English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Shafizadeh

12:16 AM

@Mitch Ah :-) Alright then .. tnx for your explanations

Mitch

1:10 AM

@Shafizadeh مشکلی نیست

johnchae

5:58 AM

Hello

Anybody available now for some chit-chat?

Mazura

6:35 AM

We need a new tag for what do you call this. "dialect/vocabulary identification" ? Which would require the dialect in question as a tag. There's more than 100 English dialects, every question that asks what do you call it should have at least half that number in answers.

54

Q: What is the name of a small unluxurious restaurant?

Is there a name for this kind of restaurant? Searching Google, I can't find any synonym of restaurant. I've tried to search for images of unluxurious restaurant, small restaurant or mundane restaurant, with no satisfactory result. The restaurant I'm looking for is small, not so clean and definite...

Kinda like that one does...

Lawrence

8:15 AM

@Mazura We should require the question to carry enough context to elicit a convincing answer, as hinted by popje.

crl

8:36 AM

isn't perl like a smarter php? (trolling tchrist :p), never practised perl, so don't take my words seriously

Matt E. Эллен

9:04 AM

@Mitch that's very prescriptivist of you. I'm more correct as I allow for evolution in language.

user174558

Hello @MattE.Эллен, when are you getting married, lol.

user174558

9:21 AM

@skillpatrol The delivery man has come to my house a few times. I chatted with him today.

skill patrol

and?

user174558

Nothing, LOL.

skill patrol

:-)

terdon

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Yes, or even grep -w ps but my point was just that ps is generally hard to parse and it is usually simpler/safer to either use its options to get only what you're interested in or roll your own, parseable output or use the companion tools like pgrep,pidof, pkill etc, depending on what you're trying to do.

Mitch

11:20 AM

@MattE.Эллен :D

skill patrol

yo, wassup?

tchrist

11:49 AM

skill patrol

explain please @tchrist

Lawrence

@skillpatrol retcon

tchrist

Sorry, frog-pithing class isn't till next semester.

johnchae

Hey guys

Lawrence

Hi.

johnchae

11:54 AM

Hey @Lawrence

How is it doing?

Lawrence

How is what doing?

johnchae

Ahhhhhhhhhh

Sorry, it should have been "How is it going?"

Lawrence

:)

johnchae

:p

So

I gonna do some record of my voice, I hope you guys can give me opinions on how it sounds

Is that okay?

skill patrol

why?

record your voice, I mean :-)

johnchae

12:00 PM

I just want to get opinions on my accent

skill patrol

what kind of accent?

johnchae

I'm following American accent

The record would not be too long

maybe just around 2 mins

So yeah, I hope you guys can take your time and give me your opinions on my accent

skill patrol

what is your first language?

johnchae

Vietnamese

I'm asian

skill patrol

cool

johnchae

12:02 PM

Thank you

Please hang on a minute

skill patrol

ok

johnchae

I'm doing it right now

Give me some more time, I'm still having a hard time finding some monologues for my record

:p

user174558

Take your time. You have a long life.

johnchae

^^

user174558

Hi John. I am Jason. I like J.

johnchae

12:10 PM

Hi Jason. Nice to meet you!

johnchae

12:27 PM

Done

I just need 1 minute to get the file uploaded

:)

Are you still there?

@skillpatrol

:(

@JasonBourne

skill patrol

yes

johnchae

@Lawrence

Ahhh

I thought you've gone away

Lawrence

Still here.

johnchae

I'm uploading to Vocarro

Please be patient

Lawrence

Heading off soon, though.

johnchae

12:36 PM

vocaroo.com/i/s0Wbq9Yw4fIe

:D

Please be gentle

@skillpatrol, @Lawrence

Shafizadeh

@Mitch Whaaaat? Can you speak Persian?

Kit Z. Fox

@johnchae Pretty good! Your initial greeting was flawless. I can hear your native accent mostly in Rs, Ls, and Ths. You run the words "metalgearsolid" together in a non-native way. But your vowels are pretty accurate.

johnchae

@KitZ.Fox

Thank you very much for your comment

Kit Z. Fox

You have a couple of odd intonations, but your speech is very understandable.

johnchae

I don't know but I was kinda shaking when recording it, so I think it's still not the very best of me

Now that I'm listening to it again, I think I can improve some parts

skill patrol

12:42 PM

yup, you sound nervous ;-)

Kit Z. Fox

OK, and one vowel I notice -- there's an "ah" sound sometimes when you want an "i" sound, like in "time".

Post us another!

If you want.

Hi @Jason.

user174558

Hello @KitZ.Fox, so happy to see you, lol.

Kit Z. Fox

Sorry we didn't catch up again yesterday.

Hey, did you know I made an ASMR video?

user174558

Nope.

johnchae

@skillpatrol Yeah, I thought the same too, I was pretty confident at first, then I don't know, but I was losing control after that

user174558

12:44 PM

I am listening to John's video now.

skill patrol

may i suggest @johnchae that you try for speed to help you forget about the nervousness?

johnchae

@KitZ.Fox Thank you for pointing that out. And yes, I will be doing some more, I'm just afraid that you guys will get annoyed by me spamming this room with my recordings

@skillpatrol

Kit Z. Fox

We'll tell you if we get annoyed.

johnchae

Can you be more specific about "speed"?

Kit Z. Fox

But thanks for considering that as a possibility.

Mitch

12:46 PM

@Shafizadeh haha I can speak english and google translate can hopefully speak it.

skill patrol

there's always the ELL room @johnchae

user174558

@johnchae I heard your video. I can understand 90 per cent of what you are saying. It's a good job for a non-native speaker, but you need to listen more and practise reading aloud more.

johnchae

Thanks guys so much for your comments, opinions

user174558

@johnchae Feel free to let us hear more videos. I love to hear such things!

skill patrol

by speed i mean try to do it without thinking so much, let it flow @johnchae that's what fluency means, right? Who cares if you make mistakes :-)

Kit Z. Fox

12:49 PM

Yeah, that way you'll just learn to make mistakes like native speakers do.

johnchae

@skillpatrol Ah I see, thank you

skill patrol

np, thanks for asking

johnchae

@JasonBourne: Yeah, I will be doing some more, stay tuned, I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it

user174558

I bought a brand new book from Amazon and today it arrived full of handwriting in it, lol.

user174558

I am going to return it.

user174558

12:52 PM

The strange thing is that despite so much handwriting in the book, it looks brand new inside and outside.

Mitch

I don't understand people who write in books. It ruins the book!

4

I am fully aware of the great utility in writing in a book, so I can't blame them (you?).

user174558

There were notes and underlines, all in blue ink.

Mitch

augh!

it has been defaced!

skill patrol

I always use pencil

user174558

I always use nothing for a book.

Mitch

12:55 PM

That's sort of OK.

pencil is OK, but ink or highlighter... gah!

hey! does anyone know of any good online radio? in any language_?

skill patrol

The text should have built in highlighting

Mitch

@skillpatrol the website medium has that... sort of.

it sounds like a good idea but I think it is distracting.

you can highlight a piece of text and comment on it, and they keep the comments hidden and on the side, sort of like footnotes but on the side.

skill patrol

The author should have "displayed material" for important stuff.

Mitch

but I like footnotes. in books. and footnotes to footnotes. like DFW.

so maybe I'm just being weird

@skillpatrol also, usually I find the highlighting or notes .. wrong. that is, wrongly emphasized or explained. "That's not the important sentence, this other one is!" or "Eskimo? This is Jane Austen"

Kit Z. Fox

@Mitch That was one of the most fun parts.

Mitch

1:00 PM

everything is a footnote

skill patrol

what does DFW stand for @Mitch

Mitch

David Foster Wallace

Kit Z. Fox

Fully one-third of Infinite Jest was footnotes.

Mitch

A supposedly Fun Thing I will Never Do Again. Infinite Jest.

user174558

@Mitch Reminds me of the deleted user David Wallace.

Mitch

1:01 PM

WOrds just flow out of him.

sometimes too many.

Kit Z. Fox

@JasonBourne Is he deleted? I thought he just stopped coming here.

@Mitch Did. He died.

Mitch

@JasonBourne was his middle initial 'F'?

user174558

@KitZ.Fox Oh, maybe you are right then.

user174558

@Mitch No idea.

Mitch

@KitZ.Fox flewed?

Kit Z. Fox

1:02 PM

did flow. flew? flowt?

skill patrol

For all you rocket scientists out there :D

user174558

I remember I corrected Kit's flutist to flautist, and then she told me that flutist is also correct.

Mitch

@KitZ.Fox I actually have an extremely tenuous live person connection to him. he was the maybe friend of a former neighbor..or something.

@skillpatrol rocket surgery

Kit Z. Fox

Pretty tenuous. Still. It's more than I have.

Mitch

@KitZ.Fox it's a half step better than my hairdresser.

@KitZ.Fox I haven't read infinite jest, so there's that.

Kit Z. Fox

1:05 PM

Really? It's my favorite book that I've never finished.

It took me longer than three weeks to read, which is mind-boggling considering how fast I normally consume text.

I think I had about 25% left.

user174558

It's mind boggling how fast you write.

Mitch

Oh. My favorite (never finished) would be Quicksilver... or the full trilogy Baroque cycle

finished 1/3 after a month. reading everyday.

that and the smart phone are killing my reading habits

Kit Z. Fox

I read Eco faster than DFW.

user174558

I read and write very slowly.

Mitch

@JasonBourne and with no typos

@KitZ.Fox so much shorter

Kit Z. Fox

1:08 PM

Still good dense writing though.

user174558

I don't understand how people can speak so quickly on TV.

skill patrol

I'm sure you talk pretty fast

Mitch

I haven't seen any of his newer stuff for... 20 years?

Kit Z. Fox

Very taut. Eco is one of my favorite writers.

Mitch

@JasonBourne teleprompter. it's all written beforehand

@KitZ.Fox there's a lot more in his writing. everything means multiple things

user174558

1:09 PM

@Mitch I figured another reason. Rubbish. People talk rubbish on TV.

Mitch

DFW is like talking to someone very interesting

@JasonBourne haha...totally that

it's mostly crap.

some people have substantive things to say.

but mostly not.

skill patrol

I gave up on tv years ago

Mitch

@KitZ.Fox what do you suggest of his more recently?

user174558

I only watch TV during dinner time at home.

skill patrol

Too many commercials

user174558

1:11 PM

There are actually more things to watch online than on TV.

skill patrol

Life doesn't have commercials

Mitch

you know also I expect to read quickly, so if it is too dense, I get frustrated because my eyes want to go faster. or worse, my inner voice over speaks what I'm reading and I have to go back and read again.

@skillpatrol actually more and more.

skill patrol

How so?

Mitch

@skillpatrol no loss at all.

too many stories, or news that has been storified.

Kit Z. Fox

@Mitch I couldn't recommend. It's been a very long time since I read.

user174558

1:13 PM

The last time I read fiction was half my life ago, lol.

Mitch

@skillpatrol I guess I'm not talking about billboards and advertisements on cars and buses (though that is getting worse, especially in Europe, but weirdly not so much in the US)

the way people talk using brand names more and more rather than generic terms.

eg I always want to say iphone and have to correct it to smartphone.

@JasonBourne Fiction is made up.

Most everything I know about the world I learned from television.

which is all made up crap.

skill patrol

Yup

Made to sell

Sex sells

Mitch

But... on the other hand...contrapositively...if all I knew was my own experiences, I'd hardly know anything at all.

@skillpatrol and food.

and fear of death.

but mostly food

Kit Z. Fox

definitely food.

skill patrol

Without tv you would have different experiences, no?

user174558

1:17 PM

The three most impt things are food, sleep and sex.

Kit Z. Fox

Can y'all remind me that I wanted to go for a run today? In maybe two hours?

thx

Mitch

@skillpatrol fiction (and made up news) condenses multiple experiences and provides many quick experiences. real life experiences take years

user174558

@KitZ.Fox Are you trying to lose weight? I think I am now 75 kg, lol.

Mitch

@JasonBourne right. I forgot sleep. beautiful sleep

@KitZ.Fox just about the desire to do so or about actually doing it?

Kit Z. Fox

Either one.

@JasonBourne No, trying to feel better.

user174558

1:19 PM

I think it's the meds making me fat, to a considerable extent.

Mitch

@skillpatrol that is, it's hard to have the quantity of the tv/video/virtual experience that you have in real life. You may feel the real life one infinitely more deeply, but you just can't get the breadth.

but the tv ones are all made up out of someone else's fears and desires

Kit Z. Fox

@JasonBourne Running daily will help.

Mitch

I've heard that standing desks do little more than sitting at a desk for cardiovascular health, but getting up and down from sitting is what does it.

that is, if you can only stand at your standing desk, then that's supposedly as good as just sitting. but if you can change the height of your desk and sometime sit sometimes stand that's better.

I'm not sure I believe that. I think standing all day is tiring (and supposedly then good quiet exercise)

Kit Z. Fox

Oh. I have one that switches.

Mitch

I'm just repeating what I heard.

Kit Z. Fox

1:23 PM

I stretch more frequently when I'm standing.

Matt E. Эллен

@Mitch I don't understand people who write books. it ruins a good blank page

3

Mitch

@JasonBourne I've heard that. Are there alternatives that don't contribute as much to weight gain? Can you ask your doc?

user174558

I think Cristiano Ronaldo is very sexy. I see his ads everywhere I go. Yummy.

Mitch

@KitZ.Fox I totally want to sit down when I'm standing. Really.

Kit Z. Fox

I don't much like working while standing, but it's easier if I'm listening to music.

Mitch

1:24 PM

@MattE.Эллен Exactly. Almost as bad as TV.

But writing on the TV... use a pencil.

Matt E. Эллен

@Mitch All you need is some good white noise

Mitch

@KitZ.Fox I have a hard time working with music. I'll listen to the music.

user174558

I know a song called Listen To The Music.

Kit Z. Fox

Right. I only do that when I'm doing rote tasks to help block out my internal monologue.

Mitch

@MattE.Эллен I'm jealous of people who see things in that.

All I dream of is things like going to the dentist or worrying about mowing the lawn.

which are the saddest metaphors for anxiety about going to the dentist or mowing the lawn.

user174558

1:27 PM

@MattE.Эллен I don't understand 'this page intentionally blank'. It is no longer blank.

Mitch

@JasonBourne That's a bit self serving.

Matt E. Эллен

@JasonBourne [This notice is the only thing on the page]

user174558

@MattE.Эллен Someone naughty made it 'this page intentionally no longer blank' instead

Mitch

They only need messages like that because the printers have screwed up so often.

skill patrol

Circular reasoning is circular by definition

Matt E. Эллен

1:29 PM

@KitZ.Fox or the external monologue

user174558

I am going to nap, later. Someone remind Kit to run in around 1.5 hours from now.

skill patrol

cya later

Kit Z. Fox

2:48 PM

OK, I went running.

Delta Escher

Diggity

MετάEd

Run, Kit! Run!

Delta Escher

See Kit Run

See Kit Give Up

See Kit Watch Television

Ugh

The worst part of Stack is seeing a question you know the answer to

Then realizing it's a dupe

Mitch

@DeltaEscher I know what to do about that.

Delta Escher

Flag!

Mitch

2:55 PM

@DeltaEscher Oh. It's been dealt with before.

Delta Escher

Nah

I just answered the same question about a couple of months ago

0

Q: Reconditioning my white board

The film has been removed from my whiteboard, how do I re apply a film, where do I get this etc etc? If I can't apply a film, is there a substitute film/wax that I could apply?

cleaning

15

Q: What is the best way to recondition a whiteboard?

Our office has installed new whiteboards over the last two years. Many of these boards are heavily used and have already devolved to the point of being useless -- the writing on them has become all but permanent and they are heavily stained. I've found that simply cleaning them (with a househo...

cleaning office-supplies

Mitch

@DeltaEscher what? you answered the meta-question before, or just the question-question?

Delta Escher

I answered the actual question

Mitch

and you answered it yourself twice?

Delta Escher

No

I answered the first one

Then the second one popped up

Almost answered it

Mitch

2:56 PM

oh. mark as dupe.

Delta Escher

did

Mitch

that's the answer to the meta question.

also to the meta meta question.

Kit Z. Fox

wheezes

Mitch

3rd order isn't really necessary, you should just mark as dupe

@KitZ.Fox walk around to cool down.

Delta Escher

Ugh

Lemon-lime Gatorade is sweet for some reason

Kit Z. Fox

2:58 PM

It's too cold for me to run. I shouldn't've done it.

Mitch

you wan it sour?

Delta Escher

Yes

Like real lemonade

Mitch

@KitZ.Fox oh. that's annoying.

@DeltaEscher then you misunderstand the point of gatorade

Delta Escher

@Mitch To give me energy/tooth decay

Mitch

all gatorade tastes the same, just different colors.

Delta Escher

2:59 PM

It tastes slightly different

Mitch

like skittles.

Delta Escher

but the same way that colored skittles taste different

oh

Mitch

it's just flavorless food coloring.

also santa is your parents

Delta Escher

I know that

Mitch

anti-jinx!

Delta Escher

2:59 PM

When I was 11 I found the box of my teeth from the tooth fairy

i cri evrytiem

Mitch

Why your parents came to my house when I was a kid I'll never understand

@DeltaEscher I'd cry too because it's like torture evidence.

Delta Escher

tfw your parents are santa

mommy i want to see santa

right here

I keep refreshing it and waiting for the flag to go through

why isn't everything instantly gratified

Mitch

I have a very strong memory of knocking my front teeth out when I was like 5 or 6, and my older brother making real light of it. I didn't know that new ones were going to come back in! I just had my teeth knocked out, why didn't people feel bad for me? Bunch of jerks.

Delta Escher

I'm passive-aggressive about aggression

Passively, of course

Matt E. Эллен

@KitZ.Fox don't forget to go running

Delta Escher

3:04 PM

She tried

Too cold

Kit Z. Fox

@MattE.Эллен Thanks.

I did go, but my lungs feel a bit dry-cleaned atm.

Delta Escher

Why are most crunchy snacks salty?

I want a crunchy snack that doesn't make me need water every five seconds

Matt E. Эллен

@DeltaEscher have you tried hard candy?

Delta Escher

Ye

Matt E. Эллен

as I think you Americans call it

Delta Escher

3:09 PM

But it makes my mouth feel as if it's peeling off

And some of the hard candies are weird

wtf why is this rainbow one minty

Mitch

@DeltaEscher unsalted saltines

Matt E. Эллен

of course, we British have biscuits

Delta Escher

why is this one that looks like a mint fruity

agh

Matt E. Эллен

@DeltaEscher some are salty but some are not

Delta Escher

@Mitch I forgot about those

skill patrol

3:09 PM

rock candy?

Mitch

@MattE.Эллен what do you call it? soft candy?

Delta Escher

ahahahahahahahahahahhahahahaha

ha

Toffee is the best candy ever

Matt E. Эллен

@Mitch we don't call it candy, in general

Mitch

@MattE.Эллен I'm guessing you don't call it dishwater.

You know, like the French do.

Delta Escher

@Mitch Hey want a picture of the french flag

Matt E. Эллен

3:11 PM

@Mitch we don't differentiate between soft and hard sweets

@Mitch well, those French. they've no idea how to appreciate bland cooking

Mitch

@MattE.Эллен I know!

they also don't appreciate spicy cooking. I mean... what is left?

Delta Escher

@Mitch Their fries

And toast

Kit Z. Fox

@DeltaEscher Enough.

Delta Escher

@KitZ.Fox Sorry, bad joke

Matt E. Эллен

:29010474 it's an acquired taste

Delta Escher

3:13 PM

/r/polandball has corrupted me

Mitch

@KitZ.Fox I didn't get it. But also it helped me clean my screen, I knew where the little spots were to clean off

Delta Escher

Holy crud my screen is dirty

Agh now it's on my fingers

Someone actually stuck gum to the back of the monitor

What the heck

skill patrol

@MattE.Эллен as most of the finer things in life.

Delta Escher

The room I'm in at school is the best

It's so humid in here that no one's usually here

Kit Z. Fox

3:39 PM

OK. Here's a question. (I need a sanity check.)

We have widgets for sale. Let's say the widgets are water, ice, and steam in different flavors.

We have a group of filters that let the user pick whether they want to look at just water, or just ice, or just steam.

I labeled this group "Products". Business is saying "that doesn't make sense. It should be 'Availability' or 'Status'."

I don't see how either of their suggestions fits.

What is your impression?

My thinking is that "Products" means the thing that you buy, e.g. ice. I want red ice. That doesn't tell me anything about availability. 'Ice' is a thing, not a quantity or duration.

I can sort of see 'Status' because it's a state, but Status to me implies that this thing will shift between ice and water and steam, which it could, but we sell you just one of those.

Am I nuts? I feel like I'm talking to a brick wall.

MετάEd

How do other sites handle it?

Kit Z. Fox

Pretty sure they call things they sell Products.

MετάEd

Sites like Home Depot might consider it breaking down by Department.

Delta Escher

Just name the filter something incessantly fancy

Like Wares

Mitch

3:56 PM