Daily random tidbit.

[Portia]

Okay. As someone who wrote her master's thesis on the family Chenopodium, of which quinoa is the most useful member, I can weigh in and say that Emiliana is pretty much right. It's a seed, but the reason it's not a grain is because grains by definition come from monocotyledenous plants, or grasslike plants. Think about plants like wheat, corn, and rice. They're all pretty grasslike. Quinoa grows on a broadleafed plant, so by definition it can't be a grain. It's often called a pseudograin.
Any other random plant questions? I haven't had much occasion to let that side of my education out to play recently

I think I did some sequencing for your professor/ lab manager back in the day.

[Wisteria]

Yeah? All the plant genetics professors work more or less in tandem in that lab- were you working for Dr. Jellen or Dr. Maughan? They're the ones most involved with quinoa- Maughan was my undergrad adviser and Jellen was my master's adviser.

[Portia]

Yeah? All the plant genetics professors work more or less in tandem in that lab- were you working for Dr. Jellen or Dr. Maughan? They're the ones most involved with quinoa- Maughan was my undergrad adviser and Jellen was my master's adviser.

Both look familiar. They (you) outsourced the sequencing to us. I worked with Dr. Wilcox. (Which really narrows my identity for any stalkers in our midst! ;) )

[Katya]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallpaper_group

Why did no one tell me that this was a thing? I hold ALL of you responsible!

[Fredjikrang]

Wow. I had no idea that wallpaper was so scientifical!

[Wisteria]

I'm so ashamed, Katya! I should have told you earlier.

[Katya]

I'm so ashamed, Katya! I should have told you earlier.

You! It was Youuuuuu!

Now I have to pull out my book on the history of textiles (yes, I own such a book) and figure out what classification each of the repeating patterns belongs to. Actually, I'm thinking it's going to be a lot of fun.

[Marduk]

Wow Katya, what an exciting Friday night.....

[Katya]

Wow Katya, what an exciting Friday night.....

Hey, show me a guy who's as interesting as the rotational symmetry of a lattice fence, and I'll cancel my plans. Until then, you know where to find me.

[Marduk]

Me. Of course, I'm a bit far away at the moment....

[Katya]

Me. Of course, I'm a bit far away at the moment....

Well, there you go. Wallpaper!

[Portia]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogh

I learned a new letter today! Sorry, men, I have a date with Wikipedia tonight.

[Dead Cat]

Fact: Tug of war used to be an olympic sport.

[Digit]

Blorenge, a prominent hill in Wales, is a word in the English language that rhymes with orange. They only one, according to at least one source.

[yayfulness]

Yay, applied linguistics! I don't know if it's possible for people who only speak English to really understand the intricacies and significance of formal and informal forms of "you." It's fascinating to watch them evolve and see the friction it causes. Also, I found it interesting that French has a nearly identical version of the Spanish word "tutear" (to address someone using the informal "tú").

[Katya]

Yay, applied linguistics! I don't know if it's possible for people who only speak English to really understand the intricacies and significance of formal and informal forms of "you." It's fascinating to watch them evolve and see the friction it causes. Also, I found it interesting that French has a nearly identical version of the Spanish word "tutear" (to address someone using the informal "tú").

My French roommate and I once called each other "vous" for an afternoon as a joke, but we had to stop because it was making us sad.

[Genuine Article]

My husband and I jokingly garble french pronouns and substitute "vous" for "you" in our everyday conversations, saying things like "Vous had better take out the garbage if vous know what's good for vous."

[Giovanni Schwartz]

I just call everyone Usted.

[Marduk]

I just call everyone Usted.

Except that kinda defeats the whole point of the language differentiation. It'd be like being confused about where adjectives go, and so dropping them altogether instead.

[Katya]

I just call everyone Usted.

Except that kinda defeats the whole point of the language differentiation. It'd be like being confused about where adjectives go, and so dropping them altogether instead.

Yeah, it'd be like dropping "thou" entirely and calling everyone "you" . . .

Oh.