Archives for 2008 September
Choosing Content for “What We’re Made Of”
Date: September 28, 2008
While choosing printers and making design decisions for this self-publishing venture is difficult enough, one of the hardest choices to make has been regarding book content. What We’re Made Of has multiple purposes…. What We’re Made Of is going to be separated into three sections: Inner Self & Outside World, Belief & Understanding, and Love & Hate.
Free Music: Weigl & Hoffmann
Date: September 12, 2008
Check out Weigl & Hoffmann if you like electronica or ambient music. They have a nice, soothing style. They have six tracks in their new EP, Elevate, and they’re free to download in either MP3 or OGG format.
From the website: “Subtle soundscapes, discreet guitar and piano ambiences along with breathy vocals create a contemplative atmosphere that gradually surrounds you, draws you in deeper and deeper…”
Enjoy! :)
Socialism for the Rich
Date: September 11, 2008
While I don’t agree with all the comments made among this group of political and economic thinkers, this video is interesting. I think it’s safe to say, though, that the government’s takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac symbolizes little more than official paperwork. The government has been bailing out these two “companies” for a long time, and they have a history of governmental monopoly, so is it really any surprise that it’s finally been made official? Is it really any surprise that slight intervention begets complete intervention? Surely the only people shocked by this are those who very stupidly had faith in their politicians and government.
Strangely, people seem to forget their history (no surprise). A lot of the economic turmoil and arguments Americans go through today are directly related to items in Roosevelt’s New Deal, which didn’t take advantage of the free market.
Loving Jesus and Alcohol
Date: September 10, 2008
Thanks, Amber. :)
Voice Recognition Software Still Sucks (Examples inside!)
Date: September 5, 2008
At the beginning, Dragon NaturallySpeaking seems pretty smart and snazzy. It has a nice interface, and the training, which consists of your reading a story aloud to the program, seems to go quite smoothly. Then you get to try dictating a sentence to it. This is where all hell breaks loose, and NaturallySpeaking understands you as well as your half-deaf grandmother. Your grandmother, by the way, seems to understand American accents a bit better than Aussie ones. Maybe this is because we pronounce things properly, but I don’t know.
The results were so comical, that we decided to read one of my poems, Driftwood, to it. The stanzas that are very slightly more akin to the original are the ones I read, while the ones that make absolutely no sense at all were read by Andrew. I’ll let you compare the following with the original and let you be the judge of this amazing piece of software.
A Self-Publishing Adventure: “What We’re Made Of”
Date: September 2, 2008
I am gathering up a lot of the creations I have made over the years (poetry, short essays, artwork) and compiling a book. I have chosen to use Lulu to self-publish my book, which will be titled What We’re Made Of. I’ll be writing these entries periodically to document my work. Hope you’ll all enjoy the journey with me.
This quote is worth one child at least.
Date: September 2, 2008
“… I’d like to protect children, too, but… is everything worth sacrificing to that? I mean, drugs have done a lot of good. […] They’ve midwived a lot of good ideas… lot of great songs, you know? I think Penny Lane is worth 10 dead kids. […] I think Dark Side of the Moon is worth 100 dead kids.” –Bill Maher
