Questions about Chris Laurel

[Christophe]

Exactly... I hope you will drop by from time to time ;-)

I sure will.

Japan was really great. You can see a short photo selection here. We didn't climb Mt Fuji but we flew over it. We were there during O-bon and came across many festivals: we saw the Miyajima firework and it's the most impressive one I've ever seen, and the Yamaga lantern festival was also exceptional.

The main downside was the food, I can't live without fruits!

[ElChristou]

Exactly... I hope you will drop by from time to time

I sure will.

Japan was really great. You can see a short photo selection here. We didn't climb Mt Fuji but we flew over it. We were there during O-bon and came across many festivals: we saw the Miyajima firework and it's the most impressive one I've ever seen, and the Yamaga lantern festival was also exceptional.

The main downside was the food, I can't live without fruits!

?? ...strange, first time I heard there are no fruits in Japan!

[t00fri]

Christophe,

I am also surprised. I lived for > 2 months in Japan and visited many times since. I never felt the fruit supply was bad.

Fresh Lychees, cherries, bananas, peaches ... for example, are delicious.

Cheers,
Fridger

[ajtribick]

So once again we're at a dead loss here.

My suspicion is that Chris is burned out on Celestia (hey, it happens if you've been working for a long time on a big project like this) but doesn't want to admit it: after all, it is as you say "his baby", and letting go of some major project you are so personally involved in is difficult.

However I am not in communication with Chris, so this is just speculation based on my experience of how these things go.

Is there anyone else active in the Celestia community who is fluent enough in OpenGL to keep making progress on the project?

[Christophe]

?? ...strange, first time I heard there are no fruits in Japan! 8O

There are fruits for those who can afford them. 40?‚¬ for a melon, almost 7?‚¬ for 4 peaches, while on the other hand you can have a lunch for 5?‚¬.

[t00fri]

?? ...strange, first time I heard there are no fruits in Japan!

There are fruits for those who can afford them. 40?‚¬ for a melon, almost 7?‚¬ for 4 peaches, while on the other hand you can have a lunch for 5?‚¬.

It is true that Japan appears generally expensive for European standards. Notably Japanese hotels are (including all the various 'special services').

Bye Fridger

[ElChristou]

?? ...strange, first time I heard there are no fruits in Japan!

There are fruits for those who can afford them. 40?‚¬ for a melon, almost 7?‚¬ for 4 peaches, while on the other hand you can have a lunch for 5?‚¬.

Ok, 40?‚¬ the melon... that's a problem...
I think I will stay a bit more in Paraguay... (~0,65?‚¬ for nice and perfumed melon...)

[t00fri]

So once again we're at a dead loss here.

My suspicion is that Chris is burned out on Celestia (hey, it happens if you've been working for a long time on a big project like this) but doesn't want to admit it: after all, it is as you say "his baby", and letting go of some major project you are so personally involved in is difficult.

I still believe Chris will reappear one day and continue as usual. No apology, no excuse...just the normal sparse communication.

The earliest I would expect this to happen is after the remodeling of his appartment is finished and after it is refurnished. This means 2nd half of September at the earliest.

Is there anyone else active in the Celestia community who is fluent enough in OpenGL to keep making progress on the project?

To my knowledge DW=Dirkpitt knows most about OpenGL among the developers. Right DW?

Bye Fridger

[ElChristou]

...It is true that Japan appears generally expensive for European standards. Notably Japanese hotels are (including all the various 'special services').

Mmhh... damned, my English... what means 'special services'?

[t00fri]

...It is true that Japan appears generally expensive for European standards. Notably Japanese hotels are (including all the various 'special services').

Mmhh... damned, my English... what means 'special services'?

e.g. massage [with doors left open] or the lady in her Kimono serving you the green tea for welcome and convincing you to take a steaming hot bath before going to bed (rolled out on the floor)

Bye Fridger

[Christophe]

Fresh Lychees, cherries, bananas, peaches ... for example, are delicious.

I've seen no lychees, a bit late for cherries too. Peaches yes, big and nice but damn expensive too!

Ever seen an orchard in Japan? I haven't.

It is true that Japan appears generally expensive for European standards. Notably Japanese hotels are (including all the various 'special services').

Well, that's not my impression. The current level of the Euro may explain it, but almost everything is cheaper than in France (but fruits and beef). Hotels are way cheaper than in France, from 30?‚¬/night for a ** hotel. Food if you restrain yourself to japanese style is half what it is in France. Museums are notably cheaper too (max 3.2?‚¬ and commonly < 2?‚¬).

All in all, it's still a much more expensive country than other touristic asian destinations, but there's no doubt I wouldn't have been able to afford the same holidays in France.

[t00fri]

It is true that Japan appears generally expensive for European standards. Notably Japanese hotels are (including all the various 'special services').

Well, that's not my impression. The current level of the Euro may explain it, but almost everything is cheaper than in France (but fruits and beef). Hotels are way cheaper than in France, from 30?‚¬/night for a ** hotel.

No, no that price level is only for Western style hotels that I have rarely used. I meant classic Ryokans with a proper Okami and "all that" . I have no idea to how many stars that standard would corrspond to

http://www.ryokan.or.jp/english/okami/index.html

Bye Fridger

[Christophe]

No, no that price level is only for Western style hotels that I have rarely used. I meant classic Ryokans with a proper Okami and "all that" . I have no idea to how many stars that standard would corrspond to

http://www.ryokan.or.jp/english/okami/index.html

Tr??s cher ami, nous n'avons pas les m??mes valeurs.

[ElChristou]

...No, no that price level is only for Western style hotels that I have rarely used...

I was about to post that for Fridger, ***** or nothing!

Now it's true that hospitality is also part of Japanese culture, just like tea ceremony, hot springs etc... I suppose one must experiment this at least one time....

[t00fri]

No seriously. It's quite a while back that we lived in Japan for the 2 months. I drove thousands of kilometers by car (!) [on the left-hand side] from the very north of Hokkaido down to Kyushu and back. As soon as one leaves the big cities, the Japanese style hotels become abundant on the remote country side. So there is often no choice.

Two years ago I was on a conference in Osaka again and there I was in one of those Western hotels. This was a professional trip and so the hotel was pretty well equiped...

------------------------------------------------
Notably that frighteningly automatic toilet seat onto which I just barely could make it with my 1.87 m teutonic size . That automatic toilet was located in a tiny corner between the 'lavabo' and the 'bidet' and I was just nailed down -- a no return-- arrangement so to speak ...
hi hi.
------------------------------------------------

So: Ryokan's for ever was my conclusion ....

Bye Fridger

[dirkpitt]

Too much luxury! 6000 yen melons, 5 euro meals...
No orchards? All untrue - Japan's fruit (not all, but many) is some of the best I've tasted and it only takes a trip to say, Store 99 (99 yen for everything!) or the nearest yaoya (or heaven forbid, Ameyoko) to get a reasonable deal on cherries, tangerines, peaches, etc. Japan's apples are legendary taste and appearance-wise.

Of course some stuff remain crazy expensive like Miyazaki mangos (10,000 yen for 1 mango is not unheard of) but these are novelty, gift items. If you're lucky, you can also buy square watermelons but stock is limited, taste is rumored to be piss poor, and the price a premium.

Speaking of toilets, I remember having to use one that only flushed via a remote control! You had to point it just right, and hope that the batteries weren't dead..

[dirkpitt]

To my knowledge DW=Dirkpitt knows most about OpenGL among the developers. Right DW?

Incorrect - looking at their code I think Toti or Vincent are probably better. I have in the past offered patches for some of Celestia's shaders, star rendering code, and bits and pieces here and there.

[t00fri]

To my knowledge DW=Dirkpitt knows most about OpenGL among the developers. Right DW?

Incorrect - looking at their code I think Toti or Vincent are probably better. I have in the past offered patches for some of Celestia's shaders, star rendering code, and bits and pieces here and there.

I don't think you can get to a satisfactory level in OpenGL without using it daily and preferably professionaly.

So Vincent then is a good example that OGL can be learned without playing day and night with it. If I correctly remember, Vincent didn't know OGL when he started here at shatters not sooo long ago. And he is not a software engineer, but a school teacher right, Vincent?

Bye Fridger

[LordFerret]

Exactly... I hope you will drop by from time to time

I sure will.

Japan was really great. You can see a short photo selection here. We didn't climb Mt Fuji but we flew over it. We were there during O-bon and came across many festivals: we saw the Miyajima firework and it's the most impressive one I've ever seen, and the Yamaga lantern festival was also exceptional.

The main downside was the food, I can't live without fruits!

Those are really beautiful pictures Christophe, very nice. I showed them to my father, he's been to Japan (spent 2 years there, mid-1949 through mid-1951) and plans on a return trip one of these days. He operated out of Yokasuka, and spent time in Tokyo, Kamakura, Nagasaki, and Sasebo. He tells me the picture of the Shinto arc in the middle of the bay looks very familiar, and would like to know the location of where that picture was taken (if you would!).

As I write this, he's telling me a story about a still unsolved mystery of who the Navy seaman was who "borrowed" the RTO train and drove it from Tokyo to Yokasuka in an effort to get back to his ship (quite drunk)... leaving it abandoned out in the freight yard (in 1949).

[dirkpitt]

He tells me the picture of the Shinto arc in the middle of the bay looks very familiar, and would like to know the location of where that picture was taken (if you would!).

If you're talking about the picture of the shinto torii that's in the middle of the water, I call the Itsukushima shrine (world heritage site) in Hiroshima - am I correct Christophe?