Dark Alex's Really Long Post Thread.

[Alex]

Ever had something on your mind? Something that you just couldn't get to sleep for wondering about? Was it something deeply troubling in your personal life, or of great import to the world?

Well here is the kind of thing that keeps me awake at night.

Last night as I went to bed to join Kristi I thought about how every single woman I have ever shared a bed with has taken up 75% to 90% of the available bed space, normally by lying in the middle and then spreading over to my side of the bed, so I get my 10 to 25% of the bed to get in to.

Lets assume this is a rough constant for most of the human race. Does that mean that in gay relationships men each cling to an opposite edge of the bed with a vast empty expanse in the middle, and in female relationships they have grabbed so much of the available bed space that they end up switching sides?

I must ask Dirk, Cath or Fi about that one the next time I see them.

[Alex]

Yup, this is my life. No doubt when the baby arrives he too will somehow manage to claim a portion of my bedspace, even though I have said the baby does not get to sleep in the bed with the adults.

[Alex]

Something I saw about torture today made me think of interrogations.

The most effective 'interrogation' I have ever seen was done with nothing more than a cup of tea and a kind word. The guy was absolutely terrified about what was going to happen to him and when they brought him in for questioning he was shaking with fear. One of his captors sat down across from him, asked him if he was ok and offered him a cup of tea.

Something inside him just immediately broke. He started crying and pouring out every kind of detail you could possibly want.

The really strange thing was, it was only an exercise but this guy... wow. I mean don't get me wrong they make these things as real as possible and that includes getting seven bells knocked out of you and all the other things you can expect if you end up as a POW, but still. It really is amazing some of the techniques that these people have that don't involve violence and how they can watch group interactions and pick out who is what rank just from observing how many people talk to someone.

Ever seen the experiment where they divided up volunteers into two groups and made one lots prisoners and the other prison guards, or where they make people think they are giving someone electric shocks and tell them to keep upping the voltage? People really can be strange creatures.

I think my favourite was one Paul McKenna done where they designed an arcade machine where you were to shoot zombies. The game would hypnotise the person and while they were in the suggestable state, the put the people in a warehouse, with a fake gun beside them and had them people in zombie make up walk towards them. Wish I could find that segment online to put it up here.

EDIT: Thank you ER for correcting me. Here is the clip.

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[ER]

Something I saw about torture today made me think of interrogations.

The most effective 'interrogation' I have ever seen was done with nothing more than a cup of tea and a kind word. The guy was absolutely terrified about what was going to happen to him and when they brought him in for questioning he was shaking with fear. One of his captors sat down across from him, asked him if he was ok and offered him a cup of tea.

Something inside him just immediately broke. He started crying and pouring out every kind of detail you could possibly want.

The really strange thing was, it was only an exercise but this guy... wow. I mean don't get me wrong they make these things as real as possible and that includes getting seven bells knocked out of you and all the other things you can expect if you end up as a POW, but still. It really is amazing some of the techniques that these people have that don't involve violence and how they can watch group interactions and pick out who is what rank just from observing how many people talk to someone.

Ever seen the experiment where they divided up volunteers into two groups and made one lots prisoners and the other prison guards, or where they make people think they are giving someone electric shocks and tell them to keep upping the voltage? People really can be strange creatures.

I think my favourite was one Paul McKenna done where they designed an arcade machine where you were to shoot zombies. The game would hypnotise the person and while they were in the suggestable state, the put the people in a warehouse, with a fake gun beside them and had them people in zombie make up walk towards them. Wish I could find that segment online to put it up here.

 I think Derren Brown did a variation of that zombie experiment.

[Alex]

Something I saw about torture today made me think of interrogations.

The most effective 'interrogation' I have ever seen was done with nothing more than a cup of tea and a kind word. The guy was absolutely terrified about what was going to happen to him and when they brought him in for questioning he was shaking with fear. One of his captors sat down across from him, asked him if he was ok and offered him a cup of tea.

Something inside him just immediately broke. He started crying and pouring out every kind of detail you could possibly want.

The really strange thing was, it was only an exercise but this guy... wow. I mean don't get me wrong they make these things as real as possible and that includes getting seven bells knocked out of you and all the other things you can expect if you end up as a POW, but still. It really is amazing some of the techniques that these people have that don't involve violence and how they can watch group interactions and pick out who is what rank just from observing how many people talk to someone.

Ever seen the experiment where they divided up volunteers into two groups and made one lots prisoners and the other prison guards, or where they make people think they are giving someone electric shocks and tell them to keep upping the voltage? People really can be strange creatures.

I think my favourite was one Paul McKenna done where they designed an arcade machine where you were to shoot zombies. The game would hypnotise the person and while they were in the suggestable state, the put the people in a warehouse, with a fake gun beside them and had them people in zombie make up walk towards them. Wish I could find that segment online to put it up here.

 I think Derren Brown did a variation of that zombie experiment.

Might have been him I saw do it and I've gotten the pair mixed up. Also might explain why I couldn't find any clips of it lol.

[Alex]

I have spent today very angry. I can always tell when I am about to explode, I get super polite when I am talking to people, my hands are curled up into super tight balls that after about half an hour will be causing cramp, but I'll still keep them tensed up anyway and when I am walking my arms won't swing at my sides at all.

The reason for my mood swing? Well my older brother who is currently working out of the country and not visiting the UK more than a few days a year so he doesn't have to pay tax put up a post saying that anyone wishing to use a hospital in the UK should have their passport checked first and if they are not from here they get no treatment.

I pointed out to him that one, my wife has a passport from the USA (and since she is an immigrant I had to pay a hefty surcharge for her to use the NHS). My son is going to have duel citizenship, so he will have an American passport (ok, he will also have a British one but still).

I pointed out to him that while he is dodging paying his taxes, his wife and family back in the UK are still free to enjoy the benefits of being here without actually paying for them.

This was first thing in the morning that I saw his post. I have spent the rest of the day getting increasingly angry. This isn't the first time he has posted something like this and it isn't the first time I have pulled him up about it in return, but it is the first time I have seriously considered that if he doesn't back down and apologise that I will tell him that he is no longer welcome in my house, and has no place in my life any more. Although I am also tempted to offer to book out the boxing ring at work if he really has such a big problem with this. The great thing about that is you can punch lumps out of each other in there and it is all perfectly legal.

[ER]

I have spent today very angry. I can always tell when I am about to explode, I get super polite when I am talking to people, my hands are curled up into super tight balls that after about half an hour will be causing cramp, but I'll still keep them tensed up anyway and when I am walking my arms won't swing at my sides at all.

The reason for my mood swing? Well my older brother who is currently working out of the country and not visiting the UK more than a few days a year so he doesn't have to pay tax put up a post saying that anyone wishing to use a hospital in the UK should have their passport checked first and if they are not from here they get no treatment.

I pointed out to him that one, my wife has a passport from the USA (and since she is an immigrant I had to pay a hefty surcharge for her to use the NHS). My son is going to have duel citizenship, so he will have an American passport (ok, he will also have a British one but still).

I pointed out to him that while he is dodging paying his taxes, his wife and family back in the UK are still free to enjoy the benefits of being here without actually paying for them.

This was first thing in the morning that I saw his post. I have spent the rest of the day getting increasingly angry. This isn't the first time he has posted something like this and it isn't the first time I have pulled him up about it in return, but it is the first time I have seriously considered that if he doesn't back down and apologise that I will tell him that he is no longer welcome in my house, and has no place in my life any more. Although I am also tempted to offer to book out the boxing ring at work if he really has such a big problem with this. The great thing about that is you can punch lumps out of each other in there and it is all perfectly legal.

How annoying.

Speaking of, ever seen what a tax cheat Bono is? In 2006 I got sent a gripe heavy letter for a tax bill from the Revenue Commissioners in Ireland for interest earned on US income since I was there long enough to make my domestic taxes active, and what I owed was not much more than the cost of paying some civil servant in Dublin to bill me, and I thought, oh, sure, come after me for being there a lousy few months in 2004-2005, and yet Bono gets off owing something close to a quarter-billion, and no one is saying a word to him? (Well, at the time, maybe he's reformed now, who knows.) I paid but I didn't listen to Achtung, Baby for a while.

[Alex]

As much as Bono has done some good and I love some of U2's tracks (especially The Joshua Tree) for many years now the guy has been stuck so far up his own ass that I am surprised he hasn't collapsed into his own black hole. I also love listening to Iron Maiden, but view their lead singer as being a total egotistical a***ole whom I once had the pleasure of chasing after with a 2 by 4 while shouting obscenities at.

But that is a whole different story. That was Evil Alex, and I killed him.

Or did he kill me and take my place? Pretty sure one of those options happened. Oh well.

Oh, if you don't see me here for a while btw, it means I have logged on to fb, seen whatever my brother has replied to my posts and as expected he hasn't apologised and then... well I am either on the run or doing prison time. Unfortunately he has a lot of my father in him.

[ER]

U2 is an odd band. The guys turn out total garbage album after album, and just when you're about to write them off, they release something that ranks among the best that's ever been done in the history of rock and roll. I'd say they're due any time now.

Also the mostly reconstituted Pumpkins are coming to Columbus soon. Yaaaay!

[Alex]

Really hoping the strange dream depository is filled with people who had strange dreams about being stalked by Wyre Wizard last night now.

Still staying off facebook today. I am going to log in and deal with that at some point, but am just trying not to go in ready to rip heads off already.

Got my mum pinned down to when she is coming to visit finally, so her and my sister will be here on Monday. No idea how long they are visiting for, but she'll be here for her birthday so we are taking her out for a meal. We are just debating on where we are taking her.

Well Kristi is debating where we are taking her. I was asked where I wanted to take her, I said where I wanted to go and three days later she is still debating with herself on where we should go.

She is so turning into her mother.

Hmm, when we got married she told me that if she ever turned into her mother I would be allowed to go for a non contest divorce. Should I remind her of this, or would I rather keep my head on my shoulders?

[ER]

Something I saw about torture today made me think of interrogations.

The most effective 'interrogation' I have ever seen was done with nothing more than a cup of tea and a kind word. The guy was absolutely terrified about what was going to happen to him and when they brought him in for questioning he was shaking with fear. One of his captors sat down across from him, asked him if he was ok and offered him a cup of tea.

Something inside him just immediately broke. He started crying and pouring out every kind of detail you could possibly want.

The really strange thing was, it was only an exercise but this guy... wow. I mean don't get me wrong they make these things as real as possible and that includes getting seven bells knocked out of you and all the other things you can expect if you end up as a POW, but still. It really is amazing some of the techniques that these people have that don't involve violence and how they can watch group interactions and pick out who is what rank just from observing how many people talk to someone.

Ever seen the experiment where they divided up volunteers into two groups and made one lots prisoners and the other prison guards, or where they make people think they are giving someone electric shocks and tell them to keep upping the voltage? People really can be strange creatures.

You British are masters of interrogation. Without laying a rude finger on someone they can have the most hardened Fenian singing God Save the Queen inside of an hour. Y’all got it down to a science even better than we do.

[Alex]

Something I saw about torture today made me think of interrogations.

The most effective 'interrogation' I have ever seen was done with nothing more than a cup of tea and a kind word. The guy was absolutely terrified about what was going to happen to him and when they brought him in for questioning he was shaking with fear. One of his captors sat down across from him, asked him if he was ok and offered him a cup of tea.

Something inside him just immediately broke. He started crying and pouring out every kind of detail you could possibly want.

The really strange thing was, it was only an exercise but this guy... wow. I mean don't get me wrong they make these things as real as possible and that includes getting seven bells knocked out of you and all the other things you can expect if you end up as a POW, but still. It really is amazing some of the techniques that these people have that don't involve violence and how they can watch group interactions and pick out who is what rank just from observing how many people talk to someone.

Ever seen the experiment where they divided up volunteers into two groups and made one lots prisoners and the other prison guards, or where they make people think they are giving someone electric shocks and tell them to keep upping the voltage? People really can be strange creatures.

You British are masters of interrogation. Without laying a rude finger on someone they can have the most hardened Fenian singing God Save the Queen inside of an hour. Y’all got it down to a science even better than we do.

I dunno, I always liked the whole windowless room and denial of REM sleep thing.

[ER]

Ever had to face an interrogation exercise yourself, Alex? Aren't they a mess?

They are not cool things to go through, let alone see done to someone else. Even sitting in a freezing room, playing along, knowing they can't "really" do their worst, that they're on your side and it's all playing, it starts getting inside your head. You're bored, you're miserable, you want to get up, you want to sleep, it's cold, it's humiliating, you're trying to out think the others in charge but they hold too many variables, you're trying to keep an assigned secret for the purposes of the exercise, what do they know, what don't they know, all you have to do is tell and you can walk away but the longer you hold you the better you've done, but Jesus you want it to end, it's not fun, it is like your own brain starts splintering while your body groans in misery and the simplest thing you take for granted, like being able to stand up, or walk to the restroom, or get a drink of water, or get some sleep, or have the slightest privacy, it's all gone.

Anyone who shows you an ounce of compassion in that situation brings on an involuntary reflex to want to reach out to him or her no matter how much you KNOW that's part of it.

And that's just the training aspect. The real thing must be horrific to endure.

Add in fear of relatives' safety, or the idea relatives might be spared the worst if the person under the dot cooperates, and people start spilling without being touched.

Tell them kindly, "You know your people are going to suspect your family, but they don't know yet. We want to make them safe, please, for them, just give us something, and we'll pull them out, take them to a safe location."

Swear to God, the toughest Effies cry like children. Talking the talk's different from walking the walk.

As the Israelis been saying for years, beating someone is actually not effective if you want pinpoint information. Sure pain can crack someone, but what use is something said to stop torture? No one smart tortures. If someone tortures a subject, it's sign one you're dealing with an amateur....or someone holding a personal grudge. Grudges get you killed.

You know what works horribly well? When someone soils himself, either from stress and fear or the simple deprivation of being allowed to get up and go to the restroom, and they're left sitting in it. That seems to present a crisis that strikes at the heart of dignity and adulthood. Not so tough sitting in your own filth, are you, mate?

Ummm, back to regularly scheduled programming now?

[Alex]

We used to get capture and interogation courses. Basically you get dropped off in the middle of a wilderness area (yes, we still actually do have some in the UK), and you are supposed to evade capture by some special forces guys. At some point they will decide you've been out there long enough and just pick you up. I am sure they can do it pretty much at will. No matter how clever you think you are, they know how to find you.

Oh and the worst thing you can do at that point is decide you are a big hard man (or woman for that matter) who is going to fight his/her way out of it. Expect to have bones broken if you try this one.

Anyway, when they do get you, its bag over the head time and its time to see what you'd be put through if you got captured for real which can involve a whole variety of techniques.

I do agree that violent techniques are rarely productive. You'll say anything to get that to stop at some point, but how do you tell the truth from the lies? There are ways out there of breaking anyone no matter how tough you are without laying a finger on you, although being violent to someone else and making the person you are interogating watch seems to work well. I know that's one I struggle with. You can hit me a fair bit and I'll take so much, but threaten to hit someone else, especially a woman and that's it.

Ever seen someone held in a room and told they can leave if the soil themselves first? It seems about 90% of people are totally unable to do that no matter what they are offered, even their freedom. They have to be left until they just can't hold it anymore.

Ooooh, aren't we being all cloak and dagger today lol?

[Alex]

So got off work today at half two, which was a really nice early stack. Got home and Kristi was sleeping bless her. Cuddled her for a while and then got up to keep the cat amused and change his tray. Which always seems to need changed. It cat poop was a tradeable asset I'd be a rich man and be able to employ someone else to empty it for me.

Damn those venture capitalists. When the revolution comes they are going to be one of the first ones up against the wall. Although for all the people I don't like I might need to get a special super long wall built.

I wonder if I could get Mexico to pay for it?

Overheard it being debated today wither British politicians were messing up their country more or if the USA's were. The final decision was that the UK is in the lead on messing things up, but the US still has one hell of a Trump card to play.

I still suspect Gerald is behind it all. Illuminati my ass.

Completely surprised the cat earlier when I started dancing around the man cave singing me some Rob Zombie. Specifically his cover of 'I'm Your Boogie Man'.

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He then surprised me when I was doing the dishes. He was sitting behind me and I swear he must have been flying through the air as I saw him out of the corner of my eye shoot past my shoulder and land on a worktop six feet away. For now I am going to settle for a beer, but later on I think I'll be having me an exorcism just in case that little bugger is possessed.

Kristi is getting a bit upset. She doesn't like me arguing with my older brother and my younger one is trying to get us to alter all the plans we'd made for my mum's birthday. She burst into tears, so I dragged her off to lie down in bed with me and let her just cry until she felt better. Then I dug into my emergency supply of chocolate I keep for unhappy women and now I am playing music she likes.

Mostly this involves cheesy 80's rock, although right now it's

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which to my mind anyway is a classic tune.

One of these days I am going to listen to that little voice inside and make life a lot simpler and less stressful.

But then if life was fair I'd have had torrid affairs with Michelle Pfeiffer, Debbie Harry and Sandra Bullock.

All at the same time.

Got a load of Kitten food that Dagon wouldn't eat (about a months supply of Whiska's he won't touch and lamb flavour Felix). I have been looking for someone to give it to and not finding anyone (And yes I had considered mailing it to AOTFan). I was sure one of the women at work had something to do with a cat charity but it turned out I was wrong. Someone did suggest though donating it to the foodbank we have in work. Hadn't really ever thought of putting pet food in there, but hopefully it will help some poor family out. Also put in a load of shower gels since I can no longer use them (got to use soap).

Lol, KISS just came on with Love Gun. THis song has creeped Kristi out ever since I informed her what a Love Gun would actually be.

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Then I explained pretty much that was what every KISS song is about. Her (at that time) 14 year old neice was promptly banned from listening to them (her favourite band). Wonder if I should point out what AC/DC's songs are about?