atw: Re: '24/7' [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
- From: Bob Trussler <bob.trussler@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2012 21:23:24 +1000
"A little inaccuracy sometimes saves tons of explanation"
Saki
This was my desk calendar a while back.
Bob T
On 24 August 2012 10:02, Howard Silcock <howard.silcock@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Of course not! If the '24' stands for '24 hours a day' and the '7' stands
> for '7 days a week', then '365.25' ought to stand for '365.25 days a year'.
> Makes no sense at all!
>
>
> In honesty, though, I was making fun of my own pedantic thought processes
> and do realise there are times when it's best to ignore them. If '24/7/365'
> hadn't been objectionable for other reasons – mainly because it's so
> cumbersome, but also because I hate how the slash (sorry, Geoffrey, I mean
> the solidus!) is misused – I might have considered it.
>
> I'm not sure if pedantry can ever be assuaged. But you can ignore the
> pedantic impulse when you need to. Well, mostly ...
>
> Howard
>
> On 24 August 2012 09:23, <Peter.Martin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> Howard:
>>
>> Does 24/7/365.25 assuage your pedantic instincts at all ?
>>
>> Yes, there's still the problem of the odd leap second, but how many
>> decimal points does it take to let you sleep at night ? :-)
>>
>>
>>
>> *Peter M*
>>
>>
>>
>> From: Howard Silcock <howard.silcock@xxxxxxxxx>
>> To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Date: 22/08/2012 11:25 AM
>> Subject: atw: '24/7'
>> Sent by: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> ------------------------------
>>
>>
>>
>> A document I'm currently working with refers to "a 24 hour seven days' a
>> week, 365 days' a year global network environment". Apart from the misuse
>> of apostrophes and the mixture of singular 'hour' with plural 'days', this
>> seems a very cumbersome expression for a very clear concept.
>>
>> I need to refer to this passage in another document I'm writing, and was
>> tempted to simplify it to 'a 24/7 global network environment' or to 'a
>> round-the-clock global network environment'. But, after consulting the
>> Wikipedia article '24/7', I'm wondering if this would be wise. It seems the
>> term '24/7' has caused some confusion when used in company promotions,
>> especially over whether it implies availability on holidays. I don't really
>> want to write '24/7/365' – that's getting cumbersome again, and the pedant
>> in me keeps wondering 'what about leap years?'. I like 'round-the-clock',
>> but Wikipedia suggests it's a UK usage.
>>
>> What do you think?
>>
>> Howard
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
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Bob Trussler
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