Re: words (and commands) that I learnt because of Branden (was: preferred /proc/<pid>/xxx style?)

[Alejandro Colomar]

Hi John,

On 12/10/22 00:42, John Gardner wrote:
>       Your emails are the reason I know and often use dict(1).  Lol.
>
>
> Branden's e-mails are the reason I consult the Oxford English dictionary far 
> more often than I'm comfortable admitting. Either I'm learning obscure words I 
> know I'll never remember when I need them,^[1] <#snarky-footnote-1> or I'm 
> asking myself /"wait, what does /X/mean, again…?"/, chiefly because I don't read 
> enough (non-technical) literature. :-(
>
> And even when he /isn't/ filling my notes file I use to horde definitions of 
> fancy-sounding words I probably won't ever use, I'm always admiring how he 
> manages to balance cheeky humour with informative, expressive writing that 
> brings the Camel Book's writing style to mind (seriously, when discussing dry 
> topics like typesetting and Unix orthography, a sense of humour makes digestion 
> /so/ much easier).
>
> Also, "/vituperator/" still reigns as my favourite Brandenism^[2] 
> <#if-you-can-read-this-gmail-forgot-to-sanitise-my-fragment-identifier> to date.
>
> ^[1] Or awkwardly pigeonhole them into discussions when I do.
> ^[2] An unintentional extension to a reader's vocabulary, often when you least 
> expect it.
> ^[3] There's no third footnote, I just wanted to point out how infectious 
> Branden's writing style is.

I couldn't stop laughing with [3]!  How many times we've read a footnote with no 
corresponding reference...  :D

--
<http://www.alejandro-colomar.es/>

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