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Cease and Desist!
Spring At Last
Pigeons
Please Wait
Cease And Desist!
(9 April 2013)
Our friend Snakey conssssulting the shorthand dictionary
Today we are practissssing wordssss with ssess and ssisst. Yessss!
In Pitman’s Shorthand there are various ways of representing the same
group of consonants, for several reasons, vowel indication, preventing
the outline from rising or descending too far, easy formation of
derivatives and ease of joining the other strokes. This last one
particularly is what makes the outlines quick and reliable in use and
often overrides all other rules. However, if an outline is not known
well enough, having this choice of methods can cause
hesitation as the
mind wavers between the options available. Only instant recall of each
outline will produce reliable notes and speed increase, and
although one
might have to create an outline on the fly to prevent a gap, it is
something to be avoided by working on vocabulary on a regular basis. I
have found the best way* to proceed is to practise sets of similar
outlines for a particular sequence of sounds or piece of theory. This
makes learning much easier as the outlines are all similar and you are
then well set up to deal with new ones in a hurry if you have to.
* Omission phrase "bes(t) way"
Combinations that have the S plus S sound but which do not use the large
circle are the ones that I have found to be in need of extra attention.
They seem to thwart one’s efforts at hastily creating a "working
outline" that will do until one can check out the dictionary version. I
have hunted them all down and corralled them here, so that you can
overcome them and defend yourself against being taken by surprise by
these hissing creatures. Those outlines not in the shorthand dictionary
are underlined and are based on other similar outlines. A few "shun"
derivatives are also shown for completeness, but care should be taken
not to confuse them with the others as they are not "ses" words, despite
their longhand being written with those letters. (314 words)
The examples below do not show every possible
derivation of every word, but there are enough to enable you to arrive
at the correct outline.
Here are some of those that do use the large circle:
1.
success successful successfully successes successor successive
2.
exist exists existed existing existence existent existential
3.
insist insistent desist subsist persist persistent resist resistant
resistor
4.
emphasis emphasize emphasized
5.
exercise exercises exercised exercising exerciser*
6.
hypothesis hypothesize hypothesized synthesis synthesize synthesized
* "exerciser" See "exorcize" in last paragraph below
For other –est –ist endings, see
www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/theory-19-suffixes-general.htm#-est-ist
In the following, the stroke S is used on a syllable that is accented,
or strongly sounded, and also with the verbs to allow the verb endings
to be written easily. The remaining derivatives use the Ses circle as
normal.
1.
axes axis – access accessing accesses accessed – accessory accessorize
accessary accessible accessibility accessive accession
2.
"x’s" – excess excesses – excessive excessiveness excessively
1.
incise incises incised incisor – incisive incisively incision
2.
poses – possess* possesses possessing possessed – possessor possessory
possessive possessively possession
3.
praises – process processes processed processing – processor processive
procession
4.
precise preciseness – precisely precisive precision
5.
raises – recess recesses recessed – recessive recession
6.
bosses– abscess abscesses obsess* obsesses obsessed obsessing –
obsessive obsessively obsession
* "possess" and "obsess" Always insert the initial
vowel in "obsess", as these two are similar in shape and meaning
With an initial vowel there is no choice but to have the stroke first:
1.
ass asses/assess assesses assessed assessing assessment assessor
reassess
2.
assist assisted assistance assister essays essayist assays assassin
3.
eyes ice ices Isis aces osseous
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With a final vowel, a final stroke is needed: cissy/sissy sassy susi
Sousa
These are derivatives so they keep their first stroke: so-so saucy sizy
Susie/Suzy
At the beginning of an outline the stroke S is generally written first,
followed by the circle, which makes for an easy and rapid join with the
next stroke. In such cases using the stroke does not necessarily mean
that there is a vowel before it:
1.
sauce sauceboat saucepan size/sighs sizeable/sizable concise sews/sows
suss Sayes, souse/sows sues Sue’s
2.
cease/seize ceaseless says/sess/cess cesspool cesspit cespitous* cestoid
Suez Soyuz
3.
decease diocese diocesan oversize undersize downsize resize
4.
saucer saucier sizer scissors cessor cesser seizer/Caesar caesious
5.
These sound similar but the strokes are not: source sourcer sorcery
sorcerer
* "cespitous" a botanical term = "turfy",
nothing to do with "cesspit"
1.
cesura Sisera Caesarean Caesarea Sisyphus suzerain suzerainty
2.
sauces sizes susses souses ceases/seizes cessation*
3.
sauced sized unsized oversized undersized ceased/seized deceased sist/cist/cyst
physicist sussed soused sayest
4.
ancestor ancestry ancestral incest incestuous transistor* transistorize
5.
saucing ceasing/seizing sussing sizing sousing season Susan Sassoon
Sassenach
6.
Sussex siskin Saskatchewan
* "cessation" has an identical outline to "secession"
below, see
www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/distinguishing-outlines-4-care-c-d.htm
for a suggestion on how to differentiate these
* "transistor" Note that it uses stroke Z
1.
sizzle/scissel/sizel* sizzled sizzling sozzle* sozzled sisal
Cecil/sessile Sicily cisalpine
2.
secede secession* secessionist sesame caesium seismic seismology
sousaphone sassafras
3.
sustain Sistine systole cystic cistus suscitate resuscitate society
sostenuto sesterce
4.
suspend suspended suspense suspire suspect* (noun), suspect* (verb),
suspicion susceptible
5.
sausage syzygy assuage sewage
* "sizzle, sozzle" and derivatives do not have a vowel sign before the
L, as it is hardly sounded
* "secession" has an identical outline to "cessation" above,
see
www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/distinguishing-outlines-4-care-c-d.htm
for a suggestion on how to differentiate these
* "suspect" the noun has full outline, the verb uses the contraction
These have the circle first to make easier joins and derivatives:
1.
consist consists consisted consisting consistent consistently
consistency
2.
system systemic systematic systematically cistern Cistercian
3.
sister sisters sisterly sister-in-law sisterhood stepsister
1.
ease – disease diseases diseased outsize supersize
2.
excise excises excising excised excisable exciseman excision
3.
criticize criticizes criticizing criticized – criticism
4.
capsize politicize italicize publicize ostracize romanticize – ostracism
romanticism
Some sets of distinguishing outlines:
1.
exorcize* exorcizes exorcized exorcist exorcizing exorcizer exorcism
2.
princess princesses prince princes princely princeling
3.
Jews Jewess Jewesses Jesus Jesus’s Moses mazes Mrs/missis Misses
* "exorcize" Compare with "exercise" above
Revise Circle Ses at
www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/theory-4-circles.htm#circle-ses
Snakey's favourite outline
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Spring At Last
(16 April 2013)
At long last winter is behind us here in southern UK. The duration of
the cold weather has been quite long and the usual intermittent periods
of bright sunny* winter days have been much less
frequent than might be
expected. There comes a point when the novelty of snowy* weather wears
off, especially when I see my spring bulbs, crocus and daffodil,
putting out their buds and even one or two trying to open when there has
been a break in the icy weather. Even when cold, a sunny* day makes up
for the lack of warmth, and it is always more pleasant to go about one’s
daily business with the maximum amount of natural light and not have to
make up the difference with artificial light sources. Spring may arrive
on the calendar on 21 March but in my mind cold weather is still winter
and spring should mean milder days and the beginning of the growing
season. As spring here is rarely* entirely warm and mild, I think
I will
have to redefine my expectations* by saying that I am looking for warm
weather in hopeful anticipation rather than going against previous
experience and insisting that the weather live up to an unrealistic
definition of the word spring.
* "sunny" "snowy" Always insert the vowels
in "sun/snow, sunny/snowy"
* "expectations" Optional
contraction
* "rarely" Ensure the two Rays are
clearly full length, so it does not look like "really" and it is helpful
to insert the vowel
Every creature in my garden seems to be* well fed at the moment*. The
pairs of blackbirds and robins continue to follow me around as I move
pots, pull up weeds and sweep up the debris of winter. As soon as I move
away, they are quick to come down to look for the meals that suddenly
become available. The "critters" in the compost bins are the best fed,
and are getting a few fresh green items to supplement their winter
rations. Many of the earthworms have climbed to the top of the bin and
congregated under the rim of the lid and so I relocated them to the soil
roundabout where they will be able to continue their good work. I
believe that the worms are probably escaping the excess warmth of the
decomposing matter, and so this is a good sign that the process is
working well.
* Omission phrases "seems (to) be"
"at (the) moment"
Unfortunately* the donated frogspawn, from a friend’s tiny boggy pond
that is about to be dug up, has somehow dispersed rather rapidly. I am
sure the goldfish have been helping themselves to the free snack,
despite our efforts at making a straw barrier. They come up underneath
and push themselves into the raft and any other clumps of vegetation, in
order to* flush out anything edible, and the larger ones certainly have
the strength to make a dent in the greenery. This reminds me of the
wildlife films where the killer whale rams itself into the shallow water
at the shoreline, and almost onto the beach, as it hunts the
unsuspecting seals. Fortunately there is a crowd of wriggling tadpoles
on a much safer shallower part ready to disperse to safety. There are a
few clumps of eggs that seem to have been killed by freezing* but these
will soon end up as more goldfish titbits.
* "Unfortunately" Optional
contraction
* Omission phrase "in ord(er to)
* "freezing" and "frozen" Always
insert the vowel
I have finally discovered how the pond has acquired a small island at
one end. I thought it was just an exuberance of weed, but found out that
the low spreading branches of an evergreen* shrub (lonicera piliata) have
all rooted into the water and formed a thick mat, on which the pond weed
was growing. Having pruned and teased them apart, there are now several
large new shrubs that will fill in the gaps along that edge and provide
extra shelter and protection for the inhabitants. This plant is
described as drought tolerant ground cover, but it was growing (at least
part of it) quite happily in the water, obviously doing very well on the
abundance of nutrients. The replanted pieces will now have to work a bit
harder at getting their requirements from the soil, at least* until their
own branches re-enter the water and this is something which I will
encourage in order to* form a canopy for the frogs to hide under. Water
covered by overhanging vegetation also remains free of ice when the rest
of the pond is frozen*, benefiting the birds as well in winter.
* "evergreen" Insert the first
vowel, so it is not misread as "overgrown"
* "at least" & "at last",
"freezing" & frozen" Always insert the vowel
* Omission phrase "in ord(er to)"
Extreme rooting
I think of the primrose as the definitive flower of spring but I have
one that has been flowering continuously since November*, and has
survived through all the ice, snow* and slush. This brave little plant
deserves the best flower bed in the garden, but as it is growing in a
tiny crack in the path, it is impossible to move it to a safer place. It
obviously benefits from having its roots under the paving where the soil
never dries out. It is spreading by seed though and as long as I look
before I pull when weeding, I can look forward to seeing more of these
little treasures popping up around the garden. (821 words)
* "November" Same outline as
"never",
if necessary insert the cap marks underneath
* "snow" and "sun" Always insert
the vowel
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Pigeons
(22 April 2013)
While I was walking through the park last week*, I noticed that someone
had tipped out their bread by the pond. The ducks and geese must have
been* already full, and these two wood pigeons had it all to themselves.
They were pecking* and flinging it around, and the one on the right was
working very hard at waving his head and neck about in order to* persuade
just one more piece down his throat, but eventually he had to admit
defeat. Their crops were bulging, they really couldn’t manage any more,
but instinct and opportunity were driving both of them on to continue
eating until it became impossible to get another crumb down. Finally
they wandered off to digest, unable to finish it all. Their past wishes
to have all the bread with no competitors had finally happened, and the
reality of having a limited space to put it all had now become
apparent.
I know exactly what their pigeon-centred life motto is: "It is better to
have pecked* and failed,
than never to have pecked* at all"!
* Omission phrases "las(t w)eek" "mus(t have) been"
* "pecking, pecked" Insert the vowel, as
"picking, picked" could also make sense
After the meal, maybe these other pigeons have the best idea. They are
having a quiet moment, with no other birds or walkers to disturb their
ablutions. In between their sessions of dipping and showering, they were
just sitting and soaking, and enjoying the cool water. It is easy to
stay relaxed when there are many pairs of eyes looking out for danger,
and the pigeons did seem to have rather a blank manner about them, or
maybe they were just in deep but simple contemplation of the refreshing
water around their legs and the silky mud between their toes.
The pecking test at a pigeon job interview - the quickest one wins
I trust that* your shorthand studies are progressing something like these
pigeons, gobbling up every opportunity to the utmost of your ability*,
digesting all the material so that you can make room for more,
and
soaking in the lessons and outline lists. When you have achieved your
next speed goal, you can preen yourself on your achievements, coo with
delight in your new skill, never get in a flap, and confidently soar
above those ground-dwellers who are lumbering along with their slow and
monotonous longhand. I hope that you are* also enjoying writing with a
fountain pen, which comes, most appropriately*, from the Latin word
"penna" meaning feather or quill. (389 words)
* Omission phrase "I trus(t) that"
" I (h)ope that you are"
* "your ability" You could also write "ability" using just the stroke B against the
previous outline, like the suffix "-ability", see
www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/phrasing2-theory.htm#Suffixes
* "appropriately" Insert the
diphone, and the second vowel in "properly", as these are similar in
outline and meaning
Let your shorthand "penna" swoop and glide across the page
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Please Wait (30
April 2013)
Time remaining: less than a minute - sounds like an ominous remark from a shorthand exam dictator
How often have you seen messages such as these: "Please wait while setup
configures your system." "Please wait while download completes."
"Scanner is warming up. Please wait. Time remaining less than* a
minute." However fast your computer may be, there are always times when
it makes you wait. It requires your patient obedience while it carries
out the task that you have requested of it. Although it is doing its
best to be your dutiful* and faithful servant, at those times* it is
making you into the servant, giving you an instruction which you have to
obey if you want the desired result. Sometimes you can get on with some
other on-screen task, although that may make the system take even
longer. Often the time is long enough to be frustrating, but not long
enough to be worth getting out another piece of work to fill in with.
* "less than" Downwards L in order to make a good
join
* "dutiful" Full length T, so that it does not look like "doubtful"
* "at those times" Insert the vowel in "those", as "these" would also
make sense
Cranking the handle: winding gear at
Tonbridge Town Lock, Kent
However, now that you are a thoroughly dedicated, enthusiastic and
persevering shorthand student*, there is no need to sit looking at the
screen, wishing there was a handle you could crank round to make it all
go faster. These "wait" messages need to be converted to shorthand
outlines and a list of those occurring regularly kept on a card nearby.
When one of the delaying messages comes on the screen, you could try
writing it as many times as possible before it vanishes, in beautifully*
neat and legible shorthand of course. Whenever you see the message, you
will instantly see it in your mind as shorthand outlines and while you
are having a competition with yourself to increase the number of repeats
that you can manage, the duration of the wait will seem to get shorter
every time*. As these messages often disappear from the screen by
themselves, you will have to have your pad immediately in front of the
screen so that you can easily notice when the popup box goes.
* Omission phrase "shorthand s(t)udent"
*
"beautifully" Insert the final dot, as
"beautiful" would also make sense here
* "every time" Helpful to insert the second vowel in "every", as it is
similar to "over time"
Enterprising shorthand student being beamed up, to escape a difficult
dictation
Eventually you might even be looking forward to being asked to wait,
having found a way to make those minutes profitable instead of annoying.
If your computer was really being helpful to its long-suffering owner,
it would obviously be delighted to change the wording of these messages
in your favour to "Please practise your shorthand while download
completes." If it does, then you have an entirely different problem on
your hands. Like the best old Star Trek episodes, the computer is
watching you and knows what you are doing all the time. It is on its way
from simple helpfulness to creeping domination, and may at this very
moment be considering ways to make more independent executive decisions
on your behalf and without your permission. Time to restrict it to
battery power, well away from the mains supply, unplug the mike and
cover up the webcam eye, maybe? I am sure Captain Kirk would approve of
such prudent safety measures! (480 words)
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