The Very-Many-Questions-Not-Worth-Their-Own-Thread Thread 36

[Mouthwash]

What is an opening in a roof like this called? Also, I'm looking for a master reference of building-related stuff like this so I don't have to ask these questions (often it's impossible to word in Google what I'm looking for).

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I know @Traitorfish studied architecture for a while so he might know some good references

 

[Synobun]

That's a compluvium.

 

[Arakhor]

What is an opening in a roof like this called? Also, I'm looking for a master reference of stuff like this so I don't have to ask these questions (often it's impossible to word in Google what you're looking for).

The "skylight" in the Pantheon is called the oculus, after the Latin word for eye.

 

[Gori the Grey]

And the kind of reference source you want is a visual dictionary.

Work backwards to words from things you can visualize.

 

[Lohrenswald]

where I come from, that's a ljo

 

[Broken_Erika]

I call it a Roofy-McSunhole.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I call it a Roofy-McSunhole.

Which should never be confused with a Sunny McRoofhole, which as we know is a much different thing.

 

[cardgame]

I think the most commonly recognized form for that architecture is atrium

 

[Arakhor]

The atrium is typically the open-air courtyard, yes, but the circular hole in the ceiling is the oculus.

 

[Kyriakos]

Is it definitively known what the Spades symbolize in cards?
I read a few different/conflicting things. Eg that they are supposed to be a bell and thus symbolize farmers (apparently in germanic cultures), or that they represent a cane (latinate). Maybe the cane also can refer to lower class, though.
Also, what does the Jack symbolize? Again from reading some etymology it seems to mean (at least in italian) either an infantry man (fante is of the same root) or an infant/child. Btw, apparently "infant" means "voiceless" (?) - referring to infants not yet being able to speak.
A different theory is that it comes from spanish (the fante part) as infanteria, and thus is tied to a prince's bodyguard. (ps: it can also mean servant, eg in the french name, valet).

There is a rather nice greek expression: "he showed up like the Jack of Spades", meaning out of nowhere, and being unwelcome. Possibly the expression originates in powerful properties of the card in specific games.

 

[Gori the Grey]

An actual spade could "symbolize farmers"; a spade is a gardening tool. I.e. you don't need the intermediate step of converting it to a bell.

 

[Kyriakos]

An actual spade could "symbolize farmers"; a spade is a gardening tool. I.e. you don't need the intermediate step of converting it to a bell.

Yes. I am not examining the english etymology, cause cards arrived way later in Britain.
Besides, even if not tied to farming, a spade does not exactly signify high class or nobility, but manual professions.
In greek the card type is usually termed in the italian way, as "bastouni" (from it. bastoni).

 

[Takhisis]

In the ‘Spanish’ deck it's oro-copa-espada-basto: gold-cup-sword (see σπάθα)- club (compare with bastouni); suu

But anyway do get into the wiki article as is good and proper. Remember to look away from the screen every few minutes and so on.

 

[Kyriakos]

In the ‘Spanish’ deck it's oro-copa-espada-basto: gold-cup-sword (see σπάθα)- club (compare with bastouni); suu

But anyway do get into the wiki article as is good and proper. Remember to look away from the screen every few minutes and so on.

Hm, another article i read (but it may be wrong) had the bells be the spade card, while in this one they name the spades and clubs the other way around... Though maybe the original italian had spade for the other black card (the clover one).

For reference, this is the Jack of Spades:

Seems to be a bell symbol in german cards, and a club (doesn't this mean cane? or maybe it just got that meaning when loaned to greek as bastouni) in italian cards.

 

[civvver]

I thought a spade was a shovel and the club was a scepter for beating people.

Anyway my question needs a little backstory. We switched health insurance administrators at work this year. We're self funded so nothing in the plan changed, only the company that does the paper work and payments and network stuff. We always get incentive rewards, which is kind of bull crap, it's really more hoops we have to jump through to get the same benefits as before. For example the company used to put 2000 in my family hsa account but then they reduced it to 1800 but there's up to 200 in incentives I can earn. Last year it was easy though, get a physical, get a flu shot and fill out a health questionnaire and I got the 200.

This year it's different. I have to accomplish online goals through the new insurance website. The goals are ridiculous though. I signed up for manage stress, eat better, exercise and mental health. What I have to do is for the next four weeks I need to login and click little icons to say my stress level, mood, whether I ate on track and exercised. To complete my goal I need to record low stress, eating on track and happy or ok mood 21/28 days. Exercise I need 20 or more minutes 9/28 days. You self report so there's no way for them to tell.

My question is, why would any company think this is beneficial? Is it like some kind of subconscious psychological warfare that making you aware of eating healthy makes you more likely to eat healthy? They don't even define what on track eating is lol. You just log on track, mostly on track or not on track. Thing is I've been on a diet and exercising anyway so I'm not lying when I log 20+ minutes of exercise every day, but you totally could. It just seems rather pointless but I'll get $100 for doing this crap for four weeks.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

My question is, why would any company think this is beneficial?

The kind of company that calculates the $100 savings per employee they'll will save outweighs employee complaints. I'd wager the majority of people who get dinged in petty ways about their benefits don't complain and also that the majority won't jump through the hoops in the first place, saving the company money.

 

[rah]

I guess they've calculated that incentives makes them more money even if some people lie about it. It's always about the money,.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

The kind of company that calculates the $100 savings per employee they'll will save outweighs employee complaints. I'd wager the majority of people who get dinged in petty ways about their benefits don't complain and also that the majority won't jump through the hoops in the first place, saving the company money.

As an example, my company took away Christmas break and I was one of only two people to complain about it even though everyone was pissed.

 

[rah]

People that complain about stuff like that are those that are more likely to quit then be fired. They should be listened to a tad more seriously.