#mcrmadness' random stuff

[mcrmadness]

I've heard so much about how caffeine affects ADHD (aka has no effect or makes a person tired instead), and I'm still not certain what caffeine does to me BUT I have before had coffee before class to prevent me from falling asleep these - tho it never worked out because I got so freaking drowsy anyway. And lately I have started to wonder if that was because I had coffee...

I just had a huge mug of tea that has caffeine in it, and immediately after finishing it I started getting so drowsy I started seeing microdreams and actually took a short nap. While sitting in front of my computer the whole time.

#mcrmadness' random stuff

[mcrmadness]

My head literally doesn't work before afternoon/evening. I'm at home following a school lesson online IN WHICH nothing happens. The teacher doesn't say much and there's nothing on the screen to look at.

I know what to do myself but I'm not able to pay attention for longer than 5 minutes/session every 30 minutes cos I just feel so tired and my attention span glitches. It's half past noon. I spent the morning watching music videos, listening to podcasts and doing jigsaw puzzles. Rn I feel like eating sweets or something cos, idk, dopamine deprivation?

Also my head is like. "Can we go to sleep please? It's too early to be up and to think."

#mcrmadness' random stuff #adhd

[mcrmadness]

Omg exciting times - I just dyed my hair myself for the first time ever! With my mom's vocal help, but still. And I did not even make a mess. I had heard that people have dyed their full bathrooms in the process, or that it's sort difficult to get the dye to the back of your head. I didn't find that so difficult after all. Also it really helps that I have trained myself to be almost ambidextrous.

So yeah, first time dyeing my own hair: check!

#mcrmadness' random stuff

[mcrmadness]

I got a random Tumblr badge

and like... yeah I sure have made over 100 posts:

And I think I deserve to have the remaining 651 badges too.

#mcrmadness' random stuff

[mcrmadness]

I've been reading Deadpool comics online and gosh I'm obsessed.

Nothing new considering I'm a fan of the films, and always wanted to read the comics but couldn't find them anywhere in my country, so interwebs it is.

The past few nights have been nothing but Deadpool comics in my dreams too, btw. Basic hyperfixation behaviour.

#mcrmadness' random stuff #deadpool

[mcrmadness]

On the other hand I really, really love writing things down with a pen on a paper, but at the same time it really annoys me because it means I will be having so much useless, filled paper and notebooks lying around everywhere. But I need to write stuff down with a pen in order to learn, and I just recently started doing that again when I learn languages. It looks like I actually learn better and really fast when I do that instead of just writing stuff on the PC.

But yeah, the downside is that I rarely ever look at these notes ever again after writing them down once, but it is necessary to write them down for learning purposes. Sure, I can always throw them away too, but it feels like a waste of time, energy and especially paper. I guess having something like a small whiteboard could maybe solve this problem, but I'm not sure. I still like having these papers for those times when I do need to check something I wrote cos I know it's on paper somewhere.

Right now I am actually going through Busuu's A1 course for German. I am actually already beyond that level (somewhere around B2 if I can trust all those placement tests), but I'm just choosing lessons that have topics or grammar stuff that I might need to brush up more. And also because my biggest problem with German is: the articles. They are just so hard to memorize that which words takes which article. I might know the noun already, but I don't trust my memory enough to agree with it over the article. So what I do now is go through the vocabulary too, and write down the words that I already know, in hopes that the articles would stick to my memory better this way since I'm writing these down solely FOR the articles rather than for the nouns themselves.

#mcrmadness' random stuff #language learning #learning german #langblr

[mcrmadness]

Idk if it's a common Tumblr thing or just my dash, but lately I have seen so many posts hating on LED headlights on cars. And like, no opinion on that since I don't exactly know what's the difference. All I know is that it might not be the driver's fault but the car manufacturer's fault. Iirc my car is that old that it doesn't have LED headlights, but I know for a fact that my car supports one type of halogen bulbs and those bulbs only. There might be a few different types for those, such as colour or the strength (I used to buy the +30% cos I was driving long distances during dark season a lot and having good view on those pitch black roads without street lamps was important), but there still isn't more than maybe 3 versions for me to choose.

So cars using LED lamps are most likely using those cos there just simply are no other choices. The car probably doesn't support halogen, so the driver cannot change to using those even if they'd want to. I don't know if LED lamps in cars are even replaceable?

All those posts also make me wonder if they were written in North America/US again, cos I know EU or at least my country has very strict rules about car lights.

But yeah, I'm not intending to start any kind of discourse, just thinking out loud cos it's so confusing how often I've seen hate on this particular topic on my dash lately...

#mcrmadness' random stuff

[mcrmadness]

My RSD and other mental temper tantrums seem to be directly linked to my level of exhaustion. I think I also get them more easily the more socially exhausted I am. Maybe I need RSD to tell me to isolate myself when my ambiverted ass is too excited to notice the introverted side has had enough...

#mcrmadness' random stuff

[mcrmadness]

It's almost May why the fuck is it still snowing???

#mcrmadness' random stuff

[mcrmadness]

I'm watching Monk now that it's added to Netflix in my country, and it's ironic how I sometimes find it difficult to focus on the plot when:

On the 4th episode, Monk is trying to hide his OCD and other symptoms as well as possible in order to be accepted to officially help the detectives. The amount of continuity errors in this is insane, tho:

Someone threw a trash on the floor which is seriously bothering Monk. In close-up images the trash is right next to the bin, but in the bigger, different angle the trash is like 1 meter away from the bin. And it keeps jumping between these cameras -> the trash's placement changes the whole time.

In a scene where Monk starts cleaning up as he's having a conversation with someone, the placement of those plates do not add-up. He's holding a plate, but in the next close-up he puts a frying pan into the sink. The frying pan, which he already put into the sink earlier, but in the previous scene it was again on the stove. Finally, when the scene ends and he leaves, the frying pan is back on the stove.

I'm pretty sure the flowers look a bit different too.

And I'm just 15 minutes in. I'm really pondering here if these are just normal continuity errors that happen in film industry all the time, OR if these were made on purpose as some sort of easter eggs to the viewer, to contrast Monk's attempt of controlling his OCD.

Whatever it is, I just notice these things more easily than ever before, because I'm a media student and I've trained to notice such errors in my own work when I'm filming and editing stuff. So it's kinda funny how much there are these minor errors in films. I've always been very fascinated by them, but this episode has been so loud about those that I'm actually wondering if they're on purpose and easter eggs.

Oh and another technical thing that annoyed me a bit: The audio and video are not 100% in sync sometimes, especially with the first two episodes. I think in this 4th episode they got their shit together and it's fine now. Audio and video not being in sync is one of my biggest pet peeves in everything, and I'm super passionate about that when I'm editing stuff myself!

#mcrmadness' random stuff

[mcrmadness]

People are always whining about medias not having enough or having bad lgbt+ rep. Has anyone here ever watched Deadpool and Deadpool 2? That's got a huge variety of all kinds of characters. And not just the films but already in the comics it all is canon.

#mcrmadness' random stuff #deadpool

[mcrmadness]

I got tagged by @theydoctor but I'm gonna make my own post instead of a reblog chain. So the point was to use this generator, and I don't think mine worked the way it's supposed to work (there's supposed to be a chart), but somehow this is still me..........

I think the chart was missing due to adblockers and now I cannot find this one again so I can't redo this and have a chart :D SO I'm just gonna leave this here XD

I made another one to show what it should actually look like tho:

Also I'm gonna tag @fichtfoxfuchs for this tag game, if you want to try out this generator as well :D No pressure, tho! /gen

#mcrmadness' random stuff #tag games

[mcrmadness]

I think I realized what my problem with German learning is.

Like, I keep saying I can't find any good, free online courses from German and which would be on my skill level (around B1 or B2). I have been trying to use Busuu now, because it seems like a really good alternative for Duolingo (which I stopped using for several reasons), and it offers also courses in B1 and B2, which is great. Except that I find them so so so hard to navigate through, and I finally understood why:

My damn ADHD again! These B1 and B2 levels often have the same topics in them in probably every language ever, and I don't understand why do they have to choose the most boring topics ever. I guess it's the intermediate or advanced level for you, but still, it becomes a super hard mode for me only due to my ADHD. The language is not the problem, only the thing it's talking about.

For example, Busuu's B1 course is a bit too easy for me already, but the topics are more tolerable: holidays, vacations, traveling, German culture, housing, living abroad... stuff like that. Yes, interesting! But hard to focus if the level is a bit too easy to me already.

Then we jump to the B2 course of Busuu. Okay now the topics get into: household forms, families, relationships and parenting - topics not really that close to me. But wait, there's more! Then it goes into discussing alternative medications, organic food, even work-freetime-balance and the current one had so long text about burnout and stress that it gave me so much stress I had to close that excercise lmao

But you see what I mean? The higher the levels, the more uninteresting the topics become to me personally. Ihave the free version so everything is locked unless I finish a lesson, or use one of the checkpoint lessons which opens that section and make the first lesson of the next section (such as "Emotions" or "Personal opinions") unlocked. I like this feature, cos this way I can skip lessons that sound uninteresting, but can still go back to the grammar lessons whenever needed. I think that's what I need to do. The B1 level still has lots of grammar topics I need to brush up more, but it'd be more ideal if I needed to use them and actually write myself instead of just choosing the correct option. I still like Busuu's style more, at least they TEACH grammar, unlike Duolingo that gave up on that some time ago. So it's not just picking words, but actually being taught about the meaning before they let you start picking words. I like that.

Now I also found some lessons on Europe Academy's website (meant for Erasmus+ and alike exchange students etc.) and I think these will be really good for me. I might see if they offer other languages too than just German, cos I still lack a place for learning some of the other languages Busuu doesn't offer and other websites don't offer for free, and in which Duolingo is pretty much useless now due to the changes they made for the UI.

#mcrmadness' random stuff

[mcrmadness]

I just realized that like... I don't know if people want to read die ärzte fanfics from me. The Richy Guitar fanfics definitely don't get that much traffic, so idk if there are people wondering "when will they post dä fanfics again? why don't they post any dä fanfics???" cos at least no one has said that to my face, which is why I assume no one's thinking like that. Also because my stats on AO3 very much indicate that people don't really need them, even tho every single one of them still has more traffic than my RG fics.

Anyway, what hit me was that there might never be new dä fics from me. Mostly because I have this one super long WIP and I get lots of new ideas all the time, but all the ides go for this WIP. And that is... good and bad. Because I've noticed people prefer shorter fics over long ones, but unfortunately I am incapable of writing short fics (also because I do not like reading short ones myself, I warm up so slowly and when I finally feel like "this fic is good actually", it ends and I'm annoyed cos I want to read more and there is nothing more to read)... So, the point of this ramble? That it's a bit of "no can do" situation if people want dä fics from me but are not willing to read the long fics, cos there most likely will never be anything but this one wip that is my never-ending project. Of course I cannot swear that I will never get any fic ideas that won't fit this wip, but almost all of them are already designed in my head to be a part of this WIP. It is anyway more like a collection of oneshots that I have tried to connect with a storyline, which is why I have to pay attention to things in them so that they also feel like they're from the same story...

I don't really know why I even wrote this post now. Hardly anyone in my followers even knows I write fanfiction and even smaller portition is even interested in my dä fanfics, so this post is basically completely useless anyway. But I still wanted to share this useless realization I just had...

#mcrmadness' random stuff #(dä)

[mcrmadness]

Can't believe there are people here visiting from Germany and one of them is called Richard. Pronounced the German way.

And there's also someone called Anja, as well as someone called Claudia.

Either Germans have no imagination or this is just a ridiculous coincidence lmao

#mcrmadness' random stuff

[mcrmadness]

Do you currently work as a horse groom? If so can you tell us about it? What discipline, what breed(s), what you like most, what do Finnish barns do in winter to keep horses warm, etc. Also why are Icelandic horses popular for trail riding/tourists? Why not finnhorses?

Oh what an interesting ask! Thank you, Anon!

I'm not currently working as one, but I worked as one for long enough to be able to answer to this :D I specialized in harness racing, and in Finland we have only trotters (vs. USA, where they also have pacers, but that's not what we do here and a horse running in pace leads to disqualification as it's faster than trot). I have also worked/been in a training at different riding stables, as well. I'll but my answer under the cut eventually because it will get SO long :D

What do you mean by discipline? It depends on a stable a lot how things are dealth with. Finland also has very strict laws about stuff like the minimum sizes of a stable/horse boxes, the outdoor areas and all that stuff. The stables I have worked at, try to provide as much outdoor time to the horses as possible which I also prefer - horses were made for moving and being outdoors, not for standing indoors most of the day. That is why I disapprove stables that have too many horses for the amount of paddocks and where horses get only a few hours of the day outdoors, or spend their outdoor time mostly in the walkers. The places I've worked at had no walkers at all.

The heating side of stables probably depends on the stable. The harness racing stable I worked at for almost 5 years (but several times within a period of 8 years), had heating only in the blankets/equipment room, washing stall and the break room for people. Some of these had a radiator, some had underfloor heating. The stable had no heating whatsoever - it was in the middle of the building so it had two doors, and then bigger sliding doors at the both ends of the building. The secret was: horses are so warm that their body heat is enough to heat up a full stable. Plus its better for the horses when the stable is not too warm, it remained somewhere abover 0 Celsius, I would say it was around +5C inside the stable in the winter, as I didn't really need my winter jacket there when working. We just kept the doors closed when it got really cold, and kept a horse in every corner of the stable to keep the water pipes from freezing. And when the stable was full of horses at nights, we didn't fully close the middle door unless it was really cold outside, as the stable would just get way too moist from all the heat that comes from the horses (especially after training, as the horses sweat and keep steaming as they dry).

It was also important to take the horses outside even in the winter. Standardbreds wear thick winter blankets, Finnhorses can survive without them but some stallions grow so thin and silky hair even in the winter that we often put blankets on them anyway. Cold doesn't really bother horses who grow a thick fur, but rain and wet snow are worse as it can go through the fur and cause back muscle problems to some horses. I know that at riding stables they often put tons of blankets on horses or clip them to keep them from growing thick fur, but I have never really understood this. I believe in more natural ways, and that horses enjoy being "naked" as often as possible, and I believe in using blankets only to dry them or when the cold or rain can actually make them freeze. So, I believe in using blankets only when there's an actual need because of the horse.

What comes to breeds - in harness racing we usually have warmbloods and cold bloods, latter being Finnhorses. The warmbloods are either American standardbreds, French trotters or mixtures of them two. Russian trotter/orvol have become much more rare nowadays and I have never seen them in my work. Most trotters in Finland are bay or chestnut (or sometimes black), but occasionally there might be grey horses too and that is most likely brought into the genetics by trotters of Russian/orlov origin as there was (or is?) lots of grey orvol trotters.

Riding horses are a different story. Different European warmblood riding horse breeds are very very common, especially German breeds. From ponies Welsh ponies are super common, as well as Shetland ponies. Sometimes you also see New Forest ponies, and Gotlann Russ ponies, and Haflingers, and especially mixed breeds or ponies whose family tree is a complete mystery to everyone. Latter are often bought and brought from abroad, especially back in the 90s and 2000s it was super common for riding schools to go buy cheap horses and ponies from Europe, and later sell them here for higher price. We also have Estonian breeds here often, Estonian horse is very similar to Finnhorse as they're also often slightly more draft than regular riding horses, but also chill and reliable like Finnhorses. But they come in so many sizes and shapes, I've known one whose withers were ar 180cm or something and he was the chillest horse ever. I rode him at least once as it was at a stable where I originally started my horse hobby and horseback riding. Norwegian Fjord horses are also popular here, and I've ridden at least one once.

Icelandic horses are very popular because they are probably the best breed ever for difficult grounds. They are also very chill, brave and co-operative. Finnhorses are good too and really fit for every horse sport ever, but I would say Finnhorses can be a bit more scaredy for trail riding. Finnhorses are also really strong, so sometimes it might require an experienced rider to be able to control one. Riding schools also often get their Finnhorses from harness racing stables after a horse's career is over, and they have this 5th gear built in them. If they enter the "MUST RUN" mode, they just get really competitive and can be difficult to control. Also when driving, Finnhorses are REALLY tough and sometimes even the best of drivers have to work really hard to keep them in control as they just have incredibly strong necks and heads, and they're not as sensitive to the bit as most warmblood horses are. I have driven both, and sometimes the arms really hurt like hell after Finnhorses because they just. Are like that. Meanwhile a standardbred might slow down when you just slightly pull the reins with your fingers. With Finnhorses you pull with your whole weight and body and the Finnhorse just pulls back because they want to RUN RUN RUN. (But of course some standardbreds are also like this, it's so much up to the horse's personality really.)

I have ridden an Icelandic horse once and I absolutely loved it! They feel extremely reliable and easy to control (at least the ones they give for beginners). Plus they have 4 or 5 gaits, and tölt was made for trail riding exclusively. The horse I was riding, was having a hard time finding that gait and she actually switched to it through gallop, but once she entered tölt... it really does feel extremely comfortable! It's something else. It's literally like sitting on a chair, the horse's ass just dropped down and I wasn't moving in the saddle at all and it was incredibly comfortable gait! I definitely want to go trail riding on an Icelandic horse one day again!

This whole short trail riding trip was so bizarre btw, because we went there late on the evening in the winter so it was pitch black, but we went trail riding anyway. Everyone had headlamps (me, my classmate of that time and the person leading the trail ride), and suddenly we heard some weird barking sound coming towards us. A small animal stopped in front of the horses, went completely quiet and was staring at the horses like "what the fuck are those?", and the horses stared at it like "what the fuck is that?" :D It was a raccoon dog! And then it just turned around and started running away and kept barking. It is one of the weirdest encounters ever with a wild animal, and I was told these dogs don't bark, but this one definitely was barking. I will never forget that animal's face when it just stopped there like in cartoons to stare at these big weird animals who were completely chill and just stared at this weirdly behaving and huge mitten-looking thing. That also just shows how Icelandic horses are like, I don't remember my horse even flinching, she just was staring at the raccoon dog and tried to understand wtf is that but running away didn't even cross her mind. Some other breeds could have turned around and ran away in panic. Of course there's also huge differences between horses, I have worked with more sensitive horses who get scared by everything, and then very chill horses of the same breed who don't bother getting scared by anything ever.

I also want to say one thing about Finnhorses: they are a funny breed. Most of them are extremely smart, and some of them are pranksters. I'm convinced that some of them understand Finnish, because I speak to horses a lot and I swear some of them understood exactly what I said. One particular gelding didn't like being caught from the paddock and would always start evading and running away, even when offered carrots or bread. Then one day the same thing started again, and I was not really feeling it. I just said him "[Name], your owner is here, don't you want to go for a walk with him?" as the owner visited there only a few times a year. The gelding waled directly to my lap and let me catch him. I swear he understood what I said, I still don't know how, but he had just been running away from me and then was like "okay well in THAT case, I can come indoors with you" and walked directly to me.

Tho, it's not just Finn horses, all horses have those really smart invidivuals that cause problems by figuring out how to open paddocks or doors and they become the best escape artists ever, driving the humans nuts. Usually the smarter the horse, the more opinions they have over everything. Including what happens in the races. Some days they just don't feel like winning, and they don't. Some days they keep teasing everyone and then go like "ok actually I do want to win today" and then they win the race. You really work together with the horse, and no horse is forced to do anything, because they simply won't run nor win if they are not feeling like it. My then-employer used to say that the horses choose their own career, so sometimes I've seen mares quit their career and become breedmares because they just lost their motivation for running for good, so so be it, then.

Okay, I hope this opened this even a bit now :D Feel free to ask more if I didn't answer everything, or if there's something else you would like to know (more) about! Also forgive me for this long answer, I just love horses so much and I've got so many great memories from working with amazing horses, including that time when I tamed a 3-year-old Finnhorse stallion who had barely been handled at all :D But that's a story for another time.

#answered asks #Anonymous #mcrmadness' random stuff #just horse groom things #finland