Zompist Bboard Again

Travis B. wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 11:27 am

Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 11:18 am

lëtzeshark wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 10:00 am Because "doctor vampireshark" or "doctor lëtzeshark" both seemed too long.

Herr Professor Doktor Luxem-Vampiricus Hai.

I always considered "Herr Professor Doktor" to be a rather ostentatious set of titles myself.

So do I. That was my point.

Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 11:32 am

Travis B. wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 11:27 am

Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 11:18 am

Herr Professor Doktor Luxem-Vampiricus Hai.

I always considered "Herr Professor Doktor" to be a rather ostentatious set of titles myself.

So do I. That was my point.

Apparently Germans tend to often drop the titles after initial introductions, and that in speech tend to reduce "Herr Professor Doktor" to just "Herr Professor"... whereas it is rude to not use them in Austria... (I cannot imagine always referring to someone as "Herr Professor Doktor".)

(Also, apparently in the German-speaking "Herr Professor" is a much higher position than being a "professor" in much of the English-speaking world, where here in the US commonly people will refer to any old faculty as a "professor".)

Travis B. wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 11:27 am

Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 11:18 am

lëtzeshark wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 10:00 am Because "doctor vampireshark" or "doctor lëtzeshark" both seemed too long. :P

Herr Professor Doktor Luxem-Vampiricus Hai.

I always considered "Herr Professor Doktor" to be a rather ostentatious set of titles myself. But then, I'm not German, Austrian, Swiss, or a Luxembourger.

Hey, those titles are only entered on the ID in Austria and Germany; definitely not here in the Grand Duchy. :P

Travis B. wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 11:58 am (Also, apparently in the German-speaking "Herr Professor" is a much higher position than being a "professor" in much of the English-speaking world, where here in the US commonly people will refer to any old faculty as a "professor".)

It's true: also in the Nether Regions, the professor title is reserved for only full professors and not the lower ranks. Same in Germany, though traditionally you didn't have lower ranks of professor there, as the qualification for a professorship was with the Habilitation (a sort of second thesis after the Ph.D.).

lëtzeshark wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 4:15 pm

Travis B. wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 11:58 am (Also, apparently in the German-speaking "Herr Professor" is a much higher position than being a "professor" in much of the English-speaking world, where here in the US commonly people will refer to any old faculty as a "professor".)

It's true: also in the Nether Regions, the professor title is reserved for only full professors and not the lower ranks. Same in Germany, though traditionally you didn't have lower ranks of professor there, as the qualification for a professorship was with the Habilitation (a sort of second thesis after the Ph.D.).

Apparently they do not really do the Habilitation in the natural sciences anymore there, though.

Travis B. wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 4:54 pm

lëtzeshark wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 4:15 pm

Travis B. wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 11:58 am (Also, apparently in the German-speaking "Herr Professor" is a much higher position than being a "professor" in much of the English-speaking world, where here in the US commonly people will refer to any old faculty as a "professor".)

It's true: also in the Nether Regions, the professor title is reserved for only full professors and not the lower ranks. Same in Germany, though traditionally you didn't have lower ranks of professor there, as the qualification for a professorship was with the Habilitation (a sort of second thesis after the Ph.D.).

Apparently they do not really do the Habilitation in the natural sciences anymore there, though.

It isn't the standard route to a professorship anymore, but, unlike how the Diplom has been mostly discontinued, it still remains theoretically possible. (The Junior Professor route is the more common one, though.)

In some exceedingly rare good news, my lawyer came through in getting my speeding ticket reduced. This should mean the end of one outstanding problem facing me at least. Hopefully my upcoming plans to renew my license and license plates face no obstacles.

lëtzeshark wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 4:15 pm It's true: also in the Nether Regions,

Are these metaphorical, or purely geographical?

@malloc: see, good things do happen!

malloc wrote: ↑Wed Feb 18, 2026 11:47 am In some exceedingly rare good news, my lawyer came through in getting my speeding ticket reduced. This should mean the end of one outstanding problem facing me at least. Hopefully my upcoming plans to renew my license and license plates face no obstacles.

Congratulations!

In really small nice things news, I finally got the idea to have two panels in serious use on my main computer screen instead of just one, which means that I now have enough space for starter buttons for basically all the apps I use from time to time, which means that I don't have to navigate the main menu all that often any more. Sometimes it's really the small things.

Raphael wrote: ↑Fri Feb 13, 2026 2:56 pm I had two, by my standards, fairly productive days in a row, where I got a number of small things done which I had hoped to get done. And today, something I wanted to buy turned out to cost less than I had worried it would. Which is a kind of weird thing to happen on a day that's traditionally seen as bad luck.

And now it's been seven days in a row - a whole week - where on each day, I managed to get some small things done that I had set my mind to. Nothing actually important at all. Mostly just stuff about reorganizing my online life, reorganizing my technology use, reorganizing various small aspects of my everyday life, reorganizing my organizing - stuff like that. But it's still nice to spend an entire week without a singly day that could be really called "wasted".

Raphael wrote: ↑Wed Feb 18, 2026 3:07 pm

malloc wrote: ↑Wed Feb 18, 2026 11:47 am In some exceedingly rare good news, my lawyer came through in getting my speeding ticket reduced. This should mean the end of one outstanding problem facing me at least. Hopefully my upcoming plans to renew my license and license plates face no obstacles.

Congratulations!

Thirded!

alice wrote: ↑Wed Feb 18, 2026 2:35 pm @malloc: see, good things do happen!

amen!

alice wrote: ↑Wed Feb 18, 2026 2:35 pm

lëtzeshark wrote: ↑Tue Feb 17, 2026 4:15 pm It's true: also in the Nether Regions,

Are these metaphorical, or purely geographical?

These indeed are the geographical kind, not metaphorical or anatomical. (Minor Freudian slip, just like how a mispronunciation/misreading of the name of the city I used to live in could be a bit unfortunate.)

After doing some calculations, I've come to the conclusion that I'm financially in somewhat better shape than expected as far as February and March are concerned. That's nice to know.

I used to have a rotatory vinyl record stand in my bedroom. The other day, I found that it no longer rotated. I’d already done some sprucing up of my space but I went all in over the past week or so and redid much of my bedroom decoration. I am waiting on a few last pieces (some bedding sets, a cable management system, a clock I ordered previously that’s been stuck in Illinois for almost a month, and a keyboard for my computer) but it’s come together quite nicely, I think. Now as to how long it will stay nice…

Man in Space wrote: ↑Sat Feb 21, 2026 6:01 pm I used to have a rotatory vinyl record stand in my bedroom. The other day, I found that it no longer rotated. I’d already done some sprucing up of my space but I went all in over the past week or so and redid much of my bedroom decoration. I am waiting on a few last pieces (some bedding sets, a cable management system, a clock I ordered previously that’s been stuck in Illinois for almost a month, and a keyboard for my computer) but it’s come together quite nicely, I think. Now as to how long it will stay nice…

You might be more generous about what constitutes Happy things than I am.

It is afaik objectively the better way to live to find joy in the little things, if at all possible, i think, so being generous with what's a happy thing is probably good.

as for me, I have demolished an old and shoddy shed the previous owner had built, turned the inside of the old house into an orderly and well-laid out workshop, and staked out what will be the new concrete slab onto which shall rest the new shed (it is a humbling experience to come face to face with just how not-easy it is to stake out a fairly perfect square, long live laser levels). I've done what I can to keep my body from failing from all the physical labour this all entails, and so far it's holding on pretty great (considering i'm a fat sedentary smoker). I don't know who this advice may help, but ginger is like really good for recovery, as are eggs. I have spent many hours toiling under the sun, a nice change of pace from a life of school and office work. depressive mood is at decade-low. my gf and parents have been real supportive and help where they can. I'm learning a lot about construction and am finally putting these muscles of mine to work in the pursuit of dreams I've held dear for years.

feels good man

Torco wrote: ↑Sun Feb 22, 2026 6:57 pm
as for me, I have demolished an old and shoddy shed the previous owner had built, turned the inside of the old house into an orderly and well-laid out workshop, and staked out what will be the new concrete slab onto which shall rest the new shed (it is a humbling experience to come face to face with just how not-easy it is to stake out a fairly perfect square, long live laser levels). I've done what I can to keep my body from failing from all the physical labour this all entails, and so far it's holding on pretty great (considering i'm a fat sedentary smoker). I don't know who this advice may help, but ginger is like really good for recovery, as are eggs. I have spent many hours toiling under the sun, a nice change of pace from a life of school and office work. depressive mood is at decade-low. my gf and parents have been real supportive and help where they can. I'm learning a lot about construction and am finally putting these muscles of mine to work in the pursuit of dreams I've held dear for years.

feels good man

That's awesome! Really happy for you mate

One of my coworkers asked my age and was genuinely surprised that I am almost 39. She thought I was in my late 20s.

I am also often thought to be younger than I am. That runs in my family, and is the reason why I often think that other people are older than they actually are - my idea of what a person of a given age looks like is skewed by the tendency within my family to look younger than usual for the age.

my voice is a lot deeper than is common for people my age, so I oftentimes am mistaken to be in my late twenties when communicating with people online. unfortunately my face doesn't quite match the image, otherwise I'd be able to get away with lying about my age to people's faces. not quite sure why I'd ever need or want to do that, but it's always useful to have a tool up your sleeve.