Daniel Bienvenu: HELLO =D Dr.D.: Hello Daniel.
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changed username to rich-c rich-c: aha! I'm early and there'dx two therd already! Dr.D.: Hello Richard. rich-c: Hi Rich, bonjour Daniel Dr.D.: Just passing through while doing other stuff this afternonn. rich-c: oh? what sort of thing are you up to? Dr.D.: Aside from coloring some Easter Eggs about an hour ago, sleeping...still trying to get caught up on my backlog from having been sick last week. Dr.D.: I think I am still in deficit. rich-c: right - tomorrow is Easter, isn't it Daniel Bienvenu: yes Easter Daniel Bienvenu: Pâques rich-c: I assume you had yesterday off Dr.D.: Yes, the gang will be going to my Dad's after church. Dr.D.: No such luck. Dr.D.: In fact, another lab meeting day, enduring an interminable 2.25 hour meeting. rich-c: really? I thought everything shut down on Good Friday rich-c: that's rpough rich-c: I took the occasion to look at FOTR - Pam loaned me her DVDs Dr.D.: Hope you liked it...hope you've read the books first. rich-c: maybe I'll get Two Towers later this week rich-c: oh, I read LOTR shortly after it first came out - which means of course I've forgotten half of it! rich-c: in fact I gave it up in boredom till I went away and read The Hobbit - then, LOTR made sense and away I went Dr.D.: You mean in 1955. rich-c: a bit shy of half a century ago? didn't realize it was that long Dr.D.: That is when it came out (the books). Dr.D.: Hobbit was 1937. rich-c: well, I did wait for the paperback edition, so it may have been nearer 1960 - have to look at my copies and see rich-c: Hobbit I borrowed from the library Dr.D.: Which paperback set? There was an "unauthorized" version by Ace Books with really cheesy cover art...the "authorized" Ballantine edition was mid-1960s, and followed later. rich-c: I believe I have the Ballantine set - the Ace editions may not have been offered in Canada Daniel Bienvenu: (I tried to make my movie-clip CODEC better but the result is no good.) rich-c: quietly working on teh side as we talk, are you, Daniel? :-) Daniel Bienvenu: (I'm writing an instruction manual for my Gamepack2 project) Dr.D.: If they have Tolkien's own artwork on the covers, they are the Ballantine set...that was my first set in 3 volumes plus The Hobbit, Christmas 1978. Daniel Bienvenu: (How did you know I'm working during this chat session?) rich-c: good for you - at least where software documentation is concerned, you don't have any very high standards to beat rich-c: in fact any documentation at all is a plus rich-c: I do remember buying them and once I'd read teh Hobbit, getting launche3d and through the whole trilogy in very few days Dr.D.: Richard is guessing, I think, Daniel. rich-c: hadn't read so intensively since Churchill's Second World War was published rich-c: no, you can tell from how long it takes him to reply rich-c: sometimes he's on Messanger, sometimes he's working, sometimes he's surfing on the side rich-c: just like I bring up Free Cell when conversation lags Dr.D.: I think I said that I read the most recent Harry Potter book in 6 hours. rich-c: not having six consecutive hours available for the purpose, it took me somewhat longer rich-c: also my reading speed in not what it was in my younger days Daniel Bienvenu: (adding a screenshot) Dr.D.: I made 6 hours available :-) rich-c: Rich, did you npotice Bob saying he got a quote of $99 from Southwest to ElPaso? rich-c: that was for a flight out of Detroit Dr.D.: I picked up on that from other talk in Wednesday's chat. rich-c: any idea what they might be charging from Cleveland or Buffalo? Dr.D.: I haven't looked...I suppose I could go look. rich-c: right - they aren;'t booking for that week yet but should be in a fw days Daniel Bienvenu: (Ok! Try guessing that! I'm writing now my instruction manual in french, in english or biligual?) Dr.D.: I think I looked waaaaay back when El Paso was decided upon, just for fun, and it was some several hundred dollars for round trip. rich-c: j'esperer que c'est bilingue Dr.D.: You are writing it in Latin.
moved to room Meeting Place Dr.D.: Since all true science is done in Latin.
changed username to George rich-c: indeed historically all true science is so done ;-) George: Hi Everyone rich-c: hello George Dr.D.: Hello George. rich-c: yes, I hate to think what a quote from Air Canada would come to Daniel Bienvenu: (the answer is french, but the final version will be bilingual french and english) Daniel Bienvenu: Hi George! rich-c: but Erin's family live in Windsor, and teh motel we use when we visit them has an airport shuttle Dr.D.: You can write it in French and then let babelfish.altavista.com auto-translate it into English. It should be very entertaining. rich-c: well, Daniel, I musr admit I'd expect you to write it in French first, then translate rich-c: you are picking up fast but your francais is still a little better than your anglais Dr.D.: Sounds like that would be the thing to do, Richard, if you can get to Windsor and then fly from Detroit. Dr.D.: Maybe the whole lot of you could go as a group and get a group discount. rich-c: yes, $198 round trip each would be $260 CDN roughly - unless they offer a senior discount rich-c: I don';t think our group will be large enough - even if we joined forces with the Slopsemas George: i'm feeding my chocolate addiction Daniel Bienvenu: Do you think I have to add a warning about "épilepsie"? rich-c: tell me George, if everybody has it, is it still an addiction or jsut normal? rich-c: how often are you flashing the screen, Daniel? George: with me its an addiction Daniel Bienvenu: Well, the explosion game may looks like multiple flashes Dr.D.: Funny thought, a ColecoVision inducing a seizure :-) George: sell it to me by the kg. rich-c: still, I bet you have a problem telling your urge for it from that of the "non-addicted" (if any exist) Dr.D.: You could say "less annoying than a Windows Blue Screen of Death", Daniel :-) rich-c: no, in fact a sudden flash of light can trigger an ep8ileptic fit Daniel Bienvenu: shit rich-c: I remember one student going down just from teh flash of sunlight off a passing car's windshield George: blue screens are common around here rich-c: but most epileptics know if they can tolerate video games, Daniel Dr.D.: I think some TV anime in Japan once did that inadvertently. rich-c: well, I won't say BSOD's are commonplace for me, but I am much more familiar with them than I want to be Daniel Bienvenu: 16 pages - including the cover page and the last page (credits) rich-c: oh, you get it at discos with strobe lights, some of the more sensational movies, lots of triggers George: scandisk is a given at startup rich-c: well that is cutting it a bit thick, George - but I scan every Friday on principle Daniel Bienvenu: George, I take a risk but I disabled this scandisk at startup option. I do a scandisk myself when needed. rich-c: you might want some disclaimer, Daniel - like those sensitive to video games shouldn't use it Daniel Bienvenu: Yes, a disclaimer... this will fillup the credits page. :) George: defrag is a given too Dr.D.: I hate disclaimers. rich-c: in fact I do both scandisc and defrag every week rich-c: unless you're overloading your hard disc or have a virus or something, you should not need that, George Dr.D.: "Everything our marketing says is a lie. Not guaranteed to work or do anything you want it to." rich-c: thank you, Mr. Dilbert George: and if all else fails a quisk fdisk Daniel Bienvenu: Well, I have no choice, I programmed minesweeper, and this game is a Microsoft game. Connect Four is a commercial game (now Hasbro). rich-c: btw, haven't looked at it yet, but I got my free Microsoft update CD this week Dr.D.: Nah, Daniel, you give it some other name! George: fdisk /mbr Dr.D.: Call it "Tetrad" or "Four-in-a-row" or something... Dr.D.: George, if you do that, you won't have much computer left. George: works fine rich-c: yeah, except that you lose all your music downloads every time you do it George: still got em rich-c: not if you f-disc you don't Dr.D.: On CD-R, no doubt. Daniel Bienvenu: hmm... tetrad - 4, four, foursome, IV, Little Joe, quadruplet, quartet, quatern, quaternary, quaternion, quaternity George: of coures they're shot to dvd-r Dr.D.: Yes, Daniel, it's a venerable practice: use an existing game, but change the name :-) Dr.D.: How many Pac-Man clones are out there... Daniel Bienvenu: Personnally, I did 3 pacman clone, one for Coleco. Daniel Bienvenu: one in BASIC for Commodore 64 rich-c: seems like the hard way, George, though at least it cuts the risk of losing them Daniel Bienvenu: one in BASIC for PC. rich-c: does the PC version run under DOS or Windows, Daniel? Daniel Bienvenu: DOS, i did it in QuickBASIC 4.5 :) Daniel Bienvenu: But I lost it. Daniel Bienvenu: :( rich-c: I periodically save all of my downloaded programs to CD Daniel Bienvenu: George? rich-c: not always worth the effort, since if I need to reinstall them there will likely be an upgrade out there anyway
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changed username to George rich-c: fall off the line, George? George: Who bumped me? Dr.D.: Not me. rich-c: nor I Daniel Bienvenu: Dr.D: Are you sure gamers will knows "Tetrad" is in reality "Connect Four"? Dr.D.: Haha, I don't know, Daniel. George: i got a message to be removed rich-c: do you think they'll care so long as it plays well, Daniel? Daniel Bienvenu: err.. we have to be 2 here to "bump" someone else. Dr.D.: I think if they see the game, they'll know what it is. Dr.D.: "Mouse Trap" on CV is really "Pac-Man rich-c: yes, and it won't take long for the word to get around to those interested Dr.D.: with mice and other mousey things. Dr.D.: If you sell 10-50 "Connect Fours", then Hasbro won't bother you, probably. George: time to eat the rabbit Dr.D.: But if they do really well, they will come after you. Dr.D.: Easter is tomorrow, you are starting early, George. rich-c: yeah, don't have him for dinner till after he's delivered teh chocolate! Daniel Bienvenu: the tradition was to not eat meat before easter? Dr.D.: No, not to eat the rabbit that brings chocolate until *after* he has brought it. rich-c: not sure if teh tradition of the Easter Bunny has spread into Quebec, Daniel Dr.D.: And speaking of dinner...I need to adjourn to start cooking ours (Joan is working tonight). Dr.D.: So, I will see you all on Wednesday. Dr.D.: Hope your heart is behaving itself Richard. rich-c: oh dear - with six mouths to feed, dealing with dinner can be a handful Daniel Bienvenu: I changed the name Connect Four. I use now the nameTetrad. :) rich-c: so far so good, thanks, Rich - we'll see what develops Dr.D.: Haha Daniel. Dr.D.: I will not ask for any credits :-) :-) rich-c: anyway take care Rich, see you Wednesday Dr.D.: Bye everyone. Daniel Bienvenu: thanks :-) :-)
Dr.D. left chat session Daniel Bienvenu: bye Dr.D! rich-c: so you got yourself some rabbit for dinner, did you, George? rich-c: (if he doesn't stay out of my bird feeder, I may be contemplating some squirrel myself soon ;-)) Daniel Bienvenu: (Working on Gamepack2... I'm quiet) rich-c: YO! Anybody there??? rich-c: though you'd both gone away somewhere Daniel Bienvenu: (I'm compiling the new version) Daniel Bienvenu: (because I need a new screenshot of the menu) Daniel Bienvenu: (for the instruction manual) rich-c: that should not take long, should it? Daniel Bienvenu: (not too long) rich-c: I assume you just run teh source code through the compiler and that's it Daniel Bienvenu: (well, I have to stay there because it runs in a DOS popup window and I may not see the errors and warning going up the screen) rich-c: right, compilers and stuff do run under DOS, don't they rich-c: it has been so long since I have used DOS for anything I have pretty well forgotten it Daniel Bienvenu: (I'm using the Hi-tech C compiler for CP/M with a CP/M emulator for DOS named 22NICE) Daniel Bienvenu: (It's the exact same "package" Marcel the Kogel used for his Coleco games) rich-c: OK - the BASIC you're using then runs under CP/M? Daniel Bienvenu: err... his name is de Kogel... not the Kogel hehehe rich-c: quite; "de" translates as "of" or "from" in English, I guess "de" in Franch rich-c: I see George has run off and left us rich-c: I wonder if teh server tossed him or if he just quit in a sulk Daniel Bienvenu: My coleco projects are done in C (with notepad) and then compiled with the compiler under the emulator running in a DOS popup window. rich-c: in theory, Daniel, I think I can follow what you zare saying - just rich-c: are you sayijg, though, that once you have written the code everything else takes place in the emulated EOS environment? Daniel Bienvenu: Yes, everything is compiled then linked under the emulated environment. rich-c: so you are effectively doing the whole job after you write the source code "on an Adam" rich-c: or at least in theory, if you had a working Adam you could do teh job on it directly Daniel Bienvenu: yeah, but because my PC is a lot faster than the ADAM, I have to admit that programming and linkng with a PC is more easy. Daniel Bienvenu: it's 15h... no, we change the time last week, it's now 16h08 here rich-c: I wonder, given that it doesn't have to go through teh emulation overhead, if teh Adam wouldn't be just as fast rich-c: assuming that is that it had one or better two floppies rich-c: actually 16.09 - I have the very exact time from teh atomic clock Daniel Bienvenu: I have no floppy. The only one I have doesn't work. rich-c: I have two 5.25" floppies and two 3.5" ones Daniel Bienvenu: Now, I need to ask someone to read and "fix bugs" in my text :) Daniel Bienvenu: After that, the english version Daniel Bienvenu: After that the box Daniel Bienvenu: After that the final version of the rom rich-c: which assumes you can find someone who knows the language - or were you referring to the documentation? rich-c: well, once you get teh French text right, you coud likely get one of us to clean up teh English version for you Daniel Bienvenu: Well, you may look at it but I'm not sure you will understand. But you may be look at it and see what to do to make it better. :) rich-c: well, if it is just a matter of changing translated English into colloquial English, that should be no great challenge rich-c: it's even easier if one has teh French original available for comparison Daniel Bienvenu: Sorry, I'm quiet because someone else is talking to me with Messenger. rich-c: I don't use Messenger myself, but Pamela and Erin do, a lot rich-c: mostly it's because when I am online I do not want to be interrupted rich-c: anyway, this is about teh time that you start your dinner preparation, isn't it? Daniel Bienvenu: you are right. but I found in MEssenger someone who want to help me with my manual. :) Daniel Bienvenu: see you wednesday! :) rich-c: OK, see you then - joyeux P^aques Daniel Bienvenu: *poof* *kapoof* *re-poof* Daniel Bienvenu: Joyeuses Pâques! Daniel Bienvenu: Happy Easter day? rich-c: oui - TTFN Daniel Bienvenu: bye
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