PC Rituals

[Oliwerko]

Hi there.

Another little poll here. I hope it'll be fun.

I want to ask you guys if you have any "PC rituals" - related to anything, from PC games, internet, etc... Like perhaps having your feet in cold water when you're browsing or anything like that. That's it. Don't be shy, I have also a weird one 

I'll start:

If possible, I try to make a woman character in any PC game (whole my life, I had one, maybe two exceptions). It may sound weird, but that's what I do. However, I still keep my male name (that's even more weird). It started looong ago when I played computer by my uncle - unreal tournament was it, I remember. I chose a woman character. And it sticked on me. So that's my ritual.

And yours ?

[Buckethead]

of course you pick a woman character when playing UT... their female models have less poly's so they are faster... duhh 

anyway... I don't really have any weird habits. Except maybe that I close the curtains so that no light shines on my screen.

[Oliwerko]

I assumed you sit in front of your computer with your bucket on your head, mwhahahaha.

[lo_res_man]

I light candles and burn incence, and write pentagrams on the floor all to invoke the spirit of the computer. no not true, but i do keep the moniter off until I think it is done loading. since I can usully find something else to do, it helps make the LONG time it takes for my computer to boot go faster.

[Akatosh]

I've been using the nickname "Akatosh" 99.99% of the time since 2003 (only exception is my E-Mail Address) whenever possible. Does that count?

[Oliwerko]

lo_res_man -> I used to do that long time ago. But it didn't stick to me like the woman characters.

Akatosh -> Yes, it's hard to make your name completely consistent on all sites.

[radiowaves]

A somehow end up wearing my thick and warm headphones all the time when I am sitting in my PC. And there is no music playing btw, I just warm my ears or something...

[Stupot]

Yeh Stupot isn't the most original name so I'm lucky when I can get it.

Any rituals?... Well I always keep a tab with my Yahoo! inbox open and just refresh it every once in a while instead of loading it up every time... dunno why, though... I'm not that popular and its mostly spam anyway.

Oh, and I normally load up solitaire as soon as Windows opens and have a game of that while I wait for everything else to catch up.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

I'm fiddling with clothespins right now, and come to think of it, it's a rather regular thing. Hadn't even ever noticed before...

[LimpingFish]

The choosing female characters thing is more common than you would think. There's probably a term for it, but I'm too lazy to investigate.

My hands must be freshly washed before I sit down in front of my PC, but that could be due more to my OCD than any specific PC ritual.

[Haddas]

I always scroll and click when i don't have to. It annoys some people. I don't even really notice that I do it, but apparently it is so.

[R4L]

I don't know why, but I have a habit or right-clicking. I HAVE to listen to music too, or else it feels off.

[Radiant]

I mouse left-handed, which makes people think I am left-handed. Which I'm not.

Also, I use the keyboard rather than mouse whenever possible, including in FPS games. That's gotten me some weird looks, but I'm surprisingly effective with it.

[nihilyst]

I usually eat and drink while I'm at the PC. When it gets later, I turn on some ambient chill internet radio music to get the right nerdy feeling.

[Obi]

Well First I wake up, contemplate my life. After doing this I take a run and kick the computer, otherwise it won't work. Then I wipe my finger and proceed to push the power buttons three times, it has to be three so it goes On - Off - On then I wait till it starts and I have to press del to bring up the BIOS screen but my bios has a password so I type in are-o-s-e-b-you-d-s and it gives me entry to bios settings.

I check the temperature of my PC and at what rpm the fans are running at. After finding out that everything is ok and working I quit from the bios and let the Computer Start. Once it has booted Windows I have to choose my login details and input my password. So I input I-L-I-K-E-G-U-N-S then it logs in. Then I must invoke the internet using the provided icon on my desktop, to start it I have to double click on the Icon and then input my internet password which is J-A-I-O-S-E-N-S then I'm on the internet.

Next I want to start firefox so I make my mouse pointer go around the Firefox Icons 3 Times clockwise then 3 times anti-clockwise then click on it, but if the mouse pointer accidentally touches the icon before the 6 turns are done I have to start again.

If I'm going to start playing a game I have to check behind me and ensure all windows and doors near me are closed to ensure that no one can get in and stab me while I am playing a game.

[Domino]

If possible, I try to make a woman character in any PC game

When i used to play the Sims or Sims 2, I always made my character a Female...and always a Lesbian. Don't know why. 

[lo_res_man]

I also like to pick female character when playing games, also don't have a clue. I mean I have an excuse, but why do the who knows how many other guys do? Its like the "chicks" in chatrooms.

[Stupot]

If it's a beat 'em up or something I often choose a female because they tend to have massive tits which bounce beautifully.  But if it's any other kind of game, particularly if there's an element of role-play I'll normally choose/create the kind of person I would like to be...  ie. Heroic, masculine, muscley (but not too much so), a hit with the ladies... everything I'm not really.... but still male.

[lo_res_man]

For me, call me odd, but I really like playing females in role playing games.  though a good old fashioned titty bounce fighter game is fun two.

[zabnat]

Well, I also choose female characters whenever possible. If I'm going to have to have something in the center of my screen whole time I'm playing why not choose something pleasing to eye then?

On the other hand I never pretend to be a "chick" in chatrooms.

[InCreator]

My most common rituals are:

* wearing headphones even if there's nothing to listen to
* resting my feet on my 300W neighborterrorâ,,¢ subwoofer.
* always having cup of coffee in reach, though I usually get excited with something and it goes cold
* my chair is next to my bed, and there's always something to read on the bed. So whenever something loads or I get killed in counter-strike or something, I take a weird on chair-air-bed pose and read.
* Turning on computer (or moving mouse to kill screensaver) is second move after I wake up. First one is grabbing for smoke  , third - toothpaste
* Also, when at work(I'm working on computer) , I've noticed that both me and colleagues tend to shake knee very nervously, without actually noticing it. Must be a career-disease or something. I never do it at home. BTW, anyone else ever noticed something like that?

[Vince Twelve]

ahh... xkcd...

[Oliwerko]

Wow, there are quite a lot rituals I guess.

like lo_res_man said - The key behind the female characters is perhaps that it's more pleasant to look at a busty elf with incredible blond hair than looking on a big hairy and muscley mass with big ears. I tend to keep my name though. So I am role-playing with one exception - gender.

Also when I feel it's too quiet in the evenigng I'll turn on some music. Internet radio or Louis Armstrong in my CD player 

[Andail]

My ritual is that I never just sit down to play when I'm not fixed and ready, like before breakfast or without having dressed or tidied up, etc. I almost always make a cup of coffee for my first computer session, whatever it is.

When I play moorpg's, I always choose female character because they are treated slightly better, i.e. I can more easily get people to help me if I look pretty. In single play rpg's I probably go for males, just to make them resemble the character of my boyhood tabletop sessions.

Wow, I love how this post make me sound like the world's biggest geek.

[space boy]

Wow, I love how this post make me sound like the world's biggest geek.

Don't flatter yourself.

[Tuomas]

I too use mostly female characters Like at the moment with baldur's Gate 2 and Icewind Dale, always female mages. Woo. Heh, even to the point where the PC in my game in progress is a woman.

Hm, and I tend to drum on my mousebuttons while I listen to music. That often leads to unpleasant things. Also, I keep my keyboard always on my lap, not on the table, and I drum that too, making it curios to those who are on IRC at times, usually during drumfills that reach the return button. If not, then I'll drum backspace until it's all erased from the screen.

Also, I usually sway my hammer around. I keep it close so that I can play with it all the time. I used to throw it around too, but then I got hurt, so now I just use it for buttons. And occasional nails on the walls

Also, during startup I tend to make it twice or three times slower by opening all the programs I always do with quick mouse movements, ie clicking on MSN, Opera, Winamp desktop shortcuts. It's a bit daft because my startup is really slow as it is anyway.

I drop my keyboard a lot, because I sit cross legged like girls, and it's on one knee, so when I turn around it falls. that's why I keep it in the drawer while I say, read or just use the mouse. I never use the two together because the keyboard won't work with one hand when it's on my lap

Oh, and I always try to spend at least 30 minutes reading stuff at www.wsws.org otherwise I feel like I'm missing stuff.

wow, I feel freaky

[Oliwerko]

Wow Tuomas.

I thought that I have a "werid ritual" but it seems that everyone has some unique "PC using style", hehe. I am also totally fanatically based on absolute crisp clean monitor. I can't do anything until the screen is totally clean. Some time ago, I experienced "degauss attacks" from time to time. you know, I was just clicking degauss many times when something was loading. I left this habit go tho.

[Akatosh]

Just noticed... I've either developed another weird habit since my last post or just didn't notice it before 

As a mouse, I'm currently using one of these (just with red instead of blue light), and it has four additional programmable keys, which I never ever use - for making it write text I have to type in often the function is way too slow and supports too few keys, and I don't play any kind of game where these keys would come useful. So I've just decided to put the function "Left Click" on all of the keys so they can't do any damage. And appearantly, I've devised the habit of occasionally using the key my thumb is at all the time when I'm holding the right mouse in my hand about 40% of the time instead of the left click button. No idea why, but I'm sure my subconsciousness had a reason for this.

Also, Obi, "areosebyouds" is a pretty nice password 

[TheJBurger]

http://xkcd.com/228/

ahh... xkcd...

So that's where you got the name for your new game! I think some plot details might've been spoiled now, especially regarding 2 of the playable characters.

[Ghost]

I totally agree on the female character thing. I do it too, and in addition to that- and this is the weird part- I always call them Arcee. It started with the first Diablo rogue I made, and hasn't changed since then. Should you not know, Arcee is that stylish female Autobot that didn't make it into the Transformers movie.

I also have an Evee sitting on my monitor. Don't know if that counts as a ritual. It probably would if it was a Vaporeon.

[Vince Twelve]

So that's where you got the name for your new game! I think some plot details might've been spoiled now, especially regarding 2 of the playable characters.

D'oh!  Now everyone will be copying my leg-shaking gameplay mechanic!

[Babar]

I usually also choose a female character for RPGs that I play (like my female sorceress from Diablo),  although I got irritated with the choice of portraits in NWNs, and chose a male.

About PC rituals...I like having the mouse lined up with things on the screen, like poking the eye in a picture, or along the line of some border, or on the head in King's Quest (where the wait icon is a crown). Other than that, I like having a nice cool 1.5 litre bottle of water by my side, even if I may not be drinking any of it.

[timlump]

Well my ritual is when some one else (or me) is using my computer and the mouse is left hanging off the mouse matt it drives me crazy and I get up and centre it even if they are holding it, I just wait for them to put it down and move it.
I also can't trust anyone of equal computing skill on my computer they must vastly overshadow my computer expertise as if they are the same level I think they will do something a way that will conflict with my way but if there better than be I know they'll do it a better way.

[Domino]

I have to have my monitor at the right angle or it drives me mad, also I always, always, always run my internet browser in a window. I cannot stand to see it in full screen. I don't know why. I like seeing part of my desktop in the background. Might sound weird, but if a site makes my browser go full screen, i close out of it right away.

[nihilyst]

I have to have my monitor at the right angle or it drives me mad, also I always, always, always run my internet browser in a window. I cannot stand to see it in full screen. I don't know why. I like seeing part of my desktop in the background. Might sound weird, but if a site makes my browser go full screen, i close out of it right away.

The opposite for me: I can't stand having anything in a window. Fullscreen is the only choice for me.

[Azaron]

Lol, so many things here that I do myself.

- I have had the name Azaron or Azaron_Flare since 2001, although I only use it in communities that I feel connected to. That name also appears in 3 of my 5 email addresses.

- I shake my leg when working on a project on the computer or when I am really into a game. I almost never realize I'm doing it, but it drives the wife nuts

- I almost never have both feet on the floor when sitting at my desk. Usually, one leg is on the floor while the other is in another chair or tucked under me. Never have figured out why, except that for some reason it actually physically hurts to have both feet on the floor. Strange?

- The last ritual I really have is that I have a friend I play games with a couple of times a week. No matter what else we play, the night always starts with a 2 on 4 game of Age of Empires 2: the Conquerers and ends with a 2 vs 3 battlefest in Starfleet Command: Orion Pirates. Always.

[Oliwerko]

Yeh, same by me with that feet on floor. I keep them on my chair.

And anything that's windowed kills me. Full screen fan here.

[Lionmonkey]

Hi there.

Another little poll here. I hope it'll be fun.

I want to ask you guys if you have any "PC rituals" - related to anything, from PC games, internet, etc... Like perhaps having your feet in cold water when you're browsing or anything like that. That's it. Don't be shy, I have also a weird one 

I'll start:

If possible, I try to make a woman character in any PC game (whole my life, I had one, maybe two exceptions). It may sound weird, but that's what I do. However, I still keep my male name (that's even more weird). It started looong ago when I played computer by my uncle - unreal tournament was it, I remember. I chose a woman character. And it sticked on me. So that's my ritual.

And yours ?

Because of the guys like you, people think that
there are no women at the Internet.


As for myself, when something is loading, I often run and jump around the room to kill some time.

Also, I have a strange habit of of clicking left mouse button hard, I mean like hitting it with my finger, so that I can hear it out loud, or even hit the table with the mouse. Sometimes I even make a tune out of it, like "Bam, bam, bam, ..., CLICk".The worst thing is that I find it hard to keep myself from doing that.

And also, since I'm too lazy too get the technical alcohol from the bottom of the table, my monitor always has some oily stains on it, which are especially annoyng in the bright sunlight. So I always put the curtains down when I start the PC, and I often tend to brush some of that oily stuff closer to the edge of the screen with my shirt.

Oh and also, when I stand up from the computer, I either fall down to the floor, or start hopping on one leg, because the other one has got that strange+painful feeling, like when you had it in the same pose for a long while.

And also, whenever I start up the computer, I always check this forum for new posts. Plus I always have an urge to post in here something myself, no matter what it is.

Also, I seem to be annoyed when people overuse leetspeak and abbreviations. Plus to this, when I chat with my friends ( in Russian), I am REALLY annoyed, because they always tend to transliterate and I hate that, I always type Russian words in Russian font.


Who's a weirdo now?

[InCreator]

So I always put the curtains down when I start the PC

* I have curtains made of super thick, dark red fabric in my room. And I have removed/opened them only when they go into laundry, which is probably ten times most for last 5 years. They are closed and will stay closed.

Then again, there was time when crime around my neighborhood caused me few times coming home and noticing apartment door lock picked and broken. Luckily, no-one got it though. But with me living on first floor and having all this technology in my room, closed curtains have probably saved me from few horrible experiences of break-in, I guess.

* Ah, also, I go crazy if my room's door is open, even only slightly - for 5 minutes or so. It gives me such heavy paranoia... If my home's my castle, well, the gate must be shut all times. Especially since the door - when I'm sitting at PC, is positioned slightly behind my back and out of my view.

* My desktop is a horrid mess for most of the time. I tend to save everything onto desktop, then make a random folder for temporary crap, if desktop gets too full. What happens is that I have folders full of things I don't remember and when I'm really bored, exploring them is usually really interesting.

[Buckethead]

wow InCreator. I just realized I have all those habbits. My neighborhood isn't so criminal but I like to keep the curtains closed so I have less light shining on my screen.

I have the door thing too. I'm not sure why I need it closed.

I also have a messy desktop, but kinda my whole pc is like that. But I do clean once in a while.

[Oliwerko]

Well, I have almost perfect order in all my files. You tell me the file, and I will tell you where on my HDD it is.

I tend to "archive" things. To completely download all accesories and mods I can for a game for example, or copying whole web pages using an archiver.

[Buckethead]

you must have an awfull lot of diskspace then.... mind to send me some? 

[MonkeySpank]

Don't have any rituals any more but in 1996 when I first got the dial up internet, everytime it connected I had to go take a shit

god knows why..

[Oliwerko]

you must have an awfull lot of diskspace then.... mind to send me some? 

Well, it is true, I burn all data possible to DVDs, but this is not possible with documents like pictures, music or so - they are updated almost every week. So I am upgrading to 500GB HDD on Christmas day 

[Bluesman]

I slouch.
Eat my food in front of the computer.
Play my guitar in front of that computer.
And shoo my cat away from said computer's keyboard.

Yeah, that's about it.

[Candall]

I don't know if you'd call them "rituals," but I do have odd idiosyncrasies and compulsions.

For instance, if I'm reading an article of any sort, I tend to randomly highlight text and then click off and repeat the same thing over and over and over.

I can't concentrate on what I'm reading if only part of a row of characters is visible at the top of the window.  I absolutely have to scroll up or down until the text is either completely hidden or completely revealed.

[DoorKnobHandle]

For instance, if I'm reading an article of any sort, I tend to randomly highlight text and then click off and repeat the same thing over and over and over.

I can't concentrate on what I'm reading if only part of a row of characters is visible at the top of the window.  I absolutely have to scroll up or down until the text is either completely hidden or completely revealed.

Exactly the same here. I've seen loads of people sharing the same behavior though, especially #1 with the constant highlighting of the text while reading. Some psychoanalyst ought to take a look at that.

Personally, I could imagine that reading text white or almost white on black is somewhat relaxing for the eye. Not necessarily more relaxing than black on white, but at least it's different and sometimes the eye just craves for contrast.

[deadsuperhero]

I wake up and go to sleep. However, after I wake up, I look at porn, and before I go to sleep, I also look at porn.
It's a good ritual. 

[vertigoaddict]

I often use my computer in the nude, I lie on my stomach on the bed. Yes, I do wear clothes at times.

It just feels nice, nothing erotic really...well at least when I'm not surfing for porn.

I make sure I wear clothes before cybersex though, it just feels more 'proper' (I might be a slut, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm a gentleman).

[ThreeOhFour]

The more posts I read by you, VA, the more frightened I am by your profile age.

At least you're happy, I guess.

[Khris]

Same here... ever heard the acronym TMI?

I guess the only thing about my PC behavior that qualifies as a ritual is having to have something to drink in reach at all times.
I get thirsty very quickly (probably due to the cigarettes ) and I hate getting up to fetch a cup of coffee or a bottle of juice when I'm in the middle of something.
And I drink while still looking at the monitor

[vertigoaddict]

The more posts I read by you, VA, the more frightened I am by your profile age.

At least you're happy, I guess.

Frightened in what way, if I may ask?

[Buckethead]

I think it's because you say to have cybersex.

[Sylvr]

TMI indeed 

[ThreeOhFour]

I think I actually meant disturbed.

Not that I should be one to judge your favourite activities, but it hardly is a thing that one expects to find when browsing game engine forums.

Meh. It's 5 am - clarity left me 8 hours ago.

[deadsuperhero]

at least I'm not surfing for porn.

I resent that.

Oh wait...I just misread it. My bad! 

[Tuomas]

Not that I should be one to judge your favourite activities, but it hardly is a thing that one expects to find when browsing game engine forums.

On the contrary, we here are the exact stereotypes of internet jack-offs, no offence, but that's just how it is.

[vertigoaddict]

Not that I should be one to judge your favourite activities, but it hardly is a thing that one expects to find when browsing game engine forums.

On the contrary, we here are the exact stereotypes of internet jack-offs, no offence, but that's just how it is.

I think that everyone has at least one thing that's special about them that excludes them from a stereotype.

Ben304 was involved in the creation of Trance-Pacific (haven't played it. yet) and it has a lot of praise.

Alliance seems to me to be an open person. I really don't know much about you...sorry.

Tuomas is a curious fellow...

I'm just a young man with raging hormones who's a choir boy at day and a slut at night...wait make that day AND night. I breathe via innuedos.