Wednesday, July 25, 2007

GRE has been taken

Well, I took it 5 days ago, and it was a humbling experience. I've been fighting the post-test depression that it caused. I'm pretty sure (a brave way of saying I'm scared) that I did well enough to gain acceptance to the Master's program in Ed Tech. I'll get my complete scores in a week or so.
If you think that you are significantly smarter than average, take the GRE and let me know how you did. I now feel strikingly average. I know I don't have what it takes to be an astronaut, but jeeze average. Average hurts.
I'll tell you my score if you tell me yours.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Ravel vs. Unravel

Now this is just stupid. No wonder people complain that English is the most difficult language to learn. Definitions from Dictionary.com.

un·rav·el
–verb (used with object)


  1. to free from complication or difficulty; make plain or clear; solve: to unravel a situation; to unravel a mystery.
  2. Informal. to take apart; undo; destroy (a plan, agreement, or arrangement). –verb (used without object)
  3. to become unraveled.

rav·el
–verb (used with object)
  1. to disentangle or unravel the threads or fibers of (a woven or knitted fabric, rope, etc.).
  2. to tangle or entangle.
  3. to involve; confuse; perplex.
  4. to make clear; unravel (often fol. by out). –verb (used without object)
  5. to become disjoined thread by thread or fiber by fiber; fray.
  6. to become tangled.
  7. to become confused or perplexed.
  8. (of a road surface) to lose aggregate. –noun
  9. a tangle or complication.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

GRE @ 8am...huh?

Well...I’m going to be taking the GRE this Saturday at 8am. That is too early for cognizant thought; it is impalpable to me. Furthermore, the test starts with a 45min essay.
Ugh.
We are given two topics to choose one from and have to discuss the issue with points and counterpoints within the allotted time. Following that crack-o-dawn brain twister and without a break, we are given an argument (different topic) and have 30mins to examine the quality of the argument and dissect it.
Wham bam.
Right off the bat we have to write for an hour and 15min. That’s cruel.
I can’t spell my name or even tie my shoes correctly on the first attempt at 8am; now I’m expected to compose erudite essays on surprise topics—unfair.

On the official GRE web site (by ETS the only people qualified to judge our worthiness for grad school) it states that the sequence of the test parts does not change.
I’d prefer to take some antonyms and sentence completion first to get some words in my head.

I wish to be intransigent, but I have no recourse; I must be labile and remain taciturn. The person that devised this order of examination is anathema to me. I wish to traduce them; however to that person, I’m sure I’m ingenuous.

I’ve been studying vocabulary, as you could postulate. A great and *free* study site for the GRE is http://www.number2.com/ and thanks to http://www.dictionary.com/ too.

Good luck to all you other flaming hoop GRE jumpers…
and learn some new words you punks!

Canny vs. Uncanny

I did not know that canny is not the positive of uncanny. I'm studying vocabulary for the GRE and have a long way to go.

un·can·ny–adjective
  1. having or seeming to have a supernatural or inexplicable basis; beyond the ordinary or normal; extraordinary: uncanny accuracy; an uncanny knack of foreseeing trouble.

  2. mysterious; arousing superstitious fear or dread; uncomfortably strange: Uncanny sounds filled the house.

can·ny–adjective
  1. careful; cautious; prudent: a canny reply.

  2. astute; shrewd; knowing; sagacious: a canny negotiator.

  3. skilled; expert.

  4. frugal; thrifty: a canny housewife.

  5. Scot. Origin:
    1. safe to deal with, invest in, or work at (usually used with a negative).

    2. gentle; careful; steady.

    3. snug; cozy; comfortable.

    4. pleasing; attractive.

Definitions from Dictionary.com

Monday, July 2, 2007