Say What?

TudpxlcXoarfUtKk

A moue of anger or irritation? Not a spoken one: Too hard to pronounce.

TudpxlcXoarfUtKk

An expression of disdain? Not a written one: Too hard to get past spelling check.

TudpxlcXoarfUtKk

A password? Not a useful one: Too hard to remember, much less execute, the arbitrary capitals.

TudpxlcXoarfUtKk

A spam answer to my recent rhetorical question? Not an effective one: Too easy for an automated algorithm to flag as obvious gibberish.

Well, TudpxlcXoarfUtKk. Or as a human might say, dagnab it. There appears to be no use whatsoever for TudpxlcXoarfUtKk.

 

This entry was posted in Language and Communication, Laughing Frequently, Wired and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

9 Responses to Say What?

  1. You have been spammed by an alien, Isabel. This message may be the equivalent of the Rosetta Stone. Save, bookmark, and meditate upon it. Whether it is a greeting, word of compassion, or expletive, I think we should memorize it so we can offer it in appropriate tones on occasions that seem appropriate.

    • Isabel Gibson says:

      Laurna – Dagnab it! I didn’t consider the possibility of the mother ship. “Klaatu barada nikto”, perhaps?

      • barbara carlson says:

        If only it were that “simple”. That movie was made back in the da when 1) people’s attention spans were longer and 2) so were their memories (under duress) ….kla…what?

        • Isabel Gibson says:

          Barbara – Oh yes. And movies were a *lot* slower. And watching the clips, I couldn’t see that anyone was in charge of the troops. They were all standing in different postures, and decided on their own when to draw or point or shoot their various weapons. Yikes.

  2. Tom Watson says:

    Isabel
    This smacks a bit of Russian, and a bit of Greek.

    I think it means, “Here, tie a knot in the end of this rope and hang on.” Best I can do.

    Either that or it’s an obscure prediction such as: “In spite of last night’s chaotic ending, the Dodgers still win the World Series.”
    Tom

    • Isabel Gibson says:

      Tom – That *was* some ending, wasn’t it? We gave up before the 9th inning and so had to settle for the replay without any uncertainty of the outcome to lend some spice. It was still fabulous. As for the translation, that’s as good as anything and better than many.

  3. Jim Taylor says:

    Actually, if you convert all the letters into number code, multiply them together like an ISBN, convert those to base 13, apply the Planck constant, and divide by the square root of the speed of light, and then convert those digits back into alphabetic letters, you’ll have a clear and concise answer. I’d give you the result, but I haven’t been able to do it yet.

    Jim T

    • Tom Watson says:

      I think where it gets tricky is in the square root of the speed of light part.
      Tom

      • Isabel Gibson says:

        Jim & Tom – Bah! Just do a Fournier transform first. (I have no idea what that is but it’s one of the few math-jargon bits I know how to spell.)

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