Good Grief!

Who is this Mr. Grammar Person, and why does he mock Strunk and White?
Dear Mr. Grammar Person:
Is there a difference between “who” and “whom” and if there is, why the (bad word) should I care?
Pronouning in Pittsburgh
Dear Pronouning:
There is a difference between “who” and “whom” but that difference is only known to the […]

New Scientist is reporting that coffee breaks can actually be detrimental to workplace productivity, especially for men:
Taking a coffee break at work may actually sabotage employees’ ability to do their jobs and undermine teamwork instead of boosting it, suggests new research.
Dosing up on caffeine is particularly unhelpful to men, disrupting their emotions and hampering their […]

Once again, Ditherati puts an annoying spin on its daily quote. Today they’ve quoted Microsoft security advisor Stuart Okin:
There’s a balance between getting the security patch out as quickly as possible against the fact that we want to do the best quality testing on that patch.
Ditherati explains the quote as follows:
Microsoft security advisor Stuart […]

In more just-in-time-for-Valentines-day news, researches have developed an equation that can predict with 94% accuracy whether a couple is likely to divorce:
Trained observers scored the couples based on their interactions. Facial expressions, voice cues, words and physiological data, such as pulse rate, were used to determine how the partners reacted to each other…one surprising result […]

For a long time I’ve been wondering…what are these memes thrown around everywhere in the blogosphere? Frankly, it’s a little embarrasing to admit my meme ignorance, but thanks to Cecil and the Straight Dope, I know I’m not the only one wondering:
The term “meme” (rhymes with “dream”) was coined by zoologist Richard Dawkins in […]

In all of this “are they or aren’t they” Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield blogging, I didn’t realize that New Jersey has a stake in the insurer’s possible for-profit conversion:
State officials have quietly reopened talks with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey officials on a plan to convert the Newark-based health insurer into […]

A few weeks ago, MIT released the results of its annual Lemelson-MIT Invention Index, citing the cell phone as the invention that American adults hate the most but can’t live without (it narrowly beat the alarm clock and the television). Here are the top 5 candidates for future “winners” of this survey:

consumer truth verification […]

Just in time for Valentine’s Day–the Love Detector from V Entertainment . According to today’s New York Times, this product uses a simplified version of voice analysis technology developed by V:
The security version applies 8,000 algorithms to 129 parameters of a speaking voice, assessing, among other things, levels of emotion, embarrassment and concentration as […]

I knew it was a bad idea to commit to a specific day of the week for grammar posts. This week’s Grammar Wednesday will have to be on Thursday or Friday. If things don’t slow down, I may even resort to a grammar-related Friday Top 5. In the meantime, here’s another Strunk […]

Last week, I wrote about the one-time healthcare refund of 55 million dollars (about 1.1 percent of last year’s operating revenue) that Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey is offering to some of its subscribers. The reaction of most people around here (”here” being one of the hospitals involved in a contract […]