Jun. 25th, 2008

aggienaut: (Default)

   Firstly of all, I'd like to note that as an epic blog prank, we here at [livejournal.com profile] emo_snal have established a sockpuppet lj at [livejournal.com profile] emosnail. And convinced people its real! Silly!

###

   And speaking of "###," lets talk about THAT. I prefer to end press releases with ### because, well, precisely because it doesn't mean anything. However, as you probably know if you're involved in either writing or receiving press releases and such (at least in the US, I don't know about elsewhere), the traditional final line of a press release, to mean "end," is "- 30 -".
   Google "why do press releases end in '30'?" or any other phrase targetting the that question and you'll get a whole slew of sites confidently telling you its because durign the civil war telegraphers ended their messeges with 'XXX,' and the geniuses back at HQ simply translated that as roman numerals for 30. This sounded pretty dumb to me so I did some more sleuthing. And yes, that is absolutely completely incorrect.
   Which is really shocking really, since its a question deeply embedded in the middle of the industry of JOURNALISM, which is supposed to be the occupation of digging up facts and getting to the truth of things.
   The correct answer, as it happens, is that "30" means "end" in Phillips Code, a telegraphic shorthand which substituted numbers for common phrases.

   Shame on you journalism profession.


Picture of the Day / Year Ago Today


Exploring abandoned subways in Rochester, NY!

aggienaut: (Default)

   Firstly of all, I'd like to note that this very LJ is just a sock-puppet of [livejournal.com profile] emo_snal Its all a giant 30 in 30 prank! Muahahahaha

###

Hands --And Logic-- -Free Legislation
   Starting on this July 1st, California has enacted a new law that you can only talk on your cell phone while driving if its "hands-free."

   Ostensibly this is due to the mountain of evidence that people suck at driving while talking on the phone. In fact I think several studies have shown people drive worse on phones than they do while totally drunk.

   HOWEVER, it should be noted that people's problems with driving while talking on the phone stem from being distracted by the conversation, NOT from holding the phone. People seem to have no problem driving while holding a (non-alcoholic) beverage, making hand-signals involving their middle finger, operating their gear-shift, or just plain driving with one hand for no particular reason.

   THEREFORE, I would like to point out that there is no actual corrolation between the new law and its alleged purpose.

   Not that I think they have a devious secret purpose, I think they're just being dumb. Well maybe some politicians are trying to claim they're "tough on safety." Maybe the hands-free device lobby is behind it all.


Picture of the Day / Year Ago Today


Exploring abandoned subways in Rochester, NY!

Meanwhile, Today: This morning I cleared with my boss that I'd take tomorrow off to go to the Stone Brewery with my friends. I love the Stone Brewery ... and I love having a job I can get time off from on 24 hour notice for the purposes of going to a brewery!! =D

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