Kirino

I'm relatively well versed in English (better than most, worse than many) and I came up with an interesting question today and having found your blog entry via Google on was/were I thought you might have an answer.

I was reading an entry on Wikipedia about one of my favorite bands and came across the following: "Talk Talk were an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991," which made me cringe. I knew that was incorrect by the subsequent sentence: "The group had a string of international hit singles including..."

Clearly, the first use of "were" refers to the contingent members as a collective, while "was" (which would feel better to me) would refer to the group as an entity itself. The subsequent sentence shows in this specific case there is an error, which would be best corrected by changing the prior "were" to "was." or example, "CSN were heading South..." means "David Crosby, Steven Stills and Graham Nash were heading South" rather than "CSN, the band, was heading South..."

In the same way your example in your blog around "If I was to train as a carpenter..." I very much would prefer the use of "was" with regard to Talk Talk... but "were" can also be valid, it just seems odd to me. But it brought up a question for me. In the first sentence, is there a preferred (i.e., more common) usage? Is there a hard rule on this?

I have some old (1995) files that were created on a Windows system that use "FrizQuadrata" which I thought was bundled with the application that I was using (MicroGraphix Designer).

Unfortunately, in Windows 7 the installed font comes up as "FrizQuadrata BT" and does not automatically map. Selecting the text and changing the font to "FrizQuadrata BT" fixes the problem but there are 100's of strings that would have to be changed.

Are these the same fonts or is one a "clone" of the original? And if so, does anyone know of a way to resolve the problem?

I'm working on a project for a client with the pun "Blood, Sweat and Tairs" which we are misspelling purposefully to make clear it's not the normal "Blood, Sweat and Tears."

The conventional spelling will never work because it reads as the standard, non-pun version. Is there any alternative to using the phonetic miss-spelling?

I'm working on some material for a friend of mine and have run into some confusion on terminology. We have a logo (a little flower thing) and we have a font chosen and the layout for the name of the company with the logo as it will appear on letterhead, cards, etc.

But what do you call that piece? The logo with the company name? We need to call it something other than the "logo" as that is just the flower by itself.

I am leaving on a trip for three weeks or so and have an intermittent problem with the electrical system in my car that causes the alarm to go off periodically. (I've tried for years and with many mechanics to solve the problem and never have.)

I don't want to alert people to the fact that I'm not at home and don't want to leave the car unlocked... is it ok to just unplug the battery and leave it while I'm gone?

If so, what's the best way? Just disconnect the ground or both wires?

On a recent episode of Bones, The lead character (Temperance) told the David Boreanaz character (Seeley Booth) that she'd heard a theory that time as we experience it is an illusion and that it's actually all simultaneous. Does anyone know where that theory stems? I'd like to learn more about it.

... can I declare the loss this year or do I have to do an amended return for 2001?

My Father passed away this week and I am left to sort out his estate. He was basically an itinerant and had no assets to speak of. I do not yet have the death certificate so I don't have access to his checking account but I am concerned that there may be some small debts out there, collection agencies, etc. I recently found one for $239 for unpaid library fines which was able to clear already.

A friend told me that when her late husband passed away she was told to publish a certain type of announcement (in the paper?) and that started a 90-day period where people had to make claims to else lose their right to make claims against the estate. There's no money to speak of, so it's unlikely that anyone would get anything... but I want to simplify the process as much as possible from my end.

What notice do I need to publish, and where? What should it say?

Is there a difference? I'm needing a cable to charge my phone and wondering if the cheap ones will work as well as the pricey ones.

Trying to hook up a hard disk and want to make sure I don't break anything if I jail-brake. Can I still get apps, sync etc?

My friend is wanting to know about things to look for, be careful around, expect etc with regard to his 8 year old son. I'm wondering if there are any good resources for him to learn from /get support from?

A friend of mine needs to know...

I'm trying to remember this movie... very dark. Where two men out of their hatred of women and the way that they have been treated decide to deliberately devastate and break the heart of a sweet deaf woman. There were other sub-plots in it as well but I can not for the life of me remember the title. Probably around mid 90's

Is there a special form to skip a quarter?

I am a contractor and I've been paying estimated taxes each quarter for the past few years or so... but due to some shifts in scheduling, I decided to take a full quarter off where I earned very little. Now quarterly taxes are due and I don't really want to pay a full quarter's estimated taxes based on last quarter's when I had no earnings this one.

What is the best way to deal with this and not get hit with a penalty?

I'll be traveling in Africa for 7 weeks and and am wondering if you can get travelers diarrhea from using a bidet or rinsing off your anus in the shower? Similarly, can you get it from brushing your teeth from faucet water?

... and have it read by a computer to the person on the line? I had an SMS sent to me the other day on my land line and a computer read it to me. I'd love to send e-mail to my blind grandmother who is unwilling to use a computer. Is there such a technology?

I am working with stone beads, jasper, onyx, and they have a high polish... but I am wanting more of a matte surface. I'm wondering if there is any way to apply this type of a finish to them? Perhaps a rock-tumbler with a more coarse polishing medium?

I am working with stone beads, jasper, onyx, and they have a high polish... but I am wanting more of a matte surface. I'm wondering if there is any way to apply this type of a finish to them? Perhaps a rock-tumbler with a more coarse polishing medium?

I'm working on restringing a necklace done originally with silk stringing cord and the cord is VERY stuck in one bead which large and double-strung (the bead is about 1" tall)

Is there any fancy trick for getting the thread out?