Chronicles of Mark TE

Tumbler blog winding down; Wordpress blog starting up

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:24:00 +0100

Moving from here to

http://chroniclesofmark.wordpress.com/

"In the 21st century, why learn by heart rote spelling when you can just type it into a computer and spell-check?"

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:02:10 +0100

"In the 21st century, why learn by heart rote spelling when you can just type it into a computer and spell-check?":

(Via Assistive Principles) From the “why do we need speed limits” line of thinking, criminology lecturer Ken Smith thinks we should “ignore certain spelling rules altogether”.

I wonder if Smith has ever used spell-check. If you can’t spell correctly, then how do you know that spell-check has corrected the word correctly? That reminds me of the old joke spell-check poem.

Generations of people have learnt to spell correctly, and the reason to use correct spelling is to minimise misunderstanding between people.

Suppose we relax the rules of spelling. Suppose I receive a formal business contract. Even if that contract uses correct spelling, I can choose to “misunderstand” words (because they are allowed to use incorrect spelling and, I suppose, by extension grammar) and suddenly the contract is not a clear-cut agreement, but prone to my own interpretation. Hilarity and chaos ensues.

I agree with Smith that it takes teachers a lot of time to correct spelling and, if English is not the subject, then it’s time that should be spent on other areas. The solution, however, is not to allow poor spelling, but to send the paper back to the student and say “check your spelling, and submit the paper again when it’s correct”. It is, in that case, the student’s responsibility to edit his or her paper with whatever aids he or she needs.

Like the speed limit, we can’t allow people to say “well, f—k it, that guy was speeding, so why don’t we all do it and just ignore the limits?”.

How to Turn Your Car Into an Unstoppable Murder Machine (in 8 Easy Steps!)

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:47:27 +0100

How to Turn Your Car Into an Unstoppable Murder Machine (in 8 Easy Steps!):

I drive a Ford Focus estate car. It takes tips like these to pimp our car. Fear the Ford!

Outsourcery: personal outsourcing without the bunnies

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:04:43 +0100

Outsourcery: personal outsourcing without the bunnies:

In the old days, according to black-and-white movies, businesspeople had secretaries - or access to a pool of secretaries. Good secretaries even handled some personal business (restaurant booking, laundry, …). Secretaries are, increasingly, limited to old movies.

The internet and related technologies have made part-time personal assistants possible. A few hours per month, for example, might be enough to do those qualified tasks that you never get around to yourself.

If personal outsourcing becomes widespread, will it drive the development of semantic computing, as these firms harness technology to help them work?

10 Ways to Create a Work Environment That Drags You Down

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 09:57:06 +0100

10 Ways to Create a Work Environment That Drags You Down:

Let the laughter turn to horror, as you realise how well this describes your desk…

Presentation, Conversation, and Improv

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 07:51:30 +0100

Presentation, Conversation, and Improv:

I sometimes do practice conversation starters, and usually - at least in a business context - have an idea of where I want the conversation to start and end before going in. Good conversation is an acquired skill, and you can’t learn it by yourself.

I also liked the list of improvisation games mentioned.

Ryanair Plans $15 Flights to Europe

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:41:06 +0100

Ryanair Plans $15 Flights to Europe:

I’m not very fond of travelling with Ryanair, but they get you there. €10 + fees + taxes to the US would easily make up for any short-lived discomfort.

On the back of the US election, the current Swedish government has revealed some suicidal plans for...

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:41:23 +0100

On the back of the US election, the current Swedish government has revealed some suicidal plans for its next campaign. No reelection risk.

Microsoft Word Turns 25

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:37:13 +0100

Microsoft Word Turns 25

Introducing Zoë Westhof and “Essential Prose”

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:31:05 +0100

Introducing Zoë Westhof and “Essential Prose”:

For the next two weeks, we will be reading the blog of Zoë Westhof, a young American writer living in Thailand! She blogs at Essential Prose.

But before you rush off to read her site,…

Eight Simple Ways to Save After a New Car Purchase [Saving Money]

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:31:01 +0100

Eight Simple Ways to Save After a New Car Purchase [Saving Money]:

Whether you’ve just purchased a brand new or a gently-used car, Trent at The Simple Dollar financial blog has rounded up some tips to help you save. Some of the tips are obvious to a…

Jedi Mind Trick: How can we make this happen?

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:16:26 +0100

Jedi Mind Trick: How can we make this happen?

Heart attack risk shifted by daylight saving time

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:31:53 +0100

Heart attack risk shifted by daylight saving time:

I’ve been a critic of daylight savings time, twice annual government-enforced jet-lag, for a long time. A new Swedish study shows that the switch to “summer time” also puts people’s health at risk.

Artsy Up Your Pictures with Poladroid [Featured Mac Download]

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:29:21 +0100

Artsy Up Your Pictures with Poladroid [Featured Mac Download]:

Mac only: Want your candid photos to look a little more retro chic but don’t want to spend a fortune tracking down whats left of the world’s Polaroid film stock and lug the signature boxy,…

Artsy Up Your Pictures with Poladroid [Featured Mac Download]

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:29:19 +0100

Artsy Up Your Pictures with Poladroid [Featured Mac Download]:

Mac only: Want your candid photos to look a little more retro chic but don’t want to spend a fortune tracking down whats left of the world’s Polaroid film stock and lug the signature boxy,…

Read It Later Integrates with Google Reader, Non-Firefox Browsers [Featured Firefox Extension]

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 02:28:53 +0100

Read It Later Integrates with Google Reader, Non-Firefox Browsers [Featured Firefox Extension]:

Windows/Mac/Linux (Firefox): Previously featured bookmarking extension Read It Later has added a host of new features in a recent update, including a couple that open up the service to…

Read It Later Integrates with Google Reader, Non-Firefox Browsers [Featured Firefox Extension]

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:16:40 +0100

Read It Later Integrates with Google Reader, Non-Firefox Browsers [Featured Firefox Extension]:

Windows/Mac/Linux (Firefox): Previously featured bookmarking extension Read It Later has added a host of new features in a recent update, including a couple that open up the service to…

Show Your Car's Maintenance Manual at the Repair Shop [Cars]

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:51:12 +0100

Show Your Car's Maintenance Manual at the Repair Shop [Cars]:

Consumer Reports’ Tightwad Tod blog espouses the value of holding onto your clunker car rather than trading up—a well-maintained, reliable clunker, that is. The magazine’s auto writers…

Pacing

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:43:49 +0100

Used “pacing” to speed up a meeting and get it wrapped up in 20 minutes instead of stretching to the full hour. Twitter / evilmark

The long version (> 140 characters):

Pacing is a neuro-linguistic programming technique where you match and then lead or set the pace of a conversation.

My first “proper” job was in telephone technical support. When callers get through, they are irritated. They have a problem that they have tried and failed to fix themselves, then been forced to wait in a queue to talk to somebody who can help them. I understood that. We were taught that the fastest way to calm down an irritated caller and focus on fixing the issue is to start by matching that person’s mood and pace, and then adjusting it.

There’s no voodoo to it.

So, what I did at the meeting was to take command of the lethargic pace and turn it up to a West Wing-like fast-paced discussion.

What helped me, in this particular case, was a clear agenda with a defined start point and end point for the meeting, and the fact that I was talking with subject matter experts.

Whatever Happened to Speech Recognition?

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:43:00 +0100

In 1982, we could watch Knight Rider on TV, where KITT had both excellent speech recognition (including formidable semantic parsing) and speech synthesis.

In 1986, our second home computer, an Amstrad 6128, had a very good speech synthesiser. It was an external device that plugged onto the back of the computer, and it worked a treat.

So, twenty six years after KITT, where is my speech recognition? Apple OS X has a very basic speakable commands interface built in, but it’s fairly poor, in practice, at recognising what I say. OS X also has rudimentary text-to-speech, but that’s nothing to write (or call) home about, either.

I can’t dictate numbers to my mobile phone. It can’t read SMS out loud to me. Both of those would be useful basic functions.

I would settle for functional text-to-speech and speech-to-text on my computers; I don’t need them to parse complex semantic commands. Why is there no apparent development of speech for personal computers (and other devices)?