Language
We all talk and write, but our different approaches to language, from weird misspellings to verbal idiosyncrasies, make the topic so interesting!
Exclusively vs. only
"I'm going to teach you something about sales," the salesman at my high-school job told me. I listened because his numbers were usually the highest each week; he clearly knew what he was doing. His good advice may have been about how to sell better, but it was really about language. The difference between the words "only" and "exclusively" is slim in meaning, but great in connotation.
Read MoreContinuous vs. Continual
Things happen. That's easy, everyone knows that. But many people get a little mixed up about how things happen. For example, does a thing happen continuously or continually? This post takes a look at the subtle difference between the two.
Read MoreFrom the department of the redundancy department: repetitious phrases to stop using
"Have you ceased and desisted your assault and battery? Notify your kith and kin of your various different options." Did your skin crawl at reading those two sentences because of the four obvious redundant phrases? If not, it should have! I've gathered a number of repetitious phrases that all of us should avoid using in our speech and writing.
Read MoreReading too much into webserver file names
Here's my observation: On Apache/Linux-based web servers, the file within each directory that is looked for is called index.html. On the IIS/Windows platform, the file is called default.html. Index. Default. Each carries a certain connotation... does that connotation imply anything about the platform on which these files exist? Or am I just reading far too much into something completely innocuous?
Read MoreExpanding the lexicon: automagically and ginormous
It's time to accept two new members into the family of words in the English language: "automagically" and "ginormous." Even if you don't like them or use them yourself, there seems to be plenty of evidence that these neologisms have become mainstream.
Read MoreWeb talk: then vs. now
The language of the web, like the web itself, is constantly changing. I'm not talking about HTML5, PHP, or other development languages; I mean how we as a culture actually refer to using the web. Since its "birth" there's been a noticeable shift in how people speak and write about the internet. It's an interesting study and while I don't claim to know all about it, I have collected some examples.
Read MoreNow Reading
Planned books:
None
Current books:
The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
Recent books:
- The Santaroga Barrier by Frank Herbert
- Stardust by Neil Gaiman
- Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
- A Princess of Mars (Penguin Classics) by Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick