Item number 54: i'm feeling number

I present a present for (some of) you:

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.


2) The farm was used to produce produce.


3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.


4) We must polish the Polish furniture.


5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.


6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.


7) Since there is no time like the present , he thought it was time to present the present


8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.


9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.


10) I did not object to the object.


11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.


12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row


13) They were too close to the door to close it.


14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.


15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.


16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.


17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail


18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.


19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.


20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Taking equality a little too far...

My cousin sent me the photo (right) and I had to share it.

I don't know whether people can eat at this restaurant, but at least the buffalo and caribou get on. You gotta love Canada.

I'm off to listen to 4'33" by John Cage. Can you hear it playing now?...



You can say, "Thanks," and you can say, "Thanks a million," but any number in between – uh-uh.
"Hey man, thanks two-fifty-six."
"What?"
"Yeah, you gave me a ride; that's not worth a million. You know what? Two-fifty-five for questioning me. Keep it up, stupid; we're headed for 'thanks zero.' And that's no thanks."
-- Demetri Martin

Prefix and Suffix by Goscinny & Underzo

I erred on the grapevine - somewhere in my blog there may be a grammar error. Please accept my apologies.

The concept of a prefix and a suffix (together affixes) is not too difficult to grasp, but what of the things (for want of a better word) that surround the morpheme which are not words.

So, there are prefixes such as:

• un-
• under-
• pre-
• in-

And there are suffixes such as:

• -able
• -tion
• -ly
• -ness

suffixes also include plurals, possessives, comparatives and superlatives.

What does one call $, £ and other currencies. What of the % symbol? The conundrum within this category is that of pronunciation.

$3 is pronounced three dollars. Why does $ appear as a prefix but is pronounced as a suffix?

3% is pronounced and reads properly.

$5.64 implies "cents" but if you pronounce it, should it not be written 5$ 64c?

$2m - now this one is a challenge! Two (free morpheme) million (suffix, pronounced before the prefix) dollars (prefix, pronounced after the suffix).

I don't think clarification is required, as it appears to work well in everyday parlance. It is merely something I noticed and wished to share with you (singular - for there must only be on reader of this rarely frequented blog at any one time).

Finally, what happens when an acronym becomes part of vernacular to the point that it becomes a word which then gets verbised?

L.A.S.E.R. = Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

Laser printer

I had my eyes lasered.

It's just another oddity I've noticed.

I don't think I will get to lexemes in the near future, but fear not, it is on my radar.

A lot of people don't like bumper stickers. I don't mind bumper stickers. To me a bumper sticker is a shortcut. It's like a little sign that says 'Hey, let's never hang out.'
-- Demetri Martin

A Toyota's a Toytota

A.
Nun. (LOL)
Noon.
Kayak.
Glenelg.
A man a plan a canal panama.
Satan oscillate my metallic sonatas.

Yep, I still like the palindrome and this Weird Al piece is right on song.

Enjoy.

Quite the conundrum

I would like to be an etymologist rather than an entomologist. Not that it's an option or a career path, but if I had the choice it would be quite facile.

It may help me solve the conundrum of the word "number". Is this singular or plural?

I have a number of ideas,

A simple sentence - but one filled with options.

The number of options I have is/are many.

Does one of these options feel more correct?

Perhaps I should only used the word "number" in the comparative sense - as in "more numb".

But that would be puerile.

Now, the issue of refracted light is quite important (odd segue - but see image above). It is actually one of few phenomena which creates something which is naturally blue.

The sky is blue because light refracts with the particles in the atmosphere (to the 4th power of frequency of light) and given blue light's frequency is greater than, say, red, the sky appears blue (FYI blue is towards the end of the spectrum of visible light). (This differs at sunrise/sunset as the blue light has refracted further, thus leaving oranges/reds in the horizon). But how many blue fruits do you know?

More drivel... why anyone would read this, I know not.

Enjoy this old quote for now:

In summing up, I wish I had some kind of affirmative message to leave you with, I don't. Would you take two negative messages? My mother used to say to me when I was younger, "If a strange man comes up to you, and offers you candy, and wants you to get into the back of his car with him... go".

-- Woody Allen

Fields (Medal) of Green

I have no idea why, when driving along today, I pondered Mersenne Primes, but I did. It reminded me somewhat of Rene Magritte, perhaps only linked by french names (although Magritte is Belgian).

I am unsure why, but I have often thought of the apple in the Garden of Eden as being red. Magritte, as you can tell, thought it was green. That's not the only thing we differ on - but he's a surrealist and I might not be one.

PC trouble, so I'll keep this curt.

Quote of the day:

Comedians never make studio albums. Come on, engineer, FUCKING LAUGH!

-- Mitch Hedberg

Curb Your Enthusiasm

I saw this nice little CYE Family Guy parody.

It's esoteric, but I think it's worth watching anyway.

Truthless or beauty

I am prone to hyperbole, and 100s of people have asked me why I have not blogged recently.

Rather than perfect a posting, it's better to just send off a blog into the ether and it will ensure the masses are sated, for the time being.

Can you please help me with the notion of stones? Not the big lipped Mick Jagger type, but those which people wear on rings, necklaces, etc. I understand precious stones. When the category of semi-precious arises, I am taken aback (metaphorically) as it would appear these stones are precisely HALF as precious. Is there a further category of semi-demi precious stones just like a quaver in music? What is beyond this term? Rest assured, I'm not a jeweller and therefore I may not be au fait with these things, but one would expect there to be some consistency. Who makes the call whether ruby is hemi-demi-semi precious or just precious? Do two semi-precious stones make one precious one (eg nice earrings - they're so precious together).

But I digress...

There's also the oddity relating to the word ruthless. It may appear innocuous but in truth it is not... if someone is not being ruthless are they then being ruth? It doesn't sound correct, but is it wrong?

Speaking of non sequiturs, I am trying to confirm my hunch that the North Pole is actually magnetically South. You may think it's strange, but I think that the magnets in your compass point north, and given the attraction of North to South, the North Pole is really a south pole which attracts a North. Capito? If you're a little lost, revert to Maxwell's Equations and ensure that a monopole is impossible, and then determine the north/south conundrum from first principles.

And finally, with the onset of winter there's another lexicon issue and that is: does inclement weather impose a need for clement weather as well?

Don't go outside without sunglasses, it's clement out there!

The photo (right) was taken at the local Australia Post Office. I was not sure about the reason for the sign, for the likelihood of anyone walking out with the shop is minimal. Poor drafting or translation from another language perhaps, but this type of thing must be stopped.

And finally, the parting quote:
I wanna make a jigsaw puzzle that's 40,000 pieces. And when you finish it, it says: go outside.
- Demetri Martin