Category Archives: Opinions
Meditations from the Track Changes Column
In the course of editing the writing of clients, I encounter much in the way of ticks and bad habits, not to mention sheer ignorance, particularly in the writing of beginners and illiterati — of which I edit more than I’d … Continue reading
Above and Below
Don’t you hate it when you see above and below used as nouns? This lumpy construction usually occurs when the author wants to refer to material within text in a position relative to where the monstrosity occurs. (More precisely before … Continue reading
There Are Not All Types of People
“There are all types of people in the world.” So claims an author I’ve been editing. Sounds like a truism, right? No there’s not. To say there is sounds as though there’s some master catalog of types, and that someone … Continue reading
Uncircling, Unfriending, and Unfollowing
Though I don’t maintain an ironclad bullet list of rules about who I follow in my social networks, certain annoyances move me to uncircle, unfriend, or unfollow persons posthaste. (All three italicized words are social networking neologisms.) Give me full … Continue reading
Pressing the Elevator Button
Now and then I notice the way naive people make fun of more enlightened individuals who press elevator buttons repeatedly in an effort to make them arrive sooner. I’ve been known to beat on the call buttons of a few … Continue reading
Reading in Installments
At any given time I have between one and seven books in my Recent Reading stack marked as current. These are books that I really am reading at present. At this writing there are six on the stack: Washington: A … Continue reading
Posted in Language, Legacy, Opinions, Re: Views, Thoughts, Writing
Tagged AP Stylebook, Elements of Typographic Style, John Grisham, Keith Richards, Ken Burns, Robert Bringhurst, Ron Chernow
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Ultrarunning Hyperbole
Certain tainted words occur repeatedly in journalism about ultrarunning, all of which cause noisy alarms to go off in my head whenever I see them. The four most frequent culprits are: crazy grueling test[ing] limits extreme Rarely have I ever … Continue reading
Posted in Language, Legacy, Opinions, Running, Sports, Thoughts, Usage, Writing
Tagged Badwater Ultramarathon, Ultramarathon
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Real Men Love Work
Author’s Note: I wrote this piece in February 2002, but never got around to publishing it. It seems particularly appropriate in these times of economic crisis to do so now. Some people work for pleasure, others for money. It’s a fact … Continue reading
On TV
We often hear people say dismissively: “Yeah, most of what’s on TV these days is junk, not worth watching.” The point-of-view seems to imply that the ones saying it have actually watched “most of what’s on TV these days’” so … Continue reading
The Consummate Word
P.G. Wodehouse. What he said. How he said it. Awesome!
Posted in Arts, Humor, Language, Legacy, Literature, Opinions, Quotes and Quips, Squibblings, Thoughts
Tagged Humor, p g wodehouse
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What Is Jogging?
Louis Armstrong allegedly said once, when asked what jazz is, if you have to ask, you’ll never know. In a roughly similar way, I’ve found that there are three types of people in this world who run: runners, joggers, and … Continue reading
From the Snake Oil Department
Tonight my wife brought home one of those ladies magazines full of self-improvement schemes targeted at desperate women of the type who are not in the habit of thinking things through clearly. The titles on the cover featured articles designed … Continue reading
Do-Tasks and Not-Do-Tasks
There are two kinds of tasks: Do-Tasks and Not-Do-Tasks. Most of the big life goals we set out to accomplish are achieved by Doing a sometimes complex array of tasks, often in some logical order. For instance, say I want … Continue reading
A Thought on Literary Precision
Compare the consequences of a lack of a single punctuation mark in English and in software. Imagine what would happen if high school students were not permitted to graduate for failing to insert a quotation mark in an essay. I’ve … Continue reading
Posted in Humor, Language, Legacy, Opinions, Thoughts, Writing
Tagged Oscar Wilde, Quotation mark
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Mechanical Aids in Races
The use of mechanical aids to assist a runner in moving forward is against the rules in most ultramarathons. For instance, a runner will be disqualified for getting a lift in a car, riding a bicycle, or hopping along on … Continue reading
The Paradox of Censorship
Censorship imposed on one sector of society by another is an act of the first group’s taking away freedoms that belong to the second group, regardless of the first group’s intent. Censorship is perpetrated by persons, organizations, committees who have … Continue reading
Failed Diets
Some diet plans, notably Weighwatchers, depend on logging everything that is eaten, playing on the theory that if you have to log it, you may eat less. One reason some people fail miserably in all attempts to control weight is … Continue reading
Routines
A friend once told me: “The more I repeat things the more good things happen.” He spoke of living his life according to an orderly daily routine. Most lives progress in cycles with controlled variations, from which emanate all that … Continue reading
Boredom Yet Again
Time for a rant: About being bored on the track—speaking as one who has spent a total of twenty-three 24-hour days and nights circling various tracks and short, flat pieces of road. The topic comes up often. Persons who say … Continue reading
What Is Economy?
Recently I mentioned to a friend that it was difficult to communicate with some persons I need to keep in touch with because they either do not use computers, or do so infrequently. Sending them email is next to useless, … Continue reading
Half Crazy
Most distance runners have been asked by non-runners: “How far is that marathon you’ll be running?” We all have our own saucy answers. I’m sure somewhere there’s a smart aleck who replies: “It’s just a standard marathon.” “Ummm … Oh! … Continue reading
The Dumbing Down of Holidays
Modern American society has dumbed down so-called holidays. The word “holiday” is derived from and sounds like an Old English expression “holy day,” a day set aside for religious observance, for worship of and paying tribute to God. These days … Continue reading
On Being a Soldier
People can put any spin they want on words to defend war and those who join the military — willingly or otherwise. They can call them freedom fighters or defenders, and imply they had a choice by saying they make … Continue reading
The Rudest Devices
On July 13th, I became the owner of my first cell phone. My resistance to having one in the past was not entirely for financial reasons, nor because I suffer from high-tech phobias, nor because I’m an old-fashioned fuddy-duddy. I’ve … Continue reading
Posted in Humor, Legacy, Opinions, Technology, Thoughts
Tagged Cell Phones, Mobile phone
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Non-Utilitarian Apparel
There is a certain arbitrariness born of tradition regarding what is considered dressy attire. Utilitarian wear is not the first principle of design. There is nothing intrinsically praiseworthy from a practical standpoint about tying a piece of cloth around one’s … Continue reading
Morons Need Jobs Too!
To each person his own job is or becomes important. Morons need jobs, too. Give them their space; let them do their work. When the average joe looks for a job, his primary objective is usually to find an occupation … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Opinions, Technology, Thoughts
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Music As Wallpaper
Music today has become like wallpaper — part of the ambiance. Hardly anyone ever just listens to it anymore, unless it’s to get up and dance. As a child I became accustomed to simply listening to music, allowing it to … Continue reading
Posted in Arts, Legacy, Music, Opinions, Thoughts
Tagged Classical music, Radio, Sixteen Tons
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A Simple Life
Many people stumble along the path from birth to death with colossal holes in their lives. They never read. How can a person know anything if he never, ever reads? They never think. They never work out. They never learn … Continue reading
Boredom Redux
Often I’ve claimed that I never get bored while running. I’ll stick to that claim, with a minor rider. Sometimes preoccupation with something else can interfere with whatever task we are presently performing, such that we do it less well, … Continue reading
Job Interviews Are Like Auditions
Recently I have been looking for work once again, and in so doing have had to make myself available for job interviews, the humiliating grilling in which a person is expected to lay his life’s work experience on the line … Continue reading
Why Ultrarunning?
On the Ultra List ultrarunning e-mail list one subscriber surmised: “…some people get into ultrarunning to prove to the world that they’re “tough.” Deep down inside they feel weak, so they compensate by doing something physically difficult.” Another responded: Or … Continue reading
Why Do I Write?
Recently I posted a comment to an excellent article written by a friend on Ergo Sum. What I wrote works well as a standalone thought, so I decided to post it here as well. Why do I write? One reason … Continue reading
Why I Hate News Groups
In earlier days of the Internet, I used to read Usenet news groups, now more commonly known simply as news groups. Today I will read some specific news group no more often on average than once in several months because … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Opinions, Technology, Thoughts
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Estimating Driver Attitude
Drivers in Arizona wear their attitudes on the outside. The ones to fear most are those who drive trucks. Several secondary factors act as additive attitudinal properties. Among them are: A hat. If it’s on backwards or a cowboy hat, … Continue reading
Posted in Humor, Legacy, Opinions, Thoughts
Tagged Bumper sticker
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