Aucith's recent activity

  1. Comment on At least twelve dead, including suspect, in Virginia Beach shooting in ~news

    Aucith
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    It shouldn't be there, in modern grammar. Today, only a single comma would be grammatical: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to...

    Or really just why that third comma is there.

    It shouldn't be there, in modern grammar. Today, only a single comma would be grammatical: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.". The other two commas might represent slight pauses in speech, but do not abide by modern punctuation practices.

    1 vote

  2. Comment on At least twelve dead, including suspect, in Virginia Beach shooting in ~news

    Aucith
    Link Parent
    The prefatory clause "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state" is a so-called absolute construction [1]. It's not very common in modern-day English, but it occurs...

    The prefatory clause "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state" is a so-called absolute construction [1]. It's not very common in modern-day English, but it occurs in sentences such as "All things considered, it's not a bad idea.".

    [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_construction

    1 vote

  3. Comment on At least twelve dead, including suspect, in Virginia Beach shooting in ~news

    Aucith
    Link Parent
    The term "silencer" is a misnomer; even 'silenced' guns are 115 dB to 145 dB. For comparison, a chainsaw is typically 110 dB. Really the best course of action is to use both a sound suppressor and...

    The term "silencer" is a misnomer; even 'silenced' guns are 115 dB to 145 dB. For comparison, a chainsaw is typically 110 dB.

    But that just sounds like a lazy excuse for not wearing real ear protection.

    Really the best course of action is to use both a sound suppressor and ear protection. Ear protection reduces sound levels by only around 30 dB. A typical unsuppressed 9mm pistol is 160 dB, exposing the operator to 130 dB noise levels even with ear protection. OSHA recommends no more than 1 second of exposure to impact noise over 130 dB per 24 hours. Spending a good amount of time at the range can easily put you above the OSHA limit.

    6 votes

  4. Comment on Going nuclear might be the best way to combat climate change in ~enviro

    Aucith
    Link Parent
    I'm still a bit worried that the clathrate gun hypothesis might turn out to be true, with melting permafrost releasing a huge amount of methane.

    I'm still a bit worried that the clathrate gun hypothesis might turn out to be true, with melting permafrost releasing a huge amount of methane.