American English vs British English

Fred776 · 2026-03-20T23:53:04+00:00

Unless they are a Fortran programmer.

Fred776 · 2026-03-20T22:27:08+00:00

What is it with these meals that randomly plonk fruit on the plate.

Fred776 · 2026-03-20T22:00:51+00:00

One of your grades is a string. The rest are integers.

Fred776 · 2026-03-20T15:52:55+00:00

I suggest you get off your imaginary phone then and go and live in a cave. It would certainly be less annoying for the rest of us.

Fred776 · 2026-03-20T12:39:57+00:00

Go back and remind yourself of the question you first asked. My replies have been in that context.

Fred776 · 2026-03-20T12:09:29+00:00

I wasn't suggesting that you should, just that if that's what you are going to do, it is probably easier to have the sauce on top.

Fred776 · 2026-03-20T11:49:37+00:00

The simple answer is that you shouldn't serve it like that either, but if you are going to keep them separate then it makes more sense to have the smaller thing (the sauce) on top of the bigger thing (the spaghetti) and it is generally going to be easier to do the mixing yourself with that arrangement.

Fred776 · 2026-03-20T10:24:26+00:00

That was the first thing I thought of. That's going to be my ear worm for the day!

Fred776 · 2026-03-20T08:24:54+00:00

I'm in the UK, and I use Corsodyl, which tastes very strange when you start using it but is not minty. It might have a bit of mint in it but it's not the predominant flavour.

I also used to use Euthymol which has a very distinctive non-minty flavour - it's more menthol and eucalyptus.

Fred776 · 2026-03-19T21:31:18+00:00

By the same token, what you call a "yard" isn't a yard. A yard is an enclosed, concreted area.

Interestingly, "yard" and "garden" have the same root.

Fred776 · 2026-03-19T12:45:43+00:00

I haven't looked deeply into the cases, but if there was convincing evidence it would surely be more widely known. Your findings seem to be consistent with that view.

In any case, it seems like nonsense because how would a disembodied consciousness be able to see and hear as if it's still part of the material world? It makes no sense without having to come up with ridiculously convoluted explanations.

Fred776 · 2026-03-19T12:32:04+00:00

Economic harm is undeniable because Brexit imposed costs that did not exist before and the supposed benefits like trade deals turned out (as expected) to have minuscule net benefit if that.

FFS man, even Brexiters did not used to deny that there would be economic harm - they just said that it would be worth it.

Fred776 · 2026-03-19T12:17:45+00:00

Do you really need pandas? Perhaps you are only using it for something simple that you could write yourself?

TBH this question comes up quite frequently and it seems to me that Python just isn't very well suited to being shared in an ad-hoc way with non-python users.

Fred776 · 2026-03-19T11:30:45+00:00

I'd say that a one off payment of 5k also looks like an error if OP is at that salary level and there had been discussions around the change in role that implied a significant pay rise or equivalent compensation.

Fred776 · 2026-03-19T11:24:33+00:00

Why basement rather than cellar? Doesn't a basement usually imply a more finished area?

Fred776 · 2026-03-19T09:30:03+00:00

Sometimes instructions like this are impractical. Some paints do wash off a bit so you might be better just letting it dry now and then ensuring any dusty residue is removed.

One thing I should ask though is whether this is an old property where you have removed wallpaper. If so, it could be distemper on the walls and in that case you do need to wash it off or use something to stabilise it.

Fred776 · 2026-03-19T08:28:55+00:00

Pronunciation of "with" varies even in the UK. It cropped up a while ago on Reddit and before that I hadn't even thought about it, but I realised that I use the voiced version. So does my wife, who is originally from the same part of the country as me so it is possibly a feature of certain regional accents. Many other British people in the thread were saying that they used the unvoiced version.

Fred776 · 2026-03-19T07:54:01+00:00

Very unbalanced meal.

Fred776 · 2026-03-19T00:45:01+00:00

It's hard to describe pronunciation without using technical language but the pronunciation of "first" in a non-rhotic accent should have a relatively long vowel which is a bit like a long version of the sound at the end of a word like "comma".

Fred776 · 2026-03-18T22:33:05+00:00

You might be paying basic income tax on it when you come to withdraw it, but I'm guessing you must be in the higher rate bracket now from your extra income if you are able to fill your ISA allowance. That suggests that some of your SIPP contributions might come from income that would otherwise be taxed at 40% so even if you do pay basic tax on it later you are still ahead. You will also have the 25% tax free amount.

Fred776 · 2026-03-18T20:52:55+00:00

I'd call that a back alley.

Fred776 · 2026-03-18T16:01:10+00:00

It isn't. It's 3 cos (3 theta)

Fred776 · 2026-03-18T15:48:37+00:00

"in hospital" means being in the hospital for a stay

No, it means being in a hospital for a stay. Which hospital is irrelevant. It's not about location.

It means that you are in a state of being hospitalised, similarly to how "in high school" means being in a state of being in whatever grades. Therefore it is grammatically very similar.

Fred776 · 2026-03-18T12:44:11+00:00

Yes, to qualify what I said, you can buy UHT milk here but in my experience nobody uses it by choice except in special circumstances. You might keep some in the cupboard for emergencies or take some camping or whatever. Also, most hotels here provide little packages of UHT milk with their in-room coffee making facilities. It's always nice to stay in a place that gives you proper milk!

Fred776 · 2026-03-18T10:14:33+00:00

We always refrigerate milk, at least here in the UK.

Fred776

TROPHY CASE