I feel like that's half of being successful with written work (for school, for your job, for whatever) -- figuring out the little tricks that the person you're submitting to will like.

This is interesting. I feel like I'm doing that all the time with one person I work for-- she's persnickety and yet inconsistent.

I had a professor in college who liked long paragraphs, so I literally just smooshed paragraphs together after I had written my paper.

Who likes long paragraphs?!

Congrats JZ and DavidS!

What's the name?

A little late, but I've been out of town.

Matilda, Gud.

My bosses at this company before this one let me style my writing myself. This manager likes to preach against the Oxford comma, and won't approve documents until they're tweaked just so. I don't want to be sold on why the serial comma is wrong--just remind me you hate it and lets move on.

Happy Birthday Nicole!

Who likes long paragraphs?!

This one person who thought they were more academic or something. Sure, if I had actually been putting together more complex arguments or whatever. But no.

Off to add more dots to a thing I'm working on.

Birthday Happies for Nicole!!

Wow, what a depressing report about Iraq....

In a bleak National Intelligence Estimate, the government's top analysts concluded Iraq has become a "cause celebre" for jihadists, who are growing in number and geographic reach. If the trend continues, the analysts found, the risks to the U.S. interests at home and abroad will grow. (Read the NIE's key judgments -- PDF)

"We also assess that the global jihadist movement -- which includes al-Qaeda, affiliated and independent terrorist groups, and emerging networks and cells -- is spreading and adapting to counterterrorism efforts," concluded the estimate, compiled by leading analysts across 16 U.S. spy agencies.

[link]

It seems to conclude that the Democrats are right in that the war in Iraq has fueled jihadist and that the Republicans are right that we shouldn't withdraw from Iraq. So basically we screwed up big time in invading Iraq, but now we're stuck there.

Ah, but see Gud, President Bush doesn't believe the report, so there's really nothing to worry about.

I feel I should note once again that what Bin Laden et al wanted to accomplish with 9/11 was to provoke an armed response from the West, so as to fuel the rise of jihadism. Seriously, it was like he was waving a big red flag and the Bush Administration was a particularly stupid bull.

Yeah. Apparantly he knows something that every single US intelligence agency does not.