From Cracking the GRE, a test-prep manual by Doug Pierce:

You will also see a fourth, unidentified, experimental section on the GRE. This section will either be Math or Verbal and will look exactly like the real Math or Verbal section . . ., but it won’t count toward your score. ETS [the company that administers the test] uses the experimental section to test GRE questions for use on future exams. This means that part of your test fee pays for the privilege of serving as a research subject for ETS.

On a related note, I’ll be hunkered down for the next few weeks working on grad school-, job-, and writing-related activities. To catch my quotidian bitchings about said activities (and the occasional soup recipe), follow me on Twitter.

Be well, everyone, and happy new year.

British government opposes “i before e, except after c.”

To be honest, I don’t know where I stand on such a dangerous and controversial topic. In my head, “i before e, except after c” is most often processed as “e before i after c. Usually.”

ETA: Husband has informed me of a mnemonic for some of the exceptions to the now-challenged rule:

“Neither leisured foreigners seized weird heights.”

Tacking on “or their veils” at the end of that sentence seems to work. And adds an interesting plot point to boot.

A language question that has baffled me since I was a child (I blame Nixon): how do you know if this two-fingered hand gesture shown below means victory or peace?

Written/spoken homonyms are generally understood by their context, but without other words forming a sentence around it, how should this isolated sign be read?

The country or native language in which the sign is made may provide a context, but here in the U.S. the sign can mean either victory or peace. In such a case, do the circumstances under which the sign is made make the difference? If so, then how does one read a hand displayed at a peaceful protest of a disputed election? Does the demonstration’s hope/goal trump all, or does its method of non-violence? Do two open fingers at an anti-war demonstration automatically signify the hope for peace, or can it suggest the desire for achieving the goal of troop withdrawal?

When you see this gesture, do you think victory, or do you think peace? Why?

Full pun intended.

Texas town says goodbye to ‘hello’

KINGSVILLE, Texas (AP) – In this friendly little ranching town, “hello” is wearing out its welcome. And Leonso Canales Jr. is happy as heck.

At his urging, the Kleberg County commissioners on Monday unanimously designated “heaven-o” as the county’s official greeting. The reason: “hello” contains the word “hell.”

Guess they’ll just skip over the Hellenistic period in history class. And make sure never to read Catch-22.

*****

Thanks to Moeskido retweeting bynkii for the link.