Inspiring loyalty

Elsebeth Rhiannon talks about the preciousness of trust and loyalty in her blog.

As cliche as it sounds, I believe in the power of shared values, goals and vision to inspire such loyalty in capsuleers, to make people want to contribute and belong, to foster a sense of togetherness.

There are people who think companionship, friendship and community is enough by themselves.

I believe the people who commit to goals for friendship and community only are the ones whose motivation falters when they meet new, more tolerant, prestigious or charismatic friends.

Freedom and romantic relationships

Sometimes Gallente argue having romantic relationships subject to clan approval limits freedom.

In theory, maybe, for some definitions of freedom. In practice - why would I want to have a serious romantic relationship with somebody my kin do not approve of? There is usually a good reason for such disapproval.

I certainly hope my relatives would try to stop me if I had a strike of idiocy and wanted to get seriously involved with a blooder or something.

Dead and dead-er

A pilot dies when they are podded. A pilot dies when they expire stationside.

Most ordinary people think being alive or dead is a binary thing. A person is either one or the other.

For capsuleers, permanence makes a dead person dead-er.

Point-range and light tackling

Point-range is almost as important for light tackling as good scan resolution for quick locking speed, because often where you or the target lands on the grid matters a lot.

The small ships can often react, align and escape in the time it takes for you to align and start burning towards them to get in range. And the big ships you should catch anyway.

Pride goes before fall

Yes. What a mortifying thought. I'm so happy I'm not a diplomat or a PR person.

Capsuleering certainly does its best to teach me humility. I try to console myself by claiming it is this "growing up" thing I keep hearing about.

The Lonely Pilot Syndrome

Sometimes, in bars and other places I run into pilots who like to talk to me. They talk, and suddenly I find myself the recipient of their life story and personal secrets.

I have wondered why they do that.

I have asked a few pilots who have convoed me out of the blue, and they claimed they picked me because I just have a kind face.

I personally find it hard to believe I'm somehow uniquely easy to talk to, so I've started to jokingly call the phenomenon "The Lonely Pilot Syndrome".

Some of them have been good and entertaining company, so inability to make any friends does not really sound like a plausible explanation. Maybe they are so desperate for the company and understanding of other pilots?

The unsettling question is, will I ever become that lonely?

Industry and innocents in space

Sometimes, I hear opinions to the effect of not attacking innocent industrialists.

I suppose innocence as a concept is a relative thing. Where I come from, arms manufacturers and dealers are hardly considered innocent.