It's Foolproof!

I have always wondered why some people cannot pronounce the word "nuclear," but say instead "nucular." George Bush comes to mind, also Sarah Palin. My high school chemistry teacher could not pronounce this word either; I remember being slightly shocked when I first heard her say the word "nucleus" and she pronounced it "nuculus." She was, however, a very good teacher.

I have what I consider a foolproof way to get these phonetically challenged folks to say "nuclear." It works like this:

Take the sentence, "I bought a new clear pane of glass for my window." and have them repeat it fifty times, followed by, "I bought a new clear pane of glass," fifty times, followed by, "new clear pane," fifty times, then just ,"new clear," fifty times. Then they (according to my plan) will be ready to add the word "weapons," but they should picture it in their mind as "new clear weapons." Say it fast and it sounds just like "nuclear weapons," or so close as makes no matter, certainly much better than "nucular weapons." Same with the words "reactor" or "energy":
they would picture "new clear reactor," and "new clear energy," respectively.

I can think of no reason why this wouldn't work.

Barack Obama Wins: America Can Be Proud

My sister called me today. She was on her way to visit her daughter and new grandson, and was stuck at a railroad crossing. "I'm flying my American flag today," she said. "I haven't flown it in a long time, and last night, before the election returns came in, I didn't know whether I would fly it again, or burn it in the fireplace, but I'm flying it." I feel the same way; the picture here is one of our flag flying over my neighborhood. I took this photo more than a year ago but have never used it until now.

The New York Times said today, in an editorial regarding Senator Obama's victory:

"His triumph was decisive and sweeping, because he saw what is wrong with this country: the utter failure of government to protect its citizens. He offered a government that does not try to solve every problem but will do those things beyond the power of individual citizens: to regulate the economy fairly, keep the air clean and the food safe, ensure that the sick have access to health care, and educate children to compete in a globalized world."

I could not agree more.