2011.05.03 13:00 - The Automatic Praying Rosary and Electronic Monk

The Guardian for this meeting was Bruce Mowbray. The comments and photos are by Bruce Mowbray.

Bruce Mowbray: Hi, Ara!
arabella Ella: Hiya Bruce!
arabella Ella: How are you?
Bruce Mowbray: How am I. . . . (?)
arabella Ella: Blubbie is here too!
Bruce Mowbray: Well, I am getting very tired of all this rain --
arabella Ella: rain?
arabella Ella: ouch
Bruce Mowbray: yes, we've had a record amount of rain in Ohio (USA) - - -
Bruce Mowbray: and not a single seed of corn has been planted yet.
arabella Ella: oh nooo must be terrible!
Bruce Mowbray: Most unusual.
arabella Ella: yes
arabella Ella: here we had a terrible electrical storm yesterday evening and it rained sand
Bruce Mowbray: My dog is depressed!
arabella Ella: owwwwwww
Bruce Mowbray: Oh my!
arabella Ella: sounds terrible
Bruce Mowbray: It rained SAND???
arabella Ella: well the rain was full of sand from the Sahara Desert. t it happens but rarely
Bruce Mowbray: Oh my.
arabella Ella: so today everything is reddish dirty with sand
Bruce Mowbray:  Ouch!  I've heard of raining frogs, but never sand.
arabella Ella: and yesterday eve at one time the whole environment looked weird and reddish with low lying clouds
Bruce Mowbray: That means a lot of cleaning up to do.
arabella Ella: yes but no time!
Bruce Mowbray: ;-)
Bruce Mowbray is pondering the purchase of automatically self-cleaning devices.
Bruce Mowbray: Automatic self-cleaning windows, floors, house, etc.
arabella Ella: i would love to have robots with sensors to do those chores
Bruce Mowbray: one day, perhaps.
arabella Ella: yes hopefully
Bruce Mowbray: Actually, I don't mind housecleaning. . .
arabella Ella: we can only hope
Bruce Mowbray: I put on my iPod podcasts and listen while I'm doing it.,
arabella Ella: i hate cleaning the house!
arabella Ella: cool
Bruce Mowbray: The "modern" equivalent of "whistle while you work" perhaps.
arabella Ella smiles ... yes exactly!
arabella Ella: are you guardian today?
arabella Ella: Hiya Riddle!
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, I am.  I've claimed this session already.
arabella Ella: ok
Riddle Sideways: Hi Ara, bruce
Bruce Mowbray: Hey, Riddle!
Bruce Mowbray: How about a bit of grass.....
Riddle Sideways: I just had to come show somebody what I just saw
arabella Ella: how is Blubbie?
Riddle Sideways: http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Projects/ArduinoUsers#AutoRosary
Bruce Mowbray: Blubie is good --seems  not at all affected by all of our rain.
Riddle Sideways: an AutoRosary
Bruce Mowbray is checking out the "auto-rosary."
arabella Ella: am opening the link
Bruce Mowbray: omg.
Riddle Sideways: in "Dirk Gentlies Holistic Detective agency" there is a character? the electronic Monk
Riddle Sideways: People have become too busy to pray
Riddle Sideways: so the electronic monk does it for them
Bruce Mowbray: Hey, Ara! We were just talking about this stuff!
arabella Ella: yes!
arabella Ella: amazing!
Bruce Mowbray: automatically self-cleaning houses, etc.
Riddle Sideways: the rombus (sp?)

Riddle is referring to the Roomba - a robotic vacuum cleaner.

http://store.irobot.com/family/index.jsp;jsessionid=KXtLNQQQDMpfFvmszsYFfQT65DsHnvnqcCxMnzyfTMjhmBjRcnwh!1516748433?categoryId=2501652&s=D-StorePrice-IRBT

Riddle Sideways: vacuum cleaner, and now has a mop attachment
arabella Ella: sensor controlled robots that you could switch on before leaving home and find your home clean on returning home
--BELL--
Bruce Mowbray: Some of that stuff is amazing -- a new art form?
arabella Ella: it seems so
Bruce Mowbray has bookmarked it for reading later.
Riddle Sideways: new art does not always make it good art
Bruce Mowbray: ;-)
Riddle Sideways: oh, no need to read that whole page
arabella Ella: well i find the best art involves emotion and surprise
Riddle Sideways: just the autoRosary part
Bruce Mowbray: yes, I shall read it all later.
Bruce Mowbray: I enjoyed the rosary . . .
Riddle Sideways: press it 20 times before leaving for work
Bruce Mowbray: ha ha!
Bruce Mowbray: There's GOT to be a bit of tongue-in-cheek on that one.
arabella Ella: i find it is a gimmick really
arabella Ella: like a game
Bruce Mowbray: yes, me too -- although it might get folks to thinking a bit.
arabella Ella: prayer itself can be very therapeutic
arabella Ella: even the repetitive parts
Bruce Mowbray: but do machines need prayer-therapy?
Riddle Sideways: is it therapeutic for somebody else to do the prayer time for you?
arabella Ella: only intelligent machines
arabella Ella: no Riddle i don't think so
Riddle Sideways: if the machine has a chip
Bruce Mowbray: I agree with you about prayer being therapeutic, btw.
Bruce Mowbray: I used to wonder why Buddhists had so many prayers. . .
Bruce Mowbray: and no god to pray to.
arabella Ella: and do you have an answer to that Bruce?
Bruce Mowbray: but now I feel (experientially) that I understand.
Bruce Mowbray: prayer is good for you - - whether you have a soul or not.
arabella Ella: i agree with that bruce
Bruce Mowbray: sorry, I should have said -- Prayer is good for ME whether I have a soul or not.
Riddle Sideways: first the native Americans had to be told they had a soul
Bruce Mowbray does not wish to speak for others . . . especially about their souls.
Riddle Sideways: then it had to be saved
Bruce Mowbray: yeah, a bum deal, huh?
arabella Ella: two aspects there though bruce ...
Bruce Mowbray: Hey, Xir!
arabella Ella: one is inculcating morality and ethics
arabella Ella: two is mind control
Riddle Sideways: hi (again) Xir anna
Xirana Oximoxi: hi all:)
arabella Ella: Hiya Sirana!
arabella Ella: *Xiran
Xirana Oximoxi: :)
arabella Ella: owww Sony now say EverQuest also had hackers stealing data from 25m ppl
Riddle Sideways: did the world crash for you this morning?
Xirana Oximoxi: for me, yes Rid:)
Bruce Mowbray: Did not crash for moi, Riddle.
arabella Ella: not for me ... why do you ask?
Riddle Sideways: :)
Bruce Mowbray: perhaps I was unaware of the crash.
Riddle Sideways: SL world
Xirana Oximoxi: puff and back to rl
Riddle Sideways: got out at 15 sec
Xirana Oximoxi: :)
arabella Ella: oh
Xirana Oximoxi: Riddle's sessions on Tuesday always end with sl closing the land
Bruce Mowbray: wow.
arabella Ella: LOL
Riddle Sideways: need to go back and recheck, but think it is 5 times in a row
Bruce Mowbray: omg.
arabella Ella: quite a record then i am impressed :)
Riddle Sideways: Xir came in SL just to see it
Xirana Oximoxi: yes! it makes quite a impression... suddenly all this magic world disappears:)
Bruce Mowbray: Mmmmm.
Riddle Sideways: anyway, one of the topics was prayer being therapeutic
Xirana Oximoxi: welll... disappears in a visual sense..the feelings and thoughts you get here don't disappear:)
--BELL--
arabella Ella: so Riddle how do you make SL crash?
arabella Ella: and can you do it right now?
Riddle Sideways: for the one doing the praying that might be true, but what about the one prayed for
Riddle Sideways: ha, no
Alfred Kelberry: wuff!
Alfred Kelberry: hi :)
Riddle Sideways: or at least not how is known
Xirana Oximoxi: (no, it's LInden lab that does it)
arabella Ella: Alfie!!!!!
Alfred Kelberry: ara :)
Xirana Oximoxi: hi Boxy
Riddle Sideways: Hi Boxy little Alf
arabella Ella: how are you?
Alfred Kelberry: long time no see
arabella Ella: yes
Bruce Mowbray: Hey, Boxy!
Alfred Kelberry: i'm good, thanks :)
arabella Ella: i was travelling
Alfred Kelberry: ah, far distant lands?
arabella Ella: visited Armenia
Alfred Kelberry: wow
Bruce Mowbray: Hey, druth.
Riddle Sideways: perhaps if Xir, Alf and Rid are in the same sim
Bruce Mowbray: wow! Armenia!?
Xirana Oximoxi: :))
Alfred Kelberry: that's a long way to go
arabella Ella: yes it was an amazing experience!
arabella Ella: the people were lovely
Alfred Kelberry: why armenia?
druth Vlodovic: hi
Riddle Sideways: Hi dRuth
arabella Ella: i had the opportunity to visit on an archaeological study tour
arabella Ella: and i took the opportunity
Alfred Kelberry: ah... neat
Bruce Mowbray: cool.
Xirana Oximoxi: I don't pray...if this was the topic, but I understand that for some people that can be therapeutic
Alfred Kelberry: dug up something good?
arabella Ella: Hiya Druth!
arabella Ella: we did not do any diggiging
Bruce Mowbray: Riddle was telling us about an automatic praying machine -- you set it before going to work and it prays all day for you. . .
arabella Ella: but one great experience was watching Spartacus the ballet in Yerevan ... amazing!
Alfred Kelberry: :)
Alfred Kelberry: just sight-seeing then?
Bruce Mowbray: Spartacus the BALLET?!!!???
Xirana Oximoxi: lol Bruce...I can't believe it!!!!
Bruce Mowbray: arabella Ella: yes
Bruce Mowbray: omg.
Alfred Kelberry: it's quite famous, bruce
Bruce Mowbray: really?
arabella Ella: and another great experience was visiting a caravanserai on the old silk road high in the snowy mountains
Bruce Mowbray: I've got to check that out.
arabella Ella: Spartacus the ballet has music by a famous Armenian composer Kachaturian which was used for the movie Mayerling too ... lots of snippets of the ballet on youtube
Xirana Oximoxi: I will see it ...sounds very nice
arabella Ella: yes i recommend it
Alfred Kelberry: ara, sounds lovely
Bruce Mowbray: Hey, Sedona!
arabella Ella: it involves roman generals who somehow don't look stupid doing ballet they actually make it look very natural somehow
arabella Ella: Hiya Sedona
Bruce Mowbray: Mmmm. . .
arabella Ella: honestly!
Bruce Mowbray ponders Roman generals doing ballet. . .
arabella Ella: Bruce you know Ara is honest ... most times!
Bruce Mowbray: ;-)
Bruce Mowbray: bye, Sedona.
Riddle Sideways: thinks Ara is very close to a line
arabella Ella giggles
Bruce Mowbray: oh dear. . .
arabella Ella: i tried too alfie but no success!
Xirana Oximoxi: I like when it changes the adjectives:)
Bruce Mowbray: and the adverbs, too!
Xirana Oximoxi: adverbs
Alfred Kelberry: :)
arabella Ella: how can i do that too?
Xirana Oximoxi: :))
druth Vlodovic: excuse me
Riddle Sideways: bey bye
Alfred Kelberry: :)
Xirana Oximoxi: bye druth
Bruce Mowbray: bye, druth!
Alfred Kelberry: *waits for a click from ara*
arabella Ella: am clicking but nothing happens!
Xirana Oximoxi: touch his nose:)
arabella Ella: :(
Alfred Kelberry: :(
Alfred Kelberry: :)
arabella Ella: actually i thought it was my new perfume which got you so close!
Alfred Kelberry: ara :)
Xirana Oximoxi: hehe
Alfred Kelberry: what parfume is that?
arabella Ella: armani
Alfred Kelberry: ah
Alfred Kelberry: almost like armenia :)
arabella Ella: yes what a coincidence!
Bruce Mowbray: So -- about this prayer thingie -- Is it the "purpose" of prayers to be self-therapeutic, or is there something else?
Riddle Sideways: btw - Trader Joe's Wasabi Mayo is the best thing on Artichokes
Bruce Mowbray ponders Trader Joe....
arabella Ella: oh there is another purpose to prayer methinks, Bruce, besides its being therapeutic
Alfred Kelberry: bruce, i think it's a tradition
Bruce Mowbray listens for more about prayer.
arabella Ella: i think it may have an effect like a quantum thing when many people pray together there is some sort of communion of minds or thought
arabella Ella: which may have some effect ... not yet empirically proven
Alfred Kelberry: ara, nice thought :)
Bruce Mowbray: Actually, I think I recall that some scientists have proven that thought can change things . . . at Stanford University.
Riddle Sideways: the effect you can see is not the real effect
Bruce Mowbray: arabella Ella: cool
Bruce Mowbray: the random number generator -- can be changed by thoughts.
Bruce Mowbray: so that numbers are not always random.
--BELL--
Riddle Sideways: know lots of people that have random thoughts.
Bruce Mowbray: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parapsychology
Bruce Mowbray: That article talks about Stanford's experiments with it.
Bruce Mowbray: (from wikipedia) - " In the most common experiment of this type, a true random number generator (RNG), based on electronic or radioactive noise, produces a data stream that is recorded and analyzed by computer software. A subject attempts to mentally alter the distribution of the random numbers, usually in an experimental design that is functionally equivalent to getting more "heads" than "tails" while flipping a coin. In the RNG experiment, design flexibility can be combined with rigorous controls, while collecting a large amount of data in very short period of time."

Bruce Mowbray: The thing is, though, if one believes in prayer to change things, one really ought not to need scientists' proof of it. . .
Bruce Mowbray: or am I wrong there?
Riddle Sideways: no, but you may be being too logical !
Bruce Mowbray: yeah, too logical -- I'm sure.
Bruce Mowbray: ha ha!
Bruce Mowbray thinks that's the first time anyone said he was logical!
Riddle Sideways: Wikipedia also tells about the electronic monk
Riddle Sideways: An Electric Monk from a planet very far from the Earth. "Electric monks are coincidentally humanoid robots designed to practice religion in their owners' stead. This particular monk had accidentally been connected to a video recorder and, in attempting to believe everything on the TV, had malfunctioned and begun to believe "all kinds of things, more or less at random", including things like tables being hermaphrodites and God wanting a lot of money sent to a certain address. Since it was cheaper to replace the Monk than to repair it, the Monk was cast out in the wilderness to believe whatever it liked. The Monk also owns a somewhat cynical horse, which he was allowed to keep because 'horses were so cheap to make'.
Bruce Mowbray: oh, really?
Bruce Mowbray: cool.
Riddle Sideways: from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirk_Gently%27s_Holistic_Detective_Agency#Characters_in_Dirk_Gently.27s_Holistic_Detective_Agency
Riddle Sideways: soon the chat log wiki will contains links to all of wikipedia
Bruce Mowbray: Among my Quaker friends, it is common to "hold someone in the Light" - - - wondering if that's something an electronic monk could do.
arabella Ella: how do you do that, then, Bruce?
Bruce Mowbray: I do it every time I sit with the Quakers.
Bruce Mowbray: I simply "see" that individual residing within Basic Goodness.
Bruce Mowbray: and I realize that this is highly "mythic" (non-literal)  language.
arabella Ella: nice!
Bruce Mowbray: I do the same for plants and animals. . .
Xirana Oximoxi: I go now..good night /afternoon to all:) sweet dreams:)
Alfred Kelberry: xiry :)
Riddle Sideways: by by X
Bruce Mowbray: Bye, Xir! Enjoy your day.
Xirana Oximoxi: bye
Bruce Mowbray: speaking of animals, it's time for me to go for a walk with my dog --
Bruce Mowbray: now that it's stopped raining.
Alfred Kelberry: bruce, can you say more on "holding someone in the Light". not sure i understand.
Riddle Sideways: I go too, bye and thanks
Bruce Mowbray: Bye, Riddle!
arabella Ella: oh that is good news then, Bruce!
Alfred Kelberry: riddly riddle
arabella Ella: bye riddle
Bruce Mowbray: Thanks for all of the Wikipedia links!
arabella Ella: Bruce, may i ask u a question before u leave pls?
Bruce Mowbray: absolutely you can.
arabella Ella: it is about US current events
Bruce Mowbray: sure.
arabella Ella: why would the powers that be say they gave Osama a respectful Muslim funeral if he was US enemy no 1?
arabella Ella: or perceived as such
Bruce Mowbray: Probably because they are kissing up to Muslims.
--BELL--
arabella Ella: it sounds so out of character somehow for the US to do so
Bruce Mowbray: Well, it might be out of respect for Muslim tradition --
Bruce Mowbray: that the body be buried within one day.
Alfred Kelberry: sorry, a quick question. do you see my shape ok?
arabella Ella: Gaddafi's son was buried today after 3 days
Alfred Kelberry: *looks for woly*
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, I see your shape, Boxy...

Bruce Mowbray: but I do not see Woly.
arabella Ella: yes Alfie i see your shape ok
Alfred Kelberry: are you both using v2?
arabella Ella: i am on phoenix
Alfred Kelberry: hmm
Bruce Mowbray: Hmmm. . . I am probably confusing Muslim tradition with Jewish tradition, then.
Bruce Mowbray: I'm on V2.
Alfred Kelberry: ara, what version?
arabella Ella: no you aren't, bruce. that was the official answer
arabella Ella: my phoenix is 1.5.2.818
Alfred Kelberry: sec...
Alfred Kelberry: hmm
Alfred Kelberry: you should see my head floating, ara
arabella Ella: Alfie maybe i need to be your friend first to touch you ... sounds funny and will sound funny in chat
arabella Ella: no i don't see your head floating
Alfred Kelberry: no tits too?
Bruce Mowbray: I see Boxy in the pool.
arabella Ella: r u serious?
Alfred Kelberry: i'll gladly have you as a friend, ara :)
arabella Ella: me toooo!
Alfred Kelberry: yes, woly sees tits
Bruce Mowbray: yikes!
Alfred Kelberry: wait, i have a screenshot...

arabella Ella: how did wol touch you if she is not here?
Bruce Mowbray: yeah, I was wondering that too, ara.
Alfred Kelberry: she's zooming around :)
Bruce Mowbray: she's not on my radar, though.
arabella Ella: ah hovering then
Alfred Kelberry: this is how woly sees me

Alfred Kelberry: weird
arabella Ella: wow that is so cool and so different from how i can see u ... LOL
Alfred Kelberry: yes, sl look can be deceiving :)
arabella Ella: oh yes
Bruce Mowbray: oh my.
arabella Ella: like when we are clouds for some but not for others
Bruce Mowbray needs to go if he's going to get a walk in today.
Bruce Mowbray: May you both enjoy your day!
arabella Ella: i need to get some sleep now
Alfred Kelberry: better be a cloud than this :)
Alfred Kelberry: bye, bruce
arabella Ella: good night Bruce, Alfie and lovely to see you both!
Bruce Mowbray: Bye for now, ara and Alfred.
arabella Ella: thanks for interesting chat!
arabella Ella: bye Alfie!
Alfred Kelberry: :)