Kindle ... Or Is It Just Kindling?

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Maybe there is someone is this forum that can win a million on "Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader". I can't believe how many people on that show don't know what nouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives are. Don't get me started on the math stuff.

Although I suck at history and geography which are always the "hard" 5th grade questions.

BOb

MaMaw Moon just got that game for her PSP .... I thought she was going to whack me when I "won" the million dollar prize. The only questions I have problems with are those about sports. I have no idea how many yards long a football field is, and I really don't care.

[jakewastaken]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

MaMaw Moon just got that game for her PSP .... I thought she was going to whack me when I "won" the million dollar prize. The only questions I have problems with are those about sports. I have no idea how many yards long a football field is, and I really don't care.

Lol, you couldn't even take a guess? I hate sports too but it's pretty obvious.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by jakewastaken

Lol, you couldn't even take a guess? I hate sports too but it's pretty obvious.

Sure ... I can guess. Let's see ... guessing .... I do recall that there's a 50 yard line. So, the main playing field must be 100 yards. Then, there are a few yards (maybe five or ten or so??) behind the goal post thingies ... so if I were to guess, I would probably guess at 120 yards for the entire field.

Again, that would only be a guess ... the fact that something called a 50 yard line exists and the positions all have slightly absurd sounding names is about all I know of American football. I know even less about Futbol, and less still about Rugby.

OK ... was I even close????

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Sure ... I can guess. Let's see ... guessing .... I do recall that there's a 50 yard line. So, the main playing field must be 100 yards. Then, there are a few yards (maybe five or ten or so??) behind the goal post thingies ... so if I were to guess, I would probably guess at 120 yards for the entire field.

I'm sure that's close... I'm not sure off hand if the end zones are 10 yards or 15 yards. But I think their 10 each, so 120 yards is probably the right answer.

BOb

[desertgrandma]

Goal to goal, 100 yds.

End of field to end of field 120 yds......100yds plus 2 10yd end zones.......

[desertgrandma]

for verification (besides my ex-jock husband)

http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2001/NinTam.shtml

[RickyMaveety]

Well, what do you know ... sometimes a guess can be dead on. (Pssst ... don't tell that to Jon .... the thought of someone guessing accurately seems to upset him. )

I got close to zero sleep last night. I woke up at exactly 4:08 in the morning and did not fall back to sleep until 6:30.

My eyes are at half mast and the brain is at quarter speed. So, if it's all the same to all of y'all ... I'm going to make a quick run into town and then flop back into bed.

I've got brownies to bake and a party to attend tonight ... same as every Tuesday night. My life is hell (sure, Ricky ... tell that to the people in Darfur fighting for their lives -- you twit!!). Oh, just ignore the voice in my head ... I always do.

[slayda]

I'd bet that the answer they were looking for was 100 yards which is considered the "playing filed" if I'm not mistaken.

Reminds me of when I answered a trivia question & was told that was wrong. The question was, "What three animals were in the movie 'The Incredible Journey'. " My answer was a Siamese cat, a bull tarrier, and an Irish setter.

The answer on the card was, "Two dogs and a cat." So I had obviously erred in my answer.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by slayda

I'd bet that the answer they were looking for was 100 yards which is considered the "playing filed" if I'm not mistaken.

Reminds me of when I answered a trivia question & was told that was wrong. The question was, "What three animals were in the movie 'The Incredible Journey'. " My answer was a Siamese cat, a bull tarrier, and an Irish setter.

The answer on the card was, "Two dogs and a cat." So I had obviously erred in my answer.

Actually, the answer they were looking for included the area behind the goal posts ... but I'm sure that's why a lot of people get it wrong.

It's like when they ask "What star is closest to the Earth." Well, duh, the Sun is a star, so the answer is the Sun. A lot of people (who really know better) say "Alpha Centauri" or 'Proxima Centauri."

That's sort of the problem with your answer to the "IJ" question. Since they asked for "animals" rather than "breeds" they were looking for a more general answer.

Those games test not only arcane knowledge but try to trick you with semantic traps.

[awesomevegan]

Originally Posted by BKeeper

people pay $4 for a coffee... I'd rather buy a book.

I can't imagine why someone would pay $4 for coffee. Maybe thats because I don't drink it.

I also don't understand people spending so much money on cigarettes. But I don't smoke either.

I would much rather buy a book. A book will last longer than a cup of coffee. It is a lot better for me than a coffee or a cigarette in my opinion. My point being, if you enjoy something as much as we enjoy books (or some people do their coffee, cigs, games, movie tickets etc) then you WILL spend a considerable amount of money on it. My initial purchases will be made from gift cards, since I don't work now, but I will find a way to read

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by Leep

Obviously, some of the companies that have introduced ereaders, or plan to introduce ereaders within the next 6 months, have completed some market research. They have decided that there is a market that justifies the development dollars to bring an ereader product to market. The validity and makeup of this forum also supports the theory that there is a wide and varied market available.

I agree that non-readers will not suddenly read because of ereaders, except perhaps for senior citizens and retirees who are now in a different place in their lives where they have more available time. I believe that this might, infact, become a very large market. Older people often have discretionary income that allows them to 1)fork out $350for an ereader and 2)fund ongoing ebook purchases.

The ease with which ebooks can be purchase has to apeal to a wide range of folk. Maybe not young people at this stage, but certainly for very busy people who travel a lot and for older people who have a more isolated lifestyle.

Would love to know what the real numbers are, but seems like we're only going to see speculation for the time being.

cheers

Dear Leep:

Our research shows that only about 2% of the American public know what an e-book really is. Most of it is confusing to them. eBooks cost more (at present) and they cannot yet figure out WHY they should lug around an electronic device when a paperback costs $10.

WHEN we take the time to explain:

easier on the eyes
stores thousands of books
play music while reading
saves tons of paper and thus tons of energy and paper waste
new introductions coming
can be used to store everything from Hollywood Scripts to Student Textbooks

... then a light does go on and the interest grows.

We (the manufacturers of eBook Readers, I distribute both EZ Reader and Mentor lines) are only beginning to be innovative, I think. I am NOT talking about Touchscreen and Wi-Fi... I am talking about Flexi Screens, 10 inch sized Readers, easy access to daily Newspapers and Monthly Magazines, and a lot of ideas not thought of yet... then things will catch fire.

The job of the manufacturers is to illuminate, educate, and make it something that people long for. We are not there yet and have hardly started.

Robert B