Someone needs to invent an app that will record what you say and then repeat it back in another language.
Here’s a GMO project someone should take on:
We need a lime tree that grows limes the size of navel oranges and with the sugar content of a ripe banana. Of course, the regular lime flavor will remain, just much sweeter.
Yum.
A 250 F oven works great for restoring crispness in cereals, pretzels, and other crispy goodies. Just spread the treats out on a cookie sheet and bake for about ten minutes. Seal it up in a zip lock bag while warm and let it cool before enjoying your Cap’n Crunch with even greater palate shredding crispiness!
Google Translate does this.
my hovercraft is full of eels
Can it do that?
Mon aeroglisseur est plein d’anguilles
Mi aerodeslizador esta lleno de anguilias
իմ hovercraft-ը լիքն է էելներով This is Armenian, but I think there are alphbet issues
For reals?! So, if I go to a foreign country, I can speak to the locals by just saying my words into my phone and have it repeat it to them in their native tongue? And if they have the same device (or use mine), we can have a full conversation? That’s what I’m envisioning, anyway.
Genetic engineers need to develop some sort of brainwave-eating fish that you can put in your ear and it will translate any language you hear into impulses you can understand.
Weeeelll…yeah, kinda.I just tried it. There’s a split screen, so you see the words the phone hears as well as seeing the translated text, followed by the phone repeating the translated phrase out loud. What could possibly go wrong with that? I tested it using our standard phrase:
I said: Mon aeroglisseur est plein d’anguilles
It heard: Mon heros glisse et ton lit
It then translated this to (and repeated out loud): My hero slips and your bed
- At which point you may be perilously close to a punch in the mouth (and that was just my opening line. For the record, the translation details are 100% true, no embellishment. I think I may need to work on my accent.)
Now, fair’s fair, if I’m using the app I would typically be speaking English into it, so I tried it that way round…
I said: My hovercraft is full of eels
It heard correctly and translated as: Mon aeroglisseur est plein d’anguilles
Impressed? I was.
j
I have used it for Chinese in actual situations. It’s hit or miss but it can work for minimal communications.
Something that I think would be really useful would be a computer keyboard that is split into two halves and then connected to their respective left and right office chair arms, with the selected keyboard half also having a trackball attached.
For me, that would mitigate a host of back discomfort issues (and holy cow it would be terminally cool).
I wish they would improve bags. I’m often frustrated with two types: dog poop bags and produce bags. The problem is they’re often thin and the two sides stick together, making them hard to open. Maybe if they ran a little bead of plastic on each side…? Or textured the bags themselves?
You can buy mesh bags for your produce, which should reduce plastic trash in landfills, as they are multi-use. I just bought a box of stuff, unpacked the contents in my car into a mesh bag (which is not really how they are meant to be used) and shoved the excess packaging in the trash can outside the store, leaving me with that much less clutter to deal with at home.
Yeah, that’s a universal problem. Especially now that we’re worried about COVID. In the old days people would lick their fingers to get enough friction to open the produce bags. Not anymore. Yuk!
For doggie bags, one thing you can do is pre-separate the edge before you go on the walk. If you have bags on a roll, the leading edge is the open side of the bag. You can separate that leading edge at home so it’s easier to open when you need it.
I think that’s becoming a thing, isn’t it?
I started doing that.
I still licked my fingers to separate the produce bags, even in the height of the pandemic when the store was limiting the number of customers and we were all strict about wearing masks.
A post was merged into an existing topic: Do people “raise” bees or “keep” bees?
It’s available on the web, at least in written form. You can also upload a document to be translated. I don’t think the web version has voice capability.
The phone based, Android for me, works best with simple sentences. I’ve used it for spanish and chinese with some success. Things like “where’s the nearest bank”, or “where can I get something to eat”.
I do this all the time. Always have the bag at the ready! Otherwise, you’ll be standing there for what seems like hours trying to separate the bag opening.
I agree with this one!
When I buy socks, they come in a resealable bag! Why?
Also, all cans (vegetables, soups, tuna, etc) should come with a ring/pop-top. I notice there are a lot more of these cans lately. But they all should be like this by now.