A fisherman in Nebraska caught a double-mouthed rainbow trout (yum!), and it's going off to Harvard ...
"Two-mouthed trout heads to Harvard"
Note (added 2/16/06):
Hmm, appears original article is no longer available. I found another page online with the same story and replaced the link above.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Apostrophes gone wild
On Christmas Eve, I saw a sign on Ocean Avenue that read "Christmas Tree's" were for sale.
This year I've also seen many family holiday photo cards that read, for example, "Happy Holidays, The Doe's."
Since when does pluralization require an apostrophe?
Apostrophes indicate possessiveness or omitted letters, such as in the case of contractions. (Relative pronouns don't get apostrophes, of course: his, hers, ours, yours, theirs, etc.) Although, "it's" and "its" seem to cause people many problems. To clarify, "it's" is a contraction for "it is" or "it has," while "its" is the possessive form of "it" with no apostrophe.
When in doubt, add an apostrophe? NO! A while ago I saw someone had written "its' " as the possessive form for "it." I have to admit, that is the first time I had seen that and made a mental note to write a blog post about its incorrectness. It's never correct to write "its'."
Other apostrophe pet peeves include words such as "CD's" and "DVD's." I can see how pluralizing these words may be confusing, but they don't need the apostrophe. Single letters require an apostrophe to avoid confusion: His report card was full of A's and B's. (You wouldn't want to say he got As.) But multiple letter combinations do not need an apostrophe: He learned his ABCs.
So the lesson of today's blog post? An apostrophe is not to be used indiscriminately ...
Trees
CDs
DVDs
A's
ABCs
it's
its
The possessive form of words ending in "S" and other more complicated apostrophe rules will have to wait for another lesson when the Hyphenator is less stuffed with Christmas ham and holiday treats.
BTW, after a thorough check of the greeting cards I received this year, I was happy to see that my relatives avoided using an apostrophe with their family names, either by pluralizing correctly (The Hyphenators) or avoiding the issue altogether (The Hyphenator Family).
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Happy Holidays, and Season's Greetings from the Hyphenator!
This year I've also seen many family holiday photo cards that read, for example, "Happy Holidays, The Doe's."
Since when does pluralization require an apostrophe?
Apostrophes indicate possessiveness or omitted letters, such as in the case of contractions. (Relative pronouns don't get apostrophes, of course: his, hers, ours, yours, theirs, etc.) Although, "it's" and "its" seem to cause people many problems. To clarify, "it's" is a contraction for "it is" or "it has," while "its" is the possessive form of "it" with no apostrophe.
When in doubt, add an apostrophe? NO! A while ago I saw someone had written "its' " as the possessive form for "it." I have to admit, that is the first time I had seen that and made a mental note to write a blog post about its incorrectness. It's never correct to write "its'."
Other apostrophe pet peeves include words such as "CD's" and "DVD's." I can see how pluralizing these words may be confusing, but they don't need the apostrophe. Single letters require an apostrophe to avoid confusion: His report card was full of A's and B's. (You wouldn't want to say he got As.) But multiple letter combinations do not need an apostrophe: He learned his ABCs.
So the lesson of today's blog post? An apostrophe is not to be used indiscriminately ...
Trees
CDs
DVDs
A's
ABCs
it's
its
The possessive form of words ending in "S" and other more complicated apostrophe rules will have to wait for another lesson when the Hyphenator is less stuffed with Christmas ham and holiday treats.
BTW, after a thorough check of the greeting cards I received this year, I was happy to see that my relatives avoided using an apostrophe with their family names, either by pluralizing correctly (The Hyphenators) or avoiding the issue altogether (The Hyphenator Family).
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Happy Holidays, and Season's Greetings from the Hyphenator!
Thursday, December 22, 2005
To hyphenate or not to hyphenate
Sorry, this is not a punctuation lesson. The Hyphenator is in a sort of hyphenation quandary.
I've yet to make a final decision on what to change my name to after I say "I do" -- if I decide to change it at all. Should I truly become the Hyphenator and use a hyphenated married last name?
Not only do I have to decide what my last name will be, but I now have the opportunity to change my middle name as well. (I don't really have a middle name as my parents thought I could choose one myself when I was older, thinking perhaps I might want to use part of my Korean name.)
My last name options:
The combinations go on and on when it comes to using my Korean name as part of my middle name:
Then there's the question of whether or not to hyphenate my Korean first name (the two characters or syllables), or combine them into one name. According to AP style, Korean family names always come first followed by the first name. But South Korean first names are hyphenated, as in Yoon-jin Kim, while North Korean first names are not, as in Kim Jong Il. I know other Koreans who have joined both characters/syllables/names of the first name together: Yoonjin.
To add to the confusion is the spelling of my Korean name. I've always known (and spelled) my Korean name based on McCune-Reischauer romanization. But the revised system would make Kim Jong Il, for example, into Gim Jeong Il. I'm not too fond of the revised romanization as I'm set in my ways. To me it's kalbi -- no, I don't mean galbi. I suppose kimchi or kimchee would be gimchi.
In the Midwest, Swedish names are fairly common: Johnson, Anderson, Swanson, etc. Asians with Swedish names are not so common. Personally, I like the fact that my name does not reflect that I am Asian. Not because I don't want to be associated with being Asian or because I am trying to be white. I like the surprise factor in meeting someone who only knows me by my name -- for example, in job interviews. Looking at my résumé, potential employers would have no clue that I am Asian. So upon meeting me, they can be caught a bit off guard -- advantage the Hyphenator!
After I am married, I suppose people might see my wedding band and assume my Swedish name is my married name, not my maiden name. That's where a hyphenated last name would make things interesting -- "Wait, is that her maiden name and her married name or what?!"
I actually like my name. I never had a problem with my name in school. Kids had a hard time trying to come up with rhyming names to tease me with.
And I'm fond of my last name. I'd like to keep it as it reminds me of my paternal grandfather -- to this day, whenever I think about him, I get teary-eyed. He never treated me any differently from his other grandkids -- I was never his "adopted granddaughter." If anything, I was his "favorite granddaughter."
At the same time, I feel like now is the perfect chance to include my Korean name to reflect who I am. Ever since I learned what my Korean name is, I've identified with that on a certain level as if it had never been taken away from me. In Korea when I met my family, it felt so natural to respond to them when they called me by my Korean name.
Perhaps in the end I will not change my name at all as procrastination is one trait I've perfected over the past 30-plus years (BTW, I started this post in July). The legal papers will probably be in front of me ready to be signed as the beat of "My name is ..." repeats through my head, still undecided.
One thing's for certain, although tempting, I won't be changing my name to Princess Consuela Banana Hammock. (I swear, there's a "Friends" reference for everything, even adoption.)
I've yet to make a final decision on what to change my name to after I say "I do" -- if I decide to change it at all. Should I truly become the Hyphenator and use a hyphenated married last name?
Not only do I have to decide what my last name will be, but I now have the opportunity to change my middle name as well. (I don't really have a middle name as my parents thought I could choose one myself when I was older, thinking perhaps I might want to use part of my Korean name.)
My last name options:
- Do I leave my name as is: Mrs. Hyphenator? (Women in Korea keep their family name when they marry. For more information about Korean names, check out Wikipedia.)
- Do I take my future hubby's last name: Mrs. Grammarman? (This is least favorite option.)
- Do I hyphenate: Mrs. Hyphenator-Grammarman?
- Do I make my last name my middle name and tack on hubby's last name: Mrs. Hyphenator Grammarman? (Unless I hyphenate my name and my future children's names, this may be helpful in identifying me as their mother.)
The combinations go on and on when it comes to using my Korean name as part of my middle name:
- Use Korean family name?
- Use Korean first name?
- Use whole Korean name?
- Use Korean family name, then first name?
- Use Korean first name, then family name?
Then there's the question of whether or not to hyphenate my Korean first name (the two characters or syllables), or combine them into one name. According to AP style, Korean family names always come first followed by the first name. But South Korean first names are hyphenated, as in Yoon-jin Kim, while North Korean first names are not, as in Kim Jong Il. I know other Koreans who have joined both characters/syllables/names of the first name together: Yoonjin.
To add to the confusion is the spelling of my Korean name. I've always known (and spelled) my Korean name based on McCune-Reischauer romanization. But the revised system would make Kim Jong Il, for example, into Gim Jeong Il. I'm not too fond of the revised romanization as I'm set in my ways. To me it's kalbi -- no, I don't mean galbi. I suppose kimchi or kimchee would be gimchi.
In the Midwest, Swedish names are fairly common: Johnson, Anderson, Swanson, etc. Asians with Swedish names are not so common. Personally, I like the fact that my name does not reflect that I am Asian. Not because I don't want to be associated with being Asian or because I am trying to be white. I like the surprise factor in meeting someone who only knows me by my name -- for example, in job interviews. Looking at my résumé, potential employers would have no clue that I am Asian. So upon meeting me, they can be caught a bit off guard -- advantage the Hyphenator!
After I am married, I suppose people might see my wedding band and assume my Swedish name is my married name, not my maiden name. That's where a hyphenated last name would make things interesting -- "Wait, is that her maiden name and her married name or what?!"
I actually like my name. I never had a problem with my name in school. Kids had a hard time trying to come up with rhyming names to tease me with.
And I'm fond of my last name. I'd like to keep it as it reminds me of my paternal grandfather -- to this day, whenever I think about him, I get teary-eyed. He never treated me any differently from his other grandkids -- I was never his "adopted granddaughter." If anything, I was his "favorite granddaughter."
At the same time, I feel like now is the perfect chance to include my Korean name to reflect who I am. Ever since I learned what my Korean name is, I've identified with that on a certain level as if it had never been taken away from me. In Korea when I met my family, it felt so natural to respond to them when they called me by my Korean name.
Perhaps in the end I will not change my name at all as procrastination is one trait I've perfected over the past 30-plus years (BTW, I started this post in July). The legal papers will probably be in front of me ready to be signed as the beat of "My name is ..." repeats through my head, still undecided.
One thing's for certain, although tempting, I won't be changing my name to Princess Consuela Banana Hammock. (I swear, there's a "Friends" reference for everything, even adoption.)
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Spell check, please!
According to an SF Gate article, "World Wide Web creator" Tim Berners-Lee has started up his own blog.
For his first blog post, he describes the beginning of the Web and how it "was soon full of lots of interesting stuff, but not a space for communal design, for discource through communal authorship."
Perhaps you shouldn't use such a big word as "discourse" if you don't know how to spell it correctly, or else use a spell check program.
For his first blog post, he describes the beginning of the Web and how it "was soon full of lots of interesting stuff, but not a space for communal design, for discource through communal authorship."
Perhaps you shouldn't use such a big word as "discourse" if you don't know how to spell it correctly, or else use a spell check program.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Why fly when you can fly?
"Stranded loon gets a lift from Northwest Airlines"
"A male loon that lingered on Mayhew Lake when other loons migrated this fall has finally flown south -- with the help of Northwest Airlines."
Maybe it didn't want to fly south. Maybe it didn't want to just be one of the flock anymore. Maybe it enjoys the beauty of Minnesota winters, with the 10 inches of snow falling and snow emergency parking bans (even? odd?) in effect.
Sometimes I wonder why I moved to San Francisco. The thought of shoveling out my car from almost a foot of snow helps remind me.
"A male loon that lingered on Mayhew Lake when other loons migrated this fall has finally flown south -- with the help of Northwest Airlines."
Maybe it didn't want to fly south. Maybe it didn't want to just be one of the flock anymore. Maybe it enjoys the beauty of Minnesota winters, with the 10 inches of snow falling and snow emergency parking bans (even? odd?) in effect.
Sometimes I wonder why I moved to San Francisco. The thought of shoveling out my car from almost a foot of snow helps remind me.
Free Willy!
"Daring rescue of whale off Farallones: Humpback nuzzled her saviors in thanks after they untangled her from crab lines, diver says"
A humpback whale freed by divers from a tangle of crab trap lines near the Farallon Islands nudged its rescuers and flapped around in what marine experts said was a rare and remarkable encounter.
"It felt to me like it was thanking us, knowing that it was free and that we had helped it," James Moskito, one of the rescue divers, said Tuesday. "It stopped about a foot away from me, pushed me around a little bit and had some fun."
When the whale realized it was free, it began swimming around in circles, according to the rescuers. Moskito said it swam to each diver, nuzzled him and then swam to the next one.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Weird human story
"Pregnant Skydiver Survives Plunge"
Shayna Richardson was making her first solo skydiving jump when she had trouble with her parachutes and, while falling at about 50 mph, hit face first in a parking lot.
Although badly hurt, she survived — and doctors treating her injuries discovered she was pregnant. Four surgeries and two months later, Richardson said she and the fetus are doing fine.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Why am I here?
Finally, an answer to my burning question of "What is the purpose of my existence?"
Answer: To provide customer support help.
A customer/user/client had e-mailed in search of assistance, I replied and received the following message in turn:
"Thanks for being there. Glad you're on the planet."
Question answered. All is now right in the world of the Hyphenator.
Answer: To provide customer support help.
A customer/user/client had e-mailed in search of assistance, I replied and received the following message in turn:
"Thanks for being there. Glad you're on the planet."
Question answered. All is now right in the world of the Hyphenator.
Friday, December 09, 2005
Ready, set, TiVo!
Tune in to PBS's Independent Lens series on Tuesday, December 13, at 11 p.m. Pacific time (with encore presentations throughout the week) for "Seoul Train," a documentary on the "Underground Railroad" of North Korean refugees.
From the Wall Street Journal article, "Desperate Journey," by Nancy DeWolfe Smith on Friday, December 9 ...
"Getting out of North Korea, which this documentary accurately describes as the 'world's largest prison camp,' may be the easy part. Once they make it over the border into China, the refugees are hunted like rabbits by zealous Chinese cops and soldiers. Forcibly repatriated to North Korea, the refugees face torture and imprisonment for the treasonous act of leaving the country. It's a crime punishable by death. Some of the North Koreans interviewed for this film probably are dead already."
"It's estimated that up to three million souls have perished from hunger in recent years."
From the Wall Street Journal article, "Desperate Journey," by Nancy DeWolfe Smith on Friday, December 9 ...
"Getting out of North Korea, which this documentary accurately describes as the 'world's largest prison camp,' may be the easy part. Once they make it over the border into China, the refugees are hunted like rabbits by zealous Chinese cops and soldiers. Forcibly repatriated to North Korea, the refugees face torture and imprisonment for the treasonous act of leaving the country. It's a crime punishable by death. Some of the North Koreans interviewed for this film probably are dead already."
"It's estimated that up to three million souls have perished from hunger in recent years."
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