I'm spending HOW long on that?
Now Playing: Still nothing. How strange.
Topic: Time
So, last night, as we finished playing the new Link/Zelda game on the Wii for the evening, I noticed that we've spent over 26 hours on it so far.

26 HOURS!

Am I really better off knowing how much of my life is being spent on that game?

I think other things in life should have those "counters." How much time do I spend:

• in traffic? (not much, compared to "city folk")
  
• watching TV just because I have a few minutes and can't think of anything else I can get done in that time?
  
• Waiting for everyone else to be ready so we can go to church? (Or whatever ... To be fair, this counter doesn't get incremented much anymore. Not because I don't go to church, but most of the time, it's just three of us, and we either go in two cars, or we're just more in sync than we were when there were six and Adam was one of them. :-)
  
• Reading Fantasy Football stuff (yikes - at least this counter doesn't go up as quickly)
  
• Reading fiction -- I want this one to grow much more than it has in the last 15 years.
  

Civ III Complete tells me how long a game TOOK -- but thankfully doesn't tell me how long it's TAKING.

Back - For Now
Now Playing: Nothing at all
So, Mike blogged today for the first time in a month. And he had something to say! Huzzah!

And me?

My last entry was less than a month ago, but it doesn't really count.

It would count if it were one of many in that month -- Lucas sometimes has very short entries, but he blogs quite regularly.

I think I've touched on the topic of "Why do we blog?" several times before. It's cool how the people in Lucas's group of friends use blogging to stay in touch. They have grown up using Instant Messaging and e-mail. For many of them blogging is a type of continuous monologue which allows their friends to know more about them than my generation typically shared.

But while I think this sort of blogging is pretty widespread, I don't think any of my other kids do it. (Or maybe they just haven't told me about it....?)

Meanwhile, Mike uses it as an outlet for opinions about events in the news. This is very different from what Lucas does, but it seems to be quite popular as a motivation, as well.

Me? What do I use it for?

Sometimes, I just like to write. There are times when something touches my soul and I just have to express it. Blogging is good for that.

But when it comes to sharing day-to-day issues, I guess I just rely on conversing with Sherry and sending e-mail to the select few. I wonder if I would see a benefit from doing what Lucas does?

To do what Mike does would require me to pay more attention to the news than I do.

Maybe my new Tuesday routine (which is supposed to include READING in the new sunroom) should also include blogging. Hey, the wireless signal is stronger in there than it is in my La-Z-Boy in the living room.

So ... very ... tired
Now Playing: "Yesterday"
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz............












zzzzzzz................

Topic: Instructor or Pedant

I promised an entry on “beg the question.” Here it is.

When you hear the phrase “beg the question” in modern conversation, it is almost invariably used incorrectly. Newscasters are extremely fond of using it, but they are mis-using it to be a synonym for “raise the question.”

For example, Corey Lidle’s plane crashes into a Manhattan skyscraper. The news people are shocked, and think maybe there is something the government could have done, but didn’t do, so they state “This accident begs the question, ‘Are officials doing enough to protect New York City?’” Well, the accident might well raise that question, but it doesn’t beg it. The questioner might want to beg for an answer, if he wants to be dramatic, but the situation did not beg a question.

Why not?

“Begging the question” is a term used in logic, debate and discourse for millennia. It means, essentially, to argue that something is true because it is true. It is a form of circular logic. When you are trying to prove a point in logic, you start with a base set of assumptions. If you then logically arrive at the point from those assumptions, you can have been said to have proven it. However, if you end up assuming your point in order to attempt to prove it, you have proven nothing; you are begging your question (the “question” is the point you intended to prove.)

An example would help. Let’s suppose I set out to prove that “X should be illegal.” I can start by arguing that if something is wrong, it should be illegal. (We might not agree that’s true, but for the sake of argument, let’s.) Then, perhaps I assert that breaking the law is wrong – which most of us can agree to. But then, if I point out that “X is illegal, hence X is against the law, hence X is wrong, hence X should be illegal” I am using circular logic. I have argued that something is true because it is true. I am guilty of begging the question.

Here’s one of the entries I found when I looked up “beg the question” at Dictionary.com:

beg the question

Take for granted or assume the truth of the very thing being questioned. For example, Shopping now for a dress to wear to the ceremony is really begging the question - she hasn't been invited yet. This phrase, whose roots are in Aristotle's writings on logic, came into English in the late 1500s. In the 1990s, however, people sometimes used the phrase as a synonym of "ask the question" (as in The article begs the question: "What are we afraid of?").

Now, I think the example the citation uses is not quite what Aristotle was thinking about, but you can see that the misuse of the phrase began recently.

To me, this is an example of how our language is losing its effectiveness. We have a perfectly good, meaningful phrase being distorted to mean something else – and we have plenty of good phrases which could be used instead.

My personal opinion on why this misuse occurs is this: people want to sound intelligent, so they use a phrase they have heard other intelligent people use – but they use it incorrectly.

 

Citations and references.

As is often the case, Wikipedia has a great explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beg_the_question

 

beg the question. (n.d.). The American Heritage? Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Retrieved October 15, 2006, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=beg the question

Topic: Instructor or Pedant
Definition:
Pedant:
1. a person who makes an excessive or inappropriate display of learning.
2. a person who overemphasizes rules or minor details.
3. a person who adheres rigidly to book knowledge without regard to common sense.
4. Obsolete. a schoolmaster.

I don't think I'm a pedant. But I clearly care more about proper use of words than many people do. It's my belief that if there is a good word or phrase for something, that word or phrase should be used properly. It should not be used to mean something else, and other words should not be substituted, especially if they do not share the same meaning.

In my previous entry, I mentioned that I should write a series of posts about commonly misused words or phrases. While I mentioned "beg the question" as my potential first entry, I've decided to start with "thence."

Definition:
thence:
1. from that place: I went first to Paris and thence to Rome.
2. from that time; thenceforth: He fell ill and thence was seldom seen.
3. from that source: Thence came all our troubles.
4. from that fact or reason; therefore: We were young, and thence optimistic.

I'm starting with "thence" because it is used -- incorrectly -- in the Apostle's Creed in the version of the LCMS hymnal we have used for years. In that version of the creed, it says "On the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead."

That can't be right. "Thence" means "from that place." This means that the creed is saying "... at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from from that place He shall come..." A double "from" is incorrect.

Now, if you go to the web and search for Apostle's Creed -- even on an LCMS site -- the wording has been corrected. That's good. But for years and years and years the people who have read this have been using the word incorrectly. Yet, because they have seen it in an authoritative text, they assume it's right. And, since it seems to mean "there" (not "FROM there"), they are tempted to use it as a synonym -- and they probably think they sound educated when they misuse it!

Many of my usage peeves are related to this very point -- people try to sound smart by using words or phrases which sound educated, yet in the process they only serve to demonstrate the opposite to the knowledgeable, while spreading their mis-usage to the uninformed.

Here are some other similar words, phrases and pronunciations.

• "beg the question"
  
• "sojourn"
  
• "often" -- with a "t"
  
• "hopefully" -- though this one shows how misuse can cause "acceptability drift."
  

Perhaps I will get around to posting about them sometime.




Citations:
pedant. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1). Retrieved October 05, 2006, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=pedant


thence. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1). Retrieved October 05, 2006, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=thence

Anarchy? Permissivism? That's NOT what I meant.
The entry below about Right/Wrong - Legal/Illegal might be miscontrued.

I am not promoting anarchy.

Society can only function if we have rules for behavior. This is clear, and a cornerstone of my belief system.

Many of those rules must be codified into laws. I support that.

What I tried to say below was that moving something from the "frowned on by society" consequence to the "made to pay recompense, financially or with a loss of freedom" consequence needs to be carefully thought through. If I can be kicked out of school, or charged with impinging on someone's rights, for saying "X" -- well, I think "X" needs to be pretty darn bad, and pretty clearly bad. If it's merely insensitive, then people should be educated as to why it is, and how they might say it in a more sensitive way.

Similarly, if I do "Y" in the privacy of my own home, and it can lead to my incarceration, there should be a very good reason why "Y" is bad for me to do. There are plenty of things that justify being punished and jailed. Lots of bad "Y." But don't you think, given our society's history, we've been too quick to put something in this category? And then, once we've done so, we justify its continuing to remain illegal by saying "Clearly, it's Wrong -- it's illegal!" That, my friends, is truly begging the question!

(I should do a whole series of posts on words and phrases that are losing their meaning because of mis-use. "Beg the question" is on the top of the list.)

Right and Wrong -- Legal and Illegal
Mike and I had an interesting exchange of ideas in his blog a few weeks back.

I had not considered the personal aspects of some specific wording. He made his point. I accept it. We will never completely agree, but that's not necessary.

What the exchange pointed out to me, though, is a philosophical ideal which I have -- and it's related to whether things should be made illegal.

You see, I firmly believe that Right and Wrong exist. However, I do not believe that most of us, or society in general, has a good grasp on Wrong. It therefore bothers me when a subset of the population decides that it knows Wrong well enough to make a particular thing illegal.

Now, "illegal" might get you a fine, or thrown in jail, or worse. Or (and this is where we get back to the discussion) it might be that "illegal" gets defined as "unconstitutional" or "impinging on the rights of another."

I accept that many behaviors are ill-mannered or rude. Some are just plain Wrong. Heck, there are some which are unconscionable. But I have real trouble when society decides to make those behaviors "illegal" or "unconstitutional."

The difficult point for me is that people who absolutely agree with me on some Wrong, will entirely disagree with me on another.

If I say something, and in so doing I offend someone, I can certainly be criticized and/or corrected. But charged? Sued? If you're going to do that, I had better have been given clear guidelines, and the speech had better be pretty harmful.

The same sort of thing goes for my actions. I think society has gone too far in deciding certain actions are Wrong. While many (or even most) people might think some activity is Wrong, making it "Illegal" should only be done when there is a clear reason for it.

I've talked about it before -- and I know that it's not feasible -- but sometimes I wish we could have all laws "expire" every generation or so. Then people would be forced to reconsider their positions about illegality.

Well, this has been a rambling post. But perhaps my thoughts are clearer now.

And the First Shall Be ..... First
Topic: From a Father
Adam has moved out.

This is very, very strange.

As you no doubt know, Adam graduated from Luther last spring. He came back home to live with us until he found a place. In some sense, we were actively "pushing" him out. It's something Sherry and I decided to do for our kids long ago -- we believe that the analogy of a mother bird pushing her chicks out of the nest to force them to fly is apt. We knew it would be emotionally hard to see one of our kids move out. And, for me at least, it was. But we know it's ultimately for the best.

I expected to miss him immediately -- and I do. Somewhat strange, since I have seen so little of him lately -- his schedule and mine just don't provide much opportunity for seeing one another. Yet, of course, I knew I would have a feeling of nostalgic longing, mixed with parental pride. And I have that. In spades.

But what is unexpectdly working at my mind is how Adam is the one who gets to go through all this stuff first.
I mean, it makes sense, of course, but nevertheless, it's remarkable how many life milestones I reach which are directly connected to my firstborn.

This does not mean I do not mark, or feel, the milestones with the others. Lucas going off to college was a big deal. Sarah -- same thing. Leah getting dressed up for her first formal dance. They all affect me.

But when I first notice a new chapter in my life, it's almost always connected to Adam.

I wish him well, and I am amazingly proud of him.

Now, if I can just deal with the "missing."

Ummm, Going Forward, You?ll be Hearing This
There is a phrase sweeping the nation which is the latest example of corporate-speak infiltrating our daily discourse and providing no value whatsoever. The phrase? “Going Forward.”

How is it used? Every once in a while, it is used to mean “in the future” – and this is perhaps the usage which can be tolerated. Often, when people say “In the future” they are trying to teach a lesson, and the phrase points out that such a lesson is forthcoming, so pay attention. For example, “In the future, we must be more careful not to drop our brother down the well.” Notice that one could insert “Going forward” into that sentence with similar effect. Notice also, however, that neither phrase actually provides any other value. “We must be more careful not to drop our brother down the well” already contains the information that we are talking about a future event. Saying that we must be more careful “in the future” or “going forward” is redundant. Clearly, we are not going to be more careful in the past.

As it is most commonly used, however, “going forward” provides even less. Consider a typical comment from a corporate executive. “We need to work hard, going forward, if we are going to improve our profit picture.” Forget, for a moment about the use of “picture” in the sentence -- What does “going forward” mean in this context?

It means “Ummmm.”

The whole phrase is just a way to stop talking for a second or two without actually shutting down your mouth.

Unfortunately, this is typical of verbiage from the corporate world. Whole speeches are given which purport to contain information, direction or motivation, but which are in effect a collection of vacuous phrases.

If the Universal Translator (from Star Trek – you know what I mean) really exists, and some alien is monitoring the speech of our modern business executives, what they would really be hearing is:

“Ummmmmm. We need, ummmm, better profits. Ummmmm. It’s not my fault. Ummmm. Thank you.”

Oh, I forgot. From the typical executive, the “thank you” doesn’t mean anything either.

Make that “Ummmm.”

Movies we've seen recently

I try to keep track of the movies I've watched, and what I thought of them. I figured I'd post the most recent list, so here is a link to that. These are not all of the movies we've watched lately -- some of the others have entries further up in the main file in which I track these things. For example, we saw The Matrix and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade during this period also, but for movies we see often, I just add another "viewed" date.

As you can see, the number of movies is pretty long. Once school is out (and the network shows are done with their seasons) we hit the DVDs pretty hard. I love the "MVP" membership at Hollywood Video. $15/month gets me all the movies I want to see -- as long as I'm willing to wait until a DVD is 6-8 weeks old before I view it.

This is actually pretty easy to do. There are DVDs I will buy as soon as they come out, so I don't need to rent them. For anything else, I can wait. The only real danger is movies which have their DVD release at the end of the summer. Those I might forget about before we do another stretch of DVD renting.

Oh, in case it's interesting, the "Rating" I use is a 100-point scale. Generally speaking, I will consider buying a movie if I score it 80 or above.

Interested to know what the highest and lowest scores I've ever given are? Ask!