I asked, “are we actually allowed to defenestrate contractors?”

Maybe we can only do that when no one is looking.

I think this may be the first time I’ve been able to work the word “defenestrate” into a real conversation.

It is highly improbable that a comparable kind of error could have happened if the ballot contained prepositions instead of persons [As Cronin shows, however, ballot-prepositions can also generate considerable confusion amongst the electorate.  [...]

I’ll be the first to admit that I, too, would be confused if I had to select prepositions on the ballot.  Should I support or oppose “for”?  What about “of”, “under”, and “in”?

I shouldn’t pick on Schmidt, as it is probable that English isn’t his first language.  His paper was the first that came up on a search for “ballot preposition”, a phrase I’d overheard in a conversation recently.

Used in the novel American Gods by Neil Gaiman; since since in modest usage on the web.

od hac /ˈoʊˈdi hæk/, adjective,  improvised for one specific purpose, in a kludgy manner (as an undesirable hack)

Note that in the computer industry, the word “hack” has multiple meanings.  Discounting the popular press’ use of the word with reference to criminal activity (breaking into computers), it can refer to either a piece of code written skillfully (“an elegant hack”), or badly (“a disgusting hack”).  In the absence of a clarifying adjective, the connotation can usually be determined from context.  In the case of “od hac”, the connotation is clearly negative.

Seen in Boing Boing post by Cory Doctorow, referring to student reactions to the Neuros OSD set-top box:

I’ve had a couple of these circulating in my class at USC this semester and some of the students have had a complete nerdgasm over them

The earliest occurence Google finds on Usenet was in a sig on 9 May 1998. The earliest usage in the body of a Usenet post was 11 August 2004, having to do with Lord of the Rings action figures.

Although I think the Neuros OSD is a neat gadget, it will take more than that to give me a nerdgasm. Maybe when they have an HDTV version…

Although I like both of these fictional characters and the works in which they appear, obviously I was being flippant in suggesting that they would be on my list of heros.

I think far too many people are called heroes by the media today. For example, I don’t consider sports players to be heroes, even if they do make the difference between winning and losing a game or even a season. My own definition of hero would be someone who, at significant risk of serious personal injury or death to himself or herself, rescues another person, or attempts to do so. I also wouldn’t normally consider people who are expected to do such things in the normal performance of their paid jobs to be heroes, except in cases where they clearly go beyond the call of duty.

I might extend my definition of hero to include some situations in which it is less clear exactly what the risk to the hero is, and in which the action taken isn’t the rescue of a specific person. For instance, I think some forms of civil disobedience qualify. One that comes to mind is Rosa Parks‘ refusal to relinquish her seat on the bus to a white man.

With regard to whether Margaret Sanger should be considered a hero, or even a role model, I think it is obvious that many people that do admirable things also do things that we disagree with. I doubt that there are many people who would be considered positive role models in all situations by all people.