Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!lll-winken!telecom-request From: jim.hickstein@icdwest.teradyne.com (Jim Hickstein) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: More Strange Recorded Messages Message-ID: Date: 19 Jun 91 21:06:39 GMT Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 20 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 471, Message 1 of 11 > "For your convenience, the number you have reached, > 800-338-wxyz, has been changed. The new number is 800-676-wxyz ...". Perhaps this is yet another example of a common abuse of English that drives me up the wall: "If X, then Y" where X and Y have no such relationship. My favorite is: "If you're interested, the number is nnn-mmmm." And if I'm *not* interested, the number is something else? This I've got to see: truly action at a distance, and at faster than the speed of light, no doubt! All I have to do to change the physical property of something is change my mind! :-) Maybe they really meant "For your convenience, we're *telling* you that the number ... has changed." Of course, it's really for their convenience either way, but it would be too much to ask that they admit this in their announcement. Jim Hickstein, Teradyne/Attain, San Jose CA, (408) 434-0822 FAX -0252 jxh@attain.teradyne.com ...!{decwrl!teda,apple}!attain!jxh