What is the newest installment of 'Random Thoughts' on Physics Forums?

[Psinter]

Um... Is calling a random person you just met: "baby", normal for English speakers?

It's been happening too frequently. It hasn't bothered me at all. But, how odd. I am beginning to think it is actually pretty normal. Like saying 'bro'.

 

[Bystander]

"baby", normal for English speakers?

"..., mate;" Australian: "..., luv;" British: "..., pal, babe, baby, darling, doll (irrespective of age, gender);" American? Yes.

 

[fresh_42]

For all of us who have mainframe memories:
http://bofh.bjash.com/

 

[Ibix]

Um... Is calling a random person you just met: "baby", normal for English speakers?

It's been happening too frequently. It hasn't bothered me at all. But, how odd. I am beginning to think it is actually pretty normal. Like saying 'bro'.

As a man I'd be a bit surprised by it from anyone I wasn't dating, although I hear women using it between themselves occasionally. This kind of informal stuff is extremely regional, though. There are parts of Britain where "luv" is a catch-all term for anyone whose name you don't know, and parts where it sounds horribly infantilising.

 

[WWGD]

Um... Is calling a random person you just met: "baby", normal for English speakers?

It's been happening too frequently. It hasn't bothered me at all. But, how odd. I am beginning to think it is actually pretty normal. Like saying 'bro'.

No, baby.

 

[Bystander]

extremely regional,

Colorado Front Range, present day, age 70+, male; get it all the time. Got (past tense) over it. Can't explain it, but got over it.

 

[Psinter]

No, baby.

Whatever you say, luv.

 

[fresh_42]

Just took a quiz which said at the end I should better live in Prague. Damn, how could it know? It's indeed a good advice.

 

[Psinter]

When you visit your parents, they have a lot of forks, spoons, knives, and plates. When your parents visit you, you have 1 fork, 1 spoon, 1 knife, and 1 plate. Their refrigerator is full of fruits, vegetables, and all kinds of food. Yours have only white rice and chicken.

At least is impossible for your kitchen to look messed up. 14 cabinets of which you only use 2, and 6 drawers from which you also use only 2. No mess. And the refrigerator... easy to clean.

 

[Bandersnatch]

And the refrigerator... easy to clean.

I don't know, the dust layer is getting kinda thick. It's more of a stratum now, actually. I might need a shovel and an archaeologist to monitor the excavations.

 

[fresh_42]

Modern kids make fun of their parents who have troubles to deal with modern technologies.
But they have to google how to boil an egg ...

 

[Ibix]

I have never boiled an egg. I'd have to google for timings.

 

[dkotschessaa]

Forgot to be on PF again for awhile.

Hi there!

 

[Ibix]

Hi Dave! Little one keeping you busy?

 

[dkotschessaa]

Hi Dave! Little one keeping you busy?

YES. But boy is he fun. I am enjoying the whole toddler thing. NGT is right that they are little scientists, and I have the experimental 'results' to prove it. (i.e. house is trashed)-Dave K

 

[skyshrimp]

Look at this timelapse. Do you see the rainforest? :)

 

[Bystander]

And the refrigerator... easy to clean.

Let's see..., "Tuna surprise," and "lettuce sea," left it so long in the bag, it turned into brown water. Ai-yi yi.

 

[dkotschessaa]

Woohoo! I'm teaching a math class. First one since getting my master's. Only one class. Pay is horrible, but I will enjoy it, and pay off maybe a debt.

 

[robbierobb]

So I have no mathematics skills what so ever, so I need a partner. I do the thinking, you do the maths, and I get the Nobel Prize. Deal? ;D

Edit: No seriously, are there ever working relationships where someone who is purely a thinker collaborates with mathematicians and makes significant contributions to science? Can a working relationship like that ever work?

I'll share the Nobel Prize I promise. :)

 

[robbierobb]

Um... Is calling a random person you just met: "baby", normal for English speakers?

It's been happening too frequently. It hasn't bothered me at all. But, how odd. I am beginning to think it is actually pretty normal. Like saying 'bro'.

Is this a man or a woman? Not baby from my experience, but perhaps babe? "You alright babe?" That's a common, respectful and open way to talk to a female friend, or for females to talk to each other, a slightly more modern and causal name than darling. For someone to say "hey baby!" who literally doesn't know you just seems really creepy, like the term "baby" is a lot more sexually focused than the term "babe", which is kind like calling your friend beautiful as opposed to sexy. I imagine a lot of male people of European descent to be more likely to use the word "baby" when addressing someone, simply due to the fact of broken English and they might have picked it up off TV.

 

[Fewmet]

YES. But boy is he fun. I am enjoying the whole toddler thing. -Dave K

I remember the great turning point that came with mine learning to say, "I think I'm going to throw up".

We did a lot less cleaning up from that point on.

 

[Psinter]

Have you ever wondered what that switch does?

In a house I lived there was one of that switch stuff. I was always tempted to push it, but I never did. The temptation was real with that one.

To this day I still wonder what it would have done .

*inconspicuously walks around switch and wonders... what does it do, my precious*
Me: We don't know what it does. Better leave it alone.
Subconscious: But it is like a button. Buttons are meant to be pressed, my precious.
Me: Not listening!
Subconscious: Press it! *hand reaches*
Me: No! *hand recedes*



It was the only house I lived in that had that stuff.

 

[fresh_42]

Strange. It's the second night I see this tiny red dot playing chase with the moon, although the latter has hidden himself behind Earth for a while tonight, so they were both red for an hour or so. They are also both the only ones we placed cars on. Strange, on this tiny dot.

 

[fresh_42]

I just wrote "triangle trigonometry" and recognized, that this is literally a double. This leads to the question: How do we call circle calculations or those in a parallelepiped? Radiometry might be misleading.

 

[skyshrimp]

It's strange how we go to such great lengths to find life on other planets by looking for bodies of water, yet destroy our own ocean ecosystems by ruthlessly bottom trawling and dumping plastic waste into it.

 

[WWGD]

I can see Enrique, but where is Glesias? More problems parsing, specially when they (Miss?) spell it Yglesias. Though I guess/hope it won't be a problem in many situations; not like a self-driving car will need to decide if they are one or not.

 

[fresh_42]

They repeated Independence Day this week. Then I thought: Given our consumption of natural resources, added to the fact that our living place will be gone in 2-3 Gy, plus the Andromeda collision ahead: Are we those aliens, we are constantly been warned of?

 

[dlgoff]

This little girl is remarkable.

 

[WWGD]

An app, or a nap?

 

[Ibix]

Well, that was exciting. It turns out that if you start a large bonfire under a five story tall conifer on a dry day, said conifer will catch fire all up one side and the fire brigade will be called.

I'd put this in "today I learned", except I could have told them it was a bad idea before they started. "Today my neighbours learned" thread, anybody?

 

[fresh_42]

Well, that was exciting. It turns out that if you start a large bonfire under a five story tall conifer on a dry day, said conifer will catch fire all up one side and the fire brigade will be called.

I'd put this in "today I learned", except I could have told them it was a bad idea before they started. "Today my neighbours learned" thread, anybody?

The very first article of our constitution says: "Dignity of man is untouchable."
My all time favorite bumper sticker says: "Stupidity of man is untouchable."

O.k. it is in the same category as "Beam me up, Scotty!" but I find the silent quotation of the constitution better.

 

[Mark44]

This little girl is remarkable.

Yes, very remarkable. The chorus makes me think of the oldie, "Counting Flowers on the Wall," by the Statler Brothers, from back in 1966.

The little girl seems to really get into her playing, dancing around, with a lot of flourishes. Great tune!

 

[Ibix]

"Beam me up, Scotty!"

If I remember right, both "Beam me up, Mr Scott", and "Beam us up, Scotty" were used, but never the actual famous phrase. I wonder why the never-used one is the one everyone remembers? Is it the cadence? It just rolls off the tongue easily?

Apparently one should never have a Martini shaken (it "bruises the alcohol"), and in the books Mr Bond always orders a Martini - stirred not shaken. But "Martini - shaken not stirred" has a better rhythm to it, so the films have him ordering it "wrong".

 

[WWGD]

If I remember right, both "Beam me up, Mr Scott", and "Beam us up, Scotty" were used, but never the actual famous phrase. I wonder why the never-used one is the one everyone remembers? Is it the cadence? It just rolls off the tongue easily?

Apparently one should never have a Martini shaken (it "bruises the alcohol"), and in the books Mr Bond always orders a Martini - stirred not shaken. But "Martini - shaken not stirred" has a better rhythm to it, so the films have him ordering it "wrong".

Just beam us up with a Martini, either shaken, stirred or both?

 

[WWGD]

The very first article of our constitution says: "Dignity of man is untouchable."
My all time favorite bumper sticker says: "Stupidity of man is untouchable."

O.k. it is in the same category as "Beam me up, Scotty!" but I find the silent quotation of the constitution better.

And it is also not " Reach out and _Grab_ someone" , but "Reach out and _Touch _ someone".
But it seems I am the only one I know who remembers it that way.