Thursday, May 08, 2003
 
Suh-Weet Disclaimer

Heather's gone off on her new bike many times on her blog, but as a certified Reel Gud Dock Righter, it's up to me to critique the Owner's Manual (Version 5.0).

Okay, not the whole thing. I focused on the sweet disclaimer at the front:
    GENERAL WARNING: Bicycling can be a hazardous activity even under the best of circumstances. Proper maintenance of your bicycle is your responsibility and is essential to reducing the risk of injury. This Manual contains many "Warnings" and "Cautions" concerning the consequences of failure to maintain or inspect your bicycle. Many of the Warnings and Cautions say "you may lose control and fall". [sic, Ms. Igert, I swear] Because any fall can result in serious injury or even death, we do not repeat the warning of possible injury or death whenever the risk of falling is mentioned.
As a Doc-U-Matic 3000, I generate my share of droll technical specs and manuals, but since I do software, I never get the cool caveats. Instead, I get things like "Performing this action might result in unexpected results." or "Running this utility while your server is running can corrupt your database." Where's the threat of death? Where's the danger, the intrigue?

While researching this blog entry, I saw the new Version 6.0 Owner's Manual on the Giant Bicycle's Web site (marketing message: "Cycling Solution Provider for everyone" which would seem to indicate everyone has a cycling problem, dilemma, or conundrum). Still, the upgraded doc says:
    The combination of the safety alert symbol and the word WARNING indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in serious injury or death.
How sexy is that? When do I get to threaten the people who ignore my reason of career existence with death for ignoring me?

- posted by Brian J. @ 10:01 PM
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To say Noggle, one first must be able to say the "Nah."