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The diary formerly known as '.'

by BruceMcF
Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 07:49:15 PM EST

Update [2008-1-2 19:7:32 by BruceMcF]:: The content of this diary has been deleted by the author! Those who read the original content will understand why an exclamation mark is required to finish sentences!

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The diary formerly known as '.' | 60 comments (60 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: . (4.00 / 4)

..

We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 04:05:22 PM EST

Re: . (4.00 / 4)

(...)

"This is nothing compared to how Putin rigged Eurovision."

by poemless on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 04:09:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: . (4.00 / 5)

(...)

[.....]

Life should consist in at least fifty percent pure waste of time, and the rest doing what you please.

by ceebs (bunchofwankers (at) gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 04:15:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: . (4.00 / 5)

...!

;)

"This is nothing compared to how Putin rigged Eurovision."

by poemless on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 04:17:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: . (4.00 / 2)

€

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 06:07:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

This post is a test of the diary editing system. (4.00 / 2)

This is only a test. If it had been a real diary it would have been ...

... uh, what can I say for certain it would have been if I had written a diary?

I got it!

... it would have been more verbose.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 04:14:11 PM EST

Oh, and I'd link back to the comment .... (none / 1)

... in another diary where I go into the details but ...

... well, its meta, and I try to avoid linking to meta.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 04:15:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Oh, and I'd link back to the comment .... (4.00 / 2)

Surely

would have been better, as in the famous Philosophy paper conundrum:

"Is this a question"

to which one wag responded

"If that is a question, this is the answer".

by ChrisCook (cojockathotmaildotcom) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 04:40:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Oh, and I'd link back to the comment .... (4.00 / 3)

The anecdote I know is that of Victor Hugo, in exile in Guernsey, after the publication of his major novel, Les Misérables, writing to his editor :

"?"

To which the answer received was

"!"

He was inquiring about the sales of his book.

Auferre, trucidare, rapere, falsis nominibus imperium; atque, ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.

by linca (antonin POINT lucas AROBASE gmail.com) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 05:06:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Oh, and I'd link back to the comment .... (none / 1)

Wasn't Les Miserables published as a feuilleton, in instalments?

We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 05:18:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Oh, and I'd link back to the comment .... (4.00 / 2)

The French Wikipedia doesn't mention this. Apparently it was published in six instalments, but those were books.

And Victor Hugo was already a famous and successful writer at the time, so I guess he could afford to publish straight to book...

Auferre, trucidare, rapere, falsis nominibus imperium; atque, ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.

by linca (antonin POINT lucas AROBASE gmail.com) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 05:24:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Oh, and I'd link back to the comment .... (none / 1)

Or "?" as the title and "!" as the text.

But then, that would lead some to think that the punctuation was, in fact, content, rather than placeholder text.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 05:07:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: . (4.00 / 3)

This diary is a proof that ET ers will argue about anything and about nothing, that nature abhors a vacuum, and that noise will always fill a silence.

WilL you all please SHUT UP!

Vote McCain for war without gain

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot dotty communists) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 04:57:32 PM EST

Re: . (4.00 / 2)

I call for a FULL STOP !

by ChrisCook (cojockathotmaildotcom) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 05:27:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Call for a full stop. (4.00 / 5)

.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 06:56:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I think Bruce deserves a bottle of (4.00 / 2)

champagne for this diary making the rec list.

Somebody front page this thing already!

"C'est un scandale !"

by redstar on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 05:35:47 PM EST

Re: . (none / 1)

a full stop or blank isn't that good for selecting a diary from the lists.

if its called blank, what are you going to select to get access to the underlying comments. (it's hard enough with a trackpad and just a full stop to aim at).

Life should consist in at least fifty percent pure waste of time, and the rest doing what you please.

by ceebs (bunchofwankers (at) gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 05:59:13 PM EST

How in the Sam Hill did this make the reclist? (none / 1)

I can only think some people cracked open the champagne they bought to share in the toast for the $100/barrel contest winners ... otherwise, how in the hell did it make the reclist?

WRT what the dummy text should really be, I would suggest: leaving the title alone, and replace the diary text with:

[UPDATE]: The content of this diary has been removed by the author.

The dots were just a test to see how little it was possible to get away with when editing a diary. I chose "." because I already knew that "." was caught and trapped by the comment post routine.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 07:01:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: . (none / 1)

And, yes, blank really makes it hard to select.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 07:03:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

This is not a diary (4.00 / 4)

Congratulations! Your non-diary has reached the significant number of 20 comments!

"Ne te courbe que pour aimer..." René Char

by Melanchthon on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 07:44:41 PM EST

Re: The diary formerly known as '.' (none / 1)

(I'm allowing myself but a few lines, in parentheses, lest I denature this thread. What is the record for the the longest thread on ET? Which leads to my next question: will this one break the record for the 'lowest contents weight / length ratio'?)

You're clearly a dangerous pinko commie pragmatist.

by Vagulus on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 07:59:32 PM EST

Re: The diary formerly known as '.' (4.00 / 2)

Look under Occasional Series on the right hand side of the front page, in there is a list of the most commented threads.

Life should consist in at least fifty percent pure waste of time, and the rest doing what you please.

by ceebs (bunchofwankers (at) gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 08:09:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

However, I believe that the existing comment ... (none / 1)

... content / diary content ratio record has already been exceeded.

At least that's what my calculus tells me ... my calculator just says "error: divide by 0"

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 09:53:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

hmpf (none / 0)

bleh

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (jeromeguillet@yahoo.fr) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 08:23:44 PM EST

Re: hmpf (none / 0)

Sorry

We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 08:25:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: hmpf (none / 1)

is that French ;-)

Life should consist in at least fifty percent pure waste of time, and the rest doing what you please.

by ceebs (bunchofwankers (at) gmail (dot) com) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 08:26:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: hmpf (none / 1)

is that French ;-)

Oh, never mind!

(BTW, that was the reply I got from a young Tory candidate - dashing smile, blue rosette- canvassing at the door of a supermarket in a hopelessly Labour / Lib Dem constituency, when I told him I was not a voter.)

You're clearly a dangerous pinko commie pragmatist.

by Vagulus on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 11:51:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Is this a meta meta diary? (none / 1)

I have been meditating on the significance of the "."

Metaphysically speaking, am I distinct from the . I observe or is the . in me as observer?

Can I know the meaning and the position of the . at the same time or is it subject to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle?

Why does the I not have a dot as in i?

Has the meaning of this . been rendered meaningless by the removal of the . from the title?

Has this converstation been hijacked by the dotty amongst us?

Vote McCain for war without gain

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot dotty communists) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 08:50:12 PM EST

No, its sub meta. (none / 0)

I'm glad its not a meta sub ... I always find meta an unsatisfying sandwich filling.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 09:55:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The diary formerly known as '.' (none / 1)

this is a crude attempt to see if the number of comments to this diary can actually pass the 200 mark.

We are for Justice and Mercy, and Truth and Peace, and true Freedom. Edward Burroughs 1659

by edwin on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 09:56:24 PM EST

When an infinite ratio was already attained ... (none / 1)

... with the first comment, surely 200 would be overkill.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 10:00:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When an infinite ratio was already attained .. (none / 1)

Yes, though 200 seems to be the magic number to make this diary appear on the most commented threads ever.

We are for Justice and Mercy, and Truth and Peace, and true Freedom. Edward Burroughs 1659

by edwin on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 10:04:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When an infinite ratio was already attained .. (none / 1)

... I would have preferred to have somewhat fewer than 200 comments. 200 fewer would have hit my ideal ... a comment/diary content ratio of 0/0 would have been ideal.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 10:11:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

xxx (none / 1)

You seem to be working at cross-purposes with yourself. Perhaps you should consider whether I am taking advantage of you.

We are for Justice and Mercy, and Truth and Peace, and true Freedom. Edward Burroughs 1659

by edwin on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 10:15:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I don't personally count ... (none / 1)

... the author's replies to comments as part of the comment count, so if it has 120 comments and 80 replies, then I'll know it didn't "really" have 200 comments.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 10:25:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

ops (none / 1)

not only did that last comment appear in the wrong spot it had no comment so I guess technically it did not count.

We are for Justice and Mercy, and Truth and Peace, and true Freedom. Edward Burroughs 1659

by edwin on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 10:31:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

What kind of ops ... psy-ops? (none / 1)

This is where the loose language counting both comments and author replies as "comments" causes ambiguity. Which comment is in the wrong spot ... my reply, your comment replying to my reply, or my reply commenting on your comment replying to my reply?

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 11:13:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Clutching at straws I see. (none / 1)

We are for Justice and Mercy, and Truth and Peace, and true Freedom. Edward Burroughs 1659

by edwin on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 10:31:02 PM EST

Without straws, we have no straw horses. (none / 1)

And the world without straw horses would be a sadder place.

Aha ... see, I read by thread, and so missed before which comment was mis-located.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 11:15:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Without straws, we have no straw horses. (none / 1)

A comment must have some text - no? and the previous comment has no text so it must not be a comment. But it takes up space and is counted! Even if it is misplaced by someone with bad aim...

And on that note it is time for me to do a Cinderella and turn in to a pumpkin.

We are for Justice and Mercy, and Truth and Peace, and true Freedom. Edward Burroughs 1659

by edwin on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 11:23:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The diary formerly known as '.' (4.00 / 2)

I've had a couple of questions for a while, and this is the perfect place to ask them.

WHY are / were you in Ravenna? And, are you STILL there?

by NBBooks on Wed Jan 2nd, 2008 at 11:45:11 PM EST

I'm in Ravenna because that's ... (4.00 / 2)

... where my brother was house-sitting my mother's house when my last fixed-term contract in Australia finished, and I had to come home to the US.

Why is it called Ravenna? Probably a lot of Italian immigrants when it was founded.

But who knows ... maybe a classical scholar. When I was driving my Dad through East Texas in the early 80's, we stopped in Paris to try to get some dinner, but they had not restaurants, so we had to keep going and stop in Moscow instead.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 09:17:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I'm in Ravenna because that's ... (none / 1)

Ohhhh - I finally clinked the "Ravenna" link and now see that you are not in Italy. Were you, I would demand pics, lots of pics. A dream of mine is to settle in Italy, but I don't know the language, and I don't have much in the way of transferable skills other than writing and flogging books. But back in the discussion of sustainable growth, when I came out swinging against the notion of over-population, somebody noted how the nice French town they live in have had people happily involved in small businesses for generations that have not seen the need to grow and grow, I felt a sharp pang, because that is exactly what I want to do in Italy. Or France. Or Prague. Lately, I've been reading a lot of Alan Furst's novels, and Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey sound very interesting also.

By the way, do you have a bill of materials for building maglev or high speed rail? As in, how much concrete, how much steel, etc., is required for each mile or km, and for so many passenger cars, locomotives, and so on.

by NBBooks on Fri Jan 4th, 2008 at 12:38:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Material impact of HSR (none / 1)

I may have seen an infrastructure bill of materials for high speed rail at the California high speed rail site ... in the per-km costing of the infrastructure ... but I'm not sure where ... I didn't keep it in any event.

The main site is the California High Speed Rail Authority, "Fly California (without ever leaving the ground)" ... uh, happy hunting.

Passenger cars, locomotives, I'm pretty sure I would only have seen monetary estimates of their cost. But then, given the massive difference in vehicle uptime between high speed rail rolling stock and the car and "light truck" fleet, I'm 100% sure that high speed rail has much better fleet material efficiency per passenger mile than road.

I'm sure I've seen nothing like that for maglev. Given the energy cost per mile of maglev compared to conventional HSR, and the fact that its only the New York / Chicago corridor where it seems like there is any point considering maglev alongside conventional HSR, I haven't looked at the construction cost side of maglev at all.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Fri Jan 4th, 2008 at 02:16:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The diary formerly known as '.' (none / 1)

Funniest. Thread. Ever.

by the stormy present (stormypresent aaaaaaat gmail etc) on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 03:54:17 AM EST

Re: The diary formerly known as '.' (4.00 / 2)

This is not a diary, period!

"Ne te courbe que pour aimer..." René Char

by Melanchthon on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 04:24:42 AM EST

Re: The diary formerly known as '.' (none / 1)

But is it a "period" diary?

Vote McCain for war without gain

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot dotty communists) on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 07:52:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I prefer 'period piece'. nt (none / 1)

'nt' means aucun texte, there's nothing in this space.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 09:15:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The diary formerly known as '.' (4.00 / 3)

.
. . . . .
. . . .. . . .
. . .."." . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . .
. . .

by Loefing on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 11:58:10 AM EST

Damn, now you've broken it ... (none / 1)

... and its spilled.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 12:05:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Nem, not spilled, it's a cosmic '.' n/t (none / 1)

by Loefing on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 12:11:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Ah, that's where it spilled ... (4.00 / 2)

... I couldn't make that out against the white background. I was thinking maybe a New Hampshire snowstorm, but the cosmos ... yeah, I can see it now.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 01:37:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Ah, that's where it spilled ... (none / 1)

You're right, it's something from the Atlas experiment.

ATLAS is a particle physics experiment that will explore the fundamental nature of matter and the basic forces that shape our universe.

Yes, this thread is about really serious stuff. Deep down.

You're clearly a dangerous pinko commie pragmatist.

by Vagulus on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 03:51:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

So many fewer worry about it than the ... (none / 1)

... pattern of snowfall in New Hampshire and how it will affect turn-out in the westernmost neighborhood of the fourth largest town in the state ... but at least they will worry about it for longer. Next week, nobody will care about Iowa or New Hampshire again for another two and a half years.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 04:00:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The diary formerly known as '.' (none / 1)

You realise that Mig is going to bring some frustrating statistical analysis skills to bear on this chart? ;-)

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 12:14:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The diary formerly known as '.' (none / 0)

Why would I do that and why "frustrating"?

We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 12:18:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The diary formerly known as '.' (none / 1)

Frustrating because it will be instantly illuminating and obvious once explained to us lesser brains in words of one sylable.

Life should consist in at least fifty percent pure waste of time, and the rest doing what you please.

by ceebs (bunchofwankers (at) gmail (dot) com) on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 12:20:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The diary formerly known as '.' (none / 1)

Frustrating because it is like pieces arranged randomly on a chess board ie no supporting data, and you'd do it because it's there. But of course this is just a joke by lesser mortals. Ignore us.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 01:18:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The diary formerly known as '.' (none / 0)

I'm a convert, Bruce. Inshatao. (Sorry for the plagiarism of punctuation.)

Our knowledge has surpassed our wisdom. --Charu Saxena.

by metavision on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 03:38:00 PM EST

Oops, sorry, that should be ... (none / 1)

... its sub-meta.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 at 05:43:02 PM EST

The diary formerly known as '.' | 60 comments (60 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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