NOVA this week (June 27, 2015)

I live in Northern Virginia, often abbreviated NOVA, so NOVA this week is a review of things that amused or bemused me this week. It’s a play on words, as Nova also means “new” and so it can mean “New this week” or “Northern Virginia this week”.

Sort of a – what I saw on Mulberry Street this week. It might become a weekly thing – might not. We’ll see. Some of these items may be regular elements of NOVA, some will be one timers.

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Scripture verse: I’m reading The One Year Chronological Bible (NIV). A portion of a verse that resonated:

I desire mercy, not sacrifice….Hosea 6:6 (words of God, delivered by the prophet Hosea)

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New vocabulary: You know how you think reading classic lit, or anything really, improves your vocabulary, and I’m certain it does, but often I read a new word (check the meaning on my Nook…love that feature), and think  “Good word, I’ll have to remember it.” But most often, I don’t. I figure by writing a few down, it will reinforce them.

Pedant: person who makes excessive display of learning

Scabrous: indecent or scandalous

Querulous: full of complaints

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Vanity Plate: Virginia is the land of cheap vanity plates (I think that may be the state motto). So, I see a lot of vanity plates. Some are pretty cryptic and I like to try and figure out what they mean. Some are silly, or stupid, or astonishingly vain (they are vanity plates). This week’s VP: YUDUFUS

Really?

This person said to themselves, “Hmmm…what could I spend a little extra of my income on…I got it, insulting everyone I meet.”

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I work in a building guarded by U.S. Marines. No, I’m not a felon, they are not guarding me, they are protecting me, that’s what I call job security. When I drive through the gate in the morning, and they check my I.D. I’ve taken to saying “Thank you Marine” when they let me in. It’s amazing what that little thing, adding “Marine” to the statement, seems to mean to them. I think there’s a basic human itch satisfied there somehow.

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At work, if we are arriving late, or leaving early, or out for an appointment, etc. we annotate it on a shared calendar so everyone is accounted for. People usually abbreviate: LA-10:00 (late arrival, 10 Oclock), MA-Medical appointment, etc. But I noticed one thing the guys, in particular, don’t abbreviate. They always spell out, Early Departure. They never put…John – E.D.

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