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For the past four months, my phone has taken 2-7 minutes to load basic webpages or refresh whichever app I'm using, so this Saturday I conducted a scorched earth campaign against all the bloatware my provider installed during “security updates” over the last several years. I ultimately removed over 6 GB of invasive, unwanted crap from my internal memory (Google apps I've never used? Deleted. Amazon prime or photos or Audible? Goodbye! Facebook and Instagram? Ahaha. NO.) and now it runs like a dream, quick and stable. I should have done this a long, long time ago.
Last week’s language learning:
Mango Korean: Chapter 6, Units 3-7; Chapter 7, Units 1-2
Mango clearly isn’t invested in quality control. For instance, it has a built-in spaced repetition review flashcard deck to reinforce content from earlier lessons, which is a great feature in theory…but it’s clear no one gave the thing an even cursory once-over. And so users regularly encounter ( doozies such as this. )
This is one of the more blatantly obvious examples; there are many others. And the problem--aside from the lack of attention to a product Mango charges users money to use--is that many of the other examples wouldn't be so readily discernible to beginners. Which is a problem if your aim is to teach a foreign language to beginners, without frustrating or confusing them. It just looks as though Mango didn't bother.
Podcast Gaelgagh: Lessons 42-48
Last week’s lessons focused on the word ‘yn’, which means ‘the’ and has additional important grammatical functions, such as indicating alienable possession when used in certain phrases. One of the two students regularly omits ‘yn’ when interpreting into Manx the instructor's prompts that have the alienable possessive or definite article.
“How do you say, ‘A black rhino is in his house?’ the instructor asks her in one of this week’s lessons. She responds, after which there is a slight pause.
“Um, almost. What you said is, ‘The black rhino is in his house,’” says the instructor.
“I made a point of putting it in this time!” she exclaims, and you can just hear the exasperation and amusement in her voice. It’s a really spontaneous and charming moment, and one of the things I love about the unpolished nature of this podcast, because these sorts of mistakes and frustrations are so, so relatable.
これで以上です。
Last week’s language learning:
Mango Korean: Chapter 6, Units 3-7; Chapter 7, Units 1-2
Mango clearly isn’t invested in quality control. For instance, it has a built-in spaced repetition review flashcard deck to reinforce content from earlier lessons, which is a great feature in theory…but it’s clear no one gave the thing an even cursory once-over. And so users regularly encounter ( doozies such as this. )
This is one of the more blatantly obvious examples; there are many others. And the problem--aside from the lack of attention to a product Mango charges users money to use--is that many of the other examples wouldn't be so readily discernible to beginners. Which is a problem if your aim is to teach a foreign language to beginners, without frustrating or confusing them. It just looks as though Mango didn't bother.
Podcast Gaelgagh: Lessons 42-48
Last week’s lessons focused on the word ‘yn’, which means ‘the’ and has additional important grammatical functions, such as indicating alienable possession when used in certain phrases. One of the two students regularly omits ‘yn’ when interpreting into Manx the instructor's prompts that have the alienable possessive or definite article.
“How do you say, ‘A black rhino is in his house?’ the instructor asks her in one of this week’s lessons. She responds, after which there is a slight pause.
“Um, almost. What you said is, ‘The black rhino is in his house,’” says the instructor.
“I made a point of putting it in this time!” she exclaims, and you can just hear the exasperation and amusement in her voice. It’s a really spontaneous and charming moment, and one of the things I love about the unpolished nature of this podcast, because these sorts of mistakes and frustrations are so, so relatable.
これで以上です。
So Microsoft's June 9 Windows "security" "update" destroyed the laptop, which now displays nothing save the white arrow cursor on a black screen when powered on. And, of course, since Microsoft helpfully disabled the F8 boot in safe mode option, there's no other way to troubleshoot the problem without being able to log in to reboot in safe mode that way.
So. We have dumped our Xbox Live, Office, and OneDrive subscriptions. Because, fuck forced obsolescence as a way of making us buy subscriptions for machines where we've already purchased permanent licenses. Now off to download the music we've purchased on Play Music before Google charges us to play that, too.
What I Just Finished Reading
Nuthin'. For whatever reason, this was one of those "I want to read something else...that's none of the books on my bookshelf" kinda weeks.
What I Am Currently Reading
In A Dark Wood - Michael Cadnum
Perhaps my favorite retelling of the Robin Hood legend.
The Wicked and the Just – J. Anderson Coats
I have about 1/3 left to go and the dark realism looks set to crescendo.
Making Friends With Alice Dyson - Poppy Nwosu
This one is set to publish in September. So far the writing is light, zippy, and engaging, and the depictions of adolescent social hierarchies and social media are spot on.
The Drunken Botanist – Amy Stewart
This week, I completed Part I (on fermentation and distillation) and read 2/3 of the first section, "Herbs and Spices", from Part II.
What I'm Reading Next
This week I picked up a copy of Mary Robinette Kowal's The Calculating Stars, courtesy of Tor.
これで以上です。
So. We have dumped our Xbox Live, Office, and OneDrive subscriptions. Because, fuck forced obsolescence as a way of making us buy subscriptions for machines where we've already purchased permanent licenses. Now off to download the music we've purchased on Play Music before Google charges us to play that, too.
What I Just Finished Reading
Nuthin'. For whatever reason, this was one of those "I want to read something else...that's none of the books on my bookshelf" kinda weeks.
What I Am Currently Reading
In A Dark Wood - Michael Cadnum
Perhaps my favorite retelling of the Robin Hood legend.
The Wicked and the Just – J. Anderson Coats
I have about 1/3 left to go and the dark realism looks set to crescendo.
Making Friends With Alice Dyson - Poppy Nwosu
This one is set to publish in September. So far the writing is light, zippy, and engaging, and the depictions of adolescent social hierarchies and social media are spot on.
The Drunken Botanist – Amy Stewart
This week, I completed Part I (on fermentation and distillation) and read 2/3 of the first section, "Herbs and Spices", from Part II.
What I'm Reading Next
This week I picked up a copy of Mary Robinette Kowal's The Calculating Stars, courtesy of Tor.
これで以上です。
Tags:
- asshattery,
- reading,
- rl,
- tech,
- woes
Post about positive developments to follow later. But ahead of that, I am going to get this ridiculousness off my chest. ( Cut for RL griping. )
TL;DR: I am sleep deprived and dismayed by how every aspect of life—not just entertainment, but my ability to meet financial, professional, and social obligations—is now critically dependent upon access to two pieces of electronic equipment that, under current circumstances, I cannot easily replace.
これで以上です。
TL;DR: I am sleep deprived and dismayed by how every aspect of life—not just entertainment, but my ability to meet financial, professional, and social obligations—is now critically dependent upon access to two pieces of electronic equipment that, under current circumstances, I cannot easily replace.
これで以上です。
Tags:
.
