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Post by Verbivore on Oct 29, 2021 21:23:12 GMT
This paints an awkward picture (at least to me): "The only signs of the massive search that took place there last week were the hoof-prints and droppings of the police mounted division."No doubt the writer meant the droppings of the police mounted division horses, but one does wonder because there are no toilet facilities at the site. Careful where you tread!
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Post by Dave Miller on Oct 30, 2021 5:30:42 GMT
The perils of th-fronting View AttachmentMartin Luther nails his ninety-five feces to the church door in Wittenberg, 1517As a matter of interest, how is “th-fronting” pronounced? I’ve only ever seen it written. |
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 30, 2021 6:02:30 GMT
The perils of th-fronting <button disabled="" class="c-attachment-insert--linked o-btn--sm">Attachment Deleted</button> Martin Luther nails his ninety-five feces to the church door in Wittenberg, 1517As a matter of interest, how is “th-fronting” pronounced? I’ve only ever seen it written. I would say tee-aitch-fronting. If spoken by a practitioner of th-fronting I suppose it could be f-fronting (or for one person I know, tee-haitch-fronting, if she were to say it at all). It's not uncommon in parts of AU, particularly Queensland, though not annoying. OTOH, I find the American t-flap annoying. Similarly, the British glottal stop replacing t doesn't bother me, but the American style of completely dropping t does (e.g. innerne(t) for internet). Cultural perspectives, I suppose. |
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Post by Dave Miller on Oct 30, 2021 7:04:01 GMT
Oh, how I wish the British glottal stop didn’t bother me!
If I could wave a magic wand, I would move all popular “talent” shows (whether X-Factor or Strictly style) away from Saturday - the only day with an embedded “t” sound in it.
I’m assaulted by interviews in which contestants say they’re so exci’ed and can’’ wai’ for Sa’urday.
Well done though to Tom Jones. On The Voice, his fellow judge Olly Murs remarked that someone was only “seven een” (there was an actual pause in the middle). Tom pulled a face and shrieked “Seven een? SevenTeen!”
Perhaps a joy, I now realise, is that I’ve just managed, above, to use an apostrophe-glottal-stop.
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Oct 30, 2021 14:42:58 GMT
I have just been reading an article that appeared in the Chicago-based “Popular Mechanics Magazine” in March 1912. It was called “Remarkable Weather of 1911” and sub-titled “The Effect of the Combustion of Coal on the Climate — What Scientists Predict for the Future”.
It didn’t forecast quite the apocalyptic scenario which we are now facing but it demonstrates that, even then, the principle of global warming was in the public domain and not merely confined to the dark recesses of scientific literature. Actually, the article suggested it might be a good thing and might take a few centuries but that was before the world population grew dramatically and fossil fuel burning also increased dramatically.
Just thought you would like to know.
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 30, 2021 20:00:37 GMT
Recently I had the need for a new phone. I retired my BlackBerry Passport (the last real BlackBerry) because BB has been turning off their servers, as I knew they would toward the end of this year. As I could find nothing else acceptable (almost all operating systems, whether for smartphones or dumbphones, are now irremediably infected with Google and therefor unacceptable to me), I settled on an iPhone.
So that it could be synchronised with my Mac, I needed to update my Mac operating system and that led to all manner of buggy misbehaviour, something I rarely experience (and never in the three+ years I've had this particular Mac). I spent two days trying to fix the issues before giving up.
I next engaged in four hours of online 'chat' with Apple support and eventually resolved the matter, but at the cost of numerous instances of groanworthy nonsense such as:
Oh gotcha alrighty sure thing! No worries. (It was a worry to me!)
Perfect! Sure thing. (It was anything but perfect!)
Wonderful! (It was far from wonderful!)
My brain felt the need for a flush with Drano after that. Aaarrrggghhh!
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Post by Twoddle on Oct 31, 2021 10:54:54 GMT
I have just been reading an article that appeared in the Chicago-based “Popular Mechanics Magazine” in March 1912. It was called “Remarkable Weather of 1911” and sub-titled “The Effect of the Combustion of Coal on the Climate — What Scientists Predict for the Future”.
It didn’t forecast quite the apocalyptic scenario which we are now facing but it demonstrates that, even then, the principle of global warming was in the public domain and not merely confined to the dark recesses of scientific literature. Actually, the article suggested it might be a good thing and might take a few centuries but that was before the world population grew dramatically and fossil fuel burning also increased dramatically.
Just thought you would like to know. I can remember discussing the increasing greenhouse effect with classmates at university in 1970. Half a century later and it's still all talk and no trousers. |
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