It's been a while and to say I'm back is a bit pretentious. I think that's the word I should use in this case but who's out there to care? I had two followers and it's my guess that neither are checking nor have they checked in to this site in some time. And why should they? My last post was in June 2011. A lot has happened since then.
Let's see ... I had a minor stroke ... sold part of my business ... downloaded a lot of the remaining business to my son and have spent as much time in my woodshop as I can without actually taking root there. My last entry spoke of bandsaw boxes and fairy doors. I'm still selling on Etsy and that is going reasonably well. I had a request from a client in Windsor, Ont. to construct a custom watch box for her boyfriend. It took a while because I'd never seen a watch box before and had no idea what it would take to accomplish this request. Nevertheless I/we persisted and after many emails I/we managed to arrive at a product that I am very proud of. Since then my watch box sales have soared and they have evolved into a part of my business that is very rewarding.
I still sell fairy doors but with all the watch and jewellery box work, I have had little time to construct anything unless custom ordered. The doors opened up a new facet of the business by evolving into fairy houses. These projects take on a life of their own and require a lot of time to produce. My latest commission has taken almost nine months and is still not finished.
Okay, that's enough of the business now let's rant a bit.
Band Wagon
Then vs Than --- Where vs Wear vs Were --- There vs Their vs They're
Taken from reviews posted on a big box website without permission - So Sue Me!
"I
bought 4 of these as they were on sale for 60% off. On my way to the
parking lot 2 of them lost there handles as the fasteners were not
attached properly, i went straight back to return them. Very
unsatisfied, would not recommend.
"Purchased
a few for a small project, liked them so much that I ended up
purchasing 8 more of theses. There easy to work with, clamps really
well. Even at regular price they are worth every penny."
I'm sure there's more but why is it that no one these days seems to know the difference between these words and how they should be used in a sentence. As a novice writer of sorts, I try very hard to be grammatically correct. I know I'm not perfect as some of my punctuation and the odd spelllling mistak might suggest but at least I know when and where to use the right words.
Perhaps it's a generational thing. After all I'm a senior citizen now - as my kids keep pointing out - and when I went to school the only spell checker I had was myself and my teachers. The latter of which would deduct marks off any test I wrote for poor spelling and believe me I couldn't afford to lose marks. As for grammar and the correct use of words, well you learned quickly at the hands of my teachers because sitting in the corner with a pointy hat on, did not look like fun to me. As for those of my generation who may not have done well with grammar, at least they were sharp enough not to write their thoughts down on paper for all the world to see.
Today however, with the likes of Facebook, Twitter and the plethora of social media to which we are constantly subjected, it seems anyone with a thought feels as though they need to write it down and show the world how little they learned in school.
So who's to blame? Is it the school system? Is it the teachers? Is it the student? Maybe it's society. After all society has a habit of taking a colloquialism and endorsing it as an actual word to be added to our vocabulary simply because we are too lazy to teach the correct usage of words or to look up what the word should be. Did you get that? Maybe I should say it differently.
When I went to school the word "anxious" was an adjective, a word used to describe a state of mind. It is a word formed from the noun "anxiety" the name of a feeling one might experience. "Anxiousness" on the other hand was not and is not in my old version of Webster's dictionary but because society became lazy, today if you look it up online you will find that Webster has succumbed to "the mumblies" - as my friend Dave calls them and no you will not find it in the dictionary - and has entered "anxiousness" as a bonafide word. Go figure.
There are dozens more examples but by now you get the point. So again I ask "who's to blame?" I guess it's all of the above. So for the benefit of anyone who might read this, let me enlighten you on the three examples I mentioned earlier.
So here it is in one sentence.
"There are many places where our friends might be forced to wear a smile rather than a frown and even if you were to understand their thoughts then it may still be impossible to admit that they're right."
Until next time.
George
