Have a Haunted House?

Some things from the past that I find around home are haunting me, occasionally raising their ugly heads until buried again.  As a collector of interesting things, I write this one about hoarding and OCH (an OCD).
My close friend Phil's advice is:  "Ask yourself, 'What good will this do for someone if I keep it?'"  It's tough deciding, I know from experience.
 
Phil is convinced that scanning (for digital storage) and discarding papers is a no-brainer solution.  Although that can be very time-consuming and requires plenty of digital storage space, I simply started the process as I found papers that I once considered to be lifetime keepers.  My 500-GB external drive was amazingly inexpensive, and the image file sizes are much smaller than I expected.

Somewhere I read about the photo solution --taking pictures of keepsakes and "valuables" before discarding or giving away.  I started that process when we moved to a new home last year, finally closing out our storage unit; (what a trap!)  By the way, shoot your valuables (computer, TV, Wii, antiques, silver, gold) for inventory and insurance purposes.  One baby-step at a time works fine; (remember Bob!)

I confess to being a collector, maybe OCH, pointing out examples of "why you should never throw anything away" (a standing joke); but now I'm on the sure path to recovery.  It feels great, and helps prepare for the holidays and guests!

Starting takes only minutes, and you will quickly earn a reward, a fast-food treat (remember: energy food; or think of Bob's ecstasy at the dinner table!)

Acronym, Initialism, Abbrev.

With a title like that, I'm likely the only one reading this serious stuff  --no kidding.  This is more complicated than I first thot, and I'm challenged to be brief while satisfyg my hungr & thirst for knowledge.  (O boy.)  Looks like this will take more than 1 LFF post to properly addr. the subject.  Being in the lang. business, I'm intrigued.  (Anyone still w/me?)

I'm on a short lunch brk in my ofc, so I will rely on what seems to be a good source: YourDictionary.com  It just taught me re. initialism (I didn’t know that), and acronym and abbrev. 

ini·tial·ism / noun /

"an acronym or abbreviation formed from initial letters, specif., one pronounced using the letters' names rather than phonetically (Ex.: CD, DNA, ...)"

YourDictionary explains: “When you shorten a word or phrase, you make an abbreviation. For example, these are abbreviations: NV for Nevada, tsp. for teaspoon, … NBC for the National Broadcasting Company, and radar for radio detecting and ranging.  Taking the first letter of the main words in a phrase makes an initialism.  Examples are: PIN for Personal Identification Number, ... and UPC for Universal Product Code.”

[As anyone smart enough to read blogs can plainly see, the phrases "PIN number" and "UPC code" have a problem with redundancy, which often bothers me.  (I may be the only one losing sleep over redundancy.)  It's like defeating the purpose of abbrev.! (jk)  (And you're s'posed to be LOL.)]

YourDictionary further explains: “Acronyms are both abbreviations and initialisms. They are a very special kind of initialism, because they form a word. Here are the definitions of some of them:  scuba for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, … and OPEC for Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.” 

“To sum up, initialisms and acronyms are abbreviations …”

Watch for the exciting (jk) sequel titled "Backronyms"

(acronyms built restrospectively to match a word). 

Sneak-prevw examples from YD:

DOG:  Dutifully On Guard

ITALY:  I Trust And Love You

Yes, I do, and hope you enjoyed a fast lunch brk as much as I did.

A Few Choice Words

I'm wondering ...

Did you ever wish you had come up with a few choice words when you ran into someone ... or something?

I know that Jesus often did when performing miracles, such as:

"Stretch forth thine hand."  (Matthew 12:13)

"Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole."  (Mark 5:34)

"Lazarus, come forth."  (John 11:43)

“Peace, be still.”  (Mark 4:39)

This may be a good day to share a few choice words with a friend

--maybe yourself --your journal --the world!  Your choice.

May you find peace.

Fast Food, Coupon Drive

In defense of "fast food", I say it has possibly contributed more to individual and corporate productivity (think energy food), and saved more people from starvation than anything else.  (Not really.)  It has also been the subject of more office planning (early morning, that is) than any other key activity of the business day.  I know this from experience in dozens of offices where I worked.  Tag: "What's for lunch??"

When my wife and I had young children to feed, we had a favorite activity and fun family tradition called the "coupon drive".  We collected fast-food coupons, then drove around town ordering, dividing, and eating one or two of a single item at each drive-thru.  The workers often felt sorry for us buying so little to feed the six or seven of us.  After about eight stops, we were stuffed!  This enduring tradition would not be possible without fast food.  Our youngest actually wrote a report on it for school (using fast-food language, of course).  Since then, the words "coupon drive" always bring back fond memories.  I can hardly wait for the next one!

May you enjoy the drive, however you do it.

And a little healthy fast food.

Words

I have enjoyed reading blogs this year, after a late start in the game.  (Blog: a word that is missing from my 1998 Merriam-Webster Dictionary.)  I often wish there were more time for reading, as my life may be short.  Who knows?

Sensing that many other readers are pressed for time, or may not be intensely interested in my shared journal, I decided to blog with "language fast food".  Words can get in the way of human progress, as well as inspire great achievement. 

Don't miss this Friday:  Fast Food and The Coupon Drive

Thank you for your interest.

Wishing you success and happiness,

and a little healthy fast food.