Some language you might not want to play at work: [Found at Free the Animal]
Archive | December, 2009
Changing Words
I’ve posted before the idea that as words go from being considered unacceptable (like “irregardless”) to being completely acceptable (like “finalize”), there are at least two phases. I talked about the phases in the earlier post, so I won’t bother now. Tomorrow, my copy of the third edition of Garner’s Modern American Usage will arrive [...]
Follow-up from Matthew Campbell
The whole child empathy thing. I wrote to the scientist who gave the lecture and he replied: There is a study that looked at contagious yawning in children of different ages. They found that children younger than 5 did not show it, so your observation fits in with this. I’m a little surprised by this [...]
Speaking of Empathy
I just posted about chimps, yawning, and empathy. Now I’m thinking about human kids. Toddlers don’t have empathy. And certainly infants don’t. Sometimes toddlers play empathic roles, pretending to really care, but when it doesn’t amuse them any more, they stop. There have been all kinds of studies about when kids really start to develop [...]
Yawning and Empathy
I’ve posted before about Science Cafes (U.S. Version) (UK version) (The World): Meet scientists in a bar or cafe, and chat with them about the work they do. The one here in Atlanta meets once a month or so. You eat dinner and then listen to a scientist talk about his work. (You can subscribe [...]
Letter to a Daughter
Letters of Note gathers and publishes interesting and sometimes amazing letters. Often they’re from famous people, but often they’re not. This one is from John Byrnes, not famous, fighting in New Guinea in 1942. He’s writing to his daughter, upon missing her birthday as she turned two. Have tissues handy. [You can read the handwritten [...]
Pedantry with weeklyrob
I mentioned to some friends today that I should start a podcast called: Pedantry with weeklyrob. And I was assured that such a podcast, coming from me, would be “apt.” Instead, I’ll just write a blog post about the particular piece of pedantry that inspired me to suggest the podcast. When people talk about an [...]
Server-speak
This isn’t new, but I don’t think I’ve written about it before. It often strikes me that people adopt a special way of talking once they become waiters. This isn’t necessarily a matter of training, but of some internal device that switches on when they take the job. For example, when I’m eating at home, [...]
The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.
I watched part of the first episode of this season’s TV show “Scrubs.” Which I heartily do not recommend. I’m not reviewing the show. I’m reviewing one line in the show. A doctor says something along the lines of: Due to insurance companies and malpractice lawyers, this profession is soul-sucking. I won’t address the insurance [...]
2012 is Coming. Quit your job and go make love on a beach.
The whole 2012 thing cracks me up (when I notice it at all). The Mayan calendar ends, and clearly the Mayans knew everything, so the world is ending too! Of course, my calendar ends every year, but you don’t see me worrying. But I won’t sit here and categorically deny that the world could end [...]
- Simple Causes and Complicated Results
- Seriously, Exercise Doesn’t Lead to Weight Loss
- Crime and Punishment
- PSA: Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning
- Of Mother’s Milk
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Kevin: The folks at Boing Boing obviously get their ideas...
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BruceS: I forgot to mention: Crime and Punishment is a gre...
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