tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post2302727574487121942..comments2024-01-25T13:55:08.273+00:00Comments on Gendal World: We need more magnet shopsRichard Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14808940497740675782noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post-69006864362873934222006-12-05T18:07:00.000+00:002006-12-05T18:07:00.000+00:00Thanks Andrew.... that link you sent seems to thor...Thanks Andrew.... that link you sent seems to thorougly mix things up!Richard Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14808940497740675782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post-29340172420410014122006-12-04T16:34:00.000+00:002006-12-04T16:34:00.000+00:00That's annoying. Are you saying that a doctor prac...<i>That's annoying. Are you saying that a doctor practiSes medicine? How intensely irritating. I have been confidently spelling it with a 'c' until now.</i><br /><br />So have I. To me, the S looks American. However, The Free Dictionary disagrees:<br /><br />http://www.thefreedictionary.com/practise<br /><br />'Chiefly British'<br /><br />Oh dear. How embarrassing.<br /><br />Still, I happily spell licen(c/s)e interchangeably, so maybe it's just to late to change...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post-86517044310813528862006-12-04T15:37:00.000+00:002006-12-04T15:37:00.000+00:00No. A doctor does not practice. He *has* a practic...<i>No. A doctor does not practice. He *has* a practice.</i><br /><br />That's annoying. Are you saying that a doctor practiSes medicine? How intensely irritating. I have been confidently spelling it with a 'c' until now.<br /><br />Andrew: thank you for the suggestion. As an economically semi-literate individual with a passing acquaintance with comparative advantage, I accept that the rational approach would be to give up. However, that I refuse to either suggests I am mad or derive some sort of pleasure from solving such problems. Irritatingly.<br /><br />Henry: no update, I am afraid. I have blocked out tomorrow evening to work on this problem. I may try to locate suitable magnet shops around Waterloo when I am in South Bank tomorrow. I take Jon's counsel on board: viable magnet shops will be very large, with huge gaps between each display case. Therefore, I can rule out poky-looking establishments as they would have long since killed their proprietor had he chosen to sell magnets.<br /><br />Perhaps one can apply a magnet version of the anthropic principle here....Richard Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14808940497740675782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post-41478949716094079792006-12-04T12:43:00.000+00:002006-12-04T12:43:00.000+00:00Just give up and outsource the problem to Otis, pa...Just give up and outsource the problem to Otis, paying whatever fees they charge. See it as an investment in free time and reduced risk of injury/embarrassment.<br /><br />Or just leave them there and change the locks :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post-54206952254069862782006-12-04T09:07:00.000+00:002006-12-04T09:07:00.000+00:00Henry, dear chap.
1. Yes, that would probably be ...Henry, dear chap.<br /><br />1. Yes, that would probably be acceptable. Not a case of 'despite'.<br /><br />2. That just makes no sense. Richard is British, and he will remain so when using his amplifier.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post-31553765476999122782006-12-04T08:08:00.000+00:002006-12-04T08:08:00.000+00:00I have been good and stayed away from this convers...I have been good and stayed away from this conversation, but it has all got too much in recent hours.<br /><br />Two points:<br /><br />1. Despite what Jon says, <i>practice amp</i> is acceptable as a UK English noun phrase: in this case <i>practice</i> is a verbal noun, derived from the verb <i>practise</i>.<br /><br />2. I suspect that said item is of American extraction, in which case both noun and verb are spelt with a <i>c</i>. <br /><br />I really would like to hear more about the engineering solution.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post-47686472984016863062006-12-04T00:48:00.000+00:002006-12-04T00:48:00.000+00:00No. A doctor does not practice. He *has* a practic...No. A doctor does not practice. He *has* a practice.<br /><br />I suppose, it is possible that a practice might have an amp and therefore it would be the practice amp; but this is simply not the case here.<br /><br />Practise in the sense of learning a skill is always a verb and that is what it is here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post-49569527501230662662006-12-03T21:44:00.000+00:002006-12-03T21:44:00.000+00:00Arghhh!!!! I wrote a detailed response to "GEB"'s ...Arghhh!!!! I wrote a detailed response to "GEB"'s comment and then closed my browser before it had properly posted. Arghhh!<br /><br />The essence was that since a doctor can both practice and practise, the "s=verb, c=noun" rule-of-thumb doesn't always work.<br /><br />I then went on to comment that since an operating table is one upon which you operate, we have evidence for the use of verbs as adjectives. Therefore, "practise" is probably the correct word to use in the context of "practise amp" --- but I'd still appreciate confirmation!Richard Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14808940497740675782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post-55188476193319929572006-12-03T20:59:00.000+00:002006-12-03T20:59:00.000+00:00At grammar school I was taught to use 'practise' ...At grammar school I was taught to use 'practise' as a verb and 'practice' as a noun. I would hazard a guess that it should be 'practice' amp as it is being used as an adjective describing the amp. Any thoughts?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post-28764693060662597122006-12-03T18:04:00.000+00:002006-12-03T18:04:00.000+00:00On grammar: Thanks Jon. I certainly agree that t...On grammar: Thanks Jon. I certainly agree that the amplifier is for practising my guitar skills. However, I'm still unsure. For example, we could simplify my sentence to: "I own a practise amp". Now, if that sentence read: "I own a red amp" or "I own a broken amp", we could probably agree that "red" and "broken" are performing as adjectives. Therefore, what makes "practise" any different? And, assuming it *is* acting as an adjective, should I use a "c" or an "s". I think the answer is still "s".... but it's more subtle than I originally thought.<br /><br />On opening a magnet shop and the attendant dangers. Jon - good point. Perhaps people *do* open magnet shops all the time but don't live to tell the tale and don't even make it to the opening day. Scary thoughts. Even without the particle acceleration effect, I imagine the proprietor would be in perpetual danger of being hit by flying objects.<br /><br />ELC/Hawkins... good idea. Thanks.<br /><br />Ben: Yes please! I do worry that I'll end up getting the magnet stuck to part of the lift's workings and break it but I'll take the risk :-)Richard Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14808940497740675782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post-6063017006920875272006-12-03T18:01:00.000+00:002006-12-03T18:01:00.000+00:00Oh Richard, can we have an update on your plight?
...Oh Richard, can we have an update on your plight?<br /><br />I'd have gone for the bent coathanger on a stick option.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post-4638160650792164412006-12-03T15:16:00.000+00:002006-12-03T15:16:00.000+00:00Yes, I did have to try it didn't I: luckily my mo...Yes, I did have to try it didn't I: luckily my monitor has a de-gaussing feature.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post-77924239326795150502006-12-03T15:14:00.000+00:002006-12-03T15:14:00.000+00:00You can borrow my very strong hard disk magnets ne...You can borrow my very strong hard disk magnets next week. If you use them both slotted together, they will pick up small objects without pulling the whole lift out of its shaft... And there are convenient holes for you to put string though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post-57513137561135267302006-12-03T09:11:00.000+00:002006-12-03T09:11:00.000+00:00Try the Early Learning centre , Hawkins Bazaar or ...Try the Early Learning centre , Hawkins Bazaar or any toy shop. Good luck.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post-10662688271127459942006-12-03T00:22:00.000+00:002006-12-03T00:22:00.000+00:00And opening a magnet shop is such a bad idea. With...And opening a magnet shop is such a bad idea. With such a high concentration of magnets in one place, there's bound to be a massive particle acceleration effect and we risk opening a rift into some hellmouth.<br /><br />Anyway, it'd be a nightmare for the staff, having to deal with poles switching over. And customers' credit cards being wiped.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327817.post-70756963151459512422006-12-03T00:08:00.000+00:002006-12-03T00:08:00.000+00:00It is certainly "practise" and is a transitive ver...It is certainly "practise" and is a transitive verb, not an adjective: the amplifier is for practising your guitar skills, not an amplifier with a nature of "practise".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com