by Dwane | Oct 22, 2022 | Tip of the Week
Evidently, the tip of the week I sent out last week contained quite a few typos. My wife read it and asked me, “Did you speak your tip of the week into your computer this week? Did you check for typos?” So, I read the tip again. Sure enough, there were quite a few...
by Dwane | Oct 21, 2022 | Uncategorized
Obviate: to make unnecessary; to eliminate the need for something; to do away with; to prevent by effective measures. Diet, exercise, sunshine and water obviate the need for most pharmaceutical drugs. Obviate comes from the Latin word obviare “to block, to...
by Dwane | Oct 20, 2022 | Uncategorized
In preparation for a trip to France, I will be hosting a question and answer meeting in a just over an hour, on Thursday, October 20. Here is the information and the link to join the meeting: Topic: Trip to France Time: Oct 20, 2022 07:00 PM Central Time (US and...
by Dwane | Oct 20, 2022 | Vocabulary
Bode: to portend; to foreshadow; to forecast; to indicate the future by signs When something bodes ill, watch out. Trouble is on the way. But, bode isn’t always negative. If something bodes well, then future events will be good. Anglo Saxon beer commercials...
by Dwane | Oct 19, 2022 | Uncategorized
I received this question: Maybe there’s a place to ask questions, if so, could you direct me there? I have a couple kids using Vsual Latin 1. They’ve had some latin and I’m using this as some review. In chapter 11B – the translation portion,...
by Dwane | Oct 19, 2022 | Uncategorized
Contrite: Remorseful; penitent; repentant. A deep feeling of guilt for wrongdoing, combined with a desire to make amends. From Latin: contritus, “worn out, crushed, bruised” Synonyms: apologetic, repentant, sorry Contrite shows up in one of the stanzas of Rudyard...
by Dwane | Oct 19, 2022 | Uncategorized
by Dwane | Oct 18, 2022 | Vocabulary
Inexorable: Relentless; unalterable. Not persuaded or moved by entreaty or prayer; too firm and determined in purpose to yield; will not bend. Inexorable comes from the Latin prefix ‘in’ meaning ‘not’ and ‘exorabilis’ meaning ‘easily entreated, or influenced by...
by Dwane | Oct 17, 2022 | Uncategorized
In preparation for a trip to France, I will be hosting a question and answer meeting on Thursday, October 20. Here is the information and the link to join the meeting: Topic: Trip to France Time: Oct 20, 2022 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting...
by Dwane | Oct 17, 2022 | Uncategorized
Conundrum: a difficult puzzle or problem. A seemingly unsolvable problem. A conundrum is also a riddle with an answer containing a pun. In my research, I kept running across this example: What’s the difference between a jeweler and a jailer? One sells watches and the...
by Dwane | Oct 15, 2022 | Tip of the Week
Not too long ago, I read, How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger. (Of course, everyone dies, and Dr. Greger knows and admits this.) In the book, Dr. Greger shows us how not to die too young… because we ate ourselves to death. The book is a helpful analysis of the...
by Dwane | Oct 15, 2022 | Uncategorized
Ephemeral: short-lived, lasting or living for just one day. Synonyms: fleeting, short-lived, brief, temporal Originally, ephemeral was a medical term. Ephemeral described a sickness or a fever lasting only one day. Over time came to mean ‘lasting a short period...
by Dwane | Oct 14, 2022 | Uncategorized
Myriad: Ten thousand. A myriad can also mean: an immense number. We English speakers tend to use myriad to talk about something innumerable. For example, I ran across myriad this week while reading The Story of English by the Roberts McCrum and MacNeil. “All one...
by Dwane | Oct 14, 2022 | Uncategorized
For years, students have been begging me to take them to Europe. For a while now, I have been exploring various options. My wife is much better at travel organization. She has put a lot of work into making this possible. So, I am happy to announce that in May, I am...
by Dwane | Oct 8, 2022 | Vocabulary
Nebulous: Vague, cloudy, hazy. Lacking definition, form or limits. Nebulous comes from the Latin word nebula meaning “mist, or cloud”. We can use nebulous to mean cloudy, or hazy. When driving to work during a dense fog, the roads may have a nebulous look. But, we...
by Dwane | Oct 7, 2022 | Vocabulary
Spurious: Not genuine. Counterfeit. Believable, but false. This word started out in Latin as spurius, meaning “illegitimate.” It was even sometimes used as a first name among the Romans for a child born out of wedlock. These days, we still use the word to...
by Dwane | Oct 5, 2022 | Vocabulary
Whizbang This word has multiple meanings. A whizbang is someone (or something) extraordinarily successful or effect. It can be someone or something flashy or impressive, recognized by its noise, excellence, or startling effect. A whizbang is also another term for a...
by Dwane | Oct 1, 2022 | Teaching online
This is a small section from a book I am currently working on. The book is on goal-setting. Thinking about naming it the Subtle Art of Not Swearing on Every Single Page. Heh. Do you struggle with worry and anxiety? Try turning off the news. The news is quite...
by Dwane | Sep 30, 2022 | Uncategorized
Many of you know that a few weeks ago, Google turned my email off. No warning. Just turned it off. Since I do a lot via email, this was rather annoying. I believe all is well now. I have access to email once again. Of course, I know have a pile of emails to crawl...
by Dwane | Sep 24, 2022 | Tip of the Week
I once ran across a great worry-eliminating tip. Here it is. Write down all the things you are worried about right now. Whatever is giving you anxiety right now. Write it down. Now, cross out the things you have no control over. That’s it. Stop worrying about those...
by Dwane | Sep 17, 2022 | Teaching online
A few days ago (Thursday), Google suspended my Gmail account. I am now locked out of my email account: dwane@visuallatin.com. So, my tip this week is this: Have a backup email account. I should have had a backup email account. I didn’t. I am looking at some...
by Dwane | Sep 13, 2022 | Uncategorized
Google suspended my email account today. Not sure why. When it comes to Latin, it’s no secret that I prefer the Ecclesiastical pronunciation of Latin. Also, called the Italian pronunciation. I suspect Google prefers the Classical pronunciation. And, so they...
by Dwane | Aug 27, 2022 | Tip of the Week
I recently read Atomic Habits by James Clear. Unlike so many of the current productivity books, this is a book I can actually recommend. It feels a little corporate of times, and the opening story is rough (Mr. Clear suffered a traumatic injury), but I recommend it....
by Dwane | Aug 20, 2022 | Uncategorized
This is worth your time. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ If you are learning Latin, I have written a book with all of my best tips and strategies. It’s available as a free download...
by Dwane | Aug 13, 2022 | Tip of the Week, Uncategorized
This week’s tip is simple. If you need to do some calculations, check out Calculator.net. There are financial calculators, health calculators, math calculators, and more. You can find out how much you can afford to pay if you are buying a house, how much you are...
