Random Thoughts(請勿轉貼)

Is there some milk in the glass?; "Is there a ..." "No, there are ...."?

~~http://www.englishforums.com/English/ProblemArentAny/zqmnr/post.htm~~

-> CalifJim

Is there a coffee mug on the table? -> Yes (No?)
~~http://www.englishforums.com/English/IsThereAAny/zzhjb/post.htm~~
-> Grammar Geek

使用No的例子(Note: not a lot; almost rare)(context matters)
books.google.com : "Is there a * no, there are"

Why Humanae vitae was right: a reader - Page 401

Janet E. Smith - 1993 - 591 pages
Is there a population problem? No, there are population problems. In some areas of the world, the fertility rate is too high to be sustained without great misery; in China, the inhuman effort to animal-farm the population is inflicting ...

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Once upon a distant war

William W. Prochnau - 1995 - 546 pages
Roger Hilsman had looked at the overall plans at the beginning of 1963 and concluded in a memo for the White House: "Is there a plan? The answer is no. There are five or six plans, most of them competing. There is, consequently, great ...

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(Note: only a snippet view; can't see the whole context)

Playgoer monthly: Issues 479-499

1949
What else it does, apart from adding a charming and riotously amusing item to the repertoire, is hard IS there a playwright's problem ? No, there are several. Playwriting is sometimes a creative activity ; sometimes a business pursuit ...

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(close)

The Guide to English Language Teaching Yearbook 2005

Simon Collin - 2005 - 333 pages
Is there a standard TEFL qualification? No. There are many routes to qualification as a TEFL teacher ranging from intensive four-week Certificate courses to two-year Master's Degrees. In the USA and some of the Far East, ...

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AND 對照: http://dunchee.blogspot.com/2009/11/any-apple-hyphens.html

單身證明

剛剛無意間在美國在台協會(AIT)的網站上瞄到"單身證明":
~~www.ait.org.tw/zhtw/u-s-citizen-services-zh/notaries-public-zh/~~
最底下:

(以前的舊圖。現在的網站內容有變)

當年要是我哥知道有這東西就可以少很多麻煩(他碰到的: 插曲)。也因為他的這段經驗，當換到我去移民局時我預先準備一份單身證明。其實我的文件裡頭沒有提到需要這個文件，但是我仍是準備好以防萬一(我的綠卡面試)。我面試的時候我有特地提我準備好的單身證明文件，那位移民官也只是看了一眼就繼續處理接下來的步驟。

"Notary public / notary"(是指"人")和"notarize"(動詞) :
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/notary%20public
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/notarize

一般我們提到"公證"，第一個想到的大概是要到法院去公證蓋章。當年我爸媽(人在美國)在辦綠卡的時候需要提供"結婚證明"(有先去找翻譯社翻成英文)第一個想到的也是到駐波士頓臺北經濟文化辦事處蓋章公證，結果被退件。後來他們的一位朋友說乾脆他自己來翻，然後找notary蓋個鋼印，過了(這理由說穿了也沒什麼，因為那是美國人熟知的"有公證力"的東西)。後來我自己的出生證明(台灣的戶籍謄本)和單身證明我都是自己翻譯，然後找notary公證。

DIY Book Scanner

I came across this website: http://www.diybookscanner.org/

I must say I had no idea books could be scanned this way. Yes, I used my digital camera to take a picture of a document or a page of a book before, but never could I imagine the whole set-up, let alone two cameras. (The funny thing was when I first saw the pictures on the web page, the first question came to my mind was "Where does the flatbed scanner fit in?")

I don't think I'll go this far, but who knows?

Thank you in advance(?)

很巧，我在九月份的Reader's Digest看到這個:
7 Irritating Phrases to Avoid in Your E-mail

--quote--
3. "Thanks in advance"—"as opposed to thanks from the past?"
--end quote--

<<我以前寫的一篇貼文:(djyang是我本人)>>

"Thank you in advance"這句文法上是正確的，也很常看到(尤其是商業界)，但是這句話很容易引起人反感，建議不要這樣子寫。

我到alt.usage.english問英語人士這問題，沒有newsgroupe reader的人可以用google的Groups功能找alt.usage.english然後搜尋"Thank you in advance"

或是點
這裡

目前為止有13篇回應，幾乎全部一面倒的認為這說法給人的感覺像是"我已經謝過你了，所以你有責任幫我喔"，有人甚至認為這謝法很rude。沒一個說這樣子謝人是沒問題的。

今天(Feb 12, 2011)看到的:
(AUE) Is "thanks in advance" polite/rude?

My new Kindle -- so far so good

All I can say is I made the right choice. I'm not saying the choice of the brand itself (what I really want is actually a Sony Touch Edition 650), but of an e-paper device in general. Of course, a good brand never hurts.

I'm not a heavy reader, but I do read, and when I want to read, I often find the media I read upon unsatisfactory--I'm talking about computer screens. Be it desktop or laptop flat screen (CRT is out of question), it doesn't matter; eye strain is always there. It frustrates me when I really want to read a good piece of article but all I can do is a short burst of browsing. I could print it out, and I did so from time to time, but the whole process is just cumbersome.

Roughly two weeks ago I became obsessed with e-readers and was checking on them on YouTube and Google all the time. Finally I set my eyes on Amazon's Kindle (wi-fi only version) and bought one two days ago.

The bottom line is I need something that looks like paper, works like paper, and feels like paper (well, not that the device feels like paper, but close), and after a couple days of using my new Kindle, I must say it exceeds all my expectations. The font is amazingly clear and crisp, and it's real easy on the eyes. I can easily carry the reader around and don't have to charge it every one or two hours.

But of course when it comes to my work, I still have to rely on my paper books and manuals. There're still places current e-paper devices can't reach.

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