Blank thread

[Zeke]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Since the test thread I created and deleted is still showing up on the main forum screen for some reason, I'm making this new one to bump it out. Since we're in 5MV Talk, this'll just be an open thread for site-related comments and ideas. If anyone has a suggestion for 5MV, for example, post it here and I'll read it.[/color:post_uid0]

[NAHTMMM]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Well, I imagine that this is probably out of your area, but if it's within your power to give the PM system a good swift kick and get it working again, I'd appreciate it ;)[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I'll talk to Owen, but I've done so before. I don't think he knows what the problem is.[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0] :( Â Zekeeeeeey, the big bad Forum Monster's eating all my PMs! WAAH! Â :crying: [/color:post_uid0]

[mudshark]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Nothing terribly urgent, but this thread seems as good a place as any to ask. Idly wondering:

Since the Five-Minute Forums came back online the last time, the default clock setting seems to be GMT + 3 hours. Was this done intentionally?[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]No, and that's another of those "talked to Owen about it but he doesn't know what's wrong" things. I'll try him again.[/color:post_uid0]

[Sa'ar Chasm]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]I'll try him again.[/quote:post_uid0]

Once he returns from the western wilderness?[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]He's back already.[/color:post_uid0]

[Katy Jane]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Alright, i'm going to ask one more anoying tecnical question. Is there a reason that i don't show up on the active user list? :( It doesn't matter what browser i use, but if i sign in on my parents computer i do show up. :S[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]No idea, KJ, and you're not the only one who's had that problem. Â

But you'll notice I've fixed the time zones now! I've got the board back on GMT, so the time zone you select in the Account Options section of your Control Panel will be accurate. (I'm in Eastern time, for example, which is -5 GMT.) The problem was embarrassingly easy to fix, too.[/color:post_uid0]

[Wowbagger]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Here's a random thought: has anyone considered putting together a book? (switches to newscaster voice) "Five Minute Voyager: Collected Works, the New York Times #1 Bestseller has been racking up sales all week, leading to important questions like, 'Who is this mysterious Canadian, Zeke? And why has Robert Beltran been repeatedly compared to wood?'"

Sorry, just another look into my disturbed mind.

--
Wowbagger: Unregistered so John Ashcroft can't hunt me down.[/color:post_uid0]

[Scooter]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Great idea if you could (a) get a publisher to print it as "Unauthorized" -- and considering what happened to the Nitpicker's Guides, I'll bet that's a "no"; or (b) get Paramount to sign off on it.

It would, however, make a great book series. Starting with the Complete Voyager pantheon. And a fun project to set minions to work on.[/color:post_uid0]

[Michiel]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Before that happens, I'll definately have to write a fiver sometime. I vaguely remember promising this the first time I posted on this forum, but I never got around to it. :)[/color:post_uid0]

[Tate]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]Here's a random thought: has anyone considered putting together a book? [/quote:post_uid0] [i:post_uid0]I've[/i:post_uid0] thought about it. It's a great idea, IMHO, but one which would be hard to do.

Considering how many references a fiver can make to another show, you may have to ask permission of five corporations or more for a single fiver. (note that I am no expert on copyright law, and have no idea about any of what I just said. I'm just guessing there'd be difficulties like that)

Then there's the question of which fivers to publish. As Voyager looks to be the first series finished, those fivers would be logical. But Voyager was the first series started too. I wouldn't be surprised if some authors of early Voy fivers are hard to track down now. If you assume that everyone included wants to get royalties, it could get difficult.

Another option would be a 'best of' compilation. It could include all the TJIs, Paneldemonium, Sleapers, and some of the best fivers by staff members (and maybe ::cough:: selected guest authors? Â ;) )

And as an alternative to trying to convince a normal publisher that a 5MV book is worth the effort and the risk, we could consider a self-publishing company. It may not have a large market, but you wouldn't expect a [i:post_uid0]lot[/i:post_uid0] of people to be interested in such a book anyway. I remember reading an article about self-publishing websites. It recommended a few good ones. If only I could find the article...

Anyway, these are just some thoughts. I [i:post_uid0]would[/i:post_uid0] like to see a 5MV book, or any 5MV merchandise, for that matter.[/color:post_uid0]

[Derek]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0="Tate"]Considering how many references a fiver can make to another show, you may have to ask permission of five corporations or more for a single fiver. (note that I am no expert on copyright law, and have no idea about any of what I just said. I'm just guessing there'd be difficulties like that)[/quote:post_uid0]
I'm no legal expert either, especially not on Canadian law, but according to the US copyright law, 5MV doesn't need permission since it is a parody. That's why, though Paramount could theoretically shut down every fanfic site, it couldn't shut down 5MV.

[quote:post_uid0]I wouldn't be surprised if some authors of early Voy fivers are hard to track down now. If you assume that everyone included wants to get royalties, it could get difficult.[/quote:post_uid0]
This would be the harder part. Because it [i:post_uid0]would[/i:post_uid0] be necessary to get every author's permissions to publish their fivers in a different format. And as for royalties, it would be better to ask the writers to relinquish any rights they might have in that regard and just use the profit to improve the site.

[quote:post_uid0]Anyway, these are just some thoughts. I [i:post_uid0]would[/i:post_uid0] like to see a 5MV book, or any 5MV merchandise, for that matter.[/quote:post_uid0]
Yeah, 5MV shirts would be cool. So would 5MV flamethrowers!

Actually, if you're interested, you can probably make your own stuff. Back when I was in high school, some friends and I bought plain white shirts, went to Kinkos (I think) with some images off the net, and had them printed on to the shirts. You could probably do something similar, but technically you'd need Zeke's permission (though I doubt anyone would verify whether you had it or not).[/color:post_uid0]

[Celeste]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I'm in a book. I don't remember if I told any of yous here. See Amazon. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1550225030/trektoday/102-8013533-3470557) :) It's just a story about how i'm close to all my friends online that I met cause of Star Trek. I got an autographed copy of the book and it was just something really cool for me. :)[/color:post_uid0]

[Kira]

[quote:post_uid0="Tate"][color=#000000:post_uid0]I [i:post_uid0]would[/i:post_uid0] like to see a 5MV book, or any 5MV merchandise, for that matter.[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]There was a plan once to have 5MV merchandise -- T-shirts and coffee mugs and the like. I think it fell into the Void of Soon.[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]It fell into the void of "Hey, wait a minute, CafePress sucks." I had a CafePress store I was experimenting with, but it would have been basically pointless because CP's base prices are so high. To make a profit of, say, $5 on each item, I would have had to charge upwards of $20 US for a T-shirt. CP also introduced new fees that basically made it completely unprofitable to run a low-traffic store.

There are alternatives, though -- and if you guys are interested in 5MV merchandise, I'll make checking them out a higher priority. Just keep in mind that I can't use copyrighted material on anything I sell. The clock logo is okay, for example, but not the 5s with ships on top. If there's interest, I'll start a thread for talking about what items you guys would want, and what you'd want on them.

As for books, I thought about that even before I thought of T-shirts. If I approached a publishing company, the problem would be that I might have to do some stupid copyright-protection thing like changing the characters' names, like Sev Trek or the Star Wreck series. The other way to do it would be desktop publishing; I think that way I could print whatever I wanted as long as I didn't sell at a profit. [i:post_uid0]Enterprise[/i:post_uid0] season 1 is probably what I'd start with.[/color:post_uid0]

[Marc]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Another idea would be to release the fivers on CD-ROM -- either each Trek series on its own as it's completed, and/or the complete compilation of Trek parodies once they're all done.[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]and/or the complete compilation of Trek parodies once they're all done.[/quote:post_uid0]
Well let's see, first Enterprise would have to end. Then, no other Trek series must air. And [i:post_uid0]after[/i:post_uid0] that, catch-up time.

I feel a great big SOON coming up.[/color:post_uid0]

[Kira]

[quote:post_uid0="Marc"][color=#000000:post_uid0]Another idea would be to release the fivers on CD-ROM -- either each Trek series on its own as it's completed, and/or the complete compilation of Trek parodies once they're all done.[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]Most people who had a computer to use the CD-ROM could just go to the site and read the fivers for free. ;)[/color:post_uid0]

[NAHTMMM]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I'm still waiting for the DVDs (http://3sygma.com/fiveminute/thisjustin/23.html) to be released... Â Â Â ;)



...Oh, now I remember what else I was going to say. Zeke, have you checked out Yahoo? As they insist on reminding me via occasional e-mail :eyeroll:, they do have a "store" system too. I doubt they'd be worth signing up for either, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear somebody (even me) has already mentioned them to you, but I felt I should mention it anyway.[/color:post_uid0]

[Wowbagger]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]We could just nicely ask Paramount to kindly let us borrow the rights. It [i:post_uid0]might[/i:post_uid0] work.

Who wants to write the letter?

--
Wowbagger: Unregistered so John Ashcroft can't hunt me down.[/color:post_uid0]

[Tate]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0="Derek"]I'm no legal expert either, especially not on Canadian law, but according to the US copyright law, 5MV doesn't need permission since it is a parody. That's why, though Paramount could theoretically shut down every fanfic site, it couldn't shut down 5MV.[/quote:post_uid0]
Wow, that's nice.

By the way, I found the article I was talking about (not that it makes much difference). PC Magazine reccomends iUniverse (http://www.iuniverse.com) for self-publishing.

[quote:post_uid0]There are alternatives, though -- and if you guys are interested in 5MV merchandise, I'll make checking them out a higher priority. Â Just keep in mind that I can't use copyrighted material on anything I sell. Â The clock logo is okay, for example, but not the 5s with ships on top. Â If there's interest, I'll start a thread for talking about what items you guys would want, and what you'd want on them.[/quote:post_uid0]

That'd be nice. As a website, no matter how great it is and no matter how deeply I'm involved in it, 5MV still seems like something 'out there'. A book or even a T-shirt with the 5MV logo would seem to validate 5MV's existance. That's my thought anyway. :)[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Actually, two 5MV T-shirts already exist; I had them made partly for fun and partly to see if anyone at Toronto Trek 15 (../features/conreport.html) might recognize the logos. You can see them both in these pictures (http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/3698/tt15/) (which are three years old, by the way -- I look pretty different now).[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]See, I want one of those. :D[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I dunno about T-shirts, most of them don't usually fit me, but I'm all up for a FMV book. :D[/color:post_uid0]

[Nic Corelli]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]5MV book... that would be so cool, :)

It doesn`t have to be released for sale. We could make the book just for fun. One copy, with all the fivers and TJIs published to date. Of course, it wouldn`t be easy to make that one book available to everyone here to see... unless we organize a 5MV convention where we could all meet... :D[/color:post_uid0]

[Katy Jane]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]And we could all gather around it, stare at it in Awe and bow to its greatness. :D[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0="Nic Corelli"]One copy, with all the fivers and TJIs published to date.[/quote:post_uid0]
Do you have any [i:post_uid0]idea[/i:post_uid0] how big that book would have to be? Â Today's newspost may give you some idea....

By the way, KJ, something I've been meaning to ask -- member titles aside, where's your avatar really from?[/color:post_uid0]

[Nic Corelli]

[quote:post_uid0="Zeke"][color=#000000:post_uid0]Do you have any [i:post_uid0]idea[/i:post_uid0] how big that book would have to be? Â Today's newspost may give you some idea....[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]Well, maybe if we use a really tiny font, and some very thin pages... :D

I have a book, "Sinuhe the Egyptian", that has more pages than "War and Peace" but it`s actually very, very small... because the pages are so thin, almost transparent...

It`s an old edition of the book... my grandfather borrowed it from the library in 1954 or something... it has yet to be returned, :D :D[/color:post_uid0]

[Derek]

[quote:post_uid0="Zeke"][color=#000000:post_uid0]By the way, KJ, something I've been meaning to ask -- member titles aside, where's your avatar really from?[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]I'm not KJ (obviously), but isn't that Martia from Star Trek 6?[/color:post_uid0]

[Katy Jane]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Thats right :) I Use it because she (the little girl form) was played by an actress named Katie Jane Johnston.[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[quote:post_uid0="Nic Corelli"][color=#000000:post_uid0]It`s an old edition of the book... my grandfather borrowed it from the library in 1954 or something... it has yet to be returned, :D :D[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]Remind me never to lend you any books, ever. ;)[/color:post_uid0]

[Kira]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Completely off-topic: 17, being sucked in by your gigantic sig link to your blog, I noticed you mentioned a lab and micropipetting. Do I sense a fellow microbiologist in the house?[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[quote:post_uid0="Katy Jane"][color=#000000:post_uid0]Thats right :) I Use it because she (the little girl form) was played by an actress named Katie Jane Johnston.[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]Ah. What's she holding?[/color:post_uid0]

[Kira]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Looks like somebody hasn't seen Star Trek VI in a while. :D[/color:post_uid0]

[Scooter]

[quote:post_uid0="Derek"][color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0="Zeke"]By the way, KJ, something I've been meaning to ask -- member titles aside, where's your avatar really from?[/quote:post_uid0]
I'm not KJ (obviously), but isn't that Martia from Star Trek 6?[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]And here I was thinking it was Drew Barrymore in "E.T." (sigh)

I guess I too need to see ST6 again. I remember the first time I saw it, in the theaters. I saw it at a screening, and the audience applauded and cheered during the opening scenes because Sulu had [i:post_uid0]finally[/i:post_uid0] gotten his own ship. :)[/color:post_uid0]

[Katy Jane]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]She's holding the chain cuff thinigy that was around her ankle before she morfed[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[quote:post_uid0="Kira"][color=#000000:post_uid0]Completely off-topic: 17, being sucked in by your gigantic sig link to your blog, I noticed you mentioned a lab and micropipetting. Â Do I sense a fellow microbiologist in the house?[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]Not a microbiologist, exactly... more like a hapless life science student. :P I do work with bacteria sometimes but yesterday's lab was a yeasty prac. We're knocking out some weird yeast gene and replacing it with a fish sperm gene.

::silence ensues::

What? It's TRUE, I assure you! Although why my prof. wants yeasts that make fish sperm is beyond me![/color:post_uid0]

[Kira]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I inserted a gene into bacteria to make them glow fluorescent once. Maybe they're trying to train us for exciting careers playing with fish (http://www.glofish.com/).[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Oh yes. Unfortunately transgenic animals are not yet approved for import/export/sale by the FDA, even as pets. So, no-go for glow in the dark fish in Singapore yet.[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Oo, glow-in-the-dark fish. Â I had lots of fish when I was a kid -- I'd get four of them, name them after the Fantastic Four or the Beatles or something, and take care of them until they died, then repeat the process. Â Several of my fish were neon tetras. Â I thought that was so cool, having glow-in-the-dark fish... of course, I was too young to realize this wasn't something that occurred naturally.

Fish kind of suck as pets, though, considering how short-lived they are. Â Not as short-lived as the seven crickets I kept in a small container and didn't think of feeding, but that's another story....[/color:post_uid0]

[Katy Jane]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]We had a grasshopper once. it was a realy big one that either me or my brother caught in the yard, we kept it in a peanut butter jar for some three months, then the jar was gone, i dont know if it died or someone let it out. :lol: That was how i learned that incects molt :lol:

(Watches as yet another thread vears hopelessly off topic :lol:)[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Seriously, what topic?

This would be the one thread that [i:post_uid0]doesn't[/i:post_uid0] have a particular topic to mutate. :eyeroll:[/color:post_uid0]

[Gatac]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Reminds me of the ROTW. (Rat Of The Week, a pet that lasted exactly six days - until my mother returned from holiday and threw a tantrum about it. Luckily, I didn't lose any money on it.)

Of course, my passion for small furry mammals may stem from the fact that we once owned two guineapigs, both of which became increasingly big and fat without any apparent loss of speed or agility. How I could tell? From trying to catch them after their bi-weekly "free strolls" in the garden pen.

And yeah, the topic is pretty much sunk. What was it about again ? :)

Gatac[/color:post_uid0]

[Kira]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I'm positive I've heard about someone making a transgenic hamster or something that expressed an enzyme (beta-galactosidase) to make it blue all over.[/color:post_uid0]

[Katy Jane]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Well it was originaly for general discussion of the site, not that i or anyone else for that matter cares. Just making an observation ;)[/color:post_uid0]

[Nan]

[quote:post_uid0="Kira"][color=#000000:post_uid0]I'm positive I've heard about someone making a transgenic hamster or something that expressed an enzyme (beta-galactosidase) to make it blue all over.[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]I remember something in stem cell research circles about glowing green mice...[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0="Katy Jane"]We had a grasshopper once. it was a realy big one that either me or my brother caught in the yard, we kept it in a peanut butter jar for some three months, then the jar was gone, i dont know if it died or someone let it out. :lol: That was how i learned that incects molt :lol:[/quote:post_uid0]
Unpleasant, but at least you had the sense to have only [i:post_uid0]one[/i:post_uid0] grasshopper. Â I collected seven crickets while visiting relatives in Kazabazua and brought them home in a big jar. Â I was about eight, and it honestly didn't occur to me that I ought to feed them. Â (You'd think it would at least have occurred to my parents....)

When we got back to London, which was where I lived at the time, I found out we had crickets there too, so I added one to the jar. Â It was bigger than the others, I noticed. Â And then I noticed something else. Â I didn't have seven crickets anymore. Â I had five.

When I woke up the next morning, I had three, plus the big new guy. Â The latter jumped down the sink later that day when Mom was washing the jar. Â By evening, I had only one cricket, and my parents told me it was time to let him go. Â So I did. Â I'll never know how he made out in a town of bigger crickets, but at least he was no longer forced to [i:post_uid0]eat them[/i:post_uid0]. Â (I hope he didn't continue to out of habit....)

I don't know how well I understood what was going on at the time, but looking back on it now, [i:post_uid0]boy[/i:post_uid0] does it make my skin crawl.[/color:post_uid0]

[Sa'ar Chasm]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]I don't know how well I understood what was been going on at the time, but looking back on it now, boy does it make my skin crawl.[/quote:post_uid0]

It's a cricket-eat-cricket world.

I once caught a copper-tailed skink (an Australian lizard). I put it in a little margarine tub in the backyard, and gave it a way to climb out and in. Oddly enough, it declined to crawl back in.[/color:post_uid0]

[Katy Jane]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]The lightning bugs we use to catch use to do that...

"Mommy, Why were their five lightning bugs last night and now there are only 2?"

"Well they must have ecaped."

"But how..."

:lol:[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0="Nan"]I remember something in stem cell research circles about glowing green mice...[/quote:post_uid0]
How about monkeys with fingernails that glow green? :D

And as for short-lived pets-- one word: spiders. I'm obsessed with catching spiders whenever I see them. I've kept about five so far. Two last year: Anna, who ran away, and Mr. Morden, who died after I apparently fed him a poisonous worm.

Then earlier this month I caught two spiders in a row and my dad caught a third. The first two I caught (Aragog and Shelob) are now dead. The third (Ari Ben Zayn) is still alive, but not likely for long because I have nothing to feed it with.

And if you that's weird, consider this: after my spiders die, I don't throw them away. I pickle them. In alcohol.

Yes, I have jars of dead pickled spiders sitting around in my room.

Scared of me now? ::devil smiley::[/color:post_uid0]

[NAHTMMM]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Remind me never to go to Singapore. :dead:


At least not until they get the inevitable real-life horror movie out of their systems.


[i:post_uid0][color=red:post_uid0][b:post_uid0]NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD PICKLED SPIDERS![/b:post_uid0][/color:post_uid0][/i:post_uid0][/color:post_uid0]

[Katy Jane]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]As long as we are on the subject of strange pets, my brother once caught sevrial sunfish and kept in a big tank in the yard for the summer, they were fun, because if you threw a fly in the tank they would practly jump out of the water to get it.

My favroit animal to catch was (big surprise :lol:) frogs. but we never tried to actualy keep them we just let them go again in an hour or so.[/color:post_uid0]

[PointyHairedJedi]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0="Gatac"]Reminds me of the ROTW. (Rat Of The Week, a pet that lasted exactly six days - until my mother returned from holiday and threw a tantrum about it. Luckily, I didn't lose any money on it.)[/quote:post_uid0]
Had any rats since? We're on numbers five and six at the moment (aka Josie and Lotus).

And a suggestion about the book idea - why not release compliations of fivers and such in an ebook form? That way people could have complete seasons on their computers without having to save every single fiver manually which would be rather time consuming to say the least.[/color:post_uid0]

[Gatac]

[quote:post_uid0="PointyHairedJedi"][color=#000000:post_uid0]Had any rats since? We're on numbers five and six at the moment (aka Josie and Lotus).[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]No; likewise the guinea pigs have gone (given to a local zoo) because we felt we couldn't care for them any longer - a few years ago, it seemed like *everyone* in the family was going through a lot of stress, and the prospect of caring for pets was something we considered impossible then. We haven't tried to start anew ever since.

As for me, well, I guess I'd like to try a rat again when I have a steady job - I quite liked ours the week we had it...

Concerning the book, I'd definately be in favor of something like that, but be advised that I currently lack the funding to obtain books other than Spycraft RPG supplements, which eat my entire budget as of now...

Gatac[/color:post_uid0]

[Nic Corelli]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Ah, strange pets...

When I was seven or eight, I had a praying mantis as a pet. I kept it in a box and fed it crickets, grasshoppers and butterflies. I used to collect butterflies, and the ones I considered not pretty enough to put in my collection, I just fed to the mantis. It devoured them... there were only a few little pieces of wings left in the box... :D

And when the mantis died, I buried it... and a year later, a big pink apartment building was built exactly on the site of its grave. It is now officially the insect with the most impressive tombstone monument ever, :D :D

Zeke, are you sure you didn`t have a mantis too? It is a ferocious insect, believe me, and many people easily mistake it for an ordinary cricket or grasshopper...

My butterfly collection is still here and intact, by the way... they`re all pinned with needles on the cardboard, 20 or so of them, and displayed on the shelf in my living room... they are not pickled, :p but surprisingly they haven`t decomposed at all after 13 years...[/color:post_uid0]

[Sa'ar Chasm]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]they are not pickled, but surprisingly they haven`t decomposed at all after 13 years...[/quote:post_uid0]

That's because there's nothing to decompose. They're all exoskeleton with a few squishy bits on the inside, which nobody will miss once they dessicate.[/color:post_uid0]

[Nan]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Butterflies are the only thing my cat Sasha can successfully catch and kill. Unlike Fatty--who once left the top half of a hummingbird on the carpet--she's not very good at being a cat.

One year, when there were many, we kept finding savaged butterflies, often still alive. Either she neglected to kill them or they managed to get away despite being incapable of flight. Probably a bit of both.

Little psychos.[/color:post_uid0]

[Katy Jane]

[quote:post_uid0="Nic Corelli"][color=#000000:post_uid0]I used to collect butterflies...[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]Just stay away from NAH :p ;)[/color:post_uid0]

[PointyHairedJedi]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0="Nan"]Unlike Fatty--who once left the top half of a hummingbird on the carpet[/quote:post_uid0]
One of ours (Tego, presumed dead) many years ago used to bring us 'presents' all the time. In fact on one occasion we got left half a baby rabbit. Lovely.

I also heard an amusing anecdote from my first year english teacher about his cat - apparently on one occasion he opened his front door only to find it trying to tackle a rather large seagull. I guess it certainly couldn't be faulted for lack of trying. :lol:[/color:post_uid0]

[Nan]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Lack of trying, boundless confidence... ;)

I once saw Fatty showing her two kittens (her only litter) how to hunt. She had a live bird in her mouth. I guess she was startled when we walked by because the bird flew out of her mouth and landed on the roof.

Henh. Cats are funny.[/color:post_uid0]

[PointyHairedJedi]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I've had many a good chuckle at the cats I've known over the years. And of course they've always made me pay for it.[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0="Nic Corelli"]And when the mantis died, I buried it... and a year later, a big pink apartment building was built exactly on the site of its grave. It is now officially the insect with the most impressive tombstone monument ever, :D :D[/quote:post_uid0]

But it's monument is big and PINK! How could a ferocious butterfly-eating insect have a PINK monument? Injustice, I tell, you, [i:post_uid0]injustice![/i:post_uid0]

[quote:post_uid0="Nic Corelli"]My butterfly collection is still here and intact, by the way... they`re all pinned with needles on the cardboard, 20 or so of them, and displayed on the shelf in my living room... they are not pickled, :p but surprisingly they haven`t decomposed at all after 13 years...[/quote:post_uid0]

::tries to keep this quote out of her mind, and fails spectacularly:: [i:post_uid0]"You've got to see this! Ambassador Delenn's come out of her cocoon, and she's got wings-- like a butterfly!"[/i:post_uid0]

Ugh. Thank you, Nits. Now I have the [i:post_uid0]worst[/i:post_uid0] image possible stuck in my brain... And I thought keeping innocently pickled spiders for 13 months was BAD. :p

Nan, you have disturbing cats. That is all I have to say. ::is extremely glad her dog is too wimpy to attack anything other than terrycloth towels::[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]::is extremely glad her dog is too wimpy to attack anything other than terrycloth towels::[/quote:post_uid0]
Mine killed a mouse recently. Apparently he's not too old for that just yet. The other one escaped, though.[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[quote:post_uid0="PointyHairedJedi"][color=#000000:post_uid0]And a suggestion about the book idea - why not release compliations of fivers and such in an ebook form? That way people could have complete seasons on their computers without having to save every single fiver manually which would be rather time consuming to say the least.[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]That's such a good idea it's almost been suggested already. :D What's actually been suggested are zip archives, which amount to the same thing. I'll be making some available when we get to the new server (best not to tempt our bandwidth requirements till then).

Interesting thought, Nic, but they were definitely crickets. They were just crickets who had no choice. Poor bastards.[/color:post_uid0]

[PointyHairedJedi]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Actually, I was wondering about something concerning the move that you've mentioned - is Delta Blues going to be staying where it is, or is it going to come along too?[/color:post_uid0]

[mudshark]

[quote:post_uid0="catalina_marina"][color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]::is extremely glad her dog is too wimpy to attack anything other than terrycloth towels::[/quote:post_uid0]
Mine killed a mouse recently. Apparently he's not too old for that just yet. The other one escaped, though.[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]My Mom used to have a dog (now departed) who was a beagle of very little brain, but a demon gopher hound. He'd leave "gopher components" lying in conspicuous locations as presents. (Thanks, Sam. Thank you [i:post_uid0]very[/i:post_uid0] much :lol: )[/color:post_uid0]

[Hotaru]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I have pet mice. They don't catch so much stuff. I do have fun with them though, I put them up to the glass of my fish tank, and startle the fish.

I once put a ladybug in their cage, just to see what would happen. One rather fat mouse sat on it, and killed it. My pets aren't so exciting.[/color:post_uid0]

[Nic Corelli]

[quote:post_uid0="Hotaru"][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]I once put a ladybug in their cage, just to see what would happen. One rather fat mouse sat on it, and killed it. [/quote:post_uid0]

"If you were any other ladybug, I would sit on where you stand!"

[quote:post_uid0]My pets aren't so exciting.[/quote:post_uid0]

You should see my cat. Asleep 19 hours a day. The other 5 hours spent eating.

[quote:post_uid0]I have pet mice. They don't catch so much stuff.[/quote:post_uid0]

What did you expect from mice? That they will hunt cats? :D :D This reminds me of the time my Grandma fed my turtles meat, and my sister told her: "Don`t feed them meat! Turtles in nature don`t eat meat! Did you ever see a turtle hunt down an antilope, knock her on the ground and eat it?"[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[quote:post_uid0="PointyHairedJedi"][color=#000000:post_uid0]Actually, I was wondering about something concerning the move that you've mentioned - is Delta Blues going to be staying where it is, or is it going to come along too?[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]As a forthcoming newspost will explain, Delta Blues has already (http://reviewboy.com) moved -- Jim's gone back to self-hosting. Five-Minute Stargate will be coming with us, though (as will the Triangle and Robert Stats Page for what that's worth).

The server move is now in the final stage, by the way. We have a tentative date set and the only major thing left to do is getting the new domain name. Once I've got that, I'll give you guys the new address and tell you what server we're moving to. You'll see then why I called this the best plan ever.[/color:post_uid0]

[Celeste]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Aww, he's getting married. Congrats Jim! ^_^[/color:post_uid0]

[Nic Corelli]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Who`s getting married? :D Jim? But that`s impossible. He`s dead! (Jim).[/color:post_uid0]

[AKAArzosah]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]"T'Pol, a runaway car with a secret longing to be a dolphin trainer, eats Worf by accident."

What the?[/color:post_uid0]

[PointyHairedJedi]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]From the One-by-One-by-Three story I expect.[/color:post_uid0]

[Katy Jane]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Just out of ceriosity, is it just me or is the update page missing :S[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[quote:post_uid0="PointyHairedJedi"][color=#000000:post_uid0]From the One-by-One-by-Three story I expect.[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]Er.
Well.
Actually, no.
I'm entirely responsible for that.


Or at least, my, uhm, "Random Particle Generator" is.

:D


And.... Jim's getting married?! OOh![/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]What update page is missing?[/color:post_uid0]

[Derek]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]http://3sygma.com/fiveminute/news/ doesn't like it when I go there.

Edit: Though strangely, my home computer goes there fine. If I go to http://3sygma.com/fiveminute/news/index.html it works fine regardless. I wonder why my work computer doesn't like the first URL.[/color:post_uid0]

[PointyHairedJedi]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Odd. Seems to work fine for me.[/color:post_uid0]

[Derek]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Yeah, it's odd to me too. Probably one of those "about time to restart the computer" things.[/color:post_uid0]

[Katy Jane]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]It works fine for me too now, odd.[/color:post_uid0]

[Wowbagger]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]That way people could have complete seasons on their computers without having to save every single fiver manually which would be rather time consuming to say the least.[/quote:post_uid0]

You say this as if manually saving every fiver is hypothetical. By the way, Zeke's 5.5 megs sounds about right. Though in HTML, that number gets way bigger.[/color:post_uid0]

[Nan]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0="Zeke"]You'll see then why I called this the best plan ever.[/quote:post_uid0]
You mean the best. Plan. EVER!

/sycophant

;)[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Ooh, nice avatar. :)[/color:post_uid0]

[mudshark]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Yeah, Nan. I like that one. :)

Speaking of avatars, what's been up with Derek's, the last few days? I've only been seeing fractions thereof, and it varies: about 10% of it in one post, 60% of it in another, and so on (always the lower portion) -- I haven't seen the whole thing in at least four or five days, maybe longer.

(Not a 5MV question, strictly speaking, but his av's hosted on 3Sygma, and I've noticed no such thing happening with those of the other 5MV staff.)[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]It looks good to me.[/color:post_uid0]

[mudshark]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Okay, now I'm seeing the whole image, too. :S Weird.

Edit: And then again, maybe I'm only seeing 25%, this time. :(

*adds another item to the list of stuff-that's-been-going-wonky-since-the-Netscape-upgrade-on-this-end*[/color:post_uid0]

[Nan]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Thanks. :D

I finally made a coloured version of that WT comic. Figured I should use an actual Romulan avatar, cartoony as it may be.[/color:post_uid0]

[Sa'ar Chasm]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]Figured I should use an actual Romulan avatar, cartoony as it may be. [/quote:post_uid0]

If I wasn't so stubborn about maintaining my individuality by not having an avatar, I might use one of the pictures of me you drew.

Knowing my sense of the absurd, I'd pick the stick figure.[/color:post_uid0]

[Nan]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]There are just too many jokes to be made about that statement. Â :p[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Keep talking. ;)[/color:post_uid0]

[Sa'ar Chasm]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]What, like the stick figure being an accurate representation of my body mass?[/color:post_uid0]

[Nan]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Bingo. :D[/color:post_uid0]

[PointyHairedJedi]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]When is the next WT appearing by the way?[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]<strike>Uskoro</strike>"Soon."

:D :D[/color:post_uid0]

[Nan]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Short answer: When I'm not too broke to afford a scanner.

Long answer: As we're broke right now (mum and me), that won't be until I get paid for my current design job. That project is roughly scheduled for completion around end of March, however, that's just a rough completion date as I am waiting on a client for some content.

However, the money may end up going to family expenses. In which case the update may take a long, long, [i:post_uid0]long[/i:post_uid0] time, because I have no new work lined up. Which vexes me to no end, as Sa'ar or Zeke'll tell you.

So, basically: I don't really know, because the universe sucks and hates me.

I [b:post_uid0]did[/b:post_uid0] colour the most recent (http://www.deviantart.com/view/5897771/) and second (http://www.deviantart.com/view/5897844/), though. So the coloured versions are sorta new. Kinda.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled non Nan-centric thread. :)[/color:post_uid0]

[mudshark]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Good that you mentioned WT, though, Nan. I'm finally using a setup with sufficient screen res to be able to read all the dialogue/text, so most of them were practically new when I went to read them last night.

And now with color! :)[/color:post_uid0]

[Nan]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Gah. What were you at before, 640 by 480?

I made each comic around 700 pixels wide so that people on an 800 x 600 res could read them.

I went 1024 x 768, because I wanted more screen space. Mmm, screen space.[/color:post_uid0]

[Nan]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I set up a livejournal, which is going to be WTC-centric. So if you want to know what the heck is going on, that's where you'll find the info.

And I won't have to monopolize Zeke's forum thread. S'good all around, really. :smile:

Working Title lj (http://www.livejournal.com/users/winterbourne/)

And NOW back to your regularly-scheduled non-Nancentric thread. Really. I mean it this time. :D[/color:post_uid0]

[Wowbagger]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]And now, jumping to an entirely different topic:

I have a procedural question:

I have an NG fiver written and approved by Marc Richard, and it now resides in Zeke's backlog.

I have another request to call a fiver into Zeke's backlog, since I'm treating the above fiver as completed.

Since Zeke hasn't acknowledged my latest "call" yet, can I treat it as pending and call a fiver from a different section? Â Bear in mind that I can probably have it finished before Zeke makes any movement to respond to either of the above fivers.

--
Wowbagger: Unregistered so John Ashcroft can't hunt me down.

Soon (adv): 1. within or after a short time  2. quickly or without much delay  3. ...or not[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]First off: Wowbagger, you're now at the point where I'm okay with your having more than one episode called. So feel free to contact the section head in question.

Second: I have your NG fiver processed, I just haven't had time to paste it into a site page yet. There's a [i:post_uid0]lot[/i:post_uid0] keeping me busy, and this Cheese thing sort of put everything else on hold for a week. Rest assured I was and am dealing with that fiver, as well as the others you've sent.

Third, can you please re-send this request to call a fiver? I've checked all your recent emails and I can't find it. Maybe I just missed it.[/color:post_uid0]

[Wowbagger]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Thank you kindly. I now return to the internet: [i:post_uid0]In Search of the Nervous System of [/i:post_uid0]Rana Pipiens. Yay.

--
Wowbagger: Unregistered and sick of having to type his signature every time he posts. Also still avoiding John Ashcroft.[/color:post_uid0]

[Wowbagger]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Zeke, I tried resending my request and the message was bounced back. Your e-mail is still "zeke@sci-fivers.com", right?

--
Wowbagger: See above.[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Ahh, there's your problem. You're missing the .ar at the end.[/color:post_uid0]

[Wowbagger]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]GAA! And I checked the mailto links, too! And somehow missed it! Yat! Okay, better now. Anyhow, thanks again.

BTW, not the right place to say this, but very much enjoyed FM BTTF. 'Specially the chili joke. I always knew Zeke should have kept on beating it to death.

What was going on with the alternate-dimensional blender, anyhow? I still often quote that scene, if only to draw confused looks from various people.

--
Wowbagger: Too superior for a signature. And too superior to register. Curses.[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0="Guest"]'Specially the chili joke. Â I always knew Zeke should have kept on beating it to death.
[/quote:post_uid0]

I [i:post_uid0]did[/i:post_uid0] keep beating it to death. Â I just stopped making it obvious. Â See Five-Minute Survivor, "Anomaly," and such.

I could tell you what was going on with the alternate-dimensional blender, but then I'd have to kill PointyHairedJedi.[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Do tell. :D[/color:post_uid0]

[Wowbagger]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I do catch your subtle beatings. Â I just miss the old "once a week, every week," format of the chili/death to Phlox plots.

On the same subject, I kinda miss [i:post_uid0]Enterprise[/i:post_uid0] fivers generally.

By the way, while I understand everything going on (FM Cheese, the new server, etc.), I find it amusing to note that my last fiver has been in your backlog for over twice as long as it took to get it through the entire editing process. Â :D Teehee. Â My first emoticon.

--
Wowbagger-- Signature: GAK![/color:post_uid0]

[Katy Jane]

[quote:post_uid0="Guest"][color=#000000:post_uid0]I find it amusing to note that my last fiver has been in your backlog for over twice as long as it took to get it through the entire editing process. :D[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]:O I hope my fiver doesn't sit in the back log as long as itÂ’s taking to get through the editing process. ;) :D[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[quote:post_uid0="Guest"][color=#000000:post_uid0]I do catch your subtle beatings. Â I just miss the old "once a week, every week," format of the chili/death to Phlox plots.[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]Maybe those running jokes aren't as constant anymore, but you've got to admit I'm grinding "Phlox = pimp and/or evil" into the ground at least that much this season. :D

[quote:post_uid0]On the same subject, I kinda miss [i:post_uid0]Enterprise[/i:post_uid0] fivers generally.[/quote:post_uid0]

I know, I'm sorry about that. I was keeping up a pretty good production rate until February, when my life sort of exploded on me (in a good way for once, but a very distracting one). I'm trying to build up steam again now; after my exams and the server move I plan to do a lot of catching up.

[quote:post_uid0]By the way, while I understand everything going on (FM Cheese, the new server, etc.), I find it amusing to note that my last fiver has been in your backlog for over twice as long as it took to get it through the entire editing process. Â :D[/quote:post_uid0]

Believe me when I say you're still one of the lucky ones.[/color:post_uid0]

[PointyHairedJedi]

[quote:post_uid0="Zeke"][color=#000000:post_uid0]I could tell you what was going on with the alternate-dimensional blender, but then I'd have to kill PointyHairedJedi.[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]Great. I make [i:post_uid0]another[/i:post_uid0] death-list and no-one bothers to inform me? Do you realise how much that throws my scheduling out?[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I thought you already knew Zeke wanted to kill you? I believe he mentioned it before...[/color:post_uid0]

[PointyHairedJedi]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Counts as a seperate threat though. As far as I know that one was prompted by my extreme inaction. I've got no idea what prompted this one.[/color:post_uid0]

[Nic Corelli]

[quote:post_uid0="PointyHairedJedi"][color=#000000:post_uid0]I've got no idea what prompted this one.[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]Possibly nothing. Zeke just likes to make death threats. For sport. :D[/color:post_uid0]

[Wowbagger]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0="Zeke"]Maybe those running jokes aren't as constant anymore, but you've got to admit I'm grinding "Phlox = pimp and/or evil" into the ground at least that much this season.[/quote:post_uid0]
I must agree that the pimp hat joke grows on me. Â Indeed, I heard someone say something that fit so well with it that I'm trying to find a fiver to write [i:post_uid0]just to fit that line in.[/i:post_uid0] Â :lol:

Hmm. Â These emoticons just don't quite match the BWAMWAHAHAHAHA! feeling I'm trying to convey here.

I never have seen the original pimp hat pic; does anyone have the link?

Wowbagger: Not registered for a permit to speak with Canadians.[/color:post_uid0]