Author Archives: Anton

language peeve of the day

Posted on Thursday, 2005 July 07 by Anton

A set comprises its members; a set consists of its members; a set is composed of its members — but a set is not comprised of anything. “Thank you for observing all safety precautions.”

Posted in language | Leave a comment

protecting the public

Posted on Wednesday, 2005 July 06 by Anton

Argh! No traffic tickets for twenty years, and now two in 16 months – both from BART police. Two more months and I could have cleared both by the curious device of “traffic school”.

Posted in California, me!me!me! | Leave a comment

nothing to hide

Posted on Monday, 2005 July 04 by Anton

“Lady Liberty” says it well: So rest peacefully in your assumption that none of the invasive new laws or procedures applies to you because you don’t have anything to hide. You’ll be just fine as long as the police never … Continue reading →

Posted in security theater | Leave a comment

æsthetics

Posted on Saturday, 2005 July 02 by Anton

Ah, phooey: I’ve carelessly deleted my preferred “theme”. May as well leave it for now while I go learn how to write one properly.

Posted in blogdom, me!me!me! | Leave a comment

para-grammatogenesis

Posted on Monday, 2005 June 27 by Anton

Some people amuse themselves at inventing languages and scripts; that sport’s most famous player was of course Tolkien. And some avidly study whatever notes Tolkien left concerning his Elvish language family. Tolkien invented at least three scripts: Sarati, an alphasyllabary; … Continue reading →

Posted in fandom, language | 3 Comments

Kelo v. New London

Posted on Friday, 2005 June 24 by Anton

State control of the economy, maintaining the forms but not the substance of private property — isn’t that a definition of fascism? I’ve been puzzled, by the way, at the argument that the Fifth Amendment allows takings only for ‘public … Continue reading →

Posted in constitution | 2 Comments

am I keeping you awake?

Posted on Thursday, 2005 June 23 by Anton

This post from Shanghai makes me wonder how widespread is the notion of counting sheep.

Posted in psychology | Leave a comment