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Thanks for getting back to me. I’ve since bought a new one but I’m sure this will be snapped up soon by another overcaffeinated cyclist. Glws!

Hello - how old is this please, and are you selling the little brush that goes with it too?

Aha! We have a fundamental difference in our understanding of what constitutes common and proper nouns. I'm going with this version, so we'll have to agree to disagree.

Bible vs bible is a nice example of how metaphorical use of proper nouns can make them common nouns though.

It started in uppercase as 'this is the Bible of this' because it once had direct reference to the actual Bible (proper noun) but, through a lot of usage, it became a common metaphorical phrase and is now 'the bible of xyz' (common noun) when used transitively.

So, did you go? :)

Not yet. Nerd Nite doesn't appear to be happening atm. If anyone knows of a grammar geeks' gathering, I'm there! :)

Spotted in Barcelona

nutsnats.com

Can’t go into all the reasons the above is incorrect, but no: em is lowercase.

In brief:
The word em is the name of a measurement based on, but no longer dictated by, the letter M.

Context and rarity clarify its meaning. It doesn’t need a capital, like it doesn’t need putting in bold or underlining. It is. We don’t need to gild the lily. English dropped capitalisation of all Nouns in Sentences just because they’re Names a couple of Centuries ago.

There’s an argument for preference, sure! Why would I care about personal usage? I wouldn’t dream of arguing the point if you hadn’t ‘corrected’ me with such authority in the first place.

Capitalising ‘em’ makes as much sense as capitalising ‘alpha’ every time you use it (eg: he was no Alpha male). Just because it once referred to a capital, doesn't mean it needs a capital. If it was about the shape, it could be argued for. Take the L.

Again, can’t believe I have such strong opinions on usage of em. Need to go to Nerd Nite, be among my tribe.

It's obviously somewhat circular. :)

It's not circular, it's a line! :-)

To take your arguments for (It should always be 'En dashes' and 'Em dashes') in turn.

Because the reference letters are uppercase

The name 'em' was in reference to the block size of the uppercase letter M, but that's no reason for it to be uppercase itself. If it was about the shape, like T-shirt or Q-tip, we'd maybe be in agreement.

because it's a name

Well, it's a noun, but it's not a proper noun, so it doesn't need a capital for that reason.

and to distinguish it from the measurement unit.

It is the measurement unit (the em of pica is a third of an inch or something) so doesn't need distinguishing from itself.

Feel like I may have lost the room long ago at this point, but have attached some screengrabs from the OED on the usages of 'em' for fellow nerds … en-joy!

Yes. "Coöperate" is nuts to me because the second o represents a perfectly normal English sound and a hyphen would work fine, if anything is needed at all. The broader point is that people and institutions love to make absolutist pronouncements about correct usage but they are rarely justified, and often only make things more effortful or jarring to the reader. DJing is easier to read than "D.J.-ing" is my point.

Isn't that's an En dash you've put there?

Ha! Now fixed!

(It should always be 'En dashes' and 'Em dashes'.)

Why? It has always been lowercase 'em' and 'en' in British English usage, used to signify the measurement of the type block 'N' and 'M'. Written as 'en' and 'em' to avoid confusion among printers between discussions about type measure and about actual letters. US or International English may differ idk.

Why not, if you're professionally concerned with them (as I guess you are)?

I want to be a lion tamer!

between dates/measures is en dashes

I agreë!

I'm saying that if an em dash has to be used to separate dates, I think it doesn't benefit from having spaces either side of it.

In reply to @Oliver Schick

The NYT and New Yorker style guides are bonkers ("coöperate", "D.J.-ing" for example), but this is all about personal taste imho. The more style guides I've read, the more I've realised they're just conventions, dictated more or less high-handedly depending on the author/publication.

I prefer no space if an em dash is after interrupted speech, it's between two dates, measures etc, or it's being used to balance out two mirrored clauses (man proposes—God disposes), but I prefer a bit of space when it's occupying a similar function to a regular dash.

Yikes. Really didn't realise I had such depth of feeling about em dashes.

It’s a hot topic among copy editors — in the US more than the UK.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/14/style/em-dash-punctuation.html

To my ear, it has more of a dramatic beat to it than an en dash. Its slightly longer diving board lends a pause somewhere between a regular dash (en) and an ellipsis.

Tracksmith looks great in an retro stylish kinda way and feels lux - Rapha is the perfect comparison. But the tech just isn’t there: in my experience they’re made of basic-feeling fabrics (nice to sit around in; terrible for performance) and designed in a way that doesn’t seem to have much running wisdom involved.

I’ve got a load of their stuff cos I’m a poser, but I always wear my Ronhill shorts that cost 1/5 of the price instead because they don’t chafe or get heavy when sweaty, or lose their drawstring every time they go in the wash.

The best brand I have found for cool high-end running kit is Soar. There’s a reason all the running clubs use their race singlets.

Really want this book. My place of work published a backgrounder article here for people like me who were new to RAMMELLZEE but love the rappers, graf writers and artists he influenced. The piece is written by Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth and pegged to the book.

Potentially uplifting bit of schmaltz here – the chap from Stranger Things and Full Metal Jacket playing a cycling coach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc_4AnfjtwA&ab_channel=MunroFilms

100%. Finger for under the jar's shoulder

Would! Looks worth the journey. They even have a flavour called 'Sport' for health nuts

(Try 12ft.io if you need to hop over a paywall to read it)

Infuriatingly misinformed US-newspaper premise aside, a nice article about PB power in the UK:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/15/dining/british-peanut-butter.html

Hey @w8wh4t. Longshot: Is this still available?

I'd be interested in either set of bars (pref Zipp) if you still have them?

I really enjoyed it, yes! I was a big fan of The Florida Project by the same director and it plays with similar topics. I'm not sure what genre it would be ... Uncomfortable comedy-drama?

Just saw Red Rocket. Found it more enjoyable than watching a past-it porn star making a deepening mess of his life should be. It's a bit like a mix of Uncut Gems, Lolita and The Wrestler.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CY1woO2jdFF/

Essay, sorry!

TL;DR - good thanks! Feel healthier and less bothered about not being Mark Cavendish.

Hey, thanks for asking ... it's kind of settled into a groove now.

For the first few weeks I was watching the clock until the moment I could break my fast at midday, but I'm no longer hungry in the mornings now and often feel comfortable not eating till 1 or 2. Maybe that signals some kind of fat-burning hybrid-fuel capability, maybe it's also to do with the vast amount of water I'm downing... Either way, i don't feel I'm missing a vital energy source (breakfast) any more.

I've managed to let go of the strictness I felt I needed to get me started eating 16/8. As a slow learner, my body took around a month to get used to only eating between 12 and 8pm. Now I find i don't really want to eat outside of those hours. So I don't feel any fear of 'falling off the wagon'. If my stomach is growling at 11, I'll just give it a snack. I'm eating 16/8 95% of the time so the odd mid-morning peanut butter on toast isn't going to derail the long-term pattern.

Six weeks in, I've also figured out to fuel myself properly with carbs the day before if I'm planning a big ride or run the following morning. Mainly so I don't have the fear of running on empty. Long slow steady pace still seems to be easier than before, and strong sprints and climbs still feel slightly out of reach. Maybe it's just in my head, a fear that will pass with more positive fasted performances, but it definitely feels as if I'm struggling more to find that explosive speed.

How much this matters to my overall fitness and health is now more debatable though. I'm averaging a morning run or ride 3 days a week and I feel a lot lighter on the pedals (and on my feet), and a lot less bloated and gross in daily existence. That perhaps counts for more on average ... I've lost a bit of belly weight too, so there's less to lug around. I haven't been keeping proper statistical tabs cos life's too short, but this is my subjective opinion fwiw

The feeling you mentioned about your body having used up everything you gave it before feeding it more definitely rings true. It feels more measured somehow. In a simple way, it also feels good just to be in control of my eating without having to feel unhelpfully 'prohibited' from any food groups. Feels like a 'diet' I can stick to because nothing is truly off the menu :-)

Thanks, a lot of food for thought - exactly what I've been missing :-D

Sounds like having a sociable routine and not being super strict about it helps it become more sustainable.

Think I'll keep at 16/8 but allow myself to eat outside the window when I really need it. And lower my expectations of being able to reach higher speeds running/riding while in a fasted state for now.

Tricky to tell how much is psychological, ie not feeling as strong/fast, as I'm not weighing myself and try not to be dictated to by my Garmin, so i don't have the objective stats. Still, I'm doing it to feel better and lose some fat, so going on feeling is probably a good enough indicator.

Anyway, appreciate it, really useful. I'll try to give it another month and reassess.