Talk to me! Email to vitas@GracefulBoot.com
Talk to me! Email to vitas@GracefulBoot.com
Click here for the past What's New/Page History page.
Click here for the Board Games fan page history.
Added Deep Thought.
Added link:
Argh! I'm recovering from a broken arm and am finding the slight loss of freedom frustrating.
I tried jumping a curb with a bicycle that's heavier than my own and endded up smacking the sidewalk. Perhaps I'm jaded, but with cars zooming by, it never occurred to me to stop one to ask for help. Eventually, someone did stop, and even commented that he was frustrated that no one stopped to help some one who was so obviously in pain, and wouldn't give him a break when he stopped and tried to get out of his car to help.
But, then, someone did stop and help, and I'm grateful, and am willing to forgive the general unfriendliness of the area.
But the real point of this update is to add some links:
Cleaned up Cool Links as best I could. Added cool link:
Added cool links:
My ebook adventure.
I was looking for cool new things to do with my Tablet PC, which I think will become a revolutionary device once it comes down in price, comes down in weight, and goes up in battery life.
I decided to give ebooks a try and started searching on Google. I ended up at Barnes and Noble and saw that they generally had Adobe ebooks and MS Reader ebooks. At first, I was thinking Adobe would be better, because it's more widespread, but then I found a free MS Reader sampler from Harvard Press, The Leadership Collection, and tried it out.
I downloaded MS Reader 2.5 and installed it.
The first thing that captivated me was how it had a feel of an electronic book, as though it were designed for the simple purpose of reading a book. It's such a simple, uncluttered interface. (Seems like a natural expectation, doesn't it? But I'll tell you about my Adobe experience later.)
I ordered the free book from Barnes and Noble. Then they sent an email saying where I can download it. I clicked on the link and downloaded it and, voila, it was in my MS Reader library.
Another thing that captivated me... really sold me on ebooks, was text-to-speech. I must admit that it could do a better job understanding what punctuation, like dashes, should do, and how to better pronounce some words -- but it was fun reading along as it highlighted the words read on each page.
I even felt more focused than when I read on my own, because my mind does wander after reading each paragraph. Here, I was able to pace myself through the text and stay focused on it.
So, I thought I'd download one of the books in the sampler, Geeks and Geezers: How Era, Values and Defining Moments Shape Leaders because it looked to be a good book about leadership with actual biographical examples (as opposed to those cheesy business books that explain high concepts in a self-conciously inspirational, if not cheerleading, sort of way.) Even though it was an expensive book, I thought I'd invest in the technology and give it a shot.
But I thought it'd be fun to read some fiction too. So I download Greg Bear's Darwin's Radio. I've read his books before, so I knew he'd have an engaging writer.
I started off reading Darwin's Radio. I certainly found it engaging. I even liked MS Reader's feature of adding bookmarks so I can pick up where I left off. (An obvious feature that's strongly absent in Adobe's Acrobat Reader.)
I liked the online dictionary which let me look up most of the sophisticated biological terms in the book -- so nice to have a recent dictionary and the feature to highlight a word and click "lookup."
I liked highlighting those words with a virtual highlighter so I can look them up later. (It takes a while for new words to sink in for me.)
I liked adding notes when I figured out what the author was getting at, and after conversations with friends who brought up new ideas.
Wow! I was sold.
There were drawbacks. I couldn't modify the voice's speed in any way, or really play with any variables accessible in MS's text-to-speech control panel. I couldn't correct any words' pronunciation (passed" is not pronounced "pass-aid.") I couldn't improve its grammar to better handle punctuation (a long dash does not mean to read the two words as fast as possible, and an elipse does not mean wait a long time before continuing, and words in italics should be emphasized.) I couldn't improve its interpretations of abbreviations ("Dr." may be "doctor", it may be "drive.")
So I searched for other text-to-speech engines. They all cost money and they all have a different set of problems (based on the demos I was able to try.) Oh well. Best to keep the freebie and hope Microsoft enables a way to improve text-to-speech.
After finishing Darwin's Radio, I decided to download another Greg Bear book. I decided on Slant, but it was only available as an Adobe PDF. Well, it's in the name of science; I wanted to compare it to MS Reader.
What a huge disappointment. First, I couldn't have the book be read aloud to me. Apparently, content creators can enable or disable the feature and the feature was disabled in this book. I can't say that Barnes and Noble's tech support was any help. In an email they said it would work, so I called them and they said it should work. That I should uninstall and reinstall both Adobe's Acrobat Reader and the ebook. Doesn't that sound like the typical, lame tech support resolution? I did the lame procedure because, hey, I'm new to this so maybe they're right. It didn't work. I was told that they even tried reading aloud the ebook themselves and it worked, so the problem must be with Adobe's Acrobat Reader.
So I called Adobe. For free, their suggestion was to uninstall and reinstall the Reader. When I said I already did that I was passed on to someone else who wanted to charge me $40 to get help. No thanks.
So I called Barnes and Noble again and got someone else. This time the support person said that some books have that feature disabled and that if I want it to work, I should look for the word "PRINTABLE" on the ebooks page. I poked around and found that very few books are "PRINTABLE" -- even fewer that I want to read. No exchanges. No refunds.
OK. Let's go to the old standby. Let's find a crack for Adobe's Acrobat Reader 6.0. The closest one was sold by the infamous Elcom, downloaded their demo and it said it didn't support the ebook's encryption. Lame.
I found a product called PDFAloud. It's a pricey product meant for accesibility. I found that it would highlight the paragraph being read and the word being read -- a slight improvement over MS Reader. I downloaded and installed the demo, and Adobe's Acrobat Reader refused to load the ebook with "uncertified" plugins, which PDFAloud was. Lame.
It took me a while, though, to find a way to re-enable PDFAloud, for non-ebooks. It's a flag in preferences to load only certified plugins.
I tried Adobe Acrobat Reader's Read Aloud an any old PDF. I found that it doesn't highlight the word it's reading, and it doesn't automatically scroll the page so that what it's reading is displayed. Lame.
Also, I couldn't put in my own bookmark to put down the document and pick up where I left off. Lame.
The online dictionary in Adobe Acrobat Reader links to Dictionary.Com. This is not too lame unless I'm not connected to the Net, which would be the case if I'm reading on vacation. Lame.
After this experience, I vowed to never use Adobe's Acrobat Reader again. (Though I still have to make the most of the ebook I did buy!) My respect for PDF has dropped. And I have to reluctantly admit that Microsoft has a better product in MS Reader.
Update on my Stoopid Signs page.
Reader m.l.matthews points out that the sign is supposed to mean that bicyclists trigger a green light at the bike logo on the pavement, as described in this link. Isn't *that* obvious from the sign?!?!
I'm a big animation fan, and I've just read some exciting news. Warner Brothers plans to release Loony Tunes and Tom & Jerry cartoons on DVD. These animations tend to be unbridled and funny, besides being technically excellent for their time.
Here is the announcement and a link to the reference.
[Warner] OK here we go. All of the LOONEY TUNES cartoons are being
remastered from new film elements made from the original negatives. We
have an extensive program planned that finally unites both the pre-'48
Turner-owned cartoons and the WB cartoons. The first big release will
be later this year and contain oodles of extras directed towards the
classic animation fans. Several respected animation experts are
participating on the special features as we speak. Fans of THE GOLDEN
AGE OF LOONEY TUNES LD sets will not be disappointed!
[Warner] TOM & JERRY collections will arrive with uncut, complete
theatrical version cartoons starting next year. This will include all
the cartoons made by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera for MGM between
1940-1957.
Linkname: Chat Transcript: Warner Home Video on Home Theater Forum
URL: http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/042303htfchat.html
Added Deep Thought.
Just War or A Just War by Jimmy Carter Profound changes have been taking place in American foreign policy, reversing consistent bipartisan commitments that for more than two centuries have earned our nation greatness. These commitments have been predicated on basic religious principles, respect for international law, and alliances that resulted in wise decisions and mutual restraint. Our apparent determination to launch a war against Iraq, without international support, is a violation of these premises. As a Christian and as a president who was severely provoked by international crises, I became thoroughly familiar with the principles of a just war, and it is clear that a substantially unilateral attack on Iraq does not meet these standards. This is an almost universal conviction of religious leaders, with the most notable exception of a few spokesmen of the Southern Baptist Convention who are greatly influenced by their commitment to Israel based on eschatological, or final days, theology. For a war to be just, it must meet several clearly defined criteria. The war can be waged only as a last resort, with all nonviolent options exhausted. In the case of Iraq, it is obvious that clear alternatives to war exist. These previously proposed by our own leaders and approved by the United were outlined again by the Security Council on Friday. But now, with our own national security not directly threatened and despite the overwhelming opposition of most people and governments in the world, the United States seems determined to carry out military and diplomatic action that is almost unprecedented in the history of civilized nations. The first stage of our widely publicized war plan is to launch 3,000 bombs and missiles on a relatively defenseless Iraqi population within the first few hours of an invasion, with the purpose of so damaging and demoralizing the people that they will change their obnoxious leader, who will most likely be hidden and safe during the bombardment. The war's weapons must discriminate between combatants and noncombatants. Extensive aerial bombardment, even with precise accuracy, inevitably results in "collateral damage." Gen. Tommy R. Franks, commander of American forces in the Persian Gulf, has expressed concern about many of the military targets being near hospitals, schools, mosques and private homes. Its violence must be proportional to the injury we have suffered. Despite Saddam Hussein's other serious crimes, American efforts to tie Iraq to the 9/11 terrorist attacks have been unconvincing. The attackers must have legitimate authority sanctioned by the society they profess to represent. The unanimous vote of approval in the Security Council to eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction can still be honored, but our announced goals are now to achieve regime change and to establish a Pax Americana in the region, perhaps occupying the ethnically divided country for as long as a decade. For these objectives, we do not have international authority. Other members of the Security Council have so far resisted the enormous economic and political influence that is being exerted from Washington, and we are faced with the possibility of either a failure to get the necessary votes or else a veto from Russia, France and China. Although Turkey may still be enticed into helping us by enormous financial rewards and partial future control of the Kurds and oil in northern Iraq, its democratic Parliament has at least added its voice to the worldwide expressions of concern. The peace it establishes must be a clear improvement over what exists. Although there are visions of peace and democracy in Iraq, it is quite possible that the aftermath of a military invasion will destabilize the region and prompt terrorists to further jeopardize our security at home. Also, by defying overwhelming world opposition, the United States will undermine the United Nations as a viable institution for world peace. What about America's world standing if we don't go to war after such a great deployment of military forces in the region? The heartfelt sympathy and friendship offered to America after the 9/11 attacks, even from formerly antagonistic regimes, has been largely dissipated; increasingly unilateral and domineering policies have brought international trust in our country to its lowest level in memory. American stature will surely decline further if we launch a war in clear defiance of the United Nations. But to use the presence and threat of our military power to force Iraq's compliance with all United Nations with war as a final will enhance our status as a champion of peace and justice. Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, is chairman of the Carter Center in Atlanta and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/09/opinion/09CART.html
Added Ali G DVD review.
You may be a member of a settlement and could be eligible to up to $20 from the music industry! At worst, a big chunk of money will go to charity!
You are a member of the Settlement Group if you are a person (or entity) in the United States or its Territories and Possessions who purchased prerecorded Music Products, consisting of compact discs, cassettes and vinyl albums, from one or more retailers during the period January 1, 1995, through December 22, 2000.
Click here for more information and to file a claim.
Changed a cool link to:
I would like to see the web become accessible to all people... especially to persons with disabilities, and to non-proprietary browsers. I met someone with a professional interest in the same:
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 12:22:00 -0500 From: "P.J. Gardner" Subject: RE: web pages I have lots of places to look, many of them on the web, but the first thing that you might want to read is Steve Krug's "Don't Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability". It is fun, highly visual, quick to read, and a great example of design in itself. Steve will be visiting the Society of Technical Communication (STC) on February 27. The non-member price is a mere $10. You might want to check out my web site at www.gidi.biz. I have links to the W3C syntax checkers and the Bobby tool for analyzing accessibility on some of my pages. (I am still developing my site, so feedback is welcome. I have a lot of work to do on my marketing and a lot of stuff in my head that needs to get put onto my site.) On the W3C site, you should check out these two links: http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/ http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/full-checklist.html You can also do a web search on "Section 508", which is the current standard for accessibility of government sites. For example, you can go to http://accessibilityforum.org. They have a Testbed that shows pages that fail to meet Section 508 standards. I can look up the link for you, if you want, but it might be much easier for you to browse to it, since it has a very long and cumbersome URL. Look for the February 2002 meeting at a Denver conference, I think. I am also going to MIT tomorrow to an open house to look at various assistive devices from 11:00 to 2:00 p.m. I hope this information helps. There's lots more where that came from. P.J. Gardner Information Architect Gardner Information Design, Inc. www.gidi.biz
Contents by Vitas Povilaitis email to vitas@GracefulBoot.com