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Unix doesn't have a cute and cuddly mascot. Look at its /. topic graphic, just a word, boring. Its not a cute little devil in sneakers or an adorable penguin, oh, excuse me, GNU/Penguin. Unix needs to find itself a mascot to survive, and maybe change its name to not sound like another word...

you are correct.

in biology, a warm blooded animal is "endothermic" whereas a cold blooded one is exothermic. this is the definition i was running with. i was thinking in the form of generating their own heat versus needing environmental heat, but this is not the proper meaning of warm vs cold blooded.

i stand (anonymously) corrected.
joe

Somebody didn't do their homework...

"Xerography" is a legitimate word, and according to Merriam-Webster's, it has been since 1948. Xerox can punt.

The M-W webster has an entry for xerox, and make clear the context.

I looked through several online dictionaries as well as Merriam-Webster (not the Unabridged site) and I can only find definitions for "google" that are in fact google.

If this is the case, then it seems that wordspy should define the verb "to microsoft" as "to crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women".

Apologies to Conan (no, not the late night one)

It should also be pointed out that "to google" was already an (informal) verb, meaning "to look" (where did you think the name came from?). Google may quibble over semantics, in that it's mostly being used in a different context these days, but they certainly can't remove it from from the dictionary.

I think you mean ogle...or at least they did when they said it...

It's a law.
Law (noun)
"6 a : a statement of an order or relation of phenomena that so far as is known is invariable under the given conditions b : a general relation proved or assumed to hold between mathematical or logical expressions"

note: so far as is known ... assumed to hold

However, if you're one of those people who thinks there's a difference, it is not a 'Law':

(ibid)
"2 a often capitalized : the revelation of the will of God set forth in the Old Testament"

Hopefully this will clear up the confusion surrounding this issue.

No, they're called rocket motors.

An engine is something else.

No, they're called rocket motors.

An engine is something else.

I always wondered why people could figure out the Anchor tag.

I always wondered why people could figure out the English language. Is it that hard?

At least TLAs can be looked up. Apart from being a prefix meaning "singular", m-w.com thinks "uni" is an abbreviation for "uniform", while dictionary.com thinks it's User Network Interface (an ATM-related acronym). This "common" abbreviation is hopelessly, gratuitously obscure.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary online lists both "platypusses" and "platypi" as a valid plurals of "platypus".

platypus

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary online lists both "platypusses" and "platypi" as a valid plurals of "platypus".

platypus

1 a : something set up as an object or end to be attained : INTENTION

b : RESOLUTION, DETERMINATION

2 : a subject under discussion or an action in course of execution

synonym see INTENTION

There is no word "conspiracist" in the English language. Honestly, would it have been that hard to actually check at dict.org or m-w.com? Or just open a dictionary?

Maybe save the indignant tone for the next time you have a leg to stand on. Here's a hint: don't take as your source people who refer to themselves or others as "conspiracists".

Hmm, well I'm going to assume you are kidding. If you aren't you might want to look here.

this is the fancy literary technique that was employed with no success.

The plural of "virus" isn't "virii." There is no such word. The plural of "virus" is "viruses."

Here's a good explanation from cdknow.com, quoted here in its entirety because the people who most need to read this won't click on a link.

The correct English plural of virus is viruses. Please consult any good dictionary before making up words.

For the purists, in Latin, there is a rarely-used plural form:

virus, viri (neuter)

(Forms: almost always restricted to nominative and accusative singular; generally singular in Lucretius, ablative singular in Lucretius)

The point of this is that even in Latin the form "viri" is rarely used. The singular form is used in most every instance. (This is from the Oxford Latin Dictionary.)

So, when considering the Latin: "virii" is incorrect and "viri" was almost never used.

Despite the fact there was little use for the plural form, there is another reason why "viri" was rarely used. The most common Latin word for "man" is "vir" with "viri" being its plural in the form used as the subject of a sentence. Thus, since "men" as the subject of a sentence would be used far more often than "venoms" (virus means venom) the "viri" word was most commonly seen as the plural of "man."

Bottom line: Don't try to make up words using a false Latin plural form. Since the word virus in its English form is now used then the English plural (viruses) should be used.

More plural-of-virus resources:

perl.com, the canonical and exhaustive source
The alt.comp.virus FAQ
Jonathan de Boyne Pollard's Frequently Given Answer
Merriam-Webster's "Word for the Wise," January 20, 2000.

to examine in order to suppress or delete anything considered objectionable

> idée fixe' (difficult to translate, something like an unchangeable opinion)

The usual "translation" is just to cite the phrase in French; it usually implies more than an unchangeable opinion, rather one that is also almost obsessive.

This is why the English translation is Dogmatix. Dogmatic defined as "positiveness in assertion of opinion especially when unwarranted or arrogant". But then you all already knew this.

Word Of The Day mailing list

Today's word was puckish

they can't even understand spelling and pronounciation.

Mobilix, with an i in the middle. Like fish, chips, wit.

Obelix, with an e in the middle. Like wretch, bench,wench.

The sounds you're talking about are in unstressed syllables and thus, in both English and French, are schwas. Therefore they sound basically alike. There are reason for finding the decision dumb but this isn't one of them.

linkage.

I would think that the penultimate scripted virus should be one that, like the genetic variety,

Why would that be the next-to-last virus ever created?

A script is basically variable names and values.. well what if you could randomly generate variable names, of

Actually at some point, the script will really need to come down to system calls. Just assigning variables all day long won't accomplish much.

search-and-replace to generate copy Y with the new names.

Both this trick, and countermeasures like you mentioned, have been happening for years. Or does the phrase "polymorphic virus" not ring a bell?

Check out Meriam-Webster.
Second definition of 'he':

2 -- used in a generic sense or when the sex of the person is unspecified <he that hath ears to hear, let him hear -- Matthew 11:15 (Authorized Version)> <one should do the best he can>

Try again.

According to this American dictionary, licence is a variant of license.

According to the English dictionary (i.e. from England) on my desk:

licence n. 1. a permit from the government or other authority to own or do something or to carry on a certain trade. 2. permission. 3. disregard of rules or customs etc., lack of due restraint in behaviour. 4 a writer's or artist's exaggeration, ot disregard of rules etc., for the sake of effect, poetic licence.

license v. to grant a licence to or for, to authorize; licensed premises licensed to sell alcoholic drinks.

Before you try to be a smart-arsed spelling, I suggest you learn your subject matter first.

Try again.

According to this American dictionary, licence is a variant of license.

According to the English dictionary (i.e. from England) on my desk:

licence n. 1. a permit from the government or other authority to own or do something or to carry on a certain trade. 2. permission. 3. disregard of rules or customs etc., lack of due restraint in behaviour. 4 a writer's or artist's exaggeration, ot disregard of rules etc., for the sake of effect, poetic licence.

license v. to grant a licence to or for, to authorize; licensed premises licensed to sell alcoholic drinks.

Before you try to be a smart-arsed spelling, I suggest you learn your subject matter first.

I loathe those who are sesquipedalian

Democracy isn't orthoganal to a republic. Thats a myth.

republic
Pronunciation: ri-'p&-blik
Function: noun
Etymology: French rpublique, from Middle French republique, from Latin respublica, from res thing, wealth + publica, feminine of publicus public -- more at REAL, PUBLIC
Date: 1604
1 a (1) : a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president
(2) : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government
b (1) :a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law
(2) : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government c : a usually specified republican government of a political unit <the French Fourth Republic>
2 : a body of persons freely engaged in a specified activity <the republic of letters>
3 : a constituent political and territorial unit of the former nations of Czechoslovakia, the U.S.S.R., or Yugoslavia

democracy
Pronunciation: di-'m-kr&-sE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -cies
Etymology: Middle French democratie, from Late Latin democratia, from Greek dEmokratia, from dEmos + -kratia -cracy
Date: 1576
1 a : government by the people; especially : rule of the majority
b :a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
2 : a political unit that has a democratic government
3 capitalized : the principles and policies of the Democratic party in the U.S.
4 : the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority
5 : the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges

So we in the USA live in a Democratic Republic .

Democracy isn't orthoganal to a republic. Thats a myth.

republic
Pronunciation: ri-'p&-blik
Function: noun
Etymology: French rpublique, from Middle French republique, from Latin respublica, from res thing, wealth + publica, feminine of publicus public -- more at REAL, PUBLIC
Date: 1604
1 a (1) : a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president
(2) : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government
b (1) :a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law
(2) : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government c : a usually specified republican government of a political unit <the French Fourth Republic>
2 : a body of persons freely engaged in a specified activity <the republic of letters>
3 : a constituent political and territorial unit of the former nations of Czechoslovakia, the U.S.S.R., or Yugoslavia

democracy
Pronunciation: di-'m-kr&-sE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -cies
Etymology: Middle French democratie, from Late Latin democratia, from Greek dEmokratia, from dEmos + -kratia -cracy
Date: 1576
1 a : government by the people; especially : rule of the majority
b :a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
2 : a political unit that has a democratic government
3 capitalized : the principles and policies of the Democratic party in the U.S.
4 : the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority
5 : the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges

So we in the USA live in a Democratic Republic .

Democracy isn't orthoganal to a republic. Thats a myth.

republic
Pronunciation: ri-'p&-blik
Function: noun
Etymology: French rpublique, from Middle French republique, from Latin respublica, from res thing, wealth + publica, feminine of publicus public -- more at REAL, PUBLIC
Date: 1604
1 a (1) : a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president
(2) : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government
b (1) :a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law
(2) : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government c : a usually specified republican government of a political unit <the French Fourth Republic>
2 : a body of persons freely engaged in a specified activity <the republic of letters>
3 : a constituent political and territorial unit of the former nations of Czechoslovakia, the U.S.S.R., or Yugoslavia

democracy
Pronunciation: di-'m-kr&-sE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -cies
Etymology: Middle French democratie, from Late Latin democratia, from Greek dEmokratia, from dEmos + -kratia -cracy
Date: 1576
1 a : government by the people; especially : rule of the majority
b :a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
2 : a political unit that has a democratic government
3 capitalized : the principles and policies of the Democratic party in the U.S.
4 : the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority
5 : the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges

So we in the USA live in a Democratic Republic .

Democracy isn't orthoganal to a republic. Thats a myth.

republic
Pronunciation: ri-'p&-blik
Function: noun
Etymology: French rpublique, from Middle French republique, from Latin respublica, from res thing, wealth + publica, feminine of publicus public -- more at REAL, PUBLIC
Date: 1604
1 a (1) : a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president
(2) : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government
b (1) :a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law
(2) : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government c : a usually specified republican government of a political unit <the French Fourth Republic>
2 : a body of persons freely engaged in a specified activity <the republic of letters>
3 : a constituent political and territorial unit of the former nations of Czechoslovakia, the U.S.S.R., or Yugoslavia

democracy
Pronunciation: di-'m-kr&-sE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -cies
Etymology: Middle French democratie, from Late Latin democratia, from Greek dEmokratia, from dEmos + -kratia -cracy
Date: 1576
1 a : government by the people; especially : rule of the majority
b :a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
2 : a political unit that has a democratic government
3 capitalized : the principles and policies of the Democratic party in the U.S.
4 : the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority
5 : the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges

So we in the USA live in a Democratic Republic .

You'll note in the article that one thing editors are concerned about is actually _printing_ these form letters. They're not taking polls, they're actually publishing content, and there's something at least vaguely dishonest about sending a "letter to the editor" that you didn't write.

Just to support this point -- it's more than vaguely dishonest, it's plagiarism. It doesn't matter if the original author wants the work passed off or not; passing it off without crediting the source is plagiarism no matter what. (That's why you can't turn in your friend's term paper as your own even if your friend approves.)

Clearly, if I were to copy a work of yours and sign my name to it without giving you credit, I would be guilty of plagiarism. Even if I had your permission (or blessing, as is the case here), it would be plagiarism. Plagiarism at work can get you reprimanded or even fired. Plagiarism in school can get you a failing grade or an expulsion. It is a big deal to writers, and I am not surprised to see the newspaper editors work so hard to avoid publishing such works. I am surprised that this word did not make it into the the New York Times article. Spineless.

Perhaps the word the questioner was looking for was:

vulterine

Main Entry: vulturine
1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of vultures
2 : RAPACIOUS, PREDATORY

I will accept anime as being specifically a reference to ONLY Japanese animation when I see it in Webster's

You mean, when you see it here?

Both forms are acceptable actually.

The concept of memes didn't exactly originate with Stephenson.

Will you people stop calling those who post the stories editors? They clearly do not fit that definition by any stretch of the imagination and it would end the arguments of why they are not doing their jobs. The term you are looking for is janitor.

Will you people stop calling those who post the stories editors? They clearly do not fit that definition by any stretch of the imagination and it would end the arguments of why they are not doing their jobs. The term you are looking for is janitor.

There are some that say "it's" == a contraction of "it is"... "always." There are some that say that "it's" has a possessive quality, such as "it has" (look it up). Then there is this small, radical group that thinks that language is fluid, and defined by its usage. These radicals maintain the belief that language is a means of communication, and if the thought is communicated then the language is successful. BTW, IIRC, FWIW, IMHO, (IANAL) these radicals have been reported to use "it's" in a non-sanctioned, perfectly understandable, possessive way. All the better to them.

...a rating system 'pur sang' is not a bad thing...

You may have heard of something called a "dictionary"

But apart from that, I'm with you all the way: I'd rather trust the future of space travel to people who do unqualified bitching about choice of words.

...Mr. Lessig's day job at Stanford is creating the very IP parasites he rails on about.

Mr. Lessig's day job: Teaching "Constitutional Law" and "Law and Virtual Worlds" courses at Stanford University.

What we see here is a relationship between a law professor, the law, the Constitution, and virtual worlds. Since the law, the Constitution, and virtual worlds all came into existence, and are perpetuated, independently of Mr. Lessig, it seems clear that the purpose of Mr. Lessig as a law professor can only be understood in terms of its relationship to these things, and that he is not autotelic at all.

I could argue that perhaps Mr. Lessig has created the field of "Law and Virtual Worlds" specifically in order to perpetuate his own existence as a law professor, but I'd have to disregard the fact that virtual worlds, the law, and the intersection of the two, exists independently of his own existence as a law professor. Even if Lessig is one of the first to enter this field, we already have a word for that: pioneer. And when the pioneer has created the field which he then enters, we often use the term "genius". If Lessig is truly autotelic (which seems unlikely), then he is in good company, along with Jonas Salk, Neils Bohr, and Alan Turing, among others.

And why shouldn't he teach law? Study of the law does not make one an IP parasite. Teaching the law does not make one a greedy hypocrite. Teaching the law during the week, and applying one's knowledge of the law on weekends to promote justice and uphold fair play seems rather more laudable than the pursuits of the stereotypical lawyer.

Perhaps the Troll would care to offer some counter-examples that distinguish Mr. Lessig as a greedy hypocrite, rather than the admirable figure the documented evidence seems to present?

Actually, the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines news as:
"A report of recent events."

So who's wrong now, Mr. high-user-ID?

As long as the government doesn't mandate or forbid things, we are rid of the monopolies. The definition of monopoly was originally based on whether or not the government allowed competition.

Well, yes, I guess, as long as you're willing to use that definition. You wouldn't have monopolies, you'd just have strangeholds on markets created by manipulation of supply, tie ins, and other techniques designed to limit competition.

Meanwhile, the working definition of monopoly has drifted in the last hundred years. For example, Merriam-Webster defines monopoly as "1 : exclusive ownership through legal privilege, command of supply, or concerted action". Heck, government or legal restrictions don't appear in any of M-W's definitions.

Entrepreneurs like to make money. And as long as they aren't forbidden to entera sector of the market, and it's profitable, they will. And it's the customers that vote with their pocketbooks that allow it to happen. It's a beautiful thing.

It's a beautiful thing in theory. The problem is that you can be forbidden to enter a sector of the market by forces other than the government. Your competitors have a great deal of incentive to try and create such limits as quickly as possible. Running an nationwide railroad? Instead of investing in rails, buy up all of the coal sources, preventing your competitors from running at all. Got a dominant position in the market? Tie your customers to you through subtle techniques that will make it unrealistically expense to shift products. Afraid of an upstart competitor making a superior car? Use bogus lawsuits to force him to burn through all of his funding defending himself and drive him out of business.

Perfect capitalism is a beautiful thing, but it has unattainable requirements: perfect competition, low costs to enter a market, well informed consumers in all areas. In the absense of perfect capitalism you're left with a system that functions acceptably, but creates the incentive and potential for monopolies to form. The result is that we as a society need to keep an eye on the system and occasionally tweak things when the system fails.

(Out of context and bit off topic, but I can't resist:)

The problems in the marketplace aren't "market failures" that the government needs to fix for you (at no small cost), but areas where the government has forced things to work a particular way.

A compelling argument. Let's start by getting rid of any laws that grant someone an "exclusive Right" to something, which is clearly a monopoly by your own definition. I suggest starting with copyright, patent, and trademark laws...

The word is antivenin. Think anti ven(o) (tox)in.

Think of it this way: quotas encourage people to take up careers that their society has been steering them away from their entire lives, while denying entry to those who have been trained and socialized for those tasks since childhood. The mixed blessing quotas bring (theoretically, anyway) is that within a few generations the artificial balance they create gives way to new socialization patterns which (hopefully) result in natural preferences based on personal interest and aptitude.

As far as meritocracy goes, the dictionary doesn't say much about the negative aspects you allude to. I know I could probably Google for more information, but would you indulge me with a clarification? The worst problem I can see with a "raw" meritocracy (that is, one untainted by whatever cultural baggage I imagine you're thinking of), is the question of who judges the judges of what is meritorious? This is the old "who watches the watchmen?" conundrum, which is useless in real life (where infinite recursions aren't a luxury any society can afford). We get around the problem by peer review, open debate, and public voting. These solutions seem to work about as well as any solution could.

Of course, a "ruthless meritocracy" would be patently unfair to those who were interested in a field but had no talent for it. This is why I'm against them. I've always wanted to win an NBA championship, even though I can't jump. Until there are quotas, The (Black) Man will always keep me down!

I've read a couple of his books (Neuromancer, The Difference Engine) and I think he's overrated. Granted, the Difference Engine seems to be generally regarded as not good, but even Neuromancer I thought was fairly boring. So he coined a word, yee haw. He might have a vision but his expression of that vision is lacking.

Have you coined a word? Want credit for it?