Sign Language revisited...

It's already re-run season on Radio-Canada.

Last November, I've blogged about "Le moment de vérité". On that edition of the show, contestants had one week to learn... 250 signs. No less. :)

I'm learning at my own pace, so between November and March, I've probably augmented my sign vocabulary by that much. These guys had to do that in just one week. Oops. :)

Last Saturday, I saw the preview for tonight show. The preview was presented... by René Simard. A popular singer and TV host here in Québec.

I was thrilled to see René Simard signing in LSQ (Québec Sign Language). The ASL signer would notice that there are some surprisingly similarities between the two sign languages.

Then, I was reminded that his two sons are... deaf.

If you want to learn more, I've done some searches on the internet. I've found this article (in French) about René Simard and Marie-Josée Taillefer and their two deaf sons.

On a personal note, I've been trying to teach some basic signs to my dad. He's completely deaf on one ear, and I might say that since his last exam, the other ear is quickly going deaf too.

Is teaching some signs to someone who is in his 80s and Alzheimer... Mission Impossible? To some extents... yes. :)

(But he has picked up some signs, like Toilet! Fine, Bad etc). The doctors approve my attempts. Actually, anything to keep him intellectually active is welcome, so why not sign language?

In a way... it's a labour of love. He's my dad... and it seems to me that what is the most precious thing in life... to someone who means a lot to you, someone who is in fact 50% of you...

Communication.

To stay in touch in him... Fighting with him... against all illnesses that are robbing my dad...

Sigh...

The love of a son for his dad.

-E

Earth Hour...

Today is the day... or rather, tonight is the night.

"On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., join millions of people around the world in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund.

Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including the US flagships–Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco and Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

We invite everyone throughout North America and around the world to turn off the lights for an hour starting at 8 p.m. (your own local time)–whether at home or at work, with friends and family or solo, in a big city or a small town."

You can read more from their web site: Earth Hour.

What I'll do tonight at 8PM? Mhhh... I'll be at home. Already, I don't keep much lights on, so I won't have much to shut off. If it isn't too obscenely cold, I'll bring a chair on the patio and observe the sky... or more likely the neighborhood. :)

Cheers,

-E

GPS for the blind...

This is a blog entry I have to "somewhat" simulcast. On FC, I put the emphasis on the human aspect. Here, I can get geeky all I want... and post links and mention names. :)

Sunday night, I was watching Radio-Canada's Découverte, their science show.

They ran a story about talking GPS. No big deal as you might say. You can get one installed on your car. Beside their screen, they guide you verbally. "Turn right on 4th avenue. Go 300ft and turn left".

The folks at a small local company, Humanwear thought: Why not bringing that technology to the blind?

This story touches me. One of my naive... ideals when I began programming, is that computer could help... humans. Especially with our handicaps. I guess it's the Good Samaritan in me speaking. :) Anyhow, and this was way back in the 80s, there were researches on visual recognition.

Some hard facts of life (such as $$$ and the urge to have... a life) the academic world wasn't exactly for me, so like many students freshly out of the university... I worked for businesses. I refined my craft there and here I am today. Nonetheless my interest was and still is about computers being programmed to help us cope with the real life... despite our handicaps.

And it seems to me that the worst handicap... is being blind. Close your eyes, and try to get outside and walk a few blocks. Have fun. :)

So the story touches me deeply, for the human aspect. As a software programmer, it gets interesting to see how computers are programmed to do wonders. Also, there's that dilemma that all programmers face: To be able to *fully* understand the problem, so a programmer could work on a computer model.

We can second guess all we want based on observations, but only blind people could express their need. They're the ones who can't see.

One surprising comment that kept coming: The need to know where they are. It's one thing to have a service dog, but you must have in your head a map of the city, and to be able to pinpoint where you are... and your only clues are tactile feels (such as intersections) and audible clues.

Often blind people had to ask people where they are.

So they work on a prototype. They used a Compaq iPaq PDA (ironically, it's exactly the same model I have), a GPS receiver, a map database, and an extra battery pack, because all these things eat lots of energy. So, they went from the straight talking GPS for cars and augmented with data that blind people need to know.

Street intersection. There might be a traffic light or a stop sign. There might be an island half way. Perhaps to warn that the street has just one sidewalk and it is on the other side.

Then they augmented the database by including bus stops, then some obstacles like fire hydrants.

Now their goal is to augment the database again by showing where businesses are.

The technology has its quirks and shortcomings. It can't tell that sidewalks haven't been plowed (and boy did we have a lot of snow this season), nor it will tell you when it's safe to cross the street, even when you have a service dog.

To the amazement of programmers, when they ask blind people to test drive their prototypes, there were new uses that were found.

-"When I ride the bus, I'm no longer dependant on the bus driver to tell me when I should get off. The talking GPS keeps me updated about where we're going."

-"I didn't know there was that café next by, so I can stop and have a cup of coffee. Nor I was aware of that bakery. So this technology gives me eyes. I can SEE my city... again, and no longer missing what is there".

Probably the story won't mean much to you, but to me, in many ways, it does.

Links:
Radio-Canada Découverte. Look for the Sunday March 23rd 2008 show and for "GPS pour aveugles". Click on the link and you'll see the story. The story is in French, and sadly, there's no closed-captioning.

Humanware. A bilingual French/English site. Besides their talking GPS, they have all sort of funky equipments.

I was shoveling snow...

Q: What were you doing for the past two months?
A: I was shoveling snow.

Q: Did you go to the movies?
A: No, I was shoveling snow.

Q: Did you read books, magazines, anything?
A: Too tired. I was shoveling snow.

Q: What are you going to do today?
A: I'll shovel snow. (On the roof, with my landlord).

Q: Do you have a life?
A: Sigh.... Nope, I was shoveling snow !!

I wish I could forget my shovel. :)

Winter... did someone say winter? :)

Got about 40 cm of snow, and we're the lucky ones. Ottawa, 51cm. Trois-Rivières and Québec, both near 60cm. For our American friends, we're talking of a foot and a half of snow to *2* feet of snow! Welcome to Canada! :)

This is the 3rd major snowstorm in a week (last Saturday, Wednesday and this Saturday).

For Montréal, it's the 29th snowstorm of the season. Ayup. *29* snowstorms... so far. The 30th is scheduled to hit us by mid-week... if the weathermen have their way. We're close to historical amount of snow. I can say that I haven't seen this much snow in my entire life.

What a difference a day makes...

The image on the left is the leftovers from the Wednesday storm. I didn't have time... or rather my courage ran out for shoveling my patio.

The image on the right was taken today, after the storm.

When they say that a picture is worth a thousand words... I'll let those words speak for me.

Can you say... ARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHH!!!! :)

(to give you a scale, I'm holding a standard 8 1/2 X 11" notepad.

Then... and now !

Regulars from FC will recognize my unofficial "bedroom webcam". I love nature and I find important when I get up the next morning... to see the outside world.

The image on the left was taken last November after our very first snowstorm.

The neighbor's fence is 4ft tall. So I'd say we're between 5 and 6ft of snow on ground.

I'm a little bit worried when all this snow is going to melt.

<--- During the storm, last night... The dilemma I see... during and after a snowstorm... Snow does embellishes the city. It is beautiful, immensely beautiful.

Especially when seen from inside, where it's warm and cozy... :)

When so you don't have to feel the bitter wind, or like last night, you are spared from the ice pellets grinding on your face,

When you don't have to shovel the snow....

When you don't have to go outside... to go to work, or bring food and other supplies in.

However, when it's the 29th snowstorm of the season that you're shoveling, and your arms and your back are killing you... The beauty of winter fades a bit.

That's understandable, yes... but nonetheless a bit sad. We're in March, this is the baroud d'honneur for winter. Spring will arrive very soon, regardless of what the calendar will say.

From there, it's bye-bye snow...

So...

Welcome to Canada and I hope you have appreciated this quick trip to my world, today!!!

PS: Stay warm! :)

-E

PPS: Just to chill you, click on this link and see the photos of Québec City's Ice Hotel. Would you believe that a lot of their clientele comes from people... living in warmer climates? A lot of Americans from... Florida, California, even Hawaii !!! I'm speechless.

PPPS: I _might_ have a chance by the end of this month to visit the Ice Hotel. It's very iffy, but if I'm in Québec City, I'll do everything to stop by the hotel! I'll let you know how it turned out. If you think I'm a bit weird... you're probably right. :) Cheers! -E

Signing in ASL... or trilingual woes...

It's been a while that I'm brewing this project: having a little "vlog" of my own, aka video blog.

In this blog, I've been mentioning that I'm learning ASL. At a slow pace, it's true. If life wasn't so busy, I'd spend more time learning.

Anyhow, I feel that I'm ready. I am at the point which... instead of watching others signing in ASL, it's *MY* turn to sign in ASL.

I have a vocabulary of ... about a 4-year old. But enough vocabulary to sign short sentences.

So I was thinking of a welcome message to my blog... in ASL.

My plan was to sign AND speak at the same time, in English. This would avoid having to do some post-productions (like adding closed captioning). I already have some editing softwares that would do that, if necessary.

By trial and error, I found out that the digicam I already have, in its "movie" setting give very decent results. It would quickly fill out the memory card, on the other hand for small projects like this one, it isn't a problem. The supposedly hi-res Logitech webcam was the worst. Oh well..

So I tried a rehearsal tonight... Yikes.

Well, I could sign... or I could speak in English or course, but I couldn't sign AND speak at the same time.

People who are interested in the way our mind works, this is interesting. Yeah I know, for everyone else, that's boring stuff.

It's a struggle for me to think in words. I think in images. So I have some affinities with a visual language, such as Sign Language.

I could think directly in ASL and French, my mother tongue... but English? I have to think in French and then translate in English.

So it means that at one time, I was juggling with THREE languages.

ASL: HELLO! NICE MEET-YOU. ME NAME J-A-C-Q-U-E-S. ME HEARING. I LEARN-LEARN A-S-L. CAN SIGN A LITTLE. WELCOME B-L-O-G MINE.

French: Bonjour, heureux de vous voir! Mon nom est Jacques. J'entends et j'étudie présentment l'ASL. Bienvenue à mon blogue!

English: Hello! Nice to meet you! My name is Jacques. I'm hearing and I'm learning ASL. I can sign a little. Welcome to my blog!

So going in my mind 3 languages at the same time. After a few words, I was overwhelmed!

Hehehe...

When I'll figure how to add closed captioning, I'll shoot a silent version with me just signing and upload it here.

If you see a guy in kilt doing weird things with his hands, now you know. :)

Cheers,

-E

International Women's Day...

... or "Journée internationale des femmes" in French. There were events like these all over the country (do notice the snow. This is Montréal, after all. :) ).

It is one of those days, which my mhhh... militant fiber is there and screaming.

Those days? Whether Martin Luther King Day, whether... the Pride Day... whether too many days...

And THANKFULLY these days exist... yet I'd wish that someday, the raison d'être would vanish.

Maybe it's the Good Samaritan in me... maybe I have this seemingly naïve ideal... that we're all... humans.

So naive, it seems...

There shouldn't be humans penalized, because they happen to live in a not so welcoming country, shall I say...

No matter where on earth, there and here,

There shouldn't be humans considered as less of an human,

based on race,
based on sexual orientation...
...and based on gender.

It is on days like this one, I have this urge to shout to the top of my lungs, these very words...

All human beings,
are born equal,
in dignity and rights.

Those are the very first words... of the Universal Declaration of... Human Rights.


We can pride ourselves that we we live in a supposedly modern world, and yet in the very way we behave... it's still the dark age...

Cheers to all my fellow female companions. It's your day!

-E

(The last two photos were taken during a quick trip to Ottawa last September. The monument is... of course the Human Rights monument located on Elgin Street near city hall, and also within a few minutes of walk from the Parliament. If you happen to visit this monument, you'll be told that the monument has been blessed by the Dalaï Lama and presumably, some of his good spirit is lingering...

... and that concludes my tip to the savvy travelers. :) )

Mobile internet... a tiny step closer...

In the meantime, we still do not have the iPhone nor the Sidekick...

I change my cellphone recently and I kept the old one as a backup. The beauty of GSM phones (which are also the lot of the iPhone and Sidekick), you just remove the SIM card from one phone, put in the other, and voilà!

The new phone was for the trip in France last January, so it would work there (and it did, and it was a lifesaver at Roissy / Charles-de-Gaulle airport. :) ).

The frustrating part is that nearly all new cellphones... are internet ready. Mine does that. It has some applications (web browser, Yahoo/MSN Messenger, mail, etc) and the phone itself can work as a modem to a laptop.

Sadly, our cellphone providers haven't beefed up their network, so they charge insane amount of money even for light use of the internet. This is why Apple didn't launch their iPhone in Canada, and this is why the Sidekick is being phased out. The use of a "Crackberry" in Canada can be costly. What an irony, considering that RIM, the makers of the Blackberry is... Canadian.

Frustrating.

Today, I was playing with my still quite brand new cell phone, and somehow I accidentally activated its internal web browser. I know too well what would happen next. A warning page that anything I would do past that point will cost me an arm and a leg.

It's the feeling of being at a candy store... empty pocket. :) All the candies you want are there... you have no money to buy just even one candy. :)

Lo and behold, this time the text has changed. I'm invited to sign up for their "unlimited internet" plan. Cost? $7 per month. (If you can read French, click on the photo).

What? No monthly 3-figure amount of money? Unlimited internet that is truly... unlimited? For just $7 a month? There must be a gotcha, somewhere, right? :)

Well, I checked. Indeed unlimited internet for $7 per month... with only the applications that are stored on the cellphone... and as long as the phone doesn't act as a modem for a laptop. For those purposes, the "arm and a leg" plan still apply.

A bummer, but that's a start, so I sign up for their somewhat unlimited.. Mobile dirt road access to the internet. It's still better than nothing. :)

I have issues about human speech, and voice over a cellphone, is my absolute nightmare.

South of the border, when you see the things deaf persons do with their Sidekick, and how handy such devices have become in their day to day life... It is difficult to imagine that these devices are just a dream here in Canada, and have to live... without them.

And for me, dreaming to have a Sidekick. Sigh...

Also as a traveler, whether checking planes, weather, or last minute searches at the place I'm going, I can vouch that internet on the go is very useful.

An iPhone or a Sidekick is a tad... more compact than a laptop, nor they need to be close to a Wi-Fi access point to work. :)

One last digression: When I was in France last January, one of my cousins had a French iPhone.

Their data plan? Unlimited internet for the equivalent of $35 CDN. Restrictions? After the first 500Meg, the service provider (Orange) reserves the right to slow down the access to the internet. Wow.

By the way, they are currently testing high quality video live conversations.. They openly invite deaf people to try their service. Yup, having conversations... in Sign Language.

This is how spiffy cellphone services have become in France...

What a contrast with Canada.

Sigh...

-E

Another XO laptop is on the way ?!?

I checked my mail this morning... and I was floored to read this mail from OLPC:

---------- 8< ---------

Your XO laptop is on its way.

We're happy to inform you that your XO laptop has shipped. In order to help you get the most out of your experience with the XO and One Laptop per Child (OLPC), here are some important links. Please save this email for reference.

To find out everything you need to know to get started with your XO laptop, please click here or visit www.laptopgiving.org/start.

Your order reference number: 700000xxxx

Please click here to track your order on our website.

---------- 8< ---------

What's the problem? I got my XO laptop *2* months ago, and it arrived without fanfafe. No e-mail, no nothing. Now they're telling that it's on its way ?!?

I hide the details but the tracking number they supplied is invalid. I called my credit card company, I explained what is happening, and they assure me that there were no charge made.

I don't know what to think: Will I get another XO laptop, and this one for free ?!? Is it the e-mail I should have got last January? Your guess is as good as mine.

It seems it's total chaos at OLPC. Many complaints that the laptops still haven't shipped We're in March, for orders placed in November and December. What a waste of good will. Now they have plenty of pissed off people.

It makes me wondering that if they can't deliver laptops in the US and Canada, where we have top notch infrastructures... how do they manage to deliver laptops to third world countries, and to support their laptops? I'm scratching my head.

Clevergirl reported that Nicholas Negronpote is leaving OLPC. Probably for good reasons. I guess it's one thing to design a laptop (and the little XO is a marvel. I'd say this is text-book "rightsizing" and that thing is incredibly *rugged*!)... and it is another to operate a company.

Again from Clevergirl, if you're wondering what a $200 laptop looks like, and it is no-toy laptop, see the video here. Also, see the XO laptops in the field (limited closed-captioning).

Personally, I'd say it's an incredible laptop. VERY rugged hardware like I've rarely seen. It is the ideal companion to a traveler.

(I'm looking for external hardwares, like an ethernet to USB, because the access to the internet is just Wi-Fi. Also, I have to figure out how to copy files from a memory card to an external hard disk or memory key. Once these glitches solved, my fancy schmancy (and fragile) Vaio laptop will get pampered at home, while the XO will travel with me, and probably where few laptops I've been. :) )

Not bad for a $200 laptop, eh? :)

Cheers,

-E

Travel, travel...

Well, it seems that I'm going to travel, after all.

Mid-May: There's a "forumfest" brewing up in California. Either Sacramento or San Francisco. Personally, like the song, I wish I can say that I left my heart over there. ;)

Now, I have to figure out whether I can take a 2-week vacations. I wish to go to California the slow way. Maybe by train, and then returning by plane. Might take too long time, especially if I want to spend some times in SF, but I'm checking things.

Mid-June: Blogadelphia. The mid-Atlantic contingent of bloggers will be there (in Philadelphia).

End of July: Lowell festival blogfest. This time, the Northeast contingent of bloggers. :) On this one, I hope I can combine with a visit in Boston... and a stay on Cape Cod.

Funny, they all say that I have to bring my kilt. Sheesh...

Do they think that I sleep with a kilt on? :) Take a shower or go to the beach with a kilt? :)

Hehehe....

PS: As a side-note, dreaming of *summer* events when I'm deeply buried in the snow...

This is sweet. Very sweet. :)

Cheers,

-E

A straight questionnaire :)

<--- During the Montréal 2006 Outgames, there were many other events... which were targeted to straights. Photo taken on Ste.Catherine street, in the Gay Village.

I saw this questionnaire circulating from bloggers to bloggers and it landed at FC. (you probably have seen it, or some variants in e-mail too).

Pass this questionnaire to people you know... who would enjoy it. :)

-----

This questionnaire is for self-avowed heterosexuals only^*. If you are not openly heterosexual, pass it on to a friend who is. Please try to answer the questions as candidly as possible. Your responses will be held in strict confidence and you anonymity fully protected.

1. What do you think caused your heterosexuality?

2. When and how did you first decide you were a heterosexual?

3. Is it possible your heterosexuality is just a phase you may grow out of?

4. Could it be that your heterosexuality stems from a neurotic fear of others of the same sex?

5. To whom have you disclosed your heterosexual tendencies? How did they react?

6. Why do heterosexuals feel compelled to seduce others into their lifestyle?

7. Why do you insist on flaunting your heterosexuality? Can't you just be what you are and keep it quiet?

8. Would you want your children to be heterosexual, knowing the problems they'd face?

9. With all the societal support for marriage, the divorce rate is spiraling. Why are there so few stable relationships among heterosexuals?

10. Considering the menace of overpopulation, how could the human race survive if everyone were heterosexual?

11. Could you trust a heterosexual therapist to be objective? Don't you fear s/he might be inclined to influence you in the direction of her/his learnings?

12. Heterosexuals are notorious for assigning themselves and one another rigid, stereotyped sex roles. Why must you cling to such unhealthy role-playing?

13. Why are heterosexuals so promiscuous?

14. There seem to be very few happy heterosexuals. Techniques have been developed that might enable you to change if you really want to. After all, you never deliberately chose to be heterosexual, did you? Have you considered aversion therapy or Heterosexuals Anonymous?

A glimpse of serenity and peacefulness...

Beauséjour means "nice stay" in French, and boy it was indeed a nice (albeit short) stay, last Sunday.

With a pair of (loaned) snowshoes, I went to Beauséjour Park. The good thing is the park is located close to my home.

The park is the pride of our neighborhood. You'll see why in a few minutes. It's a heavily wooded park and it is located along the shore of the Rivière-des-Prairies.

The day was nice, sunny and warm, and after the last snowstorm that has dumped another foot of snow, it was an opportunity to get outside.



This is the entrance to the park (which is plowed. There are some plowed trails in the park too).

In the distance the "chalet".

PS: Notice the height of the snow. :)

Above waist high snow.

Note: today (wednesday), we had another snowstorm...

... and yes, we were graced or ahem dumped with another foot of snow today, and guess what? Another foot of snow is forecasted for the upcoming weekend. I kid you not!

So what you see on these photos is already... very passé. :)



It's winter wonderland...


















Path... path... path...











Sun peeking through the trees...

Calm, peacefulness...

Silence, serenity...

And one wonders why I love nature? :)

Well, my friends, I hope you enjoy this walk in the park. Canadian style. :)

Cheers!

-E

Nini la chance... or a mighty nostalgia trip!

I don't watch television _that_ much. News bulletins, weather, at times some documentaries and that's that.

It seems that for the weekend they unscramble more channels, so I got one of those "nostalgia" channel.

And boy I was yanked... in a past that I didn't suspect it got that far. A delightful hour with singer Annie Cordy, and the songs she sang in the 70s.

It's been already 30 years, almost 40 years ago. Wow. That doesn't make me feel young!!!

And it's amazing that after a few hesitations, all of a sudden it comes back to you.

I had that same feeling, and probably at the most oddest place, singing in duo at 10 000km away from Paris, in front of an English-speaking public. Not bad eh? :)

A street artist by the name of Joshua, a former Frenchman... at the Vancouver's Grandville Island Market, on a warm day of December 2006. He spotted my "Québec" jacket. He invited to join him and to sing along in front of the public. And I dare to say YES!

Singing in French... songs from Yves Montand, Charles Aznavour and Michel Sardou of that same era, in front of a (small) public who obviously never heard anything in French but were curious at us. An impromptu duo. It's one of those crazy things that makes you love travels.

Boy I thank him for "priming" me, so i wouldn't look too silly. Those songs were tucked deep deep in my memory, as I haven't heard them in decades, and then after a few seconds, poof it's all fresh.

Many crazy things also happened during that trip to Vancouver, good and bad, but I digress. Suffice to say that of all my travels, I have highly fond memories. You can read my original blog entry at FC about that crazy trip to Vancouver. End of digression again. :)

So... when you need a video for your blog, say about Annie Cordy, where do you turn to? YouTube, of course.

The snippet I have chosen looks like from the show I saw earlier this evening. "Nini la chance" is the kind of easy going music, with style that were prevailing in the 70s.

Somehow, with all the techno, and all the modern music, which to me it's awful noise... I kind of regret those songs from the 70s.

Also, look at the orchestra. Back then, they had $$$ ! Today's television wouldn't be able to afford so many live musicians. Also the use of *real* instruments back then, and no electronic keyboard around.

Sometimes, when one wonders about culture, well this *is* culture. A snapshot of our world, how we live, and when delivered later, it makes you dreaming all over again.

I was a bit sad that the show lasted just an hour, I'd take an additional hour or two or even three with Annie Cordy. Sigh. For the songs themselves, for the memories that they brought to the surface... and about an era that seems getting incredibly distant.

So, here she goes, Annie Cordy with Nini la Chance.... (Sorry, no close captioning, I couldn't find a clip with it).



Cheers,

-E