i am far from perfect

A trick I learned a long time ago when proof reading is read the paragraph backwards.  It takes your attention away from what's being said and focuses on the actual word.  I've skipped misspelled words all the time, but when I do this little trick, I can pick em' out every time.  When reading a passage the mind takes the letters in the word as a whole, and you can clearly put the word together.   So, you don't see the mistakes because your mind thinks and reads the word correctly.  Reading backwards compensates for this.  I have a great little paragraph someone e-mailed to me that every word was misspelled, but you could easily read the paragraph.  It was cool and kinda spooky.

I agree with the OP completely, and wholeheartedly. I am guilty of actually "retyping" REALLY bad posts, using proper English and grammar, THEN answering the poster. It even makes me giggle inside (a little bit), but it's also really sad that I even have to take such steps. Megaman, I love that suggestion. I'm going to start doing that even here. When I get tired or on a rant (the tired seems to be happening far more lately) I will hit the post button without ever ever reading what I have said, then I'll see a BIG ol' mistake, then I have to go in and edit, hoping all along that somebody doesn't see the error or read the post with the mis -type or -spelling or -information. My vanity really hates when somebody catches my errors. Thinking about it, though, I don't have anything to really worry about, because nobody today would ever catch the errors! (That's not true here, I'm just using it as a generalization for all forum posting in general) It is really sad that we have become such a society of abbreviators and 133t-ers. It's difficult today to actually speak correctly as well, let alone posting on an internet forum. I try to type a message the same way I would speak it, and I get razzings all the time, click here for my first posts on the12volt. (Stevdart thought he got away with it, but I DID catch the jab, AND I remember! ) I get mocked all the time for my speaking habits. So many people think I sound snobby, or think I am "speaking down to them", but I am not doing either of those things, it's just the way I speak. English can be a wonderful and beautiful language, and I like to use it as such. I blame the cellular phone companies. ...only allowing 160 characters in a text... WTH is up wit dat?It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

howie ll wrote: Hear hear! I usually loose it with these people, Kar Tune man will deliver some finely tuned sarcasm and either Chris Wallace or I am an Idiot will rationally take them apart. There is a certain gentleman from Trinidad and Tobago (where they have a wonderful traditional education system with discipline and the three R's) who is succint and bright but who lapses into gangsta rap and uses da instead of the, my other peeve are the ones who come up with the latest models asking advice. If it has the same body shell as previous models why on earth can't they take THAT info and test? General peeve against those who ask advice without checking to see if that topic has come up already. Cheers Howard. PS I get "keyboard dyslexia"  because I thinking faster than I can type. Simple answer? Proof read before posting.

        ok howie, i get ya, but the only reason i use da insted of the is because it's the starting of my first name, Darren, and jus for the extra bit of info, i'm very versed in the english language. jus so u know, cheers howardcommit your way to jehovah and he will act in your behalf. psalms 37:5

Darren your posts are well informed, and succinct and you reminded me of some good friends from the Windies with, university education one of whom is a barrister who amongst "the blood" will lapse into the argot, otherwise he sounds like a 1950's BBC news reader.I supose it was also a subconscious dig against my daughter and grandchildren, do something nice and it's "cool" ???? Howard. I only use DEI for R/S as it's all we've got  in Europe.

OK.... I use my email program to check my spellin. Specially on tuff words like acessory.

It's "assessorry".   Jeesh!  And I dident even nead a spell checker.Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.

thank you howie,

It's a peasure t&t and we'll still beat you at cricket.....OK I was joking.