Cross-posted from my Social Actions blog.
Lots of links relating to social media, social enterprise, and the non-profit sector. I hope that some are new and useful to you!
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I had to evaluate Seesmic for a client, and I really like it. It's a desktop app that pulls in your Twitter and Facebook updates into a single stream. You can manage multiple accounts, update from the app, and make lists. So it's a lot like Tweetdeck, except with Facebook too. I likes.
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Debbie called me with a question: did I remember the name of this sci-fi story about spelling reform, where the reforms gradually take place as the story progresses? I did not, but did find The Spelling Society, which advocates the removal of irregularities from English spelling. (Sorry, Frank, but I think a lot of them blame Dr. Johnson.) From there she found the story, often pseudepigraphically attributed to Mark Twain, but actually written by W. K. Lessing, writing pseudonymously as Dolton Edwards, in the September 1946 issue of Astounding Science Fiction magazine. (As far as I can tell, neither Lessing nor Edwards wrote anything else.)
Meihem In Ce Klasrum by Dolton Edwards.
Because we are still bearing some of the scars of our brief skirmish with II-B English, it is natural that we should be enchanted with Mr. George Bernard Shaw's proposal for a simplified alphabet.
Obviously, as Mr. Shaw points out, English spelling is in much need of a general overhauling and streamlining. However, our resistance to any changes requiring a large expenditure of mental effort in the near future would cause us to view with some apprehension the possibility of some day receiving a morning paper printed in - to us - Greek.
Our own plan would achieve the same end as the legislation proposed by Mr. Shaw, but in a less shocking manner, as it consists merely of an acceleration of the normal processes by which the language is continually modernized.
As a catalytic agent, we would suggest that a "National Easy Language Week" be proclaimed, which the President would inaugurate, outlining some short cut to concentrate on during the week, and to be adopted during the ensuing year. All school children would be given a holiday, the lost time being the equivalent of that gained by the spelling short cut.
In 1946, for example, we would urge the elimination of the soft "c," for which we would substitute "s." Sertainly, such an improvement would be selebrated in all sivic-minded sircles as being suffisiently worth the trouble, and students in all sities in the land would be reseptive toward any change eliminating the nesessity of learning the differense between the two letters.
In 1947, sinse only the hard "c" would be left, it would be possible to substitute "k" for it, both letters being pronounsed identikally. Imagine how greatly only two years of this prosess would klarify the konfusion in the minds of students. Already we would have eliminated an entire letter from the alphabet. Typewriters and linotypes kould all be built with one less letter, and all the manpower and materials previously devoted to making "c's" kould be turned toward raising the national standard of living.
In the fase of so many notable improvements, it is easy to foresee that by 1948, "National Easy Language Week" would be a pronounsed sukses. All skhool tshildren would be looking forward with konsiderable exsitement to the holiday, and in a blaze of national publisity it would be announsed that the double konsonant "ph" no longer existed, and that the sound would henseforth be written with "f " in all words. This would make sutsh words as "fonograf" twenty persent shorter in print.
By 1949, publik interest in a fonetik alfabet kan be expekted to have inkreased to the point where a more radikal step forward kan be taken without fear of undue kritisism. We would therefore urge the elimination at that time of al unesesary double leters, whitsh, although quite harmles, have always ben a nuisanse in the language and a desided deterent to akurate speling. Try it yourself in the next leter you write, and se if both writing and reading are not fasilitated.
With so mutsh progrs already made, it might be posible in 1950 to delve further into the posibilities of fonetik speling. After due konsideration of the reseption aforded the previous steps, it should be expedient by this time to spel al difthongs fonetikaly. Most students do not realize that the long "i" and "y," as in "time" and "by," are aktualy the difthong "ai," as it is writen in "aisle," and that the long
"a" in "fate" is in reality the difthong "ei" as in "rein." Although perhaps not imediately aparent, the seiving in taime and efort wil be tremendous when we leiter elimineite the sailent "e," as meide posible bai this last tsheinge.
For, as is wel known, the horible mes of "e's" apearing in our writen language is kaused prinsipaly bai the present nesesity of indekeiting whether a vowel is long or short. Therefore, in 1951 we kould simply elimineite al sailent "e's" and kontinu to read and wrait merily along as though we wer in an atomik eig of edukation.
In 1951 we would urg a greit step forward. Sins bai this taim it would hav ben four years sins anywun had usd the leter "c," we would sugest that the "National Easy Languag Wek" for 1951 be devoted to substitution of "c" for "Th." To be sur it would be som taim befor peopl would bekom akustomd to reading ceir newspapers and buks wic sutsh sentenses in cem as
"Ceodor caught he had cre cousand cistls crust crough ce cik of his cumb."
In ce seim maner, bai meiking eatsh leter hav its own sound and cat sound only, we kould shorten ce languag stil mor. In 1952 we would eliminait ce "y"; cen in 1953 we kould us ce leter to indekeit ce "sh" sound, cerbai klarifaiing words laik yugar and yur, as wel as redusing bai wun mor leter al words laik "yut," "yor," and so forc. Cink, cen, of al ce benefits to be geined bai ce distinktion whitsh wil cen be meid between words laik:
Tradspel
ocean
machine
racialDrem
oyean
Mayin
reyialENglis
oSan
maSEn
rasalSpanglish
óshan
machien
réshalAl sutsh divers weis of wraiting wun sound would no longer exist, and whenever wun keim akros a "y" sound he would know exaktli what to wrait.
Kontinuing cis proses, ier after ier, we would eventuali hav a reali sensibl writen langug. By 1975, wi ventyur tu sei, cer wud bi no mor uv ces teribli trublsum difikultis, wic no tu leters usd to indikeit ce seim nois, and laikwais no tui noises riten wic ce seim leter. Even Mr. Yaw, wi beliv, wud be hapi in ce noleg cat his drims fainali keim tru.
Reprinted from Astounding Science Fiction, Street and Smith Publications, Inc. (now Analog Science Fiction and Fact ). 1946.
I think in 1975, that's exactly how I did spell.
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Categorized: Print
See also: English
July 21, 2009
Neon Suitcase, ca. 1935
I wonder how this thing is powered? Had I a spare $2800 this would definitely belong in our Wunderkammer. (Did I mention our Wunderkammer?)
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Categorized: Odds & Ends
See also: 1930s
July 15, 2009
Back It Up!Cross-posted from my Social Actions blog.
I've worked in a lot of non-profit organizations, and one thing that most of them have had in common is the lack of an IT department. As a geek-in-residence, I've done double duty as LAN administrator, PC repairman, software trainer, and help desk. (Then there's the time when I was removing bugs -- real bugs. Roaches like the nice warm motherboard to snuggle up to.) In addition to, you know, my regular job. So I've picked up a few things here and there.
One thing that is often overlooked is the importance of off-site backup. Let's face it, most of us know that it's important to backup, but how often are you actually doing it? And even if you've got your files automatically backed up to the network, what happens if the building burns down? You need to back up your important data off site. Think of it as Data Insurance.
Personally, I've been very happy with Amazon's service. You download an app called JungleDisk, tell it which directories you want to back up, and it sits silently in the background making sure your data is backed up (and encrypted) to Amazon's servers. You're charged based on how much you back up. And they support Kiva!
Another outfit I haven't tried is DigitalBucket. They're offering 5G of free storage to 501(c)(3) non-profits in the US and registered charities abroad. See their offer here.
Now go forth, and back up!
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Categorized: Business & Economy | Computers & Internet
See also: Amazon
July 13, 2009
Japanese Color NamesI knew there was less linguistic distinction between green and blue; this chart lays out the different color terms. See also: Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution on how languages develop color names, and in what order -- which is one explanation for why Homer's sea is always wine-dark. (More here)
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Categorized: Culture | Odds & Ends | Science & Technology
See also: Cognition
Wildwood, N.J.posted this | this entry's link | speak your mind
Categorized: Local News | Screen
See also: Documentaries
July 10, 2009
Press 1 For A Message About CapitalismOK so this is a robocall I just got:
Hello, press 1 for a message about capitalism.Of course I press 1. It's been too long since my last political philosophy class.
The United States of America was founded on the principles of small government and allowing people to follow their dreams. Keep capitalism strong in the USA.And that was it. Who paid for this? Why? What does it mean?
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Categorized: National News | Odds & Ends
See also: Capitalism
