This Will Be Tedious

Without this Sametime Status, you would have spelled the word “Rigmarole” incorrectly

I don't know about that.  There's probably a better than average chance I wouldn't have tried to spell it at all.  

Well, therein lies the problem.  It's one of those words that's not used enough, and I think that's at least partially because people don't know how to spell it.  Quite frankly, people aren't entirely clear on how to pronounce it either, but that's nothing new.  

So, recently, in a work email, I was sent this word...although at the time, it was two words.  The author used the phrase "rigor maroll" to detail the steps involved in a project.  The author clearly meant rigmarole, but had no clue what it was he was actually saying.  It's okay with more complicated and less frequently used words such as rigmarole, but it's a problem that I see almost all of the time, usually in the comment sections of web pages. 

I should look at web page comment sections less, but that's beside the point entirely.  

I actually had to look up the word "rigmarole" once I had deciphered the email, and couldn't quite figure out for myself how to spell the word.  I thought there was an extra syllable in there, as if there should have been another "a" after the "g" or something.  That would probably involve putting in an extra "g" (no relation to my old calculus teacher's famous phrase "Hit it with the g function" which would be a great name for an album).  So I was incorrect.  As would you have been before I came along to help you.  You're welcome! 

This Made Me Sadder Than You Think

Here’s a Fun Fact!  Jefferies Tubes were specifically named for use in Star Trek

Jeremy thought they were an actual thing.  He's awesome like that.

So here's my problem with fiction.  I make the assumption that the fiction is at least based on some sort of fact.  Let's take Star Trek, for instance.  I have no trouble believing in the communicator devices or the little tablet computers they always seemed to have kicking around.  In fact, we've already met or exceeded that technology some 200 years early.  Go, humanity!  I'm also pretty convinced that a matter-antimatter annihilation reactor would generate a tremendous amount of energy, which in turn could cause a warp in the space-time continuum, rendering warp drive possible.  We're not there yet, But We're Not Entirely Far Off.  Space ships?  Okay.  Laser pistols, sure.  Extra-terrestrial life forms, why not?  

All of these things are (or were) stretches from reality, but they were based on the reality of the day, so we just took them as truth.  Ship's components were pretty standard fare.  You had the bridge, with the captain's chair, the helm, a brig, the engine room (or "main engineering"), the quarters, the bulkheads and so on and so forth.  They also included maintenance access ports called "Jefferies Tubes."  This was the name, and who was I to believe that they didn't exist in ships already?  I'm not an expert in nautical or aerospace design.  I'm sure there are maintenance ports in boats and planes...so I made the completely unconscious jump to believe that they were called Jefferies Tubes, that they had always been called Jefferies Tubes, and they would be called Jefferies Tubes right through to the 24th century Galaxy-Class Starships.  

Well, file this under "Things You Learn While Doing Other Things," but I learned recently, much to my dismay, that Jefferies Tubes were named after Matt Jefferies, the production designer of Star Trek: The Original Series.  They were never a real thing in any vehicle prior to the original Enterprise.  What a letdown. 

Now I Want A Burrito

Rolfing isn’t what you think it is 

It sounds like something that happens after you eat one too many Burritos Supreme at Taco Bell.

One Burrito Supreme at Taco Bell isn't too many?  

 Depends on your criteria, I guess...but my point remains valid.

And my point remains correct.  Rolfing has nothing to do with either vomiting, or frisbee golf.  It's actually a type of holistic medicine dealing with muscle alignment and structural integration or something.  It's akin to a type of massage that separates the fibres of muscle connective tissues in order to allow more natural movement of the muscles.  The process was named after the founder of the practice, Ida Rolf.  

I'da rolf too, if I ate that many Burritos.

Of course, the whole process is incredibly long, complicated, and expensive.  A complete treatment takes between 10 and 15 hours and costs $80 per hour based on a Groupon I was emailed last week.  To become a trained Rolfer requires a full year of training at a cost of over $10,000 at a single clinic in Colorado.   The practice has also been scientifically proven to accomplish absolutely nothing, though dozens of people have offered testimonials to its effectiveness.  If nothing else, it appears to be remarkably effective at taking your money...which is not what you thought it did.