Well, I know I like to watch comedies more than dramas.  Money will follow the viewers.  I don't think awards always follow the viewers though.  I mean, 3rd Rock beat out seinfeld for best comedy in 1997.


Both of those were great shows but seinfeld is a classic! i cant believe we wont see Jim Carrey clowning anymore.


Really?  I'm surprised because he normally does only comedies, and positive ones at that.


I wasnt sure if comedy was included in positive. It might be subversive in his crazy world. lol.


Yeah, not all comedy is positive.  Dark comedies ... weird stuff is out there.  But I would say most comedy is positive.  It's supposed to make you laugh, after all.


Yeah we sure need all of it. i just read a book about when guys i like letterman and leno were coming up. i wish i could remember the name.


You mean their history and working up to their top spots in late night?


Yeah. Very early things about the clubs on the strip and the stand up days. they were nuts. a lot of drugs


My friend just lost his job because of drugs.  I don't think it's fair to have a culture that on the one hand praises comedians who have done drugs and then has other standards for everyone else.


That is true, as long as the drugs did not affect his work i do not have a problem.


Well, I think they are a problem.  They can keep you from holding down a driving job, like bus driving.  But when everyone around you in a state like mine, smoking a little weed on the weekends, you feel left out when you've got a job like that.


I agree, but the system can not be made personally for everyone. i am gonna go look for that radio site. i hope you find abbott and costello tonight. Peace


I'll be looking for something new too, something I can share with my kids.


Did you hear about the boy that fell in a drainage pipe and was later rescued?


That was crazy. It must have been terrifying to have been lost for a half a day, and not know if anyone would find you.


And searching the pipes is like a maze, so over 100 workers had to look for him


I am sure that there are so many pipes and waterways underground that he could have been miles away, because some of the places have water moving at 15 mph.


And the family lives in Los Angeles, which is a very large metro area. No wonder it's such a maze!


It is not just a maze of one level, some of the equipment they used to find the kid went down 300 feet, so there must be mazes on top of mazes.


So much that the police don't even know where the drain pipe goes. I'm sure someone has to have a map of that somewhere, right?


Well. a Los Angeles police Sgt. told the L.A. Times that they didn't know where the drain pipe went. They used cameras.


At least they have cameras set up. I bet no one suspected that abandoned maintenance shed was right over a pipe like that


That would not have been a healthy pleasant job. The kid had to go to the hospital to be decontaminated, not sure if any workers had to go too.


I'm glad they found him though. I'm sure his family had their eyes glued to the news station


It was broadcast. The way his family found out he was safe was from a borrowed phone.


That's crazy! On another note, do you ever watch sports on TV?


Not really, I prefer TV for news and entertainment, not so much for sports and especially not for advertising.


I get that. I prefer playing them than watching, especially volleyball


Do you play on a team? Guys or girls, or co-ed?


I don't play on a set team, but when I play with friends, it's co-ed. Most of the nets are for men, but I did women's in high school, so I'm used to a net 7 inches shorter


I wondered if co-ed went with the shorter ladies net or taller guys net. Thanks for the info. Does the 7 inches seem to make a difference?


It does for me. I think they usually go with the men's height. Did you know that it's legal to kick the ball?


I have never seen anyone kick it, but I have seen it where a person did a header like in soccer, so I knew the head must have been legal.


Any body part is legal, but it is much easier to play with your hands. Nice talking to you!


hey I'm good, do you have a computer by chance?


Yes, I think I could find a computer around here somewhere. What about you?


yes i use mine every day, its cool you can use them to control robots or do computer aided designs today


Would you want to upload your mind to a computer?


yes! if I could live forever that would be cool, what about you?


Well, it would be a non-human existence, so thing that you enjoyed would be gone. And what if people smoked near me when I was in the computer?


ah yes haha you couldn't escape! I want to see the google computer built in lego that sounds interestings


I guess if you have the basic pieces, digital computers can be built from many things. Someone built a working 16-bit computer using nothing but Minecraft building blocks


that is interesting, also interesting is the first algorithm for a computer was built by a woman named Ada Lovelace


There is a programming language called Ada. Probably named after her. In 1936, the Soviets made a computer that ran on water. That sounds like something Elon Musk would do.


ah that makes sense then, did you ever play doom? That was the number 1 most installed thing on computers in 1995


Doom was addictive. I don't play games much now, but I did play Doom. I guess as a transhumanist, I could play Doom.


lol yes that is what I will do for eternity! Nice that Bell gave out manual cardboard computers back in 1968 so the public could learn about computers


I bet plenty of people smoked around them, too. Smoking near Apple computers voids the warranty. What about vaping? Apple hipsters like to vape.


lol good question! i've seen that, have you ever had to solve a captcha? I guess they are used to tell humans from computer bots


Once the bots figure out solutions to captcha, there's no telling what they'll do. It would be like a horror film.


haha nice segway! the genre was created by edgar allen poe and Mary Shelley which is interesting


Horror is a great genre. I just don't like lots of blood. Anyway, I had fun chatting! Have a good day!


you too, check out ET the movie it was originally going to be a horror movie haha


ET as a horror film? I prefer it the way it is.


Hello, how are you? Do you television? Do you TV?


I love television! In fact, I love The Simpson's. There's actually an episode where Bart never makes an appearance nor is even mentioned that I still want to see. I bet it's weird never seeing Bart!


TV is the only thing left of the civilized world. We would be beasts without TV to civilize us. I have not seen the non-Bart episode. He must have been sick. Or gone on strike.


Ha! Maybe so! Speaking of The Simpson's, their crew actually sent the South Park producers flowers after they aired the Family Guy episode. I thought that was pretty nice of them!


I think that the SP guys made fun of the FG guys and the Simpsons guys appreciate the joke.


Yeah, you are right about that! Did you also watch the 70s Show? There was a UK remake but sadly it was cancelled after 10 episodes.


I did not see the show. Some shows do not translate well to other cultures. Also the casting is key.


Agreed it is. It just amazes me Pokemon has 750 episodes which is roughly 50 per year for 16 years straight but the 70s Show remake only lasted 10 episodes.


Pokemon shows the kids colors and battles and noises. I think that the kids get addicted to the spectacle.


That is a great point! Since we're on the subject of tv, did you know George Carlin, Alec Baldwin and Ringo Starr each narrated 52 episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine? I kind of wanna go back and rewatch it just to see if I recognize their voices. Ha!


I think that it is great that such illustrious stars lend their talents to a kids' show like that. They are helping humanity.


Indeed they are. It's too bad more stars can't be like that! But as much as I love TV, I also love the library and am glad there are more libraries than there are McDonald's here in the US and over half the adult population still has library cards!


I think that the library and McD's can be combined to serve both needs. Calories for readers!


Exactly. Kind of like that library in Sacramento that started a library of things where they let you check out stuff you may need temporarily but don't want to own long term like sewing machines!


I think that it is a great way to help those who need but cannot afford. Things can get reused and recycled. Saves the planet.


So true! Speaking of libraries, did you know that if you publish a book in Norway, the government buys 1000 copies and distributes them to libraries across their country! That's a great thing to do!


I will go to Norway and live on the proceeds from my many kids books that I will write. I will have an easy life.


Same here. I should write about tennis since I'm a huge tennis fan. But speaking of which, I think it's sad no black man has won the US Open Tennis title since the first black man won it in 1968.


I am not a big fan of  tennis. I do not understand the sport. Anyway, great chat!


Well they've come a long way since they had to use a helicopter to dry the grass courts at the 1969 US Open that's for sure. Ha!


I would have done the same thing if I had not sold my helicopter. Have a good night!


Ha! I still can't believe the longest tennis match in history lasted 11 hours over the course of three days. That's insane! Well it was great chatting with you! Have a great evening as well!


hi how are you? do you watch tv these days?


I watch a lot of BBC programs. I don't watch much mainstream TV like Greys Anatomy, etc. Right now I am watching all the Silent Witness seasons on Prime.


That is a good idea. i dont use prime. just mturk. LOL I try to watch south park.


My son loves South Park. lol. I got rid of my cable 2 years ago and bought a Roku. Best thing I ever did. I like to read a lot too. We have a great library in my town!


that is something i never considered. i cut the cord long ago. but maybe roku is. i love reading. i usually get reading material on line, though libraries are great.


I just love to lay down and have a good book. My cats cuddle up and we are so happy. They like to listen to Brahms on the computer for entertainment. Do you have a Kindle?


I dont have a kindle but they look cool. I guess it is useful for low light conditions too.


It would be great to read at night with a KIndle. I still like books better. I like the smell of a new book too. It's like a new car, or money. haha


Yes, the smell of books is endearing and nostalgic. i havent been to the library in a while, but they are great for concentrating.


I would have like to see the library at Alexandria. So much knowledge! Too bad it burned down so long ago.


Yes, it burned down long ago, though there is a rumor that it has a backup of the internet. LOL


I wish that were true! All of the ships visiting Alexandria had to give over their books for copying. I read somewhere that there were thousands of books there. What a waste! Too bad they couldn't have backups like we do.


yes, knowledge is precious and we need systems to preserve and disseminate it.


But we also need physical copies of everything. If we have a solar storm that is strong enough, it could wipe out all our internet data.


Yes, that is true. and it could certainly happen. it has happened in the past and navigation was impossible.


I am afraid that we rely too much on our technology. It's scary to think about what would happen if it really was gone in an instant.


Yes, we really cannot function without technology. many kids cannot go to the library and look up information in a book.


haha most kids can't tell time on a real clock and hey have no idea what a Roman numeral is. Shame!


Yeah, the library is a great resource for learning, but if you dont use it, you cant learn. Anyway, great chat!


Hello there, I really enjoy listening to music, how about you?


I usually enjoy classical and jazz, but I have been trying to explore rapping a bit


Yeah those are good ones, I like rap as well, mostly stuff from the early to mid 90's.


I like how rap focuses on content, flow, and delivery


Yes, same here.  Did you know there is a deaf rapper?


I guess his name is Signmark and he rhymes all of his raps in sign language, I think that's pretty cool.


So you can only understand his rapping if you can read sign language? So does he not have a album?


That is a really good question, but yeah I think he would only make videos.


I think as a rapper, Tupac shakur sure has made his mark. He even is in the library of cultural significane


Yeah I think you are right, that is very cool that his music is in that library.


I mean even the Michigan judge delivered here ruling in the form of rap for rapper eminem


I have read that as well, very interesting, that would have been pretty cool to be at that courthouse to hear it.


Did you know that the us supreme court building also as a basketball court on the top floor dubbed the highest court in the land?


Yeah I think I have heard that before, I wonder if there are money bets placed on some of those games!


Who knows? But speaking of money, did you know the best paid state employees in most states are college football or basketball coaches?


That is very interesting and it's pretty hard to believe.  Not that those jobs aren't important, but I think other jobs deserve better pay.


Well I guess it is because those sports are very popular and generate a lot of revenue and publicity for the state?


Yeah I'm sure that is true, just like how pro sports bring in money for all kinds of things.


In any case, I hope you enjoyed this chat as much as I. Have a nice day.


I watch a little here and there.  How about you?


I do when the team I like plays..NC Tarheels. Did you know that the US Supreme Court building has a basketball court on the top floor and they call it the highest court in the land? That's pretty cool!


That is pretty cool.  Neither of the schools I attended had dominant basketball teams, so I didnt have much to root for.  But, I am glad that they can dunk now, it was banned from college ball after Abdul-Jabbar was so dominant with it.


Yes, I agree. It adds so much to the game. Kudos to James Naismith for inventing it.


Yeah, even though he was the only losing coach in U of Kansas' history.  How can you not coach the game you literally made up the rules to.  lol.


It was probably all in his head and he couldn't apply it to real life. In 39 of the US states, the highest paid state employee is either a college football or basketball coach. Maybe that's why he tried. :)


True, maybe I should get into coaching, sure could use the money.


Ditto! How about music? You a fan of rap?


I like the old school rap.  Not so much a fan of this new mumble rap stuff.


Same here! Give me the old stuff any day. Anthony "DJ Hollywood" is apparently responsible for it.


That is pretty neat.  I didnt know that Tupac has music in the Library of Congress for Cultural Significance.


Me either. I didn't know that people use rap and hip-hop interchangeably. To me they are so different.


I always considered them different also.  Were you a fan of the Rugrats?


No, I don't think I ever watch an episode. So Busta Rhymes did the voice for the reptar wagon (whatever that is).


It was a cartoon that was really popular for kids in the early to mid 90/s


Ah ok. Before Eminem was a rapper, he wanted to be a comic book artist. That's wild!


It is, and a judge rapped her ruling in a case where someone filed suit against him.


Oh, I would pay to see that. I'm sure court can get quite boring!


I can only imagine, Ive done jury duty once, and that was a pretty bad.  If they rapped everything that would have certainly livened thing up a bit.  Id love to see a Korean rap battle, or a compliment battle.


Yeah that's a pretty cool name for their type of freestyle! Been nice chatting!


hi how are you? what kind of entertainment do you like?


I like all kinds of entertainment. Since entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience, or gives pleasure and delight.


yes, that is quite true. did you ever play nintendo?


Yes, even though nintendo only had 54 colors, I loved it.


the games were so well defined. the gameplay is what matters. the new systems are morepowerful, but the games must be good enough to win over fans.


Yes, that's true. But, even the Olsen twins purchased sole ownership of an entertainment company in 2004 so everybody wants to get in on it.


i did not know that. i expect they have a ton of cash. it is important to invest for the future. i guess they are involved in many things now.


Apparently, the Olsen twin bought the company in 2004 and turned it into a billion-dollar enterprise.


i guess i should invest in what they do. they must have the golden touch. some celebrities are quite clever at business.


Yes, even the "e" in Chuck E cheese stands for entertainment.


He was a cunning little rodent. he knew what the kids wanted. video games. caffeine. pizza. loud noises. flashing lights.


Yes, plus Chuck E Cheeses had music, storytelling, drama, and different kinds of performances (the bears).


I never went. my family didnt have the money. but it looked absolutely enchanting.  What do you think of Bill Nye?


Bill Nye, the science guy? Love him. I heard his got famous because he was in a lookalike contest for Steve Martin.  Very funny guy.


I wonder who did the makeup for that. that was a tremendous job. LOL


I'm not sure but I heard that a Canadian entertainment company will be excavating in the infamous atari video game landfill for a documentary.


yeah, the ET cartridge dump. that was an interesting story. made too many cartridges so they had to bury them.


Yes, I bet it would be cool to work at one of these companies. Even Blizzard entertainment gives awesome swords and shields to its five and ten-year employees.


that is a great gesture to long serving employees. Anyway, great chat!


Entertainment has been and will be around for a long time to come. Yes, great chatting with you as well.


It will change. but i look forward to that. Have a good night!


Did you ever play with the Original Nintendo Entertainment System?


Hi! Of course I did play on those old clunky gray devices compared to the devices kids haul around these days. Did you?


I still have mine, it works... sometimes.  Its crazy to think that they old had 54 colors for the display.


So does that mean you still play it? yeah, that's a lot of colors! The culture surrounding video games is pretty intense too but I had no idea that the Nintendo system has been discontinued since 2003!


I do, but rarely.  Dont have the time for it these days.   The might not make the original, but they did come out with the mini version, which has some of the classics on it.


Oh ok! I was thinking I could've sworn that I saw ads for Nintendo systems.


I know, I would take the amount they had to pay in back taxes as my pay.  60 Million - I can think of a few things to do with that.


I think I can think of a couple of things as well and not only that, tax authorities won't formally pursue criminal responsibility if she paid her dues, maybe time to sell some expensive handbags?


She received a 0 out of 100 on a social responsibility scale the government released.


What is included in determining a person's social responsibility?


Im not sure what metrics they used, but I am sure tax evasion doesnt garner you any favor.


Yeah that probably sets you back a couple of numbers. I wonder whether celebrities have any idea they're doing these though, I'd imagine its the agents and managers handling these documents, so even if she had no clue, do you think she should still be held responsible?


I mean those documents probably require her signature, she should have at least looked them over.  But it is hard to hold someone responsible when they dont truly have a hand in it.


Yeah, I see on the news that celebrities assets are always being mishandled by their team and sometimes its their own family members! Guess it's a small price to pay when celebrities get to visit Pixar's secret studio that is only accessible to celebrities!


True, I wonder how handles Judge Judy's finances, she is the highest paid celebrity, making $123,000 per episode.  I dont even make that in a year.


I wish I made that in a year! I really wonder whether that is true though, I remember reading a while back that the main character of the series "House" was the highest paid celebrity who received like a million per episode!


I think it was$70,000 per episode for him, but even at 10 episodes a year, they are still doing pretty well


Oh ok, I think that may be more than what actual doctors make! The entertainment industry sure is lucrative! No wonder Ronald Regan wanted to also enter the entertainment industry, but was rejected for a movie role because he didn't have what the executives called "presidential look", how ironic.


Little did they know when they did that to him.


Bill Nye "The Science Guy" got his break in the entertainment industry by winning a competition for being Steve Martin's lookalike. I don't really think they look alike though.


Neither do I, I was kind of surprised when I heard that.


Yeah, maybe I shouldn't take these competitions so lightly, who knows, I may just get my big break, some day, far away.


I'm doing well. Was just shopping for shoes on Amazon. Did you know they have been around since 1994? I didn't realize it had been that long


They have built an empire by now. That is so cool. The CEO build a clock in a mountain that is going to run for 10000


That's amazing! They named a building after their first customer


And all the guy had to do was spend less than $30


Too funny. I had also forgotten that they mainly sold books at first.


Yeah and now they even deliver on sundays. go figure.


They are big enough to get a deal with the post office for that!


For sure. Speaking of things that have come a long way, did you ever use a rotary phone?


My grandma used to have one. I don't remember if I actually used it or just played with it. I remember using phone books, though!


Yeah those are both very old school things. Do you know why New York's area code is 212


I think I heard it was because it was easiest to dial on those old phones


Yeah exactly. Do you use your phone much?


Probably too much! Hard to imagine there are cables laying on the ocean floor that make the phone and internet work.


Yeah and they are less than three inches in diameter. I wonder how long they are though


Probably many miles! It's amazing how popular smartphones are these days


Yeah an iphone has more computing power than the entire us nuclear icbm deterrent


That's incredible! Apparently searching on google takes more power than it did to send astronauts to the moon!


Go figure. Google are so practical. They hire goats to mow their lawn instead  of people.


Haha. Not a bad idea! I learned a lot, thanks for chatting!


Pretty good.  Will you watch the Academy Awards this year, also know as the Oscars?


I was thinking about it. I know that people bet on the outcome. You?


I will watch, and I have bet before and did pretty well.  It is the oldest worldwide awards show.


I've watched in the past and found it to be slow. Many of the selections seem to be politically motivated. How does Eminem have so many oscars?


Must have to do with music categories.  Since the Oscars are a TV show, they have actually been nominated for Emmys.


That makes sense. Why, though? The Oscars is really more of a spectacle to draw attention to Hollywood. Have you seen Blazing Saddles?


I did see it.  I don't care much for bathroom humor and that is what I remember the most.  Incredibly, it was nominated for 3 Oscars.


I guess it was a breakthrough at the time. Disney is not so big on bathroom humor and has won 22 of the statues.


I think that is Walt himself, not the company.


Yes, I should have said that. He was an innovator, and knew what audiences wanted. Daniel Day-Lewis has won 3 best actor awards. I wonder if anyone else is close.


I think he is the only one.  The Oscars were on the radio for years before becoming a TV show.


I didn't know about the radio broadcasts. I guess that makes sense. No TV in the early years. I think Tom Hanks has a couple.


I think so also.  There have been over 3000 given away.  Having the contract to make the statues must be somewhat lucrative.


How much could one be sold for? I guess some stars might sell a statue for a good cause.


I think that the recipient does not own it.  They don't want an aftermarket developing.


Is that so? I didn't know. They hold on to the statue, but they cannot sell it. I wonder who will win for best picture this time around.


It is tougher for me since they increased the Picture category to 10 films.  Say, did you know that cars have now been around for over 150 years?


I guess they have been powered many different ways. Steam, electricity, and gas. The electric car is quite old.


True, Yet it seems new today.  Benz patented the first car in 1886.


Every carmaker owes a lot to Benz. Anyway, I had fun chatting!


Do you like Aretha Franklin? Apparently there is an old concert of hers that has been recently uncovered


I love Aretha Franklin. I would love to see the concert; I believe it was "Amazing Grace".


Yes you're right. It's crazy that it came out so much later. Good thing Alan Elliott came across it.


Alan Elliot was the producer, right? I'm glad he and her estate were able to end their dispute so fans will have a chance to see the film.


Yes I agree with you. Do you watch the Academy Awards? I did not watch them this year


I recorded the Oscars, but haven't found the time to watch the them yet. I've watched every year for decades, though. I can't believe the 90th was just a year ago in 2018.


Yeah that seems like a long time! I can't believe Blazing Saddles was nominated for three Oscars, they would never make that movie today


I'm not sure it would be understand quite the same today, despite its satire. But who knows? Eminem has more Academy Awards than Bill Murray, George Lucas, Johnny Depp, Will Smith, and Leonardio DiCaprio combined.


That seems really stupid to me. What do you think? I can't believe the Oscars were nominated for nine Emmys, how does that even work LOL


I mean, the guys I listed collectively haven't won that many Oscars, so that's how he has more, but they deserve more as a group! Haha, well, the Emmys is an award show for the best in television production, so technically, someone produces the Academy Awards for an episode of television, too!


Haha well they get to double dip. I think it's interesting that Walt Disney has the record for most Oscars won by a man, 22!


Is it double dipping really? I could see it if the Emmys won an Emmy. Haha. That's pretty crazy... I wonder if that's how many movies he personally made, or if it's all of the movies made by the studio while he was in charge?


Yeah that's a good question. On a different topic, what do you think about cars? You ever drive them?


I do drive cars. Developed economies have depended starting in the 20th century.


Yes I use the trunk of my car all the time for work, did you know how the name for that got started?


Yeah! They straight up used to have those wooden travel trunks in them. Thank goodness they aren't still like that!


I agree with you it sounds like a fire hazard! especiallyt If you live in South Africa and someone else has a flamethrower on their car LOL


Yeah, carjacking must be a very big problem there.


Yes it sounds very scary to live there. I'm just glad that we have drive-throughs though and that McDonald's invented them in 1975, thats saved me so much time


Did you know they were invented to accommodate soldiers?


I think yes, soldiers couldn't leave their cars in uniform and so McDonald's created the drive-thru, that's such a good idea!


Hi there! How are you today and what are you up to? I'm just hanging out watching TV.


me too, I am watching south park, i love that show. What are you watching?


So far the news. But I like a lot of shows. I like the Simpsons. Did you know that there is only one episode where Bart is not seen or mentioned?


I have heard that, but I don't know which one. I heard the simpsons sent south park flowers one time after making fun of family guy


Oh, that was a nice gesture. Do you ever watch That 70's show?


I used to love watching it, I know it is on netflix, do you?


That I am not sure of. I know the show was remade in the UK but was cancelled after just 10 episodes.


wow, must have been really bad. I think USA and british have different senses of humor. I was big into pokemon as a kid, how about you


Yeah, I think the humor is a lot different. Funny enough, my kids were both Heavy into it and they are over a decade apart!


yea there was 750 pokemon episodes made, it made a comeback, I liked it like 20 years ago and watched it so much!


Wow! That's a lot of episodes. I can remember watching quite a few of them!


Got to catch them all, lol! They should have caught them all with 750 episodes!


I would think so. Speaking of TV series' my youngest was really into Thomas the Tank engine. In all the episodes I saw I never knew that Ringo Starr narrated at least 52 episodes.


I heard about that, I watched all the time and didn't know that either. George Carlin and Alec Baldwin did some also!


I am not sure how I did not realize that there were such famous people narrating.


It would be interesting to listen to them on youtube and see if i remember the ones where they narrated


Yeah, it would be interesting. I'm glad we have the ability to use computers to look for that stuff.


for sure, I could imagine not having my computer!


Nor could I Hard to believe they've been around so long that in 1936 the Russians made a computer that ran on water.


That is insane, I wonder why they stopped it, could save a lot of energy these days! It was great chatting with you even though our computers don't run on water!


I know! That's what I was thinking! Well, good chatting.


Are you an Amazon Prime member?  They now have 100 million customers!


No, I have not though I have been in the past. I can't believe that more than five billion items were shipped with Prime in 2017.


Amazon sure seems to have a huge play in the market today.  I see many brick and mortar stores closing around us.  I wonder if they ever could put Walmart out of business?


I wonder also though Walmart has started to offer different shipping schemes so I am sure they are aware they need to change.


Netflix is up there too in business with 125 million subscribes.


I love Netflix, as do many. From 9 pm to 12 am they make up for 33 percent of all North American bandwidth.


Just imagine how much money Amazon takes in with a $99 a year membership multiplied by 100 million!


Wow, I don't even want to know. Blockbuster must feel regretful as they declined several offers to buy Netflix for $50 million and now Netflix is worth $2 billion.


I guess Jeff Bezos the CEO was bored with all that money because he built a clock into a mountain than should run for 10,000 years.


Speaking of CEOs, it's surprising that Reed Hastings of Neflix started Netflix after racking up a $40 late fee on a video cassette copy of Apollo 13.


Wish I had his idea first!  If I would have been the first Amazon customer, I might have had a building named after me and been able to make some money.  The first amazon customer spent $27.95 and had a building name after him.


Have you ever gotten an Amazon package delivered on Sunday? Apparently you can as the USPS has a contract with Amazon to deliver packages on Sunday.


I don't remember getting one on Sunday.  If you join Amazon Prime though, expect to spend twice the money on there that you normally would.  The average Prime customer spends $1300 per years as compared to $700 for non-Prime customers.


Yikes. I guess people buy things that they don't want. Or maybe they just buy necessities they would normally get in a brick and mortar store.


People must be getting something from it that that many join.  The company is based out of Seattle, Washington and has been around now for almost 25 years.


Hopefully most don't have an addiction to online shopping. Amazon certainly does keep giving consumers more and more reasons to become Prime members, according to an analyst at Forrester.


If you click continually on links from the internet it can cause real addiction.


It's surprising that that addiction is measurable.


They measure the brain to figure that out.  I guess it must show up in MRI or CT scan..something like that probably.


Even if we climb Mt Everest we can give time to our clicking addiction as there is 3g service up there.


Well, I probably don't have to worry then, as I'm not going there any time soon!  But, if I am and the internet burns down they have it saved in Alexandria.


I watch netflix every night. I don't even have cable anymore. 2007 was life changing when they started streaming.


I agree. It is great. You must contribute to the 33% of all bandwidth in north america on netflix accounts at night.


I sure do! Netflix combined with youtube is half the internet use in North america. It is big business!


That is crazy that two services like that take up half!


I'm thankful for them. I hated getting stuck with all of those late fees back in the day of rentals. Reed hastings started netflix after getting a $40 late fee for Apollo 13.


I know. Late fees were the worst. That is funny that $40 has turned into this worldwide service now.


Blockbuster was stupid to pass on the deal to buy out netflix for $50 million.


Without the internet, none of it would even be possible. the network of networks are linked by electronic, wireless, and optical tech.


And amazon! It was started in 1994 as a book company and look how it has grown into furniture, jewelry, food, and toys!


Have you heard about the clock that the CEO of amazon created?


He built a clock into a mountain that should run for 10,000 years!


Jeff Bezos is an amazing guy. It was a good move by him to have amazon buy IMDB in 1998.


I agree! Did you hear the story about the first amazon customer?


I did! He got a building named after him! I wish I had beat him to the first customer spot for that honor!


That was a good investment! I wonder if it was delivered on a Sunday since Amazon has a deal with USPS to do Sunday deliveries.


I am not sure. I will go look into that. It was nice talking to you.


Netflix is a company that was started by a guy that was sick of late fees.


I love Netflix. It seems so essential now. I was a member when they just sent DVD's. From 9am to 12 am they account for 33% of bandwidth in North America.


Blockbuster really screwed up when they didn't buy Netflix for $50 million. Now Blockbuster is no more.


Yes that was a terrible business decision. I know they tried to get into the streaming business at one point but I have not heard about it in years so I am assuming that went under as well.


Netflix needs to be on the lookout for a company that can replace them.


Yes, there is always someone looking to copy around the corner. Netflix and YouTube combined make up half of peak time internet traffic in North America.


Streaming was the way to go. Netflix expanded into streaming in 2007. I wonder what will come next. Still, Netflix spends 20 times more on postage than bandwidth!


That is shocking because I do not know anyone that still pays for the DVD plan.


The Internet is the way to go. I did not know that the library of Alexandria has a copy of the Internet saved in case the Internet burns down.


That does not even seem possible. I can't imagine how you would store all of that information.


It would take an Internet to store all that information! I also wonder about cell service and Internet on the peak of Mt. Everest. It seems far fetched, but who knows.


That does seem far fetched, I would have no idea where the closest tower to Everest is. I'm not surprised by the fact that only 7% of people read the full terms when buying a product or service online. I actually expected that to be lower.


I think some people are paranoid. I expected the figure to be lower too. I think people get addicted to clicking and just click without thinking.


They are so incredibly long. I'm sure that's intentional. I know we should read them but that seems impossible with how often we come across them.


It might be possible to get cell service on Everest with satellite coverage. Watching Netflix on Everest. Strange world.


Ha ha. That would be strange. Surprisingly, the USPS has a contract with Amazon to deliver their packages on Sunday. I didn't think they ran at all on Sunday.


There must be serious volume for Amazon to pay for that service. Amazon likes the customer.


Yes they do. I've always enjoyed working with them. They are very accommodating. I just wish they treated their workers better.


I've heard the horror stories too. The workers get lots of exercise in the day. Probably good for physical health, bad for mental health. Bezos is an unusual guy.


Yes he is. As far as the employees, they don't pay them fairly and they don't give them bathroom breaks. There are many reports of employees having to relieve themselves in bottles.


I wonder where they relieve themselves in the warehouse, especially while they are running around.


I am great, thanks! So do you like shopping on Amazon?


I do like shopping on Amazon but I always don't like what I get, if that makes sense. It's underwhelming... Do you use Amazon?


I know what you mean! I do use Amazon and kinda stick to the sellers that I know have high quality products. If not I return them. I know someone who works in Amazon's warehouse and they walk 7 to 15 miles a day, they are so busy!


I know! I used to work in a warehouse doing that wort of sork and summer was a sweaty mess! I am so glad Kohls has a return site for amazon now. It makes poor purchases a little more tolerable...


Oh wow, I have heard it's a tough job to have. Amazon is growing so much that I think you can buy or return anything on there now. Even the delivery service is huge, the u.s postal service has a contract with Amazon to deliver packages on Sunday!


It makes sense since their stuff is not in use on sundays and they can take advantage of it with additional revenue. I had no idea they owned IMDB


Right? Makes sense. Really? I didn't know that either, wow! I didn't know Amazon was founded in 1994...that's crazy!


Yeah. Seems like I have been wasting my life compared to him... He's going through a divorce now. They married one year before he started amazon. She's gonna be rich!


Oh wow, I hadn't heard that, Yep she is going to be set for life! He is considered the wealthiest man in the world. I also didn't realize Amazon has a film studio.....He will probably end up buying Netflix lol


He will finish what Blockbuster couldn't... What a bad business decision by them...


I know right! They must be sick about that it! I love Netflix, do you watch it?


I do watch it but I always feel like there is nothing that catches my attentiion. What do you like on it?


Oh I watch a lot of shows on there, like Narcos and I like the Netflix originals. I am watching The Bundy Tapes Documentary now, so good!


I loved Narcos but haven't watched the current season. I saw the Bundy Tapes on there and was intrigued but didn't click on it. Is it really good?


Oh , you must watch the next season of Narcos it only gets better! Yes, The Bundy Tapes has me hooked. I am intrigued with true life crime shows. I am so glad Reed Hastings started Netflix lol I don't even have Cable anymore.


Who is reed hastings? Did you watch to catch a killer?


Reed Hastings is the man who after getting 40 bucks in late fee's from a video store he came up with the idea of Netflix and then started it up. I did watch that, and Making a Murderer. Some shows I watch on the internet through an app too.


Sorry about the Reed Hastings question, so dumb on my part... Was the second one any good? I only watched like 4 episodes of the first season. What was the second season about? Was he guilty?


Which show are speaking of, On Making a Murderer I haven't finished yet.


Yeah that one... I want to circle back and watch it but do not have the time. I should take a week off of work just to catch up on this stuff. I just have too little time... Is the Bundy Tapes really about Ted Bundy and his life?


Hahaha, yes you should catch up definitely! Yes, it's all about Ted Bundy's life and what led him to him being a murderer.....only watched 2 episodes so far but very good!


I will check it out,. Nice chatting with you!


Yes a lot actually. Do you know who invented it?


It was an undertaker who though he was losing business because they were rerouting his calls to others


Nice. Do you know why the NY area code is 212?


Hmm no idea. DId you know dolphins can talk through the phone too?


Nice, how come? The area code was because it was easy to dial on a rotary phone


Wow cool. Well dolphins can tell who is on the other side of the phone line


No but I remember playing with it. It was a pain to dial each number


Yeah I bet. Did you ever use a phonebook then?


Not really, you? Do you know who helped with the invention of the cell phone?


Hmm not sure, who was that? Also, if two phonebooks get stuck together there is no separating them


I do actually. DO you know when it was invented?


Yes that was back in 2004 and was invented by Mark


I do not know that but I do know that they are mentioned in one third of divorce filings


Pretty scary. It is blue though because Mark is colorblind green and red


Oh I see. THey have 56 different genders listed in there


Wow that is amazing. It was nice chatting with you.


I would my favorite album is Rush's 2112.  It is the first album I bought on CD.  What about you?


Love that one! I would have to say Pink Floyd. I am old enough I was buying vinyl in my teen years lol


So was I.  I had quite a view vinyl some I inherited that ran at 78 RPM and not the standard 33 which came later in 1948.


Cool, me too. It is crazy to think that The Dark Side of the Moon came out 40 years ago! I had a huge album collection. Loved them!


Did you ever get any Pink Floyd on cassette tape?


I did. When cassettes came out I bought all of my music on them. I wish I would have kept my albums though. They are still being sold but not very often anymore.


Yeah I think Dark Side of the Moon is still the best selling album of all time.  I bet a first edition album is worth some money now.


Yep, I bet it would be worth a lot! Still love that album. So do you have a smart phone and a landline telephone or just a cell phone?


I have a cellphone.  I do not have a landline anymore but I have a rotary phone.  They still work the same way in principle.


You do? Wow, that's awesome. Did you know that UNICEF  donates a day of clean water to a child in need for every minute you don't use your cell?


I did not, that's cool. We have come a long way from using birds to communicate over long distances, like a carrier pigeon!


Yes! We have come so far. Makes you wonder what it will be like 100 years from now. Did you know birds ...their bones are hollow? Their skeleton weighs less than the feathers!


That is pretty neat.  They are also inventive, for instance a hummingbird will steal webs from spiders to put their nests together.


Wow, birds are amazing. Some wild birds in Australia can mimic sounds of cameras, car alarms and even chainsaws! So interesting.


I do think it is interesting that there are birds that can't fly like penguins.  I wonder why they evolved that way?


It is interesting! I don't know but would love to find out. It's amazing too that the Dodo bird is actually a sub family of pigeons, so interesting!


I couldn't imagine flying to Mexico from Alaska without taking a nap, but birds can do that.  I can't do it on an airplane, haha.


Hahaha! Me either. Birds are awesome creatures for sure. I think it's crazy there are ten thousand living species!


I wonder what wings were before they evolved into wings.  I guess it makes sense they were limbs, maybe they were arms?  Who knows.


That is a scary thought, a bird with arms lol...maybe they are a type of fish which some are while others are not. It's also interesting how they lay hard shelled eggs.


It is a good thing birds don't have to carry our internet messages, telephone cables on the ocean floor take care of that.


I love music! all genre's. I was reading about Sugarland Reuniting, I like them.


Are you a fan of Kristian bush and jennifer nettles?


Yes, they are very good and there songs tend to hit on whatever is happening in the world at that time. They like their music to be about truths of today.


Didn't their new songs address gun violence?


Yes, it did. I haven't heard their newest album since they came back after their hiatus but I hear it's good.


Their newest album is called bigger right?


Yes it is, can't wait to hear it. Their Albums are considered country but I think they fall into other genre's as well.


It is nice how they are trying to make a difference through their music and bring into mind topics that most try to avoid


Exactly, their song Tuesday's Broken is on their new album and it is about school shootings. They have great songs.


I wonder how they feel about the fact that their music may be perceived as being polarizing


I guess they have only heard positive responses on social media, I guess there will always be controversy with anything. Nettles stated it's supposed to be provocative and polarizing and really at the same time it's a bridge.


What that is inspirational and true. Is there any other albums you enjoy? Albums record everything from music to knowledge!


I love all music, and genre's. I have to listen to it everyday. I love the older classic rock albums from back in my day and current music. I would say Aerosmith is a favorite and I love Foo Fighters and Linkin Park, how about you?


I agree. In fact Linkin park's hybrid theory is the best selling album of this century, attesting its quality


Yes, that is an excellent Album, and Aerosmith has made more money from guitar hero than any Album lol


I think the best albums withstand the test of time. Even now, the dark side of the moon is among the best sellers.


Dark side of the Moon was one of my favorite Albums growing up, love Pink Floyd. Really great band.


Another great one was Nwa's straight outta compton. It was the first to reach platinum status without the support of airplay or tour. That is in itself an impressive feat


Wow, that is amazing. Very impressive! I watched Straight Outta Compton the film and it is now one of my favorite movies.


I agree. In any case it was wonderful chatting with you about music.


Amazing that with the level of technology we have, the cables carrying our data overseas are less than three inches in diameter


I agree!  It's so crazy how they lay against the ocean floor.  I'm curious as to how they did that.


I could only imagine very carefully and slowly! I wonder what the repercussions of one being severed would be?


I would imagine it would disrupt communications completely.


I wonder if there is a redundancy built into the system to stop that. It could be devastating to the world economy to be reliant on a smaller cable.


I feel like a couple years ago I heard a story about a cable actually being severed and it did disrupt communications between countries for a couple days.


A former roommate of mine works in construction and their company almost cut an optic cable. He told me the company would have been charged tens of thousands of dollars per minute for the outage.


That is insane! I know someone who was fired from an electric company because their work crew accidentally messed up a power line and it was a really big deal.


I cannot imagine how people would react without their phones for an extended time. That's why the UNICEF donation campaign is very interesting.


I really don't understand the concept of what Unicef is doing.  Like what is their goal by encouraging people not to be on their phones?  So people can interact more in real life or what?


I personally think that it's to highlight that not everyone has access to this technology and that it shows what life would be like if we were in their shoes.


That is an interesting interpretation.  I use my cellphone a lot, but I definitely could donate a lot of minutes for a whole day of clean water.  I'm not sure whether they will follow through with their goal.


I also think that I could donate about a years worth of water easily per day. Even if the goal is over-exaggerated I think it is a worthwhile cause.


It makes me doubt the cause and I wonder if Unicef is actually doing it/will actually do it.


Another surprising thing to learn that I might be doubtful of is the success of Linkin Park's album


I am also kind of doubtful.  It was an incredibly good album, I actually own it.  But I'm not sure if I believe it was the very top one.


I also own that album, I highly enjoyed it but I believe there have been more popular artists who have outsold the band.


Agreed!  I don't really know the other artists or albums the article is talking about.


Reel Big Fish is a ska band known somewhat for popular song covers. NWA is a rap group that was recently featured in the movie Straight Out of Compton, their most famous member is Ice Cube


I have definitely heard of Ice Cube.  I did not watch the Straight Out of Compton movie, did you?


I did not see it either, I do really like that he was played by his real life son though


Yes you can definitely see the resemblance. I wonder if he will become a well known actor like his father transitioned to now.


I think it's definitely possible.  I do kind of dislike how easy it is for the kids of famous people to become famous too, though.  They don't have to work hard or really have any kind of talent half of the time.


Hey how are you? How did you feel when you read Sugarland is back together?


They got back together? That's great news. It's nice they worked out those differences and decided to make music together again.


They did, Kristian bush  and Jennifer Nettles were at the 2018 CMT music awards. I never knew they broke up to be honest.


Yeah I heard they released a new album, "Bigger". I think that means they have 6 albums now. Hope it's good.


Yah, I saw on my stubhub app they were playing at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas a week after releasing their new album. Netles seems pretty progressive, hopefully she can make the fans think outside the box too!


Yeah, I heard Nettles said that Art was intended to be polarizing and provocative. But I also heard their current tour also uses their top hits from before as well and they say it fits with their new stuff.


That's pretty cool to think about, art is supposed to be polarizing but so many people want it to just be what they're all about. Stuck like Glue is a really good song! Do you think you'd go see them on their tour called "Still the Same Tour"


Yeah that might be fun to see the "Still the same tour". I could hear their new album too - though it's funny they're still called albums after going from records to cds to digital like today.


For sure, did you see the area code for New York, it's 212 becasue it was the fastest number to dial on a rotary phone. I wonder how I got my area code of 563


There's all kinds of strange things about phones like that. There's litterally phone lines and internet cables just lying on the ocean floor and used for international calls.


True, I never thought of that until I saw a video of how they are laid. I thought it'd all be by satellites now or something, it's just crazy how it's just there. I wonder what would happen if we saw something similar on Mars but it was billions of years old ?


Phone lines on Mars from an ancient civilization? Sounds like a great book or movie. The cables are pretty small as well, only like 2 or 3 inches around. They're thousands of miles long though.


Yah, the universe is billions of years old and has started over at least 10 times according to some scientists, it's just hard to think about. I wonder how often they break?


I've heard they break all the time and sometimes pirates or trolls break them too. But they're easy to fix, I've heard. The phone and internet companies always have repair boats ready.


I wish people would not do that, I wonder why it is so hard to seperate two phonebooks that simply have their pages overlapped together?


Hmm... yeah I wonder on that one as well. I've heard that fact a few times before but I'm not sure why it's the case. Mabye if they are all overlapped at once the effect multiplies?


I'm sure it does, maybe a lot of friction or something too?


Not sure... though I do know how an iphone can have more power than the US ICBM department. I phones are new, while the nuke's computers are from the 70s or something so they can't be hacked by modern technology.


That's pretty interesting, I never really thought much about that to be honest. It's been great talking with you though, I hope you have a great rest of the night!


Thanks to you as well. Hope you have a great rest of the night as well.


Thanks, you too, it was great chatting, take care!


Hey there! What are your thoughts about the republican party?


It has a great history.  It was anti-slavery before the Civil War.


Yes, agreed. Speaking of republican history...the last time a republican was elected president without Nixon or Bush on the ticket was in 1928. Crazy!


That is true until 2016.  Trump and Pence broke the pattern.  Every president with a beard has been republican.


That's weird. Wonder why that is. Coincidence?


I think so.  There are so many beards nowadays that the pattern may be broken in a few years.  However, the democrats will probably nominate woman until they elect one, so that'll probably change things.  That use of red and blue to mean GOP and Democrat is a recent development, only started in 2000.


That is really surprising. I could have sworn that the red and blue association existed when I was a child.


I remember in 1996 one network used the exact opposite colors.  As I was channel surfing on election night it was confusing.


How interesting. Crazy how much politics have changed.


No doubt about it.  There is so much polarization now.  Both parties used to work together better for legislation.  However, Truman would not be photographed with Dumbo at Disneyland because he would not be seen with an elephant.


So I guess polarization has always been a thing. Not always the case, though. Michael Jordan once wouldn't endorse a democratic candidate, because "republicans buy shoes, too."


That is smart marketing for Jordan.  The Senate is more collegial because of the 6 years terms.  The House turns over rapidly.


Speaking of the senate and marketing, I guess the candy desk at the U.S. senate office has only candy made in Pennsylvania.


Guess it's Milky Ways, Mars Bars, and Jellybeans.


Yep.  The gavel in the senate was used for 165 years before Richard NIxon broke it.  I wonder if he was angry.


Probably. Speaking of Nixon, did you know that the Nixon-Kennedy debate was the first televised presidential debate, as opposed to radio?


That is interesting.  Nixon had a democrat do his make-up.  He "won" the content of the debate but looked so awful that the TV broadcast swung the contest for Kennedy.


Yes, exactly what I was going to tell you. Maybe a radio debate would have been better for the guy!


That is a tough one.  Kennedy won, but then did not live for his 4 year term.  There is a federal law in Canada that radio stations there have to play at least 40% Canadian music.


That's crazy. Oh, by the way, if you're looking to listen to radio dramas for free, there's a website where you can do so!


That would be a real throwback.  I am old but not so old that I listened to radio dramas in my lifetime.  Nice chatting!


Yes They had a gavel for 165 years before Nixon cracked it


Yes. Did you know they were dragged into senate if the did not want to come and vote


Yes one tried to escape and was dragged in feet first


Wow that is extreme. Did you hear about that candy desk there?


Yes they have candy only made in Pennsylvania in there


Yes the best stuff like Milky Way, Jellybeans and Mars


Yeah. Did you know women were not allowed to wear pants until 1993 there?


Yes and it was thanks to those two governors that protested by wearing them that they were allowed afterwards


Yeah. Did you know Jordan's response when asked why he did not back up a fellow democrat?


Yes he said that republicans buy shoes as well


Yes he is a smart businessman that is why he has achieved so much


True. Did you know republicans presidents have always had a beard?


Interesting . And the president has either been a republican or a democrat since 1853


Yeah we do not hear much about other parties anyways


True. Do you know when both parties started using the red and blue colors?


Yeah. Did you hear of Truman not wanting his picture taken on the dumbo ride?


Yes he did not want to be associated with republicans in any way


Yes I think that is a bit extreme but ok. Nice chatting with you


Hello there, do you know much about politics?


Not really!  It's very annoying, disappointing and frustrating!


I agree there but they are everywhere, hard to escape them. Did you know ever republican president has had a beard?


It seems always but I do not remember Bush having a beard, Maybe I just do not remember him well


Bush Jr and Sr did not have beards.  Ronald reagan did not have a beard.  Donald trump... no beard. LOL


Yeah right? SInce 1853 though the president has been either a Democrat or a Republican


You see truman refused to be photographed on Dumbo because he saw that as being viewed as a republican


Wow that is a little too much I think. The red and blue colors that both parties use now only came into effect around 2000


Really, i did not realize that!  Do you pay attention to the US senate?


SOmetimes. I know they used to hame a gavel for 165 years until Nixon broke it


Yeah right? THey also have a candy desk in there, did you hear about that?


Yeah and they keep all kinds of candy like Mars,Milky Way and Jellybeans


Yummmy... that sounds good!  Now i want candy!


Haha me too, but it has do be candy that was produced in Pennsylvania though


I have no idea really. Did you know women were not allowed to wear pants in the senate until 1993?


Yeah glad that has changed after women protested that.


I know that nixon cracked the gavel they had for 165 years


Yeah. Did you know they used to be arrested if they did not show up to vote in senate?


Yes they dragged one of the senators feet first once to vote


Yeah. DId you know they have a candy desk in there


Yes and there is candy only made in Pennsylavania


Yes all the good stuff like Milky way and Mars and Jellybeans


Yeah I know. Did you know women were not allowed to wear pants till recent in there?


Yes that was until 1993 until women in there protested


Yeah. Did you know every republican president has had a beard?


Cool. Did you know the president has been from one of the two parties since 1853?


Yes I guess that makes sense, we never hear of other parties


True. Do you know when both parties stated using red and blue?


Yes that was late in the 2000s, pretty recent


Yeah it is, I thought those were the colors forever


Yeah me too. Did you hear of Truman not wanting his picture taken on the dumbo ride?


Yes he did not want to be associated with the republicans


Yeah, he just wanted to be as much removed from them as possible


I'm surprised that the species of wolf around today isn't the one dogs are descended from.


that is crazy, do you like dogs? I guess they drink with the bottom of their tongue


I like them, but I'm more of a cat person. I like cats because they're genetically more similar to their wildcat ancestors than dogs are to wolves.


haha well I am more of a dog person, I like them because they are so smart, they even learned how to use the subway system in russia


Yeah, that's pretty cool. I'm amazed that dogs have so many more blood types than humans. It must make the logistics of blood donations and storage a lot more complicated.


ya that is a good point, what is weird is that dogs can reason better than chimps and also learn over 1000 words


I'm pretty skeptical about the reasoning better than chimps thing.


thats what I think, but I'd have to see the research, dogs can have eureka moments too when they solve a puzzle, they get a feeling of joy, that makes me happy :)


Same. Animal joy is so obviously real, and so contagious!


yes it is! do you ever go to the library?


Yeah. I live in a community with only 400 people and it has a very limited selection, but sometimes I check out stuff and I go there when I need to print out something from the Internet. Do you?


ya I have gone before actually, and I guess libraries have started carrying video games? have you heard about this?


I know a lot of them do. I'm really interested in the "library of things" phenomenon. The library in the county seat here opened up a tool library, which is really neat. I like the idea of libraries as community hubs.


ya Id agree with that, and ya I guess the games lure kids in, and the rate of book rentals went up afterwards


Makes sense. The more services you offer, the more of the community you're of value to.


ya that is true, cool that a Malawi teenager learned how to build a windmill from a library, libraries are aweomse!


Yeah. They empower a lot of people who couldn't get the information elsewhere. Probably a great way to escape for kids with close-minded families.


yup I could see that, I like the UK prime minister that donated all his books to the library at the age of 85


I definitely need to make sure my books go to good homes when I die.


yup I agree with you, this dude put them all in a wheelbarrel and walked a mile to the library to drop them off at the age of 85!


It must be hard to watch your first born or any of your kids go to college, hard to let go sometimes.


I am surprised how fast time flies.  The article I read about the lady's first born leaving for college hit lots of my buttons when our two children left home.


Its a lot to process, are you a parent? I can relate to the article my firstborn is soon leaving to college as well


I am the parent of two adult sons.  The are in their young 20s.  One visited us this weekend.  Adult children are enjoyable.  College life is certainly different than when I attended.


Oh I see so you must relate to the article as well, its hard when you are all alone in your home and your kids are gone


We downsized from our family home of 20 years in 2017, and enjoying living in a condo on the lake.  Busy during the summer, but quiet this time of year.


I see, so changing the subject a bit, do you like cars?


Yes I enjoy a good car ride.  I prefer to drive in rural areas and enjoy the scenery rather than in hustle bustle of city driving.


I enjoy to drive as well watching all kinds of different landscapes on the way, interesting but the trunk of the car got its name because of the old wooden trunks some cars had in the back


I find it surprising that drive thrus were not available until 1975!  I remember car hops bringing root beer floats to my parents car that was parked at the restaurant, but seems like drive thrus have been around forever.


It does seem that way, McDonalds created a great service without knowing it would impact us all


Are you a dog owner?  Our dog likes going through the drive through of any business because there are treats to be had.  He especially likes the kiddie ice cream cones our local McDonald's gives him.


I am a dog owner, and that's great I wonder if McDonald's is a dog company, I know Google is one.


Yes I agree Google is a dog company, but I learned recently that dogs are not truly color blind, they just do not see all the different colors we see.


Yeah they can see colors just not as many as we do, dogs are really smart along with elephants they are the only animals that understand pointing, mine is not so clever though


Ha ha.  Our dog is very smart and can tell by the shoes we put on when leaving the house if he is going with us or not.  Also recently learned there are twelve different blood types found in dogs, and there is such as thing as a blood drive for dogs.


Maybe he can tutor my dog lol, and 12 different types of bloods, that's more than humans right?


I believe humans have three primary blood types, A, B, O but then each of those blood types then can be combined and also negative or positive.  I might have to take a trip to the library to find out the exact number, but pretty sure not twelve blood types in humans.


I see, so not as much as dogs then, its amazing how they evolved from wolves and now there are many different species around the world, dogs are loyal and that's why I like them more than cats.


Dogs were the first animals to be domesticated and certainly found a great place in the American household.  Much different than when dogs "worked" on farms.  I work in a children's hospital and we have working dogs there to visit with the kids.  Our dog would be too rowdy and too pampered to work.


I agree, well a lot of interesting facts about dogs I might go to the library and check out a book or two.


Hello - I went to college and got a degree so I do. What about you?


Me too, I enjoyed it. Did your parents give you a to do list when you went?


They did not. I didn't go to college until I was 22 because I was in the military.


I didn't go until later either, so my parent didn't give me a to do list. Did you know in South Africa it is legal to equip your car with a flame thrower?


That's pretty crazy. It says because of the common carjackings.


Yeah, I guess they have a real problem over there with them if they are allowing that!


That would be scary. I would want to be armed all the time. The trunk of a car is called a trunk because older cars actually had wooden trunks in them.


Yeah, I wonder what that looked like? Probably pretty weird.


I bet it looked really weird. Cadillac was named after a French explorer. That person also founded Detroit.


Yeah, I didn't know that. Do you believe that only dogs and humans instinctively understand pointing?


I did not know that. Looks like elephants also understand it.


Interesting, I think it is not true. What about chimps?


Not sure about Chimps. There's 12 different blood types that a dog might have.


Yeah, that is pretty crazy, that is a lot more than humans. Did you know google prefers dogs to cats?


That's funny. I would have to agree with Google. I like dogs much more than cats.


I don't have a preference to be honest, but cat hair bothers me a bit.


Yea my wife is allergic to all animals with fur. Dogs are actually not color blind like many people think.


I didn't know that, do you know which colors that they cannot see?


I do not. It says they can't see as many colors as humans.


Yeah, that is pretty weird. Well, nice chatting with you.


That's a good show, have you ever watched House?


Years ago. I love Hugh laurie, I hear he was paid 700K per episode.


Yeah that made him the highest paid actor ever for a TV drama.


Tupac was a ballet dancer in high school. I wonder if he would have ever been paid that much for a show had he lived


I heard that Tupac was the Mouse King in his high school's production of The Nutcracker.


I do like him, it's no surprise that he also was a great dancer. He won the Hong Kong Cha-Cha championship in 1958.


So, he was a dancer too? Interesting. I wonder if he ever had any of Michael Jackson's special shoes?


I'm not sure. It upset me when I found out he had shoes that made him do the extreme lean. I tried to imitate his moves when I was a kid and would fall every time I did the lean.


lol. I think a friend tried that as well. I would love to see the computer that the Russians made, it ran on water. In 1936.


That's crazy, I've heard of water cooled computers, but not one that runs on water. It's crazy to think that the Space Shuttle's general purpose computer runs on 1mb of ram.


There is also one built using basic minecraft building blocks. People sure are creative.


Yea they are, I find it weird that Transhumanists want to upload their minds to computers and memory sticks. I guess that would be a way to keep their thoughts.


That is so bizarre. I wonder if they would prefer the apple computer?


Just as long as they don't smoke near them. Apple voids the warranty by making it a biohazard.


That is so strange. There is a site where you can listen to classic radio dramas, I'm trying to find it.


One of Jon Hamm's drama students, is Erin, from the Office. I never knew that.


That's pretty neat. Well I have to run, it was nice chatting with you!


No not really. Unless you coundt my kids school plays. Lol


I go to performances from time to time at the local university.  Sometimes they have visiting artist.  Other times it a student production.  The last show was a drama based on book "Pride and Prejudice".


That sounds interesting. What is it about.


It is set in Victorian times and has an underlying theme regarding the difference between essential and superficial.  It was performed by drama class students and was fairly good.  Did you know that Michael Caine took drama classes because that was where the prettiest girls were?  That is an unusual way to find your calling.


I would say that is a pretty typical reason for guys to take a class like that.


I did not take any arts elective in college.  I figured I was better off taking business elective to back my technical degrees.  One has to have a good grasp of finance to succeed.  Did you know that Hugh Laurie is the highest paid TV drama actor at $700K per episode of House?  For a Brit cross-over, he has done very well for himself.


Yes he has. I used to watch that show. After like 5 seasons it got old. It was interesting for awhile though. I read that tupac played the mouse king in a production of the nutcracker. Thats not something I would have ever thought Tupac would do. What do you think?


How some people migrate to their ultimate calling is sometimes beyond comprehension.  Are you much into dance?


Not at all. I do find people to be interesting. Like which of those two people was he. The rapper or the dude from the nutcracker. Makes you think a little.


I go to the "Fais-Do-Do" from time to time.  I go not so much to participate in the traditional Cajun French dances but more so to converse in Cajun French so I do not loose my native tongue.  I jokingly say my dance partner needs steel-toed shoes.  I am no Bruce Lee.  In addition to being a martial arts expert he was a great danced and won the Hong Kong cha-cha championship in 1958.


I could see him being good at dance. I think a lot of the things a dancer needs, someone who is a martial arts expert would have his skill set. When you talk about dancing. I think about Michael Jackson. Dude was a little different, but he could move. Did stuff you never seen before. He actually has a patent for a device he used to do some of those crazy leans he did in his dancing.


I am curious at to what the device looks like and what it does.  He had a flair for combining drama and dance into a flawless choreographed performance.  Professional ballet dancers can go thru 4 pairs of shoes a week.  How many pairs to you think Michael Jackson went thru doing the "Moon Walk"?


Im sure he could afford to go through as many shoes as he could possibly wear out. lol. You know. I guess I am more into dance than I thought. Huh. Sometimes my two year old son will hear a song he likes and start dancing. Its funny how he does it too. Hes been doing that since he was a baby.


Kids can pick up the beat very quickly.  What are your thoughts about the integration of computers in the arts?


I would say that is one of the reasons for kids being so into dance and music and the arts. With all the new kids show out there that are animated. Kids are influenced by it a lot more than when I was little.


I agree.  Computers can control lighting and special effects for live performances more precisely.  But what I find more amazing is the use of CGI (computer generated images) in big screen movies.   They have gotten so lifelike.


yeah computers have really changed everything about the world. I would say for the better in most cases. They are making people smarter. Did you know someone built a computer out of minecraft building blocks. Thats one I want to see.


I did not know that.  What I find amazing is that the Space Shuttle's general computer ran on 1 MB of RAM.  I have more computing power in my smartphone!


Yeah it sure is progressing fast these days. Went from the computer the size of a whole room to do some basic calculations, to something wthat will fit in your hand and do whatever you need it to


The next thing in computers will likely be amazing.  With AI, we have more and more lifelike robotics.  Some people, transhumanist, want to be able to upload their minds to computers.  I am not sure that is such a good idea.  How would a computer comprehend human emotions such as happiness, fear, and grief?


Well if a persons mind was inside the robot then I dont see why it couldnt comprehend emotions I just dont see how a person would be able to get the physical pleasures that life so often gives us as humans.


I agree.  It a long way off or even unlikely that a computer will every have a "soul".  Well, its been nice chatting with you.  The weathers nice today.  So I am going to hop on the bicycle and start the 10 mile ride to work.


Ok. Yeah it has been nice trading facts with you today. Hope everything goes well for you.


hey did you know that Jupiter has storms you can pick up on your AM radio?


Oh, wow that is super cool!  I like am channels when storms or bad weather is near me.


haha ya I'm going to try to listen to it next time im driving to work! do you listen to radio at all


Yes, I love radio listening when I am at home or driving. It is fascinating how radios actually work. How they operate.


I agree, what I can't figure out is how a foxhole radio works have you heard of those?


Yes, those were incredible. I know that they used razorblades and a pencil as a diode. That is why they called them foxhole radios.


right, but like how does that work? how do you make a radio out of that? haha


They were smarter than I am, that's for sure! Radios use energy waves transmitted through space. When radio waves strike an electrical conductor, it cause an alternate current.


ah interesting thats good to know! would you ever listen to a classical radio drama? There is a free site online where you can do that


Oh, yeah. I am gonna give it a try. I really enjoy music and listen to a real wide range and mix of music. I like Eminem and Tupac for instance.


ya I like them as well, do you like the rapper Drake? He apparently graduated high school when he was 25


I really am not a fan but it's because I haven't really listened to a lot of his music yet.


ya I have heard some of his stuff, he spent a large amount of money on the first editions of winnie the pooh and charlottes web for some reason"


That is a trip! I guess he has some emotional attachment to the stories from childhood, I don't know? I heard that Tupac's music is in the library of congress of "cultural significance.


yes I did hear that too, what are his best songs do you think? I haven't listened to him much


I cant think of any titles but I do remember how they term rap was used and within recent years the term hip hop has taken over and is now interchangeable.


ya that is interesting I forgot about that, what was the original difference between rap and hip hop? Like what separated them initially?


I guess the time that changes music and opinions. The way people evolve over time, maybe.


do you listen to Busta Rhymes? he apparently did a voice in a Rugrats movie, talented guy!


I guess I have listened to him because I have watched Rugrats a thousand times with my kids. I think Rugrats came out in 1998.


haha I used to watch that show as a kid! so yes I'll have to rewatch the movie and pick out his voice thats so crazy


I do and you? I like the old stuff from Tupac and such


Me too. Did you know his music is in the library of congress?


Yes it is there for cultural significance


I do actually. Did you know he wanted to become a comic book artist?


Yes he is good and he was also in the movie RUgrats


Yes he was the voice of Reptar Wagon in it


Yes that is rap style in south korea. I wonder what it sounds like


I do . DO you know what his full name is?


Oh I do not know that, is his first name not Drake?


Not his middle name, full name is Aubrey Drake Graham


Oh cool. Do you know when he graduated from high school?


Yeah better late than never I guess. DO you listen to the radio?


Yes I do. DO you ever listen to Canadian radios?


Yes they play lots of Canadian music as they are required by law to do so


Basically every day.  Id be lost without it.


Yeah I use it a lot too, I think most people do and don't even realize it to be honest, they are huge.


It takes more power than it took to send a man to the moon too


That is just mind boggling, crazy how much technology has advanced over the last 40 years or so, the last 10 especially.


It really is.  when google went out for 5 minutes it took 40% of the internet down with it.


That is massive, and that was over 5 years ago, I wonder how big it would be if it went down now?


Instant panic!  I dont think people realize how addicted they are until it is gone.


Oh yeah, I bet the whole world would just kind of shut down until its back up again.


Google would be ok with their fancy low tech lawnmowers.


I heard they are quite the animal company, goats to mow their grass, and for some reason state they are a 'dog' company in their handbook.


I think it is great that they are animal sensitive.  But those poor cats, I bet they feel left out.


Yeah I don't know why they went for the dogs and said cats no dice, seems so weird for a corporation, but hey it's google.


When you are a Ph.D. student and create the largest search engine ever you do what you want i guess.


Yeah that is very true. On a different subject, do you like cars?


Same here, I think classic cars are really cool.  Do you know what year they started the drive-thru?


it was 1975.  So soldiers didnt have to get out of the car in their fatigues, and so now I can stay in my pajamas.  LOL


Good call!  That was a really cool idea that started it all I guess.


For sure.  It has saved me so many times.


Well it's been good talking with you, I hope you have a good day!


I do.  As a matter of fact I just went through a McDonald's drive thru.  Did you know they opened the first one in 1975?


I did, to help out soldiers who couldn't leave their cars, super nice thing to invent!


I'd say.  You know what i wish I had on my truck?  Flamethrowers like they allow in South Africa.


haha I could use a flame thrower right now its so cold in MI haha


Yeah, if we had flamethrowers we might light the trunk on fire.  And in the old days they were made of wood so that wouldn't be good at all.


haha no that would be bad! can you believe that the founder of detroit was Named Cadillac? Thats where the car brand name comes from


I bet you know that because you're from MI.  He was actually a French explorer.


Yup. His name was Antoine de la mothe cadillac, quite a name!


I know!  I'll forget that in about two minutes...  I might have to Google it so that I can remember it.  And that single Google search would require more computing power than it took to send the astronauts to the moon.


yup that is scary, also scary when Google went out for 5 mins and took out 40% of all internet traffic


That's amazing!  I remember that happening back in 2013, maybe August if I recall correctly.


ya I think you're right, did you hear how Google would mow its lawn?


I know they don't hire people to do it, but not sure how it gets done.


oh they used live goats for a while haha


That's crazy!  Google is an amazing company.  And Apple is pretty awesome as well.  Did you know they even had a clothing line back in 1986?


wow that is impressive! do you think those clothes are worth anything?


Maybe now as collector's items.  Probably hard to find them though.  Maybe in the unclaimed baggage section of airports.  A store in Alabama actually only sells items it gets from there.


ha I would feel bad buying from that store, like those are clothes other people lost and probably still want lol


I suppose.  Well, it's been nice chatting with you.  I've learned some pretty cool things!


me too, keep a lookout for those apple clothes!


I wish. I am somehow able to dress my kids really well but I look like a slob.


Me too! Mine has more to do with my height than anything else. I am too big to be a fashionista!


Do  you have to get your clothes tailored? Fashion aficionados look for collar gaps on clothes to see if clothes are tailored or not.


I do not, I am 6'6" and cheap. Not a recipe for being a fashionista. I would hate to be the fashionista to look at that though.


Some of my friends who are really stylish shop at thrift shops. Though I'm not sure if you'd find much in your size. There's a store in Alabama that only sells clothes and other things found in unclaimed baggage. Would you consider shopping there? I feel like I was wearing stolen goods haha


I would feel like I was wearing clothes from a hobo! I hate hand me downs As the youngest of 7, it's the worst!


Maybe better than wearing Rip Curl though? They make clothes in North Korea but the tag says Made in China!


I feel like that is illegal. A way to get around the embargo


Right, sounds like it. Speaking of legalities, is it really legal to mow your lawn with multiple goats? Google did that one time. I think that is pretty neat actually.


It is. I know a lot of places that use goats but I am also into nature facilities as a job..


Wow, that's cool! Speaking of Google, do you use it? They went down for five minutes in 2013 and took 40 percent of web traffic with them.


I was probably on it at that time. I would love to own their stock though! It's trading aroun $1.1K


The original creators still own 14 percent of its shares and have 56 percent of the stockholder voting power.


That's a lot of money! I would take half of that and be happy. I can't believe it was only created in 1998!


Yeah and now they control a lot of things which is actually pretty scary. They monitor traffic by tracking how fast Android phones are moving down the road.


They monitor a lot more than that! They measure eberything! And amazon too.


Yeah, they are powerful indeed. And it requires a lot of power to operate .One search needs more computing power than it took to send Neil Armstrong and the other astronauts to the moon.


That's a lot of power! I would be worried if I were armstrong though!


Would you ever take a self driving car? Isn't Google making those?


No and yes. There are too many ethical questions around them. If your car were to hit a group of 7 year olds walking accross the street or crash into a median and kill you, what would you do?


Right, and there have been deaths already by self driving cars. How scary! I wonder if back in 1908 when the Model T was introduced if they could fathom that we would be headed in this direction. Speaking of which, got to take a drive now. Have a good day!


Very much, I was so excited to learn that "/hybrid Theory"from linkin park has been the best selling album in  the 21st century!!


Yes, I had many and also vinyls and the Cd's


What di you do with all of those items? I just threw away my CDs about a month ago, at least the crappy ones.


I even remember the 78 rpm records, and I loved the books they cam in, they were sort of phtograph albums, with artist's pictures, it was really cool!


I wish the music had that today. I remember reading the CD jackets as soon as I got them. I can remember checking out artists mentioned in my favorite ablums.


That was a beautiful part of it. Also really beautiful are soundtracks!!


Spielberg played the clarinet on the jaws soundtrack???? How did I not know that?


I did not know that either!! that is really neat. Remember Tarzan, I really loved Phill Collins performances for that movie!!


Yeah. I think Phil Collins is seriously under rated. I think he is really talented.


Yes I admire him a lot, and it is so cool that he recorded in 5 languages!


Batman begins must have been fun to record. The title of each track was the name of a genus of bat.


That is so neat! those are details that make you enjoy the movies even more. Did you watch Tron,? It has a unique soundtrack!


I have not seen it. Tell me about the soundtrack.


It is very sci fi, and super inspiring. It is made by daft punk, I love that duo!


I love that they negotiated with their robot helmets on. Seems like something they would do.


Incognito style!! and very simple, they just needed a good breakfast with pancakes to say yes


Did you watch the Chapelle Show? The one where Prince made them pancakes after a basketball game?


No, that sounds interesting. well it is time to go. It was really nice chatting with you.


hello, lets talk about old cassette mix tapes


not really, but my uncle has. Did you like Elvis?


I am not a big fan and don't understand all the fuss that surrounds his legacy.


Do you like the process of moving to a new place?


Not anymore because I have moved too many times in my life.


oh I understand you, and don't you have any records, CDs and cassette tapes?


I got rid of those a long time ago.  Do you have any?


no, unfortunately me too. and do you use itunes playlist?


No not a playlist; I download music and stream most of my music nowadays.


oh nice, There was no dragging and dropping with a mix tape.


I definitely remember getting frustrated with the cassette tapes I owned a long time ago.


I like bmw a lot, did you know that Mcdonalds' added drive-thru in 1975 to accommodate soldiers who were not allowed to get out of their cars while wearing their fatigues.


INteresting.  Hard to believe cars have come so far since '86.


yes, also did you know that It is legal in south-africa to equip your car with flame-throwers to prevent carjacking?


I did not know that. I would much rather install a GPS.


Love them!  I listen to them when I go for a run all the time.


Remember the old rotary dial phones.  New York was assigned area code 212 because it was the quickest to dial.


Yes, I do remember. Long gone now. A virtual world, but not as distant as texting, it seems. Hard to imagine how many miles of cable are on ocean floors worldwide. Care to venture a guess?


Interesting question.  I would say half a million miles.  I would guess the diameter to be 2.7 inches.


Good guess. Diameter sounds right. Today the focus is on iphones and their many variations.


Yes.  But old or new, phones take sound and turn it into electronic signals and then back again.


True. I miss the sound of a real voice, real back and forth spontaneous talk, with all its nuances and changes. Still, texting is in, phones are a text tool and connection to the WWW.


Test takes a lot less bandwidth to transmit.  If you ever get to the top of Mt. Everest, your 3G phone will work there.


Yes, and that's amazing to me. Even explorers can check in with the people they care about, on top of Everest or halfway across Antarctica. Maybe that's the peak of the internet's value .


It provides so much convenience.  No one ever has to stop to find a pay phone now.  There is an entire copy of the library of Alexandria saved on the internet now.


Remarkable that a world-famous library of ancient texts, which was repeatedly burned down during conquests has a copy of the internet in case IT burns down. Could that happen, I wonder?


With the wars in that region of the world, it sure could.


Scary. With an iphone possessing more computing power than all of the US's nuclear ICBMs, maybe the net would be harder to destroy completely. (?)


It is supposed to be with nodes instead of and hierarchical design.  Technology moves on.  Xbox is less than 20 years old but has already had 3 consoles.


I'm familiar with this gaming brand, but not savvy using controllers. A 4 year old could outplay me, I'm sure. And has, actually! But I admire Microsoft's amazing growth and new streaming/online services. Less than 20 years. They are still a giant player in the internet/gaming game.


They are and it is a category that newer companies have done well at so it is surprising that they are not too stodgy to stay in the gaming game.


Also admire the generosity of Microsoft's founder, Bill Gates. His foundation is using profits to provide medical aid and other services worldwide.


I am aware that they do that.  It is unlike Warren Buffet who is waiting until he dies to give substantially to charity.  For a while, the Army used Xbox controllers to fly unmanned airborne vehicles.


I've heard about Army Xbox use. Hey, those young recruits are certainly familiar with an Xbox. So "uav" means - what you said. Thanks! I picture very small spy drones. Is that off the mark?


Some are not small, but some are.  If they are carrying heavy munitions, they have to be large, but cameras can be carried by small ones.


Of course. I hope these Xboxes don't make the creepy sounds the old ones used to do. Guess military needs a great deal more stealth today.


That was the console making noise.  The middle word of uav is aerial, not airborne.  I knew that but was not sure how to spell it.  Nice chatting with you!


Good, how are you?  Keeping Helen Keller in the curriculum seems like a must!  Her story needs to be shared with communities and children.


Agreed! I remember studying her when I was younger and she seemed really inspirational, especially at a time when youth need that...


It's true that people need to learn more about disability not less.  More than 57 million Americans have a disability


Wow, that's a more than I wouldve guessed. The 3 horizontal line menu on apps and websites is called a hamburger button.


Also, the library in Alexandria has a saved copy of the internet in case it burns down!  Whew!


Haha. That's funny... 7% of people read the full terms when buying a product or service on the internet.


Speaking of reading, the world record for speed reading is 4,700 words per minute by Anne Jones.  I wonder how they figure that out?


There is 3g cell service and internet capabilities at the peak of mt. everest. Those sherpas can finally connect with their families! Good for them....


Starship troopers is on the sci-fi reading list of three us military branches.  Did you ever read that?


I have no idea.  I've read some cs lewis and tolkien.  These authors apparently had "you laugh you lose" competitions when reading terrible poetry.


Can you imagine being the author of the poetry they're laughing at while you're in the room with them. I would be so humiliated. Then make fun of their shoes‚Ä¶


I wonder who they laughed at?  In the 18th century "moral panic" spread because of the widespread reading of novels.


Can you imagine the joy of widespread reading now? The space shuttle's general purpose computer runs on 1mb of ram.


Doesn't seem like a lot.  I know some kids who wished there was moral panic over reading to get out of reading.


In 1936, the russians made a computer that ran on water.


How does that work?  Can I make one too?  Smoking near an Apple computer voids the warranty.


Huh... Sure, it would be a great invention in Water World. Kevin Costner would be so happy!


Was that a good movie?  Someone built a 16 bit computer just using basic minecraft building blocks.  Wonder how that works?


It was passable...Transhumanists want to upload their minds to computers and memory sticks


I wonder if the brain processes Braille different than regular reading?


I am not sure. I do know that there is slang sign language. A friend signs and walks away from conversations saying "That's a ghetto bitch" (sorry for the language!)


Reading is so complicated but can provide an escape.


Hello how are you doing?  did u know that The 3 horizontal line menu on apps and websites is called a hamburger button.


No, but it kind of looks like it.  Interesting too is that you can get an addiction from clicking links


I wonder if theres a support group for it,  considering its a real addiction.


maybe.  It's a little late though because even 1 year olds use phones.  funny to think, but there is a library in alexandria that saved a copy of the internet in case it burns down however that happens i don't know


thats awesome!  even though highly unlikely lol There is 3g cell service and internet capabilities at the peak of mt. everest.


Wow I guess if you climb there you want to brag about it with a selfie.


haha right!  Gotta take a selfie and post it!  Maybe not from space though The space shuttle's general purpose computer runs on 1mb of ram.


in '36 russians made a computer running on water.  Sounds like a piano I played that needed to be watered.


lol Someone built a working 16-bit computer using nothing but the basic minecraft building blocks


That sounds cool.  C.S. Lewis and Tolkien used to have laugh and lose competitions with each other. Funny huh?


I love those!  They do a skit like that on some tv show,  maybe Ellen or something its hilarious,  I lose everytime.


Oh that sounds really funny!  Do you ever speed read?  The world record is 4700 words per minute


No way.  if i speed read I miss a lot,  guess Im not good at it.  Also,  im in love with audible I can listen to it anywhere!  Thats super impressive!


Yes, I love the audibles too.  So fun on car rides.  Starship troopers is the first sci-fi novel on reading lists for five us military branches.  I haven't heard that one though, have you?


never heard that fact before today.  Ive watched the movie a bunch though! Ender's game was suggested reading for many military organizations, including the united states marine corps


not so surprisingly, moral panic broke out because of people reading so many novels


Why though lol dont people want more people to read lol


I guess kids today would have liked that rule


Transhumanists want to upload their minds to computers and memory sticks.  Sounds like a black mirror episode lol


Not sure if its possible, but who knows?  Did you know the internet was used since 1980's by academia?  I never saw it till the 90s


Have you read books about Hellen Keller?


Yes her story is a great read. Did you hear texas wants to get rid of her story?


Yes, not only do I disagree with that gesture, I also think the premise for which they are removing her from the curriculum is distorted, they are removing Keller from history books just so it could save teachers 40 minutes.


Yeah it really helps open topics about disabilities. More so than just a story about a blind person.


Yes, but not only does Keller's story open up topics about disabilities, but also about women's rights, racial equality and workers' advancement.


True as well. Also introduces students to braille and sign language.


I never learned Braille and sign language as part of my school's curriculum, did you?


I did not. Would be interesting though. And its never too late to learn.


Yeah, if Texas removes Keller's story from the curriculum, when will non-disabled children learn about disability?


Im not sure. And it would make it harder to connect with more than 57 million Americans who are disabled


Yes, just like the internet which connects millions of people, there's even cell service and internet capabilities at the peak of mount everest!


Hopefully students can still learn about Helen on the internet. It carries vast range of information and resources


Hopefully students find reading as fascinating as we older people once did, when there weren't any electronic devices in the mix. Reading does require continuous practice, development, and refinement, creativity, and critical analysis. I love reading.


We could put learning braille to good use! Louis Braille the inventor was just 15 when he came up with the idea


Was Louis Braille, the inventor, disabled?


Yeah, just curious why he had the idea to come up with Braille. The world record for speed reading is 4700 words per minute! I wonder if there is a record for Braille?


That is a ridiculous amount of words! Reading silently is a recent phenomenon. Only the most skilled were able to do it in the middle ages.


Wow! Apparently smoking near apple computers voids the warranty because it is considered a biohazard


I totally agree with you, but I wonder how Apple can tell that the computer has been around smoke?


Hi, how are you? Do you like to use the Internet?


I could not live without it.  I helped establish it in the 1990's at a telephone company.  We placed some of the optical networking technologies in place to allow it to grow.


That's great! You must have gotten great speeds on the Internet at your company. But no addiction from clicking, I hope.


It was not as powerful then.  Email was our first big application.  I guess you know that those 3 horizontal lines at the upper right of your browser is called a hamburger button.


The vegans must be up in arms about that! Hamburgers promote speciesist thinking! Heresy!


That is the only location where they want a hamburger to exist.  The internet is so widespread that there is now service at the top of Mr. Everest.


I wonder who the IT guy is on Everest. Pretty tough job! LOL probably a satellite signal.


I would think so.  No tower building at that elevation.  Very few people read the full terms when buying on the internet.


I'm surprised anyone does. The terms are long and boring. People figure that there can't be anything too serious in there. Otherwise people would complain.


I agree.  If they were too bad, the company could not sell successfully.  What media do you use most on the internet?


I mean radio, TV, email, internet telephony, music or newspapers.


I usually look at some newspaper sites, sometimes YouTube for music. Not much radio, though I think it's a good medium.


I will use a clipping service to route me to newspaper articles of interest.  Reddit is also a media that I use.  The internet has reshaped access to media.


Reddit is a good way to get answers to questions. I haven't used a clipping service. Usually I just pop over to NYT, WaPo and poke around.