Beware of domain name renewal letter
The other day I received a letter from Liberty Names (LN). They wrote to “remind [me] that it is time to renew [my] domain name which is expiring soon” and that “by moving [my] domain name to [LN] [I] can take advantage of the saving [they] have to offer.”
Don’t be fooled!
It is likely that your current domain registrar will email you 60, 30 and 15 days in advance. That is why LN sends their letter about 80 days in advance.
LN’s pricing is three times the rate where I currently have it registered.
I sit to lay down examples then rise when done
The verbs to lie (sit, recline), to rise and to sit are sometimes confusing.
lie is something you do
lay is done to something
I lay my book on the table then lie on the couch for a nap.
rise is something you do
raise is done to something
I rise from the chair to raise the blinds.
sit is something you do
set is done to something
I set my keys on the table then sit to watch TV.
These rules do not apply in all situations, of course, but they cover most of the cases.
Directional terminology
I need a break after yesterday’s post so today I’ll just mention something curious.
I grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota; Rapid City, to be specific. I recall some interesting terminology. I could travel back east to Sioux Falls, up to Custer (higher elevation), out to Yellowstone (west), up to Sturgis (north), down to Hot Springs (south), down to the Badlands (lower and southeast) or over to Pierre (east). When I was done at any of those places, I would travel back to Rapid.
Bring me some clarity or just take me away!
While attempting to bring some clarity to the use of bring and take I found this: “bring is the causative transitive form of come” and I knew I didn’t want to take you there.
bring means to cause something to go toward the speaker
bring the toy here = cause the toy to come here
take means to cause something to go away from the speaker
take the garbage out = cause the garbage to go out
Then it depends on the speaker’s point of view because both of these are correct:
He will bring his lunch to work every day this week.
He will take his lunch to work every day this week.
He is either taking it away from his home or bringing it to his office.
To further muddy the waters, if I am telling someone about a salad I will provide for a party, my use of bring or take depends on whether they will also be attending the party.
If they will not be attending, I’d say, “I’ll take a salad to the party.”
If we are both attending, I’d say, “I’ll bring a salad to the party.”
Then there are the idioms, of course, such as take a shower.
Suppose you have a two-story house with two showers and you say, “I will take my shower downstairs.” Most readers would understand but a non-native reader might wonder if you will need the help of a plumber to disassemble your upstairs shower.
So much for clarity! They are coming to take me away, ha ha!
Have a good ante meridiem!
a.m. is the abbreviation for the Latin phrase ante meridiem which means before noon.
p.m. is the abbreviation for the Latin phrase post meridiem which means after noon.
11:00 p.m. is one hour before midnight
11:59 p.m. is one minute before midnight
12:00 midnight (even if your digital clock shows 12:00 a.m.)
12:01 a.m. is a minute past midnight
1:00 a.m. is an hour past midnight
11:00 a.m. is one hour before noon
11:59 a.m. is one minute before noon
12:00 p.m. noon (even if your digital clock shows 12:00 p.m.)
12:01 p.m. is a minute past noon
1:00 p.m. is an hour past noon
There is no need to say morning, afternoon, evening or night after using a.m. or p.m.
Incorrect: The meeting will be at 11:30 a.m. in the morning.
Correct: The meeting will be at 11:30 a.m.
Correct: The meeting will be at 11:30 in the morning.
Note: When a sentence ends with an abbreviation you do not need another period.
double-u double-u double-u
Being a web developer, I feel the need to comment on the common practice of pronouncing www when speaking of a website.
There is no need to say www when mentioning a website.
Just say, “Please visit my website at widgets.com.”
There is no need to use http://www or even www when typing in a browser.
Just type gadgets.com in the address bar and you will be shown the site.
There is no need to use www in print advertising. It only gives the reader more to read and memorize; especially a problem on an Interstate highway billboard.
Browsing for buywigglyworms.com is the same as BuyWigglyWorms.com. Uppercase is only used by advertisers to make it easier to remember.
When purchasing a domain name be aware that choosespain.com can be read as both Choose Spain and Chooses Pain, to use a G-rated example.
State abbreviations
To follow the abbreviation for USA posted yesterday, I thought I should post state abbreviations today.
Use the U.S. Postal Service format (two letters, no periods) when you must abbreviate state names. In running text, unless the copy is a lengthy list of place names, it’s preferable to spell out the state name, especially if your audience might include international readers. Note that the third example needs semicolons between entries because individual items in the list include commas.
- The class of 12 included students from Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Montana, Minnesota, and West Virginia.
- Research was conducted in Mesa, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada.
- Those responding to the call for special funds included alumni from Harrisburg, PA; Fargo, ND; Miami, FL; San Jose, CA; Midland, TX; Shreveport, LA; and Hope, AR.
From the University of Colorado at Boulder Style Guide
United States of America
I was wondering if USA should contain periods and found this answer:
Use periods with the two-letter abbreviation for United States. Do not use periods with the three-letter abbreviation for United States of America. Use the abbreviation U.S. only as an adjective. Spell out United States when it is a noun.
- The U.S. government is one of the nation’s largest employers.
- Most of their products were made in the USA.
From the University of Colorado at Boulder Style Guide
A space can change the meaning
already The plane had already left.
all ready We were all ready to fly to Paris.
alright (not actually a word)
all right Is it all right if I call you later?
altogether We are altogether (entirely) too full to eat any more.
all together We sang the national anthem all together (as a group).
A space can change the meaning
anyway He decided to go anyway (regardless).
any way I don’t know any way (any method) I could fix the problem.
everyday Lunch is an everyday (common) occurrence.
every day The sun comes up every day (each day).
everyone Everyone (everybody) here likes tacos.
every one Every one (each) should write their own story.