English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Xanne

00:06

@Mitch Too bad we can’t do an experiment to isolate populations and see how much change we get in generation, or a few years, or whatever. I think there may be some studies of South American tribes whose language has diverged, though.

Cerberus

And what if Europe stopped importing Russian oil?

MathCubes

00:25

Yo, I have an question because I am autistic and I struggle with these things. How is the most natural way of writing something like this "random period in the middle of the night such as 1 am or 4 am."

?

I can not figure it out and it is frustrating me.

Cerberus

Do you mean a period, or a point in time?

A nightly hour?

MathCubes

a point in time.

For example, working until radomly in the night.

Like for example on monday 12 AM, on Tuesday 3 Am, On wednesday 11:30 PM, etc...

That is the context.

Cerberus

You can say, working late hours?

Working late into the night?

MathCubes

that is interesting but how would I than emphasize it varries night to night?

Cerberus

Working at varying hours late into the night?

MathCubes

00:29

something like this?

"work late into the night which varies night to night"

Cerberus

I work late into the night, and the end time varies from night to night.

MathCubes

Thanks

Cerberus

Good luck.

MathCubes

The context is that I am writing an email to my doctor to get an note ....

"Can not work later than 11:30 PM and no earlier than 9 AM or as such to prevent my employer form expecting me to work very late into the night which varies by night to night and so because of that I cannot keep a sleeping schedule."

Does that sound natural?

Cerberus

There are some oddities in it.

The most important thing: split this into several separate sentences.

MathCubes

00:33

Yeah it is an ran on.

Cerberus

I would say, at least three sentences.

Some sentences would have several clauses, requiring punctuation, such as commas or semicolons.

MathCubes

Something like this instead?

"Can not work later than 11:30 PM and no earlier than 9 AM or as such. This is needed to prevent my employer form expecting me to work very late into the night which also varies by night to night. Because of that I cannot keep a sleeping schedule."

Cerberus

What does "or as such" mean?

But this is already a great improvement, yes.

MathCubes

Giving flexibility to the doctor to change it if needed.

Cerberus

I have no idea what "or as such" means.

MathCubes

00:38

Okay

Cerberus

It is probably not proper English.

MathCubes

No one has ever corrected me on that before and so thanks.

Than how do I word it in such of a way to imply it is fine to change it if needed?

Cerberus

If you want to give flexibility to "9 AM", you could say, "around 9 AM".

A small thing: can not → cannot.

MathCubes

I mean in entirely

Thanks

Cerberus

"This is needed": what does "this" refer to?

And why does "can not" have no subject?

MathCubes

00:41

The previous sentence.

Cerberus

Should it be "I"? Or "Mr Math Cubes"?

MathCubes

Thanks

I would have never came up with that.

Cerberus

But I think your doctor will probably understand what you need now.

MathCubes

Thanks.

Cerberus

Good luck!

I hope you shall succeed.

MathCubes

00:42

It is crazy because like half of all people for my employer has notes form their doctors.

Cerberus

Sleep quality is very important for your health.

MathCubes

And even when I find an supervisor that trys to help me, they just get yelled at by their boss or their boss.

Cerberus

Hmm so your employer is difficult?

MathCubes

I know

Very

Cerberus

Hmm annoying.

MathCubes

00:43

Thanks for the help

Cerberus

Good luck!

Mitch

01:05

@RobustosupportsUkraine Reiterate? Those 4 points were my first airing of my reasons. How could I be reiterating them?

Here is where I address your many-to-many idea (which I agree is an issue) - chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/message/60698775#60698775

@RobustosupportsUkraine I only gave two examples with the expectation that implicitly you'd understand that I mean all the many variations out there

@Xanne Language history has only observational studies it can make, but I think there's a lot out there to study. But yeah once there's enough scholarship to study language differences in enough detail, civilization is at the point where standardization sets in.

Robusto supports Ukraine

@Mitch There, you did it again.

Mitch

@RobustosupportsUkraine ok let's ignore my lapses then and if there's nothing more to say then so be it.

Robusto supports Ukraine

01:20

Just funnin' ya.

Mitch

I can give but I can't tak eit

Robusto supports Ukraine

But I do believe we don't talk the way we did 50 years ago, and language changes with experience. I think it would be presumptuous to suppose that we have suddenly "fixed" language in its current form forever and ever.

Mitch

@RobustosupportsUkraine I think the grammar of our more formal writings (Jane Austen, NYT) is roughly the same over that 200 year span (but of course the 'style' is different. For informal speech (or lower class speech) I think I could make a case for the same but I have little data about 200 year ago informal speech to be sure.

@RobustosupportsUkraine I don't claim that it is set in stone (despite my use of 'ossified') but that the rate of change is slowing significantly.

(but not vocab, tech is adding a lot there)

Robusto supports Ukraine

@Mitch 200 years is a drop in the bucket. We still can understand much of Shakespeare, but if we were to speak with someone from Shakespeare's time we would find it not an easy thing to communicate well.

@Mitch Imagine Jane Austen watching The Martian. What would she make of Matt Damon saying "I'm going to science the shit out of this"?

Mitch

01:42

I think both of those points could be managed by considering the different parts of a language, namely that the main difference is in vocabulary (non-verse Shakespeare in formal subject matter is mostly the same as Austen or NYT) but the vocab is radically different. And then using 'science' as a verb is just a vocab addition. (of course 'the shit out of' could be new, I don't know)

Robusto supports Ukraine

You make light of "vocab additions," but those are only the first things that change. First the words, then the way the verbs are used, and so on.

Look how in French pas went from being the term for a step, then was used in conjunction with negation, then became a sufficient expression of negation all by itself.

Pas de café, s'il vous plait.

No coffee, please.

@Cerberus: I think we can unpin some of those stars, now that the nomination phase is over. I leave it to you to judge the fullness of the moment for that.

Eeeeuwwww, someone sent me a link and when I clicked it it took me to Facebook. Unclean! Unclean! I need to take a shower!

Cerberus

02:03

@RobustosupportsUkraine OK done.

Xanne

03:47

So what seems to change is pronunciation. Even in the Harvard dialect study, vocabulary differences are rather minor—soda vs. pop. And the pronunciation differences are 1/3 to 2/3 or even less in a geographical area. They may be primarily SES differences.

tchrist

Czech hedgehog

The Czech hedgehog (Czech: rozsocháč or ježek) is a static anti-tank obstacle defense made of metal angle beams or I-beams (that is, lengths with an L- or ɪ-shaped cross section). The hedgehog is very effective in keeping light to medium tanks and vehicles from penetrating a line of defense; it maintains its function even when tipped over by a nearby explosion. Although Czech hedgehogs may provide some scant cover for infantry, infantry forces are generally much less effective against fortified defensive positions than mechanized units. == History == The Czech hedgehog's name refers to its origin...

> In early 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, hedgehogs were used in conjunction with concrete barriers and other techniques to thwart Russian forces.[2] Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) repurposed new track to make hundreds of hedgehogs at 33 of its own shops and some other sites. The railroad estimated they had enough material for some 1800 hedgehogs.[3][4]

The resistance in Odessa,[5] Kyiv[6][7] and Lviv[8] also made hedgehogs to be distributed by Ukrainian soldiers to strategic locations.

I had wondered what those thingies were.

Lawrence

04:06

@RobustosupportsUkraine Haha, I wonder whether the Greeks and Romans of old would have cringed at the way we treat borrowings from their languages.

Lawrence

04:20

@Mitch You have a point. Grammar and sentence structure are harder to change than vocabulary. Word function (e.g. noun vs verb) is somewhere in between. We'd blow past moving from "the boss is here" to "the head honcho is here" and pause at "the boss is officed", but stop at "the here was boss".

Cerberus

05:23

@CowperKettle Perhaps so.

Energy is such a basic need.

Hard to give much of it up and face the problems.

It's oil AND gas AND coals.

But the oil may yet be boycotted, those voices are growing stronger.

M.A.R.

08:58

@Randal'Thor yep, that sounds like ELU

@Mitch eide shoma ham mobarak, um, I dunno what's the Persian for Mitch

Vikas

@tchrist I had also wondered a few days ago :D

Matt E. Эллен

11:43

@Cerberus I'm at 990/1000 in 16 guesses and I'm stuck XD

Matt E. Эллен

12:14

meh. got it with a thesaurus

Vikas

Is it about Wordle?

Matt E. Эллен

semantle

Vikas

Oh ok

Which one is more easy and interesting?

I might try it to see if I like it or not

Matt E. Эллен

semantle is difficult.

Vikas

Oh it's totally guess based. It has even a dedicated button "Give up" lol

Matt E. Эллен

12:18

Wordle is meant to be done in 6 or fewer guesses, so it's easier

Vikas

@MattE.Эллен And it's based on pure luck? Or is there some specific rule that can help you guess better?

Matt E. Эллен

@Vikas not totally guess based, but the relation between words is computer generated, from a limited set of words, so relationships between words are not as clear cut

@Vikas well, you eliminate letters as you go, so pick words with common letters, especially vowels

"arise" is a good starting word as it has three vowels

Vikas

ok

I think it also needs good English and vocabulary skills

Matt E. Эллен

a large vocabulary can be a disadvantage as there is a (hidden) limited set of words. If you were so inclined you could look through the javascript the site uses to find the list

Vikas

I think they don't store them locally?

Matt E. Эллен

12:26

yes

Vikas

Don't*

Matt E. Эллен

they do store them locally

Vikas

So you can cheat?

Matt E. Эллен

yes

Vikas

haha

Matt E. Эллен

12:27

:D

Vikas

I think they'll fix it someday

Matt E. Эллен

it was designed to be played without server access, so I doubt it. I suppose they could encrypt the list somehow, but the only person you're hurting by cheating is yourself

speaking from experience

Vikas

Yeah

Putin's Yacht

lol

semantle spoiler

@MattE.Эллен it is supposed to play like this?

And I need to reach 59.96 to win?

M.A.R.

12:46

@Vikas you need to guess the word of course. Those are just to give you some measure of how far or close you are.

The closest word, semantically, is scored with 59.96.

Vikas

Ok

It will take me years :(

M.A.R.

@Vikas I think because the word has to have a lot of close words to it, the words are chosen from, say, the top 5000 most common words. So it's not going to be some Latin monstrosity

Matt E. Эллен

@Vikas yes, you need to reach 100 to win

Vikas

100 is exact match?

I think Semantle is more interesting than Wordle for me.

At least you have some hope

I reached 28.71 :D

Just escaped "cold"

Matt E. Эллен

yeah, today's word is ... I'm not sure easier is an appropriate word... but it's less frustrating than yesterday's

Vikas

12:55

Have you found it?

Matt E. Эллен

yes, but I used a thesaurus :p

Vikas

Oh I should also be aware to not spoil it! I shouldn't have shared that screenshot

Matt E. Эллен

I got to 995/1000 by myself

Vikas

@MattE.Эллен haha

Good

That is why you guys mark/hide the words before sharing

Matt E. Эллен

yeah :D

Vikas

13:08

Is it under "rules" to use dictionary if I know a Hindi word but I don't know its English?

dictionary or Google translate

Mitch

@M.A.R. Google translate tells me it is: میخ

@Vikas There are no rules. In anything.

reevaluates life

reconsiders all life choices

Yes, I -will- take that nap now.

@Vikas (removed)

Vikas

I was checking what hyphens do.

Mitch

games have the implicit rule that it is a closed system, i.e. you have to do everything yourself.

for mental games like scrabble or crosswords or wordle or semantle, your just supposed to use what you already know.

Vikas

So if I used Google translate it should be considered cheating?

I think so

So I won't use it

But I'm really stuck

Mitch

like in scrabble, it would be very strange to allow someone to search through a dictionary -before- placing a word. You can use a dictionary afterwards to check the word, but before is out of bounds.

Vikas

13:19

yeah

Mitch

semantle though is 1) pretty hard to get to the end (find the exact 1000/1000 word) and...

2) online games there is often some leeway so you don't feel too bad about using a tool.

Vikas

The problem I'm seeing is it is showing two totally different words similar to the secret word.

Mitch

If you were to write a program that would go through lots of words to help you or to reconstruct the word2vec vectors ... -that- would be cheating. or rather -more- cheating like.

(I usually end up using a thesaurus towards the end for semantle)

but that wasn't your question.

Whatever is in your head is fair game so I think if it is easier to think about the hindi word and then translate (in your head) to English, then that's fair game.

Vikas

yeah

Mitch

if you use google translate because you can't remember the English word... that seems in the cheating direction to me but feels more allowable than a thesaurus

so if you wre in a tournament with everybody watching then it wouldn't be allowed (there are no semantle tournaments... it was invented two months ago!), but among friends and hey you're by yourself then it's totally OK.

Vikas

13:26

Does it become harder as you go up?

Mitch

@Vikas Usually when a word pops up in your head, it is one thing. It can only mean one thing, that thing you're thinking of attached to that word.

but

Vikas

secret word can have multiple meanings?

Mitch

open a dictionary and almost every word has more than one distinct entry (technically this is called 'polysemy')

give me a word

Vikas

yeah

@Mitch dictate

Mitch

OK 'yeah' can mean 'I agree' or (very distinctly) "I heard you and accept that you said it but is not an admission that you're right"

dictate can mean 'tell some one they have to do something' or 'speak out loud for someone to write down (as in taking dictation)'

I'm sure there are more.

(more for dictate)

so the point is that...

The algorithm that create these vectors for each word is using context (the words around a word in a sentence)

Vikas

13:35

Yes! I found next word! I used some brain

I'm 622/1000 now

I think when you observe your closest guesses and try to make a sense, it may help

Mitch

and if there is more than one context (dictate to a secretary vs dictate tell someone to do something) then the vector may sort of point halfway between the synonyms for those two different things.

@Vikas it really depends on the word itself and luck

@Vikas Yes, you'd think that but not always. once you get in the top 1000 it feels like you tend to make quick progress to the top 100, but then it can take a long time to home in one the top ten and then it might come easy or it may take forever to get the goal word

Vikas

Well

Mitch

@MattE.Эллен I've noticed that when I use a thesaurus for the last 100 (which is almost always) that thesaurus.com is only marginally helpful...it's more of something to inspire you rather than a road map

I was really under the impression that thesaurus.com used something like word2vec to create its connections automatically because frankly a thesaurus is a lot of work to do by hand

@MattE.Эллен Re voting for ELU moderator, does one vote for someone because you think they'll be a good moderator, or do you not vote for that person because you don't want to put them through all that?

@CowperKettle Every day something comes up that a few days before you would never think that they would do that. Then they do it.

M.A.R.

14:08

@Mitch you're never the nail, the hammer, sometimes

Matt E. Эллен

14:23

@Mitch lol. It's up to you. I think picking a good moderator would be best. Usually people who voluntere don't mind being put through all that. Some even like it.

@Mitch yeah, it was not that helpful yesterday

Vikas

I have just voted.

SmokeDetector

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Link at beginning of answer (35): Word for 'No Facial Expression'‭ by Nicole‭ on english.SE

Cerberus

14:38

@MattE.Эллен Wow, that was so fast!

Matt E. Эллен

@Vikas today's word has two different paths to it, so it is possible to find two words that seem unrelated but are quite related to the target word

Cerberus

I'm still at 870.

Vikas

@MattE.Эллен Ah

Cerberus

And I cannot really think of many words in this semantic region.

Vikas

When does it end? At midnight?

Matt E. Эллен

14:39

yes

@Cerberus and yet in the end I still needed a thesaurus!

Vikas

I'll give it one more try to push further. Hope I will move one more step ahead

Cerberus

@MattE.Эллен I feel I already need one at 870, too.

Vikas

Is there limit of guesses?

Matt E. Эллен

no limit

Vikas

Good for me

Matt E. Эллен

14:40

well, there is the time limit :D

Vikas

Haha. Midnight = USA time?

Matt E. Эллен

> There's a new word every day, where a day starts at midnight UTC or 0:00 your time.

I don't know how it picks which midnight to use

Vikas

Oh. Any rough idea how long I have for today's Semantle (in hours)? That will give me some idea.

Leave it

I'll keep trying

Mitch

@M.A.R. It could have been worse. IN Mandarin the closest thing that sounds like my name is translated back as 'puff ball'.

@MattE.Эллен that's... uh... ambiguous

Matt E. Эллен

@Mitch yeah

Cerberus

14:45

I got a higher one: i.imgur.com/z0ZqOE1.png

Mitch

I mean in multiple levels but firstly in the way you want to use it, 00:00 UTC and 00:00 your time are only the same IF YOU"RE IN UTC

cripes

Matt E. Эллен

@Cerberus you are taking the route I did not.

how's that for a clue!

Cerberus

But my vocabulary in things of daily life is just not great.

@MattE.Эллен Haha very cryptic.

Vikas

@Cerberus It would have spoiled me. I turned my eyes away

Cerberus

So there is another route?

Is your route very different? Or only slightly?

Matt E. Эллен

14:46

@Cerberus yes, perpendicular to your route

Mitch

'your local time' is also ambiguous but it's not as serious because it's usually only one person reading it at a time that can resolve it to their own individual local time.

Cerberus

@Vikas Yes, that's why I didn't post it as a picture but as a link, so as not to spoil people.

@MattE.Эллен Hmm.

Matt E. Эллен

they happen to intersect at the target word

Mitch

I don't really need to explain all this to myself but it is fun

Cerberus

Is there a chance that I might not know this word?

Matt E. Эллен

14:47

no, it is a common word

Cerberus

OK.

Vikas

I have spent around one hour

Cerberus

@MattE.Эллен Even in the sense to which my route should lead?

Matt E. Эллен

yes

Vikas

102 guesses

Cerberus

14:48

There are some common words that I do not know, like birds or plants or kitchen utensils.

Mitch

how common are those really?

I mean they might be if you're in that kitchen

wait

Cerberus

Words that any native speaker would know, even children.

Mitch

in that kitchen with someone else who knows those words

Cerberus

I might need to think before producing e.g. colander.

Mitch

@Cerberus not many people live around cows and goats (anymore)

Cerberus

14:49

And there are many objects in my kitchen for which I would not know the English word.

Mitch

but I suppose we all know those words for our own language

@Cerberus spatula

Cerberus

Is it a pepper grinder? Pepper mill? What do you call that?

Mitch

mandolin

Cerberus

Those I would happen to know.

Mitch

(the kind for slicing or shredding, not the guitar like thing)

Cerberus

14:50

I know.

Matt E. Эллен

I would say 394/1000 is more relevant that its score implies

Mitch

@Cerberus both those are right

Cerberus

@MattE.Эллен Ahh let me see.

Mitch

a pepper mill is fancier

Cerberus

@Mitch Oh, OK. Even so, you'd be shocked if a native speaker were unsure about what to call it.

Matt E. Эллен

14:51

I think a native speaker would just ask for "the pepper"

Mitch

@MattE.Эллен what I find interesting is that really you're only getting about a hundred green words, but OMG there are hundreds others that are closer and it be amazing to see -all- from 900 to 990

but then it'd still take another hour to get to 999

Cerberus

@MattE.Эллен Depending on context!

Mitch

@Cerberus you know better than me because I only learned that recently

Cerberus

"Mom, we need to buy a new ____."

Mitch

I thought it was a 'funny slicer thingy'

Matt E. Эллен

14:53

yeah. I often sit there looking at something like 970 and 990 and thinking "if I just knew one word between them I would be able to get a step up"

Mitch

@Cerberus yeah, like they had a stroke or were older or were me.

Cerberus

@Mitch Mandolin/mandoline happens to be an international word, just like spatula/spatel.

Mitch

" you know that thing that you twist to ... you know... get the pepper... like all crumbly and... is it a pepper crumbler? a pepper crimper? The pepper thing"

@MattE.Эллен ahh saved by pragmatics

Matt E. Эллен

@Mitch I think it makes a kind of grinding sound, what do you call it?

Mitch

@Cerberus "What did you do to it? You'll have to pay for it out of your allowance"

Cerberus

14:56

I used it to grind dog biscuits. I like them that way.

Robusto supports Ukraine

@Cerberus House.

Cerberus

Have been doing so for years. You never noticed?

Mitch

@Cerberus now I know. but I didn't before.

how about 'spigot'?

'windshield wiper'?

'vacuum cleaner bag'?

'high speed taper shank spiral flute reamer'?

Cerberus

@MattE.Эллен Many of my higher words end on the same letters. Is that a good indication?

Robusto supports Ukraine

@Mitch No flirting in chat.

Cerberus

14:58

@Mitch I know it is something that spews out liquid or something.

Mitch

@MattE.Эллен "Yeah I don't know. it kinda grinds the pepper? maybe? I don't know what it is. But it's that thing."

Matt E. Эллен

@Cerberus eh. not really

Cerberus

But I wouldn't be exactly sure what kitchen object to call that.

@MattE.Эллен OK thanks.

Mitch

@Cerberus I find them a little too dry and hard.

Cerberus

@Mitch This term I know well, though I might not be able to produce it in a hurry.

@Mitch I use this every day.

Mitch

15:00

@RobustosupportsUkraine takes a sip of coffee in order to spew out

Matt E. Эллен

@Mitch reminds me of how windmills turn stones to grind down corn

@Cerberus what about "windscreen wiper"?

Mitch

@Cerberus Oh (takes notes)

Robusto supports Ukraine

@MattE.Эллен You mean windshield wiper?

Matt E. Эллен

lol

Cerberus

@MattE.Эллен Same.

It is just that I never, even talk about these things in English.

Matt E. Эллен

15:02

not a hot topic in your circle of friends?

Mitch

@MattE.Эллен nah it's more like one of those things that you put meat into and it cuts it all up and it gets squeezed out all in small pieces.

Cerberus

Alas.

I got another high word: i.imgur.com/0z4GChz.png

Mitch

Like a meat grinder but for pepper

I don't know what you'd call that thing for pepper though. Nothing sounds right

Matt E. Эллен

pepper pots?

Cerberus

And is it a coffee grinder?

Coffee mill?

Mitch

15:03

@MattE.Эллен That's a character from the Avengers movies

Matt E. Эллен

oh, right!

Mitch

Avenger's movie's?

Robusto supports Ukraine

@Mitch That is a rather Stark appraisal.

Mitch

Henry Potter is the mean old man from It's a Wonderful Life

Robusto supports Ukraine

Is a potted plant one that has been shot, or is merely drunk?

Mitch

15:05

@RobustosupportsUkraine That's a tony way pf putting it.

@RobustosupportsUkraine more like a history

Cripes is it already Tuesday?

Robusto supports Ukraine

All day.

Matt E. Эллен

@Mitch Henry potter is a Wizard. What do you think Harry is short for?

Robusto supports Ukraine

@MattE.Эллен Ralph.

Matt E. Эллен

Now there was a king

Robusto supports Ukraine

Harry got all the attention, but Ralph was the smarter brother.

Mitch

15:10

Is it /'roʊ li:ŋ/ or /'rɑ li:ŋ/? I heard w20 years ago that it was the second despite the natural spelling pronunciation. But now all I hear is the first.

Robusto supports Ukraine

I think Ralph was played by Rowan Atkinson.

@Mitch ♪ Keep them dogies rowling ... rawhide! ♫

Congratulations, @Laurel. That was fast.

Matt E. Эллен

15:24

She's been a mod at writing.se for a while ;)

Mitch

@RobustosupportsUkraine Has it all been decided already>

Robusto supports Ukraine

@MattE.Эллен Yeah, while I was in the shower I figured out it couldn't be our election yet. I just needed another cup of coffee, which I now have.

Matt E. Эллен

:D

Robusto supports Ukraine

Raining here, so I can't ride.

Cerberus

What do you mean??

Are you made of sugar?

Laurel

15:33

@RobustosupportsUkraine lol either a little late or a little early for congratulations

I was elected at Writing SE in November 2021

Robusto supports Ukraine

@Cerberus Just because I'm sweet doesn't mean I'm made of sugar. I can see how you got confused, though.

@Laurel Uh ... yeah ... that's what I meant.

But I don't like to ride in the rain. See, it's cold rain and I don't like getting wet and chilled.

Cerberus

@RobustosupportsUkraine Then you can cycle in the rain.

Laurel

It's actually hard to tell that I'm an elected moderator because Writing isn't in my top 5 sites by rep and therefore isn't shown in my profile. I mention it in my about me but people probably don't read past the first sentence

Robusto supports Ukraine

@Cerberus It'd be different if I were on a bulky bike with a raincoat on and just going down to the pub or whatever at a snail's pace. But I go longer and faster and without rain gear.

Mitch

riding in the rain is awful

even if it's warm rain, you just feel like this isn't what you should be doing. it's never comfortable

Robusto supports Ukraine

15:38

@Mitch Last time I got trapped in a sudden storm I got wetter than I would showering, since the rear wheel on a bike acts as a de facto bidet, if you catch my meaning.

Mitch

@RobustosupportsUkraine i get your drift

you're saying it shoots up your butt

Robusto supports Ukraine

@Laurel Well, congratulations in advance. I think you'll make it.

@Mitch Thanks for helping me avoid indelicacy.

Mitch

15:57

@RobustosupportsUkraine Accomplishment unlocked!

Or is that achievement?

Either way

M.A.R.

16:51

@Mitch . . . Could have been worse.

I'm sure if we dig deep enough we can find innuendo

Ever tried a Papua Guinean language?

@Mitch achievement accomplished

I've ridden in heavy rain, twice or thrice, I think. I loved it, my clothes and my books didn't.

It dries after but if the water in the rain is hard enough, your clothes feel papery afterwards

Cerberus

@CowperKettle That is bad.

Everyone thought Belarus wouldn't want to join, and it won't change much anyway.

M.A.R.

@CowperKettle I was typing a few bad words but then I stopped.

These assholes think they've gotten a rotten deal and want to take the world back half a century, maybe more.

Cerberus

@CowperKettle Yeah I have also read this.

Robusto supports Ukraine

17:23

@CowperKettle I am at a loss for words. Putin would destroy millions to salve his ego.

A comment on that Twitter feed.

Russia on Monday said it had summoned the U.S. ambassador to Moscow for a meeting to provide him a "note of protest" over President Biden's criticisms of Russia's war on Ukraine.

So name-calling is a worse crime than mass murder?

I guess if you have a Putinesque-size ego it is.

Robusto supports Ukraine

17:52

Russia may use chemical and biological weapons in Ukraine, US President Biden says - BBC New

►

Xanne

Military Aviation Expert on Why a No Fly Zone Would Solve Putin’s Problem

►

This is thoughful informed analysis on Russia’s army and why a no-fly zone is not a good idea for the West.

Putin is trying to do by threat what he’s not capable of doing with his military.

Cerberus

18:40

@CowperKettle I wonder why.

Putin knows he will lose if he should try that.

Xanne

The MX warhead, operational in the late 1980s and now on Minuteman missiles, was more powerful and more accurate than earlier nuclear weapons, and could penetrate Soviet missile silos and also the “redoubts” to which Soviet leaders would go in case of nuclear war; the American politicians had always known they would not survive a nuclear war, and at that point the Soviets knew they wouldn’t either. I hope Putin hasn’t forgotten this.

Vikas

19:15

@CowperKettle Why Belarus is supporting Russia? Because they get cheap oil and gas from Russia?

And if Belarus also participates in it, it's more than 2 countries in a war. So that gives right to other countries to support Ukraine by entering Ukraine.

But then problem is nobody will win. Only people will die.

Vikas

19:29

I saw some news on YouTube saying that Putin can be assassinated by his own family members.

Robusto supports Ukraine

20:10

@Vikas Yeah, but I wouldn't want to hang from a rope until that happens.

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