Meredith goes ABEND
Meredith Lynne
Thunder.
Lightening.
Rain.
Meredith opens the door and walks through. She doesn't close
it behind her.
With eye contact alone she gathers in the pieces of herself that
have been roaming the bar. She takes a deep breath, holds it.
She can taste alcohol riding on the scent of different bodies,
and the different lands that released them to this haven.
For a moment she can recognize the dusty-bright smell of desert...
and the salt of the ocean...she turns, sees the pirate ship in full
sail, going nowhere in particular, and the longboat quickly vanishing
from sight. She waves, a half-smile on her lips.
"Need a drink, Merry?" Mike asks, the ever-present dust rag held
tight and still in one meaty hand.
Her eyes cut to him, memorizing him. "No, I--" she breaks off.
Mikes forehead is wrinkled with concern, his eyes locked onto
her face. "Yes. Dream Shake." She waves the manuscript of
Points of Departure at him and laughs, a cheerful sound. "Never
let it be said that I lack a sense of what's appropriate!"
"You mean dramatic, don't you, Merry?"
She laughs again. "Mr. Callahan, you of all people should realize
the value of melodrama."
Mike smiles at her, and hands her a glass. "Point."
She turns away from the bar, and finds herself a soapbox to stand
on while she downs the shake.
"Let's see..." she murmurs, gathering her thoughts. "Craig, Sun, Inas,
Yber, Aslan, Tigger, shad, P'relan, Toothpick, Horse, Martyr, Tizrak,
Aahz, Jilara, Alaric, Doug, Dirque, Logos, Anima, Liralen, Cameron,
John, George, John, BFG, Kateri, Snark, ArchTeryx, Belgarath, Ragagast,
Lamplighter, Mentor, Gail, Nick, Mandlebear, Snuggles, Sea Wasp,
Eric, John (yes, another one), kitten, Laughing Cat, Raven..."
Meredith trails off. "And everybody else," she says in a rush. "Sorry
if I left out somebody--YOU try making a list of all the friends you've
made in Callahan's Place!
"That was just in case any of you were grepping for names," she says,
tipping Mike a wink; she knows he'll tell everybody who misses her
what she had to say before she left.
"It's true, I'm about to go ABEND. Absent By Enforced News Deprivation.
Craig is going to mail me big chunks of articles now and then
so I can download them and read them off line, and I'm going to
be checking my email once a week or so--It's just that it'll be a
long-distance call to login, and I can't afford very much of that.
I've tried every means I can think of to obtain net access while I'm
away, but the sad fact is, I'm going to be in Nowhere, USA. The closest
mainframe, period, to the town is an hour away. All the public access
accounts I've tried have involved ridiculous sums of money--i.e, it
will be cheaper to login long distance once a week than to use Compuserve
or anything like that.
"But, all is not lost. I'm only going to be gone for four months, at
the end of which I will be moving -back- to Texas. Austin, to be
exact, University of Texas. I'll have a new address, but I might
be keeping the old one as well. More importantly, I'll have unlimited
access to whatever Internet Mischief I can get myself into!"
Meredith pauses, a more serious expression in her eyes. "I'm going
to miss you people... well. You knew that, right?
"Send me -lots- of informative email! Let me know what's going on!
And, if the mood strikes, I like SnailMail as well...the address is
in the .sig, and the phone number is available through email or
Craig, Yber, or Aslan--"
A bright, metallic whine interrupts Meredith, and a sudden **BAMF**
displaces the air from a spot beside her. A tall redhaired woman,
no taller than Meredith, quirks her lips in a smile. "Hi," she says
calmly, cool green eyes scanning the room.
Meredith frowns. "You said you'd use the door," she says disapprovingly.
The woman shrugs. "I lied," she says easily.
Eyes rolling heavenward, Meredith turns back to her audience. "You
remember Zylle, I'm sure," she says. "Unfortunately, I do, too."
Zylle laughs. "Time to go, kid," she says. "Lacey's waiting..."
Meredith shrugs. "I take transportation wherever I can get it," she
says, grinning. "Sure, in RL I'm making an eight hour drive, but I
don't have to endure that -here- do I?"
Zylle starts tapping a foot. "You do if you keep blathering about
much longer."
Meredith smiles. "Righto! To bed with me. 'Tis Friday evening now,
but not for much longer, and I've quite a trip ahead of me."
She pauses for a moment, memorizing names and faces. "Goodbye, all..."
she says. "May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be at your
back..."
She wipes off her glass with a napkin, and sets it gently on top of
the mantle. "I'll finish that toast when I get back," she says.
"Now, for the last bit. Hello, Radio Free Colorado? Could you
play--He did? Really? Hey, that was pretty nice of him. Thanks."
Meredith raises an eyebrow. "Somebody already called it in!"
Just as Meredith and Zylle's forms begin to fade out, music pours
from the radio...
"Good mornin' America, how are ya?
Don't you know me? I'm your native son...
I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans...
I'll be gone five hundred miles 'fore the day is done..."
--
"+ "Of course, believing two contradictory facts at + Meredith Lynne +
| the same time is often referred to as madness, | 515 Frederick Dr |
| --but that, too, can be an asset to a writer." | Thibodaux, LA 70301 |
+--------------------- Orson Scott Card-------------+---------------------+
David Mar
>She pauses for a moment, memorizing names and faces. "Goodbye, all..."
>she says. "May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be at your
>back..."
>She wipes off her glass with a napkin, and sets it gently on top of
>the mantle. "I'll finish that toast when I get back," she says.
"I'll be waiting," Danger Mouse says with a smile. "Take care. I may
snail something to you, so keep an eye out."
DM looks back at the introduction to Meredith's farewell.
>Thunder.
>Lightening.
>Rain.
"Curious. I know North Americans/Australians spell some words differently,
but I hadn't thought that _lightning_ was one of them. Up until now I had
assumed that the few N.A. folks I'd seen use the word had been mis-spelling
it. But weight of evidence has finally mounted to the stage where I must
presume that we are taught to spell the word differently in our respective
countries. Would someone please tell me if I am correct in assuming this?
kitten? Lightning/lightening???
"Speaking of which," he looks apprehensively out the Xwindow - which is
presently mimicking his RL office window - at the ominous clouds which
are rumbling in the distance, "I probably should have brought an umbrella
today."
DM glances around the bar/beach/whatever. "Welcome to all the newcomers,
and returnees. Quite a few over just one weekend!
"And thanks to Dowager, kitten and Brandon for answering my question
about Data from STTNG. Mike! Their next drinks are on me... no, scratch
that. I'm paying for them is what I mean to say.
"Finally, I am leaving Sydney on Wednesday (5 Feb) for four nights of
observing on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. I'll be checking my e-mail
regularly, but won't be reading news until Tuesday next week, when it
will probably take me some time to catch up. If I don't have time to
say anything tomorrow, I'll talk to you again when I get back.
"Wish me good weather, and no nasty shocks from lurking kangaroos in
the middle of the night!"
- Danger Mouse.
Tom Lee
>"Curious. I know North Americans/Australians spell some words differently,
>but I hadn't thought that _lightning_ was one of them. Up until now I had
>assumed that the few N.A. folks I'd seen use the word had been mis-spelling
>it. But weight of evidence has finally mounted to the stage where I must
>presume that we are taught to spell the word differently in our respective
>countries. Would someone please tell me if I am correct in assuming this?
>kitten? Lightning/lightening???
"Most likely it was a typo," says Tom. "It's lightning, all
right. Lightening is what cream does to coffee. My dictionary lists
'lightening' as one of the Middle English origins of 'lightning',
though."
--> Tom Lee, tj...@iastate.edu <-----> Physics Dept., Iowa State University <--
"Come along, Homo sapiens, for all we humble friends of yours are waiting here
to cheer." -- A white-front goose, in T. H. White's _The Once and Future King_
Barbara Trumpinski
>>Thunder.
>>Lightening.
>>Rain.
>"Curious. I know North Americans/Australians spell some words differently,
>but I hadn't thought that _lightning_ was one of them. Up until now I had
>assumed that the few N.A. folks I'd seen use the word had been mis-spelling
>it. But weight of evidence has finally mounted to the stage where I must
>presume that we are taught to spell the word differently in our respective
>countries. Would someone please tell me if I am correct in assuming this?
>kitten? Lightning/lightening???
kitten, who enjoys reference work immensely, says "according to my
websters, lightening is a medical term refering to something that
happens during pregnancy....and then there is lightening a load of
something...lightning refers to the electrical discharge that happens
during a storm...." she reaches into her chicon v bag and pulls out
an umbrella for DM...it's pink, and covered with flowers (i got it for
christmas). "here you go....now you won't get wet....just embarrassed."
>"Finally, I am leaving Sydney on Wednesday (5 Feb) for four nights of
>observing on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. I'll be checking my e-mail
>regularly, but won't be reading news until Tuesday next week, when it
>will probably take me some time to catch up. If I don't have time to
>say anything tomorrow, I'll talk to you again when I get back.
>"Wish me good weather, and no nasty shocks from lurking kangaroos in
>the middle of the night!"
"have fun at the telescope. i didn't know we had lurking kangaroos....:)"
--
***************************************************************************
conan the librarian a.k.a. kitten /\ /\
"my life's a soap opera, isn't yours?" {=.=}
~ barbara ann
"lately it occurs to me what a long strange trip
it's been."
trum...@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu
gail.j.valentine
>Danger Mouse writes:
>
>>"Curious. I know North Americans/Australians spell some words differently,
>>but I hadn't thought that _lightning_ was one of them. Up until now I had
>>assumed that the few N.A. folks I'd seen use the word had been mis-spelling
>>it. But weight of evidence has finally mounted to the stage where I must
>>presume that we are taught to spell the word differently in our respective
>>countries. Would someone please tell me if I am correct in assuming this?
>>kitten? Lightning/lightening???
>
> "Most likely it was a typo," says Tom. "It's lightning, all
>right. Lightening is what cream does to coffee. My dictionary lists
>'lightening' as one of the Middle English origins of 'lightning',
>though."
"Lightening" is also what the sky does toward dawn.
I think the conclusion to be drawn is that most US netters are *terrible*
spellers! (When did "definitely" become "definately," for instance????
What revolution did I sleep through?)
Gail Valentine
Speaker-to-Minerals
>"Curious. I know North Americans/Australians spell some words differently,
>but I hadn't thought that _lightning_ was one of them. Up until now I had
>assumed that the few N.A. folks I'd seen use the word had been mis-spelling
>it. But weight of evidence has finally mounted to the stage where I must
>presume that we are taught to spell the word differently in our respective
>countries. Would someone please tell me if I am correct in assuming this?
>kitten? Lightning/lightening???
Depends on what you're talking about. If you're talking about impressive
natural electrical discharges, it's lightning. If you're talking about what
happens when you use too much sunscreen, it's lightening.
>"Finally, I am leaving Sydney on Wednesday (5 Feb) for four nights of
>observing on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. I'll be checking my e-mail
>regularly, but won't be reading news until Tuesday next week, when it
>will probably take me some time to catch up. If I don't have time to
>say anything tomorrow, I'll talk to you again when I get back.
>
>"Wish me good weather, and no nasty shocks from lurking kangaroos in
>the middle of the night!"
Best wishes on that, and congrats to Oz on getting their own space telescope,
even if it's only part of a space shuttle payload and doesn't go into
independent orbit.
The Polymath
}I think the conclusion to be drawn is that most US netters are *terrible*
}spellers! (When did "definitely" become "definately," for instance????
}What revolution did I sleep through?)
One might also conclude that few, if any, know how to use the spelling
checkers on their systems. Really, there's no excuse for "seperate."
Sets my teeth on edge every time I see it.
The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe, M.A., CDP, aka: holl...@soldev.tti.com)
Head Robot Wrangler at Citicorp Turn the rascals out!
3100 Ocean Park Blvd. (310) 450-9111, x2483 No incumbents in '92!
Santa Monica, CA 90405 {rutgers|pyramid|philabs|psivax}!ttidca!hollombe
David Mar
>"Lightening" is also what the sky does toward dawn.
>I think the conclusion to be drawn is that most US netters are *terrible*
>spellers! (When did "definitely" become "definately," for instance????
>What revolution did I sleep through?)
Danger Mouse nods his thanks to all who have answered his question about
the accepted spelling of the word _lightning_.
"It seems that I have brought this embarrassing admission from Gail into
the open. Sorry, Meredith, for publicly bringing your typo to everyone's
attention and any embarrassment caused."
DM grins in an 'oh no I'm not' way and ticks a name off a list. "One down
and a hundred and fifty to go....
"Oh drat. I just remembered. Meredith has gone to Louisiana and can't be
embarrassed...."
- Danger Mouse.
Mean Green Dancing Machine
>In article <1992Feb3.1...@cbnewsd.att.com> ga...@cbnewsd.att.com (gail.j.valentine) writes:
>}I think the conclusion to be drawn is that most US netters are *terrible*
>}spellers! (When did "definitely" become "definately," for instance????
>}What revolution did I sleep through?)
>
>One might also conclude that few, if any, know how to use the spelling
>checkers on their systems. Really, there's no excuse for "seperate."
>Sets my teeth on edge every time I see it.
As someone in soc.singles pointed out:
I spell grate. I won theses threw mine spelling exchequer.
--
--- Aahz (the *other* Dan Bernstein)
@netcom.com
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6
I used to have a .sig, but found it impossible to please everyone.
Mark E. Shoulson
'Course, the best example of words that spell right and are wrong is the
short story "Ladle Rat Rotten Hut". Not a single word correct, not a
single word misspelled. I have a copy on-line, but I'm not sure I can send
it out without stepping on copyright laws (I typed it in myself from a
book). Very good though. Here's the beginning:
Wants pawn term, dare worsted ladle gull hoe lift wetter murder inner ladle
cordage, honor itch offer lodge, dock florist. Disk ladle gull orphan
worry putty ladle rat cluck wetter ladle rat hut, an fur disk raisin pimple
colder Ladle Rat Rotten Hut.....
You can see where this is going....
I've occasionally practiced writing in this style. Difficult, but a whole
lot of fun. The cleverest ones are where you overlap word boundaries, like
when the wolf says, "Wail, wail, wail. Evanescent Ladle Rat Rotten
Hut...". There are cleverer ones as well.
~mark
o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o N2KOT
Mark E. Shoulson: shou...@ctr.columbia.edu
gail.j.valentine
>}I think the conclusion to be drawn is that most US netters are *terrible*
>}spellers! (When did "definitely" become "definately," for instance????
>}What revolution did I sleep through?)
>
>One might also conclude that few, if any, know how to use the spelling
>checkers on their systems. Really, there's no excuse for "seperate."
>Sets my teeth on edge every time I see it.
>
Second!
Although it's not always easy to get to a spelling checker from within
a news-posting program....
Gail Valentine
yue-shun.e.ho
Why not? There is the GNUS netnews program within the GNU Emacs editor,
and from GNUS, one can use the spell checker in Emacs.
Unfortunately, for me, that means learning a new set of netnews commands
and enduring the sloooow screen display of these stupid AT&T terminals.
And for Gail, that means learning a whole new set of GNU Emacs editing
commands, even though she has superior vi editing skills. :-)
yue-shun the demisemiquaver, aka Bumblebee
y.e...@att.com
P'relan
> In article <32...@ttidca.TTI.COM> holl...@soldev.tti.com (The Polymath) writes:
>>In article <1992Feb3.1...@cbnewsd.att.com> ga...@cbnewsd.att.com (gail.j.valentine) writes:
>>}I think the conclusion to be drawn is that most US netters are *terrible*
>>}spellers! (When did "definitely" become "definately," for instance????
>>}What revolution did I sleep through?)
>>
>>One might also conclude that few, if any, know how to use the spelling
>>checkers on their systems. Really, there's no excuse for "seperate."
>>Sets my teeth on edge every time I see it.
Seperate. *grin* Well, I couldn't resist, but wait and read on because I do
have a point here somewhere. First, a minor point, how many people do have
spelling checkers on their systems? As far as I know, we don't at my site. I
suppose I could extract your post, exit news, kermit (ugh, stupid 7-bit
connection) down the file, write my reply, spell check it, kermit up the post,
load news again, and then post it, but with the speed here with an average load
of around 40 people that'll take me well over 5 minutes not considering the
time required to write the post. If I didn't do all of that work, I could just
type "ans" and write the message and hit ^Z to save and post it. Moral of the
story. Not everyone has spelling checkers and even if they do it's more of a
pain than it's worth. Admittedly, if someone spells as badly as in the example
Aahz gave, you can't understand them, but you can understand simple mistakes
such as "seperate" and "definately."
Second point and the more interesting one. You did read this far, didn't you?
I think that spelling phonetically is a GOOD thing. Modern English spelling
seems more logical than Middle English spelling to me and it's good for the
language to evolve in that direction. There's no reason to maintain arcane
illogical spellings for words as long as the changes are slow enough that we
can still read what is written. I've always admired Spanish for their use of
phonetic spellings and their continual work in that direction (I forget the
name of the group who declares what is and what is not authentic Spanish) such
as removing the "p" from their versions of words like "psychologist." Sure, it
looks strange to see it spelled without the "p", but there's no reason to
retain the "p" and there are reasons to remove it so it should be removed.
Postscript. Actually, I find this article somewhat amusing to be written by me
because aside from typos and merging words when I'm thinking faster than I'm
typing/writing (i.e. something like merging words would become merds and I'd go
on without noticing it until I look back) I almost always spell correctly (now
that I've said that you can go find all the misspellings in this post, right?).
I have the opposite problem of my pronounciation being atrocious occassionally.
Both are a result I think of learning primarily from reading and rarely talking
(I also really cannot hear accents which makes foreign languages with accent
marks a huge memorization chore.)
P'relan (and Birith)
jwwa...@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu
Paul A. Estin
"Abyssinia attestation"
-----
As I write this, there's a sunny snow shower going on outside. Weird.
Paul Andrew Estin, the Snark
paul....@um.cc.umich.edu or es...@midway.uchicago.edu
214 Beakes St. (home) 330 Packard Rd. (work) Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Erik Nielsen
>I think that spelling phonetically is a GOOD thing.
Yet what about those nasty homonyms? What is the phonetic difference
between "here" and "hear," "where" and "wear"?
>
>P'relan (and Birith)
>jwwa...@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu
Erik, the BFG
--
"All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain."
Roy, _Blade Runner_
Erik Nielsen eri...@ocf.berkeley.edu
Gillett, David
-----------Message forwarded from IPSA Mailbox-------------
no. 5950516 filed 20.12.23 fri 7 feb 1992
from dgil
to locun
subj Words: Re: Ramble... [was: Meredith goes ABEND]
ref 5947954
frood mentions homonyms as a particular problem with spelling. Ouch!
I usually spell well. I occasionally find myself re-wording things to
avoid words that I'm not sure of, but I'm managing to begin to get into the
habit of checking a handy dictionary instead.
But homonyms are my bane! Because I usually spell well, I usually think
a bit ahead of my typing. And so every so often, my fingers come up with a
different word which sounds like what I was thinking.
That's how a post of mine, about a month ago, wound up with "one" where I
had intended "won". I still shudder about that one.
--
"I think we should tread very carefully on | Mentor the Sage
governments which are constitutionally elected."| dg...@ipsaint.ipsa.reuter.com
-- not what George Bush meant to say? | OR dg...@pa.reuter.com
Meredith Lynne
sorry for misspelling 'lightning.' I'm also taking bets now on how
many times people are running their spell-checkers before posting
to this thread. I'm not going to do it at all, because--
1. This is a long distance call, so suffer
2. I kin jenneralli spel wen I wont too
3. I refuse to succumb to pier press-your
5. I can't take the stress
"And...most importantly, because Aahz would laugh at me if I ever admitted
to it. *grin* Of course, I'm sure he'll find a reason to laugh at me
anyway, but should I really just hand one to him on a silver platter?
"Later...
"P.S. Aahz--I've now heard one version (on tape, not the one you sang to
me) of Banned from Argo...am I a Filker now? Will I get a membership
card in the mail? And Steve, did you know that you are considered a
(oops, that's Steve Savitsky, Mandelbear, the one with the cute kids
{Craig showed me a picture}) NAME on some filk mailing list? Some
fellow from rec.arts.sf.written used you to recommend it to me during
my flame war over there a few weeks ago. I've never known a NAME
before. I said, "Oh, you mean Mandelbear? Snuggles' friend? Oh,
we've been friends for AGES and AGES, go WAY back..." *grin* I can
drom NAMES with the best of them...
"Now, bye for real!"
--Meredith
Ryk E Spoor
>many times people are running their spell-checkers before posting
>to this thread. I'm not going to do it at all, because--
The Wasp grins. "Don't bet on me EVER using a spellchecker. (except
one that checks MAGIC spells...) Even when writing stories I never use one;
I can spell well enough so that I don't need one -- the space they take
up in RAM and the time they take checking a document is far too much to make
the two or three words they'll find worth it. Also, of course, all spell-
checkers gag on any word they don't know... so they stop on the name of any
SF gadget, any proper name not in their files, any strange fantasy creature...
making them waste MORE time.
"I only tend to spell a couple of things incorrectly -- the word
wierd being one of them. Let the editors deal with it..."
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Gillett, David
-----------Message forwarded from IPSA Mailbox-------------
from dgil
to locun
subj Spelling
ref 5951629
P'relan praises the phonetic spelling of Spanish, and thinks English
should evolve in that direction. He specifically compares Modern English
spellings to Middle English.
I can't help pointing out that Middle English was PRONOUNCED differently
from Modern English -- and some of the spelling differences reflect that.
Do you pronounce "wear" and "where" alike? I do -- but it turns out that
my ancestors came from the small corner of Britain where the 'h' in 'wh-' is
completely silent.
P'relan mentions Spanish spelling "psychiatrist" without the "p". The
Greek root began with 'Psi' and not 'Sigma', and I have to assume that the
difference used to be significant. We no longer pronounce "guilt" any
different from "gilt", but some names which began with 'gu-' in Norman times
now begin with 'gw-' or even just 'w-'.
I guess my point is that phonetics, at least in English, are not static
(not even universal!), and so the notion that phonetic spelling is "easier" is
essentially chauvinistic; it assumes that everyone who speaks -- or has spoken
or will speak -- this language does so in exactly the same way.
[It could be worse. As I think I understand it, Chinese has one written
language shared by 37(?) different incompatible sets of phonetics....]
^^ probably not, but the exact number isn't important here
Gillett, David
-----------Message forwarded from IPSA Mailbox-------------
from dgil
to locun
subj Re: Ramble... [was: Meredith goes ABEND]
ref 5956501
Gnus? EMACS? Who says we all use *NIX-flavoured newsreaders????
I read news on a PC doing a decent emulation of an HDS 108, connecting
across the continent to a mainframe that thinks it knows how to make 3270-style
screens appear on an HDS. The only way I could use any of my spell-checkers
on my posts is to prepare them off-line, and I'm more comfortable trusting my
fingers -- they usually make a valid word (which would pass a spell-checker
anyway) even when they don't form the right word.
der Mouse
> In article <1992Feb6.1...@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu> jwwa...@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu (P'relan) writes:
>> I think that spelling phonetically is a GOOD thing.
> Yet what about those nasty homonyms?
This reminds me of a form of wordplay my father and I used to indulge
in, and given the esteem in which puns are held by the crowd here,
perhaps it would be of interest. Essentially, it consists of picking a
word-sound corresponding to many spellings, then trying to construct a
setting in which it makes some sort of sense to string all the
spellings together, immediately adjacent to one another. Usually,
distinct words that happen to be spelled the same are counted only
once.
Example: write, right, wright, rite. Setting: Imagine a society
heavily into rituals, but not tradition. Creating new and
aesthetically satisfying rituals is considered an art form. An
injunction to such an artist might then be "Write right, rite wright!".
Another one I recall thinking about is peak, peek, pique, Peke [breed
of dog]. I'll leave this one up to your imagination.
der Mouse
old: mcgill-vision!mouse
new: mo...@larry.mcrcim.mcgill.edu
The Polymath
}Spell checkers only catch misspelled words that are not words at all.
}
}And beyond accidental misspelling, how about homonyms?
[ Examples deleted for space ]
}And all of these pass spell checks perfectly.
True, but irrelevant. A spelling checker is a tool that does a particular
job. The fact that it doesn't catch incorrect usage, as opposed to
misspellings, is no excuse for not using one.
Paul A. Estin
>>> I think that spelling phonetically is a GOOD thing.
>In article <kp5v46...@agate.berkeley.edu>, eri...@ocf.berkeley.edu (Erik Nielsen) writes:
>> Yet what about those nasty homonyms?
In article <1992Feb16.1...@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu> mo...@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu (der Mouse) writes:
>Example: write, right, wright, rite. Setting: Imagine a society
>heavily into rituals, but not tradition. Creating new and
>aesthetically satisfying rituals is considered an art form. An
>injunction to such an artist might then be "Write right, rite wright!".
Is it a mineral or a wooden paddle above the hockey player?
Ore or oar o'er Orr?
-----
"Yeah, but it gets real lonely as a moderate activist, standing alone with a
sign that reads 'Reasonable informed discussion of the issues, as soon as is
feasible!'." --James Nicoll
Paul Andrew Estin, net.Snark
Little red-headed girl
>}Spell checkers only catch misspelled words that are not words at all.
>
>job. The fact that it doesn't catch incorrect usage, as opposed to
>misspellings, is no excuse for not using one.
My boss just got Microsoft Word 5.0 for the Mac, which is supposed
to do grammar checking for both style and rules. It's supposed to be based
on real grammar rules, so who knows? Haven't had a chance to test it,
though... besides, strict grammarians _usually_ have problems with my
writing. (My thesis advisor was always changing word order- it's not as
if I talk like shadowshine, after all!) But one of these days I'll feed a
document through and see how it does.
-Rachel
--
+--------------+------------------------+---------------------------------+
| carrot | Carrot-tops are green! | "Has anybody seen my mouse?" |
+--------------+------------------------+ A.A. Milne, "Missing" |
| car...@bear.stonemarche.org +---------------------------------+
+---------------------------------------+