Dear Barb: Tina and I have been best friends for fifteen years. We get along really well for the most part. Tina’s boyfriend and I were friends on facebook, therefore I was taken back when, one day out of the blue, Tina told me that her boyfriend was getting tired of seeing posts from me… Read more »
Talk to someone concerned about the rise of computers and the digital age, and one thing You’re likely to hear is that we rely too much on machines. Yet one of the surprising consequences of our gadget-filled days could be just the opposite: all those iPads and Android phones might come to rely more on… Read more »
In last week’s Toolbox, we began tackling the possessive form of nouns. We covered two basic rules for singular common nouns: 1) A singular common noun that does not end in -s forms the possessive by adding an apostrophe + s. 2) A singular common that does end in -s also forms the possessive with… Read more »
Despite the bad rap that March often gets I have a certain fondness for this month. No other month has two lovely creatures associated with it: lion and lamb. Oh, sure, February has a weather-forecasting rodent with an unpronounceable name but that hardly compares. March holds the promise, often sadly overstated, that spring is indeed… Read more »
On March 6th, Alberta released its 2013-2014 budget. In it, they were pleased to announce an operating surplus of 2.6 billion dollars. They are also taking on debt for capital expenditures to the tune of 5.1 billion dollars. A lot of people seem to have trouble reconciling those two facts. I don’t. If I get… Read more »
At Home: The Hell is Wrong with You Guys?Among various venues, the CBC is reporting on a recent story where the president of the University of Ottawa’s student federation was threatened with a law-suit when she found out, and was going to reveal, comments made by other student leaders at the university of Ottawa suggesting… Read more »
Dear Members, You may have recently seen information on the internet speculating about the future of Athabasca University. These reports suggest that the Alberta government may broker a merger between AU and University of Alberta, and that this may result in drastic changes to the services and programs offered to students AU students. We want… Read more »
Happy National Grammar Day! Think grammatical fanaticism is only for stuffy editors and professors? Before you answer, be sure to check out this sampling of grammar-related humor. From noirish mystery to crazy comedy, these links show that grammatical humor is fun for everyone. Grammarnoir For the past few years, Baltimore Sun columnist John McIntyre has… Read more »
Still waiting for Uberistic? Uberistic, a new web-based career and networking service, “combines the business networking tools of sites such as LinkedIn with all the features of an online employment centre.” Job-hunters can promote themselves with a 60-second video, search job postings, and get real-time updates on postings and employers Uberistic’s launch, planned for January… Read more »
?Suffering is permanent, obscure and dark, And shares the nature of infinity.? – William Wordsworth Jacob Scheier writes essays, poetry, and journalism. His book More to Keep Us Warm won the 2008 Governor General’s Award for poetry. He was born in Toronto because his parents, on returning from an activist mission in Palestine, were not… Read more »