ILL ... Sophie: I'd like to apparate to the bookstore. That's from Harry Potter. Travis: Nerd alert. Sophie: That's not nerdy, everybody reads Harry Potter. Travis: I read Sci Fi, and I don't read Harry Potter. I read the Lord of the Rings. I also read a tetrilogy. Lisa: A decalouge. Travis: A Dork-a-louge. Kim: Hey, you were the one who *read* the dorkalouge. (6/22/04)

 

Jim ... when we last saw them said something about "aristocrats" in the U.S. when what they _meant_ was plutocrats. So naturally I had to outline how those in power here are undeserving of the name. Making a pile of cash and then buying your way into power, the courtroom, etc. has nothing to do with "aristoi" and everything to do with being Farangi (you'll notice that Star Trek portrays them not as a hierarchal system based on kin or skill, but on wealth). What more can a friend do I hear you saying. Not much Jenn, not much... ;-) (4/28/04)

Jenn ... Just wanted to let you (and LiAna!) know that I think I may have unlocked the secrets of the universe...or rather, I may have found a new perspective for dealing with all the things I added to my plate at that big buffet of life (wow, didn't think I'd come up with that great of a metaphor. It was a really good walk, and in birks no less.) (4/28/04)

Jim ... You know, Roman chariot races were the Nascar of their day--same appeal among the plebs, same thirst for crashes, and just as much media hype. When Nascar types start dividing themselves into the traditional claques (whites, reds, greens, blues) and start affecting politics it will be time to move. Oh, wait, I guess they _do_ affect politics... wow, there's a thought. (4/28/04)

Jim ... it is a pleasure to help make Mellon grow and become the hottest site since Onering. It will you know. ;-) I felt inspired, which is telling I think given the amount of work I have before me. Honestly,
"Moesia"--who cares? "Lamian War" that ruined Athens? SO what, they were thugs and quite frankly the most dangerous democracy prior to our own (the only other democracy prior to our own actually...). And Piya, King of Kush--who? How about we do an essay on Kush and call it good. Call me old Mr. Traditional, but I think history, which uses _sources_ is better when we have well, sources. I know, I know, how silly. (4/28/04)

Jim ... I love when they bring up the stock market, it gives me a chance to say things like "Oh, what sort of stock do you take to market? Cows, sheep, goats, what?" They love it when you say that. (4/26/04)

Jenn ... And I'm the Tolkien-fed-Born-Again-Celt who's seen a fair bit of Hogwart's wizardry in my time. (4/21/04)

Jim ... I feel like I've been up since Uruk became Assyrian. You're welcome. (4/21/04)

Jim ... I cannot but feel that I am somehow responsible, and while I can't back that up with "facts," and "evidence" that would pass muster with logical types like you, Lai, NIL, and Data (see what I
did there?), I have a few bits of circumstancial evidence for support.
1) Jim Leaves
--one week later GT leaves
--VDX, long considered a sad, nearly comic rumor,
rears its ugly head, and is actually put into use
--drama, drama, drama, everyone is unhappy

Just saying. It's not that I think I was the glue that held things together; more like irony, so used to
gunning for me, kept blasting away after I had left (if you see her tell I moved to Aus.). ILL, Titanic
(ship and film), Pompeii, Thera, Genghis first city tour of China, and the plague--what do they all have
in common... .(4/21/04)

Jenn ... And we've just decided that UCSC ILL's new slogan will be something like "CUZ...the First Lemmings Off the Cliff!" (4/21/04)

Jim ... Today the plan is to work on the Arabic lit. essay, but given that Greek architecture is so much easier, I may do that. As much as both interest me, I just can't find the motivation. My guess is that I lost it somewhere, but sheesh, it could be anywhere, you know? I drove across country and might have left my motivation anywhere; I live in Balteemoh so it may have been stollen; I have been to VA often so it may have been press-ganged into the service of the Confederacy; Lai might be using it for the bazillion exams this week (4/21/04)

Jenn ... I've got Futurama quotes in my head..."...dark matter...each pound of which weighs over 10,000 pounds." and "Good news everyone! I've taught the toaster to love!" (4/21/04)

NIL ... i'm eating a calorie delivery device (4/21/04)

Jenn ... No Gnomes, Jim. Did your ancestors do something to annoy the gnomes, thus limiting my chances at an endless cup of coffee? Do you think it would be too much to bring my espresso machine in and put it on my desk? (4/20/04)

Jim ... Craig had recently returned from Africa (Tanzania), which I had forgotten--see, when a friend shows up at your door with a spear, it helps to know these things. Now while it is true that unlike most people, friends showing up with edged weapons is relatively common place in my experience, it can be a little alarming too. It now hangs proudly in the living room. He brought Lai a beautiful figurine too. Lai is not much for spears usually. (4/19/04)

Jim ... Well, when the movie ended, I heard the theme music and bolted out of there, you know, to be the crowd (of eight...). Anyway, I look behind me and had a moment similar to that experienced by Elizabeth" in "Pirates of the Caribbean," that scene where she runs to the launch boat, screams, "All of
you with me! We will save him!" and then realizes that one reason that boat is so heavy is that no one
followed her. Yup, so I look back and everyone is staring at me as if I was waving a Kalishnikov, wearing a Afghan teacosy hat, and swearing unAmerican slogans. You see, the "theme music" was actually the National Anthem. There was a sign after the film, which I missed, that said "Please Stand," and then the curtains slowly open revealing the giant flag flying over the fort, cheesy, patriotic, etc. (4/19/04)

Jenn .. I've always wondered, what would it be like to order the large coffee. But somehow it seemed to decadent, the Versailles of Morning Coffee. But you know, this morning, I walked up to the counter and ordered a Blended Venti Mocha as though I'd always done it. Lately, I've hoped every morning that I would have been granted the Endless Mocha Cup, the one that magically refills itself with fresh warm mocha as the drinker nears the end of the cup. I've never encountered the Endless Mocha Gnomes, sadly, though I continue to believe passionately in their existence. So, the Venti allows me to further stretch the coffee magic...until such time as the Mocha Gnomes see fit to bless me with the Endless Mocha Cup. (4/19/04)

Jim ... Speaking of which, I am now making coffee, yes, coffee in this blistering swamp jungle fen rainforesty weather, for the Twins. It is a week of exams, like a Venti of Plenty of Exams (see what I did there?), and they need help. I may, I admit it, have some myself, but after lunch and its resultant blood sugar, that may be the Baltimore equivalent of coals to Newcastle, i.e. smack to the peeps. ;-) (4/19/04)

LiAna ... you should tell Jenn to keep tabs on the intake of "phosphodiesterase inhibitors." (4/19/2004)

NIL ... i'm just making my terminal transparent...the window transparency thing is barely usable above 10% transparent...btw, by window transparency, consider how you view the background of the chat window through the text window...it's nearly the same thing(4/16/04)

Jim ... There is, I suppose, something odd about getting Old English riddles from Asa over e-mail--think about it, early medieval English over the internet. Kind of beautiful. (4/15/04)

Jenn ... I'm currently playing a round of "don't see me" with the work that needs to get done. I actually just spent about a half hour browsing the Santana Row website, that fancy outdoor-euro mall across the street from the Fancy Mall. I don't even remember how I ended up there, perhaps something to do with a job "opportunity," but then I was looking at floorplans for lofts. I can't explain it. (4/15/04)

NIL ... i just checked out two of my books in my office using the barcode scanner (4/14/04)

Jim ... Nice, sort of like orders in a row for one person in the old days, before one had to wind a rota and make sure that the slap and tickle effect was primed to ensure the queue's integrity stays oojah cum spiff and cheerio, what. ;-) I hate VDX and I never even used it, funny. (4/13/04)

Jim ... I am indeed familiar with "That 70's Show" and may I add that whoever heard me about my adult stroller idea, an idea I have been kicking around at least since 97, owes me big time. (4/13/04)

Jim ... Still, today was heroic, a day in which I--Achilles like--displayed my _arete_, yelled the names of my ancestors into the simpering faces of the enemy, and challenged them to take me on--yup, that's right. (4/13/04)

Jenn ... I can tell you that Kim and I just cracked ourselves up making fun of different types on currency that VDX lets you select from. None of these currencies is "IFM" mind you, but we did think about requesting a book and offering to pay 20.00 Zloty for it. (4/7/04)

Jenn ... I can tell you that I worked on learning JavaScript last night, while watching Sense and Sensibility. The juxtaposition was pleasing there. (4/7/04)

Jim and Goodyear... In addition to lamenting the lack of cavalry in modern armies (yes, you're Dad is _that_ cool), we have discussed writing, allergies, and all other things of note and interest. (4/6/04)

Jim ... All is well there, and with any luck, I shall tie up the bio for Wladyslaw II Jagiello this morning and shake off that central Euro coil. See what I did there? So, I hear you, just who, pray, will I be working on next? Most likely Louis IV, Roi d'France ca. 1120-1180, and, Philip III (Valois Duke of Burgundy, 1419-67). Yup, the long Spring days just fly . . . (4/6/04)

Jim ... Well, time to return to Lithuania and two yokels that became kings. You know how it is. (4/5/04)

Nil ... We take our disagreements to Google....as it should be. (4/3/04)

Jim ... VDX has entered ILL like an embarrassing drunken uncle, the one who knocks furniture over, makes children cry, and brags about his various infidelities, all of which ends with the family somehow scandilized (like no one knew he would do this--please), and the sodden uncle weeping in a
corner and apologizing for something he will only do again next time. I've seen it a hundred times. (4/1/04) -- Charter's aside, Jim scores extra nerdiness points here for his accuracy in description, from 3000 miles away

NIL ... oh crap. the new comp books are wide-ruled. J:ooohhh noo fluffy, that does suck.N:it's ok there's graph paper it just falls apart more easily J: i love writing on graph paper. N: http://postscriptcode.com/graph-paper.pdf early morning postscript hacking. (4/1/04) Charters note--Nathan MADE HIS OWN GRAPH PAPER...and posted it online for our enjoyment.

Jim ... I see you have cast down the gauntlet of challenge! Excellent. I love the haiku and you know, I am getting that feeling, the one that only happens when the muse leaves off the sauce and actually shows up.... (3/31/04)

Jenn ... Stay tuned for more, "As the Booktruck Rolls." (3/31/04)

Jim ... Well, crapeaux, I suppose that St. Hild and I, oh, and the chaps from Mesopotamian myth ought to have our meeting. As you know, I am no fan of meetings at this hour of the day, and I am sure, positive sure, that Gilgamesh will forget the donuts again. Typical. (3/30/04)

Jenn ... I *do* like the idea of reading Austen, "The history of Pi," Austen, and then "Inside Intel." That just makes me giggle. (3/29/04)

Jim ... it's called Scrabble Rack Attack and it might cure you of Text-Twist the way methadone "cures" someone addicted to heroin... (3/29/04)

Nil ... solved some parametric equations to define a bezier cubic curve... x(t) = at^3 + bt^2 + ct + x0 c = 3(x1 - x0) b = 3(x2 - x1) - 3(x1 - x0) a = x3 - x0 - 3(x2 - x1) y(t) = at^3 + bt^2 + ct + y0 c = 3(y1 - y0) b = 3(y2 - y1) - 3(y1 - y0) a = y3 - y0 - 3(y2 - y1) **chart maker's note, (t) is the IM symbol for the telephone emoticon, so this came out with little phones sprinkled through out it*** (3/23/04)

Jim ... I think, for what it is worth, that Henry VII had more motive for murdering the princes, but we'll never know. Richard III was quite a fellow and how like Shakespeare to call him a hunchback when really what R3 had was an over-developed right arm from his axe. Oh yes, the man was quite a hand with the axe--if that wimpy H7 had met R3 at Bosworth like a man rather than hiding behind a bunch of his thugs, well, you might not be e-mailing my sort these days... (2/10/04)

Nil ... could be getting more work done.. screwing around with webserver stuff. i've permanently disabled php processing for all my websites (2/9/04)

Nil ... a geek is a person who is disapproved of or a circus performer who bites the head off a live chicken (2/6/04)

Nil ... do you realize how many revisions the ISS went through? the first plan was in 1985. remember space station freedom? (2/6/04)

Jim ... Dang, sure wish I could be there, at least for the midnight, under moonlight decaling of the Dragon upon the proud chest (or rear window) of CMII. ;-) (2/5/04)

Jim ... Took the words and sentiments from my very own maw as it were. All hail the lexical victory! All hail the logos' defeat of the binary usurper!!! (2/5/04)

Jenn ... Oh, hey, not to worry at all. I rather enjoy the idea of the OED kerflummuxing the computer. It's a beautiful irony when you think of it. (2/5/04)

Jim ... So, Willy the Bastard of Normandy, himself the descendent of an entire history of illegitimate
children, is this afternoon's topic. Having written about Harold II, the fellow he slew (great word) to be
king, and Edward the Confessor (his distant relative), and of Ethelred the Unready (second to last A.Saxon king), I am about cheesed off with the while bally lot of these mid-eleventh century chaps. (2/5/04)

Nil ... i'm still trying to install linux on an older laptop i have. it's tedious. it keeps hanging. (2/5/04)

Jenn ... Here's a trick I've perfected. When you see a road full of traffic in front of you, you pull out your wand, remembering that nice swish and flick move, and declare "Alohamora!"And the traffic UNLOCKS and you can get through. (2/5/04)

ILL ... Lisa: It's not about winning or losing, Sophie, it's about how many straps you print out. (2/5/04)

Jim ... Mithrandir--he's not just for Middle Earth, but for breakfasts everywhere! Okay, this margerine
thing--that's weird. I mean, butter, why not butter!!! (2/3/04)

Nil ... heh, i haven't used one of those clauses in a long time. (2/3/04)

Jim ... As for the plague, which village? ;-) (2/3/04)

Jenn ... Our friend Pandora had such questions, and look how that turned out. (2/3/04)

Jenn / Nil ... a friend of mine just gave me a harder puzzle to solve: http://www.zytor.com/~hpa/puzzle.txt ... doesn't look easy at all ...what am i looking at? ...supposedly an encoded message ... kind of like the cryptoquote thinger except the alphabet is a bit larger ... gotcha ... so the number patters some how represent letters ... potentially ... what's 2 to the 26th? ... it could be that the numbers need to be converted to a different base and compacted to be meaningful ... 64MB ... 67108864 ... hm ... the first number is in there twice, but neither the second or the third number is in there twice ... well, i'm sure it's nerdy, however it works out ... wow.. you've already figured out more about it than i've taken the time to do ... now i just ran some tools on it and found that two of the numbers appear 3 times (and that's the most of any) -- 45519 and 73076 ... 73 of the numbers appear 2 times, the rest of them appear once ... hm ... i wonder if you perform the same math on the numbers, if you'd get a number between one and 26. like for 02136 you'd say 2-1=1*3=3+6=9 therefore the first number represents an "I" ... but that'd take a lot of playing around with it to discover ... wow you're good ... i'm just making up theories here ... well, there are 2356 unique numbers in the puzzle ... so i know that it's not a 1:1 mapping ... and it's not that all the numbers are divisible by 64 ... (1/29/04)

Jenn ... I like it when my fingers slip and I end up typing :LLender: which gives it that nice Welsh twist. (1/27/04)

Nil ... i also cringe every time i read the word "cyber" outside the realm of the terminator. (1/27/04)

Liana ... Today I am working on a short piece about St. Irenaeus and Lai is studying the topology of DNA and RNA. When I asked Lai to finish my stuff AND do her own (she _is_ the smart one after all) she said, "Well, *ironase* would be an enzyme that degrades iron..." --actually, she just said it would really be removing an iron moiety from a larger stucture, probably a protein, such as Hemoglobin. I have no idea what I just wrote. (1/26/04)

Jim ... I just _can't_ decide, maybe you can, should I go with "Hincmar of Reims" or "Otto the Great"...you're sooo right, either way I totally win. (1/21/04)

Jim ... So, yesterday, my birthday and all, was good, but there were these washes, these gessos if you will, of mythic overlay that while fascinating, had a hint of scary colored with a dash of uh-oh, all mixed with a lovely vinegrette of possiblemeaning. (1/21/04)

Jim ... Jim/Tim/Steve/Sancho/Dubhlainn/Seamas Dubh na Ennistymon/J.B.T.E, VC Tomkins/B. Jamie d'Emon aux Bretagne/Roi du Framboise et vin rouge (1/13/04)

Jim ... Hmm, one more chicken ought to do the trick, if of course I can catch the moon in time... ;-) (1/13/04)

Jim ... Lai revamped the kitchen, which for me is not unlike the Gordian Knot (she did not, alas, use a sword in any way however) (12/9/04)

ILL...discussing a patron with the first name of "Jupiter." Sophie: "Don't you just wonder what Jupiter looks like? Does he or she have a big red spot on her forehead?" Lisa:"I just LOVE planet jokes." (1/9/04)

Jim ... I mean, sure, I _can_ write an 800-1000 word essay on Alexander the Nifty, but dammit how many two-bit essays do we already have for this without my throwing in my one cent (I refuse to give them two cents)? And pleeeeeeeeeease, Philip of Macedon, Alex's pop--we study him for two reasons, emphasis on "study" as a generous concession to the fact he gets a mention, because he successfully attacked Greece and was well, Alex's dad. Attacked Greece? Big deal! Any people free of the idiocy of civilized life could do it--look at our Celtic brethren under Brennus (the other one, not the one who sacked Rome earlier on) who swept through Greece in 285 B.C.! Persians, no, sorry, too civilized, needed hot meals, baths, that sort of thing. Yawn Philip of Macedon, yawn. (1/8/2004)

 

LiAna ... So, it is 1235, Lai is recovering from this mornings exam by watching "Last of the Mohicans" in French (oddly, they dub Maugwa's bad French, or as I think of it, the french I would like to speak when next I meet a whiteflagwavin...a Parisian). Yes, nerdy. (12/16/2003)

Jim ... Sure, I can tell them that Pericles was a knock-kneed pillock, but that doesn't make it relevant (to most people). (12/11/2003)

Jim ... SO, about the feathers, only a chief wears the feathers, and THEN, only in his bonnet. In the case
of my wedding clothes, you see a mix--very bad form to most Scots, but perfectly acceptable when there's precedent in my opinion. (12/11/03)

Jim ... Myth makes the mind fat (fat as in "healthy," fed, not suffering from anemia--I do not use the word either in its street sense, properly spelled "phat," nor in the sad and deplorable useage we find it in most commonly, as a pejorative way to describe anyone who is not anorexic, or in other words, a culture without enough myth--and we come full circle). (12/11/03)

Jim ... I wish to play Santa but I feel like a Santa beset not only with Lapland malaise, but also an elven strike in its fury. (12/11/03)

Jenn ... Then, after I had gotten quite cozy in bed, settling in to write and listen to the rain, I decided to launch a crazy quest for Volume Six of Jenn's Journal. I finished typing vol 5 yesterday at work...So I jumped out of bed and set on a rampage that pretty well tore the house apart. There's nothing like digging through a fireproof safe that is in a closet beneath the box that usually holds the christmas tree with one of those "headlamps" as your only source of light, after 11 pm. I was sure the book I was looking for was a green hard back journal, but really, it was the first of the spiral bound journals. Who knew?!?!?!? Not me. (12/11/03)

LiAna ... School goes fine. Except that I've decided to drop out and become a Freecell world champion. I'm sure there are tournaments out there, and I think I could be a contender. And with a little training and the right coach, I think I could go on the Spider Solitaire circuit, too. (12/11/03)

Jim ... Lai made the mistake of making a casual comment about the difference between "British" and "English" and was treated to an essay--poor lass--on about 1000 years of Island history. See, we were eating my farfale a la turkey pasta sauce, and watching Brannagh's "Much Ado," and well, she said who would these chaps be fighting in Italy, so naturally I explained about French and Imperial (Holy Roman Empire) interests in early modern Italy. What she meant was who would they be fighting (the characters) if they were in the late 19th century, which as you know, is the time in which Brannagh places his version. That spawned the usual unification of Italy speech, then musings about the histories of Italy and Germany in re long histories of not being unified, etc. Somehow this brought in Britain. Oh! Yeah, who was England mixing it up with in Elizabeth I's time. Anyway, good thing I caught myself... (12/10/03)

Jim ... I did help a little, see, look:

I have no idea what any of this hocus pocus means, but as the half of the relationship purported to sport a near bardic memory, it falls to me to memorize things and then help Lai study. True story about hocus pocus...wait...caught myself. Phew! that was close. (12/10/03)

Jim ... I mean Pennsylvanians, really, are like the Australians of North America (New Jersey, usually taken for the famous penal colony, is not, it is the Pennsylvania that couldn't). They're all over the place (here in the big B) and probably on the Lam, life-long devotees of Jerry Springer, and still sport hairdos that the rest of the country only enjoys on sassy cartoon shows. I called the Dutch embassy too--they don't want it back. Ah well.(12/9/03)

Jim ... The complex we live in started plowing at 7am. The noises I made were like those Elijah described Ian McKellan making when Dom played his music too loud in the morning (cf. LOTRX, appendices). NOT happy. (12/5/03)

Jim ... This is the "Coldmiser" theme (he has a brother named Heatmiser). Anyway, we watched that--turns out Lai's mom had given us this ancient tape--and I sang merrily along, changing the words, etc. Then it started snowing. We haven't told anyone yet, 'cause, you know, people might get angry, but yup, looks like I did this one. (12/5/03)

Jim ... I looked out--not too bad really, but then as the Sir Percival Blankeney ("The Scarlet Pimpernel") says, "Nothing is so bad, as something, which is, not so bad." (12/5/03)

Jim ... The world was white when we awoke (ah, alliteration, delicious consonance...be still my beating heart). (12/5/03)

Jim ... Today is turning out, I think, to be what I call a "crazy day," wherein I am all over the place, somewhere between hope and madness, and spend the day amusing everyone with my jolly madcapped caperings. When I wear a cape that is, and this is Thursday so I probably won't. Thank God I still have the tights ande winged boots!!!! (12/4/03)

Chartmaker's aside...too bad we don't have any photos of the above. Or do we? LiAna?

Jim ... So, what I proposed was that I (and you if you want) could provide him a list of baddies to alleviate the itchy curse finger. I softened the deal a bit too--Rob's good nature makes him reluctant to fire away at individuals, so I have substituted organizations, _specifically_ those organizations that have um, "victimized" me by completely ignoring my job applications, resumes, letters, and phone calls. (12/4/03)

Jim ... The Din Eidin thing was easy, a wave of the hand, but the Arthurian discussion, one that really gets me going, takes more research time, thought time, etc. and I am afraid this FOT may fall short. That won't stop me--as you know I am perfectly happy to chat merrily along without having a clue as to what is going on. I know, I know, but we all have our gifts my friend. (12/4/03)

Jim ... The thing Jenn, if I may impose a mo, is that the whole PhD thing, while it _is_ meaningful etc etc, seems to be the sort of thing that many people say "Oh, wow, that's cool" about, in much the way they would if one told them that one collects earwig husks, or that one has circumnavigated lake Tahoe, or climbed Shasta. (12/4/2003)

Jenn ... Anyhow, the latest news on the Celtmobile II is more delay. Brian Rae, the Issuer of Prii, called to say MY car, which he expected to find on the truck that arrived last night was indeed, NOT on the truck. I have to wait for the next truck full of fuel efficient vehicles, which may arrive before we next see Aragorn on Brego, but then again, it may not arrive before Eowyn kills the Witch King. (12/3/03)

Goodyear .. .So we have an Anglo-Saxon anti Celt, also using Finnish as a structure for the Elvish languages, coming up with a Celtic word. I'm betting there are more, and am off upstairs to check on JRRT and Indo-European.........(12/3/03)

Jim ... I am set to fumble around the kitchen in a vain effort to push the culinary frontier, but I shall be back! Come apron! Come fork! To battle! To battle! (12/3/03)

Jim .. .As Goodyear points out, Dunedin is the gaelic for Edinburgh. "Dun" in gaelic and "burg" in various Germanic dialects both mean fortified place, usually somewhere high (the polis in Greece is a southern relative one might say). Edin, common to both the NZ town and the Scottish City refers to the ancient seat and kingdom of one branch of Britain's "men of the north." In the wonderful poem of Aneirin's "Y Gododdin," we read of a disastrous defeat at Catraeth in which the men of Din Eidin heroically lost (so gaelic really).

Now, our good friend Aragorn and pals are also "from the North," and like the men of Eidin, belong to a better, golden time, for Aneirin, the time in which Celtic Britain was still in its strength, although it was experiencing its swan song too. I cannot help but think that Tolkien must have had Y Gododdin
in mind, somewhere, when putting together his ideas for the Dunedain. I know that is obvious to all of us, but I wonder if anyone has followed that up? (12/2/03)

Goodyear ... "Dunedin", instead of 'New Edinburgh', had been chosen as the name of the new town in the promised land. It was the Celtic form of 'Edinburgh', and was part of the movement against establishing 'new' cities which had been current, eg New York. And so there you have it--a clear case of convergent evolution. (12/2/03)

Jim ... Bloated, we returned home to roll onto smooth surfaces like beached whales, watched "Never Cry Wolf," and "Whale Rider." (12/1/03)

Nil ... Eggs are really just a vector for cheese. (~11/30/03)

Jim .. .In return for your own gift, with my warmest compliments praxis, -e-omega-s (Ionic pr-eta-xis, -ios) "a doing, transaction, business, affair; a doing, action; a certain state, condition." Liddel & Scott_Greek-English Lexicon_ (11/18/03)

Nil ... in response to a request for the definition of the word "praxis": it's a klingon moon...it's their chief energy production facility...it was as blown up by over mining in star trek 6...insufficient safety precautions (11/18/03)

Jenn ... Tell Lai she can have my whole brain tomorrow, the cereberal cortex to the Weirneke sector. Yes. (11/18/03)

Jim ... *[the vocative case would normally be used when addressing someone in Gaelic, thus, Seamas would be "A Haymish." No need for the vocative at this time of night] (11/18/03)

Jenn ... What I like about LiAna's "Abandon Hope" is how easily it takes on a Pirate flair. "Abandon Hope all Ye who Enter Here." It's Confucius meets Captain Hook. (11/17/03)

Jim...I have not broached the subject with Lai, but to me, this is one of those purchases one must make, like new shoes for a job, or resume paper, or alcohol, or coffee, or bandaids with cartoon characters on them. (11/17/03)

Jim...I mean, I like my mother's 1940 Royal Typewriter font as much as the next person, but all day, every day, when there are the delights of Garamond, Samarkand, Uncial, etc. to be had and easily at that, well, it makes one assume that Yahoo is cheap. Wait, of course they are, the tech boom ended and they now roam the savannah knowing they are no longer a dominant predator. Ha. (11/17/03)

Jim...Until then, I practice at home, doing footwork, hanging my mask on a peg on the balcony and doing moulinets (circular cuts in various lines that keep the arm trim, the eye sharp, and the fingers accustomed to making cuts). Damned boring not having someone to knock over the head. (11/14/03)

Jim...There the two of you will be, swaying to the gentle sounds of the exotic gamelon music that has made Indigo the household name it is. I can almost hear the brass ringing . . . ;-) (11/13/03)

Jenn...Anyway, the chickens are still in their carbonate shells (you're welcome) so it's early days for borrowing trouble. (Wow, that's three platitudes in one sentence....not bad. Like the tailor with the seven flies..) (11/12/03)

Jim ... "Hmm, tinking vhat is best vor da name I am puzzled. Perhapz I am going with Dr. Jennifer Doktor. No, no, NEIN NEIN NEIN!!! Dat is zer silly! No vone vill calling me that mitout laughink. Hmm, Dr. J. Doktor? NEIN NEIN NEIN!!!! Dat is even vorse!!!! Nicht gut und zer schlecht!!!! Hokay, I av it. Whadamgonnado is go mit da eazy vay, yah, vat doing for the name will be Jennifer Doktor, PhD. YAH YAH YAH Ich bin happie mit dis idea! No vone could laugh at name now . . . " (11/9/03)

Jenn...More later, hope the hunt goes well today. Watch out for white brindle hounds with red ears with a faint star-glow shine to them. And if someone offers you a pomegranate, just run the other way....

Jim...Good evening my friend on this rainy Woden's Day. It seems fitting that they, the Kim and the Sophie, should work on this day--there is no Loki day so Woden kind of works too ;-) (11/5/03)

Jim...Ooooh, spidey senses tingling--if we took pictures we could have an internet art show on our website, very avant garde and all, and well, funny. We could call it "Hands Aflame: Deconstructing Efficiency Cooking by Neophytes lacking Appreciation for Conduction," or "SNIFF?! What's cooking Jim? Yes." Then again, maybe we'll just stick to the chart. (11/4/03)

Jim...The anchor idea (Civil War), on top of the NIL and Kim material, is akin to a beat, feint disengage, or a feint one-two if you prefer, What I mean is that you are on fire this eve with the humor and mirth and whatnot. (11/4/03)

LiAna... P-chem...It's also basically a combination between gen. chem and physics. Using springs to describe the orbitals of electrons and calculus to derive thermodynamic relationships, etc. (11/3/03)

Jenn...I broke out with "SohCahToa." He looked at me as though I had gone mad, understandably. You know. Sin - opposite/hypotenuse Cosine - adjacent/hypotenuse and Tangent - opposite/adj acent. I had NO IDEA I was still carrying that in my head, but there you go. S o/h C a/h T o/a . Increased my credibility as a nerd. As a computer sciencey nerd, anyway. (11/2/03)

LiAna... (of Jim) She claims, and there is no evidence, that at my worst I am a walking Joycean chapter (10/31/03)

Jim... I must say that I do hope we keep the pictures--they add a little something. They are the peppery rain on an already tasty curry first fried with cumin seeds, if you follow me. Yum oh yum. (10/31/03)

Jim... Jefferson, for example--of my typos not my loosing track, I never, ever lose track of old Tom J "gonna write a country into being" Jefferson--said that one school boys should learn Old English. His stance on school boys qua school boys is not one I know, wish to discover, or would enjoy sitting jury for. We all know the guy had issues, but I was only tackling his more glarin linguistic perversions. I mean really, a typed "futhork?" Who _does_ that? Oh yeah, modern editors. Never mind. (10/31/03)

Jim...Halloween/Samhain: no plans really. We are invited to a party, but have no costumes, little will to be social, and may just watch "Darby O'Gill" later. (10/31/03)

Jim....Good evening mon sororita! Was that ever a linguistic burp--French and Latinspanish--I really need to get out of the apartment more methinks. (10/27/03)

Jim.... I am perhaps about hidebound about men's fancier dress, but N2 (N1 is reserved for the noble gas version of N, not to say that N2 is inert or lacking, he just is not *your* element if you follow me =) would raise fewer eyebrows if he referred to "gingham" as "houndstooth." (10/22/03)

Jim....say hello to N2B1 (those numbers are subscript, you know, periodic chart...) (10/21/03)

Jim......I see I do not hunt alone, a bit like Pwyll and the King of Annwn, no? (10/21/03)

Jenn...It's really very simple if you think about it, Jim. How is it that ideas and facts get lost from your brain? That's right, they escape through the pores in your scalp. Yes. So. If you pile a big stack of hair on top of your head, you insulate your brain, thus making it harder for facts to escape. AND, and this is important, if you have your hair all crazy like, it acts as a net, or a retaining wall. If an idea or fact should manage to make it through the scalp, it gets tangled in the wads of hair. Some people cut pant legs off their pants and secure their brain waves with those, but it has always been my belief that those people needed just a little too much help. (10/15/2003)

Jim......Lisa has this sort of coronal effect a la Mormon high school girl going on and LiAna has mixed the coif of a well-draped Mongol horseman with a variation on one of "Queen Amadala's" styles (amadala, Portuguese for "tonsil" and apparently a source of great mirth in Lisbon when the movie first came out). (10/14/03)

Jim......Well, the hunt was the usual thing today, but at least I was dressed well (those jodhpurs really do make the outfit). (10/14/03)

LiAna......with the help of PharmLisa, contemplating which heats faster gas stove or electric coil...and realizing best of all could be some sort of laser device. (10/14/03)

LiAna......with the help of PharmLisa, asked me how to say "bitter", then "bitter tears," in Latin. They want to make t-shirts for a new club. (10/14/03)

Jenn......I found myself actually reading the html code for theonering.net. I'm trying to think of how to build our pages so that they are not only outlandishly stylish, but eerily easy to update. (10/14/03)

Jim......Despite my familiarity and vast experience with bad dreams, I have not, so far as I know, had one about tidal waves (water does not figure largely when I visit the kingdom of Morpheos). (10/10/03)

Nil ... good guys to be acquired by compusa ...it means i'll probably be losing the great high end audio store i have near me to a compusa low-end consumer oriented store ... grrr. (10/9/04)

Jenn...And the answer always comes back a rousing "uhnhnuh" (the kind of mumbled I don't know so common in other people's younger siblings, that seems to mean the same thing, no matter what language someone actually speaks. (I find this> fascinating, in passing, that even in something like, say Korean, uhnhnuh will still mean "i don't know".) (10/8/2003)

Jim......No, I was not in tails, a suit, or in full highland evening dress (more's the pity), but the usual eastie, prep, academic look that says "why yes these fashions are over a decade old: your point?!"

Jenn... And where are the job postings for people who sit at home and read tolkien and write emails while eating chocolate? Where are those jobs posted? (10/7/03)

Jim......Thomas Jefferson, you know, the famous one, wrote an essay about the importance of school boys (they were boys then, not my fault) Anglo-Saxon (i.e. Old English), but what astonishes me is that he was ready to just chuck orthography out the window and go with type versions. I mean really, what about the "futhork" and morphemes such as "thorn" and "wynn"?????!!!!! Hello!!!! I've seen it a thousand times and it never ends well Jenn, really--these founding dads should have taken fewer short cuts. (10/3/03)

Jenn...I'm happy to have a Jim perspective on cities East and West (funny how I mean that differently than someone in say, Delhi, would mean it.) (10/3/03)

Jenn...The evening in Bo Creek was quite merry. Jean and Mike arrived, after going to Oakland to watch the Boston Red Sox play the Oakland A's (this would be baseball, you know, the long stick and the ball about the size of a large orange or a small grapefruit? the sport that brought us the baseball hat or cap?) (10/3/03)

Jenn...You, of course, taking advantage of the turning of the earth, are further along in your path to the weekend. (10/3/03)

Jim......Okay, that was feeble, but what can I say, it is Frig's day (10/3/03)

Jim......Destiny, being an old hand at all this, well, destinizing (if I may), might be more staid than the garlicbutter dipped lobster craw type and oh yes I'll have another Mohito no make that a double my broker should be calling soon sort of being. Of course, I was wrong about Inconsequence too--he really does like Mayo. (10/2/03)

Jenn...I love this time of year. It's what I call "Westphalia Season." No, no, not YOUR Westphalians, not the ancestors. (10/2/03)

Jenn...Much like transitions in the Senate, the weird in-between times in journals holds up all sorts of progress. (10/2/03)

Jim......The streets of Baltimore are one part medieval city layout, two parts the product of a peripetic lunatic mind, and 1/8 part construction most of which is hidden by the hell-steam coming up from the grates and the weaving cars whose drivers are not only bent on suicide, but murder. (9/26/03)

Nil ... now i'm going to run my car through the rain generation device (9/2/04)

Jenn ... so i have a good idea of just how much energy i should be spending, worrying about the what happens if the center of the earth ceases to spin. San Francisco will be one of the first places hit with those crazy storms. I think that's what will get us, not the asteroid. 'Course, if Sauron gets the ring, we're all toast anyway (9/2/04)

Jenn......Calculating when she will be 1 billion seconds old. Sometime in the 33rd year.