I know English is evolving when I hear these words in a courtroom

I was recently snared into Jury Duty in Massachusetts.  This isn't so much an article about that.  Instead, this is about something I noticed while listening to the case before me and my 5 other jurors; word choices.

The first interesting word was uttered by the Prosecutor quoting the defendant who was fighting a DUI charge. The Prosecutor stated that the defendant pleaded with the arresting officer to cut him a break because he was not cocked.  This word cocked was used in a mocking manner by the prosecutor several times in his opening and closing arguments.

The second word that stood out was spoken by the Defense attorney.  While questioning the arresting officer, the Defense attorney asked about the likelihood of something-or-another.  What caught my attention is that he used the prolly, instead of prob'ly or probably.  The use of this word in such a formal manner struck me, since the word is still considered by many to be of the mythically inferior not-a-word status.

The last spoken element I picked up on was the Judge's use of the idiom begging-the-question.  I've written about the idiom begging-the-question quite recently.  There are two official definitions for the idiom.  The traditional definition is based on a logical fallacy.  The modern definition is an alternative for raises-the-question; this was Judge's use that day.  It is interesting to note that both definitions appear in dictionaries now.

There is increased awareness of general problem with #scientific studies right now, with #preclinical at the crux

Over reliance on study conclusions and flaws within scientific studies is a troubling problem that is recently getting more attention, finally.

The Economics of Reproducibility in Preclinical Research study states,

Flawed preclinical studies create false hope for patients waiting for lifesaving cures; moreover, they point to systemic and costly inefficiencies in the way preclinical studies are designed, conducted, and reported. Because replication and cumulative knowledge production are cornerstones of the scientific process, these widespread accounts are scientifically troubling.

The problems go beyond preclinical studies.  I've approached this topic before in two previous articles.

• "To good to be true" - Criticism of scientific studies grows
• Reason why I'm skeptical of Skepticism

As more studies and data are revealed about this issue, the problem seems to be far worse than some may have believed.  This most recent study suggests that 50% of preclinical studies are plagued with errors which prevent their results from being reproduced.  As any high school graduate should know, reproducibility of a study's result is the cornerstone of the Scientific Method.  Anyone must be able to use the same methods of the study to find similar results.  If results cannot be reproduced, the study has no scientific value and cannot be used as a reference or source for further discovery.

To sound the alarm even louder, Nature's article Irreproducible biology research costs put at $28 billion per year cites that as much as 89% of studies may have irreproducible results.  They state,

Overall, the team [study researchers] found that poor materials made the largest contribution to reproducibility problems, at 36%, followed by study design at 28% and data analysis at 26%. The team estimates the overall rate of irreproducibility at 53%, but cautions that the true rate could be anywhere between 18% and 89%. That puts the potential economic cost of irreproducibility anywhere from $10 billion to $50 billion per year.

This is a problem that needs to be tackled.  It is costing billions of dollars, and perhaps putting lives at risk.

The stars can affect your life...well, one star in particular may help trigger strokes

There is a lack of respect in skeptic circles regarding Astrology and the ability of the stars to affect our lives.  Skepticism is sound, for the most part.  However, one star in particular can not only affect our lives, it can kill or maim us, and not in a way that many expect.  There is growing evidence that links geomagnetic storms from our Sun to an increase number of strokes within the human population.

There is now growing concern about the frequency of first-time strokes and correlation with geomagnetic storms.  A study was released last year, titled Geomagnetic Storms Can Trigger Stroke - Evidence From 6 Large Population-Based Studies in Europe and Australasia (link is to abstract).

An article about this study by Medscape Medical News had the following additional comment,

Dr. Feigin told Medscape Medical News that geomagnetic activity has also been associated with increased rates of heart attacks, suicides, and acute psychiatric admissions."We have known for ages that geomagnetic storms can shut down electrical stations across many regions and affect satellite navigation equipment, so it is logical that they can also affect human health," he commented.

The geomagnetic storm study (source) itself found that,

...high levels of geomagnetic activity (ie, those accompanying geomagnetic storms, predominately during solar maxima years) are important predictors of stroke.

What does this mean for the average person?  I don't know.  I haven't found any sources that convert this new found knowledge into something actionable for us laypersons.  It does leave the mind to wonder and speculate, though.  If someone is in a high-risk group of stroke susceptibility, should they chill out for a couple of days for geomagnetic storms to pass? If so, how so?

Begs the question is the idiom that you aren't using wrong, but some think you do

Are you begging the question?  What is begging a question?  Well, it depends.  There are two different terms that are very similar, but have very different uses.  The first is beg the question fallacy.  This is the traditional use of the term. This is a type of fallacy where a premise includes the claim or assumption that its conclusion is true.  (This is covered in some brief detail at Fallacy: Begging the Question (backup link).)

For example, "All cats are evil, otherwise you would not see cats do evil things."

The premise of this statement is that cats are evil, and the justification is that you see cats do evil things.  The statement forms a circular argument.

But, there's another common use of the term that often appears as , "begs the question", as in, "your statement begs the question of who will do this work".  It means that there is an obvious or ignored question that arises from a statement.

There are grammarians and logicians that will argue that this is somehow the wrong use of the term, such as the website begthequestion.info (backup link) (which dedicates itself to this topic).  Ironically, these individuals often employ logical fallacies to disregard the modern usage of the term.  There are people that seem gleefully unaware of how English works.  Common usage is correct usage. Dictionaries now list the modern usage on equal weight as the logical fallacy definition.  See idioms area on freedictionary.com (backup link).

There is often a claim that using the phrase in the modern sense is somehow confusing (see some of these claims on QuickAndDirty.com (backup link) by Grammar Girl). However, common usage is so prevalent, there is no confusion as to when the term is being used one way or another.  If someone wishes to distinguish between the logical fallacy and the assertion of an obvious/ignored question, then they do so with context, just as they would for the use of any other common terms with multiple meanings.  This begs the question, why is denial of the validity of the modern definition so important to some people?

"To good to be true" - Criticism of scientific studies grows

It is almost ironic, the other day I posted this article Reason Why I'm Skeptical of Skepticism which criticized over reliance on many study conclusions without actual supporting or valid data within the studies.  Now, just a few days later, there is a new published "study of studies" which reinforces the idea of being skeptical of scientific study conclusions, Excess Success for Psychology Articles in the Journal Science.  This study exposes that many studies in Psychology have issues, where the declared conclusions are simply "to good to be true" based on the strength of the data.  The inference being that there may be a general problem with all fields of science.

"Not every experiment is methodologically sound, and some experiments (even if methodologically sound) do not clarify the status of a theoretical idea. There is little reason to publish such experimental results, whether they are statistically significant or not. Unfortunately, in day-to-day scientific practice it is quite easy to interpret an unsuccessful outcome as being irrelevant to the theory or as being methodologically flawed and therefore not worth reporting."

In other words, data is cherry-picked in support of the theory rather than attempting to take contrary results into account.  This is basically throwing out the Scientific Method when it doesn't result in data this supports a theory.  In other cases, data collection is just too imprecise to form a suitable theory.  Kind of like garage-in-garbage-out.

I have a feeling a growing criticism of the current system is going to force changes into the process of study publishing and utilization.

Reason why I'm skeptical of Skepticism

There is a plague on modern science and Skepticism.  That plague is over reliance upon research reports.  Research report is a gathering of pre-existing data (the "re" in "research"), repurposed to find patterns.  The problem is that many research reports are created to find correlations in support of predetermined conclusions (assumptions).  Research reports are often formatted as scientific studies and published in science journals along side scientific studies that use the Scientific Method.

What is the Scientific Method?  First, wonder about a phenomenon and ask a question.  Conduct research on that question.  Then, construct a hypothesis (a proposed explanation for the phenomenon). A hypothesis must be formed in such a way to be tested for being  false (falsifiability). The subsequent test must be done in such a way as to try to disprove your hypothesis.  Only after all of this can you analyze your data and form a conclusion from that data.  The final step is to share your results for others to review and check, often in the form of their own studies.  For a study to have value, its results must be replicated by others.¹

The Scientific Method is valuable because it helps eliminate incorrect explanations for a phenomenon.  For example, say someone as a hypothesis that lemons are yellow because someone paints them with yellow paint.  You can test this in any number of ways.  You can go to an orchard and watch the lemons grow, changing color as they mature.  You can buy a lemon at a store and cut it, looking for a layer of paint.  You can peel the lemon and send the skin to a lab to search for significant amounts of paint.  Any of these tests would prove the hypothesis false.  Someone else could create a new hypothesis about why lemons are yellow, knowing that the cause is not paint.

The limitation of an unscientific research report is that it only requires you to visit a grocery store to see that the lemons are yellow in order to confirm your assumption that they've been painted yellow by a person.

Research reports often lack several crucial steps compared to Scientific Method.  First, the purpose of a research report is often to collect data in support of a pre-existing assumption.  An assumption is different than a hypothesis because an assumption is not a proposed explanation for a phenomenon; rather an assumption is that there is a phenomenon ("someone is painting those lemons yellow", instead of asking "why are lemons yellow?").  Second, no test is performed in support of this assumption.  Data is unscientifically collected from different studies, reports and other sources rather than being the results of a direct test.  There is certainly no falsifiability test.  Third, the results of the collected data are often correlated to the original assumption rather than standing on their own within the conclusion.

What's wrong with correlation between data sets?  Correlation is an indicator, but it is not a identifier. The common phrase is "correlation is not causation."  It is extremely easy to correlate unrelated things.  There is a website dedicated to just this.  This is why the Scientific Method requires a falsifiability test.  It eliminates the reliance on correlation.

Now, this is not to say all research reports are bad.  A research report that uses the Scientific Method to analyze data in a way that can be demonstrated with falsifiability does have value.  But, it is very hard tell good reports apart from bad reports using quick Twitter or reddit title links.  You have to read the report to know if it has value or if it is pseudoscience.  You have to read the whole report because the report's title and conclusions often do not even match-up the data within the report.

This is where I run into issues with Skepticism.  Skepticism tends consider any conclusions of a published research report (in support of presumed consensus) to be the same as studies using the Scientific Method.  Opinions regarding concepts outside the presumed consensus are immediately rejected (even if they are published) without regard to the quality of the report or study.  I cannot count how many times I've read a promoted research report, only to find that the evidence in the report is based correlated cherry-picked data.  Blind acceptance of research report conclusions is a big problem with Skepticism, especially as it grows in popularity among Atheists and other non-religious folks.  I've seen seen sources such as "skeptic" magazines that site unscientific research reports as though they are undeniable fact.  It is a problem being exacerbated by the ease with which (mis)information flows on the Internet through various social media and various other media outlets.

Other reading

In researching this topic, I found a very interesting "study of studies" about the flaws in most studies, Why most published research findings are false. Nothing in my article here is based on this study, so take this as a completely different source.  It is worth the read, and more fuel for the fire to be skeptical, not just of Skepticism, but of anyone trying to use a "study" to promote a notion.

I learned a little bit about travel this weekend

Allie and I went to the Southern New England AAA Travel Show this weekend at Twin Rivers Casino.  I learned that for some types of trips, it pays to plan early but book late.  Other types of trips, it pays to book early, period.  Balancing flights with the rest of the trip seems to be a bit of an art form.    We didn't go to the expo to book a trip.  We just went for ideas...and ideas are to be gained!

There were a lot of travel vendors at the expo, and a lot of AAA agents available for booking trips immediately. One lacking thing I noted is that most of the vendors didn't have swag.  The ones that did pretty much just offered candy.  A couple offered pens.  Eh.

Some people have goals or accomplishments where they've been/plan-to-go to every country.  My sites are not so grandiose.  I simply want to at least visit each of the continents.  So far, I have Asia, North America and Europe.  That leaves South America, Africa, Australia and Antarctica.  

Article 1 section 2 paragraph 3 of the U.S. Constitution and why you aren't being represented!

Also read Why I don't fear a
US Constitutional Convention
and yet still do not want one

Here's what a source says about our House of Representatives, "In the original constitutional debates there were pro-federalist delegates proposing that a House member could represent up to 50,000 constituents, while more anti-federalist framers sought one House member up to 20,000 citizens.  The debate, therefore, was over the people wanting smaller Congressional Districts and not larger. In September 1787, they settled on the language, "The number of representatives shall not exceed one for every 30,000," thus limiting a Congressional District minimum size to 30,000 citizens. No Congressional District maximum size was included because the framers believed both the members of Congress and their constituents would inherently want Congressional Districts as small as the constitution would permit."¹

Another source states, "The Constitution says that the total number of representatives shall not be greater than one for every 30,000 citizens. During the ratification debates over the Constitution, opponents argued that such a ratio was inadequate to properly represent the country. But even using the original ratio in the Constitution, the House of Representatives would have consisted of about 9,400 members after the 2000 census. Faced with the ever increasing size of the House, Congress voted in 1929 to limit the number of representatives to 435."²

Needless to say, our current Congress has not been keeping the size of Congressional Districts in-line with the intent of our Constitution's framers.  Today, Congressional Districts have 710,767 citizens. This is way over the original expectations of roughly 50,000.

Can you imagine a House of Representatives with 9400 members?  How would business get done?  Well, maybe that's the point.  There would be so many representatives, that votes would have to be made based on what the person feels is right for their 30,000 voters, rather than how much money they can collect from lobbyist for their next campaign. 9400 Representatives would make it a lot harder for lobbyist to sway the will of our elected officials.  It would make pork barrel projects almost nonexistent because districts would be too small to gather enough support for the most silly of funding requests.  It's a lot harder to buy off 9400 people than it is 435.  Particularly if each of those 9400 people have to go back to talk directly to just 30,000 people several times a year.  Representatives' support would really have to come from the local grassroots level.  They might even vote per their constituents desires!  Imagine that!

The one problem with a number of Representatives being so large is that bill introduction may become a bit unmanageable. If we keep to the current system of making huge bills with tons and tons of legal code, things would be unmanageable.  However, that doesn't necessarily need to be a roadblock. Maybe we shouldn't keep the current system of bill introduction!  Maybe our Representatives should really just submit succinct laws that apply to very specific things.  We would still need a huge bill from time to time to address social and other national issues, and the national budget, but we would pretty much end riders that plague the current system.  We can even use 21st Century technology to make such bills easier to process.  (Anyone hear of this Wonder called The Internet?)

More meaningful and useful laws might actually get passed because they wouldn't be tied up so frequently in political maneuverings.  Political Parties couldn't hold our government hostage with standoffs, because their members would be so easily replaced.  We would actually be able to hold our Representatives accountable!

Also see: How to find your US representatives and tweet them

Beeper Codes list (completed)

As a matter of posterity, I've compiled this list of over 460 Beeper Codes.  These are just one type of Pager Codes that I previously wrote about.  This list is different from other lists online.  There are common codes that didn't appear in other lists; and I've removed entries that are redundant to Number Look-Alikes.  Number Look-Alikes are terms spelt out in pager code, such as "43770" for "HELLO", rather than being shorthand Beeper Code.
Beeper Codes

Code	Definition	Reference
0*0	Roh-Roh!
0*10*0	Im tired
0*17*8*1*2	Oh you ate one too	OU812
0*7*1	I need a favor
00	Airhead
000	Call whenever you can
000	Time; What time is it?
000*0000	I'm online/I will be online
0000000	Bronx cheer
0001000	I'm alone right now
001	Please
001122	I don't know
0049	Accident; Something wrong
007	I've got a secret	James Bond
00-88-00	Call me later
009	Going to a movie, wanna come?
0099	Going out, wanna come?
01*01*01	Don't have a cow!	Term popularized by The Simpsons
010	Plans changed; I'm tired/flaking
0101	I'm tired
011	Monday
01210	I'm confused
016	Plans changed
020	Plans changed
020202	Just thinking of you
022	Tuesday
024	Going to the beach
0242	Hey lover!
033	Wednesday
04*04*04	Happy Holidays
0404	I will always love you
044	Thursday
05*05	Margaritas
055	Friday
0563	Please don't leave me
060	You are fine
064	Don't call me
066	Saturday
06644	Don't call me
07	Just kidding
07	I salute you
074	I need a favor
0741	I need a favor
0747	I need a favor
077	Sunday
07700	Ha ha ha!
080808	Kisses and hugs	X and O's
09	Why dont you get a cordless phone like regular people?
09*09*09	Let's talk
0909	It's off, canceled
099	I've got something to tell you
0990	Too late to call
0998	I have a question
1	You're the one; You the man
1*00	Im on the phone with my significant other
1*8	I ate
1*800	I'm free - no plans tonight
10	You're perfect
10*2	You've got 10 minutes
10*2*1	Slim chance
10*20	Where are you?
10*4	Is everything OK?
10*400	Thank you
100	Come back
100*200* 300	I can't see you anymore
10000	Lets go for a swim	10,000 Leagues Under the Sea
10000001	Miss you
1001	Prove it
1004	From your angel
101	I've got an easy question
1023	It's over
1038	Can't stop loving you
104	Come over
1040	You owe me big-time
105	Cancel
1052	LOVE!!!
107	Come back
1078	I miss the old us
108	Come over
11	Maybe
11	You're perfect
11111111	Congratulations!	Resembles a series of exclamation marks
112233	At the club
116	I'm in trouble
1182	Come here fast
119	I'm in trouble
12*25	Merry Christmas
120	Leave
121	I need to talk to you alone
121212	Happy Birthday!
122	I want/need you?
123	I miss you
124	I'm dreaming of you
125	I'm bored
1250	Me too
1259	Me too
13	I'm having a bad day
13*30	It's getting old
1300	Going out
133	Don't forget
135	You wish
13579	This is weird
141	I'm with you
1423	I want to die
143	I love you
1432	I love you too
1432222222	I love you so much
1437	I love you forever
1443	I don't love you
1444	I hate this life
146	Good morning
1463	I miss the old you
1492	Let's go sailing
15	Whatever
15	Hugs
15*11	OK
151-	Want to join me?
15243	Be With Me
15243	I want to be with you
153	I hate you
1543	I still love you
155	Just kidding
155	I wanna go to sleep
157	Keep in touch
16	Kisses
1692	I want to
17	No; No way
1701	Live long and prosper	Spock, Star Trek
171	Mad
177117	Minutes	Usually preceding a number to indicate how long you will be.
1776	You're sickening
178	I'll call you back later
18	Yes
180	Yesterday
180	I love you
183	I'm busy
187	You're dead/I hate you
19	Hug
19	Yes
1925	Let's go out
193	Miss Me?
193	Do you miss me?
195	See you tonight
197	I'm pissed off
2	Me too
2*2	Let's dance
2*4*6	I'm pissed off
20	Pick me up
200	Tonight
2001	You're way out there
201	Cancel previous page
2010	Later
202	Don't meet me
20-20-20	Sorry
203	And
203	Get off the phone
204	I'm/Everything OK
205	I'm on my way home
209	On my way
21	Maybe
21	Let's have a drink
210	Got your page...I understand
213	Miss me?
214	Happy Valentine's Day
214	Received your message
215	Running late
22	Be good
220	Why haven't you called
221	Where are you?
222	Your busted!; Are you busted?
2222	I'm sleepy
224	2 good 4 you
23	Te Amo	I love you in Spanish and Portuguese
23	Whatever
230	Oh yeah!
234	Just for today
235	Problem has been handled
237	Are you alone?
24	I'm Home
24*7	24 hours, 7 days a week
240	Tomorrow
243	We love you
244	My baby
245	I'm/everything is ok
2468	Your terrific
25	Hi, my crush
25	Sorry
255	I'm at a payphone, hurry
26	Te Quiero	I love you in Spanish
260	It's late, please hurry
265	Check your e-mail
27	Need you
270	Cancel previous page
280	My Sexy Baby
280	Today
285	Stay away for awhile
288	Today
288	But
288	When will I see you again?
29	You suck
290	I'm without my pager today
3	Wussup
30	This is getting old
300	Guess who?
301	Is this a bad time to call?
3011	Be careful
303	Stop playing
304	Ho Ho Ho
305	I love you back
310	I'm thinking about you
315	But
315	I miss you
32	Eat Me
320-	Wish you were here
321	Please reply
323	Let Me Hit
324	C-U-Soon
325	Hope you're feeling better
3293	Can't wait
330	You are incredible
332211	Movies
333	Love
333	Whats up?; How are you?
335	Your crazy
340	I owe you one
341	I like you
342	See you later
343	Call back now
345	Thank you
345987	I'm horny
346	Come back please
350	Sorry about that
36	You're cool
360	I love you back
3620	Sorry I lied
365	I'm blowing you a kiss
370	Congratulations
372	What are you doing?
375	Don't ever change
380	Your last page has me smiling
3838	Hey bebe
385	Hi Cutie/Handsome
390	Best of luck to you today
395	Please be careful out there
3999	You hurt me
400	Wanna hear something stupid?
4040	I hate you
405	I've got a secret, hehe
406	Hugs and kisses
41	Call me
410	You owe me big time
411	Call for info
411	I need info/I have a question
412	Please stay with me
414141	Sorry to bother you
415	Get an attitude adjustment
41526	Let's talk
41633	Merry Xmas
419	I don't understand
42	Fuck Me
420	It's that time!
420	You're in trouble, buddy!
4200	Losing feelings for you
423	Call me now
424	Call me back
425	Call me later
426	Call me tonight
428	Call me whenever
428	Call me tomorrow
43	Fuck You
43	You freak
430	You did it....bravo
433	Call me now
434	Feel Better
434	Hope you feel better
436	Hugs and kisses
438	Going to the beach
440	Hey clown, cheer up
444	I Want Love
444	Thinking of you
445	Ditto to your last page
45	Good night
450	Who pulled you chain?
455	Don't make me come get you
46	Hug
46*73	Goodnight, sweet dreams
460	Mind your own buisness
4678	Let's stay home
47	Good morning
470	I'm with you thru thick and thin
475	Long time no harass, hehe
477	Best friends forever
478	Just you and me
480	Let me know
485	A quick howdy to you
49	Good afternoon
490	You're in loony land
495	Go for it!
5	Hi
5*0	Are you booked?
50*50	It doesn't matter to me
500	Beep me
5020	So what
505	SOS
5150	Crazy
52	Hurry
522	Think of me
525	Going to the party
5280	Be mine
53	Thank You
533	Where are you?
5391	So, we are strangers again?
54	Never mind
54321	I'm ready to explode
55	You are a sweetheart
555	I want your sex
555	Call me
5555	I miss your voice
56	Sweet dreams
58	Happy birthday
5900	I'm sick
5971	I feel better
6	Always
6*9999999-	Get in line
60*017	Go online
60*60	I'm very happy
6000*6	Good luck
601	Happy birthday/anniversary
603	Hope your feeling better
606	Bitch
607	I miss you
609	I'm mad at you
611	I'm sorry
612	Thinking about you
6167	I am going to lunch
620	I dont know
62180	I'm grounded
629	Calling from payphone
630	Calling from cellphone
6302	I'm starting to like you
637	Always and forever
66	I'm mad
66	Let's hit the road	Route 66
660	You better be ready
666	Can't go out
668	Not
67	Always and Forever
6771	Good friend/friends
69	Both ways
69	Lets get together
7	Forever; You will be in my heart forever
70	I'm sad/depressed
700*600	Happy anniversary
7007	You're a joke
707-	LOL
710	I'm out of gas
7179	Best bud/friend
722	Don't beep me
7537	I know you don't like me
747	Let's fly
7537	I know you don't like me
757	I miss my baby
77	Friends forever
7735	Sell out
7741	Call me
789	Going to the mall
7942	From your friend
7979	Cheer up
8000	Goodbye or take care
801	I'm going over
8081	I had a bad time
811	Not a emergency, but important
815	I'll be good
8198	How about dinner?
82	Freak Me
82	Hurry
823	Thinking of you
825	Anytime
8255	Get your butt over here now
8282	Hurry up
831	I love you	8 letters, 3 words, 1 meaning
838	I know it's you
8431	I can't wait to see you
844	Can you handle me
8498	Forget it
8558	Waiting for your call
86	You're finished
86*0	Are you mad?
864	I'm home
8642	I'm gonna get even with you
87	You're late; I'm late
8800	I'll call you later
881	I forgive you
883	Beep me now
890	Leave me alone
9*09	I have good news
9*2*9	Forgive me
9*4*4*4	Are you thinking of me
9*5	It's quitting time
9*52	I screwed up
9*9*9	Only us
90	You're beautiful
90*90*90	No, no, no
90*91*92	I had a great time
9000	Repeat message
90210	Watta snob
9043	Relax
906	I'm on my way
909	I am at work
9090-	Go! Go!; Get a move on!
910	Sorry I hurt you
9103	I will try
911	Emergency
911	This is big!; This is an emergency, call me now
9143	Do you love me?
920	Cheer up
921	I do care
922	Let's try something new
9229	Big problem
93	Grow up
9339	Some other time
9341	Do you like me?
937	Never
9428	What do you want to do?
943	Where are you?
9437	Liar
9438	Where?
9444	Are you thinking of me?
9449	Please be good
949	Why?
9500	Friends
95507	Your loss
961	Let's try again
966	Bad news
968	I'm all yours
971	I had to go…
972	I'm ready
9779	Mmmmmm
98*6	Hope you're feeling better
9810	I'm bored
9876	I'm serious
9890	Forever
99	Nighty Night
99*44*100	I'm almost totally completely bored
9908	Can't talk now
9922	You don't care
9955	Don't do it again
9993	I'm OK

Old School: Pager Code

There are/were several types of pager codes in the 1990's before cellphones become common with inexpensive data/text plans.

Calculator Method

The simplest (and prolly earliest) pager code was the Calculator Method.  This method replaced letters with numbers that resemble those letters when held upside down (similar to how you'd create words using upside down numbers on a calculator).  These were typed backwards so that the effect was easy to read.  Examples:

• HELLO would read 07734.  4 kinda looks like an H, 3 is clearly an upside down E, 7 is clearly an upside down L and 0 is O in either direction.
• GUESS WHO would read 04177*553176.  6 kinda looks like a G, 17 looks like an upside down U, 5 looks like an S, * is a space, 177 looks like an upside down W.

Beeper Codes

Another common pager code system consisted of a string of numbers that were typically 3 letters long used to represent specific words and phrases. Though I doubt there is consensus regarding a name for the collection of these pager codes, these seem most closely associated with the term "Beeper Codes".  Beeper codes were really a collection of many individual codes that were derived from several cipher methods.  Many codes used letter count, but other methods were also employed.

• I LOVE YOU was commonly typed as 143.  This required foreknowledge of the code, as any combination of words can share common letter counts.  143 could've easily meant I CAN'T FLY if you didn't know the established meaning. 
• I LOVE YOU was also 831 from the phrase, "8 letters, 3 words, 1 meaning."  Again, foreknowledge is necessary to decipher the code.  

There were a lot of these individual Beeper Codes.

Number look alikes

The most versatile pager code was a slightly more formal substitution method.  Letters were represented by a look alike number or string of numbers. This is similar to the Calculator Method, but can be read rightside up and used to spell any word without a lot of forethought (or turning your phone upside). Different varieties existed, but the most common was this:

Pager Code
Letter	Number Look Alike
A	8
B	8
C	6
D	0
E	3
F	4
G	6
H	4
I	1
J	7
K	15
L	7
M	177
N	17
O	0
P	9
Q	0
R	12
S	5
T	7
U	11
V	11
W	111
X	25
Y	4
Z	2
Spacebar	- or *

With this method, complex messages could be sent without a lot of effort. Even after texting and cellphones become more common, this was still a good system to encipher messages from casual interloping.

• HELLO becomes 43770
• WISH YOU WERE HERE becomes 111154 4011 1113123 43123 (a special symbol for spacebar wasn't necessary once texting was available)
• FOUR SCORE AND SEVEN YEARS AGO becomes 401112 560123 8170 5311317 438125 860

Pager codes were still used by some people even after texting become available because most early texting-capable cellphones didn't have an alphabet keyboard.  Typing words was still tedious using the texting system.  It was prolly around the time when type-ahead appeared that use of pager codes finally become uncommon.  Once smartphones become common, there was really no need for pager codes anymore at all, except for fun.  I still find myself using some of the old 3 digit beeper codes if I don't feel like typing out a common phrase.