Blog Under Construction
Monday, August 2, 2010 at 10:11AM 
Are you not impressed my first post had text AND a photo?!! I certainly am. Though after 2 a.m. came and went, I gave up on centering the photo. Patients tend to take it personally if you fall asleep in session.
How did a nice tech-phobic girl like me get hooked? In the classic way: with a complimentary taste. Totally free 14 day trial. No credit card required. No commitment. Come into my parlour said the cyberspider to the fly…. Two clicks later— I was in. I got started right away.
And right away I could tell this fourteen-day trial was going to be a trial. The language appeared to be English. English as a foreign language. Journal, page, tag, folder, container, domain: these looked familiar. But, the meanings stuck their tongues out at me. I googled: “browser: a program used to view HTML documents.” A snake eating its tail. HTML, URL, DNS: a carnival house of mirrors. As this goes to press, I mean, to post, I’m still fuzzy about what HTML is. However, I AM clear what it’s NOT: HoTMaiL.
All professionals create a short-cut language for their field of expertise. The upside: speedy communications, in-jokes, camaraderie. The downside: those not in the know get shut out, feel stupid, get even. Most pros interfacing with the lumpy proletariat will make an effort to use lay English to offset these negatives, if only in the service of making money.
Computer geeks could learn a thing or two from shrinks: we put the other person’s needs first. We write with the reader in mind. We maintain the courteous academic convention of spelling out an acronym in full at least once before going on to use it as a freestanding noun. Or, a footnote or asterisk cues you to go to the bottom of the page.
For example: A small but disproportionally influential subgroup of the general population, computer professionals, is top heavy with Self Involved Little Pricks (SILP). Thus, the People Skills To Technical Skills Ratio (PSTTSR) for this group is abysmally low. The PSTTSR for physicians, another subgroup burdened with its fair share of SILPs, is considerably higher.
Which brings me to riff on that old joke. A shrink and a computer geek are walking toward each other on a city sidewalk. As they cross paths, the computer geek nods to the shrink and says, “Hello.” The shrink nods back, and strolling along, thinks, “I wonder what he meant by that.”
TTFN* from DIY** hell.
* Ta Ta For Now
**Do It Yourself
PHOTO CREDIT: Clamis
Reader Comments (2)
Amazing! You're doing it! It looks great. Love your diatribes. Keep 'em coming!
Love this, D! And Love You. Impressive, funny, interesting, creative and so NOW. You are the One and only D.