...take forever to get to the point

yeah and its close friend ... take forever without getting to a point

hahaha hear hear!

Thanks Ruski!!!

How about when you are on the bus or train or whatever and the person next you is blaring their I Pod so loud that you can clearly hear not only the song but the lyrics perfectly.  I fear for their ears!

The Ipod doesn't bother me too much on the train, it's the people who bathe once a month whether they need to or not that annoy me.  And the disease spreaders, hacking and spitting and coughing up their lungs.  Guys, stay home and get well, don't make the rest of us sick.  SMH said that 20% of Sydney workers were crook with the flu.  No wonder.  City Rail = disease incubator.  Ugh.

don't they have windows on those things to ventilate?

I hate it when people start talking and then

I like to cook. I like to please when I do, so I always ask "how is it?" out of habit. Often offer to make something else. It pisses me off when, even I know I've hit a bum note, they then lie and say it's "lovely" or "marvelous" and other superlatives. They can't just say it's "OK"

Well, at least I'm honest that way....

I hate it when people make chomping noises when they eat usually associated with not keeping their lips together whilst chewing.  Mouth-Breathers!

@Arthur +1

Those people need to be executed. No trial, just shot a the dinner table.

yeah nothing like one of those mouth-breathers chewing away and then with one breath out comes most of the food in their mouths. gross!

Have a few...

• Not washing hands after being to the toilet
• Sneaks taking credit for other peoples work
• Stopping right in front of you on the shopping isle or the street to chat. Grrr
• Not filling the kettle when its empty

Man I could go on forever lol

Why boil a full kettle for one cup of water?

So that you can drink the rest when it cools down

Which brings me to my peeve - it annoys me when people don't empty the contents of the kettle into the water jug before boiling another batch

Still lost. Why drink cold water from the kettle?

Cos it's better than drinking unboiled tap water...

*nods earnestly*

Really? Has always been tap (or refrigerated tap in summer) for me. Do you screen the boiled water for floaties?

hahahahaha nah, I'm not that paranoid

Well you see, it started out this way - my sis and I used to be frequently ill when we were young, and a nurse cousin of ours adviced my mum to boil the tap water. Lo and behold, our overall health improved... So then it just became a habit. I still drink tap water if I'm not in my own home etc, not that big a deal...

oh I see now, do we really need to boil our water here in Sydney to drink?

no idea....

Why do two women who know each other (and it's only ever women) when passing each other, insist on having their catch-up conversations in shop doorways? And it's worse when it's mothers with prams or buggies.

Oh... don't get me started on that....

I don't know what ppl insist on having a chat behind my car just as I'm about to reverse out and leave.

And along those lines, why can't Parents Hold their Kids' Hands in the CarPARK?!!?!? Newsflash - its not a playground!

I always get very nervous when I a doing the cliff walk near my house which has no hand rails or anything and parents are just letting their small 3 to 6 years run around like crazy.  It is called a cliff walk for a reason, there are cliffs there for them to fall off into the Pacific!!!

What about when you buy products from a city convenience (aus) only to find the prices have been marked up 200%, then when you go to pay there is some gypsy shouting down the phone throwing your change at you - i swear this happens 80% of the time i am in there.

btw, its nice to get all these off my chest - i am happy as larry usually

hey everyone needs to vent buddy, I think that is the purpose of this topic

Clay.... I've made it a point not to buy anything from those shops....

And I avoid the 'convenience' shops near my house too (in the 'burbs).... crazily marked up prices

Sounds like a plan - they take the piss

yeah they play on being so convenient that you are willing to pay 3x the amount for TP.  I will walk the extra 50meters thank you

i wouldnt mind too much if you got friendly service but.

NB love the way aussies put 'but' at the end of sentences

Hah!

My pet peeve - a 'but' at the end of a sentence

yeah I always want to yell "BUT WHAT!!!" my flat mate does it all the time!!!

But, but....

its all good but......

Is that the end of the sentence?

yes - lol

end it properly[.]

it is annoying but.

GAAAAH!!!

Stop it!!!

what about if you spotted a beautiful girl in a nightclub but she had a large behind, an aussie might say "She has a beautiful face, but a big butt, but."

Ahhh this topic is about annoying people not being annoying, I think I said that right

hehehe in which case, we can talk abt Clay and his buts!

yeah sorry....i'll stop now i promise

Yeah I totally hate it when someone brings up a annoying thing like "putting buts at the end of sents." and then keeps doing it himself

hahahahah

No worries Clay.... all in good fun

i only did it to wind you up Kaz - please forgive me

haha I know just all winded up from coffee and the fact that it is friday

i have an annoyance...  the train rides home at peak hour..(which generally lasts for 3 hrs itself).. the train, usually the lowest forms of society all rolled into one sardine can carriage. who often dont think it vital to shuffle a few inches to the right so someone who is desperate tryin to "Mind the Gap" and not fall to their death, can get on the train!

I'm sure Erik will be in to add his voice to the train haters crowd....

I used to take the trains, and yes, they aren't a pleasant experience at all.... AT ALL

I fully agree!! But hey the only thing that keeps me using public transport (besides not having a car) is the fact that in a small way I am doing my part to save the environment.  But I have switch to buses now that I have moved which is all the better since I get on at the beginning of the line and can grab a seat.

Try getting the train in London.....ergh!

Armpit City

I can top that.... try taking the trains in Bombay!

hahahaha

and God help you if someone drops an air biscuit

air biscuit? Does that refer to what I think it refers to?

yeah couldn't image a train to Bombay!  Must be very sweety

yeah I am wondering too

Air Biscuit = Fart

haha that is what I thought, I love that! New vocab word!

Biscuit?? Why biscuit?

haha everything Clay says is new vocab!!!!

AND i think it's been mentioned before.. but ipods. dont get me wrong there's no other fan of great music whilst crammed so much  have someone elbow in your tummy, and a great big mullet in your face.. but to hear ABBA blasting out of a 12 year olds earphones - who is quietly sitting on the seat bellow you while you smile and grab the 90-something year old woman standing in front of you trying to hold on as we all go round the rail corners. --- i think it should become a penalty by stoning for all those fat, arrogant buggers who dont get up for the elderly, pregnant or disabled on trains.

im yet to experience the london train experience.. give me a week and im sure i'll love it as much as you do Matt! haha

Ipods are annoying - period.

‘I hate to tell you this, but I’ve just launched an air biscuit’ for example

Had to clear that up - apologies for the toilet humour

never apologies for toilet humor on tangler

Oh with the Ipod thing, sound in moderation, especially for the youngens, worry for their poor ear drums!

music was made to be played LOUD!

well yes, but you should not impose that on unsuspecting bystanders that may not agree or care for said music.  Right?

"And I aint in it for the power
And I aint in it for my health
I aint in it for the glory of anything at all
And I sure aint in it for the wealth
But Im in it til its over
And I just cant stop
If you want to get it done, you have to do it yourself
And I like my music like I like my life
Everything louder than everything else
Everything louder than everything else
Everything louder than everything else
Everything louder than everything else
Everything louder than everything else
Everything louder than everything else"

-Meat Loaf

What annoys me the most is when people ask questions, that are stupid, and that they already know the answer to..

I agree..... Either they ask something innane, or they ask something to make conversation when they know I'm not in the mood, or they ask a question to 'act cute' (what I call it). For some reason they feign ignorance.... to get attention maybe. I don't know

By far one of the most disgusting and annoying things is people that Burp, hold it in, and blow it all over your face......

oh goodness I hope these are friends and not strangers!

How about those Jamster adverts with some kind of retarded animal singing in a highpitch voice?? People who download those things should be set on fire

Oh dear.... I just saw a new one too.... a jelly bean singing or something

nah its a gummi bear - sigh

oh yeah

*sighs with Clay*

double *sigh* with you all, that is not music!

For those who have no idea what we're on about:

Coming to a phone near you soon

noooo I want to just kick it!!!

... or bite its head off

This will always be the gummy bear song to me and much better then the above!

I hate people who say arks and not ask. The same people usually say pacific and not specific.

Unless they mean there was more than one Arc in the Pacific Ocean but I doubt it.

nuculear anyone?

lol - what about quite instead of quiet - grrrrr

see i'm common as muck thus i say 'baff' instead of 'bath' or 'barth' as posh people say it

I really get annoyed when somebody thinks its fun / funny to ruffle my hair (as in a colleague).

Damn it! don't touch me!

@dek/clay - In Texas, it's nukaler. In the south (US) you sometimes hear chirruns (children). I'm only annoyed when I hear heads of state say such things. Everyone else is ok. 

@ fredmedlin good because I am one of those crazy people who stuff like that (and get mocked in the Aussie office for saying ya all).

@nuclear- totally!!! I am such a personal space person!  Stay out of my personal bubble!!!!

haha, Kaz. That personal bubble thing is exactly what I mean!

really no one should come with in 2 to 3 ft. radius of me unless the really "know" me and if they really "know" me then they would know to give me my space

kaz^^ and I hate it when i'm standing in a shop or on the footpath, and someone walks by me like 2cm away. HELLO? You've got another 3 metres, why do you have to walk into me? Am I invisible? Or am I just "in your way"? So don't you DARE give me a foul look or nasty comment when I'm standing still and you're just too lazy to work out how to go around me.

Sorry. Finished my rant now.

I think it's already been said but people who stop in a shop doorway should be vapourised...

Morgan, I completely agree with you!!!

Arthur - people who get in my way in Woolies should be vapourised too.... can you help me?

Try the thread for "theoretical teleporting" there might be an idea or two on that.

I hate people who drive brand new shiny 4x4s down narrow country lanes, and refuse to pull over onto the verge to let you pass, because they might get it dirty.

I hate 4x4s period.... there's is no justification for em on regular roads

@ Dek I totally agree!  If you have one you best be working on a farm or towing something big!! Not just driving to work in the city!

Maybe they think towing kids around is enough justification

In London Mayor Ken Livingstone is about to bring in a GBP 25.00 / day tax for cars over a certain litre which ofcourse includes all 4 x 4s.

Yeah, I saw that....

Not sure taxing is the best policy, but hey, it's what the govt does best

What really cheeses me off is when you are reversing out from a park at the shops and you check all mirrors and there is no one in sight, then as you are half way out you see someone (or another car) slowly moving across your path. Are they blind?? can't they see your reverse lights are on and that you are moving?

Or people who stop to chat just as you reverse out....

*shaking head*

"You want fries/a drink with that"?  (if I wanted them, I would have bloody well asked for them) and yes I realise that the staff are instructed to say that and thats why I never say what is in the brackets above. (only think it)

You go into a shop and you select one item and take it to the checkout and the assistant says "that's two dollars fifty altogether thanks". (altogether with what? I am only buying one item) I'm gettin picky I know.

"that's two dollars fifty altogether thanks"

Hahaha, a personal favourite of mine too.

That one really bugs me.  I did once make an arse of myself by doing the "Altogether now Thats Three Pounds Seventy-Five!" chant after the assistant said, "thats £3.75 altogether", for one box of cigars  *the edit was to change £3.50 into £3.75...doh!*

HAHAHAHA

I'd have liked to see that!

I can't stand it when people talk really loudly to someone who doesn't understand their language, or is not fluent in it. Or the start talking like the person is somehow mentally deficient

Look, turning up the volume ain't gonna help. Speak clearly and think abt what you're saying! Remember, slang is not universal.

UGH

It annoys me that there are still people around who won't go abroad on holiday and their top two excuses are:-

- I'm not eating foreign muck!

- They don't even speak a bloody word of English!

They are the type of people I like to refer to as mouth breathers...

It annoys me that there still people who don't appreciate the value of holidaying in England and their top two excuses are;-

- I'm not eating that English muck!

- They don't even speak a bloody word of English!

It annoys me that there still people who don't appreciate the value of being smart and their top 2 excuses are:-

- "Shut up you stupid nerd"

and then they don't have a second reason because they only have one track inside their heads

If it was a musical track it would be a combination of rap and the sound of gears not engaging properly

I call these people mouth breathers

why mouth breathers S K?

Too dumb to close their mouths when they're breathing

and I took it from Arthur Dent's post 2 messages up

oh yes I  need to pay attention more  hope that doesn't make me a mouth breather

I hate it when you are talking about something with a person and you realize they have no idea what you are talking about but just keep nodding their head and smiling like they understand.  And when you call them out they completely lie about it and change the subject!  If you don't understand ask a question!!!!

I work in retail, and it always makes me laugh when i say to a customer "Thats $2.75 please" and they say "do you want the 75c?"..................."Yes, i do, or it will be $2 won't it, and thats not enough".

Thats also a Peter Kay gag for those familiar with him....

Peter Kay? Who is he?

an English Comedy Genius - you might be able to get him on DVD out here

I'll look him up, always love a good funny man:)

"Peter Kay" and "genius" aren't words I really associate with each other.

"fat", "stupid" and "prick" on the other hand...

Im currently sitting next to a person who has just jammed my friends phone into a computer f

*for no reason

hi im the aformentioned mental patient, and also the one who lost a phone to the computer

i am holding happy wanderer hostage so pay me £1,000,000 or i'll release him into the world again

I'd rather you released HappyWanderer!

Eat their own bogey.

well i was there with happy wanderer and its true he did lose his phone in side a PC

Did the pc survive?

Well it was a pc built by East German communists, so it was quite screwed up before the phone went in it.

Annoying things people do: Deleting posts mid conversation

Annoying things people do: Posting half written mes....

lol

Annoying things people do: answering something with only one word (and often barely a word at that) so I come and read it and feel like I've wasted the time spent on the page load

Wha..??

(Sorry, couldn't help it)

hehehehe Can't wait to use that!!

Colleagues taking photos or worse - FILMING you - when you are unaware.

.

@Alex: been in the bathroom lately?

- people making the "shh" sound

- people talking so loud i can hear them over my music (which is very loud)

going to hang out with some friends and all a few of them do is sit silently playing video games

I hear ya... never understood that

Talking to someone, and they start paying more attention to their phone then to me

playing single player mode, when they could be playing multi-play with me

eggactly!

Ahem, I sit silently playing video games by myself and it did me...well loads of mental pain and lost me many friends. Yep, its good to be into video games. I collect them you know.

I have a friend who gets veeeery immersed in a game he's playing. I once fell asleep on a bed behind him (games console being in my bedroom) and when I woke up he had barely moved and I don't know if he noticed the difference. So I went back to sleep.

Also not so good at remembering to hand over the control once in a while and let someone else play - tends to keep putting it off with "I'll just... <get to place, acquire item/vehicle, beat certain enemy> but then keeps finding something else to do afterwards

I remember those days.... Now I design and write games. (educational for work, fun arcade/action/rpg for personal)

It always amazes me when people play games or watch TV and switch off to the rest of the world.

I had a friend who'd be lost to the world the moment he set eyes on a tv set. There was no 'easing in'. The moment he looked at the moving pictures, he was lost to us.

To the point that we once kept yelling at him that we were leaving for dinner, and he didn't respond. We thought we was playing the fool, so we left and went for dinner. When we got back, he was still glued to the TV! A while after that, he looked up, looked at us and said - Hey, when are we going for dinner? I'm hungry

&@%@#!!

Talking to someone, and they start paying more attention to their phone then to me

I had a friend who'd be lost to the world the moment he set eyes on a tv set. There was no 'easing in'. The moment he looked at the moving pictures, he was lost to us.

Do you not notice a pattern here?

I know.... people are just so inconsiderate these days.... tsk tsk

Is it technology or is it inconsideration?

I think it is inconsideration.... you can't blame a phone for the way it is being used

OR........Is it dek?

I play EVE online, a mmorpg (when I have time) which is about once a week or on the weekends, depending on what projects I've got on... but I only limit my play time to an hour during the week, or 2 hours on the weekend (and when I say I limit it, I really mean my partner )... But during my game play time, I am 100% immersed into the game. The rest of my free time is spent being social with my partner and/or going out with friends.

When I was younger (school days and early uni days) I was a full time gamer, which is what got me into beta testing... but after beta testing and playing almost every game I can think of... I kind of got sick of it. I still have my Atari, Sega master system, Sega megadrive, Dreamcast, Game cube, Game boy, Play station, Play station 2,  PSP, Xbox, and PC with many emulators for consoles and pre win XP games.

But the only game I really still play and enjoy is EVE. I'm thinking of getting an XBox 360, but it would only be for Halo3 and Lost Planet, and possibly Bioshock, but I've been through the storyline of bioshock so not sure. Anything else has been done before and overdone. But that really depends on how this year ends, and how much time I have re work.

I have a friend who has already finished Halo3 on Hard in under 12 hours, so it would only be to try and beat his time, and play him on live.

for PC I will definitely be buying StarCraft 2 though, as well as Spore, when they come out (post 2008)

... But what I'm actually trying to say is...

You can actually be actively social and considerate of others and enjoy the benefits of entertainment and communication technology

Everything in moderation my friends!

You can actually be actively social and considerate of others and enjoy the benefits of entertainment and communication technology

Tell my son please.

Whatever happened to just playing around out side and building forts in your back yard with your friends, or bike riding till your legs feel like they are going to fall off?  Isn't reality better then fake games?

Apparently the only thing more important than getting the wizard key on level 2 is getting the dragon orb on level 6.

gibberish all of it, gibberish!

Sounded convincing though didn't it.

honestly went in one ear and out the other

Whatever happened to just playing around out side and building forts in your back yard with your friends, or bike riding till your legs feel like they are going to fall off?  Isn't reality better then fake games?

I did that too, but when you are all grown up you just don't have the time. What, with your job, life, family, responsibility, children, pants, cheese.....

... bike riding till your legs feel like they are going to fall off ...

I can remember craving crunchy peanut butter sanga's after a long ride as a kid.

What, with your job, life, family, responsibility, children, pants, cheese.....

... pies.

LOL

sanga?

Sandwich

Sanga = Sarnie

Take your pick.

oh don't see how sandwich goes to sanga but okay then.

I can remember craving crunchy peanut butter sanga's after a long ride as a kid.

...and as an adult ......

I had one for dinner last night:) yum!

^^^^

peanut butter sandwich that is JR!

Yeah -Yeah

You say that NOW!

"Whatever happened to just playing around out side and building forts in your back yard with your friends, or bike riding till your legs feel like they are going to fall off" - that was primary school and junior high school days

@JR: Probably best I don't talk to your son... It has taken me years to realize you need to balance social with anti-social activities... And being a Multimedia Developer / Project Manager means I still get to play a lot, I just get paid for it now. Might be the wrong message to send

"peanut butter sanga's" And Vegemite on fresh white bread, and fairy bread

And Vegemite on fresh white bread

There is nothing better.

Yes there is!

Oh yeah. I nearly forgot. Fresh white bread with butter laid on thick, a slab of cheese and vegemite.

Warm french loaf with kaya and butter.

*drool*

every topic becomes food!

I used to be a member of runescape until I realised how poor a game it really is. I just stick to consoles now except for a bit of Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. Now that is a brilliant game.

meh... I like the original Wolfenstein, on my windows 3.1 PC, the best. The came Doom and Duke Nukem (the original side scroller, not Duke 3D)

I still play doom sometimes but I just cant stand that wierd 3d graphics. It gives me a headache.

I never got into Doom myself, Im a Deus Ex dan

yeah Deus Ex is many (many) years after Doom...

Theme Hospital...now that was quite a good game...

We tried playing Football with 5 house bricks today. It worked better than youd have thought.

4 bricks for the goals, 1 brick for the ball?

I thought Happy and his friends v the bricks

If it was Happy and his friends versus the bricks, they would have easily beaten the bricks. So, yes, it would have worked very well indeed.

Now you all know why the English football team can't win anything. Look at what the youngsters have to work with.

HAHAHAHAHA

You think football with bricks is bad....you should see what we use in cricket.....

What?

Can't be worse than bowling at a hornet's nest (which I have done btw)

We bowled at a wasps nest the other day but theyre not as bad as those pesky hornets.

@dek WHAT? WHY? Do tell!

hehehe We were in India, at my maternal grandmother's house, and my sis, our cousins and some neighbourhood kids were playing cricket outside, on a narrow strip of land with the house on one side, and the road on another, with a line of trees between us and the road.

I joined in, and tried my hand at batting and sucked at that. The only batting I'd done so far was rounders/baseball style. So anyways, I got 'downgraded' to fielding. After a little while, I got bored and complained to my mother that they weren't letting me play (I was one of the youngest there I think, so I let her think the older guys were bullying me), so she talked to one of my cousins and told him to let me bowl.

Woo hoo!!

So I take the ball and get ready to run up.... Run, release - hey, where's the ball??

I'd released it too early, and it flew up into the line of trees, right in the direction of a Hornet's nest!!!

We all just stood there in horror... There would be no escape. My grandmother's house is very 'open-planned' and the nearest body of water was a very very very deep well!

One hornet flew out, followed by another, flew around for a while, and returned...

PHEW!!!

Seems they weren't interested in killing all of us. Yippee!

Ball was retrieved, I was banned from bowling ever again, I resumed my fielding position, and the game went on

hehehe

Dekrazee1 the specialist fielder.

hahahaha

not default fielder?

The school sprayed the wasps nest so we cant bowl at it again. It didnt seem to do much touhg, the wasps just turned white in colour.

haha dek!  You were very lucky!

Very!!

Wasps nests are meant to be left alone. As are midge nests (worst afternoon of my childhood)

oh that sounds like a good story Riddirk, do tell

Some bright spark decided to destroy a midge nest during sports day (where we have to sit on mats for the whole afternoon unless called up to participate). Never have I wanted to scream so much. They were everywhere, biting and nibbling at you whilst you were trying to cheer your team on. I got home to find out that my skin was covered in itchy, red spots all over my body. I was unhappy for a week

aww poor guy

I was only 7!

GAAAAH!

sheesh

I just run away from all insects that fly apat from moths which are cool.

Moths are the ones I truly hate the most. They're so big & fluttery, their aimless flying annoys me to kingdom come

Whats with the plague of them here at the moment. Saw also on the news tonight there is currently heaps in Sydney.

Theres nothing wrong with moths. They just kill spiders and eat unfashionable clothing.

They are also providing a feast for the geckos

Theyre useful right up to the end.

I just vacuumed one up an hour ago

Got a strange sense of satisfaction doing that

Spider > Moths. Bees are the best, spesh when they act daft

The moths are crazy in Sydney right now!!!  My flat mates and I spent the better part of Friday night trying to get about 50 of them out of our flat.  It was actually quite funny 3 girls armed with brooms, rolled up magazines, and bug spray running around in the dark.

A giant one flew smack into my right temple as I was walking to work just now....

it hurt a bit too!

ahhh they really freak me out mainly because they fly so irregular around you never know where they are going to land.  I did the Star Walk for Breast Cancer on Saturday and it started at the Botanical gardens and the swarms of moths were insane!  Plus it was raining and they were still out in full force!

Better than large spiders.  I hate those.  Had some black widow spiders behind my shed.  Very nasty.

True I would take moths and cockroaches over spiders any day!

I have a cockroach under my fridge in Sydney.  I've named him Ralph.

haha Ralph has some cousins in my kitchen I just call them Ewww!

I fear he as grown considerably and he and his mates will greet me when I come home in a couple of weeks.  Yikes!

Cool... "I just call them Ewww" - I've got some Asian cockroach's living in my kitchen too... must be form the same family as ours, because when my partner sees them, she yells in English "its got feelers, Ewww!" then she swears at them in Korean. I figure they must understand her , because they do go away.

I think it is all about the tone and the pitch of the yelling that scares them

Can you spell the Korean words phonetically?  I may need them soon when I come home.

Add too all that the family of lizards under my mum's fridge.... she feeds em and everything. And they wait for her to

Oh, if I could have my way....

You mean can I transliterate Korean swear words into English???...

Ok, heres a few:

• Babo = Stupid
• Babariman =  Pervert
• Shipal = F**k
• Ano shipal = F**k off
• Shipal nom, Geseki = F**k you, you son of a b**ch
• Jungshinbyungja = Psycho
• Jot dae ga ri = D*ck head

I think that is all the korean swear words you should ever need... And if anyone asks you who taught them to you, don't tell them it was me.

ohhh now I know what to say when they mess up my meal for the 500 time at the Korean place near me

And you still go there after 499 mess ups?

yeah they have the best stuff even when they mess up

so then, psuedyx, what's Korean for "You are the best screwup I've ever had?" sounds like those might be the magic words she's looking for.

pseudyx - what abt sheeba? (Or maybe it's shipal, but Opa taught me wrong?)

Or I learnt wrong, whatever

Translation is difficult, because Korean is very situational so for "You are the best screwup I've ever had?", there are a few different ways of saying it, so I will have to ask my partner for the best translation to that one

@Dek as I said above translation is difficult, and transliteration is even more so, how I might write shipal and how your older brother (Opa) writes sheeba in English will depend on where in Korea his accent is from, because transliteration is purely on phonetic sounds. but in Hangul 한글 (Korean written characters: 'alphabet') it will be spelled the same.

hmmm... i'll have to ask him then

I find it very hard to understand my partners mother, who grew up in the country as apposed to my partner who grew up in the city... but she has no problems. My partner finds it hard to understand people from Queensland as a posed to Melbourne Victorians.

what part of Korea is Opa from?

Opa's from Seoul.

ok... next time you see him, you can say...

Annyong Opa. Jal jenaesoyo? Mwa haeseyo?

he will be impressed...

Hah... you don't know Opa.... he'll be more interested in correcting my pronunciation

I tried learning the language, but apart from the simple words/terms, I gave up and decided to pick up the cuisine instead. Korean is like Japanese - HARD!

"Korean is like Japanese" - I woulnd't say that withing 10 paces of a Korean... dangerous ground.

Yeah, I found Japanese a lot easier to learn...I think Korean I will be learning for the rest of my life... especially the modern slang and terms... just like English Korean has idioms and slang that changes with each generation

... I'll be happy the day I can understand my mother in law, without going "you said who with the what now???"

hahaha yeah, good warning

I've found it very hard to learn Japanese and Korean by listening and extrapolation, like i did with Chinese. Granted I had waaay more exposure to Chinese, but I did study Japanese, and I was surprised at how hard it was for me to pick up. I usually take to languages fairly easily. Maybe the intensive nature of the course wasn't too conducive.

yeah, I'm the same but in different circumstances... I have been exposed to Japanese from a young age, although I have never learned Japanese, I understand many commands and basic conversation, and find it easy to pick up (easier to understand than speak)... As apposed to Korean that I have only been learning for the last few years, from my partner, and assorted books and Korean TV/DVDs. But find it a lot more hard to understand and speak.

I learned German, French and Spanish in school, and found that I picked them up very easily.

@ psudyx "I'll be happy the day I can understand my mother in law, without going "you said who with the what now???" 

Most men would be happy if they could understand their mother in law - regardless of what qualifications were added to the end of that sentence.

Hahaha... Too true ... Understanding your mother in law, transcends all language barriers..

My partner finds it hard to understand people from Queensland as a posed to Melbourne Victorians.

LOL, We're all pretty screwed up around these here parts as opposed to ...

Sez the man who needs a translator when he comes to NSW

and I rarely venture into Victoria.

LOL. Terrible. The only thing worse than a one eyed patriotic Australian is a QLD'er of any sort.

Who said that?

Self assessment.

Naaah.... I disagree with ya

Nope. I'm correct. Qld'ers are always correct. See what I mean.

hahaha

Hewlp!

One of my biggest peeves - people who insist on walking around/hovering when they're on the phone.

Honestly, few things irritate me more
 

Apparently I do that on the mobile. It annoys me that I never realised it and more so that I cannot control it.

I don't care if people need to walk while talking. Just don't do it around me!!!

The conversation has nothing to do with me, and I don't want to eavesdrop, but there's talking going on AROUND me, and worst of all, the changing directions of the voice just kills me
 

Ha. I am generally avoiding people and distractions when on the phone. It is an outdoors thing.

But yes, one thing worse than eavesdroppers is grandstanders.

" Look at me I'm on the phone .... "

There are always various ringtones going off like a bucket of prawns in the sun here on a Friday afternoon followed by a somewhat less than clandestine organsation of various levels of social lives.

A phone ringing is fine...

A phone ringing more than thrice a day makes me wanna throttle the owner
 

I don't need to memorise your ringtone tankyouberrymuch!

I call them the "I've got a life" alarms. Multiple rings makes it the "My life is specialometer"

heh heh Yeah...

Thinking abt it - am I the only one who groans every time my phone rings?

It's almost like checking the mail. No mail is good news. No calls are good news
 

When mine rings there's usually something wrong or someone playing up at home.

Email really annoys me.  Someone sends someone an email anc CC's it to dozens of other people.  "Look, I've sent an email, I am soooo clever"

Well I have a rule on my email box.  If it's addressed to me I it goes into my inbox.  If I'm CC'd it goes into the deleted box.

Today I learned from a phone converstion in close range that there is a hair straightener in the Female toilets at the Fridays Club in the city. Apparently it costs 3 dollars for 45 seconds. Pleased I know that now.

LOL!

@Ruski Exactly.... it's been a year of people I don't want to talk to calling me.

Gandalf he he he has a phone that was up to date 10 years ago...

Although my phone doesnt have a discreet mode, just a rather loud/slightly louder mode which you cant turn off. And when it runs out of juice it makes the most irritating noise imagineable untill you find a power supply.

hahaha

Hey, where's Gandalf been?
 

a very good question...

im here ive just been snowed under bu large amounts of essays and the like

and yes my phone is really old, but its theft proof, i droped it  at this fair with 2/3 of a million people and it was the only one to be handed in to the cops

HAHAHAHA

Classic!

I'm hanging onto mine for a couple more years then!
 

Yeah I realised my camcorder was old when I saw it in a museum one day. It dated back to 1987.

haha oh dear time to up grade

I realised I was old when I was sitting in class and the lecturer was talking abt 'old technologies' and she brought up carbon paper and then she asked if anyone has seen or used it....

...... and I was the ONLY one who put my hand up!
 

He he, I've been there...not literally of course...

Are you one of the young punks who has never seen carbon paper?

Carbon paper isn't dead.. still used on some till receipts to make the second copy

Or on the pads of paper that waiters take down your food-based requests on.

yep I used one when I was a waitress not to long ago

I find it really annoying when I take several minutes out at lunchtime to explain to my colleagues why the sky is blue and bluer in certain  geographic locations such as  Australia and  they refuse to listen to the science. 

Can someone please try and convince Alex the sky doesn't change colour? What changes is how we perceive it?

PLEASE??
 

What do you mean it's blue?

The colour of the sky is blue because:

The atmosphere is the mixture of gas molecules and other materials surrounding the earth. It is made mostly of the gases nitrogen (78%), and oxygen (21%). Argon gas and water (in the form of vapor, droplets and ice crystals) are the next most common things. There are also small amounts of other gases, plus many small solid particles, like dust, soot and ashes, pollen, and salt from the oceans.

The composition of the atmosphere varies, depending on your location, the weather, and many other things. There may be more water in the air after a rainstorm, or near the ocean. Volcanoes can put large amounts of dust particles high into the atmosphere. Pollution can add different gases or dust and soot.

The atmosphere is densest (thickest) at the bottom, near the Earth. It gradually thins out as you go higher and higher up. There is no sharp break between the atmosphere and space.

The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. Little of the red, orange and yellow light is affected by the air.

However, much of the shorter wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules. The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions. It gets scattered all around the sky. Whichever direction you look, some of this scattered blue light reaches you. Since you see the blue light from everywhere overhead, the sky looks blue.

The idea of 'perception' is one of psychology. The way in which one person perceives something may be different to the way in which someone else perceives the same thing.

Therefore both arguments are correct.

As you look closer to the horizon, the sky appears much paler in color. To reach you, the scattered blue light must pass through more air. Some of it gets scattered away again in other directions. Less blue light reaches your eyes. The color of the sky near the horizon appears paler or white.

Also due to the clarity of the atmosphere in different geographical locations and density of particles in the atmosphere, the Rayleigh scattering is effected differently and therefor the sky is a different colour than a different geographical location.

Also... The colour blue of the sky at Lat: 00.00 and Long 00.00 (ocean) to me may be a different shade of blue or even colour to someones else's visual perception. So and if we were to both able to perfectly represent the colour we see to each other, we would be able to see the difference. But both points of view are correct, due to individual perception. Therefor, the colour of the sky does not change... it is simply the perception of the sky.

But if you want to take the science out of colour, than I would argue the point that, nothing has colour and everything is how we perceive it. Due to the fact that the colour of any object is due to the absorbed and reflected light.

we perceive an object to be a certain colour, because that colour is the colour from the light spectrum being reflected, and being received by our eyes

bugger... now I took part of my lunch break to do the same things as Alex

But the sky doesn't have a colour!

in that case nothing has a colour. it is all refracted light.

That's true....

But the sky isn't blue!! We see it as blue after all the optical stuff you described earlier happens

At the most it is 'transparent'. Get what I mean? It's just a layer of atmosphere
 

(I don't know why I'm arguing this)

because there's nothing else to do at this time of night....

hahahaha You're probably right!!

War, sex and silly costumes! It be all we need for successful civilisation 

Its all magic until scientists come along.

so Dek... what colour are clouds? whats the colour of sea water? why is grass green?

Purple!

clouds are water, and so they are clear... the only reason they look white is because they reflect all colour (all light together makes white).

Sea water is blue or green depending on the mineral content (salt and other minerals) as well as bio content (algae, etc). But water is clear.

Grass is mostly water (much like people are 70% water) but the chlorophyll pigment is green, because of the colour it reflects.


"At the most it is 'transparent'. Get what I mean? It's just a layer of atmosphere"

The reason you are white or tan or dark is because of the pigment in your skin (which handles what light gets absorbed and what gets reflected). But 'At most we are all transparent. Get what I mean? It's just a layer of skin'

the atmosphere is just the skin of the world

Yes, my point exactly...

The atmosphere doesn't have pigments
 

ok... I just realised I dropped my war/sex/silly costumes thing into the wrong topic - it was meant to come after that "timeline of history" with all the people in a line attacking each other (and doing other things to each other )

As for colours, philosophically speaking they're secondary qualities - they're only there when we perceive them. If Earth was inhabited by animals with no eyes, or a different visible spectrum, then they would have no conception of colour as we know it. They would be able to measure the wavelengths of light being emitted in the same way as we can measure radio waves or X-rays, but they wouldn't know of blue.
 

HAHAHAHA I didn't even realise it was the wrong topic!!

I would disagree with that. Grass doesn't lose it's greenness just cos there's no one around to look at it

(London joke:)

It makes me laugh when people on the Underground press the button to open the door despite the fact that the doors always open automatically. Then it makes me laugh again when people on the Overground stand in front of the door and wait for it to open without pressing the button (which it doesn't do).

Donald Normal would have a thing or two to say about that.

oooh... I'd like to read that.

Reminds me of a colleague's pet peeve...  people who hit the up button to  go down in the lift! hehehe
 

I would disagree with that. Grass doesn't lose it's greenness just cos there's no one around to look at it

It doesn't lose the property of reflecting a certain wavelength of light, but it's only humans (or other animals that have colour vision) that interpret that wavelength via the eye and call it green. Could be said to have the property that if it is looked at by a being with eyes that are sensitive to our visible spectrum, then it causes the perception of green-ness...

Either way the grass isn't inherently green - it just causes us to perceive green by reflecting light at us.

But you can argue that that inherent greenness is the property of reflecting a certain wavelength

You could argue that way, but I refer you back to the aliens without eyes, or anyone who's blind from birth.

With a different set of senses you have no way of perceiving or even imagining what green is, but those eyeless aliens would still be able to measure the frequency of EM radiation being given off and find it to be within our visible spectrum, about half way through. They still have no concept of green but they're measured the plant's properties far more accurately than our eyes do.

Exactly... so even if you take the signifier 'green' away, it would still retain those properties that make us see it as green!

Yes. The properties that make us see it as green . That's exactly my point - its green-ness is created in our heads when we perceive that wavelength of light.

But it's an inherent property!

"The atmosphere doesn't have pigments" - but it does... pigments are just chemicals. The atmosphere has chemicals that cause colour.

"As for colours, philosophically speaking they're secondary qualities" - Thank you super-king... thats what I was trying to say in relation to my above comment: "The idea of 'perception' is one of psychology. The way in which one person perceives something may be different to the way in which someone else perceives the same thing."

"But you can argue that that inherent greenness is the property of reflecting a certain wavelength", "Exactly... so even if you take the signifier 'green' away, it would still retain those properties that make us see it as green!", "its green-ness is created in our heads when we perceive that wavelength of light." - All of these can be said the same for the colour of the sky being blue.

Which is why I said above that both arguments are correct. but one is of psychology and the other of science.
 

GAH!!!!!

I'm way too confused to know what I was arguing for!

So I state: The sky has colour in both a Psychological, philosophical, and scientific view, based on the facts that the "Human" eye and brain can receive and process the "visible" spectrum of light. And on the grounds that all things have colour because of the chemicals, and/or particles that make up the reflection of visible light.

But it's an inherent property!

The inherent property is that it has the ability to cause us (sentient beings equipped with the right sensory organs) to experience a sensation of green. That's not being green, it's causing green experiences in "the eye of the beholder"

If the grass was inherently green then a being with no eyes would be able to use a light-detecting machine and understand the grass to be green from the results. But because this hypothetical being can't see, it doesn't know what green is and experiences that grass differently, sans green.

(and what about a colour blind person - green and red can appear to be the same colour, but we say they aren't.. how do we know we aren't all colourblind to the fact that green is really 2 colours? Again, if it was inherent then it wouldn't rely on us perceiving the grass to know what colour it was.

Pseudyx, wish you could spend your lunch breaks in person educating my idiot colleagues.

haha... she's not an idiot, just because she doesn't understand.

@SK it is inherent because it reflects a certain wavelength. All of us being unable to see it won't change that

@ SK do you mean sentience or sapience

@pseudyx hahahaha

I understand... but I still think my point is valid
 

wait... good point... only requires the ability of sensory organs that "see" light... doesn't require Judgment or wisdom

I don't think you do fully understand, because of the fact that you think your point is valid.

That's cos, as you said, we're arguing two different sides.

... No... I said both sides are correct... but one is scientific and one is philosophical (psychological)

your trying to disprove the scientific argument to state that the philosophical argument is the only correct answer

*scratching head*

I don't think I am....
 

As I see it, the argument is going like this:

Dek - "wavelength = colour, wavelength exists regardless of people looking at it, therefore so does colour"

Me - "the colour is what we have an experience of when that certain wavelength enters our eyes, whilst the wavelength exists regardless, the colour experience is dependent on our eye being there to tell our brain what colour the grass is. Whilst the wavelength can be measured and quantified, a colour cannot - it's a quality that can only be perceived by a person (or an animal, or a machine programmed to recognise a wavelength and call it a colour for the convenience of it's users)

pseudyx - "you're both right but in different ways"

I'm not saying that at all SK. I'm saying that the wavelength exists, the object reflects that wavelength, therefore it has an inherent property of reflecting that wavelenght

so that would suggest that the sky 'has' colour just the same as anything else.

It has the property of reflecting light

as does everything else that is not a black (total absorption of light) whole

Yes, but it would have that specific wavelength-reflecting-property. See what I mean?

But seriously... I'll leave it at that. I'm too muddled

What "specific wavelength-reflecting-property". its boolean... Something either does or does not reflect different wavelengths, there is no 'specific property'.

nuff said.... This must be the most intense argument we have had to date something to go into the Tangler history books

I'm still not entirely convinced we weren't all using different words to describe the same thing, then arguing over the perceived differences (and whether those differences continue exist when we aren't perceiving them is a whole new argument)

I'm with SK

@pseudyx what I mean was specific-wavelength quality. So a 'red' object would emit a specific wavelength different to that of grass.

(also, this topic is killing Firefox. Off to 'selling organs' I sez!)
 

Yeah, I know what you meant... but the object doesn't 'emit' anything... it just doesn't absorb red light. and so we see the light it doesn't absorb.

The other assumption being made here is that we're viewing the object under a white light - in pitch darkness or under a red light the grass wouldn't appear to be green. Thus demonstrating once again that although it does have an inherent property of reflecting/absorbing certain wavelengths, it does not have the inherent property of being a certain colour.

therefore, everything that doesn't emit/radiate light waves does not have the inherent property of being a certain colour.

Concluding that Dek is correct and the sky is not blue, without the presence of  white light.

I winz?

hahahaha

Do I winz too? You agreed with what I said then said dek was right because of it...

We all winz!

"I'm still not entirely convinced we weren't all using different words to describe the same thing, then arguing over the perceived differences"

Yes, you win too.
 

hahahahah The most intense discussion with the friendliest outcome!

Do you know what really gets on my wick? Political Correctness!  It's  really annoying here in Britain to the point where I want to move somewhere calm

Calm..... the Arctic?

You could live on the artificial england in the pacific.

huh?

Arctic's too cold and I have no friends/relatives there

"artificial england in the pacific" - Australia???

Well.... it's not very England-y is it? Except for some left over architecture... and statues.... and repeated names

and all the English people (I think my work environment would be at least 40% English ex-pats)... but then again, I work for an English University

One artificial world, hold the people: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7051051/

The UK is already sold apparently.

One the same page Taunting thieves steal 16 tons of ham 

its clearly where the money is...not in laptop stealing.

ham my word people are stupid. Usless fact for u, over 20,000 brits move to aus every year! bet u dident know that.

makes sense... its better here... we have this thing called "The Sun"

but i forgot to mention the 10'000 who go back!

yeah... because we don't have something you have... an ozone layer

or the EU. Lowsy democrats.

or russians to buy all the football clubs

Or chavs

We have red back spiders.... feel better now?

"or the EU." - where not part of the European continents, and we have our own economic system outside of the commonwealth... why would we adopt the EU.

"We have red back spiders", and brown snakes, Great White sharks, Poison Dart Frogs, Saltwater Crocodiles, Box Jellyfish. Actually we have a good majority of the worlds most deadliest and poisonous  creatures.

...including Australians LOL!

yes i feel a lot better thanks. But their all animals if u stay in the city u wont see thoes.

Id go around in a giant rubber bubble just in case.

You see red backs everywhere! I find them around my house

"all animals if u stay in the city u wont see thoes." - I live in Melbourne City, and I have seen Red Backs, Brown Snakes, and once a Box Jellyfish. 3 of the top 10 worlds most poisonous creatures.

...which is why everyone moves to Sydney

So why is Melbourne population bigger than Sydney??

I could think of a reason.....

i get the feel that intercity rivelry is quite strong in aus, well at least it was in the winter/summer depending of your hemisphere, when i was there.

Doesn't matter much to me, but yeah, I got conscious of it a few years ago.... especially between Sydney and Melbourne

I'll make a note of that.

Yeah, I guess there is a bit of intercity rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney... Doesn't really effect me though... Because Melbourne is better than Sydney

No but seriously, I have lived all the way along this cost line, from Brisbane all the way down to Melbourne... And every place where I have lived has claimed to be better than any other place in Australia (except Lismore (close to Byron Bay) everyone there fully admits they live in a sh!t hole).

I think it's just a pride for your town/city/suburb/state thing. Its even more prominent in Melbourne when talking about suburbs, especially for AFL supporters. Apparently the suburb in Melbourne that you live in says much about your character
 

Yeah, that's what I hear.... but it's the same here and in Qld too...

I remember hearing a guy in class introduce himself as a Westie. He said 'Hi, I so-and-so. I'm studying this-and-that. And I'm a Westie'

I just sat there blank. Had no reference to draw meaning from!
 

Personally, between the 3 main east coast cities, I like Sydney the best. It's just the right mix for me

...which is why everyone moves to Sydney

It's a long way to Brisbane. Sydney makes for a good transit lounge.

hahahaha

(except Lismore (close to Byron Bay) everyone there fully admits they live in a sh!t hole).

LOL ... and Casino. But there is something special about Nimbin.

Yes, I agree.

I have no idea where any of these places are but thats modern education for you.

haha... Yeah Casino too, but at least it doesn't flood every year right though the middle of town. Yeah, Nimbin is cool... my favorite part of Nimbin is the Mud People.

but mostly ...

@pseud

"or the EU." - where not part of the European continents, and we have our own economic system outside of the commonwealth... why would we adopt the EU. 

I, sometime ago wrote (but FF went south on me at the time - and I never revisited this question) a whole convoluted question for you as to what you  imagine the Commonwealth and the EU actually have in common that bothers you so and why do you even imagine that anyone was inviting Australia to follow or join the EU. The point being; I don't really understand the concern of your question when no such proposal has ever been put, offered or even mooted.

When it comes to "Annoying things people do"  Australians can often see their country - in international terms - in the most childish of fashions and nothing is more peevish than the old chip on the shoulder routine.

By the by: all countries within the Commonwealth -with exception to some very minor specks on the global map, and even then it's not true- all economies are outside of this notion of an economic quasi-imperium you seem to have. Even then, the nations of the EU are, for the most part, economically as independent as they can be with few  EU nations giving it up without a fight.

The Empire: Build a bridge........

But of course Australians find it hard to accept their place in the world as America's proxy...witness the disgusting spectacle of Australia's new Minister for Defence Joel Fitzgibbon (4 weeks into the job and whipped), delivering a sermon to NATO member nations for some of them not pulling their weight in Afghanistan. Now why was that again?...Was that because Australian force deployment to Afghanistan is not under the shield of British Overwatch, Air cover and stand-off sea power, or because Rudd's masters in Washington asked the new boys to show some good faith commitment by handing out a lecture? Unless of course Aussie boys are dying -- without sticking guns in their mouths that is -- in their numbers?

Tell me. Seriously I am confused, I'd love to know.

.

well, my post was in responce to happywonderer "or the EU. Lowsy democrats." in response to what Australia doesn't have...

Honestly though, and I have said before, national and international finance is not my strong point as well as the politics that surrounds it, so most of what I say probably comes from my deluded vision of the controlling world governments in relation to my perceptions brought on by reading too many sci-fi and conspiracy books, and fearing the unseen control on many other areas of politics that can come from streamlining a free market system, and the control of key resources in a global economy. IE the selling of Telstra to American investors may look harmless, however, if you control our bandwidth then you can greatly influence our economy on the international market.

but personally I tend to rebel against any form or notion of control, be it local or international government, monarchy, report structure, that limits ones ability to gather information, and withholds from any scrutiny.

"But of course Australians find it hard to accept their place in the world as America's proxy" ... this is probably what I hate most of all... being Americas 'side kick'. I hate the idea of Australia turning into a smaller America, and losing our already dwindling unique culture for Americanisms. Probably because I hate that America see themselves as the Leaders of the free world, and the President as the most powerful man in the world... because its all bullshit. Sure the US military may have superior fire/man power, but the US is only 1 country in a collection of many. UN, the rulling government of the world.
 

All I see is the the biggest "world bully" with a business man as the leader who is more interested in his wellbeing and future than that of his peoples, but through his administration is clever at covering the facts, and do an OK job of running the country.

I don't want this for our future.

I hope this helped to clear some of your question up... I got a bit carried away so if I didn't answer all, then please rephrase.
 

some kind soul brought in a tin of chocolates to work today, which was received with great delight....right up until the moment that people started putting the empty wrappers back in the tin.

WHY DO PEOPLE DO THIS!?!?!

are they so lazy they can't walk the extra 3 steps needed to read the bin?

do they hope it will make the tin look fuller and hide how many of the chocs they have eaten?

or do they do it just to taunt me...cos everytime i tried to pick my favourite ones i kept getting empty wrappers....

Aaaaaargh!!

apparently the company are giving us 2 tins this year....so the torment isn't over yet....

Yeah, that makes dek mad too...

Unless we aren't near any bins, and I say it's ok to put the wrappers back.

I hate it when you invite a lot of people over for Christmas dinner and ask them all to bring something and they bring crackers and dip or like a bag of crisps and you end up having to make emergency runs to the supermarket to get what they're already sold out of in three different locations and...

I'll stop now otherwise I dont think I'll be able to..

You should pressure them...

So when you say 'bring something', add to that, and let me know, so I can coordinate the 'menu' with others.

You know that'd never work. People would still call on the day and tell you..

No, really, it does work. Just takes a bit more effort and chasing up.

Simple psych - You elicit a commitment from them, so chances are most will keep it

Or they'll just go to someone else's party and take their bag of crisps there

Eggactly!

Either way, you don't have to deal with crisps

Oohh I never saw it like that!!!

heh heh See, dek = clever