OT: 88th Obsequious Banter Thread: Starts with incredible optimism; ends with the same disappointment

[ajgoal]

Ew, don't you come into direct contact with all the souls captured in the film?

They come out in little crunchy bits when you open the canister. We dip them in sweet and sour sauce and eat them. Taste like burnt ends.

 

[Jack Straw]

One of our local farms

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Not a single Italian…

 

[Asnito]

One of our local farms

Would a bacon joke be unsavory?

 

[Asnito]

Speaking of lobsters what kind is this? Bit of a trick question.

Spoiler: Answer

It's actually the Tasmanian Freshwater Crayfish. Here's a video of one this size being caught in a stream in calf deep water

 

[Jack Straw]

Would a bacon joke be unsavory?

 

[ajgoal]

Not a single Italian…

I see the guy from Parks and Rec has been elevated to the level of divinity now...

 

[BernieParent]

Bernie I'm retiring the drummer, for awhile, and I'm handing out a ZING for these verbal assaults.
View attachment 466170

Humbly accepted, @Asnito.

 

[DancingPanther]

So there are three stages. There is no light at all when developing. I guess typically the first stage, prep, is done in a "dark bag" which has those built in gloves but today we did it in the darkroom with no lights at all. You open, spool, and put the film in the tank in pure darkness. Then you can take the sealed tank into the light where you run the various chemicals through to develop, fix, and wash the negatives. The dark room is where you eenlarge the image, and that's where you can use the special lights. But they're not always red. Ours are orange. Depends on the paper, I think.

Genuinely interesting thank you

 

[dragonoffrost]

I thought they used custard...

Poutine!

 

[Lord Defect]

Would a bacon joke be unsavory?

They’re bacon bits sized.

 

[flyersnorth]

On a different note, which language classes did y’all’s high schools offer? Mine had Spanish, French, German, and for some reason, Latin. Which was taught by the German teacher.

I went to French high school and English was the only second language offered. But honestly, 99% of us were already fluently bilingual by that point, so the English classes were advanced and were not about learning the language, but things like literature, history, science, etc. Basically, a regular high school class but in English.

At uni, I took German for a few years, and then kept up the language on my own while commuting. Eventually - and by pure chance - I met my future ex wife who is German. We spoke a lot of German at home. Even now that we're no longer together, I read German books, watch German shows (usually in German with German subtitles to reinforce the language).

Like others have said, if you just learn the mechanics of language, you'll forget it soon enough. You actually have to incorporate it in your life if you want to develop. In our public schools here, kids in the English system have 12 years of French, and by the end, less than 3% are bilingual. It's because they just don't use it outside of the classroom.

 

[Embiid]

I went to French high school and English was the only second language offered. But honestly, 99% of us were already fluently bilingual by that point, so the English classes were advanced and were not about learning the language, but things like literature, history, science, etc. Basically, a regular high school class but in English.

At uni, I took German for a few years, and then kept up the language on my own while commuting. Eventually - and by pure chance - I met my future ex wife who is German. We spoke a lot of German at home. Even now that we're no longer together, I read German books, watch German shows (usually in German with German subtitles to reinforce the language).

Like others have said, if you just learn the mechanics of language, you'll forget it soon enough. You actually have to incorporate it in your life if you want to develop. In our public schools here, kids in the English system have 12 years of French, and by the end, less than 3% are bilingual. It's because they just don't use it outside of the classroom.

Yeah that is the case with my Italian....in the home grew up speaking a southern Italian regional dialect mostly bc my mom grew up that way. Spoke English with my dad bc he came to the US when he was 16 and was used to speaking it bc of work and now living in the US. I had enough of a base for taking formal Italian courses in College...minored in Italian. We did conversation and grammar but mostly lit classes. I became pretty proficient in the standard Italian which is technically the Tuscan dialect of Dante. However, fell back into my lazy southern dialect and didn't keep on the standard with native speakers. I need to get back into it bc when up north my Italian is rusty. It would not take me long though if fully immersed in the culture to become pretty proficient again. Fluency would take some more time. Dating an Italian woman would help but for whatever reason never seriously dated one....it is a bit of a riddle but don't mesh with Italian-American women..they are pretty high maintenance lol...

 

[flyersnorth]

Yeah that is the case with my Italian....in the home grew up speaking a southern Italian regional dialect mostly bc my mom grew up that way. Spoke English with my dad bc he came to the US when he was 16 and was used to speaking it bc of work and now living in the US. I had enough of a base for taking formal Italian courses in College...minored in Italian. We did conversation and grammar but mostly lit classes. I became pretty proficient in the standard Italian which is technically the Tuscan dialect of Dante. However, fell back into my lazy southern dialect and didn't keep on the standard with native speakers. I need to get back into it bc when up north my Italian is rusty. It would not take me long though if fully immersed in the culture to become pretty proficient again. Fluency would take some more time.

Dialects are fascinating to me. How different is your southern dialect to the standard Italian? Can Italians from different regions understand each other's dialect? Is Swiss Italian also just a dialect or is it closer to standard?

 

[Jack Straw]

So, I think I gave myself a minor case of frostbite last night. I get occasional soreness in my left knee (surgery many years ago) so I've been icing the knee after my bike rides lately. I just got these new gel ice packs so I tried one of them on the knee for 20 minutes last night. Things were fine until about 15 minutes after I removed the ice pack, then noticed pain in that area. So I looked at my leg and the skin was still red where the ice pack was. I got in the shower and ran some hot water over it and that was EXTREMELY painful. Feels much better this morning but it's still a little red and a little painful. Those things get really cold.

 

[Embiid]

Dialects are fascinating to me. How different is your southern dialect to the standard Italian? Can Italians from different regions understand each other's dialect? Is Swiss Italian also just a dialect or is it closer to standard?

It is pretty distinctive...all of them are. Studying literature I learned the origins of many latin words or their derivatives that are still used in the dialects. I can understand some dialects as they are closer to the one my mom spoke which is Calabrian. Some Sicilian is pretty close even Neapolitan but also pretty different. I can usually get the context of the conversation. The ones up north not too familiar so hard to say bc they mostly speak the standard. They do have their dialects though..not just a southern thing. When up north they pick up my cadence which apparently is southern. They think I am native southern italian. My instructors swore I was born there from my accent. My cousins say I speak better dialect than them bc I spoke it more regularly in the states so retained it better I guess. In the south they have cultural schools now to try to retain the dialect since it is being lost with newer generations. Dialects have their own grammar in many ways so they can be studied and learned. The Tuscan dialect became the standard through the cultural hegemony of the north and the lit of Dante. Tuscans speak awesome Italian..they pronounce everything distinctly. Best to learn there imo....

Btw not familiar with the Swiss dialect too much. I think one of my instructors in college spoke it. Can't recall the differences

 

[Lord Defect]

So, I think I gave myself a minor case of frostbite last night. I get occasional soreness in my left knee (surgery many years ago) so I've been icing the knee after my bike rides lately. I just got these new gel ice packs so I tried one of them on the knee for 20 minutes last night. Things were fine until about 15 minutes after I removed the ice pack, then noticed pain in that area. So I looked at my leg and the skin was still red where the ice pack was. I got in the shower and ran some hot water over it and that was EXTREMELY painful. Feels much better this morning but it's still a little red and a little painful. Those things get really cold.

Never use hot or warm water to warm up frost bite. That does further damage. Place your hands over the affected area and just leave them there. Let the warm hands warm the area back up, do not rub.
When using an ice pack, you are supposed to keep a towel between the ice and yourself.

 

[Appleyard]

I have not turned my heating on since early April...

and as going away in a few days, and then the day I am back going for a work team-building thingy at a hotel for 3 days?

Going to be October 21st or 22nd before my heating goes back on.

Almost 7 months with no heating bills.

Might sound sad but I am very happy with my adulting here.

(might not sound anything special but: A. British climate. B. My apartment is an old jewellery factory from the 1800s with crappy windows and insulation, but a listed building so cant change that.)

 

[Jack Straw]

Never use hot or warm water to warm up frost bite. That does further damage. Place your hands over the affected area and just leave them there. Let the warm hands warm the area back up, do not rub.
When using an ice pack, you are supposed to keep a towel between the ice and yourself.

Thanks, that's good information. I thought when someone gets frostbite they always soak their fingers or toes in warm water, or is that just something they do in the movies?

I guess if I had read the directions on the gel pack I would have known not to put it directly against my skin. Well, live and learn...

 

[BernieParent]

Speaking of languages, the AI associated with this Board has concluded that I am fluent in Spanish and has been showing me a steady diet of Spanish ads. I think I'll mess with it by posting random stuff in a new language every few days.

Apropos Sprachen: Die mit diesem Board verbundene KI ist zu dem Schluss gekommen, dass ich fließend Spanisch spreche und mir eine stetige Diät mit spanischen Anzeigen gezeigt hat. Ich denke, ich werde damit herumspielen, indem ich alle paar Tage zufällige Sachen in einer neuen Sprache poste. Danke Google Translate!

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

Like others have said, if you just learn the mechanics of language, you'll forget it soon enough. You actually have to incorporate it in your life if you want to develop. In our public schools here, kids in the English system have 12 years of French, and by the end, less than 3% are bilingual. It's because they just don't use it outside of the classroom.

Yeah, use it or lose it most definitely applies. By the end of High School I could have probably carried on a conversation with a 4 year old in German. Now, a decade later, I barely remember any of it. Mostly just basic phrases and some words. Also most of the Lorelei poem by Heine, for whatever reason.

What I absolutely do not remember is which article to use when. That shit drove me crazy.

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

Speaking of languages, the AI associated with this Board has concluded that I am fluent in Spanish and has been showing me a steady diet of Spanish ads. I think I'll mess with it by posting random stuff in a new language every few days.

Apropos Sprachen: Die mit diesem Board verbundene KI ist zu dem Schluss gekommen, dass ich fließend Spanisch spreche und mir eine stetige Diät mit spanischen Anzeigen gezeigt hat. Ich denke, ich werde damit herumspielen, indem ich alle paar Tage zufällige Sachen in einer neuen Sprache poste. Danke Google Translate!

Oh man, this reminds me of a school trip I took to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. during High School. A friend of mine was looking at a photocopy of a German newspaper from the 30s. I forget exactly what it said. Something about Jews being undesirable, probably.

Anyway, she calls me over, "Hey, SBA, you take German, what does this say?" I came up and read it immediately in English. She was very impressed until I pointed out that there was a translation right below where she was looking.

 

[flyersnorth]

Speaking of languages, the AI associated with this Board has concluded that I am fluent in Spanish and has been showing me a steady diet of Spanish ads. I think I'll mess with it by posting random stuff in a new language every few days.

Apropos Sprachen: Die mit diesem Board verbundene KI ist zu dem Schluss gekommen, dass ich fließend Spanisch spreche und mir eine stetige Diät mit spanischen Anzeigen gezeigt hat. Ich denke, ich werde damit herumspielen, indem ich alle paar Tage zufällige Sachen in einer neuen Sprache poste. Danke Google Translate!

Ja, ich auch! Warum sehen wir spanische Anzeige?

Right now it's an "empieza la conversacion!" ad.

 

[flyersnorth]

Yeah, use it or lose it most definitely applies. By the end of High School I could have probably carried on a conversation with a 4 year old in German. Now, a decade later, I barely remember any of it. Mostly just basic phrases and some words. Also most of the Lorelei poem by Heine, for whatever reason.

What I absolutely do not remember is which article to use when. That shit drove me crazy.

Haha, yeah, it can be rough when you're speaking on the fly. I often get the article wrong because half the time I'm guessing which of the three genders it might be - they don't line up with the genders in French, so it's one of those "you just gotta learn it" situations.

Luckily, German only has the 4 cases. Isn't it one of the nordic languages that has like 16 cases? That sounds excessive lol. I think Latin has like 6.

EDIT: Apparently Hungarian has 18.

 

[Embiid]

Another weapon in the arsenal is good

A daily pill to treat Covid could be just months away, scientists say