A bit of a change...

I'm finally doing something I had wanted to do for a long time, and electricvelvet helped facilitated it.

The short of it is that they needed someone to write/produce stuff about technology, and I know a fair bit about it...so she ask me to do...now I have to go attend a volunteer into session at the station, and then later that night, another friend of mine who does a radio show is doing a production workshop...so I might hang around and attend that.

Another step on the road towards journalism...

ttyl

One Sweedish Chief, well cooked, and served in a firefox or thunderbird...

Well, in case you need a bit of silliness for your day, you should install one of the best Firefox/Thunderbird extensions to come around in a long time...Bork Bork Bork!

It is basically like the old Enchefizer, only it works within Firefox or Thunderbird to translate text into something that makes it sound, if read out loud, like the Sweedish Chef from The Muppets. You can make it work only on certain sites, or turn it on or off globally. When loaded into Thunderbird, you can tell it to only translate email from certain people...so you could, in theory, have the Sweedish Chef cook with Spam....

Anyways, it's a silly thing, and I highly recommend it.

You can get it from the Firefox site here: https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?id=507&application=firefox

or from the Author's site: http://www.snert.com/Software/bork.html

But I recommend getting it from the Firefox site, as it increases the counter on the number of downloads...

[edit: Below is the same post filtered through Bork Bork Bork!]

Vell, in cese-a yuoo need a beet ooff seelliness fur yuoor dey, yuoo shuoold instell oone-a ooff zee best Fureffux/Thoonderburd ixtenseeuns tu cume-a eruoond in a lung time-a...Bork Bork Bork!
Bork Bork Bork!

It is beseecelly leeke-a zee oold Incheffeezer, oonly it vurks veethin Fureffux oor Thoonderburd tu trunslete-a text intu sumetheeng thet mekes it suoond, iff reed oooot luood, leeke-a zee Sveedeesh Cheff frum Zee Mooppets. Yuoo cun meke-a it vurk oonly oon certeeen seetes, oor toorn it oon oor ooffff glubelly. Vhee lueded intu Thoonderburd, yuoo cun tell it tu oonly trunslete-a imeeel frum certeeen peuple-a...su yuoo cuoold, in zeeury, hefe-a zee Sveedeesh Cheff cuuk veet Spem....
Bork Bork Bork!

Unyveys, it's a seelly theeng, und I heeghly recummend it.
Bork Bork Bork!

Yuoo cun get it frum zee Fureffux seete-a here-a: https://edduns.muzeella.oorg/ixtenseeuns/mureeenffu.php?id=507&eppleeceshun=fureffux

oor frum zee Oothur's seete-a: http://vvv.snert.cum/Sufftvere-a/bork.html

Boot I recummend getting it frum zee Fureffux seete-a, es it increeses zee cuoonter oon zee noomber ooff doonlueds...
Bork Bork Bork!

ttyl

Languages in Translation...

http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/news/shownews.jsp?content=n022611A#

This is a fascinating article at MACLEANS Magazine about how technical terms being used in English have been translated into the languages of Northern Peoples in the Canadian North. What is really fascinating to me is how terms come out when tranaslated back into English.

INUVIK, N.W.T. (CP) - A few terms commonly used in environmental assessments of mining and energy developments in the North, retranslated into English from their aboriginal equivalents:

Crown land - Land that is not settled, the federal government is the boss of it (Gwich'In)

Environmental assessment - Rules to prevent damage (Dogrib)

Ore - Good rock (Chipewyan)

Gold - Expensive rock (Gwich'In)

Risk analysis - Thinking maybe (South Slavey)

Acid rain - Rain water with bad medicine (Chipewyan)

Fragmentation - The land changed (Gwich'In)

Monitoring agency - The ones who watch (Gwich'In)

Mineral rights - We are the boss of what is under the ground (Gwich'In)

Expert adviser - Person expressing their wisdom (South Slavey)

Development proposal - Agreement is made to create jobs (Dogrib)

Source - Glossary of Terms, the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board