Word of the Day: autoschediastical(aw\toh\SKEE\dee\az\tik\uhl); something improvised or extemporized
Weight: 206 pounds
Goal: lose 100 pounds in one year duration
Pounds to lose: 74 pounds
Waist Size: 41 inches
Days to go before we return to Canada: two (2)
Rowing Duration: sixty-one (61) minutes
Efrem has a sad face today as the end of this Florida trip is so much in sight. Actually, I'm not really blue, there are some positive things that will happen when I get back to the land of snow, ice, cold, wind and many French-speaking people, one of which is I'll be able to get some more water pills that will help reduce the swelling in my legs and feet.
It has been overcast for a couple of days here in Gainesville, Florida, too bad, I would like to leave Florida on a sunny note! Today, so far, it is unusually cold, but I'm hoping it will warm up, it has to, we're in Gainesville, Florida!
Other than doing some writing yesterday, not much else happened. Zac, Winter and I did not go anywhere, we stayed home watching television, reading, and playing cribbage, which I lost badly to Zac, he even skunked me in one game.
Let's see, I also spoke to my sisters Judy and Yvonne yesterday on the telephone. While I have been on this trip, I have talked to my sister Judy on the telephone at least twice a day, Judy lives by herself and gets awfully lonely, so I do what I can to help her feel that she isn't so alone.
The word of the day certainly is a mouthful; I know when I use it I'm sure to get a look or two from the person with whom I'm conversing, I think using it may seem a little pretentious, but on the other hand, I never created the word, I just happened upon it.
I thought I would reveal to you something else that I happened upon, over the years, people have become increasingly cautious abut exposing their skin to the sun because of concerns about developing cancer. I, personally, feel this is one hundred (100) percent justifiable, they do so much promoting and warning people not to go out in the sun, without skin protection. And now, they're reporting that continuously slathering on sunscreen and shielding oneself from the sun can lead to Vitamin D deficiency, talk about terms in contradiction.
Vitamin D is a vital nutrient that helps keep bones strong, prevents rickets, and protects against conditions like osteoporosis, which as many of you know, is something I developed about fifteen (15) years ago, due to medications necessary to take for my asthma.
United Kingdom (U.K.) experts are therefore recommending that, during summers, (here we go again,) people go out in the sun without wearing sunscreen for ten (10) to fifteen (15) minutes several times a week. Sure, we will!
Okay, it has been a long time since I gave a grammar lesson, I thought I would give you a brief one today, stop complaining Lily, I was supposed to give a grammar lesson once a week, so you are getting off cheap today, and the subject of my grammar, or writing tip, which is what I prefer to call grammar, anyway,today we are going to give a little information on problems surrounding grammar check., I know, lots of fun!
Note the following sentence that was found inside a Word document: “The nouns and verbs are the main content words in this poem and without emphasis on them, this poem has little to no meaning.” Word’s grammar check admonished the writer to insert a semicolon in place of the comma following them.
Errant nonsense, and puzzling advice, at that. One respondent erroneously agreed with Bill Gates, while two people associated with this site validated the original writer’s reluctance to follow Word’s word. But they didn’t explain why the grammar check had recommended this faulty course of action. I didn’t understand it, either, but then I looked a little closer.
In another poster remarked, a human editor trumps a computer-generated one. Computers may be able to defeat humans at chess, but I doubt they’ll ever beat people at editing. Why? They can compute, but they can’t think. Here’s where Word went wrong:
It is assumed that the phrase “in this poem and without emphasis on them” was a compound phrase with the same structure as “on this page and on the next,” for example, and that this sentence could end with this phrase.
If that were true, “this poem has little to no meaning” would be an independent clause that could stand on its own. But because the computer misread the context, it did not admonish the writer to correct a real error: A comma should follow the first instance of poem.
The correct form of the sentence is “The nouns and verbs are the main content words in this poem, and without emphasis on them, this poem has little to no meaning.” (I also agree with the poster who pointed out that the phrase at the end of the sentence is more idiomatically correct rendered as “little or no meaning.”)
In this sentence “this poem has little to no meaning” is not an independent clause, but it is part of one: “without emphasis on them, this poem has little to no meaning” could stand as a separate sentence, so it should be preceded by a comma and the conjunction and.”
The moral of the story? Word’s grammar check, like its spell-check function, can be helpful, but it can also misinterpret your intent as a writer. As the sage says, “Trust, but verify.” And I know it isn't only grammar wherein we can apply that advice.
Cover of CherWell, that is it for today's post, I'm not feeling very creative, I'm troubled thinking of where Cher keeps her Oscar, I didn't sleep well, my feet were causing me alot of pain, maybe it will be better for all of us tomorrow.
Have a good day, and take care.
Topics coming soon:
Art
Politics
Cartoons
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