heavy metal - ozzfest - ASCII - Chthonic - government - conspiracies - tamarind - CD length

[10:58:48 AM] pD says: http://www.rocket-craft.com/works_car_en02.html

[10:58:53 AM] pD says: starting a new thread

[10:59:00 AM] pD says: makes it easier to input into blog

[10:59:34 AM] pD says: thanks for the link AE

[10:59:42 AM] pD says: what is it? a sofa/cushion?

[11:00:00 AM] AE says: stuffed plush engine toy.

[11:00:26 AM] pD says: ah!

[11:00:42 AM] pD says: btw, what defines heavy metal?

[11:01:53 AM] AE says: I think any element with a certain atomic weight or higher is classified as a heavy metal...

[11:02:11 AM] AE says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metals

[11:02:31 AM] AE says: according to the article, there are over 40 definitions

[11:03:02 AM] AE says: but the one I was thinking of is "having a specific gravity greater than 4.0

[11:03:03 AM] AE says: "

[11:05:00 AM] nsy says: this is heavy metal: http://downlode.org/Creative/metal_family_tree.txt

[11:06:21 AM] pD says: is Ozzfest a big thing?

[11:06:29 AM] pD is clearly not into the metal scene

[11:06:40 AM] nsy says: the tree is from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal:_A_Headbanger's_Journey

[11:06:52 AM] nsy says: yes, ozzfest is a big thing

[11:07:06 AM] AE says: that tree is awe some!

[11:07:24 AM] pD says: tree is a riot!

[11:07:30 AM] AE says: not only that someone would make it... but that they made it in ASCII!

[11:07:38 AM] AE says: that's some serious commitment.

[11:07:51 AM] pD says: wasn't there some kind of software that lets you do that in the old days?

[11:07:59 AM] nsy says: music geeks - our dexterous brethren.

[11:08:35 AM] pD says: now that i think about it, i think you can do with WordPerfect in DOS

[11:08:42 AM] pD says: still hard, of course

[11:09:09 AM] nsy says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCII_art

[11:10:51 AM] nsy says: there are programs you can use, but they are not for ascii art "purists"

[11:12:18 AM] pD says: :'-) - happy crying

[11:13:28 AM] nsy says: haha - thats a good one.

[11:13:40 AM] nsy says: so, why are you asking about heavy metal?

[11:14:35 AM] pD says: well, i was told that there is a band from Taiwan called Chthonic that will be part of the 2007 OzzFest

[11:14:42 AM] pD says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chthonic_%28band%29

[11:15:05 AM] pD says: i also watched a documentary on Metalica which I rather enjoyed

[11:15:46 AM] pD says:

[11:16:01 AM] pD says: apparently, this band is really big in northern europe

[11:16:40 AM] pD says: so, going back to the definition of metal, what is it? beyond the face paint, i mean

[11:16:51 AM] pD says: would KISS be considered metal, for example?

[11:18:18 AM] AE says: very.

[11:24:56 AM] nsy says: there is a new surge of bands that wear a lot of make-up and costumes, etc. some call it goth metal, or a branch thereof. (see H.I.M.) for example. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIM_(band). they don't do the makeup much anymore, though.

[11:47:39 AM] nsy says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_music

[1:09:59 PM] pD says: nsy, thanks for the link on heavy metal

[1:10:02 PM] pD says: fascinating stuff

[1:10:42 PM] pD says: did you know that The Who was once the world's loudest band in Guinness Book Of World Records

[1:11:15 PM] pD says: the thing with metal for me is that they all seem to sound awfully similar

[1:11:55 PM] pD says: the use of power chords, for example, seems to provide an excellent way of propelling sound waves with an emphasis on volume

[1:12:06 PM] pD says: nothing wrong with the style per se, it has its places

[1:12:18 PM] pD says: but, i do get bored easily

[1:13:27 PM] pD says: what i find equally fascinating, oddly, is that they tend to have pretty interesting lyrics - at least not boring lyrics

[1:13:47 PM] pD says: but, again, due to the volume, i find it hard to understand unless there is sub-title or something like that

[1:17:41 PM] pD says: i enjoy the theatrics of metal performance - in many ways, it reminds me of opera

[1:20:21 PM] pD says: having said all the above, i would still try to get a copy of the Chthonic CD compilation. for the same reason that i have a CD of songs praising Chairman Mao

[1:20:36 PM] pD says: just because

[1:20:52 PM] pD says: and, i just read that their music has been banned in China

[1:21:21 PM] pD says: what is the thing with governments? do they not ever learn? ban something is equivalent of making something super-sexy

[1:21:43 PM] pD is wondering how to get a ban from a government, any government...

[1:21:54 PM] AE says: perhaps they are share holders in it...

[1:22:06 PM] nsy says: yes, maybe they hold stock in the things they ban...

[1:22:58 PM] nsy says: running out of tax dollars? buy stock in geffen then ban one of their acts

[1:38:43 PM] nsy says: i saw an interesting thing about music and electronics last night. it talked about this: http://www.snopes.com/music/media/cdlength.asp

[3:08:17 PM] nsy says: in case anyone's curious about the tamarind candies, here is more info about the tree: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamarind

[3:12:41 PM] pD says: i have heard similar story about CD length, but it has to do with Morita's (Sony Chairman) wife whose favorite music is the 9th

[3:13:47 PM] pD says: naturally, i googled a site that claims to provide the official sony history - although it looks awfully spartan for a "sony" site: http://www.sony.net/Fun/SH/1-20/h1.html

[3:14:03 PM] pD says: that talks about the CD project between Sony and Philips

[3:21:34 PM] nsy says: yep - here's the quote... Philips argued for a 11.5 cm disc because this was the same length as the diagonal length of an audiocassette. Also, this size satisfied the DIN standard and thus would be the right size for a car audio system in the European market. But it was Ohga, a trained musician, who decisively presented Sony's argument for a 12 cm, seventy-five minute disc. He argued that, pictJust as a curtain is never lowered halfway through an opera, a disc should be large enough to hold all of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.pict Ohga believed that the disc needed to be of a practical size for music aficionados and that 95% of all classical music pieces would fit onto a seventy-five minute disc. Therefore, a 12 cm disc was necessary to guarantee seventy-five minutes of playing time.

[3:24:24 PM] pD says: in fairness, however, this description does not definitively addressed the "why" - for all we/I know Ohga is kissing up to the boss by making sure that the new gee-weez product would wow the boss's wife.

[3:25:14 PM] pD says: caio

[3:25:33 PM] pD says: NSA Chatters - another senseless commercial

[3:25:48 PM] nsy says: bye :)

==

NSA Chatters crew

norse - birthday - mythology - pretzels - outlook - gmail - DOS - open source - mac - marriage - transformer - mings

[7/25/2007 11:52:55 AM] pD says: howdy! howdy!

[7/25/2007 11:53:02 AM] pD says: so, did i miss anything good?

[7/25/2007 12:12:40 PM] nsy says: the water sports yesterday were fun. they covered the new product features, but you can get slides of those.

[7/25/2007 12:13:18 PM] pD says: cool! i should

[7/25/2007 12:13:25 PM] nsy says: i didn’t know you already looked at a Norse myth book, so i brought you another one - you don’t need to read it if your myth curiosity has been satiated.

[7/25/2007 12:13:43 PM] pD says: sorry for missing the festivity - the little boss turned 1 yesterday

[7/25/2007 12:13:47 PM] pD says: oh, yes, thanks for he book

[7/25/2007 12:13:57 PM] pD says: if you have no objection, i would still like to browse it

[7/25/2007 12:13:58 PM] nsy says: happy b-day little boss! woo hoo

[7/25/2007 12:14:10 PM] nsy says: sure - keep it as long as you like

[7/25/2007 12:14:18 PM] pD says: i did read the cliff note version from AE, but, would like to get a bit more into it

[7/25/2007 12:14:30 PM] pD says: i see a lot of similarity to greek and roman mythology

[7/25/2007 12:14:50 PM] pD says: the b-day thing was funny because the little boss inadvertently planted his foot onto the b-day cake

[7/25/2007 12:14:53 PM] nsy says: yes, same premises. like soap operas and novellas, really

[7/25/2007 12:15:09 PM] pD says: i have pix

[7/25/2007 12:15:09 PM] nsy says: ha! that’s classic!

[7/25/2007 12:15:20 PM] pD says: so, i will be in the position to black mail him

[7/25/2007 12:15:22 PM] nsy says: ooh - where/how can i see them?

[7/25/2007 12:15:22 PM] pD says: later on

[7/25/2007 12:15:39 PM] pD says: i need to bring them in

[7/25/2007 12:16:26 PM] nsy says: that would be great. my first b-day my mom made me a cherry vanilla cake from scratch and i wouldn't eat any. i just asked for pretzels

[7/25/2007 12:16:51 PM] nsy says: "prets"

[7/25/2007 12:17:22 PM] nsy says: how are you holding up with the visitors?

[7/25/2007 1:20:42 PM] pD says: oh, we just need to take turn to breath with so many in a confined space

[7/25/2007 1:20:46 PM] pD says: actually, it is going okay

[7/25/2007 1:20:51 PM] pD says: i have given them maps and my car

[7/25/2007 1:21:00 PM] pD says: and, so far, they have not been lost too badly

[7/25/2007 1:21:09 PM] pD has changed the chat topic to "google this"

[7/25/2007 1:21:21 PM] pD says: this is an NSA Chatters conversation, btw

[7/25/2007 1:21:33 PM] pD says: so, i have been a regular user of google - like most people

[7/25/2007 1:21:49 PM] pD says: but, could somebody explain why the attraction with the google mail service thingie?

[7/25/2007 1:21:55 PM] pD says: what is wrong with what we have got today?

[7/25/2007 1:52:43 PM] AE says: you can store up to 10 GB of mail.

[7/25/2007 1:52:57 PM] AE says: you can search it with Google's algorithms

[7/25/2007 1:53:10 PM] AE says: and it's not in Singapore.

[7/25/2007 1:54:31 PM] pD says: so, we are dumping Outlook en mass? I like my outlook...

[7/25/2007 1:54:40 PM] AE says: no, you can still use Outlook

[7/25/2007 1:54:51 PM] pD says: also, how do I backup my email box? i use to just make a copy of my .pst onto a network drive

[7/25/2007 1:54:56 PM] AE says: If you still wish to hold on to outdated technology, that's your issue.

[7/25/2007 1:55:00 PM] AE says: yes

[7/25/2007 1:55:11 PM] AE says: as long as there is room on it.

[7/25/2007 1:55:11 PM] pD is an old fart

[7/25/2007 1:55:22 PM] pD says: so, i can still back up my .pst?

[7/25/2007 1:55:43 PM] AE says: of course. Gmail is now acting as our POP/SMTP server.

[7/25/2007 1:56:03 PM] AE says: so, the functionality in Outlook is unchanged, it's just getting mail from a different server.

[7/25/2007 1:56:15 PM] pD says: that is a good point

[7/25/2007 1:56:17 PM] AE says: and... all the same functionality is offered on the website.

[7/25/2007 1:56:31 PM] AE says: so if you *want* to, you can dump Outlook.

[7/25/2007 1:56:36 PM] AE says: but you don't have to.

[7/25/2007 1:56:52 PM] pD says: i grew up with DOS, 'nuf said

[7/25/2007 1:56:57 PM] pD says: i still like DOS

[7/25/2007 1:57:09 PM] AE says: well, we can find you a copy of Pine if you like...

[7/25/2007 1:57:14 PM] AE says: you'll feel right at home then.

[7/25/2007 1:57:31 PM] pD says: i also liked pine

[7/25/2007 1:57:37 PM] pD says: although it is good to have a GUI

[7/25/2007 1:57:51 PM] AE says: Pine was nice because it NEVER crashed.

[7/25/2007 1:58:00 PM] pD says: i think, in the old days when it is strictly command line, it is helpful to exclude a lot of people

[7/25/2007 1:58:02 PM] AE says: but yeah, functionality wise, it's pretty old.

[7/25/2007 1:58:22 PM] pD says: but, since my mom is on email, i have slowly shifted to GUI...

[7/25/2007 1:58:47 PM] AE says: .Mac?

[7/25/2007 1:58:57 PM] pD says: never have been a mac person

[7/25/2007 1:59:02 PM] pD says: i have nothing against it

[7/25/2007 1:59:03 PM] AE says: ah. yahoo then?

[7/25/2007 1:59:06 PM] pD says: intellectually,

[7/25/2007 1:59:30 PM] pD says: but, of the several times that i tried to use mac, I found the UI very confusing

[7/25/2007 1:59:38 PM] pD says: i think that is a function of my PC-centric world view

[7/25/2007 1:59:46 PM] pD says: but, i did use AppleIIe

[7/25/2007 1:59:46 PM] AE says: yes. it's not what you're used to.

[7/25/2007 1:59:48 PM] pD says: great box

[7/25/2007 1:59:51 PM] AE says: what is that?

[7/25/2007 2:00:03 PM] pD says: i used to run the Basic interpreter to scar people

[7/25/2007 2:00:12 PM] pD says: Apple's old old computer

[7/25/2007 2:00:17 PM] pD says: Apple II e

[7/25/2007 2:00:21 PM] AE says: Oh... got it. hehe.

[7/25/2007 2:00:24 PM] pD says: it was more like PC than the closed system

[7/25/2007 2:00:44 PM] AE says: and now with OS X they've gone full circle.

[7/25/2007 2:01:03 PM] AE says: you can use most open source/Linux apps with little modification.

[7/25/2007 2:01:05 PM] AE says: most

[7/25/2007 2:01:09 PM] pD says: oh, what is with OS X?

[7/25/2007 2:01:09 PM] AE says: not all

[7/25/2007 2:01:21 PM] AE says: it uses a FreeBSD core

[7/25/2007 2:01:40 PM] AE says: they coupled it with some other kernel mods and called it Darwin.

[7/25/2007 2:01:47 PM] AE says: but it's Unix.

[7/25/2007 2:01:54 PM] pD says: cool! I am all for "de facto" standards

[7/25/2007 2:02:18 PM] pD says: i think the attraction of DOS/PC world for me is that it is easy to hack

[7/25/2007 2:02:20 PM] AE says: I wish they would extend standards to those little machines at the checkout counter!

[7/25/2007 2:03:05 PM] AE says: each one is different! Each store has little markers on their machine helping you find the right button to push, and then the cashier still needs to help most people.

[7/25/2007 2:03:57 PM] pD says: actually, in Korea, you just point your cell phone and it pays (deduct from a debit account)

[7/25/2007 2:04:15 PM] pD says: when it comes to retailing electronics, the US is quite behind

[7/25/2007 2:55:28 PM] pD says: so, what were you guys doing this morning when we were having our off site excitement?

[7/25/2007 2:58:58 PM] AE says: working.

[7/25/2007 2:59:34 PM] pD says: you should have come to the off-site then... ;)

[7/25/2007 3:45:15 PM] pD says: wait! AE is celebrating 10 years of marriage

[7/25/2007 3:45:22 PM] pD says: but, i thought his son is around 10 years old

[7/25/2007 3:45:33 PM] pD doing the math in his mind

[7/25/2007 3:45:36 PM] pD says: with great difficulty

[7/25/2007 3:46:09 PM] pD says: hmm...

[7/25/2007 3:46:44 PM] nsy says: actually, 11 years, i think

[7/25/2007 3:46:59 PM] pD says: his kid or marriage?

[7/25/2007 3:47:10 PM] nsy says: marriage

[7/25/2007 3:47:10 PM] pD says: :)!

[7/25/2007 3:47:30 PM] nsy says: yes, the math is close...

[7/25/2007 3:47:38 PM] pD says: darn! could have been a good story...

[7/25/2007 3:48:39 PM] pD says: btw, is AE coming in on Friday?

[7/25/2007 3:57:09 PM] pD says: have you seen the transformer film? i was told that it was pretty entertaining

[7/25/2007 3:57:39 PM] pD says: i am looking for entertainment ideas for my house guests so they do not kill each other

[7/25/2007 3:58:09 PM] pD says: oh, i also saw the film Shooter with Mark Walberg

[7/25/2007 3:58:26 PM] pD says: he is pretty entertaining as an action actor

[7/25/2007 3:58:36 PM] pD says: wasn't he a rapper before or something?

[7/25/2007 5:15:24 PM] nsy says: marky mark and the funky bunch, and i think he might have been a backstreet boy too

[6:13:31 AM] AE says: AE + Kusum = 11 years

[6:13:40 AM] AE says: Quinn = 10 years

[6:13:46 AM] AE says: Megan = 6 years

[6:14:04 AM] AE says: AE will be watching the Transformer's movie on Friday, so will not be coming in.

[9:25:02 AM] pD says: cool! i would like to get a full analysis of the film next week

[9:25:21 AM] pD says: btw, what does Kusum mean? it is a cool name

[2:04:58 PM] pD says: guess where i just went to lunch

[2:05:44 PM] AE says: Oh! I love guessing games!

[2:05:49 PM] AE says: Um... Mars?

[2:05:59 PM] AE says: no wait.... uh....

[2:05:59 PM] AE says: Mars?

[2:06:04 PM] pD says: wrong direction

[2:06:07 PM] pD says: but, the right idea

[2:06:16 PM] pD says: one syllable destination

[2:06:22 PM] AE says: Oh... Moon?

[2:06:38 PM] pD says: good guess, even if not right

[2:06:41 PM] pD says: keep going

[2:06:54 PM] AE says: Sun? (I hear their food is really spicy!)

[2:07:05 PM] AE says: Earth?

[2:07:17 PM] AE says: Mings?

[2:07:27 PM] pD says: gotta get to the Mars and Moon path

[2:07:30 PM] pD says: think M

[2:07:36 PM] pD says: yes, Ming's

[2:08:04 PM] AE says: Wow! I'd love to try their food sometime!

[2:08:10 PM] AE says: what did you have?

[2:08:49 PM] pD says: dim sum, you know the usual

[2:09:00 PM] pD says: i was trying to get people to order dishes at la cart

[2:09:07 PM] pD says: but, dim sum was the preferred method

===
NSA Chatters crew

pearl - perl - curmudgeon - think - Han Solo - birthday - truck driver - veggie dip

[12:20:22 PM] pD says: who is pearl?

[12:20:35 PM] AE says: programming language.

[12:20:58 PM] pD says: did not know that a programming language comes with a little girl's voice these days

[12:21:03 PM] pD says: kind of disturbing

[12:21:06 PM] AE says: weird. isn't it.

[12:21:06 PM] nsy says: things in tea?

[12:21:16 PM] AE says: also in oysters.

[12:21:30 PM] AE says: oyster tea programming language.

[12:21:32 PM] pD says: wait! that is perl

[12:21:38 PM] AE says: oh... you're correct.

[12:21:47 PM] AE says: it's a skit with Will Ferrel.

[12:21:54 PM] pD says: oyster tea... kind of crunchy?

[12:22:09 PM] AE says: personally, it's a little too juvenile for me.

[12:22:16 PM] AE says: but some people seem to really like it.

[12:22:41 PM] pD says: sorry, i am lost. what are we referring to now?

[12:23:00 PM] AE says: they're watching a skit with Will Ferrel and Pearl.

[12:23:11 PM] AE says: Pearl is... Will's daughter?

[12:23:18 PM] pD says: if you say so

[12:23:19 PM] AE says: Friends daughter?

[12:23:26 PM] AE says: something like that.

[12:23:43 PM] pD says: btw, who will man the store when everyone is in the off-site?

[12:23:48 PM] pD says: just wondering

[12:24:08 PM] AE says: http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/74

[12:24:22 PM] AE says: us support folks will still have our phones going.

[12:24:38 PM] pD says: calling each other to get out of meetings

[12:24:43 PM] pD says: that is a good idea

[12:24:57 PM] AE says: heh. hadn't thought of that!

[12:25:08 PM] AE says: I'm actually looking forward to meeting everyone.

[12:26:59 PM] pD is a curmudgeon

[12:27:09 PM] pD says: so, i have seen the video with will and pearl

[12:27:30 PM] pD says: it is amusing, but what is the big fuzz about?

[12:27:40 PM] pD says: what am i missing?

[12:27:52 PM] AE says: i don't know. nothing as far as I know.

[12:28:02 PM] AE says: M was sharing it with S.

[12:28:16 PM] AE says: that brought it to the current reality.

[12:29:30 PM] pD says: the following is for google bot's

[12:29:34 PM] pD says: nsa chatters

[12:29:41 PM] pD says: end message

[12:29:55 PM] AE says: you have to be more creative about working the phrase nsa chatters into conversation.

[12:30:01 PM] AE says: it's a little abrupt!

[12:30:07 PM] nsy says: what is nsa chatters?

[12:30:21 PM] AE says: blah blah blah... btw NSA CHATTERS... it's a bit jaring really.

[12:30:39 PM] pD says: well, think of it as a comercial break

[12:30:54 PM] pD says: i suppose we can come up with a tag line

[12:30:59 PM] pD says: but, that requires thinking

[12:31:04 PM] pD says: thinking is hard

[12:31:11 PM] AE says: oh.. well forget that then.

[12:31:29 PM] AE says: we get paid to think... and as far as i know no one's paid us anything for this!

[12:31:45 PM] pD says: my point precisely

[12:31:53 PM] pD says: thinking is for wimps

[12:32:08 PM] pD says: young men - just type away

[12:32:23 PM] AE says: I totally agree!

[12:32:25 PM] pD says: btw, we went up to SF on Saturday

[12:32:48 PM] AE says: I'm a big fan of the Han Solo school of "irrational action before thought"!

[12:32:58 PM] AE says: how was SF?

[12:33:19 PM] pD says: we figured that it would be "eaiser" to take the family to a place that we know fairly well

[12:33:40 PM] pD says: my whole family is coming to visit to celebrate the little boss' one year birthday

[12:34:02 PM] AE says: when is that?

[12:34:09 PM] pD says: did han solo actually said that - "irrational action before thought"? i do nto recall

[12:37:08 PM] AE says: no. he did not need to say it: he simply did it!

[12:40:27 PM] pD says: actually, i thought he was quite cynical - recall that he did not want to get involved with the rescue until the reward was mentioined

[12:40:56 PM] pD says: it is true that he charged the storm troopers solo in the rescue, but that is not irrational as such - it worked to some extent

[12:43:30 PM] AE says: but it was not thought out

[1:23:47 PM] pD says: love how nsy puts S in his place...

[1:23:57 PM] pD says: nsy rocks!

[1:24:09 PM] pD is looking for his pirate pom-poms

[1:29:59 PM] pD says: btw, the his laptop fixed?

[1:30:47 PM] nsy says: not that i know of

[1:45:11 PM] pD says: i was going to find a han solo clip on youtube

[1:45:14 PM] pD says: not seeing anything

[1:45:28 PM] pD says: i wonder if george lucas has been culling those as well, that would be fitting of his style

[1:45:34 PM] pD says: Lucas the litigator

[1:46:56 PM] pD says: http://www.film.com/movies/story/georgelucaswantsyou/14895159

[1:49:46 PM] pD says: i have always wondered what it would be like to be a truck driver

[1:49:57 PM] pD says: could be an enjoyabel life

[1:50:10 PM] pD says: anotehr alternative was to be a postal delivery guy in the rural area

[1:50:21 PM] pD says: but, i don't like dealing with dogs

[4:51:19 PM] pD says: that was not too painful

[4:54:36 PM] AE says: and we got free food.

[4:55:08 PM] pD says: not to take anything aways from fruits since i am a personal fan

[4:55:13 PM] pD says: but, that ain't no food

[4:55:23 PM] AE says: i was thinking of the veggies and dip.

[4:55:36 PM] AE says: if you just drink the dip straight... it's quite filling.

[4:55:44 PM] pD says: ah! i did not have those. so, in the pD-centric wrold, that does not count

[4:56:01 PM] pD says: i would pay to see you drink the dip straight

[4:56:14 PM] AE says: how much?

[4:56:23 PM] pD says: how much would you drink?

[4:56:29 PM] AE says: (we've now established what kind of person I am)

[4:56:41 PM] AE says: depends on if the money would cover the hospital bills.

[4:56:54 PM] AE says: then amount is not in question.

[4:57:19 PM] pD says: probably not enough - but you should do it for pride, country, family, and the knowledge of how much dip you can consume

[4:57:46 PM] pD says: i say that in and of itself, as a self-discovery journey, is well worth the efforts

[4:57:57 PM] pD is once again looking for his pirate pompoms

===

NSA Chatters crew

santa cruz - lost boys - alan guilbert - NY Philharmonics - acres - band practice - sound insulations - geeks - steam roller - reverse polarity

[10:19:54 AM] pD says: hi nsy

[10:19:59 AM] pD says: thanks for the info on santa cruz

[10:20:09 AM] pD says: would you mind if i post it sans your phone number

[10:20:15 AM] pD says: makes for good references

[10:24:33 AM] nsy says: sure :)

[10:25:07 AM] nsy says: oh, and they are showing "the lost boys" movie on the beach where some scenes were filmed - next Wed, I believe. I can't wait.

[10:25:20 AM] nsy says: and the Moscow Circus is in town, they do a 45 min show on the wharf

[10:25:42 AM] nsy says: santa cruz rules

[10:25:47 AM] pD says: who are the lost boys?

[10:26:27 AM] pD says: this is from nsy - guru of santa cruz

[10:26:28 AM] pD says: Here are some links fro Santa Cruz...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz,_California

Metro Santa Cruz lists events, and you can search by date and type:

http://calendar.metroactive.com/calendar/Events?StartDate=2006-12-18&EventCategory=&RegionCity=oid%3A5892&searchPhrase=

Wander along Pacific ave

http://www.downtownsantacruz.com/

Take the train!

http://www.roaringcamp.com/fares.html

Shakespeare is great for Babies!

http://shakespearesantacruz.org/summer2007/calendar.html

A good way to kill an hour or 2:

http://www2.ucsc.edu/seymourcenter/visitor_information.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz_Museum_of_Natural_History

A bit off the beaten path, but fun:

http://www.mysteryspot.com/

Bonfante Gardens was recently purchased by Gilroy Theme parks, but is supposedly nice:

http://www.gilroygardens.org/

Off HWY 9 in Felton, this is an easy, paved loop through a section of old redwoods. Get a brochure at the visitors center, and follow the numbered items to get history of certain spots. Even better if you follow a volunteer docent. There is one older gentleman who knows all the "unspoken" history, and its is pretty interesting stuff. Only takes about an hour if you are slow.

http://www.bahiker.com/southbayhikes/henrycowell.html

The Beach boardwalk !

http://www.beachboardwalk.com/01_events.html

http://www.boardwalkbowl.com/events.html

Mini Golf:

http://www.beachboardwalk.com/02_neptunes_kingdom.html

Classic corner arcade games - yeah!

http://www.beachboardwalk.com/02_casino_arcade.html

You can walk from the Boardwalk to the Wharf. The only places I would recommend to eat there are Riva Fish House or Olitas Mexican Grill.

http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/08.16.00/riva-0033.html

Dining is actually better down town, which is about a 10 minute walk from the Wharf.

Kianti's is Italian-style family place. Good food (nothing fancy), reasonable prices, big portions, great service. They sing and dance and toss pizzas on weekend nights at 7 and 9. http://www.rojo.com/story/T4MN3675ZlDjpqRv

If you are willing to drive to Felton, the Tyrolean Inn is great Bavarian food! http://www.tyroleaninn.com/

If you want a really great (but pricey) adult dinner - make reservations at Pearl Alley Bistro. http://www.pearlalley.com/

Another good eatery, but requires driving down Soquel a bit is the Crepe Place:

http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/12.12.96/dining-9650.html

For dessert, just walk down town Pacific ave to Chocolat and order a copper pot of Sofia to share. Yum!

For breakfast, Walnut Cafe is the local favorite, but usually has a long wait. http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/02.14.01/dining-0107.html

Hoffman's also does a good breakfast, and everything else there is good, too! http://www.hoffmansbakery.com/aboutus.htm

Zachary's is also a local favorite. http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/06.14.00/zacharys-0024.html

If you are willing to leave the downtown and drive to food for breakfast, you have to try Cafe Brazil! Crowded, ling wait - but worth it!

http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/05.04.05/dining-0518.html

Nice lounge for adults after hours:

http://www.redsantacruz.com/

[10:28:05 AM] nsy says: just one of my top 5 movies ;). cheezy 80's vampire flick: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/196737/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093437/

[10:32:23 AM] pD says: cool!

[10:32:26 AM] pD says: i will put it on my list

[10:44:20 AM] AE says: wow pD. You know a lot about our back yard up here...

[10:44:23 AM] AE says: kinda... scary.

[10:44:34 AM] AE says: Guess where I'm going?

[10:44:39 AM] AE says: that's right! Running!

[10:44:43 AM] AE says: bye

[10:50:52 AM] pD says: in the meantime, pD shall sit on his butt

[10:51:09 AM] pD says: 's a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it

[1:01:10 PM] pD says: alan gilbert

[1:01:22 PM] pD says: is going to be the new boss at NY Philharmonics

[1:01:23 PM] pD says: http://nyphil.org/attend/guests/index.cfm?page=profile&personNum=478&seasonNum=7

[1:01:29 PM] pD says: hail gilbert

[1:02:03 PM] pD says: on NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/arts/music/18phil.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

[1:16:07 PM] nsy says: gilbert is a chump - what's so great about gilbert anyway?

[1:16:15 PM] AE says: Wow! I just ran with my son. 5 miles!

[1:16:29 PM] nsy playing devils advocate to rattle pD's cage

[1:16:31 PM] AE says: who's gilbert?

[1:16:39 PM] AE says: *read read read read*

[1:16:43 PM] AE says: Ok. got it.

[1:17:21 PM] nsy says: greetings, runs-with-a-kid

[1:18:37 PM] AE says: hello. sorry i forgot to log back in. been busy?

[1:18:56 PM] nsy says: hey, AE... your opinion...how many acres must one have to host a "band practice" of the electric kind, and not infernalize one's neighbors?

[1:18:59 PM] AE says: I only had one install today, and one tomorrow, none Friday, so I think we're past the busy time.

[1:19:13 PM] AE says: uh... not an acreage issue.

[1:19:28 PM] AE says: it's an acoustic insulation issue.

[1:19:53 PM] AE says: if you have a flat field, or are in a canyon, sound can travel or bounce very far: hundred acres wouldn't be enough.

[1:20:16 PM] AE says: But, if you have a well insulated room, you could do it on a small lot.

[1:20:35 PM] AE says: are you talking out doors? Or just needing a place to practice?

[1:25:24 PM] pD says: on gilbert: well, it is all about buzz - anyone who does not think classical music is show biz is kiddin' themselves

[1:25:36 PM] pD says: the selection process has gone on for several years

[1:25:44 PM] pD says: so, it is the climax

[1:25:59 PM] pD says: btw, i am glad that they have come to their sense to hire somebody who is relatively young and an american

[1:26:24 PM] pD says: it is funny that most american musicians go to Europe and most Europeans come to the US to build their careers

[1:26:55 PM] pD says: now back to the band thing - for whatever it is worth, couldn't the instruments be plugged into a mixing board and headphones?

[1:27:25 PM] pD does not play electric guitar

[1:51:20 PM] pD says: for sound insulation, there are two things that you want to consider

[1:51:33 PM] pD says: speaking as a minor audio geek

[1:51:56 PM] pD says: one is the heft of the insulation and the other is the surface characteristic of the insulation

[1:52:15 PM] pD says: heft (the heavier) is the key determinant on how far the sounds energy will travel

[1:52:43 PM] pD says: so, in audio equipments, for example, lead is used a lot to minimize minor vibrations

[1:53:02 PM] AE says: i disagree.

[1:53:05 PM] pD says: surface area is a concern because depending on what it is, it determines how "bouncy" the sound is

[1:53:18 PM] AE says: you need something that absorbs vibration.

[1:53:28 PM] pD says: in other words, if you have a hard surface, there will be more echo/bounces

[1:53:30 PM] AE says: heavy objects can still transmit vibration.

[1:53:42 PM] AE says: true. but density is not the key to sound deadening.

[1:53:59 PM] AE says: you need something with dead air space; something that cannot vibrate.

[1:54:03 PM] pD says: the reverse is true, in that, if it absorbs all the sound, transfers it into heat - more specifically

[1:54:04 PM] nsy says: just looking for a good place for band practice. if your neighbors had a teenager with a metal band, what would you recommend to them?

[1:54:19 PM] pD says: it could also sound "strange" as it is not "natural"

[1:54:39 PM] AE says: how it sounds was not the question though.

[1:54:46 PM] AE says: the goal is sound deadening.

[1:55:04 PM] pD says: so, there are the two things that you want to consider - heft to protect your reputation, but it has to sound natural enough that the "practice" sounds real

[1:55:05 PM] AE says: *AE and pD steam roller past nsy....

[1:55:14 PM] pD says: * like always

[1:55:51 PM] pD says: so, if you wish to do it in an open space, i would suggest that you do it in a area with lots of shrub/tree

[1:56:19 PM] pD says: running water also acts as good insulation, but that requires you to direct the amp's in certain directions

[1:56:50 PM] pD says: so, this goes back to my original suggestion, if it is for practice, it would be best to hook everything up to a mixer and everyone can hear it via headphone

[1:57:15 PM] pD says: not sure this is being at all helpful

[1:57:35 PM] pD says: yakking away all the same

[1:57:55 PM] pD = the yakker

[4:02:41 PM] pD says: btw, nsy

[4:03:01 PM] pD says: did we make any meaningful impact on your acreage for the band question?

[4:07:16 PM] nsy says: nope, but it was an amusing debate. i like to stir the bees nest and watch the fray! (sinister laughter...)

[4:07:36 PM] nsy says: i'm guessing about 5 acres will do if you have an insulated room

[4:07:47 PM] nsy says: and the land is rolling and semi-wooded

[4:08:47 PM] pD says: well, i think the truth is that if it is indoor with an insulated wall, you may not need 5 acres.

[4:08:58 PM] pD says: but, i am assuming that you have a specific location in mind and that is probably okay

[4:09:31 PM] pD says: if you really want to make sure, just play a CD of their music and ride around the property on the bike to be sure

[4:18:59 PM] pD says: now, if you want to get fancy - and assuming that you have the equipments - you can direct the amp/speakers toward each other with reverse polarity

[4:19:45 PM] pD says: the effect is that the sound (waves) will cancel each other out for the most part. Think of it as a very large "noise cancellation" set that you can get on airplanes

[4:39:57 PM] nsy says: hm... good idea ;-p

===
NSA Chatters crew

tanks - du pont - torque - worm - falsetto - moth larvae - BFML - eugenics - bounty - taxes - dorks - google ranking

[7/16/2007 10:19:22 AM] pD says: howdy AE

[7/16/2007 10:19:25 AM] pD says: is nsy in LA?

[7/16/2007 10:20:30 AM] AE shrugs

[7/16/2007 10:20:39 AM] AE says: no idea. She's apparently not here.

[7/16/2007 10:20:50 AM] AE is master of the obvious

[7/16/2007 10:20:51 AM] pD says: you are a very shrewd observer

[7/16/2007 10:31:06 AM] AE says: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AcVSEY2DP0&mode=related&search=

[7/16/2007 10:35:13 AM] AE says: here's the story on the recent one: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6898667.stm

[7/16/2007 10:36:26 AM] AE says: and the back story on the San Diego incedent:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawn_Nelson

[7/16/2007 10:36:30 AM] AE has changed the chat topic to "Tanked"

[7/16/2007 10:36:45 AM] AE has changed the chat topic to "Tanks a Lot"

[7/16/2007 10:37:11 AM] pD says: John E. Du Pont is the name of the du pont guy

[7/16/2007 10:37:26 AM] pD says: and, i am afraid that i may have mixed up the san diego tank story with the du pont story

[7/16/2007 10:37:41 AM] pD says: he (du pont) was not killed - he was just known to drive his tank on his estate

[7/16/2007 10:37:55 AM] pD says: he is, however, in prison for a murder conviction

[7/16/2007 10:37:56 AM] AE says: which is actually pretty fun!

[7/16/2007 10:38:02 AM] AE says: oh.. that's not fun.

[7/16/2007 10:38:12 AM] AE says: ever driven a tank/tracked vehicle?

[7/16/2007 10:38:49 AM] AE says: they turn instantly. you can out accelerate most anything (up to about 25 MPH).

[7/16/2007 10:38:53 AM] pD says: never driven one - seems like an interesting experience

[7/16/2007 10:39:10 AM] AE says: very loud. very noisy. the old ones vibrate a lot too.

[7/16/2007 10:39:13 AM] AE says: but way fun.

[7/16/2007 10:40:08 AM] AE says: our boy scout troop got to ride in a M113 once. That was a kick for a bunch of kids!

[7/16/2007 10:40:30 AM] pD says: that is interesting - about acceleration - why would it be faster?

[7/16/2007 10:40:57 AM] AE says: you can lock both treads and rev the engine up. Then, all the torque is released at once.

[7/16/2007 10:41:20 AM] AE says: you can do the same thing in a car (called 'break barring"), but a tank has better traction.

[7/16/2007 10:41:41 AM] AE says: so it can apply all that torque at once, lurching the tank to it's maximum speed in seconds.

[7/16/2007 10:41:59 AM] AE says: of course... maximum speeds usually are not that impressive...

[7/16/2007 10:43:05 AM] pD says: that makes sense - ability to release the torque all at once

[7/16/2007 10:43:19 AM] pD says: i wonder how it has been used in combat situation - if any

[7/16/2007 10:43:42 AM] AE says: good question. I imagine it's pretty hard on the transmission...

[7/16/2007 3:11:32 PM] pD says: howdy!

[7/16/2007 3:11:37 PM] pD says: monday is always busy

[7/16/2007 7:25:20 PM] AE says: sorry... yes... very busy.

[10:15:15 AM] pD has changed the chat topic to "still tanking"

[10:16:07 AM] pD says: but, i think it begs the question of why/how does AE know so much about tank/tracked vehicle

[10:37:38 AM] pD says: okay, i have a worm on my desk

[10:37:41 AM] pD says: who wants to see

[10:37:49 AM] pD says: and, equally important, what do i do with it?

[10:37:59 AM] AE says: run your anti-virus scanner.

[10:38:04 AM] AE says: should take care of worms too.

[10:38:13 AM] pD says: it is onto my phone now

[10:38:26 AM] AE says: your phone has a worm?

[10:38:29 AM] AE says: that's a new one!

[10:38:30 AM] pD says: question: when do i pull up my pants and scream bloody murder?

[10:38:51 AM] pD says: a physical worm - brown/red-ish in color

[10:39:55 AM] AE says: scream now. We're on a conference call; it's boring and could use a little spicing up!

[10:40:39 AM] pD preparing for falsetto voice

[10:40:45 AM] pD says: aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh

[10:40:53 AM] pD says: yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

[10:40:58 AM] pD says: uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[10:41:21 AM] pD says: give me a few seconds to center myself

[10:41:38 AM] AE says: :D

[10:41:56 AM] pD says: (music)

[10:42:06 AM] AE says: (dance)

[10:42:09 AM] pD says: hummmmmmm (music)

[10:42:31 AM] pD says: Ooooooooooooooooooh my goooooooooooooood!!

(music)

[10:50:07 AM] pD says: actually, this reminds me of the book "confederacy of dunces"

[10:50:24 AM] pD says: the main character says "oh, my god" quite often

[10:50:34 AM] pD says: nsy

[10:50:45 AM] pD waving to get nsy's attention

[10:50:57 AM] AE says: we're both in a meeting right now.

[10:51:01 AM] AE says: so she may not be looking.

[10:51:14 AM] pD says: oh, she is just ignoring me, i know that

[10:51:35 AM] AE plays world smallest fiddle.

[11:33:22 AM] pD says: nsy

[11:33:31 AM] pD says: if you are okay with the idea

[11:33:36 AM] pD says: can you take a pix of the worm?

[11:33:55 AM] pD says: and, we probably need to give it a name too

[11:33:59 AM] pD says: but, i think a pix would help

[12:09:01 PM] pD says: i have set the worm free

[12:09:28 PM] pD says: the office environment is just no place for a self-respecting worm

[12:15:54 PM] AE says: really, this is not a law firm!

[12:19:24 PM] pD says: i thought they are sharks

[1:43:56 PM] nsy is done ignoring pD

[1:44:15 PM] nsy says: so, did you get a picture with my silly phone? is the worm free?

[1:44:28 PM] pD says: worm has been freed

[1:44:48 PM] pD says: well, i sent him flying through the 2nd floor window

[1:44:59 PM] pD says: hmm... that did not come out sounding right

[1:45:03 PM] pD says: anyway, he is on his own

[1:45:12 PM] pD says: as for photo, the memory card was full

[1:45:14 PM] pD says: so, no photo

[1:46:04 PM] pD says: but, nsy did have a look

[1:46:12 PM] pD says: so, is it more of a slug or a worm?

[1:47:35 PM] nsy says: there are windows that open?

[1:47:39 PM] nsy says: definitely a worm

[1:48:11 PM] pD says: in the small conference room that is the only one that opens - that i know of

[1:48:32 PM] pD says: say, can you find an image similar to the worm so AE can share the joy?

[1:49:31 PM] nsy says: trying- going to have daymares on these images - ugh

[1:50:22 PM] pD says: you too can pull up your pants and scream bloody murder

[1:54:15 PM] nsy says: bloody murder!

[1:54:38 PM] nsy says: i definitely thing its some sort of moth larvae.

[1:55:00 PM] pD says: no vocal warm up, just straight into it. good stuff.

[1:55:51 PM] pD says: http://crawford.tardigrade.net/bugs/figures/codapple.jpg

[1:55:57 PM] nsy says: just be glad it wasn't a pussworm http://rxwildlife.org.uk/images/Puss%20Moth.jpg

[1:56:22 PM] pD says: this is kind of close: http://www.yates.com.au/images/problemsolver/large/Codlingmoth.jpg

[1:56:30 PM] pD says: more red/brown in color though

[1:57:51 PM] pD says: unrelated, but this is a giant BFML: http://schmidling.com/impcat.jpg

[1:58:04 PM] pD says: imperial moth: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://schmidling.com/impcat.jpg&imgrefurl=http://schmidling.com/impmoth.htm&h=368&w=400&sz=17&hl=en&start=109&um=1&tbnid=q27VFMzCpFkV4M:&tbnh=114&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmoth%2Blarvae%2Bpictures%26start%3D100%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GGIH_enUS211US211%26sa%3DN

[1:58:21 PM] pD says: i will stop now

[1:58:40 PM] pD says: i have nothing against moth nor larvae, but it does make me feel a bit queasy

[1:58:54 PM] pD loves his artificial environment

[1:59:00 PM] nsy says: ooh - here are some good ones: http://www.mark-ju.net/wildlife/larvae.htm

[2:00:11 PM] nsy says: yeesh- that imperial larvae is freaky huge

[2:00:38 PM] pD says: (puke)

[2:00:57 PM] pD says: :O

[2:01:12 PM] pD says: as i said, i have nothing against them, but...

[2:01:58 PM] pD says: maybe this is how eugenics got its start. people wanting to have better looking larvae

[2:16:32 PM] nsy says: fascinating Eugenics archive: http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/

[2:53:04 PM] pD has changed the chat topic to "bounty"

[2:53:26 PM] pD says: so, i heard that the bounty for bin laden has been upped to $50mm

[2:53:40 PM] pD says: but, a check on the FBI site shows that he is only worth 25mm

[2:53:45 PM] pD says: what gives! http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/fugitives/laden.htm

[2:54:02 PM] pD says: btw, why is his name Usama on the FBI site instead of Osama?

[2:54:34 PM] pD says: i am sure that it is a gross bastardization of his name either case, so why not make it easier for the rest of us?

[2:56:06 PM] pD says: i guess it has just been approved by the US Senate (i heard it on the radio earlier today). Probably why FBI has not upped the bounty: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/57FF48F9-D41B-41B4-8119-4615FE01F0DB.htm

[2:56:20 PM] pD says: btw, i am wonder if you have to pay tax for the bounty

[2:56:50 PM] pD says: if yes, that would significantly diminish the inventive, i would think...

[2:58:01 PM] nsy says: http://volokh.com/posts/1149797357.shtml

[2:58:40 PM] nsy says: "Bounties are subject to the income tax. It's really just compensation for services by unilateral contract. It's not different (from a tax perspective) from commissions paid to salesmen or the like. "

[3:02:44 PM] pD says: dang! i hope it is not too late to cancel my priceline flight reservation to pakistan

[3:03:14 PM] nsy says: good luck with that

[3:07:00 PM] pD says: priceline?

[3:07:21 PM] pD says: btw, more legalese on the tax treatment of the bounty. really good read too

[3:07:24 PM] pD says: Okay, here's a tax lawyer's quick take. If the recipient of a bounty like this is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident (a more common example would be a reward paid by the IRS for turning in somebody who didn't pay their taxes, which the IRS is indeed authorized to pay), then the bounty is definitely "gross income" subject to income tax. I think it is probably NOT subject to social security (FICA) tax or "self-employment tax" and NOT subject to withholding of income tax, because it is not "wages" nor is it income from the recipient's own business or professional activities. It's the kind of income that would be reported to the recipient and to the IRS on Form 1099-MISC Box 3, "Other Income." It should be reported by the recipient as income on Form 1040, line 21 ("Other income"). The IRS instructions say that is the line for reporting "prizes and awards," gambling winnings, and other miscellaneous non-business, non-wage income.

Since a bounty paid by the U.S. government is "U.S. source income," if the recipient is a foreign national, then the payment would be subject to U.S. withholding tax (not employment tax withholding, but withholding tax nonetheless) at the rate of 30% unless the rate is reduced by treaty. U.S. tax treaties with most of our trading partners would allow a reduced withholding rate. But we don't have a tax treaty with Iraq right now, so technically it's subject to 30% withholding. If the $25 million bounty is paid and the recipient is an Iraqi, I wonder if he or she will complain when the check is only $17.5 million.

[3:08:15 PM] nsy says: yep - thats good info! wow, 30% lost - where's my motivation, eh?

[3:08:40 PM] pD says: but, here is a ruling that may make it possible - if you have a non-US passport

[3:08:41 PM] pD says: Nonresident aliens not engaged in a business within the United States are subject to U.S. federal income tax on their U.S. source fixed or determinable annual or periodical income at a flat rate of 30% (unless reduced by treaty). IRC Sec. 871. This tax is generally withheld by the payer of the income. IRC Sec. 1441. (For a discussion of withholding tax under Sec. 1441 on amounts paid to informants, see Gen. Couns. Mem. 37,198 (July 18, 1977)).

For this purpose, whether a bounty is subject to tax by the United States will largely depend on how a bounty is characterized for tax purposes, because that will dictate how the source of the bounty is determined. There is one revenue ruling from 1970 (Rev. Rul. 70-576) that characterizes a reward paid by the United States to a Canadian informant as personal service income. The source of personal service income is generally the place where the services were performed. IRC Secs. 861(a)(3) &862(a)(3). If the informing in this situation was done in Iraq, then the bounty would be foreign source income paid to a nonresident alien, which renders it generally non-taxable by the United States. (In the revenue ruling, the informing appears to have been done in the United States, which would make the reward U.S. source income; however, the IRS found that the informant was nonetheless exempt from tax under the commercial traveler exception in the U.S.-Canada income tax treaty---the US currently has no treaty with Iraq, but we do have a statutory commercial traveler exception---IRC Sec. 861(a)(3), but that exception likely would not apply here given the size of these bounties).

[3:10:50 PM] nsy says: i guess buying a forged non-US passport is a good investment if you are a bounty hunter.

[3:14:44 PM] pD says: dang! need to change my flight schedule to go to a few Caribbean countries before heading to Paki

[3:23:11 PM] pD says: i know this sounds funny, but, the life of a tax lawyer is turning out more fascinating than i have first imagined

[3:23:24 PM] pD is once again reminded that he is a dork

[4:34:29 PM] pD has changed the chat topic to "because pD is a google ranking whore"

[4:34:34 PM] pD says: nsa chatters

[4:35:09 PM] pD says: i am afraid that this would be a recurring theme

[4:35:25 PM] pD says: throwing a few random "nsa chatters" into the mix to up our ranking

[4:35:49 PM] pD says: it dropped off last week since the phrase "nsa chatters" was not used regularly

[4:35:58 PM] pD says: on a related note

[4:36:27 PM] pD says: we should get people to link to us

===
NSA Chatters crew

allergy - conspiracies - federal reserves - dorks - geeks - nerds - mings - google ranking - kord (king of real dorks)

[7/12/2007 10:12:04 AM] pD says: allergy sucks!

[7/12/2007 10:12:30 AM] pD says: i have blown through (literally and figuratively) a good stack of tissue papers this morning already

[7/12/2007 10:20:34 AM] nsy says: yikes! do you know what you're allergic to?

[7/12/2007 10:20:53 AM] pD says: O2

[7/12/2007 10:20:55 AM] AE says: trees

[7/12/2007 10:21:14 AM] pD says: organic objects

[7/12/2007 10:21:15 AM] AE says: oh, maybe you're alergic to tissue paper!

[7/12/2007 10:21:48 AM] AE says: it's a plot by the tissue paper industry!

[7/12/2007 10:22:12 AM] AE says: everytime you blow your nose it makes your nose run! A viscious circle...

[7/12/2007 10:22:22 AM] AE says: first they engineered the death of the cloth hanky...

[7/12/2007 10:22:37 AM] AE says: then they subverted us to the paper tissue...

[7/12/2007 10:22:53 AM] AE says: now they've imbued them with a special powder that makes you sneeze!

[7/12/2007 10:23:19 AM] AE says: and if they haven't they should! Because it would be good for the economy!

[7/12/2007 10:24:01 AM] pD says: hahaha!

[7/12/2007 10:24:29 AM] pD says: you remind me of the character from "King of the Hill" who believes in conspirarcy theories of all sorts

[7/12/2007 10:25:00 AM] pD says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Hill

[7/12/2007 10:25:23 AM] pD says: Dale: Dale Gribble

[7/12/2007 10:25:50 AM] pD says: http://www.fox.com/kingofthehill/bios/images/bio_img_dale.gif

[7/12/2007 10:26:20 AM] pD says: btw, why would imbuing sneeze power be good for the economy?

[7/12/2007 10:27:37 AM] AE says: because massive tissue production will help deforestation.

[7/12/2007 10:27:46 AM] AE says: and trees are bad for the economy.

[7/12/2007 10:28:57 AM] pD says: AE, i know you are being facetious, but that still makes no sense

[7/12/2007 10:29:09 AM] AE says: ok, what is US currency printed on?

[7/12/2007 10:29:59 AM] AE says: a cloth pulp mixture.

[7/12/2007 10:30:01 AM] AE says: and what is counterfiet currency printed on?

[7/12/2007 10:30:02 AM] AE says: paper

[7/12/2007 10:30:31 AM] AE says: so, remove the paper, you remove the material component of counerfiet money.

[7/12/2007 10:30:55 AM] AE says: since counterfieting costs the US govenerment billions a year...

[7/12/2007 10:31:08 AM] AE says: it would be good for the economy to reduce or totally remove it.

[7/12/2007 10:31:28 AM] AE says: not to mention the side savings we'd all incurr in not having to do as much paperwork...

[7/12/2007 10:33:09 AM] AE says: Ok. Off to do an instal.

[7/12/2007 10:36:41 AM] pD says: well, within the US, the move is to go into electonic money. Most of the transactions are done via credit cards already. and, larger ticket items are done via check. so, the amount of paper money in circulation is quite minimum.

[7/12/2007 10:37:38 AM] pD says: and, even the use of check is dropping significantly. so much that Fed reserve announced recently that they will consolidate their check processing facilities and cut over 1,700 positions related to that process: http://www.wtop.com/?nid=111&sid=1175678

[7/12/2007 10:38:39 AM] pD says: interestingly, most of the US paper money circulates outside of the US as it is considered a good store of value - be you drug lord or Japanese tourists visiting Uganda

[7/12/2007 10:40:00 AM] pD says: on that basis, it has been the intention of the US mint to increase the frequency of paper money design. This does not deter counterfeits per se, but it does significantly increases the costs of printing large quantity. i think one of the latest in disucussion was to embed RFID onto the bill

[7/12/2007 10:40:55 AM] pD says: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20011219S0016

[7/12/2007 10:41:17 AM] pD says: but, that does raise significant privacy concerns because it becomes a de-facto tracking machanism.

[7/12/2007 10:42:31 AM] pD subscribes to all the federal reserve publications

[7/12/2007 10:42:45 AM] pD is a dork

[7/12/2007 10:59:10 AM] pD has changed the chat topic to "dork v geek"

[7/12/2007 10:59:22 AM] pD says: so, here is a question that i ponder every so often

[7/12/2007 10:59:35 AM] pD says: what is the difference between a dork vis-a-vis a geek?

[7/12/2007 10:59:53 AM] pD says: equally importantly, who would win when pitted against each otehr

[7/12/2007 12:00:44 PM] pD says: saw two funny bumper stickers today

[7/12/2007 12:01:01 PM] pD says: one says: my kid is a honor student but my president is an idiot

[7/12/2007 12:01:09 PM] pD says: the other is graphic in format

[7/12/2007 12:01:35 PM] pD says: nixon (head shot) - brain (a picture) = bush (head shot)

[7/12/2007 2:02:48 PM] pD says: this is a blantant commercial - becasue they are - from Dailey. Go on their site and you can see some really interesting ad's. Never seen any of them - then, I do not watch TV often: http://www.daileyads.com/

[7/12/2007 4:50:28 PM] pD says: btw, how often does AE get a massage, i am jealous

[7/12/2007 7:52:03 PM] AE says: he gets one about once every 6 weeks.

[7/12/2007 7:52:29 PM] AE says: and the debate I've heard is Geek v Nerd.

[7/12/2007 7:52:58 PM] AE says: It's an East Coast (Nerd's are cool) vs West Coast (Geeks rule) thing.

[7/12/2007 7:53:24 PM] AE says: if you call someone a geek in New York, it's like calling them a nerd or dork on our coast.

[11:19:39 AM] pD says: need to grab lunch

[11:19:46 AM] pD says: wanna walk to ming's, AE?

[11:31:20 AM] AE says: yes!

[11:31:28 AM] AE says: I'll go run and then we'll walk over.

[11:43:11 AM] pD says: i want: Mings Special Hong Kong Pan Fried Noodles

[11:43:47 AM] pD says: btw, i found the msuic at Ming's site, very distrubing: http://www.mings.com/

[11:43:59 AM] pD says: bad music is bad music is bad music

[12:06:57 PM] pD says: I can see how nerds vs geeks would be considered positive traits on the coastal context

[12:07:31 PM] pD says: but, i guess i am more exploring the deragatory side of things. when do you call somebody a dork vs a geek - what isthe difference?

[12:27:43 PM] AE says: on this coast at least, Geek is a positive term.

[12:32:50 PM] AE says: sweet and sour mock pork

[12:33:17 PM] AE says: (650)856-7700

[2:50:57 PM] AE says: But on the east coast Geek is a negative term.

[2:50:59 PM] AE says: Geek vs dork...

[2:51:14 PM] AE says: I think dork is universally a derogatory term.

[2:51:21 PM] AE says: but geeks can be cool, hip.

[2:51:33 PM] pD says: that is fair.

[2:51:35 PM] AE says: http://geekspeak.org, for example. Those guys are way cool!

[2:52:00 PM] pD says: but, let's transport ourselves outside of the silicon valley or any tech centers, how would the two terms play out?

[2:52:35 PM] AE says: my relatives know I'm a geek. In Texas, I was introduced as : "This is my grandson, he's a geek."

[2:52:41 PM] AE says: this was received very well.

[2:52:58 PM] AE says: so it was not a derogatory term, and the people invovled were octogenarians at least.

[2:53:13 PM] pD says: hahah!

[2:53:22 PM] AE says: plus it's entered our common lives as non-derogatory: geeksquad is an example.

[2:53:38 PM] pD says: so, i guess i can only refer to my self as a dork, then

[2:53:47 PM] AE says: Ok... that's a bad example, because people (especially their geek piers) think they suck.

[2:53:55 PM] AE says: why? what are you trying to portray?

[2:54:03 PM] AE says: un-hipness?

[2:54:06 PM] AE says: un-coolness?

[2:54:13 PM] AE says: cluelessness?

[2:55:06 PM] pD says: soemthing like that

[2:55:24 PM] pD says: just like people who get into goth and punk in the initial stage

[2:55:35 PM] pD says: being un-hip is the hip thing

[2:56:18 PM] pD says: similarly, it is like black people calling each otehr nigga' or women refers themselves as bitches

[2:56:39 PM] pD says: i think, as an exercise, it is interesting because it initially adds a shock value,

[2:57:09 PM] pD says: but, as it gets cooped by the main(er) stream, it turns into something edgy/hip and lose much of its punch

[2:57:14 PM] AE says: shock to whom? Most people are too narcasitic to understand something like that.

[2:57:30 PM] AE says: are you trying to find the next edge?

[2:57:32 PM] pD says: imagine that, 5 years from now, "dork" is a good word

[2:57:48 PM] AE says: like geek.

[2:58:13 PM] pD says: oh, as a social phenemonem (i am butchering this word), it is intersting to see the evolution of words

[2:58:14 PM] AE says: when i was in highschool, being a geek or nerd was synonomus with being a dork.

[2:58:39 PM] AE says: and usually resulted in lowered enjoyment of social activities.

[2:58:51 PM] AE says: unless you count swirlies as a social activity.

[2:58:56 PM] pD says: that is a good example, now that the word "geek" has taken on a different set of meaning - esepcailly after the dot com thing

[2:59:14 PM] AE says: yeah. you know why?

[2:59:22 PM] pD says: why

[2:59:25 PM] AE says: beause the geeks were rich!

[2:59:38 PM] AE says: suddenly those geeks from highschool were driving porches

[2:59:43 PM] AE says: porches?

[2:59:48 PM] AE says: can you drive a porch?

[2:59:55 PM] AE says: you know what I mean.

[2:59:58 PM] pD says: not sure if that is a valid test - for example, i would quality both bill gates and warren buffets as more dorky than geeky

[3:00:10 PM] pD says: and they ain't poor

[3:00:14 PM] AE says: yea. and look at how popular they are.

[3:00:19 PM] pD says: porsche

[3:00:24 PM] AE says: pooch?

[3:00:48 PM] AE says: bill gates was hugely unknown in high school, I bet.

[3:01:14 PM] AE says: so I think that very much proves my point.

[3:01:27 PM] AE says: until he became a billionaire he was not much known.

[3:01:40 PM] pD says: NSA Chatters

[3:01:45 PM] pD says: btw, that was a commercial break

[3:01:47 PM] AE says: now there are probably very few people in the world who don't know him.

[3:01:49 PM] AE says: haha.

[3:02:00 PM] pD says: i noted that our google ranking has dropped since we do not refer to our own title often

[3:02:04 PM] AE says: Google that, biatch!

[3:02:21 PM] pD says: i would occasionally drop that in just becasue i am a ranking whore

[3:02:28 PM] AE says: So we need to start mentioning that NSA Chatters is going down in rankings?

[3:02:29 PM] pD says: (rofl)

[3:02:39 PM] pD says: that is a good start

[3:02:54 PM] pD says: speaking of bill gates, i think he was pretty well known in various circles

[3:02:55 PM] AE says: Or that NSA Chatters is going to one day rule the blogging universe?

[3:03:02 PM] AE says: Like where?

[3:03:03 PM] pD says: fame is a relative thing

[3:03:23 PM] pD says: oh, he was the first one to sell a Basic compiler

[3:03:34 PM] pD says: that is how Microsoft got started

[3:03:41 PM] pD says: he also did not shy from being an asshole

[3:03:55 PM] pD says: he was suiting everyone for copying/pirating his compiler

[3:04:01 PM] pD says: that was considered by unhip

[3:04:12 PM] pD says: then, of course, IBM called on him for the OS

[3:04:40 PM] pD says: and, i read somewhere that fairly early in Microsoft's life, there has been a person dedicated to answer all the "fan mails" for bill

[3:04:53 PM] pD says: apparently, he got a tonne of marriage proposals

[3:05:22 PM] AE says: right, but that was after.

[3:05:30 PM] AE says: before he started M$, who was he?

[3:05:36 PM] AE says: some geek.

[3:07:55 PM] pD says: i think we are mixing several discussions here

[3:08:14 PM] pD says: one of the points for discussion is the difference between geek and dork

[3:08:27 PM] AE says: ok. you're a dork. i'm a geek.

[3:08:28 PM] pD says: on this point, i do not believe there is a clear answer beyond the fact that current usage

[3:08:40 PM] AE says: so now it's up to you to define who you are.

[3:08:44 PM] AE says: and i'll do the same.

[3:08:45 PM] pD says: is such that geek has a preferred image

[3:09:05 PM] AE says: it doesn't matter to me. I was a geek long before it was cool.

[3:09:08 PM] pD says: then, there is a discussion on what makes geek a preferred/popular word

[3:09:17 PM] AE says: i played with computers and model rockets in high school.

[3:09:24 PM] AE says: i spent friday nights gaming with other geeks.

[3:09:24 PM] pD says: the concludsion is that if you are rich, people would love you

[3:09:40 PM] AE says: ... i don't know that love is the right word.

[3:09:46 PM] AE says: more... know you? respect you?

[3:09:54 PM] AE says: i don't know if that's accurate either.

[3:10:07 PM] pD says: that is not in dispute and when Bill gates goes from a geek to a uber-rich geek in the eyes of the public is a debate on degree as oppose to definition

[3:11:04 PM] pD says: finally, there is the point of discussion on the usage of a word in the greater social context - words such as bitch, nigga, etc.

[3:11:29 PM] pD says: and, as there is no "answer" on that one as such, my proposal is to call myself as "dork"

[3:11:42 PM] pD says: becasue being a "dork" is the new un-hip

[3:11:48 PM] pD says: which makes you/me hip

[3:12:09 PM] pD says: which is definitely a very sophmoric logic,

[3:12:12 PM] AE says: you calling me a dork?

[3:12:22 PM] pD says: but, it makes me happy

[3:12:26 PM] AE says: LOL

[3:12:27 PM] pD says: i call myself a dork

[3:12:37 PM] pD says: you can call youself whatever you like

[3:12:42 PM] AE says: then it's up to you to define dorkdom.

[3:12:50 PM] pD says: but, i do claim the first dorkhood

[3:13:09 PM] AE says: Ok. We'll refer to you as sir dork.

[3:13:21 PM] AE says: if we had Lindsey on line we could make it official.

[3:13:24 PM] pD says: spellt backward, dork is kord

[3:13:26 PM] AE says: where is she, anyway?

[3:13:43 PM] pD says: kord is like a cord (let's say its a norse spelling)

[3:13:56 PM] pD says: and, what is a cord - it connects you with the mother ship

[3:13:59 PM] AE says: it's an acronym: King Of Real Dorks

[3:14:13 PM] pD says: and, surely, it is like the pope - also known as pontif

[3:14:30 PM] pD says: from the word that means bridge which is who he is - the brdige between men and god

[3:15:02 PM] pD says: so, King of Real Dorks, is nothing but a code for being the connectiion with the omnipotent

[3:15:13 PM] pD says: yeah, where is lindsey?

[3:15:21 PM] pD says: is she on other IM's?

[3:15:35 PM] AE says: congatulations! we'll all be asking you for stuff from above now.

[3:15:37 PM] AE says: nope.

[3:15:43 PM] AE says: Lindsey is MIA.

[3:16:01 PM] AE says: Well... time for me to battle the lords of chaos.

[3:16:12 PM] pD says: no probolem, i am never shy on making up stuff out of thin air

[3:16:22 PM] pD says: have a safe drive home and a good weekend

[3:16:26 PM] AE says: haha. thank you.

[3:16:31 PM] AE says: you have a good weekend as well!

[3:16:37 PM] pD says: ciao

==
NSA Chatters crew

Web 2.0 - AJAX - benevolent illustrious boss - BIB - day care - crowdsourcing - James Bond - cookies - che - emoticons - potatoe - quayle - hail mary

[9:53:16 AM] pD says: are we Web 2.0/AJAX complaint?

[9:53:34 AM] pD says: i included several embedded youtube clips on the blog

[9:53:55 AM] pD says: and, you can play them simultaneously - i think that qualifies us since they are multiple threads going at the same time

[9:54:18 AM] pD is feeling a bit down since he thought Web 2.0 was something more fancy

[9:57:01 AM] AE says: please define web 2.0...

[9:57:25 AM] AE says: Actually, there was a great spiel about security, identity and web 2.0... let me see if I can find a link...

[9:57:33 AM] pD says: hell if i know!

[9:57:44 AM] pD says: but, seriously, that is a subject of much debate

[9:57:56 AM] pD says: i think the technical definition of AJAX is more precise

[9:58:20 AM] pD says: Asynchronous JavaScript and XML

[9:58:28 AM] pD says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajax_(programming)

[9:58:57 AM] pD says: as for Web 2.0, i think the original idea is that using techniques such as AJAX, it allows the web to be more interactive in both directions.

[9:59:08 AM] pD says: in the bad old days, web content is more one direction

[9:59:33 AM] pD says: now, slackers like me can post blog and embed video clips to create our own content

[9:59:37 AM] AE says: here, this is brilliant: http://youtube.com/watch?v=RrpajcAgR1E

[10:00:17 AM] pD says: and, with that, now web 2.0 seems to have developed into the concept of end-user based web/content activities - youtube, blog, etc.

[10:00:45 AM] pD says: well, that is my personally definition

[10:01:26 AM] pD says: what is the clip about, AE?

[10:01:31 AM] pD says: it is 15 minutes long...

[10:15:24 AM] AE says: yeah. that's right.

[10:15:35 AM] AE says: it's about 15 minutes long.

[11:12:40 AM] pD says: Little boss seems to be doing well in day care

[11:12:59 AM] pD says: the first day was a bit traumatic - mostly for BIB

[11:13:41 AM] pD says: the little boss also came back a bit cranky - i think he was just over stimulated since he never hangs out with many others

[11:14:01 AM] pD says: but, second day, yesterday, was okay. he was pretty normal when i picked him up

[11:16:00 AM] pD says: so, my conclusion is that he either hates me now, but did not want to say it or he can deal with shifting vicissitude well

[11:16:26 AM] pD is pondering the imponderable

[11:42:12 AM] pD says: btw, nsy, how did you get volunteered to do a re-fresher course?

[11:50:39 AM] pD says: little lindsey is very cute, isn't she

[12:13:41 PM] pD says: say, isn't this sort of what we do? Assignment Zero: Can Crowds Create Fiction, Architecture and Photography?

[12:13:47 PM] pD says: http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2007/07/assignment_zero_all

[12:14:53 PM] nsy says: S knows i'll do it because i like educated customers - better for us in the long run ;)

[12:16:10 PM] pD says: good point

[12:16:23 PM] pD says: 8-|

[12:17:55 PM] nsy says: wow, crowdsourcing - cool jargon, too

[12:20:43 PM] pD never realizes he is in front of the wave...

[12:23:40 PM] nsy says: pD the surfer - hang ten, bra

[12:31:23 PM] pD says: never been "cool", not use to this...

[12:31:52 PM] pD says: on James Bond: Birdsong author Sebastian Faulks writes a new official James Bond book, Devil May Care, set during the Cold War.

[12:31:59 PM] pD says: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6289186.stm

[1:04:36 PM] pD says: this kind of news makes me feel warm and fuzzy. common sense triumphant

[1:04:45 PM] pD says: 1937 – A Shanghai newspaper believed it could boost circulation by including special editions to entice the reading public. They produced reams of copy and sold pages and pages of advertising eventually producing the largest ever Sunday newspaper edition to hit the streets of Shanghai . Sales of the paper doubled and the owners were delighted. But not much use for the advertisers – canny Chinese had bought up multiple copies of the paper in the knowledge that due to its gargantuan size the paper’s worth as scrap exceeded the cover price – they made about US$25 per thousand copies after forming syndicates to buy up every copy available making themselves about US$300 – not a bad Sunday’s work.

2007 – 70 years later and the Chinese post office announces proudly that it had delivered a record weight for a newspaper, a special pre May Day edition of the Beijing Evening News, circulation 650,000, containing 208 pages (normally just 48) – the most in the paper’s history, and resulting in a total delivery weight of 400 tons. However, the cover price of RMB0.50 (US$0.06) was less than the scrap value of the paper, so many dealers held the paper back and sold them for scrap at a better profit margin – something the advertisers were understandably unhappy about.

[1:38:09 PM] nsy says: ha - now thats ironic, alanis

[1:41:01 PM] pD says: gotta love those state controlled enterprises

[1:43:59 PM] nsy says: i like the way this guy thinks...http://homepage.mac.com/o051971/PhotoAlbum2.html

[1:46:08 PM] nsy says: someone found Jesus in their chocolate milk: http://www.wokq.com/images2/wwjd1.jpg

[1:46:33 PM] pD says: love the "Millennium Falcon Cookie!" http://homepage.mac.com/o051971/.Pictures/falcon%20cookie.jpg

[1:47:14 PM] pD says: hahah "Naughty Nurse and Dirty Doctor Cookies" http://homepage.mac.com/o051971/.Pictures/IMG_10.JPG

[1:47:42 PM] pD says: i would have thought that chocolate milk image look more like Che

[1:48:02 PM] pD says: http://arabist.net/wp-content/Che.jpg

[1:50:30 PM] nsy says: yes. in the eye of the beholder, i guess. this was the site where i found that - some other interesting stuff too... http://growabrain.typepad.com/growabrain/food_chocolate/index.html

[1:53:59 PM] pD says: cool site!

[1:54:14 PM] pD says: check out this story, from the blog, Woman buys 10,000 chocolate bars: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/3685925.stm

[1:54:25 PM] pD has just found new faith in huanity

[1:54:34 PM] pD says: humanity anyway

[2:03:14 PM] pD says: nsy, are you tempting me to insert my name in the field?

[2:03:19 PM] pD says: i am not shy that way, you know

[2:03:30 PM] pD says: ]:)

[3:52:24 PM] nsy says: haha, i can't believe i didn't do that myself!

[3:53:17 PM] pD says: are you too doing an ]:)?

[3:53:52 PM] nsy says: put your name in the deity field

[3:54:16 PM] nsy says: and how DO you make those cool smileys? i like the one with glasses - is that a capital bee?

[3:54:33 PM] nsy says: B-p

[3:54:37 PM] pD is feeling omnipotent

[3:54:39 PM] nsy says: 8)

[3:54:54 PM] pD says: i use the emoticons from skype

[3:54:58 PM] nsy says: BD

[3:55:04 PM] nsy says: cheater

[3:55:10 PM] pD is not omnipotent when it comes to smiley variations

[3:55:26 PM] pD says: i just know my limits - another sign of godliness in my dictionary

[3:55:55 PM] nsy says: heh. i guess AE reached his limit of us and dropped us like a hot potatoe

[3:56:18 PM] nsy says: eew - remove the "e" from the end of potato - ghastly

[3:57:26 PM] pD says: nsy just pulled a bush! nsy just pulled a bush! nsy just pulled a bush! nsy just pulled a bush!

[3:57:45 PM] pD says: the alternative scenario with AE is that

[3:58:17 PM] pD says: seeing that he's got a few hot potatoes on his hand, he is busy searching for sour cream, butter, and other condiments so he can enjoy 'em properly

[3:58:30 PM] pD says: that is what I (capital I, the godly kind) would do

[3:58:31 PM] nsy says: actually that was quayle, wasn’t it?

[3:58:57 PM] pD says: yeah, you are right

[3:58:59 PM] nsy says: well, either way - its worse for me!

[3:59:16 PM] pD says: so sorry, that i am confusing quayle and bush, not sure who to feel bad for

[3:59:33 PM] nsy says: heheh - true conundrum

[4:00:11 PM] nsy says: potato potaaahto

[4:01:31 PM] pD says: well, it got a complete paragraph in Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Quayle#Vice_Presidency

[4:02:26 PM] pD says: and there is even an entry about the kid whose spelling dan "corrected" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Figueroa

[4:02:50 PM] nsy says: wow, what a way to get your 15 minutes

[4:03:58 PM] pD says: and, here is more on the potatoe episode, apparently, it was an accepted spelling into the 19th century. Maybe dan was just a classy kind of guy...: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potatoe#Spelling

[4:05:24 PM] nsy says: yes, that was my renaissance faire training haunting me with the potatoe thing.

[4:07:19 PM] pD says: yeah, yeah, yeah

[4:07:54 PM] nsy says: heh - not falling for it? fie upon thee, rapscallion!

[4:08:28 PM] pD says: what a way to talk to god, your nun teachers would have been scandalized

[4:08:43 PM] pD says: repent - thee rapscallion

[4:10:46 PM] nsy says: no! not the rulers of wrath from the nuns of repentance!

[4:12:42 PM] pD sighs - so much fun at other's expense, the way way for mirth

[4:12:51 PM] pD says: the best way

[4:17:10 PM] pD doing the hail mary for repentance

[4:17:25 PM] pD says: in classical greek: Θεοτόκε Παρθένε, χαῖρε, κεχαριτωμένη Μαρία, ὁ Κύριος μετὰ σοῦ. εὐλογημένη, σὺ ἐν γυναιξί, καὶ εὐλογημένος ὁ καρπὸς τῆς κοιλίας σου, ὅτι Σωτήρα ἔτεκες τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν.

[4:17:55 PM] pD says: in latin (middle age): Ave María, grátia plena, Dóminus tecum.

Benedícta tu in muliéribus, et benedíctus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.

[4:18:20 PM] pD says: in latin (current official version): Ave María, grátia plena, Dóminus tecum. Benedícta tu in muliéribus, et benedíctus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.

Sancta María, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatóribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostræ. Amen.

[4:18:31 PM] pD says: wiki rocks! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail_Mary

[4:24:57 PM] nsy says: look for the hail holy queen - i had to memorize that when i was 12. i still remember the whole thing. its morbid.

[4:26:26 PM] pD says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail_Holy_Queen

[4:27:54 PM] pD says: or, salve regina, for the cognoscenti

[4:27:59 PM] pD says: talk about morbid

[4:28:17 PM] pD says: what i remember the most about hail mary is from the second god father film

[4:28:50 PM] pD says: when alfred (second brother who betrayed Michael the godfather) was fishing

[4:29:25 PM] pD says: alfred was whacked while fishing many years after the betray - Michael wanted to wait for their mother to die first

[4:29:36 PM] pD says: that was an extremely creepy ending

[4:29:48 PM] nsy says: sadly, another classic i have not seen all the way through (blasphemer).

[4:31:37 PM] AE jumps into the middle of everything without bothering to catch up to the 'story so far'.

[4:31:40 PM] AE says: Hi.

[4:31:49 PM] AE says: So, I've got these ideas for commercials for our products.

[4:31:53 PM] AE says: One is easy:

[4:32:08 PM] pD says: this is a clip from the film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQygwUBwnn4

[4:32:10 PM] AE says: there is a white area, nothing in it.

[4:32:16 PM] pD says:

[4:32:30 PM] pD says: beautiful cinematography

[4:32:52 PM] pD has changed the chat topic to "AE's commercial idea"

[4:33:14 PM] AE says: well now I'm watching the god father...

[4:34:02 PM] AE says: Ok.. where was I?

[4:34:08 PM] AE says: Oh, commercials...

[4:34:16 PM] AE says: there's this white room and a voice over:

[4:34:22 PM] AE says: "Your mail server"

[4:34:35 PM] AE says: then hands place a generic server in the white area.

[4:34:47 PM] AE says: "A delicate, dedicated piece of hardware."

[4:35:10 PM] AE says: "An integral and crucial part of your business infrastructure."

[4:35:22 PM] AE says: then a bunch of really heavy things fall on it, destroying the server.

[4:35:40 PM] AE says: "that's why you need [deleted]."

[4:35:59 PM] AE says: and a pair of hands puts [deleted] on top of the ruined server.

[4:36:36 PM] pD says: cool!

[4:36:41 PM] AE says: Commercial two (which I may have stolen from pD, or made up in my mind, I can't remember):

[4:36:59 PM] pD says: maybe drop a few sleazy (sales) looking people on the server

[4:37:01 PM] AE says: Guy is writing a letter and stuffing it in an envelope.

[4:37:15 PM] AE says: Camera pulls back a little so we can see him and a mail box.

[4:37:22 PM] AE says: there is a rope trailing off camera.

[4:37:51 PM] AE says: voice over: "Dear such and such. I'm sending you this in hopes you can use it. hope it finds you well.. blah blah blah blah."

[4:38:12 PM] AE says: person puts the envelope into the mail box.

[4:38:34 PM] AE says: camera pulls back following rope to a massive (boat, car, elephant, whatever).

[4:39:00 PM] AE says: Voice over describes [deleted] can help you!

[4:39:18 PM] AE says: Ok. Have to go get a massage now.

[4:39:27 PM] AE says: we should try and film some of these!

[4:39:31 PM] AE says: bye!

[4:41:35 PM] pD says: maybe AE just found the sour cream and stuff that he needed for the hot potatoes...

[4:41:37 PM] pD says: ciao

[4:53:13 PM] pD says: not to make light of dropping sales people onto servers - i do still think the Darth Vader as Shaft as a more interesting plot...

[4:53:11 PM] nsy says: ciao - go baby daddy

[4:53:26 PM] nsy says: maybe we can mix them somehow

[4:53:29 PM] pD says: oh, not quite time for me to leave for a bit

[4:53:35 PM] nsy says: oh, i see

[4:53:47 PM] nsy says: so, we can have darth vader levitating a server...

[4:56:39 PM] pD says: hahah! that would be a good one

[4:57:01 PM] pD says: maybe instead of air massage, he does the air transfer?

[4:57:08 PM] pD says: hmm... not as funny tho

[5:15:06 PM] pD says: okay, need to get ready to be baby daddy

[5:15:23 PM] nsy says: maybe he can levitate and drop the sales ppl on the server?

[5:16:05 PM] pD says: i think we are onto something here

soma - running - Iyengar yoga - benevolent illustrious boss - spanking - tampopo - warren buffet

[9:23:43 AM] pD says: howdy!

[9:24:10 AM] pD says: i am on my new schedule since now that I have leave around 5pm to pick up the little boss from day care

[9:24:44 AM] AE says: hello there Mr. Sir!

[9:24:46 AM] pD says: still have not quite figure out all the daily flows

[9:25:22 AM] AE says: easy. you leave in the hour of scampering. return at the hour of close.

[9:25:36 AM] AE says: eat at the hour of consumption.

[9:25:43 AM] AE says: and take your soma...

[9:27:33 AM] pD says: soma?

[9:28:08 AM] AE says: from Brave new world. it was a drug the populace was given to keep them calm and happy.

[9:33:58 AM] pD says: indeed

[9:34:04 AM] pD has changed the chat topic to "soma"

[9:34:13 AM] pD says: so, what is your soma of choice(s)

[9:36:01 AM] pD says: i must confess that i have smoked and inhaled several times, but it did not do anything for me

[9:36:46 AM] AE says: running is my pleasure inducing passion.

[9:37:07 AM] AE says: nothing better than the feeling you get after 50 miles....

[9:37:15 AM] AE says: ... and then stop.

[9:37:20 AM] AE says: ahhh...

[9:37:52 AM] pD says: since I advocate eating desert first, i would start with the stopping part, then, think about running - if i were to run

[9:38:00 AM] pD will never make a good runner

[9:38:17 AM] pD says: i do yoga - not long time or fancy poses

[9:38:28 AM] pD says: but, it does help me to clear out my mind

[9:38:37 AM] pD says: or, often time, think through a few things

[9:39:41 AM] pD says: my BIB is an Iyengar yoga instructor, so i do have some advantage there in that i have all the prop and instruction with easy access

[9:39:55 AM] pD says: BIB = benevolent illustrious boss

[9:54:06 AM] pD says: hi AE, i think nsy is ignoring us

[9:54:12 AM] pD says: that, or she is deep in her soma

[9:56:13 AM] AE says: no. she's just trying to get ready for the post sales after our crazy week last week.

[9:56:30 AM] pD says: ah! she is on her negative soma

[9:56:42 AM] AE says: i thought your boss was very small. though they have some great yoga moves...

[9:56:55 AM] AE says: brb. transferring to the shedquarters for the meeting.

[9:58:01 AM] pD says: i have two bosses - one big and one small. the big one is BIB and the small one comes in many names - depending on how big of a mess i need to clean up

[10:01:37 AM] AE says: back

[10:02:15 AM] AE says: haha.

[10:02:23 AM] AE says: i remember the days of little messes...

[10:02:39 AM] AE sighs wistfully at the easy life of a new parent

[10:03:19 AM] AE says: once they become far ranging... so do the messes!

[10:33:27 AM] pD says: yeah, i sometimes feel strongly that a good spanking could work wonders

[1:02:17 PM] pD says: this is the japanese noodle film Tampopo that i was telling about: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092048/

[1:02:26 PM] pD says: i cannot recommend it enough

[1:03:40 PM] pD says: speaking of which, i should put on my movie list again

[1:10:25 PM] pD says: this is clip from the film. specifically it shows how to make a rice/egg omelet japanese style. i always renew my respect for the humble ketchup after watching this segment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-GFimGcYJw

[1:12:47 PM] pD says:

[1:13:35 PM] nsy says: ha - thats great stuff! i am definitely going to put that on my movie list

[1:14:06 PM] nsy says: the noodle place today was great - thanks so much!

[1:14:19 PM] pD says: glad that you enjoyed it.

[1:14:43 PM] pD says: btw, whenever you have a chance, would love to see some of the antiques that you talked about

[1:16:53 PM] nsy says: oh - thanks for reminding me. the only one i have at home now is the fertility necklace. the carved bone pieces are in my mom's curio cabinet in camarillo - sorry. but i'll try to remember to bring in the necklace so you can check it out. maybe you can even read the writing!

[1:17:36 PM] pD says: that would be very cool

[1:19:53 PM] pD has changed the chat topic to "warren buffet"

[1:20:11 PM] pD says: if you ever decide to follow warren buffet, here is an interesting link: http://www.ticonline.com/buffett.partner.letters.html

[1:20:33 PM] pD says: it has the investor newsletter that he sends out in the earlier days of his investment fund

[1:25:29 PM] pD says: you can get his "regular" (and much celebrated) annual reports from the Berkshire hathaway website: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html

[1:25:41 PM] pD says: which, i am afraid to say, i have read every single issue

[1:25:52 PM] pD is a total finance dork

Wu Bai - youtube - hobees - norse,

[10:30:51 AM] pD says: listening to the "best of" collection of the band that supposes to rock the hardest in TW

[10:31:14 AM] pD says: interestingly, the last time i heard of the group, they claim to be best blues group in TW

[10:31:24 AM] pD says: maybe there is a bigger market as a rock group

[10:36:45 AM] pD says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Bai

[10:44:29 AM] pD says: chk out this performance on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB6KWt0Afy4&mode=related&search=

[10:45:26 AM] pD says: maybe I need to change my plan about mid-life crises

[10:59:00 AM] nsy says: want something from hobees? http://www.hobees.com/textmenu.html

[10:59:29 AM] pD says: i am good. thanks

[11:00:10 AM] AE says: Santa Cruz Scramble: Eggs, garlic, cheese, topped with our salsa fresca and artichoke hearts.

[11:00:16 AM] AE says: please.

[11:00:43 AM] nsy says: and corn bread instead of coffee cake?

[11:00:55 AM] AE says: nope.

[11:01:01 AM] AE says: coffee cake please!

[11:01:21 AM] nsy says: you got it

[11:05:23 AM] nsy says: http://www.hobees.com/textmenu.html

[11:10:50 AM] AE says: Do NOT click this link!!!

[11:10:52 AM] AE says: http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=612

[11:11:02 AM] AE says: don't say you weren't warned.

[11:16:14 AM] pD says: sorry, i am missing it

[11:16:44 AM] pD says: btw, i started to read the norse stories

[11:17:00 AM] AE says: they're good for bed time stories!

[11:17:03 AM] pD says: very cool stuff - reminds me of the cross between Tolkien and Wagner

[11:17:13 AM] pD says: both drew their work from the norse tradition

[11:17:49 AM] pD says: it is also interesting to note that Tolkien refers to middle earth which is similar to the Norse concept of Mittland [sic] which is essential

[11:17:52 AM] pD says: the earth

[11:33:24 AM] pD says: playing with YouTube: I will embed this object: curious to see what would happen

[11:33:26 AM] pD says:



[1:27:51 PM] pD says: how are things?

[1:28:02 PM] pD says: with the printer going non-stop cannot hear much

[1:28:32 PM] pD says: oh, i suppose heading a headphone with Shostakovich blaring does not help either