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Wow. Could you be more annoying? You sure are annoying. I mean, only an annoying person would keep putting the same annoying link in his or her post to point out (annoyingly, I might add) something that's such an annoying waste of time in the first place. It's almost like you're TRYING to be annoying.

Wow. Could you be more annoying? You sure are annoying. I mean, only an annoying person would keep putting the same annoying link in his or her post to point out (annoyingly, I might add) something that's such an annoying waste of time in the first place. It's almost like you're TRYING to be annoying.

Wow. Could you be more annoying? You sure are annoying. I mean, only an annoying person would keep putting the same annoying link in his or her post to point out (annoyingly, I might add) something that's such an annoying waste of time in the first place. It's almost like you're TRYING to be annoying.

Your sig reminded me of this little tidbit:

Former Texas governor Ann Richards once said "Poor George, he can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth."

Legend has it that a certain carpenter's son used to go around telling people something along the lines of

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Einstein's General Theory of Relativity provided an explanation for the motion of the perihelion of Mercury's orbit. Further, it correctly predicted the magnitude of this motion--all of about 43 seconds of arc per century. It's a small motion, but it had been observed, measured, and puzzled at by astronomers in the nineteenth century.

Aside: Many people cite the 1919 eclipse observations made by the Royal Astronomical Society (also mentioned in the link above) as a further early proof of relativity. Though this is the most popular early 'proof', it is tainted with uncertainties. More recent work suggests that the precision of the RAS' instruments was insufficient for the task--the good agreement with theory was likely largely coincidence. Indeed, contradictory results from later eclipses and other groups did follow in succeeding decades. (Measurements with modern instruments have, of course, borne out relativity.)

For other things like this (which you are told to avoid), check out the classic Strunk and White. (Note: this link goes to the first edition, which was just "Strunk", but that's the best we can do with these ridiculous copyright terms....)

Come on now! What was written over the door as Neo enters the kitchen. "Know Thyself". If that's not an invitation to self-reference I don't know what is. The whole conversation revolves around would I do this if I knew that she knew that I was going to do it.... What is the Oracle called? "The Oracle". What is the Comp Sci terminology for a system than can solve the halting problem? An "Oracle".

I don't remember the Matrix scene for scene, and I haven't seen the sequel yet. so I can't speak to all of what your saying. I just wanted to throw in this tidbit of useful information; you decide if Occam's razor applies:

In Ancient Greece, the famous oracle of Apollo at Delphi was inscribed with the words "gnothi seauton" (know thyself). Rather than a reference to the concept of self-reference, I believe it was intended as a reminder that we're all mere human mortals. Or something.

I think it's all pretty funny, so I can't lose.

Black humor, surely.

Communications Minister Richard Alston and Justice Minister Chris Ellison said the new offence was part of a package to also crack down on internet child pornography.

I think you actually mean milquetoast.

Element 114 is Ununquadium

Element 114

But that might be a little extreme.

' The Island of Doctor Moreau ' goes global! Film at eleven...

The difference in American spelling is not only due to isolation from British English, but is also the result of a deliberate effort to simplify spelling by removing those pesky exceptions to the rule. See here for some info.

Proper according to who? Or whom? Proper British English, perhaps, but as H. L. Mencken pointed out over 80 years ago, there is an American language different from British English. "Flavor" is proper American English.

Oh, I forgot to mention that this "flavor" thing was all Noah Webster's fault. He didn't like the "our" endings, so he conveniently dropped them from his dictionary. Since his was the drictionary that was used in America in its formative years (early 19th century), his was the spelling that was learnt. Er, learned. Occasionally a single individual can have that effect. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it was George Bernard Shaw who got the period removed from "Mr.", "Mrs." and the like in Britain.

As for France . . . yep, and it seems like revolution was one of our first exports. <grin>

Which one? Dictionary.com? Merriam-Webster? The American Heritage? The Oxford English Dictionary? I can't find it.

Oh.. I forgot to include this for folks like you:

include brain.h

Sorry.


Maybe, perhaps, I should have included this for folks like you:

Guide for Written Communication

Strunk & White's The Elements of Style

::Cough Cough::
Ahem.
I have someone here who would like a word with you, sir.
::Cough Cough::
James Bond is not, as far as we can tell, into wardriving, therefore this is a contrafactual conditional, or "subjunctive" statement. The subjunctive form of the copula ("to be") happens to be "were," whether it is singular or plural.
I did not use the word "subjective" at all.
If I were you, I would read up on my grammar (that link should help) to avoid looking stupid, which is what you are.

I'm certainly not a supporter of the Taliban (or Islam, or any religion for that matter), but it's worth looking at how and why they came to power.

Support for the fundamentalist regime of the Taliban largely came from those who were despairing of the constant fighting and corruption of the warlords who ran the country. The Taliban promised an end to the fighting and corruption which they largely achieved through their extreme fundamentalism and strict control of society.

Since the US overthrew the Taliban, the situation has returned almost exactly to what it was prior to their rise to power. Any guesses as to what might happen in the future when the Afghanis again get sick of the corrupt warlords (particularly the Northern Alliance who might not be religious fundamentalists but are just as guilty of horrific acts)?

Repeat after me: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".

Why is it that EVERY person who points out a spelling or grammar mistake makes one himself ?

Well, the proof of the pudding is in the eating...

As far as I know and have been able to confirm, the fiscal year differs from country to country, see list, and it is not up to the company.

That's why you have to pick a phrase that only you would know, or even twist a common phrase.

As for Bartlett...
10484 results in this search...

http://www.bartleby.com/cgi-bin/texis/webinator/si tesearch?filter=col100&query=*&submit=Go ...easily parsed by looking between the keys QUOTATION and ATTRIBUTION.

You're mistaken. She said, "Let them eat cake." I didn't find the where the other cake line game from, except that it's a proverb.

Iran Hostage crisis ---> Started under Carter. Ended under Reagan

How about the SAME day he was inaugurated.

Here is a quote I found here:

On Jan. 20, 1981, the day of President Reagan's inauguration, the United States released almost $8 billion in Iranian assets and the hostages were freed after 444 days in Iranian detention

A little browsing and...
according to this site, there is
an area of about 361 million sq km for the worlds oceans. According to this source, deuterium is one part in ten thousand of the hydrogen in water .

Now a little math... 361,000,000,000m^2*0.01m = 3.61 billion cu meters used in 10,000 years. total volume of the worlds ocean ( again from the first site ) is 1,347,000,000 cu km or 1.347x10^18 cu meters. So the first divided by the second gives percent of the ocean used, about 2.7x10^-9 ( avery small fraction of the ocean) Now we must process 10,000 times that much to get the deuterium, so about 3 thousandths of one percent of the total volume of the worlds oceans.

A very good ball park figure, but hardly enough to worry about. Further the original rate reference was talking about the growth of the the consumption rate, not the consumtion rate itself. I don't think that the consumtion rate will grow a thousand times. If anything, between ten and a hundred, times the current consumption rate, with an initial increase and a return to the regular rate as technology advances. Just because there is more power doesn't mean that we wont strive for effeciency. For instance, throwing more wattage at a CPU is not a viable means of improvement. As another poster claims, the biggest will come from metallurgical and chemical processes, not consumer use (are we all gonna be driving our electric cars around with giant drogue chutes hanging off the back end?).

Avoid an unusual and unfamiliar word just as you would a reef.

It is always best to remember your ABC's as well: Accuracy, Brevity, and Clarity. Part of clarity, as you said, is considering your audience.

Not really. If you think about it, the story in Snow Crash was essentially finished, and anyone with half an imagination could fill in the rest on their own. He gets the girl, they live happily ever after, etc. One of the things I liked about SC was that it had the restraint to know when the interesting part of the story was done with (Not unlike George Bernard Shaw's original Pygmalion [which My Fair Lady butchered], before public reaction forced him to write out an afterword

...you posted such a long reply to something that is below watching grass grow.

Anyway, I believe that grammar is a thing that would interest geeks. I know that I have been interested in grammar since grammar school :)

Seriously, I loved diagramming sentences. I like it that I know how to use the subjunctive mood in English. I've read the Elements of Style. The online version is pretty watered down, but its still worth a look. For example, they clarify the proper use of bring and take. Yes, it is incorrect to say: What kind of computer to bring to college? How ironic!

Maybe my interest in grammar is why I like programming, and can do it. After all, a programming language is a language, and each one has its own grammar. I beg you or anyone else to try and use the grammar incorrectly when programming.

It just ain't gonna work!

Orientate is a backformation from "orientation." Some common words that have entered standard English as backformations are "burgle" from burglar, "televise" from television, and "enthuse" from enthusiasm.

How about browsing the word choice chapter of The American Heritage® Book of English Usage at bartleby.com. There's even an entry which explains the difference between "it's" and "its".

How about browsing the word choice chapter of The American Heritage® Book of English Usage at bartleby.com. There's even an entry which explains the difference between "it's" and "its".

How about browsing the word choice chapter of The American Heritage® Book of English Usage at bartleby.com. There's even an entry which explains the difference between "it's" and "its".

Maybe it's an old yiddish word... like schlep!

currency converter - findsounds.com

how stuff works - infoplease

about.com - librarian's index

rebecca's reference - tom mayo's links
-words:

acronym/abbr -lookup -finder -bm

trans -babelfish -worldlingo -google bm

bartleby

phrontistery

pseudodictionary

jargon file
--music

epitonic - pitchfork

sonomu - electraum

gnod - audioquarium --books:

amazon - abebooks - bookfinder

gutenberg & onlinebooks

loc.gov - lambiek comiclopedia - rebecca's books

In writing, the form a is used before a word beginning with a consonant sound, regardless of its spelling (a frog, a university). The form an is used before a word beginning with a vowel sound (an orange, an hour).

Then again, it's sort of redundant to mention the PPR in this story, since it tends to turn up in Google searches.

Bartleby.com has all kinds of reference books available, and lots of other stuff online. Like all of the Harvard Classics.

I'm suprised I'm the first to mention Project Gutenberg. Maybe people don't think of it as a reference site, since mostly it's good for downloading whole public-domain texts. But various volunteers (including me) are now in the process of proofreading the famous Britannica 11th Edition for inclusion in the Gutenberg set. At the current rate, it'll be done in about a year. But perhaps with more volunteers...

you are so flamebait...
dont feed the trolls...dont feed the trolls
damn it !!
first of all arabs are actually semites read the dictionary definiation ASSHOLE
and being anti-zionist != anti-jewish
and if Israeli soliders killed your family for throwing rocks on their armored tanks you will certainly hate them.
yet there are honest jews out there who are against zionism and the existiance of Israel.

The swiss for whatever reason were considered the most deadly mercenaries/army in europe until 1847. And since Europeans have such long memories, I would expect that they are still afraid.

See Mom, I DID learn something in school!

Nah... it's just too much fun to use metonymy with our two favorite computer companies. And the more familiar you make it sound, the more entertaining it is.

So I just refer to Microsoft and Apple as "Uncle Bill" and "Uncle Steve".

I occasionally really confuse my poor users though, usually as I'm disgustedly muttering something about Uncle Bill. :)

- Peter

What's a pantywaist? It sounds fun :-)

Unfortunately, they weren't. And they did not sell well. Perhaps a precursor to SCO Products?

Pantywaists were an attempt at a unisex undergarment for children in the US in the early 20th century. Unfortunately in US culture anything associated with women (even as unisex) tends to get a stigma of being effeminate (this was especially true in the "good old days". The term was later extrapolated to mean an effimenate male (a sissy, one with no cojones, etc...).

If it's a major fourth, then it will, of course, be a subdominant language.

Not true. Should is OK in specs.
From Fowler's "The King's English" on the subject of "Shall and Will"

"Roughly speaking, should follows the same rules as shall, and would as will;
...
Shall had the meaning of command or obligation, and will of wish. "

In much the same way, isn't it written "shalt not steal" instead of "mustn't steal".

[credit where credit's due... a few days ago Andrew Sullivan pointed this out on the postgresql list where talking about the SQL spec]

1. 1 To get into one's possession by force, skill, or artifice, especially:
2. 
   a. To capture physically; seize: take an enemy fortress.
   b. To seize with authority; confiscate.

If I capture, seize, or confiscate your property, I have control and possession of your property while you lose it. That is the point you cannot see. If I don't take, or remove your property there is no theft. There might be copyright infringment, forgery or plagerism, but there is no theft without a transfer of possession.

But if that's not good enough for you, perhapse you'd like a few more. While you're noting the complete absence of any copying of so called "intellectual property" from any of those, check out how many specifically say "taking and removing". Thats because theft is concrete. I've either stolen your car from your garage or I haven't. I've either removed some stereos after breaking into Radio Shack or I haven't. That doesn't apply to downloading a copy of Office XP without paying for it, because there is no guarantee that I would have bought it in the first place. And even if it was guaranteed, MS has only "lo

A spell checker would not catch that error. "Cannon" and "canon" are both legitimate English words. Read more here.

According to The American Heritage Dictionary,

conservative ADJECTIVE: 1. Favoring traditional views and values; tending to oppose change. 2. Traditional or restrained in style: a conservative dark suit. 3. Moderate; cautious: a conservative estimate. 4a. Of or relating to the political philosophy of conservatism. b. Belonging to a conservative party, group, or movement. 5. Conservative Of or belonging to the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom or the Progressive Conservative Party in Canada. 6. Conservative Of or adhering to Conservative Judaism. 7. Tending to conserve; preservative: the conservative use of natural resources.

conservatism NOUN: 1. The inclination, especially in politics, to maintain the existing or traditional order. 2. A political philosophy or attitude emphasizing respect for traditional institutions, distrust of government activism, and opposition to sudden change in the established order. 3. Conservatism The principles and policies of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom or of the Progressive Conservative Party in Canada. 4. Caution or moderation, as in behavior or outlook.

You could pronounce it like the word 'moniker' with the syllable 'si' (pronounced like the first half of Simon) in front of it. :)

Thank you for backing up the parent point, "snow pony". Three women mentioned for 2002, none of whom I've heard of, only one of which has a technical position (the other two are "manager" and "CEO").

You really do need to look further into the history of those "managers and CEOs" instead of taking a cheap shot obviously based the limited amount of information you could gleam from a single web page.

Julie Estrin (CEO of Packet Design) holds a B.S. Degree in Math and Computer Science from UCLA and an M.S. in Electric Engineering from Stanford University.

Dr Caroline Kovac holds a Ph.D in Chemistry; and was the head of IBM Research efforts in computational biology.

Like most people of recognition; they have moved up the corporate ladder into executive positions through thier experience and drive.

There is very little publicity of most female technical leaders except when grandstanding takes place (and most people have learned to see through that dribble anyways). You mentioned Lovelace and Hopper. Both notable women of computing; but considering the time period they come from - I think trying to label them as an alternative to feminism when the feminist movement had not even undergone it's major revival until Hopper was well into her 50s (and Lovelace was deceased for over a centuary) to be a touch out of context don't you think?

I do love how you labelled me as a feminist when merely trying to give you an informed opinion. Gynophobic are we? I am the last person I would consider to be a feminist. However I also know I am a highly technically minded individual; the company I work for recognises this year after year and relies on my skills to solve technical problems.

I do my job and do it well. I don't go running around and demand recognition for my work. You might just find there are many quiet achievers such as myself in the world. Considering you took the time to actually list a few noteworthy technically minded women from history; is it that hard to conclude that there are women like them still around?