About

I'm Mike Pope. I live in the Seattle area. I've been a technical writer and editor for over 30 years. I'm interested in software, language, music, movies, books, motorcycles, travel, and ... well, lots of stuff.

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Language is like geology. Novelties periodically erupt, some of which remain a feature of the landscape, but most of which subside. More commonly, language is a collection of tectonic plates that separate or grind together very slowly over a long period as some features of the landscape erode and others metamorphose.

John McIntyre



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Blog Statistics

Dates
First entry - 6/27/2003
Most recent entry - 6/27/2023

Totals
Posts - 2648
Comments - 2662
Hits - 2,599,741

Averages
Entries/day - 0.36
Comments/entry - 1.01
Hits/day - 352

Updated every 30 minutes. Last: 8:04 AM Pacific


  04:19 PM

This isn't really dubious guidance, strictly speaking. More like dubious marketing, or maybe more succinctly, WTF marketing. Check it out:

As in:
  • Wouldn't one expect a product to, like, work?
  • Is there a general expectation that (e.g.) knife sharpeners don't work?
  • When I am shopping for a knife sharpener, is the deciding factor that the manufacturer claims that their version actually is functional?
  • You can get a service mark (sm) on the phrase "This really works!" Really?
But, of course, you'll note that this is a package that belongs to me. So perhaps I should be asking myself these questions, eh?

More dubious guidance: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

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