by Dwane | Mar 7, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Pyrophoric: liable to ignite spontaneously when exposed to air. You know, like.. Charlie Sheen. While a pyrophoric chemical might ignite, a pyrophoric alloy will produce sparks when struck. Lighter flints, for example, are pyrophoric. The flintlock mechanism in...
by Dwane | Mar 7, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Admonish: To warn or notify of a fault; to reprove with mildness, to reprove without harshness. Admonish can also mean: To counsel against wrong practices; to caution or advise. To instruct or direct. The English word derives from the French admonester, which came...
by Dwane | Mar 7, 2015 | Education, Italian, Latin, Motivation, Tip of the Week, Travel
Think Outside the Border Tip #10 – Who wants to learn Italian? According to Frederick Bodmer, in his book, The Loom of Language, French, Spanish, and Italian derive directly from Latin. “The deeper we delve into the past, the more French, Spanish, and...
by Dwane | Mar 7, 2015 | Ebook, Education, Italian, Latin
The deeper we delve into the past, the more French, Spanish, and Italian converge. Finally, they become one in Latin, or, to be more accurate, in Vulgar Latin as spoken by the common people in the various parts of the Western Roman Empire. – Frederick Bodmer,...
by Dwane | Mar 6, 2015 | Ebook, Education, Latin
I received this inquiry on Facebook: “Is there a look inside anywhere? Table of contents?” I am still new to this world. Someone else asked for a Kindle edition. I know nothing about publishing on Kindle. Another mountain to climb. I don’t mind....
by Dwane | Mar 6, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Admire: To regard with wonder or surprise; to look up to; to look at with approbation, esteem, reverence, affection; to look at with wonder, or pleasure. From Latin admiror, which is a combination of the preposition ad meaning to, or toward, and the verb miror meaning...
by Dwane | Mar 6, 2015 | English, Greek, Vocabulary
Phosphorus: As a proper noun, an old name Venus, especially seen just before sunrise in the morning sky. Phosphorous is also a chemical element. It highly reactive. When phosphorous comes into contact with the air, it burns. It exists in white (or sometimes yellow),...
by Dwane | Mar 6, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Motivation
“Trying to focus all day is impossible. I learned early in my life that if I got up, ate right, exercised, had spiritual time and then spent just four hours working on my top priorities that it would drive my professional life forward. This has worked for me and for...
by Dwane | Mar 5, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Pheromone: Insect cologne. Well, sort of. Pheromones are substances secreted by some animals, usually insects. The pheromones affect other members of the species. Generally, insects secrete pheromones to attract members of the opposite sex. It does not always have...
by Dwane | Mar 5, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Adjective: In grammar, a word used with a noun, to express the quality of the noun. An adjective gives attributes to the noun. It limits, defines, or specifies the noun. Thus, in the phrase, a wise ruler, wise is the adjective. I am sorry. If you are an...
by Dwane | Mar 5, 2015 | Education, Motivation
Seven years ago, I was foreclosed on. My family had wiped out financially. My wife and I are extremely frugal. We always have been. I taught in a small private school. I earned about $28,000 a year. She stayed home with the kids. No matter how hard we tried, we...
by Dwane | Mar 4, 2015 | Uncategorized
A friend of my wife texted this. For a long time my wife was staring at her phone. When I asked what in the world she was doing, she showed me this.
by Dwane | Mar 4, 2015 | Ebook, English, Greek
Periphery: the circumference, outside the boundary, the edge, the outskirts. If something is in your peripheral vision, you see it in the side of your line of view. From Greek περιφέρεια: moving around. The Greek word comes from two smaller Greek words. The...
by Dwane | Mar 4, 2015 | Ebook, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Adhere: to stick to. This is the primary meaning. For example: The stamp adheres to the envelope. (If you are under 20 years of age, look it up.) There are several other meanings for adhere. Adhere also means, to be joined. Figuratively, the word means, to hold...
by Dwane | Mar 4, 2015 | English, Latin
This would make for a fun summer course. The Latin is rather advanced… so, this would be for students who had completed either Lingua Latina: Per Se Illustrata, or Robert Henle’s First Year Latin. Astérix et Obelix Click to access asterix-gallus.pdf Just...
by Dwane | Mar 3, 2015 | Education, English, Greek, Latin
Since I did not have to join the forums, I am actually a bit confused by the process. How do students join the forum? Once in, how do they join the correct group? One of my online students sent this note. She says it actually quite simple. Mr Thomas, I did not have...
by Dwane | Mar 3, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Motivation, Tip of the Week
Yesterday, I slept in. Sleeping in is a luxury I try to deny myself every day. When I sleep late, bad things happen. If I lose an hour in the morning, I will spend the rest of the day searching for it. So, why do I rise early every morning? I rise early to read....
by Dwane | Mar 3, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Paraphernalia: belongings; the stuff you need for a particular activity; equipment. From the Greek παρα (pará): beside, and φερνή (phernḗ): things in addition to a dowry. Φερνή derives from φέρω (phérō): I carry. Paraphernalia, which now means “stuff”, once upon a...
by Dwane | Mar 3, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Adequate: sufficient; equal to the requirement, okay, passable, satisfactory, mediocre. Though it not longer carries this meaning in English, adequate once meant to equalize. The old meaning is closer to its Latin roots. In Latin the preposition ad means, to or...
by Dwane | Mar 2, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Abeyance: a temporary halt, a temporary suspension. A temporary period of disuse. Abeyance shows up in English for the first time in 1528. Initially, it has a legal meaning. This makes sense. After all, the word comes from the old French word abeiance. The French...
by Dwane | Mar 2, 2015 | Education, Latin, Visual Latin
I received this inquiry: “I really enjoy your videos in your web site and YouTube. I am confused as for example nouns Nom, Gen, Dat, Acc, Abl in every other source I use it is in a different order for example www.nationalarchives.gov.uk uses Nom, (Voc),Acc,...
by Dwane | Feb 28, 2015 | Education, Latin, Visual Latin
Oh, the questions kids ask these days. I received this inquiry: “Also, I had a few questions about the chapter. In line 110, it says nec vallum ascendere. I get the point that the Germans aren’t climbing the walls because the Romans are throwing spears...
by Dwane | Feb 28, 2015 | Tip of the Week, Uncategorized
Yesterday, I announced all of the upcoming classes I will be teaching this Fall. Naturally, this announcement generated some questions. I was surprised by the theme. People wanted to know, “Is this class only for students? As an adult, may I also join the...
by Dwane | Feb 28, 2015 | English, Vocabulary
Instead of a word today, some negative inspiration. Pay attention to the words you use. People notice. “A couple of years ago, I was in a meeting trying to persuade some people of the merits of a business idea. The presentation seemed to be going well: the three...
by Dwane | Feb 28, 2015 | Education, Motivation, Tip of the Week
Yesterday, I announced all of the upcoming classes I will be teaching this Fall. Naturally, this announcement generated some questions. I was surprised by the theme. People wanted to know, “Is this class only for students? As an adult, may I also join the...
