Re: favorite reference works

[Bev Parks <bparks -at- HUACHUCA-EMH1 -dot- ARMY -dot- MIL>]

(I'm cross-posting this to two lists because I think the tech
writer folks might find this interesting, too. So if some of you
see it twice, that's why.)

Bob Wachal asks...
> What are your favorite reference works, the ones you turn to first?
> I am eager to know what you use.

=======
I use THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY WRITER'S GUIDE TO STYLE AND
USAGE a lot.

I just bought something nifty today that I find *very* useful,
especailly for answering list mail. Knowing the persnickety
nature of editors and writers, I find myself spending a bit of
time with my dictionary in my hand when writing these responses.
The smallest mistake can inspire a slew of e-mail.

Anyway, I bought one of those little electronic
dictionary/thesaurus thingys. It is sooo much faster than
thumbing through a book. I shopped around and looked at several
models. The one I decided on is a Seiko Instruments model
WP-5502. It's a personal-size model of their desktop version.
Dimensions are about 2-1/2 in X 5-1/2 (don't have a ruler
handy). (The "desktop" model is a "whopping" 5x7, or thereabouts.)

It contains over 220,000 definitions for 80,000 words from the
American Heritage Dictionary, and provides over 500,000 synonyms
from Roget's II. It has a definition search feature that's nice,
as well as a calculator and vocabulary builder (which I won't
describe here). It also has an auto shutoff feature. It costs
$37 at BEST (which is similar to Service Merchandise, for you
easterners). Price Club (which is where I check for everything
first) didn't carry this model.

=*= Beverly Parks =*= bparks -at- huachuca-emh1 -dot- army -dot- mil =*=
 =*= "These opinions are mine, not my employer's." =*=
  =*=                     =*=                     =*=