Grammar gremlins at work.

Today's Tids Issue 4,177

For Semanticists:

You are only as young as you feel. But you can stay immature indefinitely. – Ogden Nash

I use the “inevitability factor” quite often when making judgments. When you eliminate noise and distractions, viewing life events, products, issues, culture et.al. bare and uncluttered often presents an easy solution to an seemingly complex problem. The inevitability of a result just sits their plain and simple, and easy to understand. I think the future success of the gigantic China eCommerce company Alibaba is the definition of inevitable.

How inane is it to steal somebody’s EZ-Pass? Within seconds of theft discovery, the EZ Pass owner will notify authorities so that within minutes anybody using it will find their license plate and car photographed and uploaded to the local and state police.  

Ah, language. Would, wouldn’t. The definition of “is”. It all reminds me of the Publishers Clearing house commercial that has a wife chain sawing her couch in half while the husband reads, “You might have won $7 million dollars. Might…”

But then, I do understand typos.

Next week is the beginning of NFL practice. Be still my heart.

The Question:

Speaking of heart throbs, Jane Austin wrote great novels. Name three. Jane joined a famed British author to write a book, “The History of England”. Who was it? Not being a literary giant, I sometimes confuse another author with Jane. Who might that be? Bonus: What world event was taking place 100 years ago.

The Headlines:

--Markets Could Have A Healthy Day As Earnings Continue To Look Robust.

--EU To Fine Google $5 Billion Over Android Monopolistic Practices.

--Comey Urges Americans To Get Out Of GOP.

--Trump Says Putin Agreed To Help With North Korea.

--John Kelley Irate Over Trump Press Conference.

--President Obama In Africa Pushes for Universal Income.

--Ex-Senator Joe Lieberman Asks Dems To Ditch Socialist Ocasio-Cortez.

People in Dubai don’t know who the Flintstones are. But, people in Abu Dhabi do.

The other day I played golf with a nice guy who manages a medium sized bank’s portfolio of mortgage backed bonds. He told me that he sees new signs of the market being dangerously close to being way over heated, and he is concerned. Analysts this morn say that according to Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage bankers, mainly mid-cap banks, have a record high $530 Billion in commercial and multifamily property loans. Midcap bank boardrooms are all smiles now, but a small pop could burst their inflated balloon. I look around me and see houses being bought at inflated prices with the hope that rental income (Air bnb et. al.) will sustain that large investment. These are signs of overextension.

The other day I actually said the words, “Excellent salad,”

I’m thinking that former President Obama will be a huge factor in the 2020 race. And that #MeToo will be big this November.

You have to figure that Gun manufacturers are lobbying for “Anti-Gun“ laws. Every time one is enacted, guns sales blast off.

A tunnel engineer who always talked about business was considered a bore. Or, was that a gun designer. These lines ring kind of hollow.

One of the better of our Constitutional amendments is the 22^nd. In today’s broad-based communications environment, it would be even easier create sustained euphoria for a person who may or may not b good for the country. So, it is just good to have a cutoff date. Maybe we should amend the amendment now to limit other elective offices.

So, here’s basically the problem: Obama slams populist right-wing billionaires. I smash socialist left-wing billionaires.

I hear that South Africa could be having economic problems. The top five challenges for companies wanting to do business in that country are Ineffective Government, restrictive labor regulations, shortage of educated workers, political instability and corruption. Sounds a little like Rhode Island to me. Some things are obvious for those who can see through the rhetoric. Just as other things are inevitable.

The big Tip-O-the-Tids cap today goes to the young lad who when finding his car inoperable, woke at 4AM and then walked twenty miles so he wouldn’t miss his first day of work. A lot of the new politicians would prefer to hand a guy like that free money so he could stay home in bed. I call that the death of greatness.

The Answer:

Jane Austin is best known for Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Persuasion, Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey (The sleeper gem). Jane and Charles Dickens penned together The History of England. Charlotte Bronte would be a well-known author who might be confused by people like me of writing some of Austin’s books. The Austin era was a centerpiece of the golden era of British novelists. Bonus: 100 years ago the USA was in the middle of The World War known today as WWI. The Germans actually bombarded a small coastal New England town – Orleans Massachusetts.

Ad-libbing confuses the organized.

Some days I sit here looking for one more thing before I send out your daily morning mess, And often, like this morning, a witty and clever reader sends in a pun just as my finger is perched upon the send button. Yabba dabba doo!!