General Discussion Thread

[Sunflower]

Transponder snails to be exact. 2000 words about fictional telepathic snails. What am I doing with my life?

What's wrong with telepathic snails?  No odder than many other story topics, and more interesting than a lot of "New Yorker"-type stories.  You responded to a prompting from the Muse, and you're honing your craft.  Sounds good to me!

"The life so short, the craft so long to learn," as Chaucer said. 

[ThisCat]

I googled it, and it turns out you weren't kidding.

Who said I was kidding?

[potatobunny]

My two cats would be hopeless out on their own, so they don't wander, or leave you alone because they don't like being lonely

They're huge dorks:

The light one is my mum's and sister's, the expensive one, and the dark one is my little bargain fluffball. She's pulling the "MOvE The StRInGGGggGggg!!!" Face X3

Oh my gosh, cuuuuuuuuuute! They practically have Grade C written on their faces, such friendly little dorks.

[OrigamiOwl]

Oh my gosh, cuuuuuuuuuute! They practically have Grade C written on their faces, such friendly little dorks.

Hehe I knoooow! I'd totally be eaten by a troll if it were up to them to save me X'D
The large kitty's nickname is Dodo (short for Dolly, because of "Hello Dolly") and in the second picture she has literally fallen asleep with her claws stuck in a toy because she gave up trying to let go ;______; *sigh* the tiny traumatized-looking one is actual the brains of the duo, but when she sees white string (and only white) she goes into crazy mode, and then cries if you don't play. I was brushing her once and I pulled some fur from the brush, and jokingly twisted it into string, and I think she had some sort of existential crisis O___O "I.....am....the white string. The white string.....is ME." 

Please tell me there are Minions out there with better Grade Cats D'X

[Eich]

Mine is at least a Grade B.  He's smart, in shape, affectionate (whenever I come home, he climbs all over me and walks in circles around me when I'm laying in bed   Such a bro), and a hardcore murder machine.  He keeps our yard free of moles, squirrels, rabbits, other cats, dogs, snakes, and whatever birds he's fast enough to latch his claws into.  Also, I haven't gotten him to outright play and chase after stuff in a couple of years.  Maybe he's getting old?  We've had him since 2006, so he's 7 or 8 years old now.  Is that old for a cat?  Either way, he's lasted longer than any of our other cats.  They all either got ran over, got cancer, or were too filled with hate to remain living for more than 3 or 4 years.

[potatobunny]

Hehe I knoooow! I'd totally be eaten by a troll if it were up to them to save me X'D
The large kitty's nickname is Dodo (short for Dolly, because of "Hello Dolly") and in the second picture she has literally fallen asleep with her claws stuck in a toy because she gave up trying to let go ;______; *sigh* the tiny traumatized-looking one is actual the brains of the duo, but when she sees white string (and only white) she goes into crazy mode, and then cries if you don't play. I was brushing her once and I pulled some fur from the brush, and jokingly twisted it into string, and I think she had some sort of existential crisis O___O "I.....am....the white string. The white string.....is ME." 

Please tell me there are Minions out there with better Grade Cats D'X

Aw, no, a Grade C cat is better than no cats, and two Grade C cats are better than one!

Mine is at least a Grade B.  He's smart, in shape, affectionate (whenever I come home, he climbs all over me and walks in circles around me when I'm laying in bed   Such a bro), and a hardcore murder machine.  He keeps our yard free of moles, squirrels, rabbits, other cats, dogs, snakes, and whatever birds he's fast enough to latch his claws into.  Also, I haven't gotten him to outright play and chase after stuff in a couple of years.  Maybe he's getting old?  We've had him since 2006, so he's 7 or 8 years old now.  Is that old for a cat?  Either way, he's lasted longer than any of our other cats.  They all either got ran over, got cancer, or were too filled with hate to remain living for more than 3 or 4 years.

He sounds like an awesome cat! Mine could be Grade B with more training because she's a natural hunter (of lizards, cockroaches). Not yet one year old, so we're still trying to instill good habits in her, particularly to play nice. :/

[Sunflower]

We've had him since 2006, so he's 7 or 8 years old now.  Is that old for a cat?  Either way, he's lasted longer than any of our other cats.  They all either got ran over, got cancer, or were too filled with hate to remain living for more than 3 or 4 years.

WebMD says:
Indoor cats now live an average of 15 years, and it is not uncommon to see cats 18 to 20 years of age. The domestic cat in the wild (sometimes called a feral cat) has a short life expectancy -- about 6 years. Accidents, diseases, parasites, the trials of securing food, and the stresses of multiple and frequent pregnancies all contribute to this shortened life.

The city cat fares somewhat better, but still contends with infectious diseases, accidents, fights, and sometimes malicious behavior on the part of humans. The indoor pet, being well nourished, vaccinated against infectious diseases, and protected from accidents, fares the best.

The 15-20 year lifespan jibes with my experience, at least with other people's cats.  (The only cat we ever had growing up just... didn't come home when he was about 12, but he did a lot of woodland ranging and could've been eaten by a raccoon or something.)

... too filled with hate to remain living for more than 3 or 4 years.

Ha, that's a vivid image!  Did those Evil Kittehs have that terrifying, low-pitched, combined hiss/yowl? 

[Pessi]

Everybody knows the place where it always rains is the UK, not Finland.

Actually it's Bergen in Norway.

Here, it's just cold.

Imo Finland isn't cold enough for a too large part of the year. The temperature should stay below +20° C all year round to make me happy 

[OrigamiOwl]

WebMD says:
Indoor cats now live an average of 15 years, and it is not uncommon to see cats 18 to 20 years of age. The domestic cat in the wild (sometimes called a feral cat) has a short life expectancy -- about 6 years. Accidents, diseases, parasites, the trials of securing food, and the stresses of multiple and frequent pregnancies all contribute to this shortened life.

The city cat fares somewhat better, but still contends with infectious diseases, accidents, fights, and sometimes malicious behavior on the part of humans. The indoor pet, being well nourished, vaccinated against infectious diseases, and protected from accidents, fares the best.

The 15-20 year lifespan jibes with my experience, at least with other people's cats.  (The only cat we ever had growing up just... didn't come home when he was about 12, but he did a lot of woodland ranging and could've been eaten by a raccoon or something.)
Ha, that's a vivid image!  Did those Evil Kittehs have that terrifying, low-pitched, combined hiss/yowl?

Out first family cat disappeared when she was 19, seven years ago. Never found a trace of her, so therefore I still believe in my soul that she's alive somewhere. It's like a conspiracy: did Dad secretly get her put down? Did the visiting banker steal her? Was she taken by an eagle? Was it aliens? Was SHE an alien? Was it Peter Pan?????? (She the cat version of Nanna the dog ;3) O________O

Eich's hate-filled cats sound like they spontaneously disintegrated from existence into little dust particles of evil! D8

Mine is at least a Grade B.  He's smart, in shape, affectionate (whenever I come home, he climbs all over me and walks in circles around me when I'm laying in bed   Such a bro), and a hardcore murder machine.  He keeps our yard free of moles, squirrels, rabbits, other cats, dogs, snakes, and whatever birds he's fast enough to latch his claws into.  Also, I haven't gotten him to outright play and chase after stuff in a couple of years.  Maybe he's getting old?  We've had him since 2006, so he's 7 or 8 years old now.  Is that old for a cat?  Either way, he's lasted longer than any of our other cats.  They all either got ran over, got cancer, or were too filled with hate to remain living for more than 3 or 4 years.

Is this the tuxedo moustache gentlecat? He sounds so wise and experienced in kitty life and struggles, he's probably got some badges hidden away somewhere- he could be a kitty teacher and mentor for young Eich kitty-guards ;3
Sounds like the Eiches (es? S? ????) will do well against the rash monsters!

[Nimphy]

General discussion for randomy randomness. During History lesson:

Teacher: *points at a map* And this is Canaan, near the Jordan river. Who lived in this land?
Random voice in the class: Canadians!

'nuff said.

[victrixia]

Actually it's Bergen in Norway.

Imo Finland isn't cold enough for a too large part of the year. The temperature should stay below +20° C all year round to make me happy 

Shush! Don't take away my stereotypes! D:

Okay you can have them if it makes you happy.

I thought I'd be happy with the temperature staying above +10 at all times, but living in Germany for a winter changed my mind. It even did get a little colder sometimes, and it was still too warm for a winter for my taste. No snow! No refreshing -15! I demand my money back.

[OrigamiOwl]

General discussion for randomy randomness. During History lesson:

Teacher: *points at a map* And this is Canaan, near the Jordan river. Who lived in this land?
Random voice in the class: Canadians!

Hahah! Awww! That's funny XD

[BabaYaga]

I think it's only funny to anyone who speaks Finnic languages.

We have this meme in Finland, which is apparently also a thing in Estonia, that if Finland is mentioned in an international context, everybody goes "FINLAND MENTIONED, SEE YOU ON THE MARKET SQUARE" which is what happens when Finland wins the Ice Hockey world championship (twice, now) or the Eurovision Song Contest (once).

OP sees Estonian is a surviving language, Estonian mentioned -> international fame hurrah!

Might have worked better with some explanation or a less generic topic name, though.

Edit. Yay! I helped?

Oooh I see now. Thanks for the explanation! I completely get it, it's the same for my country too. I almost had a heart attack when I opened the language tree page and saw my language mentioned. I screeched "MINNA REMEMBERED US" with tears in my eyes, even though she killed it off. 

[StellersJayC]

General discussion for randomy randomness. During History lesson:

Teacher: *points at a map* And this is Canaan, near the Jordan river. Who lived in this land?
Random voice in the class: Canadians!

'nuff said.

History lessons! In mine as a general rule you can expect to go severally off topic but still learn a lot. For example, one day our teacher started a discussion about rock climbing in Arisona and we were all wondering how it was supposed to connect to the differences is social structure in New England verses the Chesapeake. It didn't.

Ah well, at least the story was entertaining and I now know the difference.

That discussion by the way... I must be tired because I stared at it for a minute before it realized what was wrong with it.

[victrixia]

Oooh I see now. Thanks for the explanation! I completely get it, it's the same for my country too. I almost had a heart attack when I opened the language tree page and saw my language mentioned. I screeched "MINNA REMEMBERED US" with tears in my eyes, even though she killed it off. 

Actually, I just realised today when I had more of my brain capacity available, that... The OP might have had more of a point than we even realised. The sizes of the leaves represent the size of the population speaking a certain language at this point, right? And Estonian has a teeny tiny leaf! DOES THIS MEAN THERE ARE ESTONIAN SPEAKING SURVIVORS OUT THERE

Edit. Oh, well now I feel silly. But good to know. :DDD