Cup of Coffee

October 22, 2014: New Girls

90 Comments

This last month or so has signified a real change in how my daughters talk and interact. They're still kids, but they're changing a lot and it's...I don't know yet, but it sure is something.

90 thoughts on “October 22, 2014: New Girls”

    1. I asked Geoffrey Nunberg, a linguist at the University of California–Berkeley, about how people could develop this new rule. He explained a long-standing linguistic principle: "People just make shit up."

      that's definitely an academic linguist there.

    3. Wow, this is weird. It just seems so clear and obvious to me to always use double quotes for anything other than a quote within a quote. But that linguist quote is excellent.

      1. 1) I can see wanting different marks for "scare quotes" or to offset "so-called" nomenclature that the author doesn't actually accept, as opposed to actual quotations. But the toolbox is empty and maybe it's best to invent new marks like the interrobang. I believe I've heard requests on the internet for a way to offset ironic statements. So maybe use carat-style quotes or something foreign to English but still available in standard character sets. Heck, does anyone use curly brackets {} in non-technical settings?

        2) I know there was a time in my middle school years where I aped British style for everything except language arts classes (because I had to follow the rules being taught). So my poor religion, social studies, science, etc. teachers that had to deal with 'colours' and 'centres' and single-quotes with double-quotes nestled inside them. I wonder how often I messed up and inadvertently went hybrid.

        2b) I also used local-language or official names for countries and cities. Vienna? No, Wien! Ivory Coast? No, Côte d'Ivoire! Switzerland? No, Helvetica! Albania? No, Shqipërisë! Albanian and Hungarian place names took a lot of memorization from me, but so my teachers could know, I'd put the common English-language name in parentheses afterwards. I wasn't going to get anything wrong just because I wanted to know what people called their own countries.

    4. I was always taught at every newspaper I was at to use single quotes in headlines and sub-heads. I think captions for photos as well, but that was too rare. I believe that is the AP style. That's been that way for a long time. For me at least since 1997, and I don't recall anyone referring to it as something new.

  3. Hey, guys. I blew the dust off the Hand And Ball Guys fantasy basketball league. Plenty of room still available! Sign up here (I think; let me know if it doesn't work).

    Draft currently set for Sunday, 26 October 2014, 9:15pm CDT.

  4. so, I made pizza on sunday. Wanted to share a new concoction: lemon white pizza. Roll the dough very thin. Use a light hand with the toppings. A thin painting of extra-virgin olive oil, then shredded mozzarella, caramelized onions, the zest of a lemon (finely grated), garlic (I admit I was lazy and used a dusting of granulated garlic), black pepper and sea salt. Bake on a pizza stone in a VERY hot oven (I had mine at 515 with the convection fan on). Don't over-bake because you don't want to burn the lemon zest. Makes for a nice appetizer.

    1. Sorry, not pizza. In the same way there is no such thing as a chocolate martini.

      (Not to suggest it wasn't tasty, even with garlic powder.)

      2. white pizza is a Thing. I used to get it at The Pines of Rome in Bethesda, where it was an Institution.

        and, of course, those Romans made pizza long before they had tomato sauce. 😉

      3. From M-W:

        a food made from flat, usually round bread that is topped with usually tomato sauce and cheese and often with meat or vegetables

        'Usually*' is used a lot, so basically the only requirement is flat bread.

        * sorry, I couldn't resist.

  5. I've waited in pre-opening lines outside really good bakeries (Bloedow's in Winona) and places like Salumi in Seattle. Today was the first time I've ever waited outside for the DMV to open. My favorite person in line was the guy simultaneously smoking a cigarette and chewing tobacco. He even got his license photo taken with the chew in his lip.

  6. Does anyone have any experience with Banjo Brothers bike gear, in particular their messenger bags? I'm in the market for one, and I'd figure I'd do business with a Citizen I'd possible (wherever Banjo got off to).

    1. I've had a couple of their bike rack bags but not the messenger bags. Good stuff. Life time guarantee, which I used once and they fulfilled without any hesitation.

      I definitely support Banjo Bros. Local and good guys.

      1. long before I learned about Banjo Brothers I got a messenger bag from Timbuk2. Excellent bag.

    2. I don't think I've beaten on my Banjo Bros stuff as others may have, but it's all been good stuff. Definitely +1 to supporting Banjo.

    3. I've had two banjo messenger bags and have had mixed experiences. The first was a great bag, but burned up in my apartment fire. The second one needed to be replaced almost immediately due toanufacuteing defects. The replacement began to leak around the seams almost immediately. I haven't bothered to call in for replacement due to the hassle the first time around. I'm not suggesting that the product isn't good, just offering my experience.

    1. I don't see anything wrong with what he said. I assume all good managers have confidence in their ability. I don't see how you could do the job well if you didn't.

        2. In his article about Molly's second interview yesterday he dropped this gem.

          Stability and secrecy remain the calling cards of the Twins. Ryan texted back Monday, "The search is going fine, Terry." And he left it at that, ignoring follow-up texts.

          I imagine Terry Ryan making a scrunched up, annoyed face as he ignores Heyman's multiple "can u give me ne more info?" texts and I laugh. Also Terry signs his texts like my mother does. That's kind of amusing.

          1. I know people that have their signature set up automatically on their texts because they can't always remember who they've texted or called before and their phone might not recognize your number.

    2. But the comment seemed strong for someone who's competing with Hall of Famer Molitor, a former Twins great...

      As Twins:

      Molitor: 5.2 WAR, 0 playoff teams
      Mientkiewicz: 6.4 WAR, 3 playoff teams (yes, the Twins traded him at the 2004 deadline, but they also made the playoffs)

      1. Yeah, does anyone look back and think Mientkiewicz was a bum?

        I should have never clicked on the article, because Heyman.

      2. Got his 3,000th hit as a Twin, therefore became a Hall of Famer as a Twin, therefore a Twin Great.

  8. Technical question. Some links here open in the current tab. Others open a new tab.
    Why is this, and, if I prefer a new tab for my WGOM links, can I make it do that (other than by right-clicking)?

    1. I think some browsers will let you make a change in options to change all links to open in a new tab? I remember setting this up before, but it's been a long time so I don't remember exactly how.

    3. If you have a center mouse button, usually your scrolly wheel clicks or a dedicated third button on laptops, then clicking on a link with that will open in a new tab automatically.

      1. Cool - I've never known about this! Almost as cool as when sean told me that left-clicking on the black ribbon at the top of the page will auto-scroll you to the top!

        2. Confused. If your cursor is already at the black ribbon on top of the page, why do you need to auto-scroll to the top of the page?

          1. When logged in, by default there is a dark gray bar across the top called the admin bar. It is fixed to the top no matter where you are in the page. Clicking it scrolls the page to the top. The bar can be disabled.

            1. For instance, if I'm reading a post with 70 comments and come to the last comment on the page, the thumb is at the bottom of the scroll bar. Rather than selecting the thumb and dragging it to the top of the shaft or clicking on the up scroll arrow until I get to the top, sean said that I can just click the admin bar (thanks sean!) and up I go.

        1. Chances of me remembering any of the stuff in this thread by the next time I might use any of it: essentially zero.

          2. Maybe we need a new category under "Help and FAQ." I humbly propose we call it WGOM Ninja Tricks. (This discussion is great by the way. All of these tips are new to me! Thanks Zee German for asking the question.)

        2. The Control key is a useful modifier. Control-backspace deletes a 'word' and control-left/right arrow key will move left/right a 'word'.

          1. Agreed! Control+C for Copy, Control+V for paste, Control+Z for undo and Control+Y for redo get a ton of use in my daily work.

            1. I wasn't aware that people didn't use those things. While running Spookymilk Survivor, those shortcuts are an important part of keeping things easy to run.

              1. I didn't learn about the shortcut keys until I was nearly 30 and didn't start implementing them into daily use until I started at my current job (primarily desk work on a computer) three years ago. There's a whole world full of people who don't use keyboards & computers for multiple hours on a daily basis - admittedly a smaller number than perhaps even five years ago, but still.

          1. Thanks for sharing - I love keyboard shortcuts. I agree, they'll be very useful for multiple monitors...once I get the hang of 'em. I generally rely on ALT + Tab to navigate between windows.

  10. This could very easily lead to forbidden zone comments, but I nearly always enjoy Tim's posts and wanted to share it anyway. If you feel compelled to comment, please spoiler anything that may ruffle feathers or otherwise offend.

    1. And no luck for me with adding target=_blank to the URL... are you using the "Link" button and, if so, where exactly should it be placed?

          1. I've always enclosed the _blank in quotes, i.e.,

            <a href="url" target="_blank" >Link</a>

            are the quotes not necessary?

            1. Browsers are very good at doing the right thing in the face of awful HTML, but not perfect. I recommend always quoting to eliminate any issues. With double quotes.

      1. I thought so too. I've not studied philosophy or religion beyond those courses required to get pursue a liberal arts degree (Phil 1101 & IS 1341: Into to World Religions, etc.), but will generally try to ask questions - especially of myself - whenever possible. I like pieces that make you think.

        1. I have studied philosophy and religion, so this kind of thing makes me want to discuss like crazy.

  11. What can't Joanna Newsom do?

    Newsom, a harpist and songwriter by day, narrates "Inherent Vice" like a hazy, ethereal Greek chorus. It's her first screen role, and she acquits herself like a true veteran.

    "I had known Joanna a little bit. I loved the way she talked and looked. It was a supporting character in the book -- Doc's best gal pal, who always seemed to know more about things than he did and was right about things. Somewhere along the way, probably just looking to have a good female voice come in, I came up with the idea of trying to do it," Anderson said of the narration.

    1. I've started the book. It's way easier than any other Pynchon I've ever read, and I'm enjoying it immensely.

      1. No fair head starting, though wise of you not to wait.
        I am request 1 of 1 on the HCLIB system.

    1. Ok, my favorite thing in the article is that picture of his attorney. That attorney (the one who represented the Captain when Homer was turned away from the buffet) is a doppelganger for one of the big poobah partners at one of the biggest firms in Mpls.

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