[OP]
Member
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?
Contributor
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.
[OP]
Member
You know its bad when we can't even insult someone and spell their name right.Originally Posted by Myk Rian
Contributor
The grain in wood…So what do you find fascinating?
That my hands, mind and heart can actually work wood into enjoyable, useful items.
Glistening spider webs in the morning sun fascinate me:
On the Web.jpg
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
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
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; 09-30-2021 at 12:21 PM. Reason: Spelling correction
Member
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?
Contributor
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.
========================================
ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
FOUR - CO2 lasers
THREE- make that FOUR now- fiber lasers
ONE - vinyl cutter
CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle
Contributor
Lisa, you forgot the ED………on considered.
Contributor
Last edited by Lisa Starr; Today at 9:21 AM. Reason: Spelling correctionNow that is funny.
jtk
Last edited by Jim Koepke; 09-30-2021 at 4:12 PM. Reason: added Mel Fulks post
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
How about Janus words or auto-antonyms? Those are words that have two of their meanings that can mean the opposite of themselves.That English has some words that have lost their meaning. For instance,
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
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
Jim, That sanction thing is one of the real duds. Guess it’s just something Congress made up.
[OP]
Member
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.
Contributor
You can eat baloney or talk baloney. Don’t do both at the speaker’s stand….unless you are way back from the audience.
Last edited by Mel Fulks; 09-30-2021 at 6:23 PM.
Member
To, two and too made a grammer nazi out of me... poor spelling drives me nuts. Makes the speller look stupid.You know its bad when we can't even insult someone and spell their name right.
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.
Last edited by Richard Hart; 10-02-2021 at 4:58 PM.
Contributor
A simple sentence like, "notices were mailed to two too many addresses," has helped me with keeping 'the twos' in order.To, two and too made a grammer nazi out of me... poor spelling drives me nuts. Makes the speller look stupid.
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.
Sometimes an image helps: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”).
Their, There, They're.png or I before E.png
What really helps is spell checker, my spelling would be a lot slower if my only check was a dictionary.
jtk
Last edited by Jim Koepke; 10-03-2021 at 2:11 PM. Reason: added quote an wording
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
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