Gentlemen, you smoking room awaits. Brandy is on the bar and ice is in the keeper. If you need anything, just ring the bell.

*peeking in to see what the gentlemen are doing* (and if i can snag a scotch on the rocks)

Maguerita please.

Greetings all! (wanders in, orders an absinth, and sits by the chess board....)

Can you still buy absinth this side of N'awlins? Making mine tonic and lime. Okole Maluna, all. How lovely to have a lounge in which to let the proverbial hair down. Passing the springrolls and other lovely Hawaiian tropical snacks. You have to have something for all that fine strong drink to land on,

(Waiting to see who makes the first chess move....)

Thanks, Terry! *;)

wait, is this one of those "gentleman clubs" where we're not allowed unless we're the dancers?

LOL - good thing i just bought a Belly Dancing for Beginners DVD. :-) (~you think i'm kidding~)

I'm in big trouble. Seems I owe at least one Geo-guy a table dance. He reminds me every so often. Wolfie, we have a corner with a lovely view of your choice. Shall it be of space? A volcano? Stonehenge? Perhaps a magic window through which we can escape to the place of choice and have it change according to whim. I rather fancy that idea. I suspect some of the guys would also opt to come along wirh us! I'm in high hilarity picturing our illustrious EsBee doing belly Dances. Perhaps Lizzie is going to do one in that little carriage if she forgets the rubber hose? *;P

me too (about belly dancing)! and i love the virtual corner!

This cozy little corner of ours is catered. If we are dreaming this up, make it as perfect as we wish.

A little light entertainment: Subject: Burned A Charlotte, NC lawyer purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars then insured them against fire among other things. Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars, the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance company. In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost "in a series of small fires." The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason: that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion. The lawyer sued.... and won! In delivering the ruling the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The Judge stated nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be "unacceptable fire," and was obligated to pay the claim. Rather than endure a lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000.00 to the lawyer for his loss of the rare cigars lost in the "fires." NOW FOR THE BEST PART. After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON!!!! With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and he was sentenced to 24 months in jail and ordered to pay a $24,000 fine. I am told that this is a true story and was the 1st place winner in the recent Criminal Lawyers Award Contest.

Hi all Canterbury Draught please *all the way from NZ*. Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me about the you-know-what, Marcia *grins*. Rob

WoooooooooHooooo The Fantastic Blond blue-eyed Kiwi has joined us. Rob, pull up a comfy chair or join Cosmo at the chess table. We're delighted to see you! Now, do you think we will corrupt Julie by telling her where we hang out after excursion into the field for rocks, astronomical or radio wave exploration? She is, after all, "of age" ... *;)

Got enough of that Canterbury's best to share? Do they sell it draft? Chill a keg and let's see what makes it so special. The water? I'll bet!

Hi all Just good beer, that's all. Canterbury Draught is not bitter or harsh. Unlike some beers I have tasted it is fairly gentle. Rob

Sounds positively palatable. Do we have to dress in Balck and Red to drink it? Or would something tasteful in black and silver suffice? One can get hungry and thirsty doing field work. Do you think we might need to establish our own microbrewery? Still?

Hi all Just deciding what opening I shall use.

Hi all Here is a computer science/AI philosophical question... artificial intelligence is used for computers to display humanistic characteristics - now, what about artificial stupidity? Which of these constructs would allow a computer to more closely reason in a humanistic sense? Also, which would be more complex in emulation - artificial intelligence or artificial stupidity? Anyway, something to mull over.

interesting point!

How about a Guinness Draught?

Mike, I forwarded your question via email to a few people who seldom have reason to come here but might have a plausable answer for you. Do we REALLY want the stpidity of the humans messing around in my computer? I have enough trouble undoing my own stupidity. I was taught most of what I learned externally by my son who kept reminding me that computers work logically. To get myself out of a jam, I had to think like the computer - and for the most part, it worked splendidly. If we put in the possibiity of irrationality and emotions I suspect we would need more than scandisk and defrag to undo the messes we would get into.

Make mine Shandy. Mike, have you ever partaken of Shandy whilst visiting the UK? Is it as appalling as it sounds? I suspect if they made it cold enough on a hot day it might be very refreshing. Has anyone had Sandy? It's beer mixed with what we call in the US, Lemonade and the Uk calls lemon squash.

Ok Mike, I got a rsponse to your "stupid" question: Firstly you need to define stupidity. If it's inability to reason then it would seem all ya need to do is reduce the computer's ability to procss data

The thought of adding artificial stupidity is so amazing I cannot stop thinking of it. Have you posed this question in the academic circles in which you revolve?

Hi all Mum and Dad probably have. They often have rum and diet coke (coke has 10 teaspoons of sugar so it wrecks your teeth). I have had midori and lemonade - NICE. For a green melon liquer you would never have known it is so potent. Rob

Hi all A 'shady thing' would be good - this is a concoction I have when I vist a particular restaurant in Austin. Re artificial stupidity... Yes - a definition of what is considered 'stupid' is required - thus a measure if intelligence must be defined - i.e. when hearing about the 'Darwin Awards' contenders - one would say: "Boy, that was dumb...." but was the person performing the act doing so as a indicator of their lack of intelligence or maybe not running all the scenarios to completion to determine that the chosen logical path would not reach the desired result. Plus, one reading about the hapless dolt is imposing their level of intelligence/reasoning as the measuring standard. Has that person been 'perfect' all their life - i.e. not doing anything 'dumb'. Using AI principles, computers can approximate human intelligence in a finite number of states/scenarios but has any system been able to successfuly complete the Turing test? There is still that bit of randomness that makes humans think the way they do. Side note - I had a funny thougth that computers could almost be considered idiot savants since they do one thing incredibly well but are inept at most other things. Creating a machine that displays artifical intelligence is an incredible feat but a machine with A.S. would take a greater degree of humanistic emulation (i.e. make the machine approach the characteristics of human thought and behavior by introducing that extra bit of 'randomness'. Anyway, just some random musings - A.S. was a funny term I thought of while doing some writing back in the mid 80's - imagine my suprise when I did a Google search and found many sites mentioning A.S. I guess that I should shoot this question to a philosophy doc that I know. Regarding being random, I originally was going to post a question about whether electromagnetic waves passing through dark matter would have any effect on the wave's velocity. Boy, now I do need a drink.... :) 73 de Mike aa9il r-c-i

Think I need some of Rob's potent but sneaky melon liqueur. Mike, I got some really weird answers from people whose intellgence I know is superior to mine. I have often thought of the "idiot savant" connection with computers. My son's comment: It certainly seems that stupid behavior requires less up-front processing, but requires more after the stupid actions occur. He should know. He is always the one who has to pluck me out of my cyber disasters, but they are far less frequent than they used to be. I'd love to hear what the philosophy PhD has to say - mine were to a Zoology PhD and to a few other scientists of lesser degree.

stupid intelligence: or give it a human brain *giggle*

Isn't "stupid intelligence" some form of oxymoron?! Or is that the affliction the bright eager new politician catches just after being elected?

I have heard military intelligence is an oxymoron

anyway.... this was just some goofy thought that pops to the top of the question queue every so often. One that could warrant lots o' philosophical discussion but I still need to determine my opening move for that chess game

I was waiting for your first move. The only other time I played chess on the internet was with a 15 year old girl. I was bad but she was worse. In fact so bad that I took pity on her and let her take a few of my pawns. Suddenly she swooped in and wiped me off the board. Aghast, I challenged her beginning innocence. It turns out she got her dad to play the second half of the game under her guise. It was fun and we all enjoyed meeting one another... but I have been forewarned. Are you gonna bring your dad is as your ace in the hole? The people not in Geo I asked about your question wanted to know what followed in the discussion. It IS an interesting question. Trouble is I do know too many people with REAL stupidity to even contemplate artifical stupidity. You have heard of military intelligence, too? plastic straws plastic glasses rubber corks jumbo shrimp

Midori and club soda used to be my summer drink order staple! I'm more likely to choose Long Island iced tea or lemonade/wild berry schnapps cooler.

*laugh* about military intelligence and the whole oxymoron thing!! it's awfully funny *GRIN*

Hi all I think we can corrupt Julie into spending a bit of time here. After all the chapesses are also readily visible in the work of art that Marcia created. It is not just the chaps. What would you say to that? Rob

Guys is a colloquial American term for any of your friends collectively - as in, "Hey, you guys!" You want everyone to pay attention! Julie fits, of course! I had hoped John might wander down here too, but I think his time is so precious that he limits himself to Geo where our true heart's home lies. I did try to get Julie to post here. I KNOW she has read some of these posts!

Rob, I posted something in the NZ topic in travel...help!

Hi all I know, because "HEY YOU GUYS!!!" is one way we try to get attention here, and "Hi Guys" is an informal Kiwi greeting. There is also "G'day mate". Rob

Excellent! I was trying to achieve infomality with that wording. I hope Julie feels "like one of the guys!" I do *;)

i've always said "hi guys" and it was totally gender neutral. i use it with the dogs, the kids, my friends, my co-workers, etc.

Species neutral too. I even talk to my plants that way. I guess we covered all animate and inanimate objects so Julie surely fits !

who is this mystery Julie??? we've never met, and i dont remember seeing seeing her post anywhere.

Sure you have. She's Cascadeclimber and is going to hike Mount St Helens and take digitals so we can hike vicariously with her! She has created her own topic on Geo for the Cascades! (She's adorable and young enough to make me feel very protective.)

LOL -am having a blond moment. :-) i even asked her a question re: MSH.... *shaking head* Julie, come join the fun!!! (sorry i didnt remember you... *welcome to screwed hug*)

y'know, at first i thought this place was for our geo dudes, not dudettes, but i'm glad to see all of us here!

This is where the rest of the world can see that we are just as weird and/or normal as the rest of the Spring. Nothing beats comfy chairs and good friends for pondering the infinte variety of things what enter our little idle minds. *;)

Hi all Julie is a bit busy since school clears up in a couple weeks for the summer break so I doubt you will see her immediately. Rob

Hmmmmmmm....You seem to be having an interesting conversation about me. *laughs* See? I know EVERYTHING that goes on, even if I am too busy to post. *laughs evily* Be careful, I'm watching you!! *laughs evily again and vanishes from sight*

Go hit the books, girl!

*humming* she sees you when your sleeping, she knows when your awake...

*giggle*

Julie, as your older twin sister, I am gonna have to sit on you till you get through the semester. This place is absolutely addictive!

Hi all Hitting the books? She tells me she just cannot wait to get out of school for the summer and go to Mount St Helens. But again why should I be surprised? Her room is decorated with volcano posters of every size and description, to the point her Mum said to her a few months ago that she thought the room looked at bit fearsome. But that is Julie for you, and love or hate the volcanoes, she is a very dear friend. Rob

Julie has her CEILING covered with posters too. Some of them are the exact same ones I have *;) I wonder why!

You guy's are halarious!!*laughs* Okay, so I bet you want to know how many volcano posters I have in my room. This is a shocking number so please don't pass out....60 and that includes 1 seismogram of Mt. St. Helens and a map of plate tectonics. Yes, I know, I am crazy, thats why my parents and some of my friends think my room looks scary. But I like it, it helps me go to bed at night! Hehe!

*LAUGH*

Julie, we BOTH nave awesome posters of Ruapehu on our walls. Plus some other choice goodies. *grin*

Hi all I have a Ruapehu poster identical to Marcia's on my wall, plus I have a Canterbury Regional Council earthquake hazards map, and a seismogram of the May 18, 1980 Mount St Helens eruption. Rob

feeling v. dull here. i have a tapestry on my wall...

I have a bunch of unique Mother's Day artwork--all handmade! LOL

Aaaa.... your's is sweet :-D

i have various mumbo-jumbo on my walls. (mostly my cross stitch endeavors, so don't feel bad EsBee)......

I also have geckos on my walls but only at night. They scamper up and down rather impressively only occasionally losing their footing and landing on a startled human sleeping below.

startling the gecko too, i imagine! *laugh*

I suppose that is true, but the cool clamminess (only in our minds and not in reality) one does not expect. It is a rare occurrance that they lose their grip but it is memorable when they do.

Hi all I have white tailed spiders running around on my wall from time to time, but they never last long. I trap them in a jar or knock them to the floor and use the face of my cricket bat to crush them. Sounds revolting but they are actually quite tough and often survive the first blow. Go below to see a white tail spider (NOT for the ARACHNOPHOBICS!!!) http://www.pharmacology.unimelb.edu.au/pharmwww/avruweb/wtspage.htm Rob

Hi all I have found a page with the main spiders of New Zealand. Although the White tail and Katipo (our variant of the Red Back and Black Widow)are the most commonly known types that have unpleasant bites several others can bite to varying degrees. http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/our_resources/Bugs/Spider_page/collection_spiders.html Rob

Well, between Rob's spiders and Marcia's geckos my skin is crawling. *shudder* thank you very much. :-P

Nothing in Hawaii is toxic. White tailed spiders are like the brown recluse spiders of the Southwest whose bite causes serious necrosis of the tissue. I'd squash them, too, but surely not with my willow bat! I only saw one back widow in my life - it reeled down out of my post box in West Virginia one day when I went out for the mail and that was the last time I stuck my hand into anything of that sort. *shudder*

Sorry I can't come in today, I'm suffering from 'Mundialitis' By Soteris Charalambous AN EPIDEMIC is about to hit Cyprus and it appears that nobody from the government is prepared to do anything about it. The condition is called 'Mundialitis', a particularly virulent and debilitating infection mainly affecting men. The last major outbreak was four years ago: the symptoms include stomach cramps, nervous tension and in the worst cases involuntary bouts of swearing. The new strain, which originates from the Far East, leaves the sufferer unable to concentrate on work. Attacks are most common during the morning and early part of the day. The condition lasts for approximately 30 days, worsening until the fever reaches its peak resulting in more and more time off being taken. Fortunately, most sufferers recover completely and can resume their normal lives once the infection has run its course. If you haven't realised already the common term for this condition is 'The World Cup'. Across Europe, governments and businesses have made special provisions for the inevitable outbreak of 'Mundialitis' because this World Cup is being staged in Japan and South Korea. Kick-off times start as early as 8.30am, with the latest games starting at 2.30pm. Many large organisations in Europe with employees wishing to follow the tournament are being provided televisions or radio and have been told they can watch or listen during normal working hours on the condition that they make up the time later in the day or the week. Given the response given by the government and businesses in Cyprus, it appears that either Cypriots have no interest in 'the beautiful game' or they expect every employee to carry on with their daily routine in a disciplined manner during the live transmissions. According to Government Spokesman, Michalis Papapetrou, "It is not possible to shift the working timetable around the scheduling of the World Cup. But I don't think it is going to be a problem." When presented with the solution being proposed around Europe Papapetrou dismissed it's relevance to Cyprus, suggesting the problem would only occur in countries whose national teams were taking part in the tournament. However, he conceded, "It might become an issue for Cypriots when it comes to the final or the semi-finals, but not now." Simon Kuper, author of the award-winning book _Football against the Enemy _offered his insight on what the sport means to people worldwide. "Football is more than just the most popular game in the world. It can start - or stop - wars, it can fuel revolutions or it can keep dictators in power." Given that the World Cup represents the very pinnacle of the game it might be suggested that the relevant authorities are taking the potential problem a little too lightly. When presented with the 'Mundialitus' scenario, a Laiki Bank spokesman said: "No special provisions are being made for the World Cup" but he did suspect that employees wishing to follow the tournament "would be slipping out of their offices to find the nearest television to keep up to date with what is going on." A spokesperson at Orphanides supermarket also said that there were no plans to provide televisions or radios for employees; however, she felt that it wouldn't be a problem. When the potential problem was suggested to Andreas Pavlitas, Head of Research and Studies for the Pancyprian Federation of Labour (PEO) trade union, he agreed that something needed to be done and that if their members wanted to watch games, their needs should be accommodated. However, he admitted that nothing had yet been discussed within PEO. Nicos Moyseos from the Cyprus Workers Confederation (SEK) was equally unprepared when presented with the potential problem and admitted that it hadn't been brought up in the recent congress. However, he believed the matter was worth considering and said he would be discussing it with the heads of his organisation over the next few days. Melios Georgiou, Head of the Retailers' Association, hadn't considered the issue either, but believed that the organisation would consider putting proposals to its members if the unions made representations. He also admitted that he could see the possibility of retailers bringing in televisions to accommodate workers. The CyBC plans to show every game of the tournament live and follow up its coverage with a daily highlights programme at 9pm every evening, showing extended highlights of the best match followed by goal highlights of any other games played on the day. Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

Hi all Brilliance is... Being asked by your geography teacher to tutor students having trouble getting to grips with the subject. Now you might ask why the subject has been brought up here. Well it is really quite simple. One of our own, a 19 year from California with considerable talent for the subject, Julie has been asked by her teacher to tutor students who are having greater problems than she, in the subject. Now we can hardly complain about that sort of brilliance can we?? HUGS and CONGRATS JULIE. Rob

Well Done Julie! :-D

Julie is not only beautiful inside and out, she is also funny and wonderful to know. My little twin sister deserves our plaudits for her excellence. I think wiht her writing talents and gift for science she might just plan a career to use both abilities. Since I do that, and it is often done so poorly, I will aid her every step and help her when she requests it. I just can't figure why it took 19 years for me to find her!!! Hugs Julie

great job julie!!!

WoooooHooooo! Julie is in the field with the family digital to record their adventures. I can hardly wait to see what they come back with, other than bruises and scrapes.

Hi all Julie was on or probably close to Mount St Helens today, when on Mount Hood a Black Hawk helicopter crashed killing three and injuring several more. Mount Hood is a volcano in northern Oregon near Portland and is about 11000 feet high. Amazing how the weather can vary over 100km. Mount St Helens was evidently in sunshine today while conditions were so-so on Hood. Rob

I am sending Julie special volcano goddess protection for her travels.

Hi all Where is everyone?? Where are the geophiles?? Rob

don't worry rob, we're still here! *HUGS*

I'm here. I just forgot to look. I miss talking to you, Rob! Soon!!!

Hi all New Zealand is strangely quiet. No volcanism to speak of, and earthquake activity is steady, with nothing untoward happening. Is that good or bad? Hard to tell, though one notable thing to occur was a landslide near Turangi at the south end of Lake Taupo. No ordinary landslide, this one may have been a combination of the geothermal plumbing and the high water table getting the overlying soil and rock mobile. Has happened in the past. Rob

Hi Rob! Hawaii is still quiet. Wait till I get back home...!!! Most of the world is silent waiting for the onset of John's seismic Big Ones. Head for the hills. This is going to be a bumpy ride! Keep your finger in Lake Taupo's dike. That sounds really deadly!

Hi all Lol. Yeah right. Taupo seems to be managing on her own. 1800 years off inactivity have given the caldera a chance to let fresh water crayfish grow (a German submersible went to the bottom of the lake - some 520 odd feet down and took pictures of the lake bed). It picked up some sediment for scientists to examine and played video coverage of the exploration, shot by the submersible. Rob

How super that they let you see what they saw. I wonder if anything or anyone has checked the bottom of Lake Waiau - one of the highest lakes in the world - on the upper reaches of Mauna Kea at the 13,020 foot level. http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/waiau.html

That is really hostile territory for most life forms. I suspect it is pretty sterile on that lake bottom!

We're planning a trip to Costa Rica in Nov. Supposedly they have volcanoes one can explore there that we may check out (I don't think they're active).

Awesome! I would love to go to Costa Rica. Costa Rica has plenty of volcanoes. The most famous one being Arenal, but there is plenty of others. Orosi, Rincon De Vieja, Miravilles, Tenorio, Poco Sol, Platanar, Poas, Barba, Irazu, and Turrialba. All of them are quite active and have erupted recently in the past 50 years or so. Arenal erupts quite frequently but its last BIG eruption was on July 29, 1968. 4,000 people were evacuated and the areas between Tabocon and Pueblo were destroyed.

Sorry, I used the wrong word--forgot that you are all vulcanophiles! By active, I meant putting on a constant show like the ones in Hawaii. I'm sure there are specific terms, but I don't know them. All I know is we think it will be too cool to see Arenal, as well as rainforest and cloudforest.

Autumn, have I got a guy's websiite for you. He does the hiking and watching ertuptions for the Costa Rican government and he is also a vegetarian and quite handsome: Pictures and much more about Costa Rica: http://www.geocities.com/explorermathiew/l/index.html

That is Rodolfo Mathiew on the rim or Arenal Volcano. Yes they are currently erupting. I posted the Global Volcanism report on Geo 2.

what happened to the pic?

Hi all Please go to Robs Geo World for the first installment of the VOLCANOES OF NEW ZEALAND series which examines in depth the volcanoes of New Zealand and their geological past, and what we can expect in the future. http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/Geo/64 Rob

Thanks for the link, Marcia!!!

Enjoy the link. I have no idea where the photo went. Autumn, I'll post what is erupting in Costa Rica here so you don't have to brave the wilds of Geo. *;)

*wiping sweat off brow* Phew! That's a relief...those geophiles would chew me up and spit me out! ;-)

Nah!!! Geo is full of sweet and kind people who are fun and informative. If you just looked, you would see that it is all just bluffing! Warm and cuzy is more like it!

Hi all Geo is like a second home. Great family, cool place and some wicked subjects. What more can I say? Rob

...even graphics to make it easier on the eyes. And, GREAT people like Rob and the rest of the lurkers and regulars. Hugs Rob! Happy Birthday, Don!!! ( I suggested to him he might appreciate dead flowers better than a lei but he assured me he was mortal like the rest of us.)