Domain: reference.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to reference.com.
Comments · 9,372
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Re:Bush's Pronounciation is In The DictionaryI said dictionaries on my shelf. dictionary.reference.com is not on my shelf. They still make actual books, you know. And nowhere can I find that metathesis gives us a valid pronunciation, only that it happens. What is the difference? It's just a word. How can a pronunciation be valid or invalid, if not through usage? Please don't tell me you say, "i-ron".
For fun, I used your dictionary.reference.com to look up both nuclear and tomato. The pronunciation guides list noo-klee-er/noo-kyuh-ler the same way as tuh-mey-toh/tuh-mah-toh.
Looks to me like you say noo-klee-er, I say noo-kyuh-ler is on equal footing with you say tuh-mey-toh, I say tuh-mah-toh.
Cheers! -
Re:Bush's Pronounciation is In The DictionaryI said dictionaries on my shelf. dictionary.reference.com is not on my shelf. They still make actual books, you know. And nowhere can I find that metathesis gives us a valid pronunciation, only that it happens. What is the difference? It's just a word. How can a pronunciation be valid or invalid, if not through usage? Please don't tell me you say, "i-ron".
For fun, I used your dictionary.reference.com to look up both nuclear and tomato. The pronunciation guides list noo-klee-er/noo-kyuh-ler the same way as tuh-mey-toh/tuh-mah-toh.
Looks to me like you say noo-klee-er, I say noo-kyuh-ler is on equal footing with you say tuh-mey-toh, I say tuh-mah-toh.
Cheers! -
Re:Bush's Pronounciation is In The Dictionary
I assume you've only got 1, then.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nuclear
Only 1 of those lists the metathesis pronunciation. And nowhere can I find that metathesis gives us a valid pronunciation, only that it happens. If some ignorant fool decides to pronounce 'carpal tunnel' as 'capral tunnel', that doesn't mean he's correct simply because there's a word for it.
Stop trying to excuse ignorance and stupidity and try to learn something instead. -
Re:Have there been any studies?
Example, take someone who has passed the mental exams and shows NO tendency towards obsessive/compulsive behaviours and then DEMONSTRATE that such a person can become addicted to video games after X hours of playing.
Studies have been done, yes. My wife has particpated in such studies, in fact.I'm still not buying it. I've played video games and I have no problem leaving them.
You sound like any drug addict or alcoholic: "I can quit any time I want." One of the signs of addiction is denial.ust because someone can become "addicted" to something does NOT mean that it is addictive
Let's look up the word addictive, shall we?addictive (-dk'tv) Pronunciation Key
adj.
1. Causing or tending to cause addiction: an addictive substance.
2. Characterized by or susceptible to addiction: an addictive personality.
(addictive. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved June 25, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/addictive)
The first definition is the one of interest: 'causing or tending to cause addiction'. So yes, just because someone can become addicted to an object (in this case, playing video games), yes, it does necessarily mean that that object is addictive. -
Re:Don't hold your breathThere's no 'surely' about it. Stop spreading misinformation. Since you're being a bit pedantic here, check out definition no. 3 for the word, surely. Language has moved on from your Fowler-centric viewpoint, and there's surely nothing wrong with the original poster using surely in that context
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Re:limitations of the GPL ..
Something that prevents you from doing something is a limitation.
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Re:The list
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Re:dear execs
Really? Are you telling me that you don't speak and/or write in an unsatisfactory, inadequate, or unskilled manner?
Q.E.D. That's Latin for "pwned you, luser!" or something. -
Conventional vs. legal definition of monopoly
There appears to be a misunderstanding of the dictionary definition of the term "monopoly" ( http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/monopoly ), which, to paraphrase is "Exclusive control by one group of the means of producing or selling a commodity or service." By this definition of the term "monopoly" it means that there no alternatives to a product or service to choose from.
This is compared against the legal definition of "monopoly" under the Sherman Act - which, to simplify is "a monopoly is where nearly all of one product type or service is owned by one person or group of people within a community or area." ( http://business-law.freeadvice.com/trade_regulatio n/monopoly_power.htm ).
You are saying that you have alternatives to Windows, so they don't have a monopoly - which is correct in the conventional, non-legal sense. But under the defintion of monopoly power based on the more recent interpretations of the Sherman Act, the fact that "nearly all" of desktop computers run Microsoft Windows means that Microsoft has monopoly power over the computer desktop market. -
Re:So?
Here is a page of various definitions. GP kinda nailed it.
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Re:Remember, guys"Before you place too much stock in the supposed evidence that was in Fahrenheit 9/11 you really should take the time to read Fifty-nine Deceits in Fahrenheit 9/11. A large part of that movie was a complete misrepresentation of fact, so much so that I wouldn't have faith in anything that Michael Moore puts out."
You may not be able to read, but he was talking about he, the OP said "I've seen concerted efforts to discredit Moore, and they always hinge on a different interpretation of the facts, not catching him in an outright falsehood"
And that's the site you link to, its not called lies - because there are no lies. Its called "Deceits" because if you are stupid enough you might have felt "deceived" (strangly enough its mostly americans who don't seem to get it). I remember people were looking at those so called 50 deciets and all of it is just anohter point of view and spin Quotes from the linked site:
We can divide the film into three major parts. The first part (Bush, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan) is so permeated with lies that most of the scenes amount to lies.
Other scenes in the third part--such as Iraqi casualties, interviews with American soldiers, and the material on bereaved mother Lila Lipscomb--are not blatant lies; but the information presented is so extremely one-sided [...] that the overall picture of the Iraq War is false. ...such as when Moore chops a Condoleezza Rice quote to make her say something when she actually said the opposite.
To use lies and frauds to manipulate people is contrary to the very essence of democracy, which requires people to make rational decisions based on truthful information. It's wrong when a President lies. It's wrong when a talk radio host lies. And it's wrong when a film-maker lies.
The author of that website, I believe, would disagree with your assessment of a lack of lies in the movie. I might as well, depending on how one defines a lie. -
marketshare: Windows Mobile 5.6%, Symbian 70%
The share of the market which belongs to Windows Mobile is actually quite small, particularly compared to Symbian's industry dominating share upwards of 70%. It turns out that most people (well, all people with a margin of error of only 5.6%) don't seem to be obsessed with obscure Windows Mobile "business" features that are hard to set up and expensive to maintain (Exchange Server integration), on phones that don't work all that well. Here are some interesting articles on the market share of cell phone platforms.
Apple iPhone to exceed Windows Mobile by 2008?
Smartphone
Symbian tops Smartphone OSes, but challenges loom
Linux trounces Windows Mobile in Smartphone shipments
Smartphone market share
Your discussion of killer apps on phones seems ingenuous. Random access to voicemail, real web browsing, and an easy to use Google maps function all three appear to be of great interest to non-geek folk interested in the iPhone. Several business people who are heavy cell phone users have told me, without prompting, that the random access voicemail feature alone will spur them to buy an iPhone. Salespeople are really jazzed about all three features, including the Google Maps. They have maps and web browsing on their smart phones today, but they are not happy with the non-ease of use of current devices. And they get lots and lots of voicemail, and they've known for years that they wanted random access to it. Exhange Server integration, well, it never comes up in the discussion until a geek ask about it. Nobody (a number of people approaching zero with a margin of error of 5.6%) cares about Exchange Server integration with their phone.
Your use of the term "fanboy" is technically incorrect. The parent post relies almost entirely on hypotheticals to elucidate a point regarding possible reasoning behind Apple's Safari for Windows move. Furthermore, calling the parent a "fanboy" is an ad hominem logical fallacy. Please endeavor to raise the level of discussion here, and avoid cheap shots. If you don't have a point to make, read and think more before you post. If you do have a poitn to make, don't undermine your credibility by including ad hominem attacks with your argument. Although there are those here who reward such childish behavior with mod points, there are people here who mod down for inappropriate use of the term "fanboy". -
Re:My First ever First Post
No, they are not torture or genocide. Genocide is the "deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group". Animals are neither national, racial, political, or cultural, unless we identify them as such, and we have a word for that - it's called "personalization". In order to have a national, racial, political, or cultural identity, you have to be aware of that identity, and, at least beyond a basic pack identity in certain animals, they're not. Besides, the animals as a group aren't being exterminated; if they were, those slaughterhouses would close pretty quick. Torture? Nah - we're not doing it to be cruel, for punishment, or for information. We're just being efficient. If it was more efficient to be nicer, we would be. Heck, "free range" is getting quite popular and profitable - expect to see more of it.
Animals are food. We kill them and eat them. This idea that we need to treat them nicely before we kill them seems a little odd, considering how the end result is always the same. I agree that killing animals needlessly is wrong - it's wasteful, if nothing else. I also don't want to unduly stress them - it ruins the meat. This is why I don't mind getting my food from factories; they're efficient, they're usually cleaner than the wide outdoors (mad cow notwithstanding), and, when you're doing a factory farm, you're using a lot less land to produce the same amount of meat, which saves more room for other things. -
Re:So was he really guilty?
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Re:Consensus is not factPlease refer to a dictionary for the definition of "consensus". If you do not have one you can view one online here http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/consensus
The first definition reads, "majority of opinion". It is not ALL of the opinion or even fact for that matter. It is just that, opinion, or more accurately scientific theory.
Another definition on the same page reads, "An opinion or position reached by a group as a whole". By this definition a scientific consensus has not been reached. These guys need desperately to get a grip on how science works. You need a better grip of the definition of "consensus". -
Re:dry powder explanation doesn't work
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=silt
While the grains making up the silt can be produced by mechanical weathering, its deposition is generally understood to involve water. -
Re:Afican States?http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/state
7. a politically unified people occupying a definite territory; nation. -
Re:Datacenter????Sure it is, check here or here or here or here.
Also, by the link you provided, some of the criteria for a datacenter include To prevent single points of failure, all elements of the electrical systems, including backup system, are typically fully duplicated, and critical servers are connected to both the "A-side" and "B-side" power feeds. which doesn't appear in the description of the facility listed in the article. -
Re:Or...The absence of selfishness != altruism...
From thesaurus.reference.com:Main Entry: altruistic
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: unselfish -
Re:What a Power Trip!
When a public citizen on public land is told to turn off her or his camera, it is called cohesion
Yup. When a cop tells you to turn off your camera, it's a sticky situation.
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splitting hairs
Most of the mentioned "bad guys" have a generally negative connotation to them. If you really want to get nitpicky, go look up bad or seedy in the dictionary and see how broadly you can define it.
Honestly, with some of the comments you'd think someone's livelihood was being threatened. As if there was a great disturbance in the pron, and a million voices suddenly cried out in terror, "ZOMG not my pron!1!11" -
splitting hairs
Most of the mentioned "bad guys" have a generally negative connotation to them. If you really want to get nitpicky, go look up bad or seedy in the dictionary and see how broadly you can define it.
Honestly, with some of the comments you'd think someone's livelihood was being threatened. As if there was a great disturbance in the pron, and a million voices suddenly cried out in terror, "ZOMG not my pron!1!11" -
Re:They Forgot One!11. The system of claim 1 wherein said geographical search area is a provence. Due to a typo in the patent application, this should only apply to Southeastern France
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Re:Help us serve you better
Actually, the term "steal" is defined by several sources to mean appropriating anything without the right to do so (ref here (2) and here (t.v. 1a)).
Since US copyright law clearly states that only the person holding a copyright for artistic works can assign distribution rights for the same, it is quite obvious that under these definitions (which reflect common use) copyright infringement is, in fact, stealing (a word that also includes "larceny" which does mean physical deprivation of the item that is stolen).
No matter how much you wish the word to not mean what it means, it simply does not make it true and you aren't going to convince the average person otherwise. Just like no matter how often you insist that "pussy" means only "domesticated feline animal" and never "vagina", most people will remain unconvinced. -
Re:Couldn't be more ranty, or wrong
It's not hand-waving and rationalization, it's a matter of definitions.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/theft
"1. the act of stealing; the wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal goods or property of another; larceny.
2. an instance of this.
3. Archaic. something stolen."
"wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal goods or property of another"
That implies that you must remove an item from it's lawful possessor for it to be theft.
What you're referring to is actually called copyright infringement. I'm not arguing whether it's moral or not, I'm simply trying to prevent the common trend to mislead people by framing the discussion as if we were talking about "theft", which is simply not true. If it were actually theft then it would be handled as larceny, not under it's own set of statutes. -
Re:Uncompressed Codecs
No, CODEC stands for "coder/decoder", of which de/compression is only one kind of encoding.
As the article said, as I said, as the TMDS article to which I linked said. -
Re:Help me out
That was a hole in version 5. Please try again. The question was: "Have there been any since version 5?"
Since, definition 1: "from then till now (often prec. by ever): He was elected in 1978 and has been president ever since." Dictionary.com FTW!
Perhaps you should learn to speak English before you criticize mine. I answered the question asked.
The word you people want is "after", not "since". As my friend Tom says, correct me if I'm wrong, but be damned sure I'm wrong.
Thank you, please drive through.
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You mean
Cue anti-religious
/. comments...... NOW.
Unless you mean to arrange them in sequence, so that they can await processing.
By your poor grammar and lack of spelling knowledge, I must assume that you are a religious person, as non-thinkers tend to be. -
You mean
Cue anti-religious
/. comments...... NOW.
Unless you mean to arrange them in sequence, so that they can await processing.
By your poor grammar and lack of spelling knowledge, I must assume that you are a religious person, as non-thinkers tend to be. -
Re:The were going to use Reiser
I cannot find this word "licanse" in the dictionary. What are you talking about?
To grant authoritative permission or license to. That definition seems to fit. -
Re:She should lose her teaching license
1) Name-calling to support your argument indicates you obviously aren't well educated yourself.
2) Actually, the definition of pornography includes the word "obscene". Again, I question your own education.
3) A large portion of the world population does not think its appropriate for children to view obscene images.
4) The poorest education system in the world?!? Give me a break! I suppose child soldiers in Africa, and enslaved children working as camel jockeys in Yemen have a better education than the people who made it to the moon first?
I apologize for feeding the trolls... -
Re:Portuguese Word
Doesn't also mean "a sight or view" in English?
vista -noun
From Dictionary.com: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=vista
1. a view or prospect, esp. one seen through a long, narrow avenue or passage, as between rows of trees or houses.
2. such an avenue or passage, esp. when formally planned.
3. a far-reaching mental view: vistas of the future. -
Re:SHILL ALERT!
You say: "Ad Hominem is about using unrelated aspects to discredit the messanger rather than looking at the message dispassionately. Once it is known that the messanger's unterior motives cause him to dissemble, one is simply clearing the air by disregarding him."
The dictionary says:
ad hominem
--adjective- appealing to one's prejudices, emotions, or special interests rather than to one's intellect or reason.
- attacking an opponent's character rather than answering his argument.
Should we say, then, that you "lied" about the definition of "ad hominem"? And that therefore whatever you say should be "disregarded"? Do you think that would be fair? Or would it be more fair to simply dispute with you on the facts actually relevant to the subject under discussion, using well-accepted principles of reason and logic? Don't be hypocritcal in your response. Apply the same principles to both yourself and Milloy.
You say: "Note that you have engaged in a strawman: you generalize that this treatment is general while it is not. There is one particular instance of a liar under discussion. And, he is not a researcher since he is not after truth. You are rationalizing rather than participating in reason."
Your assertion that Milloy is the only issue would be more credible if you deigned to address the other references. Perhaps Milloy isn't after the truth. I don't know the man. However, the evidence he cites is publicly-verifiable information, and/or is information/evidence/reasoning actually originally produced by others (who presumably are not also being charged with dishonesty.) Just because someone has lied in the past (and who hasn't?) is not sufficient reason to "disregard" what he says, provided his assertions are independently verifiable.
But forget Milloy and whatever he says. He's not the issue. What about the other references?
And if it's dishonesty you want to focus on, focus on this: The hurricane expert who stood up to UN junk science. That article makes it quite clear there is plenty of irrational, emotional, politically-motivated and....dishonest decisions being made about Anthropogenic Global Warming by many of those who accept the hypothesis. Should we throw out the hypothesis for this reason alone? If not, then the same applies to the "deniers" (a term which should clue you in that there is way too much emotion, and not enough reason, in this debate.)
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Re:The "Independant"?
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Re:Is it their property
From dictionary.com
transcribe
1. to make a written copy, esp. a typewritten copy, of (dictated material, notes taken during a lecture, or other spoken material).
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/transcribe
If you're good at transcribing, then by definition, it is a copy. Making copies is protected by copyright, that's why it's called a "copy-right".
In other words, it's not yours and it's not an "original work" -
Re:Dictionary definition of forensicsYou may have a fancier dictionary to cite than me, but what you're citing is pretty clearly the(or rather, a) definition of forensic, the adjective. Look a bit further down the page and you will probably find forensics, the noun.
Dictionary.com's version of the American Heritage Dictionary(second block on the page) provides two definitions for this noun, the second of which is clearly the one referenced here—in fact, I'd guess the journalist's phrase is a rewrite of this very definition: 1. The art or study of formal debate; argumentation.
2. The use of science and technology to investigate and establish facts in criminal or civil courts of law. I don't know your particular dictionary, but many dictionaries contain a grammar section. Perhaps your time would be better spent learning new and exciting things about parts of speech than picking on rhetorical, and correct, uses of dictionary definitions? -
Re:Please check your errors.
OK, I see, we have a terminology disconnect.
I was using definition 11 of handle and I think you're using definition 9. Some languages have specific constructs called 'handlers' but they don't have to actually handle anything if you don't tell them to.
Perhaps the java 'catch' terminology is more precise then (though it's more definition 11 than definition 18 of catch). -
Re:Please check your errors.
OK, I see, we have a terminology disconnect.
I was using definition 11 of handle and I think you're using definition 9. Some languages have specific constructs called 'handlers' but they don't have to actually handle anything if you don't tell them to.
Perhaps the java 'catch' terminology is more precise then (though it's more definition 11 than definition 18 of catch). -
Re:Fark: cancerous meme source of the net
Since you didn't reply to any specific comment, how are we gullible slashdot readers supposed to know which comments about Fark are full of crap and which actually reflect reality? Will you be pointing those out for us and making corrections or are you just here to mention where you work and cast aspersions on everyone's intelligence (slashdot posters AND readers)?
You'll get over it. -
Re:Steampunk = trendy tard-speak
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=steampun
k Definition: a genre of science fiction set in Victorian times when steam was the main source of machine power; also written [steam-punk] I would have thought Webster's would count as a standard dictionary? Besides, if we wanted to get into etymology, does not the suffix 'punk' suffer from being trendy tard-speak too? -
It WAS the dark side of the moon
From dictionary.com, dark can mean "hidden; secret."
Until the space age, that's exactly what the non-Earth-facing side of the moon was: hidden from view.
I admit it is a bit confusing when any given part of what was once the "dark side of the moon" spends half of each orbit in bright sunlight. -
Re:Theme Park
It being America... I wonder if someone is gonna try to sue 'em for false advertising. It isn't really a museum... if you look-up the definition.
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Don't "ween" youself off of soda. Just stop.
Don't waste your time weaning yourself off of soft drinks. Just stop drinking them immediately. You'll probably have cravings for a week. But suck it up. When you feel that you need to drink a Pepsi, drink some water instead. Normal water, not soda water or any of that jacked up shit. Go take a walk if you still have cravings. But to wean yourself will just make it so much easier for you to relapse.
On, and the correct word is wean. The word ween doesn't mean what you think it does. And beyond that, in many places "ween" is slang for a man's penis. -
Don't "ween" youself off of soda. Just stop.
Don't waste your time weaning yourself off of soft drinks. Just stop drinking them immediately. You'll probably have cravings for a week. But suck it up. When you feel that you need to drink a Pepsi, drink some water instead. Normal water, not soda water or any of that jacked up shit. Go take a walk if you still have cravings. But to wean yourself will just make it so much easier for you to relapse.
On, and the correct word is wean. The word ween doesn't mean what you think it does. And beyond that, in many places "ween" is slang for a man's penis. -
Re:Actually...
>Indeed! and what about the cruelty of subjecting the poor infants to vaccination without their consent?!..
Since when did vaccination make parts of your body fall off? You might benefit from a dictionary definition of mutilation. I say might because there's a good chance you'll decide to ignore it anyways. -
"controul"
*Note to the pedantic. The word "controul" is a misspelling that's in the original document. Yes, the US Constitution, the Supreme Law of our Land, has misspellings.
Actually it is a correct spelling. Like other spellings used, controul is an archaic spelling. Elsewhere "chuse" is used whereas now it's spelled as "choose".
Falcon -
Re:Well
condone (Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
-verb (used with object), -doned, -doning.
- to disregard or overlook (something illegal, objectionable, or the like).
- to give tacit approval to: By his silence, he seemed to condone their behavior.
- to pardon or forgive (an offense); excuse.
- to cause the condonation of.
- Law. to forgive or act so as to imply forgiveness of (a violation of the marriage vow).
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Re:Fine: Define email
More of an archaism than a misspelling... You know, sometimes the spelling of various words can change over the course of a few hundred years. "Control" used to be spelled "Comptrol" and "Controul" as well as "Control". Hence the office of "comptroller". See http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/controul for my source.
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Re:Artistic?
He does actually use "mores" in a way that you're apparently unfamiliar with, a word which is synonymous with morals...
From http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=mores/
mores -plural noun
"folkways of central importance accepted without question and embodying the fundamental moral views of a group."
mores pl.n.
1. The accepted traditional customs and usages of a particular social group.
2. Moral attitudes.
3. Manners; ways. -
Re:Artistic?
You use "mores" when I think you mean "morals". Unless there's a definition of "mores" I'm unfamiliar with.
Sounds like there is a definition of "mores" you are unfamiliar with...
From www.dictionary.com:
American Heritage Dictionary
mores pl.n.
The accepted traditional customs and usages of a particular social group.
Moral attitudes.
Manners; ways.