"In a democracy (‘rule by mob’), those who refuse to learn from history will be the majority and will dictate that everyone else suffer for their ignorance."
I do so very much wish that at least some writers would at least head on back to a remedial English class. *sigh*
“These three people are about to find out what happened to [blank].”
“And they’re going to wish they never did.”
No, “. . .they’re going to wish they never HAD.”
*smh*
No, this isn’t a post about low-carb dieting. It’s about part of what makes reading dictionaries entertaining, even fun. “Desert” (the verb: to abandon) was derived from a different Latin root (deserere: forsake, abandon) than “desert” (the noun meaning deserving a certain treatment for one’s behavior, as in “just deserts”) was derived from a _different_ Latin term (desevire: serve well; de–~completely, sevire–serve), while “desert” (the noun meaning wasteland, wilderness, barren area) was derived from the same Latin root as the verb meaning to abandon.
And “dessert,” of course has nothing to do with any of the meanings of “desert” noted above, although it is pronounced similarly to ONE of the words spelled “desert.”
Yeh, reading dictionaries is just plain fun. ? Also, as James D. Nicoll has so infamously noted, “We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.”
GOOD dictionaries can unlock these words, provide linguistic and even historical context, and thus greatly enrich one’s experience of English, both spoken and written. Why more folks don’t read dictionaries for pleasure, I just can’t fathom.
Since I have used and really appreciated a Huskvarna machine in the past (OK, so it was my Wonder Woman’s super capable Huskvarna sewing machine, still. . . ), I am strongly leaning that way for my next chainsaw purchase, but for homeowner use, on a small lot, should the significant price differential between a Husky and, say, a Poulan be a factor in choosing between them? Keep in mind, I will likely also be using a chainsaw mill for much of my use of the new chainsaw (means replacing whatever crosscut chain comes with it with a ripping chain, of course).
This isn’t an immediate concern, since we are awaiting a place in the local reliable tree guy’s schedule to poll some trees and take down others.
Oh, and Stihl is right out of the running, since, though we actually have a local dealer, the prices for Stihls at the local dealer are even more than comparable Huskvarnas. *smh* Apparently one just cannot get the “street prices” HUskys are available for with a Stihl. (Or. . . maybe not. I just noticed the local dealer is having a sale through Fathers Day. . . Hmmm. . . Nah, the only ones at “reduced prices” are unsuitable for my needs.)
Also been needing a small chipper-shredder for a while, now. And then there’re the upgrades I need to make in my charcoal making process. . . and. . . and. . .
Looks like I’ll be too busy for a while to even think about shuffling off this mortal coil. ?
An acquaintance’s recent comment about “stable marriages” recalled to mind a conversation with Son&Heir about the Decalogue and the differences between laws that are related to acts that are malum in se (wrong in and of themselves) and those that are merely about acts that are malum prohibitum (offenses ONLY because there is a law prohibiting the acts).
The Decalogue deals only with those things God defined as malum un se. After some discussion, we ended up classifying the prohibitions in the Decalogue into purely relating to God and those that governed relations between humans–number five “honor father & mother” probably leans toward only interpersonal relations. Of the five commandments (the last five “thou shalt nots”) that are clearly in the latter category forbidding murder, false witness, adultery, theft, and lusting after that which belongs to another, one can easily see where each of those acts either directly violates the rights of another person or, as in the last commandment, leads almost inexorably to such violation. Of course, each of these malum in se behaviors is deprecated by our society today. Murder? Abortion is celebrated by many. False witness? Heck, it’s become routine practice among large segments of _law enforcement_. Adultery? *smh* Normalized and even celebrated. Theft? Quotidian practice again for law enforcement (can anyone say “asset forfeiture” absent ANY conviction of a crime?). Envying the possession of others to a degree that qualifies to “lusting after that which belongs to others”? *cough* Bernie Sanders-Occassional Cortex-et al*cough*
It is no wonder at all, at all, that Hollyweird in general, the Mass MEdia Podpeople Hivemind, Academia Nut Fruitcake Bakeries, DC and most local and state governments militate against public display of the Decalogue.
“Stable marriages” are a slap in the face to a society that worships only self. Stable marriages require an honorable committment to one’s vows, freely given, integrity, among other virtues deprecated or openly derided, even rabidly attacked, by those committed to their polar opposites.
*smh* Self-pub writers who just HAVE to “write” a book, but who have no interest in becoming literate enough to avoid felonious assaults on the English language just give me a rash. It’s not that hard, for example, to learn the differences between “go” and “come,” or “take” and “bring,” or that plural subjects take verbs that indicate, urm, you know, MORE THAN ONE, etc. But wannabe subliterate self-pub writers (there are good self-pub writers) have another major flaw: they usually seem to have an overabundance of confidence in their subliterate writing, and avoid literate proofreaders and editors like the plague.
(Aside: it’s often a Very Bad Sign when a self-pub writer thanks his mom for “critiquing” his book. As a matter of fact, in my experience, it’s a 100%, dead certain indication that the writing will stink up whatever room the book’s read in.)
This is not a good thing.
Yep. Corrupt cops ARE everywhere. This afternoon, I watched a cop lie his ass off concerning an incident I witnessed. No just exaggerating or coloring his testimony to favor his position, no. Every single detail was exactly NOT what happened.
After I testified, the judge told the prosecutor to “Produce the video for me to view.”
That cops ass is grass. . . or would be if LEOs didn’t routinely get “byes” even for perjury.
Yeh, the corruption is endemic. Power corrupts.
n. “the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.” See IRS, et al.
There was once a time when Windows 10 was not as bad at managing local network connections. Sure, it was a couple of orders of magnitude slower than Windows 7 in doing so, but at least, once sharing & etc. were “turned on” things were fairly easily (if, again, slowly) “seeable,” but as the inevitable and very nearly unavoidable “update” cycles have progressed, access to local network resources has regressed.
If saving a file from the internet, for example, it doesn’t matter what browser I use, whether a VPN is engaged or whatever, if I want to save it to anything BUT my local machine, I have to type in the IP address of the resource I want to save it to. Then, it I only have to just twiddle my thumbs waiting on Win10’s execrably slow access of LAN resources.
Similarly, if attempting to access other LAN resources (computers, NASes, etc.) via “Windows Explorer” file management. . . no network resources available, no matter WHAT I have set up in “Network and Internet Settings.” In fact, every now and then, at apparently random times, the stupid “Network Discovery is Turned off” error pops up. I check, and no, it is turned on. Turn off/back on anyway. Semi-fixed: no error popping up, but still have to either use manually-created shortcuts placed on desktop, on toolbar, etc., or type in the resource address. (Yes, as a result of Win10’s stupidity, I have finally given ALL LAN resources fixed IP addresses).
Oh, and yes, I have made sure all the dependent services, etc., are set to start automatically and are running, and that–again–network sharing is set properly for a “private” network, etc., etc. Me$$y$oft’s Win10 still screws it up, usually sooner than later.
It’s as though Me$$y$oft engineers have sat and thought, and thought, and thought, and said (collectively), “Here’s something that will REALLY screw with users. Let’s do it!”
#feh
Why couldn’t Me$$y$oft at least be like Linux developers and fix something and then move on to creating more problems.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.”
Of all the systems devised by humans to deal with ethics and morality, Pragmatism, as a system is IMO, least dependent on emotions and biases, but Pragmatism fails at the point where incomplete, inaccurate human knowledge intersects with partial and faulty understanding of that incomplete and inaccurate knowledge. Other system that are more dependent on preconceptual biases (Pragmatism has some of its own, you know) and that either assume more knowledge than is available or are even more blind to their own misunderstandings are even less appealing that Pragmatism.
Unless one is both omniscient and infinitely wise, the best one can hope for is that one’s own understanding of circumstances and consequences is partial, and one is as likely as not, if one relies only on one’s own knowledge and understanding, to be quite wrong in predicting ultimate outcomes. Short-term outcomes? One might have a better chance, but relying on guidance from Someone who knows juuuuust might be a better idea, hmm?
Oh, for the record, I choose my guidance wrong far more often than I should. *sigh*
. . .here in America’s Third World County™. . . until Summer School starts on May 28. *heh*
The last couple of weeks of pubschool reveal its essential nature as “prisons for kids” or “glorified daycare.” *sigh*
Oh, and when did “graduation” from eighth grade (or sixth grade or KINDERGARTEN) get to be a big deal? OK, maybe I could understand making a big deal of eighth grade graduation back in my grandfather’s day when an eighth grade education carried some sort of meaning, but now? #feh “Here’s your meaningless piece of paper certifying that you are ‘graduating’ to a status of lowest of the low, wandering generality in a sea of your elders, bottom of the pecking order. Buh-bye!”
And kindergarten graduation?!? “Congratulations! You are no longer just a tadpole! You are now a tadpole with a piece of paper you can’t read and the start of being a tadpole with legs! Enjoy your next twelve years of regimentation!”