English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

tchrist

07:01

Dust jackets are art, remember. Why would you throw art away?

Mahnax

I don't throw them away, but I do remove them while I read.

user19161

@Mahnax Exactly.

Mahnax

I will be right back. I must go look at the bookshelf upstairs a moment.

tchrist

I like to use them as book marks. Fold the flap in.

user19161

@tchrist That is new to me. That is also news to me.

Mahnax

07:04

Blast, I fear I may have woken up a parent.

But I have confirmed that we do have more copies of the Harvard Classics than I thought we did.

I shall peruse them more thoroughly tomorrow morning.

tchrist

I could never find my books without dust jackets.

Mahnax

Do you have a large collection, then?

tchrist

I don’t know.

Certainly four digits worth, and I do not know the first digit.

Mahnax

Oh my.

tchrist

But that includes paperbacks of varying calibres.

I guess I could go count shelves of hardcovers.

There are six to my left.

Let me look in the library.

Mahnax

07:09

I don't know if anyone understands how much I love book collections.

It's a little bit frightening sometimes.

tchrist

And there are like 16 shelves’ worth downstairs.

Those are just the hardcovers. Most of my books are not hardcovers.

Mahnax

cries

tchrist

Oh, and that doesn’t count the upstairs office. Or the boxes of books.

Mahnax

I have two measly little shelves of paperbacks, but someday I hope to have many more.

Many, many more.

tchrist

The shelves are like 3.5 feet to maybe 5.5 feet wide.

It varies.

Mahnax

07:11

Not even two, actually. Maybe one and a half.

tchrist

You would never leave my home. Please do not come here and become entranced. :)

Mahnax

I do have some restraint, so I think I would be okay.

tchrist

I recently donated a dozen boxes of paperbacks to the library, and sold several boxes of hardcovers. I still have about 20 boxes of books, of both sorts.

Mahnax

Nice. We have a new library here.

tchrist

I dunno. There are books everywhere. It would be hard to there full measure.

Mahnax

07:13

The old one was very… yellow. It was a little yucky.

tchrist

Yellow?

As in, with age?

Mahnax

Well, the carpet was an icky colour and the walls were yellow. It had an old feel to it, and not in a good way.

Think "dilapidated 1960's bungalow".

tchrist

Blah.

You must live in a small town then?

Mahnax

Not so small, because the new library is lovely.

tchrist

Oh, not small.

Mahnax

07:15

So lots there too.

tchrist

Figured, but didn’t know.

You can live in a very small town near a large city.

Mahnax

Yes, this is true.

tchrist

I have never gotten used to towns not having countryside between them. Seems wrong.

Or at least, does not seem like two towns.

Just one conurbation.

With two names. Confusing.

Not at that count, you aren’t. :)

There are sometimes statutory definitions for things like villages and towns and cities.

Mahnax

Oh, come on. Wikipedia says we are!

tchrist

That may be it.

Mahnax

07:18

Oops, looks like I overestimated our population by about 15k.

shrugs

tchrist

Boulder is a “big” city at ~100k, not counting students.

Bu the metroplex is like 3 million.

Because Denver is big. But it is not a "real" city if you know Toronto or New York or London or Chicago.

The town I grew up in did not have 5,000 people while I lived there.

And we were the biggest "city" around.

Mahnax

I have lived here for most of my life.

tchrist

That you know of.

You do not know when the Martians gave you to your parents.

Mahnax

Right, I forgot about that.

tchrist

They do that on purpose, you know.

Mahnax

07:22

Augh, I've fallen right into their trap.

I'll have to be more sceptical.

tchrist

I think they apply antisceptic before they hand you over.

Keeps the Martian germs away.

Mahnax

Haha.

Keeps you in church, too.

Sorry, that was rude.

tchrist

Not so much.

Mahnax

Not rude, I guess, but I always feel like I'm offending someone more than I should be.

tchrist

Sometimes people keep you in church.

Sometimes fear does.

But that will never work.

Mahnax

07:25

Ugh, I am itching to sneak back upstairs and look at the books. But I mustn't.

I want to know what they are!

tchrist

What which are?

Mahnax

We have some of the Harvard Classics on the main shelves, but I just discovered more in the cabinets underneath. Unfortunately, I had to hurry downstairs before I could see what they were because I thought I heard shuffling.

Harvard Classics

The Harvard Classics, originally known as Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf, is a 51-volume anthology of classic works from world literature, compiled and edited by Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot and first published in 1909. Eliot had stated in speeches that the elements of a liberal education could be obtained by spending 15 minutes a day reading from a collection of books that could fit on a five-foot shelf. (Originally he had said a three-foot shelf.) The publisher P. F. Collier and Son saw an opportunity and challenged Eliot to make good on this statement by selecting an app...

tchrist

Oh gak, we’re surfing below zero tonight. No wonder my feet are frozen. I feel like there is a window cracked somewhere, and liquid hydrogen is pooling on the floor.

Hm.

Mahnax

We only have some of them, but why is an absolute mystery to me.

Neither of my parents would buy them, and none of my grandparents would either.

tchrist

So you do not know where they came from?

Mahnax

07:29

I haven't the faintest idea.

But the ones I know that we have are Dante, Shakespeare, American Historical Documents, Folklore and Fable, and English Poetry 2.

There are about eight more, though.

Maybe even more, somewhere.

Unfortunately, they are not first editions.

They are from the late fifties.

tchrist

You are about 10F warmer than me right now.

Isn’t that strange?

Mahnax

Yes, rather.

Only a 3˚C difference though.

tchrist

Um, no.

Mahnax

Oh?

tchrist

9/5

Mahnax

07:34

But it is -14˚C there and -11˚C here.

tchrist

It depends where you measure.

I am at 4F and you are at 14F.

You are going down to 0F, and I am going down to -3F.

But I could probably sample at other places and get other numbers.

Mahnax

What are you using for my location?

tchrist

Just Edmonton, which will be warmer than you are.

Oh wait.

Mahnax

Yes.

tchrist

Not that way.

This way:

Mahnax

07:38

Hmm. Why are you apologizing?

Oh, fine then.

tchrist

Because it extracts something from you without your permission.

Mahnax

Oh, no, I practically told you. I would have been surprised if you didn't know.

tchrist

I can usually turn those into pretty precise Google Maps links. I did so, well, for others.

It is just the way things work, if you know how to use it.

Mahnax

Turn what into gMaps links? Photos?

tchrist

Oh, you don’t know.

Mahnax

07:41

No.

Interesting.

tchrist

Like I can probably tell you the block you live on.

But I will not.

See why I apologized?

Mahnax

Yes, I do now.

I do not personally mind though. Others might.

tchrist

I did not do it on purpose. As I said, I just remembered. I have only looked a few times.

And it was always after the fact, and not for that purpose.

Nope, that one I will not even post to a delete box.

I aborted a typing I was doing.

Mahnax

A delete box?

tchrist

Mods have to sign a will-not-reveal-personal-info deal.

Mahnax

07:46

Right, makes sense.

But you are not a mod?

tchrist

When I suddenly realized I was in possession of some of that, I realized that I should not reveal it either.

Because it just isn’t right.

Mahnax

Ah, that is respectful.

tchrist

Anybody who thinks about this, knows this, but I would rather not provoke too much thought.

Does not seem like good could come of it.

Gods!

Mahnax

Hmm?

tchrist

Not something to joke about.

I mean, yes, it is ok, but I have too vivid an imagination.

Mahnax

07:51

Er, sorry.

tchrist

And I am somewhat protective of, well, people whom others might take advantage of.

Just the idea that someone might do that creeped me out.

You’ve obviously learned good safety habits.

There is nothing wrong with being careful.

Mahnax

OK. I would like to try something, if that's okay? You'd just need to check whatever you checked before.

tchrist

Ok.

Mahnax

There we are. What does it say?

I'll click about, for good measure.

tchrist

Ok, now let me look you up.

Hah.

Mahnax

07:57

Quoi?

Where am I, good sir?

tchrist

Place where cats have no tails.

Mahnax

Haha, really?

tchrist

Well, probably.

I could be dispositive.

Mahnax

Isle of Man?

tchrist

Yes.

Mahnax

07:59

One sec.

Oops.

tchrist

Which makes sense.

Oh I forgot to look at time stamps.

That could be Jez.

That one did not load for you. I guess I have to leave it up a bit more.

Not exactly.

Mahnax

Oh?

tchrist

If you can see the image, then I have the IP.

No clicking needed.

It is the autoloading.

Mahnax

Oh! That makes sense.

So what I am trying to do is not working then.

Ah, but this would work.

One sec.

tchrist

Oh that is interesting.

We have ghosts.

ANd I mean real ghosts.

Mahnax

08:04

Should work now.

tchrist

Two of them, to be precise.

Holy cow.

Tsk tsk.

Mahnax

Hrm?

Why do you tsk?

tchrist

We are being scanned by two people not in this room.

It is like how you can star things in room you are not "in".

There are six people in this room. But I got eight sudden fetches.

Therefore they are tailing the room without being in it. It is easy to do.

Mahnax

I think I am in Bosnia right now.

tchrist

That is why I said tsk.

You may be. I haven’t reversed all eight yet.

Nice to know we are so loved.

Mahnax

08:08

Ooh, now I'm in Italy.

Well, I should go to bed.

tchrist

Yes, I should too.

Mahnax

Work and all that tomorrow. Nice chatting, and good night!

tchrist

Bye. Yes, good night.

tchrist

08:22

Hello, Jasper.

As I said.

user19161

@tchrist How did you know that I am here?

tchrist

Because you were being sneaky.

user19161

@tchrist Sneaky? How?

user19161

I often read the transcript when I am not logged in, that's all.

tchrist

If you were here, why weren’t you here? :)

Yes, I see that.

So do others, and in real-time.

user19161

08:26

I think many people do that.

tchrist

Only a few.

There were two initially.

Then you showed up.

user19161

But what I dislike is people flagging stuff while not in the room and not knowing the culture of the room.

tchrist

That happens here?

Chat flags are traced back to the user. They are not anonymous. People pulling that will get the chain jerked back away from them.

Well, unless it is legit.

If they are just trying to make trouble, there will be Issues.

user19161

Well, I can understand why some people flag certain things, but I feel that they are just flagging too much.

tchrist

How is Auckland today, David?

user19161

08:28

I feel that most of these flaggers are just "misguided moralists".

tchrist

Do people really troll the logs looking for f-bombs to flag?

That seems . . . excessive.

Correction, I meant Lower Hutt.

user19161

@tchrist Having said that, it would be good to cut down on the f words in chat.

user19161

Once, Gigili said "I am awesome like that" in the Islam room, and someone flagged her.

tchrist

For what?

For being a woman?

user19161

I am glad that my studying books answer got another upvote.

user19161

08:39

The asker has also unaccepted Kris's answer.

tchrist

Really?

How did you do that? :)

user19161

I have also edited my answer to link to a slightly better dictionary for the purpose and add some relevant examples to support my point.

user19161

I like to delete my comments after a while unless they are totally necessary.

user19161

So I have deleted all my comments on that post.

user19161

So if you see my comments being deleted, don't be shocked. Most are done by me.

tchrist

08:42

Figured as much.

user19161

Comments are meant to be second class on SE.

user19161

The question or answer should be self-contained and speak for itself.

user19161

Comments are for clarification and such.

tchrist

I do know the party line.

user19161

But sometimes I delete slightly more important comments too as there are just too many.

user19161

08:43

I don't like the post to be littered with too many comments.

user19161

I see many "this answer is brilliant" comments here and on math to wrong answers. It is sad.

user19161

I make many mistakes in my answers too. But overall, I think we should think more carefully about answers.

user19161

I feel that often people think a little but not enough, and in this manner they arrive at an answer that seems correct but is not.

Cerberus

09:09

2

A: Can automatic loading of giant images be solved?

[Edited:] It seems undesirable for a website such as this to have all users present in a chat room automatically download all full images behind posted image links. This should only happen after a thumbnail is clicked. How can this be achieved? Whenever you post a link to an image in chat, li...

In case not everyone has seen my answer to Tchrist's question yet.

user19161

09:21

@Cerberus Would you like to give me some love for my latest answer?

Cerberus

I might!

user19161

Hey guys, interesting thing I just noticed.

user19161

Hover your mouse over your gravatar in your profile, near its bottom you will see a message.

user19161

@Cerberus Still no love, never mind...

Cerberus

I saw no link.

user19161

09:30

Wait, can gravatar.com be bypassed now? Or is it hidden in the new way to change your picture?

user19161

This is so exciting!

user19161

1

A: Usage of "studying"

Study can be used in two slightly different senses: learn about a subject or read something very carefully. Hence, one can study mathematics from a book (first sense) or one can study a mathematics book (second sense). For that matter, one can study this tutorial, that manual, this paper or that ...

user19161

If gravatar can be bypassed, I want to delete my gravatar account.

Cerberus

I have no idea, to be honest...

user19161

32

A: Disable gravatar on Stack Overflow

We will be rolling out an alternative to Gravatar in the next couple of weeks. You'll be able to either use Gravatar or upload your own picture from your computer - or switch between the two whenever you like. This feature is now live: Please try it out and report any bugs you find.

Cerberus

09:34

@JasonBourne Hmm I have to say I don't agree with you entirely.

Study means to me examine carefully.

And one usually does not examine a book, but one reads it.

user19161

@Cerberus Sure, even Barrie agrees with me, and Macmillan dictionary and the OED.

Cerberus

So she is studying a book sounds a bit odd.

It means you are carefully examining the book.

So it depends on what the OP meant, but context seems to point in the direction of reading rather than studying.

user19161

Reading can be used, but studying here means reading carefully.

user19161

Sure, studying can mean examining something carefully, but it can also mean reading carefully.

user19161

I have exhausted all possibilities. QED.

Cerberus

09:38

It can, but it is uncommon, and I think base don context that the OP means simply reading a book.

user19161

Haha, actually one can only properly acquire information after carefully reading books, which is studying.

Cerberus

It is possible.

I'm afraid I have to post a competing answer.

If you don't mind.

user19161

@Cerberus Good, post.

Cerberus

OK.

Cerberus

09:54

0

A: Usage of "studying"

Normally, studying something means "closely examining". Since books are normally simply read, the word study here carries the additional connotation of examining a material or something that is difficult to understand at first. This could mean you are examining the cover or the paper of the book,...

@JasonBourne I'm sorry for choosing a slightly different approach from yours.

user19161

10:26

@Cerberus Actually, we are not saying different things. In fact, we are in agreement!

user19161

I am going to try to use the new way of uploading a profile pic and bypass gravatar.

user19161

In other news, I just learnt that gravatar accounts can't be deleted! How ridiculous!

Cerberus

@JasonBourne Oh dear!

user19161

@Cerberus I just learnt that the new way of uploading pictures has no delete! Or at least I haven't found a way to delete it yet! Oh dear!

user19161

Now I am screwed both ways. I can't delete my gravatar account and I can't delete my picture under the new method.

Cerberus

10:33

Perhaps there is just a time limit.

Like with changing your name?

user19161

I have to investigate the matter now. I will return with a full report, no less.

user19161

Also, the new method doesn't sync to your network profile or chat profile, though it copies to your other profiles if you choose to immediately.

Cerberus

I see.

user19161

@Cerberus Your use of two copies of etc. is ridiculous, I would not even use one.

Cerberus

Copies of what?

I have three heads, not two.

user19161

10:40

0

A: Is there any good software can pronounce words and sentences?

You can do this on the website of the A-capela Group. Their pronunciation is quite good, better than any other free website I have ever heard. They even have the voice of Queen Elizabeth! They also have a lot of languages, including Dutch, Chinese, French, Japanese, etc. etc. And you don't need t...

Dumb Cow

In the library, a guy asked a girl politely if he could sit on the chair beside. The girl barked, "I don't wanna spend the night with you!". Everybody looked at the boy and giggles were heard. Later, the girl went to the guy's table. "I study psychology and I know what's in a man's brain; I know how to make people feel embarrassed".

The guy screamed, "$200 for just one night? That's a lot!". Then he quietly whispered, "I study law, and I know how to make others feel guilty".

Cerberus

@JasonBourne Oh, right. Well, I like etc. etc.

@DumbCow Haha, great!

user19161

@DumbCow I would tell them both to shut up and study mathematics instead. QED.

Dumb Cow

@JasonBourne: I have been watching that this is now a lighter shade of blue. I like it.

@JasonBourne lawl.

user19161

@DumbCow I would shout "I study math and I can think so I don't shout rubbish!"

Dumb Cow

10:47

@JasonBourne Heh.

Can anyone tell how to write the enter which Jeff Attwood wrote here?

Cerberus

11:07

@DumbCow [tag:enter]

Dumb Cow

No, it wasn't clickable. =\

Cerberus

Then I don't know.

And I must go.

Good night!

Dumb Cow

Here: meta.math.stackexchange.com/questions/1289/…

Cerberus

<kbd>enter</kbd>

This is what the source of the answer says.

meta.math.stackexchange.com/revisions/…

Matt Эллен

11:36

@KitFox Halloo! Nice new avatar! :D

Jez

11:46

gah

just bit down through part of my cheek

why are we so dumbly evolved?

Dumb Cow

12:11

@Cerberus Thanks! :-)

Robusto

12:41

Are numbers words? Yes, of course, you'll say. But I think the issue is more complicated than that. For example, is 21, written in numerals, a single word or two words? How about 435? Four hundred thirty-five is four words written out, but if it's said as "four thirty-five" it's only three words. Before it is unpacked by a reader, it's in some Heisenberg state, unpredictable.

Dumb Cow

@Robusto: There's your 100k!

KitFox

13:18

@MattЭллен Thanks! A friend gave it to me.

Robusto

@DumbCow Thanks for editing the math notation in my n/3 question.

Dumb Cow

@Robusto Sarcasm? And you're welcome if that's not the case. :-)

Robusto

Not sarcasm. I didn't know how to do that markup.

Dumb Cow

@Robusto Oh, it's okay.

tchrist

13:53

Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit dodgy?

I dunno. It seems a bit dodgy that you can post an image link in chat and suddenly get an instant snapshot of everyone’s IP who is in that room — plus the occasional ghost-mod who is tail -fing the log without being “in” the room. Since you see when people show up to the room, and you see the new IP appear at the same time, it is pretty easy to see who is who. Is this desirable? — tchrist 1 min ago

It kinda undoes the idea that SE does not reveal IPs, since they now do.

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…