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Or, #200

Before anything else, I'd like to extend a huge "THANK YOU" to anyone and EVERYONE who has taken a bit of time to read this blog!

And, as far as I can tell, at least 20% of my readers reside in countries where the official or predominant language is not English, so I'm dedicating this post to YOU!

I'll be the first to admit that my list of "pet peeves" is long and extensive. But, as I've dedicated this to my non-native English speakers and readers, I'd like to spend some time on the quirks of the English language (American, not Queen's... that's a whole different topic!)

For starters, there's vocabulary and usage. I'd like to highlight two of my favorite abused and overused words: tactical, and organic. Both of these words have very plausible, somewhat specific dictionary definitions. And both are horribly abused in pop culture and advertising. Per Google, tactical is "of, relating to, or constituting actions carefully planned to gain a specific military end." 

More specifically, tactical refers to the smallest units of battle- fireteams, squads, platoons or even companies. Above that is operational, and at the top of military planning and action is strategic. I often see ads for "tactical flashlights". Hmm- I wonder how large a strategic flashlight might be, and how many car batteries would be required to power it. Tactical also seems to refer to the militarized version of a common item, making it somehow superior. We purchased some shortbread cookies in tin canisters a few years back, and I quite enjoyed telling everyone that once the cookies were finished, these containers would be converted to "tactical snack containers", as they are approximately the same size and shape of a popular potato snack, except that they are metal rather than cardboard... hence, they are tactical. I also have a repurposed stainless steel water container- approximately .5 liter volume. It's been repurposed because it leaks- it is now a tactical utensil carrier. It keeps my eating utensils safe while I commute to work in a modern automobile on two- and three-lane paved roads at near-highway speeds.

Organic. Don't even get me started....

Okay, I went there. The opposite of organic is inorganic- like chemistry. Definition? "Not consisting of or deriving from living matter."

In other words... inedible. Poison. Stuff that will kill you. There is no such thing as inorganic food. So, it follows that there is ALSO no such thing as organic food, in the sense in which it is advertised: in actuality, ALL food is organic. There is such a thing as non-GMO food, or all-natural, or free-range.

So, basically, tactical is just silly, while organic is offensive.

That's it for a few of my favorite misused words.

My database is close to being brought back from dormancy to project status. I've made a few fundamental design changes- all I need now is data entry!

As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.