2015.03.30 13:00 - Staying Chocolatey

The Guardian for this meeting was Aphrodite Macbain. The comments are by Aphrodite Macbain.

Aphrodite Macbain: Hi Bruce!
Bruce Mowbray: Heya, Aph!
Bruce Mowbray: How's your blood pressure?
Aphrodite Macbain: He he
Aphrodite Macbain: back down again :-)
Bruce Mowbray: heh heh
Bruce Mowbray: Great to hear that!
Bruce Mowbray: I was worried.
Aphrodite Macbain: I have new fish to fry
Bruce Mowbray: oh yes...
Bruce Mowbray: You know about that tale...
Aphrodite Macbain: plus I have a beautiful house I can hardly wait to rez
Bruce Mowbray: for someone with worries and anxiety....
Aphrodite Macbain: yes
Bruce Mowbray: When you're all hot and bothered about how exhausting it was to climb to the top of the mountain....,
Aphrodite Macbain: I get far too anxious and impatient
Bruce Mowbray: just imagine that you've encountered a bear.... up there.
Aphrodite Macbain: you don't appreciate the view?
Bruce Mowbray: and you've got a whole new "problem..." !!
Aphrodite Macbain: ha ha
Aphrodite Macbain: some problems are more real than others
Bruce Mowbray: So, the solution to all problems is: FIND another problem!
Qt Core: Hi Aph, Bruce
Bruce Mowbray: Heya, Qt!
Aphrodite Macbain: find a problem that's easier to solve?
Bruce Mowbray: No, just ANOTHER problem - one that will take your mind off of the previous one.
 

Aphrodite Macbain: Hi Qt
Aphrodite Macbain: I loved your poem
Aphrodite Macbain: I was hoping you'd read it in Italian
Bruce Mowbray: Well, it was Robert Frost's actually, but thanks.
Aphrodite Macbain: talking to Qt Bruce
Bruce Mowbray: Oh, sorry. You're talking to Qt.
Aphrodite Macbain: do you speak Italian?
Aphrodite Macbain: lol
Bruce Mowbray always has problems with pronoun references in SL.
Qt Core: (always wondered how English could do with no distinction between you singular and plural

Aphrodite Macbain: it's in the tone of voice I guess Qt
Aphrodite Macbain: Why did you chose that particular poem Bruce, Qt?
Bruce Mowbray: We chose different poems, so I will let Qt answer first.
Aphrodite Macbain: why that one Qt?
Qt Core: i stumbled on it a week ago while searching for something for yesterday
Aphrodite Macbain: Was that a poem written to Beatrice?
Bruce Mowbray: Dante....
Qt Core: then forgot about it until i made the connection between the book title (the new life) and our change
Aphrodite Macbain: Dante and Beatrice are famous lovers - unrequited however
Aphrodite Macbain: ah
Aphrodite Macbain: nice
Bruce Mowbray: ah ah. cannot imagine Virgil (or Dante) as a lover.
Aphrodite Macbain: there were a number of readings about starting new
Aphrodite Macbain: some a little sad, others cheerful
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, Aph, good point. My poem also embraced that theme.
Aphrodite Macbain: spring? new growth?
Bruce Mowbray: druth!
druth Vlodovic: hey guys
Aphrodite Macbain: hi druthie
Aphrodite Macbain: gtsy
Aphrodite Macbain: we're talking about the poetry that Bruce and Qt "read"
Bruce Mowbray: from "Birches" --- "I'd like to get away from earth awhile And then come back to it and begin over."
Aphrodite Macbain: :-)
Aphrodite Macbain: I wonder where you go when you get away from earth
Bruce Mowbray: :)
Aphrodite Macbain: Hi Bleu-- talking about poetry and the theme of renewal
Bleu Oleander: hi all :)
Bruce Mowbray: "May no fate willfully misunderstand me

                         And half grant what I wish and snatch me away

                         Not to return.

                         Earth's the right place for love"

                         I don't know where it's likely to go better.

                         I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree,

                         And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk

                         Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,

                         But dipped its top and set me down again.

                         That would be good both going and coming back."

Bruce Mowbray: Heya, Bleu!
Aphrodite Macbain: ah climbing a birch tree
Bruce Mowbray nods.
Aphrodite Macbain: sounds tricky
Bruce Mowbray: "with the same care that you use to fill a cup to the brim, and above the brim...."
Aphrodite Macbain: they must be hard to climb .
Bruce Mowbray: brb, I'm going to rouse Elan.
Aphrodite Macbain: Is he sleeping or just unplugged?
Bruce Mowbray: [unplugged]
Aphrodite Macbain: :-)

Aphrodite Macbain: how is the plot decision going Bleu? I haven't looked at my email for an hour :-)
Bleu Oleander: be back later ...
Bleu Oleander: phone
Aphrodite Macbain: ok byee
Bruce Mowbray: Leaving so soon?
Aphrodite Macbain: phone
Aphrodite Macbain: Blue has been so helpful.
Bruce Mowbray: kk.
druth Vlodovic: you scared her away
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, she certainly has.

Aphrodite Macbain: I now have a new house that i am looking forward to putting on my plot
Bruce Mowbray: with all those "doodles" and such
Aphrodite Macbain: lol
 

Qt Core: this morning while driving i come up with something like this:

             The singing cats/

              Thank Aph for her herding./

              In sparse order.
Bruce Mowbray: AHHH! Wonderful haiku, Qt!
Aphrodite Macbain: Smiles. In sparse order?
Aphrodite Macbain: It was total dis-order!
ElanVitalo Resident listens and consults databases for "haiku."
Aphrodite Macbain: giggles
 

Technical difficulties

Bruce Mowbray: You're not to blame for the technical faults of SL, Aph.
Qt Core: ;-)
Aphrodite Macbain: no
Bruce Mowbray: like my inabilities (and those of others, as well) to speak through mics.
Aphrodite Macbain: but it's hard to watch people struggling
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, I know.
Aphrodite Macbain: and I kept leaving my mic on
Aphrodite Macbain: and everyone felt they had to tell me each time I did!
Bruce Mowbray: It was good of you to read for folks who didn't have their own voices.
ElanVitalo Resident: I enjoyed the Poetry Bash a lot -- from the audience.
Aphrodite Macbain: I need to do voice exercises first
Qt Core: i use mi mic so scarcely i usually forget where i put it between use and then i have to reconfigure it anew
Aphrodite Macbain: Me too Qt
Aphrodite Macbain: It is useful though
Aphrodite Macbain: fewer things to type
Aphrodite Macbain: but it's hard to type and speak at the same time
Qt Core: i do a lot of typing error, but my accent is surely worse, so if i want to communicate i favor the keyboard
Bruce Mowbray: For sure, but it was a bit confusing to have to press one key for mic and another key for line reader.
Aphrodite Macbain: Nods. Nice memories however and we have a bright future.

ElanVitalo Resident: ... and yet another for waving the flag.
Aphrodite Macbain: lol
Qt Core: never thought that something like line reader would exist in SL (but what does not exist in SL ?)
ElanVitalo Resident: Here I come!!
ElanVitalo Resident: To save the day!!!
ElanVitalo Resident: with my flag-waving!!!
Aphrodite Macbain: glad you came to save us Elan
ElanVitalo Resident: Whew!
Aphrodite Macbain: You still have your flag I see
ElanVitalo Resident nods.

ElanVitalo Resident: "Flag wavers" and "tree huggers" are labels they give folks in America, you know.
ElanVitalo Resident: (according to my databases, anyway).
 

Easter and food

Aphrodite Macbain: what is everyone doing for Easter other than eating chocolate?
Qt Core: eating other traditional Easter dishes ;-)
Bruce Mowbray: Ham, Qt?
Aphrodite Macbain: like what Qt?
Bruce Mowbray: Turkey?
Aphrodite Macbain: Rabbit?
Bruce Mowbray: omg.
Qt Core: lamb
Bruce Mowbray: Ahhh!
Bruce Mowbray: the Pascal lamb, of course.
Bruce Mowbray: with mint jelly.
Aphrodite Macbain: what is a Pascal lamb?
ElanVitalo Resident rushes to databases to check this out.
Aphrodite Macbain: does it come with a chocolate egg in its mouth?
Bruce Mowbray: Passover Lamb also, the "Lamb of God sacrificed... etc etc."
Qt Core: and the dessert, agnello, Aph, younger and tender
Bruce Mowbray: Bruce Mowbray also waits.
Aphrodite Macbain: "Pasqua" means Easter in Italian
Qt Core: the official dessert is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colomba_di_Pasqua
Aphrodite Macbain: agnello...lamb.
ElanVitalo Resident nods.... Easter Lamb.
Aphrodite Macbain: Colomba--an Easter Dove
Aphrodite Macbain: "The dough for the colomba is made in a similar manner to  panettone, with flour, eggs, sugar, natural yeast and butter; unlike panettone, it usually contains candied peel and no raisins. The dough is  then fashioned into a dove shape (colomba in Italian) and finally is topped with pearl sugar and almonds before being baked. Some  manufacturers produce other versions including a popular bread topped with chocolate. The colomba was commercialised by the Milanese  baker and businessman Angelo Motta as an Easter version of the Christmas speciality panettone that Motta foods were producing. "   (Wikipedia)
Bruce Mowbray vows never to confuse his lambs and doves.
Aphrodite Macbain: :-)

Bruce Mowbray: nor wheat and shaff.
Aphrodite Macbain: Wol!
Wol Euler: evening all
Aphrodite Macbain: Hiya
ElanVitalo Resident consults databases for "shaff"
Aphrodite Macbain: we are talking about Easter plans
Wol Euler: chaff?
Bruce Mowbray: Heya, Wol!
Aphrodite Macbain: chaff
Qt Core: in last years there are (obviously) vegan movements against lamb eating
druth Vlodovic: I was teasing my vegetarian daughter about getting excited feeding crickets to my gecko, she told me that in her circle everyone has different diets, and respects each other for it
Wol Euler: back in a sec, making tea ...
ElanVitalo Resident: chaff... no wonder i couldn't find it!
Aphrodite Macbain: bring me a cup Wol?
druth Vlodovic: to flambe
Bruce Mowbray: Zen!
Aphrodite Macbain: Hi Zen
Zen Arado: Hi all
ElanVitalo Resident: Welcome, Zen.
Zen Arado: still here then?
Aphrodite Macbain: Nice to see everyone .:-)
Aphrodite Macbain: who Zen?
Bruce Mowbray: We don't move until after April 7th, actually.
Zen Arado: when is place closing?
Aphrodite Macbain: April 15
Zen Arado: ah ok
Qt Core: is Storm going to have to return us to ourselves ?
Bruce Mowbray: yes, a week after April 7th, actually.
Aphrodite Macbain: We all missed you yesterday Wol
Wol Euler: I missed me too :)
Aphrodite Macbain: :-)
ElanVitalo Resident: I, for one, certainly missed Woly yesterday.
Bruce Mowbray: Me, too, Elan.
Aphrodite Macbain: :-)
Aphrodite Macbain: I hope you still had a good time...
Zen Arado: more used to attend in the old days sigh
Wol Euler: as good as one can have without SL ...
Bruce Mowbray: :)

Aphrodite Macbain: the good old days are highly overrated
Aphrodite Macbain: misty watercolour memories
Bruce Mowbray: ... of the way we were....
Qt Core: (younger pics on the ids...)
Zen Arado: polish up the memories
Wol Euler sings along

Aphrodite Macbain: What happens in Germany at Easter Wol?
Zen Arado: as we all do :)
ElanVitalo Resident consults databases yet again.
Wol Euler: the same, probably. Family visits, Easter egg hunts
Aphrodite Macbain: nods
Wol Euler: the oddity is that people make nests (one per person) and put all the loot in the nest, which is then hidden and has to be found
Aphrodite Macbain: Fun for kids and grownups, I imagine - I think it's a great tradition.
Wol Euler: so you look for your nest rather than looking for loose swag
Wol Euler: it certainly simplifies the event
Wol Euler: so you can go back indoors and carry on eating and drinking
Aphrodite Macbain: ah. Are there little nests sold in the stores?
Wol Euler: presumably
Aphrodite Macbain: or do they rob the local birds?
ElanVitalo Resident: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBPQT2Ia8fU
Aphrodite Macbain: :-)
Aphrodite Macbain: All I will be doing is marking papers

Qt Core: mark the best with chocolate ;-)
Aphrodite Macbain: maybe I'll buy myself some chocolates
Aphrodite Macbain: to eat while I mark
ElanVitalo Resident: The Way We Were, scritta da Alan Bergman e Marilyn Bergman, ed arrangiata da Marvin Hamlisch, per la colonna sonora del film Come eravamo con protagonista Barbra Streisand e Robert Redford.
ElanVitalo Resident: :)
Bruce Mowbray: Elan is a show-off.
Wol Euler: yes
Wol Euler: (to qt)
Bruce Mowbray: (to Elan)
Aphrodite Macbain: Laughs. Zen - is there an Irish tradition for Easter. ?
Zen Arado: not really
Bruce Mowbray: WHAT!?
Zen Arado: just buy chocolate Easter eggs
Zen Arado: it is a Christian tradition don't forget
Aphrodite Macbain: chocolate is universal
Bruce Mowbray: chocolate?
Zen Arado: commemorates Christ rising from the dead
Bruce Mowbray: DARN those pronoun references!
Aphrodite Macbain: well I mean chocolate is universally liked
Zen Arado: means nothing to me
Aphrodite Macbain: the Christian church made Easter as close to spring equinox as possible
Zen Arado: just an annoying holiday
ElanVitalo Resident: Chocolate for Secretary General of the UN!
Qt Core: today i even saw chocolate sold... in a pharmacy
Wol Euler: O.O
Wol Euler: as a healing material?
Aphrodite Macbain: It heals me
ElanVitalo Resident: :)
Aphrodite Macbain: :-)
Qt Core: it was Lindt, with no sugar
Wol Euler: ah
Aphrodite Macbain: erk
Aphrodite Macbain: no sugar?
Wol Euler: okay, fair enough, I guess that is hard to find otherwise
Zen Arado: I have Lindt 90% cacao
Bruce Mowbray: Like BAKING chocolate? omg.
Zen Arado: love it
Aphrodite Macbain: why would anyone want to eat sugarless chocolate? It would be very bitter
Zen Arado: nope
Aphrodite Macbain begins to salivate
Wol Euler: it's delicious

Zen Arado: you get a taste for it
Wol Euler: even without sugar
Zen Arado: milk chocolate is yukky to me now

druth Vlodovic: I thought chocolate was because Easter is associated with spring/fertility
druth Vlodovic: same as the bunny and eggs
Bruce Mowbray: How is chocolate related to fertility?
Aphrodite Macbain: how does chocolate relate to spring/fertility druth?
Zen Arado: eggs
druth Vlodovic: try it on your lady friend :-P
Bruce Mowbray: thanks, Aph.
Aphrodite Macbain: snap Bruce
Bruce Mowbray: ha ha!
Aphrodite Macbain: lol
Zen Arado: dark chocolate is better for you

druth Vlodovic: it's one of the traditional aphrodisiacs
Aphrodite Macbain: I think the emphasis on eggs rather than chocolate is what it's about. The rest is sugar coating
Qt Core: on this I'm on the dark side ;-)

Zen Arado: walk on the dark side
ElanVitalo Resident: There's a really cool French movie titled "Chocolate."
Aphrodite Macbain: Yes- great movie
Bruce Mowbray: I don't think it's French, Elan... just takes place in France, I think.

Aphrodite Macbain thinks about death by chocolate
Zen Arado: I just bought Intersyellar today
ElanVitalo Resident: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0241303/
Zen Arado: Interstellar
Aphrodite Macbain: what is that Zen?
Aphrodite Macbain: (/me likes Intersyeller)
Zen Arado: film
Aphrodite Macbain: oh
Aphrodite Macbain: what made you think of that Zen?
Bruce Mowbray: I'm getting a bit tired of Matthew McConnahey, otherwise an all right film, Interstellar.
Zen Arado: don't know Aph
Bruce Mowbray: :)
Aphrodite Macbain: chocolate...Interstellar
Zen Arado: the mysteries of my mind's associations
Bruce Mowbray: wonderful, Zen.
Zen Arado: watched Looper last night

Aphrodite Macbain: what will you each miss most about PAB as it was?
Zen Arado: Bruce Willis
Bruce Mowbray: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816692/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Zen Arado: he always plays the same part :)
druth Vlodovic: lol, I had no idea he was a member Zen
Wol Euler: I'm not sure, Aph
ElanVitalo Resident: Ha ha!
Wol Euler: hard to say before I do miss it
Aphrodite Macbain: ah
Zen Arado: why will we miss it Aph?
Zen Arado: still going on?
Wol Euler: I don't know what will actually be missing ....
Aphrodite Macbain: It will be different when the land changes
Bruce Mowbray: I will miss my wee house.

Zen Arado: I never had a plot
Aphrodite Macbain: I will miss PaB treasure hunts and exhibitions in the dome.
Bruce Mowbray: I sure wish that someone could contact Zaku.
Wol Euler: we'll just do it without him
Wol Euler: unless he speaks up
Wol Euler: not a problem
Aphrodite Macbain: :-)
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, we'll have to do it without Zaku....
Aphrodite Macbain: ?
Aphrodite Macbain: Yaku?
Aphrodite Macbain: or Storm?
Bruce Mowbray: I tried IM's, emails, and that sign over there,but no response.
Wol Euler: is your keyboard in Euro-mode perhaps?
Aphrodite Macbain: lol
Aphrodite Macbain: Russian
Bruce Mowbray: Yaku, sorry.
Bruce Mowbray: Xaku?
Wol Euler: well, not your or our fault. Let it go. Drop feeling responsible for it :)
Aphrodite Macbain: The terrain was shaped by Storm. We will have to find ways of making it interesting again.
Zen Arado: have to let go of things
Aphrodite Macbain: I'm letting go of organizing the poetry event. :-)
Zen Arado: you are chief cat herder Aph
Bruce Mowbray: ha ha!
Aphrodite Macbain: Naa.I've retired my whips
Bruce Mowbray: I have not! (yet retired my whips).
Aphrodite Macbain: chopped them up and put them in the compost
Zen Arado: an unenviable job
Bruce Mowbray: Whips only make cat-herding a tougher job, alas.
Aphrodite Macbain: Makes me appreciate people who do that for a living
Bruce Mowbray nods.
Aphrodite Macbain: multi -taskers
Zen Arado: even then people have trouble
ElanVitalo Resident: YAYYY for cat-herders!
Aphrodite Macbain: smiles
Aphrodite Macbain: I'm not sure if I should consider Pabbers cats
 

Headsets and tech talk

Zen Arado: I use voice every week at language classesets

Zen Arado: don't know why people are so reluctant to wear a headset either
Aphrodite Macbain: are they reluctant?
Zen Arado: they save a lot of problems
Bruce Mowbray: I'm wearing mine right now, Zen... but I'm not really using it.
Bruce Mowbray: (ear muffs?)
Aphrodite Macbain: I only use it if I am speaking in voice which I rarely do
Bruce Mowbray: me too.
Zen Arado: it's not as if they are expensive either
Wol Euler: I hang mine around my neck when raiding in Warcraft; the microphone picks up my voice but the others people come through my speakers
Bruce Mowbray: You can use both speakers and headset simultaneously?

Wol Euler: mmhmm

Aphrodite Macbain: WOW must keep you very agile Wol, no?
Wol Euler: my fingertips at least :)
Aphrodite Macbain: and yr brain
Aphrodite Macbain: so u use it only to speak, Bruce, like me
Zen Arado: the mic could also pick up the speakers though Wol?
Bruce Mowbray: me too, Aph.
Wol Euler: this one at least, it has separate plugs for earphones and microphone, so I only plug in the mike
Zen Arado: that's the problem with audio
Zen Arado: feedback
Wol Euler: could but doesn't Zen :) I don't know how
Bruce Mowbray: ahhh, yes, I could also do that...
Bruce Mowbray: two different mics, and two different plugs.
Aphrodite Macbain looks at hers and sees she can't do that
Bruce Mowbray: one is USB and the other is a little green thingie.
Wol Euler: Mac headsets usually can't because they have USB instead of the Windows dedicated plugs
Bruce Mowbray: no problem with PC's though.
Zen Arado: most headsets have two plugs-one audio from computer the other mic in
Bruce Mowbray: yes, two plugs, Zen. Good point.
Zen Arado: yeh Macs don't have Mic in I think
Bruce Mowbray: and chocolate.
Wol Euler: desktops do, some laptops do or did
Wol Euler: but they seem to be reducing the number of sockets
ElanVitalo Resident: chocolate bunnies.
Zen Arado: yeh and USB's too
Bruce Mowbray: chocolate USB's.
Aphrodite Macbain: you can eat it if it doesn't work
Bruce Mowbray dies from laughing....
 

About land

Zen Arado: I'll be glad when the land claims stop :)
Zen Arado: endless emails
Aphrodite Macbain: It's almost over Zen
Wol Euler: one more week
Aphrodite Macbain: Just ignore them
Bruce Mowbray: I've never seen such a swarm of emails, for anything!
Zen Arado: I stopped reading them
Zen Arado: just tell me what to do at the end :)
Bruce Mowbray: me too, actually, since I have no plot.
Bruce Mowbray: chocolate or otherwise.
Aphrodite Macbain: Some plot-less persons give advice nevertheless
Bruce Mowbray: nods, Oh, I DO intend to vote!
Zen Arado: the great pab land rush
Aphrodite Macbain: lol
Zen Arado: lines up wagons

Wol Euler butters her toast.
Bruce Mowbray: (Eliza sends out the "Vote" email).
Aphrodite Macbain saddles up her horses; I have a new house I'm ready to rez

Bruce Mowbray: Must be a-scraping now. Thank you, Aph. Thanks, everyone.

Zen Arado: byee Bruce
Wol Euler: bye bruce, scrape well
Qt Core: bye Bruce, enjoy
Aphrodite Macbain: Bye Bruce
Zen Arado: hope it's big enough Aph
Aphrodite Macbain: It is, thanks
Zen Arado: my plot is too small for most houses
Aphrodite Macbain: My plot is bigger than my former one...so is the new house...but Japanese in simplicity.
Zen Arado: I remember an old beach house I had
Zen Arado: had real character
Zen Arado: miss that
Aphrodite Macbain: aww
ElanVitalo Resident nods.
Aphrodite Macbain: well- there's a plot available here..
Zen Arado: but I had a 1/4 sim then
Aphrodite Macbain: wow . big
Wol Euler: my dears, I shall head off. goodnight, take care, stay chocolatey
Zen Arado: it took about 160 prims I think
ElanVitalo Resident: Yaku's plot is still available.
ElanVitalo Resident: Bye, Aph!
Zen Arado: kk byee all
Aphrodite Macbain: going once, going twice...
Qt Core: bye Wol
Aphrodite Macbain: Byee
Qt Core: need sleep too
Qt Core: bye all, have fun
Aphrodite Macbain: Ciao Qt