Property search

We're headed north for the weekend in search of property to purchase.

Word Of The Day

paradigm \PAIR-uh-dyme\ noun
*1 : example, pattern; especially: an outstanding example or archetype
2 : a philosophical and theoretical framework of a scientific school or discipline

Example sentence: In operation for over 50 years, the Bergs' restaurant has long been a paradigm of efficient small-business management.

Did you know? "Paradigm" traces to a Greek verb meaning "to show" and has been used in English to mean "example" or "pattern" since the 15th century. Some debate exists, however, over what kind of example qualifies as a paradigm. Some people say it's a typical example, while others insist it must be an outstanding or perfect example. The scientific community has added to the confusion by using it to mean "a theoretical framework," a sense popularized by American scientist Thomas S. Kuhn in the second edition of his influential book _The Structure of Scientific Revolutions_. In that work, Kuhn admitted that he had used "paradigm" in 22 different ways. Some usage commentators now advise avoiding the term entirely on the grounds that it is overused.

Bong Hits 4 Jesus

By KATIE PESZNECKER Anchorage Daily News

"The phrase is so giggle-worthy, so odd, so catchy, that the entire lengthy legal affair is often referred to simply as the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus case."

"Lead counsel on the case includes Kenneth Starr, author of the infamous Starr Report to Congress on the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal that led to the impeachment of President Clinton." click title for article

The boys

Jaybo and Uncle 1

California Seeks to Clear Hemp of a Bad Name

By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN

"The differences between hemp and its mind-altering cousin, however, can be horticulturally challenging to grasp. The main one is that the epidermal glands of marijuana secrete a resin of euphoria-inducing delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or T.H.C., a substance all but lacking in industrial hemp.

Ernest Small, a Canadian researcher who co-wrote a major hemp study in 2002 for Purdue University, compared the genetic differences to those that separate racehorses from plow horses. Evolution, Mr. Small said, has almost completely bred T.H.C. out of industrial hemp, which by law must have a concentration of no more than three-tenths of 1 percent." click title for article

Processing Pain at Smithfield Foods

By Aaron Sarver

Located in Tar Heel, N.C., the Smithfield Packing pork processing plant is the largest in the country. It employs 6,000 workers who work to slaughter 33 hogs a minute, 24 hours a day. In 2000, Human Rights Watch issued a report that chronicles how Smithfield Packing, Inc. abused workers during union elections held in 1994 and 1997. The report detailed other practices at the plant:

According to union officials, approximately forty-five workers were bused into the plant each day from the Robeson Correctional Center, a state prison. They were bused into the plant premises without stopping to receive union flyers and boarded the bus at the same internal point so they could not receive flyers leaving the plant.

Smithfield management denied union advocates’ request to communicate with these workers, who qualified as “employees” under the [National Labor Relation Act] and were eligible to vote in the union election. However, management required these work-release employees to attend captive-audience meetings to hear its arguments against forming and joining a union.

Smithfield employs the only private police force at a meatpacking plant in the country; under law the officers can carry firearms.

In April, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that during union elections Smithfield had broken the law. According to the board, the corporation “assaulted workers, threatened them with bodily harm, threatened them with arrest by immigration authorities, and caused workers to be falsely arrested.” click title for entire article

The Word of the Day

skylark \SKYE-lark\ verb
1 : to run up and down the rigging of a ship in sport
*2 : frolic, sport

Example sentence: As the couple was walking past the playground, they stopped and watched the happy children laugh and skylark and thought about how they would soon be having a child.

Did you know? As far as we know, people were skylarking at sea before they were larking on land. "Skylarking" was originally a term used by seamen for their scampering about on the rigging of ships. The first known use of the word in print is from 1809, though the term was part of the sailor's vernacular before that. "Lark," meaning "to engage in harmless fun or mischief," didn't get jotted down until 1813. Whether or not the meanings of these words came about from the song and/or behavior of birds is uncertain. One theory of the verb "lark" is that it began as a misinterpretation of the verb "lake," which in British dialect means "to play or frolic."

The Word of the Day

amiable \AY-mee-uh-bul\ adjective
1 : generally agreeable
*2 : being friendly, sociable, and congenial

Example sentence: We certainly don't mind if you bring your friend to the party; he's an amiable guy who's sure to find some new friends during the event.

Did you know? "Amiable" derives from the Late Latin adjective "amicabilis," meaning "friendly," which in turn comes from the Latin word for "friend" and can ultimately be traced back to "amare," meaning "to love." When "amiable" was adopted into English in the 14th century, it meant "pleasing" or "admirable," but that sense is now obsolete. The current, familiar senses of "generally agreeable" ("an amiable movie") and "friendly and sociable" came centuries later. "Amare" has also given English speakers such words as "amative" and "amorous" (both meaning "strongly moved by love"), "amour" ("a usually illicit love affair"), and even "amateur" (which originally meant "admirer").

How appropriate. Today we are having my son's birthday party in the neighborhood park.

Northern Girl

Words And Music By Cheryl Wheeler

Why are the rain clouds comin', pourin' down on me?
Why can't the north wind turn and blow the other way?
Where has the sunshine gone? Oh I can barely see,
This northern rain is fallin', and home is callin' me.

Sun in a southern sky is all I need to see.
Watchin' a small bird fly, above the fields and me
Walkin' a dusty road and there's nothin' 'round the bend
Except those golden tones of goin' home again.

Goin' home - goin' home

Muddy old river flowin' 'neath a fallen tree,
Sunflower garden growin' twice as tall as me
Sister and father hear me, what I've learned today
I ain't no northern girl, I've been too long away.

Goin' home - goin' home

On a starry old summer evenin'
Hummin' warm and sweet
I hit the road believin' I was bound to leave

It took a new england sky to teach me how to say
I ain't no northern girl, I've been too long away
I ain't no northern girl, I've been too long away
This ain't no northern song - I've been too long away.

Carolina In My Mind

By James Taylor

In my mind I'm goin' to Carolina
Can't you see the sunshine
Can't you just feel the moonshine
Ain't it just like a friend of mine
To hit me from behind
Yes I'm goin' to Carolina in my mind

Karen she's a silver sun
You best walk her way and watch it shinin'
Watch her watch the mornin' come
A silver tear appearing now I'm cryin'
Ain't I goin' to Carolina in my mind

There ain't no doubt in no one's mind
That loves the finest thing around
Whisper something soft and kind
And hey babe the sky's on fire, I'm dyin'
Ain't I goin' to Carolina in my mind

In my mind I'm goin' to Carolina
Can't you see the sunshine
Can't you just feel the moonshine
Ain't it just like a friend of mine
To hit me from behind
Yes I'm goin' to Carolina in my mind

Dark and silent late last night
I think I might have heard the highway calling
Geese in flight and dogs that bite
Signs that might be omens say I'm going, going
I'm goin' to Carolina in my mind

With a holy host of others standing around me
Still I'm on the dark side of the moon
And it seems like it goes on like this forever
You must forgive me
If I'm up and goin' to Carolina in my mind

In my mind I'm goin' to Carolina
Can't you see the sunshine
Can't you just feel the moonshine
Ain't it just like a friend of mine
To hit me from behind
Yes I'm goin' to Carolina in my mind

Goin' to Carolina in my mind
And I'm goin' to Carolina in my mind
Goin' to Carolina in my mind

(Goin')
(I'm goin')
(I'm goin')
(Say nice things about me 'cause I'm goin' southbound)
(Carry on with out me 'cause I'm goin')
(I'm goin')

I Am A Town

by Mary Chapin Carpenter

I'm a town in Carolina, I'm a detour on a ride
For a phone call and a soda, I'm a blur from the driver's side
I'm the last gas for an hour if you're going 25
I am Texaco and tobacco, I am dust you leave behind

I am peaches in September, and corn from a roadside stall
I'm the language of the natives, I'm a cadence and a drawl
I'm the pines behind the graveyard, and the cool beneath their shade,
where the boys have left their beer cans
I am weeds between the graves.

My porches sag and lean with old black men and children
Their sleep is filled with dreams, I never can fulfill them
I am a town.

I am a church beside the highway where the ditches never drain
I'm a Baptist like my daddy, and Jesus knows my name
I am memory and stillness, I am lonely in old age; I am not your destination
I am clinging to my ways
I am a town.

I'm a town in Carolina, I am billboards in the fields
I'm an old truck up on cinder blocks, missing all my wheels
I am Pabst Blue Ribbon, American, and "Southern Serves the South"
I am tucked behind the Jaycees sign, on the rural route
I am a town
I am a town
I am a town
Southbound.

Happy Birthday Son

Today my son is a very tall and lean four year old. He is a bucket full of questions and energy. Tonight, if he can hold still long enough, I'll try to get some pictures to post.

The Word of the Day

instauration \in-stor-RAY-shun\ noun
*1 : restoration after decay, lapse, or dilapidation
2 : an act of instituting or establishing something

Example sentence: Once, Rudder dreamed of the great instauration -- a rebirth of desire that would compel her to a passionate approach to writing in the blog.

Did you know? "Instauration" first appeared in English in the early 17th century, a product of the Latin verb "instaurare," meaning "to renew or restore." This same source gave us our verb "store," by way of Middle English and Anglo-French. Less than 20 years after "instauration" broke into English, the philosopher Francis Bacon began writing his _Instauratio Magna_, which translates to _The Great Instauration_. This uncompleted collection of works, which was written in Latin, calls for a restoration to a state of paradise on earth, but one in which mankind is enlightened by knowledge and truth.

The Word of the Day

tortuous \TOR-chuh-wus\ adjective

*1 : marked by repeated twists, bends, or turns : winding

2 a : marked by devious or indirect tactics : crooked, tricky b : circuitous, involved

Example sentence: The road over the mountains was long and dangerously tortuous while trying to buy property can be a torturous experience.

Did you know? Be careful not to confuse "tortuous" with "torturous." These two words are relatives, and both ultimately come from the Latin verb "torquere," which means "to twist," "to wind," or "to wrench," but "tortuous" means "winding" or "crooked," whereas "torturous" means "painfully unpleasant." Something "tortuous" (such as a twisting mountain road) might also be "torturous" (if, for example, you have to ride up that road on a bicycle!), but that doesn't make these words synonyms. The twists and turns that mark a tortuous thing can be literal ("a tortuous path" or "a tortuous river") or figurative ("a tortuous argument" or "a tortuous explanation"), but you should consider choosing a different descriptive term if no implication of winding or crookedness is present.

The Word of the Day

thank-you-ma'am \THANK-yoo-mam\ noun : a bump or depression in a road; especially : a ridge or hollow made across a road on a hillside to cause water to run off

Example sentence: "That night on the way home, thinking of his pleasant visit, he was suddenly shaken out of his tranquility ... when his touring car hit a 'thank-you-ma'am' in the unpaved road." (Hugh Manchester, _Centre Daily Times_ [State College, PA], August 22, 2000)

Did you know? "Thank-you-ma'am" might seem like an odd name for a bump in the road, but the expression makes a little more sense if you imagine the motion your head would make as you drove over such an obstacle. Most likely, the jarring would make you nod involuntarily. Now think of the nodding gesture you make when you're thanking someone or acknowledging a favor. The "thank-you-ma'am" road bump is believed to have received its name when someone noted the similarity of those two head bobbing motions. It's a colloquialism particular to American English, and its earliest printed use is found in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1849 prose piece, _Kavanagh_: "We went like the wind over the hollows in the snow; -- the driver called them 'thank-you-ma'ams,' because they make every body bow."

The Word of the Day

saccade \sak-KAHD\ noun : a small rapid jerky movement of the eye especially as it jumps from fixation on one point to another (as in reading)

Example sentence: In reading, the eyes scan the text in a series of saccades and form what can be thought of as still photographs processed by the brain.

Did you know? "Saccade" is a French word meaning "twitch" or "jerk." It galloped into English in the early 18th century as a term used in horseback riding for a quick check using the reins. (Today, this meaning is too specialized for entry in _Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary_, but it is stabled in _Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged_.) In 1879, French ophthalmologist Emile Javal observed that a reader's eyes make a series of short jumps, which he referred to in French as saccades. It wasn't until 1938, however, when experimental psychologist Robert Woodworth wrote about the pioneering Javal and his saccades, that the ocular use of the word was seen in an English publication.

Google puts up 'Beware of malware' signs

by Ina Fried, Staff Writer, CNET News.com | Published: 8/4/06

Google has started warning people when search results could potentially lead them to malicious code.

The search giant is using data from the Stop Badware Coalition to flag sites that are potentially host to malicious software. Google, along with Sun Microsystems and Chinese PC maker Lenovo, announced support for the group in January.

People who attempt to go to a Web site that has been identified as risky by the coalition are taken to a warning page.

"Warning--the site you are about to visit may harm your computer!" the page states in bold type, then suggesting users can "learn more about malware and how to protect yourself at StopBadware.org." click title for article

The Word of the Day

ambivalent \am-BIV-uh-lunt\ adjective
*1 : simultaneously holding contradictory attitudes or feelings (as attraction and repulsion) toward someone or something
2 a : continually fluctuating (as between one thing and its opposite) b : uncertain as to which approach to follow

Example sentence: I love helping the homeless, but I'm ambivalent about not turning them in when they steal.

Did you know? The words "ambivalent" and "ambivalence" entered English during the early 20th century in the field of psychology. They came to us through the International Scientific Vocabulary, a set of words common to men and women of science who speak different languages. The prefix "ambi-" means "both," and the "-valent" and "-valence" parts ultimately derive from the Latin verb "valere," meaning "to be strong." Not surprisingly, an ambivalent person is someone who has strong feelings on more than one side of a question or issue.

Wetlands

Here is a slide show from my hometown newspaper.

The Word of the Day

portentous \por-TEN-tuss\ adjective
1 : of, relating to, or constituting a portent
2 : eliciting amazement or wonder : prodigious
3 *a : being a grave or serious matter b : self-consciously solemn or important : pompous c : ponderously excessive

Example sentence: Saving any species from extinction is a portentous matter, but the Save-the-Owl folks could garner more support with a lighter approach.

Did you know? It's easy to see the "portent" in "portentous," which comes to us from the Latin adjective "portentosus," itself the offspring of the noun "portentum," meaning "portent" or "omen." And indeed, the first uses of "portentous" in the mid-1500s did refer to omens. The second sense of "portentous," describing that which is extremely impressive, also developed in the 1500s. Centuries later, an editor working on the second edition of _Webster's New International Dictionary_ in the 1930s added a third definition, "grave, solemn, significant," which has since been refined to include the suggestion of a pompous attitude. We are not sure just when the third sense arose, but our evidence goes back to the beginning of the century. And these days, it's the sense we most often use.

When a Long Tail gets wrapped around a Short Head

What happens? click title for article

Bush didn't know

"One of the administration's intentions in invading Iraq was to undermine Iran, but instead, the Iraqi occupation has given Tehran one of its greatest strategic triumphs in the last four centuries." click title

Pandora

Create your own radio station.

The Word(s) of the Day

diapason \dye-uh-PAY-zun\ noun
1 *a : a burst of sound b : the principal foundation stop in the organ extending through the complete range of the instrument c : the entire compass of musical tones d : range, scope
2 a : tuning fork b : a standard of pitch

Example sentence: Diapasons of laughter echoed through the auditorium as the comedian wrapped up his act.

Did you know? "Diapason" covers a wide range of meanings in English, almost all pertaining to music or sound. The word derives from the Greek roots "dia-," which means "through" and occurs in such words as "diameter" and "diagonal," and "pason," the genitive feminine plural of "pas," meaning "all." "Pas" is related to the prefix "pan-," which is used in such words as "pantheism" and "pandemic." In Greek, the phrase "he dia pason chordon symphonia" translates literally to "the concord through all the notes," with the word "concord" here referring to a combination of tones that are heard simultaneously and produce an agreeable impression on the listener.

desiccate \DESS-ih-kayt\ verb
*1 : to dry up or become dried up
2 : to preserve (a food) by drying : dehydrate
3 : to drain of emotional or intellectual vitality

Example sentence: Weeks of blazing heat along with a prolonged lack of rain have desiccated many of the plants in our garden.

Did you know? Raisins are desiccated grapes; they're also dehydrated grapes. And yet, a close look at the etymologies of "desiccate" and "dehydrate" raises a tangly question. In Latin "siccus" means "dry," whereas the Greek stem "hydr-" means "water." So how could it be that "desiccate" and "dehydrate" are synonyms? The answer is in the multiple identities of the prefix "de-." It may look like the same prefix, but the "de-" in "desiccate" means "completely, thoroughly," as in "despoil" ("to spoil utterly") or "denude" ("to strip completely bare"). The "de-" in "dehydrate," on the other hand, means "remove," the same as it does in "defoliate" ("to strip of leaves") or in "deice" ("to rid of ice").

emollient \ih-MAHL-yunt\ noun : something that softens or soothes

Example sentence: Doctors wash their hands so often that many have to rely on a constant application of emollients to avoid having terribly dry skin.

Did you know? "Emollient" derives from the present participle of the Latin verb "emollire," which, unsurprisingly, means "to soften or soothe." "Emollire," in turn, derives ultimately from "mollis," meaning "soft." Another descendant of "mollis" is "mollify" (essentially meaning "to make softer in temper or disposition"). A more distant relative is "mild," which can be traced back to the same ancient source as "mollis." The adjective "emollient" first appeared in print in English in 1626; the noun arrived on the scene about 30 years later.

The Word of the Day

mellifluous \muh-LIFF-luh-wus\ adjective
*1 : having a smooth rich flow
2 : filled with something (as honey) that sweetens

Example sentence: Lucy recognized the actor's mellifluous voice immediately from the many voice-overs he had done for commercials, station breaks, and documentaries.

Did you know? In Latin, "mel" means "honey" and "fluere" means "to flow." Those two linguistic components flow smoothly together in Late Latin "mellifluus" and Middle English "mellyfluous," the ancestors of "mellifluous." Nowadays the adjective most often applies to the sound of words or speech or music-- as it has for centuries. In 1671, for example, poet John Milton wrote in _Paradise Regained_ of the "Wisest of men; from whose mouth issu'd forth / Mellifluous streams...." But "mellifluous" can also be used of flavor, as in the following rave from an article entitled "The Sublime Wine": "The first taste sensation is an electric sweetness that explodes within the mouth, but what emerges after swallowing is a mellifluous, lingering flavor...." (James Villas, _Town & Country_, December 1991)

Antje Duvekot - Dandelion

click title for music video

Backward logic in the courts

By Ellen Goodman August 4, 2006

"NOW I got it. After hours spent poring over Washington state's Supreme Court decision upholding the ban on same-sex marriage, I've finally figured it out. The court wasn't just ruling against same-sex marriage. It was ruling in favor of ``procreationist marriage." click title for article

The Word of the Day

schwarmerei \shavair-muh-RYE\ noun : excessive or unwholesome sentiment

Example sentence: The poet's later works are refreshingly free of the schwarmerei that hobbled his earlier efforts.

Did you know? In 1845, the editors of the _Edinburgh Review_ felt compelled to use the German "Schwarmerei" to describe fanatical enthusiasm because the concept seemed so foreign to them. In commenting on the writings of German critic and dramatist Gotthold Lessing, they declared "Schwarmerei" to be "untranslatable, because the thing itself is un-English." That German word derives from the verb "schwarmen," which means not only "to be enthusiastic" but "to swarm" (it was used to refer to bees), and its ancestors were part of Old High German. Ironically, the _Edinburgh Review's_ use (the first ever documented in an English publication) seems to have contributed to making the word much more English, and it has since become a naturalized citizen of our language.

States collecting DNA from arrestees

By John Gramlich, Special to Stateline.org

With civil libertarians crying foul, seven states have authorized police to take DNA samples from those arrested for – but not convicted of – certain crimes.

Every state takes DNA samples from convicted sex offenders and at least 43 states take samples from other serious felons, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, which tracks state laws. But five states – California, Louisiana, Minnesota, Texas and Virginia – now take DNA samples from some arrestees as well.

Kansas and New Mexico passed authorizing legislation this spring and will begin arrestee sampling next January. Click title for article

Tax imposed in 1898 now over

The Spanish-American War has been over for more than 100 years, and now so is the tax imposed in 1898 to help fund it.

As of Tuesday, all phone companies selling long-distance phone service are legally required to eliminate the 3 percent federal excise tax on long-distance service, which had been established in 1898 as a luxury tax on wealthy Americans who owned telephones.

The Origins of Mathematical Physics: New Light on an Old Question

A recently resurfaced tenth century manuscript, the Archimedes Palimpsest, includes the sole extant copy of Archimedes’s treatise, the Method. As scholars begin study, new insights into Archimedes are emerging. -- Reviel Netz click title for article