[personal profile] jesse_the_k

The American Foundation for the Blind is researching AI:

details on how to participate )

In addition to the environmental and ethical violations which LLMs/AIs depend on, the endless hype and inaccurate performance make me shudder and growl. Yet I admit I’ve used neural text-to-speech voices for casual audio reading. The neural voices require an internet connection and they lose intelligibility at speed. They’re best as substitutes for human readers.

Blind computer users set their on-device system text-to-speech (TTS) at high speeds. Three hundred to five hundred words per minute are often cited. For screen reader applications, a robotic voice is a feature, enabling bits to flow from device to brain with minimal interpretation.

Neural voices produce much higher quality than system-level TTS. When fed appropriately coded input, they can laugh, whisper, and sound sarcastic as well as "analyze" an essay to produce a "podcast" dialog between two synthetic discussants. Some samples here: https://www.naturalreaders.com/online/

But I know well the expertise that skilled human narrators bring to their work—whether it’s commercial audiobook production, volunteer alternative-format creation, or podfic elves making magic. I don’t want a world where those jobs are outsourced to computers.

On the gripping hand, I remember when skilled Linotype operators--many Deaf--were obviated by computerized systems where reporters keyed their own copy. I used the bridge technology of phototypesetting, as well as pioneering desktop publishing. It's expected that admin workers now create flyers and graphs and charts.

Have you tried neural voices? Recognized them on YouTube or TikTok or your recent tech support call? Do you have thoughts for or against?

[personal profile] piyavking
https://camoufox.com/

Все эти полуфабрикаты для тех, кто неасиливает взять и отпрепарировать первоисточник Интересненько, познавательно...

Check-In Journal #2

Sep. 13th, 2025 03:16 pm
simonejester: danbo and an xbox360 controller (Default)
[personal profile] simonejester
September 13, 2025, the day that... stuff I intended to do for a long time got done.

Things that made me happy today

Being rid of that old plastic pitcher, reading more of The Crystal Crown, some entertaining YouTube videos.

Daily Smiley: (⌐▨_▨)

Quotes of the Day

"Open yourself fully to the Force, then, welcome it in a rush if you can. The Force can flow like an ancient slow river or crash like a waterfall, and sometimes we need the waterfall."
--Master Sol, SW: The Acolyte: The Crystal Crown

(73% finished, the show was disappointing but the book is so far so good.)

Dreams

Several, but none that I remember. (I wrote down the one I remembered from yesterday, it was of the driving-turns-scary type but it was on the less-scary scale.)

Things I Bought

Nothing today. (Yesterday I went to Costco and got basic stuff--breakfast drinks, lunch stuff, snacks, Stok cold coffee, wine)

Accomplishments

Also, got rid of that plastic pitcher (it had like an inch of chai mix/milk in it for awhile and plastic absorbs odors, and I avoided smelling it, it was out of the fridge and into the trash bag). Took out all the trash right after.

Cleaned my front door! No idea why it was so much dirtier than others' but I just used water and a washcloth and it made a difference. It looks like there are stains, but maybe a Magic Eraser can take care of those.

Put away the other part of Thursday's laundry, the washcloths, towels, underwear, and socks (I always procrastinate on that part because matching socks is boring).

Food

Cheese and crackers for brunch, leftover (still sealed) Powerade from a work pizza party months ago, 2 corn dogs for dinner and 4 Godiva truffles for dessert. Soon, a drink before bed.

Today I wore:

Olive green T-shirt, black straight-leg yoga pants.

Movies/TV Shows/Books/Podcasts

YouTube videos, book: Star Wars: The Acolyte: The Crystal Crown, podcast: Knowledge Fight

Friends

Only left my apartment to take out the trash today, so none.

Music I Loved Today

None listened to, but I woke up with "Sister Golden Hair" by America being played on a loop in my internal jukebox. It's one that comes up often on the Sirius XM channel "The Bridge."

What I Learned Today

I should've cleaned my front door sooner, then there wouldn't be what I hope are not permanent stains.

===

Idea from here.

====

Saturday

Sep. 14th, 2025 03:18 am
tyger: Sora, Riku, and Kairi's Avatar Kingdom chibi, arranged as an almost-hug. (SoRiKai - chibis)
[personal profile] tyger

Unsurprisingly, didn't do a huge amount today!

Went for a walk with Mama, which was nice, and ran into Auntie M which was fun! We didn't recognise her at first, we haven't previously encountered Auntie M In Footie Clothes. She was wearing a cap! So weird! I mean, her going to the football isn't news, just. Woah!

Did a bit of the handsewing for finishing off the switch case, too. It only ended up being like 20cm but I worked on it for idk at least an hour. Ugh, so time consuming, so many tiny tiny stitches. This thing is gonna be solid as hell! |D

And then this evening my heater fucking started smoking!!! :/ WHY. I've only had it what, a year or so? And yet. SMOKE. Ugh. (And now I'm EXTRA cold because I opened the window so the smoke smell could dissipate. Uuuuugh.) So, gonna have to get a new heater soonish! :/ It's warmer than it was, but it's still not warm, and who even knows if we're gonna get a cold snap at some point! So annoying!!!

(no subject)

Sep. 13th, 2025 07:51 pm
piyavking: (Default)

(no subject)

Sep. 13th, 2025 12:52 am
harpers_child: melaka fray reading from "Tales of the Slayers". (Default)
[personal profile] harpers_child
Dear self,
Please remember to look up how long you have to wait after having Covid to get a vaccine. (If dear readers happen to know this info, please let me know.) Then contact the pharmacy to find out if I need a 'script or not.
Love, me.

Crafty Friday

Sep. 13th, 2025 04:45 am
tyger: Head and shoulder of Yuuko, some sort of scaly dragony fish thing in the background (Yuuko - dragonfish)
[personal profile] tyger

So Mama and I sat together and crafted all afternoon, pmuch. It was really nice! Just that low-key keeping each other accountable thing. Really helpful!

I'm almost done sewing the switch case together! I've just gotta go over a few bits of the lining, to make sure it won't fray, and then add press studs and some decorative buttons. :3

A LOT of tiny little stitches, and it's not really the right shape to put it in the machine, so it's taking a WHILE, hahaha. Still, I might not be great at hand sewing, but I'm much better than I was, so it's not too bad! :D

Also, in excellent news, old work FINALLY got the paperwork they needed to fill in back to me. FINALLY. Took them two business weeks and I had to send a follow up email, for a goddamn two page form that's mostly just extremely basic identification information, but I have it! Have sent it in, too, so hopefully I'll hear back from the government SOON. Probably not next week though given. This entire fucking process. =_=

Other than that... nothing huge really. Minecraft, and then I got stuck in a fic which is why I'm. Still awake. >>;;; Oh well, at least it's the weekend, I don't have as many self-given tasks to do tomorrow!

The Plumber Appears

Sep. 12th, 2025 08:27 pm
cimorene: Blue text reading "This Old House" over a photo of a small yellow house (knypplinge)
[personal profile] cimorene
And he came and spray painted on the ground! He says that the digger dude who was never returning his calls in the spring should be less busy right now. Idk, but I hope he's right.

We might not have to have the open septic tanks for another winter!!
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games games games

Sep. 12th, 2025 02:12 pm
goodbyebird: Angela Asgard's Assassin: Angela carries Sera in her arms. (C ∞ an assassin and her bard)
[personal profile] goodbyebird
+ No Man's Sky had an update adding customizable shared space ships, and now I'll have to jump back in. Anybody else here still play NMS from time to time? Farting around in a communal decorated base sounds like so much fun.

(I saw one ship shaped like Clippy lol)

+ Or if you'd rather base build and hang in a desert planet, Dune Awakening has a free demo weekend. I honestly didn't expect to like it as much as I did, but the environment is lovingly crafted, and the story surprisingly robust.

Sadly I don't have enough internet at sea to dl the update myself. I'm missing out on a stunning mural 😔

I'm on Europe Lynx / Sietch Yaracuwan, it's been fairly free from bothersome trolls. They've added a bunch more events and story characters as well, so I'm diving back in when I get home. In case somebody wants to buddy up for base building? I'll have to start almost from scratch because I suuure didn't put anything in the bank like I ought to have.

+ And Marvel Rivals is adding Angela!! I don't want to be interested in a hero shooter but HOT DAMN

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Wee Maggie rides again!

Jan. 17th, 2024 04:48 pm
merrileemakes: Orange cat lying adorably on an open book, with other books in the background (Default)
[personal profile] merrileemakes
Here's a video of Wee Maggie in action. She's a little Porche of a wheel! Very fast and smooth, a real joy to spin on.

I forgot to mention earlier: both the Sheridan Macarthur wheel and this Wee Maggie are double drive wheels. I found two of Jillian Eve's videos invaluable in understanding how these wheels work, how to set their drive bands and how to adjust their tension properly. These videos are her Double Drive Spinning Wheel Setup and How To Tie A Drive Band Onto Your Double Drive Spinning Wheel The Right Way. Almost everything crafty I do I learned through online videos. They're an amazing resources and Jillian Eve is so generous in sharing her knowledge and a pleasure to watch.

Read more... )

The importance of stash

Jan. 14th, 2024 04:41 pm
merrileemakes: Orange cat lying adorably on an open book, with other books in the background (Default)
[personal profile] merrileemakes
This started as a quick post about finding what I needed in stash, but became a bit more philosophical.

Almost everyone (including myself) talks about stash in a negative light. Having too much. Being overwhelmed. Stashing down. Making from stash. Dying and leaving all your stash behind (horror).
Oh the horrors... )

Another wheel!

Jan. 12th, 2024 04:28 pm
merrileemakes: Orange cat lying adorably on an open book, with other books in the background (Default)
[personal profile] merrileemakes
Well, this could become a problem. I've brought home another wheel to restore.

This one is, according to the handwritten notes on the bottom, a Wee Maggie wheel. It was made in 1983 by M. N. Cork in Tumut, and is the 57th Wee Maggie made.
blog14a
Oh Maggie )

Weaving project planning

Jan. 10th, 2024 04:22 pm
merrileemakes: Orange cat lying adorably on an open book, with other books in the background (Default)
[personal profile] merrileemakes
So this year I'm going to work on my Fancy Folder and keep better notes of what I plan, sample and weave.

I'm repeating a weave that I did last year so for this project I'm mostly taking notes to get in the habit of taking notes, as well as taking a project planning sheet for a spin. Read more... )
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