I'd just like you all to know ...

that I spent the entire day today working with groups of words that LDS missionaries use. We've been working for a long time on making these word groups for the computer program that I help develop for my job. In fact, we've spent the better part of the last two months working on them. We had originally split them up into three big categories, and three of us worked on them and had them QCed and everything. We've just recently gotten to the point where we really needed to combine all three lists and coordinate our work with each other. So, since I'm affectionately known around here as the formatting expert, the task fell to me to combine the lists of word groups and organize it. It took all day. And I'm not quite done yet, either. I found TONS of duplicate word groups, that had the same title but different words in them. It took a while coordinating all of that. Wow. For a linguist, I never really thought that I could detest words so thoroughly.

I'd also like to draw your attention to the link at the bottom of my sidebar to Google Sets. I just love this site. It takes the words that you enter and then uses some kind of algorithm (or something) to figure what other words are likely to be in the same set as it. Try something like "ash," "poplar," and "birch." Or, for something really fun, try "Harry," "Ron," and "Hermione" or "Frodo," "Sam," "Merry," and "Pippin." Great, huh? I tell you -- you give this to a linguist, and just watch them go crazy! (As we can well testify here at my work, where we have quite a few linguists gathered together in one room.)