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Cerberus
Cerberus
7:35 AM
Ugh.
I have the most horrible stench of burned plastic in my house.
Mainly in the bathroom.
The lamp was smoking.
No idea why, it has never done that.
Perhaps I had never left it on for so long. I left it on for maybe an hour or two.
The strange thing is that the smoke detector didn't go off!
Only when I turned on the shower to drive away the stench did it beep.
The smoke was not exactly visible, except as a few threads emanating from the lamp.
But it smells horrible.
So that was my fun night, trying to combat a smoking lamp.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Oh, man, that's horrible, @Cerberus.
And really dangerous.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@DavidWallace Hmm yeah, I don't know about dangerous, as long as nothing really catches fire.
It was the lamp attached to the ceiling.
But it is true that the smoke detector didn't warn me.
What if the smoke would not wake me up (I was still up in the other room)?
I think it would, because it smells nasty.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
7:50 AM
I'm worried about you inhaling poisonous gases.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
I didn't inhale a great deal, I think.
People on the internet say you will be fine, as long as you don't inhale them for a long time.
And you will notice if the smoke affects you badly.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Well, I'm glad that you seem to be OK.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
At most my throat might be a bit sore, but then I have a cold.
@DavidWallace Thanks!
I was a bit shocked, though.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
You should spend several hours outside of your home, then go back later.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Ever since my house burned down two years ago, I just don't like smoke and fire.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
7:53 AM
Wow! How did that happen?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
I opened all the windows immediately, and now I can't really smell it any more outside the (closed) bathroom.
Deep-frying.
Well, the house didn't really collapse or anything, but none of us could live there any more.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
well, once bitten twice shy I guess.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
The firemen said deep-frying is the no. 1 cause of ruinous house fires.
If you deep-fry, make sure you're not doing it in a regular pan.
Use a special deep-fryer with a thermostat/timer.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
That makes sense. I don't think I've ever deep fried anything. I don't like fatty food.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Great.
I wish I didn't.
I should get a fire extinguisher btw.
I do have an escape ladder.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
7:58 AM
Yes, definitely a fire extinguisher. Good that you have a smoke alarm though.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
I presume you have all of these things?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Umm, no.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
...
What do you have?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
And I must rectify this as soon as possible.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Yes.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
8:02 AM
I don't need an escape ladder, on account of living in a single storey house.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Is it easy to escape from the house in the dark, with smoke everywhere, and a child to take care of?
OK.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
But I do NOT own a fire extinguisher.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Then buy one.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
I could easily escape. I could break windows in Emerik's room if I had to.
And my house has three exits, not counting windows; I'm sure I could find one of them.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Tip: if you ever have to use it on a serious fire, squeeze it all the way until it's empty. There's usually only a very limited amount of stuff in it, like for 20 seconds; and, if you pause too soon, a serious fire will regain its strength, and then you're empty.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
8:05 AM
OK, good to know. Thanks.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@DavidWallace Okay, all that sounds safe enough, especially on the ground floor.
Do you have smoke detectors?
And a CO detector?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
I don't have a CO detector. I have smoke detectors, although i haven't tested them for a while.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
They usually start beeping when they are nearly empty.
Well in advance.
A CO detector is a good idea.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
I've never heard of one.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
I had a 2-in-1.
Smoke and CO.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
8:08 AM
I think in NZ, we can only get smoke detectors.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
My father bought it.
Most people don't have CO detectors here either.
I'm sure you can get them.
NZ$ 40.
 
Gigili
Gigili
@Cerberus Haha, I imagined a lamp with a cigarette in its mouth.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
If only it had been cigarette smoke.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
@Gigili You really need to do something about that imagination of yours.
 
Gigili
Gigili
I imagined it anyway.
Is your phone white or silver @Cerb?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
8:23 AM
Titanium silver, so dark grey with black.
Yours?
White is girly.
 
Gigili
Gigili
Haha, mine is white.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Heh.
I knew it.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
@Gigili is girly.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Have you used it on Wifi yet?
Or don't you have Wifi?
 
Gigili
Gigili
Yes, a bit.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
8:24 AM
But...?
 
Gigili
Gigili
@Cerberus Bah.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
One never knows.
If I were you, I would be playing with it 24/7!
 
Gigili
Gigili
There's no but, my sentence ends there.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Download applications, put some nice widgets on the home screen...
 
Meysam
Meysam
@Cerberus for free
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
8:26 AM
Yes?
 
Gigili
Gigili
It has some nice widgets downloaded on it.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Excellent.
You can gets tons of great applications for free.
And Google is having a sale right now btw.
 
Gigili
Gigili
Umm, I don't play with it because it reminds me of someone umm I dislike.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
That's not a healthy attitude.
 
Meysam
Meysam
@Cerberus And there is no remedy for that
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
8:28 AM
No?
 
Meysam
Meysam
Bah
 
Gigili
Gigili
A lot of women have serious attitude problems like that which men consider unhealthy. As if we care.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
I see.
Well, it's bed time for me.
Bye.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Good night, @Cerberus.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Thanks! You too!
 
Gigili
Gigili
8:32 AM
I'll leave you alone with Meysam, @DavidWallace. I have to study. Bite.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
@Gigili You're biting me?
 
Meysam
Meysam
@DavidWallace It's a blessing to be bitten by her. So do not be ignorant and say thank you
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
OK. Thank you @Gigili!
 
Meysam
Meysam
8:49 AM
@DavidWallace Are you on any new project?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
I am unemployed if that's what you mean.
 
Meysam
Meysam
So you are resting
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Umm, yes, that's what I'll call it.
 
Meysam
Meysam
Why don't you go on vacation?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Oh, I have other things to do.
 
Meysam
Meysam
8:54 AM
If I were you, I wouldn't miss the chance of visiting new places
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
I need to go to Australia in about 6 months. Until then, I want to save money.
 
Carlo_R.
Carlo_R.
@David do you have a job?
How do you save money whitout a job?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
I do not have a job. And I save money by not spending it needlessly.
 
Carlo_R.
Carlo_R.
Will you go in Australia to search for a job?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
9:09 AM
No, I am going to Australia for my niece's wedding.
 
Meysam
Meysam
@DavidWallace Do you go to Australia by bus?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
But my wife and son want to turn it into a major holiday while we're there.
@Meysam Have you looked closely at a map of New Zealand and Australia?
 
Carlo_R.
Carlo_R.
Ah, I see. Good look, anyway!
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Thank you.
 
Meysam
Meysam
@DavidWallace Yes, they seemed two completely separate islands to me
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
9:12 AM
I shall be going there by plane.
It takes about 4 hours to fly from Wellington (close to where I live) to Melbourne (where my niece lives).
 
Meysam
Meysam
I will go to Australia some day. Not to find a job, but in pursuit of happiness.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
There is a lot to see and do in Australia. I can't guarantee happiness, of course.
 
Meysam
Meysam
@DavidWallace I expected a "Yes" from you. We could leave others confused. Sometimes it feels good to build & live in our own imaginary world.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
I am sorry to disappoint you. I was not completely certain that your question was not serious.
 
Meysam
Meysam
That's one of the side effects of living in your own world. People don't take you serious and learn to ignore you most of the time.
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
9:23 AM
Last time I was in Europe, I met many people who thought that New Zealand was one of the states of the USA.
 
Meysam
Meysam
@DavidWallace Heh! funny
 
Noah
Noah
Howdy
@DavidWallace Nice new profile pic
 
Meysam
Meysam
Howdy @Noah. What brings you here today?
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
I get the - "I heard you speaking English, are you American? No. So you're British? No, I'm from New Zealand. I thought you said you weren't American!"
2
 
Noah
Noah
@Meysam I should have asked you the same thing
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
9:25 AM
@Noah Thank you; you are very kind.
 
Noah
Noah
@DavidWallace Kiwis are not American
@DavidWallace you are welcome
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
@Noah Very true. At least, I'm not.
 
Meysam
Meysam
@Noah Why don't you use a real pic of you, so that we can know you better?
 
Noah
Noah
@Meysam The one there is real
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
@Meysam And you, Meysam, are setting a shining example in this regard.
 
Noah
Noah
9:29 AM
@Meysam Plus, I dont really think that old fella is you...
 
Meysam
Meysam
@Noah I am sorry I thought it was a drawing.
 
Noah
Noah
@Meysam No need to be sorry my friend... You will have time for that
 
Meysam
Meysam
I am not using a real picture, and I have an excuse for that.
@Noah Time for what? compensating for my mistake?
 
Noah
Noah
@Meysam Yea, after you get married...
@Meysam Just kidding....
 
David Wallace
David Wallace
Good night, folks.
 
Noah
Noah
9:33 AM
Good night...
 
Carlo_R.
Carlo_R.
9:57 AM
@David Good night! See you in your dreams.
 
 
6 hours later…
tchrist
tchrist
3:42 PM
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
@tchrist Interesting.
 
tchrist
tchrist
I fear I have trouble warming to Garner, or his arguments. He’s in bed with Scalia.
Which explains a lot.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Sorry, who's Scalia?
 
tchrist
tchrist
Rabid reactionary justice of the American Supreme Court, and a crank.
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia (; born March 11, 1936) is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice currently on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice. Appointed to the Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, Scalia has been described as the intellectual anchor of the Court's conservative wing. Scalia was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and attended public grade school and Catholic high school in New York City, where his family had moved. He attended Georgetown University as an undergraduate and obt...
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
I see.
 
tchrist
tchrist
3:51 PM
The Wiki article won’t tell you what an asshole he is. But that he most definitely is.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Oh, any particular reason why?
Examples, I mean.
 
tchrist
tchrist
It’s the accumulation of years of outrageous statement and behaviours.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Ah, that sort of thing. And what's his relation to Garner?
Oh, co-author.
It's right there.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Most lately, he was talking dirt on the Chief Justice siding with the progressives on the court to uphold the "recent" Health Care bill.
That is out of line.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
I'm not very well-versed in politics, American or Canadian.
 
tchrist
tchrist
3:56 PM
This is hardly a flaw.
It really isn’t something one should let dominate one’s life.
There are a huge whole lot of better things to fill one’s mind, and time, with.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Like school…
Oh, I actually exercised this morning.
Huh. I've had two upvotes on one of my older answers in the past few days.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Was there activity on them lately that popped them up to the front page again?
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Mm, lemme see.
Ah, MetaEd posted a comment on the question on September 26.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Then it may have been him, since comments don’t actually pop the active stat.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Hmm.
On September 26 it might have been, but there was another one today.
shrugs
 
tchrist
tchrist
4:11 PM
Maybe you have a secret admirer. :)
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Oooh.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Oh gosh, it happened again. Some non-English foreign press have misread a satirical story from The Onion as legitimate.
An Iranian news agency picked up — as fact — a story from the paper about a supposed survey showing an overwhelming majority of rural white Americans would rather vote for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than President Barack Obama. But it was made up, like everything in the just-for-laughs newspaper, which is headquartered in Chicago.

The English-language service of Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency republished the story Friday, several days after it appeared in The Onion.

The Iranian version copied the original word-for-word, even including a made-up quote from a fictional West…
From here.
I think last time it was China.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
I saw that last night.
They deleted the story, and I think the error given by the link was "Error for your page . This story not exist."
 
tchrist
tchrist
That trick never works.
I like how it reports that 'Ahmadinejad famously said during a 2007 appearance at Columbia University that "in Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country."'. Since when is Ahmadinejad an expert on his country’s bedroom sports, let alone on another’s? :)
Surveillance cameras. :)
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Haha.
 
tchrist
tchrist
4:18 PM
Put a black sticky on your computer’s little webcam if you are in Iran.
Pardon me, Mrs Freud, but your slip is showing.
I was once in some sort of online meeting at work-from-home, and they told me that my camera was on. I had done no such thing, at least, not consciously. Made me paranoid.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Oh dear.
Were you decent, at least?
 
tchrist
tchrist
Of course.
It was the thought that bothered me.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
I would be rather perturbed.
 
tchrist
tchrist
When you are (say) eating a messy sandwich all alone at your house, you are not as fastidious about daintily wiping your mouth after every nibble. But in a public gathering, you might be. We do not act the same in private as in public.
People don’t usually pick their noses while at a public meeting.
One hopes. :)
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Yes, one would hope so!
 
tchrist
tchrist
4:28 PM
Then again, I’ve seen (well, heard) people chattering away on their cell phones in public restrooms. This is somewhat odd.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
@tchrist I would say so.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Do you have wolves, or are you too far out in the prairie, so only have coyotes?
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
@tchrist Only coyotes, for the most part.
We had a deer come into town the other day. The poor thing was terrified.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Same here, although we used to have wolves long ago. I thought of it because I am thinking of going up to Rocky Mountain National Park today, where elk have been a problem at grazing, and I just read this NY Times article.
We have deer in town daily.
They are everywhere.
But Estes Park, at the entrance to RMNP, has elk in town daily.
These are so much bigger it is crazy.
But it really takes a moose in town to make our papers.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Estes was the surname of many of my ancestors on my mother's side.
 
tchrist
tchrist
4:31 PM
Oh really? I know a Rose Estes from Wisconsin. She’s mostly known as a fantasy writer.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
One of my relatives wrote up a big book full of family history back in the eighties. It's very interesting.
 
tchrist
tchrist
I have one of those from both sides of my mom’s family, but nothing of my dad’s.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
I think ours is my mother's mother's side.
One of my ancestors lived near Buffalo Bill, or so the story goes.
I should read through the book again.
 
tchrist
tchrist
The surnames of the maternal line are quickly lost. Mine are Halsey -> Teal -> Storer, but that is as far back as I know. And of course, the paternal line has your own name, usually.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
I'll be right back, I'm going to look for the book. I'm curious now.
 
tchrist
tchrist
4:34 PM
Halsey and Storer of course being English, but Teal originally being French.
K.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
I couldn't find it.
My grandmother might have it at the moment, actually.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Understandable.
 
Gigili
Gigili
Is this website reliable? simplyelectronics.net
Hullio, BTW.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Hi @Gigili.
Aww, my grandfather is trying to write to me in English.
That's very nice of him.
 
Gigili
Gigili
Umm? Isn't he Canadian? I mean, doesn't he speak English?
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
4:45 PM
No, he lives in Finland.
> You are soon 16 yers and you shall get then ajokortti in finish.
He's trying.
 
Gigili
Gigili
Aw, so sweet of him. How old is he?
If you don't mind my asking.
Hollo - lo - o? No one here to answer my question?
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
He's around 65 years old, but I can never remember the exact year he was born.
@Gigili I'm not sure, I've never used it.
 
Gigili
Gigili
@Mahnax Yeah, I figured as much. Thank you anyway.
And @sim just fled. What a moderator!
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Haha :-)
 
tchrist
tchrist
Now, now: moderator ≠ answerer.
 
Gigili
Gigili
4:57 PM
Moderator = problem solver.
Or at least that's what I had in mind when I voted for them.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Ah, ok.
@Gigili IIRC, you live abroad somewhere, right?
That is, not in a traditionally English-speaking country.
Have you ever heard of whooping cough, or whooping cranes?
 
Gigili
Gigili
Umm, no. Warum fragst du?
 
tchrist
tchrist
Because I wondered how you pronounced whooping.
I thought people with the wine–whine merger said it as hooping, but in the UK, I’ve heard wooping.
Usually rounded vowels have hw -> h, like who, whole.
In America, it is hooping for those it is not whooping. But in England, it appears to be hooping. I presume Scotland retains whooping.
 
Gigili
Gigili
It actually sounds like both w and h are pronounced. A bit 'w', a bit 'h'. Or something.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Then you don’t have the merger.
So I can’t ask you. :)
Are you in the UK?
 
Gigili
Gigili
5:09 PM
But I would write the word since I don't need to pronounce it.
 
tchrist
tchrist
We get shots as children for whooping cough.
 
Gigili
Gigili
Is that a built-in extension or what? I have everything, even more than that.
 
tchrist
tchrist
And whooping cranes are the largest (tallest) bird in North America.
"built-in extension"?
 
Gigili
Gigili
OK, you can ask me as you did but you won't get a good answer.
Anyway, did you find that website reliable?
 
tchrist
tchrist
People without the merger have a phoneme there that those with the merger don’t have.
I don’t know the website.
 
Gigili
Gigili
5:11 PM
Bah, what kind of American are you.
 
tchrist
tchrist
I don’t understand. :(
What kind of American aren’t you?
 
Gigili
Gigili
Oh, dear. You'd been turned off.
 
tchrist
tchrist
What in the world does that mean?
 
Gigili
Gigili
off
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
I'm afraid I don't understand this either.
 
tchrist
tchrist
5:38 PM
> 1815 Scott Guy M. xlv, ― ‘Eh whow! Eh whow!’ ejaculated the honest farmer, as he looked round upon his friend’s miserable apartment.
Gosh, I could write a big article on wh- words.
 
Cameron
Cameron
@tchrist Perhaps you could write one for the blog?
 
tchrist
tchrist
And still another on all the onomatopoeic wh- words: whoa, wham, whiz, whoosh, whiff, whack, ?whirl, ?wheeze, whoop, whew, whirr, ?whisk, whump, whuffle, whush, whutter, whunk, whomp, whizz, ?whistle, whoompf.
And of course, whoops. :)
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
It seems we also need an article on ejaculation.
A sister article, so to speak.
 
tchrist
tchrist
That was on last week’s QI.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
QI?
 
tchrist
tchrist
5:53 PM
> quh-, an obs., chiefly Scottish, variant of the initial combination wh- (OE. hw-), as in quhan, quhat, quhele, quhete = when, what, wheel, wheat. (Also quhou, quhow, quhu = how.) The use of quh- for original qu- is much rarer, in most cases perhaps accidental. See the introductory note on the letter Q.
Quh? :)
Hm, the OED has quite a long exposition on wh's history.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@tchrist Well done.
 
tchrist
tchrist
You don’t know QI? It can be really amusing, and even dare I say, interesting. Haven’t watched this week’s yet.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@tchrist It looks funny and interesting and terribly time consuming. :-)
 
tchrist
tchrist
6:08 PM
One thing I especially like about it is how broadly the accents of the panelists vary.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
Not only that but some of the panelists have broad accents.
Some of the short comments I could not distinguish at all.
 
tchrist
tchrist
I mean how they have people on the panel from week to week that have quite different accents from one another.
Oh really? That set is quite conservatively accented, all things considered.
Stephen of course is Oxbridge/RP. Alan is a bit less posh, just a regular guy. Bill’s is a bit more working class than Alan’s.
But all are basically SE of England in that set.
You should hear it when David Tennant is on -- very Scottish.
Or the Irish, when they are there.
Or the Welsh. But the northerners can be really hard to parse.
Here’s Tennant:
This is also a classic clash-of-accents:
Here both Graham and Dara are Irish, with Dara having the stronger accent:
This is better of Dara, with Stephen doing an amusing Irish cameo:
Here’s Rob Brydon doing an extra-Welsh gig:
 
 
1 hour later…
tchrist
tchrist
7:54 PM
Ok, now slightly updated to cover @Robusto’s point:
8
A: Hwat, hwere, and hwy?

tchrist In which English accents do they put an h before every word that starts with wh? That isn’t what’s going on — you only think you hear an h, because your phoneme set doesn’t include this sound, but its use is pretty common in various accents. Which accents? Lots. Scottish. Irish. Several co...

 
 
2 hours later…
Cerberus
Cerberus
10:14 PM
Hello.
 
tchrist
tchrist
10:25 PM
Hi.
Ask @Carlo_R. about degli Medici vs dei Medici vs de' Medici.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@tchrist Let's not, and say we did.
I am unhappy with Carlo.
Oh, now you've punged him.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Pungle in the Jungle.
Hm. Don’t I have your email address already somewhere?
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
Mine?
 
tchrist
tchrist
Yours.
Have we exchanged mail?
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
Don't know. You are welcome to my address.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
10:43 PM
@tchrist What would he know about this?
 
tchrist
tchrist
He is supposed to be Italian.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
He probably doesn't know more than Wikipedia.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
10:56 PM
@tchrist He is.
 
tchrist
tchrist
But Wikipedia appears to know nothing concrete.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
In general? Or do you mean on a particular topic?
 
tchrist
tchrist
On this one.
 
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