It could be that those "flowery" writers thought they were writing as clearly as possible, and our language has been simplified by our hurry in the intervening years.
Makes you wonder how compacted the language will be in fifty years when Hemingway will look flowery. Maybe a language like in A Clockwork Orange.
The number one problem I have with the current structure of the workplace (at least the American one) is the emphasis on time served instead of work accomplished.
Eight hours seems too arbitrary (depending on industry, of course), and I suspect that's why you have people skimming ten minutes here and there: they're done with the work for the day!
Maybe if employers measured work instead, there'd be fewer slackers to thwart.
I'm guessing some Brits were involved in its construction: that's a long way to bring labor.
Wow! A comprehensive survey of British engineering
on
Fingers Crossed for Beagle
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
I'm guessing from your comment that you've made an in-depth analysis of every British engineering project since the Wall of Hadrian, analyzed their flaws, and developed a report. That's important scholarship, there.
"The British" don't have a cultural blindspot to engineering any more than the Jews have a love for money.
Any patterns you see are the same you'd see with hindsight in any nation's engineering projects.
The "rules" and the "users" are--hopefully--interdependent. Those rules helped train a generation of web users, and now the users are setting forth their own rules. "I won't go to a site that's slow. I won't go to a site where I can't find anything."
As people become more comfortable with the web, the rules should change to accomodate them.
Good content, at any rate, always trumps the rules. Look at...ahem...Slashdot.
The Alligator is free. They don't make their living selling it to students--they make it through advertising.
This isn't a review; it's a summary.
on
Decipher
·
· Score: 4, Informative
A review of Moby Dick is not, "A guy goes hunting after a whale."
Where is all of that mythic influence you briefly mention? What do the characters bring to the story? What does any of it mean to you? What is this story's context within the rest of the world?
I can read the back of the book for a non-spoiler summary. Add something of your unique perspective if you're doing a review.
The key to losing weight with a non-active lifestyle is to EAT LESS. Exercising only burns off so many calories at a time, and you'll have a hard time catching up to a Big Mac when you're full time job isn't to run all day.
I've lost about thirty five pounds by reducing my caloric intake every day. I don't watch carbohydrates or meat or fat or any of that; I just eat less than I normally would and pay attention to the calories printed on the sides of packages, opting for less.
For example, I switched from a 300-calorie bagel to a 70-calorie apple every morning. I switched from a God-knows-how-many-calorie lunch every day to a single sandwich.
I let myself eat what I want on some days as long as the average intake is lower than normal.
I do also exercise (I walk up 12 floors of stairs), but the real weight drop occurred when I stopped eating as much.
"Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea--massive, difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining, and a
source of mind-boggling amounts of excrement when you least expect it."
I can't help but think my hands would get tired being vertical all the time. One advantage of the flat keyboard (even if it is unnatural) is that gravity helps me with some of the typing--I'm not holding my hand up all the time.
Model railroaders can tell you that rail fanning (the act of watching trains do train-things in their natural habitats such as yards) is in danger, too.
Many railfans are being harassed by police who have a lot of pointed questions when they see a sixty-year old man in a Casey Jones hat pointing binoculars at empty boxcars.
I have no problem with having employees available for some set period during the day. But why eight hours? Why is eight hours magically the optimum amount of time during a day to work? Just because of the sun or agriculture?
Research on the human attention span finds that people can't focus on one thing for anywhere near that long.
I just think it is silly for employers to insist on exactly eight hours of work when there isn't always that much work to do.
First it was the phone. Then it was e-mail. Then it was the Internet. Ever since 19th century sweatshops had people reading Bible verses to their employees, management has worried about lost productivity.
The question they fail to ask, though, is: why do people waste part of their eight hour day? Because they don't need eight hours every day to do their jobs. Maybe they need twelve one day and four the next. Maybe they need six months of fourteen hour days and six months off.
I think a larger issue needs to be addressed: do we still need the traditional eight-hour work day? If you're in a reactive job (manning phones or a cash register), I can understand it.
For everyone else, it is just for appearance's sake. "Quick! Look busy!"
Slashdot Mirror
It could be that those "flowery" writers thought they were writing as clearly as possible, and our language has been simplified by our hurry in the intervening years.
Makes you wonder how compacted the language will be in fifty years when Hemingway will look flowery. Maybe a language like in A Clockwork Orange.
This is an opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices of these astronauts, people who knew horrors like this were possible and faced them anyway.
We can do the same.
That should fix the problem.
Worked there myself right after 9/11 with plenty of fun inspections of our bags and the anthrax investigation of the mail room.
The number one problem I have with the current structure of the workplace (at least the American one) is the emphasis on time served instead of work accomplished.
Eight hours seems too arbitrary (depending on industry, of course), and I suspect that's why you have people skimming ten minutes here and there: they're done with the work for the day!
Maybe if employers measured work instead, there'd be fewer slackers to thwart.
I'm guessing some Brits were involved in its construction: that's a long way to bring labor.
I'm guessing from your comment that you've made an in-depth analysis of every British engineering project since the Wall of Hadrian, analyzed their flaws, and developed a report. That's important scholarship, there.
"The British" don't have a cultural blindspot to engineering any more than the Jews have a love for money.
Any patterns you see are the same you'd see with hindsight in any nation's engineering projects.
The only rules that matter are those required for the specific users of your content.
The "rules" and the "users" are--hopefully--interdependent. Those rules helped train a generation of web users, and now the users are setting forth their own rules. "I won't go to a site that's slow. I won't go to a site where I can't find anything."
As people become more comfortable with the web, the rules should change to accomodate them.
Good content, at any rate, always trumps the rules. Look at...ahem...Slashdot.
What's the range of communications for the probe? When will we lose our connection (if we haven't already)?
I still miss Ahoy! I had my first published item appear there as a Commodare way back in the day.
Loved that magazine.
The Alligator is free. They don't make their living selling it to students--they make it through advertising.
A review of Moby Dick is not, "A guy goes hunting after a whale."
Where is all of that mythic influence you briefly mention? What do the characters bring to the story? What does any of it mean to you? What is this story's context within the rest of the world?
I can read the back of the book for a non-spoiler summary. Add something of your unique perspective if you're doing a review.
The key to losing weight with a non-active lifestyle is to EAT LESS. Exercising only burns off so many calories at a time, and you'll have a hard time catching up to a Big Mac when you're full time job isn't to run all day.
I've lost about thirty five pounds by reducing my caloric intake every day. I don't watch carbohydrates or meat or fat or any of that; I just eat less than I normally would and pay attention to the calories printed on the sides of packages, opting for less.
For example, I switched from a 300-calorie bagel to a 70-calorie apple every morning. I switched from a God-knows-how-many-calorie lunch every day to a single sandwich.
I let myself eat what I want on some days as long as the average intake is lower than normal.
I do also exercise (I walk up 12 floors of stairs), but the real weight drop occurred when I stopped eating as much.
Isn't that the generic version of Spam (for people who've hit the skids so badly they can't even afford Spam)?
Check your grocery store shelves.
Sweet merciful Christ, get these people some deodorant!
The secret is to use the Hong Kong warehouse. You can store 10,000 units of stuff there and wait until the prices go up in Hong Kong to sell it.
I do indeed remember that one. I have an Apple emulator just to play it. The simplicity of that game makes it infinitely playable.
"Bad joss, Taipan! The authorities have seized your opium cargo!"
"Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea--massive, difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining, and a source of mind-boggling amounts of excrement when you least expect it."
- Spaf, 1992
Do NOT register for the mailing list at www.emarketersamerica.org.
He would if the Nerf ball was frozen solid.
No, really. Try it some time. It's a fun experiment.
I can't help but think my hands would get tired being vertical all the time. One advantage of the flat keyboard (even if it is unnatural) is that gravity helps me with some of the typing--I'm not holding my hand up all the time.
Model railroaders can tell you that rail fanning (the act of watching trains do train-things in their natural habitats such as yards) is in danger, too.
Many railfans are being harassed by police who have a lot of pointed questions when they see a sixty-year old man in a Casey Jones hat pointing binoculars at empty boxcars.
I have no problem with having employees available for some set period during the day. But why eight hours? Why is eight hours magically the optimum amount of time during a day to work? Just because of the sun or agriculture?
Research on the human attention span finds that people can't focus on one thing for anywhere near that long.
I just think it is silly for employers to insist on exactly eight hours of work when there isn't always that much work to do.
First it was the phone. Then it was e-mail. Then it was the Internet. Ever since 19th century sweatshops had people reading Bible verses to their employees, management has worried about lost productivity.
The question they fail to ask, though, is: why do people waste part of their eight hour day? Because they don't need eight hours every day to do their jobs. Maybe they need twelve one day and four the next. Maybe they need six months of fourteen hour days and six months off.
I think a larger issue needs to be addressed: do we still need the traditional eight-hour work day? If you're in a reactive job (manning phones or a cash register), I can understand it.
For everyone else, it is just for appearance's sake. "Quick! Look busy!"