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#TIL: Comma Chaos

This post is only for those of you who are writing or grammar nerds.  The rest of you, pick a topic that interests you on the right and enjoy ;).  

Comma Chaos in English


So TIL there’s a worse trauma possible due to a lack of comma than that felt by Nelson Mandela and everyone else harmed by a missing Oxford Comma.  However, it’s not relevant in English writing only in Spanish and until now I had NO idea.  Zero.  Ziltch.  Nada.  None.  So now I’m wondering how much I’ve misread cause of it lol.


So - here’s the thing, this post is why actual live teachers are important, cause this TIL comes to you from my Spanish lesson today, and suffice to say Google Translate has never imparted this info to me ;)  Also, I’m writing this as much to solidify in my own little brain as to share this complete randomness.


These two sentences:

  • Van a reformar la casa, que está vieja
  • Van a reformar la casa que está vieja

Do not actually mean the same thing.


The words translate roughly into They are going to renovate the house which is old. 


The one with a comma functions similarly to how it does in English - the comma gives us extra information.  So this one house, right here, is being repaired because it’s old.  


But the other one, without a comma, means they are renovating the old house (not any of these other ones around here) 

That missing comma was donated to create a whole neighbourhood!   😂 


For those who read Spanish, here's the official version
For those who don't,  it's the pretty picture of the above ;)


This one amused me:

  • Los hijos de Clara, que son simpatiquísimo, vienen a visitarnos
  • Los hijos de Clara que son simpatiquísimos vienen a visitarnos

Basic Translation:

Clara’s children, who are very nice, come to visit us.

Vs: The nice children of Clara’s come to visit us (but the other, not-nice, children stay home)


So there you have both your and my educational moment of the day ;).  

Kitten silliness


Moriarty

So I was freezing cold when I got home today and decided a hot bubble bath (well along w turning on the heat) was the solution.  Tub is in our ensuite and usually bath time is right before bed, so as a result our kitten Mori - who loves playing in the tub, has never seen it full of water (animals aren't allowed in our room at night cause I'm a light sleeper and not a good human when I don't sleep ;)

But - this was daylight so I didn't lock the animals out.  He was *super* concerned about the loud tap running and was yelling at me from the other side of the bathroom.  I - being a stupid human - did not get out or take his warning seriously 😂 


So I turn off the tap and Mori comes over and pokes his head up.   Jumps up on the surround behind the tub and head butts me a few times purring and then goes away.  All is good.


Right so I’m half asleep soaking, no critters around.  Then *splash*!!!    😂 Mori had tried to cross the window ledge and failed, fell in the tub, and managed to levitate himself out, completely soaked and absolutely covered in bubbles.  Somehow without scratching me in the process.


He flew back to the floor mat absolutely traumatized for life and frantically started trying to solve the fact that he was now soaked and covered in bubbles.


It’s hours later and I’m still chuckling at the desolate drowned rat kitten wearing a bubble sweatshirt and looking so very confused as to what had gone so horribly wrong 😂.


I gave a moment’s thought to hoping the bubbles weren’t toxic to cats but figured by the time I managed to catch him it’d be too late for me to do anything about it anyways.  I am amazed at how much of the bathroom my 8lbs kitten managed to soak in .07 of a second.


Today's amusement for you :).   Alas too fast an adventure and I was asleep for the first part of it, so suffice to say, there are no photos ;).  But I kinda wish there were.

Rebel Kitten

Pure innocence ;)

So with Enola it wasn't all that hard to convince her to stay off the counter.   Mori, otoh, is a bit more adventurous ;).  So a few weeks ago we ordered a device that will blast air any time it senses motion - it doesn't have the best reviews, but theoretically it should deter the kitten from jumping on the counter.  Said device arrived yesterday, but it needed batteries which I figured would be a today problem.

Well this morning I got a text from C that mentioned he "picked up batteries on the way to work".   Ummm okay?  I figured there was more to that but busy work day so didn't ask too many questions.  Got the story when he got home.

Apparently he was making chicken breasts for his lunches and had left them on the stove while he put dishes away (now understand our kitchen is not large and is horseshoe-shaped.  If you are putting away dishes, you are by definition within arms reach of the stove).   It seems Mori hopped up on the counter and helped himself to one of the chicken breasts 😂     You have to realize, the chicken breast is nearly as big as the kitten.  C did, of course, get it back.  But omg the gall of that kitten.  I have to admit I'm still laughing at the scene I never got to see in reality ;)   

And yes, the air device is set up and appears to work.   The noise more than anything scares him off.

Anyways - just some silliness that made me laugh.  I adore this kitten, even when he is being a holy terror 😂