Interestingly enough, I could find no confirmation of my memory of the older usage in my Merriam-Webster and American Heritage dictionaries. However, when I turned to a dictionary written in French, the reference was easy enough to find: a definition of “degréé K.” as a “former term for the kelvin."
I suspect that however complete the changeover may seem, the old form will be around for a while—especially in writing, where the abbreviation “K” must be interpreted from context lest the reader ask, “Kilo what?” As an aside, I note that the change from “cycles per second” to “Hz” has been virtually complete for many years, but some electricians will still speak of 60-cycle current. And that in spite of the fact that the change to Hz corrected a real error, since “megacycles per second” (for example) was such a mouthful that it was always shortened to “megacyles.” In the case of the kelvin, there was never any such logical reason to prefer one form to the other.
It's not a mistake; it's just old.
Happens to all of us, sooner or later!
Norm Mosher
Corinth, NY
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Dear Dr. Schmidt,
What a joy to read Jack Lee Williams letter in the June edition of Analog! Well composed, well written and engaging. Above all else, though, it was pleasant and very readable.
In contrast, I note your comment later in the same Brass Tacks column regarding civility, or the lack of it, and I have to say I also have found an increasing trend of aggressive communications, notably on Internet forums. Like road rage, it seems that the anonymous nature of this type of communications allows some people to feel freed from the restraints of normal civilized behavior, as they are not liable to be held responsible for their actions or suffer as a consequence.
It is not limited to the less educated among us, either; I had to resign from an Alumni forum for my University, as the standard of debate was offensive to say the least.
To return to Mr. Williams’ letter, I was also pleased to see that he is an engineer—as I am. As a profession, we don't have a great reputation as communicators, and here he is, proving them all wrong!
Has he considered writing for you?
Thank you for your entire magazine—even if I don't like all the contents, it never fails to make me think. (I also have a long-term pen friend through our common thread of responding to your column).
Steve Ashby
Hampshire,
England
[Back to Table of Contents]
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UPCOMING EVENTS: Anthony Lewis
3-6 November 2005
WORLD FANTASY CONVENTION 2005 at The Madison Concourse Hotel & Governor's Club, Madison WI. Theme: The Architecture of Fantasy & Horror. Guests of Honor: Graham Joyce, Robert Weinberg, Terry Windling. Artist Guest of Honor: Kinuko Y. Craft. TM: Peter Straub. Registration: $125 until 1 June 2005, more thereafter. Info: www.worldfantasy.org; WFC2005@worldfantasy. org; WFC-Madison, Box 531, Cambridge WI 53523.
11-13 November 2005
ASTRONOMICON (Rochester-area SF conference) at Clarion Riverside Hotel, Rochester NY. Guests of Honor: Spider & Jeanne Robinson. Artist Guest of Honor: Bob Eggleton. Fan Guest of Honor: Erwin S. Strauss. Filk Guest of Honor: Roberta Rogow. Editor Guest of Honor: Robert Weinberg. Anime Guest of Honor: Steve Bennett. Special Guest of Honor: Forrest J Ackerman. Registration: $30 until 30 June 2005, more thereafter. Info: www.astronomicon.info/; chair @astronomicon.info; The Rochester Fantasy Fans, Box 31701, Rochester NY 14603-1701; (585) 342-4697.
11-13 November 2005
NOVACON 35 (British winter SF conference) at Quality Hotel, Bentley, Walsall, UK. Guest of Honor: Alastair Reynolds. Registration: £36 until 26 October 2005, then £40. Info: www.novacon. org; Steve Lawson, 379 Myrtle Road, Sheffield, S2 3HQ, UK; +44 (0) 114 281 1572.
11-13 November 2005
ORYCON 27 (Portland, Oregon-area SF conference.) Guests of Honor: Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson. Special Guest of Honor: Rebecca Moesta. Artist Guest of Honor: Paul Guinan. Special Guest: Anina Bennett. Registration: $40 until 15 July 2005, $45 until 15 October 2005, $55 at the door. Info: www.orycon.org/orycon27/; orycon27 @hotmail.com; OryCon 27, Box 5464, Portland OR 97228-5464.
11-13 November 2005
WINDYCON 32 (Chicago-area SF conference) at The Wyndham Hotel O'Hare, Rosemont IL. Guest of Honor: Harry Turtledove. Artist Guest of Honor: Bill Holbrook. Fan Guest of Honor: Jim Rittenhouse. Media Guests of Honor: Erin Gray & Gil Gerard. TM: Esther Friesner. Registration: $35 until 14 October 2005, $50 at door. Info: www.windycon.org/; [email protected]; WindyCon 32, Box 184, Palatine IL 60078-0184.
25-27 November 2005
LOSCON 32 (Los Angeles area SF conference) Guest of Honor: Stephen Brust. Artist Guest of Honor: Rowena Morrill. Fan Guest of Honor: Bruce Farr. Registration: $30. Info: www.loscon.org/; [email protected]; Loscon 32, c/o Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, 11513 Burbank Blvd, North Hollywood CA 91601.
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Visit www.analogsf.com for information on additional titles by this and other authors.
Analog SFF, November 2005 Page 25