Grammar Matters (Still) February 15th, 2007 @ 7:37 pm PST
Recently I saw a commercial for Sylvan Learning Centers. This is a company that is selling products to help your children do well in school. The ad showed a teenage girl gabbing on the telephone. The voice-over said, “Sally sure can talk fast. We can help her read fast,” or something like that. Apparently grammar […]
Chinese Instructions December 1st, 2006 @ 7:50 am PST
Translating Chinese is fun.
Latin for Everyone April 10th, 2005 @ 8:32 pm PDT
I think I’m going to have to add some of these to my email sig. Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam! Because, you know, interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum Europe vincendarum.
Funny Stuff in My Inbox — High School Essays June 12th, 2003 @ 2:12 pm PDT
These are from a joke email circulating that purports to be “ANALOGIES & METAPHORS FOUND IN HIGH SCHOOL ESSAYS”. I highly doubt that these were actually culled from high school essays. The main reason I don’t believe it is because there is no point of reference. There is no notation or source. The second reason […]
Typing Monkeys May 10th, 2003 @ 12:32 pm PDT
Give an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of typewriters, the theory goes, and they will eventually produce the works of Shakespeare. Give six monkeys one computer for a month, and they will make a mess.
Euphemism Generator April 25th, 2003 @ 10:15 am PDT
She seemed like a shy girl when they met, but a few drinks later, they were throwing the rubber bald-headed chutney.
Veni, Vidi, Vici March 6th, 2003 @ 7:08 pm PST
explorant adversa viros — “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Literally it means, “misfortunes put men to the test.” from Veni, Vidi, Vici: Conquer Your Enemies, Impress Your Friends with Everyday Latin, by Eugene Ehlrich
Impact the Itch April 23rd, 2002 @ 10:33 am PDT
Someone commented on my mini-rant that the words “itch” and “impact” are not verbs. The reader seemed to suggest that the appearance of these words in “a dictionary” as verbs is a viable argument for them being accepted that way. My reply: There are many words in “the dictionary” that are not words. You cannot […]
How to Pronounce the Word Height March 18th, 2002 @ 12:42 pm PST
I want you to stop what you’re doing. I want you to look at the word below. I want you to speak it aloud. height How did it sound? Say it again. Did it rhyme with “right”? It should have. Say it again. Did it rhyme with “byte”? It should have. Say it again. Aloud, […]
Ending Lists March 12th, 2002 @ 11:36 am PST
On list groupings and the correct use of commas Why does it seem that nobody knows the correct way to end a comma-delimited list? Did they stop teaching this after 1980 or something? Let’s review, shall we? First let me explain the philosophy upon which the correct use of “commas in lists” rests. It’s another […]
