Microsoft Windows PowerShell™ 2.0 is an extensible automation engine, consisting of a command-line environment and scripting language designed especially for local and remote system administration by IT professionals and power users.
Simple built-in commands called cmdlets (pronounced "commandlets"), each a specialized .NET class, perform common system administration tasks such as managing the registry, services, processes, or event logs. More than a hundred cmdlets are provided with PowerShell; and the user can develop and extend cmdlets, as well. Cmdlets can be scripted and chained such that the output from one can be used as the input to another, providing the ability to accomplish very complex tasks. The PowerShell scripting language is consistent with higher-level languages used in .NET Framework programming, such as C#.
cmdlet names consist of a verb and noun separated by a dash (-), such as Get-Process and Start-Service. The "get" cmdlets retrieve data, the "set" cmdlets establish or change data, "format" cmdlets format data, and "out" cmdlets direct the output to a specified destination. Each cmdlet has a help file that you can access by typing: get-help <cmdlet-name>.
PowerShell provides access to the file system, and ships with providers that enable access to data stores such as the registry and digital signature certificate stores by means of the same techniques used to interact with the file system. PowerShell also enables access to the COM and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) subsystems.
Unlike command-line environments such as cmd.exe and Unix shells, PowerShell accepts and returns .NET objects rather than text, bringing new tools and techniques to the management and configuration of the operating system and applications. For example, when interacting with a service in PowerShell, the user is really manipulating an object that represents the service. Service information is represented in the form of object properties. To start or stop a service, the developer invokes one of the object's methods.
The user can also continue to use traditional tools, such as the Service Control Manager, ipconfig.exe, net.exe, reg.exe, and shutdown.exe; and can take advantage of cmdlets like Select-String to manipulate the text that those Windows programs return. The user can also start Windows programs that have a graphical user interface at the Powershell prompt.
The PowerShell runtime can also be embedded in other applications. Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and SQL Server 2008, for example, expose management functionality by means of PowerShell cmdlets and providers. All future Microsoft applications are to be PowerShell-aware.
Windows Powershell (Microsoft TechNet)
Windows PowerShell (Wikipedia)
Windows PowerShell Cmdlets (Microsoft TechNet)
A New Scripting Language (Microsoft TechNet)
Processing Objects (Microsoft TechNet)
Object Pipelines (Microsoft TechNet)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Spanish Expressions Using Parts of the Body: The Eyelash
As in English, many Spanish idioms and other expressions involve parts of the body. This example refers to the eyelash:
Vocabulary Quiz (mouse over for answers)
quemarse las pestañas or dejarse las pestañas (familiar)
literal translation: to burn the eyelashes
to work very hard, to study hard, to burn the midnight oil
e.g. Su marido se quemaba las pestañas: Her husband worked very hard.
The word pestañas can also mean stiff hairs that are placed on the edge of a surface.
Vocabulary Quiz (mouse over for answers)
pestaña
I had to get an eyelash out of my eye.
pestañas postizas
pestañear
sin pestañear
pestaña (of a Web page or computer screen)
pestaña (of a container)
pestaña (of a book)
pestaña (mechanical)
quemarse
pestaña (WordReference)
pestaña (en español, RAE)
pestaña (en español, informática)
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Bertrand Russell's Famous Table
"Suppose that, with your eyes shut, you let your finger-tip press against a hard table. What is really happening? Although you think you are touching the table, no electron or proton in your finger every really touches an electron or proton in the table, because this would develop an infinite force. " --Russell
As I mentioned in an earlier post on Intuition, our day-to-day tendency to classify the persons, places, and things that we encounter leads us to make assumptions that, upon close examination, turn out to be self-contradictory and even grossly misplaced.
Bertrand Russell's famous table discussion serves as an example of how our unquestioning acceptance of the physical nature of objects reveals an even deeper misunderstanding of subtler, more complex, and infinitely more important aspects of ourselves, the world we inhabit, and the invisible forces of cause and effect that impact our every experience.
The important thing to keep in mind is that the perception that occurs in our brains as we attempt to classify information received via our senses is not that same as the reality that stimulates those senses. This is true both of our perception of the physical world and, by extension, of nature and of the ultimate intelligence that controls all things.
"To say that you see a star when you see the light that has come from it is no more correct than to say that you see New Zealand when you see a New Zealander in London."
To the reasonable person, a particular table might appear to have certain indisputable characteristics: it is brown, it is hard-surfaced, it is apparently old. However, the brownness of the table is certainly a simple matter of how the light at a particular time of day reflects off the specific pigment of the stain applied to the table and is perceived by the aforementioned reasonable person. Only another person positioned at exactly the same spot as the first at the exact time of day, with the very same degree of sensitivity to light would see the table the same way. A person with the visual condition called Daltonism would perceive the color of the table differently, as would a creature with the trichromatic color vision of a bee. Not one of these interpretations would be right or wrong. Light waves that reflect from an object would be interpreted one way by the human eye, another way by a bee, and a third way by a scientific instrument. The degree of brownness might change from mid-morning to late evening. The table is not, in fact, brown. We perceive brownness from the light reflected from the table.
"It is extrordinarily difficult to divest ourselves of the belief that the physical world is the world we perceive by sight and touch."
Along the same lines, what we perceive as a table would appear to be something differently entirely if we were microscopic in size and found ourselves somehow among the atoms that form the object. That the size and shape of the structure would be invisible from us is not to say that we are merely unable to see it. Our view at that moment is just as legitimate as the view of the reasonable observer mentioned earlier. These two views of the same so-called object again demonstrate that what we thought of as a table is simply one interpretation.
Continuing, the apparent durable or long-lasting nature of the table is relative to the perception of a human being typically destined to exist on this earth for perhaps a period of seventy to eighty years. If we were discussing a melting ice cube rather than a table, we might say that it would exist as an ice cube for perhaps a half hour on a warm day. This interpretation would affect our assessment of the ice cube and its value to us. If my glass of punch is warm, then I'd better use the ice cube before it melts. As opposed to the table, I'd better not become emotionally attached to the ice cube because it's not going to be around for long. However, to the Mayfly, with a lifespan as short as five minutes, if in fact the Mayfly would have thoughts about the ice cube, he might interpret it as a colossal glacier that lasts for six lifetimes.
However silly that thought, there is a consequential conclusion to this line of thinking. The body is a bundle of sensations. That multiple people cannot have exactly the same interpretation of an object, due to differences in the way light waves, sound waves, smells, and the other physical sensations -- not to mention the more subtle intellectual and emotional stimuli -- are interpreted, begs the question: What in fact is real about the world around us?
Ignorant face value acceptance of what was perceived to be the physical world by the medieval church is what put the physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher Galileo, whom Stephen Hawking called "perhaps more than any other single person, responsible for the birth of modern science," under house arrest for the final ten years of his life, as punishment by the Catholic church for writing that the Earth revolves around the Sun. If we ourselves misinterpret the nature of the physical objects before our very eyes, what are the odds that we're accurately assessing another person's expression or tone of voice or what is really being said? How are we to understand the larger, clearly more important questions of our times and of all time? These are the questions of philosophy.
"When you press, repulsions are set up between parts of your finger and parts of the table. The repulsion consists of electrical forces, which set up in the nerves a current whose nature is not very definitely known. This current runs into the brain, and there has effects which, so far as the physiologist is concerned, are almost wholly conjectural...the knowledge we derive from physics is so abstract that we are not warranted in saying that what goes on in the physical world is...intrinsically...what we know through our own experiences. "
As I mentioned in an earlier post on Intuition, our day-to-day tendency to classify the persons, places, and things that we encounter leads us to make assumptions that, upon close examination, turn out to be self-contradictory and even grossly misplaced.
Bertrand Russell's famous table discussion serves as an example of how our unquestioning acceptance of the physical nature of objects reveals an even deeper misunderstanding of subtler, more complex, and infinitely more important aspects of ourselves, the world we inhabit, and the invisible forces of cause and effect that impact our every experience.
The important thing to keep in mind is that the perception that occurs in our brains as we attempt to classify information received via our senses is not that same as the reality that stimulates those senses. This is true both of our perception of the physical world and, by extension, of nature and of the ultimate intelligence that controls all things.
"To say that you see a star when you see the light that has come from it is no more correct than to say that you see New Zealand when you see a New Zealander in London."
To the reasonable person, a particular table might appear to have certain indisputable characteristics: it is brown, it is hard-surfaced, it is apparently old. However, the brownness of the table is certainly a simple matter of how the light at a particular time of day reflects off the specific pigment of the stain applied to the table and is perceived by the aforementioned reasonable person. Only another person positioned at exactly the same spot as the first at the exact time of day, with the very same degree of sensitivity to light would see the table the same way. A person with the visual condition called Daltonism would perceive the color of the table differently, as would a creature with the trichromatic color vision of a bee. Not one of these interpretations would be right or wrong. Light waves that reflect from an object would be interpreted one way by the human eye, another way by a bee, and a third way by a scientific instrument. The degree of brownness might change from mid-morning to late evening. The table is not, in fact, brown. We perceive brownness from the light reflected from the table.
"It is extrordinarily difficult to divest ourselves of the belief that the physical world is the world we perceive by sight and touch."
Along the same lines, what we perceive as a table would appear to be something differently entirely if we were microscopic in size and found ourselves somehow among the atoms that form the object. That the size and shape of the structure would be invisible from us is not to say that we are merely unable to see it. Our view at that moment is just as legitimate as the view of the reasonable observer mentioned earlier. These two views of the same so-called object again demonstrate that what we thought of as a table is simply one interpretation.
Continuing, the apparent durable or long-lasting nature of the table is relative to the perception of a human being typically destined to exist on this earth for perhaps a period of seventy to eighty years. If we were discussing a melting ice cube rather than a table, we might say that it would exist as an ice cube for perhaps a half hour on a warm day. This interpretation would affect our assessment of the ice cube and its value to us. If my glass of punch is warm, then I'd better use the ice cube before it melts. As opposed to the table, I'd better not become emotionally attached to the ice cube because it's not going to be around for long. However, to the Mayfly, with a lifespan as short as five minutes, if in fact the Mayfly would have thoughts about the ice cube, he might interpret it as a colossal glacier that lasts for six lifetimes.
However silly that thought, there is a consequential conclusion to this line of thinking. The body is a bundle of sensations. That multiple people cannot have exactly the same interpretation of an object, due to differences in the way light waves, sound waves, smells, and the other physical sensations -- not to mention the more subtle intellectual and emotional stimuli -- are interpreted, begs the question: What in fact is real about the world around us?
Ignorant face value acceptance of what was perceived to be the physical world by the medieval church is what put the physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher Galileo, whom Stephen Hawking called "perhaps more than any other single person, responsible for the birth of modern science," under house arrest for the final ten years of his life, as punishment by the Catholic church for writing that the Earth revolves around the Sun. If we ourselves misinterpret the nature of the physical objects before our very eyes, what are the odds that we're accurately assessing another person's expression or tone of voice or what is really being said? How are we to understand the larger, clearly more important questions of our times and of all time? These are the questions of philosophy.
"When you press, repulsions are set up between parts of your finger and parts of the table. The repulsion consists of electrical forces, which set up in the nerves a current whose nature is not very definitely known. This current runs into the brain, and there has effects which, so far as the physiologist is concerned, are almost wholly conjectural...the knowledge we derive from physics is so abstract that we are not warranted in saying that what goes on in the physical world is...intrinsically...what we know through our own experiences. "
Korean: Formality Levels with Regard to Proposals
Both intimacy and respect are highly valued in Korean culture. Different styles of proposal verbs and sentence endings are appropriate in Korean for different settings and audiences. 존댓말 (chon-daet-mal) is the polite level used for general courtesy, in formal social settings, news reports, and the like. 반말 (pan-mal) is a casual level used between good friends, an adult talking to someone considerably younger, etc. A new friend sometimes requests permission before using 반말.
Formal
Remember that even though 존댓말 and 반말 are often referred to as the "polite" and "casual" styles, in reality neither style is necessarily always polite or not polite. The formal style can seem distant when used with a friend and is in fact used when people quarrel. And an inappropriately casual style in a formal situation can be perceived as impolite.
There are four levels of formality for Korean proposals.
Formal (존댓말)
- 합시다 (hap-si-da)
- 해요 (hae-yo)
Informal (반말)
- 해 (hae)
- 하자 (ha-ja)
Let's go to that store:
그
| ku (that) |
| 가게 | ka-ge (store) |
| 에 | eh (to) |
| 가다 | ka-da (to go) |
- 그 가게에 갑시다. (ku ka-ge-eh kap-si-da)
- 그 가게에 가요. (ku ka-ge-eh ka-yo)
- 그 가게에 개. (ku ka-ge-eh kae)
- 그 가게에 가자. (ku ka-ge-eh ka-ja)
- The 합시다 style is mostly used among adults who are about the same age and are familiar with one another.
- The 요 ending might be used for gentle suggestions such as 같이 가요 (let's go together) to one the speaker doesn't know well. (Use the very polite form 같이 가세요 ka-chi ka-se-yo when speaking with someone much older.)
- The slightly less formal 하자 style is often used in place of the 해 form, perhaps because 해 sounds more like a command.
Remember that even though 존댓말 and 반말 are often referred to as the "polite" and "casual" styles, in reality neither style is necessarily always polite or not polite. The formal style can seem distant when used with a friend and is in fact used when people quarrel. And an inappropriately casual style in a formal situation can be perceived as impolite.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Looking Up a Sinograph in the Kangxi Dictionary
Whereas it is possible for even the young schoolchild to memorize the sequence of the 26 English letters, the sheer quantity of Chinese characters (47,000+ in the Kangxi dictionary[1]) makes it impossible to do the same in Chinese. In this post I'll describe the system the Chinese use for looking up characters in their dictionary. For the beginner, this act is a sort of philosophical experience. It takes much patience and it's slow going and even frustrating. Before one can begin, it's essential to become familiar with two concepts:
Strokes
Each character in the Chinese alphabet comprises up to 30 strokes, a stroke being defined as one the portions of a character that can be drawn with a writing device without removing the nib from the page. Chinese schoolchildren spend long hours practicing each of these named strokes as they learn the characters.
The character yī (一, which means one) serves as a simple example, consisting of one horizontal stroke.
The 8 basic forms of strokes: CSUN (Cal State University)
Radicals
Radicals are simple characters or portions of characters that were popularized during the Qing dynasty, when the emperor Kangxi commissioned the dictionary. Knowledge of the radicals aids character look-up dramatically.
This list from YellowBridge displays English names for the radicals.
Once you have attained proficiency with the 214 radicals, you will be in a position to examine a character you wish to look up and identify the radical. Having done so, and by now being able to discern a radical's stroke count, you would look the radical up, perhaps in an online dictionary such as this page from mdbg: Radical/Strokes Lookup[2].
Having located the radical in an online lookup page such as mdbg's, you would click it to reveal another page displaying all the character candidates based on that radical.
For example, having located the 2-stroke radical yán(讠), you would click it and thereby find yourself at this page, which renders all the characters based on this radical:
Next, extrapolate an index into this chart by subtracting the stroke count of the radical from the stroke count of the entire character in order to find the row containing the character you're looking for. Click that character and you'll be rewarded for your efforts with a page containing the definition of the character.
You would use a hard-copy dictionary the same way, but online tools are much more convenient.
Pretty easy, right? Now that you're familiar with the Simplified Chinese character set, we'll move on to the more complex Traditional set in a future post. I'm just kidding. It's frustrating as hell, really.
1. A relatively literate person need "only" be proficient at 3,000-4,000 characters.
2. Most dictionaries also allow the user who might not be able to identify a character's radical to look up the character based on total stroke count, but there are typically and extraordinarily large number of characters with the same stroke count, so this is typically done only as a last resort.
- Strokes. Each radical and character is composed of a number of strokes.
- The Chinese radicals, not pro-democracy revolutionaries but rather, the 214 components that form the basis for the Chinese character set.
Strokes
Each character in the Chinese alphabet comprises up to 30 strokes, a stroke being defined as one the portions of a character that can be drawn with a writing device without removing the nib from the page. Chinese schoolchildren spend long hours practicing each of these named strokes as they learn the characters.
The character yī (一, which means one) serves as a simple example, consisting of one horizontal stroke.
The 8 basic forms of strokes: CSUN (Cal State University)
Radicals
Radicals are simple characters or portions of characters that were popularized during the Qing dynasty, when the emperor Kangxi commissioned the dictionary. Knowledge of the radicals aids character look-up dramatically.
This list from YellowBridge displays English names for the radicals.
Once you have attained proficiency with the 214 radicals, you will be in a position to examine a character you wish to look up and identify the radical. Having done so, and by now being able to discern a radical's stroke count, you would look the radical up, perhaps in an online dictionary such as this page from mdbg: Radical/Strokes Lookup[2].
Having located the radical in an online lookup page such as mdbg's, you would click it to reveal another page displaying all the character candidates based on that radical.
For example, having located the 2-stroke radical yán(讠), you would click it and thereby find yourself at this page, which renders all the characters based on this radical:
Next, extrapolate an index into this chart by subtracting the stroke count of the radical from the stroke count of the entire character in order to find the row containing the character you're looking for. Click that character and you'll be rewarded for your efforts with a page containing the definition of the character.
You would use a hard-copy dictionary the same way, but online tools are much more convenient.
Pretty easy, right? Now that you're familiar with the Simplified Chinese character set, we'll move on to the more complex Traditional set in a future post. I'm just kidding. It's frustrating as hell, really.
1. A relatively literate person need "only" be proficient at 3,000-4,000 characters.
2. Most dictionaries also allow the user who might not be able to identify a character's radical to look up the character based on total stroke count, but there are typically and extraordinarily large number of characters with the same stroke count, so this is typically done only as a last resort.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Spanish: Relative Pronouns Que Versus Quien
During your studies, you might come across quien and que used as relative pronouns referring to people as in the following sentences. Both are correct:
Los hombres que viste están en peligro.
The men that you saw are in danger.
Fue él quien me enseñó la casa.
He was the one who showed me the house.
Obviously, quien refers only to people. When referring to a thing, que is used:
El libro que le he prestado a Hector es extenso, no es corto.
The book that I lent to Hector is extensive. It's not short.
La casa que fue diseñado por el arquitecto mexicano es de color amarillo.
The house that was designed by the Mexican architect is yellow. (Remember that the true passive voice isn't used in Spanish as much as it is in English.)
When the person being referred to is the direct object, remember to use the personal a with quien:
La señora que conocí anoche es la madre de Julio.
La señora a quien conocí anoche es la madre de Julio.
The woman whom I met last night is Julio's mother.
Vocabulary of the Day
margarita daisy (the first thing that came to mind was Margarita, the drink, right?!
dar (o echar) margaritas a los cerdos (o puercos) means the same as to cast pearls before swine
deshojar la margarita means to play "she loves me, she loves me not." deshojar means to pull the petals off (or to rip the pages out of)
By the way, the word margarita is of Greek origin, via Latin and means pearl. Interesting article in Spanish on the etymology of the word.
Los hombres que viste están en peligro.
The men that you saw are in danger.
Fue él quien me enseñó la casa.
He was the one who showed me the house.
Obviously, quien refers only to people. When referring to a thing, que is used:
El libro que le he prestado a Hector es extenso, no es corto.
The book that I lent to Hector is extensive. It's not short.
La casa que fue diseñado por el arquitecto mexicano es de color amarillo.
The house that was designed by the Mexican architect is yellow. (Remember that the true passive voice isn't used in Spanish as much as it is in English.)
When the person being referred to is the direct object, remember to use the personal a with quien:
La señora que conocí anoche es la madre de Julio.
La señora a quien conocí anoche es la madre de Julio.
The woman whom I met last night is Julio's mother.
Vocabulary of the Day
margarita daisy (the first thing that came to mind was Margarita, the drink, right?!
dar (o echar) margaritas a los cerdos (o puercos) means the same as to cast pearls before swine
deshojar la margarita means to play "she loves me, she loves me not." deshojar means to pull the petals off (or to rip the pages out of)
By the way, the word margarita is of Greek origin, via Latin and means pearl. Interesting article in Spanish on the etymology of the word.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
The Profound Secret Inside of You
The one thing that appears to be missing to a large degree from most of our lives is an awareness of the deeper self. How is it that the members of the one species given this apparent consciousness and self-awareness flit from one idea or task to another throughout the day like bees pollinating snapdragons, driven by useless compulsions, without one deep thought ever coming to mind?
The answer is that it is the default nature of the mind to jump from one task to another, focusing only in time of emergency, and then fixating only on the urgent issue at hand. At a certain level, it's the most efficient use of our intellectual resources. We efficiently classify knowledge, forming patterns that serve us well in most cases by providing default responses to known scenarios. The problem is that in relying so much on default thought patterns, we utilize our intellect barely more than the minimum degree necessary to avoid catastrophe, rarely stepping back to pay attention to the larger story, to the unseen forces and macro patterns operating behind the scenes, including everything that makes you who you are and causes you to do the things you do. Most people live their entire without ever even noticing, never mind addressing, this flaw of ours.
To become increasingly conscious of the authentic self, it's necessary to gradually calm this monkey mind, as it is known in Eastern philosophies. Americans have traditionally been industrious but we work harder than ever in today's economy (those with jobs, at least), and we have all the kids' activities to manage. A lot is expected of us and we're so consumed by the desire to satisfy those expectations that we dedicate almost no time to meditation and contemplation. It's a shame because consciously or not, one of our highest goals is the search for meaning, yet the way we spin so furiously in these hamster wheels we pretty much preclude the possibility of ever realizing that the answer was within ourselves all along.
Learn to meditate. You know how the solution to a complex problem escapes you no matter how diligently you pursue it, and then you go to sleep only to wake up with an answer or have it hit you in the shower? Or how you can't remember a name or a word until you leave it for a while, and then it comes on its own? On a larger scale we need to do a reset from time to time and stop the insanity. The mind is usually so busy that there's no other way to get it to break out of its patterns.
Aside from providing some calmness, a reality-based perspective on life, and a more philosophical approach to stress, quiet contemplation can reveal a layered yet miraculously developed you, deep inside, that you might hardly have been aware of during "the fog of war," when you were distracted by daily goings-on. I won't discuss meditation techniques in this post, and different approaches work for different people, but look into it on your own. Google "how to meditate" or get a book recommended by someone you respect. Progress is slow. It's something you can do for a lifetime without coming to full realization. But after a lifetime, you will certainly have come much closer to full actualization than you would have without it. Think of it as exercise for the soul, like a lifetime of jogging for the spirit. It's not easy, but reaching the end of your days without having met the most important person in your life would be simply tragic.
The answer is that it is the default nature of the mind to jump from one task to another, focusing only in time of emergency, and then fixating only on the urgent issue at hand. At a certain level, it's the most efficient use of our intellectual resources. We efficiently classify knowledge, forming patterns that serve us well in most cases by providing default responses to known scenarios. The problem is that in relying so much on default thought patterns, we utilize our intellect barely more than the minimum degree necessary to avoid catastrophe, rarely stepping back to pay attention to the larger story, to the unseen forces and macro patterns operating behind the scenes, including everything that makes you who you are and causes you to do the things you do. Most people live their entire without ever even noticing, never mind addressing, this flaw of ours.
To become increasingly conscious of the authentic self, it's necessary to gradually calm this monkey mind, as it is known in Eastern philosophies. Americans have traditionally been industrious but we work harder than ever in today's economy (those with jobs, at least), and we have all the kids' activities to manage. A lot is expected of us and we're so consumed by the desire to satisfy those expectations that we dedicate almost no time to meditation and contemplation. It's a shame because consciously or not, one of our highest goals is the search for meaning, yet the way we spin so furiously in these hamster wheels we pretty much preclude the possibility of ever realizing that the answer was within ourselves all along.
Learn to meditate. You know how the solution to a complex problem escapes you no matter how diligently you pursue it, and then you go to sleep only to wake up with an answer or have it hit you in the shower? Or how you can't remember a name or a word until you leave it for a while, and then it comes on its own? On a larger scale we need to do a reset from time to time and stop the insanity. The mind is usually so busy that there's no other way to get it to break out of its patterns.
Aside from providing some calmness, a reality-based perspective on life, and a more philosophical approach to stress, quiet contemplation can reveal a layered yet miraculously developed you, deep inside, that you might hardly have been aware of during "the fog of war," when you were distracted by daily goings-on. I won't discuss meditation techniques in this post, and different approaches work for different people, but look into it on your own. Google "how to meditate" or get a book recommended by someone you respect. Progress is slow. It's something you can do for a lifetime without coming to full realization. But after a lifetime, you will certainly have come much closer to full actualization than you would have without it. Think of it as exercise for the soul, like a lifetime of jogging for the spirit. It's not easy, but reaching the end of your days without having met the most important person in your life would be simply tragic.
Spanish Vocabulary 1-31-2010
bondad goodness, kindness
¿Tendría la bondad de cerrar la puerta?
Would you be so kind good as to close the door?
Note how the preposition de is used here.
Tengan la bondad de no fumar. (This is very formal language.)
Kindly refrain from smoking.
Tenga la bondad de pasar. (very polite)
Please be so kind as to come in.
Tuvo la bondad de llamarme.
He was kind enough to call me.
When speaking of the weather, bondad can also mean mildness.
bondadoso kind, kindhearted, kindly
bondadosamente kindly, kindheartedly
bondad (RAE)
Etimología de la palabra bondad.
confiado trusting
Están muy confiados en que vamos a llevarlos.
They are convinced that we are going to take them.
In this sense, confiados means sure.
Está confiada en que podrá cocinarlo.
She's confident that she will be able to cook it.
Note how the conjunction que is used here.
No estén tan confiados.
Don't get over-confident.
Con lo confiado que es le van a engañar muchas veces.
He's such an unsuspecting person that he'll often be misled.
This sentence demonstrates the use of the third person plural in Spanish to represent the figurative they. The literal translation would be He's such an unsuspecting person that they are going to mislead him many times. The practical translation for this common construction is He's such an unsuspecting person that he'll often be misled. Also observe from the previous two examples that the meaning of confiado, confident or trusting, must at times be contextually inferred.
soldadito toy soldiers
soldadito de plomo tin soldier
Quiz: Write the definition(s) for the following vocabulary words. Click the links for answers from WordReference:
amarillento
anudar
asomar
confiar
estremecerse
extrañeza
gorrión
harapo
pañuelo
piar
plomo
reja
sepultura
sien
soldado
soldar
travieso
¿Tendría la bondad de cerrar la puerta?
Would you be so kind good as to close the door?
Note how the preposition de is used here.
Tengan la bondad de no fumar. (This is very formal language.)
Kindly refrain from smoking.
Tenga la bondad de pasar. (very polite)
Please be so kind as to come in.
Tuvo la bondad de llamarme.
He was kind enough to call me.
When speaking of the weather, bondad can also mean mildness.
bondadoso kind, kindhearted, kindly
bondadosamente kindly, kindheartedly
bondad (RAE)
Etimología de la palabra bondad.
confiado trusting
Están muy confiados en que vamos a llevarlos.
They are convinced that we are going to take them.
In this sense, confiados means sure.
Está confiada en que podrá cocinarlo.
She's confident that she will be able to cook it.
Note how the conjunction que is used here.
No estén tan confiados.
Don't get over-confident.
Con lo confiado que es le van a engañar muchas veces.
He's such an unsuspecting person that he'll often be misled.
This sentence demonstrates the use of the third person plural in Spanish to represent the figurative they. The literal translation would be He's such an unsuspecting person that they are going to mislead him many times. The practical translation for this common construction is He's such an unsuspecting person that he'll often be misled. Also observe from the previous two examples that the meaning of confiado, confident or trusting, must at times be contextually inferred.
soldadito toy soldiers
soldadito de plomo tin soldier
Quiz: Write the definition(s) for the following vocabulary words. Click the links for answers from WordReference:
amarillento
anudar
asomar
confiar
estremecerse
extrañeza
gorrión
harapo
pañuelo
piar
plomo
reja
sepultura
sien
soldado
soldar
travieso
Inline Display of CSS Block Elements
As was mentioned in an earlier post, elements are the basis of document structure. There are two element display roles: block-level and inline-level.
In its default state, a block-level element cannot have other elements at its sides. To accomplish this, the user agent generates breaks before and after the element box. An inline-level by definition can have other elements at its sides.
b is an example of an inline element. A content value of One<b>Two</b>Three renders as:
OneTwoThree
p is an example of a block element. A content value of One<p>Two</p>Three renders as:
div is another example of a block element. A content value of One<div>Two</div>Three renders as:
However, the default behavior of both block-level and inline-level elements can be overridden by means of the display property, such that, given the style
.inline
{
display:inline;
}
a content value of One<div class=inline>Two</div>Three renders as:
And given the same style, a content value of One<b class=block>Two</b>Three renders as:
The ability to render the div inline is extraordinarily significant, as it elevates div to the role of default element in an infinite number of layout scenarios.
In its default state, a block-level element cannot have other elements at its sides. To accomplish this, the user agent generates breaks before and after the element box. An inline-level by definition can have other elements at its sides.
b is an example of an inline element. A content value of One<b>Two</b>Three renders as:
OneTwoThree
p is an example of a block element. A content value of One<p>Two</p>Three renders as:
div is another example of a block element. A content value of One<div>Two</div>Three renders as:
However, the default behavior of both block-level and inline-level elements can be overridden by means of the display property, such that, given the style
.inline
{
display:inline;
}
a content value of One<div class=inline>Two</div>Three renders as:
And given the same style, a content value of One<b class=block>Two</b>Three renders as:
The ability to render the div inline is extraordinarily significant, as it elevates div to the role of default element in an infinite number of layout scenarios.
Getting Taller, not Fatter #5
In the previous post, we were dissecting the ChinesePod elementary lesson: Getting Taller (Not Fatter).
Here is our next sentence:
对对对。跟叔叔一样高，跟叔叔一样胖。
Duì duì duì. Gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo, gēn shūshu yīyàng pàng.
duì: correct
gēn: as (compared to)
shūshu: uncle
yīyàng: same
gāo: tall
pàng: fat
Literally: Right, right, right. As Uncle same tall, as Uncle same fat!
That's right, that's right. Just as tall as uncle and just as fat as uncle!
This is a self-deprecating joke by Uncle to little Doudou: Right, you'll be as tall as me, and as fat!
The Chinese often repeat a syllable for emphasis. In this case, Duì duì duì would be similar to someone quickly saying "right, right, right" in English.
Next, we encounter a construction we covered in the previous post:
gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo
as tall as uncle
gēn: as (compared to)
shūshu: uncle
yīyàng: same
gāo: tall
Again, this is an high-frequency construction that means as ??? as ???. In English, we place the adjective first: as fast as Brian, as smart as the teacher, etc. In Mandarin, the person, place, or thing being compared to is placed first, then the adjective.
gēn shūshu yīyàng pàng
as fat as uncle
Reading Quiz
Without reviewing the lesson above, what do the following characters mean?
胖 answer
高 answer
样 answer
一 answer
叔 answer
跟 answer
对 answer
Writing Quiz
Without reviewing the lesson above, write the following characters:
pàng answer
gāo answer
yàng answer
yī answer
shū answer
gēn answer
duì answer
So far we have covered:
豆豆，这是叔叔，快说叔叔好
Dòudou, zhè shì shūshu. Kuài shuō shūshu hǎo.
Doudou, this is Uncle. Hurry up and say hello to Uncle.
叔叔好!
Shūshu hǎo!
Hello, Uncle!
豆豆，真乖！一年没见，长高了很多!
Dòudou, zhēn guāi! ī nián měi jiàn. zhǎng gāo le hěn duō.
Doudou, so well-behaved! I haven't seen you in a year. You've grown taller!
豆豆以后要跟叔叔一样高
Dòudou yǐhòu yào gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo.
Doudou will be as tall as uncle someday.
对对对。跟叔叔一样高，跟叔叔一样胖。
Duì duì duì. Gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo, gēn shūshu yīyàng pàng.
That's right, that's right. Just as tall as uncle and just as fat as uncle!
再 见!（zài jiàn!)
James
Here is our next sentence:
对对对。跟叔叔一样高，跟叔叔一样胖。
Duì duì duì. Gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo, gēn shūshu yīyàng pàng.
duì: correct
gēn: as (compared to)
shūshu: uncle
yīyàng: same
gāo: tall
pàng: fat
Literally: Right, right, right. As Uncle same tall, as Uncle same fat!
That's right, that's right. Just as tall as uncle and just as fat as uncle!
This is a self-deprecating joke by Uncle to little Doudou: Right, you'll be as tall as me, and as fat!
The Chinese often repeat a syllable for emphasis. In this case, Duì duì duì would be similar to someone quickly saying "right, right, right" in English.
Next, we encounter a construction we covered in the previous post:
gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo
as tall as uncle
gēn: as (compared to)
shūshu: uncle
yīyàng: same
gāo: tall
Again, this is an high-frequency construction that means as ??? as ???. In English, we place the adjective first: as fast as Brian, as smart as the teacher, etc. In Mandarin, the person, place, or thing being compared to is placed first, then the adjective.
gēn shūshu yīyàng pàng
as fat as uncle
Reading Quiz
Without reviewing the lesson above, what do the following characters mean?
胖 answer
高 answer
样 answer
一 answer
叔 answer
跟 answer
对 answer
Writing Quiz
Without reviewing the lesson above, write the following characters:
pàng answer
gāo answer
yàng answer
yī answer
shū answer
gēn answer
duì answer
So far we have covered:
豆豆，这是叔叔，快说叔叔好
Dòudou, zhè shì shūshu. Kuài shuō shūshu hǎo.
Doudou, this is Uncle. Hurry up and say hello to Uncle.
叔叔好!
Shūshu hǎo!
Hello, Uncle!
豆豆，真乖！一年没见，长高了很多!
Dòudou, zhēn guāi! ī nián měi jiàn. zhǎng gāo le hěn duō.
Doudou, so well-behaved! I haven't seen you in a year. You've grown taller!
豆豆以后要跟叔叔一样高
Dòudou yǐhòu yào gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo.
Doudou will be as tall as uncle someday.
对对对。跟叔叔一样高，跟叔叔一样胖。
Duì duì duì. Gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo, gēn shūshu yīyàng pàng.
That's right, that's right. Just as tall as uncle and just as fat as uncle!
再 见!（zài jiàn!)
James
Saturday, January 30, 2010
A Short Story: The Visitor
Daddy and I just got back from Agway. We keep the Christmas tree behind the house next to the chimney until we're ready to put it up. I like putting on the tinsel. I love the pine smell. I don't know how the cats can stand the cold. Their metal water dish is frozen. It has dents it it. My dog Sparky is happy to see me. He doesn't seem cold. The Kerosene stove in the kitchen is really warm. Rambling with Gambling is on. Daddy is going to make pancakes. He told me to pick up my toys. Uncle Ken gave me his Lionel train. I play with my dump truck in the sand at Cy Fox's lumber yard. I have bulldozers, too.
--Rachel says I have to eat but I'm not really hungry.
We're going to Nanny's later. Our station wagon is big. Nanny keeps peppermint candies in a metal dish. Her Christmas tree is small. She stays in the chair because her ankles are swollen. Uncle Ray will be there. He reads a lot. I like reading. Dad is done with the wash. He has to empty out the big tub. Now I can have pancakes. We went to Confession last night. I lied three times. I felt like crying for some reason. The manger scene has animals around baby Jesus. The incense smelled nice. Then Mrs. Engeln called so I rode my bike to the bakery to get the leftover bread and donuts again. I had frostbite but I ate two crumb buns on the way home. The river is frozen. They put floodlights on the bridge to light up the falls and the mill wheel.
--I have to go burn the garbage but Rachel keeps trying to feed me these pancakes.
My friend is named Dean. He has a dog called Andy. Dean and Chris and I go camping down the railroad tracks. Chris doesn't have a father. Dad said Dean sweeps the porch better than I do. Dad gets mad a lot but he takes me to work at Mt. Kipp sometimes. The breeze blows through his office even on the warmest days. Our family is different. We stay with Aunt Helen in Lambertville in the summer. Aunt Helen told everyone that Jimmy always comes back from the butcher with the best cut of beef and exactly the correct change. Joey Skillman and I gave a trumpet concert to the family in Nanny's back yard. I played Bridge Over Troubled Water. We charged 25 cents each. I caught a 36-inch carp with Uncle Walt. He told me to set the hook but I didn't know what that meant.
--Rachel says if I don't eat the pancakes then I won't have any more to eat until lunchtime.
Eva, Mary and Ellie are boarders at Mount Saint John's. Johnny and I take the bus. BJT-896 that was our license number. 735-7837 that was our phone. 33½ West Main Street. I called Eva a fucker. Dad told me that I will have a tough row to hoe in life.
I went to high school in Phillipsburg. Dan was my friend. I was shy. Pat was my girlfriend. We both had Mustangs. Mom W came to my graduation at Fort Jackson. That I do remember.
--Rachel is nice but she treats me like a baby.
Cy Fox's lumber yard burned down. Did I tell you that Nanny's in a nursing home? They don't call it a nursing home but everybody knows. Joey Skillman died in a car wreck. 18 years old. Dad had stomach cancer. He wasn't afraid of dying but he worried about us kiddies. I checked his pulse but he was gone. Brian and I carried his body. Chris died, the Viking prince. Prostate cancer. Nanny, too. Aunt Helen. Uncle Ray. Mom W. Uncle Walt. Cool air wafts over the family plot overlooking Lambertville.
Carefree children laughed and ran/with not a burden other than/the nettle's sting or rainy day/a mother's comfort miles away.
This nurse Rachel thinks I don't know where I am. I know exactly where I am. They don't call it a nursing home but everybody knows. I'm sorry for going on and on. Thank you for coming, dear friend. It's just that I'm a little tired at the moment.
--Rachel says I have to eat but I'm not really hungry.
We're going to Nanny's later. Our station wagon is big. Nanny keeps peppermint candies in a metal dish. Her Christmas tree is small. She stays in the chair because her ankles are swollen. Uncle Ray will be there. He reads a lot. I like reading. Dad is done with the wash. He has to empty out the big tub. Now I can have pancakes. We went to Confession last night. I lied three times. I felt like crying for some reason. The manger scene has animals around baby Jesus. The incense smelled nice. Then Mrs. Engeln called so I rode my bike to the bakery to get the leftover bread and donuts again. I had frostbite but I ate two crumb buns on the way home. The river is frozen. They put floodlights on the bridge to light up the falls and the mill wheel.
--I have to go burn the garbage but Rachel keeps trying to feed me these pancakes.
My friend is named Dean. He has a dog called Andy. Dean and Chris and I go camping down the railroad tracks. Chris doesn't have a father. Dad said Dean sweeps the porch better than I do. Dad gets mad a lot but he takes me to work at Mt. Kipp sometimes. The breeze blows through his office even on the warmest days. Our family is different. We stay with Aunt Helen in Lambertville in the summer. Aunt Helen told everyone that Jimmy always comes back from the butcher with the best cut of beef and exactly the correct change. Joey Skillman and I gave a trumpet concert to the family in Nanny's back yard. I played Bridge Over Troubled Water. We charged 25 cents each. I caught a 36-inch carp with Uncle Walt. He told me to set the hook but I didn't know what that meant.
--Rachel says if I don't eat the pancakes then I won't have any more to eat until lunchtime.
Eva, Mary and Ellie are boarders at Mount Saint John's. Johnny and I take the bus. BJT-896 that was our license number. 735-7837 that was our phone. 33½ West Main Street. I called Eva a fucker. Dad told me that I will have a tough row to hoe in life.
I went to high school in Phillipsburg. Dan was my friend. I was shy. Pat was my girlfriend. We both had Mustangs. Mom W came to my graduation at Fort Jackson. That I do remember.
--Rachel is nice but she treats me like a baby.
Cy Fox's lumber yard burned down. Did I tell you that Nanny's in a nursing home? They don't call it a nursing home but everybody knows. Joey Skillman died in a car wreck. 18 years old. Dad had stomach cancer. He wasn't afraid of dying but he worried about us kiddies. I checked his pulse but he was gone. Brian and I carried his body. Chris died, the Viking prince. Prostate cancer. Nanny, too. Aunt Helen. Uncle Ray. Mom W. Uncle Walt. Cool air wafts over the family plot overlooking Lambertville.
Carefree children laughed and ran/with not a burden other than/the nettle's sting or rainy day/a mother's comfort miles away.
This nurse Rachel thinks I don't know where I am. I know exactly where I am. They don't call it a nursing home but everybody knows. I'm sorry for going on and on. Thank you for coming, dear friend. It's just that I'm a little tired at the moment.
Friday, January 29, 2010
CSS Positioning Revisited
A CSS element is the basis of document structure. CSS positioning properties provide for the positioning of an element.
There are four positioning methods:
This syntax declares a style applicable to the element with ID pushdown that causes the element to be rendered 100 pixels from the top of its immediate parent:
<style type="text/css">
#pushdown { position:absolute; top:100px; }
</style>
This syntax declares a style called fixedPosition, applicable only to the <p> tag, that causes the element to be rendered 10 pixels from the top of the browser window:
<style type="text/css">
p.fixedPosition { position:fixed; top:10px; }
</style>
This syntax declares a style called moveRight, applicable only to the <h2> tag, that causes the element to be rendered 20 pixels to the right of the location at which it would have otherwise been presented:
<style type="text/css">
h2.moveRight { position:relative; left:20px; }
</style>
This snippet demonstrates the explicit use of position:static, which is normally the default, to override an existing global <h2> style:
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
h2
{
position:relative;
left:20px;
}
h2.static
{
position:static;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h2>Appears 20px the right</h2>
<h2 class="static">Overrides h2 style</h2>
</body>
</html>
There are four positioning methods:
- Absolute - element is positioned relative to the first parent element
- Fixed - element is positioned relative to the browser window
- Relative - element is positioned relative to its normal position
- Static - element is positioned in its default location
This syntax declares a style applicable to the element with ID pushdown that causes the element to be rendered 100 pixels from the top of its immediate parent:
<style type="text/css">
#pushdown { position:absolute; top:100px; }
</style>
This syntax declares a style called fixedPosition, applicable only to the <p> tag, that causes the element to be rendered 10 pixels from the top of the browser window:
<style type="text/css">
p.fixedPosition { position:fixed; top:10px; }
</style>
This syntax declares a style called moveRight, applicable only to the <h2> tag, that causes the element to be rendered 20 pixels to the right of the location at which it would have otherwise been presented:
<style type="text/css">
h2.moveRight { position:relative; left:20px; }
</style>
This snippet demonstrates the explicit use of position:static, which is normally the default, to override an existing global <h2> style:
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
h2
{
position:relative;
left:20px;
}
h2.static
{
position:static;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h2>Appears 20px the right</h2>
<h2 class="static">Overrides h2 style</h2>
</body>
</html>
The Spanish Subjunctive and Subordinated Adjective Clauses
Examples of the subjunctive with subordinated adjective clauses:
¿Hay una tienda cerca de aquí en que se vendan huevos?
Is there a store nearby that sells eggs?
The present subjunctive form of vender: vendan is used because the independent clause (Is there a store nearby) is in the present and the action in the dependent clause is not specifically prior to the action in the independent clause.
Prefieren amigos que sepan mucho de la política.
They prefer friends who know a lot about politics.
The present subjunctive form of saber: sepa is used because the independent clause (They prefer friends) is in the present and the action in the dependent clause is not specifically prior to the action in the independent clause.
Alejandro no pudo hallar una novia que se atreviera a casarse con él.
Alejandro could not find a girlfriend who would dare to marry him.
The imperfect subjunctive form of atreverse: se atreviera is used because the independent clause (Alejandro could not find) is in the preterit and the action in the dependent clause is not specifically prior to the action in the independent clause.
José busca una camioneta que no use mucha gasoina.
José is looking for a pick-up truck that doesn't use much gasoline.
The present subjunctive form of user: use is used because the independent clause (Jose is looking for) is in the present indicative tense and the action in the dependent clause is not specifically prior to the action in the independent clause.
Deseaban hallar un hotel que tuviera una piscina.
They wanted to find a hotel that had a pool.
The imperfect subjunctive form of tener: tuviera is used because the independent clause (They wanted to find a hotel) is in the imperfect and the action in the dependent clause is not specifically prior to the action in the independent clause.
Necesito recuperarme en un lugar que haga buen tiempo.
I need to recover in a place with nice weather.
The present subjunctive of hace: haga is used because the independent clause (I need to recover) is in the present tense and the action in the dependent clause is not specifically prior to the action in the independent clause.
Teníamos un perro que tenía ojos de color verde.
We used to have a dog who had green eyes.
This example is not a candidate for the subjunctive. The dependent clause (who had green eyes) refers to a specific dog that certainly existed.
Buscaron al periodista que escribió ese articuló.
They looked for the reporter who wrote that article.
This example is not a candidate for the subjunctive. Someone looked for a specific reporter who certainly existed, the reporter who wrote that article.
Los Marino tenían un retrato que era de sus bisabuelos.
The Marinos had a portrait of their great-grandparents.
This example is not a candidate for the subjunctive. The Marinos had a specific portrait that certainly existed.
¿Hay una tienda cerca de aquí en que se vendan huevos?
Is there a store nearby that sells eggs?
The present subjunctive form of vender: vendan is used because the independent clause (Is there a store nearby) is in the present and the action in the dependent clause is not specifically prior to the action in the independent clause.
Prefieren amigos que sepan mucho de la política.
They prefer friends who know a lot about politics.
The present subjunctive form of saber: sepa is used because the independent clause (They prefer friends) is in the present and the action in the dependent clause is not specifically prior to the action in the independent clause.
Alejandro no pudo hallar una novia que se atreviera a casarse con él.
Alejandro could not find a girlfriend who would dare to marry him.
The imperfect subjunctive form of atreverse: se atreviera is used because the independent clause (Alejandro could not find) is in the preterit and the action in the dependent clause is not specifically prior to the action in the independent clause.
José busca una camioneta que no use mucha gasoina.
José is looking for a pick-up truck that doesn't use much gasoline.
The present subjunctive form of user: use is used because the independent clause (Jose is looking for) is in the present indicative tense and the action in the dependent clause is not specifically prior to the action in the independent clause.
Deseaban hallar un hotel que tuviera una piscina.
They wanted to find a hotel that had a pool.
The imperfect subjunctive form of tener: tuviera is used because the independent clause (They wanted to find a hotel) is in the imperfect and the action in the dependent clause is not specifically prior to the action in the independent clause.
Necesito recuperarme en un lugar que haga buen tiempo.
I need to recover in a place with nice weather.
The present subjunctive of hace: haga is used because the independent clause (I need to recover) is in the present tense and the action in the dependent clause is not specifically prior to the action in the independent clause.
Teníamos un perro que tenía ojos de color verde.
We used to have a dog who had green eyes.
This example is not a candidate for the subjunctive. The dependent clause (who had green eyes) refers to a specific dog that certainly existed.
Buscaron al periodista que escribió ese articuló.
They looked for the reporter who wrote that article.
This example is not a candidate for the subjunctive. Someone looked for a specific reporter who certainly existed, the reporter who wrote that article.
Los Marino tenían un retrato que era de sus bisabuelos.
The Marinos had a portrait of their great-grandparents.
This example is not a candidate for the subjunctive. The Marinos had a specific portrait that certainly existed.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Latest Spanish Post
In our most recent post, we were discussing a SpanishPod conversation that takes place between a Cuban-American couple in Miami on their way to pick up food and supplies for a Christmas Eve party.
The next sentence we'll go over is:
Ojalá y nos alcance la comida, siempre me parece poco.
Literally: I hope and for us achieve the food, always to me it seems little.
I hope it's enough food - I always feel like there's not enough.
This is one of those culturally-influenced sentences that you will learn to understand when you hear it before you will be able to speak it like a true hispanoparlante. The word ojalá is of Arabic origin: law šá lláh means if God wants. For practical purposes, it translates to I wish, or, as in this example to I hope. The word alcanzar is used frequently in Spanish. It means to achieve or to reach. In this case, it means "I hope the food makes it," or "I hope the food lasts," sort of a wish that the food lasts until everyone's hunger is satisfied. Parecer means to seem.
alcanzar
to achieve, to reach (as in a goal, a milestone, or a place), to catch up with homework or studies.
From Oxford Language Dictionaries:
Synonyms: pillar, agarrar.
A este paso no los vamos a alcanzar nunca.
At this rate we'll never catch up with them. Note that the use of double negatives is correct Spanish grammar.
¡A que no me alcanzas!
Bet you can't catch me!
Empecé después que tú y ya te alcancé.
I started after you and I've caught up with you already. Note the past tense of empezar and alcanzar.
¡Qué alto está! Cualquier día alcanzará a su hermano.
Look how tall he's getting! He'll be catching up with his brother soon! Note the future tense of alcanzar and the personal a before hermano.
Los bomberos habían logrado alcanzar el segundo piso. Note the use of lograr, to achieve.
The firemen had managed to reach the second floor.
A propósito, he encontrado algo interesante acerca de la etymología de la palabra "alcanzar": El verbo alcanzar - hay variantes primitivas acalçar y alcalçar - tiene como étimo la voz latina calx, calcis talón. De un sentido inicial de ir tras sus talones se pasaría a perseguir, alcanzar, llegar hasta algo. Es muy común también la expresión dar alcance a. La raíz latina calx, calcis ha sido muy productiva en derivados: calcar, recalcar, coz, calzar, calcáneo, calzón, etc. Los cambios del verbo desde el primitivo acalçar hasta alcanzar no están del todo explicados: se habla de metátesis de consonantes y hasta de influjo árabe por el al- inicial. Las distintas hipótesis están recogidas por Corominas. La voz existe también en portugués: alcançar. - Pedro Menoyo Bárcena
So far we've covered:
Ya son las 11 de la mañana, ¡ya nos cogió tarde!
It's already 11; we're running late.
Sí, nos confiamos, suerte que Okeechobee está ahí mismo. Vamos, nos tomamos una colada por el camino.
Yes, we got overconfident, we're lucky that Okeechobee is right over there. Let's go - we can drink a colada on the way.
Tremenda cola debe de haber, todos los años es lo mismo para la Noche Buena. Pero esta vez sin excesos, sólo un puerco de 60 libras, con la canasta de yuca y plátano para los tostones, ¿ok? ¡Que te conozco!
There will be a long line; every year it's the same thing on Christmas Eve. But this time, let's not over do it, with only one 60 pounds of pork and a basket of yucca and plantains for the tostones. Ok? I know how you are.
Está bien, seremos 15 para comer, ya Pucha puso los frijoles a ablandar para el congrí.
It'll be fine, there will be 15 of us for dinner. Plus, Pucha already put the beans on the stove for the congri.
¡¿Tan temprano?!
So early?
Sí, acuérdate que hay que tenerlo casi listo para rellenar el puerco y asarlo todo junto. Ojalá y nos alcance la comida, siempre me parece poco.
Yes, remember that we need to have everything ready to stuff and roast the pork. I hope it's enough food - I always feel like there's not enough.
Ojalá y nos alcance la comida, siempre me parece poco.
Literally: I hope and for us achieve the food, always to me it seems little.
I hope it's enough food - I always feel like there's not enough.
The next sentence we'll go over is:
Ojalá y nos alcance la comida, siempre me parece poco.
Literally: I hope and for us achieve the food, always to me it seems little.
I hope it's enough food - I always feel like there's not enough.
This is one of those culturally-influenced sentences that you will learn to understand when you hear it before you will be able to speak it like a true hispanoparlante. The word ojalá is of Arabic origin: law šá lláh means if God wants. For practical purposes, it translates to I wish, or, as in this example to I hope. The word alcanzar is used frequently in Spanish. It means to achieve or to reach. In this case, it means "I hope the food makes it," or "I hope the food lasts," sort of a wish that the food lasts until everyone's hunger is satisfied. Parecer means to seem.
alcanzar
to achieve, to reach (as in a goal, a milestone, or a place), to catch up with homework or studies.
From Oxford Language Dictionaries:
Synonyms: pillar, agarrar.
A este paso no los vamos a alcanzar nunca.
At this rate we'll never catch up with them. Note that the use of double negatives is correct Spanish grammar.
¡A que no me alcanzas!
Bet you can't catch me!
Empecé después que tú y ya te alcancé.
I started after you and I've caught up with you already. Note the past tense of empezar and alcanzar.
¡Qué alto está! Cualquier día alcanzará a su hermano.
Look how tall he's getting! He'll be catching up with his brother soon! Note the future tense of alcanzar and the personal a before hermano.
Los bomberos habían logrado alcanzar el segundo piso. Note the use of lograr, to achieve.
The firemen had managed to reach the second floor.
A propósito, he encontrado algo interesante acerca de la etymología de la palabra "alcanzar": El verbo alcanzar - hay variantes primitivas acalçar y alcalçar - tiene como étimo la voz latina calx, calcis talón. De un sentido inicial de ir tras sus talones se pasaría a perseguir, alcanzar, llegar hasta algo. Es muy común también la expresión dar alcance a. La raíz latina calx, calcis ha sido muy productiva en derivados: calcar, recalcar, coz, calzar, calcáneo, calzón, etc. Los cambios del verbo desde el primitivo acalçar hasta alcanzar no están del todo explicados: se habla de metátesis de consonantes y hasta de influjo árabe por el al- inicial. Las distintas hipótesis están recogidas por Corominas. La voz existe también en portugués: alcançar. - Pedro Menoyo Bárcena
So far we've covered:
Ya son las 11 de la mañana, ¡ya nos cogió tarde!
It's already 11; we're running late.
Sí, nos confiamos, suerte que Okeechobee está ahí mismo. Vamos, nos tomamos una colada por el camino.
Yes, we got overconfident, we're lucky that Okeechobee is right over there. Let's go - we can drink a colada on the way.
Tremenda cola debe de haber, todos los años es lo mismo para la Noche Buena. Pero esta vez sin excesos, sólo un puerco de 60 libras, con la canasta de yuca y plátano para los tostones, ¿ok? ¡Que te conozco!
There will be a long line; every year it's the same thing on Christmas Eve. But this time, let's not over do it, with only one 60 pounds of pork and a basket of yucca and plantains for the tostones. Ok? I know how you are.
Está bien, seremos 15 para comer, ya Pucha puso los frijoles a ablandar para el congrí.
It'll be fine, there will be 15 of us for dinner. Plus, Pucha already put the beans on the stove for the congri.
¡¿Tan temprano?!
So early?
Sí, acuérdate que hay que tenerlo casi listo para rellenar el puerco y asarlo todo junto. Ojalá y nos alcance la comida, siempre me parece poco.
Yes, remember that we need to have everything ready to stuff and roast the pork. I hope it's enough food - I always feel like there's not enough.
Ojalá y nos alcance la comida, siempre me parece poco.
Literally: I hope and for us achieve the food, always to me it seems little.
I hope it's enough food - I always feel like there's not enough.
Cell Phone Battery Care
With advances in battery, charger, and phone technology over the past few years, it is no longer necessary to allow your cell phone battery to fully drain before each charge. "Memory Effect" is a condition that only affected older technology batteries (NiMH and NiCad batteries).
Additionally, there is no longer any realistic need to be concerned about overcharging.
cellpower.com offers the following advice:
Additionally, there is no longer any realistic need to be concerned about overcharging.
cellpower.com offers the following advice:
- You should fully charge your new battery before using it.
- For the first 3 charge cycles, fully charge the battery and then allow it to nearly fully discharge before fully charging it again.
- Overcharge protection capability is built into the power management functions of most phones, and most chargers also have overcharge protection capabilities built in to them. It is very unlikely that leaving your phone or battery on a charger for an extended period of time is going to cause any harm or damage; however, a good common-sense guideline is to not leave a battery on a charger for more than 12 hours.
- Avoid letting your battery sit dormant for long periods of time. If the battery is to be idle for an extended period (a month or more), store it in a cool, clean, dry location. Charge and re-condition it upon re-use.
- As a battery nears the end of it's productive life (typically considered 50% of its original capacity), the talk and stand-by times of the battery will be noticeably shorter. It is interesting to note that a Lithium-ion battery will, over it's useful lifetime, maintain more of a full capacity charge and then "die" rather suddenly.
- You should discard your old batteries to an entity that is set up to handle and dispose of batteries in an environmentally responsible way. Such companies or organizations exist in most every community. Many retail stores now offer battery disposal. For a list of disposal sites near you visit Call2Recycle.
Latest Chinese Post
We've been dissecting the ChinesePod elementary lesson: Getting Taller (Not Fatter).
Here is our next sentence:
豆豆以后要跟叔叔一样高
Dòudou yǐhòu yào gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo.
Literally: Doudou in the future will as compared to uncle same tall.
Doudou will be as tall as uncle someday.
豆豆
Dòudou
dòu means bean. Dòudou is a nickname that translates approximately to little bean. The entire character 豆 is a radical. So you would look it up in the Chinese dictionary using the radical 豆 + 0 strokes.
以后
yǐhòu
yǐhòu usually means after; in this example it's more correctly translated as in the future.
跟叔叔一样
gēn shūshu yīyàng
as tall as uncle
This is an important construction that means as ??? as ???. In English, we place the adjective first: as fast as Brian, as smart as the teacher, etc. In Mandarin, the person, place, or thing being compared to is placed first, then the adjective.
So far we have covered:
豆豆，这是叔叔，快说叔叔好
Dòudou, zhè shì shūshu. Kuài shuō shūshu hǎo.
Doudou, this is Uncle. Hurry up and say hello to Uncle.
叔叔好!
Shūshu hǎo!
Hello, Uncle!
豆豆，真乖！一年没见，长高了很多!
Dòudou, zhēn guāi! ī nián měi jiàn. zhǎng gāo le hěn duō.
Doudou, so well-behaved! I haven't seen you in a year. You've grown taller!
豆豆以后要跟叔叔一样高
Dòudou yǐhòu yào gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo.
Doudou will be as tall as uncle someday.
再 见!（zài jiàn!)
James
Here is our next sentence:
豆豆以后要跟叔叔一样高
Dòudou yǐhòu yào gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo.
Literally: Doudou in the future will as compared to uncle same tall.
Doudou will be as tall as uncle someday.
豆豆
Dòudou
dòu means bean. Dòudou is a nickname that translates approximately to little bean. The entire character 豆 is a radical. So you would look it up in the Chinese dictionary using the radical 豆 + 0 strokes.
以后
yǐhòu
yǐhòu usually means after; in this example it's more correctly translated as in the future.
跟叔叔一样
gēn shūshu yīyàng
as tall as uncle
This is an important construction that means as ??? as ???. In English, we place the adjective first: as fast as Brian, as smart as the teacher, etc. In Mandarin, the person, place, or thing being compared to is placed first, then the adjective.
So far we have covered:
豆豆，这是叔叔，快说叔叔好
Dòudou, zhè shì shūshu. Kuài shuō shūshu hǎo.
Doudou, this is Uncle. Hurry up and say hello to Uncle.
叔叔好!
Shūshu hǎo!
Hello, Uncle!
豆豆，真乖！一年没见，长高了很多!
Dòudou, zhēn guāi! ī nián měi jiàn. zhǎng gāo le hěn duō.
Doudou, so well-behaved! I haven't seen you in a year. You've grown taller!
豆豆以后要跟叔叔一样高
Dòudou yǐhòu yào gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo.
Doudou will be as tall as uncle someday.
再 见!（zài jiàn!)
James
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Apple, Facebook, and Google: The War for Hearts and Minds and What It Means to You
The rapid adoption of high-speed connections is inexorably bringing to realization the scenario for which Internet visionaries Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft have been positioning themselves for years.
There are other pretenders but these Web 2.0 behemoths are positioning themselves for world domination:
Already, more users worldwide access the Internet only by phone than do users with traditional computers. As this story unfolds, document editing, email, presentations, photo and video editing, games, tax preparation, music, digital books on the tablet -- in short, nearly all the applications the typical user needs -- will be available over the Web. Documents, photos, video and any other type of data will be stored in the Cloud. Users will require mostly netbooks, tablets, and phones. Fewer users will need a desktop or even a laptop computer. That means no Windows operating system, no Microsoft Office applications, no need to burn DVDs, and no flash drives.
The immediately compelling aspect of all of this to the consumer is that it's currently all free. Well, it's free in terms of money, but there are privacy and security considerations. For example, Google's current business model is based on ad-generated revenue. While no other user can see your unshared Google documents and Gmail, the system scans all this in order to target the ads you will see. Password security will also become increasingly important.
Notes
Cloud computing platform will result in a move away from corporate data centers for all but sensitive data. As the reputations of the Amazon and Microsoft data repositories grow more rock-solid perhaps they will be thought of as standard storage solutions for most applications used by all segments of the marketplace. There were 60,000 businesses using Amazon behind the scenes as of a report I read two years ago. Amazon Web services was already consuming more bandwidth than the rest of Amazon at that time. Banks and pharmaceutical companies were mentioned in particular as having tried AWS on a test basis before getting hooked by the value (Amazon and Microsoft are charging extremely low rates, pennies per gigabyte).
There are other pretenders but these Web 2.0 behemoths are positioning themselves for world domination:
- Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud and digital text platforms indicate that Amazon intends to be in the mix and also sees itself as the technology foundation for a potential global ecosystem of writers and publishers.
- Apple's expected tablet announcement today demonstrates that Apple increasingly sees itself as the potential middleman in the entire media content delivery industry (print, movies, television, Web).
- Google believes that as bandwidth and mindset shifts allow software and data to continue migrating to the cloud, many users will have only netbooks or phones rather than PC's. These users would only need Google's free Chrome operating system, Google Apps and Google Docs, leaving Windows only for power users and much of the corporate world.
- Microsoft is scrambling to play catch-up with its Azure cloud platform and Office Live, and is surprisingly being considered almost as an underdog, struggling on many fronts to maintain its leadership position.
- Facebook envisions itself as the portal through which nearly all users will access everything else.
Already, more users worldwide access the Internet only by phone than do users with traditional computers. As this story unfolds, document editing, email, presentations, photo and video editing, games, tax preparation, music, digital books on the tablet -- in short, nearly all the applications the typical user needs -- will be available over the Web. Documents, photos, video and any other type of data will be stored in the Cloud. Users will require mostly netbooks, tablets, and phones. Fewer users will need a desktop or even a laptop computer. That means no Windows operating system, no Microsoft Office applications, no need to burn DVDs, and no flash drives.
The immediately compelling aspect of all of this to the consumer is that it's currently all free. Well, it's free in terms of money, but there are privacy and security considerations. For example, Google's current business model is based on ad-generated revenue. While no other user can see your unshared Google documents and Gmail, the system scans all this in order to target the ads you will see. Password security will also become increasingly important.
Notes
Cloud computing platform will result in a move away from corporate data centers for all but sensitive data. As the reputations of the Amazon and Microsoft data repositories grow more rock-solid perhaps they will be thought of as standard storage solutions for most applications used by all segments of the marketplace. There were 60,000 businesses using Amazon behind the scenes as of a report I read two years ago. Amazon Web services was already consuming more bandwidth than the rest of Amazon at that time. Banks and pharmaceutical companies were mentioned in particular as having tried AWS on a test basis before getting hooked by the value (Amazon and Microsoft are charging extremely low rates, pennies per gigabyte).
Security is good with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft's Azure: The developer uses SQL identical to that which would be used with a corporate database, but with a connection string that routes the data over the Internet. Amazon/Microsoft takes care of scaling the number of servers and bandwidth, fault-tolerance of the drives, transaction processing, etc.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Your Free Phone Cost $240
Subsidized phones help more people get cool phones, but they're evil in the way no-money-down mortgages are evil. Most people don't think about what they're really paying, or what they're really overpaying. Just like with mortgages, mobile carriers charge more than a phone is really worth and drag it out over two years. But research generally shows that American consumers react to up-front prices, no matter how deeply they'll be in the red down the road. --Sascha Segan
I haven't researched this personally but this PC Magazine Opinion article reports that T-Mobile is the first carrier to allow the consumer to pay the full price for the phone up front rather than to have it buried as a hidden cost in your plan contract, allowing the buyer to compare the real costs of each option. If consumers cared enough to take advantage of the plan, other carriers would have to follow suit. It would be nice to see vendors begin to follow Google's Nexus One business model and offer the phone with or without a service plan, allowing the buyer to shop for the best plan deal.
Anyway, Mr. Segan's "truth-in-billing" idea is right on. The consumer should be able to comparison-shop by parsing plans for subsidies and other fees and supposed taxes.
Read the full article for more: Your Free Phone Cost $240
I haven't researched this personally but this PC Magazine Opinion article reports that T-Mobile is the first carrier to allow the consumer to pay the full price for the phone up front rather than to have it buried as a hidden cost in your plan contract, allowing the buyer to compare the real costs of each option. If consumers cared enough to take advantage of the plan, other carriers would have to follow suit. It would be nice to see vendors begin to follow Google's Nexus One business model and offer the phone with or without a service plan, allowing the buyer to shop for the best plan deal.
Anyway, Mr. Segan's "truth-in-billing" idea is right on. The consumer should be able to comparison-shop by parsing plans for subsidies and other fees and supposed taxes.
Read the full article for more: Your Free Phone Cost $240
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