2012.09.15 01:00 - The "heroic" age of programming

Wol Euler was guardian for this session.

Agatha Macbeth: Be quiet you silly recorder, she isn't here yet!
Wol Euler: good morning
Agatha Macbeth: I *knew* you'd arrive the moment I went in the kitchen!
Agatha Macbeth: Alarm clock go off late? :p
Wol Euler: something like that
Agatha Macbeth gives you a big squeeze
Wol Euler blows bubbles
Agatha Macbeth: Miss raffia skirt
Wol Euler grins.
Agatha Macbeth: The recorder did something odd when I arrived
Wol Euler: do tell
Agatha Macbeth: it started then stopped then started again
Agatha Macbeth: dunno why
Wol Euler: hmmmmmmmm
Wol Euler: how did you arrive? walk in and immediately sit? did you lurk on the edge?
Agatha Macbeth: I stood waiting to rez same as always
Agatha Macbeth: by the TPer
Wol Euler: so outside of the stone flooring .....
Agatha Macbeth: Yep
Wol Euler: hmmmmm
Agatha Macbeth: Just me probably
Wol Euler: well no
Wol Euler: it's scripted, it will happen to everyone who does that same thing
Agatha Macbeth: Not on this occasion :p
Agatha Macbeth: Ah well, no worries
Wol Euler: I didn't land at the rezzer :)
Wol Euler: no, lots of worries
Wol Euler: it's my script, it has to work.
Agatha Macbeth: It *is* working
Agatha Macbeth: Just dunno why that happened
Wol Euler: that happened because there's an edge condition which isn't considered in the script
Agatha Macbeth: Ahh
Wol Euler: if this and that and the other all happen, then it goes wrong

--BELL--

Agatha Macbeth: Well it's fine now
Wol Euler: so, anyway :) happy saturday
Agatha Macbeth: You too :)
Agatha Macbeth: How's Stuttgart?
Wol Euler: herbstlich
Agatha Macbeth: Nicelich
Wol Euler: cool and sunny, trees beginning to turn, chestnuts lying around everywhere
Agatha Macbeth: Conkers
Wol Euler: them too
Agatha Macbeth: Who usually comes on saturday?
Wol Euler: these days, hardly anyone
Wol Euler: korel's insomnia seems to be on the wane, qt only comes sundays ...
Agatha Macbeth: So you're usually here alone?
Wol Euler: often, yes
Agatha Macbeth: Glad i could keep you company then
Wol Euler smiles warmly
Wol Euler: it's always appreciated
Agatha Macbeth: While you read your email :p
Agatha Macbeth: Hehe
Wol Euler: :-P
Agatha Macbeth: I'm sad your blogging seems to have dried up
Wol Euler: me too, actually
Agatha Macbeth: :(
Wol Euler: I miss the writing, and the community
Wol Euler: twitter and facebook and all that are seductive but of lesser value
Wol Euler: I miss long-form writing, thinking and editing
Wol Euler: some of those posts that I wrote, back in the day, to be honest I read them and quite admire them :)
Agatha Macbeth: Me too
Agatha Macbeth: You could have become another Prokofy [grin]
Wol Euler: O.O
Wol Euler: with added sanity
Agatha Macbeth: Absolutely
Wol Euler: so many things to do ...
Agatha Macbeth: One moment, something's bugging me
Agatha Macbeth: Seems to be a pain to get leg musculature right
Wol Euler nods.
Wol Euler: the knee placement is the problem, methings
Wol Euler: *thinks
Agatha Macbeth: Wonder if my legs are too long?
Wol Euler: there's an oddity in the mesh, that the knees aren't always middle of the legs
Agatha Macbeth: Erk
Wol Euler: as you make the legs longer, the knees start moving downwards :)
Wol Euler: relatively
Agatha Macbeth: Double erk
Agatha Macbeth: Let's check
Agatha Macbeth: Is 70 a fair length would you say?

--BELL--

Wol Euler: the general rule of proportion for females is that ground to crotch = crotch to top of head
Agatha Macbeth gets out her dividers
Wol Euler uses her fingers
Agatha Macbeth: Ooh naughty!
Agatha Macbeth: That looks a bit better
Wol Euler smiles.
Agatha Macbeth: You know i don't think I've changed my shape since about my first three weeks
Wol Euler nods.
Wol Euler: it took me longer than that, but basically I'd say the same
Agatha Macbeth: This is still my noob shape modified
Agatha Macbeth: Never used a 3rd party one
Wol Euler: I actually bought a shape at one point
Agatha Macbeth: Wow
Wol Euler: Audrey Hepburn :)
Agatha Macbeth: Aww
Agatha Macbeth: Yum
Wol Euler: tall and thin, small boobs (by SL norms)
Wol Euler: but gradually felt uncomfortable in that, so went back to my noob shape and started modifying based on what was good and bad about Audrey
Agatha Macbeth: So Audrey Junior then? :p
Wol Euler: mmhmm
Agatha Macbeth: hehe
Wol Euler: well audrey crossed with a woman I know in RL :)
Wol Euler: the shape is based on a woman who used to work in my favourite record store
Agatha Macbeth smiles
Agatha Macbeth ponders Audrey Euler
Wol Euler: in the general principles, not in detailed measurement, you understand
Agatha Macbeth: Well yeh
Agatha Macbeth: I could just see you holding up a tape measure to her
Wol Euler: long back, wide body frame shoulder-to-shoulder, big butt, small boobs
Wol Euler: "hold still, dear, won't take a second"
Agatha Macbeth: It will ride up with wear
Wol Euler chuckles.
Wol Euler: the face is my own invention
Agatha Macbeth: And very nice it is too
Wol Euler: and when I remade Woly in OpenSim for Adams' recent art history expedition, I had another long look at Wol
Wol Euler: for the first time in ages
Wol Euler: the secret of her great beauty is that she just misses being ugly.
Agatha Macbeth: Hmm
Agatha Macbeth: Interesting
Wol Euler: eyes too far apart, blobby nose, ears stick way out, assymetrically placed nose and mouth, mouth is far too big
Wol Euler: "real", in a word :)
Agatha Macbeth: But different is memorable I guess
Wol Euler: mmhmm
Agatha Macbeth: Like when Froggy turned up last night, I've only met her once but remembered her right away
Wol Euler nods.
Agatha Macbeth: Because she's rather unusual
Wol Euler: exactly
Wol Euler: did you read her profile?
Agatha Macbeth: I don't read profiles
Wol Euler: she boasts about keeping her noobish appearance because she has better things to do with her time :)
Agatha Macbeth: Ha
Agatha Macbeth: Nice
Wol Euler: eh, sure, whatever :)
Agatha Macbeth: The reason I don't look at profiles is cos I find it causes one to pre-judge people
Wol Euler: heheheh, that is so true
Wol Euler grins.
Agatha Macbeth: Better to get to know them yourself first
Wol Euler: practically speaking, I always do when I'm here, because I use the last page to record whether I've seen somebody at PaB before or not
Wol Euler: so I know whether to give them the intro
Agatha Macbeth: Ah
Agatha Macbeth: Strangely I usually remember most noobs who come here
Agatha Macbeth: here*
Wol Euler: you have a better memory than I, then
Agatha Macbeth: Well in SL
Agatha Macbeth: Not in RL oddly
Wol Euler: brb
Agatha Macbeth takes a loo break

--BELL--

Wol Euler whistles "girl from ipanema" while she waits
Agatha Macbeth: Back
Wol Euler: wb
Agatha Macbeth: This looks like a Bax parade
Wol Euler grins.
Wol Euler: I noticed
Wol Euler: best boots in SL
Agatha Macbeth: Not that that's any bad thing
Agatha Macbeth: Boxy would love it
Wol Euler nods.
Agatha Macbeth: The anniversary of my first PaB session isn't far off
Wol Euler: ah :)
Wol Euler: we must celebrate
Wol Euler: any old excuse
Agatha Macbeth: Again :p
Agatha Macbeth: That poor cake will be worn out
Wol Euler: yeah, well, I don't like the eating anim anyway.
Agatha Macbeth: It is a bit peculiar yes
Wol Euler: .
Agatha Macbeth: I mean who eats standing up?
Agatha Macbeth: Apart from horses
Wol Euler nods.
Wol Euler nods.
Agatha Macbeth nodsnods
Wol Euler: laggggggggg
Agatha Macbeth: Oh, not me
Wol Euler: nope
Agatha Macbeth: How odd
Wol Euler: I think I need a reboot
Agatha Macbeth: Hmm
Agatha Macbeth: Yes you are typing rather manically
Wol Euler: it won't stop :(
Agatha Macbeth: When I do that i usually crash not long after
Wol Euler nods.
Wol Euler: it is really quite variable though
Wol Euler: that worked fine, my words appeared right away and the typing anim stopped
Agatha Macbeth: Yeh, back to normal
Wol Euler: I wonder if my wifi is being tapped by somebody? I thought I secured it ....
Agatha Macbeth smiles
Agatha Macbeth: Stop thief
Wol Euler: well
Agatha Macbeth: Water
Wol Euler: strider
Agatha Macbeth: Penguin
Wol Euler: ice
Agatha Macbeth: Cat
Wol Euler: fur
Agatha Macbeth: Lightning conductor
Wol Euler: ben franklin
Agatha Macbeth: Antidisestablishmentarianism
Wol Euler laughs.
Agatha Macbeth pokes you
Wol Euler: sorry, broke the spell
Agatha Macbeth puts away her magic wand

--BELL--

Agatha Macbeth: The geeks shall inherit the earth
Wol Euler: only once every one else has finished scraping it raw and covering it in crap, though
Agatha Macbeth: Yah
Wol Euler: and then people will point at it and say "look how messy those geeks are"
Agatha Macbeth: Geeks bearing gifts
Agatha Macbeth: Ye gods, we're the only two people for miles
Agatha Macbeth: Nobody else on the radar
Wol Euler nods.
Wol Euler: saturday morning, all is quiet
Agatha Macbeth: Looks that way
Wol Euler: looks like my burst of lag is over too, oddly.
Wol Euler: I will reboot anyway though, just for luck
Agatha Macbeth: Connection maybe?
Wol Euler: perhpas
Wol Euler: it has been flaky lately, disconnecting sometimes
Agatha Macbeth: Ow
Wol Euler: .
Agatha Macbeth: Better now?
Agatha Macbeth: Odd, cos I'm fine
Wol Euler: hard to say
Wol Euler: that was ok, both speed and stopping-typing
Wol Euler: meh
Agatha Macbeth: Yep
Agatha Macbeth: Seems to come and go
Agatha Macbeth: Stormy said the sim seemed back to normal
Wol Euler: well, there are so many links in the chain between the sim and my computer
Agatha Macbeth: Ah yes

--BELL--

Wol Euler: well
Agatha Macbeth: Water
Wol Euler laughs.
Agatha Macbeth: :p
Agatha Macbeth: Not again!
Wol Euler: indeed
Agatha Macbeth: What iz you doing today then?
Wol Euler: hmmm, walking downtown, shopping (groceries and shoes), laundry, some basic cleaning, WoW and EVE, meeting in SL at 8am, Fracture at 11am
Wol Euler: the usual
Agatha Macbeth: EVE?
Wol Euler: EVE online, space warfare game
Agatha Macbeth: Oh
Agatha Macbeth: Never heard of it
Wol Euler: Fael played it, is where I heard of it first, but didn't start until a month ago
Agatha Macbeth: Hmm
Wol Euler: Beta and Djoti were talking about it in Fracture one day
Agatha Macbeth: Aha
Agatha Macbeth: Don't forget to use the force
Wol Euler nods.
Wol Euler: it's a puzzling game, because it is really slow-paced and monotonous in its action, yet somehow manages to be quite addictive
Agatha Macbeth: Is it a mmorpg?
Wol Euler: in WoW there are a variety of baddies and they hit you in many different ways, and you have several different weapons to counter them
Wol Euler: yes, it is
Agatha Macbeth: I only really know Final fantasy
Wol Euler: in EVE, the baddies have one weapon and use it in one way; you have one weapon and use it in one way
Agatha Macbeth: So...predictable?
Wol Euler: and yet it is so addictive
Wol Euler: puzzling
Wol Euler: a buddy of mine plays final fantasy, it sounds much like WoW
Agatha Macbeth: I think it probably is
Wol Euler: as does Guild Wars. Haven't tried that, and won't
Wol Euler: tried Diablo III and gave up on it
Agatha Macbeth thinks of david Braben and Elite
Wol Euler: too simple
Wol Euler: who are htey?
Agatha Macbeth: Htey? :p
Agatha Macbeth: Well, *he* was a well know game creator on the old 16 bit platforms
Wol Euler sighs for the pedantry, and again for the return of lag
Wol Euler: ah :)
Agatha Macbeth: Elite was his finest hour
Wol Euler has never used a console.
Agatha Macbeth: Ah space-trading game
Agatha Macbeth: Oh this was on the Amiga :p
Wol Euler: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite_%28video_game%29
Agatha Macbeth: Yep, that's the one

--BELL--

Agatha Macbeth: 1984 my god
Agatha Macbeth: Primitive by today's standards of course, but the gameplay was something else
Wol Euler: "The game took two years to write and was written in machine code, allowing much tighter control of memory usage than using a compiler, as their computer had only about 14 kilobytes of memory." Wow!
Agatha Macbeth: As seems the case with many 8-bit and 16-bit era games
Wol Euler: I get corporate logos attached to email messages that are larger than 14k
Agatha Macbeth: Yep
Agatha Macbeth: Mades you wonder if we are headed in the right diresction
Wol Euler nods.
Agatha Macbeth: makes*
Wol Euler: well, we are headed towards beauty and immersion
Agatha Macbeth: Oh, well that'll do for me certainly
Agatha Macbeth: But I have that here ;-)
Wol Euler: but heading away from the "heroic" age of programming
Agatha Macbeth: Yeh
Wol Euler: there's an idea for an article.
Agatha Macbeth: Article for whom?
Wol Euler: whomever :)
Wol Euler: somebody should write it and post it somewhere
Agatha Macbeth: Hm
Agatha Macbeth: Why not you?
Wol Euler grins.
Agatha Macbeth: Your chance to break back into blogging
Wol Euler nods.
Wol Euler: all right, time for me to move on
Agatha Macbeth: Mosey on down to th'old corral
Wol Euler: see you at fracture?
Agatha Macbeth: I'll try and get there yes
Wol Euler smiles.
Agatha Macbeth: Maybe ß will be talking again tonight
Wol Euler: we can but hope :)
Agatha Macbeth: Not the same when zie doesn't
Wol Euler: agreed
Agatha Macbeth: I miss hearing 'hi gang'
Wol Euler smiles.
Wol Euler: bye for now, dear aggers. hope to see you later
Agatha Macbeth: You too babe
Agatha Macbeth: shop well