There are probably people who can memorise the Linnean names of orchids with effortless enjoyment. Then there are other people for whom absorbing long strings of Latinate syllables is one of those herding-dead-jellies-up-the-beach situation. I find myself in the second group.
And it DOES NOT HELP when I cram names like Corybas triloba, Dendrobium cunninghamii, Bulbophyllum tuberculatum and Caladenia bartlettii into an already over-stuffed mental filing cabinet, only to discover that in the latest edition of the Field Guide the genera have been renamed as Nematoceras, Winika, Adelopetalum and Petalochilus respectively. I do not buy the excuse that they are repudiating their slave names.
If I wanted to devote my limited mental resources to tracking arbitrary name changes, I would live with a teenager, no offense to the Doktorling. It is like being told that The Aubergine that Ate Rangoon wants to be known henceforward as The Eggplant that Ate Yangon.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
14 comments:
If you wrote this without referring to any other documentation...
Nope.
Not buying it. We all have our areas of obsessive interest, and we draw genuine pleasure from knowing arcane minutiae about them.
I know the formulae, math and ballistic performance of over 30 different .357 loads.
I know what Messier objects are observable tonight.
I know the frequencies of pretty much all the open duplex dual-band 2 meter repeaters in the area.
I know precisely what time the lovely asian lady across the street gets out of the shower at night without drawing her drapes.
And, my good sir, I do NOT complain about any of it!
mikey, I know a few things about windows....
I'm not wearing underpants.
Observable Messier objects? That describes my entire office.
Winika? Cute!
I'm not wearing underpants.
who is?
Ralph isn't, http://www.frihost.com/forums/vt-86598.html
Unverified because you know facts and all and that searching for underpants thing.
Ralph isn't, http://www.frihost.com/forums/vt-86598.html
Unverified because you know facts and all and that searching for underpants thing.
I thought AK was the poet in these environs.
No comas no poem. Unverified.
Hell, I'm not even wearing 'Outerpants'.
Of course, it is a million degrees here. Fahrenheit. I think that's a billion C....
Does the Adelopetalum still have that nasty cough?
"Memo to the Botany Department"
======================
We are rebranding. Filth sells. Get onboard, or get out.
~
My bum is still sore from the LAST rebranding.
Post a Comment