The best things about school are the things you discover when you're studying.

I'm doing research on Net Neutrality and am starting with a few historical and comparative communications policy stuff. Right next to the relevant books I found a telegram dictionary. Back when the telegram was the primary method of quick, long distance information, word space was a message writer's biggest concern, so a huge lexicon was created to replace standard phrases with a single word each. For example, "Emprestado to lendel close scanbiare" means, "Is it imperative to be prepared to close as soon as transfer books are closed." At least, I think so. My handwriting is terrible and there may be grammar rules or something I'm unfamiliar with, but that's the gist.

I would really like to learn Morse, but there's Gregg Shorthand to master first.

The other interesting tidbit I came across as I was studying was a reference to the work conditions of a federal office during the great depression. In the process of creating the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 cots were set up to help people work around the clock and 72,000 hours of unpaid overtime was performed in the first year. I wonder if we could get any good legislation going if Washington put itself to work like that again.

And, it turns out there's a large Russian population in Denver. I have to do a little bit of research on that for a project where I invent an imaginary patron, so maybe some interesting facts will rise to the surface there too.

==

Refs(mainly for my benefit) :
Lindblom & Cohen, Useful Knowledge and Useful Problemsolving