This is compiled from recent postings on the "Editor's Note" blog at thepilot.com.

Grammar Nazi: From time to time, I receive mailings from a mysterious person I think of as the Grammar Nazi. I think she may be a retired English teacher.

Usually she's right, catching us at The Pilot with our pants down on some matter of spelling or punctuation. But sometimes I take issue with her -- as when she berated me for sometimes starting a sentence in my column with an article (a, an or the). In my defense, I cited the King James Bible, which is always saying, "And Moses went up the mountain" or whatever.

The latest missive from the Grammar Nazi came last week. She had carefully cut out a three-column promotional ad headlined, "Shop Local" and added "ly" in big red letters, making it read, "Shop Locally." She added: "Save the adverb -- please!"

I think the Grammar Nazi may be wrong on this one. Isn't there a difference between "shop locally," which has to do with how you shop, and the admittedly slangy "shop local," which has to do with where you shop? Isn't "shop local" of a piece with other expressions such as "think big" or "don't go away mad"? You wouldn't say "think bigly" or "don't go away madly," would you?

Besides: This time, she misspelled my name on the envelope.

Pooch Panic: My experience with kids is that they always get sick on weekends, when the pediatrician is out. The same seems to apply to pets.

It happened again Sunday. Kelci, the smaller of our two black dogs, has been slowing down lately and growing gray around the muzzle. (She's approaching 13.) But something went dramatically wrong this time. She grew listless and took to hiding under a bush, where she would lie with dull-looking eyes half closed in pain or discomfort.

Putting two and two together and getting 27 or so, I decided she must have gotten into some fire ant granules I had sprinkled around a wicked-looking ant mound near our back porch. I rechecked the container, which didn't display a lot of cautions but did mention avoiding "contact with pets" in the fine print.

My concern had soon grown into a raging case of alarm and guilt. Had I poisoned sweet little Kelci through my carelessness? How would I ever explain it to daughter Kate, up at Chapel Hill?

Our regular veterinarian was closed, of course. So my wife and I bundled Kelci into the car and headed for the Town and Country Shopping Center, only to find that the Small Animal Emergency Services office had moved out on U.S. 1, next-door to the Spay and Neuter Clinic. We raced out there.

Dr. Mari Ellen Brown put my

remorse-wracked soul at ease by pooh-poohing the ant-bait theory and inclining more toward a urinary infection. Kelci had perked up some by the next morning, but we're keeping an eye on her.

Other pet owners need to know about Small Animal Emergency Services, a welcome resource in time of need. The number is 246-0405.

He's Gone Corporate? I pulled up behind a big truck on Bennett Street the other day and saw emblazoned across the back this huge company logo: "GOD."

I didn't realize He had incorporated.

The acronym turned out to stand for "Guaranteed Overnight Delivery," headquartered in Newark, N.J. The phone number listed was "1-800-CALLGOD."

I didn't realize He had a direct line.

But when I later tried to call that number, it turned out to be some kind of audio porn service offering chats with "hot chicks." Or maybe I wrote the number down wrong.

When I Googled the name, I found a listing for Guaranteed Overnight Delivery, directing me to www.god.com.

I didn't know He had a Web site.

But when I went to that url, it turned out to be a religious site offering "information about God and direction in finding him."

I give up. Somebody up there has a sense of humor.

Steve Bouser is editor of The Pilot. Contact him at sbouser@thepilot.com