# Unofficial Mini-LonDope in January **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 8, 2004, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395 "2004-01-08T11:11:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Bibliovore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bibliovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliovore)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/201 "2004-01-21T15:53:11Z")
Yes, congratulations! When’s the big day? ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/202 "2004-01-21T16:19:48Z")
> [@Eva Luna](#): > > You should all come to our Min-ChiDope! As much as I would love to, its a hell of a long way to go for a weekend. Perhaps, when I go to the VLA in June, I can manage a stopover somewhere. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/203 "2004-01-21T18:49:39Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > As much as I would love to, its a hell of a long way to go for a weekend. Perhaps, when I go to the VLA in June, I can manage a stopover somewhere. 🙂 What’s the VLA? Never mind; I probably can’t wrap my poor liberal arts brain around it anyway. You know you’re welcome to crash at my place; I have a lovely sofabed and a very affectionate cat! And Chicago is a major flight transfer point… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/204 "2004-01-21T20:31:41Z")
> [@Eva Luna](#): > > What’s the VLA? Never mind; I probably can’t wrap my poor liberal arts brain around it anyway. Its the [Very Large Array](http://www.vla.nrao.edu/), based in New Mexico, of _Contact_ fame. > [@Eva Luna](#): > > You know you’re welcome to crash at my place; I have a lovely sofabed and a very affectionate cat! And Chicago is a major flight transfer point… 🙂 Well, here’s hoping that flights to Alberquerque go from Chicago then. 😃 Oh, and unfortunately, there will be no cookies this time - I simply don’t have the free time to make them, as I’m going to be working late the next two evenings to get my paper sorted out before Friday. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Dawne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Dawne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dawne)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/205 "2004-01-21T21:29:35Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > Hmmm… I wonder if I can afford the £21.20 for the open return down to London… It really costs that much? Buggar. I’m off to politics land in a few weeks and my politics teacher has prebooked the tickets so im assuming he hasn’t got half price child ones. Bah. (So sorry, i seem to be hijacking yet again. I’d be shocked if i found more than 10 of my 100 and something posts that weren’t hijacks of some kind. I would have posted this earlier but i forgot my straightdope password so I’ve not posted since the board got updated.) ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/206 "2004-01-21T21:38:05Z")
> [@Dawne](#): > > It really costs that much? Buggar. I’m off to politics land in a few weeks and my politics teacher has prebooked the tickets so im assuming he hasn’t got half price child ones. Bah. The pre-booked ones where you have to catch a specific train are cheaper, but they do tie you to specific trains. Seeing as my plans are _totally_ fluid at the moment (I don’t even know what time I’ll be turning up!!), I’ll stick to the open returns. The ones you buy on the day though will cost you about £50 though, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/207 "2004-01-21T22:02:53Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > Well, here’s hoping that flights to Alberquerque go from Chicago then. 😃 Of course! All roads lead to Chicago, or at least pass through Chicago, especially international flights that end up in smaller airports. I believe O’Hare is still the world’s busiest airport, and there are direct flights from O’Hare to pretty much everywhere in the U.S. and many international destinations. I think Santa Fe is the nearest airport to your destination. I don’t know how the fares are or how much flexibility you have, but the Blues Fest is June 10-13…a couple hundred thousand people hanging out on the lakefront in Grant Park, hearing free concerts by world-class blues artists from noon to 9:30 pm! If at all possible, you should do it! But there are music festivals and/or street fairs here almost every weekend in summer. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/208 "2004-01-21T22:10:00Z")
> [@Bibliovore](#): > > Yes, congratulations! > > When’s the big day? [February 29, 2004 - Las Vegas, NV](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=235255) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dawne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Dawne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dawne)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/209 "2004-01-21T22:12:12Z")
Does it cost £50 when you book it or when you don’t? Or neither? ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/210 "2004-01-21T22:17:37Z")
> [@Dawne](#): > > Does it cost £50 when you book it or when you don’t? Or neither? If you buy tickets a week or so in advance, an open return costs £21.20. If you pre-book tickets for specific trains, it costs a lot less - about £6 each way. If you buy an open return on the day you want to travel, it’ll cost you in the region of £50. ---
**Author:** ![Tir\_Tinuviel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tir\_Tinuviel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tir_Tinuviel)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/211 "2004-01-23T01:32:48Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I didn’t know about your wedding **Coldfire** - congratulations you lucky > bastard! > > **Heloise** is lucky to get you too, of course. I bet you’ll make a beautiful bride and groom. Wont they just! 😃 So, is we all set for Saturday or what? beer beer beer beer beer beer beer beer beer beer beer beer beer beer beer beer beer! ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/212 "2004-01-23T10:33:47Z")
> [@Tir Tinuviel](#): > > So, is we all set for Saturday or what? I think we is! BEER!!! We’re still going for the George Inn, 1pm aren’t we? ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/213 "2004-01-23T11:20:16Z")
its on like Donkey Kong far as i’m concerned. I be there between 1 & quarter past I reckon. I gots business in Angel before, but that wont take long. BEEEER!!BEEEER!! ---
**Author:** ![Tir\_Tinuviel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tir\_Tinuviel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tir_Tinuviel)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/214 "2004-01-23T11:50:32Z")
oh GOD do I need a beer. Trying to explain frames to someone who simply refuses to understand and insists on asking questions like “but which server is the file physically on?” when it DOESN’T MATTER AND IS ONLY OVER COMPLICATING THINGS is driving me mad! URG! ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/215 "2004-01-23T12:12:21Z")
> [@Tir Tinuviel](#): > > oh GOD do I need a beer. Tell me about it. I’m going mad trying to sort this paper out. Eurk. ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/216 "2004-01-23T12:33:43Z")
> [@Tir Tinuviel](#): > > oh GOD do I need a beer. > > Trying to explain frames to someone who simply refuses to understand and insists on asking questions like “but which server is the file physically on?” when it DOESN’T MATTER AND IS ONLY OVER COMPLICATING THINGS is driving me mad! URG! Heheheheh. You’ll appreciate this - yesterday i was sent a Flash movie of the new Evacuation Procedure. Basically they’d paid some external company to put it together rather than coming to me first - even if my team had not had the capacity to do it, i’d at least have refered them to someone vaguely competent (want any flash work **Tir**? 😉 ). This company had stuffed it up - it was a real Fisher Price “My First Flash Movie” Job - with the Flash equivalent of animated-gifs, no pre-loader, and more design flaws than you could shake a stick at. The animated evacuation example - showing lots of stick men and women running at “fast forward” speed out of the building round to the designated meeting points had us in absolute hysterics. Anyway, instead of sending it back to the company to fix, they sent it to me, and asked if we’d fix it for them. They’ve done this before - blatantly ignored our advise and then assumed that we’ll clean up the mess, but this time i managed to persuade my boss that they’d been taking the piss for long enough. With his permission we: 1. Over-dubbed the entire comedy animated evacuation example with the Benny Hill chase music. 2. Added the “Burning Match Man” (that you get on the back of boxes of matches) to the sequence and gave him a death sequence that Ridley Scott would be proud of. 3. Sent it back attached to an email politely explaining that this was the best we could do at such short notice, that they’d have to send it back to the company they’d initially used if they wanted it changed any more and that in future, it might be better if they came to us first. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tir\_Tinuviel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tir\_Tinuviel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tir_Tinuviel)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/217 "2004-01-23T12:37:02Z")
hee heee heeee! I might be tempted by a bit of Flash stuffs… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bibliovore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bibliovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliovore)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/218 "2004-01-23T12:58:40Z")
Brilliant story, **Garius**. Any chance of a link to the flash? And I know what you all mean about the work-stress. I’m supposed to go off for a meeting about Crufts this afternoon, but I’ve got too much else on, so my Manager and Director are having to leave without me while I slog on back at the office. Sigh…at least I’ve got tomorrow to look forward to, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Tir\_Tinuviel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tir\_Tinuviel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tir_Tinuviel)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/219 "2004-01-23T13:19:01Z")
[QUOTE=Bibliovore] I’m supposed to go off for a meeting about Crufts this afternoon,QUOTE] Going to see a man about a dog? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395/220 "2004-01-23T13:38:03Z")
I wanna see the burning match man! its the best graphics symbol ever! animated! I got some drawerings for you tomorrow too garius. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unofficial-mini-londope-in-january/223395.md?page=12)