Ah, yes, that old theoretical particle

Beck has titled his first post today "Blovions." I could be mistaken but I think that I invented the word, and either way I'm determined to take credit for it. A "blovion" is the theoretical particle of bloviation, much as the graviton is the theoretical particle of gravity. Below is a snippet from Usenet that is as close as I can find to when I first used the term. Note that I also use the term "blovionics," which would be to bloviation roughly what "avionics" are to aviation.

The context of this quote is that my interlocuter, John H. McCloskey, is complaining that I've been attacking his "innoffensive" comments whenever he posts them. And in the time period this is from, mid-1999, I probably was, but for cause. It's very silly stuff, but silly was the only language that old sillyboy McCloskey could understand. This is the way I put it, with no small amount of bloviation on my own part:

There's nothing inoffensive about you, John. Your blovionics­ and that homunculus thing* living in your side, well, just that alone is redundantly offensive. That's before your point can be found in your bloviations, and when it's found and you're not just flat out wrong, the implications of your blovion beam are disturbing to people who understand them. And there's a few around here who do, better than you can understand them yourself.

This isn't the kind of place where you can walk in with one sample case full of Clinton apologies--no matter the ornamental work you've stamped on them--and another with world government lotions and expect to sit at the bar day in and day out whistling through the umbrella in your rum cocktail and not feel the kindly application of a pool cue upside your old sillyboy noggin'.

Just ain't gonna happen.

* The phrase "that homunculus thing" refers to McCloskey's little net companion "bredon," who he kept at his side for a good while as his straight "man."