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Self Management Awards 2016 Shortlisted Nominees Announced - Self Management | The ALLIANCE

By feeds.iriss.org.uk
Published On :: Mon, 29 Aug 2016 09:23:40 PDT



The judges have now submitted their scores, they have been counted and verified and we can now reveal the 2016 Self Management Shortliste


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Parents face long battles to get right support for their autistic children, report says

By feeds.iriss.org.uk
Published On :: Tue, 06 Sep 2016 04:35:40 PDT


Many parents of autistic children face long battles to get their child the right education and support, despite the government introducing a new system two years ago that was meant to make things easier and less adversarial, according to a report.


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New 2020 NEC Requirement Helps Keep First Responders Safe from Electrical Hazards During Emergencies

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2020 08:00:00 PDT

If we do some digging into the revision archives of the National Electrical Code (NEC), we can pretty much trace every requirement to one thing: saving lives! That is why the NEC exists; its purpose, the practical safeguarding of persons and property


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Undone: The Unprocrastination Challenge

By zenhabits.net
Published On :: Wed, 04 Mar 2020 01:00:27 +0000

By Leo Babauta This month, I’m issuing a challenge to all of you procrastinators … and no, you can’t make the joke that you’ll do it later! The challenge is called Undone: The Unprocrastination Challenge, and it’s a part of my Sea Change Program. The challenge is to set aside an “unprocrastination session” every day […]


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  • Productivity & Organization
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The Power of Getting Clarity

By zenhabits.net
Published On :: Thu, 05 Mar 2020 23:25:01 +0000

By Leo Babauta Before I started Zen Habits, I was in a place in my life where I had a beautiful family, but I was stuck and dissatisfied with myself. I knew I wanted to change things — my health, finances, job, way that I was approaching life — but I didn’t really know what […]


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  • Purpose-Filled Work & Life
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Did you forget about me?

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 07:00:00 -0700


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THE VULCAN HAND SIGN CAN BE HARD TO MASTER IF YOU DON'T HAVE FINGERS

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 02:00:00 -0700


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Facts about labor markets ouch, when are rising wages bad edition

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 13:18:16 +0000

Workers in the bottom quintile of the wage distribution experienced a 35 percent employment decline while those in the top quintile experienced only a 9 percent decline. Large differences across the wage distribution persist even after conditioning on worker age, business industry, business size, and worker location. As a result, average base wages increased by […]

The post Facts about labor markets ouch, when are rising wages bad edition appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.


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World’s Largest Producer of Rubbing Alcohol Can’t Manufacturer Hand Sanitizer

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 11:31:08 +0000

How many stupid, outrageous, maddening government failures can you document in just 500 words? Jim Doti and my former colleague Laurence Iannaccone should win a prize for this piece in the WSJ: …the U.S. is, by far, the world’s largest producer of alcohol. That distinction is a result of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, […]

The post World’s Largest Producer of Rubbing Alcohol Can’t Manufacturer Hand Sanitizer appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.


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Schrodingers asshole

By www.urbandictionary.com
Published On :: 2020-05-08T00:00:00-07:00

A person who decides whether or not they're full of shit by the reactions of those around them.

"That guy who posted ____ but said he was just trolling when no one agreed with him is totally a Schrodingers Asshole"


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Things Get Interesting

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Fri, 06 Mar 2020 14:55:38 +0000

Clusterfuck Nation For your reading pleasure Mondays and Fridays Support this blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page They’re kidding, right? Joe Biden? The former vice-president and US champeen influence grifter came back from the dead this Super Tuesday to save the Democratic Party from Bernie Sanders Venezuelizing what’s left of America (after you subtract our awesome more »

The post Things Get Interesting appeared first on Kunstler.


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  • Clusterfuck Nation – Blog
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Things Have Changed

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Mon, 16 Mar 2020 14:04:08 +0000

  Clusterfuck Nation For your reading pleasure Mondays and Fridays Support this blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page At least in wartime, the bars stay open. That’s how you know this is a different thing altogether from whatever else you’ve seen in your lifetime. Even those of us who signed up for this trip — that is, more »

The post Things Have Changed appeared first on Kunstler.


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  • Clusterfuck Nation – Blog
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Guest Post — Lockdown! An American in China Caught in the Corona Virus Emergency — by Evan Villarrubia

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Thu, 26 Mar 2020 16:01:54 +0000

The following is a guest essay by Evan Villarrubia. “I feel stupid! And contagious!” — Nirvana The panic and lockdown state we are just exiting in Dali (southwestern China) has been by far the most intense historical episode I’ve ever experienced. I’ve gone through several deep emotional phase changes throughout this time. If I’d written more »

The post Guest Post — Lockdown! An American in China Caught in the Corona Virus Emergency — by Evan Villarrubia appeared first on Kunstler.


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  • Speeches & Guest Articles
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People Get Ready!

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Mon, 30 Mar 2020 13:48:43 +0000

Clusterfuck Nation For your reading pleasure Mondays and Fridays Support this blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page The cable news announced the other day that Covid-19 patients placed in critical care may have to be on ventilators for 21 days. Only a few years ago, I went in for an ordinary hip replacement. A month or more »

The post People Get Ready! appeared first on Kunstler.


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  • Clusterfuck Nation – Blog
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One year after Pulse Nightclub tragedy, new NFPA standard for preparedness and response to active shooter and/or hostile events being developed

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Tue, 13 Jun 2017 12:37:24 PDT

As the nation marks the one-year anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando this week, a group of experts on active shooter/hostile incident response will assemble at National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) headquarters to develop NFPA 3000, Standard for Preparedness and Response to Active Shooter and/or Hostile Events. It is expected that the initial standard will be completed by early 2018; then the public will have the opportunity to offer input for immediate review.


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As today’s homes burn faster than ever, this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign presents critical home escape planning and practice messages

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Wed, 27 Sep 2017 12:37:24 PDT

Knowing that today’s homes burn faster than ever, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) announced “Every Second Counts: Plan Two Ways Out” as the official theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, October 8-14, 2017. Experts say you may have as little as two minutes (or even less) to safely escape a typical home fire from the time the smoke alarm sounds.


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Fire chiefs share lessons learned from recent high profile emergencies including hurricanes, hi-rise fires and hostile shooting incidents at the Urban Fire Forum

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Wed, 27 Sep 2017 12:37:24 PDT

Fire chiefs from France, the United Kingdom, and the United States gathered in Quincy, Massachusetts at the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Urban Fire Forum (UFF) to listen to first-hand accounts of some of the biggest emergency response incidents over the past 15 months, including hurricane response in Texas and Florida, the Grenfell Tower fire in London, and the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando.


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Welcome to (Paige’s) Frontier! by The Pioneer Woman

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Mon, 04 Nov 2019 16:01:53 +0000

I thought you’d get a kick out of Paige’s Halloween costume this year! It made me laugh. I told her she should have worn a floral top and much more eyeliner…but at least it showed me she was thinking about me at college! Also, it has cured me of any notion I’ve been playing with […]


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The Purge

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 19:19:00 +0000

All crime is legal now. For some people.


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8 Essential Project Management Skills for Productive Work

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2020 14:00:18 +0000

Every project manager has their strengths and weaknesses. Still, to be genuinely productive, you must have a blend of project management skills that are adaptable and ready for any situation. No project is ever the same, especially when working with different stakeholders, team members, third parties, and new challenges in each moment. Project managers and [...]Read More...


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How to Stop Resentment from Ruining Your Marriage

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 14:00:11 +0000

When two people meet and decide to pursue a romantic relationship with each other, they always start with high hopes. They are very happy and look at the other person through rose-colored glasses. But as most of us know, that loving feeling doesn’t always last forever. It does for some couples, but for many, they [...]Read More...


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Target Circle Deals March 29th - April 4th: 40% Off Turtle Beach Battle Buds

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Sun, 29 Mar 2020 07:52:34 +0000

Lots of gaming headphone deals for those brave enough to go into stores.
These are the deals:

30% Off Turtle Beach Elite Atlas Aero Wireless headset for PC (Expires April 4th)

30% Off Turtle Beach Elite Atlas Pro Wired PC Gaming headset (Expires April 4th)

40% Off Turtle Beach Battle Buds In-ear Gaming headset (Expires April 4th)

15% Off Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Headset All Varieties (Expires April 4th)

30% Off ROCCAT Kone Aimo Owl-Eye Mouse Black & White (Expires April 4th)

30% Off ROCCAT Sense Aimo Mousepad for PC Gaming (Expires April 4th)


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Resident Evil 3 @ Target for $35 in-store pickup

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Fri, 03 Apr 2020 05:26:00 +0000

As the title states, game is currently $49.99 and finally available for ordering. Add it to your cart plus 2 other $49.99 games, make sure the other 2 are shipped. Either keep them all for around $35 each, or cancel the other 2 games and end up with RE3 on day 1 for $35.

https://www.target.com/p/resident-evil-3-xbox-one/-/A-79468974

https://www.target.com/p/resident-evil-3-playstation-4/-/A-79468973


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Target Circle Deals April 12th - April 18th: 25% Off ROCCAT Vulcan Aimo Keyboard

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Sun, 12 Apr 2020 08:39:36 +0000

25% Off ROCCAT Vulcan Aimo Keyboard Black & White/Silver (Expires April 18th)

 

10% Off My Arcade Gamestation Assorted Items (Expires April 22nd)


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Target Circle Deals April 19th - April 25th: 30% Off Turtle Beach Elite Atlas Pro

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Sun, 19 Apr 2020 08:20:54 +0000

30% Off Turtle Beach Elite Atlas Pro Wired PC Gaming Headset (Expires April 25th)

30% Off Turtle Beach Elite Atlas Aero Wireless Headset for PC (Expires April 25th)

25% Off ROCCAT Vulcan Aimo Keyboard Black & White/Silver (Expires April 25th)

25% Off ROCCAT Kain Aimo Wireless Mouse Black & White (Expires April 25th)

25% Off ROCCAT Kain Aimo Mouse Black & White (Expires April 25th)

10% Off My Arcade Gamestation Assorted Items (Expires April 22nd)

25% Off ROCCAT Kain 102 Aimo Mouse PC Gaming, White (Expires April 25th)


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Free $15 Target GiftCard with $100 iTunes Digital Gift Card purchase at Target

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 14:25:35 +0000

Different digital styles to choose from!

Online only.

 

http://goto.target.com/itunesgiftcards

    • -->


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    SouthernStrokes: Luke Geer and Jack Finix

    By feeds.queerclick.com
    Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 04:04:53 +0000

    Jack Finix is alone in his room, with the door ajar. He’s stroking his uncut cock when suddenly, he looks up and signals for someone to come in. It’s his buddy, Luke Geer, who immediately steps inside, grabs hold of Jack’s tool, and takes over as they make out. They’re soon hard and naked except... View Article

    The post SouthernStrokes: Luke Geer and Jack Finix appeared first on QueerClick.


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    RagingStallion: Logan Stevens and Donnie Argento

    By feeds.queerclick.com
    Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 04:08:43 +0000

    Anonymous studs at the bathhouse carry on with their fun. Bearded stud Logan Stevens stumbles on Donnie Argento, face-down-ass-up in his room wearing nothing but a jock. Enticed by Donnie’s hot hole, Logan steps up and dives straight in to eat his furry ass. After eating out Donnie’s hole, Logan spins his new anon friend... View Article

    The post RagingStallion: Logan Stevens and Donnie Argento appeared first on QueerClick.


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    What’s Trending? Towns Getting “Tanked”

    By feedproxy.google.com
    Published On :: Wed, 13 Nov 2019 15:22:30 +0000

    Modern policing is often characterized by quasi-militaristic tendencies, from “wars” on drugs and crime to its use armored vehicles and automatic weapons. The Department of Defense 1033 Program, which provides military equipment slated for storage to law enforcement agencies, is a popular way that police and sheriff’s departments acquire military gear. According to data from […]


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    The “New” Gender-Neutral Doll

    By feedproxy.google.com
    Published On :: Mon, 03 Feb 2020 22:19:39 +0000

    Mattel, creator of the Barbie doll, has launched “a doll line designed to keep labels out and invite everyone in—giving kids the freedom to create their own customizable characters again and again.”  This doll has minimal makeup, a short hairstyle with an attachable long-hair wig, a flat chest, flat feet (for wearing sneakers, hiking boots, […]


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    Fox's Judge Napolitano Slams ‘Dangerous’ McConnell Plan To Shield Businesses From Coronavirus Lawsuits

    By crooksandliars.com
    Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 01:00:01 +0000

    Fox News judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano said on Thursday that a Republican plan to shield businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits is “dangerous.”

    Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) suggested that he would not support additional relief funds to households and businesses unless the package also includes a measure shielding businesses from liability for coronavirus infections.

    But Napolitano argued that the provision would be anti-conservative and violate states rights.

    “Can the Congress tell state courts that they cannot hear claims of liability when someone goes into a public accommodation and contracts coronavirus?” the Fox News analyst explained. “Congress has been very reticent to do that. Conservatives who believe in states rights have been very reluctant to interfere with the operation of state courts.”

    Napolitano pointed out that the only other instance where Congress has restricted state courts is a law that prohibits gun manufacturers from being sued over gun violence.

    “I think that this liability shield business is very dangerous,” he added. “The decision of whose fault someone was harmed by should be decided by juries and not by politicians.”


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    Georgia: Latest updates on Coronavirus

    By feeds.livescience.com
    Published On :: Tue, 17 Mar 2020 20:57:51 +0000

    Georgia has 146 confirmed cases of COVID-19


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    A Love Ritual To Change Your Frequency!

    By galadarling.com
    Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 17:25:15 +0000

    By popular request, my LOVE RITUAL from Instagram Live! Grab your favorite essential oil, and settle in for a magical moment (or five!) with me. Be sure to pick up your copy of HOLOGRAM HEART before Friday May 1st for the ultimate earlybird package!

    The post A Love Ritual To Change Your Frequency! appeared first on Gala Darling.


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    Intelligence: Cats

    By feedproxy.google.com
    Published On :: Mon, 27 Apr 2020 04:00:00 -0400

    Intelligence: Cats is a puzzle game in which you want to build an image (with cats) so that the picture was like the original image. Move the tiles of the puzzle wisely to collect the correct order of the pieces of images. The essence of the game as in the old game "Fifteen" (15). The game will have 6 levels with a 3x3 field size, as well as 6 other levels with a 4x4 field size. Each level has a different image.The game contains images of twelve cats. Key game features: - 12 different levels - Random generation of tiles at the start of the level - Developing the brain - Achievements!


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    Test your knowledge: Cats

    By feedproxy.google.com
    Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 04:00:00 -0400

    Test your knowledge: Cats is a test game that will test your knowledge of different cat breeds. Do you know how to look like a variety of cat breeds? Havana, Somalia, Oriental, Peterbald, Maine Coon, Pixibob and many others. Test yourself with our interesting test. The essence of the game - is to choose one correct answer from four options! Answer all the questions correctly and get 48 beautiful achievements!Don't forget to share your result in the comments! Key game features: - Allows you to test your knowledge of feline - For children and adults - Helps to remember and learn how to look and called certain breeds of cats. - 48 achievements


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    The Lost Dungeon Of Knight

    By feedproxy.google.com
    Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 04:15:00 -0400

    The Lost Dungeon Of Knight is a first-person adventure game with puzzle elements. The game takes place in a mysterious dungeon in which you have to explore the mysterious catacombs and be smart to uncover all the secrets of this mysterious place.


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    NFPA and HFSC Take Home Fire Sprinkler Week 2020 Virtual; Help Us Fill the Digital World with Life Safety Messages May 17-23

    By feedproxy.google.com
    Published On :: 2020-04-20T17:40:00Z

    As the world continues to deal with the ongoing demands of COVID-19, NFPA and the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) have cancelled live events that week in favor of a North America wide virtual effort to show the value of home fire sprinklers from May


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    • fire sprinkler initiative
    • home fire sprinklers
    • hfsc
    • fire sprinkler advocacy
    • home fire sprinkler week
    • covid-19
    • coronavirus
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    There are two kinds of sunspots on the sun right now amid solar cycle change

    By feedproxy.google.com
    Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 11:50:23 +0000

    The sun offers plenty of brainteasers: Right now, for instance, it's sporting magnetic knots formed by two different cycles — simultaneously.


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    The moon isn't 'dead': Ridges on lunar surface show signs of recent tectonic activity

    By feedproxy.google.com
    Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 11:53:13 +0000

    The moon isn't "dead" after all: Newly discovered ridges on the moon's surface are leading scientists to think that the moon might have an active tectonic system.


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    Pictures from space! Our image of the day

    By feedproxy.google.com
    Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 13:53:10 +0000

    An astronaut on board the International Space Station captured almost all of Mexico in a single shot while photographing planet Earth from inside the station's Cupola observatory.


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    Could life thrive on hydrogen-rich alien worlds?

    By feedproxy.google.com
    Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 20:51:52 +0000

    Life can thrive in a 100% hydrogen atmosphere, according to a new study. The finding could completely change our understanding of how (and where) life might exist in the universe.


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    Nickelodeon debuts first footage of iconic green slime in space

    By feedproxy.google.com
    Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 21:53:47 +0000

    Nickelodeon used its Kids' Choice Awards show broadcast to premiere the first footage of its trademark green slime floating on board the International Space Station.


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    Congress Wants to Give Companies the Right to Own Our Genes

    By www.ourbodiesourselves.org
    Published On :: Tue, 18 Jun 2019 13:05:07 +0000

    by Lori Andrews

    Six years ago, on June 13, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court in AMP v. Myriad took a great step forward for women’s health by unanimously ruling that human genes could not be patented. Now a bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives have released a bill that would allow companies to own our genes once again.

    Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution provides that any patent system must “promote progress in science and the useful arts.” But patents on genes do not promote the ... More

    The post Congress Wants to Give Companies the Right to Own Our Genes appeared first on Our Bodies Ourselves.


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    • Activism & Resources
    • Reproductive Technology & Genetic Engineering
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    Review: Linguistics: why it matters by Geoffrey Pullum

    By separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com
    Published On :: Wed, 26 Jun 2019 22:43:00 +0000

    It's National Writing Day (for another 48 minutes) and I've reali{s/z}ed that I haven't written anything but emails and tweets today. So a blog post is needed. But a short one. Luckily, I have a very short book to review.

    The book is the linguistic installation of Polity Press's 'why it matters' series, and it's by the exceptionally clear Geoff Pullum. Here come the full disclosures: I know Geoff and I got this book for free. But I wouldn't say nice things about the book if I didn't mean them. (I'd just save myself the trouble of writing a blog post about it.)

    So, since it's by the exceptionally clear Geoff Pullum, this is an exceptionally clear book. It's just 120-something pages, divided into five themed chapters on why linguistics matters: for what it tells us about what makes us human, about how sentences work, how meaning, thought and language intertwine, how it uncovers social relations, and how it might help machines understand humans. I particularly admire Geoff's ability to write short sentences about complex topics. (That's lesson 1 in making things exceptionally clear—complex topics aren't helped by grammatically complex sentences!) The real value of the book is in the examples that show how linguistics does matter—for expanding human understanding, for uncovering and undoing prejudices, and in applications that can help people.

    Here's the bit that I most enthusiastically underlined:
    [T]o a large extent the importance of linguistics has turned out to lie not so much in the results it has achieved (those evolve over time and are often overturned or contradicted) but in the change in the general view of what's important enough to study. It lies in our moral evolution of our perception of what we should be looking at and what we should value. 
    That leads into a discussion of the shift from thinking of signed languages as gesticulations to their recognition as complex languages that are as languagey as any other human languages. But I think it could have introduced many of the sections. I do believe that linguistics has done a lot of good in the world in the past 50 or so years, and a lot of that is about valuing people and their languages. Though the book is only long enough for a few examples of that, they're great examples.

    The ideal audience for this book? I think it would make an excellent present from any students studying (or planning to study) linguistics to their parents. When your parents' friends ask them "What's your kid up to?" and they say "Studying Linguistics", the conversation usually DIES. Give them the gift of knowing how to talk up your fascinating studies! It'd also be great for anyone considering studying linguistics, or who just thinks: "That sounds like an interesting subject, but I don't quite know what it's for." (It's mostly not about translation or language teaching, by the way.)

    Geoff blogged about writing the book, which you can read here.
    Here's a link to the publisher's site. It's only giving me the UK buying links, but I hope that if you approach it from another country you'll get the appropriate page!


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    Book week 2019: David Adger's Language Unlimited

    By separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com
    Published On :: Tue, 26 Nov 2019 18:18:00 +0000

    Welcome to the second review post of Book Week 2019. See the intro to Book Week 2019 to understand more about what I'm doing this week. Next up we have:

    Language unlimited
    the science behind our most creative power

    by David Adger
    Oxford University Press, 2019


    This is a book for people who like to think about HOW THINGS WORK. It's a serious work of popular science writing, which carefully spells out the mysteries of syntax. And by mysteries, I mean things you've probably never even noticed about language. But once they're pointed out, you have to sit back and say "Whoa." Because even though you hadn't noticed these things, you know them. Remember a few years ago, when the internet was hopping with posts about how we subconsciously know which order to put adjectives in? That's kid's play compared with the stuff that Adger'll teach you about the things you know but don't know about.

    Adger (who is Professor of Linguistics at Queen Mary University, London) describes the situation carefully, clearly, and engagingly, using copious examples and analogies to communicate some really subtle points. (I particularly liked the explanation of form versus function in language, which drew on the form versus the function of alcohol. Chin-chin!) He draws in evidence from neurology, psychology, and computer science to both corroborate his points and to introduce further questions about how language works.

    As I said in the intro to Book week, I have not read all the books I'm reviewing absolutely cover-to-cover. In this case, of the ten chapters, I read 1–3, 7, and 10—and skimmed through the other chapters. The early chapters make the case that there's more to linguistic structure than meets the eye and that human linguistic abilities must consist of something special—they must be qualitatively different from the types of cognition that other animals use and that humans use in non-linguistic communication. Later ones cover issues like how children experience and acquire their first language and what happens when computers try to learn human language. Throughout, the examples feature Adger's partner Anson and his cat Lilly.  I almost feel like I know them now. Hi Anson and Lilly!

    Adger makes clear from the start that his book makes a particular argument in favo(u)r of a particular way of explaining language's mysteries—and that particular way is a Chomskyan way. This means that he makes the case for a Universal Grammar that underlies all human language. I was struck by his willingness and ability to take this all the way for a lay audience. By chapter 9, he is explaining Merge, the key tool of Chomsky's Minimalist Program. 

    Now, here I have to say: this is not the kind of linguistics I do. It's not just that I'm not a syntactician—though I have, from time to time, dipped my toe into theories grammatical. It's also that I lost faith in theoretical monotheism when I moved from a very Chomskyan undergraduate degree to a more ecumenical linguistics department for my (post)graduate studies. When I arrived for my PhD studies, the department wanted to know which syntactic theories I'd studied, so they could determine which courses I needed to take. I could not tell them. After four years of studying Chomskyan linguistics, I thought I had spent four undergraduate years studying "Syntax". No one had told me that I was studying a theory of syntax, just one among several theories.

    Ever since, I have tended to agnosticism and s{c/k}epticism when it comes to syntactic theory. (This is probably how I ended up as not-a-syntactician; I don't know that it's possible to have a career in grammatical studies without adhering to one theoretical church or another.) Being a lexicologist has meant that I don't have to take sides on these things. And so I play around with different theories and see how they deal with the phenomena I study. When I listen to the evangelists, I listen warily. I tend to find that they oversimplify the approaches of competitor theories, and don't learn as much from them as they could (or, at least, sometimes don't give them credit for their contributions). This is all a very long explanation of why I skipped to chapter 7—the chapter where Adger responds to some non-Chomskyan ideas (mostly personified in the chapter by Joan Bybee).

    So (mostly BrE*) all credit to Adger for spending a chapter on this, and for citing recent work in it. I generally thought his points were fair, but I did what I usually do in response to such theoretical take-downs: I thought "ok, but what about..." I do think he's right that some facts point to the existence of a Universal Grammar, but I also think it's not the only interesting part of the story, and that it's premature to discount arguments that explore the possibility that much of what happens in language learning is based in experience of language and general cognitive abilities. But then, I would think that.

    I definitely recommend the book for people who are interested in the scientific approach to language, but I'd skip the final chapter (10). It is an oddly tacked-on bit about sociolinguistic phenomena, precisely the kinds of things that are not even approached in the theory the rest of the book has been arguing for.

    I congratulate Adger on this strong work that makes extraordinarily abstract concepts clear.





    P.S. Since I'm not doing Differences of the Day on Twitter this week, here's little chart of use of all credit to (frequency per million words) in the Corpus of Global Web-Based English, for good measure.



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    geez, jeez!

    By separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com
    Published On :: Mon, 02 Mar 2020 13:37:00 +0000


    As with many of my discoveries about English, this one happened during a Scrabble game. I had played GEEZ and my opponent challenged it, stating that she thought I needed a J rather than a G. When British people think I've got English wrong, I make a note of it, go home, and look it up. And about half the time, it is because there is a national/dialectal difference to be found. (The rest of the time, it's down to some weird beliefs about language. And most of the things we believe about language are weird, and little to do with reality. This has been the main thesis of my research career.)

    Geez/jeez is originally AmE, a way of not-taking the name Jesus in vain. I was probably an adult before I reali{s/z}ed that. To me, it was just some thing people said, and I didn't make the connection, just like a lot of people probably don't reali{s/z}e (till someone tells them) that (BrE) crikey is a way to avoid saying Christ or (BrE) cor, blimey stared as an avoidance of God blind me.

    Whether people spelled it with a G because they didn't see the relationship to Jesus or whether using the G was a way to keep it one more step removed from Jesus, I don't know. What I do know is that the G is the more common spelling in AmE, but it's rarely used in BrE, where the expression has caught on (not least in imitations of Americans). I suspect that when it entered BrE people could see its minced-oath nature, and so assumed it was spel{led/t} with a J.

    Click to embiggen.
    https://www.english-corpora.org/glowbe/
     As we've seen before, there's a lot of spelling variation in interjections, which start their lives in speech and mostly stay there. They never get tested in school spelling quizzes, you just do what you want with them.  It will be interesting to see whether there's more standardization of the spelling of speech-like bits as an effect of the more speech-like writing we do online.  (If anyone knows of such research, I'd be interested to hear about it. I had a quick look and didn't find anything super-relevant, but there must be some out there.)

    Jack Grieve has made a word-mapper tool for seeing where particular words are tweeted most in the USA. You might enjoy his maps of Sweary USA. I tried it for geez/jeez to see if there's any variation in the US. As you can see, saying {g/j}eez is not a regional thing. It's all over. But spelling it with the J, while less common overall (note the different colo[u]r scales for the maps), is more common in 'the North', i.e. the northeast and northern midwest.



    What struck me about the jeez map is how the jeez area seems to echo Yankeedom in Colin Woodard's American Nations. Woodard's book posits that different regional subcultures of the US derive from its migration histories, with value systems travel(l)ing westward from the east coast (and then dispersing in different ways when migration patterns become less linear and sparser in the 'west'. Woodard's maps look much like maps of major dialect areas in the US.

    https://www.businessinsider.com/the-11-nations-of-the-united-states-2015-7
    Perhaps BrE has the jeez spelling because of greater contact with the northeast—though I doubt that is the relevant issue, since exposure to the word is probably mostly through speech. Perhaps Yankeedom and the UK have in common a feeling that the oath does not need so much mincing, and so they are more apt to spell it in line with its etymology.

    If you're interested similar speaking/spelling problems, you be interested in these other posts. Please comment about those ones at their posts and keep those parties going:


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    Cuidado com o Álcool Gel na Cozinha

    By cozinhadobomgosto.com
    Published On :: Tue, 14 Apr 2020 22:00:30 +0000

    Um pequeno lembrete para que todos tomem cuidado com álcool gel, principalmente na cozinha! Em época de Coronavírus, temos usado muito o produto nas mãos, em superfícies e embalagens. Apesar de muito eficiente para a higienização, é inflamável e muitas vezes suas chamas não são visíveis aos olhos!

    O post Cuidado com o Álcool Gel na Cozinha apareceu primeiro em Cozinha do Bom Gosto.


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