English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Robusto

12:27 AM

We Reached The Next Mind Blowing Era of Ion Engine Propulsion

►

I really like this guy. Anton Petrov.

Always low-key, but always fascinating stuff.

CowperKettle

6:27 AM

↑↓

M.A.R.

6:57 AM

@CowperKettle ↨

CowperKettle

@Robusto Thank you! Quite interesting

I love the comment there: "It's definitely something to keep an ion"

Xanne

8:07 AM

What is this, Pun Central?

M.A.R.

8:24 AM

feature-request Rename room name to Pun Central

Captain Bohemian

9:41 AM

raining

hunger

CowperKettle

12:28 PM

raining

indigestion

I ate too many rusks yesterday, with chicken

Robusto

room topic changed to English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room: We are Pun Central, and your headquarters for Dad Jokes of all kinds. [phrase-requests] [pronunciation] [single-word-requests] [synonyms]

CowperKettle

> Gongs hum and buzz like saucepan-lids at dusk,
I see a food-hog whet his gold-filled tusk
To eat less bread, and more luxurious rusk.

CowperKettle

1:07 PM

Violence in Belarus. I think that Putin is closely tracking the developments in order to devour Belarus should he have the slightest chance to do so. Circling above like a vulture with his eyes on the prey.

M.A.R.

1:27 PM

@CowperKettle What's the opposite of bald eagle?

Cerberus

@CowperKettle Or he is closely watching Belarus in fear of another Maidan.

He could profit from this: if Lukashenko should feel threatened enough by a revolution, he may call in Putin as the lesser evil.

CowperKettle

@Cerberus Could be so!

Cerberus

Without any resistance from Lukashenko's army, Belarus will be far easier to take over than Ukraine turned out to be.

Putin doesn't want another Ukraine.

He does want another Crimea.

So a revolution could be a threat but also an opportunity for Putin.

CowperKettle

If he had stopped after annexing Crimea, it would have been a bloodless takeover. But it seems that he does not know where to stop. He must have had information that not all population in Eastern Ukraine was pro-Russian, but he ignored it.

Cerberus

He thought he could take more, also because he thought there was widespread support among speakers of Russian in eastern Ukraine.

And because he thought Kiev would put up less of a resistance.

CowperKettle

1:38 PM

Yes, but polls showed that it was not so. A good special services agent must always look for quality information.

Cerberus

Yeah.

How is support for Russia in Belarus at the moment?

Are there may ethnic Russians in the east?

CowperKettle

I've no idea )) Since there is no tension like in Ukraine between East and West, there must be generally good feeling towards Russia but not towards Putin's regime. Since even Lukashekno many times told publicly that he does not approve Putin's dealings in Ukraine.

I have the impression that 100% of Belarussians speak Russian

Cerberus

Lukashenko wants to remain independent of Russia, but above all he wants to remain in power.

@CowperKettle OK. But do they feel ethnically Russian?

CowperKettle

Looks like almost all urban population uses Russian in everyday living.

@Cerberus Oh, I'm not an expert on that.

I always wished for Ukraine, Russia and Belarus to reunite.

Prior to 2014

And the rural population uses Belarussian in everyday living.

It's the same in Eastern Ukraine, that's why a fierce war erupted.

Cerberus

Hmm.

What is the source of those statistics?

Besides, using the language doesn't necessarily mean they would want to join Russia.

CowperKettle

1:45 PM

But even in Eastern Ukraine the city of Donetsk was not in rebellion against Ukraine until a Russian-led guerilla detachment captured the city. Igor Strelkov's recollections say that "we entered Donetsk and it was a totally peaceful place".

Русский язык в Белоруссии

Русский язык в Белоруссии является одним из двух государственных языков. Данный статус русский язык получил согласно результатам республиканского референдума 1995 года, когда за придание русскому языку статуса государственного проголосовало 99,3 % населения, принявшего участие в референдуме. == История == === Начало === Литературная форма белорусского языка развилась только к началу XX века, в острой конкуренции с русским, польским и под их сильным влиянием главным образом на базе публикаций белорусских писателей и корреспондентов газеты «Наша Нива» (белор. «Наша Ніва»). === После Окт...

Cerberus

Speakers of German in Switzerland certainly don't want to join Germany.

CowperKettle

It's from Wikipedia's page "Russian language in Belarus"

Cerberus

@CowperKettle Right.

CowperKettle

Would speakers of German in Northern Italy want to join Germany?

Cerberus

Maybe.

But not so much because of the language, but rather because Germany is richer.

Or maybe they feel very Italian by now.

I don't know.

M.A.R.

1:47 PM

For the record, a year ago I honestly expected riots and rebellions until people (mostly youngsters of course) would overthrow this regime. Until the morons in Pentagon assassinated Gen. Soleimani.

Cerberus

How did that change, exactly?

M.A.R.

I'm saying it surprised me the lengths people would go to if they feel the country is threatened by foreign intrusion.

Belarus lost 30 percent of its population in WWII IIRC. More % than any other European country

Cerberus

@M.A.R. Right, that makes sense.

Though the effect should slowly ebb away.

M.A.R.

Well the bloody pandemic should have even riots and rebellions on hold

But yeah, it probably already has. It feels like a decade has passed since then

CowperKettle

@M.A.R. Yes, any external conflict mobilizes the people to rally round any current leader, iven if bad.

@M.A.R. Yes

M.A.R.

1:52 PM

@CowperKettle Yes

Cerberus

> The author of the research claims that the start of this falling trend coincided with a notorious statement made by former Russian premier, Dmitry Medvedev, in December 2018. He issued an ultimatum to Belarus, saying that cut-price energy would only be offered in exchange for heightened integration within the Union State of Russia and Belarus. Back then, the level of support for integration with Russia was 60.3%, but it is now a mere 40.4%.

> The expert also reminds us that this relatively high percentage of respondents who still support a union with Russia (which is already in force, since Russia and Belarus are members of a Union State) does not imply a desire to be absorbed by Russia. Only 3.7% of those polled replied affirmatively when asked whether Belarus should become a subject of the Russian Federation.

CowperKettle

Yes, there is a gossip that Putin offered Lukashenko a subordinated role in a new united state, and Lukashenko refused. But nobody knows for sure

Cerberus

> Vardomatski also points out that, since early 2019, the demographic of those professing pro-European sympathies has widened for the first time. Previously, such attitudes only prevailed among the 18–24 age group but, for a year now, the majority of the 25–34 age group would also like to see Belarus as an EU member.

So perhaps Belarussian attitudes resemble those of eastern Ukraine?

CowperKettle

Lukashenko set the launch of a large new nuclear powerplant on the pre-election day exactly to show that from now on, Belarus will not depend on Russia as strongly as before. 2500 MWt of power.

@Cerberus Maybe. Because a generation has grown up who have never lived in a united state.

Cerberus

@CowperKettle That's nice for him, and possibly for Belarus.

12 mins ago, by CowperKettle

But even in Eastern Ukraine the city of Donetsk was not in rebellion against Ukraine until a Russian-led guerilla detachment captured the city. Igor Strelkov's recollections say that "we entered Donetsk and it was a totally peaceful place".

CowperKettle

1:58 PM

Astravets Nuclear Power Plant

The Astravets Nuclear Power Plant is a multi-reactor nuclear power plant in Astravyets District, Grodno Region, Belarus. Initial plans of the plant were announced in the 1980s, but were suspended after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. The drive for revival of the project was fueled by the Russia-Belarus energy dispute in 2007. The plant consists of two nuclear reactors built between 2016 and 2020, and probably two more reactors by 2025. The reactors were supplied by Atomstroyexport. == History == === Planning === In the 1980s there were plans to build a nuclear heating and power plant in R...

Cerberus

Was this perhaps because Ukrainian soldiers were present in Donetsk?

CowperKettle

The reactors were first launched just days ago.

Cerberus

I think [not rebelling against Kiev ≠ not supporting Russia].

I apologise for the double negation.

CowperKettle

Yes, rebelling against Kiev is not supporting Russia. There were local magnates who played their game, and local anti-Maidan activists also did not want to unite with Russia, they wanted more rights to the Russian language.

There is such a complex medieval scheme with many different players.

It was foolish for Russia to get tangled into this can of worms.

I bet there were army and FSB men who spoke out at meetings against intervention.

Just like in Brezhnev's time there were specialists who spoke out against invading Afghanistan. Not publicly but at closed meetings of the top authorities.

Cerberus

2:14 PM

@CowperKettle Conversely, many who supported Russia may have been disinclined to rebel against Kiev directly.

@CowperKettle Quite possibly.

belsat.eu/en/news/…

This was the article about public opinion in Belarus.

@CowperKettle It seems that the plan was built by a Russian company, and funded by Russian loans.

M.A.R.

2:58 PM

@Cerberus triple

CowperKettle

@Cerberus Yes, so basically Russia helped Belarus to become more independent.

Or maybe it is dependent on Russian nuclear fuel and specialists?

Cerberus

3:39 PM

@CowperKettle I would expect a combination of both.

It is dependent on the Russian company for maintenance and similar, but Russia can't unilaterally cut power on short notice, as it regularly threatens to do with the oil/gas it supplies to Belarus.

Robusto

Has anybody ever kick-muted the Smoke Detector? I wonder, would that cause a fire?

Not that I'm planning on doing that. Just curious.

@M.A.R. I did the next best thing.

M.A.R.

@Robusto The creators specifically ask mods to kick-mute Smokey if it malfunctions

There's also a mod-only command to shut it down or similar IIRC

@Robusto Thankses I saw it

Robusto

But does it cause a fire? Or do you then not notice if a fire happens?

M.A.R.

It has caused some fires

Robusto

I think it would be a cool (hot?) effect to have smoke and flames coming up from the bottom of the screen.

M.A.R.

3:49 PM

Sometimes the only way spam would get deleted fast enough is if Smokey detects it, especially on smaller betas

@Robusto Or the next best thing, less active sites filled with Viagra and Weight loss spam

Robusto

Heh, true.

That's the real Smokey.

M.A.R.

So what's the shovel for?

Robusto

Or the real fictional character Smokey.

M.A.R.

Putting out smaller forest fires?

Robusto

@M.A.R. In our case, shoveling shit.

But shovels are used to clear flammable forest-floor detritus. In the creation of firebreaks.

M.A.R.

3:52 PM

Hah, SO expanded the idea behind Smokey (of course) and made a center for crap-detecting bots

NAA, rude comments, you name it.

They call themselves SOBotics. Programmers and naming, I know.

The slack team they called "SO shit shovel"

Robusto

I actually worked on a forest-fire crew once back in my late teens. I only drove a water truck (water for firefighter refreshment, not for putting out fires). But it was very educational.

M.A.R.

Those frontline jobs, you learn a lot by simply being close to one of them

Robusto

True.

I did work hard, though, not just driving. The pickup I drove was filled with 5-gallon containers I would drop off with the fire crews, picking up empties and refilling them back at the base. Five gallons of water weighs about 40 lbs., which is about 18 kilograms.

Imagine carrying that kind of weight for 16 hours or more every day. When we slept it was on cots in tents, and when we got up we had crappy scrambled eggs and sausage and went right back to work. Lunch was Spam sandwiches. So was dinner.

I also carried food for the crews. But that was inconsequential. The water was what weighed a lot.

CowperKettle

5:37 PM

Pleasant drizzle, low clouds and +14C

Robusto

@CowperKettle How do you get Strava to output that kind of summary with a picture?

CowperKettle

6:01 PM

@Robusto It has a "share" button in the Android app, and you can choose a picture you've taken during the run.

After that, I just save the picture from the social network

Robusto

Ah. I was looking on my computer, not my phone.

CowperKettle

Yes, on the computer it has no such feature, seemingly

Robusto

There we go. That's yesterday's ride.

Too hot to go too fast or too long.

About 37° C at the end of the ride.

Thanks for the how-to.

CowperKettle

Beautiful river!

Robusto

That is the Rio Grande.

CowperKettle

6:18 PM

Are you in Texas?

Robusto

New Mexico.

That picture was taken from the Alameda bridge over the Rio Grande in Albuquerque.

:55207628 I followed you on Strava. You can follow me back from there.

CowperKettle

Okay!

Robusto

And we are connected.

CowperKettle

Great-looking mountains! I wonder how high they are.

Sandia Mountains

The Sandia Mountains (Southern Tiwa: Posu gai hoo-oo, Keres: Tsepe, Navajo: Dził Nááyisí; Tewa: O:ku:pį, Northern Tiwa: Kep'íanenemą; Towa: Kiutawe, Zuni: Chibiya Yalanne), are a mountain range located in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, immediately to the east of the city of Albuquerque in New Mexico in the southwestern United States; just due south of the Rocky Mountains southern terminus, part of the Sandia–Manzano Mountains, largely within the Cibola National Forest and protected as the Sandia Mountain Wilderness. Its highest point is Sandia Crest, 10,678 feet (3,255 m). == Etymolog...

3000 meters! In the Urals, the highest mountain is about 1700 meters.

Robusto

@CowperKettle Highest point is a little over 3000 meters.

Part of the Rocky Mountains, which have peaks over 4500 m.

CowperKettle

6:25 PM

I went only as high as 1600 meters, summiting the Konzhakovsky Kamen. Still we were above the clouds.

Robusto

It's cool when that happens.

Both literally and figuratively.

CowperKettle

Yes, it was very cold. I first went in November, and then in December ))

Robusto

Yikes!

Did you forget you were in Russia?

CowperKettle

The December trip was the best. The snow in our campsite went to our waists. We had to dig the snow for a couple of hours in order just to pitch the tent.

@Robusto It's more picturesque in winter, and you don't have the danger of meeting a bear, or breaking your leg on the stone run.

The stone run, or the stone river, called kurumnik in Russian. It's then there are a lot of boulders.

And in the winter there is no rain, and there are no mosquitoes.

Robusto

@CowperKettle I've camped out in January in Massachusetts. It wasn't really that bad, if you're dressed for it.

@CowperKettle No mosquitoes. Now I get it.

CowperKettle

6:28 PM

))

Ascending the top, it's necessary to wear a ski mask, or you will turn back due to the cold and sharp wind.

Robusto

@CowperKettle Jager shots in the snow, huh? That's dangerous.

CowperKettle

@Robusto Only a little. I do not drink, personally. I love a glass of wine but no more than a glass.

Robusto

A wise policy.

CowperKettle

And there we sat and ate some gorp, or trail mix

Robusto

I've had drinks with Irish, British, French, and Russians. I couldn't keep up with any of them, especially the Russians.

CowperKettle

6:34 PM

Heh

And here there's always a stream of very strong wind passing into the valley below. You can "lay down" on the wind, it will keep you standing. But it's dangerous because it can also blow you down into the valley below.

Robusto

Ouch.

CowperKettle

And in November on the same trail, the weather was a bit worse, but beautiful. Clouds running right through you.

Robusto

Nice.

CowperKettle

Sometimes a person gets lost there in the blizzard.

And it's hard to find them, because there is no cellular coverage.

Even where there is, on other mountains, it's hard to find people.

In January 2019 a couple of girls strayed from their group on a different mountain and despite there being a phone connection they were found only a day later.

One froze to death, the other had her both legs amputated.

Robusto

Yikes.

Færd

7:26 PM

@M.A.R. We should take pride in that.

@M.A.R. I didn't mean to say you were a prodigy.

@CowperKettle Those are astounding pictures

Captain Bohemian

Have you found your helpers?

It has been wee hours now.

M.A.R.

7:43 PM

@Færd خخخخخخ

@Færd I didn't mean to say either. You're arguing for optimizing talent and resources, and I'm dismissing it in a laissez faire Jeff Lebowski manner. Nobody's optimizing resources when they're four. Unless they're being made to do that and aren't going to be very happy with it later on.

Hmm, maybe that French thing I have to triple check for spelling is a bit too limited to political contexts. Alternatives? "Easy-going"? "Stoic"?

@Færd Check out r/EarthPorn

M.A.R.

8:12 PM

I'm reading Gateway. The guy has done his research. Good book so far, but it's of course building up to something and my judgement might depend on how it pulls that off

Færd

@M.A.R. That looks like what I was arguing for. But I really just wanted to take a jab at the concept of the border and feel naughty about myself.

CowperKettle

Gateway (novel)

Gateway is a 1977 science fiction novel by American writer Frederik Pohl. It is the opening novel in the Heechee saga, with four sequels that followed (five books overall). Gateway won the 1978 Hugo Award for Best Novel, the 1978 Locus Award for Best Novel, the 1977 Nebula Award for Best Novel, and the 1978 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. The novel was adapted into a computer game in 1992. == Publishing history == Gateway was serialized in Galaxy prior to its hardcover publication. A short concluding chapter, cut before publication, was later published in the August...

This Gateway?

Færd

@M.A.R. Nice. But Cowper's pictures looked nicer at that moment.

@M.A.R. Yeah that's an economic term. stone-faced maybe? nonchalant? apathetic?

CowperKettle

@M.A.R. Google translates this as perch

Færd

Google Translate is improving.

But it still needs a lot of help.

CowperKettle

8:18 PM

And when I put this word in Google Images..