Re: CHAT: INTERSYSTEMAL CONLANG

On Sun, 30 Jun 2002 14:20:59 -0400, agricola <agricola@...>
wrote:

>yscreus il Ge. Jones:
>
>>>Please take your finger off the shift key!
>
>>question: are you (or anyone else) using read-out-loud type software
>>that actually renders caps in a louder voice? if not, what's the big
>>deal?
>
>Depends on the mood. I happened to be in a cranky mood last night and so
>read it in voce strepitu. The problem is that all caps are harder to read.
>I don't know about you, but I don't read English letter for letter. I read
>by word shape and by phrase. In all caps, every word is a rectangle, and
>most of the letters are squares. It's a pain in the arse to have to slow
>down so much.
Interesting. I read slowly, especially on the computer, and have no problem
adjusting to upper and lower case. With the available fonts and a VGA
display both are equally difficult. Not to mention eyes that don't focus at
the same distance.

>Mind you, it's not half so annoying as the modern adolescent affectation
>of using all lower case. How dweebish!
OK, now we all know how to annoy you:
ALL UPPER CASE FOR MILDLY ANNOYED
all lower case for very annoyed
Is there anything _else_ we can do to you today, sir?

>>you young whippersnappers have it too easy. when i started in
>>computers, they didn't even have lower case, everything was upper
>>case. we even had to learn how to change the ribbon in the keypunch
>>machine after walking 40 miles in the snow to school ....
>
>Poor babe. Really. I'm certainly glad that the industry soon added lower
>case!
>
>I learnt to type on  (and when using a machine, still use) an L.C. Smith &
>Bros No. 5. Also had to change the ribbon in the machine before stepping
>into the transporter for the 40  mile zap over to school, where we had to
>contend with plowed and sanded driveways. That is, on the odd chance the
>County didn't cave and cancel school for .00000125" of snow! ;)
Still, that's nothing compared to the old days; a 40 mile walk in the snow
is really hard to accomplish, especially in Florida.

>
>Padraic.
>
Jeff