. . .people USED to at least know enough about capitalism to make the first letter after a period bigger than the ones that followed. (*pa-dump-bump*) Sadly, more and more folks do not seem to even know that much, nowadays. *sigh*
Fortunate Son
I was blessed (though some seem to think “cursed”) to be raised in a family of literates, and not just “functionally literate,” but liberally-seeded with formally literate adults, and eventually (sometimes) not-too-shabbily-literate sibs. Combine that with the fact that I am an Odd1 and my life has continually been filled with bafflement when confronted with folks who, quite apart from literacy, aren’t even fluent in English, when it’s their native tongue!
So, yeh2, I spend way more time than is probably healthy listening around some folks’ grammar. But. . . about that word. *sigh* I do really tire of folks misusing it to the point that it has now lost a usefully distinctive meaning. Nowadays, it seems to be used primarily either in a pejorative sense in the phrase “grammar Nazi” to mean someone who is picky and offensive about language and who often corrects others’ misusages. And in that vein, “grammar” is generally misused to be a reference to any correctly spoken or orthographical speech or writing.
Nope. Grammar is “A set of rules and examples dealing with the syntax and word structures of a language. . . “3 Oh, it is more than that, and in common usage nowadays it is. . . much, much less. *sigh*
So, I am bothered not by the pesky gnats of syntax alone, but illiterate word misuses, bafflingly stupid punctuation (in writing, of course, although the way some speak weirdly placed commas can also be heard *heh*), and nonsensical neologisms**. Add to that the creation of subcultures with “lects” that are both independent of regional dialects and that seem to be structured specifically to utter nonsense (LitRPG/gamers for example, though not the only example; there is the “Friends” dialect as another example) and call it English, the popularized illiteracy/subliteracy/pseudo-literacy prevalent in the Mass Media Podpeople Hivemind, bureaucratese, lying liars who illiterately lie (A.K.A. politicians), and English seems to be in dire straits.
Oh, well. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. *heh*
(Oh, and just a wee lil “BTW,” here: “I’m trying really hard not to correct your grammar,” really should read “I’m trying really hard to not correct your grammar,” even though I really don’t try at all. . . )
Better:
2 Yeh, I find “yeh” to be a better representation of the expression than “yeah.” So sue me. It sounds to my ear more like what folks actually say.
“If You Can’t Say Anything Nice. . . “
Drug cartels may be filled with murderers, rapists, drug dealers, and “human traffickers,” but at least they aren’t FBI, IRS, or ATF agents, so there’s that.
I Have Never Not Been an Odd.
I didn’t know I was an Odd at age 5, but I went through a phase where I walked around imagining myself touching things with an eleven foot pole that I would NOT touch with a ten foot pole. “Practiced my hammer throw” getting the neighbor’s obnoxious tomcat back over the fence to their back yard. Tried to lure monsters out from under the bed to play with at night. Just normal stuff for me.
Nowadays? On long drives, I have sometimes amused myself by mentally (is there any other way?) converting mph to kph (mph*1.6214 gets close enough). Sure, I could just read the kph off the “wee numbers” on the speedometer, but that’s no fun. “Funner” to check the “big numbers” and do the simple multiplication. I’m sure you do similar things.
Thanks for the Memories, John.
I’ve enjoyed the Heinlein-esque space opera by John Hindmarsh via Kindle Unlimited, so in memory of John and the pleasure he has afforded me (as well as in very minor support of his wife, Cathy), I’ve begun buying those space operas instead of just giving a wee tip via Kindle Unlimited. It’s a small thing but within my reach.
The next one (started by John and finished by Craig Martelle, with permission) drops on September 20th: You Don’t Know Jack. It’s a little Heinlein mixed with C. S. Forester series. A nice antidote/anodyne to the poisonous pain of Suckitudinous Fiction.
Makes Me Wonder Why I Authorized Their Easement
Here in America’s Third World County™ the local “Squirrel-run POTS Company” went “all fiber” to our house a decade ago, and still offers dead-bunny-through-a-straw DSL. ‘Cos that’s just the way they roll, I guess. My Cat6 cabling inside – yes, on the POTS line, too – is better than their “fiber” line for data. *shrugs* I’m just glad they do not offer a “service” changing light bulbs.
Don’t Go There
When someone says, “Take a deep breath” to me, it’s likely that what comes out will just be louder. Better: pay attention so I do not have to speak louder.
Monkey Business
Yeh, confluence of events. . .
The usual suspects are trying to create another PANIC!™, this time about a virus that’s statistically MUCH less harmful than the common cold. . .
*sigh*
Then, after exposure to one of these scaremongers, I was (hand) washing our lunch dishes when I was reminded of Stupid Counsel™ about hand washing during the Covid-19 PANIC!™ You know what I’m talking about, I’m sure: 20 seconds of handwashing and the virus is magically banished!
Horse Pockeyhuck. During the PANIC!™ of 2020 (et seq.), I was unable to find any serious research papers about handwashing/Coronavirus-19, but there were already quite a few studies available on handwashing vs other viruses with similar lipid capsulation. They generally agreed that dissociation of the virus (one cannot kill something that is not alive) was effected by a soap and water handwashing of TWO MINUTES or GREATER duration.
I do not expect information about the Monkeypox PANIC!™ and procedures for dealing with it to be any better (placebo masking and other measures included) than the largely stupid measures effected during the 2020 PANIC! (et seq.).
But at least my greasy dishes got clean with soap, hot water, and vigorous scrubbing. . .
Another Lil Bit of Tightwaddery — “Cross-scaling” Tossables
You’ve seen “upscaling” DIY projects. Imagine this as cross-scaling. 😉
I have an indulgence I from which have managed to partially salvage a wee bit of tightwaddery. My breakfast, of late (say, the past few months) has consisted of a cuppa “keto coffee” supplemented with some “glucose control” protein powder (crème brûlée! *heh*). I justify the expense as supporting my nutritional needs hic et nunc, as it were.
But. Yeh, the expense kinda nags at me. So. . . the powder comes in a really nice, thick, resealable Mylar™-lined bag. Hate throwing such a thing away, so. . . wash and dry. Reuse for those long term storage items Mylar™ bags are recommended for, but which I’d otherwise simply store in vacuum sealed bags. Food item in bag (w/oxygen absorber), zip-seal started but not completed, bag in vacuum seal plastic bag, vacuum sealer run, zip-seal finished. Double-bagged Mylar™/vacuum-sealed for long term storage.
Feel less like a wastrel. In this case, less is more. *heh*
And the Beat Goes On. . .
Have you ever put a novel down at night and gone immediately to sleep? Then, the story continues in dreamland. . .
What’s frustrating is that, when this happens with me, all too frequently, when I resume reading the book, the writer gets it wrong. *heh*