English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

I have been in this chat for so many years, and every December, I always hope that I am able to start studying on my own in January. Let's hope it is true this time.

tchrist

Do we have hatzenchat?

We do not.

Tavern does.

Jasper Loy

1:42 AM

@simchona Welcome back to ELU!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@tchrist I see my hats

and yours

Jasper Loy

@KitFox Welcome back to ELU chat!

tchrist

Oh, I have to reload.

I see now.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I resized the hats to fit my avatar but now they're too small to see

Jasper Loy

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I see your hats.

tchrist

1:45 AM

I just handed out like a dozen and a half hats, but it’ll take up 45m for people to get them.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

so did you all hear about the ongoing hostage situation in Sydney?

9news.com.au/National/2014/12/15/10/00/…

Jasper Loy

OMG, my prof is in Sydney now.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@JasperLoy well, it appears that 13 people have been taken hostage in a cafe

Jasper Loy

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Is it by religious zealots again?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@JasperLoy One man, forcing the hostages to hold up a black flag with arabic writing that proclaims some Islamic message

skullpatrol

1:47 AM

911 again?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Sounds more like just one guy

skullpatrol

Bin Laden was just one guy

Jasper Loy

Religion is poison.

I did not hear from my prof the past few days, maybe he is one of the hostages, it is hard to say.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@skullpatrol well, no. He was part of a team.

@JasperLoy Statistically speaking, there are 14 people in that cafe including the gunman, and 4-5 million people in Sydney, so, I wouldn't worry.

Jasper Loy

I can't believe that the new year is next next week.

Anyway I just watched Good Will Hunting and A Beautiful Mind again.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

1:57 AM

@JasperLoy I watched "The Bourne Identity" again and I thought of you.

Robusto

My damn cat bit me again today. I'm pretty sure it's not love mauling now. It's aggressive behavior when he thinks I should be putting out some food.

I suppose I need to stop being so nice.

tchrist

Wow.

Poor kitty.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Can I get a downvote on this please? english.stackexchange.com/a/48384/380

Robusto

Poor kitty? Poor me.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I'd like to delete it and get Peer Pressure

Robusto

2:09 AM

That's the bite from Thursday. For which I'm on double antibiotics.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Voted.

tchrist

I don’t understand why the kitty would ever do that.

Robusto

I don't either. We've had him for a year and a half and he never did that until a couple weeks ago.

He's been getting more and more insistent that he get snacks when it's not snack time.

I have never had a cat bite me except pretend bites. The one in the picture was to a bare forearm, and he he really dug in on it. And he did it again today, biting through the sleeve of my fleece.

Like he's saying, "Hey, asshole, get up off your dead butt and put out some snacks!"

He sleeps in my lap for hours and then does that.

tchrist

Mine always have dry food available.

Not, of course, that this appeases them.

Robusto

We've had weight problems with cats before, and Shadow tends to be big, so he just eats everything in sight.

No matter what we leave out, they eat it down to the bare metal.

tchrist

Oh right, yours are captive.

Mine are frisky.

Robusto

2:15 AM

I prefer the term "indoor cats." For which the birds are grateful.

skullpatrol

Sounds like time to relearn to never bite the hand that feeds you.

Robusto

Or forearm.

> Who, me? I'm the masked cat, so you don't know it was me what done it.

Shown here as the life of the party, with a lampshade on his head.

skullpatrol

what's the punishment?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Robusto Thanks

Robusto

@skullpatrol Punishment was he got exiled to the laundry room for an hour to think about his crime. Also shook my finger in his face and told him precisely how he had failed.

skullpatrol

2:18 AM

doesn't sound severe enough for a re-offender

Robusto

The Oatmeal has advice on how to pet your kitty. Not that it helps.

@skullpatrol Well, if he does it again he's going back to the shelter. I can't be on double antibiotics every week.

Would break my heart, but this is literally life or death.

skullpatrol

that's what I mean

tchrist

@Robusto Why?

Robusto

@tchrist Why would it break my heart or why is it life or death?

tchrist

2

skullpatrol

2:21 AM

once, shame on you. Twice shame on me

4

tchrist

How old was he when you got him?

Robusto

@tchrist Because I have a knee replacement and I need to be very mindful of any infection. It could mean losing my leg or my life.

I like my leg more than I like any cat.

@tchrist A year.

@skullpatrol I thought he was just playing and it got out of hand. I didn't realize the aggressive nature of the act until today.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Maybe you could favorite this question so I can see if I can get a gold. Just 10 more faves to go and I'm there.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Robusto done

Robusto

Merci.

skullpatrol

ok, just don't play with'em anymore. Game over

Robusto

2:26 AM

He's lost his lap privileges for the foreseeable future.

tchrist

Mine were just little babies, and I have spent all my time with them. The hot-blooded little ginger can get a bit demanding if I don’t put out, like crawling up my jeans-leg, but I can’t possibly imagine either of them ever biting me.

Robusto

I couldn't imagine it either.

He's nice as pie most of the time. Hell, all of the time up until a couple weeks ago.

Heya, heya, step right up: just nine more favorites will earn me a badge and a hat.

tchrist

The larger one doubles as a body-pillow in bed. The smaller one can sleep on my lap for hours.

I already gave you 3 badges and a hat tonight.

Robusto

Ah, so your work is done. Well, thanks for that.

I have a pile of votes to use. Point me in a direction while I still have them.

tchrist

One from Englightened

One from Guru

Robusto

2:42 AM

@tchrist Three enlighteneds coming your way.

@tchrist Someone beat me to all of these.

tchrist

Thanks.

I wonder if they’ve still got the Necromancer as a secret badge.

I have two secret badges and I have no idea how.

This needs one for Necro.

Robusto

Hmm, I earned the Fascinating hat, but it's a secret hat so I can't say why.

@tchrist Done.

tchrist

We’ll see if there’s a hat out of it.

Mitch

The hats look all new. Few from previously

tchrist

ELU is #7 on the Leaderboard.

Mitch

2:50 AM

It's early.

skullpatrol

only 3 hours in

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@tchrist I got a secret badge for joining a site, I think

and the spock one I think I got for voting on skeptics.

tchrist

There’s a second spock one.

Robusto

Hard to find questions and answers from the regulars that I haven't already voted up.

tchrist

stackoverflow.com/users/900873/kevin#winter-bash

He has a gold-shirt spock one.

Robusto

2:55 AM

Remind me how we discover how many votes we have left for today?

tchrist

It’s on your user page, bottom right.

Robusto

And how many do we get per day? 40?

tchrist

Or 40, if you start with questions.

You get them back if the post is deleted, too.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I have the gold spock one too

Robusto

I've already done more than 10 questions.

0

Q: Rhetorical Strategies used in this article?

I'm writing a rhetorical analysis for my AP Lang class and this article has few rhetorical strategies adequate enough to write a paper for. As of right now, I've only found that the author cites credible outside sources. (And quotes them) But that is more or less it. In fact, I can't even f...

This needs the bum's rush.

Just gave Lawler a couple of Enlighteneds to put on the mantle with his Ph.D.

skullpatrol

3:03 AM

Damn! the Patriots clinch the division for the SIXTH straight year

Mitch

That's how good they are.

skullpatrol

>8(

Robusto

@skullpatrol I know. Meanwhile, Oakland bit the big one in KC.

skullpatrol

2-12

Mitch

I could be worse.

Robusto

3:05 AM

I don't think it could be worse.

skullpatrol

one more win and i'll be happy

Robusto

Not this year. Every other team has at least two wins, right?

skullpatrol

yep

Robusto

How did Green Bay do?

skullpatrol

the race for the number one draft choice

GB 13 - 21 Buf
Final

Robusto

3:10 AM

Thought it would be a bigger differential.

They only beat Buffalo by a touchdown? They're phoning it in now.

skullpatrol

yep, shaving the points for vega$

Robusto

Discount ~~doublecheck~~ doubletake.

skullpatrol

};-)

tchrist

You can get a hat from these five questions needing just one vote to close.

Actually, you can get two hats.

Or three even.

Robusto

You can get me the Handegg hat by upvoting this answer.

tchrist

3:24 AM

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Chameleon is for joining a new site.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@tchrist Yeah I figured it must be.

tchrist

The Spocks, I dunno.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I have two spocks, one on skeptics, where all I did was cast some votes, and one on ELU, where I've been busy

on skeptics I upvoted one question and one answer

skullpatrol

your hat is a perfect fit!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@skullpatrol you can resize them

tchrist

3:27 AM

I did a lot on ELU; not really sure what triggered it.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Maybe upvoting an accepted answer

tchrist

-1

Q: How to say Good Morning on Monday, the first working day of a week which indicates high level of energy, enthusiasm and freshness in me?

I want to say Good Morning to my Boss through SMS but I want to say this in a manner which will indicate the high level of energy, enthusiasm and freshness in me. So how should I say? Can you please suggest me a beautiful Good Morning short message for me? After saying Good Morning in above mann...

word-choice expressions word-usage meaning-in-context vocabulary

Mitch

THere's not a word for that?

I think I've blown my downvote quota on all this hat-mongering

tchrist

Precious.............................

Oh, I have more hats than I knew.

skullpatrol

why is there no traditional santa style hat? Like mine.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

3:32 AM

I just earned "fascinating" on Lego Answers after upvoting an accepted answer with a score of 10, but didn't earn it on Writers after upvoting an accepted answer with a score of 4

skullpatrol

The

Classic

style

tchrist

Mr Shiny is #4 network-wide.

skullpatrol

nvm

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@simchona! hao jiu bu jian

tchrist

@simchona You’re here for the hats!!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

3:35 AM

I just upvoted a highly-upvoted question on skeptics and got the gold spock

I conclude that's what causes those.

tchrist

I just did the same.

But I doubt it need be on skeptics, no?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

no, but the hat site tells you where you earned the hats

skullpatrol

talked 294d ago @simchona

tchrist

True.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

so I did one vote, got one hat, concluded the correlation was significant

simchona

3:38 AM

I prefer coming back from the great beyond

tchrist

30 days hath October, Stormy, Snowy, and Remember.

skullpatrol

:O

53 secs ago, by skullpatrol

talked 294d ago @simchona

38 secs ago, by simchona

I prefer coming back from the great beyond

this has to be a record!!!

simchona

I graduated, moved, started a new job, moved again...

3

and finally had enough breathing room to come back

tchrist

Gosh.

skullpatrol

welcome

tchrist

3:41 AM

Go put a hat on.

simchona

I see we about doubled in mods. Anything else I missed?

tchrist

Well...

skullpatrol

... so much drama

tchrist

"About" is kinda accurate.

simchona

Drama? User drama or voting drama or...?

I need a tl;dr for the last...year

tchrist

3:44 AM

Norton finally gave up.

simchona

Hallelujah

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

But instead of Nortonn we now have some indian psychic spam

curse-breaking and stuff

tchrist

Yoichi was awarded an honorary moderatorial diamond, and five Socratic badges.

If you edit a question about baba ganouzh, we have a bot that sends up smoke signals.

We have a lot of people with delete powers now.

simchona

And ELL is still in Beta, I saw

tchrist

Yes and no.

It has graduated.

It just has not had its design finalized yet.

Dunno if that’s public knowledge.

simchona

3:46 AM

Ok, that explains it. Area 51 still had it marked as beta

tchrist

I’m #2 on hats network wide now. :)

simchona

Congrats!

skullpatrol

@simchona drop by the ELL chat room sometime

simchona

I adopted a cat. Looks like the one in my pic, but female and twice as dumb

@skullpatrol Will do. It's been a while

skullpatrol

:)

tchrist

3:50 AM

@simchona You are at even-Steven in the Shame Hall which is well below some of your other moderators, although you rank higher in critical thinking.

simchona

@tchrist I was half afraid that was something like "mods who haven't been online in way too long"

tchrist

@simchona Heh. Even Waiwai and nohat were by the other day, and yesterday Yoichi actually deleted something.

simchona

@tchrist Well crud. Even nohat?

I need to step up my game.

tchrist

Oh, I know what else is new: Superheroes with gold tag badges can now able to wield the mighty Mjölnir in that tag, provided it was an original!

@simchona Yeah, look here.

simchona

I can't promise how much I'll be on, but I know I've been awfully remiss

But for now, to bed. I have to get to work tomorrow.

tchrist

3:57 AM

What, sex-change op, then back to a miss again? :)

See ya, and welcome!

skullpatrol

see ya later

Mitch

Hey... fo the secret hats, does the reason get explained at the end (Jan 5th)?

tchrist

There’s a Waffle secret hat.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

4:21 AM

@tchrist Do you know how to get it?

Mitch

I want to know the secrets!!

tchrist

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Not yet.

I’ve been trying some waffly things though.

Mitch

I just got the plain spock hat. I was doing so much clicking around (only on ELU) I have no idea.

tchrist

4:34 AM

If you think you’d like to try a
    Frolic in the dusty playa,
Best to bring your own papaya,
    Sacred to the Sioux and Maya.

Furnace winds are quick to dry a
    Man who can’t himself deny a
Chug from flasks of Stolichnaya.
    Pack instead some jambalaya.

How many syllables in playas?

George Pompidou

eeugh

tchrist

Is playas homophonically involved with pliers in southern England?

George Pompidou

are you trying to say beaches in some latin type language, or players in black people speak?

if the former, then yes

tchrist

Why do the English pretend it has only one syllable?

George Pompidou

oh my, that's a real English word

backs up into the shadows embarrassedly

Jasper Loy

6:55 AM

@Cerberus Woof!

skullpatrol

7:25 AM

@rlemon there is only enough space in this room for one skull ;-)

George Pompidou

9:24 AM

what is ᛋ

user58869

9:36 AM

@GeorgePompidou looks like a character from the wing ding font

user58869

but it's not

SmokeDetector

[ SmokeDetector ] Bad keyword in title: love problem solution baba by astrobaba329 on english.stackexchange.com

RegDwigнt

Wait what? The Winter Bash is here?

How long has that been happening? I've only one hat, is it too late to catch up?

Besides, I ain't got no time for this right now anyway. Should have been postponed till I'd be ready.

Matt Эллен

@RegDwigнt it's been happening since monday started UTC, I believe

RegDwigнt

9:51 AM

Wait, this Monday Monday or last Monday Monday?

Cuz tchrist has like 16 hats.

Matt Эллен

@RegDwigнt today

RegDwigнt

Okay so how the hell do tchrist has 16 hats, then.

It is too late to catch up.

Matt Эллен

:D

RegDwigнt

And who are all those people in ELU's leaderboard?

I recognize like one. And a half.

Matt Эллен

@RegDwigнt tchrist, mr shiny, mitch, hugo, ste

you know them all!

RegDwigнt

9:54 AM

@MattЭллен never heard of tchrist.

Matt Эллен

oh, my mistake, the one I thought was Hugo is in fact Peter J,

RegDwigнt

See.

Matt Эллен

whom I've never heard of

must be an alien invasion

RegDwigнt

Yeah. And then I thought I saw Yoichi-san, but upon inspection it turned out to be one "@Robusto".

This is all very sad.

Matt Эллен

PeterJ seems to on all the sites!

RegDwigнt

9:56 AM

So anyway. That @tchrist guy. He even has hats for closing a question, editing while closed, and reopening. You tellin me that all happened in the last three hours?

That's some godspeed right there.

Matt Эллен

indeed. he has a need. a need for speed. a speed for hats

RegDwigнt

Alas, as mentioned, the all-overbearing problem is that I ain't got time.

Also, what the hell is with the hats this year. They are all like meh.

"Use the app".

"Get downvoted".

"Get downvoted a lot".

Matt Эллен

since speed is distance over time, you should have infinite speed!

RegDwigнt

Very strange behavior encourage some of them do.

Also, when is Hanukkah? Also, what is Hanukkah?

Matt Эллен

17th to the something of December

maybe a misspelling of Hannah kun

RegDwigнt

10:00 AM

I am at a huge disadvantage here.

I ain't got no app, nor a device that can haz apps.

Matt Эллен

ha! then I'll have one happ that you don't :D

RegDwigнt

And I can't delete 10 last-year comments because I always clean up everything in a timely manner.

The list goes on.

Basically the hats are for rewarding people who've been misbehaving.

Matt Эллен

does it have to be your own comments? I haven't read all the descriptions

@RegDwigнt or getting misbehavers to clean themselves up

RegDwigнt

@MattЭллен well same difference.

And like 50 of the hats are all for posting on a specific day or in a specific minute (LOLWUT).

I suppose I could get all those, actually. But I'll forget. Also, no time.

Matt Эллен

I'll look up old comments I didn't make, delete ten and let you know...

RegDwigнt

10:06 AM

I think by that time I'll have undeleted 10 old questions, deleted my comments on why I was deleting them, then delete the questions.

If you're following.

Jasper Loy

Why are there so many stars?

RegDwigнt

Because there's a hat for starring 8 different people?

Just a guess.

Ste

You can't get the deleted comments hat until 2005

Oops 2015

you delete 10 2014 comments in the new year...

3

RegDwigнt

Wha?

Bro, not cool. I've already deleted like 7.

Yes, yes. We're copying.

You forgot how to use the up arrow?

Or you posting this from some app where you can't edit?

Ste

Fixed, :)

RegDwigнt

10:15 AM

Tanks.

Jasper Loy

I feel like crying now.

RegDwigнt

So. But aren't the comments only technically one-year old if you posted them all in the first days of January?

user116848

Hi all

RegDwigнt

How the hell am I supposed to have posted 10 crap comments in rapid succession, and in January to boot.

Ste

"delete 10 comments from 2014 in 2015" is what is says on the Winterbash page

RegDwigнt

10:16 AM

@JasperLoy Don't. I felt liky crying the whole last week. Or actually, go ahead and cry, it helps.

Ste

I'm sure we can sort something.

RegDwigнt

@Ste yeah that's another thing. The descriptions vary from place to place.

I've noticed that for several hats.

Jasper Loy

@RegDwigнt I want to cry because I think I might never get well.

RegDwigнt

@JasperLoy Well. As I said, I'm no Freud, but perhaps you should just go ahead and let it out.

Jasper Loy

@RegDwigнt And even if I do get well, maybe no grad school will accept my application, knowing that I spent seven years doing nothing productive with my life.

RegDwigнt

10:19 AM

Okay that one's easy. Nobody needs a grad school to be happy.

2

Fuck grad schools with a cactus on a broomstick.

Waste of precious lifetime.

Jasper Loy

But I need to. I really want to be a professional mathematician.

RegDwigнt

Then stop wasting your time on Maths.SE explaining in minute detail to braindead Internet kiddies how, why, and since when 4 > 3.

Jasper Loy

I need to believe that something extraordinary is possible...

RegDwigнt

Think imaginary numbers. QED.

Jasper Loy

Well, I borrowed that line from A Beautiful Mind.

RegDwigнt

10:22 AM

Anyway. I think I might as well do some work now. Rather than keeping talking about how I ain't got no time for hats, all the while getting hat after hat after hat.

skullpatrol

Extraordinary things are only possible with extraordinary EFFORT.

RegDwigнt

Dudes and dudettes. This is the Internet. Don't you even dare bring up effort here. Much less in capitols.

Jasper Loy

In my case, it is not about effort. I would not have dropped half my hair if I did not put in effort in sorting out my thoughts.

RegDwigнt

Pro tip: stop tearing out own hair.

Jasper Loy

I am sorry to bother this chat room with my problems the last three years. But sometimes I just need to.

RegDwigнt

10:26 AM

Okay that one's easy. Nobody needs problems to be happy.

user116848

I am always anxious but I never drop a single hair.

RegDwigнt

I split all hairs just in case I need to drop something, then I can be sure it's less than a single hair.

user116848

:-)

skullpatrol

Have you @JasperLoy tried putting all that effort into believing in yourself ?

user116848

Star wall looks like it is changing. Is it us or the AI?

Jasper Loy

10:31 AM

I am getting a lot of stomach cramps these few days.

skullpatrol

Answer please @JasperLoy

Jasper Loy

@skullpatrol I will try, thanks. It's hard to believe in yourself when you have been pretty much a failure in terms of the records.

skullpatrol

ok

I will make you a believer.

Jasper Loy

Why did you remove that?

skullpatrol

Takes up too much space

Jasper Loy

10:36 AM

OK. We are not in the math room. Even there, I don't follow the rule.

skullpatrol

You got the message my friend.

Matt Эллен

I've deleted a lot of other people's 2013 comments, but that's not provided me with a hat

I guess it will have to be my own that go.

skullpatrol

I tip my hat to you good sir.

Jasper Loy

I have no comments to delete, because I have deleted them all.

Matt Эллен

are you participating in the hat dash?

Jasper Loy

10:38 AM

No, I will probably not put on any hat.

Matt Эллен

:(

Jasper Loy

Sometimes, I think this life has been so hard. But maybe my previous life was even harder. Maybe I was a cockroach or a North Korean.

skullpatrol

You are giving yourself stomach cramps by worrying about your plans for the new year. @JasperLoy

Jasper Loy

@skullpatrol is the only one offering me consolation these days.

skullpatrol

So what if you fail, you just have to commit yourself to getting back up and trying your best from now on.

user116848

10:43 AM

I agree. Motivation is a must. It helps a lot.

user116848

@JasperLoy The place I live in is no paradise either. But I just suck it up and do my best you know.

skullpatrol

Failure is not falling down. Failure is staying down and not trying your best to get back up and try again and again and ... @JasperLoy

Matt Эллен

@JasperLoy You don't need consolation. You need to break out of your mindset that your life is hopeless. You should start with small steps. You cannot solve this easily or quickly. You could start a little journal. everytime you do something for yourself, make a note of it in your journal.

@JasperLoy or you can award yourself these stars

skullpatrol

So what if your life has been a complete failure up until now, that was all BEFORE you made this commitment in the new year to never stop trying believe in your own Will power to do it without meds or therapy first but if you fail try again with meds

Life is a struggle.

Don't worry yourself sick @JasperLoy

Transcript for

English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…