English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

KitFox

00:07

It's the phrase "Space prison MS1" that makes me think that Lockout will really blow. The need to underline it—it's not a prison, it's a space prison!—just screams "THIS MOVIE IS TRYING TOO HARD!"

Cerberus

Haha.

I understand what you mean.

They thought that otherwise Scifi fans might not get that it is Scifi film and skip it?

(I don't know anything about it.)

KitFox

I don't know much about it except that all of the shots are of stuff in space. Hard to miss.

Space prison.

Just to make sure you are not confused.

KitFox

00:28

Space prison.

Cerberus

Check.

KitFox

I just want to make sure you understand that the prison is in space.

Because that adds an element of tension to the whole story.

Cerberus

00:46

So do you mean just any space, or the space behind my fridge?

I've always hated the latter.

KitFox

Not the space. Just space.

The final frontier kind.

Holy crap. I am watching a show with a woman giving birth and it brings back so many memories.

KitFox

01:21

Space prison. In case you forgot.

How to read.

Since I wrote it just a few lines above.

But then if you can read this, you must have remembered how to read, so then you could have read the previous lines.

Hmm.

Cerberus

Life is so complicated.

KitFox

55 mins ago, by KitFox

Space prison.

Cerberus

Is this "space" a noun or an imperative verb?

Just to be sure.

If it is a verb, why is there no preposition?

KitFox

It's an imperative noun.

You don't need a preposition if you are spacing someone.

Cerberus

Hmmm so who is this prison?

KitFox

01:40

And again with the space prison.

Set us free or we'll crash the prison into Earth.

They say to the President, because of course, the US runs everything.

Cerberus

Sounds lovely.

If I liked Hollywood films, I would certainly see this one.

KitFox

I guess we can't have masterpieces all the time. It would be too taxing.

Yay! My husband is home. Later.

Cerberus

Bye!

Suppose you wanted to start a networking website like Facebook.

How many patents would you potentially be infringing?

> ... someone developing a social network has to be concerned about the fact that they might get sued over upwards of 30,000 patents.

techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20120406/03080118402/…

> As the report notes, a very large number of these patents are "functional forgeries" in that they cover stuff that's in other patents. Really what this goes back to is the fact that the patent system relies on patent examiners to magically know what's new and non-obvious. But, if it's impossible for those who actually work in the space to know about the 30,000 related patents, how do you think a patent examiner does it? The answer is they don't.

Cerberus

03:00

Hi @Rob.

If you want to hear (or read) a fascinating report of the role of money in American politics, this is worth your while:

thisamericanlife.org/play_full.php?play=461

It investigates the actual effects and practices of lobbying, fundraising, etc.

One of the most striking conclusions: SuperPACs can now coax congressmen to make laws without even spending any money.

The threat alone is often enough.

If an enemy SuperPAC strikes your district, it will spend millions on ad campaigns that will net your opponent possibly 10 percentage points in a day. You don't want that to happen during the next election, so you listen to the SuperPAC, even if the elections are still years into the future. So huge leverage for SuperPACs.

user19161

07:50

I just realized Kosmonaut's circle works because it reads "circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works". Sorry for being slow.

Gigili

And ellipsis is needed there.

Robusto

09:54

0

Q: Another word to describe "School Committee"

Are there word(s) (preferable single word) to describe "School Committee"? The word will be used in the following context: Please fill in the School Committee Form.

I can think of one: dolts.

@Cerberus This is not news to me. Big chunks of our freedoms have been torn away in the past ten years by a Supreme Court that is simply a rubber stamp for the basest conservative instincts. To quote Frank Zappa, "Our country isn't free."

user19161

10:23

@Robusto Voted as TL. You could comment with "dolts" on the main site and see what happens.

user19161

@timothymh I cannot believe you actually bothered to produce this.

Cerberus

11:51

@Robusto Yeah but Democrats play the game just as well.

What also struck me was that both congressmen and lobbyists/corporations seemed to hate fundraising.

It's just just that noöne can quit the game unilaterally or lose.

user19161

@Cerberus Is noöne the new noone?

Cerberus

It has been since forever!

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Wrong.

The correct spelling in this room is nöone.

Cerberus

Eggzcuze me?

We're not Germans.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

So?

Cerberus

11:54

SO.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Apr 22 '11 at 19:15, by RegDwight

@Fx Oh, and the correct spelling in this chat is nöone.

user19161

Is Kosmo returning?

user19161

Maybe his space shuttle went around in circles so he lost his way back.

user19161

Ubuntu 12.04 will be out in 2 weeks but I am not looking forward to it. Maybe Cerberus can give it a try.

Cerberus

RegDwight Ѭſ道

11:58

So?

Misspellings.

Cerberus

user19161

We can also have nööne if you like.

user19161

The eyes are lonely. They need another pair.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Look. I am the frigging owner of this room. And I have told you not once but twice what the correct spelling in this room is. Geezis.

Just because I cannot spell doesn't make my misspellings the Bible.

Cerberus

Mar 4 '11 at 11:15, by RegDwight

Next time I'll just write noöne, on purpose.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

12:00

And so I did.

And you fell for it.

Cerberus

@RegDwightѬſ道 In other words, you started with noöne, and there are 103 hits for noöne v. 21 hits for nöone. Furthermore, you used noöne a lot too.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

3 mins ago, by RegDwight Ѭſ道

So?

Also, don't you think one day you will want these five minutes of your lifetime back?

Cerberus

I think we all know what this means shakes head.

@RegDwightѬſ道 No, I will treasure them forever.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Then go on.

Here are some nöones for you to count: nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone.

@Cerberus we also started with wimmin, but now we spell it women. Spellings evolve. Get a life.

Robusto

@Cerberus didn't start with wimmin.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

12:06

That was the error of his ways.

Cerberus

@RegDwightѬſ道 So 22.

Noöne will be impressed.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Wow. That took a while.

Cerberus

I was making tea and bread.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone*7, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone, nöone*9001, nöone, nöone, nöone.

You happy now? (I won't mind if you aren't.)

Cerberus

Appalled, rather.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

12:09

Deaf simmerence.

Cerberus

Okay, you stopped making sense long ago, but now you have come to a complete standstill while being frozen over and turned to stone.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Looser talk.

Cerberus

And my milk tastes like old dill.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

TMI.

I didn't know you were a bitch!

Cerberus

Heh.

Robusto

12:11

@Cerberus You sound like Calvin Coolidge.

Cerberus

It could also be old mint.

Who?

Oh shit, I should have left ten minutes ago.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Haha.

Gigili

I just asked a question but it's shown that someone else asked it, what the heck?

RegDwight Ѭſ道

10 mins ago, by RegDwight Ѭſ道

Also, don't you think one day you will want these five minutes of your lifetime back?

Note how that was exactly 10 minutes ago, too.

Cerberus

Haha, make that 30.

Robusto

12:12

@Cerberus Alice Roosevelt Longworth, a leading Republican wit, underscored Coolidge's silence and his dour personality: "When he wished he were elsewhere, he pursed his lips, folded his arms, and said nothing. He looked then precisely as though he had been weaned on a pickle."

Cerberus

Hmm yes, I recognize this feeling.

Robusto

> Dorothy Parker, seated next to him at a dinner, said to him, "Mr. Coolidge, I've made a bet against a fellow who said it was impossible to get more than two words out of you." His famous reply: "You lose."

RegDwight Ѭſ道

@Gigili Linky pls.

Cerberus

I know that one.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Jan 11 at 23:15, by Cerberus

@RegDwightѬſ道 Ehh we prefer sexually challenged canine nowadays.

I like how Cerberus equates female to sexually challenged.

Cerberus

12:15

Be nice to Gigi.

Or she may bite off your head.

Robusto

The one part of his body Reg doesn't need.

Gigili

Yes, be nice to me or else I shoot.

@RegDwightѬſ道 There^

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Oh well that's not my jurisdiction.

Gigili

I thought you had universal jurisdiction.

Robusto

@Reg could go and close all the questions in Turkey, for all I care.

Cerberus

12:20

@Robusto You mean doesn't use? Or is too big?

Gigili

Doesn't use it because it's too big.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Apr 3 at 12:58, by RegDwight Ѭſ道

@Керберус, the joke killer.

Cerberus

Yeah, you wouldn't find that funny.

Robusto

@Cerberus Doesn't need because doesn't use.

Cerberus

Right. And could do with a cephalotomy because too big.

In any case I have to go.

Goodbye, my big-headed, small-minded friends!

RegDwight Ѭſ道

12:25

Yeah yeah whatever.

►

Robusto

12:38

I gotta hit the road, Jack. CU.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Laters.

user19161

@vitaly How is your back?

Vitaly

@JasperLoy Fine, thanks.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Sleep talking man: "Okay, Jesus, if you are the son of God, wave your hands in the air... Ha ha. Didn't think so."

user19161

@MrShinyandNew安宇 I still have no idea what that blog is about.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

12:50

@JasperLoy A man talks in his sleep. His wife posts it on the 'net.

hence the name "sleep talking man"

Gigili

Shouldn't it be "sleep talking man, his wife's speaking"?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Gigili Well, his wife posts. but the Sleep Talking Man speaks.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

The man is a lie.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@RegDwightѬſ道 Yes, he does lie. IN BED.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Autsch.

user19161

13:01

lie/lied/lied lie/lay/lain

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@JasperLoy pointless rules.

Martin Scharrer

14:14

@JasperLoy: Thanks!

Quick question about a vs an: It is "a one-clock cycle pulse" not "an one-clock cycle pulse", because "one" doesn't start with a vowel, right?

It's a technical thesis btw.

user19161

@MartinScharrer Correct.

user19161

@MartinScharrer When deciding to use "a" or "an", think of the sound you make when you are reading the word. In this case "one" starts with a /w/ sound which is a consonant sound.

Martin Scharrer

@JasperLoy Thanks!

Robusto

14:47

@MartinScharrer How does that change things?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Even the TSA employees admit that the body scanners are worthless

Imperial walker

user19161

@Robusto In subtle ways perhaps. QED.

Robusto

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Next you're going to post a post-mortem pic of Michael Jackson and call it a "Death Star" ...

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

15:02

^ Death Star

user19161

I thought that is Darth Vader.

Robusto

@MrShinyandNew安宇 I knew it.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Robusto Indeed, it is as you prophesied.

Robusto

Hmm ... searching for prophesies concerning Ewoks ...

Gigili

Yearling badge, juhuu.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 How disgusting.

user19161

15:09

@Gigili Let's not insult a dead man.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Apr 3 at 13:43, by Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

better?

Gigili

The dead man could take it as a compliment.

user19161

He has not been proven to be a paedophile. Let's not get too worked up on that.

Robusto

@JasperLoy That's not how he would have described himself.

Gigili

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Much better, honestly. The most disgusting animal is less disgusting than the most disgusting human.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

15:11

@JasperLoy Um, nobody doesn't believe that he wasn't a paedophile. Or is it everybody doesn't believe that he was a paedophile? Or paedophiles don't believe that he was nobody? er...

user19161

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Difficulty parsing! Machine shutdown!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@JasperLoy yeah I had difficulty writing it and it's still wrong. or not right. or not not wrong. or something.

Robusto

2 hours ago, by Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Sleep talking man: "Okay, Jesus, if you are the son of God, wave your hands in the air... Ha ha. Didn't think so."

A tune for your "sleep talkin' man"

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Nobody doesn't believe that it has not been proven that he isn't a paedophile.

Robusto

@MrShinyandNew安宇 A litotes cascade! Look out!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

15:15

It's like a resonance cascade. I never thought I'd see one, let alone cause one.

Gigili

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Everybody believes that it has been proven that he isn't a paedophile?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Gigili no, that it has not been proven

Gigili

Umm, nobody doesn't believe that X => everybody believes that X

Nobody doesn't believe that it has not been proven that Y

=> Everybody believes that it has not been proven that Y.

QED. (Hey Jasper)

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Gigili exactly, which is what I wrote, but not what you wrote.

Robusto

> Everybody doesn't like something, but nobody doesn't like Sara Lee.

►

user19161

15:30

@Gigili Hey.

Martin Scharrer

15:53

@Robusto It doesn't. I just used to add some context to my example.

user19161

17:03

@MartinScharrer Relax, he's just messing with you! :-)

RegDwight Ѭſ道

I would say whereabouts actually works exceptionally well. Why do you think it doesn't work for people? If you ask me about the whereabouts of your laptop, I could say, "I left it at school", "it's in the cupboard", or "I sent it back to Dell", but the answer could just as well be, "I gave it to Jack", or "Jill has it", or "John found it at school and will be bringing it in a minute", or "here it is, I'm holding it right now". That would be neither ungrammatical nor unusual. In fact, it would be rather unusual if I replied, "the whereabouts are unknown, ask me who has it instead". — RegDwight Ѭſ道 2 mins ago

My two cents.

Huh, have they changed the formatting for comments?

user19161

@RegDwightѬſ道 I could use "location" myself. "Whereabouts" sounds weird. My two dollars.

user19161

@RegDwightѬſ道 I notice your name appears in red in the chat room.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

@JasperLoy well that's a matter of taste I guess, but the point still stands. You would use it for people, too.

Test:

So you're looking for either 1) a hypernym of person or place, or 2) you're looking to label a line in a data entry form or a db field so that a user will know what it is. in the first case, the only real hypernym (that I can think of) is 'Proper Noun' except that sounds irrelevant. In the second, just use 'Name or Location' or NameOrLocation. For a db, such a name is evidence that your datamodel might need to subclass into two kinds of object Name, and Location. — Mitch 2 hours ago

user19161

But "allocation" seems the best word as chaos answers.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

17:10

Another test:

@Mous True language enthusiasts strive for breadth of understanding. Striving for "precision" in language is like striving for chemical purity in cooking: kind of the opposite of the point. It is impurities that makes food taste good, and it is the imprecision of language that makes it worth being enthusiastic about. — nohat Oct 20 '11 at 23:08

Well yeah. They've changed it.

user19161

So @reg, the fitness question you commented on got 8 votes and 2 answers so far. Yay!

RegDwight Ѭſ道

I guess that means I don't have to give you a cookie.

user19161

@RegDwightѬſ道 Come to think of it, I have not given you any presents yet!

RegDwight Ѭſ道

OMB

user19161

I don't like the idea of the association bonus.

user19161

17:22

I would like to see at a glance how much rep I have earned rather than subtract 100.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Easy. Post some crap, get downvoted 50 times.

user19161

Also it's weird to show the total rep in chat when one can add 100 rep to that by just creating a new account.

user19161

@RegDwightѬſ道 I think it is easier to do the subtraction even without a calculator.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

Depends!

Some people are not good in subtracting.

user19161

When I was six years old I had problem with subtracting $3.60 from $10.00.

user19161

17:25

I would always think that it is $7.40.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

What if your rep is 10000000? Many people would face huge problems subtracting 100 from that.

user19161

Of course now I know it is $6.40, so I will have a cookie.

RegDwight Ѭſ道

I want a chocolate, too.

And then it's Zelda time.

So laters.

Jez

17:59

@RegDwight hi

Cerberus

19:18

> 70 percent of the local coastal communities "strongly support the piracy as a form of national defense of the country's territorial waters", and the pirates believe they are protecting their fishing grounds and exacting justice and compensation for the marine resources stolen.

Piracy in Somalia

Piracy off the coast of Somalia has been a threat to international shipping since the second phase of the Somali Civil War in the early 21st century. Since 2005, many international organizations, including the International Maritime Organization and the World Food Programme, have expressed concern over the rise in acts of piracy. Piracy has impeded the delivery of shipments and increased shipping expenses, costing an estimated £10 billion a year in global trade. According to the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), a veritable industry of profiteers has also risen around the p...

But apparently piracy has decreased since 2010.

timothymh

@JasperLoy It was just a matter of a few keystrokes; I don't see what the big deal is.

Gigili

19:40

@timothymh Maybe you should teach him to do it the quick way.

timothymh

@Gigili Haha OK

@JasperLoy On a Mac, it's just command-shift-4, click and drag, and upload the image.

Ding!

Gigili

I hear voices in my head telling me to do things.

Change-your-avatar-again ... Get-on-@Cerb-nerves ... Muhahaha.

Jez

damn

i just saw a nice girl on okcupid...

Gigili

Off to bed, nite.

Jez

and right at the end she's looking "for new friends"

FFS!

Carlo_R.

20:11

Never to throw the towel!

Cerberus

@Gigili It's OK, I will just not look at you.

@Jez Biatch.

Jez

ugh

they made Google+ look like Facebook.

nice going google. I hereby stop using google+.

morons.

Cerberus

Who uses G+ anyway?

What use it being on more than one network site?

Jez

it was useful because you could filter crap out from circles you weren't interested in

but the interfact has been butchered

with facebook, it's "all 'friends'" or nothing

Cerberus

Hmm Facebook butchers its interface all the time.

Jez

20:16

and i don't use it.

Cerberus

And why would I need filtering?

Jez

you?

I need it because i refuse to read about my cousins' latest sexual relations

Cerberus

Or anyone.

Jez

last thing i want is that shit on my home page

Cerberus

Sorry, wrong crowd here. I barely understand FB.

I mainly use it to send the occasional message, RSVP to invitations, and look up people I'm gossiping about.

I don't care about what other people put on their pages and such.

Jez

20:20

i mainly used it for Tetris Friends. but now that they seem to have shut that down, i use it for nothing. in fact, i think i'll close my FB account.

Gigili

@Cerberus Eh why?

Jez

yep, just did

haha

good riddance facebook

@Cerberus how's it going?

Cerberus

20:36

@Jez Oh no!

Why close it?

It can be useful.

Jez

because i wasnt using it and they shut down the 1 thing i was using. tetris friends.

Cerberus

@Gigili Well, if you're changing your avatar to bug me...

@Jez How about using it to message friends when you've lost your phone numbers or something?

Jez

google+ if it's urgent

Gigili

@Cerberus I was kidding.

Cerberus

@Gigili I know, I know...so was I!

@Jez Hmm everybody I know is on FB, nobody's on G+.

Jez

20:38

im sure

in my experience very little of value gets put on FB

Mahnax

Hello.

Cerberus

Sure.

FB is about having an easy way to reach people and look people up, not posting stuff.

At least for me.

Gigili

Hi!

Mahnax

How're you today, Gigi?

Gigili

Can't complain. You?

Mahnax

20:42

Ehh, I'm in English class. It's okay, I guess.

Watching a boring movie.

Jez

@Mahnax what's your mother tongue?

Mahnax

English.

I'm still in HS.

Gigili

@Mahnax The class or chatting?

Mahnax

Hmm? The class is boring but chat is good.

I'm mobile, so no pinging.

timothymh

1) Make a list of friends you want to hide
2) Click "Manage List"
3) Uncheck everything

Jez

20:46

@timothymh circles is waaay easier

timothymh

@Jez How so?

Jez

you can classify people

timothymh

You still need to manage a list of friends you want to hide

Jez

then adjust the 'volume' of each circle

Mahnax

That is so helpful, thanks Tim!

timothymh

20:47

Oh, I see what you're saying.

@Mahnax Sure.

Jez

actually it's more fine-grained; you can just display a few of the messages

or all or none

timothymh

@Jez Yeah, I forgot about that.

That is an advantage.

But considering noöne posts on G+ anyway, …

(And, yeah, I put the dieresis on the second O.)

Jez

Wil Wheaton does

Cerberus

@Mahnax Yeah right. Then how come you speak French?

Jez

though with their terrible new interface who knows

Cerberus

20:48

@timothymh Thanks!!

timothymh

@Jez He posts on Facebook too.

Jez

oh, and I saw a post from Jeri Ryan the other day too.

timothymh

@Cerberus :)

Jez

damn is she hot.

timothymh

@Cerberus So people can only know one language at a time?

Jez

20:49

@Cerberus do you feel like a bit of DE-EN translation?

Cerberus

@timothymh If I have a say in it, yes!

Less confusion.

timothymh

How about everyone switches to Esperanto!

(Ha, ha.)

Cerberus

@Jez Ehm I am several rooms at once and trying to have dinner at the same time, but sure post some sentence in here that you'd like advice on.

@timothymh Or Latin!

Jez

@Cerberus Well it's more a bunch of sentences

timothymh

@Cerberus Or Navajo!

@Cerberus Or whatever the language is called that the Bushmen speak!

San.

According to Dictionary.

Mahnax

20:53

Yeah, Latin!

Oh, gotta run. Bye and good day!

Cerberus

Bye!

@timothymh Hmm that sounds hard...

@Jez Sure just post something.

Jez

@Cerberus pastebin.com/D7sveHLw

I could do with help from string f4470c24-28cd-4785-827a-a353846818bc onwards

Transcript for

English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…