jstaf
Subscriber since: Mon Nov 26 20:42:00 EST 2007
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
About Me
Some of my earliest memories are the trips to the Homestead Branch of the Carnegie Library system, with my Mother and her large plaid Avon bag loaded with books.

We went almost every week and as a result there is no memory of learning to read, as long as I can remember I could read.

My work interests have always been in the area of digital technology, first job back in the early 1970's working on the Skylab project. Since then I've worked in the Newspaper, Advertising and owned a digital production company in the 1990's which then became an Internet development company that was bought.

I now write a weekly article for a Dubai based publication, Alrroya.com and do research and business plan development for start up companies in the areas of Machine Learning and Decision Making.
I can also be found on:
Facebook
My Word Lists
My Favorites

Favorite Word:

knowledge

Least Favorite Word:

bigotry

Favorite Quote:

"The structure of our world has favored the evolution of societies based on peace, commerce, reciprocal altruism, and mutual benefit."
- Robert Wright

Favorite Topics:

Blogs:

Ben Zimmer on How Technology is Shaping Language
Tue Oct 08 00:00:00 EDT 2013
On Slate, Lexicon Valley Launches a New Language Blog
Tue Sep 10 00:00:00 EDT 2013

Books:

"Nine Nasty Words": How and Why We Curse
Fri Aug 13 09:00:00 EDT 2021
Highly Entertaining and Informative
Tue Aug 03 08:00:00 EDT 2021

Creativity:

Nine ways to finish the writing you start
Thu Jul 28 11:00:00 EDT 2022
Of Time, Happiness, Creativity and Writing Accomplishments....
Thu Dec 23 00:00:00 EST 2021

Fiction writing:

Of Time, Happiness, Creativity and Writing Accomplishments....
Thu Dec 23 00:00:00 EST 2021
Why You Should Blog BEFORE Writing Your Book
Thu Dec 23 00:00:00 EST 2021

Fun:

Predictive Human Balderdash and Other Managed Malarkey
Thu May 12 00:00:00 EDT 2022
Very Spatial and Capable Lethal Aid
Thu Feb 10 00:00:00 EST 2022

Grammar:

Seven Sentences You Should Stop Writing
Mon Nov 23 09:00:00 EST 2020
How to Make Your Sentences Shorter
Thu Jun 25 09:00:00 EDT 2020

How to write:

Nine ways to finish the writing you start
Thu Jul 28 11:00:00 EDT 2022
How to Survive Until You're Famous or Successful
Thu Mar 24 00:00:00 EDT 2022

Language:

Metaphors We Live By (Updated)
Thu Mar 03 00:00:00 EST 2022
Brand Names of the Year for 2021
Thu Dec 16 00:00:00 EST 2021

Language arts:

The Enduring Impact of English Teachers on Students
Tue Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2015
The Art of Subterfuge: Using Pop Culture to Create Interest in the Classics
Fri Dec 05 00:00:00 EST 2014

Libraries:

Librarians Suggest Good Books for Kids of All Ages
Tue Jan 15 00:00:00 EST 2013
Love Your Librarian
Mon Sep 26 00:00:00 EDT 2011

Linguistics:

Scale Your Onboarding
Thu Jun 02 00:00:00 EDT 2022
Tricky, Special, Fruitful, Space-Flavored Fiddle-Faddle
Thu Apr 14 00:00:00 EDT 2022

Linguists:

Joseph Stalin and Problems of Linguistics
Thu Apr 07 00:00:00 EDT 2022
Of Dialects, Vernaculars, and Code-Switching
Thu Feb 03 00:00:00 EST 2022

Media:

Understanding "Maven"
Thu May 19 00:00:00 EDT 2022
Predictive Human Balderdash and Other Managed Malarkey
Thu May 12 00:00:00 EDT 2022

Online:

Strategic Flexibility and Other Bendy Balderdash
Thu Oct 07 00:00:00 EDT 2021
A Recipe for Time Travel
Tue Oct 06 00:00:00 EDT 2020

Poetry:

And Forget the He and She
Mon Dec 02 00:00:00 EST 2019
In Praise of Ambiguity
Wed Jul 23 00:00:00 EDT 2014

Puzzle:

To Bee or Not to Bee?
Thu Mar 18 09:00:00 EDT 2021
The Visual Thesaurus Crossword Puzzle: March Edition!
Fri Mar 21 00:00:00 EDT 2008

Reading:

How to Read More Books
Mon Nov 19 00:00:00 EST 2018
Pride and Prejudice and Natural Language Processing
Mon Apr 02 00:00:00 EDT 2018

Self-publishing:

How to Survive Until You're Famous or Successful
Thu Mar 24 00:00:00 EDT 2022
How to Protect the Important From the Urgent
Thu Mar 25 09:00:00 EDT 2021

Storytelling:

Should You Self-Publish?
Mon Oct 26 09:00:00 EDT 2020
Why You Should Consider Back-And-Forth Writing
Thu Sep 24 09:00:00 EDT 2020

Students:

2015 Spelling Bee: Co-Champions Triumph Again, as Vanya and Gokul Prove Unbeatable
Fri May 29 00:00:00 EDT 2015
"Sinister Buttocks" and the Dangers of Thesaurus Flipping
Fri Aug 29 00:00:00 EDT 2014

Teaching:

Teach Your Children Well
Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2019
The Enduring Impact of English Teachers on Students
Tue Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2015

Usage:

Comparative Nonsense
Fri Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2019
Unexpected Cousins
Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 EDT 2019

Visual Thesaurus:

The Post-Dictionary World?
Thu Jun 03 09:00:00 EDT 2021
Poll Stars
Mon Oct 19 09:00:00 EDT 2020

Vocabulary:

The Post-Dictionary World?
Thu Jun 03 09:00:00 EDT 2021
A "Dumpster Fire" of a Year
Wed Jan 11 10:14:00 EST 2017

Web tools:

Twitter Me This: New Technology in the Language Arts Classroom
Tue Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2011
Tracking Dialects on Twitter: What's Coo and What's Koo?
Fri Nov 04 00:00:00 EDT 2011

Word Origins:

Shoot! How Gun Idioms Color Our Speech
Thu Jul 21 12:00:00 EDT 2022
Scale Your Onboarding
Thu Jun 02 00:00:00 EDT 2022

WordMasters:

WordMasters: Grade 3 Gold Division Jan-Feb '11
Mon Jan 31 00:00:00 EST 2011
WordMasters: Grade 3 Blue Division Jan-Feb '11
Mon Jan 31 00:00:00 EST 2011

Words:

Shoot! How Gun Idioms Color Our Speech
Thu Jul 21 12:00:00 EDT 2022
"Nine Nasty Words": How and Why We Curse
Fri Aug 13 09:00:00 EDT 2021

Writer's block:

Nine ways to finish the writing you start
Thu Jul 28 11:00:00 EDT 2022
How to Survive the Feast or Famine of Freelance Writing
Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2022

Writers:

Nine ways to finish the writing you start
Thu Jul 28 11:00:00 EDT 2022
How to Survive the Feast or Famine of Freelance Writing
Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2022

Writing:

Nine ways to finish the writing you start
Thu Jul 28 11:00:00 EDT 2022
How to Survive the Feast or Famine of Freelance Writing
Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2022