alt.ascii-art chat

     __________
    /\_<__,___/ ha
   \  \ </  / ha 
    \  \/`^%--- ha
     \  \          ...popping in for a few minutes to say
      \/           how good Dec 14 Calendar entry looks, VK

     __________
    /\____,___/
   \  \ </ >  /    hello Thornn, Shimrod, brojek. 
    \  \/`^^^%---  
     \  \  //^^    Goodness, what a crowd!
      \/  //

     __________
    /\________/
   \  \    /
    \  \   \
     \  \_,^%---
      \/ <   \ I can't remember when there have been
          >    so many people here at once.
           >^^
            \\
             \\

It's a good thing there is so much room here.
         ...............
         :@___________@:
         }|           |{
         }| \  / |/'  |{
         }|  \/  |\ >`|{
         }|   |    +  |{
  .___   }| ( |)(| |  |{ 
  |   )  }|           |{  ___.--------'``````:``````'--------.___
  |  (_) }| |`()()|)) |{ (   |               :               |   )
  |      }|________ejm|{  \ ,;,,,            :               |  /
  |      :@...........@:   |\%%%%\___________:__________/~~~~~/|
  |                       / ,\%%%%\          |         / @*@ /, \
  | __      ha           /_ / `````          |         ~~~~~~ \ _\
.+. \,^^%--- ha         (@l)_ ___ ___ _     _| __   __  __  ___(@l)
+.+ <    \ ha            ||__________________|__________________||
.+.<_/      why are you  ||_____________________________________||
+.+))__     all hiding  /_|_________________________________ldb_|_\
.+.+.+.)_   behind the chesterfield?
+.+.+.+| \\

thornn; very well thank you, and you?

shimrod and thornn; you're both such showoffs. It took me AGES to figure
it out!

shimrod; I'd NEVER try snowboarding - too fast.

             _,^^%--- ha
       +----|<\/| \ ha     I prefer crosscountry skiing
            <   |      ha
         ^,<    |
        \  | \  +
ejm      \/__/____  
          \  
           \

          ,^%---  
      _.__<  \  but there is NO snow, so I'm still bicycling
     (_.-- >
      \  __>,^
     -   \/   -
   ( * ) ~\ ( * )
ejm  -    ~   - 

Shimrod; it still makes me feel vaguely inadequate even though my
computer knowledge is entirely self (or VK) taught.

Thornn; don't worry, I can take it. :^)

glad to see you back brojek (that is the problem with actually having
to work instead of chat)

Thornn; I am going to the BlunderaboutBlindly School of Computers offered
here for a minimal fee (it's included in the room and board) and have
been attending the school since Nov 1995. 

Thornn; 
        ha
^^^^%--- ha
 "   \ ha   Oh I'll still feel dumb, but THAT's nothing new!

shimrod; you snowboarded inside??  If I were the snowboarding type, I
think I would be a snob and insist on going to the Rocky Mountains (about
a 4 hour plane ride) I gather there are some sort of decent hills near
me but I have never liked the speed of downhill. (I downhill skiied
for about 3 years... but haven't done it since
I was 12 - the whole family all were taking lessons so we would ski
properly. We all quit in the same year when some hotdog skiier
hit my mother as he was doing some stupid trick. She fell breaking her
glasses. My older sister went to the mountains to ski and on the last day
broke her skis and dislocated her shoulder. She never replaced her skis
and STILL has trouble with her shoulder sometimes.)

bye Thornn!

brojek; I suppose you can look at it that way.  I retire my bike as
soon as the snow hits. The roads become too narrow and Toronto drivers
are rotten enough when there is NO snow on the ground. It's just too
dangerous. Even though I desperately want to ski, I'm just as glad
that there is no snow so that I don't have to take the bus

brojek; or (shudder) 
          ha
     ,^%--- ha
  .__<  \ ha  the car...  I LOATHE driving the car
_(.-->_==___  I really LOATHE finding a parking space for the car.
__ | ~|  ___`.
* )|__|_( * );]
-         -

shimrod; nice repost. I don't think I ever
saw  napoleon &  bungy bunnies before. (bungy jumping is illegal
here now - too many deaths)

shimrod; I've always thought that powder skiing would be pretty amazing
and if I were to don downhill skis ever again, it would be to do that.
The rationer of the computer LOVES downhill skiing and really LOVES powder
snow skiing. But neither of us have the skis any more. Luckily for me, he
likes crosscountry skiing almost as much as downhill. Downhill is just
too prohibitively expensive for us. (travel, accomodation, equipment....)

However, if we lived as close to the Alps as you do, we would probably
be skiing as well, and whatshisname would, no doubt, be snowboarding.

shimrod; if the harnesses are good and there is a proper net below, it's
probably quite safe. Don't forget, I live in an overlegislated part
of the world. Apparently, there were not proper checks done. (But I've
heard that it is very important to be in good shape with strong back
and abdominal muscles... the backlash can be very hard on the back)

shimrod; I'm only allowed on the BACK of the Harley.

              ha
        ,^%---  ha
    _.__>  \ ha      I just sneak it out for these ASCII occasions.
 (>(_.-- >
.-=/.- __>,^-._
( * )~"\====* )
  -    ~    - 

And the Harley is packed up for the winter now. (It doesn't like the
cold very much... it's an old Police bike, 1980 I think.)

shimrod; but you can take a train to the Alps, can't you? In comparison
to the distances I would have to travel to get to the Rocky Mountains,
you are insanely close to the Alps.

shimrod; the summer that it was a major craze to bungy jump here, there
were a couple of companies offering jumps for some astromical fee per
jump. They appeared to be safety conscious but because it was so costly,
they tried to cut costs by paying lowish wages to the people who were
running it. As a result there were two deaths from faulty harness attaching
(? I don't recall the details exactly but it was just dumb human error)
So it was legislated that it would be illegal. The lawsuits would be
too great. 

shimrod; I think the train is 3 days and 3 nights from here (if they allow skis
on it) The train system is appalling. THey don't allow one to wheel a bike
on - it has to be packed in a box - again, it's overlegislation. The
train company is afraid of lawsuits.

The train costs exactly the same (if not more) than the airplane. Domestic
flights are horrifyingly expensive. It costs me less to fly to Holland
than it would to fly to the Rockies.

bye shimrod!

brojek; can you take your bike on the train in Poland (that IS where
you are, isn't it?)

brojek; alas, my alarm has been harping at me to stop. (I keep hitting
the snooze button but the blasted thing insists on popping up again)

brojek; see you the next time!

     __________
    /|______,_/
   | |   | /
   | |   |,^%---
   | |   <   \ bye!
   | |X\ > 
   |/  \>
        ^^

     __________
    /`.`^%===_/
    `. `\ 
      `. `. 
        `./

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    /_________/    [gone]