Language Overflow

CowperKettle

00:57

−23°

CowperKettle

02:03

@SmokeDetector - what's shaking?

CowperKettle

02:26

You're frigorific today, @SmokeDetector

> While frequently described as separate entities, these two syndromes are mutually characterized by indifference and may be united under the single moniker, “selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor-induced indifference.”

Word of the day: SSRI-Induced Indifference

Anonymous

SSRI-induced meh.

Jasper

05:03

Meh is a very difficult word.

Anonymous

05:44

Meh.

Captain Bohemian

06:26

@CowperKettle I only occasionally look up how to translate food in Chinese into English when I want to write a diary, but I feel it very boring.

because I know those are just artificial translations; it's best to preserve its original name.

the best way to improve English is to study sciences.

Captain Bohemian

07:12

I used to study English by English learning magazines, but they usually bring boring topics. They do have scientific topics but talk too superficially. Now I find the web is full of scientific articles and videos, and we don't really need those magazines, which cost money. Web articles and videos are free.

sleepy

CowperKettle

08:10

Word of the day: Klein bottle

CowperKettle

08:38

My friend who lives in NY says that it's +17C, just several days after -17C

Captain Bohemian

08:57

@CowperKettle I have long known this word.

it's the 2-dimensional analog of Mobius band.

Anonymous

It’s 2°C here, @CelsiusKettle. Cold enough to make snailboats very cold, but not as cold as it gets some places.

Anonymous

The forecast even said it might snow, but that’s not something that really happens here.

Anonymous

My phone autocorrected firecast to forecast and rightly so, but it’s cold enough I wish it were wrongly so.

Captain Bohemian

it's not too cold today.

it's 24.7 C now.

but I hope it gets even warmer, like over 30 C.

Anonymous

09:19

I like it when it’s over 30℃.

CowperKettle

09:55

I took this photo 10 min ago during a jog

It's -18°C now

Anonymous

Brr.

Anonymous

You’re made of tougher stuff than me.

CowperKettle

No, it only looks cold

If you wear three pairs of trousers, and three layers of clothes

It's okay

And a "tube" (the pleated thing for the neck)

and a balaclava helmet

Anonymous

10:56

🐌

2

CowperKettle

(0:

Anonymous

12:05

I see we have a harry-potter tag now.

M.A.R. ಠ_ಠ

12:33

@snailboat More aptly named hnq probably.

@snailboat I was thinking of posting a question on (would) rather. Seems like English is becoming more flexible with "rather" but it's still a special kind of verb

And I checked, all of our would-rather questions are either needlessly specific or try to do an IMO useless semantic comparison between phrases whose meanings native speakers don't think twice about.

Anonymous

@M.A.R.ಠ_ಠ Oh, would rather is quite unique! It's an idiom with its own special grammar.

M.A.R. ಠ_ಠ

I know, right! I heard some NS also consider it unnatural if "rather" was ever used without the modal.

If not ungrammatical. But eh, for some people unnatural = ungrammatical

Anonymous

The would disappears sometimes because it can be reduced so far as to be entirely absent. It can be zapped by left-edge deletion.

Anonymous

"Rather not."

Anonymous

Think about how much effort Bartleby the Scrivener could've saved if he'd opted for the rather not formation.

Jasper

12:40

I often say I rather instead of I would rather.

But my grammar knowledge is almost null.

Anonymous

Think about how similar aɪ ˈdræðər and aɪ ˈræðər sound.

Jasper

LOL. You are giving away your American pronunciation.

Anonymous

Free, while supplies last!

Jasper

I always expect the British pronunciation. That's why I always get surprised.

Anonymous

Now try saying it, but barely say I, or don't bother saying it at all. Think about how similar ˈdræðər ˈræðər sound on their own.

Anonymous

12:43

The left-edge deletion monster might eat part of your I, or all of it. It might even go on to consume that 'd.

Jasper

It's actually very obvious that they are similar. We don't need to think very much.

@snailboat Do you have a favourite song?

Anonymous

That's a tough one. I'd say yes, but I have lots of favorites.

Anonymous

Most people expect you to have a favorite when they ask that question in English, and I do, but I don't just pick one. I always have lots, so if people ask me I can give them an answer. But then the next time someone asks, I might give them a different answer, and that answer will be truthful as well.

Jasper

I see. That's understandable.

Hmm, I wonder how Kit Fox is doing. Doesn't come to chat very often these days.

Anonymous

Last time was in October.

Anonymous

12:49

It's nice that you're here, Blue Square. Sometimes you're gone, but then you come back, and it's better when you're back.

Jasper

Of course, being a SE expert, I know where to look for all this info. Actually, I have her email too. But I guess she is busy with various things in real life. So I haven't heard from her for the past year or so.

Except for one or two occasions in chat last year.

I was thinking if Blue Square = BS = Bachelor of Science, then Bachelor of Arts = BA = Blue Arc.

OK, anyway, here is what I read recently, in case it is useful to anyone.

I was talking about how the second generation butterfly keyboard on the 2017 Macbook Pro has problems. Recently I was watching some youtube videos and I learnt that the third generation butterfly keyboard on the 2018 Macbook Pro and 2018 Macbook Air also has problems!

Basically, almost all their laptop keyboards have problems, LOL.

The problem is either a particular key gets stuck and you can't type on it, or when you press it once it gives you two characters instead of one.

And the solution is you need to spray some compressed air into it to remove the dust that might be trapped, or use a keyboard protector, or send in for repair.

So I am thinking maybe this year Apple might make a fourth generation butterfly keyboard, or go back to the usual keyboards using the scissor mechanism instead.

CowperKettle

13:25

Word of the eve: exceedance

@Jasper I'm using the Microsoft Natural keyboard

They sell it an wild-ass prices, but at least it's handy to use

The keys are divided into two sets which are at an angle to each other.

@snailboat I recall you posting a song called something like "Incredible machine"

userr2684291

15:03

@Jasper On my laptop (Acer) the up arrow key is sort of stuck. I think there's something underneath it, but I'm not sure if I should try to pull the key off to try to clean underneath it.

It works, but I have to press it a little harder than usual.

I've heard horror stories from my friends who attempted to do that and chipped their keys.

The biggest problem is that I have to use WASD when playing this game I like, lol, and I've realized I'm a little rusty with my left hand (I can maneuver much more precisely with my right), so I have to use my right hand for that, which is a little clumsy but it's okay (the game doesn't use other keys anyway).

Word of the day: variegated

3

CowperKettle

15:53

> The researchers were surprised at how quickly and effectively the newborn mice's damaged kidneys could repair themselves. They identified "precursor cells" that play critical roles in that process, and they hope to harness the human version of the cells to perform similar kidney repairs in both children and adults.

medicalxpress.com/news/…

There seems to be an exceedance of variegated kidney-related news recently.

M.A.R. ಠ_ಠ

16:32

@CowperKettle As there should be. Every damn thing that goes with the body can ruin the kidneys

Diabetes, obesity, ibuprofen, heck, even too many green tea supplements.

And Trump

The liver is big but even it can only take so many hits

CKD is the commonest "badass" illness AFAIK, of course "badass" being defined in some scientific manner.

CowperKettle

@M.A.R.ಠ_ಠ Green tea supplements can damage the kidneys?

Wow

bbc.com/news/stories-45971416

iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/…

−23°C here

Tomorrow will be the last cold day, after tomorrow it will rise to -15, and to -5C by tuesday.

CowperKettle

17:03

18

Q: Did Neomi Rao defend dwarf-tossing?

A recent article about Neomi Rao's nomination to replace Brett Kavanaugh on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals claims that Rao has a record of defending dwarf-tossing. Conservatives are discouraging talk of Rao as a future justice, recognizing that it will only draw more scrutiny of her record...

Word of the eve: dwarf-tossing

My SSRI-induced meh is not strong enough to keep me from reading such questions.

CowperKettle

17:24

These stories about green tea spook me. It would be so silly to overdose on Zn.

CowperKettle

17:35

@SmokeDetector What is the wrong word, Smokey?

M.A.R. ಠ_ಠ

17:48

@CowperKettle An excess of vitamin A and ESPECIALLY vitamin C can damage kidneys too.

Basically, be careful what you're consuming. Just because it's good doesn't make too much of it OK.

@CowperKettle There was a wrong word with this now-deleted (NSFW maybe) answer

Jasper

@M.A.R.ಠ_ಠ The thing about offensive words is: I wonder why people get offended and feel the internet should be free of them, or indeed, real life should be free of them.

New Meta Question

0

Q: So many answers in comments

I can see previous meta discussions on what should be a comment and what should be an answer, but what I'm wondering is, why are so many users posting answers, sometimes quite in-depth (if compact) answers, as comments? Does anyone have any insight? Should there be more encouragement (not any sor...

discussion

M.A.R. ಠ_ಠ

18:03

@Jasper Any medium that hopes to cater a minimal amount of education should be free of such nonprofessional utterances. I don't expect the internet to be free of such things but I expect an Stack Exchange post to be.

@NewMetaQuestion Spot on but you should have searched a bit more

Captain Bohemian

18:40

@CowperKettle this may be of your interest.

But I think your place is itself depressing--all trees lose all leaves in winter, making them look so bleak.

M.A.R. ಠ_ಠ

"All trees lose all leaves in winter"? Politifact would object to that!

Captain Bohemian

I have been to a university around Jan. or Feb., where I found the plants in the campus were commonly withered. I feel that view looks so bleak.

userr2684291

19:22

@M.A.R.ಠ_ಠ Oof.

ColleenV

19:39

@Jasper it’s not that the words are vulgar, it is that they are either superfluous (so why subject people to them?) or they are strung together in such a way to make people feel like they aren’t welcome here.

Everyone should feel comfortable asking or answering a question here, so I appreciate Smokey alerting us so quickly to crappy “ur stoopid” posts.

(They are worse than that, so imagining the bad parts is LFR)

Jasper

20:05

@ColleenV I see. That is an interesting perspective.

ColleenV

20:17

@Jasper we do have a few questions asking about offensive language, so we aren’t making the site completely free of all bad words

It matters how the words are used.

ColleenV

21:16

@CowperKettle I use the MS natural also. It’s hard for me to type on a regular straight keyboard now. The ergonomic one is much better for my wrists and I make fewer errors ( like hitting Caps Lock instead of Tab)

Not good for games that use the keyboard though because they expect G and H to be near each other:/

Jasper

@ColleenV So you use the MS natural with your Mac desktop?

Microsoft ergonomic keyboards

For decades, Microsoft has manufactured and sold a variety of ergonomic keyboards for computers. The oldest is the Microsoft Natural Keyboard. The newest are the Sculpt ergonomic keyboard and the Surface Ergonomic Keyboard. == Natural Keyboard == The first generation of the Microsoft Natural Keyboard was released in 1994, designed for Microsoft Windows 95 and Novell Netware. It was designed for Microsoft by Ziba Design. The keyboard was a split keyboard with each half of the keyboard separated and tilted upwards and down from the center of the keyboard. This key arrangement was ergonomic...

Ooh, interesting, I didn't know these things exist!

Only a few days ago did I learn the difference between UK keyboard, US keyboard, and US International keyboard when selecting the type of keyboard when you set up your OS for the first time.

@ColleenV I never play computer games. =)

ColleenV

21:33

@Jasper yes- it works great

@Jasper We just bought an XBONE so I don’t play on my computer much any more

Jasper

XBONE? That sounds naughty, LOL.

ColleenV

Consoles have games that don’t take up too much time like MMOs

@Jasper Lol

Jasper

All Windows 10 computers come with Xbox app preinstalled. You can't even remove it.

It's funny that Windows has decided to stop at 10, so we get 10 version XXXX, just like macOS where they stopped at OS X.

And it does seem that both companies will give you free upgrades to the newest version for the rest of your life.

But the thing that is different is that while they don't give you Office upgrades free forever, they do upgrade Pages, Numbers, and Keynote in macOS for free.

ColleenV

@Jasper I think it is only for one computer that doesn’t have too many parts changed for Windows updates

@Jasper Apple makes its money differently

Jasper

@ColleenV Yes, they make most profit from iPhones.

ColleenV

21:41

The hardware is expensive so they have to offer enough software to make it useful out of the box

Jasper

Yes, that too.

ColleenV

Imagine paying so much for hardware then having to buy an office subscription on top of that!

Jasper

Even if we have all the money in the world, the strange thing now is that the only Apple laptop with a reliable keyboard is the old Macbook Air which will become obsolete soon, because it is the only one without the unreliable butterfly keyboard.

It is also the only laptop which still has normal USB ports. The others only have USB-C ports.

So one basically needs to get a dongle for every connection.

M.A.R. ಠ_ಠ

160

Q: Please don't share my e-mail with Amazon without my express consent

Before the developer survey, I was invited to test it, and promised a $5 gift card from a web shop for taking part. Recently, I've received this gift card on my personal e-mail. But to my dislike, it was not Stack Overflow that sent me the gift card, but Amazon directly (and in German, a languag...

discussion survey privacy

Jasper

There are things like USB-C mouses now, but very rarely seen.

@M.A.R.ಠ_ಠ Oh well, that's a bit fussy isn't it?

Without the email can you even use Amazon? LOL.

M.A.R. ಠ_ಠ

21:46

I dunno what it is but I'm grateful that our financial system is so ridiculously closed that I don't get tempted to get gift cards.

Jasper

I really don't think so.

ColleenV

@Jasper oh I use an iMac and haven’t used my husbands laptop except for once

He hasn’t had problems with the keyboard

Even so, we’ve found Apple support to be excellent

I suppose we got lucky and that some people get lemons

Jasper

Hmm, lemons are too sour. I prefer bananas.

M.A.R. ಠ_ಠ

Bananas are high in potassium and that used to freak me out

ColleenV

@Jasper I love lemonade mixed with iced tea

M.A.R. ಠ_ಠ

21:50

That jerking alarm motion still happens when I hear the word

Jasper

@ColleenV Are you referring to iced lemon tea, or is that something else with more lemon in it?

ColleenV

@Jasper you make regular iced tea and fill a glass half full with it, then you make lemonade (lemon juice sugar water) and fill the glass to the top

You pour it from a good height if you’re lazy like me and don’t want to stir it

It’s called an Arnold Palmer after the golfer

M.A.R. ಠ_ಠ

I like iced lemon plus spaghetti

Lemon tea is also hmmm

Iced lemon tea, I tend to reject as one of them westernizations but I might enjoy it

ColleenV

I like the lemons in some Moroccan cooking

I guess they are preserved with salt ?

M.A.R. ಠ_ಠ

22:05

Here there's a special procedure if someone were to preserve lemons

But yeah, salt is a big part of it

I hate salt.

Anonymous

I can’t use Microsoft’s split keyboards. They give me RSI because I already keep my wrists straight on normal keyboards, so they force me to bend my wrists unnaturally, and they prevent me from moving my hands freely and typing middle keys with either hand, so I end up hitting the plastic in the middle a lot.

Anonymous

I never learned home row typing, which is why I type 140+ wpm, but that’s also the reason I can’t use those keyboards.

Jasper

22:38

I don't know how to type the correct way.

The way I type is just whatever I feel like pressing.

Right now, that works very well and very fast.

I am not sure people should invest the time and effort to type the correct way.

Anonymous

22:55

The “correct” way is not how it’s taught in schools. That way isn’t very good for your hands, and it’s slow, too.

Anonymous

I'm not sure if there really is any "correct" way. Just keep your wrists neutral and relaxed, move your hands around, and hit keys.

Jasper

LOL

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