Logfile from ifmud.

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ifMUD
An interactive real time social network chat bulletin board
quotebook url database with a parrot bot
Copyright 1997-2007 by Loungent Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of
rec.[arts|games].int-fiction; All rights reserved.
Release 4 / Serial number 990908 / perlMUD v2.1z
    "The characters were mostly of the cardboard cutout variety.
    I wanted to punch everyone except the one Scottish guy."
         --Jearl
  NOTE: Whenever a fix or enhancement is in place, it will be announced
  on the channel '#mud-updates'.
  OTHER NOTE: There is a mailing list where people can say things like
  "hey, the mud's down, what's up with that?" In fact, since this is
  the only thing the list is used for, you should join it if you are
  interested in this subject. To join, go to
    http://groups.google.com/group/ifmud/
  or talk to Steve.
Robinson Manor
A gracious, welcoming, airy space. Music drifts in from unseen speakers. A picture window on the southern wall provides a pleasant source of light and a sense of openness.
You can see: teleporter, a picture window, comfy sofa, Jeopardy podium, buzzer1, buzzer2, buzzer3, Jota greets Rob, fake_Robb_Sherwin
Visible Exits: west, east
<Rob> When he said that, it gave me the ending of my book.
Channels created since last check:
 web/google-sux             :
Adventurer's Lounge
Candles on the wood-panelled walls create a comfortably dark atmosphere. Hand-drawn maps are taped to nearly every surface -- the walls, the ceiling, the trophy case in the corner. Seating is plentiful. A small storage closet is to the north.
You can see: new laundry list, Birthday Calendar, magic laundry list, blank banner, Even Newer World Map, charset sampler, Automeeter, TheMasterTheorem player names, time zones, MUD Client Wish List, battle.net battletags, madlibs, Anything Finder, Sarcasm Detector, Gene Ray
Players: Alex, markm, Touchy, small, Bishop, ctmiller, Jon, DorianX, Matthew, Otis, Jearl, vimes, McMartin, Dave, annabianca, Psmith, Grocible, Ryan, baf, GDorn, genericgeekgirl, Allen, zaphod, jess, Whizzard, boucher, Gunther, borowski, inky, DavidW, ghira, Johnny, zarf, Markov, nm, nothings, two-star, jenrexrode
Visible Exits: north, west, southwest, southeast, up, east
Rob comes right on in.
Recapping 176 of 2607 lines from recent channels:
[Olympics]/22:24 DavidW asks, "I didn't get the Batman & Robin bit of business, but the MC said something about it being from a local TV program there?"
[Olympics]|22:25 jenrexrode says, "yeah, I already forgot them names"
[Olympics]|22:26 DavidW says, "Batman even had more of a weight problem than Adam West ever had."
[Olympics]|22:26 Grocible says, " http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nMVWAVrVAw&feature=player_embedded#! "
[Olympics]|22:26 jenrexrode says, "yeah, heh heh"
[Olympics]|22:28 K-Y says (to Grocible), "are you sure it was not http://www.batmanlive.com/ "
[Olympics]|22:28 DavidW says, "No, the yellow van looks like the same one."
[Olympics]|22:28 DavidW says, "or at least similar enough."
[Olympics]|22:29 K-Y says, "shame, as this too is an authentic UK production"
[Olympics]|22:30 Grocible says, "yeah it's a Robin Reliant van"
[Olympics]|22:33 Grocible says, "Reliants were famous 3 wheeled cars"
[Olympics]|22:34 Grocible says, "famous for being... not very good"
[Olympics]|22:36 jenrexrode asks, "has Russell Brand ever sung before?"
[Olympics]|22:41 Grocible says, "yeah"
[Olympics]|22:43 jenrexrode says, "pure imagination seemed a strain, but I guess madness seemed a little strained, too"
[lounge]|22:43 ghira wakes. unfortunately.
[lounge]|22:43 jenrexrode says, "aw"
[lounge]|22:44 Johnny says, "Okay by me."
[lounge]|22:44 Johnny says, "Hi ghira"
[lounge]|22:44 ghira says, "well 2:50 is not a good time to wake up"
[lounge]|22:44 Johnny says, "Oh."
[lounge]|22:44 ghira says, "I tried to persuade myself that i wasn't awake by it's now 3:44 and I still am"
[lounge]|22:45 Johnny says, "weeeee'reeee ghooooossstsss"
[lounge]|22:45 jenrexrode asks, "same as last night?"
[lounge]|22:46 ghira says, "no. no headache today."
[lounge]|22:46 ghira says, "and no fuzzbeast demanding door-opening services"
[facebook]|22:46 jenrexrode says, "it took 23 minutes for someone to answer my question "Are you a mod or a rocker?""
[Olympics]|22:48 jenrexrode says, "thanks Ryan Seacrest for your observation that this music appeals to all ages."
[facebook]|22:49 Johnny says, "'Yes.'"
[lounge]|22:49 ghira says, "oh here she is now coming in"
[facebook]|22:49 Allen says, "mod or a rocker? I'm surprised 23 minutes were sufficient to suck back someone in time from 1965 to 2012"
[Olympics]|22:50 jenrexrode says, "well if you knew my sister, you wouldn't be surprised.  She's also the one who answered"
[facebook]|22:50 Allen says, "that's like asking an American if they're a jet or a shark"
[facebook]|22:51 Allen says, "ok, not quite, but almost"
[Olympics]|22:51 jenrexrode asks, "well it's really a Beatles joke, you know?"
[lounge]|22:51 Marvin buggers off.
[Olympics]|22:51 jenrexrode says, "oop wrong channel"
[facebook]|22:52 jenrexrode | http://youtu.be/SEI2UUhVEn4
[facebook]|22:52 Allen says, "more like the Who vs the Beatles"
[facebook]|22:53 jenrexrode says, "really it's more of Ringo joke"
[facebook]|22:53 Allen says, "I vaguely recall that"
[facebook]|22:53 Allen says, "was it? I thought it was pretty clear that the Who were mods"
[facebook]|22:53 Allen says, "also the yardbirds, etc"
[facebook]|22:54 jenrexrode says, "I'm referring specifically to what Ringo said."
[facebook]|22:54 Allen says, "oh."
[facebook]|22:55 Bishop says, "Everything I know about Mods and Rockers I learned from _Quadrophenia_. And that bizarre remake of _Brighton Rock_."
[facebook]|22:56 Allen says, "what's really weird from 60s british music, though, are skiffle fans"
[facebook]|22:56 Allen asks, "what the hell is skiffle?"
[facebook]|22:56 Bishop asks, "Oh, skiffle = jugband music?"
[facebook]|22:57 Bishop says, "I didn't know there _was_ a British scene for that."
[facebook]|22:57 Allen says, "it's like the ultimate innocent-white-boy white bread kind of soul"
[facebook]|22:57 Allen says, "it was the culture that the beatles grew out of"
[lounge]|22:58 Matthew says, "Well, I'm going to try this, but I think I'll drop off the MUD for a moment.  Let's see..."
[facebook]|22:58 Allen says, "Grocible isn't on here"
[lounge]|22:58 Allen says (to Grocible), "skiffle: elaborate"
[lounge]|22:58 Matthew says, "Yeah, well, whatever."
[lounge]|22:59 Allen asks, "how the heck was skiffle ever popular?"
[lounge]|22:59 Allen says, "(conversation from #facebook)"
[Olympics]|23:00 jenrexrode says, "if you watch the closing ceremonies there's The Who tribute with a bunch of scooters"
[lounge]|23:00 inky says, "well, you have to remember people used to be really into skiffs and other light watercraft"
[lounge]|23:01 jenrexrode says, "oh  yeah, my dad had this thing called a Skip-jack"
[kitties]|23:01 ghira recaps. closed doors? man. we don't have any of those for exactly that reason
[facebook]|23:01 Allen says, "the most recent Who article I saw was from a couple months ago. Ah, here's the headline:"
[facebook]|23:01 Allen | Pete Townshend: Mick Jagger's Penis Was 'Huge And Extremely Tasty'
[lounge]|23:02 jenrexrode asks, "it was like a surfboard with a motor?"
[kitties]|23:02 Allen says, "there are few things more delightfully subversive than laying a sock across a cat's back"
[kitties]|23:03 Allen says, "and watching them slink around like they're walking under a low-hanging bar"
[lounge]|23:03 Johnny asks, "A mortarboard?"
[lounge]|23:03 Johnny says, "Motorboard."
[tangent]|23:04 zarf says, "Mörtarhed"
[lounge]|23:05 jenrexrode says, "I'm looking for the proper name..."
[facebook]|23:05 DavidW says, "So many things that shall remain unasked and unsaid."
[facebook]|23:07 DavidW says, "I think I'll go make a pot of tea."
[English]|23:21 Jota asks, "Why do you occasionally hear 'they's' but never 'he're' or 'she're' or 'it're'?"
[English]|23:23 maga says, "phonological, would be my guess"
[English]|23:25 maga says, "'they's' rolls off the tongue smoother than 'they're';  'he's' -> 'he're' goes in the other direction"
[English]|23:29 Johnny says, "But thu'r is smoother than they's."
[English]|23:29 Psmith says, "hmm. Not just simplification, where the singular form is simpler than the plural? Because 'we is' and 'you is' are found as well."
[English]|23:29 Jota says, "Mmm. That makes sense. I had been considering something about nouns/pronouns being more concrete, and thus rendered correctly, but verbs being more abstract, and thus being simplified to the singular."
[English]|23:29 Jota asks (of Ps), "But then why is 'they' kept plural?"
[English]|23:30 Johnny says, "Jota says (to maga), "Thanks." maga says, "Tweren't nothin'.""
[English]|23:30 Psmith says (to Jota), "because it's semantically significant."
[English]|23:30 Psmith says, "without it being 'they', you wouldn't know that you _are_ talking about a plural subject."
[English]|23:31 Psmith says, "and yes, verbs are more flexible; consider Standard Yokel, where everything is simplified down to 'I be', 'you be', etc."
[English]|23:31 Jota asks (of Ps), "Wouldn't the plural verb convey that?"
[English]|23:32 Psmith says (to Jota), "number, sure, but not person."
[whiz-games]|23:32 Whizzard stretches.
[English]|23:33 Psmith says, "in a basic sentence, I have the feeling that the subject is of higher priority than the verb (which is of higher priority than the object), and thus less susceptible to modification."
[English]|23:34 Psmith says, "it's more important to know that it's John doing something than what he's doing, and far more than what he's doing it to."
[lounge]|23:34 Grocible asks, "allen: what?"
[lounge]|23:35 BrenBarn busta.
[English]|23:35 Psmith says, "(of course, it can be of such high priority, namely "I", that it can be omitted altogether as implied: "went shopping today".)"
[lounge]|23:36 Johnny says, "Hi BrenBarn"
[English]|23:36 Jota says (to Ps), "Got it."
[English]|23:37 BrenBarn asks, "what do you mean by 'priority'?"
[English]|23:38 Psmith says (to BB), "significance, in the sense of the amount to which its being degraded degrades the overall signal."
[English]|23:38 BrenBarn says, "my guess would be that 'they's' is more frequent than 'he're' because 'is' is more frequent overall (or at least more frequent with pronoun subjects) so that's the one that spreads if the paradigm is levelled"
[English]|23:38 BrenBarn says (to Psmith), "that seems doubtful to me"
[English]|23:40 BrenBarn says, "if anything I think the subject is the least 'important' in that sense, because it's so often retrievable from context"
[English]|23:40 Psmith asks, "hmm. Apart from implied "I", where's that the case?"
[English]|23:40 ghira says, "Italian does without the subject a lot of the time but at least you can tell what person the verb is. Japanese manages with optional subject and no way to tell person of verb."
[English]|23:40 Johnny says (to BrenBarn), "'ate an entire pig'"
[English]|23:41 BrenBarn says (to Psmith), "'gone to the store yet?'"
[English]|23:41 ghira says, "though the respect levels business could add some subject info back in I guess"
[English]|23:41 Psmith says, "interrogative constructions are an entirely different matter."
[English]|23:41 BrenBarn says, "also many cases in a continuous narrative where you have clause after clause with the same subject"
[English]|23:41 BrenBarn asks, "different from what?"
[lounge]|23:42 Grocible says, ""Two-thirds of Americans reckon Barack Obama would be better than his Republican presidential rival, Mitt Romney, at defending the Land of the Free when Mars attacks.""
[English]|23:42 BrenBarn says, "it's pretty common cross-linguistically for subject to be omitted or reduced (i.e., marked on the verb), object less so, predicate basically never"
[English]|23:42 BrenBarn says, "in languages like Japanese it's not uncommon to have clauses that are just a verb, with the arguments left to context"
[English]|23:42 Psmith says, "from simple statements. For direct questions, I think implied "you" is directly comparable to implied "I" for statements."
[English]|23:43 BrenBarn says, "'simple statements' probably isn't a very useful thing to restrict focus to if you want to find out how a spoken-language phenomenon like 'they's' arises"
[English]|23:43 Psmith says, "sure, but that's in languages whose verb inflections go deep. You can't get away with that in English."
[English]|23:43 BrenBarn says, "questions are common in spoken languages"
[English]|23:43 BrenBarn says, "er, spoken language"
[English]|23:44 Psmith says, "well, "they's" _isn't_ a question form."
[English]|23:45 Psmith says, "(I don't know whether "Is they...?" is common or not.)"
[English]|23:45 BrenBarn says, "sure, but the point that subjects are droppable extends across all sorts of contexts"
[English]|23:46 Psmith says, "I don't think they are, though, except in the particular case of implied "I" for statements, or implied "you" for questions and commands."
[English]|23:46 Psmith says, "that is, if the subject _is_ dropped in English, those are what will be supplied by default."
[English]|23:47 BrenBarn says, "'so he goes into the store, grabs some milk, walks up to the counter, pulls out his wallet. . .'"
[English]|23:47 Psmith says, "one subject can be applied to several verbs in successive clauses, sure."
[English]|23:48 Psmith says, "but the subject's still there."
[English]|23:48 BrenBarn asks, "on a clause-by-clause basis, which degrades the signal more?"
[English]|23:49 BrenBarn asks, "do you really think an utterance like 'he' would be more meaningful in most contexts than 'jumps off' or 'runs away' or the like?"
[English]|23:50 Psmith says, "No; none of those are particularly meaningful."
[English]|23:50 BrenBarn says, "there's all sorts of evidence for English and other objects that subjects are less likely to carry new information than objects, let alone verbs"
[travel]|23:58 BrenBarn says, "I am in Moab, Utah"
[lounge]|00:02 McMartin asks, "However, will he ensure that the Filthy Communists still get theirs at the hands of the Martians?"
[lounge]|00:09 Markov goes home.
[lounge]|00:10 Markov is back, slightly taller, with gigantic scars on its calves. Will you marry it now?
[lounge]|00:13 Jota turns into a slimy toad!
[lounge]|00:18 Firion goes home.
[lounge]|00:23 nm wantsahondacivic / http://www.iwantahondacivic.com / if you love nm than please buy nm a civic
[lounge]|00:23 nm says, "hi"
[lounge]|00:25 zarf says, "hello"
[lounge]|00:25 Grocible says, "hello, poot"
[lounge]|00:26 nm says, "buy me a civic, cat"
[lounge]|00:27 zarf says, "I think that's 'civet cat'"
[lounge]|00:28 nothings appears out of nowhere. Killer robotic players on the loose!
[lounge]|00:29 BrenBarn says, "time to go"
[lounge]|00:29 BrenBarn says, "adios"
[lounge]|00:29 BrenBarn flashes the "catch you later" handsign.
[lounge]|00:30 two-star sought a woman and found a monkey. Well, it happens.
[xkcd]|00:36 Jon asks, "wait, what?"
[xkcd]|00:37 inky says, "ha ha"
[xkcd]|00:38 inky says, "I think it is a weird thing combined with a joke"
[lounge]|00:39 jenrexrode says, "HI"
[xkcd]|00:40 nothings says, "f/wbxr/cha/"
[lounge]|00:40 jenrexrode says, "oh, cat pressed something besides "jkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkktttttttttttttttttttttt5 33333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333v=-"
[lounge]|00:40 jenrexrode wanders off.
[lounge]|00:41 jenrexrode has entered the lounge. [ Your score has gone up by 10 points ]
[lounge]|00:41 nm says, "rehi jen"
[xkcd]|00:41 (from nothings) inky says (to nothings), "uru"
[lounge]|00:41 Johnny says, "Hi jen, nm"
[cooking]|00:42 jenrexrode says, "making mashed potatoes - washed 6 small potatoes, microwaved for 10 minutes, cut in half and peeled while trying not to burn my fingertips, mash with masher"
[videogames]|00:43 K-Y asks, "anyone ever claimed a warranty on a game disc?"
[videogames]|00:44 nm says, "I would guess so, if it didn't work when they tried it"
[videogames]|00:44 K-Y says, "I mean, gone through the whole mail-it-in process"
[videogames]|00:45 nm says, "I would think taking it back to the store would be a better idea, but I suppose (if the store has closed, for instance) a reason must have come up for someone to do that"
[Olympics]|00:46 inky | his was perhaps an homage to the 1900 Paris Games, where cannon shooting was a demonstration sport.
[videogames]|00:46 K-Y says, "I'm past Amazon's returns period"
[videogames]|00:46 K-Y says, "the problem actually got worse after a month passed"
[Olympics]|00:47 inky says, "maybe we could bring it back as an angry birds tie-in"
[music]|00:50 mwmiller says, "Modest Mouse, Hector Berlioz, DJ Bahler, Tangerine Dream, Styx. I love last.fm! =D"
[videogames]|00:50 K-Y says, "and honestly, with all the returns I've been making lately to Amazon I get the feeling that I'm being punished for continuing to buy physical media in a time when physical media manufacturers are being narrowed down to fewer and more haphazard companies"
[Olympics]|00:52 jenrexrode says, "this story on the local news wants to add yoga as a sport"
[Olympics]|00:52 inky says, "I don't understand how that would work"
[Olympics]|00:52 nm says, "looks good ... but it can't kill"
[Olympics]|00:53 jenrexrode says, "they said that we just had a competition in town..."
[Olympics]|00:54 jenrexrode | Competitors this weekend will test their abilities with five compulsory and two advanced postures to determine the adult male, female and youth participants who will advance to compete in the National Yoga Asana Championship in March 2013.
[Olympics]|00:55 jenrexrode |With all styles of yoga welcomed, competitors are judged on several factors:    the technical execution of each pose - its level of difficulty - their poise and composure - the grace of movement both into and out of the posture
[lounge]|00:56 K-Y then looked around and came to the conclusion that pretty much no one in this lounge even lifts.
[lounge]|00:56 * K-Y has disconnected.
[Olympics]|00:56 inky says, "so basically like gymnastics"
[lounge]|01:10 Rob comes right on in.
Recapped 176 of 2607 lines from recent channels.
Current time: Monday, 13 Aug 2012, 01:10:56 AM EDT
There are 4 new messages on #alt/obits.
There is one new message on #games/roleplaying/D&D.
There is one new message on #web/facebook.
Rob says, "hawuzza"
Rob says, "back in austin"
#205 [games/roleplaying/D&D]       From: dfan          Date: 08-Aug-12 13:54
Subject: Map porn
http://s80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/stonegiant96/Dungeon%20Maps/
#465 [alt/obits]                   From: Matthew       Date: 07-Aug-12 09:31
Subject: Marvin Hamlisch, 68
Composer of movies and Broadway musicals
#466 [alt/obits]                   From: Gunther       Date: 08-Aug-12 09:19
Subject: Martin Fleischmann (85)
Not inventor of cold fusion.
#467 [alt/obits]                   From: Hjalfi        Date: 09-Aug-12 05:12
Subject: Bernard Lovell (98)
The first radio astronomer, builder of the Jodrell Bank radio telescope in 1945 (still the third largest steerable telescope in the world). http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/aug/07/sir-bernard-lovell
#468 [alt/obits]                   From: inky          Date: 12-Aug-12 21:27
Subject: Jean Merrill, 89
Author of The Pushcart War and other books -- http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/books/jean-merrill-childrens-book-writer-dies-at-89.html
#15 [web/facebook]                 From: Gunther       Date: 07-Aug-12 03:26
Subject: Of all the stupid...
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/08/06/beware-tech-abandoners-people-without-facebook-accounts-are-suspicious/
[Olympics] jenrexrode says, "heh, yeah, but snootier"
jenrexrode says, "hey"
inky says, "time for some aussin'"
[Olympics] Rob says, "from a spring jump landing on the nose"
Rob says, "aw yeh"
[Olympics] jenrexrode says, "I wasn't really thinking of it being that snooty"
[Olympics] Rob says, "I basically only watched women competing I realized"
[Olympics] Rob says, "I watched them rowing and gymnasticking and fencing and judo and volleyball and water polo and handballing and didn't feel like watching guys do the same things"
[Olympics] Rob says, "plus they were winning a lot"
[Olympics] jenrexrode says, "I have 2 recordings left from this morning, and dang if one of them isn't an entire basketball game."
[movie] Rob says, "I caught the end of the george clooney Batman & Robin movie last night, what a wtf stinker strangeness what were they thinking thing to view again"
[movie] Rob says, "also funny to see that conception of Bane after having seen the recent movie"
[Olympics] jenrexrode says, "I only liked the sports that needed an investment of 3 minutes or less"
[Olympics] Rob says, "I trailed off the past week, partly because I was out of town (though I did have a tv in my room, score) but partly because every time I turned it on it was basketball or soccer, which I hate anyway, plus it was all guys"
[Olympics] Rob says, "also I was confused because I thought the US won the soccer meet against Japan a week ago and I couldn't figure out why there was still so much goddamn soccer still on the tv"
[movie] Jon says, "I bet."
[Olympics] jenrexrode says, "although some of the badminton took longer than 3 minutes, but I was okay with that"
Ellison arrives from the east.
Ellison says, "hey all"
jenrexrode says, "hi"
[movie] Rob says, "by that point in the batman movie franchise it's like they were doing something even cartoonier and campier than the old tv show"
Rob says, "ell"
[movie] Rob says, "kind of trying to figure out how it started at the first tim burton movie and got to that point one step at a time"
[kids] Ellison says, "my 6 year old nephew has decided an ellipsis means 'three minutes later.' it was especially funny to learn that as he and I were reading the intro to Star Wars Episode 2 (the intro ends with an ellipsis)"
[Olympics] jenrexrode says, "yay, there's modern pentathalon at the end of this recording.  A roomful of women fencing"
[t-shirts] Jon says, "yay http://shirt.woot.com/offers/magic-school "
[kids] Rob says, "heh"
[Olympics] inky says, "I didn't realize they used laser pistols now"
[Olympics] jenrexrode says, "yeah, just like at Six Flags"
[kids] Rob says, "#movie I saw the first minutes of a Tekken movie last night too (it came on after Batman & Robin)"
[Olympics] jenrexrode says, "except the targets weren't as humorous"
[kids] Rob says, "and it starts with a narrator describing the world of the movie and how it's set up, then a title card came up saying '8 Hours Earlier'"
[Olympics] inky says, "also I saw this NYT thing about how the deal now is they get assigned an unfamiliar horse and have like 20 minutes to familiarize themselves with it before riding the course"
[Olympics] inky says, ""it's like speed dating," somebody was quoted as saying"
[kids] Rob says, "and I was like '8 hours earlier than what? this narration?'"
[Olympics] Rob says, "ha ha"
[Olympics] jenrexrode says, "yeah, that's cool, and the guys did really well, what I saw"
[Olympics] Rob says, "that's pretty fast to get a horse used to you and you to a horse"
[kids] Ellison says, "ha"
[Olympics] jenrexrode says, "and then to get the horse to make those crazy 4x4 jumps"
[kids] Ellison says, "I hate how popular the 'X hours earlier' gimmick is these days"
[kids] Rob says, "because the narration was like 'here's the history of the earth from what you in the audience know as the present until now'"
[kids] Rob asks, "is it?"
<Olly> returns like a re-gifted fruitcake.
Olly arrives in a puff of yellow smoke, which makes them cough.
[kids] Rob says, "also speaking of kids and 6 year old nephews"
Olly says, "Hello, MUDfolk."
jenrexrode says, "hi"
[kids] Rob says, "I spent the week bonding with my 9 year old cousin-niece and my 6 year old cousin-nephew"
[kids] Ellison says, "it's very popular in tv shows. it'll show a scene to begin the show, then the next scene will be 'X hours earlier'."
Ellison says, "hey Olly"
[Olympics] inky says, "the rest of the article was about how this is kind of a crappy system"
[kids] Rob says, "which means they're actually my cousins once removed technically but there's more of an uncle-niece-nephew vibe"
[Olympics] inky says, "since if you get a bad horse you might just lose because of it"
[Olympics] Rob says, "yeah"
[Olympics] Rob says, "suppose he doesn't like you"
[Olympics] inky says, "also some countries don't have much of a horse tradition and supply bad horses"
[Olympics] inky says, "or won't jump"
[Olympics] Rob says, "but I guess these are professional horses trained to be good at insta-dating"
[Olympics] zarf says, "consider a standard spherical horse of density D"
[Olympics] inky says, "I think the horses supplied can be pretty variable"
[kids] Rob says, "I met them for the first time last summer, and the girl, Amy, seemed to take an instant shine to me"
[kids] Rob says, "meeting them again it was clear she has a big crush on me"
[kids] Ellison says, "ha ha"
[kids] Rob says, "which is kind of weird and kind of endearing"
[Olympics] jenrexrode says, "wow, when the Egyptian fencer took off her mask, she had a hijab under it."
[kids] Rob says, "but she kept telling me how neat I looked and laughing extra hard at my dumb jokes and wanting to squeeze up to me whenever she dared to"
[kids] inky asks, "wait, the 9 year old does?"
[kids] Rob says, "yeah"
[Olympics] inky says, "ha ha"
[kids] Rob says, "she's also clearly for her age range a pretty, popular girl"
[Olympics] inky says, "and under the hijab, another mask"
[kids] jenrexrode says, "I just call those kids niece-cousins"
[kids] Rob says, "I feel weird feeling flattered considering she's 9 and my cousin"
[kids] Ellison says, "she just thought it was really cool that you were taking her to a cafe at 2 in the morning"
[kids] Rob says (to jenr), "seems right"
[Olympics] jenrexrode says, "heh"
[kids] Rob says, "ha ha"
[kids] Rob says, "maybe when she's older"
[kids] Rob says, "also it's weird that I get along with her too since I don't relate well to kids normally, relatives or not"
[kids] Rob says, "even my actual niece and nephew"
[kids] Rob says, "she insisted I teach her how to play poker"
[kids] Rob says, "and I was like what? but I gave it a go and she learned it"
[kids] Ellison says, "I think my relations like that call me 'cousin' which kind of annoys me since it doesn't sound deferential enough"
[kids] inky says, "ha ha"
[kids] Rob says, "she was really keen on playing with fake money so that she could win a lot, but she didn't win a lot and got bummed out"
[kids] Rob says, "then her brother wanted to learn and I was like oh brother how are we going to teach him? but he kind of learned"
[kids] inky asks, "you didn't let her win a lot?"
[kids] inky says, "I guess teaching her "poker is easy and you can win a lot of money!" probably isn't a great idea"
[kids] Rob says, "actually he didn't, but it was funny to play with him because we used monopoly money and all he did was throw in 500 dollar bills every round and made every pot huge"
[kids] Rob says, "nah she wanted me to play fair and not let her win so she could learn the game better"
[two-story] two-star says, "HOLY FUCK THERE IS a GIANT FUCKING SPIDER IN MY BATHROOM"
[kids] Rob says, "we also played Go Fish and Crazy 8's"
[kids] inky says, "ha ha"
[kids] Rob says, "it all started because I was playing solitaire and she said 'what are you doing?' in that 9 year old girl way like you're doing something totally stupid and alien"
[kids] inky says, "everyone talks about crazy 8s, but nobody ever makes an effort to get the 8s the mental health treatment and therapy they are in need of"
[kids] Rob says, "and I said 'I'm playing solitaire' and she said 'soli- what?'"
[kids] Rob says, "hee hee"
[kids] Rob says, "I told someone else later about this and they came back with the smart remark that pretty popular girls don't ever need to learn what solitaire is"
[kids] Rob says, "which put me in my place"
[kids] inky says, "ha ha"
[kids] Ellison says (to inky), "ha ha"
[kids] Ellison says (to Rob), "also, ha"
[kids] jenrexrode says, "aww"
[food] Olly says, "This week I discovered the instant noodles that come in a cup and all you do is add boiling water."
[kids] Rob says, "when we were saying g'bye this morning I gave her a hug and said 'you're a lot of fun' and she said 'you are too' and I felt all aww gee"
[two-story] two-star says, "Damn, I've always thought I wasn't bothered by spiders, but that's because they've all been reasonably sized before now."
[food] inky asks, "but did you know Bishop has a whole section in his blog about reviewing them?"
[two-story] inky asks, "is it smaller than your palm?"
[food] jenrexrode says, "ah, yeah"
Johnny says, "Hi Rob, Ellison, and Olly"
[two-story] two-star says, "This thing is three inches long."
[food] Olly says, "No, I did not know that."
Rob says, "J man"
Rob says, "I thought you were going to be away from the MUD for a while? or you were and I missed it and you're back already"
[two-story] Rob says, "gack"
[two-story] two-star says, "and the body is fully a third of that."
[food] inky | http://bishopsreviews.wordpress.com/tag/instant-noodles/
Johnny says, "Still looking for a new place."
[food] inky says, "there are more but I can't find them"
[food] Rob asks, "is there a particularly awesome kind I should know about?"
[two-story] inky | http://bugguide.net/node/view/75174/
[food] Rob says, "I still like making ramen noodles on occasion and am lately feeling strongly like there's an actual quality brand somewhere I should be buying instead of the grocery store 20 for a dollar kind"
[food] Rob says, "since somewhere in japan they take ramen seriously it seems like"
[two-story] inky says, "I gotta say that "giant house spider" is the sort of name you would make up if someone asked you what it was and you didn't know and were forced to bluff"
[food] jenrexrode says, "well there's the MT superstore"
[food] Rob says, "there's also some little stores I've found, like the one next to dragon's lair"
[food] Rob says, "I just don't know what the actual brand of noodles might be"
[food] jenrexrode says, "well the serious types get fresh ramen at a ramen stand"
[food] Rob says, "so what do the ramen stand guys use"
[food] jenrexrode says, "probably hand made."
[food] inky says, "they use the secret flavor packets"
[two-story] two-star says, "That could be the one."
[food] Rob says, "on the dvd of Spirited Away there's a documentary about making the movie, and at one point Miyazaki makes a big batch of ramen noodles for the artists pulling an all-nighter near the production deadline"
[food] jenrexrode says, "ramen in the store is instant ramen, and is par-fried so it cooks fast,"
[food] Rob says, "this goes back to my idea that at some point in my life I should investigate trying to make noodles just to see how this is possible"
[food] jenrexrode says, "I'd like to try that Kome' place, that is the brick&mortar of Sushi-a-go-go"
[food] Rob asks, "where's this?"
[food] Rob says, "also there's a ramen scene in Ponyo I just recalled"
[two-story] two-star says, "I'm seriously freaked out."
[food] jenrexrode says, "It must have been No Reservations, where they went and met this guy who makes the noodles in his apartment by jumping up and down on this big piece of bamboo"
[food] jenrexrode says, "I think it's on Airport Blvd"
[food] Olly says, "I think I will buy some more.  They seem like a good food source for when I am feeling very ill and can't make proper food.  Even though they are not very nutritious, they are better than nothing, which is what I often end up eating at those times.  Also, they are much cheaper than frozen dinners, which are the closest alternative."
[two-story] inky says, "well, the usual procedure is slam a clear container over it, slide a paper under it, pull it off the wall and release on your neighbor's lawn"
[food] Rob says, "also I caught the last third of a movie with the late Brittney Murphy as an american stranded in japan who tries to apprentice as a noodle chef and impress the ancient noodle masters of her understanding in the discipline and art of noodle making"
[food] jenrexrode says, "I like doctoring up the instant ramen in a pot, like I learned from DavidW"
[food] Rob says, "for some reason I read DavidW as DoctorWho for a second"
[two-story] Rob says (to inky), "heh I know that procedure"
[two-story] Rob says, "also heh neighbor's lawn"
[two-story] two-star says, "That plan involves me getting close enough for it to jump onto me."
[food] Olly says, "Well, there isn't a fish finger and custard flavor, so he has to improvise."
[food] Rob says, "yeah if for various reasons making food is a strain it is basic nutrition without much effort"
[food] jenrexrode says, "yep - No Reservations Hong Kong episode"
[food] Rob says, "and is better than say not eating"
[way-secret] Rob asks, "wedding is 11/11 right?"
[food] jenrexrode says, "I recently discovered the chile flavor ramen.  I love it"
[food] Rob says, "mmm south america"
[food] jenrexrode says, "not that chile"
[way-secret] Rob says, "while stuck in airports I was browsing flight plans on the Kayak app and trying to figure out how many days of scheduling to, uh, schedule. I guess I need to check with maga and Jacq about this too"
[way-secret] inky says, "yeah"
[way-secret] Rob says, "11/11 sticks in my head as the big date for a few reasons"
[way-secret] Rob says, "ok"
[way-secret] inky says, "it's catchy that way"
[way-secret] Rob says, "I'll keep you posted"
[way-secret] Rob says, "yeah good work"
[food] Olly says, "The fact that you just ad boiling water is a good ting, because sometimes I can't stand and watch a pot, but if I leave it I often forget it until I smell it burning.  I can boil the water in my tea kettle, though, which has a whistle."
[food] Olly says, "+d"
[food] Olly says, "+h"
[way-secret] Rob says, "are you starting to become mired in the traditional barrage of planning details that grooms-to-be patiently sweat through"
[way-secret] inky says, "btw steve is going to be in town interviewing with amazon the day after Emily's thing"
[way-secret] inky says, "so I figure we will meet up with him"
[way-secret] Rob says, "wow"
[way-secret] inky says, "(or rather two days after Emily's thing, so we will meet up the day after)"
[way-secret] Rob asks, "before I went to colorado I printed up the travel details emily sent me but now I've forgotten them again. am I still going to be in town then?"
[way-secret] inky says, "Hannah had the wedding shower earlier today so up until a few minutes ago she was writing thank you notes"
[way-secret] inky says, "yeah you're ocming in friday and leaving monday morning"
[way-secret] Rob says, "wow shower"
[way-secret] Rob says, "ok cool. it'd be great to see steve again"
[way-secret] Rob says, "for like the first time since north carolina or something awful like that"
[way-secret] Rob asks, "like a decade ago?"
[way-secret] Rob says, "sigh"
[way-secret] inky says, "it's pretty crazy"
[way-secret] Rob says, "I want to talk to you maybe not tonight but about what bus I take from the airport and how we meet up and such things, especially since you're in a different place now than you used to be"
[way-secret] Rob says, "I figure you know more what is happening than I do"
[food] jenrexrode says, "ramen is the only word I can read in Japanese"
[food] Rob says, "hmm"
[way-secret] inky says, "yeah, I can tool down to the airport to pick you up"
[way-secret] inky says, "I guess I can even drive for that matter"
[food] Rob says, "I used to know some ... hiragana? whatever the phonetic alphabet is. but not any more"
[way-secret] Rob says, "!!"
[way-secret] Rob says, "this is an amazing development"
[way-secret] inky says, "yeah it's crazy"
[food] jenrexrode says, "this would be in katakana"
[way-secret] Rob says, "totally"
[way-secret] inky says, "hannah has two cars so one is the car I use when I need a car"
[food] Olly says, "I used to know how to write my name phonetically."
[way-secret] Rob says, "well ok I won't sweat it, I'll just make sure to catch my flight and it'll work out"
[food] jenrexrode | The reason it's written it katakana is because ramen originally comes from China.
[way-secret] Rob asks, "she herself has two cars?"
[way-secret] inky says, "yeah"
[way-secret] Rob says, "the life of a high powered lobbyist"
[way-secret] inky says, "I mean, one is her old car, and it was getting to the point where she needed a new car, but decided not to sell the old one so I could use it"
[way-secret] Rob says, "oh ok"
[way-secret] inky says, "it is not suitable for a cross-country drive but it is ok for the amount of driving I do"
[way-secret] Rob says, "even though you don't like driving but hey sometimes a friend needs a pickup at the airport"
[way-secret] Rob says, "well I'll miss the ol' bus ride but not that much"
[way-secret] Rob says, "it's the same scenery"
[way-secret] Rob says, "looking forward to seeing everybody"
[food] Olly says, "The mother of some girls that my mother was tutoring in English taught me a little Japanese, which I have since completely forgotten."
[food] nothings says, "(hiragana = regular phonetic alphabet, katakana = phonetic alphabet for foreign words)"
Rob says, "ok I've been traveling all day so I need to crash"
jenrexrode says, "seeya"
[food] Rob says, "ah so I did mean katakana"
[food] Rob says, "I think. probably."
inky says, "g'night rob"
Rob says, "gnight-o"
Rob heads right on out.
</Rob> Find release from your cares. have a good time.
Seeya later.