prid. Id. Mai.

The cryptic abbreviations above are a bit of Latin, pridie Idus Maius or "the day before the Ides of May." The Romans had a funny way of reckoning dates. They based them on Kalends (the 1st), Nones (5th; or 7th of March, May, July, October), and Ides (13th; or 15th of March, May, July, October), and all dates are expressed as so many days before the named day. TPP readers will get to know this well as I intend to include the Roman date at the end of each posting. "In March, July, October, May, the Nones are on the 7th day." Rita Mae Brown once told an audience of aspiring writers to "learn Latin" and I have dabbled in the lingua antiquitas ever since. Thanks, Rita! And thanks to old pal BRZ for dragging me to see Ms. Brown speak 20-plus years ago. Nowadays BRZ is in to some very cool stuff, you should check her out here. Sharp-eyed visitors will note a new addition to TPP, "sitemeter." This service allows M.C. to collec data on blog traffic. If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound? Of course! But no one will notice, eh? Sort of like blogging. It's there, but that doesn't mean anyone notices it!