I must admit utter disappointment at finding that argv.blogspot.com is taken but not in use. I was tempted to wander over to my employer's offering, even after umpteen years of loyalty to LJ, only to find that my precious 'argv' was already taken - and not even by my arch-nemesis, Dan Heller. Ok, I admit it, Dan isn't my arch-nemesis. I think that in order to have a nemesis of any kind, arch or otherwise, that one must have some sort of communication with them. Well Dan and I have corresponded but not often. Besides, I can hardly fault him for having 'argv' first on things like well.com or even license plates. I am however, slightly disturbed about the latter. In all fairness, I have managed to get argv.livejournal.com, argv@gmail.com and had once, for a brief period of time, argv@aol.com (and yes I'm bitter about that).
Where was this tangent leading? Oh yes... home remodeling. I am diving into the adventure, hopefully before Christmas, when I'll have guests. Those who know me well (or even just mildly well) can tell tales of my hatred for the color pink. Well it turns out I have an entire room of it - barbie pink, no less. I have but one question: Why?.
I recently wrote a paper on the differences in medieval Anglo-Saxon England and Frankish Gaul circa the era of Bede (I doubt Bede realized he'd someday have his own .net site and parishes in lands he'd never known of). I came to realize during the writing of this paper the prolific misuse of the latin phrases id est and exempli gratia. Now, I'm neither a Latin linguist nor a grammar guru, but I was under the impression most people knew the proper use of both. So in case you don't, here's my shot at explanation.
Abbreviation Latin English Translation
------------ ----- -------------------
i.e. id est that is, it is
e.g. exempli gratia for example, for the sake of example
The abbreviations are often followed by a ,
You can imagine usages:
He had a feline (i.e., a cat) on his lap.
He had a number of animals (e.g., a cat and a dog) in his living room.
Now, on the topic of Bede, if you don't know who he is, well then woe is your uneducated state and you should click on the pretty link back there for a brief Wikipedia learning lesson. Simon Schama refers to Bede in his History of Britain series as a staple in English education. I don't know if this is true as I wasn't raised in England but I'd be interested to here from people that were - did they teach you about the venerable Bede?
