I had another email from Supershadow over the weekend.

At this stage I am used to being castigated for my evil lifestyle and how bad I am for seeing the world the way I do, but this email was different.  Maybe all the previous emails were just bluff [and guff] but SS seems to have undergone a transformation and is being nice and friendly for a change.

Good day

And a very good day to you Sir,

I noticed your travails setting up your new broadband with great interest. I have seen other bloggers have the
same issues but are not as persistent as you without giving up and sticking with what they have.
This is clearly your passion.

Well, no.  My passion is to enjoy life but that's beside the point.  I was persistent because I like challenges, and also confess to a desire to beat the odds that life [and broadband providers] chuck in my path.  Some might call it pig-headedness.

There are two reasons why I wanted to change broadband.  One was to save some cash and the other was that the neighbour's trees were starting to block my signal.  I think that's more a case of practicality over passion?

Recently we have had the unfortunate task of having a vote to expel one of our members, because methods
used to realize the fruits of his passion were deemed too extreme.

The vote will take place next week and in many ways you have influenced how I intend to vote.
In order to explain I will have to give you the back story:-

Now this is a turnip for the books [as my old aunt used to say].  I am flattered.

Jedi daoku vorkuss is a passionate star war fan who resides with his elderly mother and his 2 dogs near
Redondo Beach Los Angeles County.
Being 52 years old hes of the first generation of star wars fans. i.e. he saw the original film in the cinema, more precisely the Regal Cinema back in 1977. Like all more passionate star wars fan's he has spent his life trying to experience the exact emotions, feelings and experiences he felt that day ..the smell of popcorn, the rolling text, the john Williams music, the seats, the fashions , the hairstyles, even the sound system.

Hmmmmm.  A jedi aged 52 who lives with his mother [and 2 dogs]?  A picture is beginning to form in my mind here.  However I can understand that feeling of trying to capture The Moment.  It’s like chain-smoking cigarettes in the desperate hope that the next one will taste like that first glorious inhale at the back of the bike shed.  I’m still waiting in the hopes that my next pint of stout will taste like the first [or that’s my excuse, anyway].

Think back grandad to when you first heard your favorite song on an LP. some time later you may change
the playback speed from 33 to 45 and suddenly the change in pitch makes it sound like a whole new song
again – at least for a while.

Strangely enough, I never tried deliberately listening to my records at different speeds.  Maybe I missed out on a whole alternative way of listening to music?  I did sometimes forget to change the speed of the record player though but that didn't exactly enhance things.  Should I try drinking my Guinness more quickly or slowly to recapture the moment?  Should I regurgitate it in the desperate hope that it will taste better?

daoku began watching star wars at different playback rates in order to do this but again it only lasted a
while.
He then purchased the exact cinema seats that were there in 1977 and placed them in his living room.He purchased 40 shop floor dummies, dressed them in 1970's clothes, placed them on the seats and watched star wars until the small hours.

It was all good, but again..only for a while.

Ah here now!  That's just a little shade over the top?  I think we're beginning to enter the realms of Professional Help here?

daoku then tried to source  the exact sound system used in the cinema in 1977. He was unable to source the amplifier but he was able to purchase the original Altec a7 Surround Loudspeakers from eBay.

Again he he was back in 1977 …but only for a while.

But he wasn't.  He had replicated everything but his age [and innocence?]  Maybe he is hoping to reverse time as the next phase?

He then did what most people (even hardcore star wars fans would consider extreme) – He began watching
the movie in reverse.

Yes.  Definitely.  Call the nice men in the white coats.  I'm sure they have a nice comfy little room with nice soft walls all waiting for him?

2 weeks ago his elderly mother tripped and fell over a shop floor dummy daoku had left on the floor.
There have also been complaints from neighbors about the noise. (not surprising as large bass reflex
Altecs will make a lot of noise, especially in the confines of a small living room)

daoku's siblings have told him to get out of the house.

What surprises me about this is not that they want him out of the place, but how long it took them to realise that he was a complete and utter fruitcake.  They should really have copped on when he started filling the place with dummies. 

This is the background grandad and many of the council at coruscant want him expelled.
however next weeks vote is expected to be close.

The question is how will I vote?. Lets be honest this is all about passion and the extremes we will go
too to achieve our dreams.

I think you know the answer to that, SS?  He is way beyond delusional and lost in La La Land.  He has as much chance of recapturing that moment as he has of recapturing his virginity.  I think the time has come for him to move to that nice little Home for the Terminally Bewildered?  Don't you?  Or has the council considered euthenasia?  It would be kinder in the long run.

Look at your own situation. your passion is your website and the broadband speed you need to keep it
going.
Prior to your current system you put a bigger mast on your roof to compete with growing trees.
A man of advancing years  risking life and limb climbing on to a roof to realize his passion.

Meh.  I would call it more of a hobby than a passion.  And standing on a flat roof twiddling a few nuts and bolts is hardly risking life and limb?  But thanks for taking my welfare into consideration.  No one else did.

At least daoku is not risking his life. are you really any different from daoku vorkus? Are the people
who jump out of planes to parachute for the trill any different?

Am I really any different?  Are you serious?  And comparing an insane quest to go back in time with just a spot of recreation is really an extreme case of chalk and Camembert. 

There's nothing that compares to the emotional effect on the Jedi just before the movie starts. The trickle of panic through the chest, the seed of happiness blooming inside, the pressure behind the eyes before they fill with tears as the star wars logo appears on screen. It's a wonder how some people like yourself  can take a deep breath and push this away while others have no choice but to succumb.

Ah yes!  That moment when I plonk my arse on the bar stool and give Pullit the nod.  Watching the liquid foam into the glass.  The delicious anticipation of watching the pint settle before he fills it to the brim.  The wait.  Stroking the condensation off the glass to watch the bubbles rise to form the perfect head.  Happy days.

Either way grandad, at this stage of your life even you realize you cannot make and omelette without breaking a few eggs.

I learned that a long time ago.

Take Care,
Supershadow

And take care yourself, SS.  We must meet up for a pint sometime?

Grandad