Inappropriate use of hyperbole
Each time I read or hear that something is stronger than something else, I ask the obvious question. How do you know? Take, as an example, a documentary that tells us the explosion of an asteroid in the atmosphere is stronger than all the nuclear explosions ever detonated. How do you know? I didn’t see that on Mythbusters. Maybe the use of hyperbole makes sense when you are wooing a mate, or convincing the bank manager of your solvency. In the case of exploding asteroids, not so much.
The stores are closed. Saturday evening before Christmas. Has the planet shifted on its axis?
We’re currently trying to teach the dog to circle the tree. His chain is attached to the trunk, and his wanderlust is concentric. When it’s time to come back in, human intervention is required. Now that we have enough snow to permit fortress construction, it means putting on boots, and coats and warm thoughts. So much easier if we can convince him that our frantic arm gestures are meaningful. And for the record, he doesn’t have a preference between clockwise and counterclockwise.
Police now believe that anti-social behavior can be predicted through analysis of online chatter. Things like catching terrorists and armed assassins could be simplified by watching and listening. My counterpoint runs as follows. Does that mean that you’ll actually start listening to what people say? You may have to sort a lot of chaff from the wheat, to use an agricultural metaphor.
Just for son #2. There’s now a descriptive language for juggling.
