Random Thoughts Part 5: Time to Split Again

[fresh_42]

Just saw the 14th Dalai Lama on a CNN clip. He spoke only one word in the scene: 'possible', but I had to laugh. An incredible gift.

 

[WWGD]

The ambiguity comes from the original post employing the present tense where it should have been a past tense: "...I have lost much of my appetite for junkish food (which I largely avoid, but have to fight the temptation*)."

Should have been: "...I have lost much of my appetite for junkish food (which I largely avoided, but had to fight the temptation*)."

I assume that some context can be reasonably filled in if you assume the post is not absurd, which you do not seem to assume, on a consistent basis.

 

[WWGD]

I just saw something pretty cool: a flat bed truck carting an antique helicopter somewhere. As a matter of fact, it might even have been an autogyro. It was very small, and had a 1930's or 1940's style to the design. Might have been going to the aerospace museum in Balboa Park.

Do you mean the helicopter was somewhere within the truck or that the helicopter was being taken somewhere? I mean, how can the helicopter really b e somewhere within a flat truck. Besides, how can a truck be really flat? Don't you mean flat-style -truck , or at least flat-bed truck, to know that flat modifies bed, and it is then a flat-bed truck, and not a truck that has a bed but is flat? Or maybe you have a flat bed (??) which also happens to be a truck?

EDIT: Common, Zooby, please leave the rigor for the serious forums in PF. Plenty of opportunities to be precise there, let's leave this forum, specially the Random Thoughts part of it, free of demans for rigor, as an outlet.

 

[fresh_42]

Would you both consider the possibility that spoken or written language is neither context-free nor unambiguous and we are no push-down automatons?

 

[WWGD]

Would you both consider the possibility that spoken or written language is neither context-free nor unambiguous and we are no push-down automatons?

That is my whole point; "ambiguity" is contextual. Besides, I am not writing an academic paper here, I am not aiming for the highest level of precision. But neither does Zoobyshoe seem to be, as I pointed out in my previous post.

 

[fresh_42]

That is my whole point; "ambiguity" is contextual. Besides, I am not writing an academic paper here, I am not aiming for the highest level of precision. But neither does Zoobyshoe seem to be, as I pointed out in my previous post.

I know. Very likely I sounded more serious than it was meant to be. I hoped someone jumped on the picture of humans as stack machines ... closing the circle to junk food.

 

[lisab]

I think I'm the only meat-eating person I know of who doesn't care for lamb.

 

[WWGD]

I think I'm the only meat-eating person I know of who doesn't care for lamb.

You mean you are not a shepard to a flock of lamb? Maybe Zoobyshoe can interpret it better :) .

 

[lisab]

You mean you are not a shepard to a flock of lamb? Maybe Zoobyshoe can interpret it better :) .

Just keep him away from any livestock...do you have any idea what a hungry Zooby is capable of?!

 

[WWGD]

Just keep him away from any livestock...do you have any idea what a hungry Zooby is capable of?!

Given his (at least Avatar) size, I can see him picking up a lamb and eating it raw, spitting out the bones. He will make no bones about it, and leave no bone unturned before spitting it out.

 

[fresh_42]

I think I'm the only meat-eating person I know of who doesn't care for lamb.

Me, too.

 

[WWGD]

Me, too.

Me two (one for LisaB, one for Fresh, but no for me, so the total , so far, is two), i.e., I like lamb.

 

[WWGD]

I remember how I would , ridiculously, become annoyed at the fact that the expression ' i.e '., would often appear as i.E , since the writing software would interpret the period after the i in i.e., to denote the end of a sentence and would then go on to capitalize the next letter , ending with i.E . Definitely a first-world complaint.

 

[fresh_42]

Me two (one for LisaB, one for Fresh, but no for me, so the total , so far, is two), i.e., I like lamb.

But the portions are so tiny. (I owe you a good laughter on the 'i.e.' part!)

 

[WWGD]

But the portions are so tiny. (I owe you a good laughter on the 'i.e.' part!)

So your issue is more with portion size than with taste?

 

[fresh_42]

So your issue is more with portion size than with taste?

Taste, too, but I admit it's been a long time since I last tried it. My memory on mutton, however, is not really a nice one. So I stay away from sheep and goats. Except for the cheese. I love beef most, even uncooked.

 

[Ibix]

I just saw something pretty cool: a flat bed truck carting an antique helicopter somewhere. As a matter of fact, it might even have been an autogyro. It was very small, and had a 1930's or 1940's style to the design. Might have been going to the aerospace museum in Balboa Park.

There's a small airfield near us with a couple of autogyros operating out of it. They're kind of cool.

 

[WWGD]

There's a small airfield near us with a couple of autogyros operating out of it. They're kind of cool.

I would reply to Autogyros re Lisab and Fresh_42's posts: an autogyro as a place where I can prepare my own (Lamb; this is the 'Auto'/self part) gyros (Isn't lamb the usual meat used for gyros?)

 

[zoobyshoe]

EDIT: Common, Zooby, please leave the rigor for the serious forums in PF. Plenty of opportunities to be precise there, let's leave this forum, specially the Random Thoughts part of it, free of demans for rigor, as an outlet.

So you say, but then within a couple posts:

I remember how I would , ridiculously, become annoyed at the fact that the expression ' i.e '., would often appear as i.E , since the writing software would interpret the period after the i in i.e., to denote the end of a sentence and would then go on to capitalize the next letter , ending with i.E . Definitely a first-world complaint.

The main reason I pick on you about grammar or linguistic logic is because of your long history of posts here in which you minutely examine and complain about the same sorts of things.

 

[zoobyshoe]

There's a small airfield near us with a couple of autogyros operating out of it. They're kind of cool.

I've never actually seen one fly. Anyway, this thing went by too fast for me to make out which it was, but it was interestingly old.

 

[zoobyshoe]

And there is , IMO, a reasonable time and place for being precise in the areas of grammar and linguistic logic, and a whimsical thread like this one is not one of them. May I respond , reciprocate when I see a complaint on your part, or are you a sort of unique enforcer?

I am, actually, a sort of unique enforcer because I am specifically trying to help you write better jokes.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I finished, "Wolves Eat Dogs." On pages 88 and 89, Arkady Renko discovers the terrifying significance of the strange clue left in the victim's apartment (which is not actually a Dos Equis bottle, but I don't want to spoil anything). On page 90 we suddenly find him in a completely different place, where he remains for the rest of the book, ostensibly investigating a whole different murder. The descriptions of life in this second place are extremely interesting, such that I have a strong desire to find out how much of it is fact-based. It also drove me to read a long historical article on Wiki.

 

[fresh_42]

I would reply to Autogyros re Lisab and Fresh_42's posts: an autogyro as a place where I can prepare my own (Lamb; this is the 'Auto'/self part) gyros (Isn't lamb the usual meat used for gyros?)

Yes, and gyros means it's sticked on a turning pick. I had immediately to think about food as I read 'autogyros'. There's a Turkey (not the bird) around the corner who serves the Turkish version of it. And I'm getting hungry. Or shall I walk to the Asian diner which is also not far. Or shall I get to the next Drive-In at McDonald's? That comes from debating junk food ...

By the way: we call those tiny flying somethings gyrocopter. The emphasis on copter doesn't make you all of a sudden hungry.

 

[WWGD]

By the way: we call those tiny flying somethings gyrocopter. The emphasis on copter doesn't make you all of a sudden hungry.

I guess then that the name : delicious slices of meat with the right spices -copter is out of the question?

 

[WWGD]

My Wiki and general searches are somehow getting results with/in Hebrew letters and Jewish themes all of the sudden. Go figure.

 

[nuuskur]

Oh god, I'm an omnivore, not a herbivore. Stop guilt-tripping me about eating meat!

 

[WWGD]

Oh god, I'm an omnivore, not a herbivore. Stop guilt-tripping me about eating meat!

Food for thought, almost literally.

 

[fresh_42]

Oh god, I'm an omnivore, not a herbivore. Stop guilt-tripping me about eating meat!

This is how we settled the planet. Boars are similar successful. Obviously for the same reasons.

 

[WWGD]

This is how we settled the planet. Boars are similar successful. Obviously for the same reasons.

The way I see it, domesticated animals live way better lives (significantly longer, without predators, reliable food supplyetc.) than those who live more "natural" lives. Seems only fair they give something in return. Of course, this refers to animals treated humanely, not to those who are abused; whole other topic.
It would be great to give animals the freedom to return to the wild, but I doubt many would thrive or even survive. If animals had not been domesticated, the issue would be different. Still, maybe they should all be allowed to return to the wild. There may be some atavistic reasons why humans choose to kill animals. Still, this is just a minor comment, not a full argument.

 

[nuuskur]

She was speaking as if we do nothing to replenish the stock. It's as if we hunt the animals down to extinction and in some cases it may be so, but I have no fact to back that assumption, but generally speaking, that's not the case and one can see it clear as day in an area dominated by agriculture.
"Do you even know what these animals go through?" to which I replied "what, you saw Earthlings on TV?" aaaand.. she snapped.

Moral of the story, don't believe everything you see on TV and advocate it as the absolute truth.

Besides, I'm not a squirrel, I'm a fully fledged omnivore entitled to a nice steak and not a piece of grass on the plate for dinner!

 

[WWGD]

This is how we settled the planet. Boars are similar successful. Obviously for the same reasons.

There is a problem with feral/wild boars in parts of the U.S. They seem to do well in the wild (way better than many, if not all other species), and many of the wild ones end up weighing around 1,000 pounds.

 

[nuuskur]

By this time I have had to, at least once, have this conversation with some extremist per year. The year just started! Oh brother..

 

[WWGD]

She was speaking as if we do nothing to replenish the stock. It's as if we hunt the animals down to extinction and in some cases it may be so, but I have no fact to back that assumption, but generally speaking, that's not the case and one can see it clear as day in an area dominated by agriculture.
"Do you even know what these animals go through?" to which I replied "what, you saw Earthlings on TV?" aaaand.. she snapped.

Moral of the story, don't believe everything you see on TV and advocate it as the absolute truth.

Besides, I'm not a squirrel, I'm a fully fledged omnivore entitled to a nice steak and not a piece of grass on the plate for dinner!

I get the impression a lot of vegetarians are either angry people ( they lack the enjoyment of a piece of steak) or weak , because it is hard to get the right amount of protein from vegetables alone (though tooo much animal protein is not good either). Meat is chemically more complex than any vegetable, and, in this sense, tastier than vegetables. In my experience only the Indians in their cuisine have come close to making vegetables seem tasty. And it is difficult to find reasonable vegetarian options in most places.

 

[nuuskur]

Yes, absolutely yes for Indian food, I don't know what sorcery that is, but it's delicious.
On the composition of the vegetarian food vs normal...I mean ..food that contains meat, that's the argument they always bring up. "You know, it's scientifically proven that a human being can obtain every single necessary substance from any ..what's the word... non-meat food?" Yeah? Why don't you kindly point this research out to me aaaand they snap and totally change the subject and accuse me of being an inconsiderate a-word and have complete and utter disregard for my surrounding environment and you name it.

 

[fresh_42]

There is a problem with feral/wild boars in parts of the U.S. They seem to do well in the wild (way better than many, if not all other species), and many of the wild ones end up weighing around 1,000 pounds.

That problem occurs around the world. But one can eat them. IMO the only way to get rid of invasive species like flying Asian carps.