freenode #wikipedia

2008-05-07 18:12 < StayTuned> note LEND
2008-05-07 18:12 < AngryParsley> anyone who really believes in peak oil should go live in a hut in the forest, just like anyone who believes abortion is murder should murder abortion doctors. (obviously I think both of those kinds of people are insane)
2008-05-07 18:12 < TheWeasel> it's impossible for the western world to pull out of Iraq now.
2008-05-07 18:12 < quanticle> StayTuned: Right. And they'll be paid with American dollars.
2008-05-07 18:12 < StayTuned> Which are worth the tissue they are
2008-05-07 18:12 < TheWeasel> and it would be impossibly selfish for the US to just do that
2008-05-07 18:13 < quanticle> AngryParsley: Whoa there. It was sarcasm, y'know?
2008-05-07 18:13 < Asenine> Anyone know of the URI for the page creation tool?
2008-05-07 18:13 < Messedrocker> lolol
2008-05-07 18:13 < StayTuned> Think of it - its like a register check out
2008-05-07 18:14 < StayTuned> the man that owns the store - keeps the till on the other side of the counter from the products
2008-05-07 18:14 * TheWeasel watches a Chinese female cyclist with awful teeth
2008-05-07 18:14 < StayTuned> I'm not going to vote for McCain
2008-05-07 18:14 < StayTuned> I'm not a blundering fool
2008-05-07 18:14 < StayTuned> but I'll tell you this
2008-05-07 18:14 < StayTuned> in the mid run China will drive
2008-05-07 18:15 < StayTuned> and Americans will eat Ramen
2008-05-07 18:15 < StayTuned> its already happening
2008-05-07 18:15 < StayTuned> in my town we have bad roads - and chinese restaurants popping up everywhere - and now chinese BOOK stores.
2008-05-07 18:15 < StayTuned> Barnes and Noble is out of business in my town
2008-05-07 18:15 < TheWeasel> in my country there is problem!
2008-05-07 18:15 < AngryParsley> StayTuned: has anyone told you how crazy you sound?
2008-05-07 18:16 < quanticle> StayTuned: Thank you Capt. Obvious. You've only pointed out what any reasonably educated person has been seeing for the last 5 years.
2008-05-07 18:16 < AngryParsley> quanticle: oh, good. at least you're not one of _THEM_
2008-05-07 18:16 < AngryParsley> :)
2008-05-07 18:16 < Asenine> in case anyone is interested, i found the article creation checker
2008-05-07 18:16 < Asenine> http://tools.wikimedia.de/~escaladix/larticles/
2008-05-07 18:16 < quanticle> AngryParsely: Not only am I not one of them, but I take unhealthy pleasure in making fun of them.
2008-05-07 18:16 * TheWeasel would prefer to be Van Morrison than any other member of Them
2008-05-07 18:17 < StayTuned> quanticle - nothing makes me happier than to be agreed with -
2008-05-07 18:17 < AngryParsley> it's funny how everyone complains about gas prices. I drive my car maybe 2000 miles a year and I use my motorcycle for most trips
2008-05-07 18:17 < AngryParsley> so gas is an extremely minor expense
2008-05-07 18:17 < StayTuned> I drive no where
2008-05-07 18:17 * TheWeasel is in wheelchairing distance to most things he needs to do
2008-05-07 18:17 < quanticle> AngryParsely: What
2008-05-07 18:17 < quanticle> 's
2008-05-07 18:18 < AngryParsley> oh no it costs me $12 to fill up today, and I only get 50-70mpg with my ridiculous sports bike
2008-05-07 18:18 < quanticle> Er, What'
2008-05-07 18:18 < StayTuned> TheWeasel - I feel for ya man
2008-05-07 18:18 < quanticle> dammit
2008-05-07 18:18 * quanticle cannot type today
2008-05-07 18:18 < TheWeasel> Huh?
2008-05-07 18:18 < TheWeasel> hahah
2008-05-07 18:18 < TheWeasel> nothing to feel for there
2008-05-07 18:18 < AngryParsley> spit it out man!
2008-05-07 18:18 < TheWeasel> brb.
2008-05-07 18:18 < StayTuned> people are not meant to drive and wreck cars
2008-05-07 18:19 < quanticle> AngryParsley: What's funny is that, even with $3 gas, we're still only paying about half of Europe's prices.
2008-05-07 18:19 < AngryParsley> quanticle: I paid $4/gallon this week-end, but my main expense when it comes to vehicles is initial purchase, insurance, and speeding tickets
2008-05-07 18:19 < quanticle> StayTuned: By that logic, most modern inventions shouldn't exist. People weren't meant to burn themselves with fire, after all.
2008-05-07 18:19 * TheWeasel is back and can report having paid something like 1,47 Euros a liter last time he filled 'er u
2008-05-07 18:19 < TheWeasel> *p
2008-05-07 18:19 < AngryParsley> if god wanted man to make fire he would have given us lighters for hands :P
2008-05-07 18:20 < Fire> hey, write fi*re please or something
2008-05-07 18:20 < AngryParsley> heh
2008-05-07 18:20 < TheWeasel> Sorry mate.
2008-05-07 18:20 < Fire> :D
2008-05-07 18:20 < Fire> np :-)
2008-05-07 18:20 < TheWeasel> that's an awfully common nick
2008-05-07 18:20 < TheWeasel> :-)
2008-05-07 18:20 * ST47 notes that there was a fire at the local power plant yesterday
2008-05-07 18:20 * Fire kicks ST47.
2008-05-07 18:20 < StayTuned> there is a complete paradigm shift going on - while other people are driving around like their lives are at stake earning money, I am building information which will net me returns at a future date. The economy hasn't had anything to do with paper currency in 20 years.
2008-05-07 18:21 < quanticle> TheWeasel: Heh. Congratulations, you paid $8.60-odd a gallon.
2008-05-07 18:21 * ST47 lights StayTuned on fire for typing so much
2008-05-07 18:21 * TheWeasel listens to The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown's song "You Guessed It" :-P
2008-05-07 18:21 < TheWeasel> Yea.
2008-05-07 18:21 * StayTuned gives ST47 the floor
2008-05-07 18:21 < TheWeasel> European cities were more pessimistically designed, I suppose.
2008-05-07 18:21 < Asenine> May i contribute to this discussion?
2008-05-07 18:22 < TheWeasel> we have functioning public transport even to remote areas
2008-05-07 18:22 < TheWeasel> Asenine: Always
2008-05-07 18:22 < Asenine> I live in England, and went to Florida about a month ago.
2008-05-07 18:22 < Aqwis> ah, america
2008-05-07 18:22 < Aqwis> suburbmare
2008-05-07 18:22 < quanticle> StayTuned: Heh. Its true that paper currency is becoming increasingly irrelevant in the age of electronic transfers and credit cards, but that doesn't mean I'll be sorry to see it go.
2008-05-07 18:22 < Asenine> Everyone is complaining about gas prices and that sort of thing, but I don't get the fuss.
2008-05-07 18:23 < StayTuned> quanticle - its not even credit and electronics
2008-05-07 18:23 < StayTuned> think bits
2008-05-07 18:23 < quanticle> Asenine: As I pointed out to TheWeasel, even $4/gallon gas is less than half of what Europeans pay.
2008-05-07 18:23 < TheWeasel> the fuss is that everyone even in 20,000 pop. backwaters has a 10 mile drive to the city center.
2008-05-07 18:23 < StayTuned> bits and bit management
2008-05-07 18:23 < StayTuned> organizing complex data structures
2008-05-07 18:23 < Asenine> weasel - same in england, so.
2008-05-07 18:23 < StayTuned> building the "archipelago"
2008-05-07 18:23 < quanticle> StayTuned: Ummm, how 'bout no, given the exponential decreases in the cost of storage.
2008-05-07 18:23 < TheWeasel> which only happens in London-sized cities in Europe
2008-05-07 18:23 < AngryParsley> Asenine: the price of gas affects a lot of things. shipping costs go up. transportation costs go up. also a lot of places in the US don't have very good public transportation
2008-05-07 18:24 < StayTuned> Credit expires every 7 years
2008-05-07 18:24 < Asenine> neither in england
2008-05-07 18:24 < TheWeasel> and driving in London is strictly for the weird anyway.
2008-05-07 18:24 < Asenine> we have poor public transportation asider from a few places
2008-05-07 18:24 < Asenine> And driving in London has not existed since the C charge.
2008-05-07 18:24 < quanticle> StayTuned: Not many people will invest in an asset whose valuation has a tendency to exponentially decline.
2008-05-07 18:24 < StayTuned> technology declines in value - information has a curve up
2008-05-07 18:25 < TheWeasel> PT workers keep striking here in Berlin
2008-05-07 18:25 < TheWeasel> which is bit of a hassle
2008-05-07 18:25 < Demi> the fuss is because it's an increase, whipped into a froth by people in news media talking about it all the time, no more or less
2008-05-07 18:25 < TheWeasel> but oh well, we're pinko commies and that's the price we pay
2008-05-07 18:25 < AngryParsley> Asenine: can't you register your car as a taxi cab to get around the congestion charge?
2008-05-07 18:25 < quanticle> StayTuned: Right, but as more information is indexed and computerized, and search tools get better, even raw information declines in value.
2008-05-07 18:25 < StayTuned> If I were the one that broke the story about Clinton's investment in her campaign to the tune of what was it 11 mil, don't you think I would be making some cash right now?
2008-05-07 18:26 < AngryParsley> also aren't hybrids and motorcycles exempt?
2008-05-07 18:26 < quanticle> StayTuned: Not really.
2008-05-07 18:26 < gwern> I would be skeptical that information in general becomes more valuable over time; quite a lot of information becomes worthless, quite aside from how some information gets driven down to the marginal cost of distribution... so unless you're dealing in a subset you know will appreciate
2008-05-07 18:26 < StayTuned> but no
2008-05-07 18:26 < TheWeasel> there's a "pollution zone" now
2008-05-07 18:26 < StayTuned> I didn't break that story
2008-05-07 18:26 < quanticle> StayTuned: The reality is that blogging is not inherently profit making.
2008-05-07 18:26 < TheWeasel> people can't drive their old cars to their homes any more if they live downtown
2008-05-07 18:26 < TheWeasel> the effect is zero
2008-05-07 18:26 < AngryParsley> I was watching top gear and they found out that there are like 20 lamborghinis registered as taxi cabs
2008-05-07 18:26 < StayTuned> that's where you are mistaken
2008-05-07 18:26 < StayTuned> all profit comes from managing information
2008-05-07 18:27 < cimon> StayTuned: have you read our fine article [[Technocracy (movement)]] ?
2008-05-07 18:27 < quanticle> gwern: Right, that's what I was pointing out, given the decreasing cost of computation, storage, and the increasing efficacy of search tools.
2008-05-07 18:27 < Asenine> @angryparsley - you can register it as such, but the hassle of it is mad
2008-05-07 18:27 < StayTuned> cimon - I'm not interested in owning anything but viacom
2008-05-07 18:27 < quanticle> StayTuned: False. Information didn't build my house, wood did.
2008-05-07 18:27 < Asenine> the forms are mad, you have to be active which means picking people up and stuff
2008-05-07 18:27 < Asenine> etc.
2008-05-07 18:28 < StayTuned> and you can't eat chips
2008-05-07 18:28 < Asenine> If that were true, surely everyone would do it
2008-05-07 18:28 < Invisible_Cat> i have a wood on me
2008-05-07 18:28 < TheWeasel> Yay for making exceptions in paleolithic communism for the ownership of multinational corporations.
2008-05-07 18:28 < cimon> StayTuned: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocracy_(movement)
2008-05-07 18:28 < Asenine> and that would be quite the pyrrhic victory for the public
2008-05-07 18:28 < quanticle> Invisible_Cat: Can you use it to build a house>
2008-05-07 18:28 < quanticle> ?
2008-05-07 18:28 < StayTuned> thank you cimon
2008-05-07 18:28 < cimon> StayTuned: do read it, there are analogies to your position there.
2008-05-07 18:28 < Invisible_Cat> no
2008-05-07 18:28 * TheWeasel drinks the most blatantly perfumed wine in human history
2008-05-07 18:29 < quanticle> Invisible_Cat: Can you at least use it to open a pickle jar?
2008-05-07 18:29 < Asenine> by the way, guys, anything on wiki en you want me to help out on? i am free to help
2008-05-07 18:29 < AngryParsley> Asenine: it just seems like most people would get some sort of vehicle that is exempt from the charge instead of actually paying for it
2008-05-07 18:30 < Leslie_S> bah
2008-05-07 18:30 < AngryParsley> like I got a motorcycle and now I can go in the carpool lane
2008-05-07 18:30 < Leslie_S> i wish i could have driven here
2008-05-07 18:30 < Leslie_S> i'm in detroit. i wouldve gone to fucking canada for fu.
2008-05-07 18:30 < AngryParsley> and I can lane split
2008-05-07 18:30 < Leslie_S> *fun
2008-05-07 18:30 < quanticle> Invisible_Cat: In case you didn't get the reference: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/03/21/
2008-05-07 18:30 < StayTuned> cimon - I'm reading all of those links tonight - I have it bookmarked
2008-05-07 18:31 < Demi> i think more people should ride motorcycles. i'm getting older now and i might need the organs.
2008-05-07 18:31 < cimon> Demi: preferably without helmets, even, right?
2008-05-07 18:31 < Asenine> quanticle - i got it ;_;
2008-05-07 18:31 < AngryParsley> Demi: also think of all the revenue from speeding tickets
2008-05-07 18:31 < AngryParsley> since motorcycles go fast as hell
2008-05-07 18:32 < Demi> right, there you go
2008-05-07 18:32 < quanticle> Asenine: Heh. I figured somebody would, given the size of the geek audience.
2008-05-07 18:32 < StayTuned> "Go ahead....make my day....:)"
2008-05-07 18:32 < AngryParsley> for example, I got a $380 ticket for going 76 in a 30
2008-05-07 18:32 < AngryParsley> totally the motorcycle's fault. not my own arrogance
2008-05-07 18:32 < Asenine> quanticle - i'm not a penny arcade reader really, i always thought it somewhat mediocre as opposed to xkcd
2008-05-07 18:32 < Demi> my "fastest" ticket was 91 mph on highway 1, which i think was 50 or 55
2008-05-07 18:33 < StayTuned> I got a ticket once for going 78 - aggravated the heck out of me
2008-05-07 18:33 < StayTuned> but that was then and this is now
2008-05-07 18:33 * TheWeasel once got two tickets for two incidents ten minutes from each other
2008-05-07 18:33 < quanticle> Asenine: Did you see Penny Arcade reference XKCD the other day in their blog?
2008-05-07 18:33 < TheWeasel> each at the very same spots
2008-05-07 18:33 < TheWeasel> -s
2008-05-07 18:33 < AngryParsley> StayTuned: you have to say what the speed limit is as well
2008-05-07 18:33 < AngryParsley> otherwise we don't know how much you were speeding by
2008-05-07 18:33 < StayTuned> 65
2008-05-07 18:34 < TheWeasel> I thought "well they accidentally sent me the note twice"
2008-05-07 18:34 < quanticle> Asenine: http://www.penny-arcade.com/2008/5/5/
2008-05-07 18:34 * cimon won't ride anything but a single speed foldup bicycle that is heavy built, and geared down.
2008-05-07 18:34 * TheWeasel did 42 kph in a 30 kph zone both times
2008-05-07 18:34 < AngryParsley> TheWeasel: uhh... wouldn't you remember getting pulled over twice?
2008-05-07 18:34 < StayTuned> if it matters the ticket was paid cash in court in a small town outside rochester.
2008-05-07 18:34 < TheWeasel> it was a radar photo
2008-05-07 18:34 < AngryParsley> radar photo? but how could they know it was you driving?
2008-05-07 18:34 < TheWeasel> I admitted to it
2008-05-07 18:34 < TheWeasel> :-D
2008-05-07 18:34 < Asenine> haha
2008-05-07 18:35 < AngryParsley> not your smartest decision there
2008-05-07 18:35 < TheWeasel> It was quite clearly me both times.
2008-05-07 18:35 < cimon> I figure my top speed on that bike is like 7.5 mph.
2008-05-07 18:35 * quanticle got pulled over for doing 42 in a 30 once...
2008-05-07 18:35 < TheWeasel> well, if you don't admit you get nasty things like having to write down your automotive exploits
2008-05-07 18:35 < TheWeasel> after they happenexc
2008-05-07 18:35 < AngryParsley> cimon: I've gone 110 (which is where my bike runs out of gears), but obviously that was on a perfectly straight and empty road in the middle of nowhere
2008-05-07 18:35 < TheWeasel> *d
2008-05-07 18:35 < TheWeasel> like a logbook
2008-05-07 18:35 < StayTuned> if it matters my car is tagged in all 5 burroughs of NYC on every camera in the entire metro area.
2008-05-07 18:36 < StayTuned> And it has now been sold
2008-05-07 18:36 < StayTuned> I honestly wish I could have kept it
2008-05-07 18:36 < cimon> AngryParsley: When I was way way way younger than I am now, I clocked my speedometer on my bike on a down hill portion...
2008-05-07 18:37 < quanticle> "I hate foreshadowing, but not as much as ten minutes from now..." <-- Too true.
2008-05-07 18:37 < StayTuned> right - the cabal
2008-05-07 18:38 < quanticle> StayTuned: Does it feel like you sold an autographed memorabilia item or something?
2008-05-07 18:38 < cimon> AngryParsley: When I think of all the things I did as a youth, I really wonder how I am alive today...
2008-05-07 18:38 < StayTuned> quanticle - if it felt like it financially I'd be happier
2008-05-07 18:39 < Asenine> cimon - i'm still a youth and have never done stupid things like that. i probably shoud
2008-05-07 18:39 < Asenine> *should
2008-05-07 18:39 < cimon> Asenine: the tiem I was most scared in my life, I wasn't even the idiot steering...
2008-05-07 18:39 < StayTuned> Very few people can survive what I survived in July of 2007
2008-05-07 18:40 < Demi> i got ticketed once for "careless driving" and i wasn't speeding at all
2008-05-07 18:40 < AngryParsley> cimon: yeah, I've had some ridiculously close calls
2008-05-07 18:40 < Invisible_Cat> I have a court apperance at the end of the month
2008-05-07 18:40 < Sfan00> Demi : :(
2008-05-07 18:40 < Invisible_Cat> for a ticket i got in the subway
2008-05-07 18:40 < StayTuned> :)
2008-05-07 18:40 < quanticle> Invisible_Cat: Wait, what?
2008-05-07 18:40 < Sfan00> What you get a ticket for?
2008-05-07 18:40 < AngryParsley> Invisible_Cat: a court appearance, so it's a misdemeanor?
2008-05-07 18:41 < quanticle> Disorderly conduct?
2008-05-07 18:41 < Invisible_Cat> nah
2008-05-07 18:41 < Invisible_Cat> I'm contesting it
2008-05-07 18:41 < StayTuned> ever been in a subway?
2008-05-07 18:41 < Invisible_Cat> 220$ for not having proper identification card
2008-05-07 18:41 < Invisible_Cat> since i'm a student and i use a restricted card
2008-05-07 18:41 < Invisible_Cat> a restricted bus pass
2008-05-07 18:41 < StayTuned> whoa that is FUBAR
2008-05-07 18:41 < Invisible_Cat> that's less
2008-05-07 18:42 < Invisible_Cat> i had it, but it was in the bottom of my backpack
2008-05-07 18:42 < cimon> Asenine: I was inside a Volkswagen (Herbie type) bubble car, doing 80 km/h down a very rough forest road (rough in the meaning basically wheel tracks, with tall grass growing between the tracks) and passed between two birch trees so close, that both the side mirrors brushed against the trunks...
2008-05-07 18:42 < Invisible_Cat> say, does cops in your area gives written or computerized tickets?
2008-05-07 18:42 < Asenine> written
2008-05-07 18:42 < Sfan00> Invisble_Cat; They asked for ID? in the US!!!!?
2008-05-07 18:42 * Invisible_Cat is in Canada
2008-05-07 18:42 < StayTuned> feat of endurance - 26 hours no sleep - lost in the burroughs
2008-05-07 18:42 < Sfan00> Or only for proof of your entitlment>
2008-05-07 18:42 < Sfan00> ?
2008-05-07 18:43 < Invisible_Cat> proof of entitlment
2008-05-07 18:43 < Sfan00> But 220 Dollars is steep
2008-05-07 18:43 < cimon> Asenine: I was scared, but decided to pull a stone-face stoic outward appearance...
2008-05-07 18:43 < Demi> Invisible_Cat - where?
2008-05-07 18:43 < Sfan00> Rather than just asking you to pay the full fare
2008-05-07 18:43 < AngryParsley> and that's canadian dollars. those are almost as much as real dollars
2008-05-07 18:43 < Sfan00> + a penalty charge
2008-05-07 18:43 < Invisible_Cat> <== Montreal
2008-05-07 18:43 < Demi> i mean in what context?
2008-05-07 18:43 < StayTuned> Anyone hear Allison Crowe Montreal yet?
2008-05-07 18:43 < Demi> oh, the subway
2008-05-07 18:44 < Sfan00> 220 Dollars for a mistake on subway passes !!!!
2008-05-07 18:44 < Sfan00> :(
2008-05-07 18:44 < Demi> Sfan00 - if they just charged your fare no one would actually pay fares, or you would have to have some (slow) restricted entry
2008-05-07 18:44 < Invisible_Cat> I know
2008-05-07 18:44 < Invisible_Cat> shocking
2008-05-07 18:44 < cimon> Asenine: to be fair, the one behind the wheel was a Goodyear test driver, so he knew what he was doing. Though even he finally blanched, when we brushed between the two birches, and he realized what he had just done...
2008-05-07 18:44 < Invisible_Cat> they gave me a written ticket
2008-05-07 18:44 < Sfan00> Demi: Well the Tube in London uses penalty fares
2008-05-07 18:44 < Invisible_Cat> how much?
2008-05-07 18:44 < Sfan00> rather than pricing fare dodgers out of the market
2008-05-07 18:44 < Demi> yes, and they also raid buses
2008-05-07 18:45 < Sfan00> by issuing 100 pounds ....
2008-05-07 18:45 < Ziggy_Sawdust> lolwut
2008-05-07 18:46 < TheWeasel> well, public transport is also for people who can't afford petrol prices
2008-05-07 18:46 < TheWeasel> so I suppose "pricing them out of something", while it sounds like something Boris Johnson would be wont to do, isn't the point of it.
2008-05-07 18:46 < Sfan00> BTW Boris the Mayor is in for a rough ride...
2008-05-07 18:46 < cimon> Asenine: the funny thing is, that I told my mum about how exhilariteing it was (after the fact, having gone past the "scared to death" thing), and my mum talked to his wife, and the wife went hard on his case for scareing me to death...
2008-05-07 18:46 < Lycurgus> is he ever
2008-05-07 18:46 < Sfan00> He's planning a booze ban on the tube
2008-05-07 18:47 < Invisible_Cat> lol
2008-05-07 18:47 < TheWeasel> there is none?
2008-05-07 18:47 < Sfan00> Not currently
2008-05-07 18:47 < Invisible_Cat> this morning, a policeman was with 2 old ladies
2008-05-07 18:47 < AngryParsley> cimon: just this week-end a truck did a left turn and crossed right in front of me. had I been just a hair slower on the brakes I would have smashed my face right into the metal frame of the truck bed
2008-05-07 18:47 < TheWeasel> hah... there's one in Berlin but after ten, it's usually not enforced
2008-05-07 18:47 < Invisible_Cat> and he was giving them a ticket
2008-05-07 18:47 < AngryParsley> bikes are just invisible to people in cars
2008-05-07 18:47 < Sfan00> TheWeasel: Well you Germans are sticklers for not causing trouble...
2008-05-07 18:47 < AngryParsley> it almost makes me want to get a really loud exhaust
2008-05-07 18:47 < TheWeasel> oh, you have no idea
2008-05-07 18:47 < TheWeasel> haha
2008-05-07 18:47 < Sfan00> I mean you issue rules to Germans, and they follow them ;)
2008-05-07 18:47 < TheWeasel> revolutionary spirit and all.
2008-05-07 18:47 < TheWeasel> yea
2008-05-07 18:48 < Invisible_Cat> they broke a rule that states that there is no religious promotion in the subway
2008-05-07 18:48 < Invisible_Cat> they were jeovah,s witnesses
2008-05-07 18:48 < Ziggy_Sawdust> HAY GUISE
2008-05-07 18:48 < TheWeasel> the joke goes that when Germans, during a revolution, want to occupy a station, they'd all buy train tickets first.
2008-05-07 18:48 < Sfan00> TheWeasel : For real?
2008-05-07 18:48 < Ziggy_Sawdust> Dude.
2008-05-07 18:48 < TheWeasel> Joke-
2008-05-07 18:48 < Ziggy_Sawdust> What the hell is going on with Wikipedia
2008-05-07 18:48 < Sfan00> Vandlaism, fire, theft, Wheels? ;)
2008-05-07 18:49 < TheWeasel> Wikipedia faces imminent destruction.
2008-05-07 18:49 < TheWeasel> Speaking of which
2008-05-07 18:49 * Fire sighs.
2008-05-07 18:49 < Sfan00> From what?
2008-05-07 18:49 < AngryParsley> Sfan00: don't you mean fi*re?
2008-05-07 18:49 < TheWeasel> I haven't seem Kelly in a long while
2008-05-07 18:49 < AngryParsley> haha
2008-05-07 18:49 < TheWeasel> *seen
2008-05-07 18:49 < Ziggy_Sawdust> ZOMG WIKIPEDIA IZ DOOMED GAISE
2008-05-07 18:49 < Sfan00> There's a Hurricane heading for Tampa?
2008-05-07 18:49 < Ziggy_Sawdust> broken clock, right twice a day, etc.
2008-05-07 18:49 < TheWeasel> is there?
2008-05-07 18:49 * quanticle lights #wikipedia on fire
2008-05-07 18:49 < TheWeasel> it's awfully early in the year for that
2008-05-07 18:49 < Ziggy_Sawdust> Anyway... so, what's going on with the focus of the project?
2008-05-07 18:50 * TheWeasel plays an organ solo along with it
2008-05-07 18:50 < cimon> TheWeasel: Kelly has written she is stepping back from even trolling wikipedia...
2008-05-07 18:50 < Ziggy_Sawdust> It's like... wtf...?
2008-05-07 18:50 < AngryParsley> Fire: the travails of having such a short nick
2008-05-07 18:50 < TheWeasel> Oh, alright.
2008-05-07 18:50 < Sfan00> I wasn't saying there was one, just that if Wikipedia was under threat, a Hurricane up against the server farm would be a likley target
2008-05-07 18:50 < quanticle> cimon: So that's why I've not seen the non-bovine in a while.
2008-05-07 18:50 < Ziggy_Sawdust> there's 2000+ featured articles, and they barely intersect with the 1,000 core articles
2008-05-07 18:50 < TheWeasel> Pity, when she went off-topic she was worthwhile
2008-05-07 18:50 < Ziggy_Sawdust> You know what?
2008-05-07 18:50 < Sfan00> TheWeasel; Surley a troll giving up is a good thing?
2008-05-07 18:50 < Ziggy_Sawdust> It would be so truppy
2008-05-07 18:50 < Ziggy_Sawdust> *trippy
2008-05-07 18:51 < Ziggy_Sawdust> if the servers got destroyed by Hurricane William
2008-05-07 18:51 < Ziggy_Sawdust> :D
2008-05-07 18:51 < quanticle> TheWeasel: Indeed. The was a good person to converse with.
2008-05-07 18:51 < quanticle> Er, She
2008-05-07 18:51 < Sfan00> Unless it's means that the Cabal is succeding with ze Masterplan!!
2008-05-07 18:51 < TheWeasel> she wasn't trolling this joint, she was a fellow jurist, one of the few in here.
2008-05-07 18:51 < TheWeasel> :-D
2008-05-07 18:51 < TheWeasel> so I kind of miss her
2008-05-07 18:52 < Ziggy_Sawdust> So.
2008-05-07 18:52 < quanticle> Sfan00: I'm not sure Kelly was a troll in the traditional sense. Her trolling often would be at a critical point, when discussion about some rule would be getting heated. Her cynicism helped moderate things and calm things down, in my opinion.
2008-05-07 18:52 < Ziggy_Sawdust> Are there any ops here that can fill me in on #wikipedia protocol?
2008-05-07 18:52 < Ziggy_Sawdust> quanticle: who are you talking about
2008-05-07 18:52 < quanticle> TheWeasel: I miss her too.
2008-05-07 18:52 < Ziggy_Sawdust> afaik it's a normal channel?
2008-05-07 18:52 < cimon> I was on a field trip today/yesterday in a library... I kind of freaked everybody out, when I nearly collapsed into laughter at sighting a Swedish manual on "Trolling" technique. (a book on fishing).
2008-05-07 18:52 < Sfan00> ZiggySwadust: Don't make toruble
2008-05-07 18:52 < quanticle> Ziggy_Sawdust: Kelly Martin; username: NotACow
2008-05-07 18:52 < Sfan00> *trouble
2008-05-07 18:52 < Demi> Ziggy_Sawdust - there's a faq, some information on [[m:IRC channels]] (IRC channels page on meta)
2008-05-07 18:52 < Ziggy_Sawdust> haw!
2008-05-07 18:52 < Sfan00> Don't publicly log
2008-05-07 18:53 < Ziggy_Sawdust> okay
2008-05-07 18:53 < TheWeasel> that's about the only rule here
2008-05-07 18:53 < TheWeasel> :-)
2008-05-07 18:53 < Sfan00> (the bees in the trees get angry about logging ;) )
2008-05-07 18:53 < quanticle> cimon: You do realize that that's where the term came from right? As in trolling for trouble?
2008-05-07 18:53 < Sfan00> and can sting
2008-05-07 18:53 < TheWeasel> and WP:DICK applies, but that's a given
2008-05-07 18:53 < Ziggy_Sawdust> I just want to know if this is one of those nazi-mod channels with regular op-orgies
2008-05-07 18:53 < cimon> quanticle: sadly, I know the history better than most.
2008-05-07 18:53 < Demi> not really
2008-05-07 18:53 < Ziggy_Sawdust> cool
2008-05-07 18:53 < Ziggy_Sawdust> anyway, as I was saying...
2008-05-07 18:53 < Ziggy_Sawdust> you people are a bunch of stupid dummies
2008-05-07 18:54 < quanticle> Ziggy_Stardust: Its not super strict here, but neither is it completely unrestricted like #politics
2008-05-07 18:54 < Demi> as you can see, wikipedia is among the topics we discuss but not the only one
2008-05-07 18:54 < cimon> quanticle: As I have noted before, I am of the same "yearclass" as Mike Godwin.
2008-05-07 18:54 < Ziggy_Sawdust> because you spend all this effort improving articles
2008-05-07 18:54 < Sfan00> ZiiggySawdust: Provided you dont make trouble
2008-05-07 18:54 < quanticle> cimon: Heh.
2008-05-07 18:54 < Ziggy_Sawdust> that nobody cares about
2008-05-07 18:54 < Ziggy_Sawdust> :(
2008-05-07 18:54 < Sfan00> Hi qunatilce: How is your interface? ;)
2008-05-07 18:54 < Ziggy_Sawdust> of course, that didn't make sense, so I'll have to explain further
2008-05-07 18:54 < quanticle> Ziggy_Sawdust: Just because you don't care about the articles doesn't mean that no one does.
2008-05-07 18:54 < Ziggy_Sawdust> didn't say what I meant
2008-05-07 18:54 < Sfan00> ZiggYSwadust: Wikipedia has notabilit gudelines...
2008-05-07 18:55 < Demi> not all of the people on this channel edit wikipedia, Ziggy_Sawdust; and name-calling is not really cool, ops or no ops
2008-05-07 18:55 < quanticle> Sfan00: Free from disruptive hackers, Sfan00.
2008-05-07 18:55 < Ziggy_Sawdust> i.e. the core 1,000 articles are mostly start-class/stubs/junk
2008-05-07 18:55 < Sfan00> quanticle: Phreakers quanticle, phreakers....
2008-05-07 18:55 < quanticle> Sfan00: Right.
2008-05-07 18:55 < Ziggy_Sawdust> whereas people are making all these awesome FAs... out of obscure articles
2008-05-07 18:55 < Sfan00> the word hackers has a different meaning in relation to FTP-OS
2008-05-07 18:56 < Sfan00> Ziggy_Sawdust: It happens... of course you can help improve the poor articles ;)
2008-05-07 18:56 < Demi> Ziggy_Sawdust - yes, that's because of the way FA works. And possibly there is a limit to the quality collaborative writing is able to produce (low), especially on broad articles.
2008-05-07 18:56 < Ziggy_Sawdust> y'know, like [[List of songs with brackets in their titles]] is an FA whereas [[Science]] is a redlink
2008-05-07 18:56 < quanticle> Ziggy_Sawdust: Well, some of those people hang out here too. Heck, Raul (the dude who maintains the FA list) is here in most evenings.
2008-05-07 18:56 < Sfan00> Science is better as a Portal given it's size
2008-05-07 18:56 < Ziggy_Sawdust> not that exactly
2008-05-07 18:56 < Ziggy_Sawdust> but you know, I just edited the *hell* out of [[Tungsten]]
2008-05-07 18:56 < Ziggy_Sawdust> which is B-class
2008-05-07 18:57 < Sfan00> :)
2008-05-07 18:57 < Ziggy_Sawdust> and most of the periodic table is B-class, or start-class
2008-05-07 18:57 < Sfan00> Did you cite your sources?
2008-05-07 18:57 < Ziggy_Sawdust> Sfan00: I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer
2008-05-07 18:57 < Sfan00> ZiggY_Sawdust: Well you just Volunteered :)
2008-05-07 18:57 < Ziggy_Sawdust> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungsten
2008-05-07 18:57 < Sfan00> to improve the articles :)
2008-05-07 18:57 < Ziggy_Sawdust> see for yourself
2008-05-07 18:58 < Ziggy_Sawdust> Sfan00: Well of course, I'm not going to sit here and tell people to edit articles without editing them myself
2008-05-07 18:58 < Sfan00> :)
2008-05-07 18:58 < Sfan00> Looks good
2008-05-07 18:58 < Sfan00> BTW Planning on making Audio Versions?
2008-05-07 18:58 < Ziggy_Sawdust> it's just that one person trying to improve (and maintain) the quality of ~900 articles is futile
2008-05-07 18:58 < Sfan00> Well, I don't edit articles...
2008-05-07 18:59 < Ziggy_Sawdust> audio versions?
2008-05-07 18:59 < Demi> Ziggy_Sawdust - in the obscure subjects which make the best FA candidates, it's easy for the article to substantially be the work of one person. In a broad subject, that isn't possible. Yet it's not clear to me that a collaborative writing process with no editorial vision is ever going to produce expository writing on a broad subject that's of high quality. Instead (on Wikipedia) it produces more or less a list of facts.
2008-05-07 18:59 < Sfan00> As in Audio versions of articles...
2008-05-07 18:59 < Ziggy_Sawdust> yeah
2008-05-07 18:59 < Ziggy_Sawdust> erm...
2008-05-07 18:59 < Ziggy_Sawdust> my voice isn't exactly "the best"
2008-05-07 18:59 < Sfan00> OK
2008-05-07 18:59 < Ziggy_Sawdust> plus, I can't save audio files to .ogg
2008-05-07 18:59 < quanticle> Demi: Its the whole conceptual integrity thing that's talked about in "Mythical Man Month", right?
2008-05-07 19:00 < Ziggy_Sawdust> (or I'm too lazy to do so)
2008-05-07 19:00 < Sfan00> Ziggy: Audacity?
2008-05-07 19:00 < Demi> possibly, quanticle, i haven't read it, but it sounds applicable :)
2008-05-07 19:00 < Ziggy_Sawdust> Sfan00: holy crap, I might actually have that
2008-05-07 19:00 < Ziggy_Sawdust> ...and no I don't
2008-05-07 19:00 < Ziggy_Sawdust> is it a free download?
2008-05-07 19:00 < Sfan00> Oh Yes..
2008-05-07 19:00 < Sfan00> Which OS do you use?
2008-05-07 19:00 < quanticle> Demi: Well, Fred Brooks applies it to large software teams, but I think it applies to Wikipedia as well.
2008-05-07 19:00 < Ziggy_Sawdust> IT'S PRIVATEMUSINGS
2008-05-07 19:00 < Ziggy_Sawdust> Sfan00: windows XP
2008-05-07 19:00 < privatemusings> g'day ziggy! (in both channels!)
2008-05-07 19:01 < quanticle> There's an Audacity for that.
2008-05-07 19:01 < Ziggy_Sawdust> You know... what would be the opposite of private musings?
2008-05-07 19:01 < Sfan00> Yeah, Audacity works on XP :)
2008-05-07 19:01 < quanticle> public musings?
2008-05-07 19:01 < Sfan00> Public comment?
2008-05-07 19:01 < Ziggy_Sawdust> like... public soliloquies?
2008-05-07 19:01 < Sfan00> ;)
2008-05-07 19:01 < Ziggy_Sawdust> or... instead of Sfan00
2008-05-07 19:01 < Ziggy_Sawdust> Tvacuum99
2008-05-07 19:01 < Sfan00> To edit or not to edit, That is the Dilema?
2008-05-07 19:01 < Ziggy_Sawdust> or Straight_Metalshavings
2008-05-07 19:01 < quanticle> Well, is soliloquy the opposite of musing?
2008-05-07 19:02 < Ziggy_Sawdust> idklol
2008-05-07 19:02 < Ziggy_Sawdust> then again
2008-05-07 19:02 < privatemusings> not really.. quanticle
2008-05-07 19:02 < Sfan00> Ziggy_Sawdust: SFan - Is short for ShakespeareFan.... Long story
2008-05-07 19:02 < Ziggy_Sawdust> oic
2008-05-07 19:02 < privatemusings> if musing is quiet contemplation
2008-05-07 19:02 < Sfan00> hi privatemusings
2008-05-07 19:02 < Ziggy_Sawdust> so, like...
2008-05-07 19:02 < Sfan00> Punlic rantings?
2008-05-07 19:02 < Sfan00> *public
2008-05-07 19:02 < Ziggy_Sawdust> TolstoyHater?
2008-05-07 19:02 < privatemusings> exactly!
2008-05-07 19:02 < Ziggy_Sawdust> haha
2008-05-07 19:02 < publicrantings> ...
2008-05-07 19:02 * privatemusings wishes to be known as publicrantings
2008-05-07 19:02 < privatemusings> heh
2008-05-07 19:02 < publicrantings> k
2008-05-07 19:02 < privatemusings> imposter!
2008-05-07 19:02 < Sfan00> privatemusings: Are you active on Wikiversity, as i've seen your nick before
2008-05-07 19:03 < privatemusings> I made a few edits over there...
2008-05-07 19:03 < Ziggy_Sawdust> aargh
2008-05-07 19:03 < privatemusings> but not too many...
2008-05-07 19:03 < Ziggy_Sawdust> took me... 3 tries to type the password
2008-05-07 19:03 < Ziggy_Sawdust> so anyway
2008-05-07 19:03 < Ziggy_Sawdust> does anyone want to comment on the pee review for tungsten?
2008-05-07 19:04 < Ziggy_Sawdust> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Peer_review/Tungsten/archive2
2008-05-07 19:07 < bbot> pee review
2008-05-07 19:08 < Messedrocker> son of a turtle's molar
2008-05-07 19:08 < Messedrocker> i have broken a second gamecube controller!
2008-05-07 19:11 < Sfan00> Ziggy_Sawdust: You mean a pee(R) review?
2008-05-07 19:11 < Ziggy_Sawdust> yeah
2008-05-07 19:12 * TheWeasel submits to a beer-reviewed journal
2008-05-07 19:14 < Sfan00> TheWeasel: Ponders what that sort of Journal would be ?
2008-05-07 19:14 < TheWeasel> Why, a brewery publication.
2008-05-07 19:15 < Sfan00> Weasel: I was thinking in other less scholarly directions ;)
2008-05-07 19:15 < TheWeasel> You have no idea how many scholarly things are done UI
2008-05-07 19:16 < TheWeasel> :-P
2008-05-07 19:16 < quanticle> You crazy Europeans and your beer-reviewed journals
2008-05-07 19:17 < Sfan00> TheWeasel: You should have seen one of my profs...
2008-05-07 19:17 < Sfan00> Although I was never sure about the tabbaco he smoked...
2008-05-07 19:18 < quanticle> Sfan00: You weren't sure if it was actually tobacco in that pipe?
2008-05-07 19:19 < Sfan00> Well I came out of office with a headache and jumpy...
2008-05-07 19:19 < quanticle> Sfan00: Well, did it smell like tobacco?
2008-05-07 19:19 < quanticle> Sfan00: Or did it smell... different.
2008-05-07 19:19 < Sfan00> It smelt funny...
2008-05-07 19:20 < quanticle> Sfan00: Might not have been tobacco, then. Either that, or it wasn't your garden variety tobacco - might have been some kind of specialty type from Turkey or something like that.
2008-05-07 19:20 < Sfan00> Yeah
2008-05-07 19:20 < Sfan00> Or Morrocan ;)
2008-05-07 19:20 < quanticle> Or Cuban.
2008-05-07 19:21 < Demi> pipe smokers often get specialty or flavored tobaccoes
2008-05-07 19:22 < Sfan00> He rolled his own...
2008-05-07 19:22 < Demi> ah okay
2008-05-07 19:22 < Sfan00> and was decidly odd having somked a few
2008-05-07 19:23 < quanticle> Demi: Isn't that kinda the point of owning a pipe? I mean, what's the point of going through the trouble of stuffing a pipe, if you're going to stuff it with the same tobacco that you can get for half the cost pre-rolled as cigarettes?
2008-05-07 19:23 < Sfan00> quanticle: Some people prefer roll ups as they can control the hit...
2008-05-07 19:24 < Demi> quanticle - yeah, i think so. though the "plain" tobaccoes you'd use are probably always of higher quality and without additives, even without being exotic. but yes, i think you've hit the nail on the head. i considered taking up a pipe.
2008-05-07 19:24 < Lucifer_Cat> meowf
2008-05-07 19:25 < quanticle> Demi: Heh. Its like owning a coffeemaker. Why bother using it if you're going to put in the same stuff the use to make instant coffee?
2008-05-07 19:25 < Demi> ri7ght
2008-05-07 19:26 < Lucifer_Cat> r8
2008-05-07 19:26 * quanticle wonders how Demi can hit '7' and 'i' at the same time
2008-05-07 19:26 < Lucifer_Cat> what was the context quanticle
2008-05-07 19:27 < quanticle> Lucifer_Cat: Pipes vs. cigarettes
2008-05-07 19:27 < Demi> '7' and 'g' actually, they're right next to each other
2008-05-07 19:27 < Lucifer_Cat> hahaha @ i 7
2008-05-07 19:27 < quanticle> Demi: Using Dvorak?
2008-05-07 19:27 < Demi> yes
2008-05-07 19:27 < quanticle> Ah.
2008-05-07 19:27 < Lucifer_Cat> dork
2008-05-07 19:27 < Lucifer_Cat> v and a are just salt characters
2008-05-07 19:28 * quanticle was confused after looking down at his keyboard and noticing that 'g' and '7' were nowhere near one another.
2008-05-07 19:28 < quanticle> Lucifer_Cat: 'Salt' doesn't have a 'v' in it.
2008-05-07 19:29 * Lucifer_Cat hurls a salt shaker at quanticle for making such a poor joke
2008-05-07 19:30 < quanticle> Lucifer_Cat: Your turn on the mideast map btw. I'd consider pulling some forces out of Cyprus, as that's a territory I need for the continent bonus
2008-05-07 19:30 < Lucifer_Cat> just looking at it
2008-05-07 19:30 < Lucifer_Cat> oh, and i thought cyprus was turkey... i'll pull out.
2008-05-07 19:31 < quanticle> Lucifer_Cat: Yeah. Note my confusion in the in-game message board
2008-05-07 19:33 < quanticle> Lucifer_Cat: Heh. Congratulations. You won Iran
2008-05-07 19:34 < Lucifer_Cat> quanticle: not my plan.
2008-05-07 19:34 < Lucifer_Cat> anyways, you have a territory there. btw, do we fight again before FL is out or after?
2008-05-07 19:35 < quanticle> Lucifer_Cat: We take out FL first, I think.
2008-05-07 19:35 < Lucifer_Cat> ok
2008-05-07 19:35 < quanticle> Lucifer_Cat: You can have my Egypt territory.
2008-05-07 19:35 < Lucifer_Cat> in either case, i will pull out of cyprus as per the treaty
2008-05-07 19:36 < StayTuned> cimon ok - I read about the technocrats
2008-05-07 19:36 < StayTuned> I'm not an alpha dog
2008-05-07 19:37 < StayTuned> I don't buy into it - never have - Star Trek is great and all that - but it doesn't get me hot between the sheets.
2008-05-07 19:38 < StayTuned> I set a 5 year plan in motion 3 years ago and its working marvelously - in terms of turning my life around - I'm more inclined to believe in long term planning and less inclined to believe in utopia
2008-05-07 19:39 < gwern> you fools! you've only played right into his five year plan!
2008-05-07 19:40 < StayTuned> my 5 year plan was to publish 5 books in 5 years.
2008-05-07 19:40 < StayTuned> #3 is in the production stages now
2008-05-07 19:40 * gwern finds the rule of 5 to be more and more evident the harder I look
2008-05-07 19:41 < StayTuned> Nothing will stop these wheels from grinding the other 2 out
2008-05-07 19:41 < gwern> what are they on?
2008-05-07 19:41 < StayTuned> poetry! Muhahahahahaha
2008-05-07 19:42 < StayTuned> completely lofty, and useless to the average consumer
2008-05-07 19:42 * gwern resolves to avoid any poetry books which are described as 'grinding [them] out'
2008-05-07 19:42 < StayTuned> but to a creative writing instructor, they are a w. dream
2008-05-07 19:43 < StayTuned> Ah you might say that today
2008-05-07 19:43 < StayTuned> but someone else will snap them right up
2008-05-07 19:43 < StayTuned> "We're young, we're hostile, we're desperate....!"
2008-05-07 19:44 < Lucifer_Cat> aargh... clicked end attacks by mistake
2008-05-07 19:44 < StayTuned> Man I think I just titled my Autobiography
2008-05-07 19:44 < StayTuned> LOL
2008-05-07 19:44 < StayTuned> not
2008-05-07 19:45 < StayTuned> StayTuned claims that the youth of tomorrow will be young hostile and desperate - news at 11
2008-05-07 19:46 < StayTuned> I so look forward to my main idiot of the season Steven C. tonight
2008-05-07 19:46 < StayTuned> he should have plenty to say
2008-05-07 19:46 < StayTuned> I missed yesterdays I think
2008-05-07 19:47 < AngryParsley> StayTuned: so who is your publisher?
2008-05-07 19:47 < StayTuned> I am
2008-05-07 19:47 * gwern groans: http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1928.html
2008-05-07 19:48 < Lucifer_Cat> quanticle: my stupid memory.i forgot i had piled up armies to deny fastlizard his bonus
2008-05-07 19:48 < Lucifer_Cat> and called off attacks :S
2008-05-07 19:48 < AngryParsley> StayTuned: I don't think that counts. you sound as crazy as that chrisbradley fellow who used to hang around here
2008-05-07 19:49 < StayTuned> http://www.authorhouse.com
2008-05-07 19:49 < StayTuned> You hold the rights to your own manuscripts and they renew them as an agency
2008-05-07 19:50 < StayTuned> AngryParsley that's because I am that chrisbradley fellow.
2008-05-07 19:50 < StayTuned> /whois
2008-05-07 19:50 < AngryParsley> oh
2008-05-07 19:50 < AngryParsley> hah
2008-05-07 19:51 < StayTuned> lets talk clear here for a moment. For the text I have produced in this channel tonight - have I pushed a single link other than authorhouse?
2008-05-07 19:51 < Lucifer_Cat> gwern: that indeed was a terrible joke
2008-05-07 19:52 < Lucifer_Cat> g-g-g-g-greeer
2008-05-07 19:52 < AngryParsley> Lucifer_Cat: what?
2008-05-07 19:52 < Lucifer_Cat> sorry ggreer, the stupid jingle has ruined your nick for me :S
2008-05-07 19:53 < AngryParsley> it's soft G hard G, like Geoff Greer
2008-05-07 19:53 < AngryParsley> same letter, pronounced differently
2008-05-07 19:53 < Lucifer_Cat> http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/05/think_about_it.php
2008-05-07 19:53 < AngryParsley> kind of like a coworker I had named warren wessels (pronounced warren vessels)
2008-05-07 19:53 < Lucifer_Cat> [[Geoff Greer]] says you are a filthy hells angel
2008-05-07 19:53 * Lucifer_Cat welcomes ggreer with open wings
2008-05-07 19:54 < AngryParsley> it also says I'm the ceo of yorkshire bark or something
2008-05-07 19:54 * Lucifer_Cat knows how wessels is pronounced, thankyouverymuch
2008-05-07 19:56 < Lucifer_Cat> anyone elsge getting that check in mail/DD?
2008-05-07 19:56 < AngryParsley> there's also a geoff greer who submits patches to the apache portable runtime project. it would be fun to do the same ting as alan berliner and have dinner with all the geoff greers in the world
2008-05-07 19:56 < AngryParsley> all 4 or so of us
2008-05-07 19:57 < gwern> AngryParsley: sounds doable then
2008-05-07 19:58 < AngryParsley> yeah, except for that one geoff greer who has a myspace page
2008-05-07 19:58 < AngryParsley> screw that guy
2008-05-07 19:58 * gwern reflects sadly that no one else has my first and last name, much less middle, so I can never dine with myself
2008-05-07 19:58 < AngryParsley> also it's spelled jeff in the US, so nobody else in the US has my name. it's all aussies and people from the UK
2008-05-07 19:59 * Lucifer_Cat Boycotts Geoffrey
2008-05-07 19:59 < Demi> the only geoff i know spellis it that way
2008-05-07 20:00 < Demi> and, of course, the giraffe.
2008-05-07 20:02 < ragesoss> I need a sanity check. Take a look at http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/2977/in-wikipedia-length-matters?commented=1#c005820 . Is it just me (see comment 3) or is this study just dead wrong?
2008-05-07 20:04 < gwern> I think you're crazy!
2008-05-07 20:06 < gwern> I want a second opinion!
2008-05-07 20:06 < amidaniel> He didn't take into account enough non-featured articles, I presume
2008-05-07 20:06 < gwern> you're also lazy
2008-05-07 20:06 < gwern> (oohhhh Dr, Zaius!)
2008-05-07 20:06 < Demi> the iPhone is what, GSM/GPRS?
2008-05-07 20:07 < amidaniel> "Given the entire Wikipedia dataset (where the featured to not-featured ratio is about two orders of magnitude smaller), length alone would not make a good predictor of featured status." -- I agree
2008-05-07 20:08 * amidaniel points to Special:Longpages :)
2008-05-07 20:08 < ragesoss> amidaniel: but the paper concludes that his method "is simple, scalable, and remarkably accurate."
2008-05-07 20:08 < Messedrocker> it's so simple, scalable, and remarkably accurate,
2008-05-07 20:09 < Messedrocker> NO WONDER IT'S NUMBER 1!!!!
2008-05-07 20:09 < amidaniel> Shocking that somewhat might say that about his own research :)
2008-05-07 20:09 < amidaniel> someone*
2008-05-07 20:09 < Lucifer_Cat> http://madatoms.com/2008/05/edit-hillary-clinton-psycho-ex.html
2008-05-07 20:09 * Lucifer_Cat MuzzlesMessedrocker
2008-05-07 20:10 < Lucifer_Cat> Messedrocker: so you were asking about possible advantages-disadvantages of just deploying armies for a turn and not attacking anything
2008-05-07 20:10 < Messedrocker> yes!
2008-05-07 20:11 < FastLizard4> :O
2008-05-07 20:11 < Lucifer_Cat> DEMS: To be honest, I started hanging out with you because Bill's pretty awesome.
2008-05-07 20:11 < Lucifer_Cat> Hillary: But I'm just like Bill!
2008-05-07 20:11 < Lucifer_Cat> DEMS: No, you're not. Bill is charismatic, inspiring, and gets me really good weed.
2008-05-07 20:11 < Lucifer_Cat> Lizzy, your turn
2008-05-07 20:12 < Lucifer_Cat> Messedrocker: you can use those armies you get at the start of the turn to fortify your positions. making them less susceptible to be conquered by smaller armies
2008-05-07 20:13 < Lucifer_Cat> on the other hand, you are letting go of a chance to earn a card.
2008-05-07 20:13 * FastLizard4 takes a wild guess and decides that ``sudo del /etc/X11/xorg.conf'' would be a bad thing
2008-05-07 20:14 < Messedrocker> very
2008-05-07 20:14 < Messedrocker> wait
2008-05-07 20:14 < Messedrocker> what on earth is "del"
2008-05-07 20:14 < FastLizard4> Messedrocker: Delete
2008-05-07 20:14 < Messedrocker> oh
2008-05-07 20:14 < Messedrocker> why is it "del"
2008-05-07 20:14 < Messedrocker> why isn't it "rm"
2008-05-07 20:14 < FastLizard4> Messedrocker: rm is for directories
2008-05-07 20:14 < Messedrocker> it's for files, too
2008-05-07 20:15 < Messedrocker> i've RMed files many times
2008-05-07 20:15 < FastLizard4> Messedrocker: I prefer del
2008-05-07 20:15 < FastLizard4> But, whatever
2008-05-07 20:15 < amidaniel> FastLizard4: Actually rmdir is for directories :)
2008-05-07 20:15 < amidaniel> del is a carry-over from dos