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7:00 PM
@JSBᾶngs I think it is 100 % general reference.
We shouldn't try to eke out consistency from changing policies that are only partially consistent.
 
holy crap, there's over 900 files in this changelist
 
user19161
@JSBᾶngs Are you upgrading some OS?
 
@JasperLoy no, i'm doing a code review for someone. i think that my answer for "are you going to look at the whole thing?" just changed to "no"
 
user19161
@Cerberus I try to check at least one dictionary and look at the first page of google answers. If there is no conclusion only then will I ask.
 
@JasperLoy Yeah. I'm not saying it was my idea that all Gen Ref questions should be closed; but if that is what people want, then... they should admit that about 1/3 of old questions could be closed for one or another of the newer rules.
 
user19161
7:05 PM
@Cerberus True, it is just whether we happen to see it or not.
 
Yeah.
 
@JasperLoy You want some advice?
 
user19161
@RegDwightѬſ道 Hello! I could not catch you the past few days. The owl flies quickly.
 
@JasperLoy you know what they say. "the owl of minerva flies only at dusk"
 
@JasperLoy On top of that, you won't be able to catch me in the upcoming 7 days at all.
 
7:12 PM
Are you bringing yourself to Athens?
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 weeps quietly
 
user19161
@KitΘδς I know you are going to say just forget about it, but I like to try the impossible.
 
@KitΘδς Rome.
 
@JSBᾶngs Isn't that some password phrase?
 
Athens makes no sense.
 
7:13 PM
Ah, yes, Rome! Very good.
 
Them hez owls in Athen, or so Im telled.
 
Is it with your Milf again?
 
5
A: Is there an American English equivalent of the British idiom "carrying coals to Newcastle"?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇Wiktionary suggests Bring owls to Athens, which has the same sense as coal to Newcastle, in that there are already lots of owls (supposedly) in Athens. But: I've never heard anyone say this and wouldn't have understood it.

 
I mean MiL.
 
@Cerberus .... pardon?
 
7:14 PM
@JasperLoy No. I was not going to say forget about it.
 
In Greek and Roman mythology, Glaucus (, Glaukos, "glaring (eyes)"; compare Greek glaux, owl, of the same origin) is the symbolic owl of Athena or Minerva, respectively. Often referred to as the "owl of Athena" or "owl of Minerva", it accompanies Minerva in Roman myths, seen as a symbol of wisdom because the owl is capable of seeing even in the dark and of vigilance because the owl is awake at night. The nineteenth-century idealist philosopher G.W.F. Hegel famously noted that "the owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk"—meaning that philosophy comes to underst...
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 MiL!
 
user19161
@Cerberus No flirting in chat!
 
@Cerberus If you're trying to spell AFOL, you're failing.
 
user19161
@JSBᾶngs That looks just like Reg!
 
7:15 PM
Glaukopis is Athena's favourite epitheton ornans.
 
@JasperLoy Fubbes.
I'm Bubo Scandiacus.
 
(Owl-eyed)
 
@KitΘδς well, now i'm curious about your advice, since mine was going to be pretty much "good luck, you'll need it"
 
user19161
@KitΘδς OK I'll just try and see what happens, nothing to lose. I am trying many seemingly impossible things anyway.
 
@JasperLoy Are you sure this is a good idea?
 
7:17 PM
@Cerberus in his defence, what does he have to lose?
 
...
 
user19161
@Cerberus Well I think it is harmless. Probably no replies and then end of story and back to reality.
 
if nothing else, you'll provide water-cooler fodder for a day up in the NYC CHAOS offices
 
My advice to @Jasper: 1. It's incredibly insulting to a woman to want to get in touch with her based on her picture. This means you are interested in a pretty object that you would like to have sex with. 2. It's creepy to have a guy cyberstalk you so he can contact you because of #1.
 
@JasperLoy As long as you don't fall hopelessly in love. I suppose the fact that you're discussing it here, where she and the world can read it, shows that you're not too serious...
 
7:18 PM
this is good advice
 
3. If you want to have a shot, don't go about it this way.
 
Their, their!
 
@KitΘδς Thank you, Kit!
 
@Reg look over their
 
I was afraid to say it.
 
7:19 PM
@Manaಠдಠ look is Russian for onion, so your sentence makes no sense.
 
user19161
@RegDwightѬſ道 What is that?
 
Look!
 
Onions!
 
@JasperLoy Hear, hear, here, here, there, there, their, their.
 
That is funny. We have look in Dutch. Bieslook, knoflook.
 
7:19 PM
@RegDwight Whoops, sorry. I'm still learning.
 
garlic is better than onions
also, peeplz, leeks are not the same things as garlic
 
I suppose German has it too, Knoblauch?
 
Ain't nothing better than garlic.
 
@KitΘδς hier hier
 
Yeah baby!
 
7:20 PM
Note how lic in garlic and lauch in Knoblauch are related.
 
Exactly!
But it is funny that it sounds exactly the same in Russian and Dutch.
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 so what's the gar- in garlic from?
 
@Cerberus Tschesnok?
@JSBᾶngs Spear IIRC.
 
user19161
@KitΘδς This point sounds naughty. It's not always about the shot you know.
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 I mean the look part that was mentioned.
 
user19161
7:22 PM
@KitΘδς I am surprised to hear this. I actually did this kind of thing a few times. It was alright though it did not lead to anything.
 
Etymonline sez: O.E. garleac (Mercian), garlec (W. Saxon) "garlic," from gar "spear" (in reference to the clove), see gar + leac "leek" (see leek).
 
@JasperLoy It probably did not lead to anything because of this.
 
@JasperLoy Women will not tell you how much they liked or hated to be approached in a certain way.
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 OMG. Garlic, gar leek. I can't believe I never noticed that before!
 
@Cerberus Ah!
 
7:23 PM
man, this whole conversation reminds me of how glad i am to be married. the entire process of dating was incredibly stressful and humiliating until i met my wife
3
 
user19161
@kit @cerb Thanks for the advice. I will reconsider then.
 
@Cerberus Men should give out surveys after hitting on a girl, which they should fill out, in order to save everyone a lot of trouble.
@JSBᾶngs Amen!
 
Or you can ask me. I'll tell you.
 
@KitΘδς So what's the best way to hit on a woman online?
 
user19161
@KitΘδς But you are just a sample size of 1, and together with Cerberus, 2.
 
7:24 PM
@JSBᾶngs This whole conversation reminds me of how glad I am to be married. The entire process of dating was incredibly stressful and humiliating until I met my husband.
 
@JasperLoy Cerberus is kinda 3.
@KitΘδς Yeah yeah, we get it, you're a woman in this room.
 
user19161
@RegDwightѬſ道 What is your honest opinion on the matter: do it or not?
 
@JSBᾶngs It can be incredibly fun. I pity those who have tasted of dating but are now shackled!
 
@JasperLoy What Kit said. Hence the "hear, hear".
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 I meant it only in sympathy. It's not easy for women either.
 
7:26 PM
@KitΘδς Ah. Good point.
 
@MrShinyandNew安宇 If only! And both men and women should wear traffic lights: red, green, orange/yellow (depending country).
 
@Cerberus I did more than taste. I had my fill. It was good timing when I met my husband.
 
user19161
@RegDwightѬſ道 OK, now that is a sample size of 3. Still I think I would do it. Good luck to myself.
 
@KitΘδς i find this hard to believe.
 
@MrShinyandNew安宇 Don't. Generally. Otherwise, official dating sites.
@JSBᾶngs Well. It had its good points.
 
7:27 PM
@KitΘδς I met my wife on last.fm. True story.
 
@KitΘδς That I can understand. But you do miss dating now and then, don't you?
 
@Cerberus I went to a catholic high school, the girls had a signal, they would wear their kilt-pins upwards or downwards to indicate whether they were seeing someone or not. Except I couldn't remember which way it was supposed to be, and some girls didn't do it that way...
 
@Cerberus I still date, so I don't really miss it.
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 No way!
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 What is that?
 
user19161
7:27 PM
@MrShinyandNew安宇 There is a school here called CHS.
 
@MrShinyandNew安宇 Seriously!? Wow. This world is full of miracles!
@KitΘδς You do? Is that allowed?
 
@KitΘδς perhaps the key is that you've continued dating now :). you give the impression of being a confident and experienced woman, so i assumed that applied in perpetuity back in time.
 
@Cerberus Some restrictions apply.
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 She commented on how awful your taste in music was and one thing led to another?
 
@KitΘδς Wow, that's a pretty strong suggestion. :)
 
7:28 PM
@KitΘδς Interesting...
 
@Cerberus The funny thing is, she lived like a hundred meters away from my granpa. But it took me 20 years and an increase in distance between us by 3000 kilometres to finally meet her.
 
the truth is that if i could go back in time with the confidence and experience i have now to my HS/college years, i'd probably do much better with the ladies
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 Oh, that's incredibly sweet.
 
@KitΘδς It's an app that tracks what music you're hearing and aggregates that on a site.
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 i like that
 
user19161
7:29 PM
@JSBᾶngs Thanks, that sounds more encouraging than the others!
 
Haha, those are the best! But it is a miraculous story.
My father used to babysit my mother. They met again in another city fifteen years later.
 
@JSBᾶngs Or at least, you see through their conniving.
 
@Cerberus cute with a lining of creepy!
 
@Cerberus That's an unusual story!
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 So you can see what someone's tastes in music are, what they are hearing right now. There's forums and online radio and whatnot. I haven't been there much as of late.
 
user19161
7:30 PM
@Cerberus Unbelievable!
 
@JSBᾶngs Dating in high school? That's young...
 
@Cerberus that's typically when people start over here
 
@Cerberus That's what I say now too. High school, meh, too young to date. ... course, it could be sour grapes on my part... :p
 
@MrShinyandNew安宇 Yeah I like telling it in a creepier way, as in "he used to babysit her, and one thing led to another".
 
user19161
@JSBᾶngs True, you are Bond after all.
 
7:31 PM
@RegDwightѬſ道 I bet she won't let you!
 
@Cerberus ha ha ha
 
user19161
@JSBᾶngs Here people start a bit earlier now.
 
@Cerberus Well, I know someone who is married to a former teacher of hers.
But they met as adults.
 
@Cerberus Nah, I moved on to ELU.
 
@JSBᾶngs But is that serious dating? People do it here too, but...
 
7:32 PM
I mean, started dating when they were old
 
@Cerberus What do you consider serious?
 
@MrShinyandNew安宇 That's nice and creepy too!
@RegDwightѬſ道 I hope she reads the transcript every day to make sure...
 
user19161
@MrShinyandNew安宇 That happens quite often here.
 
@Cerberus You're confusing me with kiamlaluno.)))
 
@KitΘδς this is also my question. i had my first "girlfriend" when i was in 7th grade (approx. 13 yrs), but it meant pretty much nothing. my first quasi-serious relationship was in high school
 
7:33 PM
@KitΘδς I don't know, more than holding hands? I suppose it is just a personal thing.
 
user19161
@RegDwightѬſ道 You are not the type who likes ))) I thought.
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 Huh what? His wife does that? Oh, wait, she had an account here?
 
@JasperLoy It depends on the weather.
 
What's )))?
 
@Cerberus Ask Kit. I'm not up to date.
 
7:34 PM
Oh I have to go, friend is coming over for a glass of wine.
 
@KitΘδς We had a question about that.
 
Later!
 
user19161
@JSBᾶngs I had my first crush when I was 6.
 
@Cerberus Bye!
 
user19161
@Cerberus See you!
 
7:34 PM
1
Q: What does ")))" mean at the end of a sentence?

MrHenSomeone I know keeps ending their chat messages with ))): A: Except if you're not good at jokes B: Then you can still copy jokes from others.))) I assume that this isn't some newfangled emoticon gone wrong. What is its purpose?

CU Cerberus.
 
Ciao!
 
bye @Cerb
 
user19161
@RegDwightѬſ道 Yes I know that one. I even asked @matt about )).
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 Have a great time in capite mundi!
 
@JasperLoy crushes are not girlfriends
 
7:35 PM
@JasperLoy I even answered it right here in chat.
Several times, in fact. :PPP
 
user19161
@JSBᾶngs I know.
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 That is awesome.
 
@Cerberus Oh we'll probably cross paths until tomorrow.
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 Well, thank you for that.
I had my first serious boyfriend when I was 16.
 
user19161
@chaos You have not told me what Korean food to try.
 
7:37 PM
I didn't til I was 15, and I've pretty much been in serious relationships ever since.
 
user19161
@aedia I am glad you had fun during vacation. I did not expect you to return so soon!
 
Hey, @RegDwight, this is cute, you might like it: secure.flickr.com/photos/37777874@N06/6043140533
 
user19161
@MrShinyandNew安宇 Does reg like this kind of thing? And I am not sure what kind of thing here.
 
@JasperLoy Reg is a LEGO lover.
 
@MrShinyandNew安宇 Um, is that a custom-made Godzilla suit? I don't think I've seen it before.
 
7:39 PM
@RegDwightѬſ道 I think it's one of the new collectible figs
 
@MrShinyandNew安宇 heh. i thought that was just another link to the cute cosplayer from a few hours ago
 
@MrShinyandNew安宇 That would be my second guess.
 
user19161
@KitΘδς I see, OK.
 
I only remember the British bear-wearing soldier.
Oh, suitcase packing! What fun... Laterz.
 
user19161
7:40 PM
@RegDwightѬſ道 Enjoy!
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 cya
 
have fun
 
user19161
@jsb I visited your website finally. I did not know you write books.
 
@JasperLoy thanks. did i mention i just sold a story to Beneath Ceaseless Skies?
i'll link to it after it goes up
 
@JSBᾶngs Make sure you ping me. I'm interested to read it too.
 
user19161
7:46 PM
@KitΘδς You can start by reading the others first.
 
@JSBᾶngs What's Beneath Ceaseless Skies?
 
user19161
@FallenAngelEyes It is three words.
 
@JSBᾶngs Huh, interesting! I'll have to check that out in more detail later. Congratulations!
@JasperLoy >_>
 
user19161
@FallenAngelEyes <_<
 
7:49 PM
@JasperLoy thank you for doing my self-promotion for me. but you should link to the page: jsbangs.wordpress.com/stories-ive-written
 
@JSBᾶngs Cool! I wrote a book too. But mine is self-published.
 
user19161
@JSBᾶngs No problem, I helped to promote Jez's website too: his firefox addons.
 
@JSBᾶngs So you write fantasy/speculative fiction type stuff?
 
user19161
@MrShinyandNew安宇 You can put that in your profile then. Maybe you can earn a few bucks from that.
 
@FallenAngelEyes yep. i'm thinking of self-publishing a future novel
 
7:50 PM
@RegDwightѬſ道 chrismcveigh.com/cm/fun.html#grid If you haven't seen this guy's stuff, it's amazing. He does photos of the whole LEGO advent calendar every year too.
 
@MrShinyandNew安宇 where is your book?
 
@JSBᾶngs Awesome. :) I read a lot of scifi/fantasy. I know many people deride genre fiction, but I still enjoy it.
 
It's a kids book
 
@FallenAngelEyes people who deride genre fiction are too stupid to enjoy it :P
 
7:51 PM
@JasperLoy I only get a couple weeks of vacation a year, so I could only take a week at once for the beach!
 
user19161
@MrShinyandNew安宇 I see, very cute title!
 
@JSBᾶngs Haha, I agree. :D
 
@FallenAngelEyes read this story: beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/story.php?s=157 it was awesome
 
Is everything on BCS short stories?
 
@FallenAngelEyes yes. and podcasts of short stories
 
7:53 PM
Ooooh. Now I'm really intrigued.
I love short stories.
 
I think there's a delightful elegance about them.
Anyone can say something in 1,000 pages, but I think it takes a particular talent to write something that's 10 pages long that makes you feel like you were punched in the gut.
 
@FallenAngelEyes That's the truth. Cutting words is the hardest part of writing, IMO.
 
user19161
@FallenAngelEyes I like to say things using the fewest words possible.
 
user19161
In school we had to summarise a long paragraph into 50 words. It was part of the English exams.
 
7:56 PM
a great many writers go by the "cut 10%" rule, where your second draft is necessarily 10% shorter than your first
i used to use that rule myself, but i've disciplined myself to the point where i no longer find that i'm writing 25% more than i have to :)
now i only cut about 5%
 
user19161
But perhaps the greatest writers have gotten it so short the first time that they cannot cut it by 10 per cent.
 
user19161
So yes you are on the road to greatness.
 
@JasperLoy I'd be surprised if that's true. I bet most writers feel that a work is NEVER finished, and there isn't really a "first time", in the sense of writing a work from beginning to end in one pass. And there are always words to cut or add. But at some point you have to let it go.
 
user19161
I used to do all my writing on paper. Then I realised it was neater and faster to do it on a computer from the start. So computers are not useless after all.
 
@MrShinyandNew安宇 sometimes there is a "first time". i write my first drafts straight through, with almost no editing or back-tracking, so when i'm done what's on the page (er, screen) is pretty much exactly what came out the first time from beginning to end
of course i edit the hell out of it later
 
user19161
8:00 PM
@JSBᾶngs Until it becomes heaven.
 
Jez
mmm
 
@JasperLoy lol +1
 
Jez
Victoria Coren looked mighty fine today
a nice little red number she was in
 
anyway. i'm off work now, so see you all tomorrow
 
user19161
@JSBᾶngs OK!
 
user19161
8:03 PM
@Jez I see you are in the VC mood today.
 
user19161
The math formatting on math SE always freezes my browser.
 
@JSBᾶngs Oh wow, that was written by The Ferret!
 
8:23 PM
morning all
 
hiya @simchona
 
user19161
Hello @sim!
 
user19161
@sim We are now adjacent in rep. I hope you overtake me soon. Yay!
 
@JasperLoy Thanks!
I can't believe my "staff" answer got 17 upvotes
 
user19161
@simchona It has 20 now.
 
user19161
8:34 PM
And I left a comment on Soccor's question saying that initial letters in titles are capitalised.
 
@aediaλ Funny stuff, and no, I haven't seen that before.
 
user19161
@RegDwightѬſ道 You finished packing I see. Enjoy your trip to Rome! I will miss you.
 
Well, I'm semi-half-demi-finished, but we decided to pause.
And thanks for the missing.
 
user19161
In the meantime I will reconsider my email plan. At most I would be too ashamed and quite SE after that.
 
user19161
Looks like Waiwai will be very busy next week then. But it seems that he just returned from his vacation.
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 I'm horrible at packing and unpacking. I always finish packing about 10 minutes before I need to head out the door, and I tend to leave unpacking until about 6+ months after I get back.
 
user19161
And my best friend here will be going away for three years, and my other good friend will be away for another year or two, sigh.
 
user19161
@FallenAngelEyes It is called procrastination.
 
user19161
@MattEllenД I was wondering why you were so quiet.
 
@FallenAngelEyes That's what my wife does. She's also terrible at the actual packing, or so she says, so even if she's going on a trip all by herself, I get the privilege of packing for her.
 
8:48 PM
@JasperLoy catching up with the chat backlog!
 
user19161
@RegDwightѬſ道 I thought it was men who procrastinate, seems I have gotten it all wrong.
 
@RegDwightѬſ道 Haha, nice.
 
user19161
Packing can be very hard. In the military we have to squeeze what you normally put into two backpacks into one. And you have to put stuff in sealed bags too so they don't get wet in the river.
 

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