CSA - economist magazine - hinckley yachts - LASIK - Peterson 33 - ships - yachts

[9:36:44 AM] AE says: here's the link I was showing nsy: http://www.hydroptere.com/

[9:36:51 AM] AE says: Our new pirate ship!

[9:50:06 AM] nsy says: terry my carpool buddy works with the guy that started this: www.3VotesADay.Org

[9:50:59 AM] AE says: cool! I've been looking into the whole local/organic debate. Which is better for the planet in the long run and all that.

[9:51:37 AM] AE says: we're lucky enough in Santa Cruz that we can get local organic produce (Dirty Girl farms in Pajaro Valley for instance).

[9:51:55 AM] AE says: but for other people, you can only get organic if it's trucked in from far away.

[9:52:49 AM] AE says: I think reverting back to local CSA is good... but we're going to run into the problem of economy of scale that originally let to the growth of agricultural industry that lead to the current farming situation.

[9:53:20 AM] AE says: which, btw, is washing tons of chemicals (pesticides and fertilizers) down the Mississippi and into the gulf.

[9:53:41 AM] AE says: have you heard of the oxygen depletion problem that's occurring there?

[9:54:28 AM] AE says: http://www.csc.noaa.gov/products/gulfmex/html/rabalais.htm

[10:16:38 AM] pD says: hi guys, busy. 'tis Monday

[10:16:54 AM] AE says: zzzzz .... *snort* wha?

[10:17:06 AM] AE says: nope. actually pretty calm.

[10:17:38 AM] pD says: On AE's question, the Economist had an in-depth analysis a few months back. and, the long and short of it is that it was more of a style/choice than any discernable environment impact - mostly due to transporting produce

[10:17:57 AM] pD says: i will try to find the article 'cause it was quite controversial when it came out. later tho

[10:17:59 AM] AE slowly killing pD with another print out

[10:18:12 AM] AE says: Time also carried an article about it.

[12:00:07 PM] nsy says: I may be getting custom lasik soon: http://www.furlongvision.com/customLASIK.html aberrometers are cool! http://www.furlongvision.com/advanced_technology.html

[12:07:10 PM] pD says: very cool! nsy is going to be a true bionic soon

[1:07:30 PM] pD says: fake steve jobs! i did not know until he has been ID'd, so slow i am: http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/08/05/fsj-blog-apple-biz-media-cx_pm_0805fsj.html?partner=rss

[1:12:43 PM] pD says: some spoof pix of Bill and Steve: http://captions-fakesteve.blogspot.com/

[1:20:47 PM] pD says: hydroptere: that is pretty cool. bi-tri-cat design is pretty fast. in yacht racing, they have their own class. the issue with the x-cat design has to do with stability. the traditional monohull design is self-centering, if properly done. But, when a cat flips, it stays flipped

[1:21:47 PM] pD says: so, x-cat design tends to be for near shore usage instead of transoceanic - too high of a risk.

[1:22:03 PM] pD worked in the yacht building industry in a prior incarnation

[1:23:31 PM] pD says: this is the economist article I was talking about: http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8380592

[1:24:01 PM] pD says: i consider economist as authoritative, so, not going to argue over the numbers

[1:24:25 PM] pD says: what is missing, for me, is that I buy organic and local because it tastes damned good

[1:25:07 PM] pD says: secondarily, just like nuclear power, i can appreciate all the safety measures and trade-off intellectually, but at the gut level, organic makes so much more sense

[1:43:44 PM] nsy says: wow, what did you do for the yacht building industry. i almost ended up there myself.

[1:46:01 PM] pD says: i was in sales/business development - they needed somebody who is not afraid to talk with super-rich clients

[1:46:02 PM] nsy says: when the startup i worked at (lutris technologies) went under, i decided to go back to school like so many other tech orphans. it was a close race between computer science and Naval architecture and marine engineering at UNO

[1:46:48 PM] pD says: so, what made you decide on CS?

[1:46:58 PM] pD says: what kind of boat did you want to design?

[1:47:04 PM] nsy says: cool! i interviewed the owner of santa cruz yachts to figure out what direction to take, but eventually chose cosci (obviously)

[1:47:20 PM] pD says: Y's dad was a ship designer

[1:47:32 PM] pD says: what kind of boats do SC Yachts make?

[1:48:18 PM] pD says: i had a good relationship with Hinckley back then, they make beautiful boats

[1:48:35 PM] nsy says: hm... i couldn't afford to go to university right away, and there are no community colleges that offer a 2-yr degree that transfers to UNO. i decided that i better do something more universally useful for my first degree, then if i was still interested, i'd get a graduate degree in marine architecture

[1:48:51 PM] pD says: i especially like their picnic boat - cannot afford them, but that is the boat i would buy, if i ever have too much money to blow: http://www.hinckleyyachts.com/

[1:50:18 PM] nsy says: i wanted to make one-handed boats fit for circumnavigation, or just a business idea like the now defunct shoe site customatix.com for boats - total custom design online, then mfr and ship. including interiors

[1:51:47 PM] nsy says: i inherited my father's 32ft Peterson racing sloop, and i was trying to fix it up, but i ran out of funds, and sold it on ebay. one day i'll hopefully have another, but its nice when it's someone else's financial headache, and you can just pitch in.

[1:54:39 PM] pD says: yeah, boats ain't cheap to keep - like wine making, the best way to be a millionaire is to start with 10 millions

[1:55:06 PM] nsy says: exactly.

[1:55:16 PM] nsy says: money begets money

[1:56:33 PM] nsy says: http://sailingworld.com/article.jsp?typeID=398&catID=608&ID=200801

[2:01:55 PM] nsy says: this is pretty much the same sloop I had, but it was white

[2:01:59 PM] nsy says: http://asianyachting.com/boats/Peterson33.htm

[2:02:53 PM] pD says: well, in this case, you start with 10mm and get down to 1mm...

[2:20:51 PM] pD says: i do not believe they make thes yachts any more. shame too, they are beautiful - http://www.yachtworld.com/annapolissailyard/annapolissailyard_5.html

[2:55:56 PM] nsy says: wow, that's a nice boat. it has a lot of the features i would like to incorporate into my design, but i'm not sure how i feel about the foremast. maybe i just don’t know much about it yet.

[2:58:22 PM] nsy says: rigs 101 for boat newbies: http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~elfox/types.html

[3:15:33 PM] pD says: boats are interesting, a whole different set of language onto itself

==
NSA Chatters crew

movie genre - left-wing action films - hitler - left-wing ideas - software laws - chocolate - calories - Sea Land - small countries - Andorra

[8/2/2007 9:20:36 AM] pD says: howdy!

[8/2/2007 10:19:37 AM] nsy says: hi there!

[8/2/2007 11:01:36 AM] pD says: i was thinking back to the movie blood diamond

[8/2/2007 11:02:00 AM] pD says: and, a parallel idea came up about a discussion on the use of documentary in recent years

[8/2/2007 11:04:13 AM] pD says: specifically, the speaker was arguing that documentary has become a form of self-congratulatory format for the left

[8/2/2007 11:04:54 AM] pD says: for example, most of the "good" ones on Enron (smartest guys in the room), environment (inconvenient truth), etc. are really geared at a specific type of audience

[8/2/2007 11:06:19 AM] pD says: so, long story short, i hit upon this idea of a new emerging genre that marries block buster action films with a moral spin - like Blood Diamond where the audience is not only entertained by the explosion, he/she also gets a sense of moral superiority by agreeing with the argument of the story (not buy blood diamond in this instance)

[8/2/2007 11:16:28 AM] nsy says: wasn't there a clint eastwood-directed movie like that recently?

[8/2/2007 11:25:55 AM] pD says: do you recall which one?

[8/2/2007 11:26:53 AM] AE says: Flags of our Fathers, and Letter's from Iwojima. iwogima? iojima?

[8/2/2007 11:27:40 AM] pD says: Iwa Jima

[8/2/2007 11:28:13 AM] AE says: Iwo Jima.

[8/2/2007 11:28:43 AM] AE says: oh, and the Yesmen. their movie is exactly what you mean... except without the block buster part...

[8/2/2007 11:29:06 AM] pD says: i see the eastwood film more as revisionist history telling at its best - there is a push to talk about the history from the common men's perspective

[8/2/2007 11:29:26 AM] AE says: http://www.theyesmen.org/

[8/2/2007 11:29:32 AM] pD says: Ken Burn was quite controversial when he did the same on WWII from the soldier's perspective - WAR

[8/2/2007 11:30:57 AM] pD says: my point is that by marrying the two parts - the moral high ground and actions, this brings a wider audience to the theater - parents would feel good about themselves and kids get to see a lot of explosions and stupid men (usually men) killing each other

[8/2/2007 11:36:14 AM] AE says: yeah! Explosions!

[8/2/2007 11:36:26 AM] AE says: sorry... moral what?

[8/2/2007 11:39:20 AM] pD says: my point - same product - serving different audiences with different perspective and needs

[8/2/2007 11:39:49 AM] pD says: this is a shrewd ruse to capture the "art" house audience

[8/2/2007 11:40:18 AM] pD says: 'em MBA's are good!

[8/2/2007 11:40:36 AM] AE says: capture the art house audience, or sneak morals into the main stream audience?

[8/2/2007 11:59:49 AM] nsy says: are we under a fascist regime? http://propagandamatrix.com/articles/july2007/240707fascistcoup.htm

[8/2/2007 12:05:02 PM] nsy says: part of one of those leftist documentaries you are trying to avoid ;) http://prisonplanet.tv/articles/december2004/021204martiallaw.htm "Martial Law"

[8/2/2007 12:05:37 PM] pD says: the failed coup: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot

[8/2/2007 12:06:12 PM] pD says: morality is over-rated

[8/2/2007 12:06:40 PM] pD says: hitler was highly popular until the shooting ware started, and even then, there are many people who sided with hitler

[8/2/2007 12:06:47 PM] pD says: in UK, US, etc.

[8/2/2007 12:07:41 PM] pD says: given the degree of economic woe from the great depression and how hitler was able to seemingly single handedly rescued german economy from the ruins of WWI to its industrial might - i can totally understand its allures

[8/2/2007 12:08:36 PM] pD says: it was not obvious that he would actually do the things that he claimed to want

[8/2/2007 12:09:09 PM] pD says: not an apologist for adolf, but i think historic context is often difficult with hindsight...

[8/2/2007 12:12:38 PM] nsy says: yes, it seems that questioning the current political philosophy is reasonable when everyone is poor and starving to death. "Clayton Cramer, in a 1995 History Today article, reminded readers that the devastation of the Great Depression had caused many Americans to question the foundations of liberal democracy. "Many traditionalists, here and in Europe, toyed with the ideas of Fascism and National Socialism; many liberals dallied with Socialism and Communism." This helps explain why some American business leaders viewed fascism as a viable system to both preserve their interests and end the economic woes of the Depression."

[8/2/2007 12:13:41 PM] nsy says: but genocide... c'mon people.

[8/2/2007 12:17:22 PM] nsy says: so, can you find a way to turn this stuff into a blockbuster with car chases and explosions?

[8/2/2007 12:17:48 PM] AE says: uhg. can't we start to wean ourselves off that?

[8/2/2007 12:18:05 PM] nsy says: maybe we can systematically go through the leftist documentaries and turn them into blockbusters?

[8/2/2007 12:18:22 PM] AE says: i mean... it's big and you can't look away... but think what all those explosions are doing for the environment

[8/2/2007 12:18:55 PM] nsy says: well, for the masses, it seems like a sugar coated pill, or no pill at all.

[8/2/2007 12:19:02 PM] AE says: true

[8/2/2007 12:20:50 PM] pD says: so, let's start a list - blood diamond is one

[8/2/2007 12:21:04 PM] pD says: how about oil reserves in Sudan

[8/2/2007 12:21:08 PM] AE says: what's on the list?

[8/2/2007 12:21:17 PM] AE says: things we want to make into documentaries?

[8/2/2007 12:21:52 PM] pD says: well, left wing ideas that can be made into block busters

[8/2/2007 12:22:37 PM] pD says: lord of war -by nick cage had a similar theme - albeit a bit more cynical - it talks about arms dealers

[8/2/2007 12:22:56 PM] AE says: Global climate change (Day after Tomorrow just didn't do it for me)

[8/2/2007 12:23:24 PM] AE says: The genocide in Darfur.

[8/2/2007 12:23:37 PM] AE says: The aids crisis in Africa

[8/2/2007 12:24:18 PM] AE says: The economic disparity between the first and third world, and how little power there is for the poor people of the world to change it.

[8/2/2007 12:24:52 PM] AE says: more locally, we have imminent domain, the FLOW issue in Felton, and sudden oak death.

[8/2/2007 12:25:10 PM] AE says: and don't even get me started about non-native invasive plants!

[8/2/2007 12:25:49 PM] nsy says: animal species endangered due to human interference

[8/2/2007 12:26:07 PM] AE says: yeah! loss of bio-diversity!

[8/2/2007 12:26:10 PM] AE says: that's a key one.

[8/2/2007 12:26:38 PM] AE says: we're finding more and more things we need, cures for diseases, in our fellow inhabitants.

[8/2/2007 1:29:25 PM] nsy says: i stumbled across this blog, and it held my interest for more than 3 seconds http://haacked.com/. I was particularly amused by http://haacked.com/archive/2007/07/17/the-eponymous-laws-of-software-development.aspx

[8/2/2007 1:38:00 PM] AE says: uh oh... don't you have that XKCD comic on your wall nsy?

[8/2/2007 1:42:39 PM] nsy says: i know - haha

[8/2/2007 1:47:51 PM] pD says: hey, should come up with an NSA Chatters’ Law

[8/2/2007 1:48:11 PM] pD says: or, we could have our individual pD, nsy, and AE laws

[8/2/2007 1:48:17 PM] pD says: why not, no?

[8/2/2007 2:50:59 PM] nsy says: maybe even some commandments?

[8/2/2007 2:51:58 PM] nsy says: thou shalt not eat bad chocolate

[8/2/2007 2:52:14 PM] AE says: naw, too negative... how about:

[8/2/2007 2:52:22 PM] AE says: thou shalt eat only good chocolate

[8/2/2007 2:52:57 PM] nsy says: well, i guess if you're into optimism.

[8/2/2007 2:53:15 PM] pD says: or mine would be "any chocolate that i can afford to eat is not good enough"

[8/2/2007 2:53:45 PM] AE says: that's a rather fatalistic point of view... i mean... is life without chocolate worth living?

[8/2/2007 2:54:11 PM] pD says: or "i would not eat any chocolate that i can afford" - like the Marx brother's club-joining thing

[8/2/2007 2:54:47 PM] pD says: conversely, is life with bad chocolate worth living

[8/2/2007 2:55:00 PM] pD says: (into the realm of existentialism)

[8/2/2007 2:55:31 PM] AE says: Karl Marx was in a chocolate club?

[8/2/2007 2:55:56 PM] AE says: or was he banned from one, and that was one of the forming factors of communism.

[8/2/2007 2:56:03 PM] pD says: he was in France briefly when trying to make his way to britain...

[8/2/2007 3:18:06 PM] pD says: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Groucho_Marx - search for "club" - 2nd or 3rd occurrence

[8/2/2007 3:22:04 PM] nsy says: good stuff!

[8/2/2007 5:28:14 PM] pD says: baby daddy duty

[8/2/2007 5:28:42 PM] nsy says: ok. farewell, baby daddy!

[8/2/2007 5:28:58 PM] nsy says: good luck with the doody

[8/2/2007 7:58:22 PM] AE says: doody duty?

[9:33:12 AM] AE says: mmm... 800 calories for breakfast...

[9:33:22 AM] AE says: 4 yummy chocolate bars

[9:33:53 AM] AE says: er, I mean "All-natural Sports nutrition bars"

[9:34:22 AM] AE says: why are sport foods so sugary?

[9:34:46 AM] AE says: aren't sports folks supposed to be fanatically healthy?

[9:35:02 AM] AE says: or do we exercise so much so we can eat whatever the heck we want?

[9:35:11 AM] AE says: perhaps it's really all based on fear.

[9:35:38 AM] AE says: we're afraid if we don't exercise, we'll bloat up to un-acceptable levels of body mass.

[9:35:53 AM] AE has changed the chat topic to "Counter Calories"

[9:36:08 AM] AE says: i bet i'm the only one on NSA Chatters that worries about this kind of stuff...

[10:14:18 AM] pD says: agree...

[10:14:34 AM] pD says: my concern usually runs in the direction of how good it tastes

[12:04:17 PM] AE says: so couple good taste with low calories and you've got a good snack.

[12:27:55 PM] pD says: calorie does not enter into the equation for me - happiness is more important

[12:28:58 PM] pD says: food should nourish both body and soul

[12:29:18 PM] pD says: so, an occasional indulgence is a good thing

[12:29:49 PM] pD says: another reason why pD would never make it as a conscript

[12:54:50 PM] pD says: Queen guitarist Brian May has handed in his astronomy PhD thesis - 36 years after abandoning it to join the band. : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6929290.stm

[1:09:02 PM] pD says: i am dead meat, need to buy more insurance - Your Printer May Be Hazardous To Your Health: http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/36077

[1:27:13 PM] AE says: http://www.sealandgov.org/

[1:27:26 PM] AE has changed the chat topic to "think SMALL"

[1:27:29 PM] AE says: http://geography.about.com/cs/countries/a/smallcountries.htm

[1:33:35 PM] pD says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra

[1:35:50 PM] pD says: Andorra is great! i will need to visit it

[1:35:57 PM] pD says: but, i do not speak catalan

[1:36:11 PM] AE says: I'm sure they cater to French and Spanish as well.

[1:36:23 PM] AE says: what a cool history!

[1:36:50 PM] pD says: wikitravel! http://wikitravel.org/en/Andorra

[2:30:53 PM] pD says: San marino at 24 square miles would be my cut off - it is still walk-able

==

NSA Chatters crew

blood diamond - limbs - necrophilia - taboos - benevolent illustrious boss - single parent - pink five - hard drive - strauss - foreign languages - Tc

[7/31/2007 11:31:15 AM] pD says: saw the film blood diamond last night

[7/31/2007 11:31:48 AM] pD says: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450259/

[7/31/2007 11:32:05 AM] pD says: Di Caprio is a much better actor than I expected

[7/31/2007 4:05:33 PM] nsy says: hm. sounds interesting. what’s your rating out of 10?

[7/31/2007 5:02:08 PM] pD says: 'm back. sorry, having a particularly bad day today

[7/31/2007 5:03:23 PM] nsy says: no problem-o. some days, i get so swamped; i just have to check out entirely. go on and do your thing. i hope its just trivial work stuff, and nothing really bad...?

[7/31/2007 5:06:00 PM] pD says: thank you for your kind words. it is a bit more than the trivial stuff - but it is a bit complicated which requires a stiff drink or two

[7/31/2007 5:06:08 PM] pD says: hmm... maybe i will make a martini when i am home

[7/31/2007 5:06:14 PM] pD says: on the movie

[7/31/2007 5:06:27 PM] pD says: it is hard to give it a straight score

[7/31/2007 5:06:37 PM] pD says: nothing is straight forward with pD

[7/31/2007 5:06:49 PM] pD says: i think the story line is good enough

[7/31/2007 5:07:00 PM] pD says: the direction and actions are quite spectacular

[7/31/2007 5:07:49 PM] pD says: the moralistic tone of the story can be a bit off-putting; but naturally, one would be hard pressed to argue that he/she is in favor of chopping people's limbs off and/or child soldiers

[7/31/2007 5:08:12 PM] pD says: it is interesting to note that the practice of chopping limbs off started with the Belgium king Leopold

[7/31/2007 5:08:35 PM] pD says: whose abuse of the Congo inspired the story of "heart of darkness"

[7/31/2007 5:08:43 PM] pD says: going back the limb chopping bit

[7/31/2007 5:08:59 PM] pD says: apparently, he demanded one limb per 100 slaves to keep the slaves in line

[7/31/2007 5:09:13 PM] nsy says: wow, seems counterproductive

[7/31/2007 5:09:26 PM] pD says: ever since, limb chopping has been a "stable" in African politics

[7/31/2007 5:09:33 PM] nsy says: hard to polish a candlestick with one hand

[7/31/2007 5:09:40 PM] pD says: well, actually, similar practice is time honored

[7/31/2007 5:10:09 PM] pD says: for example, the word "to decimate" came from the Roman practice of killing 1 in 10 of the mutiny soldiers

[7/31/2007 5:11:35 PM] nsy says: wow, i love those fun facts from pD's brain

[7/31/2007 5:11:55 PM] pD says: morbid, you mean

[7/31/2007 5:12:14 PM] nsy says: morbid=fun

[7/31/2007 5:12:28 PM] nsy says: ok, maybe not every time

[7/31/2007 5:12:58 PM] nsy says: morbid obesity = not fun

[7/31/2007 5:13:09 PM] pD says: usually though - death and sex, the two unfailing ingredient of a good joke

[7/31/2007 5:13:36 PM] nsy says: exactly!

[7/31/2007 5:13:46 PM] nsy says: especially if you can get them both in the same joke

[7/31/2007 5:14:02 PM] nsy says: wow, i'm a jerk today.

[7/31/2007 5:14:08 PM] pD says: i suppose, following the same logic

[7/31/2007 5:14:16 PM] pD says: necrophilia jokes are the funniest of them all?

[7/31/2007 5:14:23 PM] nsy says: definitely

[7/31/2007 5:14:27 PM] pD says: (you can see that one coming a mile away, no...)

[7/31/2007 5:14:45 PM] nsy says: yep, there it is on the horizon.

[7/31/2007 5:15:27 PM] nsy says: well, i'll have to tell you one of my favorite jokes offline sometime after a few martinis.

[7/31/2007 5:15:36 PM] nsy says: totally tasteless

[7/31/2007 5:17:37 PM] pD says: (still lurking, the necrophilia story...)

[7/31/2007 5:17:42 PM] pD says: speaking of tasteless

[7/31/2007 5:17:47 PM] pD says: have you seen either of these two films

[7/31/2007 5:17:52 PM] pD says: Team America

[7/31/2007 5:17:59 PM] pD says: and The Aristocrats

[7/31/2007 5:18:11 PM] pD says: they are not "tasteless" in my view

[7/31/2007 5:18:20 PM] pD says: but, conventionally speaking, they really shock!

[7/31/2007 5:19:01 PM] nsy says: America, Fuck Yeah!

[7/31/2007 5:19:24 PM] nsy says: and i only saw a scene from the Aristocrats in the Sarah Silverman Movie - Jesus is magic.

[7/31/2007 5:19:37 PM] pD says: team america was one of the few films that i was rolling on the floor literally.

[7/31/2007 5:19:39 PM] pD says: what fun!

[7/31/2007 5:20:39 PM] pD says: jesus is magic is also fun - but i would recommend aristocrat - it really gives you insights on the person telling the joke

[7/31/2007 5:20:59 PM] nsy says: i didn’t know it was out - i'll queue it up!

[7/31/2007 5:21:12 PM] pD says: and, if you want to, i think compelling arguments can be made about the notion of what constitutes "Taboo" over generations in america

[7/31/2007 5:21:28 PM] pD says: anyway, i need to leave soon to pick up the little boss

[7/31/2007 5:21:55 PM] pD says: my BIB (benevolent illustrious boss) is out of town so i am a single parent this week

[7/31/2007 5:22:58 PM] nsy says: ok, safe travels. at least the little boss will carry your genetics into the next generation to push the boundaries of what is taboo... or so we can hope. and now you have more of an appreciation for single parent’s plight ;)

[7/31/2007 5:23:19 PM] nsy says: fair well!

[7/31/2007 5:23:41 PM] pD says: appreciation ain't worth nothin'

[7/31/2007 5:23:50 PM] nsy says: hahaha

[7/31/2007 5:23:54 PM] pD says: i want an award or medal

[7/31/2007 5:23:57 PM] pD says: and big ones too

[7/31/2007 5:24:49 PM] nsy says: here's your metal! http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9ovgVXdcjBU



[7/31/2007 5:26:10 PM] nsy says: bummer - i thought it was a video of dave mustaine playing guitar. oh well, at least you got a montage. (team america sings "montage"...)

[9:03:52 AM] AE says: Look how educational legos and the internet can be!

[9:03:53 AM] AE says: http://youtube.com/watch?v=-5ak6X-mOkA&mode=related&search=

[9:06:13 AM] nsy says: the "dragging" scene is classic!

[9:06:54 AM] nsy says: wow, i didn’t know about the snake omen - cool

[9:07:45 AM] nsy says: and darth vader too! wow, that was great!

[9:07:59 AM] AE says: vader?

[9:09:09 AM] AE says: oh, conducting the Imperial march?

[9:12:20 AM] AE says: even better: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-967254940440792524&q=pink+five&total=546&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

[9:14:47 AM] AE says: course... you have to endure some commercials first...

[9:19:14 AM] AE says: and it gets better:

[9:19:16 AM] AE says: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-734898518739208205

[9:35:55 AM] pD says: i am embedding some of the clips:

[9:36:20 AM] pD says: lego trojan war is pretty neat, somebody clearly has too much time on their hand

[9:39:09 AM] pD says: pink five: hahahah!

[9:39:11 AM] pD says:

SEE MORE: Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | Comedy Central

[9:41:31 AM] AE says: oh, the last two are the best: Return of Pink Five volume one and two.

[9:41:51 AM] AE says: in reverse order: Volume 2: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8983943213224739541

[9:43:05 AM] pD says: pink five strikes back I embedded

[9:43:06 AM] pD says:

SEE MORE: Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | Comedy Central

[9:47:49 AM] pD says: pretty good voices of obi wan and yoda

[9:51:56 AM] AE says: yes... it's really well done for a fan film.

[9:52:11 AM] AE says: here's volume 1 of Return:

[9:52:12 AM] AE says: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6993648185637675797

[9:52:35 AM] AE says:

SEE MORE: Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | Comedy Central

[9:53:01 AM] pD says: i understand that they have to make money somehow, but i must also confess that it is annoying to have to watch the commercial

[9:53:16 AM] AE says: that's from Atom films....

[9:53:44 AM] pD says: return of pink five V2: embedded

[9:53:45 AM] pD says:

SEE MORE: Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | Comedy Central

[9:53:48 AM] AE says: it' kinda why we don't got to the Cinema 9 anymore... commercials after paying full ticket prices at a theatre... bad form.

[9:54:11 AM] AE says: The embed linked was for volume 1... so I think we have the whole collection.

[9:54:16 AM] pD says: the films are pretty technically slick

[9:54:22 AM] pD says: i do wonder how they are done

[9:54:22 AM] AE says: Guess they haven't made part 3 yet.

[9:54:32 AM] AE says: CGI, green screen...

[9:54:40 AM] AE says: here's another fan film classic:

[9:54:41 AM] pD says: specifically, how do they embed characters

[9:54:46 AM] AE says: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=643405919082518371&q=troops&total=22910&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

[9:54:51 AM] pD says: green screen makes sense

[9:54:59 AM] AE says: in the movie you mean?

[9:55:07 AM] AE says: they can simply edit them in.

[9:55:09 AM] pD says: but, that is assuming that they have access to the original film stock to superimpose

[9:55:16 AM] AE says: we can do it in Final Cut, and that's not too difficult.

[9:55:29 AM] pD says: really!

[9:55:37 AM] AE says: sure, that's stuff practically public domain now.

[9:55:39 AM] pD says: and, it would not look "obvious"?

[9:55:47 AM] pD says: i am way behind...

[9:55:49 AM] AE says: depends on how good you are.

[9:55:54 AM] pD is an old fart

[9:56:13 AM] pD says: i suppose i would need to get a mac if i ever to want to do something constructive with my video clips

[9:56:14 AM] AE says: The Pink Five series is way above the typical fan film in terms of production quality.

[9:57:13 AM] AE says: it's a good way to do it on the cheap.

[9:57:51 AM] AE says: Troops is another fan film that's very well done, acting and production quality wise.

[9:58:21 AM] pD says: yeah, you have shown me troops already

[9:58:25 AM] pD says: very cute

[9:58:47 AM] pD says: i think it would be interesting to inter-cut these films with the official version, it would be a riot

[10:23:43 AM] pD has changed the chat topic to "portable storage"

[10:23:54 AM] pD says: a quick stat: little boss turned 1 last week

[10:24:15 AM] pD says: and, i am seeing about more than 100GB of pix and video clips

[10:24:46 AM] pD says: more importantly, my 300GB HD is going to run out of space - not immediately, but it will given the growth rate

[10:24:59 AM] pD says: i have been backing up files by burning CD's

[10:25:09 AM] pD says: however, remounting CD to look for data is kind of painful

[10:25:26 AM] pD says: so, i am thinking that some kind of portable external drive could be nice

[10:25:55 AM] pD says: on a related front, when traveling, it would also be good to be able to download files from the digital camera to an external drive

[10:26:24 AM] pD says: anyway, this is my theoretical musing, do you guys have any suggestion on how to approach these needs and if you have any specific recommendation, that would be great

[10:35:10 AM] nsy says: jungledisk rules: http://www.jungledisk.com/

[11:08:57 AM] pD says: i prefer an appliance approach - something about holding the data in my own hand

[11:09:07 AM] pD says: also, when traveling, internet connection is sometimes hard to get

[11:27:31 AM] AE says: there are several one button backup solutions.

[11:27:36 AM] AE says: but they're all hard drive based.

[11:27:47 AM] AE says: and there are only two types of hard drives:

[11:27:52 AM] AE says: the kind that have failed.

[11:27:55 AM] AE says: and the kind that will fail.

[11:28:04 AM] AE says: so, it's not an archive solution.

[11:28:27 AM] pD says: it will not be for archive as such

[11:28:30 AM] AE says: There is tape... but it has many of the same problems as CD/DVD backups... mainly, they will not last 5-10 years.

[11:28:33 AM] pD says: i burn CD/DVD for archive

[11:28:48 AM] AE says: but the media has a 5 year shelf life for most of them (archive wise)

[11:29:01 AM] AE says: the best is a NAS

[11:29:16 AM] AE says: then you've got enough hard drives to back each other up.

[11:29:23 AM] AE says: when one fails, you toss it and put a new one in.

[11:29:26 AM] pD says: what I am thinking of is some sort of external drive so that i can offload files while on the road and be able to quickly access the files at home (unlike CD/DVD where i would need to copy files over to improve the performance)

[11:29:40 AM] AE says: Then get a USB 2 drive.

[11:30:01 AM] AE says: there are several small (2.5 inch) drives on the market that have 150 GB storage.

[11:30:18 AM] AE says: Or you can get a full size case and go much larger (up to 1 TB now)

[11:30:28 AM] AE says: it depends on how much gear you want to tote around.

[11:30:47 AM] AE says: La Cie makes some one button backup solutions in the 500-1 TB range.

[11:31:02 AM] AE says: brb

[12:05:46 PM] nsy says: a 16 gig thumb drive might do nicely... http://reviews.cnet.com/usb-flash-drives/axiom-usb-drive-usb/4505-3240_7-32335454.html?tag=prod.txt.20

[12:08:13 PM] nsy says: alternative mfr http://reviews.cnet.com/usb-flash-drives/edge-diskgo-usb-2/4505-3240_7-32310463.html?tag=prod.txt.18

[12:08:54 PM] nsy says: i've never heard of these manufacturers, and there are no reviews, so you could be a pioneer

[1:13:59 PM] AE says: pioneer = guinea pig

[1:16:09 PM] pD has changed the chat topic to "BFT"

[1:16:28 PM] pD says: 28-wheel truck, check out the video. it does not "look" that big...

[1:16:33 PM] pD says: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6922967.stm

[1:17:39 PM] pD says: thumb drive are too small for my purpose, unfortunately

[1:17:58 PM] pD says: i think an USB external drive with 300+GB would be ideal

[1:18:16 PM] pD says: any suggestion on that front?

[1:19:19 PM] AE says: sure: http://www.lacie.com/products/range.htm?id=10036

[1:19:54 PM] AE says: prolly this would fit your needs: http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10833

[1:20:00 PM] AE says: though it's a bit small.

[1:23:06 PM] pD says: is this any good? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3176017&CatId=136

[1:24:38 PM] AE says: sure. friend of mine has one. but you wouldn't want to pack it along with you.

[1:24:50 PM] AE says: it's pretty big.

[1:25:01 PM] AE says: and i'm not sure how travel-worthy it is.

[1:31:26 PM] pD says: that is a good point, i did not see the measurement, but the picture does look pretty good size

[1:31:42 PM] pD says: the problem with hardware is that there is always tomorrow when things are better and cheaper

[1:33:15 PM] AE says: yep.

[1:33:31 PM] AE says: you can always get a case that's rugged and put a larger drive in it later.

[1:33:44 PM] AE says: the 2.5 and 3.5 inch form factors will not change any time soon.

[1:34:06 PM] AE says: though the internal connectors might (i'm thinking of the switch to SATA that recently occurred)

[1:38:52 PM] AE says: here's a fancy shmancy one by Porsche: http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10558

[1:39:01 PM] AE says: it's 250 GB.

[1:39:29 PM] AE says: cool, doesn't require AC power either, so you don't need to lug a brick along.

[1:39:40 PM] AE says: and it's made to travel.

[1:42:50 PM] AE says: Or there's this one: https://www.olixir.com/products_SecurFlash.php

[1:43:19 PM] AE says: They have them up to 750 GB... but expect to pay a premium (like $900!)

[1:48:26 PM] nsy says: imagine lugging this around? not! but how do they make it waterproof?

[1:48:29 PM] nsy says: http://www.klsecurity.com/disaster_ready_drive_iosafe.htm

[1:49:15 PM] AE says: wow! That's a good question!

[1:49:39 PM] AE says: how do you make an electronics device that requires cooling waterproof?

[1:57:34 PM] nsy says: what's your price range?

[1:59:34 PM] nsy says: whats the necessary storage? ex: 40 gig or 400 gig?

[2:00:38 PM] pD says: those are hard questions - fair, but i do not know

[2:01:04 PM] pD says: actually, one of the "problems" is that i have not figured out how to add a new HD onto the mother board

[2:01:22 PM] pD says: there seems to be only one bus/port for HD

[2:02:33 PM] AE says: then you can have two devices if they're ATA or SATA, the hard drive being one, the CD/DVD being the other.

[2:02:59 PM] AE says: if they’re SCSI, you can string up to 15 (depending on what variant of SCSI)

[2:03:22 PM] AE says: but these we've been showing are external; they'd hook up with USB 2.0 or Firewire.

[2:03:51 PM] nsy says: http://shopper.cnet.com/4566-3186_9-0.html?filter=503164_11795436_500076_14824018_100021_7810606_500489_5054007_

[2:22:01 PM] pD has changed the chat topic to "NY Philharmonics"

[2:22:05 PM] pD says: this is a rant

[2:22:24 PM] pD says: i was just listening to the NY Phil playing Strauss' Blue Danube (waltz)

[2:22:28 PM] pD says: it sucks!

[2:22:42 PM] pD says: the river was sluggish and muddy

[2:23:43 PM] pD says: interestingly, the same can be said of the Vienna Phil when they play American composers such as Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue

[2:24:57 PM] pD says: there is no question on the technical proficiency of both orchestras and to the extent that both pieces are very well known and falls squarely within the classical construct - you would think that both pieces can be play with a high degree of dexterity by both orchestras

[2:25:58 PM] pD says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhapsody_in_Blue

[2:27:32 PM] pD says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blue_Danube

[3:22:38 PM] nsy says: so, are you saying that technical proficiency is not enough to perform a piece well? if that's the case, what is missing? an understanding of the artist's intent? emotion? ...?

[3:23:53 PM] pD says: at a very crude level

[3:24:01 PM] pD says: (in the world according to pD)

[3:25:02 PM] pD says: that means the NY Phil people have not been on the silly boat for the Danube tour where they would stay left to right on waltz

[3:25:34 PM] pD says: similarly, Vienna people have a darn time getting the "swing" mood

[3:26:09 PM] pD says: i think part of it is at the gene and cultural level

[3:26:42 PM] pD says: american grow up with a particular sensibility so although people may not think of "swing" as a music choice

[3:27:11 PM] pD says: but, it is a fundamental beat in the american context - from blues, Elvis, to today's R&B

[3:27:56 PM] pD says: if you would allow the poor analogy

[3:28:12 PM] pD says: it is same as "white men cannot play basketball"

[3:28:24 PM] pD says: it is not a physical or willingness issue

[3:28:38 PM] pD is wondering if he is making any sense

[3:29:06 PM] nsy says: hahahah - yes, it makes sense, i think i catch your drift.

[3:30:00 PM] nsy says: like speaking a foreign language, it is almost impossible to get rid of your accent. natives always know "you're not from around here"

[3:31:34 PM] pD says: that is the same idea

[3:31:48 PM] pD says: i would make one modification, often time it is not the accent,

[3:32:24 PM] pD says: perversely, it is the fact that native speakers tends to be more "sloppy" with the language whereas the fluent foreigner would be speaking "proper" all the time

[3:32:59 PM] pD says: another give-away is when the foreigner is using terms that are no longer in use - learnt from text book instead of regular conversation

[3:33:32 PM] pD says: and, the flip side of the same coin is when the speaker is using excessive amount of slang - watched too much BayWatch for example

[3:33:42 PM] pD says: this reminds me of an unrelated story

[3:34:08 PM] pD says: when i was in japan, i learnt that they run a brisk business of selling the scripts to movies

[3:34:22 PM] pD says: apparently, it was considered an excellent way to learn colloquial english

[3:34:40 PM] pD says: i wonder if the advent of DVD with subtitle has killed off that business

[3:50:40 PM] nsy says: there must be an exception to the rule. can you think of any example where an orchestra plays music that originated in another culture, and does it well?

[4:02:52 PM] pD says: well, there are any number of good examples

[4:05:23 PM] pD says: for example, the most inspiring Tshechosky [i am butchering his name] performance I have heard is done by Vienna Phil

[4:05:24 PM] pD says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky

[4:09:05 PM] pD says: this is the CD, took me a while: http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-Symphony-No-Pyotr-Ilyich/dp/B00000IIXV/ref=sr_1_3/105-1672069-1958045?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1186009723&sr=1-3

[4:11:04 PM] pD says: similarly, a good number of american orchestras are known for their interpretation of European works - Philly under Ormandy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Ormandy

[4:11:40 PM] pD says: Chicago under Reiner: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Reiner

[4:11:49 PM] pD says: actually, you know what, i think i know what the catch is

[4:11:53 PM] pD says: it is the conductor!!

[4:12:18 PM] pD says: we are talking about world class orchestras with the best players from around the world.

[4:12:48 PM] nsy says: wow, interesting revelation!

[4:12:54 PM] pD says: but, if the conductor cannot find the music in his soul, there is little the players can do since the conductors ultimately controls the finer points

[4:13:20 PM] pD says: the difference in a pause that is rushed and meditated is just a split second

[4:13:27 PM] pD says: but, that makes the world of difference

[4:13:43 PM] pD says: part of it, you can attribute to personal styles, but

[4:14:10 PM] pD says: there is a lot to be said about if the performer (conductor in particular for these kinds of orchestras) gets it in his guts

[4:14:29 PM] pD says: for example, Muti and Abbado are both Italians

[4:14:42 PM] pD says: but, they can do German operas like nobody’s business

[4:15:25 PM] pD says: Muti: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riccardo_Muti

[4:15:38 PM] pD says: Abbado: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbado

==

NSA Chatters crew