I hate it when someone uses a word incorrectly. Worse, I hate when I use a word incorrectly.
Did you know, for instance, that "enormity" doesn't mean really big? It refers specifically to the seriousness of something that is bad or morally wrong.
I used it incorrectly not too long ago and am still stinging at my blunder.
Today, before writing this blog entry, I looked up this word:
It seems a little anachronistic (I double-checked that one, too), to use such a quaint term to describe something that arrives to the in-box of your 21st-century computer's email program, directing you to stories that can be found on a website.
"Newsletters," it seems to me, are things printed on paper (usually using a "photostat" machine) with smudgy letters that are handed out at the door to a community hall or church.
But if TV newspeople can talk about the day's "headines," then I can talk about the rebirth of the Times Colonist's daily newsletter. More specifically — and slightly more ridiculously — our "eNewsletter."
This is the wonderful device that will arrive in your email in-box each day, heralding the top stories to be found at timescolonist.com at that particular moment.
Such things have proved popular with digital readers. The Times Colonist used to have one, but it hadn't been heard from since December 2012, the vicitim of a changing content management system and repeated delays in development.
But it was reborn late last week. Our first order of business was to contact all those people who had previously subscribed and ask them if they would like to do so again.
However, given recent federal anti-spam legislation (and our own inconveniently placed conscience), we require all previous subscribers to re-up if they want the daily notices.
We would also like a boatload of new subscribers to the newsletter. There is no cost (honest) to receive it. Be aware, however, that links in the newsletter will lead to content that is metered and may require a subscription (insert grumbly complaints about paying for news).
Signing up is easy. Just go HERE and type in your email address.
The eNewsletter will arrive at 9 a.m. each day.
