http://www.pleonast.com/user/planethead recent pleonast.com entries by user planethead en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/planethead?l=5&entryID=601719 Long post, but it's not heavy, so think of it as eating a bunch of marhsmallows. That's about all the substance there, too. Time for a nother lesson. Fatigue. Very interesting word. Comes from two words, as words are wont to do. Fati - Needs no explanation Gue - Also needs no explanation That was easy... if you have my superpowers. But why does the word fatigue come from the words fatty and goo? It basically has to do with a process. You see, if you work hard for a long time, you will become tired and maybe reduce fat content a little, or at least keep it at bay. If you sit around doing nothing for a long time, you will build up fat tissue. Nothing revolutionary here. So the concept once was that when you worked, you became tired (fatigued) because you were suppressing all that fat tissue, and that wears you down, but when you rest, it begins to show or accumulate. It has been noted that fatigue may set in, not while working out, but during the rest which follows, makin... 2008-11-21 http://www.pleonast.com/user/planethead?l=5&entryID=600854 Please keep Ashley, our sister (in Christ), good friend of our family and Annie's best grown-up friend, in your prayers. She's having surgery to correct a problem with her heart. Hopefully she is out of surgery now. Sarah is keeping the Benchleyans posted. Her latest post: "we still haven't seen miss ashy. They were getting ready to get her off the operating table when she started having a lot of PVCs. (an irregularity in her heartbeat which is what they're trying to fix- if I'm understanding correctly) So they had to go back in and burn another part. It's good that they were able to see it acting up while they could still fix it. So she's still being observed and will hopefully be in recovery for real soon and well get to see her before too long." Also, please keep everyone in your prayers who is traveling tonight after being in Austin. Missy and the kids went with David and Nicole and their kids. I think Mr. Jenkins went, and probably Mrs. Jenkins, too. Also Sarah,... 2008-11-19 http://www.pleonast.com/user/planethead?l=5&entryID=598543 So, our eldest child becomes a man today. Well, he turns 5 anyway. Both the kids liked his birthday present: 1/2" PVC fittings (90 and 45 deg elbows, tees, couplings, crosses) - Qty: 42 1/2" PVC pipes (ranging from 4" to 24") - Qty: approx. 28 He used to play with some of my pipes in the garage, but now he has is own set, and has significantly more parts to work with. He has been blessed so richly by God. When we found out he had a stroke and that some portion of his brain was damaged, we were told that other parts of a child's brain may take over for the damaged part, I think we both really just hoped for some partial measure of recovery, but didn't even have confidence in that. Other than some minor physical things, we were completely wrong. Then he had infantile spasms a few months later, and it is not uncommon for children to come out of that with mental damage. Now the neurology interns/residents/whatever they are who check him out before his neurolog... 2008-11-12 http://www.pleonast.com/user/planethead?l=5&entryID=598146 Happy Veterans Day Sometime get a book (or look online) and read about the world wars. The numbers of deaths are staggering, both civilian and military. Much of World War I was about trench warfare. New weapons were being brought to bear that had not entered into the picture in past conflicts. Destruction was becoming more effective, and there was a reason they called the place between the trenches no-man's-land. World War II saw the introduction of modern weapons (bombers, machine guns) which could do incredible amounts of damage in short order, and brought the destruction to populated areas more than before. So why should we say "Happy" Veterans Day? Because there is so much to be happy about because of what our veterans have done, and those of other countries, as well. And because 11:00 11/11 marks the end of World War I. What could have been happier for the Allies at that time? That, and mainly because I didn't know how else to wish someone a good Veterans Day.... 2008-11-11 http://www.pleonast.com/user/planethead?l=5&entryID=597417 From the dallasnews.com, concerning the A&M/OU game today: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/colleges/texasam/stories/110908dnspoagdate.3de073a.html "OU kicker Jimmy Stevens connected on a career-long 42-yard field goal late in the first half." Thanks a lot, Dad. Why OU? At least you missed the first one. ------------ It is better to be insane in a sane world than sane in an insane world. Incidentally, that almost looks like a word-by-word palindrome. Let's try: World insane an in sane than sane a in insane be to better is it. No, it's nothing like it except the phrase sane than sane. Let's try it with keeping the "to be" and "in a" and "in an" in their correct order, etc.: World insane in a sane than sane in an insane to be better is it. So even breaking the rules doesn't make it work, nor even come close. ----------------- Got two free t-shirts, a basketball poster for Wyatt, a meat thermometer and some steak s... 2008-11-09 http://www.pleonast.com/user/planethead?l=5&entryID=596376 Navy Seal video of a helicopter maneuver. Keep watching. It gets better. Maybe ignore the comments. Lesson for the day: Rejuvenation. First, we break it down. Re - again juven - youth (juvenile) ation - act of The simple explanation is the act of becoming young again. (And just when you thought, "Hey, this isn't a crazy explanation...") So rejuvenation is the act of becoming young again, but does it imply more? Oh, yes. Much more. Fill in this blank: juvenile __________. That's right. The answer is delinquent. What about juvenile exceptionalism? Juvenile volunteer? Juvenile leader? Juvenile philanthropist? Not common uses. What do you think of when you think of juvenile delinquents? Let me count the ways... 1. Not working 2. Not self-controlled 3. Trying dumb things 4. "bored," resulting in non-productive behavior to pass the time 5. Vandalism 6. Disrespect for authority - parents, teachers, government So while the denotation (dictionary def... 2008-11-06 http://www.pleonast.com/user/planethead?l=5&entryID=593862 I have to decide when I get home which of two things I'm going to be for halloween, and then go set up the tent. My back is tired, but the CNC is just about ready to go with my first CNC part. I have a personal story that could include the line, "The second and third pieces of bullet were more difficult to remove," but I have to get the pictures uploaded first. 2008-10-31 http://www.pleonast.com/user/planethead?l=5&entryID=591949 I need to take care of something that happened a while back that most of you don't know about, but this is one of the best ways I know to reach those present, particularly since I can't remember all the individuals there. So if you don't know what this is about, bear with me. Two to three years ago, we had a Friday night Bible study at the Rodriguez' house. It was following the death of pope John Paul and was during the time of the selection of the next pope. The media had been covering it incessantly, and I was fed up with the way so many seemed to think that this was part of God's will, that it was so important, and that, as one story I heard, a little girl thought God had died. For all I know, that story was made up, but it was not far from the sentiment I got from the news. I believe my anger was not unjustified when directed at those who were responsible for deceiving so many. At that study, we were discussing the Catholic faith, and one comment I made, while factually accu... 2008-10-27 http://www.pleonast.com/user/planethead?l=5&entryID=591031 If I were a superhero, what would my special abilities be? Well, I already have them, although their usefulness is questionable. Skill #1: I can sometimes see what people will look like when they are "older." And it doesn't matter how old or young they are. I know what Wyatt will look like when he is in his 70s or 80s or so. One difficulty is that it will be a while until I can start proving that this talent is real. And by then, I may have forgotten what I had predicted, if I am even alive, then. Skill #2: This one is more interesting and somewhat more easily checked. Unfortunately, you will find that this one isn't always real. But it's more fun. I have the special ability to be able to break words down and find their meaning and how those words came about. Typically, this is based on Greek and Latin root meanings. You might call it my "Intuitive Etymology." For example, "sub-prime" comes from "sub," meaning below, and "prim... 2008-10-24 http://www.pleonast.com/user/planethead?l=5&entryID=588579 More Dr. Johnson quotes: "We would have to grind those up into plastic dust." Concerning an old piece of equipment formerly in our lab, which was an example of a machine we were discussing in class: "I should have taken a picture of it. I was just excited to throw it out." Concerning statistics from our test: "Every once in a while I do get the statistical trifecta (mean, median, and mode all the same). But that's only interesting to me." Concerning solvent recovery: "The government doesn't like you to flash it off into the atmosphere, and you can't just dump it out back in the river." Another one: "You walk around in your overshoes. You take them off, hide them under your desk." Concerning foaming processes: "That's similar to things like sponges, bread... leavened bread, mind you." A thought of mine, regarding how cool my major is: "Who has swim-noodles mentioned in lecture? Yeah, that'd be me." Back to ... 2008-10-17