Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: Fri, 5 Apr 91 9:09:26 EST From: Tom Coradeschi Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: End of the [Party] Line Message-ID: Organization: Electric Armaments Div, US Army Armament RDE Center Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 273, Message 4 of 9 Lines: 54 Lars Poulsen writes: > TELECOM Digest vol 11 issue 264 msg 1 reprinted an AP wire service > story submitted by Bill Berbenich Georgia Tech, Atlanta Georgia, 30332 > about the end of party line service in Woodbury, Connecticut. > I enjoyed the story, but would like to make a couple of technical > comments. I wish there were a way to get them back to Ms Cappiello of > AP. >> By JANET L. CAPPIELLO, Associated Press Writer [...] > problems. It disturbs me when businesses deliberately tell lies to > regulatory agencies. (It also disturbs me that we set up regulatory > agencies that aren't technically competent to see through such fibs). [...] While not explicitly telecom related, this certainly relates to those wonderful regulatory agencies we've all come to know and love. I have a good friend whose wife is a lawyer with the Texas Public Utilities Commission (or whatever they call it there). She works telecom issues, and was putting together a document relating to a case she was on. The PC she uses does not have the ability to use symbolic typefaces, and she had to use the Greek mu as a modifier to a quantity (like mu-volts). Not being able to use the symbol itself, she intended to use the word micro-, instead, which she was _pretty sure_ meant the same thing. Now, she's a lawyer, so Greek symbols are, well, Greek to her, and she really wanted to be sure that mu really meant micro-. So, she called one of the engineers on the PUC staff. He's there to provide the legal staff with technical support. His response when asked just what mu is used to signify, ran something like "Well, I'm not really sure that they've standardized that yet.". [Insert look of disbelief here.] Needless to say, this lawyer found his statement a little difficult to believe. She ended up ringing her husband (a real engineer) at work, and asking him. Makes you kind of wonder what kind of engineers work for public utilities commissions, doesn't it? For the record: I too am an engineer (ME by education, holding an EE position). Mu means micro- means 1E-6. tom coradeschi <+> tcora@pica.army.mil