Gleanings

   GLEANINGS of an Itinerant Speller -- When you counter someone's position, you present a "rebuttal," not a "rebuttle." Take care when using verb and noun variants, since leaving off a letter can result in "use" rather than "user." Spellcheck programs will not help here, since both words are correctly spelled.

   SAY WHAT? -- A TV ad offered a mattress that would "customize your sleep experience." Restaurants are fond of promoting a "dining experience." And car dealers emphasize the joy of having a "driving experience." What happened to the days when we would simply drive to a restaurant, dine, and then go home to sleep?

   WHO'S KIDDING WHOM? -- AT&T said it will start tracking the sites its wireless customers visit, and then tailor the advertising displayed on these customer devices, in order to "serve you better." Another company proudly announced it was changing its name "to better serve our customers." 
   A name change is rarely, if ever, for customer convenience. Rather, it aids corporate marketing. And tracking customer activity while promising privacy remains only a cover for corporate advertising efforts. One could argue, of course, and the company does, that such programs result in customers getting ads that they are more likely to be interested in. But that serves the advertiser interest as much as, if not more than, the customers.