Social Gathering (2012 05 15)

2012-05-15 15:05:20 UTC - seacreature - I guess it is time for us to gather socially

2012-05-15 15:05:38 UTC - semmons99 - I fell both social and gatherful right now

2012-05-15 15:05:49 UTC - semmons99 - so it's great timing

2012-05-15 15:08:39 UTC - seacreature - I feel like I need coffee. :-P

2012-05-15 15:08:40 UTC - seacreature - brb

2012-05-15 15:10:26 UTC - seacreature - so, what's new everyone?

2012-05-15 15:10:27 UTC - jordanbyron - Woah I almost lost track of time

2012-05-15 15:10:38 UTC - jordanbyron - But that isn't new ...

2012-05-15 15:11:06 UTC - seacreature - jordanbyron: my internal clock has just completely stopped functioning since Leo was born

2012-05-15 15:11:30 UTC - coreypurcell - seacreature: boy do I remeber those days

2012-05-15 15:11:34 UTC - jordanbyron - seacreature: I bet

2012-05-15 15:11:47 UTC - seacreature - a few days ago all he wanted to do was sleep. I miss thise days :-/

2012-05-15 15:12:04 UTC - danbernier - seacreature: i hear those phases go quickly, when they're that age

2012-05-15 15:12:30 UTC - seacreature - yeah, so I've heard as well. But I have friends and family with 1 yr olds still getting up several times a night.

2012-05-15 15:12:55 UTC - seacreature - anyway, this is where we just count our blessings about having flexible work schedules and help from Jia's parents

2012-05-15 15:12:58 UTC - danbernier - dude, I still get up several times a night! we're supposed to grow out of that?

2012-05-15 15:13:28 UTC - seacreature - danbernier: do you require other people to feed you and play with you?

2012-05-15 15:13:40 UTC - semmons99 - the first 3-6 months was the closest I've ever felt to living in a dream state

2012-05-15 15:13:46 UTC - danbernier - only on thursdays :)

2012-05-15 15:13:49 UTC - jordanbyron - seacreature: Hey now this is a family show

2012-05-15 15:14:36 UTC - seacreature - it's weird, I haven't been entirely unproductive, it's just that I feel like it's arbitrary when I end up in a lucid state vs. when I feel like a zombie

2012-05-15 15:14:45 UTC - jordanbyron - Speaking of family appropriateness, the new Tenacious D album was released today :)

2012-05-15 15:14:51 UTC - seacreature - omg.

2012-05-15 15:15:18 UTC - coreypurcell - I haven't listened to them in years

2012-05-15 15:16:25 UTC - seacreature - jordanbyron: where can I get it?

2012-05-15 15:16:30 UTC - jordanbyron - iTunes?

2012-05-15 15:16:38 UTC - jordanbyron - That's where I bought it

2012-05-15 15:17:09 UTC - danbernier - amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Rize-Of-The-Fenix-Tenacious/dp/B007D7H6IW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337094794&sr=8-1

2012-05-15 15:17:20 UTC - danbernier - i <3 how almost every title is "(Explicit Version)"

2012-05-15 15:17:45 UTC - danbernier - 11/13ths of them

2012-05-15 15:17:54 UTC - jordanbyron - danbernier: Funny part is that one of my favorite songs isn't explicit: To Be the Best

2012-05-15 15:18:20 UTC - danbernier - jordanbyron: :) how do you like it overall?

2012-05-15 15:19:02 UTC - seacreature - I feel like there should not be "clean versions" of songs

2012-05-15 15:19:31 UTC - seacreature - for example, I thought Cee Lo Green's "Fuck You" was a clever, catchy tune, but when you change it to "Forget You" it's just a boring pop song

2012-05-15 15:19:48 UTC - jordanbyron - It's good. Tenacious D is kinda like a fine wine. Their songs only get better with time. It's all about the little details

2012-05-15 15:20:09 UTC - seacreature - ahaha, I'd say Tenacious D is more like Night Train, or Thunderbird

2012-05-15 15:20:20 UTC - seacreature - you care less about how much it sucks the more you drink it

2012-05-15 15:20:32 UTC - danbernier - seacreature: "Fuck You" is the perfect example of that point

2012-05-15 15:20:38 UTC - jordanbyron - Oh no, you have to unwrap the layers of comedy

2012-05-15 15:20:46 UTC - jordanbyron - It's quite epic :p

2012-05-15 15:21:17 UTC - danbernier - seacreature: re Thunderbird, no way! The D are amazing rip-off artists

2012-05-15 15:21:27 UTC - danbernier - and i mean that with all respect

2012-05-15 15:22:35 UTC - seacreature - And thunderbird is an amazing way to get drunk for a dollar or two, if you can stand the headache :)

2012-05-15 15:22:56 UTC - danbernier - well, there is that

2012-05-15 15:23:33 UTC - seacreature - I googled it just now and found this quote "Avaliable in 750 mL and a devastating 50 oz jug.

2012-05-15 15:24:03 UTC - jordanbyron - So, has anyone purchased / played Diablo III? And a follow up: If so, were you able to login :p

2012-05-15 15:24:54 UTC - seacreature - " WARNING: This light yellow liquid turns your lips and mouth black! A mysterious chemical reaction similar to disappearing-reappearing ink makes you look like you've been chewing on hearty clumps of charcoal."

2012-05-15 15:25:21 UTC - semmons99 - jordanbyron: I've installed and logged into today

2012-05-15 15:25:26 UTC - semmons99 - was about 7a EDT

2012-05-15 15:25:32 UTC - seacreature - jordanbyron: This reddit post scared me off http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/tnvy9/diablo_3s_first_level_is_a_tough_one/

2012-05-15 15:25:36 UTC - semmons99 - played 30 min and went to work

2012-05-15 15:25:44 UTC - seacreature - also, the thought of what Diablo III will do to my parenting abilities...

2012-05-15 15:25:44 UTC - jordanbyron - seacreature: Yeah same here.

2012-05-15 15:26:35 UTC - jordanbyron - semmons99: Cool. I am sure the reports are blown out of proportion, but I'd be seriously POed if I bought a game then couldn't play it

2012-05-15 15:26:37 UTC - seacreature - and my stewardship of new mendicant abilities

2012-05-15 15:29:13 UTC - jordanbyron - Just incase some of you missed it, we have a list of Mendicant Gamers which you can add yourself to: https://github.com/mendicant/mendicantuniversity.org/wiki/Mendicant-Gamers

2012-05-15 15:30:07 UTC - seacreature - We should probably throw the Minecraft server info on that page

2012-05-15 15:30:16 UTC - jordanbyron - I don't think that's up anymore

2012-05-15 15:30:43 UTC - seacreature - Drat!

2012-05-15 15:30:49 UTC - jordanbyron - Yeah no dice

2012-05-15 15:30:52 UTC - seacreature - I miss Gregory Parkhurst

2012-05-15 15:30:59 UTC - jordanbyron - He is a busy boy now

2012-05-15 15:31:01 UTC - seacreature - his new job seems to have swallowed him :-/

2012-05-15 15:31:31 UTC - seacreature - not an uncommon theme around here.

2012-05-15 15:31:33 UTC - jordanbyron - He popped out of the wood work to wrap up a pull request on Mission of Mercy, but I haven't seen him since :(

2012-05-15 15:33:03 UTC - seacreature - I really want to work on this problem, if only philisophically by doing some writing about it

2012-05-15 15:33:52 UTC - seacreature - To me it seems incredible that people will give virtually all of their good energy to their occupations

2012-05-15 15:34:13 UTC - seacreature - maybe this a bleak topic for our social hour though :)

2012-05-15 15:34:54 UTC - danbernier - seacreature: what were we talking about? i was working for a sec

2012-05-15 15:34:56 UTC - danbernier - ;-)

2012-05-15 15:36:06 UTC - danbernier - fun fact: i changed my desks (at home & in-office) to standing

2012-05-15 15:36:36 UTC - danbernier - dual screen, using the laptop kbd & screen at hand-height, and second monitor above it

2012-05-15 15:36:58 UTC - semmons99 - I don't know if I have the resolve to actually try a standing desk

2012-05-15 15:37:02 UTC - danbernier - it dramatically reduced my need for coffee

2012-05-15 15:37:04 UTC - seacreature - Oh, I've gone back and forth with standing desks. I really like it

2012-05-15 15:37:32 UTC - seacreature - BUT it is incredibly easy to get out of the habit

2012-05-15 15:37:33 UTC - danbernier - semmons99: i was playing with ideas for a simple stand, something you can (dis)assemble easily - so you can switch

2012-05-15 15:37:47 UTC - danbernier - seacreature: it IS tiring

2012-05-15 15:38:21 UTC - danbernier - and i'll sometimes sit for a bit - but so far, so good

2012-05-15 15:40:32 UTC - seacreature - One thing I liked about a standing position is it encouraged me to walk away from the desk more

2012-05-15 15:40:43 UTC - seacreature - especially with wireless headphones

2012-05-15 15:40:51 UTC - danbernier - yes! when i'm thinking

2012-05-15 15:41:13 UTC - semmons99 - wireless headphones. I've never had any. How well do they work

2012-05-15 15:41:20 UTC - danbernier - i find it comfier to think while walking

2012-05-15 15:44:17 UTC - seacreature - semmons99: honestly, not that great of a sound on mine

2012-05-15 15:44:22 UTC - seacreature - but they have insane distance

2012-05-15 15:44:40 UTC - seacreature - I use them when mowing the lawn

2012-05-15 15:45:06 UTC - seacreature - They would be fine, except that you always hear some radio static, which drives me insane

2012-05-15 15:45:39 UTC - semmons99 - I've always used Sennheiser HD-280's http://amzn.com/B000065BPB

2012-05-15 15:45:40 UTC - seacreature - But it depends on the kind of music I am listening to. Some kinds of music drown it right out, but I pretty much can't listen to soft piano music on it.

2012-05-15 15:45:53 UTC - semmons99 - it would be nice to not have the cord, but I can't deal with static or delay

2012-05-15 15:46:27 UTC - seacreature - my headset is sennheiser hdr 120

2012-05-15 15:46:50 UTC - seacreature - Åwhen I bought them I was actually thinking of getting Grado

2012-05-15 15:47:23 UTC - seacreature - but I couldn't justify the extreme expense and discomfort :)

2012-05-15 15:48:23 UTC - semmons99 - yeah, I looked at Beats at one point, but they were a little out of budget

2012-05-15 15:48:38 UTC - seacreature - I just see that as being a slippery slope

2012-05-15 15:49:32 UTC - seacreature - I try to live simply but not spare expense on the things I do use a lot, but when I was looking into headphones it just looked like the price ramp up was very steep to get any noticeable quality difference

2012-05-15 15:50:03 UTC - coreypurcell - http://amzn.com/B003DQ1DCM has been on my wishlist awhile

2012-05-15 15:50:26 UTC - coreypurcell - that way I could use my normal headphones

2012-05-15 15:50:34 UTC - seacreature - Interesting.

2012-05-15 15:51:18 UTC - seacreature - I am kind of afraid of putting bluetooth enabled devices right next to my head though

2012-05-15 15:51:46 UTC - coreypurcell - you could put it anywhere that your headphone cord can reach

2012-05-15 15:52:00 UTC - seacreature - Not sure what the research says on it at this point, but given that it's designed to penetrate concrete, well...

2012-05-15 15:52:35 UTC - seacreature - but it's pretty arbitrary FUD on my end :)

2012-05-15 15:52:43 UTC - seacreature - I guess I could carry my radiation baby around

2012-05-15 15:53:17 UTC - coreypurcell - doesn't bluetooth work in the 2.4 Ghz range, same as wifi

2012-05-15 15:53:43 UTC - seacreature - http://cdn.vanillaforums.com/mendicant.vanillaforums.com/userpics/747/p86VKG3IT46GU.jpeg

2012-05-15 15:54:22 UTC - semmons99 - coreypurcell: yes, bluetooth is the same freq range

2012-05-15 15:55:53 UTC - seacreature - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth#Health_concerns looks like so, yeah

2012-05-15 15:56:19 UTC - seacreature - I am torn about this stuff... on the one hand I tend not to get worked up about things that don't have well established evidence

2012-05-15 15:57:20 UTC - seacreature - on the other hand, conceptually I still feel uneasy with the idea that we're being bathed in electromagnetic radiation continuously

2012-05-15 15:57:42 UTC - coreypurcell - light is electromagnetic radiation too

2012-05-15 15:57:55 UTC - seacreature - sure, but light has been around for a while :)

2012-05-15 15:57:58 UTC - semmons99 - be more worried about the sun, the uv is way worse than anything from us

2012-05-15 15:58:14 UTC - jordanbyron - THE ALIENS ARE READING YOUR BRAIN WAVES!!!

2012-05-15 15:58:28 UTC - seacreature - i don't think that it's a single-dimensional argument

2012-05-15 15:58:31 UTC - coreypurcell - I feel anything lower energy than visible light, probably not worth worrying too much about

2012-05-15 15:59:27 UTC - seacreature - I think my argument is much more general though

2012-05-15 15:59:56 UTC - seacreature - it's that I think our ability to answer the question "is it safe?" is something we're kind of bad at

2012-05-15 16:00:10 UTC - seacreature - this goes for any human created technology

2012-05-15 16:00:38 UTC - danbernier - and even stuff like "should i dive off that cliff?"

2012-05-15 16:00:57 UTC - seacreature - Especially considering that the regulatory agencies and the research done into these things are often bought and paid for by companies who have a vested interest in protecting their products

2012-05-15 16:01:34 UTC - seacreature - ahahahaa

2012-05-15 16:01:44 UTC - seacreature - At least that one gives you immediate feedback :-P

2012-05-15 16:01:54 UTC - danbernier - good point :)

2012-05-15 16:02:12 UTC - coreypurcell - it's well proven that people are bad at risk assesment

2012-05-15 16:03:23 UTC - seacreature - I think what has happened is that we have an extremely technologically advanced society, yet our populations remain mostly scientifically illiterate.

2012-05-15 16:03:39 UTC - seacreature - This includes even those who you would expect would be well trained in thse things, like programmers. Like me :)

2012-05-15 16:04:23 UTC - seacreature - So I guess the general assumption I have is that when technological advancement outpaces our understanding, it's dangerous

2012-05-15 16:04:51 UTC - seacreature - but maybe that has been the human condition for most or all of recorded history :)

2012-05-15 16:05:06 UTC - coreypurcell - "our" the general population, or does "our" mean the experts in that field

2012-05-15 16:05:53 UTC - seacreature - coreypurcell: I don't think it makes a difference.

2012-05-15 16:06:13 UTC - seacreature - An ignorant general population cannot accurately determine who an "expert" is

2012-05-15 16:06:48 UTC - seacreature - If we get away from electromagnetic fields and turn towards say Ruby...

2012-05-15 16:06:58 UTC - seacreature - I can confess how I became an "expert Rubyist"

2012-05-15 16:07:22 UTC - seacreature - in 2004 I mistakenly assumed that spending six months with the language made me some sort of expert

2012-05-15 16:07:33 UTC - seacreature - I wrote a lot of code and a lot of blog posts, tutorials, etc.

2012-05-15 16:07:57 UTC - seacreature - and within a year or two, folks were gradually calling me an expert

2012-05-15 16:08:56 UTC - seacreature - That lead me to get involved with other community leaders, and while a few of them I felt came to where they were in a much more principled way

2012-05-15 16:09:14 UTC - seacreature - most of them did pretty much the same thing as I did to get where they were

2012-05-15 16:09:40 UTC - seacreature - then, I spent several years continuing to trick myself into believing I was some sort of expert

2012-05-15 16:09:51 UTC - seacreature - but the only people who could really vet me were other folks who came up in the same way that I did

2012-05-15 16:10:17 UTC - seacreature - it took maybe six months into running Mendicant for me to realize what a setback that false assumption was

2012-05-15 16:11:00 UTC - seacreature - when you move from blogging about the best way to do this or that to actually helping individual people solve real problems, you come to realize how much of your expertise is extremely narrow and context-dependent

2012-05-15 16:11:22 UTC - seacreature - sorry for the wild tangent, but I needed to provide the background to point out that I feel there are very few true experts in the world

2012-05-15 16:11:31 UTC - seacreature - and that the notion of expertise is dangerous and overrated :)

2012-05-15 16:12:36 UTC - coreypurcell - I'd agree in general, but I don't think we have a better system than the established sciences

2012-05-15 16:12:55 UTC - seacreature - I think science is a fine system, but it's garbage in, garbage out

2012-05-15 16:13:12 UTC - seacreature - So I'd advocate for greater scientific literacy

2012-05-15 16:13:21 UTC - seacreature - and in our narrow bubble, greater digital literacy

2012-05-15 16:13:44 UTC - seacreature - a general population who has even a little bit of critical ability would do quite a bit to force the system to become a whole lot better

2012-05-15 16:14:50 UTC - semmons99 - I think that's a key point, without an ability to think critically a society can't move forward

2012-05-15 16:16:06 UTC - seacreature - well, it just makes no difference whether scientific experts are replaced with magicians or priests if we don't take advantage of the fact that science can be viewed critically

2012-05-15 16:17:29 UTC - semmons99 - what's odd is the scientific process has built into it the need for people to question, reproduce and validate conclusions

2012-05-15 16:17:32 UTC - seacreature - there is a deeper lesson in here somewhere, but I feel bad taking us from Night Train and Tenacious D to this :-P

2012-05-15 16:18:04 UTC - seacreature - jordanbyron: do you have any funny pictures or youtube videos you can throw at us to lighten the mood?

2012-05-15 16:18:55 UTC - danbernier - :)

2012-05-15 16:19:03 UTC - semmons99 - here's Jordan's awesome forum avatar http://i.imgur.com/BC3PZ.jpg

2012-05-15 16:19:09 UTC - semmons99 - he had hair!

2012-05-15 16:19:37 UTC - seacreature - https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/2216547958/68023-PH-021.jpg

2012-05-15 16:19:43 UTC - seacreature - I like this one even better

2012-05-15 16:20:17 UTC - semmons99 - wow, nice

2012-05-15 16:20:57 UTC - semmons99 - I glad no one has digitized pictures from my youth

2012-05-15 16:21:09 UTC - sean_m - Yet

2012-05-15 16:21:26 UTC - seacreature - we're gonna hack you semmons99!!!

2012-05-15 16:21:57 UTC - semmons99 - if by hack you mean break into my parents house and scan 30 year old photo albums...okay

2012-05-15 16:21:58 UTC - seacreature - sean_m is on a mission to steal all your baby pictures

2012-05-15 16:22:07 UTC - seacreature - That's still hacking bro.

2012-05-15 16:22:22 UTC - coreypurcell - anyone who comes in town for Steel City Ruby conf can continue the science discussion over beer :)

2012-05-15 16:22:49 UTC - seacreature - coreypurcell: really wish I could go. But I decided to stay true to my plan to stay grounded for a year.

2012-05-15 16:23:02 UTC - seacreature - I even turned down a Foo camp invite!

2012-05-15 16:23:23 UTC - sean_m - I think there is probably a classier way to do it... Call up his parents, tell them you are putting together a celebration for him and ask them for pictures.

2012-05-15 16:23:26 UTC - semmons99 - seacreature: so you did turn it down

2012-05-15 16:23:43 UTC - coreypurcell - yeah, it's my first development conf ever

2012-05-15 16:23:46 UTC - seacreature - I really like that steel city is blogging about various things related to the kind of culture the conference aims to promote

2012-05-15 16:23:48 UTC - semmons99 - sean_m: except now I'm wish to your nefarious plans

2012-05-15 16:24:00 UTC - sean_m - hmmm

2012-05-15 16:24:02 UTC - semmons99 - wish=wise

2012-05-15 16:24:47 UTC - danbernier - seacreature: principles are great, but Foo camp? wow

2012-05-15 16:24:54 UTC - seacreature - semmons99: yes, I turned it down.

2012-05-15 16:25:04 UTC - danbernier - coreypurcell: steel city looks pretty amazing...

2012-05-15 16:25:52 UTC - sean_m - Where are most people staying at for Steel City?

2012-05-15 16:25:58 UTC - sean_m - Out of town people I mean.

2012-05-15 16:28:27 UTC - coreypurcell - I think most are staying at the hampton inn

2012-05-15 16:28:43 UTC - coreypurcell - http://steelcityrubyconf.org/city has the info

2012-05-15 16:29:10 UTC - coreypurcell - I'll probably get a room, just so I don't have to drive home that night. I'm about 30 miles north of the city.

2012-05-15 16:33:01 UTC - sean_m - I'll bring beer for a discussion on the 2nd :)

2012-05-15 16:33:40 UTC - sean_m - Also, if anyone wants to come to conf.arlingtonruby.org let me know and I'll hook you up with a registration code.

2012-05-15 16:33:50 UTC - danbernier - going afk - see y'all later!

2012-05-15 16:34:20 UTC - seacreature - same here, nice talking to you all.

2012-05-15 16:34:27 UTC - seacreature - Hope to see you on Thursday for the hack day

2012-05-15 16:34:43 UTC - seacreature - http://mendicantuniversity.org/activities/2012/05/17/global-hack-day-4.html