Need a 12volt power system?

If you have a water or wind source and handiperson level of skill you may be interested in the book described at this site.

http://www.onekw.co.nz Cost (US$45 add mail cost.)

-- Bob Barbour (r.barbour@waikato.ac.nz), December 20, 1998

Answers

"Handiperson"? C'mon, Bob, the era of political correctness is just about over; a little over 12 months and we won't have to constantly keep watch over our terminology any longer. "Handyman" will do just fine. "Handiperson" sounds just as weird as "freshperson" instead of "freshman".

-- cody varian (cody@y2ksurvive.com), December 20, 1998.

Got four daughters and partner, all handy so handiperson it is..

I don't think whatever shift happens will change their abilities.

My use of the terms reflects recognition of those abilities not a wish for correctness...

-- Bob Barbour (r.barbour@waikato.ac.nz), December 20, 1998.

Thanks Bob, I'm going to print this out for my husband to read. He is a very handy person indeed.

-- gilda jessie (jess@listbot.com), December 21, 1998.

Bob: I have two daughters myself but the generic term for one who is handy with tools and fixing stuff is "handyman". I've never heard anyone use the term "handiperson" before.

Would you say "good craftspersonship" instead of "good craftsmanship"? I just think all this bowing and scraping before the god of Equality has gone way too far, past the point of good sense.

Cody

-- cody varian (cody@y2ksurvive.com), December 21, 1998.

Hi Cody,

We use marks and sounds to stand for and convey ideas. The meanings change with use. Sometimes society alters and the sounds and marks may change to reflect newer ideas. Some ideas have attached meanings that are resisted by groups in society who are trying to alter the balance of power. Two ways shift happens.. (a great phrase btw) Sometimes odd juxtapositions of sounds and marks alert us to hidden restrictions or prohibitions. So the issue in this case is: are "handy' abilities gender specific. If not, is the language by implication gender neutral? If not then we may choose to fix it.

Took a lot of personal pain (ground shifting) to get those ideas sorted out a while back. I dont choose change to please the thought police but because it can liberate people from unjustified expectations.

-- Bob Barbour (r.barbour@waikato.ac.nz), December 21, 1998.

Bob: This discussion is interesting to me but it's 'way off topic so I'm going to phase myself out after this. I think we (American society) have become too obsessed with rooting out every possible vestige of "sexist" or "racist" or "ageist", etc. etc. thought, to the point where we're no longer acting in a reasonable manner. The terms "handyman", "freshman", "craftsman", and others, do not disparage females in any way; they do not mean "men only". They are simply generic, non-gender specific terms. Language is too important to be enslaved to fashion and I'm no longer willing to go along with this.

-- cody varian (cody@y2ksurvive.com), December 21, 1998.