I’m sleep and caffeine deprived and I am waiting for an exceptionally exciting phone call so I am watching Cat Twitter:
Oh my god my cat is trying to catch the ball ??? I’m gonna die. #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/ArJtXkAmYt
— Amanda M. Steiner (@amandamichl) November 3, 2016
Open Thread
Jerzy Russian
I guess that should have been feline interference called there.
raven
That is killer!!!
Elizabelle
Love that cat video. Had a beagle that loved watching an aquarium.
raven
I just came from our benefits fair. What an awful job!
Chris
I am, for the first time in a while, translating a fairly long document from one language to another. And running it through Google Translate, then going through and correcting Google Translate, makes me feel like Miss Wormwood correcting Calvin’s homework. “Where the hell is he pulling this from?”
To Gene Roddenberry, who posited the plausibility of universal translators: you’re hilarious. But no.
ETA: that actually always required more suspension of disbelief for me than the warp drive, transporters, and time travel. I ain’t no scientist, but I have lived in multilingual environments, and… no.
jeffreyw
Bitsy was a fan of The Wire, but McNulty was not a fan of Bitsy. She was into nature programming, mostly.
Poopyman
@raven:
Yours, Mayhew’s, or the benefits weenies’?
The Moar You Know
My dog, of all things, LOVES Bubble Guppies. Think it’s the high-pitched kid voices. But he’ll watch it for hours.
Jerzy Russian
@Chris:
Hard to imagine how they manage to work even during the first meeting with a new species, and how they manage to make the aliens hear their own language when spoken to. Captain Kirk’s explanation of how they worked (in that episode where they met Zephren Cochran on that isolated planet) left a few holes here and there.
Chris
@Jerzy Russian:
I don’t think I’ve seen that episode, actually.
Yeah, I mean, I don’t believe in them even in cases where you have languages that have been exposed to each other for centuries and had many many dictionaries written translating from one to the other. Upon first contact with an entirely different species? Hell no.
Comrade Scrutinizer
@Jerzy Russian: @Chris: Sacrilege, you heathens.
Jerzy Russian
@Chris:
Spock modified the universal translator to talk to that cloud thingy, and Cochran asked how it works. Kirk then answered…
Comrade Scrutinizer
@Jerzy Russian: Gotta say, I liked the Zephram Cochrane from First Contact more than that prig in Metamorphosis.
Emma
@Chris: I keep updating it when I try to confirm a translation in Spanish or Portuguese — even French, which mine is minimal, but some of the things Google Translate provides are clearly, clearly wrong.
indycat32
My cat likes to watch tennis. When the ball disappears at the bottom of the screen she looks down at the floor to look for it.
Butch
We lost our Siamese sometime over night. He didn’t come down for breakfast and I finally found him under the bed. Not a good day.
Origuy
Google Translate doesn’t use dictionaries much. What they did was compare many documents that had been hand-translated by professional translators to build a database of equivalent sentences. They started with Canadian Parliament proceedings, since those are all in English and French. It works best when they have lots of direct translations, like English to Spanish, but breaks down when they have to use English as an intermediate translation, like Mandarin to Urdu.
MomSense
@Butch:
Oh no. I’m really sorry.
MomSense
@Chris:
I once saw an open mic comedian act where they created a jeopardy game that ran the answers from English through about 20 different languages on google translate and finally back to English before giving them to an audience member to try and come up with the correct question. It was actually very funny.
Amir Khalid
@Origuy:
I’ve found Google Translate also has trouble with things like German separable verbs, and with idioms that are common in the source language but not well-known elsewhere.
Major Major Major Major
@Origuy: @Chris: There’s a reason natural language processing is (one of) the holy grail(s) for AI researchers.
Shana
@Butch: Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. Hugs.
TaMara (HFG)
@Butch: Oh, I am so sorry.
WereBear
Of course:
Tristan Watches Television
And I’ve basically given the cats my old Chromebook:
Tristan has a new hobby
because with the approach of winter, that becomes the Magic Window.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Butch: Oh dear, I’m so sorry. We give these little creatures such big pieces of our hearts, and then they take them with them when they go. I hope you have lots of pictures and good memories.
Trentrunner
Since “experts” speculated that today would be the ideal day for Hillary & Co. to drop the oppo bomb on Trump…
…I guess we can conclude that that’s not happening?
WereBear
@Butch: I’m so sorry! Always a big loss.
Betty Cracker
@Butch: Damn, that sucks. Sorry.
TaMara (HFG)
@Chris: I often run recipes through the translator – the results are hilarious and probably not tasty. Luckily I’m good at inferring.
Shana
Someone with way too much time and/or money on their hands took a wonderful P.G. Wodehouse short story – The Great Sermon Handicap – and translated it into 57 different languages and then published the whole thing in 6 volumes. Languages include Latin, Catalan, Chaucerian middle English, Yiddish, Esperanto, Sanskrit, and Coptic.
I don’t speak much of anything but English, but I’m kind of a completist about stuff I like so I’ve thought about buying them from time to time but never do.
BTW,, we’re having the Wodehouse Society convention in DC next year, October 19-22. Should be fun.
Jeffro
I see that Issa, Cornyn, and other soulless GOP hacks are trying to walk back the “we’ll impeach Clinton the day she takes the oath of office” crap…not because they’ve had a change of heart, of course, but because – as Jen Rubin notes – it’s just about the dumbest thing you could say before the election. They’re just going to fire up Dems and Independents.
I’m sure the word went out from the RNC: “Tell ’em all to shut up until the 9th!”
Butch
To all of you who responded to me, thank you so much. Cozumel liked to ride around on my shoulder; he was just a few months shy of 18 years. At least we didn’t have to make the decision that all pet owners dread. We still have his brother, TomTom.
JPL
@Butch: Hugs. Sometimes there are no other words.
Brachiator
@Comrade Scrutinizer:
The BBC radio show and podcast “In Our Time” references the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is referenced in one of the best ever Trek:Next Generation episodes ever, “Darmok.” The premise of the episode is that Picard and crew encounter an alien species whose language is highly metaphoric, and cannot be acceptably rendered by the Universal Translator.
The Epic of Gilgamesh may be the oldest surviving great work of literature, and the closest thing to an intact version was lost for a time until tablets were discovered in 1853 near a place currently in the news, Mosul.
Major Major Major Major
@Trentrunner: I’ve suspected for a while that there’s no oppo bombs left.
@Butch: Sorry to hear that. Hang in there.
Alain the site fixer
@Butch: so sorry for you and your family. Losing a loved furry family member in such an unexpected manner is horrible! The only saving grace about suddenly losing my moms dear kitty two weeks ago was that it was quick and not days or months of wasting away and pain.
CaseyL
@Butch: That’s a very good age for a cat, particularly a boy cat. And I think you’re right – a quiet death at home has to be better for the kitty than being taken to the vet. Doesn’t make it hurt us less, though…. [[HUGS]]
Enhanced Voting Techinques
@Trentrunner: It’s not oppo bombs, Sam Wang pointed out the press gets bored with the current story about every Friday and looks for a way to flip the narrative. Sort of explains why Trump can be accused of child rape and nothing happens, the MSM isn’t hyping a Trump story then.
Jerzy Russian
@Brachiator:
I know it is supposed to be brain candy, but I had a lot of problems with that episode. For starters, if you speak in metaphors, you still need a language. If the only thing you do is refer to past events, how do you invent complex new things? And so on…
Major Major Major Major
@Jerzy Russian: Not to mention the ongoing debate about whether or not there are languages that don’t consist entirely of metaphors.
Mary G
@Butch: RIP Cozumel.
Miss Bianca
@Butch: oh, so sorry.
Gin & Tonic
So The Economist, unsurprisingly to regular readers, endorses HRC. Although they lead by pointing out Trump’s manifest unsuitability, they go on to endorse her on her own merits. For example:
…
Miss Bianca
@Gin & Tonic: Wow, amazing to get a scold from The Economist on Trumpian voters’ “unAmerican pessimism”! Normally it irritates me when Brits or Europeans start opining on American national habits or characteristics, but this time (perhaps since it happens to agree with my own prejudices), I am finding it bracing.
Amir Khalid
@Butch:
Sorry to hear about your Siamese. But he had what must have been a long and happy life with you, and as peaceful a death as one could hope for.Maybe there is comfort to be found in that.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
First year for MA early voting, but this is good. Dems have built a nice firewall in Clark County NV with early voting too, according to Jon Ralston.
Major Major Major Major
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: I read your tweet there and my first thought was ‘THE Michael McDonald?’ But alas, probably not.
trollhattan
@Butch:
Very sorry!
Gin & Tonic
@Miss Bianca:
I see what you did there.
Sandia Blanca
@Shana: That is the BEST Wodehouse story! Please provide details on that Wodehouse convention–would be fun to attend.
To Butch, condolences on the loss of your kitty.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
trollhattan
@Miss Bianca:
Speaking of Brits, the High Court threw a big sabot into the Brexit machinery.
FormerSwingVoter
So, I’ve been obsessively poll-watching all week, and am now kind of in complete freak-out mode. Anyone got something that will make me feel better?
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Major Major Major Major:
Probably not.
lamh36
ICYMI: Beyoncé performs on the CMA awards
i like that Beyoncé did this. How many country singers sing “versions” of other genre songs like it’s there own. Bey said nope i’ll do it.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@FormerSwingVoter:
Polls this week are garbage. I’ve read so many criticisms of the crosstabs, the overweighting of whites (by a lot), the too small Latino size (by a lot), and other serious criticisms. Ignore.
Major Major Major Major
Haven’t seen NR recently.
@trollhattan: I saw that but then I saw they said it was under appeal. I don’t know enough about their court system to know what level this is at?
trollhattan
@FormerSwingVoter:
Yes, but you risk a hangover tomorrow.
Amir Khalid
@trollhattan:
Which puts Parliamentary Tories and Labourites in a real jam. They know Brexit is crazy, they know Nigel Farage and his ilk deceived the country into voting for it. But they’re also afraid of the political cost of voting against it in Parliament, especially if a majority of their constituents are for it.
Hal
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: Did I not just read that AA voters were not turning out like they were in 2012? Maybe that was nationwide, but now I wonder if pollsters are thinking we aren’t going to support Hillary Clinton like Obama? I’m really starting to wonder if pollsters are over sampling older white men.
EDIT: I realize that AA vote total is as of now. On Election day is when we’ll see if there is a difference, but I’m hopeful.
Major Major Major Major
@Amir Khalid: why bother with representative democracy if you aren’t allowed to know better than your constituents?
Brachiator
@Jerzy Russian:
Shaka, when the walls fell.
Miss Bianca
@Gin & Tonic: I thought you might, clever internationalist creature that you are! ; )
@trollhattan: ooohh…cool!
so funny, I have dear friends and acquaintances on both sides of the Brexit thing over on Blighty’s shores…I have to be careful with the Brexiters, kind of like trying to stay loving to my Trump-voting relatives!
trollhattan
@Amir Khalid:
The rub may be while a slender majority voted for exit now that reality has hit the majority may perhaps now in the remain camp (“oopsie, do-overs?”). If the court ruling holds and the vote is held in Parliament, will former remain voters switch sides to protect their seats? Will such a vote trigger an election? This is more interesting than Donald Trump! Another possibility is the pound has taken such a…pounding that other influences will perhaps come into play.
Shana
@Sandia Blanca: You can go to the Society’s web site: wodehouse.org and look for the info about the convention. I’m tasked with trying to find a politician who might be interested in giving a short talk. I’m waiting until after next week to try and track someone down as I’m sure they’re all pretty busy right now.
It’s always a fun weekend, full of people with good senses of humor. There’s a costume contest at Saturday evening’s banquet although sadly we’ve had to discontinue the bread roll throwing after a woman got a glass of red wine knocked over onto her dress several years ago.
ETA: Wodehouse is just about the perfect escape reading for those of us ODing on politics and looking for something to take our minds off it.
FlipYrWhig
@Hal:
I think I read that that was a misinterpretation: from what I saw (was it Dana Houle?), African American voters are turning out in _greater_ numbers, but early voting in all demographics is up enough that the composition of the mass of early voters is less African-American than last time around. So if you look at the percentage of the early vote that is black, you’ll see a lower number, but that’s not the same thing as lower turnout or evidence of lack of enthusiasm on their part. Political reporters get confused about this sort of thing A LOT.
trollhattan
A friend’s 13 Y.O. son has the gift of blarney; this is his Trumpian Halloween rant:
“No one, and I mean no one on the planet, not a single person on the entire globe of Earth…no one knows Halloween like I do, okay? Not the little kids, not the parents, not the old people…not the candy givers or the candy takers…no one. Not even real ghosts and goblins…I know more than the spirits about this holiday. I also know more than the Mexicans about Day of the Dead…And I’m going to fix every single thing that is wrong with this holiday. Trust me. Kids with no costume who want candy are going to jail, for a very, very long, long time. And anyone confusing Day of the Dead with the great American Halloween holiday are going to be exported back to Mexico…forever. Hasta la vista time. There’s your treat…”
GrandJury
@Hal: Pollsters have reputations to maintain. So it is in their best interest to try be accurate.
Except for propaganda outfits like Rasmussen of course.
Brachiator
@Hal:
It’s relatively easy to get an idea of the turnout in various communities, including absentee ballot vote totals..
Shell
Turning on any of the news stations today , thats all you hear.
And…how many different ways can you say “The race is tightening,”
MomSense
@Enhanced Voting Techinques:
I was going to say that there was a child rape bombshell on Wednesday and nothing. It was worse than nothing because the accuser was bullied out of giving her press conference. Child rape. Have we ever seen such a failure of institutions to vet a potential POTUS??
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@FlipYrWhig:
That’s why Propane Jane is so valuable to read, especially this cycle. She’s front paging at Kos now. The black media and spanish language media is invisible to political reporters, and that media does NOT do both sidesing – shocking, I know.
Peale
@Hal: If our voters answer the screener with items like “I don’t know. I guess I might show up if the lines aren’t too long.” While Republicans answer “He’ll yes. I’m definitely going to be there!” the composition looks like a lot of our voters are disappearing.
Miss Bianca
@FlipYrWhig: Dare I ask whether you got NimRod to understand this distinction? I keed, I keed…
Gin & Tonic
@Miss Bianca:
Skating pretty close to “rootless cosmopolitan” there.
Mary G
Grandparents reacting to Cubs finally winning the WS. Love the 32-year-old can of Coors Beer kept unopened until the curse was finally broken.
dexwood
@Butch:
Nope, not a good day. I’ll bet, though, Cozumel had countless good days with you. I’m sorry for your loss.
SiubhanDuinne
@Shana:
If it’s appropriate, you might also think about asking someone from the British Embassy. I’ll bet they’ve got lots of Wodehouseans on their staff.
Miss Bianca
@trollhattan: OUCH, funny! That kid has a career in comedy ahead of him…
@Gin & Tonic: Oh, are you that, too? Should I just refer to you as “G & T, RC” from now on?
NickM
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: Thank you for this. I needed it!
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@NickM:
Propane Jane
Roger Moore
@Hal:
IIRC, that was specifically in North Carolina, where the laws have been changed specifically to make it harder for African Americans to vote early. So yes, in places where the number of early voting days has been slashed, the level of early voting has dropped. Quelle surprise.
manyakitty
@Butch: Oh, no. I’m so sorry. That’s a tough way to start the day.
Shana
@SiubhanDuinne: Good idea. Thanks.