I consider myself a fairly ‘with it’ kinda guy. I think I’m fairly adept at staying in tune with what’s going on with those several years my junior. Sometimes it gets a bit wacky (for instance I love to throw the odd urban slang term into conversations just to surprise people… it’s the shiznit. Da bomb so to speak.).

Of course if you met me you’d quickly realize I’m about as far away from urban street culture as they come. But being aware of all stuff youthful (and not necessarily engaging in it) has always been subliminally high on my priority list. I think it stems from a fear of growing old, or perhaps more accurately a fear of becoming a ‘curmudgeon’.

But alas, at times I find myself inexorably drawn down that path. In the recent past I have noticed my disdain for retail clerks who don’t know what to do when the price for something is $8.34 and I hand them a 10-er along with 35 cents. I’ve been told repeatedly that I must have mistaken the price, and have to explain that I do it so I can get back a Toonie (Canuck-speak for our two-dollar coin) and the one cent is my gift to them  .

In the last few months however my focus has shifted to grammar and spelling skills. I’m a fan of Digg.com. I find some of the stories interesting and many times I find the comments even more entertaining. But I am absolutely astonished at the frequency of incorrect spelling and grammar on that site. And it’s not the only one.

Okay. I can forgive to’s for too’s in blog postings till the cow’s come home. The ubiquitous ‘teh’ for ‘the’ almost goes unnoticed. But “they’re/their/there” mix-ups are really starting to grate on my nerves. And reading about how somebody is about to “loose the game” get’s me grinding my teeth (something I haven’t done since the age of seven!).

I could go on and on. But I won’t because I’m hoping that you dear reader, know exactly what I’m talking about. Now am I immune to it? Likely not. You will find the odd mistake in my posts. I don’t use spell checking anywhere (I feel it’s a cop-out) and when I’m unsure about a word’s spelling, a quick Google search with the “define:” keyword usually comes to the rescue, not only giving me a good chance at confirming a spelling, but also enlightening me to some useful synonyms as well.

Put bluntly, I am NOT a grammar expert. I throw sentences together like a monkey throws poo, but at least I *try* to have aim. A lot of the stuff I read looks like the person wasn’t even trying at all. Where is the pride in your work people? Whether it’s a comment on Digg or a blog post, don’t for a minute think that it will get missed. In this little sphere of text-based technology your writing skills can define you, or defame you. Please people, just take 15 seconds to read over what you type before hitting that ‘submit button’.

Now doesn’t this read like the ranting of a closet curmudgeon? Next thing you know I’ll be prefacing every post with “Back in the day…..”. Hmmph.

Word to your mutha.