Recent Posts - page 73

  • Spacing after periods

    By on

    Three decades ago, when I was doing some contract work for a software company that shall go nameless, a co-worker suggested an optional plug-in for their flagship product. For a mere $5000.00, a customer could install a module that would… Read More ›

  • School Daze

    By on

    Being forced out of one’s comfort zone is a good thing, right? So they say. But I’m not so sure. I just watched School Daze, a 1988 pseudo-comedy written, directed, and produced by Spike Lee, who also played one of the lead roles. It’s primarily about… Read More ›

  • Which language do they speak in Canada?

    By on

    There’s something wrong with the question in the title of this piece, isn’t there? I had asked some students “What language do Canadians speak?” Some of them said English, a few said French, some said both English and French. One said… Read More ›

  • Another joyful visit to Ashmont Grill

    By on

    Still too hot to cook last night, so we had to return to our old standby for dinner, the Ashmont Grill. (Normally we go there twice a month. This was probably our third time, but who’s counting?) We decided on… Read More ›

  • Making a Point: The Persnickety Story of English Punctuation

    By on

     If you use commas and periods, this book is for you. If you use semicolons and dashes; this book is still for you. And even if you use colons, hyphens, parentheses, and the dreaded apostrophes, this book is still for you. So, I… Read More ›

  • Dorset Hall

    By on

    Much too hot to cook dinner last night, so we decided to try Dorset Hall, a fairly new addition to our neighborhood. Overall verdict: meh. First the good news: My salad was crisp, fresh, and huge. Barbara’s steak tips were… Read More ›

  • What!? We’re making fun of Comic Sans yet again???

    By on

    Would be even better with Bart Simpson…  

  • Do teachers’ unions protect bad teachers?

    By on

    Some significant fraction of the general public despises teachers. Everything that’s wrong with schools is our fault. And many of those who despise teachers place particular blame on teachers’ unions, which in their view serve to protect bad teachers (and… Read More ›

  • A multi-calendar from a century ago

    By on

    Wow! Look closely at this amazing image. What is it? Clearly [???] it’s an Ottoman calendar from a century ago. Fortunately, it has been annotated for our viewing pleasure. It shows the then current date — apparently April 20, 1911 —… Read More ›

  • The Art of Language Invention

    By on

    OK, let’s get a couple of things out of the way before we discuss this book: First of all, it is not a book for the general public. Despite its title, The Art of Language Invention is not a popularization. Yes, it looks like an ordinary trade… Read More ›

  • 88 Wharf (once again)

    By on

    It was time for dinner yesterday, and what were we going to do? Clearly it was too hot to cook — at least with a kitchen and dining room that aren’t air-conditioned — so it must be time to try… Read More ›

  • SMAPFY

    By on

    “What,” you ask, “is SMAPFY?” I’m sure that is what you’re asking, isn’t it? SMAPFY stands for “Supreme Musical Artists of the Past Fifty Years”; it’s a voting simulation that we have been conducting at the Crimson Summer Academy for the past ten… Read More ›

  • Henrietta’s Table…and a mysterious sign

    By on

    Excellent dinner last night with Barbara, Ellen, Aviva, and Jake at Henrietta’s Table: I had smoked pastrami salmon, duck, broccoli, strawberry cream pie… Of course I had them remove the calories first. Haven’t had duck in months, so it was… Read More ›

  • Back again…

    By on

    I thought I had given up my blog forever. But apparently not. I’ve been persuaded to resume blogging, so stay tuned for further posts…

  • The wrong way to teach math?

    By on

    A headline writer attached this misleading title to an opinion piece in the New York Times last Sunday. My response (this post) is yet another follow-up to the follow-up I posted on February 18. Apparently the issue just won’t go away! Andrew Hacker continues to… Read More ›

  • #JeSuisCirconflexe

    By on

    Surprisingly (perhaps), The Economist is a great source for articles about linguistics. When an article is also about world politics, however, no one is surprised. Yesterday’s issue included a piece with the odd title of “Je suis circonflexe”; what could that possibly be… Read More ›

  • Gaslight

    By on

    Barbara and I just got back from an excellent dinner at Gaslight. Barbara started with a huge shredded beet salad, which she enjoyed but she had to take home more than half of it. I started with the traditional French… Read More ›

  • Don’t do this!

    By on

    So…don’t do this! From Sam Shah:

  • Most

    By on

    We’re having a dispute about the commonly understood meaning of the word “most.” Don’t look it up in a dictionary; just go by your own intuitive definition. Here’s a sample situation: You’re in a gathering of 12 people, with the following… Read More ›

  • Why “x”?

    By on

    If it’s in a TED talk, it’s got to be correct. Right? Actually, not so much. But when the talk is about both math and linguistics, how could I resist? So I just had to watch Terry Moore’s four-minute TED talk… Read More ›