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Bant
Trendy diets tend to have names, like keto or south beach. And some of them, like the Atkins diet, are named after the person who popularized them, usually by writing a book. One of the trendiest recommendations of recent diets is avoidance of carbohydrates. All this — low carbs, fashionable diets promoted by books, diets Continue reading
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Born December 6: Craig Newmark
In the US, at least, if you want to find an apartment to rent, somebody to paint a room in your house, a used computer to buy, or if you have any of those things (or more) to offer, you’re likely to use Craigslist. It’s a free service that’s available in practically every local area Continue reading
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Born December 5: Clyde Cessna
If you fly in a commercial airplane, it might have been manufactured by Airbus, Boeing, or a few others. But if you fly in a private plane, particularly in the US, it’s pretty likely to have been made by Cessna. Cessna Aircraft was founded in 1927 by Clyde Cessna, who was born December 5, 1879 Continue reading
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December 6
“I think that I shall never see / A poem as lovely as a tree.” Many, if not most people remember that’s the first couplet of Trees, a poem by Joyce Kilmer. Not quite as many remember that in spite of the name, Joyce Kilmer was a man (“Joyce” was actually his middle name). He Continue reading
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December 5
Today is the 75th anniversary of Flight 19, the five US Air Force bombers that disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle. They were on a training mission and reported that their compasses had stopped working and they’d gotten lost. Although they knew they were due east of Florida, where they’d taken off, for some reason they Continue reading
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Flamboyant
The English word “flamboyant” is taken directly from French. That is, in French the word is the same, but the meaning differs. And the meaning in French has changed in interesting ways since the 1500s, and also since the 1800s, which is when it started to appear in English. The French word is probably older Continue reading
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A stickstick from your yardyard
What we call a “yard” was, in Old English, a “geard.” It was pronounced about the same way, but the word did something unusual during the transition to modern English: it split into two words, with “yard” keeping the Old English “g” sound that’s more like a “y,” but in the other (“garth”) the “g” Continue reading
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Born today: Agnes Blackadder
Agnes Blackadder was born on December 4, 1875 in Dundee, Scotland. She was a spectacular student, earning her MA degree when she was 20 and continuing on to become a medical doctor. She won first prizes in six different subjects along the way. Once she earned her medical degree, Blackadder moved to London in 1901, Continue reading
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December 4
As everybody knows, December 4, at least in the US, is National Cookie Day. December, of course, is well known for National Food Days; it all starts on the first, which is Eat a Red Apple Day. The next day takes a left turn away from healthy choices to be National Fritter Day. Then after Continue reading
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Pull up your galligaskins
There’s something inherently amusing about the word “pants.” It’s not for nothing, after all, that David Letterman’s production company is called Worldwide Pants. One thing about “pants” is that it’s plural, and even though it’s been centuries since the garment was made in two pieces, one for each leg, we still refer to a “pair Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate Bossypaws. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.
Check out my other blog, Techlimitics, where I’m grappling with the nature of simplicity.
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