[Debate] Do you know the difference? Explain

[Forest]

From my observation, the most disturbing characteristic of sociopaths is their ability to be charming. A person who can charm anyone appears as a "red flag" to me.

However, not every charming person is a sociopath, of course. And none among us is incapable of very hurtful/hateful behaviors.

So let me ask you: do you know the differences between a sociopath and a "normal" person?

Most normal people have empathy, A psychopath has no empathy, they are extremely egocentric... with superficial charm. I know a lot of *******s like that lol. A lot of people who are in great power end up being psychopaths.
Check this out

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They make up less than 1 percent of our population so you really don't have to worry too much about them.

 

[King Of Crows]

Viserys lived in an uncivilized society so he didn't have to pretend, to act, while on the other hand Dexter is person who have to deceive society in order to continue living. Sociopaths tend to adapt and that makes this disorder very difficult to tackle with.

I would only consider it a disorder if someone causes problems >_< There are sociopaths ( me ) that would not murder ..... Though being honest it's only because I believe in an afterlife and don't want to go to jail or else I would have killed a lot of bad people :X !

 

[Lady Mokusei]

You are thinking of a psychopath ..... A sociopath is aware that they're not normal, whereas a psychopath isn't and finds what he/she does to be perfectly logical and acceptable.

A sociopath can easily manipulate someone and know that it is wrong, they just don't care that it is. And why should they !

Both sociopaths and psychopaths are mentally ill people. They both suffer from the same disorder, called personality disorder. Sociopaths are intellectually capable to understand that they caused harm but they don't feel remorse, because they don't have emotions. So, they are probably not aware that they're abnormal, because they don't know what is normality.

 

[WhiteDespair]

Both sociopaths and psychopaths are mentally ill people. They both suffer from the same disorder, called personality disorder. Sociopaths are intellectually capable to understand that they caused harm but they don't feel remorse, because they don't have emotions. So, they are probably not aware that they're abnormal, because they don't know what is normality.

Lady Mokusei you are awesome! :3 -wails tail around-

 

[King Of Crows]

Both sociopaths and psychopaths are mentally ill people. They both suffer from the same disorder, called personality disorder. Sociopaths are intellectually capable to understand that they caused harm but they don't feel remorse, because they don't have emotions. So, they are probably not aware that they're abnormal, because they don't know what is normality.

That's more psychopathic, sociopaths can identify what normality is hence why they are able to manipulate and blend in like a normal person. That is why people don't know if someone is sociopathic or not ._. !

 

[Lady Mokusei]

I would only consider it a disorder if someone causes problems >_< There are sociopaths ( me ) that would not murder ..... Though being honest it's only because I believe in an afterlife and don't want to go to jail or else I would have killed a lot of bad people :X !

Well, now you sound just like Dexter. =D

But I think that you have problems with moral ( read about Kohlberg's levels of moral reasoning) not with sociopathic personality.

 

[King Of Crows]

Well, now you sound just like Dexter. =D

But I think that you have problems with moral ( read about Kohlberg's levels of moral reasoning) not with sociopathic personality.

I have morals, I just value human life less than most people would due to my lack of attachment and emotional sentiment to anything other than sushi, my dog and chocolate :yayy:

 

[Lady Mokusei]

Lady Mokusei you are awesome! :3 -wails tail around-

My dear Sir White, you're flattering me. =D

 

[King Of Crows]

My dear Sir White, you're flattering me. =D

Respond, little one

I have morals, I just value human life less than most people would due to my lack of attachment and emotional sentiment to anything other than sushi, my dog and chocolate :yayy:

 

[Lady Mokusei]

I have morals, I just value human life less than most people would due to my lack of attachment and emotional sentiment to anything other than sushi, my dog and chocolate :yayy:

I said read about Kohlberg's levels of moral reasoning because of this "it's only because I believe in an afterlife and don't want to go to jail or else I would have killed a lot of bad people ".

OK, if you want to be a sociopath, fine with me. =D

 

[King Of Crows]

I said read the about Kohlberg's levels of moral reasoning because of this "it's only because I believe in an afterlife and don't want to go to jail or else I would have killed a lot of bad people ".

OK, if you want to be a sociopath, fine with me. =D

It's not something I can change :| nor is it something I want to :yayy:

 

[Aim64C]

Both sociopaths and psychopaths are mentally ill people. They both suffer from the same disorder, called personality disorder. Sociopaths are intellectually capable to understand that they caused harm but they don't feel remorse, because they don't have emotions. So, they are probably not aware that they're abnormal, because they don't know what is normality.

I would disagree a bit.

To say that sociopaths do not have emotions is not really correct. Their emotional perspective is simply very different from most people. How they process emotion and how the average person processes emotion are different. Exactly how will vary from individual to individual.

For example, recent research has shown that teenagers evaluate risks no differently than adults do (contrary to theories that the intermediary development of the brain was inhibiting proper reasoning). Like most adults - they over-estimate the amount of risk involved in most activities. The difference is that they tend to place much more value on the potential reward - which is why teenagers will commit to much more risky behavior that adults (particularly parents) often find unacceptably risky.

Sociopaths (or psychopaths) likely fall into a similar categorization. It's not likely that they are completely devoid of typical human emotion and thought process, but that they assign other factors far more value and will stray outside the lines that normal people find acceptable.

On a side-note... your signature is almost perfectly synchronized with some industrial techno I have playing in the background... and the effect is quite comical.

 

[King Of Crows]

I would disagree a bit.

To say that sociopaths do not have emotions is not really correct. Their emotional perspective is simply very different from most people. How they process emotion and how the average person processes emotion are different. Exactly how will vary from individual to individual.

For example, recent research has shown that teenagers evaluate risks no differently than adults do (contrary to theories that the intermediary development of the brain was inhibiting proper reasoning). Like most adults - they over-estimate the amount of risk involved in most activities. The difference is that they tend to place much more value on the potential reward - which is why teenagers will commit to much more risky behavior that adults (particularly parents) often find unacceptably risky.

Sociopaths (or psychopaths) likely fall into a similar categorization. It's not likely that they are completely devoid of typical human emotion and thought process, but that they assign other factors far more value and will stray outside the lines that normal people find acceptable.

On a side-note... your signature is almost perfectly synchronized with some industrial techno I have playing in the background... and the effect is quite comical.

Yeah * cheers * Go Aim, go Aim, it's yo' birthday ! :yayy:

 

[Lady Mokusei]

I would disagree a bit.

To say that sociopaths do not have emotions is not really correct. Their emotional perspective is simply very different from most people. How they process emotion and how the average person processes emotion are different. Exactly how will vary from individual to individual.

For example, recent research has shown that teenagers evaluate risks no differently than adults do (contrary to theories that the intermediary development of the brain was inhibiting proper reasoning). Like most adults - they over-estimate the amount of risk involved in most activities. The difference is that they tend to place much more value on the potential reward - which is why teenagers will commit to much more risky behavior that adults (particularly parents) often find unacceptably risky.

Sociopaths (or psychopaths) likely fall into a similar categorization. It's not likely that they are completely devoid of typical human emotion and thought process, but that they assign other factors far more value and will stray outside the lines that normal people find acceptable.

On a side-note... your signature is almost perfectly synchronized with some industrial techno I have playing in the background... and the effect is quite comical.

Hm, interesting research. Can you tell me the name of that project and who conducted it? I'd like to read more about it.
Yep, you're right that I used these words (do not have emotions) a little bit incorrectly, but I thought that the meaning was obvious (every person has emotion>term for subjective, conscious experience<) What I wanted to say was: they don't have emotions like we (people without mental illness) have. I will now quote book "Introduction to psychology": " People with sociopathic personality disorder sometimes show a lack of emotion in which even the most dramatic events produce little or no emotional response. Conversely, they may display emotion that is inappropriate to a situation." This disorder is called emotional disturbance. Sociopaths suffer from this kind of disorder.
It is true that sociopaths look at world differently . You said : "they assign other factors far more value and will stray outside the lines that normal people find acceptable" However,I would rather ascribe this characteristic to schizophrenics because they build they own world with values and standards that normal people find unacceptable. But, yeah, I think that sociopaths too can fall into this categorization (their perspective is different because of the illness).

O, I'd love to see that effect! =D

 

[Aim64C]

Hm, interesting research. Can you tell me the name of that project and who conducted it? I'd like to read more about it.

I'm having to look up a source other than where I first encountered it. I first encountered it in a magazine that I was reading through while bored on post one day in the UAE. I've yet to run across the exact source, but there are some similar and likely related articles/studies:

You must be registered for see links

This one most closely resembles the article I recall, however:

You must be registered for see links

Yep, you're right that I used these words (do not have emotions) a little bit incorrectly, but I thought that the meaning was obvious (every person has emotion>term for subjective, conscious experience<) What I wanted to say was: they don't have emotions like we (people without mental illness) have. I will now quote book "Introduction to psychology": " People with sociopathic personality disorder sometimes show a lack of emotion in which even the most dramatic events produce little or no emotional response. Conversely, they may display emotion that is inappropriate to a situation." This disorder is called emotional disturbance. Sociopaths suffer from this kind of disorder.

*cringe*

This is where psychology is a very, very hairy subject.

Because what you describe is also associated with Asperger's and other Autism-spectrum disorders (or Neuroatypicals).

It is true that sociopaths look at world differently . You said : "they assign other factors far more value and will stray outside the lines that normal people find acceptable" However,I would rather ascribe this characteristic to schizophrenics because they build they own world with values and standards that normal people find unacceptable. But, yeah, I think that sociopaths too can fall into this categorization (their perspective is different because of the illness).

Well... for example - I would, without a second thought, release small pox back into the human population.

All mammals on this planet have endemic pox viruses that serve to keep the population sizes manageable. These sorts of diseases tend to nip starvation and 'slums' in the bud. Removing small pox from the human population caused China and India to have populations that exploded beyond what their economy could support (and is leading to various forms of instability, there). Not to mention that welfare spending in other nations would not have bloated to the point that it has.

I'm going to piss a few people off by saying it - but we pay for the housing and food of people who do nothing but reproduce at a rate a few times faster than most responsible households. I've seen the conditions these people live under - and those are just the kinds of conditions that small pox is most lethal under.

Releasing small pox would be an automatic 2 billion deaths worldwide (from the disease, alone - going off of its average mortality rate). There is not enough vaccine to immunize more than 0.1% of the world.

I wouldn't call that schizophrenic. It's a willingness to go well beyond what most people would do - because I am looking well beyond what most people would focus on, or see certain events in a different light. I can go farther into detail about why it was a mistake to erradicate the virus in the first place (evidence that the Soviets were experimenting with weaponized forms of it even while publicly backing erradication efforts should have been clue number one); but it's deviating from the topic.

The point is that most people out there would never be able to think beyond the emotional implications.

O, I'd love to see that effect! =D

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This is the mix I was listening to. I don't recall what time it was at when I noticed that it had almost perfectly synched up with Tobi's antics (there's an hour of track, there).

Apparently, that stuff is pretty popular in Germany. I was looking for what I would term as 'Industrial metal rock' - and that is the type of stuff that kept popping up. Apparently, my largely German heritage agrees with their musical sense. And the accompanying dance style:

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is just hot as hell. The cyber-ninja dress-up a lot of them use is a little over the top for what I'd ever get into - but it looks cute enough on some of the girls.

 

[Lady Mokusei]

I'm having to look up a source other than where I first encountered it. I first encountered it in a magazine that I was reading through while bored on post one day in the UAE. I've yet to run across the exact source, but there are some similar and likely related articles/studies:

You must be registered for see links

This one most closely resembles the article I recall, however:

You must be registered for see links

Thanks for the links.

*cringe*

This is where psychology is a very, very hairy subject.

Because what you describe is also associated with Asperger's and other Autism-spectrum disorders (or Neuroatypicals).

Well, of course, what I describe is also associated with not only ASD but with schizophrenia, with NPD and many other psychological disorders. This, actually, only proves that people with mental illness (sociopaths among them) have damaged emotions. Let me explain. If my arm is broken, that is not normal state of my body. Similarly, we may consider that their emotions are like my broken arm (yes, they have emotions but they are " broken " >not normal).

Well... for example - I would, without a second thought, release small pox back into the human population.

All mammals on this planet have endemic pox viruses that serve to keep the population sizes manageable. These sorts of diseases tend to nip starvation and 'slums' in the bud. Removing small pox from the human population caused China and India to have populations that exploded beyond what their economy could support (and is leading to various forms of instability, there). Not to mention that welfare spending in other nations would not have bloated to the point that it has.

I'm going to piss a few people off by saying it - but we pay for the housing and food of people who do nothing but reproduce at a rate a few times faster than most responsible households. I've seen the conditions these people live under - and those are just the kinds of conditions that small pox is most lethal under.

Releasing small pox would be an automatic 2 billion deaths worldwide (from the disease, alone - going off of its average mortality rate). There is not enough vaccine to immunize more than 0.1% of the world.
I wouldn't call that schizophrenic. It's a willingness to go well beyond what most people would do - because I am looking well beyond what most people would focus on, or see certain events in a different light. I can go farther into detail about why it was a mistake to erradicate the virus in the first place (evidence that the Soviets were experimenting with weaponized forms of it even while publicly backing erradication efforts should have been clue number one); but it's deviating from the topic.

The point is that most people out there would never be able to think beyond the emotional implications.

Every person is different, and of course, you and I could never look at something (eg. car accident) and have totally same thoughts. You would have another thought because your experience ( your life) is different from mine. And while mine association with car accident would be eg. death (someone who I knew died in car crash), your would be eg. anxious feeling ( you survived car accident and you remember that feeling very well).But here we are talking about normal people.

People with mental disorder have damaged emotions (as I've already explained). You go well beyond, you said, what most people would do. That don't put you in group of sociopaths because it normal that person has an attitude towards something( no mater is that attitude wrong or not).You choose to believe in that view. But willingness is not the reason why is someone sociopath. The willingness is fine if we are only talking about normal people. But people suffering from mental illness never choose to be like that. They are either born with that disorder (genetic) or they get that disorder under the pressure of hard life (psychological development).

Let me explain this.

This is the reason why psychology entered in a law. Because sociopaths built their beliefs with damaged emotions and they can't be treated as someone who is perfectly stable person ( with normal emotions). You can talk about 2 billion deaths but your ego ( your psychological body is normal) and your conscious and your emotions are too strong to let you to release small pox and to kill all those people. But sociopaths don't have stable ego and conscious and stable emotions. They wouldn't only talk about killing 2 billion people, they would do that.

As I've already said, yeah, sociopaths have emotions but that emotions are damaged (they don't have emotions like we have), therefore not normal.

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This is the mix I was listening to. I don't recall what time it was at when I noticed that it had almost perfectly synched up with Tobi's antics (there's an hour of track, there).

Apparently, that stuff is pretty popular in Germany. I was looking for what I would term as 'Industrial metal rock' - and that is the type of stuff that kept popping up. Apparently, my largely German heritage agrees with their musical sense. And the accompanying dance style:

You must be registered for see links

is just hot as hell. The cyber-ninja dress-up a lot of them use is a little over the top for what I'd ever get into - but it looks cute enough on some of the girls.

I was listening to this music while I was writing this post. It good, although I don't really like techno. I much prefer house music to techno.
So your a little bit German?
This girl reminded me of my super crazy dance =D when I go out in club with friends. =D

 

[King Of Crows]

Thanks for the links.



Well, of course, what I describe is also associated with not only ASD but with schizophrenia, with NPD and many other psychological disorders. This, actually, only proves that people with mental illness (sociopaths among them) have damaged emotions. Let me explain. If my arm is broken, that is not normal state of my body. Similarly, we may consider that their emotions are like my broken arm (yes, they have emotions but they are " broken " >not normal).



Every person is different, and of course, you and I could never look at something (eg. car accident) and have totally same thoughts. You would have another thought because your experience ( your life) is different from mine. And while mine association with car accident would be eg. death (someone who I knew died in car crash), your would be eg. anxious feeling ( you survived car accident and you remember that feeling very well).But here we are talking about normal people.

People with mental disorder have damaged emotions (as I've already explained). You go well beyond, you said, what most people would do. That don't put you in group of sociopaths because it normal that person has an attitude towards something( no mater is that attitude wrong or not).You choose to believe in that view. But willingness is not the reason why is someone sociopath. The willingness is fine if we are only talking about normal people. But people suffering from mental illness never choose to be like that. They are either born with that disorder (genetic) or they get that disorder under the pressure of hard life (psychological development).

Let me explain this.

This is the reason why psychology entered in a law. Because sociopaths built their beliefs with damaged emotions and they can't be treated as someone who is perfectly stable person ( with normal emotions). You can talk about 2 billion deaths but your ego ( your psychological body is normal) and your conscious and your emotions are too strong to let you to release small pox and to kill all those people. But sociopaths don't have stable ego and conscious and stable emotions. They wouldn't only talk about killing 2 billion people, they would do that.

As I've already said, yeah, sociopaths have emotions but that emotions are damaged (they don't have emotions like we have), therefore not normal.



I was listening to this music while I was writing this post. It good, although I don't really like techno. I much prefer house music to techno.
So your a little bit German?
This girl reminded me of my super crazy dance =D when I go out in club with friends. =D

For me it is genetic then :yayy:

 

[Lady Mokusei]

For me it is genetic then :yayy:

Than I just hope that you'll never be mad at me, XxItachi x! =D

 

[King Of Crows]

Than I just hope that you'll never be mad at me, XxItachi x! =D

Me, mad ? Ahahahaaha, never ! As long as I have sushi I'm okay with anything :3

 

[Aim64C]

Thanks for the links.

You're welcome.

I tend to have more links than a suit of ringmail....

Well, of course, what I describe is also associated with not only ASD but with schizophrenia, with NPD and many other psychological disorders. This, actually, only proves that people with mental illness (sociopaths among them) have damaged emotions. Let me explain. If my arm is broken, that is not normal state of my body. Similarly, we may consider that their emotions are like my broken arm (yes, they have emotions but they are " broken " >not normal).

I'm not so sure 'broken' is a good analogy. In many of these cases, it's a base-line difference in neurological structure. The body is functioning perfectly well and according to its biochemical and neuro-architectural patterns. It's just that this structure results in things being processed in a different way.

I insist upon making the distinction because of the age-old idiom: "If more than half the people in the world are crazy, then I'm the crazy one."

From a biological standpoint, these people are not dysfunctional. Only in a sociological context. Arguably, many of them are far better suited to familial tribal structures of hunter-gatherers than we are. Which has led a number of evolutionary psychologists to suggest that the modern sociopath was the ancient genius.

There is some interesting research into autism, here:

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Though a few days later - we have this article published about a different study:

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Now, I remember, when a few of the other guys and I, were talking about autism and some other stuff - and they brought up a theory floating around about 'super intelligence' as a product of both the tight clustering of autistic minds without the sacrifice of long-distance connections. I have not been successful in tracking down this theory with a search engine. This is as close as I can get to any mention of high-IQ or just overall high-functioning minds having an architectural theory behind them:

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The interviewer asks if there is - the respondant says there is no data, but that it is expected that when data does come in, it will support the assertion that those people will be neuroatypical as opposed to neurotypical.

Every person is different, and of course, you and I could never look at something (eg. car accident) and have totally same thoughts. You would have another thought because your experience ( your life) is different from mine. And while mine association with car accident would be eg. death (someone who I knew died in car crash), your would be eg. anxious feeling ( you survived car accident and you remember that feeling very well).But here we are talking about normal people.

People with mental disorder have damaged emotions (as I've already explained). You go well beyond, you said, what most people would do. That don't put you in group of sociopaths because it normal that person has an attitude towards something( no mater is that attitude wrong or not).You choose to believe in that view. But willingness is not the reason why is someone sociopath. The willingness is fine if we are only talking about normal people. But people suffering from mental illness never choose to be like that. They are either born with that disorder (genetic) or they get that disorder under the pressure of hard life (psychological development).

Did I choose to be this way?

I applied reason to my position... but any being is applying reason to their actions (assuming they are conscious). I am, also, able to understand the reasoning of others and why my own conflicts with it. But that merely makes me more aware of what I am (and what I am capable of) rather than making me 'normal.'

The only difference between me and the sociopaths that get interviewed in jail is that I'm more risk-averse than they were and have a slightly different moral underpinning. I'd totally go around killing and plundering drug dealers if I were confident I could stay out of jail. Kill supply rings, take their money, destroy their stock, take anything else of value and pawn it off.

There may be reason behind that behavior... some may even argue a touch of nobility - but it is what it is. Particularly since that is -natural- to me. The predatory instincts necessary to 'stalk' these supply rings and identify targets (not to mention the mentality to see weaknesses that the average person usually misses) and the thrill of doing it... that's not 'normal.'

And I have to check myself - because that 'predator mentality' is how I naturally go about a lot of things. Even if my intent is benign and not to harm. Most people seem to miss that portion of my behavior (the same reason they don't see the vulnerabilities of those around them) - but it is there, and during a time in my life (following the death of my father and catastrophic relationship issues) - I lost a grip on myself and found that I can do some things that are way outside the realms of acceptable (even for myself).

Which... considering I'll talk to myself for half an hour about how I need to do the dishes, then get distracted by a two hour long self-discussion about the physics of soap bubbles, detergent enzymes, and the biochemistry of bread yeasts... to still not have the dishes done.... says a lot. That's 'normal' for me. So you can imagine what kind of mess I was like.

Let me explain this.

This is the reason why psychology entered in a law. Because sociopaths built their beliefs with damaged emotions and they can't be treated as someone who is perfectly stable person ( with normal emotions). You can talk about 2 billion deaths but your ego ( your psychological body is normal) and your conscious and your emotions are too strong to let you to release small pox and to kill all those people. But sociopaths don't have stable ego and conscious and stable emotions. They wouldn't only talk about killing 2 billion people, they would do that.

.... The point of me saying it is that I would.

I am of the opinion that the erradication of small pox did far more damage than good in the long run - an the virus plays a functional role in the human species as a whole.

There's another reason. We know the Soviets were working on a smallpox-based bioweapon even as the erradication was underway. Those samples are unaccounted for - and it was being cultured by the ton.

A group in New Zealand was doing research on mouse pox (the mouse equivalent of smallpox) and inserted the genes for an immune cytokine into the virus (cytokines are used to coordinate immune response within the host). This acted to, effectively, jam the mouse's immune system. The virus had a 100% fatality rate against unvaccinated mice and a 60-something% mortality rate against vaccinated mice.

While there is reason to believe that trying this same thing with humans would not work quite as well... it would still substantially improve the effectiveness of the virus. Worse - pox viruses are very easy to work with and this level of genetic engineering can be done in any high school biology lab.

Small Pox is endemic to humans. There is no other virus better suited to infecting us. While we may have erradicated it - to believe it is gone (even from nature) is the pinnacle of our hubris. When it returns, it will do so with a vengeance as we lack the vaccine resources to deal with it. The longer we go without it - the worse it's going to be, and the more dangerous those rogue samples of small pox become.

Groups like the one responsible for the Sarin gas attack in Japan were known to be seeking samples of Level IV viruses like Ebola (even sending members to affected regions in attempts to gain samples). Those are viruses with 90% mortality rates. While not nearly as communicable as Small Pox - the fact they are even looking for such highly lethal viruses suggests they would be willing to accept practically suicidal bioweapons (such as small pox designed to trigger cytokine storms).

I was listening to this music while I was writing this post. It good, although I don't really like techno. I much prefer house music to techno.

I'm a little more partial to the type of music in these types of things:

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That one has some impressive animation synched to it. I suspect the bad-ass elf dude is an Uzumaki - that was a pretty elaborate sealing technique, there (and that is totally how I want to die - "Well... shit... world's ending... *last-minute-time-machine-no-jutsu* you ****s fix this!" )

Though I'm a little more partial to:

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I've decided that song is Hanabi's theme song (at least for my fan-fiction).

Floor Jansen's spin on "Ever Dream" would be Hinata's... though finding the best of her performances is difficult, particularly considering that the best one seems to be from their Argentina appearance and the crowd was hellbent on out-singing the band:

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By the way - Floor is a goddess. While on deployment, Zune recommended to me that I check out this band called "After Forever." After listening to a few of their songs, I though: "Damn... I wonder what it would be like to have their vocalist guest sing with Nightwish. That could be pretty awesome." I get back state-side, and find out that very thing happened.

Now if only that worked with lottery tickets: "Hmm... I wonder what it would be like to win the lottery this drawing. ... Whoa! So this is what it'd be like!"

So your a little bit German?

Mostly German, as far as I know. Both of my grandfathers were heavily German. My father's mother was mostly German. My mother's mother supposedly had some Cherokee in her (and I'd believe it) - though I'm not sure where a lot of her heritage lay. That side of the family is classic Ozark Hick (though in a good way... mostly...). My dad's side of the family is where I get a lot of my engineering savvy from - it's so much a part of their heritage that I wonder if it's genetic, by now.

There's actually a road in St. Ann, Missouri (a metropolitan region of St. Louis), near my great grandfather's hardware store/sheet metal shop, that bears my family name. It's not much - but that little historic landmark reminds me that there's a heritage to me and a responsibility that I must uphold. Not to my past - but to my future; what will I contribute to the meaning of the last name bestowed upon my children and grandchildren?

Though you didn't get much more German than my dad. One of his shirts read: "You can always tell a German, but you can't tell him much." ... Wish I still had him around to learn from. He was one of the few practitioners of the dark arts of diecast manufacturing. I'm sure he took some knowledge with him to the grave. ... Funny little story - when he and my mom were planning to build a house after I was born - they had a horrible time getting contractors to build the thing, because my dad used a lot of 'complex' and 'difficult' cuts and structures.

After my mom - we talked a lot about the possibility of his passing... so that helped ease some of the grief process... but there are a lot of times I set to work on something and go: "Man... I wish I could call him to make sure I was doing this right or see if he has any pointers."

But then, there are times when I tackle stuff with confidence that my room mates are hesitant and/or have no confidence in doing - and I realize how much I did learn from him.

But, at this point, I'm just rambling about my family.

This girl reminded me of my super crazy dance =D when I go out in club with friends. =D

lol - while I find it difficult to properly articulate my appreciation of music through any form of dance I've discovered (spare for flailing randomly while pretending to slam various anime techniques into invisible enemies) - I can certainly appreciate the effort and enjoyment others get out of it.