makes no sense to me
in [Design]
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From: dagmargoodboat on 28 Jun 2010 21:14 On Jun 28, 11:57 am, m II <c...(a)in.the.hat> wrote: > b) A comma is NOT used in combination with the word 'and' when > including a list of items in a sentence. > > eg: Archie, cockroach, Liver Lover AND Piehole Piker is the correct > (non) usage. > > Archimedes' Lover, cupster, Penultimate Pee Pee, AND > PenisBreath is the INCORRECT usage. That's the 'Harvard comma.' Some say that without it the pair (Penultimate Pee Pee AND PenisBreath) could be mistaken for a single item on the list. That is, you can't always tell if the first version means {Archie, cockroach, Liver Lover AND Piehole Piker } (a 3-element list) or {Archie, cockroach, Liver Lover, Piehole Piker } (a list containing 4 elements) It's a question of style. I always thought it was stuffy until I wrote something that needed that extra comma to be clear. Now it's a habit. Thanks for the reminders though! -- Cheers, James Arthur
From: Pieyed Piper on 28 Jun 2010 21:18 On Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:14:10 -0700 (PDT), dagmargoodboat(a)yahoo.com wrote: > Thanks for the reminders though! Reminders? He got it WRONG!
From: m II on 29 Jun 2010 00:30 dagmargoodboat(a)yahoo.com wrote: > That is, you can't always tell if the first version means > > {Archie, cockroach, Liver Lover AND Piehole Piker } (a 3-element > list) or > {Archie, cockroach, Liver Lover, Piehole Piker } (a list > containing 4 elements) > > It's a question of style. I always thought it was stuffy until I > wrote something that needed that extra comma to be clear. Now it's a > habit. > > Thanks for the reminders though! Point taken. It appears the whole list has to be taken into account in order to make sure no ambiguities can exist. Now I'm going to watch not only the ANDs, but the ORs. Using your approach, that OR may cause a split also. mike
From: JosephKK on 29 Jun 2010 02:04 On Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:14:10 -0700 (PDT), dagmargoodboat(a)yahoo.com wrote: >On Jun 28, 11:57 am, m II <c...(a)in.the.hat> wrote: > >> b) A comma is NOT used in combination with the word 'and' when >> including a list of items in a sentence. >> >> eg: Archie, cockroach, Liver Lover AND Piehole Piker is the correct >> (non) usage. >> >> Archimedes' Lover, cupster, Penultimate Pee Pee, AND >> PenisBreath is the INCORRECT usage. > >That's the 'Harvard comma.' Some say that without it the pair >(Penultimate Pee Pee AND PenisBreath) could be mistaken for a single >item on the list. > >That is, you can't always tell if the first version means > > {Archie, cockroach, Liver Lover AND Piehole Piker } (a 3-element >list) or > {Archie, cockroach, Liver Lover, Piehole Piker } (a list >containing 4 elements) > > It's a question of style. I always thought it was stuffy until I >wrote something that needed that extra comma to be clear. Now it's a >habit. > > Thanks for the reminders though! Yep, it is in the debated list in the "Chicago Manual of Style".
From: JosephKK on 29 Jun 2010 02:11
On Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:20:34 -0600, m II <c(a)in.the.hat> wrote: >Michael A. Terrell wrote: > >>> Fear messes up a lot of engineering. >> >> >> So does blatent stupidity but somehow, those types find jobs. :( > > >There was a designer at work who did the control schematics on large >nitrogen pumping transports. Without fail, he would wire all the >emergency stop buttons paralleled to one set of terminals. These >buttons were of the normally open type. > >I kept telling him that a failure in the safety device wiring should >cause an immediate STOP in the machinery. He somehow couldn't accept >that these buttons should have been in series and normally >closed...any broken cabling should be noticed NOW. > >He also had a real skill with relays. One more than one drawing he'd >feed the coil of a relay AND the switched terminals with the same >wire. I asked him why a relay was needed if the signal wire was also >the feed. He'd mumble something and change the subject. > >He never changed the drawings, though. I hate arrogance and the >Archies of the world that this produces. > > > > >mike > Hate is too precious an emotion for such a trivial inducement, just the same i despise arrogance, willful ignorance, and combinations of the two. |