short takes

[cellio]

This is funny: Never let it be said that a naked fat woman can't get no respect (link from cahwyguy).

I seem to have more GMail invites. Speak up if you want one. I'm probably going to offer some of them to the troops in Iraq, like I did with the last batch.

The UPS in my office went from sounding its "my battery is failing" alarm once a day, to sounding it twice a day, to sounding extremely pitiful when doing so, to doing nothing at all. That last stage is the real cause for concern. Fortunately, the replacement has now arrived. (I didn't know that they died over time. I didn't even know they had that alarm until it went off.)

I attended a brief HHD rehearsal tonight (I have a part in the Rosh Hashana morning service). Yes, there's a sound system, but let's just say that projection was not a problem for me. :-) I wonder why it's so much easier for me to project properly (supporting my voice from the diaphragm) when singing than when speaking. After all, I spend a lot more time speaking in an average day.

Meta: I spelled "diaphragm" correctly without looking it up first, but was uncertain enough that I checked. It's a funny-looking word.

What happened to MapQuest's preferences in getting directions? I'm trying to find a route that doesn't use the highway that bogs down in traffic, but that check-box is no longer there. (I know a route exists, though MapQuest's maps aren't helping me work it out. Time for paper, I guess...)

Comments

[goljerp]

What happened to MapQuest's preferences in getting directions?

I've noticed that, too. In fact, MapQuest has lost a lot of features it used to have:

It used to give you options for shortest route/ fastest route
It used to give you an "avoid highways" option
There used to be an option to show satellite photos instead of maps (at low resolution, sure, but still...)
There used to be a greyscale option for the maps (good when printing in B&W)

They've even taken away the option to find Denny's restaurants along your route!

[cafemusique.livejournal.com]

I wonder why it's so much easier for me to project properly (supporting my voice from the diaphragm) when singing than when speaking. After all, I spend a lot more time speaking in an average day.

I'm not sure what your day entails, but I part of the reason is that so much of the speaking we do is either into some sort of microphone (or telephone) or to somebody very close to us. In those situations, the support isn't as vital...plus, when we're speaking, there are a lot more chance to catch a breath.

Just my guesses.

[ichur72.livejournal.com]

I ended up reading the no-respect story out loud, in its entirety, to my husband. His response: a second or two of silence, and then, "Boy howdy."

random tangent

[ironangel]

I was watching some sappy show (wedding story, maybe) and there was a guy who was a professional singer - a tenor. He ended up almost losing his voice because of something in the way he speaks, and had to go to speech therapy to correct it. so, there must be some sort of difference between speaking and singing. hmm.

[zare-k.livejournal.com]

I'm probably going to offer some of them to the troops in Iraq, like I did with the last batch.

Thanks for the pointer-- I just gave them mine.