You are walking after dark.
The moon and Venus hang brilliant, just above the tops of the pines.
The owl sounds its peculiar call from deep in the woods
And you know that it is right.
18.9.07
The Tyranny of Email
Winston wishes to address the group:
"Hello. This is the first time I've written, and I hope that what I write won't lead anyone to make assumptions about my character or temperament.
I used to be an avid emailer. I kept up correspondence with relatives, friends, and people I "met" on email lists and groups. I don't know how I did it, but somehow I manged to crank out emails week after week.
Well, as the song goes, the thrill is gone. I don't think I write anything now that's not work related - or if I do write it's but once or twice a week.
The immediacy of email has established a new set of expectations. Because you CAN send a message to someone in what seems to be a blink of the eye, people have come to expect that you WILL reply to their emails as soon as they come in. As if you didn't already have a million other things to do. Or the desire to have some time of your own that is not subject to the needs and wants of others.
It gets really annoying when someone emails you, you don't reply right away, and the arch comment comes slithering into your "In" box from the impatient correspondent. The twit assumes that he/she is foremost in your attention and deserves your full consideration.
My place of business uses an intranet email client, and one of its features is a sort of "Classifieds" section. I put up a few items for sale, and have sold nearly all of them. Most people have been reasonable about delivery time, method of payment, etc., but the one person I wasn't able to answer right away sent a snotty little message the next morning. Its subject heading was "?" and the gist of the message was "well, how would you like me to take this thing off your hands?" I really wanted to write back with "Have you thought about working on those hostility issues?" but my better nature prevailed.
Call me a grump or a curmudgeon or whatever, but email has assumed for me the same status as the phone call that comes when you're in the middle of dinner. I'll show it who is master."
Well Winston. That was quite a debut. You may have a few hostility issues of your own to work on. But what do I know?
"Hello. This is the first time I've written, and I hope that what I write won't lead anyone to make assumptions about my character or temperament.
I used to be an avid emailer. I kept up correspondence with relatives, friends, and people I "met" on email lists and groups. I don't know how I did it, but somehow I manged to crank out emails week after week.
Well, as the song goes, the thrill is gone. I don't think I write anything now that's not work related - or if I do write it's but once or twice a week.
The immediacy of email has established a new set of expectations. Because you CAN send a message to someone in what seems to be a blink of the eye, people have come to expect that you WILL reply to their emails as soon as they come in. As if you didn't already have a million other things to do. Or the desire to have some time of your own that is not subject to the needs and wants of others.
It gets really annoying when someone emails you, you don't reply right away, and the arch comment comes slithering into your "In" box from the impatient correspondent. The twit assumes that he/she is foremost in your attention and deserves your full consideration.
My place of business uses an intranet email client, and one of its features is a sort of "Classifieds" section. I put up a few items for sale, and have sold nearly all of them. Most people have been reasonable about delivery time, method of payment, etc., but the one person I wasn't able to answer right away sent a snotty little message the next morning. Its subject heading was "?" and the gist of the message was "well, how would you like me to take this thing off your hands?" I really wanted to write back with "Have you thought about working on those hostility issues?" but my better nature prevailed.
Call me a grump or a curmudgeon or whatever, but email has assumed for me the same status as the phone call that comes when you're in the middle of dinner. I'll show it who is master."
Well Winston. That was quite a debut. You may have a few hostility issues of your own to work on. But what do I know?
10.9.07
Emotional
Gordon has a complaint to make. It has to do with a word that has found its way into every day use, and it's got him quite emotional . . . er, upset.
The word is "emotional." People use the word all the time. "It was an emotional reunion." "I got emotional at the end of that movie." "When I told her I wanted to end our relationship, she became emotional."
A quick Google search finds the word used in these contexts:
"Ira Hayes definitely was an emotional fellow,"
[he] “was emotional, absolutely and he was from the time that he found out"
[the] "photographer's journey was emotional"
Ok. So, which emotion are we talking about? Here are a few from which we can choose, listed alphabetically:
Acceptance, Agitation, Alarm, Amusement, Anger, Angst, Annoyance, Anticipation, Apprehension, Apathy, Awe, Bitterness, Boredom Betrayal, Calmness, Cautiousness, Comfort, Contentment, Confidence, Courage, Depression, Disappointment, Discontentment, Disgust, Desire, Delight. Determination, Elation or Euphoria, Embarrassment, Ennui, Envy, Ecstasy, Fear, Friendship, Frustration, Glee, Gladness, Gratitude, Grief, Guilt, Hate, Happiness, Homesickness, Honor, Hope, Horror, Humility, Impatience, Inadequacy, Irritability, Joy, Jealousy, Kindness, Loneliness, Love, Lust, Melancholy, Modesty, Nervousness, Negativity, Nostalgia, Pain, Patience, Peace, Phobia, Pity, Pride, Rage, Regret, Remorse, Resentment, Sadness, Schadenfreude, Self-pity, Shame, Shyness, Sorrow, Shock,Suffering, Surprise, Suspense, Unhappiness, Vulnerability, Worry, Yearning, Zest
So . . . which one is it?
******************************
Alright - Gordon's dictionary lists a few synonyms for emotional which blow his argument out of the water: "during the speech we all became a little emotional tearful, teary-eyed, sad, choked up, weepy; formal literary lachrymose. antonym dry-eyed." But Gordon wants more precision. If there's a word for it, then use the word, he says. Don't settle for an approximation. That's what Gordon says.
The word is "emotional." People use the word all the time. "It was an emotional reunion." "I got emotional at the end of that movie." "When I told her I wanted to end our relationship, she became emotional."
A quick Google search finds the word used in these contexts:
"Ira Hayes definitely was an emotional fellow,"
[he] “was emotional, absolutely and he was from the time that he found out"
[the] "photographer's journey was emotional"
Ok. So, which emotion are we talking about? Here are a few from which we can choose, listed alphabetically:
Acceptance, Agitation, Alarm, Amusement, Anger, Angst, Annoyance, Anticipation, Apprehension, Apathy, Awe, Bitterness, Boredom Betrayal, Calmness, Cautiousness, Comfort, Contentment, Confidence, Courage, Depression, Disappointment, Discontentment, Disgust, Desire, Delight. Determination, Elation or Euphoria, Embarrassment, Ennui, Envy, Ecstasy, Fear, Friendship, Frustration, Glee, Gladness, Gratitude, Grief, Guilt, Hate, Happiness, Homesickness, Honor, Hope, Horror, Humility, Impatience, Inadequacy, Irritability, Joy, Jealousy, Kindness, Loneliness, Love, Lust, Melancholy, Modesty, Nervousness, Negativity, Nostalgia, Pain, Patience, Peace, Phobia, Pity, Pride, Rage, Regret, Remorse, Resentment, Sadness, Schadenfreude, Self-pity, Shame, Shyness, Sorrow, Shock,Suffering, Surprise, Suspense, Unhappiness, Vulnerability, Worry, Yearning, Zest
So . . . which one is it?
******************************
Alright - Gordon's dictionary lists a few synonyms for emotional which blow his argument out of the water: "during the speech we all became a little emotional tearful, teary-eyed, sad, choked up, weepy; formal literary lachrymose. antonym dry-eyed." But Gordon wants more precision. If there's a word for it, then use the word, he says. Don't settle for an approximation. That's what Gordon says.
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