HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: sjane@bmers248.bnr.ca (sjs)
Subject: Re: Thoreau and timothy
Organization: Irrelevant, Ottawa, Canada
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 92 12:46:27 GMT

In article <1992Aug16.222753.14258@kakwa.ucs.ualberta.ca> aaron@space.ualberta.ca writes:
>Alfvaen enjoys the Faire in the way he enjoys many outdoor-type festivals--
>he sits in the haywagon and reads.  He managed to connive for the haywagon to
>be parked in the shade.

sjs, arriving late to the Faire, happens first upon Alvaen in the haywagon
on the outskirts, and catches some of his conversation with timothy...

>In my experience, persons, when they are made the subject of conversation,
>though with a friend, are commonly the most prosaic and trivial of facts.  The
>universe seems bankrupt as soon as we begin to discuss the characters of
>individuals.  Our discourse all runs to slander, and our limits grow narrower
>as we advance.  How is it that we are impelled to treat our old friends so ill
>when we obtain new ones?  The housekeeper says, I never had any new crocker in
>my life but I began to break the old.  I say, let us speak of mushrooms and
>forest trees rather.

Yeah, but then people will merely find something in the trees to complain
about.  In my experience, trees, when they are made the subject of
conversation, are slandered; one complains about the dripping sap or the
over-abundance of keys or the too much or too little shade they cast.

I don't think that we complain about our old friends specifically when we
get new ones, we just complain about whatever or whomever we are talking
about.  Afterall, no news is good news -- the only news is bad news
whether it be reported on TV, in the newspaper or in a conversation.
I think that Thoreau's point is merely a particular case of this general 
phenomenon.

>..We are continually acting a part in a more interesting drama than any
>written.  We are dreaming that our Friends are our _Friends_, and that we are
>our Friends' _Friends_.  Our actual Friends are but distant relations of those
>to whom we are pledged.  We never exchange more than three words with a Friend
>in our lives on that level to which our thoughts and feelings almost habitually
>rise.  

So friends do not live up to our ideals.  But for many (most?) of us,
nothing lives up to our ideals.  So we complain.  And, undoubtably, it
would be good for us to forget about some of our ideals & to accept some
things, and especially people, as they are, but that isn't easy.  And it
isn't easy to figure out which things should be accepted and which can be
changed.  

Oh well... you can but do your best... would you like to leave depressing
Thoreau and join the happy -Sprite? 

Begone dull care!  So saying, sjs starts whistling, "Come ye to the fair.."
from Brigadoon, while waiting for Alvaen's reply..
--
It's not irrelevant; it's a hippopotamus.   sjane@BNR.CA
From: jane@soave.swdc.stratus.com (Jane Beckman)
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Subject: Re: WANTED: Asbestos
Date: 14 Aug 92 20:26:41 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc., San Jose, CA

Jilara goes over and pats Manx on the shoulder.  "Ah, the joys
of net.assholes.  I've run into a few, in my time, and have
been totally unable to understand how some stupid turkey
hiding behind a keyboard could make me hyperventilate and want
to commit severe mayhem.  May I make a suggestion?"

She steps over to the door of the Danger Room and fiddles with
a few dials.  A few people notice she has dialed up "flamer
simulacrum" and "max violence" on the settings.  She smiles at
Manx invitingly and opens the door with a flourish, gesturing
him in.  "I found it was very satisfying to throttle Clay Bond
in the Danger Room.  You might want to explore the
possibilities with your own flamer.  There is enough
soundproofing that you can scream and throw him up against the
walls and punch his lights out without disturbing folks in
here..."

--
  Jilara   [jane@swdc.stratus.com]

I've worn high-heeled pointed-toed fashionable shoes for the past 
twenty years, and you ask me about if *getting tattooed* hurt?!
From: iborchar@physics.adelaide.edu.au (Ian Borchardt)
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Subject: Re: Hurray!
Date: 14 Aug 92 18:56:26 GMT

P'relan writes:

> 10 years?!?  I'm working on my Ph.D. in Physics now and 5 years seems 
> to be the average time required for the degree though that can vary 
> from 3 to 13 years (that's the longest I've ever heard of at least).

I'm afraid I can beat that.  One person in our department just got his
Ph.D. after 16 years of full time work on his doctorate (albiet for some 
tutoring and demonstrating to the undergraduates -- which we are all
required to do anyway).  I think he changed his research topic at least
three times....

   
--
Ian Borchardt                                             the staff is broken
iborchar@physics.adelaide.edu.au                        the sword is sheathed
Medical Physicist                                          the cup is drained
University of Adelaide/Royal Adelaide Hospital              the coin is spent
From: bownes@crd.ge.com (Blender in my Brain)
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Subject: Re: Quote Happens...
Date: 13 Aug 92 13:30:17 GMT
Reply-To: bownes@crd.ge.com
Organization: 0.030 Over Motorsports

Ah, the Agnostic's Prayer, from `Creatures of Light and Darkness`. I'd wondered where
I`d left that.....It`s perfect for Divorce parties, and I have one to go to soon. I hope.


---
Bob Bownes, aka iii "The only way I know where the train will go is when I'm 
sleeping on the tracks" -M. Etheridge
Warning: This may contain opinions. They belong to me, not to Aule-Tek, 
Sun Microsystems, General Electric or anyone else. But you can rent them. 
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: dgil@ipsaint.ipsa.reuter.com (Gillett, David)
Subject: Re: Re: Responsibilities of Artists (was Re: Pornography an
Reply-To: dgil@ipsaint.ipsa.reuter.com (Gillett, David)
Organization: Reuters APL Software Division
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 10:50:10 GMT


-----------Message forwarded from IPSA Mailbox-------------
no. 6486118 filed 18.44.30  fri 14 aug 1992
from dgil
to   locun
subj Re: Re: Responsibilities of Artists (was Re: Pornography an
ref  6484113

daq:
  I NEVER proofread throwaway posts to the net.

moi:
  I OFTEN discard, without reading, *throwaway* posts to the net, especially if
  I've found past posts from that source unintelligible.  Spelling doesn't,
  usually, bother me as much as grammar, but (demonstrating that this
  digression is actually a meta-discussion) I consider careful (both conscious
  and conscientious) use of language to be among the responsibilities of
  writers.
    [A certain portion of my low opinion of Scientology was crystallized by the
  preface to _Dianetics_, in which L. Ron Hubbard disavows any responsibility
  for any difficulty which the reader may experience in understanding the
  book's contents.]

                                            Mentor the Sage
From: lydick@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU (Speaker-to-Minerals)
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Subject: Re: Weird stuff
Date: 21 Aug 92 17:02:47 GMT
Reply-To: lydick@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU
Distribution: usa
Organization: HST Wide Field/Planetary Camera

In article <1992Aug17.004130.19695@fcom.cc.utah.edu>, terry@cs.weber.edu (A Wizard of Earth C) writes:
>In article <1992Aug6.160317.1496@news.iastate.edu> SG.MML@isumvs.iastate.edu (M. Loughin) writes:
>
>>In article <LGOLD.92Jul29170507@callahans.Cadence.COM>,
>>lgold@callahans.Cadence.COM (Lynn Gold) writes:
>>>One of the side-effects of working in radio is that you often wind up
>>>doing promotional events.  On one of the stations where I do traffic,
>>>the DJs (but luckily not the traffic people) get recruited to
>>>participate in a "cow chip toss."
>>>
>>>Yes, it's for real.  They toss cow chips across a field; whoever's
>>>chip lands farthest away wins.  I don't know WHAT they win, but they win.
>
>I hope that what they win is first place in line at the sink... yuck!
>
>>What's so unusual about that?  It's an annual 4th of July event
>>at Independence Day picnics in Iowa.  I'm not sure the winners
>>get anything for their efforts.  They do it for the joy of
>>competition . . .
>
>Hopefully the competition occurs *after* the picnic eating portion of the
>celebration...

Presumably they use dry cow chips.  They're not so bad, and even make a
passable fuel for a fire.
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: hollombe@polymath.tti.com (The Polymath)
Subject: Re: invisible idiot!
Organization: The Cat Factory
Distribution: alt
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 19:01:26 GMT

In article <1992Aug11.163141.26100@NCoast.ORG> allbery@ncoast.org (Brandon S. Allbery KF8NH) writes:
}+---------------
}| TL> d.  suspicious ; leg joint, fairly distributed
}+---------------
}
}	     wary	knee		even

	     leery, I think.

}	  = Larry Niven


The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe, M.A., CDP, aka: hollombe@polymath.tti.com)
Head Robot Wrangler at Citicorp                   Turn the rascals out!
3100 Ocean Park Blvd.   (310) 450-9111, x2483     No incumbents in '92!
Santa Monica, CA  90405
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: brumby@nella11.cc.monash.edu.au (Stephen McNamara)
Subject: Re: It's a Hay Ride!
Organization: Monash University, Melb., Australia.
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 12:09:54 GMT


   It seems that the Didi-Sprite has caught the brumby's attention yet
again.

braley@binkley.cs.mcgill.ca  (The Didi-Sprite) writes:

>Out on the meadow, another perfect Summer's day is on the wane.  The
>patrons are ranged about in groups and couples, even singly, enjoying
>the gathering coolness and the dimming of Sol's powerful rays.  

   The brumby is standing peacefully (for once) half dozing in the sun,
occasionally swishing his tail.

>Suddenly the peace is broken by the sound of jingling harness and
>jouncing wagon wheels.

   The brumby starts and throws his head up in alarm. No one is putting a
harness on him!

>"Weeeeeee!" cries an excited Ramda!

>"Yaaaaaay!  chimes in a joyful Koally!

   The brumby whickers nervously.

[...]

>And, sure enough, a line of wagons piled high with soft, fragrant
>Timothy, is seen coming down the lane (now when did that ... err ... 
>crop up?)!  Each vehicle is pulled by a perfectly matched pair of
>Clydesdale beauties, the white feathers on their massive hooves gleaming
>silver-like in the late afternoon sun.

   At this sight the brumby squeals and breaks into a trot towards the
wagons. He quickly gets behind one of the wagons and pulls a mouthful of
hay from it, causing lots more to fall to the ground. Bolting that down as
fast as he can he pulls another mouthful free.

[...]
>"Oh!  That's right!"  giggles Kitten.  "Let's hear it for our friend
>Alaric!"

   "Mmmphh. What? Oh yes. Happy Birthday Alaric. Even if it is rather late.
Blame the news feed. I do. :-) Speaking of feed..."
   The brumby resumes the vitally important (to a horse) business of trying
to demolish the entire wagon of hay by himself.

[...]
>Everyone applauds lustily and there is much jostling, but no shoving,
>as each one finds a comfy spot on one of the wagons.

   The brumby gets his nose firmly pushed away from several places as he
keeps trying to eat the contents of the wagon while someone is trying to
sit there.

>Now the wagons rumble across the meadow and approach the yellow brick
>road.  (And, I bet you thought it had faded out with the passing of
>our Tinman's birthday!  Hey!  No such luck!)  An evening of fun and
>song awaits the company as they jingle-jangle on their merry way.

   The brumby continues to walk alongside, pulling mouthfuls of hay and
laying his ears back at the Clydesdales to make sure they don't even
*think* of stealing any of *his* hay.


-- 
     The Silver Brumby of          brumby@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au
      the Silicon Plains

      The grass is always greener on the other side of the network.
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: allbery@NCoast.ORG (Brandon S. Allbery KF8NH)
Subject: Re: Alfvaen in the Haywagon
Reply-To: allbery@ncoast.org (Brandon S. Allbery KF8NH)
Organization: North Coast Public Access *NIX, Cleveland, OH
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 19:14:34 GMT
Followup-To: alt.callahans

As quoted from <1992Aug13.210340.26893@kakwa.ucs.ualberta.ca> by aaron@space.ualberta.ca (Aaron Humphrey):
+---------------
| Right!  It's his birthday today?  On Thursday the 13th?  Hmmm...unless I miss
| my calculations, tomorrow his birthday will be on Friday the 13th.  Well, I
| guess that's what he gets for signing his name with ++ all the time like he
| used to..."
+---------------

...except that Friday the 13th is my lucky day...  :-)  (I was born on a
Thursday, alas; my sister came closer, she was born on a Thursday the 12th :-)

..."used to"???  Yes, I've been busy the past week (and ABEND the week before
that), but...!

+---------------
| "How old is he this year?"
+---------------

Check Nick Chopper's Birthday List.  (8/13/64 -> 28 years)  I'll gladly pass
up the "old coot" title.  :-)

++Brandon ("used to", indeed!)
-- 
Brandon S. Allbery, KF8NH [44.70.4.88]: allbery@NCoast.ORG, bsa@telotech.com
Senior Programmer, Telotech, Inc. (if I may call myself that...)
From: bard@spuddy.uucp (Mike Whitaker)
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Subject: Re: Happy Birthday Bard !
Date: 13 Aug 92 01:28:26 GMT
Organization: Spuddy's Public Usenet Domain

In article <1992Aug11.205127.17152@kakwa.ucs.ualberta.ca> 
	aaron@space.ualberta.ca writes:
>bard@spuddy.uucp (Mike Whitaker) writes:
>
>Alfvaen starts singing along softly as soon as he recognizes the song, not
>wanting to interfere with the Bard's singing but also wanting to sing along...
>Afterwards he says, "It may not be cool to like ABBA, true, but screw what's
>cool.  I like ABBA a lot.

The Bard applauds Alfvaen. "My sentiments exactly." He smiles. "You should see
the reaction my band (which polays 50's rock'n'roll) gets when our lead singer
says "and now for something completely different.." for our first encore and
I hit the intro to "Gimmee Gimmee Gimmee" - it may be uncool but there's a 
heck of a llot of folks who just love it if the truth be known.."

>"Do you know 'Chiquitita'?  That's my favourite ABBA song..."
"Not to play, I'm afraid. One of my favourites too, along with "I've been
waiting for you", "On and On and On", "Our Last Summer", "Eagle",.... the
list just goes ON!"
-- 
    "Bard's just *know* things" - Me to the Grey Lady, in a rash moment
E-mail to: mikew@mdcbbs.com, mwhitaker@cix.compulink.co.uk or bard@spuddy.uucp
And remember folks, Spuddy sez dial 0203 638780 for free Usenet access - Mrowr
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: lower-tony@CS.YALE.EDU (Tony Lower)
Subject: Invisible Idiot
Organization: Yale University Computer Science Dept., New Haven, CT 06520-2158
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1992 16:51:14 GMT


   Manx steps up to the chalkboard.  "OK, people, it's wednesday.
I don't have the next set of invisible idiot puzzles ready yet
(and won't until this evening) but I'll give you the answers to
the ones from last week..."

   Category 1 (Callahaners)
  ------------

	a.  target, animal home ; set of city streets, enjoyment
		Goal-den Grid-fun
	b.  Kinsman of Hamlet, bottle ; oral orifices
		Dane-jar Mouths
	c.  TV alien, conceited
		ALF-vain
	d.  observe ; person who would go to a Prep school
		See WASP
	e.  home of faulty architecture ; harbor marker
		Pisa buoy

   Category 2 (Computer stuff)
  ------------

	a. person who continues the family name ; fatal
	     Son terminal
	b. imperfection, small vegetable ; impetus
	     flaw-pea drive
	c. medieval fortress, two by four
	     keep-board
	d. dispatched, huge green monster ; push, contents of a
		filty pool, vocalize musically ; small fluffy
		white thing, granmother's hobby
	     Sent-troll Prod-cess-sing Ewe-knit
	e. "Mother" contraction, nail polishing board ; savings and loans
	     Ma-emory banks

   Category 3 (Politicians)
  ------------

	a.  sharp pain ; uncooked, sibilant ; not qualified for Olympics
		Ache Raw-ss Pro
	b.  unwanted letter ; Dirty Harry actor, container of alcohol
		Bill Clint-tun
	c.  ranking of black belts ; dock, sicken
		Dan Quay-ail
	d.  ancient booze ; blood and guts
		Ale Gore
	e.  Joseph, great desire ; macho lesbian
		Jo-urge Butch

   Category 4 (Lois McMaster Bujold novels) (HEY! I said it was obscure!)
  ------------

	a.  maps ; not on ; French year, make a mistake
		Charts off an-err (SHARDS OF HONOR)
	b.  Mike Callahans location, flat sea dweller, dead security
			officer from Star Trek, TNG
		Bar-ray-Yar (BARRAYAR)
	c.  Sadness, prefix of repetition, metals ; direction of
			decreasing atmospheric pressure, pay by the
			hour, Greek underworld
		Woe-re-ores Up-rent-Dis  (WARRIORS APPRENTICE)
	d.  Golf warning ; happy, focus on target
		Fore gay-aim  (VOR GAME)
	e.  soup, latin bear ; old hotel ; damages
		Broth-ursus ; inn ; harms (BROTHERS IN ARMS)

   Category 5 (Sci-Fi authors)
  ------------

	a.  last testament, potato-like vegetable ; bad leg, nearest star
		Will-yam gimp-son
	b.  steal, Ernie's room mate ; greeting, german one, queue
		Rob-bert Hi-ein-line
	c.  paddles, male descendant ; Northern Briton ; straighten wool
		Oars-son Scot Card
	d.  suspicious ; leg joint, fairly distributed
		Leery Knee-even
	e.  make tea, large auto ; cold exclamation, oxidation
		Steep-van Brr-rust
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: lgold@callahans.Cadence.COM (Lynn Gold)
Subject: Re: A True Story
Organization: /mnt4/lgold/.organization
	<1992Aug12.164204.15653@kakwa.ucs.ualberta.ca>
Date: Sun, 2 Aug 1992 08:58:41 GMT

In article <1992Aug12.164204.15653@kakwa.ucs.ualberta.ca> aaron@space.ualberta.ca (Aaron Humphrey) writes:

>lgold@callahans.Cadence.COM (Lynn Gold) writes:

>: Yesterday was my one-year anniversary of meeting my boyfriend.  I also
>: found out yesterday that my brother's girlfriend is pregnant and that
>: they'll be getting married Real Soon Now.

>"I always thought that pregnancy was a silly reason to get married.
>Unless you were going to get married anyway, and decided that now that
>you were pregnant, that would be a good time for it...  But to get
>married involuntarily due to pregnancy is an archaic custom that will
>hopefully go out with arranged marriages(whenever >those< go out)..."

They live in southern New Jersey, a VERY conservative (and backwards)
part of the country.  She works as an assistant bank manager, and
given the morality there, she could lose her job if she shows up
visibly pregnant out of wedlock.

On the other hand, they HAVE been going together for 7.5 years and
were hoping to eventually marry -- but were hoping to be able to take
their time about it.

>: Just as I was looking forward to several years with no trips back east....

>"Are you kidding?  What's a year without a wedding?  They're great fun!  I'm
>glad Nicole has such a large family...there's bound to be one somewhere every
>summer...mostly we don't have to travel far, I admit."

My mother and I don't get along very well.  She's a controlling sort
of person.  For my last visit, she said "Oh, don't bother to rent a
car -- you won't need one.  You can use mine."

She then stranded me at her house (in the middle of nowhere) with the
phone books hidden so I couldn't even call a cab to get to a rental
car place.  When I wanted to go to a party, she tied up the car so I
couldn't go.

During another visit, while we were shopping, she flung open the
curtain to my dressing room and held it open while I was changing,
violating my privacy.  When I screamed and yanked the curtain closed,
she threw a tantrum, accusing me of "being ridiculous."

She also has a hissyfit when I DARE to get myself Real Food.  She only
stocks junk food in ready-eatable form, so I either have to cook or go
to the store to get something I can eat.

My last two visits were so awful I swore I'd never go back except for
life or death occasions.

--Lynn
--
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?<&QY97(@=V5R92!T;R!H97)E(&%B;W5T('1H:7,A"F%P
`
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
From: aaron@space.ualberta.ca (Aaron Humphrey)
Subject: Re: lots and re: Alfvaen on the haywagon
Reply-To: aaron@space.ualberta.ca
Organization: University Of Alberta, Edmonton Canada
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1992 22:07:26 GMT

"I agree, 2400 baud isn't that bad.  My biggest problem I have with modeming in
from home is that my modem program's vt100 emulator just doesn't handle vi
very well.  I keep getting blank lines when I hit return, several lines above
the cursor...and sometimes the cursor will move to the top of the screen for no
reason...

"And then I have to do bunches of screen refreshes, which takes extra time.
Oh, well, it's better than no Usenet at all..."

--
---Alfvaen(a.k.a. Aaron V. Humphrey)
"So you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts
 what's so amazing about really deep thoughts"  -- Tori Amos
Current Album--The Beatles:Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Current Read--Henry David Thoreau:Walden and Other Writings
From: randolph@cognito.ebay.Sun.COM (Randolph Fritz)
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Subject: Re: Cities and Metro Areas
Date: 21 Aug 92 22:31:45 GMT
Organization: St. Dismas Infirmary for the Incurably Informed
NNTP-Posting-Host: cognito.ebay.sun.com
In-reply-to: esti@quads.uchicago.edu's message of Fri, 21 Aug 1992 15:22:19 GMT

"Joel Garreau discusses modern city forms in *Edge City*; I highly
recommend it.  The collapse of an old downtown, by the way, is usually
the result of deliberate political action -- at least it was in New
York and LA.

"I'm outa here!  Maybe more on tomorrow or Monday."

     |\/|\/|
     |  | ||\  /|
     |  | || \/||
|\  /|  | || | ||
| \/||  | || | ||  Randolph Fritz
| | ||  | || | ||  sun!cognito.ebay!randolph
| | ||  | || | ||  randolph@ebay.sun.com
| | ||  | || | ||  Mountain View, California, North America, Earth
| | ||  | || | ||
| | ||  | || | ||
|\| ||\/ \/|\| ||
Organization: Senior, Math/Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA