For the last 15 years (i.e. my entire shaving life), I have used Norelco shavers. When the battery on my last one would no longer hold a charge, I decided to try something new, and purchase the Panasonic ES8043SC Pro-Curve Pivot Action Linear Wet/Dry Shaver. Materials in the box caution users to "Please Stick With It. It's Worth it." They say my skin and beard need 30 days to adjust. Okay. Expectations duly lowered, I turned the shaver on, was momentarily surprised by the high frequency buzz that comes with 13,000 oscillations a minute, and ran the shaver down my cheek.
WOW.
Folks, this shaver has produced an EXTREMELY close shave, with no irritation at all, and no uncomfortable pulling sensation that Norelco's "lift and cut" method sometimes produces. This rivals a straight blade in terms of closeness-of-shave, and is without a doubt the best shave I've ever gotten from an electric shaver -- and I'm sure it will produce even better results as my skin and beard "adjust." (I haven't even tried it with shaving cream and water yet -- and I'm told that produces an even closer shave.)
I was hesitant to switch from the trusty Norelco 3-headed shavers to this foil shaver. But I'm SO glad I did. And you can bet I'm going to tell my family about this. It was my dad who introduced me to Norelcos all those years ago. It's about time I introduce him to the Panasonic. :-)
Of course not! I shall not shave until I have to play the Lead Tenor Stormtrooper in October, and as soon as the show is over, I will start growing the beard back.
But just because I have beard doesn't mean I don't keep it neatly trimmed! I don't just wake up with Commander Riker's beard; I have to shave it properly. :)
Call-min, I used it this morning by first holding the shaver's head under the tap and then using it slightly wet. It totally rivals the Gilette Fusion (which I used to use). I shit you not.
My loyal readers have been complaining that I have not updated my web site in a long time. This is true. The reason is because I have been busy with work and other things that take up my time. And when i have a few hours at home, I would rather spend it relaxing with a book or friends or a show than updating my blog.
That said, I have decided that my Blog has indeed languished for far too long, and I am going to spend the next several days explaining to everyone who stumbles upon this place why I am going to return my iPhone 3G.
Yep, you heard me. I have a new shiny iPhone 3G (which I stood in line for hours to acquire), and after putting it through its paces for a couple weeks, I have decided to return it. Over the course of the next several days, you will find out why.
(FYI, I am culling all of these entries from e-mail conversations that I have had with friends.)
We begin with:
IPHONE INEFFICIENCY - Part I
SO IN ADDITION TO the difficulty of typing and the lack of mms and no selecting/copy/paste tools and complete inability to multitask and the shitty battery that dies halfway through the day unless I keep it plugged in all the time, I have also come to realize that I really miss the lack of a status light on the device. Without a light, there is no way for me to know at a glance whether I have new email or text messages; I have to turn the device on, unlock it, and go into the mail program or home screen -- there isn't even a status icon in the menu bar on top so I can see number of message from other programs.
I miss my BlackBerry. Seriously, you have to use a Blackberry to really understand how nice it is. The keyboard is wonderful for typing on, and everything is optimized for efficiency. For instance, it comes with a great holster that has a little magnet on the bottom. When the Blackberry is in the holster and something happens - you get an email or a text message or a phone call - and you pull the phone out, the little magnet senses that the phone is being taken out, and the phone turns on and goes directly to the screen you need. So when the phone vibrates and says I have email, I pull it out of the holster and it automatically turns on and goes directly to the opened message. Contrast that with the iPhone, where if the phone buzzes to say I have email, I have to press the button to turn it on, swipe to unlock, press the email icon, and then tap on the message in the list view. That's one step (pull out of holster) compared to FOUR.
If I want to scroll to the bottom of a long email chain, or a very long web page, on the iPhone -- there is no way to do it quickly except continuing to swipe my finger a dozen times to pull the page along. There is a scroll bar on the side but you can't grab it.
Initial Test of MacSpeech Dictate -- This program is the new Messiah
This is a test. I am one of the only people I know who owns a bird. I am a 2006 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, and I hold a bachelor of arts from the University of Michigan. I am a very striking redhead who sings in a powerful tenor.
The preceding paragraph was my first test of the new MacSpeech Dictate software. The program made zero mistakes. I did not have to correct anything. The accuracy of the software is leaps and bounds ahead of iListen, it frustrated me to no end.
In the past two paragraphs, the only mistake the program made was inserting the word "it" instead of the word "which" in the last sentence. I have been speaking at a perfectly normal conversational pace, the same way I would to a friend. I have not overly enunciated anything. This program is, without a doubt, miraculous.
I want to make it very clear that the only training I have completed was the initial five-minute training session in which I read 10 or so paragraphs. I am already achieving near 100% accuracy, with essentially no training whatsoever. This is in comparison to iListen, which, after several months of training, was never able to afford any more than 90% accuracy at best.
In the past several paragraphs, the voice recognition software has made only two minor errors which did not actually affect the meaning of the sentence. (The second error was the word "any" at the end of the last paragraph.) I will play around with the software a lot more over the next couple of days, and post a full review at that point, but I can already say that this is absolutely amazing. I am simply blown away. I had high hopes, but I never dreamed that the program would work this well right out of the box.
I broke down and ordered an upgrade to my iListen voice recognition software. It is called MacSpeech Dictate, and it received the award for "Best in Show" at the most recent MacWorld Expo. It uses the speech recognition engine of Dragon's "Naturally Speaking," which has long been the undisputed champion of the transcription world. Next to that heavyweight, iListen is, to many people, a joke.
That's why I am so excited about the impending arrival of the upgraded dictation program. When it is quiet and when I am speaking clearly, I already achieve a very high accuracy rate with the current program. I can only imagine how successful the new program will be!
The only problem I can see now is that it is so obvious when someone has spoken a document rather than typed it. The sentences are far lengthier, more formal. At first that doesn't make a lot of sense -- most people speak so informally! -- and yet it actually makes perfect sense:
People are taught to write in short sentences, but they tend to speak in run-on sentences. The end result? A document full of telltale thirty-word sentences, strung together with commas and dashes.
It will take some time to alter my speaking style so that I talk more like I write. But I think in the long run it will be worth it. My current occupation is "legal editor." My job entails writing thousands of words every day. If I can actually speak my articles instead of type them, I think that can be a major time saver. It would help me get the first draft on screen far more easily than I could otherwise. Then, I could polish.
Seriously, voice recognition definitely has promise in my field of work. I routinely quote from legal documents. It is a pain to manually transcribe everything. If I could get into the practice of reading aloud the best quotes from judicial opinions and attorneys' motions, it is possible that I could complete my articles far more quickly.
Right now, the hardest part about writing legal newspaper articles is simply getting started. After reading opinions and motions, is far easier for me to speak aloud the basic gist of a story than it is to write down the basic gist of the story. And I am lucky in that I have a private office -- so it will not be too crazy for me to constantly be talking aloud into a microphone. :-)
As you may know, we at BeforeISleep.net are great fans of your online property, "Benjamin Kepple's Daily Rant." In fact, your property has been an inspiration, encouraging us to post even more frequently than we otherwise are inclined to. Since you have been such an inspiration, we feel that we can no longer simply sit back and observe while your heretofore fine blog continues its long and maddening technological decline.
We speak, dear friend, of your continuing lack of comments. You posted on this topic a while back, essentially throwing your hands up, saying there is nothing you could do because you don't know how to fix the comment feature. And so incredibly worthy topics, such as the recent discovery of a brain-eating amoeba waging war against our nation's swimmers, go UNCOMMENTED. As loyal BeforeISleep.net readers know, often the Comments section are as entertaining as the original post itself, and I'm sure that loyal Rant readers would relish the opportunity to wax at length on the comparative dangers of the futuristic brain-eating amoeba against the unspeakably horrid Guinea Worm (video here - jump to 7:15).
Comments also increase the popularity of one's online property. First, the ability to "leave a comment" engages readers in a way unaccomplishable by simply lurking in the shadows. Right now, the only way Kepple readers can comment on your blog entries is by e-mailing other random Kepple readers, or by posting a response on one's own blog -- both solutions are less-than-optimal. Second, when a casual visitor to BenKepple.com scans the entries, he will see that NONE of them has ANY COMMENTS. The constant "0 comments" gives casual visitors a very negative impression of the popularity of your site, and they will simply move on, reasoning that, if no one else listens to you, why should he?
To that end, we propose a solution. We, the proprietors of BeforeISleep.net, hereby offer to FIX YOUR GODDAMN COMMENTS. We are sure it is not as hard as you are making it out to be. We will, of course, require confidential details to your site (i.e. user name and password), and you of course are free to change the password just after we fix the problem, so that you need not worry about us having access to your site in perpetuity. We encourage you to contact us at your earliest convenience, while bearing in mind that this is a limited-time offer.
We look forward to hearing from you, so that your loyal readers will once again be able to engage in the time-honored tradition of Internet comments, as demonstrated in this lovely video (of which you are already familiar):
Software review: iListen voice recognition program by MacSpeech
I have been using a voice recognition program called iListen for several weeks. Overall, I am satisfied but it can be extremely frustrating at times.
First, the good part: it allows me to effectuate one of the main rules espoused by my legal writing instructor during the first year of law school. That rule is as follows: start writing. Just get something on paper. You see, my first year writing instructor was very similar to me. That is, he was a major procrastinator. And if there is one thing we procrastinators are good at, it is not starting to write when we should. The solution to that ailment is simply to start writing, even if you know nothing about the topic. This will accomplish two things: first, you learn that you did know something about the topic - more than you thought you knew. Second, more importantly, you will have started. And starting is half the battle. Procrastinators - chronic procrastinators - get that way because they become paralyzed by a feeling of dread.And has the deadline approaches, and nothing has yet been written, the dread only increases, as does the paralysis. By getting something on paper, even if you have to, as my instructors so colorfully put it, "vomit eight pages onto the screen," you now have something to work with. You now have a first draft. And it is much easier to revise and start tweaking when you have something already written. Even if it sucks.
Take, for instance, the letter that I wrote to the commissioners of the FCC. For the last two months, since my indecency paper was published, I had been intending to send a copy to each of the five commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission, along with a brief introductory letter explaining what this paper was about. Yes, I intended to write this letter every week. But the blank screen was staring at me, and even though I had just written and gotten published a 15,000 word essay, this simple 200 word letter was eluding me. There's something about hands on a keyboard, with a flashing cursor staring at me, that simply serves to clear my mind, like some sort of Zen-like trance.
The voice recognition software solves that problem. Yes, it makes simple mistakes, because it misunderstands the easiest words. But it gets most of the thought onto the screen. And I have found that speaking something aloud is far more natural and quick than trying to force my fingers to type the same thoughts. (I now see the appeal in dictating memos and letters!)
So, where it had taken two months and I had not written anything, with the help of the voice recognition software I now had a complete letter - personalized for each Commissioner - written in the time span of approximately half an hour. As I speak this entry, five copies of my article are sitting in a mail truck somewhere, and tomorrow they will be sitting on the desk of the commissioner (or at least the commissioner's assistant).
Now for the most frustrating part (other than the constant incorrect words): the vocabulary of this software program is simply not large enough. Friends, my vocabulary is not that sophisticated. I don't think I should have to teach the software what the word sneeze is. Or what all the derivations of the word are - sneeze, sneezed, sneezing, etc. This problem happens so frequently that I continue to spend several minutes during each dictation session teaching the software words that it simply has no excuse for not knowing. The programmers say that if they included all possible words, it would be harder to dictate correctly, because the computer we have so many more choices - so many more words to choose from. But folks, honestly, this is too much. Below is a list of the words that I have had to teach the computer during this blog entry alone:
espoused
procrastinators
colorfully
vomit
eluding
Zen-like (okay, this one I can understand not including in the Standard dictionary)
misunderstands
aloud
sneeze
sneezing
Honestly, there are more, but I have forgotten which ones I had to teach the computer. This happens all the time. Obviously, as I continue to use the software more frequently, my particular brand of language will be incorporated into the vocabulary database, and I will have to make these additions less frequently. Until then, it is incredibly frustrating.
And there is the fact that sometimes the program will be almost 100 percent accurate, and sometimes the accuracy will offer somewhere around 60 or 70 percent. The biggest variables that determine how accurate the software is all our position of the microphone, and background noise. Surprisingly, the program is still fairly accurate even when there is light music playing in the background. But move the microphone one inch away from the proper position, and watch out!
And then there are the smaller annoyances (edit: I just had to add the word "annoyances" to the dictionary! how ironic!) -- this software uses a special correct mode in order to fix incorrect transcriptions (edit: I just had to add the word "transcriptions" -- it had the singular but not the plural!). It gives you a list of words to choose from - alternate possibilities - and use select the correct word, and you hit done. Now, the way this software actually makes those corrections is by constantly keeping track of where the cursor is on the screen. However, this method does not work very well. Help files that come with the software remind us not to manually reposition the cursor at any point during the transcription or else problems will occur. However, I have been very careful to not manually move the cursor, and I still see frequent incorrect placements of the cursor when coming out of correct mode - either one space too far off, or one space too far back. The end result in is odd spacing on the final product, such as too many spaces or too few spaces between words or sometimes even inadvertently cutting off some leading or trailing characters.Simply put, you have to be very careful and attentive when using the transcription software. It is tempting to simply close your eyes and lean back and let out a stream of consciousness. But you may not be pleasantly surprised at the end of your beautiful stream.
Even with all of those caveats, I have found the voice transcription software very useful. I may just have to take the precaution that one of my communications law professors took: include as part of my e-mail signature a line that sense, "please excuse any odd errors caused by voice recognition software."
Now, if you will excuse me, I have been sitting here talking long enough. I am sorry for the inordinately long post, but voice recognition will tend to do that!
Today, in all seriousness, I actually used the phrase, "Bad Robot!" to admonish my Roomba after it kept going under the desk even though I specifically told it not to.
My car navigation system knows where I am at all times and tells me where to go if I miss a turn. My Roomba cleans my floors for me. I videochat with friends and family over the high-speed network that has overtaken the world. A steady stream of choral music is beamed to me from outer space. And of course, I glide to work on a magic upright broomstick.
Spin-my-Blog Post OR The False Promise of Voice-Recognition
Good morning, everyone & welcome to the new & improved audio enhanced version of before I sleep Batman. When I say audio I speak not of new thing or technology that allows you to hear audio & sounds & music & explosions & sound effects & parts(?) & bangs & so on & so forth. Ney dear viewer I speak of a
WELL! So much for that that failed experiment. I swear, every year or two, The Powers That Be swear that they have finally perfected voice-recognition technology, and why don't you try it out? So I have:
I tried IBM ViaVoice to transcribe word processing documents. ("It was the festive times, it was the Worcester ties." WHAT?!)
I tried Apple's built-in system software to control my computer with words. ("Open... Mail. Compose... New... Message... NO, cancel that. Cancel that. CANCEL THAT. Gah!")
I tried SimulScribe to transcribe my voice mails. (A message left for me detailing someone's failed experiences with his high school prom completely reversed the meaning, and transcribed that he actually went to the prom and had a good time.)
And today, I have tried the Spin-my-Blog service, a promising new start-up that lets me merely dial a phone number and speak my thoughts aloud. The magic of technology will convert my thoughts to text! At least, that's how the theory goes. In practice, the service not only garbled my words ("Before I Sleep dot Net," not "Before I Sleep Batman." "Newfangled technology," not "New thing or technology." "Pops and bangs, and so on," not "Parts(?) & bangs and so on.")..... but even more appalling, the damn thing cut me off! I was all set to wax eloquent for at least 2-3 minutes. What did I get? 20 seconds at best.
So much for voice-recognition technology. I expect I'll try again in 2009 or so. Oy vey!
* Afterthought: Hmmm..... "Before I Sleep Batman." I like the sound of that....
Most of you know that I am a tremendous technophile, a gregarious gadget guru, a -- well, you get the point. I loves my electronic gizmos. Anyway, Woot.com is a wonderful site I've been checking daily for at least a couple years now. The premise is simple and cunning: Offer one product per day, heavily discounted, and when the product is sold out, that's it. Check back tomorrow, folks, at 1 a.m. EST. Maybe we'll have something you like.
I haven't wooted in some time, but tonight they had a great XM bundle for a really good price: an XM SkyFi2 (the satellite radio receiver) plus car kit (to listen to it in the car) plus boom box (to listen to it wherever) for a grand total of $50 + $5 shipping. It's refurbished, yes, but these things tend to hold up well over time. And it's still a substantial savings over what it normally costs.
So, I wooted. I don't woot very much -- the last time was in November -- but when I do, it's usually for something I've wanted for a long time. Like Roomba! As for XM radio, I am a HUGE fan, and when I saw this deal, I knew I couldn't pass it up. I posted a comment in the Woot discussion board, explaining my rationale:
Jun 28, 2007 1:59 AM
Awesome. I'm in for one.
I bought the first generation SkyFi with car and home adapters back in 2003, and it was one of the best music-related decisions I ever made. I am a big classical fan, and XM comes with two stations of classical as well as one devoted to nothing but choral and opera! Admittedly not for everyone... but its ability to cater to niche markets is what makes XM so great. Other fantastic stations are AudioVisions (new age stuff, think "Hearts of Space"), and Frank's Place (Sinatra-style).
The SkyFi is still going strong, but I left it back home with my parents. I thought I wouldn't need XM these days, since digital cable comes with all those digital music stations... but the programming is nowhere near as quality as XM, and I don't like having to keep my TV on (wearing out the LCD) to listen to it. This package deal is great. XM radio via satellite sounds much better than FM when you get a strong signal (which I almost always do). I'm especially excited that the SkyFi2 has a built-in FM transmitter -- I can finally use it in the car again! (Cars haven't had tape decks for years......)
I've never really been a fan of iPods and MP3s in general. I like a lot of variety in my music. And I love hearing new classical and choral pieces I wouldn't otherwise know about. XM is wonderful for all that. Before I tried it, I never would have PAID for radio. But once I tried it, I was hooked. And when you get used to studying or reading to a neverending stream of classical and choral on XM 110, 112 and 113, or relaxing in bed to Hearts of Space on XM 77... well, you don't WANT to go back to random MP3s. Or worse, to silence!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
--- My Woots: • iRobot Roomba Discovery SE (11/6/06) • Saitek Mephisto Travel Chess Computer (4/14/06) • Kensington USB 2.0 PocketHub 2 pack (4/4/06) • Mystery Brand 6 Piece 100 watt Speaker Set (11/18/05) • ScreenPlay 4805 Entertainment Bundle (10/18/05)
When I was in high school I used to fall asleep to Heart of Space every Sunday night. NPR here does not carry it though; such is life when you live in the wilds of North Carolina.
Today marks a momentous occasion in my Web 2.0 existence. For the first time ever, my Engadget comments have been voted not just "highly ranked," but "highest ranked" by the fine readers of Engadget!
The story in question details a funny little provision of the AT&T terms of service, which state that if you buy an iPhone, you have to activate it or else you will also lose iPod functionality itself. That is, you won't even be able to play your songs! I know, what is the point of buying an iPhone without also signing up for service? Admittedly, this is an unlikely scenario, but it is possible that someone might want it mainly for the wide-screen iPod functionality and the ability to surf the Web via WiFi when sitting on the commode. (Yes, some people like to surf the web from the little boy's room. So sue me!)
Anyway, I noted that if this rumour is true, the DOJ's Antitrust division will surely be interested, seeing as that they frown upon tying of products. Some idiot named Justin started disagreeing with me rather forcefully, saying that I am not a good lawyer, and other such nonsense. I kept responding, trying to clarify my points, respond to his arguments, and so on, but he was adamant!
My self-confidence wavered. Was I wrong? I wondered. Am I not a good lawyer? But then I noticed the rankings. Engadget has a nifty little feature whereby users can click a plus or minus to vote on the quality of the comment they are reading. Most comments are ranked "neutral," but some are clearly favored or disfavored by the audience. Imagine my gleeful surprise when I found that my comments were either ranked "highly" or "highest," while the idiots I was arguing with were ranked "low!"
The joys of talking beneath the surface of the earth
I don't need to be able to use my phone in the Metro, I told myself as I was comparing cell plans. Why pay a lot extra for Verizon when I really never have a need to talk underground?
Ahh! Beauteous "theory," thine fair academic reasoning that seems so convincing within a vaccuum. What I failed to realize was that I do a LOT of phone talking on the Metro. That I often call someone as I'm leaving work or class, and I like to continue the conversation as I descend into the subway. That when I'm standing on the platform and the sign says I'll be there for another 6 or 9 or, God forbid, 16 minutes before a train arrives, that's the PERFECT time for a quick phone call, to let someone know where I am and when I'll be back, or to order SuperPanda and have it ready by the time I get there.
What I failed to realize was that, in my two years here in DC, I became very accustomed to being able to make a call on the Metro, and having that ability stripped away now feels almost like a violation of the 8th Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. I don't like circling the Metro entrance for five minutes, waiting to go downstairs, because I'm still on the phone.
i know how you feel, matt. well, not exactly how you feel. but i can relate to your sadness. it's kind of like when we don't have internet for a few months at home or when we switched to a new satellite plan in the beginning of the summer and i had no tv for 2-3 weeks! try living with no tv and no internet and just mom and dad! ahhhhhhhhh! so, in that sense, you're lucky. look at it that way. :-) love you, miss you! xoxo liz
I also pondered the existential question: "To Verizon or not to Verizon", when I was looking into new phones/plans. Unfortunately for me, the new blackberry that I received for free was already programmed for Cingular network's use, and I didn't want to go through the hassle of unlocking the device for Verizon use. I agree with Liz that you should look on the bright side -- you once only had a cell phone, and now you have a Blackberry! Life IS sweet!
Gadgets that make you skinny! on the next Jerry Springer
At one point during my latest run (well actually a walk/jog/run, but let's not quibble over semantics), I was running at 7.5, 8 mph! Made it two miles. Haven't done that in like a year. Felt great. Yaaaay iPod + Nike! :-)
The Wall Street Journal reviewed the Nike+iPod jogging pedometer thing yesterday, and I am quite smitten. You put the tiny transmitter in your shoe, hook the tiny receiver into your iPod Nano, and it measures everything about your walk/jog, including your speed, pace, calories burned, etc. But the coolest feature is that when you sync your iPod, all your run data gets uploaded to the NikePlus.com web site in very cool visual form. So you can see a graph showing all your past runs, showing improvement over time; and you can see a graph of each individual run, which will show when you sped up and slowed down and how far and long you ran. This last feature is incredibly useful for people on the Body for Life system, as it will let you quickly visualize whether you're correctly implementing the HIIT (high intensity interval training) pattern on cardio days.
For the last 15 years (i.e. my entire shaving life), I have used Norelco shavers. When the battery on my last one would no longer hold a charge, I decided to try something new, and purchase the Panasonic ES8043SC Pro-Curve Pivot Action Linear Wet/Dry Shaver. Materials in the box caution users to "Please Stick With It. It's Worth it." They say my skin and beard need 30 days to adjust. Okay. Expectations duly lowered, I turned the shaver on, was momentarily surprised by the high frequency buzz that comes with 13,000 oscillations a minute, and ran the shaver down my cheek.
4 Comments:
Wait, are you going clean-shaven? I guess I haven't seen you in a while :)
Of course not! I shall not shave until I have to play the Lead Tenor Stormtrooper in October, and as soon as the show is over, I will start growing the beard back.
But just because I have beard doesn't mean I don't keep it neatly trimmed! I don't just wake up with Commander Riker's beard; I have to shave it properly. :)
I have a lot of trouble believing that it holds a candle to the Gilette Fusion. I never met an electric I liked...
Call-min, I used it this morning by first holding the shaver's head under the tap and then using it slightly wet. It totally rivals the Gilette Fusion (which I used to use). I shit you not.
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