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Nica's Blog
Yet another unfocused blog
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Fancy
I've found another word to dislike: "upscale". This is a marketing term which has now seeped into general usage. It is used to describe something as appropriate for upper-income people. Actually it probably means more that the product makes people feel like they are sophisticated beyond their income bracket when they purchase the item. It's a polite way of saying something has snob appeal.
The socially self-conscious background is only part of what annoys me about this word. I think the word lacks the panache of similar words like "haughty" "slick" "swank" "spiffy" "posh" and "lush". Upscaling and downscaling are terms occasionally used by scientists usually discussing the resolution of the simulation or device, and the words have a bare clinical feel about them more appropriate for the programmer, or technician than the designer or restaurant clinic.
Finally, I dislike using "upscale" to describe something because it is a lazy way of describing something. A bar can just be described as "upscale" and it really doesn't say a thing in particular about the place. Is it full of rich old men, or young hipsters? Is it a place where lawyers hang out with loosened ties, or where people show off their best shoes? Is their abstract art on the walls, or antique prints, or black and white photos? "Upscale" can be many things, but users of the word seem think it conveys all the nuances of an object or environment.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Two Years is a Long Time
Yesterday Apple came out with the iPhone. It's pretty neat. I was even beginning to think of saving up for one. The more information I found about it the more I liked it. Nice design. Very friendly, of course. Then I came across a picture of Steve Jobs in front of a huge projection screen which read "Two Year Contract". Sure enough, you need to get a two year contract with Cingular when you get the phone.
I am no longer interested in getting the iPhone.
Is it so idealistic to believe that you should be able to simply buy a phone, then call up any service provider in your area and say, "Hey, I have this phone. How much would it cost to make a phone call using your company." And then they would say, "We charge $___ per month, or ___cents per call or text message." ? If you become unhappy with a provider you should be free to simply change cell phone companies. We expect this with our land lines, but people put up with two year contracts for cell phones. So they can sell me a five or six hundred dollar phone and if I decide that I don't like Cingular service I'm simply out of luck? That's not user friendly.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
James Webb Space Telescope
Freeway Park is practically my backyard. Currently I have a full sized replica of the James Webb Space Telescope in this park I consider my backyard. You may ask, "Why do you have a full sized replica of the James Webb Space Telescope in your 'backyard'?" It's because there is an astronomy convention going on in the Washington State Trade and Convention Center located in Freeway Park.
Frankly I was confused when they were setting it up. I thought it was just going to be pretentious art. Then I was hoping it was a death ray. Then I was told incorrectly it was a replica of the Hubble Space Telescope. Then I read a banner describing the entity as the James Webb Space Telescope. By the way, this is named after James Edwin Webb who was an administrator to NASA, not the Virginian Senator, or Jim Webb who did the score for The Last Unicorn animated movie.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be launching in 2013. Some of you may not realize that the good old Hubble Space Telescope is considered rather outdated, and the plan was to scrap it by now. The JWST will be far more sensitive and will be located further away from earth than the Hubble. It has sun shields to protect its ultra-sensitive sensors and will hang out at the second Earth-Sun Lagrange point.
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The socially self-conscious background is only part of what annoys me about this word. I think the word lacks the panache of similar words like "haughty" "slick" "swank" "spiffy" "posh" and "lush". Upscaling and downscaling are terms occasionally used by scientists usually discussing the resolution of the simulation or device, and the words have a bare clinical feel about them more appropriate for the programmer, or technician than the designer or restaurant clinic.
Finally, I dislike using "upscale" to describe something because it is a lazy way of describing something. A bar can just be described as "upscale" and it really doesn't say a thing in particular about the place. Is it full of rich old men, or young hipsters? Is it a place where lawyers hang out with loosened ties, or where people show off their best shoes? Is their abstract art on the walls, or antique prints, or black and white photos? "Upscale" can be many things, but users of the word seem think it conveys all the nuances of an object or environment.
I am no longer interested in getting the iPhone.
Is it so idealistic to believe that you should be able to simply buy a phone, then call up any service provider in your area and say, "Hey, I have this phone. How much would it cost to make a phone call using your company." And then they would say, "We charge $___ per month, or ___cents per call or text message." ? If you become unhappy with a provider you should be free to simply change cell phone companies. We expect this with our land lines, but people put up with two year contracts for cell phones. So they can sell me a five or six hundred dollar phone and if I decide that I don't like Cingular service I'm simply out of luck? That's not user friendly.
Freeway Park is practically my backyard. Currently I have a full sized replica of the James Webb Space Telescope in this park I consider my backyard. You may ask, "Why do you have a full sized replica of the James Webb Space Telescope in your 'backyard'?" It's because there is an astronomy convention going on in the Washington State Trade and Convention Center located in Freeway Park.
Frankly I was confused when they were setting it up. I thought it was just going to be pretentious art. Then I was hoping it was a death ray. Then I was told incorrectly it was a replica of the Hubble Space Telescope. Then I read a banner describing the entity as the James Webb Space Telescope. By the way, this is named after James Edwin Webb who was an administrator to NASA, not the Virginian Senator, or Jim Webb who did the score for The Last Unicorn animated movie.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be launching in 2013. Some of you may not realize that the good old Hubble Space Telescope is considered rather outdated, and the plan was to scrap it by now. The JWST will be far more sensitive and will be located further away from earth than the Hubble. It has sun shields to protect its ultra-sensitive sensors and will hang out at the second Earth-Sun Lagrange point.
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