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So, I know some here know a bit german, I recently saw a car on the street with the company logo
"BAD DESIGN" on it, in big letters.
Well, we all know, that this is not the perfect choice as a company name but in german, the word "Bad" means "Bath" or "Bathroom" - So this is a company that designs your bath!
So yes, this can happen, if you try to sound "cool" with an english name for your little company but... well... fail
Even if you want to do a "Bad Design" (german), you don't want it to be a "Bad Design" (english)
http://bad-design.at/[^]
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Some time last week I saw a van from a company that was named after the owner: Irrenhauser. Not really much better.
Edit: If the translator has a problem with the ending 'er': Irrenhaus is the word for the funny farm, the asylum, the madhouse.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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didn't michael jackson get quite rich for being bad,
(though no one believed him till recently - quite a few years after he died)
Message Signature
(Click to edit ->)
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The very best German/English pair of words that have different meanings - yet are often enough interchangeable: Gift[^].*
* near Leslie on my part
Ravings en masse^ |
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"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Yes, "Gift" is also one of those words
No german speaking person would want that you give him or her a "Gift". Really
Oh, and above, "Irrenhauser" is a good one too
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You see this all the time when porting words or phrases between different languages, even closely related languages. Take Swedish and Norwegian. We usually understand each other's languages without "translation", but if I send an email to a Swedish guy to tell him that I unfortunately have no opportunity to meet him, "Jeg har desssverre ikke anledning til å møte deg", he will read it as if I have no reason whatsoever to want to meet him
Regarding "bad" - but staying within the English language: Last Friday was the international women's day, and the weekly blues program on NRK P2, "Bluesasylet", devoted the hour to "bad mammas". The host spent a few words to explain that "bad" in this context certainly doesn't mean "misbehaved" in any other sense than a woman standing up for herself, her own rights, she ran her own life not as a submissive girl but as an independent woman. Well, some might call that "misbehaviour", but hopefully there are far fewer today than 70-100 years ago!
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Member 7989122 wrote: "Jeg har desssverre ikke anledning til å møte deg", he will read it as if I have no reason whatsoever to want to meet him
I can confirm that I certainly would have misunderstood that.
Saving this knowledge for future reference.
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There as a time when Bad became Good in American slang.
Yes, it was around 1984 in fact now that I think about it.
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There are a large number of German towns with Bad in the name, in that case it means Spa in English.
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It's hardly unique.
Audi's got the "e-tron". They obviously haven't checked what "étron" translates to in French.
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Some twenty years ago (possibly more) a company here in the UK renamed/rebranded itself to G.P.T. That was fine, except it had branches in France. The French receptionists had to answer the phone with "Bonjour, GPT". Try this[^] and listen to the French version...
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Executed early, they loved to feed on sympathetic feelings (13)
Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640
Never throw anything away, Griff
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Compassionate (sympathetic feelings)
COM = executed early
PASSION = loved
ATE = feed
I don't really get the COM bit though... is it COMPUTED shortened to COM?
EDIT: Actually, is it to do with executable files used to have COM file extension[^] in the early days?
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Yep, I found that after I posted (and edited). Before my time I think, but another bit of interesting yet useless information to add to my brain.
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Perhaps an easier clue for the COM bit would have been HResult 0x8007000f: "E_NOTACLUE"
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. - Mark Twain
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The clue doesn't work on 64 bit machines without vDos...
Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640
Never throw anything away, Griff
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Good point!
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. - Mark Twain
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I used to enjoy writing .COM files in assembler. It felt like proper programming. <cue music="">Those ... were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end.
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Tomorrow morning I will have a discussion with a whiz kid. He will show me why his code works, and why I as an old fart missed the obvious design.
And why it is intuitively obvious;
And oh yeah, I was never allowed to finish that....
I'm thinking of the joker and his disappearing pencil trick. If that doesn't work I know this guy named John with a blind paypal account...
Just kidding John... sort of
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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Wow. Good luck with all that.
<sig notetoself="think of a better signature">
<first>Jim</first> <last>Meadors</last>
</sig>
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What is more important is the code being obvious, legible and maintainable.
Because that is where the cost to the company is, where its profit is wasted.
It is NOT wasted by having code that is, possibly, a bit slower, or hasnt got such an elegant design.
Tell your manager this.
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Lower any expectations you have, you may get surprised.
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