Commonalities.I think Joe Brockmeier and I tend to have a lot in common on the subject of comporting oneself, as his recent ZDNet blog entry shows. In that entry, Joe looks at this subject from the practical point of view: How will an employer view your flamefests? But the larger question is not just about the employer’s ability to see the talent behind the sharp tongue — it’s about how that job interview reflects the general acceptance level for specific behaviors. I recently wrote this as part of a note to a small group, asking for some moderation in their tone, to curb harsh and unproductive flaming. Notice the similarities: I firmly believe that when people disagree, we can do it with civility and courtesy. Interaction by computer isn’t an excuse to act in ways that, if we did them face to face, would shame us or those who know us. The Internet has a vast and unforgiving memory — when we act out badly, the results take on an extended shelf life. |
And I rhyme “either” with “miser,” too.Aside to aspell: When one opens up talks with a second party, it’s a dialogue. That is, in fact, a correct spelling in US English, and the abomination dialog is reserved for computery people who don’t have time for niceties like spelling, and typing two extra letters. |
Reckless endangerment, part 1.Verbatim, from a note sent home in Evie’s “Poetry Folder”: Every Friday your child will bring home their Poetry Folder to share with you. We will be learning a special poem each week. Please have each person that your child reads their poem to initial the page and return it to school on Monday. Thank you. Care to count the errors? People always ask me why our children speak so well, and I think maybe I should start answering, “Because we don’t trust the schools to teach them how.” |
Self-aggrandizing moment.Always a slow blogging day when you make yourself quotable. Said this to a friend at work today: I think learning the English language has been the cause of more of my cynicism and misanthropy than any other pursuit, including my frequent dealings with other people. |
Do they not have cable in Dictionaryland?So next, I’d like someone to explain, pretty please, why gauge is indicated as a spelling error on my F7 GNOME desktop, kthxbai. |
So this guy Chad, he has a lot of time on his hands?This is a very interesting video, but I have a bone to pick. More of a pet peeve. OK, it’s just me being a language fascist. The word “chad” is its own plural. Or rather, the word means an indeterminate amount as opposed to a thing, meaning it can’t really be effectively pluralized, much like the word “paper” (in the sense of “Give me more paper”). Please, folks, if for some godforsaken reason you have occasion to talk about bits of paper clinging to the punch cards from which someone attempted to forcibly remove them, remember the term is “hanging chad,” not “chads.” |
