General

Support a charity while encouraging me!

General

Dear KirkMahoney.com Blog Reader,

I am walking and running (mostly walking) the Houston Marathon on 18 January 2009, six years after my first one.

The Houston Marathon provides a simple vehicle for individuals like me to raise money on behalf of their favorite charities.

As I did six years ago, I am covering the 26.2 miles on behalf of CanCare, a wonderful charity.

And I have a special page where you can support this charity while encouraging me to suffer through — I mean, to make it through — all 262 tenths of a mile.

My goal this year is to raise a dollar for every tenth of a mile that I cover on my road to the finish line.

If you would like to help, then please visit http://www.active.com/donate/cancare2009/KirkMahoney and make a donation to this worthy charity.

Thank you in advance for your support!

– Kirk

P.S. If you are reading this before the end of 2008 and live in the USA, then there is no time to waste in making a year-2008 tax-deductible contribution. Please visit the CanCare website for more information about tax treatment of your contribution. If you are reading this in 2009 and live in the USA, then your contribution would apply to the 2009 tax year. If the Houston Marathon donation link no longer works, then please go directly to the CanCare website. Wherever you live and whenever you make your contribution, thank you for your support!

103 Words

Foreign Languages, General

I have yet another book to recommend.

It is titled 103 Words that will make YOU A well-rounded Conversationalist!.

As with 101 Words … and 102 Words … by Kim Rogers, this book would be a wonderful gift for a teenager or adult.

“Comestible” is one of the words in this book and is a good example of the value of learning another language.

“Comer” is the Spanish verb for “to eat”; “comestible” in Spanish means edible or comestible in English.

So, although “comestible” in Spanish is pronounced differently than “comestible” in English, these two words with identical meanings have identical spellings.

In other words, “comestible” is a Spanish/English true cognate.

This book contains many words that are not at the tip of my tongue. I recognized all of them but would have failed at correctly providing all of their definitions.

So, as with 101 Words … and 102 Words …, I can imagine some of these words appearing on an SAT exam.

And, as with 101 Words … and 102 Words …, the price is right, too.

No matter whether English is your native language or is a foreign language, I highly recommend that you read what the author says about this book and then buy it!

102 Words

General

I have another book to recommend.

It is titled 102 Words that will make YOU Sound even Smarter Right Away!.

As with 101 Words … by Kim Rogers, this book would be a wonderful gift for a teenager or adult.

Also inspired by the author’s father, who apparently learned every single word in a 50,000-word dictionary, this book is obviously a work of love.

I can imagine some of these words, too, appearing on an SAT exam.

Anyone who knows the definitions of these words definitely has an advantage over anyone else who does not know them.

As with 101 Words …, the price is right, too.

The author has lovingly identified yet more English words that are not all at the tips of the tongues of most Americans.

As my father loved to say, “Learning never ends,” and this follow-up book is an example of what we all need: continual intellectual stimulation and growth.

No matter whether English is your native language or is a foreign language, I highly recommend that you read what the author says about this book and then buy it!