A Useless History

The origin of the words "buccaneer" and "barbeque":

Shockingly enough, the origins of these words are related. When the Spaniards started coming over to America, they left cows on many of the Caribbean islands so that if their sailors hit a storm or were lost at sea, they could have food until they got their bearings. Later, the pirates started to use these islands as hideouts. They would carry grills called "buccans" with them to utilize the forethought of the Spanish. Hence, the pirates became known as "buccaneers." One of these buccaneers was named Barbeque.

So, the story could be told in a single sentence: The name of a grill became synonymous with pirate, and the name of a pirate became synonymous with a grill. I guess turnabout is fair play.

(A number of other explanations are available for the origin of "barbeque." According to the more plausible sources, for instance, "barbeque" may also be derived from a word common to several of the native languages: "barabicu," meaning "sacred fire pit." But stories involving pirates are always cooler!)

A Complaint

Have you ever noticed how incredibly annoying it is to have long gaps in the conversation? You just keep waiting for the other person to finally respond, but it never happens. By the time they actually say something, you hardly even remember what the conversation was about to begin with.

These problems are especially compounded with written conversations. It sometimes seems like you have to wait forever. The person on the other end should have enough time to say something! They could at least acknowledge that they received the message. There is nothing more annoying than waiting for the next email, text message, or blog post! And then, when they finally do respond, it is usually something incredibly dull and unrelated to the topic. There was one blog that had not published anything in almost four months, and the first new post simply talked about how irritating it was to wait for someone to respond. How hypocritical!

And, as if that was not enough, this person misspeled a few wirds, too. I think that if you are going to take the time to publish a post, you should take the time to find a worthwhile subject, instead of complaining about the first thing that pops into your head!