I’ve been avoiding social media and politix since the election. I reached a point where I “just couldn’t” anymore. But, even with good intentions, everywhere I turn it’s politix and appointments. The clown circus is in town.
tRump has nominated a Fox News Host to be defense secretary. Pete Hegseth. His experience is TV, and as an officer in the National Guard. Ridiculous.
More buffoons in the clown car:
The Idiot in Chief also named Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new advisory group, “Department of Government Efficiency.” that “will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to ‘drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.’ He added that the move would shock government systems.”
Ugh.
All the other Bozos he’s signed up for circus acts can be found in the link.
It’s questionable if We will survive this administration.
Thank you for reading today's post. Have an InterStellar Day! ~PrP
When do you say “somebody” instead of “someone”?
While “someone” is usually considered more formal, in some contexts “somebody” is more important.
If almost any millennial hears the word “someBODY…” blaring from a speaker, they can finish the first line of Smash Mouth’s 1999 hit song “All Star”: “Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me / I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed.” But what would happen to the song if it started with “someone” instead of “somebody”? The two words have virtually the same meaning and are often used interchangeably. However, “All Star” would not be the same if you changed that first word.
“Someone” is considered the more formal of the two, so it’s preferred in legal and academic writing. This may be one of those language rules you’ve followed without noticing, but give it a try now. The use of “one” as a pronoun is very formal: “One may find that using ‘someone’ is more appropriate in professional settings.”
“Someone” and “somebody” are indefinite pronouns, meaning they refer to a nonspecific or unidentified person. Both should be written as single words — the two-word variants “some one” and “some body” went out of style around the early 19th century. Other indefinite pronouns include “anyone”/”anybody” and “everyone”/”everybody.” As with “someone,” the words “anyone” and “everyone” are also preferred in formal writing.
While “someone” is more formal, “somebody” can be more important. Comedian Lily Tomlin said, “I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.” Here, the use of “somebody” is more specific — it’s used as a noun instead of as an indefinite pronoun. Tomlin was joking that she may have become famous, but she should have specified the type of fame, and her quote illustrates when we might want to choose “somebody” over “someone.” This slight grammatical shift drastically changes the meaning of the word. Instead of an unnamed person, now “somebody” refers to a person of particular importance, fame, or power.
Matt Gaetz for AG? The world has to be laughing at the US. What a scary time to be a US citizen.
I’m loving it. The maga people will learn like the palestinians what happens when you allow extremists to run your government. The difference here is the maga people had a choice.
Why do we say “break a leg”?
Why do actors tell each other to break bones before a performance? It’s not malicious — the idiom “break a leg” has roots going back to ancient Greece.
Telling someone to “break a leg” is another way of saying “good luck” — unless they’re especially clumsy, in which case we’d suggest an idiom that’s less likely to jinx them. You may wonder, though, how a phrase that sounds so menacing on the surface can have such a positive connotation. While the origins are murky, there are a few popular theories behind why we say “break a leg” as an encouraging expression.
The most common belief is that the phrase originated in the theatrical community, which is known for its superstitions. Actors worry that the simplest thing can bring about bad luck, such as saying “Macbeth” in a theater (it’s called “The Scottish Play” instead), whistling backstage, or, indeed, wishing a fellow performer “good luck.” Instead, many actors use the term “break a leg” as an ironic way of wishing other actors well. The exact start of this practice is unknown, but it was noted in a 1921 edition of The New Statesman in an essay called “A Defence of Superstition” by Irish writer Robert Wilson Lynd. He said the best way to wish luck was through an opposite sentiment, such as saying, “May you break a leg.”
Another purported, albeit unlikely, origin story involves audience reactions to live performances in both ancient Greece and the Elizabethan era. The Greeks were said to stomp their feet instead of clapping, while Elizabethans would bang their chairs on the ground to express praise. Ferocious stomping meant they enjoyed the performance all the more. So, people may have begun saying “break a leg” in the hopes of generating a response powerful enough to risk snapping both human and chair legs.
A nontheatrical origin story involves the German phrase Hals- und Beinbruch! — literally translated as “may you break your neck and your leg!” The Oxford English Dictionary cites this use around 1900 in a hunting context, then 1913 in a theatrical context, but lexicographers note there’s not a strong connection for influence on the English idiom and theatrical usage.
The fact that your suits don’t prevent your human imitators from negotiating shifts between light and dark, such as leaving a well-lit place and adjusting to the darkness of night need not be as concerning as to limit their interaction with humans. Many humans suffer from nyctalopia. Your crew could just claim the same.
You make such a good argument in favor of W*/` allowing their people to go down to Earth that no one can gainsay it.
What’s the Difference Between Sympathy and Empathy?
These similar-sounding and commonly confused words have two different meanings. Sympathy says, “I know how you feel,” while empathy says, “I feel how you feel.”
It’s not uncommon for English words to be confused or misused. But as literary heavyweight Mark Twain explained, choosing the right word is crucial: “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter — it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” The meanings of “sympathy” and “empathy” fit Twain’s metaphor similarly. In both cases, the latter term carries more weight.
Both “sympathy” and “empathy” refer to a response to someone else’s emotional state, but the ways of relating are different. “Sympathy” means you’re concerned for someone, while “empathy” means being concerned with them. It involves actively sharing in someone’s emotions. However, the dictionary definitions of the two are similar.
According to Merriam-Webster, “sympathy” has several definitions, but the one causing confusion with empathy is this: “The act or capacity of entering into or sharing the feelings or interests of another.” The definition of “empathy” is similar, albeit kicked up a notch: “The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.” The key difference between the two is the vicarious nature of “empathy.” However, this nuanced relationship is understandably confusing and has been for centuries.
“Sympathy” is the older of the duo. It appeared in English in the late 16th century, derived from the Greek “sympatheia,” meaning “fellow-feeling” or “community of feeling.” The roots of “sympathy” (syn and pathos) aptly mean “together feeling.” Between the 16th and 20th centuries, “sympathy” meant what “empathy” means today, but was ultimately replaced by its lexical competitor, “empathy.”
The term “empathy” emerged in the early 20th century, modeled after the German term Einfühlung (from ein, for “in,” and Fühlung, meaning “feeling”). It was created by German philosopher Rudolf Lotze as a translation of the Greek term empatheia, meaning “passion” or “state of emotion.” The roots em and pathos mean “in feeling.” At first, “empathy” was used in a scholarly fashion in fields such as philosophy and psychology, and while it still retains those technical uses, it also has evolved. By the mid-20th century, it replaced “sympathy” as the ultimate display of commiseration and compassion.
What is the Oxford comma (and why is it debated)?
This tiny punctuation mark has been the source of heated debate for over a century, but whether you use it or not comes down to your personal writing style.
I n 1905, a great punctuation war was sparked when Horace Hart, main editor and printer at the Oxford University Press, published for the first time what would become known as the “Oxford comma.” This punctuation mark, also called a “serial comma,” a “Harvard comma,” or to some, an unnecessary comma, comes after the penultimate (next-to-last) item in a list, followed by the conjunction “and” or “or.”
In the sentence “Her favorite types of tea are peppermint, chamomile, and oolong,” the Oxford comma comes right after “chamomile.” However, omitting that final comma — “Her favorite types of tea are peppermint, chamomile and oolong” — is also correct. Those who omit the comma believe it’s superfluous because it comes before a conjunction separating the last word in the list. Grammatically, neither side of the serial comma debate is wrong. You can use it or skip it; it’s a matter of personal style. Just be consistent throughout the piece. However, you might have to set personal preference aside if you follow a specific set of writing rules. For example, the AP Stylebook discourages using the Oxford comma in simple lists, while the MLA Style Manual, The Chicago Manual of Style, and APA Style champion the Oxford comma. Of course, the Oxford University Press style guide (also called New Hart’s Rules) and Harvard University Press retain the comma, which is where its aliases came from.
In what might be one of the greatest grammar paradoxes in history, the University of Oxford Style Guide, which differs from New Hart’s Rules, discourages using the Oxford comma in most situations. This instruction is straight from its style guide: “Note that there is no comma between the penultimate item in a list and ‘and’/‘or’, unless required to prevent ambiguity.”
There are certainly instances where an Oxford comma can prevent ambiguity. Consider: “We invited the kids, Mary and William.” This can be interpreted in two ways. It could mean that the kids, whose names are Mary and William, were invited, or it could mean that the kids were invited, along with two other people named Mary and William. If you meant the latter, you might add an Oxford comma: “We invited the kids, Mary, and William.”
The Oxford comma debate remains an enduring tradition between passionate supporters and adversaries. You might even see “Has opinions on the Oxford comma” on the profile of someone who wishes to convey a level of nerd chic on their dating app profile. While we stand on the side of the Oxford comma at Word Smarts, our best advice is to embrace your personal preference unless otherwise directed by a style guide.
There are several Boswells for the Commander candidate on Earth. They should continue to be exempt from departure for the planet until the being is with us. At that time some will accompany the lift, but some will be left to record the result of the lack of the candidate’s presence. That determination should be reexamined to insure directive compliance.
In ancient Egypt, the heliacal rising of Sirius (the Dog Star) in the summer was an indicator the Nile would soon flood and nourish adjacent farmland, which began farming season. The English expression “the dog days of summer” refers to the idea that summer is at its hottest after Sirius’ heliacal rising.
It appears that we may refer to it as an indication of severe sun flares from the East. Those motherships will experience electron turbulence.
Be advised that humans have developed a quantum sensor that can probe underground structures using the physics that governs atoms and gravity. This means that those of you using Iospes to live beneath human habitats are not vulnerable to discovery.
Are you suggesting that we give up our existence as Titanoboas because humans can now discover that we exist in their oceans? We have been here for almost 60 million years. Why should we leave or change? If we are discovered we will resist their attempts to capture us with any means necessary.
“In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints—I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!—and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.”
A wonderful sentiment, if but you were subject to an earthly death. But since you are not will that same sentiment apply considering that you will live more than 13,000 years?
Where did the journey lead? Where would it end? What untold adventures lay around the bend?
“Space, the final frontier”
The “journey” has only began. The “frontier” is endless. Relax and allow the journey to put you were you should be, exactly when you should be there.
I could sign off as Tuesday, because on that day after “Monday,” again we will have had your back.
<3
I’m a wanderer in this life, Lost and full of strife. But one look from you, Eases the ache in all I do.
Why is “pound” abbreviated as “lb”?
Have you ever wondered why “pound” is abbreviated as “lb”? The surprising origins of this and other common weight abbreviations trace back to ancient Rome.
Author
Bennett Kleinman
Set of 2 pound dumbbell weights
T he late great comedian Norm Macdonald commented: “ID… there’s a strange abbreviation when you think about it. ‘I’ is short for ‘I,’ and then ‘D’ is short for ‘dentification.'”
Macdonald wasn’t quite right with his assessment, but he was correct in that some abbreviations can be more confusing than they are helpful. If you can’t decipher what an abbreviation stands for, should the word or phrase be shortened at all? Even everyday terms may boggle the mind: For example, why is “pound” abbreviated as “lb”? Maybe you memorized the term in school, or maybe one day you asked the deli manager what that “LB” on the sticker meant, but it’s not an easy one to decipher on its own, because the word and its abbreviation don’t share a single letter. There is an answer as to why it’s shortened that way, though, and it dates back to ancient Rome.
The Romans used a basic unit of weight called a libra (~0.722 pounds), derived from the Latin for “scale” or “balance.” Libra pondo is a Latin phrase that translates to “a pound by weight.” When these terms reached Britain, they became the standard for weighing gold and silver. The abbreviation “lb” is a shortening of libra that was carried over to the English word “pound.” The British currency is also called the pound, and the £ symbol represents libra.
Another concept worth mentioning is the Roman uncia, a Latin word that translates to “one-twelfth.” It was used by the Romans as a unit of measurement for one-twelfth of a libra, and it became the inspiration for the English word “ounce.” So, where did that “z” in the abbreviation “oz” come from? On the journey from Latin to English, there was a detour with the Italian word onza.
So what do we call the Ear now that tRump has won? Any suggestions? I’m still trying to decide if he is a picaresque character or the Hero who can change the world order with his actions.
He is still in the game. He just authorized Ukraine to use long range US missiles in Russia. He is calling Russia’s bluff that they will go nuclear if the does that. He is leaving Trump with a big decision to make.
I suspect that Ukraine knows that it has on 6 weeks to light up the russian landscape before Trumps sells them out. Trump’s boys will surely put a price on the Ear’s head. The question is will the Ear retaliate?
Does he act as the sachem for the true values of the world? Maybe not, but I would rather trust his judgement over anyone else who would covet the title.
You and the rest of the world had better hope he doesn’t decide to abrogate his role in world affairs.
The entities that you send down are having trouble because their “eyes” perceive images in a linear fashion. That’s not the way the human eye works. Human eyes don’t perceive luminance in a linear fashion. Again understand that your people see the world in way in which the relationship between light and brightness is linear.
As the humans say, “No worries.” Use our suits when your personnel are sent to Earth. Our suits provide the most accurate, true-to-life visual representation of the function of the human eye. It converts linear intensity into lightness on a grayscale that mimics the vision of the human eye exactly. Hence your personnel will see exact how the human sees an image.