https://deanebarker.net https://deanebarker.net/huh/voodoo-science/ This refers to generally poor science, where conclusions are drawn based on dubious or flawed science. It’s a newer phrase than I thought. It is mostly closely associated with a 2000 book by Robert… Mon, 9 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/voodoo-science/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/syzygy/ I think we expand this to life in general. This is a reification of the idea that two things are a coincidence, but three are a pattern. You can always connect two things with a straight line, but you… Mon, 9 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/syzygy/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/will-call/ This usually means the window at a theater or event where you pick up tickets that you reserved in advance. Wikipedia sums the etymology nicely: The word “call” is a shortened form of “call for”,… Sat, 7 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/will-call/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/sententious/ Merriam provides this commentary: Nowadays, “sententious” is usually uncomplimentary, implying banality, oversimplification, and excessive moralizing. It also notes, there is another meaning which… Sat, 7 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/sententious/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/babylon/ It is just south of present-day Baghdad, Iraq, about 50 miles, along the banks of the Euphrates. It no longer exists as a major population center, but there are significant ruins of the ancient walled… Sat, 7 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/babylon/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/vis-a-vis/ It’s literally French for “face to face.” I don’t remember. Fri, 6 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/vis-a-vis/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/vanity-fair/ In the 1678 novel Pilgrim’s Progress there was a town called Vanity that had a non-stop fair specializing in anything Man could pleasure in or desire. It is run by the demon Beelzebub and represented… Fri, 6 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/vanity-fair/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/reprobate/ “Reprove” means to scold or express disapproval of someone. A “reprobate” is technically someone on the receiving end of that disapproval. On the back of a romance novel: When Elizabeth laid eyes on… Fri, 6 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/reprobate/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/india-pale-ale/ Simply put, it’s lighter in appearance than other beers (especially the popular porters), and the British shipped a lot of it to India during the 1800s. The presence of lots of hops allowed the beer… Fri, 6 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/india-pale-ale/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/mien/ From The Covenant: By accident, he caught a glimpse of the king’s face and saw that, too, has assumed a solemn mien. Wed, 4 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/mien/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/ethnography/ This is a method of studying cultures. I always thought this was anthropology, but it turns out that this is a subdivision. It’s also a little vague. Wikipedia explains: While, traditionally,… Wed, 4 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/ethnography/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/memphis/ Well, no one knows, really. What people agree on is that Memphis, Tennessee was named after Memphis, Egypt. The Egyptian Memphis is now just ruins, in the southern part of Cairo. It was long-abandoned… Sun, 1 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/memphis/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/voxel/ This is the 3D version of a pixel. It’s essentially a point in 3D space, defined by an X, Y, and Z axes. In discussing remote work and Zoom calls, a friend tweeted: On a voice call you can do laundry,… Sat, 30 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/voxel/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/midwest/ Technically, this is an official census region of the United States. It stretches from the Dakotas in the west to Ohio in the east, and from the northern border down to Missouri’s southern tip. It’s… Sat, 30 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/midwest/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/chanteuse/ It’s simple French – “chanter” is “to sing” and “-euse” is the feminine suffix. In many definitions its specifically stated to mean a “concert” singer or a “nightclub” singer. I think it generally… Sat, 30 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/chanteuse/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/american-beauty/ Yes, this is a type of rose. It’s deep pink in color. It was bred in France in the late 1800s then introduced (and renamed) in America. It was very popular during the Gilded Age of the early 1900s…. Sat, 30 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/american-beauty/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/decolletage/ There’s a good etymology here: it comes from the French word décollet, which literally means no (“de”) collar (“collet”) to represent “low neckline.” In one type of usage, décolletage is also known,… Fri, 29 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/decolletage/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/zion/ This is a Biblical name for a fortress that became the city of Jerusalem specifically, and the entire state of Israel generally. It has often been extended to refer to the Jewish people and community…. Thu, 28 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/zion/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/skein/ The extended/metaphorical definition in many cases is “things that can be interwoven.” Examples: For example, plot threads are like skeins of yarn. I googled “skein plot” and I found a bunch of books… Wed, 27 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/skein/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/quadrille/ This is a formal, group dance from the early 20th century performed by four couples. It was popular in Europe and in the Gilded Age of the late 1800s and early 1900s in the United States. Here’s a… Tue, 26 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/quadrille/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/temple-mount/ This is a holy site in Jerusalem. It’s actually several overlapping sites, important to all three Abrahamic religions. The Template Mount itself is the claimed former site of Solomon’s Temple, which… Sat, 23 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/temple-mount/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/doyenne/ This is the feminine version of the more rare “doyen,” which means: the senior member of a body or group a person considered to be knowledgeable or uniquely skilled as a result of long experience in… Thu, 21 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/doyenne/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/interstellar/ This is usually used to mean “outer space” in general, but it technically means “between stars” or “between solar systems.” Most things whizzing through space are in an orbit of some kind. They’re… Mon, 18 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/interstellar/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/kennedy-democrat/ This means a conservative Democrat, by today’s standard. Of course, political standards change all the time, but John F. Kennedy really would have been a Republican by most measures today: There is no… Sun, 17 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/kennedy-democrat/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/vernal/ In a history of the RAND corporation: Years later, RANDites would ruefully acknowledge the futility of attempting to reduce human behavior to numbers, but it was the vernal season of math at RAND, and… Sat, 9 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/vernal/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/internecine/ From a history of the RAND corporation: Internecine competition among the branches of the armed forced for new and improved weapons systems was nothing out of the ordinary at the time. Sat, 9 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/internecine/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/cashiering/ In a history of the RAND corporation: “We would become the first aggressors for peace.” For this opinion, President Truman immediately cashiered [Secretary of the Navy Francis] Matthews. Later in the… Sat, 9 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/cashiering/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/loupe/ This is a small magnifying glass used for close-in work, like examining gems, watch-making, or surgery. They’re sometimes handheld and sometimes affixed to glasses. On an episode of Chuck, the titular… Wed, 6 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/loupe/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/jot-and-tittle/ These are two markings in written Hebrew. They are very small – a jot is the smallest letter, and a title is just an accent. It has come to signify something very small, or every last detail of… Wed, 6 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/jot-and-tittle/ https://deanebarker.net/huh/five-by-five/ This is military slang meaning “all good.” It comes from how they used to measure radio signal (1) strength and (2) clarity on a scale of 1 to 5. So, a strong signal that was distorted would be… Wed, 6 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://deanebarker.net/huh/five-by-five/