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