Brown Cow Meditation

Power corrupts.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

You have probably heard something very like the above.
What does it have to do with you and me?

There are examples.

What kind of power is our opening sentence most likely about?
What might the corruption be like there?
What might be the nature of that corruption?

How do you detect corruption?
How do you avoid corruption?
How do you handle your power?

What has mankind tried to do about the corrupting influence of power?

You know that power is 'good' in that it can be helpful and useful.
You know that power is 'bad' in that it can be hurtful and destructive.

There is power potential in fire or in a hammer. What rules have we developed to support the good and limit the bad in hammers and fire?

There is a power potential in military and political organizations. what rules has mankind developed to potentiate the good in such organizations and limit the bad?

We give (delegate) power to others every day. What rules do we have for limiting the corrupting influences to which they are exposed?

Where might a corrupting influence be at work?

What rules do we have for keeping ourselves good?
Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.
How now?

May You Be Safe on Your Bike

In California and in many other states we have agreed that bicycle riders are to follow the same rules it is mandated that motor vehicle drivers follow. Five rules that it is good for bicycle riders to follow for their own safety are:
1. Consider wearing a helmet. Californians have agreed that bike riders under 18 must wear one.
2. Keep your bicycle in good mechanical condition.
3. Follow traffic laws. Signal your intentions before making a turn or changing lanes. Four wheel motor vehicle drivers tend to lose sight of bicycle riders as often as they loose sight of motor cycle riders. It's often a good idea to consider making eye contact with a nearby car driver just before making a lane change or turn.
4. Ride with the flow of traffic and use dedicated bicycle lanes where they are available.
5. Do not ride a bicycle if you have used alcohol or drugs recently. In California, if you are under 21 but over 13 and ride under the influence, your drivers license will be suspended or delayed one year.

I wish all a safe ride.

Patterns of Sound, Spelling, and Meaning

What do you make of the final consonant sounds in words like the following? Do you find any interesting patterns? Do you find a useful pattern? We are pattern finders aren't we?

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hiss, his, bus, buzz, buzzes, buses, words, ways, means, business, businesses, parts, homes, benefits, boss, bosses, markets, as, ass, rise, rice, sources, sores, noose, rides, rites, news, tens, tense, trends, niches, competitors, success, successes, profits, sites, opportunities, brands, edges, tactics, qualities, prioritize, less, sells, seals, budgets, solutions, costs, places, place,palms, sides, says, avoids, navels, press, peas, peace, piss, hands, force, fours, lungs, exercise, exercises, states, is, politics, rights, powers, acts, has, this, these, those, acts, ease, Texas, foods, fishes, was, dollars, does, doze, cheeks, checks, deposits, keys, kiss, things, thinks, pays, pace, bays, bees, base, lights, reasons, friends, problems, pause, paws, cares, mouse, bits, pieces, pis, fords, speakers, perhaps, materials, plurals, groups, bottoms, features, taxes, mince, rice, source, sores, noose,
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Add as many of your own as you wish.

A way to begin to find patterns is by dividing them into two groups; the ss group and the zz group. The ss group could be made up of words ending in an 's' sound as in: tactics, hiss, parts, success. The zz group could be made up of words ending in a 'z' sound as in the words: buzz, buzzes, his, words.

Can you hear the difference?

I'll try to get back to this to point out some patterns I find.

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6-10-9 PATTERNS continued
Here are some words which I say end in the zz sound: symbols, his, has, is, years, clues, these, fifties, areas, journeys, tales, others, problems fields, falls, letters, names, terms, sins, suggestions, references, tens, advise, raise, bards,heroes, stories, practices, believes, questions, peoples, sores, cultures, resemblances, places. What words might you add?
Here are some which I believe end in the ss sound: myths, hiss, base, this, house, limits, evidence, false, accents, cents,scents, science, books, looks, likes, acknowledgements, visits, advice, groups, assistance, helpfulness, race, acquaintance, works, giants, religious, beliefs, Celts, attacks, less, ships, source, tense noose, shops. What ss ending words might you add?

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6-15-9

Have you found any patterns yet?
Here is a pattern I found that relates to spelling and pronunciation:
(likes, looks, lakes, walks, woks, wakes) The words in parentheses all end in the ss sound, don't they. Can you find a word that ends i the ss sound that doesn't have the 'k' sound as it's penultimate sound. We may not only be finding a pattern but also a law. We might start by saying that when a word ends in an s preceded by a k the s sounds ss.
What can you add to the list? Find another pattern or rule.

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What might say about pairs like the following? Are there pairs of more than one sort here?
sores ...... source
as ......... ass
news ....... noose
rise ....... rice
his ........ hiss
tens ....... tense
plays ...... place
keys ....... kiss
What similar pairs can you add?
How about:
saves ...... safes
sins ....... since
fours ...... force
bays ....... base
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6-29-9
Who is interested in spelling and pronunciation?
How interested are they?
Have you noticed that English speakers like the final 'ss' sound when it is preceded by a 't' sound?
For example: parts, profits, budgets, rights, acts, limits, visits, giants, Celts.

I'm failing to start conversations here. I've made about 500 attempts without one success. I'm not ready to give up completely, but I am ready to give up this attempt to discuss English pronunciation.