body babbling n.— «To begin the learning process, the UC San Diego researchers directed the Einstein robot head (Hanson Robotics’ Einstein Head) to twist and turn its face in all directions, a process called “body babbling.” During...
If people are on warmly congenial terms, they’re said to “get on like a house on fire.” Yet an Irishwoman says when she uses this expression in the U.S., she often gets puzzled looks. Is the expression that unusual? This is part of...
According to a listener in San Diego, when a DJ plays a great set, he’s said to rinse it. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Rinse It” Martha, Sasha in San Diego wrote to share a little slang with us. Sasha is a...
Fess up: do you have a pet name for your car? How about your computer? Martha and Grant discuss the urge to give nicknames to inanimate objects in our lives. Also, why do we speak of vetting a political candidate? And what in the world is a zoo...
There’s nothing like an oddly phrased headline to brighten your day. How about “Actor Sent to Jail for Not Finishing Sentence”? Or “Queen Mary Having Bottom Scraped”? Same for signs that make you do a double take, like...
telco hotel n.— «“I live in Chula Vista. For me to get to the closest data center, it’s a 45-minute drive on a typical day,” he said. And, those San Diego data centers are filling up. Most are clustered at Scranton Road in La Jolla...