Posted by
Chris - Cape Town, South Africa on November 22, 2008:
Have to agree on just about all points raised here - EXCEPT: The QWERTY keyboard may (debatable theory) have been designed to slow down typists, but there ISN'T a "way superior" alternative (I assume you are referring to the so-called Dvorak keyboard) - please see snopes.com for a debunking of that myth.
"I don't need to check Snopes: I literally wrote the book on Dvorak." -rc
And, if you enter "Dvorak" into the Snopes search engine, you will get just one listing, "Billy Graham's Prayer for Our Nation". It comes up in the footnotes as a source citation for an article in the Kansas City Star co-written by a James A. Dvorak.
I'd comment on the irony, but it's just too easy. Unfortunately, bogus Snopes references are becoming all too common.
Posted by
Piet, Atlanta on July 24, 2011:
While I do not have any problems with using technology for religious purposes, it does become problematic when, like here, it completely distorts the original meeting.
But I accept that this was written more as an interesting test of a person's abilities to compress language, than as an attempt at religious instruction. (Reminds me of programming in the dawn of computing, when you stored a year with only two digits....)
Posted by
Jim, New Jersey on July 25, 2011:
Piet, Atlanta: "when, like here, it completely distorts the original meeting."
Funny, I haven't used 'art' as in 'who art in heaven', trespass/es (I just looked it up (and you should too if you only think you know its meaning) even as I've prayed that set of words in excess of 40 years) in any social interaction outside of saying that prayer.
So, what meaning 'does' it have?
A personal question to you: Do you ever find yourself reciting a prayer without thinking 'what am I actually saying'? There is a reason why we repeat by rote...
Posted by
Peter, Slovakia on July 25, 2011:
OMG, srsly?
Interesting tidbit there. As long as it is mostly meant as a brain game, not as a serious translation of the prayer. Although I find some forcefully introduced word choice that, as it seems to me, serve no other meaning than to make it seem youthful. (which it wasn't)
Also, I think you underestimate the power of being used to something. QWERTY layout might have come at time when no other was viable, but by the time it was, everybody was too used to QWERTY so it would not be practical to start from square one all over again, not to mention losing (I assume) hardly fought for standard. Similar story with SMS maybe, I am sure there was a good reason for 160 limit. Apart from having different generations of devices on the same network, it also sped the writing process substantially. Granted, I swype this here now and my phone is entirely capable of messages thousands words long, but barely a year ago I had a classic phone and writing anything longer than 160 chars was pretty much torture.
As for Dvorak, it is even more useless for me in Slovak than QWERTY, or, more commonly, QWERTZ layout. Still better to have one standart everywhere than writing different layouts in every language.
---
The idea isn't to get everyone to abandon what they know, but rather to teach kids something language-based that's so simple and easy to learn that it takes away the pain of learning to type. The tragedy is, we haven't; we continue to teach an anti-ergonomic layout that makes it harder. And the sense in that is...? -rc
Posted by
Tom, Indianapolis on July 25, 2011:
1. To commit an offense or a sin; transgress or err.
2. Law To commit an unlawful injury to the person, property, or rights of another, with actual or implied force or violence, especially to enter onto another's land wrongfully.
3. To infringe on the privacy, time, or attention of another.
Dad, who is in Heaven, your Name is Holy. May your Kingdom become ours, and may Your Wish be our command here on Earth, just as is the case in Heaven. Give us each day whatever we need -- not want, need -- and forgive us for the wrongs we do. Don't let us be tempted beyond our strength to resist, but keep us close to You and away from the Evil One and his minions.
(I subscribe to the theory that the whole Kingdom, Power, & Glory thing was added by some unknown monk when transcribing from one volume to the next. Which is the Church's position; that's why there's a break between "...evil" and "For..." "Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our days. Help us to be free from sin and protect us from all worries as we await with joyful hope the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ." (Note this prayer has been revised in the new Missals which go into effect this coming year -- First Sunday of Advent))
Isn't Life Already Short Enough? - Comments
Posted by Chris - Cape Town, South Africa on November 22, 2008:
Have to agree on just about all points raised here - EXCEPT: The QWERTY keyboard may (debatable theory) have been designed to slow down typists, but there ISN'T a "way superior" alternative (I assume you are referring to the so-called Dvorak keyboard) - please see snopes.com for a debunking of that myth.
---
I don't need to check Snopes: I literally wrote the book on Dvorak. -rc
Posted by Korey - Tucson on July 23, 2011:
"I don't need to check Snopes: I literally wrote the book on Dvorak." -rc
And, if you enter "Dvorak" into the Snopes search engine, you will get just one listing, "Billy Graham's Prayer for Our Nation". It comes up in the footnotes as a source citation for an article in the Kansas City Star co-written by a James A. Dvorak.
I'd comment on the irony, but it's just too easy. Unfortunately, bogus Snopes references are becoming all too common.
Posted by Piet, Atlanta on July 24, 2011:
While I do not have any problems with using technology for religious purposes, it does become problematic when, like here, it completely distorts the original meeting.
But I accept that this was written more as an interesting test of a person's abilities to compress language, than as an attempt at religious instruction. (Reminds me of programming in the dawn of computing, when you stored a year with only two digits....)
Posted by Jim, New Jersey on July 25, 2011:
Piet, Atlanta: "when, like here, it completely distorts the original meeting."
Funny, I haven't used 'art' as in 'who art in heaven', trespass/es (I just looked it up (and you should too if you only think you know its meaning) even as I've prayed that set of words in excess of 40 years) in any social interaction outside of saying that prayer.
So, what meaning 'does' it have?
A personal question to you: Do you ever find yourself reciting a prayer without thinking 'what am I actually saying'? There is a reason why we repeat by rote...
Posted by Peter, Slovakia on July 25, 2011:
OMG, srsly?
Interesting tidbit there. As long as it is mostly meant as a brain game, not as a serious translation of the prayer. Although I find some forcefully introduced word choice that, as it seems to me, serve no other meaning than to make it seem youthful. (which it wasn't)
Also, I think you underestimate the power of being used to something. QWERTY layout might have come at time when no other was viable, but by the time it was, everybody was too used to QWERTY so it would not be practical to start from square one all over again, not to mention losing (I assume) hardly fought for standard. Similar story with SMS maybe, I am sure there was a good reason for 160 limit. Apart from having different generations of devices on the same network, it also sped the writing process substantially. Granted, I swype this here now and my phone is entirely capable of messages thousands words long, but barely a year ago I had a classic phone and writing anything longer than 160 chars was pretty much torture.
As for Dvorak, it is even more useless for me in Slovak than QWERTY, or, more commonly, QWERTZ layout. Still better to have one standart everywhere than writing different layouts in every language.
---
The idea isn't to get everyone to abandon what they know, but rather to teach kids something language-based that's so simple and easy to learn that it takes away the pain of learning to type. The tragedy is, we haven't; we continue to teach an anti-ergonomic layout that makes it harder. And the sense in that is...? -rc
Posted by Tom, Indianapolis on July 25, 2011:
1. To commit an offense or a sin; transgress or err.
2. Law To commit an unlawful injury to the person, property, or rights of another, with actual or implied force or violence, especially to enter onto another's land wrongfully.
3. To infringe on the privacy, time, or attention of another.
Dad, who is in Heaven, your Name is Holy. May your Kingdom become ours, and may Your Wish be our command here on Earth, just as is the case in Heaven. Give us each day whatever we need -- not want, need -- and forgive us for the wrongs we do. Don't let us be tempted beyond our strength to resist, but keep us close to You and away from the Evil One and his minions.
(I subscribe to the theory that the whole Kingdom, Power, & Glory thing was added by some unknown monk when transcribing from one volume to the next. Which is the Church's position; that's why there's a break between "...evil" and "For..." "Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our days. Help us to be free from sin and protect us from all worries as we await with joyful hope the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ." (Note this prayer has been revised in the new Missals which go into effect this coming year -- First Sunday of Advent))
Read the article that everyone's commenting on, or post a comment about it.