Have you ever had a word which you've read many times, but have never heard it pronounced, so that when you say it you fall flat on your "speech kiester"? That happened Thursday night when John was here. I had him heft a doorstop that is a holdover from days selling medical devices and software. It has a male and female part, and they fit together after you've put the radioisotope in them. Naturally, the point of the containers is to shield the radiation. I told him it made "mostly out of lead," so he said it wouldn't be as heavy as solid gold. I think he's right, although I haven't bothered to try to verify it. But this box is also an amalgam of lead *and* tungsten (which gives the box strength so it's not so easily dented). I also forgot to tell him it has depleted uranium in it, which is a *very heavy* metal. But the metals aren't alloyed together: it's an amalgam, only I said it's an AN-uhl-gam. Now, we do say some words differently and in a way that's normative to the country as a whole (like DECK-'l instead of DEE-kal). So I went to look it up, and John was absolutely right: the normative pronunciation, even in Canada, according to the Oxford Canadian Dictionary, is ah-MAL-gum.
So, you see, John's smarter than he looks; By the way, I forgot to add that his daughter, Becky, is a real babe, and you can tell she has a Hispanic mother. Sorry, guys, but she's already married. -- Marc A. Schindler Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada -- Gateway to the Boreal Parkland �Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on� � Winston Churchill Note: This communication represents the informal personal views of the author solely; its contents do not necessarily reflect those of the author�s employer, nor those of any organization with which the author may be associated. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^^=============================================================== This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^^===============================================================
