# I hate authors who can't be arsed to research **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 22, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922 "2009-07-22T22:49:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/161 "2009-07-28T16:26:24Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > So the character wasn’t wrong, the author was. No, the Puget Sound _is_ part of the Pacific. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/162 "2009-07-28T16:30:36Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No, the Puget Sound _is_ part of the Pacific. Yeah, I’m not going to rehash the whole argument again except to say that “technically correct” can sometimes still be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/163 "2009-07-28T16:34:16Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Just read a book that featured a .09mm Glock. What’s it shoot? Dust? Revolvers that eject shells seem to be a common theme as well. One of my favorite Dean Koontz novels, Phantoms, is guilty of that sin. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/164 "2009-07-28T16:45:47Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Just read a book that featured a .09mm Glock. What’s it shoot? Dust? Revolvers that eject shells seem to be a common theme as well. Also revolvers with safeties. (There are couple of them) ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/165 "2009-07-28T19:53:47Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No, the Puget Sound _is_ part of the Pacific. I gotta say that you’re reeeeally coming off as a pathetic pedant in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/166 "2009-07-28T20:27:25Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Could we say, " Y’all jodiendo puta" and be correct? 😃 Only if the character is a Southerner trying to get several putas to joder with him. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/167 "2009-07-28T23:00:00Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > I gotta say that you’re reeeeally coming off as a pathetic pedant in this thread. Personal insults are not allowed in this forum, so please don’t do this again. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/168 "2009-07-29T12:05:40Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > I gotta say that you’re reeeeally coming off as a pathetic pedant in this thread. A snit on the internet over something miniscule? Say it isn’t so! ( I usually enjoy the pedantic divergences in threads. a) I learn something b) its fun to watch people get a bee up their nose. c) Even if it is me stuffing the bee up my nose. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/169 "2009-07-29T12:37:30Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > A snit on the internet over something miniscule? Say it isn’t so! > ( I usually enjoy the pedantic divergences in threads. a) I learn something b) its fun to watch people get a bee up their nose. c) Even if it is me stuffing the bee up my nose. I usually enjoy them, too, but this one is to ridiculous proportions, where I’m actually amazed that (even on teh internets) someone can be THIS stubborn over a stupid ocean. And **Marley** , noted, though I said he’s coming off as one, not that he _is_ one, but fine. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/170 "2009-07-29T21:09:33Z")
Regarding y’all, I used to think it was only plural. Then I moved to Houston. The following occurs: Me walking into restaurant Hostess: How many in your party? Me: 1 Hostess: Okay, y’all come with me. 😕:smack: I did actually have one waitress make that mistake, realize she did so, and turn it into an attempt at a joke. She was dealing with a group before me and it slipped out. But that is not the typical reason or reaction. Usually it’s a straight up use. ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/171 "2009-08-18T04:01:42Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > It’s not hard, you know. **Good** sausage gravy is rare anywhere. Just accept the fact that you have to make it yourself and life gets a lot easier. > > ```php > > ``` > > I can say this because my local greasy spoon makes a pretty good gravy to go with their almost-acceptable CFS. Bringing to mind a favorite of mine (favorite example, not favorite novel)…In V.C. Andrews’ Heaven, the main character is making biscuits and gravy in the family shack. She gets the grease hot, adds in the flour so it can brown, then stirs in some water. Because, you know, nothing like a little water gravy for your biscuits. I considered the possibility that this detail was supposed to show how poor the family was (in fact I think papa sold the milk cow when he had to get treated for syphyllis), but that seems much too subtle. I’m really thinking Ms. Andrews was just saying to herself, “Yeah, I know you get the grease hot, I know you brown the flour, hell, I know what I’m talking about.” ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/172 "2009-08-18T05:10:27Z")
In \*\*The Black Dahlia \*\*James Ellroy mentions something to do with the intersection of Western Avenue and Crenshaw Avenue. The two major streets run parallel about a mile apart, all the way from Wilshire down to the harbor. And Ellroy lived in Los Angeles for much of his life. No excuse. ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/173 "2009-08-18T06:54:24Z")
_Technically_ they meet at the Pacific Ocean. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/174 "2009-08-18T07:52:01Z")
> [@Tenebras](#): > > _Technically_ they meet at the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately, later in the novel, God engineers a geological cataclysm that sees an enormous section of the Earth’s mantle shoot up and seal off the Puget Sound into the Puget Sea … or perhaps Lake Puget. Oh, well. At least it would be a new argument. ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/175 "2009-08-18T17:11:36Z")
Hey, if both streets terminate at the Pacific Ocean, then I see no reason why you wouldn’t say that they meet at the Pacific Ocean. If you drive to the end of Western, where are you? The Pacific Ocean. If you drive to the end of Crenshaw, where are you? The Pacific Ocean. If Los Angelenos were just a little bit more creative in their path-finding algorithms, their traffic problems would be a bit less severe, don’t you think? Of course, if Puget Sound were really the Pacific Ocean, you’d be able to drive from LA to Seattle in an afternoon, even with traffic. According to Google Maps it takes 17 hours. Therefore, by simple logic, we can conclude that you can’t see the Pacific Ocean from Seattle. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to drive to Hawaii to watch a surfing contest. - By this time they all would have driven their cars into the Pacific Ocean and traffic would be a thing of the past! ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/176 "2009-08-18T17:46:57Z")
> [@movingfinger](#): > > In \*\*The Black Dahlia \*\*James Ellroy mentions something to do with the intersection of Western Avenue and Crenshaw Avenue. > > The two major streets run parallel about a mile apart, all the way from Wilshire down to the harbor. > > And Ellroy lived in Los Angeles for much of his life. No excuse. Every once in a while people will use fake addresses on purpose - usually tv shows or movies. But I wonder if that’s the case here, with what he had to know would be a hit book and might lead to a bunch of losers visiting some real address. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/177 "2009-08-18T19:12:37Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > My biggest pet peeve is, and I’m sure this will be a surprise to anybody for whom my username is familiar, screwing up foreign languages. > > Setting aside all the ones who insist in having supposed Hispanics say “jodienda puta” or “jodiendo puta” (the actual translation of “fucking whore” would be “jodida puta”), then you have the ones whose Brazillian characters (who speak perfectly idiomatic US English half the time and then no speakee English the other half) do speak Spanish like a gringo; those whose Spanish sounds suspiciously like bad Italian; the ones whose French seems to have built by taking the author’s language and tacking -é at the end of every word… > > Seriously, is is so freaking difficult to get a decent translation for one or two sentences? In the age of internet? Really? Erm. :: raises hand :: While I’m sure there are some Brazilians who speak Spanish, shouldn’t we assume that most Brazilians speak _Portuguese_? Does Portuguese come off to a Spanish speaker sounding like gringo Spanglish? Other than that minor nitpick, I’m with ya. It’s not difficult to find someone who speaks those languages and simply ask them to check you before you go to print. Major publishing houses should have multi-lingual editors on staff (those are the ones who make the big bucks). ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/178 "2009-08-18T19:17:11Z")
> [@sweetie pea](#): > > Bringing to mind a favorite of mine (favorite example, not favorite novel)…In V.C. Andrews’ Heaven, the main character is making biscuits and gravy in the family shack. She gets the grease hot, adds in the flour so it can brown, then stirs in some water. Because, you know, nothing like a little water gravy for your biscuits. I considered the possibility that this detail was supposed to show how poor the family was (in fact I think papa sold the milk cow when he had to get treated for syphyllis), but that seems much too subtle. I’m really thinking Ms. Andrews was just saying to herself, “Yeah, I know you get the grease hot, I know you brown the flour, hell, I know what I’m talking about.” Did Andrews even write _Heaven_? I thought she died somewhere around \*If There be Thorns \*and the rest of her dreck was ghost-written (unpublished manuscripts discovered in a trunk, that sort of thing.) Is she the most prolific post-mortem author? ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/179 "2009-08-18T20:10:07Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > …Our national dish is chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and cream gravy. My dad used to say that when you ended up in a strange greasy spoon, you couldn’t go far wrong by ordering the chicken-fried steak. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922/180 "2009-08-18T21:39:16Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Dear Mr. Koontz, > > An Uzi does not have a 400 round magazine. Nope, it was not a misprint. > > Further, ‘Custom light weight bullets’ would not be a good thing unless you where the one being shot with them. Maybe it was chambered for .050 caliber. That would be both lightweight and let you pack in 400 rounds. Not sure how effective they’d be. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-authors-who-cant-be-arsed-to-research/503922.md?page=10)