I am in Ho, Ghana Wondering Why Africans are Optimistic

edbytes from has written 5 comments

Grammar is a set of rules made up by people with a lot of time on their hands. Shakespeare did not use the grammar that is now used in English. Many languages have much simpler grammar than English. To misquote "Don't worry about grammar, be happy." You have a lucid understandable style. Don't let them nibble at you over grammar.

Brotha J from has written 12 comments

Andy, I will be going to Ghana in a short while to do some temporary web work for a couple companies. After that I'm off to somewhere, which is just south of something and west of nowhere. I've enjoy sifting over your writings and marveled at your unwavering pursuit to do nothing. I have not traveled in 10 years and have reached a point of cultural drowning here in California. I am ready to step out. I have always settled into what ever comes my why. I adapt easily. I think the biggest struggle for me at this point, however, is going to be settling into a life that I..."can zone out and enjoy life free of conflicts (and internal obligation) ". Oh, think there might have been a few grammar errors in that one, but hey, its my brain and this is how it spills out. I just want to say thank you for your writings. They are helping me to make my metamorphic transition into my next phase in life. I'm looking forward to new struggles other than "oh shit! how am I going to make my Cable payment this month", and " crap, I can't afford that porterhouse steak this week."

Ready! Begin!

Gadget from has written 916 comments

I am using an MTN USB Wireless Internet Modem.

It has FTP completely blocked, I cannot use a program, or even just http to ftp.

I am going to check out the Vodafone one soon, I have been using the Tether.com to BlackBerry with the Verizon Global Data, but this is not good system.

I am saying, pay attention to what is open in Ghana for access.

It's snowing and blowing in Fort Wayne Indiana and my wife is staring at the window, if it gets any worse I'll have to let her come inside... My son plowed us out but everything is closed, I feel like the stiff at an atheist funeral who's all dressed up with no place to go...John

Alan "Grammar is a set of rules made up by people with a lot of time on their hands". Is this written by someone who has poor grammar? I am shocked that you would generalize in such a stupid way. I learned correct grammar, etc., in school. It's not difficult you know?!! People who don't use correct grammar and/or spelling are lazy.
I accept that fact that Andy has issues in that department. Fine with me.

Hi Andy -
(1) grin and bear [not "bare", unless you mean that you want to leave some skin exposed] it - not a grammar, but a spelling/word usage issue.
(2) I think you meant drivel [not "dribble" [unless you meant that you wanted to stop listening to the flow of saliva out of the "grammar tutors' mouths, or to the sound of a basketball bouncing] - again, not a grammar issue.
No need to reply - just trying to help you, bit by bit, increase your mastery of the language.
I totally disagree with Alan - his writing generally follwed the rules of grammar! All languages are governed by rules of grammar, which make both spoken and written language comprehensible. Obviously, Shakespeare did not use all of the same rules of English grammar (or word usage) that we use today, but that is simply because all languages change/evolve. You can be sure that he was aware of the rules of grammar that prevailed during his time That so take, Alan!!!
In any event, I submit that clear, correct use of the language makes for more clear and effective communication.
'til next time, be well, and take care!
Steve L.

Gadget from has written 916 comments

Quote: "People who don't use correct grammar and/or spelling are lazy.
I accept that fact that Andy has issues in that department. Fine with me."

Hmm deductive logic
- People who don't use correct grammar and/or spelling are lazy.
- Andy has issues in that department
Ergo or therefore, Andy is lazy.

Fun stuff, I am continuously intrigued by people that can focus on grammar and spelling. I have been trying to introspect, observe, and even test my own brain, I want to learn how this brain of my functions.

The three subjects I concentrated on in University were Philosophy, Psychology and English.
- Freshman year I was going to be a Philosophy major.
- Sophomore year a Psych major, and half an English major.
(I got a B in English Interpretation, one of the killer or cull you out courses.)
- Junior year I went back to Philosophy.
- Senior year I got drunk.

All through this time period of my life, I quizzed and debated with Professors, asking or posing the question:
Where doe a new idea or a creative idea come from?

This is a spin off from understanding causal determinism.
(Determinism (specifically causal determinism) is the concept that events within a given paradigm are bound by causality in such a way that any state (of an object or event) is, to some large degree, determined by prior states.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determinism

I believe there is a sort of small mistakes, maybe small quantum leaps in the brain electrochemical synapses that in a quirky way allows some of us to think outside the box.

All this begets the conclusion, the people that can color inside the lines may be less creative, while the ones that cannot stay in the lines are more creative. Good grammar is staying inside the lines, while bad grammar is maybe people who cannot keep the color inside the lines.

I also have a speed problem, it is sever torture to get my brain to focus on one word or three words, I only focus on 20 word groups. Good grammar requires me to give incredible value position to one word, then the next word, then the next in sequence, than in a group.

My brain is not capable of going this slow, I would need to take some drug to slow my brain down this speed. People who think slower and do grammar, and I accept that some people have this issue, they think slow.

The question is this, did I twist the knife in the opposite direction for fun?

Creativity is the art of writing, grammar is the machine that carries the work of art, we can hire editors, difficult to have an original thought.

majosh from has written 3 comments

Hi Andy..perhaps some people think your grammer sucks, but to me it really looks more like "typos"..i get what youre saying, no problem. I can see your brain is definitely faster than your fingers :) BTW...I think you should HALT in South Africa :) Take care hobo!

Gadget from has written 916 comments

Yes, this is the problem, how to find typos? It is a dreadful problem for me, how to slow my brain down so I can see the typos?

I do these research pages, I just made a page on the writing Blog called
"How to Find Typos?"

I must teach myself, therefore I make a page, then write about the subject, and by writing on a subject I learn.

http://www.hobotraveler.com/writing/how-to-find-typos.php

Note, if any reader wants to create a "Writers Profile" I can create link for your, if you go to this page, you will see there is Tim Leffel, who wrote a book called Travel Writing 2.0. I am one of the 50 travel writer profiled in the book.

http://www.hobotraveler.com/writers/index.php

When I read your writing, I find myself reading a phrasing style that I commonly associate with expats. I believe it has to do with the exposure to other languages' grammar such that you do not recall the common usage of your own. Your, "how [sic] to slow my brain down so I can see the typos?" is a classic example. It reads almost as if it were translated from another language. In English, it would be, "How can/may/shall I slow my brain down so that I can see the typos?" The replacement of an English synonym for "to be able to" with the general verb infinitive is a common translation error. When I was first achieving fluency in Spanish and became shy, I'd often use verb infinitives (the "to" form such as "to slow") when I couldn't remember the more tricky parts of speech that are appropriate.

You do make a few grammar errors. If you want to learn English grammar (perhaps as a new hobby? you could then earn additional income as a private English tutor or editor) I would be more than happy to send you the Modern Language Association Handbook. Aside from information about writing bibliographies, it lists and exemplifies every single grammar rule of the American English language, such as when to use periods vs commas vs semicolons. I have no problem with it, but have noticed that you often opt for commas when a period, semicolon, em-dash, or even ellipsis (...) is the appropriate punctuation mark to use. That said, you are not alone in these mistakes, which is what keeps technical editors employed.
(Cool grammar lesson for fun: always use a comma before "which". No need to use a comma before "that".)

You also use words as you would aurally hear them such as "bare" instead of the more correct "bear" but only seem to do so in idiomatic expressions. This further adds charm and shows that you are an expat.

All in all, I think it just reminds readers that you have left the United States behind.

And if I were you - and am fully aware that I'm not - I would respond to further requests to fix your grammar with, "Oh, so you'd like to be my new, unpaid, technical editor, would you?" Either they'll "put up" or "shut up".

However, writing with incorrect grammar does discredit your claims to be a travel writer. Travel writers either self-edit or have technical editors such that their pieces are, with minor overlooked exceptions, grammatically correct.

has written 47 comments

To call you lazy shows they don't know you. It is an immediate reaction to a superficial reading of your writing. I actually thought you were doing it on purpose when I first started reading your blog. heehee

J's comments make a lot of sense. You are right you can hire an editor to clean up your grammer but the original thoughts are yours.

edbytes from has written 5 comments

Talk about generalizations. Spelling and grammar are of course necessary to some degree but not at the expense of getting your point across. Spelling especially is a visual skill. I instinctively know how a word is spelled but I know people who don't visualize and have a hard time with spelling. This doesn't make them lazy or stupid.
The point is that you (Andy) don't make any egregious mistakes that would prevent people from understanding you.
So again don't worry about it.

I ran into a blog post about catching typos, the other day. It reminded me of reading this post of yours. I thought you might like to look at it and evaluate it for inclusion in your, "How to catch typos?" page. It is @ http://www.bnet.com/blog/businesstips/8-tips-for-catching-typos-before-you-click-send/10519 (Edited the link to remove the Feedburner click tracking.)

Gadget from has written 916 comments

Hello Infamous J,

Thanks, I added the link to this page:
http://www.hobotraveler.com/writing/how-to-find-typos.php