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1:00 PM
Of course it's really me.
 
Well...
 
You think I'd let an impostor live?
 
You have no power on Skeptics, have you?
 
I have the power to downvote everyone. That not enough?
 
what's Skeptics? might be a weird thingy that RegD doesn't have the power
 
1:01 PM
@Boob You do realize we have like 50 sites and counting?
 
It kills your fantasies and eats your dreams. That's what it is.
 
77
Skepticsskeptics.stackexchange.com

Beta Q&A site for skeptics, rationalists, free thinkers, or anyone who questions woo and pseudoscience. Skeptics is aimed at *applied* skepticism -- researching specific areas of woo or pseudoscience. It is not for philosophical discussions about skepticism.

Currently in public beta.

This is how we do it round here @Cerberus.
 
@RegDwight really? how unique you are
 
@Reg: How? I just posted the URL, and nothing!
 
morning, everyone. i see we're off to a good start with fascism, communism, and mass-downvoting being the topics of the day
 
1:05 PM
@Cerberus so better not to have the power, hum?
 
@Cerberus Quoting that excellent song from The Simpsons: "I'm better than you."
(It's a link to area51.)
 
@JSBangs morning
I'd better stop boot-licking now =D
 
@JSBangs Well, what would you expect from the Internet Nazi Hitler?
 
@Boob: Well, if you don't kill your dreams now, someone is going to come and kill them anyway, at a less convenient time...
@Reg: Thank you for that information.
 
i love ELU chat because it's so cheerful
 
1:07 PM
You must be drunk.
 
@Cerberus That's so damn true.
 
No wait, that's Cerberus' job.
 
It is morning here!
 
it's only 8 am here. it's not nearly late enough to be drunk.
unless i'm still drunk from last night
 
@Cerberus Never stopped you before.
 
1:08 PM
Jinx!
 
@JSBangs Never stopped him before.
Self-jinx.
 
@Reg: Hey I was just trying to share in the spirit of this conversation... never take my words literally!
 
Feb 18 at 17:59, by RegDwight
Expect this to be quoted.
 
@Rhodri the answers to that were a train wreck. i did some helpful voting, and now your answer is #1
 
@RegDwight Nooo....
 
1:12 PM
@Reg: can that Greek to me graph be overlaid over a map of the world in aiSee?
@Reg: yEd can't seem to route the edges without them being over the nodes in such a case
 
@Cerberus you're drowning? give me your hand
drowning in a sea of information
 
That, and in the fear of being quoted in Reg's evil ways...
 
@Vitaly Uh. aiSee is for automatic graph layout. The map of the world is laid out already. What you can do in aiSee, though, is assign all nodes fixed coordinates, so that it only draws the edges. If you choose a hierarchical layout model, then the edges shouldn't cross the nodes.
 
Q: Has anyone ever been kicked out of this chat for misbehaviour, spamming, or the like?
 
Robusto!
 
1:15 PM
I figured as much (that nodes can be assigned fixed coordinates), but will it look good?
 
Or does one need some rep to join?
(Except Robusto.)
 
@Vitaly I can't tell. I'd have to try myself.
@Cerberus 20 reps.
 
20 rep. is needed, if you mean that
 
Ahh ok.
Why oh why do my hands smell like rotten plants? I just washed them!
 
You trying to figure out why there's no spam in this room or what?
 
1:17 PM
Parenting room is for parents?
 
@Cerberus That's how dogs smell. Period.
@Boob Every room is for everyone as long as you behave.
 
I was just wondering whether any moderating was happening in this room.
 
There are rooms with restricted access, but they are marked as such.
 
Ah it is this new mouse mat I bought yesterday!
It smells bad.
 
Speaking of which.
-1
Q: About burson-marsteller, a PR company.

snoozeIs there some meaning about the two words: 'burson' and 'marsteller'?

Doesn't look good to me. Delete?
 
1:18 PM
Haha.
I don't know... what about Rafael's answer?
 
@Cerberus Some new computer entertainment smell like dead dog
 
@Cerberus Tough luck, I guess.
 
Plants, dead plants!
Dammit. Stupid browser and typing on se sites hate each other.
 
Use your claws, not your paws.
 
I have something like force-directed layout with possible smooth bends in mind for that graph&worldmap
I think it would be interesting to see how it combines with actual origins of the languages
and trade routes (the Silk Road, etc)
 
1:21 PM
@Vitaly I am fairly certain that everything and anything is allowed to overlap in forcedir. Not just in aiSee, in pretty much every other package, too.
You'd have to go with some modified algorithms, like TomSawyer or something, which cost like 40k at least.
 
Well that's a feature for you to implement. ;)
 
I am too busy implementing conversations on random websites, 24/7.
Can't be bothered writing some software or something.
 
XD
 
@Vitaly I don't think it has anything to do with language origins.
Don't need a map for that.
It's rather obviously about scripts.
Greek, Chinese, Aramaic.
 
with that updated Wikipedia list Spanish is a popular language to refer to
 
1:25 PM
TDG
 
and it rather obviously has a similar script
in fact, it's the second most popular after Chinese
 
Well, that one is due to the past popularity of Spanish.
Nothing to do with origins.
 
5 mins ago, by Vitaly
and trade routes (the Silk Road, etc)
 
Yeah.
 
unless all (or the majority) of those phrases are as recent as the 20th century
 
1:27 PM
Not likely.)))
Though a whole lot are quite obviously borrowed between related languages.
 
@Rhodri — Not responsible if my typos broke your PC.
 
what's the meaning of "a methamphetamine user"? C10H15N user?
 
Meth is a drug.
 
29
Chemistry

Proposed Q&A site for scientists, academics, teachers and students

Currently in commitment.

 
It means "speed freak" or "tweaker".
 
1:30 PM
I think.
 
tweeker or tweaker?
 
15
Drugs and Pharmacology

Proposed Q&A site for experienced drug users, and those in the pharmacology-related businesses.

Currently in definition.

 
[Random Area 51 site]
[Another random Area 51 site]
 
How is either of those random?
 
What I was trying to be of help.
 
1:31 PM
@Cerberus — Three heads aren't better than one.
 
@Rob: Apparently not!
I was like the kid playing along with daddy, repairing the car when he does, cooking when he does, etc.
 
@Robusto Oh, you didn't break it. We British are vast and contain everything. Even quotes from American writers.
 
I hate to spill the beans, but... Cerberus, I'm not your father.
 
See, the question is basically similar to the problem of the Trinity. Is Cerberus three manifestations of a single being, or three separate beings joined together?
 
Then... what ghastly monster did spawn me?
 
1:33 PM
@Rhodri — And so judgmental. The sun never sets on the British umpire.
 
In Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra (Greek: ) was an ancient nameless serpent-like chthonic water beast (as its name evinces) that possessed many heads — the poets mention more heads than the vase-painters could paint, and for each head cut off it grew two more — and poisonous breath so virulent even her tracks were deadly. The Hydra of Lerna was killed by Heracles the second of his Twelve Labours. Its lair was the lake of Lerna in the Argolid, though archaeology has borne out the myth that the sacred site was older even than the Mycenaean city of Argos since Lerna was the site of th...
 
@Rob: I am glad you are finally recognising my divine nature. Now will you finally start obeying my orders too?
 
@Robusto That's why they look so sun-burned.
 
0
A: Is it proper grammar to refer to four digit number in hundreds?

anne-murray cottenmy question is for a formal wedding invitation.... the address is 6321 Highway Seventy-six How do you properly write out the name of the highway 76???? should they both be capitalized or should it have a dash inbetween? please let me know. thanks!

 
Actually, I was wrong about the Hydra.
In Greek mythology, Echidna (Greek: Ἔχιδνα, ekhis, ἔχις, meaning "she viper") was half woman half snake, known as the "Mother of All Monsters" because most of the monsters in Greek myth were mothered by her. In Theogony, Hesiod described her as: [...] the goddess fierce Echidna who is half a nymph with glancing eyes and fair cheeks, and half again a huge snake, great and awful, with speckled skin, eating raw flesh beneath the secret parts of the holy earth. And there she has a cave deep down under a hollow rock far from the deathless gods and mortal men. There, then, did the gods appoint...
You're the off-spring of this one.
 
1:35 PM
Yeah I didn't know what you were trying to say with Hydra...
Oh, yes.
 
@Rhodri — There's a typo in your statement. You typed "sun-burned" instead of "pasty".
 
I remember her.
Was she truly my mom?
 
Yeah. And here's your daddy:
Typhon (ancient Greek: , Tuphōn), also Typhoeus (, Tuphōeus), Typhaon (, Tuphaōn) or Typhos (, Tuphōs) is the final son of Gaia, fathered by Tartarus, and is the most deadly monster of Greek mythology. Typhon was known as the "Father of all monsters"; his wife Echidna was likewise the "Mother of All Monsters." Typhon was described in pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheke, as one of the largest and most fearsome of all creatures. His human upper half reached as high as the stars. His hands reached east and west and had a hundred dragon heads on each. He was feared even by the mighty gods. ...
 
Yay, my dad was hot!!
 
0
A: When to use "Do I" and "Am I"?

abhiii5459I'd beg to differ with the previous answer by Kit here (I answer,as I cannot comment just yet). The sentence "Am I needing to read this book..." would sound far more correct,in this context, if modified as "Am I needed to...." . Wouldn't you say so?

 
1:36 PM
Not surprising.
 
Actually, the British tiffin is derived from Typhon, IIRC.
 
Am I needing to agree with that answer by Kit?
@Rob: OED seems to disagree...
 
@Cerberus — Disagrees with my joke? How dare they?
 
> Appears to have originated in the Eng. colloq. or slang tiffing, vbl. n. from tiff v.2 to take a little drink or sip (cf. quot. 1785), which has been specialized in Anglo-Indian use.
 
Geezis. For having three heads you are so slow.
 
1:39 PM
@Rob: Oh.... anticlimax!
I know!
 
Well, at least an anticlimax implies a climax. That's more than I got, you selfish Dutch boy.
 
You got the climax of self-satisfaction?
 
That is a climax of a very low order.
 
@Cerberus "Dutch" "boy"? you don't need girl friend?
 
Yet it never seems too low for you! Hehe.
@Boob: Eh?
Oh, how I wish there were someone to talk Latin to here...
 
1:42 PM
=D JK
 
Cerberus breaks all records in asking for girls.
But I suppose she'd need six boobs. One won't do.
 
F'x
3
A: Is it okay to say "Yes, we do" in answer to "Are you having a good time?"

F'xEdit: the answer to your edited question is unambiguously “yes, we are”. Short answers use the same auxiliary as the question: Are you doing fine? — Yes, we are. Do you want some more tea? — Yes, I do. Will you marry me? — Yes, I will. Can I go to the swimming pool, daddy? — No, you can't. ...

 
How was I asking for girls!? I don't even need to! Hah.
 
F'x
@RegDwight: it looks like brilliant doesn't come on the chat enough…
 
@Cerberus Don't make me search the transcript, because you know I will.
 
1:44 PM
@Cerberus let time pass , we will see
 
@RegDwight — Have you even seen a female dog? They have at least six teats.
 
Mar 7 at 21:40, by Cerberus
We probably need a native speaker for the correct term, preferably a 16-y-o girl from the Mid West.
Mar 12 at 3:02, by Cerberus
Girls? Where?
Mar 12 at 3:13, by Cerberus
I do have another girl on offer: do you know Dalida?
Mar 19 at 13:22, by Cerberus
Hey I like girls as a meme and as friends!
Apr 10 at 12:07, by Cerberus
God can be a girl.
 
@Reg: Your preterition-cum-contradiction was clear enough...
And I don't even like teats!
 
Huh-huh-huh ... he said "cum" ... huhuh.
 
JSBangs was right about the quality of this chat.
@JSBangs, how's you liking it thus far?
 
1:47 PM
Indeed!
 
I feel a quote coming.
 
And we all know which body part started it this time...
 
Feb 17 at 19:20, by Martha
OWWWW! That's terrible! THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK!
 
Hehe.
Very appropriate.
 
F'x
duh, if someone wants fun, have a look at this:
 
1:50 PM
Seen that.
 
F'x
“Why did they mess up my example? Because they are focused on the content and not what was conveyed” — comment: “Grumpy people edited the example out.”
further edited to remove the peeving
 
@Cerberus POTW
 
@Fx Excellent. That's what I've been waiting for.
 
F'x
I can barely wait to see the edit war go on :)
 
@Boob: What are you trying to say with those sewers?
 
1:53 PM
@Cerberus I thought you are smart enough to understand
 
@RegDwight i was away doing work. now i'm disappointed that i had to come back
 
@JSB: Understandable. I have nothing to say in our defense.
 
Except that Robusto is always like that.
It's all his fault.
 
Okay, that.
Some people are just so strange...
 
@Robusto Have you ever read the name of the user I was replying to?
 
1:57 PM
@Cerberus i need a "for example", if it is possible for you
 
"For example".
(I am imitating Reg or Rob here. They would do that.)
 
You try to hide your feelings =D
@Cerberus I am a boob now
 
0
Q: Ways to ruin a hobby...

KennyVariations The best way to ruin a hobby is to make it a career. The fastest way to ruin a hobby is to try to make money with it. The quickest way to ruin a hobby is to make it a job. What's the history behind this saying? Is it attributable to a particular person? (I imagine the complementar...

 
Your various body parts are confusing.
 
How old are you?
 
2:03 PM
I don't think requests for the source of a quote are on-topic...
 
63
 
Hi Martha
 
Did Neandertals Linger in Russia's Far North?Science 13 May 2011
 
I'm 62 ;)
 
@Martha: Ugh, yeah that doesn't sound like a very instructive question...
 
2:04 PM
@Vitaly Neandertals and lingering?
 
... but then he also asks for the "history", which could be interpreted to mean "etymology"...
 
I'm on der fence on this.
We've had lots of discussions about questions about quotes in the past.
It's always difficult.
 
@RegDwight I'm not only on a fence, I'm on the fence on this.
 
Better?
 
@Martha: Yeah that history/etymology thing would seem to be closest to topic...
 
2:07 PM
@RegDwight Stoopid chat formatting.
 
Is Fence feminine?
 
Der Zaun.
 
Hmm...
 
Every fence I've ever met has been neuter.
 
So you chose not to inflect der, despite on?
@Martha: You should drink more.
 
2:08 PM
@Cerberus Stoopid work.
 
@Cerberus Lol, what kind of stupid question is that, I'm talking English!
 
Aww...
 
English does not inflect articles.
 
Well, it is actually a question that often pops up in style books.
 
Hey fellas
and non-fellas.
 
2:09 PM
Helas!
 
Hi @MikeVaughan, are you the voice of reason?
 
When I say "I see an octopus", should it be "octopedem" or "octopus", as the noun is the object of the English sentence?
 
I could be.,
How would I tell?
 
Because this chat is sorely in need of a voice of reason.
Or at least sanity.
 
I don't think I'm your guy.
 
2:10 PM
Hey, we're not called the incomprehensible room for no reason!
 
Darn.
 
Most style books say no inflection should take place. And yet you will see it a lot—though probably mostly ironically.
 
Can someone please stop this Dutch non-sequitur dog?
 
I think 'octopus' is right.
 
@Cerberus How would you even begin to inflect an article in English?
 
2:12 PM
On them fence.
Dative.
 
@RegDwight That's not inflection, that's incorrect word choice.
 
The article der could be inflected to dem if you take the English preposition on as governing the dative.
 
Easy as π.
 
(The and them are not related AFAIK.)
 
It might be relevant when you're using foreign phrases with inflectional endings in English.
But I must go packing.
 
2:13 PM
@Martha I would've expected more appreciation of cross-language jokes from @Martha, especially after she complained about the level of discourse here.
 
It wasn't necessarily the level, as much as the sanity of it.
 
I think it's too early in the morning. Plus I'm coming down with a cold.
 
Aww.
Get well soon.
 
See, that should be "I'm coming down with am cold".
Dative.
 
I gotta go, bye friends
 
2:14 PM
CU.
 
I'm off to the country; see you on Monday-ish!
 
What country?
 
Bye body part!
 
Wow. Everyone's leaving.
Have fun everyone.
 
I think they're afraid of my germs.
 
2:15 PM
@Cerberus Sorry for the delay, my answer is now far too long and rambling. Now I should do some of the work I am being paid for, even if it is less fun.
 
The former duchy of Brabant!
@Rhodri: You have nothing to apologise for! I will read it with interest. But now I have to go... later all!
 
I gotta go, bye friends
 
We know.
 
@Boob, you said that already.
 
Bye!
 
2:16 PM
Apr 13 at 13:19, by RegDwight
Lots of echo in here.
 
I'm off too, so I'll see you there!
poof
 
F'x
2
Q: Continuing a sentence in a parenthesis and then starting a new one inside the same

ShathurTake a look at this meaning: By the way, I marked position 2854 (in the code. It's the slash). Is is correct to start a new sentence within a parenthesis like this? Or another, worse, example: By the way, I marked (a lot of things of which you are unaware. Please try not to eat) the sem...

 
Have fun.
 
[Are they gone yet? Can we break out the good stuff?]
 
@RegDwight Ironic, quoting that.
 
2:17 PM
Feb 18 at 17:59, by RegDwight
Expect this to be quoted.
Can you handle this much irony?
 
F'x
I am growing weary of the geeky questions of the type “how can I write (or parse) nested parenthese/punctuation/quotes/etc. ?”
Apr 28 at 20:49, by F'x
14 secs ago, by F'x
and This, right here, is a self-referential quote
 
Don't make me go ABBA.
 
F'x
@RegDwight Don't make me go ABBA!
 
Mar 2 at 13:47, by Robusto
I will say this about ABBA, though. They are the best band out of Sweden whose name is a palindrome.
1
Q: Usage of comma before quotes

RayPlease let me know which of the two examples below are correct: Example a: And he said "where are my chips?" Example b:And he said, "where are my chips?" In b), I've placed a comma before the opening quote. What is the correct usage? And if someone can point me to an external reference, tha...

0
Q: Does a comma have to be used before a quotation?

language hackerIf before the quote the word "saying" or "said" is used, does a comma always have to be used before it? When does a comma not have to be used?

 
Wasn't there a dup... ah yeah here it is
lol
 
2:30 PM
I think @Jpmiaou needs to take a look at this to see if she can rescue it:
-1
Q: Do the word components of the PR company "Burson-Marsteller" possess an individual meaning?

snoozeIs there some meaning about the two words: 'burson' and 'marsteller'?

I mean, I can guess that "Burson" means somebody's son, but I don't know what language, nor what name 'Bur' comes from.
 
This feels quite spammy to me.
PR company.
 
"co-founders Harold Burson and William "Bill" Marsteller"
It's named after the people who started it.
 
Quite obviously so. And I have never heard of that company before.
 
Well, yes, but I think a truly complete answer would give the meanings, or at least origins, of the names. Just to illustrate how ridiculous the question is.
 
Well, if you're aiming for the Reversal badge, knock yourself out.
But hurry up.
I'm seeing close votes.
 
2:36 PM
I can't stress enough how uninterested I am. The question is silly.
 
@RegDwight I have never heard of aiSee before.
 
You mean I should ask a question about what aiSee means?
And yEd, and GraphViz, and TomSawyer, and Walrus, and Tulip?
 
What is the difference between walrus and tulip?
The third letter in walrus and tulip is l, are their etymologies related?
 
Well, I'm not pointing you to Skeptics again.
You should know by now.
 
I am afraid of going there.
There are Internet Nazi Hitlers.
 
2:42 PM
Only one.
And he's with you in this very room right now.
 
Is it you, @Reg?
 
@Martha I'd take a wild guess that "Bur-" is Scandinavian in origin, "Buri" or something like that. My helpful dictionaries are at home, sadly.#
 
1 hour ago, by Vitaly
RegDwight, Europe, GMT+1
227 1 6
 
@Rhodri And my helpful dictionaries are not actually mine, but my sister's, and thus reside at her house. :/
 
2:48 PM
@Rhodri burr is son in Old Norse bur(th)r is birth.
 
"Son son" would be a typical early English mangling of a name, I suppose.
 
9
A: Examples of cross-language redundancy

ShreevatsaRSuch redundancy is rather common in place names, especially when the English usage takes the name from another language and adds its own word for the feature ("river", "hill", "mountain", etc.) See this list or this long list of tautological place names, including, e.g. Paraguay River ("Great R...

 
actually it's one of two ways. sonr is also son
could be that the father of burson (burr IIUC) was himself the son of somebody (who had no name then).
 
Soooo, what are you guys doing?
 

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