Oh, good grief.
T and K aren’t very close to one another on the QWERTY keyboard, so I have no idea how to explain this one. When I see Salk, I think polio vaccine, not cattle treats.
If only I’d had a red Sharpie in my purse…if only…
Because I’m at a loss to explain it, myself.
How did nobody manage to spot this before the banner made it to production?
Maybe someone’s been watching too many late 1970s movie musicals. Sure, both towns are named LaGrange—but this is a bit much.
I don’t care what anyone says—it’s not hard to figure out whether to use lose or loose. If you’re in doubt, try this handy guide, 10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling, from the wonderfully evil genius of The Oatmeal (opens in a new window).
(Hat tip to @MeetingBoy)
There are some places that probably shouldn’t include bloody hand prints in their Halloween office décor—for instance, an urgent care clinic.
I don’t know about you, but I go to the trauma center to get stitched up, not to spill what’s left of my blood all over the front windows.
By all means, decorate the office and get into the All Hallows’ Eve spirit. Just make sure to do it in a way that doesn’t instill even more fear into the injured people coming through the door for help.
(Photo courtesy of Val Williams)
Texters getting on your last nerve? You’re in good company. The talented Janae at Claire & Me Designs created these elegant little cards for just such an occasion. Save yourself the trouble of shouting, throwing things, or punching the offending party square in the nose.
In countries where mobile phones have long been part of everyday life, there are certain unspoken social rules for using one’s phone in public. For instance, in Japan, people who talk on their phones while using public transportation (subway, bus, commuter train) get intense stares until they end the conversation. No one wants to overhear a stranger’s one-sided phone conversation.
But here in the States, we’re relatively new to cell phones. American society has yet to formulate basic cell phone etiquette. I think we’ll have plenty of social rules for cell phones in another five or ten years, though. Until then, we’ll have to work it out as best as we can with our fellow travelers, customers, friends, family, and students.
Most people—including my students—have a good sense of when to leave their phones on silent and in their pockets. Most realize on some level that texting during someone’s presentation (class, church service, concert, play, etc.) is downright rude. They know that it tells everyone else that the texter just doesn’t care. Thank goodness for these people.
The rest? They’ll learn—eventually.
Concise, easy-to-understand instructions can mean the difference between success and failure—or even between life and death. In emergency situations, for instance, our reasoning abilities diminish. We just want to get out alive. Our brains are in crisis mode, not think-and-reflect mode.
When we create text to accompany life-saving equipment, it’s important that even terrified or badly injured people can understand it in a millisecond. How we phrase these brief instructions can determine whether our readers live or die.
Here’s a great example courtesy of my sister, who was traveling for work when she snapped these photos. Continue reading
Last month, I challenged myself to publish a blog post every day from the 1st through the 30th. It was fun, exhilarating, even mind-numbing—and I posted 34 times in 30 days. While I’ve achieved many goals over the years, I was rather surprised Continue reading
Suw Charman-Anderson: “If there’s a common flaw in self-publishing, it’s that too many books are published too soon.” at.pw.org/N5WrhV
— Poets & Writers (@poetswritersinc) July 3, 2012
Blue Ridge, Georgia—21 May 2010
Workplace signs are among the funniest I’ve seen. They almost never mean to cause confusion, but when they do, the result makes my day. Or makes me weep for humanity. Or both.
This one is courtesy of my sister, who saw it in a Denver area women’s restroom. Continue reading