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Showing posts with the label Blogs. Braintenance

Figures Of Speech: Malaprops & Moronyms.

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We bloggers (and the occasional speechwriter) use dictionary.com for quick word definitions, etymological stories (there's one below) and for alternate word choices. For this last, we use the Thesaurus feature. It (" Dic ," as we chronic abbreviators and vulgar insinuators often call it... for short), is enormously useful, despite the fact that it is so laden with ads, pop-ups, pavilions, flash graphics and other distractions that the quick bit of information which you seek is often hidden (" obscured " would have been a snazzier word choice, but I'm in a rush) on the page. While some people (mostly 23-year old internet billionaires or Baby-Boomers taking a break from looking for an employment opportunity which they'll never find) think this " word search " or " improve your visual acuity "- type exercise is fun, I detest it, although I wouldn't put that in writing. Being the Baron Of Braintenance (my hobby) as well as the mo...

Pi: A magical number (and easier to say than "Phi")

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The number Pi is a mathematical constant . It represents the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter . If you divide the circumference of any circle (or perfectly-formed, hand-tossed pizza) by its diameter (the measure of a straight line cutting the pizza in half), you will get Pi, which is equal to 22/7, or approximately 3.14. Now let's review Fabian's quandary, from a couple of days ago... Background : Fabian Focaccia (not his real name, which is Sal Monella)  is a struggling 'artist' who is working at a neighborhood pizzeria in Brooklyn, New York (not his real location, as he is in the Federal Witness Protection Program , but which is still the best geographical location to make a pizza purchase if you/ youse should ever get around to it) to pay his bills until he can sell one of his paintings. He is faced with a decision and needs your help. He has cardboard boxes for 'take out' pizza (this pizza parlor does a big take-out busines...