jmc

I have seen e-mail addresses posted on Web sites as: "someone AT somenetwork DOT whatever" -- instead of the more familiar: "someone@somenetwork.whatever" -- presumably to foil spammers. Does this work? And would it work here? Of course, it will probably be about another fifteen minutes before the spammers modify their data mining packages to recognize the obfuscated e-mail addresses.

Maybe there would be less strife and war if women were running the countries.

. . .not so sure about that. Ever seen women go after each other? It can be downright nasty!

Yeah, I agree -- getting old sucks. But the alternative sucks even more!!! Either way, we ain't got much choice. . .

I voted "I don't care either way" which seems to be a viewpoint shared by a distinct minority. I don't care because I generally skip Mr. Turbo's posts. I do not come here for political debate, if I were seeking political debate I am fairly certain that the Internet offers such forums elsewhere. Instead, I consider this forum to be a place where we can all engage in a lighthearted discussion of a subject we all hold dear.

Well, either way someone must have had a party under that one tree -- there's a good 50 pairs up there!

I have a question I'd like to present to the forum. It's not a life-changing, soul- searching, or even a world- changing question, it's just a product of simple curiosity. I am posting it here because it has a little bit to do with shoes and I've noticed a some members here have some expertise in that subject . More importantly, this forum has members with backgrounds in cultures all over the world so I figure somebody here might know about this. In my travels around the USA I have occasionally noticed a tree in which some number of shoes has been hung -- usually by the laces but if the particular shoe is so equipped, by straps or other means. Sometimes it's a lot of shoes, like in the hundreds while other times it is just a couple dozen. Some look like they have bee thrown up there and looped around a sturdy branch, others look like somebody climbed a ladder and carefully placed them there. The shoes seem to be always in pairs, and in a goodly array of styles. They usually appear to be worn, sometimes heavily -- although some have been there a while and it may be hard to tell. I have seen work boots, sneakers (or trainers for those of you on the other side of the big puddle), sandals, wing tips, klompen (Dutch wooden shoes), hiking boots, and even high heels suspended in such trees. One tree had a pair of ice skates hanging from a branch (I worried about those laces deteriorating to the point where the skates would fall from that tree. That could be dangerous for somebody standing below.) The trees themselves always seem to be old, sturdy maples and they are usually located near a highway. Okay, the question -- Is there some significance to this? I have not been able to find anybody who could tell me anything about this practice -- Is it a custom somewhere? Is it for "good luck" or to ward off evil -- or to leave a mark for posterity? I have a feeling there has to be something interesting behind all this. Thanks.

Wow -- 4100 posts -- thatsa lotta typing!

Malcontents, agitators, chronic complainers, know-it-alls. . . They say "it takes all kinds to make a world", we deal with these types in all walks of life. Best to just recognize them and ignore them because as the article says, we're not going to change them. There are people who just delight in being contrary. Maybe they have nothing else in their lives (which is sad) but why should I make their problems mine?

Yeee-Hawww! Back in cowboy boots again -- (post-hack, that is)!

I have a trick for getting labels off -- especially useful for those nasty ones where the label peels off and leaves the glue behind. As mentioned earlier, solvents may work in these cases but I have found that a solvent strong enough to do some good often has some other unpleasant side-effect (such as smearing coloring or partially dissolving the underlying surface). For those nasty gobs of goo that some labels leave behind I use a piece of sticky tape to lift the remaining adhesive off. I find that ordinary masking tape works, apply it to the gooey area and press it down good. I usually rub it briskly with a fingernail to get good adhesive contact. Then peel the tape back gently and more often than not the gooey mess sticks to the tape harder than it sticks to the surface. It may take several applications like this to lift away all the goo but it works and leaves no residue. I have used "Scotch" tape in this way, as well as vinyl electrical tape. But ordinary masking tape seems to work as well as anything.

I use Mozilla Firefox and I open multiple tabs all the time. I open each thread I want to read in a separate tab -- I'm on dialup so I can be downloading threads B, C, D, etc. while I'm reading thread "A". Works like a champ and I've never had any problems. As long as the site comes up I can open 20 or more tabs!

Do you suppose it could be the time of year? The weather's warm and there are places to go and things to do -- other than being online. I think the activity level on most boards decreases with the summer season. Let's all hope the ladies come back when the season changes.

Wile E. Coyote (For anyone not familiar with classic cartoons, Wile E. Coyote is a cartoon character whose sole purpose in life is to catch a certain bird -- better known as the Road Runner -- and often gets blown up, shot from cannons, falls from incredible heights, run over by trains and flattened by steam-rollers in the process.)

I too noticed some down-time (meaning the site was inaccessible for a while) but I just figured it was Internet flakiness. The site was back on-line later. There are so many routers, switches, hubs and trunk lines involved in the functionality of the Internet that it's hard to tell exactly where the problem lies. If something doesn't work just try again later. If a server truly is down, the outage will persist and there's not all that much we can do about it from this side of the keyboard.

The shortest, simplest answer to your question is: Yes. Okay, I'm not trying to be flippant here. But as a red-blooded guy I have some views on with this issue. Speaking from my own personal preference I like all of the above -- and none of the above. Sometimes. I like a woman who is comfortable with herself, a woman who knows who she is and has the confidence to be herself. Though she may not "click" with me that is of little consequence because if she (or I) were to change our makeup in some way to make ourselves compatible then one or both of us would be living a lie. This would be unfair to both of us. (I am of the belief -- my own personal opinion -- that a person cannot change his or her makeup, it is part of the soul and cannot be changed. Any attempt we make to do so is simply pretense and therefore phony. A great many psychologists would disagree with me but I tend to regard that entire field as nothing more than a bunch of charlatans.) Now I realize that I may be going far and away beyond the scope of your question -- you may have a night out in mind whereas I am talking more about a lifelong comitted relationship. But one thing does lead to another . . .

Your rendering is amazing -- they look absolutely real! The material in the oxfords has a realistic texture and the ballets are mirror-smooth and show the reflections of the lights. You can almost make out the weave in the laces! My compliments.

Please allow me to post my "2 cents' " worth (feel free to convert to your local monetary units as you see fit) as a former and long-time "lurker". I define a "lurker" as one who frequents this site, follows the threads and even follows links but has not registered. Thus, a "lurker" cannot post anything and cannot contribute to the board. I was a lurker for a good two years before I registered. As a guy, high heels are almost a taboo -- at least in the U.S. Midwest where I reside. Get caught in a pair of heels and you will have a rather un-flattering label attached to you for a good long time. So some of we lurkers are rather unwilling to de-cloak, even with the relative obscurity offered by the Internet. About the time I decided to register this board erupted in a veritable war between the women members and the men. Seems the women were perturbed (and rightly so) because they perceived the men were overtaking their forum and posting in the "For the Gals" area. This flaming war delayed my registration for a good six months -- I was not entirely sure the board was going to survive -- and if it did I was not sure I wanted to be involved with it. But finally I did register and have not regretted doing so. Now, I peruse the board roughly once a week -- sometimes more often and sometimes less. If I read something that strikes a chord within me, I will post a reply. I had a fair number of posts -- enough to get into the cowboy boots -- but then the miscreant hackers struck and a good half of my posts went to the bit-bucket. This noticeably decreased my desire to post more, which is unfortunate as it is not the fault of the board or any of its members (or even the lurkers for that matter). But something has to initiate a thought process before I'll post. In reading the material on this forum I have come to the conclusion that a fair number of the members operate in a mode similar to mine. Maybe I'm just projecting but that's the way it looks to me.

I also miss the ladies. And I'll miss Gene too. But I don't think the tone this thread has taken will do much to reverse either of these losses. Flame me if you want.

I always seem to be a little slow in catching up with movies -- basically if it has not been on DVD about five years I probably haven't seen it. True to that theme, I saw Shrek (the first one, not the sequel) for the first time three weeks ago! (Are they making the third one now?) So given this, Donkey is fresh in my mind. He is a wonderful character -- always ready with a one-line zinger that just fits the moment. He kind of reminds me of a cat -- able to pop up at the least expected moment. My DVD copy has some of the extra stuff -- like behind-the-scenes interviews with the directors and the animators as well as a look into some of the technology involved -- it is all simply amazing. The animators said that they studied the movements of dogs to characterize the way Donkey was going to move in the film -- he certainly turned out to be more agile than most real donkeys I have seen (all three or four of 'em). There was one outtake where they had a bug in Donkey's code and it made him look like a cross between a Saint Bernard and a chia pet. Kinda reminded me of a "tribble" from the old Star Trek series, only this tribble had four legs and talked! Yeah, I like Donkey -- he's a fun character. Although my favorite character was (not surprisingly) Fiona. The only thing missing with her was (taa-da-dah taa-da-dah taa-da-dah) a nice pair of heels! Although I suppose they might have posed a problem crossing that bridge! Might have to pick up a copy of Shrek 2 . . . someday.

AAAAAAAAACK! Back in loafers again! Oh well. . .

I think the moderators and technical folks who make this board run deserve a rollicking round of heartfelt kudos! I don't know what it takes to keep something like this going but the effort must be significant. It is also appreciated. Thanks to you all!

Interesting thread, and food for lots of thought. . .here's my two cents' worth: First, I find it to be easier to just be yourself. Don't put up a pretense because as soon as you do, you must buffer all your reactions through that pretense. As soon as you let that buffer lapse, even inadvertently, you create an inconsistency. Life is complicated enough without having to do all that mental processing. With that in mind I'm a guy who occasionally likes the feeling of a pair of heeled shoes or boots on his feet. Maybe not all the time and maybe not the extreme heights that cause pain and require extensive training but a nice pair three or four inchers. I like the feeling so much that I've gone out into the Real World in them. But here's the rub -- by the norms of society, heels are supposed to be for women. Not that there's any anatomical differences between the male and female foot but that's the way things are. It's an arbitrary situation and it has been discussed in length, breadth, and depth elsewhere on this board but that's reality. I also like heels on women. (I like women without heels too but a high heel imparts an extra measure of intrigue and beauty to any woman.) In fact, after looking at Gina's pictures in another thread on this board, I believe the ladies really have nothing to worry about from us guys. No matter what we wear nor how well we wear it, we'll never approach the level of grace, beauty and elegance that is part of a real lady's nature. (I know, I'm digressing.) So I come here because I find people who share some of my views. Occasionally I find material here that bolsters my confidence to go out in heels -- and I can truly say that I have never regretted doing that. Were I in search of sexual tittillation, there are at least 1 x 10^9 other places I can go on the Internet to take care of my desires in a click. As a male heel enthusiast, I must keep my judgementalism under control. "Judge not lest thee be judged." So I am trying to work on open-mindedness, realizing that there are other people here who have different desires. So I pick and choose what I read here and what I take to heart, value -- like beauty -- is in the eye of the beholder.

I guess it's just my offbeat sense of humor showing through. I've been lurking around here so long I almost feel like I know some of you guys. But I do realize that none of you have ever heard from me before. The Internet is a funny place, people can pop up from out of nowhere. If the water thing was good for a chuckle that's great because that's how it was intended! Keep your heels dry!

trap

For sewing leather I've used a tool called a "sewing awl", it's a wooden handle with a heavy needle and a spool of thread attached. The handle is big enough that you can comfortably push the needle through the leather with your palm. The needle is similar to the needle used on a sewing machine, in fact it is the needle that would be used on a leather sewing machine. The thread is quite heavy -- almost like nylon fishing line -- and it is threaded through the eye of the needle. You start by unreeling a length of thread about 1-1/2 times the length of your seam and push this thread through the leather at the start of the seam. Then pull the free end of the thread through so it's on the back side of the seam and withdraw the awl. On each subsequent stitch, you push the needle through and then back it out about 1/8", creating a loop on the other side of the leather. Thread the free end of your thread through this loop, withdraw the needle, and pull the stitch tight. It's slow going but it works great for small leathercraft projects (I made a sheath for a knife this way and it worked beautifully). I got my "sewing awl" at Ben Franklin's but I found the same tool -- along with all kinds of thread, bobbins, and needles -- at the TandyLeather link mentioned in an earlier post. Check out http://www.tandyleather.com/prodinfo.asp?number=121600&variation=&aitem=11&mitem=13

It is listed as Sewing Awl Kit #1216-00, and it is the same item I have just described.

Have fun and good luck!