Translate

Saturday, August 31, 2024

Oooooh!!!

Have you seen the Samsung advertisement where they are in a foreign restaurant and use their phone to translate on the Samsung Flip6 [or the bigger one, the Fold6] by doing one side with English (the one facing you, the front screen) and another showing the translation into the other language on the cover screen (the one on the outside of the phone)? In the Flip6 the cover screen is fairly large, taking up the whole upper side of the folded phone. I don't have one, though I would like one, but I just paid off my Flip4 and can't justify the expense.

I did just see an article, though, that showed the Google Translate app (not the Samsung version on the Flip6) that allows me to do the same thing on my Flip4. Woo-hoo! The only problem is that my screen is about 1"x3", so it's much smaller. But it still works. Hee hee hee. This might work when I have a family member at work who is speaking a longer Spanish conversation than I can follow and respond to given my intermediate Spanish.

Google Translate Quieyly Added a Dual-Screen Conversation Mode for Foldables using Android 14.

Friday, August 30, 2024

I just spent

A good bit of time redesigning this blog. I took an existing theme (credit at the bottom of the page) and changed the colours and fonts. They are some of my least favourite colours (you'd think I'd have kept the purple), but they work well with the book background and a good librarian blog should have books. :)

Let me know what you think.

Exciting

New Imaging Technique Identifies Autism Markers with 95% Accuracy

Summary: Researchers have developed a system that detects genetic markers of autism in brain images with 89-95% accuracy, potentially enabling earlier diagnosis and treatment.

This method, which identifies brain structure patterns linked to autism-related genetic variations, offers a personalized approach to autism care. The technique, called transport-based morphometry, could transform the understanding and treatment of autism by focusing on genetic markers rather than behavioral cues.

Key Facts:

  • The system uses brain imaging to spot autism-related genetic variations.
  • Accuracy of the method ranges from 89-95%, promising earlier diagnosis.
  • This approach could shift autism diagnosis from behavior-based to genetics-based.


Twenty

Citation: Thomas, Dylan. Collected Poems: the Original Edition. New York: New Directions Books, 2010 [original publication date 1938], 210 pp. ISBN: 978-0811202053

I have adored Dylan Thomas since I first read 'Fern Hill'. This is a wonderful edition.

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Saturday, August 03, 2024

I had a scare Tuesday before last

I woke up confused and unable to walk down the hallway without going into the walls. My speech was slurred. My roommate tried to get me to sit down on the bed and I went about three directions and I had no control over my body. He got me up on the bed and we called 911. I went to the emergency room in an ambulance, and the upshot was I may have had a TIA (transient ischemic attack) or at the very least stroke-like symptoms. Two CTs and an MRI ruled out a full-blown stroke, at least. People suffering from TIAs have a 1 in 3 chance of having a stroke within one year, so it's definitely a wakeup call. They put me on a low-dose enteric-coated aspirin and upped my Lipitor. Hopefully that will help prevent further issue. I was off for a couple of days from work. My neuroloist, when I saw him, was of the opinion that it was brought-on by stress and I should find another job. That's easier said than done.

Monday, July 22, 2024

Owww....

I'm trying not to whine. I woke up to so much pain today that I could barely move or think. I have fibromyalgia and major osteoarthritis. I got up to go to the bathroom, and my right knee was so painful that it made me yell and nearly went out from under me. Ibuprofen is relieving minutely. I only have one other dose of that. My friend has arthritis-strength acetaminophen. I have to be careful taking either, due to my liver issues and diabetes (the need to protect the kidneys). I need to see if I can get some dual-action pain reliever, that has a smaller amount of both. Does anyone have suggestions for other pain relievers? Naproxen does nothing for me. Diclofenac used to, but it got to the point where I couldn't be on it long-term and it wasn't doing as well. Anyway, I called into work, it was bad enough, and I've only ever called in once for fibromyalgia before, and I was diagnosed back when I was in college. I've taken my meds and tried to basically sleep and distract myself, on and off. Right now I have the dogs, though, because my roommate is having a new appliance delivered. They are going wild with other people and other smells in the house. They're just losing their minds, so no rest for Lisa at the moment. I can't get in the bed with the three 60-lb. dogs on a full-sized day bed, not with being so tender. My roommate touched me lightly on a point earlier and it hurt.

Sigh. I thought I'd done reasonably well all of these years with pain, but now I'm really having a lot more trouble. The water would help with the fibromyalgia, but I did cancel my YMCA membership, so after this month it's gone. though today may be a possibility. (I wasn't going enough, because of the issues I had with finding a good time to go to the pool, and couldn't really use the machines, so I wasn't getting much in the way of value.) Yoga was good for it, and of course I don't move well anymore, and I can't get on the floor anymore and back up, but I've got videos to watch for chair yoga. I think I'll try some of that But I've got to do something. But now I can let the dogs out, so I'm going to go find the manual online for the appliance and then lie down a bit.

Saturday, July 20, 2024

My favourite song by Simon & Garfunkel, to be played at my memorial

--and the full thing, including both 'Scarborough Fair' and 'Canticle'.

Lyrics:

... Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine
… Tell her to make me a cambric shirt(On the side of a hill, in the deep forest green)Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme(Tracing of sparrow on snow-crested ground)Without no seams nor needle work(Blankets and bedclothes the child of the mountain)Then she'll be a true love of mine(Sleeps unaware of the clarion call)
… Tell her to find me an acre of land(On the side of a hill, a sprinkling of leaves)Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme(Washes the grave with silvery tears)Between the salt water and the sea strands(A soldier cleans and polishes a gun)Then she'll be a true love of mine
… Tell her to reap it with a sickle of leather(War bellows blazing in scarlet battalions)Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme(Generals order their soldiers to kill)And gather it all in a bunch of heather(And to fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten)Then she'll be a true love of mine
… Are you going to Scarborough Fair?Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thymeRemember me to one who lives thereShe once was a true love of mine
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Arthur Garfunkel / Dp / Frank Peterson / Paul Simon
Scarborough Fair / Canticle lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, TuneCore Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc