<undefined>: Zwee <undefined>: Zwinglot
(<undefined>'s head explodes!) <undefined>: tata
<undefined> left chat session
moved to room Meeting Place
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<undefined> changed username to RichD. RichD.: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious RichD.: it seemeth to be working
moved to room Meeting Place
RichD. moved to room Ms. Rin's Room
changed username to Guy B.
RichD. moved to room Meeting Place RichD.: Hello Guy. Guy B.: Greetings Dr. D Guy B.: Is it cool out by you? RichD.: Is it as cold and rainy in Chicago as in Cleveland? RichD.: Hehe. RichD.: Mid-50s. RichD.: Rain rain rain Guy B.: Finally got the sun here and around 60. RichD.: Christina got a doubleheader softball game rained out--again. RichD.: Like the 3rd straight weekend. RichD.: I think they've missed as many games as they have played. Guy B.: Oh geez. I guess that will foul up the schedule so to speak. RichD.: This was about the last weekend of the season, I think. RichD.: I was one of the parents supposed to be organizing a picnic lunch for them after today's games. Guy B.: SO, I guess those games are pretty well wiped out then. RichD.: That got scrubbed. RichD.: Fortunately...no food had been bought yet, we knew who was getting what, but we agreed to wait for the weather. RichD.: And at 8 AM today, the phone chain started, games were cancelled... Guy B.: I bet you will get the sun tomorrow. We have been getting rain all this week and some of it was severe. RichD.: Yesterday it just kept getting darker and darker, finally started raining around 6 PM. RichD.: Ended my plans for mowing the lawn. RichD.: Christina was at a charity event all night last night camped out in a tent on the high school football field. RichD.: So she was soaked this morning. Guy B.: I took the dog out for a walk yesterday and it wasn't raining. When I left for work, it started again. RichD.: Tomorrow is CWRU's graduation...hope it isn't still raining then :-) Guy B.: We went on the bike trail and we have a creek that's next to it. And it is high right now. RichD.: Hope it doesn't flood. Guy B.: Is that being held outside? RichD.: There is a big convocation center on campus for the main address (Elie Wiesel). RichD.: But each school then awards diplomas at separate sites...so you have to walk to them. Guy B.: I know you have to be there, right? RichD.: So, if it is raining...it will be unpleasant walks. RichD.: Nope, I don't have to be. RichD.: A place to stay away from tomorrow, except I do have some prep work to do in my office for a new student arriving Monday. Guy B.: Usually the higher staff have to go then, correct? RichD.: There is no requirement that faculty attend, though you are free to do so if you like, of course. RichD.: Seating is always so limited, that it seems like unless you really have a favorite graduating Ph.D. student, you shouldn't take up a seat. Guy B.: I see. Wasn't too sure if all the professors have to attend. But, it's voluntary then. RichD.: Of course all the deans etc. will be there. RichD.: The very highest VIPs. Guy B.: How many did you have in your class this year? RichD.: Hmmm. Guy B.: Joggle the brain a bit, eh! RichD.: I think probably about 800 undergrads. RichD.: Oh, robot class. Guy B.: Yeah, that one. RichD.: 30 in the fall, 29 in the spring. RichD.: And currently I have 30 for Fall 2004, we will see. Guy B.: That's a very popular course you have. And it always gets filled up fast. RichD.: It may be the last class. RichD.: I turned in my application for the full-time lecturer positions that will start in the fall. Guy B.: Oh, what are you planning to lecture in? RichD.: I would be back to nursing-student biochemistry. RichD.: Then picking up anatomy/physiology. Guy B.: Have you done that before? RichD.: Yes, I did it for 2 years, 97-98 and 98-99 academic years. Guy B.: So, you want to get back to that then? RichD.: That was during a period when there was no grant money for slug research. RichD.: Well, it is a set of trade-offs. Guy B.: What's the trade-off? RichD.: The lecturer position is likely to be permanent in the long run. RichD.: No more soft money, grant-to-grant begging. Guy B.: Well, that's good, but that will be the end of the robot class for you then. RichD.: More job security. RichD.: Yes, because my teaching requirements will be in Biology Department only. RichD.: The main conflict is the time slots. Guy B.: Something tells me you're going to miss teaching that class. RichD.: If I end up teaching other Biology lab courses, they are all Tuesday-Thursday in the same time slot as the existing robot class. RichD.: Yes. RichD.: Mixed feelings about it. RichD.: I do believe it's the best engineering class on campus. Guy B.: I would go for the lecturer if you think that's the best way for you. RichD.: But my co-instructors get a disproportionate amount of "credit" for it compared to the amount of work they actually do for it. RichD.: And I will never be able to get out from under that. RichD.: I need to do stuff that is all mine... Guy B.: Did you go over this with the family and how do they feel about it? RichD.: It will mean more 9-5 hours for me. RichD.: No more extra sessions nights and weekends, no more event planning with Egg Hunts at remote sites. Guy B.: Does Joan work during the day? RichD.: She is days and evenings, in a varying mix. RichD.: Scheduling is always a hassle here. RichD.: Getting out of slug research as a day-to-day requirement will also give me freedom in the summers to take some paid time off. Guy B.: I guess that's probably why you're not sure if you can come to El Paso this year. RichD.: Oh, I can definitely come for Saturday and Sunday. RichD.: It is Thursday and Friday that is in doubt because I don't know what classes I will have, if any. RichD.: If I don't get this job, then I am definitely there Thursday night and leaving Monday morning. Guy B.: So, it depends on if you get the job, then. RichD.: If I have a M-W-F class, then I have to see what I can work out. RichD.: Yes, not a matter of money, but of scheduling. RichD.: I will probably know by end of June at the latest. Guy B.: I got the con on my vacation schedule. I'm getting my reservations in next week. RichD.: Application deadline for the lecturer positions is June 1st, so they can't start making decisions until after then. Guy B.: You probably won't know until maybe July or August then. RichD.: I will get convention reservations in as soon as I know how many days I can attend. RichD.: No, the Biology Department has to decide very soon, they can't wait that long. Guy B.: I'm trying to figure out what I should do for a presentation at the con. RichD.: If I get hired, I will have a busy August getting ready to teach the biochem stuff. RichD.: The guy who was teaching it previously did it very differently from me, far less rigorously... RichD.: And they changed the way the 2-semester sequence is offered: instead of being fall-spring of freshman year, last year it went to spring freshman year-fall sophomore year. Guy B.: How many students do you usually have in a lecture? RichD.: So I will inherit a class that was started out by the other guy. RichD.: For the nursing classes, it was between 30 and 40. Guy B.: That's a good size, I thought it would be bigger. RichD.: Some of the other classes I might end up with have 150... Guy B.: Whoa, think you will remember everyone's name? RichD.: Then, no way. RichD.: I started taking photos of the groups in robot lab this spring, because after 500 students over 10 years, I couldn RichD.: couldn't remember them any more easily. Guy B.: That's what I thought. The smaller size I think you will. Guy B.: How's Elanor doing? RichD.: She is cramming for a big Spanish exam next week. Guy B.: Tell her, I wish her Good Luck. That will come in handy someday. RichD.: One that will determine if she gets high school credit for her 8th-grade Spanish class and can thus start in Spanish 2 next year. Guy B.: That's good, then she that out of the way. RichD.: I think she will pass. RichD.: She is studying vocabulary. She feels good about the grammar stuff. Guy B.: Christina is finishing up high school next year, correct? RichD.: Yes, 12th grade. Guy B.: Has she decided on where to go to college yet? RichD.: Looking hard at a couple places, but will be making up her mind this summer. She still has to take SAT/ACT. Guy B.: I'm going to talk to an advisor at DeVry U next Saturday. They have a computer networking degree that I can complete in a year. Guy B.: So, I'm going to find out more about it. RichD.: Sounds interesting. RichD.: What degree? Guy B.: Bachelors. I have an Associates now. RichD.: Would you need to be full-time or would this fit around your job? Guy B.: It would fit around my working schedule. They have a campus in Oak Brook which is 15 minutes from me. But, the computer lab work will have to be done at their main campus in Chicago. RichD.: So most of your work would be at night and weekends? Guy B.: Looks like it. I find out more next Saturday. RichD.: Hope you don't have to start keeping Dr. D. hours :-) Guy B.: I bet everyone was wondering where I was Wednesday. RichD.: We did kinda wonder. Guy B.: Two hours of The Bachelor. Next week is the season finale. RichD.: <smirk> RichD.: Reality TV, yuck. RichD.: Speaking of where are they, where is Richard, I wonder? Guy B.: Well, this one was quite different from the other two. That's what I was wondering myself. Where is Rich Clee? Guy B.: Maybe he had something he had to do. RichD.: I haven't gotten any E-mail from him. RichD.: Other than a stupid blonde joke on Thursday. RichD.: Wait... RichD.: I found a note about the Sat. 8 May chat that he might be late to or miss. RichD.: But today is Sat. 15 May. Guy B.: Today's the 15th. RichD.: And it was sent on Sat. 8 May.
moved to room Meeting Place RichD.: I wasn't there for last Saturday, so I don't know if he was there or not. RichD.: Maybe now...
changed username to rich-c RichD.: Errands postponed a week, Richard? Guy B.: Speaking of the devil. There he is. rich-c: yeah, Frances just reminded me it was Saturday RichD.: We were just talking about where you might be. RichD.: Reminding you about what day, wow. RichD.: :-) rich-c: yes, everyone's always talking about me :-( RichD.: Perhaps you should go back to sleep :-) RichD.: Ears burning? rich-c: I'd love to, I haven't been doing enough lately RichD.: And is your weather as bad as Cleveland's today, cold and rainy? Guy B.: We finally got rid of the rain here in Chicago. Sun's out, but quite cool today. rich-c: only small spots of rain, but dull with a chill wind rich-c: say 15C or 59F Guy B.: But, we have more coming in for Monday. RichD.: No fun for Pam camping, then. RichD.: Or not camping, she was doing something this weekend... rich-c: it will be pretty cold up at teh trailer, although if teh sun brteaks through it may be OK RichD.: Whatever it was, bad weather is not good for it. RichD.: Or was it camping? No chat.log to consult from Wednesday. Guy B.: Not a good day for camping. rich-c: well there is a sort of reception tomorrow up around Orangeville - many of Russell's relatives RichD.: Reception? rich-c: Russell's mother has a park trailer up near Lake Simcoe which Pam and Russell use at times rich-c: get-together, family reunion, whatever - little of each RichD.: Hope they have fun. RichD.: Are you and Frances going to it? rich-c: the forecast is for 16C (61F) and mostly sunny - Frances and I will attend RichD.: Say hi to all for me, then. rich-c: will do - it's sort of compensation for their very quiet wedding and restricted attendance rich-c: this is for the extended family, so to speak RichD.: Oh, *that* kind of reception. RichD.: Will all the relatives behave? rich-c: yes, get together, swap lies, eat and drink a bit, chat, all very informal' rich-c: can't speak for myself, but the others might ;-) RichD.: haha. rich-c: actually we will all behave - well, badly, or something in between RichD.: I meant are there any that are toxic if in one another's presence. rich-c: not that I know of, or at least none likely to let on RichD.: Our family never had any like that, but I know of some families who did/do. rich-c: like my two brothers - one in Yellowknife, one in Orlando, and if they could have lived further apart they would have RichD.: Haha, they live at the antipodes... rich-c: Guy, you're awfully quiet - going to let us monopolize the conversation? rich-c: btw Rich, took a very quick look at your Lego robot website - those are quite the creastions RichD.: They are too big this year. RichD.: Too much of the Egg Hunt was spent with robots stuck on each other. rich-c: yeah, that one with the extendable gates did look a bit over the top RichD.: That one did work okay as designed. Its problem after deploying the gate was that all the "fingers" used to hold the gate got caught on other robots. RichD.: Especially Cambot, and Cambot cannot be defeated. rich-c: guess you'll have to establish a "spec racer" formula for next year RichD.: BTW, did you try any of the video? I am interested about performance. RichD.: I encoded it at higher bitrate/quality this time, not sure if it is too much or not. rich-c: no, I looked at times of 10 minutes or more per segment and didn;'t want to use up that much right now RichD.: It is streaming, you don't download the whole thing at once. rich-c: well, I can tell you that my DSL line is working fine RichD.: And you can abort RealPlayer anytime. rich-c: in fact, I am rapidly learning whose websites are fast or slow RichD.: My websites are fast, but CWRU has many network troubles, so things might look slow to the outside world. RichD.: That is another reason why I am interested in the video performance. Guy B.: Well, I'm trying a test recording on the Dell for creating a CD. rich-c: I have stopped using Real Player, there's a free alternative that doesn't have spyware in it RichD.: So, if you have a chance, try looking at a minute or so of some of the clips. RichD.: Well, if it can view my video clips, I'd like to try it out. RichD.: Especially if there are Mac and Linux versions. RichD.: That was the main reason for using RealPlayer: free players everywhere, and free encoders and servers for low volume use. rich-c: OK, I will try to remember to email you the URL for the free download rich-c: but I don't know whether it has Macor Linux capability RichD.: If it turns out my video this time is too big/fast for people, I can down-encode it to the old 56K modem settings, which always seem to have worked fine for people. RichD.: All the Linux people want just MPEG4, all the Windows folk want DiVX, and all the Mac people want QuickTime...I can't win. rich-c: the file sizes did not look intimidating - even on my dialup connection I would not have balked at 400K rich-c: in fact the tri-weekly antivirus update downloads are 3 - 4 MB rich-c: since I can cope with all of those I couldn't care less which you use rich-c: there is a Quick Time for Windows so why would MS users complain? RichD.: I can only afford the time/computer to have a server for one kind of streaming video :-) RichD.: It's the streaming part, Richard. rich-c: this causes problems? RichD.: If you want to have your own local copies of the complete videos, each 10-minute clip is 40 MB. rich-c: ah, OK, I was wondering why the files were so small RichD.: Each kind of streaming uses a different server. rich-c: fun, fun, fun RichD.: Yes, the local thing you get is just the link to the video stream. RichD.: So my lowly Celeron 233 that is currently coleco.cwru.edu can manage to stream only one kind of video format. RichD.: There is no streaming QuickTime for anything except a Mac with OS X. RichD.: Server, that is. RichD.: There are clients to receive QT streams that work under Windows. rich-c: is QT for Win one of them? RichD.: And one advantage was that the RealServer stuff was free...everything else is hundreds to thousands of dollars. RichD.: Yes, the latest QT for Windows can receive QT streams. rich-c: right- Real were using it to push their sales RichD.: There is no Windows-based server for streaming QT. RichD.: Paid RealServer is $2000 per year, license=1 year. RichD.: And that will get you 20 simultaneous connections. rich-c: I noticed Real tend to be very generous with themselves on their pricing rich-c: sort of like Adobe that way RichD.: You want something big, 50 or 100? That will cost you $5K to $10K per year. RichD.: Used to be the freeware RealServer was limited only by peak bandwidth, inability to stream out to other RealServers; but you could still get 25 simultaneous connections. rich-c: I'm trying to figure out how to get that URL for you, but I can't go to desktop without crashing teh chat RichD.: Starting 2 years ago, that was cut down to 10 simultaneous. So, no hope of having a live webcast of the Egg Hunt any more. Guy B.: Well, folks got to run. Have to do some shopping then get something to eat. I'll see you all next time. RichD.: You can send it later, no prob. RichD.: See you Wednesday, Guy. rich-c: OK Guy, sorry I was late - do better next time Guy B.: Poff
Guy B. left chat session rich-c: leaves me feeling quite ashamed - I just completely forgot the chat rich-c: so often I am the only one here RichD.: Don't worry about it. RichD.: I am here only because Christina's softball doubleheader was rained out. RichD.: I was supposed to be part of the parent brigade providing food for them at the end. rich-c: yes, we have all these things to do rich-c: I'm building up the old K6 computer for Erin to borrow - now I've lost the IRQ for the mouse RichD.: Fortunately, we all held off buying stuff until the last minute...and the cancellation phone call came in at 8 AM today. RichD.: So no unneeded food was bought. RichD.: Lost IRQ? rich-c: yes, there was a conflict, I started fiddling about in the CMOS, and ended up with a non-working cursor RichD.: Oops. rich-c: I suspect I can go get it back but it will take a bit RichD.: Should be some BIOS way to reset to defaults? RichD.: Sometime I remember doing that and starting over with optimizations etc. RichD.: A pain, but it worked. rich-c: Oh yes, but then I lose all the other settings - like the B drive, for instance RichD.: Bus mouse or serial mouse? RichD.: (I know they are really the same.) rich-c: and now that I've upgraded it to 128 MB, the quick memory check is a must rich-c: serial mouse - bought it secondhand from Noah :-) RichD.: Shoulda got a real mouse from Noah, then he'd have been left with no breeding pair and a vermin problem would have been solved. rich-c: there was also a problem with the modem when I moved from 33.6 to 56K, that's related RichD.: Both internal modems? rich-c: for some reason only one modem works but both must be in the machine for it to work rich-c: again, IRQ problems, I am quite sure RichD.: Any surviving docs for the machine? rich-c: oh sure, I've got the motherboard manual, no sweat that way, been using it for the BIOS editing RichD.: I mean for the peripherals. rich-c: don't believe the mouse hand meaningful docs, and teh modems were just plug and play RichD.: That might help resolve some of the conflicts. RichD.: PNP, yeah, excuse to provide no docs. rich-c: I am not certain they even had drivers though I will have to check to be sure either way RichD.: Any helpfully-labelled jumpers on the cards? RichD.: Maybe somthing to set IRQ manually or enable/disable? rich-c: I can't even remember any more which is the 33.6 and which is the 56 rich-c: but card jumpers are terra incognita for me rich-c: but I should be able to modify the setting in Windoze Control Panel RichD.: If each modem shows up separately in the hardware list, you could try disabling the 33.6 and then just physically remove it. rich-c: one way or another I will battle it to my will :-) RichD.: haha RichD.: I am sure that Erin will be very happy to have it working. rich-c: I quite likely may disable the lot then reinstall one at a time RichD.: I detect some friction about sharing the keyboard with Pam. rich-c: mousefirst so I can get into the panel to deal with the others rich-c: I hadn't noticed that, but it is Pam's computer and she is talkative RichD.: I get some things in (PRIVATE) from time to time that are suggestive... rich-c: still if Erin can get on on her own that will make life much easier for all of us rich-c: next step will be to get a 16-bit ethernet card for my laptop so Frances can join in RichD.: Any Amiga ethernet? rich-c: Amiga ethernet cards can be found if you look long enough and hard enough, and are willing to pay enough RichD.: Then a laptop one is probably the way to do. RichD.: to go, I meant. rich-c: Frances has evinced a major lack of interest when the idea has been advanced RichD.: Though frankly Frances doesn't strike me as the talkative-in-chat type. rich-c: picked up an 8-port hub few days ago so that is covered rich-c: though I guess I'll need another RJ45 cable RichD.: CAT5 cables are easy to find. rich-c: she is often looking over my shoulder and does take over on occasion RichD.: She would certainly be welcome. rich-c: CAT5 is a specification I don't know RichD.: It is just another way to say "ethernet cable". RichD.: It's what it's called around here. rich-c: OK - btw Frances has a joke she wants sent to you too - will deal with that in due course RichD.: I can never remember the RJ nomenclature because one is for phone, one is for ADAMnet, and another is for the ethernet. RichD.: Okay RE: joke. rich-c: gather that drushel@apk.net still works? RichD.: I got your blonde one. It got frowns at home. RichD.: Yes. RichD.: Too many girls in this house. rich-c: I would have thought Joan would have found it a hoot - hope it went over well in the lab RichD.: Lab folk liked it. rich-c: Frances loved it RichD.: So you will mail out Frances' joke? rich-c: one of us will mail it to you, likely within the hour RichD.: Sounds good. RichD.: I am gonna have to break off now, alas, to go start cooking supper. rich-c: she's getting it off the orthopedics website and it caters to your prejudices - 'nuff said RichD.: Joan is working evenings tonight. rich-c: OK, off you go then, and we'll get mail,ing at you. Watch your mailbox rich-c: see you Wednesday RichD.: I shall. Talk to you Wednesday. Say hi to Pam and Russell and anyone else there who knows me. rich-c: will do RichD.: <off to the galley>
RichD. left chat session
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moved to room Meeting Place
changed username to gurlygirl25