Word For The Day, Thursday, September 4, 2003

The Verbivores | 9/4/03 | Teacher

[RikaStrom]

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of “word for the day”. Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the “word of the day”; in a sentence. The sentence must, in some way, relate to the news of the day. Practice makes perfect.....post on....

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fatuous \FACH-oo-us\, adjective:
fatuousness; noun
fatuously; adverb

1. Feeble in mind; weak; silly; stupid; foolish.
2. Without reality; illusory
3. Vacuously, smugly, and unconsciously foolish
4. Delusive; unreal.

"Publishers persist in the fatuous belief that a little hocus-pocus in the front flap blurb will so dazzle readers that they'll be too dazed to notice the quality of what's on the pages inside." Irish Times, October 7, 1997

Etymology: [Latin fatuus, foolish, idiotic, silly..]

[xsmommy]

we must have a higher class of illegal alien bc there is not much in the way of rusted vehicles on the road, for whatever reason!

[Gabz]

I have just had the scare of my life.

Jax had followed the dogs into my room and all was peaceful, until she starts screaming ouchy, ouchy at the top of her lungs.

She comes running out of the room holding her finger screaming she burned it - when I asked on what she said the stove, which of course is impossible - but since she once did burn herself by touching the stove I knew she knew what she was talking about. But she kept insisting it was the stove she did it on. I got her all iced down - and calmed down and then raced for the bedroom to find out what had happened.

the puppy had been chewing on the cord of the radio - apparently Jax tried to get it from her and grabbed the live end.

there's nothing wrong with the damned dog.

[honeygrl]

Our old landlord owned arounf 30 GTOs if I remember correctly.

[honeygrl]

I've never met a local who actually worked there...

[Conspiracy Guy]

Whut fer?

[xsmommy]

hey xspup chewed a lamp cord the entire way through to 2 pieces w/ nary a moment's discomfort!

[Gabz]

Sorry I didn't respond directly to your post.

I'm inclined to agree with you that your daughter's fever is from the shots and nothing else - a ouple of times Jax had a low grade fever after some of them.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Congrats!

You won't ever regret it .... I think. 8<)

(Thinking of Monday night at 12:30 working with Jean on her Physics 3302 problems: many mechanical, rotation inertia; sliding objects problems ...)

One funny problem I need to consult Eala, Maxie and Cyber need to think about: (Xsex can probably do it in her sleep ... so I won't ask her.)

Imagine an eskimo sitting on a prefectly round frictionaless(hemispherical) igloo at the north pole. A very tiny force starts moving him sideways: at what point does his bottom leave the igloo's surface?

Way I figgured it: ya gotta calculate the x,y,z vectors of his weight (forces down, out, and sideways) as a sin/cos function of his angular position starting from the top and going down all the to the extreme side point.

This gives you a vector of sideways acceleration AND downwards acceleration that changes with his radial position: so the "perfect" trajectory laws of motion (free fall in vacuum where there is NO horizontal acceleration and a constant downwards accelration don't apply)!

Assume there is no igloo in the way, and calc the trajectory for his path using the changing horizontal acceleration to get (x,t) and the changing (vertical) acceleration to get (y,t): plot the curve.

Plot a second curve of a quarter circle.

find the intersection of the two - this is where his modified" parabolic trajectory leaves the surface of the igloo.

Sound right? (Jean doesn't think so...)

[xsmommy]

oh that's so easy.....

[xsmommy]

i agree. even xs2pup gets out of sorts from his shots.

[Gabz]

stock El-camino's are very common here.

un-stock, such as you describe - are called pimp-mobiles.

[Conspiracy Guy]

I hate igloos.

[Texan5]

I really want to re-do a GTO someday. Now I've got that damn song playing in my head "Little GTO, you're really lookin' fine. Three deuces and a four speed, and a 389"...

Gas is why the El Camino is not driven much-just for the hauling something that is too tall to get into the back of my Blazer, for grins, and when another vehicle is not available. Even with progressive linkage, dual quads suck up the gas if you get on the accelerator much at all. If you like a head rush, though, it runs like a spotted ass ape. A real pleasure to drive if you are into power and speed.

[Texan5]

Hahaha! Here a pimp mobile is an un-stock Caddie with running lights and tinted windows or a lowrider.

[Gabz]

Here illegal aliens drive beat up old (mostly Chevy) trucks or rusty oldsmobiles,

Wait just a dang minute - there's a bunch of rust on my Oldsmobile..............................

Oh, wait, hubby told me that's' not rust - its rotting fiberglass - time for the body putty!!!!

[Texan5]

What a fright! I'm glad she is not seriously hurt. Smart girl-she did know what to do.

[xsmommy]

where are my PIMPS? we dont' have anything like that here!

[Texan5]

Good old body putty!

[Conspiracy Guy]

My goat would pin you to the seatback. As the tach needle went right the gas needle went left at the same speed.

[Gabz]

Poultry plant work is gross - but it pays very well - if you can stand the stench - I can't.

The company my husband works for has service contracts for the computers of both major poultry producers around here. One of the techs got the call to deal with the server in the plant office (hubby was off that day) - he put his clothesin a burn barrel when he got home, the stench was that bad. Poor guy, he said he took 5 showers before he felt he was clean.