bitmask

346 reputation

111

bio	website	bitmask.de
	location	Germany
	age
visits	member for	1 year, 8 months
	seen	May 16 at 8:03
stats	profile views	38

Hey, I am a computer scientist and enthusiast programmer, who sometimes worries too much about architecture/design.

Accept policy

If you wonder why I didn't accept your answer, although it is obviously the right thing: Usually, I like to wait at least an hour before accepting anything, often I wait a day or so.

More random information about me

kernel: linux
interface: xmonad
text: vim
web: opera + lynx
mail: icedove (aka thunderbird)
programming: c++, bash, haskell
speak: de, en, es (rusty), fr (very! limited)
rcs: git
scifi: The Matrix, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Firefly

First to earn the the-matrix bronze badge on scifi.SE.

Flair

_{_{_{Bad Wolf}}}

	346 reputation	bio	website	bitmask.de	visits	member for	1 year, 8 months
111 badges		location	Germany		seen	May 16 at 8:03

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35 Comments

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May 11	comment	Question about likely vulgar expressions Where do you get from that the meaning of "to screw sb." has the same roots as "to screw sth. up". There are examples for both cases: compare "to fuck sth. up" (clear vulgar connection) and "to mess sth. up" (no apparent vulgar connection). You seem to imply "screw" to fall in the first category without giving the second a second thought.
Jan 10	comment	What is the grammatical construct using present progressive in relative clauses called? Thanks to your information I found a very good site describing how the present participle phrase works.
Jan 9	comment	What is the grammatical construct using present progressive in relative clauses called? note: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Flintstone
Jan 9	comment	What is the grammatical construct using present progressive in relative clauses called? @TimLymington: Hmmm, I think you're right, it should read "what", shouldn't it?
Dec 6	comment	What do you call “to be to” constructions and are they proper/good English? Thanks, that makes sense. Still, my main concern was whether this was formal English in the stricter sense and fit for formal texts.
Dec 6	comment	What do you call “to be to” constructions and are they proper/good English? @Gigili: Thanks for the link; that sheds some preliminary light on the issue.
Oct 11	comment	Is the “overseas” bushism really so absurd? Well, I suppose the question could be rephrased as "Under the assumption that this quote was not a slip of the tongue, what meaning would a native speaker of American English associate with the word 'overseas'." It is very possible he meant to say something else, but I'm trying to understand if the translated version of the quote I originally heard was accurate (where "overseas" was translated with "Ausland" instead of "Übersee" which lacks the ambiguity of the original phrasing).
Oct 11	comment	Is the “overseas” bushism really so absurd? @MετάEd: The question is if the word "overseas" means only countries that are accessible only over water or any foreign country. How does that depend on opinion? Note that I'm not asking if his statement is true or false.
Oct 10	comment	Is the “overseas” bushism really so absurd? This is not an answer. You are trying to defend Mr. Bush by pointing out that others do that sort of thing, too. This is a question about language, not a particular person or his politics. I'm asking if the statement -- particularly the use of the word "overseas" -- itself makes sense or not. Your assertion that this is a slip of tongue is highly speculative.
Oct 10	comment	Is the “overseas” bushism really so absurd? What is the significance on the imports being fossil fuel? Why does it matter to the context?
Oct 10	comment	Is the “overseas” bushism really so absurd? @Sam: Good point. But how is it used in American English?
Oct 10	comment	Is the “overseas” bushism really so absurd? @Carlo_R.: Let's not make this a discussion about "his" politics. But in all criticism one must be fair, so that's why I was asking.
May 23	comment	Is “if they would do something” correct English? The statement was pretty much "'would' never comes after 'if'". Maybe I got it wrong.
May 23	comment	Is “if they would do something” correct English? I'm looking for a rule based explanation, because my gut tells me the same. But the original point that A was wrong was brought up by an English teacher, so I was a bit confused.
May 23	comment	Is “if they would do something” correct English? @tchrist: "Not sure what smithying has to do with anything." Where did I claim that, exactly?
Apr 10	comment	Why do we say “as it were”? @phoog: I known you shouldn't ask sub-questions in comments; But isn't the house here 3rd person singular? So I thought I'd to use "was" instead of "were".
Apr 9	comment	Why do we say “as it were”? Judging from J.R.'s answer it can be read as "as if [his parent's house] (it) was [a nest]".
Feb 16	comment	Article or no article: “at the price of a higher workload”? Great explanation. Thanks!
Feb 15	comment	Author enumeration rules @RegDwightѬſ道: Thanks. Once you know how it's called, looking it up is easier :)
Feb 13	comment	An antonym for “usability”? +1 for Windows, but I'll probably go with unusability ...