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2:09 AM
Good night.
I didn't mean I was going to sleep!
I just hope your night is good.
I have slept for two hours.
Now I am awake.
 
yes, my night is going well, how about yours?
 
Fairly well, except of course that I woke up. But that was to be expected.
What are you up to?
 
math
you?
 
Oh, good.
Sleeping.
Alas, the Russians are pushing back the Ukrainians again.
 
how long has that war been going on?
 
2:24 AM
A few months.
 
icic
pardon my ignorance
 
You can read all about it on Wikipaedia if you so wish.
 
i'm not much of a current events person
thanks i'll check wiki :)
 
Since the end of February 2014, demonstrations by pro-Russian, ultranationalist, and anti-government groups have taken place in major cities across the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, in the aftermath of the Euromaidan movement and the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. During the first stage of the unrest, Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation after a crisis in the region, Russian military intervention and an internationally criticized referendum. Protests in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts escalated into an armed separatist insurgency. This led the Ukrainian government to launch a military...
All this began when protesters in the capital Kiev, which is pro-Western, ousted the pro-Russian government and made the president flee; this caused Russia to incite (and also stage) real and fake protests in southern and eastern Ukraine.
 
I just woke up, lol.
 
2:35 AM
@Cerberus do you have any family or friends there?
 
Nope. I do know one person who is from the Crimea, but he lives here.
 
What does he say about the situation?
 
He said most people in the Crimea supported the Russian annexation, so he was fine with it.
I have heard other reports from other people...but it is true that the Crimea is/was relatively the most pro-Russian region of Ukraine.
They belonged to Russia until...the fifties or the sixties.
 
2:58 AM
And then Russia gave them away, and then decided to steal them back.
 
Yeah.
But they kind of wanted to go back to mother Russia.
 
i'm so far behind the times :(
 
Can you find Amsterdam?
 
no
skyscraperfest?
oh, maybe it's "arrogant schmucks and ignorant tourists"
those are my two guesses
 
@Cerberus Arrogant smucks (and ignorant tourists)?
 
3:06 AM
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 That is Rotterdam, because it was bombed. Skyscrapers aren't really allowed in cities (too ugly).
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Ding!
@skullpatrol Ding!
 
A city's not a city without skyscrapers
 
Maybe you can also guess where my parents live and where my brother went to university...
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Meh, they're ugly. We have a handful in the suburbs.
They kind of ruin the view...
 
@Cerberus That's just weird
 
Rotterdam is really the only city where they are allowed anywhere near the central city.
 
3:08 AM
no, it isn't "weird"
it is smart
no chance of 911
 
Haha.
Well, that is true, but the chances of a 911 are slight anyway.
 
the smaller the chances, the better :-)
imo
 
We had an aeroplane crash into a large apartment building in the nineties.
43 people died.
 
@skullpatrol There is pretty much zero chance of 9/11 anywhere anytime.
 
@Cerberus terrorism?
 
3:14 AM
An accident.
 
maybe that^ is where they got the idea
 
Terrorism is so rare as to be simply not worth worrying about at all.
 
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Yes, especially in rich countries.
 
We have a culture of fear and it's annoying. Everyone be afraid! all the time! There are villains everywhere! sigh
 
i still can't get the image of the people holding their hands as the jumped, out of my head :(
 
3:16 AM
It was 13 years ago!
I mean, yeah. It was terrible.
The whole thing was so awful it was beyond comprehension. But don't lose sight of the big picture.
People die every day due to not-terrorism-things.
People die randomly, or of illness, or of crimes, etc.
But pretty much nobody dies of terrorism. It's a statistical blip. We should take some measures to prevent attacks, but let's not lose sight of the big picture.
 
yes, yes...we all have to go someday
 
If I were in the US, I'd be more worried about some gun-fondler accidentally shooting me than a terrorist killing me.
 
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 In Canada?
 
@Cerberus we get some of it here. It's not as bad as in the US
But it's also not just fear of terrorism.
Fear of cancer. Fear of injury. Fear of kidnappers. Fear of everything.
 
Right, fear of crime has been on the rise (but not crime itself).
 
3:20 AM
is it the fear of the french :-)
 
We don't fear the French here.
 
The French have been thoroughly domesticated!
 
They're over in France. They can't hurt us.
 
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I wonder what the source of this fear is.
 
They can barely keep their own shit together.
 
3:21 AM
It is easy to point to America as the source of all evil...
 
true dat^
 
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 How do you mean? France is fine.
 
@Cerberus I think it's just a normal technique used by the powers that be, or anyone who thinks they can pull it off, to try to control people.
 
But why now?
 
@Cerberus Every time I read about France in the papers there is some problem.
@Cerberus I'm not sure it's on the rise. Before there was fear of strangers! fear of communists! fear of miasmas! fear of hellfire!
 
3:22 AM
Well, every time I read about a country in the papers, it's about some problem most of the time.
 
So anyway I want to buy a new PC.
 
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 That is true. I was thinking perhaps it was a replacement of our fear of the Russians.
But why is it by far the strongest in America?
Because they were always the most religious, so they had more fear to replace?
Because their media are more polarised?
 
@Cerberus Because they're on top of their particular food chain, so they have to invent threats?
 
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Yay! What kind?
 
@Cerberus That's what I'm trying to decide. Also, I don't know when I'll have the cash avail.
I also have to spend money on home repairs, etc, and I want to buy a piano.
I need to win the lottery.
 
3:24 AM
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I don't know, it seems to be more than that. I don't think all of this is incited top down. Perhaps it is because of America's frontier mentality too: people in the countryside there are ways more paranoid and crazy than elsewhere.
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Ohh I read went.
Do you need a new computer?
 
my current one is 4 years old
 
Mine 6.
 
i'm finding games somewhat sluggish
 
Hmm.
Upgrade your video card?
 
Also I'm dissatisfied with the loudness of my HDD compared to my work PC's SSD
 
3:26 AM
If possible? Otherwise, upgrade mobo and RAM and CPU too...
Oh, yes, your first buy should be an SSD!
 
yeah I will probably just upgrade stuff, but still it will end up costing hundreds
the SSD won't help much.
I mean, it will help load times, but not play times
 
Have you checked your video card in Tom's Hardware's GPU tiers chart?
If you upgrade three tiers, how much will it cost? How about six tiers, is it worth it to you?
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Sure, but for general computing.
 
@Cerberus I really mainly use this computer for gaming. My wife uses it the rest of the time and she's fine with how it works.
 
Tom's says upgrading your video card is only worth it if you go up at least three tiers, I seem to remember.
Hmm OK.
 
My video card is also 4 years old.
 
3:28 AM
Gaming CPU hierarchy chart: tomshardware.com/reviews/…
Best graphic card for the money, entry level: tomshardware.com/reviews/…
Best CPU for the money, entry level: tomshardware.com/reviews/…
 
So is that CPU chart saying that if you have an i7-960, dont' bother upgrading?
 
Yes, probably.
What do you have?
 
A monolith from space
 
That's what I have
 
@JosephWeissman That's nice. How many teraflops can it do?
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Then don't upgrade your CPU.
 
3:36 AM
But my work computer is an i7-4770K and it's WAY faster
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
 
But do you notice in gaming? Is the CPU the bottleneck in gaming? This is rarely the case nowadays: it's usually the GPU.
 
I guess I could try upgrading the gpu and the hdd
My gpu is AMD HD 5800-series.
I'm not even sure 5800-what
 
Have you found a GPU in the cheaper sections of the "best GPU for the money" page that is at least three tiers above your current GPU?
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Huh can't find that in the chart...
Or do you mean like HD 5850?
 
It might be 5850 but I'm not sure
 
OK.
That seems to be the only discrete GPU in the chart.
 
3:43 AM
according to wikipedia, the possibilities are 5830, 5850, 5870. I know I didn't buy the -70
I typically buy the middle child of the current generation
but when I bought this computer I bought whatever they had in the store, so it could be the -30
which puts it in the 12th tier
 
The '70 is mobile.
 
no there's a desktop one
 
Oh.
Isn't that one more powerful than the mobile one?
 
the '70 desktop is in the 9th tier
 
Oh, I missearched.
 
3:47 AM
the desktop one is usually more powerful than the mobile one
 
I should search like "<space>58".
Not "HD<space>58".
Or, actually, I should search for both.
Can't you find out which one you have?
 
The AMD driver just says "5800 series"
Anyway, 9th or 12th tier, either way I'm sure I can do better
but if upgrading the cpu won't affect game performance.......
 
Yeah.
And upgrading RAM is also very unlikely to increase performance for you, I conclude from an extensive test I read recently. Unless it is often full.
 
Hm. I wonder if my ram is full when i play the game.
 
How much do you have?
(My GPU is tier 15 btw. It cost €120ish in 2008.)
 
3:53 AM
6 GB
for some reason my mobo wants sims 3 at a time
or dims or whatever they're called these days
 
That is extremely unlikely to be filled up.
Dimms, I believe.
 
so I noticed on Steam you're rated "Steam level 0"
 
Have you checked your system through canyourunit.com? Or was it canirunit.com.
 
The problem isn't that I can't run stuff. I can. I just want it to be faster.
 
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Well, thank you. What do I do now?
 
3:56 AM
@Cerberus I don't know. I'm steam level 6, and Matt's level 10
but I don't know what the levels signify.
 
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Yeah, but if the "recommended" RAM is 6GB, your RAM will most probably not be the bottleneck for that particular game.
 
Well, I'm not going to bother with ram unless I also do the cpu and mobo. They are a matched set. Once bought, they are never separated. What God has put together, let no man tear asunder.
 
Heh.
Probably true if you want to upgrade at least 3 tiers.
 
anyway my bioshock DLC is DL'ed so I'm gonna play it a bit then go to sleep. cya
 
Bai.
 
3:59 AM
later
 
4:13 AM
Hi
A small doubt
"My brother has no credit card"
^ Is this right?
 
I would say "My brother doesn't have a credit card."
 
"have a" or just "have"?
 
"have a"
 
ok thanks :)
 
thanks for asking :)
 
4:32 AM
@Mr_Green This is perfectly fine. It is no better or worse than Skullpatrol's alternative.
 
@Cerberus Actually, his is better since he uses only 6 words, while I'm using 7.5 :)
 
I'm not sure that should be a criterion...
 
...it is in math text.
they even start trying to use words with the fewest letters!
while in physics, the try to explain things using words with the least syllables
 
Umm.
What use is that?
 
@Cerberus economy of thought is the motivation for consiseness
 
4:42 AM
Just write it in such a way that it is the easiest to read.
 
Good evening.
 
Hello, student!
How do you like your new house?
Have classes started yet?
@skullpatrol Thought ≠ spelling.
Nor sound.
But I'm going to try and get some more sleep.
Bye!
 
sleep well :-)
 
ohh ok thanks
 
4:55 AM
@Cerberus Nope! Soon.
House is still good.
Although the oven and the fire alarm don't get along…
 
5:36 AM
@Cerberus I strongly believe thought is very intimately related to words.
Economy in words leads to economy in thought :-)
Ease of readability is one of the first things to be sacrificed in these two sciences.
 
6:32 AM
@skullpatrol That is really hard going to read.
 
6:44 AM
@AndrewLeach Agreed.
 
 
3 hours later…
9:15 AM
@skullpatrol Words are related to thought, sure.
But there are also thoughts without words.
@skullpatrol That is only true to a certain extent.
@skullpatrol That is horrible, a tragedy!
 
Yeah, I am thinking sat216irgiagdööl right now this very moment.
 
I know you are.
That word nicely reflects the disposition of your mind.
 
That's because I said something was "perfectly fine", but then someone commented they "strongly disagree, it's totally feasible".
 
Huh?
 
So I am quite literally at a loss of words.
 
9:17 AM
I'm not sure that qualifies as a someone.
More like a random spam algorism.
 
1
A: Is the phrase "awaiting customer" bad English?

RegDwigнt"Awaiting customer" is perfectly correct as such. However, await implies waiting for someone who is not yet there. In the setup you describe, the customer is already there, and indeed he was the one to raise the issue in the first place. So you awaiting his reaction, but no longer himself. Even...

 
@Cerberus Indeed.
but, such is the nature of the beast
 
Boris the beast?
No wait, that was Boris the animal.
 
@RegDwigнt Yeah that's pretty weird.
 
They kept saying "beast" in the German synchro.
 
9:21 AM
@skullpatrol Perhaps it needs to be skinned and stuffed, then.
 
@Cerberus Gauss started it.
 
Oh speaking of German, was it @JohanLarsson who recommended Unsere Mütter, Unsere Väter to me? I'm now watching it. It's not without faults, but quite good indeed.
 
Anonymous
@skullpatrol That kind of reminds me of Uncleftish Beholding
 
Anonymous
People are always coming up with new ways to hurt my brain, it seems.
 
As long as they don't hurt your snails, you should be fine.
Priorities.
 
Anonymous
9:22 AM
Moon is fine. She's eating some carrot. :-)
 
That's life.
 
@RegDwigнt What is it about?
 
@Cerberus WWII, from the perspective of five friends. Two are in the military, one is a Jew, another is a nurse, and the last one is an aspiring singer.
Three men and two women.
It's a miniseries. Only three episodes à 80 minutes each.
 
@Cerberus if it was skinned and stuffed; it would no longer be alive, and able to grow.
 
I watched the first two yesterday, the last one will be aired tonight.
The first episode was quite strong. The second one was a bit of a letdown compared to the first, mostly because the story was a tad convoluted in places. But the cinematography is excellent, the acting is surprisingly good, the score is fine, and it just has that certain atmosphere. I'm looking forward to the finale.
 
9:33 AM
OK I'm making a note.
 
At any rate, it's the first time anything of that quality comes along telling things from the German perspective, while staying historically accurate.
 
It is in German?
Good.
@skullpatrol All the better.
 
Yeah. German, Polish and Russian where appropriate.
I suppose the finale might have some English or French as well. We'll see.
 
Thanks @snailboat I will put it on my reading list :D
near the top
 
Ah, capitulation day?
The World War II is always interesting.
0
Q: "fought in the World War II" versus "fought in the second World War"

user89720Why is "fought in the second World War" or "fought in the Vietnam War" correct but "fought in the World War II" is not?

 
9:37 AM
Yeah, clearly not a coincidence.
 
But then what is it?
 
@Cerberus yes, it has turned into a three headed beast :-)
 
I hope you are not accusing me of sacrificing legibility for vanity, like your mathematical treatises...
 
@Cerberus no idea. The first episode was set in 41, the second in 43. I would guess the finale is in 45, so not capitulation day, but after the war's over. It's titled something like "new times".
 
Hmm.
So only three episodes.
Now I'm going to listen to some Zarah Leander.
 
9:41 AM
> Der erste Teil hatte den Untertitel Eine andere Zeit, der zweite Ein anderer Krieg und der dritte Ein anderes Land.
So "a different country".
 
That suggests the aftermath, not the capitulation day.
 
Yes.
 
I know that one too.
But I think only mine is allegedly about the war.
And it has SS uniforms.
 
9:42 AM
Oh you didn't say you were going to listen to war.
 
> It premiered in Berlin in 1942 and went on to become the most commercially successful film in the history of the Third Reich.
 
Jud Süß?
 
Nein, die große Liebe.
 
Yeah, I've looked it up already.
Much better than Jud Süß.
 
Probably!
 
9:44 AM
But now I must make salad.
AFK
 
Not soup??
Bai.
 
Nope.
 
Shocking.
Have fun.
 
I do bring soup to work quite regularly, but mostly it's sandwiches or salad. Or cake.
Pouff.
 
9:57 AM
@RegDwigнt That's right, blame a broken heart on Schicksal.
@Cerberus And yet, for her audience at least, the world really was going to hell in a handcart.
 
10:20 AM
@Robusto better than blaming it on a Schickse.
 
Blame it on the rain?
 
@Robusto Speaking of which, it always struck me as unfortunate that our canonical between-vs-among question’s top-voted answer was one that drew primarily on Grammar Girl for its primary source. I have therefore rectified that hitherto sorry state of affairs. I trust this will better suit your fancy:
1
A: "between" vs "among"

tchristPrescriptivist Poppycock You should in this instance trust your own ear, not your friend’s opinion that there is a rule that says you are wrong. There isn’t, and you aren’t. Between has never been restricted to two items alone. In the citations below, this non-rule your friend alludes to is var...

 
You don't like grammar girl?
 
Hardly Encyclopedia Brown, now is she?
 
Invite her to chat and find out :-)
 
10:31 AM
I wanted something more scholarly and less myspacey, pace Kevin.
Snacks will be provided during the intermission — or interval for Matt.
 
last i heard she teamed up with math guy
who, might i add, is pretty "scholarly"
 
Think of the children.
 
Tchrist has used up all the letters again. I have to use Cyrillic for the rest of the day.
3
 
@tchrist sorry it was math dude
 
10:37 AM
If you think I’m bad, try Goold Brown. His book’s title has 87 words in it.
> The Grammar Of English Grammars, with an Introduction Historical and
Critical ; The Whole Methodically Arranged And Amply Illustrated ; with
Forms of Correcting and of Pausing, Improprieties For Correction, Examples
for Parsing, Questions for Examination, Exercises For Writing, Observations
for the Advanced Student, Decisions and Proofs for the Settlement of
Disputed Points, Occasional Strictures and Defences, An Exhibition of the
Several Methods of Analysis, And A Key to the Oral Exercises : To Which Are
 
works as a research scientist at the California Institute of Technology
 
Plus my brain keeps swapping his Christian name between Gold and Ghouled.
That answer has been five days in the making, ever since all the mediocre answers supplied to this question got stuck in my craw and cargo-cult grammar parroted without reason nor authority:
0
Q: "Between" or "among"?

user1639413Is it correct to use between or among in the following sentence? Plus, should it be no offset or no offsets? In the current application, it is assumed that the origins of the lasers have no offset(s) between (among) them. It should be pointed out that there are more than two lasers.

Inquiring minds want to know, however: how does Brown figure there are “Four Parts of Grammar”, and just which ones are they? Yes, I have the whole pdf and pdf2texted version, but I’m subarsible right now.
 
"cargo-cult"? Have you been reading Feynman again :-)
 
He dwells in my memory palace forever.
 
good choice
 
10:50 AM
We don’t know for absolute certain that Boswell didn’t fudge the second Johnson quote; apparently Boswell was known to have done that now and again. But even if he did, it is still the next citation after Johnson’s dictionary, and therefore positioned damned amusingly.
 
Have you read the CGEL?
 
Where that is other than the commonest sense of we. I suppose it’s more the auctorial or magisterial we than it is the more typical thee-and-me version.
@skullpatrol Too many (wolf-)notes.
 
yes, they are viciously hard
 
13
Q: What are we going to ask Grammar Girl?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇We're going to be interviewing Grammar Girl prior to being mentioned in her podcast. This might be happening really soon. So we need some interview questions. The top-voted questions will be asked, unless I really dislike the question, in which case, too bad, you should have volunteered to be the...

 

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