On Good Questions

Oh damn.

By definition, then, it's not a question that can be easily answered by Googling.

I try to preface my questions in such cases with "I Googled but came up with all these contradictions".

What really leaves me shamefaced is when I Google for something that ought to be easy and don't come up with anything. Then I'll get on here with "I Googled, but..." I generally include my search terms, sometimes what I'll get in response is someone's _good_ set of search terms on the subject, and then I'll be off and running.

LOL!

Whose* :-p

Tim

Or do: it's possible the greater fluidity of thought will help bring about solutions.

Probably depends on the person though. I write impeccable English when drunk, because by the time you see the finished product, you don't have a clue how much backspacing and proofing and editing has gone on. In general, I write with large amounts of global NFB, a structural constraint which alcohol can attempt to impede, but not circumvent. ;-)

Tim

I wrote this a long time ago,

'Answering questions is a tricky subject to practice. Not due to the difficulty of formulating or locating answers, but due to the human inability of asking the right questions; a skill that, were one to possess, would put them in the "answering" category.'

Sucks, man. If we all knew enough to answer our own questions, we wouldn't need to ask others; and it would be futile anyway, because no one would have any answers anyway. I've asked a few like that before... it happens..

Tim

-- Seven Transistor Labs Electrical Engineering Consultation Website:

Yes. Exactly. A non-native speaker would have almost certainly gotten that one correctly.

Whereas a I knew one dyslexic native speaker of English who wouldn't have seen it as a problem.

As long as the word in the text sounded right, he couldn't see any point in spelling it differently.

For him "their", "there" and "they're" were the same word. He would admit that they were different character strings, and that a computer might have trouble with them, but he could not see how a real human being could.

He was - as it happened - one of the cleverest engineers I've known, so it was a bit weird.

Well, I hear it's real close to birthday time so drink up, Tim !

boB K7IQ

Had a Captain and Coke earlier ;-)

Tim

That's what I heard too!

--sp

Hello mysterious upsidedown, Using correct language and using correct grammar

Three days ago I bought a special bottle of German Hofbrauhaus beer. On the back of the bottle is a paper label that said, "This beer has a harsh aroma."

The word "harsh" has a negative, unpleasant, connotation. What they should have written was: "This beer has a strong aroma." or maybe "This beer has a powerful aroma." In any case, one wrong word, "harsh", sends the wrong message!!! Even punctuation is critical. For example, what's the difference between the following two sentences?

"Let's eat, grandpa."

and

"Let's eat grandpa."

Mr. upsidedown, set your standards high, not low.

Remember, as well, that there are lots of subtle cultural differences that can come into play in a reference.

E.g., on my first visit to England, I kept seeing signs around the "hotel" (the Brits apparently distinguish between B&B type hotels and more modern "plastic" hotels) tacked up in seemingly haphazzard fashion: "Way Out".

As this hotel was more of a sprawling home repurposed as a "commercial" hotel, I was stumped as to what the signs could mean -- scattered about seemingly willy-nilly.

When I asked my host, he said, "That's the WAY OUT" (i.e., EXIT). Of course, in US hotels, "EXIT" signs are placed in a very conspicuous manner that draws attention to them -- not "fastened to the face of a doorway"!

There are lots of entertaining mistranslations that have popped up over the years. Years ago, reading a user's manual prepared by an Asian manufacturer was almost guaranteed to leave you scratching your head: "Why would a company of this size not hire a REAL 'native speaker' to perform -- or assist in -- the translation of these materials?"

Absolutely. Or how about:

"Don't, stop, don't, stop!"

and

"Don't stop, don't stop!"

Blast from the past:

"Tom while Bob had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher"

(I hope I counted right!)

(snip)

Or the one someone actually wrote a book about:

"Eats, shoots, and leaves."

(There is a picture of a panda walking through the forest, carrying a rifle.)

-- glen

Tim Wescott wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Tim

For the record, I would like to thank you for years of helpful responses to perhaps thousands of queries (including even a few of mine).

Al Clark Danville Signal

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

In the book it was a joke:

gun and proceeds to fire it at the other patrons.

"Why?" asks the confused, surviving waiter amidst the carnage, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"Well, I'm a panda," he says. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry in the manual and, sure enough, finds an explanation. "Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

Eric Jacobsen Anchor Hill Communications

Points taken. I am one of those "leechers". Sadly so, but I must confess. Mostly, I have asked questions, but never answered questions from someone. Unfortunately, neither my know-how nor my bandwidth allow me to do so.

Not that it makes-up for being a leech - but I would like to say thanks to all those of you who make forums like these a superb resource for any engineer. And that too for free!

Heart felt thanks, Anand