JREF meet in Shiga - May 2013

[Revenant]

I haven't even talked to the wife about it cause we're currently working out other issues. My wife and son also have a need for tradition, meaning we always go camping at Sakaiminato (all save for the first year we started living separately and I went to the JREF meet).

I will definitely try though when it seems like a more likely time.

Sorry, I don't mean that the JREF meet is at all bad, and it's just how things are here, I can't guarantee anything yet.

 

[Steve Red]

And then there were six?

(Mars Man, Mike, Ashikaga, Thomas, Davey, Steve Red) ?
Plus, my Shichi Fuku will be there as well, so that's eight there.

Plus I bet that some more folks will decide wisely to join as we get closer to May.

Plus Taiko 666 is Missing In Action? You folks that don't manage to arrive should feel responsible that us attendees will gain extra weight eating your portions.

It sounds like Undrentide, Pachipro, Damicci, Tsuyoiko, Mikawa Ossan, Kirirao, Iron Chef, ArmandV, bakaKanadajin, DoctorP, Annubis, Revenant, & Half-n-Half, will likely be limited to joining virtually by real-time link-up this year?

Plus Mars Man I guess your wife will be there? And perhaps a cameo from your son?
Anybody else bringing out any family members? Perhaps you might be Dutch Dave?
(BTW, Hello, I love Nederlands! Seriously, let's take an Astral journey back to the land of houseboats together!)

 

[Davey]

Anybody else bringing out any family members? Perhaps you might be Dutch Dave?
(BTW, Hello, I love Nederlands! Seriously, let's take an Astral journey back to the land of houseboats together!)

Not this year, maybe another time... kids are only 9 months and 3 years old.

Glad that you love the Netherlands, let's take that Astral journey together... as long as it isn't only about the drugs

 

[Steve Red]

My Dad suddenly moved to Amsterdam one day, bought a Houseboat and lived in it for a few years!

He made a big grass couch on the roof, dedicated to the Goddess Astarte, it was cool. imgur.com/eLIfT.jpg

I visited there for 2 weeks when I was 25 or so, it was winter (December or January) so it was very cold.

 

[Steve Red]

It was in Jordaan Quarter, Prinsengracht Canal. But more than that aspect, I'm interested in Wind Power. I would seriously like to build a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine in my yard.

 

[Mars Man]

It would be nice, I can but only mention, Revenant san, to have you all up here with us. Mixed with that emotion of wishing you all would actually come, I must admit to a little sensation of disappointment that the vigor of your earlier expressed desire, may not have matched that of taking action to make it happen. Please do allow me to encourage you to take the driving initiative, and work on making your trip up here happen--the greater the escape from the normal routine, the much greater the snap, crackly, pop, fizz of the excitement and release!

I have been throwing the darts a bit, to see if I'm still in-tune quantum dynamically, and something seems to be a bit amiss. The only thing I can think of is the effect on electron spins, and non-local point jumps, due to radioactive stuff in the air (although it is very, very low--almost nothing, and nothing to worry about at all (information from NGO professional sources)). May is a coming folks, oh boy, oh girl, am I starting to get excited about it already !!

I don't mind discussing the topics that are from wide ranges of takes, Steve Red san, but I usually remain careful to stick to better demonstrable and testable claims and assertions. Additionally, I take a somewhat healthy (meaning not dead set) sceptic approach to new data inferences and interpretation. BUT, I sure hope Pachipro san can make it this year !! I really, really do.

 

[Revenant]

As of now, and just now was probably one of the best times to push for the JREF meet, she's saying barring my son's having a basketball event during the same time, she might be ok with it. We'll see how it goes from here. I'll keep trying, but honestly at the last post, it really wasn't a favorable time to even suggest much of anything, let alone a diversion from tradition. Anyways, I've put the bug in her ear, and told her even my son would have a good time there.

 

[Mars Man]

Good, then. Let's see what happens with that, Revenant san. It would be nice to see you all, and basketball can be played at almost any chosen time throughout the 365 or so days out of the year, but this, we all know, cannot be done more than once a year--and now (this time) is this time, and it will hardly likely ever come again, you see. You need to make that clear too. Persuasion of the utmost quality and consistency, will be needed here too. I hope you guys make it!

 

[Steve Red]

I usually remain careful to stick to better demonstrable and testable claims and assertions.

I take a somewhat healthy (meaning not dead set) sceptic approach to new data inferences and interpretation.

Perhaps this is a gentle reminder that I definitely should apply a little Kaizen to myself in this area.

For example, I shouldn't have attempted summarizing which folks seem unlikely to be able to come, since there's always the possibility that eventually they WILL be able to come. Although I did place a question mark next to it, I obviously was making an assertion/assumption/prediction, so yeah: OK, I'll work on staying more neutral about future events.

And more importantly, about past events or current realities, I shouldn't ever say, "such or such an event happened, really, it's true man..." simply because some people wrote that it happened. People's writings, whether ancient peasants or modern scholars, all have the potential to be mistakenly or purposefully untrue.

Perhaps I need to begin doing as Robert Anton Wilson suggested, speaking in E-prime (which means: not using any of those absolutist words like be/is/are/am/was/were etc.)

Or at the very least I should add some softening qualifications like,
"Maybe it is possible that..." or
"Perhaps there is a possibility that..." or
"In some people's reality tunnel, there is an idea that says..." or
"From my perspective, it seems to me that it is highly probable that..."

Or, maybe even better that attempting to soften our attempts to convince others of things which we have only read about in books (second-hand accounts, third-hand accounts, twenty-fifth-hand accounts, etc.) perhaps it is MUCH better for us to simply share the first-hand experiences we have seen for ourselves. For example, instead of saying, "Recently I've read in the latest peer-reviewed journal that..." a more interesting info exchange might come from, "Recently I personally had an experience, first-hand, which changed my perspective. Here's what I saw, and heard, and felt..."

 

[Mars Man]

Well put, Steve Red san. I see no fault in your earlier reasoning. The data was there, it did carry a degree of emotion and factuality in it, and through a discursive process, you arrived at a conclusion which you stated--I see no fault. If there had been anything that could have been added, it might have been (as you mention above) that notice of margin for error which usually comes in words like, 'likely', 'possible', and the like.

... perhaps it is MUCH better for us to simply share the first-hand experiences we have seen for ourselves. For example, instead of saying, "Recently I've read in the latest peer-reviewed journal that..." a more interesting info exchange might come from, "Recently I personally had an experience, first-hand, which changed my perspective. Here's what I saw, and heard, and felt..."

Yes. This will likely tend to vary, I would tend to reason, depending on the field of inquiry we are discussing. To site studies done in an area of investigation, in a certain discipline, or what-have-you, is usually a better way to support statements and understandings. However, there will always be fields in which this cannot be so easily done, or, perhaps, even need be done.

At any rate, the exercise and discussion should prove quite invigorating, and I do look forward to it.

 

[Revenant]

It's looking highly likely that we'll be there. They're still saying they want to go to Sakaiminato, to which I reply we'll get there in the summer. More promising is that one of my wife's college basketball teammates may have moved to Matsumoto.

 

[Mike Cash]

If it would help seal the deal I would bet money MM would be glad to have the teammate join us. (I bet he'd be glad to meet her anyway).

 

[Mars Man]

If it would help seal the deal I would bet money MM would be glad to have the teammate join us. (I bet he'd be glad to meet her anyway).

Let it be known that Mike Cash san reads and knows me like a blood-brother (I was almost going to write 'like my spouse of 23 years' but something just jumped out and cut off the nerve signals as they went down to my fingers) (we can notice that Mike Cash has made two bets there, and I'm glad no one took him up on them, because they would now have found themselves less some amount of money... with Mike walking off with a big grin on his face as he counted the tender... hee, hee, hee....

Revenant san, I'm gonna say it for this time, in this particular situation, that YOU be the man, and you will make it a can do... I know.

 

[Revenant]

So long as you're ok with my wife's teammate's three children (no idea how old they are), I'll see if I can get them there. Actually I still don't know yet if they actually live there, I think my wife's still waiting for a reply to her email.

 

[Mars Man]

The children who are younger, will blend with us children who are older, quite right at home, I would suspect--so, no problem !! Bring 'em on !!

 

[Revenant]

I'm afraid we can't go anywhere during the Golden week. My wife just got the basketball schedule for that week, and my son's got some games happening. He's a starting member, and my wife's the parent in charge of paperwork and stuff this year, adding to that is that my son's team has a slight possibility of going to the nationals (our usual mediocre club is this year at least the 2nd best in the Chugoku region, and lost by just two baskets to the best team in the last tournament). I don't think anyone would be happy with our absence. Parents and coaches are very hopeful the current team of ten grade sixers (my son included) will do very well this year.

I'm sorry, and I really did want to come, guess I'll have to wait till next year when my son starts junior high school and not likely going to be doing much in the games or tournaments.

 

[Mars Man]

I understand, Revenant san, how that can happen. It's too bad, but I hope everything will work out for next year, then. Thanks for letting us know the details; that's helpful. I do hope your son's team will make it to the nationals !! Cheer him on for us all !!

 

[Pachipro]

More bad news. Just received word today that I cannot have that week off. Oh well there's always next year. Have a blast and I'll definitely see you next year!

 

[Mike Cash]

We'll pour a little out on the ground for you, homie.

 

[Mars Man]

More disheartening new, yes. We will absolutely keep you in mind, Pachipro san, and yes, will keep you in mind with all that we do.

 

[Steve Red]

Revenant & Pachipro, sorry to hear you can't make it, I hope you all can call in sometime during the event.

PS - I sure do like that message in your sig, "Do what you Love - Love what you Do."

 

[Revenant]

My wife's decided that we may be able to go. We'd need to know what interchange we would get off at so we know how long it would take to get there and back again.

 

[Steve Red]

Sounds good Revenant! Make it happen, cap'n!

Hey Mars Man, I too have some good news: a good friend of mine named Miyuki, a very warm-hearted, positive, happy, intelligent, beautiful Japanese woman who loves Hawaii and teaches Hula Dancing, would LOVE to join us!

I hope that somehow we can manage to get her name on the official guest list. What do you think?

If the answer is Yes, she'll be overjoyed.

I told her that if she DOES indeed have the good fortune of being officially invited, the logistics would probably go like this:

I imagine that when Ashikaga (hey buddy ) ever so kindly swings by Isesaki to pick up me and my sons on the morning of May 4th, she can simply follow us in her car.

Thus she could enjoy the party for a "mere" 7 hours and drive home on the night of the 4th, or, she might decide to continue hanging out with us big dogs around the campfire almost all night, then get a few hours of sleep in a tent, then drive home on the morning/afternoon of the 5th.

I think she would probably end up choosing the latter option (which seems to me to be the option most participants usually choose, is that correct?) in which case perhaps I should tell her to bring up her own tent if she has one (I think she might have one, she pitched her own tent when she went camping in Shikoku years ago.)

Either way, for just a few hours or for the whole night, she says she would love to come and if she receives the OK from you she will come for SURE.

Plus, there's a high possibility that her friend (another woman with very similar positive attributes) would ALSO like to come. They both happen to be single, but, of course that's not a relevant factor to us happily married men.

At the very least, I hope we can add Miyuki to the list. And if possible, I hope we can give her permission to bring her friend along too.

I think that in life it is nice to have Yin to balance out the Yang!

 

[Mars Man]

My wife's decided that we may be able to go. We'd need to know what interchange we would get off at so we know how long it would take to get there and back again.

Wa Wa... !! I do hope you guys can make it !! You'll have a great time (even if something like rainy weather were to be of a kind of damper) !! Yes, coming up from Nagoya on the Chuo freeway, take the Nagano junction which goes on towards Nagano City. Get off at the Toyoshina IC. I'll send you the rest of the directions in a PM (to save space here).

Steve Red san !! Yes, she is MOST welcome to join us. I can see it now !! She, that beautiful, intelligent, young lady performing a hula dance along with Mike Cash san, both in those tantilizing garbs that such dancers usually employ ! hee, hee, hee...

My person opinion, is that if she were to hang out over night, it would be nice. Then, little lady Mars Man will have someone else of the same sex to kind of rap with--I'm sure she'll like that. (of course she always loves talking with Mike Cash san too, who can keep her laughing up a storm, but you know...

SO...I look forward to having them join us too, and hanging out until the next day.

 

[Steve Red]

Yayyy! I'll give Miyuki & Mizuho the good news! They'll be stoked. Including Mrs. Mars, and the good possibility of the Revenant 3, and my 2 boys, and the 2 Hula ladies, it looks like we've almost got 14 party participants confirmed!