2010.08.27 01:00 - Code Orange in the night

Wol Euler was guardian and commenter for this session.

 

 

Wol Euler: ah, I see Mick forgot his fish.

Wol Euler: hello Listener, it's so nice to be back here with you again.

Wol Euler: I've missed SL so much in the last weeks.

Wol Euler: And my gods, but it's already almost September. How did that happen?

Wol Euler: hello dash

Wol Euler: you've been here before, I think?

Dash Earthboy: hi wol, are you the guardian?

Wol Euler: yep

Dash Earthboy: good to see you

Wol Euler: thanks! it's great to be here

Dash Earthboy: yes i have been here before

Wol Euler: I've been internetless for a while and still am :( Sitting in Starbucks this morning, using their bandwidth

Wol Euler: ok, ty, we have to ask because of the recording

Dash Earthboy: dang...well good for you

Dash Earthboy: yes it's all on the record

Wol Euler smiles.

Dash Earthboy: i'm used to it

Wol Euler: all just part of hte intimacy of SL :)

Wol Euler: this strange mix of public and private

Dash Earthboy: ya

Wol Euler: I have to admit, it took a lot of courage to sit here in Starbucks and go to SL

Wol Euler: I was afraid people would be looking over my shoulder

Dash Earthboy: i'm usually not awake at this time but a storm rolled through and knocked out power and then i couldn't get back to sleep

Wol Euler: nice :)

Wol Euler: I like storms at night, when I'm safe indoors

Dash Earthboy: which Starbucks are you in?

Wol Euler: midtown Stuttgart, Germany

Wol Euler: in the Kronprinzenstrasse :)

Wol Euler: (google will love that!)

Dash Earthboy: oh that's right...you're in Germany

Wol Euler nods.

Dash Earthboy: ya LOL

Wol Euler: mid-morning here

Dash Earthboy: 4 AM here

Wol Euler: so east coast USA?

Dash Earthboy: near Atlanta

Wol Euler: probably still steamy hot this time of year?

Dash Earthboy: yes the humidity has been way up this year

Dash Earthboy: along with ridiculous heat

Dash Earthboy: lots of "Code Orange" air quality alerts

Wol Euler: o.O

Wol Euler: what dos that mean, actually?

Dash Earthboy: right now it's about as peaceful outside as it is here in SL

Wol Euler smiles.

Dash Earthboy: oh, the air quality in Code Orange means that older folks and young children should stay inside if possible

Wol Euler: wow

Dash Earthboy: also people with real sensitivity or allergies

Wol Euler: and ... do people get enraged about pollution and global warming, and change their lifestyles and demand that their politicians change the way industry and transport work?

--BELL--

Dash Earthboy: most of the "enraged" here about global warming are either the worst offenders putting on a show

Dash Earthboy: or complaining about how it keeps them from having fun

Wol Euler snorts

Dash Earthboy: the farmers aren't complaining this year

Wol Euler: that's sadly pretty much what I expected you to say

Dash Earthboy: lots of rain and sun and warm soil, even through the night...so lots of growth

Wol Euler: I wonder what it would take for us to really make a change in our lifestyle

Wol Euler: one that might just save us from ecological disaster

Dash Earthboy: i've been pretty "green" for a long time

Wol Euler: Probably not even God himself speaking to every single one of us in the night would do it.

Dash Earthboy: my all electric house has a fireplace where I burn deadfall in cold weather to reduce energy usage

Wol Euler: that's a good idea

Dash Earthboy: my two acres is mostly wooded with trees toward the end of their lives

Dash Earthboy: and the drought for several years hurt even the younger trees

Wol Euler nods.

Wol Euler: It's really disturbing how willfully blind people can be

Wol Euler: There are reports in the local papers that the great avenues of chestnut trees in the parks are dying

Dash Earthboy: i have neighbors who cleared a quarter acre to run their noisy off-road vehicles around in for fun

Wol Euler: the city is looking for replacement species which can survive in shorter winters, hotter summers and much less rain

Dash Earthboy: and they like to complain about the cost of gas

Wol Euler: and nobody thinks anyhting of it.

Dash Earthboy: they (the neighbors) kinda like how it bothers me

Wol Euler: yeah, I hear you.

Wol Euler: but "fun = gasoline" is an equation that will HAVE to change, and soon.

Dash Earthboy: yes I keep hoping

Dash Earthboy: but my whole time here I've been faced with people who denigrate me for wanting to walk to work

Dash Earthboy: or work from home

Wol Euler: huh

Wol Euler: why is that, do you think?

Dash Earthboy: and not drive all over for fast food and other commerce "to support the local economy "

Wol Euler nods.

Wol Euler: perhaps they are all believers in the Rapture? :)

Wol Euler: "the sooner it comes, the better!

Dash Earthboy: oh lots of people claiming to be "good people" and "Christians" and the other hype

Dash Earthboy: for instance

Wol Euler: :)

Dash Earthboy: the county clerk refused to do her job under State law and handle processing of beer & wine licenses

Wol Euler: o.O

Dash Earthboy: so she just "told" (not delegated) the planning department to hand it

Dash Earthboy: they break state and federal laws here like crazy and just cover it up

Wol Euler: and they fired her for insubordination and malingering?

Wol Euler: no, never mind :)

Dash Earthboy: i went to the governor's office years ago with good evidence and he refused to convene the Ethics Committee hearing he was required to by state law

Dash Earthboy: no the story about "I Was on a Georgia Chaingang" didn't really show how badly power is abused here

Wol Euler shakes her head. Hard to believe.

Dash Earthboy: nor how bad the bigotry and racism really is

Wol Euler: as in: I'd rather not believe, but sadly I do

Dash Earthboy: i live where they filmed the TV series "In the Heat of the Night"

--BELL--

Dash Earthboy: and that show didn't capture how bad it is here

Wol Euler: and yet each of them would probably say they were good, ethical, god-fearing christians.

Dash Earthboy: for money & connections, our county allowed our only county library building to have "Sparta City Hall" chiseled into the door mantel

Dash Earthboy: the show was supposed to be about Sparta, MS

Wol Euler: huh

Dash Earthboy: yes, a public building was desecrated like that

Dash Earthboy: for the show

Wol Euler: mmhmm

Wol Euler: but *somebody* somewhere made a profit, so that's all just fine.

Dash Earthboy: for over 6 years

Wol Euler: ah, so they took it off?

Dash Earthboy: not really

Dash Earthboy: it was like that, until some other unethical planning director overspent public money for a library he designed away from the center of town

Wol Euler facepalms.

Dash Earthboy: and they sold that old library building to a medical equip leasing company

Dash Earthboy: so that company changed the mantel

Dash Earthboy: so we still only have one library in the county

Wol Euler: hello bolo, nice to see you again

Bolonath Crystal: namaste :)

Dash Earthboy: hi bolonath

Wol Euler: for how many people, Dash?

Dash Earthboy: it's somewhere over 50000

Dash Earthboy: could be 80000 by now

Wol Euler: oh, so it's pretty rural?

Wol Euler: still, not much of an infrastructure.

Dash Earthboy: they try to maintain the image of "rural"

Wol Euler nods

Wol Euler: including isolation and ignorance?

Dash Earthboy: like in the TV show

Wol Euler: no, scrub that, I didn't say that.

Dash Earthboy: we have industry in here from Korea and Japan

Wol Euler: ((Bolo, we're talking about abuse of power and local govt where Dash lives))

Bolonath Crystal: thx :)

Dash Earthboy: yet my own divorce attorney told me I didn't need to be working for the NIPS when he ordered me to jeopardize my job there

Bolonath Crystal: where do you live, dash?

Wol Euler: O.O

Dash Earthboy: near Atlanta

Bolonath Crystal: ah, ok

Dash Earthboy: some friends from Nashville came here a couple days ago to see a Blondie & B52s concert

Wol Euler: ooooh, talk about a blast from the past.

Dash Earthboy: quite a trip but they are big fans

Dash Earthboy: yes

Dash Earthboy: so first night in Atlanta someone breaks into the car and steals things including credit cards

Dash Earthboy: and uses one to purchase a big flat screen tv at a Walmart

Wol Euler: :(

Dash Earthboy: the Walmart clerk didn't ask for any ID for that big purchase

Dash Earthboy: i'm hoping to leave this area, even tho my home hasn't sold, and find a new community where I can work, live & worship hopefully all within walking distance

Wol Euler: well, to be honest, I'm not sure a German clerk would either, unless htey had reason to be suspicious

 

I crashed out of SL at this point when my connection in Starbucks got capped. It took me a few minutes to get back online.

 

Dash Earthboy: i bought this place when working at the county road dept so I could walk to work

Dash Earthboy: and then they transferred me uptown

--BELL--

Dash Earthboy: where are you at, Bolo?

Bolonath Crystal: a little village in germany, dash. about 2500 inhabitants

Dash Earthboy: Bolo do you see 3 fish swimming in a circle beside me?

Bolonath Crystal: quite rural *g*

Bolonath Crystal: yes, they are swimming there since a while

Dash Earthboy: oh that sounds wonderful place to be, Bolo!

Bolonath Crystal: yes, i love it

Bolonath Crystal: ok, there are disadvatages

Dash Earthboy: yes

Dash Earthboy: but I prefer rural to urban and urban to suburban

Bolonath Crystal: but i'd always prefer little villages to big cities

Bolonath Crystal: lol :) same thought

Dash Earthboy: to me suburban is the worst of both worlds

Dash Earthboy: and my county really isn't that rural for this state

Bolonath Crystal: a combination of the disadvantages of both :(

Dash Earthboy: yes

Dash Earthboy: i didn't catch Wol saying she was leaving

Bolonath Crystal: i don't think she left deliberately

Dash Earthboy: right

Dash Earthboy: she was not at home

Bolonath Crystal: we have heavy storms in germany right now. maybe she lost electricity

Dash Earthboy: are you a guardian too?

Bolonath Crystal: yep

Bolonath Crystal: on wednesdays

Dash Earthboy: oh i see, I'm up because a bad storm blew through

Dash Earthboy: I told Wol, it knocked out power here and then I couldn't get back to sleep

Dash Earthboy: normally I'd be sleeping

Bolonath Crystal: hehe, do you need power to sleep? ;))

Dash Earthboy: oh, the power came back on, but all the noise & electricity in the air I think just woke me pretty soundly

Bolonath Crystal: last april i spent on a little island completely without electricity

Bolonath Crystal: except 2 hours in the evening, when someone starts a generator

Dash Earthboy: I'm normally up an hour from now anyhow so I'm probably up for the day

Bolonath Crystal: this was an extremely peaceful experience

Dash Earthboy: I think I'd like to be on an island like that

Bolonath Crystal: oh, you use to get up very early

Dash Earthboy: welcome back Wol

Bolonath Crystal: wb wol :)

Wol Euler: ty

Bolonath Crystal: successfully reincarnated *g*

Wol Euler: indeed

Dash Earthboy: i think you've got it about me Bolo

Wol Euler: minor total-failure-of-connection experience

Dash Earthboy: i'm really a night owl

Dash Earthboy: that has served me well in music and technology in the past

Dash Earthboy: but there is not that kind of work around here

Bolonath Crystal: ah yes, night is the perfect time for those who listen

Wol Euler smiles.

Dash Earthboy: so I've tried to change my biorythms to accomodate the work that was available

Dash Earthboy: it's either that or I have a liver problem?

Wol Euler: eh?

Dash Earthboy: i heard on an episode of "House" that mixing up day-night activity is a symptom of liver problems

Wol Euler: huh

Bolonath Crystal: a liver problem lets you wake up between 1 and 3am. often the sleep is disturbed by heavy dreams

Bolonath Crystal: says chinese medicine

Dash Earthboy: sounds like my deal

Wol Euler: worth checking out, then.

Dash Earthboy: yep

Dash Earthboy: i'll get into WebMD in a few

Wol Euler: :)

Wol Euler: I'm old and old-fashioned enough that I actually meant "going to meet a flesh-and-blood doctor"

Dash Earthboy: ummm

Bolonath Crystal: oh, there still are some? ;)

Wol Euler: :))

Wol Euler: man, I had no idea how lucky I am to live in Germany.

Dash Earthboy: i haven't been able to afford a dentist for 3 years

Wol Euler: multiple libraries and *many* live doctors, all of whom are eager to see patients.

--BELL--

Dash Earthboy: so in 2009 I got some required work done by "Heavenly Dental" here and they did fraudulent billing on top of their malpractice

Wol Euler: O.O

Bolonath Crystal: gtg back to work

Bolonath Crystal: have a nice day, om shanti :)

Wol Euler: bye bolo, enjoy the day.

Dash Earthboy: yes they practically killed a root with an unnecessary filling

Dash Earthboy: bye Bolo

Wol Euler sighs. That really sucks on many levels, Dash. I'm sorry to hear it.

Dash Earthboy: so it took me over a month of pain and humiliation before my insurance agent found a dentist to fix me pro bono

Wol Euler: :((((

Dash Earthboy: i feel very blessed to have an insurance agent help me that way

Wol Euler: indeed

Dash Earthboy: my home and car are all he covers

Wol Euler: one wiht unusual compassion, or foresight

Dash Earthboy: a little of both I think

Wol Euler: being a good person is good business, but few people realize it

Dash Earthboy: yes! especially around here...well, they're "selectively" good

Wol Euler: heh

Dash Earthboy: they didn't like my lifelong approach of fair and equal treatment for all

Wol Euler: mmhmm

Wol Euler: not christian :)

Wol Euler: sorry to be so cynical today.

Dash Earthboy: the nearest Quaker mtg is very far from me

Dash Earthboy: so I joined SL just to attend the one they have here

Dash Earthboy: i think it wise to be cynical these days

Wol Euler smiles. Nice.

Dash Earthboy: but that hasn't stopped me from taking in homeless/abused people and trying to help

Wol Euler: I know many people who attend religious groups in SL, it seems very common

Wol Euler: especially in circumstances like yours, where the RL choice is limited or distances too great

Dash Earthboy: yes

Dash Earthboy: SL has many benefits

Wol Euler: definitely.

Wol Euler: which is why I am so annoyed to read reports that present it as a game -- still

Dash Earthboy: i've only been an internet fan since 1995

Dash Earthboy: yes, well some in SL do continue the game approach to their activities inworld

Wol Euler nods.

Dash Earthboy: the viewers are not conducive to my choice of hardware for computer work

Wol Euler: really?

Dash Earthboy: i've got Intel graphics on my laptop and desktop

Wol Euler: and ...?

Wol Euler: oh, I see. Graphics on the motherboard. Right, that is limiting

Dash Earthboy: I receive the notices that my equipment does not meet minimal standards of the Linden powers that be

Wol Euler nods.

Wol Euler: I had to buy a new PC for work at christmastime, so I made sure it had a quad processor and the biggest damned graphics card I could find :)

Wol Euler: the difference is amazing.

Dash Earthboy: the graphics boards indicated in System Requirements are more common for gaming

Dash Earthboy: yes

Wol Euler: sl is ***so*** beautiful on that system

Dash Earthboy: i mostly like database and web application programming for business activity

Dash Earthboy: so my system is good for that

Wol Euler nods.

Dash Earthboy: i work in Windows, Linux, and Solaris

Dash Earthboy: guess if I had a Mac it would solve the SL graphics problem for me :)

--BELL--

Wol Euler: no, on the contrary

Wol Euler: I'm mostly a Mac user, and have to admit that the PC graphics are far superior

Wol Euler: unless you buy the top-end desk-side system

Wol Euler: most Macs have on-motherboard graphics too, very limited

Dash Earthboy: ah, I see...so the Mac users in SL have been a tad biased?

Wol Euler: to see SL properly you need a separate and high-powered graphics card

Wol Euler: well, I didn't know until I saw the difference for myself.

Dash Earthboy: yes, like you said...those are basically gaming boards

Wol Euler: I thought this Mac laptop had good graphics, until I saw the PC

Wol Euler shrugs

Dash Earthboy: ya

Wol Euler: tools for the job, one might say.

Dash Earthboy: yes

Wol Euler: SL is a real resource hog, it stresses every aspect of the computer

Dash Earthboy: for sure

Wol Euler: the only time I hear the fans in my Macs running, is when I'm in SL

Dash Earthboy: and that 's true even of my 64-bit laptop

Wol Euler nods.

Dash Earthboy: it brings my 32-bit XP desktop to its knees

Wol Euler: yeah

Wol Euler: I went from less than 2fps on my first Mac Mini to typically 35-45 fps on the windows machine in the same locations

Dash Earthboy: wow

Wol Euler: and that with improved graphic quality too!

Wol Euler: turned on all the shaders and renderers that I'd previuosly had off, and still getting huge framerates

Dash Earthboy: that really enhances the experience for sure

Wol Euler: the difference that a dedicated card makes is quite amazing

Dash Earthboy: i had got gaming cards in the past for computers I built for my son

Wol Euler smiles.

Dash Earthboy: and usually had DVD and even TV running on them

Dash Earthboy: the difference is ... astounding?

Wol Euler: mmhmm :)

Wol Euler: and not even that expensive, really. The card I bought cost about US$300

Wol Euler: which is not much more than the monitor I use

Dash Earthboy: ah yes

Wol Euler: it's a very big upgrade for the price.

Wol Euler: improvement in quality per buck, I mean

Wol Euler notices the time and sighs. Work calls, Dash, I shall have to leave.

Wol Euler: Get some sleep :)

Dash Earthboy: bye Wol!