Quote of the Day
It's better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly.
— Robert Schuller. I have actually known people who altered their life course because they got a "B" in a subject. I have also known people who failed their elementary electromagnetics courses, who then kept on battling, and who later became some of the best RF designers I have met. Even the world's greatest pilot, Chuck Yeager, threw up his first few times flying. People need to understand that nobody starts out on top – they need to give themselves a break.
I am from a small town in Minnesota called Osseo. I had never traveled far from home until I finished my undergraduate work and moved to Ft. Collins, Colorado. When I arrived in Colorado, everyone that I met immediately knew I was from Minnesota – I had no idea that my accent was so strong. After living five years in Colorado, I also developed an ear for accents, and I also could pick out where people were from because everyone in Colorado was from somewhere else.
The following video does a great job showcasing the Minnesota accent. At the end of the video, one of women mentions that alcoholism is a disease. That statement makes fun of the fact that Minnesota is sometimes jokingly referred to as the "Land of 10,000 Treatment Centers." In addition to our 10,000+ lakes, we do have quite a few treatment centers.
I should add that much of the US is going through a major snow storm today. We are familiar with cold and snow here in Minnesota. The following graphics say it all.
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Same goes for growing up in the south. I moved from rural southern Georgia to Tempe Arizona (ASU) for graduate school. I was at the receiving end of some odd stares before I learned to tone down the regional terms (i.e. "fixing to do something"). It's really a shame because my terms were, in their own way, much more descriptive. C'est La Vie.
The regional terms were a BIG deal when I went to Colorado as well. Things like "hot dish" instead of casserole, "humongous" instead of big, "going up north" as an expression for a weekend on a lake. There were some athletic things I really missed too, like hockey and skating.
Thanks for the note.
mathscinotes