z;li;l o;ae;igah i;lei;g jaw;i ghe (GMH opines/muses about things)

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  • Spotted what I think is a Great Egret on opposite bank of artificial lake here.
  • edited 2016-09-08 15:21:46
    I like it when I get odd thought-provoking tidbits.

    Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse touched on something that a MAL user commented on in the thread dedicated to episode 8 -- the different status of Russians, Georgians, and Kazakhs, politically, within the Soviet Union. Both, as the commenter pointed out, the different ways that their geographic regions entered the Soviet Union (in real life), and how that set a stage for a difference of opinion that's magnified by the fictional setting details (when a couple Russians who were test pilots previously sent to safety encountered Georgian and Kazakh pilots on the front lines of the war against the BETA).
  • So, apparently, cartographer use the terms "larger scale" and "smaller scale" in a way opposite to how laypeople use them.  "Larger scale" to a layperson means seeing a lot more things from a greater distance, and thus seeing a "larger" picture, while to a cartographer it means the "1:whatever" ratio is larger, which only happens when the "whatever" is smaller, meaning more zoomed in, smaller field of view, and higher resolution of ground features.

    Solution: use the terms "broader scale" and "finer scale" instead.  Those are unambiguous.

    #linguisticsolutions
  • Improper explanation of a Fast Ball:

    "Gen 2: improves catch rate for Grimer, Tangela, and Magnemite.  Gen 4: Improves catch rate for pokémon with a high speed stat."

    Proper explanation of a Fast Ball:

    "Gen 2: supposed to improve catch rate for pokémon that run from encounters.  However, a bug makes it only work on Grimer, Tangela, and Magnemite.  Gen 4: Improves catch rate for pokémon with a high speed stat."
  • I think some people play the Mega Man games for the platforming action, and some people play it for the collectibles, and some people play it for the puzzle-solving/discovery aspect of figuring out boss weaknesses, but I happen to play them for the music.
  • edited 2016-09-16 05:51:38
    Languages I encounter, in order of approximate decreasing frequency

    English
    Cantonese
    written Chinese
    Spanish
    U.S. Native American languages (also see Inupiat below)
    Japanese
    Italian
    Mandarin

    trace languages:
    Latin
    Brazilian Portuguese
    Arabic
    Greek
    Swedish
    Russian
    Polish
    Inupiat
    Ryukyuan languages
    Vietnamese
    Korean
    Finnish
    German
    French
    Caribbean languages/creoles
    Irish Gaelic
    Ukrainian
    South Asian languages
    Egyptian
    Tagalog
    Farsi
  • edited 2016-09-16 07:07:56
    English - default language basically.
    Chinese - Cantonese used to communicate with parents.  Written Chinese shows up on publications around the house.  Mandarin shows up a less often, usually only in parents' phone conversations, or while I'm trying to decipher stuff using a combination of Google Translate, Wikipedia, and Ekho.
    Spanish - living in South Florida, and learning it, and it's the local language of my area of research.
    U.S. Native American languages - mostly place names in the United States.
    Japanese - playing videogames, watching anime, and listening to anisong/J-pop.
    Italian - used in classical music, and food.
    Latin - English loanwords and loanphrases, scientific species names, legal principles, chemical element symbol origins, ominous Latin chanting, Catholic masses, and I learned it in high school so it's somewhat of a linguistic reference guide for me.
    Brazilian Portuguese - random appearances on the Steam forums, and the music of Heitor Villa-Lobos.
    Arabic - mainly mentions in the news, but also etymologies.
    Greek - ancient Greek shows up in cultural artifacts and etymologies, while modern Greek mostly shows up related to food.
    Swedish - IKEA products.
    Russian - random appearances on the Steam forums.  The most frequent of the non-English Steam forum languages.  Also, some funny Youtube videos.
    Polish - another non-English Steam forum language, and also Fryderyk Chopin, Karol Szymanowski, and others.
    Inupiat - solely because of the game Never Alone.
    Ryukyuan languages - because of the anime series Umi Monogatari.
    Vietnamese - because of some ads in Chinese newspapers, as well as Vietnamese restaurants and menu items.
    Korean - because of some ads as well, and also some gamers and some restaurants.  And the news sometimes.
    Finnish - because of Spurdo Spärde.
    German - random mentions, partly on the Steam forum, and also product names and use in classical music.  Slight uptick when people compare politicians to Hitler and the Nazis.
    French - random mentions, and also product names and use in classical music.
    Caribbean languages/creoles - from living in South Florida, and also reggae music.
    Irish Gaelic - cultural artifacts (e.g. songs, poems), and occasionally, stuff having to do with St. Patrick's Day.
    Ukrainian - the music of Victor Kosenko, and also news about Ukraine.
    South Asian languages - mainly from food, though for a while it was mainly from a Bhagavad Gita group.
    Egyptian - this ancient language shows up mostly as trivia/decorative material.
    Tagalog - random appearances on the Steam forums.
    Farsi  - someone once requested it on Steam.  Also had a lot of it back a few years back when I was following the protests there.
  • The beginning of Mega Man ZX puts tears in my eyes just watching it.

    The music is timed practically perfectly for the transformation cutscene.

    The strength of that hope....that's the beginning of a very good game.
  • X1 is betttter~~~ :V
  • oh hey i have this thread lying around and it's not in the Personal category.

    just gonna post the below here so i have a way to link it without having to redo the formatting
  • ELECTIONS SCHEDULE — “ONE WEEK TO GO” EDITION [note: copy/pasted from my own comment on DKE]

    Reposting this again with revisions incorporating stuff people tell me about.  Seats Dems can flip from Repubs are underlined, seats Dems are seeking to hold are italicized, and I tried to include a recommended position on one ballot measures I’ve read opinions about.

    USEFUL LINKS

    Ready2vote.com schedule of special elections (w/ candidate names and links to campaign sites)

    Ready2vote.com list of mayoral elections
    Ballotpedia state lege special elections page
    Ballotpedia ballot questions page

    DKE pre-2016 state legislature districts with Obama/Romney numbers
    DKE 2016 state legislature districts with Clinton/Trump numbers


    TUESDAY, NOV. 7


    NATIONAL LEVEL (Congressional, one race) AND STATE LEVEL (governor & other statewide, state legislatures, courts, ballot questions) (local races are below, only separated to keep from lists from being too cluttered)


    Georgia: Senate district 6, Senate district 39, House district 4, House district 26, House district 42, House district 60 (Democrats only), House district 89, House district 117, House district 119 (runoffs for all these districts, if applicable, will be December 5)

    Maine: House district 56, Q1: Casino/Slots in York County, Q2: Medicaid Expansion, Q3: Transportation Bond, Q4: Public Pension Unfunded Liabilities

    Massachusetts: House district First Berkshire, House district Third Essex

    Michigan: House district 1, House district 109

    Mississippi: Senate district 10, House district 38, House district 54

    Missouri: Senate district 8, House district 23, House district 151

    New Hampshire: House district Hillsborough 15, House district Sullivan 1

    New Jersey: governor, all 40 State Senate seats (Dems hold majority), all 80 Assembly Seats (Dems hold supermajority), PQ1: Bonds for Public Libraries, PQ2: Revenue from Environmental Damage Lawsuits

    New York: P1: Constitutional Convention, P2: Pension Forfeiture for Convicted Officials, P3: Forest Preserve Land Bank

    Ohio: I1: Crime Victim Rights, I2: Drug Price Standards

    Pennsylvania: Court elections (open seats have partisan elections; incumbents have retention elections; these are the Dem candidates): Supreme Court (1 open seat, current Dem majority), Superior Court (4 open seats, current Repub majority, can change control), Commonwealth Court (2 open seats, current Repub majority); Homestead Tax Exemption Amendment (recommend "no")

    South Carolina: House district 113

    Texas: P1 Partially Disabled Veterans Donated House Tax Exemption, P2 Home Equity Loan, P3 Appointed Officer Term Expiration, P4 Court Notice to AG, P5 Pro Sports/Charitable Raffles Definition, P6 Tax Exemption for Surviving Spouses of First Responders, P7 Offering Prizes to Promote Savings

    Utah: 3rd congressional district

    Virginia: governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, all 100 House of Delegates seats (Dems hold 33 but Clinton won 51 of them!)

    Washington: Senate district 7, Senate district 31, Senate district 37 (unopposed), Senate district 45, Senate district 48, House district 7a, House district 31, House district 48, AV16 Commercial Fishing Licenses/Fees/Taxes, AV17 Sales & Use/Business & Occupation Taxes, AV18 State Property Taxes for Schools


    LOCAL LEVEL (municipal/county/city/town, not a comprehensive list.  flip/hold information may be missing.  for a shortlist of notable mayoral races see ready2vote.com’s frontpage)


    Arizona: Prescott mayor,  Maricopa County School Bonds, and some propositions in Pima County

    California: Santa Barbara mayor

    Colorado: Broomfield mayor, Centennial mayor, Longmont mayor, Loveland mayor, Northglenn mayor, Westminster mayor, Wheatridge mayor

    Connecticut: municipal elections in my old hometown of South Windsor, and in other places such as New Haven, Stamford, and Waterbury

    Florida: Cape Coral mayor, Hialeah mayor, Lakeland mayor, Miami mayor, Miami Beach mayor, St. Petersburg mayor

    Georgia: Atlanta mayor, Roswell mayor

    Iowa: Cedar Rapids mayor

    Kansas: Kansas City mayor, Topeka mayor

    Maryland: Annapolis mayor

    Massachusetts: Boston mayor, Brockton mayor, Fall River mayor, Lynn mayor, New Bedford mayor, Newton mayor, Worcester mayor

    Michigan: Dearborn mayor, Detroit mayor, Flint mayor, Jackson mayor, Kentwood mayor, Lansing mayor

    Minnesota: Minneapolis mayor, St. Paul mayor (nonpartisan?)

    New Hampshire: Concord mayor, Manchester mayor

    New Jersey: Atlantic City mayor, Brick Township mayor, Chester Township mayor, East Orange mayor, Edison Township mayor, Elmwood Park mayor, Gloucester Township mayor, Guttenberg mayor, Hackettstown mayor, Hawthorne mayor, Hoboken mayor, Hopatcong mayor, Jersey City mayor, Lopatcong mayor, Morristown mayor, Parsippany-Troy Hills mayor, Plainfield mayor, Wayne Township mayor, Westfield mayor

    New Mexico: Albuquerque mayor

    New York: Albany mayor, Buffalo mayor, Huntington town supervisor, Nassau County executive, New York City mayor, Oyster Bay town supervisor, Rochester mayor, Syracuse mayor Westchester County executive,

    North Carolina: Charlotte mayor, Durham mayor, Fayetteville mayor, Greensboro mayor, Raleigh mayor, Wilmington mayor

    Ohio: Cincinnati mayor, Cleveland mayor, Dayton mayor, Maysville Local School District Board of Education, Toledo mayor

    Pennsylvania: Allentown mayor, Erie mayor, State College mayor

    South Carolina: Columbia mayor

    Utah: Draper mayor, Midvale mayor, Murray mayor

    Washington: Auburn mayor, Bremerton mayor, Everett mayor, Federal Way mayor, Issaquah mayor, Lynwood mayor, Kent mayor, Monroe mayor, Mukilteo mayor, Seattle mayor, Snohomish mayor, Snoqualmie mayor, Tacoma mayor, Vancouver mayor

     

    After the big day...the show continues!

    Tuesday Nov. 14: Oklahoma Senate district 37, Oklahoma Senate district 45, Oklahoma House district 76

    Saturday Nov. 18: LA-Treasurer runoff, LA-HD77 runoff (no Dems in runoff),

    Tuesday Dec. 5: CA-AD51 runoff (two Dems), Georgia state lege runoffs from Nov. 7 elections, MA-SD Worcester & Middlesex

    Tuesday Dec. 12: AL-Sen

    Tuesday Dec. 19: FL-HD58, MS-SD49 (runoff Jan. 9),  TN-SD17

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