I could never remember the bloody rhyme, so it didn't help me at all. Only very recently have I discovere a version using your knuckles (because alternate months are long and short) that works for me.
I'm not good at talking about something that either doesn't matter or I don't care about.
Yes, and also, how do you move a conversation on to the interesting stuff? Some people seem able to do this, but if I try (by asking a question, say) it never seems to get anywhere. The only place I can talk about interesting topics is a small group setting, where people come prepared to discuss theology /evolution / economics/ whatever.
And here, of course, though I mostly "listen" rather than post.
I'm not good at talking about something that either doesn't matter or I don't care about.
Yes, and also, how do you move a conversation on to the interesting stuff? Some people seem able to do this, but if I try (by asking a question, say) it never seems to get anywhere. The only place I can talk about interesting topics is a small group setting, where people come prepared to discuss theology /evolution / economics/ whatever.
And here, of course, though I mostly "listen" rather than post.
I'm also bad at small-talk, but the problem with trying to get away from it is if you ask someone about a deeper topic they're interested in, and they give you an incessant deluge of words, without allowing you to get anything in edgewise.
A year or so back, I made the acquaintance of a guy who was quite knowledgable about a particular subject, and would reply to my inquiries with short, informative answers, often humorously delivered, and then allow me to say something else, and back and forth like that for a while. But IME that's rare in people with expertise on a subject.
I once had a lovely conversation with someone I had not previously met in person, when I discovered he is a singer and a linguist. Time flew by. He actually came to my house to collect academic hoods, one of Mr Puzzler’s many collections. ( I know).
I'm not good at talking about something that either doesn't matter or I don't care about.
Yes, and also, how do you move a conversation on to the interesting stuff? Some people seem able to do this, but if I try (by asking a question, say) it never seems to get anywhere. The only place I can talk about interesting topics is a small group setting, where people come prepared to discuss theology /evolution / economics/ whatever.
And here, of course, though I mostly "listen" rather than post.
That may be a timing issue - the purpose of small talk is to convey the message you are friendly and not dangerous, rather than primarily convey information. Thus if you move on too soon, you haven’t yet conveyed that message and people may be wary of more intense conversation.
The alternative function small talk is to convey the friendly non-dangerous message, and not be rude, when also not wanting to get into a more detailed conversation (say on a train where you might pass some small remarks but really want to let that drop and read your book or listen to your podcast).
Both Mrs RR and I have difficultiy with small talk in social sessions. Both of us have been counsellors. We look out for each other at church socials to see the other one doen't get into 'counselling mode'. A poke in the ribs works for me.
Depends on what you find interesting. I am prepared to listen to the minutiae of other people's lives, much more so than big, abstract topics.
I can only articulate my understanding of anything in terms of the experiential. I can move from the particular to the general, but not the other way round.
I'm not good at talking about something that either doesn't matter or I don't care about.
Yes, and also, how do you move a conversation on to the interesting stuff? Some people seem able to do this, but if I try (by asking a question, say) it never seems to get anywhere. The only place I can talk about interesting topics is a small group setting, where people come prepared to discuss theology /evolution / economics/ whatever.
And here, of course, though I mostly "listen" rather than post.
That may be a timing issue - the purpose of small talk is to convey the message you are friendly and not dangerous, rather than primarily convey information. ...
I find it's purpose is to drive me to the bar sooner.
I am generally good at spelling, but I cannot spell any of the "cei" words without reciting i before e, except after c first.
That’s weird coming from such a feisty poster. I would understand if you were foreign, so maybe you should seize the moment at your leisure and allow your neighbours to forfeit their weighty heists.
This isn’t at all scientific, but society, or possibly the human species follows that rule with insufficient evidence.
I am generally good at spelling, but I cannot spell any of the "cei" words without reciting i before e, except after c first.
That’s weird coming from such a feisty poster. I would understand if you were foreign, so maybe you should seize the moment at your leisure and allow your neighbours to forfeit their weighty heists.
This isn’t at all scientific, but society, or possibly the human species follows that rule with insufficient evidence.
I don't understand what this post means in relation to the quote from @North East Quine. How do her neighbours come into it, for example?
I can't carry a tune. Well, I can if I sing with someone, but never alone.
As I said on the other thread, I'm a whiz at coming up with song lyrics for existing music, but I can't compose original music(*), carry a tune in any presentable fashion, hold a note(at all), or play any musical instruments.
I AM very good at guessing which song is about to be played on the radio/sound system based on the first one or two notes.
(*) Well, I did compose a playable and original tune a couple of years ago. But it was for a martial anthem, along the lines of Rule Britannia. I'm guessing that harnesses somewhat different parts of the brain than writing more human music would.
When I was at Secondary School our science teacher asked if anyone could think of a word that broke the I before e except after c rule" after others had suggested examples I said, "how about the word 'science?"
There was a silence in the room before giggles broke out.
Singing a solo.
I am a really good choral singer, but totally useless if asked to sing by myself. I can carry a good descant by myself though.
This morning in church the organist played a most weird accompaniment to a hymn with a well known tune. I found it excruciating, as all the proper harmonies are in my head.
I really struggled to sing against his distorted chords. ( I think his fingers just didn’t hit the right keys. He had a stroke not so long ago. The next hymn was fine).
I am really bad at folding shirts! Yes, a mundane and simple task for most people, folding a shirt properly leaves me flummoxed and in tears. I used to have trouble folding towels when I worked in the operating room(s) at a hospital.
I finally mastered (mostly) the towel folding but shirts? Nope.
Making a bed. I was thinking about it this morning - somehow the blankets and duvet had slipped off on different directions and I was really cold, but too sleepy to get up and fix it.
If I ever win Lotto I will hire someone to make my bed every day. They will be someone who has the height and the strength in their arms to hold onto the blankets and flick them so they reach the other side of the bed, rather than someone like me who has to go around the bed pulling at the bedding until it's more or less right.
Making a bed. I was thinking about it this morning - somehow the blankets and duvet had slipped off on different directions and I was really cold, but too sleepy to get up and fix it.
If I ever win Lotto I will hire someone to make my bed every day. They will be someone who has the height and the strength in their arms to hold onto the blankets and flick them so they reach the other side of the bed, rather than someone like me who has to go around the bed pulling at the bedding until it's more or less right.
You remind me of a stand-up comic I saw on telly, who made the comment that putting a cover on a duvet was a lot like trying to put a condom on a flaccid...well, you get the idea
This is why I prefer "when it says 'ee'" over "and when it says 'ay'".
But ie doesn’t say “ee” or “ay” in ancient, at least not where I live. It seems to me that in ancient, the ci functions more like in Italian, yielding a sh or ch sound, rather than the i and the e together representing a vowel sound.
This is why I prefer "when it says 'ee'" over "and when it says 'ay'".
But ie doesn’t say “ee” or “ay” in ancient, at least not where I live. It seems to me that in ancient, the ci functions more like in Italian, yielding a sh or ch sound, rather than the i and the e together representing a vowel sound.
Timing roast dinners. It's so complicated. I'd rather pay to take people to the pub and not stress about it! I'm amazed by people who cope without drama but I wish they wouldn't tell me how easy it is.
My father-in-law once cooked a roast dinner for the family (supervised by my husband) and decided to embrace the drama. First, he calculated all the cooking times, working backwards from when we wanted to eat dinner, and drew up a timetable with the 'launch window' for each component of the meal.
Then, he created a salmonella exclusion zone in the kitchen (by taking everything moveable into the dining room) before unwrapping the chicken.
Then he dropped the chicken in the sink.
After all of that, the dinner was very nice, but he was never asked to cook a roast again.
I am bad at many things, but I am particularly bad at putting down books that I'm in the middle of reading at bedtime.
I am bad at anything involving a sewing machine. I'm OK at hand sewing, but the machine always defeats me which is frustrating as machines are normally something I enjoy.
All sewing machines? Cheaper ones can be like a blunt knife - they work after a fashion but give you grief, particularly as you begin stitching. I have a high-end Bernina that doesn't snag or choke - but you have to feed it good quality thread.
I've come back to this - my elder girl was making some pyjamas (the fabric plus the pattern being wildly expensive, but then my clothes tend to come from Oxfam) and she was really struggling - then she changed the thread, and it was OK. I have a beige Singer (I mention the colour as this will give you an idea of the era!) I got from a skip which seems more tolerant in this way than her Mum's plastic Bernina (loads of options, questionably robust) so I think I should stick with what I know.
As I believe has been said before, a corner of our garage serves as a donation point for the charity Tools With A Mission.
Today a lady in late middle age delivered a donation of two working, hand-cranked Singer sewing machines, plus an instruction manual. They had belonged to her great-grandmother, and between them she and Mr RoS worked out that the machines must be about 100yrs old.
I hope that they will gives start-up machinists in a deprived corner of the world another century of useful life.
Spelling the work rhythm. I am pretty sure I have never got it right first time.
Yeah. It's got a superfluous H, and it sounds like there should be a second Y near the end.
"January" and "February" are ones I always have to double-check, though I think I can do the second one by thinking about the French spelling. (Which is odd, 'cuz I don't speak French.)
Comments
Yes, and also, how do you move a conversation on to the interesting stuff? Some people seem able to do this, but if I try (by asking a question, say) it never seems to get anywhere. The only place I can talk about interesting topics is a small group setting, where people come prepared to discuss theology /evolution / economics/ whatever.
And here, of course, though I mostly "listen" rather than post.
I'm also bad at small-talk, but the problem with trying to get away from it is if you ask someone about a deeper topic they're interested in, and they give you an incessant deluge of words, without allowing you to get anything in edgewise.
A year or so back, I made the acquaintance of a guy who was quite knowledgable about a particular subject, and would reply to my inquiries with short, informative answers, often humorously delivered, and then allow me to say something else, and back and forth like that for a while. But IME that's rare in people with expertise on a subject.
That may be a timing issue - the purpose of small talk is to convey the message you are friendly and not dangerous, rather than primarily convey information. Thus if you move on too soon, you haven’t yet conveyed that message and people may be wary of more intense conversation.
The alternative function small talk is to convey the friendly non-dangerous message, and not be rude, when also not wanting to get into a more detailed conversation (say on a train where you might pass some small remarks but really want to let that drop and read your book or listen to your podcast).
I can only articulate my understanding of anything in terms of the experiential. I can move from the particular to the general, but not the other way round.
That’s weird coming from such a feisty poster. I would understand if you were foreign, so maybe you should seize the moment at your leisure and allow your neighbours to forfeit their weighty heists.
This isn’t at all scientific, but society, or possibly the human species follows that rule with insufficient evidence.
I don't understand what this post means in relation to the quote from @North East Quine. How do her neighbours come into it, for example?
Ceiling?
Ah. Yes. Okay.
Well-played.
As I said on the other thread, I'm a whiz at coming up with song lyrics for existing music, but I can't compose original music(*), carry a tune in any presentable fashion, hold a note(at all), or play any musical instruments.
I AM very good at guessing which song is about to be played on the radio/sound system based on the first one or two notes.
(*) Well, I did compose a playable and original tune a couple of years ago. But it was for a martial anthem, along the lines of Rule Britannia. I'm guessing that harnesses somewhat different parts of the brain than writing more human music would.
Exactly. Says "ee", but it's after C, so not i before e.
Fair enough. What about”seize”?
There was a silence in the room before giggles broke out.
No-one said it was 100%. Just more accurate when stated in full.
Same here. My singing voice is good and clear, I'm told, but I need help to carry a tune.
Again, doesn't go "ee".
I am a really good choral singer, but totally useless if asked to sing by myself. I can carry a good descant by myself though.
This morning in church the organist played a most weird accompaniment to a hymn with a well known tune. I found it excruciating, as all the proper harmonies are in my head.
I really struggled to sing against his distorted chords. ( I think his fingers just didn’t hit the right keys. He had a stroke not so long ago. The next hymn was fine).
I finally mastered (mostly) the towel folding but shirts? Nope.
If I ever win Lotto I will hire someone to make my bed every day. They will be someone who has the height and the strength in their arms to hold onto the blankets and flick them so they reach the other side of the bed, rather than someone like me who has to go around the bed pulling at the bedding until it's more or less right.
You can get a shirt folding implement.
https://tinyurl.com/mr353wsc
🙂
You remind me of a stand-up comic I saw on telly, who made the comment that putting a cover on a duvet was a lot like trying to put a condom on a flaccid...well, you get the idea
I before E,
except after C,
and when it says A
as in neighbor and weigh.
This is why I prefer "when it says 'ee'" over "and when it says 'ay'".
"i before e except after c. And a load of other times as well"
Quite, so the rule doesn't apply.
Who’s arguing?
My father-in-law once cooked a roast dinner for the family (supervised by my husband) and decided to embrace the drama. First, he calculated all the cooking times, working backwards from when we wanted to eat dinner, and drew up a timetable with the 'launch window' for each component of the meal.
Then, he created a salmonella exclusion zone in the kitchen (by taking everything moveable into the dining room) before unwrapping the chicken.
Then he dropped the chicken in the sink.
After all of that, the dinner was very nice, but he was never asked to cook a roast again.
I am bad at many things, but I am particularly bad at putting down books that I'm in the middle of reading at bedtime.
I've come back to this - my elder girl was making some pyjamas (the fabric plus the pattern being wildly expensive, but then my clothes tend to come from Oxfam) and she was really struggling - then she changed the thread, and it was OK. I have a beige Singer (I mention the colour as this will give you an idea of the era!) I got from a skip which seems more tolerant in this way than her Mum's plastic Bernina (loads of options, questionably robust) so I think I should stick with what I know.
But as is the way of things, the better the sewing machine I can afford, the less I sew - since I can also afford to buy clothes.
Today a lady in late middle age delivered a donation of two working, hand-cranked Singer sewing machines, plus an instruction manual. They had belonged to her great-grandmother, and between them she and Mr RoS worked out that the machines must be about 100yrs old.
I hope that they will gives start-up machinists in a deprived corner of the world another century of useful life.
Yeah. It's got a superfluous H, and it sounds like there should be a second Y near the end.
"January" and "February" are ones I always have to double-check, though I think I can do the second one by thinking about the French spelling. (Which is odd, 'cuz I don't speak French.)
Oh, my other bad thing is being able to make a short post without a typo in it. Every. Single. Time.