Congratulations to Andy Todd on the birth of Alexander.
Now, there are two distinct elements to my opinion on modern English usage.
On the one hand, my rational side, Stephen Pinker reader that I am1, agrees with the article in that "language is normative, not prescriptive". English is the thing (or things) that people speak. Any 'rules' which don't reflect actual, live, usage, are bunk.
But, on the other hand, I'm a total pedant, and the 'grocer's apostrophe' drives me insane whenever I see it.
I am quite unable to reconcile these two opinions. Ho hum.
Via Something.
1 I'm reading The Blank Slate right now, and it's totally fascinating. Not quite as jaw droppingly awesome as The Language Instinct, but then, what is?
Matrix Ping-pong. Awesome.
Via Ned Batchelder.
It's early days, but vb2Py (Visual Basic to Python Converter) looks an interesting project.
VB, love it or hate it, is unquestionably ubiquitous. Anything that will help any former burger flippers who have seen the light can only be a good thing.
Via Kevin Altis.