What I’m reading: A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
What’s on the iPod: I Feel Lucky by Mary Chapin Carpenter
Busy day again yesterday. I think I’m just going to paste that as my disclaimer at the top of every post. God willing, it will always be true. I got up and running on a new ongoing project and was immediately given even more work from the same client.
No chance of touching my article. My favorite bank (really, I do like them normally) once more screwed up a check deposit from a foreign source. Even though it clearly states on the check that the funds are in US dollars, they returned it, which sent my account into a serious case of willies (okay, maybe that was me). Back to the bank to waste 20 more minutes of an already dwindling work day. Super. I got lunch somewhere around 2:30, I think. I can’t remember eating, though the soup can is on the counter.
I was watching tv trying to relax when I saw something that unnerved me. Really unnerved me. Know those little promotional pop-ups at the bottom of the screen advertising another show on that channel? This one caught my attention:
Next: Left at the Alter
Really? Someone abandoned you at the tailor’s? How awful!
If this were the only typo recently, I’d be less likely to impale myself on my bottle of Wite-Out. Alas, not so.
Directions in a recent purchase:
“Place the XXX in it’s compartment.”
Reading a book on Irish fairies (don’t judge me) – the word “mist” became “milst.”
Everywhere I look, typos. I can understand it in blog posts – they’re immediate and have no editorial oversight. But please, people. In print? Okay, self-published works are also excluded because I’ve seen some of the heinous things those places do to authors’ books in the name of “editing.”
I nearly lost my mind when I saw what I thought was a typo on the cover of Time a few weeks back. It said something about that Tiger Mom and “perhaps she’s onto something.”
Where I come from, “onto” indicates location. However, a quick scan of Merriam Webster cooled my jets – “onto” is now acceptable for “in or into a state of awareness about.” So Time avoids my scathing letter. For now. But I owe them plenty thanks to my short-lived subscription. If I can’t get past page four without circling about five typos, someone is asleep on the job. And yes, I’m anal enough to circle typos.
What things are making your head go boom lately?
19 responses to “Things That Make My Head Explode”
Bad customer service. I won't bore you with the details, but one was with a national florist and the other was a software customer service chat line. Is there anything worse than software customer service?
I wonder how much of my aggravation level is tied into the fact that I'm exhausted from taking care of Mom following knee replacement surgery, while trying to still work. Mom is doing great-thank goodness-but, I don't know how caretakers juggle it all.
Have a great weekend, everyone – even if you have typos. 🙂
I was wondering how you were holding up, Cathy. Is Mom losing a bit of the pain?
Bad customer service – it's rampant these days. And yes, I hate automated "help" as well. What's more frustrating than trying to get a quick answer, only to be stuck in automated, push-button hell?
Enjoy your weekend too, Cathy. I hope you're enjoying the same gorgeous weather we have here today.
Saw another one today. I suppose I shouldn't trust cable television writers at all. The description for Emeril Green – "… makes preaches and cream bread pudding."
Maybe the preaches and cream is a new religion 🙂
PS Mom is doing phenomenally well, thanks.
We pay for an ongoing service each month, and the company got sold in December. The new company insists we missed a payment, despite me showing them a cleared checked from the old company for the so-called missed payment. They continue to tell me I owe them. Not sure what to do at this point. Arrrgh!
Cathy, glad Mom is doing well. As someone who cares for an elderly parent (who is usually in pretty good shape, thank goodness), I know how exhausting it is to do that AND work.
I refrain from answering the question in the post because, trust me, nothing I have to say today is printable! 😉
Let's just say I have had my fill of ignorant f—ks, and if you're going to be in charge of anything that affects people's lives (politics, banking, insurance), you should have to pass tests in intelligence, ethics, and compassion.
I wouldn't worry about your Irish fairies. I'm reading one book on insane asylums and the other is about a German U-boat. I'm also thinking about getting one on cave paintings.
Don't knock being left at the alter. It's a horrific experience. The shame of being alone and having to be measured. And to top it off, you have to take their bill! *sob*
I think I hate typos on store signs the most. Sometimes, you just don't want to know. "Buy one, get on Free!"
If you're going to put something in print,you have far fewer excuses than those using instant publishing platforms imo — self-pubbed or not. If you go with a place that has a reputation for poor editing because it's cheaper, you're not ready to go to print. Hire a real editor or trade off services with a pro you trust if you don't have another option. Justmy $.02. As for marketing / sales copy? No excuses.
Lori – you'll have to e-mail me info on what channel "alter" was on and I might be able to motivate someone into correcting it. Ditto "preaches and cream."
What's making my head go boom lately is how the in-fighting between our local school board and the teacher's union is damaging our community. They're more focused on money than they are on education. Yet both sides claim they're working in the interest of the children. If that's the case they should grow up and stop acting like children.
What is it with US banks. They rip us off mortgage-wise and won't cash foreign checks even in US funds. I lost a client over that and had horrendous problems getting paid with another. Have had to make a paypal or western union only policy which sucks.
Thanks, Devon. Thankfully, my Mom, too, is in incredible health. She turns 88 in March. I tell everyone she will be taking care of me in my old age-which is just around the corner. 🙂
Cathy, that's what I was wondering!
Eileen, keep on them. Involve the BBB if you need to. Sometimes the clout these consumer protection companies carry makes the difference.
Devon, still dealing with that insurance mess, I gather? 🙂 Hang tight. Somewhere in that mess there's one person who will hear you and help. Sadly, it's not all people in the companies.
Wendy, I love your reading material. 🙂 Store signs are pretty pathetic, too. LOL
Jenn, I agree. However, I know folks who have self-published, hired the editor, and wound up with mistakes galore. I'm not sure what's gone wrong, but somewhere in the process someone is messing things up.
Paula, I'll just tell you. I saw it on TLC. As for in-fighting, everyone wants to be given a fair shake. The difference is when each side's definition of "fair" varies. 🙂
Anne, I don't get it because I cash these checks every month. Every. Single. Month. And every now and then they refuse one. Ridiculous.
Possibly the most annoying misuse of the English language (for me, anyway) is when people say "hung" instead of "hanged". Seriously, I don't want to know how the man was hung. I think I beamed with delight when we went to see True Grit and everyone used the correct form of the verb when discussing the hanging. 😀
My girls and I have been known to use a Sharpie on signs in stores in order to either correct grammar or punctuation.
If the sign on the store is misspelled, I put the product down and leave. If questioned, I point out the error and say, "that indicates your low level of quality, and i will spend my money elsewhere."
Lori, it's not insurance this time, it's a list of other crap.
Re: international checks in banks. I dealt with this a lot when I had shows going internationally, and still do, sometimes, with scripts.
What I did for awhile was have a second account at an international bank that has a US presence. I could have that account in either dollars or the home currency, which made it easier to do business when I was in that country, and I could also write checks to my US-only bank from the international bank, and the other way around, when I needed to work in that currency. I'd cleared it all through the IRS, and declared all income, so there were no problems. I also saved thousands of dollars in transfer fees when I had to put deposits on spaces, housing, etc.
Even now, I have an account with a local bank, and I retain and do a lot of business through my credit union.
Pretentious Wombat, you have to have the BEST moniker! Love it!
Hilarious example! I'm with you. I'm tired of hearing people confuse "leery" and "weary." As in "I was weary of his motives." Yea, people with motives tucker me out, too. LOL
Devon, that's a fantastic idea! There is one bank that I know exists in both countries. I shall give them a try.
I hope the other issue (non-insurance) clears up for you soon.
Typos in TV news programs' (local and national) crawls, promos and on-screen banners have been really prolific of late, as have really obvious typos in our two neighborhood papers. I know they have editorial staff…it really gets my goat! Also irritating to me: typos in books that have had multiple reprints.
I wanted to buy a copy of one of Julia Cameron's books for my Kindle. But I spotted several mistakes in just the SAMPLE, so there's no way I could stand to read the entire book. And the print copy I have most certainly does not have the same (nor as many) errors.
Lori — It depends on the kind of editing they hired the person to do. Big difference between story editing and line editing. Self-pubbed authors frequently try to save money (understandable) so it wouldn't surprise me if some are simply hiring the wrong editors. I'd go so far as to say you need at least two sets of extra eyes — your editor and a final proofreader. And even then I'd say your work is incomplete until you've brought in beta readers for more reader-oriented feedback (when they're not specifically looking for typos, it can be easier to spot them).
Amie, that's what's upsetting. They have paid professionals, yet they're not getting it right. Or… are they using unpaid interns? If so, they should be much more selective.
Becky, I wouldn't buy a book with tons of typos, either. I get frustrated with just a few in a book!
Jenn, good to know. And you're probably right. They could be hiring the wrong editors. One friend's book was so badly edited I couldn't even tell her what I thought of the plot. There were paragraphs where the characters' names changed, lines were doubled, as in "He crept up on her slowly. He crept up on her slowly." There's no excuse for that. I think she let the publisher do the editing – BIG mistake!