I just realized that the glossy brown, giant spider I picked up and threw outside about 10 years ago... was most likely a Brown Recluse Spider. The most dangerous spider in Texas.

I don't tend to kill spiders. And because it was so big, I did not think it was a brown recluse. They tend to be fairly small.
 
Completely random morning thought. I was thinking about The Aristocrats joke, which had a great documentary about 20 years ago.

And I realized: Jim Henson probably had his own version of The Aristocrats joke. He hung around in those circles. He knew all kinds of stand-up comics. There's a good chance he'd be privy to that joke. Which means there's a chance he probably had his own version of it he'd tell.

I don't know why that thought feels so wrong to me.
 
I don't know why that thought feels so wrong to me.
It feels less wrong when you remember these were the same people who would have a "Nookie Monster" muppet at cast parties.

...what would really feel wrong (to me) would be having the joke claymated by Will Vinton and crew. Not because it would be out of character for them, but because they would probably do TOO good of a job of animating it in clay.

--Patrick
 
I'd be wary it's a scammer, but yeah, that does sound tempting.
Yeah, scammer is always my first assumption, especially with DMs from strangerson my social media accounts. This was a text to my number, though. I don't even know if Zelia is a man or woman's name.
 
I never answer a number I don't recognize unless they can provide identifying information. My base assumption is that someone is fishing for a flesh-and-blood person to reel in.
 
Got an odd wrong number tonight.

Heh, I'm half tempted to text back "So hey, I was thinking. I'm not Lisa, but I'd love to go for dinner. Where did you have in mind?"

View attachment 49495
I get this scam all the time, don't even bother trying to play into things knowing it's a scam.
One time I laughing did get the response form someone , and it's always some "omg my assistant saved the number wrong".... but eventually I led them along enough to see "God, American's are so rude"
 
Got an odd wrong number tonight.

Heh, I'm half tempted to text back "So hey, I was thinking. I'm not Lisa, but I'd love to go for dinner. Where did you have in mind?"

View attachment 49495
Yep, probably a scammer. They responded a few more times. Then they suddenly switched numbers because their "other phone died." Then asked for my name and asked me to contact them through WhatsApp or Telegram. Noooooope. Blocked and reported both numbers.
 
Now, what starts with a letter C?
Cookie starts with C
Let's think of other things that start with C
Ah, ah, who cares about other things?
C is for cookie, that's good enough for me
C is for cookie, that's good enough for me
C is for cookie, that's good enough for me
Oh, cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C
Oh, C is for cookie, that's good enough for me
C is for cookie, that's good enough for me
C is for cookie, that's good enough for me
Oh, cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C
Hey, you know what?
A round cookie with one bite out of it looks like a C
A round doughnut with one bite out of it also looks like a C
But it is not as good as a cookie
Oh, the moon sometimes looks like a C
But you can't eat that
So
C is for cookie, that's good enough for me, yeah
C is for cookie, that's good enough for me
C is for cookie, that's good enough for me
Oh, cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C
Yeah
Cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C
Oh, boy
Cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C
Om nom nom nom nom!
 
C is for Cyclops.
The Cyclops only has one eye.
Go ahead and poke him in his one eye and yell, "One-eye! One-eye!"


...I will wait here for you.

--Patrick
 
I meant to post this sooner. Here's GoPro footage of a truck (license plate GYM 183) cutting me off on the corner of Duffus & Devonshire on Thursday, September 12, around 4 PM. No signal light. They just cut me off as I was going straight on to Devonshire Ave.

 
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I meant to post this sooner. Here's GoPro footage of a truck (license plate GYM 183) cutting me off on the corner of Young & Devonshire on Thursday, September 12, around 4 PM. No signal light. They just cut me off as I was going straight on to Devonshire Ave.

That's rotten. I can certainly sympathize.
 
I have a bit of a weird question that I feel somewhat silly asking.

One of our clients told us that modern English grammar is starting to abandon the indefinite article "an", and only "a" is used nowadays. So, for example, instead of saying "an instant" or "an hour", you would use "a instant" and "a hour" instead.

This is stupid, right? No one is actually saying "a hour" anywhere in the English-speaking world, right? Or have you guys abandoned "an" and just haven't told the rest of us outside the English-speaking parts of the world?
 
I have a bit of a weird question that I feel somewhat silly asking.

One of our clients told us that modern English grammar is starting to abandon the indefinite article "an", and only "a" is used nowadays. So, for example, instead of saying "an instant" or "an hour", you would use "a instant" and "a hour" instead.

This is stupid, right? No one is actually saying "a hour" anywhere in the English-speaking world, right? Or have you guys abandoned "an" and just haven't told the rest of us outside the English-speaking parts of the world?
I deal with a lot of customers who have...unique dialects. Newfoundland people confound me the most (like when they ask where something is on their bill, they'll say "Where's it to?")

But no, the example you're giving here is stupid as hell. I've never come across that.
 
People are indeed saying "a hour" in spoken English. These are the same people who write "could of" and other malapropisms, and they are wrong.
They will read the phrase "In an hour" aloud as "IN-nuh OW-uhr" as though only two words.

--Patrick
 
There are lots of things I'd say in casual conversation that I'd never type or write that way. I'm not sure "a hour" vs "an hour" is specifically one of those for me personally but I'd fit it in the same slot if that makes sense.
 
I'm a member of a Facebook group called "people incorrectly correcting others". A/an hour (and similarly, a honest man, or conversely an humble man, etc) are regulars.
Completely ditching "an" seems far off, but there's definitely a move in certain circles towards "a" in front of a silent H. People are taught rules and don't know how to apply them.
 

figmentPez

Staff member
I have a bit of a weird question that I feel somewhat silly asking.

One of our clients told us that modern English grammar is starting to abandon the indefinite article "an", and only "a" is used nowadays. So, for example, instead of saying "an instant" or "an hour", you would use "a instant" and "a hour" instead.

This is stupid, right? No one is actually saying "a hour" anywhere in the English-speaking world, right? Or have you guys abandoned "an" and just haven't told the rest of us outside the English-speaking parts of the world?
My first thought is that this could be part of AAVE (African-American Vernacular English), or possibly some rural/regional accent, but I haven't seen any evidence that it's widespread for English users as a whole.
 
Hold on... *does mental math* ... Pat, are you in your 50's?
I've been trying to find the thread where we were all polled about our ages/birthdays/whatever, but I'm thinking that one must have been on the old forum, because I can't find it in either General nor the Health & Advice threads.
...but I would not be surprised to discover that as of now, "in your 50's" (by which I mean 45-59) could conceivably be the forum average, or at least close. Halforums is going to turn 16 this year, and there was all that time beforehand, which means the veterans here are going to be close to +20yrs from when we first gathered.

--Patrick
 
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