Women’s Independent Press

by Suzy Fiori

* =  the asterisk    The asterisk is sometimes called a star or splat has a multitude of uses and when you                       see it you know that there is something else going on with whatever it is sitting beside.

/  =   a forward slash   The slash is a sign used as a punctuation mark and for a variety of other purposes.

-          used in some abbreviations  such as w/ (with) and w/o (without)

-          used to denote (often mutually exclusive) alternatives, such as in male/female

-          used between numbers it means division

-          used in computer language

-          Bunches of other names and use

@  =  the at sign     Universally used in most languages to mean at, each at, at  around .

#  =  the number sign or the pound sign    When it precedes a number, it is read as “number”, as in “a #2 pencil”.  However, when it follows a number it is read as “pounds” referring to the unit of weight, as in “5# of sugar”.

%  =  the percent sign    The symbol  is used to indicate a percentage (that the preceding number is divided by one hundred).

*/@#%  =  needs no explanation or definition

Proof that the sum is greater than the parts.

I recently took a trip to the Pacific Northwest.  Of course, I took my computer….can’t be without email. I took my iPod…..can’t be without tunes. It goes without saying, I took my cell phone too. I practically had to take a separate suitcase just for the cords.

You got your chargers that plug into the wall, and the ones that plug into your computer and let’s not forget the ones that plug into what used to be the cigarette lighter in the car.

Get a new device ( the old ones are obsolete when you take them out of the package) get a new cord. Why can’t they make them universal like the cord to your mother’s electric frying pan?   

It’s big business. There are over 200,000 listings on EBay for power cords. Maybe they’ll let me trade for a new car.

New & Improved? By Suzy Fiori

Am I the only one who finds this a little confusing?  How can anything be new AND improved at the same time?

 I saw an ad in last week’s paper for “new & improved” Tide with Acti-lift. Tide has only been around since 1949. (Tide to Go is new. Tide Free is new. Tide with Acti-lift…..still blue Tide in an orange bottle with that landmark day-glo logo.) I might buy into it if it said “improved Tide with new Acti-lift.” That makes sense.

There is only one marketing ploy that I find more amusing than “New & Improved.” It’s the use of the word “Fresh” to describe how you’ll feel when you use some feminine hygiene product