Robots are taking over the jobs that were once held by people. There is (apparently) no further need for highway workers to stand on the side of the road with signs saying "stop" or "slow." They have been replaced by these tempa-signals, a phenomenon that I had not been aware of until just about a month ago. We live in Williamson County, Texas, where they are incapable of fixing a road right on the first try. It generally takes them to the third or fourth try before they actually have the roads corrected the right way, so we may be subject to these temporary traffic signals for years to come. And, I expect that once they assume they are finished, it will time for them to start all over again.It is eerily calm at the Edge of Nowhere right now. No wind, grey skies, clouds, and the threat of severe storms. We got a little bit of rain last night (0.19"), more expected tonight and through the weekend.
Gorgonize -- Verb. to have a paralyzing or mesmerizing effect on. stupefy, petrify. "Instantly the door opened and there stood Mrs. Kannon, clutching her sacque together at the throat and gorgonizing him with her opaque, yellow eyes." O. Henry, "An unfinished Christmas Story," 1912
Did You Know? In Greek mythology, the Gorgons (from the Greek adjective gorgos, meaning "terrifying") were commonly depicted as three female monsters who had snakes for hair and the ability to turn anyone who looked at them into stone. The most notorious of the three was Medusa; when she was slain by the hero Perseus, her severed head retained the power of turning anyone who looked on it to stone. In modern parlance, to gorgonize someone is to make him or her feel (metaphorically) petrified, usually through an intimidating glance or gaze.
No comments:
Post a Comment