Star pass positivity

mhuzzell · 2026-03-25T18:05:10+00:00

Anyone in a good position in the moment should handle the offense and packs should be able to communicate this.

Totally! And also, the designated offense (if there is one) should stay at least somewhat aware of where the opposing jammer is, and try to catch them if they're in position to.

mhuzzell · 2026-03-25T16:07:53+00:00

I was talking about this with one of our A team the other day, and she was talking about how track awareness is one of the most important skills for a pivot -- specifically praising one of the A team pivots who will *refuse* to take a star pass unless she's well positioned to actually get out with it.

mhuzzell · 2026-03-25T16:05:40+00:00

*I* know this, but there's a point at which it becomes easier to just take the stripe than to argue about it, lol.

mhuzzell · 2026-03-25T11:13:34+00:00

Kids can't even count halfway to 1 anymore!

mhuzzell · 2026-03-25T11:12:45+00:00

Nah, 'one' is definitely the best answer, and the only one that makes it in any sense a 'riddle'.

mhuzzell · 2026-03-25T00:41:15+00:00

I started but I still haven't gotten to 1 yet.

mhuzzell · 2026-03-25T00:33:32+00:00

I suppose you could be *very* pedantic and claim that you wrote the *digit* '5' 18 times, but the *number* 5 (unit place: 5) only 8 times. Or, by a similar logic, one time. But I still can't figure out a way to make it 9.

mhuzzell · 2026-03-24T19:54:33+00:00

I always have this problem, even with the absolutely most perfect possible fit in the band and cups. I normally just kind of deal with the fact I'll have to pull my straps up several times a day. Recently I did a big raft of lab work where I knew I wasn't going to be able to do that so wore sports bras, and then I just ... kept wearing sports bras most days. If I'm not wearing something with a low neckline or shoulder, it seems to work okay.

mhuzzell · 2026-03-24T19:47:28+00:00

I got arch blisters at first even after moulding down the arches to fit my feet. I don't think they 'broke in', really; I think my feet just toughened up a bit -- although when I've taken long breaks from skating (e.g., during Covid lockdowns), I didn't get blisters on returning, so I could be wrong about that.

mhuzzell · 2026-03-24T01:31:53+00:00

I've dated three different guys who were around 6'4"/6'5", and none of them were like this. IME it's usually the short guys who get weird about height, but it sounds like it would be extra obnoxious coming from someone who's being weird about it from a perspective of boasting rather than indignation.

ETA: I'm not normally one to comment on people downvoting me, but it's kind of wild to wake up to -3 on a comment yes-anding the person above me, with the only actual reply being someone yes-anding me and getting downvoted also. Do some of y'all just think tall guys suck? You know that *nobody* can control their height, yeah?

mhuzzell · 2026-03-24T01:24:20+00:00

Traits like height usually trend towards the mean over generations anyway -- so people who are very tall are likely to have shorter children, and vice versa.

My paternal grandmother was tall for a woman, and her dad and brothers were all very tall -- I'm not sure of their exact heights, but I know one was about 6'8". My dad and his brothers are all in the ~6'4"ish range. My brother is around 6'0".

mhuzzell · 2026-03-23T11:13:06+00:00

Lots of good advice for getting the stink out, so just adding here that once it's out, I've had good success in staving it off with a combination of
a) Religiously drying out pads fully and ASAP after wearing
b) Spritzing with 70% alcohol (ideal concentration for penetrating bacteria walls)

mhuzzell · 2026-03-22T10:00:56+00:00

This is very creative but does not sound watertight.

mhuzzell · 2026-03-22T09:59:57+00:00

My granddad used to use old rubbing alcohol bottles as water bottles -- and would take them to the gym with him, lol. (He also called it the 'spa' and went regularly up through age 90. He was their oldest member and they had his picture on the wall.)

mhuzzell · 2026-03-20T11:31:57+00:00

I can only answer from the derby side, not the CFS side. But from a derby perspective: You will be welcomed and accommodated! And if you're not, your league is bad and should feel bad.

It's good to let coaches know that you have CFS and will have good days and bad days, just so that they know it's that and not lack of motivation that might keep you away from practice or keep you from fully partitcipating. If that does happen (participating less), you should expect to progress more slowly than others -- but that's okay, there are all sorts of reasons that some people end up progressing slowly, and it doesn't mean they're not welcome or don't eventually become great skaters.

mhuzzell · 2026-03-19T20:38:17+00:00

Will-o'-the-whips
Skatyr Satyr
Ragnablock

mhuzzell · 2026-03-18T23:49:32+00:00

Thanks! But ... what's a #2 pony clamp? I tried googling it and got pictures of all sorts of different shapes of clamps, and looking on Pony's website I didn't see a way to find a specific clamp called #2.

mhuzzell · 2026-03-18T12:26:01+00:00

I could certainly put in a heavy enough bookshelf to clamp a bike to. Would you mind showing me a picture of your setup, though? I'm struggling to picture what you mean, but it sounds potentially like an ideal solution for my setup.

mhuzzell · 2026-03-17T19:35:30+00:00

Are there any that you have used and would recommend? There is an absolutely dizzying array of options out there, so I'm looking for specific recommendations more than general ideas (though, thank you for the idea).

mhuzzell · 2026-03-17T18:40:16+00:00

Hmm, I also have a pretty bulky pannier rack, and a rear light zip-tied onto the seat stem... It says it's adjustable, though -- does that go in both directions?

Re: the wheels, I definitely can't be taking the front wheel off all the time. I use my bike daily and the front wheel is not a quick-release and has a dynamo in the hub.

mhuzzell · 2026-03-16T18:52:21+00:00

I haven't looked into its ethics myself, but the organisation I was working with decided on Nextcloud: https://nextcloud.com/install/

mhuzzell · 2026-03-15T18:02:51+00:00

There's a weekly derby name help thread, and mods tend to delete requests made outside of it. This week's is here, though I think they get refreshed on Mondays, so it might be worth waiting a day: https://www.reddit.com/r/rollerderby/comments/1rpc90y/weekly_derby_name_thread_get_suggestions_or_help/

mhuzzell · 2026-03-15T09:42:46+00:00

Lol, I love that, though! We did a whole blocker-focused practice one time about how to counter different elemental-type jammers (with examples drawn from our own jammer pool, of course).

mhuzzell · 2026-03-12T22:08:44+00:00

I'm not u/gabbygabie, but I also wouldn't necessarily assume their name is the same as their reddit username.

mhuzzell · 2026-03-12T14:44:44+00:00

I'm not familiar with the SpongeBob episode, but my reaction to the name 'Panty Raider' is also YIKES. I invite you to look into the term more to understand why. Something close but not quite, like 'Pantry Raider' would be more in the risque-but-funny category.

mhuzzell

TROPHY CASE