Qwertystop's Unexpected-To-Everyone-Or-At-Least-To-Him Random Banter #210

[Asta Kask]

Not only are lemon snacks tasty, I also get to eat them undisturbed by the felines.

[Duck999]

Not only are lemon snacks tasty, I also get to eat them undisturbed by the felines.

Ever heard of cat cafes? In Japan, they have restaurants full of cats. The cats, however, avoid the customers usually. Until they get food, then the cats all swarm them.:small tongue:

Mind you, this is not from firsthand experience. I took a lesson on Japan a while back and learned about this.

[Cuthalion]

I looked at that picture of donuts and my stomach was loud enough to wake a cat. You have done your puppy duty today Dimonite.

Yees. And it's not even breakfastime yet.

[Solse]

Ever heard of cat cafes? In Japan, they have restaurants full of cats. The cats, however, avoid the customers usually. Until they get food, then the cats all swarm them.:small tongue:

Mind you, this is not from firsthand experience. I took a lesson on Japan a while back and learned about this.

Yep, Japan alright.

ION: Everybody in my school's been playing a crappy web game called Jet Attack that's really fun, (but glitchy as hell). I figured how to texture hack it, which was easy, considering that it's a Chrome extension where I was easily able to find an "images" directory. I love texture hacks, and game personalization in general.

[Asta Kask]

In Islam it is apparently forbidden to kill cats. When we went to Turkey there where cats everywhere, and at the archaeological sites we visited (Troy, Ephesos, etc.) they were fed daily, deloused regularly and looked very healthy. Very friendly too, especially if you had food.

[Coidzor]

Ever heard of cat cafes? In Japan, they have restaurants full of cats. The cats, however, avoid the customers usually. Until they get food, then the cats all swarm them.:small tongue:

Mind you, this is not from firsthand experience. I took a lesson on Japan a while back and learned about this.

There are at least two on the West Coast of the U.S., too, either just opened or about to open and one either in planning or recently opened somewhere in or around NYC.

Granted, there's also a place you can go just to be cuddled for up to 6 hours at a time by professional cuddlers in either Portland or Seattle, which is, depending upon your POV, a great example of how jobs that only humans can do are being filled by humans as automatization and globalization eliminate or relocate more and more jobs, a depressing indictment of modern society and our disconnect from one another that there exists enough of a market for the basic human need of physical contact that businesses can sustain themselves from the revenue charging for it would generate, or just a very shrewd business practice to tap into an untapped market niche.

[Duck999]

There are two robots that fill the job 'only humans can do.' One is the last moment robot, which strokes an arm as a patient dies, comforting. It was supposedly to be used for people whose family could not get to them. Another is PARO, which looks like a stuffed seal. It is soft, cuddly, and acts very lifelike. It can tell between light and dark, find a human in a room, and many other things. If it is stroked, it will make a not to repeat whatever action it did because the human clearly like it. If hit, it will stop whatever it was doing.

Also, in Japan, there are the ever popular maid cafes. Very expensive, and you get served by a woman in a maid outfit, which clearly pleases Japanese men. Otherwise they would not be so popular. You can pay your maid to do things like draw on your food with ketchup or to play video games with you.

[Solse]

Holy god I need PARO. Actually, I'm pretty sure that I saw an episode of the Simpsons where a similar device was featured. I guess they threw in a subtle nod. Either way, I really want one.

[Duck999]

Holy god I need PARO. Actually, I'm pretty sure that I saw an episode of the Simpsons where a similar device was featured. I guess they threw in a subtle nod. Either way, I really want one.

I'm pretty sure they are on the market. You could buy one...

for thousands of dollars.

When I researched it I found amazing pictures of PARO brought to nursing homes and how happy people looked. If you ever do get PARO tell me what it's like.

[Haluesen]

Argh, I disappeared again without intention! I meant to come in here and write like a week ago. And then I got to where I didn't know how to jump in to conversing with people and didn't know what everyone else was talking about with pages upon pages to read... What have I missed? Are friends doing well? I can't read through so much to find out!

I need to stop this disappearing stuff...

[LaZodiac]

Argh, I disappeared again without intention! I meant to come in here and write like a week ago. And then I got to where I didn't know how to jump in to conversing with people and didn't know what everyone else was talking about with pages upon pages to read... What have I missed? Are friends doing well? I can't read through so much to find out!

I need to stop this disappearing stuff...

I'm doing well. Am in the Heroes of the Storm Alpha suddenly. So that's cool.

I don't know who any of these people are

[Haluesen]

I'm doing well. Am in the Heroes of the Storm Alpha suddenly. So that's cool.

I don't know who any of these people are

Ooh that's awesome Zodi! I'm a tiny bit envious. A buddy of mine got into it, and I've played a little, it's pretty fun. I only know at most half the characters. But it doesn't matter! Just pick someone interesting looking and kick butt with them!

[Teddy]

Another is PARO, which looks like a stuffed seal. It is soft, cuddly, and acts very lifelike. It can tell between light and dark, find a human in a room, and many other things. If it is stroked, it will make a not to repeat whatever action it did because the human clearly like it. If hit, it will stop whatever it was doing.

Whereas this sounds like an awesome application for machine learning, an awesome in overall, I'm still a bit uneasy at the fact that they've chosen violence as the mean to discourage bad behaviour, since that's exactly the sort of behaviour we want to condition out of humans...

Also, the point about telling the difference between light and dark doesn't look very impressive in and on itself...

Argh, I disappeared again without intention! I meant to come in here and write like a week ago. And then I got to where I didn't know how to jump in to conversing with people and didn't know what everyone else was talking about with pages upon pages to read... What have I missed? Are friends doing well? I can't read through so much to find out!

I need to stop this disappearing stuff...

Halu!

I'm doing well enough. Got my would-have-been-good sleep slightly disturbed by well-meaning but mistaken parents, and my schoolwork is a lot more stressful than it should be allowed to feel, but I'm seeing the light beyond that. In short, lots of ups, lots of downs, and a somewhat unstable footing for me inbetween, but I'm still on track and manage to deal with the parts I'd rather forget about as well.

How have you been doing as of lately?

Also, you knooow that there is no such thing as a set "what everyone else is talking about". Just jump into the discussion, the more topics the merrier! Stagnation is the root of all boring.

[Asta Kask]

Holy god I need PARO. Actually, I'm pretty sure that I saw an episode of the Simpsons where a similar device was featured. I guess they threw in a subtle nod. Either way, I really want one.

What's wrong with getting a cat?

[Gnomvid]

if you are allergic it's not as much fun no matter how much you like them, when you can not breathe and your eyes are running and itching like crazy you'd rather not have one

[Asta Kask]

Is j_hunterd allergic?

[Reinboom]

Ever heard of cat cafes? In Japan, they have restaurants full of cats. The cats, however, avoid the customers usually. Until they get food, then the cats all swarm them.:small tongue:

Mind you, this is not from firsthand experience. I took a lesson on Japan a while back and learned about this.

South Korea also has them.

Couple pictures I took from one in Myeong Dong, Seoul.
http://i.imgur.com/zy9RAjb.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/2HqTbEP.jpg

Half the cats are super friendly and will jump on random people lovingly. The ones with collars are marked as "These ones are grumpy".

I have a few more images if wanted (after I get to work).

[Taet]

ION: Everybody in my school's been playing a crappy web game called Jet Attack that's really fun, (but glitchy as hell). I figured how to texture hack it, which was easy, considering that it's a Chrome extension where I was easily able to find an "images" directory. I love texture hacks, and game personalization in general.

Wonderful! Are you offering to change the look of the game to the other students who are playing or are you abusing your powers and changing texture files while they are not?

There are two robots that fill the job 'only humans can do.' One is the last moment robot, which strokes an arm as a patient dies, comforting. It was supposedly to be used for people whose family could not get to them. Another is PARO, which looks like a stuffed seal. It is soft, cuddly, and acts very lifelike. It can tell between light and dark, find a human in a room, and many other things. If it is stroked, it will make a not to repeat whatever action it did because the human clearly like it. If hit, it will stop whatever it was doing.

It took me awhile to figure out what sounded weird about this. I do not pet or stroke people. I know some people do, but I do not. I touch, or hold hands, or hug, but nothing in between. Petting is somehow wrong for humans in my head. Better than no touch but gently wrong. I cannot get further than that. And I cannot be right about that. Petting is ordinary. I think.

There are at least two on the West Coast of the U.S., too, either just opened or about to open and one either in planning or recently opened somewhere in or around NYC.

Granted, there's also a place you can go just to be cuddled for up to 6 hours at a time by professional cuddlers in either Portland or Seattle, which is, depending upon your POV, a great example of how jobs that only humans can do are being filled by humans as automatization and globalization eliminate or relocate more and more jobs, a depressing indictment of modern society and our disconnect from one another that there exists enough of a market for the basic human need of physical contact that businesses can sustain themselves from the revenue charging for it would generate, or just a very shrewd business practice to tap into an untapped market niche.

Then the lonely seniors who fear robots rent hugging time from the snuggler's cove.

Argh, I disappeared again without intention! I meant to come in here and write like a week ago. And then I got to where I didn't know how to jump in to conversing with people and didn't know what everyone else was talking about with pages upon pages to read... What have I missed? Are friends doing well? I can't read through so much to find out!

I need to stop this disappearing stuff...

I am learning by doing, Haluesen! I am still getting to know how to use a voltmeter. I have cleaned away little bits of rust with metal polish. I have gotten a stuck screw unstuck without penetrating oil. For that one that was in a narrow place I heated up a useless metal stick in boiling water and dried it and touched the stick just nearby the screw to heat the metal and get the regular oil in. I am kind of proud about thinking that one out.

Whereas this sounds like an awesome application for machine learning, an awesome in overall, I'm still a bit uneasy at the fact that they've chosen violence as the mean to discourage bad behaviour, since that's exactly the sort of behaviour we want to condition out of humans...

Also, the point about telling the difference between light and dark doesn't look very impressive in and on itself...

When I put together violent and hiding in the dark I think of someone who is too violent and a human will not try to get close and offer a snuggle. Maybe the robot is built to take the violence instead of a human.

[Razanir]

I'm walking back from lunch, when I see my roommate enter the dorm with a female friend of mine. Whom I have brunch with every weekend. And whose number I have in my phone. And whose roommate I've met. And whom I would have gone to two parties with this past weekend, had I not been sick. And whose roommate from last year I was friends with. Apparently they know each other from chem.

Except apparently, I'm so good at knowing random things and people, that none of this surprised my roommate.

[Solse]

Wonderful! Are you offering to change the look of the game to the other students who are playing or are you abusing your powers and changing texture files while they are not?

I thought it'd be too much work to change every other players' files, so I uploaded the new files to a website that anybody could access. That way, every player who wanted to play with my hack could easily do so. Although, whenever my peers would want to play a game locally on my computer (when theirs are not available), I always could hack my own to turn their characters invisible and give myself a free win. I don't do that, though, because I'd rather win with honor. But it'd definitely be fun to do. The game itself sometimes gives random players free points. It's not very well programmed, but I like it.

[Haluesen]

Halu!

I'm doing well enough. Got my would-have-been-good sleep slightly disturbed by well-meaning but mistaken parents, and my schoolwork is a lot more stressful than it should be allowed to feel, but I'm seeing the light beyond that. In short, lots of ups, lots of downs, and a somewhat unstable footing for me inbetween, but I'm still on track and manage to deal with the parts I'd rather forget about as well.

How have you been doing as of lately?

Also, you knooow that there is no such thing as a set "what everyone else is talking about". Just jump into the discussion, the more topics the merrier! Stagnation is the root of all boring.

Hey there Teddy! Up and down? Yeah that sounds like life. I hope there are more ups for you than downs though. The schoolwork going well at least?

To be honest, I can't say if I have been doing a lot or not much at all. Well enough I guess, a lot of up and down. Some days happy and inspired and talking to everyone and being nice and learning stuff and just enjoying life kinda thing. Some other days, brought down a fair bit by stress and worry and panic. And not at all talkative. I'd say though that I've been having more good days than bad. Still planning a YouTube LP sort of channel, I've just been busy with D&D stuff with friends and helping my grandma fix our washer, so I haven't gone any farther than planning.

I think I would have just jumped in, except I had no clue what to talk about. So I tried to see what everyone else was talking about, and couldn't think of how to jump into a conversation! So, that then.

It took me awhile to figure out what sounded weird about this. I do not pet or stroke people. I know some people do, but I do not. I touch, or hold hands, or hug, but nothing in between. Petting is somehow wrong for humans in my head. Better than no touch but gently wrong. I cannot get further than that. And I cannot be right about that. Petting is ordinary. I think.


I am learning by doing, Haluesen! I am still getting to know how to use a voltmeter. I have cleaned away little bits of rust with metal polish. I have gotten a stuck screw unstuck without penetrating oil. For that one that was in a narrow place I heated up a useless metal stick in boiling water and dried it and touched the stick just nearby the screw to heat the metal and get the regular oil in. I am kind of proud about thinking that one out.

Hi there Taet! Learning more is always good. Though I kinda don't know what a voltmeter is...something for measuring electrical use? But good to be proud of doing things! My grandma and I have been learning about washing machines. Ours had one problem that needed easy fixing, but then since then it's just been a conga line of new problems coming up to fix. It makes sense though, it's an old machine. Still, fixing it is less costly than getting a new one. And we are learning quite a bit about the parts inside there, though mostly I am just around to help move it in and out of the house repeatedly.

And just as a a little comment on the petting thing (though I feel like I may be butting in and have no clue where the conversation started from...), but I really like the idea of that. Petting specifically. It's just very calming. I...don't really know how to explain more without seeming weird or TMI. I know I live by the policy of "to each their own opinions". I just think it is a very nice feeling and can be a good way of showing affection between people who are really intimate in some way.

I'm walking back from lunch, when I see my roommate enter the dorm with a female friend of mine. Whom I have brunch with every weekend. And whose number I have in my phone. And whose roommate I've met. And whom I would have gone to two parties with this past weekend, had I not been sick. And whose roommate from last year I was friends with. Apparently they know each other from chem.

Except apparently, I'm so good at knowing random things and people, that none of this surprised my roommate.

Heh guess that means you have a defining trait then. My brother is like that, the person who just seems to know everyone in some way or another, minor or major.

[Amidus Drexel]

I think I would have just jumped in, except I had no clue what to talk about. So I tried to see what everyone else was talking about, and couldn't think of how to jump into a conversation! So, that then.

Hi there Taet! Learning more is always good. Though I kinda don't know what a voltmeter is...something for measuring electrical use? But good to be proud of doing things! My grandma and I have been learning about washing machines. Ours had one problem that needed easy fixing, but then since then it's just been a conga line of new problems coming up to fix. It makes sense though, it's an old machine. Still, fixing it is less costly than getting a new one. And we are learning quite a bit about the parts inside there, though mostly I am just around to help move it in and out of the house repeatedly.

If you do that, you end up like me and only show up when someone posts something that I know anything about. Much like I'm doing now.

A voltmeter is a tool that will measure voltage! Nowadays, voltmeters and ammeters (which measure electrical current) are typically put into the same device (which may have other functions), known as a multimeter (as it contains multiple meters >.>). My multimeter can also measure resistance and capacitance, and test diodes. And... probably a thing or two else, but that's all I've ever used it for.

And washing machines are pretty cool. I've never taken one of those apart, but I do remember opening up our dryer when there was something wrong with it. It's surprisingly difficult to tell exactly what's wrong with things in a confined space like that.

[Asta Kask]

A voltmeter is a tool that will measure voltage! Nowadays, voltmeters and ammeters (which measure electrical current) are typically put into the same device (which may have other functions), known as a multimeter (as it contains multiple meters >.>). My multimeter can also measure resistance and capacitance, and test diodes. And... probably a thing or two else, but that's all I've ever used it for.

So can it measure this?

[Amidus Drexel]

So can it measure this?

Yes.

On a more serious note, though, actually yes, though an oscilloscope would likely be more useful. Audio signals are typically transmitted as voltage varying over time, so it's entirely possible to measure that song (or any song, for that matter), with something capable of measuring voltage. Given the relatively high frequency of signals in the auditory range, though, you probably wouldn't get terribly reliable readings from a voltmeter (which are better at reading constant voltages).

I may or may not post an oscilloscope reading of part of that audio later, come to think of it. Perhaps if I remember.

[Duck999]

I'm walking back from lunch, when I see my roommate enter the dorm with a female friend of mine. Whom I have brunch with every weekend. And whose number I have in my phone. And whose roommate I've met. And whom I would have gone to two parties with this past weekend, had I not been sick. And whose roommate from last year I was friends with. Apparently they know each other from chem.

Except apparently, I'm so good at knowing random things and people, that none of this surprised my roommate.

It can be strange to know random people or facts. I sometimes see someone or hear something that I somehow know. I don't know how I know it/them, but I know it/them. Then I spend hours trying to figure it out. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

[FinnLassie]

I got offered one of the most expensive rooms that the student accommodation organisation offers, and I was pretty upset... But not anymore. The size of my room is 20m². Now I just gotta wait and find out if my new flatmate will be nice or not... If they're nice, I'll be living in paradise.

[Teddy]

Wonderful! Are you offering to change the look of the game to the other students who are playing or are you abusing your powers and changing texture files while they are not?

That's not abusing it. Abusing would be to swap their textures for something ridiculous or unwieldy while they're looking away. Like swapping all the enemy sprites, or the like.

When I put together violent and hiding in the dark I think of someone who is too violent and a human will not try to get close and offer a snuggle. Maybe the robot is built to take the violence instead of a human.

But I'm afraid that would just condition the seal to stay away from the poor soul?

I thought it'd be too much work to change every other players' files, so I uploaded the new files to a website that anybody could access. That way, every player who wanted to play with my hack could easily do so. Although, whenever my peers would want to play a game locally on my computer (when theirs are not available), I always could hack my own to turn their characters invisible and give myself a free win. I don't do that, though, because I'd rather win with honor. But it'd definitely be fun to do. The game itself sometimes gives random players free points. It's not very well programmed, but I like it.

At first I read this as "It's not very well docummented". It made every bit of sense to me.

Hey there Teddy! Up and down? Yeah that sounds like life. I hope there are more ups for you than downs though. The schoolwork going well at least?

*nallehugs*

I'd say it's going well enough, so if you take my standards into account, it's probably going very well.

To be honest, I can't say if I have been doing a lot or not much at all. Well enough I guess, a lot of up and down. Some days happy and inspired and talking to everyone and being nice and learning stuff and just enjoying life kinda thing. Some other days, brought down a fair bit by stress and worry and panic. And not at all talkative. I'd say though that I've been having more good days than bad. Still planning a YouTube LP sort of channel, I've just been busy with D&D stuff with friends and helping my grandma fix our washer, so I haven't gone any farther than planning.

I think I would have just jumped in, except I had no clue what to talk about. So I tried to see what everyone else was talking about, and couldn't think of how to jump into a conversation! So, that then.

Just drop in and say something uninteresting that's happened in your life lately, I think people are willing to hook onto any little conversation line to talk with someone. And the washing machine is definitely more interesting than the average daily loop.

I would do it more often, but tiiime...

Hi there Taet! Learning more is always good. Though I kinda don't know what a voltmeter is...something for measuring electrical use? But good to be proud of doing things! My grandma and I have been learning about washing machines. Ours had one problem that needed easy fixing, but then since then it's just been a conga line of new problems coming up to fix. It makes sense though, it's an old machine. Still, fixing it is less costly than getting a new one. And we are learning quite a bit about the parts inside there, though mostly I am just around to help move it in and out of the house repeatedly.

Measuring electrical potential, actually, i.e. how strongly the electricity wants to go between the two meassuring points. For electrical use (or current), you would use an amperemeter. But close enough, one could definitely use one to calculate the other if one knew the resistance between the meassuring points.

EDIT:

Yes.

On a more serious note, though, actually yes, though an oscilloscope would likely be more useful. Audio signals are typically transmitted as voltage varying over time, so it's entirely possible to measure that song (or any song, for that matter), with something capable of measuring voltage. Given the relatively high frequency of signals in the auditory range, though, you probably wouldn't get terribly reliable readings from a voltmeter (which are better at reading constant voltages).

I may or may not post an oscilloscope reading of part of that audio later, come to think of it. Perhaps if I remember.

The noise! The horrible ringing noise!

*has flashbacks*
...

I got offered one of the most expensive rooms that the student accommodation organisation offers, and I was pretty upset... But not anymore. The size of my room is 20m². Now I just gotta wait and find out if my new flatmate will be nice or not... If they're nice, I'll be living in paradise.

Oooh! Sounds awesome! I wish you the best of luck and the best of flatmates!

[Razanir]

Heh guess that means you have a defining trait then. My brother is like that, the person who just seems to know everyone in some way or another, minor or major.

The reason why: My roommate happened to know one of my friends from church.

It can be strange to know random people or facts. I sometimes see someone or hear something that I somehow know. I don't know how I know it/them, but I know it/them. Then I spend hours trying to figure it out. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

I also prove Trivial Pursuit wrong.

[Taet]

So can it measure this?

A friend of a friend said not long ago, oh look, AC/DC just put out their album again.

[Asta Kask]

Anyone else think the guitarist looks like Beavis?