Garden Variety Linguist / is on Nostr

most-of-the-time linguist, summertime market gardner, player of tabletop RPGs, board & video games, hiker, cyclist, & lifelong Flames fan.

Last Notes

2024-02-09 04:30:15

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@npub1mmf…eknq @npub1qjs…p9uj
Chad says our admin team did *not* report that user to the police.
Our admin team has been nothing short of excellent, which is why I was so surprised that anyone was upset with them in the first place. They are all volunteers as far as I understand, but still they've always been extremely professional, reasonable, & conscientious. Chad himself is a choral singer who strongly supports & respects minority rights & is aware of the issues - he's not at all an authoritarian.

2024-02-03 15:09:25

Alberta School Walkout in response to the anti-trans legislation Danielle Smith put forward
Wednesday February 7th at 10 AM
Trans people deserve to feel safe in school, it's time to show our support
#TransRightsAreHumanRights
#abpoli
#ableg
#abtrans
#trans
#abed
https://cdn.mastdn.ca/media_attachments/files/111/868/163/667/873/151/original/1b2c59fa816d0a52.jpg

2024-01-30 16:15:21

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@npub1fg4…22tg @npub1ccn…czwu
Nonetheless, I'm an advocate of eliminating the Catholic (& Protestant) system, known as "separate school boards" in Canada. It's simply inefficient & puts public money into effectively promoting specific religions over others. It's kind of tricky because it's written right into our federal constitution, but separate school boards have been ended in Manitoba, Quebec & Newfoundland, so it is possible.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separate_school

2024-01-30 16:01:55

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@npub1fg4…22tg @npub1ccn…czwu
Great point, & of course they had a devestating impact on the First Nations here through the Canadian residential school system.
But we had a child in the Catholic system here for a number of years & had an almost entirely positive experience, with many fantastic teachers. It's important to note that the public Catholic schools here are not run by the church itself, but by the elected Catholic school boards (I'm pretty sure, anyway - too busy to check atm).

2024-01-30 15:07:52

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@npub1smm…pm4m @npub1g0z…r7l8 @npub1ccn…czwu
Yeah, sounds like a case study in motivated reasoning. Reminds me of King Henry VIII, who ended up causing the church itself to divorce because he couldn't get one, lol.
I had no idea that an annulment was possible after children were born - definitely seems to be stretching the definition!

2024-01-30 14:42:35

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@npub1smm…pm4m @npub1g0z…r7l8 @npub1ccn…czwu
Wow, I'm not familiar with that, but it doesn't sound good... Please feel free to elaborate!

2024-01-30 14:33:00

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@npub1smm…pm4m @npub1g0z…r7l8 @npub1ccn…czwu
I appreciate that they seem to leave a lot of room for varying personal beliefs, but they appear to lean towards "it's fine if you don't believe in evolution" without equivalent acceptance of the opposite position.
Also I forgot that Gregor Mendel was a Catholic - he must have been a pretty interesting person!

2024-01-30 13:07:30

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@npub1ccn…czwu
We still have publicly funded Catholic (& a few Protestant) schools in some parts of Canada. They were created as a concession to French Canadians when Canada confederated, as most of them were Catholic & didn't want their religion (or culture in general) wiped out. They say prayers & even have occasional communion & confessions, but kids can opt out. They also have to follow the provincial curriculum, & Catholicism is generally OK with evolution & science in general as far as I know.

2023-12-09 19:05:50

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@npub1qag…9gyn
I was a fan of the show, but never saw that episode! I recently learned that the creator of the show should probably be in prison, so it makes it harder to enjoy things that are even tangentially related.
Still, sometimes you have to do a little yak-shaving to put an end to all the bikeshedding, lol.

2023-12-09 18:49:42

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@npub1qag…9gyn
What a great term, I haven't heard it before. Hope I can find a way to work it into casual conversation, lol.
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/bikeshedding

2023-12-09 18:42:55

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@npub1qag…9gyn
Well I especially love it when the facts resist demolition, lol. But I appreciate your frustration - reply guys get old fast.

2023-12-09 16:49:12

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@npub1qag…9gyn @npub1ukr…45kv @npub1mmf…eknq @npub1hyk…3p33
My time wasn't wasted, but Shaun you came in pretty hot on a topic that seems fairly uncontroversial to me - it has it's own Wikipedia page & Noam Chomsky co-wrote an Orwell Award-winning book on it in 1988 (Manufacturing Consent):
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_in_the_United_States
Even if not all German students are rigorously studying American propaganda, I don't doubt that it is touched upon in many classrooms - it's a notable case study. How to counter it is the real question.

2023-11-06 20:26:13

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@npub1k4q…3lsq
Yeah, that's a lot more nuanced. I just didn't like the quote that was directly blaming the parents if the child doesn't tell them. That's not helping to change anyone's mind on this topic, and only creates more division and polarization.
It's a complex issue so let's have conversations that aim to find the balance, rather than blaming people for things that are often out of their control.

2023-11-06 13:51:44

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@npub1k4q…3lsq
For as yet unknown reasons, gender dysphoria is frequently associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
While I believe in the freedom to change your name & do not support impossible-to-enforce, tattle-tale, culture war laws, I certainly don't blame parents for wanting to know if their children are hiding something important from them, because it could indicate that they are suffering in other ways that have nothing to do with the parents at all.
Please consider taking a more nuanced stance.

2023-07-11 22:11:49

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@npub1lf4…kcjr First sentence sounds like Kyle Kemper was part of a three-way affair with Margaret Trudeau & Ted Kennedy, lol. Had to re-read many times - conjunctions can create some serious ambiguity!

2023-06-26 21:48:07

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@npub1hpc…hjn3
From the OED on the verb 'stump':
"(originally U.S.) To cause to be at a loss; to confront with an insuperable difficulty; to nonplus. (The primary reference was probably to the obstruction caused by stumps in ploughing imperfectly cleared land.)"
First use was actually as a noun: stumper (a hard problem), in 1807. 'Stumped' was first written in 1834, in an American book of humourous letters.
It seems like this usage became widespread by Tolkien's time, much like pipe-weed, lol.

2023-06-06 23:33:00

Recently discovered this ancient deceased yet still impressive tree on a hill here in Alberta. I believe it's a Douglas fir, which are pretty rare here.
#ThickTrunkTuesday
https://cdn.mastdn.ca/media_attachments/files/110/499/868/354/047/391/original/c19b41f4ee4f79ec.jpg

2023-06-04 14:56:12

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@npub1w0k…z3sz @npub1x2s…ypjv
OTOH, isn't it hilarious that the ultimate path to American financial stability is to listen to a dubious conservative finance guru, follow his advice, end up losing money, then suing his ass off for giving bad advice?
Only in America (the rest of us hope).