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Lumo

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Posts posted by Lumo

    What's the weather like?

    in General Chat

    Posted · Edited by Duncan

    It's about -5C with light snow here.

     

    However, the pictures below are a mere 10 miles or so from where I am. They got 48 inches of snow overnight and the national guard came in to dig the streets. It is by a lake, and when the 'lake effect snow' comes, it can come fast. There is another 30 inches forecast tonight. I'm not sure if it will come nearer to me.

     

     

    423137_LOCAL_snow_HICKE_60.jpg

     

    snow.jpg

    What does parsimonious mean to you?

    in General Chat

    Posted

    Interesting replies. Being Scottish, I thought I had heard most words relating to 'stinginess', but I still don't recall hearing this word in that context.

     

    Yes, the paper had already been peer-reviewed and neither of the reviewers commented on the use of that word. The audience of that work was other scientists, but I will remember to be cautious should I ever use this word with a different audience in mind :-)

    What does parsimonious mean to you?

    in General Chat

    Posted

    I had written a short (scientific) report and gave it to a student to proof read. Half way through he started laughing and said my autocorrect must have come up with the wrong word when I made a spelling mistake. The word he objected to was parsimonious.

     

    The context was along the lines of: "...the most parsimonious explanation of the emergence of a deficit as the demands of the task increase is..."

     

    He then explained he took parsimonious to mean 'cheapest' or 'meanest'. I objected, saying it just means 'the simplest'. A quick look in Mirriam-Webster found the main entry: "frugal to the point of stinginess". This came as a bit of a shock to me.

     

    In the OED I did find a definition: Of a scientific hypothesis or explanation (esp. a phylogenetic tree): assuming the simplest state, process, evolutionary pathway, etc., that is consistent with the facts or observations; in accordance with the law or principle of parsimony

     

    This was much closer to the meaning I was intending, it was however after two entries containing the words meagre, scanty, tight-fisted and frugal. This got me thinking, the only meaning I associate with parsimonious is 'simplest explanation', and I would even go so far as to say 'the simplest and most elegant explanation'. But this student just laughed at that definition and warned me most people would take it to mean cheap and I should probably change the word. At this point I told him I had used it before. To back my claim up a bit more, I also found that there are just over 3500 publications in pubmed containing parsimonious.

     

    But I did feel that maybe he was correct and I had an odd or unusual idea of what the word normally meant. It however didn't change my mind, and I left the word unchanged.

    Favorite satire novel?

    in General Fiction

    Posted

    Loved this book too Duncan. I see there was a movie made with Maggie Smith as Aunt Augusta. She would suit the part so well :D  I've always meant to read more books by him ....have you read any of his other works, and if so, are there any you particularly recommend?

     

    I read The Human Factor and wasn't particularly impressed with it, it was fine, just not outstanding. That is the only other one of his I have read. However, this has prompted me to read more of his work, so I have dug out a copy of The End of the Affair. I will let you know how it goes.

     

    I have not seen the movie with Maggie Smith - I will look out for it :-)

    Favorite satire novel?

    in General Fiction

    Posted

    For me it has got to be The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared. Jonas Jonasson will I am sure in years to come do down as one of the greatest comic authors of all time.

     

    I really liked the 100 year old man. Another one I would add to this list, and one of my all time favourite books, is: Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene

    Any progressive lens wearers?

    in General Chat

    Posted

    I don't really need glasses for distance vision, but I do need them for both using a computer and reading (and I have done since I was 16). What I find mildly annoying is I need different strength lenses for the computer screen distance compared to the normal reading distance. So when writing on a computer and looking at notes, I need to frequently change glasses for the screen versus the pages, then, if I want to ask someone a question or someone comes over, I have to take whatever I happen to be wearing off to be able to see them.

     

    So, I ordered some free form progressive lenses from eyebuydirect. These should be three lens strengths in one: reading strength at the bottom, midrange in the middle, and distance at the top.

     

    I'm quite exited about these, but I have heard many unhappy reports from people with progressive lenses about the amount of distortion at the edges and the small size of the reading and intermediate areas (which is actually all I need them for).

     

    So I'm wondering if anyone here uses them or has any thoughts about them?

     

     

    How to cheer someone up by text message?

    in General Chat

    Posted

    A friend got into a car accident. Everyone is OK but she seems pretty shaken up and sad about it all, and her car is dented and I'm not sure whose fault it is in terms of insurance (I also don't want to ask that right now). So I can see why she is a bit sad and down in the dumps.

     

    So now I have said to her all the supporting and commiserating things I can think of, what is a good thing to send to cheer someone up in this situation? She is sending things to me and seems sad, but every time I type something with a few emoticons or emoji text to try and use those, it either looks like I am not taking it seriously or like I am trying to hit on her (for example, how to send a friendly 'big hug' and make it look supportive?).

     

    So, can anyone think of a nice, friendly thing to send someone to try and make them smile for a few moments without it being perceived as silly?

    What's the weather like?

    in General Chat

    Posted

    Today it got a bit warmer than earlier in the week. It reached 99F, but I think that is probably the last time it will do that this year.

     

    Nine months ago it was 1F so I am enjoying the last of the heat, but also looking forward to some cold :-)

    iOS7

    in General Chat

    Posted

    I upgraded last night. Since then I have had problems with notifications in lock mode. Email (gmail) don't show at all and text messages sometimes show and sometimes don't. I've checked all the settings and restarted etc. Looking online this seems to be a bug some experience.

     

    This is the first time I have been annoyed I did an apple upgrade.

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