Drinking and e-mailing? Google to the rescue
As the pink slips start appearing on workers' desks, many of us are likely to stomp home and mix ourselves something good and stiff from the part of the liquor cabinet that normally gathers dust. On our third whiskey sour, the probability of snapping open our laptops and firing off a pissed-off e-mail to our bosses goes up about threefold. EWI—e-mailing while inebriated—is not a crime, but it should be, seeing as a message crafted when you're so drunk you're drooling can murder your career.
Thank Buddha for Google. From the official Gmail blog in October:
Gmail can't always prevent you from sending messages you might later regret, but today we're launching a new Labs feature I wrote called Mail Goggles which may help. When you enable Mail Goggles, it will check that you're really sure you want to send that late night Friday email. And what better way to check than by making you solve a few simple math problems after you click send to verify you're in the right state of mind?
Here's what it looks like:
Brilliant. Now hand me the JD.
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1
Sheesh, what if {hypothetically} your math skills are kind of rusty and it takes you longer than 43 seconds to answer those problems, even if I (oops, you) haven't been drinking?? And what about mathmatically-impaired teetotaling night owls who routinely send emails at 2 am? Here's an idea: if you can say 'Google Goggles' 3 times really fast, then you don't it!
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2
I find this awesome! I haven't EWI'd yet, but I've been on the receiving end of one! Could they put this onto a phone so that you can't drunk dial or drunk text?
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3
I think they should have like a spelling-bee option, for those of us whose math scores totally sunk our SATs.
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4
D'oh...why didn't I know about this last Friday?
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5
rats! where is that darn grammar check feature when you need it? Last line should have read "...then you don't NEED it!" And I love your idea, Lisa! A spelling bee option for the mathmatically challenged. They could call it 'Specs' instead of Goggles...like if you're not wearing yours, and you've had a few JDs, you won't be able to read or spell. Actually, they could just use that bizarre security thing that lots of websites use, where you have to type in the scrambled words to submit your order/comment/update. I'm telling you, those are hard to read when you're NOT drunk! (even if you're wearing your specs)
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6
I think a screen saying 'Please spell platypus' might be self defeating since platypus is clearly spelled in front of you? Unless it sounded it out, in which case, cue horrible pronunciation from automated speaker (Please spell...plfygy1) plus annoyance from your co-habitors.
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Also - I don't know bout you, but spelling is more memory recall thing than math which requires logic and carrying digits in my head. Drunkeness doesnt always impair recall, sometimes enhances it if you get into one of those hyperactive drunk states. Whereas math and concentration is hard regardless of state? Maybe just me..
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Lastly - I'm pretty sure the nerds at google can solve simple math problems even when plastered. -
7
Somebody - I forgot who - actually DID test this already! But their math-fu skills enabled them to get pretty sloshed before giving up, even on a difficult setting.
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8
Anon, it could be multiple choice:
a) platapus
b) platypus
c) platypoop
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