Thursday, June 11, 2015

Out on the Porch (the last of the bricks will be placed this weekend!)





19 comments:

  1. It's still Dean.

    Notes for you on the last thread, Alan.

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  2. Re homeless in Fresno, the person who seems particularly responsible for finally pulling it all together is the mayor--a Republican sorority girl (literally--pardon my prejudices) with some pretty flighty ideas about several things, but well meaning and seemingly able to work with folks. She also played a major role in getting Fresno through the Great Recession in OK shape--there was talk about the possibility of municipal bankruptcy at one time. She can break a few eggs to make an omelet, but comes across as non-threatening; it's an interesting combination. The big homeless encampments are gone.

    Your impression of the differences between the sounds of "horse" and "hoarse" seems about right. I could find spoken examples online, and I can hear a very slight difference, probably because my ear is not attuned to it. Too difficult for me to emulate. "Cot" and "caught" are clearly different for me, and despite the fact that locals are said to pronounce "pin" and "pen" the same I fail to perceive it--because I expect to hear the distinction, I think.

    I still like the idea of a Jeb Bush/Kinky Friedman ticket...

    --Alan

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    1. I can't comment on the Bush/Friedman idear, as I've never heard of Kinky anybody! Ha!

      Cot is like bought
      Caught is like taught

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    2. To me, the vowel sounds of "horse" and "hoarse" are distinctly different. That of "hoarse" is like the letter O. That of "horse" is sort of like "aw" but shorter.

      I find the vowel sounds of "bought," "caught," and "taught" identical, while that of "cot" is distinctly different. The former is a full long "aw" while the latter is "ah."

      And I have no idea who Kinky Friedman is either.

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    3. Jeb Bush/Kinky Friedman LOL Alan.That's the best idear I've heard in ages!

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    4. I figured at the time that a George Wallace/Shirley Chisolm or Chisolm/Wallace ticket would have been a winner in 1972; something for everybody--a truly balanced ticket.

      --Alan

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    5. For me, caught = taught, cot = hot, but bought is longer, with a touch of the "U."

      Hmmm.... I know "hoss" for horse, but that is non-rhotic. It's very hard for me to interpolate the R without altering the vowel--impossible so far, in fact... Well, Rome wasn't built in a day. That particular project can wait while I work on perfecting Mary-marry-merry. Low-hanging fruit first.

      --Alan

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  3. As you can see, I'm back from my trip. The meeting in Spokane was very useful and informative. Not to mention getting my legs back in shape. The downside is that it provoked a lot of email I needed to generate and respond to. I almost wish I hadn't gone on to Seattle, although then I would never have toured Mt. Ranier.

    Got back a bit over 24 hours ago and was greeted as I reached the houseby two of the loudest thunderclaps I've ever heard. But all except a few drops of rain stayed to the south of us.

    Penny learned today that her job and those of her coworkers have evaporated. What's going to happen isn't clear. There is some thought the company where they have been working will hire them back directly rather than through the agency. Or it may merge with a steel company and ... or who knows what. We don't particularly need the money, but Penny would rather have a job than not.

    And like Cat, I know the Respect Economy through personal experience. That's how people are paid for running science fiction conventions. Every single person putting on a 5000-member Worldcon.

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    1. Welcome back, Bill. Glad you had a good trip. I hope it works out with Penny's job!

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  4. Too funny! I just won a law suit I didn't even know I was involved in. . . .Dreamfields Pasta was sued because someone thought their claims were bogus. I was a big fan/buyer. Luckily, I bought online, and the purchases showed up there. Anyways, I just got a check for $64.26 as a wronged Dreamfields eater.

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    1. Who knew? *grin* The check must have been a nice surprise anyhow, even if you didn't know you were wronged.

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    2. If indeed you like Dreamfields pasta, it would seem reasonable to buy $64.26 worth...

      --Alan

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  5. So, there is no resolution yet regarding the NY prison escapees. All this hullaballoo and so far no leads have turned up anything significant. It sounds now like even the several promising bits of information are but speculation. Someone saw two guys, but it's not confirmed it was these same two guys, etc..
    I do not read novels often, I never watch crime shows or scary mysteries. And do you know what keeps coming to mind? I keep thinking of the woman who had the panic attack, who was allegedly supposed to be the get-away driver, but left them stranded locally. What if her panic attack was actually a ruse to make everyone think the escapees are stranded locally? What if they really had another driver and got away that first night? What if all this police action is a huge expense and disruption and those two are laughing like crazy in Mexico?

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  6. Replies
    1. On my city tour of Seattle we saw goats maintaining the landscaped area beside the highway.

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  7. After a couple lovely days, today was hot and humid and miserable. Thank Heaven for air conditioning!

    We've been having a lot of difficulties with Innertube connections recently; so much so that Dad bought a new modem/router system. Don't ask me, it's all black magic as far as I'm concerned a la Clark's Law. But, pertinently, he set it up this afternoon and, knock on wood, the connections seem faster and crisper. Hopefully they are more stable as well. I've been going batty trying to play my sets in the Global Challenge and the Fun trivia Knockout with connections that take ten plus seconds to connect. One can but hope that such frustration is a thing of the past with the new system!

    I have a brand-spanking-new iPad. Dad's new system includes wifi(sp?) and he set that up on the iPad for me right after doing my computers. The iPad is really neat! With everything so much bigger, it's a lot easier to use than the iPhone. Not that I'm going to abandon my iPhone; but it's nice to be in the swim of things.

    Since the last time I was here I finished Bridge of Ashes and read A Night in the Lonesome October, also by Zelazny; the former thought provoking, the latter a great romp. What a talent! Gone much too soon.

    I *finally* solved the problem of converting MIDI files to .wav files. The solution was absurdly simple, as most solutions are once you see them. Using a program called Creative Recorder, I set the source to "What you hear." Then I hit Record and immediately click the .mid file to start it playing, ending the recording when the file ends. Then I import the .wav file into Cakewalk, my music program, to remove any extra empty space at the beginning of the recording and export it to the directory/folder where I want it to reside. Perhaps a bit round about, but it works. My Aunt Kyra used to say, the most direct route anywhere is the way you know.

    The MIDI-WAVE conversion became important because I've resumed putting songs up at SongSpace (after at long last remembering my log in there). You can put up the lyric for a song and a .wav file of the music. I've converted and uploaded one song already and have a few more to go. Not all the uploaded lyrics have music that is properly harmonized and such, but I'll post the link here once a few more .wav files are up.

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  8. I remember reading about Boston giving the goats a try last year; glad it worked out well. It's marvelous they can eat poison ivy! Maybe next the Boston parks department will buy and breed their own goats rather than renting them? Goats are said to be really good for controlling kudzu too. And let's not forget geese (they pass up those yucky strawberries and head straight for the luscious weeds) or turkeys for insect control. When I was a kid we knew some folks who used a couple of sheep for lawn mowers.

    --Alan

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    1. Horses (Hosses?) make excellent lawn mowers too!
      Yes, FABULOUS that goats eat poison ivy with no ill effects!

      On the run today, picking up VT*Grand. More when I can !

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