It's been a while.

and since nobody really follows this thing yet.. I can post some things here in relative privacy..



My beloved Governors lost tonight to the Tennessee Vols. Just like every year, they give a ray of hope and then break your heart. It might be a long season for me.



I've been working really hard trying to get my bike shop open... . . so many hoops to jump thru..



Lease agreements, partnership agreements, bank accounts, vendor relationships, city and county and federal and state licences and tax numbers, changing over utilities, ordering inventory, storing the inventory, doing necessary renovation type stuff to the rental space so that it looks more like a functional bike shop and less like a nicotine stained, neglected loan office; building a facebook page, trying to figure out the twitter thing, building bikes, moving all my tools and stuff, cleaning, painting, washing floor, building things, paying fees. . .. ugh!



Ok just to go into a little detail. . . It costs $50 just to ask if you can put up a sign for your buisness. Whether or not it is approved is irrelevant. $50. Thanks.



To get electricty from CDE costs $986. You read that right. $986. Just to turn that shit on. That fee was avoided by my partner (dad) signing a note that said if we didn't pay the electric bill for the shop, not only would they cut the power off there, but at his home as well. They couldn't get me that way; I'm on CEMC.



I've had bicycle stuff piled up in my garage for about the last month.



The tennant in the shop before me said they would be out by nov. 1. They weren't. That was a setback.

Things are moving slower than I want, but that's the way it is. I've really been so focused on the bike shop thing that I haven't really had brain space to stop and think and relax and all that.



In better news . . . I've got an awesome little girl coming in January. I can't wait. All three people who follow my blog already know this, but I'm super excited. I don't know how it's all going to work out smoothly . . . work, bike shop, wife, baby daughter, awesome 6 year old son, bills, dad as business partner, lame ass basketball season that I would normally look forward to but now I dread, etc . . . but somehow I know it all will. I've got help from people who care . . . and that goes a long way sometimes. It's all exciting and scary at the same time.

I'd like to have the time to blog more, but like I said.. . .

Going to bed. New mattress at for me at station 8. sweet.

Grammar Lesson 2

On my days off I substitute teach. It is usually easy money, but sometimes I go to middle school and then it's not-so-easy money.

Anyway, I was at a middle school the other day in a Read 180 class. For those who don't know, Read 180 is designed to help older kids read better. It is basically an elementary school design, where there is a large group instruction, then kids break into smaller groups were one group takes a quiz on a computer, one group goes to the reading carpet, and the last group gets small group instruction from the teacher over the day's lesson. I don't know if it really helps them or not, because you still kind of have to want to read better in order to learn to read better.

First period was my planning period, but I stayed in the room to watch another teacher do this Read 180 system. I guess it went ok, but the guy did something that really bothered me.

In the story they read the word whom was used. One of the kids in the first small group asked the teacher what whom meant. He responded with a pretty good answer for these kids: "Whom is sort of like another word for who, so when you see that, just think who and you'll be alright." 

Eh, not correct, but what the hell, huh? They don't need to be confused with all the grammar stuff if they don't know how to read, right? 

So I was fine with that until the next small group came over and the teacher starts trying to make himself sound smarter than he is (see grammar lesson 1). He volunteers his wisdom of pronouns and their usage by telling this group and the next one that the word whom is plural, y'all . . . PLURAL for the word who. He goes on to say, "In this story there is more than one person, so instead of saying who, the author says whom because it is the plural form of who." 

I didn't say anything at that moment, because like I said, the students didn't need to be confused, and I didn't say anything to the teacher later because I didn't really want this guy teaching kids something he didn't fully understand anyway. But for those of you who would like to know, here is the correct way to use who and whom:

First of all, whom is more formal and is often simply not used in American English. But, if used, it must be used correctly, please. And, as with many cases of poor grammar, one must really know the parts of speech and their form, function, and position usages. Most people don't, which is why people often screw this up.

Who is always in the subjective case. It functions as the subject of a sentence or clause, or as a predicate noun. Consider these sentences:

Who is going to the game tonight? (Who is the subject verb phrase is going)

I don't care who goes. (Who is the subject of the verb goes)

I am the one who's driving. (Who is the subject of the verb is driving)

I am who I am. (Who is a predicate nominative, that is a noun in the predicate of a sentence that names the subject.)

All of the above are sentences in which the word who is used correctly.

Whom, on the other hand, is an objective case pronoun. It is used as the object of a preposition, a direct object, or indirect object.

Consider these sentences:

For whom was this letter written? (object of the preposition for)

With whom will you be going? (object of the preposition with)

You drove whom to the game? (stuffy sounding I know, but correctly used as the direct object of the verb drove)

I will give whom the tickets? (clunky sounding and not used often, but correctly used as the indirect object of the verb will give)

Again, I realize the last two sentences there are strange sounding, which is why Americans really don't talk like that. But no where, NO WHERE is whom used to represent plurality as in more than one person! The teacher was just trying to sound smart in front of dumb kids and a dumb substitute teacher, not knowing that he was sounding really dumb in front of someone who really knows English grammar. 

If you don't know which words to use, please just use the one that sounds normal. Do not try to make yourself sound formal if you are going to misuse our language. 

Thanks again.

Grammar Lesson 1

Dear friends, please take the time to read this.

Use of proper grammar has become so lax by people who are educated and those who are in positon to be heard, like TV anchors, news reporters, athletes, actors, musicians, etc. The mistake that has really been getting on my nerves for the last few years is the misuse of prounouns in an effort to try to sound "educated".

It is maddening.

Listen.

The pronoun I is always in the subjective case. It should always be used as the subject of a sentence. Please stop using it in objective position as the object of a verb or object of a preposition.

The pronoun me is always in the objective case. It is used as the object of a verb or preposition.

Consider these common statements for example.

1) "Brad went to the game with Joe and I."

2) "Brad went to the game with Joe and me."

The first statement is grammatically incorrect and makes the speaker sound like he's trying to sound educated. In the first sentence, the pronoun I is functioning as the object of the preposition with. It is incorrect because I is a subjective case pronoun . . . it should not be used in the objective position. You would never say, "Brad went to the game with I," would you?

The second sentence is correct because the pronoun me is an objective case pronoun used in the objective position and functioning correctly as the object of the preposition with. You might normally say, "Brad went to the game with me."

So, when do I say . . . "Joe and I" you ask?

Use it as the subject of the sentence. Always.

For example:

"Joe and I are going to the game with Brad."

Not, "Joe and me are going to the game with Brad."

That second sentence sounds silly and five-year-oldish, doesn't it? That's because me is meant to be the object not the subject in a sentence. You would never say, "Me am going to the game tonight," would you? Of course not.

Make yourself sound better educated by using pronouns correctly.

Thanks.