BEHOLD! alt.english.learners
abzorba
presumptuous of me to do it rather than an old hat, but I mad as hell
and I can’t take it anymore. You see, on a recent count, there are now
more Newsgroups than there are atoms in the observable Universe. So,
why is so much of this wasted? For example, aue was, in the past, as
any cursory glance through archives will demonstrate, a forum where
the FINER points of the language could be examined and debated by
those with both levels of proficiency that exceeded the norm. As there
are more newsgroups than atoms in the universe, a simple man like
myself might have supposed that there could be a variety of newsgroups
devoted to English, each catering to some different aspect of studies
of this, our much-loved subject.
There is for example, a separate but associated newsgroup called
sci.lang, and I cross posted something I wrote for aue to that group,
and was well-chastised for it. On the other hand, there is a tweedle-
dee to OUR tweedle-dee, to wit: alt.english. usage, which has no
charter different to our own, has much the same material, much of it
cross posted from aue. Now, it is true I used to be a Management
Consultant, and perhaps I am anally retentive, but there are many
pedants and purists and traditionalists and those who value the
virtues of neatness, concision, the fitting and the apposite, and so I
ask, how can all of THEM (that is YOU) not say anything about the huge
mess that is engulfing Newsgroups? Why is it that there are vast gaps
where the formation of a newsgroup is much needed, while next door
there are dozens of newsgroups which all purport to do exactly the
same thing? Why is it that only a small fraction of these groups are
active, and many have NEVER been active, and yet for decades to come,
any one searching for a suitable group must peruse ones which have
literally years of spam in them, and nought of any substance? Could no
authority deem that non-personal newsgroups which have not been active
for, say, five years, be culled?
I give you an example of what happens in Gather, a site I belonged to
for some years, and where cross posting has created an absurdly thick
jungle of totally absurd and useless groups, which serve no purpose,
and are never culled. Luckily, in the case of Newsgroups there was a
restriction laid down years ago which set a maximum of five cross
posts to any contribution, and that has worked well, has it not?
http://myles325backlive.blogspot.com/2011/03/gather-garbage.html
My argument here is that, although there are literally more newsgroups
than atoms, there is, for one example, no suitable group where the
novice can ask questions such as "'The sun shines ON something, or
UPON something' – which is correct?” You know who I mean. There are
students of a foreign language, and I have taught them. From my
experience, they are enormously assisted by two faculties of their
minds, somewhat opposite in their construction. One is common sense,
and the other is a small amount of imagination / empathy. When you get
someone who appears to have neither of these, then they are compelled
to ask endless questions of the most blatantly obvious type, and which
are answered by posters who are frankly more patient than I am.
However. I am not, as some of you are, entitled to receive scroll
wheel depreciation allowance, and I am constantly irritated by inane
and endless questions on English usage, which should by rights be
posted to a newsgroup catering to those students who are only
beginning to become fluent in the language. After a few days' absence,
I try to locate a thread which I had been interested it, only to find
it has disappeared behind pages and pages of "He sat on his hams. What
does that mean?" and many others that should be bloody evident to an
amoeba. I am riled too, that the authors of these endless and inane
questions, most of which could be answered by a quick reference to the
many on-line word and phrase compendiums available at the press of a
button, seem to gain nothing from what they are reading. MONTHS of
such questions, often from the same novel, suddenly finish, and there
is no sign the reader has grasped a theme, enjoyed the book, agrees
with the fundamental premises, cares to suggest a parallel or
countervailing work, wishes to indulge in a briefest of commentaries
of what they learnt, or note as to whether they were impoverished,
depressed or uplifted by the outcome, or even if they FUCKING finished
the shit in the first place. No, we just move to the next tome, with
questions the nature of which suggest that no progress in elementary
comprehension has taken place.
And I'm tired of it. It will make the work of those who look through
archives of this group, as I do, more difficult in the future. And no
one at all looking through such archives down the track will be
remotely interested in the acerebral queries that populate page after
page of this erstwhile academic site, and generally block up the pipes
with effluent.
So I am suggesting the creation of an alt.english.learners group,
which could very well become quite popular and widely used, which
would not be difficult, when something like 90% of newsgroups are
defunct. Why not generate one that is not going to be immediately
"defunct"? Aue,aeu and other sites associated with language could have
occasional notes recommending that novices turn to ael for advice, for
this is where the correct option from a number of simple alternatives
will be given him, or the correct grammatical construction when the
answer is beyond argument. Questions from the simpleton, or the
uneducated can, it has often been demonstrated, provide those who are
marginally more intelligent andor educated the sweet feeling of
"explaining" something to someone less proficient than they are. They
don't often have the opportunity of doing that, so
alt.english.learners will, I am sure, have many, many contributors
only too willing to tell someone that the tense does not agree or so
on, and that they will feel all warm and runny inside, in their
hearts, and their frilly white panties. So this will be a win-win-win
situation. The learner of a foreign language will have their own site,
those who like to provide comprehensive explanation to points that
should be obvious to a gerbil on crack will have a clear field to do
so, and the rest of us can restore the old glory of a site which had
to do with the finer points of English usage, not the material that is
recited by rote by infants before a blackboard.
And while we are doing that, perhaps we send emissaries to
alt.english.usage, and see if some kind of union might be in order.
Once we get past "What does cross-eyed mean?" there will far more
space in the fields to nurture the more erudite and interesting
questions concerning English usage, and I look forward to that. Let’s
get to work on it straight away.
Stephen
First, a lot of the issues have been hashed out here so often that the
results, or consensi, are now enshrined in the FAQ.
Second, no-one cares. Usenet is as difficult to monetise as 10-year old
trolling rants are to erase, so it's being supported grudgingly and will
at some point no doubt be available only for a subscription. Meanwhile,
there's no percentage in it for anyone do the tedious work of first
ensuring no-one is ever going to use a group again and then doing
whatever it takes to terminate it.
The only people who even know about usenet are mostly those who used it
before the web started. It's not promoted anywhere and the kids go to
more sophisticated fora and chat rooms, or endlessly converse in
Facebook chat.
It's a tough world in the 21st century.
--
Stephen
Ballina, NSW
Dr Nick
> Well, I might be kicking a hornet's nest with this one, and it may be
> presumptuous of me to do it rather than an old hat, but I mad as hell
> and I can’t take it anymore.
ObU: surely that's "an old hand" - although things can be "old hat". Is
this a new eggcorn?
On the subject of eggcorns, I recently encountered "yes, but the two of
them will be doing things to each other and it will just be tic for
tac". Or words to that effect - it was "tic for tac" for "tit for tat".
--
Online waterways route planner | http://canalplan.eu
Plan trips, see photos, check facilities | http://canalplan.org.uk
the Omrud
> In message<87k4g0g...@temporary-address.org.uk>
> Dr Nick<3-no...@temporary-address.org.uk> wrote:
>> abzorba<myle...@yahoo.com.au> writes:
>
>>> Well, I might be kicking a hornet's nest with this one, and it may be
>>> presumptuous of me to do it rather than an old hat, but I mad as hell
>>> and I can’t take it anymore.
>
>> ObU: surely that's "an old hand" - although things can be "old hat". Is
>> this a new eggcorn?
>
>> On the subject of eggcorns, I recently encountered "yes, but the two of
>> them will be doing things to each other and it will just be tic for
>> tac". Or words to that effect - it was "tic for tac" for "tit for tat".
>
"Eli Eli lama sabachthani?"?
--
David
Steve Hayes
>On 15/03/2011 6:47 PM, abzorba wrote:
>
>First, a lot of the issues have been hashed out here so often that the
>results, or consensi, are now enshrined in the FAQ.
>
>Second, no-one cares. Usenet is as difficult to monetise as 10-year old
>trolling rants are to erase, so it's being supported grudgingly and will
>at some point no doubt be available only for a subscription. Meanwhile,
>there's no percentage in it for anyone do the tedious work of first
>ensuring no-one is ever going to use a group again and then doing
>whatever it takes to terminate it.
Check news.groups.proposals where there is discussion about the Great
Downsizing now apparently under way (weigh?)
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
Daniel James
> > Isn't that one of the seven words?
>
> "Eli Eli lama sabachthani?"?
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn?
.. or did you have something more final in mind?
Cheers,
Daniel.
My counting may be non-Euclidean ...
the Omrud
> In article<ilncrs$s4u$3...@news.albasani.net>, The Omrud wrote:
>>> Isn't that one of the seven words?
>>
>> "Eli Eli lama sabachthani?"?
>
> Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn?
>
> .. or did you have something more final in mind?
Last, yes. It depends which language you think God speaks.
--
David
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
wrote:
God is omnilingual.
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.english.usage)
John Dunlop
> God is omnilingual.
He speaks fluent human.
--
John
Lanarcam
> Peter Duncanson (BrE):
>
>> God is omnilingual.
>
> He speaks fluent human.
God is a born translator.
Roland Hutchinson
> The only people who even know about usenet are mostly those who used it
> before the web started. It's not promoted anywhere and the kids go to
> more sophisticated fora and chat rooms,
Harrumph!
--
Roland Hutchinson
He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba,"
... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy.
--Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ )
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
<my.sp...@verizon.net> wrote:
>On Tue, 15 Mar 2011 19:02:52 +1100, Stephen wrote:
>
>> The only people who even know about usenet are mostly those who used it
>> before the web started. It's not promoted anywhere and the kids go to
>> more sophisticated fora and chat rooms,
>
>Harrumph!
That's a very sophisticated ejaculation.
MC
Lanarcam <lana...@yahoo.fr> wrote:
He speaks in tongues.
--
"If you can, tell me something happy."
- Marybones
Peter Moylan
> On Tue, 15 Mar 2011 19:02:52 +1100, Stephen wrote:
>
>> The only people who even know about usenet are mostly those who used it
>> before the web started. It's not promoted anywhere and the kids go to
>> more sophisticated fora and chat rooms,
>
> Harrumph!
>
--
Peter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org
For an e-mail address, see my web page.
John Varela
<3-no...@temporary-address.org.uk> wrote:
> abzorba <myle...@yahoo.com.au> writes:
>
> > Well, I might be kicking a hornet's nest with this one, and it may be
> > presumptuous of me to do it rather than an old hat, but I mad as hell
> > and I can t take it anymore.
>
> ObU: surely that's "an old hand" - although things can be "old hat". Is
> this a new eggcorn?
Once upon a time the members of the sekrit cabal of
alt.folklore.urban called each other "old hats". Among them were
people like Snopes and Barbara Mickelson and our own Dave Hatunen.
Abzorba must somehow have heard of that usage.
--
John Varela
Roland Hutchinson
> Roland Hutchinson wrote:
>> On Tue, 15 Mar 2011 19:02:52 +1100, Stephen wrote:
>>
>>> The only people who even know about usenet are mostly those who used
>>> it before the web started. It's not promoted anywhere and the kids go
>>> to more sophisticated fora and chat rooms,
>>
>> Harrumph!
>>
> Is this a revival of the earlier meaning of "sophisticated"?
Perhaps the OP meant "phlogisticated".
Roland Hutchinson
> On Tue, 15 Mar 2011 14:37:40 +0000 (UTC), Roland Hutchinson
> <my.sp...@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 15 Mar 2011 19:02:52 +1100, Stephen wrote:
>>
>>> The only people who even know about usenet are mostly those who used
>>> it before the web started. It's not promoted anywhere and the kids go
>>> to more sophisticated fora and chat rooms,
>>
>>Harrumph!
>
> That's a very sophisticated ejaculation.
We aim to please.
Steve Hayes
>Once upon a time the members of the sekrit cabal of
>alt.folklore.urban called each other "old hats". Among them were
>people like Snopes and Barbara Mickelson and our own Dave Hatunen.
>Abzorba must somehow have heard of that usage.
Perhaps it had something to do with the voracity with which they were called
upon to eat their hats.
Daniel James
> The only people who even know about usenet are mostly those who
I'm not sure whether to suggest that you should therefore go out and
promote usenet, or whether to be glad it's managing to keep a fairly low
profile and so a low noise-to-signal ratio.
> ... and the kids go to more sophisticated fora ...
Hmm. NSOED:
| sophisticated a. E17.
|
| [f. prec. + -ED1.]
| 1 Mixed with a foreign substance, adulterated, impure. E17.
| 2 Altered from or deprived of natural simplicity or innocence;
| (of a text) altered in the course of being copied or printed. E17.
| 3 Falsified to a greater or lesser extent; not plain, honest, or
| straightforward. L17.
| b Of a book: having the content, binding, etc., altered so as
| to deceive. M19.
I think I'm happy to be using the unsophisticated original!
.. or were you thinking of:
| 4 a Experienced, worldly, cultured; discriminating in taste or
| judgement, subtle; showing awareness of the complexities of
| a subject etc. Also, associated with or appealing to
| sophisticated people or tastes. L19.
| b Of a technique, theory, piece of equipment, etc.: involving
| advanced or refined methods or concepts, highly developed and
| complex. M20.
Cheers,
Daniel.
Robin Bignall
<my.sp...@verizon.net> wrote:
>On Wed, 16 Mar 2011 10:05:48 +1100, Peter Moylan wrote:
>
>> Roland Hutchinson wrote:
>>> On Tue, 15 Mar 2011 19:02:52 +1100, Stephen wrote:
>>>
>>>> The only people who even know about usenet are mostly those who used
>>>> it before the web started. It's not promoted anywhere and the kids go
>>>> to more sophisticated fora and chat rooms,
>>>
>>> Harrumph!
>>>
>> Is this a revival of the earlier meaning of "sophisticated"?
>
>Perhaps the OP meant "phlogisticated".
Burning the midnight oil again?
--
Robin Bignall
(BrE)
Herts, England
Robert Bannister
Sounds like pure sophistry.
--
Rob Bannister
abzorba
alt.english.learners, for the benefit of those learning English as a
foreign language. It could be advertised here from time to time, and
those posting questions on BASIC English usage could be encouraged to
use that group, rather than this one. Would there be any support for
this idea? It would only take a few moments.
(Oh, I was around in the days when afu was one of the most impressive
and successful newsgroups on the net. Which other group ended up as a
massively popular TV show. And yes, they had Old Hats, of which I was
not one.)
Myles (was an old baseball cap) Paulsen
David Hatunen
> Once upon a time the members of the sekrit cabal of alt.folklore.urban
> called each other "old hats". Among them were people like Snopes and
> Barbara Mickelson and our own Dave Hatunen. Abzorba must somehow have
> heard of that usage.
Hats were earned by acclamation of the other old hats, but TINSK:
There is no sekrit kabal...
--
Dave Hatunen, Tucson, Arizona, out where the cacti grow
David Hatunen
> On 16 Mar 2011 00:43:00 GMT, "John Varela" <newl...@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>>Once upon a time the members of the sekrit cabal of alt.folklore.urban
>>called each other "old hats". Among them were people like Snopes and
>>Barbara Mickelson and our own Dave Hatunen. Abzorba must somehow have
>>heard of that usage.
>
> Perhaps it had something to do with the voracity with which they were
> called upon to eat their hats.
If memory serves, I believe it was originally a pejorative used by
newcomers to AFU who resented the bossy attitude of the old-timers. It
then became adopted by the regulars.
David Hatunen
> In message <O2Ffp.13032$gM3...@viwinnwfe01.internal.bigpond.com>
> Stephen <cald...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> Second, no-one cares. Usenet is as difficult to monetise as 10-year old
>> trolling rants are to erase, so it's being supported grudgingly and
>> will at some point no doubt be available only for a subscription.
>> Meanwhile, there's no percentage in it for anyone do the tedious work
>> of first ensuring no-one is ever going to use a group again and then
>> doing whatever it takes to terminate it.
>
> There was a process for removing a group, but some admins back in the
> 80s (well, one in particular) refused to honor removal commands, so that
> process simply died.
I expect there's still a great deal of misunderstanding of how Usenet
works, especially since the rise of Google Groups. Once one understands
this it becomes obvious that it would be very, very difficult to remove
newsgroups since they exist on thousands of servers around the world.
Although different servers have different lists. Both AUE and AEU were on
the Cox servers but Cox dropped Usenet and my current server does not
carry AEU (leading to constant alert notices when I post to a cross-
posted article) (Like this one.)
Evan Kirshenbaum
> On Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:43:00 +0000, John Varela wrote:
>
>> Once upon a time the members of the sekrit cabal of alt.folklore.urban
>> called each other "old hats". Among them were people like Snopes and
>> Barbara Mickelson and our own Dave Hatunen. Abzorba must somehow have
>> heard of that usage.
>
> Hats were earned by acclamation of the other old hats, but TINSK:
"I have a friend in Minsk ..."
> There is no sekrit kabal...
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
Still with HP Labs |The great thing about Microsoft
SF Bay Area (1982-) |dominating the world is that
Chicago (1964-1982) |there's no shortage of support
|opportunities.
evan.kir...@gmail.com | Sam Alvis
Jerry Friedman
wrote:
> On Tue, 15 Mar 2011 14:01:50 +0000, the Omrud <usenet.om...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >On 15/03/2011 14:00, Daniel James wrote:
> >>>> Isn't that one of the seven words?
>
> >>> "Eli Eli lama sabachthani?"?
>
> >> Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn?
>
> >> .. or did you have something more final in mind?
>
> >Last, yes. It depends which language you think God speaks.
>
> God is omnilingual.
All tongue? Cthulhu is mostly tentacles.
--
Jerry Friedman
John Varela
wrote:
I thought there was some sort of appointment to hatdom. Didn't the
sekrit cabal have to invite you in?
--
John Varela
Roland Hutchinson
Sounds like _impure_ sophistry to me!
Roland Hutchinson
The Flying Spaghetti Monster is, well, mostly noodly appendages. With a
healthy serving of meatballs.
Opinicus
>>> Isn't that one of the seven words?
>> "Eli Eli lama sabachthani?"?
> Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn?
--
Bob
http://www.kanyak.com
R H Draney
>
>
>>>> Isn't that one of the seven words?
>>> "Eli Eli lama sabachthani?"?
>> Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn?
>"Get me down of this damn thing"?
"I can see my house from here!"
....r
--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.
Daniel James
> "I have a friend in Minsk ..."
Does he have another friend in Pinsk?
Cheers,
Daniel.
Daniel James
> ... my current server does not carry AEU ...
IME news providers are usually quite helpful if one asks for a (text
only) group that their servers do not carry -- as long as at least one
of the servers with which they sync /does/ carry it. ISPs don't like
carrying groups that nobody reads, but if you're going to read it
they'll usually carry it for you if you ask.
Cheers,
Daniel.
Daniel James
wrote:
> > Sounds like pure sophistry.
>
> Sounds like _impure_ sophistry to me!
No, that's rather the point. "Sophitry" and "sophisticated" both have
their roots in the Greek /sophime/ which (according to the SOED) means
"a device or trick".
So, it's the fact that it is sophistry that makes it impure -- the
sophistry itself is pure.
I first came across this old use of "sophisticated" to mean "impure" a
few years ago when reading one of Patrick O'Brian's novels (I forget
which, but recommend them all): Some of the crew (of an early 19th
century British warship) were suffering from scurvy, despite the lime
juice that had been added to the sailors' rum ration to prevent this.
When this was reported the captain expressed surprise, and the ship's
doctor said "... I fear your lime juice may be sophisticated". That had
me reaching for the dictionary until I made the connection with
"sophism".
Cheers,
Daniel.
Jerry Friedman
<gez...@spamcop.net.which.is.not.invalid> wrote:
> >>> Isn't that one of the seven words?
> >> "Eli Eli lama sabachthani?"?
> > Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn?
>
> "Get me down of this damn thing"?
"You don't get down off a damn thing, you get down off a duck."
--
Jerry Friedman
Evan Kirshenbaum
> In article <r5a5hd...@gmail.com>, Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:
>> "I have a friend in Minsk ..."
>
> Does he have another friend in Pinsk?
Bozhe moi!
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
Still with HP Labs |You cannot solve problems with the
SF Bay Area (1982-) |same type of thinking that created
Chicago (1964-1982) |them.
| Albert Einstein
evan.kir...@gmail.com
Bill McCray
But if the damn thing is a duck, he said to get him down of a duck. He
didn't say "off".
Bill in Kentucky
R H Draney
I remember Anne McCaffrey writing about having to send some proofs back to a
publisher because they'd made that error with her book "Get Off The
Unicorn"....r
Evan Kirshenbaum
Other way around. The working title was _Get of the Unicorn_ ("get",
as in "offspring"). Wikipedia claims that "by the time the error was
discovered, the book was already in print", but the introduction to
the book says
The title of this collection, although it _fits_ most of the
stories if you know the old tale about unicorn-bait, comes from a
misprint in the Ballantine roster of unfilled contracts. Someone
kept asking my long-suffering editor, Judy=Lynn del Rey, what was
this book called _Get Off the Unicorn_. (The working title _had_
been _Get Of the Uniforn_, provocative enough originally.) So,
Judy-Lynn asked me what I could do about that theme.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
Still with HP Labs |It does me no injury for my neighbor
SF Bay Area (1982-) |to say there are twenty gods, or no
Chicago (1964-1982) |God.
| Thomas Jefferson
evan.kir...@gmail.com
Mike Lyle
wrote:
What does a unicorn get off on?
--
Mike.
Skitt
> R H Draney wrote:
>> Bill McCray filted:
>>> Jerry Friedman wrote:
>>>> Opinicus wrote:
>>>>> "Get me down of this damn thing"?
>>>>
>>>> "You don't get down off a damn thing, you get down off a duck."
>>>
>>> But if the damn thing is a duck, he said to get him down of a duck. He
>>> didn't say "off".
>>
>> I remember Anne McCaffrey writing about having to send some proofs back to a
>> publisher because they'd made that error with her book "Get Off The
>> Unicorn"....r
>
> What does a unicorn get off on?
Roses? Or was it lilies?
--
Skitt (SF Bay Area)
http://come.to/skitt
Robert Bannister
It find it interesting that the "trick" meaning comes from a word
meaning "wise".
--
Rob Bannister
R H Draney
>>publisher because they'd made that error with her book "Get Off The
>>Unicorn"....r
>
>What does a unicorn get off on?
Couldn't say...never been able to catch one....r
Steve Hayes
wrote:
>What does a unicorn get off on?
Virgins.
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
CDB
> Daniel James wrote:
>> Roland Hutchinson wrote:
>>
>>>> Sounds like pure sophistry.
>>>
>>> Sounds like _impure_ sophistry to me!
>>
>> No, that's rather the point. "Sophitry" and "sophisticated" both
>> have their roots in the Greek /sophime/ which (according to the
>> SOED) means "a device or trick".
>>
>> So, it's the fact that it is sophistry that makes it impure -- the
>> sophistry itself is pure.
>>
>> I first came across this old use of "sophisticated" to mean
>> "impure" a few years ago when reading one of Patrick O'Brian's
>> novels (I forget which, but recommend them all): Some of the crew
>> (of an early 19th century British warship) were suffering from
>> scurvy, despite the lime juice that had been added to the sailors'
>> rum ration to prevent this. When this was reported the captain
>> expressed surprise, and the ship's doctor said "... I fear your
>> lime juice may be sophisticated". That had me reaching for the
>> dictionary until I made the connection with "sophism".
>
> meaning "wise".
>>
Oh, a wise guy, eh?
>>
*The most self-effacing of the impersonal pronouns?
Steve Hayes
A bit like "prestigious" then.
Roland Hutchinson
> Daniel James <dan...@me.invalid> writes:
>
>> In article <r5a5hd...@gmail.com>, Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:
>>> "I have a friend in Minsk ..."
>>
>> Does he have another friend in Pinsk?
>
> Bozhe moi!
This, I know from _nothing_.
Peter Moylan
> On Fri, 18 Mar 2011 09:13:04 -0700, Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:
>
>> Daniel James <dan...@me.invalid> writes:
>>
>>> In article <r5a5hd...@gmail.com>, Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:
>>>> "I have a friend in Minsk ..."
>>> Does he have another friend in Pinsk?
>> Bozhe moi!
>
> This, I know from _nothing_.
>
Bogofilter. Russians won't use it because of the name.
(Бог=God, or possibly god. I don't know whether Russian makes that
distinction.)
(By the way, if you type "bogofilter" into Google translate, the word
gets auto-detected as Latvian.)
--
Peter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org
For an e-mail address, see my web page.
R H Draney
>
>There was - probably still is - a popular junk mail filter called
>Bogofilter. Russians won't use it because of the name.
>
>(Бог=God, or possibly god. I don't know whether Russian makes that
>distinction.)
>
>(By the way, if you type "bogofilter" into Google translate, the word
>gets auto-detected as Latvian.)
But only if you Lett it....r
Skitt
> Roland Hutchinson wrote:
>> Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:
>>>> Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:
>>>>> "I have a friend in Minsk ..."
>>>> Does he have another friend in Pinsk?
>>> Bozhe moi!
>>
>> This, I know from _nothing_.
>>
> There was - probably still is - a popular junk mail filter called
> Bogofilter. Russians won't use it because of the name.
>
> (Бог=God, or possibly god. I don't know whether Russian makes that
> distinction.)
>
> (By the way, if you type "bogofilter" into Google translate, the word
> gets auto-detected as Latvian.)
There's no such word in Latvian. The Russian expression is often "Oy,
bozhe moi." (OMG)
David Hatunen
> I thought there was some sort of appointment to hatdom. Didn't the
> sekrit cabal have to invite you in?
There is no sekrit kabal.
--
Dave Hatunen, Tucson, Arizona, out where the cacti grow
David Hatunen
The operator of my news server is one of the hats from the old days in
AFU, and I'm sure he'd carry it if I asked him to. I just don't care
much, since most of the interesting AEU stuff is cross-posted to AUE
anyway.
David Hatunen
Virgins, if memory serves.
Adam Funk
They're notoriously horny.
--
Nam Sibbyllam quidem Cumis ego ipse oculis meis vidi in ampulla
pendere, et cum illi pueri dicerent: beable beable beable; respondebat
illa: doidy doidy doidy. [plorkwort]
Glenn Knickerbocker
> Wikipedia claims that "by the time the error was
> discovered, the book was already in print"
Still?
Evan Kirshenbaum
Yes, it still does.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Off_the_Unicorn
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
Still with HP Labs |Bullwinkle: You sure that's the
SF Bay Area (1982-) | only way?
Chicago (1964-1982) |Rocky: Well, if you're going to be
| a hero, you've got to do
evan.kir...@gmail.com | stupid things every once in
| a while.
http://www.kirshenbaum.net/
Glenn Knickerbocker
> Glenn Knickerbocker <No...@bestweb.net> writes:
>> On 03/18/2011 07:00 PM, Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:
>>> Wikipedia claims
> Yes, it still does.
Well, why?
Evan Kirshenbaum
> On 03/20/2011 12:41 AM, Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:
>> Glenn Knickerbocker <No...@bestweb.net> writes:
>>> On 03/18/2011 07:00 PM, Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:
>>>> Wikipedia claims
>>> Still?
>> Yes, it still does.
>
> Well, why?
'Cause I didn't feel like editing it, and apparently nobody else has,
either.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
Still with HP Labs |The skinny models whose main job is
SF Bay Area (1982-) |to display clothes aren't hired for
Chicago (1964-1982) |their sex appeal. They're hired
|for their resemblance to a
evan.kir...@gmail.com |coat-hanger.
| Peter Moylan
http://www.kirshenbaum.net/
Glenn Knickerbocker
> 'Cause I didn't feel like editing it, and apparently nobody else has,
> either.
Speak for yourself. If I'd had a complete citation, I wouldn't have
bothered waiting for you to take the hint. Google's scan doesn't
include page numbers, so I just gave the page as "Introduction" instead.
Using Wikipedia and criticizing Wikipedia without improving Wikipedia
seems to me a bit like pissing in the pool.
ŹR
Evan Kirshenbaum
I didn't criticize it. I expressed surprise. I also didn't change it
because I wasn't really sure how to credit it. (I haven't done a
whole lot of Wikipedia editing.) It's page xi in the 1977 Del Rey
paperback (ISBN 0-345-30577-9).
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
Still with HP Labs |If I am ever forced to make a
SF Bay Area (1982-) |choice between learning and using
Chicago (1964-1982) |win32, or leaving the computer
|industry, let me just say it was
evan.kir...@gmail.com |nice knowing all of you. :-)
| Randal Schwartz
http://www.kirshenbaum.net/
John Varela
wrote:
> On Fri, 18 Mar 2011 01:02:24 +0000, John Varela wrote:
>
> > I thought there was some sort of appointment to hatdom. Didn't the
> > sekrit cabal have to invite you in?
>
> There is no sekrit kabal.
Oh. Right.
--
John Varela
Adam Funk
> Using Wikipedia and criticizing Wikipedia without improving Wikipedia
> seems to me a bit like pissing in the pool.
THERE IS NO "P" IN OUR WIKIEDIA
--
svn ci -m 'come back make, all is forgiven!' build.xml