The Sixth Conversation Thread

[WeepingElf]

I get nothing but errors, can't even log in, so it seems that there is just rubble behind the facade. But perhaps I am too impatient. Mark is tech-savvy and determined enough to work on a solution.

[Arayaz]

Fuck, I need I new name...
Why are all the good ones taken?!?
And the bad ones as well!

[WeepingElf]

I get nothing but errors, can't even log in, so it seems that there is just rubble behind the facade. But perhaps I am too impatient. Mark is tech-savvy and determined enough to work on a solution.

Update: It churns out errors 500 or 404 often, but reloading the page usually gives the desired result. That's quite annoying, but it doesn't render it unusable. We have to wait and see what will happen.

[WeepingElf]

Next update: The ZBB is running nicely; apparently, the problem has been fixed. Hurray!

[conlang-creature]

Spanish class is too slow...
I crave more WORDS.

I did manage to understand a lot when looking in the language learning threads, but sadly I can't replicate that level of speech myself.

...
Patience. I just need patience.

[sangi39]

After a little over nine years of living with my mum and my brother (after marriage ended, neither of us could afford the rent on the flat on our own, so we both had to move back in with family), I can finally (I think!) move out on my own

I've got two houses to go view on Wednesday and I'm excited and nervous. It'll be the first time ever (having just turned 34) that I'll be living on my own. It's a lot further away from work (33 miles instead of 12, but I can cut that down by stopping off and getting a lift in with my brother for that last 12 miles), and obviously will mean for paying for everything on my own, which right now, with the cost of literally everything going up like crazy, is a little bit terrifying, but I've tried to be sensible about the decision

As long as I stick to my budget (I've budgetted hard!) I should be okay and hopefully can eat up at least some price/rent/bill increases, but is very, very nerve-racking

So, looking to rent somewhere has just turned into "made an offer on a house to buy" somewhat suddenly Started out as a joke from my brother about "gentrifying the place" that turned into "wait, actually though, can I afford a mortgage?"

Turns out the place I was looking, i.e. Darlington in County Durham (I'm sure some users on here know the town. Sal might, and I think Frislander or Decem, while not active on here now, might have been from around there)... yeah, it's doable. Is it the nicest place to live? Eh, but I also live in a village right now that's got like 1000 times fewer people and 25% the population density, so there's bound to be more people, more traffic, more crime (at the very least in absolute terms), more noise, etc. but the house prices there are like 40%-50% what they are around here with much better access to things like shops, doctors' surgeries, public transport (bus and train), and it moves me closer to a bigger chunk of my friends (although it does massively up my travel costs for work)

And renting would work out markedly more expensive than paying back a mortgage, even though it shifts the burden of maintenance and repairs onto me, as opposed to a landlord (but it also means I have more choice about how those repairs and maintenance works get done, and balance that against cost on my own terms). Also means that, for example, I can't be given two months' notice before being kicked out because landlord decided they want to sell the house (sad part, the place I've made an offer on is a former rental property, so I can only imagine someone was asked to move out...)


So, that's a development. Waiting to see if the offer is accepted, then need to see if I can get the mortgage I was after, then contracts, then move I guess. Very excited, but super nervous

It's been 11 weeks... In 1 week, I should be able to pick up the keys

The offer was accepted, the mortgage broker and solicitors have been fantastic and helpful as hell (I'm sure I've asked them a ton of stupid questions, lol), but the sale should be complete on Friday 15th

I have one day off from work, the 16th, to pick up the keys, grab as much of my stuff as I can, and chuck it through the front door, and then I'm not off again until the 29th. That gives me time to get in contact with the local council, banks, car insurance people, DVLA, etc. to let them know I'm moving, and to sort of water, gas, and electric bills, and to start shopping around for everything I need (I literally own a bed, one chest-of-drawers, an old computer desk that's acting as a book case, and several reptile tanks... I need everythign), and then try really hard to book a week off right at the start of the year to try and actually properly move and get everything sorted

I think for most of January, I'll be still pretty much living here, rather than at new place, but there's an actually proper date to all of this now. Still very excited, but super nervous (actually more nervous the closer it gets, lol. I spend so much time looking at budget stuff now hoping that once all the numbers are settled, I can actually still do this)

Well, I picked up the keys on the 16th, and, as planned, moved as much as I could on the day (eight 35ltr bale arm crates' worth of stuff [two were boots, five were books, and three were random stuff like lego, electronics, photos], three more plastic drawers' worth of more random stuff, two reptile tanks [empty], almost all of my clothes, and a computer table), and then had to wait until 29th to move anything else

Told my mum I'd bought the house the day I got the keys, and at first she didn't believe me, lol, even though I physically put the keys in her hand before I said anything. I didn't tell anyone except my brother and one friend in Darlington, just in case the sale fell through. She was really good about it though, and offered to get me a fridge/freezer, which was delivered on Tuesday just gone

I was meant to have internet up and running by Thursday, but the router hadn't arrived by Tuesday evening (turns out I'd missed the delivery, but they didn't leave a note or anything), so got in touch with provider, told them I needed to a) rearrange delivery, and b) reschedule visit from OpenReach. They arranged both, so should be up and running this coming Thursday. Funny part, OpenReach engineer still came on Wednesday anyway, because they hadn't been told the visit had been rescheduled, and then 20 minutes later the router turned up. Was so close

Getting the back door replaced in about a month (wood for uPVC). Knew I wanted to do that when I had the house viewing, because wooden doors warp in wet and cold weather, and stick to the door frame, and all that fun jazz (which it did! When I got the keys, I could not open the back door at all), plus it really does not keep the heat in at all). That end of the house, where the bathroom is, is freezing right now, even after spending three days warming the house up

Spent the last three hours looking at washing machines, so now I feel like an adult, and I do not like it

Overall, though, that should be me more or less moved in. There's still stuff I'm going to need to get as I go along (like I realised I have no mugs or glasses or anything for when people come over, and while I have a mattress, I do not have a bed frame), but it's been nice having my own space for the first time ever, and being able to decide on my own terms, more or less, what I can do with it. Like the smaller bedroom? Getting turned into a place for homeworking and for guests to sleep. Converted attic? Buy a gaming computer, chair, and desk, and drag it up there, plus some book storage and bean bags, and have that as a space to chill out. Living room? Place to chill in the morning before work, have tea on an evening afterwards, and get a second sofa in, and hopefully a TV (I really just need a screen, and hook it up to my laptop, to be fair), and perfect space to have guests in (plus two sofas is two more places for people to sleep)

[sangi39]

After a little over nine years of living with my mum and my brother (after marriage ended, neither of us could afford the rent on the flat on our own, so we both had to move back in with family), I can finally (I think!) move out on my own

I've got two houses to go view on Wednesday and I'm excited and nervous. It'll be the first time ever (having just turned 34) that I'll be living on my own. It's a lot further away from work (33 miles instead of 12, but I can cut that down by stopping off and getting a lift in with my brother for that last 12 miles), and obviously will mean for paying for everything on my own, which right now, with the cost of literally everything going up like crazy, is a little bit terrifying, but I've tried to be sensible about the decision

As long as I stick to my budget (I've budgetted hard!) I should be okay and hopefully can eat up at least some price/rent/bill increases, but is very, very nerve-racking

So, looking to rent somewhere has just turned into "made an offer on a house to buy" somewhat suddenly Started out as a joke from my brother about "gentrifying the place" that turned into "wait, actually though, can I afford a mortgage?"

Turns out the place I was looking, i.e. Darlington in County Durham (I'm sure some users on here know the town. Sal might, and I think Frislander or Decem, while not active on here now, might have been from around there)... yeah, it's doable. Is it the nicest place to live? Eh, but I also live in a village right now that's got like 1000 times fewer people and 25% the population density, so there's bound to be more people, more traffic, more crime (at the very least in absolute terms), more noise, etc. but the house prices there are like 40%-50% what they are around here with much better access to things like shops, doctors' surgeries, public transport (bus and train), and it moves me closer to a bigger chunk of my friends (although it does massively up my travel costs for work)

And renting would work out markedly more expensive than paying back a mortgage, even though it shifts the burden of maintenance and repairs onto me, as opposed to a landlord (but it also means I have more choice about how those repairs and maintenance works get done, and balance that against cost on my own terms). Also means that, for example, I can't be given two months' notice before being kicked out because landlord decided they want to sell the house (sad part, the place I've made an offer on is a former rental property, so I can only imagine someone was asked to move out...)


So, that's a development. Waiting to see if the offer is accepted, then need to see if I can get the mortgage I was after, then contracts, then move I guess. Very excited, but super nervous

It's been 11 weeks... In 1 week, I should be able to pick up the keys

The offer was accepted, the mortgage broker and solicitors have been fantastic and helpful as hell (I'm sure I've asked them a ton of stupid questions, lol), but the sale should be complete on Friday 15th

I have one day off from work, the 16th, to pick up the keys, grab as much of my stuff as I can, and chuck it through the front door, and then I'm not off again until the 29th. That gives me time to get in contact with the local council, banks, car insurance people, DVLA, etc. to let them know I'm moving, and to sort of water, gas, and electric bills, and to start shopping around for everything I need (I literally own a bed, one chest-of-drawers, an old computer desk that's acting as a book case, and several reptile tanks... I need everythign), and then try really hard to book a week off right at the start of the year to try and actually properly move and get everything sorted

I think for most of January, I'll be still pretty much living here, rather than at new place, but there's an actually proper date to all of this now. Still very excited, but super nervous (actually more nervous the closer it gets, lol. I spend so much time looking at budget stuff now hoping that once all the numbers are settled, I can actually still do this)

Well, I picked up the keys on the 16th, and, as planned, moved as much as I could on the day (eight 35ltr bale arm crates' worth of stuff [two were boots, five were books, and three were random stuff like lego, electronics, photos], three more plastic drawers' worth of more random stuff, two reptile tanks [empty], almost all of my clothes, and a computer table), and then had to wait until 29th to move anything else

Told my mum I'd bought the house the day I got the keys, and at first she didn't believe me, lol, even though I physically put the keys in her hand before I said anything. I didn't tell anyone except my brother and one friend in Darlington, just in case the sale fell through. She was really good about it though, and offered to get me a fridge/freezer, which was delivered on Tuesday just gone

I was meant to have internet up and running by Thursday, but the router hadn't arrived by Tuesday evening (turns out I'd missed the delivery, but they didn't leave a note or anything), so got in touch with provider, told them I needed to a) rearrange delivery, and b) reschedule visit from OpenReach. They arranged both, so should be up and running this coming Thursday. Funny part, OpenReach engineer still came on Wednesday anyway, because they hadn't been told the visit had been rescheduled, and then 20 minutes later the router turned up. Was so close

Getting the back door replaced in about a month (wood for uPVC). Knew I wanted to do that when I had the house viewing, because wooden doors warp in wet and cold weather, and stick to the door frame, and all that fun jazz (which it did! When I got the keys, I could not open the back door at all), plus it really does not keep the heat in at all). That end of the house, where the bathroom is, is freezing right now, even after spending three days warming the house up

Spent the last three hours looking at washing machines, so now I feel like an adult, and I do not like it

Overall, though, that should be me more or less moved in. There's still stuff I'm going to need to get as I go along (like I realised I have no mugs or glasses or anything for when people come over, and while I have a mattress, I do not have a bed frame), but it's been nice having my own space for the first time ever, and being able to decide on my own terms, more or less, what I can do with it. Like the smaller bedroom? Getting turned into a place for homeworking and for guests to sleep. Converted attic? Buy a gaming computer, chair, and desk, and drag it up there, plus some book storage and bean bags, and have that as a space to chill out. Living room? Place to chill in the morning before work, have tea on an evening afterwards, and get a second sofa in, and hopefully a TV (I really just need a screen, and hook it up to my laptop, to be fair), and perfect space to have guests in (plus two sofas is two more places for people to sleep)

[vampireshark]

Back in September, I applied for a grant from the ERC (European research funding agency) called Marie Skłodowska-Curie. It's a two-year postdoc grant that's exceptionally competitive, and I applied for it to go back to Luxembourg because why not, though I had absolutely no expectations of getting it. Mainly because I'd failed spectacularly before four years ago: the proposals are scored out of 100, with a threshold of 70 needed for being eligible for funding and typical scores of 92+ needed to actually secure the money, and the preceding attempt got a 68.

Results were announced on Monday. The cut-off score for my panel was 92.8. I got a 99.4. So... I'll be moving back to Luxembourg, depending on how quickly the immigration procedure goes, at some point this summer to do a fun project. Definitely not expected; now I'm going from looking for jobs in the Netherlands to looking for housing in Luxembourg. Exciting, but still hasn't fully sunk in yet...

[Arayaz]

Back in September, I applied for a grant from the ERC (European research funding agency) called Marie Skłodowska-Curie. It's a two-year postdoc grant that's exceptionally competitive, and I applied for it to go back to Luxembourg because why not, though I had absolutely no expectations of getting it. Mainly because I'd failed spectacularly before four years ago: the proposals are scored out of 100, with a threshold of 70 needed for being eligible for funding and typical scores of 92+ needed to actually secure the money, and the preceding attempt got a 68.

Results were announced on Monday. The cut-off score for my panel was 92.8. I got a 99.4. So... I'll be moving back to Luxembourg, depending on how quickly the immigration procedure goes, at some point this summer to do a fun project. Definitely not expected; now I'm going from looking for jobs in the Netherlands to looking for housing in Luxembourg. Exciting, but still hasn't fully sunk in yet...

Whoa, cool! Nice! What's the project you're doing?

[vampireshark]

Back in September, I applied for a grant from the ERC (European research funding agency) called Marie Skłodowska-Curie. It's a two-year postdoc grant that's exceptionally competitive, and I applied for it to go back to Luxembourg because why not, though I had absolutely no expectations of getting it. Mainly because I'd failed spectacularly before four years ago: the proposals are scored out of 100, with a threshold of 70 needed for being eligible for funding and typical scores of 92+ needed to actually secure the money, and the preceding attempt got a 68.

Results were announced on Monday. The cut-off score for my panel was 92.8. I got a 99.4. So... I'll be moving back to Luxembourg, depending on how quickly the immigration procedure goes, at some point this summer to do a fun project. Definitely not expected; now I'm going from looking for jobs in the Netherlands to looking for housing in Luxembourg. Exciting, but still hasn't fully sunk in yet...

Whoa, cool! Nice! What's the project you're doing?

Wearable technology! I'll be spinning responsive fibers with liquid crystals (and other things) and look to incorporate them into garments.

[eldin raigmore]

Wearable technology! I'll be spinning responsive fibers with liquid crystals (and other things) and look to incorporate them into garments.

Like Rorschach from The Watchmen ?

[Arayaz]

I just read This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, and oh my gosh it's AWESOME. I can't claim to fully wrap my head around every bit of it, so I can't entirely confidently vouch for its being perfect in every way, but it sure damn seems like it.

(Don't hold me to that, of course; I thought Scythe was awesome at first too ─ but I am wiser now.)

This got me thinking about an easter egg ─ I think one descendant of Ruykkarraber might end up having tihülttu [ti.'hylt.tu] meaning "time."

[vampireshark]

Wearable technology! I'll be spinning responsive fibers with liquid crystals (and other things) and look to incorporate them into garments.

Like Rorschach from The Watchmen ?

Probably not. Different functionalities are the plan.

Other fun: After seven months of fighting with journals, submitting, re-submitting, and an appeal to an editor, a publication based on my one Master's student's thesis work finally got accepted! Hopefully should be online soon...

[Ahzoh]

Came across this article:
https://phys.org/news/2024-03-role-hist ... evolve.amp

May be a useful thing to decide on one's colour terminology

[Arayaz]

I keep getting notifications saying that DV82LECM is quoting me in the Yǫlá Skásti thread, which they are not, and when I click on them, it goes back to a post that, indeed, did quote me, but was from a very long time ago. Do we know why this is happening?

(Like, I get a notification that says "Quoted by DV82LECM in: 'Yǫlá Skásti (new grammar)' 06 March 2024 03:19" and then there's no such post. Has this happened before? Do we know the source of the problem?)

Edit: FWIW, this is the post it links to when I click on it.

[Khemehekis]

I keep getting notifications saying that DV82LECM is quoting me in the Yǫlá Skásti thread, which they are not, and when I click on them, it goes back to a post that, indeed, did quote me, but was from a very long time ago. Do we know why this is happening?

(Like, I get a notification that says "Quoted by DV82LECM in: 'Yǫlá Skásti (new grammar)' 06 March 2024 03:19" and then there's no such post. Has this happened before? Do we know the source of the problem?)

Edit: FWIW, this is the post it links to when I click on it.

Maybe because that post was last updated on March 6? I get update notifications too.

[Arayaz]

I keep getting notifications saying that DV82LECM is quoting me in the Yǫlá Skásti thread, which they are not, and when I click on them, it goes back to a post that, indeed, did quote me, but was from a very long time ago. Do we know why this is happening?

(Like, I get a notification that says "Quoted by DV82LECM in: 'Yǫlá Skásti (new grammar)' 06 March 2024 03:19" and then there's no such post. Has this happened before? Do we know the source of the problem?)

Edit: FWIW, this is the post it links to when I click on it.

Maybe because that post was last updated on March 6? I get update notifications too.

Ah, that's it. Thanks, things make more sense now

Edit: Oh, and this was my 1,100th post!

[Khemehekis]

Ah, that's it. Thanks, things make more sense now

You're welcome.

Edit: Oh, and this was my 1,100th post!

Congrats on your post milestone!

[Khemehekis]

I just ran SpellCheck (Corel WordPerfect's version thereof) on my LCV file. It caught three typos (such as "cbop" for "chop") but it needs to update its vocabulary. It's not too good with linguistics terms like "ergative" and "animacy", for starters. It trips up on a lot of twenty-first-century words like "blog" and "vape", or even the nineties word "grunge". It also fails to recognize many compound words like "filmmaker" and "nightstand". It landed on "barista" and suggested either "Barista" or "BARISTA". Then there were the totally inexplicable gaps in my spell-checker's vocabulary, such as "sunscreen" and "narcolepsy". There were some popular given names, such as "Ellie", "Zach", and "Ariana", that it landed upon as well.
"

[Ahzoh]

I just ran SpellCheck (Corel WordPerfect's version thereof) on my LCV file.

WordPerfect's a program I haven't heard of for a while