DoodleLingo XVII

Quick funnies inspired by Duolingo, as often as I'm inspired

[doodlelingoxvii]

And that's where I'll leave it.

As knotted up as I feel jumping off the flaming runaway wagon, I know I'd feel worse if I stayed. Niche humor that's only got fewer and farther between isn't a compelling reason to keep using a service that's decided to make passionate love to a fascist dumpster fire. (Not gonna draw that. Even if you beg.) There are other services out there, focusing on actually understanding the language rather than ticking boxes or angling for league rank. Mango Languages partners with public libraries, doesn't ding your mistakes, and makes a point that it doesn't sell your info. I may end up on another one but so far it feels like the AP test, in the best way.

I do have some material still waiting to be posted, and I'll be making sure to get that out. Might even dredge the archives for exercises I wanted to illustrate later and get those out too. Who knows, maybe there'll be some howlers on Mango, or a different service if another family member jumps to one. I don't plan to quit liking offbeat visual humor, and I will totally post it if I've got it.

[doodlelingoxvii]

Soccer, on the other (tiny) hand...

[doodlelingoxvii]

So this is a break from the usual format, but I noticed the free response items on the Duolingo stories had changed format and were basically answering themselves. At the level I'm at (6, which is lower than I probably belong but I'm mostly here for review), this is actually insulting. So I decided to test whether it was looking for a real answer.

(Question in Spanish: ¿Qué hizo Lin al pastel de Vikram? [What did Lin do to Vikram's cake?] Helpful phrases: Lin añadió, queso y jugo, al pastel. [Lin added, cheese and juice, to the cake.])

My answer: Este es para ver si este algoritmo verdaderamente busca una respuesta apropiada o solo verifica la gramática. [This is to see if this algorithm really looks for an appropriate answer or just verifies the grammar.]

Clearly it doesn't care whether you say anything about the story at all, so long as you make word count with decently correct grammar. Which on the one hand is cool, because you can write something you know and get credit for your answer, especially when they're asking 3rd-grade-level questions that don't require you to use any of the grammar points from the surrounding lessons. And it's not as if they're going to be able to have a real person read your submission in real time. But this is the equivalent of getting to make half your essay the instructions for making a supreme crunchwrap, and it sucks that it more or less has to be that way by design.

[doodlelingoxvii]

Don't go the wrong way, you'll tragically lose your whole party and end up in Kansas

[doodlelingoxvii]

I mean, it's called Hidden Valley, right?

[doodlelingoxvii]

I know a certain crayfish who can hook you up

[doodlelingoxvii]

Hang on, I think they might have finally found those damn band-aids

[doodlelingoxvii]

"You spend days writing a UIL description of your foot, the trajectory, the bullet, and the intricate scrollwork on the ivory handles of the gun. When you finally get around to pulling the trigger, the gun jams." --How to Shoot Yourself in the Foot: Motif programming language

[doodlelingoxvii]

This is what happens when your smart devices get connected to social media

[doodlelingoxvii]

And if you jump off a cliff just like this, you'll goOOOOOO....*splat*

[doodlelingoxvii]

I didn't spot any, no

[doodlelingoxvii]

Looks like someone's going deep-sea driving

[doodlelingoxvii]

OH HONEY NO

[doodlelingoxvii]

Looks like Alberto should've been paying more attention

[doodlelingoxvii]

Actually it's a cookbook

[doodlelingoxvii]

Wile E. Coyote couldn't have done...wait actually I think he could've done better

[doodlelingoxvii]

"[f**k] is a great word, and i'll die on this hill because it's the only word i'd say if I were dying on a hill" --@_ElizabethMay