Diana the Valkyrie's Newsletter - March 2001
A hard man is good to beat
The same thing happens every year, and every year it's amazing. The snowdrops appeared last month, not they're in full flood. The crocuses are just starting to flower, and the daffodils are getting ready to shout. And, near the end of the month, we had another snowfall, about 1/4 inch again, just enough to be cold and look pretty. So, I can see white snow on the lawn, and white snowdrops in the flower beds.
Darla Steele has her own Gallery.
Galleries added this month.
Stories added this month.
Tools for authors! I've put up a "readability" calculator (the Gunning Fog Index) and a spell checker (most people have on in their word processor, but some folks don't. You can check out the Writing Tools
Nothing new.
Movies added this month.
Diana is being retired. Diana was the second server I used for this site (the first one was sharing someone else's server). Diana was replaced by Joan a few years ago, but Diana was still in use as the backup in case Joan crashed (didn't happen) or was inaccessible (happened once). Diana was also used for preparing menus (What's New, for example). But the data preparation has been running on Ethel for a year now, and the Mark 3's Naomi and Lorna are a backup to Joan. So Diana was just doing email, which is a very puny task for mighty Diana. I've given the mail to Vicky to handle, and Diana will be going off the air soon. If you've been accessing "diana.thevalkyrie.com" then that should get redirected to Joan.
Diana has been running reliably non-stop for 399 days now, but she ran out of space. 399 days without no hang, no lock-up, no reboot. That's pretty good.
Diana won't die, though. I plan to replace her Pentium 200 with a processor six times as fast, upgrade the memory from 128 mb to a gigabyte (which means a new motherboard), upgrade the storage from 63 gb to something huge, and Diana will ride again! New brush, new handle - same broom.
I also moved everything that used to be on Freya to a new computer, formerly known as Anita but now called Freya. At the actual time of the move, any messages being posted to the board would have gone to the wrong place, so might seem to have vanished. There might be other glitches, I'll find out soon. The main reason for this, was that Freya was running a very old copy of Linux, and I needed to get it more up-to-date. So, at the same time, I upgraded the hardware.
I had a drive failure on Kirty, which meant that we lost about 10% of the content of the Newsthumbs server.
The Mark 3 computers arrived in Maryland. These will be running the web server that your browser actually talks to, and they'll get their data from the Mark 2s, which are twinned. That means that if a Mark 2 crashes, I can tell the Mark 3 to get the data from the Mark 2 that is twinned to it, which can happen very fast. Then, I can pick up the pieces of the crashed machine, and it doesn't matter if it takes an hour or three. If a Mark 3 crashes, restarting it is a matter of minutes, because there's not much data there.
I've also installed new UPSes. There's two of them, each rated at 2200 thingies. That's enough for a dozen or more computers each (and I've got about half a dozen on each).
And we changed IP addresses on the 25th February. That shouldn't affect you, because it's the internal numbering that the computer uses for itself and its friends. Unless you're using the IP addresses (like 193.218.99.130) directly, I know a few people are. Please don't, except in emergency. Use the computer names (like www.thevalkyrie.com) because then if one computer crashes, I can redirect your browser to another without any hiccup. The reason for changing was that I'd filled up my allocation,, and I had to change to a different group of addresses to get more.
Have you ever wondered what it's like for the people who run a Lunar Exploration vehicle? You can't see what you're doing, you can't hear what you're doing, and if anything goes badly wrong, you can't walk over and fix it. That's how I felt as, 7000 miles away, I changed the IP addresses, and knew that if I made any mistakes, then that computer wouldn't be accessible by my or the rest of the world when I rebooted it. Fortunately, I only made a couple of small mistakes, and with a bit of local help I was able to get things running again.
Why all these changes? Well, in the internet world, you can't stay unchanging. When Diana was first put up, about four years ago, I waxed enthusiastic about the power (200 MHz) and space (23 gb). Now, that seems feeble. You just can't buy computers that slow any more. This is all part of my big "Project Upgrade".
I finally retired Anita. If you try to access her now, you'll get redirected to the Newsgroups Magic Carpet. That's because I changed the news server over to Oprah, which I did because I was getting too many Anita-crashes. Oprah hasn't crashed once, so the idea worked.
Visit the new Barbunny Bookshop, for extreme scissors stories.
Spam of the month is "Spam mimic".
Sometimes, you want to send a secret message to someone. Usually, you achieve that by encrypting or encoding the message. But sometimes, you want it to be so secret, that those nearby don't even realise that there is a secret message. You want to send them something very innocent-looking, but which is actually your secret message.
And what could be more innocent-looking than Spam? Does anyone actually read things like the specimen below?
Spam Mimic hides your message in a boring, harmless-looking spam. Here's a message from me, you can decode it using Spam Mimic, by using cut-and-paste on their decode link.
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***This special offer is ONLY valid through March 1, 2001. Don't miss out***
Order 300,000 African American Email Addresses and receive 5,000 African American Entreprenuers for FREE.
Although where I'll find the housing to put all those Entreprenuers I really can't think. And wouldn't it be nice if he knew about my Spelling Checker
By Wessex Man
BRUSSELS, March 1st -- Nathalie Gassel is one of Europe's most cerebral and intensely driven trainers, a bodybuilder with 15 years in the gym who plumbs the extremities of physical awareness. Now widely known for both her physique and her writing she offers a powerful personal philosophy. Her self confidence scorns -- in fact ignores -- conventional prejudice.
Nathalie is impressively muscled, ultra-virile and she's happy to say so, as she told me over dinner in a Brussels restaurant.
"I always associate sexual pleasure with my muscular virility. To dominate my partner is the expression of my libido. It's a huge excitement which I always want to retain....I adore feeling stronger than my partners, stronger than the majority of men. That's an erotic impulse."
Nathalie aged 36 is a prolific writer on the magic of physical culture as well as a dedicated bodybuilder. Her recent book -- 'Eros Androgyne' -- explores the intense feelings of a rampantly developed woman cruising in the world of ordinary mortals, including the softer limbed sensuous male.
She said that as a child her mother was always trying to curb her aggressive instincts. But to no avail. "There were difficulties with my mother who would never accept my leanings which were too eccentric for a young girl."
HEADS TURN AS WE ENTER THE RESTAURANT
We decided to dine at Le Pere Noir, a crowded fin de siecle restaurant just off the Grande Place in the centre of Brussels. This area is so packed with restaurants, some of them piled with crates of seafood on the pavements, that a crab has been seen struggling from one establishment to the next.
The street windows reveal the clientele, the well rounded bougeoisie of that city filling themselves with huge heaps of moules (mussels) and the incomparable Belgian frites (chip potatos).
Well Nathalie is of a different order. Wearing long crimson silk pants and a low cut chemise she entered the Pere Noir as though she were a muscular Madonna -- or indeed Andrulla Blanchette. Moving to a table the low lighting caught the ribbed development of her melon sized delts and the mobile beauty of her bull-cock biceps.
It's an understatement to say that heads were turning. We were tracked by dilated eyes in a mixture of intense interest and curiosity. A waiter handed us menus and looked startled -- Nathalie was arousing a bicep while her hand touched the back of her neck.
We hit the wine immediately. This Belgian athlete is not a competitor in bodybuilding contests and doesn't diet fanatically. We started with a bottle of Bernkasteler Badstrube Riesling, J.J. Prum, 1971. Later we ordered a red, Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru 1990. Luckily prices were immaterial as we were guests of the absent Valkyrie. Those two bottles in Brussels came to about $250; only a fraction probably of what hotels on the French Riviera are charging the Russian mafia for Chateau Petrus.
We felt we were being frugal. But we were also in a ruthless mood.
NATHALIE DISCUSSES HER EARLY FEELINGS
I asked her about her childhood and first physical responses:
"I was born in Brussels in June 1964. My family were intellectuals but with no sports or bodybuilding interests. I was a disturbed aggressive child and already wanting to be stronger than my little contemporaries -- with a clear desire to dominate boys."
"Before long I was dreaming of martial arts but this was forbidden to me. My mother wanted to distance me from male activities and make me conform to the feminine norm."
"As a child I came to know a young girl in my district, big for her age, who had a lean muscular body. Her muscles were rangy but bulging. I felt a secret attraction for her -- which I didn't really dare admit to myself. But I was fascinated by her muscles."
"Her physique seemed to merit respect, expressing strength, when compared to the bodies of the other girls. I would seek her out, I wanted to bump into her in the street or the park. I could spot her from all the others by her ripped muscling. I felt a powerful sexual attraction - incomprehensible to me at the time, compulsive, instinctive and welling up inside me in a wave of sensuality."
"I enjoyed being rough with boys of my own age, terrorising them physically. This made me feel good, fulfilled and proud of myself. I relished my sense of strength and power. It was lovely. I glowed in sensations of mastery and supremacy. I nurtured my Ego with these delights."
Looking back Nathalie remembers another incident. "I used to love looking at my stepfather's biceps. I told him that I would be even more developed once I was grown up. Well I've kept my word as we proved 15 years later."
WHEN SHE SAW A BODYBUILT WOMAN FOR THE FIRST TIME
Nathalie explains how she first took to weights.
"I must have been about 20 years old when I first saw a female bodybuilder displaying her muscles. The experience was a revelation. At last I'd found a physical role model, someone I'd like to emulate. I was overwhelmed by her strength, virility and beauty. Here was an image, which I'd not previously visualised, which would become my own goal.....I loved it immediately. I started weight training a few months later."
We also discussed her physical preferences, the kind of men and women she leans towards.
"I like males who are effeminate, flirtatious and a bit crazy, also women who are virile and at the same time aesthetically lean and muscular -- with prominent cut muscles.
"I'm excited by the image of two muscular women embracing -- in the same way as two gay men together. I love the similarity, the hardness of female muscle against female muscle in the act of love making -- the congress of two comparable female physiques with rock hard muscles and pumped veins."
"I also like to see a man who is a bit soft but at the same time cheerful and refined being totally dominated by a strong and beautiful woman."
NATHALIE CONCENTRATES ON HER UPPER PHYSIQUE
I asked her about her muscle building priorities.
"In my training I've always placed greater emphasis on my upper body. I think this is the first thing which creates an impression with a woman bodybuilder -- I mean muscular arms, a developed back, big shoulders. That's what gives me pleasure. It's very erotic."
But she's not aiming at a quantum leap.
"I love very muscular women and muscular size but first of all I have to consider my own continuity and longevity. I started boxing at 18 and bodybuilding at 21. I'm 36 years old and I've never stopped. Nowadays I'm striving to maintain my body as it is for as long as possible rather that put on a huge amount to extra muscle which would only turn out to be ephemeral."
"You must understand this : I need lasting durability rather than competitive success. I simply can't live without this feeling of muscular virility. It's not a question of competition or sporting performance. It's a question of my identity and self awareness."
Nathalie needs to feel stronger than her partners and stronger than the majority of men, she explained.
THE PUBLIC GIVES HER A MIXED RECEPTION
We discussed the reactions of ordinary people in streets and shops to her muscular profile.
"I don't often go around showing off my muscular development. But when this happens I have to say that people tend to turn away. Women don't seem to be at all appreciative. I find them very conformist. It's most frustrating.
"The male response is much more varied but always positive..... I sense fascination or curiosity. I love to impress and I enjoy admiring looks. I like people to react to my powerfulness.
"I love small weak men. Sometimes they accost me in the street without having any idea of my strength. When they approach me physically they think quite naturally that they're going to be on top....That amuses me... I reverse the situation... They want to immobilise me but in fact I immobilise them. They're sure of themselves physically and it delights me to overturn this assurance. It's very stimulating for me -- great excitement."
ANOTHER BOOK IS ON THE WAY
I asked her about her writing plans.
"I've recently published a book -- 'Eros Androgyne' -- the diary of an athletic woman (available from www.alapage.com). A second book called 'Musculatures' is due out in October from publishers Le Cercle in Paris."
Nathalie has written a lot of female muscle journalism, for Athena2 in Paris and more recently for the new Freya newsletter on internet.
She's also contributed to other revues and publications. Nathalie points out that she does'nt understand English, but anyone who would like to discuss her ideas and publications can contact her in French on nathaliegas@hotmail.com .
NATHALIE SEES BODYBUIDLING AS A REVOLUTION
Finally we looked at the brief history of the female bodybuilding culture. I asked her why women have only lately begun to develop their physiques.
"The strong woman has to promote herself, she is a progressive, a step ahead. What we're seeing is a revolution in human history. We're also witnessing a battle -- when one realises the lame condition which most women in this world are happy to live with.
"I'm in favour of this mutation (towards muscularity) among the female species."
We currently have seven running; Nicole Bass, Andrulla Blanchette, Sheila Burgess, Christine Envall, Marilyn Perret, Julia Santana and Peggy Schoolcraft.
Peggy will be competing at the Arnold (Ms International). She's going to compete totally shredded, she's under 5% bodyfat right now. Peggy is known as "Ms Shredded", and we hope that the judges like her look. But if they don't, tough. Because Peggy isn't doing this for the judges, she's doing this for Peggy. Anyhow, please cheer her each time she comes on stage.
Sheila is also planning to be at the Arnold. And so are lots of other web site folks, it looks like a good place to meet up and see the people you chat and message with. Gaily is planning to bring along some of her famous Valkyrie Cookies, guaranteed to attract Valkyrie for miles around. You can see the recipe in this newsletter.
Andrulla is aiming to use her Ms Olympia title to progress her career. She's looking at writing for magazines, sponsorships, maybe even a book. She's in LA right now, trying to make stuff happen.
I was looking at Trudy Ireland's web site, and I noticed what seems like a very good idea. She's asking for sponsorships from people, paid via Paypal.
If you go to the Paypal site, you'll find that you can send money to anyone who has an email address. So it's a convenient way to give some sponsorship to your favourite competitor.
This all started when I jokingly told Sheila in the chat room that I'd make her some cookies the next time she came to Chicago.....and of course, she was not about to pass up free baked goods!!!
These are the ones I made for her..... she liked them, as well as the folks in the St Louis area (sub was rather fond of the butter ones).
Of course, the cookie legend grew, so I had to make more when I went to DC. In addition to these two, I made some pecan tarts. I'll also put in the recipe for the oatmeal cookies that I also plan to make (a request by Pan for whenever I came to his area... however in making a quick comment in the chat room, I didn't realize how many guys liked oatmeal cookies!)
Fortunately, during the holidays, I like to buy baking supplies while they're on sale..... so it's not like I'm spending a fortune on butter, sugar and flour..... the hershey's kisses were also bought on sale.... and the other ingredients can always be found rather cheaply.
And yes.... baking is like preparing for war..... I already have my cookie preparation schedule mapped out!!! : )
Senn High School butter cookies
(it's a public high school in Chicago.... we used to be able to buy cookies like this in the cafeteria.....)
1 pound butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp vanilla
Using electric mixer, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar and beat until no graininess remains. Add flour, a little at a time at low speed. Add vanilla. Scoop heaping tbs. of dough and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press palm of hand onto a plate of granulated sugar and press down onto one ball of dough. Repeat for each ball. cookies should be 3 in. wide and 1/4 inch thick. Bake in 350 degree oven for 15 min..... makes about 36 large cookies
Chocolate Kisses
(I first made these in college.....got the recipe from our resident head)
1/2 cup sugar
2 sticks soft butter
2 cups flour
1 cup finely chopped nuts (I like pecans)
1 tsp vanilla
1 bag unwrapped hershey's kisses (a small one (7 oz) will make one batch)
Cream sugar and butter. Mix in all other ingredients (except for kisses), chill 1/2 hour. Take a bit of dough and wrap around kiss, making sure that all the chocolate is covered. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool for 10 minutes and dust each cookie with powdered sugar.
Makes about 24-30 cookies
more recipies to follow ... next month ...
gaily
Member | Posts |
| gaily304 | 5238 |
| jabb6328 | 3825 |
| ginny2442 | 3692 |
| 007tko | 2639 |
| mit19237 | 2507 |
| lpdorman69 | 2400 |
| TomNine | 2151 |
| mrk001 | 2015 |
| mike1965 | 1961 |
| Diana the Valkyrie | 1957 |
| boomer444 | 1894 |
| tre1313 | 1842 |
| thenomad | 1501 |
| rainer0000 | 1325 |
| 00bigbas00 | 1255 |
| vitjon100 | 1185 |
| Peggy.Schoolcraft | 1171 |
| tex666 | 1137 |
| dgt321 | 955 |
| rdhdpwr150 | 950 |
Gaily retains her rightful place as Top Chatter, with mrk, Ginny, Jabber and TKO in a tight group behind.
I added a "Total Messages this month" counter, it's at the top of the main message board page. There were 4873 posts in February 2001. There's a new message Board, for poetry.
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| Vi's board is mostly about religion and sentencing right now. | Jabber is easily the most talkative poster. It takes the next three folks combined to reach jabber's total! |
Mavis is counting the number of times the message list is checked for each board, and the number of times that a posting is read. This gives a very different picture from the one above.
Most listed Board of the month |
Most read Board of the month | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| TomNine slips down the listings ... | ... but is the most read board. |
Quite a busy month for me on the site, with all the server changes. But I'm hoping that no-one noticed. It's like the Red Queen said, you have to run as fast as you can just to stay in the same place.
Deja News went toes-up. They were the big Usenet Archive. Any message that you posted to Usenet, ended up archived on their servers, including embarrassing stuff that you thought you'd sent anonymously, but your identity is revealed in the headers. But don't start sighing with relief; Google took over their data, and plans to put it back online.
And there's talk of making it available to anyone else who wants to index it and put it up. After all, this is Usenet, stuff posted publicly. I'm tempted to put up a server for it myself if that happens!
I checked the site statistics that Sandra counts up each night.
At the end of February 2001, there were about 324,000 pictures (16 gigabytes), 41 gigabytes of video, 4400 text files (mostly stories) and a total of about 57 gigabytes.
On Oprah, the Newsthumbs server, there's the NewsThumbs, which is another 7.7 million pictures in 420 gigabytes and 10.8 million text files, a total of 447 gigabytes. Plus another 7.5 million pictures on the older NewsThumbs server