Dissecting a 5K waiver: A “Before & After” in Wordnerdery
If there’s an event involving people, you can bet someone is going to get injured. Oh, and the organizers don’t want to be responsible. That seems to be the thinking behind the official waiver you must sign to take part in a 5K run or walk. But will people understand...
Best of the blog: Top 10 posts in the Red Jacket Diaries so far in 2023
What are you reading in the Red Jacket Diaries? I’m always looking under the blog “hood” to see, and share the top 10 midway through each year. And since you know the year is half over (already!) when it’s pool season in Canada, it’s time. Here are the top...
Assignment: Find out how association members make family reunions memorable
If you spent limited time with family over the pandemic, you probably have a new appreciation for a good old-fashioned family reunion. RTOERO asked me to talk to some of their members, who are mostly retired teachers and other education workers, about family reunions....
Sharpies as a simile and more expressive writing (Wordnerdery)
If you want to explain something, make a point or spark an “aha” moment, reach for “figurative language.” It’s a type of expressive writing that doesn’t just enhance style, it sharpens meaning, says The Canadian Writer’s Handbook. One type of figurative language is...
Tips for diversity and inclusion in links you might have missed, May edition
It’s Pride Month, it’s National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day is coming up June 21. So diversity/inclusion is the focus of the latest roundup of links you might have missed, taken from social media posts shared on Twitter, LinkedIn and...
5 ways songwriters touch hearts (Wordnerdery)
When Canadian music legend Gordon Lightfoot died on May 1 at the age of 84, tributes flooded in. They praised his songwriting abilities and ballads that brought Canadian stories to the world. “A songwriter without parallel, his melodies and words were an...
Much to say about AI and ChatGPT, in links you might have missed, April edition
Are you as fascinated by the discussion about Artificial Intelligence (AI) as I am? If so, you’ll like the latest roundup of links you might have missed. These are all taken from posts I’ve shared on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. First, the discussion...
A fresh look at weasel words in April Wordnerdery
Just four minutes into its launch on April 20, Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship engine “experienced rapid unscheduled disassembly.” Not sure what that means? The engine blew up. Actually, SpaceX said they “commanded” a “flight termination system” to intentionally blow it...