OMG! This is hilarious. I've been busy getting ready for TPRC 2023 for the last three months, and haven't had time to visit perlmonks.org much. Now that the conference is over, I had time to write a meditation about it, and I happened to see this post as I started to write.

I turned 65 in April, and in May I was relieved of my employment by Tucows Domains (no comment). So I'm now semi-retired, thanks to a corporate client I do a little work for. So maybe I can make a push and get into the top 50. Heh. Or not -- part of the semi-retired gig is, y'know, not doing techie stuff as much any more. :)

Or not -- part of the semi-retired gig is, y'know, not doing techie stuff as much any more. :)

In my book, retiring means choosing what you want to do based on whether it is fun or not...not depending on whether you once called it $work.

People seem to come to The Monastery and stay in The Monastery for three reasons which do overlap a bit...

1. They need help with something Perl related
2. They want to help with something Perl related
3. They enjoy the community
From reading your posts talexb, 1 doesn't seem to apply so you must enjoy the world of Perl. So, why would retirement take you completely away from it?

:) Retirement won't keep me away entirely -- I'm still interested in reading about What Happens Next in Perl's story, and I'm also happy to jump in to help someone with a question they might have with Perl. Because that's what happens in a healthy community -- we help each other.

Alex / talexb / Toronto

Thanks PJ. We owe you so much. Groklaw -- RIP -- 2003 to 2013.

OMG! This is hilarious ... maybe I can make a push and get into the top 50

talexb, congratulations on finally reaching target planetscape! 🎉🧨🥳🎈🍾🥂 🏆👍🤝👏

Though not yet in the top 50, you look certain to get there (as afoken already has) if you keep plugging away for another six months or so.

Running totals of this enthralling marathon race can be found here.

Details on the ten congratulatory emojis:

🎉   U+1F389  PARTY POPPER
🧨   U+1F9E8  FIRECRACKER
🥳   U+1F973  FACE WITH PARTY HORN AND PARTY HAT
🎈   U+1F388  BALLOON
🍾   U+1F37E  BOTTLE WITH POPPING CORK
🥂   U+1F942  CLINKING GLASSES
🏆   U+1F3C6  TROPHY
👍   U+1F44D  THUMBS UP SIGN
🤝   U+1F91D  HANDSHAKE
👏   U+1F44F  CLAPPING HANDS SIGN


Updated: added details on the ten congratulatory emojis.

👁️🍾👍🦟

afoken by a mile

Safe bet, afoken is currently posting much more than the others

Cheers Rolf
_{(addicted to the 𐍀𐌴𐍂𐌻 Programming Language :)
Wikisyntax for the Monastery}

Safe bet, afoken is currently posting much more than the others

Yet another prediction from Perl Monks mystic LanX (aka NostraCheatUs) comes to pass.

After starting this race with 33 fewer posts:

52    afoken    30573    Chancellor (21)    2217    2009-02-28 20:01
53    talexb    30559    Chancellor (21)    2250    2001-12-12 20:34
[download]

I noticed today that they're now exactly level at 2264 posts apiece, as presciently predicted by LanX:

50    afoken    31471    Chancellor (21)    2264    2009-02-28 20:01
53    talexb    30888    Chancellor (21)    2264    2001-12-12 20:34
[download]

Had to post this quick before it disappeared. :)

See also: Re: planetscape and me: 1282 nodes apiece by chacham

Etched in our monastery walls,
Are the names of fifty illustrious and ancient monks,
Their fame, renown and power through sects and speech is such that
They are deservedly praised more oft than the sum total of lesser monks.

Who will become our new fiftieth monk? Will it be:

• jdporter from the bold new world of the Americas?
• afoken from an ancient and revered line of Germanic monks?
• talexb singing under the Northern Lights in the frozen Canadian wilderness?

Many moons ago, Gavin and LanX made a bold Nostradamus-like prediction:

Scribing more than the others
afoken is
Ergo, wager is safe
By furlongs afoken will conquer!

With planetscape still stuck on 31378, their prescient prediction can be admired in the table below:

Date	Monk	XP	Monk	XP	Monk	XP
Mar 24 2023	jdporter	30760	afoken	30573	talexb	30559
May 20 2023	afoken	30838	jdporter	30804	talexb	30593
Jun 20 2023	afoken	30990	jdporter	30830	talexb	30610
Jul 20 2023	afoken	31090	jdporter	30910	talexb	30612
Aug 28 2023	afoken	31262	jdporter	31000	talexb	30806

Is anyone willing to predict when the 31378 XP target will be reached?

In 4-6 weeks.

But this starts to remind me of cockroach 🪳 races in prison movies... ;)

Cheers Rolf
_{(addicted to the 𐍀𐌴𐍂𐌻 Programming Language :)
Wikisyntax for the Monastery}

Again afoken by a mile!

Yes, but I didn't ask the distance, I asked when. Are you game to predict the date that afoken passes planetscape?

Who do you predict will win this race to the Top 50?

It happend a few minutes ago:

Alexander