Posts by Bill Walker
Posts by Bill Walker |
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1)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
English is really difficult to learn
(Message 1369197)
Posted 1 day ago by  Bill Walker
The Official Government Approved Method of getting around the he/she dilemma in Canada is to use they/their for the singular as well as the plural. "If a person can't finish their job by 4 o'clock, they need to work harder." That is official Canadian English. |
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2)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
OK, the BACON thread.
(Message 1369196)
Posted 1 day ago by Bill Walker
A little bakery in a nearby town makes bacon butter tarts. Picture a raisin butter tart, but replace the raisins with chunks of bacon. I love them. |
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3)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Filing charges against aliens?
(Message 1369195)
Posted 1 day ago by Bill Walker
Loosely related: Didn't somebody try to name God in a law suit recently, only to have the Courts reject the case because the plaintiff couldn't prove the existence of God? I think you would have a similar problem suing aliens. "Provide an address to the bailiff please, so the papers can be served." |
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4)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Mystery Kitchen Tool three
(Message 1368459)
Posted 2 days ago by Bill Walker
For washing fruit? |
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5)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
English is really difficult to learn
(Message 1368327)
Posted 3 days ago by Bill Walker
It is more than slang. My wife used to teach English as a Second Language, and she tells me that many of the English speaking countries of the world have their own local versions of English. Some are quite official, like in India, with their own government approved rules and grammars. The main point is that one English speaker can usually figure out what another English speaker is saying, even if the languages are not completely identical. As Winston Churchill said many years ago, "England and America are two countries separated by a common language". |
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6)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
English is really difficult to learn
(Message 1368311)
Posted 3 days ago by Bill Walker
Please forgive me for coming to this thread late, I've been busy. Chris, Canada has AT LEAST 2 official languages, sometimes 3 or 4 depending on where you are. What do we all speak when we are confused? English. Why? Because English has a long history of flexibility, and incorporating the best of other languages. Years ago, I worked for a German company that merged with a French company. There was a lot of history behind the selection of a common language to work in. The final solution? The company now officially works in English. Zahoa, your English teachers may not agree with me, but English is becoming a blend of everything else. On the one hand, this makes it hard to learn: strange spellings, strange grammar, unless you understand that is takes bits and pieces of everybody else's spelling and grammar. On the other hand, I predict that this means we (all the people of the world) will one day speak a common language sort of like English (but not exactly like English). I know that the Chinese speakers outnumber us, but I think their base language lacks the flexibility to become every one's language. Meanwhile, in a certain French speaking part of Canada, the government tried to force local restaurants to find a French word for "pasta". Nobody could think of one. To me, this is just another sign that French (and a number of other languages) are on their way out, to be replaced by New Blended English. PS: the Canadian English word for "pasta" is "pasta". I like mine al dente. I assure you that 99%+ of Canadian English speakers know what that means. |
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7)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Mystery Kitchen Tool three
(Message 1368309)
Posted 3 days ago by Bill Walker
Chris S was a man, forgot he was a winner, And after reading that, all I can hear is John Lennon singing.... Don't let me down, don't let me down... |
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8)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Major Tom, revised
(Message 1368308)
Posted 3 days ago by Bill Walker
Yep gets my vote Well done N.A.S.A More like well done C.S.A. and Chris Hatfield. |
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9)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Stanley Cup
(Message 1367591)
Posted 5 days ago by Bill Walker
How about those Leafs?!?!?!?! It's like the glory days of the 20th century. They barely make it through 7 games in the first round. Then, the few survivors, battered and bruised, will tank in 4 games in the next round. Ah, the good old days.... |
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10)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
OK, the BACON thread.
(Message 1366935)
Posted 7 days ago by Bill Walker
I had a bacon and brie croissant for breakfast today, from a small bakery in a local market. It was wonderful. |
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11)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
The giant spaceship on the moon
(Message 1366929)
Posted 7 days ago by Bill Walker
Well, those fuzzy black and white images have me convinced. After all, they couldn't put it on the Interweb if it wasn't real. |
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12)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
DON'T POST PIES IN MY THREAD THREAD
(Message 1363961)
Posted 15 days ago by Bill Walker
What Chris said. Peppermint is green. Angela, you don't eat the flowers, you eat the green leaves. Well, I guess you could eat the flowers, but the flavour (note the correct spelling) is in the leaves. The GREEN leaves. |
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13)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Stanley Cup
(Message 1363015)
Posted 18 days ago by Bill Walker
Its been nine years since I could say this during the playoffs, and this may be my last chance this century - so: GO LEAFS! |
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14)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Who is The doc's new companion ???
(Message 1360016)
Posted 26 days ago by Bill Walker
I think she first appeared in a previous episode as the girl who didn't realize her brain was trapped in a Darlek ("Asylum of the Darleks"). She later appeared in the 2012 Christmas special as a Victorian bar maid who runs away with the Doctor but later dies. I think the premise of this season is the Doctor wants to know why she keeps turning up. Remember Donna Noble, and the previous Doctor trying to figure out why she was special? Sort of the same thing here, I think. |
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15)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Beets Give us a Caption # 50
(Message 1358043)
Posted 30 days ago by Bill Walker
The OTHER button on the remote! The OTHER button!! And for those who have been there... Fort Churchill fire drill. |
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16)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Mystery Kitchen Tool three
(Message 1357867)
Posted 31 days ago by Bill Walker
Part of an ice cream maker? |
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17)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Mystery Kitchen Tool three
(Message 1357763)
Posted 31 days ago by Bill Walker
Gundolf Jahn has decided to post the answer in the discussion thread. Yes it is a tea bag squeezer. Therefore I am left with no alternative but to award him the win. I am not happy with the way that this has been concluded, and I will reserve my judgement as to whether I participate in future. Lighten up Chris. Gundolf was just pointing out that the same picture had been previously used. When this has happened in the past we have allowed the last winner to find a new picture. Judges? |
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18)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
Raccoon Update XVII - All Are Welcome In the Critter Cafe
(Message 1356074)
Posted 36 days ago by Bill Walker
Yes! Good to see you back here Celt. |
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19)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
I suddenly feel old.
(Message 1356070)
Posted 36 days ago by Bill Walker
I have stumbled upon an article about my first digital computer! It was in 1967, and it didn't use electricity. It used rubber bands. The kit was a birthday present from my parents, it took about a week to assemble, and another week to become boring. But, it introduced me to boolean logic and register shifts. It also did simple addition and subtraction. The photo shows a red one, my memory says mine was blue, but who knows? It was a long time ago. Basic specs: 3 bits. That's all there is to say. http://boingboing.net/2006/02/21/mechanical-computer.html |
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20)
Message boards :
Cafe SETI :
I suddenly feel old.
(Message 1354537)
Posted 41 days ago by Bill Walker
I briefly worked on programming an 8086 back in about 1983. Ironically, its purpose was error detection in an analog control circuit. |
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