Myriad

Wish · Post by **Wish** » Mon Oct 29, 2001 2:03 am

Ummm... The hell?-Wish
Confused, bemused, abused.

T Campbell · Post by **T Campbell** » Mon Oct 29, 2001 2:45 am

"Myriad" has two meanings. It either means so many as to seem almost numberless... or 10,000.Maccabee has the honor of making our 10,000th post.Break out the champagne. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/biggrin.gif">

EWHPTIV · Post by **EWHPTIV** » Mon Oct 29, 2001 7:58 am

(English majors may be interested to hear that myriad was a hotly contested point in the dog-eat-dog world of semantics...according to some scholars, it is usable only as an adjective (e.g. myriad posts), and according to others, it is usable as both a noun and an adjective (e.g. a myriad of posts). I, for many years, took the first position, until I was voted down by two separate grammar rules sites and my own mother.)

Maccabee · Post by **Maccabee** » Mon Oct 29, 2001 8:24 am

That's right, a MYRIAD, baby!1 x 10^4!X with a little line over it!Ten Thousand!<does happy dance>Maccabee------------------
Risus est telum ultimum contra tyrranem. Nullus dictator exercitibus allibus ridiculem vulgi longe resistare potest.

Doublespeak III · Post by **Doublespeak III** » Mon Oct 29, 2001 10:23 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by T Campbell:
Break out the champagne. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/biggrin ... OTE>Yes sir.*Breaks the champagne out of the county jail, and rides off with them in the General Fan. The Sheriff jumps into his patrol car and speeds after us. He soon realizes that someone damaged the breaks, and instead of slowing down so he can make that sharp turn, he goes straight through, and crashes into the lake.
"Damn you Fans! boooys!" He shouts as a fish flaps around on his lap."YeeeeeeeeHaaaaa!" Will our Fans! boys make it in time to get Uncle T nice and drunk? Stay tuned.*If that wasn't a long way to go for a little (teeny tiny) laugh, I don't know what is.[This message has been edited by Doublespeak III (edited 10-29-2001).]

Quinch · Post by **Quinch** » Mon Oct 29, 2001 11:45 am

WOOHOO!!True, I've only been here long enough to make a dozen or so posts, I'm still proud to be here when the forum hit this milestone...------------------
Master of <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/retrograde" TARGET=_blank>http://members.fortunecity.com/retrograde</A>
Part-time Cthulhu follower {also available for children's parties, weddings and Barmitzwahs}
Winner of the Planet Baldur's Gate Official Longest Thread Ever Contest

Blondlot · Post by **Blondlot** » Mon Oct 29, 2001 11:57 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by EWHPTIV:
(English majors may be interested to hear that myriad was a hotly contested point in the dog-eat-dog world of semantics...according to some scholars, it is usable only as an adjective (e.g. myriad posts), and according to others, it is usable as both a noun and an adjective (e.g. a myriad of posts). I, for many years, took the first position, until I was voted down by two separate grammar rules sites and my own mother.)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I'm still trying to cope with split infinitives being considered okay. It still seems wrong. Very, very wrong.Ex animo,
m.d

EWHPTIV · Post by **EWHPTIV** » Tue Oct 30, 2001 4:48 am

At least they fixed Star Trek. Remember? 'To boldly go' became, in Enterprise, 'Let us go boldly'.

Maccabee · Post by **Maccabee** » Tue Oct 30, 2001 7:52 am

But only by splitting the infinitive can you release energy sufficient to power a warp engine! The poet says so!Well, it's not like they care about Trek continuity anyway.I still have to watch the next episode, though. They're bringing back my favorite blue-skinned antennaed humanoids. Even if they will most likely completely screw them up.Maccabee, recovering Trekkie------------------
Risus est telum ultimum contra tyrranem. Nullus dictator exercitibus allibus ridiculem vulgi longe resistare potest.

Stig Hemmer · Post by **Stig Hemmer** » Tue Oct 30, 2001 8:30 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Blondlot:
 I'm still trying to cope with split infinitives being considered okay. It still seems wrong. Very, very wrong.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
This is the sort of English nonsense up with which I shall not put. (Any errors due to my faulty memory, not old Winston)------------------
Stig Hemmer, at your disservice.

Tom the Fanboy · Post by **Tom the Fanboy** » Tue Oct 30, 2001 8:40 am

Heh, I was actually going to make a post about the 10,000 post but I guess I won't need to. I would have brought it up but this is the first day I've been able to get into the board for a few days.I guess this is a better way of doing it anyway.------------------
Tom the Fanboy
http://www.geocities.com/tee-moss[begin Fans! code]
E(xkodt)M+FF+++A++W+++FCt++(s)Ip20000406f1mcKt+cCp- -bw++Ll++
[end Fans! code]

Czhorat · Post by **Czhorat** » Tue Oct 30, 2001 11:32 am

Hi everyone!I'm back!! Well, not really back because I'm still working 70+ hour weeks for the disaster recovery (I'm a phone-company person), and am in desperate need of rest and free time. I did want to check on the state of the board though, and am amazed and delighted to see it at 10k+ posts! Neat-o!There's very positive and exciting personal news in my life as well. And of you who wish to know, feel free to email me. I'll write back eventually - I promise.

Blondlot · Post by **Blondlot** » Tue Oct 30, 2001 11:54 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by EWHPTIV:
At least they fixed Star Trek. Remember? 'To boldly go' became, in Enterprise, 'Let us go boldly'.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Did they really? I haven't seen a full episode, though I've been meaning to. I can handle split infinitives much better then, say, the dreaded "irregardless." I just saw one on this guy's essay. Ooh, it just makes me so mad! <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">Well known mutterer,
m.d"Here's your f**king Fantasy Island!"
-Mr. Show

Khavren · Post by **Khavren** » Thu Nov 01, 2001 1:47 am

If you skim through Keenspace, this is one of the biggest 5 or 6 boards in terms of messages, by several thousand compared to the average board

EWHPTIV · Post by **EWHPTIV** » Thu Nov 01, 2001 2:41 am

To answer Blondlot's question, in the pilot of Enterprise, a small clip of James Cromwell reprising the role of Zefram Cochran (spelling?) was shown at (I think) the dedication, in which he said 'Let us go boldly'. Finally they fix it...except that it doesn't need to be fixed, apparently. I'm not the kind of person to knowingly put up with split infinitives.------------------
"Writing is a legal way of avoiding work without actually stealing and one that doesn't take any talent or training." --Robert A. Heinlein, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls

Shatteredtower · Post by **Shatteredtower** » Thu Nov 01, 2001 11:40 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by EWHPTIV:
 I'm not the kind of person to knowingly put up with split infinitives.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> What was it W.S. Maugham said on the subject? Something about the only true test of language being usage, and preference for a phrase that comes readily to one that is awkward in sound. "To go boldly where no man has gone before," sounds broken, no matter how correct it is. It lacks the power one can deliver in the misuse "boldly go." And that is the true test of the spoken word. Say them both out loud. You simply canna' get the power you need with "go boldly." <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/tongue.gif"> Sometimes the rules of effective speaking are contrary to and should override the rules of grammar.

FlyingFish · Post by **FlyingFish** » Fri Nov 02, 2001 2:32 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Shatteredtower:
"To go boldly where no man has gone before," sounds broken, no matter how correct it is. It lacks the power one can deliver in the misuse "boldly go." And that is the true test of the spoken word.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>It's all about the rhythm: "to boldly go..." Shakespeare sometimes broke the rules to get that iambic beat, and I don't see any reason why Trek shouldn't be allowed to do the same.

Blondlot · Post by **Blondlot** » Fri Nov 02, 2001 5:02 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Shatteredtower:
 What was it W.S. Maugham said on the subject? Something about the only true test of language being usage, and preference for a phrase that comes readily to one that is awkward in sound. "To go boldly where no man has gone before," sounds broken, no matter how correct it is. It lacks the power one can deliver in the misuse "boldly go." And that is the true test of the spoken word. Say them both out loud. You simply canna' get the power you need with "go boldly." <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/tongue.gif"> Sometimes the rules of effective speaking are contrary to and should override the rules of grammar.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>LONG RESPONSE: Oh, no arguments there. I hate when stuffy and contradictory rules demand that you mutilate your work for the sake of grammar. On the other hand, I also dislike having my time wasted on reading something sloppy and poorly worded. If the writer doesn't care or know enough to string together good, solid sentences, I'm not going to bother trying to decipher. You should master, or at least wield with some authority, the language in question before you go about breaking the rules that make it a formalized language. A smartly done change can improve a sentence tenfold, while ignorance or sloth will negate any positive meaning or effect you had intended.SHORT REPONSE: I agree. Ex animo,
m.d

Shatteredtower · Post by **Shatteredtower** » Fri Nov 02, 2001 8:50 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Blondlot:
 I hate when stuffy and contradictory rules demand that you mutilate your work for the sake of grammar. On the other hand, I also dislike having my time wasted on reading something sloppy and poorly worded. If the writer doesn't care or know enough to string together good, solid sentences, I'm not going to bother trying to decipher. You should master, or at least wield with some authority, the language in question before you go about breaking the rules that make it a formalized language. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

No question. A local master giving a chess lecture stated that there were four levels of understanding in chess: 1. unconscious incompetence
2. conscious incompetence
3. conscious competence
4. unconcious competence

The fourth level of understanding is the one to which the masters aspire. I only mention this because the four levels would seem to apply to language usage or almost any other form of training. (To a point, of course - sometimes there is a hazard of level four looping back to level one on occasion. Hence the need for review.) However, it is difficult, if not impossible, to reach the fourth level without progressing through at least level three, as you said.

Maccabee · Post by **Maccabee** » Sat Nov 03, 2001 10:00 am

a bunch of snobbish neo-classicist grammarians (not that I have anything against snobbish neo-classicists as a general rule, mind you) slapped a bunch of rules that were appropriate for Latin but not English onto our language. You can't split a Latin infinitive because it's only one friggin word! That doesn't (or shouldn't) apply to us. I also think it should be fine to dangle a preposition when you've begun a sentence with an object. (e.g. "The things I have to put up with!") Subjunctives, on the other hand, I'd like to save. If we were to use them more I think it would make the language richer.Maccabee
"If this be treason, make the most of it."