English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Ya @DamkerngT. perhaps when my team actually wins a game this year I'll return to the silver & black team colors, but for now the auto-generated simplicity of this avatar is appealing.

Damkerng T.

@skullpatrol I hope I will see you in silver-and-black soon. :-)

skullpatrol

:O WOW!!! @Arrowfar what a harmonious new avatar.

user116848

@skullpatrol I am ying yang now lol

skullpatrol

Thanks @DamkerngT. :D

user116848

8:26 AM

@skullpatrol I saw "Go Raiders!" in the starred messages :-)

skullpatrol

Yep, half the season is over and not a single win @Arrowfar

user116848

Oh

skullpatrol

Np, that means we get to pick first in the draft next year

user116848

ha :-)

Damkerng T.

@skullpatrol I like that in NFL.

skullpatrol

8:31 AM

It is the same for all the pro sports in the states.

Damkerng T.

Ahh... So it's the same in NBA and Baseball, too?

skullpatrol

Yep, basically.

NHL too.

Damkerng T.

Got it. It sounds fair for all the teams in the leagues.

skullpatrol

That's how they try to keep it competitive.

skullpatrol

9:17 AM

You maybe interested in this @DamkerngT.

Damkerng T.

@skullpatrol Thanks! Bookmarked!

skullpatrol

:-)

Deep

11:28 AM

how do you capitalize the great war?
i.e:
1) It has been one hundred years since The Great War began.
2) It has been one hundred years since the Great War began.
3) It has been one hundred years since the Great war began.
4) It has been one hundred years since the great war began.

Which is correct? 1,2,3 or 4?

skullpatrol

1 or 2

Robusto

@Deep None of the above. The Great War began over 100 years ago.

Deep

You know what I mean.

I'm just not sure which is the correct one

skullpatrol

Perhaps 1.5?

It depends on if you what "The" in your title.

Deep

So either 1 or 2 is completely fine?

skullpatrol

11:41 AM

sure

Deep

Cheers

skullpatrol

np

Deep

12:14 PM

I have another question, but its kind of long, do you mind me asking?

skullpatrol

askaway

Deep

 Paxman fails to recognise that people still sign up for the army, and that people still fight and die for their country, even having seen the reality of war. Perhaps these soldiers are more deserving of our respect, as they, having seen the horrors and hardships of war, still go and fight for their countries. Contrast this with the attitudes of the men who fought in the Great War. They had no idea of what they were signing up for, in fact, they thought, famously, that the war “would be over by Christmas”.

I feel that I've got too many commas in the last sentence. Could I reword it?

Mitch

@Robusto Following the links, you asked "Which one?" to my "I just got a silver badge for a gen ref question." an example of closable questions often getting high traffic and voting.

Robusto

Ah, I forgot I asked you that. My bad.

Deep

@skullpatrol ?

Robusto

12:28 PM

@Mitch Congrats, btw. I took a stab at that one myself but wound up deleting my answer.

Deep

Anyone?

skullpatrol

@Deep I would remove the word "famously".

Andrew Leach

@Deep They had no idea of what they were signing up for; in fact they thought, famously, that the war “would be over by Christmas”.

Deep

I think the "famously" has to stay, I'll go with the latter example, cheers

Andrew Leach

I think the break in the middle needs to be "stronger" than just a comma. It could even be a full-stop, but a semi-colon seems reasonable.

Deep

12:40 PM

I think a semi-colon fits well, thanks

skullpatrol

I agree :-)

Damkerng T.

The commas haven't nagged at me as much as my not knowing how many countries the passage wants to talk about. I guess that the first country is probably a typo.

My browser crashed again. :(

Matt Эллен

don't drink and browse

Damkerng T.

@MattЭллен Good advice!

Matt Эллен

:D

skullpatrol

12:52 PM

Holy "crashing browsers" batman.

Robusto

1:05 PM

What happened, did Ice Boy grow up?

Andrew Leach

So the Ice Man cometh?

skullpatrol

in Mathematics, 1 hour ago, by skullpatrol

I threw him into a boiling pot of water :D

Matt Эллен

I guess that happens sometimes

Robusto

I kind of knew it wouldn't involve growing up.

skullpatrol

12 hours ago, by skullpatrol

Sweeeet emotion has brought me back to skullpatrol :D

I was spreading myself out too thinly over the network...

...and internet, in general.

Mitch

1:17 PM

Haha... thin ice boy

Instead of famously, I would use 'swimmingly'. I just like that word a lot.

Robusto

How about ice-skatingly?

Mitch

It goes with the Christmas theme.

skullpatrol

any hats this year?

or sleigh rides for our avatars :D

tchrist

1:42 PM

Today I learned that a long-haired cat will spend 10 to 15 minutes burrowing through powdery snow taller than he is at 5 degrees below zero Fahrenheit searching for hidden prey before coming back in and demanding that breakfast be served. And that a short-haired one won’t put up with that nonsense at all.

Mitch

Cats are so entitled.

skullpatrol

and what conclusion(s) have you drawn from this lesson?

Mitch

The dead mice they leave for you, not a gift but a warning.

What's annoying is that not only do they think they're better than us, they are.

Andrew Leach

Certainly better at catching mice.

Although a mousetrap does fairly well.

Matt Эллен

22

Q: How can I get rid of a mouse in my house?

There is a mouse in my house. What's the most effective way to get rid of the mouse (and any "friends" it might have) and ensure that it doesn't come back.

pest-control

trap got accepted over cat

Andrew Leach

1:47 PM

When you have a cat, you then have a dead-mouse problem. It isn't unusual to find a mouse that looks like furry sausage being dragged from room to room. Not fun. — sal Nov 30 '10 at 18:58

skullpatrol

those people have way too much time on their hands

tchrist

Cats eat mice.

You may have to discard the faces, which they usually leave.

Little else.

On the other hand, I have returned to a fly problem. I think there must be a dead animal stashed in the basement somehow.

Yesterday, however, I killed something like three dozen of them instantly, all at once, as ’twere by magic. Can you guess how I did this?

I opened the back door. The entire swarm leapt to their escape. They made it not a yard outside and dropped like pebbles on to the pure snow, dotting it with their frozen carcasses. It was the most amazing thing to see.

microwaving them?

Vice versa.

oh!

1:55 PM

If a fly gets in, my cat Bosco goes on full alert and will not rest till the fly is dead. Also wasps, bees, or any other flying insect. He is a cat on a mission.

tchrist

You’d be amazed what REAL subzero weather does to flies.

Yes, they are hunting the flies, but there must be carcass here somewhere. I cannot otherwise explain where they are coming from.

terdon

@tchrist I expect they smash into the windows as normal only now they break into tiny pieces that tinkle and twinkle down to the floor.

Robusto

You are having subzero weather there?

tchrist

I had a friend bring in my potted plants before the cold snap hit. But I cannot see dozens and dozens of them coming from that.

@Robusto Yes.

Freakiest thing.

Never happens this early.

Robusto

reevaluates the Denver area for relocation

tchrist

1:57 PM

@terdon No, the windows aren’t that cold, strangely. But open the door and the wall of frozen air paralyses them immediately.

skullpatrol

have you tried Raid? and then when they are trying to escape open the door

tchrist

I was picking basil and tomatoes and red raspberries from my morning-glory–filled garden before I left last week.

I have returned to nearly a foot of snow on my back porch.

And Beelzebub reigning in my basement.

Robusto

Maybe Piggy's carcass is down there too.

tchrist

Denver, on the other hand, got merely a dusting.

I just can’t figure out how they got it through the cat door.

Mitch

@tchrist It? Denver? Got what through the cat door?

Robusto

2:09 PM

Maybe they found it down there and killed it. That's the simpler explanation.

But if they'd done that they'd likely have brought it up for you to share.

tchrist

2:33 PM

I was away for the week.

I have been unable to locate the body, and my cats’ contumacity in the face of writs of habeas corpus is nothing shy of contemptible.

I also tried habeas corpora, habeatis corpus, and habeatis corpora, but they remained aloof.

But I cannot think of any other justification for all these flies.

The thing is, I’m pretty sure I’m not dead yet, and I can smell no dead-animal smell wafting up from my home’s nether regions.

@Mitch: I do not live in Denver.

Robusto

Sometimes flies just get in. We had a rash of them and wonder WTF, but found that one of our windows, which wasn't latched, had slid down an inch from the top of the frame. Closed that up and problem solved.

@tchrist He's making a joke. Read it again.

Jasper Loy

I don't make jokes. Jokes make me.

Mitch

You're no Stalin.

Jasper Loy

I am a joke.

Mitch

You're not a joke, but this all reminds me of a joke about Stalin.

tchrist

2:48 PM

As for comfy relocation areas, you should know that Denver broke not just one but two low-temperature records yesterday. It was not only the coldest night on that date, but also the coldest high for the day as well. It reached only +6F. This has never happened before. Also note that both September and October were our warmest on record for both those months. Somebody has put a longer string on the yoyo.

Matt Эллен

Stalin lit an s

Mitch

Blame the weather people. I'm sure they're in their little weather booths, chuckling at the 'fascinating weather patterns' and other people burst pipes.

Robusto

@MattЭллен Stalin => Latins

Matt Эллен

Last in

Robusto

That one was too easy for me to mention.

tchrist

2:51 PM

I smell the blood of an Englishman.

skullpatrol

First out?

tchrist

jinx

Robusto

First out => fit tours => touts fir => roust fit

Matt Эллен

LA nits

tchrist

Les nuits.

Robusto

2:52 PM

in salt

tchrist

If you insist.

Matt Эллен

L stain

tchrist

A soldier’s worth.

They’re all L strains.

L’s first name was Adam.

Robusto

@tchrist As solider throw

skullpatrol

Latinumus dorsi

Robusto

2:54 PM

A's solid thrower

Matt Эллен

nailst
(superlative)

tchrist

2nd sg

Tetigisti

Although that one’s perfect, it’s still nailst.

Rem acu.

skullpatrol

get the gist?

Robusto

Damn, but I can't seem to get it together to work today.

tchrist

Rem acu tetigisti is the nail-hitting phrase.

In English, Bingo!

skullpatrol

2:56 PM

A's solid hitter

tchrist

a lido shitter?

Matt Эллен

what a terrible crime

skullpatrol

to shit a lido

Matt Эллен

All covered in slime

skullpatrol

is not divine

in fact, quite sublime

tchrist

2:59 PM

Higgledy piggledy

tock

Double dactylian.

was a repilain

Can but be fairer than

what you declaim.

skullpatrol

a villian

tchrist

3:02 PM

If you tried harder you

just might be able to

Hexasyllabically

Verses proclaim.

skullpatrol

sexagesimalasyllabically may seem extraordinarily proclaimatory

tchrist

I’d like to see the limerick machine upgraded into a double-dactyl machine now and then.

It makes for better dance music.

Jigs and reels.

And wiggling eels.

Robusto

Garryowen is dactylic.

3:37 PM

@matt Boo! I am going to bed soon.

Matt Эллен

good for you. I will be awake for hours yet

Jasper Loy

I have been filled with terrible thoughts the last few hours. Thoughts of all the shit in this world.

I need to control my obsessions.

Matt Эллен

what triggered that?

Jasper Loy

Nobody. Actually, just the shit in my country.

skullpatrol

3:46 PM

thinking about trying to run away from your problems made it worse, no?

Robusto

If I thought too much about all the shit in my country, I'd never get any sleep.

Jasper Loy

@Robusto That is a consolation to me.

Robusto

Are you being sarcastic?

Jasper Loy

@Robusto No. Let me explain.

Well, how to explain it. When you know that you are not the only one having the problem, somehow you feel better.

You forgot one thing. I don't know how to be sarcastic, lol.

skullpatrol

misery always likes company, my friend :-)

Jasper Loy

3:49 PM

@skullpatrol That is what my friend likes to tell me all the time, lol.

skullpatrol

perhaps it is true then

never suffer alone

Jasper Loy

I am wondering if there is a term for this phenomenon in psychology.

terdon

Matt Эллен

one doesn't come to mind immediately, but there probably is

skullpatrol

@JasperLoy Yes, it is called "Life." There are some pains that you must take on by yourself, but always look for help if it gets too bad.

Jasper Loy

3:54 PM

Sometimes, I think it is nice to have rebirth, to be able to live a new life all over again. Sometimes, that frightens me. What if I get serious problems all over again?

skullpatrol

@JasperLoy Is that something you have any control over?

Jasper Loy

Today, my friend told me that someone told him that a high school kid in my old school jumped off a building.

@skullpatrol Not really.

Before he died, he was asking his friends for a painless way to die. Nobody thought he was serious.

He did not say why he killed himself. He just said that he was very tired.

skullpatrol

Suicide put an end to his tiredness. What about the shock to his loved ones? Did he think about them?

Arradras

@skullpatrol Usually those that commit suicide don't think about those kinds of things

skullpatrol

Exactly my point.

Jasper Loy

4:02 PM

@Arradras Welcome to this chat.

Arradras

I knew a psych who dealt with high schoolers and he told me once that it takes a serious break in the brain to actually commit suicide

thanks Jasper Loy

Jasper Loy

@Arradras Is that you in the picture?

Arradras

no, one of my favorite musicians

terdon

john hiatt apparently

Arradras

that's right

Jasper Loy

4:06 PM

My favourite conductor is Zubin Mehta.

Arradras

@terdon how'd you know?

terdon

@Arradras Google reverse image search :)

Arradras

that's what I figured

Robusto

5:54 PM

Damn, I just hate Skyping with developers who don't speak English.

Me: My plugin already filters data that's been loaded so the user can quickly search what they're looking for.
Dev: ok done
Me: I don't understand your response.
Dev: that means we are on some deal under positive vib
Me: I don't understand your response.

Johan Larsson

6:10 PM

but you get plenty of practice here :)

Cerberus

@Robusto Wow. Why do you have to talk to those people?

Demand change from your boss!

Johan Larsson

6:43 PM

He will get a deadline back

skullpatrol

As a lifeline ;-)

Robusto

7:24 PM

@Cerberus $$$

Mitch

7:37 PM

Yeah, your teachers beat it into you not to sign your name Mr. John Smith because your name is Peter Dodds. — Mitch 8 secs ago

skullpatrol

8:01 PM

Janet Jackson sings "Miss Jackson if you're nasty..."

terdon

8:29 PM

@Mitch And deleted already? Zinging coward.

Mitch

@terdon :D I didn't even put expletives in.

skullpatrol

"...beat it into you..." Is pretty expletive

Define: beat

Mitch

8:50 PM

Nope. An expletive is 'poop' or 'dang it' or 'shut the front door' just not in their minced versions. 'beat it into to you' is just reporting what happened.

@skullpatrol hit. strike. corporeally touch with force.

skullpatrol

Last week

They had a built in wikionary

Mitch

a built-in wiktionary? orwas there 'built' put into wiktionary? Eitehr way I still don't know what happened last week.

skullpatrol

One does not use phrases like "beat it into you" around professional teachers.

Arradras

it seems like a good way to describe situations, like memorizing multiplication tables

they beat those into me

skullpatrol

Then you were taught it incorrectly.

Stack Exchange

9:04 PM

Limerick Machine: I once met a woman from Frome She’d recently bought a new home It was cheap for the price S…

posted on November 13, 2014 by sgdi

I once met a woman from Frome She’d recently bought a new home It was cheap for the price Six packets of rice But such good deals are not unknown

skullpatrol

Today, with calculators, procedural memorization should be emphasized.

For example, the FOIL method.

Arradras

As in quadratics and such?

FOILing those things?

tchrist

@Mitch Would that be minced poop, or poop mince? And aren’t those two different things, at least in England?

skullpatrol

Yes, multiplying binomials mentally.

tchrist

@skullpatrol Homo sapiens × Pan paniscus

skullpatrol

9:08 PM

(ax + b)(cx + d)

tchrist

Mine are more provocative.

I believe, however, that Haldane’s Law would apply.

skullpatrol

Mine is the first explicit "method" students are taught to memorize in algebra.

tchrist

The 46-vs-48 problem.

Memento mori.

Andrew Leach

@StackExchange That would work if Frome were not pronounced Froom.

Mitch

@tchrist English cuisine, more exotic than you think.

Matt Эллен

9:15 PM

@AndrewLeach ha! now you tell me

just adjust the pronunciation of home and known

tchrist

For whom?

At noon?

Andrew Leach

Well, of course, Alec Douglas-Home pronounced his name in an unusual manner.

skullpatrol

But isn't that his right?

tchrist

@Mitch Now we know why it is a green and pleasant land: poop mince giving rise to minced poop in an ever-poopening and ever-greening circle.

Andrew Leach

His first name was Alexander. Pronounced Alec.

tchrist

9:17 PM

I’ve known a leck or two in my time.

skullpatrol

Al

tchrist

Lek mating

A lek is an aggregation of males that gather to engage in competitive displays that may entice visiting females who are surveying prospective partners for copulation. Leks are commonly formed before or during the breeding season. A lekking species is defined by the following characteristics: male displays, strong female mate choice, and the conferring of male indirect benefits. Although lekking is most prevalent among avian species, lekking behavior is found in a variety of animals such as insects, amphibians, and mammals. The term derives from the Swedish lek, a noun which typically denot...

Learned the word in the context of prairie-chicken, sage-grouse, and other such critters’ complex courtship rituals.

Not from nightclubs.

skullpatrol

What do you learn in nightclubs?

tchrist

That the night is dark and full of terrors.

Johan Larsson

Matt Эллен

9:22 PM

how to dance like noöne is watching

Arradras

lol

skullpatrol

And the freaks come out at night :D

Arradras

German is an extremely fun language

tchrist

@JohanLarsson @Reg will have your goat for that one.

Johan Larsson

What does it mean?

Arradras

9:23 PM

Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft

The compound word (German: Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft (English: Association for subordinate officials of the head office management of the Danube steamboat electrical services) is an example of the virtually unlimited compounding of nouns that is possible in many Germanic languages. According to the 1996 Guinness Book of World Records, it is the longest word published in the German language, having 79 letters. It was allegedly a suborganization of the Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft in pre-war Vienna, Austria, a shipping company for t...

tchrist

Danube steamboat electrical services subordinate officials association head office.

Same as in English.

No difference at all.

Spaces are irrelevant orthographic artifacts unrelated to a language’s grammar.

skullpatrol

And waste space :D

tchrist

I suppose I should have read that German instead of the English.

It’s just a noun–noun phrase.

Recursively.

skullpatrol