Zompist Bboard Again

I just finished processing more than 400 emails in an email account of mine that I hadn't opened since late August.

One of my flatmate's hair somehow ended up on the stove in our kitchen, burning into a burner while that burner was too hot to do anything about the problem. Now the kitchen smells of the remnants of that hair.

Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Oct 28, 2025 3:36 pm One of my flatmate's hair somehow ended up on the stove in our kitchen, burning into a burner while that burner was too hot to do anything about the problem. Now the kitchen smells of the remnants of that hair.

I assume you mean "the hair of one of my flatmates", not "one hair of my flatmate"

alice wrote: ↑Wed Oct 29, 2025 3:19 pm

Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Oct 28, 2025 3:36 pm One of my flatmate's hair somehow ended up on the stove in our kitchen, burning into a burner while that burner was too hot to do anything about the problem. Now the kitchen smells of the remnants of that hair.

I assume you mean "the hair of one of my flatmates", not "one hair of my flatmate"

No, I think it was one individual hair which had fallen off.

Raphael wrote: ↑Wed Oct 29, 2025 3:20 pm

alice wrote: ↑Wed Oct 29, 2025 3:19 pm

Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Oct 28, 2025 3:36 pm One of my flatmate's hair somehow ended up on the stove in our kitchen, burning into a burner while that burner was too hot to do anything about the problem. Now the kitchen smells of the remnants of that hair.

I assume you mean "the hair of one of my flatmates", not "one hair of my flatmate"

No, I think it was one individual hair which had fallen off.

English note, then: you'd have to say "one of my flatmate's hairs". "Hair" is a mass noun when it's all the stuff growing on your head, but a count noun when it's individual hairs.

zompist wrote: ↑Wed Oct 29, 2025 4:04 pm

Raphael wrote: ↑Wed Oct 29, 2025 3:20 pm

alice wrote: ↑Wed Oct 29, 2025 3:19 pm

I assume you mean "the hair of one of my flatmates", not "one hair of my flatmate"

No, I think it was one individual hair which had fallen off.

English note, then: you'd have to say "one of my flatmate's hairs". "Hair" is a mass noun when it's all the stuff growing on your head, but a count noun when it's individual hairs.

Ah, thank you! Now I understand what alice was getting at!

The punctuation is wrong too: it’s flatmates’, not flatmate’s.

bradrn wrote: ↑Wed Oct 29, 2025 5:05 pm The punctuation is wrong too: it’s flatmates’, not flatmate’s.

Only if Raphael has multiple flatmates.

This is perhaps a garden path situation: Raphael is not referring to "one of my flatmates" at all, he's referring to "one of (his) hairs".

zompist wrote: ↑Wed Oct 29, 2025 6:15 pm

bradrn wrote: ↑Wed Oct 29, 2025 5:05 pm The punctuation is wrong too: it’s flatmates’, not flatmate’s.

Only if Raphael has multiple flatmates.

This is perhaps a garden path situation: Raphael is not referring to "one of my flatmates" at all, he's referring to "one of (his) hairs".

Oh… right. Whoops.

Yes, I have only one flatmate.

Turns out it's easier to work on a major writing project which consists of several sections if you usually try to work on whichever section you most feel like working on at the moment, than if you try to force yourself to write all the sections in sequential order.

Raphael wrote: ↑Wed Oct 29, 2025 4:05 pm Ah, thank you! Now I understand what alice was getting at!

I'm always happy when this happens

I bought tickets to go to visit my family in the US for Christmas (or, rather, the family I feel most comfortable seeing). I do want to visit my mother and the cats, but there's a sense of apprehension I have about the situation in a lot of the US (both in terms of getting there and on the ground)... even though the trip's only for three weeks. Most of the cluster[redacted] is not centered around where my mother is, fortunately, and there hasn't apparently been too much different with that side of the family, but it's still a bit unnerving.

In the meantime, I also have been getting a lot of pestering from my other side of the family (my father and his wife) about visiting them. Notwithstanding the fact that internal flights in the US are super-expensive, especially compared to flights within Europe (and I don't want to drive 21 hours each way between NC and Tex-ass), my visit two years ago went... fine. Mostly. But there was of course bound to be some degree of awkwardness, and I think part of it is also due to my brother's complete non-involvement with that side of the family (so, in some respects, I feel like I'm doing a lot of the lifting). In any event, I'm not planning to go out to Texas, but we'll see how things develop.


Also, in other semi-venting, the package suspension is still in effect for mailings to the US from Europe. It has been for two months. No clue if/when it'll be lifted, which is unfortunate with the holiday mailing season approaching...

Well, good luck with the fucked-up family stuff, anyway. Been there and I feel for you.

Ares Land wrote: ↑Thu Nov 06, 2025 2:00 am Well, good luck with the fucked-up family stuff, anyway.

Seconded.

Any ideas on how to keep your inner malloc under control? Mine has been acting up a lot lately.

Raphael wrote: ↑Sun Nov 09, 2025 8:03 am Any ideas on how to keep your inner malloc under control? Mine has been acting up a lot lately.

Statically-allocating your storage?

Raphael wrote: ↑Sun Nov 09, 2025 8:03 amAny ideas on how to keep your inner malloc under control? Mine has been acting up a lot lately.

What's getting you down today? Or is this about something else besides doomerism?

malloc wrote: ↑Sun Nov 09, 2025 11:44 am

Raphael wrote: ↑Sun Nov 09, 2025 8:03 amAny ideas on how to keep your inner malloc under control? Mine has been acting up a lot lately.

What's getting you down today? Or is this about something else besides doomerism?

I think Raphael is suffering from heap fragmentation.

Travis B. wrote: ↑Sun Nov 09, 2025 1:19 pm

malloc wrote: ↑Sun Nov 09, 2025 11:44 am

Raphael wrote: ↑Sun Nov 09, 2025 8:03 amAny ideas on how to keep your inner malloc under control? Mine has been acting up a lot lately.

What's getting you down today? Or is this about something else besides doomerism?

I think Raphael is suffering from heap fragmentation.

Prefer calloc; you have to do less arithmetic, and it zeros everything.