Posted on 01/12/2013 3:39:35 PM PST by re_nortex
I typically spend 94.37% of my computing time in the Solaris or Linux environments but today was one of those occasions when I ventured outside my comfort zone, launching into Windows 8 for a brief while. A series of updates were available and upon the recommended reboot, I was greeted with this message:
Windows Update: Do not turn off your computer.
Of course, the Unix platforms have never been noted for the precision of their error and informational messages (the notorious "not a typewriter" as a catchall for an invalid ioctl). Yet the syntax of the Microsoft message struck me as a bit odd, almost a bit like Pittsburghese. I would think a more apt phrasing would be Do not turn your computer off as a cautionary message while the updates were being applied.
We have really devolved. In VMS (later OpenVMS, which change didn’t help much) messages have the following format:
%facility-s-identification, text
Example:
-RMS-E-FNF, file not found
-SYSTEM-W-NOSUCHFILE, no such file
Facility is an OS component, in this case the file system.
s is severity, in this case Warning.
identification is the message id.
You can capture (trap) the $STATUS in your script as a unique hex number and process it accordingly without failing the script. You can also get further help on the message.
All this was possible in the early 1980s.
More detail here: http://h71000.www7.hp.com/doc/73final/documentation/pdf/ovms_73_sys_mes.pdf
Growing up a Gospel music fan, the Carter Family's classic Turn Your Radio On, performed here by Mark Lowry and the Gaithers, perhaps should have been titled as "Turn On Your Radio".
OK then, so is it “off to the races!” or “to the races off!”?
"< *do >" "do" < * > < SVO > < SVOO > < SV > V IMP VFIN @+FAUXV
"" "not" NEG-PART @NEG
"< turn >" "turn" < SVOC/A > < SVC/A > < out/SVC/N >
< out/SVC/A > < SVO > < SV > V INF @-FMAINV
"< off >" "off" ADV ADVL @ADVL
"off" PREP @ADVL
"< your >" "you" PRON PERS GEN SG2/PL2 @GN>
"< computer >" "computer" < DER:er > N NOM SG @
"<$.>"
WRTHOMBLK, I/O error rewriting home block
I moved here (NW PA) 2 years ago and the biggest grammar thing I always cringe at is the locals omitting “to be” from what they are saying.
example:
“The knippling pin on your car is shot and needs fixed”.
and many others.
But at least you could always find the meanings in the orange books.
“You turn me on, I’m a radio...”
That way when you contact the tech support guy in India, and read the message, he’d understand.
I always dual-boot. SQL Server doesn’t work in Linux, and that’s what I have to use for work.
There is a mistaken belief among some grammarians that English is Latin. It is not. In Germanic languages, the verb-form modifier must appear at the end of the sentence, in Latin languages it is forbidden. English is neither, and both forms are considered acceptable.
"Just between you and me" is another favorite. You will have people challenge you to a death match over this one. "It's 'just between you and I!'" No, it's not. There actually is no correct form in English, because the me/I can be taken as either a subject or an object.
Dangling prepositions are also not forbidden in English. The claim that they are has always been dubious at best.
Increasingly, grammarians are also yielding to the linguists, who for years have been saying that there is no required use of "whom" in English, because English does not in fact have an objective case. It is omitted by all but the most careful speakers now, except in cases where usage makes it sound weird (as in "to whom do you refer?")
I've always chuckled at "You don't exist, go away" when a user doesn't have an entry in /etc/passwd or some similar form of authentication. And there's always this classic when the value of errno isn't handled properly.
Failed to open file, error: Success.
You are correct. Ending on the words make a difference in German. Word order makes a difference in Welsh. In English? You can pretty well figure out the mouse wasn't chasing the cat.
/johnny
And even here, 200+ miles away, I hear "needs rebuilt", which bugs me even more.
I have recently seen people use "sale" as a verb, mostly on Craigslist, instead of sell, which really drives me up the wall.
"We will sale the Jeep today only. Last chance".
The Apollo Color display? I could do without that. ;)
On this system
cat /etc/termcap | wc
Comes back with 20664 27606 969976
Lots 'o cruft.
Got an RS-232 breakout box?
/johnny
Red up your room!
Red your room up!
lol I meant 2,000+ miles away (PNW).
Ruh roh. We have a winner in the UUOC in this thread! :-) Just joshing of course since I often do things like:
cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep -i bogomipsSee the Useless Use of Cat Award form letter and other hits on UUOC for a chuckle or two.
/johnny
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