HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: pechever@phakt.usc.edu (The Heckler)
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Subject: Re: Hats
Date: 17 Dec 1992 11:31:09 -0800
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
NNTP-Posting-Host: phakt.usc.edu

In article <1992Dec17.081407.11568@midway.uchicago.edu> mss2@midway.uchicago.edu writes:
>
>	"Now I'm really finished.  So what, if anything, are the rest
>of you wearing on your heads?"
>Michael

Impu-Sebek perks up at this, and rises from the bar:
About six feet tall, lanky, black jeans, black silk shirt, shoulder-length 
black hair, hazel eyes, black loafers, long green trenchcoat, black fedora.
A lot of silver; a ring on every finger and a silver pentacle on a chain.
He carries a five-foot spear with him--a gift from Taldin.
"This is me-VR."
He opens an X-Window the size of a door, and steps through it.
What emerges is not that different; half a foot shorter, stocky in build,
slight belly (I'll work out tomorrow...honest! :) same hair and eyes, a 
leather jacket under the trenchcoat today since it's COLD in California these
days.  Blue jeans, t-shirt, lots of silver.  No ring on the right middle finger
because he's looking for something special.  The spear is now a three-foot
walking stick of twisted sassafrass with a thick length of copper wound
around it.  Solid, honest wood.  The fedora's the same; it too could use a
cleaning and blocking.
"This is me-RL."
"The pentacle gets me three types of comments.
"People admire it; these are few and far between, but do exist.
"People will say, 'Isn't that the devil-sign?'.  I laugh at their
ignorance and say 'No.'  Explaining is almost always futile, so I don't 
bother.
"Every so often, some complete loser who (a) can't count and (b) is totally
devoid of culture will ask me if I'm Jewish.  In the face of this blatant
ignorance, I more often than not will simply not give them the courtesy of
any response other than a snort.

"The walking-stick gets me good comments, albeit the occasional puzzled frown.
Ever so often derision, but from strangers I can ignore--and it's not
widespread, Goddess be praised.  Calif does seem to have a larger
weirdness tolerance, although not as much as you'd think.

"I love the hat, and wear it almost always.  It's the third one I've had,
all identical.  The other two vanished under mysterious circumstances; I 
suppose I left them in a classroom (I'm very absent-minded).

"I guess I should add myself to the 'human' list, while I'm here.

"Finals are out of the way--I'll be leaving tomorrow, and post my
farewells then.

"Cheers, all!"

Paul steps through the X-window, turns back into Impu-Sebek, and goes to
Rowan's corner to share some tea.

			Impu-Sebek
-- 
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
"Come, let us retract the foreskin of misconception and apply the wire
		brush of enlightenment."   --Geoff Miller  
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: trumpins@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu (Barbara Trumpinski)
Subject: Re: New Arrival
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 02:56:07 GMT



>The door to Callahan's opens and a large horned head sticks itself
>inside.  "Okay if I come in?" a big voice rumbles.  "I just sorta
>found this place and was wondering if I could get something to drink
>and maybe have some interesting conversations."

>... Oxymoron #5: Enough memory.
>___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.10

>--- Maximus 2.00


"sure....come on in...we are celebrating the arrival of jenny (baby
brumby) and sending healing waves to dearest didi....and lots of other
good stuff...."  kitten is always glad to see a new arrival....
--
***************************************************************************
conan the librarian a.k.a. kitten           /\ /\  barbara ann 
"my life's a soap opera, isn't yours?"      {=.=}
                                              ~   trumpins@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu 
"love is the wild card of existance"
                          rita mae brown

Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: steve@crc.ricoh.COM (Stephen R. Savitzky)
Subject: Re: It's a girl!
Organization: RICOH California Research Center
Date: 11 Dec 92 17:13:13

"To Jennifer Rhiannon McNamara!" says the Mandelbear.  "May her life
be long and joyful!"  He flings a not-quite-empty glass of Genever
into the fireplace, making a beautiful display of sparks.

"Congratulations and good luck to her parents, too!" he adds.
"Instant advice for new parents:  sleep when the baby is sleeping, and
if anybody wants to help around the house, let them do the cooking and
housework while *you* take care of your kid.  Have fun!"
--
\ --Steve Savitzky--  \    343 Leigh Ave   \ REAL HACKERS USE AN AXE!
 \ steve@crc.ricoh.COM \ San Jose, CA 95128 \     Free Cyberia!
  \ w: 415-496-5710     \   h:408-294-6492   \ 
   \_________________________________________________________________________
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: trumpins@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu (Barbara Trumpinski)
Subject: Re: Special Limited Offer!!!
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 02:44:47 GMT

thyra:

>>"GOOD NEWS! It looks like Phoenix may regain custody of her daughter,
>>Devon, within the next two weeks, and her son a few months from now once
>>his treatment schedule is worked out. She will relay a post soon with the
>>details."

c+

>"Ahh, sigh.. what a semester ( or year, depending on when you came in. )
>Deaths, departures, births, returns, good news and bad news, flames..
>aye, I propose a toast! To .. the Spirit of Callahans, where here, one
>knows how fortunate is friendship, how rich is life, and how beautiful
>people really are! Let us toast with enough drink to drown
>the world, and with a cry that every soul through Crosstime will hear!"

>!!! HIP-HIP-HOORAY !!!

>C+ throws his Sangria into the fireplace, to a resounding

><< CRASH!!!! >>>

<CRASH!!!!!> kitten sends her glass flying after c+'s...."hooray!
sometimes this Place is the only thing that has kept me going!  shared
pain, shared joy...a chosen family...i love you all..."


--
***************************************************************************
conan the librarian a.k.a. kitten           /\ /\  barbara ann 
"my life's a soap opera, isn't yours?"      {=.=}
                                              ~   trumpins@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu 
"love is the wild card of existance"
                          rita mae brown

Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: jmpierce@whale.st.usm.edu (Jimmy Malcolm Pierce)
Subject: Re: Arrival of a Stranger
Organization: University of Southern Mississippi
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 12:59:03 GMT

(Big Al) writes:
>>>DJ writes: 
>>>    "No problem. Not all of us are Human here. There are { lets see if i can
>>>  remember [ inside joke... ] } elves, a balrog, a dalek, a doctor, some
>                                           ~~~~~~
>"A Blarog?  Like Gothmong (or whatever his name was)  Who?  Where?
>(Um, is he friendly?)"  The idea of being scourged by a whip of fire doesn't
>appeal to Big Al as much as some would like.
>
>Big Al.  Am I the only *human* in here?

    "Nope, you wont get scourged. No violence here, remember ? You aren't
 the only human here. I'm human, and there are others, but I would have
 to say I think they are in the minority..." DJ says from his seat in the
hot tub.

-- 
         Jim Pierce Bach. of Sci. in Applied Computer Science USM 
             jmpierce@whale.st.usm.edu  Disclaimer: Standard.
                   Video. Cher: Love and Understanding.
From: olson@husc8.harvard.edu (Chip Olson@somewhere.out.there)
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Subject: Re: So much for dramatic exits.
Date: 13 Dec 92 04:20:39 GMT
Organization: Spam-On-A-Rope Inc.
In-reply-to: aaron@atlantis.uucp's message of 11 Dec 92 04:15:57 GMT

In article <1992Dec11.041557.21233@atlantis.uucp> aaron@atlantis.uucp writes:

>There is a bit of an embarrassed cough and Alfvaen shimmers back into
>existence, a look of relief on his face.  "Well, that wasn't very long, was
>it?

Castellan snorts with disgust. "Yeah, yeah, REAL nice, buddy.  Post a tearful
farewell, run Kitten out of hankies and generally get us all worked up, then
pop right back in before the glasses finish hitting the fireplace.  A little
TOO much of a coincidence there, eh?  I'll bet you were lurking this whole 
time. Just another ego-gratification stunt, and don't try to deny it!"

At this point his accusing glare softens into a grin.  "Just had to inject
some negativity there... Welcome back, Alfvaen, what's yours?"

--
-Chip Olson. | olson@husc.harvard.edu | ceo@{gnu.ai,silver.lcs}.mit.edu 
"These are the days you might fill with laughter until you break. These days
you might feel a shaft of light make its way across your face... And when you 
do you'll know how it was meant to be..." -10,000 Maniacs, "These Are Days"
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: jmpierce@whale.st.usm.edu (Jimmy Malcolm Pierce)
Subject: Re: By the pricking of my thumbs...
Organization: University of Southern Mississippi
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1992 06:40:51 GMT

HC61@lafibm.lafayette.edu (HC61000) writes:
>The bar door opens. It is a perfectly nice (if a bit nippy)
>december afternoon.  A 5'7'' human enters the bar.  No pointy ears,
>no cyberware. He is wearing blue jeans, a escher t-shirt, and a brown
>duster.  The only unusual aspect of his dress is two pins on the left
>lapel of his jacket. One is an American flag. The other is a AADA
>emblem.  He walks up to the bar and says: "Howdy, my name is Chris.
>Do you serve Diet, Caffeine free Coca Cola?"

  "Oh, Mike serves anything you like ! Welcome to The Place !" DJ.

-- 
         Jim Pierce Bach. of Sci. in Applied Computer Science USM 
             jmpierce@whale.st.usm.edu  Disclaimer: Standard.
                   Video. Cher: Love and Understanding.
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: JBrandt@AAA.UOregon.EDU (Jason)
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Subject: Re: Showers? [Re: An Introduction]
Followup-To: alt.callahans
Date: 13 Dec 1992 19:27:30 GMT
Organization: University of Oregon, Architecture
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: aaa.uoregon.edu

In article <3uRLVB1w165w@cybernet.cse.fau.edu>, ekho@cybernet.cse.fau.edu
(amanda rothman) wrote:
> 
> li@Data-IO.COM (Phyllis Rostykus) writes:
> 
> [fascinating descriptions deleted...]
> 
> >   The two walked over to Ekho and Jason playing their 3-D chess game, and
> > quietly watched the game.  Luckily, it wasn't timed, so, eventually, the
> > two looked up.  "Wanted to just tell you two that Argent's pretty much
> > available for any kind of training you might want to do in the Danger
> > Room."
> 
>   Ekho raises an eyebrow, "A Danger Room?  The offer is appreciated, 
> thank you.  I deduce from the context that it is a type of holographic 
> practice ground?  I would be interested in trying it out, as well as 
> studying... Argent.  I've built computers of this type, but none like 
> yours.  Ariadne is different, indeed.  He's with Blake (Roj Blake, that 
> is), helping him with the rebellion."  Looking away for a moment, a trace 
> of sadness crossed Ekho's face, to be replaced by a smile.  "He certainly 
> needs all the help he can get..."  Ekho looks at Argent with curiosity, 
> absorbing what information she can glean from sight...

 
Jason shakes his head and suddenly looks much more alert. The illness that
had hold of him Thursday and Friday has passed, and he is back from
celebrating Pegasus's birthday with her in RL on Saturday. "Well, the
Danger Room's sort of like a blast-proof holodeck. It can be a dojo, or an
urban setting, or a 'Hogan's alley' para-military combat trainer, as
needed. Most people use it for venting violent urges. You know, when you
feel you just -have- to go out and destroy something. Liralen and I, and a
few others, also use it for martial arts workouts and combat training.
Argent is a positively incredible automated training droid. Sort of the
ultimate sensi." He smiles at Liralen. "I may take you up on that as soon
as I am done with our chess game. I could use a good workout. I've been
inactive too long."
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: amanda@wam.umd.edu (Me again)
Subject: Yeay!!
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 02:41:28 GMT

Yeay!  Amanda has finished her finals!  (round of applause) 

And boy am i relieved...

I had bad test anxiety this semester.  I also have lab anxiety, which is not
good, as i am a physics major and they expect us to do labs :)  The test
anxiety disturbs me, though; it's a serious problem when i find myself crying
at some point in each of my final exams.

I don't know what to do about it, because i never had test anxiety in high
school.  My self-image still does not include test anxiety.  I loved tests.
Tests were fun.  Tests led only to happy feelings.  Now i freeze up on tests
and get very depressed and feel hopeless - the good ones are the ones where
i freak out first and then realize it's not so bad, as opposed to the ones 
where i get 3/4 done and *then* freak out and can't work anymore...

Both the test and lab anxiety have gotten worse every semester in college. 
I'm about to tackle my 6th semester, and it's time to get serious about 
my studies... has anyone else out there experience/survived/overcome this
problem?

No longer stressed but still worried, Amanda in College Park
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: maryb@cix.compulink.co.uk (Mary Branscombe)
Subject: Re: A sad poem
Reply-To: maryb@cix.compulink.co.uk
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 14:06:00 +0000


Itosu's poem hits MaryTail where she's living at the moment
"Mike.... Black Russian for mourning please. Hmmm, no White Russian 
for morning please"
She wanders slowly over to the line muttering the lines and looking 
around for the still-glowing image of the happy child
"Dammit! To not giving up because pray God there's always hope. To 
letting other people carry the burdens they need to carry themselves 
and not dropping your own on other people without warning.

Crash-tinkle-crash!

*smile*
Boy - is this Place therapeutic!"
+-------------------------------------------+--------------------------+
| Organisation: Me? You're joking, right?   |maryb@cix.compulink.co.uk |
|                                           |maryb@cix.compulink.uucp  |
|I know I type "teh" for "the" My fingers have their own accent ;-)    |
+-------------------------------------------+--------------------------+

Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: henry@netcom.com (Henry Polard)
Subject: Re: Humor (was prejudice)
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 20:01:03 GMT

In article <Dec12.035405.37380@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU> arsmith@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Alan Smith) writes:
>In article <1992Dec11.163118.22280@netcom.com> henry@netcom.com (Henry Polard) writes:
>>In article <1992Dec10.191209.484@data-io.com> li@Data-IO.COM (Phyllis Rostykus) writes:
>>>In article <104394@bu.edu> mjmh@crsa.bu.edu (Michael J M Holmes) writes:
>>>>"Anyway, he made a really strong case, and no one could
>>>>come up with even one counter-example [of humor - HP] that didn't have
>>>>at least some element of pain, or wasn't at someone's
>>>>expense or humiliation."
>>>"Puns." said Liralen.  "Puns don't have any of the above.
>>>I think it's the main reason they're a staple of this Place."
>>You mean the dazed people here are not inebriated, but merely
>>pun-drunk? It is a point to punder.
>
>Feminabane appears in Big Al's hands and gives Henry a smack upside the
>head, softer than he would like.
>
><bonk>
>
>[Rest deleted in order to save everybody's sanity]
>>
>>--Henry Polard, the happy sadist.
>
>"I'll say."
>
>Big Al.  No, I didn't hurt him, enough.

Thank you for proving my point. Pain and hurt respond with pain and
hurt.

Here at Callahans, the hurt is usually vented on glasses.
Or is this newbie missing something?

 _________________________________________^v^______
{ Henry Polard  || Reality is on drugs.   @.@      }
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~v~~~~~~~
From: jane@soave.swdc.stratus.com (Jane Beckman)
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Subject: Re: Cook-kies...
Date: 19 Dec 92 00:00:54 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc., San Jose, CA

>
>"As a wedding gift, we got a roller-cookie-cutter, which makes cookies that are
>a bit smaller than we are used to, but oh, the convenience!  We alternated that
>with our 'standard' cookie-cutters, which consist of a teddy-bear and a Santa.
>(We should really get some more--I like outre cookie-cutters.)
>
>"They're cooked perfectly--not burned or anything.  Yum.  Tomorrow we shall ice
>some of them, which I've never seen done before, but Nicole has...

"Hmm," murmurs Jilara.  "Which reminds me, it's time for my
Christmas batch of gingerbread.  I have some of the most outre
cookie-cutters around.  (Nothing quite so outre as the
gingerbread coffins we did for a "Puritan Thanksgiving" party,
once--with icing that said "REPENT!")  My personal favorites
are the man-in-the-moon and the flying pig.  Maybe I'll bring
some gingerbread to Colleen's on Wednesday, for you
Callahanians who show up there...

"In the meantime, I'll just have to whip up a virtual
batch..."
--
  Jilara   [jane@swdc.stratus.com]

"The field of pseudo-science hasn't progressed much in ten
years, except to gain access to the net." --from ca.earthquakes
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: dph1jg%tuda@newcastle.ac.uk (J.P.Gardner)
Subject: Re: It's a girl!
Organization: Yale CS Mail/News Gateway
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 20:27:25 GMT

Brumby writes:
>   Well, some, probably most, of you have been aware that my wife Robyn was
>pregnant.
>
>   At one minute to eight this evening, Friday the eleventh of December,
>Jennifer Rhiannon McNamara was born, after thirty two hours of fairly
>difficult labour by Robyn. At the moment she is in a humidicrib, because
>she found this breathing business a bit difficult for a two and a half week
>premature baby. However, she seemed to have gotten the hang of it when I
>left the hospital.
>
>   This was the first time in my life that I have cried for joy. I don't
>think I will ever forget it.
>

On his way out the door, the Space Cadet hear's Brumby's announcement.
He walks back in, and because he's in a hurry, grabs someone's drink.

"To Jennifer!"

<<CRASH!>>

He walks back out before the person who's drink he stole quite realizes
what happened. ;->

--The Space Cadet
Jon Gardner
dph1jg@tuda.ncl.ac.uk
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: arsmith@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Alan Smith)
Subject: Re: Utopiae (Was: Amanda wants to be a Kesh)
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 00:04:11 GMT
Organization: Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO  80523

In article <1992Dec13.163832.640@news.columbia.edu> tjl9@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (Thomas J Lee) writes:
>Big Al writes:
>BA>But, life is not (as a rule) what we make it, so sometimes we get to, er,
>BA>'step back.'  Anyway, I was thinking, if you were going to step back,
>BA>where would you step back to?
>	"Who says we have to step back _to_ anywhere, or anywhen?" asks the
>Lamplighter.  "The Kesh don't see constant progress and constant growth as
>anything desirable.  They also consider the material and the spiritual to be
>equally important in their lives."

"Life sucks.  Thought you knew."  Big Al Replieth: "That's why there's such
a great market for escapist art and religion."

Big Al.  Off to buy a picture of Houdini.
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: esti@quads.uchicago.edu (Paul A. Estin)
Subject: Re: Pair-allel Universes
Reply-To: esti@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: U. Michigan Cognitive Psychology
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 18:10:14 GMT

In article <1g7lpnINNe53@GRIZZLY.ZOO.CS.YALE.EDU>
lower-tony@cs.yale.edu (Tony Lower) writes:

Manx:
>  "OK... just my standard dig on parallel universes as portrayed by
>SF authors... and it goes like this:
>
>    AN INFINITE SET DOES _NOT_ NECESSARILY CONTAIN EVERYTHING!
>
>  "It's much easier to see with numbers.  The even numbers (those
>divisible by 2) form an infinite set.  According to the way SF
>writers deal with universes, we can therefore prove that every
>conceivable number is a member of that set, thus showing that
>1,3,5, etc., are even.

True enough.  But note that different SF writers have used different
assumptions.  For example, if I recall, Niven's setup in _All the
Myriad Ways_ was not that of all *conceivable* universes, but rather
that of all *possible* universes (every time a binary decision occurs,
even on the quantum level, two universes result, one for each possible
outcome).  That doesn't allow for finding, say, Oz in another
universe, unless there was some way in which Oz could have come about
as an alternate universe, by a different sequence of binary decisions.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    _/_/_/  _/    _/    _/    _/_/    _/  _/ Paul Andrew Estin  313-994-3869
   _/      _/_/  _/  _/  _/  _/  _/  _/_/   214 Beakes St.  Ann Arbor, MI
  _/_/_/  _/  _/_/  _/_/_/  _/_/    _/     estin@csmil.umich.edu
     _/  _/    _/  _/  _/  _/  _/  _/_/   esti@midway.uchicago.edu
_/_/_/  _/    _/  _/  _/  _/  _/  _/  _/ HoloMuck 132.206.3.32 5757
net.Snark, CogPsych grad student at U Michigan, r.a.c Welcome poster,
HoloMuck Chancellor, Fellow of the Clementine Society,
UCSFC First Consul/ Keeper of the Slinky
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: jmpierce@whale.st.usm.edu (Jimmy Malcolm Pierce)
Subject: Re: So much for dramatic exits.
Organization: University of Southern Mississippi
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 00:51:27 GMT

Alfvaen writes about drinks:
>"You know, with all the people who buy me drinks, and the few I actually drink,
>I don't think I've had to buy myself a drink here for months.  Of course, I
>don't think I've bought too many drinks myself either.  So--I will buy a round
>of drinks for the house--and everyone else, too.  Just to commemorate my
>departure and return.  Years from now, this will be remembered as the day that
>Alfvaen bought drinks."

     "Okay, I'll have one, and Linda will have one, and Robbie will have
 one, so thats 111{base 2} or 7 { ? } drinks in base 10, and so ... " DJ.

     As DJ falls asleep in his comfy chair, Linda and Robbie stand there and
try to figure out what to do with all those drinks of ice water. A gleam
appears in Robbie's eyes, followed by a gleam in Linda's eyes ... They both
move quietly over to DJ's Comfy Chair ... And pour the ice water in DJ's
lap !!!

   "Wahoooo yiiieeee !" DJ.

   DJ flys over into the hot tub !

   <SSSSSSPPPPLLLAAASSSHHHH !!!!>

    DJ disappears below the water, and slowly surfaces with a look of
contentment on his face...

   "Gee Whiz, that feels better. whoosh... " DJ.
 


-- 
         Jim Pierce Bach. of Sci. in Applied Computer Science USM 
             jmpierce@whale.st.usm.edu  Disclaimer: Standard.
                   Video. Cher: Love and Understanding.
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: mar@physics.su.OZ.AU (David Mar)
Subject: Re: Newbies on the March
Organization: School of Physics, University of Sydney, Australia
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 02:42:14 GMT

> [Alfvaen:]
>"I use the ANSI format for places where I want the dates to sort(although I
>put dashes between the numbers to avoid confusion), but otherwise I use
>mm/dd/yy.  It just seems more logical to me that dd/mm/yy...but I suppose that
>devotees of the other form say the same thing.  De gustibus non est
>disputandum."

Danger Mouse observes, "Well, I think most of that logicality comes from the
way people _say_ dates. Here in Australia (and I presume the UK too) we
say 'the date is Friday the 18th of December, 1992', which leads naturally
to the abbreviated written form 18/12/92. I've noticed North Americans
tend to say 'the date is Friday, December 18, 1992', which of course leads
directly to writing 12/18/92.

"I am often astonished at the amount of cultural drift between North
America and the rest of the English-speaking world. (It must be all that
westward motion on the tectonic plate...)"

- Danger Mouse.
Newsgroups: alt.callahans