A very strange start to the chat with Ray coming in 15 hrs before it started and talking to himself, then leaving:
[rgoudie] Did I leave my keys in here… [rgoudie] No, they're not here.
Then David comes 1 hr early, starts talking to himself, then leaves:
[DreamlaX] Yay I registered my name! Not that it really makes a difference… [DreamlaX] I'll be back when everybody will be here…
Finally, both of them come in 10 minutes early and start talking to each other, and stay:
rgoudie enters this room [rgoudie] * rgoudie goes to make a cup of tea. DreamlaX enters this room [DreamlaX] Hey, somebody is already here! [rgoudie] Hello!
They talked about the time and then David told Ray that he was writing a book about using Fourier coefficients to describe an interpolated soundwave. This sparked an interesting discussion that went on sporadically during the chat. They talked about New Zealand which is where David is from and apparently one of his friends played an extra in one of the Lord of the Rings fight scene.
Then Rachel came in, said hello to both Ray and David, said brb and then left.
Sangeeta appeared which surprised me because she was supposed to be in Washington DC and so she was, but she still found a way to join us. Sangeeta had gone there to attend some festivities.
I appeared and got into the sound compression discussion while Sangeeta took off to eat:
[sangeeta] but alas, i have to go y'all– off to a vegan brunch…mmmmm!!! vegan pancakes, french toast and scrambled tofu!!
Ranjana entered at the tail end of a conversation about New Zealand, just in time to hear David say:
[DreamlaX] If I don't respond it's because I've fallen asleep at the keyboard (again).
to which Ray replied:
[rgoudie] DreamlaX> If Dylan shows up, you guys can seranade us with a snoring duet.
I asked David about the new female friend he had emailed us about.
[pradtf] DreamlaX> how's your friend?
He replied:
[DreamlaX] pradtf> Which friend is this?
I tried to remind him:
[pradtf] DreamlaX> the one you wrote to us about [DreamlaX] pradtf> Ohhhhh! Right! Gemma? [pradtf] DreamlaX> exactly! [DreamlaX] pradtf> She's doing great. Her and I went to have dinner together. It's amazing how well we get along, since neither of us smoke or drink or get up to mischeif etc. [pradtf] DreamlaX> yes it is funny how some people think you have to drink and smoke to have a good time
Ranjana proceeded to tell us about her proposal and Rachel, who had returned recently, told us that her flight had been cancelled due to the hurricane and that she was stuck in Florida, not with her relatives which she wouldn't have minded so much but
[Remora91] pradtf> with my mother sister and father (i'd rather be alone).
David started an interesting commentary on cuisine:
[DreamlaX] pradtf> it's funny how some people think meat makes a good meal! [rgoudie] DreamlaX> So many members of my family believe that meat should be the centerpeice of their meals and everything else is just accessory. [pradtf] DreamlaX> it's funnier how people don't think they know what to eat unless there is meat [imvegan] yes … that meat thing being central to a meal seems common … but i see some change these days as more and more peple are having some veg meals
Ranjana asked David what he was up to:
[DreamlaX] I'm not really up to much, to be honest… I've got a jobby and a hobby… I now work at a games arcade. In fact, I got a promotion already after working there only two weeks. Soon I will be trained up to service video games, and service locally, then nationally. I will then have an internationally recognised qualification…
Rachel left at this point because she wanted to take a shower and was concerned that the hurricane might knock the power out.
Michael came in and told us about a couple of books he was reading:
[Michael] It is called "Adventures beyond the body" … I have started an other book by Dan Brown "Angels and Demons" …. seems to be a very intersting book too
Ray was quite intrigued and continued the discussion:
[rgoudie] Michael> Have you read any of Robert Monroe's books? He is the pioneer. [Michael] rgoudie> no, not yet but i have heard about him and Buhlman also mentions him in his book [Michael] rgoudie> Ray, was it you who read the Seth-books or do i mix you up with someone else? [rgoudie] Michael> No, that is indeed I…I often stop off at used bookstores and I have found two more Seth books. This excites me since they are out of print. [Michael] rgoudie> Did you like them? I read almost all and am rereading them from time to time ….i read "Seth speaks" 4 times and every time it is completely different for me [rgoudie] Michael> I love them!!! They help me define my understanding of reality. To me, it is more like studying advanced metaphysics. [Michael] rgoudie> YES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
While this conversation was ensuing, Ray and David were having an indepth discussion of how the latter was actually compressing his sound files. It was actually very interesting, but I still had to contribute:
[pradtf] too much compression can give one a headache, which is why they use a compress
which was thoroughly ignored by everyone.
So I mentioned my endearing post on Lawndry which nearly turned into an environmental debate:
http://www.redhotpawn.com/board/showthread.php?id=13984
and since no one paid much attention to this, I tried to send Lori over there as soon as she arrived, which she was glad to do since the hurricane wasn't providing much humour in her life:
[bestofme] im doing ok, i feel like im on house arrest because of this hurricane, we just have rain, and not much of that and wind, lots of that [pradtf] just going to ask you whether you got wind of that hurricane [bestofme] its going through florida futher up north, like the orlando area, its only a catagory 2 but still bad, its going like 5 mph, so flooding is more likely
Then Ray exploded with:
[rgoudie] ARGH!
So I naturally asked:
[pradtf] rgoudie> is that as acronym you are working on for the puzzle forum?
Then Doug entered so we never got to discuss the possibilities. He was experiencing the hurricane too.
[flash] May be kicked off soon. Winds are getting worse. The hurricane is here [imvegan] wow… this sounds serious …. what protection can you take? [flash] I didn't take much. Should have boarded up some windows. I'm on the west coast and the hurricane is about 80 miles away and hitting us hard now. The east coast is very dangerous … Tampa should be getting a lot of wind. I'm just less than 25 miles south of Tampa … I'm in a non evacuation zone. I should be okay
We talked about how houses are built differently depending on the environmental situation. For instance, Ray said that Japan earthquake-proofs their homes, while on Vancouver Island, we don't even have basements.
I mentioned that we are on a fault line so Ray has to say:
[rgoudie] pradtf> It's not your fault.
and then says he has to disappear, but not before I get in:
[pradtf] with plateitude no doubt
Lori had mentioned that she had something to say on a lighter note, but when she didn't for a long time, I asked her what happened:
[bestofme] pradtf> my lighter note blew away, i don't remember what it was….lol [pradtf] bestofme> ya i wondered - i thought you'd be in a hurrycane to tell us [bestofme] pradtf> the puns have come blowing in
Then I thought of poor Doug:
[pradtf] if we keep this up, doug might think he'd prefer the hurricane to our company [bestofme] pradtf> haha [pradtf] bestofme> hahaharricane - oh alright that's pushing it i'll admit
Ranjana asked Doug how his diet was doing:
[flash] imvegan> Well, it could be better. Still holding my own. [imvegan] flash> good for you [flash] Thanks! Got to be more consistent [imvegan] flash> that will come [flash] I feel though I will never eat meat again! My thinking on the matter is changing. Well, this may sound silly but I was in the book store and got disturbed when a book had a genuine leather cover and got to thinking I need to be careful in the future. Then I thought about shoes. [pradtf] flash> now that is consciousness raising of the best kind!! when it happens within yourself [flash] I guess my mind is looking at it all differently [pradtf] i know the feeling doug - i went through it nearly 15 yrs ago
I mentioned that rapalla7 who had been one of the most vocal anti-AR individuals a year ago had told me that he had boycotted KFC. Additionally:
[pradtf] he also asked about veg recipes because his doctor told him he'd better cut down … he is only 30 i think
Then Ranjana got hungry and decided to leave telling everyone to take care of themselves, so Doug, who was busying himself trying to figure out the smilies told her:
[flash] imvegan> LOL I'll try. Take care of yourself and make sure Prad behaves. [flash] "0" [flash] ")" [flash] ":" imvegan exits from this room [flash] ) [flash] I give up
I showed Doug how to do at least the happy face and so we were both able to leave happy.