The English language in 3000 AD

Here's a 2003 article by linguist Justin B Rye that looks at how the English has evolved over the centuries, and offers an example of what English could sound look in a thousand years.

2000 AD: We children beg you, teacher, that you should teach us to speak correctly, because we are ignorant and we speak corruptly...

3000 AD: *ZA kiad w'-exùn ya tijuh, da ya-gAr'-eduketan zA da wa-tAgan lidla, kaz 'ban iagnaran an wa-tAg kurrap...

FUTURESE: The American Language in 3000 AD

For once, I'm glad I'll be dead.

9-year-old boy told he's too good to pitch

This is disgusting. How do you tell a kid he's too good to play? That pretty much goes against every lesson you're trying to teach kids in youth sports. I can understand that the other kids may not like playing against him, though it seems hard to believe that a nine year old could be that much better than his peers. But I can't see where one game where the opposing team has to face this kid is so difficult for them that it's better just to teach them that when things are hard, you just quit and go home. It sounds like there's some other political issues going on, and maybe the kid's mother isn't very easy to get along with, and that's a real shame, because adults letting their petty problems get in the way of their kids having fun is pretty sad. I just don't understand how facing a tough pitcher is doing anything to the opposition other than making them better hitters. Maybe they can't hit against him, but after facing him, it should be easier for them to hit other pitchers. I'm sure there's more to the story than we see here, but still, I really think everyone would be better off if they let this kid pitch and just stop making a big deal about it.

Seen at our local Publix

We ran across this today while out doing a little grocery shopping. At first I just saw the big "Obama" and idly thought "Cool, another supporter". Then I saw the fine print. These people must be some serious idiots. This reminds me, I really need to go ahead and get some Obama/Biden bumper stickers and yard signs.

Solution, or Mess? A Milk Jug for a Green Earth - NYTimes.com

So, I just got one of these new milk jugs for the first time at Sam's Club. I was a little perplexed by it, because it has instructions on it. "Just tilt and pour." Maybe I'm an idiot, but that's pretty much what I did with the old jugs, so it works out fine, even if instructions hadn't been provided.

So, I was even more surprised to find this article about it. Are people really this retarded? So, I poured a glass of milk just to make sure there's not some hidden challenge to it. Nope, nothing, it seems to obey the same laws of physics that the old ones did. When you tilt it, the milk comes out of the hole in the top. You just need to get your glass somewhere between that hole and the floor. Not really all that difficult. And frankly, even if it was 10 times are hard to pour as the old jugs (still making it not that hard), the benefits detailed in the article make the switch easily worthwhile. Except, I couldn't quite figure out this one:

Others, even those who rue the day their tried-and-true jugs were replaced, praised the lower cost, from $2.18 to $2.58 a gallon. Sam’s Club said that was a savings of 10 to 20 cents a gallon compared with old jugs.

2.58 seems like more than 2.18, but even if they just got that backwards, I'm not sure how that comes out to 10 or 20 cents a gallon. Anyway, I'd be pretty happy to pay either price. Even at Sam's Club, where it's much cheaper than everywhere else, milk still costs about 3.35 a gallon here.

It's really not that clever

While I'm no internet curmudgeon like my brother :), I think sometimes people get a little carried away. I don't mind a little bit of clever wordplay if it's actually clever, but this election season, I'm seeing a lot of things that get old. For example, I've seen various permutations of McCain's name, used in every single comment the author makes - McSame, McLame, McInsane, JSMcC*nt, and others that escape me at the moment. There are also various other forms such as fRightwing, and Reichtwing I see fairly often. Enough already!