Re: Enhanced Unicode support for "Go" tools

From: Beth (BethStone21_at_hotmail.NOSPICEDHAM.com)
Date: 05/31/04 

Date: Mon, 31 May 2004 11:17:51 +0100

Evenbit wrote:
> Beth wrote:
> So, you are upset about the Mippy the Dragon/lizard/dinosaur
fiasco, huh?

Nope; Not in the slightest...I'm NOT a paleontologist and never
claimed to be one either...in fact, I just had to use Google to
make sure I was even spelling the word correctly, so NOT a
paleontologist that I am...

Paul had drawn a dragon logo for his adventure game (sorry,
"interactive fiction title" ;)...he asked for opinions...I gave
him an _artistic_ opinion and some practical advice about the
_art_ involved in drawing the dragon...I then talked about
"artistic research", _clearly and unambiguously pointing out
that artistic research is NOT concern for "facts and figures" -
basically, how can it be when talking of drawing dragons or
fairy tale castle or aliens or space cities and other fantasy
creations? - because it is about gaining a _visual_
comprehension...so, look at things correspondingly close to
dragons _VISUALLY_...these would be not only lizards but also,
for a Western style "dragon", a lion for the body, an eagle for
the claws and so on and so forth (an Eastern style dragon is
more like a serpent in shape)...it's NOT a real creature, need
anyone be reminded...similarly if you want some magic fairy tale
castle in the sky then those these never existed, they are based
on a particular French-style of castle with rounded cone roofs
on top of their towers...aliens? Well, as I noted, Giger looked
at very much Earth-bound animals but borrowed the most
"alien"-looking parts to get something very "alien" but, indeed,
also _familiar_ that his creature seems realistic enough to not
look at all silly or stupid (think how many other attempts at
aliens really don't work) and actually be a very, very
frightening creation (good enough for a whole series of horror
movies based on them :)...the "space city"? Well, it's worth
noting that, in the '50s, spaceships and space cities were all
chrome, as this was their vision of "futuristic"...and things
have changed repeatedly about what the "future" could look like
but always, basically, an extension of the expectations of the
present whenever it is attempted...when "domes" were a popular
idea, the moon cities were all under large glass domes...once we
actually get to the Moon, people scaled down their
expectations - from what they saw - and there are no "cities"
but plenty of small "moonbases", which - reflecting what NASA
had tended to do - were, visually speaking, a series of white
boxes with small corridors linking them together (white is "NASA
colour"; Of course, white really has to do with reflecting the
Sun for protection...but, artistically, it's what it _looks_
like that counts...so white is "NASA colour" and that's all you
really need to know :)...in fact, very much like the bases at
Antartica or something but much more extreme to cope with the
conditions on the Moon...

> Well, no need to take it out on the Linux SysCall.lst folks.

Ummm, _I_ am the "Linux syscall.lst folks"...that list has
_only_ been me, so far...Annie suggested the list but was, in a
sense, just "being nice"...she doesn't program Linux, she has no
interest in working on it...others voiced interest that, seeing
as I was doing that, this would be useful work that _I_ was
doing...I offered it up on the CVS...BUT if people are taking me
for granted, just exploiting my usually good nature about such
things and I only end up generally criticised from all angles
(no, the suggestions about XML, for instance, were taken as
_GOOD IDEAS_...I've, as I stated, even attempted to start the
list again with some XML and working out how the XSL thing
works)...I also was NOT counting your "dragon" thing because you
clearly are the "expert" here so I even _outrightly deferred and
recommended_ Paul to look at _your_ posting which had the
details...

You grossly overestimate yourself...which seeing as you're
implying "typical woman" below, I could imply "typical man" in
return here...

But this overestimation does prove one thing...I was correct -
because a posting like this betrays the real motivations of why
you send these "corrections" - that you weren't really concern
for "technical accuracy" but just wanted to "score points" over
me...nothing but ego, ego, ego all the way...because, indeed,
here is the _gloating_, folks...the little dance of "victory" to
impress you all...

> Let's see if
> I've got this straight: We were out having a few drinks,
playing pool
> (billards) and I didn't follow the typical, tactfull "Psst,
Nate, let the
> girl win" routine.

Nope, you have no comprehension...the "girl" cares not a damn
whether you win or lose...if you're the better player, then,
yeah, you should rightly win...the simple difference you're not
comprehending is that the girl is probably playing for
_FUN_...where you are seeing "battle of the Titans for ultimate
supremacy" in the game of billards (pool), she is seeing "social
activity"...that's all...so, you see, it's not the
winning...it's all that jumping onto the table and shouting "You
suck! You suck! Who's your daddy? I'm am king of the world! I am
the best! You are all crap compared to my godhood! Bow to your
master, bitch!" as you do a little "dance of victory" all over
the green baize...and how a man cannot resist constantly
gloating over and over about, ooh, being the one who dropped a
black ball into a pocket first...

Typical male reaction, though, to not realise that "let the girl
win" is a comment _against you_, not against the girl...it's
saying "don't be a *** and dance around the table gloating,
constantly making 'you're ***' and 'I'm the best there is'
victory comments, as you might to grind another guy into 'male
pride' defeat (which is really why men take such games far too
seriously all the time, really...got to win or the other guy
will spend the next 7 hours with constant "you're ***" and
sneaky "oh well, you could always take up sewing or something
instead")"...alpha male crap...the point of such a comment from
your mate is more about saying: "remember, this is not some
Alpha male ego contest...not a clash of antlers...it's a _social
activity_...a 'bonding' ritual...hence, don't make it happen too
quickly and then rush around gloating about how great you
are...but, yeah, you're actually interested in _having fun_ with
the girl, so you're _extending_ the length of the game by
playing worse - without giving away that's what you're doing, of
course (or that would be "ego" bullcrap too)...she'll know what
you're doing most probably, mind you...but then, without the
ego, it's kind of "sweet" to be so interested in having fun and
chatting and _MAKING IT AN ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE FOR ALL_ that,
yeah, you will drop the Alpha male pride gig for two seconds"...

Kind of getting the point yet? It's NOT about "winning" or
"losing"...that's exactly what it's NOT about...what it
shouldn't be about...because it's about having fun and doing
something together...in fact, _win_ if it means that much to
you...but it won't matter if you can _extend_ the length of time
having fun and _making it fun_ to actually play...though, in
fact, some women _CAN_ play billiards and could kick your arse
in it, that this presumption is itself a demonstration of this
touch of "arrogance"...but, yes, many women - and plenty of men
that this is solely a gender divide - see pool or football as
"just some game"...NOT at all important...a good social
activity, a means to get some exercise...you know, nothing wrong
with it...but everything wrong with the usual male thing of
suddenly turning it into the most important thing in the
universe that, in that "deep focus" on "win, win, win", you
forget to even notice there are other people around, that you
forget to have fun playing, that you're doing that "Alpha male"
thing in trying to humilate and crush and defeat your opponent
mercilessly, dancing around with a "victory dance" but, oops,
forgot that your opponent isn't a male and, therefore, gives
absolutely not a crap about that stuff and really isn't trying
to do the same back to you at all, as, yes, other men would be
almost "pre-programmed" to do in response...and what does this
come across as to the girl? Well, you're some *** that ignores
everyone...so obsessed with "winning" that you're actually very,
very nasty and cruel - merciless - with it...actually, indeed,
trying to humilate and ridicule and gloat in your
"victory"...not interested in just having fun...it's a failure
to comprehend that this has nothing to do with "Alpha male"
contests about "who's the daddy?" and all that stuff...and such
behaviour is, quite frankly, real distasteful...yes, even when
men do it to each other too, really...but, well, you literally
can't help it and you lot don't seem to mind all that attacking
each other and trying to mercilessly humilate your opponents
stuff...but it's viewed in quite a different light - which
surely you can appreciate when named - for you to be prancing
around gloating, trying to humilate and mercilessly "wipe out"
your opponent when all they were interested in, to be honest,
was having something fun to do for ten minutes...

> And to top it all off -- two other NGs were watching!

Nope; Couldn't give a crap...so much so, I've temporarily
re-cross-posted it to allow you to attempt to once more humilate
me in front of everyone...please, go ahead and do
that...mercilessly "win" your little battle of the egoes...by
all means, with my full blessing...post up some more "facts and
figures" which proves you have the bigger brain...indeed, you
probably do, as you seem quite knowledgeable from what I've
seen...I was never claiming the opposite...in fact, when I saw
that you were actually an "expert" - where I am certainly not -
I _recommended_ and _deferred_ the poster to read your post as
it had all the pertinent facts and figures for "technical
accuracy"...

But, really, if you want, then, indeed, take this opportunity in
front of everyone to humilate me...to "win" your little battle
and impress everyone that you've "defeated" me...if it's really
that important to you, then I happily concede complete
defeat...I was wrong, you were so much more "superior" to
me...feel free to dance up and down on my metaphorical grave
now, at your leisure...

But, surely, even male pride could empathise enough to realise
that if your "opponent" isn't actually trying to "win"
anything...that what I wrote to Paul was simply an attempt to
provide useful advice and, yeah, just an "interesting story"
that he might enjoy reading (heck, even if not in any way
accurate...well, you could even call it a different kind of
"interactive fiction", couldn't you? :)...which I even labelled
as "no-one actually knows but here's some purely fictious
speculation"...

If you still can't see this, then, indeed, I'm NOT an expert and
never claimed to be...so, appropriately, I did give a quick
check over the internet:

http://www.kutz.com/komodo/kmd_drag.htm
(title: "The Komodo Dragon... a living dinosaur")

http://www.geocities.com/athens/parthenon/3021/dinosaur.html
(near the bottom, under "do dinosaurs still exist?", the Komodo
dragon is offered up)

http://www.sallys-place.com/travel/asia/dinosaur.htm
(title: "in search of real-life dinosaurs", but a webiste
talking only about Komodo dragons)

So, if it was "technically inaccurate" then there's a heck of a
lot of people making this technical inaccuracy out there...and,
indeed, NOT being an "expert", I was depending on "facts" from
other people...turns out that they were wrong...

The part you're not getting is that I was just trying to be
informative, useful and, yeah, that whole digression was, in a
sense, "spinning a yarn"...telling an interesting story...I
thought it was a true story because that's what others were
suggesting...but, hey, the other thing you perhaps don't get is
that so long as it was interesting "interactive fiction" and the
real facts have, indeed, been corrected by your good self then
it doesn't matter to me in the slightest...fine, then it's just
a "cool story" instead...I don't think those writing
"interactive fiction" are going to think "cool stories" - true
or not - are a bad thing...they, in a sense, only deal with _fic
tion_, though may, indeed, try to make it seem as "real" as
possible while playing...

> Here was your chance to show-off your intellect in front of a
bigger crowd
> and then this Oddbit feller comes along and wrecks the game.
Is that it?

No; That's not it at all...I'm sure that was "it" for you...that
was all you were interested in was "crushing your opponent" to
show off your intellect and win some "ego battle"...but I
personally was solely interested in trying to be _helpful_ to
Paul, if and where I could be...that's _all_ I ever really try
to do around here...but you appear to have been in perhaps one
too many "Alpha male" antler-locking contests, not to comprehend
that plenty of people absolutely don't give a flying crap about
that stuff whatsoever...

So, I've re-cross-posted to the exact same crowd...now they can
see your gloating and you can take your time to respond with a
totally merciless humilating post...I'm cross-posting exactly so
you have the opportunity to do that...by all means, fire
away...demonstrate you're much more intellectual than me...

I happily concede that you probably are far cleverer than
me...but to my frame of mind, this simply comes across as a
crying shame that with an intellect like that, you only bother
to use it to "defeat" / "crush" / "win" and so forth...when,
indeed, if you tried doing what I was attempting in trying to be
useful, then, yup, you'd do a darn sight better than me at it,
no doubt...so, to my frame of mind, what a _crying shame_ you
prefer to waste it on destruction than creative pursuits...on
humilation and "crushing your opponent" rather than, say,
helping to educate and lift up a "newbie" - as was all I was
trying to do with advice and suggestions to the best of my
ability (and some Hopefully "fun" diversions and digressions) -
which would benefit everyone...because it is an _honour_ to be
able to help people...but perhaps you can't see this or don't
find it to be so...with "winning" as the sole important thing...

Well, okay...as I say, I just want to be helpful and useful so,
in your case, this seems to require that I stand around to let
you humilate and ridicule me, while you gloat away about your
superiority...okay, that's just fine...indeed, one other thing
about the artistic mentality: "It's not 'art' unless you suffer
in its creation"...

> If so, tell me. Direct your anger at me. I'm listening.

Anger?!?

I would use a different word, in fact...but your ego won't take
it and you'd kick up a big fuss and so forth...do I dare? Yes, I
dare: it's not "anger", it's _pity_ that you have no idea of
anything but destruction and humilation and, well, being nasty
mercilessly so long as it "wins"...if there's any "anger", then
it's solely from the frustration that people with useful and
constructive intellect constantly use it to ill-effect like
this...an "anger" _for_ you that you might be doing yourself an
injustice for no particularly useful reason...

But, well, I'll give the benefit of the doubt...usually, I'd
actually put money down on the fact that you _won't_ be
listening in return...but, yeah, you'll get the benefit of the
doubt...you ain't stupid or anything, you're just frigging
annoying from time to time when you choose to act like this...

As I was saying, this girl was perfectly fine with you
winning...even directed others to look at your "expert" post on
the matter to see the proper definitions and "clades" and so
forth...there's nothing wrong with you winning the billiards
match...it's this inevitable gloating "dance of victory"
afterwards to try and best humilate your opponent as you can
that's the problem...it's not really a case of "let the girl
win" but more "have the sense to comprehend that slamming the
girl's face into the mud and dancing up and down on her head
laughing at your 'dominance' is highly unlikely to curry her
favour in, you know, liking you or anything"...

You should "lose" solely from the perspective that - well, not
unless pushed - I wouldn't jump up and down or humilate you in
return...so, that achieves the best end...as, when you win, you,
indeed, can't resist your genetic urge to prance around
accepting all your "glory" and "praise" for being the "Alpha
male" and so on and so forth...men apparently simply can't
resist that urge that it might make sense to lose, as that will
_force_ you to be "humble" and avoid this distinctly unhelpful
urge to do that highly annoying "dance of victory" thing...

Beth ;)

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