English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

cmw

01:35

Yeah, privacy was exactly the reason: https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/368285/some-changes-to-the-profile-while-we-make-it-responsive
And that a staff member (or more?) found it creepy.

Robusto

California last week.

@cmw You could do a dissertation on stuff that's creepy around here. Start with the whole idea of whoring oneself out—not for money, like an honest whore, but for fake internet points.

cmw

@Robusto I think about that all the time.

Robusto

When I started doing this stuff about 10 or 11 years ago, it was a fun game. Now it just makes me feel like I'm wasting my time.

cmw

I was a former teacher, so I am compelled to help others. But sometimes the system doesn't want me to help, it wants me to write up a rule-conforming report and remove the one area where real learning happens: discussions.

Cerberus

@cmw Good to know.

Robusto

01:50

@cmw Yeah. "Comments are not for extended discussions!"

Cerberus

Yeah, SE has always actively opposed discussion.

Robusto

There is ONE RIGHT ANSWER so GET TO IT ALREADY!!

Cerberus

Even though discussions in comments can be so helpful.

cmw

@Cerberus Makes some sense for code (though I disagree with even that), makes even less sense for languages and especially that wasteland currently known as mythology.

Cerberus

Exactly.

Robusto

01:58

@cmw What did you teach?

cmw

@Robusto Classics (Latin, Greek, etc.) and some modern literature and history courses.

CowperKettle

03:04

M.A.R.

06:35

@Cerberus I think that's sorta inevitable TBH

Every SE site gets this core caretakers that do all the heavy lifting -- editing, closing, deleting etc. And these core users are constantly exposed to crap on the site. And one bad question will ruin the mood and 10 mediocre questions will bear the brunt. A good question will be rare enough so they constantly see what they hate and hate what they see, but not rare enough to make them quit, and sometimes they adjust to the rarity or have a case of Stockholm syndrome.

Now the responsible thing to do for them would be to take a break, but core users aren't easily replaced, and it's not like an (informal) organization where you could ask some other volunteer to cover for you. So they know to take a break but also know that if they do they'd make it harder for the other core users and the crap will stay around longer or forever. They also probably secretly know that they won't wanna come back if they leave, so it's like the mental dependence in addicts.

The general attitude of the caretakers thus becomes of a disgruntled bureaucrat who can't wait to be promoted and be done with the dull everyday work interacting with peasants. And this will more or less affect even the most joyous personality.

Unless something changes so core users aren't irreplaceable like fossil fuels, I don't think anything much can change in the long run, well, except the site burning them out and going to shit. A random plea on quieter, less snobbish metas than ELU (sorry) is sometimes made for some attitude adjustment. Best case scenario it works only for a couple of months.

And you know all of this but I was just warming my fingers for typing some study notes.

Curio

08:39

The taxes will increase by 50% from next month / starting next month

Which is correct?

CowperKettle

@Curio I would use "starting next month", to make the meaning clearer

Curio

Thanks!

SmokeDetector

09:27

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Bad keyword in body, blacklisted website in body, potentially bad ip for hostname in body, potentially bad ns for domain in body, potentially bad keyword in username (197): How many types of jacks are there which can be used in screw jack? by Himanshi A on english.SE

SmokeDetector

10:56

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Link at end of answer (61): Why is stainless steel "stainless"? by Swapnil More on english.SE

CowperKettle

11:14

we are sinking, we are sinking.....

►

CowperKettle

11:57

32% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 24% is fully vaccinated.

Nice, soon it will be "every third person".

CowperKettle

12:32

Pastor of the Russian Pastafarian Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has been prohibited from using the Internet and the mobile phone, and from taking part in any political actions.

Putin's regime is afraid even of mock churches.

Cerberus

@M.A.R. Yeah I mostly agree with your analysis, except that there are plenty of high-rep users: the handful of grumps who I expect are closing all the questions are quite replaceable. Most of what they do is unnecessary.

CowperKettle

12:48

> Talibs are battle hippies. Discuss.

Heh

Mitch

@Cerberus DOWN WITH THE KING! UP WITH THE NEW KING!

SE was created with deliberate design principles intended to improve or fix behavioral experience in previous Q&A apps. But now we're finding that those changes, which created distinctly new behavior, have their problems too.

It's turtles all the way up.

CowperKettle

What is lacking is paid moderators

Like in Wikipedia. There must be someone to weed out unnecessary stuff and make articles neat and readable.

Mitch

@M.A.R. I do it as a warm up and then stop because now I need a snack.

CowperKettle

Amateur editors won't ever do something boring.

Mitch

@CowperKettle Do you mean SE editors or real world journalism editors?

haha SE is not real world

CowperKettle

12:55

Wikipedia editors, SE editors, any kind of editors who are not paid, will not do proper work.

Mitch

Look at Those Shoes

►

CowperKettle

@Mitch Nice advertisement. Reminded me of a Russian adverstiement of using non-disposable shopping bags

Mitch

@CowperKettle I agree in direction but I don't think it is 'will not', more like 'have uncontrollable/chaotic incentives'

@CowperKettle I didn't see the whole thing...I was referring to what I think is a meme from a couple years ago where people would make fun of other people's choice in shoes.

Black Panther 2018 - Sneakers Scene

►

Oh ...but now seeing that again I realize that Shuri was being much more practical... for safety's sake you should not be wearing open-toed shoes in a lab area.

Mitch

13:12

I feel like I've somehow missed out on life because the following is from 2015 which means the whole meme was a few years older than that:

KIDS REACT TO WHAT ARE THOSE VINES COMPILATION

►

CowperKettle

13:23

Cerberus

What is that about?

CowperKettle

13:36

@Cerberus It's from the Wikipedia article about Round Top, Texas

Round Top, Texas

Round Top is a town in Fayette County, Texas, United States. The population was 90 at the 2010 census. == History == As a part of the Stephen F. Austin colony, James Winn acquired 4,428 acres (17.9 km2; 6.9 sq mi) in 1831; the present townsite was included in this tract. The community was originally known as "Townsend", after early settler Nathaniel Townsend (whose original house still exists as the Texana Lodge). Later the town was renamed "Round Top", since the postmaster lived in a house with a round tower. Portions of Nassau Plantation were purchased by the Adelsverein, and settlemen...

Cerberus

OK.

The joke is probably beyond me.

CowperKettle

> Round Top is the smallest incorporated town in Texas with a full service public library, the Round Top Family Library; and the smallest incorporated town in Texas with a local historic district

I was just browsing Wikipedia

Cerberus

90 people is not a lot for a library. But I praesume it has a regional function?

CowperKettle

Maybe they are all bookworms

A local anomaly

Some underground mineral affects the minds of locals, forcing them to read compulsively

Hence the low population count. They barely have time for sex.

SmokeDetector

14:12

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Blacklisted user (71): Is "corrosion resistant material" incorrect? by Swapnil More on english.SE

Mitch

14:57

Does anybody else hear/pronounce /ʊ/ as in English 'book' and /œ/ or /ø/ as in French 'deux' or German 'schön' as mostly the same? I find them hard to distinguish.

Cerberus

No, they are very different.

I have heard many English mispronounce deux as doux.

Which is somewhat similar to book.

Mitch

They are far apart on the vowel plane (the first is near-close-back rounded and the latter are close (or open) mid front rounded.

@Cerberus for me 'doux' rhymes with 'who' but not at all with 'book'

M.A.R.

@Mitch My scho:n and book are very different, because the distinction is very important in Turkish. (Excuse the o:, he's having a nap)

I have no idea how my deux is

Probably like scho:n

I mean, short scho:n? I hate phonology

They've come up with the weirdest names for the most intuitive things.

Mitch

/œ/ or /ø/ are supposed to be distinguishable but they don't -feel- different. But I'm going so much further and saying that the vowel in English 'book' is what I use for 'deux' and 'schön'

Cerberus

@Mitch Similar, but not the same.

Mitch

15:08

and I'm having problem feeling shame for that

Cerberus

It may also depend on your accent.

M.A.R.

@Mitch typical Anglocentric attitude

Mitch

@Cerberus well that's kind of thie issue, trying to get close.

Cerberus

@Mitch Again, I have heard many Englishmen do this, and it sounds super weird and very wrong to me.

Mitch

@M.A.R. Oh...there's quite a bit more than that.

M.A.R.

15:09

Anyway I'm not sure how you decide on things. I'm always second-guessing myself myself

@Mitch The hubris of hamburgers

Mitch

@M.A.R. hamburgers are undeniably pretty good

M.A.R.

See above.

Mitch

@Cerberus I keep listening to the sounds on the IPA chart in wikipedia and at forvo, and though 'the vowels in 'book' and 'deux' aren't identical to me, they just sound like the only differences are not IPA features, and are only different in non-essentials.

Cerberus

@Mitch That is the problem of English speakers!

Mitch

That is they are mostly the same to me

Cerberus

15:13

It is one of the most striking aspects of an English accent in French.

So, if your pronunciation is generally somewhat OK, that could be something you should work on first.

Mitch

@Cerberus the front mid rounded vowel on 'deux' or 'schön' doesn't exist in English at all, but of all the vowels, the one in 'book' sounds the closest to me, even though it is 'far away' in that chart.

@Cerberus Oh I'm sure there are quite a few more glaring problems in my accent in French than this.

Cerberus

@Mitch It sounds randomly far away to me.

Even a schwa would be better.

@Mitch In my experience with English speakers, probably not!

Mitch

@Cerberus There are vowels on that chart that are right next to each other that sound totally different to me, as in seemingly not sharing -any- nearby feature. (usually the single feature of rounding, but also

@Cerberus you haven't heard me speak.

Cerberus

@Mitch Yeah it's not always very intuitive.

@Mitch I hear you type.

Mitch

Like with music in my head I have perfect pitch and accent but when I hear a recording it's like nails on a chalk board

Cerberus

15:24

I don't listen to recordings of myself!

Mitch

@Cerberus me neither which makes it even worse

Cerberus

No exposure = no suffering.

Mitch

thinking about listening to myself is enough

Cerberus

I don't even think.

Mitch

@Cerberus pour être bien entendu il faux souffrire

@Cerberus That goes without saying

Cerberus

15:26

Who said that?

Mitch

literally

Cerberus

You?

Mitch

@Cerberus People say lots of things

Cerberus

@Mitch And yet you said it...

Mitch

I say a lot of things

in my head

oh my god

there goes another

shit

stop it

another one

one of those thoughts was 'take meds'

and there it goes

Cerberus

15:28

Wise.

Mitch

ah another one

that one told me I was wise

I agree

Wait... do you hear it too?

Cerberus

I have six ears.

Mitch

Is that how it works?

more ears and you can hear thoughts?

not just your own

Cerberus

People are not supposed to know.

Mitch

haha I made a french pun

because I can't spell

@Cerberus how about colors? can you see more colors?

Cerberus

15:32

Sure.

Most people can't distinguish ultramarine from indigo.

Mitch

how about behind things?

not through them but the other side

Cerberus

I try not to look at behinds.

Mitch

@Cerberus that's because they're both non-colors

Cerberus

Though it is a difficult instinct to quell for a dog.

Mitch

in that they don't exist

Cerberus

15:32

Oh, OK.

Mitch

@Cerberus It's just an animal thing we'd all like to ignore the existence of

Cerberus

I can imagine.

Mitch

You have a really good imagination then.

What are you imagining now?

Cerberus

Food, what else?

Mitch

Nice.

It's really what we're all talking about without naming it.

Cerberus

15:36

Is it taboo?

But I must take a shower now, later!

Mitch

The problem with the Israeli-Palestininan conflict?

It's actually right before lunchtime

@Cerberus ab2

@Cerberus no not at all but it's like the weather, you can't really do anything about it, but you can expel the worry about it into intellectual energies.

Wait

-Can- you do anything about food?

M.A.R.

16:14

@Mitch 1. Eat so much vegetation that chlorophyll deposits under your skin. 2. Photosynthesize

CowperKettle

@M.A.R. There is a small animal that does just that.

The internet is full of its cute pictures

Costasiella kuroshimae

Costasiella kuroshimae, also known as a "leaf slug", "leaf sheep", or "salty ocean caterpillar" is a species of sacoglossan sea slug. Costasiella kuroshimae are shell-less marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the family Costasiellidae. They range in size from 5 millimetres (0.20 in) to 1 centimetre (0.39 in) in length. Discovered in 1993 off the coast of the Japanese island Kuroshima, leaf slugs have been found in the waters near Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia. They have two dark eyes and two rhinophores that emerge from the tops of their heads that look not unlike sheep's ears or...

Kleptoplasty

Kleptoplasty or kleptoplastidy is a symbiotic phenomenon whereby plastids, notably chloroplasts from algae, are sequestered by host organisms. The word is derived from Kleptes (κλέπτης) which is Greek for thief. The alga is eaten normally and partially digested, leaving the plastid intact. The plastids are maintained within the host, temporarily continuing photosynthesis and benefiting the predator. The term was coined in 1990 to describe chloroplast symbiosis. == Ciliates == Mesodinium rubrum is a ciliate that steals chloroplasts from the cryptomonad Geminigera cryophila. M. rubrum participates...

Cerberus

16:31

@CowperKettle Cute.

Mitch

@M.A.R. Green skin discoloration associated with multiple organ failure

CowperKettle

17:30

CowperKettle

18:29

> Jacques Ferron was a Frenchman who was tried and hanged in 1750 for copulation with a jenny (female donkey).

tchrist

20:47

Slow the toil, long the road the rubricator wends.

Robusto

@tchrist You work for points.

tchrist

I don't care about points.

Robusto

OK then badges.

tchrist

I just color in the lettrines.

Robusto

I color in the latrines.

tchrist

20:49

And clean out the latrines.

Robusto

jinx?

tchrist

Aye.

Gold leaf comes too dearly for rabid rubrication.

Or rapid.

Robusto

I'm back from CA.

It was quite clear on the coast.

19 hours ago, by Robusto

tchrist

It's 30 degrees cooler here today than yesterday.

Winter is coming.

Robusto

Winter isn't even breathing hard down here.

tchrist

20:51

Snow upon the summits.

Robusto

A good sign.

tchrist

Or so they said might come today. I can't see that far. Stormy.

Robusto

Coming back through Flagstaff I had about 30 miles of absolute downpour.

tchrist

The morning glories should have a couple weeks left in them.

Hard rain today, yes. And not done yet.

Robusto

I bought new tires in anticipation of an Arizona downpour, and I wasn't disappointed.

Cerberus

20:52

> Een troepenmacht van vooral Keniaanse, Ethiopische en Oegandese soldaten houdt de Somalische regering in het zadel, „maar als die morgen vertrekt, kan Al Shabaab zo de macht overnemen”, zegt Cummings.

Dat is gelijk hét verschil met de Taliban, die veel steun kregen vanuit Pakistan: Kenia en Ethiopië zullen alles doen om zoiets te voorkomen.

Robusto

@Cerberus I think you're looking for the Dutch chatroom.

Cerberus

Kenia and Ethiopia protect Somalia from being overrun by Al-Shabaab. They will continue to do so.

The same could have been done in Afghanistan.

Robusto

Are we on this again?

Cerberus

One difference is that the foreign power protecting Afghanistan was no longer willing.

Another is that the Taleban receive great support from Pakistan.

Robusto

Another difference is that nobody else was willing either.

I didn't see the Netherlands, or Germany, or France, or the EU en masse stepping up to help out.

Cerberus

20:55

People generally do not like to take over responsibility from the invader.

The Netherlands did not invade Afghanistan.

Robusto

And they don't like it when big countries do what they need to do either.

All the little countries can do is complain.

Cerberus

At any rate, had Pakistan not supported the Taleban, I think the situation would have been completely different.

Robusto

We lost the war in Afghanistan a long time ago.

> As we watch the tragedy unfolding in Afghanistan, let us first dispense with the fantasy that the United States was maintaining the peace there with just a few thousand troops and that this situation could have been managed with this small commitment. For the past couple of years, it looked that way to Americans because Washington had made a deal with the Taliban and, as a result, the Taliban was deliberately not attacking U.S. and coalition forces.

Cerberus

That is simply not true.

It's interesting to see how certain countries seem to be exempt.

Robusto

> The United States had been watching the Taliban gain ground in Afghanistan for years now. It is rich and powerful enough to have been able to mask that reality through a steady stream of counter-attacks and air, missile and drone strikes. But none of that changed the fact that, despite all its efforts, it had not been able to achieve victory — it could not defeat the Taliban. Could it have withdrawn better, more slowly, in a different season, after more negotiations? Certainly.
This withdrawal has been poorly planned and executed. But the naked truth is this: There is no elegant way to lo…

@Cerberus Your proof?

Cerberus

20:59

Nobody talks about defeating them.

Just keeping them at bay, as they had done since 2001.

Robusto

That is not proof.

Cerberus

Especially protecting Kabul.

Robusto

We are out. I'm glad we're out. I feel sorry for the Afghanis, but there are plenty of other people in the world to feel sorry for.

Including people right here in the US.

Cerberus

Six million hectares are burning in Siberia, more than in the rest of the world combined.

The smoke has reached the North Pole.

Fourteen million hectares have already burned in Russia this year.

Mitch

21:18

More importantly:

Rather a prompt closure; give OP a chance. However, if the 'cheerful' aspect is intended, I think we're struggling here. — Edwin Ashworth 6 hours ago

We have hit a critical mass of irony and the universe will both collapse to a singularity and expand to fill the void.

It -is- ironic that a song about irony includes no examples of irony.

Cerberus

Haha nice find.

Mitch

@Robusto New England might get a hurricane this weekend.

Cerberus

When even Edwin feels questions are being closed too soon... @MattE.Эллен

Mitch

Did I win?

Robusto

@Mitch What 'cheerful' aspect?

Cerberus

21:22

You did!

Robusto

@Mitch Probably not a big one?

Cerberus

Ding ding!

Mitch

@Cerberus haha

I mean I laughed out loud when I saw it.

Well..

not a laugh.

an audible snort

Cerberus

Cry-laughed?

Mitch

I think that's allowed

Robusto

21:22

Perhaps the worm has finally turned.

Mitch

@Cerberus No. I save crying for the finale in 'Babe' where the pig-dog corrals the sheep by asking them.

It's a very emotional victory for rationalism

Cerberus

I see.

Mitch

@Robusto Oh yeah mister oh you lost a leg but I lost two legs and sense of smell.

You should just be happy for me.'

Robusto

You're happy about getting a hurricane?

Mitch

@Robusto No I'm happy I won the ...

oh

I'm pleased...

no not that...

I take some perverse pride in having worse weather than you.

@Robusto 'with alacrity' can mean 'in haste or speed' but it can also mean 'cheerfully'

Robusto

21:27

Dominus vobiscum, et cum spiritu tuo.

Mitch

Bless you

Robusto

@Mitch I know that, but I don't get what Ashworth is on about.

I guess you had to be there.

Mitch

@Robusto Oh. yeah. That part didn't make sense to me either. May I redirect your attention to the part about 'rather a fast closure; give the OP a chance'

Robusto

Yeah, that seemed out of character for him.

Taco タコス

Can I get an assist with tagging my question properly?

Robusto

21:31

Amazon reviews don't match the products.

@Tacoタコス What do you need, Takosu?

Taco タコス

I'm trying to find a collective word to define homonym, antonym and synonym, but I haven't had any luck.

However, the only tag I saw that fit (aside from American English) was the single word request tag.

Are there any others that could or should apply in this case?

Robusto

I just added the hypernyms tag to your post.

Taco タコス

I saw that!

Now I have some Googling to do.

Thanks for the assist!

Robusto

No problem.

Mitch

@Tacoタコス are you looking for a hypernym of antonym and synonym?

Taco タコス

21:35

@Mitch So long as it includes homonym.

Mitch

hmm

Taco タコス

Now that I know what hypernym means lol

Ideally it should contain hypernym and hyponym (now that I've hit Google)

Mitch

I don't think homonym is related at all to antonym and synonym.

Taco タコス

That might be causing the troubles with my searches :/

Mitch

There's the set of elementary school things when you're learning how to read English and the patterns are awful and some things look the same but sound different or sound the same but look different.

Taco タコス

21:38

The problem I have is that, collectively they are types of words, but that's not descriptive enough for my purposes, nor for good search results :(

Mitch

and those have -nothing- to do with semantic things like hyper-, hypo-, syno-, anto-nym

Taco タコス

That's what I'm afraid of lol

Mitch

there's a whole bunch of things that end with -nym, and they have something to do with word classes, but conceptually they're pretty distinct.

demonym, toponym, eponym are all about the source of a name.

Robusto

@Tacoタコス The statement "Homonyms are my favorite [word here]" indicates that you are looking for a class a level up from homonym, which IMO would be a hypernym of it.

Mitch

so are you saying 'hypernym' is a hypernym of 'homonym'?

Robusto

21:43

@Mitch No, I'm saying a noun that includes things like homonyms would be a hypernym of it.

Mitch

Oh

Shame

The problem with these venn diagrams is that they don't point out what the name is of things that are outside of all circles.

Taco タコス

Originally the statement was "Homonym is my favorite nym.", but it made me curious if there is a hypernym for words that describe other words.

So I'd say that's exactly what I'm asking for.

Mitch

@Tacoタコス look man you're forcing me to say it.

Taco タコス

Right, so there's no word to encompass the entire Venn diagram

Mitch

Rob hold me back

nymonym

that's it that's the word

Taco タコス

21:46

O_o

Robusto

@Mitch Too late.

Taco タコス

That makes my question a dupe of english.stackexchange.com/questions/207992/…

Mitch

those diagrams are missing 'heteronym' 'heterograph', etc

@Robusto I blame you

For not restraining me

Everyone is blaming the US for all the Afghan stuff. It seems like no one is blaming the Taliban.

3

Robusto

@Mitch You always wait till I leave the room before working your ill-advised magic. You're like the Sorcerer's Apprentice.

@Mitch Word.

Taco タコス

Lol so should I flag my question as a dupe, delete it, or allow it to be answered?

Cerberus

21:51

@Mitch I think the blame on either party is irrelevant to that on the other.

Mitch

This kind of reminds me of the Start Trek: Enterprise episode, when the Enterprise is used as a consular ship and all these ambassadors come to visit and they each have their weir little quirks, like the Andorians get annoyed when peple want to touch their antennae, Ferengis don't want women to be clothed, and then the one that stood out was, I can't remember their name, but they were -horrified- at the cafeteria where people were -eating- -in public-. With their mouths open. Disgusting.

Robusto

@Tacoタコス I'd leave it. You could get lucky.

Mitch

@Robusto I mean Europe could have helped out (before all this shit). The US could have planned better (again it's not like we should be surprised at how this played out)

Taco タコス

Sounds good to me :)

Mitch

@Cerberus Not to misaddress your point, but I hear a lot of blame pointed at the Afghan army for giving up too much. I don't disagree that there is some blame there but again, the aggressors are the Taliban.

Robusto

21:57

@Tacoタコス If you're in the US, leave it at least overnight. That way the Subcontinent and the UK will have an opportunity to weigh in.

Taco タコス

@Robusto Will do :) thank you both for your help!

Mitch

@Tacoタコス Yes, let it play.

Cerberus

@Mitch Everyone agrees the Taleban are the aggressors.

But so what?

Does that mean other parties are free from blame?

Mitch

@Cerberus Well, yeah, duh, no one is...

wait

I'd like to hear from China/Russia/Pakistan and probably some other country that is benefiting from this first.

Cerberus

What would you like to hear?

Pakistan wants to be friends with the Taleban so that the Pakistani Taleban stop bothering western Pakistan.

Mitch

22:09

Iran is not benefiting from this at all ( they'll be getting the bulk of the refuges and 2) some second thing I can't think of at the moment)

Cerberus

Because Pakistan needs all its strength against its imaginary nemesis, India. (Or something like this is what I have read.)

Iran is not happy with it, except that it doesn't like the Americans so close.

Russia, same thing.

China, almost the same thing, except that it will try to expand its economic influence in Afghanistan now.

Mitch

@Cerberus I don't think it's entirely imaginary. It should be imaginary (or rather not at all) but I think there are substantive rhetorical reasons for difficulties between Pakistan and India.

Wait... aren't they all rhetorical reasons?

Cerberus

But China hates having Islamic extremists bordering on its own Muslim minority, the one they are repressing hard.

Mitch

Except for water rights between Israel and Palestine?

Cerberus

@Mitch Do you really think an actual war between Pakistan and India is likely?

Mitch

22:12

@Cerberus Yes...that's what I was referring to as substantive, but rhetorical rather than any kind of actual practical thing.

@Cerberus Oh on that I really have no idea.

Cerberus

I don't really see it happening.

They each have atomics.

And not that much to gain from a war, only small bits of mountainous land.

Mitch

@Cerberus I would like to hear that... I don't know... I just want to watch a documentary on Led Zeppelin to make me forget about everything else.

Cerberus

Good idea.

Mitch

@Cerberus I'm looking for a t-shirt to profess my undying loyalty to the United Federation of Planets, but they all seem to be in navy or black and that'll be too hot in the summer sun.

Cerberus

Interesting problem.

Mitch

22:16

@Cerberus I heard (I don't know where (and this may be a hint at the problem with any conversation like this)) that Pakistan was actually supporting the Afghan Taliban. I've never heard of this Pakistan Taliban.

@Cerberus It's kind of a big deal

Cerberus

@Mitch Yes, they are.

Large sections of the Pakistani army are fundamentalists.

They support Taleban ideology.

And also many people in certain regions in Pakistan.

Mitch

BBS I have some dinner that needs to be eaten. So that years from now when the shores are lapping on the hills below Everest and I'm eating dog food out of a can, I can think to myself, -that- was a good sandwich.

@Cerberus (I wouldn't be surprised about the former Afghan army either)

Cerberus

What's in it?

@Mitch I have no idea. But I don't think there was in any organised fashion, as in e.g. the ISI of Pakistan.

Inter-Services Intelligence

The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) (Urdu: بین الخدماتی سراغرسانی‎) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan, operationally responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing information relevant for national security from around the world. As one of the principal members of the Pakistani intelligence community, the ISI reports to its Director-General and is primarily focused on providing intelligence for the government of Pakistan. The ISI consists primarily of serving military officers drawn on secondment from the three service branches of the Pakistan Armed Forces (Army, Navy and...

> Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the ISI with funding from Saudi Arabia provided strategic support and intelligence to the Afghan Taliban against the Northern Alliance during the Afghan Civil War in the 1990s.[10][11][12]

Saudi Arabia is a real pest in world politics.

It spreads terrorism around the world.

I really hope their oil dries up soon.

The same applies to a lesser degree to places like Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

And we have British colonial politics to thank for it.

CowperKettle

A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in Italy has developed an implantable insulin delivery device that can be refilled via ingestible capsules

Cerberus

Ingestible, even!

But the device looks rather large?

CowperKettle

22:28

medicalxpress.com/news/…

It has been tested only on pigs thus far

Cerberus

It's interesting anyway.

CowperKettle

Cerberus

Yeah, one of many evil deeds by Western powers.

Mitch

23:00

@Cerberus bacon egg and cheese

And hot peppers

Nummy

Cerberus

Good.

Mitch

And onion rings

Cerberus

Many good things.

If only the Taliban had those.

Mitch

23:31

Exactly. And also a more tolerant worldview

tchrist

@Cerberus They do have bacon. They just don't tell anyboody.

Cerberus

23:47

Probably true...

@Mitch But if they had to choose?

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