User Comments - RJ

Posted on: Chinese Dialects (Part 1)

maybe you should read it? btw- I speak all 23 of them.

Posted on: Chinese Dialects (Part 1)

http://robertspage.com/dialects.html

Posted on: Hostel Curfew

yes, I was using sentient in the sense of conscious and self aware. Of course they have sensation. Good night. It doesnt matter.

Posted on: Hostel Curfew

you dont recognize "left turn clyde" - from the movie "Every which way but loose". Clyde was an orangutan. Oh, and sentient means self aware, conscious, and having subjective experiences. You did disagree when I said bugs were not sentient which means you were saying they are self aware. And by no different, I meant mentally.

Posted on: Hostel Curfew

Left turn Clyde. Do them cockroaches also play angry birds, or do they prefer a different game?

Posted on: Hostel Curfew

Survival instinct or reacting to stimulus is not the same thing as knowing you are alive. Being self-aware (sentient). Science is not even sure that dogs and cats or monkeys are self aware, but I think so, to some degree, and no animal except the dolphin has been proven to have "theory of mind". In other words they know that we are also aware. I just saw a show where a scientist developed a neat little test for theory of mind and the monkeys failed. We project more onto animals than is really there. Interesting stuff, but bugs dont know they are alive. Trust me on this one.They are just little programmed machines that go pop when you step on them. They cant think and they have no emotions. One is no different than all the others. But how can I argue with a guy that thinks bugs are self aware? If you want to share your bed with them, go right ahead.They make great pets and speak several languages including Australian.

Posted on: Hostel Curfew

You are confusing 枪 and 抢

手枪 = hand gun

抢手= popular goods

枪手 = sharpshooter or a person who substitutes for another in an exam. Homonyms.

I love animals but bugs are in no way sentient at all so I have no compunction about stamping them out. I have no sympathy for bacteria either. To me its the same thing. Just a little bigger.

Posted on: An Insider's Insights into Chinese Tourism

no, I put "ta ta bom" in a Portuguese translator and got back "ta ta good". Hehe, maybe we have it wrong by a tad. "Tanta bom" means "so much good" so maybe that is closer.

oh, and just so Dilu knows, phat is also a good thing.

Posted on: An Insider's Insights into Chinese Tourism

"The bomb" came from American ghetto drug speak in the 90's. "So and so has The bomb" referred to having the best dope, the most powerful, and I assume it was linked to "the bomb" as in Russia has "The bomb" (nuclear weapons). The ultimate in power available. It evolved from there to refer to more than just drugs. I have been to South America and I remember the Brazilians saying something like "ta ta bom", meaning good, but it is pronounced differently. The Brazilians were in LA, so hey who knows, but I tend to think its simpler than that. Whatever the etymology, I think we all agree, Dilu is doing a great job.

Posted on: Duplicitous Snake Idioms

looks like a hat to me, hehe. It is a cool story though and the back-story of the author is way cool as well. Baba, you will be busy for a long time, as it has been translated into 250 languages. I challenge you to read them all.