Saturday, July 12, 2003

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Women, Men and Personal Pronouns Maybe my observation regarding the stylistic difference between George Will and Anna Quindlen is just an extreme example of a common phenomenon...this article discusses a computer program that detects gender correctly over 80% of the time, and a key finding is: 'the single biggest difference is that women are far more likely than men to use personal pronouns-''I'', ''you'', ''she'', ''myself'', or ''yourself'' and the like.' It also goes on to refer to the "old sociological saw: Women talk about people, men talk about things". Seems very true of weblogging! 9:22:18 PM    comment []

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Gold-Plated Car Keys I have a longstanding system for car keys. Beth and I each have a set. Then we have 2 spare sets. And then I carry a key for each of our cars in my wallet. The system has worked very well over the years. I have never been locked out of the car, or otherwise unable to lay my hands on a car key, since I started the wallet trick. But now I have a 2002 car--seven years newer than my previous car--and it has the special keys with the chip inside. And guess what? The rubberized, chip-bearing end of the key is way too fat for the wallet! Oh, did I mention how much it costs to get copies made? $40 per key, plus a $40 programming set-up charge. I honestly have not read up on what the advantages are to these keys. I think one advantage must be high profit for car dealers. I believe they are a theft deterrent, which is a good thing. Still, I've never  had a car stolen, and I don't think those two big disadvantages make it worth it to me. 9:05:38 PM    comment []