Random Thoughts

[Molandfreak]

Why is it that certain technology-related terms have multiple acceptable pronunciations (data) but for others it becomes a cardinal sin if you say it the "wrong" way?

The folks who insist on GIF being pronounced with a hard G are insufferable because they are essentially insisting that acronyms only work in a way that never has been a hard rule. Nobody pronounces JPEG "Jay-feg" despite the P standing for photographic. Because they have been the loudest voices for so long, the fact that the original creator pronounces it with a soft G has somehow become irrelevant because the hard G folks can't just agree to disagree on this. I literally don't care how you say it. I grew up saying jif, so that's what I'm sticking with.

The same goes for Windows Me, which was verifiably promoted by Microsoft using the pronunciation "me" as in "me, myself, and I," and further solidified by the lowercase e in the title. But some insufferable IT folks thought because it also was an initialism for Millennium Edition, it couldn't also be an acronym, so it was solidified into public consciousness as M.E. and certain folks are very quick to "correct" you for "getting it wrong."

Why can't these things just be chocked up to a tomato-tomahto situation?

[Scott5114]

Why is it that certain technology-related terms have multiple acceptable pronunciations (data) but for others it becomes a cardinal sin if you say it the "wrong" way?

I have not heard anyone pronounce "data" as anything other than DAY-ta since I was a kid.

The folks who insist on GIF being pronounced with a hard G are insufferable because they are essentially insisting that acronyms only work in a way that never has been a hard rule. Nobody pronounces JPEG "Jay-feg" despite the P standing for photographic. Because they have been the loudest voices for so long, the fact that the original creator pronounces it with a soft G has somehow become irrelevant because the hard G folks can't just agree to disagree on this. I literally don't care how you say it. I grew up saying jif, so that's what I'm sticking with.

Gift is a very common word that starts with a hard g so it makes more sense to people that it would be pronounced the same without the t than it does that it would be pronounced the same as the peanut butter brand that starts with j.

The same goes for Windows Me, which was verifiably promoted by Microsoft using the pronunciation "me" as in "me, myself, and I," and further solidified by the lowercase e in the title. But some insufferable IT folks thought because it also was an initialism for Millennium Edition, it couldn't also be an acronym, so it was solidified into public consciousness as M.E. and certain folks are very quick to "correct" you for "getting it wrong."

The words "Windows me" make a particularly stupid sounding sentence, and Windows ME was shitty enough most people didn't want to be windowsed after that experience. Pronouncing it "me" is a marketing gimmick to try and humanize them and their crappy OS. (I remember their ads for it included the tagline "Take Me Home!" with "Me" in the logo font.) Additionally, Microsoft is a shit company to have to deal with (and its reputation was even worse in 2000 than it is now since it was smack dab in the middle of the United States v. Microsoft antitrust trial), so a lot of people will do the opposite of what they want out of spite.

[Molandfreak]

The folks who insist on GIF being pronounced with a hard G are insufferable because they are essentially insisting that acronyms only work in a way that never has been a hard rule. Nobody pronounces JPEG "Jay-feg" despite the P standing for photographic. Because they have been the loudest voices for so long, the fact that the original creator pronounces it with a soft G has somehow become irrelevant because the hard G folks can't just agree to disagree on this. I literally don't care how you say it. I grew up saying jif, so that's what I'm sticking with.

Gift is a very common word that starts with a hard g so it makes more sense to people that it would be pronounced the same without the t than it does that it would be pronounced the same as the peanut butter brand that starts with j.

Which honestly is a reason I'm sticking with the original pronunciation. You say "I sent this person a GIF" with the soft G and people immediately know what you're talking about, but the hard G is easily confused with "gift" in certain accents, including my own unless I consciously choose to emphasize the T.

[1995hoo]

I've often thought that maybe the hard "g" pronunciation might be related to pronouncing "giga-" with a hard "g" rather than a soft one, the latter as in Back to the Future ("one point twenty-one jigawatts"). "Jiga-" when prefixed to "bytes" makes some people think of a certain derogatory term for black people. So I've often wondered whether people simply adopted the hard "g" for ".GIF" because they also used it in "giga-" and so assumed the two should be the same way.

[kphoger]

The same goes for Windows Me, which was verifiably promoted by Microsoft using the pronunciation "me" as in "me, myself, and I," and further solidified by the lowercase e in the title. But some insufferable IT folks thought because it also was an initialism for Millennium Edition, it couldn't also be an acronym, so it was solidified into public consciousness as M.E. and certain folks are very quick to "correct" you for "getting it wrong."

But, of course, most people don't say ee-dish-un.  Most people say id-ish-un.  So, in keeping with that...

Windows *meh*

I have not heard anyone pronounce "data" as anything other than DAY-ta since I was a kid.

I had scarcely heard anybody say day-ta until I went to college and made friends with a Trekkie.  Nowadays, I hear both dat-a and day-ta.

What really threw me off the other day, though, was when my boss said ghif instead of jif.  I basically never hear the hard g sound for that, and it took me by surprise.

[JayhawkCO]

I have not heard anyone pronounce "data" as anything other than DAY-ta since I was a kid.

I manage three teams of database administrators for my job, and I switch back and forth somewhat randomly. We can add "day-tuh" to the "dah-tuh-base".

[PColumbus73]

Now that Spirit Airlines is dead, do we call Seance Airlines to talk to them?

[kphoger]

Now that Spirit Airlines is dead, do we call Seance Airlines to talk to them?

No, because then we run the risk of them returning to this realm.

[JayhawkCO]

Now that Spirit Airlines is dead, do we call Seance Airlines to talk to them?

You probably have to go through their Ouija Board of Directors.

[formulanone]

Now that Spirit Airlines is dead, do we call Seance Airlines to talk to them?

They're going up to the Spirit in the Sky
Joining airlines that no longer fly
In the boneyard where the airframes may rest
No more long red-eyes from the west.

All those pilots, and all of the crew
Gonna join another airline or two
But you know when they fly...
Lowest seniority level now matter what they may try.

Charge you for water, and maybe a snack
Wish I didn't have a pain in my back
So you know that next time...
I think I'm gonna drive on own thin dime.

Buckle up and note the egress
I gotta seatmate lookin' a mess
And fight for an armrest that's mine
So you know that the seat won't recline
You know you're flying with the Spirit in the skies.

[kphoger]

They're going up to the Spirit in the Sky
Joining airlines that no longer fly
In the boneyard where the airframes may rest
No more long red-eyes from the west.

All those pilots, and all of the crew
Gonna join another airline or two
But you know when they fly...
Lowest seniority level now matter what they may try.

Charge you for water, and maybe a snack
Wish I didn't have a pain in my back
So you know that next time...
I think I'm gonna drive on own thin dime.

Buckle up and note the egress
I gotta seatmate lookin' a mess
And fight for an armrest that's mine
So you know that the seat won't recline
You know you're flying with the Spirit in the skies.

  Lately, even your prose has been poetry—but this one was just sheer genius.

[formulanone]

They're going up to the Spirit in the Sky
Joining airlines that no longer fly
In the boneyard where the airframes may rest
No more long red-eyes from the west.

All those pilots, and all of the crew
Gonna join another airline or two
But you know when they fly...
Lowest seniority level now matter what they may try.

Charge you for water, and maybe a snack
Wish I didn't have a pain in my back
So you know that next time...
I think I'm gonna drive on own thin dime.

Buckle up and note the egress
I gotta seatmate lookin' a mess
And fight for an armrest that's mine
So you know that the seat won't recline
You know you're flying with the Spirit in the skies.

  Lately, even your prose has been poetry—but this one was just sheer genius.

Brought to you by at least one month of my life wasted on boarding.

[vdeane]

Now that Spirit Airlines is dead, do we call Seance Airlines to talk to them?

You probably have to go through their Ouija Board of Directors.

If the Board spells the name of a person downstairs, do you get the gift of fire breathing?

[JayhawkCO]

Now that Spirit Airlines is dead, do we call Seance Airlines to talk to them?

You probably have to go through their Ouija Board of Directors.

If the Board spells the name of a person downstairs, do you get the gift of fire breathing?

Depends on how well you roll a d12.

[Scott5114]

Now that Spirit Airlines is dead, do we call Seance Airlines to talk to them?

You probably have to go through their Ouija Board of Directors.

If the Board spells the name of a person downstairs, do you get the gift of fire breathing?

Depends on how well you roll a d12.

The only two things a d12 are used for in D&D 5e are determining hit points for barbarians and damage totals for a greataxe, so the the fact that one is being used for this suggests some fascinating worldbuilding implications.

[JayhawkCO]

Now that Spirit Airlines is dead, do we call Seance Airlines to talk to them?

You probably have to go through their Ouija Board of Directors.

If the Board spells the name of a person downstairs, do you get the gift of fire breathing?

Depends on how well you roll a d12.

The only two things a d12 are used for in D&D 5e are determining hit points for barbarians and damage totals for a greataxe, so the the fact that one is being used for this suggests some fascinating worldbuilding implications.

Despite my board game nerdiness, I've never actually played D&D (or any other RPGs). I'm definitely just trying to be the guy who wants to sound like I know what I'm talking about.

[kphoger]

The only two things a d12 are used for in D&D 5e are determining hit points for barbarians and damage totals for a greataxe, so the the fact that one is being used for this suggests some fascinating worldbuilding implications.

Who said anything about D&D?

[Scott5114]

Despite my board game nerdiness, I've never actually played D&D (or any other RPGs). I'm definitely just trying to be the guy who wants to sound like I know what I'm talking about.

It should be noted that whenever a DM uses the phrase "fascinating worldbuilding implications" it is a compliment since that means you've given them an idea (which may or may not be a good thing for you if you've got a character in their game).

The only two things a d12 are used for in D&D 5e are determining hit points for barbarians and damage totals for a greataxe, so the the fact that one is being used for this suggests some fascinating worldbuilding implications.

Who said anything about D&D?

Are there any other games that allege to use a d12? I really like the things because they're chunky and satisfying to roll, but they are kind of useless.

I do this thing where I buy a different matching dice set for each character, since they come in different color schemes, so I try to pick one that matches the vibe of the character.* Since a dice set always comes with a 12, I've got plenty of 12s that I've never once rolled.

*Of course, this sometimes means the vibe of the character is influenced by the dice too. For the most recent character I played, I picked out a blaze-orange set because that is her favorite color. Well, as it turns out the d20 in that set appears to be horrifically misbalanced in such a way that character rarely rolls above a 10. Unfortunately that, combined with what I knew about her backstory before I got her dice, meant the only logical thing to do was declare that she canonically has CTE.

[JayhawkCO]

Are there any other games that allege to use a d12? I really like the things because they're chunky and satisfying to roll, but they are kind of useless.

Probably the most popular game that I know of that uses a d12 is Root.

[TheCatalyst31]

Are there any other games that allege to use a d12? I really like the things because they're chunky and satisfying to roll, but they are kind of useless.

I do this thing where I buy a different matching dice set for each character, since they come in different color schemes, so I try to pick one that matches the vibe of the character.* Since a dice set always comes with a 12, I've got plenty of 12s that I've never once rolled.

Sounds like you should play a barbarian in your next D&D game. I played one in my last D&D game, and my D12s got plenty of use... or at least they did until the game moved online due to Covid, so none of my dice rolls were physical after that.

[Scott5114]

Are there any other games that allege to use a d12? I really like the things because they're chunky and satisfying to roll, but they are kind of useless.

I do this thing where I buy a different matching dice set for each character, since they come in different color schemes, so I try to pick one that matches the vibe of the character.* Since a dice set always comes with a 12, I've got plenty of 12s that I've never once rolled.

Sounds like you should play a barbarian in your next D&D game. I played one in my last D&D game, and my D12s got plenty of use... or at least they did until the game moved online due to Covid, so none of my dice rolls were physical after that.

Well, that wouldn't quite solve my not-really-a-problem because my druid and my rogues and so on all have their own d12s too. I could take my druid's d12 and use it for a barbarian, but that's the druid's d12, whether he'll ever use it or not!

I actually have a few barbarians kicking around already. I have an NPC in the game I'm running right now (or, well, will be running again if I can get the new player to actually pick his friggin' skill proficiencies already) who was formerly the PC of a player who left the game and was signed over to me. She's a barbarian/rogue multiclass, so that's been fun to try and pick apart the mindset of. (She also has a saxophone bigger than she is, which...has nothing to do with her class proficiencies, but it's fun.)

[kphoger]

I'm starting to plan a mission trip for next spring.  This would be a two-day drive, staying the night on the Texas side of the border and heading across into Mexico first thing in the morning.  The most likely departure date at this point will be the last day of Standard Time.  So, in the middle of the night in the hotel, our phones will switch over to DST, but the hotel alarm clocks will not.  Then, after we drive into Mexico—which does not observe DST except right by the border—we'll need to switch our phones back to Standard Time again, assuming they don't do so automatically.

I have a feeling that morning will be kind of confusing.

[GaryV]

When you go to the store and are somewhat vexed by all the old people blocking the aisles. Then you realize you are the old people.

[Rothman]

When you go to the store and are somewhat vexed by all the old people blocking the aisles. Then you realize you are the old people.

"You are the brute squad!"

[vdeane]

I feel like I opened Pandora's Box at work.  We have a convenience store that sells some hot stuff leading up to lunch.  I've never been there before this week, but they brought in chicken over rice on Monday.  I've been looking for a good chicken over rice that's conveniently accessible to me for 12 years now.  After confirming with my coworker that they take credit cards (IIRC the previous store there didn't), I went down and had one of the best chicken over rices I had in a long time.  Of course, now that I've been to the store and know the lay of the land, there's no mental hurdle to going back (especially seeing as I work on the first floor, so it's just a short walk way).  So today I went back and got another.  And the pizza that they had in the warmer smelled really good.  Yep, Pandora's Box is open now... it's gonna be harder to stick with the cheerios I keep in my desk every day now!

I've heard that they have good sandwiches too.