oldog

use or it lose it!

answers.com is my new favorite place on the web. Each day I am greeted with a host of trivia via blufr.com and I can test my spelling and vocab knowledge (much to my chagrin at times) with the Spelling Bee (powered by eSpindle) ...

today's word, which is to die for, is

Per·vi·ca·cious
a.

[L. pervicax, -acis.]
Obstinate; willful; refractory. [Obs.] -- Per·vi·ca·cious·ly, adv. -- Per·vi·ca·cious·ness, n. [Obs.]

I feel the need to use it as much as possible today, and I also feel that won't be a problem ;)

to google or not to google...

The dictionary got an update Thursday. New words and senses will be included in the 2006 version of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, due out this fall. Here are some technology and science highlights. The year notes the first known usage of the term.

Which brings me to a pet peeve of mine... spell a word wrong long enough and eventually it becomes the correct spelling... jeesh! what's the point in learning how to spell correctly in the first place?

avian influenza (n) 1980: a highly variable mild to fulminant influenza of birds that is caused by strains of the influenza A virus which may mutate and be transmitted to other vertebrates--called also "bird flu"

biodiesel (n) 1986: a fuel that is similar to diesel fuel and is derived from usu. vegetable sources (as soybean oil)

google (vt) 2001: to use the Google search engine to obtain information about (as a person) on the World Wide Web

manga (n) 1951: a Japanese comic book or graphic novel

mouse potato (n) 1993 slang: a person who spends a great deal of time using a computer

ringtone (n) 1983: the sound made by a cell phone to signal an incoming call

spyware (n) 1994: software that is installed in a computer without the user's knowledge and transmits information about the user's computer activities over the Internet

text messaging (n) 1982: the sending of short text messages electronically esp. from one cell phone to another

wave pool (n) 1977: a large swimming pool equipped with a machine for making waves

The Oxford English Dictionary added these tech terms:

adware, n.	Biosteel, n.
chip and PIN, n.	codec, n.
cybrarian, n.	cybrary, n.
digicam, n.	geocaching, n.
Google, v.	hacktivism, n.
mash-up, n.	mesohyl, n.
nanobot, n.	pixelate, v.
rewriteable, adj.	screenable, n.
self-storage, n.	texting, n.
text message, v.	uninstall, v.

and Webster's these...

aeriform (adj): having the form of air, as gas
caloric (adj): pertaining to the matter of heat
deliquesce (v): to dissolve or soften in air
electrician (n): one versed in electricity
ignescent (adj): yielding fire or sparks
psychology (n): the doctrines of spirit or mind
sebaceous (adj): fat, pertaining to fat
vaccine (n): the cow pox, kine-pox
vaporize (v): to convert into vapor by heat

in 1806 ;)

Shit magnet

Yesterday was a difficult day. More than I had realized, apparently.

I was reminded of this when I stepped outside today to enter my vehicle.

Tom's writhings had been "recorded" in the salt on the hood of my car -- ew. He indeed had been all over my car, as I had thought, but was trying hard to forget. As I pulled out of the driveway I also noticed something that resembled a smear of blood on the passenger mirror -- augh. I need a car wash *sigh*.

It wasn't until later in the day, after talking to my children and some friends, that I realized this was an atypical event. *snort* you may say. How can you think otherwise? To sum it up, let me put it to you as my daughter put it to me ... "how come weird shit always happens to you?" ... or my son, in our conversation:
"where did he come from anyway, was he on our side of the street?"
"No, he actually crossed the street, 6 lanes of traffic, got to the curb next to us, and then jumped back onto our car as we were pulling away"
"but why did he jump onto our car?"
... good fuckin question.

My only conclusion is that I was some sort of sick pervert or something in a past life, and my dharma is to be a shit magnet is this one.

This conclusion isn't arrived at lightly. Only after considerable introspection and reflection, and talking with various friends...
"You mean you haven't been followed home by a stranger before?"
"You mean you haven't been accosted by a stranger on the TTC before?"
"You mean you haven't received obscene phone calls by the same person on a regular basis?"
"You mean you haven't had someone expose themself to you in a public place?"
"You mean you haven't had indecent proposals made to you either as a babysitter or a babysittee?"

hmmmmm ... I thought everyone had ... WTF! Do I emit some sort of freaked out pheromone or
something that attracts creatures like this? Should I change my perfume?

I used to think it was just a TTC thing. That people like that frequented the subways and enjoyed picking the empty subway cars where I generally liked to be. Thus I began choosing only crowded cars, even if it meant I had to stand (so why did they have to stand beside me?) I thought I was safe in my car, but I was wrong. The same way I was wrong about thinking everyone had to deal with this problem.

Now I'm just pissed about it. Why me? I used to hate when I'd hear people bemoaning that issue. But this isn't about whining. It's about finding out wtf is up so I can take steps to eliminate this from my personal space that is frequently invaded! Is there a tatoo on my forehead? a transmitter in my neck? spinach in my teeth? ... please, if you know... fill me in!

Thankfully, someone had called the police yesterday (apparently the place was crawling with Firetrucks, ambulances and police cars by the time some of my son's friends arrived at school) and fortunately, nobody thought that I had left the scene of the crime after a hit and run accident (which was pointed out to me later... gawd I am so STUPID sometimes!)

For The Wordsmiths....

This was an email that I received at work... and I love it!

The Washington Post's Style Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are the 2003 winners:

1. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

2. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

3. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

4. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

5. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

6. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

7. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

8. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

9. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.

10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

13. Glibido: All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.

And the pick of the literature:
18. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an a**hole.

neoteric

Word of the Day for Thursday January 1, 2004

neoteric \nee-uh-TER-ik\, adjective:
Recent in origin; modern; new.

His new label specializes in alternative country or Americana -- music with a sense of tradition and a neoteric edge.
--Christopher John Farley, "Back To Country's Roots,"
[2]Time, June 11, 2001
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Neoteric derives from Greek neoterikos, from neoteros, "younger," comparative of neos, "young, new."

hyperkinetic

hyperkinetic

(adjective) [hie'·pahr·kah·NET·ik, hie'·pahr·kie·NET·ik]
1. having or relating to hyperkinesis or hyperactivity; 'a hyperkinetic child'

2. fast-paced and frenetic: "The logistics of Christmas with our large and dispersed family turned the season into a hyperkinetic stretch of detailed itinerary coordination, last ditch shopping trips, and expensive adventures with express shipping."

Origin
Approximately 1888; from 'hyper': over, beyond + Greek, 'kinein': to move.

ebullient

ebullient

(adjective) [i·BOOL·yahnt, i·BUL·yahnt]
1. full of spirited enthusiasm: "The ebullient children dragged their parents to the Christmas tree lot and back, and wouldn't let them rest until the tree was upright in the living room, aglow with decorations."

2. boiling, or seeming to boil, vigorously

adverb form: ebulliently

Origin
Approximately 1599; borrowed from Latin, 'ebullientem,' present participle of 'ebullire,' to spout out, to bubble up ('e-': out + 'bullire': to bubble, to boil).

wassail

The Word of the Day for December 19 is:

wassail \WAH-sul\ verb
1 : to indulge in riotous drinking : carouse
2 dialect England : to sing carols from house to house at Christmas
*3 : to drink to the health or thriving of

Example sentence:
The farmer and his revelers wassailed the apple orchard, hoping for another fruitful season, and then merrily poured cider around the trees.

Did you know?
The salutation "wassail," from the Old Norse toast "ves heill" ("be well"), has accompanied English toast-making since the 12th century. By the 13th century, "wassail" was being used for the drink itself, and it eventually came to be used especially of a hot drink (of wine, beer, or cider with spices, sugar, and usually baked apples) drunk around Christmastime. This beverage warmed the stomachs and hearts of many Christmas revelers and was often shared with Christmas carolers. The verb "wassail" was first used in the 14th century to describe the carousing associated with indulgence in the drink; later, it was used of other activities associated with wassail and the holiday season, like caroling. Seventeenth-century farmers added
cattle and trees to the wassail tradition by drinking to their health or thriving during wintertime festivities.

ad hominem

The Word of the Day for December 15 is:

ad hominem \ad-HAH-muh-num\ adjective
1 : appealing to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect
*2 : marked by or being an attack on an opponent's character rather than by an answer to the contentions made

Example sentence:
Ad hominem attacks will not be tolerated in this debate.

Did you know?
"Ad hominem" literally means "to the person" in New Latin (Latin as first used in post-medieval texts). In centuries past, this adjective usually modified "argument." An "argument ad hominem" (or "argumentum ad hominem," to use the full New Latin phrase) was a valid method of persuasion by which a person took
advantage of his or her opponent's interests or feelings in a debate, instead of just sticking to general principles. The second sense of "ad hominem" appeared only in the last century, but it is the sense more often heard today. The word still refers to putting personal issues above other matters, but perhaps because of its old association with "argument," "ad hominem" has become, in effect, "against the person."

admonition

Word of the Day for Sunday December 14, 2003

admonition \ad-muh-NISH-uhn\, noun:
1. Gentle or friendly reproof.
2. Counseling against a fault or oversight; friendly caution or warning.

I have a feeling that Sadam Hussein is in for more than a simple admonition.
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Admonition derives from Latin admonitio, admonition-, from the past participle of admonere, "to remind or warn strongly," from ad- (used intensively) + monere, "to remind, to warn."