I'll take malaprops for *5* Bob - Apropos of Nothing continues. . .

clark · 2005-08-05 09:04:56

I'll put you in my fridge for five bucks. Same odds when you think about it.

Josh Cryer · 2005-08-05 09:24:59

Odds are significantly reduced in temperatures above -100 degrees, actually.

Cobra Commander · 2005-08-05 09:45:36

Meat is never quite as good after it's been frozen.

clark · 2005-08-05 11:03:54

I'll throw in ice cubes for free.

Cobra Commander · 2005-08-05 12:34:44

I just had to take an hour out of my day to teach one of the execs how to rip music on his friggin' workstation. Yep, that's a productive use of time.

Ah hell, I'm leaving early. Mark it eight.

clark · 2005-08-05 17:34:00

Much better to rant about your particular politcal perversion while you pretend to work but are secretly doing CGI for a beer and pizza movie.

Right? Right.

Meat is always better barbequed. But of course, wearing latex gloves offends CC (if he recalls), so whatever.

Mad Grad Student · 2005-08-06 22:26:27

Keeping a weblog is an interesting and effective way guage the inner qualities of one's peers. I suppose the idea behind a blog is that the reverse is true, that over time the blog keeper will bare the deepest contents of his or her mind for all the online world to see, but ever since I started keeping one back in June I've noticed that more often than not the reverse is true. Despite the fact that it's been online for nearly two months, my blog (http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=VonBraunGuy) has recieved very few comments, but those that have been made have been highly enlightening.

I seem to recall hearing once that people often project their inner faults onto others when insulting them. I never really took much stock into that philosophy, but it seems to be exactly what's happened here. About two weeks ago I posted an entry that managed to enrage a few of my classmates (without even trying :? ). Near the end of one detractor's very lengthy critique of myself as a human being, he mentions that I spend excessively amounts of time belittling others' intelligence (I paraphraze of course, the original wasn't really in complete sentence form). I find that ironic in that he states that line after a long period of doing exactly what he accuses me of. Usually I love people, but they do get on my nerves sometimes (certain people anyway).

Recently the topic of thersaurus usage came up in a chatroom. I make it a point never to use a thersaurus under virtually any circumstances. It's practically become taboo nowadays. In my humble, very personal opinion thersauruses almost always do more harm than good. IMHO, if you couldn't actually think of the word in question, how can it possibly fit in with the rest of the prose at hand? Personally, I think that thersaurus use borders on outright cheating, and really ought to be discouraged. In addition, the more you use a thersaurus, the more dependent you become. It's simply bad all around.Then again, this is probably just me once again.

I just had to take an hour out of my day to teach one of the execs how to rip music on his friggin' workstation. Yep, that's a productive use of time.

I once tried to explain the concept of radioactive decay to an English teacher (during lunch of course). It nearly got me thrown out of the room. Oddly enough this was the same person who nearly gave me a 100% on a highly esoteric paper about Kelly Johnson. Generally, the more productive your intentions, the less likely they are to succeed, except under highly specific circumstances.

Lately I wrote an entry at the previously-mentioned weblog that I am in no way qualified to write on Magnetic Resonance Imagery. I'm not quite sure why writing about generally poorly-understood topics like that is so fun; maybe it's because no one would ever be willing to talk about it in an ordinary conversation. The curse of knowing very much about science and technology is that you realize how extraordinary the universe is, and virtually no one cares. It's a bit like reading the greatest novel ever written and then being unable to discuss it with anyone. Oh, well, that's why we have weblogs and New Mars, I suppose. 8)

clark · 2005-08-07 19:11:53

Recently the topic of thersaurus usage came up in a chatroom. I make it a point never to use a thersaurus under virtually any circumstances. It's practically become taboo nowadays. In my humble, very personal opinion thersauruses almost always do more harm than good. IMHO, if you couldn't actually think of the word in question, how can it possibly fit in with the rest of the prose at hand? Personally, I think that thersaurus use borders on outright cheating, and really ought to be discouraged. In addition, the more you use a thersaurus, the more dependent you become. It's simply bad all around.Then again, this is probably just me once again.

Isn't this the equivalent of suggesting that use of a calculator to do advanced math is cheating, and people should be required to do their math in their heads?

A thesaurus (or a lexicon, or a word list, or a phrase book) , like a calculator, like a dictionary, like your study notes, are merely tools that enable the individual to operate more efficiently.

IMHO, the use of these aids takes nothing away from other people, so I see little point in belaboring the use of such tools by other individuals. But that is just me.

Of course, maybe I have it wrong, and short people shouldn't use ladders. They'll never grow taller using ladders.

Josh Cryer · 2005-08-08 00:57:55

A cool thing is that it can allow you to do lipograms without your brain blowing up.

clark · 2005-08-08 05:25:29

A cool thing is that it can allow you to do lipograms without your brain blowing up.

That sentence is a lipogram. So is that one. And that one. And this one.

Yet this one would not be a lipogram.

Josh Cryer · 2005-08-08 06:18:08

It is if you had a wish to avoid using Z.

But that wouldn't count as much.

Now http://www.spinelessbooks.com/gadsby/index.html]this is a good lipogram.

clark · 2005-08-08 06:31:24

Yeah, but not using "Z" for a lipogram is like playing basketball with Steven Hawking. Where is the sport in that?

Of course, Poe's "Raven" is a lipogram that doesn't use "Z".

Shaun Barrett · 2005-08-08 20:04:08

Not using 'z' would be slightly more difficult for Americans than Brits (or Brit-derivatives! ) because of the American spelling of words like:-

theorize ............ (Brit. : theorise)
realize .............. ( " : realise)
visualize ........... ( " : visualise)
surprize ............ ( " : surprise)
revize ............... ( " : revise)
advize .............. ( " : advise)
compromize ...... ( " : compromise)

[Only kidding about the last four examples, which just serve to demonstrate the inconsistencies of standard spelling in any branch of the English language. ]

Palomar · 2005-08-09 05:00:01

Not using 'z' would be slightly more difficult for Americans than Brits (or Brit-derivatives! ) because of the American spelling of words like:-
theorize ............ (Brit. : theorise)
realize .............. ( " : realise)
visualize ........... ( " : visualise)
surprize ............ ( " : surprise)
revize ............... ( " : revise)
advize .............. ( " : advise)
compromize ...... ( " : compromise)
[Only kidding about the last four examples, which just serve to demonstrate the inconsistencies of standard spelling in any branch of the English language. ]

*That, and inconsistencies of pronunciation. I often hear Brits pronounce "schedule" like "shed'le." As if it's a 2-syllable word and the "sch" is merely "sh." I was like WHAT? I pronounce it "sked-jew-uhl."

Do they also pronounce "school" as "shool"? They still pronounce it as "skool" last I knew. Which begs the question: Why "sh" (no "k" sound) for "schedule" yet "school" continues to be pronounced with a "k" in it??

I am so glad I didn't have to learn English as a second language.

On a different tack: Autumn's fast approaching and I'm in the mood to do some baking, or make something from scratch. I've had homemade banana cream pie in mind: Crust from scratch, homecooked vanilla pudding (from scratch), slice up ripe bananas and mix in, cover with a homemade meringue. Homemade is the only way to go with banana cream pie (all of the store-bought versions...ugh). I'd also like to bake a batch of orange drop cookies. From scratch too; they're a tender cookie with orange juice baked in and topped with a homemade creamy orange frosting. Delight in every bite.

--Cindy

Cobra Commander · 2005-08-09 05:38:42

Police roadblocks can be such a nuisance. Fortunately they're easy to bypass.

clark · 2005-08-09 06:36:57

Police roadblocks can be such a nuisance. Fortunately they're easy to bypass.

Translated conversation heard in Iraq.

Josh Cryer · 2005-08-09 07:18:59

I was having a dream just now that my neighbor needed me to lift a pot off their stove, but when I went to help the pot did not seem that it needed lifting at all. This was odd enough to wake me up. When I woke up and opened my eyes all I could see was smoke. Ran into the kitchen and the element on the stove is burning away, white hot, some sort of electrical problem.

5 more minutes it would've melted down into the stove or ignited the kitchen counters. The insulation here is highly flamable (it's like ground up newspaper or something). I'd have been toast within 5 minutes of the attic getting caught on fire.

The fire alarm does not seem to work. It has brand new batteries. It worked 3 months ago when I tested it.

Man, I've never been in a house so full of smoke before.

Palomar · 2005-08-09 07:22:40

I was having a dream just now that my neighbor needed me to lift a pot off their stove, but when I went to help the pot did not seem that it needed lifting at all. This was odd enough to wake me up. When I woke up and opened my eyes all I could see was smoke. Ran into the kitchen and the element on the stove is burning away, white hot, some sort of electrical problem.
5 more minutes it would've melted down into the stove or ignited the kitchen counters. The insulation here is highly flamable (it's like ground up newspaper or something). I'd have been toast within 5 minutes of the attic getting caught on fire.
The fire alarm does not seem to work. It has brand new batteries. It worked 3 months ago when I tested it.
Man, I've never been in a house so full of smoke before.

:!: :!: Geez, I'm glad you're alright, though! :shock: Does that fire alarm have an unexpired warranty? I'd notify them.

--also-- What about permanent smoke damage to your possessions? Call your insurance agent or whatever.

Josh Cryer · 2005-08-09 07:24:57

It's brand freaking ass new. I brought it when I moved in this ghetto joint. It was so cloudy in the house that I couldn't see a foot in front of my face. There was a decent layer of clean air about 3 feet off the ground, which I ran inside of.

Palomar · 2005-08-09 07:29:47

It's brand freaking ass new.

Damn! Call the fire marshall, report it. Contact the alarm's company. Take photos, etc. Maybe even contact your local media outlet; many of them have consumer-complaint types of news segments.

It was so cloudy in the house that I couldn't see a foot in front of my face. There was a decent layer of clean air about 3 feet off the ground, which I ran inside of.

I'm glad you're safe and okay. And I certainly hope there's not a lot of smoke damage to your stuff. Good grief, you just never know, huh?

--Cindy

Josh Cryer · 2005-08-09 07:37:07

Nah, not too much smoke damage, I don't have much stuff of worth anyway. This was a quick fire. Had some potatoes on the stove from last night, it seems the stove itself has blown up or something because the element is in the off position and I had to hit the breaker box to turn off the power to the stove. The element was white hot, I've seen that happen once before, but it was with a really old stove, and this one isn't that old.

I might make a few complaints, though, we'll see how the place smells b the end of the day.

I need a new stove.

Cobra Commander · 2005-08-09 07:41:05

Good thing the ol' subconscious knew something was up.

Burning "ghetto joints" eh, that brings back memories. A few years ago I lived on the third floor of a crappy apartment building conveniently wedged between a hospital and a police station. The building had flammable insulation throughout, very screwy wiring and no fire escape.

But I had a rope and a grappling hook.

Glad to hear you made it out unscathed.

Josh Cryer · 2005-08-09 07:44:17

Yeah, that dream saved my ass. I might've woke up coughing but I really think that this place would've been totally burned down within a 5 minute timespan.

BWhite · 2005-08-09 08:35:37

Good thing the ol' subconscious knew something was up.
* * * Glad to hear you made it out unscathed.

As Josh said, "Yeah, that dream saved my ass. I might've woke up coughing but I really think that this place would've been totally burned down within a 5 minute timespan."

Our subconscious can be often be smarter than we are. But maybe get a battery backup smoke detector and a CO detector. My Mom bought all her adult children smoke detectors one Christmas about 15 years ago.

Speaking of dreams, when I was about 10 I needed a general anesthetic for some dental surgery. I was totally out.

To this day I vividly remember my dream about climbing a ladder inside a well, with gray clouds over the top. I was climbing and climbing and climbing until I reached the top. Stuck my head out of the well and I opened my eyes and instantly I was in the recovery room at the dentist's office..

clark · 2005-08-09 12:05:32

Hot enough for you?

Get it?

Oh nevermind.

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