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September 19
Ahoy me hearties, ’tis International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Arrr! Her keel was laid down in the year 1995, it was, when crewmates Cap’n Slappy ’n Ol’ Chumbucket were granted the boon of an idea by ol’ Davy Jones himself. T’was June the 6th when they had the idea, but they fixed the day… Continue reading
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Grey Owl
In the 1930s in Canada, the author and lecturer Grey Owl became a well-known advocate of wilderness conservation and environmentalism. He was known as the son of a Scottish father and an Indigenous (Apache) mother, and achieved international attention for his articles, books, lectures, and films about the depletion of natural resources and the decimation… Continue reading
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Not so bad
Like the word “good,” “bad” has a very long history. Nobody knows quite where it came from. If it existed in Old English, it didn’t have exactly the same form, but there are several OE words that it might have come from. The first is not exactly a “word” at all; it’s the name “Badda.”… Continue reading
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I’ll do the thinnin’ around here, Baba Louie
I’m an excellent matchWith my humans;I picked them carefully. I tell them whatThey should think and should doAnd they go along cheerfully. They often believeThat they have ideasWhich really they get from me, But that part’s a secretWhich we won’t tell.I’m glad that you agree. -Chocolate Continue reading
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I Win.
I am modest;self-effacingBut really, I’m the bestat chasing! Squirrels I amalways beating,until those trees(and climbing’s cheating). As for Hayley,I’m quicker, butshe’s sneakywith her shorty cuts. With humans,I win every timeWhen there’s a chasethe win is mine! -Chocolate Continue reading
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If Only They Had Good Noses
I like humans pretty wellthey’re nicer than I used to think.Their hygiene though!They cannot tell,But some of those guys really stink. The worstest scents,which should be banned,they do on purposewith a can. -Chocolate Continue reading
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Being a good pet owner
If you have a humantake good care of him or herYou have to keep them nice and warmbecause they have no fur. We dogs must pay attentionor communications fail;I think it’s ’cause their ears are flat and they’ve no handy tail. But all the trouble’s worth itIf you keep one as a pet.I myself have… Continue reading
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September 18
Corn is quite the important grain. It’s “maize,” really, and it came from southern Mexico, where it was cultivated over 10,000 years ago. Even the word “maize” comes from what the indigenous Taino called it: “mahiz.” It’s called “corn” in English because the word already existed, meaning a small, hard particle like a grain of… Continue reading
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September 17
It’s kind of amazing that today, September 17, isn’t more widely commemorated as the day Norton I, Emperor of the United States, was crowned. As emperor of the egalitarian USA, it makes perfect sense that Norton I started life as a commoner. He was born Joshua Abraham Norton in England in 1818. Or sometime between… Continue reading
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A noggin of noggins
The word “noggin” has a longer history than you might expect for a slang term for your head. When the word is used today, it’s used the way it appeared in Landfall in 1951: “Thanks, chum,’ said Vic, ‘You used your noggin.’” Roald Dahl used it, too, in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar: “Of… Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer (among other things) located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate Bossypaws. No surprise, 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. You can also find some of my minor software projects at GitHub. Nothing very impressive. I mostly write tiny utilities in Python.
I find myself suddenly de-corporatized (their choice, not mine). To help keep the lights on, buy me a coffee!
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Contact
peterharbeson@me.com