2013-07-08

janewilliams20: (Default)
2013-07-08 08:53 am

Word of the day catchup

 The OED has been faithfully sending me the Word of the Day all this time, Yahoo Mail has been auto-filing them for me, but I've only just got around to reading them. Here's some that I liked.

reify, v.
[‘ trans. To make (something abstract) more concrete or real; to regard or treat (an idea, concept, etc.) as if having material existence.’]
If the something abstract is a plan for doing things, then  suppose this is rather like "implement", but to regard a concept, like "love" as having physical existence..? I'll have to think about that.
 
ale knight, n.
[‘ A person who frequents public houses; a drunkard.’]
Nice phrase, to be remembered for use in any medieval setting.
 
abditory, n.
[‘ A safe repository for valuables; a hiding place (lit. and fig.).’]
"Safe" is so boring!
 
rute, v.
[‘ trans. with it and intr. Of a child: to cry loudly, bawl.’]
Eng. regional (Cheshire). Obs. rare
Many of my friends might like to rescue that word from the confines of Cheshire and make its use less "obs. rare".

janewilliams20: (Default)
2013-07-08 09:02 am

Really cheap e-books

A "humble bundle" of them - pay what you want, money goes to charity.
Four books mininum, six if you pay more than the average offered price. Apparently the RRP would be about $70, and the current average is $9.53. One of the four is the first in Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan saga, and if you've never read them, believe me, you want to. I don't know the other authors myself, but since LMB recommends them, I'm about to go and put that average price up.

janewilliams20: (Default)
2013-07-08 09:33 am

National Health Action Party?

They look like a good cause, and I approve of their aims, but...
Here's the website
I know I have friends who are more politically-aware than I am. I have two concerns here:
1) Will they have any chance of success, or is this just going to split the vote, taking votes away from some other party who might stand a better chance of doing something useful? (Related question - is there such a party?)
2) This seems to be one of those parties that only has a policy on one small area out of all those where it would be representing me in Parliament. I'm always rather suspicious of those. "Don't know, never thought about it" is not a good way to run the economy, or anything else.
Thoughts?