Clever post office
Paul Dormer
would appear they had had problems printing the envelope. The address is
"Mr PR Dormer 28 St John". An incomplete street name, no town, no post
code.
I hadn't realised I was so famous that this was enough information to
find me.
Kip Williams
Heh. Maybe it was part of a presorted bundle within your post code.
Impressive enough, though, even at that.
Kip W
Andy Leighton
Probably not part of a presorted bundle for the post code, but a
presorted bundle for the town maybe.
The Royal Mail are pretty good about tracking down loosely addressed
letters. Harriet Russell has a book in which she details her
testing of the system in which she sent herself lots of letters with
the address obscured by various methods. It started out with mirror
writing, but also included a dot-to-dot, a crossword puzzle and more.
--
Andy Leighton => an...@azaal.plus.com
"The Lord is my shepherd, but we still lost the sheep dog trials"
- Robert Rankin, _They Came And Ate Us_
Paul Dormer
(Andy Leighton) wrote:
>
> On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:25:31 -0400, Kip Williams
> <k...@rochester.rr.com> wrote:
> > Paul Dormer wrote:
> >> I've just received a letter, a newsletter from my pension
> scheme, and it
> >> would appear they had had problems printing the envelope. The
> >> address is "Mr PR Dormer 28 St John". An incomplete street name,
> >> no town, no post code.
> >>
> >> I hadn't realised I was so famous that this was enough information
to
> >> find me.
> >
> > Heh. Maybe it was part of a presorted bundle within your post
> > code. Impressive enough, though, even at that.
>
> Probably not part of a presorted bundle for the post code, but a
> presorted bundle for the town maybe.
Although I'm in the dark what you mean by presorted bundle - presorted by
the pension company?
Marcus has pointed out that the prepaid business stamp on the envelope
might have a code in it denoting the recipient, and there is certainly a
code on the stamp.
Kip Williams
> In article <slrnhbeuv4...@azaal.plus.com>, an...@azaal.plus.com
> (Andy Leighton) wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:25:31 -0400, Kip Williams
>> <k...@rochester.rr.com> wrote:
>>> Paul Dormer wrote:
>>>> I've just received a letter, a newsletter from my pension
>> scheme, and it
>>>> would appear they had had problems printing the envelope. The
>>>> address is "Mr PR Dormer 28 St John". An incomplete street name,
>>>> no town, no post code.
>>>>
>>>> I hadn't realised I was so famous that this was enough information
> to
>>>> find me.
>>> Heh. Maybe it was part of a presorted bundle within your post
>>> code. Impressive enough, though, even at that.
>> Probably not part of a presorted bundle for the post code, but a
>> presorted bundle for the town maybe.
>
> Although I'm in the dark what you mean by presorted bundle - presorted by
> the pension company?
When we sent out mass mailings from work (in the US), the postal
authorities required that, in order to get a slightly lower rate, we had
to bundle together things that were going to the same ZIP code. I didn't
have to do this myself for long before we went to a system of having
that handled by someone else (whew), but there were categories for "all
in the same exact code" and others for "all going to the same first four
digits" or whatever. The larger bundles were in their own separate trays
(shallow, open-top boxes with sloping sides), smaller ones were
rubber-banded together.
Kip W
Keith F. Lynch
> Paul Dormer wrote:
>> Although I'm in the dark what you mean by presorted bundle -
>> presorted by the pension company?
> When we sent out mass mailings from work (in the US), the postal
> authorities required that, in order to get a slightly lower rate, we
> had to bundle together things that were going to the same ZIP code.
ObFandom: We did this when sending out progress reports on behalf of a
Worldcon. It's called "presort" but we didn't actually sort anything.
We had a computer print out labels in ZIP-code order, and we made sure
that the labelled progress reports did not then get out of order.
ObUK: This was for the 1995 Glasgow Worldcon. The mailings went out
from Maryland.
--
Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/
Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html before emailing me.
David V. Loewe, Jr
<k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>Kip Williams <k...@rochester.rr.com, mrk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Paul Dormer wrote:
>>> Although I'm in the dark what you mean by presorted bundle -
>>> presorted by the pension company?
>
>> When we sent out mass mailings from work (in the US), the postal
>> authorities required that, in order to get a slightly lower rate, we
>> had to bundle together things that were going to the same ZIP code.
>
>ObFandom: We did this when sending out progress reports on behalf of a
>Worldcon. It's called "presort" but we didn't actually sort anything.
>We had a computer print out labels in ZIP-code order, and we made sure
>that the labelled progress reports did not then get out of order.
Presort is one of the hallmark of business mail (which includes junk
mail). It usually gets a better rate. Do you recall if you got a price
break?
>ObUK: This was for the 1995 Glasgow Worldcon. The mailings went out
>from Maryland.
--
"Taxes are not levied for the benefit of the taxed."
-Lazarus Long
Ben Yalow
>On Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:51 +0000 (UTC), "Keith F. Lynch"
><k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>>Kip Williams <k...@rochester.rr.com, mrk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Paul Dormer wrote:
>>>> Although I'm in the dark what you mean by presorted bundle -
>>>> presorted by the pension company?
>>
>>> When we sent out mass mailings from work (in the US), the postal
>>> authorities required that, in order to get a slightly lower rate, we
>>> had to bundle together things that were going to the same ZIP code.
>>
>>ObFandom: We did this when sending out progress reports on behalf of a
>>Worldcon. It's called "presort" but we didn't actually sort anything.
>>We had a computer print out labels in ZIP-code order, and we made sure
>>that the labelled progress reports did not then get out of order.
>Presort is one of the hallmark of business mail (which includes junk
>mail). It usually gets a better rate. Do you recall if you got a price
>break?
Of course. All Worldcons use non-profit bulk mail for most of their
mailings (the last PR often goes out first class, since it's the one done
at the very last minute with the final updates to things people need to
know).
>>ObUK: This was for the 1995 Glasgow Worldcon. The mailings went out
>>from Maryland.
Ben
--
Ben Yalow yb...@panix.com
Not speaking for anybody
Paul Dormer
(Kip Williams) wrote:
>
> When we sent out mass mailings from work (in the US), the postal
> authorities required that, in order to get a slightly lower rate,
> we had to bundle together things that were going to the same ZIP
> code.
OK, wasn't aware of that.
Keith F. Lynch
> "Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>> ObFandom: We did this when sending out progress reports on behalf
>> of a Worldcon. It's called "presort" but we didn't actually sort
>> anything. We had a computer print out labels in ZIP-code order,
>> and we made sure that the labelled progress reports did not then
>> get out of order.
> Presort is one of the hallmark of business mail (which includes junk
> mail). It usually gets a better rate. Do you recall if you got a
> price break?
Yes, of course we did. Otherwise why would we have bothered?
David Loewe, Jr.
<k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>David V. Loewe, Jr <dave...@charter.net> wrote:
>> "Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>>> ObFandom: We did this when sending out progress reports on behalf
>>> of a Worldcon. It's called "presort" but we didn't actually sort
>>> anything. We had a computer print out labels in ZIP-code order,
>>> and we made sure that the labelled progress reports did not then
>>> get out of order.
>
>> Presort is one of the hallmark of business mail (which includes junk
>> mail). It usually gets a better rate. Do you recall if you got a
>> price break?
>
>Yes, of course we did. Otherwise why would we have bothered?
Do I look like Harry?
--
"I don't mind you *thinking* I'm stupid, but don't *talk* to me
like I'm stupid."
- Harlan Ellison
Morris Keesan
wrote:
When my family lived in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts, someone addressed
a piece of mail to us at our street address in "Highlands, Mass.".
When it arrived, handwritten notes on the envelope showed that it had been
in Wellesley Highlands and Melrose Highlands, and possibly in some other
town whose name ended in Highlands, before arriving at our house. I was
impressed at how persistent the post office was in trying to deliver a
mis-addressed item.
--
Morris Keesan -- mke...@post.harvard.edu
Keith F. Lynch
> When my family lived in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts, someone
> addressed a piece of mail to us at our street address in "Highlands,
> Mass.". When it arrived, handwritten notes on the envelope showed
> that it had been in Wellesley Highlands and Melrose Highlands, and
> possibly in some other town whose name ended in Highlands, before
> arriving at our house. I was impressed at how persistent the post
> office was in trying to deliver a mis-addressed item.
I wonder if the Post Office ever does Google searches.
Kip Williams
I transposed two digits in a Phoenix street address with an AZAPA
mailing in the late 70s, or perhaps 1980. It was finally sent to my
return address in Colorado, though it had gone by way of the Dead Letter
Office in San Francisco. And somebody had pulled it out of the envelope
and torn everything in half (it was all originals) before returning it
to me.
I'm guessing they didn't like the cartoon of a gloatingly inefficient
mailman. I wouldn't have drawn it in there if they hadn't been so bad at
delivering my mail in the past.
Kip W
Paul Dormer
(Morris Keesan) wrote:
Incidentally, there are two St John's Roads in the Guildford postal
district, the street I live in and one in Farnham, about ten miles away.
I've occasionally got mail addressed to the other one.
And I used to live close to two towns called Bishop Auckland and West
Auckland. The locals used to call it just Auckland, and one heard
stories of mail going via New Zealand.
Paul Dormer
Lynch) wrote:
>
> Morris Keesan <mke...@post.harvard.edu> wrote:
> > When my family lived in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts, someone
> > addressed a piece of mail to us at our street address in "Highlands,
> > Mass.". When it arrived, handwritten notes on the envelope showed
> > that it had been in Wellesley Highlands and Melrose Highlands, and
> > possibly in some other town whose name ended in Highlands, before
> > arriving at our house. I was impressed at how persistent the post
> > office was in trying to deliver a mis-addressed item.
>
> I wonder if the Post Office ever does Google searches.
Some years ago, I got home from work and found a package left by the post
office on my door step. (They're not supposed to do that, but they do.)
It was my address on the label, but not my name. So I googled the name
(possibly including Guildford in the search) and found the recipient was
the University of Surrey chaplin, and the address given was next door.
I new the guy next door by sight, but not by name, so I went next door
and asked him if he was X. No, he said, that's my brother, he lives
further down the street.
Jette Goldie
When I ordered some goods from a US based mail order company they
didn't arrive. I got in touch with their customer services and they
resent the package, which came first class airmail. Then six months
later the original package arrived, surface mail. The address label
said "Edinboro" instead of "Edinburgh", the "United Kingdom" part had
been missed off and the postcode had been mangled so it looked like a
US zip code. The various postmarks showed that the box had travelled
to every "Edinburgh", "Edinburg" and "Edinboro" in the US and Canada -
and even to Dunedin in New Zealand - who must have finally identified
the correct city, because that was the most recent franking. I'd
guess that the store wasn't used to overseas shipping.
--
Jette Goldie
jette....@gmail.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfette/
http://www.jette.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
http://wolfette.livejournal.com/
("reply to" is spamblocked - use the email addy in sig)
Keith F. Lynch
> And I used to live close to two towns called Bishop Auckland and
> West Auckland. The locals used to call it just Auckland, and one
> heard stories of mail going via New Zealand.
Mail to Vienna, Virginia sometimes goes to Vienna, Austria. Some
people don't bother to put the state on the envelope if they're
mailing it within the same state.
Dorothy J Heydt
Keith F. Lynch <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>> And I used to live close to two towns called Bishop Auckland and
>> West Auckland. The locals used to call it just Auckland, and one
>> heard stories of mail going via New Zealand.
>
>Mail to Vienna, Virginia sometimes goes to Vienna, Austria. Some
>people don't bother to put the state on the envelope if they're
>mailing it within the same state.
Rather like an arrangement (with area codes, not zip codes)
back in the late 1970s, when I was working for an Organized
Research Unit at UC Berkeley. This was back when computers
were great big things that lived in the basement of Evans
Hall, and to access them you dialed a number on a phone and
shoved the handset into an acoustic coupler modem. There was
a phone dedicated to that purpose on the secretary's desk, so
that no one should ever be calling it. However, there was a
big savings and loan in Solano County, which had (I think)
area code 707, whereas Marin, San Francisco, and Alameda
counties all had 415. People in Marin, living only a few
miles away from this big S&L but across the county line,
would dial their number without thinking to add the area code
(it was only a couple miles!) and they'd get a busy signal,
if the modem was in use, or a very confused secretary if they
didn't. We finally drew up a set statement to be read off a
card every time the phone rang, "No, this is NOT the Umpty
Savings and Loan, this is UC Berkeley, you need to dial area
code 707 before you dial the number." Frequently took a
while to convince them, all the same.
--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at hotmail dot com
Should you wish to email me, you'd better use the hotmail edress.
Kithrup is getting too damn much spam, even with the sysop's filters.
Keith F. Lynch
> We finally drew up a set statement to be read off a card every time
> the phone rang, "No, this is NOT the Umpty Savings and Loan, this
> is UC Berkeley, you need to dial area code 707 before you dial the
> number." Frequently took a while to convince them, all the same.
It's interesting how many caller will argue with you and try to get
you to confess that yes, you are that Savings and Loan or whatever.
Jette Goldie
> Paul Dormer <p...@pauldormer.cix.co.uk> wrote:
>> And I used to live close to two towns called Bishop Auckland and
>> West Auckland. The locals used to call it just Auckland, and one
>> heard stories of mail going via New Zealand.
>
> Mail to Vienna, Virginia sometimes goes to Vienna, Austria. Some
> people don't bother to put the state on the envelope if they're
> mailing it within the same state.
There's a town called Falkland in Scotland. There was never a problem
with their mail - till the Falkland Islands got invaded by Argentina
and we had that little spat over them. Suddenly all their mail was
being shipped to the South Atlantic.
Paul Dormer
Heydt) wrote:
> Frequently took a
> while to convince them, all the same.
People are always convinced they've dialled the right number.
My phone in London was two digits reversed from that of a mini-cab
company - I was 318-5777, the mini-cab was 318-7577. So, occasionally,
late at night (and once at three in the morning) I'd get a phone call
asking for a cab. Usually, they were phoning from a pub and slightly
squiffy, and wouldn't believe I wasn't the cab firm, probably even after
I'd put the phone down.
Tim Illingworth
I used to get that occasionally at work; don't know what the right
number would have been, though.
The calls stopped after I told someone a cab would be with them in 10
minutes...
Tim
David Friedman
p...@pauldormer.cix.co.uk (Paul Dormer) wrote:
Our phone number differs by one digit (244 instead of 224) from
someplace that rents apartments. In our experience, callers are
consistently willing to believe that they have reached the wrong number.
U.S. vs U.K. difference? But Dorothy's experience sounds more like yours
than mine.
--
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/ http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/
Author of
_Future Imperfect: Technology and Freedom in an Uncertain World_,
Cambridge University Press.
David Friedman
Tim Illingworth <t...@bellhouse.org.uk> wrote:
Do you often make a point of making things more difficult for people who
have made an innocent mistake that wastes a few seconds of your time? I
gather you're proud of it in this case.
Tim Illingworth
<dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com> wrote:
>In article <7vasb5tubre7siq0s...@4ax.com>,
> Tim Illingworth <t...@bellhouse.org.uk> wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:37 +0100 (BST), p...@pauldormer.cix.co.uk (Paul
>> Dormer) wrote:
>>
>> >In article <KqK6H...@kithrup.com>, djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
>> >Heydt) wrote:
>> >
>> >> Frequently took a
>> >> while to convince them, all the same.
>> >
>> >People are always convinced they've dialled the right number.
>> >
>> >My phone in London was two digits reversed from that of a mini-cab
>> >company - I was 318-5777, the mini-cab was 318-7577. So, occasionally,
>> >late at night (and once at three in the morning) I'd get a phone call
>> >asking for a cab. Usually, they were phoning from a pub and slightly
>> >squiffy, and wouldn't believe I wasn't the cab firm, probably even after
>> >I'd put the phone down.
>>
>> I used to get that occasionally at work; don't know what the right
>> number would have been, though.
>>
>> The calls stopped after I told someone a cab would be with them in 10
>> minutes...
>
>Do you often make a point of making things more difficult for people who
>have made an innocent mistake that wastes a few seconds of your time? I
>gather you're proud of it in this case.
It wasn't the first time he'd rung. Far from it.
Tm
Kip Williams
> Our phone number differs by one digit (244 instead of 224) from
> someplace that rents apartments. In our experience, callers are
> consistently willing to believe that they have reached the wrong number.
We got calls for years for some place that had properties for rent. They
were 6054, we were 6094. I had so many of their messages on my answering
machine (and got tired of calling people to let them know they'd left a
message at the wrong place -- not a rental place, but a residence) that
I changed my message to tell would-be renters that the place they wanted
was at 6054.
I still got messages for them.
Kip W
Paul Dormer
dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com (David Friedman) wrote:
>
> Our phone number differs by one digit (244 instead of 224) from
> someplace that rents apartments. In our experience, callers are
> consistently willing to believe that they have reached the wrong
> number.
Also, you get people who phone your number three times in as many minutes,
and each time can't believe they've got the wrong number.
Not to mention the ones who apparently don't listen to answerphone
outgoing messages. On one occasion, I got a message left on my machine
that went something like, "Hello, Mrs Smith, this is Doreen at the
education authority, I've arranged for Johnnie to get into the special
school." And, even more bizarre, "Hello, dad, you're obviously out, I'll
phone you later."
Dorothy J Heydt
>were 6054, we were 6094. I had so many of their messages on my answering
>machine (and got tired of calling people to let them know they'd left a
>message at the wrong place -- not a rental place, but a residence) that
>I changed my message to tell would-be renters that the place they wanted
>was at 6054.
>
>I still got messages for them.
Well, here's one person's recommendation for that kind of
thing.
-----------------------------------------------------
>From mi...@wagner.net Mon Mar 27 06:32:24 PST 2000
>
>Yeah, I've found that most people don't listen to outgoing messages on
>voicemail UNLESS YOU USE THE SECRET CODE.
>
>The secret code is this:
>
>Don't start out the message by saying in a friendly voice, "Hello, you've
>reached the home of.... " (Or whatever ....)
>
>Instead, you start with a firm and cold, "Stop! Please listen to this
>message!" Say those words in the tone you'd use for someone who was about
>to accidently spill a burning chemical on his or her arm ("Stop!" you'd
>say. "Get away from the Bunsen burner!")
>
>What you say on the answering machine is: "Stop! Please listen to this
>message! This is NOT the department of social security, this is <whatever
>it actually is>."
>
>This works very well. I doubt it will work forever; eventually the
>marching-morons-with-walking-fingers will learn to ignore "Stop! Please
>listen to this message!" but it's worked for me for two or three years
>and I wouldn't have expected it to last that long.
>
------------------------------------------------------------
Dorothy J Heydt
Paul Dormer <p...@pauldormer.cix.co.uk> wrote:
>In article <ddfr-DD64B7.1...@newsfarm.phx.highwinds-media.com>,
>dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com (David Friedman) wrote:
>
>>
>> Our phone number differs by one digit (244 instead of 224) from
>> someplace that rents apartments. In our experience, callers are
>> consistently willing to believe that they have reached the wrong
>> number.
>
>Also, you get people who phone your number three times in as many minutes,
>and each time can't believe they've got the wrong number.
>
>Not to mention the ones who apparently don't listen to answerphone
>outgoing messages.
See my previous (re)post on how to begin your message with
"Stop! Please listen to the following message!"
> On one occasion, I got a message left on my machine
>that went something like, "Hello, Mrs Smith, this is Doreen at the
>education authority, I've arranged for Johnnie to get into the special
>school." And, even more bizarre, "Hello, dad, you're obviously out, I'll
>phone you later."
I used to get periodic calls from a Little Old Lady (much
older and fuzzier-headed than I, from the sound of her) who
would say cheerily, "Roberta?"* And I would say "No, sorry,
this isn't Roberta, you have the wrong number," and she would
say, "Oh, sorry, honey," and hang up. I assume that she
couldn't see her phone too well and hit just one button
wrong. Or maybe many buttons wrong, but only that one button
would get her to me.
*Creeped me out, the first couple times, because the only
Roberta I'd ever known was my mother, who'd died not long
before.
Nels Satterlund
Local TV station has a political call in with an 800 number but the rest
was the same as mine ... there are an amazing number of people out there
that thought you could skip the 800 because it looked like a local number.
It was back in the day's of dial up so I just went on line.
Nels
It was a pain as we put the kids to bed though.
--
Nels E Satterlund I don't speak for the company
Ne...@Starstream.net <-- Use this address please,
My Lurkers motto: I read much better than I type.
David Loewe, Jr.
Dormer) wrote:
>dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com (David Friedman) wrote:
>
>> Our phone number differs by one digit (244 instead of 224) from
>> someplace that rents apartments. In our experience, callers are
>> consistently willing to believe that they have reached the wrong
>> number.
>
>Also, you get people who phone your number three times in as many minutes,
>and each time can't believe they've got the wrong number.
>
>Not to mention the ones who apparently don't listen to answerphone
>outgoing messages. On one occasion, I got a message left on my machine
>that went something like, "Hello, Mrs Smith, this is Doreen at the
>education authority, I've arranged for Johnnie to get into the special
>school."
In a similar vein, I still get automated messages for things like
doctors appointments for the people that had my phone number before I
got it and tomorrow is the 2 year anniversary of my phone getting hooked
up (and also the two year anniversary of the operation - they didn't
need to come into my apartment to hook up the phone). Sometimes I wish
the automated calls had an option to cancel the appointment.
>And, even more bizarre, "Hello, dad, you're obviously out, I'll
>phone you later."
--
"You can't fix stupid."
Jim White
Former KMOX Late Night Talk Show Host
Paul Dormer
wrote:
>
>
> See my previous (re)post on how to begin your message with
> "Stop! Please listen to the following message!"
I doubt I could give such message the necessary gravitas. I'd have to
hire an actor to do it.
Paul Dormer
dlo...@mindspring.com (David Loewe, Jr.) wrote:
>
> In a similar vein, I still get automated messages for things like
> doctors appointments for the people that had my phone number before I
> got it and tomorrow is the 2 year anniversary of my phone getting
> hooked
I got a letter addressed to the previous occupants of my house in the
last month. I moved in 14 years ago this month.
Dorothy J Heydt
Paul Dormer <p...@pauldormer.cix.co.uk> wrote:
Well, there certainly used to be services in the US where you
could hire an actor to record your voice message. I dunno if
anyone requested gravitas; certainly the advertisements
chiefly indicated you could get funny.
David V. Loewe, Jr
Was it something important like a letter from a doctor's office?
--
"You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever
count on having both at once."
-Lazarus Long
Keith F. Lynch
> Keith F. Lynch wrote:
>> Mail to Vienna, Virginia sometimes goes to Vienna, Austria. Some
>> people don't bother to put the state on the envelope if they're
>> mailing it within the same state.
> There's a town called Falkland in Scotland. There was never a
> problem with their mail - till the Falkland Islands got invaded by
> Argentina and we had that little spat over them. Suddenly all their
> mail was being shipped to the South Atlantic.
Maybe those islands should be renamed, perhaps to Islas Malvinas.
Jette Goldie
> Jette Goldie <boss...@scotlandmail.com> wrote:
>> Keith F. Lynch wrote:
>>> Mail to Vienna, Virginia sometimes goes to Vienna, Austria. Some
>>> people don't bother to put the state on the envelope if they're
>>> mailing it within the same state.
>
>> There's a town called Falkland in Scotland. There was never a
>> problem with their mail - till the Falkland Islands got invaded by
>> Argentina and we had that little spat over them. Suddenly all their
>> mail was being shipped to the South Atlantic.
>
> Maybe those islands should be renamed, perhaps to Islas Malvinas.
I don't think the locals would agree. They're rather fond of the
name, and they have their own postcode, which isn't Fife. Perhaps
Houston would like to find a new name too, to save it from being
confused with Houston, Scotland.
Keith F. Lynch
> Perhaps Houston would like to find a new name too, to save it from
> being confused with Houston, Scotland.
Is there much confusion? If so, would you say, "Houston, we have a
problem"?
Dorothy J Heydt
Keith F. Lynch <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>> Keith F. Lynch wrote:
>>> Mail to Vienna, Virginia sometimes goes to Vienna, Austria. Some
>>> people don't bother to put the state on the envelope if they're
>>> mailing it within the same state.
>
>> There's a town called Falkland in Scotland. There was never a
>> problem with their mail - till the Falkland Islands got invaded by
>> Argentina and we had that little spat over them. Suddenly all their
>> mail was being shipped to the South Atlantic.
>
>Maybe those islands should be renamed, perhaps to Islas Malvinas.
That would annoy the hell out of the inhabitants.
Dorothy J Heydt
Jette Goldie <boss...@scotlandmail.com> wrote:
>Keith F. Lynch wrote:
>> Jette Goldie <boss...@scotlandmail.com> wrote:
>>> Keith F. Lynch wrote:
>>>> Mail to Vienna, Virginia sometimes goes to Vienna, Austria. Some
>>>> people don't bother to put the state on the envelope if they're
>>>> mailing it within the same state.
>>
>>> There's a town called Falkland in Scotland. There was never a
>>> problem with their mail - till the Falkland Islands got invaded by
>>> Argentina and we had that little spat over them. Suddenly all their
>>> mail was being shipped to the South Atlantic.
>>
>> Maybe those islands should be renamed, perhaps to Islas Malvinas.
>
>
>I don't think the locals would agree. They're rather fond of the
>name, and they have their own postcode, which isn't Fife. Perhaps
>Houston would like to find a new name too, to save it from being
>confused with Houston, Scotland.
Which, mind you, is pronounced differently. (HYU-ston vs.
HU-ston.)
Have we already discussed the problems residents of New
Mexico (the 47th State to enter the US, in 1912) have with
people (and post offices, and telephone operators in the old
days) assuming that they're not part of the US?
We have an awful LOT of States, towns, regions, whatnots in
the form of "New [placename from elsewhere, mostly Europe]".
The rest of them don't have as much trouble because a large
fraction of our population (we are notoriously lousy at
geography) don't realize that Hampshire, York, Jersey, et
cetera are actual places.
Philip Chee
> I don't think the locals would agree. They're rather fond of the
> name, and they have their own postcode, which isn't Fife. Perhaps
> Houston would like to find a new name too, to save it from being
> confused with Houston, Scotland.
My sister lives in Houston, several hundred metres from where the
Glasgow Airport bombers rented a house actually.
Phil
--
Philip Chee <phi...@aleytys.pc.my>, <phili...@gmail.com>
http://flashblock.mozdev.org/ http://xsidebar.mozdev.org
Guard us from the she-wolf and the wolf, and guard us from the thief,
oh Night, and so be good for us to pass.
Paul Dormer
wrote:
>
> Well, there certainly used to be services in the US where you
> could hire an actor to record your voice message. I dunno if
> anyone requested gravitas; certainly the advertisements
> chiefly indicated you could get funny.
Suddenly I'm thinking of those resting actors Julian and Sandy recording
the message.
And for those who don't know, these were characters in the sixties radio
show Round the Horne, played by Kenneth Williams and Hugh Paddick. Very
camp, and they spoke a strange slang called Polari used by gays and
actors:
Paul Dormer
dave...@charter.net (David V. Loewe, Jr) wrote:
>
> >I got a letter addressed to the previous occupants of my house in the
> >last month. I moved in 14 years ago this month.
>
> Was it something important like a letter from a doctor's office?
As I recall, it was a letter from a bank advising customers in changes in
banking procedures.
It had no customer specific information, as I recall. A couple of years
ago, my bank sent me my bank statement and somebody else's bank statement
had got tucked into the envelope by mistake.
Paul Dormer
Heydt) wrote:
>
> We have an awful LOT of States, towns, regions, whatnots in
> the form of "New [placename from elsewhere, mostly Europe]".
> The rest of them don't have as much trouble because a large
> fraction of our population (we are notoriously lousy at
> geography) don't realize that Hampshire, York, Jersey, et
> cetera are actual places.
As you may know, there have been several cons on the island of Jersey,
including the 1993 Eastercon. I was walking through London one day
wearing my Helicon - Jersey in '93 t-shirt, and a couple of American
tourists asked me if I was from New Jersey.
Paul Harman
> My phone in London was two digits reversed from that of a mini-cab
> company - I was 318-5777, the mini-cab was 318-7577. So, occasionally,
> late at night (and once at three in the morning) I'd get a phone call
> asking for a cab. Usually, they were phoning from a pub and slightly
> squiffy, and wouldn't believe I wasn't the cab firm, probably even after
> I'd put the phone down.
I used to get faxes on my work phone, for the travel company next door.
Never credit card details though, unfortunately ;-)
Paul
David G. Bell
<h9oh63$g9l$1...@news.eternal-september.org>
jgold...@btinternet.com "Jette Goldie" wrote:
> Keith F. Lynch wrote:
> > Jette Goldie <boss...@scotlandmail.com> wrote:
> >> Keith F. Lynch wrote:
> >>> Mail to Vienna, Virginia sometimes goes to Vienna, Austria. Some
> >>> people don't bother to put the state on the envelope if they're
> >>> mailing it within the same state.
> >
> >> There's a town called Falkland in Scotland. There was never a
> >> problem with their mail - till the Falkland Islands got invaded by
> >> Argentina and we had that little spat over them. Suddenly all their
> >> mail was being shipped to the South Atlantic.
> >
> > Maybe those islands should be renamed, perhaps to Islas Malvinas.
>
>
> I don't think the locals would agree. They're rather fond of the
> name, and they have their own postcode, which isn't Fife. Perhaps
> Houston would like to find a new name too, to save it from being
> confused with Houston, Scotland.
Also Boston, New York, Washington, and sundry other places in the USA.
--
David G. Bell -- SF Fan, Filker, and Punslinger.
On the horizon, a carrier task force of the Salvation Navy was
turning into the wind, preparing to launch Zeppelins.
David G. Bell
<memo.2009092...@pauldormer.compulink.co.uk>
p...@pauldormer.cix.co.uk "Paul Dormer" wrote:
Famously appearing as a pair of lawyers who were tied up in a criminal
practice.
Paul Dormer
db...@zhochaka.org.uk ("David G. Bell") wrote:
>
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_and_Sandy
>
> Famously appearing as a pair of lawyers who were tied up in a
> criminal practice.
Although that wasn't actually the wording, as the Wikipedia article
notes:
HORNE: Will you take my case?
JULIAN: Well, it depends on what it is. We've got a criminal
practice that takes up most of our time.
HORNE: Yes, but apart from that � I need legal advice.
SANDY: Ooh, isn't he bold?
I also liked that the law firm was called Bona Law, although I was
surprised to find there are people who'd never heard of Andrew Bonar Law.
Just saw the new Round the Horne stage show a couple of weeks ago.
Definitely recommended.
cryptoguy
> In article <h9oh63$g9...@news.eternal-september.org>,
> >>> Keith F. Lynch wrote:
> >>>> Mail to Vienna, Virginia sometimes goes to Vienna, Austria. Some
> >>>> people don't bother to put the state on the envelope if they're
> >>>> mailing it within the same state.
>
> >>> There's a town called Falkland in Scotland. There was never a
> >>> problem with their mail - till the Falkland Islands got invaded by
> >>> Argentina and we had that little spat over them. Suddenly all their
> >>> mail was being shipped to the South Atlantic.
>
> >> Maybe those islands should be renamed, perhaps to Islas Malvinas.
>
> >I don't think the locals would agree. They're rather fond of the
> >name, and they have their own postcode, which isn't Fife. Perhaps
> >Houston would like to find a new name too, to save it from being
> >confused with Houston, Scotland.
>
> Which, mind you, is pronounced differently. (HYU-ston vs.
> HU-ston.)
...and in NYC "HOUSE-ton" Street, the major road which would be '0th
street' if it were numbered. The pronunciation is a touchstone for
telling New Yorkers from out-of-towners.
pt
David Friedman
> > I don't think the locals would agree. They're rather fond of the
> > name, and they have their own postcode, which isn't Fife. Perhaps
> > Houston would like to find a new name too, to save it from being
> > confused with Houston, Scotland.
>
> Also Boston, New York, Washington, and sundry other places in the USA.
>
Are there any cities in the U.K. that are named after older cities
elsewhere--"New Rome" or the equivalent?
--
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/ http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/
Author of
_Future Imperfect: Technology and Freedom in an Uncertain World_,
Cambridge University Press.
Jette Goldie
Actually the town in Scotland is more sort of "Hoo-ston"
Dorothy J Heydt
Paul Dormer <p...@pauldormer.cix.co.uk> wrote:
I've had that happen once or twice, though not recently.
When we first moved into our current house, we got some mail
(including from the EDD!) for the previous inhabitants; we
had no forwarding address for them so we forwarded 'em to the
landlord. Quite recently I've started getting mail for a
couple of people I've never heard of, including one from a
doctor's office (but I think it was a bill). I don't know
whether they were the last tenants but one or two, or whether
they've been giving out their address and making a mistake.
Dorothy J Heydt
David G. Bell <db...@zhochaka.org.uk> wrote:
>On Sunday, in article
> <h9oh63$g9l$1...@news.eternal-september.org>
> jgold...@btinternet.com "Jette Goldie" wrote:
>
>> Keith F. Lynch wrote:
>> > Jette Goldie <boss...@scotlandmail.com> wrote:
>> >> Keith F. Lynch wrote:
>> >>> Mail to Vienna, Virginia sometimes goes to Vienna, Austria. Some
>> >>> people don't bother to put the state on the envelope if they're
>> >>> mailing it within the same state.
>> >
>> >> There's a town called Falkland in Scotland. There was never a
>> >> problem with their mail - till the Falkland Islands got invaded by
>> >> Argentina and we had that little spat over them. Suddenly all their
>> >> mail was being shipped to the South Atlantic.
>> >
>> > Maybe those islands should be renamed, perhaps to Islas Malvinas.
>>
>>
>> I don't think the locals would agree. They're rather fond of the
>> name, and they have their own postcode, which isn't Fife. Perhaps
>> Houston would like to find a new name too, to save it from being
>> confused with Houston, Scotland.
>
>Also Boston, New York, Washington, and sundry other places in the USA.
Oh yes, there are zillions of names borrowed from European
ones, that don't contain "New".
Dorothy J Heydt
Paul Dormer <p...@pauldormer.cix.co.uk> wrote:
Yeah. There's been a thread on rasfc on why the heck the US
doesn't go metric, and I keep trying to explain to the
sensible Europeans that many USians never leave the US
(because it's so large) and don't really *care* what's going
on in the rest of the world.
Jette Goldie
> In article <20090928.13...@zhochaka.org.uk>,
> db...@zhochaka.org.uk ("David G. Bell") wrote:
>
>>> I don't think the locals would agree. They're rather fond of the
>>> name, and they have their own postcode, which isn't Fife. Perhaps
>>> Houston would like to find a new name too, to save it from being
>>> confused with Houston, Scotland.
>> Also Boston, New York, Washington, and sundry other places in the USA.
>>
>
> Are there any cities in the U.K. that are named after older cities
> elsewhere--"New Rome" or the equivalent?
>
Well, there's a Moscow in Ayrshire, a California in Fife and a New
Lanark in Lanarkshire - but generally no. Cities tend to have been
where they are so long they've been known by many names over time, but
usually just variations on their own name. (York was known as Jorvic
when it was founded by the Vikings, for example)
Andy Leighton
David Friedman <dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com> wrote:
> In article <20090928.13...@zhochaka.org.uk>,
> db...@zhochaka.org.uk ("David G. Bell") wrote:
>
>> > I don't think the locals would agree. They're rather fond of the
>> > name, and they have their own postcode, which isn't Fife. Perhaps
>> > Houston would like to find a new name too, to save it from being
>> > confused with Houston, Scotland.
>>
>> Also Boston, New York, Washington, and sundry other places in the USA.
>
> Are there any cities in the U.K. that are named after older cities
> elsewhere--"New Rome" or the equivalent?
There is Beaufort which was named that for the 18th century land-owner
the Duke of Beaufort (who got his name from the French town Beaufort-en-
Vallee). The Welsh name for the town is Cendl.
Other than that I am coming up with a blank.
--
Andy Leighton => an...@azaal.plus.com
"The Lord is my shepherd, but we still lost the sheep dog trials"
- Robert Rankin, _They Came And Ate Us_
David Friedman
Jette Goldie <jgold...@btinternet.com> wrote:
> (York was known as Jorvic
> when it was founded by the Vikings, for example)
Actually, it was known as Eboracum when it was founded by the Romans. It
became Eoforwic under the Anglo-Saxons and was the capital of
Northumbria.
It wasn't until the ninth century that it was conquered by Norse, who
called it Yorvik.
Andy Leighton
Jette Goldie <jgold...@btinternet.com> wrote:
> David Friedman wrote:
>> In article <20090928.13...@zhochaka.org.uk>,
>> db...@zhochaka.org.uk ("David G. Bell") wrote:
>>
>>>> I don't think the locals would agree. They're rather fond of the
>>>> name, and they have their own postcode, which isn't Fife. Perhaps
>>>> Houston would like to find a new name too, to save it from being
>>>> confused with Houston, Scotland.
>>> Also Boston, New York, Washington, and sundry other places in the USA.
>>>
>>
>> Are there any cities in the U.K. that are named after older cities
>> elsewhere--"New Rome" or the equivalent?
>>
>
>
> Well, there's a Moscow in Ayrshire,
Probably the first time that place has been called a city!
> a California in Fife
I didn't know about that one - and streetmap/multimap doesn't either.
There is a California in Falkirk.
There is a California in Norfolk as well - apparently named because someone
found some old gold coins in the mid-19th century when the California gold
rush was at its height.
However I wouldn't call any of them towns. They would probably struggle
to make 1000 people between all three of them.
Jette Goldie
> On Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:30:44 -0700,
> David Friedman <dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com> wrote:
>> In article <20090928.13...@zhochaka.org.uk>,
>> db...@zhochaka.org.uk ("David G. Bell") wrote:
>>
>>>> I don't think the locals would agree. They're rather fond of the
>>>> name, and they have their own postcode, which isn't Fife. Perhaps
>>>> Houston would like to find a new name too, to save it from being
>>>> confused with Houston, Scotland.
>>> Also Boston, New York, Washington, and sundry other places in the USA.
>> Are there any cities in the U.K. that are named after older cities
>> elsewhere--"New Rome" or the equivalent?
>
> There is Beaufort which was named that for the 18th century land-owner
> the Duke of Beaufort (who got his name from the French town Beaufort-en-
> Vallee). The Welsh name for the town is Cendl.
>
> Other than that I am coming up with a blank.
>
Portobello on the outskirts of Edinburgh.
Oh and Joppa - Edinburgh's original port (next to Portobello)
Dorothy J Heydt
Jette Goldie <boss...@scotlandmail.com> wrote:
>David Friedman wrote:
>> In article <20090928.13...@zhochaka.org.uk>,
>> db...@zhochaka.org.uk ("David G. Bell") wrote:
>>
>>>> I don't think the locals would agree. They're rather fond of the
>>>> name, and they have their own postcode, which isn't Fife. Perhaps
>>>> Houston would like to find a new name too, to save it from being
>>>> confused with Houston, Scotland.
>>> Also Boston, New York, Washington, and sundry other places in the USA.
>>>
>>
>> Are there any cities in the U.K. that are named after older cities
>> elsewhere--"New Rome" or the equivalent?
>>
>
>
>Well, there's a Moscow in Ayrshire, a California in Fife and a New
>Lanark in Lanarkshire - but generally no. Cities tend to have been
>where they are so long they've been known by many names over time, but
>usually just variations on their own name.
Unless you go back far enough. There's a Cartagena in Colombia,
named after the Cartagena in Spain, which was named by Punic
settlers way back when, and it means "New Carthage." Or did.
(York was known as Jorvic
>when it was founded by the Vikings, for example)
^^^^^^^
Taken over.
And before that it was Eoforwic in Old English, and before
that it was Caer Ebur in Celtic. Means "fortress of the
boar."
Dorothy J Heydt
And there's another (town? district?) in or near Glasgow
that's pronounced Bellahooston.
cryptoguy
We've now tracked four different pronunciations of the same name. I
wonder if there are more.
pt
Kip Williams
Are Hu- and Hoo- that different from one another? Like, does one have a
longer vowel perhaps? To my yankee eyes, they look like the same thing
Kip W
Jette Goldie
In Scots English "Hu" would be more like "huh". the "ou" sound is longer.
David Loewe, Jr.
wrote:
Would it help conceptualization to read it as Hue- and not just Hu-?
--
"I thought that you might have some advice to give ...
On how to be... Insensitive."
- Jann Arden
Dorothy J Heydt
I meant HU- to be pronounced the same as HOO-. Like in Texas
but without the Y.
Tim McDaniel
Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:
>In article <CU8wm.11854$Fg7....@newsfe03.iad>,
>Kip Williams <k...@rochester.rr.com, mrk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>cryptoguy wrote:
>>> On Sep 28, 12:55 pm, Jette Goldie <jgoldie...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>>
>>>> Actually the town in Scotland is more sort of "Hoo-ston"
>>>
>>> We've now tracked four different pronunciations of the same name. I
>>> wonder if there are more.
>>
>>Are Hu- and Hoo- that different from one another? Like, does one have a
>>longer vowel perhaps? To my yankee eyes, they look like the same thing
>
>I meant HU- to be pronounced the same as HOO-. Like in Texas
>but without the Y.
? "Texas" doesn't have any HU/HOO sound.
--
Tim (making fun of an infelicitous ambiguity: my little joke ...
very little) McDaniel, tm...@panix.com
Keith F. Lynch
> Probably the first time that place has been called a city!
There's a Sea of Moscow on the Moon.
--
Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/
Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html before emailing me.
Keith F. Lynch
> Jette Goldie <jgold...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>> (York was known as Jorvic when it was founded by the Vikings, for
>> example)
> Actually, it was known as Eboracum when it was founded by the Romans.
So is "Nova Eboracum" Latin for "New York"?
cryptoguy
We have...
Huss-ton (Jette's first version)
House-ton (the NYC street)
Hyoos-ton (in Texas)
Hoos-ton (Jette's second version)
pt
Keith F. Lynch
> ...and in NYC "HOUSE-ton" Street, ... The pronunciation is a
> touchstone for telling New Yorkers from out-of-towners.
It was, but now you've revealed the secret to hundreds of out-of-
towners. So they'll have to come up with some new method. And this
time they'll keep it secret from you so you won't blurt it out.
Kip Williams
> Kip Williams wrote:
>> cryptoguy wrote:
>>> On Sep 28, 12:55 pm, Jette Goldie <jgoldie...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>>
>>>> Actually the town in Scotland is more sort of "Hoo-ston"
>>>
>>> We've now tracked four different pronunciations of the same name. I
>>> wonder if there are more.
>>
>> Are Hu- and Hoo- that different from one another? Like, does one have
>> a longer vowel perhaps? To my yankee eyes, they look like the same thing
>
> In Scots English "Hu" would be more like "huh". the "ou" sound is longer.
Aha! Thanks for explaining.
Kip W
Kip Williams
> In article <Kqp85...@kithrup.com>,
> Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:
>> In article <CU8wm.11854$Fg7....@newsfe03.iad>,
>> Kip Williams <k...@rochester.rr.com, mrk...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> cryptoguy wrote:
>>>> On Sep 28, 12:55 pm, Jette Goldie <jgoldie...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>>>>> Actually the town in Scotland is more sort of "Hoo-ston"
>>>> We've now tracked four different pronunciations of the same name. I
>>>> wonder if there are more.
>>> Are Hu- and Hoo- that different from one another? Like, does one have a
>>> longer vowel perhaps? To my yankee eyes, they look like the same thing
>> I meant HU- to be pronounced the same as HOO-. Like in Texas
>> but without the Y.
>
> ? "Texas" doesn't have any HU/HOO sound.
It has to. They show "Dr. Who" in Houston.
Kip W
Ha! I omits yo' explanation.
Kip Williams
> On Sep 28, 4:20 pm, Kip Williams <k...@rochester.rr.com> wrote:
>> cryptoguy wrote:
>>> On Sep 28, 12:55 pm, Jette Goldie <jgoldie...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>>>> Actually the town in Scotland is more sort of "Hoo-ston"
>>> We've now tracked four different pronunciations of the same name. I
>>> wonder if there are more.
>> Are Hu- and Hoo- that different from one another? Like, does one have a
>> longer vowel perhaps? To my yankee eyes, they look like the same thing
>
>
> Huss-ton (Jette's first version)
> House-ton (the NYC street)
> Hyoos-ton (in Texas)
> Hoos-ton (Jette's second version)
The Hu-ston came from Dorothy, who was indicating the same thing Jette
meant by Hoo-ston.
Kip W
Keith F. Lynch
>> ? "Texas" doesn't have any HU/HOO sound.
> It has to. They show "Dr. Who" in Houston.
Who? (And is he on first?)
Dorothy J Heydt
Keith F. Lynch <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>David Friedman <dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com> wrote:
>> Jette Goldie <jgold...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>>> (York was known as Jorvic when it was founded by the Vikings, for
>>> example)
>
>> Actually, it was known as Eboracum when it was founded by the Romans.
>
>So is "Nova Eboracum" Latin for "New York"?
That would be "Novum." Also "Neo-Eboracum."
It certainly is, and you'll see it in the flyleaves of old
Latin Catholic publications. E.g., my four-volume Latin
breviary says it's published by "Romae, Tornaci, Parisiis,
Neo-Eboraci Desclee & Socii." (Tornaci is Tournai, Belgium,
which was apparently the home office.)
Dorothy J Heydt
Keith F. Lynch <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>> Jette Goldie <jgold...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>>> Well, there's a Moscow in Ayrshire,
>
>> Probably the first time that place has been called a city!
>
>There's a Sea of Moscow on the Moon.
And there was a certain degree of argument about it, because
before that all the features on the moon were named after
natural phenomena or states of mind. But some bright fellow
pointed out that Moscow is a state of mind; and the name
passed.
Ben Yalow
>cryptoguy <treif...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> ...and in NYC "HOUSE-ton" Street, ... The pronunciation is a
>> touchstone for telling New Yorkers from out-of-towners.
>It was, but now you've revealed the secret to hundreds of out-of-
>towners. So they'll have to come up with some new method. And this
>time they'll keep it secret from you so you won't blurt it out.
It's not particularly secret -- it's that New Yorkers know better than to
think the street was named after a person who was a teenager when the
street was named by 1808.
And it wasn't named after any of the UK cities with the same name -- it
was named after William Houstoun, starting on land owned by a relative of
his.
>--
>Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/
>Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html before emailing me.
Ben
--
Ben Yalow yb...@panix.com
Not speaking for anybody
William December Starr
p...@pauldormer.cix.co.uk (Paul Dormer) said:
> It had no customer specific information, as I recall. A couple of
> years ago, my bank sent me my bank statement and somebody else's
> bank statement had got tucked into the envelope by mistake.
The second-to-last time I renewed my Massachusetts automobile
registration by mail I got somebody else's registration card in the
envelope as a bonus prize in addition to my own.
-- wds
William December Starr
cryptoguy <treif...@gmail.com> said:
> ...and in NYC "HOUSE-ton" Street, the major road which would be
> '0th street' if it were numbered. The pronunciation is a
> touchstone for telling New Yorkers from out-of-towners.
And the street's the Ho of the SoHo ("South of Houston Street")
neighborhood. Which isn't pronounced So-How.
-- wds
Jette Goldie
> On Sep 28, 4:20 pm, Kip Williams <k...@rochester.rr.com> wrote:
>> cryptoguy wrote:
>>> On Sep 28, 12:55 pm, Jette Goldie <jgoldie...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>>>> Actually the town in Scotland is more sort of "Hoo-ston"
>>> We've now tracked four different pronunciations of the same name. I
>>> wonder if there are more.
>> Are Hu- and Hoo- that different from one another? Like, does one have a
>> longer vowel perhaps? To my yankee eyes, they look like the same thing
>>
>> Kip W
>
> We have...
>
> Huss-ton (Jette's first version)
No such animal - the town in Scotland is spelled "Houston" and
pronounced "Hooston"
> House-ton (the NYC street)
> Hyoos-ton (in Texas)
> Hoos-ton (Jette's second version)
>
David G. Bell
an...@azaal.plus.com "Andy Leighton" wrote:
> On Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:30:44 -0700,
> David Friedman <dd...@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com> wrote:
> > In article <20090928.13...@zhochaka.org.uk>,
> > db...@zhochaka.org.uk ("David G. Bell") wrote:
> >
> >> > I don't think the locals would agree. They're rather fond of the
> >> > name, and they have their own postcode, which isn't Fife. Perhaps
> >> > Houston would like to find a new name too, to save it from being
> >> > confused with Houston, Scotland.
> >>
> >> Also Boston, New York, Washington, and sundry other places in the USA.
> >
> > Are there any cities in the U.K. that are named after older cities
> > elsewhere--"New Rome" or the equivalent?
>
> There is Beaufort which was named that for the 18th century land-owner
> the Duke of Beaufort (who got his name from the French town Beaufort-en-
> Vallee). The Welsh name for the town is Cendl.
>
> Other than that I am coming up with a blank.
Not towns, but there is Bolingbroke (now marked on maps as "Old
Bolingbroke") and New Bolingbroke (on the B1183) in Lincolnshire.
--
David G. Bell -- SF Fan, Filker, and Punslinger.
On the horizon, a carrier task force of the Salvation Navy was
turning into the wind, preparing to launch Zeppelins.
Paul Dormer
Paul Dormer
wrote:
>
> >As you may know, there have been several cons on the island of Jersey,
> >including the 1993 Eastercon. I was walking through London one day
> >wearing my Helicon - Jersey in '93 t-shirt, and a couple of American
> >tourists asked me if I was from New Jersey.
>
> Yeah. There's been a thread on rasfc on why the heck the US
> doesn't go metric, and I keep trying to explain to the
> sensible Europeans that many USians never leave the US
> (because it's so large) and don't really *care* what's going
> on in the rest of the world.
Well, at least these tourists were in London. :-)
For that matter, the UK hasn't really managed a full metric conversion
yet. Selling jam in 454g jars isn't fooling anyone.
Paul Dormer
December Starr) wrote:
I've assumed that is was pronounced the same way as the Soho district of
London - two syllables rhyming. That, however, is named after a hunting
cry, dating back to when the area was a royal hunting park.
Paul Dormer
December Starr) wrote:
>
> The second-to-last time I renewed my Massachusetts automobile
> registration by mail I got somebody else's registration card in the
> envelope as a bonus prize in addition to my own.
In a similar vein, when I booked a train trip across Europe earlier this
year, Eurostar sent me my ticket to Cologne and one to Paris in someone
else's name. It was the same day, so I couldn't make both trips.
rksh...@rosettacondot.com
I've gotten a few of these over the years. The strangest was after our
last move. My wife's updated CCW came in with the correct information,
including updated address, but someone else's picture.
Another time I received updated plates for the car, which in Texas are
issued every seven years in addition to the yearly registration sticker.
About a week later I received a second set along with instructions to
discard the first set. I looked at the originals, which I hadn't yet
installed, and discovered that they had two different (sequential)
numbers. Someone in the tax office had presumably managed an "off by
one" and sent mismatched plates to an unknown number of people.
Robert
--
Robert K. Shull Email: rkshull at rosettacon dot com
cryptoguy
> In article <e5c46701-a60f-43bb-bab2-250dbb4ff...@p9g2000vbl.googlegroups.com>,
> cryptoguy <treifam...@gmail.com> said:
>
> > ...and in NYC "HOUSE-ton" Street, the major road which would be
> > '0th street' if it were numbered. The pronunciation is a
> > touchstone for telling New Yorkers from out-of-towners.
>
> And the street's the Ho of the SoHo ("South of Houston Street")
> neighborhood. Which isn't pronounced So-How.
That's true. It is pronounced the same as the London neighbourhood:
'So-hoe'. There's also 'NoHo'and 'NoLita'. Hoboken tried to get into
the swing of things with 'BoHo', but it didn't catch on.
I don't know if there's a term for these no-quite-acronyms. There's
also 'Tribeca', and outside the city, the 'Delmara Penninisula'.
pt
pat
>For that matter, the UK hasn't really managed a full metric conversion
>yet. Selling jam in 454g jars isn't fooling anyone.
Yes, British jam had to be in 454g jars. A 500g jar was illegal if
made in Britain. Bizarre but true.
However, the UK abolished that law this year:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/em/uksiem_20090663_en.pdf
"These Regulations repeal all specified or prescribed quantities ...
for all pre-packaged goods except wines and spirits"
Dorothy J Heydt
Employment Development Department. California State
unemployment office, currently sending Hal disability checks
because he broke his leg. They were trying to get hold of
one of the previous tenants of our house, and we didn't have
a forwarding address, so we sent the thing to the landlord,
who (we hoped) did have one.
Paul Dormer
Heydt) wrote:
>
> Employment Development Department. California State
> unemployment office, currently sending Hal disability checks
> because he broke his leg. They were trying to get hold of
> one of the previous tenants of our house, and we didn't have
> a forwarding address, so we sent the thing to the landlord,
> who (we hoped) did have one.
Thanks.
The usual procedure here is to scratch out your address and write "Not
known at this address" or the like and put it a post box.
I once forgot to scratch out the address, and the letter came back.
And then there was the saga I must have repeated in here several times of
the attempts to serve me with parking fines when someone registered a car
to my address.
David Loewe, Jr.
I see a typo...
--
"But then I remembered that I was debating with someone who bears hus
insensitivity as a point of pride - and has a lot to be proud of - and
cut it out."
Lara Beaton on John S. Novak, III in <3946b195...@news.btinternet.com>
Sean O'Hara
declared:
> Paul Dormer <p...@pauldormer.cix.co.uk> wrote:
>> And I used to live close to two towns called Bishop Auckland and
>> West Auckland. The locals used to call it just Auckland, and one
>> heard stories of mail going via New Zealand.
>
> Mail to Vienna, Virginia sometimes goes to Vienna, Austria. Some
> people don't bother to put the state on the envelope if they're
> mailing it within the same state.
Not as interesting as the case of Winston Churchill, the obscure
British politician, who frequently received mail meant for Winston
Churchill, the famous American author. Or Yei Ozaki, the Japanese
author, who received mail intended for Yukio Ozaki, the Japanese
politician and vice-versa; they eventually met and got married.
--
Sean O'Hara <http://www.diogenes-sinope.blogspot.com>
New audio book: As Long as You Wish by John O'Keefe
<http://librivox.org/short-science-fiction-collection-010/>
cryptoguy
> On Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:40:51 -0700 (PDT), cryptoguy
>
>
>
>
>
> <treifam...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >On Sep 29, 2:14 am, wdst...@panix.com (William December Starr) wrote:
> >> cryptoguy <treifam...@gmail.com> said:
>
> >> > ...and in NYC "HOUSE-ton" Street, the major road which would be
> >> > '0th street' if it were numbered. The pronunciation is a
> >> > touchstone for telling New Yorkers from out-of-towners.
>
> >> And the street's the Ho of the SoHo ("South of Houston Street")
> >> neighborhood. Which isn't pronounced So-How.
>
> >That's true. It is pronounced the same as the London neighbourhood:
> >'So-hoe'. There's also 'NoHo'and 'NoLita'. Hoboken tried to get into
> >the swing of things with 'BoHo', but it didn't catch on.
>
> >I don't know if there's a term for these no-quite-acronyms. There's
> >also 'Tribeca', and outside the city, the 'Delmara Penninisula'.
>
> I see a typo...
Sure, but it doesn't obscure the meaning.
pt
David V. Loewe, Jr
Dormer) wrote:
>djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:
>
>> Employment Development Department. California State
>> unemployment office, currently sending Hal disability checks
>> because he broke his leg. They were trying to get hold of
>> one of the previous tenants of our house, and we didn't have
>> a forwarding address, so we sent the thing to the landlord,
>> who (we hoped) did have one.
>
>Thanks.
>
>The usual procedure here is to scratch out your address and write "Not
>known at this address" or the like and put it a post box.
In the US, the normal accepted practice is to write upon it - Return To
Sender.
>I once forgot to scratch out the address, and the letter came back.
>
>And then there was the saga I must have repeated in here several times of
>the attempts to serve me with parking fines when someone registered a car
>to my address.
--
"I gave a letter to the postman, he put it his sack. Bright and early
next morning, he brought my letter back.
She wrote upon it: Return to sender, address unknown. No such number, no
such home. We had a quarrel, a lover's spat I write I'm sorry but my
letter keeps coming back.
So then I dropped it in the mailbox And sent it special D. Bright and
early next morning it came right back to me.
She wrote upon it: Return to sender, address unknown. No such person, no
such home.
This time I'm gonna take it myself and put it right in her hand. And if
it comes back the very next day then I'll understand - the writing on it
Return to sender, address unknown. No such number, no such home.
Return to sender Return to sender Return to sender"
- Winfield Scott & Otis Blackwell
David V. Loewe, Jr
Eh...
The VA part of Delmarva is pretty important getting the full meaning of
the mashup name of the peninsula.
Del(aware)Mar(yland)V(irgini)a.
Without the v in there, the fact that Virginia is part of it loses
clarity.
There *is* a street here in St. Louis named Delmar. Supposedly it is
named from a mashup of Delaware and Maryland.
--
"Soldiers, when I give the command to fire, fire straight at my heart.
Wait for the order. It will be my last to you. I protest against my
condemnation. I have fought a hundred battles for France, and not
one against her ... Soldiers, Fire!"
- the Last Words of Michel Ney
Ben Yalow
>On Sep 29, 2:14=A0am, wdst...@panix.com (William December Starr) wrote:
>> In article <e5c46701-a60f-43bb-bab2-250dbb4ff...@p9g2000vbl.googlegroups.=
>com>,
>> cryptoguy <treifam...@gmail.com> said:
>>
>> > ...and in NYC "HOUSE-ton" Street, the major road which would be
>> > '0th street' if it were numbered. The pronunciation is a
>> > touchstone for telling New Yorkers from out-of-towners.
>>
>> And the street's the Ho of the SoHo ("South of Houston Street")
>> neighborhood. =A0Which isn't pronounced So-How.
>That's true. It is pronounced the same as the London neighbourhood:
>'So-hoe'. There's also 'NoHo'and 'NoLita'. Hoboken tried to get into
>the swing of things with 'BoHo', but it didn't catch on.
>I don't know if there's a term for these no-quite-acronyms. There's
>also 'Tribeca', and outside the city, the 'Delmara Penninisula'.
Delmar_v_a. Because it contains parts of Delaware, Maryland, and VA
(Virginia).
>pt
Michael Stemper
>Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:
>> We finally drew up a set statement to be read off a card every time
>> the phone rang, "No, this is NOT the Umpty Savings and Loan, this
>> is UC Berkeley, you need to dial area code 707 before you dial the
>> number." Frequently took a while to convince them, all the same.
>
>It's interesting how many caller will argue with you and try to get
>you to confess that yes, you are that Savings and Loan or whatever.
Many years ago, when I'd moved from my first flat in Minneapolis to
my second one, I got a call like that. They didn't want an institution,
they were looking for a friend.
"Is Tony there?"
"No, I'm afraid that you have the wrong number."
"Is this 822-5260?"
"Yes, but nobody named 'Tony' lives here."
Five minutes later, he called back with the operator:
"Is this 822-5260?"
"Yes ..."
"I have a caller here who would like to speak with 'Tony'."
"I'm sorry, but there's nobody here by that name."
"Is this 822-5260?"
"Yes"
"Calls to 8xx-xxxx are being told to call this number."
"Yes, 8xx-xxxx was my previous number, and this is my new one."
"Please put 'Tony' on."
"There's no 'Tony' here."
"Is the forwarding message incorrect?"
...
Eventually, I think that I got them to understand that it was possible
that just because the number that the caller had was redirected to me,
that didn't mean that the caller had the right number to begin with.
Then, there were the callers who, when informed that they'd reached a
wrong number, would admit their error, apologize profusely, and hang
up. And then use "redial" to try again.
--
Michael F. Stemper
#include <Standard_Disclaimer>
Nostalgia just ain't what it used to be.
Dorothy J Heydt
Paul Dormer <p...@pauldormer.cix.co.uk> wrote:
>Heydt) wrote:
>
>>
>> Employment Development Department. California State
>> unemployment office, currently sending Hal disability checks
>> because he broke his leg. They were trying to get hold of
>> one of the previous tenants of our house, and we didn't have
>> a forwarding address, so we sent the thing to the landlord,
>> who (we hoped) did have one.
>
>Thanks.
>
>The usual procedure here is to scratch out your address and write "Not
>known at this address" or the like and put it a post box.
Well, we do that to. But in this particular situation -- I
mean, the guy risked (a) not getting money EDD might have
paid him, or (b) getting in trouble with some obscure branch
of the State of California, or (c) both; so I forwarded it to
the landlord in the hopes it might one day reach the recipient.
>
>And then there was the saga I must have repeated in here several times of
>the attempts to serve me with parking fines when someone registered a car
>to my address.
Ewwww. We once donated a worn-out car to the Red Cross. As
we later figured it out, the person who was supposed to have
told the Department of Motor Vehicles about the donation
didn't. They sold the car, which was running sort of, to
some guy in *Southern* California who proceeded to run up
several parking fines in Torrance, which the City of Torrance
proceeded to bill us for. Ye ghods, the phone calls I had to
make, the letters we had to write, all in several copies to
everybody.