Feel Like Chatting?

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Sharkey
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Feel Like Chatting?

Post by Sharkey »

There is a new feature on the forum, which is that I have installed a chat tool called "ChatBox". This will allow registered users to converse in real time via their browser.

If you look at the main forum page, down at the bottom there is a category named "Who is Online?", and near the bottom of that category is now a list saying "There are X user(s) on chat now", with either a reminder to log in or a link to click to join Chat.

Once you are logged in and click the link, a popup window will open in your browser (assuming your browser allows them), and you will be presented with a new interface where you can read and enter messages. Users who are in the ChatBox with you will be listed on the left pane. Each message is prefaced with the chat poster's name. You can enter any message up to 240 characters in length and click "Send" to display your message. The ChatBox reader refreshes each 10 seconds so you can follow ongoing conversations.

If you don't post anything for five minutes, your user name gets put in the "Away" column, indicating that you might have slipped out the back door for a smoke or gone down to the bar for the rest of the night. Posting again will bring you back to the "Online" listing.

It's possible to put Smilies in your post using the "Smilie Box" link.

There may be some bugs in this installation, so we need to try it out and get a feel for how it works. I can make any needed changes once we figure out how it all works, extend the time it takes to "be away", allow longer messages, etc.

Someone (Rudy?) should help figure out how to know when we might want to gather for a chat. Something like Mon, Wed, Fri from 5:00 - 6:00 PM PST, or the like, which will allow a better chance for two or more users to be on chat at the same time.

I'll try and be on tonight at 5:00 PM PST to start up some conversation.

Post any thoughts you have on the use and function of the ChatBox in this thread.

(The ChatBox is not meant to replace our enjoyable dialog in posting here, but to provide a less formal and short term means of conversing. I don't want it to kill the flow of information on the rest of the forum, so keep those posts coming in.)
Rudy
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Post by Rudy »

What a cool idea, Sharkey. I am anxious to try it out. It is 5:15 my time which is 3:15 west coast time. So, in a couple of hours from now, I will be looking. Also, thanks for thinking of me. Rudy
Jones'n4chrome
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Post by Jones'n4chrome »

Sounds good, but Dennis can bake a pie & clean the dishes faster than I can type a sentence. :D
One question, if we are chatting in the ChatBox, is it recorded like a thread or does it disappear after we leave the ChatBox?
Rudy
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Post by Rudy »

It disappears when we leave the chat box.
Jones'n4chrome
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Post by Jones'n4chrome »

Thanks. I tried it out, good times.
Rudy
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Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Post by Rudy »

Doug, Chuck, and I chatted last night. One thing we did notice was that unless you refreshed the forum index page often, you could not see who was on the chat line at the bottom where "who's online" is.
Sharkey
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Post by Sharkey »

Yes, that's true if you are viewing the regular forum pages, that's why I want to make the list of chatters show up in the menu on the left side of forum pages. As you read and post forum messages, it will be updated with the list of current chatters. There is already a "Click to join chat" link there which will be added to as time permits. I will have to make some custom script changes to get the formatting of the text to my linking before the chatters appear in that menu.

When you are in the ChatBox, there is a listing on the left pane showing who has signed in, and if they are "Away", or have not posted for at least 5 minutes.

I didn't get back from the Big Smoke until later last night, so I didn't get on to join you all.

Oh ick, I see a big error in the "Topic Review" pane at the bottom of this posting page. I must have some munged up code somewhere I need to correct. More problems.
Rudy
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Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Post by Rudy »

Sharkey, That is a whole bunch of technical stuff that I don't know about. I just got your email, and I am still confused. I know that you are the wizard, and you will make this chat box come to fruition.
Sharkey
Original Founder
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Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2004 4:00 am
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Post by Sharkey »

Email? I haven't sent you an email??

I had to remove the chat link in the menu, it was messing with the topic review, so I have some significant code to pour over. Don't worry about the technicalites, just use and enjoy the chat, it will get easier and better.

I have to go out and pump some diesel out of my bus, we are building a fore to burn brush, and it needs help getting started. About a gallon ought to do the trick... :twisted:
Rudy
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Post by Rudy »

Oh. I meant the reply on the forum thread. FIRE? Remember that song by The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown called Fire?
Jones'n4chrome
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Post by Jones'n4chrome »

I was able to see in the left menu who was in the ChatBox.
I had a good time chatting with Rudy & Doug last night.
After chatting the last three nights & getting to know the people better, I think we should rename it "Hot Spot For Hipsters" :lol:
Chuck
Sharkey
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Post by Sharkey »

Yeah, we lot the fore and borned the brosh. Took a while to get it going, what with old soggy, wet wood and all. I'll have some pics later. Pretty tired out and dirty/smoky, unlikely I'll be on chat tonight.
Rudy
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Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Post by Rudy »

OH! Lit the fire and burned the brush? Did you intentionally mispell those words? It is likely from a genius guy like you. Dennis TBD called me the other day. It was way cool to hear his voice. I will email the regulars my phone number.

Do you know, Sharkey, that I don't even know what you look like?

There are no photos of you other that the ones that you posted when you were young at the camp in the desert.

What a secretive guy you are.

I certainly would love to talk to you on the phone. I will email you my phone number right now. RUDY
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stuartcnz
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Post by stuartcnz »

Are any of you guys on Skype? I've recently put it on my computer, but haven't tried it yet.

But free Skype to Skype calls, seems like a better way than long distance phone calls.
Sharkey
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Post by Sharkey »

I don't know that this is where I had planned on posting this, but Rudy has set the challenge, so here it is.

Today, Christmas Eve, Thomas and I spent the day burning brush after taking down a couple of dead trees and generally cleaning up the back part of the yard up by the house. It took about two gallons of high sulfur diesel to get the brush pile burning properly, but in the photo below, we've just managed to get it to burn on it's own and start consuming limbs and debris. I took a couple of photos of Thomas in his logger get-up (logger denims, button suspenders, engineer pin-stripe shirt, hard hat with face screen and earmuffs, kevlar chaps, leather gloves.).

He suggested putting Camellia in the shot, as she was milling around at the end of her tie-out rope while we worked. I thought she'd be more concerned about the fire, but she didn't care, even turning her back to it for the photos. I told Thomas to hurry up because her tail was smoking.

Image

After this photo, Thomas went into town to buy more food and stop by the liquor store for some bourbon while I stayed home and fed the fire. I unearthed a couple of fir limbs that were buried at the base of the stump we were burning against and threw them on the top of the fire. Turned out they were filled with pitch, and the fire really took off after that. We need to check it once more before bed, it's still burning.

There's still lots more debris, rotted limbs, underbrush, etc that needs to be torched, but that's a project for another day. I am reluctent to let the fire dwindle while there are still things to burn, but 10 hours of fire duty are enough. Thomas retired out to the bus after dinner and I'm going to crash early too, we're both too beat to even watch one of the DVD's he picked up in town this afternoon.

Oh well. Fire is the great cleanser. All of the bad energy of 2009 thrown to the embers to be consumed and spread in the wind to make way for a new year's experiences.
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