MAKE YOUR WORDS STING...THEN RUN LIKE HELL!Written by Doug C. Grant
(I wrote this article shortly before Attack on America. Although it was originally intended to deflect rude e-mails and letters, sense of it has become much larger in scope. I am in no way suggesting that terrorists attacking this country should be allowed to escape justice. I for one feel we should go after these people with every resource at our command. But trying to fight hate with hatred will only multiply evil. And it is guaranteed to bring unwanted effects back on both individuals and our country. Read following article with that context in mind.)________________________________ You know feeling. You've been wronged. Or think you've been wronged. Same difference. You sit down at computer and pound out an angry, scathing denunciation of person, their company, their ancestry and their ethics. You insult everything about them except their looks. And that's probably because you never met them. With a single keystroke or a first class stamp, your damming missile is on way. Satisfied that you have put another idiot in their place and proven to world that you're a person who can't be messed with, you treat yourself to a cup of coffee. But instead of coffee, you better be looking over your shoulder and running like hell. You have just sent out a barrage of 'boomerang' words. They will return. Guaranteed. And they will sting you with multiplied ferocity. Sometimes words themselves return. But generally they come back in unrecognizable forms. It may be a health problem...loss of a job...financial setbacks...or something you consider to be just plain bad luck.
| | An Inside Look at ProofreadingWritten by Donna Sweat
This is ideal topic for us all to think about. We do it everyday, especially those of us that use Internet majority of time. Web pages, business letters, articles, news releases, documentation and most certainly, advertisements. I have at times found myself proofreading our local newspaper..and suspect their proofreader isn't necessarily paying attention to his or her work. I have found scores of web sites with same problem. Terrible spelling and common grammatical errors are high on list. Of course, some of us do not pay attention to these little details, but entrepreneurs look for imperfections in a web page. Do we all know how to proofread? Not necessarily. Looking for misspelled words is scarcely enough to polish your workmanship and neither is applying capital letters where needed. I am touching surface with most common proofreading DO's. You might think a little differently next time you do job.1] Always proofread when you are at your daily peak. In other words, do not try it, if you are sleepy or distracted.You will definitely miss a number of errors. Proofreading requires concentration. 2] Read selection through and then read it aloud. Read it to a friend and have them read it to you. Read it backwards..that's what I said. You'll be amazed at errors in spelling you will encounter. 3] Use your computer's spell checker,but do not rely on it.Often, there are times checker will find errors but word meaning is different, such as "there" and "their". Use a dictionary to be sure of correct meaning of a word. 4] The thesaurus is helpful,but again range of words are limited,a book offers a broader list. Your choice of words does make a difference when others read what you have to offer, so go ahead and be choosy. 5] Be sure all beginning letters of a sentence are capitalized.Names of importance, within sentence are a must to remember. 6] Look for sentence fragments, run ons and match subjects with verbs.
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