Odd Lots
- I'll be staying at the Westin Tabor Center in Denver for Worldcon, so leaving messages there is one way to reach me if you don't have my cell number.
- I like the word “feckless”—it describes so many people so completely, without an excess of venom—and often wondered if there were a word “feckful” to describe the opposite state. Yes indeedy: Both words come from “feck”, an old Scots root from which we also get “effective,” but somehow “feckful” never caught on with non-Scots speakers of English.
- This mystifies me. 3.7 miles per hour is a modest walk, and this doesn't look like something a disabled person would be likely to get on and stay on. And if you're a guy and don't stay on it, ouch! That vertical pillar between your thighs could go to a very bad place…
- And speaking of Odd Things That Go, here's a cross between a Smart car and a Unimog. (Again, thanks, Pete!)
- And also speaking of Odd Things That Don't Go: The concrete thingie we saw in Ogallala (see my entry for August 5, 2008) bears strong resemblance to the Czech Hedgehog (thanks to Bishop Sam'l Bassett for the link) but I'm pretty sure it's a closer relation to the A-Jack and the Xbloc, both of which are used for building breakwaters. (Thanks to Pete Albrecht for spotting those for me.)
- Amazon has purchased ABEBooks, from which I have purchased most of the used books I've read over the past three years. I don't know if this is good or not. Actually, I don't know if this is bad or not. The best we might hope for is retaining the status quo.
- The Fat Nazis are once more struggling to keep ground gained long ago. It's gotten to the point where I just don't trust medical advice anymore. I eat lots of protein (meat, eggs, and peanuts), lots of dairy, a fair amount of fruit, as much vegetables as I can choke down (which I admit is not much; they mostly taste like poison to me) some carbs (but not a lot) and almost no sugar. I cut obvious fat off of meat and then stop thinking about it. My blood chem and pressure are good. I weigh less than I have in 15 years. On nights when I can sleep well, I feel great. For me at least, this war is over.
Posted in: Odd Lots.
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Surely “effective” (and “defective” and “confection” and all the rest of them) are from Latin “facio” rather than Scots.