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A Sample Entry, Explained

Here's a sample entry with explanation:

Sample

v. To pick from a group: “Would you like to sample some of this?” —n. 1. What was picked. 2. A trial or taste—usually small, often free: “Care for a sample?”

NOTE: We say “sample” casually, but statisticians know it's important to follow special rules to avoid introducing BIAS and to truly characterize the larger POPULATION being Sampled.

Explanation: In this example, the bolded term (Sample) is what's being defined. As you can see, it is both a verb (v.) and a noun (n.). Both uses are demonstrated in quoted phrases (“...”). Plus, the noun form has two slightly different meanings (1. ... , 2. ...).

As above, offset notes (NOTE: ) may hold related information or in some cases additional comments. I've done my best to always make it clear whenever I'm expressing a personal opinion.

Any words of phrases you see set in small caps (e.g., BIAS, POPULATION) are defined elsewhere in the glossary. Ideally, these CROSS-REFERENCES would all be active hyperlinks. However, for the time being, you can easily use the letter TABS atop every GLOSSARY page and the ENTRIES menus on their left-hand sides to quickly and easily find any term you want.

PHOTOGRAPHS and illustration thumbnails have a small magnifier icon in their lower right corners. Click on them to see larger versions. A caption ending with an ellipsis (…) indicates there are additional comments associated with the enlarged view. When you're done viewing any such graphics, simply use your browser's BACK navigation feature to leave the GALLERY and return to the GLOSSARY.

Some real entries, like MAKE A BALE, include my personal How-To instructions, which are simple and easy to follow, but can be quite lengthy to describe. Help or nuisance? ...You decide.

In addition, at the bottom of every genuine ENTRY, there are also COMMENT and KEYWORD fields (see below).

You can click COMMENTS at the bottom of an ENTRY to see and/or contribute comments related to that particular ENTRY. If you have more general comments, please use the COMMENTS TAB (") instead. You'll find it atop every page.

Clicking on a KEYWORD brings up one or more ENTRIES the AUTHOR has decided might be useful to access together, as a group. In essence, you may think of them as pre-defined SEARCHES. Just remember that, like SEARCHES, the scope of the KEYWORD lookup is limited to the TAB you're currently on.

Vertical change bars along the left side of ENTRIES indicate they're either:

NEW
- A single, solid, thick bar means ENTRY was not in previous edition, or
CHANGED
- Hollow (thinner, double lines) bar means updated since last edition, or
UNCHANGED
- No bar means no changes since the last major edition was released.

Thus, as you can see, this overall ENTRY has been revised, while the Sample ENTRY within it is marked as “new.”

adj.

-. See ADJECTIVE, below. Also “—adj.” when not given as the first definition.

Adjective

n. A word or phrase that clarifies, describes, or otherwise modifies a NOUN. For instance, PART-TIME (as when it modifies the NOUN, EMPLOYEE).

adv.

-. See ADVERB, below. Also “—adv.” when not given as the first definition.

Adverb

n. A word or phrase that clarifies, describes, or otherwise modifies a VERB. For instance, SOLID (as when it modifies the VERB, BUILD).

“ALL” TAB (::)

n. A collection point intended to duplicate all regular GLOSSARY ENTRIES currently found in the non-alphabetic (“#”) and alphabetic (“A” - “Z”) TABS to the “ALL” TAB'S left (27 TABS, total).

The “ALL” TAB is not intended to duplicate the ENTRIES under the three other TABS to its right, namely the NEW (“+”), COMMENTS (“"”), or HELP (“?”) TABS. To individually search or keyword any one of those additional categories, first go to their respective pages, accessed via the usual navigation TABS, above.

NOTE: The “ALL” TAB'S purpose is to allow SEARCHING and KEYWORD lookup for the entire GLOSSARY from a single, convenient point. Otherwise you'd have to do so in each TAB, and combine the results manually.

So, why not just have the “ALL” TAB? Who needs all those others? Well, I liked the idea of thumbing through the GLOSSARY letter by letter, and since there is no Blogger facility for hierarchical KEYWORDS or limiting the scope on SEARCHES, I thought I had to do it this way.

(TechNote: To avoid any potential penalties for massive amounts of redundant text, <meta content='noindex,nofollow' name='robots'/> is used to prevent web crawlers from scanning the “ALL” TAB'S duplicate ENTRIES.)

That said, why do two colons (“::”) represent “ALL”? Well, following my own backwards logic, it's because I used “+” to represent “NEW.” In the negative spaces among the four colon dots I saw a plus shape. Thus, “ALL” standard ENTRIES “plus” all “NEW” ENTRIES would yield a solid square block, or in other words, completeness. A stretch? All I can say is, it seemed to make sense at the time.

Author

n. The person responsible for the creation, collection, and/or reorganization of a body of printed work. —v. To produce such work.

NOTE: Mostly my authorship has involved taking a few hasty notes while on the job, and then spending hours upon hours of my personal, free time to turn those few scribbles into what you see here.

My basic Authoring process is:

Quickly gather STOCK CLERK-related words and concepts while on the job
Organize the collected terms and information
Compose appropriate definitions
Incorporate my own experience and things learned from others
Occasionally, as necessary, create new terms, definitions, etc.
Publish it all on the Internet
Print everything out, duplicate and then circulate hard-copies to gain additional input
Continue gathering info while revising and expanding new editions

Wherever I've invented new vocabulary, it was to describe something where the answer to the questions, “What's this?” or “What do you call this?” was either a literal or metaphorical shrug of the shoulders. SHARK-CUT is one such example. I couldn't find any other name for it, it's pretty descriptive, and so, there you go.

The submerged part of this Titanic-style iceberg is the aspect of Internet publishing. In case you didn't know, Blogger was not designed to host online GLOSSARIES. The architecture is all wrong.

Well, almost. I found just enough stuff that I could co-opt through my own personal stubbornness and truckloads of HTML and CSS brute force that I was able to get up what you see here. I imagine that, among others, the Blogger-dudes and -dude-ettes themselves are going to be somewhat pleasantly surprised. At least, I hope so.

Along the way, it's certainly been a lot of fun figuring out how to “MAKE IT GO!”

Blog

n. A contraction of “Web Log.” That is, a personal log, journal, diary, newsletter, or other such writings which the AUTHOR has put online for perusal by all and sundry. Blogs may include graphics, photos, links to other websites and/or various other assets. A characteristic of Blogs is that they are easy to start and maintain, and are thus likely to have more frequent updates than most websites in general.

NOTE: In case it's not obvious, this GLOSSARY has been implemented as a series of interconnected Blogs on a Blogging service named “Blogger.” Blogger is part of the Google family of internet companies, and it offers free and easy Blogging to the masses. If you're new to Blogging and want to try it, I can't imagine an easier way to begin than using Blogger. I highly recommend it!

TRUE STORY: It was the “free” part of using Blogger that first attracted me, and it was the “easy” part that got me started. I was able to throw the first edition of this GLOSSARY together very quickly. I followed a very simple approach where I composed ENTRIES in the default WYSIWYG (“What You See Is What You Get”) Posting editor, and for each letter of the alphabet I created a single POST of many ENTRIES all squished together. The good news: all I had to do was some basic typing. The bad news: it worked like a charm, but I wasn't satisfied. I wanted more control, more features. I wanted to make the GLOSSARY of my dreams—one I wanted to use. I figured if I could satisfy myself, others might like to use it too. Which meant I needed to kick it up a level.

This second version is the result. How'd I do?

Comment

n. Written feedback from BLOG readers, who may respond with constructive criticism, or contribute additions, changes, or corrections, or offer personal stories about their own experience or opinions, or ask questions, make suggestions, and so on.

NOTE: Ordinarily, BLOGS are all about POSTS and Comments. The AUTHOR POSTS something as a BLOG ENTRY, and then—if the AUTHOR chooses to enable it—people have a chance to respond by making Comments.

Here, the same is also true. See the COMMENTS (") TAB for how to view and make your own Comments.

However, if you're looking for discussion, that's something a little different. Comments will typically deal with GLOSSARY-related issues only, and are kind of like “Post-Its®.” You know, you stick a little note up there, and folks read it, maybe, as they're passing by. But, by comparison, discussions are much different. Discussions are all about dialog. Give and take. Conversation.

Well, to converse, Comments are not the way to go, in large part because they (Comments) are moderated, and there's therefore a built in delay before they appear.

What you want for conversation is the Stockclerk Google group. Check it out by clicking on the link below:

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Contact Info

I sincerely welcome your feedback, your comments, corrections, input, or just about whatever you'd like to send me. Just keep it G-rated, and lay off the spam. However, please note that anything you do submit becomes my property, to do with (or to ignore) either in whole or in part, entirely as I please.

Thus, don't hassle me about rights, payment, credit or compensation of any kind. If I like it and use it, I'll make a reasonable effort to provide suitable acknowledgment so you can have bragging rights. I've certainly done plenty enough around here that I don't need to hog anyone else's glory.

There are three easy ways to contact me:

For something specific to a particular ENTRY, please use the COMMENT link at the bottom of that individual ENTRY
For something relating generally to the GLOSSARY as a whole, please use the COMMENTS TAB at the top of any page
For other matters, such as something you'd prefer to discuss privately, please email me directly.

I'm always looking for good feedback, so I'll keep an eye on the COMMENTS venues, believe you me! However, things being what they are, I'm sure you'll understand the need for those venues to be moderated. That means your COMMENTS don't show up right away. I have to first read them and approve them as worthy.

To email me directly, please use the address at the bottom of this ENTRY. I've “spelled it out” in a way that's intended to let you easily figure it out, but discourage web crawlers. If appropriate, and to save time, please be sure to include links to any specific ENTRIES of interest. I'll try to get back to you in a timely way.

And finally, if you like what you see hereabouts, and perhaps think “Hey—I'd like to talk to this guy about doing some work for me along these or perhaps similar lines,” that would be great. Besides being a part-time stock clerk with an interesting hobby, I've also got many years of experience as a writer, trainer and training designer. (Perhaps you can tell?) Again, just drop me an email to get the conversation rolling.

All best wishes,

David G. Smith, aka:

S T O C K C L E R K _{^{(ª †)}} G Μ A Ι L _{^{(Ð Ο Τ)}} C Ο Μ

Contribution

n. Any worthwhile suggestion or nomination of informational content to the GLOSSARY. Contributions might include, but not be limited to:

TERMS
Definitions
Usage
Notes
Tips
PHOTOGRAPHS
Illustrations
How-To Procedures
Reference information
Etc., etc.

In other words, just about anything on-topic, such as you see throughout the GLOSSARY, would be appreciated.

Contributor

n. Someone who provides informational content to the GLOSSARY.

NOTE: Original Contributors are those who helped me get started on the job. I've done my best to list them all under THANKS!

Likewise, I'll strive to ensure any other Contributors also get appropriate acknowledgment of any of their CONTRIBUTIONS that may get incorporated into the GLOSSARY.

Cross-Reference

n. An indication that a definition (and possibly additional information) is provided elsewhere.

NOTE: Cross-References in the GLOSSARY are indicated by SMALL-CAPS (sic). That means that for any such word or phrase, you may look up its meaning by using the usual TABS at the top of any GLOSSARY page to view to all ENTRIES beginning with the same first letter. From that point, you may scroll the page, if necessary, to bring the definition into view. Alternatively, you may click on one of the LINKS provided on the left side of the page, to go directly to that ENTRY alone.

Note that SMALL-CAPS in ITALICS indicate an ENTRY that is found on the HELP (?) TAB, and not among the definitions of the STOCK CLERK GLOSSARY itself.

DISCLAIMER

Disclaimer

One thing needs to be perfectly to be clear: this is a purely personal project. With the exception of hastily scribbling down a few quick notes every once in a while as I'm working—I've done everything entirely on my own time.

Both my immediate manager and the management of my store have been very generous in giving me permission to pursue this. They've even allowed me off-hours access to take occasional photos and video at my own time and expense.

However, our entire arrangement is that they tolerate my “hobby” just so long as it does not infringe upon nor interfere with any customers, nor with my nor anyone else's work. Which is all very reasonable, if you ask me. They are not sponsoring this effort, and I have not and do not expect to receive any compensation of any kind.

Throughout this whole thing, I have been very “above board,” and have at my own expense printed and distributed about 30 complete, 65-page copies of the first, and only previous edition of this glossary to store managers, co-workers, union representatives, and just about anyone else I could think of or who happened to ask. I was looking for constructive criticism, and got some. Thanks to all.

That said, it should be clearly stated here once again that this is a 100% personal project, based on my own personal experience. If I got something right, I got lucky. If I got something wrong, not so lucky.

This is in no way an official document. It does not represent nor is it intended to represent any official policies, procedures, views or opinions of the store, the company, or the people I work with. Like I said, it's just a personal hobby—something I've taken on for my own entertainment.

There is absolutely no claim or warranty made here of any kind. In fact, I strenuously disclaim any and all suitability, merchantability, or fitness for use of any kind whatsoever for the information you may or may not find herein, and will not be held liable or accountable for any claims of losses, damages, or harm of any sort, regardless of negligence or any other cause. The information herein is presented entirely “as-is,” for your individual, non-commercial entertainment purposes only.

If you like it—fine. If you don't—that's okay too.

There are surely plenty of errors, omissions, and other mistakes in here, and if you want to help me fix them, I'd appreciate hearing from you. But, this is a pastime, not a profession, so please be patient and understanding.

I may or may not continue to make updates and improvements. If and when it ever stops being amusing, I'll probably just let it sit.

Edition

n. See VERSION.

Entry

n. Synonymous with POST. That is, a single missive from the AUTHOR. Here in the GLOSSARY, each of these is generally dedicated to an individual TERM or phrase of interest pertaining to STOCK CLERKS.

Gallery

n. A collection of images presented in a common setting for convenient access and/or easy sequential or random-order viewing. See also PHOTOGRAPH.

NOTE: When I began this project, out of necessity I was planning to create my own Gallery. However, as things progressed, Google brought Picasa Web Albums into their family of products, and I was spared the trouble. Whew!

As of this writing, not all TAB Galleries are populated. Pictures take time and trouble to prepare, so they were lower down in my list of priorities. However, you can check out Gallery B to get a general idea of what I had in mind.

As you can see from the SITE MAP, the (obsolete) original gallery page remains. If nothing else, it demonstrates an early test version of the GLOSSARY'S TABBED interface. I may still find an appropriate use for a Gallery page of some kind, so I've not yet deleted it.

Glossary

n. A list of words relating to a specialized field or area of knowledge, often arranged alphabetically, and which may contain supplemental information, references, verbal and/or pictorial illustrations, and/or other notes.

NOTE: You'll often find a section in the back of a book labeled “Glossary” and defining various specialized terms used therein. But what about when there's no other front part of the book? Nowadays, there are many specialized dictionaries that somewhat blur the line between Glossary and dictionary, having titles like Dictionary of Mathematics, etc. Are they really just Glossaries on steroids?

A Glossary is generally acknowledged to be different from a dictionary, as dictionaries typically have much broader scopes, covering, for example the vocabulary of an entire language, and including background information about word origins, and so on.

So, if you care to ask, “Is this really a Glossary or a dictionary?” my answer is: “Is that really important?”

I'm choosing to call this a “Glossary,” and to my mind, that's that. If you want to argue about it, please don't bother me. Go to college. I hear that's what they do there.

How'd You DO This?

The short answer is, the hard way.

This is a Blogger-based website, but Blogger is not set up for anything like what you see here. So why choose Blogger? Well, because it was free, provided adequate resources, and it came with just enough flexibility to allow me to accomplish what I wanted to do.

The “secret,” here, if there is one, is that each TAB you see in the GLOSSARY is in fact a completely separate BLOG. What holds it all together is a lot of careful interlinking, and a common base of CSS—Cascading Style Sheets—to uniformly apply a shared look and feel across all the otherwise unrelated components. It's my headache, so I get to name it, and I call it “polyblogging.”

Even within each of these separate BLOGS, the LINKS and ENTRIES are by and large all managed entirely by hand. But, not because I like it that way. Because I had to. For instance, can you believe it? Blogger has no option to sort posts alphabetically. But, GLOSSARIES are all about alphabetically. So how do you do it? Again: the hard way. You figure out that you can go in and adjust the dates of each ENTRY (post) manually, so they sort the way you want them to. Sometimes that means also tweaking hourly timestamps to determine intra-day sorting, for example, if you have to insert a few new ENTRIES in a cluster.

Well, there's more. As if that weren't enough of a headache, Blogger has no in-line headlines option. So, if you want to save vertical space and look like all the real GLOSSARIES all do, then you have to turn off Blogger's headlines feature (again using CSS) and manage all your own headlines manually. And of course, headlines are LINKS, so you actually have to turn headlines back on whenever you add a new post, so you can find out where Blogger put it, copy the LINK, and then paste it into your hand-rolled headline and turn the Blogger headlines back off again. Fun, fun, fun.

And what about those convenient alphabetical directory lists of ENTRY titles? Yep: manually. Tallies of posts, photos, and so on? Manually. Alphabetical INDEX? Manually, all the way. ...And so on and so forth.

Cross-references? Be happy I took the trouble to at least attempt to set them all in SMALL CAPS (sic). But making them all LINKS? Fuggedaboudit.

So, with all the time and trouble it took (and you don't even know the half of it), you might wonder, why bother?

Ah, well,... That's another story!

Key

n. See KEYWORD.

Sample

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