English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Every so often, I see a death-notice for someone who was deceased on the following date. However, understandably, it feels grammatically problematic to remark that someone had "died yesterday". What is the correct grammatical approach for referencing events which have occurred but are still in th...

future-in-past

I do not understand this question. Please explain it to me.

Cerberus

@RegDwigнt By the way, Balpha fixed Lobotomy!

RegDwigнt

If by "by" you mean "ten miles to the left of"...

Jasper Loy

@RegDwigнt I thought of a new username for you: Lego.

Cerberus

@RegDwigнt No, km.

Sean C.

I'm worried about icloud drive

Matt Эллен

3:14 PM

@RegDwigнt clearly a time traveller

he's going back to yesterday, when someone died, so he needs to know how to express it in his own time frame, in which it happens twice

tchrist

RegDwigнt

@JasperLoy thank you. But I'm afraid someone else thought of it 80 years ago and it's a registered trademark by now.

Andrew Leach

@RegDwigнt It's a Mafia funeral notice. "We mourn the passing of Luke Soprano, who will have died by the time you read this."

Cerberus

@tchrist ?

tchrist

@Cerberus I was answering the referenced question about where they got the mountain picture.

Cerberus

3:17 PM

@tchrist So that mountain is the Matterhorn, which happens to be in the Mountains Portal?

RegDwigнt

@tchrist yesterday I saw a nice documentary on how in Colorado, the number of inmates who are over 60 years old has increased seven-fold over the last ten years. Basically your jails are now nursing homes, complete with dialyses and all.

Cerberus

Lovely.

I thought Colorado was a relatively civilized state?

RegDwigнt

Of course nobody would dream of letting those people go, what with the jails having been privatized, so every disabled inmate in a wheelchair translates to profit for some company (at the cost of the taxpayers).

Andrew Leach

@Cerberus The State is providing geriatric care. Is that not civilised?

Cerberus

Probably at a huge cost for taxpayers. I think our prisons cost about €40,000 a year per prisoner.

tchrist

3:20 PM

@Cerberus Yes.

Cerberus

@AndrewLeach Haha, I suppose.

Then again, the state can also provide geriatric care that's not in a prison...

tchrist

@RegDwigнt I’ve read about that too. Also remember that there is a huge prison industry down at Cañon City.

RegDwigнt

Noöne says that, of course. Instead every official, for angst of being labeled a not-so-hard-liner, pretends that demented folks in wheelchairs are a threat to society.

Cerberus

@tchrist OK funny.

@RegDwigнt They do tend to undress in public...

RegDwigнt

@Cerberus those people cannot un-anything in anywhere.

Some of them are literally tied to the bed.

tchrist

3:21 PM

@Cerberus It has nothing to do with Colorado. These are federal prisons.

Cerberus

Not if they were freed.

tchrist

Colorado has no say.

Cerberus

Hmm.

That sucks.

tchrist

It’s like how Boulder has no say over the state university here or the national labs.

Wrong jurisdictions.

RegDwigнt

Cerberus has just healed all diseases! If you have a patient, just let him go.

The mute walk, the lame talk, the Kingdom of God is near!

Cerberus

3:24 PM

That, too.

RegDwigнt

Spontaneous healing as raison d'état.

Matt Эллен

yesterday

tchrist

all my troubles

RegDwigнt

Were with Michael Bay.

Cerberus

But what I meant was that setting those people free would result in problems of public decency and relatives called up in the middle of the night, so the government is probably looking out for everyone's best interests.

RegDwigнt

3:26 PM

@Cerberus the government is not looking out for anyone. The government is no longer involved, and hasn't been for decades.

tchrist

@RegDwigнt Shouldn’t that be had been have being been with Michael Bay?

Cerberus

@RegDwigнt Shhh!

Don't say that out loud.

The telescreen in the corner...

RegDwigнt

@tchrist will have been willing have beened wheeling to be dabadoo dabadee.

Cerberus

Beaner.

RegDwigнt

Beanest.

Cerberus

3:28 PM

Be.

RegDwigнt

Sean is bean, but mr. is beaner.

Cerberus

Why did you use every form of be, except be?

Haha.

RegDwigнt

Be cause.

Cerberus

I think Sean Bean is also a person?

RegDwigнt

And there was cause.

tchrist

3:28 PM

-1

Q: Where to use have past tense or had past tense

I got confused many times that where to use "have past tense" and "had past tense". Suppose I want to use "I have removed that task from list" or it should be "I had removed that task from list". So my question is can we use past tense with "have" or if we can than when to use "have" and where ...

tenses

RegDwigнt

And He saw that cause was good.

tchrist

I wonder: can pineapple mash be fermented?

Cerberus

Yeasts and fungi can grow upon it.

There being considerable overlap.

RegDwigнt

Overlap dance.

Matt Эллен

better than an overbite dance?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

3:34 PM

burlap dance

Matt Эллен

►

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

> This video is unavailable.

Matt Эллен

yeah, me too

I'll try a different link

lapland dance

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

That was possibly the last thing I expected to see.

RegDwigнt

I can save y'all some work and just remove the room.

Robusto

3:47 PM

@RegDwigнt "Beaner" is a derogatory U.S. slang term meaning "Mexican."

RegDwigнt

@Robusto chichorito.

Wait, there must be an A in there somewhere.

Chicharito. Same difference.

!!wiki Chicharito

Jarvis the Bot

Javier Hernández Balcázar

Javier Hernández Balcázar (Spanish pronunciation: [xaˈβjeɾ erˈnandes]; born 1 June 1988) is a Mexican footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and the Mexican national team. Hernández plays with his nickname, Chicharito (Spanish: little pea), on his shirt. He previously played for the Mexican club Guadalajara, before becoming the first Mexican player to join Manchester United. Hernández made his debut for Mexico in September 2009 in a match against Colombia. He has also represented them at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2014 FIFA World...

Robusto

Big P or Little P?

RegDwigнt

It's number two, though of course it's still number one.

Robusto

Shouldn't you be out looking for your walrus?

RegDwigнt

3:50 PM

Anyhoo, the point being, what Mexicans consider a great honor, USAers consider derogatory. I blame the communism.

Robusto

Beans and peas being the same thing.

RegDwigнt

@Robusto that Greenpeace ship has sailed. On Shell petrol, no less.

Me, I'm taking a natural-gas bus outta here.

CU lators.

Robusto

In Soviet Russia, pea beans you.

Cerberus

Bee peens u.

Robusto

Been there.

KitFox

3:55 PM

Happy belated, @Mr.Shiny.

Cerberus

Then wear the fucking t-shirt.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@KitFox thanks

I spent the day in bed, feverish

KitFox

Yuck.

Cerberus

Poor dear!

Robusto

@Cerberus Oops, I fucked the wearing t-shirt instead.

Cerberus

3:56 PM

Was yesterday a special day?

@Robusto Eww.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus 45th anniversary of the moon landing

Cerberus

Uh OK.

Robusto

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I thought that was a U.S. thing. It's not like Canada went to the moon.

Cerberus

If only.

The hole it left would also solve our rising sea-level problems.

Robusto

@Cerberus It would be full of Molson cans already.

Cerberus

3:58 PM

Who?

Robusto

The hole left by Canada going to the moon.

Cerberus

I do not know Molson.

Robusto

!!wiki Molson

Jarvis the Bot

Molson Canadian Amphitheatre

Molson Canadian Amphitheatre (commonly called (the) Molson Amphitheatre or simply the Amphitheatre) is a semi-enclosed outdoor concert venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its address is 909 Lake Shore Boulevard West, located on the grounds of Ontario Place. The venue hosts many diverse acts, including genres like rock, pop, and jazz. The first musician to perform at this music venue was Bryan Adams on May 18, 1995. == History == === Forum === Ontario Place opened in May 1971 with the original Forum as one of first attractions at the amusement park. The original structure consisted of a v...

Robusto

!!wiki Molson beer

Cerberus

3:59 PM

Molson Brewery

The Molson Brewery was formed in Montreal in 1786. It is the second oldest company in Canada after the Hudson's Bay Company. In 2005, Molson merged with US-based Coors to form Molson Coors Brewing Company, the world's seventh-largest brewing company at that time. The Canadian division of the Molson Coors Brewing Company is Molson-Coors Canada Inc.. Molson's first brewery was located on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal where the Molson family continues to maintain its headquarters today. == History == Founded in Montreal in 1786, the Molson Brewery is the oldest brewery in North America...

Jarvis the Bot

@Robusto The Gods of Wikipedia did not bless us

Robusto

There you go.

Cerberus

I see.

No brands or celebrities allowed! This is a communist room.

Robusto

Your champion has left. You are at the mercy of capitalists now.

The previous message has been brought to you by Capitalism™—The Better Way™.

tchrist

Ok, I want to know why I only get 25 close votes and it takes 5, but I get 30 delete votes but it only takes 3.

We need a stock-splitting option.

And nobody ever casts delete votes.

But I always run out of close votes, or at least, always on Monday.

This guy has edited his question about 7 times in 2 minutes, and he still can’t get it into shape.

1

Q: Conveying excitement for the next next quarter/assignment/project

I have just received feedback on my work during the second quarter of the year (Q2) from my manager. I would like to reply to this feedback and end this reply with a sentence along the lines of Looking forward to a <> Q3! In my native language, one could say "fruitful", but I don't know if thi...

expressions workplace

Ten times now.

English questions end in question marks. There is no question here, so this is Not A Real Question. And even if there were, it would almost surely be either Primarily Opinion Based or else Too Broad. Or if you are merely seeking a synonym for fruitful, then it is General Reference. In any event, you have shown no research. — tchrist 4 mins ago

Robusto

4:12 PM

> In my native language, one could say "fruitful", but I don't know if this use of the word is proper in English . . .

"Fruitful" is proper in English. Is that your native language?

May your Q3 be full of <>.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

full of diamonds? everyone loves diamonds

Robusto

4:34 PM

Yes. Coors-Molson diamonds.

Otherwise known as "de beers" diamonds.

Zoe

My mind is blown by a documentary on the Star of Bethlehem.

Mitch

They have pictures?

Zoe

I'm only halfway through. In the video, what John saw in the Book of Revelations was the loop of Jupiter (the king planet) around Regulas (the king star) three times, at the feet of the Leo (Lion of Judah) constellation. The constellation of Virgo (Virgin Mary) was clothed in the sun and had the moon under her feet.

This is the one: youtube.com/watch?v=ff-Gp194XUU

I mean, idc if anyone believes in God or not but for a book that's 2,000 years old to be so accurate about what happened in space, it's something.

Mitch

4:50 PM

Oh that. The science proves it.

Zoe

The science proves the narration of the requirements to be the star of Bethlehem, but im not done with the video just yet

tchrist

0

Q: How to emphasize pronunciation of a specific letter

Good morning! I am having trouble finding a clear answer and thought I would reach out to your group. Any help will be much appreciated. I have a client whos business name is TradOut...like "Trade Out". What would be the best way to show the pronunciation should be "trade" and not "trahd"? We...

pronunciation business-language phonetics

B(l)ah

KitFox

@Zoe Well, Jupiter is visible to the naked eye, and they were describing the view from the ground, not really what was happening in space, at least not heliocentrically.

So I don't find it that surprising.

Zoe

@KitFox Well in short, they viewed what was happening in space from the ground.

@KitFox I found it surprising because I compared it with scripture in Revelations

KitFox

Did you expect them not to look up? Or am I misunderstanding?

Matt Эллен

5:01 PM

I think Zoe is just surprised at how accurately they described what was seen

KitFox

I just don't get why that's surprising, I guess.

Zoe

The planets would be moving slowly and I can't believe 3 people were so dedicated that they studied and looked every night to see the Jupiter loop 3 times

KitFox

Well, astronomers would do that.

That's what they do.

Zoe

Well, they didnt have astronomers back then with all that technology and air conditioning nice food nice telescopes

KitFox

They had astronomers with telescopes.

Zoe

5:04 PM

they probably didnt even have pencil

hahaha

KitFox

OK then.

tchrist

It’s about time.

Zoe

Someone had to be really smart to position the planets, stars, constellations and moon according to a story. Or did people write an accurate story about the stars?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

5:22 PM

I can't even tell what the movie is supposedly claiming. I've skimmed the first 26 minutes and he's still on background

Zoe

You need to go like more than halfway through to get to the actual space stuff

And finally finally now I might be able to give a solid explanation why Jesus wasn't born on the 25th of December.

KitFox

@Zoe No, that's not remarkable. Humans have kept detailed records of cosmological events for centuries. Thousands of years before this setting, there were astronomical clocks and things like that.

Zoe

@KitFox Uhm, what's not remarkable? What did I say was remarkable...?

KitFox

I was inferring the remarkableness.

Zoe

idk what technology was in 3 BC for such accurate tellings of the stars

But i do know Aristotle said something about outer space around 350 BC

KitFox

5:28 PM

Antikythera mechanism

The Antikythera mechanism (/ˌæntɨkɨˈθɪərə/ ANT-i-ki-THEER-ə or /ˌæntɨˈkɪθərə/ ANT-i-KITH-ə-rə) is an ancient analog computer designed to predict astronomical positions and eclipses. It was recovered in 1900–01 from the Antikythera wreck, a shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera. The instrument has been designed and constructed by Greek scientists and dated between 150 to 100 BC. Technological artifacts approaching its complexity and workmanship did not appear again until the 14th century, when mechanical astronomical clocks began to be built in Western Europe. The mechanism was housed in...

Zoe

well i see 100 bc

how about 3 bc?

Mitch

I saw a documentary that had footage of the remains of a wooden boat near the summit of my Ararat, matching the dimensions of the description of Noah's Ark in the bible. The measurements had to be recalibrated because of the different interpretations of ...

...the length of a 'cubit'. But they had actual film of the remains

Zoe

The video focuses on trying to match the signs given in the Bible to what happened in space from the earth's view

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Zoe Yeah I decided to peruse his website instead. Essentially, what he is doing is trying to find any kind of celestial event that happens to fit the description in the bible. The triple conjunction of Jupiter/Regulus would have been rare, but by that point people already knew that the planets' orbits appeared retrograde at times.

I'm going to suggest that if you try hard enough, you can make any story match some celestial event occurring within a certain time period.

Zoe

Yeah they do know by that time but I cant figure what was so interesting about that loop that the Magi would travel so far for it

Well, another smart lawyer would have to come up with it then.

And I would be mindblown as well, maybe someone could make one for another religion and we'll see.

Cerberus

5:32 PM

@Zoe That video is not scientific.

Zoe

@Cerberus Never said it was, anyway

Cerberus

OK.

@Mitch No doubt the Discovery channel, the acme of objective science.

Mitch

@Zoe of course you're saying it is scientific.

Ice Girl

@KitFox Hi.

KitFox

Hi.

Zoe

5:34 PM

I was thinking if those events in the video actually happened and it matches the description of signs, would it be possible to use space math to look for the signs that are given in the book of Revelation? i wish someone with willpower could venture in to that, that would be interesting

Ice Girl

@KitFox I have a problem. May I ask?

Zoe

@Mitch how? it's speculation and assumptions. and i did suggest people could have made a story out of the constellations rather then the constellations fitting with the story

KitFox

@Zoe And technically, it just needs to be in evidence at whatever time it was written, not when it actually supposedly happened. Astrolabes were in popular use in that period.

Cerberus

@Zoe You do realise that most of the text of Revelation was no doubt written many, many years after the time the story supposedly took place?

KitFox

@IceGirl Do you need a private discussion or is here OK?

Ice Girl

5:36 PM

@KitFox Yeah private discussion please

KitFox

OK, one moment.

Zoe

@Cerberus So were the other parts of the Bible, Jesus' ministry was not penned until hundred of years after.

Cerberus

Exactly.

KitFox

@IceGirl Did you receive an invitation?

Ice Girl

@KitFox No

Zoe

5:37 PM

Which is why I am thinking, if the events that happened matches the signs that were written hundred of years after they were actually given, could it be possible to use space math to do the same thing for the other signs that were given

If the signs written was like a copyist mistake, it must have been a really accurate mistake.

KitFox

Or the signs were written a hundred years after the fact, based on space math.

JSBձոգչ

@Zoe if by "hundreds of years" you mean "a few decades", then correct

Mitch

Whatever the space math (celestial mechanics) is saying, it is sayings about the movement of planets and stars. It may corroborate the reports of sky phenomena on a particular date but nothing about what actually happened on the ground.

JSBձոգչ

i missed most of what this argument is about. some kind of astrology?

Zoe

@Mitch I know right. One thing I dont see is how the 3 magi could base the loop of Jupiter around Regulas as the birth or something. But it does symbolise a coronation of sort

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

5:42 PM

@JSBձոգչ Zoe posted a video where someone describes celestial events that supposedly correspond to the star of bethlehem. But warning: incredibly tedious video. The guy takes 30 minutes to tell us 30s of facts.

Zoe

!!define astrology

Jarvis the Bot

@Zoe astrology Divination about human affairs or natural phenomena from the relative positions of celestial bodies. [from 14th c.]

JSBձոգչ

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 eh. not worth my time.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

yeah I gave up, the video was unwatchable.

badp

@Cerberus steals credit

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

5:44 PM

Even the dude's website is designed to string you along for as long as possible, doling out facts and ideas as slowly as possible.

Zoe

You checked out his website?

I mix in some grapes and apples with whatever I hear.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Zoe there is a link in the youtube description.

But it's full of bad reasoning. His linking of Revelations to the "starry dance" of jupiter and regulus is pretty tenuous.

Zoe

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Oh. I just hear him poking his site and it discourages me from actually visiting it

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I didn't catch that part, I thought the revelations part was only on virgo and the blood moon

I'm reading the comments

KitFox

YouTube comments will melt your brain.

Zoe

@KitFox It's 1:48 am and its funny

Oh nvm, I was just reminded we cant actually use space math to do same thing for the last days signs

KitFox

5:49 PM

debates whether to ask

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Zoe He boils the text in revelation down to "a virgin giving birth, something to do with infanticide, and the birth of a ruler" and then links those to Virgo, Herod, and Jupiter/Regulus. Leaving out the fact that the woman giving birth isn't necessarily a virgin, that she's supposed to have a crown of 12 stars, that the infanticidal dragon is meant to be in the sky, not Herod, etc etc

Zoe

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 His speech is quite hard to hear. I did catch a woman giving birth with a dragon waiting to eat the baby and the baby would rule. Well, Herod could very well be known as the adversary of the baby which could be metaphorically be referenced to Satan

But i didnt catch how a dragon could be seen from the stars

I understand about the Virgo, sun and moon but not the dragon.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

> 1 A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male chi…

He's just picking the parts he likes from Revelation and ignoring the details that don't fit.

Zoe

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I was also waiting for the dragon constellation or something along that lines

KitFox

Oh is that what that dragon was doing there when I gave birth?

@Zoe Like Draco?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

5:54 PM

@KitFox Maybe. did it have 7 heads though?

10 horns? seven crowns?

KitFox

Hard to remember.

The hormones make you forget.

Stack Exchange

Limerick Machine: Mammon seemed verily calm About being cast down to harm He preached about peace Not stirring the...

posted on July 21, 2014 by sgdi

Mammon seemed verily calm About being cast down to harm He preached about peace Not stirring the beast It seemed he just wanted to farm

Cerberus

@badp Haha, I mixed up y'all's names.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I am shocked! Shocked, I say.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:09 PM

@Cerberus Yeah me too, but since he put the proof so obviously right there it's much easier to stop caring and dismiss the rest of his incredibly boring video

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Haha, I turned it off after 5 seconds.

I have no reason to spend any time watching pseudo-science.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus Well, just because it's about the bible doesn't mean it can't be scientific.

Though a big red flag went off when he claimed to have read an article by an astronomer (didn't say who) who presented a theory for what the star of bethlehem might have been, and he claimed that he didn't understand the article.

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Of course. But people interested in the Bible and its historic and linguistic context are to a large extent interested primarily from a religious reason. They often cannot be trusted, even while associated with universities.

I, too, study Biblical stories from an academic perspective, by the way; but I can be trusted.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

mm-hm

KitFox

mmkay

Mr.Shiny, have you ever designed a help site?

Cerberus

6:16 PM

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Thank you for your trust.

Zoe

ah the knowledge of man

how frowned upon it is

KitFox

But the knowledge of women is spot on.

Cerberus

Only that of Hypatia.

Matt Эллен

I think it's important to note

4 hours ago, by Cerberus

@JasperLoy I don't know of any statistics.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@KitFox like, a site where people get help for stuff?

KitFox

6:22 PM

Like the part of a site that is supposed to be helpful reference for people using the site.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Well, I built the FAQ section of the site where I work

all that does is display FAQs, and provide a shitty search engine

KitFox

I realize this is part of my current task, to write requirement for this. I'm not sure how to do it.

I suppose I ought to make it a link to some kind of managed content and just toss that over the fence to business.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

yeah ideally there is some kind of CMS backing the help text and FAQs

KitFox

Good enough. I'll note in the reqs that a guy who may or may not actually exist recommended that business deal with the help part.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Just mention that it was a Canadian guy. We're known for being helpful.

and giving good advice.

KitFox

6:31 PM

Good idea.

hey folks

Hi folk

Hello.

We have a question over at Graphic Design that has been flagged as a better question for EL&U, thoughts? graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/q/36185/8708

Matt Эллен

hmmm.

KitFox

6:35 PM

I think that's a duplicate. @tchrist is our specialist.

4

Q: Colon use when introducing a list split across sentences

I understand that a colon should be used to introduce a list: We required three ingredients: eggs, milk and butter. However, what happens if there is a full stop between list elements? We required three ingredients: firstly eggs, to provide a nice eggy flavour. Secondly milk, for all it...

punctuation list colon

7

Q: How to punctuate lists in general?

(1) How to punctuate lists in general? (2) also, what case to use? In the case study, signal comparison could be used for: • signals from redundant channels of emergency stop button, • output signals of redundant processing units, • feedback signals from frequency converter and contactor, • ...

punctuation writing list

3

Q: Punctuation to introduce a list: comma vs. colon vs. nothing

Which of these sentences is written correctly? Angela has three brothers, Mark, Adam, and Ryan. Angela has three brothers: Mark, Adam, and Ryan. Angela has three brothers Mark, Adam, and Ryan

punctuation comma list colon

1

Q: What punctuation should follow after a list introduced by a colon?

The whole department: John, Jeff, Jean, and the accountant [?] were thrown into jail.

punctuation list colon

JohnB

Awesome, thanks @KitFox. No sense migrating a duplicate, but I'll add a comment with those links

Kabir101

Hello Everyone!

KitFox

There are probably a bunch of others.

Send him over to take a peek. If he doesn't find what he needs, he can post a question.

And we'll find it and close it as a dupe... ;-)

Alraxite

10

Q: Is it proper to use a colon followed immediately by a hyphen?

I have seen some writing where people have a list or a figure in writing and they will write something like this: The information is provided in Image 3:- Is that correct? Is this a British style?