Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!think!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!servitude.mips.com!steveh From: steveh@servitude.mips.com (Stephen C. Hill) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: What is this newsgroup for? Message-ID: <36820@mips.mips.COM> Date: 8 Mar 90 01:29:28 GMT References: <16626@olgb1.oliv.co.uk> Sender: news@mips.COM Distribution: alt Lines: 31 This is very interesting. I've just discovered alt.callahans, and already I feel like I can answer the question "What is this newsgroup for?" Callahan's is the name of a famous, but very difficult to find bar, along Sunrise Highway on Long Island, NY ... which when I last heard of it, had just been destroyed by a nuclear explosion. It is/was a place where all were welcome, and those that were troubled received relief, along with truley awful/precious (proof is left to the reader) puns. Tales of Callahans place were related by one Spider Robinson, in such detail that I actually cried when I read that the place was no more. I gather that this newsgroup has been founded to carry on in old Mike Callahan's tradition. I feel at home here, already! Steve -- Stephen C. Hill, CDP {ames,prls,pyramid,decwrl}!mips!steveh or steveh@mips.com Integration Products Group MIPS Computer Systems 930 Arques Sunnyvale, CA 94086, (408) 720-2916 Time is Nature's method of keeping us from bumping into ourselves. Path: mit-eddie!wuarchive!uwm.edu!psuvax1!husc6!husc4!polito From: polito@husc4.HARVARD.EDU (Maya) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Greetings, everyone Message-ID: <2111@husc6.harvard.edu> Date: 8 Mar 90 00:42:34 GMT Sender: news@husc6.harvard.edu Reply-To: polito@husc4.UUCP (Maya) Organization: Harvard University Science Center Cambridge, MA Lines: 39 {maya steps forward out of the shadows, pushing her hair out of her eyes. She brushes some snow off of her black cape before taking it off and hanging it up. Taking a seat, she pushes forward a cumpled dollar bill and asks: "How 'bout some hot chocolate? It's cold out there." She takes the mug, and drinks it hungrilly. "You know, I've been lurking in the corners over there listening for a while. Well, life's just been getting gloomier lately, and I decided I might as well step out and talk with some of you. Greetings all -- from what I've read, this place seems like somewhere I'd like to visit for a while. You know, sometimes it just sems like you're so busy doing all those silly things that have to get done -- I'm a student, so that means empty-headed essays, thrown-together programming assignments, and the never-ending stream of problem sets -- and you (make that I) just don't seem to have the time to sit back and say "yea, I did that, I'm proud of it?" And I'm just sitting there feeling emptier and emptier, and can't think of the last thing I did that I was proud of... It's sort of like a poem by Wallace Stevens -- "the Snow Man," I think. It begins "One must have a mind of winter..." BY the way -- I'll be either Stevens or T.S.. Elliot, while we're preserving authors. I don't know -- that "mind of winter"'s just been depressiing me lately. Particularly when I'm with my boyfriend -- it's the first "real" relationship I've ever been in -- and he says "I love you," and I mouth the words back, but wonder if I really mean them, 'cause I just don't have the enegery to fell them... Hey, thanks for listening. Silverblack -- good luck, by the way. I hope you find yourself a job. I don't know what it's like, out in the real world, but I can guess." {She steps up to the fireplace, long rayon skirt rustling around her ankles. SHe stops, and gazes into the flames for a while, before finally raising her glass. "To not caring!" ****SMASH**** "Thanks -- I hope to see you all around. {SHe slips back into the shadows, listening. Walk over if you need a hug, or a shoulder to cry on...} Humans... God's attempt to pass the Turing test. Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!think!yale!cs.utexas.edu!usc!ucsd!ucsdhub!hp-sdd!hp-pcd!hplabs!hplred!egly From: egly@hplred.HP.COM (Diana Egly) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: West Coast Callahans Meeting Timespace Coordinates Message-ID: <20940041@hplred.HP.COM> Date: 2 Mar 90 23:49:46 GMT References: <9002270628.AA18526@ccb.ucsf.EDU> Organization: Hewlett Packard Labs, Palo Alto CA Lines: 6 Why do I suspect that if the time of the gathering at Steve's is from noon to midnight that it's improbably that Callahan's people will be there at the same time? Why do I suspect that there will be enough people there that even if Callahan's people are all there at the same time that it's improbably that all of us will meet? I think we should tighten the constraints some if our expectations are that we will meet each other... Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!think!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!ucsd!ucbvax!fsdcupt.csd.mot.COM!jane From: jane@fsdcupt.csd.mot.COM (Jane Beckman x4030) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Thanks for Axing... Message-ID: <9003071716.AA11030@fsdcupt.csd.mot.COM> Date: 8 Mar 90 01:16:13 GMT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Lines: 36 Jilara frowns at the mental man at her feet in mock severity. "Really, I am not sure what to make of all these protestations. 'Worship the virtual space I occupy,' indeed! (Hmmm---there's a freudian---metal became "mental." But then, virtual space is like that. No no, mental would be the Scarecrow (not the vampire one, the Oz-ian one!):-) ) So, my tinware friend, you think you want your ax? Let's see, you claim you don't understand about warm fuzzies, and you call yourself a Callahans patron?" She winks at the room and does a quick aside in a stage-whisper: "How's my 'Oz the Great and Powerful' impression coming?" She looks back at Nick at her feet and tsk-tsks. "How am I going to teach you about warm fuzzies if you haven't learned by now?" "Perhaps I may be of assistance," says a misty figure in black armor, who hovers at her shoulder. "I seem to have an extra one of these..." Alaric holds out a misty warm fuzzy. He and Jilara exchange a smile. She shrugs. "He and I have been exchanging them and passing them on for a while, and we seem to have quite a collection going. Never realized warm fuzzies were capable of propagating over phone lines before." She nods. "Yes, give one to Nick. I think he needs to start his own collection." Nick reaches out a metal hand and Alaric deposits the warm fuzzy in it, which suddenly becomes much more substantial. Jilara pulls one out of her sleeve, rather like a magician. "Here," she says, putting it into his hand with the other. "A matched starter set. You'll find there will always be a few lurking around to give out, once you get the knack of it. Take a few back to Oz, start a new fad." She grins at the room. "I'll set up a round for everyone, while Mr. Chopper here gets to know about warm fuzzies. Alaric wanted to be included in this one, contribute a warm fuzzy of his own, tho he's only currently visible through my intervention. There's a story there, too, but I'll tell that one another day. After all, Callahans has a thousand stories, and we're only just beginning..." ---Jilara the Exile Yes, mailable again! jane%fsdcupt.csd@urbana.mcd.mot.com or @urbana.mcd.mot.com:jane@ fsdcupt.csd Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!think!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!servitude.mips.com!steveh From: steveh@servitude.mips.com (Stephen C. Hill) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: A New Topic! (was Re: Soulmates?!) Message-ID: <36822@mips.mips.COM> Date: 8 Mar 90 02:05:45 GMT References: <9846@spool.cs.wisc.edu> <9002261515.AA05871@fsdcupt.csd.mot.COM> Sender: news@mips.COM Lines: 17 I've got to say that I would be most happy as "Frijtof Capra" (if I spelled it correctly). He has done wonders to have de-analized at least one school-trained physist, by opening up my mind and soul to additional ways of looking at the world. Steve -- Stephen C. Hill, CDP {ames,prls,pyramid,decwrl}!mips!steveh or steveh@mips.com Integration Products Group MIPS Computer Systems 930 Arques Sunnyvale, CA 94086, (408) 720-2916 Time is Nature's method of keeping us from bumping into ourselves. Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!yale!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!microsoft!ellene From: ellene@microsoft.UUCP (Ellen EADES) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Sharp, as in knife Message-ID: <52084@microsoft.UUCP> Date: 7 Mar 90 19:37:15 GMT References: Organization: Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA Lines: 36 Reply-To:ellene@microsof.uucp (Ellen Eades) Ellen pops back in, having heard that Mike also serves the Seattle National Drink, a cafe latte. She drinks lattes to irritate people who are anti-yuppie, being anti-anti-anything herself :-). "Hi, Dani! Good to see you here. Last time I "made the first move," the other person said, "Excuse me, I'm completely shocked and I have to go down to the corner store and get a drink before I can even start thinking about this." Believe me, I'm not the sort who sits around waiting for someone else to say something ... but I do get tired of being the only one who ever brings up the subject. "I didn't mean just 'sharp as in intelligent,' although that's certainly a large part of it. I'm sharp as in a knife; I have edges and corners, and I often challenge people who say things that don't match my perception of reality. Hopefully, we then discuss things and come to a compromise -- I'm not saying I don't compromise. But women who are intelligent don't often want to pretend they were wrong to massage someone's ego (male or female, although I've had it happen more often with men). "For example, the other day I was playing music with my guitar player. He stumbled over a chord change and I got lost shortly thereafter. Usually, I keep going, but this time I was confused enough to stop. He said, "Would you please keep going next time I screw up? You consistently stop, and it doesn't give me a chance to get back in." I almost got hurt feelings. Instead, though, I looked at him and said, "I don't 'consistently' stop. This is the first time I've done it this rehearsal and I don't do it regularly." He muttered something about careless phrasing. "I have no desire to pretend to him that we fell apart because *I* stopped, even though he'd obviously have liked to think that. That's what I mean by 'sharp.' I did not cut him down or point out that he'd screwed up first. But I also didn't let him get away with blaming me. A lot of people are intimidated, just by that." "Thank heaven it's spring. I'm much less likely to lambast fate and the world in spring..." Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!think!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!uunet!microsoft!ellene From: ellene@microsoft.UUCP (Ellen EADES) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: soulmates Message-ID: <52085@microsoft.UUCP> Date: 7 Mar 90 19:45:09 GMT References: <8293@pt.cs.cmu.edu> Organization: Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA Lines: 32 Reply-To:ellene@microsof.uucp (Ellen Eades) Monica of the dissonant wires :-) ponders: >So what do you do if you think you're interested in pursuing a relationship >with someone? [...] I think it's a sad fact of life that you can't just ask >and have the friendship stay the same; it *will* be affected after you raise >the question. So you have to balance the possible benefits against the >possible hazards (and maybe the other person is doing this at the same time), >and mostly you end up shy and indecisive. I have a friend who solves this problem by calling it her Sexual Fan Club. Members of the club are always good friends of hers, but they're also people who've made it clear that they find her sexually attractive. In some cases the attraction's mutual. In most cases neither side's acted upon it, either due to distance, or pre-involvements, or other existing contracts. But she says it makes her feel great to know that there are always people out there who can be her cheering section and reassure her that she's lovable, in a light and humorous way. I think you're right that you can't raise the question _seriously_ and have the friendship stay the same. However, if you can say, humorously, "I love you as a friend and I have a tremendous desire to see what you'd look like dressed solely in Mazola," you'll probably give the person in question a terrific ego boost, *and* maybe-just-maybe start some wheels turning in their mind as well. Patience and a sense of humor are great aphrodisiacs... Ellen Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!think!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!servitude.mips.com!steveh From: steveh@servitude.mips.com (Stephen C. Hill) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: Jobs and Mutual Support Message-ID: <36826@mips.mips.COM> Date: 8 Mar 90 02:46:33 GMT References: <1990Mar3.023031.29173@granite.cr.bull.com> <9003021539.AA02250@fsdcupt.csd.mot.COM> Sender: news@mips.COM Lines: 43 The old Tullamore swiller bellies up to the bar, and orders a shot and another decaf for Silverback, sitting in the dark cloud. "I can certainly empathise with you, Silverback," he says with a sigh. "I've been on the bleeding edge of technology three times, my friend, and all I can assure you is that it WILL pass. The first time, I was a manager, and I laid myself off. I had a pretty big savings account, and decided that this was the time to go into consulting." He continues, remembering the Hell that he slid into, "I found that I was too much a tribal animal, not well suited for consulting. After a while, with no external stimulii, I started sinking down into a massive depression. I suppose that the only recommendations that I feel that I can offer, is to remember that you are NOT alone and you are NOT the job." After stoking his beard, he says "Another thing that I hope that you can learn the easy way ... each time, it becomes easier. You learn from the experience, and this is a great time to list all the job tasks, NOT the titles, that you can think of, separating them into two columns. Those tasks that you like, and those that you can live without. Once you have the two lists, throw away the one with the awful tasks, and concentrate on the other list, brainstorming with family and friends the types of jobs that contain most (or all) of the fun tasks." Steve -- Stephen C. Hill, CDP {ames,prls,pyramid,decwrl}!mips!steveh or steveh@mips.com Integration Products Group MIPS Computer Systems 930 Arques Sunnyvale, CA 94086, (408) 720-2916 Time is Nature's method of keeping us from bumping into ourselves. Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!yale!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!cbmvax!vu-vlsi!nlp From: nlp@vu-vlsi.Villanova.EDU (Nick Pine) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: Callahan's Lady! Message-ID: <235@vu-vlsi.Villanova.EDU> Date: 7 Mar 90 17:59:36 GMT References: Reply-To: nlp@vu-vlsi.UUCP (Nick Pine) Organization: Villanova Univ. EE Dept. Lines: 3 The paperback seems to have been around for about 3 weeks now here... --Nick (one of the Plethora of Nicks) Path: mit-eddie!snorkelwacker!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!rutgers!cbmvax!vu-vlsi!nlp From: nlp@vu-vlsi.Villanova.EDU (Nick Pine) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: A new topic, Fahrenheit 451 and YOU Message-ID: <237@vu-vlsi.Villanova.EDU> Date: 7 Mar 90 22:09:10 GMT References: <9003010705.AA20452@ccb.ucsf.EDU> <1990Mar1.194229.29371@granite.cr.bull.com> <90065.104010R84SI@CUNYVM.BITNET> <39262@apple.Apple.COM> Reply-To: nlp@vu-vlsi.UUCP (Nick Pine) Organization: Villanova Univ. EE Dept. Lines: 1 Dave Barry, too...