English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

3:01 PM

@Robusto my mother worked for a military base with a major named Major Payne. True story.

@Kitḫ Kit, I just thought of something: what if you're a fucking fucker? Are you fucking and fucked? or fucking fucked? or fucking fucking?

Matt Эллен

3:19 PM

Teach a man to fish and he'll stink of fish

Robusto

@MattЭллен — Or you could let him google fish for you. That could come in handy.

Matt Эллен

google fishing sounds like a new craze

user19161

3:43 PM

A lizard has crawled into my room. Now I am not sure where it is hiding.

Kitḫ

The dad's name in this crappy romance novel is "Brick." Seriously.

Matt Эллен

lol

user19161

The lizard is huge. I am scared.

Matt Эллен

@Kitḫ is that because he is used to build a house?

@WillHunting is it a Komodo dragon?

Kitḫ

@MattЭллен I don't think so. I think he is also a marshal.

Robusto

3:46 PM

@Kitḫ — What? "Brick" is the main character in Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

user19161

@MattЭллен No, now it will shit all over the place and possibly crawl into my mouth.

Matt Эллен

how many lizards have crawled into your mouth?

Kitḫ

@Robusto Oh. Oh. I've never seen that. Oh.

user19161

@MattЭллен None. But I can't be sure.

Robusto

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a play by Tennessee Williams. One of Williams's best-known works and his personal favorite, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955. Set in "the bed-sitting room of a plantation home in the Mississippi Delta" of Big Daddy Pollitt, a wealthy cotton tycoon, the play examines the relationships among members of Big Daddy's family, primarily between his son Brick and Brick's wife Maggie the "Cat". Cat on a Hot Tin Roof features several recurring motifs, such as social mores, greed, superficiality, decay, sexual desire, and death. Dialogue throughout is ofte...

Matt Эллен

3:47 PM

@WillHunting my friend likes the house lizards he get in Taiwan, they kill the flies. the poop is a bit of a problem, but not a major one

user19161

@MattЭллен There aren't enough flies here to bother me, so the lizard is more of a bother.

Robusto

@MattЭллен — Poop on the furniture would always be a problem for me. YMMV.

Matt Эллен

@Robusto from what I saw they mainly poop on the walls

Kitḫ

> Rupert loved nothing better than a good case and while Hud was still hoping the bones weren't human, he knew that Rupert was pitching for the other team.

Really? What does being gay have to do with it?

Matt Эллен

:D

user19161

3:49 PM

I am very good at killing cockroaches though, but lizards are harder.

Kitḫ

I think I should get a job writing crappy romance novels.

Matt Эллен

go for it!

user19161

When the cockroach is on the floor, just drop a book on it.

user19161

But lizards are usually not on the floor.

Kitḫ

Books won't kill cockroaches.

user19161

3:50 PM

I use a very heavy book.

user19161

The other trick is to fling your slippers.

user19161

Of course YMMV.

Kitḫ

I hate roaches. Another good reason to live up north.

My bet is that the protagonist's older brother did it.

I'm on page 31, and haven't met him yet though.

JSBᾶngs

0

Q: Abbreviation. Why *xmas*?

I had seen abbreviations like sk8 (meanning skate, using sk and the number pronunciantion eight). But why Christmas is abbreviated like xmas? x pronunciation is ex and ex-mas doesn't works. Maybe is because the x looks like a cross but I don't know. Someone can explain this?

^ dup

also, this:

> The Masonic Lodge of St. George's #200, in Bermuda, rents the Old State House as their lodge for the annual sum of a single peppercorn, presented to the island's governor on a velvet cushion atop a silver platter, in an annual ceremony performed since 1816 on or about April 23.

Kitḫ

I dislike Masons.

JSBᾶngs

3:59 PM

but i like pepper

Robusto

@JSBᾶngs Word.

Kitḫ

@MrShinyandNew安宇 I'm pretty sure then you would be fucking a fucking fuck.

Matt Эллен

lol

Kitḫ

Also, @Matt, fucker is the one doing the fucking, but in this case, it is not the "fuckee" but rather the "fuck" who receives the fuck.

Matt Эллен

@Kitḫ good point, well made

Kitḫ

4:03 PM

inclines head gracefully

Robusto

@Kitḫ — Well, why is no one ever called a "motherfuckee" then?

@Reg, @Vit, @Kit, @Cer: Serenity is on our ass now.

Mahnax

Hello everyone.

Kitḫ

@Robusto Why would they be? Those are just "mothers."

Matt Эллен

hi @Mahnax

Mahnax

Hey @Matt. I liked the reference to the Joker earlier, very nice.

Matt Эллен

4:05 PM

did I? Well good :)

Mahnax

"Some people call me Maurice. They are wrong." I laughed at that.

Matt Эллен

oh! that Joker :D

Thanks

I thought I'd been talking about Batman in my sleep

Mahnax

Heh, no.

user19161

@Mahnax Boo! Are you in computer class again?

Mahnax

@WillHunting No. We don't have it today, the grade 12s are writing Diplomas in our lab. So we didn't even have to come to first period.

user19161

4:10 PM

@Mahnax Then why are you even here? OIC.

Mahnax

@WillHunting I don't have a way to get to school later.

Kitḫ

Oh. It's Roderick "Brick" Savage. My bad.

Mahnax

So I took the bus as usual, then walked to Starbucks, and returned to school. I'm currently enjoying a gingerbread frappucino and a comfortable chair.

Matt Эллен

@Kitḫ oh! well that makes it all better then

user19161

@matt You get so many upvotes for NARQ?!

Matt Эллен

4:12 PM

@WillHunting I think it is a real question, which is why I answered it.

user19161

@Mahnax Good good. I am currently having a Milo drink.

Matt Эллен

I do agree that the number of up votes is disproportionate to the quality of the question

Mahnax

@WillHunting What is that? I have never heard of it.

Matt Эллен

but I also pointed out that I was rep whoring

I guess it's hit the multicollider

user19161

Milo (drink)

Milo ()is a chocolate and malt powder which is mixed with hot or cold water and/or milk to produce a beverage which is popular in many parts of the world. Produced by Nestlé, Milo was originally developed by Thomas Mayne in Sydney, Australia in 1934. It is marketed and sold in many countries around the world. Most commonly sold as a powder in a green tin, often depicting various sporting activities, Milo is available as a premixed beverage in some countries, and has been subsequently developed into a snack bar and breakfast cereal. Its composition and taste differ in some countries. Hi...

Kitḫ

4:13 PM

It's too obvious that the murderer is supposed to be his dad, so I figure it's got to be someone else.

Matt Эллен

good thinking

user19161

I stopped reading fiction after high school.

Mahnax

@WillHunting Ah, like Ovaltine.

user19161

@Mahnax The amazing thing is that the Milo produced in different countries really do taste different.

Mahnax

@WillHunting Hmm, that is interesting.

user19161

4:16 PM

@Mahnax Just like KFC is packaged differently hehe!

Mahnax

@WillHunting Yep! Or how like you guys have Hot 'N Crispy and we don't.

Matt Эллен

yup, it's second in the multicollider

user19161

@Mahnax Yeah, it's not really that hot so no worries.

Mahnax

@WillHunting But I would like to have it.

user19161

@Mahnax Good good. When you come then.

Mahnax

4:19 PM

@WillHunting If I come to Singapore at some point in my life, I will. Although I learned about something cool that I might do. I could get my Ph.D, then travel the world teaching.

Matt Эллен

a picture speaks a thousand words. except for the picture I borrowed from Vitaly, which is a picture of words.

6

user19161

@Mahnax Good for you if it happens then. You can be like Paul Erdos. Of course you need to be really good to travel the world teaching.

Kitḫ

@Mahnax You don't need a PhD to travel the world and teach.

Mahnax

@WillHunting Yes, I know. I will probably teach at a university somewhere for a while before starting my travels, if I decide to do that.

@Kitḫ I know. But I want one, so I can call myself Dr. [lastname].

user19161

@Mahnax Dr is nothing for you. Aim for Prof.

Mahnax

4:23 PM

@WillHunting Well, yeah. I want to teach at universities.

Matt Эллен

If you stop at MSc. you can call yourself Master of Science!

user19161

I am a master of bullshit.

Mahnax

@WillHunting In what sense?

user19161

@Mahnax Well, most of the things I say are bullshit. Elementary, Watson!

Mahnax

@WillHunting Oh, that's what you mean.

Kitḫ

4:25 PM

Well, you may call me Engineer Kit.

Or Master Kit, whichever you prefer.

Mahnax

Yes ma'am.

Kitḫ

Just don't call me late for dinner.

Mahnax

I like this letter: ф

user19161

@Kitḫ It will just be early breakfast then.

Matt Эллен

18 hours ago, by Robusto

ZOMG, or maybe ... a Kit Girl! Can it be only a coincidence?

Kitḫ

4:28 PM

@MattЭллен Oh for the love of Freyja. Have you been taking my name in vain whilst I am not here?

Matt Эллен

Only in a good way looks innocent

user19161

@mahnax Just so you know Cambridge standard, math lecturer there=Associate Prof in US.

Mahnax

@WillHunting Hmm, okay.

Kitḫ

18 hours ago, by Robusto

The purple hair, the leather body suit, the plaid, pleated skirt, the combination of bloodthirst and innocence — it all fits.

This is what you think I look like?

Matt Эллен

When you're a super hero...

Mahnax

4:32 PM

@Kitḫ Wha....?

Kitḫ

Hmm. Lunchtime. Laterz.

Matt Эллен

cya @Kit

Mahnax

Bai @Kit.

user19161

@Mahnax I noticed you changed your last name three times at least.

Mahnax

@WillHunting Yep. I must be more careful.

My friend's cat is named Пушка.

Robusto

4:35 PM

Pushka?

Mahnax

Yes.

They are not Russian, nor do they speak Russian. It was an accident. They just named her "Pushka".

user19161

@Mahnax Good good. You should be careful, even of me if you so wish.

Mahnax

@WillHunting Yeah.

-1

Q: English articles

Could you help me with English article usage? Which articles should I use in the descriptions of pictures? A or THE? For example I want to describe a picture in an exam: In the picture I can see........ three children playing in a garden / in the garden a couple walking in a park / in the pa...

articles

Dupe!

user19161

@Mahnax But tell me if you find me creepy.

Mahnax

@WillHunting Okay.

Matt Эллен

4:41 PM

@Mahnax well spotted

Mahnax

@MattЭллен Thank you.

user19161

@MattЭллен Was it band practice you left for last night?

Matt Эллен

It was

user19161

I vaguely remember the Tuesday thing.

Matt Эллен

Ah, yes, it did used to be regularly on a Tuesday. We've moved to Monday, but we had to switch to Tuesday, this week, since the bassist had some other engagement

user19161

4:56 PM

@MattЭллен I also remember what day it is about a month from now.

Matt Эллен

ah, well, that will be a day of great rejoicing across the globe :)

user19161

You know, people may find me creepy just because I remember all these things.

Matt Эллен

I suppose it is not the remembering, but the announcing that some people (not when it involves me) find disconcerting

user19161

@MattЭллен True, I never announce overly sensitive info I think.

Matt Эллен

exactly

at least I don't think you have

user19161

5:06 PM

-1

Q: English articles

Possible Duplicate: Are there any simple rules for article usage (“a” vs “the” vs none) Could you help me with English article usage? Which articles should I use in the descriptions of pictures? A or the? For example I want to describe a picture in an exam: I...

articles

user19161

Closed first by the three Matts!

MetaEd

1

Q: Censorship of offensive questions

This recent question raised debate over the censorship of questions containing offensive language (or their titles, at least). I always understood the offensive-language tag to serve that purpose. I suggest the following approach: No censoring of posts and their titles, but the offensive-langu...

discussion feature-request

Okay, I put my oar in on this metaquestion. I hope I didn't make a total fool of myself.

user19161

@MetaEd Well, Jeff always bowdlerizes the title.

Matt Эллен

toodles!

MetaEd

@WillHunting Right, and I'm not trying to pass judgment on him. Site policy is up to the site owner.

(s)

Kitḫ

5:42 PM

@MetaEd I thought he was a little twit in his response to you.

Cerberus

@MetaEd Why not criticise him?

He is far, far from perfect.

Kitḫ

@MetaEd I thought it was nice. And I really strongly agree that it should be in the FAQ. Especially if JA is going to insist on it as "policy."

OHai, @Cerb!

MetaEd

@Kitḫ His reply to me was perhaps more harsh than I would have done in his place. Is that critical enough?

Cerberus

@Kitḫ Hai!

Kitḫ

@MetaEd Very balanced. Maybe you should seek employment at Fox News. I hear they are also balanced.

:P

Cerberus

5:50 PM

@MetaEd I was going to reply to him, "why don't you lead by example", but alas the question is locked.

God I hate that guy.

@MetaEd It is something!

MetaEd

@Cerberus If I were inclined to criticize, I would criticize the policy. Criticizing a person is generally counterproductive.

Kitḫ

Cerb's a bit fiery. Hanging out at the Hellmouth a bit too much.

Cerberus

@MetaEd He IS policy. He makes all of it.

Kitḫ

Puppy, it's his site, and his policy to make.

It's his prerogative.

Cerberus

@Kitḫ Yeah I will never forgive him for bullying away Kosmo, Rhodri, etc.

@Kitḫ So?

He still displeases me greatly.

MetaEd

5:52 PM

@Kitḫ This.

Kitḫ

@Cerberus Then start your own site and have your own policies.

Cerberus

I want him to disappear from here and never show his face around English.se ever again.

Kitḫ

And the first one can be "Jeff Atwood is not allowed."

Cerberus

@Kitḫ Or he could just leave us alone.

Kitḫ

scratches Cerb's tummy

Cerberus

5:53 PM

He is allowed, as long as he exhibits a bare minimum of civility.

Kitḫ

Are you good at maths?

Cerberus

Not especially. Why?

Kitḫ

Damn sleep deprivation has been shaving off IQ points again.

MetaEd

How advanced?

Cerberus

You too, huh?

Kitḫ

5:54 PM

@MetaEd Simple.

Cerberus

I got 4 hours.

MetaEd

@Kitḫ Throw it out there.

Cerberus

Throw it on the floor!

Jinx!

Though my phrasing was perhaps somewhat less respectful.

Kitḫ

OK. I have a function that calculates the difference between the highest score and the lowest score for an intervention.

Each intervention has many lessons.

I have a second function that figures how many lessons in each intervention.

I want to do an aggregate average.

So I would sum the score differences and divide them by the sum of the total lessons?

Or sum the result of the score difference divided by the total lessons and divide it by the total number of interventions?

Stupid brain rot is confounding me.

MetaEd

( a + b + c ) / q is equivalent to a/q + b/q + c/q. If I understand what you are saying, it doesn't matter, does it?

Do you have multiple interventions that you want the mean of? Or are you trying to arrive at the mean score of a single intervention?

Kitḫ

5:59 PM

@MetaEd Um. I don't think that's exactly it, but maybe that's why I'm having a problem...

Let me go through it again.

Each intervention has a deltaTRL (change between highest score and lowest).

I need to figure the average deltaTRL for multiple interventions.

MetaEd

Over your entire population of all interventions.

Kitḫ

Right.

It should be a weighted average, depending on how many lessons were in a given intervention.

MetaEd

That sounds like ( deltaTRL(1) + deltaTRL(2) + ... + deltaTRL(n) ) / n

ah.

Kitḫ

Oh. But I said weighted average. That means multiply each delta by the number of lessons and then divide by the total lessons, right?

Cerberus

@Kitḫ If this is all you need, and you have deltaTRL which is per intervention, why do you need to know about numbers of lessons at all?

MetaEd

6:03 PM

So it's going to be ( nlessons(1)deltaTRL(1) + nlessons(2)deltaTRL(2) + ... + nlessons(n)deltaTRL(n) ) / sum(nlessons(1..n))

Kitḫ

OK. Thanks.

Now to write that in SQL.

MetaEd

Thank me only if I turn out to be right!

SQL? Ugh. Surely we can do that with a regular expression :-D

Kitḫ

@MetaEd Well, it doesn't matter all that much. I just need to start from a defensible point.

@MetaEd RegEx? You're not a programmer, are you?

MetaEd

I'm afraid so.

Kitḫ

C#?

MetaEd

6:07 PM

I never touch the stuff, but thanks for offering.

Kitḫ

Hmm. python?

MetaEd

Used to do a lot of C and some C++, but mostly these days it's Perl.

Kitḫ

gasp

hides

Shit.

MetaEd

@Kitḫ What did I say wrong? :-D

Cerberus

looks disapprovingly It seems Kit had a little accident.

Kitḫ

6:11 PM

9.5 / 4 is not 38

Or rather, 9.5 * 4 / 4 is not 38

Matt Эллен

indeed, it's 9.5

yes! hard code the numbers. no messy calculations

Cerberus

In any anyone missed him: this is Jeff.

Kitḫ

So you can plainly see why he has such a complex.

Cerberus

Aww. I wasn't going to comment on it.

Kitḫ

Come on. What's stopping you? You love ad hominem.

ab infinitum.

Cerberus

6:18 PM

Jun 10 '11 at 10:19, by RegDwight

A picture is worth a thousand words. Especially if it's a thousand Capitalizationist words.

Kitḫ

titters

Cerberus

@Kitḫ Ahhhh!

@Kitḫ I hate committing fallacies in discussions.

I really do.

I will attack without restraint within the rules.

Kitḫ

I thought you loved a good phal—oh, you said fallacy.

Cerberus

Phalanges?

By the way, this Irene is really not very knowledgeable.

Kitḫ

Who's that?

MetaEd

6:20 PM

Ah, yes.
The youths who frequent picture palaces
have no need for psychoanalysis.
And though Dr. Freud
is distinctly annoyed
they cling to their long-standing fallacies.

Cerberus

I (critically) commented on her answer to the Eureka question, but she's only digging herself a deeper hole.

3

Q: Why do we spell "eureka", not "heureka"?

Why is the spelling "eureka" by far more preferable to "heureka" in English? Greek vocabularies give "heureka" for the perfect to "heurisko".

etymology spelling greek aspiration

@MetaEd Beautiful! I am moved.

Kitḫ

@MetaEd Shocking. Filthy. Foul. Funny.

Cerberus

I like the counter-spelling-wise rhyming, or whatever that is called.

@Kitḫ If that is filthy to you already, young lady, life has much in store for you!

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus limerick

Cerberus

@MattЭллен Is that actually required in limericks?

Kitḫ

6:24 PM

@MattЭллен It's the Master of Limerick!

Cerberus

I thought any rhyme would do.

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus I'm not sure what you were getting at with counter-spelling-wise :S

Cerberus

@MattЭллен I mean, I know that is a limerick!

Matt Эллен

phew! I was worried for a second

Cerberus

I mean having -alaces rhyme with -alysis and (not-quite) -allacies.

Matt Эллен

6:26 PM

oh, I see. No, that's not a requirement

Cerberus

But is is cool.

Matt Эллен

yeah

Cerberus

And -eud, -oyed.

Let's all call him Froyed!

Matt Эллен

(In English Freud rhymes with annoyed)

Cerberus

@MattЭллен Noooooo you can't be serious!

Matt Эллен

6:27 PM

@Cerberus ahem looks a little sheepish we already do

Cerberus

@MattЭллен Yes but in writing.

MetaEd

I'm afreud so.

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus OIC

Robusto

@Cerberus Don't forget psmears.

Cerberus

He would no doubt find we were raped by sheep as toddlers.

MetaEd

6:29 PM

What an awful thought. Sheep are so boring. Goats, now, they have personality.

Cerberus

@Robusto Yes! I still miss him too. I sometimes come upon another one of his excellent answers that I had never seen before.

@MetaEd Ah, you are of that persuasion.

MetaEd

@Cerberus If it begins with "ill", I probably am.

Cerberus

Eek I misused ilk.

MetaEd

Ilk!

Cerberus

@MetaEd Ill as in sick in your mind?

Kitḫ

6:31 PM

illegitimate

illiterate

illicit

MetaEd

I'm loving y'all.

Cerberus

@Kitḫ Hey look who's talking. That's not nice.

Kitḫ

illongate

Cerberus

@MetaEd Goat-love?

Perhaps next time.

Kitḫ

I am a fox, not a goat.

Cerberus

6:33 PM

I am a sheep, not a wolf. grins

howls

Robusto

@Cerberus — You are a sheep in wolf's clothing.

Cerberus

I used to have this Firefox extension that let me automate pressing a button.

@Robusto I'll take that as a compliment.

Stupid extension, were are you? Where on the wild, wide internets are you hiding?

Matt Эллен

why do you need to automate a button press? have your fingers dropped off?

MetaEd

illaqueating
illegal
illegible
illogical

Kitḫ

6:49 PM

illustrious

MetaEd

illusory

yes, all those things.

Oh, this reminds me of a game.

Kitḫ

ill-advised

ill-tempered

Do hyphenated ones apply as well?

ill-conceived

I wonder if there is a rule for ill-* formed words...

Ill-met-by-moonlight

@MetaEd What, are you on dial-up? What's the game? :-P

Matt Эллен

illuminate us

MetaEd

I am snagged trying to remember the name of the game.

I think it was the "blood game". And it was the creation of an author I like, maybe Twain or Thurber.

Kitḫ

@aedia smooch

hands coffee

Look, @aedia! We have a new pirate friend.

aedia λ

6:58 PM

@Kitḫ shoves face in coffee cup

Cerberus

@MattЭллен I hate having to press the same button time and again!

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus how do you automate it?

MetaEd

The idea is to find the definition of a word in its spelling. There is a term for this, "kangaroo word", which I was not familiar with before today.

Kitḫ

@Cerberus So you would press a button in order to avoid pressing a button?

Cerberus

@MattЭллен It would involve—ah, I see where this is going.

Kitḫ

6:59 PM

@MetaEd OK. What's an example?

Cerberus

@Kitḫ Yes. D'oh.

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus ;)

Transcript for

English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…