English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

user19161

03:01

@KitΘδς Well, perhaps. But like I said, I don't really know myself.

user19161

But heart transplants can happen frequently to anyone.

KitΘδς

@JasperLoy ((HUG))

Cerberus

You seriously mean a heart transplant!?

No wait.

user19161

@KitΘδς Thank you, but there was no need for a hug, since nothing bad or good is happening at all.

KitΘδς

@JasperLoy I don't need a reason to give you a hug. I love you!

user19161

03:04

@KitΘδς OK. Thank you.

Cerberus

takes out swatches for wedding gown and suit

KitΘδς

@Cerberus You getting married?

user19161

@Cerberus Not literally.

Cerberus

@KitΘδς NOU

@JasperLoy Your heart will become lighter, I'm sure of it.

Though I'm not sure what's weighing on it now if you won't say.

Which is your privilege.

user19161

@Cerberus Not really, it never was that heavy!

Cerberus

03:08

Oh...

Then no transplants needed?

user19161

@Cerberus None needed. I am happy alone.

KitΘδς

He is wearing his heart on his sleeve, @Cerberus. It's not weighing on him at all. It's as light as a feather!

And then there were 6. This is the smallest number of people I think I have ever seen in this room.

Cerberus

That much I have seen.

user19161

Sometimes I just like to fantasise about certain possibilities though.

Cerberus

I have seen it completely empty for days!

Nothing wrong with that.

KitΘδς

03:10

But...how could you see it empty if you were here to see it?

user19161

@KitΘδς Without logging in?

KitΘδς

@JasperLoy But you'd still be in here, wouldn't you?

Cerberus

I ehh did my magic.

user19161

@KitΘδς True, but it would be empty in a sense.

KitΘδς

OK.

user19161

03:13

The possibility that I am fantasising about now is really too fantastic, so I won't mention it.

Cerberus

And yet you may wake up.

user19161

There is also another reason why I won't mention it, but I won't even mention that.

KitΘδς

Might as well enjoy the fantasy. if you're going to have it.

user19161

@Cerberus Life is a dream anyway.

KitΘδς

@JasperLoy I think you did just mention it.

user19161

03:16

@KitΘδς No I did not. Everything is too cryptic. If you know what I am thinking of, you are Albert Einstein.

Cerberus

We know things.

KitΘδς

@JasperLoy You mentioned it when you said you wouldn't mention it.

user19161

@KitΘδς And that is all I said, too cryptic.

user19161

@Cerberus Nah, you can't trick me.

user19161

The good thing about saying cryptic things is that people can guess, but they can't point fingers at you and say you are thinking of what they are thinking.

user19161

03:19

@Cerberus Really?

KitΘδς

@JasperLoy points But burlap chafes so.

Cerberus

Uhuh.

user19161

@Cerberus Oh dear, this is exciting!

user19161

@KitΘδς I have no idea what you mean, not gonna check dictionary.

KitΘδς

@JasperLoy Burlap is a type of rough fabric used for things like rice bags. Chafe is to rub uncomfortably against the skin.

user19161

03:23

Oh OK. Anyway I foresee this fantasy will last very long, or it may end very soon as well.

Cerberus

Give hints!

KitΘδς

So that's conclusive.

user19161

@Cerberus Well, I don't know what is going on myself! And also I intend to wait and see so I won't be doing anything for now, which is wise.

Cerberus

A very small hint?

user19161

@KitΘδς There is no conclusion because there is nothing going on really.

user19161

03:27

@Cerberus Hint 1 is that nothing is happening. Hint 2 is that I cannot even mention the reason I cannot mention it.

user19161

If you know what I am thinking, you will see that these two hints are very accurate.

Cerberus

Because someone is involved who might read this?

user19161

OK Hint 3 is that I had a heart transplant.

Cerberus

Hey what did you type there?

user19161

@Cerberus I said there won't be Hint 3 but I decided to give one more.

Cerberus

03:32

Hmm.

You had a heart transplant. Which surgeon executed it?

user19161

@Cerberus That is a trick question!

user19161

Anyway you are always tricking me too!

KitΘδς

I think he's fallen in love with you now @Cerberus.

user19161

@KitΘδς Nope.

user19161

That would be Hint 4.

KitΘδς

03:36

@JasperLoy I thought Hint 4 was that you had re-evaluated your sexuality?

Cerberus

Damn I missed that hint.

user19161

@KitΘδς I am still straight.

KitΘδς

@JasperLoy Oh, that was Hint 4, then. You are still straight.

:)

Cerberus

Can you give the second letter of her name?

That would be a nice hint 5b.

KitΘδς

Is it i?

Um, not me, I mean is the letter i?

user19161

03:40

I have no further hints to give.

user19161

Hello @bog! What happened to your avatar?

Cerberus

Damn he didn't fall for it.

user19161

@Cerberus You can't trick me!

Cerberus

We'll see.

KitΘδς

Good night!

user19161

03:43

@KitΘδς Night!

Bogdan Lataianu

@JasperLoy I won't have avatar..sorry...

user19161

@BogdanLataianu OK no problem. But why?

Bogdan Lataianu

I would fret too much about them...

besides i can study the symmetries of the one I have

it is symmetric with respect to 90 rotation , hence 180 and 270

user19161

@BogdanLataianu Ah I see, OK!

Bogdan Lataianu

the one i have in chat is also symmetric with respect to the diagonals

user19161

03:52

@BogdanLataianu Yeah, but if you want a symmetric one you can use a snowflake.

user19161

There is a nice snowflake under nature at avatarsdb.com

Bogdan Lataianu

ah that's a fractal

i searched a bit on that website

it has also funny pics...some funny...some not

user19161

Some of the funny pics can actually be offensive to some.

user19161

@Cerberus Yes I also want to see how it goes. In the meantime, it is wise for me not to do anything.

Cerberus

@JasperLoy But you have initiated a process that you hope will mature in the right direction?

user19161

04:02

@Cerberus I have not initiated anything. I started to have this fantasy because of a few things said to me. I will wait and see how things go naturally.

Cerberus

I see.

user19161

@Cerberus You better get back to your thesis!

Cerberus

No I should go to bed! It's 6 am again.

user19161

@Cerberus OK night!

Cerberus

Have a good day pondering existence!

Bogdan Lataianu

04:06

whatsup @sim

simchona

@BogdanLataianu Hi! I was just reading the transcript

@Trg: Please do not bring up your views on women in the future

trg787

@simchona i'll do my best

simchona

04:21

@trg787 Thank you.

user19161

0

Q: Reading Philosophy/metaphysics

I find reading works of philosophers incredible difficult because I am having trouble following the arguments in each paragraph. Could someone give me some tips as to how to read metaphysics? Or recommend any books to develop proficiency in reading philosophy?

discussion

user19161

This is posted on meta. How to answer?

Bogdan Lataianu

welcome back Jasper

I thought you went out

trg787

@simchona undersdend me right i was raised in an internat out of my family

user19161

I'm always just around the corner, or maybe under the table!

simchona

04:32

@trg787 I know, but the mods have told you not to bring that up.

@JasperLoy I'm voting to close\

user19161

@simchona OK. But it seems that questions that may be interesting for the community can be left there even if strictly OT. But I am not sure of the rules on this though. Can ask reg next time.

user19161

I am not a philosopher. Maybe Cerberus can help him.

simchona

@JasperLoy I don't think so:

6

Q: Why was this question migrated to meta, when it is not a question about the main site?

I noticed a question, Is there a thesaurus which takes more than one word as an input? and I read it trying to understand why it was on meta. After I read it, I noticed that it doesn't suit on meta because it's not a question about the main site; if it were a question such as "When citing a sourc...

discussion status-completed meta migration

user19161

@simchona OK. I'm just saying that there are other OT stuff I've seen on meta before. So we're looking at two sides of the coin.

waiwai933

We're trying to find a home for that question, which is why it isn't closed yet. But yes, it should be closed.

user19161

04:36

@waiwai933 Seems appropriate for the philosophy site actually.

user19161

Waiwai is always coming in suddenly!

waiwai933

@JasperLoy Not necessarily—it's not a philosophical question, but a question about philosophy. It might be ok, but I want to get someone else to clear it first.

simchona

It disappeared. @Waiwai, did it migrate?

waiwai933

@simchona No, user deleted it.

user19161

Perhaps he saw us talking about it here!

simchona

04:42

Hmm

user19161

I am not a philosopher, but I think reading all things are the same. Just read with your eyes and think with your mind. Understand by dissecting and digesting.

user19161

Reading with understanding is an important skill, just like listening. Sometimes we don't listen to what the other person is trying to say because we already assume what he is saying in our subconscious.

user19161

Often we project our own life experiences onto another person. We should be aware of this.

simchona

07:02

Hey @MrDisappointment

Mr. Disappointment

@simchona Howdy!

How's things?

simchona

Good! Not a lot up right now

Mr. Disappointment

Wish I could say the same, damn clients and 24 hour turnarounds, gah!

So, will have to run for the time being, hopefully will be around later.

See ya.

Matt Ellen Д

08:53

good morning EL&U

simchona

good evening Matt

Matt Ellen Д

Hi @simchona :)

hit the rep cap today?

(your today, not mine)

simchona

Not yet

Matt Ellen Д

Are you going for the Legendary badge? Or will that just be a nice side effect?

simchona

Just a nice side effect, methinks

Matt Ellen Д

08:57

:) I don't have the energy for such exploits. I think I would answer and ask more questions if I did.

user19161

I think nobody here has the legendary badge.

simchona

Robusto does

Matt Ellen Д

Hi @Jasper :) How was your birthday?

user19161

@MattEllenД Like any other, though I did have some tiramisu.

Matt Ellen Д

Sounds tasty

that is, if you like tiramisu

user19161

09:03

Tiramisu

Tiramisu, , literally "pick me up", is a popular Italian dessert. It is made of ladyfingers (Italian: savoiardi) dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks and mascarpone, and flavored with liquor and cocoa. The recipe has been adapted into many varieties of puddings, cakes and other desserts. History There is some debate regarding tiramisu's origin. It may have originated as a variation of another layered dessert, the Zuppa Inglese. It is mentioned in Giovanni Capnist's 1983 cookbook I Dolci Del Veneto, while Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary gives 1982 as the firs...

user19161

@MattEllenД I do, my favourite.

Matt Ellen Д

excellent :)

simchona

Well, this should migrate

-1

Q: How would one use punctuation to indicate tone changes?

I'm imagining this sort of statement: He's a... different... sort of person, I suppose. Some people would pronounce 'different' in that sentence as though it was followed by a question mark, but not the rest of the sentence. However, writing it like this strikes me as wrong: He's a... d...

punctuation tone

Matt Ellen Д

yah

user19161

@simchona Done, though I doubt there will be an answer anywhere on earth.

simchona

09:16

@JasperLoy I like italics myself.

Matt Ellen Д

clearly with a nod and a wink

user19161

@simchona But that would not obviously indicate a tone change. There is no punctuation for tone, hence no answer in a sense.

Matt Ellen Д

he's nod different wink if you know what I mean

simchona

@MattEllenД wink wink nudge nudge

user19161

Hey are you guys talking about me?

Matt Ellen Д

09:19

no!

just about the question

user19161

@MattEllenД That was a rhetorical question!

Matt Ellen Д

oh. sorry, the internet blocked your intent :D

simchona

Hi @Jin and @trg

user19161

In this incomprehensible room, sometimes you cannot tell a joke from the truth, or a rhetorical question from a real one.

simchona

Or false offense from real offense--wait, that's just me

Matt Ellen Д

09:20

:D

user19161

@simchona Probably!

simchona

So...why is there a mod here?

I didn't do anything this time

user19161

Which is why sometimes I read parts of the transcript several times and then think about it several times, but I am still as confused as ever over certain things.

Matt Ellen Д

@simchona maybe because this is the best place to chat?

It certainly has a great looking style to it

simchona

@MattEllenД but we're...incomprehensible

user19161

09:24

There are some things which become clearer over time though, when one gets more contextual clues from new stuff.

simchona

wow...apple.SE is really pretty

user19161

@MattEllenД I think gaming has better colours.

Matt Ellen Д

@simchona aye, but that's the challenge you see, to try and understand that which is incomprehensible

user19161

@simchona Macintoshes are pretty.

simchona

@Matt: Why did neither of our answers get accepted? I had sources.

1

Q: Plural Names Usage

If I were to use the sentence "There are lots of John Smiths" in the world, would that be the correct use for saying that there are a lot of people named John Smith in the world? I don't think there should be an apostrophe as that would imply ownership of something. If my first example is corre...

grammatical-number names

Matt Ellen Д

09:25

@simchona yours is accepted

simchona

Oh wait. Now mine got accepted.

Matt Ellen Д

:D

user19161

So I try not to confuse others in what I say here...

user19161

@sim You are OK with trg now?

simchona

@JasperLoy Should be, although I thought we were OK before and then he brought it up again

But I will let bygones be bygones

user19161

09:27

@simchona I was surprised he brought it up again, don't know why.

simchona

@JasperLoy Does anyone understand anyone else in this room fully?

Matt Ellen Д

I don't understand people outside of this room, I'm not sure what chance I have inside it!

user19161

@simchona No, but I think I am pretty good at it. :)

user19161

@MattEllenД So this is more incomprehensible than the world?

Matt Ellen Д

@JasperLoy well, it's part of the world, but if I look at it apart from everything else, I get lost here more often

user19161

09:30

There is a trick here you must learn. When something gets uncomfortable, subtly change topic.

user19161

Ah, Jin left, very weird.

Matt Ellen Д

I guess he was satisfied with our positive reviews :)

user19161

I am wondering whether he came in because of something I said again.

Matt Ellen Д

I don't think so

simchona

It could be me, you know

user19161

09:34

@simchona What did you say?

Matt Ellen Д

or it could be he was just looking at the chat room, wondering if he could improve its looks

simchona

The hubbub earlier, in which Grace Note and the mods told me I was provoking people. (Which was true, so to those reading the transcript I'm not complaining)

Cows. I like them.

user19161

Maybe he was bored and decided to join us interesting folks, but could not interrupt because we were too interesting.

user19161

@simchona I like kittens.

simchona

Just trying my hand at awkward subject change

user19161

09:36

Good! Which I did myself a number of times.

simchona

A new user made me happy today

user19161

Who?

simchona

Abid

user19161

You seem to be very easily made happy or upset by users here.

2

simchona

One of their questions was semi off topic because they wanted a list of examples

so I commented/voted, and edited the question

and the next question was on topic

swoon

@JasperLoy Pretty much in life

I'm very rules driven

and also easily provocative so I get into situations

I got a hair cut today ^^

user19161

09:41

We are all driven by subconscious rules. The thing is to be aware of the rules, how they change and change them if needed.

user19161

I get a hair cut once a month. It's 10 SGD at the outlets where they have machines to suck the hair, from Japan I think, but there are variations now. QB, EC, etc.

simchona

@JasperLoy To suck the hair?

user19161

@simchona Oh, sorry, maybe just to blow it away, can't recall now.

simchona

@JasperLoy I've never seen that

user19161

Did not really notice carefully either each time. And some give you a free comb after that.

user19161

09:46

It's pretty fast. The slogan is 10 min 10 dollars. But it is really about 15 min.

simchona

Oh cool. I have long hair so it takes more than an hour to do

user19161

An hour sounds terrible. But I guess girls have a haircut less often, so it adds up to about the same.

simchona

It's because it gets washed, dried, flat ironed, then cut

shampoo includes a head/neck massage too

user19161

Some people prefer to cut before washing. Ah yes, the massage too.

user19161

Although mine is black, it was brown when I was a toddler. Very weird, no reason for that at all.

user19161

09:51

I know @matt is blond.

Matt Ellen Д

I am

simchona

I'm brunette

Matt Ellen Д

although my beard is a bit ginger

user19161

@simchona I know.

Matt Ellen Д

@simchona for some reason I imagined that

user19161

09:52

@MattEllenД Just a variation.

simchona

Do you imagine my hair is straight?

(It's interesting--the pictures we have of each other in our heads)

Matt Ellen Д

yes

user19161

Matt has a wild imagination.

Matt Ellen Д

@simchona although you said you got it ironed, so that gave it away

user19161

@MattEllenД Good!

Matt Ellen Д

09:54

@JasperLoy you're too kind blush

simchona

@MattEllenД Only to get it cut. My hair is naturally wavy

Matt Ellen Д

@simchona wavy and long?

simchona

@MattEllenД Yup.

Matt Ellen Д

ooo

apart from my beard (which is right in the middle of my chin now, not split in half) my avatar gives away how I look

oh, and I might have given my avatar a tan and slightly blonder hair

user19161

@MattEllenД Cheat!

Matt Ellen Д

09:58

Well, what's the point of GIMP if not to improve how I look ;)

simchona

@Jasper, the new user is after me heart

swoon

And my avatar gives away everything about how I look

I even carry that finger with me

Matt Ellen Д

:D

simchona

Fingers are good for late night noms

Transcript for

English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…