December 26, 2008

paltry \PAWL-tree\, adjective:

1. almost worthless; trifling
2. of no worth; contemptible, despicable

by 1565, probably associated with dialectic palt, pelt "trash," cognate with Middle Low German and East Frisian palte "rag," and Middle Dutch palt "broken or torn fragment." Comparative and superlative forms are paltrier and paltriest.

christmas bogus

• Receiving nothing from your employer for Christmas.

Once again, my cheap boss Phil, gave us all a Christmas bogus.

Trivia

What are rusticles?

• Icicle-like structures formed when wrought iron rusts on underwater shipwrecks.

Today in History:

• Winston Churchill: became the first British prime minister to address a joint session of US Congress, warning against the Axis (1941)
• Time magazine: Man of the Year was "the computer" (1982)
• tsunami: a huge wave triggered by an Indian Ocean earthquake killed more than 216,000 (2004)

Today's Birthdays:

• Jared Leto (37): actor turned musician
• Charles Babbage (1791-1871): mathematician and inventor of the precursor to the computer
• Henry Miller (1891-1980): novelist, Tropic of Cancer; writers Thomas Gray (1716-1771) and Dion Boucicault (1820-1890) shared this birth date
• Mao Zedong (1893-1976): founder of the People's Republic of China
• Phil Spector (68): eccentric legendary music producer; musicians born on this date include Abdul "Duke" Fakir (73) and Lars Ulrich (45)
• Carlton Fisk (61): MLB hall-of-famer; shortstop Ozzie Smith (54) also celebrates his birthday today
• Allie Sin (23): teh porn

Quote:

• "The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce." — Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.