Tag: Pets

Navigating Simple English in “Project Hail Mary” | May 10 2026, 15:30

I’ve read about a quarter of Project Hail Mary so far. The English is very simple, easy to read, captivating; the movie so far follows the book closely, but still, it makes reading quite interesting. However, I generally find it hard to read fiction because I keep getting distracted to google stuff. I reached the phrase “..I used the bathroom (or “head” I guess, because I was on the ship)…” and it got me thinking, it’s interesting to learn that the toilet is called differently on a ship not just in Russian. And why “head”? Turns out that “galley” in Danish and German is “head”. Interestingly, galleys are also found on airplanes, and historically, galleys were used only by sailors; officers did not use them.

The text is very childish, and understandably so – the main character is a physics teacher at a school after all. All these motherfluffer and dang it, gosh darn it, fudge, holy moly, for cripes’ sake instead of for Christ’s sake, there’s even bull-puckey instead of bullshit. “To go wee” is how they say “to pee” in the book. I recall, the day before yesterday we entered a mattress store, and the consultant, while discussing the topic “if one of you goes to the toilet, the other won’t even notice that the first one got up” – well, because the mattresses are so soft – actively used the verb “to pee”. So what? 🙂

Update: when the physics teacher encounters an alien ship on page 120, the chapter ends with holy fucking shit! That’s what all the rest was leading to;)

Occasionally, there are quite funny expressions that can even be used in life 🙂 For instance, the main character asks, “Who pooped in your Rice Krispies?” which is the idiom “to poop in someone’s cereal” – “who messed up your meal”.

In conclusion, if you’re choosing your first book to read in English – this one is at the top of my list. Even something seemingly simple like “Harry Potter” is more sophisticated, in my opinion. Here, there’s a lot of dialogue, school level but almost slang-free vocabulary, and a pretty interesting plot. Plus, it’s real science fiction, where the author educates the reader about the scientific method, how the world works, etc., all from the viewpoint of the hero, a physics teacher, who shares various facts and thoughts on how physics works, relating it to the plot in his interactions with other characters or thoughts to himself (rather than directly to the reader). It’s middle school level so far, but maybe it’ll get more complex later on.

Crabs in Love: Monogamous Parasites of Sea Turtles | April 15 2026, 21:56

WOW, it turns out that under the shell near the anus of sea turtles, the parasitic crabs Planes minutus make themselves at home, and there’s only enough space for a cozy duo, so they form a monogamous pair and live happily ever after inside the turtle’s butt (had no idea what to do with this information, so I brought it here). In relation to the turtle, this is commensalism. It’s when it’s good for one (or in our case, two), and the third doesn’t give a damn. I see a scientific paper claiming that they sometimes mistake the turtle for ocean debris, where there’s room for more than one wife, and then, goodbye monogamy. But, at least, no butts involved.

Yuki’s Mysterious Bi-Annual Behavior Shifts | April 09 2026, 14:31

Yuki’s “ooooh” mode is activated again (April 7, 2026). It usually lasts a few days in April and October.

Previous occurrences were –

– October 15-20, 2025

– April 11, 2025

– April 1-4, 2024

– February 2, 2023,

– October 27, 2022,

– March 15, 2022

Behavior changes during this period include:

1) He might sing songs for hours on end. For instance, at six in the morning.

2) Suddenly, he likes to go for walks. Usually, he does not. Even though he always has access to the yard, he specifically needs to go on a walk. He might go to the door and knock on it with his paw. Usually, at the word “walk,” he rushes to the third floor.

Now, he looks into your mouth when you’re talking to him. Always seems to be waiting for something, possibly expecting the question of whether he wants to go for a walk. He knocks on the window and the front door with his paw.

And yes, he starts wanting to walk at around six in the morning, and then again soon after returning from a walk.

3) On the walk, he sticks his nose in the grass every five minutes, and it’s hard to pull him away. Usually, this is rare, but now it’s constant.

4) He might sit and watch the sunset for half an hour.

5) Unstable appetite, occasionally. You put meat on top of his food, and he doesn’t even look at it.

Exploring English: Verbs, Misunderstandings, and Learning Through Contrast | March 06 2026, 23:57

About the English language. When Yuki sees another dog, he adorably places his chin on the ground and presses his paws to his face, but I have to tell him every time not to approach because once he lets them get closer, he suddenly starts growling and instigating a fight. And what verb would you choose for that?

Well, from school I knew that roar meant growl. And I even told everyone “roar” for the first week until I googled it and realized that in roar, it’s tigers, lions, and motorcycles, but for dogs, it’s growl or even snarl (with teeth showing).

Or take the phrase “cook food.” To cook comes to mind, but actually, to cook implies thermal processing (fire, stove). If you’re “cooking” a salad, tea, or a sandwich, a native speaker would say make. Saying “I’m cooking salad” is like you decided to boil it.

Or suppose you decided to watch a movie. In English, the choice of verb depends on where you are and how large the screen is. When you go to the cinema, you use the verb see. “Let’s go see the new Dune movie at the cinema.” If you say “I watched a movie at the cinema,” they’ll understand, but it sounds a bit technical, as if you were sitting there closely studying the screen like a security guard monitoring it.

But. When you turn on your television, laptop, or projector in your living room, watch comes into play. The verb watch implies extended attention to something on a smaller (relative to theater) screen. By the way, if the screen is off, you look at it (as an item). Once you turn it on and a picture appears, you start to watch it.

Generally, for an advanced level, it makes sense to attach each concept to a scale, to remember the words in shades of intensity. For example,

Cry -> Weep -> Sob.

Annoyed -> Irritated -> Angry -> Furious -> Livid.

Smile -> Chuckle -> Laugh -> Giggle -> Guffaw

Spitting -> Drizzling -> Raining -> Pouring

and so on.

And then further distinguish them by paired opposites, like the smile-cry from the example above.

It’s very easy to remember when put together.

But it’s necessary to try to apply them, otherwise it’s no good. Some words may be bookish, and here it’s important in what context it is said. If you told a friend in a pub: “I cannot comprehend this beer” – it would sound as if you’re writing a dissertation on that beer