The Chinese thing was an enormous surprise. The characters are as distinct as English words once you know what to look for. In earlier years I've discussed my finding that most spoken languages consist of just over 600 words. In Mandarin, these appear to be represented by around 1,000 symbols. If I can read right off the bat, it won't be long before I can write this stuff.This prompted me to look further into the writing. There is an overall pattern to it, and I'm beginning to see how some advanced words are built up. It might not look like it, but there are different fonts. I also learned that Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) tattoos are also pictograms of a different sort. I have a theory at this point, that no matter how many times we've heard that Chinese writing is pictures, we tend to see those as letters of the alphabet. Trust me, until you get into it you don't realize how solidly that concept is embedded when we are taught to read English. Look what just happened to me, and I thought I was approaching the subject from a neutral position, you know, open-minded and empty-headed.
The fact is, think of the symbols as words, not letters. And most of us easily recognize tens of thousands of English words built up of simpler characters. In Chinese, you only need 1,000 words (makes up 90% of the language). Mind you, I am not claiming victory, for there were other words that I could not read. Nonetheless, my short-range goal was to be able to pick out Chinese numbers, so yahoo!
Say, aren’t I supposed to be minding the store? I am, you see, but it was quiet all morning and Dickens has the place all spruced up. He’s called to check in a couple of times. There is nothing to report, maybe ten customers near the end of the day. Several people on the way to the airport asked about luggage. There are just a few vintage items in stock right now, but there’s an idea.
A customer brought in one of those old Dell computers that were popular as dumb terminals. He’s lucky, because I used to own three of them and they are an excellent upgrade. There is only room for one CD so I put in a burner. Add 512K of RAM and you get a dandy home unit and I get $60 for an hour’s work.
At the same time, Anna called and they have a problem I cannot easily fix. One of the computers is not picking up the Internet. The adapter (antenna) keeps dropping into some kind of dormant mode and refuses to pick up an IP address when it wakes. Later, Sam the Egyptian called and he also has a wireless problem. He’s got two wireless systems in his house, one for his office and the other is tapped off it and runs out to his living room. His laptops refuse to pick up the living room signal. His brother has another router and I’ve advised him to hook that up for a test. I cannot repair routers.
I’ve finally had it with crappy Sony and Pinnacle products that do not work and I’ve signed up an Internet account that gives reviews. In all, I wrote around ten of these articles mainly to get things off my chest. Not all were negative, for instance, the Argus (Model DC 1600) got flying colors. What I did not know is that the web page (www.epinions.com) reviews the reviews and I’ve been getting high marks.
You see, I’ve been responding to ads on Craigslist that are seeking writers. Yeah, yeah, I know, don’t quit my day job. Anyway, so far the only responses have been from scumbags who want me to pay them to write, and the usual horde of hookers who want me to pay them period. Incidentally, the authorities have finally caught on that the craisglist personals is a festering whorehouse. Only took them two years. Back to writing, I’m naturally leery of people who want resumes (which I feel are an outdated concept), so I freelance and guess where I am directing people to view a sample of my material. Hello?
Last for today, after careful bookkeeping and various repair issues, I am again looking at a switch to Apple computers. My books don’t lie and the long-term (daily use computer for more than 24 months) costs of owning IBM/Microsoft computers exceeds the benefits of the lower purchase price. The average IBM-based computer I own (at this time I have seven) contains $580 worth of software. I’ve had to re-install the operating system at my Internet shop seven times in just under two years. This wipes out all my software and network settings, and you get the idea. I’ve now spent, on average, more on each computer than it cost to purchase. I would certainly have lost money if I did not know how to do it myself.
Therefore I had a conversation with a student about the basics. I last owned an Apple in 1990, and it was a IIe dinosaur. I believe Saturday I will go take a look at a “Mini-Mac”, an Apple computer in the $600 range. The Apple store at Aventura Mall is always crowded. They have an $80 series of seminars or something. I have the money in the music account, but that does not mean I’m running out to spend it.
Trivia. The average house built in 1950 was wired to handle the equivalent electricity to operate 700 light bulbs (60 watt). Today, the average house is built to handle the equivalent of 2,850 such light bulbs.
