felixOrg - To Serve Man

writing

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:30:45 -0800

Clear thought easily finds words to fit it.

— Arthur Schopenhauer, "Schopenhauer on Style"

writing

robin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 07:50:52 -0800

With some awe we have to remind ourselves that writers like Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton had no access to what we would call dictionaries. Spelling did not much worry them, as it worries a modern author who runs to his dictionary to check on difficult words like 'hemorrhage' (my personal blind spot). Milton spelled in his own creative manner, preferring 'mee' to 'me' when he wished to be emphatic; Shakespeare went the free and easy Elizabethan way, leaving his own name to be juggled with in a variety of orthographical fantasies; with Chaucer the encoding of speech sounds was logical and required no checking.

— Anthony Burgess, A Mouthful of Air 332 (1992)

Free Textbook Sources

robin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:54:33 -0800

http://opensource.com/education/10/2/free-texts-sources?sc_cid=70160000000IGmcAAG

Travelocity Torture

robin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:12:52 -0800

Message left today at the Travelocity Customer Service web site:

Quote:

Today I had the opportunity to remain on hold for the Travelocity Customer Service phone line for almost three and one-half hours during three separate calls while trying to cancel an imminent reservation. The time spent actually speaking to representatives during these calls was approximately ten minutes; the rest was time on hold.

I have three comments based on this experience.

books

robin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:42:40 -0800

Trouble and rancour are essential if the book is to be worth reading, or buying. Political diarists base entire careers on that principle: a discreet diarist is as viable as a chaste whore.

— Simon Barnes, "You Can Bet on Truth Limping in Last in a Sporting Biography," Times (London), 15 July 2000, at 20.

Toyota Commercial

robin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:35:33 -0800

An oldie but a goodie.

Sharing Knowledge

robin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:42:52 -0800

After the brutal battle of Kalinga, the Emperor Ashoka was so overcome with remorse that he renounced bloodshed and embraced Buddhism. As part of his penance, Ashoka went to monasteries across the country. At each monastery, he would leave munificent donations of gold coins. At one monastery, the emperor left behind one solitary gold coin. When his perplexed followers asked him to explain, Ashoka said that the abbot of the monastery was a great man but he did not share his knowledge with others.

Delfin Systems Logos

robin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 09:04:05 -0800

The recent passing of a friend and former co-worker at Delfin Systems, assimilated in the 1990s by Titan Corporation and later by L-3 Communications, prompted a search for the old Delfin logo. Thanks to Dona, Vance, and Ray for making these available.

Star Trek Book Bonanza

robin — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:17:56 -0800

See attached spreadsheet.

language

robin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:24:50 -0800

The eternal qualities of good speech and writing are lucidity, euphony and sincerity. Seldom are these qualities acquired as a kind of second nature. For the most part they are achieved only by intense intellectual discipline. Only by long practice can a man express himself clearly, attractively and sincerely.

— Simeon Potter, Modern Linguistics 160 (1957; repr. 1964)