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Americans in 1776 did have British accents in that American accents and British accents hadn’t yet diverged. That’s not too surprising.
What’s surprising, though, is that those accents were much closer to today’s American accents than to today’s British accents. While both have changed over time, it’s actually British accents that have changed much more drastically since then.
” — Nick Patrick - Did Americans in 1776 have British accents?“How did this captain know – from fifty feet away – what the father couldn’t recognize from just ten? Drowning is not the violent, splashing, call for help that most people expect.” — Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning
Hack -
Political reporting is founded on very dysfunctional relationships. You need them and they need you, but on some level they hate and distrust you (and on some level you, too, hate and distrust them)…
Mini-Microsoft: The KIN-fusing KIN-clusion to KIN, and FY11 Microsoft Layoff Rumors -
It’s unimaginable how thoroughly Microsoft squandered the Danger acquisition. This could be a case study in how not to run a business. Needless to say, I have my doubts about Microsoft’s ability to regroup and launch Windows Phone 7.
One man’s quest to liberate all government information — with or without the government’s help.
(I’d love to work with this man.)
“Energy companies have developed breathtaking technology to drill deeper into the seabed beneath ever deeper waters, yet they have little more than absorbent mops and floating Shop-Vacs to clean up the mess if it all goes wrong. Their disaster plan—the only technologically workable plan—is merely hoping there is no disaster, which is no plan at all.” —
This is an amazing first look at how it all went down. Devastating and heartbreaking. This can never be allowed to happen again.
“Remember, don’t drink and drive. Don’t drink. You are fine just the way you are. Keep 20 cents in your pocket — we want to talk with you on Monday, not about you. See the light. Enjoy your weekend. And remember it’s alright to be a little bit crazy…just don’t don’t do anything stupid.” —
Dr. Frazee is retiring after 16 years as principal at Midland High School. A lot has changed at MHS since I graduated in 2003 — most notably, the building’s exterior — but one very important tradition has remained: Friday announcements.
Every week, Dr. Frazee closed his Friday announcements with the same advice for students, continuing a tradition started by Midland High’s previous principal, Mr. Shepard. And though there may have been a few attempts to modernize it, I think it has stood the test of time.
After putting down the microphone today, Dr. Frazee paused and reflected on the moment. “With my 16 and Mr. Shepard’s eight, that’s 24 years somebody’s been listening to that.”
The tradition definitely had an impact on me. And if you attended Midland High, I bet you still remember the words.
So here it is — a recording of Dr. Frazee’s closing message for old time’s sake. Please feel free to share this MP3 with other Chemic alumni and help preserve Dr. Frazee’s legacy.
Download Dr. Frazee’s Friday Announcements - MP3
Classy.
“Originally, however, speech recognition was going to lead to artificial intelligence. Computing pioneer Alan Turing suggested in 1950 that we “provide the machine with the best sense organs that money can buy, and then teach it to understand and speak English.” Over half a century later, artificial intelligence has become prerequisite to understanding speech. We have neither the chicken nor the egg.” — Rest in Peas: The Unrecognized Death of Speech Recognition - robertfortner’s posterous