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Taxas english - a dialect ( you'all to read )

Scholars of Twang Track All the 'Y'Alls' in Texas
By RALPH BLUMENTHAL

Published: November 28, 2003

COLLEGE STATION, Tex.  "Are yew jus' tryin' to git me to talk, is that the ah-deah?"

That was the idea. John O. Greer, an architecture teacher at Texas A&M University, sat at his dining table between two interrogators and their tape recorder. They had precisely 258 questions for him. But it waddn what he said that interested them most. It was how he said it. Advertisement

Those responses, part of an ambitious National Geographic Society survey of Texas speech, with its "y'alls," "might-coulds" and "fixin' to's," are helping language investigators throw a scientific light on a mythologized and sometimes ridiculed mainstay of Americana: the Texas twang.

Among the unexpected findings, said Guy Bailey, a linguistics professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio and a leading scholar in the studies with his wife, Jan Tillery, is that in Texas more than elsewhere, how you talk says a lot about how you feel about your home state.

"Those who think Texas is a good place to live adopt the flat `I'  it's like the badge of Texas," said Dr. Bailey, 53, provost and executive vice president of the university and a transplanted Alabamian married to a Lubbock native, also 53.

So if you love Texas, they say, be fixin' to say "naht" for "night," "rahd" for "ride" and "raht" for right."

And by all means say "all" for "oil."

In addition to quickly becoming enamored of Western garb like cowboy boots and hats, big-buckled belts, western shirts and vests, newcomers to the state  and there are a lot of them are especially likely to adopt the lingo pronto.

At the same time, the speech of rural and urban Texans is diverging, Dr. Bailey said. Texans in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio are sounding more like other Americans and less like their fellow Texans in Iraan, Red Lick or Old Glory.

Indeed, Dr. Tillery and Dr. Bailey wrote in a recent paper called "Texas English," a new dialect of Southern American English may be emerging on the West Texas plains. It is not what a linguist might expect, they wrote, "but this is Texas, and things are just different here."

The changes are being tracked by researchers for the two San Antonio linguists, who are working with scholars from Oklahoma State University and West Texas A&M in Canyon, outside Amarillo, under the sponsorship of the National Geographic Society. They divided Texas into 116 squares and are interviewing four native Texans spanning four age groups from the 20's to the 80's, in each.

As part of the latest effort, two master's students in linguistics from the University of North Texas at Denton, Amanda Aguilar, 24, and Brooke Earheardt, 23, arranged recently to record Mr. Greer, 70, as he responded to an exhaustive 31-page questionnaire.

Ms. Aguilar first probed some of Mr. Greer's attitudes toward Texas. Was it a barren state?

"It's in the ahs of the beholder," responded Mr. Greer, who was born in Port Arthur. The state, he said, was "dee-vahded, you kin almost draw a lahn."

Was it a progressive state?

"Compared to who?" he said. "Califohnia? Baghdad? Ah'd have to say Texas is a progressive state."

Distinctive?

"Most are distinctive in their own way," he said, smiling, "with the possible exception of Ah-wah." (That was Iowa.)

Next Ms. Aguilar quizzed Mr. Greer on a lexicon of Texas words and phrases. Had he ever heard the expression "y'all?"

Of course. "Ah think `you' sometimes just duddn't work bah itself."

Could you use it for just one person?

"Ah would trah to confahn it to the plural," he said. "It's just like `youse guys.' "

Had he heard "fixin' to?"

Of course again. " `Ahma' often goes with it," he said. "Ahma fixin' to go."

The questions and Mr. Greer's answers kept coming. A dragonfly? That's a "miskeeta hahk." A wishbone was a "pulleybone." A cowboy's rope was a lasso or a lariat, or just a "ropin' rope." A drought was worse than a "drah spell"; no rain, or "it haddn for a long tahm." You wait "for" a friend who haddn shown up, but you wait "on" someone who is nearby and delayed, perhaps upstairs putting on makeup.

Afterward, Ms. Aguilar and Ms. Earheardt said that Mr. Greer, though white, employed some noticeable African-American and Deep South speech patterns. There were also Spanish influences, common in Texas, where Spanish was widely spoken for nearly a hundred years before English.

Dr. Tillery and Dr. Bailey warned that it was possible to exaggerate the distinctiveness of Texas English because the state loomed so large in the popular imagination. Few speech elements here do not also appear elsewhere. Advertisement

"Nevertheless," they wrote in their paper on Texas English, "in its mix of elements both from various dialects of English and from other languages, TXE is in fact somewhat different from other closely related varieties."

Perhaps the most striking finding, Dr. Tillery said, was the spread of the humble "y'all," ubiquitous in Texas as throughout the South. Y'all, once "you all" but now commonly reduced to a single word, sometimes even spelled "yall," is taking the country by storm, the couple reported in an article written with Tom Wikle of Oklahoma State University and published in 2000 in the Journal of English Linguistics. No one other word, it turns out, can do the job.

"Y'all" and "fixin' to" were also spreading fast among newcomers within the state, they said, particularly those who regard Texas fondly. Use of the flat `I,' they found, also correlated strikingly to a favorable view of Texas.

But they found some curious anomalies, as well.

One traditional feature of Texas and Southern speech  pronouncing the word "pen" like "pin," known as the pen/pin merger  is disappearing in the big Texas cities, while remaining common in rural areas, Dr. Tillery said. Texans in the prairie may shell out "tin cints," but not their metropolitan brethren.

Urban Texas is abandoning the "y" sound after "n," "d" and "t," exchanging dipthongs for monophthongs. So folks in the cities read a "noospaper" what their rural counterparts call a "nyewspaper." They'll hum a "tyewn" on the range, a "toon" in Houston. The upgliding dipthong, too, is an endangered species in the cities, where a country "dawg" is just a dog.

Why city Texans, more than country folk, should disdain to write with a "pin" is not clear, although it seems that some pronunciations carry a stigma of unsophistication while others do not.

It was such mixed patterns that suggested the emergence of a new dialect on the West Texas plains, Dr. Tillery said.

Other idiosyncrasies have all but vanished over time. Texans for the most part no longer pray to the "Lard," replacing the "o" with an "a," or "warsh" their clothes. How the interloping "r" crept in remains an especially intriguing question, Dr. Bailey said. Trying to trace the peculiarity, he asked Texans to name the capital of the United States, often drawing the unhelpful answer "Austin."

The opposite syndrome, known as r-lessness, which renders "four" as "foah" in Texas and elsewhere, is easier to trace, Dr. Bailey said. In the early days of the republic, plantation owners sent their children to England for schooling. "They came back without the `r,' " he said.

"The parents were saying, listen to this, this is something we have to have, so we'll all become r-less," he said. The craze went down the East Coast from Boston to Virginia (skipping Philadelphia, for some reason) and migrating selectively around the country.

Other common Texas locutions that replace an "s" with a "d"  "bidness" for "business," "waddn" for "wasn't"  are simply matters of mechanical efficiency, Dr. Bailey said. "With `n' and `d' the tongue stays in the same position," he said. "It's ease of articulation."

So even "fixin' to" becomes "fidden to" or "fith'n to." And fixin' to where did that come from, anyway?

"Who knows?" Dr. Bailey said.

Funny. :)
A few years ago a brother from the real state of Texas visited the assembly occasionally. Whenever he read a passage of Scripture I had the distinct feeling that he was reading a Tamil or a Hebrew translation or some other language that I did not understand.
Maybe what they intend to say is, "We are the only country in the Industrialized world."
Did you know that the US gallon is smaller than the British gallon? No wonder all those poor gas station attendants were confused. BTW now-a-days the low price for gas is 57.9 cents(CDN) a liter; it usually runs around 70 cents/liter.

Ah yes! Good ole Arnold has decided to give grants to those who film in California rather than Vancouver or Toronto Canada where it is cheaper. The Californians should be out of the red soon enough.

I always wondered that too. But then Toronto faces the same dilemna, and they are Canadians.
Jem, do you live in the mountains then? Do you have to use chains on your tires in the winter?

I live in the Appalachian mountains which, coming from California where they have real mountains, appear more like pimples.  We are up round 3,500 feet.

I figured out shortly after I moved here, that if I don't buy a house built atop of one of these pimples, that I can get around just fine with a front wheel drive car with studded snow tires.  I even drove home on the unmaintained (in winter) Blue Ridge Parkway.

The one down side of this county is that they have a policy of poor road conditions anywhere in the county, then all the county schools are closed.  So, we get LOTS of snow days (one days when it seems fine) and summer break is very short.

As for Canada:  I enjoyed the three times I traveled to Canada.  I admit being surprised when asked if I want gravy on my french fries, but it does make sense when you think about it.

Canadians are nice people.  This is illustrated by one of their odd rules in Canada league football.  If a team makes the field goal, they get three points.  If they miss, they still get a point - "That was a nice try.  Hey, let me give you a point."

Note on metric system:  I'm used to the English system.  It was a good first try based upon simply cutting things in half.  But, someone figured out that we have ten fingers and started utilizing the decimal system.  The latter is easier in making conversions, representation on computers (decimals are easier to work with than fractions in the digital world), and the naming convention is more intuitive.  Making freezing 0C instead of 32F was probably not a bad idea either.

Dave---

It must be great to be a kicker in the Canadian
football league with the score tied, and 5 seconds
left in the game. They send you out to kick a field goal and you get  carried off the field on everyone's shoulders whether you make it or miss it. Do they also have "do overs" if you screw up a play?

--Joe

The English System rocks, who needs that metric garbage.  For one thing, the units relate closely to us humans, and being that God was the one who designed us, I would much rather use units based on God's design than the ungodly metric system.

For example 1 degree Fahrenheit is approximately the smallest temperature differential that a human can detect if one was to put a finger in two different temperatures of liquid.  It's a real human degree based on God's creation, not man's invention.  And why chose the freezing point of water to be what 0 degrees is based or the boiling point of water to be what 100 degrees is based on.  By doing so people assume that something is magic about 100 degrees and something is magic about water, just like a lot of people think the number 10 is special because we chose base 10 to represent numbers by.

And what is this meter and centimeter garbage all about?  The centimeter is too small for me, and the meter is too large!  I can measure inches by the width of my thumbs, and feet by the length of my feet (okay my feet are only 11 1/2 inches, but with my shoes it is 12).  And what can I easily divide a centimeter by in the wonderful base 10 system, 2 and 5 (okay, 1 and 10 also).  But with the foot, I can easily divide it by 2, 3, 4, or even 6 if I so chose.  And how convenient is it that my average highway driving speed is 60 MPH, and there are 60 minutes in an hour.  It makes it so easy to estimate trip times.  Let's just hope that those metric worshipers don't try to pervert time to base 10, I like 1/3 of a day for work, 1/3 of a day for sleep, and 1/3 of a day for reading www.assemblyboard.com. :)  And why do some people use grads to measure angles?  If they want to be real base 10ers shouldn't there be 100 degrees in a circle not in 90 degrees?  Why use a hybrid of quarters and base 10 unless the wonderful base 10 system is defective?  I am just thankful that most of us still use degrees, minutes, and seconds.

And I really hate this liter garbage.  A cup is the volume of the glass I use to drink from.  Perhaps, I should use a quarter liter, no that doesn't sound base 10ish enough.  And would you rather have someone pour you a pint (preferably an imperial pint), or pour you a 500ml?  I like buying a gallon of milk, it is just the right size, why would I want to buy 3.785 or 4 liters.  And why do we have 2 liter bottles of soda, has the movement to the ungodly metric system already begun even here?  But I still haven't figured how to fit 10 gallons in my 10 gallon hat.

And why do metric-ers prefer "fuel economy" over "mileage".  I want to know how many gallons of fuel it takes me to go a given number of miles, and if I was interested in economy should't I factor in the price of the gas.  And what is this useless liters/100km garbage, why do I need to worry about a factor of 100. And shouldn't the number that represents fuel economy increase as fuel economy increases?  It comes as no surprise that these metric guys have things backwards.  Say no to metric, just give me plain old MPG any day!

And you say that decimal is easier for representations on computers.  Well if modern American computers use base 2, then wouldn't the good old English system work just fine, after all my vernier calipers quickly measures inches in units of 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, and 1/128, all denominators being powers of 2!  And powers of 2 are easily decipherable from binary representation on computers.  And what does my metric centimeter vernier scale read, only in units if 1/10, and 1/100 (ugh).  Much less straightforward to represent in binary then powers of 2.

The next thing you know people will want to put 10 bases on a baseball diamond, or will it be a baseball decagon. Maybe 10 strikes and I am out? When will this madness stop?!?

The only positive thing that I have to say about the metric system is that it is easier to walk a kilometer in someone else's shoes than it is to walk a mile in them, and I would hate to have to walk a mile in the "metric life" shoe. ;D

The Rockies are real mountains.
Computers really aren't all that adept at base 10.  It works nicely for a unit system because that is how we represent our numbers.  The computer does most stuff (these days) in base 2, which divides by 2 very easily (like dividing by 10 in decimal).

Just think if we had 3 fingers on each hand, like in the cartoons.  Everything might be in base 6, then.

So are kickoffs still from the 35 yard line, or now from the 32.004 meter line? :)

Down with metric!

Note to David:  Yes, I know about hex, octal and binary - I started my career as a machine language programmer.  I was just saying it is easier to store 1.783 in a computer that 2 11/16.

Canada Football:  For some reason, if I recall, they do use yards.  I wasn't sure why.  I think the league is at least 50 years old.  Was Canada using the English system back then?

Only 3 downs, not 4.  The defense also lines up farther back so if you need, say, a yard, it's pretty much a given that you'll get it.

One more question on the field goal rule.  It was explained to me that they would get the point not if they tackle the guy, but if the opposing team fails to get the ball out of the end zone for any reason.  So if the kicker misses the field goal, but kicks it beyond the end zone, doesn't this also merit a point?

THE RULES for CFL Canuck Football League
http://www.cfl.ca/CFLRulebook/home.html

Scoring: http://www.cfl.ca/CFLRulebook/rule_3.html
Article 2: Field Goal
A field goal is scored by a drop kick or place kick (except on a kick-off) when the ball, after being kicked and without again touching the ground goes over the cross bar and between the goal posts (or goal posts produced) of the opponent's goal.
The ball shall be dead immediately when it crosses the cross bar.
After a field goal the team scored against may kick-off or scrimmage the ball as first down at its own 35 yard line or require the scoring team to kick-off from its 35 yard line.
AR Team A attempts a field goal. After the ball is kicked and before crossing the line of scrimmage it touches or is touched by a player of either team and then proceeds through the uprights and over the crossbar in flight. Ruling - Field Goal.
AR Team A attempts a field goal. After the ball has crossed the line of scrimmage it touches or is touched by a Team B player before it proceeds through the uprights and above the crossbar in flight. Ruling - Field Goal.

Retread et al

The population of the USA(aka Texas) is 10 times that of Canada. I think that California (or is it the greater LA area ???) has a population the size of Canada's. The logistics of converting to metric is phenominal in a country as large as the US of A, and where Californians do not like to be told what to do (like wear helmets when they ride their motorcycles). So... we are just ahead of your time in that area. ;)

Do you have 'palm' Christmas trees in the southern states?

Dave S - machine language programming... Wow! I remember that. Did you have to use punched cards as well, and "drum line printers"? And a 'slide rule' to figure out logs?

Lord bless,
Marcia

But yet in the US we measure blood pressure in millimeters of mercury, have 2 liter soda bottles, and use litres for engine displacement rather than cubic inches. But I am still thankful that the US is not ahead of their time in the decay of measurement to the inferior metric system.  My condolences go out to you Canadians.


At least in California we have "Real" Christmas trees.  The only difference is that the temperature is not cold enough to kill off all the cute little spiders and insects that inhabit the tress when we bring them in our homes.  And how do you fit a Christmas tree in your igloo anway? :)

From the Simpsons episode "A Star is Burns":
Grampa Simpson: "The metric system is the tool of the devil!  My car gets forty rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it."

Just in case there are any Simpsons fans out there:

http://manyhands.ivotedforkodos.com/~bbaumer/php/simpsons/sounds/grandpa/40rods.wav (http://manyhands.ivotedforkodos.com/~bbaumer/php/simpsons/sounds/grandpa/40rods.wav)

Answer to Marcia:
I was in high school/college during the calculator revolution, but before the PC revolution.  In high school I could use the new HP scientific calculator if I first mastered the slide rule.

Yes.  I did my share of punch cards as well as the more "advanced" line editors.  I remember seeing for the first time Digital's keypad editor and I thought it was the greatest thing I ever saw.

We would run our punch card through the machine and within a couple of hours, our program listing would spit out the window and I would discover the missing comma.

One time, one of the more "advanced" moble printers ran out of paper and we discovered that the industrial paper towel rolls from the bathroom worked just fine.

To others:
Speaking of Christmas trees, NC is a large producer.  Our neighboring county Ashe County provides the tree for the white house each year.  Buying a fake one is kind of like spitting on the flag around here.

TV trivia;
Hugh Beaumont, ( Ward Clever, from LEAVE IT TO BEAVER) moved north to become a Christmas tree farmer after the show was cancelled.

Hey Dave:
do you remember the Texas Instruments  SR-50??!! I was one of the first on campus to own one!!  8)

Verne

You must be thinking of the TI SR-50.  HP made a couple of similar cool calculators back in the good old days as well, but I could never afford them, the HP 35 and the HP 21.  The one I always wanted was the HP 29C (or even the HP 65), but I couldn't afford these at the time either so I ended up with a TI 58 that I found on sale (still not a bad calculator).  Ah memories, now I am going to have to go look on eBay for a 29C.

Now if you want to talk about primitive electronic calculators, I still have a working six digit RPN calculator (National Semiconductor) with a stack depth of one and no floating point.  Please don't ask me what I paid for this marvel of technology (actually is was very reasonably priced for a calculator at that time).

Yes! Yes indeed! It was made by Texas Instruments! It says so right on the calculator!   :)  Thanks for the correction Retread...such a long time ago.... ;)
 I also still have a fully functonal HP 11C...gotta love that reverse Polish notation...




I still have mine. When I was a first year graduate student on a whim I called up Texas Instruments to ask about getting a new battery pack for it and they breathlessly wrote back to tell me they would send me brand new one of the latest models if only I would sent my SR-50 in. (can you believe it that the SR stood for slide rule???!!!)
Hmmmnnn...I wondered what the excitement over what was clearly a dinosaur was all about...I wonder what it's worth today..?  ;D
Verne

Okay, now I am jealous, the 11C is a great calculator.  However, the one that I really wanted was the 16C.  It was the same style as the 11C, and had the capability to use binary, octal, and hexadecimal as well as good old decimal.  By the time I went to buy one they were discontinued, so I bought a Sharp EL-545 calculator that also works with these different bases of numbers (this is the main calculator that I use today). However the Sharp lacks all the fancy bit logic, bit shifting and bit masking operations available on the HP.  The HP was even able to work with 1's complement, 2's compliment and unsigned arithmetic. It was the perfect accessory for the assembly language programmer.   Now, I am going to have to go on eBay and look for a 16C as well.  Actually the HP 16C may be my all time favorite calculator.

Interestingly enough the HP 12C (a financial calculator of the same style as the 11C and 16C and from the same era) is still in production today (over 20 years after initial introduction).  I guess that more people must be interested in financial operations than in bit level operations. :(

Can you still really get an HP 12C?? Whoa... Nelly!! I am going to have to get me one of those!!
Verne
p.s should make a nice companion for my 11C don't you think?  ;D

You may have to act quickly to get an original version of the 12C.  The last time I checked (about a month ago), I saw two versions of the 12C, the original brown and gold one, and a newer silver one with new functions and the ability to use algebraic notation in addition to RPN.

I have an HP 15C that I used in the Civil Engineering program at Cal Poly SLO.  I loved it then, and I still use it, but since I'm not in engineering I just use it to balance my checkbook and calculate sales tax for my business.  I actually prefer the RPN over the 'normal' way, but it's no big deal.

Jack

I found a site that was selling factory refurbished ones and immediately snapped one up. The new platinum model looks pretty snazzy but I wanted the original model...sentiimental I guess...
Verne

I have an HP 49G sitting right in front of me.  The first thing I did when I got it home was disable the stupid "algebraic" mode, so I could use the reason I bought it: RPN.

The software calculator I use on the computer is also RPN.

Interestingly enough, one of HP's oldest calculators (I believe their third model) came only with algebraic entry (this was a $5,000 calculator that took a lot of desk space).  The started using RPN in later calculators because people preferred it.

Now that TI has taken over the calculator world, RPN is hard to find.  HP did finally come out with a new calculator, but I haven't seen it yet.  I will probably get one at some point.

Now here I go drooling again.  The newer one is the HP 49G+ (made by Kinpo Electronics, and sold by HP).  It is supposed to be 4 to 7 times faster than the 49G, accepts SD memory cards, has USB and IR connectivity.  This may well be the most powerful calculator available today.  But still I really don't need that type of sophistication, and would take a 16C over the 49G+ any day.  The 16C was definitely a unique calculator.

Two questions:
1. What is RPN? (please forgive my abysmal ignorance!)
2. What does all this have to do with "Where are they now?"  ;D

Lord bless!
H

Stephen, the Davids, Verne, Retread and assorted other braniac geeks  ;D,

Thought you'd find this interesting:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031211/ap_on_hi_te/biggest_prime_number_9 (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031211/ap_on_hi_te/biggest_prime_number_9)

Newly discovered prime number. What's interesting is how they found it. Seems they are using the pc's more and more for large date searches these days (SETI, number searches, etc).

Kinda cool

Scott

PS - Can't get that link to stay whole. You might have to cut and paste.

You sound more likely to be a believer in "devolution".  I am a strong believer in this.  Basically it states that over time, things get worse and worse.  If you don't come in with the standard evolutionary bias, the response is usually, "Duh."

Man's arrogance claims that we are smarter than we've ever been.  Collectively, yes, but there are also a lot of us.  But just watch Southern Califorian's trying to drive in the rain.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031211/ap_on_hi_te/biggest_prime_number_9 (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031211/ap_on_hi_te/biggest_prime_number_9)

looks like this got the link working. you have to hit the 'Insert Hyperlink' button and put those url brackets around the whole link. i'll take the liberty of doing so to your original post.

and the guy in the article is right on. finding a prime number millions of digits long is really awesome, but the way they linked up hundreds of thousands of regular ole pcs from all over the world to compute this is far more interesting. distributed computing power steadily approaches the computing power of the 'neural network' in the human brain. what happens when computer catch up to us in thinking power will doubtlessly revolutionize our long-standing perceptions of the human soul. some experts give the projected date for reaching that threshold within the next 10-20 years. personally, i look forward to the day the first computer asks us where it came from. interesting times ahead...

brian

Hey, B! Of course I didn't mean to leave you out of the Braniac/Geek category! ;D

Read another article today that stated someone succeeded in capturing light for a fraction of a second. Another tiny step towards quantum computing and AI.

Alas, if only I know what that REALLY meant! ;)

S

Marcia,

I the article you posted, it said,

"So even "fixin' to" becomes "fidden to" or "fith'n to." And fixin' to where did that come from, anyway?

"Who knows?" Dr. Bailey said.

Well, I knows.

Fixin' to came in through the kitchen door.  In the American South people used to say I am going to fix dinner.  What fix means in that context is "prepare", as in "I am going to prepare dinner".

So, I'm fixin' to go home simply means I am preparing to go go home.

I was born in the great state of Texas, but a lack of jobs brought my family to California when I was a toddler.  
I grew up surrounded by Texans, (except for my Dad, who was born in Oklahoma).  He grew up in Texas though.

I heard Texas twang day and night, plus we watched country music tv shows and listened to country music on the radio.

I speak standard English, mostly, but I do like a good lively "toon" and sometimes read "noospapers".  I stayed in a HOtel last summer.

I really do not like to watch WWF "rasslin" on TV at all.

A few years ago I visited my uncle in east Texas.  (that is near China I hear)  After a few days in that speech enviroment I called home and left a message on the machine at my house.  My wife played it for the kids when they came over..."Hey listen to Dad, can you believe this?"

Seems my speech patterns go south whenver I get around those folks.

The folks that wrote that article haven't seen much of Texas.  Most folks think it is barren because they have just seen the far western part, or the part US40 goes through.

In the middle there is a huge region called the "hill country" Rolling hills covered with woods...beautiful.

Down east near "loosiana" is the "Piney Woods" region.  Rolling hills covered with pine forests.  It's all second growth nowdays, but in my grandfather's day the trees were huge original growth.  A far cry from barren flatlands that most think of when they see the word Texas.

If you ever saw the movie, "Leap of Faith" with Steve Martin you have seen the town I was born in.  "Rustwater Kansas" was actually Plainview, Texas.  They still have "Rustwater Tigers" painted on the water tower.  (The place is so flat that every town has to have a water tower so you can get some water pressure.)

In case you haven't heard of Plainview, (though I can't imagine how anyone doesn't know of such a metropolis), it is 27 miles west of Floydada, and about 30 miles east of Matador.

God bless,

Tawm Mayadux

     Cathy worked for Gospel Light Publications when we were newlyweds, and they sent her to IBM school back in the days of punchcards.  In early December the GLP staff would take big stacks of used punch cards into the break room, bend them and fasten them together in the shape of a large three-dimensional circle, then spray paint them green and add glitter and ribbons.  Every associate got to take home one of these wreaths for their front doors.

     In high school we used slide rules.  They were the only "calculators" we had, and we thought ourselves pretty speedy with them.  Tom Maddux must have used one, too, but I suspect his from West Texas was much larger than ours in Ohio. :D

al

I still wear my slide rule watch.  It was intended for estimating things when flying in airplaines.  As such, it has markers for things like weights of gasoline and oil, and it is convenient for doing speed-distance calculations.

Years ago, perhaps it was in high school, I used to carry around a pocket sized primitive mechanical adding machine with metal sliders for digits, and a table of 4 place logarithms so that I could multiply by adding logs together.  Later, a small pocket sized circular slide rule replaced the adder.  When HP first came out with an electronic pocket calculator, my father bought one.  I think it was an HP-45.  Some electronic desktop calculators that I remember seeing at school or work at various times and places were: an HP-9900, I think (the number may be off), it had a small CRT display of the 4 numbers on the stack; a Wang calculator that had a briefcase sized electronics package that connected to 4 desktop keyboards with nixie displays so that 4 people could use it at the same time; then there were the Compucorp programmable printing calculators that had a surprisingly effective programming language that we students had fun programming; another of similar capabilities was made by Olivetti that had a large box for the electronics.  (The above calculators aren't in the correct chronological order, but my memory of time and dates is rather poor, so I probably wouldn't be able to sort them correctly anyway.)

My first electronic pocket calculator was a Sharp with an LCD display and scientific functions.  I couldn't justify the expense of an HP calculator nor carrying around something expensive that could be lost, stolen or damaged.  It was when I needed a programmable calculator for engineering work that I finally bought an HP-25, then a few years later an HP-29C which had continuous memory.  The present ubiquity of computers almost makes scientific calculators irrelevant, although several years ago I bought an HP-42S since it could do matrix and complex arithmetic.  I didn't see any reason to get the fancier model since complicated problems are better done with a real computer.

With all of this calculator nostalgia, I got motivated to pull out my old Sharp PC-1211.  I was shocked to find out that the mercury batteries that it needs are not available due to environmental concerns with mercury. :(  I tried putting in some zinc air batteries (with similar voltage to mercury), and although they worked, I only got a few minutes use before the batteries died.  The PC-1211 was about the size of a handheld calculator, but was programmable in BASIC with a QWERTY keyboard and a 24 character display.  I will now resume my search for a better battery.

When the NiCad battery pack in my HP-29C died, I replaced it with a 6800 microfarad capacitor in parallel with a string of 6 assorted voltage-limiting diodes.  That way the calculator could be powered with the AC adapter.

When my Rector AC29 multi-functuator cribitarized, I replaced the coaxial unicator mode functional doxicator with a 13/32 node reculcating fimstinator. ;D ;D. People thought I had gone nuts and asked why I hadn't simply rekeyed the 15 tone humpcocapitulator like any normal person would do. To this day I'm not sure why either. But every time I juxtaposition the pre-fab modulator in my hybrid tribunal gropholocator I think of that!! LOL  ;D ;D
But we live and learn. :D

--Joe

*errk* *agh* MUST . . . NOT . . . TEASE. . . THE NERDS!!!!!!

 8) ;D

Just kidding, guys. Last resort of the intellectually inferior (but much better looking) masses! ;)

Speaking of calculators, I just finished ghetto rigging my 10 MHZ TI-89 to accept a "memory upgrade" from RAM i stripped out of several TI-83+'s........now I can install my personal recode of BeOS and play nethack  8).  

it is truly amazing the things you can do with cardboard, duct tape, and a soldering kit
--
lucas

I just use PocketRogue on my Palm (there is also a Nethack palm project underway).  I have seen an early Nethack on an iPaq (nice), but I haven't gone the WinCE route yet.

whoa! I remember playing Rouge on my first UNIX box  ::)  now that is true old school. (nethack is still better  ;) )

--
lucas

I still prefer the old rogue with the double haste bug (somewhere around 1980 if I recall correctly - it was included with BSD 4.2).  I could regularly get in and out even without double haste.  Although I do like the "Shift" and "Ctrl" moves of the newer rogues (definitely speeds up the game). The deepest I got was somewhere in the 700s - I was trying for level (or should I say depth) 1000 when the game crashed. :(  Eventually I got bored and hacked the encrypted wizard's password for some testing of theories.  You still can't go wrong with the original. Ah, the good old days.

I assume that it was the same reason that a lot of cartoon characters would use base 8.

To be annoyingly technical - I would hold that it is the (under peaceful conditions) religious
leaders who choose the numeration system of the 'culture'.

--
lucas

Canada is ok, but they seriously need to recognize that they are a member of the North American continent and not the European Union. I'm absolutely amazed at how often they'll side with Europe over the US. Then they have the nerve to give us madcow. Thanks a lot Canada!!!  >:(  >:(  :)  :)

     Thanks to the latest scientific development, that is no longer the problem it was.  Researchers have not eliminated Mad Cow, but they have managed to dilute it extremely, so that now we're merely dealing with Miffed Cow.

 ;)al

Hugh---

I took the test twice. First time 3 out of 10. Second time 6 out of time. I guess I don't know much abooot
Canadians.

--Joe

Hugh, Not to Gloat  or go too far off the subject ,but its a sunny 73 degrees right now at the beach where I currently live and Yes I did drive with the Top down in my convertable this weekend ...all the LA traffic and smog is truly worth it...besides the Coast usually has pretty good air quality...we've dropped to 40 a couple of times this winter...thats above zero...my kids think its freezing...ha.I did visit Canada once for the World Expo in Vancouver BC very nice...

Huh?

I always thought that Canada was the world's longest outdoor skating rink.  

Thomas Maddux

Do you ride around in Bobsleds up there???

Thanks Hugh..that site is Amazing I want to go Dog Sledding and or Mushing whats the difference??? I 've seen the Itorod races and always thought they were very Radical...Also the Snow Mobiling Bridges look like alot of fun..Its Absolutly Beautiful up there...I'm getting jealous!!!

Chuck Shepherd's News of the Weird (.831)
WEEK OF JANUARY 11, 2004

Compelling Explanations

Timothy Paul Kootenay, 43, jailed in Aspen, Colo., in November on a California warrant for probation violation, said he would fight extradition on the ground that he is a citizen of the notorious "Republic of Texas" and that, actually, Aspen and Vail are located on a sliver of land that is also part of the Texas nation. Kootenay's separatist colleagues (some of whom have taken up arms) believe that Texas was never legally annexed by the United States and is thus a sovereign nation that should respond only to international law. [Aspen Daily News, 11-19-03]

 ;D ;D ;D

And why not???

After all, North America is merely a county of Texas.

We could raise a batallion from Ottowa, Texas, or maybe San Luis Obispo, Texas. ;)

Osama Ben Bedsheet is in big trouble...he forgot about DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS.

Tom

I didn't think it would take long for you to respond to that! ;D

Did you see the History Channel special on the "true" history of the Alamo? Pretty good. The movie is due out soon.

Scott,

I don't have cable, so I don't usually see what is on the cable channels.

However, I am familiar with revisionist history, including that concerning the Alamo.

The problem with the Alamo story is that the few sources we have tell different stories.  Some say Santa Ana had 12,000 troops, some say as few as 3,000.

The Mexican version says Davy Crockett was captured trying to hide and was shot while begging for mercy.

The Texan version says he died heroically after killing 1,325,975,226 Mexicans with his bare hands.  

The Mexican version is more likely true since there were no witnesses on the Texan side that survived the battle...one woman survived but was inside a building and couldn't see anything.

Whatever happened, a few weeks later Santa Ana ordered General Cos to execute all the prisoners from Goliad...so they took them out in groups of 25 and shot them.  Over 250 men if I recollect correctly.

A few weeks later Houston surprised Santa Ana's army WHILE THEY WERE TAKING A SIESTA IN THE PRESENCE OF HOUSTON'S ARMY!!!!!

Of course, Santa Ana was busy in his tent with the Yellow Rose of Texas.  (note for the benefit of Canadians... that wasn't a flower)

Thomas Maddux

Hugh---

I'm beginning to know a little bit more abooot Canada since I have continued to take the "test" you gave us the link to. The Mackenzie River is the longest river in Canada. Garneau was the first Canadian in space.
Another thing I was totally unaware of was the fact that in Canada as in the U.S. when you see a goose it's a goose, but more than one is geese. But in Canada a moose is a moose, but more than one is meese. I had never realized that that was the case.
"Look at those meese" a Canadian would say. I'm really learning a lot There is a Sperling, Manitoba in Canada with a population of 700. So, I'm also related to several Canadians. Well, gotta go take the test again. I got an 8 out of 10 my last try. :D

take care,  Joe

Canadian Temperature Guide


50° Fahrenheit (10° C)
Californians shiver uncontrollably,
Canadians plant gardens.


35° Fahrenheit (1.6° C)
Italian cars won't start,
Canadians drive with the windows down.


32° Fahrenheit (0° C)
American water freezes,
Canadian water gets thicker.


0° Fahrenheit (-17.9° C)
New York City landlords finally turn on the heat,
Canadians have the last barbecue of the season.


-60° Fahrenheit (-51° C)
Mt. St. Helens freezes,
Canadians Girl Guides sell cookies door to door.


-100° Fahrenheit (-73° C)
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole,
Ottawa canal opens for skating.


-173° Fahrenheit (-114° C)
Ethyl alcohol freezes,
Canadians get frustrated when they can't thaw the keg.


-460° Fahrenheit (-273° C)
Absolute zero; all atomic motion stops,
Canadians start saying "cold eh?"


-500° Fahrenheit (-295° C)
Hell freezes over,
Leafs win Stanley Cup

Nothing like a coffee and donut from Tim Hortons.( former Toronto Maple Leaf defenseman who was killed when he wrapped his muscle car around a tree in 71-72. No other Proffessional athletes franchise ever had the success of Hortons

Dead Sea Scrolls on display here at the Museum of Civilization.

So far  40,000 people have viewed them in the short time they are here. I guess people are more interested in the Bible and its manuscripts than some think.

If you come up this week to Ottawa I suggest you make plans to see them.

Hugh :o

;D 8) ::) :-*Hugh: just took a stroll through the web site:
what a powerful gift, to make people laugh. Marcia I love the fact that we Canadians are a hearty bunch.
It can be 40 below whether it is 40C or 40F. We will stay say it is just chilly.
I remember as a child in Sandpoint, some tourist from the neighbour country below, with skis and ski poles on the roof of their car, in the middle of July. Looking for snow.
The map of Ontario, the most southern tip of Ontario is near the same latitude line as the northern tip of California.  
When we go to places like Florida in the middle of winter, we wear shorts, t-shirts, come back tanned.
Canadians have their GIDDAY's, SEE YA LATER's, HEY's,
we barbeque in the winter, we can ski year round, on the water in the summer, we boast about the longest skating rink on the Rideau Canal, We complain for some heat in the middle of January , then wish for it in the middle of July.  We can complain of all rain we get in April, wish for it in August. I seen someone complaining of mad cow disease in the animals. It is did not originate in Canada. But look at all the diseases that are migrating north. LIME DISEASE, Racoon Rabies,  WEST NILE VIRUS MOSQUITOS, HEARTWORM, earwings, etc,.etc. etc... I guess the Canadian Border,  welcomes all species. in our multiculturalism., I guess with all those gifts from the south of the border, we had to repay it somehow, the mad cow was just handy.
We get American television, with the American values, mixed in with our British culture and values. So we had to send back a British animal disease.
What about all those great stars we are giving to the American television. . There is Peter Jennings at ABC
there is Alex trebec on Jeopardy, There is Celine Dion, Mike Myers, etc, etc. etc. etc.  So I guess it is a fair exchange, You give us American shows, we give you the Canadian stars. What else? Oh yes we train our doctors, our nurses, our actors,  then they go and practice down across the border aiding our neighbours need for medical personal, and entertainment. So as far as the North American continent goes, it is share and share alike , including animal disease, insect diseases, entertainment, and human resources.
So Canada has the cold weather, at least we can survive a good Canadian winder blast. Well maybe sometimes./ ;D ;D ;D ::) ::) :)

Thanks for the laugh.

Lenore:

The Series of the Century is about to begin.

Ok everybody who's gonna win the big Lord Stanley Cup. Is is the lads from down under in Tampa Bay or the yougins from Calgary Albirda. What'll it be eh! Check the game out tonight and see the details online later. I fer one 'spect Calgary will give them Lightnings some lessons from their flames. They don't call them the Calgary Flames for nuttin you know. So get your Tim Horton double double and enjoy a box of them thar donuts and enjoy. I am hopin for Calgary to win it for the northland.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/playoffs/

Hugh ;D

 :)JUNE 4: 11:44 PM

ANOTHER SERIES HAS STARTED:

CANADIAN IDOL:

WHO IS GOING TO WIN THIS YEAR? OKAY WHO VOTED LAST YEAR?

Were is Ryan Malcolm now?


I heard Fantastia won the American Idol?

Do any of you south of the border get Canadian Idol?or is it only us Canadian get to watch both our Canadian Idol, and the American Idol?

 :D :D :D :):

JULY 1ST CANADA DAY
JULY 4TH INDEPENDENCE DAY

SINCE BOTH OUR COUNTRIES CELEBRATE THEIR BIRTHDAYS WITHIN ABOUT 3 DAYS OF EACH OTHER. ;D

HOW ABOUT USING SOME OF THIS TIME, AND SPACE,  :o

IN REFLECTING SOME MEMORIES. :) ;)

WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORIAL TIMES YOU HAVE HAD DURING ONE OF YOUR COUNTRY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION. :D

CANADA IS FROM 1867 -
USA IS FROM 1776-


SO LETS CELEBRATE OUR NATION OR NATIONS BIRTHDAY. :D :D :D

LETS TALK OKAY.  8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

WHO IS GOING TO START THE CONVERSATION????? ::) ::)



LETS CELEBRATE: :) CELEBRATIONS COME ON. :)

 :)IT IS TIME TO PARTY CANADA;

JULY 1ST IS CANADA DAY.

CANADA IS 137 YEARS YOUNG.

CANADA : THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND THIS LAND IS MY LAND FROM BONAVISTA TO VANCOUVER ISLAND, FROM THE ARCTIC CIRCLE TO THE GREAT LAKE WATERS,
THIS LAND BELONGS TO YOU AND ME.


O CANADA , OUR HOME AND NATIVE LAND.

 ;D

RAISING MY CUP TO MY AMERICAN NEIGHBOURS ON THEIR BIRTHDAY :
FOURTH OF JULY


ALSO WISHING EVERYONE A GOOD LORD'S DAY TOO.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

May you be blessed and serve as a light to other nations in darkness.

Happy Independence Day

Hugh

 :DJULY 23RD AT 11:32 PM

RECEIVED THIS ARTICLE VIA EMAIL

Building the Ark 2004

It is the year 2004 and Noah lives in the United States. The Lord speaks
to Noah and says: "In one year I am going to make it rain and cover the
whole earth with water until all is destroyed. But I want you to save the
righteous people and two of every kind of living thing on the earth.

Therefore, I am commanding you to build an Ark." In a flash of lightning,
God delivered the specifications for an Ark.

Fearful and trembling, Noah took the plans and agreed to build the Ark.

"Remember," said the Lord, "You must complete the Ark and bring
everything aboard in one year."

Exactly one year later, a fierce storm cloud covered the earth and all
the of the earth went into a tumult. The Lord saw Noah sitting in his
front yard, weeping.

Noah." He shouted, "Where is the Ark?"

Lord please forgive me!" cried Noah. "I did my best, but there were big
problems" "First, I had to get a permit for construction and your plans
did not comply with the codes. I had to hire an engineering firm and
redraw the plans. Then, I got into a fight with OSHA over whether or not
the Ark needed a fire sprinkler system and flotation devices.

"Then my neighbor objected, claiming I was violating zoning ordinances by
building the Ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the
city planning commission. I had problems getting enough wood for the Ark,
because there was a ban on cutting trees to protect the Spotted Owl. I
finally convinced the U. S. Forest Service that I needed the wood to save
the owls. However, the Fish and Wildlife Service won't let me catch any
owls. So, no owls.

"The carpenters formed a union and went out on strike. I had to negotiate
a settlement with the National Labor Union. Now I have 16 carpenters on
the Ark, but still no owls.

"When I started rounding up the other animals, I got sued by an animal
rights group. They objected to me only taking two of each kind aboard.

Just when I got the suit dismissed, the EPA notified me that I could not
complete the Ark without filing an environmental impact study on your
proposed flood. They didn't take very kindly to the idea that they had no
jurisdiction over the conduct of the Creator of the universe.

Then, the Army Corps of Engineers demanded a map of the proposed new
flood plain. I sent them a globe.

"Right now, I am trying to resolve a complaint filed with the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission that I am practicing discrimination by
not taking godless, unbelieving people aboard!

"The IRS has seized all my assets, claiming that I'm building the Ark in
preparation to flee the country to avoid paying taxes."

"I just got a notice from the state that I owe some kind of user tax and
failed to register the Ark as a recreational water craft."

"Finally the ACLU got the courts to issue an injunction against further
construction of the Ark, saying that since God is flooding the earth it
is a religious event, therefore unconstitutional."

"I really don't think I can finish the Ark for another 5 or 6 years!"
Noah wailed.

The sky began to clear, the sun began to shine and the seas began to
calm. A rainbow arched across the sky. Noah looked up hopefully. "You
mean you are not going to destroy the earth, Lord?

"No," said the Lord, sadly. "The government has beat me to it."



HAVE A GOOD LORD'S DAY TOMORROW

For those who have wanted to know more about Canada here is a page chuck full of information and has links to pages galore. I found it quite fascinating full of knowledge and understanding. A must read for those who play Jeopardy and want to score high in the category about Canada.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada

Hugh,

I just returned home from visiting the part of northern Texas that your link discusses.  I can testify that the counties of British Columbia and Alberta are fabulously beautiful.  The Texans in those parts are very nice folks too.

I drove my little RV to Seattle, Washington.  Then Caryl met me by air, and we took the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria.  Real nice place. I took Caryl to the Butchart Gardens.  It was very beautiful, and she enjoyed it.  (IMHO, when youv'e seen one flower.....)

Then we drove over to Calgary, Alberta to take in the Stampede.  I had obtained tickets several months in advance.  It was an excellent rodeo in the best Texas tradition.  In fact, many of the  participants were Texans, Okies, folks from Wyoming and Montana...wherever they have beef cattle.  Beef production is REALLY big in Alberta.  It is a plains area just like ND, SD, WY, MA, TX, OK, KS and MO.  

In fact it is so plains that we were greeted by a genuine Texas thunderstorm about 50 miles out of Calgary.  It was the real thing, complete with heavy rain, lightning and thunder, hail a foot deep on the road, winds gusting at 80 mph and a tornado warning!  Them folks from Alberta county really know how to make a Texan feel at home.  I'll tell you this...one doesn't fall asleep at the wheel driving through one of those!   Helps the prayer life too.

From Calgary we drove north through Edmonton.  Saw a real Texas sized mall there.  (This provides scientific proof that Canada is part of Texas).  I mean BIG...it had a water park complete with a swimming lagoon that had a wave machine, an ice hockey rink, an amusement park...it even had submarines!  No kidding...they were very much like the ones they used to have at Disneyland.  It had some panels broken out of the skylights.  Seems that thunderstorm had paid them a visit too.  That hail is hail on window glass.  ;)

We went west out of Edmonton.  Up to Jasper national park in the Rockies.  Trailed south down the Glacier Parkway through Lake Louise, Banff, Field, Waterton/Glacier park.  Rode out on the glacier in the glaciermobile.  These are Texas sized buses with 8 or 10 huge wheels and folding stairs that allow you to climb down to the glacier surface.  (note, if you ever do this, dress warmly.  Ice is cold! Southrn Calif. folks take notice.)

Our Glacier National Park is just about as beautiful, but on the Glacier Parkway you can cruise along on the highway taking in hundreds of miles of natural magnificence...neither words nor snapshots can describe the experience.

We ran into exactly one and one only Jerk in Canada.  The kid who drove the glacier bus.  He went way beyond the usual environmental lecture about global warming.  Made a bunch of insulting comments about the USA and SUV's and the evil people who are killing the world.  Blasted anyone who dared to disagree with him.   All this while he is driving a huge diesel truck!
But, what the heck...even Texas has a few jackasses of its own.

Well anyway we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to those northern counties of Texas.  But if you go there watch out for their predatory gas stations.  93.9 per liter in Victoria, BC.  That works out to about $2.70 per gallon in American dollars.

Gotta support those socialist programs y'know.

God bless,

Thomas Maddux

Glad you enjoyed it Tom. Edmonton had a large hail storm the week before you arrived. It was so bad that the ice rink was full of water and some parts had 2 to 3 feet of water inside. The main thruway was covered in up to 4 feet of water mixed with baseball size hail. My sister lives there so I called to see how they were doing. She's fine but some people were really affected. The damage to cars averaged $6,000 from the hail.

In Ottawa we are around 2000 miles away give or take a few hundred miles so we didn't experience that.

Come and see the other part when you can.

See the link for the news article about the West Edmonton Mall and the hail damage.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=840&e=7&u=/nm/canada_weather_edmonton_col

If the link doesn't work copy it in a separate browser window. It may be too long to work here.

Hugh ;D

Tom:

You mean MT, not MA, when speaking about plains states, right?  MA is Massachusetts, but MT is Montana.

Matt

Matt,

As Yoda would say, "It is directly on the head of the nail hitting that you are."

Tom

Coffee anyone

In Canada our military really takes their coffee seriously. I like their choice cause I believe Tim Hortons is the best too. I have an Xtra Large Double Double every day before going to work. Starbucks, Second Cup are here but Tim is king.

BTW for those who missed Tim Hortons is now owned by Wendy's and brings in more revenue in Canada than Wendy's own stores so they know a good thing when they see it. In Ottawa many Wendy's and Tim's are built together and have two drive thrus one for each. Guess which one is busy most of the time.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040809.wtimms09/BNStory/National

Lord bless you all in America. We were blessed this weekend with Nicole C. Mullen from the USofA at Worshipfest 2004 in Ottawa. She is so blessed and it never fails to bring tears to my eyes hearing her sing All things are possible. She is so precious bringing hope to people.

Once again Lord bless.
Hugh ;D