Topic: I DO! I DO! (Read 91342 times)

MBarnum · « **Reply #60 on:** January 03, 2005, 08:34:59 AM »

DR Ann, I am glad you and your car and pets survived the plunge into the ditch....was this in North Bend, Oregon? Or is there a North Bend in Washington? Either way, glad you are safe.

Matt H. · « **Reply #61 on:** January 03, 2005, 08:47:09 AM »

My first computer was an Atari 800 XL. Oh, how I loved that computer. For someone who was writing freelance movie reviews back then on a typewriter, I thought I had died and gone to heaven to be able to edit on the fly and then print out a finished product. I still have that computer (bought a small portable TV for the monitor) and occasionally fire it up. It's on a table in my storage room upstairs, but occasionally, I still like to play Donkey Kong or Dig Dug on it.

The school where I worked had Apple IIe computers, so a local bank here was offering a free Apple IIc (compatible with the IIe but more portable) if one opened a certain sized savings account which I did. So, I could do schol work on the IIc at home when necessary and take the disc to school to use on their IIe's.

First internet was Prodigy for me, too, but before the World Wide Web, I was involved on a cyberspace telecom system called Fidonet. It was all text but loads of fun (which I could connect to from my Atari computer.). It's where I met DR Michael Shayne lo these many years ago on a Fidonet board called "Greasepaint" where we discussed theater. Good, good times!

Matt H. · « **Reply #62 on:** January 03, 2005, 08:52:44 AM »

Yes, I am most definitely single, and I am certainly available for cyber-dating. Sorry, but I'd have to inisist on meeting the person I was going to marry. That would be a requirement.

DERBRUCER · « **Reply #63 on:** January 03, 2005, 08:57:15 AM »

Quote from: Ben on January 03, 2005, 05:17:59 AM

On that note (F#) I will leave you for the time being.

Yes, Danise, it's also G Flat to its friends.

der Brucer

bk · « **Reply #64 on:** January 03, 2005, 08:57:58 AM »

While it would be nice to meet your intended, I feel it is not a requirement. Meeting your intended is go guarantee that you will actually enjoy your intended after the first week of marriage (witness my very own actual marriage), whereas if you haven't met your intended you will most likely get along fine and the marriage will last years. Of course, if it doesn't, then we can have the first online deevorce. The possibilities are endless. We can have the first online shower, the first online birth - I'm telling you, haineshisway.com is the wave of the future.

bk · « **Reply #65 on:** January 03, 2005, 08:58:40 AM »

I tell you, I am now officially over this relentless rain. It has not stopped raining since yesterday afternoon. Not even for one second.

Danise · « **Reply #66 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:03:22 AM »

Good morning all. I could get used to these three day weekends. Indeed, I most certainly could!

My only sorry is that if we are ever going to start chats we didn’t do one on a night when I could have stayed up TO chat.

DR Ann, I am so sorry about what happened but delighted that you and the sugar gliders are alright.

DR Michael, I hope that the doctor is able to help you. At least, I hope that you have better doctors than I do. I know for a fact that I going to the emergency room sometime very soon. I have a problem that I have been to several specialists about but they keep pointing fingers at the other specialist and telling me that nothing is wrong. Well, something IS wrong. Very wrong. Anyone who has seen me during one of the “attacks” can see that something is wrong.

The problem is the stupid appointments. I can’t get a doctor to allow me a “floating” appointment to come in when what is happening IS happening.

So I have come to the only decision I can. The next attack, I’m going straight to the ER. If I can’t drive, I will call an ambulance. I have to get some medical attention (accent on attention) when the problem is there. Not after when everything is fine and I appear to be the picture of health. Maybe then they will see that I am not faking this and get me some help.

End of rant. Sorry.

I saw POTO the movie yesterday and while it was not as bad as I thought it would be if I never see it again, I won’t complain. I will NOT buy either the CD or the DVD.

The guy who played the Phantom was worse then I could have imagined. Horrible. Just horrible. It was very apparent that English is not his first language—he was singing (if you could call what he was doing singing) phonetically and it sounded like they had to piece every word he sang together, one word at a time. It was so jerky at times I was amazed it got past anyone who knew anything about sound. I actually giggled a couple of times because it was so bad.

The stage version of the Phantom used more makeup to make the part of his face that was damaged! There was nothing really wrong with this Phantom! Considering he lived in a theater, he could have easily covered it with makeup not a mask. He could have went out and about with other people as well.

The picture was to dark and out of focus for many of scenes.

One of the managers had a horrible voice as well.

Raul is not my favorite character. I consider him a wuss—even in the stage version but Patrick Wilson did a pretty good job. At least I could handle his singing voice.

Christine was alright as well. Not as bad as I thought she would be. I spotted a few mistakes but she was passable.

I liked how they brought the Opera House/Chandelier back to life. Interesting how they switched some songs/scenes around. Also how they spoke some of the song lines instead of singing them.

I have issues with Madam Giry and the ending. They should not have still been alive. I won't say so I don't give anything away.

I know your thinking that it’s because I like Mr. C that I didn’t care for this version of POTO and that might be partly right but you have to understand where I’m coming from.

I had never heard of Michael Crawford or POTO for that matter when I asked for CD with Memory on it for Christmas. It happened that I got the ALW CD, The Premiere Collection

The track I found myself returning to over and over again was Music of the Night. Based on that one song alone, I bought the POTO soundtrack. You could say that Michael Crawford was the Phantom for me in the truest since. I had no idea as to his age or what he looked like in real life or even what he looked like on the stage as the Phantom. I only know he moved me to tears for Erik and won me to him by the power of his voice alone. Little wonder that I judge every other Phantom to him.

TOD. My first computer was TRS with 4 K of memory. I knew I wanted a computer from the first time I learned they were available. Of course, I was hoping for one like Star Trek that I could talk to.

There were no hard drives. Every time you turned the computer off, you had to reload whatever program you wanted to use all over again. You used your trusty cassette player to do so. Made it real easy to make copies of the programs.

I remember I upgraded that computer to a screaming 16 K (!) of memory and it cost an arm and a leg to do so.

I also have a story as to how I really missed my chance to get in on the ground floor with Radio Shack but I’ll tell that in another post.

When the Commodore 64’s came out, I got one of those and through it, hooked onto the net for the first time. It was nothing like it is now.

I joined a service known as “Q-link”—you know it as AOL now--and it was only for C 64's. Not too many people know or remember that.

As far as marriage goes, at 46 years old if my Prince Charming is out there, he either took the wrong turn someplace or saw me in the distance and turned back.

MBarnum · « **Reply #67 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:04:13 AM »

Quote from: bk on January 03, 2005, 08:58:40 AM

I tell you, I am now officially over this relentless rain. It has not stopped raining since yesterday afternoon. Not even for one second.

Now you know what if feels like to live in Oregon! LOL!

JMK · « **Reply #68 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:10:02 AM »

Quote from: bk on January 03, 2005, 08:58:40 AM

I tell you, I am now officially over this relentless rain. It has not stopped raining since yesterday afternoon. Not even for one second.

You might want to reconsider coming to Oregon, then.

Re: der Brucer's post. I'm sure it's only a matter of time until Bush and his evil acolytes (hmmmm....where have I heard that word before?) let slip that the tsunami was simply G-d's way of killing terrorists and other non-believers. Mark (or even Luke, Matthew or John) my words--you heard it here first.

Re: TOD. Well, folks, to quote a famous North Texas Jazz professor's comment ("I was there at the birth of the triangle," which the musicians here will get), I was there at the birth of the PC. In my early 20s I made my living freelancing (mostly for law firms) on what were then dedicated word processors. The PC was still pretty much a high-end item that only a few had. I was one of the few people in those days who did not freak out by going into an office and sitting down in front of a system I had never worked on before. I learned to "do" Wang (no jokes, please), Displaywriter, Lanier, CTI, and all the others. One of the firms who hired me had me help them with their transition to networked PCs and WordPerfect (remember when WordPerfect was the software, not Word?), and that was my first professional exposure to the wonderful (?) world of DOS.

My first personal PC (is that redundant?) was a Tandy Sensation! (The ! was part of the name, not an editorial comment added by me). Betsy and I used to say "Sensation!" with a lot of emphasis and hilarity whenever we would turn it on (figuratively speaking). The Sensation! was the first mass-market multimedia computer, and it was OK for its time. I've had several since then, including the biggest lemon of a Gateway you could ever imagine, but we've been really happy with this new one I mentioned here last week: it's an all-in-one ultra-modern looking unit, the PC equivalent of an IMac, totally portable, with an LCD screen and the disk drives on the side (the CD drive is vertical). It is also a TV and radio, which makes multi-tasking kind of fun.

bk · « **Reply #69 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:10:56 AM »

I've been thinking about chat, since I just got the bill to renew our handy-dandy chat room. It has been quite a while since we've done one (I think everyone got chatted out and that a break was necessary). So, if we do a chat this week, let's figure out a day and time when it would be optimal for most people on the site. You know, maybe something like five o'clock my time, so that the New Yorkers would be chatting at eight.

JMK · « **Reply #70 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:11:16 AM »

Quote from: MBarnum on January 03, 2005, 09:04:13 AM

Now you know what if feels like to live in Oregon! LOL!

JINX (Falkenberg).

bk · « **Reply #71 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:11:23 AM »

At least the rain has just become a drizzle again - it was pouring when I got up.

bk · « **Reply #72 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:11:52 AM »

I'm very excited about our online wedding.

DERBRUCER · « **Reply #73 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:26:29 AM »

Quote from: JMK on January 03, 2005, 09:10:02 AM

I learned to "do" Wang (no jokes, please)

Can't I comment that the "Wang's" had really big ones! (Discs, that is.)

der Brucer (who made lots of enemies when he decreed that in his work environment, all project word processing had to be done in DOS or Mac compatable software - (I took care of the Mac to DOS conversions which were made efficient when I hooked my PAC up to my PC with MacLink - MAC with the lefthand, PC with the right - techno-geek heaven!)

PS - Our esteemed Technical Publications Department manager had a policy that forbade any writer from "creating" on a keyboard - all material had to be hand written and given to a word-procressing clerk for data entry!

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #74 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:26:55 AM »

DR Joey - Great Posts! Congratulations on your first Frenzy! Your first of many!

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #75 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:28:11 AM »

DR MBarnum - Your loss!

LOL!

Ginny · « **Reply #76 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:28:13 AM »

Quote from: elmore3003 on January 03, 2005, 04:33:00 AM

DRJoey, LOL!

The problem is, the lady I love on site is already marrried

At first, DR Elmore, I thought you were referring to Moi,but then I realized you probably meant Jane

Charles Pogue · « **Reply #77 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:28:23 AM »

First computer: Don't even remember the brand; but it was a pc. It was loaded and set up for me by a guy who was a writers' assistant at Disney when I had an overall deal there. This was back in '89. He also got me my first laptop which was a great Toshiba. And a top-notch powerful laser printer. This was before the days of the internet. I typed in a macro script program this same guy, Jeffrey Lane, set up for me in Wordperfect. He also gave me a tutorial in how to use the damned thing.

The best thing about this story is that Jeffrey went on to set up his own computer company and developed a database movie information program that most of the studios used. He eventually sold this company for an apparently massive fortune. Certainly massive enough to have bought a house around the corner from me with expansive views of downtown LA and beyond and fix it up to be a showplace. I still see him on walks and at our parties. As far as I know, he lives off his untold wealth from the deal.

I didn't get on the internet until 1997, when I bought an all-new, state-of-the-art pc,laptop, printers. I have since been told not to obssess too much on state-of-the-art as it changes about every two years. I still don't know how to use most state-of-the-art functions. I pretty much just word process and surf the net. And until getting all new computer equipment this fall, I stayed in my DOS wordperfect macro script program, right up to this last script I did. Before '97 and the internet, I felt I
was much more productive.

DERBRUCER · « **Reply #78 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:30:50 AM »

A page from SWoody's "When Rape is Inevitable Handbook":

If when preparing your morning muffin you carefully tear the wrapper into six pieces, you can pre-empt the dog fights over the trash can.

der Brucer

bk · « **Reply #79 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:31:01 AM »

I must tell Mr. Kevin Spirtas that we've been discussing Wang's this morning. I'm on my way to our morning rehearsal, and then I shall return. Hopefully, someone will be engaged by then.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #80 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:31:37 AM »

DR JMK - I was a WANG person during my college summers when I was a clerk at Coast Guard Headquarters in DC. That clicking sound is forever embedded into my aural memory.

-Oh, and did anyone else you "AmiPro" for their word processing early on? I became quite adept at it, and had configured tons of my own macros for the program. I think my old-old-old computer still has some files on it in that format that I'd like to convert to Word - if that's even possible any more at this point.

DERBRUCER · « **Reply #81 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:36:05 AM »

Best Valet Parking Award - NOT!

der Brucer

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #82 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:36:37 AM »

OH!!!

And those big printers that used a "wheel" for the fonts/typefaces - basically and industrial sized typewriter! I always dreaded whenever I had a document at CGHQ that required multiple fonts and/or font sizes - I had to stand by the printer and switch out the print wheels each time. Ugh!

Ginny · « **Reply #83 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:36:55 AM »

DR Ben - Congratulations from me and from the Dayton Metro Library Cooperating Collection!

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #84 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:42:03 AM »

DR DERBRUCER - Your post about "Sweden"... Good Morning to me!... $:-\$

...Well, as I was drifting off to sleep last night, the first story on NPR's hourly news was the one about the total idiot (although a much stronger word is needed here) - well, bastard(!!!) who was sending e-mails to families in London informing them that their loved ones had indeed died in the tsunami after they had posted inquiries on some government site. When, in fact, this bastard was not even employed by the government, and he had also invented the "official" bureau from which he was supposedly responding. It was all a hoax, a very sick joke. Disgusting!

DERBRUCER · « **Reply #85 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:43:59 AM »

Quote from: JoseSPiano "AKA Wang Boy" on January 03, 2005, 09:31:37 AM

-Oh, and did anyone else you "AmiPro" for their word processing early on? I became quite adept at it, and had configured tons of my own macros for the program. I think my old-old-old computer still has some files on it in that format that I'd like to convert to Word - if that's even possible any more at this point.

At HHW handling the "impossible" is a routine happening:

Ami Pro Document Conversion"

Quote

WordPort, our top-of-the-line word processing file convertor, directly converts your Ami Pro documents with text and formatting intact -- including complex formatting, page layout and other features! Using this software, you can convert thousands of your Ami Pro document files with a few simple mouse clicks. WordPort costs only $149, and may be downloaded and activated instantly. Click for more information, or to download the software on a trial basis at no charge.

If you have only a few Ami Pro files to convert, you'll find our instant online conversion service very convenient and inexpensive. For example, conversion of several Ami Pro files typically costs only $9. This service is fully automated and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is remarkably easy to use, and the converted files are on your computer, ready to be used, within a couple of minutes!

der Brucer

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #86 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:44:38 AM »

DR Joey - As for my roommate waking up with his hand in the food... I was still up when I heard them stirring... I didn't hear anything "fun". They were both basically passed out from too much beer and wine, so... -Which, unfortunately, is how both of them tend to "fall asleep" at night... And also another reason why I need to get out of here sooner rather than later...

'nuff said for now...

Onto more pleasant topics....

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #87 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:48:57 AM »

Quote from: DERBRUCER on January 03, 2005, 09:43:59 AM

At HHW handling the "impossible" is a routine happening:

Ami Pro Document Conversion"der Brucer

Thanks for the link and info... Although, now that I think of it, I do have a conversion program - on my old laptop that it - the one that doesn't start up anymore, so - well.. And I think it's an early version of WordPort too! In any case... Hmm.. Now I just need to dig out my old laptop and see if my brother can hook it into his system to pull the files off the harddrive... Someday... I hope... I think... In any case...

Thanks!

Panni · « **Reply #88 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:52:50 AM »

Good morning. The first computer-like contraption I had was a typewriter-computer hybrid. Was it IBM? I don't remember. My ex-husband was a producer at the CBC at the time, and convinced the CBC Drama Department to order these newfangled devices.

DERBRUCER · « **Reply #89 on:** January 03, 2005, 09:52:58 AM »

The Faithful continue Dishing Diversity: AP:

Quote

Other Parents Want Gay Couple's Kids Out of School
Monday, January 03, 2005

COSTA MESA, Calif. — Some parents and parishioners have accused the Roman Catholic diocese in Orange County of violating church doctrine by allowing a gay couple to enroll their children in a church school.

The group demanded that St. John the Baptist School in Costa Mesa accept only families that pledge to abide by Catholic teachings, the Los Angeles Times reported in Sunday's editions. Church doctrine opposes gay relationships and adoption by same-sex couples.

"The teachings of the church seem to have been abandoned," John R. Nixon told the Times. "We send our children to a Catholic school because we expect and demand that the teachings of our church will be adhered to."

School officials rejected the demand, and issued a new policy stating that a family's background "does not constitute an absolute obstacle to enrollment in the school."

The parents' demand would presumably prevent two adopted boys whose parents are both men from attending the school's kindergarten.

The Rev. Gerald M. Horan, superintendent of diocese schools, said that if Catholic beliefs were strictly adhered to, then children whose parents divorced, used birth control or married outside the church would also have to be banned.

"This is the quagmire that the parents' position represents," he said. "It's a slippery slope to go down."
The boys' parents, who enrolled their children at the beginning of the school year, declined to comment to the Times.

Some parents have promised to ask the Vatican to intervene and some have threatened to pull their children from the school. Others are worried the boys' attendance will set a precedent, saying their presence is part of a larger effort by the gay community to change the church.

"The boys are being used as pawns by these men to further their agenda," said Monica Sii, who has four children at the school.

der Brucer (weren't there other stories about Catholic schools having young boys as "pawns'?)

News:

Author Topic: I DO! I DO! (Read 91342 times)

MBarnum

MBarnum