-3 today

'lake-effect snow' is an expression. When cold air from the north hits moist air from Lake Ontario, there can be a lot of snow.

I give it to him.

There are 2 forms in English for giving something (the direct object) to someone (the indirect object).

This is the more formal form:

I give the ball to Snoopy.
I give it to Snoopy.
I give it to him.

This is the more casual form:

I give Snoopy the ball.
I give him the ball.
X I give him it. < -- we don't use a pronoun for the direct object in this form.

mainland

'mainland China' is the part in light green - the part that is not an island; it is sometimes called Communist China or The People's Republic of China.

Taiwan is the part in dark green, also called ROC - the Republic of China.

'mainland' means a big piece of land, like a continent: bigger than an island.

in the old days ...

or ... when I was a kid ...

In the old days, the TV was black and white.

In the old days, people cared about each other.

-1

it's minus 1 degrees
blah

AGE

'AGE' can mean a long period of time, thousands or millions of years.
The Prehistoric Age is the time before man, when the dinosaurs were alive.
The Stone Age is the time when men used stones.
The Bronze Age is the time when men used bronze.
The Iron Age ... etc.
The Atomic Age is from 1945 to the future.

DIY

DIY is an acronym for 'Do-It-Yourself'. For example, DIY Christmas decorations are decorations that you make yourself.

BLACK FRIDAY

... is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the USA. American Thanksgiving is on a Thursday in November. But I saw this term in Canada this year, so it must be creeping across the border.

round

a round of golf is 18 holes.

a round of poker is a set of games where each player around the table takes turns dealing.

a round of nightclubs means going to a series of nightclubs, and then back to the first one.

a round in boxing is 3 minutes.

a round in MMA is 5 minutes.

a circle is round.

a round-robin tournament is where each player/team plays each other team.
for example, in international hockey, a round-robin tournament means that Canada plays Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Russia and the U.S. Then the teams with the most wins go on to the semi-finals.

Friday

I'm tired. I'm beat. I'm bushed.

Warp 10

I got a new bigger monitor.

Now I can see the Star Trek movies more clearly :)

take in

take = view, e.g., take in a movie

or

pay close attention to, e.g., take in everything he says

Expression: (noun) is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Star Trek

my favorite TV show is 'Star Trek' ... sometimes abbreviated to 'Trek'. Trek fans are called Trekkers or Trekkies. Some lines from the show have become English expressions; for example, 'Beam me up, Scottie'.

ADVERBS

In English, you don't put an adverb between a verb and its object.

So you can say:

Quickly I read the comics.
I read the comics quickly.
I quickly read the comics.










But you can't say:



I read quickly the comics.

"Spring Forward, Fall Back"

This is an expression for Daylight Savings Time. In the SPRING, we turn the clocks FORWARD one hour. In the FALL (today), we turn the clocks BACK one hour.

Hanshin Tigers

Left brain

'left brain' means the part of the brain that is creative. Some people think that left-handed people are more intelligent.

I'm hooked

"I'm hooked" is an expression that means "I'm addicted (to something)"; for example, "I'm hooked on skiing".

Dilbert

"Dilbert" is a popular comic strip about a computer programmer / engineer.

Mie

here's a picture of fields in Mie-Ken, Japan. That's where my grandmother was born.