Day: April 21, 2010

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“There Will Always Be An Island Off the Coast of France”

It used to be that it was said, “There will always be an England,” but it ain’t necessarily so anymore.

Caravanner, 61, prosecuted for having Swiss Army knife in his glove box… to cut up fruit on picnics

A disabled caravanner who kept a penknife in his glove compartment to use on picnics has blasted the authorities after being dragged through court for possessing an offensive weapon.

Rodney Knowles, 61, walks with the aid of a stick and had used the Swiss Army knife to cut up fruit on picnics with his wife.

That’s right, folks” a 2.5-inch bladed Swiss Army Knife. Evidence of obvious intent to commit mayhem.

*sigh* And here in the USA, more of the same, as the TSA will confiscate any lil teen-eintsy bladed “weapon” from once-free citizens, when they’re not going full court press to fine and imprison folks for whatever strikes the Thousands Standing Around as an appropriate expression of their goonery.

This in a land where my grandfather and his brothers once took their Model 1895 Winchesters to school–talk about school safety! Imagine some idiot trying to hold up a school where the teacher and students were all armed to the teeth! Ah, but those were different times, you say. Yes, they were, more’s the pity.

As for that “island off the coast of France” thing, well, that may not even be “always” if the Calip-hate has its way… With a completely disarmed populace, how long until Londonistan is added as “the chief city of an island in the Calip-hate just off the coast of Francistan”?

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Department of Education

Jerry pournelle is always worth listening to, and never more so than when he speaks about public education, and especially about the effect of the “feddle gummint’s” Department of Education.

In 1983 the National Commission on Education, headed by Nobel Laureate Glenn T. Seaborg, wrote that “If a foreign nation had imposed this system of education on the United States, we would rightfully consider it an act of war.”

Go ahead and read the rest of his brief comments at the link.

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Asshats in Comments

My post on “unintended consequences” brought a SPAM comment from someone who “respectfully disagree[d]” with my analysis, claiming to be the “Chief Medical Officer of URL Pharma” saying that “There is no such thing as ‘generic colchicine.'” [The inappropriate placement of the second ‘ is in the original.]

Asshat. My post didn’t even use the word “generic” so it’s easy to tell that this was either just a spider-crawling comment or one written by someone who’s too subliterate or lazy for any response from me more than mocking.

On top of that, had I referred to “generic colchicine” I’d have been correct in doing so, since generic=something that is general, common, or inclusive rather than specific, unique, or selective in its primary sense, and “generic colchicine” has thus been in use for the treatment of gout for “six centuries” (according to the historically illiterate FDA–it was first described in use for such treatment over 2,000 years ago in De Materia Medica by Pedanius Dioscorides, but what are 14 centuries difference to an FDA bureaucrap?). The asshat goes on to make other offensively disingenuous commentary, but what can one expect from some auto-response to folks blogging about a company and the FDA conspiring to screw folks yet again?

But let me be clear: I LOVE asshattery in comments, because it gives me a way to blow off steam that doesn’t involve “kicking the cat” as it were. Feel free to return for more mockery, jackass.

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Almost Annoying

I like Fun With Words, but this was a tad irritating:

Glossary of Fun Words – What word means to throw out of a window? To dance a child on one’s knees?

Couldn’t they at least choose some relatively obscure words instead of the oh-so-common “fenestrate” [see Random Yak’s correction in comments :-)] and “dandle”? Oh, well, I suppose I’ll check out the link anyway.

Now, this is more like it:

Glossary of Linguistics and Rhetoric – What do euphemism, hendiadys, cacophony, and procatalepsis mean?

I actually had to stop and think about “hendiadys” for a couple of seconds. I can’t recall the last time I used the term in conversation, either, although I am known to commit the heinous act from time to time. *heh*