The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Alex

00:05

@Jenayah Not exactly. Charif just means sharp and is not even the original term used in the Talmud. The Talmud refers to the person as oker harim which means “uprooter if mountains” which is a metaphor used to describe the intellectual prowess and mental gymnastics.

Jenayah

@Alex any reasons why it was changed to charif then?

Alex

@Jenayah Probably convenience.

There are other terms that are used as well sometimes.

Jenayah

@Alex because more straightforward?

Marvin

0

Q: What did the Merovingian expect to happen when he told his goons to kill Neo?

The Merovingian is an old program. He knows the Matrix is in a cycle and why (he was an important part of the "nightmare" version of the Matrix). He's "survived" Neo's predecessors (previous Ones), so it stands to reason he's met at least one of them. He knows that Neo needs the Keymaker and clai...

the-matrix

Alex

@Jenayah Probably. Already 900+ years ago the greatest Talmudic commentator defined oker harim using the term charif.

Jenayah

00:19

@Alex who's that? I checked when Gersonide was around and that's still too young... And I'm afraid we reached the extent of my knowledge of Talmudic commentators :D

Alex

@Jenayah Solomon the son of Isaac (1040-1105).

Rashi

Shlomo Yitzchaki (Hebrew: רבי שלמה יצחקי‬‎; Latin: Salomon Isaacides; French: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (Hebrew: רש"י‬, RAbbi SHlomo Itzhaki), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud and commentary on the Tanakh. Acclaimed for his ability to present the basic meaning of the text in a concise and lucid fashion, Rashi appeals to both learned scholars and beginner students, and his works remain a centerpiece of contemporary Jewish study. His commentary on the Talmud, which covers nearly...

Also French, for the record.

Jenayah

@Alex is there something with French Talmudic commentators or is this just a coincidence that the two I'm now able to name are French?

Alex

@Jenayah There is something.

But Gersonides was more of a Biblical commentator than a Talmudic commentator.

But the greatest schools of Talmudic learning flourished in France at that time.

Jenayah

@Alex Ah, crap, here goes my incredible knowledge of Talmudic commentators :/

@Alex but then why so?

Alex

@Jenayah Well he also wrote a Talmudic commentary that was lost to the ages. If I ever get that French book, it will probably have more details about it.

Jenayah

00:27

@Alex when you say "lost to the ages" you mean that there are only records of it ewisting but nobody has found the full written version yet?

Alex

@Jenayah Probably a combination of factors. But the aforementioned Solomon probably had something to do with it. His sons in law and grandchildren were the primary people involved in the second most important Talmudic commentary, which propagated a specific methodology of Talmudic study.

Jenayah

@Alex alright! :)

Marvin

0

Q: Were there two endings to Conan the Barbarian?

Recently I watched Conan the Barbarian (the '82 film) on blue-ray, it showed in the final scene when Conan sneaks into the temple to kill Thulsa Doom the princess Conan and company stole away from Doom earlier come with Conan and help him infiltrate the temple by distracting several guards. In a...

continuity conan-the-barbarian-1982

Alex

@Jenayah I have to go for a few minutes, but if you’re still around I’ll answer it.

Jenayah

@Alex please do :) might go to sleep as well but I'll read the transcript, always do

Alex

00:40

@Jenayah I'm back.

Jenayah

Arnold Schwarzenegger: I'M BACK!

►

Alex

@Jenayah In general lots of rabbinic works written before the printing press only existed in bunches of manuscripts floating around the world. Some of them were destroyed,, some of them were lost, and some just never had the luck of being brought to print.

In recent times many old manuscripts have been discovered, and some are in various museums and libraries around the world. Every so often, someone prints one of them, bringing to light an important work that we have been missing for hundreds of years. The most common way that we know that a work that we don't have now actually existed at some point is if it's quoted in other subsequent works. There are many such works where we only have the limited quotes that were preserved in other works.

In other cases, an author mentions that he has written, or plans to write, a certain work and we just don't have it. In this case, Gersonides writes in the introduction to his Biblical commentary that he is going to write a Talmudic commentary as well. It's possible he never wrote it, or it's possible that all copies were destroyed/lost, or it's possible that someone might yet discover a manuscript.

Jenayah

@Alex so are people actively looking for it or is it just up to sheer luck?

Marvin

01:01

0

Q: How many aurors guarded Hogwarts in Harry Potter's 6th year?

In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, it was mentioned that the Ministry for Magic offered protection to Hogwarts by placing more counter-curses, anti-intruder jinxes and a small task forces in the grounds of Hogwarts Castle for sole protection of the school. So, how many aurors did Rufus S...

harry-potter

Alex

@Jenayah There's always a few people on the lookout for these things, but it's not easy and it's very expensive. It's unlikely that someone's looking for this specific work.

@Jenayah I just checked one of my other books and see there's a bit more information on this:

Alex

01:23

Towards the beginning of his commentary to the Biblical book of Deuteronomy, he actually says about something that he explained it in his commentary to the Talmud. So he, at least, seems to have thought that he actually wrote it.

Jenayah

@Alex does he specifically use the past tense or is it possible it was ambiguous?

Like when in English you say "When I am older I will be a cook"; "am" isn't really a present

don't know if there would be such an amiguation with Hebrew...

Alex

@Jenayah Sometimes there can be tense ambiguity. In the introduction it seems pretty clear that he's saying that he plans on writing it. In the commentary to Deuteronomy, though, he specifically says "as we have explained in our explanation of Tractate Berachot" (Tractate Berachot is the first section of the Talmud) which means that he already wrote it.

Jenayah

@Alex ah, indeed

Alex

@Jenayah In the modern edition of the Bible Commentary, the editor has a footnote on that line saying "this explanation has not reached us". Similarly, the translator of Gersonides's book of Philosophy also mentions this in the introduction to his translation, and says that the Talmudic commentary has not survived, and all we know is that it must have been written before 1338 when the Commentary to Deuteronomy was completed.

Marvin

01:48

0

Q: Why did Dumbledore allow Draco Malfoy to return to school in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince?

In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, did Dumbledore know that Draco Malfoy was assigned by Voldemort to kill Albus Dumbledore? Did Dumbledore know that Draco Malfoy placed the poisoned mead in the wine, and did he know that Draco Malfoy placed Madam Rosmerta under imperius curse, which pla...

harry-potter

Jenayah

02:01

@Alex is there such an instance of a long-lost work being found years after and constituting a breakthrough of sorts?

Alex

@Jenayah Give me a minute to finish up an answer that I'm writing...

Alex

02:14

@Jenayah Okay, now you have my undivided attention.

@Jenayah There have been some rediscovered works. Whether these constitute breakthroughs is somewhat of a contentious issue.

Jenayah

@Alex ah, well, yeah for religious matters I guess so

Let's just say that it tackled new debates, interpretations etc

Alex

It's cool how your reply is posted before my comment that it's replying to.

Basically new discoveries raise a fundamental question: what value/authority should be ascribed to them?

Generally speaking, the hierarchy of authority is chronological.

For simplicity's sake we divide rabbinic history into several eras, with different levels of authority.

The most important level is that of the Talmudic Era.

Then we have the earlier interpreters, and the later interpreters.

And then current times.

So if we find a manuscript from the times of the earlier interpreters (as Gersonides would be), the question is whether it has the authoority of a regular earlier interpreter.

Some argue that it should, because there is an assumption that the earlier interpreters were greater.

Some argue that it shouldn't because even if they were greater, only certain works were canonized in the tradition.

Some argue that it shouldn't because they weren't greater, and the only reason they have greater authority is due to convention which accepted not to argue with certain earlier works. But that convention should only apply to works that were extant.

Some argue that the rediscovered works are forgeries because they sometimes contradict accepted laws/interpretations/traditions.

Some argue that if the later interpreters had seen what the earlier interpreters wrote, they would have changed their minds.

Alex

02:40

There are a couple of questions on Mi Yodeya that deal with this (though not exhaustively):

5

Q: Cairo Geniza Controversy

What are the arguments against using manuscripts from the Cairo Geniza? Are there any Seforim / articles that discuss this debate?

history sources-mekorot jewish-books

11

Q: Is it possible for mesorah to be discovered?

Suppose there was a previously unknown collection of midrash or sayings or halachah or commentary that was discovered in an archaeological excavation and is hundreds or thousands of years old. Suppose that this text is not only readable but it is also somehow clear (to archaeologists or historia...

history mesorah-tradition archaeology

Marvin

03:22

0

Q: Cabin with an evil spirit

I remember watching a movie where theres a group of people that go into a house that is alone in the woods, for a vacation or something. The thing is the person who lives in the house or however there'll be this evil possessed person inside a locked door. Somehow he comes out and he tries to kill...

story-identification movie horror ghost

Marvin

06:32

2

Q: Forgotten the Title of a Comic

For the past few weeks, I have been trying to search for a comic book that I read ages ago (maybe around 2012) but I can't seem to remember the title. I been searching the internet, going through different websites, going through my library check out history, going through "Top 100 Comic Books!" ...

story-identification comics

Marvin

06:48

0

Q: How does Feist's Serpentwar Saga compare to the Riftwar Saga and later Riftwar Cycle novels in terms of quality?

I've read all of the Riftwar series by Raymond E Feist and want to know whether Feist keeps up the quality of writing and plotting through to at least Serpentwar saga. I read Jimmy and the Crawler (2013) and was quite disappointed in it - it had the feel of being a short story idea that was padde...

riftwar-cycle raymond-e-feist serpentwar-saga

Ankit Sharma

07:15

I heard superhero are on topic here ;) so here you go

2

Jenayah

07:28

@AnkitSharma ahahahah

Ankit Sharma

@Jenayah I tired by best but got little late I guess :(

Jenayah

@Alex yeah so basically... it's obviously hard to settle between everyone

@AnkitSharma to be honest whilst I like the idea they screwed up a bit

Ankit Sharma

@Jenayah heheheheh

Jenayah

they should've let people make their contributions then opened the votes

'cause now the first ones got the runner-up effect for them, not many people will read all + contirbutions

Ankit Sharma

Hmm valid point but they don't have such system yet

Jenayah

07:33

never lived an election here but pretty sure such a thing would resemble that

Ankit Sharma

@Jenayah yeah but they don'y have that feature in question/answer and felt lazy to do something like election post

1

Q: Questionnaire link on election page links to the questionnaire of the latest election for all elections

Currently, the link to the questionnaire on election page always goes to the latest questionnaire regardless of which election it is. For example, Movies & TV SE's second election, and the first election, point to the same questionnaire. Is this a bug or intentional? It is not only happe...

bug election

^^ this is also lazy effort which make old election page broken ^^

Jenayah

@AnkitSharma well that's too bad

Or you know they could've like, announced that a week before, locked the post and reopened it the week after

Ankit Sharma

@Jenayah hmmm

Jenayah

point being the current system isn't really fair for a "competition"

Ankit Sharma

Now we are bitching ion front of CM :D

Jenayah

07:37

even if it's a friendly one

meh

Ankit Sharma

HMMM

Jenayah

I'm ok with my stands :p

Ankit Sharma

hahhahha

Me too

Jenayah

(and Ican't possibly be the only one who thought that)

Ankit Sharma

agreed

TheLethalCarrot

08:00

@Jenayah Election votes only open up in the primary/election phase and I think users are randomly sorted

Jenayah

ok!

@AnkitSharma Dangit. I was about to ask a question, then thought of checking M&TV since it would also be a match there and let's avoid cross-posts, and it turned out it had been asked before... But the funny part is that you are the one to "blame" ahah :p

This one movies.stackexchange.com/q/12224/63559

Ankit Sharma

08:21

@TheLethalCarrot that's what she want from swag contest too

TheLethalCarrot

Aye I got that

Ankit Sharma

@Jenayah lol

@TheLethalCarrot ok I got that you got that ;)

TheLethalCarrot

etc. ?

Ankit Sharma

?

Alex

08:46

@Jenayah Basically. But they are often useful in resolving difficulties (whether people will like the answer or not).

TheLethalCarrot

08:56

My answer to this older question could use some love cos it draws from the official script...

1

A: Why did 'The Mountain' hesitate?

Because Cersei never gave the order The order we see on screen is Cersei telling the Mountain to draw his sword. The kill order never comes. This is confirmed in the official script. JAIME: Give the order, then. He watches her and waits. The Mountain waits for a command from his qu...

Ankit Sharma

Ok done ;)

TheLethalCarrot

If you want to "serial" UV my answers the other new one I posted is good too ;P (same premise but asking about Cersei not the Mountain)

Ankit Sharma

lol

later now trying to think if my cheesy lantern need a gf or not or should I go bold with giving him bf

TheLethalCarrot

That's sufficiently daft fro me to UV

As it stands now, dunno about adding someone

Ankit Sharma

hmmm

Maybe backstory of the superhero?

TheLethalCarrot

09:03

You could add his arch enemy Doctor Fondu

Ankit Sharma

Not a bad idea will work on in next weekdays

Need backtory too and maybe Doctor Foundu will kidnap his bf

TheLethalCarrot

Is this gonna turn into Spider-Man but instead of webs he shoots stringy cheese?

Ankit Sharma

And experiment on him with Indian cheese

@TheLethalCarrot he need more cheesy powers

TheLethalCarrot

Blue cheese gas cloud

Melted Camembert "oil slick"

Ankit Sharma

Little Cheese

Little Cheese (real name Chester Cheese alias "Benjamin Crow") is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe, an anthropomorphic mouse. Chester Cheese is a superhero who lives on the otherdimensional world of Earth-C, an alternate Earth populated by sentient animals. His first appearance was in Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew #12 (February 1983). == Fictional character biography == Chester Cheese was the son of Dr. Edam Cheese, who was conducting research on the "Lunar Longhorn," a type of cheese found on the moon by astronauts. Upon returning home one evening, Chester found...

TheLethalCarrot

09:08

Extra mature cheddar disintegrating floor

Ankit Sharma

DC stole my idea, how evil

TheLethalCarrot

Nah that's a mouse

Ankit Sharma

Maybe he got power like Gorgonzola the Cheese Witch from The mask

TheLethalCarrot

When you say The Mask I think of this and it confused me for a second

Ankit Sharma

@TheLethalCarrot I am talking abotu him only

In animated show he got a villain called Gorgonzola the Cheese Witch

TheLethalCarrot

09:15

Oh it's just the animated version of that? Did not know that was a thing haha

Ankit Sharma

@TheLethalCarrot animated show was good

The Mask: Animated Series

The Mask: Animated Series is an American animated television series based on The Mask (1994). The show ran for three seasons, from August 12, 1995 to August 30, 1997 on CBS, and spawned its own short-run comic book series, Adventures of The Mask. John Arcudi, former writer of the original comics, penned two episodes of the series. It originally was played during the CBS Kidshow line-up on Saturday mornings, but after being cancelled, it was moved to Cartoon Network (where the live-action films were also aired). The show also ran in syndication. == Overview == Much as with Beetlejuice before it...

TheLethalCarrot

Ah never seen it but then I never watched the live action spin offs either

Ankit Sharma

@TheLethalCarrot live action sequel was shit

It was stinky poop

TheLethalCarrot

Lol

Ankit Sharma

Son of the Mask got 2.2 on IMDb

6% on rotten tomato

TheLethalCarrot

09:18

I knew it was bad but didn't think it was that bad

Ankit Sharma

It was so bad that giving it 6% is also unfair

I will give it negative points

TheLethalCarrot

Haha

Ankit Sharma

On other hand animated show was pretty good

Which other show can have character like Cookie BaBoom

And The Bikini Cocktail to drink

But it's banned episode

Slartibartfast

09:58

1

Q: Who are the top users in our tags?

After a recent discussion over in TREU with another user I wondered if there was a way to find out who the top users in our tags are. I know we can do this by going to the Top Users tab of the tags page but is there a faster way? I imagine this can be done in SEDE.

discussion tags data-explorer

Ankit Sharma

@Slartibartfast How come I am nowhere O,o

TheLethalCarrot

@AnkitSharma data.stackexchange.com/scifi/query/912566/…

Top in 5

Ankit Sharma

Can mod do full form of spider-man-tas

TheLethalCarrot

[spider-man-the-animated-series]

Length 30 so should fit

Ankit Sharma

yup @Randal'Thor ^^^

TheLethalCarrot

10:10

You could always flag for it

Ankit Sharma

@TheLethalCarrot not bad but all those tags got nothing much so not so great

TheLethalCarrot

Same with mine... data.stackexchange.com/scifi/query/912566/…

Ankit Sharma

On movies I got way way better

data.stackexchange.com/movies/query/912566/…

128

And for few I got badges too

TheLethalCarrot

The only one I'm happy about is [the-thousand-worlds]

I'm second in GoT and ASOIAF too

Huh surprisingly I am actually top in one tag on Movies

Ankit Sharma

@TheLethalCarrot which

TheLethalCarrot

10:15

Modern Family

Ankit Sharma

nice

TheLethalCarrot

Only cos I self answered a question that I thought would get a bit of attention and did haha

Ankit Sharma

You can participate more too ;)

TheLethalCarrot

Eh?

Ankit Sharma

hmm

TheLethalCarrot

10:17

"You can participate more too" I don't follow here

Ankit Sharma

I mean participate more to get in top of other tags too, not only one

TheLethalCarrot

Oh right, yeah I might when the new GoT season is released

Ankit Sharma

No fav non scifi show or film?

hey @DrRDizzle

TheLethalCarrot

To be honest I lost faith in movies a while back, not to say you don't get good content or it hasn't changed since, but when I used to visit there frequently speculative nonsense most of the time got more votes that sourced/evidenced answers

Ankit Sharma

ok

TheLethalCarrot

10:21

I mean until the election I haven't actually been to movies in months bar the occasional HNQ visit

Ankit Sharma

each to his own

Zaphod

10:43

28

Q: Why did 'The Mountain' hesitate?

Spoilers from the Season 7 finale of Game of Thrones, "The Dragon and the Wolf". In one of the final scenes, Jaime and Cersei are discussing Jaime's future with them, at which point

game-of-thrones

Napoleon Wilson

That's a natural consequence form the very different approaches to questions and answers these two sites employ, something people often forget.

Which makes your enthusiasm for the elections...well, commendable? ;-)

TheLethalCarrot

Oh yeah I know that, it's just something that I don't like... I'd personally see more evidenced answers at the top

Though on the few I see nowadays that is the case but I only really see HNQ Qs now of course

Napoleon Wilson

Sure, it's the reason I'm not too engaged on this site either. You go where you're comfortable at.

Ankit Sharma

If you make HNQ your only source of info on a site then I have nothing much to say :D

3

TheLethalCarrot

Well I used to be on the site regularly when I first started being active here

As for elections, well I usually poke my nose in all of them on sites I'm a member of ;P

Napoleon Wilson

10:46

Although, we even get avid hardcore SciFiers to candidate for a moderator position, so there mightn't be that much of a perceivable difference between the sites. ;-)

TheLethalCarrot

I just can't help myself

Napoleon Wilson

@AnkitSharma Also oddly relevant to the newest SE meta drama. ;-)

TheLethalCarrot

@NapoleonWilson TBF I think they would be a good mod, but his numbers on Movies are less than desireable

Napoleon Wilson

@TheLethalCarrot Oh, character-wise I'd agree. But he might have to work on his activity and site knowledge a little more.

Jenayah

@NapoleonWilson what's M&TV's approach then? Not too familiar either

Ankit Sharma

10:49

For me candidate should have more participation in meta then rap

TheLethalCarrot

@NapoleonWilson Aye that's what I meant

Ankit Sharma

@Jenayah analysis over conflicting extended canon

TheLethalCarrot

Meta participation is a good thing for a mod but I don't think it's the be-all-end-all

Especially with low post rates a lot of the time by the time you've seen a new post it's already been answered

Ankit Sharma

@TheLethalCarrot 50k rap and never care for meta, should I vote O.o

Napoleon Wilson

@Jenayah Well, SciFi places heavy emphasis on "canon" and "word of god". This works for them, or the topic of speculative fiction in general, but on Movies.SE it's far from the nonplusultra.

TheLethalCarrot

10:51

@AnkitSharma TBH I don't think rep should have the apparent weighting it currently has in the mod score

Napoleon Wilson

It's a difference we probably share with Literature. So if you're aware of that site and its discussions with SciFi.SE culture, we're more similar to them.

Ankit Sharma

@TheLethalCarrot but majority of time high rep user win elections

TheLethalCarrot

@NapoleonWilson Aye so to me it comes down to a difference between interpretation and what was actually meant.

@AnkitSharma Yeah which isn't always the best thing

Napoleon Wilson

@TheLethalCarrot Sure, but I'd also count more things under a broader definition of "meta participation" than just posts on meta.

Mithrandir

@TheLethalCarrot a healthy mixture of both seems best to me

Ankit Sharma

10:53

@TheLethalCarrot I know cases where it end badly, so no names but you got my point. So I always check there meta participation and badges

TheLethalCarrot

Well yeah, any canon evidence is going to lead to interpretation anyway

@NapoleonWilson Oh sure, look at comments and what not but people who just pop in see what's been said is what they wanted to say so just vote and leave you can't really tell

Ankit Sharma

@TheLethalCarrot but extended canon go haywire sometime and go into too much details when movie give easy answer

Napoleon Wilson

There's also a nice quote from Gilles where I think he said SciFi isn't for readers rather than fans, which hits the nail on the head. That was about Literature too, I think, but I'd sign that with regards to its relation to Movies & TV, too.

Jenayah

Alright thanks for the explanation

Ankit Sharma

On the more important note I need tea or coffee now

TheLethalCarrot

10:57

@NapoleonWilson answer vs analysis is another way to put it, though I can't find a better phrasing of answer

@AnkitSharma Just made mine...

Napoleon Wilson

@TheLethalCarrot True, I agree that elections should be more informative about the things that really matter. But at the end of the day, there's only so much you can do to make users elect responsibly (for whatever definition of "responsibly").

TheLethalCarrot

Aye candidate score is meant to lean people towards looking in the right direction, as well as linking reviews and meta... you can never force someone to vote "properly"

Ankit Sharma

@NapoleonWilson I always complain about that and bringing again, questionnaire should be made compulsory to nominate yourself

Jenayah

@TheLethalCarrot That would kind of go against the vote principle

Napoleon Wilson

There's many other things that ultimately come down to this fan vs watcher difference, like the appreciation of IDs here, or the, to outsiders often strict, "trivia" policy on M&TV.

Jenayah

10:59

@NapoleonWilson what's that trivia thing? I've seen it pop in the questionnaire but once again not too familiar

Ankit Sharma

Now I am confused if I am fan or reader :D

Napoleon Wilson

@AnkitSharma True, but on the other hand, the majority of questions there...get the same answer from everyone anyway.

Jenayah

If it's too long to explain just point me to the right meta :p

Ankit Sharma

@Jenayah silly trivia question are off topic in movies.se but for outsider it's confusing

Jenayah

@AnkitSharma like, what, questions about the worldbuilding?

Napoleon Wilson

11:00

@AnkitSharma Noone says you can't be both. ;-)

There's enough users who are happy and feel comfortable on both sites and appreciate each for their very own take on Q&A.

TheLethalCarrot

@NapoleonWilson The stock and standard questions get the same answer from every candidate network wide

They're essentially useless

Jenayah

@TheLethalCarrot what kind of questions are we talking about? Bit lost

TheLethalCarrot

That was about the mod questionnaire

Ankit Sharma

Q: What is the colour of walls in Iron man house? - silly trivia off topic

Q: why Iron man picked this colour for his wall? Is there any siginifcance of ti? - on topic

Jenayah

Not to throw names or whatever but if you have an example I'll take it

Aaaah

Ankit Sharma

11:02

Just example don't take serious

Jenayah

My bad

I thought "questions" questions

Napoleon Wilson

I mean, "someone is acting up, whatcha gon' do?" - "I'll leave them be!". "moderators disagree, whatcha gon' do?" - "I'll suspend one of them!". "Questions stay unanswered, whatcha gon' do?" - "I'll just delete them!"...Uh, wait a second. ;-)

Jenayah

@AnkitSharma oh indeed different scopes

First one wouldn't be off-topic here I reckon... Though it'd be a meh question

TheLethalCarrot

Aye on topic but we wouldn't consider it a good question

Ankit Sharma

@Jenayah so trivia which have no importance in understanding the film/scene is not entertained but deep analysis is on topic

Jenayah

11:04

@NapoleonWilson so what about that time when the bad boys come for you?

@AnkitSharma ok!

Napoleon Wilson

I think we're also talking past each other. There's a discusion about main site questions and one about moderator election questions. ;-)

Ankit Sharma

@NapoleonWilson lol

Jenayah

Indeed

Marvin

11:43

1

Q: SF novella title - stardrive with an unexpected side effect, planet with metallic bugs kept away by magnetic field

In the mid ‘70s I read a story, probably novella length as I remember it being in an anthology, about a stardrive with an unexpected side effect. Plot details I remember: During construction, the designer of the stardrive carried out frequent demonstrations of its primary effect, which was to r...

story-identification time-travel novella

Donald.McLean

13:12

Greetings, Earthlings.

Jenayah

@Donald.McLean greetings, Hubble guy!

Donald.McLean

Another day of writing the code.

Jenayah

Another day of enjoying French administration stupidity at several levels at once.

Long story short there's a new tax for students which came out this year. The usual apply, you don't have to pay it if you're a refugee, if you have a grant etc

Well actually if you have a grant you have to pay it, but they refund it to you. Grand.

Problem being, the official summary for that stuff was written by people who obviously have no idea there are several shapes of education, particularly, work/studies programs

So the line on whether work/study program students should pay that is absolutely irrelevant

So we were several students to come up to school guy in charge of the stuff "hey, we don't think we have to pay this. Look, it says here XYZ also don't have to pay, and law says that is precisely what we're into"

School guy just looked at the bullet list of conditions exonerating you from paying and said that wasn't in it

It was a line outside the bullet list

Well anyway school guy said we had to pay, otherwise no certificate of school attendance, no healthcare etc.

So well, we paid.

Obviously a week later the same guy comes back at us "hey, I checked and no you don't have to pay for it. But well you can ask for a refund"

That's already quite a bother, but it doesn't end here

The refund form doesn't have the "our administration screwed up again" option in the dropdown reason obviously

Actually, it only has the "I'm a refugee/I have a grant" options

Yes, someone designed that without an "other, please explain" option

And put a big red sign "if it's for an other reason, don't check one of the existing reasons, we will not consider your refund demand and ditch you out for good"

Along with "other refund reasons will be implemented in the months to come"

months

Oh yeah and the deadline for asking for this refund is also somewhere in "the months to come"

so you know lots of fun

I can get by without the refund but to think that there are some poor chaps who do need that money and had to pay it wrongly... :/

So to summarize, who screwed up

0. this tax is stupid to begin with since there is no way it will guarantee the "better repartition of goods" it was passed for

1. the lads who wrote it managed to fit it into a single page. Including all the exceptions and stuff. Ever heard of the French love for complicated stuff? Yeah well, if you really want to handle all the exceptions brought by the diversity of studies there are, no way that fits in a single page

2. some unaware guys told students to pay when students (and other school persons...) brought law text indicating the tax's "explanation" was murky at best

3. the guys who put up the refund platform and pattern delayed the most obvious "I need a refund" reason

But overall it's great work, oh and please continue releasing statements about how students don't eat healthy and don't cooperate with administrations 👍

</rant>

Marvin

13:48

0

Q: Thor is the best superhero

Keep Calm and love Thor cuues he is the best male superhero.

avengers

Jenayah

14:43

unrelated

there are two questions tagged yu-gi-oh and two tagged yu-gi-oh-gx

Now I know nothing about Yu-Gi-Oh except that the main character has funny hair and there's something with playing cards, but shouldn't the latters be tagged yu-gi-oh as well?

Like, franchise tag or stuff

TheLethalCarrot

The former appears to be for the first series?/film? and the latter the spin off

I suppose the former could be for the universe as well though

Jenayah

will clean 'em then

unrelated

11

Q: A Slime Draws Near! What work of Fantasy/SciFi introduced Slime Monsters?

A modern staple of fantasy legends, the Slime Monster is an amorphous, shapeless, gooey creature best represented by the original Dragon Quest Slime. They are typically weak, but certain slimes, such as massive ones, ones made of special materials, or ones that are immune to damage, can be quit...

history-of origins

If origins is a synonym of history-of why do both tags appear?

Also, crap

I linked the question before even reading the title... and now I see it's the question I wanted to ask ahah

That's twice today

TheLethalCarrot

@Jenayah It was created as a synonym after the question was asked

There are some peculiarities around that

Jenayah

@TheLethalCarrot is there no automatic processing for this kind of things?

seems like there should be

TheLethalCarrot

I believe there is but the whole thing is sort of temperamental if I remember correctly... especially if a Q is tagged with both

Jenayah

14:51

@TheLethalCarrot ah

searching for main meta post to see if there's more info

Donald.McLean

And there goes an almost one year old zombie!

TheLethalCarrot

Is the zombie project the old one from Code Review?

Donald.McLean

@TheLethalCarrot Yes.

TheLethalCarrot

Also isn't that Q essentially POB?

Donald.McLean

Thought it seems more apropos here. :-)

TheLethalCarrot

14:53

Aye, does

Donald.McLean

POB?

TheLethalCarrot

Primarily opinion based

Donald.McLean

Possibly, though I tried to keep the main points in my answer to things that are supportable with references from the books.

TheLethalCarrot

It does appear to be a decent answer but asking what might happen if this theoretical change occurs is opinion based or at least borderline

Jenayah

@TheLethalCarrot from what I know of the works it seems like the underlying question is "is a werewolf/shapeshifter/whateverthewordwas' partner pre-determined" which sounds on-topic

Donald.McLean

14:58

Destiny versus free-will is always an interesting question.

TheLethalCarrot

@Jenayah Hmm maybe

I haven't VTC'd cos all I know of the universe is having to sit through the films reluctantly with my gf

Jenayah

@TheLethalCarrot I don't know how old you are mate but I hear you, I was in junior high shcool when this stuff came out/popularity rose with the movies and damn it was a pain to endure when you don't like it but people around go bonkers

Donald.McLean

@TheLethalCarrot Yeah, it's seriously chick fantasy, so people (mostly guys) who dislike chick flick/chick lit are bored/annoyed/repulsed by it.

TheLethalCarrot

I liked some of the "action" bits but the general romance storyline put me off

Plus my gf had read the books first so I had to listen to all the "in the books..." stuff when I didn't care for it in the first place haha

Jenayah

@TheLethalCarrot from what I've read of the stuff (read: friend couldn't shut up until I had "at least go through the first book you'll see it's the best one blahblahblah"), at least the movies didn't add that in

It's another thing for franchises like Hunger Games for instance when the romance isn't the ONE plot in the books. The books, as I read them at least, are waaaay more about the politics and strategy games than the romance

Unfortunately, movie producers come in and emphasize on the "one girl two boys all three in ther late teens/early twenties" romance flick and the franchise becomes yet another "damn, this is just another stupid futuristic romance flick for hysterical school girls with no taste in literature"

which sucks big time

Donald.McLean

15:07

I found that the books had some really interesting ideas in them.

Jenayah

@Donald.McLean are we talking HG or Twilight?

Donald.McLean

@Jenayah Twilight. I have not read the HG books, I only saw the movies. I'm very iffy on dystopian fiction.

Alice, for example - she was the first I had ever seen of a precognative who could see large numbers of possible paths and choose between them. I have seen the idea come up since.

Jenayah

@Donald.McLean well, once again from based on what I've read (so, not much) and what I've heard/read on SFF (bit more then), there might be some "new" worldbuilding ideas, but probably like TLC I'm put off by the "oooh will she choose the one who smells like a dead body or the one who smells like a wet dog"

^ yeah, I'm clichéing

feel free to throw back with pokes at my favourite works ahah

Donald.McLean

@Jenayah The Twilight books are very much a love/hate thing. There seems to be no middle ground.

@Jenayah Why? I kind of like to think that I'm not an immature, vindictive jerk.

Everyone reacts to art differently, and how we react comes from deep within us. It's one thing to say you don't like a book. It's another thing to belittle others because of what they like or don't like.

Jenayah

@Donald.McLean it's immature when unsollicited, it's fair game when already accepted by the other party :p

(the way I see it at last)

@Donald.McLean it's not about belittling someone, it's about poiting out that such stuff is also found in what they like

Like, earlier this day I was talking (briefly) about the Teen Wolf TV series

I mean I enjoyed the worldbuilding, the action, the music, settings and stuff but one could easily point out that the main issue in this show was the same as every "YA" show: romance plots which, to be honest, could really have been avoided

And a main character with as much charism as an oyster ran over by a truck but that's another issue

I'm also kind of biased towards Teen Wolf since it's the one and only TV show I ever watched which did not get cancelled or went so downhill I stopped watching altogether. In fact, it had a proper ending though might have a reboot some day

(yes, Flash TV series, that's you I'm talking about when I say "went so downhill")

Donald.McLean

15:26

LOL Romance plots don't bother me. Love is such a critically important part of the human condition that you're going to get a huge range of different takes on it, with Twilight on one end, and the play Sexual Perversity In Chicago near the other.

Jenayah

@Donald.McLean about the latter, can't talk about I don't know and not sure if I should Google play sexual perversity in Chicago :p

Donald.McLean

Sexual Perversity in Chicago

Sexual Perversity in Chicago is a play written by David Mamet that examines the sex lives of two men and two women in the 1970s. The play is filled with profanity and regional jargon that reflects the working-class language of Chicago. The characters' relationships come to be hindered by the caustic nature of their words, as much of the dialogue includes insults and arguments. The play presents "intimate relationships [as] minefields of buried fears and misunderstandings".The play has been adapted for film twice: as the 1986 film About Last Night and the 2014 film About Last Night. == ...

Jenayah

m'ok

Donald.McLean

I took a college class "Theater Into Film" where we read plays and then watched movies that were based on them. We saw two versions of Romeo and Juliet, two versions of Macbeth, and one of the movies based on that play - the original About Last Night where the ending is NOTHING like the ending of the play.

Jenayah

@Donald.McLean what did they change?

Donald.McLean

15:35

@Jenayah In the play, the one character has a major romance, but it ends up falling apart and he ends up in almost the exact same situation as he started. Depressing. In the movie, the character matures enough to save the relationship and Happily Ever After breaks out.

Jenayah

@Donald.McLean movie rules?

Donald.McLean

Basically

My vote for worst Hollywood movie ending still goes to The Wizard of Oz though.

Jenayah

I'll admit I don't remember the ending

the movie did not make a big impression on my yo self

Donald.McLean

In the end of the movie, Dorothy wakes up and finds that Oz was just a dream. In the books, not only was Oz real, but she revisits it several times.

And then moves there permanently in the sixth book.

Jenayah

ah

first instance of "it was just a dream" trope?

Donald.McLean

15:41

Possibly. I hate that trope, so I don't really care.

Though I seem to recall that the setup of the books leaves the reality of John Carter's adventures on Mars open to interpretation.

Jenayah

16:02

alright

Donald.McLean

16:29

John Carter of Mars

John Carter of Mars is a fictional Virginian—a veteran of the American Civil War—transported to Mars and the initial protagonist of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom stories. His character is enduring, having appeared in various media since his 1912 debut in a magazine serial. The 2012 feature film John Carter marked the 100th anniversary of the character's first appearance. == Appearances == John Carter was the lead character in the first novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, set on a fictionalized version of Mars known as Barsoom. Written between July and September 28, 1911, the novel was serialized as...

Alex

16:53

I found a bug but can't reproduce it. So sad.

Jenayah

@Alex mh?

Alex

A link led to the wrong post. But it only happened one time. The next three times I clicked it it led to the right post.

Jenayah

@Alex a dupe post by any chance?

Alex

@Jenayah No, it was the "answered by" link on the home page but it led to a different answer to the same question.

Jenayah

@Alex that might not be a bug

can we get a link to the question?

Because if you click on the last activity indicator it redirects you to last activity

so if another answerer edited his A/the Q or whatever, the last activity jumps to the actual last activity

Alex

16:58

@Jenayah Right, but when I clicked on it the first time it led me to an answer that was not the last activity.

Jenayah

@Alex not even by a few seconds?

Alex

@Jenayah One activity was seven hours ago; the other activity was a month and a half ago. Besides the indicator didn't change between times that I clicked.

Transcript for

The Restaurant at the End of the Univ…