There is a fundamental (and perhaps ethical in this particular case) difference between stating “to jack off the horse” and “[To Jack]: Off the horse!”, or “(…)to Jack, off the horse”. Let’s remember that meaning is organic and whereas context can provide valuable information, it is not always sufficient. On the other hand, adhering to punctuation for its own sake, for the sake of glorification of one of the many style guides, or to simply be the proverbial pain in the arse; well, this approach also has its drawbacks.

Interestingly, both, the use of proper English, and the use of colloquial IM English have changed over the years. In the early days of BBSing, it was considered elite (or l33t) to interchange letters or words with similar numbers or even better, extended ASCII & ANSI characters). Some changes have made their way into common usage, such as ‘2′ for ‘to’, ‘4′ for ‘four’, ‘l8r’ for ‘later’. Certain expressions are reserved for online use only and are not commonly known to off-line users or older generations – here we have ‘lol’, ‘rofl’, ‘lmao’, ‘brb’, etc. I’ve heard a person use ‘lol’ in verbal communication this weekend and I must say that it was hilarious…

Technology is a funny thing. It’s designed to make our lives more convenient. However, the economics of technology usually dictate that for it to be profitable, consumers must continually fuel the demand. This is achieved in two ways, simply speaking. On one hand, we have so-called life cycles – how long a product is expected to be useful or how long a product is going to be supported. Historically speaking, life cycles in the world of technology have been getting shorter, both in software and in hardware. On the other hand, we have component quality, and here too, the tendency is to use cheapest components available to minimize costs.

The effects of the factors described above on the society at large are a separate topic. My focus is on something entirely different. The average lifecycle of objects sent into space is usually quite short because of the unpredictable and generally harsh conditions experienced in space. And yet, when I read something like this article, I cannot stop smirking in triumph. It is possible, we will succeed!

One of my clients, NCR (NYSE: NCR), is considered a low-risk, stable player in the technology sector, with its key products being ABMs and Teradate solutions. As with most large-scale corporations, nothing unusual ever goes on – memos, processes, day-to-day operations; nothing outside of the so-called Standard Corporate Practices.

Well, yesterday was a bit different. At the Peachtree City NCR facility, a man was shot to death by his ex-wife. You could argue that these things happen everyday, all over the world. You could argue that the location was arbitrary, or put a twist on the story and make this into a PR wonder, claiming that the deceased could only find haven on company grounds, where a multitude of his very amicable friends was always ready to lend a shoulder, etc., etc. – after all any advertisement is good advertisement, right?

Bandaids have been around for a long time. Their portability, ease of use, and rapid application have rendered them almost irreplacable in most households worldwide. As with most technologies nowadays, bandages have also undergone changes, embracing the most desired aspect of new technologies, that is to say, the strive towards convenience. We’ve seen the likes of waterproof bandages, cotton, poly, and paper versions; we’ve seen them tiny and big, plain, see-through, with mickey mouse pictures on them.

Nowadays the tendency is towards stress customization and miniaturization. There are bandages that blend in with our skin, onto which we can apply make-up, the size of large pinhead to cover an emerging blemish, for women’s fingers and men’s thumbs… and of course we have the newest hype, a liquid bandage.

Well, it may have been a while since I’ve last posted and while I make no promises about ‘being back’ officially, I did come across this rather amusing video of a small team playing with dominos and other collapsibles for fun and possibly to attract people to their site through a slightly different take on self-advertisement.

I did like the project, but I don’t think I’ll visit the site. Ads for the sake of advertising are the ultimate waste of time, even in this day and age of almost totally commercialized behaviour.

Either way, enjoy this link.