Daily Archives: August 16, 2008

Hint: It's Not a Verb

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Sat-nav for flappers

Sat-Nav wristwatches have been around since 1920.

OK, the idea of a small chart scrolling on one’s wrist is clever, but the “sat” part of “sat-nav” stands for satellite, as in artificial satellite. What artificial satellites are involved here?

Yes, I have a peeve about using acronyms and abbreviations where one obviously doesn’t know what the terms stand for. Like saying “Please RSVP,” “LCD display,” “ATM machine” or “PIN number,” though these are examples of pleonasms rather than the first example, which is merely incorrect. But I digress …

Original article has several pictures of interesting inventions.

In Case You're Homesick for the Keystone State

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Last week I was vacationing in Bills’ country — it’s tough being a Dolphins fan these days, but especially so within an hour or so of Buffalo — getting my fix of hot wings (not hard to find pretty much anywhere these days) and Beef on ‘Weck (still a local phenomenon), which required me to travel through Pennsylvania.

Eleven freaking “work areas” on the way up. Similar on the way back, with some changes to the route, though I didn’t bother to count. Not one of them was “active” and no workers to be seen, though to be fair it was on the weekend, but I’ve seen this during the week on other trips. Ugh. Is “Under Construction” the new state motto?

Anyway, if anyone in the DC area is lonely for this, the stretch of Rt 50 just east of Glebe Rd. in northern Virginia has been a work area since early July, and Friday is just the second day I’ve seen workers there.