English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Cerberus

6:00 PM

@RegDwightѬſ道 Ohai, what'd I do this time?

@z7sgѪ The number of flags in America sometimes strikes me too, at least in films and series.

user19161

@Cerberus Maybe he meant you are the guardian of hell.

Cerberus

But why was I brought up at all? Not that I mind.

user19161

@Cerberus Once some swimmers wore trunks bearing our flag to a competition and people complained. The people who complained are so silly!

user19161

@Cerberus I am still trying to figure out. Hard to understand vodka-drinkers.

Cerberus

Why complain about that?

user19161

6:03 PM

@Cerberus Like I said they are being silly. They think it's being disrespectful to the flag but actually it was meant to be pride and not disrespect.

user19161

@kit Since you had a polar bear for Halloween, I am trying to figure out if your fox is a costume too.

aedia λ

@Kitḫ And Chinese food carry-out bags.

user19161

@matt I capped again today!

Matt Эллен

So I read. I was lurking earlier :D

also: off topic

-1

Q: Can you help me correct this application letter please?

I am a French student. I finished my studies in tourism and I am looking for a training period (internship?). Could you please help me to correct this letter? Thank you in advance :) Dear Sir or Madam, I address my application to a t...

letter-writing

user19161

@MattЭллен done

z7sg Ѫ

6:06 PM

@Cerberus i think a lot of people have flagpoles in holland though too don't they? at least in some areas they do!

Cerberus

@z7sgѪ Hmm they are fairly common, though most people don't have them. But you normally won't see flags on them except on special occasions: the flag is supposed to be taken down at night.

user19161

@z7sgѪ flagpoles without the flag may be used for hanging laundry

Cerberus

That is, free-standing flag poles; the semi-horizontal ones sticking out of the wall are extremely common.

z7sg Ѫ

That's cool though that you have all these poles.. but they're only for special occasions!

user19161

Here poles are used for hanging laundry everywhere.

z7sg Ѫ

6:09 PM

@JasperLoy I think the Queen would be unimpressed if you were to hang the national flag from the same pole you hang your undies on.

Matt Эллен

@JasperLoy Here Poles run the Polish grocery store

Cerberus

@z7sgѪ If you walk around this well-to-do neighbourhood, as a random example, you won't see any flags.

maps.google.com/…

aedia λ

Mister grumpy needs some unicorn hugs!

user19161

-1

Q: Essay writing formula

Throughout all cultures and societies, we learn to look at ourselves through the eyes of the people we know best. When writing prompted essays, sometimes there is a formula that can be used to achieve a high score with minimal effort. An example of an introduction for a persuasive prompted es...

essay

Cerberus

@aediaλ hugs

user19161

6:11 PM

ot

Cerberus

user19161

@aediaλ looks like you!

Cerberus

This is on Queen's Day in a very active neighbourhood.

Matt Эллен

Yay! Queens day :D

Cerberus

Do you have one?

Mind the apostrophe. It's queens day here every day!

user19161

6:13 PM

@Cerberus what's the difference?

Cerberus

This is a main gay street.

user19161

@Cerberus But what is the meaning of queens?

user19161

The name of the street?

Cerberus

Queen = gay man.

Usually of the effeminate kind.

user19161

@Cerberus OMG I did not know that!

Cerberus

6:16 PM

Never wondered about the name of the band?

user19161

I don't know the names of any bands, except maybe ... westlife.

user19161

I do know what twinks and bears are though in gay terminology.

user19161

Basically thin and fat or something like that.

Cerberus

Queen (band)

Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar, guitars, vocals), and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals). Queen's earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, but the band gradually ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works, incorporating more diverse and innovative styles in their music. Before joining Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor had been playing together in a band named Smile with bassist Tim Staffell. Freddie Mercury (then known by his bi...

> When asked about the name, Bulsara explained, "I thought up the name Queen. It's just a name, but it's very regal obviously, and it sounds splendid. It's a strong name, very universal and immediate. It had a lot of visual potential and was open to all sorts of interpretations. I was certainly aware of gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it."

user19161

And I also know about the up and down terminology.

Matt Эллен

6:19 PM

@Cerberus Not a Queen's day, as such. But the Queen does get 2 birthdays, so I guess those count.

Cerberus

@MattЭллен And are they big national holidays?

Matt Эллен

nope

they are not national holidays at all

Cerberus

Ours gets two b-days too, one being her mother's, which is the biggest holiday we have here, the other being her own, which everybody forgets.

@MattЭллен You have no national holidays?

Hmm, the Scots wouldn't have liked that, I suppose.

Matt Эллен

we don't observe much about Royal stuff. The days are noted on the calendar but not given as days off

Cerberus

Poor Lizzie.

How popular is she anyway?

Matt Эллен

6:21 PM

@Cerberus not for the royalty, except the optional one for the Wedding, but that was a one off

Cerberus

Yeah that doesn't count.

But no 14e Julliet or something?

user19161

@Cerberus Near where you stay?

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus Well, I think anti-royal sentiment is not high, but pro-royal sentiment is not high either. So she's not popular, but I think most of my parent's generation and older like her.

@Cerberus nope

Cerberus

@MattЭллен Hmm OK. Bea is very popular.

@JasperLoy A 15-minute walk.

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus Quite a lot of politicians like to use the Royals as a crank to wind voters up with "ain't they a drain on the economy?", "we should get rid of them". That sort of thing. They'd never do anything about it, but they like to try and win support that way.

Cerberus

6:27 PM

That happens here too, and nothing ever happens either.

Thank God.

Matt Эллен

Aye

Cerberus

But things may be different when Prince William IV of Orange succeeds her.

Or King, actually.

He is a bit of a spoiled brat.

Not half as intelligent as his mother.

Matt Эллен

Oh dear

I don't know much about our Prince William of Orange

that was a long time ago!

Cerberus

He did rule you one time, didn't he?

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus what kinds of things does he get up to?

@Cerberus yeah with, um, Queen Mary?

aye, Mary II

that was when the king was euqal in power to the queen for the first time

Cerberus

6:30 PM

He built a vacation resort for himself in Mozambique, for starters. That is a bit controversial. But the worst thing is he keeps complaining to the press about how tabloids stalk him and how he doesn't have the freedom to do as he likes.

@MattЭллен Good times!

Bea never complains.

She has true royal dignity.

Matt Эллен

Public figures. Do they deserve more privacy?

Jez

evening

Cerberus

Well, I think he does deserve it, but tabloids will always be tabloids, and there isn't much you can do about them, so just quit whining.

Hi!

Matt Эллен

hi @Jez

Cerberus

Meh. I'm hungry and I want to make dinner, but I ought to be running around town and exhausting myself.

Matt Эллен

6:34 PM

why do you need to exhaust yourself?

I shall be dining on pie and veg in 5 minutes :D

Jez

baked potato for me

Cerberus

@MattЭллен Well, losing weight and sleeping better are two considerations.

But it's freezing and I'm tired and hungry.

user19161

Anyone here on unix SE?

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus good considerations.

Cerberus

@MattЭллен In theory, yes.

Matt Эллен

6:45 PM

Having cycled home from work, I can confirm that it is cold out. Admittedly some hundred miles away, but still :D

Cerberus

It says it's 3 C outside.

Probably freezing on the ground.

Matt Эллен

we have a luxuriant 10C here, apparently (not sure of the accuracy)

bbl, eating

Cerberus

Damn.

Have fun!

I wish we had 10 C at this time of day.

user19161

@cerb has 3 deg C, @matt has 10 deg C, I have 3 times 10 deg C!

Cerberus

Aww.

Well I prefer 0 over 30.

And I prefer 20 over anything.

user19161

6:49 PM

I gave my first answer on unix SE, hope it gets upvoted!

user19161

1

Q: How can I remove Orphan Packages in Fedora?

I just switched from Ubuntu to Fedora14. In Ubuntu we had the apt-get autoremove thing to remove orphan/unused packages. What is the counterpart in Fedora?

fedora yum

Kitḫ

Hai!

user19161

@Kitḫ Hi!

ChrisM

7:12 PM

Hey! What do we do here?

Matt Эллен

Hai @Kit :)

@ChrisM this is chat, so we chat!

user19161

@ChrisM We talk crap here basically!

user19161

@MattЭллен What did you eat for dinner?

Matt Эллен

@JasperLoy steak and ale pie, garlic bread and veg.

user19161

@MattЭллен Sounds expensive and expansive!

Matt Эллен

7:21 PM

I don't think it was expensive

user19161

Seems that Robert has been tasked to close questions here too.

user19161

2

Q: A term for providing irrelevant and hiding relevant information

For example, you're doing a research for a car to purchase. You get a list of cars with engine number, city where a car was assembled, and a color. What's missing is make, model and price.

expressions terms

user19161

8

Q: What is the word for unconsciously blocking out background noises?

What is the word for the phenomenon where your brain blocks out background sounds, because they are constant? For example when you don't hear the air conditioning whirring away until it stops.

single-word-requests

user19161

Actually these two questions are fine.

Jez

@MattЭллен tastyish, yum, yuk

user19161

7:27 PM

@Jez yum, yum, yum

ChrisM

haha wow I was all worried that there were some unspoken guidelines to using the chat

Matt Эллен

@JasperLoy certainly the one I answered is :D

user19161

@ChrisM There are spoken and unspoken guidelines everywhere.

ChrisM

haha I mean beyond the norm of a chatroom

Matt Эллен

@ChrisM well, you know, treat people with respect - that's the only unspoken one :)

user19161

7:29 PM

@ChrisM Use right arrow to reply and left arrow to link back. You'll see them when you hover over the message sides.

user19161

@ChrisM And also don't piss people off, though it happens time to time, unintentionally.

ChrisM

@JasperLoy alright, this is a test

user19161

@ChrisM Good!

ChrisM

@JasperLoy Are there two Jasper Loys?

user19161

@ChrisM You can also use first three letters to ping just like on the main site if the person is in the room.

user19161

7:31 PM

@ChrisM Only one I know on SE.

user19161

@ChrisM Maybe you need to refresh your browser if you see two avatars cos I change almost daily.

ChrisM

@JasperLoy wow that was strange, when you only talk once, there's a small guy avatar, when you talk 3+ times it changes to a smiling face

user19161

@ChrisM Also if you have a wikipedia, youtube, SE question link and nothing else on the same line it will autoexpand beautifully as you can see from above examples.

user19161

@ChrisM Aye, just wait a while and refresh.

ChrisM

@JasperLoy oh cool haha

@JasperLoy Yeah refreshing worked, do you rotate through pictures of celebs?

user19161

7:34 PM

@ChrisM Yes, and whatever I feel like. I change my profile all the time too to match it.

ChrisM

@JasperLoy haha I noticed that earlier. I found this site about a week ago and, since you're a frequent poster, I noticed that you change your picture all the time haha

user19161

@ChrisM And you can edit your msg within a very short time. Just click on the left and choose edit.

user19161

@ChrisM Yes and one guy whose question I closevoted was so pissed that he said he found it disturbing that I "impersonated" Mariah Carey!

ChrisM

@JasperLoy Sweet! I find it frustrating that comments can't be edited after 5 mins, I accidentally hit 'Enter' sometimes while typing and, if the comment's long, I don't have time to finish the comment before editing gets locked.

@JasperLoy haha some people eh...

Cerberus

Hi.

user19161

7:39 PM

@Cerberus Boo! woof!

Cerberus

@ChrisM Your best bet is then to immediately copy and delete the comment, then rewrite and repost.

ChrisM

@JasperLoy I had a post closed a few times on SU. It took me a while to figure out the right way of posting haha

Cerberus

@JasperLoy Boo, but I have to go for a bit.

Later!

ChrisM

@Cerberus hmm good thought

user19161

@Cerberus Bye!

Cerberus

7:40 PM

It's what I do.

Bye!

ChrisM

@Cerberus cya and thanks!

Matt Эллен

7:59 PM

ARRGH, all this single-word-request angst is making me doubt whether I should answer these questions, or vote to close them

This seems pretty mediocre:

6

Q: Is there a word to describe the situation where you call someone and hang up so they call you back?

Is there a word to describe the situation where you call someone and hang up so they call you back? The purpose of this is usually so that they get the calling charges. I was thinking it's kind of like 'poking' or 'tagging' them? Like a 'poke/tag call'. Answer: I voted on Tim Lewis' answer a...

word-choice single-word-requests phrase-requests terms

is it worth keeping? I even have an answer for it.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Hey everybody's invited to the Parenting room. An event is taking place in a couple minutes.

The Playground

General discussion for parenting.stackexchange.com

I got an invite, but I'm no parent.

And there are only a couple people there right now.

We need moar!

Matt Эллен

what is the event?

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Something with site promotion.

Don't kill me, I'm only the messenger.

Matt Эллен

you're not only the messenger! you're encouraging people to go.

but I'll still not kill you

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Jul 14 at 20:11, by RegDwight

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player is the sixth studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John. This was Elton's second straight #1 album in America and yielded his first #1 single in both the U.S. and Canada – "Crocodile Rock". "Daniel" was also a major hit from the album, giving him his second Canadian #1 single on the RPM Top Singles Chart and just missing the top slot south of the border, stalling at #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and reaching #4 in the U.K., one place higher than achieved by Crocodile Rock. According to writer Philip Norman in his early 1990s authorize...

Jez

8:12 PM

it's 10 past 8.... why am i tired enough to sleep??

Matt Эллен

could be for a multitude of reasons!

maybe you need more protein in your diet

Robusto

@Cerberus — More to the point, it's also 3D outside. Move along the x or y or z axis of your choice.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Wow, there are axes outside?

Now I'm scared. Dubya told me they'd be evil.

Good thing I never leave the house.

Matt Эллен

@RegDwightѬſ道 how else do the murderers get them?

RegDwight Ѭſ道

THWACK

Matt Эллен

8:14 PM

:D

Robusto

@RegDwightѬſ道 — I thought the plural of axis was axae's.

Kitḫ

Axides.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Robusto

Smells like Teen Spirit to me.

Kitḫ

No, that's a different deodorant.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

8:17 PM

@Robusto Some people didn't understand what you meant there.

7 hours ago, by Jasper Loy

@Hugo I don't really understand Robusto's smells like teen spirit.

Robusto

@RegDwightѬſ道 Well, whatever, nevermind.

Kitḫ

amazon.com/TEEN-SPIRIT-SWEET-BERRY-Size/dp/B001KYIT3U

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Robusto is the man who sold the world.

@Kitḫ EWWWWWW

Robusto

Interestingly enough, Kurt Cobain had never heard of the deodorant when he wrote that song. He only found out later, and was very unhappy that he was using the name of a commercial product in his song. He had really meant something like "school spirit" instead.

Kitḫ

The deodorant came after the song, neh?

RegDwight Ѭſ道

8:19 PM

Bye Bye Nerdie

"Bye Bye Nerdie" is the sixteenth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 11, 2001. In the episode, when she becomes the target of a female bully, Lisa discovers a scientific reason as to why bullies pick on nerds. Meanwhile, Homer goes into the baby-proofing business, which is threatening the businesses of pediatricians and greeting card salesmen. Kathy Griffin guest starred in the episode as Francine, the female bully. During its original broadcast, "Bye Bye Nerdie" was seen in appro...

Robusto

@RegDwightѬſ道 — No, that's your Russian comrade.

@Kitḫ No. KC was just unaware of its existence.

Kitḫ

So that's why he shot himself.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

He did????

OMG

Cerberus

@Robusto Hmm is that really true? I was wearing only one contact.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

@Robusto Never heard of that song.

Robusto

8:21 PM

@Cerberus — It's true whether you have depth perception or not.

Cerberus

@Robusto Or maybe time and space are just projections of the human mind on sensory stimuli that it cannot otherwise understand.

Robusto

@Cerberus — You want odds?

RegDwight Ѭſ道

@Cerberus You talk like a fag and your shit's all retarded.

Cerberus

By the way, how do you feel about the position of otherwise in my sentence?

@RegDwightѬſ道 Again, projection!

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Seven. I feel seven. No wait, eight.

Cerberus

8:24 PM

Buy new antennae.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

@Cerberus Whether it's a projection or not, you are the one to blame for it.

That one head over there, yes you, I'm talking at you.

in Parenting, 43 secs ago, by Beofett

We should advertise on Teen Mom, or Toddlers and Tiaras, or another of those horrible reality shows about parents ruining their children's lives

Wow. Those show titles. Wow.

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus sounds good to me. Kinda theatrical

aedia λ

@RegDwightѬſ道 There's a new one I just saw advertised like "I hate my teen daughter" or something like that. I'm hoping it isn't a reality show.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

@aediaλ I'm hoping it is, cause then at least it's staged.

Matt Эллен

they made that twitter feed "shit my dad says" into a show. Is that a reality show or not?

aedia λ

8:32 PM

Oh god I forgot about that.

I'm just going to pretend these don't exist.

Cerberus

@RegDwightѬſ道 What? Why? Who?

RegDwight Ѭſ道

I only knew about that thread from Reddit.

aedia λ

Then they're not reality.

Cerberus

@MattЭллен Thanks, that is excellent!

@aediaλ That sounds like fun!!

user19161

@Jez Maybe you have something disturbing buried in your subconscious.

Cerberus

8:35 PM

Meh the Parents are just talking marketing crap.

user19161

@RegDwightѬſ道 Looks like sex toy.

Cerberus

Why oh why do people lend themselves to marketing a site that isn't theirs and that they do not even want to become bigger?

user19161

@Kitḫ Oh so that's what Teen Spirit is!

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus monies?

I worked in the financial services industry, an industry I despise, for monies

lots of monies

user19161

@RegDwightѬſ道 I hope they don't give bad advice on the site and make more kids go nuts.

user19161

8:39 PM

@MattЭллен Good for you!

user19161

@aediaλ Reality is not well-defined.

Matt Эллен

@JasperLoy in the end I quit for a worse paying, more enjoyable job in science!

user19161

@RegDwightѬſ道 I had a virus which said "Don't kill me. I'm only a virus."

Kitḫ

@Cerberus Effing hot.

user19161

@Kitḫ Not hot but cool.

Cerberus

8:44 PM

@MattЭллен No I mean the Parents: they were talking about promoting their site at a zoo(!)

@Kitḫ I didn't know you cared so much about positions.

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus you get lots of children at zoos

Cerberus

@MattЭллен But...but...aaah!

Matt Эллен

how else are we meant to learn about them?

user19161

@MattЭллен I can't believe your msg now has 7 stars.

Cerberus

Imagine yourself. Distributing leaflets at a zoo for a website you don't really want to attract more random people.

user19161

8:45 PM

I will try again.

Matt Эллен

@JasperLoy what can I say? I'm magical!

user19161

A tan is good cos it's not a sin.

user19161

Please star the above.

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus I thought they did want that?

what else do they think site promotion will bring?

user19161

@MattЭллен No, you starred it yourself as mentioned.

Matt Эллен

8:47 PM

@JasperLoy aye! through magic :D

or something

user19161

If I could give it negative stars I would.

user19161

I can just take an eraser and rub the stars off the screen.

Matt Эллен

awww, thanks, Jasper, you're so kind

I'm surprised your avatar isn't green!

user19161

I happen to understand your above joke.

Matt Эллен

I thought you would! :D

user19161

8:51 PM

Actually using GIMP we can colourify it to any colour.

user19161

It's like cellophane.

Matt Эллен

In stage lighting, they use gels in front of the lights in a similar fashion

user19161

Sorry to ask this yet again. Any idea who did this?

user19161

21:19 upvote Cases where “mistake” and “error” are not interchangeable
21:17 upvote Why is it “Do a Barrel Roll” and not “Does a Barrel Roll”?
21:17 upvote How to pronounce “E = mc²”
21:16 upvote “Gentleman” is to “male” as what is to “female”?
21:16 upvote “X times as many as” or “X times more than”
21:14 upvote Difference between “impel” and “compel”
21:12 upvote Difference between “each” and “every”
21:11 upvote Changes in English names of people
21:11 upvote “Between A and B” or “from A to B”

Kitḫ

Was it you?

user19161

8:53 PM

@Kitḫ Nope, I would not upvote myself.

Kitḫ

And it is "colourize," not "colourify."

Well, whoever it is should be careful. They make algorithms for that sort of thing.

user19161

@Kitḫ Nope, I'm just using the GIMP UI terminology. Caught you!

Matt Эллен

@JasperLoy Kit has you there @Jasper!