When I was in college I took a course on the history of the English language, and for each class meeting we had to look up a couple of words and write their etymologies on an index card. It was great fun, and now I'm trying to do a similar sort of thing on the internet here. I expect that it'll be more interesting than useful (if indeed I even manage to be interesting), and I most likely won't be revealing any new information; but hey, what else do I have to do with my time?!
I orignally created this site in 2003, using what skills I had at the time. Then I got tired of coming up with new words, and with what I figured was only shouting into the void (or whatever that expression is) so I stopped updating. Later I noticed that this is one of the most popular sections of the squibix web, so I figured maybe I should get back to work on it! When I looked at the inner workings for the first time in a couple years I was a little disappointed with my 2003 design skills; not the look of the site, which I consider to be pleasantly understated, but the use of HTML transitional and tables for the menu there and things. Still, it works; and now that I threw together a little database working away behind the scenes, we should be ready for action again!