Gordaen's Blog

The purpose of language is to communicate (unless you agree with Mr. Keating, then it is to “woo women”). We have specific rules that make the language more effective, such as how to add tense to a verb or pluralize a noun. Then we have rules that someone came up with that are more prescriptive. [...]

I bought a cheap briefcase to use during my teaching internship and in it came directions for setting the locks. I couldn’t believe how many errors were in these directions. Here’s a sample: Now turn the dials to your own secret number and mark the number down in some place where you can refer to [...]

Every time I think I should get rid of my Ridiculing Stupidity category (it’s not nice to make fun of people/things), I see something else that demands attention. The most recent thing to catch my eye is this sort of “slogan” that Aquafresh is using:

Does anyone know what this is supposed to mean? It’s an advertisement from Newegg, a company that I usually praise, but it does not make any sense to me. This did not strike me as typical Newegg quality, so I looked into it a little more. The Seagate press release has this to say:

An old Polaroid photograph turning yellow; fingerprints bring death. Those times long past are fading, melting away with longing