From today's Rooster Teeth comic:
We got so many wonderful gifts to the office this holiday, that we where overwhelmed.
Source: http://roosterteeth.com/home.php
http://roosterteeth.com/comics/strip.php?id=1519
Note: The description doesn't show up on the actual comic post, so this is probably only available on the homepage for a limited time.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Again with the homophones!
In an article in my local campus paper, the writer makes the fairly common mistake of using one homophone when the correct choice would be another. This is the root of the common "your/you're" and "its/it's" errors. In this case, the campus writer used a much more uncommon pair:
Deciding that my answer to the question is yes is a hurtle I have already jumped.
In this case, he mistook the verb form "hurtle" for the noun "hurdle," which in addition to being a different part of speech, also has a different meaning. (Though dictionary.com gives a noun usage for "hurtle," it also lists this as being archaic and referring to collisions.)
From dictionary.com, here are the most common meanings of the words:
hur⋅tle
–verb (used without object)
1. to rush violently; move with great speed: The car hurtled down the highway.
2. to move or go noisily or resoundingly, as with violent or rapid motion: The sound was deafening, as tons of snow hurtled down the mountain.
3. Archaic. to strike together or against something; collide.
hur⋅dle
–noun
1. a portable barrier over which contestants must leap in certain running races, usually a wooden frame with a hinged inner frame that swings down under impact to prevent injury to a runner who does not clear it.
2. hurdles, (used with a singular verb) a race in which contestants must leap over a number of such barriers placed at specific intervals around the track. Compare high hurdles, low hurdles.
3. any of various vertical barriers, as a hedge, low wall, or section of fence, over which horses must jump in certain types of turf races, as a steeplechase, but esp. an artificial barrier.
4. a difficult problem to be overcome; obstacle.
5. Chiefly British. a movable rectangular frame of interlaced twigs, crossed bars, or the like, as for a temporary fence.
6. a frame or sled on which criminals, esp. traitors, were formerly drawn to the place of execution.
–verb (used with object)
7. to leap over (a hurdle, barrier, fence, etc.), as in a race.
8. to master (a difficulty, problem, etc.); overcome.
9. to construct with hurdles; enclose with hurdles.
–verb (used without object)
10. to leap over a hurdle or other barrier.
Source: http://oudaily.com/news/2009/sep/09/column-can-someone-be-religious-and-still-practice/
Dictionary.com:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hurtle
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hurdle
Deciding that my answer to the question is yes is a hurtle I have already jumped.
In this case, he mistook the verb form "hurtle" for the noun "hurdle," which in addition to being a different part of speech, also has a different meaning. (Though dictionary.com gives a noun usage for "hurtle," it also lists this as being archaic and referring to collisions.)
From dictionary.com, here are the most common meanings of the words:
hur⋅tle
–verb (used without object)
1. to rush violently; move with great speed: The car hurtled down the highway.
2. to move or go noisily or resoundingly, as with violent or rapid motion: The sound was deafening, as tons of snow hurtled down the mountain.
3. Archaic. to strike together or against something; collide.
–noun
1. a portable barrier over which contestants must leap in certain running races, usually a wooden frame with a hinged inner frame that swings down under impact to prevent injury to a runner who does not clear it.
2. hurdles, (used with a singular verb) a race in which contestants must leap over a number of such barriers placed at specific intervals around the track. Compare high hurdles, low hurdles.
3. any of various vertical barriers, as a hedge, low wall, or section of fence, over which horses must jump in certain types of turf races, as a steeplechase, but esp. an artificial barrier.
4. a difficult problem to be overcome; obstacle.
5. Chiefly British. a movable rectangular frame of interlaced twigs, crossed bars, or the like, as for a temporary fence.
6. a frame or sled on which criminals, esp. traitors, were formerly drawn to the place of execution.
–verb (used with object)
7. to leap over (a hurdle, barrier, fence, etc.), as in a race.
8. to master (a difficulty, problem, etc.); overcome.
9. to construct with hurdles; enclose with hurdles.
–verb (used without object)
10. to leap over a hurdle or other barrier.
Source: http://oudaily.com/news/2009/sep/09/column-can-someone-be-religious-and-still-practice/
Dictionary.com:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hurtle
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hurdle
They're really just making excuses, and bad ones, at that!
In a follow-up to a post I wrote a while back, D3 Publisher has "explained" the typo in their name. Apparently it was supposed to be some kind of play on words, but even that explanation doesn't make sense.
The Kotaku response to this statement pretty much sums it up:
"Purlisher" is a pun on "Publisher" — not a very good one, and one that would have also been viewed as a misspelling. It has nothing to do with puppy dogs.
Source: http://kotaku.com/5440276/d3-publisher-spelling-mistake-explained
The Kotaku response to this statement pretty much sums it up:
"Purlisher" is a pun on "Publisher" — not a very good one, and one that would have also been viewed as a misspelling. It has nothing to do with puppy dogs.
Source: http://kotaku.com/5440276/d3-publisher-spelling-mistake-explained
Monday, January 4, 2010
All in a "Daisies" work
Drew from Back of the Cereal Box wrote a great article about names in the TV show "Pushing Daisies." As with any writing of this length, Drew's article does contain a few mistakes.
After discussing the doubling in names of characters, Drew goes on to say:
The episode “Pigeon” features a different sort of doubling Elsa and her daughter Elsita, both of whom are played by the same actress, the very appealing Jayma Mays, who’s now on Glee and whose own name features an internal duplication of vowel sounds.
A colon would be required here, between stating the fact that doubling occurs and naming the specific instance.
He goes on to discuss a commanding character named Simone:
In that sense, I’m betting that that her creators has titular dictator of the game Simon Says in mind when they dreamed her up.
This is a case of simple subject-verb agreement, as the plural subject "creators" demands a plural verb, in this case "have." More specifically, the tense of the verb also comes into question. This is a past event, so we would need a past tense "had."
Source: http://kidicarus222.blogspot.com/2009/09/naming-conventions-in-pushing-daisies.html
After discussing the doubling in names of characters, Drew goes on to say:
The episode “Pigeon” features a different sort of doubling Elsa and her daughter Elsita, both of whom are played by the same actress, the very appealing Jayma Mays, who’s now on Glee and whose own name features an internal duplication of vowel sounds.
A colon would be required here, between stating the fact that doubling occurs and naming the specific instance.
He goes on to discuss a commanding character named Simone:
In that sense, I’m betting that that her creators has titular dictator of the game Simon Says in mind when they dreamed her up.
This is a case of simple subject-verb agreement, as the plural subject "creators" demands a plural verb, in this case "have." More specifically, the tense of the verb also comes into question. This is a past event, so we would need a past tense "had."
Source: http://kidicarus222.blogspot.com/2009/09/naming-conventions-in-pushing-daisies.html
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Way to represent!!!
While browsing job listings on Monster.com, I came across this description of a company:
TWO Group, is a German-owned company with it's headquarters in Stuttgart German and Guangzhou China, and offices in UK, USA, Czech and Hong Kong.
This short statement probably has the highest error-to-word count I've seen in quite a while. Beginning with an errant comma between the subject and verb, it quickly moves into an it's/its error. Pausing the error-train only briefly, the listing misnames the country of origin (Germany), while at the same time omitting the comma between city and country, and finally naming a language (Czech) instead of a country (the Czech Republic)!
If this is how the company chooses to represent itself, I don't think I'd want to work there.
Source: http://jobview.monster.com/IT-Consultant-Job-Chicago-IL-US-85251165.aspx
Now, some of you might wonder what brought me to this listing in the first place. Well, wonder no more! It is simply this: Having just completed my M.A. in German Literature to go along with my B.A. in German and my B.S. in Computer Science, I now need to find gainful employment. I'd like to go into translating or IT work, or perhaps do paid proofreading/editing for some of you big blogs out there. If anyone knows of a position that could use my skills, please let me know!
TWO Group, is a German-owned company with it's headquarters in Stuttgart German and Guangzhou China, and offices in UK, USA, Czech and Hong Kong.
This short statement probably has the highest error-to-word count I've seen in quite a while. Beginning with an errant comma between the subject and verb, it quickly moves into an it's/its error. Pausing the error-train only briefly, the listing misnames the country of origin (Germany), while at the same time omitting the comma between city and country, and finally naming a language (Czech) instead of a country (the Czech Republic)!
If this is how the company chooses to represent itself, I don't think I'd want to work there.
Source: http://jobview.monster.com/IT-Consultant-Job-Chicago-IL-US-85251165.aspx
Now, some of you might wonder what brought me to this listing in the first place. Well, wonder no more! It is simply this: Having just completed my M.A. in German Literature to go along with my B.A. in German and my B.S. in Computer Science, I now need to find gainful employment. I'd like to go into translating or IT work, or perhaps do paid proofreading/editing for some of you big blogs out there. If anyone knows of a position that could use my skills, please let me know!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Typos: Now with Real-World Consequences!!
Here's a story from today's news about a plane failing to take off due to a typo!!
Apparently, the plane's first officer recorded the weight into the flight system as 262.9 tons, when in actual fact it was 362.9 ton.
Source: http://gizmodo.com/5431941/typo-caused-airbus-plane-tail+strike-during-takeoff-in-australia
Apparently, the plane's first officer recorded the weight into the flight system as 262.9 tons, when in actual fact it was 362.9 ton.
Source: http://gizmodo.com/5431941/typo-caused-airbus-plane-tail+strike-during-takeoff-in-australia
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Twitter is an interesting creature. By its micro-blogging and easy following nature, it gets used a lot for things like liveblogs, reporting on news the moment it happens. As such it is easy to make typos and other small mistakes in an effort to get the ideas across quickly.
This particular post from Extra Life was actually pretty funny in its errors:
The World of Warcraft Programming guild vol 2 is up! My art on the cover. http://tinyurl.com/yhxkbgr
Specifically, I like how he mis-typed the word "guide" and it became a term used in the game itself.
Source: http://twitter.com/extralife/status/6308567342
This particular post from Extra Life was actually pretty funny in its errors:
The World of Warcraft Programming guild vol 2 is up! My art on the cover. http://tinyurl.com/yhxkbgr
Specifically, I like how he mis-typed the word "guide" and it became a term used in the game itself.
Source: http://twitter.com/extralife/status/6308567342
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