Fish and whistle

Warning to the young and impressionable.

This post per usual contains spelling errors.

Please see comment #31

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So what do folks think about topic of spelling?

Spelling has been a source of pain for me since about the 3rd grade when I discovered that by the end of writing a word 10 times I was sure to have it wrong.

Were I in school now I would probably be identified as having Dyslexia. This could have been a blessing or curse. A blessing as there are now techniques for teaching folks with this condition a curse as would branded me as LD (learning disabled) and might have landed me on the "Short Bus".

One up side of all this is that I rarely impulsively hit send as I almost always run things through a spell checker to weed out the most grievous errors.

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Quotes re: Spelling

"A spell checker helps but it is no cure for Dyslexia."

ShenValleyFlyFish

"As I have said before, I never had any large respect for good spelling. That is my feeling yet. Before the spelling-book came with its arbitrary forms, men unconsciously revealed shades of their characters, and also added enlightening shades of expression to what they wrote by their spelling, and so it is possible that the spelling-book has been a doubtful benevolence to us."

Mark Twain : American writer, pen name for Samuel Langhorne Clemens(1835 - 1910)
Autobiography, Additional Notes , February 7, 1906

"Always before you write a word, consider how it is spelt, and, if you do not remember it, turn to a dictionary. It produces great praise to a lady to spell well..."

Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Eleven-Year-Old Daughter Martha (Patsy), Annapolis, Nov. 28th, 1783

"The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach their children to speak it. They spell it so abominably that no man can teach himself what it sounds like. It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him. German and Spanish are accessible to foreigners: English is not accessible even to Englishmen."

G.B. Shaw, Pygmalion,
Preface

"Oh, and by the way, the other myth about lexicographers is that we are horrified, appalled, and indeed, quite put out when we see misspellings, nonstandard usages, slang, or informality in general. This is ridiculous -- it's like expecting doctors to faint at the sight of blood. Our usual reaction to a word we haven't seen before (especially slang!) is "ooh, interesting!" We feel the same way about "errors," too, for the most part. Every error, every place where the language system breaks down, is a chance to deduce how language works, in the same way that every neurological injury gives us hints as to how the brain ought to function. So, please, don't let the fear of making a mistake in front of the lexicographer keep you from commenting!"

Erin McKean
The Volokh Conspiracy Guestblogging Dictionary Myths:guest-blogging, September 24, 2007 at 10:57am


"I am sure that many commenters will echo your view that the way people use the English language online very closely resembles brain damage. ;)"

Zubon
The Volokh Conspiracy Blog comment on McKean (above) 9.24.2007 11:51am


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Wecome All

Went wild again the other evening with camera and clouds. Constructive criticism encouraged and appreciated.

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Promised myself that I would at least do a weekly update. Here It is a week later and I don't have much to offer. Weather is hot and looks to stay that way. Gas is up and headed higher. No new pics. As a peace offering to my ego and the blog gods i am reposting a rant i made in ricderr's QoD blog.
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/ricderr/comment.html?entrynum=366&tstamp=200806
Thanks Ric for getting the juices flowing on a muggy monday.


Re: Property, Looting and Marshal Law.

I've been involved in a # of clean up projects but never been severely hit myself so I speak with caution.

Property

"Stuff"/property is nothing to risk your life for. The things I have witnessed being most mourned are things of sentimental value. If I lived in a high risk area I would sit down and make an inventory of truly precious irreplaceable things. I think you will discover that family photos rank #1. Sentimental objects i.e. Family Bible, Grandma's lamp, Granddad's shotgun, kids art and such #2 and just about anything else you can do without, even family antique furniture is missed but not devastating. Everyone (note to self) should have copies of important records such as Deeds, Wills and such in a safe deposit in a different area of the country i.e. sibling or kid's bank with one key entrusted to a person there. If your area is devastated Banks and Law Offices are not immune.

A pre-packed trunk with copies of photos and space for other sentimental objects would be an item I would add to preparedness lists. Be absolutely brutal in your choices. If you can't fit it in a waterproof foot locker it stays. Take a hard look at evacuation photos from places like China. It could happen to you. If you couldn't take it away in a wheelbarrow you have kept too much.

Loved ones

Be prepared to risk everything for the lives of those you love but remember that your life is valuable to them. The loss of a family member is more devastating than any thing else that can happen and survivor guilt can be compounded if sacrifice is seen by the survivor as avoidable. Would your children really rather have their house or their parent? Will they recover more intact psychologically from the loss of a cherished pet or a loved one who dies attempting to rescue it?

Forcibly protecting property

In the interest of full disclosure I must state that I am a contentious objector to violence so my personal bias is obvious. That said I still believe that my points are worth consideration as they are tempered by my psychological training and first hand observations.

The normal human being carries such an innate taboo surrounding the taking of another's life that even those who are trained and sanctioned to do so i.e.. military and police, find it a traumatizing and life changing event. Even they are basically limited to life or death situations. Even those who agree with your decision may relate to you differently after the event. (Ask any Vet) Regardless of the personal psychological tole you will definitely be dragged through the grinding wheels of the legal system which is not an uplifting experience no matter the final outcome. All this said were I solely speaking in a professional capacity I would advise a person to think long and hard before placing oneself in a situation where deadly force is an option. If you are not prepared to use deadly force do not brandish a firearm. The guys behind the sign may be comedic relief but the pea shooters they are displaying are more dangerous to them than a determined well armed opponent. Additionally they would have been suppressed and pissed if marshal law had been declared as their weapons would have been subject to confiscation.

Marshal law

A civilian has no reference point for the concept of Marshal Law. A professionally experienced military person will chafe under its imposition by quickly called up National Guardsmen who have little if any training or experience in its implementation (no disrespect to NG intended). I have done some post disaster work under martial conditions and it isn't any fun. A lot of the horror stories about difficulty returning home immediately after the storm etc revolve around misunderstandings of what Marshal Law entails. Basically the area is under the rules and regulations which would apply to a military encampment. You would not be suppressed to have to leave your personal weapons at the gate of a Base and be expected to conspicuously display ID and be accompanied by a military member while there. Feels a lot different if it's your home town.

To all who have suffered through this rant. Thank you and please feel free to comment.

To All: Best wishes for a safe Summer.

Remember: The Drive to the Beach is probably the most dangerous experience you will have all summer.



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9:30 AM EDT on June 02, 2008

Hi Folks

Long past time for a new entry. No excuses, thanks to some of you who visited more often than I did. LOL


Lost power yesterday (Sunday) evening. I knew there was a storm system moving over but thought from Dopler it was going around to north of me. Jumped in car and drove to top of Afton Mountain. Was raining slightly when I got to top but not a lot to see as storm was indeed moving across The Shenandoah Valley to the north. Finished filling storage card with mostly shots of grey. Decided to run down to Waynesboro the little town at the western foot of the mountain to get another. By time I came back out the storm had moved over and I decided to take a run down the Parkway to check out views from several overlooks. Got mesmerized by the Sunset and couldn't take my finger off the sutter button. I've uploaded way to many shots to gallery. Click on one of the thumb-nails or link button if you want to see them.

Thanks for stopping in.
Shen

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