Eliyes

If ever you are composing fiction -- or non-fiction! -- for the consumption of others, and you use a word you suspect may not be quite right... but spellcheck says it's a word... look it up in a dictionary. Hell, this is the computer age -- stick in in a search engine and see what pops up. Just in case you don't know what it means. Even if you think it's probably what you mean.

Getting people you know to have solid and extensive vocabularies to proofread for you is also a good idea.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to compose an email to an author who seems like a nice gal and writes really good stories, but has a couple of words used entirely incorrectly throughout the 50+ of her stories I've read so far. I think I'll start with the obvious Princess Bride quote...

Originally posted by lizblackdog at Diamond Pet Foods Recall!

Originally posted by starwatcher307 at Pet Treat Warning

As someone who has drowned (and been resuscitated) no less than three times -- and that's not counting the times I've been saved before it came to CPR -- this seems like good info to share.

Drowning Does Not Look Like Drowning -- check it out to find out what it actually looks like, and spread it around. It could save someone's life -- maybe even yours.

Kudos to starwatcher307 for bringing this to my attention, and especially for making a mirror of the article on her dreamwidth in case the original disappears. (I think hers is easier to read, actually.)

How To Make A Hat - mostly costumey stuff, not actually real hats.

How to generate electricity from body heat - awesome! I'd love to stop having to plug in my cell phone to charge mid-conversation.

Retropolis T-shirts - the Space Cadet one is probably the most appropriate for me, but I like most of these. :D

Like Risk^TM? Like stained glass? How about both, combined in coffee table form?

The portion of England that brought us Lovejoy now produced computerized lip-reading. COINCIDENCE? I think not. Obviously extreme measures must be taken to get the best of that wily divvie. (I'm not kidding about the robots!)

More awesome science over at Accelerating Future's article on the Top 10 Transhumanist Technologies Why, hello there, Island Three. You're looking lovely today! :D So much prettier than Kalpana One. (Warning! link is a .pdf)

I feel I should end this with another warning, one dating back to 1955 or so, but still relevant, in it's way, today.

*ahem*

ACHTUNG!

ALLES TURISTEN UND NONTEKNISCHEN LOOKENPEEPERS!

DAS KOMPUTERMASCHINE IST NICHT FÜR DER GEFINGERPOKEN UND MITTENGRABEN! ODERWISE IST EASY TO SCHNAPPEN DER SPRINGENWERK, BLOWENFUSEN UND POPPENCORKEN MIT SPITZENSPARKSEN.

IST NICHT FÜR GEWERKEN BEI DUMMKOPFEN. DER RUBBERNECKEN SIGHTSEEREN KEEPEN DAS COTTONPICKEN HÄNDER IN DAS POCKETS MUSS.

ZO RELAXEN UND WATSCHEN DER BLINKENLICHTEN.



Words to live by, my friends. Words to live by.