Teresa Valdez Klein
361° of geekdom
Singer, Songwriter, Pianist. Also feminist, geek, subvertiser, thinker, doer. #music #tech #feminism #politics
TwitterFacebookFlickrYoutubeActually CAUGHT my BACKEND HEELS OFF tonight @ectrapeze!!! Holy Crumbs!!!
I thought I was just coming into the studio today to work on my swing - basically going through the rhythm and timing of building momentum while flying instead of losing it. The point of having a good swing is so that you can throw your tricks across to the catcher high up, keep momentum on the fly bar, and return to the bar and board after the catch.
Obviously, I'm a long way from being able to do that - but another reason to have a good swing is so that you can throw back end tricks. Everything I've thrown thus far is a front-end trick. That means you get into one position on the front of your swing, then jump into your final position on the back half.
In a back end trick, you go through the front half of a swing on the bar, then get immediately into the final position on the back half. You have only a couple of seconds to get yourself ready to get caught after that.
So I was working on my swing tonight and Dave - my instructor and a truly badass flyer - came over and said, "why not try a back end trick?"
So....I tried it.
Thanks so much to Colleen on the boards, Brent on spot and Kevin "Catching Dreams" Flint on catch trap. Also thanks to Gravey Davey for saying, "hell Teresa, I think you're ready."
She reminds me of my little sister
And absolutely her father's daughter. Brilliant!
Caught my single reverse knee hang tonight at @ectrapeze!!!
This trick is one of the harder ones I've tried. For one thing, it's my first bar trick - that means that instead of grabbing the catcher's hands, the catcher presents a bar that you need to grab. It's also my first trick that requires a reverse, this means that you grip underhand with your right hand, then cross hands and grip over with your left. After the takeoff, you do a pirouette in the air, regrip the bar, hook a knee and then wait for the catcher to present the bar. It all happens in only three swings, so there's really no time to think.
If you want to try this, visit www.emeraldcitytrapeze.com.
Thanks to Milla on Board, Brian on Spot and the illustrious Brent on the Catch Trap.
Sex and the Single User: How Relationship Status SHOULD Impact the Facebook Experience
I've spent the last year figuring out what the hell to do with my life in the aftermath of a seven year relationship ending. All the while, I've gotten to watch friend after friend excitedly change their Facebook status to "engaged," post ring photos, and then share bazillions of shots of the ensuing weddings and babies. Yes, I'm happy for all of my friends who are engaged and newly married. Yes, your child is so delightfully adorable that I just want to EAT HIS FACE! But perhaps there are other cool things we can be talking about on Facebook, and making a giant fuss over in general?
Because lately the only thing I've been thinking when I've logged into Facebook is, "when did everyone's life suddenly become all about getting married and having kids? And where does that leave me?"
I'm actually pretty convinced that at least some of the people who are getting "engaged" are half-heartedly jumping into that commitment because a bunch of other people just announced that they're "engaged" on Facebook. I'm not thinking of anyone in particular, just saying that statistically, there's at least a few - and that's not good or fair to anyone. Relationships are hard enough without all this social pressure bearing down on us all the damn time.
So I propose a solution. I think Facebook should start making use of all the information it has about current and former relationship status - length of relationship status, recency of change, etc. - to make the user experience just more inclusive for those of us who have absolutely no idea when, or if, we'll get our turn to be the special shiny girl in the pretty white dress.
Here are some example customer requirements to consider:
1. Dealing with the Ex
Where a user has a relationship status of "single" or no relationship status, but was previously "in a relationship," for twice the length of time the user was "in a relationship," the system shall not:
- Serve the user photos of the person of anyone they were ever "in a relationship" with in the "Photo Memories" box.
- Serve the user photos of the person they were ever "in a relationship" with in the News Feed.
- Serve the user status updates from the person they were ever "in a relationship" with.
- Send the user notifications that the user they were ever "in a relationship" with has commented on or "liked" anything they said or did.
2. Dealing with EVERYONE ELSE in the ENTIRE WORLD who is GETTING MARRIED!!!! (OMG OMG!!!)
Where a user has a relationship status that has recently been changed from "in a relationship," for twice the length of time the user was "in a relationship," the system shall not:
- Serve the user any updates from other users indicating that their relationship status has changed to "in a relationship," enaged" or "married."
- Serve the user any photos in the News Feed that are tagged with people who have recently changed their relationship status to "in a relationship," "engaged," or "married."
- Serve the user any photos in the News Feed that contain the words "wedding," "ring," "ceremony," "reception," or "vows."
3. Dealing with Ads
Where a user has a relationship status that has recently been changed from "in a relationship," for twice the length of time the user was "in a relationship," the system shall not:
- Serve the user ads for engagement rings
- Serve the user ads for dating sites
4. What to do instead
Where a user has a relationship status that has recently been changed from "in a relationship," for twice the length of time the user was "in a relationship," the system shall inundate the user with how cool it is to be single. Specifically, the system shall:
- Serve the user mostly status updates from other "single" friends in their area talking about all the fun stuff there is to do when you're single - travel, enjoy free time, not having to make any compromises whatsoever in the way you want to live.
- Serve the user status updates when users change their status from "in a relationship" to "single" so that the user can offer to take them out and get them drunk.
- Serve the user interesting events their single friends are going to that they can RSVP "Maybe" to in case they don't have anything better to do that night.
- Serve the user adverts for trips to foreign countries targeted at young people.
- Serve the user photos of recent trips their single friends took from their exciting, last-minute trips to foreign countries.
Because - Yes, Virginia - there are a lot of great things about being single. It's time Facebook started being one of them.
This is what happens to your hands when you're a trapeze addict.
And yet, you can bet I'll be back there Thursday.
Yep. Best day of my life.
Mr. Stewart was very gracious, even as he refused to pose for photos or shake hands. He explained that he has to stay as healthy as possible. So cool to speak with him though, even briefly. Even in his 70's, he's easily one of the sexiest men I've ever seen.
Too bad he's married...
