Random Thoughts Sechs: Eeeeehhhh...

[Valka D'Ur]

Was fairly hot out today and at one point a guy I talked to briefly offered me "a water". And I dunno why I thought of it, but a few minutes later I was wondering about the language of it. In today's common usage of the American version of the English language, there really was no confusion about what he was offering me: a bottle of water. But 30-40 years ago, or in formal usage of the language, that statement simply would not have worked. Still doesn't work in the formal, technically correct, usage of the language. What the hell is "a water"? One drop of water? One molecule?

I'll tag @Dachs since he's teaching the language these days.

I would just assume that anyone offering me such a thing would mean one 500 mL bottle of water.

My cat just caught and ate a mosquito that got into the house.

Good kitty!

The random thought has just come to my mind that if you're playing as the Byzantines in any strategy game it could be ‘Oh, the Ottomans! Help!’.

Edit: yes, my mind is indeed weird.

No, that makes perfect sense, although the real Byzantines probably added a word inbetween "oh" and "the" and it started with the letter "f".

Breast milk is king of the milks. Tailor made for humans. Been around 30 years or so since I last tried it though. I'm told I enjoyed it tremendously back then.

I hear horse or donkey milk is a good second as it resembles human milk.

Goats milk is good too. It was used as an alternative for breast milk for babies before formula was available. Some goats were trained to allow babies to suckle right from their teats. Now there's a picture. It makes great cheese but as a pure milk I find it's a little too goaty for my taste.

I was given goats' milk when I was a baby, as I was unable to tolerate cows' milk. My grandparents kept a couple of goats for this purpose (I'm reasonably sure they'd have put the milk in a bottle first, as both my mother and grandmother tended to be the sort of person who would frown on physical contact between humans and non-human mammals). I found a picture of my grandfather holding them.

I have an admiration for people who don't do drugs, I can't imagine facing life sober

Getting high on nothing more than a group of sober people having fun is an incredible feeling.

Yes

fivechairs

Psst, we don't have to have five anymore.

 

[Arakhor]

No, that makes perfect sense, although the real Byzantines probably added a word inbetween "oh" and "the" and it started with the letter "f".

In Greek, I think the appropriate word actually starts with a gamma.

 

[Kyriakos]

In Greek, I think the appropriate word actually starts with a gamma.

Learning new words?
Just not the posh ones, apparently /monocle

Btw, that term comes from the word for marrying. I suppose because it (also) happens as part of marriage.

 

[Arakhor]

I've never even said Chaire to the one Greek person I see on a semi-regular basis, so no, even when looking up words online, I'm certainly not learning any new ones.

 

[Kyriakos]

I've never even said Chaire to the one Greek person I see on a semi-regular basis, so no, even when looking up words online, I'm certainly not learning any new ones.

"Chaire" isn't really used, non-sarcastically, in current greek. Unless you are a metal-head; they use it as the translation of "hail".
I doubt you are a metal-head, though ^_^

 

[Valka D'Ur]

In Greek, I think the appropriate word actually starts with a gamma.

It starts with an "f" in English. If I'd said what it starts with in Greek, it wouldn't have been immediately obvious which word I meant.

Not that I could have said what it starts with in Greek anyway, since I know very little of that language.

And I maintain that the phrase in question was probably uttered by at least some of the people.

 

[Traitorfish]

It's curious how similar the "evil mandarin" stock character in twentieth century pulp fiction is pretty similar to the "evil eunuch" stock character in Chinese kung fu cinema. I wonder how far, if at all, either trope influenced the other?

 

[Takhisis]

No, that makes perfect sense, although the real Byzantines probably added a word inbetween "oh" and "the" and it started with the letter "f".

Oh no, you do not behave like that at the court of the Emperor of the Romans.

Psst, we don't have to have five anymore.

Eh?

5chairs

In Greek, I think the appropriate word actually starts with a gamma.

It would be one word.

 

[Kyriakos]

Iirc Aristophanes uses one starting with beta, in his infamous definition of a gentleman.
That one isn't part of current greek, though. Probably wasn't there in medieval greek either.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Oh no, you do not behave like that at the court of the Emperor of the Romans.

Assuming we're talking about May 29, 1453, I doubt the Emperor would have had time to care if anyone used inappropriate language. After all, he was losing his empire and was about to die.

Eh?

5chairs

The minimum number of characters for a post doesn't need to be 5 anymore. That was a vBulletin thing. You can have fewer chairs now (someone did make a graphic of 5 chairs, but if I'm to carry through with the idea of asking Petek to install it as one of forum smileys, it needs to be smaller; right now it's too big).

 

[Cutlass]

It's curious how similar the "evil mandarin" stock character in twentieth century pulp fiction is pretty similar to the "evil eunuch" stock character in Chinese kung fu cinema. I wonder how far, if at all, either trope influenced the other?

That sounds like an @Owen Glyndwr question to me.

 

[Takhisis]

Iirc Aristophanes uses one starting with beta, in his infamous definition of a gentleman.
That one isn't part of current greek, though. Probably wasn't there in medieval greek either.

Which one? Vlax?

Assuming we're talking about May 29, 1453, I doubt the Emperor would have had time to care if anyone used inappropriate language. After all, he was losing his empire and was about to die.

There's no way of putting that one to the test.

The minimum number of characters for a post doesn't need to be 5 anymore. That was a vBulletin thing. You can have fewer chairs now (someone did make a graphic of 5 chairs, but if I'm to carry through with the idea of asking Petek to install it as one of forum smileys, it needs to be smaller; right now it's too big).

Yup.

fiveobjectsforsittingon

 

[Kyriakos]

Which one? Vlax?

What? Have you been following what term Arakh and I were talking about?
Vlax is just the greek term for idiot. Which is also greek, but originally meant 'not interested in public matters'.

 

[Zkribbler]

Vlax is just the greek term for idiot. Which is also Greek, but originally meant 'not interested in public matters'.

I didn't know that.
BTW, IHMO "Vlax" sounds like a James Bond villain.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Breast milk is king of the milks. Tailor made for humans. Been around 30 years or so since I last tried it though. I'm told I enjoyed it tremendously back then.
I hear horse or donkey milk is a good second as it resembles human milk.
Goats milk is good too. It was used as an alternative for breast milk for babies before formula was available. Some goats were trained to allow babies to suckle right from their teats. Now there's a picture. It makes great cheese but as a pure milk I find it's a little too goaty for my taste.

Maybe you should add Chimp milk to your thinking.

I have an admiration for people who don't do drugs, I can't imagine facing life sober

It's mind-numbingly boring. I'd like to get some drugs, but that would require me to go outside. Outside is bad. There are people out there.

Damn, I did not know my life was mind numbingly boring. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Broken_Erika]

Damn, I did not know my life was mind numbingly boring. Thanks for the heads up.

I require constant stimulation or else my brain goes numb.....

 

[Ajidica]

There is a small gap between my window frame and window screen that is just big enough to allow in some teeny-tiny insects. Over the last month or so I've let Mr. Spider (he is a small one) set up camp there and trap the bugs. However, Mr. Spider's web is getting large enough it now in the 'definitely need to clean' category. Do I clean off Mr. Spider's spiderweb or not?

 

[Gori the Grey]

Yeah, that and plug the gap.

 

[Birdjaguar]

There is a small gap between my window frame and window screen that is just big enough to allow in some teeny-tiny insects. Over the last month or so I've let Mr. Spider (he is a small one) set up camp there and trap the bugs. However, Mr. Spider's web is getting large enough it now in the 'definitely need to clean' category. Do I clean off Mr. Spider's spiderweb or not?

Move the spider outside, then plug the gap.

 

[Ajidica]

Move the spider outside, then plug the gap.

What would you recommend to plug the gap? Wedge bits of paper towels in it?