BRAINPAN LEAKAGE

Okay, folks…

You’ll be seeing something new on the blog posts these days… It looks a little something like this:

In fact, there is probably an icon just exactly like this one sitting just below the title of this very blog post. Uncanny, eh?

Well, you see, it’s like this… There is a plug in for WordPress which allows your blog posts to be converted to audio via a text to speech converter. Granted, it isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination. For instance, it pronounces E K as Eck… and when I write one of my thoughtful pauses into a post… one which should sound and read something like a long hum… the converter stumbles over that with a hrrrmmmmm as you just heard.

I suppose this all means I will have to start adjusting my spelling on some things… However, I have already noticed that it doesn’t necessarily pronounce some normal everyday words all that well. And, I am not about to start spelling things phonetically just for the sake of the converter.

Still, like I said, although it isn’t perfect, it is a far cry better than the garbled phoneme spewing “Doctor Sbaitso” program that came with the original sound cards back in the day… read, prehistoric computer era.

But, what makes it totally excellent and incredibly cool is the fact that it now allows Brainpan Leakage to be listened to as well as read. This means you can subscribe to B L via Odiogo… the service that does the conversion… and download the entries as MP3’s or as sound files on your iPod. If listening is your preference, of course… Me, I prefer reading, especially since I stick pictures and even an occasional music link in my posts.

Either way, you’ll probably still want to subscribe to the notifications via the blog itself. That way, you’ll be able to click your way over here and read the entry whenever the text to speech converter stumbles a bit.

Anyhow, you can do the audio subscribing thing below. Or, you can find the same link in the Networked Blogs section of the menu on the right side panel.

Okay… I have some other words to write, so I’ll sign off. And never fear… Just because I am rambling now, it doesn’t mean the schedule has changed.  The next installment of… let’s see if this works… Maa waage… still deploys tomorrow.

More to come…

Murv

… ADDENDUM: Well, I edited this after the sound file had been generated, so if you listen you will notice that a couple of sentences are skipped… Also, my Mahwage substitute didn’t fare any better… Oh well. Apparently machines can’t speak with a lisp.

… ADDENDUM 2: Apparently the service re-gens updated versions of the file… I did not know that. Way cool.

No, not what’serface’s ex hubby. I mean the dude in the white truck with the logo on the side…You know, the company made even more famous by Tom Hanks and a volleyball named Wilson… The one that set up shop with Kinkys, er, I mean Kinkos…

Yeah, that FedEx.

And, yeah, it was a dude and not a dudette. I know because I saw him out my office window when he was heading back out to his truck.

So, what’s so special about the FedEx dude dropping by. Well, now that you ask, nothing really. However, the contents of the package he left on my porch are kind of cool.

Wanna know what it is?

Of course, since you are being so uppity, asking me what’s so special and stuff like that, maybe you don’t want to know.

What’s that?

Uh-huh…thought so.

Well I guess you should have thought about that before you said what you did. Maybe I’ll just keep it all to myself and you’ll just have to go around wondering what it is.

Nope. Won’t bother me a bit. Remember me? The guy who leaves cliffhangers at the ends of his books?…

Yeah. I kinda figured as much.

Uh-huh…Well…Okay…Apology accepted. Just don’t let it happen again…

So, anyway, now that we have all THAT settled, the contents of the nifty front porch box were none other than a bunch of promotional bookmarks!

Yeah? Well, I kinda think they’re cool.

Fine. Be that way.

For those of you who are still interested below is a scan. The bookmarks are 2 x 7 and two sided. (I know, it would be kind of hard to be one sided in a three+ dimensional universe, but what I mean is that they are imprinted on both sides…Sheesh! Why is everyone being so difficult today?)

Well, there you go. Bookmarks. I’m hoping the next package has an ipod, or something cool like that in it, but for now, I’m all good with the bookmarks.

From what I understand a lot of these will be going out to various Sci-Fi/Fantasy type conventions around the US, along with the official RGI Chapter Sampler booklets, for distribution on the “freebie/literature tables.”

A goodly portion of my newly delivered stash will travel around with me so I can give them away at booksignings, etc…

Of course, I suppose if anyone wants one and they aren’t going to be attending a convention or signing we will have to work something out. Maybe one of those send me an SASE kind of deals…Guess we’ll have to see if there is a demand.

Okay. Got a bucket of words next to the desk and it’s time for me to splash them against the paper.

Later all!

MR