The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by R.M. Koske:

#402, Dave Bell -

Has it really been that long? Time flies when it is someone else wearing the cast, apparently.

I'm glad to hear about your progress - congratulations on the loss of that extra plaster!

#354 - Dave Bell -

The equivalent show* in the US is called "Dancing with the Stars" and I enjoyed the first season immensely.** I recall watching Evander Holyfield (a boxer) on his last episode early in season one, and while he didn't do well technically, he was *beaming*. I was so happy to see him enjoying the process and felt like he was likely a bigger winner than many of those who stayed on longer.

*I think, anyway.

**My tv watching dropped and I haven't seen any of the more recent seasons. I can't say if the show has changed since or not.

#339, KeithS -

I think I was in my twenties before I'd even heard of it as a phenomenon, so I don't believe it happens to anyone in my family.

It's so weird what turns out to be genetic, eh?

#304, Serge -

It is a smidge extravagant for a first date, but he is a Wulfenbach, after all. I'm sure he's got great plans for the second date, no worries.

(The advantage of crazy castles is that no matter how much Castle Heterodyne likes the idea, it can't go out and do it without him.)

It appears that the Castle Heterodyne isn't exactly a reliable narrator.

I love crazy castles.

#193, Stefan Jones -

Ooh! (Although Hobbes' expression has a hint of wistfulness that makes me sad, in spite of Calvin's cheeriness.)

#205, Xopher - Win. Absolute win.

#212 - Wesley - I prefer the standard reading of the strip because I like the sweetness of it but I can see why you like the creepy version, and I'd be right there to read this if it were fleshed out into a story. It too is wonderful, in a completely different way.

Oh dear. No, abi, I didn't check the view all by, for the same reason that I probably didn't read the post with sufficient understanding - it's a busy, busy day in the middle of a busy, busy week at work and I'm using ML for my five-minute sanity breaks. That's not a good reason, but it is the only one I have.

I do remember that story and found it chilling (and I was very glad that LLA had the fortitude to report the troubles up the chain of command.)

Please, LLA, chalk my question up to insufficient care in reading on my part, and forgive me.

Is there a name for the tactics in LLA's #248 & #256? I feel like I'm being manipulated and I really don't like it at all.

The pings for me are the emphasis on how white LLA is (I don't see why it matters to the argument), the long & careful explanation of why people might attack Jews as a result of the current crisis (it smacks of suggesting it instead of trying to stave it off), and the absolute and utter refusal to discuss the whole thing. (If you don't want to talk about it, why are you bothering us?)

Is it just me that finds it icky and weird? Was I supposed to ignore LLA and hope they go away?

#470, Steve C -

"Mutants with dull abilities" was part of the premise of Mur Lafferty's novel Playing for Keeps. The main character's power was that anything she had, she kept. (In other words, she couldn't lose or have it stolen. Discarding things was okay.)

Among the other powers in the story were the ability to carry a full bar tray and never drop it, and the ability to know and cook exactly what someone wanted at that moment, to perfection.

#262, Rob Rusick -
What you're remembering is what I had in high school and college too, going on twenty years ago.

#264, janetl -

Ouch, yeah, that's an ugly one all right. It quite likely would have worked on me, and rightly so. I wasn't cut out to be a musician and washed out after a year.

Though I think I'd have harbored hope if I'd failed because of such an unreasonable scale. As it is, I know I really gave it my best effort and it wasn't good enough, and I'm fine with it.

#268 - abi -

Hm. I'll have to tell my friend that. She made an 89 on the test in question, so she had the feeling that the marking was typical, the test relatively easy, and the curve astoundingly forgiving. But if she did well on a test that was actually quite hard, that's different.

Thanks all.

A friend of mine just emailed me, frustrated about a college class she's taking. Specifically, she's upset about the curve:

To obtain your letter grade for test 1, apply it to the curve below.

72 and above - A
71 - 60 - B
59 - 47 - C
46 - 36 - D
35 and below - F

This is for a test where they were given all the questions beforehand. Her grades are considerably above a 72, and she's frustrated that her efforts are being wasted.

None of my classes ever had a curve. Is this at all typical? I had the impression from TV* that curves were based in part on the performance of the best students. This...yeesh.

*TV's always right, after all. Right?

Marilee! Huzzah!

#128, pm215 and #34, Lee -

Thanks for the estimate, Lee. A half-hour commute would be okay with me I think.

I'm seriously considering cycling, but I have "seriously considered" it every spring for the past three years and chickened out every time. I've got a new route to work, and now I could be a real chicken and ride on the sidewalk the whole way if necessary*, so it is back on the table.

*There are huge issues here - in theory riding knowledgeably in traffic is safer than on the sidewalk, but I haven't been convinced of it. I'm aware that riding on the sidewalk is Bad, I just can't get it out of my head that bikes+cars = death or Grievous Bodily Injury.

#113, Eric & #124, Lexica -

Okay, thanks. Even though I think I'm capable of walking that far, an hour-long commute is just a bit much for me.

The route Google maps is suggesting isn't terrible - it's through a fairly nicely landscaped series of office parks, with a sidewalk the whole way. The general pleasantness of the settings is one of the things that made me think about trying it. The worst part is that you have to cross a LARGE (8+ lanes? I haven't counted) street. The shorter route crosses it less than a quarter mile from an intersection with two major interstate onramps and Google maps will *not* map a walking route that crosses there. It insists that you cross a further along, perhaps another quarter mile. I didn't think the intersection was that bad, so I'll be looking more carefully on the way home today.

#545 - Neil -

Slightly related to that, why is there at least one, and sometimes many, many more pupils who turn up without a pen to every class? And why don't they borrow spares from their friends, rather than expect adults to produce them?

Because borrowing a pen from a friend uses whuffie*, while the teacher will lend without cost because it is a necessary learning tool?

I suspect if the query to borrow were answered by a loud call of "Can anyone lend [student's name] a pen?" the problem would slow way down.

*For loose definitions of "friend." Real friends likely wouldn't notice a one-off forgetting.**

**What, you were expecting an explanation of whuffie? Look here.

#82, john petrison -

Ooh, my husband will be thrilled to learn of a new variant of chess. Thank you! (And thank you, too, for posting on this thread at all. I wasn't reading this blog back when the thread was new, so there may be lots of fun stuff here for my husband and me. I wouldn't have found it without your post.)

#107 - Lexica -

Can I ask how long it takes you generally to walk 2 miles? What do you think of 3 1/2 (the length of my new commute)? Google maps thinks it will take me an hour and a half to do it, and thinks the biggest road I'll have to cross is impassible on the short route. It wants to send me an extra half-mile or more out of my way to cross at a different intersection. I'm squinting at it and trying to decide if I'll try it. I'm also starting to watch traffic and wonder if I'd get killed bicycling this route. I really would love a fresh-air-and-exercise commute, but I'm a coward. (Thanks for your post, Russell Letson.)

(I suppose I could set out on a weekend and walk toward work, going half the distance my energy allows, and see how far I get and how long it takes...)

My neighborhood gets fifty-something, with the sorts of problems mentioned by others (closed restaurants and wholesalers listed as shops.)

Excellent. Thanks! (And now I feel dumb for not realizing that "edit" under the item's marker on Google Maps was the answer.)

I don't see any links for that, Jim - what should I be looking for?

Someone donating vowels to the disemvowelled?

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