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Posted By: ECH714 BIG APPLE - 09/07/05 11:55 PM
THIS WEEK WORDS WILL BE ABOUT NEW YORK CITY....MY QUESTION AND MAYBE YOU CAN ANSWER IT....HOW DID NYC GET THE NAME "THE BIG APPLE" AND WHILE YOU ARE AT IT...HOW ABOUT NEW ORLEANS BEING CALLED "THE BIG EASY" AND THERE ARE MORE....


Posted By: Faldage Re: BIG APPLE - 09/08/05 12:24 AM
shhhhhh. you'll wake the baby.

Posted By: Sparteye Re: BIG APPLE - 09/08/05 12:55 AM
New York City became the Big Apple because of a high-class bordello popular in the city in the early 1800s. The founder of the bordello was a Frenchwoman named Evelyn. Locals called her Eve, and jokes about her staff as apples followed. Variations on the apple reference expanded until the entire city was referred to as The Apple by the early 1900s. You can find more details here:

http://salwen.com/apple.html

The origin of "The Big Easy" is less clear, but the leading theory seems to be that it was applied to N'awlins because the city had such a relaxed atmosphere.






(And the perhaps cryptic comment by our friend Faldage is a reference to your use of all caps in your post; it is established internet usage that all caps indicate SHOUTING by the poster.)



Posted By: inselpeter Re: BIG APPLE - 09/08/05 02:27 AM
And, hey, ECH174! Wecome aboard!

Posted By: Marianna Re: BIG APPLE - 09/08/05 10:32 AM
Yep, we come aboard, so book us at the Captain's table!

Posted By: Faldage Re: BIG APPLE - 09/08/05 11:06 AM
I love it. "Often, the explanation of the so-called 'origin' of this phrase is accompanied with plausible-sounding historical or biographical details, giving it an unmistakable (but alas, totally spurious) 'ring of truth.'"

Then they proceed to weave a tale accompanied with plausible-sounding historical or biographical details, giving it an unmistakable (but alas, totally spurious) "ring of truth."

For another opinion, and one to which I would attribute more plausibility, see:

http://www.wordorigins.org/wordorb.htm#Big

Posted By: ECH714 Re: BIG APPLE - 09/08/05 12:25 PM
THANK YOU FOR POSTING THE CRYPTIC COMMENT. I GET THIS OCCASIONALLY BECAUSE YOU SEE, I HAVE A RATHER SEVERE VISION PROBLEM AND SOMETIMES I CAN CHANGE THE FONT SIZE BUT DON'T KNOW HOW ON THIS BOARD. SORRY, NO OFFENSE MEANT. BUT I WOULD THINK THEY WOULD HAVE THE GOOD MANNERS TO FIND OUT WHY ONE POSTS IN CAPITAL LETTERS. IT'S A BITCH TO BE ALMOST BLIND I CAN ASSURE YOU.
THANK YOU

Posted By: AnnaStrophic Re: BIG APPLE - 09/08/05 12:54 PM
Welcome, ECH. We have other members with severe vision problems and I'm sorry to hear of yours. But it's good that you seem to be able to read the answers without their being in all caps, yes? I agree it would be nice for many of us if we could increase font size here, but if there is a way, I sure don't know it! Maybe another member will have a suggestion.

Oh, and back on topic, I was taught in tour guide class in NYC the jazz musician origin of "Big Apple."

Edit: I just went to the preferences page and you can increase front size here near the bottom of the page!

http://wordsmith.org/board/editdisplay.pl?Cat=
Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: BIG APPLE - 09/08/05 01:01 PM
HI ECH. SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR VISION. YOU CAN CHANGE THE FONT SIZE IN YOUR PROFILE-EDIT DISPLAY PREFERENCES. DOWN TOWARDS THE BOTTOM. IT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT MOST BROWSERS CAN DO. CHECK THE "VIEW" SETTINGS.

WE ALSO HAVE MEMBERS HERE THAT USE TEXT-TO-SPEECH SYSTEMS. MIGHT BE SOMETHING TO CHECK IN TO, IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY. PERHAPS MAX WILL JUMP IN HERE.

YOU MIGHT ALSO CONSIDER A LITTLE "DISCLAIMER" IN YOUR SIGNATURE ABOUT YOUR USE OF ALL CAPS.

WELCOME TO THE BOARD!!

edit: sorry for the mantle, Anna, I was a typin'...
Posted By: tsuwm Re: BIG APPLE - 09/08/05 03:20 PM
with firefox browser:
Ctrl(plus)+ increase
Ctrl+- decrease
Ctrl+0 normal

and speaking of manners, I'd ask about options first...
Posted By: inselpeter Re: BIG APPLE - 09/08/05 03:58 PM
>>Firefox<<

But for '0', works with splat for Safari, too.

Posted By: ECH714 Re: BIG APPLE - 09/08/05 07:13 PM
I AM A 70 YEAR OLD MAN WHO IS BEING TAUGHT HOW TO USE A COMPUTER BY HIS GRANDCHILD ALBEIT THE BASICS ONLY. I AM SORRY THAT I DON'T KNOW ALL THE NUNACES OF THE COMPUTER GAME AND DOUBT IF I SHALL EVER LEARN.

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THOSE THAT EXTENDED A WELCOME TO ME AS A NEW ONE ON THE BOARD. THAT WAS EXTREMELY KIND AND I MUST SAY APPRECIATED.

HOWEVER, I THOUGHT I ASKED A SIMPLE QUESTION AND WAS SEEKING A SIMPLE REPLY.

INSTEAD, I WAS LITERALLY JUMPED FOR WRITING IN CAPITAL LETTERS. I WAS NOT AWARE THAT I WAS BEING OFFENSIVE AND EVEN IF I WAS...IF IT ENABLES ME TO SEE...THEN SO BE IT. WHY IS IT OFFENSIVE IF IT IMPROVES MY VISION, ALBEIT NOT GREATLY, TO THE POINT I CAN WRITE OR READ. AND SOME MENTIONED GOING TO FOXFIRE AND USING "O"....ETC. SORRY BUT I AM NOT THAT ADVANCED YET AND HAVE NO IDEA WHAT FOXFIRE IS OR DOES. BUT I APPRECIATE THE HELP AND SUGGESTIONS.
I DID NOT APPRECIATE THE LEFT HANDED APPROACH AT ABUSE BY UNNAMED PARTIES AND FOR THAT REASON, I AM OUTTA HERE...FIND SOME ONE ELSE TO ABUSE AND PICK ON. I DON'T NEED IT.
I SHALL SEARCH FOR INTERESTING READING ELSEWHERE...I SURE HAVE THE TIME.


Posted By: Father Steve Re: BIG APPLE - 09/08/05 09:26 PM
"Well, boys and girls," he said, sitting down with them in the middle of the carpet, "what can we learn from THIS little experience?"

Posted By: tsuwm Re: BIG APPLE - 09/08/05 10:05 PM
from my experiences with tutoring seniors in computer use, this is an example of the "set in their ways" syndrome.

in this instance, there are some ways to get around this sort of problem (just ask Dr. Bill); but not if a person doesn't want to hear about them.

Posted By: sjmaxq Re: BIG APPLE - 09/08/05 10:17 PM
Dr. Bill is an excellent counter to the boorishness displayed by ECH. Despite being significantly older than ECH claims to be, and being at least as visually impaired, he never resorted to posting in capitals.

Posted By: inselpeter Re: BIG APPLE - 09/08/05 10:24 PM
"Well, boys and girls," he said, sitting down with them in the middle of the carpet, "what can we learn from THIS little experience?"

"Not a whole hell of a lot," they answered in chorus.

or: "who wishes to take offense has never far to look"


Posted By: of troy Re: BIG APPLE - 09/08/05 10:39 PM
yes, Faldage comments were low key (he wasn't "all over")ech
and others comments provided directions, not just "don't do it".

netiquet, follows its own rules. and if you want to play on the net, you learn the rules. they are pretty simple. and if you want to play by your own rules, well, expect to get corrected.

no doubt, its been several years since anyone has attempted to correct any of ECH behaviors, and he has fallen out of the habit of accepting correction.

i pity his poor grand child who has the job of helping him.
but then, i clearly remember being slapped by an elderly uncle for misspelling a word (and it wasn't even misspelled, i just used the US not the UK spelling. and i was rude to him in response to the slap.. (as i recall, i tore up the letter i was writing for him-and 'wasted' his good paper. (he had temors and could no longer write, but could read fine.)
my mother ended by siding with him... (and he was wrong!) my face still stings as i remember the incident.

Posted By: Jackie Re: BIG APPLE - 09/09/05 01:16 AM
It doesn't sound to me as though ECH felt that he was "resorting to" using all capitals--it seemed like he was just trying to see what he'd written. And if his grandchild hadn't taught him "netiquette", I don't see how it's his fault for not knowing. I personally don't find caps offensive, but then I am still pretty green re: being on the internet.
Having said that, I will say that it might have helped, had he offered some explanation at first...but then again, why would anyone if they had no idea that what they were doing might be offensive?

I think one thing that we might learn is that it can be a mistake for us to assume that every newcomer knows what they're doing. People venture on to the internet for the first time every day; and if they come on here...well, why not? And having said that, I am of the opinion that ECH could have been a bit more gracious. I don't think anyone "jumped on" him.

Let me paraphrase something I said at our church meeting last night, in response to complaints about our new and very young Youth Director: I think it would be a good thing if we concentrate more on helping someone succeed, before being so quick to pounce on them for failing.

Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: BIG APPLE - 09/09/05 01:29 AM
"It's Not Easy Bein' Green" (lyrics by Joe Rapposo)

It's not that easy bein' green;
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves.
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold-
or something much more colorful like that.

It's not easy bein' green.
It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things.
And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water- or stars in the sky.

But green's the color of Spring.
And green can be cool and friendly-like.
And green can be big like an ocean, or important like a mountain, or tall like a tree.

When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why?
Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful!
And I think it's what I want to be.


Posted By: Father Steve Re: BIG APPLE - 09/09/05 02:56 AM
Dear Jackie ~

Rem acu tetigisti.


Posted By: johnjohn Re: BIG APPLE - 09/09/05 05:07 AM
<<<"Well, boys and girls," he said, sitting down with them in the middle of the carpet, "what can we learn from THIS little experience?">>>

If this board has taught me nothing else, it's that there are jerks in real life, and some of them also use the Internet. Age or the lack thereof is no predictor of wisdom or politeness.

Posted By: Faldage Re: BIG APPLE - 09/09/05 10:40 AM
To sum up, your honor, the plaintiff received one gentle comment about posting in all caps, one, possibly spurious, but well intentioned, answer to his question, two welcomes, and another answer to his question. He then posted his reasons for posting in all caps and got, not only sympathy but possible methods of increasing type size. I submit, your honor, that the lesson is, as stated by many Board members, that some people are just way too touchy. Your honor, the defense rests.

Posted By: maverick Re: BIG APPLE - 09/09/05 11:46 AM
I'd go even further and suggest that the general tenor of this place is pretty kindly and helpful and there's no reason for anyone to beat themselves up over this nonsense. This isn't a forum for complete idiots and never will be. Rude newbies - get over yourselves.

There again, I've been working for the last 30 hours so mebbe I should shut up and go sleep ;)

Posted By: inselpeter Re: BIG APPLE - 09/09/05 12:19 PM
>to sum up<

Well done.

Posted By: AnnaStrophic Re: general tenor - 09/09/05 12:58 PM
I thought that was etaoin?

Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: general tenor - 09/09/05 01:03 PM
> I thought that was etaoin?

> suggest that the general tenor of this place is pretty kindly and helpful

why thankee ver' much. and I hope there's a kernel of truth in that somewhere...

Posted By: Jackie Re: BIG APPLE - 09/09/05 02:45 PM
Goodness gracious, mav--get some sleep. (Your post was fine, but I'm concerned about you.)

johnjohn--very wise...and true.

Father Steve--merci. I'll be starting a new thread in I&A thanks to you. (I had to LU your phrase.)

Faldage--you are right. I apologize for being so curmudgeonly; I don't know what's wrong with me lately.


Edit: changed my mind; I put it in W&F, which I think is more apt.

Posted By: wow Re: BIG APPLE - 09/10/05 02:49 PM
Oh, fer hevin's sake!
When I first came ABoard - new to the Internet - I made many mistakes - and received gentle corrections from those more easy with the milieu than I. Some ruffled my feathers a bit but I thought things over and saw the benefit of having kind souls help me. MaxQ was particularly kind, sending screenshots to help me in my fumbling ways.
I have found 99 percent of the answers to my posts have been kind and well meant.
Age has litle to do with it. It's a mindset IMHO. I am 76 and am glad to have found a place with so many patient and helpful souls frequenting it.

Posted By: ECH714 Re: BIG APPLE - 09/11/05 05:24 PM
This post is not directed to anyone in particular but may be useful to everyone in general.
I guess I should thank Faldage for the left handed sort of way that their reply to my question caused me to check out “Netiquette.”
A word I never heard of before. I obtained much information from a search engine and it was most interesting to be sure. When we unpacked the computer and read the instruction book, no where did it mention the rules of etiquette for internet use. In fact it did not mention such a thing as Netiquette. I shall provide the link in case you are interested. http://www.albion.com/netiquette/

If you will permit me I would like to share rule 10 with you.
Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes
Everyone was a network newbie once. And not everyone has had the benefit of reading this book. So when someone makes a mistake -- whether it's a spelling error or a spelling flame, a stupid question or an unnecessarily long answer -- be kind about it. If it's a minor error, you may not need to say anything. Even if you feel strongly about it, think twice before reacting. Having good manners yourself doesn't give you license to correct everyone else.
If you do decide to inform someone of a mistake, point it out politely, and preferably by private email rather than in public. Give people the benefit of the doubt; assume they just don't know any better. And never be arrogant or self-righteous about it. Just as it's a law of nature that spelling flames always contain spelling errors, notes pointing out Netiquette violations are often examples of poor Netiquette.

I am a newbie to the world of computers and especially the internet. We were all newbies at one time in everything we have ever done, even walking. The most accomplished computer nerd started at square one when he began.

I am no longer using capital letters because I type in MS Word in a font of sufficient size that I can see and then reduce it to the acceptable size for the internet public. Sure it is a time consuming process but I would rather do that than offend anyone.

I shall graciously accept criticism of my errors but I ask that you HELP me in your criticism and ask that you not chastise nor ridicule me. I will learn much faster that way I assure you. I ask, as do others in my situation, that you be a bit more tolerant. Just because we are “older” does not mean we are not willing to learn.
Finally, my apologies, again, to each and every one who may have been offended by my use of capital letters in my first post.


Posted By: of troy Re: BIG APPLE - 09/11/05 05:51 PM
Windows offers several accesability options.

go to the start button
then select Control Panel from the list of options

the control panel offers ACCESSABILITY OPTIONS

one option allow you to increase font/window/icon size.. another option allows for a magnifying 'window' place that window on top of any other window and it magnifies it.

in addition, there are 3rd party software packages for vision and for other accessabiltiy issues.

ECH you are not the first or last person here to need or use these options. --nor are you by anymeans the oldest person here! I recommend you read the hints for newcomers and the FAQ --both will provide you with tips and tricks to navigate here, and on other sites.

several are designed for the total computer illiterate.. (surprize your grandson and do a little magic.. when he asks, "howja do that?" smile and explain your not an old dog, and you are quite capable of learning some new tricks!)

Posted By: Father Steve Re: BIG APPLE - 09/11/05 06:59 PM
The reading from the Holy Gospel this morning was from Saint Matthew, the eighteenth chapter. In pertinent part, it says: "Peter came and said to Jesus, 'Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.'"

Amazing how some stuff just seems to fit together in life.

Posted By: inselpeter Re: BIG APPLE - 09/11/05 09:20 PM
Well, anyway, welcome back, ECH. Glad to have you along for the ride.

Posted By: tsuwm now that the dust has settled somewhat... - 09/13/05 08:32 PM
take a look in Information and announcements for information on IBM Web Adaptation Technology.

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