A common complaint I hear regarding the English language from those that speak others primarily is that the words are so specific. We may have three or four different words, each having a different shade or connotation, but revolving around a single concept. Or a single word with several contrasting definitions made clear only by usage. I ( Read more... )

There are many people in life whose aptitudes are different from mine, both for the better and for the worse. I'm a terrible musician, but good with words, as but two examples. In my vocation I am required to train people in a variety of tasks. And I have done this type of thing long enough to get a feel for whether or not someone will succeed in ( Read more... )

Our system is fundamentally flawed. Our politicians are creatures forced by habit to using words to soil the truth in the pursuit of power; people with integrity are pushed out before they can make a difference. Greed is so prolific that it no longer enrages. Corruption is the fuel in the engine of state, and the technicians we hired to fix it will ( Read more... )

So, I have a herniated bellybutton. I was, until quite recently unaware that this was even possible. I'm still not 100% certain that it is, and it's happened to me. I've had hernias before, my evident manliness has caused me to try to pick up stuff that was too heavy. Those were end-of-the-earth, screaming-into-the-heavens, pass-out-from-the-pain ( Read more... )

I got laid off from my job this week. This is, as the saying goes, some grade-A, primo bullshit. I started with this company back in 2007. I kicked so much ass at this job that they promoted me. Twice. One of those within three months of starting the job. The shift I ran consistently had the highest production rates of all of them. And so, when the ( Read more... )

So, my two year anniversary with my job came and went, and is my want, I was pondering the lessons that this line of work has taught me. They are many and varied, and I'm not sure what some of them say about me as a person, but they are a part of my personal growth, and I should recognize that. For the sake of putting my thoughts in front of me ( Read more... )

So, I've had two months in which to establish myself as a Pennsylvanian. There have been some adjustments I've had to make, and quite a few travails to scoff at as they passed me by. I have, at last, settled, which was more difficult than originally anticipated. All told, the verdict is good. I think I'll like it here ( Read more... )

So, lately there has been something welling inside me, just waiting for its moment to burst forth. And this time it's not tuberculosis. No, this is sheer, unvarnished creativity, bordering upon a vast, zealous, something that belies description. In the past few months, things have once again been flowing creatively in my wide world of role-playing ( Read more... )

I've been considering inventing my own role-playing game. It would be set in my own mind. By this, I mean the boundaries of the in-game world are my imagination. Every single place I've ever dreamed, from id to superego. The NPC populace would be every twisted spectre that I've ever imagined. The entire point of the game is that the players begin ( Read more... )

So, unfortunately my Enlightenment experiment was interrupted by the 3 "B"s of Dead Guys. Friday morning my sister woke up and a buddy of hers was dead on her couch. Most likely an overdose, maybe intentional, but probably not. So, after freaking out for little while, they got the cops over there to do their thing. They took the body away etc. ( Read more... )