user56reinstatemonica8

general recent conversations

Discussion on answer by Valorum: Why …

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Dec 12, 2023 14:21

Jan 3rd 2018... yeah I remember it now. Coming back to work after Christmas holidays, looking at M&TV while taking a 5 minute break between tasks, "They sneaked out what while we were busy during the Christmas holidays and end-of-year crunch period? 🤬" and then all that nonsense, "But we had a meta question up for a few weeks with an unimportant-looking title, how did you not know it was secretly a referendum (and binding this time, not like last time when we actually asked)?"

Discussion on answer by Johns-305: Ho…

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user56reinstatemonica8

Aug 5, 2023 06:22

This has nothing to do with how to get to Iceland without flying.

Discussion on question by Johnnyjanko…

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user56reinstatemonica8

Jan 10, 2023 09:03

@MJeffryes There are also specialist travel insurance products targeted at people who need to travel to places with travel warnings.

Discussion on question by Aaargh Zomb…

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user56reinstatemonica8

Dec 30, 2022 13:25

Interesting topic; obviously we can't conduct a police investigation here, but I think we could fact-check the specific claim "a disproportionate number of drowning deaths have occurred around an area known as the gay village"? Manchester's "Gay Village" area is a lively nightspot with a canal right through it - I guess we could fact-check if its rate of deaths is really an outlier vs other popular city nightspots with similar proximity to waterways (e.g. York's Foss riverfront)?

Discussion on question by Noah: Is a …

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user568458

Apr 11, 2019 12:02

What you're describing sounds a lot like the Republic of Venice to me - "...ruled by the Doge, who was elected by members of the Great Council of Venice, the city-state's parliament. The ruling class was an oligarchy of merchants and aristocrats". Very feasible, it was one of the most powerful trading and naval states in Europe for hundreds of years.

Discussion on question by Dhon Joe: W…

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user568458

Apr 5, 2019 13:46

(Or you could substitute Age Of Ultron for either Avengers or Civil War but you might have to explain a couple of things)

user568458

Apr 5, 2019 13:46

You can follow and enjoy Infinity War with just Guardians of the Galaxy, Age of Ultron, and Thor: Ragnarok. Add Ant Man and the Wasp, and she's pretty much caught up on the main story. That's 5 films (three very highly rated, two middling). From there it's personal preference.

Discussion on question by Zach O.: Is…

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user568458

Feb 27, 2019 17:46

Lots of very good companies hire remote workers with your skills. If you're self-motivated, have initiative, and can solve problems without direct supervision or hand-holding, you're exactly what most are looking for.

Discussion on answer by Peter: Why is…

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user568458

Jan 14, 2019 14:58

This comments section is a perfect illustration of "People on different sides of the divide fill in the blanks differently... any attempt to dive into the facts of the wall discussion will fail before it starts"

Discussion on answer by David K: Is i…

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user568458

Dec 15, 2018 03:20

"If I saw that in a job ad I'd figure the company was a startup made by some college buddies" - 100%, it's so easy to give the wrong impression. I nearly didn't apply for a job I got and loved because the ad waffled about how a typical day starts with an hour at the gym, and I thought "Sounds like a dude-bro's trust fund startup, no thanks". I only applied because I could re-use an application from a similar job. Turned out the person who wrote the ad wasn't like that at all - she was trying to emphasise how flexible their hours policy was.

Discussion on answer by CCTO: Is it d…

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user568458

Dec 13, 2018 07:28

@Martijn This isn't Twitter, it's business. Results, not feelings. A good candidate thinking "Don't feel this is a match for you? Guess what: Skip it" because of some unnecessary whimsy is exactly what recruiters try avoid happening.

Discussion on answer by Richard U: Sh…

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user568458

Dec 6, 2018 22:38

@AndrewSavinykh It's also a smart career move, if played right. If the poster can successfully warn and help trustworthy colleagues without causing harm or blowback, he/she may gain the trust and gratitude of people who may be at the bully-boss's level a few years from now. I notice a lot of the voting on this site skews towards short-termism and cowardice, which often isn't the smart move.

Discussion on answer by dwizum: Is a …

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user568458

Dec 4, 2018 23:54

@Akavall I've known graphic designers whose business cards were (very neatly spaced) plain black text on white. It's a neat way of proving that they prioritise usability and practicality over decoration in their designs.

Discussion on answer by sudhanva: Doe…

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user568458

Sep 20, 2018 14:21

Yeah now I just really want to know what the difference is between "lies with short legs and lies with long noses"

Discussion on answer by Kevin: How to…

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user568458

Sep 17, 2018 21:40

@Val The problem isn't the half-second hello, it's the minutes of switching back and forth before you find out what they even want, waiting while they type. What I do is post a friendly small-talk greeting and the actual question at the same time (shift-return new line, or cut-paste two messages), or "Do you have some time to discuss X" if it's not a simple question. They can instantly gauge how long it'll take to answer my query, and what priority it is. They can respond to the small talk if they're not busy and want a chat, but can get straight to the point if they are busy.

Discussion on answer by David Hammen:…

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user568458

Aug 15, 2018 19:37

Is the uniformitarianism point essentially: "the frequency of catastrophic events is roughly similar across time, but that doesn't mean there won't have been unusually dramatic catastrophic events, or clusters or spikes of catastrophic events, as you would expect with any partially-random distribution"? Like the old analogy of throwing a handful of rice in the air: you'd expect a few grains to land on top of each other and a few gaps on the floor with no grains; you wouldn't expect every grain to land perfectly 8mm from its nearest neighbour?

user568458

Aug 15, 2018 19:37

So essentially: yes, there were both floods and volcanic deposits around 148-150 million years ago around this location; and this isn't an unlikely coincidence, both were linked to the Farallon Plate collision? Also, I must admit I'm finding the paragraph on uniformitarianism hard to follow - what exactly is the relevant difference here between the unrealistically-perfect uniformitarianism the author imagines and the basic uniformitarianism that real geologists use?

Discussion on question by Stas: ETcet…

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user568458

Jul 19, 2018 17:46

@MichaelHarvey Some French people pronounce it "eggsetera" and "eggspresso", because they've had un oeuf of the prescriptivism debate.

Discussion on answer by Ben Mz: Is it…

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user568458

Jul 9, 2018 13:11

It doesn't matter for this question whether or not we like these policies, or think they make economic sense. Some companies do have policies like this, and do pay up (and some others make such promises, then don't pay up).

Discussion on answer by user4012: In …

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user568458

Jul 3, 2018 08:03

@user4012 Might be nice to see some evidence added to the answer to back up these points. What I've found of the evidence for the US seems very mixed (and very politically partial, in every possible direction). Your argument on immigration is based on a (not undisputed) factual claim, after all

user568458

Jul 3, 2018 08:03

@user4012 Yes, in fact it's part of the reason why migrants' figures come out better: they're disproportionately working age (20-50), healthy/able-bodied and childless, compared to national population averages, and many go home to retire or have children. Re. impact on classrooms, it's hard to quantify obviously, and I don't know about the US, but in the UK migrant kids (particularly refugee kids) tend to have above-average work ethics - language is an issue, but I know plenty of educationalists who consider them a net plus. Problem communities tend to be 2nd/3rd gen where integration is poor.

user568458

Jul 3, 2018 08:03

Very interesting answer. But your point about immigration leans very heavily on it being true that per capita, immigrants draw much more in welfare payments a) than they contribute to govt revenue and b) than average citizens. Is this true, do you have evidence? This has been studied in several European countries, and the reverse is true (e.g. from The Economist). Since per capita welfare tends to be higher in Europe, I'd be surprised if this was different in the USA.

Discussion on answer by PeteCon: Is i…

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user568458

Jun 18, 2018 22:21

@mkingsbu I don't see anything here insulting people who do that. It's just pointing out that not everyone does that, and if someone doesn't do that, it's not a reason to think they're a worse candidate. (also, volunteer trash collection is an actual thing some people do, not an insult! Point is: you can respect the dedication of a refuse collector who does that in their spare time too, but you wouldn't think less of one who choses a hobby more different to their day job)

Discussion on question by fredsbend: …

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user568458

Jun 1, 2018 07:13

@Mark I don't think anyone's questioning the notability. It's clearly notable. The question is whether there's a factual claim there which is verifiable/falsifiable and can be answered with evidence.

user568458

Jun 1, 2018 07:13

I feel like there is an on-topic, factual question about the science of human psychology in here somewhere, but once you unpick it (something like "Is one of greed, relational or sexual lust, or desire for power required for a human to perform a forbidden act?"), it's absurdly easy to disprove. Fear, hatred, aggression, spite, unthinking obedience, habit, shame, thrillseeking... and many more can be proved to be sufficient for acts of misbehavior that couldn't be expected to win money, approval, sex or power.

Discussion on answer by Emily: "Trans…

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user568458

May 18, 2018 01:01

@ruakh Close, but there's a subtle difference: "Brown-eyed" is an adjective-noun composite: a brown-eyed girl is a girl who has eyes that are brown, who would say "My eyes are brown". "Transgender" is a standalone characteristic of a person, containing a prefix - like "bilingual". I doubt many transgender people would say "My gender is trans" (nor "My languages are binary") - the person is transgender, the gender is male, female, other... You can say "I'm a female-gendered, brown-eyed, transgender bilingual" but not "I'm a trans-gendered, bi-lingualled, femalegender browneye".

Discussion on question by user2638180…

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user568458

Mar 8, 2018 13:55

@Evargalo But Breitbart are talking as if those few dozen sales are an eye-opening new craze with "skyrocketing" sales, when actually all that has happened is a dozen or so people bought some novelty. That's the whole point of the question. The fact a claim is false and the answer is boring doesn't invalidate the question: same as if a site claimed there was a monsoon and flooding in NY on 3rd June when actually there was just drizzle. We'd debunk the false claim, with the (boring) truth.

user568458

Mar 8, 2018 13:55

@MichaelK That sounds like the answer to the question. The claim is 'notable' in that it was made by a site with a substantial readership (many of whom believe what it says); that the article misrepresents double-digit sales as "skyrocketing" means it's misleading, and deserves a debunking answer (not unnotable within the rules of this site, that rule exists to prevent questions like "My mate Dave reckons...")

Discussion on answer by Ghoti and Chi…

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user568458

Dec 7, 2017 12:45

@TheLethalCoder I was thinking of the scene where he touched Bran across time and space and then gained the ability to locate him. And, in general, that they clearly have some ability to scout, communicate and coordinate attacks. Not "same as Bran" but "some kind of supernatural sense/communication, in some unknown way related to Bran's"

user568458

Dec 7, 2017 12:45

Regarding "toying with them", I got the impression Mr. N. King used his Bran-like abilities to set this scene up as a trap to get a dragon, and never really cared about these puny humans beyond the fact they could be baited with a wight and, once ambushed and surrounded, would serve as dragon bait

Discussion on answer by phoog: How to…

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user568458

Sep 23, 2017 17:31

@user2647513 They'll probably make a scene and act threatening but actual mugging is unlikely unless you're in an unusually quiet spot. If they were prepared to straight-up mug people in a busy street with hundreds of witnesses, CCTV etc, why would they waste time making CDs and asking for $5 at a time?

Discussion on question by gerrit: Why…

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user568458

Jul 7, 2017 01:41

@DJClayworth questions about different driving standards and rules in different countries have always been on topic, there are hundreds of them, about everything from which lanes to use, to norms about using the horn

Discussion on question by Ulkoma: Why…

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user568458

Jun 26, 2017 14:53

That shop gets ridiculously busy, so my guess would be it's often "waiting for that one friend who tried on twenty things and is now in a massive queue, waiting outside because there's space to breathe". Plus some people using it as a meeting point and others resting after shopping not wanting to pay to sit in a cafe. But you're better off asking them, rather than asking us...

Discussion on answer by Mark Mayo: Ha…

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user568458

Mar 18, 2017 12:14

@mts Ah okay, that makes sense, go for it. That seems like a sensible place to draw the line, if it a) needs a permit or special visa/stamp, or b) is classed as a devolved country with a regional government.

user568458

Mar 18, 2017 12:14

Ha, I didn't mean to start any China inflation, I just meant to add places that had the same status as Tibet. So those first-level Regions/Provinces that are autonomous, like Tibet - but not any of the many other levels of China's administrative regions than the first level (else things get out of hand...)

Discussion on answer by Andrew Martin…

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user568458

Jan 25, 2017 02:23

Yup, Silence of the Lambs is another good one. Open with that and No Country For Old Men, as "These unambiguous textbook villains unambiguously beat the good guys", then include the others as "These are other ways in which the good-guys bad-guys trope gets subverted". At least, that's my suggestion :-)

user568458

Jan 25, 2017 02:23

@AndrewMartin I think the point is, the question is asking for clear cut textbook villains, clearly winning the day. "Aha, Mr Bond, I expect you to die, then I will destroy Washington with my space laser!" [James Bond dies] [Washington is destroyed by a space laser]. I've not actually seen those, but I know that Usual Suspects is a famous twist ending with ambiguous characters (I'm trying to dodge spoilers!) and Seven is a bit ambiguous about who won (they kinda "get the baddie", kinda). If it was me, I'd open with No Country for Old Men, then include the others as "these are arguable".

user568458

Jan 25, 2017 02:23

Thinking about it, actually I think madmada is right: the question specifies straight-down-the-line "Hans Grubber" style, pure, archetypical bad guys, not sympathetic anti-heroes or plot-twist "good-guy-is-evil" scenarios. So actually I think No Country For Old Men is the only example of these that perfectly fits the question. The rest (including my Ex Machina suggestion) are interesting near-misses worth mentioning, but don't fit that criteria above.

Discussion on question by Andrew Grim…

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user568458

Nov 29, 2016 23:52

Interesting. Presumably anyone can write anything in the "other requirements" box when booking and it's up to the airline how/if they choose to accommodate. Does anyone want to form a religion with a very strict, very specific rule against sitting near people with strong body odour or another person's child for durations of longer than an hour while at a high altitude?

Discussion on question by AlexB: I wa…

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user568458

Nov 17, 2016 14:06

Interesting. Re. should you be worried - maybe one of the airports experts here can think of some danger I've missed but it sounds like the worst someone could do based on this is get into the departures area when they don't have a flight booked and maybe buy some duty free? The baggage checks and boarding itself seem to be fine. Re. should you report it and how - see Where can I report an airport security flaw / weakness?

Discussion on answer by user46207: Wo…

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user568458

Oct 26, 2016 10:20

Meh, very often there will be a spoon already out for dessert, and I've often used a spoon with rice dishes that came with a particularly watery sauce and it never once cut or smashed the grains, at most you might need to roll out a clump. I agree that forks normally work better, though. Never been to a western country where anyone would or did care; if there are countries where people would, which are they?

Discussion on answer by If you do not…

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user568458

Oct 25, 2016 14:41

@blackbird57 Obviously, you'll wash the stolen toilet seat thoroughly before you sell it, because you care about good customer service :-) And obviously, you'll only steal ones in good condition - you're a stolen toilet seat trader with standards, dammit, and your customers expect the best

user568458

Oct 25, 2016 14:41

@blackbird57 Not the hubcaps or tinned food. Those would have been used or (more likely) sold. It's amazing what random things you can buy from street sellers in poor parts of town - not all of it is stolen, but some is. If you can't understand it, try living in a community where $6 a day is not a bad wage, and you have no job, but you know someone in the backstreet market will pay $8 for a replacement toilet seat since they cost $15 new in the imported-goods shops. Car accessories, there's another common worldwide one - and more people need toilet seats than USB car chargers.

user568458

Oct 25, 2016 14:41

@blackbird57 same reason people steal anything. In Central Asia, manhole covers get stolen to be sold as scrap metal. In the UK, people steal lead off church roofs and cause power cuts stealing copper out of electrical cables (often making themselves Darwin Award candidates when they get electrocuted). In West Africa, I've had tins of food pinched from my shopping bags when I've left them unattended. Worldwide, people steal hubcaps from parked cars. Stealing toilet seats (to sell or to use) seems no weirder than any of these.

Discussion on answer by rougon: Did M…

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user568458

Sep 14, 2016 07:30

Good answer, I've added a few quotes from each article so that the answer works as a summary and still has value if the links go down.

Discussion on question by schil227: I…

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user568458

Sep 6, 2016 04:08

Surely it's fitting and appropriate to buy a souvenir of the downfall of communism in a tacky commercial gift shop?

Discussion on question by Sher mohama…

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user568458

Aug 31, 2016 11:20

@DavidRicherby If you know for a fact that all US territories have the same rules as the rest of the USA on this, then that knowledge answers the question, and should be put as an answer, like Zach Lipton has done. It doesn't help anyone if people just hit "close" because they know something the asker doesn't, leaving the asker and others guessing.

Discussion on question by Fiksdal: Bu…

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user568458

Aug 31, 2016 10:46

@hippietrail Our equivalent of "boat-programming" would be programmer-travelling, e.g. "What do I need to pack to do programming while travelling?". If we want stackoverflow analogies, these are equivalent to "Why is X function so bad for performance?" or "Why would X popular library use Y obscure language feature here?" (which I believe are controversial there too, but are accepted because it's knowledge about programming, not boats, that answers them).

user568458

Aug 31, 2016 10:46

@hippietrail good point, I've added something about that to my answer

user568458

Aug 31, 2016 10:46

@hippietrail Can you link to a few of these Quora questions? They'd be interesting contributions to the discussion. Personally I'd love to see more "I saw this while travelling, what is it?" questions. The ones that are asked routinely attract 10+ votes and excellent answers (for example, Underwater pyramids off the Cinque Terre ).