maudenificent

maudenificent , 12 hours ago

@randahl

netflix subtitles are so inconsistent, sometimes the word is omitted, sometimes changed to a “nicer” word, but censorship always destroys meaning

A: I think there is something clinically wrong with you
B: F* you!
A: could be tourette’s…
does not make sense without the swearing

maudenificent , 1 month ago

@randahl @slowbikeiain

LOL recently saw miles (in USA context) called “freedom units”

at least most of us who drive on the left converted to metric system

maudenificent , 1 month ago

@randahl

i think the globe underwent many sudden changes in trade-zone agreements after 1945.
the history e.g. of european union is long and complex, but in simplistic terms, many british commonwealth countries/ former colonies were still newly emerging as manufacturing areas.

technology was designed to be written off/ depreciated over long periods (we did not have access to large markets or large sales volumes to develop rapidly or with frequent re-invention)

britain had little to gain by changing after 1945 as it was still an empire (though rapidly shrinking)
the point of capitalism is profit maximisation and the corollary is cost minimisation. innovation/ improvements have no value unless they generate profits

so in australia e.g. most cars were initially british, and when we started making our own, many of the parts were interchangeable from one model to the next… and we would marvel to learn cars in New Zealand in 1970s were often 20 or 30 years old when at the same time the average US car had a life span of 3 years or something … for the global south the challenges must have been enormous, colonies only set up to be exploited rather than developed etc

it took massive structural adjustment even in australia after britain first joined the european community. but also, things like the sale of books were divided up into global markets (there were no US publications freely available here til ??1970s - sometimes i invent facts, so please don’t quote me).

so, probably not so much of a refusal to change as practicalities of different eras; low car ownership, less frequent international travel; a much slower pace of change in a pre-digital age and more

maudenificent , 1 month ago

@DemocracyMattersALot @maddad

so the merch is a t shirt that says “all it took was a quick handshake” ?

maudenificent , 2 months ago

@randahl @carlos @VeroniqueB99

english is my first language and I’m often at a loss myself to understand the rules of spelling and grammar. the rules are variable partly because, like most english things, the language is mostly stolen. also, the language is evolving all the time because of international english usage, or decisions by newspaper editors.

to be honest, spell-check and auto-correct are sometimes the only way i know whether or not to use double consonants

however, here is an example of a rule from encyclopaedia britannica which might help you…

To know when to double the final consonant, follow the rules below.
RULES
In a word with 1 syllable, double the final consonant ONLY if the word ends in 1 vowel + 1 consonant.
In a word with 2 or more syllables, double the final consonant ONLY if the word ends in 1 vowel + 1 consonant AND the final syllable is stressed.
At the end of a word, don’t count w, x, or y as a consonant.
APPLYING THE RULES
These verbs get a doubled final consonant:
tip / He tipped the waiter. /He isn't tipping the waiter.
cram / The students crammed for the test. /The students were cramming for the test.
regret / Carl regretted the things he had said. /Carl was regretting the things he had said.
These verbs do not get a doubled final consonant:
vote --> voted, voting (vote ends in a vowel)
instruct --> instructed, instructing (instruct ends in 2 consonants)
listen --> listened, listening (listen has 2 syllables and the final syllable is not stressed)

maudenificent , 4 months ago

@Merlo51 @cy @breadandcircuses

yes, i remember the take a saucepan thing.

also, we took our own jars to the local “self-serve” if we bought honey or peanut butter. bought loose biscuits from a tin, weighed into a brown paper bag. recycled newspapers by selling them for a few pennies to the green grocer (the fish n chip shop already had a regular supply). everything that is now in plastic bottles was once in glass, from tablets to vanilla essence, to soft drink. recycled milk and soft drink bottles at the store where we bought them.
and remember the ubiquitous stacks of beer bottles in backyards.
from coles bought shoe repair kits, or new elements for toaster or jug. repaired clothes, darned socks.

no surprise one of our billionaires is from a packaging/recycling family…

plastic coke bottles today must be right up there with private jets … what a massive F-You to the planet they are. along with milk cartons