« first day (529 days earlier)      last day (4386 days later) » 

11:00 AM
@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 see, now I read it, it makes sense
it's flipping between nonsense and sense
maybe I'm allowed to elide when. I'm a special case
 
When stars elide, like you and I, no shadows block the sun.
 
heh. Do you get royalties for using your own lyrics?
 
Technically it's Bernie's lyrics.
 
11:15 AM
Oh, well then. You'll be sending a cheque off, I should hope!
 
Also, since them's in English, all teas, royal or not, ultimately go to @Rob.
 
it's a long chain of money, all leading back to Rob
 
Rob is one big fat Ponzi.
 
user19161
@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 Skullpatrol?
 
11:17 AM
@JasperLoy Sauerampfer?
 
user19161
A lot of online free stuff seems to have vanished recently.
 
the money is running out!
 
"Online free stuff" is a funny word order.
 
you like your adjectives in a particular order, eh?
can't have the location before the price, nod, wink
 
42
Q: What is the rule for adjective order?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8I remember being taught that the correct order of adjectives in English was something along the lines of "Opinion-Size-Age-Color-Material-Purpose." However, it's been a long time and I'm pretty sure I've forgotten a few categories (I think there were eight or nine). Can anyone fill them in?

Personally, I don't care if your Greek fat wedding is big.
 
user19161
11:21 AM
Now I have a problem with Anglo Saxon. He misspelled Wiktionary earlier on and now he has misspelled Oxford Dictionaries Online as well. He seems to misspell dictionaries all the time.
 
user19161
@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 Without looking at the answers it seems to me that any imposed order is an artificial requirement.
 
Well then look at the answer, sweety.
 
@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 You misremembered, there are seven categories.
 
imposing no order is an artificial requirement!
 
@Gigili that number was pulled out of the ceiling. I was populating the site.
 
user19161
11:24 AM
@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 Plus one for you and Mehper.
 
I know all about the adjective correct order in English, thank you.
 
@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 so is price a judgement then?
 
Are we allowed to quote the whole something as an answer? (huh?)
 
@Gigili only if you travel back to twenty ten. Then you will be allowed to have used just quotes as an answer
 
@MattЭллен it's a number, duh.
 
11:27 AM
@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 oh, I thought number meant number of things, like "12 bananas"
 
user19161
@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 It's a number with a unit.
 
@MattЭллен Yes, and "free" is 3 spelled out. Gosh, go visit a school or something.
 
user19161
3 is a number. $3 is not a number, duh.
 
@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 School's out
 
The UK is out of schools? I blame Cameron.
 
user19161
11:29 AM
@MattЭллен You can visit the school of fish instead.
 
@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 me too. He's been eating schools for breakfast
 
Mmmmmh.... School with porridge... and chips...
 
all we have left are faith healers and car mechanics
 
user19161
Alternatively, one may visit the School Of Rock.
 
Some chutney to top it off...
 
user19161
11:30 AM
And some sesquipedalis. I hope you remember what that is.
 
@MattЭллен car mechanics? I blame Westlife.
 
user19161
@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 They can fly without wings.
 
No that's Bette Midler.
 
user19161
I am surprised the sugar cane and cane sugar question has so few views.
 
user19161
The simple answer is that a sugar cane is a cane and cane sugar is sugar.
 
user19161
11:34 AM
Similarly a houseboat is a boat and a boathouse is a house.
 
user19161
So you see, it's actually quite simple.
 
Haha Matt has just whoooshed Anglo Saxon.
 
@MattЭллен although the meaning is not identical.
 
user19161
@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 You should merge Kris and Anglo Saxon all into Thursagen.
 
0
Q: Which preposition in front of "line"

Em1The result of a Google search for "error" and "PREP line" is: "error" "on line": 439,000,000 results "error" "in line": 60.600.000 results "error" "at line": 35,800,000 results While on is the indisputable number one, in and at have also very many hits. In the following context, which one sh...

Dupe.
Oh no wait. It isn't.
He means the other line.
 
user19161
11:39 AM
I like Em1's questions.
 
user19161
I also declare my love for Ron Maimon.
 
"I have two bests guess"
 
user19161
@DavidWallace Oh probably a bad day for him.
 
I enjoy the writings of Ron Maimon on occasion. I shan't be declaring my love for him though.
 
user19161
I would like to advertise the trapezium and trapezoid question again. It was fascinating!
 
user19161
11:44 AM
8
Q: Trapezium/Trapezoid - why are the US/UK definitions swapped around?

FumbleFingersThese are the US definitions... Trapezoid - a 4-sided flat shape with straight sides that has a pair of opposite sides parallel. Trapezium - a 4-sided flat shape with straight sides and NO parallel sides. The meanings of the two words are exactly reversed between the US and British interpretat...

 
user19161
I think this question should get 100 votes.
 
Thank God I am neither British nor American.
 
user19161
I only used trapezium and not trapezoid myself.
 
user19161
For suitable definitions of trapezium, a square or rectangle could be a trapezium too.
 
Only for incorrect ones.
 
user19161
11:49 AM
Well, if we define trapezium to be a quadrilateral with a pair of parallel sides, why not?
 
One of my workmates was odd today. I presented him two options and asked "which is correct". He told me that they were both correct, for different values of correct.
@JasperLoy Because a trapezium is a quadrilateral with JUST ONE pair of parallel sides.
 
user19161
@DavidWallace He sounds pretty smart.
 
Smart but unhelpful.
 
user19161
@DavidWallace I am in favour of permitting the omission of "just" or "only" or "exactly".
 
user19161
Well, it is not uncommon for a mathematical term to have several slightly different definitions in the literature.
 
11:51 AM
@DavidWallace wait, a rhomb is not a trapezium?
 
user19161
One then has to figure out whether the definitions are equivalent or not.
 
I don't consider a rhombus to be a trapezium.
YMMV.
 
Well, I'm just asking. A square is a rhomb, and a rhomb is a parallelogram. I don't see why a parallelogram can't be a trapezium.
 
user19161
YDMV
 
user19161
Your definitions may vary.
 
11:55 AM
I don't consider a square to be a rectangle.
 
Whoa whoa whoa. Hold on right there.
Now we are leaving mathematical definitions for good and just talking about personal preferences.
 
OK, I don't know a single mathematician who would consider a square to be a rectangle.
And I do know a large number of mathematicians, including at least one famous one.
 
{{Infobox polygon | name = Square | image = Square (geometry).svg | caption = A square is a regular quadrilateral. | type = Regular polygon | euler = | edges = 4 | schläfli = {4} | wythoff = | coxeter = | symmetry = Dihedral (D4) | area = t2 (with t = edge length) | angle = 90° | dual = dual polygon of this shape | properties = convex, cyclic, equilateral, isogonal, isotoxal}} In geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral. This means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, or right angles). It can a...
 
"a rectangle in which two adjacent sides have equal length" is an oxymoron.
 
12:01 PM
@Cerberus That must be the southwestern US.
 
That's like saying that if you paint a car red it stops being a car.
Which is doubly nonsensical in an exact science such as mathematics.
 
How is that an oxymoron?
 
A circle is a rectangle with fewer sides
 
Yo Matt we don't need your oil in the fire, thanks.
 
@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 No, it's more like saying that if you put a third wheel on a bicycle, it stops being a bicycle.
 
12:04 PM
Sorry. I didn't realise this was sirrius biznis
 
@DavidWallace But you are not putting a third wheel on it. You are just changing the clearance.
 
I still don't see how it is an oxymoron.
 
A rectangle has four sides and four 90° corners. Is all.
A square fulfills both conditions.
 
Right.
 
@KitFox It's an oxymoron because a rectangle is a plane figure with four sides, four right angles, and which is not a square.
 
12:06 PM
There is nothing in the definition of rectangle that prevents it from also being a square.
 
The Esteemed Owl and I disagree on this last point.
 
Squares are subsets of rectangles.
Like circles are subset of ellipses.
 
Well I am totally willing to believe that they teach math backwards in NZ.
 
So the Foxy Kitty has joined the Esteemed Owl in their beautiful pea-green boat.
 
Well, you're the one who is being crazy.
 
12:07 PM
Seriously though, I have never studied maths in English, so for the moment all I can do is check Wikipedia.
 
Next you'll both be telling me that an equilateral triangle is also isoceles.
 
> a parallelogram having four right angles.
Oh no. So are you saying rectangles are not also parallelograms?
 
That's a good question, actually.
If your definitions are disjunct, they better be disjunct consistently.
 
@DavidWallace In Canada we are also taught that squares are special cases of rectangles and rectangles are special cases of parallelograms which are special cases of quadrilaterals.
 
@DavidWallace Right.
> Of or relating to a geometric figure having at least two sides of equal length.
I have constructed geometric ontologies as part of my graduate studies. I think I am qualified to speak on the issue.
 
12:10 PM
OK, whereas I'm prepared to admit that there might be mathematicians in some part of the world who consider the set of squares to be a subset of the set of rectangles, I'm certainly not prepared to admit that there might be mathematicians who consider the set of equilateral triangles to be a subset of the set of isoceles triangles.
 
Triangles are a red herring here.
 
Wikipedia notes that SOME mathematicians restrict an isosceles triangle to TWO equal sides, while others permit 3.
> Some mathematicians define an isosceles triangle to have exactly two equal sides, whereas others define an isosceles triangle as one with at least two equal sides.
 
But back to the matter at hand, which is that David for some reason thinks that squares are not rectangles.
 
12:14 PM
> A square is a special case of a isosceles trapezoid, kite, parallelogram, quadrilateral, rectangle, rhombus, and trapezoid.
From the same site.
Every time I see ads for WolframAlpha, I get creeped out thinking of Wolfram & Hart.
 
Wikipedia has lots of ways to describe a square
a rectangle with two adjacent equal sides
a quadrilateral with four equal sides and four right angles
a parallelogram with one right angle and two adjacent equal sides
a rhombus with a right angle
a rhombus with all angles equal
a quadrilateral where the diagonals are equal and are the perpendicular bisectors of each other, i.e. a rhombus with equal diagonals
 
We tried that earlier.
He says that "a rectangle with two adjacent equal sides" is an oxymoron.
But I don't understand that argument.
It must be that he's tired and not thinking clearly.
 
Maybe his definition of rectangle necessarily excludes having equal sides? But I don't see how that is a useful definition
 
Maybe. But I agree with you.
In terms of structuring data, it would be silly to insist on the most specific instance of labeling only.
@Reg Where are your pants anyway?
 
hey! @Reg is an owl again.
 
12:20 PM
What do you call a six sided object with rectangular but non-square faces?
 
A plank.
 
Really? That's great!
 
you mean, as opposed to a cube?
 
A cuboid?
 
I've always wondered
@MrShinyandNew安宇 wolfram says cubes have 6 square faces
 
12:21 PM
In geometry, a cuboid is a solid figure bounded by six faces, forming a convex polyhedron. There are two competing (but incompatible) definitions of a cuboid in mathematical literature. In the more general definition of a cuboid, the only additional requirement is that these six faces each be a quadrilateral, and that the undirected graph formed by the vertices and edges of the polyhedron should be isomorphic to the graph of a cube. Alternatively, the word “cuboid” is sometimes used to refer to a shape of this type in which each of the faces is a rectangle (and so each pair of adjacent fac...
 
The only word that comes to mind is "rectangular prism"
 
I've even heard "rectangular prism" for this.
JINX!
 
Okay okay jinxes all around.
 
Also, rhombohedron.
 
I prefer rectangular parallelepiped because that's the Russian term as well.
 
12:22 PM
A cuboid is a box-shaped object.

It has six flat sides and all angles are right angles.

And all of its faces are rectangles.

It is also a prism because it has the same cross-section along a length. In fact it is a rectangular prism.
 
@KitFox I thought the faces of a rhombohedron were rhombuses.
 
I was playing.
 
a rectangle is a kind of rhombus
 
muhuhahahahha!
 
12:23 PM
Well for once David is right. :P
 
OK Cuboid it is. Also Rectangular prison
 
I like plank, personally.
You can hit people with it.
 
me too
 
Boint plank.
 
Exactly.
 
12:24 PM
a rectangular prison is where they send you when you're caught stealing cars.
 
If it's close to a cube, it doesn't feel like a plank.
 
So. Where are your pants, @Reg?
 
I like rhombohedron, but mostly because it sounds like some sort of evil monster or robot
 
Yes. Me too for the same reason.
Not to be confused with the Rhombo Hadron.
 
No! Never.
 
12:25 PM
tries to imagine
 
What's a Rhombo Hadron?
 
Wait what? A robo-hardon?
 
It's what they are smashing in the LHC
 
That where they smash rhomboids together until they turn into squares.
 
Ah. I did wonder if there was a link
 
12:26 PM
First they smashed TLC, now this. I'm sad.
 
LHC = Rhombo Hadron Collider
But the guy who coined the acronym had a merged L/R pronunciation
 
Hahaha
 
that's scientists for you. can't spell anything
 
If you wanna monitor their progress, turn on the
Smash TV is a 1990 arcade game created by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell for Williams. Home versions were developed for various platforms and most were published by Acclaim Entertainment. Description The play mechanic is very similar to that of Eugene Jarvis' earlier ', with dual-joystick controls and series of single screen areas. The theme of the game, borrowed from The Running Man, [http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/smashtv/review.html Smash TV Review] involves players competing in a violent game show, set in the then future year of 1999. Moving from one room to the next with...
 
I know. Like, UTC = Universal Coordinated Time. WTF?
 
12:28 PM
@MrShinyandNew安宇 Universal Time: Coordinated.
 
@MrShinyandNew安宇 it's French. You as a member of OTAN should know.
 
@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 OTAN?
And in French it's Temps Universel coordine or something
 
@MrShinyandNew安宇 North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
 
L’Organisation du traité de l’Atlantique Nord (Otan ou OTAN ; en anglais : North Atlantic Treaty Organization ou NATO) est une organisation politico-militaire qui rassemble de nombreux pays occidentaux, dans le but premier d'assurer leur défense commune contre les menaces extérieures ainsi que la stabilité du continent européen. Son siège, initialement situé à Londres puis à Paris, se trouve depuis 1966 à Bruxelles, et son commandement militaire (SHAPE), initialement à Rocquencourt (France), se trouve aujourd'hui à Mons (Belgique). L'Otan est née le suite à des négociations lancées pa...
 
OTANS - Oblongs that are not square
 
12:30 PM
Ohoh. This always needs silliness.
 
although, oblongs are defined as rectangles that are not square. So I'm being tautological
 
I didn't dare point that out.
 
O your base are blongs to us.
 
wow. That seems to be a case of the exception proving the rule.
 
So my boys started daycare today.
 
12:37 PM
Isn't your eldest at school? Or is it school holidays at the moment?
 
He only has school two days a week.
 
Last week was vacation and school ends in May.
And my husband got a job.
 
!!
so much happening at once
 
Well, him getting a job is why all at once.
 
12:38 PM
how's your youngest taking to daycare?
 
Is he happy (your husband) - with his new job?
 
@MattЭллен I don't know. He was sitting next to his brother when I left, and he said "bye-bye" cheerfully.
@DavidWallace He just started today, but it is the job he's been hoping for. It may only be temporary. We don't know at this point.
He's very glad not to be on his tools.
 
"on his tools"?
 
Let me think...working in his trade?
He's not working as an electrician. He's working in the local instead.
 
so he's moving on to a new career?
 
12:41 PM
It's nice when things work out well. I do hope it turns out to be long term.
 
@MattЭллен Not really. In order to work in the political structure of the union, you must be a skilled tradesman, so he can go back to work as an electrician any time, and stays licensed as one.
It's one of the things that makes us laugh when we hear "union fat cats."
President of the teacher's union is a teacher. President of the steelworkers union is a steelworker. That's how it works.
 
gotcha! So he's working in a pub, now?
 
Hahaha.
No.
 
Yes, I thought "local" was a British expression, and was surprised to hear KitFox using it.
 
Oh! I think I understand
 
12:44 PM
Oh. Is "local" a pub?
 
he's working for his local union, but not as an electrician
@KitFox "a local" or "one's local" is a pub
 
Ah, OK. Yes, @KitFox, "local" = "pub" in British English.
 
Oh, I will tell him. He'll get a laugh out of that.
 
I have to go to bed. Something to do with having work tomorrow (OK, today). See you all later.
 
12:48 PM
Bye!
So what's the gossip about Robusto getting banned?
 
@Matt a 'local' is a chapter of a union
 
@KitFox he said piss off in German in here
 
And he got flagged?
 
@KitFox yes
 
I see.
 
12:49 PM
and someone banned him for that?
 
@MrShinyandNew安宇 I see. That makes sense. Do they normally have a number after local?
@MrShinyandNew安宇 for a few minutes, yes
 
@MattЭллен Yes.
 
@MattЭллен yes, if you're talking about a specific local
 
How odd.
To ban Robusto, that is.
 
Yes, it was.
I only caught it in the transcript
 
12:51 PM
so like, CUPE local 416 is the chapter of CUPE (um... Canadian Union of Public Employees? maybe?) that represents the "inside" workers in Toronto.
 
@MattЭллен But then, there was that time with you and Jasper.
 
Well he holds the record now.
 
Record for what?
 
@KitFox Yup, that was also odd
 
@KitFox for getting banned.
 
12:51 PM
He's been banned before?
 
although, what I said was inflammatory
 
He was the first person ever to get banned here, and the first person ever to get banned here twice.
 
mind = boggled
@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 Really? What about trg?
 
wasn't Thursagen banned a bunch of times?
 
@MattЭллен Not really. I thought it was obviously a joke.
 
12:52 PM
@MrShinyandNew安宇 Not from chat.
 
oh, banned from CHAT
 
Damn it, I want a hot dog.
 
Yeah obviously on the main site people get banned every waking hour.
 
@KitFox I saw some damn tasty looking hot dogs on Saturday. Drool worthy
I wasn't even hungry at the time
 
Right. So didn't trg get banned a bunch too?
 
12:58 PM
I only remember one time. Besides, who is Rob to even compete with trg?
 
I wonder how he is doing.
But I suppose we didn't really need another user requiring special care.
 

« first day (529 days earlier)      last day (4386 days later) »