Hi Linda.

"Sock"? That's a new one on me. Pray tell, what is the meaning of it?

Yes, I'm quite happy to help. However, I seem to have picked up a few "customers" since I wrote this post, so I'll catch up to you over the weekend by PM.

Regards,

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That is my dyslexic mind Spock, you know what I meant(O: but socks go on your feet too.

As I was reading my comment boy it sound goofy, could was count, Sock was Spock.

My mind sees thing differently and I have to really work on these thing. I have made head way but not enough. If I write to fast or if I don't double check everything I will still miss it, because in my head I know what I said. If that make any sense. See you on a PM . Linda

No problem, Linda. I understand.

PM: - yep, coming up this Saturday, so keep an eye out late afternoonish, UK time.

Cheers.

Hello Rosana.

(Lovely name, by the way. Rose Anna. The "grace of a rose".)

When I was growing up in Nigeria, we listened to the BBC World Service on the radio. It was widely held that the BBC stood for Truth and was *the* Gold Standard in spoken English. Pitch-perfect pronunciation, unimpeachable grammar and superb vocabulary. Everyone aspired to speak with such aplomb.

Roll forward lo these several years, and I'm aghast.

The weather person says, "The least warm day".
News readers (all of them, I believe) say, "the amount of people".
One interviewer said to a guest, "between you and I".
Another person, who presents morning external magazine pieces, has such a thick accent that many-a-time I can't make out what she's saying!

Tayo, how about Sky News?
Yes, Sky presenters make the same kinds of mistakes I outline above, but I wasn't brought up to respect Sky News. In a way, they get a free pass.

"Also, for people whose first language isn't English"
Agreed, but surely they ought to be the first to jump at the offer?
If I was trying to write Mandarin and a kindly fellow offered to muck in for me and proofread my work, I'd be over the moon!

In my "real job", I work as a software developer, and let me tell you the bad news: it isn't any better there. Oh, there's a lot of pretension about delivering the "best" code (meaning, a. it works, b. it is maintainable and c. it is delivered on time) but it turns out, that's all hogwash. The most important thing is to make the manager "look good".

Once, I sat in on a demonstration of a product knowing fully well that it was merely a pretty facade—there wasn't a single piece of working code behind it. Did I protest? Yes! Did it do any good? No. Instead of applause and acclaim for taking a principled stand, I was upbraided for "lacking team spirit" and being difficult.

I think part of the problem is that people like you and I can remember a time when striving for high quality was a habit. Somehow, somewhere, that's been lost and the world has become a topsy-turvy, upside down, inside out, back-to-front quagmire.

In the UK we've got a remainer Prime Minister pretending to be a leaver, a leaver Leader of the Opposition pretending to be a remainer. In the USA, Democrats pursue Donald Trump over some spurious "Russian meddling in America's democracy", simultaneously backing a coup in Venezuela. The UK is trying to hang on to Gibraltar whilst admonishing President Putin for taking back Crimea, whilst conveniently forgetting against which nation the British Empire fought in Crimea 163 years ago.

The BBC calls itself a bastion of even-handedness and castigates RT, whereas it swallows hook, line and sinker the Skripal poisoning saga with nary a critical question asked, whilst (regularly) hosting panels weighted three-to-one against Brexit.

There was a naughty
A naughty boy was he
He ran away to Scotland
The people there to see
But he found
That the ground
Was as hard
That a yard
Was as long
That a song
Was as merry
That a cherry
Was as red
That lead
Was as weighty
That fourscore was as eighty,
So he stood in his shoes and he wondered,
He wondered.
He stood in his shoes
and he wondered.

***************************************

Phew! I wonder (😉) if Rhonda's big long thing was going to be as long as this?

Sorry for bending your ear like that, you just walked into that one didn't you? 😊😊😊

Never mind, the storm rages and thunders, the winds scream foul imprecations and batter at the windows, but eventually the tempest eases into a soothing breeze and far away, the waves lap languidly against the shore...

Regards,

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AHA, this got you going too! Really enjoyed and of course agreed with your, um, rant.

My name also makes a nice image... of a rose on a heart. Used to have a logo like that but it disappeared when a computer crashed.

You say people whose first language isn't English SHOULD be the first ones to jump in. In my opinion, getting into what other people SHOULD do is rarely fruitful. They are going to do what they want. Just ask my husband!

I did a little coding years ago, enough to laugh out loud at your example!

.
Yes, it did turn into a rant, interestingly, but I think it did because ot the many other illogicalities to which we daily are exposed.

Reflecting on it later though, I realised that I had failed to keep a smile on my face. It's something to do with the autonomous system. Smiling keeps one in good humour. Good humour makes one smile. The secret then, is smile—and be good humoured.

My grandmother, (who was a very proper English Edwardian lady) never ever swore, except for that one time when she said: "Phillip, don't let the b******s keep you down", referring to racist incidents I had to endure at school. I loved her to distraction, and I remember here with great fondness.

I'm smiling now.

Hi Rhonda.

I'd have loved to have read your "big long thing". 😉 I always enjoy your big long things, you know that.

"I will say that they might want to run their article through spell check one more time, and leave it at that"
Hmm. I thought that it is more useful to point out the actual problems, and then offer to help out with the rest of the website. I'm baffled that some people would rather be wrong. Still, there's this incredible word teenagers use which I find invaluable in many circumstance: "whatevs". lolololol

Can't say it's helping the low esteem in which I hold certain sections of society, but the good thing is, there are always "the good ones" to brighten up even the gloomiest day.

As I've mentioned elsewhere on this page, I'm really glad that I asked the question and I'm pleased that all the answers, put together, have clarified hitherto occult (to me) thought processes.

Are you familiar with the pontifications on life of Marvin, the paranoid android of H2G2 fame? It's worth a laugh.

"You can proof read my stuff"
Great, another "customer" at last! 😊
I'll be in touch...

Always lovely to hear from you Rhonda.

Cheers,

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I love reading your stuff too!

.
Crash, bang, wallop, twack!

Howdy, pal. (I was chuckling even before I began to read your post. :=)

"However, I will, in no way be held responsible for any 'flashbacks' or 'issues' you may have, later in life"
Gulp. :=O

"Maybe you should have taken the guise of WA7 and begun by saying 'I can assure you, my intentions are strictly honourable"
Well, in my experience honourable people generally ascribe honourable intentions to others. Conversely, the wicked and untrustworthy seem to paint everyone else in their own dark colours.

Even with these few responses, I think I detect an emergent pattern... Anyway, I asked for help and I received it. No longer am I confused, and I feel that now I know how best to proceed. It's a rum do though, when bona fides proof must precede offers pro bono.

"You are welcome to 'proofread' any and all of my sites"
Another—but somewhat larger—gulp!

I take a deep breath... I gird up my loins... I issue these brave words:
"Okay! Stand back—I'm going in. (Avenge my death if I do not return safely. :=)"

I'll PM you anon (mid-weekish, I'd have thought).

Your pal,

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PS https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/how-to-gird-up-your-loins-an-illustrated-guide/

I came across this the other day and think that you're the sort of fellow traveller who might take some delight in discovering, finally, exactly what the phrase means.

If you knew already, then *excuse moi, si vous plait*.

Absolutely right, default seems in many,not all, a case of 'what's the catch ?'
Reading our own work, I think, is like to trying to tickle yourself. The body knows what's coming so the 'tickle' is rendered impotent. Unless there has been a 'waiting' period I think we read what our brain has stored whilst writing, if that makes sense.

Think you might have your work cut-out as I very rarely do any checking. Plus and don't tell anyone...much of it is...umm..not what you'd expect compared to the blogs here...I'm working on 'transference' on the niches site but I might just have to set up twacks blog... and let it rip..oh not RIP...that would be sad.

Now I know how to 'gird up my loins'....I thank you for that, I was unaware...I've put a shortcut on the desktop as I feel I might investigate further..

Always a pleasure Tayo

"Reading our own work, I think, is like to trying to tickle yourself"
What a lovely way to put it. I'd never thought of it like that before.

Console.WriteLine("Always a pleasure Tayo".Replace("Tayo", "Twack!"));

A little coding humour to speed you on your way. 😉👍

Hi Cherry.

"I may take you up on your offer"
Of course, any time.

Regards,

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Cool beans.

.
Hi Jane.

"Odd😶"
You're telling me? 😊 Chortle.

"Talk about the spirit of paying it forward..."
It "hurts my eyes", you see, so my motives may be selfish. lol

"You know Tayo, this isn’t on you.
So, Be cool 😎"
Aw, thanks Jane. 😊👍

Kind regards,

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😇

Hi Scott.

Well met by dawn's early light (or something like that, it's just gone 8 o'clock summertime here in the UK, lol).

1) Embarrassment/Vanity
I can't say that I respect this attitude. But... (and it's a big but) I'd fully understand if the corrections are trumpeted about, say in Posts and such. PMs being invisible to everyone else though, what's the problem?

2) Suspicion - What's the catch/angle? What are you really after?
Yep, I do try to allay that fear by pointing out I'll *never* ask for money. I'd have thought the written record of the promise always would serve as an unbreakable guarantee.

3) Uncertainty/Ignorance - Will I have to give you admin access to my site?
Yes. I think that this is the one I missed. As I note in the article, thought didn't cross my mind until the moment after I'd typed "thanks".

"Feel free to check my pages and posts any time. I'm all for making my sites better"
Yay, my first "customer". 😊 Lolz.
Unfortunately, you don't have a "Follow on" section, but maybe one day... 👍

Regards,

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Hi Diane.

I see. Great insight. 👍

I'll bung "Proofreader" into my profile also, so at least it might not come as a complete surprise when I offer to help—if ever again I do!

Thank you. 😊

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Hi Cindy.

Actually, neither in feedback nor comments.

I participate quite heavily in Posts, and as a result, often visit members' websites through their "Follow on" section. If I do find grammatical, spelling or punctuation mistakes which make me go "ouch", I PM the individual and make an offer. The response (to the offer) till now has been silence (which for once, does not signify consent, lol). On the other hand, I've received gratitude for the pointing out corrections. For this latter reason, I never felt that I had offended anyone.

"but most people have boundaries"
Hmm. It is troubling if ego trumps even *private* correction. That may explain certain unfortunate aspects of the state of the world today I suppose.

Certainly I fully understand no one wishes to be made to look silly, but I wouldn't have thought (until you said so) that a quiet "Oh, you might want to look at this, and would you like me to look at that too?" would be problematic).

Well, I'm glad I asked and I'm glad that you explained it to me—thank you. 😊

Regards,

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We are all humans I doubt if it’s ego it’s just privacy Like me I have a listening ear but I don’t like my privacy been stamped on.

I know you mean well but diversity should be the first thing you think about. We are all unique we can’t all think the same, the world 🌎 would be boring..Lol

All the best