Picture this: you go to a food court to have a quick coffee with your sister/friend before doing some Christmas shopping in the city. You plan on having a bit of a chat because the last week or so has been hectic and the two of you haven't caught up. Sure, there's the noise of other city-goers, lunches and straggly groups of teenagers enjoying the school holidays, but you expect that in the city anyway.
What you may not expect is to have a giant tv screen right in front of you. With sound. Playing daytime tv at home isn't something I enjoy doing, let alone having one sitting in front of me while I'm out and have a million other things going on around me. What happened to reading a newspaper, book, or talking to someone in person or even on the phone while you're having a break? Do people actually enjoy watching this stuff while they're eating?
And the worst part, the line-crosser, is that these tv's (more than one of them) were throughout the food court. You couldn't really escape them for long.
Is this what technology should be used for? I wonder.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
Language update - the irony
Just days after my last post about our "dieing language", I stumbled across even more published mistakes. An Australian news website I occassionally visit had posted an article which used the word organization. While I don't have anything against legitimate reasons for spelling it with a "z" (zed), there is no legitimate reason I can concieve if the author is Australian and has grown up in Australia.
Who should I blame? The author? The editors? The education systum? At a loss on where to lie the blame, I simply published a comment noting the mistake. And no word. I have previously noticed mistakes on the site and made comments, resulting in prompt changes. However this time it might have been overlooked for some reason. And rather than continue to post annoying comments on the site about how the "z" does not belong in an Australian article (alliteration, always alive!), I thought I would post an update on my language lamentations.
Sure, everyone makes mistakes. In my last entry a friend noticed several mistakes which were unintended, and I made the appropriate changes. But to leave a mistake there? That just seems a bit slack.
It's like an ad I saw once which read something like: "Wanted, a legal secretary. Must be friendly, reliable, apathetic."
Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? Then again, who cares?*
*If anyone knows whether businesses are looking for more "apathetic" workers, I believe that demonstrates my apatheticism completely.
Who should I blame? The author? The editors? The education systum? At a loss on where to lie the blame, I simply published a comment noting the mistake. And no word. I have previously noticed mistakes on the site and made comments, resulting in prompt changes. However this time it might have been overlooked for some reason. And rather than continue to post annoying comments on the site about how the "z" does not belong in an Australian article (alliteration, always alive!), I thought I would post an update on my language lamentations.
Sure, everyone makes mistakes. In my last entry a friend noticed several mistakes which were unintended, and I made the appropriate changes. But to leave a mistake there? That just seems a bit slack.
It's like an ad I saw once which read something like: "Wanted, a legal secretary. Must be friendly, reliable, apathetic."
Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? Then again, who cares?*
*If anyone knows whether businesses are looking for more "apathetic" workers, I believe that demonstrates my apatheticism completely.
Monday, December 10, 2007
The Dieing Language
Over the weekend I like to read newspapers. I perused three between Saturday and Sunday of the weekend just passed. And I was disappointed by the (mis)use of language I found.
People saying "a historic shift", when "an" is the correct word, changing tense halfway through, as in "the journalist was sitting at his desk when he used the wrong word, but it would be weeks before he realises the mistake" and simply using the wrong words or mispeling things. It may seem petty to you, but many people read newspapers and, as published writers, journalists have a responsibility to check their spelling and grammar. They should, in theory, set a good example for us all.
That is, of course, unless we want to forget the joys of good grammar and spelling. We could all start writing about how it is hard labor to write good and that it is a specialized skill these days. "U dont need good word skills to talk or right", we might say. And some will agree with that, but I do not.
Simple mistakes are ok, everyone makes them. I constantly have to go through everything I write to check for mistyped words, poor grammar or bad syntax. But I do actually check, and I think that's part of the problem.
The Australian Labor (note the lack of a "u") Party is apparently called so because it was, for a while, run by an American who wrote with American spelling (and rightly so for them). Someone, somewhere, saw "Labor" written by this American and thought "Oh, so that's how the party writes it to differentiate itself from the labour unions*.
Teachers I've had in the past, at school and university, have written globalisation with a "z", suggesting Americanization of Australia is definitely in progress. It would be different if they had grown up somewhere where the "z" was used, but most of them were born in Australia and grew up in Australia.
Why does this matter? After all, doing a google search for "odours" only yeilds 26.7 per cent of the results "odors" does (based on highly academic research using the advanced methodology of a "google" search). It is part of our culture. And I believe that stands for something.
Also, it's pretty annoying to the people who notice it. So we should all try and appease this whingey minority at the expense of our own time. Because stopping people whingeing would also stop people posting annoyingly long, ranty opinions like this.
*The Australian "Labor" Party information is based partly on an urban legend which few people I have asked (including members of the Labor Party) know of. Most say they aren't sure why there is no "u". The rest of that story is based on my own, clearly educated assumptions.
People saying "a historic shift", when "an" is the correct word, changing tense halfway through, as in "the journalist was sitting at his desk when he used the wrong word, but it would be weeks before he realises the mistake" and simply using the wrong words or mispeling things. It may seem petty to you, but many people read newspapers and, as published writers, journalists have a responsibility to check their spelling and grammar. They should, in theory, set a good example for us all.
That is, of course, unless we want to forget the joys of good grammar and spelling. We could all start writing about how it is hard labor to write good and that it is a specialized skill these days. "U dont need good word skills to talk or right", we might say. And some will agree with that, but I do not.
Simple mistakes are ok, everyone makes them. I constantly have to go through everything I write to check for mistyped words, poor grammar or bad syntax. But I do actually check, and I think that's part of the problem.
The Australian Labor (note the lack of a "u") Party is apparently called so because it was, for a while, run by an American who wrote with American spelling (and rightly so for them). Someone, somewhere, saw "Labor" written by this American and thought "Oh, so that's how the party writes it to differentiate itself from the labour unions*.
Teachers I've had in the past, at school and university, have written globalisation with a "z", suggesting Americanization of Australia is definitely in progress. It would be different if they had grown up somewhere where the "z" was used, but most of them were born in Australia and grew up in Australia.
Why does this matter? After all, doing a google search for "odours" only yeilds 26.7 per cent of the results "odors" does (based on highly academic research using the advanced methodology of a "google" search). It is part of our culture. And I believe that stands for something.
Also, it's pretty annoying to the people who notice it. So we should all try and appease this whingey minority at the expense of our own time. Because stopping people whingeing would also stop people posting annoyingly long, ranty opinions like this.
*The Australian "Labor" Party information is based partly on an urban legend which few people I have asked (including members of the Labor Party) know of. Most say they aren't sure why there is no "u". The rest of that story is based on my own, clearly educated assumptions.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
The Tree of Strife
I tree has once again caused people more hate than help in a recent attack on peoples' rights. The Girl Who Fell and Probably Doesn't Wish to Be Named For Fear of Interminable Association With this Article*, was forced to walk with crutches after jumping from a Gold Coast tree which led to an ankle atrocity.
The tree, dendrochonologically unidentifiable while still alive, was seen resenting the crowd of people innocently climbing it and pulling small branches, leaves and bark from it in the process. Witnesses said they knew the tree was involved in the fall after it happened.
"I saw The Girl Who Fell and Probably Doesn't Wish to Be Named For Fear of Interminable Association With this Article fall from the tree, and I think it must have had malicious intent against her," a friend of The Girl Who Fell said.
Gold Coast environmentalists have justified the event as a "human accident".
"The Girl Who Fell clearly antagonised the tree by climbing all over it and being really disrespectful of nature," a spokesperson for the environmentalists said.
Officials are still investigating the tree's involvement, but preliminary reports show the tree is a prime suspect.
"I'm never hugging a tree again," The Girl Who Fell and Probably Doesn't Wish to Be Named For Fear of Interminable Association With this Article said in a press release this morning.
When approached for a comment, the tree was seen to be using the Right to Remain Silent to full advantage.
*Name has been slightly modified to protect The Girl Who Fell from other attacks.
The tree, dendrochonologically unidentifiable while still alive, was seen resenting the crowd of people innocently climbing it and pulling small branches, leaves and bark from it in the process. Witnesses said they knew the tree was involved in the fall after it happened.
"I saw The Girl Who Fell and Probably Doesn't Wish to Be Named For Fear of Interminable Association With this Article fall from the tree, and I think it must have had malicious intent against her," a friend of The Girl Who Fell said.
Gold Coast environmentalists have justified the event as a "human accident".
"The Girl Who Fell clearly antagonised the tree by climbing all over it and being really disrespectful of nature," a spokesperson for the environmentalists said.
Officials are still investigating the tree's involvement, but preliminary reports show the tree is a prime suspect.
"I'm never hugging a tree again," The Girl Who Fell and Probably Doesn't Wish to Be Named For Fear of Interminable Association With this Article said in a press release this morning.
When approached for a comment, the tree was seen to be using the Right to Remain Silent to full advantage.
*Name has been slightly modified to protect The Girl Who Fell from other attacks.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Slightly psychic sites?
I’ve been tracking the developments of the election for the local area where I grew up (Cowper electorate) on the ABC election guide for a week or so now. And it always seems to be updated a few minutes before I check it. The first few times I thought this was simple coincidence, now I’m not so sure. I’ve been running experiments with the site and I’ve come to the conclusion that it must be a slightly psychic web page which can predict when I will be checking it and updates accordingly (and it most definitey wouldn't have anything to do with some kind of automated update system I can't conceive of).
Now if only the results could be in tune with my hopes. I suppose the results don’t directly impact on me, but I have more than a simple investment in the area (more an unhealthy attachment, like a vine that’s out-stayed its welcome) and I want someone who considers what’s best for the people, and makes sure that is at the forefront of their mind when they make decisions. It looks finalised, but I’m glad it has been so close, it means the electorate will be (hopefully) appreciated more. And the person elected can learn from their close victory to figure out what the community wants. Unfortunately I don’t think any slightly psychic powers will help in this area. But I’ll keep a close eye on developments.
And now I am on a mission to find other sites with slightly psychic abilities. The only luck I’ve had there is with User Generated Content pages at news sites, where I sometimes notice grammar and spelling mistakes and then visit later on only to find those mistakes gone. That’s definitely psychic abilities and clearly has nothing to do with me commenting on such mistakes for the site’s benefit. Magic stuff. Next thing you know scientists will be researching slightly psychic sites. Although for the purposes of diminishing the tongue twister value, they may want to call it something like “intuitive internet technology”, which really isn’t much better but sounds a bit more sciencey, in my opinion.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)