Green Eggs And Important

The kids and I were playing with the Google translator again. We take some text from a well known story, nursery rhyme or song, paste it into the translator, and send it on a journey through the languages. Converting from English to another language and back again. You all should be familiar with "Green Eggs And Ham".


Here is the sample text I used:

Would you like them in a house?
Would you like them with a mouse?

I do not like them in a house.
I do not like them with a mouse.
I do not like them here or there.
I do not like them anywhere.
I do not like green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

Would you eat them in a box?
Would you eat them with a fox?

Not in a box.
Not with a fox.
Not in a house.
Not with a mouse.
I would not eat them here or there.
I would not eat them anywhere.
I would not eat green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

Here are some examples:

English-Arabic-English

Would you like them at home? Do you have any mice? I do not like them at home. I do not want to be a fugitive. I do not want here or there. I do not like them anywhere. I do not like green eggs and important. I do not like them Sam I /. Did you find it in a box? Did you find it Fox? Not in the framework. Not with Fox. Not in the house. Not with the mouse. Will not find them here or there. I will not find it anywhere. Will not eat green eggs and important. I do not like them Sam I /.

English-French-English-Russian-English-Portuguese-English-
German-English

You, which they are afraid in the house? You, which they are afraid with the rat? I do not taste D in the house. I do not taste D with the rat. I do not taste D here or there. I do not taste D in each possible place. I not taste of the eggs and Grüns of the ham. I do not taste D, am. You eats it in the box? You eats it with the fox? Not into up fan genes. Not with the fox. Not in the house. Not with a rat. I would eat it not here or there. I would not eat it in any place. I do not eat eggs and the green ham. I do not taste D, am.

English-Korean-English-French-English-Chinese-English

They are men you owe it to the lower genital house? They are men you owe it to the lower genital, like rats? I do not like their home. I do not like their mouse. I still do not like this place for them. I am not happy like their premises. I do not like green eggs and ham. Sam B which I am, He does not like it. You eat things were box? You eat stuff. fox? This is not a box. It is not a fox. This is not a house. It was not rats. I told them this place or not eat. I will not eat it. I will not eat green eggs and ham. Sam B which I am, he does not like.

Hmmmmm?

Snackopedia?

I love the Wikipedia. Any information addict would. It's just funny sometimes to see entries in there that would never have existed in any kind of printed encyclopedia like we had (or like the Americanas that Dad sold) when we were kids. I found an entry for Munchos today. Yes, the potato-like salty packing material found on the rack with snack foods in every Manhattan convenience store (many called "farms", which I will attack on another day). I know that one of the great features of the Wikipedia is that you can challenge facts that you disagree with and even immortalize your own knowledge of a misreported fact. I think I might just challenge this entry. It states:

"Munchos are a Frito-Lay brand potatocrisp snack. Munchos are thinner than most potato chips, to the point of being slightly transparent. Their slightly curved shape and rough texture assist with dipping."

Dipping? Dipping! Are you kidding?!?! I don't think that you could dip a Muncho in anything with a thicker texture than water. Although I haven't actually compared the two, I think the tensile and compressive stress rating of a Pringle is higher.

Bayonne Adventure....

Back around New Years, Amy, Alec, and I were out exploring the area. It seems that everywhere we go we run into JFK Boulevard. Amy asked, "Just how far does this road go?" We decided to find out. Well, It goes farther than I expected. It ends at the water, under the Bayonne Bridge. We also found the Bayonne Light Rail stations, and some shopping centers. While driving up and back down route 440 we noticed a sign for the Bayonne Cruise Ship Terminal. Since we all had our cameras on us, it was suggested that we drive in to see if there were any ships to take pictures of. A short distance in, we came to a military-looking gatehouse. The guard motioned us to a stop and asked where we were heading. I told him we were just curious and exploring. He said that there weren't and ships in port that day, but there was an interesting 911 monument down on the river. He told us to just follow the road and we couldn't miss it. I wasn't expecting much, but curiosity prevailed. We drove through what appeared to be an old military base, winding along a pathway defined by barriers and cones. At the end was a parking lot, and a small park surrounding a surprisingly large monument. It had a solitary message that had an effect on all three of us. A large teardrop embedded in a fractured tower. We stayed as long as we could tolerate the cold wind that had kicked up. Here is a picture I snapped with my phone. It really doesn't show the sheer size of it. This site lists it at 100 feet, and gives some history of this gift from Russia. Please go check it out if you get a chance.

A Sign Of The Times?

I know it's been a long time since I posted. I am so sorry. I see things every day that I want to write about so I have no excuse. Today I ran into one that I just had to share with everyone.

I was on the gas and electric company's website looking up the phone number for customer service and saw this message in bold face:

Please note: E-mail must not be used to report gas odors. Please use our gas odor toll free number listed above.

You know, it's not the stupidity of the statement that got to me, but the fact that they HAD TO PUT IT THERE!! This means of course that someone TRIED IT! I'll have to check the FDNY site for a similar message. Can you imagine? "Dear sirs, My dining room is on fire. Please send help and marshmallows immediately."

Playing With The New Gadget...

I recently got a Verizon XV-6700. This device answers most of my request for "convergence" from an earlier post. So far my feelings are that my Blackberry was a better email device, but the XV, with the new Direct Push technology is close. The Gee-Whiz factor though is amazing. Because it runs Windows Mobile 5, The collection of apps for this thing is endless, and most of them are free. I keep changing the assortment of programs on mine as I find which ones I ACTUALLY USE (A lot of the cool stuff is just cool, and not useful).

I recently put SKYPE on it. Since it has both WiFi and EVDO, it makes SKYPE work almost anywhere. The other night I was trying it out, and sitting there thinking, who should I call? In the true essence of the "just because" rule of geekdom, I did it! Yes, I called myself. The SKYPE client was ringing out, and the phone started ringing in. I answered the phone call with speakerphone on, and got the modern equivelent of yelling into a cave or cliff. And, yes, I know you are wondering, I honered all of those kids playing with sound waves by saying the word E C H O !

Seen on 32nd Street.....

Salute To Douglas Adams - Favorite Quote

I would like to honor all of my fellow I.T. managers and other members of the workforce that have to deal with end-users who JUST DON"T GET IT!

A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. - Douglas Adams 1952-2001

FrankenApple?

Amy, Alec, and I went apple picking Monday. I picked this one myself. No further explanation is offered....

I Found This On My Desk.......

Lipid-Cooked Sweetened Starch Ring Engineers......

The Fox broke down. Nothing major, but it made for a lousy night because we had to abandon it in Newburgh, and then wait for someone to give us a lift to Jersey. (Thanks AGAIN Will, and Ashley!!). Just a stuck thermostat, but Lee warned me not to try to change it without having some good tools and a spare water pump housing as the bolts are known for snapping.

In the parking lot of the Autozone we had limped to was also a Dunkin Donuts / Baskin Robbins. I was frustrated and upset, but not enough to break my diet, so I was thinking "Maybe they have no-sugar-added ice cream". I went inside to look, and to get Amy a donut.

There was an 'L' shaped counter with the ice cream on the left, and the donuts straight ahead. I started to look at the ice cream tubs. There were two women working the counter. One of them said "Baskin is closed sir." This didn't strike me as strange right away. I walked to look at the donuts first, and then it hit me. Were the workers here so specialized that they were incapable of scooping ice cream? Were these...... DONUT SPECIALISTS?!?

I'll have to return sometime when the frozen dairy emulsion technicians are working.