If I keep referencing Graham and Maria Wanging videos, perhaps I need to make them a separate category. In any case, once upon a time, it seemed that about the only people who got tattoos were prisoners and sailors (assuming we include Marines in there as the Marines are part of the Navy). I didn’t … Continue reading Tattoos
Pet Peeve
Pet Peeve—Feels Like
For years the weather reports have been using “Wind Chill” to let us know the difference between the actual temperature and the temperature that the wind is making us feel. It’s been working fine for me. Recently I’ve noticed that my Apple weather app has eschewed “Wind Chill” for “Feels Like”, presumably in order to … Continue reading Pet Peeve—Feels Like
Pet Peeves—Snow
ANNA Your Majesty, we have had a little misunderstanding. I was describing snow and they refused to believe that there was such a thing. KING Snow? ANNA (Gesturing snow falling) Snow. (CHULALONGKORN has raised his head and noted her gesture ) KING (Feeling his way) Oh, yes. From mountain top. ANNA From the sky. KING … Continue reading Pet Peeves—Snow
Pet Peeve – Simulated Phone Calls
I have a lot of pet peeves, so I don’t know why I haven’t been writing about them. Time to correct that. For example: Notice how he’s extending his thumb and pinky to simulate holding a phone. How ridiculous is that! She’s doing it as well. Sigh. I don’t know who invented that method of … Continue reading Pet Peeve – Simulated Phone Calls
Bad Design
A few days ago I went to do my wash and when I pressed the button to turn on the washer it went into a spin. Huh? What was wrong? It didn’t take long to figure it out. I had turned the dial to the Spin setting by mistake. How had I done that? … Continue reading Bad Design
Slash
Among the many things that annoy me these days is the tendency to refer to the slash (/) as a forward slash. Nope. It’s just a slash. Or a virgule, if you wanna get technical.
Pet Peeves – Revelations
The final book of the New Testament is called The Revelation to John, The Revelation of John, or simply Revelation. I’ve also seen it rendered as The Revelation of St. John the Divine. But notice what all these titles have in common: the word Revelation is singular. And yet I’m constantly hearing it referred to as Revelations … Continue reading Pet Peeves – Revelations
Pet Peeves – Pre-
This program has been pre-recorded. How is that statement different from this one? This program has been recorded. What meaning does the “pre-” confer that the simple use of the word “recorded” doesn’t? Similarly, why does everyone talk about “pre-existing” conditions when “existing” conditions works just fine? Yes, I know, English isn’t a logical language … Continue reading Pet Peeves – Pre-
Pet Peeves – Forté
A phrase that I often hear uttered goes something like that is not my forté where forté is pronounced for-tay. This is wrong on so many different levels, well, at least two, or possibly three, depending on how one counts. First of all, the Italian forte doesn’t require the diacritical marking over the e, it should simply be spelled forte. … Continue reading Pet Peeves – Forté
Is Rick Hard?
One of my pet peeves is the way so many English speakers pronounce the German name Richard, as in the first name of two of my favorite composers, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. The German language ch “is pronounced as a rasping sound made in the back of the mouth something like clearing the throat … Continue reading Is Rick Hard?