English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

3:09 PM

Oh. I hadn't seen that. FF makes me cranky.

Oh I hadn't read his comment yet.

But... it matches my first thought when I read that answer.

No, no. Now that I think on it, "lesser" really isn't right. Lesser should be paired with a noun.

"1 is lesser than 2" is not what one would expect to hear

Ah OK.

Then we are all more or less agreed.

yes

3:11 PM

"1 is a lesser value than 2"

That sounds a lot better.

Your noun thing seems right.

So that's an adjective, but not a comparative or something.

Not a comparative?

ngrams.googlelabs.com/…

dictionary.reference.com/browse/lesser

3:12 PM

comparative: a part of speech I never learned?

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Haha.

Good (positive) - better (comparative) - best (superlative).

If you look at just lesser than or equal though, there are some uses, even in papers. It's just dwarfed by "less than or equal."

@MattEllenД Funny, that says it can be used as an adverb.

@KitΘδς yeah, that's why I wouldn't expect to hear it, but I wouldn't correct it

@aediaλ Thanks.

3:14 PM

@Cerberus I was thinking programmatically, as a comparative operator.

Well, I might correct it - I'm going for the copy editor badge after all

@KitΘδς Eh then I have no idea.

Dunno if that's an appropriate edit.

@MattEllenД Haha.

:D

3:15 PM

I think FF's comment is enough.

yeah

Speaking of badges, I have a shiny new Gold badge!

My first!

:O

@KitΘδς Congrats!

Congrats!

bows to the mistress

3:16 PM

@KitΘδς congrats! that's a tough one

nice!

Sanks. (that's how my son says thanks, and I find it endearing.)

He sounds like a foreigner!

►

Like Foreigner?

:D

I was thinking of a skit you could do with Foreigner and a guy looking for a group of foreigners

3:20 PM

I will not buy this tobacconist, it is scratched.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 you are in the market for a shop?

oh I see, a reference to Guido Van Rossum

@MattEllenД yeah, foreigners, and skits, etc

Drop your panties, Sir William; I cannot wait until lunchtime!

Have you seen my wolverine?

@KitΘδς no

Sure, sure. You know the Brit sketches, but not the American ones.

3:36 PM

Americans do humour now?

2

Americans can be funny too!

Wow! you guys have come a long way, haven't you?

ok where's it from?

Since we let you go your own way, all those years ago.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Let me see if I can find it.

3:37 PM

@MattEllenД Would you take them back if they asked nicely?

@Cerberus hm, they're kinda tainted now.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Hmm but a rigorous programme might put them back on the right path?

@Cerberus They'd have to have shower first, naturally. But once they're attired properly I'm sure we could see to their education. It would have to be a gradual process.

Lots of salutes to the Queen?

@MrShinyandNew安宇 I can't find it right away. Pretty sure it was one of Andy Kaufman's sketches on Saturday Night Live.

@MattEllenД We've showered? We're not French!

3:39 PM

@KitΘδς hmmm, but from what I hear about your water...

She is right there.

@MattEllenД ffppptt (sound of that going over my head)

Very wise.

@KitΘδς I'm with the Americans on this one. They're pretty clean, mostly.

@KitΘδς Oh, I think Aeida and Fallen were complaining about the quality of tap water in the US

3:41 PM

You have seen the video?

it sounds dirty in an unpleasant way

@KitΘδς Kaufman is a bit before my time on SNL. And for some reason the old SNL skits don't seem to have as much traction as python.

Maybe because they're still making new ones

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Nah, it's the lack of a British accent.

slams head against desk Why do people always break Word in interesting ways and expect me to figure out how to fix it?

Why do I always figure out how to fix it? I need to stop being good at this.

:)

3:46 PM

I nearly peed with delight when John Cleese jumped out of his car and said "Right. Well then." then strolled off screen and came running back on with a tree branch and started hitting his car with it. Of course, that was Fawlty Towers.

2

But you couldn't do that with an American accent.

No way.

@KitΘδς You get a star, for "peed with delight".

Piddled might have been more apt.

That's what I get for being American.

@aediaλ Aww... Word is annoying! It always breaks!

Somebody please do this input validation for me!

I seem to be able to use word processing packages without them breaking.

@KitΘδς that's what SO is for!

3:48 PM

It pops up message boxes that want to "install" indeterminate things on my computer at random.

Q: Is Stack Overflow a code writing service?

0

I saw a comment to a question about sending data from an iPhone to a PHP webservice that stated Stack Overflow is a code-writing service... At first I was taken aback. It was only a few hours earlier that I had told another user that the SO community is not in the habit of writing librarie...

And those boxes are hard to close too.

@Cerberus Like that effin' paper clip!

@KitΘδς Don't get me started!

Who knows html?

3:50 PM

I think I disabled that long ago. Just like the search dog on XP.

I don't.

@KitΘδς Is there a difference between peeing and piddling?

@KitΘδς yarp - I am writing HTML stuff now

sort of

What's a fieldset?

@KitΘδς I'm htmling too

<fieldset>?

@KitΘδς oh, damn it I know this

3:51 PM

a container for fields

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Piddling is what nervous dogs do.

lol, oh yeah

I knows htmls!

I think it normally renders as a box, with a title in the box if you specify a legend element

> 1879–80 Pearl (1970) 216 Your private parts, or cunny, Should not be let for money, They're only meant to pee with.

3:52 PM

If I don't include a fieldset, will my validation summary refuse to display?

@MrShinyandNew安宇 yeah used to "logically group together elements on a form"

@KitΘδς it's not an important thing

I don't think you need a fieldset, no. It's just for grouping.

I think it's just a container, like a div, with special display semantics

so things should work without it

Anyone have any guesses why my validation summary refuses to display?

3:53 PM

demons

javascript typo is usually a culprit

Are you using the w3c validator fun thingie?

I don't use javascript.

It should tell you reasons.

Um. No?

yeah

3:53 PM

what kind of validation are you talking about? form field validation?

@KitΘδς validator.w3.org

how are you triggering it, and where does your script put its results?

and are you getting any JS errors?

One of these frigging built-in regex validators.

could be a problem with your regex?

@KitΘδς You may want this one later jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator

3:56 PM

@MattEllenД No, the validation is fine. I just can't get it to display the message in the summary. I have the validation groups assigned...

No news is good news?

It's one of these stupid controls : <asp:RegularExpressionValidator ID="RegularExpressionValidator1" />

This is why I hate markup.

If I knew how to write this code, I would do so.

ah, you're not using html, you're using asp.

Um, yeah. It was the fieldset thingy I was wondering about for HTML.

I thought that that might be the cause of the summary not displaying.

so your validator looks something like

<asp:requiredfieldvalidator id="RequiredFieldValidator1"
  controltovalidate="NameTextBox"
  validationgroup="PersonalInfoGroup"
  errormessage="Enter your name."
  runat="Server">
</asp:requiredfieldvalidator>

4:01 PM

Yep.

and you have a button or something like

<asp:button id="Button1"
  text="Validate"
  causesvalidation="true"
  validationgroup="PersonalInfoGroup"
  runat="Server" />

but when you click and it's not valid you get no error?

Oh FFS. I forgot the CausesValidation. Thank you.

no worries :)

must be off!

Thanks again, I spend my morning on that.

Bye!

@KitΘδς If it's any consolation, I've just spent quite some time documenting something we're not going to be doing anymore.

4:06 PM

This is why it's a bad idea to test pages 24/7 trying to meet a deadline.

Why? You found the bug now instead of it still being there along with five others, and having an unsolvable problem...

Now, trying to meet impossible deadlines, I agree that's bad :)

Fatigue-induced stupidity does not equal "bug," but thank you for your vote of confidence.

@KitΘδς It does, if you check it in.

:)

Well, Sir William failed me, I did indeed wait until lunch time. But I can wait no longer.

4:12 PM

Who's Sir William?

@JSB is here! Hi!

hi, i'm here briefly

What a stupid validation tool. I have to have a separate validator for each damn box.

@KitΘδς um, isn't that the normal way?

This one is a number, and this one is a number, and this one is a number....

So stupid. I wrote a number validator for my other pages and just call that function when the textbox loses focus.

Hi @JSB!

4:15 PM

@KitΘδς why wouldn't that work here? write a single number validator, and have all of your per-field validators call into that one

@JSBᾶngs With one of these type dohickeys? <asp:CompareValidator ID="CompareValidator1" />

@KitΘδς i don't know the snake framework, so i can't tell you how you'd actually write the markup. but worst case, if every validator really does need to point to its own function, you can just write a one-line wrapper function for each of them that wraps the real validator, which you only have to write once

msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/db330ayw(v=vs.71).aspx

^ this suggests that you can get decent validation just by setting the Type property of the CompareValidator

Meh. I don't script in python here, and these idiotic validators have some built-in thingy.

@JSBᾶngs Well, yes, except you need markup for each and every textbox.

@KitΘδς that's to be expected

I'm being all complainy about it.

@JSBᾶngs It's redundant and foolish.

4:20 PM

complain away! i would also complain about my job, except that's too boring even for this room

What? I fell asleep just now when you mentioned your work.

:)

Why are we even talking about work?

Q: Idiom about a chicken or not?

-1

I faced this phrase when the author wanted to show that nothing is clear - "What, when, why and where did my chicken go?" - what does this phrase with chicken mean? Is it an idiom or not?

idioms

^ too localized?

Maybe

never heard "What, when, why and where did my chicken go?" In my life.

gosh i love yahtzee

escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/… <-- this was one of his better ones

4:36 PM

@JSBᾶngs Liked it very much.

Especially the part about the Hessian sack on his head.

4:52 PM

yowza. this jalapeno corn relish i made is killing me with the heat

Sounds delish.

I had bbq, relish, and dubliner cheese on a hamburger last night. It was awesome!

It's making me drool on my keyboard just thinking about it.

@KitΘδς sounds excellent, possibly except for relish. i assume you mean typical sweet pickle relish, which i hate.

Sort of, but not really. Wickles relish.

Ever heard of it?

no

what's in it?

They make a hot relish that is really excellent, but I had the sweet one last night.

Peppers, cider vinegar and sugar.

simsfoods.com/about

It's a sweet relish, but not typical.

4:57 PM

@KitΘδς with peppers as a base, it might work

i dislike pickle relish in general, but i'm willing to be open-minded about a sweet pepper relish

I think it has pickles in it too.

Well, cucumber pickles, I mean.

But I'm not really sure.

It's certainly worth a try, right?

i saw $48 for relish on that site and just about had a heart attack

then i realized that it's $48/case, not per jar

Ha ha ha!

It's good, but it's not that good.

jalapeno corn relish is all gone now, and my mouth is on fire

so in other words, good lunch

Vitaly

Hey @JSB, do you by any chance know of a way to view all URLs fetched by Chrome? E.g. I know it's downloading a XML file from somewhere, I can see it in the memory dump, but I can't find it in the page source.

5:05 PM

@Vitaly try poking through the dev tools. i don't know off the top of my head

Vitaly

I can't seem to find its URL in the dump either

Actually, thanks, that looks like it

@Vitaly wrench menu > tools > developer tools > resources is probably the place to look

Man, I have the worst Billy Joel tune stuck in my head.

►

@KitΘδς i listened to about ten seconds. i hate billy joel

@JSBᾶngs gasp What? You hate Billy Joel and sweet pickle relish?

5:15 PM

@KitΘδς they go together! as nasty things that other people are inexplicably fond of

Next you'll say you can't understand the attraction of the Fluffernutter.

@JSBᾶngs (You saw that I declared this the worst Billy Joel tune, right?)

never had one. but it sounds interesting. honey and peanut butter get my approval

@KitΘδς yes. that's why i turned it off after about 10 s

@JSBᾶngs Never had —? mind = blown.

Bogdan Lataianu

it's compliocated to change the gravatar

But it's worth it!

5:19 PM

@KitΘδς never even heard of it until you mentioned it

@JSBᾶngs suspiciously Were you raised in a barn by wolves?

@KitΘδς i keep telling you, those were coyotes. coyotes

I've never heard of Fluffernutter. sounds naughty.

That's just a Peanut Butter and Fluff sandwich, right?

@MrShinyandNew安宇 WHAT? What is going on? Has reality altered again?

@GraceNote Yes, yes, YES!

Fluffernutter

A fluffernutter is a sandwich made with peanut butter and marshmallow creme. Its name comes from the common use of "Marshmallow Fluff" brand marshmallow creme. It is particularly popular in the Northeastern United States and has been proposed as the official Massachusetts state sandwich. A fluffernutter is made by spreading peanut butter on a slice of white bread, then spreading an equal amount of some kind of marshmallow (small, large or cream) on another slice, and finally combining them together to form a sandwich. Variations of the recipe include wheat bread instead of white, and the...

5:24 PM

Those were delicious. I haven't had them since I was half my age, though.

My God, I never realized it was a New England phenomenon.

I've never had peanut butter (allergic) nor marshmallow creme.

Like the whoopie pie.

whoopie what?

Whoopie pie

The whoopie pie (alternatively called a gob, black-and-white, bob, or "BFO" for Big Fat Oreo) is an American baked good that may be considered either a cookie, pie, or cake. It is made of two round mound-shaped pieces of chocolate cake, or sometimes pumpkin or gingerbread cake, with a sweet, creamy filling or frosting sandwiched between them. History While considered a New England phenomenon and a Pennsylvania Amish tradition, they are increasingly sold throughout the United States. It is thought that the original Whoopie pies may have been made from cake batter leftovers. The whoopi...

My home state has an huge ongoing feud with Pennsylvania over these things.

5:26 PM

@KitΘδς now you're just making things up that sound dirty

Good evening everyone!

@Alenanno Afternoon!

From that article: The whoopie pie is the official state treat of Maine (not to be confused with the official state dessert, which is blueberry pie).

Ohho, you're a Maininite?

Ayuh.

5:27 PM

WTF do states have official treats and official desserts?

Mainer.

Or Maineiac.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Massachussetts has a state tartan

I've been to Maine, once. Visited Portland.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Just Maine, I think.

@Kit It's 19:27 here... :D

5:28 PM

As in. one of these

@Alenanno I wasn't correcting you; just using an appropriate local time greeting.

@KitΘδς Nah, the other states all have lots of official whojimawatchimas. Official state bird, official state colour, official state orangutan, etc

@Kit What time is it there?

In fact, Wikipedia has a list of state tartans.

Yes, but I think Maine is the only one with a treat and a dessert.

5:29 PM

@GraceNote Official state Tartan kinda makes sense. More sense than official state dessert.

@Alenanno 13.29.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Blueberries are big industry there. Also potatoes, lobster, and pot.

@KitΘδς holy smokes, and I haven't gotten anything done today!

@Kit Around lunchtime! :D

@Alenanno Well, yes, except I ate at 10 parceque j'ai faim du mort.

Lists of United States state insignia

The following are lists of U.S. state and territory insignia as designated by tradition or by the respective state legislatures: :List of U.S. state amphibians :U.S. state bats :List of U.S. state beverages :List of U.S. state birds :List of U.S. state butterflies :List of U.S. state colors :List of U.S. state crustaceans :List of U.S. state dances :List of U.S. state dinosaurs :U.S. official state dogs :List of U.S. state firearms :List of U.S. state fish :List of U.S. state flags :List of U.S. state flowers :List of U.S. state foods :List of U.S. state fossils :List of U.S. state grasses ...

5:30 PM

@Kit ahah I see

Bogdan Lataianu

in the memory of Jasper Loy i changed my avatar

@Alenanno Which I would say in Italian, if I knew how.

State bats, woo!

@BogdanLataianu Nice. I like it.

official state firearms! Gods bless America.

5:31 PM

@BogdanLataianu I hope you send him an email.

Oh, wait, State Firearms. That's where it's at

in Canada, New Brunswick has an official provincial SOIL. sigh

@Kit You meant something like "Oh, I was starving"?

Someone needs to make a list of things, all things, or all kinds of things, things that have choices, and designate an official state/province thing for that kind.

@Alenanno Yes.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 An ontology of things! Yes! A complete ontology of stuff and things!

5:35 PM

Maybe I can start a campaign to get Ontario to designate an official Lego brick.

@KitΘδς but i am against things and solidly in favor of stuff

2

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Brilliant!

@KitΘδς yes! And an official state designation for each one.

@Kit We say "morire di fame"... So for example "I ate sooner because I was starving!" will become "Ho mangiato prima perché morivo di fame!"

@JSBᾶngs Already a schism!

5:36 PM

@KitΘδς Isn't stuff made of things? or are things made of stuff?

Morire = to die, fame = hunger... Morire di fame = to die from hunger.

@Alenanno OK, so the same construction as French, except that I had it wrong and didn't realize until you told me the Italian.

Morivo di fame.

Good. thumbs up

Grazie.

Why, oh, why will noone write teh codez for me?

I don't want to work anymore...

@Kit

Bogdan Lataianu

5:41 PM

in Romanian morire di fame=a muri de foame

@Kit Sorry had to post it :D

@Alenanno LOL

I feel a little better.

Ahahah Memes will save the world.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Let's go play in the peanut-free classroom while they eat their fluffernutter!

@aedia ...peanut gallery........

5:46 PM

@ChaosGamerΕΛΥēelū Haha! My dad always used to refer to us as the peanut gallery, actually.

@aediaλ LOL cat points, giggles

Great. Looks like I'm the dad around here. Mana said that I speak like his dad, and now you.
What the hell is wrong with me?

Of all the stupid things that MS does for us automatically because they think we are too stupid, why can't they automatically set AutoPostBack to true if I assign a function to an event? And why do I always have to write runat="server" on my controls?

Too make us frustrated. Internal or external commands are always repetitive.

Because they spent too much time on Clippy and those later other animated guys that came with Publisher.

5:51 PM

Stupid Clippy. I started using binder clips because of him.

Tip: to get rid of start sentence at command prompt, type echo off.

I love it.

My god, there was/is a Facebook group wanting to save these things.

Hey! I like those little guys! What's worng with them?

I knew one person ever who liked the cat, and the poor dear's dead now, so I can't see why the little characters can't rest in peace too.

Especialy the Dog.

5:55 PM

@ChaosGamerΕΛΥēelū They're cute when they're not in your way, but that's hardly ever.

@aediaλ Oh God... brilliant!

Well, they do help me with all these suggestions.

I was fond of the robot for a very short time, until it started effing up all my formatting.

@aediaλ The dog wouldn't do that try it for a couple of months!

@Cerberus It'll poo! I just know it!

5:56 PM

No it will just sit on your caret permanently.