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Cool!
English has loads and loads of pretentious, stuffy, and even bureaucratic words. But it also has some nifty ones. Like “nifty.” “Nifty” is a casual word for casual use, and it tends to be used in close connection with other casual words. According to the corpus of contemporary American English, the words most often found… Continue reading
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Gentle there, sailor
Nautical affairs have contributed a huge number of words to English over the centuries. If you define “nautical affairs” broadly enough, that would include ships, sailors’ jargon, and even books and stories set in seagoing contexts. Patrick O’Brian wrote historical novels set on 18th century British naval ships, so his works certainly qualify. The books… Continue reading
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The Curious 100
The Eames Institute has posted their list of “the curious 100.” It’s “a celebration of one hundred courageous leaders and creative minds across the United States who are harnessing the transformative power of curiosity to solve today’s most pressing problems.” The Eames in the institute’s name is Charles and Ray Eames, the famous design team that came up with… Continue reading
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Dem bones
Make no bones about it; the expression make no bones about it comes from soup. Sort of. Saying “make no bones” about something, nowadays, generally means to talk about something clearly and openly. It’s most recently derived from its opposite: “to make bones,” which is an obsolete expression meaning “to have objections to or difficulty… Continue reading
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Is it over?
Now people are being disappeared here in the US by squads of thugs who think they’re empowered by authority. Mahmoud Khalil is now an overtly political prisoner here. We have political prisoners now. We disappear people now. Here are two sources of Khalil’s letter from the concentration camp:Document CloudGuardian US(Posting more than one link to… Continue reading
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Blundering barbecued blisters
Strategies for avoiding military services have been around as long as military service. In the 1960s in the US, hiding in Canada was popular, as was (among wealthy families) getting “deferrals” for anything from trumped-up physical ailments like bone spurs to academic responsibilities among some decidedly lacking in real scholarly ambitions. Centuries ago, when military… Continue reading
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Pre-Automation
Pre-automation is a business model. Probably a secretive one. The idea is that a massive organization, especially one aiming to be a monopolistic platform, might employ large, outsourced labor forces. Think “gig workers.” At the same time, the organization would invest in developing the tools to replace these workers with in-house systems and machines. Does… Continue reading
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Look on my works and despair
I met a traveller from an antique landWho said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desart. Near them, on the sand,Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,Tell that its sculptor well those passions readWhich yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,The hand that mocked them… Continue reading
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Just a bit askew
One thing immediately evident to most visual observers of art, buildings, sculptures — almost anything — is balance; symmetry of composition or construction. If something is too “lopsided,” even if they can’t put their finger on exactly why, many people feel slightly uncomfortable. What they’re probably even more uncomfortable with is wondering about the origin… Continue reading
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Lying, cheating, and laziness
Capitalists love to talk about markets and competition — up to a point. But when market competition gets difficult, like when the capitalists in question are faced with a competitor offering a better product, or a better price, or really any other advantages, well…then they reveal that they hate competition, and their real preference is… 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. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.
Recent Posts
- Unintended consequences…but predicted
- Beware the outsiders
- It’s not just the cursed repubs
- At least “annoying” isn’t too hard to spell
- 19 and 20 and 25
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