h a l f b a k e r yNot so much a thought experiment as a single neuron misfire.
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Mystery Train has no windows, which
have
been removed and replaced with carriage
length high definition monitors.
These are capable of displaying a
continuously passing image,
synchronised
with the train's movement. Most suitable
for installation in underground trains,
where the more
usual window views are
the grimy walls draped with electrical
cables, rushing past without any relief.
Different panoramas would be featured
throughout the duration of each journey,
and there would be no commentary,
or announcements, except for the stops.
The net effect is to create the totally
convincing illusion of moving through an
alternative landscape.
Particularly soothing on the nerves when
the train makes an unexpected halt
between stations. Instead of staring out
at
the same segment of blank tunnel wall
for
ten minutes, enjoy the spectacle of
hundreds of seabirds wheeling around
over the unspoiled lakes of Killarney.
[link]
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Nice. I like the image of glum-looking London commuters, daydreaming, reading newspapers, etc. while the train appears to be crossing a bridge over the Grand Canyon, or weaving through the rings of Saturn. |
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I might even use the tube if they did this. |
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Of course there's always the antitheses of
this for trains passing through already
pleasant landscapes there will be movies
of dismal industrial landscapes playing....
or depictions of scum-bag teenagers
pelting the unbreakable windows with
bricks (I could film these myself from the
train I use every week) |
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i dont like the title. "mystery train" is just too unspecific. (fixed spelling, lowercase is not an issue) |
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so... you want to put giant TV monitors in each car instead of windows.... lovely... care to bet on the time it takes for the "verdant scenes" to be permanently replaced by advertising and abusive PSA's ? measured in microseconds. |
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I started reading this, wondering what it
was. Obviously time to start taking the
ginko tablets. [erlehmann] it's too not
"to", and I not "i". |
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//lowercase is not an issue// Why is it not? |
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// Why is it not? // makes no difference. |
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If it made no difference, then there
would be no upper case letters as they
would be redundant. Capital letters
have a clear function and a set of
grammatical rules controlling their use.
Typographic anarchy can be visually
interesting, but seldom is this an aid to
comprehension. Consistently using a
lower case i instead of an I is just
tiresome. It's the sort of thing that Bob
Dylan used to do in a desperate attempt
to appear to be cool and inventive. |
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You're fighting an uphill battle with this one (and the spaceless titles, too, by the way) in this crowd, [erlehmann]. Nothing matters more here than proper grammar, spelling, punctuation and, yes, capitalization (or capitalisation, if you like). We consider it our little oasis of good writing in the vast desert of sloppy language that is the world wide web. So, don't bring your low-faluting ways around these parts - we don't take too kindly to all that abbreviating and short-cutting. |
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i am not fighting a battle, [globaltourniquet]: it's comfortable for me - i can simply write faster this way. also, i try to write as i speak - it keeps things simple. it is no "hard barrier" to comprehension (adobe flash would be). |
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of course, if the grammar police doesn't want me here i will probably go elsewhere™. |
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Bad punctuation, grammar, spelling
etc., will always rightly attract
corrections and fishbones.
What do
you mean "go elsewhere"? You mean
there is such a thing? If "elsewhere" is
populated by folk who tolerate such
misdemeanours, then it will
consequently be full of crap. |
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Do you really prefer the company of
lazy, semi-literate shit heads or the
rigors of this place, where your ideas,
along with the way you have described
them, are (mostly) scrutinised with
fairness, humour, wit, and generosity?
Dumbing down finds easy friends. |
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// scrutinised with fairness, humour, wit, and generosity? // |
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What ? Are we talking about the HB ? Have you taken your medication today ? You promised Doctor you would take your medication ...... |
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"The thing about trains, son, is not where there headed. It's getting on board..." |
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In our defense, [erlehmann], we do find, as [xenxag] implies, that by enforcing strict grammar, we limit the company here to those capable of following the rules (or at least learning them, as we all are to some degree), which weeds out the general world wide riff-raff. After all, a club is only as engaging as its clientele. Is that elitist? Oh, yes, of course it is. Thanks for asking. |
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// weeds out the general world wide riff-raff // |
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Doorman ? Doorman ! Ah, yes, it seems another one has got in.... over there.......the usual, please......yes, kicked down the steps, if you would be so good ..... and his hat after him... thankyou. Oh, and here's a florin for your trouble. |
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[xenzag], i am not an advocate of "dumbing down", i have few (but close) friends. |
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but i also think that you should judge people on the "content" of their ideas and deeds and not on "formal" things like age, education or preferred grammar style. if many of you think one should be judged on form, i simply do not belong here. |
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... then why did you correct the "too"?
You are now contradicting yourself as
you also stated that the title of Mystery
Train was too unspecific, and I presume
boned the idea accordingly. |
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So you object to my descriptive choice,
to the point of boning the idea, because
of its title, not its content, but become
defensive when I point out the flaws in
your annotations using the same
criteria? |
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Having said all that there's worse crimes
than insisting on using i instead of I and
all are welcome here. ádh mór :-) |
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<[erlehmann] and [xenzag] retire to their respective corners to rinse their mouths, adjust their gumshields, and be flicked with towels by their seconds> |
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//weeds out the general world wide riff-raff // If "riff-raff" can be hyphenated, why not "world wide".
Are we being broadist here? |
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[xenzag], spelling has to follow some pattern to be easily recognizable. i just chose a different pattern than you. |
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i fixed the "too" b/c the word "to" has another meaning. although it is easily understandable in context, there is information lost. with lowercase or uppercase, there's usually no information lost - there is only one word consiting inly of the letter "i", so i think the upper- and lower-case should both have the same denotation. |
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i can write in formal style, i proved it in school. |
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p.s.: maybe we should move this discussion to another thread, since it's way OT. |
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It's over place the top - the just part of
fun of this not. Re-arrange. |
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//there is only one word consiting inly of the letter "i", so i think the upper- and lower-case should both have the same denotation.//
Oh the utter, utter ferrousness. |
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[AWL] Many of my grammar and spelling diversions from the norm are purposeful for a purpose, and "world wide" was one of them. I occasionally put [sic] in to point out that I am aware of the wrong usage and am making a point. In this case, I used "world wide riff-raff" as a way of substituting for the word "web" in a more familiar phrase, which contains no hyphens. |
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[erlehmann] We're all pretending this is school, because we all want to go back there. That's why you got all those red marks. |
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[xenxag] there _are_ worse crimes... |
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[globaltourniquet] now it all makes sense. |
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hmm... not that I want to be known for this but...
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I often write in incomplete sentences here and in other fora because the media is pseudo-conversational, ie: there exists no pre-defined style suitable towards a "bulletin-board" type of conversation.
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Now, when I want to appear authoritative, then I'm quite capable of expressing myself with capital letters, etc.
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Gee, I didn't know my navel had 3 swirls instead of 4.... |
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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..... |
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