It isn’t a skirt it is a kilt

[Friday]

Excuse me around here the national dress is mismatched camouflage with a farm product hat, so greasy you can't tell the logo and worn backwards.

[Friday]

Okay, okay already,.................. but back to the OP. Just where is this "Application" Trail? Is it on your I-phone?

It runs beside the Appalachian Trail but it requires applied hiking rather than casual hiking.

[sadkingbilly]

As an extension of my previous comment, it sometimes seems to me that if more people would type, spell, use proper English in the style of either side of any pond and select their vocabulary accurately without using acronyms or initials (a pet peeve of mine - why for example should anyone in the world outside of the United States know that "MO" means Missouri?) ... anyway, if more folks would use jargon-free, well-written English, then there would be less need for capital letters and folks would be much better able to discern the intent of speakers.

Stfu, rtfm & gtfo you mean? (and yes it took me a few weeks to figure those out - I'm almost 40 you know)
I know where you come from and I tend to agree but one must remember not all of us (me, for one) are from english speaking countries. Although I think my english is decent enough to post on this forum there's a big piece of the english language I'll never really learn (specialized words for example, or slang < I think native speakers do use slang more easily anyway)

Part of the problem on international boards like this might be that what one person finds very offensive is just a joke to someone else. Before posting a reply to something you don't like it might be a good idea to think it over twice and remember it's not posted to you in person.

[sadkingbilly]

It runs beside the Appalachian Trail but it requires applied hiking rather than casual hiking.

Ok, you've got me - what is 'applied hiking'? Do you need special, expensive boots, a stick and a hat for that? No applied hiking on a pair of nikes and shorts?

[Friday]

Ok, you've got me - what is 'applied hiking'? Do you need special, expensive boots, a stick and a hat for that? No applied hiking on a pair of nikes and shorts?

The Applied hiking trail is near Camp David (The United States [US] Presidential Retreat) and you need special access permits and training to use it. The training is classified and need to know documentation must be produced before you can be read in. Since some of the training has leaked to the online press it can be said that in normal hiking you put one foot in front of the other. Having been developed by the US government in applied hiking you put the other foot in front of one.


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[Lyle1]

I find it interesting that you use the Borg analogy to describe American "culture", but I do not think it is really an appropriate reference for the American way of life. For me, that analogy would work better when applied to many European countries, where I sense real pressure to conform and fit in (with exceptions of course). Immigrants to American and their descendants usually retain those parts of their cultural heritage that has real meaning for them, and even then adapt them to fit the realities of living in America.

I feel an affinity for some of the cultures that comprise what one could call my ancestral heritage, but way down deep inside, I always harbored the knowledge that I was born an American because for hundreds of years, many of my ancestors have moved from the countries of their birth. Their reasons were varied, but for most it was more necessity than wanderlust that motivated them. The Huguenots fled from France to Germany in the 1500s to avoid being murdered for their religious beliefs; a hundred years later, several Scottish families moved to Ulster, for both financial and religious reasons, but in another hundred years, they moved to the North American colonies for the same reasons. An Italian moved to Germany (and intermarried) in the 1600s to take advantage of financial opportunities, while other German ancestors (including the Huguenots who also intermarried) left for the Americas at the same time because they were starving due to the devastation of the 30 Years' War. The Irish left Ireland because of the potato famine in the mid-1800s, and more Germans and Scots left their countries in the late-1800s for the United States seeking a better life.

The sound of the pipes has always caused of a visceral reaction in me, but I have always known (even before I did the research) that there were reasons that I was born in the United States rather than in another country. Melting pot or salad bowl isn't important to me; I love the sound of the pipes, and I like Italian, French, and German cooking, and I will enjoy both the pipes and good food no matter what anyone thinks! I am happy and proud to be an American. If I were to embrace the idea that the cultures of my ancestors has been watered down, I would not necessarily think of that as a negative thing. If my ancestors felt completely safe and happy in their native lands, they might have stayed where they were. Like it or not, if you live in America, pretending that you are not part of a society that has multicultural influences makes no sense.

I did not intend to write so much, but the apparent need of some people to find cultural purity really puzzles me. Culture is not static; every culture is continuously changing, or evolving if you prefer. My dog has a better chance of catching his tail than any of us has of recapturing an unchanged cultural tradition from another place or time.

[Father Bill]

Stfu, rtfm & gtfo you mean? (and yes it took me a few weeks to figure those out - I'm almost 40 you know)
I know where you come from and I tend to agree but one must remember not all of us (me, for one) are from english speaking countries. Although I think my english is decent enough to post on this forum there's a big piece of the english language I'll never really learn (specialized words for example, or slang < I think native speakers do use slang more easily anyway)

Part of the problem on international boards like this might be that what one person finds very offensive is just a joke to someone else. Before posting a reply to something you don't like it might be a good idea to think it over twice and remember it's not posted to you in person.

Good advice!

As far as the acronyms, I'd never bother trying to understand them or others much more common but still obscuring the meaning and intent.

As regards those who are not native speakers of English, I have absolute patience for them. From my professional background though, I can usually distinguish easily between those who err in honest ignorance and those who just make poor use of the only language they possess. The latter are annoying. Most folks can write simple language correctly if they make a minimal effort.

[Friday]

deleted because of no value added

[xman]

... between those who err in honest ignorance and those who just make poor use of the only language they possess. The latter are annoying. Most folks can write simple language correct if they make a minimal effort.

correctly

[BCAC]

Stfu, rtfm & gtfo you mean? (and yes it took me a few weeks to figure those out - I'm almost 40 you know)
I know where you come from and I tend to agree but one must remember not all of us (me, for one) are from english speaking countries. Although I think my english is decent enough to post on this forum there's a big piece of the english language I'll never really learn (specialized words for example, or slang < I think native speakers do use slang more easily anyway)

Part of the problem on international boards like this might be that what one person finds very offensive is just a joke to someone else. Before posting a reply to something you don't like it might be a good idea to think it over twice and remember it's not posted to you in person.

When dealing with acronyms on t'internet, I always find this little link

http://www.netlingo.com/dictionary/s.php

quite helpful.