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Just Saying -- the soapbox thread

Started by alanp, December 01, 2013, 03:30:01 AM

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alanp

I'm re-reading _Science of Discworld_, and one part that really makes me chuckle is where Pratchett, Steward, and Cohen warn the reader to beware "scientific fundamentalists", and where they say that Paracelcus, a man who built his reputation on spitting on established authority, would be horrified at being cited as an authority.

"Lies-to-children" is probably the most widely impactful part of the series, though.
"A man is not dead while his name is still spoken."
- Terry Pratchett
My OSHpark shared projects
My website

lars

Nobody checks grammar, spelling, or relevance as to what is printed anymore:

Yep, that's an amp alright! But that's not the worst part:  It's probably not even a photo by Aina Valles. If I was Aina Valles, I would be incensed.  ::)

davent

Quote from: lars on August 10, 2020, 03:53:33 PM
Nobody checks grammar, spelling, or relevance as to what is printed anymore:

Yep, that's an amp alright! But that's not the worst part:  It's probably not even a photo by Aina Valles. If I was Aina Valles, I would be incensed.  ::)

Django's 1950 Selmer?
https://www.vintageguitar.com/35031/quest-for-volume/
dave
"If you always do what you always did- you always get what you always got." - Unknown

If my photos are missing again... they're hosted by photobucket... and as of 06/2017 being held hostage... to be continued?

gordo

Typos drive me knuts.

I'm actually being serious.  I don't hang in social media and destroying the English language drives me crazy.  Especially in these days of spell czech.
Gordy Power
How loud is too loud?  What?

matmosphere

Quote from: gordo on August 10, 2020, 11:04:17 PM
Typos drive me knuts.

I'm actually being serious.  I don't hang in social media and destroying the English language drives me crazy.  Especially in these days of spell czech.

Hahahaha

alanp

I was thinking about this the other day. I'm a grunt worker on the floor... and I can spot several bad spellings and typos in the specification sheets produced by a man paid to sit at a desk and work letters for a living.
"A man is not dead while his name is still spoken."
- Terry Pratchett
My OSHpark shared projects
My website

EBK

I notice spelling and grammar mistakes all the time.  The only one that seems to actually bother me is the use of a single quote instead of an apostrophe at the beginning of a number abbreviation.  I think it bothers me because it is done automatically on behalf of the user by "helpful" software that really should be programmed to know better.  Such things have a tendency to become "acceptable" when screwed up often enough.
"There is a pestilence upon this land. Nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history." --Roger the Shrubber

davent

Quote from: EBK on August 11, 2020, 02:47:11 PM
I notice spelling and grammar mistakes all the time.  The only one that seems to actually bother me is the use of a single quote instead of an apostrophe at the beginning of a number abbreviation.  I think it bothers me because it is done automatically on behalf of the user by "helpful" software that really should be programmed to know better.  Such things have a tendency to become "acceptable" when screwed up often enough.


A keyboard doesn't offer an option, just a couple ambiguous figures for the apostrophe or quote designator.
dave
"If you always do what you always did- you always get what you always got." - Unknown

If my photos are missing again... they're hosted by photobucket... and as of 06/2017 being held hostage... to be continued?

EBK

Quote from: davent on August 11, 2020, 04:57:38 PM

A keyboard doesn't offer an option, just a couple ambiguous figures for the apostrophe or quote designator.
dave
Try holding Ctrl and double tapping the quotation key (works in Windows, at least).
"There is a pestilence upon this land. Nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history." --Roger the Shrubber

davent

My old Windows operating system doesn't do it, but if i could remember how to access the character set i'm sure i saw them there. As well i've chart of HTML codes i can "reference" so i can get them.

When you used quotes in your original post, i see the ambiguous quote marks.
dave
"If you always do what you always did- you always get what you always got." - Unknown

If my photos are missing again... they're hosted by photobucket... and as of 06/2017 being held hostage... to be continued?

EBK

Quote from: davent on August 11, 2020, 05:50:55 PM
When you used quotes in your original post, i see the ambiguous quote marks.
dave
That's my Android keyboard doing that.  I'm not bothered by lazy quotes as much as quotepostrophes because, to me anyway, software that doesn't fix the formatting is better than software that actively fixes it incorrectly.  ;)
"There is a pestilence upon this land. Nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history." --Roger the Shrubber

EBK

In a surreal moment yesterday, I found myself sterilizing my flush cutters to perform minor surgery on my daughter's broken toenail.  I would describe the problem as a delamination split, if that makes sense.  Also, I'm hobbling around with a broken toe.  I broke it Friday by accidentally kicking the corner of the baseboard outside my kitchen.  It seems the pandemic has not been good for feet in my house.   ::)
"There is a pestilence upon this land. Nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history." --Roger the Shrubber

gordo

Damn.  I've done the toenail thing though.  Sometimes you need an accurate snip and a bit of isoprop is the key.  According to my wife, filing is more accurate.  I'm not sure I agree.  I dread having to find any more of the 91% I've been using to clean boards.  Luckily I'm kind of a lazy bugger when it comes to cleaning the trace side.
Gordy Power
How loud is too loud?  What?

alanp

Just came across some twitter threads that claim that white USAian food is bland and boring. White bread, unseasoned chicken breast, and mayonnaise.

What really makes me laugh deeply with regards to this, is the historical disdain that the US seems to have for British cuisine as being dreadful.

What is with the recent love of self-flagellation for any reason? Some of the tastiest things I've cooked recently were from a recipe from a pale white Russian guy on youtube, and the all-time tastiest things were cooked by Nana.
"A man is not dead while his name is still spoken."
- Terry Pratchett
My OSHpark shared projects
My website

lars

Quote from: alanp on August 17, 2020, 02:50:55 PM
and mayonnaise.
I would agree that mayonnaise is pretty awful. Condiments are supposed to enhance the flavor of food. Mayonnaise is not a condiment, it's a mask. It was originally designed to hide the flavor of rotten meat, so from the beginning it has always been intended to dominate whatever you put it on. And it does. The only good mayonnaise is the Smashing Pumpkins song.