Day: November 11, 2010

A day of doubtful etymology

The Forgotten English word for today is “dowlk,” which is “a word of doubtful etymology, but signifying the downy plumage of a bird.”

Of course, as everybody knows, the plumage doesn’t enter into it.

I had to work, despite the Veteran’s Day holiday, but I’m taking tomorrow off as part of a just-for-the-heck-of-it three-day weekend. Our office is just a block from 5th Avenue (and the New York Public Library), so we’re pretty close to every holiday’s parade route — today’s included. The photo up above is actually from a few blocks further uptown, maybe around 50th and 5th, but it was a beautiful day for a parade.

And, honestly, if anyone’s deserving of it, it’s certainly our veterans.

Thursday various

  • Oh, that Tucker Carlson…what a kidder! [via]
  • Still, he’s gonna have to step up his comedy game if he’s going to match “off with their mics and their heads” Bill O’Reilly! [via]
  • I think John Seavey may be right about this recent election — namely, that “the Republicans’ only winning strategy was to shut up and let the Democrats lose.”

    Those Republicans lost, big time. Joe Miller, Christine O’Donnell, Sharron Angle–every one of them said in detail what they’d do if elected, and every one of them heard the resounding voice of the American people saying, “No thank you.” Even in reliable red states or red districts, outspoken conservatives like Rand Paul and Michelle Bachmann had to spend millions of dollars to hang on to what should have been safe seats. The fact of the matter is, in order to get re-elected, the Republicans had to pretend not to be Republicans. That’s the narrative that you’re not hearing about right now. But you might hear a lot about it in a couple of years. Because two years is a long time to ask the Republicans to pretend not to be Republicans.

    The sad thing is, shutting up and letting the Democrats lose is pretty frequently a winning strategy.

  • Thudfactor points out the difference between security and authentication.
  • And finally, Abstract Pixel Art. Below, the cast of Futurama [via]: