If you’re smart like me, you probably dig Stephen Fry’s work. He’s lately turned his hand to technical journalism, writing a technology column for The Guardian.
Very good stuff there, and it has me heartily wishing that all tech columns read like Fry’s. I think he’s the only person on Earth who can make tech geekery sound like a gentleman’s sport.
The things you find when you kill install time with an RSS search:
Metroblogging Los Angeles: Top 5 Ways to Take Advantage of the Writer’s Guild Strike
Down in the comments (emphasis mine):
Fraz: I’m pretty sure the members have to follow the same rules for writing for public access as with other forms of TV. However, I doubt the WGA covers non-scripted forms of writing, such as technical writing, press releases, books, etc.
That said, its a largely different skill set - script writers don’t always make for the best letter writers, let alone novelists, and vice versa.
This kinda reminds me of occasional TECHWR-L arguments that used to occur some years ago about tech writer certifications and unionizing.
By the same logic, I suppose that tech writers don’t always make for the best script writers, let alone playwrights, or speech writers. Although, I tend to think that if George Jr.’s speech writer had a solid background in technical writing, he could be “persuaded” to say even more hilariously stupid things under cover of common sense.
I think it’s at once hilarious and sad that there are still people in the world who think such Industrial Revolution-era tactics are still relevant. Once again, they merely underscore the gap between their last moment of efficacy and the trivialization of their trade.
So I recently started reading Solo Mother’s blog a few weeks ago and came across this post about a “revolutionary” new weapon in the fight against child-borne soil.
Ok, am I alone or is this perhaps the most unfortunate product name in the history of marketing? I visited the product site and I honestly wasn’t sure if I needed to start looking for a link to The Onion. The more I replay this name in my mind the more grossed-out I become. They might as well have named it Flask of Maternal Effluvia +2, Dr. DNA’s BoundByBlood Cleaning Compound, or ViralCommunity Environmental Destabilizing Agent.
Now before anyone says anything, YES, I have been guilty on occasion of dabbing my child’s face with a napkin moistened with my own negatively charged enzymatic fluid. And yes, I’m aware of how nasty that is in itself, how I hated it when my mother did the same thing to me, and how my own child hates when I do it to her. In my own defense, those instances have been rare and have occurred only as last resorts, when no water or bathroom was in the vicinity. And I understand that’s what this product is designed to remedy.
Still, I’m wondering why the world suddenly needs another mommy-and-me skin cleaner. Is there a sea-change against pre-moistened wipes that I’m not aware of? Does it smell at once like God and Machiavelli? Do the product creators think they’re being stylishly ironic — or worse, cute — in naming a cleaning product after what itself is rife with bacteria, viruses, and other microscopic human detritus? How cute or ironic would it be if sales started dropping as more and more people start dry heaving whenever they see the product on a shelf?
On a related note: Here’s a list of the Top 10 Unfortunate Product Names.
I’ve been on a homemade comfort food binge tonight.
First, I made homemade mac-n-cheese which I think came out rather rich. I used an Emeril-for-kids recipe which called for lots of milk thickened with flour and butter, and cheese (I mixed cheddar with an 6-Italian cheese blend), natch. Of course, I couldn’t resist feeling guilty for making something so utterly decadent so I used whole wheat macaroni elbows. And I’m kinda glad I did — regular semolina elbows would have just disintegrated under all that cheese and bechamel. The whole wheat noodles held up wonderfully, even after baking.
Afterward, I pulled out Alton Brown’s I’m Just Here for More Food and whipped up a batch of cupcakes using his Fudge Cake recipe. If anyone reading this has ever tried to make this recipe, you’ll understand when I say I had to laugh when Alton says:
“You’ll be sure that you’ve done something wrong when you’ve made this batter — it’s very loose for a cake.”
Uh…you ain’t kidding. This batter is so loose it makes an egg cream look uptight by comparison. But you know what, after about 30 minutes in the oven, it firmed up quite nicely.
And Alton is right — this is one cupcake that can definitely stand on its own, sans frosting. Oh sure, if you make a mean buttercream, feel free to spread away. But rest assured that this cupcake is not the frosting canvas many cupcake connoisseurs expect. This is a cupcake that cracks a whip in the most loving way possible.
I’m getting the shivers just thinking about the one I just ate. I might have to have another before the night is done.
*yum*
So, it’s been a really long time since I’ve posted anything here that’s been meaningful, about tech writing, or both.
You ever have those moments when you read a lot of interesting things about many different areas, yet you have nothing of comparable interest in your chosen area to contribute? Well, looks like my “moment” has gone beyond a “season” and is dipping a toe in the pool of “always.”