| Cooking abbreviations |
[2008-07-24 03:06] |
Poll #1228769
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: AllWhich abbrevs do you prefer for "teaspoon" and "tablespoon" (in a recipe)? |
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| Jupitero! |
[2008-07-23 22:46] |
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Jupitero estas ege brila en la suda ĉielo de Toronto ĉi-vespere! |
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| How to sanitize audio? |
[2008-07-20 02:05] |
What steps would I need to take to clean up this audio in Audacity? (Listen to a 107 KB Vorbis clip.)
I know that normalizing is one of the steps. I suspect that some type of noise reduction or sound filters would also be involved to improve the quality?
Also is there anything I should do in the future to make sure my recordings are of better quality? |
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| Back from Esperantoland |
[2008-07-19 22:01] |
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I'm back in Toronto. If I missed anything important, please let me know. Otherwise I won't be reading the backlog of LJ entries. |
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| Steampunk terminology? |
[2008-07-08 14:00] |
| [ | muziko |
| | Venetian Snares - Cavalcade of Glee and Dadaist Happy Hardcore Pom Poms | ] |
Is there a word for a genre similar to cyberpunk or steampunk but focused around the late 15th century or early 16th century? Is there a word like "renpunk" "proto-steampunk" that's used?
I'm thinking of a metropolis world full of little gadgets à la Leonardo Da Vinci and full of little flag-semaphore urchins on posts, transmitting messages left and right as a Renaissance version of the Internet. Technology like mining, muskets and Age of Discovery navigation is available, but no steam or locomotive technology (still using draught animals to draw carts on railed tracks).
Edit: ah, clockpunk seems to be in use... |
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| Help desk specialist? |
[2008-07-06 17:14] |
I want to quickly learn and/or brush up all the skills needed to do a help desk job.
What books or websites can I read over 1 or 2 weeks to gain (or regain) a functional knowledge of all these?
-computer hardware, including IBM and Dell workstations and laptops
-dekstop and server OS's, including Win NT, 2K and XP
-application support with MS Office and Trackit
-various diagnostic utilities
Is there a list somewhere that covers all there is to know for a functional knowledge of these? I've been using computers for 25 years, so I have a strong base, but I want to make sure I cover everything to bring my skill up to an employable level. |
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| Montreal hosting? |
[2008-07-01 13:14] |
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Any suggestions on a place I could crash or couch-surf in Montreal on the evenings of July 15 to 17? It should be close-ish to downtown and have no cats. |
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| Job ad guidelines? |
[2008-06-30 16:11] |
If a job ad has no official posted deadline, what is a good deadline to assume? For example, one week after the post date?
Basically I don't want to go in "stress mode" and assume I must apply right away, but at the same time I don't want to wait too long and risk missing the opportunity! |
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| Career advice for secretaries |
[2008-06-29 16:01] |
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Between the chapters that teach the actual writing system, my Gregg shorthand book from the 1960s or 70s has interesting career advice for secretaries (PDF) with comments like "While her boss is not averse to a sparkling personality and good looks..." The social context feels so outdated today. |
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| WALL-E and The Fall |
[2008-06-29 14:42] |
When I first saw the posters for WALL-E, I immediately thought "Omg, lame family movie, hybrid rip-off of E.T. and Short Circuit."
But now I'm being told by people that it's one of the best science-fiction movies they've ever seen and that it's a must-see!
So I guess it's time to go to the movies this week. I also need to see The Fall.
No spoilers please! :) |
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| Mnemonics for month numbers? |
[2008-06-29 14:27] |
I remember the numbers for Jan, Feb, Mar, Aug, Nov and Dec fluently as 1, 2, 3, 8, 11 and 12, but everything in between requires me to count on my fingers and name all the months until I reach the right number to figure out what number is June or what month name is the 9th month.
I think what throws me off as well is that as a linguist I see prefixes like sept-, octo-, nov-, dec- and I have to try to ignore them in my head, because they scream the wrong numbers to me.
Do you have any visual grapheme-to-grapheme mnemonics or tricks to remember these faster? For example, see how I instantly know Cantonese tone contours and numbers.
Maybe I can use leetspeak, like: 4pril, 7uly, etc. |
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| Writing speed and style |
[2008-06-29 03:43] |
I was initially drawn towards Gregg shorthand because of the severe limitations of longhand in trying to write as fast as I think.
My typing speed is 91 WPM using a Dvorak keyboard (1 word = 5 characters), but it's not realistic to expect me to have a computer nearby at all times, especially when I'm out and about.
I clocked my longhand writing speed today at 37 WPM (1 word = 1.4 syllables). I wrote as fast as I could while still being legible to me. I know my longhand is much faster than most people I know, but it feels so slow compared to the 100 to 280 WPM that people achieve using Gregg shorthand! It's amazing to think that after my Gregg proficiency improves with time and practice, I could potentially quadruple my writing speed!
Interestingly, my longhand is not cursive. I've been using all-caps block letters ever since I was a little kid in daycare. (I was literate very precociously.) I always felt more comfortable and faster using block letters in my personal notes, even after I was taught cursive in grade 1. And my handwriting has changed very little since age 4!
This is from an editorial cartoon I made right before the 1988 federal election, when I had just turned 10 and was in grade 5:
This is from a Star Trek comic I made in 1992, at age 13 (grade 8):
Here is an excerpt from the speed test I did today, at age 29 (in a hurried writing style):
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| Early Flash cartoons |
[2008-06-29 00:06] |
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Wow, this takes me back to 2000. Hooptie-Goo!! |
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| LCD Soundsystem |
[2008-06-26 15:35] |
 Last week I heard a song playing in the mall that I really liked. This is a fairly rare occurrence, because malls love to play what I consider to be crap music. I wrote down the lyrics I was able to discern so I could Google them later and identify the song.
It turned out to be Someone Great by LCD Soundsystem. They're kind of poppy, electronic British dance punk or something. |
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| Cellingvaj memnomoj, ne eŭfemismoj!! / Target-language endonyms, not euphemisms!! |
[2008-06-24 18:12] |
| [ | muziko |
| | Daft Punk - Veridis Quo | ] |
Mi malamas politikan korektecon sed pro aliaj kialoj ol la plimulto. Mia regulo estas simpla:
Uzu la vorton, kiun la homoj mem preferas uzi por si, ke oni uzu por nomi ilin en la cellingvo.
Estas la sama politiko kun individuaj homoj. Se iu diras "Nomu min Guĉjo," tiam mi nomos lin Guĉjo. Sufiĉe simplas la afero.
Do mi ne ŝatas la terminon "aŭda handikapo" ĉar la plimulto de surduloj, kiujn mi konas, nomas sin surduloj. Alivorte, "aŭda handikapo" estas artefarita kaj nur uzas ĝin tiuj, kiuj provas esti ĝentilaj sed fakte scias nenion pri surdula kulturo, kaj do la eŭfemismo havas la tute malan efikon ol deziratan.
Mi ne uzas vortojn kiel "kripluloj", ĉar "homoj kun fizika handikapo" kutime preferas pli neŭtralan terminon kiel tiun lastan.
Por substreki la lastajn 3 vortojn de la regulo, mi ne uzas "Nipono" por "Japanio", ĉar kutime Japanoj preferas uzi la vorton "Japanio" (aŭ Japanujo) en Esperanto. En iuj okazoj ne estas interkonsento. Ekzemple, Persoj nomas sian lingvon "la persa" kaj ne "la parsia". Sed por la lando, la oficiala nomo estas Irano, uzata de la registaro kaj de malplimultoj, sed laŭ mia kompreno multaj etnaj Persoj preferas ankoraŭ nomi ĝin Persio en Esperanto. Do iafoje oni devas elekti unu flankon de debato. En tiuj okazoj, mi provas esti neŭtrala aŭ inkluzivema.
La sola malfacilaĵo pri tiu politiko estas tio, ke ĝi postulas, ke la parolanto iom esploru la bezonojn de tiu komunumo kiam li priparolas ilin, kaj sciu kiel ili kutime nomas sin en la lingvo, kiun vi uzos. | | I hate political correctness, but for a different reason than most. My rule is simple:
Use the word that the people themselves prefer to use for themselves that people use to call them in the target language.
It's the same policy as with individual people. If somebody says "Call me Gus," then I'll call them Gus. Pretty straightforward.
So, I don't like "hearing impaired", because most Deaf people I know find the word offensive or at least dislike it. Deaf people call themselves Deaf. In other words, "hearing-impaired" is artificial and only used by people who are trying to be polite but who know nothing about Deaf culture, and therefore the euphemism backfires on them.
I don't use words like "cripples", because "people with a physical disability" usually prefer a more neutral term like that one.
To highlight the last 4 words of the rule, I don't use "Nippon" for "Japan", because Japanese people normally use the word "Japan" in the English language. In some instances, there is no consensus. For example, Persians call their language Persian in English and not Farsi. But for their country, the official name is Iran, used by the government and by minorities, but to my understanding, most ethnic Persians prefer to still call it Persia in English. So sometimes you have to take a "side". In these cases, I try to be neutral or inclusive.
The only difficulty with this policy is it requires a bit of research for the speaker to know the issues of that community when referring to them, and knowing what they normally call themselves in the language you are using.
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[2008-06-24 02:42] |
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Please reply with your pop culture, fandom or geekdom memories from the 1985 to 1996 era. |
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| First Spore creatures we made |
[2008-06-19 22:40] |
Introducing Grandfaukulo... ;)
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) shigil made this one:
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| RapidShare? |
[2008-06-15 16:50] |
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RapidShare doesn't work on Firefox anymore? "The download cannot be provided. Please check, if your browser supports Javascript." I do have Javascript enabled. |
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[2008-06-14 23:24] |
The arm of my glasses broke as I rolled over or sat on them in bed. Since I must function on a low-income budget, I turn to the Internets for bargains on specs. I measured my old glasses and narrowed down the selection to glasses that are very similar in height and width.
Ferrere by 39DollarGlasses seems to be the best choice so far. It comes in either burgundy or black/lime. Hard for me to decide! I'd have wanted black/burgundy. :)
( Read more... ) |
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| Ottawa tables copyright bill |
[2008-06-12 14:10] |
The federal government tabled new legislation Thursday morning designed to make it easier to track and prosecute anyone caught downloading copyrighted files, such as music and movies, from the Internet.
Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Heritage Minister Josée Verner lifted the veil on the long-anticipated legislation at a news conference on Parliament Hill.
Under the proposed legislation, anyone caught downloading copyrighted material online could face a fine of $500. Individuals may still be liable for other types of damages or remedies. The current Copyright Act allows for a maximum fine of $20,000. More...
Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6315846683 |
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| [Toronto] Eligible babe |
[2008-06-11 19:59] |
garden_hoe21 is bi and kinky. She's looking for either serious dating or just good hickeys.
PS: Spring is a good time for matchmaking. Other local people who want a personal ad posted on my blog, send details and a photo to sonja@kisa.ca |
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| Spore news |
[2008-06-10 19:12] |
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Buy the Creature Creator for $10 in 7 days! (The full Spore is out in September.) |
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| Fulmotondro! |
[2008-06-10 00:43] |
| [ | loko |
| | Toronto | ] |
| [ | humoro |
| |  entuziasma | ] |
Ŭaaa, fortege! |
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| Fix monitor? |
[2008-06-06 18:44] |
My LCD monitor flickered yellow for a few seconds then just went off. The little power light is on, and the logo of the company appears when turning it off then back on. But then it says something like no signal. As far as I can tell, everything is plugged in the right holes on all ends.
Possible points of failure:
-cord died
-video card died (it was new though)
-monitor itself died
-other? |
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| Stenography for the 21st century! |
[2008-06-05 09:55] |
I ought to learn Gregg shorthand to make my sluggish low-tech pen-and-paper writing as fast and efficient as my Dvorak at-computer writing. There are many versions of it, but it looks like Simplified would meet my needs. I should be able to increase my writing speed by about 500%.
I decided against Pitman and Teeline after comparing those systems to Gregg's. Gregg stenography also has the largest and most active online community of users and fans.
Digital voice recorders are nice, but you have to double-dump: dump in to collect, and dump out to retrieve. I can read much faster visually and at a glance than I can process audio information. Also, writing notes is much less intimidating to most people than sticking recording equipment in their face.
Ekzistas ankaŭ Grega stenografio por Esperanto (PDF). |
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[2008-06-01 22:09] |
more cat pictures |
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| Lillianne Madeleine Fry, fille de Monik et Andrew |
[2008-05-31 20:13] |
J'ai une nièce!
Date de naissance: le 31 mai 2008, 11 h 15 du matin
Lieu de naissance: Wolfville, Nouvelle-Écosse, Canada
Poids: 4 286 g (9,45 livres)
Longeur: 55 cm (21,7 pouces)
Signe astrologique: Gémeaux
Signe chinois: Rat
( Read more... ) |
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| Gang signs |
[2008-05-30 13:10] |
(from anyeone)
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| D&D 4th edition leak |
[2008-05-28 20:32] |
Enjoy the torrent.
They did weird stuff like kill gnomes and half-orcs and make the game more like World of Warcraft. |
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| Most peaceful countries in the world |
[2008-05-21 00:32] |
1. Iceland
2. Denmark
3. Norway
4. New Zealand
5. Japan
6. Ireland
7. Portugal
8. Finland
9. Luxembourg
10. Austria
11. Canada
12. Switzerland
13. Sweden
14. Germany
15. Belgium
97. United States
136. Israel
137. Afghanistan
138. Sudan
139. Somalia
140. Iraq
Moar... |
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| Vital step in the healing process |
[2008-05-15 23:43] |
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In June, the Prime Minister of Canada will deliver a long-overdue apology for residential school abuses. |
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| I has Taro |
[2008-05-13 13:39] |
I went out looking for tropical yams for a Beninese recipe I wanted to try, but I ended up buying taro. I guess I'll boil the corms.
PS: The Ethernopian was delicious. |
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| Split lentil stew in berbere sauce |
[2008-05-13 09:35] |
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I've got a fever, and the only cure is moar Ethernopians. Nom nom nom. |
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| George LeBlanc, mayor of Moncton |
[2008-05-12 23:08] |
| [ | humoro |
| |  proud | ] |
My extended uncle first cousin, once removed (my father's 1st cousin), George LeBlanc, just won mayorship of Moncton, New Brunswick! Wow!
Great job on the campaign, Brian! |
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| English usage |
[2008-05-12 23:05] |
Poll #1186857
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: AllWhat English word do you use the most often for "food served before the main course"?
It's for a meal prepared at home (not restaurant, etc.) if it makes any difference! |
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| Tradiciaj receptoj / Traditional recipes |
[2008-05-12 21:27] |
Ĉu vi kuiras?
Bonvolu transdoni al mi la plenan recepton (aŭ Esperantan tradukon aŭ la originalan tekston) de via plej ŝatata loka, etna aŭ familia specialaĵo! Aŭ iun ajn pladon aŭ deserton, kiun vi estas fame konata pro fari. Bonvolu inkluzivi la neprajn detalojn por iu, kiu neniam preparis nek manĝis tiun manĝaĵon antaŭe.
Mi ŝatus provi kaj gustumi ĝin en mia hejma kuirejo!
| | Do you cook?
Please share with me the full recipe for your favourite local, ethnic or family specialty! Or any dish or desert you're known or famous for making. Please include the mandatory details for somebody who has never prepeared or eaten this food before.
I want to try making it and taste it in my kitchen at home!
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9 (8.4%)
