The view from my desk, looking out the window.I couldn't post yesterday. The internet was down at home. As was the telephone. The problem wasn't resolved until we called the cable company later in the day and they remotely reset the modem. It was probably just as well, as I hadn't really prepared much for the blog. Instead, I read the newspaper and went out to breakfast before work. It was a nice treat after my hellish week. I've reached my maximum work capacity now, and it will remain this way until the holidays.
I've kept an amazingly buoyant attitude for work this session. And this translates into me being a good teacher. I find myself working more in my off hours to make the lessons better. Usually I dread the off hours work and complete it hastily. But this session is different. Maybe because of the magical 42 thing. (my age) Or maybe it's because I'm sleeping. All through the night. Every night. Whatever it is, I'm going to ride this wave as long as I can. (I've got to work all day today and it doesn't even bug me.)
Did you hear about the hyphen thing? How 16000 of them have been eliminated from the dictionary? Apparently, their use is dwindling and seen as clunky nowadays. Since proper English morphs to follow how it is ubiquitously used, the new Oxford dictionary has reflected the changes. Ice cream is now two words instead of hyphenated. This was news to me as I don't think I ever hyphenated it. Crybaby is now a word, which I thought already was. Chickpea too. Test tube is now two words. Still, you have to say twenty-odd people to estimate numbers, otherwise it's twenty odd people, which doesn't quite say the same thing.
19 comments:
I tend to think of twenty-odd people as twenty odd people. (Loved the language paragraph!)
Happy to hear your are sleeping better.
And it's still a seven-year-old child who is seven years old, right?
You got a link handy for that or do I I have to Google it (which is also now in the dictionary).
Almost through with a rereading (re-reading?) of "The Phantom Tollbooth" which is masterful in its play with words.
Ah! the Sumac Trees are lovely this time of year.
Any problem with vomit girl in class?
Eliminating the hyphen? Well that is a fine how-do-you-do! What will all the virgin girls do now?
Well, I-don't-know ... I guess I'll just have to make sure my hyphens aren't clunky and in slim-line latest-look fashion.
Glad you're back on-line. Lovely office-view, by-the-way. Metaphorically-speaking, the slats on your blinds look a little hyphen-like.
Happy Saturday Torn-Serge-Sara
:)
I had no idea that "test-tube" was ever acceptable, I always wrote it as two words.
Ah the poor hyphen. Removed from words and relegated to working as part of emoticons everywhere.
Congrats on the sleepful nights. I remember the hell you were going through last year.
But maybe you MEAN twenty ODD people when you say twenty odd people.
And I though ice cream was always un-hyphenated too. OH! What about un-hypenated? Is it still hyphenated????
HUGS....
I probably over hyphenate everything.
First it was Pluto becoming a dwarf planet, now the poor ole hyphen is being downgraded. Sigh.
It's interesting, too, with hyphenated municipalities. The small town where I grew up in NC is hyphenated (two towns merged years ago). Many computer programs will not allow it to be hyphenated, so you have to keep it as two words.
Enjoy your weekend. I've been traveling for 3 weeks (that's why I've not been here on Sticky Crows for awhile), and am happy to just be at home puttering today.
Unless you are doing an estimate of my approximately 20 friends... giggle-snort.
Also, I LOVE The Phantom Tollbooth. I insist that you read it immediately!
Oh, to be able to sleep through the night....all night, every night.
16000 hyphens gone? Have we also lost the comma? ;-)
Do you get Michael Quinlon's newsletter, too?
He always has great stuff.
I like the hyphen.. :) I'm not eliminating it, I refuse!
Snoskred
www.snoskred.org
I think I over use it. Jeez, I even call it a hy-phen. That makes it a 'thingy' - you know, a word that looks like what it means. What's that called again? Onomatopoeia? That's the fella - I think. Kind of.
Forty-two. It could just be the perfect age. Unfortunately it comes and goes. The trick is finding each year magical.
I find this news distressing, being such a hyphen whore...
1. I know someone who got out of a disciplinary charge because of an omitted hyphen. The charge was that he went in for too many extra-departmental activities. But the charge said he went in for too many "extra departmental activities". He was able to reply, "Well, that's how I am, always the willing horse ready to go the second mile to enable the department to function. But why is this a disciplinary offence?" Authority retired baffled.
2. Where hyphens aren't used it can often take longer to understand a sentence because you have to read it twice to work out which words are joined together to make an adjectival phrase. If you read of an "old style guide" you may be left uncertain whether they are talking about guide that is in an old style or a style guide that is old.
Paul Brownsey
oh this does not please me. i am extremely hyphen-happy.
i wonder what "eats shoots and leaves" will have to say about this.
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