hmm... I was partially right. On a typewriter you would go back before a word and then use the underscore key to make an underline of the word. An underline of course would be used on a typewriter to replace the italics function.

I may be wrong, but I think the underscore "character" was invented because typewriters didn't have italics functions.

That's not mine. That's John Hodgman, from the Daily Show. He was talking about a contest the US Defense Department soliciting essays about how to defeat the Iraqi insurgency (for a $1000 prize.) My favourite part of the whole thing, though, was when he was saying that the government soliciting advice for prizes wasn't a new thing. He then detailed the story of a woman from Palm Beach who made the decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan. "For that she received a case of Lucky Strikes... and a lifetime supply of sadness."

(Oh, and Gestapo should be capitalized.)

Oh yeah, I really like the new title. And you say you don't want to be on the language gestapo.

That's a good question, Paras. In actual writing, I think I have only ever used it in works cited lists to indicate a title of a major work - and even there I think it is pretty interchangable with italics. (I really could be wrong about that though, so don't try it.) I think you're supposed to emphasize something with bold... so maybe computers just do it to mimic writing by hand?

Question: is there a use of the underscore in actual writing? Having used it for years in programming, it's never occurred to me that I don't know what (if anything) it's actually used for.

Can't say that I have, P.

Ugh, what a crappy game winning goal.

Classy:

House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Ill., center, gets out of a Hydrogen Alternative Fueled automobile, left, as he prepares to board his SUV, which uses gasoline, after holding a new conference at a local gas station in Washington, Thursday, April 27, 2006 to discuss the recent rise in gas prices. Hastert and other members of Congress drove off in the Hydrogen-Fueled cars only to switch to their official cars to drive back the few block back to the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

I was sitting down at a good window table while studying when the adrenalin started. It was frustrating as I sat there for a good 45 minutes struggling to stay focused while dealing with the urges of fight or flight. The noises in the background that normally wouldn't bother me became stark in quality. I figured to try sending myself into a trance, but that didn't work out. I eventually gave up and stole 15 minutes for a nap.

So...anyone else go through this?

Name sucks man. I thought revolution was kind of cool for a name.

Can't watch the game at my house, don't have CBC Edmonton as a channel. Only CBC Calgary!

This is fucking ridiculous:



Introducing the "Nintendo Wii", and that's pronounced "we". And yes, that is the official new name for the revolution.