Linda McHenry
Many thanks to cover artist, Shawn Jewett, for designing the cover for the 2nd edition of Taking the Mystery out of Business, which will be released in mid-April. I can’t decide which color I like best, can you help me decide? I’ll announce the “winning” book cover late in the day on Wednesday, March 18th.
What’s YOUR favorite color … blue or red or green?
Because I’ll be unveiling the book cover for the second edition of Taking the Mystery out of Business on FRIDAY and I can’t decide which color I like the best.
On any given day, I’ll generally pick red or green, but I REALLY like the blue cover. So, now I’m having an especially difficult time making up my mind.
Of course, the cover artist (Shawn Jewett) does such beautiful work, it would never been an easy process to pick just one.
Check back here on the blog, or on any of my Social Media accounts (LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook) on Friday to vote for your favorite version of the book cover.
I find myself using the word very lately, as in something is very important or very stupid. (I also use really in a similar fashion, and actually, but I’m going to stick with very today.)
If something’s important (or stupid), how does does very make it more so? Aren’t the words important and stupid explicit enough on their own without having to define degrees of importance and stupidity? Grammatically speaking, how correct is it to modify an adjective with another adjective?
Why do we use adjectives anyway? Sure, the red car distinguishes it from the blue and green ones but why do we have to say the green grass? Yep, in places like Montana grass turns dirt brown in the dryness of summer but, otherwise, it’s green … and don’t we all know that?
Same thing with adverbs. Yes, the earth spins slowly on its axis. I suppose it might be important to stress the fact to someone who’s very stupid but, really, how many people are so stupid they think the earth spins quickly on its axis? And if someone were that stupid, why would you be talking about the earth’s axis anyway?
All kidding aside, I understand the value of adjectives and adverbs. I’m just practicing a more judicious use of them lately.
What are your thoughts about the little buggers?
My insurance CE webinar schedule for March is now available.
In addition to the regular monthly webinars, I also teach the New York Regulation 187 webinar (scroll down the CE Webinar Schedule page to find those dates), and the FREE Lunch & Learn webinars along with Pam Reihs. The Lunch & Learn webinars are NOT for CE credit; however, those who attend the entire webinar can receive a Professional Development Certificate.
As a freelance writer, I’ve been hired to write content about topics I never contemplated, and/or that don’t hold a personal interest for me. Then, when I dive into the research and put aside any personal feelings about the topic, I find myself swimming in a pool of information that sends meaningful ripples into other areas of my life. The subject of cannabis, and its legalization in the United States is once such topic.
Although I drink (my sister laughs when I say that), I’ve never been drunk. And the only controlled substances I’ve ever taken were those that knocked me out just before undergoing surgery. As you can imagine, any experience I’ve gleaned about alcohol and drugs has been as an observer rather than as a participant. Unfortunately, much of my personal observation was unpleasant and probably had a lot to do with my preference for being [mostly] a teetotaler.
One of the duties I’ve been assigned by one of my clients is to write content for webinars, and the the legalization of marijuana is garnering a great deal of interest. So, for those of you who are interested in what’s up these days, hang onto your hat because the pace with which laws are being proposed and enacted is moving at the speed of light.
As you probably know, federal law lists cannabis on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Federal law categorizes drugs, substances, and certain chemicals used to make drugs into five different classifications (i.e., Schedules I, II, III, IV, and IV) based upon the medical acceptability of their use and their potential for abuse or dependency. Schedule I drugs are considered by the federal government to have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Drugs listed in Schedules II through V all have medically accepted uses, and decreasing potential for abuse; they all contain narcotics.
An increasing number of states disagree with the federal government’s opinion about marijuana and THC, the mind-altering (psychoactive) compound in cannabis that generates the high and/or the medical relief some people experience when using it.
Until now, a total of 34 states have legalized the medical use of marijuana. Of those, 11 states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults only. Marijuana is considered illegal in all cases, as it is under federal law, in the states of Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
A total of 17 states have also introduced into their legislative assemblies bills that will legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults. Those states include Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Ten states also have bills that hope to establish medical marijuana programs: Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
If you’re interested in keeping up with what’s what from a legal perspective, the National Conference of State Legislatures provides terrific, and current, information at: https://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/marijuana-overview.aspx
One final note to keep in mind about the legalization of marijuana/cannabis: federal law HAS legalized the cultivation of hemp, which is a form of cannabis that contains minimal amounts of THC, but under strict regulation. Anyone who wants to grow hemp MUST be licensed by the state … and not all states have legalized hemp, as the federal government has.
Hemp is not only used for medicinal purposes because of its CBD properties (e.g., protective effects for people with certain types of arthritis and lymph node ailments), it is also used to make paper, textiles, industrial-grade thread, a fiberglass-like material, and in cement. The CBD derived from hemp plants is not mind-altering/psychoactive, and is listed as a Schedule III drug under federal law.