Coopernundrums

    Today I would like to rant a bit about the overused term BASICALLY.  Seems like everyone from late night talk show hosts to politicians uses the term basically as a crutch or a filler word.  They need to STOP NOW!

    We have a beautiful language.  The English language has thousands of words that roll off ones tongue with grace and fluidity.  I basically want everyone to stop murdering the language.  Basically this is our heritage we are talking about.  A gift that has been basically handed down from one generation to another that should basically be preserved.  Instead, we basically abuse it.  It is basically torture to the ears.

    There are so many descriptive words that people can use to speak in a beautiful, meaningful way. You might be surprised if you stop and explore the extent of your own vocabulary, and the fact that you don’t use it for your own benefit. We all probably know the meanings of many words, but we don’t employ them in our speech or writing.

    My theory is that basically is just one of those words that we use to “sum things up” or to say “well you should get it, its so simple I just explained the whole thing to you in English!”

    So please, for the LOVE OF PETE, try to find some sprightly alternatives to the term BASICALLY. User your mind and come up with better more meaningful adjectives.  Basically, I am saying NO MORE BASICALLY!

Tomorrow is my birthday.  I am not a big believer in things either lucky or unlucky so the fact that it falls on Friday and is the 13^th day of the month really doesn’t bother me.  On the contrary it sort of excites me because I love to see people’s reactions when I try to have birthday celebrations on a Friday the 13^th. This year had no less than THREE Friday the 13^th’s in it. 

     I looked it up and there are several possible explanations why the day is interpreted as being unlucky or having a bad omen on it.  All of them are inherently silly like the belief that there is something wrong with the number 666.  Here are just a few for your brain to ponder.

-          Several theological scholars believe that Christ is thought to have been crucified on a Friday, which was a rather popular execution day among the Romans. (Yet, Christians don’t call it Bad Friday.)

-          Friday was known in Britain as Hangman’s Day on which execution by rope hanging were carried out.

-          In numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve signs of the zodiac, twelve hours of the clock, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, twelve gods of Olympus, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness.

-          There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper or a Norse myth, which having thirteen people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners.

-          Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century’s The Canterbury Tales, and many other professions have regarded Friday as an unlucky day to undertake journeys or begin new projects.

-          Black Friday is a term that has been associated with stock market crashes and other disasters since the 1800s.

-          All the Knights Templar in France, a monastic military order founded in Jerusalem in 1118 C.E., whose mission was to protect Christian pilgrims during the Crusades were  secretly arrested Friday, October 13, 1307 – Friday the 13^th

     No matter how you interpret this it is still a pretty silly belief.  Although this one, unlike some others I won’t go into, is pretty benign.  In fact it’s pretty humorous.  Now go walk under some ladders behind black cats and don’t forget to throw some salt over your shoulder while you do.

     I like to try and keep this blog firmly in the realm of Geekery.  I hope this still fits the bill as it deals with science.  I was bored one day and happened to run accross a virus name that made me do a double-take because I thought there was no way the name could be real.  Well it was real and it made me take some time to find others like it.  Put on your childish man-boy hat and prepare to GIGGLE! 

Some of these I was able to fiond more info on others were so complex no good web pages existed to give a decent description of the virus.  most are harmless to people.  I will admit the links are boring so click at your own risk.

Clitoria Yellow Vein
Coxsackie A
Fukuoka
Groundnut Crinkle
Humpty Doo
Joinjakaka
Manduca Sexta
Slow Bee
Woodchuck Herpes