I have been accepted as a slave

My wife undergoes knee surgery in the coming days.  She is worried because, at first, she will be completely dependent on me for lots of unusual things.  She told me that she has been explaining to friends my coming debut as her slave.

5th grade to start

I found I could definitely afford teachers' college.  After a couple of years, they asked, "Are you aiming to teach in K-6 or 7-9?"   I said "7-9".  After all, I was too mature for little kids.  They handed me a sheet of course names.  "This paper lists the courses you must complete".  Me:"I thought I would get some choices."  They said,"You want choices?  Choose K-6" and I did.

I taught the 5th grade for four years. I liked it. I got the class with the lowest average of 4 classes.  I liked teaching them and discovered all sorts of skills and abilities they showed.

I got a warning: "This state requires an advanced degree beyond the basic 4 year degree within ten years of beginning teaching."  I began graduate school, attending at night.  I got a grade of A in my first statistics course.  My graduate school advisor told me about a program to get a PhD, the highest degree, with scholarships provided.  I applied, got accepted, got the degree, and we moved to another state where I taught teachers for 37 years.

Rusty years

Lynn's stepdad was a veteran of Patton's army in World War II.  In his later years, he would snarl every now and then, "Golden years - HA!"  I see so much optimism, cheeriness and smiles in ads and photos that it was a pleasure to read this comment today in "Man Overboard" by Craig Bowron, MD:

"Getting older is an extractive, reductive process and given its relentless and inevitable nature, it might be the hardest thing any of us will ever do."

A friend responded to my report of Stephen Hawking's idea that artificial intelligence can be expected to make such a capable assistant that it will be like being two people: "I certainly don't need two of me.  I can hardly stand one."

Recently coined words

The title of this post, "Recently coined words", can be used in search engines, such as Duckduckgo, to find some words that are being used by others but have just recently been invented.

I am interested in human imagination as well as sensitivity to language and connotations of words and signs.  I think recently invented words that show imagination and are also successful at conveying intended meanings show people's brains at work.  I should mention that I am only working in the English language.  The American linguist John McWhorter and his Great Courses and books have been a help in understanding the ups and downs of English language changes.

Just today, I saw there is a web site and associated products under the name "Techlicious".  As a person who spends much of his time reading, perusing book titles new and old by use of a computer, a tablet and occasional use of a smartphone, I admit that some "tech" has given me delicious thrills and knowledge. Great word!

Stephen Hawking

My book club is going to discuss Stephen Hawking's book "Brief Answers to the Big Questions".  You probably know Dr. Hawking:

He is the British scientist that was told well before his 25th birthday that he would die within 5 years.  He did die but at the age of 76, in 2018. I know that his "A Brief History of Time" has been a best seller but until recently, I had not read any of his writing.  When I did read his Answers book, I was impressed at how clear, down-to-Earth and readable his writing is.

I finished the Answers book today.  I read the most sensible and promising comment I have found about artificial intelligence.  He was discussing AI (the rapidly expanding field of artificial intelligence).  He asked if you have ever wished you were more than just one person.  I have heard busy women and men say just that: "I wish I was more than one person" or "I wish I was two people".  He says that AI will grant that wish soon when we have good robotic "assistants" available.

Steps

I thought about it.  I weighted my options.  I researched author and the book.  OK, I'll buy it. I clicked on it.  Up came the message "You own this book.  You purchased it in 2017."

Have a bite

We watched "The Poison Squad" about Dr. Harvey Wiley, a chemist.  The Poison Squad was shown, I guess, in episodes on the PBS show "American Experience" but after trying, we found it more convenient to watch it on Amazon Prime.  There, it is available as a single movie.  It's about going from food and drink manufacturers going about the business of selling their products without supervision to working with government oversight and laws to protect the consumer.  Harvey Wiley was born in 1844.  He became a chemistry professor and was appalled at what he could show about the American food supply and the chemicals and additives in it.  As an adult, he tried to complain and warn and was repeatedly told he had no right and no authority to question and publicize his complaints and warnings.  

The title, "The Poison Squad" came from the public after people learned he had engaged a group of young healthy men to sample the foods he knew were steadily given added substances that degraded the foods and made them dangerous or worse.  After years of work, the author Upton Sinclair, born in 1878. wrote the novel The Jungle in 1906, describing the conditions and practices in the Chicago stockyards. The outrage and disgust that followed helped Wiley's efforts to have the American food supply reliably cleaned up.