Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Saturday, May 09, 2015
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Friday, April 24, 2015
Thursday, April 23, 2015
U.S. Space & Rocket Center of Huntsville, AL
On a recent trip to Huntsville, AL, I was able to squeeze enough time for myself to visit the world famous U.S. Space & Rocket Center. When you first walk into the museum, the first couple of exhibits are a little underwhelming, given the grandeur of the purpose of the site. There is a display of patented inventions, then a tribute to Dr. Wernher von Braun.
It is interesting, but very museum-like. Where's the rockets?
Well, once you are thru there, you can go outside! Rockets! Rockets! Rockets! None of them blasting off, but still impressive, nonetheless.
Well, once you are thru there, you can go outside! Rockets! Rockets! Rockets! None of them blasting off, but still impressive, nonetheless.
Of course, there is a lot more than just rockets that go into space. Without giving too much away, here's a few more photos. This is really a place you should visit just to see the shear scale of these massive machines.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Begs the question is the idiom that you aren't using wrong, but some think you do
For example, "All cats are evil, otherwise you would not see cats do evil things."
The premise of this statement is that cats are evil, and the justification is that you see cats do evil things. The statement forms a circular argument.
But, there's another common use of the term that often appears as , "begs the question", as in, "your statement begs the question of who will do this work". It means that there is an obvious or ignored question that arises from a statement.
There are grammarians and logicians that will argue that this is somehow the wrong use of the term, such as the website begthequestion.info (backup link) (which dedicates itself to this topic). Ironically, these individuals often employ logical fallacies to disregard the modern usage of the term. There are people that seem gleefully unaware of how English works. Common usage is correct usage. Dictionaries now list the modern usage on equal weight as the logical fallacy definition. See idioms area on freedictionary.com (backup link).
There is often a claim that using the phrase in the modern sense is somehow confusing (see some of these claims on QuickAndDirty.com (backup link) by Grammar Girl). However, common usage is so prevalent, there is no confusion as to when the term is being used one way or another. If someone wishes to distinguish between the logical fallacy and the assertion of an obvious/ignored question, then they do so with context, just as they would for the use of any other common terms with multiple meanings. This begs the question, why is denial of the validity of the modern definition so important to some people?
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Brief stay at Nashville, Tennessee
While travelling last week, I had the opportunity to stay in Nashville, TN for a couple of days. It wasn't long enough to explore the town, but long enough for a couple of hours visit to the Grand Ole Opry Convention Center. Unfortunately, there was also a cheerleader competition convention in town at the Grand Ole Opry Convention Center. Nonetheless, I was able to explore the amazing site, though I eventually had to retreat to a wine bar to escape the otherwise madness.
Monday, April 20, 2015
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