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3:01 PM
The question is so broad, I don't know which answers to upvote...
 
You shouldn't upvote any.
At least not until the question is clearer.
 
@KitFox Are you shuddering because you didn't like the movie?
 
Hmm. Lunch first then toys? Or toys first, then lunch?
2
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I liked the movie, but I found it disturbing.
I watched it when I lived in the South.
I watched it with some friends, some of whom might have been closet skinheads.
 
All have one upvote now.
Nope, one has two now.
 
@KitFox Yeah. I thought it was a really good movie. And I never want to see it again.
 
3:05 PM
I felt the same way about Happiness.
OK ping me.
Please.
 
Hello, immobile friends.
 
@KitFox
@Cerberus hello dog who can't reply properly
 
I there a way to rely to a line?
 
Yay! New speakers!
 
Jinx!
 
3:10 PM
yay!
I know you like the classics
 
@KitFox
Nothing
 
@Kit How do we sound?
 
Oh, that sounds awesome.
A nice deep thunk.
 
@Matt You are too kind.
 
3:11 PM
OK. So one toy. Now lunch.
 
@Kit Does it turn you on?
 
@Cerberus Like the thump of a baseball bat on a hooker in GTA.
bbl
 
@KitFox yeah, the wording of the question seems like he really needs to use the word himself about these other annoying poor people.
@Cerberus to a comment line? or to what?
 
I found this bug in the new beta-review system the other day.
10
Q: No items to review instructions

LukeSo I have been faithfully reviewing away on History SE. I came to the last one and reviewed it. The system then gave me this screen: It says There are no items for you to review. It then goes on to give the guidelines for reviewing. I closed the tab and then reopened it via the main review p...

 
3:18 PM
@KitFox The thunk sound always makes me think of this:
 
@Mitch I call it EL&U standard MO, because people who don't know English shouldn't be here!
 
Oh god this is good.
 
what is it?
 
chicken salad and pepperjack on a sub roll with spinach and pickles.
 
oooo. mmmmm
 
3:29 PM
hot damn this is awesome
 
dammit kit now you're making me hungry
 
it's like a whole article of Xavier
"The Death of the Author" is a 1967 essay by the French literary critic and theorist Roland Barthes. Barthes's essay argues against traditional literary criticism's practice of incorporating the intentions and biographical context of an author in an interpretation of a text, and instead argues that writing and creator are unrelated. The essay's first English-language publication was in the American journal Aspen, no. 5-6 in 1967; the French debut was in the magazine Manteia, no. 5 (1968). The essay later appeared in an anthology of Barthes's essays, Image-Music-Text (1977), a book that a...
 
So I installed Cyanogenmod on my old Nexus S. it's pretty nice! If the Nexus S wasn't so well supported by Google it'd be a no-brainer to install this.
 
My husband is ogling Nexuses.
 
3:45 PM
I just got a Galaxy Nexus. It's very nice. But I like the older one better in terms of size and shape.
 
toodles
 
However I suspect that Google will release a new Nexus phone later this year
 
Hey, do you happen to know of simple screen-recording/voice-recording software? I need to record some tutorials.
 
So I would hold off buying a Galaxy Nexus unless it's cheap (mine was free).
@KitFox not off-hand, no.
 
Good to know. The ones here are around $199.
 
3:46 PM
$200 for an 8-month old phone would be pretty good here. Around here it's $0 with a 3-year contract or $500 with no contract.
 
Maybe it's not a Nexus, come to think of it. It's not the phone, but the iPadish thing.
 
The nice thing about the Galaxy Nexus is that there are only two versions: the Sprint version and everyone else's version. Or maybe it's Verizon? hmm... anyway the CDMA version.
Ah, the Nexus 7. That's a tablet. Very nice.
I'd go for the $250 one which has more storage.
But actually I'd go for a 10" tablet instead of a 7" tablet and it'd be the Asus Transformer Infinity.
The Nexus 7 is nice but a little too low-end for my taste. Fast, enough ram, etc, but no HDMI output, no memory card slot, no rear-facing camera (in fact it has no camera app... which is really odd if you ask me)
 
I will point that out to him. He's a little smitten right now.
The camera's probably the only thing he'd miss.
Although I suppose HDMI output could plug into our HDMI TV input?
Oh, stupid left-side microphone and cord!
frowns And no love with the playback.
 
@KitFox yes
You rarely need HDMI output, at least, I rarely do, but when you realize you want it, it's really nice to have
 
Well, it's pretty and relatively cheap. I'll mention it to him and let him decide. It's his toy to pick out after all.
Now to test the webcam.
 
4:05 PM
@KitFox That's what we need here. Video.
 
@KitFox yeah, it's pretty nice. However for me personally I'm not sure how much I'd want a 7" tablet.
 
Maybe we could all adjourn to a Google hangout.
 
but the 10" tablets are more expensive
@ΜετάEd we'd discover each other's real names then.
 
My real name is Edward McGuire.
 
Liar! That's MY real name!
 
4:06 PM
gasp
 
Wow.
 
My real real name is a not-too-well-guarded secret. But I don't bandy it about.
 
quietly dusts off Mac
 
Anon imity is over ated.
 
@ΜετάEd possibly
 
4:09 PM
I think only a handful of people here know my proper name.
I am Spartacus.
 
If you're Spartacus, then I'm Lesbos.
 
So...uh. Does one not just click on an icon to open an application on a Mac?
 
Because I'm not good enough in Greek to figure out how to do it right.
 
thx.
Oh, lightning.
 
4:25 PM
@KitFox You don't open apps on a Mac. They open you.
 
Actually, they just sit there and bounce.
Oh my! Cats and dogs.
 
@KitFox Bouncing means they're starting up.
 
Oh. I thought they were mocking me.
 
Well, that too.
 
0
Q: Meaning of comment "Game. Set. Match."

TheoWhat's the meaning of p2's comment? P1: My gf is a doctor and she makes twice as much as I do. F-k I feel like a weird mother f-ker. She makes all the bling at home. I only make around 42k a year as a fund accountant :(. Although she owes a sh-t ton in loans and I'm debt free. P2: "I'm d...

 
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Sounds like the Heaven's Gate cult. Make that the "Check-the-Gate" cult (in-joke for those of you who have ever been on a film production).
 
brb
...and here I am again.
 
Welcome back
 
Why, hello, @Grace!
How very pleasant to see you!
 
4:53 PM
Oh, how I wish it were pleasantries that I came here for. I have come here... to collect. Has anyone seen Matt Ellen recently?
 
Oh goodness. He was here this morning.
He went home a little while ago.
About an hour ago, actually.
Which means he should be back in soon.
 
Mmhmm.
I shall bide my time, then. Like a debt collector sitting on his front porch.
 
Is there anything I can assist with, O ominous one?
fluffs fur to show off diamond
 
You're one to speak...
 
You might actually be able to assist when he gets here, yeah
 
4:56 PM
Then I am at your service.
 
This is mostly with regards to the blog
 
I was hoping.
 
Which, uh, hasn't seen a new post in over 7 months.
 
grumble Now what's happened to my pings?
 
@KitFox pong
 
4:58 PM
Apparently, I just need to unplug everything and leave it unplugged unless I need it.
@GraceNote Well, it is hard to take sexy pictures of EL&U topics.
coughs cooking blog coughs
 
Heh
It also probably doesn't help that your blog discussion room froze over back in January and hasn't been defrosted
 
Speak of the devil and he appears.
 
There's the orc now.
 
jinx
 
Hi @Matt!
 
5:01 PM
you owe me a Dr Pepper
 
OK later.
 
hiya @Kit :)
 
Hi @Matt (⊙ω⊙)
 
hi @Grace :)
 
Whoa. Weird teabag boob emoticon.
 
5:02 PM
lol
 
How goes the English Language & Usage blog, Matt?
 
Pretty good, you know. It's stable. Like a mountain
I have actually been working on an article
but I got distracted by things
 
I did notice a draft from a week ago
 
exactly!
I don't think we have enough contributers, because I don't have ideas very often
 
But you're just one individual. When we approved the makings of the blog, we were promised lots of posters with lots of articles. A steady flow, if you will.
 
5:05 PM

 EL&U Blog

Discussion for the EL&U Blog. For more info see meta.english.s...
There.
Freshened up.
 
First thing I was going to ask was if you thought that the blog room having frozen over had an impact on the complete lack of activity from contributors since January
 
I don't know. maybe since there was no clear place to discuss things
like a news room
 
The blog needs a wrangler
 
How about we post a Meta question to see if there is any continued interest in the blog and schedule a series of chats in the Blog Room for interested peoples?
Try to get it rolling again.
 
There were lots of people who volunteered to write
but I think the open-ended nature of "write what you want, when you want" meant that most people didn't get moving on it
 
5:08 PM
yeah
 
Yep, that's generally how it goes.
 
Would be wise to assess how much people are still interested in running this blog
 
and will anyone volunteer to lead it.
 
Are either one of you (@Matt, @Mr.Shiny) interested in keeping the blog going?
 
I'm interested in writing from time to time but honestly I don't think about it much.
 
5:09 PM
I am willing to help, but I don't have time to manage it.
 
I want to keep the blog going, but as I said, I've not a lot of ideas
 
I'm not interested in organizing.
 
Otherwise, if people lost interest or can't really get it to work, I'm afraid I'll have to repossess the blog.
 
I could wrangle people, if necessary
 
what exactly happens if the blog is repossessed?
 
5:09 PM
@Matt, I can help you get started.
You don't need lots of ideas if you can get enough people organized. They can figure out what to write about if you can apply a whip.
 
we have new members now that we didn't have last year like Barrie England and J.R., high-rep users who might have stuff to add to the blog.
 
I agree. Let's put it up on Meta, and see if we can't get some of those members interested.
But not unless we have someone committed to managing it first.
 
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Basically, it'll be shut down (I'm not sure what we'll do about the existing articles and where we'll keep them), and there'll be this nice big black mark on the site that says "FAILED TO KEEP MOMENTUM ON BLOG".
 
2 hours ago, by KitFox
@Cerberus Like the thump of a baseball bat on a hooker in GTA.
So sad.
 
Based on the motion of your Meta post, I will figure out how long of a leniency period we'll give to see how much you can get your momentum back.
 
5:13 PM
OK, that's fair.
@Matt What do you think? You want to give it a go? Or think about it? Or should we see if someone else will lead it?
 
I'm happy to write a meta post.
Can I do it after dinner?
I'm a bit hungry
 
I mean, are you interested in organizing bloggers?
I can wait until after you eat, for Pete's sake.
Are you finished yet?
How about now?
 
I am interested in organising bloggers
 
OK. Before you Meta it, let's you and I discuss a plan.
Meet me in the Blog Room when you are ready.
 
5:22 PM
I shall be taking my leave for now. Pretend that I'm doing the "I'm watching you" gesture as I exit. It'll be appropriate.
 
@GraceNote You never come by just to chat anymore :(
 
5:37 PM
@KitFox You misspelled boogers.
 
5:52 PM
Our friend is well known far and wide, apparently.
> "If you have a sign and you want to sit anywhere and you want to warn people of anything, cops or otherwise, I don't see what's the damage of that," said Evan Carroll, a protester.
 
People are really amazing. This woman is all up in arms about how she got busted.
rolls eyes
 
I don't get such people. There's one in every major city, it seems.
 
Trying to justify it after the fact as being her fair right.
 
Most women don't have much of a bust. You would think she'd be grateful.
 
5:55 PM
"Oh! Don't break the law right here because you will get caught!"
 
Yeah, they should either do that everywhere, 24/7, or not at all.
 
"But that's not aiding and abetting a crime. That's my free speech!" she whines
 
Though of course, if they actually did that everywhere, 24/7, crimes would skyrocket because people would get so annoyed of them there'd be lynching.
 
Oh shite, I totally pooched this.
How common do you think it is for people to have a space in their last name?
 
A space? No idea. I have a hyphen in mine.
What's "last name" anyway?
Don't forget the crazy Spanish and the like.
 
6:00 PM
decides to ignore the owl
 
So WTF, are we getting a war against Iran now?
Looks like the ancient Maya all moved to Israel.
 
6:14 PM
@RegDwightАΑA If it's not Eastasia it's got to be Eurasia or Oceania. You know the rules.
 
6:32 PM
@KitFox I Googled him some time ago: he's apparently an Occupy activist and atheist activist in Houston.
 
Why does that not surprise me?
 
So the whole communist thing is apparently not an act, anyway.
Just naïve.
 
He kind of reminds me of my mother actually.
 
@KitFox uh …
 
6:46 PM
@GraceNote Zoidberg?
 
Hey @cornbread might be interested in the blog.
 
@KitFox I just read your room! I couldn't help it. ._.
 
So you know that @Matt's really the headmaster.
 
@KitFox obeys master; does it again, eats meat, gets pudding
 
but I'm not allowed to beat the children, according to British law
 
6:48 PM
@MattЭллен wot of things no wider than your thumb?
aww, the room finally shook off Rachel.
 
Frig it is almost the end of the day and I haven't gotten half of what needs doing done.
 
@cornbreadninja even them. can you imagine being whipped with a fencing sword (epé?)?
 
@Robusto the rules are clear and inflexible. Never get involved in a landwar in Anastasia.
 
Especially when Russians are involved.
 
@MattЭллен touché.
 
6:50 PM
If I've learned anything from my Anastasian wars, it's don't mess with the Russians.
 
What's gigantic and purple and screws hussars and horses?
 
A huge dildo?
 
Catherine the Grape.
 
thwack
 
You should thank me. I could sense your boredom. It's almost palpable.
 
6:53 PM
The panicky boredom?
 
Am I here twice?
 
I see you once.
 
K good.
0
Q: What's the double dash after greetings in emails?

Dorian GrayI usually see just format in the emails I receive daily: Hello Dorian-- I'm calling you in regard with the something... Thanks, I see comma after the greetings too but I am not sure why double dash is being used there. Can someone explain it?

 
I haven't seen that happen for like fifteen months.
@tchrist I said my bit and have nothing to add.
Though of course I totally expect to be proven wrong now.
"Shakespeare already did it in 1327, here's a scan of the papyrus".
 
6:56 PM
Vellum.
Shakespeare published codices, not scrolls.
 
Half vellum, half papyrus.
Vyrus.
 
@RegDwightАΑA hah! they didn't have papyrus in 1327
 
@MattЭллен Shakespeare did. Ask on Skeptics.
 
@RegDwightАΑA I'm sceptical that they'll know
 
One more reason to ask.
 
7:00 PM
I can just see is now:

"I've heard tell that Shakespeare wrote on papyrus is 1327, but I could find nothing on Google to back this up. Is it true, or did he carve his sonnets in stone?"
 
Let me Bing it for you.
 
Sigh. Why does Google so hate me? You would think you could find the Shakespeare autographs by searching for the same, but no, those are merely signatures. What do they expect people to look up, ur-texts?
 
Also, wait for like a minute, and this chat will be on Google.
@tchrist well what do you think the UR in URL stands for?
 
Ok, so Shakespeare's manuscripts really were such.
 
Well, if a page on the Internet says so...
@Kit has so many questions all of a sudden.
Working on a badge? Writing a story?
 
7:05 PM
What now?
I am not writing a story right now. I am waiting for you to read it.
;-)
 
Oh crap.
So where's the link to the latest version?
 
I decided I would ask a few topical questions to cheer myself up about all the closed garbage on the front page.
Let me get it for you.
There you are.
 
KTHXL8RS
 
I have some edits in mind, but I haven't had time recently.
ur funneh
 
Hm. Key slid, he slid. Didn't notice that the last time around.
To much slidding.
 
@RegDwightАΑA It was intentional, although that is on the list of items to review.
 
K
@tchrist well, if a page on the Internet claims it exists...
 
It's a scan.
Awfully fancy fake, wouldn't you say?
 
You misspelled scam.
 
Why can't people use a dictionary or thesaurus before posting?
0
Q: what is the word for "Slow raining"?

diEchotoday in my city. its raining very slowly drops. what we call this in English. as I am from India. in Hindi it say 'Rimjhim'. what we call it in English?

My raining very slowly drops to the ground, too.
 
7:15 PM
@KitFox did you add new passages? To the first scene, that is. I have a feeling there's a line or two that usen't be there.
 
Um, yes, I think so.
Also, about 2,000 more words after that.
 
Also that's a funny story for a Russian to read. There's a rather famous book by Strugatsky brothers where a couch makes things and people materialize out of thin air.
 
Really?
 
How very educated-sounding of me.
 
7:16 PM
Monday Begins on Saturday () is a 1964 science fiction / science fantasy novel by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky with illustrations by Yevgeniy Migunov. Set in a fictional town in northern Russia, where highly classified research in magic occurs, the novel is a satire of Soviet scientific research institutes, complete with an inept administration, a dishonest, show-horse professor, and numerous equipment failures. It offers an idealistic view of the scientific work ethic, as reflected in the title which suggests that the scientists' weekends are nonexistent. The "Scientific Research Instit...
It's an excellent book, too. And funny.
Sci-fi, too.
A bit like Douglas Adams perhaps, in that vein.
If you can get a good translation, that is.
 
How come I can't close with a suggestion to move to Linguistics.SE?
 
@tchrist because it's still in beta.
 
Oh, duh me.
 
Whachawanamove?
 
8
Q: What characteristics are unique to the English language?

ZairjaAfter wondering about this today at work, I turned to the Internet. A short piece that focuses on pronunciation points toward "none". I've scoured ELU and Google (perhaps not as thoroughly or effectively as some others might), but cannot find an answer specific to this question. I realize this ...

 
7:18 PM
Thought so.
 
There's a Not Constructive vote already in.
It kinda asks for a list.
Which is OT.
 
I dunno, I'm waiting for JSB or nohat or JL to wake up first.
 
Yeah, I don't wanna vote yet.
 
This could get a good answer.
knocks on wood
 
@RegDwightАΑA we can close to writers...
 
7:20 PM
@RegDwightАΑA I was thinking the same.
Damn it damn it damn it.
 
@tchrist I object to the notion that lists are OT.
 
Why is this not working?
 
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 that was added on request and because it was actually getting used so much anyway.
 
It's not really a list question, though.
 
@RegDwightАΑA And nobody uses the "close to linguistics" because we don't have it.
 
7:21 PM
And yeah, lists are not exactly OT, they are often NC though.
 
Yeah, that.
 
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I do!
Do have and do use.
 
@RegDwightАΑA well, Jeff Atwood told me "You're an idiot for wanting list anwers. GFY. We don't do that here."
 
What are some words that end in "lt," for instance, is a terrible question.
 
Anyway. You can post a request. But Cerberus keeps whining that they might shut down Linguini.SE, in which case they'll probably .
 
7:23 PM
I'm to post requests.
 
@KitFox nah, that one is gen ref. There are any number of sites that give you words ending in xyz.
I used one such site when Carlo put forth his theory about xyz always meaning the same thing.
Anastasia @Kit, seriously?
 
0
Q: EL&U Blog, the reboot

Matt ЭлленWe have a blog. We've had it for a while. You should take a look, there is some great content. I'll wait here while you read it... Good, no? This is a call for regular contributors. You don't have to have an idea immediately, just a willingness to write coherently about English and EL&U. If...

feel free to give it more pep
 
I only have cowbell.
@Kit, have you discussed the use of мальчик already?
 
mooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr COWBELL
 
@RegDwightАΑA Yes. What's your beef?
 
7:31 PM
Nutin'. Just reminds me of this chat here.
Which is full of Anastasia.
 
@RegDwightАΑA A little. Vit finds the story too depressing to finish, so I haven't pressed him on it. He did say he thought it was corny.
Then he withdrew that.
Sort of.
@RegDwightАΑA Well, Anastasia also means 'resurrection,' you see.
 
Hm. I guess I can see that. Though I have no idea how it's going to end or what its purpose is, so.
@KitFox yeah I know.
Anyway, мальчик is how you would address a total stranger boy on the street.
Certainly not your son.
 
Hahaha
He seemed pretty doubtful, but didn't have an alternative to offer.
 
"Go to sleep now, hey you. I’m sure you will remember soon."
 
giggles
Not exactly what I'm going for.
 
7:35 PM
@KitFox малыш, сынок.
 
Hey, bub. Go to sleep. I'll just be here, eh, robbing your flat while you're doing that, eh?"
 
Or a diminutive version of his name.
 
Like Vasya?
 
> You can’t wake a perſon who is pretending to be aſleep. ~ Navajo proverb
 
I was thinking something like "sweetie," "hon," "lovey," "my little man," all things I say to my boys.
 
7:38 PM
@Robusto excellent
 
@KitFox diminutiverer still. Vasen'ka, Vasyulya, Vasilyok (which also means cornflower, basketflower, so moms and especially grandmoms use it a lot).
:"Centaurea" is also the name of the racing horse that won the Australasian Oaks and Storm Queen Stakes in 1985. :"Basket flower" and spelling variants redirect here. In Australia, this usually means the unrelated plant Adenanthos obovatus. Centaurea ( "Cen-tau-ré-a") is a genus of between 350 and 600 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding regions are particularly species-rich. Common names for this genus are centaury, centory,...
Ugh. What's with that picture.
That is so not a cornflower.
 
@RegDwightАΑA Um, sounds good. Which?
Vasilyok might be confused with Vasily, ok? maybe.
 
Vasyulya looks kinda like Vasvulva.
So I guess that leaves Vasen'ka.
 
@MattЭллен You'd think major marketers would have caught on to the downside of social media by now. But no ...
 
7:41 PM
Unless I write it in Cyrillic.
 
Well the word you have there now is in Cyrillic.
I was transliterating just for you, not for the story.
 
Well, which do you like best?
 
@Robusto I suppose they've got some free advertising out of it
 
I think сынок will work. It's tender but not too intimate, worn-out, or kitsch, and also works as a counterpart to the мам he's using.
 
Sounds good.
Better than "hey you"
 
7:44 PM
I am still thinking, though. Everything subject to change.
 
Well, I'm going to update it for now, so I don't forget.
I can't retain Cyrillic very well.
 
So is that the end of the story yet? I can't quite tell.
 
Yes, the draft is complete.
 
Ah okay.
 
There, now I sound more Imperial.
You have to hit that last 't' really hard though.
To get the full effect.
OK, I must go.
Laters.
 
7:59 PM
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I do not disagree with your objection to lists being offtopic, but it is the policy, isn't it?
 

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