I am a native of South Carolina now living in central California and a veteran of the United States Submarine Service. Although, I spent my career in accounting and finance, I have a wide variety of interests, especially history and the proper use of the English language, and make frequent minor edits for grammar and style.

Unlike many of my countrymen, I am a Francophile. France has made innumerable contributions to civilization and culture over the centuries and has been a great power at several different times in history. The World War I exclamation of gratitude, "Lafayette, we are here!" was not empty, as the American Revolution could not have succeeded without the French fleet.

I am also an Anglophile, though I mightily resent the common British idea that they own the English language. It is always a struggle to overcome the urge to edit out the superfluous "u" in words like "favour" (favor) and "neighbour" (neighbor). How anyone can spell jail "gaol" with a straight face is beyond me. (Relax, John Cleese, I am "yanking" your chain.)

I have been writing dates using the standard nautical and military form of dd Month yyyy (i.e. 1 January 2008) for more than four decades and see no reason why I should reverse the order of the month and day, and insert an otherwise-superfluous comma (January 1, 2008) any time I edit an article having to do with the United States.

Pet Peeves

• Misuse of the word "comprise," when "compose" is meant. The whole comprises the parts, not the other way around. It is correct to say "California comprises 58 counties." It is incorrect to say "California is comprised of 58 counties."
• Misuse of "irony," when "coincidence" is meant. Something is ironic only when it is a contradiction. Calling a large person "Tiny" is ironic. Calling him "Bear" is not.
• Split infinitives. Stuffing an adverb into the space between "to" and the second part of the verb may be a common error, but it is an error nonetheless. When Red Riding Hood asks the wolf why he has such big eyes, he may correctly answer "the better to see you" or "to see you better," but not "to better see you."