moutonoir

It's hard to predict whether a word will become extinct or not, since some random person just needs to start using it all of a sudden in order for it to be "revived" again. While a word may be really unpopular now, if a famous writer throws it around in his/her writing, it can become well-known once again.We were discussing something along these lines in my linguistics class; it was very interesting. We were also talking about tenses of words changing and saying things like how "dreamt" was being replaced by "dreamed." It's interesting to thing that language is constantly changing and evolving like this.

I haven't read too much sci-fi, but I absolutely loved Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game/Ender's Shadow series. And so did one of my friends who actually was a sci-fi/fantasy buff. Each of the two books has its own series, and even though the characters stem from the original Ender's Game book, the overarching plotlines are so different. Each is interesting and keeps you turning the page to see what happens next, plus they make you think about various technological and political things. I definitely recommend checking them out.

Thanks for the list! I haven't heard much about the acid/alkaline info so it was interesting to read about. If you're interested in reading more about nutrition, I just read Michael Pollen's book "In Defense of Food," and it's very good. He talks about the importance of whole foods and eating actual food, versus supplements, and he talks about how food is more than just fuel but part of a culture and way of life. He looks at why so many different diets work for different socieites of people and offers some explanations for why the American diet is so flawed, and then offers ways in which to establish a healthy relationship with food. It's definitely worth checking out!

What a great idea...it's like those little microwavable cakes they sell, but this would probably be a lot cheaper and you can make the exact flavor you want. I will definitely be trying this next time I want cake.

You could try looking for something on craigslist.org or a similar site to see if anyone is in need of a writer. Various blogs also look for paid writers at times too; if you look around you'd probably find something.

I usually just have a vague idea of what I want my site to look like, and I start throwing things around on a blank rectangle the same size as my screen until I have something that I think will work. Often what I end up with is much different than what I had anticipated though, especially after I try to create it for XHTML and find that rearranging things differently may be more compatible wither certain browsers and such. Once I kept track of the stages of a design as it evolved, and I was surprised to see how much it had changed during development. But as long as I'm satisfied with the product, I don't care what it took to get there

I think it would be best to enroll at a real institution since having your professor right there and available in person can be really helpful at times. Also, formal classroom instruction can be more effective than just reading the textbook yourself (this varies by person, of course, but I think most people find the lectures helpful).I majored in computer science and I can't really imagine doing it as a distance learning program, especially since much of what you learn involves lab work, giving you the chance to practice certain software techniques. If you don't have the required hardware/software to support certain programming languages, it can be a pain to set it up or to find somewhere that does have it. You will also probably run into issues trying to get things to work, especially when you first begin, and it's nice to have the professors and other students there to help. By enrolling at a real institution, you don't have to worry about this.But depending on your motivation, you probably won't have MAJOR problems in a distance learning program, it could just be a potential inconvience and will require a lot of self-discipline. Many others have succesfully done it, so you will most likely be able to as well. I would only consider it if time is a huge issue, otherwise it's probably worth it just to go to the real institution.Good luck!

Exercise works wonders for me, as does reading before I go to sleep. I try to stay away from the TV though and I keep the lights on as low as I can since I find that darkness helps. In the winter when the days are shorter, for example, I'm much more tired.If all else fails, a mug of warm milk usually does the trick.

Some foods which claim to expire on certain days are still good past their date; I mean, have you ever heard of "rotten" soda or Twinkies? When you open the package, you can tell right away if something is spoiled or not. It's just a pain to have paid for it by then, but the dates are printed right there if you need to check. As long as you use good judgment, you should be fine.

I love eggplant too...it's delicious either raw or cooked. I like to add a little balsamic vinegar for flavor, simple yet very good.

We tried to make ice cream in my cooking class in high school using a similar recipe (may have even been the same one). We learned the hard way that you need to be really, really careful when you heat the egg yolk mixture; we heated it too fast and there were little bits of cooked egg in the mixture instead of a smooth, thick custard. You couldn't really tell once it was frozen, but if you let it melt in your mouth it was kind of weird.Also, I find that an ice cream maker is quite helpful in creating a nice, airy texture. The kind we ended up with was crystallized, like ice rather than ice cream. It may have just been us though since another group in the glass ended up with something more normal.

Yeah...it is kind of complicated, especially if you're not accustomed to baking. Try starting out with simpler recipes, such as chocolate chip cookies and such, to get a handle on the basics and understand what certain ingredients and techniques do. Soon you'll be ready to tackle anything!I hope you end up with a good batch of these cookies, whether you or another makes them! They're worth the labor

I've always wondered if it wouldn't be a good idea just to create a new, easy-to-learn, universal language that everyone would learn in order to communicate with those who spoke languages different from their own. It could have really simple rules so that it could be learned more quickly than languages like English which have a million exceptions and things that make no sense, and it would have the additional advantage of being unbiased since it would be no one's native language.If you've read Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series, there's a language called Common which kind of goes along these lines, but it's based off English.I guess culture interested in language preservation wouldn't take to this idea...it might end up displacing other languages entirely since you'd be able to communicate more widely with it. I heard someone tried to make something like this but that it never took off.I still think it is an interesting idea worth trying.

I would think that any mental thing you are able to do in life, you would be able to do in your dream. The disparities are more likely to be among physical happenings; for instance, you may fly in your dreams but not in real life. But mental happenings are probably pretty similiar in both.

With the holidays coming up, it's good to have a few recipes for impressive desserts on hand. Here's one for the classic Black Forest Cake:Ingredients: 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour 2/3 cup unsweetened (natural) cocoa powder 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup vegetable shortening 1 1/2 cups white sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups buttermilk 1/2 cup kirschwasser liquer1/2 cup butter 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar salt to taste1 teaspoon strong brewed coffee 2 (14 ounce) cans pitted Bing cherries, drained 2 cups heavy whipping cream 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon kirschwasser liquer1 ounce semisweet chocolate (square, not morsels)Directions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line the bottoms of two 8-inch round pans with circles of parchment paper. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt. Set this mixture aside. Cream the shortening and the sugar together until they are light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, until they are combined. Pour into the 2 round 8 inch pans.Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool cake completely. Remove the paper from the cakes. Cut each layer in half, horizontally, making a total of 4 layers. Sprinkle these layers with the 1/2 cup kirshwasser. In a medium bowl, cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the confectioners sugar, the salt, and coffee; beat together until smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add a couple teaspoons of cherry juice or milk. Spread first layer of cake with 1/3 of the filling. Top this with 1/3 of the cherries. Repeat with the remaining layers. In a separate bowl, whip the cream to stiff peaks. Beat in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon kirshwasser. Frost the top and the sides of the cake. Sprinkle it with chocolate curls made by using a potato peeler on the square of semisweet baking chocolate.