Tavern on the Meta

I test our webapp with the Windows Narrator. The Narrator control panel crashed. I have no way to stop the narrating, except for killing the narrator.exe. That still leave the control window open. My webapp might not be accessible and that would be pretty annoying but if the tooling that is supposed to assist you with those accessibility features on your whole system crashes must be devastating .

Mithical

6

Q: Display number of votes by <15 rep users to poster

The new thanks feature on SO is terrible. But there's a reasonable problem that has been identified: non-signed-in users don't get to say anything. For obvious reasons, we have avoided letting them change the publicly displayed score or cast votes which award rep. But instead of letting the vote ...

That's an interesting request.

(And would have made guessing the Onion Knight hat much easier.)

rene

:D

Rob

9:44 AM

@Mithical It looks like it has scored 2 anonymous feedback votes [10K Link] thus far.

Mast

@rene That would make for some interesting bug reports had you not caught it during development.

Rob

Alexa randomly laughing compilation

►

terdon

10:10 AM

All of these voice things are creepy by definition.

They don't need to do anything special, just the fact that you have a microphone recording what you say in your own home and sending the info to large multinational companies is plenty creepy enough already!

shudders

Rob

10:58 AM

Even worse if it's used to arrest you for activity against the state

Celia (Virtual assistant)

Celia is an artificially intelligent virtual assistant developed by Huawei for its latest Android-based EMUI smartphones that lack Google Services and a Google Assistant.The assistant can perform day-to-day tasks such as, making a phone call, setting a reminder and checking the weather. It was officially released on 27 April 2020 via an OTA update solely to selected devices that can update their software to EMUI 10.1. Huawei had initially made reference to the new assistant in late 2019 by saying that there would be an English version of their already Chinese speaker assistant, Xiaoyi, to be released...

John Dvorak

11:11 AM

💯

Rob

Some proof of a problem is some people have reported that streaming from their IP security cameras was showing feed from someone else's camera.

terdon

All of these IoT things scare me. I got a wireless speaker last year and one of my top criteria for choosing was that it should absolutely not have any bloody assistant.

John Dvorak

> But how did the government convince all of their population to willingly put spying devices in their homes?

> They put them on discount.

terdon

We already carry tracking and recording devices with us everywhere...

Tinkeringbell

@terdon Even if you don't use those, it's surprisingly easy to be tracked. There was this tv show over here where people tried to stay hidden from law enforcement. Conclusion: You failed.

terdon

11:24 AM

@Tinkeringbell Oh, sure, but it becomes ludicrously easy when you carry your phone with you.

John Dvorak

You've got a point here, I am afraid.

terdon

Yet another reason to be happy I don't need to hide from anyone...

John Dvorak

for now

Tinkeringbell

@terdon Yeah, but it really surprised me how ludicrously easy it was without one too.

terdon

I've seen a similar program here. The main trick was cameras, if I remember correctly.

Tinkeringbell

11:26 AM

camera's, and people.

Mast

@Tinkeringbell Wasn't that all staged?

Hunted (2015 TV series)

Hunted is a British reality series that began airing on Channel 4 on 10 September 2015. The series features contestants who are instructed to go on the run for a period of 25 to 28 days in mainland Great Britain, whilst avoiding a team of Hunters composed of former and serving police, intelligence personnel, and on-foot teams. During their time, the Hunters have access to contestants' personal information and use "powers of the state" such as ANPR, CCTV and call tracing to locate contestants. At times, the Hunters will use social media and monetary rewards to members of the public (and captured...

(Dutch)

Tinkeringbell

@Mast I mean, the part where people agreed to be hunted was staged, sure... but the show over here was telling us that these were real tactics used by real law enforcers and nothing was staged (so no dropping clues on purpose, for example, or using techniques that wouldn't be used normally)...

I'd be very sad if I read the wiki and it says otherwise :(

John Dvorak

The real trick is to find the right overlord

Mast

There was some controversy, though not necessarily reputable.

terdon

@Mast No mention of its being staged there. And the mirror article is i) in the mirror, so not exactly a reputable source, as you say, and ii) doesn't claim it's staged either.

Tinkeringbell

11:32 AM

@Mast I'll keep finding it an awesome show then ;)

Mast

@terdon Wiki is not a source and the Daily Mirror appears to raise some valid points.

@Tinkeringbell It's entertainment. For entertainment purposes, it's fine :-) Enjoy.

terdon

@Mast All it says is that they're not using the actual CC TV footage etc, which would be against the law. Not that the program itself is any more staged than is already obvious (it's on TV and they're being followed by camera crews).

Mast

I'd go 'hunting' for better sources but I actually got a job to do. What I'm trying to say is the 'surveillance state' isn't as real yet as some series make it out to be.

Those series are entertainment. Consider them such. For facts, try a documentary.

Rob

@terdon I've got them beat, I live next door to the police station; they'll never find me.

Tinkeringbell

@Mast a job? What's that? :P

I'm having meetings, again... and I'm only here because it should've been an e-mail with me not on the recipient list.

terdon

11:56 AM

@Mast Oh, of course! You'd have to be a bit of an idiot to do anything else.

Mast

Haha

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

Life are so fragile.... just came back from a funeral of good friend of my wife who died from ruptured brain aneurysm. She was supposed to be 40 next month. :(

Rob

Source: National Geographic video: youtu.be/ujYMjO1Ybcg and youtube.com/watch?v=CLo3e1Pak-Y

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

One second she was fine, and in the next.... Game Over.

So, what did I miss here?

Tinkeringbell

Nothing much.

Journeyman Geek

12:06 PM

waves a paw

Rob

State surveillance

Journeyman Geek

Nothing to see here. Move along.

Tinkeringbell

I liked a TV show very much because I thought it was realler than it really is.

Spevacus

@ShadowWizardWearingMask Really sorry to hear that. :(

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

@Spevacus thanks.... there were few hundred people there, she was very popular in many circles...

That was my third funeral in the last year or so, in same place - both my wife's parents died last year. Mother in April 2019, father few months later. (Not directly related, but surely being alone for the first time in his adult life was a big factor...)

Anyway, life goes on!

@JourneymanGeek but I see you... ;)

Νеvеrꭑoꭇе

12:14 PM

@terdon You worry about the creepy voice?

gatebox.ai/en

rene

@ShadowWizardWearingMask wow. That is sad.

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

@terdon umm... that's the case with anyone having Facebook app installed.

terdon

@Νеvеrꭑoꭇе No, the voice is the least of it. I worry about having a recording device in my house.

@ShadowWizardWearingMask Which is why I have never installed a facebook app or use facebook at all.

On the other hand, I use WhatsApp because I kinda have to, so...

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

@terdon good! I never installed the app, and deleted (?) my profile at some point when Facebook started to do really nasty things.

@rene yup

Νеvеrꭑoꭇе

@terdon look at the link I have just posted, you will discover a new whole meaning for the word "creepy"

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

12:17 PM

@terdon well, so far nobody claimed it listens, just record all messages, with which I'm fine. ;)

terdon

@ShadowWizardWearingMask exactly, same here.

@Νеvеrꭑoꭇе Ah yes, I've seen those. Some people have actually married them!

Νеvеrꭑoꭇе

terdon

@ShadowWizardWearingMask yep. And I limit the use of the microphone on my phone as much as I can.

Νеvеrꭑoꭇе

@terdon What can I say, at least Alexa doesn't pretend to be your bride.

Rob

💣

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

12:42 PM

@Νеvеrꭑoꭇе can she get pregnant?

While pregnant, her behavior should also become random. :)

Easy to program, actually.

@terdon nah, I won't go that far... plus, I don't care for my own privacy, it just drive me nuts that companies like Facebook do those horrible things just to get money and power.

Mithical

@terdon I don't want to live here anymore.

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

@Mithical here in Tavern?

Mithical

Earth.

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

But... we got @Bart back! :D

@Mithical oh. Easy, migrate to the Sun.

Just don't forget sunscreen.

But anyway, I keep hearing about people in Japan marry robots for years now, nothing new.

Rob

Then there's the Alexa toilet ...

Alexa, play a song: youtu.be/_OLUSELxFok?t=62

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

1:00 PM

@Rob with direct streaming. Awesome! :P

terdon

@Mithical Yeah... Makes you want to move outside the asylum, doesn't it?

Rob

1:14 PM

@ShadowWizardWearingMask Under the right circumstances it can support 5.1 streaming.

Rubiksmoose

@ShadowWizardWearingMask I don't think mods have the power to migrate things to the sun....

Journeyman Geek

@Rubiksmoose this... feels like a bug

Rubiksmoose

Despite sometimes wishing we could ;-)

@JourneymanGeek Someone needs to get on reporting this ASAP lol

Tinkeringbell

1:31 PM

I'm still not seeing any posts...

Journeyman Geek

@Tinkeringbell I'll post it feb 30th

Rubiksmoose

March 30th?

Journeyman Geek

feb 30th

maybe april 1st :D

Tinkeringbell

@JourneymanGeek Okay, I'll be waiting ;)

Rubiksmoose

Oooh! doh.

Any way fun fact:

timeanddate.com/date/february-30.html

> February 30, 1712, came into existence in Sweden when the Julian calendar was restored and 2 leap days were added that year. Sweden's final conversion to the Gregorian calendar occurred in 1753, when an 11-day correction was applied so that February 17 was succeeded by March 1 that year.

Tinkeringbell

1:35 PM

Sweden is strange at times.

But so is any country...

Ways to kill time until the end of workdays: What's the most non-controversial, non-strange, non-weird country out there.

hm

Canada

Legoland

I'll let the starboard decide ;)

rene

I'll star hm

Mithical

1:42 PM

Tinkeringbell

@Mithical unhated isn't necessarily not weird or strange :P Perhaps being unhated makes Canada strange ;)

John Dvorak

@Mithical Canada may not be hated, but it's still hatted.

Also...youtube.com/watch?v=k1Jybmtvcxw

user400654

2:00 PM

Tinkeringbell

No it isn't! All my stuff!!!!

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

2:17 PM

@Rubiksmoose June 31st

Rob

2:35 PM

Star for:

Switzerland

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a country situated in the confluence of Western, Central, and Southern Europe. It is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons, with federal authorities based in Bern. Switzerland is a landlocked country bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. It is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau, the Alps, and the Jura, spanning a total area of 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi), and land area of 39,997 km2 (15,443 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory...

John Dvorak

I don't know much about Switzerland, but the flag is definitely a big plus.

6

Rubiksmoose

XD

Tinkeringbell

someone just revealed their age as 'old'. :P

Rob

Big star for them, hmmm

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

2:57 PM

Trivia time! Who is this?

Bonus question.... why is he surprised? :P

John Dvorak

he?

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

BTW @M.A.R my hair is still dark, turned out I took the pic while there was direct light over my head. :/

So I'm to blame, not the sun. :D

@JohnDvorak pretty sure, yeah. Let me check.

Rob

👁️🤛

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

Can't find anything, but unless proven otherwise, will use "he" for him. :)

(nothing in his profiles related to it)

Rob

twitter.com/JeremyBanks

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

3:08 PM

@Rob let me guess, Google Image Search? That's cheating. :D

Rob

So is using your 3rd leg

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

Must use it to help humanity survive.

Mithical

I knew I recognized the picture

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

Which?

Jeremy or the legs?

Mithical

of Jeremy

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

3:10 PM

oh

I don't remember him using actual pic as avatar.

(on SE/SO)

Mithical

He's been using that one on Twitter for several weeks at least

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

He had that weird thing he used to develop with some AI.

@Mithical well, saw it only today when he Liked one of my replies. :D

Mithical

You follow like a thousand people, how are you supposed to keep track of anything?

...two thousand, now that I check.

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

@Mithical I don't, but I like that I always have new tweets to read. :)

99% crap, 1% fine.

But sometimes the crap is funny, so I'm good.

lol, and 1,308 Followers - probably 99% of those from one country, which is not USA or Israel, or Europe... :P

Rob

The best of both: peekyou.com/jeremy_legg

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

3:16 PM

Here is an awesome tweet, Liked by someone I follow.... see? It's worth it all. :D

Mithical

@ShadowWizardWearingMask ...Russia?

@ShadowWizardWearingMask I don't see other people's Likes, I keep my feed on Latest. Which occasionally means I miss things but also I don't miss a whole lot of other things.

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

@Rob or this.

@Mithical nope. Much hotter place.

@Mithical huh, didn't really bother to change the settings.

Rob

@ShadowWizardWearingMask or this:

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

Another diamond! twitter.com/dammiedammie35/status/1275710788188192772

Rob

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

3:25 PM

:D

@Rob spooky

Looks like a killer spider

Rob

Found it Googling "leg wheel", the results of which I'll post no other pictures from ...

John Dvorak

There are no spiders capable of eating humans, and no bioluminescent spiders either.

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

@Rob huh? Let me see...

terdon

I'm sure some are capable if you just give them enough time.

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

@JohnDvorak there are, in D&D

Rob

3:27 PM

:)

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

I created them as DM.

They were tough....

John Dvorak

Also no deaths due to spiders since an antidote has been developed against that one #$%^ in Sydney.

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

They had base of 4 AC

John Dvorak

CR 0. Useful as a wildshape target, potentially.

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

@JohnDvorak if someone jumps from being scared, falls, and dies.... doesn't it count?

John Dvorak

3:29 PM

Nope. That doesn't count.

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

meh

terdon

@JohnDvorak searches frantically for a news story about someone killed when a crate of spiders fell on their head.

John Dvorak

More people die of cat bites than get bitten by spiders.

terdon

Cat bites are seriously nasty.

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

@Rob weird, most pics I see are like that one:

Mithical

3:31 PM

Cats are cute fuzzy eldritch monsters.

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

@terdon talking from experience? :/

I was bitten only by a dog, when I was 14. Cats just gave me scratches, nothing serious.

It didn't really hurt, the vaccine I got later hurt x100.

Aibobot

But did a Møøse once bit your sister

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

What a coincidence... we discuss cats, and this tweet jump to my timeline: twitter.com/i/status/1275814032059117570

user400654

🚽

John Dvorak

Cats were worshipped as gods in the ancient Egypt ... and they never forgot.

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

3:35 PM

@Aibobot goose, and yeah it bit my sister's son when he was a kid.

@JohnDvorak and cows do forget?

terdon

@ShadowWizardWearingMask From my GF's experience, yes

John Dvorak

Cows are strictly vegan.

Shadow Wizard Wearing Mask

hmm.. or was it a duck? Not sure.

Jun 12 '17 at 6:44, by Shadow Wizard

My nephew was chased by a duck when he was 6 or so, he's traumatized since then. :/

@terdon ouch. Sorry to hear.... hope there are no scars?

Rob

@ShadowWizardWearingMask aaah, it was "legged wheel", they are all like this:

terdon

@ShadowWizardWearingMask Nah, all fine, it just got really swollen at the time and she needed antibiotics. And, as usual, we then heard from loads of people around us who have had very nasty cat bites.

Magisch

4:21 PM

ello'

Ola!

woof

Hey!

@terdon or more realistically, ask if there is still available free places for that old "expedition to mars" team

remember "Mars-One"? I think it was even referenced by Sheldon in a Big Bang Theory episode.

mars-one.com

PM 2Ring

4:38 PM

@Mithical "If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember." - Lords and Ladies, by Terry Pratchett. That line's from Granny Weatherwax, IIRC.

Mithical

in The Sphinx's Lair on The Stack Exchange Network Chat, Jun 21 at 16:36, by Mithical

I really need to get some more Pratchett

Rubiksmoose

I'm so sad that I'm on my last Discworld book (and also his) :(

Aibobot

@Rubiksmoose the last book was... perfect

Νеvеrꭑoꭇе

@Rubiksmoose you could always start reading the Eragon saga......

Rubiksmoose

@Aibobot It really has been great so far.

PM 2Ring

4:40 PM

The last Discworld book, or the Long Earth series?

Aibobot

@Rubiksmoose though it gets dusty when I read it

@PM2Ring the last Discworld/Tiffany Aching book

Rubiksmoose

@Aibobot So, so dusty.

I really love Tiffany.

Aibobot

@Rubiksmoose and Granny Weatherwax

and erf

If I said more, spoilers

Rubiksmoose

@Aibobot Yes...

Tinkeringbell

@Aibobot I don't mind. Bring 'em on :P

Rubiksmoose

4:42 PM

[shakes fist at no spoiler markup in chat]

Aibobot

@Tinkeringbell Well she passes on in her own time - and this is when Terry Prachett was ... on his last legs

Mithical

rollover for spoilers

Tinkeringbell

@Rubiksmoose Seems Mith has that figured out :P

PM 2Ring

I've only read the first 3 Long Earth books. But I've read all the Discworld books at least once. I've read all the early ones 4 or 5 times, but the last half-dozen or so, only once or twice. But I'm thinking I'm overdue for another Discworld marathon...

Aibobot

@Mithical Alas, I'm not on my mod account and can't actually see how to do that

Tinkeringbell

4:44 PM

@Aibobot [rollover for spoilers](https://google.com "Vader is Luke's father")

Mithical

[text](link "spoilers")

Aibobot

@PM2Ring the first few books weren't that good. I think the one with the football team lacked heart.

I loved the watch series

Rubiksmoose

@PM2Ring dooooo it. They are like a perfect respite from the things going on.

ArtOfCode

@Mithical psst, you can also just use / ~~or #~~ as the link URL

spoilers

Mithical

I just reread Good Omens for like the tenth time. That and The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents comprise the extent of my Pratchett collection so far, unfortunately.

Rubiksmoose

4:46 PM

@Mithical Well if you ever wanted a suggestion for a place to start in Discworld I have a feeling people here could help

@Mithical Have we talked about the TV show in here before? I feel like we might have.

PM 2Ring

They definitely bear repeated reading. Some of the books I didn't like much 1st time through, but on re-reading something happened... Eg, I didn't like Unseen Academicals or Monstrous Regiment much, but now I love them both.

Mithical

@ArtOfCode rot13(V nyfb unir n hfrefpevcg gb nhgbzngvpnyyl pbireg guvf)

ArtOfCode

I do not :P

Mithical

@Rubiksmoose I figured I'd go in release order when I have a chance

9

Q: Automated ROT13 spoiler comments

About Spoilers get used pretty heavily on Puzzling.SE, and people have taken to using rot13 in comments (and chat) since there's no official spoiler mark-up outside of questions/answers. That's annoying, but this script will make your life easier. Features Add rot13 spoilers to comments W...

script greasemonkey comments

Rubiksmoose

@Mithical Probably not a bad way to go if you can accept the first two books being a bit clunk. Still I think they are enjoyable and have a special place in my memory.

Mithical

4:50 PM

I got through The Silmarillion in two days, I can handle a bit of clunk :P

Rubiksmoose

@Mithical neat!

@Mithical The Silmarillion definitely has plenty of that XD

Aibobot

@Rubiksmoose I consider them him warming up

Νеvеrꭑoꭇе

@Mithical Define "clunk"

Rubiksmoose

@Aibobot Definitely an apt metaphor.

Mithical

@Νеvеrꭑoꭇе medium.com/@superplane39

:P

(Yes, that's a self-burn.)

PM 2Ring

5:00 PM

The first 2 Discworld books do suffer from Early Installment Weirdness, as they say on TVTropes. They aren't representative of Terry's later style, and the rules of the universe (and the geography of the Discworld) are a little different. I still like them, since I started reading Discworld when it was new. But I agree that they may not be a suitable intro for everyone.

Νеvеrꭑoꭇе

@Mithical I meant "Simarlion-TOMANYNAMEEEEEEEES" clunk, "Foucault's Pendulum" clunk, "Eragon and the magic world of Ants" clunk .....

PM 2Ring

There's also a lot of parody going on in the 1st 2 books. If you haven't read a lot of the classic sword & sorcerer fantasy books, there will be many references that you miss. But I think the stories are still entertaining & engaging, even if you don't get those references.

Νеvеrꭑoꭇе

there is the "I can't mentally keep track of this clunk", the "this is a perfect remedy for insomnia clunk", the "can't understand a thing clunk"

and so on....

PM 2Ring

@Mithical Pratchett would've approved of that. He read Lord of the Rings virtually in one sitting when he was in his teens.

terdon

@PM2Ring I still think this passage from the prologue to the color of magic is one of the funniest things I've ever read:

> An alternative, favoured by those of a religious persuasion, was that A’Tuin was crawling from the Birthplace to the Time of Mating, as were all the stars in the sky which were, obviously, also carried by giant turtles. When they arrived they would briefly and passionately mate, for the first and only time, and from that fiery union new turtles would be born to carry a new pattern of worlds. This was known as the Big Bang hypothesis.

One of the few times a book has made me laugh out loud.

John Dvorak

5:09 PM

My idea of a mating ritual is to flip a USB cable twice before plugging it in.

Aibobot

....

you do it at least trice

terdon

@JohnDvorak Unless your USB cables work very differently to mine, that will not result in a second, shorter USB cable materializing next to the first and therefore cannot be considered a mating ritual.

PM 2Ring

@terdon I have to admit that I was hooked the moment I read that line. But it's basically just a silly pun. There's a lot of humour spread through the books, but some of it's more subtle.

terdon

True, true. But I'm a sucker for a silly pun :)

I think my first was Mort, anyway, and what hooked me there was this one:

> “Death paused, his hand on the spine of the book. And why do you think I directed you to the stables? think carefully, now.

Mort hesitated, he has been thinking carefully, in between counting wheelbarrows. He'd wondered if it had been to coordinate his hand and eye, or to teach him the habit of obedience, or bring home the human scale, of small tasks, or make him realize that even great men must start at the bottom.
None of these explanations seemed exactly right.
I think ... he began.
YES?
Well. I think it was because you were up to your knees in horseshit, to tell you the truth.

Wow. I still remember that it was that passage, and it must have been 20 years ago now :)

PM 2Ring

Death has some great lines. One of my favourites is in this passage from The Truth:

Is this the bit where my whole life passes in front of my eyes?," he said.

NO, THAT WAS THE BIT JUST NOW.

"Which bit?"

THE BIT, said Death, BETWEEN YOU BEING BORN AND YOU DYING.

terdon

5:20 PM

heh, yes :)

Typical Pratchett too, a very profound statement about the nature of existence presented as a throwaway joke.

Aibobot

@terdon I almost like discword death more than the death of the endless from sandman

terdon

Oh, I absolutely do. She's second though :)

Νеvеrꭑoꭇе

5:49 PM

@terdon quite partial to the world Turtle myself, but for other reasons. In my case, the turtle is the one supporting Tomobiki.

terdon

Ooh, that does look good.

Νеvеrꭑoꭇе

6:21 PM

@terdon Lum, Beautiful Dreamer.

Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer

Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer (Japanese: うる星やつら２　ビューティフル・ドリーマー, Hepburn: Urusei Yatsura 2 Byūtifuru Dorīmā) is a 1984 Japanese anime fantasy comedy film, directed by Mamoru Oshii. It is the second film in the Urusei Yatsura film series based on the manga of the same name by Rumiko Takahashi. Its predecessor, Only You, was also directed by Oshii. It was released in Japan on February 11, 1984.While Only You was more faithful to Takahashi's original manga and anime series, Beautiful Dreamer was a significant departure, with Oshii placing an emphasis on deeper philosophical issues. Although the...

Shog9

6:41 PM

My favorite part of Pratchett's writing is that all of the deep, profound, emotionally-moving stuff...
...is just misdirection, there as part of these ever-more-elaborate setups for the puns.

Aibobot

Is there anything more important?

PM 2Ring

@Shog9 Perhaps. Or the puns are just a hook to help you remember the deep & profound stuff. Kind of like Zen koans. Which reminds me, Lu-Tze, the History Monk, has some great lines too.

Magisch

9:04 PM

@Shog9 I can't point exactly what part it is, but pratchett has a way with puns that makes them seem deeper then word jokes :p

Shog9

I left a quote from the book "Thief of Time" in the SO codebase marking the fix for this bug: meta.stackexchange.com/questions/288734/…

3

> Wen considered the nature of time and understood that the universe is, instant by instant, recreated anew. Therefore, he understood, there is in truth no past, only a memory of the past. Blink your eyes, and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it.

In the usual Pratchett fashion, this was a setup to the paragraph that followed:

> The first words read by the young Lu-Tze when he sought perplexity in the dark, teeming, rain-soaked city of Ankh-Morpork were: 'Rooms For Rent, Very Reasonable.' And he was glad of it.

Feeds

11:32 PM

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