Fascinating things...(or not)

[Malcolm McLeod]

Some random things I find fascinating: that we think we can hide on the internet (Visitor Messages); that we think we can be the thought police; that we think we can bully others electronically with impunity; that the death of a family member requires a citation; and our spelling is atrocious.

So what do you find fascinating?

[Myk Rian]

I have to agree with the spelling. I noticed it when I ran an online BBS system for 14 years. (Hartland Pride BBS). All text, and the kids couldn't spell back then.

[Malcolm McLeod]

I have to agree with the spelling. I noticed it when I ran an online BBS system for 14 years. (Hartland Pride BBS). All text, and the kids couldn't spell back then.

You know its bad when we can't even insult someone and spell their name right.:rolleyes:

[Jim Koepke]

So what do you find fascinating?

The grain in wood…

That my hands, mind and heart can actually work wood into enjoyable, useful items.

Glistening spider webs in the morning sun fascinate me:

465574

This may be more a finding of amazing happiness than a fascinating occurrence. One of our cats disappeared for five days. Of course in our area that usually means an untoward meeting with a coyote or automobile. Candy gets very attached to our pets and was in a real low state. Then after coming home from shopping, our bobtail tabby shows up at our door wanting to be fed.

jtk

[Lisa Starr]

That we can be consider a "world leader", but can't educate our population to proficiently use our own language.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

That my ancestors were in this country for 200 before they stopped communicating in German and spoke English. That so many Americans think of immigrants as stupid, yet the immigrants speak two or three languages and so many Americans have trouble with one. That English has so many unnecessarily complicated spelling rules. That English has some words that have lost their meaning. For instance, "He gave that short shrift." What's a "shrift" and do they also come in medium, tall and extra tall? Auto stores never sell light duty shock absorbers. So many cemeteries are surrounded by fences. Just who are they keeping in or out?

[Kev Williams]

What fascinates me, a list of 2 for now---

1- Occam's Razor: the theory that, all things being equal, the simplest explanation tends to be the right one.

2- How many people (at large, and frustratingly, many that I know personally) simply have no use for simple, logical answers.

[Mel Fulks]

Lisa, you forgot the ED………on considered.

[Jim Koepke]

That we can be consider a "world leader", but can't educate our population to proficiently use our own language.


Last edited by Lisa Starr; Today at 9:21 AM. Reason: Spelling correction


Lisa, you forgot the ED………on considered.

Now that is funny.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

That English has some words that have lost their meaning. For instance,

How about Janus words or auto-antonyms? Those are words that have two of their meanings that can mean the opposite of themselves.

Sanction can mean to approve an action or to penalize for an action.

Cleave, meaning to cling to or adhere. Cleave, with the contrary meaning to split or sever.

One can move fast or be held fast.

jtk

[Mel Fulks]

Jim, That sanction thing is one of the real duds. Guess it’s just something Congress made up.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Jim, That sanction thing is one of the real duds. Guess it’s just something Congress made up.

We could get lost in the vagaries of the English language - - but please carry on. (I'd hate to be a turd in the jacuzzi.)

Oh, and I'm betting Ms. Starr dropped a nugget of irony in with her fascination.

[Mel Fulks]

You can eat baloney or talk baloney. Don’t do both at the speaker’s stand….unless you are way back from the audience.

[Richard Hart]

You know its bad when we can't even insult someone and spell their name right.:rolleyes:

To, two and too made a grammer nazi out of me... poor spelling drives me nuts. Makes the speller look stupid.

Fascinating? Radio. Been into it since 1969. The idea of a voice transmitted through the air thousands of miles away and being reassembled in a shortwave receiver I restored, that was silent for decades, is absolutely enthralling. And I can tell you, when I do a restore and it starts playing for the first time... better rush than any drug there is.

"If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” ― Nikola Tesla

The other? Dogs! By the fact that they are far, far superior to people and are just amazing. When mine gives me those puppy eyes I get that nice oxytocin exchange and the reinforcement of the fact that they have more soul than people ever will. See Tesla quote above.

[Jim Koepke]

To, two and too made a grammer nazi out of me... poor spelling drives me nuts. Makes the speller look stupid.

A simple sentence like, "notices were mailed to two too many addresses," has helped me with keeping 'the twos' in order.

Expressing my view in online discussions with people of similar opinion has improved my spelling and possibly my grammar. (ironic when you compare our spelling of grammar, one for which spell checker often catches me)

Another problem is not only the number of people who communicate in English from nonEnglish speaking areas but the evolution of our language. All my life through was the correct way to spell what many are now insisting should be spelled thru. Someone threw the old ways of spelling out through a window.

A couple more:
Hiccough - hiccup
Tough - tuff

Some folks use enuff instead of enough and ignore the spell checker. Give it time. After all dictionaries now include the incorrect pronunciation of forte as fortay.


The word forte (pronounced “fort”) is a French word meaning “strength” that is used in English to refer to one's talent or ability. Example: English is my forte. This word is often mispronounced “FOR-tay” because it is confused with the Italian word forte (pronounced “FOR-tay”).

Sometimes an image helps:

465850 or 465851

What really helps is spell checker, my spelling would be a lot slower if my only check was a dictionary.

jtk

[John K Jordan]

So what do you find fascinating?

The ability to create music that has never been heard. And art, never before seen.

That we can experience so much joy in life, regardless of circumstance.

The wonder, innocence, honesty, creativity, and love in little kids. (I have 26 years of experience teaching kindergarten SS)

That there is good in everyone I meet. Some takes a bit of effort to realize. One took two years of effort. One neighbor I'm still working on.

Everything I've every worried about in life has somehow worked out. So I simply quit worrying about anything. Eliminates a lot of stress!!