guitarist

Agreed. To me he is mostly Slytherin and Hufflepuff. I don't see Slytherin as being the self-centered house, though. Ambition does not equal selfishness. And obviously, while the books tend to portray Slytherin as the evil house, if we take them at face value, just based on the actual qualities of the house, Yuzu seems quite Slytherin to me. More so than Gryffindor, which is the house of courage and glory. Courage I can see, but Yuzu doesn't strike me as the kind who cares about glory. Glory might come along with his achievements, but I think what he wants is, not the glory, but to prove to himself that he accomplished his goals (Slytherin), and to not disappoint his country and the people who have supported him (Hufflepuff). As for the reasons the houses seem very black and white in the books, well, that's not very surprising either. If Slytherin has a reputation for Evil, all the kids with Slytherin qualities will beg to be put somewhere else, leaving only the kids who don't mind being called evil. I don't know what you're all talking about, I totally have not put a lot of thought into the Harry Potter sorting system. Really.

Ooooohhh, this is an awesome idea. I don't expect ISU to listen, but I'd love to participate. I'm a software engineer. Mostly I do full-stack, but I also have some experience with AI and ML using Python. That might be useful. I'm not too knowledgeable on stats and data science, but I can implement stuff if given requirements. I can also help with data parsing and basic database stuff. Should be more fun than work, at any rate!

Wow. I've skated on outdoor rinks in the middle of the winter, not even pond ice, and it's so exhausting. Respect. Seriously, though, that footwork

Ah, better not risk it, then. I ordered one that won't scratch the floor, it's metal and it has a base, so it works on any kind of surface. A little pricier, but I don't have much of a choice I also got one of those strap things for increasing leg flexibility, not that it'll help much... Today's progress on the Ina Bauer: went from stopping completely when entering the position to being able to glide slowly for 2-3 seconds. Fell down when trying to go faster, but at least no one was looking Now, progress on my 3-turns: .........nothing to see here...... But my left outside edge is slowly improving. Sort of. Anyway, this is the third day this week I do a 2.5 hr morning session, and... my legs are SO sore. But if there's something I learned from this thread, it's that if you're not in pain you're doing it wrong

What kind of spinner do you use? I've seen those that are like small curved boards, but I worry they would damage the floor, and I rent, so I don't want to lose my security deposit haha.

Yeah, you need to center it properly or you'll get dizzy. I've been trying for weeks and I just can't do it properly. The best I can do is about 3-5 very slow rotations, and my posture's probably a mess. I guess I'm not a spinner

Yeah, you're right. My left outside edge is probably the weakest one. I spent 2 hours on it this morning, and it's getting better, but it's still not deep at all. I'm much, much better at inside edges, though, so perhaps I should try getting the inside Ina Bauer first. I tried today, I can also get into the position, I just stop moving hahaha. Anyway, I think I'm going to spend this whole week on edge control. Should help with crossovers as well, which are still pretty bad.

I can easily do anything that requires turnout, but I fail at everything else Like, I can do mohawks, but I'm so bad at 3-turns, especially on my right foot But I'm going every day this week, so I'm hoping to have at least forward 3-turns by the end of the week. Probably not gonna happen, though...

Does anyone have tips for Ina Bauers? I finally figured out how to get into the right position, but once I do it, I stop gliding within a second or two. I think this is because most of my weight is actually on the back (in this case my right) leg, which is obviously exactly the opposite of what I should be doing, but I'm having trouble holding my weight on the left leg... Maybe I'm doing something wrong when entering it.

Hmm, it took me around a month (4-5 sessions) to stop feeling like I was going to fall. Now, that doesn't mean falls don't happen, especially if I'm trying something new, and sometimes I still feel like I'm going to fall when I'm learning new stuff. This might be faster or slower depending on the person. In skating people progress at completely different rates. I started in November and I'm only in US Basic Skills 5 or so (and I'm not that great at them), whereas other people are at 7-8 by now and are even doing pretty decent one-foot spins. Also depends how often you skate. But no matter how many skills you learn and how long it takes to do them, it's just so much fun! Nothing compares to the feeling of simply gliding on the ice. Also, I'd go with the Artiste or Classiques if you can afford them. Better investment, and you want something stronger if you're an adult, anyway. Unless you're like me and you're the size of a 14-year-old...

Oh. So maybe that's why the guy stared at me weird when I asked for the 100 min session

Wow, nice. I just calculated what going to public skate an average of twice a week costs in a year and it's like 1000 USD, yours sounds like a much better deal... Freestyle sessions are 25 USD for 50 min, but apparently you can pay for one and stay the whole time...? @yuzuangel did you hear this about Chelsea Piers, or the outdoor rinks? I wouldn't know, this is the first time I've gone. General skating is 12 USD if you have your own skates (slightly cheaper if you buy a 10-pack), and it's usually 3 hours. The ice is generally not a problem, except for one time when there was a competition going on in one of the rinks so they had to use the public skate one for a hockey game. When public skate started and I got on the "ice", I was seriously wondering whether bringing skis would've been more useful...

It was very worth it! But in the interests of being saving money and being a Responsible Adult (who am I kidding I had ice cream for dinner last night), I'm only going to go once or twice a week. Ah, yeah, I like to be in the office by 8:30 or so, and the rink is used for hockey at night, so it's my only option.

Wow, I went to a freestyle session instead of the public one. It's like magic Only 10 people or so. Which I realize is quite a lot compared to several other ice rinks, but what can I do, it's NYC... I was finally able to get real practice done, I'm so happy! My edge control is slowly going from "complete joke" to "it could be worse" If only it weren't so expensive... And it's so hard to get up at 5... Maybe I'll do it once or twice a week from now on.

Hmmm, so for the past week or so I've been having trouble with quotes that have pictures/videos in them. They obstruct the post, and I have to expand the quote to be able to read the comment. This only happens on mobile, I think. I'm using Android with a Galaxy S8. Anyone else also getting this? Screenshot:

Not really. I converted my mom into a casual fan, but she's not nearly as dedicated as I am. She likes Yuzu best, but also really likes Javi and Jason. She didn't like any of the top American skaters, though. Well. She did say Adam had really nice... um... muscles... And I showed Yuzu to a co-worker. She's not going to become a fan, but she loved watching him at Olys, and said "His name is so beautiful" and "He's like a prince!" So I'm not doing too badly at converting people, I guess. My best friend loves Yuzu as well, but she doesn't follow the sport as much as I do and she has to ask me a bunch of technical questions whenever we watch because she can't recognize the jumps, other than 3A. And of course, all the skaters my age at the local rink love him, so no need to try there.

I agree. At my rink, the people who are making the fastest progress also dance, one of them competitively. I have no body awareness, so I always have to think very carefully about what I'm doing, and try to see my reflection. It frustrates me that, because it relies on momentum, I can't just slow down so I can think about everything I have to do. I basically end up doing everything faster than I can think, which results in me skating with terrible posture, or holding my arms in awkward ways. At least my fingers look nice, according to my coach. Guess those years of torturing my fingers with music were somewhat worth it. Skating really is hard...

So I had to skip last week cause I was sick, but this week was... Somewhat productive. Been working on 3-turns. I can only do forward outside, the rest are hit-or-miss... And my spins still aren't fast enough to be spins, but my feet position is getting better. And my coach tried to teach me lunges! (Though of course "try" was to keyword) All in all... I still don't really feel like a skater, and I'm by far the worst in the group of regulars, but well, considering how much I suck at sports, this is already more than I expected!

I'm loving the blackmail material we should send these to their students

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masochism Just dropping by to share this

You guys are not helping my wallet, but I'm glad you all support my b̶a̶d̶ great financial decisions

I did hahahaha

Guys, I'm so weak I went to a Japanese bookstore and saw someone's face peeking out from one of the shelves in the bottom level. So naturally, I go down. 10 minutes and $160 later: I'm so, so, so, so weak. But but but aren't they beautiful?

Why do you keep saying that makes him dumb? Even if it's his, he might just not care. This is different from an Instagram or Facebook account where people post personal info and pictures. This is just a couple of songs, after all. I don't think this is his account, though. Plus let's be real, a headphone junkie like Yuzu wouldn't be pleased with YouTube audio quality

Shoma has somehow mastered the art of Looking Awkward At All Times. He's adorable Great picture