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A merment of your time?
To ”ferment” something means to institute a biochemical process where carbon dioxide and alcohol are synthesized. Fermentation is a step in the creation of wine, vodka, whiskey, and the like. On the other hand, to ”foment” has to do with people; you might ”foment a dispute” or even ”foment rebellion” — that latter phrase is… Continue reading
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Humans are weird;they “wash” out of fright.They wreck all the sniffswhen my stuff is just right. My blanket was perfect!Aroma was fine!It’s how everybodycould know it was mine. But then it was stolenand what they did…man!They can’t smell the soapsudsbut it’s mine, and I can. So listen up, people,there’s more than one “clean,”and to force… Continue reading
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Quotes of the day
“…no amount of technology can turn a bad story into a good story. […] Storytelling is a real art, and that’s something that we’re always going to be working on very, very hard. I don’t think it’s changed in a long time, and I’m not sure it will. And I don’t think it’s something that the technology… Continue reading
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Your necklace is rusty. Get it at the carnival?
“Tawdry” means cheap and showy — like plastic jewelry, for example. But the word has an interesting history. In the 600s (or possibly the 800s; sources disagree), there was a queen in part of England (in those days kingdoms — and ‘queendoms’ — were often about the size of a modern town) named Aethelthrȳth. She… Continue reading
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That wonnot wash, Miss
It’s not in very common use nowadays, but at one time it was pretty common to see or hear phrases like “he’ll be at the race track on Thursday, as is his wont.” That doesn’t mean he “wants” to visit the race track. Even though obviously he does want to, “wont” and “want” are completely… Continue reading
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Same old same old
The thing about dictionaries in English is this: they’re descriptive, not prescriptive. Words don’t enter English because you find them in the dictionary; it works in exactly the opposite way. Words enter English, then eventually they (probably) show up in a dictionary. So how, exactly, do words enter English? Social media! The original social medium… Continue reading
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Hello DeepSeek. Well this changes things…
From Jeffrey Emanuel, one of the best analyses of the advances in DeepSeek AI, wrapped in an investor’s rundown of Nvidia’s valuation, business, and future. This is long, but full of great information and insights. Here’s another good DeepSeek post, written as a FAQ by Ben Thompson. You might notice that it’s a blog entry… Continue reading
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Cap wealth. And “cap” means different things…
“The single most ridiculous aspect of human history is how much of it has been driven by the goal of allowing a tiny portion of a large population to live in luxury.“ Continue reading
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Globalization is not what you think
Selections from The New Anarchists. It’s no longer new; David Graeber wrote it in 2002. • “The phrase ‘anti-globalization movement’ is a coinage of the US media and activists have never felt comfortable with it. Insofar as this is a movement against anything, it’s against neoliberalism, which can be defined as a kind of market… Continue reading
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Is that an ace up your sleeve?
To “finagle” is to “use dishonest or devious means to bring something about”. It’s still in use, and although many people believe that it’s a regional expression common only to the northeast US, the Dictionary of American Regional English points out that the word is used throughout the US. Its spelling varies though; sometimes it’s… 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
- Thoughtfulness about fake thought
- Drink plenty of liquids
- “Hawkweed?”
- Walked to school in the snow uphill both ways
- Circumstance and pomp
Visitation
Research Results
i.webthings.hub
Full Moon Fiber Art
Scripting News
Balloon Juice
Empty Wheel
Kansas Reflector
Bedlam Farm Journal
Krugman Wonks Out
Daring Fireball
[citation needed]
Pluralistic
Cornerstone of Democracy
Whatever
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