Author Topic: Daily chit-chat (Read 282635 times)

The One · « **Reply #280 on:** May 11, 2011, 02:49:08 pm »

Thanks guys

Well, it's all on schedule so far. Six papers left to write. And a whole visa application to fill out as well.

Markus · « **Reply #281 on:** May 11, 2011, 05:51:21 pm »

Excuse the stupid question, Jorge,

but have you already decided where exactly the visum should take you?

Cheers!

Markus

The One · « **Reply #282 on:** May 11, 2011, 06:34:14 pm »

Not a stupid question at all...
I opted for Texas A&M for a handful of reasons. Cheaper, better credit from my IB classes (I could potentially enter as a second-year student) and because it's a well-ranked science/engineering university. And familiarity too. I've been in Texas before - not in College Station, but in Houston, which is relatively close.
And no, didn't see any racist bigots around there.

Markus · « **Reply #283 on:** May 22, 2011, 11:33:16 am »

Hey folks,

lo and behold, the world is still here!

Lucy, your cats were scared of the thunderstorm? Poor them, but I'm sure you gave them some comfort. On the other handside I was scared of a cat last night... I was at a small party at a lady friend's place who has two cats - one is a really cuddly animal, the other one a real attack cat. Too bad they both had to spend the evening in the bathroom, lest they vanish through the open patio door.

Well, when I needed to take a leak the attack cat was sitting on the toilet lid, hissing and showing her teeth to me in a most aggressive way.

I had to shoo her away somehow... (Later one she was more peaceful again, just sleeping.)

Cheers!

Markus

Markus · « **Reply #284 on:** June 01, 2011, 08:06:58 pm »

Hey folks,

I've just watched a documentary about the intelligence of birds. OMCD, that was impressive! You know those puzzles for little children - put the same colours together or put little building bricks of different shapes into the hole of the same shape? They had parrots who could solve these. They also had crows who were not only using tools but even making them. Nothing really new, but still it keeps amazing me to see other species doing that especially birds who were considered pretty simple-minded (i.e. dumb) for so long.

Cheers!

Markus

Luth · « **Reply #285 on:** June 01, 2011, 09:02:59 pm »

Once I saw a documentary about a certain type of bird in somewhere (South America?) that made tools too: they had a kind of big stones, like big tables, with some holes in it: then, they carried their food, a certain very heavy grain, and put it in the hole. With something (I don't remember (the beak?) they were able to break the grain and eat its interior. It seems that the same type of birds was flying from really long away to that place, like "the place where the tool to be able to break the grain is".

Sorry for the bad memory

Persephone · « **Reply #286 on:** June 01, 2011, 09:07:07 pm »

I also watched something similar like this. It was pretty interesting.

Also saw a documentary of birds copying sounds from neighbourhood. That was very funny actually. The camera guy was recording that bird in his nest and suddenly he heard the camera reporting of low battery - so he checked it and it was full! This happend few more times. He even changed the batteries... still the same sound so they thought it is broken and short time after they realized that the bird is making the sound of the camera reporting low battery

It must heard it back then when he was changing the batteries few hours ago and now it repeated it.

The One · « **Reply #287 on:** June 02, 2011, 08:10:44 am »

Prom's tomorrow.

Oh gods, oh gods... I just hope they don't mess up my beard or hair when I go to the barber today.

Markus · « **Reply #288 on:** June 02, 2011, 08:36:26 am »

Hey folks,

yeah, there are lots of surprising examples of clever birds. The sound copiers don't actually belong there, but they are so incredibly funny! Must have been fun to watch that camera man while the bird was pretending to be a low-battery-camera.

Luth, what you describe is the use of tools and hence something incredibly smart that nobody would have expected from birds several years ago. the stone is there and they use it. What they showed yesterday was the actual making of tools: Crows making hooks from sticks or tearing out pieces from certain thorny leaves. They made their own tools, which is even another level of intelligence. Really amazing!

Jorge, they won't screw up.

They won't dare to!

But... you're aware that we want to see photos, now that you've mentioned it?

Enjoy the proms so very much!

Cheers!

Markus

Markus · « **Reply #289 on:** June 02, 2011, 02:06:34 pm »

Hey folks,

I'm enjoying a day off.

It's Ascension, a Christian holiday. In Germany it's also Father's Day, reformed to Men's Day - an excuse to get drunk all day long. Since I'm not a Christian and prefer to get drunk according to my own schedule I just enjoy a day off and the chance to get some stuff done.

Cheers!

Markus

Lucy · « **Reply #290 on:** June 02, 2011, 02:27:55 pm »

That's so great, enjoy!

I hope you don't have to work on Saturday either.

Markus · « **Reply #291 on:** June 02, 2011, 03:29:56 pm »

No work this weekend, Lucy.

And I'll be on late shift on Monday, so tomorrow I'm hopefully going off for two whole days at our cottage, returning only Sunday evening.

Cheers!

Markus

Lucy · « **Reply #292 on:** June 02, 2011, 04:15:48 pm »

So it's time for you to ascend into holidays, finally...

...or should I say "submerge"?

Markus · « **Reply #293 on:** June 02, 2011, 06:13:59 pm »

Is there any difference between those?

Anyway, it's just a single day off - tomorrow I'll be in the office. In the early morning.

But then it's weekend!

Cheers!

Markus

Lucy · « **Reply #294 on:** June 02, 2011, 06:24:15 pm »

Oh no, I forgot about working Friday!

It's because that's going to be a free day for me!

Luth · « **Reply #295 on:** June 02, 2011, 06:41:59 pm »

Free today?

Free Friday?

No way!!!!

Not for me... unless you count as a "free day" having to work for 3 hours, and then run to the English oral exam. And then, of course, having no time to going work again, going to have dinner with Xiquet and end our "working day"

Lucy · « **Reply #296 on:** June 02, 2011, 06:49:40 pm »

Best of luck, Luthy Queen!

Show them the right way to spoken English!

Markus · « **Reply #297 on:** June 02, 2011, 07:00:47 pm »

Best of luck, my queen! Let us know how it went, will you?

Crosses his fingers

Cheers!

Markus

Luth · « **Reply #298 on:** June 02, 2011, 08:29:11 pm »

Thank you very much, my dear friends! Be sure that whatever the marks, I'll be able to speak more fluently than ever thanks to your company... It's very unlucky that so many months have passed and I've lost so much of my fluency

Lucy · « **Reply #299 on:** June 02, 2011, 08:45:18 pm »

Let's reach the next level together again in Prg.

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Author Topic: Daily chit-chat (Read 282635 times)