July 11, 2006
The Mic Is on in Search of Pirates!
Liz published this at 7:00 pm
It’s Like Open Mike Only Different
Here’s how it works.
The rules are simple — be nice.
It’s like any rambling conversation. Don’t try to read it all. Jump in whenever you get here. . . . Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME.
Some things we might talk about could include
- .pirates.
- crayons and legos
- uban legends
- vacations.
AND THE EVER POPULAR,
What are the code-writing donkey and the drinking moose doing tonight?
A link anyone to was a member of the DCI related to one of the points above.
Keep an eye our for the Jolly Roger!
–ME “Liz” Strauss
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Filed under Comments, Community, SOB Business, Successful Blog | 335 Comments »
C'mon. Let's talk!
335 Comments to “The Mic Is on in Search of Pirates!”



Trisha said
Hello!
ME Strauss said
Hi Trisha!
How is the pirate garden?
Anton Olsen said
Greetings me harties,
Thought I’d drop in and watch the chatter tonight. Thanks to Cuileann for inviting me!
Arrrr,
Anton
Trisha said
fine – the pirates are growing well!
ME Strauss said
What kind of stuff do you mulch them with?
Trisha said
maybe that’s the problem – I’ve been using salt water
ME Strauss said
You’d think they’d like that. Maybe some old shivering timbers and some arghhhhichokes.
ME Strauss said
Hi Anton,
Sorry to keep you in the brig there. I was checking the trade winds.
Rick said
Ahoy!
I hear seaweed would be a great mulch.
Trisha said
maybe I need a parrot – I like parrots, my husband doesn’t though – he says we can’t have one – not even a macaw.
Joe said
I sure hope the jokes get better, remember we have to impress good ol Jolly Roger……
Trisha said
seaweed – didn’t think of that!
Anton Olsen said
Anyone up for starting an urban legend on how pirates invented crayons while on vacation?
ME Strauss said
Ahoy! Joe!
Did you bring some jokes with you?
Joe said
Sorry, I’m the only Joke I know !?!?
ME Strauss said
Blimey!
We’ve got crowd on the poop deck!
Does everybody know everybody? You guys say hello to Anton. He’s new here!
Cuileann McKenzie said
Hi everyone!
Hi Anton — I’m glad you could make it!
Sorry I’m a few minutes late. How bad of me to invite someone and then show up after they do. Someone’s got to teach this girl a lesson!
Trisha said
hello Anton!
Joe said
Hello new here…
ME Strauss said
Anton,
You need to know that crayons were part of the pirates treasure. They’re very special here.
We keep them in the sidebar — along with snack and beverages — which tonight i guess would be grog and weevils.
ME Strauss said
Okay Who thinks Cuileann should have to walk the plank?
Rick said
Hi, Anton!
Cuileann McKenzie said
Yeah, or clean the heads (i.e. toilets). My folks are big sailors so I’ve got a bit of the jargon. A very little bit.
Rick said
Can we fry the weevils, or do we have to eat them sun-baked?
Joe said
Ok,
I know I’m not seeing things, I just saw Cuileann’s comment now it’s gone…
Jamie gotta gun,
Joe said
Ok,
Janie
ME Strauss said
Here you go with some pirate talk
Pirate talk links:
http://www.puzzlepirates.com/Vocabulary.xhtml
http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/gallows/954/fsuns/pirspeak.htm#
Cuileann McKenzie said
Anton works with my husband, and he has a brilliant wit. He wrote an excellent tongue-in-cheek article about his experience with Verizon. He turned it into a how-to on how to get out of your contract without paying a fee. I’m gonna find the link…just a sec….
ME Strauss said
Rick,
You can be the cook of this here ship until we all get scurvy. Then I pick Joe.
Anton Olsen said
Thanks all for the welcome!
I think the plank is a bit harsh for Cuileann. That should be reserved for someone who eats the last crayon or drinks the last of the grog.
ME Strauss said
That’s it, Anton!
You got it. No crayon eating on this brig.
We’ll let Cuileann go.
Douglas said
Hey there. I see some new and familiar faces tonight.
Joe said
Here’s one for ya…
Where did the term “shiver me timbers” come from?
Chris Cree said
Avast ye scurvy maties! They’ll be no paying of fees on this here brigantine unless you’d be wantin to stand before the mast!
Rick said
But at least it would be over a lot faster than cleaning the head – with a toothbrush
Anton Olsen said
RE: Verizon
Unfortunately Verizon started sending out new terms that allow them to charge the early termination fee even if they initiate the cancellation
I have not yet gotten one but a few people on evdoforums.com have posted about the letter.
When did it become good practice to litigate and fee your customers to death?
Chris Cree said
Without looking it up, Joe, I’d guess that Shiver me Timbers was a Popeye-ism.
Trisha said
I don’t know – where did ‘shiver me timbers’ come from?
Joe said
Hint:
A shiver is an old term for a splinter…
ME Strauss said
Shiver me timbers has to do with when a blast from a cannon hits the wood of ship and causes the wood to “shiver.” It’s a real term from history. We saw it on the History Channel. So it MUST be true.
Cuileann McKenzie said
http://anton.lr2.com/archives/2006/07/06/howto-cancel-a-verizon-evdo-contract-without-paying/
Finally, here’s that link to Anton’s stuff. Sorry for the delay.
I thought their letter said they were waiving any fee. Hopefully they won’t come after you anyway.
Anton Olsen said
Timbers refer to the mast and spars that hold the sails up. To shiver them would mean to reduce them to splinters rendering the ship immobile.
Joe said
Liz WINS!!!
I saw the same show…
Chris Cree said
My mistake, Joe. Upon further review it was popularized by Robert Louis Stevenson who had Long John Silver say it in his book Treasure Island.
ME Strauss said
Anton,
When did it become good practice to litigate and fee your customers to death?
Telcos don’t have customers they have prisoners.
THEY ARE PIRATES!!!
Rick said
This entry on Phrases.org.uksays it was first used in a novel in 1834 by Frederick Marryat.
ME Strauss said
Joe,
People are supposed to know you already know the answer.
Anton Olsen said
Verizon told me via phone that they would waive the fee. I guess if they don’t they’ll be getting an earful. Anyone want to round up the execs and corporate lawyers and make them walk the plank?
Cuileann McKenzie said
Interesting explanation of the pirate ship terms. Wow…it’s like we’re all literate or something.
I guess we’re examples of the school system working.
Chris Cree said
Ok. Ok. As long as we are talking about nautical terms, why do sailors call the bathroom a “head”?
ME Strauss said
Let’s see in the last month. I’ve dumped on AT&T/SBC and Sprint/Nextel. And Anton got Verizon. Who’d we miss?
Chris Cree said
Cuileann, we are either edu-ma-cated or we know how to use Google. One or the other!
Cuileann McKenzie said
Thanks for your plank-mercy for me guys.
The telcos might not be so lucky!
HART (1-800-HART) said
Hi .. I’ll be around in about 1-1/2 hours, but thought I would start with the jokes periodically .. Prime Time TV reality nut here .. Big Brother, Canadian Idol, Supernova, Last Comic Standing .. etc etc
~~~~~
Q. How much did the pirate pay for his peg leg and hook?
A. An arm and a leg.
~~~~~
Q. Where can you find a pirate who has lost his wooden legs?
A. Right where you left him.
~~~~
Q. How much does a pirate pay to get his ears pierced?
A. AAARRRGGG! A BUCK AN EAR!
Douglas said
Just on my way out for a bit, but I’ll be checking back in in a little bit.
Chris Cree said
We fired Cingular when we moved to Savannah. Horrific customer service after having been a customer for over 5 years…
Anton Olsen said
I dropped my Cingular plan today.
I now have Sprint for both voice and data. Sprint’s EVDO seems to perform slightly better at home than Verizion did and it hasn’t dropped me once in 24 hours.
Rick said
Nah. Just a quick hand at tacking into the wind as we use Google (for this landlubber, at least)
Cuileann McKenzie said
Okay Hart.
We’ll catch up later. I remember that Canada doesn’t have the option for TiVo. It drives me crazy when I’ve been up there! Likewise, our folks marvel when they see it down here.
ME Strauss said
There is no phone service. That is an oxymoron.
Anton Olsen said
I dropped T-Mobile for AT&T about 3 years ago because they wouldn’t let me in on the new customer pricing for new phones even though I’d been a customer for 5 years without a contract.
AT&T of course became Cingular and I managed to wrangle a free phone when they forced me to switch. Then I move to Texas and Cingular coverage sucks so I just dropped them.
So far Sprint isn’t sucking but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.
ME Strauss said
Cingular is great, but you have to deal with AT&T to get through to them.
Cuileann McKenzie said
Glad Sprint’s working out, Anton. We’re with AT&T and they’ve been pretty reliable for us. Thinking of trying Time Warner for everything (cable, digital phone, Internet) when we move into our new house.
Rick said
I have Verizon phone, wireless, and DSL. I’ve been lucky, and haven’t had any problems – yet. I gave up on their service when I was calling them for a tenant at work and the only way to get a real life actual person on the phone was to confuse the voice mail system so much by speaking total gibberish that it gave up and handed me off to a real person.
Cuileann McKenzie said
I know you’ve had a bad time with AT&T Liz (hence your awesome post about that). For now, we’ve just been sticking with the devil we know.
Ben Yoskovitz said
Evening all. Just got here. Haven’t gone back to read things yet — anyone wanna shoot me a quick synopsis?
PS. Has Starbucker shown up yet?
ME Strauss said
I posted one today about a worse experience with Sprint/Nextel.
Anton Olsen said
I’m heading home now. I’ll be back online in about 30 mins.
Chris Cree said
The Cingular store here in Savannah must be horribly managed then, Liz, because our experience here was abysmal. And the folks in the store here couldn’t really help us after making us wait for an hour to be attended to. They just got on the line with their call center and went through the same rigmarole that we went through before we went to the store.
Since the person in the store wasn’t communicating our problem with any effect, we left and called the call center again. Then, after going through two levels of supervisors/managers they managed to drive Gorgeous to tears.
I nearly throttled the manager through the phone. We tried so hard to stay with them and they drove us away. We’ve been with Alltel since. And it was a whole different customer service experience. At least here in Savannah.
Rick said
Ahoy, matey. Cuileann has been saved from walking the plank. Grub is by me until you get scurvy ( you are looking a little peaked). The phone companies are piratical monopolies that hold you prisoner giving you as little as they can to get all they can.
ME Strauss said
Ben!
No pirate talk, Bucko? Where’s the coding donkey?
Cuileann McKenzie said
Getting back to Chris’s point about all of us maybe just getting bits of info from google. The keynote speaker at the Writers’ League of Texas Agents and Editors Conference had a pessimistic, if not apocalyptic, view of where our society’s going. People just getting little bits of info out of context from a search engine, a sort of pseudo-knowledge, rather than really a full book. I’m more optimistic than that.
Ben Yoskovitz said
Liz – the donkey’s working on the Fawlty Towers project, that’s why I was hoping to see Starbucker. The donkey may be hitting the road soon!
Hhhm…pirate talk. Well, us Canadians already have a piratey accent, eh?
ME Strauss said
Chris,
Once again, it all comes down to the people. Take care of the people. Get the right ones and treat ‘em right and the company works.
ME Strauss said
Cuileann,
Your writers’ group leader sounds like someone who sees the downside. I think it depends on who it is that’s searching.
ME Strauss said
Ben,
I’ve not seen Starbucker yet. I like your Canadian accent idea. Maybe all Canadians are pirates. HART sure left a lot of pirate jokes earlier. Hmmmm.
Chris Cree said
While we were waiting that hour we watched them turn away an older gentleman who brought in his check to pay his bill. They pointed him to the ATM like kiosk in the corner for bill paying. The guy couldn’t handle the technology and just wanted to save the cost of the stamp and be sure they received his payment.
They literally refused to accept his money. And he walked out of the store with his check still in hand. I felt so bad for him.
Joe said
Ok, here is first hand knowledge for ya…
It takes exactly 23 comments to get to the Beer Store and Back…
Rick said
I don’t know, Cuileann. I was reading on Michael Fortin’s blog today where he described surfers as “…click-happy, and they search for information online at the speed of electrons all with the attention span the size of a subatomic particle.” A lot of the research on the scanning behavior of surfers shows the same thing. On the other hand, a lot of people are willing to put in the research needed to get a real grasp on something.
Ben Yoskovitz said
We are known for our plundering.
And our love of treasure.
I’m trying to think of what else to send Starbucker along with the Fawlty Towers DVD Collection. A Montreal postcard makes sense, so we can track where the DVDs go (each person would ship the DVDs with a postcard) but I want to think of something catchier too…
Chris Cree said
Savannah has a bit of a pirate history. Kind of a result of being one of the first “big” cities close to the Caribbean.
Cuileann McKenzie said
Yeah, Ben, I guess our accents are different. Mine has turned into a bit of a freak show (mostly kidding). I use the “eh?” and still get teased down here “about” my “abouts.” And in Canada, I get teased about the odd “y’all” I let fly. And then living in England, I picked up saying “Cheers” instead of thanks sometimes. I’m just a hybrid now.
Ben Yoskovitz said
Cheers. Eh. Y’all.
Wow, Cuileann, that is a mess! I can just picture some of the sentences…
Cheers mate. How y’all doin’ eh?
Hehe.
Chris Cree said
Cuileann, If you had spent any time in Wisconsin you could even add a “dohn ‘cha knohw” to the end of that.
Cuileann McKenzie said
Hilarious, Ben! No, I haven’t deteriorated that far — yet. : )
Rick said
I don’t know if they still do, but Tampa used to celebrate Gasparilla day celebrating when the pirates took over the town. All the local civic leaders dressed up as pirates and came sailing into the bay on an old sailing ship. The mayor handed them the key to the city. They had their best parade of the year.
Douglas said
Hey everyone. I’m back.
ME Strauss said
Wow! I just got this really weird image of you and Basil the Donkey in a Dickens story.
Ben Yoskovitz said
Anyone know any good caricature artists?
Basil the Donkey is thinking about having a portrait done…
Chris Cree said
Anyone know who was the most successful (notorious?) Pirate?
ME Strauss said
Who did Milton’s picture?
Cuileann McKenzie said
Cool, Chris! Maybe I’ll move there to add that phrase to my repertoire.
Ben Yoskovitz said
Milton has a picture?
Notorious/successful pirate? Blackbeard?
Joe said
Chris,
Is the term “head” a polite way of saying the deposit of excess food that was put in the mouth (head) and out the bottom half?
Ben Yoskovitz said
Joe – did Notable (WordPress plugin) work for you? I haven’t gone back to check out your site today…
Ben Yoskovitz said
Aha! I see it did. Sweet.
I actually got that from Steve @ Why My Blog Stinks…it’s a great plugin.
Chris Cree said
Not the way I learned it from both the Merchant Marine and the Navy, Joe…
ME Strauss said
Move to Texas and you can hear a couple of
“might coulds” and “might oughtas”
I’m voting for Captain Hook!!!
Cuileann McKenzie said
Hi Joe,
That “head” reference came from me. It’s the nautical word for toilet. But, yes, the term “head” could refer to many things, couldn’t it?
John Curtis said
Hey all! I’m just pausing at the Apple store in San Antonio and thought I’d drop in. There are no pirates here that I can see, but I’ll keep looking.
John Curtis said
Oh, if you don’t know me, I am Cuileann’s husband.
Joe said
Hey Ben,
Yeah, it worked great… Thanks.
I did thank you in comments at my house, just so everyone knows how well it worked.
@ Chris, Jean LaFeete?
Chris Cree said
Ben, I installed the Notable plugin today too on your recommendation. Thanks.
Liz, wasn’t Captain Hook fictional?
Cuileann, Head does refer to toilet. But why, eh?
ME Strauss said
Whew! John,
Good to know you’re keeping a lookout. We’d forgotten to keep an eye on that particular store.
Ben Yoskovitz said
Pleased to meet you John.
And I saw Doug come back earlier as well…hi Doug!
Cuileann McKenzie said
Hey Babe! Everybody, this is my hubby!
Cuileann McKenzie said
John, that is…John is my husband.
Ben Yoskovitz said
I’m glad it worked for you Joe. I’ve experimented with a few other plugins – so let me know if you have any other WordPress-related questions.
I still say Blackbeard. Or was it Bluebeard? Redbeard? Fuschia Beard? I know the most famous pirate definitely had a beard…
ME Strauss said
Doug! Say something!
Everyone, here’s more grog and limes and oranges.
Ben Yoskovitz said
People should read Doug’s blog. Simple as that.
No artists out there? Caricature specialists? Basil really wants that picture!
Chris Cree said
Joe, I think I might have you stumped on two accounts.
Joe said
Curileann, Sorry I know, but Chris is (was) a nautical kinda guy, thought he may know.
@John, keep an eye out for RedBeard too.
Ben Yoskovitz said
I think one of my comments was eaten. Chomp. Chomp. Liz, did it walk the plank?
Chris Cree said
Nah, I’m thinking Askimet hung it by the yardarm!
Cuileann McKenzie said
Actually, since we were talking about heads (and John I don’t think you’ve heard this), my step-father just got back from being on a crew trying to sail a boat from N. Carolina to Toronto. Turns out that both of the boat’s heads were broken — that led to some good times with cups and buckets. Ewww. But they didn’t make it all the way to Toronto. There was too much flooding in New York to take it through the locks so it’ll have to be trucked up.
ME Strauss said
My husband wants to know why no one has said Captain Kidd?
I’m sticking with the fictional coward Cap’n Hook. He had the box office.
Joe said
Chris, maybe I should just stop answering questions ???
I still think I’m right, but it could be Lord Nelson (after he retired from pirating)
Douglas said
Hi Liz, Hi Ben!
Chris Cree said
I’ve done the “no working head” thing in the Atlantic before… On an aircraft carrier. Can you say “Eww!”?
But that still isn’t as tricky as trying to take care of business when you are strapped to an ejection seat for 5 hours or more…
ME Strauss said
Thanks for asking ben. All of this time, I’ve had Rick Keelhauled by Askimet.
So sorry Rick.
Joe said
That’s ok Douglas you don’t have to say hi to the rest of us…
ME Strauss said
Stop it, Joe!
We said hi to Doug. You didn’t
Chris Cree said
Ok, O.K.
The most successful pirate of the sailing era was
(drum roll)
“Black Bart” Roberts. Here’s the Wikipedia entry on Roberts
He was the original Dread Pirate Roberts.
Joe said
AAAAAaaaaarrrrrrrrhhhhhhh
ME Strauss said
I like Cap’n Hook better.
Ben Yoskovitz said
Chris – he had a beard right?
Chris Cree said
I’ll give you a hint on the origins of the word “head”. Think sailing days, pre-plumbing…
Douglas said
Hi Joe, hi everyone else.
ME Strauss said
Ben,
That’s so funny. Let’s name the pirate Jack.
Joe said
Thanks Doug,
@ Chris, we know when, we don’t know what, matey…
Trisha said
I say its the Dread Pirate Roberts – although I’ll admit I haven’t really been following this conversation too closely so I don’t really know what I’m actually answering.
Rick said
Aargh! In the brig, again! Was the cooking that bad? (My wife thinks so)
Hi again, everyone.
Er, Ahoy!
Chris Cree said
Ben, he died just short of 40 so he might have had a beard…
But Blackbeard was a whole different guy who was dead before Roberts started Pirating (but only by a year or two).
Cuileann McKenzie said
Hmmm…dunno if I wanna know where you’re going with that head explanation.
But I do know that I hadn’t thought of that 5 hours in the ejection seat conundrum. The movies never portray that.
Joe said
Ahoy, Trisha and Rick…
Chris Cree said
Did someone say Jack?…
Chris Cree said
Cuileann, there’s a lot of stuff that wasn’t portrayed in An Officer and a Gentleman or Top Gun…
Joe said
So, now the donkey is a pirate named Jack?
Cuileann McKenzie said
I’m sure that’s very true, Chris.
ME Strauss said
Chris,
There wasn’t a guy in either movie named Jack or Cap’n Hook and none of them had crayons either.
Chris Cree said
Sailors call the toilet the head because they would find a place up at the very front of the ship to do their busienss so that the sea water breaking at the bow would wash it away, there not being plumbing an all.
They would say they were going to the head, which was also what they called the very front of the ship.
ME Strauss said
Chris,
I think you should teach at Successful Blog University. We’ll have a class on Piratology.
Chris Cree said
I feel like Cliff Clavin tonight. “It’s a little known fact…”
Joe said
I’m listening to Virgin Classic Rock from London… they are 5 hours ahead of my time, so this way I know what is happening before it happens here.
ME Strauss said
Funny, you don’t look a bit like Cliff Clavin, or like Norm.
Cuileann McKenzie said
Ooooh! Thanks for the explanation, Chris. That’s actually a much more pleasant scenario than some my mind had come up with.
Chris Cree said
Liz, I’m not really an expert on Pirates. I just happen to have a formal nautical education. So I know some piratey things. [*whispers* arrrrrrgggghhhh...]
ME Strauss said
Joe,
Wait until Cat shows up. It’s already tomorrow there. We’ll be sure that the sun is going to rise again. We’ll be able to sleep in peace tonight.
ME Strauss said
That’s okay, Chris. I own the University. I can give you tenure. Then it won’t matter if you know anything.
Christine Kane said
Hello all!
Joe said
Talk about a time warp…
We can all talk at the same time and it isn’t the same time whever we are.
And we can learn about Pirates.
Chris Cree said
Actually Liz I know lots of stuff. I’m just not sure how useful much of it is. My dad used to say I had a very trivial mind.
I still haven’t figured out if it is a good thing or not.
Chris Cree said
Hey Christine!
ME Strauss said
Christine!
Know any pirate songs?
Christine Kane said
Rats… my hello was the very last post on page six. i think i got missed. hello again…
Ben Yoskovitz said
I don’t know anything about pirates. Except they all have beards, even the women.
Hi Christine!
Christine Kane said
Oh hey, you saw me!
Pirate Days by Mary Chapin Carpenter. Very sad song. But beautiful.
Chris Cree said
Rats are piratey things…
Christine Kane said
But beyond, yo ho ho and a bottle of rum… i can’t think of anything else very pirate-y. I like the word pirate though. Isn’t it a good word?
ah Pek said
Hi Liz, Hi Everybody!!
it’s 9.42 am in Malaysia. I think you guys are preparing for bed?
Sunny whether today after 2 days of rain.
Rick said
Hi Christine.
Joe said
Hey Christine,
Do you know “Yo Ho Mo the men down”?
Ben Yoskovitz said
Howdy ah Pek.
*shivers* No rum for me please. Brings back some unpleasant memories. Do pirates drink gin & tonic?
Douglas said
I feel very out of place tonight.
Rick said
Hi, ah Pek! No, not quite bedtime yet.
ME Strauss said
Hey ah pek,
It’s still a little early here. It’s only nearing 9pm
Christine Kane said
Hi rick, hi joe, hi ben…
Joe… in fact, I do. We used to sing it all the time back on the ship…
Rick said
Grog is good, Ben. Tonic may be tough to find in the larder, though.
Christine Kane said
Why is Douglas out of place? Is he not a pirate?
Chris Cree said
Did y’all know that piracy is alive and well today? (and I’m talking about open water, boarders away and all that too.)
Douglas said
I actually am a pirate. The name of my no longer personal updated personal blog has a named with pirates in it.
Trisha said
I want tenure too – can I have it?
Ben Yoskovitz said
Hhmmm…no tonic eh? Dang y’all!
Alright, I gotta jet for now. I may pop up in a couple hours but I need to look at something other than a computer screen for awhile.
If anyone knows a good caricature artist that could draw me a donkey, please get in touch (byosko@gmail.com). It’s for the Fawlty Towers DVD Collection Viral Project…
Joe said
Hey ah pek,
Still a good 1 1/2 to 2 hours left in me.
@ Douglas, No one is out of place here, if you don’t like pirates, just start talking about whatever you like, someone will join in…
Christine Kane said
Hey! There’s a picture of me bathing on ah Pek’s website. I guess that was just after I got off the pirate ship…
hi ah Pek!
ME Strauss said
Douglas and Trisha,
You can both be professors if you like with full tensure. What would you want to be professors of?
Rick said
G’night, Ben. Sorry about the tonic. The voyage has been long and the water’s gone bad.
ME Strauss said
Joe,
How many comments is 1 1/2 hours?
I think I’m making you official Treasurer and CFO of Successful-Blog University.
ME Strauss said
Ben,
Take some tonic from the sidebar — there’s always plenty of every beverage there. And feel better. Tell that Donkey to get the coding done. We miss his drooling.
Cuileann McKenzie said
See you later, Ben.
Chris Cree said
Peter Blake two time America’s cup winner was killed by pirates off of the Brazillian coast in 2001.
The Malacca Strait is classified a warzone by Lloyd’s of London because of piracy.
And that’s not to mention what is going on off the coast of Somalia these days.
ME Strauss said
Doug,
What was the name of your “no longer personal updated personal blog”?
Chris Cree said
Liz, I think I got Askimeted. Too many links in my last comment. Sorry.
Douglas said
Liz, how about customer service?
I also know about web hosting.
Chris Cree said
Christine, What did you say back there on comment 175???
ME Strauss said
Sir Doug, Professor of Customer Service and Web Hosting? That means you’ll have to deal with the telcos.
Christine Kane said
i was being funny?
Chris Cree said
Telcos? I’d rather deal with the pirates!
Rick said
Poor Doug. He has to deal with the real landlubber pirates.
ME Strauss said
Yeah, Chris, I saw that too.
What did you say Christine. How did Ah Pek get your picture?
Christine Kane said
no no no. i really was just joking!
Chris Cree said
I just didn’t want you to think we didn’t notice you slipping another comment there at the bottom of the page.
ME Strauss said
Hey, I thought maybe Ah Pek had a bootlegged copy of a picture off a pirated disk. heh-heh
Cuileann McKenzie said
I should do some more work on a post and publish it tonight. Hmm…I chose a huge topic and my perfectionism’s driving me nuts. It’s for writers — about how to do your homework before finding an agent. A subject big enough for a whole book. I just have to keep reminding myself that it’s just a blog entry to suggest some ideas, not a definitive guide. I’m almost finished it, though. I just have to make a few tweaks, put it in perspective, and click “Publish.”
Joe said
Liz,
the 23 comments it took for the beer run = 15 minutes. Just multiply 23 x 6 or 8 and you get your answer.
@ Ben, If you haven’t left yet try this guy Dave, He has cartoons for Blogs, so he may be able to help Milton get his picture took.
http://www.weblogcartoons.com/
He does have contact info and all.
J.
ME Strauss said
Arghhhh! You’re right about that, Rick.
Those landlubber pirates are nasty breed.
Chris Cree said
I don’t know, Liz. That looks like to high quality to be a bootleg copy…
Christine Kane said
no…that’s DEFINITELY not me in that photo.
Rick said
Notice how many water terms have been taken into computing – pirate, bootleg, surf,..
I ran out. Anyone have any more.
ME Strauss said
She is a VERY nice looking lady. Ah Pek could make some money with that picture. Imagine what he could do if she were holding a crayon.
Christine Kane said
Cuileann… could you make it into sort of a series? It sound interesting to me. (Hi, by the way.)
Douglas said
Yeah, we have to deal indirectly with telcos. That’s more at a datacenter level. We have a big cage in a large datanceter.
Chris Cree said
Oh, Christine. Now your modeling secret’s out.
How much you willing to pay to keep it just between us??
ME Strauss said
Cuileann,
Why not change the title to “One Thing to Get You Started Before You Send Your Book Off.”
Cuileann McKenzie said
Hey, is there an ending time for this? Just curious about whether I can go and finish this post and come back to the mic being still “open” (though I know the folks around it may have changed).
ME Strauss said
Doug,
That data cage idea. That just ensured your tenure. You’re in forever.
Christine Kane said
Chris, Clearly as you can see in the photo, I’m very okay with my modeling career and all that it reveals. I will pay you nothing. (In fact, that photo could increase my visits!)
ME Strauss said
Cuileann,
You’ve got at least an hour and a half, probably 2 hours.
Chris Cree said
The cages could come in useful when dealing with the Telcos too!
ME Strauss said
Christine,
The photo is a Ah Pek’s blog. It’s going to increase HIS visits.
Douglas said
It’s a cage with a lot of blade servers in it.
ME Strauss said
Oh Doug,
Blade servers. The image is too beautiful!
Chris Cree said
I think I’d like it better if it was a little less green of you. It feels a little too Star Trek for me. I guess I’m no Captain Kirk, eh?
Christine Kane said
You’re right Liz. I gotta re-think my porn career.
Trisha said
‘What would you want to be professors of?’
I don’t know – of everything?
Rick said
With signs that say “DON’T FEED THE ANIMALS” and “NO THEY SOUND LIKE THEY SPEAK ENGLISH, BUT IT REALLY IS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND THE WORDS MEAN SOMETHING DIFFERENT”
I know, I know. Long for a sign, but short for a wireless contract.
Anton Olsen said
Telco Cage Match, Pirate Style!
Give each telco CEO a hook (cut their hand off first) and an eye patch and let them duke it out in a double elimination cage match!
ME Strauss said
Christine,
Stick around here. We’ll set you straight.
Speaking of which, where is Vander Well?
Chris Cree said
Complete with blade servers. I bet we could sell tickets. Maybe even get a juicy pay-per-view contract!
Trisha said
I have to go too, if I can I’ll stop by again later.
Sorry for not being very talkative tonight.
ME Strauss said
Lady Trisha, Professor of Everything. I could go for that!
ME Strauss said
Rick, Doug, and Anton,
The Telco Triplets, The Conquering Cagers.
Anton Olsen said
The winner of the telco cage match can go up against the cable company winner next week!
Douglas said
And there could be a webcast hosted on the servers in the cage. That’d be ironic.
Rick said
Bye, Trisha. Have a good night.
Cat said
Morning all!!
Pirates … pirates … I lived on Borneo for nine years where there are pirates even today.
From what I read in the Borneo Bulletin, apparently they’d come over through the Sulu sea from the Philippines and raid small boats and those laden with goods.
In this BBC article, they are calling them ‘maritime muggers’ but they are pirates all the same …
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/asia-pacific/4350881.stm
cat
ME Strauss said
No worries, Trisha. I’m just glad to know we didn’t scare you away.
Trisha said
I like Professor of Everything too! Or maybe it should be Professor of Life, the Universe and Everything?
ME Strauss said
Cager=mania
Chris Cree said
Yeah, but the losing company would block their customer’s access to the sites carying the event…
Joe said
Curleann, what Liz meant was there a good 132 to 276 comments left until we all go sleepy-bye
Anton Olsen said
Professor 42
Rick said
Doesn’t AT&T own Comcast? They could be on both sides. Talk about biting your nose to spite your face!
Trisha said
So when I turn 42 – will I be the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything?
ME Strauss said
I can do Life, the Universe, and Everything. Sure, why not?
Christine, Are you going to be a professor at Successful Blog University?
You all can be professors. Joe you can do that with your other duties.
Chris Cree said
Christine could be the professor of modeling and the arts. *giggle*
Cuileann McKenzie said
Hi Christine,
I’m glad it sounds interesting. This post is part of a series based on the Writers League of Texas Agent and Editor Conferences (I’ve been to 3) and what I’ve learned about the process from trying to find an agent for my novel, Consumption. I wrote a general post about the conference, then one about writers and blogging, then there’ll be this one (hopefully tonight) about researching agents, then one titled “How to Write a Query Letter,” and, finally, one titled “Let’s Get Married: The Agent/Author Relationship.”
Are you into writing too?
Trisha said
ok, I have to go for real this time. Bye everyone!
Douglas said
Rick, AT&T owns everything.
ME Strauss said
Anton,
You haven’t met Christine. She’s a famous singer. Check out her website and her blog.
Christine Kane
Chris Cree said
Good night, Trisha!
ME Strauss said
Good Night, Trisha,
Take care of Life, the Universe, and Everything!
Chris Cree said
Liz, have you checked out your MyBlogLog.com account lately?
ME Strauss said
Hey, Chris
I didn’t know I had a MyBlogLog.com account until you just told me.
Joe said
Nite Trisha
Chris Cree said
I didn’t know you had one either until they just unleashed the whole community thing this week. They are going in the web 2.0 direction. I think it is pretty cool.
ME Strauss said
Hi Cat!!
Sorry I missed you earlier.
You guys look up at all of the neat stuff Cat brought about pirates at # 226.
Cuileann McKenzie said
Hey Christine,
I just saw your blog — it’s awesome. I’ll definitely do some more reading there.
Yeah, I guess with music, you’d have lots of interest in/interactions with agents, too.
HART (1-800-HART) said
Hi Everybody. I was browsing a few pages back before posting again – lots of interesting chat tonight!
Like, you know .. how’s everybody doing, eh? (Canadian Accent)
~~~~~~~~
Q. Why are pirates called pirates?
A. They just AAAARRRRRRRR.
ME Strauss said
I guess I’d better use the MyBlogLog thing or close it.
Anton Olsen said
Hello Christine!
I’m listening to one of your audio files now. Sounds good!
Christine Kane said
oops. i disappeared and missed a lot. and now i must depart. cuileann, yes, I love reading about writing and all facets of people’s careers in writing. so, I’ll check out your blog tomorrow!
Liz, I’ll be a professor. But I think I’d have to give up the modelling career. (did i scare Ah Pek away?)
bye all! have a great night!
ME Strauss said
Christine,
What’s the new plugin that let you organize your archives. That’s really cool.
Christine Kane said
oh! hi anton! Thanks! bye!
Christine Kane said
liz, i’ll write you tomorrow and let you know all about it. it’s called “Clean Archives.” But it was kind of weird to set up.
Chris Cree said
Personally I like letting my readers know which links are popular. I thought they had a good thing going before . And now they’ve embraced the whole community concept in a big way. I’m all about that.
Douglas said
I’m out. See everyone next week!
Joe said
Nite Christine, sleep tight…
Hey HART…
ME Strauss said
Hi HART!!
Yeah, It’s been a fun night!
We’ve drinking grog and eating oranges.
Rick said
Good night, Christine.
Chris Cree said
Actually I’ve got to crash too. There is way too much to be done tomorrow.
Thanks for the laughs!
ME Strauss said
Good night Christine!
Thanks for the email promise
Rick said
And good night, Douglas. See you next week.
ME Strauss said
Good night, Doug,
Love those caged blade servers.
Joe said
Nite Doug
ME Strauss said
Hey Chris,
See you around the blog,
Sleep well and tell the cats to let you sleep later.
Cuileann McKenzie said
Bye Christine!
Everybody else — I’m going to jump out of the talk for a bit.
I’m going to finish editing, get some balls (cannon balls, of course) and finally post this thing!
I’ll drop back in a while…
ME Strauss said
So,
Who’s here and have we beat this pireate thing to death?
Joe said
Chris, not you too… Nite.
One last question for you…
What is Grog made from and why?
ME Strauss said
Joe,
Do you already know the answer?
HART (1-800-HART) said
Liz (and Christine) ~wave .. regarding the Clean Archives plugin .. I’m also using it at my new site – but, actually using two of them.
1. Clean Archives Reloaded
Basically, it gives a count before the list.
2. SRG Clean Archives
That’s the same as the archives of Christine’s blog..
See example at http://DogLvr.com/archives/
NOW .. A gratuitious Pirate Joke:
Q. What has 8 arms and 8 legs?
A. Eight pirates!
Rick said
I’m still here for a bit. If Chris is gone, I know a little about the grog.
HART (1-800-HART) said
Hi Joe … and everybody here! ~waving madly as I forgot to say that at first!!
~~~~ Another Joke
A glum looking pirate walks into a bar with a pile of paper-towel on his head. He sits down at the bar and the bar-tender asks “What’s wrong?”
The pirate replies, “Arrr. I’ve got a bounty on me head.”
Rick said
Is this where we hang our heads in shock, Hart?
Chris Cree said
Grog was watered down rum that was rationed to sailors for a couple of reasons.
1. Sailors like to drink
2. It helped kill some of the nasties in the water and stretched the ship’s water supply.
3. And once they figured out the scurvey thing, they would also squeeze lemons or limes into it to get the sailors their vitamin C becuase they would drink the alcohol, but sucking lemons, not so much.
Joe said
Liz, Of course, no teacher asks a question without knowing the answer…
You’re on Rick…
HART (1-800-HART) said
btw// what’s “grog” taste like?
~~ Another Pirate Joke:
Q: What does a Dyslexic Pirate Say?
A: RRAAAAAAAAAAA !
ME Strauss said
HART,
I’m laughing too hard to comment. I think you must be part pirate.
Chris Cree said
Joe, my answer was comment # 275. And I do have to sign out now. Or it’ll be to Davey Jones’ locker with me!
ME Strauss said
My friends in Melbourne call all of their wine grog.
Rick said
Joe, Chris got it. He’s had the benefit of a real career. I just have Navy Junior ROTC and Google.
Chris Cree said
Rick, it may have been a nautical career, but I’m not sure how real it’s been yet.
Liz, I’ll email you about my Chicago trip.
Good night all!
Cat said
Clean Archives looks great!
For my new blog I’ll have my archives by subject rather then month. Hopefully there’s a similar plugin out there so it’s not done by hand.
Similar to what MarketingProfs have done, showing the top posts in each subject, with the expanding list –>> http://www.marketingprofs.com/arch/index.asp
ME Strauss said
Rick,
I’m not ignoring you. You seem to be holding your own in the conversation, I’m off to get more grog for everyone. It can taste like whatever you want it to.
HART (1-800-HART) said
Hi and Bye Douglas – if you are really going
Rick .. I hope no one is “shocked” by my jokes and needs to hang anybody’s heads … I that that pirates AAAAAAAARRR the ones to push them off planks?
~~~ Okay .. one of only a few stupid pirate jokes left in my arsenal…
Q. What do pirates drive?
A. A Caaaarrh.
Q. What do pirates fly?
A. An Aaaarrhhhplane.
Q. What do pirates sail?
A. Their pirate ship….duh. (AAAARRRRRRR)
Rick said
Good night, Chris. It’s beddy-bye time for me too. See you all next week.
Anton Olsen said
Grog tastes like watered down rum. Think of what the Bacardi in your father’s liquer cabinet tasted like after your first high school party.
They used half a pint of rum per quart of water so about 20% rum, 80% water. The rum was cheap alcohol and kept the ameobas and bacteria from thriving.
Rick said
Shock – poor choice of words. I love puns. Shaking my head would be more accurate while laughing is more accurate.
Rick said
And I can’t string two phrases together any more. “Shaking my head while laughing would be more accurate.”
Joe said
Hey Liz,
If you have a Professor of Piratology, I think it should go to Chris, waddya think?
HART (1-800-HART) said
Laughing is good for the soul Rick
But, so is sleeping, so if you are going .. G’nite.. I’ll keep up with the jokes as I can think of them! They’ll be here tomorrow…
~~~~~
A pirate walks into a bar with a big wooden ship’s steering wheel attached to his belt buckle.
The bartender says “Hey, buddy? What’s that for?”
The pirate says “Arrr! It’s drivin’ me nuts!”
Rick said
Good night, all.
ME Strauss said
Joe,
I already made Chris that. He was the first professor I named.
Good night Chris. We’ll catch up on your trip. I have one about the same time so we’ll have to coordinate.
Joe said
Nite Rick…
ME Strauss said
Good night, Rick
Thanks for coming.
See you next week, I hope!
ME Strauss said
So Joe,
What professor are you gonna be?
HART (1-800-HART) said
When we visited the USA (Fargo or Grand Forks) .. we would always stop at the duty-free and pick up (besides cig’s) Bacardi 151 Rum .. Yuuuuum ..
Liz .. for archives .. there is also another one out there .. KG Archives
That’s the plugin I use at http://PetLvr.com/blog/ .. because I like the posts to be organized by category by month. I think you can list the historical posts by month for only one category at a time (what i REALLY want) but, I have too many categories and just figured that what I have is the best configuration without trying to reinvent the wheel.
~~~~~ PS
A little boy is trick or treatin’ on Halloween by himself. He is dressed as a pirate. At one house, a friendly man asks him, “Where are your buccaneers?” The little boy responds, “On either side o’ me ‘buccan’ head!”
ME Strauss said
I think, HART, you’re the professor of Comedy and Storytelling. Oh yes and of toast.
Joe said
That’s baaad HART… *laughing uncontrolably*
HART (1-800-HART) said
Umm… timber me shivers … before you go and say .. The last time I heard those Pirate Jokes HART .. I fell of my dinosaur! … I got them all at the site:
http://www.ratemypiratejoke.com/
~~~~~ Such as this one:
One day a Pirate and a bartender were talking to each other in a bar. The Bartender asked the pirate “Where did ya get that peg leg from?”
The Pirate responded “We were sailing the seas when a big ol shark came up to me while I was swimmin and bit off me leg.”
Later the Bartender asked “Where did you get that hook then?”
The pirate responded “Well, me crew and I were in a battle and it got cut through the bone.”
The bartender then asked “Then where did ya get the eye patch from?”
The pirate said “In a harbor I looked at a gull flying over head and it took a dump right in me eye.”
The bartender was puzzled and asked the pirate, “How would that make you get an eye patch?”
The pirate responded, “First day with the hook.”
Joe said
I don’t know Liz, what did you say a couple of pages back. Counting comments?
HART (1-800-HART) said
Joe .. – that’s the end of my pirate jokes – you may now return to your regular Open night Mike chat!
ME Strauss said
HART,
I can’t believe you’re done . . .
HART (1-800-HART) said
Weeeell .. never done – let’s just say “on a break”. BTW .. today’s my birthday. I posted birthday tunes on my blog and did the “born this day” thingy too .. (inspired from you!)
ME Strauss said
Sir Joseph, Professor of Commentology and Time Warps
ME Strauss said
HART!!
The guy from My Friend Flicka!! How cool is that?
HART (1-800-HART) said
Flicka? which guy is that?
Joe said
Yeah, I like that…
Sir Joseph, Professor of Commentology and Time Warps. Kinda fits I’d say.
ME Strauss said
1922 Gene Evans Hollbrook Az, actor (My Friend Flicka, Matt Helm, Alamo)
ME Strauss said
Yeah, Joe, now if I can only remember them all. It’ll be a pain to go through all of these comments to find them.
HART (1-800-HART) said
Speaking of FlickR … I’m trying to downsize my server #1 to my server #2 .,. I’ve got about 600MB of wedding pictures, videos, misc amusing stuff etc. I also looked at the MySQL database and had a fit – I’m using about 10 different scripts over there.
I was thinking I might get the FlickR wordpress plugin, pay for the premium account at FlickR $24.95 USD .. and between YouTube and Flickr .. less bandwidth, less space, …
Is anybody actually using that flickr plugin? How’s it working out?
Scot Herrick said
HART
Happy birthday. I’m sure it is a pleasure to finally be old enough to drink the grog.
I just dropped in to say hello and goodbye. Too much work and not enough fun. I’ll stick by for about ten minutes…
Can a nuclear submarine be a pirate ship?
Scot
HART (1-800-HART) said
oh THAT Flicka … // From that list .. the only thing I ever remember about what happened on my birthday is that Sir Lawrence Olivier died on it. Sad.
ME Strauss said
Hi Scot!
Thanks for dropping.
I think a nuclear sub is a pirate ship if it has pirates on it.
ME Strauss said
HART.
It’s so cool to have you here for your birthday. Here, I made a cake for you. It’s your favorite.
What’s your favorite anyway?
Joe said
I think it was great
being a Pirate for a night.
It was a wonderful date
but the hags were a freight.
Now for the last bit of Grog
and off to the head,
with my head in a fog
I’m off to bed.
Berma Shave
Nite Liz
Nite All
ME Strauss said
Good night, Joe,
I hope your workload gets a little lighter.
Sweet dreams
HART (1-800-HART) said
Hi Scot .. thanks for wishes
And, to answer your question – I don’t see why a nuke sub couldn’t be a pirate ship – it would have to strictly depend on what you do with it, or who’s commanding it.
You would have to go around threatening innocent sailers and boaters and steal all their grog me thinks.
Scot Herrick said
Liz,
So we need a summary comment every 100 or so (Most people would give their hook away for 100 comments on a post and here we are looking for summaries…cheeeeeze!). Just so we can read three comments and jump in.
Anyway, what’s the scoop on the code-writing donkey and the drinking moose tonight? I don’t want to go through 300+ comments to know the only thing I want to know…
(nite, Joe…)
HART (1-800-HART) said
My favorite cake? I think that would have to be Jeannie’s Cake (which, is a Local Winnipeg institutional product here) .. it’s a banana chocolate dry cake with lots of icing and a thick crust bottom.
The Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cakes are also good for birthdays .. especially after a steak BBQ dinner!
But, really any cake with icing and your name spelled on it is good – anything less is just fat pastry you can eat any day really ~
ME Strauss said
Hey Scot,
The donkey and the moose are turning into working stiffs and haven’t been showing up. Ben’s got the donkey coding all of the time and Steve’s got family and a new baby on the way.
Most of tonight has been pirates with a short foray into a discussion about Christine’s fictious porn career that Chris and I made up.
HART (1-800-HART) said
(nite, Joe..)
Liz .. I’ve also been trying to figure out what that donkey code is all about too! Although, I suspect it must have something to do with Joe and Ben ..(I could be wrong)
ME Strauss said
Great!!!
I made you the last and bought the first two. Here you go. You’ve got enough to last you until the end of the week at least!
HART (1-800-HART) said
Fictitious career planning. Sounds like something us consultants do all the time! I mean, OTHER consultants .. not me oh no. I never make up things or tell stories. Never. Ever. Nope. No Sirree!
ME Strauss said
Oh no! Not me either. I was born with a complete lack of imagination. That’s why I’m so totally boring. . .
HART (1-800-HART) said
* Taps on Mic .. is thing on?
I’m still here lurking, if anybody is lurking .. but doing a little work in the background .. AAAAARRRRR
ME Strauss said
I’m just swabbing the deck and such things.
Martin said
(#268) not on your life – seeing I’m late let me have some fun…
Ahoy there Me hearties, just pillaged me some rum from the rest of the booty … and Arrrr, Shiver me timbers! it’s over – I’m a marooned Buccaneer with not a single soul to share my grog and weevils with.
Argh, I always come late … Hart, don’t go there; do so and you’re walking the plank
btw, Happy birthday.
just skimming: a donkey, a moose, a porn career …
Cuileann McKenzie said
Hi!
I think I’m the last one here now.
Hart — Happy Birthday! Sorry I missed saying it earlier.
Well, I finally made that post a few minutes ago. Don’t worry — I didn’t stay up super-late for that. I really slept in today, so I had trouble getting to sleep.
Cheers, Liz, for hosting another great open mic!
And to everybody, good night, eh? I’ll talk to y’all next time!
– Hybrid Language Girl
(just referring back a couple hundred posts) : )
ME Strauss said
Hi Martin,
So good to see you.
Glad you got some of the grog and weevils!
ME Strauss said
Lady Cuileann, Professor Hybrid Languages. That works for me! Thanks for coming. Yeah it was a fun one!
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