A couple of days ago, I started to paint our backyard fence. The fence is a six-foot privacy fence made of cedar boards. I’m only painting the side of the fence that faces our home, leaving the appearance of the fence from my neighbors’ yards to them. I don’t know all of the technical aspects of fences and who owns them in our neighborhood. Virtually all of the backyards are fenced, with the fence lines seeming to run on the property lines. The subdivision where we lived for 25 years in South Dakota had an open yard covenant. We didn’t have fences between neighbors. The wood on our backyard fence is dry and soaks up the paint. I’ve been working slowly, doing a few sections each evening. Like other physical jobs I tackle, the chore gives me time to think. I have been focusing on my writing lately, investing hours trying to choose the right words, staying on topic, and wrestling with a manuscript. With a paintbrush, I allow my mind to wander, and many different topics go through my mind.

As I painted, I thought about my use of the word “paint.” Technically, I was applying stain to the fence. Stains are designed to penetrate the wood. They are absorbed into the surface and allow the wood grain to show. Paints remain on the surface and create a smooth, opaque finish. Perhaps it would be more accurate to call what I am doing to the fence “staining.” However, there are different kinds of stains. I am not using a transparent stain on the fence. I am not even using a semi-transparent stain. The product I am applying is sold as a “solid stain.” It seems to me that it is pretty close to paint. I’m not a chemist and have no expertise in the language of paints and stains, so I call the process “painting.” I’m pretty sure people understand what I mean, and so far, no one has objected to my use of that word when talking about my fence.

There are other uses of language, however, about which I am passionate. Suicide has once again touched the family of some of our friends. The victim of this tragedy was a young woman. Teen suicides are especially frightening because they sometimes appear in clusters, and I know the statistics about how her family and friends have just had the odds of their dying by suicide raised. When it comes to talking about suicide, I am adamant about avoiding the use of the word “commit.” Because that word has a legal definition with a lot of stigma, it is inappropriate to use when talking about death by suicide. People commit crimes. People are committed to institutions. Implying that dying as the result of mental illness is a crime places a stigma not only on the victim, but upon the survivors as well. I choose to avoid the use of “commit” when speaking of suicide, and I encourage others to do the same.

I have decided to stop using“artificial intelligence” when referring to computer programs that assist with writing. While the people who have designed such systems may demonstrate intelligence, the programs simply arrange words in patterns that match patterns used in writing previously done by humans. The systems can analyze vast amounts of text, detect repeating patterns, and put words into similar patterns when prompted by a question or topic suggestion. I don’t think human intelligence works that way at all. Human intelligence reflects creativity and generativity. The spelling assistant on my computer’s word processor doesn’t like my use of generativity, but I disagree and am using it. That is a form of intelligence that a computer system won’t employ.

I am avoiding“parental controls” when referring to the mild automatic restrictions social media sites claim to provide for young users. They are neither parental nor controlling. They are marketing tools intended to lure parents into thinking that the platforms are safe for teens. They do not protect teens. An English experiment created fake profiles for teenagers. Researchers scrolled each profile for ten minutes a day for a week. They initially searched for sports, gaming, and beauty. Within minutes the social media sites showed violence, abuse, sexually suggestive images with links to pornography. Social Media is dangerous for teens, and parents must establish guidelines for and monitor their use.

Accepting a half-billion-dollar plane from Qatar is not “a beautiful gift.” It is a bribe, pure and simple. It is a mockery of the Constitution’s emoluments clause against foreign gifts. Described as the world’s most luxurious airplane, the flying palace is of no practical use by the United States military. Before it can be used for executive transport, it must be stripped bare and inspected for security bugs. Unlike the aircraft used for Air Force One, it has no medical clinic or emergency surgical suite. It does not have the advanced secure communications equipment necessary for military use. It does not have the equipment required to provide security for its passengers. Retrofitting the plane will take longer than the remainder of the current presidential term and cost tens of millions of dollars. At the end of the term, plane ownership will be transferred to a presidential library. Unlike the decommissioned Air Force One on static display at Ronald Reagan’s presidential museum, don’t expect the world’s most luxurious plane to sit on the tarmac after four years. It is a bribe. And bribes come with demands. No country gives a half-billion-dollar gift to the head of another country out of the kindness of its heart. It wants something. The auction that netted more than $100 million for his family’s cryptocurrency, where a group of non-Americans won a private audience with him, demonstrates that he is willing to meet the terms of bribes.

While we are on the topic of language and the presidency, I have decided to avoid using the word “president” in conjunction with the current office holder. This is not a partisan action. When asked about being bound by the Constitution in a television interview, the convicted felon currently holding the office answered, “I don’t know.” Since he does not consider himself bound by the oath of office, I don’t know why I should believe him to be the legitimate office holder.

I doubt that many others will adopt my language preferences, and I don’t expect to change how others speak. However, since I write on a computer and publish my journal on the Internet, I have the satisfaction that, in a very minor and tiny way, I’m messing with the algorithms used by language processing programs.