Linguistics, and the problems it causes

Some linguistic deficiencies in the English language have lately been on my mind.

See, in some ways, English is a very imprecise language -- or, rather, it can be precise, but the way it's used in daily life -- Standard Usage, to use the official phrase -- it isn't. Try this example:

I love Elizabeth.
I love Colin and Elena.
I love my family.
I love my iBook.
I love mexican food.

I've just used one word to reference five different emotions. That's absurd; it's far too much burden to place on one small word.

Now, the place this gets me in the most trouble is in personal relationships. See, most of the time, if you say you don't like someone, it's assumed that you mean you actively dislike the person in question.

However, it isn't accurate. There are many people I see fairly frequently whom I could in all honesty say I don't like, because I have no affection for them at all. But I also don't actively dislike them, either. I just don't care about them one way or the other. But our language doesn't have a word to make that clear, so we're stuck with this stupid barely-adequate concept-word that doesn't quite fit.

It's enough to make a wannabe English teacher kill.

Holy Cayenne Breath, Batman!

Terri made some pretty neat stuff today; Potato Paprikash. She got the recipe from her boyfriend.

Shit was hot. And I like spicy food. I'm the guy who has to convince the Chinese cook that I really can handle it as spicy as his grandma in Changsha. I'm the guy who orders the spicy version of most dishes. I'm the one who can't make Gyoza my way or almost none of my friends can handle it (and I'm not even talking about the vegetarians).

But one bite of that shit and my tongue burst into flames. And Terri said she used much less hot pepper than the recipe called for. I'm utterly convinced that Kevin multiplies all peppers and other spicy ingredients by a factor of ten. If not twenty.

Funny

Most of the time, game FAQs are examples of horrid writing, both mechanically and artistically. This one, however, isn't bad, and is kind of funny, especially if you've played the game and know how utterly stupid your computer-controlled squad is.

It's for a mission I am NOWHERE NEAR in Steel Battalion:

The ex-president is holed up in his fortress and the enemy forces are making their last stand here. The odds are not in your favor; about 30+ enemy VTs, with two that regenerate from the elevators, two choppers which will regenerate from off map if you destroy them, about 20+ giraffes and Scyllas (some of which are placed in the moat
so that you cannot hit them until you are almost on top of them), to top things off add a sprinkle of MG and cannon defensive turrets. If you manage to get past all of that, and that is a big if, a boss waits that has fire power like you have never seen before.

You, on the other hand, get your VT and five brain dead teammates. Go team!