Potpourri

Tonight I have many small things to discuss. Or at least to open up discussions about. In my comments section. Which is, you know, right at the bottom of this post. If you click Comments. srsly

Hyphenation
At the request of a friend at work. Specifically, how to hyphenate "seven-year-old." Two hyphens? One? Zero? My response was two, depending on the context. If it occurs prenominally (aka, before a noun, as in "seven-year-old kid"), definitely two. If it occurs on its own (e.g., "He's acting like a seven-year-old."), you could make an argument for zero. It occurred to me after I proclaimed the correct answer that there is, indeed, a context in which one hyphen would be correct: "There were not eight, but only seven year-old babies in the daycare."

Campaigners
Today was a local election (in which I--shamefully--did not vote). Here is my complaint: Why oh why, before any election, must all the flipping candidates come lurk at the train station in the morning to distribute their literature. They pounce on each commuter as the commuter walks in the door, no matter how busy and uninterested that commuter attempts to look. They also set up tables with free coffee, which I suppose most of the commuters like, but my attitude is, if you really want to be an effective officeholder in this community, how about you come to the train station after you're elected and talk to us and find out what we want. I don't need your coffee, guys; I need your advocacy.

Oxymorons
Another request by a work friend. She wanted some examples other than "jumbo shrimp." One of the most commonly cited ones, I think, is "military intelligence." A few others: "mostly unique," "clean coal," "pretty ugly," "same difference," and "seriously funny."

Geek (and/or Nerd) Cred
I think of myself as a nerdy geek or a geeky nerd, but the fact is that I differ greatly from both the nerd and geek communities on several key issues.

• I hated The Matrix. I mean, really cool effects and all, but the plot? Not so much. And the acting? Two words: Keanu Reeves.
• I hated Battlestar Galactica. The new one, that is. My least favorite word in the English language is "frak." Ugh. Turns my stomach just to think about it.
• I don't enjoy D&D. Did one tabletop role-playing game (for which my mother was the GM) when I was a teenager. It was okay, I guess, but definitely not something I want to do again. Ever. [Note: I have played many, many computer RPGs and enjoyed them greatly (I'm looking at you, Lord British). I was even into MUDing for a little while. So maybe I'm at least a little bit redeemed on this one.]
• I've never seen Doctor Who. And (dare I say it?) don't really care to. I'm sure it's great and all, but yeah, whatevs.

I'm sure there are other significant departures. On the plus side, though, I do love math, and I love many science fiction and fantasy novels. Love me some Star Trek and Star Wars. So, I dunno. What say you, faithful readers?

Sleep
Underrated. Like, painfully, severely, drastically underrated. I have not had a good night of it in recent memory. I am starting to feel a wee bit like a zombie. And yet, I cannot get myself to go to bed at a decent hour. I apparently have stupidity-induced insomnia.

Baseball
Yesterday was Opening Day. Cubs won! It is currently tied at 2 in the top of the 9th, with 2 outs. This freaking game is going to go into extra innings, and I am going to have to stay up to watch it. See "Sleep," above.