There can be only one
May. 25th, 2004 06:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
netpositiveThe actual conversation this arose from...
Jeff: You wanted me to ask Dale about the Clearcoms, right?
Lee: yeah - does he have all the pieces now - how many tubs worth
Jeff: Dale doesn't have a clue. He doesn't know what clearcom refers to.
Lee: *scratches head*
Lee: Whatever the heck he has that he provides to the com.
Jeff: Radios?
Lee: Marc says maybe Dale's pedantic about the brand specificity - Clearcom is a brand of intercom. *rolls eyes*
Lee: so try intercom
Jeff: No response yet from Dale
*snip some extraneous comments here*
Jeff: BTW, what do you need to pick up in Laurel?
Lee: Whatever Dale has at your house. Assuming he has what Marc thinks he has. *re*
Jeff: Err, why don't I just bring what he has here?
Lee: That's why I wanted to find out how much stuff (how many tubs) it is. It may be more than a little.
*insert dramatic pause here*
Jeff: Argh! Wrong Dale
Lee: oh, sorry
Lee: that Dale, not our Dale
Lee: Where I went wrong - I *still* don't think of Dale Arnold as Dale
Lee: I didn't think to provide further context because in my brain there is only one Dale we both know in this situation!
Lee: Just called Marc, who was confused and maybe slightly panicked by my earlier relay of "Dale doesn't know what you mean" message. He told me to go back to bed or something.
Jeff: Heh
Jeff: After all, Dale Farmer isn't even going to be at Balticon, so why would you want me to ask him something?
Jeff: :)
Context explanation:
(1) Jeff and I both live in the Balti-Wash area, are both long-time members of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society, and our “home convention” is Balticon.
(2) Dale *Farmer* is from the Boston area, but is staying at Jeff’s house currently for some short-term contract work. Due to said work, he cannot attend this year’s Balticon as he usually would, but he is still providing some equipment for it. I am familiar with him in that context, but Jeff is not.
(3) Dale *Arnold* is: the person who got me into BSFS, the con chair for this year’s Balticon, and the most logical first name association for Jeff to make in this situation. (The poor guy is probably also quite puzzled as to what was going on just now.... a terrible thing to do to a Club Pessimist!)
(4) Where the problem arose: to me, Dale Arnold is actually *Steve* Arnold – i.e., older brother of my high school boyfriend Don, and more to the point, the eldest son of another Dale Arnold. Thus he is known as “Steve” inside his family - thus I was introduced to him many many many years ago - and thus he is still filed in my brain.
Jeff: You wanted me to ask Dale about the Clearcoms, right?
Lee: yeah - does he have all the pieces now - how many tubs worth
Jeff: Dale doesn't have a clue. He doesn't know what clearcom refers to.
Lee: *scratches head*
Lee: Whatever the heck he has that he provides to the com.
Jeff: Radios?
Lee: Marc says maybe Dale's pedantic about the brand specificity - Clearcom is a brand of intercom. *rolls eyes*
Lee: so try intercom
Jeff: No response yet from Dale
*snip some extraneous comments here*
Jeff: BTW, what do you need to pick up in Laurel?
Lee: Whatever Dale has at your house. Assuming he has what Marc thinks he has. *re*
Jeff: Err, why don't I just bring what he has here?
Lee: That's why I wanted to find out how much stuff (how many tubs) it is. It may be more than a little.
*insert dramatic pause here*
Jeff: Argh! Wrong Dale
Lee: oh, sorry
Lee: that Dale, not our Dale
Lee: Where I went wrong - I *still* don't think of Dale Arnold as Dale
Lee: I didn't think to provide further context because in my brain there is only one Dale we both know in this situation!
Lee: Just called Marc, who was confused and maybe slightly panicked by my earlier relay of "Dale doesn't know what you mean" message. He told me to go back to bed or something.
Jeff: Heh
Jeff: After all, Dale Farmer isn't even going to be at Balticon, so why would you want me to ask him something?
Jeff: :)
Context explanation:
(1) Jeff and I both live in the Balti-Wash area, are both long-time members of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society, and our “home convention” is Balticon.
(2) Dale *Farmer* is from the Boston area, but is staying at Jeff’s house currently for some short-term contract work. Due to said work, he cannot attend this year’s Balticon as he usually would, but he is still providing some equipment for it. I am familiar with him in that context, but Jeff is not.
(3) Dale *Arnold* is: the person who got me into BSFS, the con chair for this year’s Balticon, and the most logical first name association for Jeff to make in this situation. (The poor guy is probably also quite puzzled as to what was going on just now.... a terrible thing to do to a Club Pessimist!)
(4) Where the problem arose: to me, Dale Arnold is actually *Steve* Arnold – i.e., older brother of my high school boyfriend Don, and more to the point, the eldest son of another Dale Arnold. Thus he is known as “Steve” inside his family - thus I was introduced to him many many many years ago - and thus he is still filed in my brain.
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It's fandom, Jake
Date: 2004-05-26 03:27 pm (UTC)Fortunately "our" Dale has lots of hardworking folks to delegate things to. :)
(Like Dale/Steve, I was also called by a variaion on my middle name by my immediate family; unlike him, I've insisted almost everyone else [except for doctors and other official-like types] call me that too. :) )