Mike Pope
@mikepope.com
Tech writing & editing (update: now retired), language & words, occasional cats.
Friday words when the mood strikes me (and when it's Friday): https://mikepopewords.com/
Friday words when the mood strikes me (and when it's Friday): https://mikepopewords.com/
I hadn't thought about the AI angle
November 19, 2025 at 7:47 PM
I hadn't thought about the AI angle
I can't multitask TV; quite the opposite — if there's something moving on a screen nearby, it's the screen that's distracting me from whatever is happening in real life around me, including people I'm supposed to be talking to :)
November 18, 2025 at 4:02 PM
I can't multitask TV; quite the opposite — if there's something moving on a screen nearby, it's the screen that's distracting me from whatever is happening in real life around me, including people I'm supposed to be talking to :)
Scanlon: "... we do have structural affordability problems. We have a housing crisis. Eldercare is through the roof. Childcare is extremely expensive. There are real reasons that aren't captured in the metrics as to why people would feel bad."
November 16, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Scanlon: "... we do have structural affordability problems. We have a housing crisis. Eldercare is through the roof. Childcare is extremely expensive. There are real reasons that aren't captured in the metrics as to why people would feel bad."
Wait, you sicced a sic on their sic?
November 12, 2025 at 5:19 AM
Wait, you sicced a sic on their sic?
actual moving really is the worst, even if you're going someplace you're excited about
November 4, 2025 at 12:36 AM
actual moving really is the worst, even if you're going someplace you're excited about
we were having a discussion just yesterday about the representation of Grendel and his mother — human-like yet not human, "of Cain's kin", Grendel's mother apparently human enough that the forest dwellers could tell she was female
November 3, 2025 at 6:23 PM
we were having a discussion just yesterday about the representation of Grendel and his mother — human-like yet not human, "of Cain's kin", Grendel's mother apparently human enough that the forest dwellers could tell she was female
This one surprised me because it feels so ephemeral. I guess it also doesn't capture much about the year except perhaps as meta commentary about slang? Dunno. I like "clanker" or "broligarchy" (gah) as better woty candidates.
October 29, 2025 at 10:32 PM
This one surprised me because it feels so ephemeral. I guess it also doesn't capture much about the year except perhaps as meta commentary about slang? Dunno. I like "clanker" or "broligarchy" (gah) as better woty candidates.
I see that this is ambiguous (is the cessation doing the smoking?), so a good edit would of course be "cessation of smoking" ;)
October 29, 2025 at 9:05 PM
I see that this is ambiguous (is the cessation doing the smoking?), so a good edit would of course be "cessation of smoking" ;)
"One's house style oughtn't to be visible from outer space." (Benjamin Dreyer)
October 28, 2025 at 1:58 AM
"One's house style oughtn't to be visible from outer space." (Benjamin Dreyer)
Just to be clear, you are Utahraptor in this comic, right? ;)
October 16, 2025 at 6:15 AM
Just to be clear, you are Utahraptor in this comic, right? ;)
I wrote a haiku to commemorate the occasion:
Harold cyning wæs
wiþ Willelm eorle gefeaht
Adieu Anglisc-spræc
Harold cyning wæs
wiþ Willelm eorle gefeaht
Adieu Anglisc-spræc
October 16, 2025 at 1:12 AM
I wrote a haiku to commemorate the occasion:
Harold cyning wæs
wiþ Willelm eorle gefeaht
Adieu Anglisc-spræc
Harold cyning wæs
wiþ Willelm eorle gefeaht
Adieu Anglisc-spræc
Now I'm wondering if there are other non-passive "get" + participle (?) constructions like this.
October 14, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Now I'm wondering if there are other non-passive "get" + participle (?) constructions like this.
this is wonderful. I've heard the Peer Gynt Suite about one (1) million times but never a vocal performance.
October 14, 2025 at 3:40 AM
this is wonderful. I've heard the Peer Gynt Suite about one (1) million times but never a vocal performance.
I sure do not recall hearing "an hotel"—? Maybe I hang out in the wrong circles.
October 14, 2025 at 2:17 AM
I sure do not recall hearing "an hotel"—? Maybe I hang out in the wrong circles.