English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Joseph Weissman

01:27

The wearer might be called dowdy (though I think this can have a negative, 'frumpy' kind of connotation); the garment might be characterized as outmoded or antiquated

Robusto

Unhip.

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

02:59

@JosephWeissman +1

dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8937679/pictures/…

TRiG

> We're talking about death here. As a subject, it's morbid in nature.

Ya think?

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

But kitties.

Well, one kitty.

Later.

O0oO0oOO0ooO

05:05

CRAP

NORTH KOREA MADE A SMART PHONE

nbcnews.com/technology/…

Mahnax

Anyone want to see a cool spider?

attempts to summon Vitaly

lights candles; seances

Mahnax

05:19

Here she is. Warning: Spider.

I think she's just a lil old orb weaver, probably Neoscona arabesca.

user87637

06:23

@Mahnax She looks as beautiful as you, lol.

Mahnax

06:46

@Jas Gee, thank you!

David Wallace

08:36

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 It's OK, so long as you use native methods.

Jez

ok, i admit, i am getting sick of the google doodle.

just leave the fucking google logo alone already

they should have an option to disable it

O0oO0oOO0ooO

Guys, in this video at 5:30, do you think the woman stressed the word "CUNT" to refer Maxmoefoe as cunt instead of the manager woman?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RcrhnJ1334

David Wallace

11:51

Wow, I downvoted four people today (I must be in some kind of mood). And in three of the four cases, the poster removed their post shortly after I downvoted it. Oh, the power!

KitFox

@Mahnax I passed it along to him.

Matt Эллен

@DavidWallace Carefull you don't trip over all that power

Good day, @KitFox

KitFox

Hullo.

Matty Matt Mattingo.

Matt Эллен

lol

Kitty McFoxerson

KitFox

Hahaha

Hey, I never answered your question about whether I still wanted you to do that thing. The answer was yes, if you feel like it.

Matt Эллен

12:00

ok. cool. Can you repost the required info, please? I can't seem to get to it. But maybe wait a few hours to do it, in case it goes off the screen again

KitFox

Sure, sure. If I remember, I'll do it after you're home tonight. If not, well, it's not urgent.

Matt Эллен

bien

I don't think the "take 5" in that take 5 question has anything to do with resting for 5 minutes

-2

Q: What does "take 5" mean?

The context is "We will always do a TAKE 5 prior to undertaking work". I have no idea what "take 5" is.

slang

David Wallace

You think they decided to play some Dave Brubeck?

Matt Эллен

I think it's related to this

David Wallace

Ooh, could be. Never heard of such a thing myself.

It does make more sense than resting before work.

Matt Эллен

12:09

nor me, but I've never heard someone say "do a take 5" when taking a break.

David Wallace

Yeah. Good point.

(take 5, figure 8, hang 10, sweet 16, catch 22, dial 911)

KitFox

0

A: What does "take 5" mean?

In business-speak, "do a take 5" is a specific meeting technique. According to the Harvard Business Review: Do a "Take 5": For the first five minutes of a virtual meeting, everyone should take turns and talk a little about what's going on in their lives, either personally or professionally. T...

Oh. Matt's sounds more plausible.

Matt Эллен

oh

KitFox

That's what I had been thinking, some kind of safety thing, but I didn't see it.

Matt Эллен

well, we'll see what the OP says makes more sense

David Wallace

12:13

@KitFox I was just thinking that this was even more plausible than Matt's.

I was about to post "when Kit's right, she's right".

KitFox

No, no, Matt's makes more sense. You should post it, @Matt.

It makes way more sense that they would do a safety check before working.

David Wallace

I'm so tempted to post a joke answer about Brubeck though. He died last year :-(

Matt Эллен

Yeah, I was in the middle of writing it :)

KitFox

I'm sorry, I don't get that.

Matt Эллен

@DavidWallace :D that would be funny. I can imagine the scene. Everyone's just got into the office and then they break into Jazz

David Wallace

12:16

Out with the saxophones!

I might just pull out one of my sock puppets, and do exactly that!

KitFox

I can't believe someone downvoted Matt's answer.

Matt Эллен

oh well

David Wallace

It's been put on hold already! WHY????

Matt Эллен

plenty of people thought it was gen ref

KitFox

debates acting like a dictator

remembers she left coffee on the brewer

brb

Matt Эллен

12:23

You love it when the coffee's ready!

David Wallace

It means that my sock puppet can't post his joke answer :-(

KitFox

You shouldn't be using sockpuppets anyway.

glowers

It should be in the reopen queue.

looks meaningfully

And yet I see no reopen votes on it.

Matt Эллен

maybe I got a downvote for the last paragraph, which might be viewed as rude, rather than clumsy

KitFox

Aww, but your clumsy is so endearing.

David Wallace

I don't have any sock puppets with enough rep to vote to reopen.

Matt Эллен

12:28

Well, to be honest, the question doesn't say where they heard the sentence, so it doesn't make a lot of sense by itself.

David Wallace

Here's a message you don't see very often ...
In order to show you the most relevant results, we have omitted some entries very similar to the 1 already displayed.

Does that still count as a google bomb?

Matt Эллен

but, I like your answer, so I'll vote to reopen

Mitch

do you mean a real live sock puppet? gotta get me one

KitFox

@MattЭллен But it's clearly "do a take 5" and you're right, that's not idiomatic, so it must be something else.

Mitch

By live, I mean...oh forget it.

Matt Эллен

12:29

@KitFox true

KitFox

And I said in my comment that it sounds like some kind of 5 step checklist.

Mitch

so vote to reopen.

David Wallace

@KitFox I thought the official line was that sock puppets were OK if you didn't use them to create voting irregularities.

Mitch

It could have multiple, legitimately different meanings/uses.

KitFox

@DavidWallace Yes. Also, don't mess around and cause mischief and pretend it's not you.

David Wallace

12:30

Do you see me pretending anyone isn't me?

Mitch

@DavidWallace Nobody sees anybody.

KitFox

Nobody is seeing nothing.

And 24 is the biggest number.

Mitch

um...

not 25?

KitFox

►

Mitch

"another one of you that adds a number to another number is gonna get it from my 45"

KitFox

12:40

►

God, Mr. Show is so funny.

Bradd Szonye

Yeah, I just voted to reopen and removed my downvote, now that folks have pointed out that “do a take 5” is not the same as “take five”

This is another good reason for people to show their work and provide context!

KitFox

But do you agree that 24 is the biggest number?

@BraddSzonye Agreed.

Matt Эллен

@BraddSzonye indeed. if we atleast knew where they heard or read it then we could be a little more certain what it means

Bradd Szonye

Yeah, and more folks might have realized that it's not just a general reference.

Looks like it'll turn out all right, at least.

David Wallace

Haha, and now that he can, my sock puppet no longer wishes to make jazz-flavoured mischief.

KitFox

12:53

@Bradd You don't come to chat much, so let me take this opportunity to say thank you for your contributions to the site.

Bradd Szonye

Oh! Thank you!

KitFox

Thank you for your contributions to the site.

Bradd Szonye

I chat more often over at Role-playing Games, although lately I've been too busy with work for even that.

KitFox

I think I've seen you there once or twice, the few times I've popped in.

There's a new person in Writer's chat, Metamaterial Girl, who I think would really enjoy rpg.se.

She got her feet wet with scifi.

Matt Эллен

0

Q: english I am asking a friend a question

Because I am.trykng to get to know you, do you usually say you will do something and not do it?

orthography

Bradd Szonye

12:57

On rpg.se, I actually ask questions that get answers sometimes. :)

KitFox

Amazing, isn't it?

I'm afraid that many of our academics left.

Bradd Szonye

For most of the other SE sites I'm interested in, I'm too good at doing my own research. The few things I can't figure out, don't seem to have answers.

My accept rate is terrible on most of the sites, because the questions I ask are too hard or too subjective.

Robusto

►

Why not?

KitFox

@BraddSzonye They are interesting questions.

Bradd Szonye

Thanks! I get the feeling that many of them could fall under the “you could write a book about this” close reason. :)

It's OK though, answering questions is the fun part for me anyway.

Robusto

13:02

Some critic said Paul Desmond's sax sounded like a dry martini. Pretty good description, IMO.

KitFox

Mmm, yes. Better if I liked martinis.

takes five and listens

Bradd Szonye

Is linnea asking for English usage or dating advice?

Matt Эллен

ahhh dating-advice how I miss it

KitFox

I'm not sure, that's why I keep closing her questions.

Bradd Szonye

It's almost like drunk-texting at SE.

David Wallace

13:16

Does anyone know what mokorniy is? I think some kind of Northern African food, but google is being quite unhelpful.

KitFox

Drunk-texting.SE. Quick, propose it on Area51.

Matt Эллен

lol

@DavidWallace No idea, sorry

Bradd Szonye

@DavidWallace That looks more like a Russian/Slavic word than North African.

David Wallace

Ooh, I forgot about the lovely drum solo in the middle of Take Five.

@BraddSzonye Yes, it does rather, but it is likely to be a poor transliteration from Amharic.

Matt Эллен

nothing in the OED either

David Wallace

13:20

I shall have to pass the rest of my days in ignorance.

KitFox

Well, what's in the dish? Do you have any clues?

Bradd Szonye

Some similar words from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African_dishes – makroudh, méchoui, mulukhiyah

David Wallace

No, but my friend recently ate some.

Bradd Szonye

méchoui in particular is a popular North African lamb spit roast

David Wallace

Yes, it may have been that. That page you linked to is making me hungry.

Bradd Szonye

13:23

Although that appears to just be a French word for “barbecue”

So I guess it'd be pronounced “may-shwee” and not “mokorniy”

David Wallace

Yes, you're right, of course. "Mokorniy" may well have been a typo.

Like I say, I think I shall live the rest of my life, not knowing what my friend had for lunch today.

Bradd Szonye

Heheh.

KitFox

Or you could ask her to be more specific.

David Wallace

Haha, you don't know my friend!

Good assumption, BTW.

KitFox

Not an assumption so much as an observation.

Or maybe you haven't noticed that you don't ever talk about male friends.

Bradd Szonye

13:32

I should hang out in here with the cool kids more often.

Matt Эллен

Yeah. When do the cool kids get here?

They sound fun

Bradd Szonye

It's funny, I never thought of myself much as an English person, but I have the most fun researching stuff here.

It helps that there are some good people around.

David Wallace

@KitFox I don't have very many male friends.

KitFox

Well, you're here already, @Matt.

Matt Эллен

awww :D back at ya

KitFox

13:35

I need some icon ideas. Anybody up for stupid little pics?

David Wallace

Kit, I nearly always enjoy your avatars.

Matt Эллен

@KitFox yes

KitFox

I'm trying to come up with something that will show that there are notes on a file, and that will look different when there are unread notes.

I plan to use the paperclip icon for comments, so I want this to be something different.

Matt Эллен

dang

KitFox

I can't imagine what it ought to look like.

If I use exclamation points, I think it will look like errors or something.

MετάEd

13:38

KitFox

But things like checkmarks might make it seem judgmental.

@MετάEd ~~I hate that head shot. I look so sincere.~~ What a nice picture of an actor who is certainly not me!

Oop!

David Wallace

I'd use a pencil

Bradd Szonye

For some reason, my brain interpreted “notes on a file” as musical notes on a rasp.

KitFox

@DavidWallace A pencil is a good idea. How to make it different if there are unread notes?

@BraddSzonye Haha, yes, I should have been more specific.

David Wallace

@KitFox Maybe squiggly lines underneath the pencil, showing writing?

Or maybe, the squiggly lines mean "there are notes", and the pencil means "there are new notes that you haven't read".

Bradd Szonye

13:41

Or something with a sticky-note metaphor.

KitFox

considers

David Wallace

@BraddSzonye Ooh, I like that idea. You should come here more often.

KitFox

Sticky notes could work, but it's for K-3 teachers, so the pencil seems more thematically appropriate.

Matt Эллен

Bradd Szonye

Highlighter?

Matt Эллен

13:42

and then highlight the background when it's new

Bradd Szonye

Yes, I was thinking of something about playing with the color and/or brightness when it's new.

KitFox

@MattЭллен Hmm...like a txt file icon, with a sticky if it's new?

David Wallace

Matt, that kind of looks like a yacht.

Bradd Szonye

Which would work for sticky notes or highlighter.

Matt Эллен

well, a file with a note on it, if it has a note, and then highlight the icon if the note is new

KitFox

13:43

Maybe just a NEW! in a sunburst.

Bradd Szonye

Or crayon.

Matt Эллен

yeah, that too :D

David Wallace

I know. The pencil could be lying down next to the squiggles, but when something is new, the pencil stands up as if it's writing something.

KitFox

It's so nice to talk to people who have realistic ideas.

I could make it blink.

Bradd Szonye

@DavidWallace Yes, I was just thinking roughly the same thing about the crayon idea.

Matt Эллен

13:44

@KitFox and marquee!

Bradd Szonye

Perhaps squiggles for notes, and squiggle+crayon for new?

David Wallace

@KitFox Oh, Kit, you mean you're in another chat room as well as this one? :-)

@BraddSzonye I think I said that already, but with pencil in place of crayon.

KitFox

No, I mean, if I put this out in the meeting, the inevitable bikeshedding would kill my brain.

Bradd Szonye

@DavidWallace Oh yes, you did! GMTA.

KitFox

Give Me That Ass?

Bradd Szonye

13:45

Great minds think alike. :P

Matt Эллен

oh!

KitFox

Oh. So. Same thing.

Did you see that Caprica is back?

Matt Эллен

where'd she been?

KitFox

!!/urban GMTA

Caprica Six

@KitFox GMTA great minds think alike; when two or more people think of the same thing at the (approximately) same time

KitFox

13:46

@MattЭллен Dunno.

Anyway, I like the pencil/crayon idea. I think I will work with that.

Bradd Szonye

Wow, a bot that can quote urban dictionary at you.

David Wallace

Oh, I wish Americans spelt arse the same way I do. I have no desire to give Kit a donkey-like creature.

KitFox

@BraddSzonye Yes. She googles and youtubes as well.

Bradd Szonye

The abuse potential is scary.

user87637

Just had a lovely strawberry ice dessert.

Matt Эллен

13:48

sounds nice

user87637

@MattЭллен I replied to your email!

Matt Эллен

I saw :)

user87637

@MετάEd Who is that? You many years ago?

KitFox

It's Fox Mulder aka David Duchovny.

From the X-Files.

I have seen two episodes of that show.

user87637

Ah, I never heard of. Also not a fan of X-files.

user87637

13:52

I am a fan of Gilmore Girls. giggles

David Wallace

You don't have to be a fan to have heard of the man.

KitFox

@Jasper He was one of the two protagonists in the show.

David Wallace

Mmmm. Gillian Anderson. Mmmm.

user87637

Also a fan of The Wonder Years, Desperate Housewives, Criminal Minds, Beverly Hills 90210.

KitFox

iirc, he was the conspiracy theorist and Scully was the sensible scientist.

user87637

13:53

We call skullpatrol skullie in the math room, lol.

Matt Эллен

►

user87637

Hugh Jackman offered a hundred million for the next four Wolverine fims, OMG!

user87637

I wanna be an actor now! Can some Hollywood producer come here and put me in a role?

user87637

I wanna star in the next Superman movie series.

user87637

Man of Steel was very good.

Bradd Szonye

13:55

Nah, Superman doesn't have Wolverine Publicity.

Matt Эллен

hmmm. I don't think you fit the stereotype look of superman

user87637

@MattЭллен Haha, you don't know what I look like from near, hehe.

Matt Эллен

Nor does he have the Hawkeye Initiative

David Wallace

I can just about picture an East Asian Superman.

KitFox

@MattЭллен I like her voice.

user87637

13:57

@DavidWallace To be precise, SEAsian, lol.

Matt Эллен

The welsh stylings of Cerys Matthews

KitFox

@BraddSzonye Oi! You're supposed to clearly identify TVTropes links!

user87637

Yeah I watched The Wolverine too, the Japanese actresses were lovely.

David Wallace

@Jasper yeah, I consider South East to be a subset of East. And it's more about ethnicity than geography.

user87637

Still, they are nothing compared to my favourite Laura Ramsey!

KitFox

13:59

@MattЭллен Nice.

David Wallace

@Jasper A while back, I encountered some dodgy video on youtube, with Japanese women in it. The first commenter had said "Asian women are so hot", and the second commenter had said "they're Japanese, not Asian, you halfwit". Or words to that effect.

Matt Эллен

@KitFox It's quite funny :D

KitFox

It is very funny how slutty all the female poses are when you really look at them.

Matt Эллен

really highlights the biases in certain comicbook artists

user87637

@DavidWallace Actually, I am beginning to think the prettiest Asians come from my place.

KitFox

14:00

Well, naturally a woman is going to lead with her boobs and ass.

David Wallace

I am sure that all the prettiest Asians are at your place right now, Jasper.

I'll be round with a six pack shortly.

user87637

@KitFox Yeah, many of these actresses have nude scenes, lol.

KitFox

Just like the men are drawn with their penises thrust forward into battle.

Matt Эллен

true, true

user87637

@KitFox I thought into a bottle, lol.

KitFox

14:01

@Jasper We were talking about comics, but OK.

David Wallace

@Jasper You want to thrust your penis into a bottle?

Bradd Szonye

I usually do post a tvtropes warning, but I was feeling mischievous.

KitFox

Naughty.

Bradd Szonye

Sigh, I really want to like Skeptics, but their nicest posters are like the worst pedants here.

KitFox

@BraddSzonye Digger

@BraddSzonye We had a template for Skeptics questions.

Does X really Y?

Jun 27 '11 at 19:09, by JSBangs

Is copper really better than aluminum better for protecting my brain from harmful mind-control rays?

> "The effectiveness of tin foil hats is disputable [CITATION NEEDED]"

Hahaha. I forgot about that.

Bradd Szonye

14:06

Downvotes used to really bug me until I realized that there is just no pleasing some pedants. Er, people.

My Skeptics questions are missing the really.

Perhaps I should edit them.

Does the color red really have psychological effects?

KitFox

I was looking for the original thread. We had some good examples.

Hard to find though. @Reg could do it.

David Wallace

@BraddSzonye Even Skeet gets downvotes.

user87637

@BraddSzonye Well, psychological effects are not well defined, so this is hard to answer without further qualification.

KitFox

Jun 20 '11 at 13:21, by Kit

Skeptics: Is there any evidence that cognitive science really means anything?

Jun 10 '11 at 18:53, by MrHen

@RegDwight No no, it has to be worded for Skeptics: "What evidence is there that I really am not a deity?"

There's the conversation.

Bradd Szonye

@Jasper My actual question relates to a specific (meta)study that claims the psychological effects are overrated. But the study was over my head, so I wanted clarification about what the dude really meant.

Matt Эллен

14:13

but now there's Cognitive Sciences, so you can ask about it there!

KitFox

@BraddSzonye Oh. Well, the answer is yes.

But if you post the article, I would be happy to peruse it and give you my opinion.

I have lots of opinions and I like sharing them, so you'd be doing me a favor.

user87637

Hehe, just answered two word request questions...

David Wallace

Haha, in fact you'd be doing everybody a favour, since we all like sharing Kit's opinions.

Bradd Szonye

14

Q: Does the color red have psychological effects?

In answering a question about the effects of viewing different colors, I wanted to make a claim about the psychological effects of the color red – specifically that it causes psychological arousal or stress. However, not only did I have difficulty finding a source to back up the claim, I actually...

psychology colors

David Wallace

I enjoyed The Color Purple.

user87637

14:21

Purple is the colour I hate most.

KitFox

@BraddSzonye I'm still reading, but the first thing that struck me is that the author is a philospoher, not an experimental psychologist.

RegDwighт

Wut original thread?

A thread about the color red on Skeptics?

Matt Эллен

cotton

no, wool!

RegDwighт

Let me look it up in my threadmill.

Sorry, no red, only beige, eggshell, apricot and chamois.

Also light white.

A++ would not help again.

Matt Эллен

how do you make a red thread from those colours?

RegDwighт

14:31

By trying real hard. And then succeeding. Two easy steps.

KitFox

So far, I'd say that the basis of his argument is that while some colors may evoke certain reactions in people, these reactions are experiential and not intrinsic or instinctive.

RegDwighт

If you dine in a room with orange walls, you'll get upset stomach.

True story.

Matt Эллен

luckily he's wrong. It has been shown experimentally that all colours of light increase arousal, but blue light does it most.

Bradd Szonye

@KitFox Interesting. I hadn't spotted that. Like I said, it was over my head.

RegDwighт

That is such nonsense. What if the arousal already is increased?

Matt Эллен

14:33

by arousal I mean awakeness

RegDwighт

The question still stands.

Matt Эллен

@RegDwighт what? then it increases more.

RegDwighт

But what if it's all the way to the eleven already?

I demand to know.

For science.

Bradd Szonye

Also, I was reading it late at night and too tired to really focus. Kind of like now, except that it has moved on from “late” to “early”

Matt Эллен

you expect a detailed explanation of the phenomenon in one chat line?

RegDwighт

14:35

Yes.

Matt Эллен

hmmmm

I'll have to do it later

the source is at home

RegDwighт

That's three chat lines already, more than enough explanation for me.

Matt Эллен

lol

KitFox

So the first study suggests that it is not the hue, but the saturation that determines how calming a color is.

RegDwighт

I dunno I find both heavily saturated and pastel colors calming.

Matt Эллен

14:37

I find darkness calming

MετάEd

@BraddSzonye All colors make me happy because they suggest I can still see.

RegDwighт

I find beer calming.

Matt Эллен

I find whiskey calming

RegDwighт

@MετάEd Qualia.

MετάEd

@BraddSzonye Of course I am equally happy in the morning when I can still pee. It's the little things.

RegDwighт

14:38

You could be blind and still see color.

MετάEd

@RegDwighт Shhhh.

KitFox

@MετάEd That reminds me of a joke.

RegDwighт

So a color walks into a bar. The pope asks, why so pastel.

Matt Эллен

-1

A: "Would it be" vs "Will it be"

Why did you feel awkward when you had sent this mail? I would say that everything is OK in this mail ...

KitFox

I can't find the joke, although I am pretty sure I told it here before.

RegDwighт

14:42

Well I stole it.

It's in a secret room in a LEGO castle now.

KitFox

Now that's exciting.

Matt Эллен

go can be transitive, and thus passified: I went mad -> mad was went by me

I'm sorry, @Kit, your joke is in another castle

Bradd Szonye

It looks like Matt was right about Take 5. The context is safety.

Matt Эллен

yay!

Bradd Szonye

Amusingly, KitFox has more upvotes. But somebody just commented that she is “undoubtedly wrong” given the context.

Matt Эллен

14:52

it was the more convincing answer, before the context was added

user87637

Amazingly, I no longer need to use the special method to log in to chat now.

Matt Эллен

don't jinx it!

user87637

Maybe because I am using Firefox 23, or maybe because my internet connection is faster now.

user87637

But nothing to fear, the special method always works!

KitFox

@BraddSzonye I even said in my comment to Matt that I thought he was right. Without more context, I couldn't be sure.

RegDwighт

14:54

Firefox 23 will scoop your soul out with a spoon.

Bradd Szonye

Yeah, and his answer seemed overly specific – except that the context turns out to be exactly that specific thing.

user87637

@RegDwighт 23 is a magic number. I turn 32 on 23 of this month.

Matt Эллен

It's odd to strike gold on the first Google hit

Bradd Szonye

0

A: Active to Passive voice: "Go to School Now"

sometimes you just can't change the sentence from active to passive

RegDwighт

@MattЭллен Well don't search for gold, then.

user87637

14:56

In Soviet Russia, gold searches for you.

Bradd Szonye

Sigh. I am usually not a grammar & spelling Nazi, but it really bugs me to see this sort of thing on ELU.

user87637

I guess they are not familiar with the high quality that is expected on SE. chuckles

user87637

I think I will retire at 1k, lol.

Bradd Szonye

Sometimes, when the only problem is poor style, I'll just clean it up for them.

But this is a little too far from a decent answer to fix myself.

user87637

Mods on ELU are also called janitors.

Bradd Szonye

14:59

Heh.

Aaand Lynn just posted exactly what this weak answer should be.

Transcript for

English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…