English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

KitFox

3:00 PM

I am wondering if I can use the "winter weather advisory" as an excuse to go home.

It is nice to have the dual monitor setup. But it is also nice to be home and goof off.

Matt Эллен

probably. you wouldn't want to get caught in snow

KitFox

What was I going to do today, anyway?

RegDwighт

Screw it, I'm adding in the picture.

KitFox

Do it. Do it!

If I wait another hour, I can have tacos on the way home too.

This is sounding better and better.

Jez

we have a new kettle at work. it gets unbelievably hot.

you can easily scald yourself by touching it

surprised they still make them

Matt Эллен

3:05 PM

if you burn the hands of the poor they can't beg so easily

KitFox

@MattЭллен You should post that as an answer to the sparrow question.

Great ELL question:

0

Q: What is the difference between "vocabulary" and "word"?

Why does my English teacher usually point out my mistake when I wrote the following sentence? I learned a lot of new vocabulary. -> I learned a lot of new vocabulary words. Why do I have to put the word "words" after the word "vocabulary"? and what is the difference between them? How to use t...

When you use "vocabulary" for "word," everyone knows that you're a pineapple.

Matt Эллен

@KitFox exactly what I thought

KitFox

It's a very common marker. I wonder why that is.

RegDwighт

205. 30 views, 2 votes.

KitFox

Are you keeping track of where it is on the list? I wonder what happens if it falls off the front page.

RegDwighт

3:11 PM

It's in the first position of course.

Where it is on our front page is irrelevant.

Matt Эллен

@RegDwighт 289 views

RegDwighт

All the traffic is from outside, plus it gets bumped all the time.

@MattЭллен I mean 30 more views than last time I checked.

Which was at 256.

Matt Эллен

oh

KitFox

But mightn't the position on the active list make a difference?

RegDwighт

Which active list? You still talking about the MultiCollider?

KitFox

3:13 PM

No.

I mean the...whatdoyoucallit...tab?

RegDwighт

I never once checked the active tab.

Looks like it just sorts stuff strictly chronologically.

Kind of pointless.

Matt Эллен

the active tab isn't chronological, it's based on edits and answers too

RegDwighт

Well that's what I meant.

Matt Эллен

unless you mean those chronological things

its_me

Hi, can anyone help me interpret what this means? "I feel that money should go with the title and estate."

RegDwighт

3:15 PM

I mean all activity. Chronologically.

Matt Эллен

ah

KitFox

So a question's most recent activity might affect the score.

Matt Эллен

@its_me what don't you understand?

RegDwighт

@KitFox dunno. And again, it's constantly jumping to the first position on that list anyway.

its_me

@MattЭллен "title and estate" -- what's title? Can you put the same sentence in simple words?

RegDwighт

3:16 PM

King. Empress. Count.

TV Host.

Jez

i really have to install webmail on my new server. need to get my latest email fix.

KitFox

Lord.

Matt Эллен

@its_me "I think money belongs with people who have land (estate) and are high up in the governmental heirarchy of a monarchy or such (title)"

so people who have land and a title (duke, lord, prince, etc.) should have more money than people who don't

KitFox

@RegDwighт Yes, but presumably there is some sort of decay function. Maybe the change in position determines the increase in score.

So the farther it falls on the list, the less the score increases when it is bumped up again.

@MattЭллен One might say they are entitled.

RegDwighт

Now you're making things way too complicated.

KitFox

3:19 PM

Really?

RegDwighт

Really.

its_me

@MattЭллен can "title" also mean people "inheritors"? (As in, father to son, etc.?)

Matt Эллен

@KitFox indeed they might

KitFox

Seems simple to me.

Matt Эллен

@its_me not as far as I know

RegDwighт

3:19 PM

Plus it's not like they have ever so much as mentioned activity whenever they leaked any details.

Views, votes, number of answers get mentioned all the time.

its_me

@MattЭллен Ah, okay. Thank you for the help. :)

Matt Эллен

no problem :)

KitFox

I guess it is a good thing I stuck around. I have a meeting in ten minutes.

RegDwighт

0

Q: Need a word that describes a biweekly publication

Our company publishes an internal e-newsletter that we call the <Title> Weekly. We're now going to publish every other week, so the title needs to be changed. The first solution that came to mind was <Title> Biweekly, but a few questions on this site have pointed out that "biweekly" i...

word-choice

KitFox

Or do I?

RegDwighт

3:20 PM

I thought you were going to go home.

Matt Эллен

are you a veteran? maybe you have the day off

RegDwighт

She's an accoladed priveteran.

Robusto

@RegDwighт Which publication?

KitFox

Привет.

RegDwighт

I am trying to think of a polite comment to leave. Started composing thrice already. Not leading anywhere.

KitFox

3:22 PM

Well, that was faster. I must be learning. It's hard to find the e, though.

RegDwighт

The thing is, I am thankful that here's someone who actually searches the site before posting. At the same time, it's like he thinks on all the previous occasions he found we specifically held back some possible alternatives in anticipation of him coming along and asking the question yet again.

KitFox

21 mins ago, by KitFox

If I wait another hour, I can have tacos on the way home too.

Robusto

Well, I picked up my car at the repair shop today, and as soon as I left the lot the "check engine" light came on. So it's now at the dealership while they're trying to figure out what the computer doesn't like. And I am a pedestrian still.

RegDwighт

Another six months of training!

Or was it six weeks?

Matt Эллен

six to eight weeks!

Robusto

3:27 PM

Six weeks today.

RegDwighт

225. 40+ upvotes, 5+ votes.

Robusto

I like to take the train, btw. I just don't like not having a car.

KitFox

I like to take a bath.

Matt Эллен

a Roman bath?

KitFox

Oh for the love of fuck, what is going on today?

My production server is broken again.

Jez

3:33 PM

you're spending time talking about it instead of fixing it

KitFox

I don't think that's it, since I didn't know it needed fixing before right now.

RegDwighт

yesterday, by Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@KitFox that woman likes to take a bath while taking the train.

KitFox

This user generated 8 fatal errors in a row and yet has not contacted me.

RegDwighт

He tried, but got a fatal error in response.

KitFox

She didn't try. My email and phone number are both on the error page.

Matt Эллен

3:36 PM

is forgetting a password a fatal error?

RegDwighт

> FATAL ERROR: the computer you are currently using is currently being used by an idiot.

KitFox

She is probably just cursing my name instead of doing something useful.

@MattЭллен No. NullRef exception is fatal.

Matt Эллен

ah

maybe it became genuinely fatal and she's dead

KitFox

But it would be great to know what she's trying to ref.

@MattЭллен That's too much to hope for.

Matt Эллен

lol

KitFox

3:38 PM

Speaking of, Gramma D recovered again.

Poor duck.

Jez

gawwwwwwd this web application is boring to program

hot women just shouldn't exist. too distracting.

Matt Эллен

If you gawp at hot women then they tend to notice and go away. No more distraction.

Jez

then come back with a sexual harassment lawsuit

Matt Эллен

one step at a time

lawsuits are dismissed with money

KitFox

Huh. The user says she didn't get any error on her end.

Matt Эллен

3:49 PM

must be something that is logged but handled

Jez

is that "her" as in the (not)gender-neutral pronoun or an actual assertion of gender?

KitFox

Pardon?

Jez

people often talk about "she" and "her" when talking generically about users/children/etc

KitFox

The majority of my users are women. She is one of them.

Jez

see this is exactly why it shouldn't be used in a gender-neutral way

Matt Эллен

3:52 PM

One of them! One of them! One of them!

KitFox

I don't see why it matters.

Jez

it cheapens the meaning of she/her

confuses it, maybe

KitFox

But why is that important?

Jez

"Blockbuster enters administration"

KitFox

Oh. It's time for me to go. BBL.

Jez

3:53 PM

ha! good riddance to Lacklustre

Matt Эллен

CU

Cerberus

Hello England.

Matt Эллен

are you in the UK?!?!!

Cerberus

Would I say hello to myself?

Matt Эллен

maybe

Cerberus

3:56 PM

I said hello to England, i.e. you and Jez.

Matt Эллен

oh

Hello Netherlands

Cerberus

Hello!!

Jez

hi

what's the temp over there

Cerberus

@Mitch I think I was actually serious: every question usually gets several answers within a short period of time. When you're looking for an unanswered question, it's not that easy.

It's cold.

Probably -3 or something.

Yours?

Jez

have the dykes frozen?

same

Matt Эллен

3:58 PM

0C in Oxford, apparently

Cerberus

Oh, it's -1 here.

Umm dykes are not made of water. Wouldn't be terribly effective.

Jez

well the water next to the dykes

Matt Эллен

fighting water with water sounds like a great idea

Jez

i've spent all day working on this one analysis screen

the code's a bit of a mess.

Matt Эллен

does it work?

Jez

4:04 PM

yeah

Matt Эллен

job done. you can go home!

its_me

In a "cab" (of the olden days), what's a "trap"? Is it the door-like thing that you shut once you are in the cab? e.g. The cab driver said, "My gentleman threw up the trap and shouted at me to drive to Waterloo Station as fast as I could."

Matt Эллен

@its_me trap fourth entry

Jez

perhaps "trap window", the window that separates the cabin in the back with the front driver cabin

its_me

@MattЭллен how does that fit in? He's a passenger.

Matt Эллен

4:10 PM

oh, perhaps not. I was thinking of a horse and trap

Robusto

@its_me As a "trap" is a light, two-wheeled carriage, "throwing up the trap" probably means the gate kind of thing that covers the legs of the riders and protects them from water, mud, horse manure, etc.

Jez

ah, that kind of cab

its_me

@Robusto Ah, yes. This is what I thought

Sorry to trouble you again... What does this mean? "He has a black beard, cut square at the end."

what does "square at the end" mean in that context?

Matt Эллен

perpendicular to the length, and flat

Robusto

It means squared-off at the bottom.

RegDwighт

4:17 PM

Robusto

Like an Assyrian king.

RegDwighт

A square cut.

Robusto

Or that guy.

RegDwighт

That's Engels, you capitalizationist.

its_me

Okay. Just confirming... the picture says it all?

Robusto

4:18 PM

@RegDwighт We call him "that guy" in the U.S.

Matt Эллен

@its_me yes

RegDwighт

Truth is, without the beard nobody would have taken notice of him anywhere.

its_me

Got it! :)

@RegDwighт Agree. (Exactly the case with that person in the story.)

RegDwighт

Just think the beard away. Leaves him with no facial features whatsoever worth remembering.

its_me

right

Robusto

4:22 PM

@RegDwighт What if he grew the beard to hide a harelip?

Jez

I think "youguys" is going to evolve into a single word in English

user19161

Sorry for bumping my old posts. I am editing some of them to make them more self-contained.

user19161

@RegDwighт He must be a Unix guru...

its_me

"I drink to a foeman worthy of my steel" -- anyone know what this means? I promise, this is the last for the day. I am having a hard time. :(

Robusto

Swords are made of steel.

Steel is used there as a metonym.

user19161

4:31 PM

Now one needs to look up metonym.

user19161

Previously one only needs to look up steel.

Robusto

That's what dictionaries are for.

its_me

@Robusto I know. But still, I am unable to substitute a right word there.

user19161

The more answers are given, the more questions are asked.

RegDwighт

@JasonBourne he must be dead.

Robusto

4:32 PM

@its_me The right word to substitute there is sword.

its_me

@Robusto "my sword"? "my steel"? I don't understand what "part" of me? Does it mean, "my caliber"?

is that a good substitute?

Robusto

Is he using a gun?

its_me

No. It's sherlock holmes

user19161

Steel is used to symbolise strength.

Robusto

He's using it metaphorically. Mentally, Holmes is a great swordsman looking for a worthy adversary. He is comparing his mind to a sword; cf. "rapier wit" and the like.

user19161

4:34 PM

Worthy of my steel means this guy at least has something to consider himself a worthy opponent.

its_me

@Robusto Ah! Nice. I get it now.

thank you! =)

user19161

This metaphorical use of steel is even listed in the dictionary.

Robusto

@JasonBourne See? I told you to get a dictionary.

KitFox

Ow ow ow. Stupid foxen.

user19161

@Robusto It got me first.

Matt Эллен

4:36 PM

@KitFox you stub your toe?

KitFox

I froze my hand to the snow shovel.

user19161

Hello @arch, welcome to this chat.

Arch

Hi!

Matt Эллен

@KitFox owee!

KitFox

I think some tea will help.

user19161

4:37 PM

@Arch I think I upvoted a few of your posts that day, I don't know why...

Cerberus

@KitFox You should have waited until your finger would unfreeze itself.

KitFox

@Cerberus I should have worn gloves.

Arch

@Jason Oh so it was you.. Hahas thanks :D

Cerberus

@KitFox Of course. But such things happen.

Never rip it off.

Matt Эллен

@JasonBourne swayed by the avatar colour, no doubt

user19161

4:38 PM

@Arch I feel like giving presents to people now and then.

Cerberus

My father's tongue froze to a railing once when he was a little boy.

user19161

But not many people give presents to me...

Arch

What presents do you want? I can build a website for you if you like :)

Cerberus

I think he ripped off some of the skin.

user19161

@MattЭллен Did you know that I have changed back to steelblue? Just in case you did not.

user19161

4:39 PM

@Arch Anyway, do you use Arch Linux?

KitFox

@Cerberus I'm not a moron. I didn't rip it off. It's just really cold and painful.

Matt Эллен

@JasonBourne I can see it :)

Arch

Try Ubuntu before but never Arch..

It sounds cool though :D

Cerberus

@KitFox OK good.

Don't heat it up too quickly.

user19161

@MattЭллен Yes, Maria 3 likes it, though there is no Maria now.

user19161

4:41 PM

@Arch So why are you called Arch?

KitFox

First things first. makes tea

considers how to look busy from home

Maybe I should send some emails.

Arch

@JasonBourne Probably because of the movie RocknRolla.. and Arch sounds pretty cool

KitFox

Or better yet, schedule some emails to be sent during the day.

MετάEd

“Rick Santorum lets his political future (of domain names) expire”

user19161

@KitFox Sending emails means you are free, haha.

user19161

4:42 PM

@KitFox Professional skiver!

user19161

@KitFox You can write a script to send emails out every day...

KitFox

►

Arch

@JasonBourne you watched that movie before? It's not bad.. www.imdb.com/title/tt1032755/ I've watched it like 10 times..

KitFox

I can't believe my little boy is almost big enough for 3Ts.

user19161

@Arch No. My favourite movie is Good Will Hunting.

Matt Эллен

4:45 PM

> 3t.com is dedicated to our uncle, Michael Jackson - The Greatest ...

user19161

@KitFox At the risk of sounding stupid, what is 3Ts?

RegDwighт

Commute.

KitFox

@JasonBourne It is a size of children's clothing.

user19161

Hahahaha.

user19161

What a weird way to write sizes.

KitFox

4:46 PM

The "T" stands for "toddler."

user19161

And the s stands for sUCKS FINGERS.

KitFox

OMG adorable socks! (I'm sorting through a box of my eldest's old clothes.)

@JasonBourne The "s" is a plural marker.

user19161

Also, s marks how sTUPID I am not to know.

Arch

@JasonBourne Just googled Good Will Hunting.. Looks cool~ I'd check it out one day when I have time~

KitFox

D'aww. Thomas the Tank Engine underpants.

It is good that I am getting this very important task done.

Matt Эллен

4:53 PM

indeed. one fewer important tasks to do

KitFox

How did that rate a flag?

Matt Эллен

I didn't see it, so I don't know

KitFox

Maybe he wanted to make sure the whole network saw it.

Damn. I'm in one of those "Wait, but before it do that, I should..." infinite loops.

Matt Эллен

something to do with a lama

I can't remember the story, never mind

CU

KitFox

But...

sighs

drums fingers on keyboard

cornbread ninja

4:58 PM

@tchrist did you make it?

hello, room

KitFox

> Do not point lasers at others.

Good to know.

Hullo, Chatkillah.

Transcript for

English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…