Hi, Martooni, Hi, Cassandra.

First! (Or not). 30 mints, huh? Well it is close to cheesesteak with fried onions for lunch time.

Where is everybody? Is it that hard to switch screens between here and GW?

I've found the answer to the vacation dilemma is to take 1 week off, then extra days here and there throughout the year--prior to or after long weekends, a Friday off once or twice a month, half-day Wednesday for no reason. This allows me to take all my vacation time, and even add in a extra week's worth of unpaid vacation, greatly simplifying my life. It also solves the problem of doing as much work before and after as you would have if you'd been in.

Next: Productive use of sick-time.

I have never felt so validated. Boodlemined, Moi?

Joel, enjoy your holiday. I hope the weeding of your brother's garden in Colorado with a Black and Decker Weed Eniolator will be fun.

My wife is a teacher with 8 weeks off in the summer. I get 3 weeks total (vacation and sick) with generous comp-time. I max out two weeks at a time once a year by doing a vacation where anything less is impractical. In the past three years I have been to Vietnam and China and driven cross country. Any of these are hard to do with less than ten days.

Smaller vacations are harder, because you do fall into the work-ahead and catch-up trap. I'm perplexed by newspaper columnists and cartoonists that take vacations and their work goes on hiatus. Couldn't you have just cranked out a little extra and left it with the boss?

Howdy. I like vacations. I would like to take more vacation days, but if I went away alone my family would miss me, and if I stay at home I'll be enmeshed in projects. Hey,that's not a bad idea. I cannot, with a straight face, state that my work is so necessary I must be at work all the time; in fact, I never take work on vacation. I might worry that if I take a lot of time off they'll realize nobody noticed I was gone.

I got ten of ten on the homonyms part 2 quiz. I think some of those are a function of age; you need to know what old washing machines looked like, for instance, or other now obscure trivia.

In snow emergencies I'm "nonessential" and proud of it.

6/10 on the first homynym quiz, 9/10 on the second...

:-)

5/10 on Part 1. 9/10 on Part 2. I have to dispute the desert/dessert one. Makes no cents.

I'm shocked, SHOCKED...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/18/AR2007091800777.html?hpid=topnews

:-)

Eurotrash, the fermette was lovely. It would be fun to send a garden lady from Portland, Oregon or Seattle (or from Kent or Surrey) to redo the fermette's boring landscaping.

The Colorado-Wyoming-Montana equivalent is a ranchette, a few acres with a house ranging from junky to $$$$ and a horse or two. Or a llama.

For those with real ranches (and some who have "real" horses), "ranchette" has been a term of abuse for probably about 30 years, to no avail. Anyway, town people really ought to live in towns, except in the American South, where they live nearly anywhere. Atlanta is sort of fermetteland, where the fermettes are larger than ranchettes.

If visiting Hogtown, Joel could perhaps visit the local builder of rowing shells and let himself get talked into learning to row, just as they do on the Potomac.

Thinking of the Potomac, could someone have set up a water biathalon requiring participants to do a whitewater kayak slalom then some rowing? The two boat activities are so different (including entirely different muscles) that I wonder if anyone would even try both. Maybe we could throw in outrigger canoe, too.

Also thinking of Hogtown, I took my little piece of orange cloth from the Christo "Gates" project to the frame shop, where it'll be placed in a certified official Gator-blue frame.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/thegates/home.html

I happen to be fortunate to share vacation time with my wife, doubly so as we both teach. 8 weeks is nearly sufficient for me to gather back what's left of my wits after school dismisses for the summer.

I didn't get a chance to comment in the last kit as interim grades have become the black hole into which all of my free time has gone of late. We gave up 925 s.f in Charlotte for 4025 s.f in our present hamlet and made money in the deal. Restoration is still the operative word. The utility bills, as noted in the kit, are amazing. I'm still trying to come up with an inexpensive way to make our windows more air tight. The holes in the walls for the sashes total nearly 100 s.f in evey room, roughly 1000 s.f. in all. The house breathes deeply. We should be majority stockholders in our local gas company at this point. Insulating has helped immensely but the window conundrun remains. I may try caulk strips this winter, assuming they exclude air as well as they exclude water.

What's vacation?

I don't own a cell phone for one reason and one reason only. So when I am in my car I am unreachable. It's the only place where I am not called about work. Before the cell phone, when you were out, you could avoid the office. You were free. Ocasionally, I'd like to find the guy who thought them up and talk some sense into him.

I've been mined. My first thought was, that's nice and then, heavens to betsy, I hope he spell checked my boodling.

Jack, your house was ideal back when fresh air was the remedy for consumption.

And thank you, everyone, for letting me be the one to post this link...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/09/18/emoticon.anniversary.ap/index.html

:-)

:-(

:-) 25 is still a kid.

Yeah, Dave. It's amazing to open all of the windows and feel the circulation. I wiah we had all of the original shutters; only 6 remain. Iunderstand that an early form of air conditioning involved sitting around a tub of ice and using a fan to circulate the air.

I added a couple of links, fyi.

Jack, what are wits? How do you colllect them? Do you have any to spare? Do you think Scotty could send them over the fax machine?

I am short a few,

but then you guys already knew that.

A lecherous punk kid.
;b

No more vacation for me, I do like the flexibility of being retired. Not to have to worry about putting in the necessary face time is paradise indeed.

jack, have you considered replacing the windows? We had storm windows over the single pane ones and neither worked. The capital cost is an issue, but you'll make back the outlay on HVAC savings. I know, they're not authentic but you can get ones that will be very, very close. If you haven't checked, you should.

Jack have you tried the clear window film, sealed with a hair dryer? My parents house was old with original windows, he used removable caulking on the seals in winter.

Is this Joel's way of hinting that he needs some guest bloggers? What happened to that nice Rob kid? Did we drive him away?

Most of my career has been spent as a private contractor. In such a competitive environment extensive vacations are frowned upon for precisely the reasons Joel articulated. And yet I have never once had to worry about accumulating too much annual leave. This is because it is traditional for private contractors in Northern Virginia to switch employers every half-dozen years or so. Whether one wishes to or not.

One of the very few upsides of such a lifestyle is that you are allowed to "cash out" unused leave when you switch jobs. We have a lovely cherry bedroom set funded entirely by vacation days I failed to use during the second Clinton administration.

Although I have much more job security as a civil servant, the pressures against lengthy vacations are even greater. The world seldom stops for me when I am at the beach. Further, since taking information out of the building is frowned upon in that Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary sort of way, traditional working vacations are out. And my innovative notion to set up a tent in the parking lot and vacation "in place" really hasn't caught on with either my employers or my dependents.

So one day, many, many years from now, I might actually max out my annual leave. Unless, of course, I decide to switch jobs again. I don't anticipate this, but you never know. We could really use a new futon.

Jack, I feel you should make lemonades out of your lemons. Punch a hole in the roof of each room, then install one of those ceramic or metal outdoor fireplace doodads. You get the heat from the fire, not to mention it allows you to barbecue and to watch the "big game" in one location. You have a romantic fire whenever you need a little romance. Meanwhile, no worries of carbon monoxide poisoning, because of the fresh air rushing through the windows into each room to replace the warm air that rises through the ceiling vent.

Ivansmom, I was interested in what you said:

"Actually, I think the point was the frivolity of the "rape" language lawsuit. That, as a legal question, is apparently settled in the state of Nebraska and its corresponding federal districts as they follow state law. The plaintiff there is suing a federal district judge for following the law in her case."

So the lawsuit is frivolous because she's suing the wrong person, basically? I think there certainly could be an appeal made to ask whether the ruling is intended to apply to witnesses' testimony AS WELL as the language used by the officers of the court.

The question is whether witnesses are expected to know and appropriately use legal terms on the witness stand. I don't think that's a reasonable matter.

It's polite to ask a witness to rephrase, but I can see the rape victim's point (excuse me, sexual assault survivor, or party thus assaulted sexually), that a blanket ban on those words made what was a very tense situation-- testifying-- much worse.

Redirecting the witness could have been done better. I'm sure some people skills in telling her to calm down and describe the details would have saved that lawsuit in the first place.

I believe I would happily sue if I was expected to restrict my testimony to whatever language the court approved, on the ground that it was discriminating against my communication disability and my efforts to try and convey the testimony as clearly as possible for the court.

Likewise, if somebody was expected to testify without gesturing, there is linguistic research to show that significantly impedes the person's ability to process language.

The witness should serve the court by testifying truthfully to the questions asked (free speech doesn't really apply here), but should not be unreasonably impeded in doing so.

That could be classified as witness intimidation, no matter how slight-- and that is a misdemeanor in most states. It's probably what she should have sued under, not free speech, if she can reasonably show from court transcripts that every time she attempted to testify according to her duty, she was berated by the judge over her choice of words.

Now I could be wrong, of course, but I do believe that enforcing a language ruling shouldn't come at the expense of a witness being able to testify freely and truthfully, or to the point where a witness may well be forced to commit perjury (from her perspective).

I don't know the details of the Nebraska ruling, Wilbrod, but generally speaking these issues come about initially during a criminal prosecution and derive from the accused's right be considered innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. As the question in the criminal trial (or corresponding civil suit) is whether the rape occurred, and whether the complainant is a victim, some courts have chosen to bar the use of the words "rape", "victim" etc. from the courtroom. This not only includes but is directed to witnesses. It in no way falls under any criminal category of witness intimidation, nor would that be grounds for a lawsuit.

It also isn't a matter of knowing when and whether to use legal terms on the witness stand, or of courtesy. Typically, witnesses are told before their testimony to avoid those words; there are no surprises, and they aren't prohibited from describing the events in any way. Trust me, the only perspective important when worrying about perjury is the district attorney's; if the witness tells the truth about the events, then her own preference about what to call it on the stand is not going to open her up to perjury.

If a witness wants to challenge the judge's ruling substantively, she may attempt to do so during the course of that proceeding (technically very tricky and I won't go into it). Filing a civil suit against the judge personally is not the way and will accomplish nothing.

Trial judges tell people what they can and can't say on the stand all the time; it is their job. Those rulings are based on interpretations of state and federal statute and constitutional law, and often don't make sense to witnesses who just want to tell their story. That's okay; the rulings don't make sense to jurors either (or, occasionally, attorneys). They don't have to. These things aren't a matter of personal preference or expression. If you bring civil suit against a state or federal judge because that judge has determined the law does not allow you to use certain terms during the course of your testimony, you will lose.

Virginia employees have their leave capped at 240 hours; if, at the end of the year, you have more than that, you lose them. I've been stuck at 240 hours for years now, since in the 8 years I've worked for the state I've only taken two vacations of a week or more. This year I'll lose around 3 weeks of vacation days.

I'm not complaining, though, because my job entails a lot of travel to cool places, so I can make maximum use of the "working vacation" (and I like my work.) With Son of D being homeschooled my family can now easily go along. Since we take our own car we actually save the state money in the process.

Next month is a week in Austin for the annual vertebrate paleontology meeting.

Oh I agree completely, Ivansmom, about the inappropriateness of suing a judge for following the law.

It's too bad that what you're describing is not being made clear. I thought a lawsuit could be tossed out as soon as it's filed on lack of grounds.

What happens if a witness has a communicative disability and is for instance, told to stop stuttering and speak clearly (which can cause the witness to tense up and stutter worse), what safeguards there are involved to be sure the witness doesn't find himself incapable of testifying in the format the judge has outlined for the witness.

A simple word substitution or two isn't a major issue (although I could certainly see somebody preferring not to say s-s-s-s-ex instead of rape for fear of having the courtroom in an uproar.)

SCC: what you are describing is very clear. It's too bad the media is not describing the issues involved as clearly as you are.

I'm unaware of any situation such as you've described, Wilbrod. Judges don't outline testimony format, if by that you mean witnesses have to speak in a certain way, or make or refrain from certain gestures. As a general rule trial courts try hard to help witnesses tell their story, within the bounds of the law, as clearly and easily as possible. This includes getting interpreters as necessary; sign language and non-English interpreters are a regular part of court process. Although there are always bad apples, in the normal way a judge would never order a stutterer to speak clearly (there's no point).

If a rogue judge makes that kind of boneheaded demand or ruling, the answer is to file a complaint with that bar's bad judge committee (much like filing a bar complaint against a lawyer). They take that sort of thing very seriously and the judge can be reprimanded or worse.

And alas, a frivolous lawsuit will eventually be thrown out, but the process has to determine that it is frivolous so it gets at least one hearing or round of written pleadings. We only WISH we could get rid of them at once!

Thank you for explaining this! I certainly know court interpreters are common.

I once worked with an interpreter who did a lot of court work and frankly, I'd have rather written down some key phrases to read aloud than have him interpret every detail for me if I thought a phrasing would be open to misunderstanding.

My coworkers reacted so oddly to his voicing for me, that I suspect he was using much less formal English than I was, they knew my style through writing so well that they had problems dealing with him. (He was a very good signer, not a problem, even trilingual in Spanish as well.)

My coworkers were much more fluent and easy with another interpreter later.

I love homynyms, and actually keep a personal list of ones as I discover them - I have almost 300 so far. I had all of the ones on the test except trooper/trouper! I did miss the one about soft pedalling, but I don't play the piano so I don't feel bad (about missing that one - I do feel bad about not playing the piano).

Hi all! I've missed you. Is there a cure for busy?

Slats, your comment made me smile. Thanks.

Quote from a memo announcing leave policy: "Annual leave is a benefit which should be used by staff for rest and relaxation." [This from a guy who discourages his own staff from taking leave.] Our annual leave is capped at 480 hours for those of us who've been around a while (probably less by now). Nobody gets that much in any given year, you understand, but some people had a bunch built up. This is purely so the agency doesn't have to pay us for that leave should we quit and go somewhere else. If you transfer to another state agency you can take sick leave with you (usually) but your first agency is stuck with paying for annual leave. One year we lost three people (long story) and couldn't hire anyone for months while we paid out the accrued leave. Darn unfunded mandates.

Oh, 10/10 on both quizzes. There ARE advantgages to not processing words by sight.

Slats, Trouper refers to an actor, who indeed can work very hard to be sure the show must go on even after a disaster ;).

I never really thought about the piano connection.

The image that comes to my mind is cautious maneveuring out of a parallel parking-- which certainly does require some soft-pedalling. Likewise, getting out of a sticky situation requires the same finesse and light touch to prevent a lot of car alarms blaring at you.

SCC: advantages TO processing words by sight.

Now all I need to do is work harder at ending with the same sentence I started out saying, and I'll be fine.

Just got around to the quizzes. 10/10 on the first, 9/10 on the second. Missed "speak your piece." If I had a chance, I might argue about that one.

Slyness, peace never came from opening your mouth ;-p.

Speaking your piece is correct- again, it's a theatrical allusion.

Holding your peace is a reference to the traditional language used in weddings. (Speak now or forever hold your peace).

http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peace

If you think of it in the sense of "silence, quiet, or harmony", it makes perfect sense.

It's easy to see how the two are confusable, but I just see 'em, I never hear 'em.

"Is there a cure for busy?"

*Faxing Yoki the cure: a bottle of Stone Mountain Bacon Hollow Revenuers Reserve, a wine glass, a 1/4 pound container of Safeway Cajun crab dip, a box of Parmesan Wheat Thins, and a hassock to put one's feet up on. Repeat dosage as needed.*

Yeah, Wilbrod, but I always thought of it as having one's say, as in getting it out and being done with it. But I see your point.

Hey Mudge, I'm busy too! *hint hint*

Hi Yoki!

Off to mow, if it isn't raining.

Joel, the 2007 IgNobel Prizes will be held on October 4th.

http://www.improb.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html#ig2007

You might as well travel out of town before your vacation, no?

In other words, giving yourself peace of mind by speaking a piece of your mind, Slyness? ;-).

Ahhhhh. That's more like it. Thanks 'Mudge.

What's really bad is when you get back from an activity-packed vacation, one which you really, really enjoyed -- suddenly you're back in the regular saddle and you *know* that what you intensely need is, well, a *vacation*.

I didn't take a vacation this year, as I'm saving up for a trip back to Africa next July. I really don't mind not getting away before then, as I'm pretty frugal and there's a fair amount to take care of on the home front.

Now, alas, work is singing to me. Coming, coming. . . . . .

19/20 on the two homonym quizzes.

19/20 on the two homonym quizzes.

Us, too!

Eggactly, Wilbrod!

Isn't it funny how this language thing works?

*faxing Ivansmom a bottle of Lohr Johannisberg Riesling, a small block of white cheddar with dill, and a box of Wheat Thins (original) to help her drown out the sound of her mowning [sic]*

*also to keep her from getting new-mown-ia*

*because when you are cutting trass, your sinuses can be jammed up with particles, leading to a condition known as newmowclogus.*

*look THAT up in your Funk & Wagnalls. Hah!*

*running like crazy for the bus*

Mudge, *whimper*, I've had a very hard day, will be working this weekend and back on call next week. (Is that pitiful enough, or just annoying?)

Story of my day, folks! I don't get no respect. :-)

Time to hit that parking lot I call I-95.

About the vacation issue. Never tell the boss you are going somewhere to relax. Tell him that you and your spouse are in Africa raising money to combat tse-tse flies or AIDS. He wouldn't dare criticize you for that. (Is there a law against lying about how you spend vacation time?)

Only 6 hours 'till "Talk Like a Pirate Day" and I just realized that modern pirates don't speak 18th century English! Maybe rainforest could supply some pirate trash-talk in one of Indonesia's dialects.
Any boodlers have any Ethiopian? That'll do in a pinch.

Greetings and salutations,
I only got about 2 weeks of real vacation time this year, right after classes ended, b/c my summer job went right up until about 3 days before school started again. That being said, my summer job is working as a hiking guide in the Adirondacks, which I consider to be the best job in the world, so I'm not complaining. But we got 1 day off about every other week (we worked most/all weekends). Now its back to school and ignoring the pile, nay, the heap, of books, tests, papers and all that jazz staring me right in the face. Time to stop ignoring (sigh).

Hey Tangent! Good to hear from you and to know that you spent your summer productively. Now, to the books!

mrk, I don't know that there's a law against it, but I know I've been on vacations I didn't wish to discuss at the office. If necessary, vacations should be MYOB.

Hey Tangent!

Boko, that talkes all the romance out of talkikng like priates.

If I do this all day tommorrw do you think I'll be committed. In a lot of ways, that would be a relief.

Of course, if Ivansmom were mowing in Scandanavia near the Rainbow Bridge and didn't watch what she was doing, she could end up with a new-mown-Thor's-ax...

*listening to the crickets*

OK, OK, I know Thor used a hammer...

Shoulda left the funny stuff to 'Mudge.

:-)

Kbertocci waxes lyrical! I really enjoyed this one.

http://readthinklive.blogspot.com/

Cute S'nuke. I'll stick to echo-gnomics.

Kb, I also liked Silas Marner a lot, although some who were forced to read it may loathe the sentimentality of it. You are correct that Eliot writes very well; in general I often prefer pre-twentieth century literature for the language.

I know Dickens continues to be very popular, but he's just never been quite been my speed-- a little heavy on the description, although as he was being paid by the word on deadlines, he hardly had time to prune his verbiage.

What I do think is occcuring is a strong shift that began back in the 19th century where telegrams emphasized word economy; phone calls that cost good money long distance; newspaper headlines requiring economy of word; radio plays using sound effects to suggest more in a few seconds than could be described in dozens. With the advent of photography, magazines such as Look, and TV, written communication became linked more and more with visual communication.

Also, the ascendency of English may have taken a toll on the elegance of language.

The most popular word outlets must write according to their audiences' level of literacy and shared cultural understanding. English, being now a global language, has become very diverse in its vocabulary and regional references, this versatility and the greater audience reach does mean that the writer's use of his native idiolect (individual dialect) is restricted to what words may be shared and easily understood by most of his audience, along with a few novel words now and then.

Elaborate grammar instances also may be dropped in favor of a simpler structure.

Does this mean ideas are dumbed down for the reader accordingly? I disagree, and so would Strunk and White. Language is still language, and capable of generating considerable meaning, no matter how simple or complex it may appear.

If the sentences become simpler, then the paragraphs become more complex accordingly. If less detail is innately understood, then more detail is given.

Since my senior year of high school, I've always set out to try and write as simply as I could for a ESL audience. It is challenging.

Right you are dr. Real pirates talked funny English and they didn't have automatic weapons and outboard motors. I've got the musket and cutlass (Ok, it's a bolo knife, but if you squint) and boots that'll do in a pinch (and they do). I've got the Jolly Roger flag and if I rip up the really ugly tablecloth my sister gave me for Christmas I can wear that on my head instead of the hat, which parenthetically, I don't have. All that's left is to slap a shower curtain ring in an ear, do a quick parrot job on Buddy and teach him to squawk.

I'm gwyine fetch me peg leg, eyepatch, and bandana and hoist me a keg of kibble to celebrate. AGrrr. Woof!

SLAP day will forever be the anniversary of our first BPH.

No! No! Too early! You'll get us all accursed.

And those that expire will be considered fortunate.

SCC who expire.

"Also, the ascendency of English may have taken a toll on the elegance of language"

May I direct your attention to the writing of Mr. Graham Greene?

You mean the guy who talks about his work like thus?

http://quotes.zaadz.com/Graham_Greene

Those sentences remain simpler, and thus less deserving of notice, than Eliot by Kb's standards.

Whether they are profound or not, you be the judge.

Hitchcok's great "Vertigo" is on the AMC channel.

*faxing dbG a bottle of Madonna Vineyards ice wine and a pint of fresh strawberries*

*sorry, I was on the bus when you posted your entirely convincing, desperate plea*

*better late than never, right?*

dr, thank you. I am torn between being flattered that you like my blog and mortified that you are reading it and telling others about it.

I promised my daughter I'd post every week this year, trying to inspire her to do the same, and that way our family and friends can keep up with us a little even if we don't write or call. But sometimes Sunday evening comes around (the deadline) and I don't have a coherent thought in my head.

Regarding Silas Marner, I think the problem is that too many are forced to read it instead of inspired to do so. The opening scenario when Marner's friend betrays him and then it seems as if God has also turned away from him--it's really the opposite of sentimentality, it's reality slamming up against misplaced faith; it's the same theme as when Huck Finn decides he's willing to go to hell in order to help Jim escape. Faith versus reason, and the reader can see that it's reason that's really on the side of righteousness. Irony, that's what it is, and it's very delicately done.

I love Silas Marner. Every time I read it I just gasp in admiration for the way Eliot combines morality and art.

I absolutely agree. I read it because I chose to. That helped. Now Great Expectations on the other hand....(committing seppuku).

It's sad when a teacher who obviously loves the book somehow winds up boring the students to death. But then again, I read the danged book 15 times before she finished, because of the endless in-class discussions. I'd have SO much preferred she cut the discussion and assign essays on the book.

How is a linking to a site of unconnected quotes and single sentences without context a comment on the work of one of the greatest English writers of the 20th century?
I didn't mention Eliot or kb, I was responding to your statement that modern English is necessarily inelegant due to it's supposed ascendency.
Greene's elegance is spare, it doesn't require dressing up.
I'll be the judge all right. I judge it fine.

I love Silas Marner (at least, more than Daniel Deronda) and The Mill on the Floss hit me between the eyes when I first read it (how many of us are Maggie?) but Middlemarch is my desert island book. I've read it at least 20 times and will do so as many again before I die.

kbertocci has turned me on to Dickens and I am making my way through the oeuvre. I didn't really get it, in my younger days.

Wilbrod is right about the expansive and allusive language of 19th century literature. I have a thing for Hardy (duh!).

When I'm not being a pretentious culture vulture, I am reading Michael Palin's Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years. You should get it!

Wilbrod, I did have to read Great Expectations, but I loved it. All that extra verbiage helped write my SIL MA and PhD thesis. :-)

I think the folks at the Globe Theater in London have experimented with the actors talking sorta like pirates.

I'm supposed to visit Ciudad de Panamá in January. They moved the town after Henry Morgan plundered it and set fire to everything that would burn. It seems there's enough left to make for a World Heritage site, anyway.

I bet you still didn't read it as often as I did, dmd ;). What's SIL?

I'm with kber, I'm out of the habit of reading long novels (Harry Potter doesn't count!). A friend loaned me The Other Boleyn Girl almost a year ago, and it's ridiculous how I haven't made the time to read it. I think it's because when I had kids I really didn't have the time to get lost in a novel; I am the kind of person who gets into one and forgets to eat, pee, prepare meals, etc., while I'm reading. That's not practicable with small children running about. So I've gotten into history and biography instead. Absorbing, but at least they can be put down.

I've never read much Eliot, I suppose I should try again. Dickens wasn't high on my list either; another one I should work on. My favorite will always be Jane Austen. Interesting how her work is becoming more highly regarded. Maybe I should write my own memoirs; my kids might be interested in their old age.

So I've found another book that should be required reading. It is called "The Island at the Center of the World." The author, Russell Shorto, is making the argument that the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, which predates New York, is a grossly under-appreciated source of American egalitarianism. Shorto does this by telling a darn exciting tale based on recently translated documents.

I mean, the book mentions both pirates *and* wenches.

Would that be the Spanish ventriloquist, Senor Wenches?

Mudge, s' allright.

bc

S'allright.

s' allright

Oops sorry. stepped onnit

S'allright, Boko

Ah, I'll be wearin' my special TLAPD outfit on the morrow, mateys.

And if they ever have a "Dress Like a Gladiator Day," I'm ready for that, too.
Pass the olive oil.

Comically, I'm kind of bogged down in the last Harry Potter book. I know, it's about a half-step above getting bogged down in an Archie comic book.

Cool, there's a TV ad for "In the Shadows of the Moon," noting a general release of the film on Friday. Excellent... though I still think the AFI Silver might be the right place to see that movie.

bc

Gimme a kiss?

Actually the last harry potter book, I did have to take a couple of breaks from. It's just a lot of hurried detail in the first half.
Rowlings used the plot patterning that she had been using up to then and which I expected her to use, but she probably should have ditched some of it for a smoother read.

I'm having a mind experiment in which bc dresses like a gladiator and talks like a pirate. I'm feeling *uncomfortable.*

Stop! Stop this adaptation of 'Puss-in-Boots'! This is the Police Department of the State of Venezuela!

Thanks so much, Mudge! Better late than never indeed.

Just got back from 1.5 hours of yoga, wherein I feel contorted and uncomfortable most of the time, and walk out feeling . . . incredible. Why did it take me so long to find this?

Hey, Yoki!

Good night, all.

Feeling stiff and sore, dbg? Perhaps you have some of those new-mow Thor aches.

Back in the box, Boko.

That was a little peremptory Flemish Merchant. Ask nicely.

OK Boss

Arr.
*You're* uncomfotable there miss Yoki?

Avast, I'm pretty much naked over there in your mind experiment except for this eye patch. And I'm havin' a devil of a time deciding where to wear it.

G'night, me hearties.

bc

Jack-Mr. F and I restored a 100 year old house in KY and we did buy stock in the gas company. They sent a direct stock purchase advert in a bill one month, a very high bill, and we were all over that. It wasn't glamorous back when day traders were flying high, but it chugs along with a nice little dividend.

One of the nicest things about being in a military family is that every time we move everyone gets time off with no need to worry about what awaits "back at the office."

G'night all. Rain on the roof is calling me to sleep.

You guys can go sleepy bye if you want to but I'm gonna be sitting here in my pirate togs drooling over Ms Dowds archives. Mmmmm

SciTim:

We patched all the holes in the roof when the new roof was installed some ten years ago. The fellow that sold the place to us ha a drug problem and probably tried the indoor heating method you described, sans fireplace. The burn marks in the floors are his legacy. I'm told those are the marks of a crackhead. Glazing the windows has helped a lot. Replacement sashes would be another one of those 10k jobs, like the roof, as we have something like 44 windows. I'm thinking interior storm windows.

I lost a few more wits during the match involving my son's team. I'm the dadcoach. We started the evening in fourth place and won the match 1-nil. We're now in third, earned a bye in the first round of the pending championship tourney and stand a chance at walking away with all of the marbles. Our next opponent has beat us twice by a combined total of two goals. Statistics are on our side.

arrrrr!

AHarr Mateys, throw open tha' hatch an show me where thee's stowed Miss Purity! Dogs!

Avast, matey!

Agrrr!

Oh my name is Wilbrodog, as I trailed, as I sailed, Oh my name is Wilbrodog, as I sailed--
My name is Wilbrodog, what leash laws still forbid, unfortunately I did while I trailed, oh woof!

Arrrr Feast, yer eyes ye scurvy whelps. He who dares defile Miss Purity'll feel the cat afore the day is done!

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/maureendowd/index.html

Boko, we don't have "Talk Like a Pirate Day" in this region. Pirates are very real on the waters in this region. They terrorize merchant ships on a daily basis. Some ships hired "body guards" to pass certain waters. I think their vocabulary is limited to 2 words - tembak & bunuh (shoot & kill).

Except for Banks, MNCs and the government, most employees here get 2 weeks vacation per year. After my 10th year with the company, I got an extra week. At the end of the year, I could carry forward the unused days or get paid for them. I have a boss who'd rather pay me then have me take vacation.

Arghhhhhhhhhhhh, ye swabbies, time t'leap from yer hammocks and start swabbin' the decks. 'Tis comin' up on six bells in the mornin' watch, it be, and Cooky's got the gruel a'simmerin' in th' stew pot, but thar be no grub for ye wot don't shake a leg. Wind's east by southeast and ain't nuffing but a zephyr, so we may hafta put some a you dogs in the longboats t' row us outta here until a right proper breeze blows up.

Arghhhhh.

Oh, and by the way, stand ye well clear of certain members o' th' crew wot has covered themselves w' gladiator oil and but a single eyepatch over his Davy Jones. We don't need none o' that behavyur ab'ard this here vessel. An' when ye go for'rd to the head abeam o' the jib boom under the bow chasers, and the sea spume is breakin' over the bow and yer sittin' there in yer seat of ease and thumbin' through the , don't be tapping yer boot or reachin' under th' stall for someat other feller's seaweed, cuz the master-at-arms be on patrol up thar 'n' he'll put ya on Craigslist for sure.

That is awl.

SCC: thumbin' through th' swimsuit issue of Buccaneer Illustrated.

Rainforest's comment sent me back to this, a story detailed modern day pirating:

http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2007/august/pirate-main.php

Arrrr...

*hearin' a mess o' murmuring coming up fast astern*

"Men, men, men, men,
Men, men, men, men...

Oh it's great to be
On a ship with men
And sail across the sea

Oh we don't know
Where we'll go or when
But it's great to be with men!

It's great to be with men!"

*fixin' me scurvy mates wi'a fearful eye*

*Grover waves wi'a cutlass and mug o'grog*

:-)

I am starting two full days of training on how to be a hiring adviser. In other words, I am full of profound and unmitigated dread.

But I have me cutlass with me.

Just took a look at what my little one picked out to wear for school today. She is wearing her pirate puppy t-shirt - I started laughng.

Oh, so you are 'forced' to take vacation... The horror, the horror!

Well son, I haven't had a week off in 3 years and as best I can count I have had a total of roughly 6 weeks off in 25 years...
But then, I work for myself - and the boss is a bastard... Those who work for others make me laugh when I read of their so called tribulations..

*trying to use the hook to stuff a copy of the TLAPD manual into the fax for Dr. O*

:-)

dmd - now that's my kind of pirate, a pirate puppy! Thanks for the laugh.
(I tried to write that in a TLAP way and I just failed miserably. I don't know what's wrong with me...if I enjoy reading it but can't talk like it, can I have a little pirate cred?)

Dr. O - it sounds like you really need a vacation.

Arr.

Mudge, me bucko, re. me choice o' Piratical gear: Have ye not read the book or seen the fillum "Stardust," where the dreaded pirate Captain Shakespeare (well played in said fillum by Robbie DeNiro)favors, arr, er, *alternate* pirate attire in his off-hours?

Bah!

bc

Ooooooh....

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
SpongeB[WHACK]

argh... never mind.

Mornin' all...

I'm sure you all missed me, but I've been tied up. Really. And not by a hot dominatrix either. Let's just say that I now have the papers to prove I'm insane.

I had to laugh when they gave me the diagnosis, though... "major depressive disorder" coupled with "generalized anxiety disorder". Well no sh!t, Sherlock. I coulda told them that, but nooooo...

And people wonder why I drank so much.

Speaking of which, I'm back on the wagon... five days down, but I'm trying not to focus on the "count". Just trying to focus on today.

Peace...

Kim I am with you on not being able to talk like a pirate, then again I could never figure out pig latin either! Picture the most boring, white bread, person - that is me - severely lacking in imagination.

I am wearing a nice striped sweater today though, almost pirate like.

marghtooni, your post just brought tears to my eyes, good luck.

Martooni... ARRR Matey! It be good to hear from ye! I were jus' thinkin' 'boutcha this mornin'.

Glad ya visited the headshrinker, mate. The first step to gettin' better is findin' out whatcher got.

Arrr...

*clearin' throat of excess sea salt*

MARrrrrrrrrrrrrr... tooni! *peg-legged Grover waves*

:-)

aaargh, yo ho heave ho, it's a pirate's life for me! Sorry, Disneyland pirate talk is all I know. Good news, martoonie

Hi Martooni! Good to hear from you. And best of luck.

thanks...

TBG... it wasn't so much a headshrinker as a psych ward. Headshrinkers cost money. Psych wards are free (or so they tell me).

They also got me into an outpatient treatment center for free -- and my counselor there is quite the hottie. That said, she knows her guano... in two hours she managed to unearth some serious issues I've spent 30-some years trying to keep buried.

I was a wreck for the rest of the day after that, but it was cathartic. Feeling a little less burdened today.

And the sun's out! I may even go outside and say hello to him.

Arrrrgh. No, really Arrrrgh. RD, if you are taking a course in how to be a hiring advisor, can I mine your brain? (insert long diatribe, insert thought combined with second cup of coffee, delete diatribe)

Darn good thing its TLAPD. At least I have an excuse for growling. Long John Curmudgeon, could you please tell the captain to put out the plank.

By the way, what is the Captain's name? Black Joel? No, no. Captain Arrghenbach?

Martooni, good to hear from you matey. Tied up, tied down, whatever way you arrrgh, good to hear from you.

'Tis a fine day indeed. The coffers of the Times have been breached and Martooni is back. It does my heart good. It's wise to mind the horizon afore ye and let your wake froth were it may.

It occurs to to me I might SCC that last "were" but us pirate care not for grammar, hygiene, nor spelling. Tense!? You'd better be.

marghtooni - yea - he's baaaaaaaack!

Hey! I'm wearing a striped shirt too- yea again, I must have some pirate in me somewhere!

There are some McMansions in Virginia Beach that have to be seen to be believed. A friend of mine lives in a HUGE house and the bay window of her kitchen dining area is no more that 10 feet from the edge of her neighbor's approx 10 foot deep back yard and their HUGE house...so the neigbors on the deck are less than 20 feet from my friends as they eat their dinner. Apparently they don't get along very well so when I had dinner at their house, they were all assiduously ignoring each other...kind of weird.

Great to hear from you, marghtooni. It's good to see you haven't lost your sense of humor (or humour), either. I hope the help you are getting works for you. Good luck!!

I'm speaking like the pirate Jean Laffitte every day, so I won't make an effort at piratical English. My usual English is bad enough.
bc, Tim or any other clever boodler can tell me what is the very bright star showing before dawn low on the horizon on the Eastern sky? Even as astronomically challenged as I am I suspect a planet (Venus is the evening star no?) but I just don't know.
Too bad I didn't had a camera for the bus walk this morning. Mama deer and her too grown-up fawns were standing in the neighbour's flower bed and munching away at the remaining vegetation. They come in my garden once in a while too. This deer family are our regulars, we have monitored the twins' growth all summer. They started as absolutely crazy little joker but they are getting pretty stately now.

There's another ScienceTim roaming around the world, only his name is Timothy Ferris. PBS tonight is showing a film based on his book "Seeing in the Dark" and the Post has a review of it. It sounds very good (and even has music by Mark Knopfler and Guy Fletcher, formerly of Dire Straits):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/18/AR2007091802056.html

sd,

Earth & Sky suggests what you are seeing is Mars:

http://www.earthsky.org/skywatching/

Thanks pj but I just found a good site to view the sky based on longitude&latitude, see below. It was Venus, I think. Much brighter than Mars and the angle over the horizon is dead on.
http://www.astroviewer.com/

The brightest object on the east sky before dawn is Venus. The erathsky.org has a good collection star gazer's instruction of what we see on the sky. Look below the Venus, there are two less bright objects; one is Regulus and the other is Saturn.

Lady dmd, as much as it would greive me to hear the oaths of these bilge rats pass your sweet lips I reckon this little trifle will amuse you. Pay close attention as I pay your previous post into it's infernal maw.
http://www.talklikeapirate.com/translator.html

"Kim I be with you on not bein' able t' talk like a pirate, then again I could never figure out pig latin either! Picture t' most borin', white bread, person - that be me - severely lackin' in imagination. I be wearin' a nice striped sweater today though, almost pirate like."

Thanks Boko, but you lost me at "Lady" images of sparkly tiaras and grace and poise overwhelmed me - alas the reality is I am more wench than lady.

Translation: Thanks Boko, but you lost me at "Lady" images o' sparkly tiaras and grace and poise overwhelmed me - alas t' reality be I be more wench than lady. "

A new kit has been up for a while!

I just took a buyout at age 59. I'm into Week Three. Week 1 was terrific, full of energy, lots of chores done, including $$ transfers.
Week 2 had a little lag to it, owing to a dispute with short and short-term girlfriend, now ex-girlfriend. Still, a good week.
Week 3 sux: I'm used to deadlines and I don't have any, so I start chore-ing about 5 in the afternoon because soon it will be dinner time. Nobody is around except to have lunch with, and half of them work where used to work and where the atmosphere is highly toxic.
The girlfriend is gone (short things come in small packages) and, as a widower, I am alone, which I despise, though I need my time alone, if that makes sense.
Next up: A job interview. Already the nervousness of having a job has begun to simmer. I figure I might make it for another month without working, and that includes a car trip somewhere, plus the requisite college football games and time with my kids, who are in their 20s.
But if somebody offered a job, almost any job almost any place, except where I used to work, I'd probably not just take it, I'd seize it. This is what Americans have turned into -- even lazy ones like me. We are doomed.