The Frying Pan

ah, I used to be of the sleep late persuasion for a long time. Got my regime turned a year ago, but I'm slipping back again. Waiting for life to get less crazy so I can get it back to normal.

Stephie

Isn't "normal" just a statistical value with no relevance for the individual?

rumtscho

Not entirely.

First, it is the best for 95% of individuals :)

Stephie

7:44 AM

But it makes being "not normal" easier to bare for the other 5%...

rumtscho

and I don't think I'm the strangest 5% on that count. Or even the strangest 2.5% for whom getting up later than normal would be better.

Also, life is easier when my clock is synchronized with that of the people and businesses around me

it actually feels better to have done a lot until midday. Gives a sense of accomplishment.

Stephie

I was actually talking about normal in a much wider sense. But admittedly, being in sync with others is a plus :-)

rumtscho

But when I'm overworked, I cannot force myself to go to sleep when the day is over.

Stephie

I read one of your old posts the other day - about the easter bread. Have you figured out how to get the "strands" in you "Hefezopf" (forgot the real name)?

rumtscho

It's some combination of slight anxiety because of all the things I didn't get done, unwillingness to face the next unpleasant, overfull day on which I again get less done than my deadlines require, and a "but now I want to feel good for a few hours after all the drudgery". Also, exhaustion of willpower.

Ah, the strands are due to proper kneading. Lots of it, and with paying special attention to direction.

One year I kneaded for over an hour total. But I had made it too wet anyway, in the beginning it was more like pouring a viscous liquid from one hand to the other.

Stephie

7:48 AM

Direction as in Stretch-and-Fold vs. round-and-round?

rumtscho

But now I have to go to a meeting, see you later.

Stephie

See you!

Jolenealaska

8:57 AM

did I miss rumi?

Stephie

you did... but she was in a hurry.

Jolenealaska

I have been nothing but a hurry for the month I've been here ( my new apartment)

Stephie

Aw... I know the feeling. I still have a few boxes that don't have a home yet.

rumtscho

10:13 AM

@Jolenealaska sorry, I was indeed in a hurry. Now I only came in to turn off my computer before going to a doctor in a hospital 3 towns over. I'll get in touch with you these days,sorry.

Jolenealaska

10:37 AM

np

Jay

12:57 PM

I too was a book devouring machine when i was a child. In fact my mother limited my book reading to only 8 hours a day because I did it so much

Faheem Mitha

1:17 PM

@Jay But not any longer, I assume.

Jay

@FaheemMitha Which fully employed adult actually have 8 whole free hours to devote to reading? haha

Faheem Mitha

@Jay No, I meant more the book devouring machine bit, not the 8 hours bit.

Jay

Oh i see

Yea i guess thats true

I have more options to choose from now as a pastime

Faheem Mitha

I read somewhere that Americans spend an alarming amount of time watching tv on average. 4 hours a day? 6 hours a day?

Jay

as a child my mother was over protective and i had to stay home almost all the time

so books was really the only option for entertainment

Faheem Mitha

1:20 PM

@Jay Might be the Chinese thing.

Jay

@FaheemMitha i wouldnt be surprised

Faheem Mitha

Indians can be similar I think.

The two cultures are quite similar in some ways, I think. At least, I have always thought so. What brief conversations I've had on the subject with Chinese people has mostly tended to support that.

Submissiveness in the face of authority, for example. A big thing in India.

Jay

yea

Faheem Mitha

In the US people don't care unless you are a policeman.

Jay

i can see similarities

Faheem Mitha

1:22 PM

Or a military person, perhaps.

Or maybe one of those traffic police people that hunt you down on the highway and give you a ticket.

Jay

those are the worse

although ive bever gotten a ticket before

Faheem Mitha

Indians are big on the "sir" thing. It ubiquitous. Or "madam".

It's even noticeable on SE. I've seen threads where people politely tell the Indians to stop calling everyone sir, because it's weird.

Jay

One time I WAS pulled over. but he didnt give me a ticket. idk why. maybe it was because i was overly courteous and said my "sir"s. Maybe I just looked young and innocent(i think i was 21 then)

Faheem Mitha

@Jay I've had a few unfun experiences, though I think I've only got one ticket. For running a red light in Chapel Hill. I told the officer I never saw a red light. He wasn't impressed.

Jay

But i was driving about 80mph in a 50 mph zone. It changed from 65 to 50 and i didnt notice

Faheem Mitha

1:25 PM

@Jay When police pull you over, that's a good time for "sir". Or "officer", maybe.

Jay

Oh definitely

Faheem Mitha

@Jay I usually try to stay at about the speed limit. Though in most cases that causes people to pile up behind you, and eventually overtake.

Jay

Also a good time to pretend you are really lost and am really sorry you were so distracted

Faheem Mitha

Nobody in the US seems to actually obey the speed limit. Not sure why they bother with it.

Jay

I ran a stop sign once and got away with pretending i was a out of towner that was super lost

Faheem Mitha

1:27 PM

I was pulled over in Chicago once doing 80/85 in a 55 hr zone. But he didn't give me a ticket, for some reason.

Jay

This was during college when my drivers license still had my parents address on it

Faheem Mitha

I see.

Jay

The policeman was super nice and gave me directions

funny thing was he gave me incorrect directions and i couldnt correct him because I "didnt" know where i was going.

Faheem Mitha

@Jay What town was that in?

Jay

Philadelphia

Faheem Mitha

1:28 PM

In big cities they're usually not nice.

@Jay Oh! Hmm.

Jay

It was also in a bad part of the nieghborhood

so he probably took pity on the poor teenager lost in the bad part of the hood

Faheem Mitha

Ok.

Jay

I have a naturally young face especially when i smile and my dimples come through

Faheem Mitha

I once watched the movie "Twelve Monkeys". It made PA look like some kind of dystopia.

@Jay Have you gone back to your original picture?

Jay

right because movie settings is really indicative of real life

Faheem Mitha

1:30 PM

@Jay Hey, it's just a comment.

Jay

@FaheemMitha its my face again but a different one from before

Faheem Mitha

@Jay Yes, I was about to ask. Actually, I think it's better than the old one.

Jay

@FaheemMitha Thanks

Faheem Mitha

American attitudes towards cops are interesting. It can be summarized as - do whatever they tell you and don't make them angry. Very different from American attitudes to everything else.

Jay

I ate two bagels for breakfast today and I am stuffed

i really shouldnt have consumed so much carbs

So the pope will be coming to Philly 9/26-9/27.

I really dread the traffic i'll have to deal with

Over 1 million people are coming into philly to see the pope

Faheem Mitha

1:48 PM

@Jay Wow, that's a lot of people.

Dinner time.

Jay

@FaheemMitha Yea x.x People will start swarming in 9/22-9/25 so i dont know how im going to deal with commuting to work

I might just ask my manager to work from home that week

i imagine itll at least double or triple my commute time

Gigili

2:21 PM

@FaheemMitha The first two syllables of your name means understanding, right?

Or left

No need to reply right now, I can wait until you finish your dinner ;)

Faheem Mitha

2:35 PM

@Gigili Yes, from the Arabic root (or Persian root). Fahm, meaning understanding. Faheem means one who understands, I think.

Faheem

Faheem (also spelled Fahim or Fahiem) is an Arabic given name and surname, However, Arabic cultures emphasize the "H" sound. Fahim or Faheem is derived from the Arabic word Fahm meaning knowledge. Faheem hence means one who does understand with ease, quickly or always will understand, and is greatly blessed with wisdom. It also reflects as a consequence that the person may be intelligent and hence will have no problem understanding. == Given name == Faheem Rasheed Najm known as T-Pain, an American rapper Fehim Zavalani, Albanian journalist == Surname == Ahmet Fehim, Turkish actor Amr Fa...

This WP page used to be longer.

@Jay Sounds like a plan.

@Gigili No mention of Persian in that WP page.

I'm surprised so many people care about the Pope.

Gigili

2:59 PM

@FaheemMitha Yeah, I meant understanding as an adjective.

@FaheemMitha WP is no source

Maybe an Arab has written the article, hence the Arabic root

Faheem Mitha

@Gigili Well, I don't know Arabic. If you do, feel free to elucidate on the etymology.

Gigili

@FaheemMitha Pope?

Faheem Mitha

@Gigili The Pope is visiting Philadelphia.

See above.

Gigili

@FaheemMitha nur ein bisschen, but I'm not bored enough to do that (Hello @Jay)

Faheem Mitha

@Gigili Only a little? What's with the German?

Gigili

3:06 PM

Lack of self-confidence in speaking English

Jay

3:44 PM

Hello

I had a big spurt of productivity

i feel proud

Stephie

What did you do?

Jay

@Stephie I had to parse error messages from this complex log. It was a headache and i gave up yesterday. but this morning i came at it with a clear head and whoops its butt

its parsed directly off a of a webapplication so its a bit more complex that just parsing from a text file log

Stephie

Bleach... I think I have a vague idea what you are talking about. But in the end, it boils down to plain, oldfashioned logic, right? Congrats!

Jay

@Stephie yea, the parser has to parse correctly even when the log format changes and figuring out the logic behind that was one of the hard parts.

Stephie

@Jay Language?

Jay

3:53 PM

@Stephie Im using UFT(QTP) which is a testing automation software and its based in VBS

Stephie

@Jay Makes me feel stupid again... Or just outdated? <sigh>

Jay

@Stephie awww dont think that

www8.hp.com/us/en/software-solutions/…

Unless you have worked as a QA engineer its not really a software you hear about commonly

Stephie

@Jay I fugured out what it is, nevertheless... Oh, well, I'll be brushing up my C++ or finally getting a grip on Java soon. But QA was a big subject at my old place, too. Not my job, but we had to keep it in mind.

Jay

@Stephie I havent seen a single place that required C++ yet

mostly C#

Stephie

Try Automotive ;-)

Jay

4:01 PM

@Stephie that is one area i have no clue about

Stephie

They switched from C to C++ just a few years ago. Revolution!

Jay

@Stephie haha yea, makes life sooo much easier

its like going from a 10,000 piece jigsaw puzzle to only 1000 jigsaw pieces

Stephie

@Jay ???

Jay

@Stephie the point i was trying to make was, its a lot more user friendly

its a lot easier for a beginner to learn c++ compared to c

you mentioned you were close to getting your masters. are you currently working and taking classes or did you take time off from work?

Stephie

@Jay Mhm. But a paradigm shift is never easy - and C can be darn simple, especially if you are really restricted.

@Jay I have a job, that's currently "asleep" (for lack of better word). I started my masters while still on maternity leave, but with two kids I only study very part time. Hubby needs support and so does son, b/c. his giftedness comes at a price. Daughter is much easier. We suspect that she's gifted, too, but haven't had her tested yet. But if you know the signs...

Jay

4:09 PM

I see

Hello

Hi Rumi

Hi Rumi!

@Stephie sorry for leaving you so abruptly today, I took a look at the clock and was surprised to see that I'm running late for my meeting

Jay

@rumtscho yea that happens to me a lot when im deep in conversation in here or in the middle of writing code

Stephie

4:10 PM

@rumtscho No offense!

Jay

and since im basically doing either or, I frequently come close to missing my meetings

luckily outlook notification is quite persistent

Stephie

@Jay Yeah, that 'ping' saved my a.. often enough!

Jay

how old are your son and daughter again?

Stephie

@Jay Son is nine, daughter is six.

Jay

@Stephie ah, sounds like a handful ^^

Oh yea how did the challah come out?

Stephie

4:14 PM

@Jay Surprisingly, no. Unless they are quarrelling, which is a favourite pasttime.

Jay

@Stephie thats to be expected with siblings within 5 years of age

Stephie

Jay

beautiful

rumtscho

@Stephie some more pictures and I'll have to raid the fridge in frustration

or, more likely, the candy stash

Stephie

@Jay Thanks! Almost gone already.

@rumtscho I can do that:

Jay

4:16 PM

@rumtscho oh no candy stash. gotta save it for the truly desperate times

Stephie

Jay

pretty

is that the cinnamon roll?

rumtscho

I might have the willpower to not do it

Stephie

The reason I got up at six this morning ;-)

rumtscho

because I stopped for a sundae and hot chocolate on the way home

user116848

4:17 PM

Hi guys!

Jay

@rumtscho sundae AND hot chocolate at the same time?

rumtscho

hi @Arrowfar

user116848

Hi @rumtscho.

Stephie

Yes, my take on Swedish Kanelbullar.

Sans cardamom, b/c hubbys team mates wouldn't like it. Too exotic!

Jay

oh bland white europeans. why do you hate flavor and yourself?

Stephie

4:20 PM

@Jay Sure. She's got two hands, right?

Jay

@Stephie Maybe, but i dont know that for sure :P

rumtscho

@Jay yes. When you sit down in an ice cafe, isn't it expected that you get a sundae and a drink?

Jay

@rumtscho I dont think ive ever ordered both a sundae and a hot drink before

rumtscho

in fact, I probably should have left out the chocolate, as it wasn't very good

but this is not a place I go to frequently, so I didn't know beforehand

Jay

ah

Stephie

4:21 PM

@Jay Never said I don't! It's those ho-hum engineers without imaginative powers or the courage to step out of their comfort zone.

Jay

@Stephie haha i was directing that comment at them.

Stephie

@rumtscho But a café is the place where it's socially accepted to skip the drink if you have icecream?

@Jay I'll pass it on then :-P

Jay

I wouldve just gone in between and gotten like a chocolate milk shake ;)

Stephie

<duh>

Jay

@Stephie haha yea sure. as long as you dont give them my information

rumtscho

4:24 PM

@Stephie if you can withstand the withering look by the Italain owner, yes

but in my case, there was only a Turkish waitress present anyway

Jay

@rumtscho in which case i would never go back to that place again

rumtscho

@Jay I was kidding. Of course you can have ice cream without a drink, hot or otherwise

Jay

@rumtscho oh lol

Ive never been to europe so i dont know the common social "rules" in a cafe

rumtscho

it is simply a bit unusual, like ordering your sweet-sour chicken stripes with a side of mashed potatoes instead of rice.

Jay

@rumtscho that actually sounds delicious

rumtscho

4:27 PM

@Jay It is. I only came up with the example because that's what I ate for lunch yesterday

Jay

haha nice. did anyone give you funny looks

rumtscho

recently, our cafeteria switched to a buffet mode, where you pay for your food by weight, no matter what stuff you mix on your plate

Jay

@rumtscho oh yea? how does that affect your average lunch prices

its sure its different based on what you normally eat but how does it affect you personally

rumtscho

For me, it got much cheaper, because I take smaller portions when I choose for myself

Jay

ah i see

rumtscho

4:29 PM

and also because earlier, I hated the sides available, and frequently told them to leave out the standard side and add a portion of steamed vegetables, which was paid extra

Stephie

@Jay, talking about my daughter and potential giftedness: I just gave her this: amazon.com/Dinosaurs-Before-Dark-Magic-House/dp/0679824111/… and she was done in less than an hour. And could answer all my reading comprehension questions. <sigh> At least we know the drill and the school handeled son's case well.

Jay

we have a salad bar here which is by weight and im always careful not to put too much "heavy food" in my salad

rumtscho

yes, that's the one problem we have here

we have had a salad bar by weight since before I started work here

Jay

@Stephie omg i love that series when i was little

Anubian Noob

^ same haha

rumtscho

4:30 PM

but it's very expensive, 1.10 per 100 g

Anubian Noob

@Stephie I dislike the term gifted though

Stephie

@AnubianNoob Give me an alternative and I'll probably be happy to use it. Hi, btw!

rumtscho

now they switched to "all food by weight", all the rest of the food is 0.74 per 100 g, but the salad stayed at 1.10

Jay

@rumtscho its not that bad.

Anubian Noob

@Stephie That wasn't really against you, sorry if it came off like that :P

rumtscho

4:32 PM

I rarely get it, because I don't get very sated from salad, but it costs a lot nevertheless, so I have to take a lot of the other stuff anyway. And I could add just a few bits to have variety, maybe 3-4 olives, but I need a separate plate for them, because it's weighed separately, so it's not worht the hassle.

Anubian Noob

But I was (and still am) in a so called "gifted" program

Stephie

@Jay The "Magic Treehouse" series hit Germany only a few years ago.

Anubian Noob

And we can be totally arrogant pricks

Some people let the label to get to their heads

Jay

@Stephie haha nice

Anubian Noob

@Stephie whoa really?

Stephie

4:32 PM

@AnubianNoob Don't I know it :-P

Anubian Noob

@Stephie ...thanks ;_;

Jay

i enjoyed the goosebump series when i was young

Stephie

@AnubianNoob I was actually aiming closer to home, no need to cry <pats reassuringly>

Jay

it was appropriately scary. not nightmare inducing but enough to give a thrill

rumtscho

@Stephie would you recommend the book for adults too?

Jay

4:34 PM

@rumtscho haha probably not

unless you like silly childrens books

rumtscho

I like children's books, but not the silly ones

Jay

well its not that silly

Anubian Noob

It's pretty silly

Stephie

@rumtscho As an alternative to "Das Goldene Blatt"... Take ten minutes at your local bookstore and you'll be through.

Jay

compared to other childrens books its appropriately silly. not overly silly

Anubian Noob

4:36 PM

@Stephie haha, I'm sure you'll do a great job as a parent though

Stephie

I am debating with myself whether I should just give her Preussler or read it to her at bedtime.

Anubian Noob

I can't read that stuff now because I can comprehend it faster than my eyes can run through it, and that's really frustrating

My sister has a couple (I think they were mine originally), but she's not quite there yet

rumtscho

@AnubianNoob why is this frustrating?

Jay

I have this childrens book in which the Rugrats kids time travel to King Arthur times and ive read that many times. and the last time quite recently

Anubian Noob

Idk it's just really really simple and feels rather meaningless/silly

I'm reading Dhalgren right now and I love it because I have to reread a sentence 3 or 4 times to begin to grasp the literal meaning

Stephie

4:40 PM

@AnubianNoob You know what our very seasoned pediatrician said? "Both ends of the gaussian curve need lots of extra care and work - but the right end is more fun." He might have a point. Would you agree? Were you a high maintenance kid?

Anubian Noob

haha definitely

Jay

@Stephie you might have to ask his mother.

Anubian Noob

I owe it all to my wonderful mother

She'd keep throwing things at me

Books, math equations, whatever

Jay

@AnubianNoob I'm imagining her throwing textbooks at you

Anubian Noob

haha nah

Jay

4:41 PM

and one hitting you on the face :P

Anubian Noob

She got into the elementary school and got me taking much higher math/reading/writing in 2nd grade

Stephie

We did that with son.

He basically skipped first grade.

Anubian Noob

And then we moved from Spokane to Seattle for the program I'm currently in dropping out of

I never actually skipped grades though. I started early (born in december), but it was too much in terms of maturity. I was the least mature in elementary school by miles haha

and middle school

Jay

I was the most mature because I was suppose to start second grade when i moved from china to the US but i instead started in first grade to give me more time to learn

So i was always the oldest in my classes

Anubian Noob

How did that go for you?

Jay

4:45 PM

its was alright

no particular differences since i have nothing to compare it to

Jay

5:47 PM

crickets

Faheem Mitha

8:18 PM

@rumtscho Did you see my DWJ recommendation - "Dogsbody"?

Faheem Mitha

8:55 PM

@rumtscho Brief review by the writer John Scalzi - whatever.scalzi.com/2011/03/26/diana-wynne-jones

Captain Giraffe

9:56 PM

@Stephie I didn't basically skip it. My mom (IMHO correctly, she was always at home from my 0-5, started reading Kipling stuff at 3) made them have me skip it. I had to do quite a few tests (I recall them as quite fun). Then they started accusing her for child abuse (Mom pressuring me too much). That part was no fun at all. I remember waiting outside some important guys office when I was 5 and a half. I think I had a say.

@Stephie As an unnecessary curveball I had an odd maths teacher in 3rd grade. I knew maths too well, so she reported child abuse yet again to the principal. The principal offered an apology and the explanation was that the teacher was an odd communist. This was Sweden in 1981. Nowadays I smile at it and consider there are still a left side of the bell curve. The curve has a lot of dimensions though.

Faheem Mitha

10:16 PM

@CaptainGiraffe Funny definition of child abuse. This was in Sweden?

Captain Giraffe

10:43 PM

Yep the first municipal worker had me visiting when I just turned 5, I could read and count, mom wanted me to start regular school. It was accusations that went nowhere, still very hard on my parents.

Everybody was extremely equal.

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