Communication Exchange

Here's the Set-Up: SampleSunday

2011-02-07T01:18:00.000-08:00

Here's a short scene from my new cozy mystery FM For Murder which sets up the premise for the murder. Hope you like it and hope you visit other SampleSunday sites and taste the wares of other authors on the blogosphere. Please let me know what you think. FM For Murder is available on Amazon and Smashwords

“Did you have a nice time last night?” asked Pamela, sitting down on a kitchen stool.

“Yeah, fine,” responded Angela, focusing on the griddle.

“What time did you get in?” asked Rocky, stirring the mixture, and adding cinnamon and nutmeg.

“After midnight,” answered Angela. “Oh, and Mom, a weird thing happened.” Rocky paused scooping cupfuls of the mixture onto the griddle.

“Weird?” asked Rocky, “Weird how?” He peered at his daughter with a worried frown.

“On the radio,” said Angela. “Kent and I were at Pookie’s after the movie. We were just sitting there having slushies and listening to KRDN—this show that plays alternative music on Saturday night. The deejay was talking and introducing songs and stuff and somebody came into the studio and this whoever it was evidently had a gun and we heard a gunshot and then nothing.” She carefully flipped pancakes as she spoke.

“What?” bellowed her father. He had now proceeded to whipping up home made syrup and frying bacon.

“You heard a gunshot?” asked Pamela.

“Yeah, that’s what it sounded like,” said Angela. “We weren’t sure. After we heard the shot, there was no more talking. Then it sounded like the mike was turned off and that was it. We didn’t know what to think.”

“Oh my God,” said Pamela, leaning her elbows on the counter. “You must have been shocked.”

“You’re sure it was a gunshot? Maybe it was part of the music? I mean, some of that music is very strange.” Rocky questioned her, as he stirred his special syrup on the burner next to the griddle.

“No, Dad, believe me. It was a gunshot. Besides, the deejay said the person who came into the studio had a gun. I think the person came into the studio with a gun and shot the deejay.” Angela was bleery-eyed but still clear-headed enough to report the facts.

“Oh my God,” repeated Pamela. “This was a local station?”

“Yeah,” answered her daughter, “KRDN, FM 933. I always listen to that show late on Saturday because it has music they don’t play on any other station. Kent too.” She flipped a little brown circle on the skillet.

“So,” said Rocky, continuing to stir his syrup and staring at his daughter, “you heard this shot and then just nothing. Dead air?”

“And maybe a dead deejay,” responded Angela. She looked at her parents and shrugged.

How Are We Connected?

2010-10-07T01:17:00.000-07:00

When I showed photos of my new grandson to the gals at my gym the other day, Lori asked, "Who's that holding the baby?" "That's my sister Chris," I answered. She said, "Not Chris...?" and mentioned my sister's last name. I said, "Yes! How do you know my sister?" Turns out, Lori and my sister are friends from their church. I've known Lori for several years now and, obviously, I've known Chris all my life--but I never put the two of them together. I was surprised to find this connection between two people in my life that was totally unexpected.

It got me to thinking about other possible connections that might exist between people I know. Do any of my other gym friends know any of my other family members? Do people I know here in Illinois know any of my friends from the others states where I've lived? Do any of my academic colleagues know any of my new murder mystery writing and publishing friends? Could be. The chances are greater than one might believe.

In the old days, when people met people, they introduced each other and spent some time discussing their family and backgrounds. It was that interpersonal communication that revealed the connections. When they conversed, they discovered connections that existed between them. Maybe my second cousin worked for your first cousin. Maybe my aunt was divorced from your husband's boss. Who knows?

These days, we move so fast and we meet so many people, that our relationships are frequently compartmentalized. That is, my gym friends are just that; my relationships with my gym buddies don't typically spill over into my family or business relationships.

Of course, there is the great equalizer of the Internet. One way that many of us discover connections between ourselves and others occurs online. Facebook can automatically inform us that one of our friends is connected to one of our other friends. Our online friends know our other online friends. People from our past find us online--for good or for ill.

A while back, you may remember the "six degrees of separation" craze in which it was theorized that we can all connect directly to any other individual on earth through no more than six other people. John Guare popularized the notion in his play "Six Degrees of Separation" and the concept took on cult status as a game in which people tried to connect any one movie star to Kevin Bacon in six links or less.

I don't know if I believe the "six degrees of separation" theory, but I do think that when we interact with people and attempt to find these connections face-to-face, that when we do discover the links, it is all the more satisfying than when we discover them online. Either way, I love to find connections that I have to other people. Maybe you and I are connected. What do you think? Can we find the connection? Can we find it in six degrees or less?

Text linguistics

2010-06-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

A very interesting video and some useful links:

http://waucondastore.com/text-linguistics-science/
http://waucondastore.com/definition-text-linguistics/
http://waucondastore.com/subject-text-linguistics/

Smart Mobile Tech, Auto Selects Best Path of Incoming Calls

2009-12-31T05:02:00.000-08:00

Rustudent Image

Mobile Speed Data Software Sensor Technology which decides the path of an incoming call or voice mail or email

There is a rapid pace of evolution in the telecom, wireless and telephony sector now a days, from analog, PSTN, Cell phones to VoIP and from old traditional to disruptive technologies are mushrooming by each and every day!

A cutting edge wireless mobile technology which tracks your movements or speed and thus defines the best suitable path for an incoming call to you,

A Mobile Technology that decides best way to take an incoming call when you are in board room, meeting, driving, train, traffic, footpath ... etc.

NEC Global had devised such an innovative wireless mobile technology which is smart enough to track your movement's speed and knows that if you are in a meeting or so and than accordingly routes you the incoming calls,

... it decides on the movement of smart phone's speed and if you are at a fast speed than you will receive an email instead of the voice call and like if you are at a slow speed with your cell phone than this smart technology will send you the voice call with standard ring or a voice message, and this all depends on your speed and that is of your cell phone's too,

The innovative NEC mobile technology sensors the data and than decides the best suitable path for your incoming call to get convert it in either voice, text or voice mail.

They say this innovative technology will be available commercially by June 2012 and will be demonstrated in coming mobile world congress 2012,

Get ready for the wonderful wireless technology which is smart and promises a smooth and minimal intrusive communication by auto recommending the best suitable communication method for you to take the phone call!

Bookshare is Great Volunteer Opportunity

2009-12-07T01:18:00.000-08:00

Ever since my local chapter of RFB & D (Reading for the Blind and Dyslexic) closed last year, I have been looking for a similar volunteer activity where I could use my communication and education background in a meaningful way. Today I received an e-mail from the former director of the local RFB & D, Nina Leone, who is now affiliated with a new online volunteer organization called Bookshare. Nina asked former RFB & D volunteers to join Bookshare and to encourage others to do the same.

At Nina's request, I have checked out Bookshare and I believe I will join. Let me tell you about it and maybe you would consider joining. As Nina tells me, "Bookshare is the leading provider in the nation of educational electronic books specifically designed for the blind, visually impaired, and dyslexic individuals with print disabilities." She goes on to describe how Bookshare works and their need for volunteers. The main difference, she notes, between Bookshare and RFB & D is that Bookshare volunteers work totally from home, whereas RFB & D volunteers work at the RFB & D center. In truth, I prefer the Bookshare format, as our local RFB & D center was quite far from my home.

Bookshare volunteers need only an Internet connection, good computer skills (web browsing and basic word processing), and a passion for books. That certainly describes me. I'm guessing it describes many of you too. So, if you're looking for a way to make a difference this year, check out Bookshare.

What do you say?

The compound sentence

2009-03-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

The CdS is a sentence which consists of 2 or more clauses coordinated with each other. A clause is part of a sentence which has a subject and a predicate of its own. In a CdS the clauses may be connected syndetically – by means of coordinating conjunctions or conjunctive adverbs, or asyndetically.

Types of coordination: 1) Copulative coordination (соединительная связь) – with the help of the conjunctions "and, nor, neither… nor, not only… but (also)" the statement expressed in one clause is simply added to that expressed in another.

2) Disjunctive coordination (разделительная связь) – with the help of the conjunctions "or, else, either… or" and the conjunctive adverb "otherwise" a choice is offered between the statements expressed in 2 clauses.

3) Adversative coordination (противительная связь) – the conjunctions "but, while, whereas" and the CA "nevertheless, still, yet" are connecting 2 clauses contrasting in meaning.

4) Causative-consecutive coordination (причинно-следственная связь) – the conjunction "for" introduces coordinate clauses explaining the preceding statement, the conjunction "so" and the CA "therefore, consequently, hence, accordingly" introduce coordinate clauses denoting cause, consequence and result.

More about grammar I always find in this resource.

Don't Celebrate St. Patrick's Day Without Your Irish Brogue!

2009-03-07T01:15:00.000-08:00

Top o' the mornin' to you! If you will be indulging yourself in any Irish celebration today, you might want to consider a bit o' blarney and speaking with a wee Irish brogue (which is, according to The American Heritage Dictionary "a strong dialectical accent, especially a strong Irish accent." The Dictionary goes on to mention that the word "brogue" comes from the name for the heavy shoes made of untanned leather that the Irish used to wear).

As a long time Communication teacher and researcher, I have studied accents (and discussed them even, on this blog). I'm not going to give you a "perfect" Irish accent in which you make every dialectical change linguists have noted in the Irish accent. I'm just going to give you a quick course--sort of Irish 101--so you can sound a wee bit Irish to your friends on this very green Irish day!
Okay, for starters, the Irish dialect, unlike the British dialect is lilting and musical--no short or clipped sounds. Think of it as singing rather than speaking. Let's start with your vowel sounds. Make them MUCH longer than you normally would. Don't just say, "The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain." Say, "The raaaaaaain in Spaaaaaain staaays maaaaainly on the plaaaain." Don't say, "It's far, far away." Say, "It's faaaaar, faaaar awaaaaay." You get the idea.

One especially Irish vowel sound is the "i" sound in "like." The Irish say this vowel with a sort of "uh" right before it. It makes the word "like" sound somewhat like "luh-aik." Get some of those "i" sounds going for you and you will sound truly Irish.

Then, we have the Irish consonants. Oh, the consonants there are! The "f's" and the "th's" as well as some other consonants are all quite unusual in the Irish dialect. However, they're rather hard to master. Id' suggest you focus on one common consonant that truly discriminates the Irish dialect from the British AND the American--the "r." The Irish love their "r's"! They savor them in their mouths--unlike the British who either drop the "r" completely or change it to a "d," or the Americans who stomp on it. To sound Irish, when you have an "r" in the middle or at the end of a word, linger on it, let it roll around in your mouth, and finally pronounce it with passion and conviction.

Well, me darlin's, there you have it. A quickie lesson in Irish. Now go out and enjoy this lovely St. Patrick's Day! Let me know how it goes. Can you sound Irish?

Blog Traffic Tips - How to Get Unstoppable Traffic to Your Blog For Free!

2009-01-28T10:01:00.001-08:00

A blog is an awesome traffic getting magnet. Don't waste it. If you are struggling for traffic to your blog, then this article will take a look at some strategies to end that struggle once and for all. Here are 3 proven ways to get traffic to your blog and ultimately use your blog as leverage to attract more visitors to your site automatically:

1. Search Engine Optimization

Search engines love blogs and give them great rankings - that's a fact. So leverage your blog to shoot it up the search engine rankings and reap the zero-cost traffic on offer. Optimize every blog post to get high up the rankings. Many people have made their living off getting the 'money shots' right when it comes to SEO.

2. Article Marketing

Article marketing is a free method to swamp your websites with loads of hungry, targeted visitors. This method works. If you aren't doing it yet, now is the time to get in! The trick is to be consistent in your article submissions. Submit 2 articles per day, and after 2 months, you will have some serious momentum to get traffic hands free.

3. Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking entails using special bookmarking sites like Reddit, Digg and Stumble Upon to get traffic (and also to build backlinks for your search engine optimization campaigns). It is an effective way to get traffic quickly and easily. Simply post your bookmarks every time you make a new blog posting.

Take action on these 3 simple strategies and see your traffic counters start moving!Blog Traffic Tips - How to Get Unstoppable Traffic to Your Blog For Free!

Blog Traffic - 5 Easy Ways to Get Traffic to Your Blog

2009-01-28T09:37:00.000-08:00

Once you have installed your blog and begun posting in it, you may be frustrated to find no one is visiting your blog to read your posts. Having an interactive, lively blog requires a little work, but it's not hard. I have five ways listed below to help get blog traffic to your site.

1. Post to your blog at least 2 to 3 times a week. Keeping fresh, original, quality content is a must. In each post, target a specific keyword that pertains to your blog subject area.

2. Visit other blogs in your niche and make comments to their posts, leaving a link back to your blog in your signature block. By becoming interactive with other blogs within your niche community, you will have more visitors already interested in your information.

3. Install the Google Sitemap Generator plugin. By submitting your sitemap you are informing Google, Live, and Yahoo of the pages within your site that you would like them to index. The bots quickly follow these pages and your blog is usually indexed quickly. Every new post or page you create, the sitemap is automatically updated along with Google, MSN and Yahoo being notified.

4. A quick way to get backlinks is through social bookmarking. It's free to add your website as a bookmark within social bookmarking sites, and by doing so you are acquiring a backlink from the bookmarking website.

5. Add an RSS feed to your blog so readers can be automatically notified when you post a new topic. This keeps them from having to check in on a regular basis, and allows them to visit only when your post interests them. They will also be reminded of your blog so they have a better chance to return to your site.

Blog traffic to your site is right around the corner. Just implement these 5 ways and you will start seeing results soon.

A Communication Exchange

2009-01-07T01:17:00.000-08:00

That's the name of this blog--Communication Exchange. A place to exchange ideas, information, and experiences about communication. I love to share my background as a Communication teacher with you, but I love even more hearing about your ideas and experiences, because communication requires two people--just like the tango!

One blogger who has been remarkably helpful to me as I try to navigate my way around this new and interesting world of blogging is Jena Isle. Jena stops by Communication Exchange and my other blog Subjective Soup regularly. Her comments are always insightful and packed with valuable information--particularly about blogging. It was Jena, for instance, who steered me to Helium, a nifty writing site, and encouraged me to get involved there.

One of Jena's blogs, GewGaw Writings (don't you love that title?), is a regular stop of mine. On this site, she notes that she is in the process of collecting posts from various bloggers to form a book of inspirational essays and she asked me to contribute. My effort, entitled A Simple Theory of Communication, appears on her January 8 post at GewGaw Writings. Please stop by and read it, and check out the variety of other wonderful selections Jena has for you on this site.

Thanks, Jena! Here's to communication exchange!

Fake Smiles and Genuine Smiles

2008-07-17T01:19:00.000-07:00

Can you tell a fake smile from a genuine smile? Most people can. But do you know what it is that distinguishes a fake smile from a genuine smile? This is something that communication researchers who study nonverbal cues having been investigating for quite some time.

A fake smile involves only the muscles at the ends of the mouth, usually with little teeth showing. A genuine smile (often called a Duchenne smile after Guillaume Duchenne who first named it) involves not only the muscles at the ends of the mouth, but also the muscles in the cheeks and those around the eyes which, when stretched, form what we call "crow's feet." (So, if you have crow's feet, don't consider this a bad thing; it just means you smile genuinely a lot.) The genuine smile also typically shows a wide open mouth with lots of teeth.

The photo above was taken by Jennifer Konig and was downloaded from Flickr. If you have any doubt whether Mike's smile is fake or genuine, I feel sorry for you (although the lack of teeth may cause you some concern). Thank you, Jennifer. When I saw this joyous photo, I really knew what it meant to smile.