2008-03-11

What To Do Now That Your Writing Has Been Proofread (& Possibly Edited)


If you are having you documents proofread you may find this set of instructions useful.


It is important to distinguish a “light” proofreading from a thorough editing and re-write. Generally I read a manuscript in at least 3 steps: first, I read “to receive”, uncritically, what the author is trying to say. Then I read to correct the obvious. Then I reread to look for “what’s missing,” and larger issues of structure and audience. In other words, I do the ‘easy’ work first.


Standard proofreader’s marks can be found here:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/mw/table/proofrea.htm


My marks fall into several categories. The majority will be obvious typos, spelling corrections, scanning artifacts, etc. Other marks will fall into the realm of ‘editorial license’, e.g., optional commas or inserting a period (.) or semicolon. Another type of mark will be a simple question mark (?) meaning that I don’t understand the sentence or the word.


You may want to make the edit inputs yourself; or you may mark the edits you approve, and allow me to make the edit inputs.


I suggest that you go thru the manuscript with three colors of high-lighters: use green for the edits you agree (or input); red for those you disagree (i.e., leave as-is), and yellow for the few you might want to discuss further.


Use “search and replace” in the correct sequence

If you want to make the edit inputs yourself, be sure to use search and replace. In MSWord (PC) these commands are available in the edit menu. Use search and replace for changes throughout the entire document, such as replacing two spaces with one space (repeat as necessary!), and changing a double-dash (--) into an em-dash (–) You can be sure to add leading and trailing spaces first, before replacing all double spaces with single spaces. Be sure to save a copy of your document especially before you do a global search-and-replace in case it has unexpected consequences (ctrl-Z “undo” works, too). You may type directly into the “search” and “replace with” boxes, but sometimes it’s easier to paste from the document. Some special characters are available, such as “^p” for “paragraph break” and “^s” for “space”. If the document has been improperly formatted to begin with, e.g., using spaces instead of indents or tabs, then you may need to proceed cautiously, and / or do reformatting.


In any case, ideally someone should then check to confirm the edits were done correctly and no new errors were introduced.


If you have any questions, please feel free to call me.


Aloha,

DanShaw.com

2008-03-10

Prediction exchanges let traders buy and sell contracts on the likelihood of future events. Contracts are structured so the prices can be read as a percent likelihood of an event occurring. Studies of the prediction markets have shown they have an accuracy comparable to that of public opinion polls.
from an aticle titled:

Exchange bets favor Obama for Democratic nomination

Mon Mar 10, 2008 4:24pm EDT
http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1046846820080310

Service organizations

20-Feb-08

Lions SightFirst

http://www.lions-csfii.org/live/content/index.shtml

Lions have launched Campaign SightFirst II to raise at least US$150 million to continue and expand the extraordinary work of SightFirst, Lions' worldwide program to combat preventable blindness.

Lions

http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/index.shtml

Lions Club Innternational

Lions Club of West Seattle
Jack Hanning, 932-6000

Kiwanis

http://kiwanis.org/

Kiwanians are revitalizing neighborhoods, organizing youth-sports programs, tutoring, building playgrounds, and performing countless other projects to help children and communities.

Kiwanis Club of West Seattle
http://www.westseattle.com/bus/KiwanisClubWestSeattle

4727 44th Ave SW
Seattle, WA
• 98116

Warren Lawless, 938-8032

Masons

Alki Masonic Lodge
4736 40th Ave. S.W.

938-3554

VFW

3601 SW Alaska StSeattle, Washington 98126

206) 935-4352

http://www.vfw.org

Moose Lodge

24506 SE 448th St
Enumclaw, WA 98022
map
district: Enumclaw
360.825.4873

Nile Shriners

(425) 774-9611

6601 24th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98108

West Seattle Eagles F.O.E. 2643

4426 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98126 (206) 938-4426

Eagles Fraternal Order of Seattle Aerie

206) 762-5214

http://www.foe.com

American Legion

206) 932-9696

Elks Lodge

206-282-9292 301 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle,WA

West Seattle Rotary Salty's on Alki (1936 Harbor Ave. S.W.) We meet Tuesdays at noon. Interested new members and guests are always welcome. Please contact the club secretary Sattler91@comcast.net

Knights of Columbus

http://www.kofc-wa.org/

oddfellows

Ballard Alki Lodge No. 170
Ballard (
Seattle)
http://www.ioofwa.org/

Meets: 2nd & 4th Thursday
At:
7:30 PM
Odd Fellows Hall
1706 N.W. Market Street

Noble Grand: Robert Duniway
Secretary: Nora Carria
1706 NW Market St
Seattle, WA 98107-5224

Rotary International

http://rotary.org/en/Pages/ridefault.aspx

Rotary International is the world's first service club organization. Its more than 1.2 million members volunteer their time and talent to further the Rotary motto, Service Above Self.

Ukraine Orphan Outreach

http://ukraineorphans.org/

Ukraine Orphan Outreach (UOO) is a non-profit organization in Northern Colorado formed by adoptive parents and others with concern for the future of orphaned Ukrainian children

General Federation of Women's Clubs - West Seattle
Pat Spence, 937-5333

Seva

http://www.seva.org/site/PageServer

For nearly 30 years, Seva has served people around the world who are struggling for health, cultural survival and sustainable communities.

Kiva

http://www.kiva.org/

Lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world. Kiva connects $25 donors together to provide micro-loans.

Gutla Dora Baboo:

Andra Pradesh, India

Orphans, elderly, needs bible, eye-glasses, slippers

heartolympics@gmail.com

Doug Bridges:

orphans in Ukraine

orphanpower@gmail.com

7502 56th Av Court NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98335 USA

2008-03-08

Subscribe to my blog with iTunes!
I used
http://feeds.feedburner.com/
(which Google just purchased; so it will likely continue to be better integrated with blogger.com, also a Google service) .
Click on the image in the previous post, or go to my feedburner site
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DanShaw
and I'll begin podcasting audio!
-Dan

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2008-03-03

Your Opinions?? Harvesting the Collective Wisdom of Vortex Researchers

How would I go about asking the right questions of vortex researchers? Where can I find an online, free, quick way of setting up a poll-survey for various purposes? I know I could use filemaker, but that will take a fair amount of programming, a steep learning curve for me.

? Please, tell me where can I go to put together simple online surveys?

Thank you!

-Dan