Ten Things...
David Goldfarb
going around again. Last time I started on a list; this time I
finished it. Traffic being slow around here these days, I thought
I'd post it. So...
1. Learned to read before I learned to talk.
2. Beaten a master-rated player at chess.
3. Eaten a taco north of the Arctic Circle.
4. Tasted the water of the Dead Sea.
5. Photocopied in excess of 100,000 pages in a 24-hour period.
6. Discussed literary references in _Sandman_ with Neil Gaiman. (And
done my level best to conceal that I didn't know what "synoptic" meant.)
7. Played the mad mutie lord Sir Simon in a reading of "William Shakespeare's
_Tam Lin_, As Considered Canonical on Barrayar".
8. Seen a sibling being born.
9. Ruptured an Achilles tendon. (And trust me, you want to keep it that way)
10. Read Euripides' _The Bacchae_ in the original Greek.
--
David Goldfarb |"English cuisine is the cuisine of fear."
gold...@ocf.berkeley.edu |
gold...@csua.berkeley.edu | -- Andrew Conway
Harry Mary Andruschak
> That meme of "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Haven't" is
> going around again. �Last time I started on a list; this time I
> finished it. �Traffic being slow around here these days, I thought
Mine would include
1) Been castrated
2) Viewed a total eclipse of the sun from the deck of a Windjammer
3) Crossed the Sahara Desert by truck
4) Worked at the Jet Propulsion Lab 1973 - 1986, on Projects Mariner-
Venus-Mercury, Helios, Viking, Voyager, and galileo
5) Visited every single station on the London Underground Line of
1971, to include the new Victoria Line extension
6) And rode the Glasgow Underground.
7) Grand Canyon hiking and mule trips
8) Beat a Chess Master during a Simultaneous
9) River boating from Vienna to Amsterdam
10) Had Prince Charles walk withing one foot of me (during his JPL
visit)
David Goldfarb
Perhaps I should have mentioned that my #2 was in a one-on-one
tournament game. Of course, your master might well have been
higher-rated than mine, making them hard to compare. I did once
*draw* a grandmaster in a simul, I haven't won. (I haven't played
in that many simuls either, though.)
--
David Goldfarb |From the fortune cookie file:
gold...@ocf.berkeley.edu |
gold...@csua.berkeley.edu |"You have at your command the wisdom of the ages."
Evelyn C. Leeper
> That meme of "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Haven't" is
> going around again. Last time I started on a list; this time I
> finished it. Traffic being slow around here these days, I thought
> I'd post it. So...
> 4. Tasted the water of the Dead Sea.
Nope, been there, done that.
> 10. Read Euripides' _The Bacchae_ in the original Greek.
I guess the Iliad doesn't count?
--
Evelyn C. Leeper
Life is complex--it has real and imaginary parts. --anonymous
Nels E. Satterlund
David Goldfarb wrote:
> That meme of "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Haven't" is
> going around again. Last time I started on a list; this time I
> finished it. Traffic being slow around here these days, I thought
Well my list wasn't interesting so I want to play ...
"Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Have too"
1 Had a meal with a major SF author (Jack Williamson, C.J. Cherryh)
2 Been to multiple conventions in one year (3 is my max Norwescon,
Moscon, Orycon)
3 Been on both sides of the pond.
4 Worn a costume (or 6 or 7)
5 Own a Sword (real or replica)
6 Have a Pet (no cats, but Dogs and Horses)
7 Own more than one computer (Last count 10, 7 in regular use, 2
mostly to record TV)
8 Read more than one USNET group (but they seem to be dieing and work
doesn't even have a functional feed anymore)
9 Have a wall of books (~2k, many of you have more)
0 Worked at a convention (Lately Norwescon masquerade front house
manager)
Nels
--
Nels E Satterlund I don't speak for the company, specially here
Ne...@Starstream.net <-- Use this address for personal Email
My Lurkers motto: I read much better and faster, than I type.
Jette
> 3 Been on both sides of the pond.
>
Simultaneously?
--
Jette Goldie
je...@blueyonder.co.uk
http://www.jette.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
http://wolfette.livejournal.com/
("reply to" is spamblocked - use the email addy in sig)
Tom
> goldf...@csua.berkeley.edu | -- Andrew Conway
This is very interesting. My list is nowhere near as accomplished as
those already posted, but here goes...
1) Talked baseball with Carmine Infantino
2) Grew up on a street named after Alan Shepard
3) Shook hands with Keith Hernandez as he was trying to pick up my
date
4) Explained to Tony LaRussa and Buzz Bissinger why I left a wedding
reception early to attend their book signing
5) Am owed $45 by Albert Pujols
6) Attended the Superman Celebration in Metropolis, IL multiple times
7) Met a real live Munchkin
8) Been propositioned by hookers multiple times(just lucky I guess!)
9) Had chronic back pain cured completely by an appendectomy
10) Wrote a letter to Bill Clinton when he was President and received
a reply.
Man, my brain hurts!
Tom
Andre Lieven
wrote:
> David Goldfarb wrote:
> > That meme of "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Haven't" is
> > going around again. Last time I started on a list; this time I
> > finished it. Traffic being slow around here these days, I thought
>
> Well my list wasn't interesting so I want to play ...
>
> "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Have too"
>
> 1 Had a meal with a major SF author (Jack Williamson, C.J. Cherryh)
Had one with Larry NIven in Toronto...
> 2 Been to multiple conventions in one year (3 is my max Norwescon,
> Moscon, Orycon)
I can't name them all, as I am at present, 1,500 miles away from my
wall of con badges, but my one year high total of conventions
attended is... twenty. That was in 1989.
Eight to ten is an average year for us these days, but certain
things caused us to get to only six in 2007 ( The last year that I
went
to fewer than six cons in a year was 1979. ). Given that Worldcon
was in Japan, and that would have been a budget buster...
> 3 Been on both sides of the pond.
Yep.
> 4 Worn a costume (or 6 or 7)
Yep. Including wearing costumes made by others, to be a
performer in a multi person masquerade entry. I have three
winnng ribbons from that cause, but I don't count them, as I
had nothing to do with the designing or making of the
costumes.
> 5 Own a Sword (real or replica)
How about a Phaser ?
> 6 Have a Pet (no cats, but Dogs and Horses)
Petless at the moment, du to a very high rate of travel.
> 7 Own more than one computer (Last count 10, 7 in regular use, 2
> mostly to record TV)
Two for us, plus two older ones not in current use.
But, theres also 4 VCRs, and one DVR.
> 8 Read more than one USNET group (but they seem to be dieing and work
> doesn't even have a functional feed anymore)
Yep.
> 9 Have a wall of books (~2k, many of you have more)
At the rate we have more books coming in here, when we get home,
we're gonna need more walls...
> 10 Worked at a convention (Lately Norwescon masquerade front house
> manager)
Running the MediaWestCon maquerade, including MCing it, for about
15 years now... Plus, I've chaired and vice chaired a former local
con.
Prior to which, I've worked most of the core departments that most
con have.
Andre
Nels E. Satterlund
Jette wrote:
> Nels E. Satterlund wrote:
>
> > 3 Been on both sides of the pond.
> >
>
> Simultaneously?
>
Unhh no ... have you?
Jette
>
> Jette wrote:
>> Nels E. Satterlund wrote:
>>
>>> 3 Been on both sides of the pond.
>>>
>> Simultaneously?
>>
>
> Unhh no ... have you?
>
>
I haven't done it personally, but supposedly there's a place in
Iceland where you can stand with one foot on the North American
continental shelf and the other foot on the European continental shelf.
David Goldfarb
Evelyn C. Leeper <ele...@optonline.net> wrote:
>David Goldfarb wrote:
>> That meme of "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Haven't" is
>> going around again. Last time I started on a list; this time I
>> finished it. Traffic being slow around here these days, I thought
>> I'd post it. So...
>> ...
>> 4. Tasted the water of the Dead Sea.
>
>Nope, been there, done that.
Well, there's a reason that "probably" is in there. One of my LJ
friends was also in that reading of _Tam Lin_....
>> 10. Read Euripides' _The Bacchae_ in the original Greek.
>
>I guess the Iliad doesn't count?
If you read it in Greek, then I'd say close enough. (I'm reading
the Iliad right now, in fact...I'm right in the middle of the
Catalog of Ships in book 2.) In translation, nope.
--
David Goldfarb | The views and opinions expressed here are my own.
gold...@ocf.berkeley.edu | They do not reflect upon Microsoft Corporation or
gold...@csua.berkeley.edu | its employees in any way because, well, I don't
| work for Microsoft.
Seth
Nels E. Satterlund <Nels.Sa...@gmail.com> wrote:
>"Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Have too"
>
>2 Been to multiple conventions in one year (3 is my max Norwescon,
>Moscon, Orycon)
3 in a month is my max.
Seth
Seth
Tom <drs...@aol.com> wrote:
>On Jan 16, 2:33 am, goldf...@OCF.Berkeley.EDU (David Goldfarb) wrote:
>> That meme of "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Haven't" is
>> going around again.
>> 2. Beaten a master-rated player at chess.
I've done that too, not in a tournament game.
>5) Am owed $45 by Albert Pujols
Am owed $37 by Bill Gates, for over 30 years.
Seth
David Friedman
1. Argued various things with R.A. Fisher when I was about nine. And
lost.
2. Argued moral philosophy with Isaiah Berlin when I was an
undergraduate. And lost.
3. Wrote two story poems about William the Marshall
4. Lost at board games to both the under 14 and the under 21 chess
champions of the U.S.
5. Built medieval and renaissance portable furniture, including a bed
based on an ivory variously labelled "Byzantine" or "Frankish?"
6. Helped start the Pennsic War.
7. Been told the history of how Pennsic got started--at Pennsic--by
someone who wouldn't believe me when I told him he had it wrong.
8. Got cited by Vernor Vinge and Poul Anderson.
9. Observed a quote from my first book spreading in mutated versions
across the internet.
10. Wrote a letter to J.R.R. Tolkien and got a reply.
(11.) I think I have invented a version of magic that nobody has done
before, but if _Salamander_ is ever published someone will probably
demonstrate that I am mistaken.
--
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/ http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/
Author of _Harald_, a fantasy without magic.
Published by Baen, in bookstores now
David Friedman
<c590ef41-191a-4971...@s13g2000prd.googlegroups.com>,
"Nels E. Satterlund" <Nels.Sa...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Jette wrote:
> > Nels E. Satterlund wrote:
> >
> > > 3 Been on both sides of the pond.
> > >
> >
> > Simultaneously?
> >
>
> Unhh no ... have you?
I have. Virtually.
David Friedman
Jette <boss...@scotlandmail.com> wrote:
> Nels E. Satterlund wrote:
> >
> > Jette wrote:
> >> Nels E. Satterlund wrote:
> >>
> >>> 3 Been on both sides of the pond.
> >>>
> >> Simultaneously?
> >>
> >
> > Unhh no ... have you?
> >
> >
>
> I haven't done it personally, but supposedly there's a place in
> Iceland where you can stand with one foot on the North American
> continental shelf and the other foot on the European continental shelf.
Thingvellir is a crack between the two plates. But I'm not sure if there
is any place where the division is sharp enough so that you could
reliably straddle it.
David Friedman
<9bbe2002-b2fe-4db8...@v67g2000hse.googlegroups.com>,
Harry Mary Andruschak <adopts...@aol.com> wrote:
> 7) Grand Canyon hiking and mule trips
Walked across the Grand Canyon--down one side, up the other.
Tom
> In article <d26892b3-a6ba-4fd1-8ff1-94f1fd9ba...@f3g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>,
>
> Tom <drso...@aol.com> wrote:
> >On Jan 16, 2:33 am, goldf...@OCF.Berkeley.EDU (David Goldfarb) wrote:
> >> That meme of "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Haven't" is
> >> going around again.
> >> 2. Beaten a master-rated player at chess.
>
> I've done that too, not in a tournament game.
>
> >5) Am owed $45 by Albert Pujols
>
> Am owed $37 by Bill Gates, for over 30 years.
>
> Seth
Why does Billy owe you $37?
Tom
Joe Ellis
gold...@OCF.Berkeley.EDU (David Goldfarb) wrote:
> That meme of "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Haven't" is
> going around again. Last time I started on a list; this time I
> finished it. Traffic being slow around here these days, I thought
> I'd post it. So...
>
> 1. Learned to read before I learned to talk.
> 2. Beaten a master-rated player at chess.
> 3. Eaten a taco north of the Arctic Circle.
> 4. Tasted the water of the Dead Sea.
> 5. Photocopied in excess of 100,000 pages in a 24-hour period.
> 6. Discussed literary references in _Sandman_ with Neil Gaiman. (And
> done my level best to conceal that I didn't know what "synoptic" meant.)
> 7. Played the mad mutie lord Sir Simon in a reading of "William Shakespeare's
> _Tam Lin_, As Considered Canonical on Barrayar".
> 8. Seen a sibling being born.
> 9. Ruptured an Achilles tendon. (And trust me, you want to keep it that way)
> 10. Read Euripides' _The Bacchae_ in the original Greek.
OK.. Let me see...
1) Played a gig with Dizzy Gillespie
2) Had a radio station devote an entire hour to a solo album release.
3) Appeared on a TV call-in show as an expert in fly fishing.
4) Been the only non-USAF non-Civil Service non-manufacturer person at a
very high level demonstration of a new aircraft (In this case, the AV-8
Harrier... well, it was new THEN...)
5) Walked on bedrock under the Grand Coulee Dam.
6) Hit the center dot bulls-eye of a 10 foot air rifle target in
competition (the center dot is about 1 mm and has to be completely
punched out by a .177 BB to count.)
7) Been to live concerts featuring Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton, and Woody
Herman.
8) Stayed up all night reading the Hardy Boys... in the first semester
of first grade.. finishing the book in one night. ("The Tower Treasure",
IIRC...)
9) Suffered through kidney stone... just one... the size of a golf
ball... ("Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy"...)
10) Been elected to public office... I was just sworn in to the local
school board. ;)
and
#11) Been a Mr. Mom. (Speaking ex cathedra, Mr. Lieven is an idiot...
but we all knew that already.)
--
"The Dream is Alive! Music of the Space Shuttles" now available at your
local filk dealer, at http://cdbaby.com/cd/joeellis, and as a digital
download on iTunes at http://preview.tinyurl.com/yd7gns
Karl Johanson
> That meme of "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Haven't" is
> going around again. Last time I started on a list; this time I
> finished it. Traffic being slow around here these days, I thought
> I'd post it. So...
>
> 1. Learned to read before I learned to talk.
I learned to scream before my entire body was out of the womb.
> 2. Beaten a master-rated player at chess.
> 3. Eaten a taco north of the Arctic Circle.
I'm terrible with sexual euphamisms. Someone will have to explain that
one...
> 4. Tasted the water of the Dead Sea.
> 5. Photocopied in excess of 100,000 pages in a 24-hour period.
> 6. Discussed literary references in _Sandman_ with Neil Gaiman. (And
> done my level best to conceal that I didn't know what "synoptic"
> meant.)
> 7. Played the mad mutie lord Sir Simon in a reading of "William
> Shakespeare's
> _Tam Lin_, As Considered Canonical on Barrayar".
> 8. Seen a sibling being born.
> 9. Ruptured an Achilles tendon. (And trust me, you want to keep it
> that way)
> 10. Read Euripides' _The Bacchae_ in the original Greek.
Interesting question:
1. Saved a man who was drowning at Long Beach BC, who later that same
day accidentally peed on a black bear.
2. Sat in a hot tub with 7 naked women, while it was snowing.
3. Was paid to play computer games full time, over a period of 7 years.
4. Spelled a word 3 different ways in one paragraph (my proof reader was
impressed). It might have been "restaurant".
5. Scored over 200 on an IQ test. (It was the variety of test where they
divided your 'mental age' by your 'chronological age' and multiplied by
100. I was 4 and could read, so getting a tad over the score expected
for an 8 year old wasn't that significant. The last time I took an IQ
test the results came back, "Don't be facetious".)
6. Sang "If You're Intelligent and You Know it Clap Your Hands", at a
Norwescon costume contest. (1988 or so.)
And the big ones...
7. Prevented nuclear war in 1983.
8. Patented Carbon dioxide.
9. Discovered the number 37.
10. Got a neat piece of blue glass! http://www.neo-opsis.ca/blueglass
Oooo ooo! One More...
11. I shown a flash light at comet Hyutake for more than a minute, when
it was 45 light seconds away, as a way to reach out and touch the comet.
Karl Johanson
Keith F. Lynch
> 7. Prevented nuclear war in 1983.
> 8. Patented Carbon dioxide.
> 9. Discovered the number 37.
> 10. Got a neat piece of blue glass! http://www.neo-opsis.ca/blueglass
Oh, come on. Do you really expect us to believe that last one?
> Oooo ooo! One More...
> 11. I shown a flash light at comet Hyutake for more than a minute,
> when it was 45 light seconds away, as a way to reach out and touch
> the comet.
That's nothing. I once shined a flashlight at the Andromeda Galaxy.
--
Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/
Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html before emailing me.
Keith F. Lynch
> Jette <boss...@scotlandmail.com> wrote:
>> I haven't done it personally, but supposedly there's a place in
>> Iceland where you can stand with one foot on the North American
>> continental shelf and the other foot on the European continental
>> shelf.
> Thingvellir is a crack between the two plates. But I'm not sure if
> there is any place where the division is sharp enough so that you
> could reliably straddle it.
I've been there. The division is very sharp. But I wasn't able to
straddle it, since it's a tall cliff. I'd need one leg to be much
longer than the other.
Karl Johanson
news:fmmjoi$kh2$1...@panix1.panix.com...
> Karl Johanson <karljo...@shaw.ca> wrote:
>> 7. Prevented nuclear war in 1983.
>> 8. Patented Carbon dioxide.
>> 9. Discovered the number 37.
>> 10. Got a neat piece of blue glass! http://www.neo-opsis.ca/blueglass
>
> Oh, come on. Do you really expect us to believe that last one?
>
>> Oooo ooo! One More...
>
>> 11. I shown a flash light at comet Hyutake for more than a minute,
>> when it was 45 light seconds away, as a way to reach out and touch
>> the comet.
>
> That's nothing. I once shined a flashlight at the Andromeda Galaxy.
Tried that too. I couldn't hold my arm up lang enough for the beam to
reach all the way to Andromeda though. I don't think my batteries were
good enough for that.
Karl Johanson
Keith F. Lynch
> That meme of "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Haven't" is
1. Been sentenced to six years in prison for a crime I didn't commit,
and served two. (I had to get that one out of the way first.)
2. Been hired right out of prison by the firm I was falsely convicted
of burglarizing.
3. Unexpectedly found a spoof posting I had written years earlier, in
a non-fiction book by Robert Anton Wilson.
4. Worked on what was then the world's largest solar furnace -- and at
that solar furnace, met a man who claimed to have gotten moonburn
while aligning it on a night with a full moon.
5. Ridden a bicycle further than the circumference of the Earth. (No,
not all at once.)
6. Been to Guantanamo Bay. (As a contractor, not a prisoner. The
prison wasn't there yet.) And put it on the Internet.
7. Been to the Arecibo radio telescope, and been asked not to stand
too close, lest my brain waves jam the faint signals.
8. Been on the net for 31 years (except for 2 years I was in prison).
9. Lost nearly half my weight about 20 years ago, and kept it off
ever since.
10. Saw the Pentagon on fire on 9/11 -- live, not on TV.
How about "Ten Things I Haven't Done that You Probably Have"? In
my case:
1. Owned or driven a car
2. Been depressed
3. Had a credit card
4. Missed work due to illness
5. Learned to swim
6. Voted in a government election
7. Used alcohol, tobacco, or any illegal drug
8. Worn a tie since 1978
9. Moved since 1979
10. Flown since 1999
Karl Johanson
On Jan 16, 11:03 am, "Nels E. Satterlund" <Nels.Satterl...@gmail.com>
> 1 Had a meal with a major SF author (Jack Williamson, C.J. Cherryh)
Had one with Larry Niven in Toronto...
I did an environment panel with Niven et al at Torcon 03. After the
panel a horde of dozens of people approached the table. Some wanted his
autograph (some asked politely, some not as much so), some were yelling
out comments about points he'd brought up, some were trying to hand him
piles of papers or cassette tapes. Niven politely, but firmly, suggested
they come to his signing later in the day. I expect something like that
might be flattering the first few times. I found it a bit scary, even
though only 3 or 4 were asking to talk with me about some points I'd
brought up.
Karl Johanson
Keith F. Lynch
> "Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>> That's nothing. I once shined a flashlight at the Andromeda Galaxy.
> Tried that too. I couldn't hold my arm up lang enough for the
> beam to reach all the way to Andromeda though. I don't think my
> batteries were good enough for that.
It would be interesting if light really worked that way: When you aim
the flashlight a different way, the beam in transit instantly rotates
with it, as if it were rigidly attached. You could signal faster than
light that way.
I'm unlcear on what happens when the battery dies, though. Does the
beam retract back into the flashlight? If so, where does the energy
go? Does it recharge the battery?
I did once critique John Cramer's transactional interpretation of
quantum mechanics by pointing out to him that if a flashlight were
pointed at an empty region of the sky in an open universe, no light
would be emitted, hence the battery wouldn't run down. And I did the
experiment, and the battery did run down at the same rate as in a
flashlight pointed at the ground.
Keith F. Lynch
> "Andre Lieven" <andre...@yahoo.ca> wrote:
> "Nels E. Satterlund" <Nels.Satterl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Had one with Larry Niven in Toronto...
I was driven home from a con by Robert J. Sawyer.
Karl Johanson
>> "Andre Lieven" <andre...@yahoo.ca> wrote:
>> "Nels E. Satterlund" <Nels.Satterl...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 1 Had a meal with a major SF author (Jack Williamson, C.J. Cherryh)
>
>> Had one with Larry Niven in Toronto...
>
> I was driven home from a con by Robert J. Sawyer.
I got my picture by him: http://www.neo-opsis.ca/Auroras2007
Karl Johanson
David Friedman
"Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
> David Friedman <dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com> wrote:
> > Jette <boss...@scotlandmail.com> wrote:
> >> I haven't done it personally, but supposedly there's a place in
> >> Iceland where you can stand with one foot on the North American
> >> continental shelf and the other foot on the European continental
> >> shelf.
>
> > Thingvellir is a crack between the two plates. But I'm not sure if
> > there is any place where the division is sharp enough so that you
> > could reliably straddle it.
>
> I've been there. The division is very sharp. But I wasn't able to
> straddle it, since it's a tall cliff. I'd need one leg to be much
> longer than the other.
I've been there too--wandered around it through a thin drizzle with
retired Icelandic scholar who knew everything that was known about the
saga period, discussing what probably happened where. Great fun.
But it isn't just "a cliff," it's a good deal more complicated than
that.
Andre Lieven
> "Andre Lieven" <andrelie...@yahoo.ca> wrote
Sure. No one likes to be mobbed, and its likely that that wasn't his
first
such experience.
In the experience I shared, it was at a mid 90s con in Toronto, and he
was there as a guest. I and my then first wife were sitting down to
our
restaurant table and we spotted him at a table alone. IIRC, shes the
one who went over to invite him to our table, if he wanted to. He then
came over, and dined with us.
In general, I've found that if one is calm and orderly with writers,
they
tend to be very polite in return, and often very generous about it.
In 1999, at the Anaheim NASFiC, I had some books by Harry
Turtledove that I hoped to get signed. One of his signing sessions
was very quiet, so we had some time to lightly chat, and he not
only signed each book, he personalised each signiture, which was
extra nice of him. Of course, I still have all of those books.
Andre
Andre Lieven
> "Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote
>
> >> "Andre Lieven" <andrelie...@yahoo.ca> wrote:
> >> "Nels E. Satterlund" <Nels.Satterl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>> 1 Had a meal with a major SF author (Jack Williamson, C.J. Cherryh)
>
> >> Had one with Larry Niven in Toronto...
>
> > I was driven home from a con by Robert J. Sawyer.
>
> I got my picture by him:http://www.neo-opsis.ca/Auroras2007
I once got to drive Judy Merrill back to Toronto from a con in
Niagara Falls. IIRC, her train had left before the con staff could
get her to the station, and they knew me, and that I was headed
to Toronto immediately following the con.
Andre
Karl Johanson
news:fmmm82$7rb$1...@panix1.panix.com...
> Karl Johanson <karljo...@shaw.ca> wrote:
>> "Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>>> That's nothing. I once shined a flashlight at the Andromeda Galaxy.
>
>> Tried that too. I couldn't hold my arm up lang enough for the
>> beam to reach all the way to Andromeda though. I don't think my
>> batteries were good enough for that.
>
> It would be interesting if light really worked that way: When you aim
> the flashlight a different way, the beam in transit instantly rotates
> with it, as if it were rigidly attached.
I didn't intended to imply that it would be a rigid beam. You're right
that it would be interesting though.
> You could signal faster than light that way.
>
> I'm unlcear on what happens when the battery dies, though. Does the
> beam retract back into the flashlight? If so, where does the energy
> go?
Into your hand. *Yeeouch*
>Does it recharge the battery?
>
> I did once critique John Cramer's transactional interpretation of
> quantum mechanics
Haven't read that.
> by pointing out to him that if a flashlight were
> pointed at an empty region of the sky in an open universe, no light
> would be emitted, hence the battery wouldn't run down. And I did the
> experiment, and the battery did run down at the same rate as in a
> flashlight pointed at the ground.
Where did you find a patch of empty space?
Karl Johanson
David Friedman
<6ed5ec75-e4b9-4a7b...@m34g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
Andre Lieven <andre...@yahoo.ca> wrote:
> In general, I've found that if one is calm and orderly with writers,
> they
> tend to be very polite in return, and often very generous about it.
I think part of what makes fandom and conventions work is the
nonpecuniary gain from trade.
If you are a moderately successful sf writer, from the standpoint of
your neighbors you are nobody of any special importance. You may make a
reasonable living, but you aren't rich and you aren't famous.
From the standpoint of your readers, however, you are a star. Most
people (not all) like being stars. A convention puts the author together
with his readers. They get the fun of interacting with someone they
think of as famous and important, he gets the fun of being treated, for
a weekend, as famous and important.
Karl Johanson
>I once got to drive Judy Merrill back to Toronto from a con in
>Niagara Falls. IIRC, her train had left before the con staff could
>get her to the station, and they knew me, and that I was headed
>to Toronto immediately following the con.
I was by chance in a room party with Judith Merrill at Torcon 03. At one
point she poked some guy in the ribs with her cane and said, "Hey. You
don't look happy enough." I turned on my best, "I'm having fun! Please
don't poke me with the stick" smiles, when she turned and looked in my
direction.
Karl Johanson
Paul Dormer
wrote:
I managed 11 cons in a year in 8 different countries once, but I was
counting England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands as different
countries. (There was six consecutive weekends when I was in a
different city each weekend - Bangor (Wales), London, Oslo, Winchester,
Minneapolis and Chicago.)
David Goldfarb
Keith F. Lynch <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>How about "Ten Things I Haven't Done that You Probably Have"? In
>my case:
>
>1. Owned or driven a car
>2. Been depressed
>3. Had a credit card
>4. Missed work due to illness
>5. Learned to swim
>6. Voted in a government election
>7. Used alcohol, tobacco, or any illegal drug
>8. Worn a tie since 1978
>9. Moved since 1979
>10. Flown since 1999
I have to admit that I've done all of these, assuming that for #2
we count temporary situational depression connected with having a
fire in my building. (It *did* match symptom lists I've seen of
depression, albeit a mild case.)
--
David Goldfarb | "Boom. Sooner or later. Boom!"
gold...@ocf.berkeley.edu |
gold...@csua.berkeley.edu | -- Babylon 5, "Grail"
David Goldfarb
Nels E. Satterlund <Nels.Sa...@gmail.com> wrote:
Depends on how you define "major" and "SF". I've had a meal with
Jo Walton and Pamela Dean; once when Neil Gaiman was giving a signing
at my regular comic store, he, the owner, and a bunch of the employees
went out to eat afterwards and I got to tag along.
--
David Goldfarb |"The only thing better than messing with somebody's
gold...@ocf.berkeley.edu | sense of reality is messing with a whole LOTTA
gold...@csua.berkeley.edu | people's sense of reality...."
| -- J. Michael Straczynski
Robert Sneddon
writes
>In article <b9dcda3d-77d1-4582...@f3g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>,
>Nels E. Satterlund <Nels.Sa...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>2 Been to multiple conventions in one year (3 is my max Norwescon,
>>Moscon, Orycon)
>
>3 in a month is my max.
I've done five cons in six weeks in three different countries. I've
even done two cons on the same weekend in the same city, but I was
outdone by the Master when Pete Weston did two cons simultaneously. In
his case though he was commuting between Boston MA and Washington DC.
--
To reply, my gmail address is nojay1 Robert Sneddon
Tim McDaniel
David Friedman <dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com> wrote:
>From the standpoint of your readers, however, you are a star. Most
>people (not all) like being stars. A convention puts the author together
>with his readers. They get the fun of interacting with someone they
>think of as famous and important, he gets the fun of being treated, for
>a weekend, as famous and important.
Well written, your grace.
Denyel de Linccolne
--
Tim McDaniel, tm...@panix.com
Tim McDaniel
Karl Johanson <karljo...@shaw.ca> wrote:
>Interesting question:
>1. Saved a man who was drowning at Long Beach BC, who later that same
>day accidentally peed on a black bear.
<joke type="obligatory" age="old">
So what *does* James look like?
</joke>
--
Tim McDaniel, tm...@panix.com
James Nicoll
Tim McDaniel <tm...@panix.com> wrote:
>In article <b9zjj.81476$EA5.25883@pd7urf2no>,
>Karl Johanson <karljo...@shaw.ca> wrote:
>>Interesting question:
>>1. Saved a man who was drowning at Long Beach BC, who later that same
>>day accidentally peed on a black bear.
>
><joke type="obligatory" age="old">
>So what *does* James look like?
></joke>
I've never had a run-in with a bear. Raccoons, yes, skunks, yes,
wild cats, yes, but no bears.
My older brother was discovered either playing with or
attempting to play with bear cubs, somewhat to the alarm of the
park ranger who found him.
--
http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll
http://www.cafepress.com/jdnicoll (For all your "The problem with
defending the English language [...]" T-shirt, cup and tote-bag needs)
Seth
David Friedman <dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com> wrote:
>Thingvellir is a crack between the two plates. But I'm not sure if there
>is any place where the division is sharp enough so that you could
>reliably straddle it.
But if you walk from clearly one side to clearly the other then at
some point you straddled it.
Seth
Seth
>> Am owed $37 by Bill Gates, for over 30 years.
>
>Why does Billy owe you $37?
Poker.
Seth
Seth
Keith F. Lynch <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>I did once critique John Cramer's transactional interpretation of
>quantum mechanics by pointing out to him that if a flashlight were
>pointed at an empty region of the sky in an open universe, no light
>would be emitted, hence the battery wouldn't run down. And I did the
>experiment, and the battery did run down at the same rate as in a
>flashlight pointed at the ground.
Considering the spread of a typical flashlight (or even laser), and
that dust clouds count as non-empty, there's no empty region
available.
Seth
David V. Loewe, Jr
>On Jan 16, 2:33 am, goldf...@OCF.Berkeley.EDU (David Goldfarb) wrote:
>> That meme of "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Haven't" is
>> going around again. Last time I started on a list; this time I
>> finished it. Traffic being slow around here these days, I thought
>> I'd post it. So...
>>
>> 1. Learned to read before I learned to talk.
>> 2. Beaten a master-rated player at chess.
>> 3. Eaten a taco north of the Arctic Circle.
>> 4. Tasted the water of the Dead Sea.
>> 5. Photocopied in excess of 100,000 pages in a 24-hour period.
>> 6. Discussed literary references in _Sandman_ with Neil Gaiman. (And
>> done my level best to conceal that I didn't know what "synoptic" meant.)
>> 7. Played the mad mutie lord Sir Simon in a reading of "William Shakespeare's
>> _Tam Lin_, As Considered Canonical on Barrayar".
>> 8. Seen a sibling being born.
>> 9. Ruptured an Achilles tendon. (And trust me, you want to keep it that way)
>> 10. Read Euripides' _The Bacchae_ in the original Greek.
>This is very interesting. My list is nowhere near as accomplished as
>those already posted, but here goes...
>
>1) Talked baseball with Carmine Infantino
>2) Grew up on a street named after Alan Shepard
Given this (buttressed by 3, 4 and 5), I have to ask "So... Where'd
you go to school?"
I'm guessing Heights, not Holman (seeing that you could WALK to
Pattonville Heights from Alan Shepard).
>3) Shook hands with Keith Hernandez as he was trying to pick up my
>date
>4) Explained to Tony LaRussa and Buzz Bissinger why I left a wedding
>reception early to attend their book signing
>5) Am owed $45 by Albert Pujols
>6) Attended the Superman Celebration in Metropolis, IL multiple times
>7) Met a real live Munchkin
>8) Been propositioned by hookers multiple times(just lucky I guess!)
>9) Had chronic back pain cured completely by an appendectomy
>10) Wrote a letter to Bill Clinton when he was President and received
>a reply.
>
>Man, my brain hurts!
--
"We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to time.
Reliving in our eloquence, another 'auld lang syne'......"
Dan Fogelberg
Tom
wrote:
Hey David! How are you feeling?
I went to Heights. In seventh grade, or was it eighth, I had p.e. last
period and during the winter my wet hair from showering would freeze
on the walk home.
It was much colder during the winter then... pre-global warming! ;-)
I also had to walk to grade school... Remington.
So if you know where Alan Shepard Dr. is, where did you go to school?
See ya in the Cardinals NG! ;-)
Tom
Andre Lieven
wrote:
> In article
> <6ed5ec75-e4b9-4a7b-b701-203a93202...@m34g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
> Andre Lieven <andrelie...@yahoo.ca> wrote:
>
> > In general, I've found that if one is calm and orderly with writers,
> > they tend to be very polite in return, and often very generous about it.
>
> I think part of what makes fandom and conventions work is the
> nonpecuniary gain from trade.
Anywhere from ego-boo to just good times hanging out...
> If you are a moderately successful sf writer, from the standpoint of
> your neighbors you are nobody of any special importance. You may make
> a reasonable living, but you aren't rich and you aren't famous.
Sure. Unless you are Steven King, or get run over, or both...
> From the standpoint of your readers, however, you are a star. Most
> people (not all) like being stars. A convention puts the author together
> with his readers. They get the fun of interacting with someone they
> think of as famous and important, he gets the fun of being treated, for
> a weekend, as famous and important.
Of course. Writing is a relatively solitary means of earning a living,
and being able to connect with one's readers is a balm from that
solitaryness.
Though, it can also lead to fans saying " you're not so hot ",
if the fan is a young Harlan Ellison, and the writer is a relatively
young Isaac Asimov... <g>
Andre
Andre Lieven
> "Andre Lieven" <andrelie...@yahoo.ca> wrote
<g> She was a bit tired when I drove her to Toronto, which figures, as
it
was after a full con.
And, from a logistical point, it does makes life easier and more
comfortable
if one can go to a Worldcon that is in the same city as one lives in.
Though, that doesn't tend to come to any one that often.
Andre
David V. Loewe, Jr
>On Jan 17, 1:58 pm, "David V. Loewe, Jr" <davelo...@charter.net>
>wrote:
>> On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 09:30:08 -0800 (PST), Tom <drso...@aol.com> wrote:
>> >On Jan 16, 2:33 am, goldf...@OCF.Berkeley.EDU (David Goldfarb) wrote:
>> >> That meme of "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Haven't" is
>> >> going around again. Last time I started on a list; this time I
>> >> finished it. Traffic being slow around here these days, I thought
>> >> I'd post it. So...
<Snip>
>> >This is very interesting. My list is nowhere near as accomplished as
>> >those already posted, but here goes...
>>
>> >1) Talked baseball with Carmine Infantino
>> >2) Grew up on a street named after Alan Shepard
>>
>> Given this (buttressed by 3, 4 and 5), I have to ask "So... Where'd
>> you go to school?"
>>
>> I'm guessing Heights, not Holman (seeing that you could WALK to
>> Pattonville Heights from Alan Shepard).
>>
>> >3) Shook hands with Keith Hernandez as he was trying to pick up my
>> >date
>> >4) Explained to Tony LaRussa and Buzz Bissinger why I left a wedding
>> >reception early to attend their book signing
>> >5) Am owed $45 by Albert Pujols
>> >6) Attended the Superman Celebration in Metropolis, IL multiple times
>> >7) Met a real live Munchkin
>> >8) Been propositioned by hookers multiple times(just lucky I guess!)
>> >9) Had chronic back pain cured completely by an appendectomy
>> >10) Wrote a letter to Bill Clinton when he was President and received
>> >a reply.
>>
>> >Man, my brain hurts!
>Hey David! How are you feeling?
Pretty good, considering...
>I went to Heights. In seventh grade, or was it eighth, I had p.e. last
>period and during the winter my wet hair from showering would freeze
>on the walk home.
>
>It was much colder during the winter then... pre-global warming! ;-)
>
>I also had to walk to grade school... Remington.
I walked to every school BUT Holman.
>So if you know where Alan Shepard Dr. is, where did you go to school?
In order?
James A. Garfield (Normandy SD)
Rose Acres (Pattonville SD)
Bonne Terre Elementary (North County SD {of St. Francois County})
Rose Acres
Holman Junior High
Pattonville Senior High (Class of 1980)
>See ya in the Cardinals NG! ;-)
Alrighty...
--
"I wouldn't recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone, but they've
always worked for me."
- Hunter S. Thompson
sigvaldi
wrote:
> In article <fmmjta$2i...@panix1.panix.com>,
> "Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>
> > > Jette <bossl...@scotlandmail.com> wrote:
> > >> I haven't done it personally, but supposedly there's a place in
> > >> Iceland where you can stand with one foot on the North American
> > >> continental shelf and the other foot on the European continental
> > >> shelf.
>
> > > Thingvellir is a crack between the two plates. But I'm not sure if
> > > there is any place where the division is sharp enough so that you
> > > could reliably straddle it.
>
> > I've been there. The division is very sharp. But I wasn't able to
> > straddle it, since it's a tall cliff. I'd need one leg to be much
> > longer than the other.
>
> I've been there too--wandered around it through a thin drizzle with
> retired Icelandic scholar who knew everything that was known about the
> saga period, discussing what probably happened where. Great fun.
>
> But it isn't just "a cliff," it's a good deal more complicated than
> that.
The weird thing is that Icelandic geologists have found out that the
area bordered by Kleifarvatn-Langjökull to the west, Langjökull to
Bárðarbunga in the north, Bárðarbunga to Hekla in the east and back to
Kleifarvatn in the west (approximately) is a seperate (mini) plate
that they call the Hreppar plate.
So at Þingvellir you are not straddling the division between the
European and North American plates but you can do that in the Blue
lagoon instead.
Aaron Denney
> In article <fmo25p$8kr$1...@reader2.panix.com>,
> Tim McDaniel <tm...@panix.com> wrote:
>>In article <b9zjj.81476$EA5.25883@pd7urf2no>,
>>Karl Johanson <karljo...@shaw.ca> wrote:
>>>Interesting question:
>>>1. Saved a man who was drowning at Long Beach BC, who later that same
>>>day accidentally peed on a black bear.
>>
>><joke type="obligatory" age="old">
>>So what *does* James look like?
>></joke>
>
> I've never had a run-in with a bear. Raccoons, yes, skunks, yes,
> wild cats, yes, but no bears.
>
> My older brother was discovered either playing with or
> attempting to play with bear cubs, somewhat to the alarm of the
> park ranger who found him.
Yes, who knows what could happen to the bears?
--
Aaron Denney
-><-
Keith F. Lynch
It doesn't have to be totally empty. If I shine a laser at the core
of our galaxy, dust clouds will eventually absorb much of the light.
But if I shine a laser at right angles to the galactic plane, making
sure I'm not pointing directly at the sun or moon, it's almost
perfectly transparent forever. Only if the universe will eventually
contract will most of those photons ever be absorbed.
And since John Cramer's theory implies that a photon can be emitted
only if it will eventually be absorbed, the power consumption of
the laser ought to be different when it's pointed at empty space.
It isn't.
Keith F. Lynch
> ... but I was outdone by the Master when Pete Weston did two cons
> simultaneously. In his case though he was commuting between Boston
> MA and Washington DC.
I'm curious what two cons those were. Groups throughout the Northeast
Corridor are usually pretty careful not to step on each others' weekends.
Keith F. Lynch
> I was by chance in a room party with Judith Merrill at Torcon 03. ...
Neat trick that, given that she died six years earlier.
Keith F. Lynch
> "Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>> I did once critique John Cramer's transactional interpretation of
>> quantum mechanics
> Haven't read that.
See http://mist.npl.washington.edu/npl/int_rep/ti_over/ti_over.html
Here's an excerpt:
When we stand in the dark and look at a star a hundred light years
away, not only have the retarded light waves from the star been
traveling for a hundred years to reach our eyes, but the advanced
waves generated by absorption processes within our eyes have reached
a hundred years into the past, completing the transaction that
permitted the star to shine in our direction.
The clear implication is that any light that is destined never to be
absorbed can never be emitted. If our universe continues to expand,
most light emitted in random direction would never be absorbed.
> Where did you find a patch of empty space?
Almost any direction that's not in the plane of our galaxy and doesn't
intersect the earth, sun, or moon.
Karl Johanson
>> I was by chance in a room party with Judith Merrill at Torcon 03. ...
>
> Neat trick that, given that she died six years earlier.
You're right. My mistake. I was thinking of Worldcon in Winnipeg, in 94.
I mixed some room parties together in my mind.
I did get her to sign my con book.
Karl Johanson
Karl Johanson
news:fmosd0$fjn$1...@panix3.panix.com...
> Karl Johanson <karljo...@shaw.ca> wrote:
>> "Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>>> I did once critique John Cramer's transactional interpretation of
>>> quantum mechanics
>
>> Haven't read that.
>
> See http://mist.npl.washington.edu/npl/int_rep/ti_over/ti_over.html
>
> Here's an excerpt:
>
> When we stand in the dark and look at a star a hundred light years
> away, not only have the retarded light waves from the star been
> traveling for a hundred years to reach our eyes, but the advanced
> waves generated by absorption processes within our eyes have reached
> a hundred years into the past, completing the transaction that
> permitted the star to shine in our direction.
>
> The clear implication is that any light that is destined never to be
> absorbed can never be emitted. If our universe continues to expand,
> most light emitted in random direction would never be absorbed.
Many thank yous. I book marked it to have a read.
>> Where did you find a patch of empty space?
>
> Almost any direction that's not in the plane of our galaxy and doesn't
> intersect the earth, sun, or moon.
From my house there are galaxies that would be intersected by the beam
of any of my flashlights, in whatever direction I'd aim them. Rather a
lot of them actually, regardles of the direction. Did you mean, "empty
enough that most of the photons might get through what matter our
telescopes can spot"?
Karl Johanson
Keith F. Lynch
> From my house there are galaxies that would be intersected by
> the beam of any of my flashlights, in whatever direction I'd aim
> them. Rather a lot of them actually, regardles of the direction.
> Did you mean, "empty enough that most of the photons might get
> through what matter our telescopes can spot"?
Yes. The overwhelming proportion of the photons that reach another
galaxy would go straight through it. Most of them, however, would
miss all galaxies.
It's about the same ratio by which the night sky is dimmer than the
surface of the sun. If every line of sight ended on a star, the night
sky would not be dark, but would be bright enough to vaporize the
earth. Google on "Olbers' Paradox."
Petrea Mitchell
Keith F. Lynch <k...@keithlynch.net> strode forth and proclaimed:
> 7. Used alcohol, tobacco, or any illegal drug
I've deliberately tasted alcohol (and no more than that-- yuck) on a
couple occasions, but I bet you've drunk coffee at some point in your
life. (When the smell of coffee gets routed up my olfactory nerve to
the part of the brain that determines if things are okay to eat, the
reply comes back, "This is not food. Do not consume it under any
circumstances.")
--
/
Petrea Mitchell <|> <|> <pr...@m5p.com> <mit...@osm.com>
"You can really get into somebody's mind via their Web page. Fortunately,
the Back button lets you back out." ---Mirsky
Daniel R. Reitman
wrote:
>The weird thing is that Icelandic geologists have found out that the
>area bordered by Kleifarvatn-Langjökull to the west, Langjökull to
>Bįršarbunga in the north, Bįršarbunga to Hekla in the east and back to
>Kleifarvatn in the west (approximately) is a seperate (mini) plate
>that they call the Hreppar plate.
>So at Žingvellir you are not straddling the division between the
>European and North American plates but you can do that in the Blue
>lagoon instead.
(Insert Brooke Shields joke here.)
Dad, ad nauseam
Petrea Mitchell
Nels E. Satterlund <Nels.Sa...@gmail.com> strode forth and proclaimed:
> Well my list wasn't interesting so I want to play ...
>
> "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Have too"
>
> 1 Had a meal with a major SF author (Jack Williamson, C.J. Cherryh)
Not that I can recall...
> 2 Been to multiple conventions in one year (3 is my max Norwescon,
> Moscon, Orycon)
There's probably been a year that I've made it to 4, but I can't come
up with one just now. Last year I made it to 3 (Potlatch, Worldcon,
Orycon).
My secret fannish dream if I win the lottery is to take a year off from
work and go to a convention every weekend.
> 3 Been on both sides of the pond.
As of the last Worldcon, both ponds, too!
> 4 Worn a costume (or 6 or 7)
Not all at once, though.
> 5 Own a Sword (real or replica)
There are two swords in the house, but they belong to my SO. I have a
nice dagger, though.
> 6 Have a Pet (no cats, but Dogs and Horses)
Two cats.
> 7 Own more than one computer (Last count 10, 7 in regular use, 2
> mostly to record TV)
I'd bet most of this group has multiple OSes in their houses. (Let's
see, we have Windows XP and 98, FreeBSD, AmigaOS, and MS-DOS currently
functioning, and I've promised that we can get a new Mac sometime.)
> 8 Read more than one USNET group (but they seem to be dieing and work
> doesn't even have a functional feed anymore)
Depends. rec.arts.disney.parks and alt.fan.harry-potter are still quite
lively...
> 9 Have a wall of books (~2k, many of you have more)
I have no idea how many books are in my house. But probably not 2k along
one wall.
> 0 Worked at a convention (Lately Norwescon masquerade front house
> manager)
Most recently for me, the convention-center info desk at Nippon 2007.
(Being a panelist at Orycon hardly seems like it should count as "work".)
Karl Johanson
>> From my house there are galaxies that would be intersected by
>> the beam of any of my flashlights, in whatever direction I'd aim
>> them. Rather a lot of them actually, regardles of the direction.
>> Did you mean, "empty enough that most of the photons might get
>> through what matter our telescopes can spot"?
>
> Yes. The overwhelming proportion of the photons that reach another
> galaxy would go straight through it. Most of them, however, would
> miss all galaxies.
Yeah huh, but if you're using that definition for "empty space", isn't
it also likely that most of the photons would pass through the plane of
the Milky Way, if you aimed that way? Especially if you didn't aim
through the core.
Karl Johanson
Tim Merrigan
wrote:
>Seth <se...@panix.com> wrote:
>> Keith F. Lynch <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>>> I did once critique John Cramer's transactional interpretation of
>>> quantum mechanics by pointing out to him that if a flashlight were
>>> pointed at an empty region of the sky in an open universe, no light
>>> would be emitted, hence the battery wouldn't run down. And I did
>>> the experiment, and the battery did run down at the same rate as in
>>> a flashlight pointed at the ground.
>
>> Considering the spread of a typical flashlight (or even laser), and
>> that dust clouds count as non-empty, there's no empty region available.
>
>It doesn't have to be totally empty. If I shine a laser at the core
>of our galaxy, dust clouds will eventually absorb much of the light.
>But if I shine a laser at right angles to the galactic plane, making
>sure I'm not pointing directly at the sun or moon, it's almost
>perfectly transparent forever. Only if the universe will eventually
>contract will most of those photons ever be absorbed.
>
>And since John Cramer's theory implies that a photon can be emitted
>only if it will eventually be absorbed, the power consumption of
>the laser ought to be different when it's pointed at empty space.
>It isn't.
Have you seen the Hubble deep space survey results?
Take Hubble, point it at an area of space with nothing visible in it.
The result is the tiny bit of space is full of galaxies. Now take
that tiny bit of space that's full of galaxies, find an empty space in
it and focus Hubble there and wait for the light absorption, and guess
what, it's full of galaxies. Rinse and repeat. There is no empty
space.
--
I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America,
and to the republic which it established, one nation, from many peoples,
promising liberty and justice for all.
Feel free to use the above variant pledge in your own postings.
Tim Merrigan
Keith F. Lynch
> Yeah huh, but if you're using that definition for "empty space",
> isn't it also likely that most of the photons would pass through the
> plane of the Milky Way, if you aimed that way? Especially if you
> didn't aim through the core.
Probably, but if I can easily aim at emptier space, why not?
Keith F. Lynch
> Take Hubble, point it at an area of space with nothing visible
> in it. The result is the tiny bit of space is full of galaxies.
> Now take that tiny bit of space that's full of galaxies, find an
> empty space in it and focus Hubble there and wait for the light
> absorption, and guess what, it's full of galaxies. Rinse and
> repeat. There is no empty space.
Google on "Olbers' Paradox." And keep in mind that even if there was
a galaxy in literally every direction, which there isn't, that galaxies
are mostly empty space, and most light will pass right through them.
If in every direction there was a star, the sky would be as bright as
the sun in every direction.
If in every direction there was a galaxy, the sky would be as bright
as the Milky Way in every direction.
Also keep in mind that those deep fields are *deep*, and show the
universe as it looked when it was less than half its present age.
Space is a lot emptier now. And by the time light can get from here
to where those galaxies appear to be, it will be a lot emptier yet.
Joy Beeson
Humdrum life. All I could think of was "Attempted a Double Century"
-- and lots of people have *finished* a Double Century. It's just
riding a bike two hundred miles in twenty-four hours or less.
I was sick that day (didn't find out until the following day; getting
up at 3:00 A.M. tends to camouflage one's symptoms), and injured a
muscle somewhere in the neighborhood of a hundred and twenty-five
miles. Or maybe it was 116 mi. Then I spent most of the night at
the Glendale Inn because by the time my message reached the ride
organizers, it had transmuted to "in Glendale."
The bar didn't serve food or hot beverages, and I was wearing shorts
and a damp short-sleeved T-shirt. (I'd expected to pick up
after-dark wear when I passed the start point at mile 175.)
Maybe that's why I carry a rain jacket no matter how severe the
drought.
And there are gloves in its pocket.
Joy Beeson
--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://roughsewing.home.comcast.net/ -- sewing
http://n3f.home.comcast.net/ -- Writers' Exchange
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.
David G. Bell
<eEqjj.78303$c_1....@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk>
boss...@scotlandmail.com "Jette" wrote:
> Nels E. Satterlund wrote:
>
> > 3 Been on both sides of the pond.
> >
>
> Simultaneously?
Doesn't Scotland have a couple of bridges "across" the Atlantic ocean?
--
David G. Bell -- SF Fan, Filker, and Punslinger.
On the horizon, a carrier task force of the Salvation Navy was
turning into the wind, preparing to launch Zeppelins.
Jette
>
> Maybe that's why I carry a rain jacket no matter how severe the
> drought.
>
> And there are gloves in its pocket.
>
>
Maybe you were Scots in a previous life <g>. Even in a heatwave in
August a Scotswoman does not leave the house without a jacket or coat,
and sometimes an umbrella "just in case".
--
Jette Goldie
je...@blueyonder.co.uk
http://www.jette.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
http://wolfette.livejournal.com/
("reply to" is spamblocked - use the email addy in sig)
Paul Dormer
db...@zhochaka.org.uk ("David G. Bell") wrote:
>
> Doesn't Scotland have a couple of bridges "across" the Atlantic
> ocean?
Didn't it also run the first transatlantic rocket mail service, as well?
Jette
If you define the stretches of water between various islands as still
being part of "the Atlantic", yes.
Will in New Haven
> That meme of "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Haven't" is
> going around again. Last time I started on a list; this time I
> finished it. Traffic being slow around here these days, I thought
> I'd post it. So...
>
Learned to talk before I learned to walk.
> 2. Beaten a master-rated player at chess.
Knocked Phil Ivey out of a poker tournament. Been knocked out of a
poker tournament by Gregg Raymer.
> 3. Eaten a taco north of the Arctic Circle.
Caught a youth league game before the ML game at Clevelands old
baseball stadium, The Mistake by the Lake. Got a souvenier Catcher's
mitt from Jim Hegan. One that he had used in games a couple of years
before.
> 4. Tasted the water of the Dead Sea.
Eaten barbecued iguana.
> 5. Photocopied in excess of 100,000 pages in a 24-hour period.
Accidently photocopied two hundred copies of an invoice because
neither I nor the person before me thought to hit the "clear" button.
> 6. Discussed literary references in _Sandman_ with Neil Gaiman. (And
> done my level best to conceal that I didn't know what "synoptic" meant.)
Talked about probability and other math with Oswald Jacoby and my
brother until I got lost and tuned them out.
> 7. Played the mad mutie lord Sir Simon in a reading of "William Shakespeare's
> _Tam Lin_, As Considered Canonical on Barrayar".
Directed a production of Sartre's "The Flies" that was possibly the
worst profuction I have ever seen.
> 8. Seen a sibling being born.
Seen a sibling brought home from the hospital. Thought it was a nose
in a blanket.
> 9. Ruptured an Achilles tendon. (And trust me, you want to keep it that way)
Been shot, stabbed and bitten by a rattlessnake. No, the rattlesnake
did not shoot or stab me and these didn't happen at the same time.
> 10. Read Euripides' _The Bacchae_ in the original Greek.
Gotten a lovely note of sympathy on the death of my cat, Feather, from
Virginia Heinlein.
Will in New Haven
--
>
> --
> David Goldfarb |"English cuisine is the cuisine of fear."
> goldf...@ocf.berkeley.edu |
> goldf...@csua.berkeley.edu | -- Andrew Conway
Ben Yalow
>In message <fmlth7$bb$1...@reader2.panix.com>, Seth <se...@panix.com>
>writes
>>In article <b9dcda3d-77d1-4582...@f3g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>,
>>Nels E. Satterlund <Nels.Sa...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>"Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Have too"
>>>
>>>2 Been to multiple conventions in one year (3 is my max Norwescon,
>>>Moscon, Orycon)
>>
>>3 in a month is my max.
> I've done five cons in six weeks in three different countries. I've
>even done two cons on the same weekend in the same city, but I was
>outdone by the Master when Pete Weston did two cons simultaneously. In
>his case though he was commuting between Boston MA and Washington DC.
They weren't simultaneous -- he did one and then the other on the same
weekend. And they were less than 500 miles apart.
My maximum was 5 in 4 weeks, and the furthest apart two on the same
weekend were was 2500 miles.
If you count setup time for the con, and don't count airplane sleep as
resetting the day, my furthest was waking up in Melbourne, working my
shift at Aussiecon 2, flying to Austin (with a bunch of plane changes, but
a single trip with no stopovers on the itinerary), going to the hotel
pre-con for the NASFiC, and then going to sleep in my hotel in Austin.
I was younger then.
>--
> To reply, my gmail address is nojay1 Robert Sneddon
Ben
--
Ben Yalow yb...@panix.com
Not speaking for anybody
Ben Yalow
>Robert Sneddon <fr...@nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>> ... but I was outdone by the Master when Pete Weston did two cons
>> simultaneously. In his case though he was commuting between Boston
>> MA and Washington DC.
>I'm curious what two cons those were. Groups throughout the Northeast
>Corridor are usually pretty careful not to step on each others' weekends.
Boskone and Corflu
>--
>Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/
>Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html before emailing me.
Ben
Beth Friedman
(David Goldfarb) wrote:
>That meme of "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Haven't" is
>going around again. Last time I started on a list; this time I
>finished it. Traffic being slow around here these days, I thought
>I'd post it. So...
>
>3. Eaten a taco north of the Arctic Circle.
Hmm. I was north of the Arctic Circle in 1979, but I can't remember
what I ate. I did keep a journal, but it was stolen along with the
purse it was in.
>4. Tasted the water of the Dead Sea.
I've done this one. Also coated myself with Dead Sea mud.
>5. Photocopied in excess of 100,000 pages in a 24-hour period.
Let's see. The NMDP project was in excess of 500 pages, and I think
we made 100 copies. No, that's only 50,000 copies. But it was an
editing all-nighter before that. (I worked in the desktop publishing
department of Arthur Andersen from 1990-96, and we ended up doing a
fair amount of copying as necessary.)
>6. Discussed literary references in _Sandman_ with Neil Gaiman. (And
>done my level best to conceal that I didn't know what "synoptic" meant.)
Well, I've discussed _Sandman_ with Neil Gaiman, but I don't know how
literary we got. I did get to tell him how much I enjoyed the "Do
what you will, punk!" T-shirt on one of the thugs in the first arc.
>7. Played the mad mutie lord Sir Simon in a reading of "William Shakespeare's
>_Tam Lin_, As Considered Canonical on Barrayar".
And very well, too.
>8. Seen a sibling being born.
That's way cool.
>9. Ruptured an Achilles tendon. (And trust me, you want to keep it that way)
My father did this. Ski bindings have improved considerably since
then.
Beth Friedman
<bill....@taylorandfrancis.com> wrote:
>> 1. Learned to read before I learned to talk.
>
>Learned to talk before I learned to walk.
I seem to recall from my childhood development classes that this one
is about a 50-50 shot -- half the children learn to talk first, half
to walk first.
Petrea Mitchell
#6, knowing we have an international audience):
1. Ridden a bicycle in a wind chill of -10 Fahrenheit
2. Met a pygmy elephant
3. Played all the way to the end of Bard's Tale I and II (almost done
with III now)
4. Proofread a voting machine manual
5. Written a Usenet group charter
6. Spent three consecutive days without any contact with anyone, except
my travelling companion, who spoke my native language fluently, or much
at all, really
7. Been approached as a potential registered voter at age 11
8. Used a prototype for a computer that never went into production (anyone
heard of the Fairchild Blaise?)
9. Been introduced to a famous sf author, some of whose work I'd read,
and not realized it until later
10. Almost been run over by my favorite race car driver
--
/
Petrea Mitchell <|> <|> <pr...@m5p.com> <mit...@osm.com>
"It's tofu, a semi-foodlike substance secreted by soybeans
as a defense mechanism." ---Dave Barry
Dan Goodman
> Okay, here are my 10, with a strong emphasis on "probably" (especially
> #6, knowing we have an international audience):
>
> 1. Ridden a bicycle in a wind chill of -10 Fahrenheit
> 2. Met a pygmy elephant
> 3. Played all the way to the end of Bard's Tale I and II (almost done
> with III now)
> 4. Proofread a voting machine manual
> 5. Written a Usenet group charter
> 6. Spent three consecutive days without any contact with anyone,
> except my travelling companion, who spoke my native language
> fluently, or much at all, really
> 7. Been approached as a potential registered voter at age 11
> 8. Used a prototype for a computer that never went into production
> (anyone heard of the Fairchild Blaise?)
> 9. Been introduced to a famous sf author, some of whose work I'd read,
> and not realized it until later
> 10. Almost been run over by my favorite race car driver
I've done 5.
--
Dan Goodman
"I have always depended on the kindness of stranglers."
Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Expire
Journal http://dsgood.livejournal.com
Futures http://dangoodman.livejournal.com
mirror 1: http://dsgood.insanejournal.com
mirror 2: http://dsgood.wordpress.com
Links http://del.icio.us/dsgood
Karl Johanson
> Okay, here are my 10, with a strong emphasis on "probably" (especially
> #6, knowing we have an international audience):
>
> 1. Ridden a bicycle in a wind chill of -10 Fahrenheit
> 2. Met a pygmy elephant
> 3. Played all the way to the end of Bard's Tale I and II (almost done
> with III now)
> 4. Proofread a voting machine manual
> 5. Written a Usenet group charter
"a Usenet group charter". There! I've written it too!
Karl Johanson
Jay E. Morris
Well of course you've written "it". It's right there for all to see.
--
The email fix is obvious.
Pip R. Lagenta
(David Goldfarb) wrote:
>That meme of "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Haven't" is
>going around again. Last time I started on a list; this time I
>finished it. Traffic being slow around here these days, I thought
>I'd post it. So...
>
>1. Learned to read before I learned to talk.
>2. Beaten a master-rated player at chess.
>3. Eaten a taco north of the Arctic Circle.
>4. Tasted the water of the Dead Sea.
>5. Photocopied in excess of 100,000 pages in a 24-hour period.
>6. Discussed literary references in _Sandman_ with Neil Gaiman. (And
>done my level best to conceal that I didn't know what "synoptic" meant.)
>7. Played the mad mutie lord Sir Simon in a reading of "William Shakespeare's
>_Tam Lin_, As Considered Canonical on Barrayar".
>8. Seen a sibling being born.
>9. Ruptured an Achilles tendon. (And trust me, you want to keep it that way)
>10. Read Euripides' _The Bacchae_ in the original Greek.
So, I finally tried my hand at this for Ulrika's blog:
http://akirlu.livejournal.com/143126.html
I put a lot of work into it, so I might as well reprint it here...
1) I have made over a million phone calls.
2) I cleaned the clubhouse of a science fiction club every week for
eleven years.
3) I took viola lessons for two years, but I have never, in my life,
ever touched (nor come near) a viola.
4) I have run through a swamp to capture a feral cat, succeeded, and
been rewarded with years of that cat's love.
5) I have lived in the next apartment over from a woman who was (at
that time) having an affair with William Shatner.
6) I have been paid by the Catholic Church to care for teenage boys...
week in and week out for ten years.
7) I had Harlan Ellison buy from me a copy of a mass-produced book
that he wrote, but that he did not know existed until I showed it to
him.
8) I have had a character in a Star Trek novel named for me.
9) I have taken "Improvisational Comedy" lessons from a woman who
taught "Improvisational Comedy" skills to Robin Williams.
10) When I was eleven years old (in 1970) I went on a school outing,
with everyone in my school, into San Francisco to see the stage
production of "Hair", nude scene included.
>
--
內躬偕爻,虜,齯滌`偕爻,虜,齯滌`偕爻,虜,齯滌`偕爻,虜,齯滌`偕爻,
Pip R. Lagenta Pip R. Lagenta Pip R. Lagenta Pip R. Lagenta
�虜,齯滌`偕爻,虜,齯滌`偕爻,虜,齯滌`偕爻,虜,齯滌`偕爻,虜,齯滌
-- Pip R. Lagenta
President for Life
International Organization Of People Named Pip R. Lagenta
(If your name is Pip R. Lagenta, ask about our dues!)
<http://home.comcast.net/~galentripp/pip.html>
(For Email: I'm at home, not work.)
Jette
> Okay, here are my 10, with a strong emphasis on "probably" (especially
> #6, knowing we have an international audience):
> 6. Spent three consecutive days without any contact with anyone, except
> my travelling companion, who spoke my native language fluently, or much
> at all, really
I travel alone, usually. Sometimes communication (with hotel staff
and shopkeepers) has been a few words of each other's language and a
lot of gestures, for almost a week.
Jette
>
> 9. Been introduced to a famous sf author, some of whose work I'd read,
> and not realized it until later
I'd been drinking regularly at conventions with Terry Pratchett for
years before I realised he was *that* Terry Pratchett <g>
Petrea Mitchell
Jette <boss...@scotlandmail.com> strode forth and proclaimed:
> Petrea Mitchell wrote:
> > 9. Been introduced to a famous sf author, some of whose work I'd read,
> > and not realized it until later
>
> I'd been drinking regularly at conventions with Terry Pratchett for
> years before I realised he was *that* Terry Pratchett <g>
Well, I was introduced briefly to "Caroline". Then, 10 or 15 minutes
later, when I had a chance to look through the program book and saw the
photo of Guest of Honor C. J. Cherryh...
--
/
Petrea Mitchell <|> <|> <pr...@m5p.com> <mit...@osm.com>
"Would you quit being evil over my shoulder?" ---MST3K
"This movie stops at nothing-- and stays there." ---MST3K
Jette
> At Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:36:30 GMT,
> Jette <boss...@scotlandmail.com> strode forth and proclaimed:
>> Petrea Mitchell wrote:
>
>>> 9. Been introduced to a famous sf author, some of whose work I'd read,
>>> and not realized it until later
>> I'd been drinking regularly at conventions with Terry Pratchett for
>> years before I realised he was *that* Terry Pratchett <g>
>
> Well, I was introduced briefly to "Caroline". Then, 10 or 15 minutes
> later, when I had a chance to look through the program book and saw the
> photo of Guest of Honor C. J. Cherryh...
>
Then there was the time someone asked me to read the palm of a young
American attendee at a Glasgow con. Couldn't see her badge, as she
was wearing it upside down.
"mercury, apollo - hmm, you should be a writer".
A quiet cough and the badge was turned round so I could read it.
"Diane Duane - oops - yes, you are a writer - and I've read some of
your books." :-)
(then there was the time I tried to throw a cute young man over my
shoulder and carry him off during a filk session. wearing very high
heeled boots and a halter neck chamois leather "Leela" costume. I
fell over, he fell on top of me, dress fell off. next day I
discovered he was Peter Morwood)
Keith F. Lynch
> 1. Ridden a bicycle in a wind chill of -10 Fahrenheit
I've done that. (It's somewhat ambiguous, as one's riding speed adds
to or subtracts from the wind chill.) I've also ridden in very high
winds, within a quarter mile of a tornado. And through foot-deep
snow. And carried my bike on my head when wading through waist-deep
rushing water on a flooded road. And ridden in temperatures over
100 F.
But the most difficult riding I've ever done was during freezing rain.
The road was coated with slick wet ice. So were my tires. And my
brake pads. Remind me not to do that again.
> 6. Spent three consecutive days without any contact with anyone,
> except my travelling companion, who spoke my native language
> fluently, or much at all, really
Hasn't everyone occasionally spent three consecutive days without any
contact with anyone, period?
> 8. Used a prototype for a computer that never went into production
> (anyone heard of the Fairchild Blaise?)
Did it run Pascal?
> 9. Been introduced to a famous sf author, some of whose work I'd
> read, and not realized it until later
That's happened to most of us, I think. Slightly more unusual was the
time last year I was in a restaurant with a dozen IT types. I soon
realized all of them were far deeper into Internet protocols than I
was. When someone asked me why I was being so quiet, I explained, but
added that at least I'd probably been online longer than anyone else
at the table. That's when I was introduced to the person next to me,
Steve Crocker -- author of RFC number one.
Daniel R. Reitman
wrote:
>. . . .
>(then there was the time I tried to throw a cute young man over my
>shoulder and carry him off during a filk session. wearing very high
>heeled boots and a halter neck chamois leather "Leela" costume. I
>fell over, he fell on top of me, dress fell off. next day I
>discovered he was Peter Morwood)
What exactly was he doing in a Leela costume? :-)
Dan, ad nauseam
Pip R. Lagenta
wrote:
>Petrea Mitchell <pr...@m5p.com> wrote:
[snip]
>> 9. Been introduced to a famous sf author, some of whose work I'd
>> read, and not realized it until later
>
>That's happened to most of us, I think.
Yup. Shortly after I moved to Los Angeles (1979) to go to University,
I started attending LASFS. The person in whose home I was renting a
room was on the LASFS board of directors. Between my first and second
visit to LASFS, I went to a party with this house mate. After we
returned from the party, my house mate told me that Larry Niven had
been at the party. Jeez, guy! Thanks for the heads up!
But Larry Niven was regularly at LASFS meetings, so no big deal.
This same house mate, as you might suspect, had taken me to my first
LASFS meeting. The LASFS clubhouse has two buildings: the front
building, which (in 1979) had couches for quiet conversation and the
library. The back building is the meeting hall where the actual LASFS
meeting takes place. When my house mate took me to my first LASFS
meeting, he brought me into the front building and then he disappeared
without mentioning that there was a back building. No one mentioned
that there was a back building. So I sat in the front building,
talking to various fans. I had a great time! After we returned from
the meeting, my house mate told me about the back building. Jeez,
guy! Thanks for the heads up!
Between my first and second visit to the LASFS, I went to that party
with the house mate. At that party, I spoke to the woman who was the
LASFS Registrar. It is the job of the LASFS Registrar to find guests,
introduce them to the club, and show them around. She was quite irate
that I had gone to my first LASFS meeting without filling out a "Guest
Card". I assured her that the *next* time that I make a *first*
appearance at the LASFS, I will fill out the damn card.
But back to the original subject:
At a sf convention in the early eighty's, I got onto an elevator with
a gentleman. We had a brief, but pleasant conversation. I later
figured out that this gentleman was John Brunner. I had read many of
John Brunner's novels at that point. I never got to talk to him
again.
But actually, I think that my mother might win this competition. My
mother was invited by a young friend of hers to go talk to the young
friend's boyfriend who was in jail. My mother's young friend thought
that her boyfriend needed sympathetic people to talk to while he was
in jail. My mother and her young friend went to the San Francisco
jail to talk to this guy. My mother talked to this guy there in the
jail visiting room. My mother gave him her phone number so that this
guy could talk to her regularly. After they left, my mother's young
friend told my mother that her boyfriend was Richard Ramirez, "the
night stalker", who was awaiting trial for the set of murders that he
had committed in San Francisco. My mother got several phone calls
from Richard before she stopped taking them.
Marty Helgesen
David Goldfarb wrote:
> That meme of "Ten Things I've Done that You Probably Haven't" is
> going around again. Last time I started on a list; this time I
> finished it. Traffic being slow around here these days, I thought
> I'd post it. So...
<SNIP>
I don't have ten that I can think of but here are three:
I have taken a ballpoint pen out of someone's shirt pocket using only
the big toe of my right foot, but only because he invited me to do so.
The first two times I was in London I spoke from a folding speaker's
platform at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park. This, too, was by
invitation. (Note: Speakers' Corner is not Hyde Park Corner,
although some people say it is. For anyone familiar with the layout
of Manhattan, Speakers' Corner is in a position analogous to Grand
Army Plaza, the location of the Plaza Hotel, at Fifth Avenue and 59th
Street. Hyde Park Corner is in a position analogous to Columbus
Circle at Eighth Avenue and 59th Street.)
Using a rubber stamp of my name I have stamped my name on a woman's
upper left arm. In a sense one could say that that, too, was by
invitation. She asked for it. ("She started it!") She was a fellow
student in library school. During a class she scribbled on my elbow
with a ballpoint pen. The fact that I was leaning back with my elbow
on the front edge of her desk is irrelevant.
I thought I had mentioned the first two here before, after having
mentioned them in APA-L when Lee Gold wrote a few things under a
"Things I have done that ..." heading, but apparently I only thought
about posting them. I did mention having spoken in Hyde Park here,
but that was in a different context. Replying to a suggestion that
Church authorities might "fear that Catholic Doctrine can't be
supported in open debate" I mentioned that Catholic Evidence Guilds
exist in various cities with the permission and encouragement of
Church authorities and debate can't get much more open than at
Speaker's Corner or in Times Square in New York. (I was invited to
speak by the Westminster Catholic Evidence Guild because at that time
I was a member of the Catholic Evidence Guild of New York.)
-----
Marty Helgesen
Mygmailuseridis mnhccatcunyvm
"Between 1882 and 1968, 3,446 Blacks were lynched in the U.S. That
number is surpassed in less than 3 days by abortion."
"Since 1973 there has been over 13 million Black children killed and
their precious mothers victimized by the U.S. abortion industry."
http://www.blackgenocide.org/
Jay E. Morris
On 20-Jan-2008, Jette <boss...@scotlandmail.com> wrote:
> lot of gestures, for almost a week.
You must have been very tired after your trip.
Marcus L. Rowland
<pr...@dylath-leen.bidalaka.com> writes
>Okay, here are my 10, with a strong emphasis on "probably" (especially
>#6, knowing we have an international audience):
>
>1. Ridden a bicycle in a wind chill of -10 Fahrenheit
>2. Met a pygmy elephant
>3. Played all the way to the end of Bard's Tale I and II (almost done
>with III now)
>4. Proofread a voting machine manual
>5. Written a Usenet group charter
>6. Spent three consecutive days without any contact with anyone, except
>my travelling companion, who spoke my native language fluently, or much
>at all, really
>7. Been approached as a potential registered voter at age 11
>8. Used a prototype for a computer that never went into production (anyone
>heard of the Fairchild Blaise?)
>9. Been introduced to a famous sf author, some of whose work I'd read,
>and not realized it until later
>10. Almost been run over by my favorite race car driver
>
>
if it still exists, I've long stopped looking - since there weren't
enough users to keep it working) and #9, more than once - I think most
regular con-goers have had that experience. None of the others though.
--
Marcus L. Rowland http://www.forgottenfutures.com/
LJ:ffutures http://homepage.ntlworld.com/forgottenfutures/
Forgotten Futures - The Scientific Romance Role Playing Game
Diana: Warrior Princess & Elvis: The Legendary Tours
The Original Flatland Role Playing Game
Christopher Henrich
"Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
> > 8. Used a prototype for a computer that never went into production
> > (anyone heard of the Fairchild Blaise?)
>
> Did it run Pascal?
No, but the server's name was Merlin.
--
Christopher J. Henrich
chen...@monmouth.com
htp://www.mathinteract.com
Colette Reap
>In message <13p574l...@corp.supernews.com>, Petrea Mitchell
><pr...@dylath-leen.bidalaka.com> writes
>>Okay, here are my 10, with a strong emphasis on "probably" (especially
>>#6, knowing we have an international audience):
>>
>>1. Ridden a bicycle in a wind chill of -10 Fahrenheit
>>2. Met a pygmy elephant
>>3. Played all the way to the end of Bard's Tale I and II (almost done
>>with III now)
>>4. Proofread a voting machine manual
>>5. Written a Usenet group charter
>>6. Spent three consecutive days without any contact with anyone, except
>>my travelling companion, who spoke my native language fluently, or much
>>at all, really
>>7. Been approached as a potential registered voter at age 11
>>8. Used a prototype for a computer that never went into production (anyone
>>heard of the Fairchild Blaise?)
>>9. Been introduced to a famous sf author, some of whose work I'd read,
>>and not realized it until later
>>10. Almost been run over by my favorite race car driver
>>
>>
>I've done #5 (uk.rec.pets.misc, now pretty much given over to spammers -
>if it still exists, I've long stopped looking - since there weren't
>enough users to keep it working) and #9, more than once - I think most
>regular con-goers have had that experience. None of the others though.
Slight variation on #9 - A few weeks ago I was standing next to
Charlie Stross, when someone (who is a writer - fantasy I think - I
had never heard of her) breezed up, introduced herself to Charlie,
said words to the effect of 'And what do you do?' in a rather
patronising tone of voice and when he said that he was a writer, said
'Sorry, never heard of you.'
My own addition to the list of things is having to tell Paul Newman to
get his butt off the pit wall he was sitting on as there were cars on
the track (this was at Road America in Wisconsin in the mid '80s) and
he was therefore breaking the rules.
--
Colette
Seth
Daniel R. Reitman <drei...@spiritone.com> wrote:
>On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 16:52:52 GMT, Jette <boss...@scotlandmail.com>
>wrote:
>
>>shoulder and carry him off during a filk session. wearing very high
>>heeled boots and a halter neck chamois leather "Leela" costume. I
>>fell over, he fell on top of me, dress fell off. next day I
>>discovered he was Peter Morwood)
>
>What exactly was he doing in a Leela costume? :-)
Filking, she wrote.
Seth
Daniel R. Reitman
wrote:
Strange, I'm in a filk circle right now and Peter Morwood isn't here
in a Leela costume. Or even Bender.
Dan, ad nauseam
David G. Bell
se...@panix.com "Seth" wrote:
Not all of us were there for the music.
(It was long ago, and in another country, and, besides, the wench was
wed.)
--
David G. Bell -- SF Fan, Filker, and Punslinger.
On the horizon, a carrier task force of the Salvation Navy was
turning into the wind, preparing to launch Zeppelins.
Keith F. Lynch
> Strange, I'm in a filk circle right now
Do you always post to Usenet while in a filk circle? Don't you get
odd looks from the other filkers?
I was once with someone who attempted to use a laptop computer for
something while playing Jungle Speed (a high speed card game). It
didn't work out very well. I hope the laptop was repairable.
> and Peter Morwood isn't here in a Leela costume. Or even Bender.
Do you mean Peter Morwood isn't in a Bender costume either? Or that
Bender isn't in a Leela costume either? Are you implying that Peter
Morwood and Bender are both present?