The Reading Vent & Rant Thread

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I have a new rant. People spelling calibre as caliber.

What about people spelling than as then?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

What about people spelling than as then?

Affect and effect? Lose vs loose? All too many examples of that type of error.

[Quoth]

Black and Violet for eye colours (other than SF or Fantasy non-humans). Very dark brown and pale blue that can seem somewhat violet if you have poor colour sense.

[Quoth]

People automatically catching a cold if wet (but salt water doesn't do it!).

People always just are unconscious a short while, rather than hospitalised or dead from a blow on the head.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Quoth

People always just are unconscious a short while, rather than hospitalised or dead from a blow on the head.

Nancy Drew got hit on the head in virtually every book.

And a corollary is that when someone wants to administer a "friendly" blow, i.e., enough to make a person unconscious but not cause any permanent harm, they can calculate the force to a psi.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by SomeSteve

He mentioned this one in another thread.

Thanks. That is a textbook published by Pearson.

There appears to be a special deal between Pearson and Amazon that results in Amazon only delivering Pearson books with DRM that is not known to have been broken. That is no longer possible with the Kindle for PC release currently in use.

[Renate]

Knocking someone cold without doing any real damage.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Quoth

People always just are unconscious a short while, rather than hospitalised or dead from a blow on the head.

Originally Posted by Renate

Knocking someone cold without doing any real damage.

I once read a juvenile book where a character was out riding a horse, got thrown onto a road, and got knocked out (she wasn't wearing a helmet, I guess). Other characters brought her home to sleep it off on the sofa.

As someone who is permanently impaired by a traumatic brain injury after getting knocked cold (by a concrete floor) this made me internally scream.

[Quoth]

I was choked till unconscious by a classmate at school. Lucky to avoid brain injury or death. It was the kind of school that bred bullies. A former Public School*, still largely fee paying.

I know fiction is fiction, but really some writers are criminally careless.

As someone who is permanently impaired by a traumatic brain injury after getting knocked cold (by a concrete floor) this made me internally scream.

Yes, it would. I hope your cat owners are kind.

Edit
A UK Public School is a historic term. It means a private school with no public, local or state control that was originally founded by raising a subscription from rich people, i.e. the public. IMO the current ones should lose charity status and be investigated. Many, like Eton, should be closed.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by issybird

And a corollary is that when someone wants to administer a "friendly" blow, i.e., enough to make a person unconscious but not cause any permanent harm, they can calculate the force to a psi.

Well, it's nearly impossible. Generally you make the target angry, badly damaged or dead.

See also "knock out" darts, chloroform on cloth etc. Anaesthetic hypo is really really slow and needs body weight known (too little and target is simply slow, too much and they die). Respiratory anaesthetic is very dangerous, hence everything in a hospital theatre is monitored and an expert manages it. A kidnapper is as likely to kill or cause brain damage with chloroform etc, and it's slow. So in real life they threaten with a weapon and bundle the victim into a vehicle, even then it often goes wrong.

There is a reason why "shoot to kill" is used rather than a hypo-dart with dangerous animals or armed criminals or terrorists.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Well, it's nearly impossible. Generally you make the target angry, badly damaged or dead.

See also "knock out" darts, chloroform on cloth etc. Anaesthetic hypo is really really slow and needs body weight known (too little and target is simply slow, too much and they die). Respiratory anaesthetic is very dangerous, hence everything in a hospital theatre is monitored and an expert manages it. A kidnapper is as likely to kill or cause brain damage with chloroform etc, and it's slow. So in real life they threaten with a weapon and bundle the victim into a vehicle, even then it often goes wrong.

There is a reason why "shoot to kill" is used rather than a hypo-dart with dangerous animals or armed criminals or terrorists.

Tasers also aren't that safe. They might cause a cardiac arrest.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Black and Violet for eye colours (other than SF or Fantasy non-humans). Very dark brown and pale blue that can seem somewhat violet if you have poor colour sense.

There's also the fanfiction meme of using the word 'orbs' for eyes. Fanlore has an entire article about the use of 'cerulean orbs.'

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Renate

Knocking someone cold without doing any real damage.

Into an Icy Puddle?
Just a bad case of the shivers if you get warm fat enough.

[Renate]

Well, out cold.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by HLS

When typing on an ipad the spell check automatically changes the spelling of calibre to caliber.

And you are incapable of correcting its error? You have my profound sympathies for that debilitating disability.