Wandering Pup

Small Steps

2013-05-05T23:40:00.001-04:00

Today I learned how to edit/add menu entries in LXPanel on my Linux box. A small thing, sure, but still useful and something I had wanted to do for a while.

Les llengües avuí

2012-09-01T19:26:00.001-04:00

Language update for today:

Finished Baza Radikaro 3, about to start number 4.

At 33% on the large Catalan vocab.

Also decided to dive in to the full Pandunia vocab list of just over 700 words. Am at 10% on that one.

Aprenent de avui

2012-08-26T00:11:00.001-04:00

At the 30% mark in the larger Catalan course on Memrise. Also completed Baza Radikaro 1 and halfway thru Baza Radikaro 2.

Also learned the 70 words presented in the Pandunia lessons available on the wiki. Will consider going thru the full 740 word list later...

In non-language related stuff, downloaded GarageBand for the iPad and have been having fun with it!

Language Updates

2012-08-19T12:52:00.001-04:00

The last few days have been rather productive as far as the language projects go. I have been working thru a larger Catalan collection on Memrise (about 1000 words) and by the end of today will be about 25% of the way thru it.

Other Catalan activity: following Kato Lomb's advice to start reading from the very beginning, I headed over to Project Gutenberg and downloaded La Mare Balena by Victor Catala and started reading it and trying to intuit the text.

I have also been doing the Baza Radikaro (basic root collection) for Esperanto just to fill in a few gaps in my knowledge there. This is a set of about 2500 words and roots collected by the Akademio de Esperanto which enable wide-ranging everyday conversation. Due to the word formation rules of Esperanto, it actually corresponds to something like 15000 words in other languages. Many of them I already know, but as I wrote before, it's good to fill in gaps.

Words of the day

2012-08-11T01:29:00.001-04:00

Picked up another 21 common verbs (infinitive form only) in Catalan today. Now up to 143 known items.

Aprenent de Avuí

2012-08-09T00:37:00.001-04:00

As of now, my Catalan lexicon count stands at 112 items. :)

I started a new deck on Memrise with Catalan prepositions, and after that I will do one on common verbs.

On that note, I need to look into the conjugation patterns and figure out how the principal parts method will apply.

Aprendizaje de Hoy

2012-08-08T10:55:00.001-04:00

Well, yesterday was a little slower on the Catalan and Esperanto. I harvested the words that were in my short-term memory but didn't really learn new items. This morning so far I learned 10 new items in each language, and plan to double that at least by the end of the day.

I am looking forward to selecting my next Catalan course thru Memrise.

In other language news, I feel like my Spanish conversation skills are improving. Yesterday, I was able to sustain 15-30 minutes of conversation with a couple different people without resorting to Spanglish and with perhaps 80-85% comprehension on my part. It felt good :)

Fins després!

Català i Esperanto Avui

2012-08-05T11:47:00.001-04:00

Learned another 20 words of dirty Esperanto today, along with 15 more high-frequency items in Catalan.

In other news, I think that the language spoken by the family we met near the Zocalo is not in fact a variety of Nahuatl, but probably something in the Zapotecan family. I have written down a copy of the 100 item Swadesh list in English and Spanish, and will try to collect their words to better determine what it is that they speak.

Fins després!

Català Avui

2012-08-04T23:10:00.001-04:00

Picked up another 25 words/phrases of Catalan today!

Also while we were out near the Zocalo today, we talked with a family from Oaxaca. The grandmother spoke no Spanish, although she understood some. Her grandsons speak and understand both Spanish and Nahuatl, but no English. We managed to ask them how to say several different common words and phrases, and so I collected about 50 samples of their dialect. Very interesting!

Fins després!

Memrise, an experiment

2012-08-04T10:15:00.001-04:00

So, as I mentioned yesterday, I have started using Memrise to learn Catalan and to practice some other language skills. The site aims to make learning anything fun.

It combines flashcards containing mnemonics with spaced repetition to help learners. It also has a nifty garden metaphor where new items to be learned are seeds to be planted, then nurtured in the greenhouse of short-term memory, then moved to the garden of long-term memory. Periodically you water (review) your plants (memories) to keep them from wilting (being forgotten). It's clever and it works.

Also good is the fact that there is lots of pre-made (largely community-contributed) content. However, the quality of the flashcards varies; not all items have mnemonics (called mems on the site), and some of the items have typos. There is a curation system to make corrections to cards, but I haven't really explored it yet.

The site incorporates a point system so that you can track how well you're doing with your learning and various leaderboards by day, week, month, etc.

The site also has an iPhone app so that you can review on the go, but it is in beta and still needs some work.

All in all, Memrise shows a lot of promise and I will keep using it. I hope to learn more about how the site works and possibly take part in its growth and future direction.

www.memrise.com

Today's Learning

2012-08-03T13:12:00.001-04:00

Another 15 words/phrases of basic Catalan and 10 words of Esperanto slang...

BTW, I am using Memrise to learn these and finding it interesting. I may write more about Memrise later in a separate post!

Reviving This Blog

2012-08-02T20:55:00.001-04:00

I want to come back to writing at least a little something on here every day. I thought a good topic might be to post at least one thing I have learned each day.

Today it was 20 words/phrases of basic Catalan :)

Fins després! (see you later)

Thanks to D.H.

2011-04-28T10:23:00.003-04:00

Sitting in awareness -
What happens next?

Turning 'round the arrow of attention,
The direct way, the rapid way
It seems-
So much of what the wise ones
Have to say makes more sense now.

What next?
Remember to keep looking
with the single eyeless eye
Remember to keep seeing
Who You really are

Deeper deeper
Clearer clearer

Remember to remember God
Practice disappearing.

haiku

2011-01-17T13:12:00.001-05:00

sundogs this morning
as I was driving eastward
listening to Sufjan

Snow! Snow! Snow!

2010-12-01T10:38:00.002-05:00

Woke up to snowflakes drifting down and a light accumulation in our yard. Kinda pretty! This reminds me though, I'm gonna need to buy a snow shovel; one didn't come with the house :)

Go Crash, Go! A Retro Gamer's Delight (was a treasure-guarding dragon)

2009-07-08T00:49:00.003-04:00

Hi again everybody! I hope that everybody is enjoying the summer so far and that this finds you in good health and spirits. Some of you may recall my intention to do my own version of the "one red paperclip" project, except starting with a pack of gum and trading my way up to a new car. First, I traded the gum for a fierce dragon figurine. Well, I am glad to report that the dragon has found a new happy home. He was last seen heading towards his new abode with wings unfurled in the brisk October breeze... and then the holidays and life intervened and put the project on hold for a bit.

*BUT ONLY A BIT!*

In his place I am now pleased to offer you a retro video gamer's delight! Up for trading is an original Sony Playstation, complete with all cables and a controller. The system is in excellent condition; very clean. In addition to the console, I will include a copy of the "Greatest Hits" edition of Crash Bandicoot (which I am told is semi-rare). See how Crash's story began! Defeat the evil Doctor Neo Cortex and his henchmen! Save your girlfriend Tawna from nearly-certain doom!

All this can be yours! Just contact me via email with your offers to trade. I am open to all suggestions for items to trade, but the more exotic/unusual/titillating the better! I look forward to hearing from you!

Natural Nursery Knits

2009-04-18T14:09:00.002-04:00

Natural Nursery Knits, by Erika Knight

Quadrille Publishing Ltd, UK 2009

This book, subtitled "Twenty handknit projects for the new baby", combines the recent trend for knitting with eco-friendly fibers with timeless designs that are sure to be warmly received. The projects presented by Ms Knight go beyond the traditional blankets, hats and booties, although those are here too. Some of the more unusual patterns are those for a stuffed giraffe, a bird mobile, a rabbit-shaped rattle, and a cot cover that combines sewing and knitting. I particularly like the pattern for the teddy bear and plan to make it for myself.

The book not only explores a wide range of patterns, but a variety of natural fibers too. Many people immediately think "eco-cotton" when green fibers are mentioned, but the book also has patterns written for baby alpaca, bamboo, milk cotton (casein-based yarn) and hemp, among others. The suggested colors are all natural plant-based dyes as well.

The photography in the book is gorgeous and serves very well to show off the appeal of the finished items. The patterns are written in a clear, non-verbose style. British terms and metric measurements are used throughout (as to be expected) but shouldn't present any real problems to North American knitters.

Recommended.

New Adventure/Update

2009-03-19T00:27:00.001-04:00

Time to bring y'all up-to-date on what happening... The henley is really close to being finished -- am racing my way down the second sleeve and should be done in just a couple of days. I also finished my first "real" crochet project: an improvised cap following Nancy of Woven Art's instructions. Am looking for my next crochet project now.

There has been a change of plans regarding the next knitting project(s). I was going to do a top-down aran, but the intended recipient let me know that he wants socks instead. So I'm going to do a pair of garter-rib socks in Brown Sheep Wildfoote, colorway Jungle. I also am planning on a pair of Spiraling Coriolis in Wildfoote Symphony for another friend.

Probably the biggest non-knitting news is that I have decided to supplement my teaching income by becoming an Avon lady, so to speak! I signed up as a representative a few days ago and have been perusing my start-up kit. I will have a web shop up shortly where you may browse and buy, or I would be very happy to meet you in person to show you the latest products from Avon. The current brochure is good until the end of this month and has hundreds of great deals. Please leave a comment if interested. Thank you!

Learning Another Language

2009-02-26T01:35:00.002-05:00

So, I've decided to remedy a gap in my knowledge of fiber arts and to learn how to crochet. I bought some lovely green crochet cotton and a hook and The Crochet Answer Book and have begun to make a simple single crochet dishcloth. It's going well so far. I can see that there are a lot more possibilities to crochet than I had ever imagined, and it may even be a more versatile, anarchic craft than knitting (which will always remain my first love). I am open for suggestions for other good beginner's projects before I dive in to making afghans!

In other news, the top-down henley is going very well and quickly. I have about 4.5" left to go on the body and then I'll do the neckline and the sleeves. I am also already thinking about the next sweater project; I would like to do the Jack's Aran Pullover from Men in Knits, but convert it to top-down if possible... any suggestions about that?

More Social Web Stuff

2009-02-05T02:06:00.001-05:00

I just have signed up for Twitter and can be followed @ wanderingpup on there as well!

New Stuff

2008-12-30T07:09:00.004-05:00

Well, a belated update... Christmas vacation has been fine so far, and I have been especially productive on the knitting front, if not so much on the writing.

After I finished the garter rib sweater, I wanted to do a small project and so I taught myself the brioche stitch from EZ's Knitting Without Tears. It's incredibly quick and fun once you get the hang of it, and I love the fabric it produces. So I used that to whip up several watchcaps for presents and for personal use. Later, I discovered this website, which sparked my imagination even more with ideas of what to do with this stitch.

I have also been working on two sweaters: one Wonderful Wallaby hoodie in orange, for a friend, and another Lopi-style seamless yoke in fall colors for me. They are both proceeding apace. I expect that the Lopi will probably be done by the second week of the new year and the Wallaby hopefully by the end of January.

After I finish those, I have another sweater project lined up -- a Celtic Aran, but I haven't yet worked out the design or calculations for that one.

While working on the sleeves for the Lopi, I had a little bit of a brainstorm for a way to do mittens and gloves, two at a time, seamlessly. I haven't seen the method that I am thinking of described anywhere in the literature, so I want to research a little bit to see if this is really original or not. I also want to do a test knit to verify that the method will work, but it seems like it should.

My other knitting resolutions for the new year? To clear out some UFO's lurking in my project area... in particular there are two hats that I need to finish, and a pair of socks. Plus, I want to start exploring Cat Bordhi's books. In non-knitting but still fiber-related resolutions, I really want to learn to weave, both on the traditional loom as well as card/tablet weaving. I think that non-fiber resolutions should probably go into a separate post...

I guess that that's probably enough for now, so I will sign off and wish everyone a very Happy 2009!

Mail2Blogger Test

2008-12-15T06:21:00.001-05:00

This is a test of the mail to blogger gateway service, so I can easily
post updates while we are away. I mainly want to make sure that the
formatting works alright, without spurious line breaks and such.

I know that the blog has not been very active lately, and for this I
apologize. The last couple of weeks have been very busy. I did
successfully finish NaNoWriMo '08 though!

NaNoWriMo update #2

2008-11-04T21:18:00.001-05:00

I have broken the 5000 word mark, so I am more than 10% of the way thru this crazy project!

NaNoWriMo update

2008-11-02T01:23:00.003-04:00

So far so good with the writing. I am at 2128 words after about 24 hours and have a good idea of what writing I want to do tomorrow. I am trying to build up a cushion for later in the month. The widgets over in the sidebar have been kind of sketchy, because the main site is working under quite a load at the moment. That's why they don't always reflect the most up-to-date word count.

Bring On The Craziness!

2008-11-01T01:26:00.000-04:00

NaNoWriMo 2008 has officially begun! I am at 403 words so far; 49,597 to go!