Do you all use google alerts? I think they are awfully handy to make sure you’re not missing things around the web–like people referencing you, your job, your mom, etc. And they make it so easy!

“Once burned, twice shy” is an old saying about learning from your mistakes. In fact, sayings —a term used to describe any current or habitual expression of wisdom or truth—are a dime a dozen. Proverbs —sayings that are well known and often repeated, usually expressing metaphorically a truth based on common sense or practical experience—are just as plentiful (her favorite proverb was “A stitch in time saves nine”).

An adage is a time-honored and widely known proverb, such as “Where’s there’s smoke, there’s fire.” A maxim offers a rule of conduct or action in the form of a proverb, such as “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” Epigram and epigraph are often confused, but their meanings are quite separate. An epigram is a terse, witty, or satirical statement that often relies on a paradox for its effect (Oscar Wilde’s well-known epigram that “The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it”). An epigraph, on the other hand, is a brief quotation used to introduce a piece of writing (he used a quote from T. S. Eliot as the epigraph to his new novel).

An aphorism requires a little more thought than an epigram, since it aims to be profound rather than witty (she’d just finished reading a book of Mark Twain’s aphorisms). An apothegm is a pointed and often startling aphorism, such as Samuel Johnson’s remark that “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”

Now you’ve got it!

Take from the “Choosing the Right Word” section of my dashboard’s Dictionary.

As someone who is always ready to share my opinions, I clicked through the survey the ever quizzical New York Times had recently. They said:

As you know, the New York Times announced it would begin charging for online services in 2010.

No I did not know that. Or I had decided to not remember that. Anyway, the plan they pitched to me, their self-nominated-reader-authority, was this:

• You get to read 10 articles a month for free, and then you get a dismal screen that looks like the above image.
• You can then pay $5 to get even more Bill Cunningham in your life (of course they know we’re completely addicted to his weekly cheerful fashion proclamations).
• Any article that is linked to within another service, i.e. facebook and google reader, is free for reading, thereby (I think) multiplying your free 10 articles by the number of literate and generous friends that you have.

Here were my suggestions, that I’m sure went straight to the top:

1. Start offering classy “I’m a subscriber” in Helvetica t-shirts to feed the hungry multitude looking for a portable status symbol in this consumer opportunity.

2. Offer an online subscription & Weekender pairing. If I’m already going to pay $5 (not to mention having to enter my credit card information, oh the drudgery) for more articles, I would just as well choose to pay $22 and get the paper every Sunday and my free t-shirt.

What do you guys think? Any body else share their opinions with the NYT?