Musings on Random Musings

[archermoo]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

One would hope not.

 

I've known a lot more academics that insisted on people calling them "Doctor", even if you were interacting with them outside of their field, than military personnel that insisted on proper forms of address from non-military personnel.

 

And feeding the random nature of the thread, one of my pet peeves in addressing people is people who feel that it is reasonable for them to be on a first name basis with you without you also being on a first name basis with them. I.e. people that feel that it is okay to call me Gary, but insist I call them "Mr. Whatever" or "Dr. Whatever" or somesuch.

[Enforcer84]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

I've known a lot more academics that insisted on people calling them "Doctor", even if you were interacting with them outside of their field, than military personnel that insisted on proper forms of address from non-military personnel.

 

And feeding the random nature of the thread, one of my pet peeves in addressing people is people who feel that it is reasonable for them to be on a first name basis with you without you also being on a first name basis with them. I.e. people that feel that it is okay to call me Gary, but insist I call them "Mr. Whatever" or "Dr. Whatever" or somesuch.

 

you've met my ex inlaws?

[Darbor]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

And feeding the random nature of the thread' date=' one of my pet peeves in addressing people is people who feel that it is reasonable for them to be on a first name basis with you without you also being on a first name basis with them. I.e. people that feel that it is okay to call me Gary, but insist I call them "Mr. Whatever" or "Dr. Whatever" or somesuch.[/quote']

 

Fortunately, I have not run across that since high school...college if you count calling the professor "Professor" instead of John. It was a little strange at first to make the adjustment to call the people I have known as adults since I was a child by their first names but they all preferred that and I got used to it.

[SatinKitty]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

Before feminism women were called by their first names by people who were "Mr. Jones" or "Mr. Smith".

[L. Marcus]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

Everybody is on first-name term with everybody here. Except the king, who is known as "King."

 

Some time in the Sixties, this replaced a system of calling everyone you're not a very good friend with by their titles, or "Herr", "Fru" or "Fröken" if you didn't know their title. It became very cumbersome with time, as the titles got more specific and therefore longer. "Would the bureau director assistant like some coffee, or is that too late in the day for the bureau director assistant?"

[Klytus]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

you've met my ex inlaws?

 

Personally, I refer my ex-in-laws as the out-laws

[Lucius]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

I was reading a (US) military protocol guide (don't ask me why) and I noted it said civilians may shorten a warrant officer's rank and call them Mr. or Ms. and an officers rank and call them Sir or Ma'am. May? Indeed. Has the military forgotten not everyone is in it? A civilian doesn't even have to call the President of the United States "Mr." or "Sir" if they don't want to. A good old' date=' I refuse the right to serve anyone and that includes you "W"/"Big O" is your God given right. Its polite, and apropos for many situations to use formal address, and I'd generally do it on custom in America, but really, the civilian population is under no specific obligation to observe military formalities. If an military officer were to make an issue of being called "sir" or "general" or whatever I'd remind them I wasn't under military discipline and punctuate it with their personal name ("That's the fact, Jack"). Its good to be polite, but [i']may[/i]? Somebody forgot themselves and overstepped when they wrote that one.

 

I don't know about other countries, but in the United States it is quite possible to work FOR the military without being a MEMBER of the military.

 

A civilian working for the military is obviously not under military discipline, but it is quite reasonable that their employer may expect them, in the course of their duties, to comply with certain standards of protocol.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

They call me MISTER Palindromedary

[archermoo]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

Fortunately' date=' I have not run across that since high school...college if you count calling the professor "Professor" instead of John. It was a little strange at first to make the adjustment to call the people I have known as adults since I was a child by their first names but they all preferred that and I got used to it.[/quote']

 

I never really went through that. Mostly because I moved so often there really aren't any people other than family members that I have known as adults since I was a child. And I've always called family members either by their first name (generally prefaced with the relation, i.e. Aunt Paula), or just by the relation (i.e. granddad).

 

Even as a child I was never comfortable with adults calling me by my first name, but insisting I call them Mr. or Mrs. Lastname. As I recall, for the most part the schools I went to the standard policy seemed to be for the teachers to call students by their last name, which worked just fine for me with the requirement that we call the teachers by their last name. One exception was a school that students and teachers were on a first name basis with each other. I don't think I even knew the last names of any of those teachers. One of the better schools I went to.

[Cancer]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

In my line of work, approximately everyone has a doctorate. It's rare for anyone to insist on something other than simple first names (unless, of course, there are too many Toms, e.g., in the room for that to work) when among one's peers. And, when sending a mail (electronic or otherwise) it's handy to just use the "Dr." salutation so you don't have to figure out whether the addressee is male or female.

 

Another situation: How about addressing your clergyman (assuming you are/were "churched")? Do you omit the "Father" or "Reverend" (or whatever) when you address them?

 

Few enough of us now interact with clergy (and I admit I am among those who approximately never do) that I would be interested to know if that differs from how one addresses teachers/professors.

[L. Marcus]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

"Dr. Koothrapali, Dr. Hoffstadter, Dr. Cooper, Mister Wolfowitz."

 

"I have a Masters degree!"

 

"Who doesn't?"

[Cancer]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

Milton Humason is famous for having started as a mule driver on Mt. Wilson and becoming a staff astronomer despite a lack of any formal education. But he's about the only such case I know of.

[AmadanNaBriona]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

I got pretty accustomed to both "Captain" and "Chief", of course it took me a long time to earn my "Sir" in that life

 

I recall the "Oh, Dread Lord" years fondly.

[teh bunneh]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

(Moving this here onnaccountahow it's off topic on that other thread)

 

... E gads' date=' what happened to Bill's avatar just now?![/quote']

 

It's in keeping with my tradition of villainous bunneh avatars (first Red Lantern Bunneh, then Darkseid Bunneh, then Santa Bunneh)! My new avatar is teh Fluffy Clown Prince of Crime, Joker Bunneh!

 

Not sure about the green hair though. I might get rid of that bit...

[L. Marcus]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

Yes, please.

[Narf the Mouse]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

Gah. Wake up time of 4:40am tomorrow.

It can be useful to learn to semi-nap any chance you get.

[L. Marcus]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

Or "snap", as we say.

[lemming]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

Or "snap"' date=' as we say.[/quote']

 

Well, napping isn't an issue when you then have to drive 80 miles. Jenn had her petscan, we went had breakfast, visited barnes&noble, and got home around noon. And then napped.

[Cancer]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

Scientists plan mission to probe Uranus

 

They just had to call it a "probe," didn't they?

 

Hey, remember, at Uranus, we are the aliens with the probes....

[Narf the Mouse]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

Wat are we going to do next week during the forums downtime ?

Well, that's easy to figure out, but how do we get the giraffe to play the tuba?

[Cancer]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

"What we do every downtime, Pinky. We try to take over the world!"

[Lucius]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

I am told that a distinguished astronomer used the phrase "W T F?" in his prize lecture at the society meeting last year. So ... it's in the literature' date=' sort of.[/quote']

 

Wavelength Times Frequency?

 

Way To Focus?

 

Weird Transitional Form?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary thinks Lucius is Way Too Funny

[SteveZilla]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

you've met my ex inlaws?

 

Wouldn't that make them out-laws?

 

EDIT: Beaten to the punch by Klytus.

[Vondy]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

Reporters and news agencies should not be allowed to release the names of those under criminal charges' date=' *unless* they are found guilty.[/quote']

 

Disagreement. Unless the judge feels a gag order or closed court is necessary, court proceedings, from arraignment to sentencing, are a matter of public record. Once the process has begun it may (or may not) be newsworthy. While there is plenty of room to discuss whether an individual case is newsworthy, or whether coverage of a particular case is responsible or in the public interest or not, the notion that the press should be restricted from reporting what any citizen can hear by taking a seat in open court is the inverse of a notion of a free press.

[Narf the Mouse]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

Disagreement. Unless the judge feels a gag order or closed court is necessary' date=' court proceedings, from arraignment to sentencing, are a matter of public record. Once the process has begun it may (or may not) be newsworthy. While there is plenty of room to discuss whether an individual case is newsworthy, or whether coverage of a particular case is responsible or in the public interest or not, the notion that the press should be restricted from reporting what any citizen can hear by taking a seat in open court is the inverse of a notion of a free press.[/quote']

The reality, however, is that many people have had lives ruined by said press reporting, after they were proven innocent.

[Old Man]

Re: Musings on Random Musings

 

IME the press is usually pretty good about this. The names of juveniles and rape victims typically are not published, and most news stories I read are careful to describe the charged individual as just that, not as a criminal. Admittedly there are exceptions for child molestation cases and the most sensational trials, but overall I think the status quo is all right.