Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Lemming Lottery
Two recent things I've come across.
The first is the picture on display (click it to enlarge it, as I tell all the.... uhh, never mind..). On display in the displayed picture is some well-worded graffiti for oodles of commuters.
The second is this news story of a guy who had a ticket for the $42 million lottery, read the winning lottery numbers in his local newspaper, realized that his numbers matched up perfectly (what a mind-numbing experience that must have been), ony to find out hours later that the paper had printed the wrong numbers. The man and his lawyer are expecting some moola from the paper, ready to sue if need be. But what the story doesn't mention: what about the possibility that someone else, or someones else, had the real winning ticket, read the newspaper's incorrect numbers, and promptly ripped up their ticket and tossed it into their bright yellow recycling bag? Way to go, Gazette.
The first is the picture on display (click it to enlarge it, as I tell all the.... uhh, never mind..). On display in the displayed picture is some well-worded graffiti for oodles of commuters.The second is this news story of a guy who had a ticket for the $42 million lottery, read the winning lottery numbers in his local newspaper, realized that his numbers matched up perfectly (what a mind-numbing experience that must have been), ony to find out hours later that the paper had printed the wrong numbers. The man and his lawyer are expecting some moola from the paper, ready to sue if need be. But what the story doesn't mention: what about the possibility that someone else, or someones else, had the real winning ticket, read the newspaper's incorrect numbers, and promptly ripped up their ticket and tossed it into their bright yellow recycling bag? Way to go, Gazette.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Correspondence
Dear Blog Readers,
Hey how's it going? I haven't been blogging much lately, as you may have noticed. (But at least it's more recent than July 4th on my blog, right Andrea?!) Attended K&C's wedding on Saturday. That was a hoot. Had a big semi-final baseball win yesterday. That was a hoot. The work side of things has been slow, giving Biscotti and I time aplenty to take the dogs for walks and hikes. Usually it's been Lynn Valley, the Norvan Falls section. Good uphill exercise, and good river swim time for the dogs to cool off and clean off simultaneously.
I've been doing some thinking lately about email, as compared to letter writing. The thinking has been narrowly focused on one item: PS. When composing a letter or some such correspondence, either handwritten or typewritten, it was a common enough occurrence for the writer to want to include more after they had already signed their name that the PS was commonly used, shorthand for post-script. Better that than having to start all over again. As computers replaced typewriters, letters more often became word documents or emails. Thus, if one wanted to include more info after completion, all one had to do was make the cursor go to the necessary spot, and insert the wise words. No PSs required. Therefore, you would think that the PS would become extinct. Not so.
I see there being two possible reasons that PS continues in word documents and in emails.
Sincerely,
jblue
PS. What part of the alphabet would look like if Q and R were eliminated.
Hey how's it going? I haven't been blogging much lately, as you may have noticed. (But at least it's more recent than July 4th on my blog, right Andrea?!) Attended K&C's wedding on Saturday. That was a hoot. Had a big semi-final baseball win yesterday. That was a hoot. The work side of things has been slow, giving Biscotti and I time aplenty to take the dogs for walks and hikes. Usually it's been Lynn Valley, the Norvan Falls section. Good uphill exercise, and good river swim time for the dogs to cool off and clean off simultaneously.
I've been doing some thinking lately about email, as compared to letter writing. The thinking has been narrowly focused on one item: PS. When composing a letter or some such correspondence, either handwritten or typewritten, it was a common enough occurrence for the writer to want to include more after they had already signed their name that the PS was commonly used, shorthand for post-script. Better that than having to start all over again. As computers replaced typewriters, letters more often became word documents or emails. Thus, if one wanted to include more info after completion, all one had to do was make the cursor go to the necessary spot, and insert the wise words. No PSs required. Therefore, you would think that the PS would become extinct. Not so.
I see there being two possible reasons that PS continues in word documents and in emails.
- Laziness. The cursor is already right there, at the end of your name, so you may as well just plug in the data there rather than scrolling back up the page and finding a suitable home for your enlightening articulation.
- A nod to the past.
Sincerely,
jblue
PS. What part of the alphabet would look like if Q and R were eliminated.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Tennis No One?
In case you were wondering, arriving at 6:30pm for a scheduled 6:30pm tennis match with two separately-arriving friends, waiting until 7:15pm with no sign of either of mes amis, then getting back on mon bicyclette to head back home, is no fun at all and puts me in a foul mood.
The Honeymoon
I've been debating about doing a post about our recent honeymoon, which was the greatest two weeks of my life. I wasn't going to, but have just now decided to. Here you go...
The cruise exceeded my expectations. I was worried about seasickness as I have a weak stomach, but I was fine. Our dinner companions were fun, the food was good, and we made good use of the 24-hour pizza, soft-serve ice cream, and pop (lemonade for me), all of which was included. The entertainment could have been better, offering just some musical shows and a couple of comedians.
Disneyland was fun as always. California Adventure was alright. I never grew tired of the Indiana Jones, Matterhorn, and Grizzly Bear Run rides. Pirates had apparently been recently re-opened, with several very-realistic-looking Jack Sparrows placed throughout.
Cancun was made good by the Mayan ruins, the snorkeling, and the resort's larger-than-life pool. Our room was great except for the whole no-soundproofing-whatsoever thing. Member's services sucked, to put it succinctly. We'd read beforehand, and been told on our first day, that all non-motorized water activities was included in the all-inclusive package. We were told that kayaks and paddleboats were available on the beach. We'd already been kayaking a week earlier, while on Catalina Island during a cruise shore excursion, so we went looking for the paddleboats. We saw people out on the water using kayaks, of the sit-on-top variety, but no paddleboats. We arrived at the kayak rental tent and asked about paddleboats. Oh, no paddleboats available here. We told him we'd been told there were. We'd been told wrong. So... "all non-motorized water activities included" can be replaced by "free kayaking". This is just one of many many examples of member's services sucking. Except for that though it was great. I also received my first professional massage and endured a grueling pedicure. The massage was better-than expected, even with my not-quite-faded sunburnt back and shoulders. That massage was probably not my last. The same can definitely not be said of the pedicure.
It was a fantastic fortnight, shared with my beautiful wife.
The cruise exceeded my expectations. I was worried about seasickness as I have a weak stomach, but I was fine. Our dinner companions were fun, the food was good, and we made good use of the 24-hour pizza, soft-serve ice cream, and pop (lemonade for me), all of which was included. The entertainment could have been better, offering just some musical shows and a couple of comedians.
Disneyland was fun as always. California Adventure was alright. I never grew tired of the Indiana Jones, Matterhorn, and Grizzly Bear Run rides. Pirates had apparently been recently re-opened, with several very-realistic-looking Jack Sparrows placed throughout.
Cancun was made good by the Mayan ruins, the snorkeling, and the resort's larger-than-life pool. Our room was great except for the whole no-soundproofing-whatsoever thing. Member's services sucked, to put it succinctly. We'd read beforehand, and been told on our first day, that all non-motorized water activities was included in the all-inclusive package. We were told that kayaks and paddleboats were available on the beach. We'd already been kayaking a week earlier, while on Catalina Island during a cruise shore excursion, so we went looking for the paddleboats. We saw people out on the water using kayaks, of the sit-on-top variety, but no paddleboats. We arrived at the kayak rental tent and asked about paddleboats. Oh, no paddleboats available here. We told him we'd been told there were. We'd been told wrong. So... "all non-motorized water activities included" can be replaced by "free kayaking". This is just one of many many examples of member's services sucking. Except for that though it was great. I also received my first professional massage and endured a grueling pedicure. The massage was better-than expected, even with my not-quite-faded sunburnt back and shoulders. That massage was probably not my last. The same can definitely not be said of the pedicure.
It was a fantastic fortnight, shared with my beautiful wife.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)