wonderful people, and I’ve made full use of the SU bar. So far, so great.

Elementary Flogging

Looking through the windowed doors of the workshop room next to me I see a group of topless people whipping one another. It’s apparently the workshop on Elementary Flogging, and it looks… different. Some of them seen be stripping even further, now, and somebody’s getting a riding crop.

Down the corridor the tamer workshops are in full swing, too. The Storytelling group have pens and paper and they’re all jotting away. The Bi History group are getting some kind of lecture. Claire’s chatting away in the Transgender Identity room-

Me? I’m taking a quick break to check my e-mail and read some blogs. The atmosphere is amazing. Guess I’ll share more as it comes to me.

First Night At BiCon

We’re in Glamorgan University, staying in a hall of residence. It’s a little like living in Penbryn but the rooms are en suite and the microwave ovens don’t cook people that stand too close to them. It turns out that WiFi is off the menu so I’m posting over GPRS, hence the lack of photos: might try to get some uploaded at some point.

In the meantime, pretend I’m showing you a picture of my name badge, which is basically a laminated badge with my name on, decorated with half a dozen or more stickers of various shares and colours that serve to identify me to anybody who’s taken the time to remember what they all mean. One says this is my first BiCon, another says I like board games, and so on. Already people have started inventing their own, and I’ve got a unique one that instructs people not to feed me chocolate.

We’ve enjoyed a pub quiz (our team, Dim Parcio, came eighth out of thirteen) and met all kinds of interesting people, and now we’re taking a somewhat early might in anticipation of a busy day tomorrow!

More as it happens.

How Not To Wake Up Claire

Yesterday, before I went in to work (yes, on my day off, I know – it’s always when I’m about to go on holiday that everything breaks and I’m needed), I woke Claire, to remind her that, while I was at work, she needed to dye a pair of shorts brown in order to use them as part of a costume that she’ll be wearing at the BiCon Ball. Unfortunately, I didn’t think carefully enough about my choice of words.

I woke her and said, "Okay; I’m off to work. See you about lunchtime. And don’t forget your dying."

Which it turns out can be easily misheard as "…don’t forget you’re dying."

Needless to say; in her post-waking sleepy state, this caused some distress. It was only a minute or so later that things made sense again to her, when she was down a train of thought a little like: "Dying? I can’t die… I’ve just put all this work into making a costume that I’ll never get to wear… I didn’t even finish dying the… ohh."

We’re off this afternoon on our grand tour of the UK. We’ll be in Glamorgan today, Preston on Monday, Edinburgh on Tuesday (via a quirky little village), Oxford a week on Tuesday, and back in Aberystwyth a week on Wednesday. I’ll try to make a post or two here about what we’ve been up to, so that I don’t have to make such a huge post as I did about my mum’s engagement party and the Edinburgh Fringe this time last year (hey, why is it that we always end up at a fancy dress party right before the Edinburgh Fringe Festival?

Excited

I’m really quite excited about Claire and I’s upcoming round trip of the UK. In case you’re not “in the know,” here’s what we’re planning:

BiCon

On Thursday afternoon we’re off to BiCon, the National Bisexual Conference, in Glamorgan. To think, this event’s been running for a almost as long as I’ve been alive and I’d never heard about it before this year. Evidently they were advertising in all the wrong places. And then, after all of that, the first one I hear about is just “down the road” (well, so much as anything is just down the road from Aberystwyth) in Glamorgan.

Anyway, it sounds like a good event; I’ve spoken online to a couple of dozen people about it and it sounds fabulous with a capital FAB. The workshops list is certainly… unusual: Teddy Bears & Whips? Time Management And Non-Monogamy? Writing Erotica To Share? There’ll be Wi-Fi there, so I’ll do what I can to post bits and pieces of my experience back here. I’d love to say that I’m sure Claire will do the same, but it’s a little optimistic, considering her blog update rate.

Fringe Festival

Then a week on Monday (20th August), after the event finishes, we’re driving up North – perhaps with a visit to Preston on the way – to meet with Ruth and JTA and head on up to Edinburgh for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival! A whole week of live comedy, drinking to excess, eating haggis, and loving the Edinburgh Fringe party atmosphere. For a handful of reasons, I won’t be performing this year (probably): still, there’s always next year. My mum and my sisters, Becky and Sarah, are going to the Fringe as well and our visit will overlap theirs by a day or two, and it’ll be good to see them. We’re also informed that Kit and Fiona might drop in on us for a day or so, too.

Nonetheless, it’ll be a great opportunity to see the Free Fringe performers yet again and spend all of our time drunk and laughing. And if Claire manages to get through the week without flashing any old ladies, all the better.

I’ll be on GPRS by this point, rather than Wi-Fi, so weblog updates are less likely, but I’ll see what I can do.

Oxford, back to Aberystwyth

Post-Fringe, we’ll be delivering Ruth & JTA to Oxford, and staying over briefly ourselves before coming back to Aber on Tuesday 28th August. Yes, this means I’m working for about 13 days this entire month. Sweet.

And of course, when we get back, it’ll only be 11 days until QParty, so we’ll be spending the most part of our time fretting and making last-minute arrangements for that. There are those that have suggested that this party-fortnight – and in particular BiCon – should be seen as a “stag night.” Which is a nice idea, but doesn’t really reflect what QParty’s actually about. I’ll write more about what QParty actually means, to me at least, and all that… at some other point. Watch this space.

Meanwhile…

In the meantime, life in Aber will, I’m sure, go on pretty much as normal. Paul will be making arrangements for the intervening Troma Nights, so keep an eye on Abnib Events for them, and he’ll be looking after Mario and Luigi in Claire’s absence. I gather that Sian (no, not that one, the other one) is getting married on the weekend of BiCon; would somebody who’s going to her wedding pass on my regards and best wishes.

Looking For Jen

Jen has gone missing. We gather she hasn’t got a phone right now, but nonetheless, she’s not responding to e-mail, Facebook wall posts, or even postal mail. If you’re Jen – get in touch with me (use the contact form link on my blog if you can’t think of any better way). If not, shout at Jen too. We’ve been trying for a few weeks with no luck now and it’s starting to get a little worrying.

Men Behaving Badly Night

Abnibbers be warned: tonight is the first Men Behaving Badly Night, our new Thursday night special. Gather at The Cottage at 7pm.

For the last few days, Strokey Adam’s been visiting, although – owing mostly to schedule conflicts – we didn’t see as much of him as would have been nice. Still, Claire, Matt, Rory, Paul, and Adams both visiting and resident managed to get to a bonfire and barbecue on the beach last night, which was very successful despite the damp weather we’ve had recently. Adam’s promised that his next absence from Aber will be for less than the three years that he’s been away for this time around, and he’ll also be coming to QParty, so that’ll be nice too.

Apart from that, things keep ticking on. Ho hum.

Curious Bug

I was playing the Chess game in Clubhouse Games on the Nintendo DS last night, and I’ve discovered a bug that can occur in a very unusual situation. Normally, the game quite rightly allows you to only make legal moves. For example, when in check, the only legal moves are those moves which get you out of check, either by (a) capturing the attacking piece, (b) blocking the attack or (c) moving the king in such a way that he is no longer in check.

However, it looks like the programmers of Clubhouse Games, when writing support for the en passant rule, gave en passant moves more importance than they should have, making them always valid moves (even when they shouldn’t be). Consider the scenario below:

Black moves his pawn two squares forward, putting white’s king in check through his bishop. At this point, the only valid moves for white should involve moving the king out of check. However, Clubhouse Games will also accept the white pawn capturing the black pawn en passant as valid.

Of course, being a bit of a geek, I felt compelled to do this (illegal) move, just to see how the game engine handled it. The result was that I was told that I had lost, and then the whole game crashed and locked up.

Sloppy coding there, guys, which could easily have been avoided by putting the valid move check after the special moves. I wonder if similar problems affect castling…

Geek Night At Rory’s

Tonight’s Geek Night will be hosted by Rory (follow that second link for a map to his place if you don’t know where it is – don’t worry, it’s easy to find).

What would people like me to take there? I’m thinking Carcassonne, because it’s been getting a lot of enjoyable playtime recently and there’s rulesets we still haven’t played in recent times, the Treehouse sets, and perhaps something light-hearted like Chez Geek (it’s been a knackering week for me, so don’t expect too much in the way of intelligent play from me tonight). I assume Rory‘s projector takes component inputs in case anybody needs rules projected (which I hope is the case, because I’ve been looking for an excuse to try out the TV-out and PowerPoint viewer on my phone).

Troma Night Drinking Rules, Version 3

Paul and I (okay, okay, mostly Paul) have re-written the Troma Night drinking rules to better reflect how Troma Night works nowadays, to be more fun and interesting, to actually be online, and to give even more opportunities to invite alcohol-induced catatonic states into your film-watching experience. See The Troma Night Drinking Rules, Version 3 online now.

Breakfast Of Chumpions

Last night I dreamt that Claire and I were in a supermarket, where I was contemplating buying a box of a new breakfast cereal, which I insisted would be delicious. Claire disagreed, pointing out that the combination of "puffed rice, muesli, and baked beans" that the cereal promised didn’t actually sound very good. In an effort to prove her wrong, I bought it anyway, and the dream-fast-forwarded to the following morning. I poured a bowl of the cereal and it did, indeed, look pretty grim. I looked for milk, but we didn’t have any, so I substituted pineapple juice. The finished product tasted exactly as bad as you would expect.

I’m munching on Crunchy Nut right now. It’s a lot better than my "dream cereal."

Politically Incorrect Human Nature

A recent article from Psychology Today talks about human nature, sex, and the best theories on why we act like we do. From the article:

Women often say no to men. Men have had to conquer foreign lands, win battles and wars, compose symphonies, author books, write sonnets, paint cathedral ceilings, make scientific discoveries, play in rock bands, and write new computer software in order to impress women so that they will agree to have sex with them. Men have built (and destroyed) civilization in order to impress women, so that they might say yes.

Now go read it.