I’ve spent a great deal of time getting ready for the trip to Argonne National Labs. Staying at work until the wee hours of the morning for the past two weeks is wearing me thin. Today things finally began to come together but we still have more to finish tomorrow. I can’t say I’m a fan of working on Saturday but there’s not much of a choice since we are running out of time. I will be pleased when this is all over with and I can get back to doing what I like: programming.

Do you realize how often we use words that aren’t correct? For instance, irregardless. In the usage paragraph of the dictionary it states that, “it is still a long way from general acceptance. Use regardless instead.” Another example is expecially (44,000 entries), which isn’t even in the dictionary but is frequently used.

Acronyms are also used repetitively, such as ATM machine (Automatic Teller Machine machine), NIC card (Network Interface Card card), PIN number (Personal Identification Number number), ISBN number (International Standard Book Number number) and HIV virus (Human Immunodeficiency Virus virus).

Even phrases are misunderstood or misused, like “For all intensive purposes” (should be for all intents and purposes), “I could care less” (you probably meant you couldn’t care less), or “You’re suppose to” (instead of supposed to).

One phrase I wasn’t quite sure about is “The proof is in the pudding or putting.” Google helped out there by showing 10,200 results for pudding and only 124 for putting. I guess Google’s not just for finding web sites anymore.