English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

12:00 AM

@JasperLoy I have never had half-boiled eggs, but instant noodles are delicious. I have a recipe for homemade noodles that I've been meaning to try.

user19161

@Mahnax The type I like is not mixed with other ingredients. Just plain noodles with the soup of course. So the soup base is important and it comes in a small pack.

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Yes, same here. It's just a package of hard noodles, which one boils, then adds soup base to.

user19161

@Mahnax Half-boiled eggs are mixed with soya sauce.

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Oh, I love soya sauce.

It is salty and delicious.

Curry is delicious too. As is Chinese food.

Most Asian cuisine, actually.

user19161

@Mahnax I like raw salmon in sushi.

Mahnax

12:07 AM

@JasperLoy Hmm, never had raw salmon. I have had suolasikka, a kind of raw fish.

user19161

I find the Chinese food in cheap food centres nicer than those in expensive Chinese restaurants which my friend sometimes treats me to.

Mahnax

@JasperLoy You have a kind friend.

user19161

@Mahnax And salmon is the only thing I like raw in sushi. Tuna is fine too.

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Suolasikka is very salty.

user19161

@Mahnax Like parma ham.

Mahnax

12:10 AM

@JasperLoy Never heard of it.

user19161

Prosciutto

Prosciutto (,, Italian ham) or Parma ham is a dry-cured ham that is usually thinly sliced and served uncooked; this style is called prosciutto crudo in Italian and is distinguished from cooked ham, prosciutto cotto. Commonly associated with Friuli and Emilia, the most renowned and expensive legs of prosciutto come from central and northern Italy, such as those of Parma, and San Daniele, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is also well known in Croatia (Dalmatia, Croatian Littoral, Lika and Istria), parts of western Slovenia (Kras, Vipava Valley), Herzegovina, Montenegro (Njeguši) and Serbia...

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Oh, that. I've heard of prosciutto.

user19161

12:25 AM

@Mahnax So when will you decide exactly what to study in uni?

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Not sure...

Kitḫ

@Mahnax Free WBs because of the update.

Mahnax

@Kitḫ Ah.

Kitḫ

@JasperLoy Yes.

Mahnax

@JasperLoy I'm leaning towards Physics at the moment.

Kitḫ

12:56 AM

@Cerb Woof!

Cerberus

1:20 AM

@Kitḫ Woof!

Kitḫ

There's a war to fight, puppy!

@JSB I find the use of double dashes rather than a proper em-dash to be a bit distracting.

Cerberus

Ah...

@Kitḫ Where?

Kitḫ

In his book.

Cerberus

Ah.

So what does he do exactly?

Kitḫ

-- instead of —

Cerberus

1:34 AM

Ahhh.

Yeah, that is rather something you might use in e-mail.

Spent.

Lost most matches.

And we're way behind anyway.

Kitḫ

You're fighting the wrong war again.

Cerberus

But we're already winning the other war, aren't we?

Kitḫ

Yep.

Mahnax

Hi @Cerb!

Kitḫ

1:49 AM

Ooh! Interesting twist!

Kitḫ

2:13 AM

@JSB Also, "alacrity" strikes me wrong in this sentence: The dark shapes--Dimitris couldn't quite tell what they were, and he didn't study them to find out--moved with startling alacrity among the rioting prisoners, swinging cruel punches left and right. [Bangs, J.S. (2011-12-14). Uncaged Blood (Kindle Locations 787-789). J.S. Bangs. Kindle Edition.]

Really terrific violence descriptions though. Inspiringly realistic horror without being ridiculous.

Kitḫ

2:37 AM

@JSB I liked it. And I also liked the ending.

Cerberus

Hmm.

@Kitḫ It sounds a bit ironic. I don't know whether that would be appropriate here?

Kitḫ

It was the only word choice that made me stumble.

Cerberus

I'm trying to picture sprightly dark shapes.

Kitḫ

In general, JSB's writing style is quite fluid for my reading style.

Cerberus

He heard you!

Kitḫ

2:40 AM

@Cerberus Well, maybe it's because I don't think of "alacrity" as "sprightly."

JSBᾶngs

thanks, @Kit!

Kitḫ

Anyway, it seems like it should be more like "deftness," or "dexterity," or "swiftness," or something.

@JSBᾶngs Thank you. It was a good read.

JSBᾶngs

i'm so glad you liked it

it's pretty different from my other story that you've read

Kitḫ

And given only two criticisms, that's a ringing endorsement.

JSBᾶngs

i can probably fix the em-dash thing -- i'll have to look into it

Cerberus

2:42 AM

@Kitḫ I never use it myself. But it sounds rather cheerful for dark shapes unless with a bit of irony.

Kitḫ

@JSBᾶngs I could sense the similarities. Your writing style is pretty tight.

@Cerberus Yeah. Cheerful. Without tears, one might even say.

So pairing it with startling is a bit odd.

Cerberus

Unless one would expect gravity?

But I don't know the context.

Kitḫ

Anyway, I shall want to reflect on it further before I give a proper review.

;-)

@Cerberus Maybe you should read it.

Cerberus

Perhaps I should!

JSBᾶngs

@Kit the nicest thing you could do for me would be to leave a good review over at Amazon (or B&N or wherever), but don't feel obliged

sorry to hit-and-run, but i have to go take care of baby

later

Kitḫ

2:46 AM

No prob!

@JSBᾶngs That's why I was winking.

;-)

^ See?

JSBᾶngs

@Kitḫ i actually can't see the winking. bad font?

anyway, i wrote my message before a saw yours

thanks, though!

Kitḫ

Good night!

JSBᾶngs

@Kitḫ here i mostly just mean "speed"

@Kitḫ i switched computers. boy is now sleeping next to me. i can hang out for a little while longer

(yay?)

Kitḫ

Care for a beer?

JSBᾶngs

maybe "alacrity" was the wrong word. "celerity"? but i'm probably not going to change that now.,

@Kitḫ sure

Kitḫ

2:57 AM

@JSBᾶngs Yes, celerity would not have tripped me up so much.

JSBᾶngs

@Kitḫ AWESOME

Kitḫ

That's my boy. I'm raising the youngest to be a brawler.

JSBᾶngs

is that one of yours, or is it a random internet beer-bringing child?

@Kitḫ excellent

that is a scrapper's name

Kitḫ

He's not started drinking yet.

JSBᾶngs

(but i won't repeat it)

(or probably even remember it)

Kitḫ

3:00 AM

Thanks. I forgot where I was for a moment.

I try so hard not to label my children.

But this kid is a punk.

A punk with a heart of gold, mind you.

JSBᾶngs

you could just call them "child 1" and "child 2"

Kitḫ

Haha.

JSBᾶngs

this is the younger one? you called him a punk once before, too

Kitḫ

They are both "sweetie" and "love."

Actually, the phrase they hear from me most often is "Yes, love?"

JSBᾶngs

well, so are our kids

but our littler one is definitely more mischievous

Kitḫ

3:04 AM

I think the youngest thinks yeslove is a word that means "What?"

JSBᾶngs

ha

Cerberus

If that is beer, you have raised the perfect child.

JSBᾶngs

man, i wish calibre weren't such a piece of crap software

Kitḫ

The littlest one, yes, is a punk. He's cheerful and he gets into everything and pulls things apart.

He is surprisingly conscientious at picking up after himself though.

Cerberus

Such alacrity!

JSBᾶngs

3:05 AM

the other day our little one found a bucket, put it on his head, and spun around in a circle until he fell over and the bucket fell off, laughing like a maniac the whole time

Kitḫ

Yes, yes. He grabs the cat's tail with alacrity.

@JSBᾶngs rofl

That's great!

JSBᾶngs

but he's a rascal. the older one does things he shouldn't because he's fascinated by them and can't restrain himself. the little one does things specifically because he's not supposed to

Kitḫ

He likes to feed the cat. He will stand below the shelf and point at the cat food and shout "dat! dat! DAT!" to let us know that he is ready.

Cerberus

@JSBᾶngs It's may very well just be a phase.

Kitḫ

@JSBᾶngs Yes! Like my boys.

JSBᾶngs

3:07 AM

@Kitḫ adorable. does he do it even if the cat doesn't need to be fed?

Kitḫ

@JSBᾶngs Yes. You can actually see the thought enter his head when he looks at the cat sometimes.

JSBᾶngs

@Cerberus he just demands more stringent discipline than the older child.

Kitḫ

Or her dish. Or when he comes in the door.

JSBᾶngs

aw, man, kids are so much fun

Kitḫ

I was thinking just tonight, as I was rocking him back to sleep, that I miss the days when I lived alone, stayed up all night, and smoked and drank, but man, my life was empty then.

JSBᾶngs

3:10 AM

@Kitḫ i often feel the exact same way.

being single and childless is fun for a while, but i'm very glad that i'm past that stage of my life

Kitḫ

I remember when I got married, my husband and I agreed that we were glad those days were done. Neither one of us wanted to be that forty-something trying to hang with the cool kids at the bar in the wee hours.

We got some stories, and that was our time. Now we've got our boys, and their stories to come.

Ten years ago, I never would have dreamed that life could be this satisfying.

It's been almost nine years since I met my husband.

That just seems like not enough and too much all at the same time.

Well, speaking of boring old fuddy-duddy, it's me for bed.

Good night, boys!

JSBᾶngs

g'night

Kitḫ

Oh, and JSB, I mean to leave a review after I think on it a bit more.

JSBᾶngs

so random question: has anyone here ever been to Vladivostok? maybe @Reg or @Jasper?

Cerberus

3:34 AM

Not I. Why?

Mahnax

Nor I.

Cerberus

You could also ask Hippietrail.

He's a big traveller.

Mahnax

3:52 AM

Hm, I started a raid alone. I don't think I'll be able to finish though.

Cerberus

Better advertise it in game chat, then!

Or in the forum thread.

Unless it's Arctis Vanguard: you should be able to do that alone.

Mahnax

Well it is, but I had almost no energy when I started. I didn't think to check.

Cerberus

If you have time, you should be able to beat it easily.

Hey Sim!

Mahnax

@Cerberus Hopefully.

I just don't want to be doing this until 3 AM.

Cerberus

4:18 AM

I understand.

Speaking of which, I must to bed.

Good luck!

Mahnax

@Cerberus Thanks! Good night.

Cerberus

Bye!

Mahnax

Bai.

user19161

@Mahnax Boo!

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Allo!

@JasperLoy How are you?

user19161

4:29 AM

@Mahnax I just woke from a nap, you doing homework?

Mahnax

@JasperLoy No, I haven't any.

user19161

@Mahnax My mystery question is not solved on meta.

user19161

2

Q: Different post count on summary and accounts tabs

My user profile currently shows 223 answers and 15 questions on the summary tab but 221 answers and 15 questions on the accounts tab. This cannot be due to delay in updating as the discrepancy persists for quite a while. I noticed this phenomenon for some other users too. For example, simchona h...

bug

user19161

This is the greatest SE mystery of the year. It must be solved by Christmas or Santa Claus will not come. – Jasper Loy 8 hours ago

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Hm, I saw that on MSO once. I will try to find it.

I can't, sorry.

Interesting problem though.

user19161

4:34 AM

@Mahnax NVM, I rather enjoy the mystery while it is unsolved!

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Mine is one answer off and 2 questions off.

user19161

But I'm surprised it only got two votes when it is so interesting. I cosidered deleted and closed posts but doesn't seem to be so.

user19161

4:47 AM

I changed back to snowflake.

user19161

@Mahnax So you are just internetting now?

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Yup. sorry for not responding, my comp died.

user19161

@Mahnax It's OK. I wonder what happened to sim. She hasn't come to chat for long or answered any questions.

Mahnax

@JasperLoy From what I've seen, many are retiring from the site.

user19161

@Mahnax But she is always closing questions.

Mahnax

4:53 AM

@JasperLoy Hmm, idk then.

user19161

I think I may retire this year too.

user19161

And maybe my life will end soon too.

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Are you planning to kill yourself?

user19161

@Mahnax Not really. But I hope I don't have to suffer for too long more.

user19161

Because it has been too much and too long to bear.

Mahnax

4:55 AM

@JasperLoy I hope so too. Please never kill yourself.

user19161

@Mahnax OK. After all I still have not met you!

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Likewise! I look forward to the day.

user19161

@Mahnax I checked out Jon Purdy's awesome blogs but no mention of what he mentioned.

user19161

He was just purdy high that day.

Mahnax

@JasperLoy chuckle

@JasperLoy Hmm.

Off-topic question, but I answered it anyways: english.stackexchange.com/a/52547/11550

user19161

5:04 AM

@Mahnax A delightful answer!

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Really?

user19161

@Mahnax Yeah!

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Merci!

user19161

I mean it's quite funny to me.

user19161

I laugh at everything.

user19161

5:06 AM

Gigili must come so that we can present him the magic camera!

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Yes, he must!

@Gigili! Come hither!

Aww :(

@JasperLoy So, we are giving him the website, right?

user19161

@Mahnax Not only is your blog black like my friend Darren's, he also did physics too!

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Ah, cool!

user19161

@Mahnax Yes!

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Very good.

It looks pretty cheesy, actually.

user19161

5:10 AM

@Mahnax You need 50 more to get 3K!

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Woohoo!!

scolds Actually, it's 46.

user19161

@Mahnax Well, you may get some downvotes...

Mahnax

@JasperLoy gasps I don't think I've been downvoted very much. Maybe once or twice.

Then again, I don't post much.

I looked through my rep history, I have 3 downvotes.

user19161

@Mahnax That's very good. Only 1 per 1000 rep.

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Hm, if you say so.

@JasperLoy How many do you reckon you have?

user19161

5:21 AM

@Mahnax Well without looking through everyday, I think about 15 to 20. I got 7 last week.

Mahnax

@JasperLoy That's not bad, only -30 to -40 rep.

I don't like how downvoting answers is -1 rep. It should only cost rep if it's a competing answer to one of yours.

user19161

@Mahnax Are you gonna watch TV later?

Mahnax

@JasperLoy Yeah, at 11PM. So 35 minutes from now.

Actually, I download the TV and watch it on my iPod.

user19161

@Mahnax I wonder why so many people come to this room and vegetate forever or leave without saying anything.

Mahnax

@JasperLoy To watch us develop into madmen.

user19161

7:06 AM

@Mahnax My 16th post is up.

user19161

@JSBᾶngs Nope.

user19161

11:18 AM

@fallen What happened to your eyes!

FallenAngelEyes

12

Q: Would you liketh a user icon in the style of my hat designs?

In the spirit of the season, I grant-eth ye one wish-eth! If any of our users think it would be cool, I'll do 10 user illustrations in the style of the Hats illustrated for the gaming site. First 10 people to claim it in comments get it! You can choose to either have your existing gravtar icon...

feature-request status-completed

:)

user19161

@FallenAngelEyes OMG! Everyone on SE is a nutcase of some kind!

FallenAngelEyes

@JasperLoy hahaha, why so?

We have an event thing called Hat Dash going on at Gaming for the holidays.

So Sean offered to make our gravatars hat-friendly. :D

user19161

@FallenAngelEyes I'm not sure what kind of eyes those are, but I think you are now SwollenAngelEyes.

FallenAngelEyes

@JasperLoy lol

If you look at it blown up, it has "FAE" written in the veins!

user19161

11:33 AM

@FallenAngelEyes Do you hear any sound when pinged? I don't right now.

FallenAngelEyes

@JasperLoy I do.

Matt Эллен

12:12 PM

BOOM! head shot

user19161

@MattЭллен Boo!

user19161

I saw your comment, let me think of what to say first.

Matt Эллен

12:30 PM

@JasperLoy jolly good!

Is it general reference?

0

Q: "Helping you do something" or "Helping you to do something"?

In the phrase "Helping you to master Russian", is it correct to use "to" before "master"?

grammar infinitive

user19161

@MattЭллен I did something crazy just now. I actually sent someone else season's greetings too. You might be able to figure out who. Shh...

user19161

@MattЭллен I think there is some subtlety involved.

Matt Эллен

I like Barrie's answer the best

user19161

@MattЭллен Indeed, he is the English tank in the other Matt's words, while I am the broken tank, and Robusto is the American tank.

user19161

12:47 PM

@MattЭллен At first I was wondering who mojo is. Suddenly it rang a bell or two!

Matt Эллен

@JasperLoy :D I hoped you'd realise it was me

duplicated!

10

Q: What is the correct way to use infinitive after the verb "help": with or without "to"?

What is the correct way to use infinitive after the verb "help": with or without "to"? For example: Please, help me to understand this. or: Please, help me understand this.